Author's Notes: There is some trigger material in the middle of this chapter. Feel free to skip over it and go straight to the citrusy goodness at the end if you so desire. Because this site doesn't have page numbers, I can't exactly tell how far down it starts and then ends. I apologize in advance if it bothers anyone.
#$#
Sakura winced and let out a small groan as she fought through the illness induced haze towards consciousness.
"What's this weight on my stomach?" she muttered to herself as she shifted to try to sit up. Her eyes fluttered open and she focused her attention on where it felt the weight was centered. Her eyes widened as she realized the weight was in fact Sasuke's head resting there, his replacement arm loosely gripping a now dry cloth flung across her middle while his good hand was resting in her own. His breathing was slow and even, his ink colored locks in disarray, his eyes closed with dark circles under them. She reached with her free hand and gently stroked a stray raven spike, smoothing it into place.
"Did you really exhaust yourself like this over me?" she murmured feeling his exhaustion through her chakra tinged touch. A little smile touched her lips at the thought before she decided that sleeping bent over like that wouldn't be good for him. Carefully and slowly both from the desire to let him continue sleeping, and her own tiredness from the illness that was still working its way out of her system, she shifted him until he was lying beside her on the futon.
"You really must be tired if this didn't wake you." She murmured as she pulled the blanket over both of them and snuggled close to the Uchiha breathing in his familiar scent and basking in his warmth. She shifted closer and gently pressed her lips to the tip of his chin.
"Thank you Sasuke." She murmured. "I love you so much."
He shifted in his sleep and slipped an arm around her waist and she closed her eyes with a contented sigh before letting herself be swept back into a peaceful sleep.
%&%
"Thank you so much for allowing us to stay here." Sakura said as she bowed to the innkeeper the two days later.
"Anything for you Miss. Haruno." The woman replied lowering her own head. "You will always be welcome here." She looked the medic over with a slightly wary eye. "Are you sure you're well enough to travel? You were just only able to get out of bed yesterday, you're more than welcome to stay if you'd like."
Sakura raised her hands and shook her head. "Oh no. Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. We've stayed in this place too long already."
The woman sighed. "If you say so." She glanced back at Sasuke who was waiting a couple of steps back from the pink haired medic adjusting the bag on his shoulder. "Keep taking good care of her Uchiha." She barked.
Sasuke nodded and then bowed. "Thank you for letting us stay." He said echoing Sakura's words.
"Tch!" The innkeeper snapped though there was a touch of warmth in her eyes. "Just get out of my inn."
The pair of ninja nodded and quickly left the establishment and took to the roof tops just as the sky began to lighten. As soon as they were a couple of miles outside the village, they landed on the path and began to walk at a more leisurely pace. Sakura stopped for a moment and mewed as she stretched a contented sigh leaving her lips moments later. "This feels so good!" she exclaimed. "I hated being in bed for so long."
Sasuke studied her, the corners of his mouth turned down slightly. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked. "You were very sick. We could have easily stayed another day or two if you needed."
Sakura glanced over at him her gaze studying his mismatched eyes. "I'm just fine Sasuke." She assured him. "I'm sorry for worrying you. We can go faster if you want to make up for the lost time."
The Uchiha let out a long suffering sigh before his gaze hardened slightly. "We're not on a strict time table or anything so don't worry about that. How can we make up for time we haven't lost?"
The pink haired medic blinked in surprise and then offered him a slightly embarrassed smile. "Right. I forgot. I'm so used to going on missions."
Sasuke's expression softened slightly and moved forward gently touching her jaw with his fingertips. "I've said it before, you don't need to prove anything to me." He said looking into her jade eyes. "If you need to take things at a slower pace or if you start to feel unwell, let me know."
The medic blushed and then glanced away. "I don't want to burden you." She said softly.
The dark haired shinobi shook his head once before he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against hers making her squeak in surprise and then sigh. He pulled away and tapped her in the middle of her forehead. "You're not a burden." He said simply. "Let's go. We have quite a ways before we reach the next village."
Sakura smiled and nodded falling in step behind him. Her fingers gently brushed his and he glanced at her before linking their fingers together giving her a gentle squeeze.
%&%
In the trees above the pair of leaf shinobi, two pairs of eyes watched them closely before vanishing.
"So that was Sasuke Uchiha?" the owner of the first pair asked as he leaned against a tree that lined the main road. He was a man of average height with short, spiky, brown hair and light blue eyes. He was dressed in black and orange with a headband bearing the emblem for the hidden stones with an angry slash through it on his forehead.
"Yes. Without a doubt." His companion a slightly taller man with fiery red hair that was pulled into a low pony tail and strange green and red replied. "Didn't you see his eyes?" He wore black and orange as well but his band bearing the same mark with a slash through it was tied around the bicep of his right arm.
The dark haired man nodded. "It's true, however all of our intel said that he was alone. He clearly had a woman with him."
The red head nodded. "Indeed, a very pretty woman." He licked his lips.
The dark haired man chuckled darkly. "Yes she was." He murmured. "Our mission is simply to kill him right? We don't have any orders on what do to with any companion he might have."
The read head smirked. "Are you planning on having dessert before or after we dispose of that Uchiha scum?"
"After." The dark haired man replied. "It looked like the two were rather close. Watching him die would probably crush her. I love it when they cry you know."
The red head nodded. "I agree. Women's tears taste so wonderful."
"Well, shall we get going?" the dark haired man asked.
"Yes." The red head replied straightening. "I can't wait to see if the carpet matches the drapes."
#^#
After a few hours of walking, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he walked with Sakura along the road that eventually would lead them to the Lad of Lightning. They were less than three hours away from the nearest village but the short stretch of road before them was strangely empty. Something had been prickling his senses. An ominous feeling that made his muscles tense and his eyes shift. He knew the feeling well, he was being stalked though he didn't know by who or why. He gently squeezed Sakura's hand and she glanced over at him. Her loose posture immediately hardened as she took in the hardness of his expression watching as his onyx eye shifted to blood red.
"What is it?" she asked softly.
"We're being followed." He replied. "Be on your guard." There was a glint of steel off to their right and the pair of seasoned shinobi immediately leapt into the air avoiding the flurry of kunai.
"Who's there!?" Sakura demanded her brow creasing with irritation. "Show yourselves!"
"Sakura! Look out!" Sasuke exclaimed.
"What?" she questioned glancing around. She went to take a step towards him and her eyes widened as she realized she couldn't move her feet. "What the-" she exclaimed glaring down at her feet that were trapped in the earth.
"Looks like we caught the little mouse." A voice came from behind her. "All we have to do now is kill the annoying snake and we can have her all to ourselves."
"What was that?" Sasuke replied his eyes flashing dangerously.
A dark haired ninja and a red haired ninja materialized in front of them. "It means that once we kill you we're taking the girl." He said in a matter of face tone.
"I thought it was fairly obvious." Agreed the second, a dark haired man.
Sasuke's purple aura began to materialize as his anger flared. "Not on your life." He hissed as his hand went to his katana.
"You can't stop us." The dark haired man said shifting into an offensive position. "We have orders to take your head and we haven't failed a mission yet."
"Exactly." The red haired man replied. He vanished and then materialized behind Sakura and smirked as he reached in front of her and flicked the clasp of her cloak open, letting the bulky garment pool at her feet. He pressed his face to her hair and breathed deeply before his abnormally long tongue slipped from between his lips and tasted the shell of her ear. Sakura shrieked in protest and did her best to lash at out at man with her hands even as a hiss of frustration left her lips at her immobilization. "She tastes and smells wonderful." He sighed as his eyes raked over her figure from behind. "That cloak hid a lot from view. Her body is beautiful as well." He said reaching out to stroke her bottom making the girl growl and shift away from his touch as best she could.
Black flames erupted from Sasuke's palms and a log erupted in to flames as the man performed a replacement jutsu with less than a second to spare.
"Looks like I found a nerve." The red head remarked from where he stood in a nearby tree looking down at the ink haired avenger. "I was told that Sasuke Uchiha didn't give a damn about anybody but himself. Maybe you just don't want someone else playing with your toy?" he smirked. He laughed and then gasped as Sasuke appeared behind him and slammed a lightning shrouded fist into his back sending him crashing to the ground below.
"Keep your filthy hands off of her you swine!" he snarled landing lithely in front of the pink haired medic. He turned slightly towards her while keeping his eye on the enemy. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah." Sakura replied pulling her gloves on. Her brow furrowed and her hand glowed green. "Cha!" she exclaimed as she slammed her chakra infused fist into the ground breaking the earth binding her feet. She leapt into the air kicking the last of it off and landed beside her companion. "These two creeps are going to get it." She growled.
"Damn that was close." The red head said standing to his feet. "If I hadn't hardened my skin when I did, I would've been a goner." He said brushing the dirt from his clothes.
"Did he say harden his back?" Sakura said. "Just like Kakazu…"
"So you've heard of my great uncle?" the red head said stepping out of the crater his body had made.
Sakura nodded. "I was there when he died." She said her eyes narrowing. "My sensei was the one who delivered the finishing blow."
The red head lifted a brow at that. "How interesting." He mused flexing his hand. "Then you know full well how effective this jutsu is."
"Sasuke," she whispered. "I didn't fight Kakazu but Kakashi did and the guy nearly killed him." Her eyes narrowed. "When his skin hardens, he's impervious to lightning attacks." She glanced at her lover. "Unless you manage to catch him off guard, your chidori won't work." Sasuke nodded and shifted slightly pulling more on his fire nature than his primary lightning letting the black flames crackle to life in his hands.
"It seems you're more than just arm candy." The man with dark hair said moving towards Sakura. "I'd rather you didn't bruise that beautiful body of yours so just sit still until this is over ok?" he said weaving signs.
"Yeah right!" She exclaimed shifting into a defensive position with her fists raised. "I'm not just going to sit here and let you kill Sasuke!"
"Human statue jutsu." The man said focusing his attention on the pink haired medic.
Her eyes widened as what seemed like wet plaster sprung up from the ground at her feet and enveloped her entire body encasing her in stone making any movement impossible. "Sasuke." She rasped through lips that could hardly move.
"Sakura!" Sasuke exclaimed reaching towards her gritting his teeth as he felt cool stone beneath his fingers. "Bastard!" he hissed at the dark haired man. "What did you do to her?"
"She truly is a work of art." The man mused with a sigh. "That expression of surprise and fear really turns me on."
"I know right?" the red head replied standing beside his partner touching his chin.
"Answer my question!" The Uchiha snarled as a trio of shriken flew from his fingers. The man deflected two but the third grazed his cheek drawing blood.
"I'm just keeping her safe and sound." The dark haired man replied. "I wouldn't want her to hurt that sexy body of hers trying to protect you or anything."
"Yeah. She'll be battered enough when we're done with her." The red haired man said with a wink.
Sasuke's control snapped and he flew forward, sword in hand with lightning crackling in the blade and sliced at the dark haired man who barely avoided the deadly blow. The Uchiha hissed as he felt the sensation a blade slicing through the flesh of his side and the familiar sensation of blood seeping through his clothes.
"That was careless of you Sasuke Uchiha." The man remarked licking the blood from a blade attached to his middle finger tip. "To think something as trivial as a woman could make the great war hero lose his focus like this."
"Don't blame the guy too much." The red head replied. "The girl is pretty hot. I wouldn't want to share her either."
"If you just give us your head, we'll let her go." The dark haired man said with a smirk.
Sasuke took a deep breath as he struggled to calm himself. He couldn't protect Sakura if he got himself severely hurt or killed. Being a reckless idiot got people killed, except for Naruto of course. The Uchiha wasn't naïve enough to believe he had that idiot's luck either. He back flipped to stand in front of his companion again and took a deep breath. "If I actually believed you would do as you say, I'd gladly give it to you." He said. "However, I can tell that you're lying so instead, I'm going to make you regret even thinking about laying a hand on her." He promised his opponents. He drew his katana and flashed forward meeting them head on. The sound of metal on metal and the occasional spark from sword hitting kunai echoed through the trees as the war hero clashed with the rouge ninja. He funneled lightning into the blade of his weapon as his focus zeroed in on the dark haired man following his movements at super human speed. To the man's credit, he was very fast but not as fast as Rock Lee. Sasuke pushed taking advantage of an opening as the man raised his hands to form signs for an earth attack and jabbed his sword forward impaling his enemy through the chest. Knowing the blow was fatal he whirled towards the man's partner and was surprised to see him gone. His surprise quickly turned to terror as Sakura's gasp told him exactly where the man had gone.
"Stay back!" the man demanded pressing a kunai to her throat. "Take another step and I'll slit her pretty throat."
Sasuke froze his heart in his chest. He didn't dare breathe as a vision of himself with a knife at his throat held by his sensei flashed before his vision.
"Now you're stuck with an impossible choice." The copy ninja explained, his tone harsh as the metal of the blade touched his throat.
Sweat trickled down his face as frustration and anger boiled within him. There was no way for this to end well for Sakura. She'd either die by the bastard's hands or the man would kill him and rape her. His hands clenched at the disgusting idea of both options. It was unacceptable! There had to be another way. The man snickered and lifted his free hand to stroke over Sakura's body brushing across her breasts before moving towards her core.
"Stop it!" he snarled. "Don't touch her!" he felt his heart breaking as Sakura did her best to hold her head high even as her body trembled and tears formed in her eyes.
"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands like that." The man replied with a smirk. He leaned forward and latched his lips onto her neck only inches above the knife and Sasuke felt tears prick his eyes even as a tear slid down Sakura's cheek.
"Leave her alone." Sasuke said his voice rough with emotion. "I'm begging you."
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed. "Behind you!"
He whirled just in time to deflect an attack from a second red head man. Focusing his chakra, he unleashed a wave of black flames and the man screamed as he fell to the earth. "Damn you!" he shrieked. Sasuke's gaze flickered to where the red head stood with the knife still to his beloved's throat. Sakura's brow was knit as the man's hands continued to roam but as Sasuke watched, it was with concentration more than disgust. Suddenly, she lifted her foot and slammed it into the ground in front of her cracking the earth.
"Fighting back?" the red head remarked lifting his head from where he'd been nibbling on her ear. "I like that." He purred. "But you might want to be careful." He reminded her as a little trickle of blood started from where the tip of the knife bit the skin.
Sasuke was about to leap when he noticed a chunk of rock about the size of jounin vest popped up into the air just behind the man. Sakura's determined green eyes met his and he immediately understood why she'd acted as she did. He activated his rinnigan and teleported trading places with the small boulder lightning crackling in his hand. His brow furrowed as he exercised more control over his chidori than he ever had before adjusting his power so that his hand passed completely through his opponent but didn't touch Sakura his teeth gritting and sweat running down his face at the effort.
"But… How…" the man gasped as the knife slipped from his fingers and he fell on his knees.
"Your fate was sealed the moment you laid your hands on her." Sasuke said darkly as he pulled his arm from the man's body. "Enjoy Hell." His enemy dealt with, he quickly flashed forward and caught Sakura as she fell forward. "Sakura! Are you alright?" he demanded his eyes widening at the smear of red on her throat. Her hand was pressed to where the knife had been glowing green as she quickly healed the cut.
"It wasn't deep." She assured him softly. "Do what you need to, I'm alright."
"Sakura." Sasuke said looking down at her face. "It's over."
Her eyes met his, mismatched red and purpled and shimmered as fresh tears welled there. "It's over?" she murmured her voice shaking.
"Yes. It's over." He repeated touching her face gently with his unbloodied hand.
Her hands left her neck and reached out griping the lapels of his cloak. "It's over." She repeated as the tears slipped down her face. "It's over." She said again her head crashing against his chest. "I… I…"
"Sakura?" he questioned softly. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"Sasuke." She whimpered. "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."
"What are you apologizing for?" he demanded gently pushing her away so he could look at her face. "If anyone should be apologizing, it's me."
"I couldn't do anything." She cried. "Not when they hurt you." She said running her hands that were now glowing green over the gash in his side. "I couldn't even stop them from... from touching me like that." She shuddered. "I'm so sorry." She said stepping away from him her hands running through her hair with shaking fingers. "I'm so disgusting right now. You probably can't stand to look at me."
His eyes widened and then narrowed as anger pulsed in his veins. The deaths he'd given the two rouge ninja's were too quick and painless. The wounds they'd left on his lover would surely take much more time to heal. Forcing the anger away so that he could better comfort her he reached towards her. "Sakura, it wasn't your fault." He said softly brushing his fingers across her cheek.
"Don't touch me." She said pulling away from him. "I feel so… dirty."
He gritted his teeth and reached out pulling her up and into his arms. When she resisted the contact, turning her head and flattening her palms against his chest the word "Please." Murmured with the weakest tone of voice he'd ever heard cross her lips, he released her. As gently as he could he patted her head and then turned towards the path again.
"Let's go. We can arrive at the village in less than two hours if we move a little faster." He reminded her. He glanced back and saw her nod once in agreement before he took to the trees with her close behind.
They moved in heavy silence and Sasuke struggled to keep his emotions in check as he glanced back at his rose haired companion her normally bright expression dull and lifeless. He was livid, seething with pure, unadulterated rage as the images of the rouge ninja touching her with their filthy hands replayed in his mind over and over again. With his sharringan activated for battled, he'd been able to see everything, how her heart was pounding, the tinges of fear and disgust in her chakra signature, the dark tinge of evil and lust in the chakra of the men the touched her. He'd seen how her muscles had trembled in fear and her eyes had pricked with tears. He was angry with himself for his inability to protect her and frustrated with her ludicrous ideas that she was somehow at fault, the she'd been dirtied by them. His desire to respect her wishes and give her the space she seemed to need at the moment was the only thing keeping him from carrying her to the nearest inn and forcing the memories from her mind using any means necessary.
"Sakura, we're here." He reminded her as she leapt past him nearly landing on the arch way that stood at the entrance to the village.
"Right. Sorry." She murmured dropping to the ground with him.
He glanced at her still disturbed by the lack of light in her eyes and sighed as he walked beside her into the small community.
Having been there previously on his journey, he led the way to an inn he was familiar with. The owner, a slightly rounded middle aged man nodded to the Uchiha as he entered and tossed the young man a room key.
"You're here again sooner than I expected." He acknowledged even as his gaze flickered to the young woman standing at the leaf shinobi's side. "You even have a companion this time."
Sasuke nodded and picked up a room service menu glancing over it quickly. He took a brush from the counter and quickly made a series of marks on it before handing it to the man.
"Eating in your room again?" the man said raising a brow. "You're more than welcome to eat in the lobby. You're well liked here."
The dark haired avenger nodded. "I'm sure. My companion here is still recovering from an illness, I'm afraid the trip here took a little more out of her than I'd hoped." It wasn't a lie, not completely any way. He was well aware that both her reflexes and her strength had not fully recovered yet. It was likely the reason she'd become trapped so easily, not that the fact made the terrible events that followed much easier to swallow.
"I see. That explains it." The man replied taking in Sakura's slightly messy appearance. "In that case, I won't keep you any longer. Get her taken care of, we'll bring the food shortly."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Sou." Sasuke said lowering his head slightly before tugging on Sakura's arm. "Let's go."
She stumbled after him as he led her up to the third floor of the inn and down the hall to the last room. He unlocked it and guided her inside before removing his cloak and bag, setting them on a low table in the room. He then walked over to the window and opened it slightly letting the slightly cooler air to enter the room, revealing the slowly darkening sky. With precision and natural grace that all Uchiha seemed to naturally possess, he laid out a pair of futons and then guided Sakura to one.
"I'm not tired." She insisted as he began removing the packs from her belt.
"Then what's wrong?" he asked standing in front of her. He frowned and his brown knit together as he studied her eyes. With slow, careful movements, he reached out and gently cupped her cheek in his hand. "You're eyes…" he murmured. "I haven't seen them like this since the war. I'd hoped that I'd never see them like this again." He bowed his jaw clenching as he struggled to reign in the flood of negative emotions surging within him. "Forgive me Sakura." He said, his voice thick with emotion.
"What are you talking about?" She replied blinking several times in confusion. "You have nothing-"
"But I do." He replied cutting her off. "I wasn't able to protect you and you were hurt. I'm so sorry."
She offered him a small smile though it didn't reach her eyes and shook her head. "I'm fine Sasuke, the cut wasn't deep."
"I'm not talking about that." He said his eyes meeting hers. Her eyes widened showing she was clearly effected by the intensity of his gaze. "Those bastards left wounds on your heart. It's unforgivable."
The pink haired medic looked down and crossed an arm over her body gripping her bicep. Her body trembled and tears welled in her eyes. "I…" she started but a knock at the door interrupted her.
"Here is your meal. Please leave the dishes outside the door when you finish." A young lady said as she carried two trays inside and set them on the table.
"Thank you." Sasuke replied before she left and closed the door behind her. He glanced back at Sakura and sighed. "Let's not worry about that right now. We'll eat and get settled in for the night, is that alright?"
Sakura nodded and moved to where the trays lay. Her eyes widened when she noticed a serving of anko dumplings amongst the dishes provided. "You don't like these do you Sasuke?" she asked picking up the sweet treat.
"No. They're sickeningly sweet." He replied wrinkling his nose at the treat.
"They why did you get them?" she asked as he picked up his chop sticks and picked up a piece of grilled chicken and laid it on his tray.
"You like them." He replied simply.
Sakura blushed and then looked down. "Thank you." She said softly before popping it into her mouth savoring the sweetness of it.
Sasuke shook his head. "I'll never understand how you two can eat such things." He muttered.
The tilted her head to the side at the comment. "Who?" she asked as she used her own chopsticks to fill up her own tray.
The ink haired young man blinked and then lifted his head slightly. "Oh, I mean you and Itachi." He said before he popped a cherry tomato into his mouth.
Her eyes widened slightly. "That's right." She said her mind drifting back to one of the memories he'd shown her. "Itachi liked sweets didn't he? Especially dango."
Sasuke nodded a little pang of regret mixing with the sweetness of the love he'd felt for and from his brother throbbed in his heart.
"I wish I'd been able to talk properly with him." She said hanging her head slightly. "I think he and I would have gotten along."
The dark haired man looked up at her pleased to see a little light returned to her eyes. "Yes, I think you're right." He agreed.
Less than an hour and a half later, Sakura emerged from the bathroom water still dripping from her blush colored locks dressed in a yukata.
"Do you feel any better?" Saskue asked her looking up as she approached the table where he was seated cleaning his katana. He was dressed in a yukata of his own, his ink colored locks nearly dry since he'd taken his bath first.
"I do." She replied kneeling near him. "Thank you."
He looked over at her sheathed his sword. "Sakura, what can I do?" he asked suddenly. "I can't take today away but there must be something that I can do to make it better."
The pink haired medic blinked in surprise and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine, really." Her eyes widened as she suddenly found herself on her back looking up at a very angry looking Uchiha, her wrists pinned to the ground near her head.
"Don't lie to me ." He said his eyes glinting with anger that wasn't directed at her. "I can see it in your eyes, in the worry lines on your brow, in the weakness of your posture." His onyx eye flashed bright red for a moment before changing back. "Even your chakra." He laid his brow gently against hers. "Don't shut me out." He pleaded.
"That's pretty hypocritical coming from you." She remarked cocking a brow accusingly.
He sighed. "I know that." He admitted. "Even so, I want to help you. Tell me what you need. No matter what it is I'll do everything in my power to provide it." He moved a hand from her wrist and laid it against her cheek. "I'd do anything for you. You and you alone regardless of what you might think of yourself right now." He shifted and pressed his lips to her forehead covering the indigo diamond there. "I love you Sakura." He whispered.
Her eyes widened at his words. The three words that meant more to an Uchiha than any other. Tears welled in her eyes at the enormity of them, having been one of only a handful of times he'd actually said them aloud to her. Her body trembled as she closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath before she spoke. "Please hold me." She said softly the tears leaking past her closed eyelids.
"Of course." He replied softly shifting them so that she was in his lap with his arms wrapped around her protectively. Her hands gripped the lapels of his yukata as she shuddered, tears running down her cheeks as he smoothed a hand over her hair. "It's alright." He assured her. "I'm here."
She shifted in his lap and buried her face in his chest. "Sasuke?" she whispered, her voice tinged with nervousness and desperation.
"What is it?" he replied tucking her head under his chin.
"Make me forget." She whispered. "Please make me forget." Her grip on his clothes tightened. "Every time I close my eyes I can feel them, hear them, smell them." She shuddered again. "Please, make it go away."
Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. For the hundredth time that day he wished he'd tortured the two worthless creatures to death for reducing his beautiful, strong, kind lover into the trembling woman in his arms. He leaned away slightly and looked down at her pleading emerald eyes still shining with tears. He gritted his teeth slightly before he shifted her in his arms and laid her down on the futon. His eyes shifting to red as he gazed down at her. "Do you trust me?" he asked her.
"Yes." She breathed.
He closed his eyes briefly silently praying for guidance before opening them again. He activated his power pulling them into an illusion. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked up and saw clear blue sky slightly obstructed by the pink blossoms of a cherry tree above them. "Where are we?" she asked.
"I came across this place while training years ago." He replied. "I stopped to rest here under this tree and thought that if things were different, that I'd bring you here." He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. "There's no one else in this world but you and me." He assured her as he kissed the tears from her face.
"Sasuke." She murmured.
"Shh." He whispered brushing her lips with his fingertips. "Don't talk anymore. Focus on me, only me."
She nodded and he smiled gently before his attention moved to the now visible kiss mark left behind on her neck. Reminding himself that it wasn't worth resurrecting the dead just to kill them again, his hands gently stroked over her body while his lips brushed gently against the column of her throat. She sighed in response as he laid his own lips over the same spot and began to suck and nibble reclaiming it and covering the assailant's mark with one of his own. Satisfied with his work, he kissed and nipped his way to her collar bone his hands slipping the robe from her shoulders as he went earning a little gasp from her in response. He smirked a little in spite of himself as he moved his attention to her breasts kissing and sucking them until she was moaning with pleasure her body arching into his touch.
"Sasuke." She breathed. "Let me pleasure you too."
"Not this time." He replied his hands stroking over her skin with gentleness and reverence as he mapped her curves with his touch. "Tonight it is all about you."
Sakura shuddered and gasped as Sasuke's mouth and hands worshipped her body. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes he stroked and touched her with gentleness she knew most didn't think he was capable of. When he laid his lips on her core she desperately tried to push him away, overwhelmed by sensation and embarrassment. He'd held his ground and within minutes, her hands had fisted in his hair her back arching up as a his name left her lips at a tone and volume she'd never known she possessed. Her reaction seemed to please him greatly, a cocky smirk playing on his lips as he moved back up her body.
"My my." He murmured. "It seems you enjoyed that. Should I do it again?"
She shook her head quickly. "No!" she protested grabbing his face with her hands and kissing him wrinkling her nose slightly at her own taste. "Sasuke, don't tease me anymore." She begged her cheeks blazing. "Please…"
He chuckled before slipping inside her. She gasped at the sensation and clutched at his back as he set a steady pace following her cries with attention he hadn't before bringing her pleasure she'd never quite experienced. Soon however, it was too much and he picked up the pace his brow knit as he moved. "Sakura!" he groaned. "You're mine." He whispered in her ear before he cried out losing himself within her.
She cried out as she found her own peak and then sighed holding her lover close basking in his scent and his warmth as the blue sky and cherry blossoms faded revealing the ceiling of the room of the inn where they were staying as the genjutsu was broken. Sasuke lifted his head and smiled down at her before pressing his lips to her forehead and then her lips. She could feel the wounds in her heart healing and cupped his face in her hands. "Thank you." She murmured softly. "Thank you so much Sasuke."
He laid his forehead against hers. "No, thank you." He replied rolling to the side and gathering her in his arms. "Thank you for letting me love you like this in spite of all that happened." He brushed his lips against her ear as she pulled the covers over them both. "Sleep now." He urged her. "I'll be here when you wake."
Sakura nodded and snuggled closer against him before drifting asleep and returning to the spot under the cherry blossoms where she once again united with her Uchiha lover, all dark moments from the day forgotten.