Author's note: Lemon ahead, beware!

Enjoy and leave a review please! Let me know what you guys are thinking so far. We're far from done with this story. I want to develop this relationship before I close with an ending I've already got planned. :)


Sasuke didn't even begin to entertain Tomoe, letting his anger take over instead. He moved towards Tomoe so quickly that even a skilled shinobi such as him was unable to respond in time before Sasuke connected his fist with Tomoe's face.

Tomoe's body went flying backwards out of his chair and as he tried to get up Sasuke formed the signs to the Subordination Jutsu and Tomoe's face fell into a blank mask. Sasuke was at the end of his patience and wasted no time ordering Tomoe to lead him to Sakura. He followed Tomoe into the hallway once more and into a dimly lit room where the first thing Sasuke noticed was a large man looming over a smaller figure as he worked on removing their undergarments.

The man turned to face the duo as they entered the room and he was unable to process anything let alone utter a word as Sasuke's fist ran clean through his chest with a chidori. The man slumped to the ground and Sasuke didn't even spare him another glance as he moved over to the body the man had been standing over.

Sakura's hair had returned to her normal color and once again fell in the loose waves from earlier in the evening. Her dress was flung haphazardly onto the ground, the silk settling into a lump of wrinkled material. He took into account that all she had on was a pair of black lace panties, and as much as he wanted to enjoy the view a feeling of guilt overcame him.

He could have been just a minute later and that man would have had his hands all over Sakura's unsullied body, taking the firsts that were his. He had refused to admit that she was precious to him, that she meant something to him, that she was irreplaceable no matter how hard he tried to replace her. And here she was, the great kunoichi from the Leaf, reduced to a lifeless obedient shell of herself.

He didn't waste any time ordering her to stand as he slid the dress over her body once more, making sure it was secured before making the signs to release the Subordination jutsu. Sakura's mask of a face was replaced by a wave of emotions that started out confused before relief flooded her features at the sight of Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Tomoe.." she started as she looked behind Sasuke at Tomoe's unmoving figure. She didn't have time to question it as she found her head being guided to Sasuke's chest as he enveloped her in a wordless embrace. His chin came to rest on her head, allowing himself to inhale her floral scent.

Sakura was too stunned to move for a second. If she was confused before, she definitely was now. She couldn't bring herself to pull away from this embrace, even if she had questions she wanted answered. Sasuke wasn't the best at using his words to convey his emotions, but Sakura found so much meaning in this small display that she was moved to tears. They fell from her eyes uncontrollably as she wrapped her hands around Sasuke.

They fit together in a such a way that Sasuke wondered why he tried so hard to deny his feeling for the woman before him. It took the threat of another man touching her without her consent for him to understand just why that situation had pissed him off so badly. Realization came to him in another wave of guilt: he really didn't deserve her love. He had overlooked it for so long, pushed it away, distanced himself from her in order to convince himself that it was one-sided; all the while she remained steady. It was time to allow himself to be steadied, to be tied to one person in ways that he never had.

Sasuke pulled back long enough to cup her face with his hands, using the pads of his thumbs to wipe away her tears before pulling her in and slowly enveloping her lips with his own in a slow, unhurried kiss. He relished in the way this kiss felt, he was no stranger to the feeling of a kiss but this was something entirely different. Even comparing it to their kiss earlier that night was futile. This was completely different. There was no point in denying it any longer: he loved her. He loved her stubbornness, her short temper, her strong personality, but most of all he loved her loyalty. He didn't deserve her, but he supposed he had the rest of his life to try to make it up to her.

He broke the kiss to pull her back into his embrace before he decided to break the silence. "I have the jutsu. I was able to find some research in Tomoe's office and use the Rinnegan to derive the signs of the justsu," he explained.

"So Tomoe is.." Sakura began, her voice sounding small and fragile compared to her usual strength and confidence.

"Subordinate, yes."

"Where's Hinata?" Sakura questioned, pulling herself out of the haze of the moment and Sasuke's arms to focus on the mission still at hand.

"I haven't asked yet. The first thing I told him to do was lead me to you."

Sakura smiled before she noticed the dead man on the floor, a huge gaping hole in his chest where his heart used to be. She looked back to Sasuke, just now seeing his arm was covered in the man's blood. Sakura shot him a questioning look, and Sasuke just shrugged.

"I was angry. I couldn't kill Tomoe just yet so he was unfortunate enough to try to get in my way," he lied. He wouldn't tell her the truth. He would bear the weight of the truth himself, just as she had his betrayal. It didn't make them even by any means, but knowing he alone could keep this truth from hurting her was a good place to start.

"Alright, let's find Hinata and begin to release the women from the jutsu. Then we need to find out where they're hiding Kiba. We'll also start rounding the workers up as well so they can be tried and punished when reinforcements arrive," Sakura stated.

A smirk pulled at Sasuke's features, there was the Sakura he knew and loved. All business and worrying about everyone over herself once more.


They made Tomoe lead them to Hinata and Sakura found the girl some clothes before Sasuke released the jutsu. She was understandably confused, but Sakura gave her the abridged version of events leaving out the unsavory details of her treatment. Sakura explained that the group that had abducted her was also the group behind the kekkei genkai kidnappings and those girls were here tonight. She touched on the Subordination Jutsu, leaving out some of the gory details. The only lie she told was that Hinata had not been part of the auction tonight, rather Tomoe had a special buyer lined up for her. Sakura couldn't stand to think of the shame the shy girl would feel to know what had really happened to her.

They had Tomoe lead them to Kiba and Akamaru, where they found each of them in a chakra bound cage. Once they were released Sakura went over everything she had told Hinata. She laid out the new game plan, ordering Kiba to take Hinata and meet the reinforcements and lead them to the club. She explained that she and Sasuke would free the girls and keep the guests and other gang members here until they had returned. Kiba hugged Sakura before they departed and she nearly withered away from the look on Sasuke's face.

Once Kiba and Hinata took off, the pair went back to the banquet hall. Sasuke ordered Tomoe to wait outside in the hallway until they got the banquet hall under control. They took the stage as Sakura wasted to time getting the crowd's attention, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, if we could have your attention one last time we have a very important announcement to make!"

Once Sasuke was sure they had the audience's attention, he made the signs for the justu and with that the entire crowd was at their beck and call. The fact that they didn't know names didn't pose an issue, as they didn't plan on ordering the audience to do anything. They just needed them to stay put until the rest of the Leaf shinobi arrived to help.

Now that the group was pacified, they moved to each of the girls and released the jutsu. Sakura explained to each of them what had happened and that help was on the way. When Rose was released from the hold, she flung herself into Sasuke's arms and Sakura had to restrain herself from ripping the girl from him. Sasuke sensed Sakura's brewing anger, and gently pulled Rose off of him before asking her to get some clothes for the rest of the girls who had been auctioned. She obliged as she made her way upstairs.

Shortly after everything had settled down and the girls had been clothed once again, the reinforcements arrived. Sakura was immediately engulfed in a flash of yellow.

"Sakura-chan I'm so glad you're okay! Thank you for saving Hinata, you're the best kunoichi ever!"

"Hai, thanks Naruto. I couldn't have done it without Sasuke, though," she finished sheepishly.

As though Naruto had just noticed Sasuke, he exclaimed, "Teme, what are you doing here? We haven't heard form you in weeks!"

"Just a coincidence," Sasuke muttered at the use of his nickname.

Tsunade wanted a play by play of the mission, and for that Sakura and Sasuke talked to her in private. Understanding at that point why they didn't include Hinata or Kiba, Tsunade thought for a second before speaking, "Well, although it was an unexpected turn of events this really was best-case scenario. Great job, you two. You make a good team," Tsunade finished a little more emphatically than Sakura liked.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama. There's something else, we found two orphans that the group was using as bait for kidnapping the women, they're currently in my room at the Inn. I was hoping we could take them back to the village with us.." Sakura trailed off.

Tsunade's eyebrows raised at that. "Shizune will be thrilled to help with that. You women and your bleeding hearts."

Once all of the Black Shadow members (including Tomoe) and customers were in custody, Sasuke released the justu. Tsunade explained to them that they were going to be taken back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves to be tried for their crimes, the list of offences longer than Sakura cared to take note of. Before the reinforcements returned to the village, Sakura made sure to take Shizune to the Inn to entrust her with the children. They took to Shizune instantly, and Sakura felt hopeful for the first time in days.

"Are you returning to the village with us?" Shizune asked.

"Not right away, there's a couple loose ends I want to tie up before we leave," Sakura answered.

"Ah, I see. Well make sure you stop and visit us when you get back!"

"Of course!"

With that, Sakura packed the rest of her things up from the Inn and went across town to see the only person she really wanted to see right now. Her heart felt lighter than it had in years, and they just cracked a huge case and changed the course of several young women's lives. She felt good.


Arriving at Sasuke's hotel, she made her way up to the room and knocked. She was nervous. She wanted to play her cards right so that she didn't scare Sasuke off again, but their relationship had changed in ways she never actually anticipated. Sure, she had hoped for years but to have them actually happening was a different beast entirely.

She heard the lock click on the other side of the door and was met with Sasuke's handsome features before she realized that he was shirtless. Grey sweatpants clung to his hips and a towel was strewn around his neck. The blush that spread across her face was unstoppable, so she just rolled with the punches.

"Hi," she managed to squeak out. Real smooth, Sakura.

"Hello. I thought you would've returned to the village with the rest of the Leaf," he stated.

"I needed to pack up my stuff at the Inn and I wanted to get a good night's rest before I set out. Also, I remembered you had a bathtub, which I believe I've earned an evening with," she wagered, happy with how confident her voice sounded.

Sasuke opened the door wider, allowing her to step into the room. "It's all yours. Towels are in the linen closet. I was about to get something to eat, are you hungry?"

Sakura smiled, their easy conversation was comforting. "Hai, just grab me something from wherever you planned on going, I'm not picky."

"Hn," Sasuke answered as he threw the towel on the bed and slid a shirt over his head. "I'll see you later, then."

"See ya," Sakura answered as he closed the door. She let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She was giddy. Here she was, in Sasuke Uchiha's hotel room and he was going to get her some food while she took a warm bath. Something so simple in principle, but it made her the happiest woman on the planet, she thought.

She moved into the luxurious bathroom, the monochromatic tiles and décor had a very serene feel to them. There was a large glass shower in one corner, and a large jacuzzi tub next to it. Sakura opened the linen closet next to the tub and removed two towels, one for her hair and one for her body. She turned on the water as hot as it would go, and added some of her body soap to provide a nice flush of bubbles to the tub. She closed the door to the bathroom and made quick work of her clothes before sliding into the hot water. She turned on the jacuzzi, relishing the way the jets worked out all the tension that had worked its way into her muscles over the past couple stress filled days.

After about 10 minutes, she shut the jets off and began to wash her body. Taking the same cherry-blossom scented soap that she made the bubbles with, she washed every inch of her body more thoroughly than she normally would. It wasn't very often she got to take a bath like this, so she was going to take advantage of it. She heard the hotel room door open and close once more, and her heart beat a little faster knowing Sasuke was just feet from where her naked form sat in the bath. Moving to wash her hair quickly so she could enjoy a hot meal, she froze when she heard a woman's voice on the other side of the door. Straining to hear the conversation so she could identify the person talking with Sasuke, her stomach immediately dropped when she realized it was Rose.

She couldn't make out any words of the conversation, but Rose was yelling and Sasuke was calm as usual. Feeling guilty for trying to eavesdrop, she sank into the water and washed the shampoo away. Once she was brave enough, she broke the surface of the water once more just in time to hear the hotel door close again. It took her a few minutes to gather the courage to get out of the bath, but she managed eventually. She wrapped one towel around her body and used the other one to tenderly dry her hair, not wanting to tangle the long tresses. It was at that point that she realized she left her clothes in her bag in the main room, and she mentally cursed herself.

Sighing, she opened the door and exited the bathroom. Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed, eating a rice ball when he noticed her current attire. He cocked an eyebrow, and she moved to explain, "I left my clothes out here on accident… was that Rose just a minute ago?"

"Yes."

"…." Sakura waited a second for him to continue, and when he didn't she felt the need to press even if she knew he would find it annoying. "What did she need?"

"She had some things to pick up that she left here," he offered.

Sakura's heart dropped. She knew that they had slept together, but if Rose was comfortable enough to leave things in his hotel room and Sasuke was comfortable enough to allow that to happen then they were closer than Sasuke let on. He might not have considered them to be close, but judging by Rose's outburst she definitely had.

"I see.." Sakura said. Her voice smaller than she wanted it to be, but her reaction was genuine.

"Sakura, she doesn't mean anything to me," Sasuke answered, sensing her mood.

"I believe that; but, you meant something to her. I know what that feels like.."

Sasuke felt a physical tug at her inanimate words, guilt creeping over him at the realization that Sakura held herself to the same regard as Rose. It was different, though. He used Rose to get over Sakura, well to try at least. Sakura still wasn't convinced of his feelings, and apparently she felt like he was using her. Sasuke was angry but not at Sakura. He was angry at himself for letting her feel like that.

"Sakura…" Sasuke started, but couldn't find the words to convey his thoughts and feelings. He got up and walked towards her, and she just searched his face for some type of answer as to what he was doing. Sasuke's pace was brisk as he backed her into the wall behind her before pulling her in to a kiss that was once again different from the other two they had shared. The first, had been an act. The second, a gentle way to convey unspoken words. This one, however, was needy. The force of the kiss caused Sakura to gasp, and with that Sasuke took advantage of her open mouth to deepen the kiss as he moved his knee between her legs to force them apart as he intentionally rubbed his knee against her most sensitive place. A low groan escaped her throat, and with that Sasuke pulled away from her leaving her lips swollen and her face flushed.

He looked into her bright jade eyes, searching for some sort of reaction but instead found himself thinking how beautiful she looked right now. Her damp hair fell in a mused curtain around her, beads of water still clung to her porcelain skin and the only thing covering her was a small white towel. His desire for her at this very moment was overwhelming, but he refused to relinquish control on the situation.

Moving to push a strand of hair out of her face, he made himself explain his motivations since she obviously still doubted them. "It's different with you, it always has been. I never wanted to acknowledge it, I always ran away from it. I'm done running from you, I'm never going to let you go," he explained as her eyes grew wide in disbelief.

She still didn't say anything, but her features softened and Sasuke knew that she could understand what he was getting at. Wasting no time, Sasuke hoisted her up so that she had to wrap her legs around his waist to keep her balance. This time Sakura allowed herself to pull him in for a kiss as he pressed her back to the wall once more. Sakura moved to run her hands through Sasuke's raven hair, thinking it was just as soft as she always imagined. Sasuke must've liked that, because he groaned into her mouth and she felt her desire for him begin to pool between her legs. Deciding he was wearing too many clothes, she moved to pull his shirt over his head and he leaned back from her to help her slide it off before she tossed it onto the floor. Taking full advantage of his bare chest, Sakura moved to place her hands on the hard planes of his toned abdominal muscles, sliding her finger up and over the grooves and ridges underneath his beautiful skin. Scars adorned his flesh from wounds long since healed, but they didn't dim the beauty that radiated from the man before her. Allowing her eyes to greedily drink him in, she continued to slide her hands up until she reached his neck where she allowed her arms to lazily loop around his neck.

"I love you, Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

He didn't look away from her, letting the weight of her words wash over him. For the first time in his life, he allowed himself to be loved unconditionally as he melded their mouth's together once more. Deciding he needed a better angle to work with, he pulled her away from the wall so he was bearing all of her weight in his arms. She was small, this was not a feat by any means but the squeak that emanated from her was endearing and he allowed himself to smile against her lips. He walked them over to the edge of the bed, where he let go of Sakura as she fell back onto it with a look of surprise. She couldn't react fast enough to stop her towel from unraveling, bearing her naked body to the man she has loved for years. A flush creeped over her body as she scrambled to grab the edges of the towel to pull them over her body, but Sasuke's hands grabbed hers to stop her actions.

"Don't," is all he ordered as he moved to climb over her, letting his eyes roam the soft curves of her petite body.

Sakura swallowed, secretly relishing the feeling of being ordered by him. Sasuke moved her arms above her head before holding both of her wrists with his left hand while his other moved to slide down the side of her neck and down her chest before cupping one of her pert breasts in his hand. Sakura arched her back at the new sensation, all embarrassment from being so exposed leaving as new sensations of pleasure overtook them. Sasuke used her arched back to his advantage as he moved to take the other breast into his mouth, rolling his tongue over her hardened nipple. Sakura lost it at that, a loud moan unapologetically leaving her mouth as she squirmed under Sasuke's touch.

Sasuke, pleased with how reactive Sakura's body was to him, felt himself impossibly harden even more. Determined to make this pleasurable for her because he owed her this much to not rush it, he calmed his raging desire before continuing his ministrations on her breasts.

Sakura's moans permeated the room, and Sasuke thought to himself that it was a sound he would never get tired of. Seeing the proud kunoichi reduced to a writhing mess begging for more from him was impossibly sexy. Ready to move on to the next unexplored part of her body, he released her hands before placing kisses down her abdomen and stopped as he reached the small patch of pink. Sakura's hands came down to stop him from moving further down, but Sasuke just looked up at Sakura and the look he gave her, dripping with his desire for her, caused her to drop her hands at her sides as he placed his hands on her thighs and spread her legs apart, baring her most intimate place to him.

Her soft pink folds were flush with desire, and Sasuke could see they were already dripping for him. She looked like a flower that was finally blooming, and Sasuke was the much-needed sunshine that would show her just how beautiful she could be.

He moved to slowly slide his tongue along her opening, earning another gasp and arched back from Sakura. Smiling at her response, he then worked on the small bundle of nerves at the top of her opening where he placed open mouthed kisses in varying levels of pressure. Sakura was writhing underneath him and he could feel her juices seeping from her opening as he continued his work. Once he was sure she was plenty wet, he slowly slid a finger inside of her warm opening, groaning at how tight, wet, and hot she was around his finger. Sakura was seeing stars at this point, her head thrown back into her pillow at the new sensation. Sasuke pulled his finger almost all the way back out before sliding it back in, repeating this action while he continued his work with his tongue. He added another finger and picked up the pace, and in no time she was shaking as her body achieved orgasm. Sakura was overwhelmed with pleasure as her walls pulsated around Sasuke's fingers.

He didn't stop until she had begun to come down from her peak, and at that point he slid his sweatpants down and onto the ground before moving so that he was on top of Sakura once more, bearing his weight with his arms as he used his knees to keep her legs open to him. He took her lips into a kiss once more before gently moving his member to her entrance, sliding it up and down her slit to cover it in her juices before slowly sliding inside of her. The heat and tightness around him was almost too much at first, and he remained still to prevent himself from coming right then and there. Sakura felt no pain, Sasuke took his time to make sure she was well-prepared. She was overcome with a sensation of fullness, the connection of having their bodies together in the most intimate way possible made her see stars once more.

Sasuke began to move, slowly at first. Pulling himself out before sliding back in and each time he did so Sakura felt a new pulse of pleasure. His pace quickened as he pulled Sakura's left leg over so that she was laying on her side and he was between her legs. It granted him access to take her more deeply and he was quickly losing his grip on his control as his release approached quickly. He leaned back over her once more, pressing their lips together in a final hot embrace. Sakura was nearing her second orgasm as well, her moans melding with Sasuke's as they approached release together. Sasuke's pace was erratic as he finally lost himself as her walls contracted around his member, milking him of every last bit of his release.

As they came down from their high, Sasuke rolled off Sakura and moved to lay behind her so that they were both laying on their sides and he was spooning her. Several minutes passed as he held her like that while they caught their breath.

Sasuke was the first to break the silence, "Sakura."

Sakura turned her body so that she was facing him now, "Hmm?" was all she managed to get out, still overwhelmed with what just transpired.

Sasuke brought his hand up and tapped her forehead with his index and middle fingers before pulling her close to him once more so her head was cradled against his chest, "I love you."