A/N: THANK YOU to all the reviewers. I read and thought about every one. I put a lot of effort into 22 and kept it especially tight so I'm glad you liked it. But I'm actually kind of scared now and hope the rest of my story will not seem sloppy in comparison. That was definitely the climax, so don't hold your breath!

A. Shade: Yes, you're right. It would take time for Sassie to turn around; so I'm afraid you won't like the pace of the next few chapters. I really want to get this fic completed (it's almost over) but at the same time I don't want to rush things. I hope the events that pass aren't too sudden for most of you—my weak defense is that I believe once your death is imminent, you'll see your life with extraordinary lucidity (so there's no real time for Sasuke to debate anything). But thanks for pointing it out—I'll take it into consideration and it'll slap me on the wrist when I type something that makes Sassie too OOC.

Lastly, this chapter begins the following morning. It's up to your imagination to decide what went down last night! ;-)

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Sasuke's eyes opened to meet the white sheets on the bed. He glanced at the clock. Ten o'clock already. They had slept in. He rubbed both his eyes with his thumb and forefinger as he propped himself up on one elbow.

Then, he seemed to notice Sakura's sleeping form curled up beside him for the first time. The events of last night came rushing back to him. He rubbed his face. Maybe he should not have...well, it was too late now.

Sasuke had a hard time regretting his decision as he studied the patterns her long hair made on the pillow. He took between two of his calloused fingers a strand that ran over her cheek and brushed it aside. Then he traced the side of her face for a second, before withdrawing his hand.

Carefully so as not to wake her, he shifted his weight slowly to a sitting position and lay his feet flat on the floor. He stood up and grabbed his t-shirt off the ground and put it on quickly.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he walked toward the bathroom.

After splashing water on his face, Sasuke paused to take a good look in the mirror. His eyes narrowed. It had been a long time since he had really seen himself.

He dried his face and started to brush his teeth when he suddenly noticed something strange. He cursed himself for letting his guard down. Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated. What was this presence that he felt...

He spit out the toothpaste and rinsed his mouth. Then he sensed a chakra that was entirely unmistakable. He stopped.

There are 8...including him.

Sasuke wiped his mouth dry with a towel.

He quietly made his way back to the bedroom and picked up his pants from the floor. As he put them back on, his eyes were fixed intently on Sakura's silent figure. He wanted to commit every curve, every feature to his memory. But he did not have time.

A rough knock at the door broke the stillness of the morning. It did not surprise him. Sasuke had wondered how long they would just stand there.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" called a stern voice through the door.

Another knock.

"We know you're in there. Open up."

Sasuke took one more look at Sakura's peaceful expression. Just once more, he wanted to touch her. He rested a knee on the mattress and lowered his head down below her face to bury his nose in her neck, trying to memorize her scent.

Satisfied, he sighed and stood up again. Sakura shifted slightly with a smile on her face, but remained asleep. Before he left the bedroom, his hand rested on the door frame as he took one last look back at Sakura. Then he walked as calmly as he could toward the persistent knocking on the door.

His hand hesitated on the knob, but he asked himself why. His fate had been sealed yesterday when he stayed to spend the night with her. Even if he wanted to escape now, he could not. There were eight skilled ninjas waiting for him. If by luck he could defeat seven of them at a time, there was one that he knew he could not overcome.

He opened the door slowly.

Sasuke's eyes met eight other pairs belonging to Konoha shinobi. They were standing in a semi-circle around the door, as if challenging him to run away.

Sasuke recognized some of them instantly. He had seen them in Sakura's photos. Just a few proportions were changed, but they looked just as they did when they were kids. There was a man in a green suit with dark, bobbed hair—the same man he had used the Sharingan on two nights ago. A serious looking ninja with bulging veins around his white eyes, hands ready in the jyuuken position. A young woman standing next to him with her brown hair in buns and an arsenal of weapons tucked into her clothing. A frightened blonde woman with her trembling hands up in a seal. In front of her was a dark haired man with an annoyed but concentrated expression on his face. Then there were two ANBU and finally...

Sasuke's dark eyes met piercing blue ones. The young man had those familiar markings on his face...

Naruto's teeth were clenched and his jaw tightened when their gazes collided. His face was full of forced determination, but his hands were shaking.

Sasuke recalled their last meeting. It had not ended well. As children, they had trained and completed missions together. He even remembered Naruto once telling him that Sasuke was like the brother he never had. But Sasuke had broken their bond abruptly with his departure and made things worse by trying to kill his old friend. If Naruto hated him now, that would only be fair. If they had to have a battle to settle the old score, Sasuke would not decline. They would both fight with all they had, but he knew who the eventual victor would be. Even his Sharingan was not strong enough to counter the power of the Ninetails.

"Uchiha Sasuke," repeated an ANBU member.

Sasuke felt a twinge of pain from all the killing intents focused on him. He raised his hands up slowly in the gesture of surrender, and an ANBU member carefully frisked him for any weapons.

There were none.

Sasuke then turned around silently and clasped his hands behind his back. The ANBU nin bound his wrists tightly with rope made out of chakra.

"If you try to break free—"

Sasuke was aware of its capabilities.

"I know," he answered.

The ANBU nin was taken slightly off-guard by Sasuke's total compliance, but after a few moments, he grabbed Sasuke's arm roughly and started leading him away from the apartment toward the Hokage's office. The crowd of ninjas broke to let them pass and followed along the side.

The ones that knew him best seemed to be in shock. Shikamaru had his arm around a shaking Ino. Neji and Tenten moved silently. Lee walked with his head lowered, finding it heartbreakingly difficult to look at the reason behind Sakura's distraction the last few days.

Lee recalled the time that he had rescued Sakura in the forest during the chuunin exam. He had attempted to defeat the sound nins, but it was Uchiha Sasuke who had eventually gotten rid of them. And by the time of the main matches, Sasuke had acquired the same speed in a few weeks that had taken Lee years of hardwork to obtain. As he watched in the stands that day, Lee had said that he was jealous of Sasuke-kun; but his feelings then were nothing compared to the envy that was now burning in his chest.

Lee had taken responsibility for his fate and worked relentlessly to become one of the most respected jounin in Konoha. However, matters of the heart were not like ninja training, and he realized now that no amount of dedication or suffering could ever change the fact that Sasuke had won the only woman Lee had ever loved. The painful truth was that, again in a matter of weeks, Sasuke had outdone and trivialized Lee's years of devotion and care. For once, there was nothing Lee could do and no words of encouragement he could think of to present the matter in a more optimistic light. Even as Sasuke was making his way to the Hokage's office to face an almost certain death, Lee would have given everything to exchange places with him.

And Naruto.

Naruto was speechless for the first time in his life. He kept his gaze on Sasuke, staring at him in disbelief. A part of him could not believe that his ex-teammate had returned after all these years. But that stoic expression was unmistakable and the childhood memories that Naruto thought he had buried came rushing into his mind.

Team seven had been like family to him, and Sasuke had once been an integral part in his life. Naruto had been eager for his rival's acceptance and wanted nothing more than to be considered Sasuke's equal. As boys they argued and annoyed each other, but there had always been an unspoken trust between them. They agreed on little, but when situations became serious, they would push their petty arguments aside and cooperate to defeat the enemy, and of course, protect Sakura.

Naruto recalled the ache in his chest when, seven years ago, he had failed to bring Sasuke back to Konoha and was forced to face her empty-handed. Telling her their teammate went missing had been one of the hardest things he had ever done; he remembered the distinct sense of worthlessness when her hope was crushed before his eyes.

Naruto felt now that he should hate Sasuke for betraying their village, breaking their friendship, and most of all, for hurting Sakura. But at this moment, for some reason, he could only summon pity as he studied the defeated image of a stranger who had once his close friend. This man had regrettably chosen the wrong path, and his luck had finally caught up to him.

When they were about fifty feet away, the shinobi heard a familiar voice.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke's head turned, trying to look behind him.

"Sasuke-kun!!" Sakura screamed.

She had woken and was standing at the door of her apartment breathlessly, clutching the comforter to her body.

When Sakura finally saw his figure moving slowly away while surrounded by Konoha ninjas, she felt her stomach drop. The side of her body collapsed against the frame of the door to keep her from falling.

Sasuke spoke calmly to the shinobi grabbing his arm, "I'm not going to run away."

The hold loosened slightly, allowing Sasuke turned around to face Sakura. He walked backwards away from her, hands tied behind him.

He smiled sadly and gave her a look that stopped her heart. It was tired and resigned, but more than anything, it was apologetic.

Sakura's devastated green eyes were beyond tears as she shook her head in disbelief. A trembling hand reached up to her tangled hair and grabbed it. She looked around suddenly at her surroundings, trying to decide on the best course of action.

She was not dressed, so she could not run after him now. She could not scream again; she seemed to have lost her voice.

But she had to follow.

Sakura ran frantically back into her bedroom.

She had to be with him when the time came.