**A/N: From here on the story will contain spoilers from the manga.

Leaving Gaara hadn't been an easy thing for Naruto or Sakura. Sasuke didn't show it but Sakura could tell he wasn't eager to get back on the road. But they departed early, before the sun had risen. The Suna siblings had accompanied them to the village border. Gaara had surprisingly, pulled Sakura into a hug and she'd been too shocked to react. "There will always be a place for you here, should you want to return." He'd said softly into her ear before retreating back. Sakura's eyes had sought Sasuke immediately, but he was looking ahead. Naruto and Gaara had shaken hands and the Kazekage had wished them all well and then they were off. Unaware of the dangers ahead. It hadn't even been ten minutes before the ambush awoke. Stopping them in their tracks. Sasuke and Naruto had moved as one. Stepping in front of her to block her from the enemy. They were surrounded by white Zetsu and only one black one, who seemed to be leading them.

"Come quietly." He said. "Our master simply wants to talk."

"We're done talking." Naruto said fiercely.

"You are in no position to refuse us." One of the Zetsu said. Except the voice was different, and so, so familiar. Sakura saw Naruto go rigidly tense, his head slowly turning in its direction. Sakura's stomach dropped, her face twisting in horror.

"H-Hinata…?" Naruto breathed.

The Zetsu didn't reply.

Yes. They'd been able to save some of those who had been trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Some. But not all.

Sakura knew the moment the Zetsu was behind her. Its arms circled her form and she attacked, shaking it off before kicking it away. Sasuke spun around, but Naruto stayed watching forward. The cry the Zetsu gave was human. Female. And it killed Sakura. The scream sounded like Ino.

"Sakura!" Ino's voice cried. "How could you?! Why didn't you save me?"

"I tried!" Sakura yelled instantly, her voice shaky. "Ino, you have to believe me."

Suddenly Sasuke was at her side. "Stop. It isn't her."

Sakura knew what he was saying. She understood. "But, it is." Sakura looked up at him. It was Ino, but it wasn't anymore.

It was clear what the strategy was here.

"Neji-nii died for you." Hinata was saying and Sakura turned to look at Naruto. His face was too pale and his hands were half-outstretched as if he wanted to touch her...it. But it didn't look like Hinata anymore. "And you let me die. You said you would protect me."

Naruto's hands were shaking. "Hinata…I…." his voice broke but Sakura's attention was pulled back to Ino.

"I know we had our ups and downs, Sakura. But you were my best friend…and I always had your back."

Sakura took a step back as the Zetsu advanced on her, her back hit Sasuke's chest and his hands grabbed her elbows. "Sakura. It isn't her anymore." He hissed into her ear.

"I know!" Sakura cried, shaking his hold off before turning around to glare up at him. "I know. But that doesn't make it any less Ino."

Sasuke unsheathed his blade and then his was gone from her vision. Sakura spun around just as Ino's scream echoed around them. It broke Naruto out of his shock too. The Zetsu dropped to the floor, blood pooling around it from the wound in its torso. Dead.

With her separated from Sasuke, they saw a chance to attack. One of the Zetsu grabbed her from behind. "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Sakura." A voice she knew hissed into her ear before something seeped into her from his hands. Darui's voice.

"Hinata! Stop!" Sakura heard as she felt her consciousness drift away.

Sasuke gave a growl and she opened her eyes just a slit to see him trying to crawl back to her. "Orochimaru…" he hissed before finally, everything went dark.

One Step Closer

.

.

.

.

Chapter 11 – Pushing Me Away

"Why I never walked away,

Why I played myself this way,

Now I see your testing me…pushes me away."

"Come with me." He said emotionlessly. Walking out of the room and up the stairs again and after a beat, Sakura followed him and it was only when they were outside and around the building that Sasuke shoved her against one of the walls and stared her down and simply said one word: "Talk."

"Oh." Sakura said flatly. "So you believe me now?" there was a mocking in her voice that Sasuke clearly didn't appreciate. His eyes narrowed dangerously, "I won't tell you twice Sakura."

She sighed. "What do you want to know?"

Sasuke's eyes drifted from her own, moving down her face before he spoke again. "Your face. It was Orochimaru."

Sakura bit her lip and Sasuke's eyes followed the movement but his face gave no emotion away. "Something like that, yeah."

"Stop stalling," he snapped.

"I should start off by telling you that Uchiha Madara is not the final enemy."

Sasuke's eyebrows twitched in response. "Explain."

He was still looming over her and the proximity reminded Sakura of a moment with him that had her skin tingling in remembrance. She swallowed. "I guess you could say, in a way, Zetsu is."

A look of disbelief came over him and Sakura hurried to explain. "The cycle is a long one, but trust me when I say, Zetsu is the reason everything goes to hell."

"Zetsu," he dragged the name out, clearly showing he didn't believe her.

"Black Zetsu." There was a pause, "Kaguya will bring about the end of everything. And Orochimaru will be the reason."

"Stop with the cryptic nonsense!" Sasuke growled. "Give me a straight fucking answer, Sakura. Who is Kaguya?"

"I…" Sakura swallowed back her answer. She couldn't tell him everything at once. He'd told her to take it slow. That he didn't do well with overloads of information. For the first time since coming out here Sakura really met his eyes, she could see his annoyance and frustration in them but they slowly faded as she looked up at him. And for a long moment, all they did was look up at each other. Sakura let out a shaky breath.

"Is it possible for me to miss you when you're right here in front of me?" she hadn't meant to say it out loud and once the words left her lips she looked away and Sasuke moved away from her, creating a few feet of space between them.

"Why do you believe me now?" Sakura asked after a moment, eager to forget she'd ever said that out loud. "You were ready to kill me before." Sasuke met her eyes and the 'you were trying to kill me too' went unsaid between them.

"Who trained you? It wasn't the Hokage's kind of training. So who?"

"You. You trained me, Sasuke-kun."

His eyes narrowed, "And why would I do that?"

"Who else to train me to stop you, then you."

"Why me? What do I do in the future?"

"You just did it." Sakura said softly. "You brought him back." She turned her face away from him. Turned her scars into the shadow of the night.

"Now that Orochimaru has his arms back, he can willingly surface from any cursed seal."

Sakura slumped against the wall. "Then I failed. And now everyone is going to die because I didn't have the guts to…" kill you.

Sasuke was quiet for a long moment. "I believe you because you have the Kusanagi. I would have known in the future that it would be the only thing that was unique enough to convince me." Sasuke turned away from her, looking out to Konoha. The Uchiha symbol looking back at her.

"Do I destroy Konoha?"

She barely heard him, but somehow his voice carried to her ears. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because you chose to protect it. You chose to protect us."

"Of course you would say that." Sasuke sneered. "Why would I protect Konoha?"

"I don't know." Sakura shook her head. "You never told us what your goals were. And I never asked you again. I don't know what the previous Hokage said to you…but it gave you answers. And you chose instead to want to become the Hokage,"

Sasuke turned around and stared at her for the longest moment. "I guess we will find out about that right now." He made his way back to the entrance but stopped short. Over his shoulder, his eyes met hers once more. "If this…Kaguya is the final enemy, then what does Orochimaru have to do with anything?"

Sakura swallowed. "Because Orochimaru tries to take her body."

Sasuke waited for more information, but Sakura offered none. "And? Does he succeed?"

He answer didn't solve anything for him, but somehow, looking at her. Seeing the scars on her pale face and in the tense, heavy way she walked. They way her long hair drifted slightly in the breeze. The answer left him cold.

"Yes."

And Sasuke knew Orochimaru better than she did.

x-x-x-x-

Another update! Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are so damn amazing! Oh, geez, 100+ reviews! Gah, I'm so happy!

Thanks so much! Please keep em coming! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chappie!

Zana-Lee

xoxo