Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I just love Kishimoto for creating it.

SHANNARO! Reviewers, you have this awesomely wonderful way of making me feel like I actually matter in this world! My writing comes from the heart, and you guys have been so accepting of it, it just makes me smile. Thank you guys so much for reading and telling me what you all think of my story. I really appreciate it.

I'm so so so so sorry for the slow update. My wireless internet on my comp has been having problems so I have to go call Dell and have them help me fix it because it's driving me CRAZY! I'm sitting in Schlotzky's Deli right now just to have internet! GO AHEAD! Call me lame if you will, I just love you guys that much that I have to update! xD

Ja ne!

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And the thank you's go to…

sweetmaiden lol! I will be as soon as my dumb internet stops being a butt munch. xD Sakura-Girl 2005 Aww, thank you so much! Yeah, I will be. I've already gotten chapter 5 written out and I'm almost done with it. It's nothing BUT SasuSaku fluff! I might change it a little bit so the people in it don't seem too OOC…thanks for reading! puRpLebLuSh017 lol! OMG your review made me smile. Hehehe! Thank you for making my day! OtakuAnime131LOL! Yeah, I HAD to put Kakashi sensei in here somewhere! I mean, it IS a SasuSaku fic, but still. Hehehe! Our Kakashi in our group is COMPLETELY obsessed with Anko, so I thought I would pay a tribute to him by having Kakashi go after her. Lol! Keep and eye out for Naruto and him in future chapters! narutofan4ever I swear, he had it coming to him. What goes around comes around, everybody remember that! xD That's not even HALF of what Haruno Tetsuki is going to get though. Sasuke kicked his ass, but that was a head start favor for Tsunade… (laughs evilly) Mezumi Oh I will be, don't worry! Like I told Sakura-Girl, I've already gotten chapter 5 started and almost finished. (I was up late last night…hehehe!) Pinstripe LOL. Tis all good. Don't worry; you should see my friend Kelsey when she drinks just ONE bottle of Ramunè! xD Shinobi Darkbeak Thanks, I will!Carebear Haterlol, thanks for reading! xD Fiona McKinnon hehehehehehehehehehehehehe! That's awesome. xD sessygirl66 Here's chapter four! xD lookuponscarletskies LMFAO! Woah. XD I'm glad you like it! I hope this chapter will make the wait worthwhile…/ xD Thank you for reading! HeartAngel It's ok! I appreciate you staying with me! Thanks for reading! Raefire606 xD xD xD xD xD StarFire and Sakura lol! Of COURSE Sasuke-kun has an inner self! How do you think he keeps his emotions all bottled up inside, hm? xD hehehehehe! Just wait till you read this next chapter. I'm trying to build for chapter 5…xD neon kunWOOT! xDangel bathed in hell fire Ahh! Omg please don't die! xD My stupid internet has been being emo! I'll update though when I can! I take a notebook with me to school EVERYDAY to work on this story! As soon as I get my wireless fixed on my laptop, I will be updating much more! xD Magan OMG……………………WOW! LOL! I'M CONTINUING! I'M CONTINUING! I'M CONTINUING! I'M CONTINUING! I'M CONTINUING! I'M CONTINUING! I'M CONTINUING! I'M CONTINUING! Your review made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair! You're seriously the first reviewer I've ever had do this! FREAKEN AWESOME! Lol! Thanks for reading! rightnow. Alright! Here's chapter four!

Chapter 5 is almost done guys! I'll update again hopefully by this weekend! Thanks for reading!

The Strength of the Heart

Part Four

Sakura opened her eyes the next morning. She felt well-rested and her body had made a comfortable niche in the futon she was lying on…wait, a futon?

Her green eyes scanned the room quickly, and she froze as they came to rest on a red and white fan painted on the wall near the door.

Oh yeah, I'm in Sasuke-kun's house… Sakura didn't want to get up. The warm blanket over her was tucked around her slender form and it was so comfortable. She snuggled back into the cover, relishing in the warmth. She sat bolt upright a moment later. "Wait, I'm in Sasuke-kun's house!" She nearly squeaked. She clamped a hand to her mouth as she realized she must've been too loud. She heard footsteps outside the door and she dove back under the covers, her eyes wide. What the hell am I doing here? Of all places! She thought.
The door opened. Sakura's breath hitched as she heard, "I know you're not asleep anymore." Sakura didn't move at first, but she heard the door close and she sat up again, looking towards the door, wondering if he was still there. Emerald green eyes met onyx ones. "Ohayo." She whispered her eyes still wide and questioning. He smirked.

"It's afternoon Sakura." He said, coming more into the room and sitting on the bed beside her. "Oh." She said quietly. The events from the previous day suddenly came back to her, and she looked up into Sasuke's eyes. She felt suddenly impulsive, and she pulled him by the shoulders into a fierce hug. She knew that he probably wouldn't want her to be this close, especially on her own volition, but after what transpired yesterday, she wasn't about to let him go now.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as she stared at him for a moment before grabbing him and pulling him close. He smirked as she buried her face in his chest. His arms went around her, and he returned her desperate embrace.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun." She whispered softly.

It was then that something deep inside Sasuke's heart stirred. It took him a while to recognize the feeling, as it had been smothered by hate the majority of his life. It was there whenever Sakura spoke to him now, whenever she hugged him, and he realized back in the hospital when he'd found her pinned down by her father and he'd wanted to kill the man what it was…

Love.

Sasuke's smirk turned into a smile and he pulled her closer. "I appreciate everything that you've done." Sakura said, pulling away and hiding her face as she dried her tears on her sleeve. "But I have to go." I can't burden you any longer. I've been nothing but a burden to you, to everyone since my mother died. I've got to become stronger.

Sasuke frowned. "Go where?" He asked, watching her every move. She stood up, looking around the room for her shoes. She found them by the door. She clutched the doorknob in her hand and drew a deep breath before she turned to face him.

"Home. Please, don't follow me." She whispered. She tore her eyes away from his gaze and opened the door. She didn't move exactly as quickly as she would have preferred, but she made it to the base of the stairs and paused only for a moment to slip her shoes on.
Sasuke didn't come after her. Though he would have chosen to ignore her normally, he'd come to respect her more now. He watched through the window as Sakura left the Uchiha complex, tears obviously evident in her eyes, as she kept wiping them away. His heart told him to go after her, but his feet wouldn't move.

…

Sakura opened the charred door to her house. It had been roughly set back up on its hinges, but it never really stayed. Sakura had to use what chakra she had left in her to lift it from its slumped position to put it back properly. She would have to fix it later.

She climbed the stairs to her room, and opened the door to find it in the exact same condition as she had left it. She grabbed some clothes from her closet and went to the bathroom to shower. After turning the water on and letting it run for a moment to get warm, she stared in the mirror at her reflection. Her body was still bandaged, and she started to undo the bandages so she could get completely clean. When she had removed them all, she stopped and looked at her hand. That would pose a problem. Broken ribs she could handle, but broken fingers? She left those bandages on.

Climbing into the searing hot shower, she let out a yelp as the harsh temperature change shocked her skin. She let the water run through her pink tresses before lathering up shampoo to wash away the smell from the hospital. She hated that smell. She used her other hand, the one with the broken but healing wrist to wash her hair. She yelped in pain as it stung when she torked it out of place trying to rinse her hair. Nerves were pinched and she had to fight the urge to cry as she gathered chakra to her left hand and quickly put the bone back into place.

After showering, Sakura re-wrapped her ribs and turned her eyes angrily down to the healing gash on her leg. She gathered more chakra to her hand and healed it, not wanting to limp anymore. It would not suit her to stumble on her own. She was parentless now, and she had to learn how to take complete care of herself. No one would look after her now, so it was up to her to see that she did.

…

Sasuke went back to the room where Sakura had slept. He sat back down on the bed again, and stared at the pillow. It was then that he noticed a few strands of pink lying on the pillow. A strong sense of regret filled him then. It took him a moment to discover the cause.

He actually missed having her around. He started to wonder how she was doing, if she was all right, if she would have trouble showering in her current state…

Sasuke shook his head hard. He got up and went downstairs. He decided he would go out and train a bit. Sasuke left his house at a dead run. He would have to pass by Sakura's house on his way to the training area.

…

Sakura went downstairs to the kitchen, looking through the refrigerator for something to eat. It was then that she noticed all the alcohol bottles in the kitchen. Some were stowed in the cupboards, others under the sink. Sakura yelled out in anger as she threw one too hard into the trash can. It shattered. She did the same to the others, slamming them as hard as she could into the trash. She pulled them out of the refrigerator and chucked them into the garbage. Once the can was completely full, she vehemently picked it up and kicked the door down so she could get the abominations out of her house. She angrily set the trash can out on the street to be taken out later.

Storming back into her house, she ran down the hallway to her father's office. She tried the door only to find that it was locked. Sakura growled angrily and kicked the door down. The glass from the door shattered and she walked over it, entering her father's study. It was rather large, seeing as he spent nearly all his waking hours in there when he was not on a mission…Or beating the fuck out of me. She added bitterly and mentally. She began opening the drawers to his desk.

They were filled with memories of her mother. Things that her father had said that had disappeared long ago were still in the drawers. Pictures, clippings of hair, her mother's wedding ring…Sakura froze when she saw something at the bottom of the drawer. It was a photo taken of her family just after she was born. Haruno Keseki was smiling brightly at the camera while her little daughter with wisps of pink hair reached up for her mother, a happy smile on her year old face. Sakura's hatful eyes turned to look at her father. He looked stoic as ever, but he had his arm wrapped around her mother's waist. A ghost of a smile was on his face as he looked down at his one and only child.

Sakura tore her eyes away from the picture. She gently set it down on the desk as she continued to go through the drawers. She froze as she found something in the bottom of the last drawer. It was something that Sakura knew with all her heart was illegal.

Drugs.

Her green eyes widened as she pulled the bag out of its hiding place behind a book. The bag was filled with the stuff, and it stank like nothing else. Sakura got up and hurriedly raced outside, the bag held completely and as far away from her as possible.

She heard footsteps down the street and her eyes widened as she saw her teammate approaching. Sakura quickly and fervently shoved the bag into the garbage, but cut her hand on one of the broken sake bottles. Crying out in frustration, she raced back inside, hoping that Sasuke would just continue on with whatever he had to do.

No such luck.

Sasuke paused on the street facing Sakura's house. His onyx eyes traveled briefly to the open trashcan outside. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the broken sake bottles and the peculiar-looking bag which had just been stuffed in the center. He bent and studied it for a moment before catching a whiff of what it contained. His eyes narrowed in anger and he headed straight for Sakura's front door, which by now, had been given up on as a lost cause.

Sakura was scrubbing the open cut on her hand as harshly as possible. The wound itself was clean almost instantly, having been a clean slice, but Sakura kept on scrubbing. She found the pain to be a good distraction of her current thoughts.

She hated her father more.

Instead of learning to deal with his pain in a normal way, he chose to start using drugs, which had in turn made his temper even worse. Sakura knew something had been up with him every time he emerged from his office. Now she had the answer.

The water from the faucet ran hard down her hand, her blood staining it an auburn-ish color. Soon, the sink had been stained with the fresh blood flowing from her hand. Sakura tried her hardest to hold back her tears.

She failed to notice someone sneaking up behind her.

Two large hands grasped her shoulders and spun her quickly around. Sakura cried out in surprise, and the person's grip on her shoulders softened considerably. She looked up to see Sasuke glaring down at her.

"Wh-what the hell are you—?"

"I think I should be asking you that." He cut her off coldly. He pointed to the bag which had been sitting outside on top of the trashcan, and in full view. "Why?" He asked after a moment.

Sakura rolled her eyes, understanding what he meant. "Just chill out Uchiha, ok?" She said, moving past him, hiding her bloody hand. "Have a seat. I'd offer you a drink, but as you can see, all the sake is gone." Her tone was hatful and angry. Sasuke's eyes narrowed further as he saw her hand behind her back. He saw blood drip on the floor as she moved. "Sakura, what happened?" He asked, walking from the kitchen towards her by the stairs. "Nothing!" She shouted, turning away from him.

"I'm just cleaning up the mess that fucking bastard left. None of this is mine!" She screamed, pointing to the mess in her father's office and then to the trashcan outside full of the broken alcohol bottles. "I'm always getting the privilege of cleaning up after his ass! Why should now be any different?" Tears had worked their way to her eyes and had completely ignored her orders not to fall. She turned her head and moved to go upstairs, but Sasuke caught her by her arm. It just had to be the arm connected to my freshly wounded hand…She thought bitterly.
"I'm fine. Please, just leave me alone." She said coldly.

"Sakura…"

"I said I'm fine!" She cried, yanking her hand away from him and running up the stairs. She ran into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, looking around a second later for the bandages.

Sasuke waited a moment before following her. He knew from what she said that the sake and the drugs weren't hers, but he couldn't help but be concerned by her words. He stood outside the bathroom door and knocked on it.
"There's no reason for you to be here Sasuke-kun. You've probably got other things to do. Just leave me alone." Sakura's voice came through the door. She sounded hurt.

Sasuke knocked again, not responding. Sakura ignored him this time, slumping against the wall and burying her head in her arms.

He knocked again.

Sakura had started crying, doing her best to ignore him. She didn't need this, especially now. Upon seeing her mother's face again in the picture for the first time in three years, all the haunting memories and nightmares came back to her.

It was her fault.

Her father had been right all this time. The drugs proved that. He couldn't deal with her death on his own, so he had to cover up his pain with mindless bliss. Then, when the drugs had started to fail him, he began to drink heavily, quickly becoming an alcoholic. Sakura also noticed his change in the way that he treated her too. He'd always been strict with her, but that changed to her getting beaten, sometimes even to the point of needing medical help. She'd gone to training everyday, hoping to hide the numerous wounds and bruises that she'd received from her father. Tsunade had seemed a little apprehensive at first to accept her brainwashed excuses on how she got the marks. But not wanting to be untrustworthy of her apprentice, she always went with it, accepting the excuses with a grain of salt, keeping each bruise and cut in her photographic memory for future reference. Now that Sakura really thought about it, Tsunade must have known for almost two years, ever since she started creating the cover-up excuses. Her teammates also never noticed. Naruto was always too oblivious to notice, Kakashi sensei always had his nose buried in that stupid orange book of his, and also he always focused more on Naruto and Sasuke more than her.

Sasuke. He was a whole other story. Sakura had never really paid much attention to him ever since he'd returned, which meant that she never really knew if he noticed her or not. Sakura just continued to believe that he didn't care, just as he always had back before he'd left Konoha. But now that he was back…

"Sakura, please open the door." Sasuke's voice came through.

Sakura sniffed before she fervently wiped her eyes, saying, "The lock's been broken for two years now Sasuke. It's open." She replied, hiding her face once again. She silently prayed that he would just turn around and leave, once he found that she'd not completely locked him out. But again, lady luck was not on her side today. Or ever, it seemed. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut as more tears started to flow. She'd always gotten the short end of the stick for years. Now, it seemed like everyone was sitting back and enjoying another good laugh at her.

The door opened.

Footsteps approaching told her that Sasuke had not left.

Sasuke looked down at his teammate in the corner of the bathroom. She was sitting on the other side of the bathroom, her knees tucked up to her chin and her arms crossed over her knees. Her hand was still bleeding. The bandages lay forgotten under the sink. He picked them up and carefully took her hand.
"Sakura." He said, hoping that she would at least act like he was there. She didn't respond. "I told you to please leave me alone."

"I'm not going to do that because that's not what you need." He replied. Sakura's head came up, her eyes were red and tears had streaked her face. "How the hell do you know what I need?" She asked her voice not as cold. "And since when do you give a shit?"

Sasuke knelt down next to her. "Since I realized I was a complete idiot for ever leaving in the first place." He replied. Sakura's jaw dropped slightly. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make sense of what she'd just heard, her ears not quite believing it.

"And I know that being alone is the very last thing that you need because I know what you're going through." He said darkly. Sakura's eyes dropped from his face. Heh, yeah, whatever. She thought.

"My brother betrayed my clan, killing everyone that was important to me. He even tormented me more as the years went by, as he would constantly hold the fact that I was weak and powerless to save my family over my head. I about drove myself insane with all the guilt."

Sakura looked back at him. "What kept you from going over the edge?" She asked in a soft voice.

"You." He replied, lifting her chin.

Sakura's eyes widened at this. "Look, I know that condolences are the last thing you need right now, but I know how you feel. I'm not going to just leave you alone, because I will be dammed if someone else important to me goes through what I did." He said fiercely.

Sakura couldn't tear her eyes away this time. Tears had formed in her eyes again, and they slowly streamed down her cheeks. Sasuke cupped her chin and whipped them away with his thumb.

"Don't put yourself through this Sakura. I know what's happened. Believe it or not, ever since I came home, you have been all that I've thought about. What you said to me the last time I saw you before I left has been running through my mind. I didn't want to hurt you more like Itachi had done to me. Just by leaving I was killing you, and I was going to kill myself before I ever became like my brother."

Sakura couldn't say anything. Her heart pounded hard in her chest as more and more the urge for her to just yank him to her became stronger.

"Your mother died because of the severity of her wounds. Your ability had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she died. You did the right thing by going to get Tsunade-sama. She even said that she couldn't save your mother."

Sakura started to cry again, hard. Her shoulders shook as tears racked her body. She felt herself being lifted and pulled close.

"It wasn't your fault." Sasuke whispered in her ear. Sakura only cried harder. "It wasn't your fault." The pain that she'd pent up inside her was now coming out in waves, making her whole entire body hurt like hell. Sakura cried hard. Harder than she had in all the time that her mother had been gone. The pain was so intense she'd curled herself up into a ball, hugging her legs to her chest.

Sasuke let her cry. She needed to get all this out. He could see that it had been eating away at her.

"I-I'm so weak." She whispered after she'd calmed down slightly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Crying doesn't make you weak. My brother cried when he was dying, and he was the strongest person that I knew." Sakura turned her tear-filled eyes up to him.

"Sakura, just let it go." He whispered, brushing her hair from her eyes. Sakura's face scrunched up again as she felt another wave of sadness come on. She failed in trying to hold it back. Sasuke pulled her to him, holding her close as she let go once again. Her arms tightened around him, her small form perfectly molding with his. He took silent note of this, but didn't say anything.

Sasuke even felt tears start to come as Sakura whispered, "I-I miss her so much."

"I know." His voice cracked. Sakura looked him in the eyes and for the very first time ever since she'd met him when she was seven, she saw tears in his eyes too. "I know how you feel. I miss my family too." He said softly. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pulled him close to him again, holding him as if her life depended on it. She was crying again, this time, not just for her mother, but for his parents as well.

He completed her.

She completed him.

Sakura was perhaps the only person in Konoha that knew how it felt to be him. She also was the only girl who ever said that she loved him with all her heart. She wasn't the annoying fan girl that she used to be. She'd grown into a strong, amazing and yes beautiful kunoichi. He held her close to him, his strong arms holding her protectively close. He breathed in the scent of her freshly cleaned hair.

Cherry Blossoms. He smiled into a mess of pink. She was his cherry blossom. One that he would swear his life to protect and take care of forever.

It was a long time before either of them moved. Sasuke could feel her heartbeat against his chest. It had gradually slowed as she'd calmed down. That was when he noticed the small pool of blood on the floor from where her hand had come to rest. He carefully took her hand and lifted it so he could wrap it with the bandages he'd set down next to them. Sakura didn't say anything, but allowed him to take care of the cut once more, as he had done before.

When he was finished, he set the remaining bandages next on the ledge of the bathtub. He looked out the window next to the tub and out at the sky. The sky had turned a brilliant orange color tinged with pink.

It was getting late.

"C'mon Sakura." He said softly, pulling her up with him. She didn't argue. Once they were standing, Sasuke started to walk them towards the door. After they were out on the landing next to Sakura's room, Sasuke stopped them. "I want you to pack your things. I don't want you staying here anymore." He said in her ear. Sakura looked back up at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. He smiled.
"Just do it." He said, the smile never leaving his face. She nodded slightly, moving from his arms to her room. She grabbed her bag she always used when she went on missions and filled it quickly with clothing, medic supplies and a few of her textbooks that Tsunade had her studying. She paused in the doorway to go back and grab her picture of Team 7 that had rested on her desk. Sasuke smiled as he watched her slip it tenderly into her bag. Once she came back out, he was waiting for her. "Sorry to keep you." She said quietly.

"That was important. Don't worry about it." He said, pointing to the pocket where the picture was. She blushed slightly as she bowed her head, nodding. "Let's get out of here." He said, taking her bag by the strap and lifting it easily from her shoulder. He moved so swiftly she didn't have the chance to protest. Sakura followed him down the stairs and through the living room. She paused as she remembered something.
"Sasuke-kun?" She whispered. He turned around after walking over the charred door on the ground. "Hm?" He asked. Sakura had one hand in a fist up by her chin, the other held out, as if trying to pull him back. "Give me one second!" She said, before she turned around and raced back into her house. She ran into her father's office, pulling the picture of her family out of the frame and ripping it in half. She grabbed the two pieces of the picture, stuffed them under her shirt, and ran back outside to meet him.

He had carefully tied up the bag of garbage from the trashcan, and set it off to the side, apart from the rest of the garbage. Sakura noticed this, but didn't say anything on it.

"Ready?" He asked. Sakura threw one last glance at her house.

It was nothing without the people that used to be her family.

"Ready." She replied, joining him in the walk to his house. She stayed by his side the entire time, never once looking back.