Protecting Her Smile

by animea-hime

Ironic in a way huh? She was supposed to be protected, so why was she rejecting when she had always welcomed it when she was younger? Sasusaku. Slightly AU. Rated K . Songfic Complete Oneshot

Me: Well, I believe it was about time I updated with some, and considering it is sorta Valentines in a way, I believe it is only right. Lol. This idea came to me for a while, I mean, ig you think about it, while people know Sakura has 'happy' family life and all, it is not really mentioned much through the story, and frankly, I think it indicates to something; as in; in team seven/Kakashi she's like the rest of them, no family or…not a proper family or something like that, lol, what the hell is going through my mind huh?

Sakura: God knows, this better be slightly good…

Sasuke: I agree:

Me: So means, remember, RxR, no flames, Happy Valentines and Happy Chinese new year )

xX--Xx

Title: Protecting Her Smile

Rating: K

Genre:Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

Series: Naruto

Main Characters:Sakura. Sasuke (slightly)

Pairings: Sasusaku, indications of ShikaIno and NejiTen

Song: D-technolife by UVERworld (Bleach second opening song)

Summary: She was meant to be the innocent little girl who everyone thought needed protection. She was the innocent little girl who had lived her whole life in a loving family and had yet to experience any physical or emotional pain of any extreme. She was supposed to be naïve. But what if there was more to her than a pretty face? What if her life behind closed doors had a dark side too, a dark side equivalent to her team mates? She They protected her, because, she needed to be protected, she was the wall flower that smiled day in and day out, she was in a way their light, and with out light all there is darkness and they can not see, so why is it that even while she is there that they are so blind? Sasusaku. Slightly AU. Rated K . Songfic

xX—Xx

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

Lyrics

(Translation of lyrics)

FLASH BACK…

xX--Xx

People always believed she was this weak little girl. That she always destined to be moving one step forward only to be brought twenty steps back. She had power, beauty and wisdom as she grew, yet despite all that, she seemed to have much more to trouble and vex her through her life. Everyone saw her as the burden that they all had to protect, the weak little kunoichi who couldn't defend her self, the weak little kunoichi despite her being the Godaime's apprentice and far surpassing one of the legendary Sannin at a young age. They all saw her as this innocent, emerald green eyed, pastel pink hair, wide-forehead youth who knew little of the problems of the world. But behind closed doors and near those deaf ears, this so called innocent little kunoichi in-training knew those horrors of the world.

ienai itami kanashimi de kizu tsuita kimi yo (Injured with pain and sadness, the you that cannot be healed)
kesenai kako mo seoi atte ikou ikiru koto wo nage dasanai de yo (Shoulder the burden of the past that cannot be erased; don't throw away your will to live)
tsunaida kimi no te wo (Your hand that I held...)

Of course, everyone still believed she knew nothing of this; she was just a love-sick school-girl who followed the former-missing-nin-Uchiha around like a lost puppy on a leash when they were in their younger days as genins and in people's minds, it seemed she still did, yet it wasn't her that was following him, it was the other way around. People still had this impression that she had to be with some one no matter where she went despite her being the almost head captain of the ANBU and surpassing the slug-princess with little effort more than a year or two ago. She had to be protected, no matter the cost, she was practically incapable of defending her self, it seemed the only one to understand that she did not require any guardian with her twenty-four-seven was her latest mentor; the said slug-princess her self.

itsuka ushinatte shimau no kana (Will we lose it someday?)
usurete iku egao to kimi wo mamoritai kara (I want to protect you and that disappearing smile)
hibiku boku wo yobu koe sae kare(The ringing voice that calls me dries out)
toki ni sou kaze ni kaki kesaretatte (Even if it gets erased by the wind along time)
kimi wo mitsuke dasu (I will find you)

It seemed the whole of Konoha was oblivious to what went in her house hold. They all thought she lived in a happy family, where her parents were just mere civilians, her mother said at home while her father worked tediously to being home a nice big paycheck for them to eat with for the next few weeks. They all thought she was the fortunate one when being placed in the team of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzamaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi. They would put her in her place, show her the big, scary world of a shinobi which would never been seen to a simple civilian girl such as her self. They could protect the girl who was pretending to be a kunoichi when she should just be a nice little house wife who cooked and cleaned after her family.

Maybe in a way, she was fortunate to have them as her beloved team mates, but then again they knew nothing of her at the same time that they knew her like the back of their hand. They did not know the workings of her household, they did not know how her family was like and they did not know anythingtrue about her.

Everything she showed to open doors and listening ears was almost as fake as the smiles she gave to everyone. The possible family she had once or twice talked about with her friends and team mates was not the happy and caring family everyone had perceived to be. Her mother was un-existent by the time she was roughly five and had been replaced by a mother-like figure that, by force was to call her the term her birth mother deserved. She had no relation to the pink haired girl in any way, the only, some what relation was through her father, who had picked her out of millions of women in Konoha and married her. Her mother as she had been forced to call her was anything but a mother, she only wanted her father, she didn't want the added responsibility of the child he also had, ironically, he also did not want the burden of the 'ugly, wide-forehead, green-eyed, pink-haired monster' he had produced with his previous wife. In front of the world they were the happy family that the town thought were all genetically connected who cared for each other and helped each other at any time they needed.

ienai itami kanashimi de kizu tsuita kimi (Injured with pain and sadness, the you that cannot be healed)
mou waraenai nante hito kirai nante kotoba sou iwanai de (Don't say words like you can't smile or you hate people)
mienai mirai ni okoru koto subete ni imi ga aru kara (Everything that happens in the unseen future has a meaning)
ima wa sono mama de ii kitto kizukeru toki ga kuru daro (So stay like this, there'll come a time when you will realize)
sabikitta hito no you ni(Like a rusted person)

But behind closed doors, it was far from what they had displayed to the public once or twice. Behind closed doors she had forgotten the love of her mother, she had forgotten the love her father; she had forgotten what happiness felt like with her family. She stopped going to her father to show him the new jutsu she had learnt in the academy that day for praise, she had stopped trying to win the approval of her father for being a kunoichi, which he was dead-set against, she had stopped at all causes to go to her parents for anything. She was scared of her parents who were supposed to protect and love her like Ino-chan's parents. She was frightened of her parents who made Hyuuga-chan's father look like the nicest person in the world. She was even envious of Uzamaki-kun's and Tenten-chan's non-existent parents over the ones she had; at least they were safe from the parents she had.

The one day she had heard something as she was walking past the head-quarters of the ANBU which one of her classmates parents were in charge of.

kasanari au dake ga munashikute (It felt so hollow to just pile atop one another)
hitori de ikite ikerutte iteta (You said you could live on your own)
arifureta yasashisa kotoba ja(Just with the usual kind words)
ima wa mou todokanai hodo ni kimi wa uzukidasu yo (You ache to a point where I cannot reach you)

tsunai da kimi no te wa yo
nanigenai yasashisa wo motome (Your hand that I held searched for some simple kindness)
Do you remember (DO YOU REMEMBER? )
itami wo shiru koto de hito ni yasashiku nareru kara(By learning pain, you can become a person who can be kind to others)
Drive your Life (DRIVE YOUR LIFE)

FLASH BACK…

She watched as Uchiha-kun and his older brother talked in front the said ANBU station. Uchiha-kun, he was bruised slightly, probably from training, and was being carried piggy-back style by his older brother. Oh, how she wished for some one who would be that nice to her. Listening slightly into their conversation, her eyes widened.

"Nii-san?"

"Hn?"

"I always wondered this but why is the family crest on this building? Otou-san works here ne?"

"Aa, Otou-san founded the ANBU squad force and brought from the ground up, it's only natural that our clan crest is on it"

"Aa, ano, what does Otou-san do any way?"

"Protect Konoha so everyone can live peacefully, this building is mainly for civilian cases, the Sandaime is responsible for more international cases"

"Really? Sugoi na!"

"Aa, no matter who the person is, he will protect them"

"Aa, really? I want to be just like Otou-san"

Without realizing she had been inching closer and closer to the two Uchiha brothers, listening in on their conversation until she was almost viewable to both of them. Suddenly it seemed she had tripped on her own two feet and fell flat on her face revealing her location to the two brothers. Yelping in pain, the pink haired youth squeaked when she realized they were staring at her.

"Oh, it's you!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Do you know her?"

"Aa, she's in my class, Haruno Sakura" Sasuke explained.

"What are you doing here Haruno-chan?" his brother asked.

"I-I-I-" the girl stammered, refusing to look into the eye of the older Uchiha. Indicating to his brother he wanted to be put down, Itachi nodded and placed him slowly on the ground and asked him if this pink haired girl was always like this.

"Hai, she doesn't talk much in class, Hyuuga-chan is much more louder than her. She's not that good in school either except for theory stuff" Sasuke explained "Ne, Haruno-chan, where are you're parents?"

"T-th-th-they-"

"Ne, Haruno-chan, speak up! I won't hurt you!" Sasuke insisted.

"…" Sakura frowned nervously as she kept backing away from the young Uchiha.

"I promise, I won't hurt you, I just want to know where your parents are!" Sasuke frowned as he watched the small girl squeak in surprise when she bumped into Itachi's legs; who looked down at her questioningly.

"G-g-g-g-g-g-g-gomen ne" Sakura bowed nervously.

"It's okay"

"So, Haruno-chan, where are your parents?"

"T-t-t-they…I don't know" Sakura wailed quietly.

"You're lost?" his brother questioned as he bent down to her level.

"I-I-" the girl squeaked.

"Would Otou-san know?" Sasuke asked.

"Probably"

"Then can we go ask?"

"May as well" his brother shrugged.

"Ne, Haruno-chan, let's go see Otou-san, he'll know where your parents are! Come on!" Sasuke encouraged as he pulled the girl's hand and guided her to the Uchiha residence. Behind the frightened girl and exuberant younger Uchiha was his older brother who followed quietly, with a raised eye brow at his younger brother's odd behaviour. Keeping a close eye on the two so they did not disappear without a trace before his eyes, Itachi remained a small distance away from the pair as he watched Sasuke try to talk to the shy pink haired girl, all the while wondering why he had not seen the girl before, considering she did have pink hair and wouldn't be hard to miss.

xX--Xx

"Otou-san!" the little Uchiha called out. With her heart beating at more than a million beats a second, the pink haired jumped in surprise when Sasuke suddenly began calling for his father and even more so when a black haired woman and dark brown haired man appeared from the corner to their right in the slightly dark Japanese styled house hold.

"Don't yell Sasuke!" his (presumed) father growled.

"Sasuke-chan, you know not to call out" his (presumed) mother frowned as she turned the corner before realizing that Sasuke had brought (dragged) something (one) home "Ano ne, who is this?" his mother asked.

"Okaa-san, she was lost" Sasuke frowned.

"Are you sure, it looks like you just dragged her here for the sake of it" his father questioned, obviously annoyed.

"Hai, Otou-san, she said she didn't know where her parents were" Sasuke explained.

"Really?" his father asked, looking at Itachi who was behind the pair and nodded to the question.

"I see" his father nodded, seemingly going into a thinking-mode.

"Ne, what's your name little girl?" his mother asked as she bent down to look at her and smiled. Jumping back in surprise, she hid behind Sasuke obviously scared.

"Her name is Haruno Sakura, she's in my class" Sasuke explained.

"Really?" his mother asked looking at the pink haired girl who nodded meekly.

"You're Haruno's girl?" his father asked, who also bent down to look at the girl who went further behind Sasuke, very scared of the Uchiha man.

"Ne, you don't have to be scared" his mother smiled "I didn't know Haruno-kun had a daughter"

"I didn't think he had one yet, he just got married two years ago" his father added watching the girl look all over the place obviously confused to where she was "hey" he called out, getting the attention of the young girl.

"H-hai!" she squeaked, jumping in surprise and turned her attention to the older man.

"I'm not that scary am I?" his father frowned jokingly.

"…t-th-th-that…umm…ano"

"I promise you little one, he's not that scary" his mother reassured "He protects people" she grinned.

"Well, I know where you should be living, I'll take you there, if you ever get lost, find Sasuke and he'll bring you to me okay?"

"…"

"Ne, Haruno-chan, daijobou! I'll protect you ne? I promise!"

"H-hai" she nodded quietly before she was guided out of the Uchiha district with Sasuke next to her all the way, while behind them was his brother and mother looking oddly at the couple before smiling slightly.

…END FLASH BACK

Maybe this was the reason to why she followed the Uchiha every where, sure a little part of it may have been love or something atoned to it, but she followed him to avoid getting hurt. If she was out of the house longer than she needed to be, it seemed all the more better for her; even if that meant faking her tears over and over again so she could go to the Uchiha's residence in the claim that she was lost and couldn't find her oh so loving parents at least once a week. After the Uchiha massacre, she couldn't resort to saying she was lost or anything because aside the fact she was twelve now and she clearly knew the way around the town by heart and couldn't possibly get lost, the youngest Uchiha had started to break that promise he made with her and stopped even bothering with her, becoming focused on killing his only brother. So with the cry-I-got-lost-and-hope-they-buy-it plan unable to work, she resorted to plan B, which ironically was more appropriate with her older age. She grew a small (slightly non-existent) backbone (which was slightly the fault of that damned (in Sasuke's opinion) Yamanaka) and began to ask the young Uchiha out on 'dates'. Of course she was rejected constantly, but it wasn't the rejection which hurt her the most, it was the fact that she would have no excuse to avoid the place she called home.

Watching the Uchiha leave to go to take the proposition of the snake Sannin was like watching her heart break before her. Without him around, it was like; there would be no reason for any one to save her. She could feel the pain she would go through as she watched him leave. She didn't want him to leave because she loved him that was the excuse; she wanted him to be there so she would be protected. So some one would be there to save her when need be. She called on him because he was the one who made the promise, not the other way around. When he returned she felt relief wash through her. But she also felt two other things. One akin to anger, the other a feeling she had practically forgotten what it actually felt like. But instead of saying anything and show that she was happy he returned, she glared at him fiercely and left everyone who was there to welcome the Uchiha home, dumbfounded, especially the said Uchiha. After countless missions with the said Uchiha, she had practically forgiven him, but still refused to talk to him unless necessary. He protected her again, when she didn't even need it again. She was perfectly capable of protecting her self when ever she felt like it, unfortunately, no one understood that fact and so while still on top-secret ANBU missions, they still protected her and refused to allow her to fight and when she did, there would be a scolding at her later, it was practically guaranteed, a must.

ienai itami kanashimi de kizu tsuita kimi (Injured with pain and sadness, the you that cannot be healed)
mou waraenai nante hito kirai nante kotoba sou iwanai de (Don't say words like you can't smile or you hate people)
mienai mirai ni okoru koto subete ni imi ga aru kara(Everything that happens in the unseen future has a meaning)
ima wa sono mama de ii kitto kizukeru toki ga kuru daro (So stay like this, there'll come a time when you will realize)

When she had her first solo mission after the Uchiha had returned, her team mates, along with the rest of Konoha had been refusing to allow her to accept the mission (oddly enough, for one reason or another Gaara was also refusing to allow this) were dead-set against her even being an ANBU. They were at least willing to compromise if her whole team came with her, which some how or another included the entire of the Konoha twelve, as well as Sai and Yamato, how they were involved was beyond her, but in the end she refused the mission since it ended up getting far too annoying for her own good. It was rather ironic that people had half the mind to ignore that she had grown a lot stronger of the years and was more than capable of protecting anyone she felt like as well as her self and refused believe she was strong enough to do any ANBU mission of the like but accepted and knew that if they got in her way, they could end up flying for many miles.

In the end, she had secretly accepted the mission without the knowledge of anyone in the town, much to the relief of the Hokage and snuck out of the town before anyone knew she was gone and was more than half way to her destination four or five hours after she had left Konoha. Ironically in the end, she did nothing as one way or another, theentire of the Konoha twelve plus their teachers, Sai and Yamato had arrived before she even got to lay an atom on the enemy and put the said enemy (a total number of one person) out of commission for a long, long, long time before yelling at her for accepting the mission and going through with it without tellingany of them. It was at this point, Sakura had snapped.

"I AM AND WAS PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF DEFEATING THE ENEMY AND COMPLETING THE MISSION WITH EASE!!!! SO WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS HERE?! I DON'T NEED TO BE PROTECTED DAMN IT!!!!!!" she had shouted at them angrily before storming out of the abandoned building where the enemy was hiding and disappeared without a trace for about five minutes before they recollected again with the pink haired ANBU op on the Uchiha's shoulder and went back to Konoha.

How can I see the meaning of life (HOW CAN I SEE THE MEANING OF LIFE? )
kieteku(Disappearing... )
you're the only. . . (YOU ARE THE ONLY... )

When she had decided that she was running out of medical herbs and needed to collect some which were just outside the Konoha boarder, she was five minutes out of the town (with her ninja gear ready just in case) before the whole group from her first ANBU solo mission had appeared and interrogated her to no end until they learnt she was just going to pick some herbs, and decided that they would accompany her (merely out of the belief that some rogue ninja would most likely attack her) and in the end, she got no herbs and ended up treating every single one of them for a poison ivy poisoning.

Even after she had proved her worth by holding off Sasori all those years back and actually killing an S-class and very dangerous criminal, people refused to accept it. They believed it was the old lady who had killed her grandson, despite the fact that damage of the battle ground was clearly of the pink haired girl's doing. They refused to believe sweet, innocent little Haruno Sakura with adorable green eyes and cutely cut pink hair could do anything to that extent, they refused to believe it.

Then there was this one occasion when a new male trainee for the hospital had asked the Haruno girl for some help and directions while working in the hospital. Despite telling her self it was all coincidence (she didn't believe it her self) her team mates, Naruto and Sasuke had been there when she was talking to the innocent slightly-taller-than-her trainee and both had burst into flames and Rasengan-ed and Chidori-ed the more guy's ass right out of the hospital, leaving a lovely sky light for the ground level (there had to be at least four or five levels to this hospital above ground) of the hospital for at least four months; claiming that he kept staring at her chest and was undressing her with his eyes (despite her wearing a simply black turtle neck short sleeved shirt and very baggy grey cargo pants with her usual white medical/lab coat over the top which was very baggy for her) None-the-less, after that incident, the hospital learnt that all new male trainees were to be handled by Tsunade or Shizune as apposed to Sakura and if they were handled by Sakura, her team mates and any one else would be refused entry no matter the cost and that male trainee that had his ass thrown far, far away was never heard of again in Konoha.

Soon after, while she was walking home from a late shift at the hospital on her lonesome, Sakura had more than enough reasons to suspect that to her left was Naruto hiding in the bushes, Sasuke to her right in that tree, Tenten and Neji almost completely right behind her, Shikamaru and Ino were in front of her, while Team eight had placed them selves diagonally opposite of Chouji and Lee and Kakashi and Yamato where diagonally opposite each other. Sighing in distaste, Sakura frowned for a moment before she continued her way home. It was one step after the last when she was suddenly bombarded by the people spying on her.

"Why did you sigh, Sakura-chan? Are you tired?" Naruto asked concerned.

"Do you want me to carry your bags for you?" Ino asked.

"Do you want a lift home?" Sasuke asked.

"You aren't sick are you?" Kiba asked.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kakashi asked.

"No one harassed you at work right?" Neji asked.

"Did you get hurt-"

"SHUT UP!" Sakura growled glaring at the people surrounding her "GET IT THROUGH YOU THICK SKULLS THAT I DON'T NEED TO BE PROTECTED 24-7!!!! I AM A KONOHA KUNOICHI AND COULD PUNCH THE LIGHTS OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND RE-HEAL YOU TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN IN LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS FLAT, SO LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!!!! AND AS TO WHY I SIGHED, I SIGHED BECAUSE I COULD PRACTICALLY SEE YOUR CHAKRA SIGNATURES SURROUNDING ME!!! STOP FOLLOWING ME OR I WILL GET A RESTRAINING ORDER!!!" she shouted.

"Calm down Sakura-chan, you just need a good night's sleep and-"

BAM!!!! It was at this moment that every single person who was surrounding her was sent far away by her fist and she went storming to the Hokage Tower where Tsunade was most like drunk with a pile of papers to sign in front of her.

"Tsunade-sama I demand a restraining order from the Konoha twelve as well as every person who has been stalking me since the beginning of time!" Sakura boomed as she entered the Hokage office with a slam to the drunken woman's desk, which is where she was as Sakura predicted.

kowarenai you ni to hanarete iku kimi (So you will not break, you distance yourself from me)
mou waraenai nante hito kirai nante kotoba sou iwanai de (Don't say words like you can't smile or you hate people)
ima wa by and by mie nakuttatte subete ni imi ga aru kara (Now it's BY AND BY, even if you cannot see, there's a meaning to everything)
kesenai kako mo seoi attekou ikiru koto wo nagedasanai de (Shoulder the burden of the past that cannot be erased; don't throw away your will to live)

"Huh-whu?" Tsunade snorted as she was awoken from her sleep.

"I DEMAND a restraining order on the Konoha twelve and every single person who has been stalking me since Kami knows when!" Sakura repeated, shoving a list in the Hokage's face, obviously a list of people who had been stalking her.

"Why?" Tsunade yawned, not even aware of what was going on at the time.

"Don't ask why! I have even written up the restraining order, all you have to do is sign the damn thing at the bottom that you authorize it!" Sakura growled, showing her another piece of paper which had all the legal bits and pieces and what ever else clearly written out on the paper with a blank space which was obviously for Tsunade's signature.

"What's in it for me?" Tsunade questioned.

"Free sake from me for two whole months" Sakura seethed.

"Five months plus you do my paper work for six months!" Tsunade bargained.

"Fine, just sign it!" Sakura growled. Nodding in agreement, Tsunade signed it and was left with a bag of bottle of sake at her feet before Sakura left content (and with six stacks of paper in her grasp)

Surprise, surprise, the restraining order did not work, so there was a new plan going under way which lead Sakura to her current predicament. Here she was in the middle of the Country of Lightning with Uchiha Itachi and Kisame by her sides running from the Konoha twelve who had believed she had been kidnapped and taken against her will while it was the exact opposite. She had every intention of becoming a missing-nin if it meant avoiding people who thought of her as some one who needed to be protected constantly.

xX--Xx

Now, five years after her departure from the Leaf, the pink haired princess returned to her home wearing an Akatsuki cloak and attire, customized to her own body with little intention of stopping by to say 'hi' to any one who she came across. As she stepped on foot into Leaf, she was stopped by an onslaught of ANBU officers who held their kunai at her neck.

"So you actually returned now have you?" a voice questioned. Looking up, she was non-too-surprised to see the younger Uchiha.

"Sasuke" she grunted.

"Are you here for forgiveness?" he asked.

"No, I'm here for the Hokage's head" she replied, knowing full well that it was now Naruto who was in charge of Konoha now.

"Oh really?" he asked.

"Why else would I return, it's about time we caught the Kyubi" she mused "I already caught five other tailed-beasts in the past few years"

"I highly doubt you could" Sasuke mused.

"Oh?" Sakura questioned, raising an eyebrow before smirking "Unfortunately, you have no idea of my abilities, in fact, no one had any idea of my abilities aside Tsunade-sama; every one seemed to turn a blind eye to me"

"No, you were the one with the blind eyes" Sasuke insisted.

"Well, then, when you or the entirety of this town is able to move again, then prove it to me" Sakura smirked as she effortlessly moved away from the people who tried to hold her down without even pushing them away. Struggling to move, Sasuke gasped in surprise when he realized he couldn't even move a finger.

"What have you done?!" Sasuke roared.

"Oh, just a little paralyzing jutsu that I made those five years ago, perhaps I should have just used this then" Sakura sneered "But then again, you were, supposed to be at the time, my nakama"

"We still are; you were corrupted by Itachi to turn against us!" Sasuke believed.

"That Uchiha is where you are severely wrong. It was of my own will to leave Konoha, and it was you as well as the Konoha twelve who brought me to such an extreme, if you had let me be a normal kunoichi, I don't believe the restraining order or anything else would have been necessary" Sakura stated before walking passed him.

xX--Xx

"Hello Naruto" Sakura smirked as she entered the all too familiar Hokage Office.

"S-Sakura-chan, you're alive!" he exclaimed, while still frozen to his chair.

"So I see you're still frozen in your place too, excellent, this will make it all the more easier" Sakura smirked "And, of course I'm alive!"

"Have you come to your senses? Did you break out of Itachi's trance?!" Naruto asked relieved.

"No, actually, I'm far from it. I was never in a trance, it was all in my own mind, now hold still" Sakura smirked as she performed an unknown jutsu. Suddenly Naruto felt the life being sucked out of him.

"W-what are you d-doing Sakura-chan?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Just hold still, this will only hurt for a second and you will still be alive after this" Sakura promised.

It seemed just as she promised, the pain was there for almost a second, maybe five, before it was gone and he felt like he had something missing in him. Looking towards the pink haired Akatsuki member, Naruto suddenly went wide-eyed. There in the palm of her hand was a small, glowing red sphere; some how he knew it was the Kyubi spirit she was holding in her bare palm. Bringing out what seemed like a small cylindrical container, she placed the small ball in the container before sealing it shut and it disappeared from sight.

"That…that is…"

"Correct, the Kyubi which you had and now is mine" Sakura grinned evilly.

"Then how come I'm still alive?! How come it only took a few seconds?!" Naruto shouted.

"My dear, it seemed like a few seconds, but I have developed a jutsu to prolong time, it did in fact take about two days to complete and to why you are alive, so you can watch the demise of Konoha" Sakura smirked.

"W-what?! Now?" Naruto exclaimed in fear.

"Oh, of course not, I have more things to be doing right now" Sakura stated "I just came to do a task that should have been done oh so long ago, but I want you to watch, watch as everything you knew will shatter into a million pieces and survive, I want you and every one else to watch as the girl you protected your entire life destroys everything in your lives" Sakura sneered before turning to the door.

"M-matte, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. She stopped on call.

"By the way, I want you to remember this, the new leader of the Akatsuki, the person's name is Haruno Sakura" Sakura smirked before disappearing from sight.

xX--Xx

"I see you're still stiff Uchiha" Sakura smirked.

"Sakura!" Sasuke growled.

"Don't fear, I have yet to kill your beloved best friend, but I do have his demon; ja ne" Sakura waved as she disappeared with the wind.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled as he stepped forward. It was when he stepped that he realized he could move and began to run out of the gates of Konoha in hopes that he could stop her only to have that hope shattered in seconds.

'Damn it Sakura! I love you!' Sasuke cursed inwardly 'Why do you think I protected you for so long? I wanted to see you smile no matter what!'

You'd better forget everything. Remember. . . your different Life? (YOU'D BETTER FORGET EVERYTHING. REMEMBER YOUR DIFFERENT LIFE? )

xX--Xx

"Haruno Sakura you hereby under the order the Rokudaime of Konoha are to be caught and brought back to Konoha for proper sentencing" the ANBU officer announced.

"Sasuke, you can drop the act" Sakura smiled carelessly, not at all affected that she would be brought back to Konoha and if it went by the public vote, be killed.

"Sakura, please, return, I want you back" Sasuke pleaded.

"I will return on the condition people stop babying me, other wise I shall remain as I am, I have the freedom of what life offers which I did not have in Konoha, I do not, did not need to be protected" Sakura frowned.

"Sakura I only protected you so I could see your smile every day, and that's the same for everyone else, they all love you" Sasuke said quietly "And I love you too"

"If you truly want to see me smile then stop protecting me, I don't enjoy not being allowed to do nothing" Sakura replied.

"But-"

"There are no buts, I am a kunoichi, I can protect my self, it is more than clear after these past ten years" Sakura said "I did not have a choice when I did this, I went to all length to prove to you guys I was capable of protecting and defending my self, but you were always blind, this was the most extreme I had to resort to" Sakura stated.

"I can not guarantee I won't protect you, as it would be my duty as your husband" Sasuke smirked slightly.

"Then I can't-" Sakura gaped for a moment as what he had said registered before looking at him oddly.

"Well?" Sasuke questioned.

"Even if I were to be your wife, there is no guarantee that I would be allowed to live after all these years of being a missing-nin" Sakura replied.

"The dobe won't kill you, neither will the public of Konoha, they want their cherry blossom back" Sasuke stated.

"…" Sakura looked rather surprised for a moment "…Fine" Sakura murmured begrudgingly.

You'd better forget everything. Remember. . . modoranai kedo (YOU'D BETTER FORGET EVERYTHING. REMEMBER...though, we cannot return)

xX--Xx

"Sakura-chan! I am so relieved! I will never let you out of my sight ever again!" Ino cried as she latched onto the girl.

"Yamanaka, let go of her before she leaves again and I go get a restraining order from you ever seeing my fiancé!" Sasuke glared. It took about five seconds before the whole of Konoha twelve, their sensei and other teachers of theirs plus Sai and Yamato registered what Sasuke had said.

"CONGRADULATIONS TEME!!!" Naruto cheered, patting his best friend on the back.

"It's about time too" Tsunade whispered to her self.

hizunda kioku no you na toki no naka de itsuka wakari aeru kara (Like in times of warped memories, we can understand someday! )

xX--Xx

Me: Remember to RxR, and I hope you liked it. Sorry it's not the best and actually has no point it's really just part of my own musings –sweatdrops-

Sakura: I'm just going to add this for the sake of it, but please try to remember more than likely if you do play the (in full length) song it will probably end before you even finish reading it (I think)

Sasuke: this is a very odd fanfiction, I don't think I can ever think of Sakura like this…

Sakura: Is that a good thing?

Sasuke: Yes, I like protecting you…

Sakura: -blushes-

Sasuke: It gives me something to do, besides…

Me: You want to…screw her brains out :P