Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, cuz if I did, I would be the happiest person alive. xD

WWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Thank you everyone who has been staying with me on this story! I might end this soon, however. I wanna also try to focus on The Strength of the Heart too, you know?

Well, anyways, here's chapter 10!

Stained Cherry Blossoms

A Reason to Live

She looked up at him, pain clearly evident in her eyes. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as she tried to pull away.
"Sakura, what happened?" He asked his voice quiet. She shook her head. She didn't say anything as she stood up, heading into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and her lips were red. Turning on the cold water tap, she splashed icy water on her face, waking herself up. Getting dressed quickly, she noticed that something was missing…

The bandages she'd tightly wrapped around her upper torso were gone. Her cheeks turned a bright shade of crimson as she realized who must have removed them. She swallowed hard, finished getting dressed and emerged from the bathroom, pulling her medium length hair from her shoulders.

Sasuke stared in hidden awe as Sakura flipped her hair down, gathering silky strands of soft pink in between her fingers and tying it up in a ponytail away from her face. She sent him one last look as she headed out of his room.

"I have to go see Tsunade-sama today. See you around." She said over her shoulder.

Sasuke just sat there, stunned. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Sakura walked out the door, silently closing it behind her. The minute she was out in the hall was when her despair took over.

He'll never be happy as long as he's got his stupid ambition to fulfill. I'll never tell him what Itachi said, NEVER! I'll die before I ever let him feel this pain I'm feeling right now… Sakura held onto her tears as she walked brusquely down the street to Konoha's hospital. She did her best to keep her composition in check as she greeted the nurses at the front desk with a forced smile, asking for her sensei. They told her that Tsunade was in her office, and Sakura headed there without a second thought.

Raising her fist to knock on the door, she heard a voice call from inside, "It's open Sakura."

Easing the door open, Sakura entered, never once saying anything. It was a few moments later when Tsunade looked up from her desk at her timid-looking apprentice. "Room 106 is ready and waiting. You can go in if you like. I'll be there in a minute." Sakura nodded numbly as she clutched the door handle.

Tsunade watched her apprentice depart. Something wasn't right, she could feel it.

…

Sakura collapsed on the exam table in the room. Her anxiety was starting to take over, and that wasn't good. What the hell is happening to me? She thought.

Tsunade chose that moment, however, to interrupt her thoughts. She checked Sakura's healing injuries, frowning in worry as she noticed the fresh bandages over the deepest wound on her torso. "Sakura, you've got a lot of bruising around your upper torso. I thought you would know that you should not be training for at least a few weeks, but if you're that worried about your breasts getting in the way, start wearing a bra. I don't want to see you wrapping yourself anymore, understand?"

Sakura merely nodded.

"Tsunade-sama…" Sakura's voice carried off as Tsunade allowed her to pull her shirt back on over her head after making sure that the bleeding had indeed stopped.

"Hm?" came the reply. The Hokage's face was twisted into a studious frown as she ran over a list on her clipboard. She turned her attention back to her apprentice when she didn't say anything.

"What is it Sakura?" She asked.

"Has there been any news about Ino-chan?" She whispered.

"…"

Tsunade didn't reply for a long while. Sakura could tell by the look on her face that this was something Tsunade had been trying to avoid discussing with her. It had been almost two weeks since Sakura's rescue mission, and still there had been no sign or contact with the young blonde kunoichi. Worry etched its way onto her face as her emerald eyes dropped from the Hokage's face.

"We're still searching for her Sakura. Don't worry. We will find her."
Guilt shot through Sakura's heart at Tsunade's words. Fact was, Sakura knew where her best friend was, but she knew nothing of the danger of her friend's situation, nor did she know that her best friend was undercover on a highly confidential S-ranked mission. Tsunade sighed heavily. She turned her attention back to her clipboard, scanning the list of Sakura's recovering injuries. "You are getting close to being back to normal physically; however I still recommend that you refrain from over-exerting yourself. Train a little every other day. You should be completely healed by the end of the week. However, you are malnourished. Here is a prescription I want you to take. It will help give you your strength back and properly nourish your body. Eating again will also help. I'll see you on Saturday, ok?" Tsunade tore the piece of paper she'd scribbled Sakura's prescription on, off of the pad and handed it to her apprentice, watching her awfully close from behind her almond eyes. Sakura merely nodded as she hopped off the exam table.

"Sakura."

Sakura froze in the doorway. She slowly turned around to face Tsunade. "Hai, Tsunade-sama?" She asked respectfully. Her usual cheerfulness had been gone from her voice for what seemed like forever.

Too long in Tsunade's opinion. "Are you doing ok?"

Heh, what a question. Sakura thought bitterly to herself. "Yes, I'm fine." She replied, masking her pain with a fake smile. It was the one that could fool anyone. "I'm gonna go pick this up." Sakura said, holding her prescription slip up. "Until later, Tsunade-sama." She said, bowing respectfully before departing.

Tsunade watched as her apprentice left the room, walking solemnly out the door. She sighed deeply as she tried to let her guilt pass. Yamanaka Ino was Sakura's childhood best friend, and here she was, in deep enemy territory, finishing the work that the Harunos were doing before they were captured: Discovering how to bring Akatsuki down, from the inside out.

I hope you will forgive me, Sakura. Ino may be your best friend, but at this point, she's Konoha's last hope.

No sooner had Sakura left the hospital did Sasuke enter. A worried look had graced his features as he hurriedly ran past a few visitors and attendants to ask the nurses at the front desk if Sakura was still there. They shook their heads, pleasantly informing him that she had just departed after retrieving her prescription.

…

The weather didn't help her mood. Guilt stricken and overcome with sadness, Sakura wandered the streets of Konoha with a dazed look on her face. Her eyes fell upon the Yamanaka Flower shop, where she saw Ino's mother tending to the outside displays. "Hello Sakura dear!" Mrs. Yamanaka called, waving cheerfully. Sakura forced a smile to her face and she waved back. "Any news on my darling daughter?"

Sakura's eyes dropped as she shook her head. Ino's mother sensed something was wrong, but she chose to hide her worry with useless pleasantries. "Well, I'm sure she'll be home soon. In the meantime, take this small bundle of flowers home with you. They're leftover from yesterday and I can't sell them anymore." She smiled warmly at Sakura as she handed her a bundle of Daffodils and carnations. Sakura bowed respectfully to her, thanking her kindly. "Arigato Yamanaka-san." She said quietly. Ino's mother beamed. "Now you get home dear! It's looking like the rain is coming again. You'll get sick if you stay out in bad weather!"

Sakura again forced another smile as she turned to go.

Home? Thanking the fact that her back was facing her friend's mother, she felt tears start to burn her eyes. I don't have one anymore. After a moment, she took off running as fast as she could manage. It suddenly didn't matter that she was still recovering. The only thing in her mind was to find some familiarity from her younger days. Her home had been cleaned and her family's belongings had been taken to Hokage Tower to be stored in storage until Sakura was old enough to move them to a house of her own. The Haruno house was in the process of being fixed up so it could be sold to a new family that had recently moved to Konoha.

Where the fuck do I go now? She thought sadly. What do I do? What's my reason for living? I've lost everything important. She continued wandering until she found herself standing on the bridge where Team 7 used to meet everyday for training. Her green gaze looked out at the river. She felt a heavy drop of rain land on her shoulder, and soon watched as the water rippled with the rapidly repeating raindrops.

How am I ever going to get through this? Everyone important to me has gone. Even…

"SAKURA!"

She jerked her head in the direction of the one who'd just shouted her name. She saw him racing towards her. She merely turned around, facing the water once more, but this time, leaning on the railing for support. Her knees would give out on her if she didn't do so. When she felt him get closer, she dropped the bouquet of flowers from the Yamanaka Flower Shop and took off again, heading for someplace other than being near Sasuke.

I can't let him know. He's already becoming dead to me too! I just—

Sakura came to a halt in front of her house.

No one had moved in yet, but that didn't stop her from jumping up to the balcony where her old room was. She landed just outside her window, peeking in. The room was dark; however, she could see the details of the now sparse room. The bed was gone, as was her desk and everything that had once occupied her room was now either in storage or in boxes being packed up.

A chill went through her, and she took out a kunai, picking the lock on her window, as she'd done almost a thousand times after returning home late from training. The window opened, and she entered her room, a huge wave of sadness washing over her.

"Tousa, Okaasan, I'm home..." She whispered. She was drenched and she shivered before going to one of the boxes on the floor and fishing around for some of her clothes. She quickly peeled her wet ones off and dressed in her clean dry ones. Once she was done she picked her kunai up and went to where her bed used to be. Collapsing onto the floor, she buried her face in her arms, and for the first time, she let herself succumb to the pain in her heart. Crying would do her no justice now. Her heart was shattered beyond being able to just cry, so she did the next best thing she could think of: screaming her heart out.

Burying her face into her long-sleeved arms, she screamed. It was a good substitute for crying, she decided, as it left her throat raw and dry. She realized the physical pain helped ease the pain in her heart.

Sitting up, she looked down at the kunai as she struggled to breathe past the considerable amount of junk that had built up in her nose. She ran her sleeve across her nose and looked at her hand. Holding the kunai in her right hand, she sliced it across her left palm, watching in numb bemusement as pain erupted and blood began to spill out.

My blood, my parents' blood. The last of the Harunos, the last of my family… She thought sadistically as she pulled her sleeve up. She lifted her hand and examined it as blood began to trickle down her arm.

Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed through her. "What would my parents think of me now…?" She whispered to herself. Her sea foam green eyes looked out her still cracked open window. The rain had stopped but it was still cloudy out.
The wind blew and the cool breeze went through her hair, chilling her tear-streaked face.

"You know, you're not very smart leaving your window open at night." A voice said from the shadows of her room. Sakura lifted her head in the direction of the voice. "Is that why you're here, so you can make fun of me?"

Sasuke stepped out of the shadows. He approached her, sitting with her knees tucked up to her chin on the floor.

"That's not why I'm here." He responded, lifting her head up. Sakura hid her left hand from him, not wanting to let him see the blood now more than trickling from her self-inflicted wound. He took her other hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze, making sure he had her attention.

"You ran away from me…" Sasuke said, lowering his voice in a disappointed tone. "Why?"

Sakura dropped her eyes from his face. "I don't want to talk about it." She said softly. In her mind, she had already made up her mind on what she was going to do. It was the only way to make the pain permanently go away.

"I do." He said, not going to let her go so easily. "Sakura, something's happened, please tell me."

Squeezing her eyes shut, she clenched her kunai in her bloody hand tightly. She stood up, freeing herself from his proximity and slipped out the window onto her small balcony. "I'm sorry Sasuke-kun. I'm sorry for being a nuisance and a burden to you. I hope that you have the life that you want once you accomplish your goal."

With that said, she turned and leapt off her balcony, heading straight for the lake.

Sasuke stood abruptly. He wasted no time in going after her. Something in her words only deepened the already bad feeling in his gut.

He had to find her, and fast.

Sakura ran as fast as she could. She was ready to go. The pain was eating her up alive, and if she didn't do this, Itachi would surely finish her off once he realized that Sasuke wasn't coming after him as quickly as he should if Sakura delivered her message.

She came to a stop on the long pier. The moon was trying hard to peek through the thick clouds. Its eerie reflection shone on the pristine lake water. Sakura sat down next to the edge. I'll just do it quickly and fall in. No one will be able to find my body. She thought sickly to herself.

Her cold green gaze fell upon the now bloody kunai in her grasp.

Her whole life she'd learned how to use this weapon, kill with this weapon, defend and protect with this weapon. Now, as she thought more and more on it, it represented everything that she'd lost…including herself.

She lifted her chin slightly, pressing the edge of the dark blade to her skin. She felt a sharp sting and soon felt blood trickling down her throat. Smiling sadistically to herself, she gripped the handle with both hands, aiming the tip towards her, instead of normally away.

"I'll just end it all. There's nothing for me here now. Tousa, Okaasan, I'm so sorry for failing you." She murmured. Closing her eyes against her tears, she pulled her arms out straight, preparing to thrust the point of the kunai into her throat.

Right as the tip barely even touched her skin; however, did it stop there.

Sakura opened her eyes to meet blood-red ones.

"You're not getting away that easily." Sasuke said, gripping both of her hands with one of his own. His other, she noticed, had covered her throat protectively.

"Let me go Sasuke-kun." She whispered, tears finally leaking from her hopeless eyes, burning her cheeks. "Let me go."

"No."

"Please! Here, take my life then if you want. Get rid of me physically because you've already killed me emotionally! Kill me now and I can more than promise you that I will not annoy you anymore!" You're killing me all over again right now. She thought silently.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes on her. "Do you really think that's what I want?" He asked dangerously. Sakura flinched as he yanked the kunai from her grasp and chucked it as far away from her as possible.

"I won't just let you go!" He said, lifting her chin so she looked him in the eyes. "It's taken me long enough to realize that I need you Sakura!"

Sakura's jaw had dropped and the tears continued to fall. There was a long moment of silence before she finally was able to find the words to say.

Good friends and nothing more? Itachi's voice echoed in her mind. Sakura shook her head hard.

"Why are you doing this to me Sasuke-kun? I can't fall for this again! You're going to leave again, just to go get your stupid revenge. I don't want you to go through this pain! I just want to die it hurts so bad! How can you think you can handle this so easily?"

Sasuke was speechless for a moment. He watched her tremble before his protective instinct for her took over. He pulled her into his arms and picked her up.

"I'm not just killing Itachi for revenge anymore." He said softly in her ear. "I'm doing it to protect you. I don't want him hurting you." Sakura's head came up as she looked up at him.

"Sasuke-kun, that doesn't matter either. You just don't understand! I got revenge against the ones responsible for killing my parents and in turn it's slowly killing me!" Her voice was sharp and her fists pounded against his chest.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke's voice was hard with concern and utter confusion. He easily caught her hands in his own, restraining her.

"I've lost everything that's been important to me in my life Sasuke-kun! I have no purpose for living anymore! I'm-I'm…lost, and so fucking alone!"

That was when Sasuke smiled. "No you're not." He said, leaning forward and kissing her on her forehead softly. "You're here with me. Where you belong." Sakura stared up at him wide-eyed. Belong? I can still belong?

"Of course you can." Sasuke's voice said in her ear. Her eyes widened. He looked deep into her eyes, pulling her closer to him. "I would truly be lost without you Sakura." He said in a low voice. "You're my cherry blossom of life."

At that, Sakura's eyes filled with tears once more. "I-I…" She stuttered.

"Shh…" Sasuke said softly, pulling her closer against him. "It's ok Sakura, its ok. You're not alone anymore." At that, Sakura burst into tears. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her chest, refusing to let go.

She cried. For the first time she let everything go since she'd been brought back to Konoha. Sasuke just held her, gently cradling her safely in his arms, stroking her hair from time to time. His grip on her tightened as she cried harder.

After a while, he looked down at her. Her breathing was still ragged, but the majority of her tears had stopped. He gently lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. "I'm never going to leave you Sakura, I promise."

Sakura nodded slightly, burying her face in his chest. The spot on his shirt where she'd cried was wet with her tears. He leaned in close to her ear, nibbling softly on her lobe before whispering, "C'mon Sakura, let's go home."

She nodded, and then fell back against him, sound asleep.

Sasuke smirked. He scooped her up bridal-style and headed for his house. He brought her back to the Uchiha Estate, noting as he gently laid her down on his bed that she'd strained her wound. Blood seeped through the bandages that he'd put on her before, but he smiled slightly to himself as he shook his head, silently showing his bemusement at her stubbornness. I guess all Uchihas, including future ones, carry this trait… He thought smugly to himself. He carefully changed the dressing on her wound, and tugged one of his fresh shirts over her head and then tucked her into his bed. He smiled as he saw her cuddle up instantly to get comfortable under the covers. Pulling his own shirt off, he crawled in next to her, being careful not to aggravate her wounds by just putting an arm around her shoulders.

Ino woke the next morning, her eyes sore and swollen from crying. Sakura, her best friend and original reason for leaving Konoha had been here yesterday. "What the hell am I still doing here?" She murmured, sitting up and feeling around under the futon for the hidden mission scroll she'd received from Tsunade.

Everyday, Ino had been taking notes, different observations of Akatsuki activity and also keeping daily tabs on the security of the organization. So far, Itachi had been extremely tight-lipped about everything the organization had been talking about. She mostly stayed in her room during the day, basically wasting away in front of the window, or reading. She'd made progress in earning a few members' trust, as she was allowed to go outside into the high-fenced training fields a few days ago. She'd lain back on her back, gazing up at the clouds, vaguely wondering how her lazy-ass teammate Shikamaru was doing.

FLASHBACK

"Oi, Kunoichi." A gravelly voice called. Ino sat up quickly only to find herself face to face with Kisame. "What is it?" She asked, keeping her voice blank. "You shouldn't spend so much time out here alone."

Ino sat up, a smirk on her face. "Why's that fish head? You guys afraid I'm going to escape?" Kisame chuckled at her plight. "None of us in Akatsuki have fears, kunoichi. Those are something you let go of when you join." His eyes narrowed on her though. "But it would be unfortunate if you chose to leave." He continued, making sure he had Ino's undivided attention. "Itachi-san would not be pleased, and I don't think you want to find out what it's like to be on his bad side."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Then clearly, fish head, you haven't been on mine."

Kisame grinned. "Clearly."

Ino sighed as she got to her feet. She walked past him and back into the main building, walking down the long hallway to her room. Before she knew what had happened, she felt herself backed up against the wall, her hands pinned above her head.

"It truly would be unfortunate if you left, Ino-chan." A smooth deep voice said in her ear. Ino shivered. "I-ta-chi..." She whispered.

He smirked.

END FLASHBACK

Ino shivered at the memory. Since that night, Itachi really hadn't said too much to her. Something about his presence now bothered her, and the feeling of dread in her stomach grew with each passing day.
Something wasn't right.

Ino pulled the rest of the scroll open to where there was a blank spot left for notes. Her blue eyes widened in horror and her heart froze in her chest as she saw someone else's handwriting. The letters were sophisticatedly formed, the owner's penmanship being of someone well versed in written language. Her eyes scanned the three words carefully, searching for something it could possibly mean.

It is unfortunate.

A/N: Don't worry guys; I'm not ending it here. I'm working harder on the next chapter because it's going to be a turning point in this story. I apologize for the slow updates! I've decided to use a USB flash drive cuz I can take it back and forth between home and school. (Typing it up at home and uploading it at school where there's HIGH SPEED INTERNET!) LOL! Bear with me a little bit longer, I beg of you! I'll be a little busy in the upcoming weeks because I have finals...well, just two that I have to study for, but these two classes could REALLY affect my GPA, so I HAVE to do well!

Thank you for reading, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave me a nice review!