Title: Bittersweet
Subtitle: Illness Illusion
Song: Gackt-Illness Illusion
Rated: T
Genre: Romance/Angst…but I also wanted to make this…somewhat fluffy…CLOSET ROMANTIC! XD
Summary: The people who hurt her would pay. And if the bloodlust was too much for him, her innocence would be the only thing that could save him. (This one-shot is suppose to be when Sasuke wakes up from the cursed seal but…I didn't want a remake of that episode because it'd be too cliché so…I'm making this AFTER he woke up and hurt the sound nins but BEFORE they met up with Kabuto.)
Couple: SasuSaku
Dedicated To:Twinbells and AijinMegami
Thanks To:AijinMegami, animEvivvErz (At the end of that one-shot…I felt that they were mature too but I figured that they were shinobi/kunoichi…so they grew up pretty fast…), K a Z a – Q, Celestartial Blossoms, sasuke's cherryblossom, babykitty2270 (Your review made me laugh! Thanks for a good laugh! It was a WONDERFUL statement!), PrincessChii, Tenshi no Hana-chan (I'd LOVE to make this a fic! But…unfortunately…I don't think I will…BUT I DO have a SasuSaku fic in mind…but that won't be until a little…thanks for the review!), Sakura-Girl 2005, and Tears like Crystals
Disclaimer: All I own is my mind. Though I dream about owning Naruto!

Queen Cow: Thanks for the reviews guys! This was also dedicated to AijinMegami because…her wonderful fic Deception was my drive to actually update this one-shot collection…thanks for the reviews guys!

Side Note: I've decided to be more LOGICAL and try to relate the one-shots to the reason as to WHY they were chosen so…if you want to be sneaky and get a TINY summary before the next one-shot comes out (since I procrastinate and take a long time to update)…you can go to the SasuSaku community at Livejournal and read the FST information. Of course…I'm not going to give you the website because I prefer you be surprised and…now my cow mouth is rambling and I'm POSITVE you want to read the damn one-shot so…HERE WE GO!


Looking up at the stars, Sakura shivered as she felt a ripple of cool air against her neck. She still wasn't used to the fact that her hair she worked so hard for…was gone. She cursed the sound nin but was grateful to have been given courage.

The stars were shining brightly, twinkling in the sky. They seem to not have a care in the world. They were shining as though they had no fear; unlike Sakura, who was more than worried about her team.

"Sakura."

Startled, the said girl gave a tiny shriek and jumped.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun! You should be resting! I told you and Naruto that I'd watch you guys for the night!"

Sasuke frowned slightly as he noticed the tint of alarm in her voice. Was she worried the seal was going to take over him?

"Sakura, it's not going to happen", Sasuke sighed.

As soon as the words left Sasuke's mouth her felt the seal reacting to his denial or its power.

Sakura looked up to smile at Sasuke but her smile was stopped mid-way because of Sasuke's crazed expression.

Sakura closed her eyes, 'Would he attack me?'

Opening her eyes, she noticed that Naruto didn't even stir in his slumber. 'NARUTOOO! SHANNARO! I'll kick his ass for sleeping through this!' (obviously that was Inner Sakura)

Fear was starting to grip Sakura as she watched the cursed seal spread like wild fire across Sasuke's body.

Jumping up and shrieking Naruto's name; Sakura panicked as she realized no sound was coming out of her mouth. Sasuke stood up and a dark smiled curled upon his lips, "Sakura, he can't hear you."

Once recognition occurred to Sakura, she stared at Sasuke realizing that he was going to hurt her. She'd always thought that he'd be there to protect her, to save her, and that he'd never hurt her; yet, here she was, that cursed seal was taking over his mind and this time, she wasn't going to be the one to stop him.

Sakura's deep emerald eyes stared directly into Sasuke's blood red, comma marked eyes. Debating whether she should shout something or not, Sakura tried to speak to Sasuke.

"SASUKE-KUN! STOP! YOU CAN DO THIS! BEAT THAT SEAL! YOU'RE STRONGER THAN THIS!"

Sakura could almost visualize Sasuke's inner turmoil and the battle for dominance in his mind as he fell to the ground. Quickly running to Sasuke's side, Sakura wrapped him in a tight hug with her chin on top of his head.

Sasuke's body stopped convulsing and the fingers that were desperately clinging to his head, relaxed. Figuring that Sasuke had control of himself, Sakura let go to look down at Sasuke.

"Sakura, I'm fine."

Shrieking, Sakura jumped to her feet shouting for help, shouting for Naruto to wake up.

"You're not Sasuke-kun! You're not Sasuke-kun!" Sakura repeatedly shouted while pointing her finger at Sasuke.

In an instant a gust of wind passed Sakura and she felt someone lightly breathing on her neck. She felt a quick jab into her back and was sent flying into a tree. Coughing, Sakura knew that the only way she could survive was to fight Sasuke. 'This is a battle I'm going to lose. I need something to use against him. Something I can use to my advantage. Which…isn't much considering the fact that he has the Sharingan…'

Sasuke's patience was wearing thin and he soon held a bored expression.

"If you aren't going to attack, then I WILL!" Sasuke barked.

Using unbelievable speed, Sasuke ran towards Sakura and punched her in the head. A bone cracking sound reverberated in the forest followed by an ear shattering scream of pain. A millisecond past and a 'poof' was heard. A log of wood replaced the pink haired girl.

Sakura ran out from behind a bush and launched herself onto Sasuke. Her head was buried in between his collar bone and neck. "Sasuke-kun, where are you inside that head of yours? You have to fight this if you want to continue to become stronger", Sakura cried into his shoulder.

Sasuke felt his shirt dampen and his lips curled into a cruel smirk.

"I'm right here, Sakura", Sasuke drawled.

Yasashiku sasayaita anata no koe
Doko ni iru no…
Zetsubou ni mo nareteshimatta
Kono yo no hate de wa

Your voice softly whispered
Where are you…
I also grew accustomed to despair
At the end of the world


Wrapping his arms around the girl, Sasuke quickly raised his knee into her gut. Gasping in pain, Sakura fell to the ground.

Struggling to stand, Sakura looked at Sasuke and saw him staring at her, smirking as she struggled. Anger quickly overcame Sakura as she remembered how she always had to be protected by Sasuke and Naruto.

Standing, Sakura quickly formed hand seals.

"Buushin no Jutsu!"

Nine clones of Sakura and Sakura herself surrounded Sasuke. The real Sakura took out a thin metal wire and the clones copied her movements. Sakura and her clones formed chakra at their feet and all ran in a circle around Sasuke.

Making an abrupt stop, Sakura halted her feet and the clones poofed away. Sakura pulled her hand to her body and the wire tightened on Sasuke.

Looking down, Sasuke smirked as he saw the wire Sakura wrapped around him, while running, and he just stood staring at the girl.

Sakura pulled Sasuke to her and tried to punch him but he blocked it with his fist and threw her into a tree. Sasuke stretched out his arms and the wire loosened and fell to the ground.

"Come on now, I know you can do better than that Sakura", Sasuke cooed.

Sakura just silently stood up and stared at Sasuke, while wiping blood from her mouth.

Chinmoku de tamotareta yasuragi o kowashiteshimae
Hikari ga furitatsu toki ga kuru mae ni

Break down the peace that's preserved in silence
Before the time when light will fall comes


"Sa-ku-ra-chan! I thought you'd be more tactical than this!" Sasuke taunted.

Sakura growled and shouted, "DON'T TOY WITH ME!"

Sakura charged at Sasuke, letting her anger consume her. The two engaged into a taijutsu battle where fist connected with fist and legs hit abdomens.

Sasuke got a solid hit on Sakura knocking her to the ground.

"A body can only take so much damage to certain areas. If I keep hitting you in the same place, it will start to become fatal damage to you, Sa-ku-ra", Sasuke spoke, breaking the girl's name into syllables just to get Sakura rounded up.

Sakura continued to struggle and stand, and when she was almost on her feet Sasuke ran at her and threw his elbow into her spine causing a crack to sound and Sakura to give out an ear shattering scream.

Once the scream traveled into Sasuke's ears, his eyes widened and he clutched his head in a struggle, a struggle for dominance in his mind. Although she was in pain, Sakura crawled to Sasuke and held him as he fell to his knees.

The cursed seal receded and Sasuke fell limp in Sakura's hold. Sakura glanced down at Sasuke and gave an apprehensive sigh, his expression held a lost child's look.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura blurted in pain as she was engulfed in a tight hug by Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry", Sasuke repeated into Sakura's neck as he hugged her tight.

Sakura may have been scared of Sasuke but she knew, that when it was her true Sasuke-kun that he'd never hurt her and when it was the seal, it just wasn't her Sasuke-kun!

Sakura enclosed her arms around the rambling Sasuke and rocked him back and forth until she felt something wet land on her skin.

Kiesaru kono sekai de anata to aishitsuzukeru
Tamerai mo mayoi mo iranai
Tsuite oide…

In this world that melts away, I'll continue to love you
Faltering and lost and unneeded
Come here with me…


After losing his family, Sasuke didn't want to be close to him, fearing that Itachi would slaughter them. Slaughter his loved ones the same way he did four years ago. But, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura, his annoying fan girl, they all got under his barrier and were important to him. He'd never want something bad to happen to them.

'I've lost my family and everyone I loved because I couldn't protect them and now, I want to protect my precious people and I don't want them to die in front of me but, how can I protect them, if I'm the one hurting them?' 1

"Sa-Sasuke-kun, it, it h-hurts", Sakura whimpered.

Realizing that he had been griping onto Sakura as if she would leave him, he loosened his embrace but refused to let her go.

"S-Sasuke-k-kun, it's alright. I'm fine. Just bruised", Sakura choked.

"I hurt you Sakura. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I don't know what came over me", Sasuke whispered into her ear.

"Sasuke-kun! Stop! It wasn't your fault! I understand!" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke abruptly stood up after hearing Sakura's exclamations but at he heard her cry in pain he quickly laid her against a tree and stood up with his back facing Sakura.

"DAMMIT SAKURA! Don't you see? I hurt you! I've lost everything before! And if I want to become stronger, I have to control myself! You're not safe around me! I should've been protecting you! You're my teammate! But instead, instead I HURT you!" Sasuke roared.

"Sasuke-kun face me. I'm tired, tired of watching your back. I have to watch your back every mission. I even have to watch Naruto's! I don't want to be a burden!" Sakura cried.

Sasuke's eyes softened as he heard Sakura's words and he faced her.

Kie saru kono sekai de anata to katarisuzukeru
Subete ga ima omoi no mama ni

In this world that melts away, I'll continue to talk to you
Everything is now like a memory


Sakura slowly stood up, even as pain coursed through her body, and embraced Sasuke. She whispered soothing words to him trying to calm him from his rage.

"Sasuke-kun, promise me that you won't leave us. That you won't leave Team 7. That you won't leave me", Sakura whispered into Sasuke's ear, as she remembered Orochimaru's words of Sasuke seeking him for power.

"I-I…Sakura…promises are annoying", Sasuke sighed.

"Promise me!" Sakura pleaded harshly.

"Sakura! I can't! I can't keep promises! I can only break them!" Sasuke snapped.

As Sasuke's words about breaking promises left his mouth, Sakura knew that something was going to happen later and that it wasn't going to be good. Maybe Sasuke would seek Orochimaru out for power; or maybe he wouldn't. Sakura could only hope that he wouldn't leave her.

Sasuke stood still, uncomfortable and unsure on what to do as he felt the pink-haired girl cry silent tears into his chest. He knew he was hurting her but, this pain was different from physical. This pain was inevitable.

Sakura didn't want to cry. She didn't want to be weak but she knew that Sasuke was going to do something rash.

'If Sasuke-kun tries to leave, I'll know. And if it happens, though I hope it doesn't, I'll tell him my true feelings. Hoping, that it'll stop him. But for now, I'll just hope, that he stays here, with me.'


Kiersaru kono sekai de anata to aishi tsuzukeru
Tamerai mo mayoi mo iranai
Tsuite oide…

In this world that melts away, I'll continue to love you
Faltering and lost and unneeded
Come here with me…


"Sakura."

Sasuke's voice broke Sakura from her thoughts and she broke apart from him, blushing.

"Don't dwell on the past or me."

As tears slowly started to gather at Sakura's eyes again, she shook her head and refused to let them fall.

"Sasuke-kun, I'll always worry about you. After all, I am your number one fan girl!" Sakura exclaimed while giving him the peace sign.

Sasuke sighed and gave her a small smile.

'This is the last time.'

Both Sasuke and Sakura stepped forward, both blushing. They embraced and broke apart. Sasuke turned around and walked towards Naruto and kicked him in the side.

"Oi, dobe wake up."

Sakura watched Sasuke and Naruto bicker with a smile on her face as she tended to her wounds.

'Never again will I lose control.' 2

'I won't be a burden. I won't let you walk away.' 3


Queen Cow: This was written four minutes before New Year's ended! Hope you guys had a great day!

1 This was altered as Sasuke's thoughts. You know how he says something similar to that to Naruto in episode 78?

2 That's what Sasuke's thinking.

3 That's what Sakura's thinking.

Darn, I put the unedited version up right at 12 and I missed the New Year's thing...sorry guys...but I updated right? So...just make this a late New Year's present! Now, here it is! Edited!