Kay. Auther's note here. I've been inactive in Fanfiction for longer then I intended, and since it's finally summer, I'm gonna post a new story. Yeah. I'll quit rambling now and let you read. Enjoy! (hopefully)

"Ino, is it true that four leaf clovers grant wishes?"

"Of course they do! Remember when I turned thirteen?"

smile "Of course I do, Ino-chan. We went up to the field with the clovers. You wished to be the most gorgeous lady ever."

"Psh. I wished to be THE most gorgeous AND pretty, beautiful, fabulous, did I already mention GORGEOUS? Woman EVER that common men would fall for."

a laugh. "Do you remember what you wished for, Sakura-chan?"

"...Yeah..."

Crestfallen expression. "Cheer up, Sakura-chan, it'll come true with time. After all, mine came true. Just look at the amount of men staring at me!"

"I guess so. But it's so hard to hope for. I mean, we're sixteen now! It's already been three years since-since-"

comforting hug. "Well... it was always a far-fetched wish, but still, it'll come true one day!"

small smile. "Maybe, Ino, maybe..."

a look. "Wait, you DO remember what you wished for, right? It was-"

"...For Sasuke to come back."

~Maybe wishes do come true~

chp.1

7 months and 23 days later

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKURA-CHAN! I'll become HOKAGE some day!" -Naruto Uzumaki

"Happy Birthday, Forehead!"-Ino Yamanaka

"Well wishes for the coming year." -Neji Hyuga

"WHOO! One more year 'till you're a legal adult, Sakura!"-Ten-Ten

"H-happy 17th Birthday, Sakura-chan. I hope your following year is fruitful and enjoyable."-Hinata Hyuga

"HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY! YOUR BLOSSOM OF YOUTH BLOOMS GREATER EACH YEAR!" -Rock Lee

"Yo, Sakura. When you get back, there will be a package on your doorstep. Happy 17th Birthday." Hatake Kakashi

"Happy Birthday! Get a dog! They're awesome!" -Kiba

"Work hard and don't let idiots distract you!" -Tsunade

"Wear tighter fitting clothing, it suits your figure -insert perverted grin here-" -Jiraya

"HEY! All the way from Suna here! Gaara and Kankerou are busy, so I'll say it for them. Happy birthday!" -Temari

"Troublesome. HB." -Shikamaru

"Work hard on your genjutsu!" -Kurenai

On an ending note:"Sakura, we would've had a party when you came back, but since everything is so busy with missions and what not, we had to postpone it. Sorry. Love ya, Tsunade."

Sakura smiled at the card. Even when she was out on a mission, her friends managed to send a card to her. Warmth blossomed in her chest. Tucking the card in her kunai holster, she continued walking. The mission she embarked on was a dangerous one. She was supposed to investigate the ruins of the battleground...made from Sasuke and Itachi. Itachi's dead body had already been found by ANBU ninja, but they had to leave the area quickly if they were to retrieve his body before Akatsuki did. The reason was that Itachi's body held much-chased after information about him, the Akatsuki, and most importantly, the Sharingan. The amount of knowledge that could be obtained from his body was austonding. The ANBU had to leave before Akatsuki prevented them from obtaining the information.

So the task of scavenging for clues fell to Sakura. She had been around the general area when they discovered the battle scene, and Tsunade decided it was best if the ANBU hurried on, leaving Sakura to investigate the surrounding area. Personally, Sakura had a feeling Akatsuki already knew that the body was taken, because she had not encountered a party searching for the body. Still, she was glad the examination of the battlefield had gone smoothly.

Or at least physically it had. Emotionally, she was internally wrestling with the disappointment that resided inside her gut. However, there had been no signs of him anywhere. How on earth was she going to find Sasuke if he didn't leave one. Single. Dratted. Clue? Adding to the fact that she was disappointed and slightly crestfallen, she had been secretly hoping that she could find some crucial detail, a note, the boy himself...and you'd expect there would be at least something, but NO...not a single HAIR or drop of sweat anywhere. While her anger blotted out most of her disappointment, still...she was kinda depressed over the fact that she found virtually nothing helpful, besides the fact that he obviously had been here previously, what, a day or two ago?

And on the plus side, she had no idea where he went from there. Let's face it: after Kakashi had extinguished Amaratetsu using his sharingan, theblack fire had already burned whatsoever sent trail Sasuke had left behind. Plus, he had the speed of the wind ( practically, literally) so he could be virtually anywhere.

She had just about had it with the whole scenario and was about to head back when she heard a sharp whimper.

Her head snapped around. It was coming from a pile of crushed rocks-near the area where Itachi's body was found. Senses alert, she slowly crept to the area, soft whimpers guiding her way. What she found though, was not what she had expected. Instead, what she saw broke her heart.

A lone black wolf lay trapped underneath the fallen rocks. His muzzle was bloody, and she could make the outline of a half-clotted wound. Only his head and a paw showed clearly, but the paw was so twisted out of shape that Sakura involuntarily shivered in sympathy. She could tell that he once was a beautiful, strong, wolf, but the wounds had hidden that under a swath of blood. She scanned the length of him, and determined he was male. There were multiple hunks of rock crushing his body, and there was a steady flow of blood stemming from his wounds.

When the wolf spotted Sakura, he began snarling at her with a feral, wounded expression. Her heart went out to him. Knowing that animals were vicious when hurt, she carefully moved her hands closer to his head. He began writhing as violently as possible under the fallen rocks, and she had to dart her hand back in order to protect it from being bitten off. Frowning, she decided that this guy needed to be handled with more force. She reached her hand over again, except this time she quickly used a chakra scalpel and quickly severed the muscle in his jaw. Unable to bite her, the wolf glared at her with onyx eyes. She regretted that she had to immobilize him, but it was necessary for what she was doing next.

She stood up, encircled the rock currently crushing the wolf, and lifted. She threw it over her shoulder without a second thought before moving to the next one. Soon the entire length of the wolf was open to her eyes, and part of her wished she never saw.

The wolf was utterly, entirely, hurt. There was no other way of explaining it. His fur was matted in blood, and when she gently ran her fingers against his fur, he flinched and howled in pain. The muscle was tender, and there probably was a broken rib or two. She figured that none of them had punctured his lungs, or else he wouldn't be breathing in front of her. His legs were in better shape then the rest of him, a broken hind leg and shattered foot being his only injuries. As she continued with her examination, she noticed multiple burns on his fur. Some areas only singed the fur, others had practically boiled the skin alive. Talk about being roasted alive. The more she looked, the more obvious the urgency of the situation made itself clear to her.

She decided that she would wait no longer to begin healing. At the first touch of her chakra, the wolf instantly calmed down. Odd, she thought, taking into account his previous aggressiveness. Putting the matter aside, she focused on the worst wounds. She had to give credit to the wolf. While he didn't begin howling when she set his ribs, he did flinch and whimper. Poor soul must have been damaged in the crossfire while Sasuke and Itachi were fighting. A frown marred her face. Typical of them to blatantly ignore a creature in their path and simply incinerate them. A small part of her lamented at the idea that Sasuke would stop at nothing for his revenge, even if it meant sacrificing innocent passerbys.

She observed her handiwork. She hadn't healed him entirely, as that required massive amounts of chakra with the wounds he had-she was shocked he had even survived- and plus, she still had to return to Konoha. Common sense told her that being deprived of chakra in a socially-unstable area was not wise. So she had made a splint for the wolf's broken bones, healed the most severe cases, and secured his muzzle with string. Although she had healed the muscle she had cut, that didn't mean she'd let him chew her ear off as she journeyed back to Konoha. After all, the wolf had wanted to bite her hand earlier.

She ignored the wolf's soft growls as she lifted him up onto her shoulder. His head and forepaws were resting on her back while the rest of him dangled uselessly down her front. Apparently the wolf didn't agree with this arrangement, because he began to growl louder. She began journeying back to Konoha, deliberately ignoring the growls. However, there came a point of time that she couldn't stand it anymore. It was like constant static filling her ear.

"Be quiet," she muttered. The wolf gave her an irritated look, and growled some more.

"This is for your own good, you know that? I won't let you chew the head off of your own healer! Well, my head, at least. If you keep growling I'm just gonna dump you here and now! I may be strong, but carrying you is starting to get annoying." Why she was muttering to an injured wolf was beyond her. Maybe it was the way the wolf had looked at her and snarled. Maybe it was the way that he looked so human. Either way, she figured she had become emotionally attached to him. Figures. Well, no one could really blame her, anyway, because the pitiful state she found him in and the pain the wolf was going through was horrible. So naturally her motherly instinct had kicked in and imprinted on this wolf, so now she felt rather protective about him. She didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. Though that didn't change the fact that she was slightly irked at the fact that the wolf would. Not. Stop. GROWLING!

"Shut up, wolf. I promise I'll undo the string around your jaw if you do so...If you don't bite," she added as an after thought. When the wolf just glared at her,she threw her hands up and said: "PLEASE! Just give me a peace of mind." Surprisingly, the wolf actually listened, as in listened, heard her words, understood them, and fell silent. She looked over her shoulder to make sure the wolf hadn't fainted on some freaky coincidental timing or something. Yup. The wolf was conscious, and by the way he was looking at her, he was practically screaming: "Get this cursed thing off of me NOW."

Stunned and amazed, she flipped the wolf so his muzzle was by her chin (he growled at the sudden shift) and she untied the knot, letting his muzzle go free. The wolf worked his jaws for a couple of seconds, enjoying the freedom from forced constraint. Then the wolf glared at her. She could swear no animal had ever glared at her like that. He seemed to be saying: ABOUT TIME, YOU TOOK LONG ENOUGH.The wolf seemed to forgive her after a moment, and simply turned his head away. She stared. After about 30 seconds, the wolf growled irritably, gave her a look, no, THE LOOK, and turned his head again to face the other direction.

Ok...there was something about this wolf that was special. Obviously. Her curiosity ignited, she decided that no, she wouldn't heal him in one go. It would waste chakra she could be using to save people. It wasn't like healing naturally would hinder her schedule. Although she had to admit, part of her motive was, well, to use this chance to observe the wolf. It wasn't every day that you came across a wolf that glared, growled, was hurt to the point of death, and let's see: seemed to understand her and follow her instructions. This, she concluded, was a smart wolf. A special one. And she was determined to figure out what made him so.

Last night

stars glinting in the dark

watching

like silent sentinels

a flash

streaking across the sky

"I wish I could find Sasuke..."

and the shooting star faded from sight.

He was angry. Oh yes, he was VERY angry. No, furious. And annoyed. And irked as well. He was not supposed to be in this situation! Uchiha blood ran through his veins, he would not succumb to bad luck. He would not grovel before a curse. But all the same, he could not believe this had happened to him. He refused to believe this had happened to him. Well, that worked until the pink-haired girl shifted him so he was facing the back again. The motion jerked him, thus put pressure on his healing bones. He yelped in alarm. He gave her an irate stare when she looked back to see how he was faring. The green eyes blinked, then she smiled. Spontaneously.

"Sorry. Guess I could have warned you there." The wolf huffed in annoyance. He decided to glare at the retreating background as Sakura walked.

Sakura. How much had she changed? Of course she was still annoying, but still...he had to admit, she had matured. She looked a lot less child-like when it came to her body and her strength (how she had lifted that hated boulder, he could not understand) and she now had garnered medical ninjutsu under her belt as well. He had to admit that she did fix him up pretty well, Though he dearly wished she had healed his foot, no, paw now. (How had his capable, ninjutsu-experienced hands been downgraded into PAWS?) The reoccurring realization that he was now trapped as a wolf did not seem to improve his mood one bit.

He glared harder at the scenery. It was really all he could do in his current state. Sakura could swear she could feel the heat of his gaze igniting a fire. She actually turned her head around and looked behind her, made sure the fire was imagined (though she was still half way convinced there eventually was going to be a fire with the intensity the wolf was glaring) and then she looked at the wolf. She idly wondered what had angered him so. Finally, she decided to stare down the side of the wolf's head until he met her gaze.

"Stop. Glaring." She emphasized the words. The wolf looked at her, decided that he was above all of this, all of this glaring at inanimate objects and a certain Haruno, and simply made himself comfortable, glanced at Sakura, and slowly fell asleep.

Sakura didn't know what to make of it, so she just continued heading toward Konoha.

Little did she know, the one she was carrying, the one who she had shared glares with, the one who was currently sleeping on her back and awaiting a recovery back at Konoha; was none else then the fabled Uchiha Sasuke.

It was about twilight when she stopped for the night. Although she usually stayed up late traveling even more, figured it was best to stop. After all, nighttime increased the chances of running into stray ninja or hordes of bandits. Not that she couldn't beat them to pulp, it was simply the matter of the onyx-eyed wolf. If there was a fight, she didn't want him to get in the crossfire. Even though she could heal him later on. She gazed fondly at the wolf. For some reason she always had to help an animal in need. Call it her instinct. This wolf was no different, aside from the obvious intelligence and human-like personality. Though she would describe it as a grouchy personality. Figures. The one animal she that shows unusual intelligence just has to be one that glares as well. Though by the way the wolf was lying around, she would say that he was moping around.

As she set up camp, the wolf silently spread himself out on the ground, and curled up next to the fire. Interesting. The word echoed through her mind. Most wolves (or at least wild ones, she reprimanded herself) would avoid fire at all costs. However, this wolf seemed to understand that fire wasn't that all dangerous. AND the fact that he wasn't afraid of it spreading, as if he knew that it would be contained by the ring of rocks surrounding it. Interesting. How very interesting. She continued to observe the wolf, but didn't come to any good conclusions. When she prepared dinner, though, she came to a roadblock.

She didn't have anything to feed the wolf with. Or herself, for any matter. As she assessed her options, she eventually came to the conclusion of: "Why the heck not?" and scooted toward the wolf.

"Hey." The wolf raised an eyebrow and blinked.

"I'm gonna go get some food for us, OK? Stay here." She tried to impress the idea of staying firmly on the wolf. He merely yawned and scooted closer to the fire. Was that a yes? Deciding that the wolf probably couldn't go anywhere with his current state, she confidently crept out of camp.

The key to hunting-for ninjas at least- was fairly simple. Find prey, follow prey, ambush prey. Bingo. She closed her eyes, letting her enhanced senses spread out. There! A rustle to her left. She quietly pulled out a senbon. She waited for the second rustle before striking. A small thump marked her success. Leaping toward her catch, she grinned at her success. The senbon had gone straight through the rabbit's pupil. Bull's eye! She cheered inwardly. She carefully extracted the needle and headed back toward camp. On the way back, she managed to bag another rabbit. She shielded her eyes from the fire as she entered the camp.

True to her assumption, the wolf was still there. His head turned toward her kills as she walked by. She could tell his nose was twitching with anticipation.

"No, that's not for you, not yet anyway." She took out a kunai and skinned the rabbits before remembering that wolves ate skin on an animal along with the meat. She threw the fatter of the two rabbits at the wolf before taking her own and sticking it on a spit above the fire. She also hung a metal pot below the spit, hoping that it would be enough to catch the juices.

Sakura observed the wolf's reaction to the meat. He grunted. After sniffing it for a second, he wrinkled his nostrils and pushed the rabbit away. Sakura paused in the process of turning the spit. She had never heard of a wolf refusing to eat. Either that meant he was sick somehow, or the rabbit itself had been sick...or something else. While the wolf himself did not have any disease of some sort (she had made sure of that while she healed him) she was pretty sure that the rabbit itself should be sanitary. She took the rabbit and scanned it's body with her chakra for harmful bacteria and viruses. None. Still, to be safe, she decided to roast his portion along with hers. That would probably get rid of whatever was keeping him from eating it.

She constructed a new spit from tree branches and twigs, fastening his portion alongside hers. She extended the fire so it would fully heat the wolf's portion as well. The wolf's nose twitched as the aroma of roasting meat reached him. As Sakura waited for the meat to cook, she began to contemplate a name for the wolf. Usually she didn't name the animals she saved, because they were all wild animals and would eventually be returned to their habitat. However, she felt that this wolf deserved a name, needed a name, no, had a name. She was positive this wolf had an owner previously. How else could he understand her words? However, she was sure that the wolf did not have a owner recently. There was no collar, and the way he had glared and growled clearly suggested that he did not invite human contact-meaning he probably didn't have any interaction with his previous owner lately. So, this wolf was a stray. A lonely stray caught in the crossfire of Sasuke's revenge.

Her breath hitched. The wolf raised an eyebrow at her stiffened posture.

Sasuke. Where was he now? Where was he going? His revenge had been extracted. So now where would he go? Sakura knew that she would do everything in her power to bring him back. But the question was...did he want to? Did he want to return back to Konoha, where he "broke" his bonds, nearly killed Naruto and others, and most importantly...left her? Her heart clenched. Four years had passed since he left. He had extracted his revenge. What else could he possibly want? Deep inside, she hoped that he would come back. But something told her he would have to be brought back by force.

He had become so distant, so dark that last time she saw him. Carelessly attacking Naruto. Cool, indifferent. As if they were mildly irritating flies fluttering around his head that he felt were not even worth killing. A twinge of pain flared in her chest, and she pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them. Although she had moved on from the silly crush she had harbored for him, part of her had never truly let go. No one can really forget the feelings they had for another when it was mixed with anguish and heartbreak and most importantly...when there never was a goodbye. It was just a "knock-out disappear" act. She frowned in annoyance. Stupid Uchiha just had to knock her out, didn't he?

While she was musing, she didn't seem to realize that the wolf lying across from her was fore-mentioned: "Stupid Uchiha".

Sasuke wasn't that irritated anymore...somewhat...in fact, after contemplating on the enigma that was Haruno Sakura, he decided to just go with the flow. It wasn't like he could do anything else at the moment. He figured it was best that he waited until he was healed up, then escape to...WHERE? His blood boiled as he remembered what Itachi had done. That mangy two-faced excuse of a brother...the insults steadily grew worse until he was silently making his way through the ABC's of swear words.

Sakura seemed completely oblivious to the foul language making its way through his head. In fact, she seemed to be dead to the world. She was staring at the fire, the flickering light making soft shadows on her features. Her skin seemed to be bathed in a swath of glowing radiance, and her jade eyes danced with fire. Sakura. Sasuke was caught by the subtle differences. The still-wide forehead, slender shoulders, pronounced breasts-he tried to ignore that new-found fact- her soft-smelling hair...

anyway...

It was about time to see if Sakura's healings had actually done anything...but being Sasuke, and being arrogant, he conviniently forgot that Sakura hadn't healed his leg or foot.

Sasuke cautiously sat up, but instantly regretted it as his broken bones protested painfully. He let out an unconscious yelp. Sakura rushed over to him and straightened out his leg. He yelped again. A soothing feeling rushed through his body. Healing chakra, he realized.

The smell of a cooked meat wafted into his nostrils. Suddenly he felt ravenous. He had not eaten for nearly two days. He noted that the meat had been cooked, good. Even though he was a wolf, he would not go down to that level and actually eat meat raw. Sakura noticed his hungry expression, and so she carefully pulled a portion of the rabbit off with her kunai and held it out to him. The aroma of the rabbit, full of juices and tender meat grabbed at his senses. However, pride prevented him from indulging in it.

He was not going to be hand fed. He refused. He didn't care if he had been an inch from death that afternoon, but he was not going to be humiliated any more by being hand fed. Uchihas were above that. Well, he would've said Uchihas were above being cursed into becoming a wolf, but apparently that wasn't the case. He had already suffered a huge slap to his pride by becoming a wolf and being helped by Sakura, Sakura, a female. A weak, annoying hindrance. He deliberately denied the fact that she was now a skilled medic-nin that could lift boulders. Because then, he would be admitting that he was in a bad situation and Sakura was stronger then him. Only at the moment of course, because he had suffered life-threatening wounds.

Which led back to the current issue: he refused to be hand-fed. The look Sakura gave him was a "Please?". However, he would not fall for her trap. If the world ever knew that Sasuke, THE Uchiha Sasuke, had been hand fed by a girl, Sakura by no less, he would be doomed. Oh, the horror. But of course, that was in the occasion that people found out that he was trapped in the body of a wolf. He was confident that would not happen. The only way was for that to occur was for him to re-assume human form-and he would slice the throats of anyone who laughed at the incident. A good plan. But that still didn't mean he would allow Sakura to hand feed him. It was degrading.

Sakura, on the other hand, had been the lovely witness of the Uchiha's expressions. When she first offered the meat, he had given her a look that clearly said no. When she tried again, he simply lay there and folded his paws (being careful with his injured one) and lay his head down on them. It was apparent that he was refusing to be hand-fed in his own silent, ignoring way. When she insisted, he gave her a look that conveyed that his doubt in her intelligence for not getting the message.

Giving up, Sakura simply let the portion drop in front of his nose. The wolf licked the meat, tasting it, then ravenously devoured it.

"Oh, NOW you decide to to eat it. What do you have against me anyway? You're either glaring at me or giving me looks that insult my intelligence. It's so frustrating! Stop it!" She finished her mini-rant and stormed a couple of paces away.

She swore the wolf was smirking at her. She whirled around and glared at him before muttering:

"And now I have been granted the rewarding knowledge that the wolf smirks at me as well."

He smirked wider, if possible. This was going to be interesting.

After getting annoyed with said wolf, she went to chew on her own portion, digesting a new piece of the wolf's personality. So now the wolf has a sense of humor. Fabulous, she thought. This wolf just kept revealing new things about him, wasn't he? She brooded on the oddity of it all while she ate.

After she finished eating (she had chucked the rest of her meal at the wolf when he kept smirking at her. Not that he seemed to mind, he snapped up the food like a starving dog. Not that he was far from being one.) She began to douse the fire and unwrap her hammock. The cloth was molted with a variety of greens and brown camouflage colors. Sewed onto the side of the hammock was a long strip of cloth that was designated as her blanket. Several buttons were also attached to either side of the hammock. A rolled up insect screen was looped through the buttons, effectively locking out insects. The reason she slept in a hammock rather then a sleeping bag was because it provided some protection from bandits, snakes, insects...etc. If she slept on the ground, people were gonna notice if they were passing by. But high up in a tree...who would look up there?

The issue now, though, was the wolf. He may have been rather rude (as far as an animal could be rude) but she didn't want to leave him down there on the ground, alone and exposed. And she wasn't too excited about sleeping on the dirt either. So there was one option. She only hoped the wolf wouldn't protest too badly. She knelt down next to the wolf.

"Hey grouchy. We're gonna sleep in a tree."

The wolf gave her a look that clearly questioned her sanity. It quickly morphed into an annoyed grimace at the new nickname. Giggling, she carefully swept him up into her arms, ignoring the short huff of surprise and irritation. She powered chakra into her feet, and leaped onto a branch before landing on the hammock. She nearly lost her balance with her new cargo. Mr. Grouchy growled at her warningly.

She carefully balanced the hammock out before setting the wolf inside and slipped in herself. She wrapped the blankets around herself and hooked the bug screen securely. Inside the hammock, she could hear the wolf breathe in and out. Frankly, she was surprised he hadn't flipped out at the sudden confinement. Another thing added to the ever heaping mystery about the wolf. Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her fingers in his thick fur and hugged him like a pillow.

Soon the wolf was asleep. It struck her that she had always called him "the wolf". True, she had tried calling him Grouchy, but it was rather apparent he disproved. As she ran her fingers through his fur, she remembered the way he had glared. She remembered the way he had smirked at her antics. The way his fur, though slightly matted, was jet-black and thick. The way those onyx eyes observed her. The cool, aloof demeanor that vanished when he was irritated. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized who the wolf resembled...Sasuke. It was such a coincidence, she thought. Maybe instead of bringing her Sasuke (which was near impossible, anyway she thought wistfully) her wish had brought this injured wolf that reminded her of him in so many ways. She smiled softly. Ino was right. Maybe wishes do come true.

With that thought in her head, she blissfully drifted into sleep, her form snuggling against the slumbering wolf.

Hey, those who've read the profile, this is Misty here. Yes, she's actually posting stories now. P.S. this is a joint account. -hint hint-

ANYWAY, you can expect an update around...a month. No, I'm not kidding. It actually might be longer then that DX I'm too lazy for my own good.

Hope you like the story, if not, bummer for you. Deal with it. I only proofread this once...(while fixing numerous errors) so there might be some confusion or minor/major errors. If you come across any of them, PLEASE notify me and I will fix it ASAP. THX!

Click the button that says "Review for this story".

Yes. Click it. Reviews motivate me. =D so if you're lucky and i'm motivated enough...you might get an earlier update ;)