Shikamaru petulantly contemplated his fate, leading a mission like this. "Bring back Sasuke and Sakura… willing or unwilling." He mulled quietly as he moved through the foliage. Someone had kidnapped two members of the village, and he had to find them? In all of Fire Country? How troublesome…

And yet it was worse. Kakashi-sensei had sent a small tracking dog, Pakkun, along with them. When they had been alone, Kakashi had given him a vague warning… not to underestimate Sasuke. It was ominous, and more troublesome… a variable in his plans that he couldn't even begin to predict.

He looked back over the team. The Nin-dog trailed behind him, using his nose to direct the team towards Sasuke and Sakura's likely position. The third in line was the most troublesome of all: Naruto. Shikamaru had watched Naruto fight during the Chunnin exam twice… and he had never seen that boy like this. Naruto had started the journey a burning ball of hate, and he was still drenched in fury as they flew through the trees. Shikamaru had tried to get out of having him on the team, but Tsunade insisted he stay for some reason… more troublesome unknowns. The one thing Shikamaru did know was that he couldn't rely on Naruto to follow orders… or even make rational decisions. It didn't seem possible for a human being to stay so angry for so long. Normally it would cool into brooding… but he was still a bundle of pure rage. Shikamaru could have sworn he saw Naruto's eyes physically change to red a few times.

Next in line was Neji, who was powerful, reliable, and could supplement their scent tracking with his byakugan. In rear guard was his cousin Hinata, easily the weakest in fighting skills, but she refused to be dissuaded from coming after she heard Naruto was going. In a high level fight she was going to end up as a liability. He didn't really want her along either, but she happened to be in the room when he found Neji and there was no time to wait for a more opportune moment.

He rubbed his forehead in resigned dismay. His team was a mishmash of talented but oh so troubled genin who had never worked together before. He doubted they would be able to take on anyone powerful enough to kidnap both Sasuke and Sakura without alerting anyone… or rather if Kakashi was right… Sasuke and Sakura themselves.

"Horribly troublesome…"

In the middle of the pack, the boy in an orange jacket sprung with feral leaps, trying not to not outdistance his companions… trying not to lose himself. Kyuubi was dashing against it's jutsu-forged bonds, and frankly, he wasn't in the mood to try and keep it down. His eyes flashed with dangerous power, and he blinked to make them go their normal aquamarine color again.

"Wait until we get to Sasuke…" He whispered under his breath. "Just… wait."

-----

The air was moist. They were getting close to the sea… and the border of Fire Country. Sasuke should have felt relief… but he was only leaving half his problems behind. The other half were following him, keeping herself thirty yards behind and a bit to the left. His dedication was beginning to waver, and it was all HER fault. He seethed, gritting his teeth so hard that they ground together. She was always there… sleeping beside him while they rested for a few scant hours… whipping up a decent breakfast from what she could forage while he cleaned their weapons. Always trying to cheer him up, always smiling… always a burning temptation to distract him from his objective. He hated the temptation… but he couldn't quite bring himself to hate… her.

And he couldn't deny her usefulness. If he hadn't taken her… if she hadn't been with him when Kakashi's seal broke, he would been disabled and powerless when the pursuers caught up with him. He would have been dragged back to the village in ropes… he shuddered to think. But she, through what he could only deduce to be panic-driven talent, had managed to reseal the curse.

But that was only the rational side of his head that was talking. Brutally suppressed emotions had begun to leak through cracks in his psyche… cracks that had appeared with her kiss. Even now, thoughts were tumbling through his head of their own volition. What if he had someone he could trust? Someone he could rely on during the hard times… someone he could laugh with during the good times. Someone… he could love.

It was the single dumbest though Sasuke had ever let spin about in his mind. She would be a liability at best, and the cause of his demise at worst. And yet… the thought wouldn't go away. For what seemed like the thousandth time, he mulled over what Kakashi had told him on the day he left the village. 'Even if you succeed in your revenge, all that will remain is sorrow.' He didn't know what had happened in Kakashi's past, but the look Sasuke had seen in the one eye which was visible… he couldn't deny the truth in it.

He was so caught up in his contemplation, he almost didn't notice Sakura until he spotted her speeding through the trees beside him. She signaled for a stop, and they landed deftly on a wide branch of an ancient oak tree. Sasuke realized that the sounds of labored breathing weren't only coming from his pink haired companion. His eyes stung with sweat, and he allowed himself to feel the pain in his legs. If he was this bad off… he could only imagine what Sakura felt like.

"I've been thinking…" she managed between pained breaths. "Maybe we could spend tonight in an inn?" She pointed to a clearing in the trees a half mile away, barely visible through the foliage. It looked like a small inn for travelers.

"That's stupid." He watched as her expression twitched, then fell. For a second, he thought he saw a flash of anger in her eyes before her customary, hurt expression appeared. "We don't have time to, Sakura."

She pouted, holding her ground. "We don't need to spend extra time sleeping… I just want something more comfortable. A bed would be more restful anyway… we could move faster if we didn't have cramps from sleeping on uncomfortable ground."

Unbidden thoughts flashed through his mind: Sakura's warmth through their clothes as she was pressed against him, the delicate smell of bathing herbs from her hair, the softness of her lips pressed against his. The thought of them sleeping in a bed, nestled together… he railed against his yearning, lashing out at her. "If you slow me down, Sakura…" he growled, "I won't think twice about leaving you behind in that comfortable bed of yours. Should have known you couldn't cut it… bringing you with me like this…" He harrumphed at her.

Her hands clenched into fists. Inner Sakura was screaming bloody murder, and for once Sakura felt the same. She had saved his life, and he hadn't so much as thanked her. She was keeping up with his pace even though it was murdering her, and he didn't even acknowledge it. She had thrown away her life, her future as a shinobi, all because she wanted to make sure that he didn't die on this insane mission of revenge of his. Now this? "Screw you, Uchiha."

Sasuke blinked at her. She blinked back. Did she just say that out loud? She was pretty sure she had only meant to say it in her head… but it had instead come out of her in an unnatural, cold tone. The raven-haired love of her life was looking at her as if she was insane, and she tended to agree. Her head swam with the knowledge of what had just happened. Sure… she had felt it. She had meant it too. But she sure as hell hadn't meant to actually express it to him. She turned her back slowly, walking away from him down the length of the branch. Her knees felt very weak at the moment, but she managed to keep putting one foot in front of the other, slowly meandering away from him.

"Sakura." His voice was uncertain. "I'm… uh… sorry. You're probably right… sleeping in a bed would be more restful for us." Sasuke wasn't certain what he had just seen, but it wasn't the Sakura he was used to. He felt… unsettled.

Her voice was thready. "We can just use Henge no Jutsu to make sure that no one recognizes us. Let's go."

And Sasuke found himself following her.

-----

Shikamaru was contemplating over various strategies as Neji shouted something from the back of their line. The stream of ninjas halted and backtracked to where the pair of Hyuuga stood with their byakugan active, looking over the area. His keen eyesight didn't miss much, but he couldn't see anything to cause the stop. Just a small clearing in the forest. "What is it, Neji."

"There was an enormous explosion of chakra here…" The white eyed boy spoke quietly.

Shikamaru swallowed nervously. Neji's conception of quantities of chakra varied greatly from his own. The male Hyuuga didn't think twice about pouring his vast chakra out of his body… and seemed to have incredible reserves. For Neji to become so unsettled… "How much?"

"It's easily on par with what Naruto exhibited while fighting me. Also similar to Naruto… the chakra feels… evil."

Hinata gasped. "Naruto-kun isn't evil… just... um..." She looked over at Naruto, who's expression seemed locked in a perpetual half snarl. "…angry." She blushed.

Neji slowly nodded. "Hinata-sama is correct in a sense. While Naruto's chakra feels as though it comes from a source of anger… this chakra feels coldly malicious."

The obvious question was voiced by Naruto. "Sasuke?" The Hyuuga nodded in unison. "Bastard…"

Hinata spoke in a hushed voice, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "I hope we can catch up to them soon. Whoever is holding them might be hurting them…"

Shikamaru watched the reactions of his teammates. 'She's the only one who still has hope they've been kidnapped.' Shikamaru gave a resigned sigh. This mission was looking more and more troublesome. Why did he always get into situations like this? "Let's get going, team. Stick to the plan." Nods all around, and they took flight.

-----

The door slid shut, and the bland looking adult couple who rented a room from the inn keep reverted back to their traditional forms with an audible pop and white smoke. Sasuke looked around the tiny room, dismayed. 'All that money… and this is what we get?' There was only a single bed, though double wide, and the bath wasn't even inside its own alcove. Instead, it simply sat in the corner, with steam wafting up into the air and out a vent in the ceiling. Not even a divider for privacy. The room was cramped, but at least it was clean. His exhausted compatriot fell onto the bed with a content moan, scooping up the pillows in her arms and hugging them to her chest with a soft smile. Sasuke tried not to let himself think as he scratched the back of his neck. "Sakura… you can have the bath while it's still warm. I'm going for a walk."

"No… its okay Sasuke-kun!" That grating fawning voice of hers was back… no traces of that coldly angry tone that had told him off from before. "You can have it first."

He didn't want to admit it, but a bath would feel very good right now. Many days travel had covered his body in sweat and grime, and filled his muscles with weariness. Just a quick dip to work the dirt out of his hair at least. Normal Japanese customs were that you cleaned yourself outside of the bath before entering… but there was no where in the room to accommodate washing outside of the bath. He shrugged, slipping off his sandals, then looked at her pointedly. She blinked, then blushed fiercely and covered her eyes with her hands.

The pink haired kunoichi managed to hesitate for a moment before curiosity got the better of her. A small split in the fingers of her one hand gave her a glimpse of his naked back as his half ripped shirt came off and fell to the floor. He stepped out of his pants too before slipping into the bath in his boxers. She squeezed her fingers shut again, waiting a moment before asking if she could open her eyes. A small grunt of agreement, and she took her hands away. Sasuke lay in the bath with his arms on the sides, his hair matted with water and his back to her.

She hugged the pillow to her chest tighter… remembering the sensation of having Sasuke wrapped up in her arms. Had she ruined it all by letting Inner-Sakura slip out for a moment? "Sasuke-kun?" she said in a small voice. He didn't reply, so she just continued. "… sorry… for before."

He was silent for a moment. "Forget about it."

Sakura contemplated his reply. Lately, his scathing responses had tapered into quiet dismissals. She supposed that… for him… that was kindness. Inner-Sakura wasn't some alternate personality in the back of her head, she knew. Not really, anyway, no matter how much she might pretend. It was more of a ball of feelings that she wrapped up in the back of her head… all of the emotions she had that weren't what Sasuke wanted her to be… suppressed. But now she wondered, if that was the right thing to do.

She slid off the bed, kneeling next to the bath by him. As she reached for him, she felt her hands tremble. She took a breath to calm herself, gently placing her hands on his shoulders. She felt him twitch away as the contact was made. It was only a momentary reaction, and after the initial surprise, he continued to lay there as her hands rested on his wet skin. Taking that as acceptance, she began to rub his shoulders expertly. She silently gave thanks to her mother, who had taught her years ago how to massage like a professional. Time passed by wordlessly as she concentrated on the sensations beneath her hands to guide her. Sasuke slowly sat up as she worked, silently flexing his shoulders back in pleasure as she worked the tension from his limbs. After she reached his lower back, the angle became too awkward and she draped her arms over his shoulders, clasping him in an awkward hug.

After a moment clasped together, he got out of the bath quietly, wrapping a towel around his half clad form as he wiped down with a smaller towel. No thanks were forthcoming, but she hadn't really expected any. Sakura stayed on her knees, resting her head on her arms by the side of the bath, watching him rub his hair with the towel to let it dry properly. He tossed the smaller wet towel aside, his eyes opening and gazing at her carefully through a curtain of mussed hair. "Your turn."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat, but Sasuke shrugged and took two steps over to their double wide bed and lay in it, stomach down, facing away. She wasn't certain if it was because he wanted to give her privacy or he just didn't care… but either way, it took some pressure off her. She kept her gaze on him as she undressed, but he never stirred. She stepped into the steaming water, basking in the heat.

"Sasuke-kun?" Her voice was fainter now, laced with indecision. She didn't get a response, so she tried again. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Mmnph." came a muffled reply.

"Can you wash my back?" There… she had managed to say it.

A few seconds passed, and then Sasuke grumbled and rolled out of bed. "Fine. Fair is fair I guess."

She was in the same corner he had been, her back facing the bed. He wiped down her back with a washcloth, and she raised herself to her knees so he had better access to her body with both hands and eyes. His hands pulled away, but came back after a moment to massage her shoulders. She curled up against the side of the tub with a content grin. It was obvious that he had never massaged anyone before, because he pretty bad at it. But honestly… she didn't care. It was the intent that mattered.

Sasuke imitated her movements and motions, letting his hands glide over her glistening skin. He felt a tightness in his chest, perhaps… apprehension? But yet, this was enjoyable… in its own strange way. It didn't seem like the sort of thing that could be overanalyzed, perhaps. His hand movements had reached her waist, and it seemed like that was far enough. He rested his hands against the small of her back for a moment, then withdrew his hands.

Or tried to at least. Sakura's one hand was gently wrapped around one of his wrists, pulling his hand back around to the front of her body and placing it gently onto her stomach. His other hand slowly joined its companion, stroking in small circles up her stomach, guided by Sakura's own hands placed over his, moving up her chest. He felt lightheaded, and rested his head against her shoulder, feeling her hair brush against his cheek. And then his hands were cupping her breasts, caressing her wet skin. Sakura moaned softly, her hands still leading his, instructing on where to press, where to apply pressure, where to pinch. The latter lesson elicited a sharp gasp from Sakura, and with that, her hands left his and instead reached around, above and behind her, grasping at him and pulling him close.

At first, it was more of an academic exercise to Sasuke. His knowledge of female anatomy, particularly parts which weren't normally visible, was poor at best. But her sounds of breathlessness encouraged him on, and in a bizarre way, he found himself enjoying the knowledge of how he was granting her pleasure. It was gratifying… a sense of accomplishment he lacked from any of his other pursuits in life.

She turned her head to the side, kissing his neck, and he turned to kiss her lips. She pulled him in closer, locking them into a kiss as he continued to fondle her in an increasingly talented way. Emboldened by her successes, Sakura clasped her arms around his back and heaved him into the tub.

Sasuke felt himself being pulled headlong into the water. This was Sakura? The demure, virtually useless third teammate that he had worked with for nearly a year? He closed his eyes as he hit the water, feeling the towel unravel and fall to the floor, leaving him only in his boxers as he was immersed. He turned gracefully in the water, rising up to be parallel with her. He could see her from the front for the first time, her eyes burning with an impassioned fervor he never thought to see upon her face. He felt a genuine smile tugging at his expression, a rare occurrence. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing their naked chests together as they kissed, twining their tongues together. His knee slipped between her legs, rubbing against the waterlogged fabric of her panties in just the right spot to bring a moan of appreciation out of her throat. She ground against his leg, coaxing him on further. Her fingernails traced patterns down his back as his knee continued working its magic upon her. Water splashed out of the tub, the waterline already dangerously high from having two bodies in at once. Her breath was already drawing short, and she gasped in a quick breath between frantic kisses. The friction was shooting jolts up her spine, and she pushed against him harder. Before long, she had pushed him to the other side of the tub, so that it was her body pressing against his and not the other way around. Sasuke's expression was one of intent determination, lacking the indecision of their previous encounter. She ran her hands through his raven hair, kissing him fiercely.

His hands wrapped around her back, drawing her in, the last of his reservations fading. She kissed down his chest, then back up to his collarbone. He gently turned her, extracting himself from her grasp, so that she was sitting in his lap as they snuggled with only their heads above the water. Sakura pouted slightly, because she couldn't kiss him from this angle, but the attention his hands paid to her nipples quickly made up for that. She could feel his breathing growing thicker, with her back to his chest, and she smiled. His one hand continued while the other dropped down her chest, until a single one of his fingers played with the band to her underwear. She felt her heart hammering in her chest, and her own hand clasped over his, pulling it up to her stomach. She bit her lip. It had been an instinctive defense, but he had probably taken it as a rejection. He kissed the back of her shoulder, and she let out a breath, pressing the errant hand downward to cup her through the thin material. Sasuke's hand caressed her, sending shivers through her. After a moment, his hand delved inside the fabric, touching her without barriers. A single digit inside her, and she bucked up against the hand that was causing these sensations.

Though a part of his mind was still experimenting and learning, Sasuke's rational thought processes had mostly turned off. The rush of satisfaction from fulfilling Sakura's desires fed his own happiness… a strange sort of expanding circle of bliss. She was writhing against him now, softly vocalizing her pleasures and encouragement. Her movements in her seat were causing stirrings of his own, though he clamped down on them… he wanted to concentrate on her for tonight.

Her vision was quickly going white, an all-consuming sensation building inside her loins. A single shred of sanity left inside of her said that the walls around them were thin and she had to keep quiet, but choked gasps of pleasure kept escaping her throat. She arched her back and turned her head, kissing Sasuke's neck. Through the dim light, she could see Sasuke's intent face as his finger worked inside her. Faster and faster the strokes came, and the tension became nearly unbearable. He turned his face, kissing her lips as he thrust, and the tension crested over her in a red wave. Her back spasmed and arched back, all the muscles in her body going taut, and she cried out into his kiss. Other waves of pleasure, some larger and some smaller, swept over her as Sasuke brought her down slowly with tender ministrations. They stayed coupled as the time passed silently, caressing and softly kissing each other into the night.

And there they lay, as the water cooled to lukewarm, for the hours of their rest, intertwined in that comfortable position. As she slept, Sakura had a grin which nearly covered her face, errant strands of pink hair matted to her cheeks and Sasuke's chest. And Sasuke's dreams, normally filled with tormenting imagery of blood and blazing red eyes, were restful for the first time since his childhood. He dreamt of cherry blossoms.