New Chapter! This one includes the part when Sasuke leaves the village *cries* sad moment for me, I cried my eyes out because of that!
When I watched this episode just to give me some sort of direction on how to make the chapter I was a little frustrated that Sakura knew that she had a feeling that Sasuke was going to leave, she might've told the Hokage or Naruto at least! How annoying, sometimes I cry to the heavens at her personality.

Oh well.

At least in this fanfiction I can control on how she behaves, and I like it! Hope you enjoy this by the way, might suck but I do try my best to make this story as good as possible, even though there are exams coming up and I should really be revising (I'll ace it! Always do, LOL!)
Been watching the 'Notebook' just to get me in the mood to write this depressing scene while smoking. I don't smoke that much, but I do when I want to concentrate or TRY to look like those glamourous women like Audrey Hepburn who smoke 24/7. My mother's a nurse, so she scolds me whenever she sees me smoking. The thing is she doesn't know that I do care about my lungs! Only smoking for a rather selfish reason!

Okay, I'm going to stop babbling now, you're probably impatient to read the story and you've probably skipped this already, I won't blame you-
I always skip the Author's Note! Hypocrite me! At least I'm honest xxx

ENJOY!

Sakura hated the feeling of helplessness.

She hated the fact that the only thing she could do was stand by and watch-the feeling had surged through her bones when her comrades were lingering from life and death, and it had scared her so much the fact that she couldn't do anything at all. Yes, she did heal them but that was the demon's work, not hers and she hated every second though she thanked the beast for bringing her teammates alive.

But it was moments like these, this moment right now that she felt scared and helpless and hurt. Emotions were always a hard thing to cover up for her, even though she trained herself never to show your emotions-she couldn't help but feel so hurt that after the blood, sweat and tears Team 7 shared, one of them was tossing all those memories aside after everything that happened.

Damn Sasuke's revenge.

Sakura wanted to tell Naruto, but her mouth had been shut and she couldn't help but think it was her duty alone to beg Sasuke to not leave the village. How selfish of her, she thought bitterly as the breeze came whistling by, making the leaves rustle softly as Sakura rose her chin up and stood up, her eyes meeting with Sasuke's back. He had grown up so much, she thought fondly remembering their first mission, where she had witnessed Sasuke get hurt so badly she felt the beast's chakra stirr inside her stomach.

There was a silence, as if somebody was going to say something but hesitated, wondering if they should say it or not. Sakura gave out a shaky sigh and ran her fingers through her hair, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall. She wished she could have the courage like Naruto always had intact, to stop Sasuke and beat some sense into him-but she couldn't, because her feet were glued to the ground as she softly touched Sasuke's back, making him tense.

"Why?" Sakura asked quietly, afraid what was his answer. Sasuke spun around and grabbed both of her wrists, pressing his forehead so hard agaisnt hers she thought she was going to have a headache. They stared at eachother's eyes, not breaking their eye contact as a silence fell on them-intense and thick. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, and Sakura didn't move to wipe them away-she felt so hurt and angry at the same time, emotions tangled inside her as memories flickered past her mind.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a breif moment, feeling the cool breeze run up his spine and he opened them again, staring at Sakura's emerald eyes before gripping her wrists tighter. It was hard to leave the village, he had a small family here with the loud Naruto, a cheerful Kakashi and a gentle Sakura, who he had fought for his life to protect her. But if his brother would ever find out his one true weakness, he would hunt Sakura and Naruto down, killing them in front of him ruthlessly before striking to kill him. That will never happen, Sasuke thought angrily as he stared at Sakura, I'll always protect you. He wanted to say all of this to her, but his mouth couldn't open.

"I'll kill him...and-and I'll come back, I promise" Sasuke said softly, thinking how pathetic it was to see him so gentle and kind in front of the person he adored. Sakura wrapped her arms around him for a tight embrace, and as the breeze whistled past and memories flickered through both of their minds so quickly, Sasuke wrapped his arms around her body, his arms trembling as they gripped Sakura shirt. Sakura broke the embrace, tears running down her cheeks as she pressed her forehead agaisnt his, her voice wobbly and quiet.

"Promise you'll come back...promise?" Sakura whispered, her voice fragile. Sasuke's heart twisted, he was never coming back to this village but maybe-
just maybe, he could sneak in every two years just to see her face and her progress. It hurt to lie in front of a broken Sakura, and guilt flared in his stomach like a strong fire. Sasuke's fingers entwined with hers, and he remembered seeing a passed-out Sakura in the Forest of Death, saying in his last breath before collapsing that he'd always protect her no matter what.

Sakura squeezed his hands and gave him a sad smile, and as she watched Sasuke's fingers slipped away from hers and walk slowly away at the night,
the moon's rays illuminating both of their pained, heart broken faces. Sakura's knees trembled and she fell on the bench, covering her sobs with a shaky hand as she closed her eyes, replaying the moments that Team 7 shared.

Their blood, sweat and tears. Their effort, their passionate dedication to never let their team down was all tossed aside as one of them leaves, the memories slowly dying out like a dying flame, only leaving a trail of melted candle wax on the floor with broken pieces of ash. Sakura felt two fingers press on the cluster of nerves, and she passed out on the stone bench while a figure stared at her in the shadows, before dissappearing.

The figure smiled, his golden eyes shining.

Her eyes opened and she blinked, yawning as she wiped the tears away. Sakura tensed as she saw her surrondings, and the memories of Sasuke leaving rushed into her and she fell on her knees, her body shaking and tears cascading down her cheeks. I didn't tell him to come back, I encouraged him by making a promise he'll never commit! Sakura thought angrily. The sadness died down and was replaced by anger and frustration, she was so weak! Making Sasuke run away like that and all she ever did was stand there, crying and begging him to come back when she knew he was never coming back.

Sakura screamed, releasing her passionate anger with the ear-piercing sound.

She eventually collapsed on the ground, exhausted and hungry but her thoughts were on Sasuke as pain surged through her bones, and she gasped clutching her stomach as she weakly tried desperately to keep her weak eyes open. But as she felt her vision fade away slowly, Sakura fell down on the rough ground with a soft thud, her hair sprawled around her head like a broken halo.

Sakura found herself laying on the floor, her eyes staring at the red moon dripping with red blood. She closed her eyes and felt the black, wispy smoke circle her and she sat up, digging her knees to her chest as she buried her face, feeling tears stream down her face. She hated showing her weakness in front of the demon she loathed, but he had saved her teammates nonetheless and she thankful for that but she couldn't help but feel hatred towards the beast that gave her so much pain, nightmares and gave her a strong intention to kill.

Sakura shuddered at the fight in the final phase of the chuunin exams, and she wished she never killed the poor girl. Self-disgust washed through her, and she sobbed in the palm of her hands. After the fight with Gaara, she ran straight home to take a shower, scrubbing her rough skin so hard the skin peeled off, and left blood trickling down her body which made her throw up. The black tails extended and wrapped around her ankle, flipping her upside down as it bought her closer to the beast. Sakura was in no mood to talk to him, all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball inside her bed and stay there for the next 7 years or so.

"Weak, fragile little flower. No wonder they call you Sakura" the beast growled as the grip around her ankles tightened, making her gasp at the pain. She could care less if the beast's pride was ruined, all she wanted to do was run as fast as she can to Naruto, tell him Sasuke was missing and tell the new Hokage-Tsunade-
to plan a retrievel team. Unfortunetly, the beast had other plans to physically and mentally torture her, and it looked like he was looking forward for his revenge.

The demon tossed her up in the air before catching her before she fell to the floor, where her skull would probably crack and she'd be brought back to the real world, where the pain would be much worse. Thank god you have the best healer in the village, Sakura thought as she eyed the demon's crimson eye, the ten black dots swirling. His eyes were like glass, you could see yourself within them, your emotions and your history but you could never see the demon, for his eyes were always a crimson red. Sakura knew the beast had incredibly strong eye techniques such as the Rinnengan and the Mangekyou Sharingan-which never failed to scare her for the only thing she knew about those eye techniques that if you just give one tiny glance, you would fall deep in the abyss of the true meaning of pain that left you scarred and dead.

But it amazed her that the beast did not have her sapphire hue eye technique, and he would be openly curious about it, asking her questions and asking her-more like commanding actually-to use it as a demonstration. Of course, her eye technique was useless to powerful beings such as the demon, but maybe in the future when she would be strong enough, she could use it as a threat to absorb important intel about the opponent.

"You disgust me. I want a vessel who is strong, not a weak and pathetic girl like you" the demon snarled. Sakura felt anger burn in her stomach and she screamed, thrashing in his grip violently. The beast growled darkly at her antics and dropped her, making her land on her two feet smoothly as she stared at the demon with passionate disgust and anger. Sakura's eyes turned a shade darker of sapphire blue, and the demon immediatly tensed for he never knew what kind of power the eye technique held. Sakura wanted to try out the dangerous side of her eye technique, she was so sick of letting the demon take over her.

Slowly, the beast struggled to stand up and fell on the floor, creating a large small explosion beneath his stomach as he growled and his tails thrashed out between the bars, wrapping it around Sakura who screamed, frustrated tears running down her cheeks as she violently moved agaisnt his tight grasp. The beast chuckled,
sounding impressed and Sakura stopped, meeting her gaze with the demon to discover his eye had turned a darker shade of lilac with four black lines circling the tiny black dot in the middle.

"You've had your share of showing your curious eye technique. Now stare at mine!" the beast growled, bringing her closer to his eyes. Sakura was trembling, tears running down her face as she stared at the eye, never breaking her intense gaze with the pinacle of nightmares himself. Images of ruthless wars, drying people and blood flickered through her mind as the grip tightened around her, making her struggle for breath.

"I will cleanse this world we live in. Children fight in wars whilst the leaders flee to hide" he said, before abruptly dropping her to the ground. Sakura groaned with pain, but anger surged through her bones. Disgusting, she thought as she stood up with shaky knees, staring at his lilac eyes unflinching.

"You have no right to say things like that when you start the wars!" Sakura roared, her voice echoing in the vast and dark chambers of the sanctuary. The beast roared with laughter, his voice laced with mockery and disgust at her pathetic announcement. Sakura's courage withered, but she clenched her fist and imagined Naruto beside her, backing her up with his insults. The demon's tails wrapped around her ankles, tossing her upside down and bringing her closer, his cold breath fanning her entire body.

"What makes you think you can insult me?!" he shouted, the sanctuary shaking and trembling as if the voice was a strong force of a punch. Sakura didn't flinch and she clenched her jaw, determined to be brave. I will be strong, she thought determindly as the tails slowly tossed her up in the air, before catching her and realizing that she straight now, her hair in a messy heap on her head. Sakura rose her chin and slipped swiftly from the grasp and stood on the tails, her eyes flaring with determination and anger.

"Because I'll control you and you will obey me. I shall not follow your disgusting idea of me being the Child of Darkness! I will have my own destiny planned out!" Sakura shouted with authority and control laced in her voice. For once, the beast did not speak but instead, eyed her carefully before slowly dropping her to the ground, whispering soft words before Sakura dissappeared, leaving black smoke.

Sakura stared at the white ceiling, before grasping the thin white blanket and swinging her legs to the side, ignoring the pain in her legs. By now they've probably realised his gone, she thought bitterly as she changed back into her red shirt and blue pants. The window was open, making a huge gust of chilly air come whistling by and Sakura shivered, closing her eyes as she remembered Sasuke's fingers around hers, before she opened her eyes again to find tears falling down her cheeks freely. Sakura wiped them away hastily as she escaped from the window, running through the busy, bustling crowd of Konoha to head for the Hokage tower. Unfortunetly for her, the hospital was a good thirty minute run to the Hokage tower, and Sakura was in no mood to use her chakra to increase her speed-she was weak, vulnerable and pathetic.

Her hair was in a messy heap on her head, and it blew past her face as she ran, feeling the wind run through her locks. Sakura wondered what the new Hokage would react about the terrible news that one of the most potential boys with a strong eye technique would run away. Her first taste of how broken Konoha really is, Sakura thought bitterly as she sped past alleyways. She paused and panted, finding that she had no use to run up those agonizingly long stairs and walked up, gripping the steel handrail for support. Sakura felt a stare burn through her back, and she turned around sharply to look at none other than Neji Hyuuga himself, and scowled at his pitiful stare as he watched her climb on the stairs. Neji rose a brow, his face expressionless and dull as ever as he eyed her with his intimidating white, glassy eyes before approaching her.

"You seem to have great difficulty climbing stairs, Haruno-san" he noted, a hint of humour in his voice. Sakura was on the verge of crying her eyes out now, Sasuke had dissappeared and all the boy could ever do was insult her when she already felt self-disgust on why she never even stopped Sasuke. Her scowl was replaced by a blank stare, and she straightened herself before teleporting herself and appearing at the top of the stairs, her eyes never leaving the shocked Neji. Slowly, he smirked and ran up, standing next to Sakura as she slowly walked towards the Hokage's office.

"Never knew you could do that, Haruno-san. Very surprising, like the battle you gave to that girl in the chuunin exams" Neji said. Sakura immediatly tensed and memories of a black-and-blue Ino and a dead Amaye laying on a pool of her own blood came rushing in, and she lifted a shaky hand to run through her hair. Neji was curious, why of all people would Sakura even want to go report to the Hokage? Probably wanting a mission, he thought quickly as he noted there were never enough missions being handed out. As she stopped in front of the Hokage's door, her hand raised up to knock on the wooden surface, Sakura remembered the first time she knocked on this door and begged the Third Hokage to take her as his student, and with bitter dissapointment realized that a women would be standing in his position, for the Third Hokage was dead now, laying peacefully in his grave. Sakura didn't hesitate to open the door, but before she could fully enter herself, she glanced at Neji.

"You talk too much. You must have realized you were the only one talking in our petty conversation" she said coldly, a blank expression settled on her face. Sakura closed the door softly behind her, leaving a shocked Neji to stand. He smirked and shook his head, walking down the corridor before exiting, his thoughts on the strange pink-haired girl he had a conversation with. The first time somebody ever said my line, Neji thought as he entered the familiar training grounds, greeted by a smiling TenTen and a happy Gai. Neji noted the sadness in Gai's face, and memories of the battle Lee and Gaara had faced eachother came rushing in, and he felt pity for the poor sensei who obviously had a bond with Lee.

Tsunade was not the type of person who should be the Hokage, Sakura thought angrily as she stared at the women with unimpressed eyes.

Here she was, sprawled across her seat with a sake bottle in her delicate fingers, a pig running around with files strapped to his back and an angry assistant who looked murderuous. The woman looked like she took the job lightly, and it made Sakura angry that the Hokage name was to be given to a drunk lady who couldn't even sit up properly. Sakura knew who Tsunade was, she was the three great Sannin along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru and was the best medic ninja out there. Broken bones? Easy, she could fix it in a flash without breaking a sweat, probably because of the Yin seal on her forehead or her experience.

Sakura was dissapointed. Sure, she might be a great Sannin but Tsunade wasn't even working, for god's sake! She took in her apperance, noting that she had flushed cheeks, parted lips and her fingers slipping from the neck of the sake bottle. Just as Sakura suspected, it fell from her fingers but the assistant was quick, probably anticipating that it was going to happen anyways. Sakura waited for a few moments for the new Hokage to collect herself, before she began to speak.

"Hokage-sama, I have something import-"

"Tsunade! Call me...Tsunade!" the drunken Hokage slurred, her eyes dropping gradually as her left cheek slowly touched the desk, looking as if she was going to fall asleep any minute now. Sakura was on the verge of losing her sanity, here she was about to say one of her best friends and the most potentiol ninjas in Konoha with a rare eye technique had escaped, and the new Hokage was on the verge of sleeping! But she couldn't blame her, Sakura thought bitterly as she clenched her jaw, this was her fault from the beginning of believing Sasuke would actually return. But she had wanted to hope, she wanted to hope so badly that he might come back, and she could punch his head and cry on his shoulder.

Unknown to her, tears started to spill from Sakura's eyes and she hastily wiped them away. Too late, the Hokage who had a weak spot for crying girls, had meet her gaze and stared at her worriedly, acting as if she was never drunk a second ago. She sighed, rubbing her temple and Sakura watched as the Yin seal glittered agaisnt the harsh glare of the sun, that came slipping in between the curtains and created stretched shadows of four figures (including the pig, who was laying in the far corner with files scattered around her) Sakura exhaled sharply,
and a breif image of Sasuke's fingers entwined with hers at the Forest of Death when she woke came flickering past her mind, and her heart twisted.

"Sasuke escaped...I went round his house to ask if he knew where Naruto was...but" Sakura chewed her bottom lip, feeling a hot rush of tears come down her cheeks. She hated lying and crying at the same time, it just showed how much of a coward she was of telling the truth and keeping her emotions bottled up. Tsunade tensed and groaned with annoyance, her fist connecting with the desk causing it to tremble beneath her fist, and eventually collapse on the ground. The assistant sighed, pouring some herbal tea for the stressed Hokage as she leaned agaisnt the seat, her hat perched on her head hiding her facial expression.

The door slammed open and in came a worried Naruto and a serious Kakashi came sauntering in. Sakura tensed and looked away, wiping her tears away quickly and shading her eyes with her choppy bangs. Tsunade looked grim and glanced worriedly at Sakura, whose head tilted to the side and her eyes dazed and sad. Naruto grinned at the new Hokage, his arms crossed in his chest as he wore a annoyed expression.

"Wheres Sasuke? Me and Kakashi were going to train!" Naruto yelled. Sakura frowned deeply, she didn't know that her team was making secret trainings without her. That's not fair! she thought frustrated, gripping her shirt tightly as she looked away, looking dissapointed and angry. First Sasuke and now this? she thought as she moved to the door, her shaky hand on the door knob as she twisted it silently, opening the door and slamming it shut behind her, before breaking down and collapsing on the ground in a messy heap. Sakura felt a hot rush of tears come down as she pressed her ears to the door. She had to exit the room, because she knew she was going to break into hysterical sobs and have a mental breakdown, but at the same time she had to hear what they had to say, even though she knew what Tsunade's reply was.

"Uchiha Sasuke has escaped. I need a retrival team to go collect him!" Tsuande cried, her voice sharp like a knife as it cut through the air. Sakura bolted through the corridors and headed home, placing weapons and changing to a metal fishnet shirt and black shorts, before running to the exit of Konoha, ready to track down Sasuke before anybody else. To Sakura, it was important that she had to talk to Sasuke, she had to be the one to bring him back to prove to herself that she would never be the crying, sobbing Sakura who had passed out when Sasuke left, and made a promise that could never happen.

The curtains had been opened, and she snatched the main part as the heroine. Sakura had to do this, to prove to everybody she wasn't the monster they saw in the chuunin exams, she had to be the heroine. Not Naruto or some other chuunin that hardly knew Sasuke but her, because believe it or not-she had a slightly bigger chance of dragging Sasuke back inside the safe gates of Konoha-and maybe he could learn to forgive her and to know how stupid it was of him to runaway like that and to leave a confused Naruto and a hurt Sakura.

Sakura sped through the trees, her arms trembling with fear and determination as she paused for a second, looking around her with narrowed eyes. It was strangely quiet, not even a rustle of leaves or the cries of insects-or even the wind passing by. Sakura hesitated, before taking her headband off and placing it inside her chest bindings, before speeding past the shady trees. Sakura loved running, she loved the feel of the wind passing by her, the way everything seemed to be a blurr and the fact that she felt so free, as if she was a bird being released from a golden cage. But at this silent moments, she couldn't enjoy running like she used to, since her mind and thoughts were on Sasuke alone. Why did you have to leave, Sakura thought desperately as she clawed on her shoulder, the flesh breaking as she briskly healed it without a sweat.

Taking her anger on her own flesh, nothing new there.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Sakura screamed as she saw the wound open up again. Healing was never a strong thing for her, and losing her temper and breaking down was so not like Sakura but these past few days had been pain for her, and she couldn't help but have mental breakdowns every five seconds when somebody said Sasuke's name. That feeling when your heart twists, and memories flickered past your brain while tangled emotions grew bigger and bigger inside her stomach-it was a feeling Sakura hated, since she felt so helpless agaisnt it. I can't bring back Sasuke, face it Sakura! Your weak and pathetic, she thought as she clenched her fist, falling to her knees as she covered her face with her palms. No, no, no! Sakura thought as she wiped the tears away, chin in the air as her hair flew in the air. I must drag Sasuke back and control the demon, she thought with new determination as she speed past the trees.

Nothing could stop her, for if she truly wanted to master the art of controlling the ghastly beast within her, she had to prove herself first.

...Catch your precious Sasuke-kun, as if that'll make you control me...

Sakura did not wither against the harsh tone of the beast, deciding to ignore it was the best thing to do. Besides, when she would arrive at battle the demon would beg on his knees, pleading her to use his chakra.

I decided not to do the polls...nobody seems to be answering! *cries* anyways, hope you enjoy!
LOL! I'm such a crybaby, maybe that explains why Sakura seems to have breakdowns every two sentences etc..but I PROMISE!

In the next chapter she will kick ass, and this is an oath cuz in the next chapter, Sakura realizes that she needs to be strong not only for herself, but for her teammates.

This is a long chapter, so I hope you were satisfied with the chapter! You might notice that I call the Ten Tails a beast because if I said:

...The Ten Tails's voice was echoeing in her mind...

Well, that doesn't really make the Ten Tails seem intimidating, it's kind off like calling the Nine Tails the Kyuubi! See what I mean? Good. I just wanted to clear that up.

Wednesday Addams forever! Whoop, whoop!