Isekai

Author's Note: This is my longest chapter yet—over 7,000 words! Thanks to all of you for your lovely reviews. This chapter is action-packed, so please read and review!! thanks!

Chapter Three: Love Grows

Sasuke had become basically a professional at sleeping through mental and emotional turmoil, so when he finally did wake up, the sun was streaming through the enormous windows and flooding the apartment with golden light.

Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and blinked for a moment, taking in his surroundings. Sakura lay on the very edge of the bed, her hair wild and her legs tangled up in the covers. It was obvious she was not quite as skilled in sleeping soundly through problems—she had probably only fallen asleep a few hours ago. It was also obvious that the idea of being any closer to him than she actually had to be was repulsive to her.

Many questions buzzed through his mind: would they have to teach classes today? When would they find the time to research how to get back to their own world, and how would they go about doing said research? Was it even possible?

Of course, there were other things that had been bothering Sasuke since the night before, especially after seeing Itachi. What if his parents were alive? That simple question held so many emotions within it. If his parents were alive, then that meant that everything about Sasuke's life—his sole purpose in life—was gone. He was reduced to another normal kid with a loving family and all advantages one could ask for. It was what he dearly wished for every single waking moment of his life since the massacre, but now that it had been given to him...he did not know what to do.

That being said...who did that make him? Was he even himself anymore? And could he know himself? Who was he?

It boggled the mind—he felt like a dog chasing its tail. Sasuke got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water to wake himself up and take his mind off of the many questions he had.

Inside the bathroom, while rooting around for soap, he came upon something they had even in his own world that surprised him. In one of the drawers was a small package of condoms, discretely placed underneath a washcloth.

That's right. Married people have sex, he thought, blanching slightly at the thought of doing that with Sakura. He slammed the drawer shut and went back to his hunt for the soap, but his mind lingered on that thought for a while.

The truth was, he was a virgin, and he had never given this much thought—actually, he had not even given it a single thought before. It just hadn't come up. He'd been so occupied with everything else in his life that the hormones of normal teenage boys had been entirely and utterly ignored.

Sasuke slid his gaze out of the bathroom to Sakura's sleeping figure, and watched momentarily as she rolled over and mumbled something in her sleep. Was she still a virgin too? She had to be, right...?

He shook his head. This was stupid. Why was he even wondering about this? He finally came upon a small bar of soap and went to work washing his face, relishing the feel of cold water—and then he stopped.

What if she was fucking Naruto?

Stop thinking about this, he commanded himself. Just stop.

But he couldn't just stop thinking about it. Because if she were indeed fucking Naruto, that would be yet another thing Naruto had over him now.

Don't think about it like that. You could have done Karin any day of the week and you didn't, and she has a better body than Sakura. You've just been too busy.

But Sasuke couldn't quite stop the feelings of unfairness flooding through him. Sakura was his, and always had been. It wasn't that he actually wanted her, but that part of team seven should not have changed. The thing was, Sakura had declared her feelings so many times and hung around so much that Sasuke had almost come to think of her as one of his belongings. Throughout the long days and nights of Orochimaru's training, he would comfort himself with the fact that Sakura was more than likely thinking of him. Naruto might be thinking of ramen or how to become hokage, and Kakashi might be reading Icha Icha Paradise...but Sakura would always be thinking of him.

"You take longer than most girls I know," Sakura said from the bedroom, infuriating Sasuke further. "We need to figure out what the plan for today is," she added. Sasuke sighed loudly and dried his face off with a nearby towel before going back into the bedroom.

"Do we teach today...?" Sasuke asked as he sat back down on his side of the bed, noting the way Sakura inched further away.

"No, I got a message from Novia that we have one more day off. So we can use today to look into how to get back," she replied, looking down and fidgeting with the covers.

How to get back.... Sasuke stared out at the ocean. It seemed impossible.

There was a knock on the door. When Sasuke answered it, it revealed a more disgruntled than usual Neji.

"I need to borrow Sakura for a few hours," he said sourly, his gaze flickering over Sasuke. "Recon mission in Kalaia. You up for it?" he asked Sakura. Sasuke bristled.

"First of all, we have plans. Second of all, why her?" he sneered, implying that taking him made significantly more sense. Neji scoffed.

"Because I like working with intelligent people and dislike working with non-intelligent people, of course," the opal-eyed officer said simply, as though it were obvious. Sakura flushed and flinched away from Sasuke, who sent her a hateful glare. Since when was she more intelligent than him?

Oh, right, he realized. Since day one of the ninja academy.

"Let me just get dressed," she replied, seeming to regain her usual spark of energy. Sasuke balked.

"We have things to attend to--"

"You can do some research yourself, can't you?" she asked innocently. She turned back to Neji. "I'll meet you in the hangar in ten minutes?"

"That's acceptable," Neji finally agreed as he turned on his heel and left. Afraid of giving Sasuke a chance to yell at her, Sakura immediately began getting dressed. Sasuke continued to glare at her however, forcing her to speak.

"It's just for a few hours, and if we refuse to help out with missions it will seem suspicious. And let's face it," she paused to pull her uniform top over her head, "the less time we spend together, the better."

Sasuke couldn't really argue with that. Sakura left without saying goodbye.

If one were to look up the definition of 'post apocalyptic' one might find a picture of Kalaia. Located several kilometers from Gaulin, the city sat on the rocky coast of the freezing waters of the far north. It was a land perpetually bathed in twilight, and because of this, there was no vegetation. Harsh winds and brittle rocks comprised the scenery. Neji and Sakura landed their hoverboards on the shore and hopped off, their boots splashing through the shallows. A few yards away was the mouth of the city, fronted by a crumbling structure.

"How can anyone live here," Sakura mumbled, mostly to herself. She had the feeling that a frosty person like Neji would have no trouble inhabiting such terrain. Neji went ahead, picking his way through the rocks and sand with ease. Sakura struggled to keep up with him; it was a little more difficult to navigate in a miniskirt. Stupid uniforms.

After showing their identification as military personnel to the guards at the entrance to Kalaia, Neji and Sakura entered the city in silence. For every building that was in relatively good shape, there were three more around it that were crumbling.

"Fifty years ago or so, Fleuria attacked and conquered, and they never got the funds together to rebuild," Neji explained. Sakura nodded. Occasionally they would see others on the streets, but for the most part, it was apparent that the citizens of Kalaia kept to themselves.

Strapped to Neji's back was a heavy blade that was longer than his torso, and sheathed in an elaborate design of brass and leather. It made sense that Neji would have such a traditional and timeless weapon here. As for herself, Sakura had a pair of brass knuckles and a few smoke bombs, and she was happy for this—hand-to-hand combat was her best skill. They continued into the center of the city, where there was an elaborate statue of some general in the center of a fountain that was not currently operating.

"Excuse me," Neji stopped a young man walking by and flashed his military identification. "We're looking into --"

Before he could say anything more, the man spit at them and ran away. Neji sighed. "Great, just great," he said as they watched the man run into a house, leaving the street completely empty again.

"Well, what were you hoping to find, anyway?" Sakura asked as she sat down on the edge of the fountain. Neji shrugged.

"I heard something about someone messing with the radio signals of this entire region. The communications tower is over there, but no one's allowed in—I even remember Itachi went and sealed it shut," Neji said, rubbing his temples in frustration. Sakura looked to where Neji had gestured. Indeed, looming over the city was a rusted building with bent and misshapen satellite dishes affixed to its top.

"We could check it out anyway," Sakura offered. "I don't think we're going to find much here by just surveying people," she added. Neji nodded in agreement.

"To the communications tower, then," he said, and they mounted their hoverboards.

As they raced through the streets, it was evident to Sakura that the city had once been a hub of culture and art. Signs of beautification were everywhere: statues, intricate cobblestone work on the road, architecturally intriguing buildingfronts. But now it was nearly dust. She felt sick to her stomach when she realized that Konoha was like that now too.

The communications tower was set on a hill a quarter of a mile above the city. After hacking through a few barbed-wire fences and tricking some small security measures, the team found themselves at the tower. Weeds grew everywhere, and the only door was rusted shut. Neji pulled out a handgun and shot the hinges off and then peeled the door away. He seemed bored now, but Sakura was beginning to feel anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She had gone on plenty of missions in her time, and she had developed a sixth sense for when things were not quite right.

"Be careful," she cautioned as they entered the tower. Neji scoffed and walked around. Inside, there were controls and an elevator to where the real controls were. Screens were everywhere, but vines were wrapping themselves over everything, obscuring buttons and switches as well.

"We're not going to find anything here. If there's someone manipulating the radio signals, they'd be doing it from a remote location—never bothering with this shit," he said as he kicked a monitor with his boot, whereupon it cracked and shattered. "We're just killing time here," Neji sighed. "Come on, let's check out the top floor," he said, boarding the lift and fiddling with the controls. "I wonder if it still works..."

Sakura watched for a moment, feeling increasingly queasy. Ignoring the sensation that something horrible was about to happen, she reluctantly hopped on the lift just as, with a horrific screech, it began to inch upward.

"It works. Impressive," Neji remarked as they made their way up. The lift was merely a metal grate with a pulley attached in the center and two bars to be used as handles. Sakura tried to find a safe place to look, but everywhere just reminded her of how high up they were going.

Finally, the lift came to a stop at the top floor. Sakura gasped; it was a larger version of the first floor, except for one thing: ….the system was turned on.

The hum of technology around them was jarring after the pure silence they had been enduring. Sakura and Neji looked around in utter shock.

"It's on," Neji finally spoke, his eyes wide. He stepped off the lift carefully, his hand already moving to the handle of his blade. Sakura followed suit, gearing up to fight in case they ran into trouble.

The other difference between the top floor and the first was the many windows: they now had an incredible view for thousands of miles all around. Sakura ran her hands along the panels—someone had been here recently, that was for sure. Even more likely was that someone was here.

"Fuck!" Neji swore. Sakura whirled around to see Neji trembling.

Across the room, lying on the floor and attracting flies were the bodies of the cadets. They were brutally maimed. One of them had been strangled, another beheaded. Sakura winced as she heard Neji turn around and vomit.

"What the fuck..." he said, straightening and wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Sakura shrugged but didn't trust herself to speak for fear she might follow Neji's example and empty the contents of her stomach.

Neji pulled out his transmitter and turned it on.

"Listen, whoever's there...this is Hyuuga...do you read? Over."

They held their breaths, waiting for a reply. Finally, a familiar voice came in.

"This is Hatake, what's going on? Over."

Sakura was too shocked already to even be surprised at this point by Kakashi.

"We're in Kalaia...we have located the cadets. Over."

"Really? Great! How are they? Over," Kakashi's voice crackled and sounded tinny and distant.

"...You'll need to arrange three funerals....closed casket. This is it, Hatake. We've found it. Over," Neji replied, his voice breaking. Kakashi was silent.

Just then, Sakura heard noises. And then suddenly, the same screeching noise the lift had emitted before was heard; Sakura whirled around just in time to see the lift disappearing...and going back down. Neji met Sakura's eyes for a moment as they both froze in fear.

"Fuck, we need backup, Hatake, pronto. We're at the comm tower in Kalaia. Hurry the fuck up! Over," Neji hissed into the transmitter before unsheathing his sword. Sakura attempted to steady herself as the lift began to bring up their newfound enemies.

--

"Instructor! Open up! Please!" Frantic yelling and banging on the door pulled Sasuke from combing through his desk. Irritated at being interrupted, he stomped over to the door and yanked it open. Outside, Sebastian and a mousy-looking girl with green braided hair and owl-like glasses were waiting for him. Sebastian looked pale with fear and the girl seemed to be panicking.

"We received a call for backup from Hyuuga," Sebastian said darkly. Sasuke blinked.

"....So?" Something told him he was missing the point. Sebastian balked.

"So? That means Instructor Uchiha is in serious trouble, you idiot!"

"Sebastian!" The girl hissed, flushing. "You can't just order him around like that!"

Sebastian rolled his cerulean eyes. "Right, whatever. Anyway, we need you now, sir," he said with vitriol, already turning to go. "They're dispatching a team for backup and you're on it."

The girl tapped him lightly on the arm while twisting her braid with her other hand anxiously.

"I know you must be worried, sir," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. Sasuke shrugged and grabbed his boots before following the two cadets. He was led to the hangar where a vehicle that looked like a cross between a hovercraft and a motorcycle was waiting for him, as well as—surprisingly—Kakashi, Itachi, Leena, and Mai. It seemed that they would be taking a transport and he would go ahead, alone.

"Here's your weapon, Instructor," another cadet that Sasuke was fairly sure was Tenten said, handing him a sword. Sasuke briefly unsheathed it; it was two blades parallel to each other with a gun in between them. Quickly, he resheathed the weapon and slung it over his shoulder. It seemed to him to be a bit of overkill—three weapons at a time, when any one of them by itself would have done the job just as well.

"They're in the comm tower in Kalaia. We'd take a transport but it's too slow," Kakashi said as Sasuke walked to the motorcycle. "They found the bodies of the cadets, all dead and already decomposing. Hyuuga was about to elaborate, but they were attacked and we lost contact."

Sasuke attempted to turn on the motorcycle, but before he could find a switch or button, it seemed to come alive. When he looked up, Itachi handed him a small device.

"This will give you directions to the coordinates of Uchiha and Hyuuga. We're letting you go on ahead because we all know you're too much of an impatient brat to just go with us in the transport," Itachi jested before patting Sasuke on the shoulder, his lips curling into a knowing grin. The pain Sasuke felt from this interaction was worse than any physical pain that anyone could have inflicted on him, but he ignored it for now.

"Alright. I'll see you all there then," Sasuke replied brusquely, turning away and looking out.

"Good luck. This might be asking a lot of you, but don't lose your cool and do anything dumb," Kakashi added just as Sasuke's craft began to move. "We'll be right behind you."

Sasuke decided to ignore the insults to his temperament and left the hangar. The device Itachi had given him was like a compass, but always pointing in the direction of Kalaia's communications tower. He took a deep breath, and urged the hovercycle to move faster.

He flew over the ocean, over fields of flowers, between canyons and cliff faces. Gaulin was beautiful, but as he went further north, the beauty seemed to decay and vegetation melted away. Finally, he could see the shrouded silhouette of Kalaia as well as the tower. Oddly enough, he realized his heart was beating fast. He wasn't nervous, was he? Of course not.

I'm just not used to riding this thing. I'm not worried about her. Not at all.

Finally, the compass gave a beep signaling he had arrived on the shores of Kalaia. Sasuke dismounted the hovercycle and left it in the shallows before sprinting to the entrypoint.

"Out of my way," he ordered the guards. "Military personnel coming through."

When the guards wouldn't budge, Sasuke unsheathed his sword, making them both tremble and begin to perspire.

"Al-alright," the fat one whimpered, pressing a button hastily and opening the steel porticullis.

Without another word, Sasuke ran into the city of Kalaia.

It took a few minutes, but finally he was able to navigate his way to the comm tower. Even from outside, he could hear shouts and the sounds of fighting. With a bit of surprise, he realized his palms were sweating as he sprinted through the broken fences to the tower. Everything was merely a blur as he ran. I'm just feeling this way because I'm nervous about fighting. And the fact that she's been so rude to me is throwing me off. That's all.

The door was destroyed, as though it had been shot off its hinges. Sasuke stepped over the wreckage and into the tower.

The bottom floor was silent and empty, but Sasuke could hear yells and clangs of metal against metal coming from above. He saw the lift, but for fear that the enemy would see him coming and just shoot him, he began to search for another way up.

Outside of the tower, along the side, he found a flimsy metal ladder attached to the building with rusty nails. Without a moment's hesitation, he began climbing upwards quickly. It was a long way up—at least seventy feet, if not more—but at least this way he wouldn't be noticed right away.

At the top floor there was metal grate acting as a deck, with many rusted switches and buttons along it, operating the giant satellite dishes atop the building. Scaling the wall, he found a door to the interior. Taking a deep breath and having his weapon at the ready, he opened the door.

"Shit!" Neji yelled, dodging a blow. What Sasuke saw was something he could never have possibly anticipated: the thing was like a giant robot, but with flesh and blood as well. It was at least ten feet tall and was in the shape of a tarantula, with legs that were both robotic and organic. It had a single robotic eye and was armed with guns and blades, and was swiping at Neji and Sakura.

Sasuke shot at it with his weapon, but the bullets were deflected. It turned its robotic eye onto him, and began shooting at him. Sasuke sprinted around it, a shower of shells raining down on his path as the creature continued to open fire.

He had an instant to glance at Sakura and Neji; Neji had blood pouring from a gash on his forehead and dribbling down over his face and clothes, and Sakura seemed to be having difficulty standing, and was clutching a wound at her side.

"Run! Backup is on the way! Get to the transport!" Sasuke yelled as he continued to alternate between dodging and firing at the creature.

Why am I doing this? Why am I saving her? She isn't worth the effort...

Just then, the creature extended one of its legs to be a claw, and swiped Sakura right off her feet. She let out a screech and struggled violently against its robotic vice. With horror, Neji and Sasuke both seemed to realize what its intentions were as the creature began to move towards the windows.

"I'm heading for backup," Neji said, jumping on the lift. Sasuke wanted to smack him for his apparent cowardice, but there was no time—the robot had already smashed through the windows and was holding Sakura out. It was a seventy foot drop, and then rocks and the ocean beneath that. Sasuke's heart was pounding in his ears as he darted out the door to the deck.

"Stay still, Sakura! Stop moving, dammit!" he yelled, shooting at the creature—but it was still deflecting his bullets. As the talons began to loosen, threatening to drop Sakura, Sasuke took a running jump and rammed into the arm, hanging onto it and causing the robot to hurl Sakura to the deck with his momentum. Sakura yelped in pain and struggled to get up as Sasuke distracted the robot, trying to kick its eye out with his boot as he clung to the arm, dangerously swinging over the edge, his legs flailing wildly. The robot tried to fire at him, but he was too close range for the guns to work. "Run! Get to the fucking transport!" Sasuke yelled at her, still trying to do some sort of damage to the thing.

"I can't leave you--"

"Tell them to come here! Just do it!" Sasuke interrupted before getting knocked into the wall of the tower. Despite the pain in her leg that even from afar Sasuke could tell was a break, Sakura ran back inside the building and to the lift.

With one arm to hold onto the robot and one arm to slash at it with his blades, Sasuke continued to attack, even as it tried to shake him off.

What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I save her? This thing is probably going to kill me now. I just sacrificed myself for the most annoying person in the world. I don't even know her anymore, really. We're basically strangers...

Sasuke was almost thrown into the watery depths, but he managed to grab onto the edge of the deck as his weapon met a darker fate and made a metallic shattering sound below. The robot tried to hit Sasuke's hands off the grate with its legs, but he kept moving; though his grip was beginning to slip on the grate as his hands perspired with fear and adrenaline.

The only choice I have now is to outsmart the thing and run...

Using the last of his strength, he vaulted himself back up onto the deck just before the robot landed on him again. He began running and ran inside the building again, but the robot just smashed through the wall. He moved to the lift, but it beat him to it and smashed it. It fell to the bottom floor with a sickening crunch.

He turned and sprinted back out to the ladder and began frantically climbing down, but the thing jumped down and stuck to the wall and with two free legs began antagonizing him and ripping the ladder from the wall, rung by rung.

The transport whizzed by and hovered near the tower, the back opening to reveal the entire team.

"Backup, my ass!" Sasuke yelled furiously as the robot finally landed a hit on him, nearly knocking him off. Blood splattered everywhere and Sasuke saw stars in his pain.

"Jump, Sasuke!" Sakura cried, moving to the very edge and holding out her hand. The robot began to shoot at the transport, giving Sasuke a free moment. With a deep breath, he let go of the ladder and sprang in the direction of the transport. For a split second, he was in free fall, and he thought it seemed more likely that he would miss the transport and die—but Sakura caught his hand.

"Hang on!" she warned as they pulled away from the tower, the robot still shooting and Sasuke still only holding onto Sakura's hand. Sasuke choked in pain and shock as a bullet landed in his leg, but Sakura's grip was tight enough that he didn't fall. Finally, she was able to pull him up onto the transport and the door lowered shut as they continued to speed away from the tower, the robot-spider still firing bullets at them.

Sasuke registered that Sakura had pulled him onto her lap and was clutching him, looking at his injuries.

"Just breathe, okay?" she said softly. Even in his pain, he could see that she was more injured than him. Behind her stood Neji, observing them. Sasuke felt the urge to punch him, but he didn't have the strength to stand.

"What the hell was that thing?" Sasuke demanded as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Sakura shrugged, and opened her mouth to speak, but just then, fainted.

"Shit, she's lost too much blood. Hurry back to the academy! We don't have the equipment for a transfusion here," Kakashi snarled at Leena, who was piloting the transport. Sasuke's own blood ran cold at seeing Sakura looking so lifeless on the ground. He helped Itachi move her to one of the benches along the side of the transport and strap her down.

Why do I care? It's not a big deal, right? She's just an old teammate. I shouldn't care this much...

Sasuke's thoughts were in turmoil as they made the journey back to the academy.

In the infirmary a few hours later, Sasuke was having his wounds stitched up as they waited for Sakura's awakening. She was still unconscious but, according to the doctor (who was Shizune), she would be fine.

"This brings back memories of your days here," Shizune sighed as she cleaned up the wound where the bullet had been. Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "You were so screwed up—Sakura was devoted to your case. I still say that if not for her, your spine never would have recovered as well as it did. Of course, if not for your spine, you two might have never met. A blessing in disguise," she said, pulling out clear dissolvable thread from a drawer. Sasuke balked. His spine? What the hell had happened? But something that big would have been absurd to ask about. Though if he really had permanent damage on his spine, it would explain why he had had such trouble sparring with Sakura...

"Mmm."

"Well, you're good for now. I'm going to go check on Sakura-sama; I'll be back in a minute to fix up your side," she said, already bustling out the door, leaving Sasuke alone in the room.

His gaze slid to his file, which was a folder thick enough to be a novel. Would it hurt to look through it?

He inched off the bed and snatched it from the counterand began hurriedly flipping through it. Finally, he came across pages of notes.

Patient still in a coma; severe trauma to skull and spine. Bullet wounds in leg and arm. Mission report states that the patient was thrown from enemy air shuttle; found two days later in Fleurian mountain range at undisclosed coordinates. Transfusion received three days ago at 1300 hours.

Sasuke stared in shock at the notes. They were signed by Intern Haruno...

Patient awoke at 800 hours today. Lucid; slight confusion but no brain damage is apparent. Tried to walk but failed. Permanent damage to spine is obvious, but despite what Dr. Shizune says, recovery to at least eighty percent is possible.

He continued to flip through the notes. As time passed, her language became more casual, until in the notes she was referring to him as Sasuke and not bothering with official medical lingo. It was evident that she had devoted most of her time to helping him recover. The notes seemed to document about a year and a half of his recuperation time—but even by three months, she had already had him walking, even if with the aid of crutches. Sasuke had to smile at this; yes, people he had met in this world were different from the ones he had known in his own world, but Sakura sounded exactly the same: stubborn, determined, and yes, annoying.

"Reminiscing?" Shizune interrupted, startling Sasuke into dropping the folder on the counter.

"Uh, sure," he replied a bit stiffly. Shizune frowned.

"I'm surprised you're not attacking me for information on your wife's condition. She's awake, by the way. Go see her when I'm done stitching up your side. Now, lay down."

Sasuke lay down, feeling Shizune prod and poke his side, before the needle sank into his skin and she began sewing. He stared at the lighting on the ceiling. So much had happened today—and he still had to prepare for tomorrow. Again, his thoughts drifted to Hebi. He would have given anything to know about the condition of his platoon and whether they had gone ahead with the mission. He ached to know. "Alright, all done. Go see Sakura," Shizune ordered. Sasuke nodded and left the room and headed for Sakura's room.

Hesitantly, he stepped inside the room. She was sitting upright, her head bandaged but no cast, surprisingly. Sasuke lingered by the door as Sakura stared at him.

"Please stop this," she spoke, her voice watery and quavery.

"....Stop what?"

"Being the guy you were when we were kids. Please stop. I know you're not a good guy anymore. So please...don't deceive me like this. I can't..." she choked out a sob, fat tears streaming down her face. Sasuke's eyes widened—he had not been expecting this. "...I can't take much more pain caused by you."

Sasuke bristled; he had just saved her life for god knows why and she was repaying him with this?

"Whatever," he said waspishly, and turned on his heel and left the infirmary.

"What a day," Kakashi groaned. The team was sitting around a table in the cafeteria, which was empty save for them. It was late into the night, but Leena and a woman named Rin had insisted they all have a casual meeting. Sakura and Sasuke were sitting next to each other out of necessity, but there was a frosty silence between them.

"Well, now we know that there is trouble brewing in Kalaia and probably elsewhere, and we also know that that...thing, whatever it was, is out there. There are probably more like it," Itachi added grimly before taking a long drink of his beer.

As everyone discussed the mission's findings, Sebastian turned to Sakura, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay? You got pretty banged up out there, and you weren't in the best shape to begin with, thanks to your last mission," he asked gently. Sakura smiled at him, her heart fluttering in her chest. Just talking to Sebastian was enough to make her forget about Sasuke.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I thought I'd broken my leg but no harm done!" she said brightly. Sebastian smiled.

"I'm glad you're alright," he said slowly, gazing deeply into her eyes.

"So, I was thinking we really ought to organize a ball, you know?" Rin's voice penetrated the moment between them, and both Sebastian and Sakura looked over at her. "Leena had the idea, but I think it'd be great—relieve everyone's tension, have some fun, you know...also, we need to celebrate your big victory, Instructors," Rin turned to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Oh, that's really not..." Sakura began, but everyone interrupted her, insisting that a ball was entirely necessary.

"You know, you guys have been really awkward around each other lately," Kakashi spoke up. Sakura blushed hotly and Sasuke's scowl deepened. "Come on, let's see a kiss."

The group began chanting, 'kiss!' repeatedly (except for Sebastian) until Sakura and Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.

"We'll just kiss quickly," Sakura murmured to Sasuke. They angled their bodies towards each other, avoiding each other's eyes, and Sakura pecked Sasuke quickly on the cheek.

"No! That was so lame," Leena whined. "Howabout a real one?"

They are torturing me. I have died and gone to hell, and now satan is torturing me, Sakura thought as she leaned in towards Sasuke again. Their eyes met and locked for a moment before Sasuke bent lower and pressed his lips to hers. Sakura could feel his eyelashes brush hers as he closed his eyes. The group cheered and clapped as they finally broke apart, slightly breathless.

"You guys are the best couple ever," Rin sighed, smiling at them. "It'll make everyone really happy to have a ball in your honor."

"...When will it be? We don't have a lot of extra time to plan," Sasuke replied, crossing his arms over his chest and looking completely normal and businesslike. Unlike Sakura. She refrained from sighing and slumped lower in her chair. I can't believe this. I'm acting all flustered over him. He's a bad guy, and he's definitely not the Sasuke I knew five years ago. What is wrong with me?

Plans for the ball were made without Sakura's input as she mulled over the day's events silently. She could feel Sebastian still staring at her, but she tried to ignore it. Everything was too oppressive suddenly—being so near Sasuke, being stared at by both Mai and Sebastian, the pain all over her body—it was all too much.

"I'm really tired...I think I'm going to go to bed early," she announced suddenly, standing up quickly and leaving, ignoring the protests from everyone else.

It was late so the halls were silent. Despite the fact that it hurt to walk too fast, she speed-walked to the apartment. She was so lost in her turmoil that she didn't realize someone had been following her until Mai grabbed her shoulder and stopped her, pulling her off to the side on the breezeway connecting the living quarters to the rest of the academy. Out here, the soft sounds of the ocean could be heard, and the moon was bright.

"Sorry about that," Sakura said immediately. "I just needed a break, that's all," she said quickly. Mai looked down at her blankly, making Sakura feel self-conscious.

They were silent for several minutes. At one point, Sasuke walked by, heading back to the apartment, but because they were hidden behind a pillar, he did not notice Sakura and Mai.

"They say that those with the greatest capacity for evil also have the greatest capacity for good," Mai said suddenly, after Sasuke was out of earshot. Sakura blinked. It's almost like she knows... But Mai couldn't know about their situation. No one did. Here, in this world, Sasuke was a hero and seemed to only have capacity for good. "Just think about that," she said pointedly. "Good night, Sakura."

Shocked, Sakura watched Mai turn and go back from whence they had come. Finally, Sakura turned and went back to the apartment, slightly dreading interacting with Sasuke.

Oddly enough, Sasuke wasn't tired yet, and not only that, he also did not want to have to see Sakura just yet. He had noticed that there were docks near the living quarters, so he changed out of his uniform and into a white undershirt and black standard-issue pants and went to explore the docks.

All was silent save for the gentle sound of the waves lapping up against the wood of the dock. A few small boats and vehicles that looked like motorcycles for the water were tied up, but there were no major boats. These are probably the soldiers' personal watercraft, Sasuke deduced as he strolled along the docks. It was peaceful and quiet, and for the first time since he had arrived in this strange world, he felt calm.

The tide was high. Sasuke walked along one dock that stretched out further in the ocean. It was a couple hundred feet long, and when he reached the end, it felt like he was walking on water in the middle of the ocean. The lights and sounds of the academy were far away; the only light he had was the light from the full moon. He sat down and folded his legs up against his chest and wrapped his arms around them, resting his chin on his knees.

It was strange, he realized, how in different given environments he behaved so differently. Back in the days of team seven, he had done good things. When he was with Orochimaru and then later with Madara, he had done what many might consider bad things. And now, here, he had saved Sakura and Neji without even really thinking twice. It had been easier than it should have been to put his life on the line for people he didn't even really know, or technically care about.

That meant he was influenced easily by those around him. Did that mean he was a weak person? He didn't like to think of it that way, but the truth of the matter was staring him down now. He had done what he had done with team seven because that was what he had wanted to do. And helping Orochimaru and Madara had been steps towards his goal of revenge...but now that he was so removed from that situation, the steps seemed convoluted and unnecessary.

And it became clearer and clearer that he had been the one that had been used.

He froze when he heard footsteps nearby. It was the sound of bare feet padding along. Turning his head slightly, he saw Sakura in a white sleeveless shirt and sweats walking towards him a bit timidly. He turned to look back at the ocean. Somehow...he still didn't want to face her.

Sakura walked towards him and crouched down behind him.

"Hey," she said awkwardly.

"Hn," Sasuke responded, tensing slightly.

"I shouldn't have said those things. You saved my life today. Even if it was part of the act...thanks, I guess."

Sasuke frowned. It hadn't been part of the act, surprisingly. Kissing her had, definitely, but saving her life was something he had done without contemplating it. "You could have just pretended to not get there in time or something, but you didn't," she added. "Mai told me..." Sakura paused, suddenly feeling choked up, "that those with the greatest capacity for evil also have the greatest capacity for good..."

"It's just a saying," Sasuke replied. "Good and evil are subjective terms. You have to know all sides of the story before judging something like that."

He thought she was going to get mad or argue, but she merely rolled up her pantlegs and let her legs hang off the dock and in the water.

"You're right. I don't know your circumstances. But you still hurt a lot of people, you know. Not just me. Naruto thought of you as someone even closer than family. And let's face it..." he could hear the smile in her voice, "you were Kakashi's favorite student. He identified with you so much. I think...he still does."

Sasuke felt angry at this. Didn't she realize that not only had he lost his family, but to get to killing Itachi and to where he was now, he had continued to hurt himself? Orochimaru's training had been both physical and emotional pain.

"You don't know what's happened to me," Sasuke said finally. "You never will. You say I hurt you guys? You'll never experience the pain I have experienced these past five years. Never," he said coldly.

This too he had thought would make her go away, but she didn't leave.

"You're probably right about that too. But...you let it happen. No, you asked for it to happen."

He didn't want to admit that this was true, so he remained silent. "You can be a good man here. You can be the person we all thought you were going to be. It could be years before we return. This...this is your chance. You have your family in this world. You don't need to feel so much pain. You...can just be."

He felt her hand on his shoulder. He turned to look back at her.

"Why are you being so nice now?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. She chuckled and shook her head.

"What Mai said made me think. That's all. I'm going to go back to the apartment and get some sleep. Come back when you're ready. ...Good night, Sasuke," she said as she stood and took her hand off of his shoulder. He watched her pad softly back to the port and go back inside, leaving him to mull over what she had said.

Come back when you're ready.

Yes, in many ways, she was still the same Sakura he had always known. But in other ways...she was very, very different.