"What are you doing out here, in the middle of the night?"

"This is the only way out of the village."

"You should go to bed."

Already, Sasuke could feel his resolve wavering. Just a few more steps, and he'd be out of the village. Just a few more steps, and he'd be able to obtain the power necessary to achieve his goals. But Sakura wasn't leaving, and that made things so much more complicated. "It's not going to work, you know."

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks, but still refused to face her. "What are you talking about?"

"Orochimaru said he wanted to take over your body," Sakura clarified. "Do you honestly think he'll let you risk your life on a revenge mission, if it means he might not get what he wants out of you?"

This time, Sasuke did turn back. Sakura's eyes were fixed on the ground, but there was no tension about her – it was as if she was completely sure that what she was going to say would convince him to stay. "You've actually thought about this."

She nodded. "Of course." She exhaled slowly and slowly looked up at him. "I've seen what that Cursed Seal does, Sasuke-kun. I've seen what it did to you. It completely took you over, and while it did make you more powerful, you weren't… you."

"To obtain power, certain things need to be sacrificed," Sasuke said simply.

"But is your freedom really worth it?" Sakura asked. Sasuke turned away, and Sakura choked on a sob. "Why…? Why won't you ever tell me anything?"

"Why should I have to tell you anything? Just stay out of my life. It's none of your business."

"You're my teammate!" Sakura yelled, grabbing his wrist. "You are my business!" Tears slid down her cheeks, and she wiped them away with her free hand. "It's okay if you hate me. Even in the beginning… remember? Back when we made genin and were assigned to our teams… we were alone together… right here. You got so mad at me that day…"

"I don't remember that," Sasuke denied quickly, though that didn't stop the images flashing through his mind – Sakura complaining about Naruto, taking it one step too far when she blamed his abrasiveness on his lack of parents, him coming too close to losing his temper and lashing out at his new teammate who clearly didn't know any better.

"Y-Yeah…" Sakura said quietly. "Sure… I mean, it was so long ago. But still, that's the day when it all began." The Wave mission, Chuunin Exams, all those endless hours of training together… "You might not remember, but… you told me that being alone – really alone – is one of the worst things that could ever happen to you. But… you're not alone. Not anymore. And if you stay… you won't ever be again. We… We might not be your clan, but we're still… We're a family."

"This has nothing to do with all of that," Sasuke said, struggling to keep his voice even. He thought about the Wave mission, how good it felt when they successfully completed it, and about Chuunin Exams, and how relieved he was to see Sakura and Naruto safe, after everything that had happened.

"You're right," Sakura said, sniffling. "It's about revenge, isn't it? Sasuke-kun… Revenge won't bring anyone happiness – even you."

"It's not about happiness," Sasuke snapped. "It's about justice. It's about closure. It's what he deserves."

"Is that what your brother told you?" Sasuke stiffened; how could she possibly know? "Naruto told me what happened. Your brother… he told you to go after him, right? To get stronger so you could kill him on your own."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "Why are you—"

"Why are you playing by his terms?" Sakura almost shouted. "Why are you trying to follow what he wants you to do? You're saying he deserves justice? He doesn't deserve the courtesy you're giving him!"

Sasuke whirled around, glaring furiously at Sakura, but the girl barely even flinched. "You don't know anything."

"That's because you won't tell me anything." Her face was completely blank. She wasn't crying anymore, though there were still tearstains on her face. She didn't look angry or upset, but there was something akin to determination there, in the way she squared her shoulders and looked him directly in the eye. And really, anyone who could read him well enough to know exactly what he was planning without hearing a single word of it from him, and having the courage to confront him on top of that, wasn't worth throwing away. "I…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I love you, Sasuke-kun, and I want to help you."

By now, Sasuke's mind was made up, but he couldn't fathom why he was blushing. "Fine," he sighed. "I… I'll tell you everything. Tomorrow."

All too quickly, the façade cracked, and Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Sasuke nodded, and all of his tension and anxiety seemed to fade. Now, more than anything, he felt stupid for almost going through with something so treasonous and awful. "Really."

Before he could process what was happening, Sakura's arms were around him, but he couldn't bring himself to push her away. Now, all he could do was stand there, wondering why he ever thought giving up his family was a good idea. "Great… That's great! I can finally—"

"Stupid cunt," said a notoriously familiar girl's voice.

Sasuke drew a kunai and jumped into a defensive stance in front of Sakura. "Wh-What's going on?" Sakura whimpered.

"Get back," Sasuke hissed.

"See, Kidomaru?" the red-haired girl – Tayuya, if Sasuke remembered correctly – said as she finally came into view, by the bench. "I told you the little fucker wouldn't come willingly."

The fight was over before Sasuke even realized it had begun – by the end, the ninjas from Sound and Sakura were gone, and Sasuke was left unconscious on the bench a little ways away.

"Lady Hokage, thou art a heartless bitch," Izumo Kamizuki complained as he shifted the giant stack of papers in his arms so that they wouldn't fall. "It's four in the freaking morning."

"She could've gotten her damn papers herself…" Kotetsu Hagane grumbled. As they approached a bench, Kotetsu saw a dark-haired boy sleeping on it. "Oi! Get up! If you sleep here, you'll catch a cold."

Izumo peered at the bench. "Isn't that the Uchiha brat?" he asked.

As Kotetsu tentatively reached out to him, the boy bolted upright without warning. "Sakura!"

"Sakura?" Kotetsu echoed, raising one eyebrow. "Who's she again, Izumo?"

"The pink genin, I think," Izumo replied.

"Wait…" Kotetsu said slowly. "What happened, exactly?"

"Say what?" Tsunade screeched in the Hokage's office.

"She's gone," Sasuke said, and though he forced himself to speak calmly, he was a bundle of nerves and anxiety on the inside. "Those ninjas from Sound took her."

"But why?" Tsunade demanded. "What could he possibly want with her?"

Sasuke averted his eyes downward as he clenched his fists. "Me."

"What was that?" Tsunade snapped.

"They wanted to take me to Orochimaru," Sasuke explained, the words I love you, Sasuke-kun, and I want to help you echoing repeatedly in his mind. "They took her as bait to lure me out."

"That's a pretty egotistical way of thinking," Tsunade pointed out. "Unless…"

For the first time, Sasuke felt truly guilty for even considering going to Orochimaru. "They offered to let me accompany them to Sound, earlier. I refused."

Tsunade exhaled sharply as she leaned back in her chair. "Well this is just fantastic."

The doors to the office flew open. "Granny Tsunade!" Sasuke knew it was Naruto before his teammate even had a chance to open his mouth. "I-Is it true? Is Sakura-chan really…?"

Sasuke turned to regard his remaining teammates – Naruto, who refused to look in his direction, and Kakashi, who nodded at him ever so slightly in approval. "Yes," Tsunade answered. "It's true… though I doubt Uchiha told me told me the whole story of what happened last night."

"It's personal," Sasuke said stiffly.

"Yeah, whatever," Tsunade replied dismissively.

"We have to go save her!" Naruto insisted.

"You three aren't going anywhere," Tsunade said flatly. "If missing nin are after you, you better stay in the village until everything's clear. And if Orochimaru's after an Uchiha, then there's no way in hell that I'm sending both my Sharingan-users out on this mission."

"But it's my fault!" The words were out of Sasuke's mouth before he could stop them. I love you, Sasuke-kun, and I want to help you.

"Then you'll be spending a lot of quality time with Haruno kissing her ass when she gets back. Got it?" Heat bloomed on Sasuke's face until he realized that Tsunade didn't mean that literally.

The doors flew open once more. "Anko Mitarashi has returned!" Naruto shrieked in terror as he put a wall of Kakashi between himself and the Chuunin Exam proctor. Sasuke resisted the urge to cringe. "And the mission was a success. As usual."

"Perfect timing," Tsunade said with a smirk. "You've got another mission. A-rank. As it turns out, a genin was kidnapped by Sound last night for the sole purpose of luring out one Sasuke Uchiha."

"Who, Pinkie?" Anko asked.

"You know it," Tsunade replied. "You are to assemble a team to complete this mission. Should you take too long, I will send out another search party."

"Got it," Anko said. Without warning, she slung one arm around Sasuke's neck and dragged him with her. "Come on, Uchiha."

"Wait, you're actually taking him?" Naruto protested. "But Granny just said—"

"I strongly suspect he'll tag along anyway," Anko said flatly. "You and Hatake stay here."

"Why?" Naruto demanded. "She's our teammate too! It's his fault that—"

"That's enough, Naruto," Kakashi said sternly, and Sasuke winced slightly.

"You two will lead the second search party, should there be a need for it," Tsunade said. "It's risky as hell, but I doubt I'll be able to stop you from looking for Haruno on your own. Can you at least wait a couple days?"

"We will," Kakashi answered for both himself and Naruto.

And as Sasuke followed Anko out of the Hokage's office, he didn't miss the vicious glare Naruto sent him.

Shikamaru Nara yawned. "What a pain."

"Zip it, Nara," Anko snapped at him as she hopped from one tree to the next. "A fellow Konoha ninja was just kidnapped, and you damn well better look like you're concerned for her well-being."

"So we have to risk our own lives because of Uchiha's negligence," Neji Hyuuga pointed out.

"No," Anko said through gritted teeth. "You have to risk your lives because one of your comrades was just kidnapped. She may not be on your team, but that doesn't make her any less important to the village." Sasuke clenched his fists as he ran forward. Though he tried, he couldn't quite tune out his teammates' jibes – and the worst part was that they were right. And then there was Sakura's voice, always in the back of his mind, I love you, Sasuke-kun, and I want to help you. "We'll stop here," Anko said, drawing to a halt and dropping from the tree.

"We should keep moving," Sasuke said in a low voice.

"No we shouldn't," Anko retorted. "Mini-Gai's lagging."

"I-I'm sorry!" Rock Lee apologized profusely. "I do wish to save Sakura-san, but my injuries…"

Sasuke wanted to glare at the older genin, but he slowly realized that he had no right to do so. It was his fault that Sakura was kidnapped in the first place. If he had just gone without a fight… better yet, if he had told Sakura to run to the Hokage and tell her what exactly happened…

Anko frowned slightly at him and jerked her head to the right – opposite to where the rest of the group lounged. When she walked in that direction, Sasuke followed her. "So what really happened?" she asked as soon as the rest were out of earshot.

"Wh-What?"

"The day your girlfriend was kidnapped. What happened?"

Sasuke exhaled sharply. "I left the hospital in the morning. Four ninjas from Sound approached me and informed me of their intentions. Later that night, I was with Sakura by the village gates, and the same four ninjas returned and took her hostage in order to lure me to Orochimaru."

Anko quirked an eyebrow at him. "I strongly suspect that you're leaving a lot out."

Sasuke struggled to keep the bitterness out of his tone. "The rest is none of your business."

"One second," Anko said, holding up one finger. She reached for a water bottle strapped to her belt, opened it, and promptly poured its contents on Sasuke's head. "You need a shower. You're covered in angst and self-pity, and it's making my balls shrivel up in disgust." Sasuke coughed and spluttered as he glared at her. "Oh, come off it already. So you couldn't fight off four people who were clearly ranked higher than you. You're not invincible. Get over it." Sasuke shivered as he wrung out his shirt, but then Anko threw him her coat. "If you get sick, I'm not playing nursemaid." Sasuke refused to dignify that with a response.

And then, an awkward silence lapsed between them, one that no one – not even their remaining teammates – would break. Pain suddenly pulsed through Sasuke's Cursed Seal, and he sucked in a breath and covered it with one hand. Anko blew her bangs out of her eyes absentmindedly. "It's not all that it's cracked up to be, y'know kid? Being Orochimaru's apprentice." Sasuke stared quizzically at the jounin, and she smiled faintly at him. "Ever heard that only one in ten people afflicted with the Cursed Seal actually survives it?" She pulled down the collar of her jacket with a bitter smirk, revealing three notoriously familiar black marks on her neck. "I'm the statistic."

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, despite himself.

Anko turned away and crossed her arms. "What do you think? I outlived my usefulness, and he dumped me." Her eyes shifted to meet his. "Now you listen to me, Uchiha. I know Konoha puts on a great show about how the Uchiha clan is the strongest there is and that nothing can match the Sharingan's power. And let me tell you something – it's all bullshit. There are tons of other bloodline limits, and, chances are, there'll be at least one or two that can kick the Sharingan's ass six ways from Sunday. If Orochimaru finds out that he can get ahold of someone with these bloodline limits, you're done." Sasuke stiffened visibly. "Aw, no need to get your kunai holster in a knot. It's really obvious, what you were thinking of doing."

"Well you don't have to say any more, because I'm not going," Sasuke ground out.

Sasuke had to duck to avoid Anko's hand that was surely about to ruffle his hair. "Aw, did my little soliloquy inspire you?"

He clenched his fists. "I already decided when Sakura was kidnapped."

"You know, I think I understand what was so personal about what happened last night that you can't tell me." Anko grinned at him and, without warning, flicked him on the forehead protector. "You're not half bad, you know that, kid?" When she stood up and walked away, it was all Sasuke could do to rub his forehead and try not to think of the past.

Sakura banged against the crate in which the Sound ninjas had trapped her. "Let me out!"

"Shut up, you stupid cunt!" the girl, Tayuya, screeched. "Motherfucker! Whose idea was it to kidnap his girlfriend, of all people?"

"Shut up, Tayuya!" Kidomaru snapped. "If we just grabbed him at the beginning, we wouldn't be dealing with this mess!"

"I recall someone saying that it would be easier if he came to us willingly," Sakon sneered.

"So much for that plan," said Ukon.

"Now we have stupid Konoha after us because we grabbed the wrong person," Jirobo lamented.

"Come on, guys!" Kidomaru said in his best enthusiastic tone. "We can still turn this around!"

"Orochimaru is a greasy-haired old man with a fetish for little boys!" Sakura yelled from inside the crate. She was perfectly aware that she wasn't in any real danger yet – if they thought she was important enough to Sasuke that kidnapping her would lure him to them, then they'd know that there was no way Sasuke would ever come willingly if they killed her. So to minimize the effort required to transport her, the Sound Four had trapped her in a crate that was supposedly for Sasuke, though why he'd agree to spend hours on end trapped inside a closed, cramped space, Sakura had no idea. But unlike with her previous affairs with hostage situations, Sakura was fully conscious – a fancy term she took to mean as bored beyond belief.

It took the combined efforts of the remaining three of the Sound Four to restrain a raging Tayuya. "That bitch is going down!"

"You're all freaks!" Sakura yelled. When there was nothing they could do to her without irreversibly damaging Orochimaru's already barely existent relations with Sasuke, Sakura could honestly say she enjoyed incurring her kidnappers' wrath.

"We would be so dead if Kimimaro decided to show up right about now," Jiribo said.

"Did somebody call for me?"

All members of the Sound Four froze, and Sakura sniggered. Things were finally getting interesting.

There was then a rallying cry of: "Motherfucker."

Oops, my hand slipped and it made a thing. Please review?