Chapter 26

If anyone can recommend any good SasuSaku or ItaSaku stories, please leave them in a review. I feel as though I have read so many and I can't find anymore to read. So please leave recommendations in a review.

Thank you to Sakura-Haruno-Uchiha 10 for being a great beta.

I do not own Naruto. All characters belong to Kishimoto-sensei.

"There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness."-Josh Billings

"Soooo…how long do you plan on locking me up and keeping me prisoner?" Sakura asked scathingly. It was midday, one of the few times she was allowed out of her prison cell. So maybe it was a well-furnished room, but who cares? They were still locking her up.

Sasuke had not come up to her 'prison cell' after she had told him that she would never heal him, two nights ago. She had seen him from her window, leaving the inn. What was he doing? He had been leaving frequently.

But he was here now.

She had not seen Suigetsu until now either. Jugo had escorted her downstairs by orders of Sasuke. Kind of pointless since he had not said a single word to her.

Winter was harsh this year. The ground was still decorated with snow, the trees sparse, but Sakura loved it. The snow covered the stains on the world, for it was tainted by war, blood, courtesy of the selfish, power hungry nature of human beings. The world's history would forever be poisoned by it.

The snow covered it all. It may still be there, underneath the pristine white cover, but it was not in sight and this was a relief for world wearied eyes.

Sasuke was training and ignored her. She grit her teeth. Nobody could comprehend how much she wanted to punch him right on his pretty face. But she had already tried and it had not ended well for her. Her face heated up when she thought about what had happened.

It did not help that she was mad at herself. The reason for this was that she had shows weakness in front of Sasuke. Something she never wanted to do. She had fainted, damn it! It was not exactly her fault, but still?! She should have realised that she had been injected by a sleeping concoction.

What a pathetic excuse for a Shinobi I am. She thought, bitterly. But she would fix this? After all, nothing was perfect, so she could fix it!

In the midst of her epiphany, she had completely missed what Karin had said.

"What?" said Sakura, sounding vaguely similar to a very confused Naruto. She instantly shook that thought out of her head. It was no good thinking about stuff like that.

Karin huffed, annoyed. "I said that you're stupid!"

"And why is that? Do tell." Sakura glared but coaxed Karin into explaining. What was the she talking about?

"Sasuke-kun never said that you couldn't walk around the inn. He only told you to not escape." Karin said, as if it was the most obvious thing and Sakura was a brainless idiot for not knowing.

That made no sense. Sakura had checked. There were chakra barriers around her room.

"If that is true, why are there chakra barriers around my room?" She questioned.

Sasuke stopped training with Suigetsu.

"What are you talking about? There are no chakra barriers around your room!" Stated Karin, sounding sure of herself.

"Yes, there are!" Sakura insisted.

"Well, Sasuke-kun didn't put them around your room. So, pray tell, who did?" Karin asked, sarcastically.

"I did." A voice said. Sakura rolled her eyes. Of course, who else?

She turned around to look at Madara, who had materialised beside Sasuke.

Sasuke had not even flinched at the sudden intrusion from an unwanted, at least in Sakura's case, guest. She glared at Madara. His one visible eye looked back at her, mockingly.

"I told you to keep your hands off of her." Sasuke said calmly, but with the sharpness of a deadly, poison embedded kunai.

"Indeed you did! But, you see, I was just afraid that the little blossom would escape. After all, she is intelligent just like Yuuki-chan!" His voice had reverted back to the immature, puerile tones of Tobi.

Yuuki? Sakura had not given a thought to her mentor, or the person who used to be her mentor.

Where was she now? Was she okay? Even though Yuuki had betrayed her, led her astray, she had still opened the path of strength to Sakura, the path of acknowledgment.

And Sakura knew that there must have been a reason for what Yuuki had done. That was she had believed before. Now, she was not so sure. Was Yuuki really as deceitful and immoral as Madara?

"She will not escape. I have made sure." Sasuke continued, unperturbed by Madara's explanation.

"Like hell you have!" Burst out Sakura. She could not take it anymore. Did that asshole really think he could dampen her burning desire to escape, that he could make her submissive?

Sasuke flashed a warning glare at her. Sakura stilled. She recognised that glare from when they were younger, when they were still a team…before team 7 was cursed to fall apart and walk the path of isolation. But they had always been cursed.

This was a glare that was telling her that he would handle it. That she could rely on him. How she knew this, she did not know. Sasuke may have not even meant to convey that message through the simple action, but he unconsciously had.

Could she rely on him?

No way!


Madara watched, amused by the pink haired beauty's antics and Sasuke's stoic nature. She really was beautiful, exotic. He was beginning to use Kabuto's words now. It truly was a shame that she would most definitely be killed in his plots for casting eternal Tsukuyomi.

Madara knew that the jejune voice of Tobi grated against Sasuke's nerves.

"See, see! I told you she was a spitfire!" Madara continued to use the façade of Tobi's voice.


Sasuke could feel Madara's amused eyes on him as he watched Sakura. If Madara should dare to touch her…

He would deal with that if it came to it.

Fortunately, she quieted when he narrowed his eyes. Good, she recognised the warning.

He turned to face Madara who, true to his earlier intuition, was watching him mockingly. He knew why.

Madara did not think that he could handle Sakura. "I can keep her under control. Your barriers are of no use."

"I was merely making sure." Madara's voice reverted back to his deep, nerve-wracking voice.

"Are you sure that old bonds will not…reignite?" He asked, his voice relaying how entertained he was by the happenings. But there was also a warning hidden beneath the, otherwise, normal question.

"Do not assume that anything like that will happen." Sasuke said astringently.

"Keep your end of the bargain Sasuke." The barely there threat had no effect on Sasuke.

"And yours? Kabuto was not part of the plan."


What the…? How did Sasuke know that Kabuto and Madara were collaborating?

She looked at Suigetsu, whose face mirrored her own. They were both confused.

He must have seen through her lies about the scrolls Suigetsu had showed her. He must have figured it out for himself. Sakura almost laughed, it was to be expected of Sasuke. He had always been able to see through her, even when they were younger.

And she hated him for that. It was what gave him the edge…amongst other things. He could read her as if she was an open book, he could manipulate her because he knew how her mind worked.

Had she not changed over the years? He should not be able to read her anymore.

Physically she may have changed, but mentally…she could not say the same.

He was so annoying!

She almost smiled. Ironic, since he always used to call her annoying. But he was!

She was pulled out of her internal breakdown by Madara speaking. "You weren't exactly supposed to find out about that." Madara had not said this in his Tobi, façade, voice. Instead he said it in his normal, deep voice. It made it all the more unsettling.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes further than they already were, effectively creating a death glare. If Madara was not a very powerful man bent on dominating the world, he would probably be sprawled on the floor, with several kunai protruding from his chest. Sakura amused herself with this rather pleasant image for a while.

"Well, Kabuto is a good asset. Do you not want to destroy Konoha?" Madara coaxed Sasuke, dangling the one thing he knew would sway Sasuke right in front of his face.

Sasuke remained quiet. "…yours and Kabuto's visions are not mine. I will achieve my goals by myself."

Everyone stared after this declaration. Sasuke was not going to work with Madara anymore?

"And what makes you think I'll let you?" Madara questioned.

"You need to get the Kyuubi to accomplish what you want…" Sakura looked up, more aware than she was before and listening intently, "I want to achieve my goals myself, that is all."

To most people that would seem like a rather ambiguous answer. But Sasuke was an ambiguous person so it was fitting.

Sakura could recognise the hidden message in his words. He wanted to destroy Konoha, he would do it by himself. He did not require anybody's help. His and Madara's plans did not necessarily coincide, but they were not conflicting either.

They would not get in the way of one another and they could still achieve what they wanted. Simple.

…But simple in an Uchiha's mind was never simple.

Like hell Sakura would live under Tsukuyomi.

To prevent it from happening, she knew she had to get to Naruto first.


The temptation was great. Nobody was around, nobody would see. She would have an ample head start.

In reality, it was completely different. Sasuke would know instantly if she left. She knew that he would be able to find her in an instant if she attempted to escape.

It was with great frustration that Sakura turned away from the, at the moment, very inviting, dark forest in front of the inn.

How was she supposed to get to Naruto if she could not even get a mile away from Sasuke?

Who said that saving the world from an evil, over one hundred year old, masochist was easy? She blew out a severely annoyed and loud breath.

Madara had left after Sasuke stated that they would no longer be working together. They were not really working together in the first place because they were both Uchiha's and Uchiha's were deceitful traitors who could never be content unless they were alone, with no bonds linking them to anything.

She may have left Konoha, but she had been shunned even when she had been loyal. Sasuke had, even after everything, been accepted by Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 11.

Deep down inside, Sakura was slightly jealous. They had shunned her even when she was loyal yet they continued to run after Sasuke who had left them without any encouragement. It was childish, yes, but it was only slight and she instantly trampled over that part of her to bury it deep into the recesses of her heart.

There were more important things to think about. Like how she was supposed to escape and get to Konoha?

There was nothing she could really do other than wait for an opportune time.

With that in mind, she decided to train. After all, there was nothing worse than getting rusty.


Unknown

Nimble hands fumbled with the thick rope, trying to do undo the complicated knot that had somehow formed during the raging wind storm.

Tsunade was in a coma, at the most inopportune time. Danzou had been made sixth Hokage. It was no longer an option to remain in Konoha. Danzou had the village underneath strict social limits and had created some sort of a 'lockdown'. Nobody could get in or out unless on official missions. He had ensured all of this before leaving for the Kage Summit.

She pulled a scroll out of a pocket, hidden amongst the numerous layers she donned. Sakura had given this scroll to Hinata Hyuuga when they had met at a battle with Orochimaru, and had asked Hinata to give it the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

Lay off of me! I have not done a thing against Konoha since I left. Leave me be!

Tsunade and her herself had laughed over it for a while. It was so Sakura.

This was not time to be sentimental.

The only option now was to follow the blonde and his team to the Land of Iron. The reason for Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato going there was obvious, to convince A, the Raikage, to forgive Sasuke for his misdeeds.

It would not work. Definitely not. But it would give her an inkling of what was going on at the Kage Summit and it would also take her to the person Tsunade, and herself, had placed their hopes in.

Sakura.


Weak extra baggage troublesome annoying…

This was the trick to the Potency Jutsu. To think of every bad thought, every bad memory she had ever had.

Weak useless shameful annoying…

She was not sure how it worked, but thinking this somehow made her Chakra potent and malignant. It must be some sort of a hormone being released in great quantities and it affected her chakra.

But if it was a hormone, why had she never seen any other person use this Jutsu. Maybe, only she could do it.

Weak weak weak annoying annoying annoying…

Black chakra flared to life around her hands. She smiled. Even after all this time, she could still do the jutsu.

Her smile faded. So that was how powerful memories were.

"Ow!"

Sakura stared at her hand, which was now decorated with a large burn. She watched, horrified, by the copious amounts of black chakra leaking from her hands.

She could not control it.

Her hands continued to sizzle underneath the crawling black chakra. It was like…like it was something alive.

And then it erupted around her.

She stared, partly in shock, partly in horror, and partly in awe. Was this what darkness could give you?

It resembled flames, flaring to life in the way that they had.

She could feel the awe leaving her, replaced by shock and trepidation.

She tried to get rid of the thoughts that her given this power. This dangerously seductive power.

No! She shook her head. Don't let it control you!

She tried but the thoughts were whirring in her head. She could no longer tell the difference between each memory.

"Amaterasu!"


"What the hell is that?" Suigetsu yelled. Sasuke had been planning their next move, when every member of Team Taka had felt dark chakra explode around them. They could not see it, but they could feel it's malicious intent even where they were.

Jūgo and Suigetsu ran to the window and shock immediately made itself known on their faces.

"It's Sakura!" Suigetsu yelled, he spun around, ran to the door and flung it open before realising that something was missing.

Sasuke was already gone.


Sakura watched in something akin to relief as the black flames of Amaterasu 'ate' her black chakra as if it was feasting.

But…there was another part of her. A part of her that wanted the flames to come back, to give her the power they once had. Disgusted with herself, she dampened those deep, dark desires and watched as the last of the black chakra disappeared until only Amaterasu remained.

Even now, after everything, Sasuke could still beat her. He could still defeat her most powerful jutsu.

She turned to look at him as he retracted the black flames. She blinked and he was in front of her.

He grasped one of her hands and she almost shivered. What the…?

It was only then she realised that he was studying the terrible burn marks decorating her hands. He paused in his study and looked at her.

His face was as stoic as always, that had not changed. But his eyes had. In them, was something akin to slight shock. Of course, it was barely visible but it was there.

Sakura had never, not even in the past, been able to read Sasuke, at least not very often. But one thing she had registered and tucked away in her mind was that his eyes were his most expressive feature.

Of course, it was very rare that there was any emotion present in them, but when it was she had been able to see it.

"What was that?" For Sasuke to even ask a question was a once in a blue moon occurrence. But here he was, asking a question.

It made her feel somewhat smug that he did not know everything about her because he always seemed to.

"Sakura!" The rather tense moment broke and she looked to the side to see Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin towards them.

It had been Suigetsu who had yelled her name. She smiled shakily, trying to look as confident as possible. She wanted to look as though she had known what she was doing, that she had intended for the black chakra to thunder around her in the way it had. She did not want to admit that she had lost control, that she was unable to master her own jutsu.

"What the hell was that?" He skidded to a stop in front of her. He looked at her, eagerly awaiting an answer.

That was before he noticed her hands, which were enclosed by Sasuke's hands.

She tried pulling her hands out of Sasuke's but he did not allow her. Instead, he gripped them tighter. She looked at him, partly annoyed and partly mystified.

He was looking at Suigetsu in a way that made her feel slightly vulnerable. Suigetsu seemed to notice this because he said, "I was just asking." He laughed, but Sakura could hear the awkwardness in it.

She took pity on him. Hell, she would take pity on anyone who had to suffer Sasuke's glare, she was talking from experience.

Karin was furious, to say the least. But even the devoted fan girl sensed that now was not a time to test Sasuke. This was the only good thing that Sakura could think of right now.

"We should go and finish the planning stage." Jūgo said, tactfully trying to give a hint to Karin and Suigetsu that the three of them should leave.

Unfortunately, in Sakura's eyes, it worked.


Sasuke had, practically, dragged her protesting ass upstairs.

"I can heal myself!" She said indignantly. She would not mention that she had still not recovered from her fever, which had passed yesterday night.

"Your chakra has not replenished yet."

Damn it.

"Well…I can still take care of myself."

Oh God. Even she knew how pathetic that sounded. She wanted to face palm, so much for appearing confident.

Sasuke smirked at her, sensing her discomfort. She shot back an annoyed glare which only served to further amuse him.

At this point, Sakura was seriously wondering why Sasuke was acting so weird today. He was amused by her antics? He was the most contradicting person who had ever existed on the face of this Earth.

He sat down in front of her and she looked at the tube he had. He squeezed some of the cream out; it was a mint green colour which was fitting as it was a healing product.

He grasped her fingers and began smearing the product all over the affected skin. She tried to sit still whilst he did this but it was difficult not to fidget.

The cream was cool and she almost groaned as it gave relief to her impaired hands. Sasuke did not look up at her rather embarrassing sigh, something she was grateful for.

To cover up her moment of weakness she decided to talk, "If you have advanced medical products like this, why are you keeping me here?"


She sounded rather confused. He could not decide if it was annoying or endearing.

"Shinobi sustain major injuries occasionally. You should know this." He stated it matter-of-factly and he knew that it made her feel stupid.

"But, of course, you are Sasuke Uchiha and, ya know, since you are all macho and strong, you don't have to worry about that now, do you?" She said most of it sarcastically.

He had noticed it, that Sakura seemed to have crafted her tongue into an offensive weapon.

He merely cocked an eyebrow and changed his hand motions from smearing the product, to rubbing the product in.

He smirked, and felt rather smug, when he heard Sakura's quiet, sharp intake of breath.


The cream had given her relief. Now, she felt as though her hands were flaming hot. Hell, she felt as though her entire body was on fire.

Was he purposefully doing that? Rubbing it in so slowly and seductively?

Forget that, she was silently hyperventilating. Finally, she exploded.

"Stop it!" Her breathing was harsh.

He did not stop, and continued the slow motions which were the source of her distress.

"Stop what, Sakura?" He lazily smirked at her; he was beginning to piss her off and he knew it.

"Quit it!" She tried pulling her hands out of his but his grip was hard and he tugged her forward.

He leaned forward until he was barely a hair's breadth from her face and said, "If I was Suigetsu, would you be saying the same thing?"

His smirk had faded by now and he had reverted from the almost-teasing tone to his normal monotone.

"What?" Sakura was now thoroughly confounded.

Sasuke did not repeat himself. He continued the motions even though the cream had long been absorbed by her skin. He did not seem to be focusing on that though. His motions were harder, more violent, and her hands were beginning to feel the effects. The burns had not yet completely healed and were still delicate. It did not help that her bones were grating against one another because of Sasuke's painful ministrations.

"You're hurting me, stop!"

And he did.

Cool, large hands remained on hers but he had stopped the rubbing motions so suddenly, that it was almost as if she had just said that Itachi and his entire clan were alive and it was all a really bad dream.

She watched all this with astonishment.

He stood, his body tense and almost knocked the chair he was sitting on over.

"You can do the rest yourself."

Sakura did not even flinch when the door slammed. Instead, she continued to stare in stupefaction.

He stopped.


"Tenten, what do you mean that there is no point? Of course there is. If the flames of youth continue to burn then there is always a reason." Rock Lee stated, fire burning passionately in his eyes as he took on his signature thumbs-up pose.

Tenten smiled slightly. At least she could always rely on one thing to be the same when everything around them was falling apart.

"There is no point though!" She continued her insistent argument. The ever imminent war was making her feel like a brat, and she was disgusted with herself.

She almost felt as though she had become compliant, was allowing the enemy to throw everything at them and not showing any resistance.

What had happened?

Tenten and Lee had been exiting the Hokage tower when they had heard bells.

The bells on the roof of the Hokage tower only ever rung when there was a village funeral. The last time they had rung was when the Third Hokage had died, during Orochimaru's invasion, and many others had fallen trying to protect the beloved village they were so fiercely loyal to.

So, when they rung at a completely random time, such as this, it was not exactly an absurd idea to go and see what was going on. In fact, it seemed like a very good idea at the time.

Flashback

A woman, donning a black cloak, was pulling at a rope, the rope which just happened to ring the bells.

At this point, there was no choice but to investigate. So, they did.

The woman turned around when she sensed them.

Tenten stood stock still when she saw her face. She had barely even taken in the woman's features when she had felt her entire body tense up.

The woman looked so astoundingly familiar that it took all of Tenten's breath away. The most confounding thing, however, was that she could not even recall who this mysterious woman was.

But she had felt in deep in her core, in her heart. Her entire being recognised this woman.

Shinobi flooded on to the wide expanse of roof before she could even comprehend what was happening. All the Shinobi had curious looks on their faces as they talked amongst one another, why had they been summoned?

Confusion everywhere

When Tenten finally could see past everyone, disappointment and a sense of abandonment filled her.

The woman was gone.

End

Even now, Tenten could not remember anyone in her past that looked like this woman. It did not exactly help that she could remember nothing from her past.

It was a little known fact, but Tenten was an orphan who, according to the carers at the orphanage, had been left their by a few passing Shinobi who had come across her in the chilly environment of the Yukigakure, the Village Hidden in the Snow.

She did not know a single concrete thing about herself other than this.

She was shaken out of her reverie by Lee's continuous raving about the power of youth.

He had proposed that they go after the woman and attempt to track her. She had said it was pointless after they had consulted Neji.

"Lee! I said that it's pointless!" The confusion she was experiencing mixed with the painful reminders of her past were beginning to make her temper roil.

"Then give up. Walk away." Said a voice from the sidelines. She turned to look at Neji.

"I agree, that now there is not much hope of tracking this woman you are talking about." He continued, "But you are talking about more than just one thing being pointless."

Those Hyuuga eyes really could see everything.

She bowed her head, slightly ashamed of her actions. Neji was completely right.


Unknown

Fools. Konoha's security under Tsunade had been tighter and the protection around the village more rigorous. Under Danzou's regime, the Shinobi had turned into a crowd of lost sheep.

Her simple plan had worked. Ringing the bells had effectively created a distraction and had drawn the Shinobi guarding the outskirts of the village back inside the village.

This gave her a getaway route.

The west wall had been completely unguarded. Fools, she thought over and over.

The west was the best place to head to get to the Land of Iron.

And to Sakura.


It seemed that her hands really were destructive. Sakura flexed her fingers.

She had been meditating in a field, not far from the inn they had moved to.

Her jutsu earlier, that she had lost control of, had caused a lot of damage to an area in that village. Sakura had practically begged Sasuke to pay the expenses. Yes, she had been reduced to begging.

But she was not just going to leave that poor innkeeper to pay for the damages that had been inflicted upon his cosy inn. It went completely against her morals.

Sasuke, after a rather exasperated look, had paid.

Then, they had travelled to a small town, west of the village they had previously stayed in. It was nice place, and had a nice atmosphere.

Even though it was thought to be small town, it was actually a rather big village. When they had arrived, an evening festival had been going on and the villagers were enjoying themselves buying Takoyaki and such, the smell had her drooling.

It was such a simple thing but so beautiful to watch. It was comforting to watch other people go about their daily lives and know that they did not have the messed up life she had.

This bought her back to her current problem. Why was she not able to control her jutsu? It was a rather pressing issue and was beginning to bug her. There was no reason she should not be able to.

Unless…unless she craved the tenebrous power it gave her. But she did not want that. Not at all!

Do you? A licentious voice whispered in the back of her mind. She shook her head, disturbed with herself.

She felt, more than sensed, someone stand beside her.

"A Shinobi should be on guard at all times and remain aware of their surroundings."

She rolled her eyes, "Shut up. You know that nobody could sense you, even if they tried, when you hide your chakra like that"

He released a breath. Not a laugh, of course it was not a laugh.

They sat like that for a few minutes. It was admittedly awkward at first, but it soon became peaceful. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her palms, the grass tickling her fingers.

"I like when it's sort of windy like this." She stated randomly.

She knew that Sasuke had turned to look at her. She opened her eyes and began rambling, "Well, ya know, it's so cold and fresh." She continued her incongruous speech, "When I was a kid, I used to think that if a big gust of wind came, it would blow away everyone's problems away and everyone would be happy because they would be fresh…Oh, and I used to think that I would fly away if the wind came really hard because I was only a kid and, well…kids aren't very heavy." She trailed off lamely.

Then, she noticed something. Sasuke had not raised an eyebrow at her once during her bizarre, out of the blue, speech. He had not even glared at her, a way to tell someone to shut up.

He had just listened, as if she was talking about something important.

Her face reddened and she turned away again, to look at the star-littered sky.

"Come on!" She burst out suddenly, "You cannot have gone a single day as a kid without thinking something ridiculous like that?!"

He remained silent, merely staring at her and she knew that he was rather entertained by her antics but it did not deter her.

"Not one ridiculous thought?" She continued coaxing.

Sasuke continued to stare at her, making her feel as if she looked like a clown with a large 'stare at me' sign on her head.

"Okay, okay! I get it!" She said, laughing.


She talked non-stop, it was almost comical.

It surprised him, slightly, that she could still talk to him good-naturedly, as she was.

After she had stopped her illogical speech, she quieted.

"Thanks by the way."

He looked at her again. Her eyes were closed, and long pink eyelashes brushed her cheeks.

Her face was not the porcelain white colour of appearance obsessed higher-up woman. It was not tan but it was not white either. Her nose was not sharp, but it was soft and feminine.

Her lips were her best feature, he decided. They were small but full, the lower lip being slightly plumper and darker than the upper lip. Her lips were a dark, blood red most of the time, due to her constant habit, he had noticed, of chewing her lips.

She opened her eyes when he did not answer.

"…for the cream. It really helped." It was sincere, not said out of courteousness or for appearances sake. It was a heart-felt thank you.

This was one thing she had always had, Sasuke observed. She put her entire heart into simple things, like a thank you.

"I don't care."

She huffed out a breath, laughing slightly, "I know. It was just a nice gesture."

"I'm not nice." It surprised him that he could have a somewhat normal conversation with her.

"Trust me, I know that as well." He liked that she could accept it and that she knew that this was the case.

She laughed again. It was not the sarcastic laugh he had become accustomed to. It was not completely graceful yet but it was genuine…happy.

Was it not yesterday that she had been furious with him?


It surprised her that she could talk to Sasuke as she had. This was something Naruto and Sasuke had been able to do with each other; they had been best friends, practically brothers. She could not recall a single time that she had just talked with Sasuke.

What shocked her even more was that he actually participated in the 'conversation'. It may have been only a few sentences but that was more than she had ever thought was possible.

This was beginning to get too confusing so she decided to call it a day. She stood up and said, "Well…goodnight."

She began walking away, slightly remorseful that she had decided to leave but she stopped dead.

"When I was a child, my mother told me that Thunder would only sound if you did not leave your shoes on the front porch."

She smiled…

"I believed her."

…and walked away.


"You do know that I think this is stupid, reckless, completely immoral, did I say stupid, idea." Sakura said, knowing what the answer would be.

"And what makes you think Sasuke-kun cares?" Karin said, snobbishly.

"Gee, I dunno. I think it's because I'm his long lost great Grandfather, in disguise, and I was told to warn him that he is making a grave mistake."

Suigetsu laughed and Karin could not formulate a reply to such an outrageous confession, so she crossed her arms, turned away and "hmphed".

Sakura almost snorted in laughter and covered her mouth. Suigetsu laughed harder.

Sasuke watched, pissed off, as Sakura leaned on Suigetsu to prevent from falling over, she was laughing so hard.

Suigetsu placed a hand on her shoulder when she felt a tug at her arm and someone pulled her away from him and steered her forward.

She walked faster to keep up with Sasuke's fast pace and then eventually had to run and he sped up.

"What, pray tell, are you doing?" She questioned as the smiled faded from her face.

"We have to go faster. You are slowing us down." He looked at her sideways as she opened and closed her mouth indignantly.

It made her lips look all the more appealing.

"We were just laughing…" She said, rather abashed.

He did not like that she felt uncomfortable.

"I know, Sakura."

She looked at him, completely gobsmacked at his acknowledgment.

She was about to respond but he tugged her harder as he sped up and she almost fell flat on her face.

Sasuke smirked when she wisely decided to focus on running.


He had told her to stay hidden as he fought the Raikage at the Five Kage Summit.

She had protested but he had quieted her with a single look and shoved his cloak on her as a last minute precaution and warning for her to remain hidden.

She had thought of escaping but there were samurai everywhere and she did not want to alert them.

Then Gaara had come. He had said that his eyes had once looked like Sasuke's but they had changed.

She could not help but dread if the same thing was happening to her because of her jutsu. She was distracted by the loud cascading of sand and a warm body lift her from her current position.

She struggled, was it a samurai?

No.


The red-headed idiot had prattled on and on about Naruto taking the darkness out of his life and about how he could finally see. It became rather repetitive.

But then, sand had cascaded down towards them.

Sakura.

He flashed towards her. Fortunately, she had remained hidden.

He gathered her up in his arms, she still held his cloak, and ignored the way her body felt tucked against his. She gasped and began struggling which made him grit his teeth harder. Her body wriggled against his in a way that would make any testosterone-filled man his age groan.

He ignored it and slung her over his shoulder. She snarled and struggled more and he realised that his Susanoo was still activated.

The horrifying monster surrounded him, akin to a malicious, protective barrier. Sakura struggled as hard as she possibly could and eventually fell out of his arms. She shuffled backwards on the floor and stared up, with absolute horror painted on her face.

Sasuke stared at her waiting to see her reaction, she should know that he is capable of inflicting fear such as what she was feeling. He wanted to see her scared, to know that she was safe from him.

Then her wide eyes softened.

And Susanoo very nearly disappeared. He glared at her and Susanoo returned, as menacing as his glare.

She merely looked at him with that…sadness in her eyes. He almost snarled. Why was she-?

Thud

A rock fell from the roof…followed by another, and another.

He turned towards Karin as the area in front of them caved.

"Have you located Danzou yet?" Susanoo slowly receded as Sasuke walked forward.

"Y-Yeah." Sakura almost felt sorry for Karin.

"Show me." His voice was dark than ever and Sakura shuddered.

"What about Suigetsu and Juugo? Their chakra's still…" Karin trailed off as Sasuke's chakra flared dangerously.

"Leave them be! Danzou comes first." Sasuke looked at Karin, his Mangekyou Sharingan eyes spinning, the promise of pain if she denied.

"No freaking way am I leaving them!" Sakura slowly stood up and winced as her knees scraped against the floor.

Sasuke turned those dangerous eyes upon her and before she knew it he was in front of her and his hand was on her neck.

He did not instantly tighten his hold on her, so she was not suffocating. Yet. "Do you mean Suigetsu, Sakura?"

She shook her head and he tightened his bruising hold on her neck. He did not believe her.

He leaned in until his lips were pressing against her small ear. "Tell me the truth."

The position may have seemed intimate to an onlooker, and it was, but his barely-there threat scared her.

But she persevered, "What will you do Sasuke?" Her eyes held absolutely no fear. None.

"You will not search for him." Her eyes narrowed, until they were almost slits and she resembled an angry cat.

"You can go without me and I can follow. I won't try to escape." She looked at him as he moved away from her ear, staring directly at his blood red eyes-unafraid of a genjutsu he may suddenly decide to pull her into.

"I don't trust you."

That actually might have hurt. Maybe. Just a little.

She kept a straight face and said, "Well…you'll just have to trust this extremely trustworthy person in front of you!"

"I will kill them both if you go." He stated, ignoring her rather pathetic attempt at lightening the tense atmosphere.

She stared at him. What the hell?! There were few things she felt when it came to Sasuke, but these few things she did feel were distinct and overwhelming to the point of insanity and it confused her. But she knew what she would feel if Sasuke did not let her go and find Suigetsu.

"I'll never forgive you." They say that few words can have the impact of a storm…but was it really supposed to evoke a storm in her as well as in Sasuke. Was she really supposed to feel betrayed after everything?

His grip on her wrists softened and his eyes lowered. He released a breath. Her pink hair hit his aristocratic nose as he leaned in, almost as though he was inspecting her.

Finally, she could no longer take his disturbing fascination and quietly said, "What?"

He let his forehead fall against hers and all she could see were the tangled black and pink hairs and his blood red, beautiful eyes and her blood was pounding through her body, desperately seeking a way to let out the pleasant buzz of intoxication.

His eyes flickered down to her lips, watching her chew them. It was distracting and so…

"You're annoying."

Sakura almost laughed. How fitting. She probably should feel angry at his blatant statement, she probably would have in any other situation, but she just could not bring herself to hate it. There was something strangely comforting about the familiar line he had always bestowed upon her when they were younger.

BAM BAM BAM

If they did not leave this corridor now they would be caught and Danzou would escape. Sasuke looked at Sakura once more and released her.

"Ch, do what you like."

He remained in front of her and said, "Return to us in thirty minutes."

She could not help but ask, "And if I don't?"

He lowered his eyelashes, long shadows streaked down his face.

"Got it." She did get it. The shadows on his face did make his, already, otherworldly features even more enhanced but it unnerved her as well. The shadows seemed to follow him wherever he went, almost as if they were waiting to claim him as their prize. Perhaps…they already had.

Sasuke's bangs flew up as she streaked away from him, wasting not a single second in her search for both Suigetsu and Jugo.

Karin was by now standing up, albeit shaking.

"Hurry up and show me." He said to her.

"O-Okay."

And without a backwards glance Sasuke left.


"What the f-?" Sakura quieted herself. "I almost stepped on you! Idiot!"

"Sakura!" Suigetsu exclaimed. He had liquefied himself in order to search for Jugo, they had been separated during the battle, but had ended up narrowly missing Sakura's foot.

"Get yourself together!" She snapped at him. "I have to get back to Sasuke or he'll..."

"I get it! I need to find Jugo first though." Suigetsu said, hurriedly. He was now even more aware of the limited time they had. Sasuke's wrath was not to be messed with.

As if on cue, they heard a strange sound. They turned to see Jugo extending a piece of his flesh to an unconscious samurai. The flesh pierced the samurai and began…feeding. Sakura could only guess that Jugo needed the Samurai's chakra to return to full potential.

"Ugh, that is seriously messed up Jugo!" Suigetsu had now returned to solid form.

Sakura stared at Suigetsu with raised eyebrows, "That's coming from you, hypocrite!"

"Hey, what's that supp-" Suigetsu was cut off by Sakura. "Jugo, we have to go."

She helped him stand up and glared at Suigetsu so that he would move.

"Where's Sasuke anyway?" Questioned Suigetsu, continuing towards Jūgo.

"He went with Karin to find Danzou. I convinced him to let me come and find you and Jūgo." She explained, looking around them to ensure that no samurai were around.

"You convinced him! How? You finally satisfy him."

BONK

It just so happened that Suigetsu solidified at that moment, only to be hit by one of Sakura's fists.

"What…?"

"Just shut up Suigetsu." Her face was slightly pink, due to his unnecessary innuendo.

He smirked, sharp teeth bared in a wild expression.

Out of the corner of Sakura's eyes, she saw a black shadow. Her eyes narrowed on a window, set high in the wall.

She could see the outline of a cloaked figure, staring into the building and looking directly at her.

Maroon eyes. She would recognise those eyes anywhere.

Yuuki.

As soon as she saw those eyes, they were gone.


There had been news of an attack on the Kage Summit. This had resulted in a large majority of ROOT operatives to be called to the planning station in another building and, thankfully, this meant that security was lessened in the Hokage tower.

Tenten watched as a pair of guards walked away from their station.

Now!

She had less than thirty seconds to reach that door, before the next pair of guards would come to keep watch.

She streaked towards the door, flung it open and closed it just as quickly, and ran up the stairs, two at a time.

She ran, with light feet, towards the door to the Hokage's office.

If she opened this door, one of two possible alarms would be set off. One alarm would alert the whole building and the other would alert only Danzou. Considering he was at the Kage Summit, she could not care less if the latter alarm went off.

The only way to find out which alarm it was, would be to try.

She tentatively cracked the door open. When nothing happened, she opened the door wider. And wider until she could slip through and quietly closed the door behind her.

She may be triumphant for now, but she knew she would be in trouble when Danzou arrived back in Konoha. She did not care though.

Ever since Tenten had seen that woman on the bell tower, a thirst for knowledge about her own past had threatened to consume her unless sated.

When young Shinobi, fresh out of the academy, passed the test to become a registered Genin, all information about them is found and stored. Not a single thing is left out, in order to reduce the chances of an enemy succeeding in infiltrating the village's ranks.

She walked towards a pile of files and began rifling through them, searching for her own.

The office was a lot neater than it had been when Tsunade had been Hokage. It was…unnerving. Tenten preferred the large, precarious piles of paper that had been present under Tsunade's reign.

She huffed when she realised that her file was not in this particular section, immediately moving on to the next pile.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of casting nervous glances around, she found her file. She quickly flipped it open to see a picture of her twelve-year old self staring back at her.

Forename: Tenten

Surname: -

Country of origin: Yukigakure

Status when found: assumed orphan

Parents: - (assumed deceased)

Retrieved by ANBU Team 4: Kisuke Maboroshi (deceased captain)

Tora (codename)

Tenzō (codename)

On operation to secure area ransacked by rogue ninja.

That was all there was. In the entire pile she had just searched through, hers was the thinnest folder.

The only operative she had a name of was Kisuke Maboroshi, but he was dead. The other two operatives would not have a file, in order to keep their identities secret.

The only thing she could think of doing was finding Kisuke Maboroshi's file. Once she had found it, she quickly scanned the details.

The only useful piece of information was his, currently, alive wife.

Seems like she would need to pay a visit to this woman.


Karin stared wide-eyed at the exact spot that Sasuke had been less than a second ago, before the Third Tsuchikage had used a strange jutsu.

Just like that Sasuke had disappeared, but what was even more disturbing was the fact that the Tsuchikage was a little midget. A floating midget.

"Sasuke's chakra is…gone! N-No way…Then he's…" Karin struggled to complete the sentence.

"Of course. His body's been dispersed into molecules…And you're next!" The Tsuchikage answered her unfinished question, and turned to look at her making her aware that she was his next target.

Before the Tsuchikage could commence with his jutsu, the Raikage ran into the room and the fury radiating from him was tangible.

"Where's Sasuke?! Where the hell is Sasuke?!" He looked around the destroyed room, searching for his target with narrowed eyes.

"I smashed him into dust." The Tsuchikage answered calmly, a smirk present on his wrinkled face.

"What the hell?! I was going to do that. Why did you-!" The Tsuchikage irate voice was cut off by another.

"You still have that chance." An orange mask materialised in mid air, slowly forming a body.

"So stop your whining, Raikage." Sandal-clad feet landed on a table as the space-time just was completed.

"My name is Uchiha Madara."

"Sasuke!" Karin gasped, a smile materialising on her scratched face.

Madara held Sasuke, using one arm, as he surveyed the figures in the room from behind his mask.

"I have something I want to explain to you. After you've understood it, I want to ask you something." Madara stated.

The Raikage glared at him, "About what?!"

"My goal: The Eye of the Moon plan." Madara's only visibly eyes flashed.


"I think we are in deep shit 'cause it's been over thirty minutes." Suigetsu remarked casually.

Sakura glared at him. He just had to state the obvious.

"There they are!" They heard a voice yell. They turned to see a hoard of samurai running their way.

Sakura cursed. There were so many. "Take these and run that way."

She shoved some chakra-replenishing soldier pills into Suigetsu's hand motioned for both he and Jugo to run. She ran in the opposite direction. The only way to lose the samurai was to split up.

It seemed that her endeavour to find Suigetsu and Jugo had been counter-productive, considering that she had found them only to send them away.

Ah well, at least she knew they were alive.


Danzou was dead.

Sakura crawled towards an unconscious Karin and attempted to heal her.

Sasuke was gone. He was gone. Darkness had completely consumed him.

Danzou had taken Karin hostage, in an attempt, to evade Sasuke's endless attacks. It did not work. Instead, Sasuke had done the unthinkable.

He had aimed with his chidori and stabbed straight through his teammate's heart, in order to pierce Danzou's.

She would never forget his face in that moment. The look of dark triumph and his whispered words had shaken her to her very core.

"That's one down, Brother."

Her form was shaking. When she had separated from Suigetsu and Jugo, Madara had materialised in front of her and taken her.

She had witnessed the darkness consume Sasuke, as he fought Danzou.

What happened to you, Sasuke?

Madara had disappeared after taking Danzou and had given Sasuke the 'advice' of getting rid of Karin. Apparently, she had too much information about both Sasuke and Madara. Sasuke had bluntly stated that he and Madara were no longer partners and Madara had simply waved off his comment.

Sakura crawled towards Karin. They may not have gotten along, but Karin had been nothing but loyal to Sasuke. She did not deserve what he was going to do.

"No! Don't kill her you…you brute!" She yelled, she stood up shakily. The constant explosions had damaged the semi-circular canals in her ear, and therefore her balance was off. But she eventually managed to stand, but almost fell over. She placed a hand on a stone pillar and ignored the desire to just close her eyes, instead deciding to glare at Sasuke.

"You were late." He ignored her attempts to stand upright.

"I…what?" She looked at him confused.

"I said thirty minutes." He looked at her dangerously. She had completely forgotten what Sasuke had said before she had left to find Suigetsu and Jugo.

"There were samurai and we were separated from each other an-" She explained, before realising that he had no right to question her being late by a couple of minutes.

"Hey! Piss off! I don't have to ex-" She started, a rebellious edge decorating her tone, only to be interrupted by a familiar yell.

"Sasuke!"

Her eyes widened.

Kakashi.

Of course, he must have sensed the explosive chakra signatures of Sasuke and Danzou and followed them.

He had not seen her yet as she was shielded from his keen eyes by the stone pillar.

Sasuke had turned around by now, giving her a chance to drop to her knees and heal Karin as fast as possible. He cast a disapproving look behind him, when he sensed her medicinal chakra, but otherwise said nothing.

"How far you've fallen, Sasuke!" Kakashi said, referring to his recent actions of joining Akatsuki and kidnapping the Raikage's brother, Bee.

"Sasuke…I don't like repeating myself." Kakashi began, his voice deadly serious.

"However, I'll say this one last time. Don't be consumed by your revenge!" Kakashi finished, reiterating the words he had said to Sasuke two years ago, before he had betrayed them. It had been a long time since she had seen Kakashi. He looked the same as before, and it eased her panicked heart to see him. Even though he had hurt her, he had been her sensei, someone who she had greatly respected. She half expected him to whip out his Icha Icha novel.

Her nostalgic thoughts were interrupted by maniacal laughter. His bitter smile faded as he said, "Itachi, my father, my mother…Even my clan! Bring them back to me! If you can do that, I'll stop!"

He was asking the impossible and he knew it.

"I don't want to kill you." Kakashi said. Sakura could tell that he honestly did not want to. What teacher would? She felt sorry for him; he had watched the students under his care split apart and walk down their own separate paths. She knew he resented himself for that.

"You speak as if you could. Don't act as if you're still my teacher! I'm itching to kill you, Kakashi!"

Sakura's eyes widened.

Madara's driven him this far…

Sakura could not help but think that maybe it was just Sasuke. Maybe, Sasuke's own thoughts had driven him this far.

Kakashi took his cloak off and threw it to the side, preparing himself for a battle.

"As the leader of Team 7, I'll settle everything right here, right now!" Kakashi stated, reminiscing on the fact that no matter how low Orochimaru fell, his sensei, the Third Hokage, had always adored him.

"I don't like repeating myself either. Don't act as if you're still my teacher." Sasuke said, sounding annoyed.

Kakashi lifted his headband to reveal the blood red eye of a Sharingan, "I now understand how the Third Hokage-sama felt."

"And you're gonna end up just like he did." Sasuke stated calmly.

At that moment, Sakura was disgusted. No matter how much Kakashi's degrading words had hurt her, two years ago, she had never ever wanted to kill him.

Sakura finished healing Karin, whose eyes had just barely cracked open.

"Listen to me, you have to leave! Go with that man. Sasuke will kill you if you remain here!" She shook Karin to get her to listen, "Listen to me! You have to leave!"

Karin nodded and Sakura stood up with Karin in one arm.

She peeked around the stone pillar, watching as Kakashi appeared behind Sasuke.

Sasuke seemed to be in pain and had not noticed the threat behind him. The heels of his hands were pressed against his eyes, in an attempt to ease the pain that had resulted from overuse of his Mangekyou Sharingan.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw where Kakashi's kunai was aiming. She felt her mouth open, to yell a warning, but stopped herself. If Sasuke dies, it would all be over. Innocent people would not have to die for Sasuke's revenge.

It was too late now; she had lost the chance of warning Sasuke. She could only watch as Kakashi's kunai plunged towards Sasuke's heart, unsure as to whether or not she had made the right decision.

If she had blinked, she would have missed it. Sasuke had turned around so quickly, a blur was all that could be seen, and had grabbed Kakashi's hand, twisting it. The kunai fell from Kakashi's grasp and Sasuke caught it, aiming for Kakashi's throat.

She lunged out from behind the stone pillar and yelled, "Don't do it, Sasuke!"

An orange blur was all she saw. The flash of a kunai deflecting Sasuke's.

And cerulean blue eyes.

Naruto.

"It is a revenge the devil sometimes takes upon the virtuous, that he entraps them by the force of the very passion they have suppressed and thing themselves superior to." George Santayana

A/N:=Another chapter. I recently decided to get a beta, Sakura-Haruno-Uchiha 10. I am sure that the quality of the chapter has increased. Like I said at the start of this chapter, if anyone can recommend any good SasuSaku or ItaSaku stories, please leave them in a review. I feel as though I have read so many and I can't find anymore to read. So please leave recommendations in a review.

Preview

"You were late." Sasuke said, looking positively dangerous with trails of blood on his chest.

"In case you didn't get it the first time, I don't need to explain mys-" Sakura was cut off when Sasuke grabbed her and slammed her on to the mattress.

"Oof!"

End preview