Reasons 2


When she woke up the next morning, there was no one in the room with her. Seeing this as an opportunity to escape, she went for the door. And it was locked.

She knew she couldn't get out– some ninja she was. She had to save what chakra she had to attempt to heal her wounds. She knew she wasn't that good yet, Tsunade had showed her a few techniques and she knew she could heal scratches and kunai wounds. She decided to try once her chakra built back up enough.

So for now, she decided to snoop around the Uchiha's quarters. She found his backpack, it still had his things in it, as if he never un-packed. Maybe he wasn't planning on staying?

A dark blush covered her cheeks when she extracted a pair of his boxers. Quickly, she shoved them back where she'd found them and walked away from the backpack. After digging around for a few more hours, she sat down on the bed and found out that she was really tired still. Sasuke still hadn't shown up all day so she decided to go back to sleep.


The girl wrinkled her nose. She was really cold. Opening her eyes, she found out why. The room was dark, the walls were made of stone, and she was lying next to Uchiha Sasuke, one of the coldest people on the planet.

Wait...what?

'SASUKE!' Inner Sakura shouted, her eyes widened in disbelief.

The night came back to her, and her eyes began to water, but before they could, she shut off her train of thought. Once again she found herself wondering how Tenten and Kiba were doing and if they were okay.

It had been a simple mission, really. They were supposed to go into the forest, find a certain herb and bring it back. Kiba had been chosen to go because of his sense of smell, Sakura knew what the herb looked like, and Tenten was the only ninja not on a mission left. It's not like they didn't get along- they did, they just weren't best of friends.

She froze when he groaned in his sleep next to her.

After a moment, she gently slid off the bed. This was still Sasuke...wasn't it? So maybe she could convince him to come home. She still loved him, she knew that. But she wasn't enough to stop him before, why would she make a difference now?

Frowning, she decided that he best chance was to escape and lead Naruto and Kakashi-sensei back here. They'd be able to drag her precious Sasuke-kun home. She nodded her head in silent determination. That was the plan.

But then, she reminded herself, This was Sasuke. He had determination of his own, and she quietly began to doubt she'd actually make it out of Sound. She shrugged, moving out of Sasuke's view (if he'd been awake) and began healing the wounds she knew how to. Once she was done, she moved back out into the open, and headed towards the door. So far so good. He had his back to her, and she quickened her pace when she watched him move around, as if he was feeling around for her.

She pulled the door open quietly, and shut it silently behind her before taking of down the hall like she had two days before. Using the stealth skills she could remember, she figured out how to get back outside, and could see the wall a few kilometers in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she ran for it. She was at the top of the wall when she felt him. He was behind her somewhere, and he was annoyed.

"Sakura," He said blankly, glaring at her. She was mid-step on the other side of the wall. He could still see the head of ridiculous pink hair poking out from over the top of the wall. He was even more annoyed when she didn't stop. The hair disappeared and he knew he had to take action.

He wasn't going to let Kabuto or Orochimaru get to her, or any of the other sound-nin. And deep inside, He wasn't ready to let her go. Not that he'd ever admit it.

He was at the top of the wall in three steps and he saw that she'd made it to the bottom. Scowling, he followed her down and watched as she got ready to make a run for it.

"Sakura," He repeated and stupidly, she froze. "Come back...now."

She turned around to face him and he could see the terror hiding just under the surface, "...No..."

"If Kabuto or Orochimaru find you, they will probably kill you. At the moment you're my responsibility, and I don't appreciate being woken up early in the morning." He glared at her and watched as she flinched and took a step back. He sighed, "Come on."

"No!" She whispered harshly, "I can't! Why can't you just let me go, Sasuke? You never cared before! Just let them catch me then!"

She was right, and he knew it. He had never cared before, so why now? The thought brought him down a road of even more complicated thoughts until he came across the answer. Because he needed her to know.

"Just come with me," He commanded, moving forward so fast, she let out a gasp and stumbled. He caught her, pulling her angrily back towards the wall.

"No, Sasuke! Let me go!"

"Sakura," He said tonelessly, shutting her up, "You have to be quiet."

She glowered at him but allowed herself to be pulled back up the wall and into the Sound base. It wasn't as if she had enough strength to fight him- she didn't not only have the strength, but the heart to fight him. And she was smart enough to understand that she would lose.

When they returned to Sasuke's room, he let her wrist go and she stood where he'd left her, dazed. "Why? Why are you doing this? Please, just let me go. I'm still your friend...You don't want anything to happen to me do you, Sasuke-kun?"

She covered her mouth, the suffix had slipped! She had promised herself that if she saw him again, she wouldn't call him Sasuke-kun. And then maybe he'd understand she didn't mean to be clingy, or annoying...she just wanted him to let her in.

Sasuke blinked, it was the first time she'd used the suffix the entire time she'd been in Sound. "I need you to know something," He said, turning away from her.

She held her breath. In all of her fantasies, he'd say, 'I need you to know...I love you.' But she doubted he'd say that. Unless...did he want her to stay with him?

"I need you to understand why I left, Sakura," He said blankly, "I left because I need power that I can't get when I'm trying to protect you, or when I'm fighting with Naruto. I need to be focused, I need to keep my eyes on my goal. Orochimaru can help me get that power, Sakura."

She bit her tongue, why was he telling her this? Didn't he tell her to mind her own business?

"...In order to achieve what I'm aiming for, I can't have friends, I can't be around you, and I can't depend on anyone."

"You...you..." She was at a loss of words, "Sasuke-kun, I... I know you don't think we can help you, but we can! Orochimaru may be a sannin, but we have two of those in Konoha. The toad sage is going to train Naruto, and I've already asked Tsunade-sama to train me. I'm sure we can help you get stronger, Sasuke-kun...please, just come back with me."

"I can't do that, Sakura," He turned around to face her, his face blank, "It's futile for you to ask. I'm a missing-nin, and if I return I will probably no longer be allowed to be a shinobi."

"Tsunade-sama would give you a chance!" Sakura pleaded, "Please..."

His eyes opened to look at her before he closed them again. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes revealing the sharingan. "No." And all she saw was blackness. He caught her moments before she dropped to the floor, and set her down on his bed. "Tch. Annoying..."

He didn't know what to do. What was Kabuto planning for her? He sat down next to her, lost in thought. This would be a long week.


Ah. Next will be Break II and then Bound! Yay! And then depending on how it turns out, a request drabble. ;)

Enjoy!