I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this story. I have been going back and forth with the idea of continuing the story and including parts that I may have missed, or that some of you asked if I would include some missing details. So to honor suggestions, I'm continuing with a sequel: Refinement.

Here's a quick sneak peak of what's in the works.

.: Refinement :.

Her screams are unbearable, coated in exhaustion with a hoarse tone bringing out the bass from within her throat. The woman's back arched with pain, her arms at her side, the nails of her fingers biting into the skin of her thighs.

He cannot listen any longer, instead, his dark eyes that hold concern finally close, her screams still haunting his own mind. While his back is pressed against the wall, his head hangs low, eyelids covering beautiful, dark eyes, and his arms firmly cross against his rock hard chest.

Sakura is suffering, but he knows he can't comfort; can not and will not, for this is a mission she must go about on her own.

With Kakashi stabilizing her petite frame with the cap of his knee, Tsunade held her hand firmly against the crown of her head - cherry blossom hair sprouting from beneath the Hokage's palm. Sakura's arms painted in different symbols, blood of Kakashi, and she sits on her knees with her eyes squeezed tight. The pain coursing through her body is more than one can handle, but Sakura insisted that this be done.

The curse be sealed, once and for all.

She and Sasuke had defeated Orochimaru months ago; leaving behind the memories of her past, they were left to rot in the darkness that they were created in. She was a strong kunoichi now, blossomed from the scrawny girl that she was, and now she's here, facing the pain that she inflicted on herself through her own selfish actions.

The glowing in the surrounding area begins to wink, the translucent light fading from the seal that surrounds the three of them. Sakura's long, drawn out screams begin to fade with the light, but Sasuke can tell the torture continues to go on within her own body. He's seen the way her curse mark overtakes her body, controlling her like a puppet and taking over any conscious that she has left. It took time for him to agree to this, but when he was finally convinced, his heart was heavy and his mood fowl.

Finally, the screaming came to a halt, her shoulders slumping and her head dropped, hanging lifelessly from the neck that Sasuke loved to place tender kisses on. Tsunade kept her hand placed at the top of her student's head, willing her up with the palm of her hand until she notices that Sakura is out cold.

"Uchiha."

Sasuke's obsidian eyes pierce through the ominous glow of the room when he finally emerges from the shadows. Tsunade's warm honey eyes are sincere, her face soft as silk, "the sealing is over."

His strides are quick paced, due to the famous Uchiha speed that he posses and within seconds, he's at her side, plucking her from the stone ground and cradling her like a small child. Her head lies back, lifelessly. Her arms hanging loosely, along with the legs that Sasuke embraces at the soft of her knee. Her breaths are shallow, skin soaked in sweat, and her luscious lips chapped and broken from the amount of screaming and torture that her body underwent.

With one last nod, he made his way out of the sealing chamber and quickly up the corridor that the stairs resided in. Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he was down there, but then again, had he ever been in that room of Konoha?

It took him less than five minutes to deliver her safely to her apartment, the one that he had grown use to staying at with her.

The air inside was chilly, her scent lingering within. She still lie motionless in his arms, excluding the small rise and fall of her chest, but once he placed her gently on the mattress in her room, she made small groans accompanied by a small wriggle of the nose and finally a sharp exhale. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at her, his girl, his Sakura.

She was beautiful, the transformation that she had undergone within the last few months was amazing. Not only did her physical appearance change, but the heart that she possessed, and her attitude as a whole. She was no longer some weak girl that he needed to protect when they were younger. Instead, she was a blossoming bud, anew in the life that she had returned to in the village.

With Sakura by his side, he felt comfortable, pure bliss. He couldn't lose her, even if she tried to run away again; he would follow her to time's end.

It was now nine in the morning, the warm rays of sun peaking in through the curtains of her room, bathing Sakura's high cheek bones in glowing sunlight. Sasuke moved the curtains gently, denying the sun to ruin her slumber while her body fought to feel better, regain strength.

With her room dark and Sakura placed in the center of her bed, he pulled the sheets to her chest, followed by a thin blanket, and finally a small kiss to her forehead, then her cheek. He couldn't help but feel the desire to touch her run through his veins, so that's what he did. He ran the padding of his thumb carefully down her eyebrow, trailing the bone under her eye, and finally curving down the side of her face and landing on the taut jawline of her face.

She was beautiful, even when she slept, her pink lashes complimenting the cream of her skin.

"I'll be back," he promised lightly, pressing another small kiss to her forehead, before vanishing from his spot in her room.

A/N: If you liked this, there's more to come! ;)