Author's Note: The angst begins. Just a warning…if sex, drugs, violence, rape, or anything even along those lines bother you…then consider the last chapter the end. You'll be much happier that way.

"There is something different about you, Kakashi." Tsunade spoke with her normal confidence while they waited for Sakura to attend the report. She had bumped into Ino along the way and he had left the two to their girlish jibber.

"Just tired, Hokage-sama."

"You are always tired, there is nothing new about that. Perhaps I can best identify your change as having a new energy about you." She looked at him inquisitively.

Kakashi shrugged, ignoring her statement. He was here to report on a mission, not talk about the changes in his aura. Tsunade always had a way for noticing things that everyone else seemed to be oblivious to – he couldn't stand it.

"Sorry!" Sakura came bounding into the room at that moment, sliding the door shut behind her. Just the way she carried herself showed that she was happier than when she had left. It didn't take Tsunade's intuition to notice it.

A faint smirk crossed the copy ninja's face as Sakura briefly caught eye contact. He had that feeling that this girl was just going to give it away. After she properly made her greeting they both began on their mission report. It hardly seemed worthy of an ANBU level, but there was good news and that was that Sasuke was heading back to Konoha.

The entire time Tsunade was slightly distracted by the realization that for once, Hatake Kakashi was on time…and his prodigy student was late.

After their extensive report to Tsunade, it was learned that neither hide nor hair of Sasuke had been seen in the city. At this realization, the regret of not staying away for longer crossed two identical minds.

The cool night air hit Sakura's already chapped face with a shock. Kakashi, now returned to his stage of aloofness, turned his back to her and walked away with no word. He wasn't ignoring her, he was just attempting to act like his usual self and she knew men always went over board with that.

"Where are you off to?" Sakura smiled sheepishly in the direction of his fading back.

He turned back to her with a smile that was as soft as the freshly powdered snow they had frolicked in the day before. "I suppose Genma is expecting me for a drink. He has to have learned that I am back by now."

"Can we…?" She didn't need to finish the sentence for the man in front of her to understand what she meant. His hand rose without his conscious will and tucked a string of cherry hair behind her ear.

"I'd love to, Blossom…But not yet." An obvious look of disappointment crossed her face. "…I'll come see you if I can get rid of Genma…but no promises."

Sakura was satisfied enough with this and her warm smile expressed it. She was reassured time with Ino this way and she had missed her friend. "Well, at least walk me to the store."

"I think I can manage that…" Kakashi smirked as they both moved and began to walk side by side.

"Do you think he got caught up by the storm?" Sakura was curious. Sasuke was a strong person, perhaps stronger than both of them, and it was odd that he wouldn't have returned when he already had a head start.

"Yeah…" was mumbled in return. It didn't do much to satisfy Sakura's curiosity.

"So. Um. What will you and Genma do?"

This sported a laugh from the secretive man beside her, "Oh just what we usually do."

"And that is…" Sakura couldn't help it. She was being nosy and she damn well didn't care that she was, either.

"Drink. Talk. Laugh."

The topic was not any further addressed by Sakura. Truthfully, she knew the reputation of Kakashi and Genma with the women. All she wanted to do was make sure she could trust him…of course she was a little nervous about admitting that because she didn't want to scare him away either. So in the end she just kept her mouth shut. It was better that way.

Once in the store Sakura made her way back to pick out a bottle of white wine. It was much better than red, even though Ino didn't feel the same way. Oh well, she was treating so she got to make the decision.

Kakashi smirked, "So…what will you and Ino do?"

"Talk. Drink. Laugh." She said lightly as she shrugged her shoulders. It came off as sounding vague, which she meant it to.

He stopped there. She was getting ready to catch him. The worry of her not thinking it as serious as he did frightened him a little. What if he scared her off by coming off as restrictive? This is Sakura, there is nothing to worry about…is there?

And Ino…

Well shit. Ino was almost as bad of an influence as Genma. The two should probably hook up. That, however, could be saved for another night of stressing.

"Here is to a good night." Kakashi mumbled as he pushed Sakura lightly to the check out. She laughed and sent a wink in his direction, letting him know that she was onto him. There was a long night ahead.

Rap, rap rap. Shortly later Sakura found herself in Ino's doorway.

"Sakura-chan!" Ino bounced happily as she opened the door. Her smile grew even wider when she saw the bottle in her hand. "White? Oh well, it's still wine. Come on, let's drink!"

Sakura was practically jerked through the door by her friend. Once inside, she made her way into the kitchen to locate two wine glasses. Unlike herself, Ino had moved away from her parents. Even though she still helped to run the flower shop, she said they simply 'disagreed' too much. Sakura figured it was more along the lines that they didn't approve of certain aspects of her lifestyle.

The apartment smelled of roses and there was a small hint of coffee, the exact scents that anyone would associate with Ino. The wildly eccentric but still elegant girl seemed to fit all of her stereotypes.

"Make yourself at home." Ino gestured to the small living room set before taking a seat on the sofa. Sakura handed her the glass of wine she had not sipped out of. The liquid was warm so she had thrown in several ice cubes. The only way to make this taste good would be to drink it before it melted.

An awkward silence filled the room as the two girls quickly sipped their wine. Sakura was completely distracted with improper thoughts of her former sensei. She was actually trying to fight them off, more or less.

"You aren't fooling me!" Ino exclaimed, shocking Sakura back into reality.

"Eh?" Should she hide it or should she tell Ino? One thing was for sure, Sakura knew she definitely wanted someone to talk to about it…but Ino had a big mouth.

"Spill the beans. We never have that weird silence shit. Now what has got you so distracted?" Ino paused and then her face lit up as if she had just realized the meaning of life, "It's Sasuke! You are excited that you will see Sasuke again!"

"No…! Sasuke isn't quite who I was thinking about."

"Well then…?"

Another two minutes of that damned silence and Sakura finally spoke up, "Ino, have you ever lust after someone?"

"Sasuke. So stay off."

"…Someone who returned it?"

"I'm not a virgin, if that is what you're asking." Another look of utter epiphany crossed Ino's face, "You did it!"

"No, that's not really what I'm asking." Sakura sighed. Why had she decided to try to talk to Ino? That girls mind was only on one thing 24/7…wait, but then again so was Sakura's. Dammit.

"Then…?"

"What makes the difference between physical lust and an emotional connection?"

Ino raised an eyebrow. It wasn't what she had thought, but it would still be juicy. "Devotion, I guess. But I've never felt the need to be devoted, mind you."

"There can't be a physical devotion?"

"Well yeah I guess…but really if it were purely physical would you be worrying about it so much?" Ino's mouth rose up in a grin, "So you did it?"

"No! Dammit." Was Ino right? If she was then this was not going to be an easy situation to fix between her and Kakashi.

Of course it's just physical. That feeling in your stomach, it's physical!

Sakura did her best to comfort herself but to no avail. Even if it was non-emotional it was still too damn distracting.

"Tell me what happened." Ino prodded.

"Kakashi and I…well, we…" Stuttering at a time like this! Sakura felt like she was a Genin again. What a great impression.

"Hatake Kakashi! Sakura! You have to be kidding!" Ino had no idea how else to react to the news so she bolted up to standing and chugged the remainders of her wine. It looked quite silly.

"Well we didn't have…" Wow I don't think I've even said this word out loud before… "…sex." Ino watched her as she swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat, "Should we? I mean I want it just physical…I think…but…I don't want it to become more than it should!"

"So you want to know if I think you should sleep with him?"

"Next to you, he's my best friend…" It was Sakura's best attempt at reasoning with Ino.

"Would you fuck me?" It was what seemed like a random statement and Sakura reacted as it were such.

"God no!"

"Then don't fuck him either. There, problem solved."

"I'm being serious here…I can't quit thinking."

Shut up Sakura! Inner Sakura raged. It was physical dammit! Quit thinking.

"Ok, then why are you here? If you're so smitten with him then by all means go see him."

"He's out with friends. It's a secret, you know." Sakura smiled sheepishly and felt a small blush rise to her cheeks.

"Oh yeah, I guess that wouldn't go over so well with everyone…would it?" Ino laughed at the predicament her friend seemed to have gotten herself into.

A few moments of silence and Ino looked up from swirling her wineglass, she had moved to refill it earlier. "Can I ask you something?"

Sakura nodded in response.

"Are you not worried that it's gonna end and there goes your wonderful friendship?" A lost look covered Ino's face, showing to Sakura that Ino knew more about this feeling than she let on.

"I'm trying not to think about that…that's why I just want it to be physical."

"Physical or not, Baby. It's still going to hurt like a bitch."

It was nearly midnight. Sakura ended up listening Ino talk about Temari all night and what a 'little bitch' she was. The only fact to base this opinion on was the fact that she had just been asked out by Shikamaru. It was no wonder Ino had chosen to stay as Chuunin…her passion for love lives was much greater than her passion for war.

Sakura was headed on her way to her apartment. The thought of maybe seeing Kakashi sent that silly little feeling in her stomach loose again. She realized that she just didn't feel like being alone tonight.

It was cold in the streets, but only a little. No one was left out this late at night, but she wasn't scared. She could do more than defend herself on her own. A street punk would not hold a chance against her even in her slightly dizzy state from the wine.

The scenario of her approaching Kakashi crossed over again and again in her mind and before she realized it, she was standing right in front of her parents' doorway. She hadn't had anything to eat, so she opted to grab a slice of bread from their kitchen before she did anything else.

Sakura's hand moved to grasp the doorknob and turned it to let herself in. A feeling hit her in her stomach but it flashed away before she could even figure out what the feeling was. Just a little something seemed to be thrown a tad bit off. Sakura stood in the doorway, fighting the urge to call out to her mother. Something wasn't right and the good choice would be to take precaution before announcing your presence. There was that feeling, but she couldn't name it even though it had come back. What a nasty feeling.

It was the smell that wasn't right. On a normal evening, the kitchen would smell of the leftovers from dinner or perhaps a batch of cookies. It didn't smell like that tonight. It smelled…sticky…sticky but not sweet.

Fear struck the kunoichi suddenly and she took in a deep breath waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light. They didn't. Why wasn't there light? There should have been light!

Another soft step into the room and Sakura's sandals made barely a whisper as they rubbed against the wood floor. Twisting slightly to the right should have brought some moonlight in from the cool night, but there were still only shadows. It almost seemed as if the darkness was an illusion. Another step was taken into the suddenly strange home.

Copper…no, why would the scent of copper be in this kitchen? No reason. She could barely pick it up with her sensitive nose but when she felt the sensation of a liquid beneath her shoes she knew. There was the source of the sticky smell.

Blood.

She couldn't see anything. The urge to scream aloud in panic was difficult to keep in, but Sakura managed. This could not be her parents' blood…! Her father was a trained ninja and not just anyone would be able to take him down. He was the strongest person in her eyes since she was born; he was supposed to be undefeatable. She turned around quickly to make for the door, deciding to retreat and at least find a source of light before finding out what was going on in her parents' home.

Blood splattered footsteps were not much for subtlety. Sakura could feel something there and she stopped immediately. Whoosh. Shit, whoever it was, they were behind her. With her greatest speed she tried to turn around in time to gauge her attacker and set up stance, but to no avail. A fist came into contact with her jaw and the force of it knocked her back, leaving a sting and ache over the entire side of her face. She attempted to scream but all that was emitted was a pitiful cough as a firm hand grabbed her throat roughly.

The hand that held her was strong and had the feeling of a man's. Shit, he moves like he is ninja. She couldn't breathe and as she fought to bring her own arms up to her attacker she felt her entire body go stiff. Another panic set in as she realized she could not move her limbs, it was a body bind jutsu. It would not be easy to break, if she even could. She had not known anyone to break out of them without the aid of another. Fuck. She couldn't move.

Please come Kakashi. Please come…protect me like you said you would. I need you now…It was merely a thought in her mind. There was no strength left to even say a word. It was drained so quickly! This man was so strong…she knew that she had never come face to face with such power before. Not good. Oh Gods Kakashi…I need you now more than ever!

Unable to turn her gaze she stared as the assailant's face became clear by a soft glow of light that was starting to surround them. The eyes that glared at her pulsed a vibrant red, no doubt the same shade as the blood that had been spilled that very evening.

"Sasuke…" Sakura spoke with the last remnants of her energy. She could do nothing as she felt his hand snake down her body, pausing just long enough to rip the buttons off of the shirt she wore. This was so horrifying…she could do nothing to stop the invasion…nothing at all!

The hand roamed more and suddenly Sakura was reminded of the night he left and she knew what he had planned.

"I've missed you, Sakura…"

Author's Note: Don't worry, I know that was one hell of a cliffhanger. But if it consoles you, I already have chapter 10 finished so it won't be another 2 months until I post again! Get ready for all that dark angst, sex, drugs, and rock and roll that I promised you.

Major thank yous go out to Ninjashen and Shirahime for beta reading this chapter. Ninjashin is helping me notice all my bad Southern phrases that I have become oblivious too lol! Don't let anyone fool you, too much of the south is a bad thing. I know…!