hey just a fun little fact: i wrote most of this story from 50,000 feet in the air. i went on vacation this week and i took my laptop to entertain myself. writing from an airplane is so disconcerting, dont you think?

please dont hurt me for writing this. every good story needs a good crisis moment. and so, here it is!! the crisis moment (possibly first of several) in this story!!

-barricades self into room- please dont hurt me...

oh, and i got this chapter done fairly quickly, but i couldnt upload it. i was on vacation in california, and it was nearly impossible to find any free wifi to mooch off of. sorry about that.

disclaimer: i dont own naruto. anyone reading the manga? if they kill of deidara i swear i'll send them hate mail for the rest of my living days.

-p.s. i took of the keycode in this chapter, and cleaned up my formatting a bit. i figure if you're into chapter eleven you should know when people are talking and thinking by now, yes?-

Chapter Eleven

Angsty, Unpleasant things

"Kaka sensei…" Sakura finished rolling out her sleeping bag. They should make it to Suna by the next morning if they kept a good pace. Then it would be off to the Sound village for a few days, and then back to Suna, then home. When Sakura thought of it this way, she couldn't help but wonder if there was any possible way they could get it over with faster. "Are we going to have shifts?" she asked. When you were camping in unknown or enemy territory, you would usually keep one person on watch throughout the night.

Kakashi nodded, causing a few strands of white hair to bob as they stood electrically on end. "I'm taking the first shift. Sasuke will take the next shift, then you, then Naruto and repeat until the morning. Understood?"

Sakura and Sasuke nodded. Naruto did the same but from the blank look on his face Sakura was almost positive he had missed the instructions. She sighed. She would explain it to him later. Now she just wanted to burrow into her sleeping bag and never resurface. Pulling it over her head, she sighed in satisfaction at the warmth it provided and drifted off to sleep.

-

"Sakura…" what a pretty voice. I wonder who it belongs to.

"Sakura wake up." Hello pretty voice. How are you?

"Sakura!" suddenly Sakura felt a sharp pain in her ribs and her eyes slowly opened to see who had woken her from her wonderful little sleep.

"Man, when you're out, you're out." The 'pretty voice' turned out to be none other than the great Sasuke Uchiha. Known privately to her as 'He-Who-Is-Annoying-As-Hell.'

Letting out a half sigh half snort, Sakura attempted to gracefully slide out of her sleeping bag. She failed miserably, instead pulling off some sort of spastic wiggling hop. "What time is it?" she managed to slur out. If there was one absolute truth about Sakura, it was that she was NOT a morning person.

Sasuke laughed at her. "About two in the morning. You hold watch for a few hours then wake Naruto up, got it?"

Sakura blinked as the words meandered through her brain, attempting to be understood. Finally she got it and she got up to take her shift. "Mother of shoes…" she muttered as she caught a glimpse of her hair in the nearby puddle.

Puddle… the word floated around looking for something to connect to.

Looking up aimlessly she saw the crisp stars.

Stars… the word wandered aimlessly, searching for something to connect with.

Fifteen seconds later the team was roused and she was standing in front of four ninjas from Kirigakure.

-

TenTen smiled at the teammate standing in front of her.

"So you know…" The poor man looked very much like he wanted to be somewhere else—anywhere really would do—preferably under a large rock in the middle of the desert rather than here. "I would be honored if you would go with me. If you could consider…" TenTen put her finger to his lips and smiled. "I would love to go to the dance with you, Lee."

-

Kakashi stood at the front of the group, facing off the Nin. It was almost surreal to see their teacher gripping a kunai, cold determination shining through his one eye.

A shiver ran up Sakuras back. No clouds were in the sky, and it hadn't rained for weeks. How then, was a puddle to form in the forest under a blanket of trees where no water would get to anyway? It had struck Sakura as a nothing special, then slightly odd, and then finally as her brain began to function in the unholy hours of the morning, it became alarming.

"Kaka Sensei," Naruto's voice was serious as well. A double ringer. "Who are these guys?"

Sakura answered for him. "They're Hidden Mist ninja. They probably came to stop our mission. It was a B rank, after all."

Kakashi nodded. "Hired assassins most likely. Kirigakure has no reason to want war, so they were most likely paid for this job."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura. There was a slightly crazed look in her eyes, mostly due to the early and unwanted wakeup call. But there was something else that he couldn't quite pin. Something very familiar, yet distant.

One man—the leader—looked towards Sakura. "Hey, it's that pink haired freak we met back in Konohagakure. Looks like she's out for revenge." He laughed a cold hearted laugh and the other three did the same.

Quickly Sasuke knew what the look in Sakuras eyes was; Hatred and revenge. He knew those emotions well enough.

"Hey little kunoichi, what's wrong? You miss your mommy?" he patronized her, laughing again.

Sakura simply stood there, gripping the kunai so tight Sasuke could see a single drop of blood come from her fist. Her pupils contracted into small dots as the dusty green took over her eyes, blinded by rage.

Sasuke exchanged glances with the others. So this was how Sakuras parents died?

One step.

Sakura moved forward, the green eyes staring darkly at the four men.

Two steps.

Moving closer to the men, she raised the now-bloodied kunai.

Three ste—

"Sakura!!" Sasuke suddenly yelled. Mid stride, the girl turned around, her dark eyes registering the voice immediately. "Sakura stop it." Sasuke commanded. Who knew what she was capable of if pushed?

"Hey, so this little thing is your bitch?" the tall ninja sneered at Sasuke. "She isn't worth it. Go find some whore that can hold her own."

Sasuke stared grimly at the man, mustering all of his Uchiha inherited death glaring techniques. He made a mental note to himself to create a death-stare jutsu on his off day. "You EVER call her that again and I swear I'll make sure they never find your body." He gritted out through his teeth.

Several of the ninja in the back let out weak chuckles, though most stayed silent in the face of the angered boy. Something about the way he carried himself made you sure that he would do just that if he ever got the chance.

"Sasuke, stay out of this." Sakura spoke, looking him levelly in the eye. "These men are mine."

Naruto stepped back, and Kakashi spoke. "Sakura, remember control." Was all he could say. Hey, they were supposed to get rid of these Nin anyway. But he was amazed at the dark chakra that the pink haired ninja was emitting.

Sakura nodded and faced the four ninja again. "You will suffer." She narrowed her eyes at them.

-

Neji stood on the other side of the hall, and he heard the answer. He had been coming to ask TenTen to the dance when he had overheard Lee asking her.

How could she say yes??

His heart was fractured, and he turned to go. It had taken him the entire day to work up the courage to ask her and he had been practicing what to say on the way over. But, he thought as his heart sank slowly, it didn't matter now. Lee and she were going together. He supposed he simply wouldn't go at all if there was no one to go with.

He walked slowly home in a daze, his heart feeling broken.

-

The three ninja from the leaf watched in silenced horror as the otherwise gentle kunoichi tortured the four mist Nin almost until death, but not quite. She always kept them alive.

Sasuke simply watched in silence. Sakura had always had a dangerous edge to her, but he never knew her hatred ran this deep. She must hate these men like anything to become capable of doing such appalling things.

"P-please…kill me…" the man begged.

Sakuras eyes widened with a crazed look. She raised her bloodied blades again, but not to kill.

She was about to bring the blade down with fearsome strength, when suddenly she felt three pairs of arms around her, restricting her.

Kakashi wrestled the knives from her bloodied hands. "Sakura, that's enough!" he yelled as the kunai fell to the ground.

"No it isn't!! They killed her!! They killed mom!!" she jumped and struggled against the men who she loved so much. "Get off me!! I have to make them pay!!"

Sasuke had her around the waist, struggling against her enraged strength. "You have Sakura, this is far enough! This won't help anything!"

"Get off me, Sasuke!" Sakura tried wriggling her arms away from Naruto, who was holding them behind her back. "You don't know a thing about me!"

"Yes I do!" Sasuke was still braced against her stomach. "I know what it's like! I know how it feels!! Killing them won't bring your mother back, Sakura. What would she think of what you're doing?"

Slowly, she stopped thrashing about as her eyes registered her surroundings again. Letting out a little gasp, she sank to the floor. Naruto and Sasuke still held her tightly, but now they were embracing her.

Soon, translucent tears surfaced in her eyes. Without thinking, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Sasuke neck and sobbed into his sweater.

Naruto drew back and watched as the Uchiha looked down at the kunoichi wondering what to do. Awkwardly patting her on the head, he hushed the hysterical girl.

Kakashi finished off the four broken ninja sympathetically and came back to the clearing to find the scene. Naruto was breathing heavily against a tree, and Sakura was clinging desperately to the Sasuke who was clumsily embracing back. The Uchiha heir wasn't used to hugging people.

"Naruto, come on. We're going to make some food for everyone." Kakashi wisely decided to give the two time alone. As they walked off, Sasuke pulled Sakura back so she met his eyes.

"Sakura, your mother would be proud." He said simply. Sakura sniffed and attempted to wipe the shed tears off the poor mans shirt which was completely soaked.

"I-I don't know what I was thinking," she sobbed. "I just got so scared a-and mad a-nd I couldn't control myself. But the worst part…" she stared the Uchiha dead in the eye. "Was that I liked it."

-

TenTen hadn't really wanted to go with Lee. Secretly she had a bit of a crush on Neji. But he was so stoic and serious she was sure he wouldn't be interested in someone like her.

She sat on a swing set in an old playground, thinking over the day. Maybe if Neji went she would ask him for a dance.

Oh, who was she kidding? Neji didn't dance. Everyone knew that.

-

Neji sat on his bed in the Hyuuga complex. He had actually asked Hinata to teach him how to dance for this occasion. He, Neji Hyuuga, did not dance. Everyone knew that.

But he would have danced for her. He would have done anything if it meant she would choose him rather than Lee. But that was wishful thinking. She was going with Lee. Not him.

---------------------------------------------

i know, i know. all is not well in the world of fanfiction. but rest assured, this too will pass.

to my wunnerful readers...

justareader - usually, my writing process [haha that makes it sound so professional depends on how much inspiration i have. i.e. , how much caffeine i can pack into my system. if i have a really good idea or i know where this particular part of the plot is headed, then i can get it done in a few hours. a day, most. if i need some inspiration[more caffiene than it could take a few more days. but it rarely takes longer than three days to write.

errr... it seems to me that you're threatening... -just kidding!- but im already like halfway through the next chapter. it should be up in no time!

winters holly - -praises you- thanks for taking the time to review all the stories!! it means a lot to me!

jeepers, this is a lot of stuff. lets see... 1.) please dont faint -fans you- i'll update soon, i promise!!!

2.) haha wow, i dont think anyone else has ever asked me that question. kakashi values his privacy, so usually he doesnt eat with them. either that, or its the same thing that happened in episode 101. (go watch it, its the greatest!!!) they just cant get a good look, darnit! he does take it off, just not when everyone else is around. (he's taken it off once or twice in the manga, though his face remains hidden.)

dont yank your hair out, you'll go bald!

purplecherry5 - ooooooh it means goodbye!! I GET IT NOW!! hahaha thanks. that's pronounced jsha - ney, right?

Defender Of The Light - hey, thanks! i worked hard to make sasukes and sakuras relationship unique. i feel so glad that you enjoyed it! its true that its hard to find quality fanfictions anymore, but they're still out there. if you look on my favorites, you'll see my favorite stories. i promise they're all amazing. -Hint: collision course is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. if you like harry potter as well, you will too.-

defiant-crayon - i was reading your review on the red-eye flight back home from california and everyone was sleeping. when i read it i laughed so loud i woke up the two rows in front of me and the stewardess asked me to be quiet. hahahaaa you're getting me in trouble, you know. have you no shame?

aniron evanstar - 1.) how could you ask me something like that? haha i have the plot all worked out in my head, (sort of...) but i really dont know how many pages it'll take. 2.) -grins- you'll just have to wait and see, wont you? i didnt really answer many of your questions did i?

itasaku29 - -laugh- no worries! i figured it was a misspelling. hah, i actually happen to have a handy-dandy spaz-out button on the bottom of my desk for just such emergencies. every household appliance should have one, it comes in handy with my family!!

darkmoonphase - geeze, fine. im getting so humiliated by this fanfiction. -reluctantly cuddles nearby paper plate- haha i'm not CRAZY about jello, but i do eat it. i like the blue stuff.

nekko chik - errr... sorry about your shirt, nekko. bleach works well, doesnt it??

paintpurple - ooh, right right. ja ne. get it now! PP, i treasure and enjoy each and every story you tell me in reviews, no matter how weird, goofy or twisted they may be. hahaha you make my day! yeah, the jello thingie caught on a lot quicker than i expected it to-i didnt expect it to catch! but i feel proud too! its sort of like we're the parents!-

I CALL MOM!! hah, you're a DAD. hahaha

mandy...thats so great. haha

keep reviewing, it means so much to me!!! im sort of busy at the moment, but i smile when i read every review, so keep it up! i feel so unworthy of all this praise...

read and review, and only hug a jello cup whilst wearing the proper clothing-protectant. an old shirt and/or an apron will work.

see ya next time!