Thank you so much for the reviews. I really appreciate them and I enjoyed reading what you guys had in mind about what would happen :) Unfortunately, I don't have the oneshot up yet or the next chapter for the other story but I'm getting there :) I don't plan on there being a lot of smut yet, that will be reserved for the later chapters ;)
Thanks again for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter :) I also tried to go into deeper detail about Sasuke's inner, conflicting feelings for Sakura during this chapter.
Chapter 10: Dreams and Fears
"Itachi." he seethed, glaring straight into a pair of red and black eyes.
The older Uchiha ignored his brother for a moment, his eyes wandering over to the female that was next to him and continued to stare at her as if searching through her very soul. Both of the genin caught this and reacted in their own way; Sakura going into a battle stance and adverting her eyes to avoid the Uchiha's Sharingan, Sasuke. . . taking a less pleasant course of action.
The fist that his Chidori flared in slammed into the wall next to him as he ran toward his brother, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed dangerously. Though what happened next was so quick, Sakura had no trouble keeping up with her eyes. Two bodies flew passed her, causing her hair to whip around from the speed that they moved.
Whipping her head around, she saw that Itachi had a hold of Sasuke and had him pinned to the wall, the force that he was slammed into it caused the wall to break and crack. The youngest Uchiha coughed but turned up to glare up at his brother and gripped at the arm that was pinning him. Bad move.
However, before Itachi could put the male into the genjutsu, Sakura had moved with lightening speed and aimed a punch at the older male, completely ignoring the onlookers. Itachi brought his other hand up to block the fist that was aimed at his head, everyone in the hall hearing the loud sounds of cracking and snapping, signaling that his hand was broken.
The kunoichi gritted her teeth, making sure to keep her attention adverted from the male's eyes, which had widened for a moment in complete surprise at the strength that she possessed. Pulling back her other arm, she threw another fist forward, satisfied when he let go of his hold on Sasuke to block her attack again. Unfortunately, instead of blocking it, he deflected her punch by knocking her wrist off course.
Sakura glared as she moved forward, the momentum from her attack too strong to stop as her fist landed into the wall next to them. A loud crash could be heard, along with the rumble of the whole inn, as a huge amount of smoke clouded the area around them. The pinkette barely had time to prepare another attack before she was pressed against a part of the wall that wasn't destroyed, which didn't leave much. Fortunately enough, it was farther down the hall where Itachi wasn't near his brother. Unfortunately, the Sharingan-user was hovering above her and once the smoke cleared, Sasuke could get a good view of their sides.
The pinkette ignored Naruto's yells as she glared down at the floor. At least she had gotten the Akatsuki member to release his brother before any real damage was done. Although, she doubted that Sasuke would be able to stand up any time soon.
"Sakura."
A growl left her lips at the sound of her name on his lips. It was foreign. This wasn't the man she had once called a friend, even if it had mainly been for her mission. This wasn't the man that had looked up to Konoha, this wasn't the same man that had once cared for his brother. This was Itachi Uchiha of the Akatsuki. And though he was acting for the dreadful organization, the pinkette could tell that Itachi Uchiha of Konoha was still there, deep down. She could feel it as he watched her; the familiarity, the acknowledgment of her skills that he had witnessed only seconds ago. It was like he could see straight into her soul as he looked into her eyes, though she refused to meet his intense gaze.
How the hell was he able to keep her down?! Teeth gritted as arms lifted to grip at the single arm pushing her into the wall. What the hell was allowing her to keep his hold on her? Was it guilt? Was it shame? Either way, her grip on his arm was strong and she could slowly feel the bone there straining, resisting the urge to snap under the pressure that she forced upon it.
The next thing that happened had everyone gasping and it took everything in her being not to look up into eyes that were no doubt still boring into hers. Lips were pressed gingerly against hers and Sakura, though completely shocked, could feel a familiar heat in her stomach, but not because of the fact that Itachi had just kissed her and still was, more like because a certain shinobi's chakra was skyrocketing with anger.
The mouth above hers pressed against her harder, beckoning her to glance up even for a split second, but she wouldn't. Sakura knew what he was trying to do and she wouldn't fall victim to his Mangenkyou. A startled gasp left her when teeth bit down on her lower lip and instantly a warm tongue slipped through her lips, though she still didn't look up.
Sasuke watched in raging fury at what his brother was doing and he struggled to stand up from his spot on the floor. He. Was. Pissed. And the fact that he could see Itachi's tongue inside Sakura's mouth only fueled on his anger, along with the long string of saliva that connected their lips when the older male pulled back. Still glaring at the older Uchiha, he found most of his composure and readied another Chidori, the sound of a thousand birds chirping angrily. Then his eyes lowered from his brother to see Sakura looking at him almost apologetically and muttering something that suspiciously looked like 'sorry' before she lifted up a hand and preformed a single hand sign.
Sakura had to do it, she couldn't let Sasuke attack his brother again and get hurt worse than he already was. He most likely already had broken ribs, she couldn't let him get injured more. So she did what she thought was best; deplete his chakra to a low level, not low enough to intentionally harm him but low enough that he couldn't do any ninjutsu at the moment.
A strangled gasp left Sasuke's lips as he felt his chakra die down to a small amount, his Chidori immediately disappearing. What the hell did she do? What happened to his chakra? And why did his stomach burn like it was on fire? Sasuke unwillingly fell to his knees back on the ground, clutching a hand to his abdomen. And then, foolishly looking up, he met the eyes of his brother and then fell into a world of black.
"Sasuke!" yelled the pinkette and blonde genin as they watched their teammate lose focus and fall down to his side on the ground. Anger flooded the kunoichi and everyone knew, that it wasn't a good thing to mess with Sakura when she was pissed. In her moment of anger, the grip she had on the male's arms loosened, only to come up to her lips for the pads of her fingers to be bitten. She quickly did the same to her other hand and started doing numerous hand signs in lightening speed. Itachi's grip didn't falter, even as the kunoichi slammed her palm into her stomach and let out a pained groan.
Instantly, chakra roared through Sakura's veins, her chakra network getting more comfortable with the sudden change each time she undid the seal. Glaring violently at the male's chest, her fist glowed dangerously with her chakra as she quickly pulled it back and threw a punch into the Uchiha's stomach. His grip on her disappeared as his body was thrown back into the wall, the power from her punch causing him to go through the walls and land somewhere outside.
Without giving anybody time to think about her next move, Sakura suddenly appeared by Itachi's partner and kicked him in the side, causing him to let out a grunt of pain and to fly through the walls to join his partner outside. The kunoichi kicked off the ground furiously, practically flying through one of the hole's that she made with one of the Akatsuki's bodies.
A chakra enhanced fist connected with the grass covered ground, thankfully at the back of the inn where there were no streets or people. The two male's barely had time to move out of the way before they got hit by the brutal attack. The ground cried out and crumbled under the pressure, creating a large crater in the earth. Sakura spread out her chakra, searching for the two attacker's. Itachi would most likely hide away somewhere until he caught her off guard while Kisame would do a frontal attack.
Just like she expected, the blue, sword-user suddenly appeared above her and Sakura jumped back just in time to dodge his attack. The contact his sword made with the crater caused dust to fill the air but the kunoichi's eyes were quick and she jumped out of the way right as Kisame jumped through the fog, aiming his sword at her. He seemed stunned for a moment by her fast movements and Sakura took that moment to her advantage, putting a great deal of chakra into her fist as she aimed a punch at his chest.
The Wave ninja barely had enough time to block the attack as he brought his weapon up to take the damage. Sakura gritted her teeth at the pain it caused to her knuckles, the sword practically eating through her skin since the bandages around it fell off some time before. Bringing another fist filled with chakra down onto the weapon, her ears were met with a satisfying cracking noise. A smirk grazed her features while Kisame's eyes widened in shock.
The pink haired kunoichi pulled back her right fist, charging it with even more chakra and was prepared to deliver another blow to the sword when it was pulled away and she met contact with a hard chest, causing the male to groan in pain and fly backwards, his ribs definitely broken. Ignoring the blue, shark man for a moment, Sakura glared at the area around her, trees aligning the horizon in front of her where the Uchiha could be hiding.
"Itachi!" she yelled, "Get your fucking ass out here!" She was still thoroughly pissed at the male. Trying to capture her best friend and then screwing with her other best friend's mind even more, those were two things that just crossed the line. He wouldn't get away without answering to her wrath first. She didn't give a damn about falling victim to his Mangenkyou anymore, as long as she got to crush his face in, or some other body part that would permanently disfigure him.
Kisame stood up from his position on the ground and watched her carefully, his eyes narrowed and cautious, but she ignored him. After a few seconds of silence met her ears and there was no movement around her, she realized that he wasn't going to show himself.
Sakura growled lowly in her throat before shouting again, "Damnit Uchiha! I swear if you don't come out here, I'm gonna shove your partner's sword up your sorry ass after I find you!"
There was a sudden movement to her right and Sakura looked over to see Itachi walking toward her calmly. The kunoichi gritted her teeth and swung her leg around to make contact with a hard chest to her left, watching as Kisame fell to the ground harshly before cursing and righting himself to stand up. Before Sakura could do anything else, a kunai was pressed to the front of her neck, digging harshly into the skin there. Her gaze shifted to where the inn was at to see Naruto not too far off, looking tense and worried. Sakura was sure that if Juraiya didn't have a hold of the blonde's arm, he would have came rushing over and tried to protect her.
Jade orbs narrowed as she looked back up at the blue skinned male in front of her, stepping closer to her until stopping close enough for her to kick him in the chest, a high possibility of breaking even more ribs. Suddenly, his body erupted into smoke and Itachi appeared in his place, jade unwillingly looking back into red, his eyes being exactly where she had landed her kick.
"Damnit." the kunoichi mumbled before her eyes began to glaze over. The last thing she remembered was Naruto and Juraiya rushing over to her and her body instinctively reacting to threat around her, chakra forcing a barrier around her body. The kunai that pressed into her neck flew away from her harshly, almost hitting the Uchiha in his chest before he moved out of the way to dodge it.
~~SCENE CHANGE~~
Pain scorched throughout her body, a constant stream of agony rushing through her veins, threatening to take over her very being. Her teeth gritted and her eyes clenched closed, silently hoping that the pain would stop. But it wouldn't stop. The torture just continued on in an endless circle. She wouldn't cry out, although it was hard from releasing a scream as her body went from icy cold to flaming hot as the blade continued to pierce her skin. At first, Sakura wasn't sure if Itachi knew how to affect her mentally, but apparently, she had been all too wrong.
Tears unwillingly welled up in the corner of her eyes as she listened to the taunting words of her teammate before her. He growled out things that she didn't want to hear, that she didn't want to think about. The blade pierced her shoulder next, digging into the flesh, unfortunately drawing out a gasp from her lips. Words of hatred entered her ears, threats of betrayal, and promises of her sorrow. Even in this dark, corrupted world, memories flashed through the female's mind as the sword sunk further into her shoulder.
Blood spilled out of her wound as the blade was pulled out, drawing out an unwanted hiss. Jade orbs slowly opened and was met with such a heart wrenching hate in those orbs of his eyes. A dark smirk crossed his lips as he laughed at that pain she was in. Then, he leaned forward and positioned the sword above her left breast.
His voice was laced with despise and such a terrifying lust as he continued to smirk at her and whispered, "I hate you, Sakura." Then, the sword drove forward, sliding through her flesh and piercing the delicate organ that kept the body alive.
A loud, piercing scream could be heard throughout the whole hospital as a female body flung herself forward across her bed, panting and sweating through her clothes with the sheets and pillows spread haphazardly over the bed. Tears ran down her cheeks but she couldn't feel them as her entire being shook in wild tremors. Her trembling hands came up to her heart, subconsciously pouring healing chakra into the wound that she knew wasn't there. Her breathing was fast and heavy as she tried to calm herself down. Glancing down at her stomach, she realized that her seal was spinning around her navel furiously. Frowning, she quickly put the seal back into place and groaned in discomfort.
How long had she been out? What happened to the Akatsuki members? To Itachi? More importantly; how were Sasuke and Naruto? Were they alright? Well, she could imagine that the former wasn't. His mind wasn't like hers after all, wasn't as mature or developed. He was most likely still unconscious and would be until someone healed him.
Loud footsteps could be heard running down the hall, getting closer to her room by the second. Jade eyes looked up just in time to see a head of blonde hair busting through the door, rushing over to stand next to her.
"Here she is Granny!" His face was anxious as he stared down at her, but as she blinked calmly up at him, his features turned into that of shock then confusion.
His words slowly sunk in through her fuzzy head. Granny? That was what he called Ts- A hand quickly, but gently moved a head of blonde hair out of the way, only to see another head full of blonde hair. Tears immediately filled the kunoichi's eyes as she watched her second mother make her way toward her. Had Sakura really been asleep for that long? Though it didn't matter, her Shishou was now standing before her with a gentle smile on her lips and in Sakura's opinion, that was one of the best things she could ever wake up to.
"I'm glad to see you're awake." Tsunade spoke gently. "You're friend here was worried about you."
Sakura had to force her gaze away from the woman and look back over at Naruto. He was giving her a sheepish look, making her raise an eyebrow in return. "I'm glad that you're okay now, Sakura." he smiled.
The pinkette smiled back at him until turning a serious gaze to the future Hokage. "Have you checked on Sasuke yet?" The pinkette was definitely worried about his mental state. There was no telling what Itachi had forced his brother to witness, though she had a pretty good guess that it was the massacre all over again. Sakura could get reacquainted with her Shishou later, she had to make sure Sasuke was alright first.
"We were just about to go to him." she replied.
Sakura stood up anxiously, eager to get to the dark haired male. Not bothering to wait up for the two blondes, the pinkette ran down the hallway, letting instinct take over where she thought Sasuke was.
Soon enough, she reached his room and pushed the door open, running over to his side to look over his features, Naruto soon following her actions and standing beside her. They were both eager to see him better and though the pinkette knew that Tsunade was curious as to how she could just run around like nothing happened after being asleep for about a week, the blonde didn't say anything as she stood next to the Uchiha and began to tend to him.
~~SCENE CHANGE~~
"Sasuke!" the two youngest ones in the room yelled with relief as onyx eyes slowly fluttered open, letting reality seep into his mind after so long in a personal, living hell. Sakura carefully looked over his expression; it was weak, tired, and solemn. She was about to wrap her arms around him and pull him into a welcomed embrace when someone unexpectedly beat her to it. Jade orbs widened as Naruto gripped Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him close, a little too roughly for Sakura's tastes, but just enough to be brotherly.
"I'm so glad you're back, Teme!" the blonde yelled with relief, making the Uchiha frown.
"Get off loser." he grumbled in reply, weakly lifting up his arms to push the blonde away.
Naruto chuckled as he let go and pulled away, letting Sakura step closer to the bedridden male. She smiled kindly down at him and he looked up to meet her eyes, his facial expression stoic, though she figured it was better than him being angry. Then again, he did just wake up after a long slumber, she doubted his mind was that caught up yet.
"Welcome back, Sasuke." she said softly.
He nodded his head at her and she could vaguely see his hand twitching under the sheets and quilts that covered him from foot to neck. Her smile deepened but she made no move to reach under the covers to grab his hand, at least not yet.
The Uchiha carefully sat up in his bed, lifting a hand up to run it over his sweaty bangs as he continued to look into gentle, jade orbs. His features looked apologetic for a moment until turning back to stoic as if he didn't want the others to see that side of him. The kunoichi understood and she wasn't about to press it.
Sakura adverted her gaze to look back at Tsunade, giving her a grateful smile. "Thank you."
The blonde woman nodded in return before turning to leave. "I better go check on your sensei."
Everyone's ears perked up but only two stayed in the room, with Naruto following the future Hokage outside the door, completely satisfied that his two best friends were alright and that it was time to visit Kakashi.
The pink haired kunoichi turned her attention back to the frowning male in front of her. Images of the nightmare she had to live through flashed through her mind but she quickly shoved them away. After all, the Sasuke that she previously saw was nothing compared to the one looking up at her. That one had been cruel, heartless, vile, and corrupt. This one. . . though at times he could be distant and cocky, he could also be thoughtful. Dare she say it, he had been sweet towards her a few times.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
Sasuke watched her for a few moments, memories of what happened with Itachi running through his mind. Itachi. Itachi had. . . Anger and jealousy immediately flowed through him as he gritted his teeth and lowered his gaze down to the soft pair of lips that had always seemed to taunt him. He watched as her smile slowly turned into a frown and he knew that she realized what he was thinking about. His eyes narrowed, though not entirely upset at the owner of those lips but more at the person that had invaded them. Although, Sasuke did feel frustrated that she had practically allowed his brother to kiss her, at least that was the way he felt. Also, there was the fact that she did something to drain his chakra so he couldn't help her. That's right, he couldn't help her. . .
Sakura watched silently while the Uchiha's eyes continued to glaze over in thought, his features not bothering to hide the anger and irritation he felt as he clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes. It was only when he turned his gaze up to look into her eyes when she felt taken aback, which was saying something. Jade orbs widened at his intense stare, clearly still angry. But this time, he seemed to be angry at her.
"Why did you stop me?" he questioned, his voice low and warning.
"I-I-" Sakura stammered, not at all sure how to explain her actions.
The kunoichi watched as he stood from his position on the bed and moved to stand in front of her, his eyes narrowed down in an aggressive manner. Sakura couldn't help but gape up at him, his whole presence screamed of power and danger and yet. . . she wasn't scared. Somehow, she knew that he wouldn't willingly hurt her, unlike in her past where he tried to kill her. Though, after spending so much time with him, Sakura had her suspicions about his reasons that day.
"You, of all people, should know how I feel about Itachi, Sakura." he practically growled.
Sakura knew that he wanted his brother dead, that he wanted nothing more than to take out his revenge for the murder of his clan. Yet, she had gotten in the way, drew Itachi's attention away from him and to her. She had made it so that Sasuke couldn't fight his brother. "I only tried to-"
"I don't need your protection." And he hit it right on the mark. Sakura did try to protect him, tried to protect him from his brother. It seemed he could read her just as good as she could read him. Not surprising though, she was never really good at hiding her intentions from this male, not that she could keep much from his observant gaze anyway.
"Sasuke, I-" Whatever she was going to say next, she didn't get to finish since the dark haired male had closed the distance between them. Sakura's eyes widened and she thought her heart had literally jumped up into her throat. A blush instantly flooded over her face as he pressed closer to her, urging her to respond. Damnit. What was it about this guy that always managed to make her blush?
Sasuke pushed even closer to her and brought a hand up to rake it through soft, pink locks. He couldn't keep in a satisfied moan when she finally decided to press back. Bringing his other hand up, he placed it on her cheek, tilting her head to the side to deepen the kiss. The Uchiha wanted nothing more than to erase the memory of his brother from the kunoichi's mind. He wanted her to know that he could be better than his brother in every possible way, that he was good enough for her, and she shouldn't want to be with anybody else. That was what he wanted her to see. That was the main thing on his mind.
When Sakura felt a warm tongue slide over her lower lip, she willingly parted her lips, silently astonished how someone she knew never kissed anybody before could be so skilled with their mouth. Though when she felt his tongue slip passed her lips and began it's exploration of her mouth, she felt her knees go weak, something that had never really happened before and it slightly caught her off guard. Hands reached up to wrap around a warm neck, pulling the male even closer to her, if that was even possible. Healing chakra poured into her hands as she ran her fingers through his dark hair, massaging his scalp.
Tingles raked through his whole body when she applied her chakra, easing the racing thoughts throughout his mind and the tension that his nerves felt. Sasuke groaned in response to the wonderful feeling, cupped the back of her head, and raked his other hand down her back to pull her body flush against his.
Sakura could swear that her blush spread to her ears and neck when she felt his erection through his shorts as it rubbed against her lower abdomen and it left her skin feeling hot. His lips were warm and needy, full of desire and possession, and the kunoichi found herself not minding one bit. In fact, she returned it wholeheartedly. Was it wrong to yearn for someone that was practically less than half her age? Sakura had screwed with the reality of this time and she was still screwing with it, she figured that was the only reason why this action was taking place, why she was kissing the youngest Uchiha so passionately, yet she couldn't bring herself to care.
That was when she realized; the kunoichi had wanted this to happen ever since she first laid eyes on the Uchiha. She knew that she wanted it in her past, but ever since he had betrayed Konoha, Sakura never thought about actually kissing Sasuke but now that she had, and was, she didn't want it to end. So when someone made themselves known in the doorway by clearing their throat and the duo had to break apart to look at the visitor, Sakura didn't try to hide the fact that she was thoroughly upset.
Both genin glared at the clear smirk that was covered up by their sensei's mask. Though they had ended the kiss, they didn't release the hold that they had on each other, which seemed to amuse the copy ninja more as he let out a soft chuckle.
"I'm glad to see that you two were so worried about your sensei."
Sakura's glare eased up a bit and she let a small smirk graze her features as Kakashi continued, "Naruto wants to go to Ichiraku's."
There was an audible sigh behind the pinkette and she looked to see Sasuke giving their sensei an exhausted look before he let go of his hold on her, Sakura letting go of him in the process as well. There was another chuckle from their sensei that had Sakura grinning. Jade orbs looked back up into onyx to see the male looking down at her. A pink eyebrow rose expectantly at him, making Sasuke let out another sigh and rub the back of his neck with his palm.
"You're going to make me go either way." he mumbled knowingly.
Sakura smiled brightly up at him before turning away and heading toward the door where the pinkette could practically see the smirk on Kakashi's face behind his mask. Sasuke watched the kunoichi walk out the door and then turned his attention up to the copy ninja, frowning disapprovingly.
Kakashi held up his hands in a defensive manner as he let out another chuckle. "I won't tell."
The Uchiha sighed and began to walk toward the doorway, preparing himself for all the stories that Naruto would no doubt be telling them about what he did while he was unconscious.
~~SCENE CHANGE~~
After the group ate, they had went to the training grounds to work on their techniques. It was only when the four had sat down to take a break after two hours of training that the easy mood shifted into something tense.
Sasuke watched the pinkette carefully as she laid sprawled out on the grass next to Naruto. Kakashi was a few feet away, reading his book and minding his business. The other two genin talked about the casual things, unimportant things just to pass the time. The Uchiha thought back to all the times that Sakura had gotten hurt, how she had come so close to dying, how many times she ended up in some sort of bed. He knew that she would continue to get hurt and she would always bounce back as if nothing had happened. The dark haired male knew that things were just going to get harder and one of these days she would be gone for good. He couldn't have that. He didn't want her getting hurt or leaving them forever. The life she was living was dangerous and full of risks, anything could happen to her.
And with those thoughts in mind, that was what caused him to break the easy going mood between the team. "Sakura."
The pinkette and blonde paused their conversation to look up at the frowning Uchiha in front of them. He was sitting down but since they were lying down, they still had to look up to meet his gaze.
"What is it, Sasuke?" she asked curiously.
The tension seemed to build between them as the silence grew, the male not answering for long moments until finally, he stated in a calm voice what was on his mind. "You should give up being a shinobi."
Jade and blue orbs widened in complete shock, both of the genin's faces falling as they stared at the dark haired male before them. Even Kakashi adverted his attention from his book to look at the stoic male that just happened to look completely serious.
"Wh-what are you saying, Teme?" Naruto questioned, sitting up to properly look at his teammate.
Sasuke didn't bother to answer the blonde or look at him, his full attention on the kunoichi as her shocked expression turned stoic and she sat up. They stared at each other for what felt like minutes when it was only seconds.
"Are you saying I'm too weak to be apart of this team?" she asked calmly, though on the inside she was silently frustrated. What right did he have to say that she should give up on being a ninja? To give up that would be the same thing as giving up on her mission, to give up on Konoha. She wouldn't do it.
"You are always getting hurt and getting in the way." he replied, though it came out a bit harsher sounding than what he meant to. She wasn't weak, everyone could see that and yet. . .
The kunoichi's eyebrow twitched as she stood up and glared down at the stoic male, fighting the urge to storm off before she did something she would regret or to knock the shit out of him for practically accusing her of being weak.
"I'll prove myself to be your equal." she settled on, making the male's eyes widen for a moment. The kunoichi didn't like the thought of fighting the Uchiha but she wouldn't have him looking down on her. First it was 'you're still stronger' then to 'you're getting in the way'. Come on, what the hell?
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her but stood up nonetheless. Obviously she didn't see the meaning behind his words but that apparently didn't matter at the moment as she glared at him. Why was she reacting this way? The dark haired male could see the raging anger behind her jade orbs though she did well to hide it.
Naruto stood up to stand beside them, placing his hands on their shoulders to keep them from fighting each other. "Come on you guys. Don't do this." he said, worry clear in his voice.
The two ignored the blonde's words as they continued to stare at each other. "Use whatever you want against me. I guarantee I'll be able to keep up with you without a problem." she said, her tone and gaze firm. Naruto protested to her comment but she shrugged off the hold he had on her arm.
Sasuke nodded his head. He could live with that. If Sakura could keep up with him without a problem at all then he would lay off of her giving up on being a shinobi, at least for a little while. He knew that she was still stronger than him, but sometimes it didn't seem like it. Sometimes her playful attitude and disregard for her safety got under his skin and threw that fact right out the window.
Sakura adverted her gaze from the stoic male and walked passed him to go further into the training field, Sasuke following silently behind her. Naruto's face fell at their seemingly sudden rivalry. Wide, blue eyes turned back to look down at his still sitting sensei. Kakashi looked up to meet Naruto's concerned gaze.
"Don't worry, Naruto." the copy ninja said reassuringly. "Its not as bad as it seems. Sasuke just needs reassurance that Sakura can take care of herself."
"So. . . you mean that Teme's worried about her?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
"Exactly." Kakashi replied, turning his attention back to the duo getting farther away from them.
Soon enough, the two stopped and stood yards away from each other, both looking into the other's eyes. Both waited for who would make the first move as the wind blew eerily through the field, sending pink and dark locks to follow in it's path. Suddenly, jade orbs caught the slightest movement of Sasuke's hand and immediately knew that he was about to ready a kunai. Her hand reached into her own weapons pouch and pulled out her own kunai, throwing it and knocking the one in the Uchiha's hand out of his grasp.
Onyx eyes narrowed at her but she was unfazed by him as she straightened her pose comfortably. Sasuke watched carefully as the pinkette looked back at him calmly. Knowing that she wouldn't do anything while he did so, he closed his eyes and reopened them with his Sharingan activated.
Sakura widened her eyes to see the familiar orbs, still with it's two commas, but then her expression turned into a playful smirk. "Taking this seriously, huh?"
He matched her smirk with one of her own before nodding, "Yeah." The tension between the two of them lessened drastically with those two sentences. Sakura still wasn't sure what the male's reasons were for what he said, but she knew that his words weren't as cold as she first thought.
"Good." the kunoichi replied, going into a battle stance, glad that he wasn't planning on holding back while testing her. The next moment, the ground crumbled and shattered between them, making Sasuke have to retreat back a good bit as dust and dirt flew up around the area. Sakura almost instantly appeared before him, a grin on her features as she threw a kick at his side.
The Uchiha gritted his teeth and made a low hiss when he brought his arm up to block the hit, the bone and muscles in his arm protesting at the pain. Sakura didn't put enough effort into the attack to break anything but the male would no doubt have a nasty bruise there in a few hours. A hand gripped her arm but the kunoichi ignored it, not that it would do him much good anyway. Twisting her body around, she aimed another kick at his other side.
Sasuke found that he had trouble keeping up with her even with his Sharingan. As she continued to attack him and he continued to block her advances, he noticed that she didn't seem to be using any sort of technique with him, just randomly throwing kicks and punches here and there. It was like she understood exactly how his Sharingan worked and exactly how to screw with it so he couldn't read her movements. She would pretend to hit him in the side with a punch and then sweep down at the last second to swipe under his legs. Aside from her random movements, her speed was absolutely incredible.
Somehow breaking apart from her before she could land a hit on his arm, he back flipped away and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he did a fire style jutsu. Flames poured from his mouth aimed at the pinkette. The Uchiha fully expected for her to jump out of the way of the attack, but his eyes widened as she just stood calmly in the line of fire.
"Sakura!" he heard Naruto yell from off in the distance as the fireball grew closer to the kunoichi. What the hell was she doing?! Why wasn't she moving out of the way?
Sakura let out a sigh and at the last moment, her hands flew up and her chakra poured into her palms, spreading out quickly to create a barrier around her body.
"Sakura!" her teammates yelled as the flame engulfed around her form, seemingly eating her alive. Then after a few, dreadful seconds, the flame dispersed and the pink haired kunoichi stood calmly where she had been moments ago, the attack not leaving a single scratch on her.
Everyone looked at her, shocked as she grinned at the Uchiha. "That all you got?" she asked teasingly before her two teammates let out a sigh of relief.
~~SCENE CHANGE~~
Sasuke let out short, heavy pants as he leaned up against a tree that was closest to the ruined battle field that he and Sakura had practically destroyed not too long ago. The battle ended about fifteen minutes ago and the others had already left while he decided to stay behind. Though he didn't have any broken bones, scratches and bruises adorned his skin all over the place. His clothes were torn and his body was covered with sweat, stinging his flesh wounds.
What he had seen from Sakura during that four hour battle had surprised him greatly. It was like she was a totally different person, a person that yearned to be acknowledged and to be accepted. Though he could sense it in the way she fought against him, she mainly wanted him to accept her. There was a deeper message in the way that she threw her punches and kicks that he couldn't even begin to understand, but he understood that she wanted his approval. And he would be lying if he said that he didn't approve of her skills. She left him practically breathless while she walked away barely sweating.
Suddenly, Sasuke looked up to meet the smiling face of his sensei, causing the Uchiha to narrow his eyes. "Finally satisfied?" he asked before sitting down cross-legged on the ground.
"Hn." the stoic, dark haired male replied.
Kakashi chuckled under his breath. "You could have just told her that you worried about her well-being."
Sasuke frowned as he focused on evening out his breathing, it was slowly but surely returning back to normal. "So you knew."
"Of course." the copy ninja replied, still looking over at his student with a smile covered by his mask. Then, his expression turned serious, causing the younger male to lift an eyebrow in curiosity at the sudden shift of his sensei's mood. "I'm sure you realize that she went easy on you."
Sasuke frowned deeply and began to breathe more evenly, more quietly, as Kakashi continued, "I hope you realize that she might act weak and get hurt is mainly for you and Naruto."
Dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why would she do that?"
"To protect you two's ego." the copy ninja replied and then let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I hate to admit it but Sakura has shown signs that she might be stronger than me."
The Uchiha's eyes widened for a moment until giving the silver haired man a skeptical look. "When exactly?"
Kakashi placed his hand back into his lap as he explained calmly, "First off, when she healed Haku and Zabuza. She participated in the battle and still managed to heal those two and you almost completely. Then when she fought against Gaara, her lung had almost been punctured and she lost most of her blood." the copy ninja continued calmly, "There were also moments that happened when you weren't there to witness them."
"Alright, I get it." the Uchiha grumbled, turning his attention away from his sensei to narrow his eyes at the ground. The sun was slowly dying down and the land was beginning to darken, stars slowly starting to show in the already sleeping portions of the sky. He was fully aware that Sakura hadn't used her full strength against him and that she could take care of herself, much to his relief and disappointment at the same time. It was also a bit embarrassing that he practically got his ass kicked by his female teammate, but he didn't dwell on it.
"Good." Kakashi stated, though he didn't think the young male didn't fully get it. He had only just named the things that included Sakura using her healing jutsu, which wasn't an easy task, especially for a genin. Then there was what he had heard from Naruto when he was being healed about what Sakura had done when the Akatsuki were after the blonde. He had ranted about how strong and brave she was while trying to protect Sasuke, about how she had 'tore those guys a new one!'. The copy ninja was almost positive that the Uchiha wasn't even aware about what Sakura had done.
Sasuke didn't say anything to his sensei, neither did the copy ninja say anything to his student. After awhile with both of them not speaking, Kakashi left the Uchiha to his thoughts. Soon, the whole sky was dark with night and clouds, the beginnings of rain starting to drizzle down onto the grateful earth. He could feel her behind the tree he was leaning against though she made no move to make herself known. Sasuke figured that she knew he was aware of her presence however. He was sure that if she didn't want to be found then she wouldn't be.
"Why are you hiding, Sakura?" he asked into the air and wasn't surprised when the pink haired kunoichi walked out to stand next to him. He didn't bother to look away from the sky to gaze over at her as she sat down and made herself comfortable. Silence fell between them for a few moments, the rain getting harder as it poured down calmly.
"You were worried about me." she whispered mainly to herself.
"Hn." he replied while closing his eyes.
Sakura thought about the words her teammate and sensei shared. Sasuke was worried about her well-being, that was why he wanted her to give up on being a shinobi. That was his way of wanting to protect her, to keep her from getting hurt.
"Why do you want to protect me, Sasuke?" she asked quietly, staring up into the crying sky, the leaves from the branches above them covering their bodies from getting wet.
"It doesn't matter." he replied.
Sakura didn't say anything for awhile, settling on listening to the sound of the rain. It was calming. The tenseness she had felt earlier immediately disappeared, her body calming down and resting at ease as she slumped her shoulders and relaxed in her sitting position. "It matters to me." she whispered.
Jade orbs looked over to see onyx staring back at her stoically, his facial expression giving nothing away to what his inner thoughts were. Letting out a sigh, the pinkette moved closer to the male and began to heal the minor wounds he had. Sasuke watched silently as she did so, his eyes never leaving hers as she concentrated on healing the injuries she had inflicted on him earlier.
Could he tell her the reason why he wanted to protect her? Was the whole situation even fair? They were trying to keep each other safe, yet he didn't want her protection. On another note, he had many reasons why he didn't want her hurt. She was one of his best friends. She was more or less the anchor to his sanity at some points in time, especially right after the massacre happened. But she couldn't know that he depended on her so much. He didn't even like the fact that that was the case, he didn't want to depend on her, yet he had unintentionally looked toward her for support.
Sakura looked deeply into glazed over orbs as Sasuke stared up into the raining sky. She had finished healing all of his wounds moments ago but he seemed to be too deep into thought that he didn't notice. Maybe it was best to leave him be for awhile so he could think without interruption. The kunoichi let out a sigh and tried to stand up but was stopped when a hand gripped her wrist and pulled her forward. Sakura's eyes widened when she fell into a pair of arms that instantly wrapped around her form. A head of dark hair nestled itself into her shoulder as the hold around her tightened. Sakura's mouth hung open lightly in surprise and her heartbeat sped up. Honestly, she didn't think she could ever get used to the Uchiha making any sort of contact with her, much less embracing.
"Stay." he whispered into her ear. It was only one word, a simple word, yet it left her body immobile. The kunoichi's body slumped into the hold, her head falling onto the shoulder before her and she didn't protest when the Uchiha pulled her body up closer so that she was straddling his waist. Even with the position that their bodies were in seemed so suggestive, those sort of things didn't even dare to cross their minds.
What was he going to do? Sasuke wasn't sure what was wrong with him but it worried him. He wasn't sure if he should really care for someone so deeply. He trusted her with so much of him. But the last person he had cared for and trusted so greatly betrayed him and their entire family. Sasuke knew that the pink haired female in his arms wouldn't harm him in anyway like the way his brother did, but it was hard to keep up that trust. What if she ended up betraying him in some way? What if she disregarded his trust and hurt him? No, he didn't want to believe that Sakura would do something like that. Sasuke didn't believe she was like his brother, that she was like almost everybody else in the world that would only do things for self-gain.
"Its alright, Sasuke." Sakura whispered reassuringly in his ear, making him want to let out an exhausted sigh. It always seemed that she knew when he needed support, when something was upsetting him. Almost instinctively, his grip on her tightened. Yes, he could trust her. He would trust her. Though he didn't fully understand what those words implied, he didn't exactly care that he was ignorant to them, fully content with the situation he was in at that moment.
~~SCENE CHANGE~~
"You're still too weak, Sasuke." Those were the words that were whispered into his ear when his body slammed into the wall.
"Welcome back, Sasuke." A soft voice called out to him, though it was farther away.
"Grow your hatred so that one day you can get your revenge." Those were the words that were said to him before his world had spiraled into a world of darkness and death. Those were the words of the person that had destroyed everything important to him. The words of the person who had destroyed his home.
"Welcome home, Sasuke." There it was again. That soft voice. Where was it coming from? Home? What did it mean? The young male looked around but he couldn't find who it belonged to. It sounded so familiar yet it was so distant. Fog clouded the whole area. He was the only one there, no one else in sight, no other living organism making an appearance or sound, just him. It was just him. Yet, where were those voices coming from?
"Harbor your hate, Sasuke." Itachi? Where was he? Looking around, the young male couldn't see him. The oldest Uchiha was nowhere in sight.
"Its alright, Sasuke." There! It was right next to him. That voice. That voice that sounded so calm and understanding. It had never had an ounce of pity or disdain, just care, concern, and honesty. Where had he heard it before?
"Use your hate to exact your revenge one day." The male ignored the voice and continued to search around for the owner of the other. For the owner of the voice that always seemed to calm him down.
Suddenly, the scenery shifted drastically. He was back at the compound, his family's bodies on the ground in front of him. Onyx eyes widened as he took a step back, only to bump into the wall behind him. Blood. There was blood everywhere. His mother and father. . . Hands shot up to cover his eyes from the horrendous scene. He didn't want to look. He didn't want to see his dead parents and he didn't want to see his brother standing behind them, looking down at him with cold eyes.
"You're too weak." his brother taunted. The young male gritted his teeth and slumped down to the ground, sliding down the wall behind him that no doubt had blood on it.
"Go away." he whispered into the dark room, his voice weak and strangled from the pain in his heart. His chest contrasted and his breathing grew heavy. "Go away." he said, this time weaker than the last. His eyes remained tightly closed as he brought his hands up to grip the roots of his hair. Hot, salty tears sprung up in his eyes. He didn't want to be there. He just wanted to leave. To not be reminded of what happened. It was too painful. He just wanted to leave everything behind. . .
"Don't go."
Sakura? Where was she? It sounded like she was in front of him, but he didn't want to look up. He couldn't look up. He would only see the dead bodies of his parents if he looked up. Suddenly, a green light appeared behind his closed eyelids and his raging head began to calm, his body slowly slumping down in ease. The male took a great chance fluttering an onyx orb open but what he was met with had both of his eyes widening and his face falling.
"Sakura?"
"That's right." she whispered reassuringly.
He wasn't in the compound anymore. In fact, he had no idea where he was but he didn't care. "Sakura." he whispered, leaning into her warm touch that she had on his cheeks before closing his eyes again.
"Sakura." he whispered, leaning into her warm touch that she had on his cheeks, making the kunoichi smile. A single tear ran from his closed eyes and slipped down his cheek and onto her glowing hand. The kunoichi's thumb swiped at the warm liquid and then moved her hands up to wrap comfortably around his head, still applying her healing chakra to his racing mind.
She had woken up from her deep slumber from the male under her thrashing around, in the process of having a nightmare. It didn't surprise her really, she expected him to have nightmares after everything with his brother, though she would be there to help his raging mind whenever she could. The only downside of that being was that she knew Sasuke wouldn't willingly tell her when he needed help or reassuring. It had completely shocked her that he would pull her into an embrace when he needed it, though it did please her. The contrast between this male and the one she used to know was becoming greater with each passing day and she vaguely wondered how much more he would open up to her.
~~:)~~
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