Ugh, 1st marking period is almost over, and school is…school. XP

I hope all of you guys aren't suffering in school too much.

Hmm…last chapter wasn't TOO interesting…and this one isn't very interesting either.

BUT! It's important because it's the transition chapter into the INTERESTING one, so I recommend that you guys read it!

Thank for your supports :)

Read and Review!

Oh, and I forgot to mention in the beginning of this story, but whenever I say "Rookie 9", I actually mean Team 7, 8, 9, and 10 combined; so including Neji, Tenten, and Lee.

Okay, here we go!


Chapter 7- One Step Closer and Realization

It was a cool, crisp summer night in Konoha, and a pink-haired kunoichi was walking down the crowded street in the main part of the village after her long hospital shift. It was a perfect night for couples to go out and have fun, which almost everybody was doing in the village. As Sakura walked towards the suburban area, she passed by many familiar faces who were either hanging out with friends or on a date with their boyfriends/girlfriends. Being a teenage girl herself, she couldn't help but wonder how amazing it would be to have a boyfriend who loved no one but her. Who would comfort and hold her when she's sad. Who would whisper words of affection in her ear. She could only wonder. To her surprise, her thoughts traced right to Sasuke and she grimaced.

"Why would I think about Sasuke? I barely know him," thought Sakura as she thought back to the afternoon that day.

Flashback

It was time for Naruto and Kakashi to leave on their mission, and for once, Kakashi was on time. All of Rookie 9 was there to wish them good luck, and Hinata kissed Naruto goodbye. When the gates closed on Naruto and Kakashi's retrieving figure, everyone started to leave to their own duties one by one. The only ones that didn't move an inch was Sasuke and Sakura. They were too absorbed in their own thoughts to see that they were the only two that were left. Moreover, they were thinking about that night, how everything would work out, how not to make it too awkward, and how to last for 2 weeks. Finally, they snapped out of their thoughts only to be surprised by the presence of the other.

"Oh, Uchi- I mean –Sasuke, I didn't see you there," said Sakura.

"Hn," said Sasuke.

"Well, I gotta go back to the hospital, but I'll see you later," said Sakura as she turned around.

When Sasuke didn't answer, Sakura turned around to see what was wrong. She was shocked to see that Sasuke's face showed…frustration? She was so confused. When Sasuke finally returned to his cold demeanor, he made a curt nod and swiftly teleported out of the area.

End Flashback

"He's such a mysterious person that it's so hard to understand him at all. How am I gonna last 2 weeks with him?!" thought Sakura as she stepped into the Uchiha Compound and walked across the courtyard.

Only one light was on in the whole mansion, so Sakura assumed that he was waiting for her. Sakura then knocked on the big door and waited. Soon enough, Sasuke, in a black shirt and black shorts, opened up the door and let her in. When she walked in and finally looked at him, she gasped. All over his body were bruises and scratches evident from his training.

"What have you done to yourself?" said Sakura as she led him to the couch in the living room. Although she was uncomfortable around him, she couldn't help but be concerned for an injured person.

"I was just training," answered Sasuke, simply as usual.

"Take off your shirt," commanded Sakura as she dug into her bag for some bandages.

Sasuke was taken aback, "What?"

"Well, in order for me to heal you, you're gonna have to take off your shirt."

"Hn, fine," said Sasuke as he took off his black shirt.

Sakura would have gawked at the fact that Sasuke was muscular in all the right places and had the body of a god, but that thought disappeared as soon as she saw all the scratches and bruises hidden under the shirt from previous battles.

"If hurting yourself is your definition of training, I would be looking for a new method of training if I were you," said Sakura as she let out her chakra to the palms of her hands and healed the deepest cuts in his shoulders first.

Sasuke would have said something back, but was put to rest by the soothing feeling of the chakra healing his body. As soon as Sakura was done with the shoulders, she moved on to his arms as Sasuke's eyes started to close. Then his chest. Then his abdomen. Then parts of his legs. Sasuke was so relieved by the healing that he was slowly getting very drowsy. Then the chakra flow stopped and he opened his eyes abruptly. Sakura was putting bandages on some of the serious cuts, but was getting ready to leave. As she was packing up, she started to talk.

"But really, I think you should take care of yourself. I don't wanna come in everyday to see you bruised and scratched all over the place," said Sakura, not looking at his eyes.

"Hn," replied Sasuke.

Sakura was kinda frustrated that all he said to her was "hn", but she didn't say anything. When she was about to leave, to her surprise, Sasuke started to talk to her.

"How was your day?"

Although she didn't know him very well, Sakura knew that Sasuke wasn't a talkative person; so this was something new, "It was fine. I was working at the hospital, like always, and healing many patients, like always. How about you?"

"After the dobe left, I just trained the whole day," said Sasuke.

"Oh, I see," said Sakura, suddenly feeling very awkward at the silence.

"Sakura?"

Sakura flinched at the sudden break in the silence, "Hai?"

"Are you very close to the dobe?"

Sakura was very confused at the sudden question, "Yeah, I think so. Other than you, who's his best friend, and Hinata, his girlfriend, I think I'm pretty close to him."

"Hn," replied Sasuke.

Sakura was so relieved at the fact that they were actually having a conversation that she couldn't stop herself from asking him a question, "Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"You lived in Konoha before you left?"

Sasuke flinched, and Sakura didn't understand why, "Hn, I did."

"…I see. And you went to the Ninja Academy too, right?" said Sakura.

Sasuke tensed at the direction the questions were going, "Hn."

"…I see," said Sakura, now beginning to understand Sasuke's language.

"I apologize, but I need to know just one more thing if we're gonna be seeing each other a lot for the next 2 weeks," said Sakura.

"Hn," said Sasuke, half bracing himself for the question and half amused at the fact that Sakura would apologize for something like that.

"Sasuke…did we know each other when we were little?"

Sasuke flinched again but had to answer, "Not really. I just knew who you were, but I never talked to you. I only talked to Naruto," Sasuke felt so painful on the inside for having to lie to Sakura about their past, when in truth, he wanted to yell out all of their precious memories and force her to remember him. Since he couldn't do that, he attempted to hide his emotions from her, like he always does.

"Oh, okay," said Sakura, finally relieved to get that off her chest, but still bothered by the fact that Sasuke's eyes were cold and hard, and his body was tense.

"It's getting late, you should go home," said Sasuke, still hiding his pain.

Sakura finally realized that he was right and stood up, "Oh yeah, I should be going."

As Sakura walked to the door, Sasuke walked behind her. When Sakura opened the door, she looked back and said, "Good night, Sasuke. Don't train too much, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hn," said Sasuke as Sakura stepped out, "Good night," said Sasuke as he closed the door.

As Sakura walked out from the Uchiha Compound, she couldn't help but feel happy.

"I feel so much better now that I talked to him and figured out my problem. So we only saw each other when we were little, I see," thought Sakura as she smiled and walked home.

"He's actually not that bad to talk to, once you get past the coldness. Maybe it is possible for me to get closer to him," thought Sakura.

What Sakura didn't understand was, when she saw that he was injured, how she reacted. Yeah, she would always try to heal someone, but the way she felt when she saw him like that…

"I felt so much pain when I saw him hurt like that. I've never reacted like that to someone being hurt. Could it be that I like- No, of course not. I don't even know Sasuke that well," thought Sakura as she opened her door and stepped into her house. She realized how close her house was to Sasuke's than she had thought. Even when she got ready for bed, organized her medical belongings and weapons, set her alarm clock, and slipped into bed, her thoughts were all on only one person: Sasuke.


With Sasuke…

After saying goodnight and closing the door, Sasuke leaned on the doorframe and slid down to the floor. He grabbed his head in pain and hurt at the thought of Sakura.

"Why?! Why can't you remember me?!" yelled Sasuke, surprised at himself at his sudden outburst.

Then he calmed down, "What am I supposed to do? It's so hard to look at her without feeling pain. It's my fault she's lost her memories of me. It's my fault for not realizing how much it would be painful to see that Sakura, of all people, wouldn't remember me."

And right then and there, Sasuke realized something.

"I knew this before, when we were younger as Team 7, when I protected her all the time…"

"I knew this when it was so hard for me to leave her tear-streaked face, her proclamation of her love for me, that night 4 years ago…"

"I know now why I feel so hurt to see that she doesn't remember me because…"

"I-I love Sakura…"

With this realization, Sasuke could see that this was the answer to all of his questions, all of his pain.

He knew he loved her before, but had pushed it away because of his thirst for power and revenge.

Yet, he couldn't stop it from happening.

He couldn't stop himself from falling in love with her.

Now, his purpose changed.

His purpose for helping Sakura get her memories back of him wasn't for the dobe or for Sakura.

It was to bring him and Sakura back together.

For Sakura to know all the treasured memories between them and be able to know how much he loved and still loves her.

Now, Sasuke was even more determined to bring Sakura's memories back.


Hmm…this chapter was more interesting than I thought it was… haha:)

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed, and please don't forget to review!

I really love to read all of your reviews; it gives me confidence to continue writing this story.

Thanks!:)

Love, Cilla