Sum. Sasuke is a world renown fighter. He's trained by the very best, Kakashi Hatake. Sakura is an ordinary girl who studies medicine and physical therapy is her small job that gets food on the table. When Sasuke gets an arm completely shattered, Kakashi takes him to see a doctor. She meets him and helps him with his arm. Love. SakuraXSasuke

a/n: DUDES, 93 REVIEWS? THANKS! I LUV ALL U GUYS! Sorry about that, wow...93...i'm excited...oh, Sorry if it was a long wait. But here it is! Ch. 14! Anyway, i'm trying very very hard to write faster to so i can update sooner cuz theres nothing better to do than write...but i just can't write a short chapter...sometimes...but not for this story...sorry but i'm trying very hard! lol. I'll try even harder for the next chp. Thanks for baring with me so far u guys. I'm glad that your glad and...yeah. Enjoy!

FIGHTER'S STORY

CHAPTER 14: THE TRICK

"You ready to go SHOPPING!"

Sakura and Lee sighed for the billionth time. "Ino, we already told you a hundred times, yes we are ready!" whispered Sakura.

"Yeah, we have been ready for an hour. You have been changing nonstop for the last hour." added Lee with an exaggerated sigh.

Ino pouted her bottom lip, "A girl must always look her best when shopping!" she told them, "besides, I couldn't decide if blue or purple looked better…maybe pink would-"

Sakura and Lee quickly rushed her out the door. "LET'S GO!" they both yelled in unison.

Sakura sighed as Ino and Lee chit-chatted away. She took the straw in her strawberry milkshake and stirred it around.

"Sasuke…" she thought, "I wonder if he's okay…"

-flashback-

"So this is your mom? And dad?"

Sasuke gave a curt nod. "Back when they were alive." he whispered.

Sakura nodded. A smile graced her lips, "And this is you…" she laughed lightly, "Your so young…" she whispered.

She watched as Sasuke's finger traced the glass. His eyes furrowing as it ran across the cool glass.

"Itachi…" he whispered. Sakura noticed that he too was in the picture Sasuke held. "Back when he was my brother."

Sakura looked down at the picture. The young boy looked different the Itachi she…met. This one was smiling, his eyes big and with a happy gleam in his eye. His hair short, pulled back into a tiny ponytail at the nape of his neck.

He was nothing compared to the now older Itachi. Who's eyes gleamed with cold hardness. The happiness gone for what ever reason and his smiling only replaced with cold ones.

"I hate him…" whispered Sasuke, his finger pressing harder against the glass. "He almost hurt you…" he whispered lower, more harsh. His pressure on the glass finally caused the glass to crack. Cutting his index finger.

Sakura frowned, "He's hurt you too…" she thought with troubling eyes.

"Sakura!"

"Huh?" she asked suddenly snapping out of her thoughts.

Ino furrowed her brow, "I asked, are you going to have anything else to eat?" she asked.

Sakura smiled weakly, "Oh, no, thanks."

Ino smiled and stood up. "Okay, I'll be back." she trotted off the one of the food stands, leaving Sakura and Lee alone.

Sakura smiled at Lee, "So Lee, how are you?" she asked, "I haven't talked to you!"

Lee smiled, happy that he was talking to him. "Great Sakura! Thanks." he then frowned slightly, "How are you and Sasuke?" he asked.

Sakura caught the tense in his voice, "Fine." she told him, "It's been great, the ball he took me to was really elegant and extravagant."

Lee nodded, "I see." he answered simply.

"So…" Sakura tried to find something to talk about, "Um…Anything new…?" she asked.

He soon smiled again, "Actually yeah!" he smiled, "I finally got a mini training ring in my workout room!" he beamed.

Sakura smiled, "That's awesome Lee! I'm happy for you." she grabbed the straw in her hand and began to twirl again, "Sasuke has a mini ring too…" she thought.

Lee looked down. He was surprised on how Sakura wasn't like herself and Sakura noticed that too.

"Come on! Be happy, for them!" she thought, "You'll see Sasuke soon enough!" she let out a sigh, "I wouldn't be this worried if I hadn't seen him like that yesterday…" she thought again.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" asked Lee.

Sakura smiled weakly, "Nothing, Lee." she answered.

Lee furrowed his black eyebrows, "Uh-huh. Sakura, I know you, what's wrong?" he asked.

Sakura bite her bottom lip. She should have known Lee would have seen through her charade sooner or later. She just didn't want to bring any of them down, it was a day of fun with her friends.

She looked back up at him, "Let's walk." she told him.

He nodded and stood up.

Sakura and Lee walked around the park that was a couple of blocks down from the mall. There was silence between them from the mall all the way to the park. The wind blew Sakura's hair every where around her, Lee thought she looked heavenly, but knew he couldn't tell her.

Sakura glanced over at Lee who in turn quickly looked away. He tried to the hide the blush that tainted his cheeks.

"I shouldn't be checking out my best friend!" he thought, "But…" he frowned knowing exactly where their friendship was and not going to be.

Sakura mentally sighed, "Why couldn't he be a cousin? Or a brother?" she thought. "But that's not what we came here for."

Lee broke the silence, "So, tell me. What's wrong."

Sakura sighed and shoved her hands in her pockets, attempting to warm them up in the fall breezy day. Her eyes scanned the trees that had turned from green to orange or brown.

"You see, it's about Sasuke." she started, "I'm worried about him."

Lee nodded, "Why? Is he a masochistic?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

Sakura set her eyebrows in a firm line, her mouth in a small frown, "Please Lee, don't joke." she whispered.

Lee coughed to cover up his mistake, "Go on." he told her.

Sakura told him about her going to his house, her mistaking it was him, to him hitting on her, to Sasuke getting anger and kicking his brother out, then to what Sasuke told her about his family.

"I'm worried that Sasuke's brother will come back and hurt him! I mean, I know he's strong…" Sakura sighed, "I just don't know! I want to comfort him more! Do something!"

Lee nodded, "Sounds like you love him." he whispered. He mentally cringed at the words he spoke.

Sakura looked at Lee, coming to a complete stop in her walking.

"Love?" she thought. She knew she did but hearing it made her realize how much her feelings were for Sasuke, the depth of it.

Lee turned and stood in front of her. "Have you told him that you love him?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head, "No…I've wanted to, but…" she frowned, "I don't know…what if…he's not ready or he laughs…"

Sakura sat on the small fountain that was in the middle of the park. The sounds of the water falling was soothing and made her feel more comfortable.

"Sasuke wouldn't do that." she thought.

Lee took his seat next to her, "I think, coming from a males point of view of course, that Sasuke wants to think about it for a bit. He's probably embarrassed about the way he couldn't protect you and if he came any later, he would have had his way with you. I think he's angry because his older brother is giving you a bad thought about his family and perhaps even him…Right now, I think you should just be with him, tell him how much you care, and tell him you love him."

Sakura nodded. Lee was right and she felt relaxed more. "How do you think you felt when your sister came to the ball?" he asked.

Sakura sighed, "Yeah…" her eyes went wide, "Wait, how'd you-"

"Ino." he answered.

Sakura nodded, feeling slightly guilty that she wasn't the one who told him. In fact this was the first time in a long time that she stopped and talked to Lee. He was the one who gave her advice when her mother dead. He was the one who protected her from the childhood bullies, including her sister. He was the one who introduced her and Ino. He was the one who informed her about the clinic. He was there when her parents shot down her dream of being an ice skater. He was the one who was always by her side, through thick and thin. Best friends.

Sakura could feel the tears sting the corners of her eyes. "What kind of friend am I?" she whispered.

Lee raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?" he asked. "A good one Sakura." he answered truthfully.

Sakura looked at Lee, "Lee, I'm a horrible friend!" she whispered, her voice breaking a bit. "You were always there, as my best friend and now I've pushed you aside! You have to learn what's going on with me through someone else! I'm sorry!"

She buried her face in the palms of her hands. Her previous problem was over, but now she realized a new one.

"How can you stand it?" she asked. "How can you still be my friend?"

Lee furrowed his brow, "I'm not letting one thing, one guy you truly love, ruin years worth of friendship Sakura."

He pulled her near him into a friendly but possessive hug. She buried her face in his chest.

"Why?" she asked, "I don't understand you Lee. Why aren't you mad? Even just a little?"

Lee stroked her pink hair. "Because, it's very simple Sakura." he whispered.

Sakura took a breathe, calming her down. "Please, please don't say that Lee." she thought already knowing what he was going to say next.

"I love you Sakura."

Sakura tensed in his hold. She closed her eyes, "No…Lee." she thought. "I love you too…but not that way…"

He let go of her as soon as she tensed in his hug. She stood up and shook her head. She looked back at Lee.

"Lee…" She closed her eyes. She always knew he loved her, but hearing it this way was hard. "I…" she frowned. She didn't want to hurt Lee.

Lee smiled, "I know Sakura. I know you won't return my feelings, not know and maybe not ever."

Sakura watched him carefully.

"But, I still do love you. " his smile weakened, "You're my friend and I want you to be as happy as possible, even if it's not with me. But I can't hate you for finding the man you truly love, I'll get over it. Realize I can and will never hurt you, hate you, or ignore you Sakura." He stood up and walked over to the tearful Sakura again.

He embraced her and she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you Lee. Really. I love you too…as a brother I never had and as my best friend…"

"Your not hurting me or getting ride of me when you go with him. I know he'll take good care of you. I'll always be by your side as a friend. Go…go and tell him you love him. He needs it." He whispered to her.

Sakura nodded with a smile, "Thank you Lee. Thank you for understanding." she whispered back.

"Anytime Sakura." he added. "Anytime."

Both Sakura and Lee were oblivious to the pair of red eyes watching them. She smiled.

"I got you little sister…" she chuckled as she tucked the camera away. "Time to put my plan into action." she whispered.

She drove away. Unseen by Sakura and Lee.

Ino smiled as she walked back to the table with more than she said she would get.

"Sorry I took so long! There was this huge line you wouldn't believe-"

She stopped talking and looked at the empty chairs in front of her. She looked around the food court and found no hint of pink or black. The blonde hair girl pouted her bottom lip.

"grr…YOU GUYS! YOU WHERE'D YOU GUYS GO!" she yelled.

People stared at her and quickly walked faster. Ino sighed.

"Jerks…" she mumbled, "Fine, I'll just eat all these by myself."

"Okay, listen carefully."

Itachi stared at Shadow. "Listening." he told her.

She rolled her eyes and continued, "I got these." she threw a white envelope on the table in front of him. The seal on the back was closed and some square objects were protruding from it.

Itachi leaned forward and pulled the envelope for the table. He stuck his hand inside it and rummaged it, pulling out several pictures.

"Pictures?" he asked with disgust. "How the hell is this suppose to work?" he asked.

Shadow scoffed, "Dumb ass, it's what's on the pictures." she pointed out.

He glared at her that send a chill down her spine. She hide it well, and he didn't seem to notice.

A smirk formed on his face. "Now where getting somewhere."

"You show these to Sasuke, he'll break up with little miss Sakura. You can get your money, perhaps even more than usual for this proof of betrayal." Her face turned rigid as he turned to face him, "But, you must convince him that these are real."

He nodded. "Right. It was a pleasure Shadow."

She smirked, "Likewise Itachi."

She turned but before she reached the door he spoke again.

"May we see each other in hell."

Shadow glared at him, her red eyes not even wiping the smug smirk on his calculating cold face.

Sakura apologized to Ino, "I said I was sorry! But I really need to bail today!"

"What do you mean!" cried Ino angrily.

"I'm worried about Sasuke, I'm sorry. I'll make it up some other day! Bye." with that she closed her cell phone.

Ino was going to complain to her for the next week she knew it. But something had to be done. She couldn't relax completely until she knew Sasuke was relaxed.

She noticed she was only a couple of minutes away from the house. "Almost there." she whispered with happiness.

"Master Sasuke, a visitor."

Sasuke gave a curt nod to the butler. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think it's Sakura?" he asked.

Sasuke shook his head, "No, she's hanging out with her friends today." he mumbled.

Kakashi nodded. "Oh. Wonder who it is."

Sasuke tensed up, "I'll give you one guess." he growled.

Before Kakashi could say anything, Itachi walked in. A smug look on planted on his face.

"What do you want Itachi?" asked Sasuke.

"Now brother, why can't I just be here to tell you something?" he asked.

Sasuke just glared at him, "What do you want then?" he sneered.

Itachi's face slid into a stern look. He pulled an envelope from his pocket and threw it in front of Sasuke and Kakashi. Much like Shadow did to him.

"What's this?" asked Kakashi.

"Look inside of it." added Itachi with a smirk.

Sasuke glared at him but did as he was told. He grabbed the pictures and his eyes went wide. The pictures had Sakura on it, but not by herself. With another. The guy Sakura had told Sasuke was named Lee.

His grip tightened around the corners of the pictures. The first picture had Sakura and Lee cuddling by the fountain at the park, another had them hugging each other, so on and so forth. The one that really got Sasuke angry was the picture of her and Lee kissing. He stood up and threw them on the table in rage.

He glared at his older brother and grabbed his collar.

"What the hell are you pulling Itachi?" he asked.

Itachi smirked and pulled Sasuke's offending hand off of his shirt. "I'm not pulling anything Sasuke." he looked at him, "I caught your 'girlfriend' two timing you! You should be grateful I did this for you!"

Sasuke clutched his fists angrily. "Sakura…she…she would never do that!" yelled Sasuke, his back towards Itachi.

"How do you know?" he asked, "A two timer doesn't just tell you she is what she is! She played you for a sap Sasuke, look at the pictures!" Itachi smirked, "A picture is worth a thousand words…"

Kakashi noticed Sasuke tense up. He looked back at Itachi who raised an eyebrow.

"I don't just make up things like this you know. I do have standards whether you believe it or not." he muttered.

"Get out of here Itachi." warned Kakashi. "You have worn out your welcome."

Itachi growled, "Hey! I just did you a favor by telling you about that damn wench, don't I get a reward? Or does this news mean nothing to you Sasuke?" he asked.

Sasuke tensed up. "Leave!" he ordered.

Itachi furrowed his brow. "I see…" he muttered but walked out.

"Sasuke, you don't possibly believe him do you?" asked Kakashi in a low voice.

Sasuke didn't answer, he kept his head down and eyes shut.

"I guess that Shadow isn't as smart as I thought…" whispered Itachi. "I'll have to resort to something else." he muttered.

Sakura froze as she watched Itachi's eyes flicker on to her than with a smirk that made her grimace he walked away . Sakura sighed, he was back again? She needed to get to Sasuke fast! He must be so angry now!

Sakura quickened her pace into the room that she heard talking in. She noticed Kakashi and Sasuke were in there.

Sakura stepped in and Kakashi stopped immediately. He looked up at Sakura with hurtful sensation in his only visible eye. Sakura cringed. She thought it was directed at her…was it?

She spoke up, "Sasuke…? You alright?" she called out.

She noticed how Sasuke flinched as she called him. She walked over to him faster, more worried than before.

"Sasuke! What did he do to you!" she whispered with more concern than before.

She placed her hands on his shoulders but he quickly shrugged her off. Sakura frowned and put her hands back on him.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" she asked.

He repeated the action again. Sakura furrowed her brow.

"Don't touch me…" he whispered huskily.

Sakura looked at Kakashi who looked away than back to Sasuke.

"What's wrong?" she asked, "D-did I do something?" she asked.

"What's wrong is you." he whispered.

Sakura flinched, "What?" she asked slowly.

"Sakura…we…we know about your affair." whispered Kakashi still not looking at her.

Sakura gawked, "Affair? What on earth are you talking about?" she asked.

Sasuke spun to face her. She backed away a bit. The look in his eye was different, it was like Itachi's. Cold, but it had hurt in it too. Sasuke grabbed the envelope and practically threw it at her. Sakura stumbled but she caught it. She glanced at the two of them but pulled out the pictures instead.

She gasped lightly. It was her and Lee, from the park. She knew that that looked pretty wrong if you watched from away, but nobody knew the story! It was nothing but an innocent reminder of being friends! She nearly crumbled the picture of Lee and her kissing. They had never done that, it was obviously forged. She stared at the picture, it looked familiar but couldn't tell how.

She looked up at them, "You think I did this?" she asked shocked that they would believe some one else without so much as asking her.

She threw the pictures on the ground, "You think I would betray you Sasuke!" she asked.

She bite her bottom lip refusing to cry. She drew in a sharp breath, "You don't even know what happened! You don't know the story!" she gritted. Trying to let her voice not break.

"I don't need to know the story to know you two timed me!" gritted Sasuke.

Sakura sighed, "I didn't two time you Sasuke! I would never so much as think about doing that to you!" she whispered.

"Save it for someone who cares Sakura. Were through here. Go tell someone else your damned lies." he whispered.

Sakura's eyes grew wide. She took a couple of paces forward to Sasuke. Raising her hand she smacked him on the face, hard. The sound echoed through the grand room and Sasuke's face was shocked. Sakura knew the tears were rolling down her face now.

"How dare you…" she whispered.

She winced at the pain that lurched in her chest. She glanced over at Kakashi and then Sasuke. She lowered her eyes and turned without another word. She quickened her pace from walking to speed walking then jog to a full on sprint. She felt the sting of the Autumn air on her warm flesh as she ran down the road and avoided her car.

She didn't know where she was heading but she felt she needed to get some air in. Something to cool her down and let her think things through. The tears hadn't stopped and occasionally she had to wipe them away with her sleeve. She held the loud sobs that were building up in and didn't dare stop for fear that the feeling would catch up with her.

Sakura shook her head, clearing her vision. She finally stopped and rested her hand on a wall, letting her breath return. She clutched the wall angrily.

"Stupid…" she whispered. She sighed, "Can't he see I love him?" Sakura's emerald eyes stared at her red hand. She shook her head slowly.

"What…what did I do?" she questioned sadly. "I went overboard…"

"I don't know, I think you did the right thing."

Sakura tensed up. The feeling she had was very déjà vu. Her mind told her to run, to just go and not bother to look behind her. But her legs felt weird and she still couldn't breathe right. She turned and her eyes went wide.

"I-Itachi…" she whispered.

"I'm flattered you remember my name…" his face slide into a serious cold face.

Sakura took a deep breathe and backed away when he took a step closer. Sakura shook her head when he offered her his hand and she turned on her heel and ran. In doing so, she tripped over her self and fell. Itachi wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up while covering her mouth with his free hand.

"Shh…we wouldn't want any accidents to happen, do we?" he whispered in a low monotone.

Sakura closed her eyes in defeat.

"Agh!"

Sasuke punched the wall. A small hole appeared on the white wall when he removed his fist. Sasuke didn't bother checking the small cut on his knuckles from the sudden action.

"You still don't believe her?" questioned Kakashi.

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, "Did you not see the pictures? What else is there to believe?" he asked.

Kakashi picked up the pictures again. "Don't you know Sakura enough by now?" he asked flipping through the pictures.

Something caught his eye as he analyzed everyone of the pictures. Sasuke ignored him and sat down on the couch. Burying his face in his hands.

"Damn…" he muttered under his breathe.

Kakashi threw the photos down. "Sasuke, open your eyes! Tell me what's wrong with those pictures?"

Sasuke withdrew his head and looked at Kakashi, "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "I don't want to see those again!"

Kakashi stared at him, his visible eye burning him on the spot. "Look at the pictures carefully." he whispered.

Sasuke sighed and snatched the pictures from the table. He this time analyzed them while serpressing his anger as he looked at each one of them. Slowly, his eyes lost the angered look as his eyes widened as he realized what Kakashi was talking about.

"Damn…" he whispered, "I…Sakura…" He stood up, "I need to talk to her…" he muttered.

He quickly put the pictures down and began to walk out when the phone stopped him from moving on. With a raised eyebrow towards Kakashi, Sasuke answered the phone.

"Hello?" he answered.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed. His mouth was set in a firm line as the grip on the phone tightened.

"Oh, and what's that Itachi?" he asked sarcastically, "I doubt you have anything I would want-"

His voice lost it's sarcasm and his face resumed the hostile look.

"Itachi, if you do anything to her I swear I'll-Itachi? Itachi!" Sasuke glared at the phone and threw it on the ground. "Damn it!" he yelled.

He stood over the broken remains of the phone. Kakashi stared at him, waiting for a response. He slowly looked up to meet his gaze.

"He…he has Sakura." he whispered.

Kakashi slowly nodded, "There's no time to waste, we already know what he wants."

Sasuke nodded and watched Kakashi walk out. Sasuke looked back at the phone on the ground.

"Way to go Sasuke…" he whispered to himself.

a/n: R&R! So how was it? Was it too much like when she got kidnapped by Gato? Cuz i just wanted the deja vu feeling but that's about it...And yes i know! i hate when they fight! But...it's all part of my master plan! Trust me they'll get back together or i'd probably hate myself for spliting them up...i kinda wanted to add a little of how much Lee cares for Sakura and stuff...she can't only like him so much even though he can like her much more...anyway, who do you guys/fans think Sasuke should fight for his next round? (not naruto, i have different plans for him...) Anyway pleaz if you can tell me in your review. Until later!