Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and if I did, Sasuke would sweep Sakura off her feet and they would live happily ever after! Lol!

Here's chapter one! WOOOOOOTTTT! Lol!

Chapter 1:

Secret Training

Uchiha Sasuke opened his onyx eyes sharply. He sat up fast, the events of his dream still replaying in his mind. It was a moment before he realized that he'd returned to reality. His heartbeat slowed as his dark eyes swept the room. Familiarity returned to him then, as did the name of the last person on his mind before he fell asleep…

Sakura…

She'd been acting weird (well, weird in his opinion because she didn't fan-girl over him when he came home,) and every time he saw her, she never directly looked him in the eye.

Come to think of it, Sakura had made a point of ignoring him ever since he'd returned home. Every time it seemed like he could confront her alone, she'd found an excuse to get away, almost like she couldn't bear to be around him.

I don't blame her. I was such a bastard when I left her. He thought, as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and dropped to the floor. Since his return from Orochimaru, people in the village of Konoha had started treating him coldly.

"It's all right." His best friend Naruto had said to him upon his release from the hospital. "They'll lighten up sooner or later. You're just gonna have to prove your loyalty to Konoha before they stop treating you like you're a disgrace." Sasuke felt a sharp pang of guilt in his chest as he realized the words unspoken from Naruto. He remembered how initially Naruto had been treated as an outcast because of Kyuubi being sealed inside him. But since Naruto had become a full-fledged shinobi, Konoha had finally accepted him.

Now it's my turn… He thought bitterly.

He got dressed and ate breakfast quickly. Just as he was sliding his shoes on by the door did he hear a loud knock on his door.
Sasuke stood and opened it to reveal his best friend, looking absolutely terrified of something.
Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed.

"Naruto." He said.

Uzumaki Naruto had always been a fearless individual ever since Team 7's mission to the Land of the Wave all those years ago. Now though, however, he looked as if he'd seen his own ghost.

"S-sakura-chan…" Naruto stuttered. Sasuke's heart leapt into his throat at the sound of his other teammate's name.
"What's happened?" Sasuke demanded, already moving out the door and slamming it shut behind him. Naruto couldn't speak for a moment, which was incredible since the baka was babbling all the time about becoming Hokage one day. Naruto shook his head hard, further tousling his already messy, spiky blonde hair. "It's not the same Sakura we knew Sasuke." He said, regaining his composure enough to explain.

"There's something, different about her."

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. In truth, he really had no idea what had sparked such a dramatic change in their pink-haired teammate. But he would kill himself before he ever admitted that he was really worried about her to anyone, let alone Naruto.

Naruto cast a questioning glance in Sasuke's direction. "Ne Sasuke, you ok?" Sasuke faced him, nodding slowly. "Aa." He replied, hiding everything with his usual stoic expression.

"What is it about Sakura that you've noticed was different?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Naruto looked at him and snorted. "Well, she's been going out of her way to ignore you." He said, watching Sasuke's reaction.

He got nothing.

Sasuke frowned. "She hasn't been training with us for the past two weeks Naruto. Where do you think she's been?"

Naruto sighed. "C'mon, I'll show you. She's been skipping out on training with us because she's found another sparring partner." He said a sad look in his eyes. Sasuke noted this, and felt like Naruto had been holding something back, but didn't say anything more about it.

For a split second, Sasuke thought that Sakura had chosen one of the shinobis in their village as a suitor. His heart jumped into his throat again, and he swallowed hard.

Naruto led him to a clearing where the noise of a battle was going on. Hiding in the trees, Naruto pointed to two shinobis, matched evenly in battle. One had pink hair…

"Sakura." Sasuke whispered. "She's been training with Fuzzy Brows now for a while. I don't know why she won't talk to us, but he's the only one that will hear more than two words come out of her."

Sasuke frowned. "She's training with Rock Lee?" He asked, his question almost seemed like a growl. Naruto nodded, his frown mirroring Sasuke's. "I'm worried about her. I don't know why she won't train with us, but I'm more than willing to try to find out. You in?" Naruto asked, preparing to leap down on the two Konoha Chuunin.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, nodding slightly. "Let's at least watch them for a minute. I'm curious to see how much she's improved." Naruto said, relaxing his grip on his kunai a bit.

"Aa." Sasuke said, leaning against the trunk of the tree they were on.

Rock Lee came at her again, this time landing a hard kick in her stomach. The force of his kick threw her to the ground, but the momentum kept her going. She dug her kunai into the ground, slowing her "fall" towards a nearby tree. Breathing hard, Sakura managed to force herself to her feet.

"Sakura-san, yamete."(1) Lee said, bowing respectfully to her. "You've been pushing yourself too hard!" He finally shouted his worry to her.

Sakura felt a wave of anger wash over her.

OHH NO! He did NOT just call us WEAK! Inner Sakura ranted.

"Don't try to tell me what to do! I NEED to train harder! I NEED to get better!" Lee sighed, conceding once more upon seeing the determination in her green eyes. "Again then, Sakura-san." He'd learned long ago from Tenten that once a girl's mind was made up, there was no going back.

Sakura came at him again, this time feigning an attack to his right, but really going for his left. Lee stopped and went to block the attack as usual, but Sakura's speed had gotten much better and she landed a satisfyingly hard blow to his left side. From the tree branch nearby Sasuke smirked. Nice job. He thought at Sakura.

Lee's already big eyes widened as he stood, dusting himself off. "Nice job Sakura-san!" He said, giving her the "Nice Guy" pose, glittering teeth and everything. This still made Sakura shudder. Naruto and Sasuke winced also. This guy was just plain weird.

Lee came at her this time, forcing Sakura to block a series of kicks and punches as he tested her newly improved speed. Sakura wasn't fast enough however, to block a punch, which was an uppercut right in the face. She felt her nose pop and her top teeth splitting her lip. Blood immediately started gushing out. Sakura's body flew upwards and back with the force of his blow and she landed hard, back slamming into the base of the trunk of the tree Naruto and Sasuke were watching from.

At that moment, the other two members of Team 7 dropped in.

"YO! Dog Brow! What the hell did you just do to Sakura-chan?" Naruto screamed, throwing his kunai in Lee's direction, forcing him to jump backwards and further away from Sakura.

"Nothing Naruto-kun! We were just training! She asked me to help her!" He added, backing away from a now fuming Naruto.

Sasuke landed next to Sakura. His hand went behind her head, checking to be sure she wasn't seriously injured. "Sakura." He said softly. Sakura's eyes fluttered open and for a second she just stared at Sasuke. "Sasuke…kun." She whispered. Her eyes widened in horror as she also saw Naruto cornering Lee.

"Lee-san…nani…?" she started, the question dying in her throat as she looked back up at the ninja standing over her.

"Sasuke-kun?" she nearly shrieked, realization slamming into her. He smirked. "Aa. Iki masyoo Sakura."(2) He said, offering his hand to her.

Timidly, Sakura took it, and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"Fuzzy Brows, what the hell were you doing with Sakura-chan anyways? You hurt her, why were you so hard on her?" Naruto demanded.

This comment drew an angry snarl from Sakura. "Because he was actually letting me try! He wasn't holding back like you two do when we train! He doesn't doubt my abilities!" She shouted, silencing Naruto's interrogating questions.

Lee still backed away, his wide eyes staring fearfully at the hidden glare Sasuke was sending him. He'd had his bandaged hands raised innocently by his ears. "We were just training I said! Sakura-chan came to me just after the news from Tsunade-sama about her parents and—" He stopped dead, his eyes already widening at his sudden folly.

Sasuke heard Sakura gasp softly with sudden surprise and fear.

"What news?" Naruto demanded. At this, tears swelled in Sakura's eyes, and her stomach jumped into her throat. "J-ja ne, anata" (3) She whispered. She took off, jumping backwards and sped away into the forest, disappearing into the trees.

Sasuke didn't waste a minute to turn to go after her. "Naruto…"

"Yeah I got it." The blonde interrupted. "Go after her. I'll keep Fuzzy Brows here." Sasuke nodded once, then disappeared in the direction Sakura had gone.

Naruto turned back to Lee, who had taken to collapsing against a tree. "Ano…" (4) Naruto started, drawing another kunai from his holster. "Ano…Fuzzy Brow, you got about five seoncds to tell me that the hell is going on…"

Ok, so that was chapter one! Please R&R so I know what you all think! I know it's kinda slow right now, but I've got this all written out. It gets better, I promise! xD

Yamete: stop

Iki masyoo: Let's go

Ja ne, anata: See you later guys

Ano…or ano sa: Hey!