Chapter 17: Don't Leave Me

"NO!", Sasuke yelled in frustrationSakura winced at the tone of his voice. "Think! I have the Sharingan; you can't beat me if you keep fighting this way! The only advantage you have is your strength! Taijutsu! So use it. Engage me in hand-to-hand combat. If you stay away from me, you'll lose!"

"I know that!" Sakura argued back and rubbed her arm where he had just landed a painful hit. "But you're faster than me. How am I suppose to win if every punch feels like you're breaking my bones?"

"Use your brain", he ordered impatiently. "Try to outsmart me."

Without any warning he suddenly ran towards her. She prepared for another blow, but when he was close enough to hit her, he unexpectedly disappeared. Sakura spun around twice, just out of arm's reach. She screamed when his foot crashed against her forearms and she was sure that this would become another hurtful bruise. She stumbled backwards and when she looked at him she saw the relaxed look on his face. She was no match for him, and that's what made her angry. She was going to teach him not to underestimate her.

Sakura concentrated and created a clone. The clone ran straight towards Sasuke, while Sakura stayed back. Sasuke eliminated the clone in a cloud of smoke with a single punch. Sakura used that moment of distraction to launch an attack.

She jumped right through the smoke of the disappearing clone. Sasuke was distracted, but not enough to be surprised by her attack. He tried to land a blow to her face, but this time she was prepared. She dodged the attack and Sasuke, who hadn't expected that, stumbled forward. She grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him towards her. Sasuke lost his balance and fell to the ground with an angry shout.

Wuhaha, serves you right! You'll learn not to underestimate me!, her inner voice raged.

She pulled out a kunai from her holster and leapt at Sasuke, who was still lying on the ground. She was shocked when he put up no resistance and the blade plunged through his sternum and into his chest. "What the..?", she hissed.

Beneath her, Sasuke grinned evilly and said: "Kawarimi..." His body melted and nothing was left of him but mud.

"DAMN!" she yelled and jumped up, but it was already too late. She felt something hit her feet and then SHE hit the ground. Before she could get up again, Sasuke sat down heavily on her stomach, pressing her wrists against the ground. He grinned. "You lose."

Sakura made a face. For a split second she'd thought that she might be able to beat him. They both fell silent when they realized how close their faces were. She could feel his warm breath caressing her lips. His closeness felt so awkward, causing a blush spread across the apples of her cheeks. He noticed it too, acting upon it; he dipped his face closer to hers until their lips were nearly touching. Suddenly he stopped and let go of her wrists. He got up and pulled her to her feet. "That wasn't bad. Let's continue."

Sasuke watched his wife complete several handseals. She had perfect control over her chakra, and although it wasn't nearly as strong as his or Naruto's, it was still e advantageous. That would be useful in the upcoming exams, but she had only one week left and there was still something important that she needed to learn. Until now, he had focused on improving her overall jutsus and hand-to-hand combat. She was improving fast and he was proud of her. Not that he expected less, after all she was now an Uchiha.

"Sakura, that's enough. Your control is perfect", he interrupted her. "You've become strong. But like that, you can't pass the exams."

Her face darkened. "Why not? Am I still not good enough?"

"That's not the problem." He sat down beside her on the cool grass of the training area. "The exam consists of three parts. The first part is going to be an obstacle for you. It's the rule that to become a jounin, you have to develop a special jutsu, something unique, that only few others can do, no one else at best."

"I didn't know that." Sakura's face softened as she thought on his words.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be a secret", he explained.

When he had taken the exam, the examiners had told him not to talk about the details to anyone, but Sasuke couldn't care less about the formalities. "As a jounin, you have the highest chances to survive, if you have a special jutsu. No matter how perfect your genjutsu or taijutsu is there will always be someone better. The only effective way to survive is an unknown jutsu. It was easy for me; the Sharingan is unique, especially now that I am the only survivor of the clan. Naruto used his harem-no-jutsu, although the examiners weren't entirely sure whether they should let that one count as a powerful jutsu."

Sakura giggled. "I can't believe he passed the exam with that stupid jutsu."

He just nodded. She was so right… "The problem is that your parents were no shinobi. There are no special jutsus in your family."

"And what am I going to do about it? Are you telling me that I have no chance to pass the exam?"

"I wouldn't have spent so much time on your training if that was the case. I can teach you a jutsu I copied a while ago. I don't use it myself, I have the sharingan and it's too much effort to use it during a battle, but it should be sufficient for the first part of the exam."

"So what jutsu is that?"

He grinned. "It's some kind of mind-reading technique." When he saw the fascinated expression on her face, he added: "It isn't that spectacular. It's used to read an opponent's movement and distract them. It's difficult, but I am positive that you'll be able to learn it before the exam."

"Great! Then show me how it works!"

Hestitantly, Sakura closed her eyes and performed the handseals she had learned during the last two days. Sasuke was right, learning this damn jutsu was difficult, if not impossible. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on Sasuke, who was standing about three meters away from her.

She couldn't sense anything, not even the slightest hint of what he was thinking. Except... "Concentrate!", she heard him yell. She could've predicted that, but it was just because she knew he was impatient. Inner Sakura was already quite frustrated: As if it were so easy! I do NOT have the sharingan to copy a jutsu! The only thing she could hear, beside her inner voice, was her own heartbeat. Maybe she was just trying too hard. She attempted to relax a little and imagine Sasuke standing in front of her. It didn't work.

Sakura felt irritated and impatient, she was just about to give up, when she realized that something was different. Those weren't her emotions. Something else was inside her head, or maybe someone else. At first she couldn't believe that those thoughts and feelings were coming from someone else, but they had to be, for she saw pieces of memories which definitely weren't hers.

She staggered. In the distance, she felt his strong arms supporting her and she heard his muffled voice. Her fingers were still entangled in the final handseal and she could not release the connection.

In her head there were angry screams. It was already difficult enough to control her own thoughts and her alter ego, Inner Sakura, but to have one more person inside her head, with all his thoughts and feelings, it was too much for her to bear. "Sakura!", she heard Sasuke scream and she wasn't sure whether he had actually said or just thought it. She was scared of these feelings and just before the force of his emotions overwhelmed her, she could clearly hear two thoughts within the chaos: "I hate you..." and "Don't leave me". Then she fainted in his arms.

"Sakura!", Sasuke exclaimed as she suddenly screamed. He leapt forward and caught her before she could fall to the ground. "Sakura, stop it!" Something was wrong, she had to release the jutsu, but her hands were still doing the last seal.

"Shit!", he hissed and raised two fingers for a counter-jutsu. "KAI!" Her fingers released immediately and she unconsciously fell into his arms.

He fell down to his knees, Sakura still cradled in his arms. It had been a mistake to teach her that technique. And an even greater mistake to make her try it on him. He should have known. What the hell had she seen?

Before he could really start to worry, she sighed softly and stirred. Her jade eyes opened and she looked at him. Much to his surprise, she smiled exhaustedly and said: "I did it."

He sighed in relief. Sakura placed a hand on his cheek and whispered: "Even though you hate me... I won't leave you." He stared at her in disbelief and the confidence in her eyes was astonishing. He had no idea what she was talking about.

…tbc…