Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, blah…

WOOT! I got 10 reviews with the first chapter! I hope more people will be reading this! THANK YOU SO MUCH to those who have!

Thank you's go to…

Firefoxmon:Thank you so much for being my first reviewer! xD I will be updating, don't worry! Hehe! Pinstripe Yeah, I apologize for that too. I just wanted to get it going, you know? xD Mezumi: LOL! Thank you so much for your review! xD I think that everyone's gonna be hating her father by the time that I'm done with this… feigning Your review made me smile. I really appreciate it! xD As I told Firefoxmon, I shall be updating! This fic, along with Stained Cherry Blossoms will be my two main fics that I will be working on. Thanks again for reviewing! rightnow. Thank you! Its gonna be kinda sad for the first part of it, but it will change. xD OtakuAnime131 LOL! Nicely put! xD HeartAngel hehehe. I know right? sakura13pisces: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! sweetmaiden: hehe. I will be, don't worry!neon kun: LOL! You'll see why she refuses to though in this chapter. She's got a good reason not to.

The Strength of the Heart

Part Two

The time that her father was gone on his mission lasted for a short while, despite it being a full two weeks of breathable freedom. Sakura had relished in the quiet silence of her house, especially at night. No creaking footsteps to worry about sneaking into her room after she was asleep…no broken sake bottles left shattered on the floor…no more vomit on the floor left unceremoniously for her to clean up after her father's drunken hangovers.

It was peaceful. A rare occurrence in the Haruno household.

It was the day of her father's scheduled day of arrival, and Sakura was busy moving about her house, vigorously cleaning the floors, spotting up on smudges on the walls, and always checking to make sure the kitchen remained sparkling.

Her wounds had been given time to heal, and the gash on her head had closed up, especially after she'd helped the re-growth of cells using her medical chakra. Sakura's story on how she'd received the wounds remained the same. She refused to say anything else otherwise because she knew with all her heart that her father would act on his threat. She shuddered as she remembered his words about a month ago…

FLASHBACK

Sakura backed away from him on the floor, her eyes wide as her back touched the wall. It gently stopped her from retreating, almost as if telling her that she needed to confront her fears, instead of allowing them to take over. But Sakura was in no mood to listen. She scrambled up the stairs, grabbing her phone as she fell towards her bed, her free hand clutching her phone while her other tightly held her flowing wound on her chest. A kitchen knife had sliced her front as her father had waved it at her. Sakura knew he was angry. Oh hell he was angry. The alcohol in his system only made his temper ten times worse, however, and Sakura was to pay for it.

Shakily, Sakura started to dial Ino's number, to beg her to let her stay over for the night.

Stomps could be heard on the stairs down the hallway.

Death was coming. She knew it.

Sakura dashed inside her closet, bringing her portable phone with her. "I-Ino?" She whispered. Ino's cheery voice greeted her as her best friend answered. "Hey forehead girl, what's up?" She asked, stifling a yawn. It was already past 1 in the morning. "I, can I meet you somewhere?" Sakura whispered in her phone. "Sure! But, what's this all about? Is something wrong? Why are you whisper—?"

Ino was cut off by Sakura's sudden scream. Her closet door had been wrenched open, revealing her very drunk, very pissed off, and very scary looking father.

"Out. NOW!" He commanded, grabbing Sakura by her arm and yanking her hard out of her closet. "I have to call you back!" Sakura cried as she threw her phone towards her bed. It slid on the wood floor and came to a stop underneath her bed. Ino could hear screaming but it was muffled.

Then—

"What were you doing?" Sakura's father shouted, pinning her against the bed with his weight. Sakura made to push him off using her foot, but her father grabbed it and shoved it behind her head into the mattress. She screamed as muscles in her leg started to pull. She slid down against the bed until she could feel the cool metal of the bed frame pressing into the base of her skull. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to grab the phone. She pulled it out and shouted, "INO PLEASE HELP ME!"

Her father's eyes widened as he saw that her phone had still been on. He snatched it up and he heard Ino say, "What the hell Sakura! What's going on! Are you ok?"

"She's fine. Don't listen to her. Go to bed Ino, or I'll tell your father that you were up past the time you were supposed to be asleep."

"But Mr. Haruno, I—"

Ino's voice was cut off as he hung up and chucked Sakura's phone across the room. He grabbed a fistful of Sakura's hair and slammed her head into the bed frame. "What the fuck were you thinking?" He shouted, thrusting her head against the frame with each word he spoke. Sakura screamed and kicked him off of her. She curled herself into a ball as her hands immediately covered her head protectively.

She felt something heavy on her shoulders and she looked up to see her father getting on top of her.
"The minute you tell ANYONE of what has happened to you since your mother died, is the minute you sign your death sentence." He said menacingly, twirling a kunai in his hand. He then stabbed her in the shoulder, pressing harder as he made sure she was in pain. "Do you understand me, Sakura?" He asked evilly, pushing the kunai in deeper when she did not immediately reply.

"Yes!" She screamed. He smiled sadistically. He pulled the kunai out and licked her blood off of it. It was enough to make Sakura want to pass out.

Which she did a moment later.

END FLASHBACK

---

Sasuke walked along the streets of Konoha. His encounter with Sakura was almost two weeks ago. He'd decided not to tell anyone what had transpired. The only ones that knew something was up with Sakura was her team. Kakashi hadn't said much after Sasuke had returned. Naruto was ranting about the perverted-ness of their sensei's books, while Kakashi merely rolled his eyes and smirked. Sasuke had thought hard about the possible people who would have been able to do something like that to Sakura. So far, he hadn't been able to turn up anyone.

So, naturally, he chose to speak to someone who might…

Sakura's best friend.

Sasuke knocked hard on the door of the Yamanaka residence. Ino's mother answered a bright smile on her face. "Hello Uchiha-san, what can I do for you?" Sasuke didn't smile back, but looked over her shoulder. "Is Ino home?" He asked his voice hard. Her mother's eyebrows lifted. "Why do you ask?" She asked. Sasuke sighed. Ino was as nosy as her mother. He now could see where she got it from. "It's about Sakura. I need to talk to Ino about her." Ino's mother's eyes widened.

"Ino-chan, please come downstairs! You have a visitor!" Her mother called. A few seconds later Ino appeared next to her mother. "Hi Sasuke-kun!" She said happily as she pecked her mother on the cheek before heading out the door, waiting for Sasuke to follow.

The two walked down the street until they came to the park. Ino plopped down on the grass and stared up at the clouds. She'd been hanging around Shikamaru too much.

"Ino." Sasuke said after a moment. "Can you tell me anything about Sakura? What's happened to her?"

Ino closed her eyes. She didn't say anything for a long moment.
"What's it to you?" She asked, opening her eyes and facing him once more. "Why should I tell you?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Because she's obviously in trouble. You as her best friend should do something to help her."

"Oh, so by betraying her to you automatically means that I'm helping her?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of him. Sasuke sighed with frustration as he sat leaned against a tree a few feet away from her. "Please just tell me." He said, crossing his arms and fixing a look of impatience on Ino.

She sighed. "Something happened about a month ago. Sakura's been tight-lipped about it ever since but I know that it was him who did it to her. She came to the flower shop the day after in order to buy some flowers to make her kitchen table look nice."

Sasuke motioned for her to continue. Ino drew in a deep breath and she continued. "I was on the phone with Sakura the night before. She'd called me from her closet and she was really scared. It kinda scared me when I heard her father barge into the room because Sakura screamed. It went all quiet on the phone for a long minute before Sakura screamed "Ino please help me!" I didn't know what to do. Her father probably grabbed the phone from her and fussed at me telling me to go to bed."

Ino finished up her story and looked up at Sasuke, awaiting his reaction. His eyes had narrowed but they were focusing on something in the distance. He appeared to be in deep thought.

"Thanks Ino." He said after a moment. He took off from there, heading directly for Sakura's house.

---

Sakura smiled as she stepped back and looked at her home. It simply glowed. Her father would be sure to notice, and perhaps, she would be spared tonight. Hoping silently that he would not return for another couple days, she went upstairs to her room. After getting a shower and changing into her pajamas, Sakura went back downstairs to start dinner. She knew that her father would kill her if she didn't have dinner already waiting him. Sakura finished the onigiri and then went to prepare the teriyaki chicken. A knock came on her door about 20 minutes later. Wondering who it could possibly be, she went to the door only to find Sasuke standing on her doorstep, adorned in his ANBU uniform. Sakura's eyes widened. "Wh-what are you doing here?" She asked, stepping backwards two steps. He looked at her, the look in his eyes one that she'd never seen before. "I know Sakura." He said softly, putting his hand on the door panel so she couldn't close it. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked over his shoulder. Nobody was there, yet she had a bad feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. Something bad was going to happen.

"I-well, ok." She said, deciding to play stupid. She couldn't risk openly confessing to him what happened when her father lost his temper. "I'm making dinner right now. My father is supposed to be back from his mission tonight and he'll be hungry. Would you like something to drink?" She asked, stepping back and inviting him in. Sasuke looked at her curiously before nodding. Sakura rushed off to the kitchen and returned to the newly cleaned living room a moment later with a tall glass of water. She offered it to Sasuke who took it gratefully. She stole a quick glance at the clock on top of the TV in the living room. It was almost six. Her father should be home any minute. She forced herself to relax, not wanting to alarm Sasuke at all. Sitting down on the couch, she stretched out, looking like she was lying there lazily, when in reality she could flip over the arm of the couch and into a fighting stance in two seconds flat. Sasuke watched her and smirked. "How's your ankle?" He asked, his eyes grazing over her quickly before coming to a stop at her right ankle. It was still bandaged, but she'd seemed to be able to walk on it just fine. "It's ok. I tumbled a little on it today and I didn't have any problems." She said conversationally.

Sasuke watched her as she stretched her back; her eyes squeezed shut for a moment. Sighing deeply, Sakura sat up, looking over at him. He'd nearly finished his beverage. "Ne Sasuke-kun, why did you really stop by here?" She asked, looking him dead in the eye. Sasuke matched her intense questioning gaze.

"I thought that would have been obvious." He said, as if it were to be already known.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Naruto told you to come, didn't he?" Sasuke frowned. "No. I came on my own." He said, his eyes narrowing. Sakura leaned back against the couch and sighed. "What do I have to say to convince you that I'm fine?" She asked, looking down at the floor.

"There's not a damn thing you can say now. It's not like you to lie to someone's face about something as serious as this." He said, crossing his arms and looking at her, watching for her reaction.

Sakura sighed. She looked up sharply though as she felt familiar chakra approaching. "Oh shit, my father's home. You've gotta get out!" She said, jumping up immediately. She grabbed his now empty glass and ran it to the kitchen before racing back to the living room and opening the front door. "Please hurry!" She whispered, beckoning for him to move faster. Sasuke's eyebrows lifted questioningly as he complied. "I'll see you tomorrow at training!" she said brightly before he left quickly and she shut the door behind him as soon as he was out of sight.

Sakura leaned against the door, breathing a huge sigh of relief. She didn't know what kind of a response her father would give her should he learn that his daughter was allowing boys her age into his house, especially when he wasn't there. Sakura raced back to the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner before she raced back upstairs to change out of her pajamas and into something her father would approve of. Her chuunin uniform and vest.

She heard the front door open and close sharply.

"SAKURA!" Her father's voice boomed. She was downstairs in an instant, obediently looking up at him. "Hai Tousa? Welcome home!" She said brightly. Her father stared at her coldly for a moment before responding. "Why the fuck are you so cheerful?" He asked icily. Sakura didn't let her smile falter. "I just had a good day, that's all. Tsunade-sama and I trained really hard and she says that I'm improving."

Her father snorted. "She's lying to you. You're still that same pathetic brat you were three years ago when you couldn't even save your mother." Her eyes dropped to the ground.

Ouch.

But she still had one more trick left. "I've made dinner for you!" she said brightly, pointing towards the kitchen. "I waited to eat because I thought we could eat together!" She said, already heading towards the kitchen. Her father grumbled something about 'not hungry', but Sakura ignored it. He obviously was because he ate up every bit of his dinner.

Sakura sighed as she went back upstairs after cleaning up dinner. Her father had disappeared into his office, letting her know that he did not wish to be disturbed. Sakura shook off the feeling of dread she had as she trudged tiredly up the stairs to her room. She fell asleep almost instantly as she collapsed on her bed.

……

…

Sakura woke in the middle of the night, smelling something foul. Her nose wrinkled disgustedly before she opened her eyes. She stared up at the ceiling, not recognizing where she was. She no longer was in her room, but was on the living room floor? A chill went down her spine as she felt something trail up her exposed flesh on her leg. She'd gone to bed in shorts and a t-shirt. Her shirt was off, she noticed, as the only piece of clothing keeping her barely decent was her sports bra that she periodically wore to bed. She heard a grunt above her and she knew then that this was what she'd sensed earlier. This was what she'd been dreading.

"Please, get off of me." She whispered as she felt his hand slip beneath her shorts. She yelped as she felt him squeeze tender flesh. "STOP!" She shouted, pushing him away. "But you're my daughter Sakura; I have every right to do this." He muttered. "And besides, who else in the village will touch you once I'm through with you? Surely not your darling Uchiha friend…" He growled. Sakura shuddered. "Leave me alone." She said, wriggling in his grasp. "I won't let you do this to me."

He laughed.

"What choice do you think you have?" He asked coldly, pulling a kunai out. Sakura didn't flinch. She narrowed her eyes as her father brought the cold sharp blade to her throat. He traced a lone line along her skin, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine. "You are weak. You have no choice." He said, his other hand caressing her roughly. Sakura growled angrily as she shoved her father off. She was on her feet instantly, looking around for something to defend herself with.

USE your head girl! Inner Sakura shouted. Use that chakra blade Tsunade-sama taught you! You're not entirely defenseless! We've been training for six years with her! We can fight back!

Sakura smirked to herself, though on the inside she was trembling like hell. She gathered her chakra to her right hand, focusing it into a faint but still visible blade. It looked like a dagger that was an extension of the back of her hand, extending out and reaching past her fingertips.

"I won't let you do this to me." She muttered, taking a fighting stance. Her father laughed again before he attacked. As he got close Sakura could smell the strong scent of sake on her father's breath. "No one is going to believe you if you even get the balls to tell." He mocked, kicking out and taking her feet out from underneath her. Sakura went down, but not before she spun herself around on the floor and caught her father off-guard, slamming her foot into his stomach. Her kick was powerful and it knocked the breath out of him. He keeled over and Sakura took the opportunity to land a satisfying punch in his face.
SHANNARO! Inner Sakura screamed. "I told you I won't let you do this to me. I'm keeping my virginity and giving it to someone else." Sakura said, her courage rising.

"Like that little Uchiha bastard?" He father yelled. "The one who abandoned you because you're too weak to stand up and fight for yourself?" Sakura's eyes narrowed. She refused to show it, but his words cut her deep. "Why the fuck do you care?" She shouted. "Don't you dare talk to me like that!" He screamed, coming at her again. "I saw him leave our house earlier this evening. You can't hide things like this from me. I always find out. Remember that." He said, knocking her down once again and landing a punch to her face. Sakura felt her cheekbone snap. Immediately blood flowed to the cracked bone there. Her left eye filling up with blood that she couldn't see out of it. Sakura rolled out of the way in time to avoid a slash from his kunai. She thrust her chakra blade towards his shoulder, but he caught her hand and twisted her wrist. It snapped, and she let out a blood curdling scream.

She felt him rip her shorts off with the help of his kunai. "No!" Sakura shouted. Her father laughed evilly. "There's no one who can stop me." He said his voice triumphant. Sakura squirmed hard and he grew angry. She used her good hand to flip herself backwards, in a one-handed back handspring. Her father came at her again, his kunai raised. Sakura kicked out, hoping to kick the blade from his grasp. But because of her obscured vision, she miscalculated the distance and ended up taking a stab in her leg from the kunai. The blade sunk in deep, cutting and severing muscles in the side of her thigh. She screamed as she crumpled to the floor.

Her father stood over her. She lay on the ground whimpering as she watched him drop his pants. Her eyes widened as he completely undressed his lower half. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he yanked her up to a sitting position, and thrust himself into her mouth. Sakura gagged as it filled her mouth entirely before sliding down the back of her throat. She choked as she struggled to get air. She was scared. She couldn't breathe, and this was so so wrong! Her father groaned as he thrust in and out of her mouth, holding her head still while he jerked his body back and forth. Sakura screamed as best she could without choking on the seeping liquid excreting from him. This only made him moan louder, a satisfied grin on his face.

Sakura threw up. It was hell. She choked on her own vomit as her father's member came out of her mouth, covered in semen and puke. He yelled out in disgust before he threw Sakura aside. She hit the wall nearby and didn't make any attempt to move.

He came over next to her and kicked her hard in the chest. Sakura screamed as she felt ribs snap with each kick. She finally stopped screaming and gave herself to the pain. She couldn't resist him, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much he was hurting her. Finally, just when she thought she couldn't take much more, she felt herself being forced up again by her hair. Damn this long hair. Its coming off as soon as I can cut it…assuming I will live through this…She thought angrily.

Her father pushed himself into her mouth again. Sakura's eyes filled with tears as she felt herself growing faint from lack of oxygen.

Someone, please, please help me. She thought.

---

At that moment, the front door burst open in flames. Sakura's father stopped and looked over at his front door, which had collapsed in charred wood engulfed in flames. The one responsible now stood in the doorway. His dark features hardly showing in the lack of light.
"Leave. Her. Alone." He spoke in a deadly calm voice. The kunai in his hand rose.

Sakura's father laughed. He yanked Sakura's head away from him and tossed her to the floor. "What a weakling." He growled. He turned his attention back to the intruder.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" He shouted, grabbing his pants and sliding them on again.

Uchiha Sasuke's red eyes narrowed on him dangerously. He glared at the sick man in front of him before saying, "I think you have enough evidence to arrest him." He said. A split second later, three ANBU Nin entered the house and restrained the screaming Haruno. Two held him still while one slammed the side of his palm into Sakura's father's neck, knocking him out instantly. The ANBU Nin restrained him before dragging the sick man out of his house. "I'll take care of the rest." Sasuke said as one of the ANBU stopped by his side. The Nin nodded and disappeared with the rest of his group.

Sakura was on the verge of unconsciousness. Her heart was pounding, but she'd been gasping for air the whole time. She felt someone kneel beside her and she flinched.

"Please! No! Just leave me alone!" She screamed.

Sasuke immediately picked her up off the ground. She was covered in blood and vomit. Not to mention she was barely dressed. That fucking bastard. He thought angrily. What the fuck did he do to her! Sakura screamed as Sasuke held her close to him, unknowingly aggravating her broken ribs. He looked around him and grabbed the blanket thrown over the back of the couch. As gently as he could, he wrapped her up in it before scooping her up into his arms.

Sakura had started crying. "It's ok Sakura." He whispered in her ear. "You're safe now."

Sakura looked up at him. It finally registered then. "Sa-Sasuke-kun?" She whispered, her eyes squinting a little trying to focus on him. "Hai." He said. He left her house, not bothering with putting the door back. He raced down the street in the dead of night with her cradled close in his arms. He came to a halt at Hokage Tower, where he knew Tsunade would be working overtime. He entered her office, holding his teammate close. Tsunade looked up tiredly from her work and stared at him. "Please, Tsunade-sama, help her." He pleaded, looking the Godaime in the eyes. Her eyes widened as she recognized the pink-haired bundle in his arms. "Holy fucking hell." She whispered, jumping up and coming to his side. "Take her to the hospital, NOW! I'll get Shizune and we'll be there soon!" Sasuke nodded and took off again.