…NO! I do NOT own Naruto!...

Chapter 11: Awakenings

Sasuke watched as Naruto and Kakashi pulled away from Sakura.

The copy-nin was shaking his head.

Sasuke stood and walked over to them and for once his face was anything but emotionless. He looked first at Naruto and then to Kakashi.

The other men were weary and almost out of chakra themselves. Naruto's blue eyes were exhausted and uncertain. Kakashi's were downcast.

Sasuke could not bring himself to look at Sakura and he closed his eyes. You killed her. You used her to kill your brother—you knew she might die too. And you did it anyway.

He felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach. Had revenge consumed him that much that he had sacrificed one of the people closest to him? Maybe the one person who cared about him the most?

He had been cruel to her—always.

But she had remained true to him. Nothing he had ever said had made her hate him. He had even tried to make her forget him by hurting her the night he left. It would have been easier on her if she had hated him then.

But Sakura wasn’t like him. She knew that with love there was no room for hate.

And now he had to live with what he had done.

He opened his eyes.

Sasuke looked first at Sakura's hand. For some reason, he couldn't tear his gaze from it. Her…hand…

Her hand!

She had almost severed that hand on his blade.

And now, there was no visible sign of any wound.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked up.

Sakura's eyes were open slightly and she tried weakly to smile. He could now see the stronger pulse of chakra within her. Relieved, he turned off his sharingan.

But he was too slow when it came to rejoicing.

Naruto had already swept the young woman up into a hug. He gripped her tightly, almost hurting her as he cried silently in her hair.

Sakura was too weak to return the embrace and had to look pleadingly at Kakashi to help her out of the crushing hold.

"Naruto," Kakashi gently pulled them apart. "She's not healed yet. You need to be careful."

The blond nodded and broke the contact but after a second he grabbed her again, hugging her slightly less tightly.

Sakura smiled. "Naruto, Naruto, I'm alright. But…you're hurting me!"

He finally let go and looked up at her sheepishly. "Sorry Sakura-chan."

By this time, Sai and Yamato had also regained most of their strength and they had been standing by during the last hour.

While Yamato did not feel he knew Sakura well enough to hug her, he warmly clapped her on the back while mumbling, "Glad to have you back."

Sai, on the other hand, wanted to hug her but was so unaccustomed to that kind of emotion that he just stood there grinning like an idiot.

Kakashi gently ruffled her hair. "Yo."

And then it seemed as if everyone turned and looked at Sasuke at the exact same time. There was an uncomfortable silence.

Kakashi cleared his throat. “Oi, eh, why don’t we let Sakura get some rest. Now’s a good time to start planning the best route home anyway.”

He stood up and motioned for the others to follow, having to pull Naruto away since he didn't get the hint.

Only Sasuke stayed behind.

The Uchiha watched as Sakura leaned back against her pack, her eyes closed painfully. She was still pale and slightly ashen and he could see the damp sweat on her brow.

She's been through so much. He knew it was more than he would ever know.

After a moment, he sat down next to her.

She smiled slightly. "Sasuke-kun. I'm glad you're safe."

He smirked. "Hn."

They remained in companionable silence for a while, Sakura resting, Sasuke thinking.

"Sakura," He didn't look at her. "You shouldn't have done it."

Her pain-hazed eyes glanced at him. "Sasuke-kun…I…I wasn't trying to take your revenge from you…I just…he would have…"

Sasuke frowned. She thinks I'm worried about the fact that she helped me? "I mean you shouldn't have taken such a risk."

Her eyes were closed again. "I don't stand off to the side anymore, Sasuke-kun."

"You could have been killed."

"You could have been killed." She countered. "My life isn't worth more than yours. There's no reason I shouldn't have done exactly what I did."

"You could have died!" He said a little too forcefully and loudly, slamming his fist into the ground.

At the opposite end of camp, Kakashi glanced at him briefly and then turned away.

"You don't have to protect me anymore, Sasuke-kun," She whispered.

The Uchiha shook his head and sighed. "Sakura… if you had died…I would never have forgiven myself."

She turned her face toward him, her eyes slightly unbelieving. "Why?"

The fact that she even had to ask him that question caused his gut to wrench. "Because I lost everyone I cared about once before. And I gave them up again for power with Orochimaru. But when Naruto came to me for help…I was given another chance. I don't want to lose someone I care about ever again."

"You care about me?"

He swallowed. "All my life, I have never cared about anything more."

"Not even your revenge?"

He was silent.

Sakura nodded. "It's okay. I understand."

“No, Sakura.” He looked down at her. “Not even my revenge. It blinded me for years—that’s true. But it couldn’t destroy my feelings. Orochimaru and Kabuto and all their drugs couldn’t destroy them—they could cloud them—but never erase them. They have always been there.”

She smiled. The exhaustion from staying awake was taking its toll on her.

Sasuke could tell when her breathing evened out that she was sleeping. But instead of joining the others, he remained where he was.

He had a lot of time to make up for.

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Coming soon: Chapter 12: Prologue

Author's note: Chapter 12 will be the last chapter of this story.

I do not know if I will immediately begin writing another fanfiction. I am working on a short story for the "writers of the future" contest as well as revising a young adult novel I wrote. (Don't worry—the grammar and sentence formation in those works far surpasses my fanfiction writing).

I do still want to do a Kakashi/Rin story and maybe I will work on it in my spare time.

Keep your eyes open for chapter 12, it'll be up soon—but don't forget about my Sunday Rule. (Even though I did post this chapter on a Sunday)