Disclaimer: Nope, not the rightful owner of Naruto...sure wish!!!


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Crimson Winds

----butIdoLOVEyoU----

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!!!!...The Same...!!!!

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Not beta proofed yet. Sorry for any mistakes.


The corridors seemed endless; it was like a maze, a never ending maze. The intricate patterns on the floor never seized to create a new one, the doors blended in with everything around. The path slit to open for a new one, but everything still remained the same.

The same darkness, the same number of lit candles spread apart with the same number of distance, everything resembling each other. Even the same echo resounded through out the hide out.

At least we're here.

She took a right while he took a left, neither confused about their mission or purpose as a team.

Bring back Sasuke. Get him back.

Make him love me.

She had decided, all on her own, that if as a team they couldn't bring him back, then as the woman she wanted him to count on she would. She had thought up to the most extreme measurements and she was willing to take them. Anything to bring back Sasuke, to have him with me, to make things go back to normal; to the life we could have continued sharing.

She was still the desperate young girl who chased after Sasuke. But to her this wasn't chasing after a fleeting dream, it was chasing after the man she loved.

She was still the desperate young girl who chased after Sasuke, but now she reeked of power, of determination. She had grown to value her self, to feel comfortable with the person she was. She had grown as a ninja...as a human. But even with all the growth she underwent for three years, she still retained the same heart, the same mentality when it came to Sasuke.

She still wanted him, she still cared for him...loved him. She still worried over him, cried and reminisced about him. She still held him dear to her heart, feared for him...

The only difference was her appearance, her womanly appeal. Her fighting style had changed, but one couldn't tell at first glance...the aura around her was enough to confirm that she wasn't your average girl though. She was only a combination of her younger self, with the still developing Sakura. She had ways to go before she was classified as an experienced girl, as an experienced fighter.

Emerald eyes turned to the sound of the explosion, fear consuming her interior.

Azure eyes followed to the path of the explosion.

A body rose from the shattered walls, from the engulfing plaster which created a crater.

It had taken her under a minute to reach her destination while it took him a few more seconds.

A tall figure stood at the edge of the crater, dark onyx eyes staring at the young girl he had protected countless times.

Green shocked eyes turned to the sound of her name, his voice saying her name. Her lips moved at their own accords with the registry of who it was.

Sasuke

It felt like an eternity for the few seconds he looked at her, the few seconds he used to in script her appearance. It was all taken away as soon as Naruto entered the scene, and his eyes shifted to look at all of them instead of her, as his eyes stopped regarding her with the intensity they watched her a few seconds prior.

She wanted to laugh, cry...run to him. She wanted to hold him in her arms and ensure that he would never leave her warm embrace. She wanted to yell at him...kiss him, but she felt immobile, she felt like the same girl she used to be in Sasuke's presence. She felt like the girl she hadn't been since Sasuke left.

When his sword cut through Naruto's back and both their bodies fell limp onto the ground she was brought out of her stupor. She rushed to them, her partner by her side helping her with Naruto. She prevented his fall, thus making her fall on her bottom with Sasuke on top of her.

He felt heavy, but alive.

She laid him on the ground, crawling over to Naruto who laid face down in Sai's arms.

"Take out the sword," she herd him say and she deftly took it out, watching how his blood dried on the material of his jacket and his wound healed on its own. She checked his vitals and noted that he was still alive and unconscious. She then crawled over too Sasuke, noticing that he too lay unconscious.

She took him into her arms, his body leaning against hers. She hugged him, delighting in the feel of him, his head resting on her shoulder as she took in his appearance. Her fingers brushed strands of black, moving down to outline his eyebrow and then slid down the smoothness of his cheek. Her fingers traced over his bottom lip.

"Do you think they'll be alright?"

She was in the process of bending down to kiss him.

"Yes," she answered, her green orbs never wavering from Sasuke's face.

"How come he feel unconscious too?" She heard him ask in reference to Sasuke.

She shrugged, not knowing why he fell unconscious with Naruto. It wasn't of much concern to her though; he was safe...in her arms.

"Shouldn't we be on the go now that he's unconscious?"

"It won't matter. We won't cover much ground with the both of them. They'll wake up shortly." She assured him after looking over at Naruto.

-

It had taken a full three minutes before he was brought back to consciousness.

His senses were alert to the warmth engulfing him, to the feminine body hugging him to her. His blazing red eyes snapped open to stare at green orbs. In an instant he felt smooth lips on his, a wet substance sliding down his cheek.

She hasn't quit crying he thought vaguely as his lips moved against hers, unknowing to him loving the feel of her luscious lips on his own.

I missed you, she told him while nipping on his bottom lip. At the sound of her voice his reverberating mind was brought back to the present. He quit thinking back to the old days he shared with the girl beside him and pulled his lips away from her, attempting to regain his stoic composure she managed to crack with her presence...her lips.

I missed you so much, she then told him, burrowing her head into the juncture of his shoulder and neck when he sat up straight against her. Unconsciously one of her hands slid in between the space of his robe and in that instant a part of him wished that the scenario were different. That it were only him and Sakura, no one there to bother them.

He admitted, during his time away from her he had grown to appreciate her and long for her. At first it was indescribable, but as soon as his hormones started to take the lead role in his problems he realized that he lusted after her, that he wanted her, and that perhaps he did like her.

"Please come back to us."

Her breath at the nape of his neck sent chills down his system, causing his posture to go ridged in Sakura's embrace. But what affected him the most was the tone of her voice, the sweetness of it dripping with wanton and pleading. He hadn't heard that tone in her for almost three years.

When he felt her arms tighten around him and the hand on his chest slide lower did he finally utter a word. "Let go...Sakura." He growled out, desperately trying to hold on to the little sanity that was starting to slip away.

"No Sasuke, I don't want to, I won't ever."

Naruto and Sai watched as Sasuke stared unemotionally ahead of him, Naruto already acquaintance with the stoic face while Sai was beginning to familiarize with it.

-

She sounded like a child in his opinion, and in a way it gave him the satisfaction that his theory of Sakura was proven correct. During his stay at the base he had time to think of the people he left behind...of Sakura. If anything he knew her annoying ways wouldn't change.

Three years and this wasn't the way he had expected to encounter them, to be around them. He didn't expect to sit stiff in Sakura's arm. His body affected with her presence, her warmth and lips. The minimum touches making his blood boil. It was all unnoticeable to them though, he was the only one who knew how much his ex-teammate affected him.

In a blinding instant he was at the edge of the crater again, staring down at the new comers. His gaze caught how Sakura slouched forward, tears streaming down her cheeks as her body rattled with silent cries.

"Sasuke..." He heard Naruto yell from below. "Haven't you hurt her enough?"

"No," he answered his eyes flickering over her bent position on the ground. "She's the one seeking to get hurt."

"Damit Sasuke!"

Sasuke sensed the spike in chakra and in that moment he looked at the unfamiliar face. Uncertain eyes looked back at him. "Sai," he said after a long silence, Naruto's panting with rage the only thing audible.

"Come back to us..." he heard Sakura whisper again.

"You are just wasting your time."

"How could we!" Naruto shouted, his angry gaze pointed at Sasuke.

"I'm not going back..."

"Then we'll force you!" Naruto interrupted him.

"Hn...you can try, but it won't work."

"It will work, trust me! We'll bring you back and we'll do everything we can."

"Just turn back to where you come from before you cause any more damage?"

'Damage?' Sakura questioned in her head. "More than you've created?"

Sasuke was thrown of balance with that question, but he didn't show. He listened as Sakura continued speaking. "We're your friends Sasuke. We care about you...we miss you." She choked out.

"I see you're still the same..."

"I love you Sasuke...doesn't that mean anything to you?" She asked her face turning to look up at him. Her tear stricken face looking at him with immense sadness. It was like a jab at his heart looking at her in such ways.

She didn't allow him to respond. "Why can't you let go of your pride long enough to greet us like you really want too."

"And how's that?"

-

Sasuke was shocked, she moved with the same amount of grace and speed it took him to get to Naruto earlier. Not only that, but she dare stand before him and kiss him...again.

He didn't want to succumb to the kiss, he couldn't...it would only endanger them. But he had no choice. Sakura kissed him with all the passion she could muster for him, with all the longing of three years. And again, he responded to her kiss without much thought, his lips moving smoothly against hers.

Sai watched in amusement while Naruto remained unmoved with the situation. Either he had been anticipating something like this or it was already common for him.

Her heart thumped in her chest when Sasuke responded to the kiss. It had surprise everyone when he pulled her to him possessively, hugging her as he too ravished her lips.

-

An explosion went of in the distance and in that moment they were all reminded of their purpose.

Team 7 had a rescue mission while Sasuke had to destroy all enemies to Otogakure.

"You must go," he told her pulling back, his eyes closed.

"No Sasuke. I want you back..."

"I won't hesitate to kill," he informed her when she hugged him closer.

"E-even me?" She asked stepping back to look at his blank face.

"Sakura..."

"Please Sasuke; do you actually believe that Orochimaru is the key to destroying Itachi?"

"Sakura." Sasuke said more sternly.

"Can't you see...he's using you?"

"Sakura, you must leave." Sasuke told her pushing her away from him, his usual behavior returning.

"I won't!" She declared. "I'm not leaving without you."

Sasuke stared at her, he could sense her determination. For some odd reason it prided him that Sakura had learned to stand her ground, that she looked stronger then when he last saw her.

"Sasuke..." she steeped forward. "Haven't you missed me?" Sakura desperately wanted to know if Sasuke ever thought about her, she wanted to know if he really didn't harbor any feelings for her.

Sasuke remained still, his dark eyes looking into the depths of her pools of green.

"Sas..." Out of impulse he hugged her to him, surprising Sakura.

"Yes, I've missed you Sakura, but your not suppose to know that. Your not supposed to be affecting me this way...I shouldn't be acting like this. This shouldn't be happening." He told her in her ear, eyes closed as he breathed in her unique scent of strawberry.

Sakura wrapped her arms around him. "Were you planning to kill Naruto?" She weakly asked, pain flooding her with the thought of her loved one killing Naruto...her almost brother.

"That could never happen." He told her.

"So..."

"I wanted to fully know if the Kyuubi is really inside him."

"What if it weren't?"

"It was."

"Sasuke...please come back." She sobbed into his neck, resulting in him hugging her tighter.

"We've gone through this before." He sighed.

"Please Sasuke; you know this isn't the correct path. This isn't you."

"How would you know...I myself don't know who I am anymore?"

Her throat constricted. "Because...because..."

"You're living on false illusions." He told her ready to retreat from her embrace, but her strong hold not allowing him.

"Sasuke."

He moved back a little to look into her face. For some reason it pained him that she was crying, it pained him to see her this way...so desperate.

He looked down at the other two figures that looked at him and Sakura. "I suggest you go back to Konoha."

"No!" Sakura shouted her face looking at his stoic one.

"Sakura I meant what I said earlier."

"No Sasuke...no!" She continued to shout while burrowing her face in his chest, his arms lying limp after releasing her.

"The others will come and destroy all of you." And as if on cue another explosion went off and much closer.

"This is the last warning," he told Sai and Naruto activating his Sharinga.

"Sasuke."

"Go with them." Sasuke told her, lifting her face to look at him.

Her mouth formed to say his name, but it died on her lips when he bent to kiss her. It was a quick kiss, but a tender one.

"Go." He told her pushing her backwards and watching her fall into the air.

Out of instincts Sakura prevented a hurtful land by twisting in the air, landing poised on her feet, her determined face looking at Naruto.

Turning around she told him. "As a team we were given the mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha...traitor to the Hidden Leave Village." The way she said traitor stung them both.

"And at all cost." Naruto added moving forward.

Before they knew it they were surrounded by Sound members, weapons directed at them.

Sakura turned around and looking up at Sasuke she wiped the tears from her face. "I came to take you back Sasuke." She said once more, taking a defensive stance. The others readied themselves for any coming attacks.

Sasuke remained unfazed. "I'll give you one last chance. Go home." His eyes fixed on Sakura.

The Sound members were waiting on Sasuke's directions to attack.

Sakura smirked up at him. "Make me." In an instant she made hand signs and disappeared. Sasuke could sense her chakra but he couldn't pinpoint where she stood.

A body rolled down the step ground of the crater to lie where she once stood, a deep gash to his throat. "I won't leave." Her voice echo and two other bodies fell.

Sasuke watched how Naruto and the boy who introduced himself as Sai relaxed in their stance, a smirk on their lips.

'We're out numbered.' Sasuke finally concluded.

"Tell them to drop their weapons Sasuke." He heard Sakura command and it came much closer. The body next to him fell limp to the ground but Sakura wasn't there.

"What ever you've planned won't work." He drawled out in his smooth monotone voice.

"It's already working." Sakura breathed out.

"I can see through it." He informed her, not making a move to turn around and face her. He felt her hesitation, whether on moving forward or on his discovery.

"Then make it simple." She pleaded, wrapping her arms around him. The kunai she used still in her hand and some of the crimson blood stained his parted robe.

In an instant she lay on the ground Sasuke over her with the kunai she held in her hands pointed to her throat. "You're really selfish endangering so many lives for one person."

"Wouldn't you do the same?" She asked and Sasuke's grip on the kunai slacked.

"Please Sasuke." She pushed the kunai away and brought her face closer to his. "He's only using you."

"You're using these people for your selfishness."

"I love you," was her only response.

-

He knew the boy well and compared to the last retrieval mission he was hesitating. Sakura was getting to him and it was a wise idea for Hokage Tsunade to send her on this mission.

Sasuke fought head on when threaten, he wouldn't hesitate to risk any lives to ponder over such simple matters. He knew that the boy knew they were there. If necessary they wouldn't have to make an appearance, but if needed they were ready. He was stubborn and he gave him credits for that, but so was Sakura and we wouldn't be able to stand a chance when Naruto was added to the mix.

He'd never voiced it but he felt Sakura should have been there on the last rescue mission. It was his gut feeling and years as a shinobi that told him Sasuke would have been in Konoha long ago. 'Sakura's our last key. You're last precious key...If only you'd quit being stubborn and realized this.'

-

Sakura inched her face closer and so did Sasuke. They were a breath away from a kiss when someone yelled for Sound to attack. "Orochimaru." They both breathed, Sasuke's forehead leaning against hers. "Sakura you must leave, take the team back to Konoha. No matter how good ANBU is they will eventually be out numbered."

Sakura was ready to protest but Sasuke silence her with a kiss. "We'll be together...eventually." He breathed in her ear before disappearing.


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