I know its been a while, but I've been super busy with school here in Japan! But this is our last week before break, which is two months, so hopefully I will be able to get a lot done not only on this fic, but also on Ransom as well :)

Enjoy and comment please !


Sakura found it extremely hard to keep her eyes open the next day as she had only gotten about an hour in total of sleep. She had basically had to force herself to get off her couch, get herself dressed and drag herself to work. And once she was there, the bright lights and white surroundings did nothing to help but instead gave her a headache. Nonetheless she managed to keep herself chipper by focusing specifically on her wok at hand, and by talking to a few of the children in the hospital. It always brought her joy when she saw how positive her patients were. It gave her the hope she needed in order to try and better herself each day.

The day went by quickly for her, and before she knew it the first part of her shift was over. As quickly as she could, she rushed to her office to drop of her clipboard and notes. But once she got there, she was surprised to see that her door was already left open, and the sound of somebody shuffling around inside could be heard. Poking her head inside the door to get a better look at her intruder, the tall form of Akito came into view. He was standing by her desk, looking through some papers that he had in his hands.

"Akito?"

Her voice must have surprised him, because as soon as she had called out his name he jumped, dropping his papers all over the floor at his feet. Sakura frowned and stepped inside the room, immediately feeling bag for startling him. His eyes flashed towards her and he turned around, slipping on a sheet of paper and stumbling a bit.

"S-Sakura-san! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were there!" he stuttered. She smiled slightly at his awkwardness and walked over to him.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Well, I came to ask you about the report that you wanted me to write." That was right, she had told him to ask her about it later, and it was now in fact later. Sakura knelt down, her heels working as support so that she could squat close to the ground and began to pick up his loose papers. Akito got down to her level and began to pick them up as well, continuing to explain to her what his question was. It was an easy question, and it only took her a few seconds to answer. Her answer was cut short however when she reached for the last paper and her hand made contact with something warm. Her eyes flicked down and saw that her hand was laying on top of Akito's and she felt her cheeks flush. The two medics pulled away from each other quickly, their eyes locking together in an awkward silence. He was blushing too.

Sakura felt her heartbeat begin to pick up. Akito was very handsome, and she had regretted not saying yes to him yesterday, perhaps it would have been good for her to get out and experience a date once in her life. Although she had not lied to him, she was working a double shift that would probably run far into the night.

Tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear, Sakura stood up, clearing her throat. Akito followed her motion and stood as well.

"I-I'm sorry…." He mumbled quietly. Sakura shook her head, but instead of replying as she intended, the words that left her mouth were beyond her control.

"I know I'm busy tonight, but did you want to go out this weekend….."

Realizing what she said and surprising herself, her green eyes widened. Akito stood there for a moment, his expression confused before his cheeks turned an even brighter shade of pink. Sakura swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, immediately regretting asking him. "I mean…if you want to…"

"That sounds great!" Akito's sudden excited caught her off guard and she flinched as he shouted his response. "Are you free Friday? Could I pick you up at six o'clock, does that work?"

Sakura's mind scrambled to grasp what he was saying. He was speaking so fast, and so enthusiastically that his rambled words were all blending together: that and the fact that she now wasn't sure if she even wanted to go on the date after all. As soon as she had asked him she was filled with a feeling of guilt a betrayal. But she tried her best to shake those feelings off the moment she saw his eyes light up.

"Friday and six is perfect." she agreed weakly, trying to make it sound like she was looking forward to it equally as much.

"What would you like to do?"

"Um…why don't you decide and surprise me?"

She gave him a sincere smile and he nodded, smiling back.

"Great! I'll think of something amazing, just you wait!"

Her day continued on as it had been, but her thoughts were once again distraught and it was harder to distract herself this time. Even though she knew it wasn't the case, she felt as though she was giving up on Sasuke. Going on a date with another man felt wrong, and she knew it wasn't as though she belonged to Sasuke or anything, but she did wonder that with her luck, if she would start to develop feelings for Akito right at the time Sasuke would return, causing her to be stuck. But that was the optimistic part of her mind. The realistic part of her mind told her that Ino was right, and that Sasuke just wasn't coming back.


Days passed with Sakura continuing to mentally war with herself. Half of her wanted badly to make up an excuse to cancel the date. Naruto was due back on Friday, she could easily just tell Akito she had forgot they had plans. But the other half of her was telling her that it would be good for her to get out there, at least if it was just to let her see if dating was her thing or not. Her only muse was alcohol, which she continued to poison her body with every night to get her mind to rest.

When Friday finally came around, Sakura's regret had finally vanished, and to be quite honest she was excited more than anything. Ino had even let her borrow one of her old dresses for the occasion, though Sakura had decided against wearing it because the more she looked at it, the more inappropriate she realized it was.

It was a tight black cocktail dress that barely covered anything really. The neckline was low-cut, though to Sakura that hardly mattered. Although her breasts had grown in size slightly since she was a teenager, she wouldn't say that they were sexy. No, she knew that she would never have that going for her, and as much as she hated to admit that she would probably always be flat, she had come to terms with it for the most part. Besides, the rest of her body was decent. She was fit, thin; had great legs and she would even like to say a nice ass.

Giggling to herself she walked in front of the full length mirror that rested against her bedroom wall. She held the dress up to her and turned to the side, wondering what she would look like in it.

I wonder what Sasuke would think if he saw me in this.

Right away her eyes narrowed. No. She would not let herself think of Sasuke tonight. This night was about her and Akito. Only her and Akito.

Chucking the dress on her bed, she went to her closet and dug through until she found a flowy, ivory summer dress. Wriggling out of her shirt and pants, she tugged the dress over her head and once again looked at herself in the mirror.

Better.

She didn't look as sexy as Ino wanted her to look, but she still looked cute, and that's all that mattered to her.

Not long after that, Akito arrived to pick her up. He was dressed in a light gray suit, his messy hair tossed back out of his face, and his eyes gleaming with both nervousness and excitement.

"You look so handsome." Sakura complimented him, causing both herself and Akito to blush. She wasn't used to seeing him this dressed up, it was very different from what he usually wore to work or what he wore whenever she saw him outside of work.

"Thank you….you look very beautiful."

"Thanks…." Sakura paused for a moment as they began to walk. "So…where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. You'll have to wait to see."

She eyed him suspiciously and they fell into an awkward silence. Her mind had gone completely blank, she had no idea what to talk about, she never had this problem before. As they began to walk down the surprisingly busy main street of Konoha, Sakura could feel her heart hammer more and more with every step she took. She tried to get her mind off of the awkwardness and her nervousness by looking at the people gathering in the street. She had forgotten all about the matsuri that was scheduled to happen that evening. Perhaps Akito was taking her to do something that was involved with that. There were hundreds and hundreds of people crowing the street, food carts and games set up by the side shops, lanterns hung everywhere illuminating the road. It really was beautiful.

The further down the street they got, the busier the road became however and before she knew it Sakura was struggling to stay behind Akito, pushing herself past people to try and keep up. After a few moments, Akito glanced over his shoulder and noticed her struggling. Giving a quick smile he reached his hand back and told hold of her own. Immediately Sakura stopped walking, her green orbs shooting up to look at him.

"This way we won't get separated!" he shouted over the loud noise of the crowd, holding their hands up to show her that their fingers were now intertwined. Sakura felt her cheeks heat up and she slowly nodded, knowing that he was indeed right.

"Kay…" was all she said in response, and it was in such a quiet voice she doubted that he had actually heard her. Akito turned back around and started to walk again, pulling her with him. It didn't take long before Sakura had finally calmed herself down. The warmth of his hand made her feel safe for some reason, and the way his hair blew lightly in the breeze set her heart at ease. It was nice being led by someone you trusted, someone who honestly and truly cared about you. It was something different than what she had ever felt with Sasuke, who instead had only brought her pain and confusion.

After what felt like minutes of pushing past people, Akito took a sharp turn, yanking Sakura and almost causing her to lose her footing. She stumbled slightly and fell into the back of him, her face pressed up against his back. He had come to a complete stop and finally had let go of her hand, she assumed that this meant they were here.

Pushing away from him gently, Sakura looked up and her heart fell.

"Well….here we are!" Akito said with a smile, his eyes glued to the sight before them. Sakura was left speechless. In front of them, was none other than the most well known, fanciest, and above all most expensive restaurant in Konoha, Hamazushi. There was no way that she could ever accept Akito paying for not only his bill, but also hers as well. It would be far too expensive, especially for a first date. But it looked beautiful; an old Japanese style building surrounded by candles and flowers, making the atmosphere seem almost enchanted and too good to be true.

She hadn't noticed that her jaw was open until she began to talk. "Akito…..this…we can't eat here. Lets go somewhere else."

Akito looked at her again, worry spread across his face. "You don't like seafood?"

"No, no. That's not it. It's just….this place….is so expensive."

"That's okay! My dad knows the owner, he pulled some strings. Besides I already made a reservation."

With that, Akito began to walk forward towards the front door of the restaurant, leaving Sakura frozen in her place. He had already booked a reservation? He pulled some strings? How seriously was he taking this date, she had no idea. Suddenly she felt nervous all over again and had to force herself to swallow a golf ball sized lump that was stuck in her throat. She needed a drink. Taking a deep breath she rushed forward, following him into the restaurant.

Once inside her nostrils were immediately filled with the smell of savory foods that made her stomach turn. Had she always been this hungry? She hadn't noticed, but now it was very apparent. The restaurant was dimly lit, and filled with people who had most likely come from or were going to go to the festival. The pair stood at the front door, right beside the cashier, waiting for someone to come seat them. A young waitress who was rushing around with multiple trays in both hands saw them and she shouted to another young man who looked no older than Sakura herself. He nodded and hastened over to them, bowing at Akito once he reached them.

"Good evening." he said in a voice that reminded Sakura of someone of royalty.

"Good evening. Uh….reservation for Akito Hayarashi."

The young host's eyes widened and he smiled. "Hayarashi-san? Of course, this way please." With that, he turned on his heels and began to ascend into the restaurant, Akito and Sakura following suit. Sakura continued to look around widely at her surroundings. Who was this man who she was with? Perhaps she really didn't know anything about him at all.

The three walked completely to the other side of the restaurant until they came to a large glass door that led outside once again. Sakura felt confused for a moment as they continued outside, until that is she saw where they were going. It was an outside patio, filled with quaint round tables that were lit by candle light that made her green eyes sparkle. She was breathless. Never before in her entire life had she been treated to something that made her feel this special, this….relevant. And as the host finally stopped at a small round table, and Akito rushed to pull out a chair for her, she began to feel the need to cry. Everything was beautiful, and Akito was absolutely amazing. But there was something cold and twisted pulling at her heart that was preventing her from relaxing and enjoying it, and she knew exactly what it was.

"Thank you…"she said in a quiet whisper, ghosting a smile at the boy in front of her. Akito smiled back and went to his own seat, plopping himself down and taking a deep breath.

"I uh….hope you don't mind I figured you'd want a patio seat since it's a beautiful night. And you can see the festival from here, which I thought would be nice. Maybe we can go check it out after our meal."

Sakura turned her head to look to the side of them. Only a few tables away was a small iron fence that surrounded the patio, and on the other side of the fence, the bustling street that hosted the festival. She watched the people passing by for a moment before turning back to her date. She didn't deserve this. Not at all.

"It must have been really hard to get a reservation here."

"Not really. Remember I said that my father knows the owner and had him pull some strings?"

"Oh, right. Well…that was lucky I suppose."

"Oh yes."

There it was again. Another awkward silence. Sakura watched Akito as he fingered the lip of his water glass, causing a loud hum to vibrate off the crystal. She could tell he was nervous, and her uncomfortable actions and responses probably were helping at all. So she decided to straighten up, arching her back into the back of her chair and leaning her elbows on the table in front of her.

"You don't have to be nervous, Akito. It's just me." She gave him a smile as his icy eyes met hers.

"I-I know….I just….I don't really do this very often so…"

Sakura chuckled. "Well, it certainly doesn't seem that way. You chose a really nice restaurant."

He seemed to spark up at this and a small smile graced his lips. "Oh, well actually this was the place my father took my mother when he proposed."

Sakura blinked. Once, twice. Proposed? Akito sensed her weariness and his eyes widened.

"N-not that I'm trying to re enact anything, I just…"

Before he could finish an older man with a perfectly waxed mustache and a handsome black suit came over, pen and notebook in hand.

"Good evening sir, madam. May I get you anything to drink?"

Sakura's mind immediately went to her happy place and before she even knew what she was saying, her lips and tongue moved on their own.

"A bottle of red wine please!" she spouted out. Both the waiter and Akito looked at her, surprised. Again a blush crept over her cheeks.

"Yeah," Akito agreed after a few seconds of processing. "A bottle of red wine."

The waiter nodded and jotted it down in his notebook, bowed then backed away. Sakura sat there, her eyes suddenly finding a chip in her side of the table very interesting.

I can't believe I just did that….

Internally panicking for a moment, she turned to the menu that was resting on the table to her side. She hadn't even noticed that the waiter had brought them, but nonetheless she began to read. There were unfortunately three meals on the menu; a salmon meal, a steak meal and a lamb meal. Sakura was never really a huge fan of red meat, and her dislike for them grew even more after the war, so she knew she would probably end up with the salmon.

"It's a set menu, so there isn't really much of an option. But I heard it's really good."Akito's voice played through her ears. She nodded, looking up from the menu with a small smile.

"It looks delicious!"

Akito smiled back and crossed his arms. "So what do you think about that report Lord Sixth wants us to hand in by the end of next week? Have you started it yet?"

"Actually, I'm almost done."

Akito's eyes widened once again. "Wow, you sure are a hard worker, Sakura-san. I've been so busy lately with work and my parents, my mum's kind of sick you see, so she's always pestering my dad about helping around the house, and of course he always gets on my case about it, even though I don't even live at home anymore. And then there's my little brother who's trying to become a medical nin as well and-"

As Akito spoke, Sakura's mind wondered. She was trying to listen to him, really she was, but there was something about the way his calm voice flowed through her mind and carried her thoughts away from the table, away from Konoha. Her eyes again trailed to the crowd of festival goers. Everyone looked so happy, like there wasn't a care in the world. She wished she could feel like that, even on a night like this, a night that girls everywhere dream they could be a part of, she still wasn't safe from the chains that bound her. Because despite how happy she should have been, and how content Akito should have been making her feel, she wasn't and she didn't. She was trying her very best, she honestly was, but something just didn't feel….right. He wasn't right. He wasn't him.

It was at that exact moment, as if on cue that Sakura's eyes locked on one individual in the crowd. Immediately she sat of straight, her jaw going slack. Walking past the restaurant was a tall man, dressed in a black cloak; his ebony hair spiked in the way that only one person she knew spiked their hair. Her heart stopped in her chest and all of a sudden every sound disappeared and everything seemed to freeze except for the two of them. It couldn't be…

As if he could sense her looking at him, Sasuke turned his head in her direction, his mismatched eyes locking with her green ones. She felt something inside of her pop and suddenly she was on her feet.

Akito stopped talking and gaped at her. "Sakura-san…is everything okay?"

"I'm so sorry Akito, but I have to go. I'll make it up to you I promise" she had started walking even before responding to him, pushing past a waiter and causing him to drop his tray of drinks on her way towards the gate, not once taking her eyes away from Sasuke. As soon as she reached the gate however Sasuke turned and disappeared into the crowd. Sakura broke out into a run, jumping over the iron fence and hurling herself into the crowd.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Pushing herself between people, stepping on people's feet, clambering through the crowd as if her life depended on it, she never once took her eyes off of his back. But why was he walking away from her? Did he not want to see her? Was he angry that she was on a date with another man? She had no idea.

"Sasuke-kun! Please!" She was now close enough to reach out and grab hold of his cloak, so she did exactly that, extending her arm as far as she could and grabbing onto the coarse fabric. Only once her hand unclosed around it, the fabric vanished and she was met with the warm sensation of skin and bone. An arm? She was holding someone's arm. Looking up she was no longer looking at Sasuke, but of a young girl who had turned around to see just who had grabbed her, her brown eyes a mixture of annoyance and surprise. Sakura immediately let go, confusion swimming through her mind.

"What's your problem?"a males voice boomed from beside her and her head quickly snapped to see a taller man step beside the girl, wrapping his arm around her as if Sakura had assaulted her and he had to protect her. Shaking her head she began to fumble on her words.

"I….I'm sorry I….thought she was someone else."

Backing away, someone who was walking bumped into Sakura hard, causing her to stumbled, and sent a tremor of pain shooting through her entire body. Had it been a hallucination? Another trick of her mind? Her breathing began to get shallow as she felt her anxiety begin to drown her.

Sakura…

Her head whipped around. It was Sasuke's voice, calling her name. Maybe he was there after all.

Sakura…

This time it was Ino. Sakura turned around again searching violently through the crowd of people as more and more voices filled her head, all of them calling her name to the point where it was all she could hear.

Sakura…

Sakura…

Sakura….

Throwing her hands over her ears, Sakura clenched her eyes shut. "Please…stop…."she whispered, pleading for the voices to stop. But then didn't. They only continued to get louder and louder. People continued to bump past her, and every touch made her skin boil and sting. She could feel her blood pulsing through her veins, and it almost felt as though she were on fire. Her anxiety crept its way into her chest.

"STOP IT!"

Tears began to fall from her clenched eyes and she dropped to the ground in a squatting position. It was all too much, she was going crazy. What was going on with her?

Sakura…

Sakura…

Sakura…

"Sakura-chan?"

With the last voice, came a large strong hand that clamped around her upper arm, pulling her back to her feet and snapping all of the other voices away. Sakura opened her wet, hazy eyes and two blurry figures came into view in front of her. It took only seconds for her eyes to adjust to realize that Naruto and Hinata had found her, both of them looking worried beyond words. "Sakura-chan…are you okay?"

Sakura's face scrunched itself and she broke into a terrible ugly cry. She tossed her arms around Naruto's neck, throwing herself into him and burying her face into his hard chest. How glad she was that they had found her, but how foolish and vulnerable she felt at the same time. Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and looked down at his wife. Hinata frowned at the sight of her friend and placed her hand on her back, slowly rubbing it to comfort her. Neither of them knew what was going on, or why she had been like this, but they did nothing that there was indeed something very wrong.