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Chapter 3

Sakura made good on her promise to Lady Tsunade, her kit packed within the hour and racing through the night forest of Konoha. She knew it would take her at least two more hours to get to the waystation that lay between Rain and Leaf. With a glance up at the moon through the canopy of leaves, she judged it past midnight, closer to one, perhaps.

From the waystation, Rain in only three more hours away after that. Sasuke…what could you have been thinking, coming so close to Konoha? It had been two weeks since that night, two weeks of wondering and frustration and yes, if she were to be brutally honest with herself, yearning.

Stop it, she told herself sternly as she suppressed a yawn, it was one night. Only that. Tsunade and the village are counting on me. I told them I could do this alone. Beneath the moonlight she bit her lip. She had told Tsunade she had wanted to go alone because she knew that had she not; she would have sent Neji along with her. And nothing gets by him, she mussed as she leapt from another branch, making her way quickly through the dense forest.

So was it pure stubbornness on her part to prove that she could capture an S-rank Shinobi on her own….or was it because she wanted to see Sasuke, alone, once more? Sakura shook her head, her pink hair secured in a chignon by twin chopsticks, but her bangs flowed in the wind.

So? What is the answer? Her consciousness prodded as she suddenly banked left, heading for Rain. I…will do my duty to the village. That night…was a mistake. A weakness, on my part. It will not happen again.

This thought sounded so confident, so sure in her mind. So why then, did her heart ache as though it were being torn from her chest and the burning in the back of her eyes, where she refused to cry? She ignored both of them and concentrated solely on getting to the waystation…

Two hours later, the moon riding low in the night sky before dark clouds obscured it from view, Sakura found the hidden waystation. True to its form, the borderlands of Rain were raining. Sakura, hugging her green cloak close to her body, just caught the first fall before racing into the small hut.

"Gods, what a night!" she cursed at the sky as it opened up. Lightning forked the sky and thunder boomed, Sakura feeling vibrations through the wooden flooring. Torrential rains poured all around and Sakura knew she would not be going anywhere else until this storm passed over.

With a sigh she looked around the hut. "Well, at least its replenished." She thought with relief. The last station she had been too had been stripped bare of everything and she could only stay long enough to rest her weary body, before finding the closest village to find fresh food and water.

Sakura walked between the tiny rooms that made up the kitchen and bath room, single bedroom and a small living room with a wide fireplace for winter time. It was made for a single person to stay, or two, but only if they are very good friends, she thought with amusement at the only bed in the hut.

Sakura made her way back to the living room and shed her wet cloak, starting the small fire in the fireplace, hanging her cloak on a hook next to it. It was still early spring and the torrential rains had dropped the temperature enough that the fire felt good on her chilled skin.

Weariness shook Sakura's lithe form and she moved to the bedroom, after securing the locks and checking for traps. "One never knows," she murmured tiredly. Even though Rain was considered and ally, a Shinobi must always be on her guard.

Sakura shed her boots, long pants and vest, leaving only the mesh tank top and black bikini underwear on for modesty. Belatedly she pulled the chopsticks from her hair, the tumbling locks falling just past her shoulders as she fell into bed, placing her trusted kunai under her pillow and once more was swallowed by her dreams of the obsidian-eyed Uchiha.

"Yes, Sasuke."

She told him, her breath coming out in a rush, her lips swollen from his kisses. He pulled his lips from her neck, his gaze so intense she could not break away, mesmerized by those shadowed depths. "Be sure, Sakura. I will not let refuse me once you come with me." Sakura swallowed hard, but her emerald eyes flashed green fires and she pushed away from the tree, molding her slim form against his harder one, her fingers capturing his hair once more. Her lips were mere inches from his. "I am." She whispered, her gaze never breaking from his.

He kissed her, hard. His lips bruising hers but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms firmly around his neck, her mouth opening under his questing tongue, shuddering against him as desire arced between them.

Abruptly he released her mouth, and she would have dropped to the ground, except that his arm was firmly about her waist. She looked up at, eyes waiting. "We need to leave. Others are coming." He told her, and before she could fully process that particular piece of information, he was already pulling her into the dense forest, their track covered by a sudden wind.

"Sasuke!" she gasped out, as they moved at a blurred speed through the forest, "Where are we going?" "Somewhere hidden." He told her, his grip firm on her hand. She wanted to ask him more, but at the burning look in his obsidian eyes, she held back. They raced through the forest, and Sakura felt as though had traveled half the country before Sasuke stopped.

Sakura, surprised, could hear the roar of a waterfall in the distance. Sasuke turned to look at her, a black satin band appearing in his hand. She looked at him with sudden wariness. "You don't trust me?" she asked, her eyes dimming. His eyes were no longer obsidian, but the blood red of the Sharingan. "I trust you Sakura." He told, even as he placed the blindfold over her eyes.

Sakura, now unable to see, gripped Sasuke's hand tighter and allowed him to lead her the rest of the way, the roar of the falls coming closer, and yet she felt no spray, no wetness on her skin.

It was no more than ten minutes, she guessed, when he removed the bandage. She gasped as her eyes adjusted and she saw the view. The sun was setting in the valley, the last dying rays of sunshine setting the sky a flame, the waterfall sparkling in the short distance from where they stood.

She turned back to Sasuke, questions in her eyes. "Come with me." He told, holding out his bandaged hand. She saw, as she looked over his shoulder, a house upon the bluff, overlooking the valley. Without a word, she placed her gloved hand back into his and allowed him to lead her up to his hidden den.

"Sasuke…where ar-…" she began, but stopped when he turned, his head shaking. "No questions, Sakura. I want no distractions. I have waited too long." His voice held the husky tones of desire, and Sakura, hearing that desire, could not resist going to his arms.

"Then don't wait," she told him throatily, her voice a purr as she began kissing his jaw-line. She realized with sudden clarity, that she really didn't care where they were. Only that she was here, now, in his arms.