A thank you to all my reviewers. Feedback makes me update. Knowing someone is reading and likes it enough to say so, or point something out, is what makes me stick with my stories.

ILoveSxS - Thank you for being my first review!

Wolfy-sama - Hopefully this will satisfy you. lol

Lady Glitter -

constancexx -

ShiningSAKURAA -

mymanicmarie-

KholeNinja - Be prepared, Sasuke's goodness has been allowed to florish in this story, he is a sweet cinnamon roll too good for this world lol.

Yami no Emi -

my-cherry-sakura - *blushes* thank you!

prettyinpink81 - *rubs hands together evilly* MUAHHAHAHAH! Excelllent!

Sapphire love -

MissKonoha- One of my favorite readers! Glad you like it!

ElevatedJewel- Love your username *-*

bnhines93-

Barbo- Yes, I'm excited about it too! I love flushing Sasuke and Sakura out as a characters. I've never had characters I've connected with so much, nor enjoy writing so well. Sasuke is especially fun to play around with when he has no avenging to do.

oranmflare- I'm pretty indifferent to ItaHana, and it will probably be portrayed more as an arranged marriage type relationship in this story, but I've seen it portrayed so beautifully in other stories that it's been slowly growing on me and I've decided to test my hand with it instead of creating yet another OC for Itachi's wife. It is not a huge part of the story at all though.

Chocolate Cupcake Lover-

snowstorm2003-

LadyMartel4000-

heyarnoldfangirl-

Asu-susi-chan-

Malcriada-

albaloo-

Guest who inquired about the sexual abuse- Sakura's background will be made to light soon enough, and I don't think I'm spoiling anything when I say she was abused in her previous household, as well caught in the crossfire of a terrible battle that almost killed her. Her life has been ugly since a young age. Though, I won't get into great detail about her misfortunes, nor EVER paint it in a positive light, it is part of her back story. Just so you know, if you'd rather not continuing reading.

Thank you to all my guest/anon reviewers!

::Lonely Existence::

Chapter Two: A New Light

Kakashi pulled her along through the burning palace, nearly dislocating her arm as he did so, commanding her to hurry up and pick up her feet. That was easier said than done. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see... if he were to let go of her upper arm she knew she would fall limply to the floor and be trampled by what was left of the household staff stampeding through the halls to escape... it was a miracle she was even able to put one foot in front of the other, he should have been more grateful.

"We're almost out, little one." he told her, his voice suddenly calm and gentle in amidst the screams of panic. "Don't give up on me now."

Too late, she wanted to tell him. She already had given up a long time ago.

In truth, she had no qualms with dying... How bad could it be, truly? It couldn't be any worse than living. If she were to die here and now, then that simply meant this was as far as she was supposed to go.

The silver-haired guard seemed to have other ideas, however, as he scooped her up over his shoulder the moment her legs gave out. "Don't give up, Sakura."

The words rang in her ear, burning and stinging her worse than the flames licking around her ankles.

"Why?" she rasped out.

"Because, you're not done yet."

Not...done...yet...

:::

With a gasp, she was suddenly awake.

Taking in deep breaths of air, her chest rose and fell rapidly as she stared into the dark void looming over her. Clutching the sheets till her hands were pale, Sakura tried to anchor herself from the flooding memories of fire and blood that had tormented her since that terrible night.

After several minutes of concentrated will, her breathing slowly started to even out and the ceiling above her became more and more transparent in the bluish hue of the early morning light, promising the coming of the rising sun... she knew it was time for her to rise and prepare for the day.

With a shaky breath, she forced herself to be calm once more before pulling away the warm sheets from her body.

Why?

Why did he have to save her?

:::

What was she doing?

He heard her stir and rise from his bed across the room... the sun wasn't even over the horizon yet. Sasuke let out a tired groan as he sat up from the sofa, a question formed and ready on his lips, only to still in surprise, heat rising to his face. The girl was standing in the washroom across the way in nothing but a flimsy under-dress, that was doing very little to protect her modesty. Her hair was loose, falling down to the curve of her back like a waterfall reflecting the pink hues of a sunrise and her jade eyes were free of the shadowy paint that had emphasized them before.

He found his breath caught in his throat and any cohesive thought dissolve slowly from his mind. He could only watch in silence as she splashed her face clean with water from the basin. He had never seen a woman look so... natural before, free of restrictive clothing, face paint, and the complex hairstyles of his clan.

He honestly found it the more appealing alternative.

Late, or technically early, as it was he thought he should order her back to bed to rest, but he didn't have it in him to disturb her. Surely, this must have been her first moment of peace in long time. So, he remained silent letting his eyes roam over the plains and valleys of her small, but surreal figure. His gaze came to rest on her eyes that had found pause to stare at her own reflection for a moment.

She was still as she looked herself over with something akin to dismissive contempt, before returning her attention back to cleansing herself. The tensity of her shoulders and the slight tremor of her hands made the corner of his lip tug downward.

He couldn't imagine what she must have been through... and he wasn't really sure he wanted to.

Finding himself unwilling to intrude upon her privacy a moment more, he turned over and laid his head back against the throw pillow... though, when sleep finally found him again, he was dreaming in color.

:::

She remembered the last time she had celebrated her birthday.

Her mother had prepared her favorite treat of dango after dinner and her father had made her a beautiful set of wind-chimes, made of sea glass, to hang in her window. While so many images of her past had grown more and more hazy as the years went by, she could remember every detail of those damned wind-chimes; their color, their shapes, their smoothness, their music... she could still see and hear them so clearly.

A gift.

Pretty, delicate, and so very disposable.

She smoothed the sides of the sapphire-colored kimono she had been given by Kurenai to wear for the day, before sitting down beside the tea table. She wasn't sure what tea Sasuke preferred, so she made her best guess with jasmine.

She had yet to meet someone who hated jasmine tea.

Sakura had tried to mimic the way Kurenai had pinned up her hair the previous evening, but found the task far too complicated. She instead styled it the way she was most accustomed too in her previous household, pinning it half up with two decorated hair combs. That was obviously the wrong thing to do for the lady's handmaiden lifted her nose in disapproval and simply pulled out the hair-combs without a word, once Sakura had reported to her in the morning.

"That style is a Senju style, foolish child." Kurenai had scolded her, making her sit so she could prepare her hair the way she had the night before. "You don't serve the Senju anymore, do you wish to be offensive?"

Not particularly, as her life depended on it.

"I meant no offence, Kurenai-san." she had offered softly, wincing in pain as her hair was gathered up above her head once more.

"...It is an honest mistake." Kurenai relented, her voice losing it's tact. "You have just arrived... tell me, how did it go last night with his lordship?"

"It went well, ma'am." she had lied.

In truth, however, she had no idea how it went last night... since nothing had really happened. Not because of any fault of her own... that she was aware of. Still, she could not tell Kurenai that, for she could still be dismissed, or worse, sent back to Madara's household for failing to please her master. She could only hope that the Uchiha boy would not complain about her and reveal her little fib.

Besides, it was not like he was displeased with her and she had done everything he requested of her... so truly, she shouldn't have been so anxious about such things.

Her jade eyes drifted over to the said Uchiha boy, who was sleeping upon the sofa peacefully, albeit looking a little uncomfortable. He was too tall for it, and his feet had to be propped up over the cushioned arm. He probably did not assume he would awaken on his seventeenth birthday with neck pains... and he certainly hadn't expected to receive her, that was for certain.

However, she was still assigned to him and she would have to carry on with her tasks as best she could no matter how unprepared he was. It filled her with shame to think that him sparing her last night and giving her his bed was all an act of charity.

It somehow made her feel lower than she already was, if that was even possible.

He began to stir and she immediately straightened from where she knelt beside the small table, readying to pour the tea. He sat up abruptly, and a long time ago she might have giggled at the sight of his messy bed hair sticking out in all directions. His dazed eyes fell upon her and stayed there. He looked a little surprised and confused, confirming her assumption that he never had been served by someone like her before.

"Good morning, my lord." she bowed her head, deciding to follow protocol to be on the safe side anyway. "I've prepared your tea."

"...Ah." he answered. "...um... Thank you..."

"It is one of my tasks to accomplish now." she explained when he only continued to sit and stare at her. "Though, I'm afraid I don't know which tea you prefer in the morning or how you take it."

He rose slowly from the sofa then, every move careful and calculated, before coming to sit across from her. "Well then, I suppose I'll have to show you."

To her surprise and sudden dread, he took the teapot from her hands and began to fill her cup.

"N-no...I... you...uh..." now it was she that was the one who was speechless. Her usual poise and reserve shattered. What did he think he was doing? Pouring her glass? Serving her? Was he mad? She had once received a sound backhand across the face for spilling Lord Jiro's tea... this was unheard of. Kami, if another servant were to walk past and see, she could only imagine the sound beating she would receive.

Sasuke's eyes darted up to her, confused by the panic and the sudden tension in her jaw. "What is it?"

What is it? What did he mean "what is it?"? Was he trying to get her flogged?

"T-that is my task, my lord." she managed to say, gathering her composure. "I am the one who is supposed to be serving you."

Honestly, how clueless was he?

Morning tea was relatively informal compared to the ceremonial tea before dinner, but still... he couldn't not have grown up the son of a nobleman without this knowledge.

To her surprise, he only shrugged and continued pouring, indifferent to her instruction and inner turmoil. "How are you supposed to know how I take my tea if I don't show you?"

"You could just tell me." she replied factually. Did he think she was simple minded?

Suddenly, he smirk at her, a boyish and teasing grin smirk that made her almost forgot her anger toward him all together.

Almost.

The concept that he was amused by something that she could easily be punished for did not leave much room for girlish admiration.

"I've thrown you completely off, haven't I?" he asked as if there was some sort of irony in that, pouring his own cup. "I'm sorry, as you can tell, I'm not used to this... having someone..." he trailed off, unsure how to put it politely.

Obviously not. Wait. Her jade eyes snapped up to him in surprise. Did he just... apologize? To her?

"It's your tea and chambers, sire." she replied honestly, a slight shrug rising to her shoulders. "You can do as you wish with them."

"It's Sasuke, remember." he told her, taking one of the lemon wedges and ringing it into his tea, and doing the same to hers. "Here, this is how I usually take it."

A simple enough beverage to prepare, she thought. She brought the cup to her lips and already disliked the taste of the bitter lemon mixed with the jasmine. He coughed a laugh at her twisted expression, a warm and pleasant sound that she wouldn't mind hearing again. "No good?"

"I prefer sugar in my tea." she replied, taking one of the sweets and nibbling a small bite to subdue the bitter and sour flavor.

"Ah, I see." he replied, taking a sip of his own. "I'm afraid I don't have much of a sweet tooth."

For a few minutes they ate in companionable silence, her gaze shifting between the table and the window as he continued to watch her with curious eyes.

"Did you... sleep well?" he asked, clearly embarrassed and no good at conversation.

"Yes, thank you." she replied quietly. "Though I wish you would take your bed back... surely, you did not sleep well."

"I slept fine." he told her, uncaring.

"My lord..." she began.

"Sasuke."

"Sasuke," she relented, doing her best to hide her annoyance. "Perhaps there are things you wish to explain to me."

"Like what?" he asked.

She tried not to sigh. "Rules you might have for me, things you'd like me to do or not to do, your schedule, your preferences... things like that, so that I can avoid offending you."

He looked her over thoughtfully, dissecting her as he had done the night before. It unnerved her just as it did then.

When he did not answer right away, her gaze fell to the table. "For instance, is this the tea that you like to drink in the morning?" She then motioned to the windows. "Do you want me to open the drapes or keep them closed when I rise? What times do you wish me to be in your chambers? Where am I allowed to go when you're not here?"

"...I haven't put much thought into it." he admitted quietly, perhaps a bit ruefully.

Sakura did not reply, but he seemed to sense that he was making things difficult for her.

"Though, I'm certain we'll fall into an appropriate pattern over time." he assured her. "Anything else?"

"A woman and boy were also brought here." she answered immediately.

"What of them?" he asked.

"They also were from my previous household, I would like to check on them, see if they are alright." she explained, her tone careful.

"I see no problem with that."

"...And the books in these rooms... may I read them?" she asked tentatively.

"I suppose someone ought to." he replied easily, relieved to have something else to talk about. "They're mostly gifts from family members, I used to read as a child, but I'm afraid I've fallen out of habit."

Her face brightened a little at his permission and he took notice. "...You know, if it's books you want, we do have a library."

"Really?" she asked, trying to keep her excitement at bay.

"Yes...Would you like to see?" he suggested.

"Could I?"

"I'll take you after I dress." he replied, rising to his feet.

"Won't you miss breakfast with your family?" Sakura asked, looking up at him.

"I'll eat when my sister-in-law and nephew come to visit." he replied, going to change. "My father went to see my brother off anyway... I'll just be a moment."

She nodded and quickly went about clearing the tea table.

:::

He led her down the halls toward the library, finding that he had to slow his long strides in order for her to keep up with him, and that he had to glance behind him every few steps to make sure he hadn't lost her. It was probably against what she was instructed, but it would have been easier if she could just walk alongside him, instead of following behind him three steps.

Entering the library, he turned to find the girl's eyes wide and bright at the sight of the high oak shelves and the countless books and scrolls burdened upon them. Their library was one of the finest in the family, nearly a century old now. Her mouth hung open as she crossed the threshold in a way that made him smile slightly. He couldn't really share her fascination, they were just books after all, meant for study and not much else, but he found it pleasing to see how excited she was about them.

"Adequate?" he asked her as she remained by the doorway staring.

"Yes," she nodded, her eyes traveling over every volume. "Very much so."

He tilted his head, wondering why she hadn't ventured any further. "You can take a few... if you want."

Her bright eyes finally found cause to leave the books to meet his gaze, widening even further in surprise.

"...Though, in order for that to happen, you'd have to actually come in."

She did then, with tentative steps, moving toward the tower of books as if approaching something sacred. "I can borrow... anything?"

"Anything." he shrugged, looking up at the collection, trying to see what she was seeing. To him this was just another cold and empty room in his life. "What do you like to read?"

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, perhaps a little unsure as where to begin, reaching out to touch the spine of a large red volume. "Are there books on medicine?"

"Were you a healer?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Of course not." she said, a scoff escaping her lips without her consent. "I mean, no, I wasn't... I just have an interest."

"Well, I think we may have some, there are not very many healers in my family." he replied, heading toward where he thought the books on science were kept. He watched in slight amusement as she found the dozen or so medical texts without his help and browsed through excitedly, standing on her tiptoes to reach a volume that had piqued her interest best.

"Here." he couldn't help but grin, reaching past her to grab the desired book, after watching a few of her failed attempts.

It was a book of medical-nin jutsu.

"Thank you." she murmured quietly, taking the offered book. "Are you sure the Lord and Lady won't be upset if I take this?"

"I'm sure." he replied. "The only one who really read was my brother, and he doesn't live here anymore, so help yourself."

She nodded in understanding, hugging the book to herself. "If you're sure then."

"You can take a few more, if you want." Sasuke told her. "No one will miss them."

The girl shook her head. "No, that's alright. This will keep me occupied enough for a while."

"Alright, then." he replied, wanting to keep the light in her eyes kindled. "Let's return it to my chambers... were you shown the gardens?"

She shook her head again.

"Well, you should learn your way around the grounds."

She nodded then, and Sasuke thought that he saw her smile faintly. A real smile, not one that she was forced to make...but he couldn't be sure as it happened so quickly.

"Come on, then." he told her, surprised to find that he wanted to make her smile like that again.

a/n: They're cute!

And now a segment of Misplaced Quotes in the Naruto Universe:

Sakura: It's okay, I know you think I'm gorgeous.

Sasuke: What? I don't think you're gorgeous.

Sakura: *singing* You think I'm gorgeous, you want to kiss me, you want to hug me...

Sasuke: ...

Sakura: *still singing*You want love me, you to hug me, you want to smooch me.