The Healing of a Konoha Blossom

Chapter three

By: UchihaSanNin

Disclaimer- UchihaSanNin does not own Naruto.

A few days after the incident with Karin, Sakura began to notice that the ugly redhead wasn't hanging all over the Uchiha anymore. In fact, she hadn't seen her anywhere. not in the cafeteria, the hallways, or anywhere in Sasuke's vicinity.

She sat down with her lunch at the long, empty table. She looked down at her food and grimaced. Lunch rolls and rice. Not her most favorite lunch in the world.

Eew. She thought to herself.

Then, a platter slammed down onto the table, and Naruto's loud voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, Sakura-Chan, how.....You wanna share mine...?" She smiled, her annoyance going away.

"Uh...yeah, sure, why not? you got the better stuff anyway." She grabbed his sandwich, and tore it in half. As she took a small bite, putting the other half back onto the blonde's plate, another plate slapped the surface of the table. She jumped, not expecting it. Then she turned and looked up to see who it belonged to.

None other than Sasuke Uchiha. It was right at that moment when she noticed the envious looks of every single female in the lunchroom. Sakura quickly looked back down at her food, and ate silently. She finished the sandwich, and pulled the lunch rolls apart, slowly eating them also.

Naruto watched her, trying to figure out what the problem was. "Sakura-chan...." He started, but she just ignored him, and absorbed herself into the task of eating. "Okay, Teme, fess up! What did you do or say to Sakura-Chan?"

He pointed a finger at the Uchiha, who sat on Sakura's right. Sakura looked up at Naruto, giving him a pleading look. "Naruto, he didn't do anything. I just don't like him! Nor do I want him sitting by me."

Sasuke just gave Naruto an empty stare, glanced at Sakura, and began eating without a word.

And after that was said, she went back to picking at her food.

--

3rd Period

P.E

--

"The power of youth flows freely within all of you!!! faster, faster!!!!" Guy yelled, blowing his whistle madly.

Sakura was ahead of everyone else, due to running at a slower pace. She was now lapping everyone. She was on her fifth lap, and making great time on her two mile. She breathed in deep, trying to push herself, making herself forget about the stress from the past three days. as she ran, heavy footfalls came to her ears, catching her attention.

Whoever it was came up beside her, and slowed, matching her pace. "You know what a good test is for checking your pace?"

Sasuke Uchiha.

She closed her eyes tight. "No, Sasuke, what."

She decided that she wouldn't be nice. after all, he was the one who left. So why should she be all goo-goo eyed when he suddenly comes back out of the blue from America?

"Talking. If you can talk while you run and still stay with the pace you set, then your good."

She gave him an annoyed look. "So. What should we talk about, Sasuke?"

He shrugged, and seemed to come alittle closer to her as they ran around the bend, stretching his legs our further to match her own pace.

"What do you think?"

"Okay....Let's talk about how it was five years ago. Just you, Naruto, and I."

"Why not....?" They paused for a moment, still running, and Sakura was glad for the moment of silence.

"We had it good back then. You know that?"

"Aa." He merely glanced at her, but kept running.

"No drama, me not getting picked on....Just us....But..." She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "Then....you left. didn't even tell me where you were going. nothing. You left without saying goodbye to me.You told Naruto everything but you couldsn't say a word to me."

"Hn."

Their feet hitting the concrete was the only thing that broke the silence that insued.

"I was friends with you back then, Sasuke...." She growled, speeding up. "But I don't know what to make of you....You abandoning me and Naruto, and that was it was it for me. So why should I talk to you? You and I are on completely different levels." And with that, she stretched her legs out, and sprinted the rest of the way to the marker, leaving Sasuke behind.

He watched her with a lazy look as she sprinted her last two laps, and smirked.

--

Sakura stretched, putting her hands over her head. The regulation pants she wore was starting to make her thighs itch. She felt cold, and hot at the same time, sweaty, and nasty. She thanked Kami that it hadn't snowed yet. She couldn't wait to get into the shower in the locker room.

Gai suddenly shouted:

"All right! Good job! Lets go, times running out! we have to get to the locker room and shower in fifteen minutes!"

And Sakura took off, in a dead sprint, wanting to get a hot shower before the other girls used up all the hot water.

--

She heard plodding footsteps behind her, figuring it was some of the girls behind her. She threw open the door, breathing hard, and it closed behind her. It opened again as she reached the stalls. But she didn't hear it lock. She took off her shirt, and threw it on the bench.

"Nice view." The words reached her ears, and she froze where she was. She turned around quickly, and Sasuke was standing right in front of her.

She fell back against the lockers, and fixed him with a glare. "What do you want with me, Sasuke?" She growled, as a slow blush began to take over her face. a small amount of hair managed to find it's way out of her ponytail, and Sasuke hand came forward, and brushed it away. She flinched.

"I only want to talk to you." He replied smoothly. "You blew me off out on the track. How else was I supposed to get your attention....?"

"But coming into the damned girls' locker room!!? Sasuke, have you lost your mind!??"

"....Maybe." He came just a bit closer. "I wanted to talk to you about something important."

She pushed herself off of the locker she was up against, and started to walk past him. He went to grab for her arm, but she turned to yell at him. Instead, he grabbed something else.

His hand landed on her sportsbra, and she froze. His hand seemed to cradle the soft mound of flesh, and Sakura could do nothing but gape at the Uchiha. His face had long since gone tomato red. He emmedietly let her go, after what seemed like a lifetime, and she shoved him away fromn her. He grabbed her wrist, and pulled her with him as he fell down.

She landed on top of him, and he groaned. Then, the click of a lock on the locker room door rang throughout the room. Sasuke was up, and helped the pinkette to her feet. She dragged him to one of the stalls, and grabbed her shirt off of the bench. She quietly shut the stall door as a herd of females come into the room. Sakura was mercilessly shoved against the stall door.

He motioned for her to stay quiet, and stay still.

"Did you see how that Haruno bitch was flirting with Sasuke-Kun?" One of them seemed to screech with rage.

"Yeah," Another answered. "Why would he even be interested in her anyway?"

There was the sudden slam of a locker door, and Sakura looked up at Sasuke. He could see the hurt and anger in her eyes.

"Well, c'mon, chic, let's get a hot shower and get going before she comes in here. I have a plan to put her in her place when we get back from Christmas Break."

And the girls walked into the showers, and shut the stall doors. Sasuke pulled away from Sakura after all the girls showered and left, and made his way to the boys locker room.

--

She was late for their meeting. She was supposed to meet Sasuke and Lee in the library around 3 o' clock, after school. But, due to the events that passed after P.E, she was too embarrassed to see anyone. She wouldn't be able to look at the Uchiha. The flesh of her breast was flaming red, due to scrubbing herself to rid her flesh of that strange feeling. She could still feel the imprint of his hand.

She silently walked into the library. It was completely empty. "Where are you guys.....?" She murmured, not reallizing she said it outloud. She wandered around, setting her books onto the table, and sighed. "Figures..... Lee's probrably already been here, and left, seeing that no one else is here...."

She walked around a coner, leaving ehr books at the table, and ran her fingers along the books she looked at. She lightly fingered the spines, reading the titles carefully. She finally found one she liked, and carefully pulled it off the shelf.

The next thing she knew, someone grabbed her hand. She was yanked away from the bookshelf, then thrown against it. She dropped the book instantly, and grimaced as pain shot up her back. She opened her eyes to see a young man, who was in her grade and class. He had brown hair and black eyes. A rahter pale complesion, kinda like Sasuke's, except he was ghost white. He looked down at her with a malicious look in his eyes.

"Sakura Haruno. You know, I've been watching you for some time now." He seeemd to spit out, and she looked up at him in contempt.

"What the hell do you want?" She growled, and stood straight. She came up to his nose, meaning he was kind of short. She could easily punch the crap out of him and knock his teeth out.

"You. As I've said, I've been watching you for some time. I thought you were different than the rest of those sily preppy, high and mighty little twits out there." He murmured, leaning forward as he spoke, "But..." He put his hands on the book shelf above her shoulders, "You turned out to be just like the rest of them. I see how you look at that Uchiha kid. You want to fuck him like the rest of the girls, huh?"

"....." Her eyes went wide, and she lashed out in anger. Her fist made contact with his mouth, and the force of her assualt sent him sprawling. He landed on his back, while trying to flail his arms to keep his balance. His head made contact with the carpeted floor, and a loud curse went through the library. It echoed for a few seconds, and then all was quiet again.

Sakura was shocked, to say the least. She turned tail and started running, but a hand caught her ankle. She tripped, hitting the floor hard, and then was picked up once more. She was thrown into the samml space between the bookshelves. She hit the floor on her back, and she saw stars for a few seconds. The guy came toward her, slowly, and she was thinking fast.

No, no, no.... how do i get out of this! He's too strong for me....why isn't Sasuke or Lee here!!!?

As she scurried backwards,the guy started catching up to her. She wouldn't be able to defend herself. He rached out, and caught her by the neck. He lifted her up, and she was left breathless. Then he slammed her against the bookshelf at her back, thuroughly kncocking the air out of her. He removed his hands from her throat, then placed them over her mouth.

"I will teach you a lesson, blossom. Let's see if that pretty boy fucked you yet." He grabbed her blazzer, and yanked, hard, effectively ripping the buttons from their places. They were sent flying all over the place. Sakura closed her eyes tight. There was nothing she could do. As he grabbed her shirt and pullede, it ripped loudly, seeming to snap her out of her reverie.

"Mmmmmph!!!!! " She started fighting him once again, and kicked and shoved. She landed a good hit to his shin, but he only winced. Her shirt now hung in tatters. Sakura was sobbing now, fighting with everything she had and then-

A hand came out of nowhere. The other guy's wrist was caught, then he was twisting around as his arm went around to his back. she fell to the ground, and gut wrenching sobs were torn from her. She cound't believe what almost happened to her. She believed it- It was just....she didn't think it could have happened on school premisis. She looked up to see her savior.

Sasuke. He threw the guy away, and he hit the ground. he rolled over, cradling his left arm with his good right hand. "I'm glad I got here when I did." He said softly. No hint of the violence he 'd just displayed. "Did he hurt you, Sakura....?"

She could only shake her head. He extended a hand to her, trying to help her up.

"Sasuke!!" She screamed, seeing the other man launch himself at his new enemy. The Uchiha turned, just in time to take a pucnh to the face. He was pushed bak a step or two, but didn't fall over backwards.

"You really should've put more force into tha, to make sure I was out of the picture...." Sasuke muttered in a low voice. "Becuase you are really going to fucking regret that."

He drew back a fist, and slammed it into the assailiant's stomach. Then he threw an uppercut with his right, into his face, sending the guy staggering into the bookshelf to his left. Sasuke followed, and threw punch after punch.

""Stop it, Sasuke!!!!" Sakura yelled, and he froze. He looked around, letting go of the guys gollar, letting him slump down to the floor. His head lolled to the side, a sure sign that Sasuke had knocked him out cold with one of his blows.

He came over to her, and offered her a hand. "C'mon...." She flinched back slightly, then hesitantly took his hand. He helped her up, then pulled off his gakuran jacket, and threw it over her shoulders. She whimpered softly every few seconds, but he didn't say anything about it. He helped her button it up to her neck, trying not to let his fingers touched exposed flesh. He took her hand, gathered her books, and dragged her out of the library.

--

"Are you all right....?" He asked, leading her down the hall. She nodded slowly, and he turned to her. He grunted, and kept on dragging her along.

"Sa-Sasuke.....where are we going....?" She stuttered out, fisting her hand into the front of his gakuran, holding it tight to her body, for warmth.

"I'm taking you to a nurse. You could be injured..." He murmured. Her hand was jerked out of his larger one.

"NO!" She yelled. She stood there, behind him, loking down at the floor. tears came to her eyes, and she was unable to stop them. He turned to look at her. Moonlight bathed the dark, empty hallway in it's un-naturally pale light, casting shadows everywhere. Her cotton candy pink hair looked lavender, and her eyes seemed to glow brightly.

"And why the hell not, you idiot?!" He yelled back, staring at the helpless girl. "I don't know what he did to you. Anything could of happened!"

"He DIDN'T touch me....." She hissed, clenching her teeth. "I tried to fight him....He got as far as to ripping my shirt apart....but that is it....." She gasped for breath, and sobbed once again, her cheecks flushed. Embarrassement flooded through her whole being. She couldn't stop crying. SHe didn't want to cry in front of this person. She swore she never would.

Yet here she was.

"Sakura-"

"I will not go to a nurse!!!" She shook her head in refusal. "If I do...it will get around...some of the girls' mothers work shifts up here....and they already think I throw myself at you....God forbid if they do find out about this, they'll think I am a sleezebag for sure." Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "NO! I won't....." And she slumped to the floor, sobbing.

Sasuke stared down at her, hands in his pockets, not knowing what to do. He slowly walked over, and crouched down next to her. She looked up at him, but he didn't say anything. the pale moonlight flooded over his face, giving him a rugged, devilish look, even with the huge, swollen lip he now sported. He ran a hand over her wet cheek, wiping away the tears. Then pushed a stray lock of messy hair behind her ear.

She didn't know how long they sat there like that, just staring at each other. But as the moon was blocked out by a cloud, darkness fell over them, and limited their vision, snapping them out of their breif reverie. Sasuke stood, wrapped his arms around her, and picked her up bridal style. "WHere do you want to go, then....?"

"My Dorm room...."He turned on his heel, and walked back the way they came.

He opened the door quietly, to keep the other girls in the hall from waking up. That was the last thing she needed. He gently put her on her bed. Her pajamas were neatly folded on her pillows, and she ran a hand over them. "Um....Sasuke....Could you...."

"Yeah, I'm leaving...." He interjected, turned to leave, and put his hand on the doorknob when he reached the portal.

"No, wait!" She said, with much more force than wanted. "Please...." She murmured, blushing red. "Stay with me for tonight....I'm scared...." She looked up at the Uchiha.

"Hn...." She slowly got up, with Sasuke watching, and walked to the bathroom. "Um...."

"Yes....?" She whispered. SHe turned around when she reached the open door, and looked up at him with tear filled eyes. The blush from only moments ago still covered her face, and Sasuke turned away, blushing madly.

"Um....I'm going to get my pajamas....and a....a uh....extra pair of clothes for tomorrow....It's saturday...so...I guess I can....Everyone else will probrably sleep late." He scratched the back of his head in nervous apprehension, and she smiled slightly.

He turned to the door, and opened it quietly. "I'll be right back. I'll do this as fast as I can...." He murmured over his shoulder at her. And with that, he was gone.

--

She came out of the bathroom, after sitting in the shower for about 45 minutes, to see Sasuke sitting on her bed, making himself comfortable, and watching tv. He held the remote in his hand, and was flipping through the channels. "About time....." He muttered. He had the Tv on mute. No wonder she didn't hear anyone in the room.

"I was thinking about coming in there to see if you were allright, but considering the situation....I figured it was safer for me to stay out here. I didn't want to scare you anymore than what you already are. " She looked up at him in suprise.

"That was the longest sentence you have EVER said to me, Sasuke." She replied, blushing at his statement. He smirked. This was how it used to be. They were somehow at complete ease wtih each other, just like they were back then. She was the only girl he would really say more than one or two words to.

She hoped it would stay that way. If it did....then she would be able to forgive him for doing what he did.

She came over to the bed, as he sat up, and sat down. "Mind if I use your shower?" He asked, looking away, "I brought my own stuff so I won't smell like rasberries." She nodded, her thoughts racing.

He walked into the bathroom, and shut the door. How did he know I used rasberry scented shampoo, bath soap and perfume....? She asked herself. I'll bet it was Naruto..... She rolled her eyes, and sighed.

The shower came on, and she layed back onto the bed. She watched the bright light flicker on the tv screen as the scenes changed every now and then, and went to sleep.

The next morning.....

Sakura's eyes opened slowly. the dark room made it seem like it was still in the middle of the night. Her curtians had obviously been drawn to, keeping the sunlight or the full moon's light from filtering into the room. She noticed, slowly, that she was very warm. She snuggled into this warmth, not knowing what it was. She was reminded of the time when the family's dog would snuggle up with her at night.

A leg was thrown over hers, bringing her thighs closer to someone's body. an arm was wrapped around her back, and long fingers were curled into her hair at the nape of her neck. a face was pressed against her forehead, and her own was pushed into his neck. She could smell the small amount of cologne and after shave that he put on after he showered off. She didn't panic. She layed there with him cuddling her for a few more minutes, remembering what happened lastnight.

His scent was wonderful. Her face to on a ruddy hue, and she looked up at Sasuke's closed eyes. "The more you move around, the harder it is to sleep." He muttered, then yawned.

"I'm sorry....."

"I'm awake now. Don't worry about it." He yawned again, and slowly opened his eyes. She giggled, and he crossed his eyes as he looked down at her. "What's so damned funny.....?"

"You look so funny in the morning before you get ready." She giggled again. "I've never seen you outside of school....."

His eyes narrowed even more. "Outside of school, we lived a few blocks away from each other. You, me, and Naruto."

"Back then, you never fixed your hair or dressed the way you do now. You never cared." She said, blushing.

He sat up, and the blankets fell off his naked chest. "You didn't either, and you still don't. Why does that matter....?"

"I guess it doesn't...." Then, her tone got serious. He could hear the worry in her voice. "Um....Sasuke....Do you think that.....that guy would, um.....try that again...?" He turned and looked at her, taking in her features. She had bruises around her neck, where he had choked her, and nasty red marks, from where she'd hit the bookshelves, numerous times, could be seen on her arms.

"Not with me around." He smirked, and she just stared at him. Then, she threw her arms around him. He sat there, not knowing whether to comfort her or throw her off, feeling her tremble as she hugged his side.

"Sasuke....thankyou.... I don't know what would've happened if you didn't show up.....I was so scared....." He just sat there, looking down at the blankets that were now tangled around his legs.

"He would've raped you, Sakura. You and I both know that. He's one of hose preppy pretty boys who thinks he can get anything he wants. He would've bragged.....I walked into the library, and was wondering why the place was empty...but then I saw your books sitting on the table, and some guy's pack that was sitting against the door. So I came to investigate. you usually don't leave your stuff sitting around. It's not like you."

She slowly released him, and sat back. "I don't know what I would've done....He was way to strong for me...." He kicked the blankets off of his lower torso, and stood up, looking at the alarm on her bedside table.

"Let's get up and go do something. At least to get your mind off this crap. It's noon....so we'll have to sneak out of here, and hopefully none of these idiot females will see us." He grabbed his clothes, and walked into the bathroom.

Am I that much of an embarrassment to you, Sasuke...? She asked herself. Then, she got up, and started to get her clothes together to take a shower.

--

Sakura followed him down the hallway, toward the front desk. they were in Shodai Hall, on the north side of the school, which was named after the man who first helped build and start this academy: Senju Hashirama. His picture hung on the wall at the entrace above the double doors, seeming to overlook the school. His eyes seemed to follow the students wherever they went.

The two dorm halls, Nidaime Hall, which was for the girls, and the third hall, Sandaime Hall, for the boys, were named after the second and third headmasters. The fourth, Godaime Hall, was located on the south side of the campus, and was named after the current headmistress. After the title was passed down, a new building was built, increasing the academy's size and dedicated to the next Headmaster. The academy'ss student body seemed to increase heavily every year. The Halls were spread out upon a very large amount of land, making it severly difficult to reach all the classes in the alotted amount of time of 7 minutes. Especially if you had classes spread out all over the campus.

Sakura watched as he went up to the plexie glass at the front desk, and handed a pass unerneath the large hole at the bottem of the glass, above the wood frame. The womenat the desk took it, and smiled at the young Uchiha. "Who's the girl behind you there?"

"Sakura Haruno. I've been given permission to take her with me today and tomorrow, off campus....." She unfolded the note, and a fifty dollar bill layin the opened note.

"Yes Uchiha-San. I'll sign you out. You may leave. Just make sure that you two are back before ten tonight to sign in and get to your dorms."

"Hai..." They both murmured. Sasuke took her hand, and she stared down at them as he led her out front, into the parking lot.

The scenery was already breath taking from the back, but Sakura was just as taken aback at the front view of the school. A gigantic Koi pond was centered in the front, a few yards away from the front entrace. The sidewalk they were now walking on split behind it, and around, then converged again to lead to the parking lot.

Large and small Koi swam around in slow, sluggish circles, looking for bread crumbs and other small bits of food. Japanese maples seemed to arc gracefully over the large expanse of water, and blew gently in the frigid breeze. Small evergreen shrubs borded one side of the pond, covering the ugly grey of the cement. A few bald cherry trees were scattered throughout the large garden, and Sakura gaped at the raw beauty of it.

"What's the hold up, Sakura? I thought you wanted to go with me...?" Sasuke wondered out loud. She didnt even know she stopped. He had left her behind, only to stop about ten feet away, close to the cars in the lot. Her hand felt suddenly cold, without his larger one in it.

"I was.....just looking at the garden...I've never seen it before...." She marveled. He merely glanced at it.

"It's something that the clans donated to the school as a 'repaid favor' of sorts, I guess, in the past few months. Nothing special." And he started walking slowly once more, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. The black jacket he wore lokoed nice, and expensive. He had a scarf of the same dark color wrapped around his neck, which blew lightly in the wind in a graceful arc.

She felt dirt poor next to him. She just wore what she could find: The jeans she had for the past two years, which were beginning to wear out, a thin jacket that did nothing for her really, and a raggedy, white scarf. She looked away from him. How ironic.....She thought to herself.

"You coming??" He yelled, standing beside a car. She looked up, smiled stiffly, and shivered as a breeze played with her pink hair. She pulled her jacket closer to her body, and jogged over to him.

"let's get out of here," He growled, and unlocked the car.

Don't hate me. I've been writing scenarios for This, Death and Rebirth, and the others I so Desperately need to update. If I can, I will tryto do a double update. a double on this, or onehere and the othe on D and B? I'll do my best to get it up by tomorrow or sunday nite! Review and let me know, or send my a Private message!! lol!

Thanks again, reviewers. I appreciate everything you guys do.

UchihaSaNin