Dreams
the second night.

Although Sakura was an outstanding kunoichi, she was still just an ordinary girl. She had infatuations, friends, peers, and dreams, just like any other ordinary person. She had pet peeves, favorites, and even ambitions. She was just as normal as the next person over.

But, she supposed, that was what made her a human, and not a killing tool.

She also supposed that this fact would be the death of her. Probably.

x

On the second night, Sakura was wary.

It didn't take too long for her team to reach the designated area where Sasuke was spotted not too long ago. They arrived by early evening, so they began to set up camp. Sakura suggested that they begin to spread out and look for clues—or that might've just been a desperate attempt on her part to see Sasuke again, real or not—but Shikamaru reasoned that they had time. If he really was leading them into a trap, he might as well be patient about it.

So she settled with making them a scarce meal. There was a small village nearby, so they could replenish their sources later; their soldier pills must be used sparingly. Tenten was out checking their surroundings and looking for landmarks, making sure they were in the right place.

She worked slowly. Sasuke was clouding up her mind, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. If she wasn't missing her kunai, then maybe she really did just sit down against that tree and fall asleep…

Unless Sasuke put it back in her holster. But she was sure it disappeared into the trees somewhere. Why would he go out of his way to find it again? Or did he replace it with his own?

He was sickeningly suspicious. She was sure he was up to something. He would never treat her that way unless he wanted something from her. Never in their years of friendship—if she could even call it a friendship—had he complimented her. He only demanded and took—never requested or gave. And he certainly, definitely wouldn't kiss her.

It might've been an illusion, she concluded. Indeed, an illusion. The Sharingan was the best at that, right? Even though she was the best at detecting genjutsu within Team Seven, if it was cleverly laid out, she was sure she was as good as dead.

"Dinner's ready," she announced, bringing the food from atop the fire. "Where's Tenten?"

"Returning," Neji said calmly, switching his Byakugan off and accepting his share of food from Sakura. Shikamaru took his share as well, and they ate in silence.

A little after Tenten returned, the Nara spoke up. "How are you feeling, Sakura?"

Her head perked up. "What do you mean?"

His dark eyes narrowed on her as they often did when he found something troublesome. "You were kind of dazed the entire day. Are you worn out or something? We could spend a day or so recuperating. We have the time."

She managed a smile and shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I guess I'm worried about Naruto. Usually, he'd be the one on this mission, you know?"

"It's true that Hokage-sama would normally assign this mission to Team Kakashi," Neji agreed. "But when Sasuke leaves his trails openly open like this, it's much too dangerous. The ANBU is fitter for the job."

After dinner, they discussed their plans. The next day, they would infiltrate the nearby village and gather what information they could. It was almost guaranteed that they would find something, with Sasuke dropping blatant hints that any moderate shinobi could find. The only question now was…what kind of trap had he set up?

Sakura closed her eyes as she snuggled into her thin, compact sleeping bag. This was what was real. Konoha was real, this mission was real, and Neji, Tenten, and Shikamaru were real. She didn't need a kunai to tell her otherwise, and she didn't have to doubt them. What she needed to doubt now was Sasuke. His illusions and these feelings—she couldn't trust them, and she hated that. Not being able to trust herself was something she had always despised.

She fell asleep easily that night. When she woke up, she would think, almost too easily.

x

Sometimes, Sakura's dreams weren't anything special.

There were the occasional nights when she dreamt about Naruto eating ramen, or maybe Ino picking flowers. She would dream about finally seeing Kakashi without his mask on, or Lee finding some other girl he was in love with. You know, trivial matters.

At points, she would even dream about Sasuke accepting her as a friend, and not just a teammate. He would smile at her—a real, genuine smile—and they might even go on a walk together. Of course, she knew that'd never actually happen, but a girl could dream, right?

Now that she thought about it, Sakura never saw Sasuke smile. She'd seen him scowl, she'd seen him smirk—but smile? No, never.

x

She felt someone nudge her awake. Groaning, Sakura heaved herself into a sitting position, a little ticked off to find that someone would wake her while the moon was still out.

It took her a few moments to take in her surroundings and realize she wasn't in her sleeping bag. The grass pricked her exposed legs, and she felt a little colder than she should have. The fire they had set up was still burning when she had fallen asleep, but when she glanced to her left where it should've been, she didn't see the flames or burnt logs that should've been there.

"Sakura." The voice sent eerie shivers down her spine, and her head whipped around to meet with hard, onyx eyes.

"Stop fucking with me, Sasuke-kun," she snarled before he could continue. Blinking away the sleep, she pulled herself to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "Your tactics are only going to work on me once." But even she wasn't sure of her own words.

The smirk was back. That damned smirk. "Are you sure about that?" The pale skin of his chest glowed in the moonlight, and she scowled at the clothes he wore. They were the same as they were three years ago, when they found him in Orochimaru's hideout.

"I don't know if this is a genjutsu or what, but I swear to God, when I'm serious—"

He disappeared in a blur, and the next time she saw him, he had an arm snaked around her waist and her body was arching against his from the way he was bending over her. "What happens when you're serious?" he taunted, breath dancing over her lips. He brought himself closer until his mouth was at her ear. "A shinobi must be able to deceive. Didn't we learn that on the first day? You shouldn't be telling me what'll happen." He blew lightly in her ear, and she shook slightly from frustration, and slightly from the closeness of it all.

"Let go of me," she hissed, ignoring the blatant pounding of her heart. She couldn't trust herself. She knew that. "I'm not the same girl you knew six years ago." His body was pressed hard against hers, and her heartbeat quickened even more. She wondered if he could feel it against his chest.

Sasuke's head tilted back slightly so their gaze met once more. "Come with me, Sakura." It wasn't a request, or a question. It was a command.

She scowled. "If you think that I'm going to follow you just because you tell me to—"

"What is it that you want?" He lowered his head and his lips pressed against her collarbone. She fought back the gasp of surprise. "Power?" She felt his teeth graze her skin. "Attention? Sex?" His hand on her back lowered until it reached her behind. "I can give it all to you."

Her weak struggle to escape his grip was fruitless. "I want none of that."

She could hear Inner Sakura snort. "Love," she told her loudly. "You want his love."

But Sasuke had no love. And even if he did, he wouldn't give it to her. She bit her lip when his hand squeezed her behind, determined to not let him know he was getting to her. But he was probably aware of it, anyway.

And then he kissed her again. It wasn't as dizzying as the last time—for that, she was glad—but she still saw white lights go off behind her eyelids—and then she became angry at herself for even closing her eyes.

"Then what is it that you want?" he murmured in a low tone against her lips. She was breathless; the lack of oxygen to her brain caused her to feel lightheaded, and for the first time in a long time, she felt weak, she felt vulnerable, and she felt hopelessly and terrifyingly in love.

"I want you to return to Konoha," she breathed, eyes half open. It was only then that she realized how tall he had grown. Useless musings, she told herself wryly. "I want you to live a normal life with me, Kakashi, and Naruto. I want you to get to know Sai, and I want to eat ramen with you. I want to see you smile for me, I want to see you happy…There are so many things that I want, Sasuke-kun, but none of that will ever happen, because you're busy avenging your clan."

"Consider this," he said, finally releasing his grip on her. For a brief moment, she was relieved that she could think clearly again—but more than anything, missed the warmth he gave her. "If I kill Itachi, I will return to Konoha. Correct?"

She eyed him warily for a moment, before nodding once.

"You've grown a lot stronger over these past few years. I'll acknowledge that. If you help me kill Itachi…I will come without hesitation."

"Is that…why you deliberately laid out your tracks so we'd follow you?"

"Put two and two together. I'm not going to do it for you."

She couldn't believe it. It was such a simple plan—they'd never have suspected it. Tsunade had even considered that he was going to ambush Konoha, starting with their ANBU forces…or manipulate their shinobi into turning their backs against the village. But something as straightforward as gathering more forces to kill his brother…

"And what, I'm the only one that you expected to follow you?" she asked sarcastically, intimidation laced in her voice. She was sure Sasuke had the full ability to whisk her away if he truly wanted to—and that was truly frightening.

He turned away. "You'd be straying from your mission, but my brother is in Konoha's bingo book. You wouldn't be going against your village."

She considered it. "I'm sure you'd be able to kill him on your own, though." Just the thought of hiding something from Shikamaru's clever mind, from Neji's penetrating eyes, from Tenten's trust…In any other situation, she would've refused immediately.

But this was Sasuke. Sasuke was asking her. Sasuke, who never asked anything of her. And offering to return, as if only just going off on a six year-long mission.

"But with you…" He raised his hand, fingertips ghosting across her cheeks. "It'd be so much easier." He paused, as if thinking. "Just so long as I'm the one who actually kills him."

"So many conditions," she said, looking for excuses to refuse and hoping that he'd take back the offer before she gave in and accepted. "I don't know if I can meet them all."

"You can." He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. The hair that he had complimented just the night before. "You will." His voice was so soothing. It brought back memories of the early years, when she didn't have to worry about anything, when there was no such thing as betrayal or Akatsuki—or even death. The thoughts brought tears to her eyes.

Sasuke chuckled softly, crimson bleeding softly into his eyes. "You still cry as easily as you smile."

"And you still do nothing but scowl and smirk all the time," she retorted, wanting to melt into his touch. How many years had she waited for this? "So you're saying that if I help you kill Itachi…you'll return."

"How many times must I repeat myself?"

She couldn't believe what she was about to say. "What's the plan?" Her selfishness, her naivety…to actually think that this was going to end well. She inwardly laughed at herself. But then again, she supposed there wasn't any other way. If Sasuke didn't want to be found or caught, he wouldn't be found or caught. It was just as simple as that.

A smirk made its way to the Uchiha's lips, and his hand dropped from her cheek—and she just wished it'd be back there again. "I'll leave trails behind that lead back to Konoha. Itachi was last seen around there. That way, you can follow me, but still have your team along as well."

"You have it all figured out already?"

"More or less. I'll fetch you once I need you."

Sakura played with her fingers, gaze falling to the ground. "So…when will I see you again?"

"Most likely not for a day or two." His hand was on his hip, almost obnoxiously. She knew he was originally a handsome person, but when under the moonlight…She swallowed.

"If I just wanted to see you and talk to you…would I be allowed to?"

"You're better company than Karin." She took his indirect comment as affirmative. She could only wonder what kind of person this Karin was, to have Sasuke so eager to escape her presence.

She took a deep breath. "Then…can you stay tonight, for a little while longer? Just talk to me." When Sasuke didn't answer, she took it as a yes, and she sat herself down on the grass, suddenly feeling very confident in herself. Surely, she could do this behind her team's back and still succeed. It couldn't be too difficult.

She had to be able to do it. She was the only one who could.

"What is there to talk about?" He sat himself down beside her and propped himself up on his hands as he leaned backwards. Sakura brought her knees up and hugged them. Tonight was colder than the night before—or was it her imagination?—and even the the moon was half hidden by the clouds.

Her shoulders rose and fell in a light shrug. "I don't know. Your life, I guess. It's been six years, after all."

"How about you talk about yours first?"

She smiled lightly. He was still as conservative as usual. "What would you like to hear about?"

"You said you wanted me get to know someone. Sai was his name, right?"

Her head leaned back so she stared at the moon, half hidden by the grey clouds. "He's the person who filled in your place in Team Kakashi. You've met him once, haven't you? He was assigned a mission from Danzo to kill you three years ago."

There was a brief silence. "I suppose I do recall someone by that name." She shivered slightly as a soft breeze blew by. Her senses were completely alert for any sound, sight, or movement—not for enemies, though, but for Sasuke. She wanted to detect anything he did or said; that was just how she was. Instincts weren't something that were easily forgotten. "Tell me about Naruto."

A smile met her lips at the blonde's name. "He's grown a lot. He's gotten so much stronger; sometimes, I don't think I can even recognize him anymore."

"It's hard to imagine someone like him growing stronger."

She glanced back at him, and was amused at the slight confusion that showed in his features. "Well, that's just you. It's been six years; he isn't the boy who can't even control the Kyuubi's power anymore. I wouldn't want to face him in a life or death battle."

"He's that good?"

Sakura laid herself out on the ground and stretched her limbs. She rolled over onto her side with her arm serving as a pillow so she could watch the Uchiha. "Yeah. Does that make you want to fight him?"

She saw him smirk slightly. "Sort of."

Their conversation died there. She supposed it was a good thing; she still needed to think things over. Her kunoichi instincts were telling her that siding with Sasuke wasn't a good thing—but her heart, as lame as that might sound, told her otherwise. Just seeing the familiar spiky raven hair and feeling the piercing gaze on her was so nostalgic, and she was sure even Naruto wouldn't blame her for it…

"We're going to town tomorrow," she mumbled slowly, not realizing that her eyes were drooping shut. "To find some trails. You might want to leave something there for us to find." She was half asleep already, and her mind was felt shutting down from exhaustion. She couldn't recall when she had last thought about something so thoroughly.

Already partway to dreamland, she wasn't quite sure if the lips she felt pressing against her forehead were real or not.

x

"Sakura-chan!" She lifted her head in surprise to find Naruto peeking in through the hospital window while she was tending to a sleeping patient.

She frowned. "This is the second floor, Naruto; don't do that. I don't want to see Konohamaru following in your footsteps next week." Even for someone who was almost a grown man, there were points when he was still a child.

A pout reached the blonde's lips. "Hey, don't be like that. Go on a date with me, will you?"

"Let me guess." She rolled her eyes. "Ichiraku?"

"Yup!"

"Won't Hinata get jealous?" she teased, watching as her friend's cheeks flushed a little. "You're not supposed to take other girls on dates when you already have a girlfriend." Funny, she thought. Everyone matures at one point or another. The Hyuuga heiress had grown at her own pace, as well. The days where she stuttered over her own words every other sentence were long gone.

"She's on a mission," Naruto shot back indignantly. "And she knows we're just friends. It's not like you'd ever go out with me, anyway." He muttered the last part, but she could still hear him, and she giggled lightly.

After making some last notes on her clipboard, she capped her pen. "Sure. Just wait for me at the front door; I'll be down in a few." When the bright hair and cerulean eyes finally disappeared, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair, untangling the knots that had gathered from pulling an all-nighter.

She shrugged off her white coat in the staff room and hung it up in her locker. Had she matured over time? That was debatable. She was sure she'd grown stronger, but mentally…

Her secretary bid her goodbye as she signed out. After working over twenty-four hours straight with only five to ten-minute breaks in between, she figured she deserved the rest of the day off.

Throughout lunch, Naruto chattered about his last date with Hinata, and his latest mission with Kiba and Ino. She kept quiet most of the time, but she did enjoy listening to the tales he was able to tell her over a cheerful bowl of ramen. This was the life, she thought. Good job, good friends, good home…

It was almost perfect.

Somewhere inside her, she knew she loved Naruto, but she didn't notice how much she did until she acknowledged how terrible her life would be without him.

x

On the second night, Sakura was wary. But she soon realized that she wasn't wary enough.

A/N: Again, I would like to thank xx. false - deception for betaing every single chapter of this fic for me. It really means a lot. (One more chapter. Just bear with me a little longer. XD)

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. I do think there are a lot of things in this story that might be confusing—but I wouldn't know, because it all works out in my head.

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the first chapter. I think this has been the best received fic I have ever written, so that makes me incredibly happy. :)

08-26-09: Reread and edited. Hopefully, things flow a bit smoother, and there isn't as much unnecessary information.