This one I struggled through, wasn't sure if to add it in, but all things happen for a reason and I didn't want to hit the delete button, cuz I'd feel like I was messing with fate or sumthing :p. Enjoy J

Disclaimer: Smh, still don't own it, Naruto or Naruto Shippuden.

Chapter 4: Of theives and waves of pink

Throwing off his covers n growling to himself, Sasuke's bare feet landed on the cool wooden floor of his room. It was past midnight and yet sleep would not come to him. And he knew exactly why. Sakura. He should be upset at the fact that he let her punch him through a wall. But yet, he wasn't. He thought that only a girl's mind could be so jumbled, and no wonder they always seem to have a bad temper, with a jumbled head like this a person would be cranky all the time. Nights such as these when he suffered from this rare insomnia he would always go to his refuge. His parent's room in the mansion. But tonight he could not go there. Itachi had come back early from his mission to Sound and was currently in that very room. Sasuke guessed that he wasn't the only one how found some peace in there. Pulling on a dark tee shirt, he started to make his way out of the house, he was going to do some walking and thinking to just calm his mind. Since their little episode in the hospital, his mind was determined to hold Sakura and her image in it. He wouldn't have snapped like that on her, but it was all just to overbearing. The years have changed her so much, what happened to that sweet innocent girl that screamed for "Sasuke kun" all the time? You killed her, that's what happened. Cringing at the images that his own mind was conjuring, Sasuke literally shook as head as though to rid them away. He was so far in thought that he didn't realise where he was. Curse the Gods above, but he was right in front of Sakura's apartment. He stood there, in front of the door, for a few minutes, not sure what to do. That's when he heard it. A clatter and then the sound of shattering glass. He tried to sense the chakra but all the got was Sakura's and that was no surprise since this was her home. Shaking his head, he knew he should leave, but his feet betrayed his mind and instead he found himself stealthly sneaking around the back of the building. Stooping to the grassy ground he found shards of glass and when he looked up he knew that the second window as hers. He wasn't a stalker or anything, but a long time ago when Rock Lee (the idiot) was madly inlove with Sakura he would boast about how he spent his nights throwing pebbles at her window. Until one night she threw a rock down at him. Tenten had asked him if it hurt a lot and he merrily replied yes it did because her window was the second one up and that was a good distance for a rock to travel and fall on someone's head. Of course he added that his love for his cherry blossom could withstand any pain. Sasuke looked up just in time to notice a leg being throw over into Sakura's apartment. His stomach lurched and in no time he scaled the building easily landing into the apartment and successfully tackling the intruder to the floor.

"What the fuck? Gerroffff of me," a familiar but muffled voice came from under him. No it couldn't be.

"Sakura?" Sasuke unconsciously moved and his body connected to the softer much more feminine one under him. "What the hell are you doing? Sneaking into your own apartment."

" I'm not sneaking into my own apartment baka!" she yelled, as she squirmed under him. Much to his displeasure, or rather pleasure, that movement somehow triggered a reaction from his body. "Now get off of me. And what the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Not liking the reaction his body was spurring, he quickly got up as Sakura did too. She fumbled around a bit in the dark, but she managed to hit the switch on her lamp. "Okay Uchiha, answer me. Why are you following me?"

Sasuke took a second to get adjusted to the sudden bright glare in the room and was about to answer her too, but then something horrible happened. For the first time since he's been back, Sasuke was now looking at Sakura with her hair completely undone. And it was long, so long and wavy and thick., flowing all the way almost to her glorious rump. For the first time in his life, he suddenly didn't mind the colour pink anymore. Since he's been back she always kept her hair in a tight bun at the back of her head. Sasuke was not sure if it was because of him or just a mere coincidence. Now looking at her, he knew that it was definitely because of him.

"Would you stop staring and answer me Uchiha? Or isn't being punched into one wall enough for you," Sakura flexed her fists and glared at him.

But Sasuke was having an idiot moment staring at the gorgeous creature in front of him. He couldn't believe how incredibly long her hair got and being loose like that seemed to have cast a halo effect on her, infact she seemed to be glowing more than the lamp.

"I couldn't sleep. I was randomly walking by when I thought someone was breaking into your place," he finally replied, trying to tear away his gaze from her.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, she knew that the tackle to the ground by Sasuke's larger body caused her hair to come undone. She didn't realise that it had gotten so long. She was so use to having it in a bun all the time that she truly didn't realize. But now with the intensity of Sasuke's stare, her hair suddenly felt ten times more heavy. It was no secret that Uchiha Sasuke had a thing for girls with long hair. It's not that she wasn't trying to hide it from him, but she was very use to wearing it in a bun. A part of her sick twisted mind also thought that if he ever saw her hair, he would start to think that maybe she was growing it out for him and she wasn't about to paint that picture for him.

"Now, do you wanna tell me why you were breaking into your own place," he recovered quickly and smirked at her, casually leaning against the wall as his dark onyx eyes roamed over her.

Turning away, Sakura fought the urge to smash him through the wall again, "I didn't. I was planning on sleeping at the hospital tonight, but I changed my mind and when I came back home I realized I locked myself out."

"Hn," the ever so famous Uchiha syllable escaped his lips as he took a step towards her.

Refusing to back down from Sasuke's slowly approaching figure, Sakura held her ground and gazed at him with unwavering green eyes. She looked all cool and composed on the outside, but on the inside she was screaming for help. Sasuke was in her apartment at an ungodly hour, approaching her like a predator approaching its prey.

He was just a few short steps away from her when he realized what he was doing. Inwardly cursing his body's inability to listen to his mind, he stopped and slowly raked his gaze from the top of her pink crown to her bare toes. "Only annoying people would do annoying things."

He watched in amusement as her emerald eyes flashed n her chin came up sharply, "Annoying? After all these years, after all this time you still think of me as that weak, pathetic annoying girl?"

Even though her tone was hushed he could hear the hurt it held and he was slightly taken back. So he did hit a nerve. Moving swiftly to the window the cast her a short glance, " I never said weak. Just annoying, and Sa-ku-ra, annoying isn't as bad as you make it seem."

In a blink he was gone, leaving no trace, with just the painful thudding of Sakura's heart as a evidence that he had once stood in her living room. with a quick play back of his words, Sakura shook her head. It was official, Sasuke Uchiha confused the crap out of her perfectly sane world. It was long after his departure that Sakura could finally be eluded by sleep. And when her dream world came to take over and all consciousness left her, one name escaped her lips as she welcomed him into her dreams.

Sasuke didn't know what he was trying to accomplish with Sakura. It was obvious that she despised him. He acknowledged that, but yet he just could not accept it. Apart of him had always hoped that after his return to Konoha she would immediately fall into her role as fan girl and in that scenario he didn't seem to mind. He had no plans to get into a relationship with anyone, but whenever he thought about it, she would always be there at the top of his list. And now that he was back for good, the changes that he's seen in her are nothing but for the best. Well except for the hating him part. He wanted to change her mind towards him but he just wasn't sure how he could do that. Their history is just too messed up. And besides, Uchiha Sasuke does not chase after any girl, its always the other way around. Settling himself in a quiet comfy soft in his family's dojo, he had intended to do some deep meditation if sleep would not be friends with him tonight, but his so called meditation wasn't going very well for him. With his eyes closed, images of endless pink locks seem to swim in his vision and though he wanted it to be annoying, he found that it was actually soothing. So the next morning, that's exactly how Itachi found him. Chuckling to himself, his aniki knew that once an Uchiha set their mind to something, they won't rest properly until it is theirs. And intentionally or unintentionally, his otouto had set his mind on a certain cherry blossom. Life in the next few days were bound to be interesting, Itachi mused. Most interesting indeed.

Author's Note

I know it's a short chappy, but I'm having a serious case of writer's block L Hopefully I'll recover soon.

R n R my lovelies J