"…Sakura…"

It was dark. Dark. She couldn't see.

That voice. A male's voice. Whose voice?

Ah-! Ah-! The scene around her was spinning, revolving around her as a spiral of fallen leaves rose from the forest ground.

Damn it. A genjutsu!? Where the hell was Sai? And Naruto! Even Kakashi-sensei! Wasn't she with them just a moment ago!?

"Right here, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice sounded beside her, out of breath. "Don't panic! I'll get you out of that illusion!"

If she hadn't been panicking, she might have noticed that something seemed amiss. But, she was panicking, all too aware of the garnering sense of dread welling up inside her.

Her hands were shaking as she told him hurriedly, "Yes, hurry, Naruto!"

"Damn it!" she heard Naruto curse. "Where is that bastard Sasuke at a time like this!?"

She blinked. Suffocating.

It wasn't until then did she realize upon looking around her that they were in a forest. A dark forest. One that she couldn't quite place but it gave off a feeling of déjà vu.

Her heart did a light jump as her eyes landed on the three figures beneath the gigantic upraised roots of an overgrown tree.

A blonde Genin boy, unconscious. Laying next to him, an obsidian-haired Genin boy, also unconscious, a seal at the side of his exposed neck burned a fiery orange. That cursed seal.

The little girl, dirty and haggard, struggling to keep herself awake beside them both.

Herself.

"Hey Sakura…"

Strong arms encircled her, from behind. The embrace was anything but warm.

"Why didn't you tell me about Sasuke…?"

"Naruto-" She turned, ready to plead, ready to explain herself.

But it was Sai's steely gaze she met with.

"Why didn't you try to stop that traitor?"

Her mouth opened, dry, but that too, she was about to answer.

Until his eyes bled into a true, crimson red.

At once she was at a loss as she stared at the pale skin, at the dark, long strands of his raven-black hair.

Slanting over slightly, the person she recognized as Uchiha Sasuke asked next to her ear,

"…Was your love for me not strong enough?"


Stage Two: How the Nightmare Began


She screamed herself awake.

"What is it, Sakura! Is he in here?"

The dark form crouching on her windowsill, Sai's outline. Her window. Next to her bed. In the wee hours of the morning. It took a few seconds to string all of that together.

"Ah, so this is how Ugly looks like in the morning."

Sakura did a double take.

"OUT!"


A nightmare.

Sakura finished toweling off her damp pink hair. She hadn't been able to get back to sleep, so in the end settled for a hot shower.

Making her way over to the drawer, her hand paused in mid-action of reaching for her comb. Of all the picture frames lined up on atop the drawer, only one was turned facing the wall. The former Team Seven.

One day when she was strong enough, she'd be able to return it to its proper position. Or put it out of sight forever.

"Sai."

Receiving no response, the kunoichi went to her bedside window. She drew it open and her jade-green eyes were greeted with dawn.

Her short-haired teammate was resting against the section of the wall right below her window.

"What are you reading?" Sakura asked as a way of greeting.

He looked up with his usual smile that was too delicate to be anything but artificial – for a shinobi.

"I have been looking," Sai told her. "But, I cannot find this 'being together' which you spoke of. What does it mean?"

"Uh, you know what…just forget it."

Okay…so they were short on manpower in preparation for war. But really…why did Tsunade stick her with Sai? Couldn't there have been anyone more suitable?

"But, I want to know," Sai informed her, persisting. "Is it another form of these 'bonds' which people possess?"

Feeling a muscle in her jaw twitch in exasperation, Sakura propped one elbow on the windowsill and explained, "It's an expression you use to describe the relationship between a girlfriend and boyfriend, get it, now?"

"Girlfriend and boyfriend." Regardless if he really understood it or not, Sai nodded sagely. "I see, now. Naruto-kun fainted last night due to the shock that such an ugly hag could be my-"

For the second time that morning, he found himself flung off fourth floor.


"Sakura-chaaaan!"

Incoming headache at twelve o'clock.

Sakura strained a smile. "Good morning, Naruto."

The blonde stopped short at the sight of the tall, dark-haired Root member following her at a safe distance.

Naruto growled. He crouched down in an aggressive stance. And by all means he was blocking her way to the Hokage's Tower.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," Sai greeted easily with a smile.

"Stop! Naruto!" It took all her might to restrain the blonde from attacking the indifferent Sai behind her. "There are…circumstances!"

"Circumstances? You bastard! What have you done to blackmail Sakura!"

"No! It's simply because-…simply because-!" Crap, what kind of excuse was she supposed to come up with!?

"Because," Sai cut in casually, "Sakura and I are 'Girlfriend and Boyfriend' so there is no need for you to worry about us."

Again, the kunoichi's jaw dropped in absolute incredulousness. But this time Naruto was out cold before she even began rounding on Sai.

"SAI! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST TELL NARUTO!?"

He gazed back, an emotionless mask.

"I said, Sak-"

"I DON'T MEAN REPEATING IT! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT 'GIRLFRIEND' MEANS!?"

"A female friend whose company is frequented, is that not correct? And since it's my orders to-"

"NO!" She was roughly shaking an unconscious Naruto by the shoulders at that point. "Don't listen to him! We're not like that!"

Sai only smiled that infuriatingly insensitive smile.

"Hm? But it worked out for you, did it not?"

He ducked her punch.


And that was how they officially became a couple.

No, that was sarcasm.

She'd be damned if Naruto was going to go flapping his mouth at this 'news' to everyone, but it didn't seem that it happened yet. He was still much too traumatized.

Sakura had spent the majority of the day. And the next day. And the day after that. Avoiding Sai as much and as far as possible. Call it fleeing practice.

When she finally found herself alone for longer than half an hour, however, she started to feel a bit uneasy.

Not that she felt particularly guilty for making his job harder like that.

Nonetheless, the medic-nin found herself backtracking to where she'd last remember seeing him. The edge of Konoha's heavy forest where she'd been training earlier.

"…Sai?"

He was still resting, cross-legged against the bark of a tree, nodding off. Sakura inhaled a breath.

She knew at that moment that the boy had been missing out on sleep in favor of guarding her day and night. Taking his job seriously. He was still human, after all, despite being an emotionless member from the Root division.

"Geez, seriously," the pink-haired kunoichi scoffed, squatting down before him. "Do you really think I'm in that great a danger?" Naturally, his eyes remained closed and he didn't reply.

"I don't even think Sasuke will return," Sakura admitted to him, seeing that he was probably catching up on his deep state of sleep which he'd been neglecting.

Sighing softly, the kunoichi turned to leave him to rest in peace.

His hand on her shoulder stopped her from getting up.

And coming from Sai, it was way too intimate a gesture for her to dismiss with just a scowl.

"Hey, you!" Sakura snapped. "Just because we're 'together' in front of Naruto, doesn't mean-"

Red Sharingan met her eyes unblinkingly.

The world suddenly swept into black and white as she felt the blood drain from her face.

"Sa-…Sasuke!?"

Slowly, and deliberately, a small smile which could almost be constituted as cruel lifted one corner of his pale lips.

"…Sakura…"

Immediately she scooted back, up on her feet before she even had time to regain her breath.

No. She wasn't dreaming. He was actually here.

Shakily, the kunoichi rested a hand on the hilt of a kunai. She wasn't hopeless enough to mistaken this for a social call.

"What do you want, Sasuke?" Sakura asked testily.

Her first love and former teammate watched her steadily, one of his arms propped against his knee. He didn't seem to be in a hurry.

'Where is Sai?' That thought briefly crossed her mind, but the instant Sasuke spoke he grabbed her entire attention.

"I need you."

Her mind blanked.

She saw him rise up. Saw his tall, lean form reach higher than her head as he stood before her.

"…Or more specifically," Uchiha Sasuke amended in response to her utter shock and incomprehension, "I need a medic-nin of your caliber. Tsunade's own apprentice."

She knew what he was asking.

Medic-nin.

Sasuke.

Missing-nin.

Betrayal.

The very notion of it should have repulsed her, shaken her out of her daze.

Ha…

Sakura bowed her head. "You, Sasuke…?" She smiled, but it was a smile to herself. "Need me…?"

She gazed up, green eyes glittering like hard emeralds.

"Me, Sasuke? You're asking me? I don't mean anything to you. I've never meant anything to you."

It was a statement. She made it into a statement. A statement he confirmed with indifference.

"You don't."

As much as she expected it coming, she couldn't prevent it from hurting.

"…Then why?" Sakura asked quietly, searching the flawlessly handsome face before her for any sign, anything.

His quiet, tranquil voice answered her.

"Because if it's anyone…it has to be you."

She was not a love-struck fool to believe that there was any hidden meaning in that. The kunoichi's sharp mind was able to perceive the words he didn't say after that line. The words he didn't need to repeat again.

"…You will never betray me…Sakura…"

Sakura bowed her head again, biting down the bitter emotion swelling in her chest.

What could she say? He was right.

He had probably known that fact since long ago, when she had faithfully kept shut about the cursed seal he'd received in the Forest of Death during their Chuunin exam.

Sometimes she wondered…if only she hadn't kept silent…

Even if he hated her for that…

If only the downward spiral had been halted at that point…

Would Naruto have had to chase him back…and fail so miserably…?

"Judging by the fact that Naruto isn't with you right now…you haven't told him that we've met a few days ago," Sasuke observed.

Her arm twitched. She couldn't tell with just his indifferent tone what he thought of her actions. Sakura looked up, defiantly, hoping desperately that her eyes weren't glossing over too obviously; hoping the corners of her lips weren't quivering.

"That is because…" Sakura said each word with conviction "…there is something I've been wanting to tell you, beforehand."

His red eyes were dark and beautiful. There was no way he didn't see it coming. The Sharingan had the power of foresight, after all.

But it could be due to his sheer disbelief that he had allowed an opening for her fist to connect to his jaw.

If she had used chakra to strengthen that punch, he would've had enough time to avoid it completely. Nonetheless, Sakura was panting as if she had just hit aside an entire mountain.

"That was for Naruto, you insensitive, revenge-driven bastard!"

Which isn't to say that her punches weren't something to be feared, despite not using any chakra. Naruto and Sai could testify to that.

"…Heh." Raising the back of one hand to his mouth, Sasuke wiped away the thin line of red which trailed down one corner of his lips. "…I'll take that as a 'no'."

Slowly, he turned his face back in her direction, adjusting his stance into one more suitable for combat.

"…You have gotten stronger…Sakura…"

His eyes gleamed menacingly red.

"…However…" Sasuke's lips tugged up ambiguously. "That was not meant to be a request."

Oh. So now he was getting serious. Oh. Crap.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke whipped out his sword, splattering black ink in all directions as he diced Sai's serpents. He didn't even turn to look.

"Sai!?" Sakura stared, horrified at the sight of blood trickling down one side of her teammate's exposed stomach, which he was using one hand to cover.

"Hmph. He's still alive?" Sasuke's stoic gaze landed on the wounded Leaf-nin. Sakura heard the sound resembling a chorus of chirping birds as electricity flitted across his form. "He is starting to become a nuisance."

She didn't hear the last sentence. The next thing she knew, she was already at Sai's side, examining his wound as much as she could, trying to pull his arm away from obscuring her view.

"He is too strong."

Sai's dark eyes were fixated on the loose, casual stance of Uchiha Sasuke.

"Get out of here," her teammate told her calmly.

"What!?" Sakura whispered back, instinctively matching his low voice.

"It is you he's after. Get away, now. Find someone for help. Do not worry about me."

"I can't do that!" What kind of medic-nin leaves her teammate behind and runs for her own life!?

"Ugly. Do you realize what will happen if you don't get away?" Sai asked her seriously.

With a start, she understood what he was saying.

Taken from her village. Missing-nin.

Sai gave her a nod. "I will hold him off. Go."

With a thick swallow, Sakura returned his nod.

She ran.

She wouldn't look back.

Sai, she knew, wasn't weak. He would be fine.

But that didn't mean she was safe. She had to reach someone, alert someone.

God, why did the gap between the village and the training grounds seem so freaking large at times like these!?

Sakura let out a gasp, sliding to an abrupt stop as she was intervened.

No…no way! Hadn't she only just left them behind!?

But even as that thought crossed her mind, she knew something was different. There was something different about its presence altogether.

Languidly, the figure lifted its head, revealing a pair of glowing red eyes in its depths.

When it reached up to pull the black hood off its head, setting loose a matting of long red hair, Sakura was beginning to suspect that she'd been caught in a genjutsu back there.

Before she saw his face clearly under the sun, before that deceitfully angelic smile appeared on his perfectly symmetrical lips, the name was already on the tip of her tongue.

"You-…S-…Sasori…?"

"Hello, little girl."


A/N: Uh…why did it end up being more Sasori x Sakura x Sasuke instead of Sasori x Sakura x Sai? Because I kinda need Sasuke to set up this story. I promise you'll see more Sasori soon…