Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. IT'S NOT FAIR! (kicks and screams) xD

This story is coming along pretty well, I just am having trouble updating as often as I'd like. Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I know its getting intense, but don't forget that this IS a SasuSaku fic! lol!

Chapter 8:

Step 1

Blood

Screaming

Terror

Helplessness

Sakura walked through the darkened corridors of Orochimaru's hideout. She'd managed to kill Kabuto and the Snake Sannin, but now she was looking for her parents.

"Where are they?" She whispered out her worried thoughts.

As if on cue, a door up ahead of her opened slowly. Sakura heard whispers. She ran down the darkened hallway and came to a dead halt at the threshold of the room.

Both of her parents lay in a large pool of blood in the center of the room.

"Sa-Sakura?" Her father whispered.
Sakura threw herself to the floor, oblivious to the blood drenching her clothing. She gathered her chakra to her hands and desperately pumped it into her father's dying body.

"Sakura, s-stop. I'm al-already d-dead." Her father whispered, lifting his hand weakly to grip her shoulder.

Sakura's shoulders slumped as she stared at her father's dying body, tears welling up in her eyes. "TOUSA!" She screamed.

Suddenly, her father's dying body gained inhuman strength and Sakura was grabbed by her throat and slammed into the wall.

"I wouldn't be dead, nor would your mother be if you hadn't been so fucking stupid!" He bellowed. Sakura's eyes were wide with fear and full of unshed tears. Her father stomped forward, fiery anger and a thirst for blood shone in his eyes.

"You betrayed Konoha by letting us die! We were to bring important information back to the Hokage! But you and your foolish emotional kunoichi self had to interfere and mess our mission up!"

Sakura started to cry. She hunched over onto her knees, hugging her torso tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" she muttered.

Her father stalked forward. His cold dead fingers reached out and snatched Sakura up by her throat and pinned her to the wall.
Emerald eyes met her father's glazed over blue ones. Sakura eyes widened in complete horror as her "father's" face crumbled away to reveal Orochimaru's hideous face.

"You betrayed Konoha and your parents. Without their knowledge, Konoha will die." His grip on her throat intensified, causing Sakura to scream, trying to breathe.
"You are dead, foolish kunoichi."

Sasuke felt Sakura's skin turn ice cold. His eyes snapped open and he looked up to see if she was awake. Sweat beaded on her forehead and tears were slipping out from under her closed eyelids. Suddenly, she grimaced and started trembling. Sasuke knew she was nearing consciousness.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sakura screamed. Her eyes had snapped open and she tried to sit up, but was prevented.

Sasuke, who'd seen her inhale sharply, immediately covered her mouth with his gloved hand. Sakura resisted him greatly and he wound up getting on top of her, his body straddling her to hold her still.

"Sakura!"

Sakura's tear-filled eyes looked up at him. She couldn't stop crying. Her screaming ceased as soon as she recognized him. Sasuke slowly and cautiously removed his hand and he released her.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun?" She whispered. He nodded, relief that she was all right spreading through him like a wildfire. Sakura's eyes filled with tears again, and this time, it was Sasuke who took her into his arms, holding her protectively close while letting her cry.

"I-I killed them." She said after she calmed down slightly. "I'm the reason my family is dead."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

At this, Sakura started to cry again. She tried to tell him about the dream she'd just had, but Sasuke stopped her. He automatically knew that Orochimaru had somehow brainwashed her into believing that she was responsible for the killing of her parents. He wouldn't settle for that.

"Shh…" He said softly. He gently stroked her hair as she cried. "Sakura, its okay now. That snake bastard is dead. I watched you kill him. You don't have to be afraid anymore." I'm here to protect you now. He mentally added.

Sakura sniffed several times before she collapsed against exhaustedly onto Sasuke's chest. He smirked as he carefully picked her up and laid her back into bed. He tucked her back in and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before he left to go get Tsunade to report what he had just learned.

…

Three days passed.

Sasuke had been sent away on a mission, but was scheduled to return soon.

Sakura was showing signs of improvement physically, but her mood didn't change. Her eyes were dead and her words were cold whenever she was spoken to. She barely acknowledged her sensei's presence as Tsunade entered her room to check up on her. Tsunade stopped dead in the doorway, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of Sakura. She was sitting up finally, and staring out the window; a blank look on her face. A striking image ran through Tsunade's mind at that moment, a flashback from the past flashing before her eyes. In Sakura's place, sat a young shinobi with raven colored hair and dark icy eyes. In the memory, the youngest Uchiha turned his head to stare at her blankly.

Sakura had done the same. Her eyes were blank; her expression hardly betraying what was going on in her mind and heart.

Tsunade had been periodically checking up on Sakura in the time of Sasuke's absence. He'd stayed by her side every day since she woke. Though Tsunade couldn't begin to fathom why the boy never said anything at all to her apprentice.
Sakura had become as cold as ever. She didn't look at Tsunade when blood was cleaned from her healing wounds, nor did she even flinch when stitches were removed.

The day Sasuke returned from his mission, he went straight to the hospital. Tsunade stopped him at the end of the hall, having heard him ask the front desk if Sakura had been checked out yet.

"I don't know what to do with her Uchiha. Her body is healing, but she needs to rest still. I can't get her to talk, and she only eats a few bites of anything that we have tried to feed her."

Sasuke just stared off in the direction of Sakura's door. "Her parent's funerals are tomorrow. I am not sure if it's such a good idea to have her attend, as she was a complete mess at the first one." Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at her. "There was one held before? While her parents were still alive?" He asked, crossing his arms. The feeling inside his stomach churning. He did not like what he was hearing.

"Her parents had been missing for months, Uchiha. I didn't know what to do after it had been four months past the time that they were supposed to return." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "So you led her to believe that her parents were dead?"

"I had no choice!" Tsunade yelled. She drew a deep breath before continuing in a softer voice. "I received a note from my former teammate saying that he'd killed them. This was before your return. I guess that's why Sakura attacked you the night she left…" Her voice trailed off.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment as anger washed through him. So that's why she thought that I had killed them…

He started to walk away. "What are you going to do?" Tsunade asked. Sasuke turned around. "Don't ask me that right now." He said before opening Sakura's door and disappearing inside.

Sakura lay on her back, her hands resting on her stomach and staring stolidly at the ceiling. She heard the door open and she closed her eyes. Sasuke entered the room slowly, taking in the surroundings. She was alone. "I see that dinner has been served." He said, his eyes coming to rest on the tray of food next to her bed. He saw Sakura flinch slightly at his voice before her eyes opened to stare at him.

"You're back…" She whispered incredulously.

He smirked. "Was I not supposed to be?" Sakura turned her eyes back to the ceiling. "I dunno." She whispered.

Wow, four whole words out of her so far. In three days? Pfft, that's a record. He thought to himself as he took his seat again next to the bed. "C'mon, you should eat something." He said, pulling the tray out and skillfully grabbing some rice with the chopsticks. Sakura didn't move. "Not hungry." She muttered. She cursed as her stomach chose that moment to growl.

"Whatever." Sasuke said, holding the rice near her mouth. "Eat."

Sakura rolled her eyes and rolled over. "Not hungry." She repeated.

"Don't be annoying Sakura. Just eat." Sasuke said, knowing that his words would pinch a nerve.

But she managed to keep her reaction hidden. "I said I'm not hungry." She said a little louder. Sasuke sighed. Guess I'll have to try something else… He thought. "Well, I guess I don't blame you. This hospital food is bad anyway. The only way I didn't starve when I was here all the time was because you always used to cut up apples for me." He said softly.

Sakura flinched. He smiled. Gotcha. He thought.

"You never ate them." She whispered.

"Not when you were in the room." He countered quietly.

"It's not like I poisoned it or anything."

"No. Naruto would never have let me live it down if he saw that I was letting you take care of me."

Sakura sighed. "Now who's annoying?" She whispered.

Sasuke's eyes widened. Wasn't expecting that. "But I guess in a way he knew. Good old Naruto. Always has to make everyone believe that there's always some hope out there." Sasuke said quietly. Sakura slowly but surely rolled back over to stare at him. "You actually have hope?" she asked incredulously. Sasuke used that moment when her mouth was open to stuff the rice into it. Her eyes widened at first but then narrowed as she closed her mouth to keep from making a mess. She swallowed angrily after chewing and growled, "Cheater." She rolled back over, hiding the tears that had sprung to her eyes.

"I didn't cheat. I just got you to open your mouth." He said quietly.

"…"

Sasuke leaned back in his chair, watching her closely. Her breathing is steady, so that must mean her internal wounds are healed. He thought to himself. He saw that a few bandages still covered the once severe wounds. But other than that, she looked much better. Her coloring had returned to normal since Tsunade had given her a few pills to increase the blood cell count since Sakura had lost a lot of blood before she'd been brought in.

He watched as Sakura slowly started to fall asleep. Well at least she's resting more now. He thought.

Tsunade chose that moment to call him out into the hall.

…

Morning came. But Sakura still hadn't woken up yet.

"Sasuke-kun, can I eat tomatoes too?" Sakura mumbled in her sleep. Sasuke's onyx eyes opened from his meditative state and he looked at Sakura's sleeping face. "Sakura?" He whispered.

"Mmhmm…" she muttered. "Five more minutes Okaasan..."

Sasuke smiled. She's going to be awake soon… He thought. He got up and went downstairs. Last night after Sakura had fallen asleep, Tsunade had had her moved to his house.

FLASHBACK

"Uchiha, you're just about the only one in this whole village capable of teaching Sakura how to live again." Tsunade said, crossing her arms and closing her eyes, a frown on her face.

Sasuke didn't respond, but stood stoically across the room. "She's refused to say a word all this time. I don't know what the hell happened to her in Orochimaru's place, but it's almost like she's become—"

"A ghost of who she once used to be?" Sasuke finally spoke. 'I got her to talk.' He thought smugly to himself.

Tsunade opened her eyes and her frown deepened. "Yes."

"Hn."

His response drew an angry reaction from Tsunade. "Is that all that you have to say!" She snarled.

"No." Sasuke replied. "I'm waiting."

Tsunade's eyes widened for a split second before she narrowed them dangerously. "You little bastard…" She muttered. "You knew all along why I called you out here to talk?"

The Uchiha Prodigy smirked. "What else would your reason be for taking me from her side?" Tsunade shook her head in mild disbelief. "I want Sakura to stay with you. The last place I want her is alone in her dead parent's house."

"Done."

"Take care of her Uchiha. You're the only one in Konoha who can help her now…" Tsunade reiterated.

Sasuke turned around, flicking his wrist and sending a kunai in Tsunade's direction. She caught it between two fingers without even looking.

"You really didn't need to ask." He said, returning once more to Sakura's room.

END FLASHBACK

Sakura's eyes opened. She was no longer in the hospital. The room she lay in now confirmed that. Where the hell am I? She thought, preparing herself for the worst. She heard footsteps outside the door and she dove back into the covers, yelping in pain at her still healing ribs.

"You shouldn't be trying to move around all that much just yet." A smooth voice said beside her. Sakura felt the blanket gently being pulled from her head. Onyx eyes met emerald green. "Ohayo." He said simply. Sakura didn't reply. She just stared up at him, a blank expression on her face. Sasuke recognized that look. It mirrored the one that he'd worn for years after his parent's deaths. It may have meant to be blank, but Sasuke could see the pain, fear, and most of all, the deep sadness behind her eyes.

"Can I go home now?" Sakura whispered, breaking him from his thoughts. When he didn't reply immediately, she braced herself on her arms and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She winced with the dulling pain, but she ignored it. She was about to swing her legs over the side of the bed to get up but she felt a hand grasping her shoulder.

"You're not completely recovered to do that." He said, pulling her back.

Anger boiled inside of her.

"I will NOT dishonor my parents' memory by missing their funeral!" She snapped, flicking his hand away from her shoulder.

"You can't go alone." He said after a moment of silence.

"Watch me."

"No."

Sakura's eyes turned to face him. That was fast. She thought. Sasuke now stood completely in front of her, blocking her from getting up.

"I will be fine Sasuke…kun." She whispered. With that, she placed her hands on the edge of the bed and slid down, feet gracefully landing on the floor, directly in front of him. She wobbled for a second, her legs not used to supporting all of her weight after spending nearly a week lying in bed.

She looks so fragile, like she could break at any second…He thought.

Sakura tore her eyes away from his face. It was time to be strong. Sasuke or no Sasuke, she had a funeral to attend.

She walked around him, heading towards the door. "I'm going home to get cleaned up. I'm not going looking like this." She said softly. Sasuke beat her to the door. "It's ok." He said quietly, his head bowed. He pointed to the chair beside her bed. Sakura's eyes followed the direction in which he was pointing and her gaze fell upon a white kimono lying over the back of the chair. Her eyes widened and she looked back at her teammate. Sasuke hadn't lifted his head. "It was my mother's. You can have it to wear to your parent's funeral." He said softly.
Sakura was speechless. Her heart was screaming for her to grab him in a hug. She'd never heard him talk about his parents before and now all of a sudden he was going to let her use something that probably was precious to his mother? "Its ok, Sasuke-kun. I can always run home and grab something from my house." She whispered.

He shook his head.

"I'll meet you in the hallway in 30 minutes." He said before exiting the room. Sakura stared at the door dumbfounded. After a moment she shook herself out of her daze. She went to the bathroom, freshening up, washing her hair and toweling it dry. She ran her fingers through her rosette locks and stared at her face. The bruise on her cheek was gradually disappearing, but it still made her look funny. She rolled her eyes as she decided to ignore it. Emerging from the bathroom she turned her gaze to Uchiha Mikoto's kimono lying over the chair. A shiver went up her spine as she shakily reached out for it. The material was silky and soft. Sakura pulled it on gently and carefully tied the pink obi around her waist.

It fit her perfectly.

She went back to the bathroom to stare at her appearance in the mirror. Wow, not too shabby. She thought. She exited the room, turning off the light and closing the door behind her.

Sasuke had changed and was waiting for her as she came out. She was having some trouble walking, which didn't come as a surprise. But what did surprise him was how well she looked like she was hiding it.

Next came the stairs. Sakura drew a deep breath and gripped the railing. She took the first step and almost fell—but found herself in a pair of strong arms.

"I'm fine." She whispered, embarrassed and angry at herself for not being able to walk down a simple flight of stairs.

"No, you're not." Came his reply.

Sakura didn't argue. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. She wouldn't cry; and almost certainly not in front of him. She'd made that mistake in the hospital and she wouldn't repeat it.

He doesn't care. Tsunade is the one I have to "thank" for placing me here. She thought bitterly as Sasuke carried her out the door.

But what about that time in Orochi—

Don't even try to finish that sentence. Sakura silenced her Inner self.

Sasuke allowed Sakura to walk a little more on her own once they were outside. She didn't try to cling to him and refused to hold onto his arm for support.

She's sure changed since I left. He thought.

The two pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Haruno were placed next to each other. Friends and family, (Sakura) walked up to the memorial, placing white roses before the pictures. This was the second memorial that had been held for the two Konoha Nin.

Kakashi set a rose by each photograph, his one visible eye closing solemnly. Naruto followed suit. He searched the crowd for Sakura, and saw her standing off to the side, mostly away from everyone who had gathered. Sasuke was close by. Naruto turned his sad cerulean gaze up to the sky. The clouds were rolling in, the sky growing darker as rain approached.

Sasuke turned to look at Sakura. Her face was in a frown and her eyes looked ahead, staring at nothing.

Ice cold.

She looks just like I did when I went to my parent's memorial…He thought. Sasuke turned his attention back to Tsunade; watching as she too, placed two white roses in front of the Haruno's pictures. She turned around to face the small crowd of ninja and civilians.

"The loss of the Harunos was a huge blow to Konoha." She started. "But we must continue on, becoming stronger so that we may defend our village against those who wish to see it defeated. The Harunos gave their lives in order to protect Konoha. Their names will go on the memorial as heroes of this village."

"THAT'S A LIE!" Sakura suddenly screamed.
All eyes turned to stare dubiously at her.

"MY PARENTS DIDN'T DIE NOBLELY! THEY WERE BRUTALLY MURDERED! ALL BECAUSE I WAS TOO WEAK TO SAVE THEM!"

Sakura's tears were streaming down her flushed cheeks. People around her started to murmur anxiously. Tsunade met her apprentice's ravaged gaze. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Sakura disappear.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw Sakura interrupt the Hokage's eulogy. His onyx gaze found Tsunade's and she nodded. He took off after Sakura, hoping that he would find her.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto hollered. He made to go after her, but Kakashi stopped him. "Let her go Naruto. She needs to learn how to deal with this. Don't worry. Sasuke's going after her, see?" He pointed to the departing Uchiha. His grip on the blonde ninja loosened as he felt Naruto calm down. All my students are orphans now…He thought sadly as he looked down at Naruto's face. Naruto looked over at the Hokage. She had closed her eyes, tears silently starting to stream from her closed eyes. He slid from Kakashi's restraint and went to her side. "Ne, Tsunade no baa-chan. It's going to be ok. Sasuke-teme will help her." He said, confident that his best friend would follow through. Tsunade opened her eyes and stared eye to eye with her hopeful future successor. He grinned his usual cheesy grin. It put a smile on her face as well. She grabbed Naruto into a hug, ignoring the blonde's sudden protests. Tsunade was left to patch up crowd control and mend the startled emotions washing through everyone.

…

She ran.

Not as fast as she would have been capable of if she weren't still recovering from the beating she got from Kabuto. But it was fast enough to get her the distance she needed from the memorial and her sensei. Her body screamed in protest, but she didn't stop. She kept running until she reached the bridge where her old Genin team used to meet everyday for training.

She collapsed on the bridge, her legs finally giving out on her. She didn't move even as she felt rain start to fall. Soon, the soft drizzle had turned into a downpour.

Sakura turned her broken green gaze to the sky.

"Oh sky, even you're crying too? It's my fault all this happened!" She cried.

She felt someone approaching. She sat up; pulling a kunai from her holster she'd hidden underneath the kimono. She relaxed as she realized that it was one of her teammates racing towards her. She leaned into the railing on the bridge, dangling her feet over the edge. What shocked her more, however, was the fact that it wasn't Naruto who had come after her.

It was Sasuke.

He came up behind her and kneeled down beside her. "What do you want Uchiha?" She whispered, not looking at him.

He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled her by her shoulders towards him, turning her around. Sakura looked up into his eyes and was shocked to see them filled with worry.

The Uchiha Prodigy pulled her close to him in a hug. Sakura froze for a second. "You're going to get sick if you stay out here in the rain." He said quietly in her ear. Sakura pulled away from him to look him in the eyes.

"Why do you care?" She whispered, watching for his reaction. Surprisingly, she found one. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he lifted her chin with two fingers. "Because I know what you're going through." He said softly. Sakura's eyes widened as his words hit on the hard truth.

Am I going to have to shut everyone out? She thought to herself.

"And I know that being alone right now is the last thing that you really want." He continued.

I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry— Sakura finally broke. Sasuke pulled her close again. This time, Sakura didn't resist. She buried her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

The more she cried, the tighter he held her. Soon, his half-hug turned into a full embrace. His arms held Sakura to his chest as she let go of everything.

When she finally calmed, she was breathing somewhat normally. Sasuke could feel her heartbeat through her kimono on his chest. He smiled to himself.

I've got you, Sakura.

Sakura closed her eyes. Her heart didn't hurt as much, but the pain was still there. She felt herself being scooped up. She looked over at Sasuke. He smirked. "Let's go home." He whispered. She nodded, resting her head on his chest.

Once they were back at his house, he carried her up to her room. He stood in her doorway as he gently let her down, but didn't let go. He still had her in a hug as he leaned close to her ear.
"Step one," He whispered. "Is learning to feel again,"

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked up at Sasuke.

"Complete." He said as he smiled down at her. With that, he let her go and gestured to the dresser in the room. "There are some of my old clothes in there that might fit you. Go ahead and get out of those wet clothes so you don't freeze."

Sakura nodded slightly as he closed the door.

"Wow." She whispered. She walked over to the dresser and opened it. Neatly folded inside were several black long-sleeved shirts with the Uchiha crest on the back. She smiled as she gently took off the kimono, hanging it up in the closet so it could dry. She pulled one of the shirts over her head and smiled when she saw that it fit her perfectly. She found shorts in the next drawer, and pulled a pair on too. She tied her hair back and opened the door. Making her way slowly down the hallway, she saw that all of the doors were closed, except for one at the end of the hallway. "Sasuke-kun?" She called through the cracked door.

It opened and she looked in. Sasuke stood in the doorway, partially changed, but shirtless.

Inner Sakura squealed with ecstasy.

He smirked when he saw her dressed in his old clothing. She actually looks good as an Uchiha…He thought. Sakura smiled slightly as she came closer and pulled him into a hug. He reacted instantly, wrapping his arms around her. Sakura closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. "Thank you." She whispered.