Hey there. As I'm sure you already know, this is chapter 5 of my story. I hope you guys enjoy it. Thanks for reading.

"Just a few more steps," the masculine voice whispered in Sakura's ear. She laughed as the hands covering her closed eyes steered her in one direction, then another.

"This better be good," she said, "I'm starting to get dizzy." She felt the breath of the man behind her fall against the nape of her neck as he chuckled quietly. His lips pressed lightly to her skin.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, "You'll love it." After a moment they came to a stop, and the man removed his hands from her eyes. She felt the warmth of his body on her back dissipate. She bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited for the cue.

"Okay," he said. "Open your eyes."

Sakura lifted one eyelid slowly; then the other. She squinted as the light entered her emerald eyes, and she blinked until her vision had focused. The area around her settled into place, ushering a small gasp from the kunoichi.

She was in a bright room with large open windows that let the sunshine stream in. There was no furniture on the dark wooden floor, no pictures hanging on the warm sandy walls. Yet Sakura couldn't deny that there was something about the room; a simple charm that was difficult to miss.

The roseate kunoichi turned in a circle as she scanned the room. A doorway on the left opened into to a spacious kitchen donned in cool blue tones that were easy on the eyes.

A few more steps in her revolution revealed the opening to a similar room; a staircase; then a half-opened shoji screen that led to a traditional wraparound deck, and the green grass and trees beyond it.

Sasuke stood beside the screen, his strong arms folded over his chest. He watched Sakura's glowing face as she took in her surroundings. When her eyes landed on him, he smiled.

"Oh, Sasuke," she whispered, her voice exhilarated, "It's beautiful." She spun around one more time before walking toward him.

"I told you that you'd like it," he teased, tugging playfully at a strand of Sakura's hair. "There's something else I have to tell you, though," he said, his voice serious.

He pointed out one of the windows to a sign on the lush lawn. The square sign listed the name and logo of the Konoha Real Estate Company; beneath that there was another notice attached. At the sight of it, Sakura's heart fell. The sign read "SOLD."

She batted away the tears that were forming in her eyes. She felt so stupid at the thought of crying over a house that wasn't even hers. Sasuke lifted her chin and wiped at the tears.

"Now don't start crying yet," he said kindly. "You didn't let me finish. I came to see this house last month, and someone else had already put an offer in and signed the contract. He was very adamant about getting this piece of property. Can you believe he planned to knock it down and build a whole new house?" As he revealed the news to her, Sakura's lips turned into a frown.

"So I went to visit this guy, and I asked him what it would take for him to sell this house to me. He wanted double what he paid for it."

Sakura shook her head in disbelief; even though she could guess the already staggering price of an original old house like this one on the nice side of town, the simple thought of the sum of twice the original amount made her woozy. It was more money than she had probably seen in her whole life.

"It's a lot of money," Sasuke pointed out. "What could I do?" He scratched his head and shuffled his feet. Sakura turned her face away. She didn't want him to see the disappointment in her eyes.

"So I had no other choice: I told him he had a deal."

Sakura stared wide-eyed at the onyx eyes he fixed on her. She opened her mouth and closed it. Finally she found her voice and managed to whisper, "You bought the house?" Sasuke grinned and nodded.

"This house?" Again, he nodded. Suddenly a change came over her face; Sasuke could tell she was going to try and argue with him about it; to tell him it was too much money; that it wasn't worth it. He pressed a finger to her mouth before she could utter another word.

"I'm not going to argue with you on this," he chuckled, "You're going to live in this house and you're going to like it. Cost is not a problem, if that's what you're worried about."

Sakura tried her best to glare at Sasuke, but broke down and laughed as he continued to grin. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him several times in pure elation. Sasuke lifted her up until her feet no longer touched the ground and spun her around. She giggled as the swirl of the room passed her by.

"There are four bedrooms upstairs," he said, grinning as he placed her back down on the ground; but let his hands continue to rest on her waist. "There's one for you and me," he whispered; then his hands gently grabbed Sakura's, and he placed them over her stomach. "And there's three more for whoever else decides to come along." He raised and eyebrow and Sakura laughed.

"Wow," she said, "That's an awful lot of space." Her eyes rolled to the side as she contemplated it. "So, how many other people were you planning to fit in this house?" She eyed Sasuke suspiciously as she awaited his answer.

After thinking it over for a minute, he innocently said, "Oh, I don't know; five or six, just to start out." He grinned mischievously.

"How about we just start with one, and see where we go from there?" She laughed as he took her hand and led her toward the staircase.

"Fine," he sighed, trying to look disappointed. "I guess that just means more practice for us." Sakura gasped and playfully slapped his arm.

"Uchiha Sasuke," she laughed, "I don't know what I'm going to do with you." She shook her head as he opened his mouth. "Don't say it!" she giggled. "I don't even want to know."

"Come on," Sasuke chuckled, "Let me show you the upstairs." He put his arm around her as they walked up the steps that led to the second floor.

Sakura rubbed her eyes wearily as she leaned out the window sill of her bedroom and let the cool September morning breeze whisk across her face. She peered at the illuminated clock on the bedside table and sighed.

It was only 5:47 in the morning. The village was still quiet and undisturbed as everyone else in its vicinity continued to rest peacefully. The only hint of the impending sunrise was a slight tinge of pink that had crept along the horizon of trees.

Sakura stretched her neck and gazed down the street, longing for any sign of movement or life. It was always the night she feared the most; the brief moments after sunset, the long hours of darkness, and the following seconds before the sunrise. It was a breeding ground for grief, sorrow, regret. Every time she was visited by the dreams, she woke up the next morning, wondering how she had ever survived the night.

Despite what the house she leaned against meant to her and the love it symbolized, she needed to get out of it. She couldn't stay within its walls much longer, not while the dark still threatened to call her demons forth to haunt her once more. She opened the drawer to her small armoire and pulled a pair of sweat pants. She was going running.

Sakura let her heavy footsteps pound into the pavement as she jogged along the main road through Konoha. The shops and stores were still closed, their available merchandise sitting motionless behind the glass windows. Her breath grew heavy as she pushed her self a little faster, and she wiped at the trickle of sweat that had run down her temple.

Off in the distance, she spotted the figure of a slouching Jounin strolling down the side walk in the same direction as she was running. She recognized that sad excuse for a posture. It was Kakashi.

She picked up her pace as the distance closed between them, but he seemed unaware of the kunoichi racing toward him. He was busy reading his Icha Icha Paradise, his visible black eye skimming the pages.

Sakura shook her head at the Copy Ninja's obsession with the series of prurient books. She was not proud to admit that she had once read one of the little orange books, but she had found nothing in it worth her fascination.

She circled once around Kakashi as he continued to walk, and he finally glanced up at her. She gave a little wave and pointed at the book.

"Anything interesting happening in your book?" Sakura smiled slyly at Kakashi as she returned to his side and walked in time with his own steps. His eye crinkled as he smiled beneath his mask and raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" He asked, "Would you like to read it sometime?" He held the book out in her direction, but Sakura shook her head. She kept her emerald eyes on the Copy Ninja as he shrugged and tucked the book back in his pocket.

"What are you doing out so early in the morning?" Sakura studied him as he scratched his head.

"Nothing," he said, "just taking a walk. It's nice sometimes just to be out in the quiet." He surveyed the kunoichi beside him. "I heard you clomping down the street from a mile away," he teased.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and smiled. "Then why didn't you turn around and say hi?"

"I knew you'd spot me sooner or later," he explained, "so I figured I'd just wait until you caught up."

"In other words," Sakura said, "You were being lazy." Kakashi put a hand over his heart as if offended and then laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. They walked another block in silence, just enjoying being in each other's company. After a while, Kakashi cleared his throat.

"It's been a while since I've seen you," he said. "I miss your scrambled eggs in the morning." Sakura chuckled and shook her head.

"I've been really busy at the hospital. It seems like everyone going out on a mission these past few weeks is coming back injured." She sighed. "So I've had to train some new medical recruits to work on the shifts. I'm just glad I have today and tomorrow off." She tucked a strand of hair that had fallen out of her tight ponytail back behind her ear.

"I totally understand," Kakashi sympathized. "They've had everyone, including me, working like dogs." A sudden idea came to his mind. "Hey," he said. Sakura turned her head to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"I've got a mission today," he said, "but I should be back before six. If you're not busy, how about we get together and go out for some dinner." He pointed to one of the restaurants they were passing. "My treat."

Sakura smiled gratefully at the Copy Ninja, and then frowned. "I would if I could," she said. "It'd be nice to catch up, but I sort of made plans already."

"Oh," Kakashi said. Sakura held up her hands and smiled.

"Yeah, Tenten and Neji are going to be out on missions tonight, so they asked me to watch the baby for them. Sorry," she said.

Kakashi nodded his understanding at the situation. Actually, he felt quite relieved for some reason to find out Sakura would only be babysitting Mayu, the couple's 13 month old baby girl. He had thought for a moment that she had made plans for a real date.

"Why don't you come over when you finish that mission, though? You can keep me company," she suggested. Kakashi thought it over and smiled.

"Are you sure it'll be alright with Tenten and Neji?"

"I'll give them a call and clear it with them. Besides," she said, "I heard you're one heck of a babysitter; all the kids seem to love you."

"What can I say?" He sighed. "I'm a man of many talents." Sakura smiled and held out a hand for Kakashi to shake.

"Alright then," she laughed, "It's a date. See you tonight," she said. Kakashi gave a little wave as the roseate kunoichi picked up her pace and started jogging down the street again.

What if, Kakashi thought to himself, and then abruptly shook his head. He wasn't going to even consider the idea that had popped into his mind. He pulled his issue of Icha Icha Paradise back out and found the place he had left off. He took one last look at Sakura as she turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

Thanks for taking the time to read! It really means a lot. As always, questions, comments, and helpful hints can be directed to the review section. Thanks again!

Temari08