Title: Purposeful

Rating: T (pg;13)

Author: lil kagome

Date of Creation: April 6, 2007

Dedication: This is dedicated to the one boy I owe my heart to.

Disclaimer: I claim nothing other but the plot, everything else go ahead and take credit for.

Contrary to popular belief, Sasuke always had his ways of showing just how much he cared. Once you take a boy from his home, have him kill his brother, and watch the fall of his clan, I'm sure you'd know just what of an effect it would have on a child. Impressionable as they are, they sometimes don't recall how to show emotion. Though once they affirm their completion of their goal, all they need is a purpose… Let me live for a purpose…

"Sasuke Uchiha when I catch you, you better hope I have mercy!" Sakura cried as she sped to the training grounds. She'd been running for nearly ten minutes now and sadly to no avail. You see it all started with a simple flirtatious gesture. Too bad it couldn't just stay that.

Sakura stepped off her stoop, stretching her arms above her head as she reveled in the warm summer sun. She could feel the rush of air as Sasuke came to stand behind her. "Good morning Sasuke-kun." She chirped, though the subtle smile upon her lips was more than noticed by the prodigy.

"Hn." He pronounced the syllable with little more than a nod in her direction. This was their ritual, and as many of the villagers knew, you dare not interrupt it. "What's with the hair?" He asked, gesturing to the sloppy bun she'd placed it in through her hurry to get on her route to the training grounds.

"Just thought I'd try something new." She said and moved onward towards the training grounds. Too bad Sasuke was just too fast for her to detect. He'd snapped the tie in her hair, causing her curling tresses to fall down her back in a short mass of pink. He was off the next moment, leaving her to seethe in her anger.

She found herself standing in front of the Uchiha, an angered fist raised in his direction as he smirked back at her. "Sasuke-kun, I swear I'm going to show you how to treat a girl!" She couldn't have thought of anything much stupider to say, she smacked her forehead in frustration as he stepped toward her, his hand tugging at the lone strand of hair that hung in her face.

She didn't move, didn't turn away as he took her hands from her face, looking into her emerald eyes in contemplation. He moved forward more, and she could almost feel herself back away, her eyes drawing down to his lips as he moved his hands to pillow the back of her head as he kissed her. She couldn't breath and for a brief moment she was sure she was going to die. He let go in the next moment, leaving her gasping for air and release.

"Sakura if only you knew how well trained I was in that subject." He smirked as he walked away to lean against the birch wood tree just beyond the massive poles in the center of the clearing. Sakura was angry and turned her face so that she didn't have to watch the infuriating Uchiha. So what if he had went farther with a girl than she could even imagine with him. She shook her head. Wasn't that the wrong way to put it? She couldn't stop the jealousy building within her as she thought of just how many girls he'd most likely met upon his leave. They would've gladly thrown themselves at his feet she could only guess, and for one brief moment she thought of just how unlikely It would be for her to be his choice.

She placed her palm on her chest as she thought of all the time she'd spent as a child pining after him with empty persistence. Her love had grown along with her, but was he even interested? Was he just looking for a roll in the bed sheets, or was he searching for something more. Was he vying for her heart, or was he lusting for her body? She couldn't figure on either one, and just as she thought of this her head lowered to look at her feet. She couldn't explain the misery in which she put into such thoughts. She could heal massive wounds, she could lessen bodily pain, and she could even guide the comatose back to awareness, but she could not sooth this aching in her heart. She felt herself withdraw, her body becoming stiff as she could feel his wary eye examine her alert behavior.

"Sakura?" He asked as she stepped away.

"Sasuke-kun… what is it you want? One moment I think I know, and the next I feel like I don't even know who you are… What am I to you?" She asked, turning to him to see his jaw slacken and his pointer finger twirling a kunai.

"You're annoying," He said, a slight smirk coming to play upon his features as she stared at him in mortification. "Though I can't help but feel a bond to you. You are a friend, and possibly the promise of an heir to the Uchiha name."

So he'd said it, and she didn't feel any better. Sure he'd named her as a friend, but he'd also referred to her as the housing of an heir. Is that what he was after? "I see." She whispered, making him look at her in frustrated apathy. She couldn't help but feel disappointed in her haste. She'd been so eager for him to admit his love to her, so looking forward to him atoning for all the time he'd spent running from her. She sighed and sat down on the ground, leaning back to search the clouds.

"Listen," Sasuke started, pocketing his kunai as he looked down at her from his spot directly above her before leaning over her to block out the sky. "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to apologize for leaving, do you want me to refuse my feelings? Do you want me to stop flirting? What is it that you want? Just inform me and it will make my job a whole lot easier." He said, his deep voice reverberating in her mind. Job? Is that what she was to him? Is that all he felt this was?

"Stop treating me like a chore! Damn it there's not a lot I ask from you, but honestly why do you feel it necessary to allude to me as a job that's too simple for you to waste your time on! I'm not a game! Is that what you think? You think you can string me along until I give in and let you use me for some duty you feel you have towards your clan? Am I just a tool?" By now there were tears threatening to spill forth from her eyes, and he stared down at her in agonizing crudity.

He sat down beside her, looking up to the sky before ascertaining anything she had commented on. "Sakura, you annoy me to no end." He started, placing his palm over her opened mouth as she tried to speak. "I wish I could say it was easy to feel things, or enlighten people on how I feel about them, but in all honesty it's not. I've been through so much, and I've even taken the life of my own brother. I've chosen my role, and I know that's a selfish thing for me to do, but Sakura I feel something for you more than I feel for any other girl I know. You're a handful, and often end up releasing your anger too quickly, but you're more than just a chore, I feel you've misinterpreted my feelings toward you as something akin to a charge, but the truth is you're the only woman I'd ever think of spending time with. As for me getting an heir to my name, how else do you think I'd give to the next generation? My only aspiration is to have a family and a home for my clan to reemerge." He paused and took his hand from her mouth as she looked at him in full concentration. "I want you to love me Sakura, and I want to do the same to you. Can you give me that at least?" She nodded and he smirked as he pulled her into his arms, his face muzzling into the crook of her neck.

Two Weeks Subsequent

Sakura lay comfortably next to Sasuke on his four poster bed, in his newly refurnished home. "Hey Sasuke." She said, her eyes meeting his as he looked down at her.

"Hn." He said, acknowledging her call to him.

"Just how much experience did you have before me?" She asked her eyes full of curiosity and envy. He smirked as he realized just what she was talking about.

"Only six." He whispered as her jaw dropped in utter horror.

"S-six?" She asked and looked down, her crestfallen expression clearly the breeding of disappointment.

"How many for you?" He asked, watching as she blushed a bright red before turning her head up to him.

"None." She answered, and he was finally able to understand her evasive behavior to his mere six. She was a virgin, oh how he was going to enjoy his honeymoon. Thought that was only a passing thought as he took her hand in his.

"It's better that way." He said and smirked as she jerked at the first touch of his lips to her finger. He laughed and leaned back into the pillows as she cuddled closer to him. "Will you marry me?" He asked out of the blue, his eyes searching the ceiling for a vision of anything but her face.

"Don't be so dense!" She cried, poking him in the side so that he'd look down at her. He saw his first glimpse of her smirk in that moment. "Of course I will."

OWARI