Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters. If I did, I would be the happiest person alive! XD

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Review thank-you's at the end of the chapter. xD

Stained Cherry Blossoms

Adjusting

Six months later.

Worry etched with doubt began to fill the place of hope in the rumors of Yamanaka Ino ever returning to Konoha. The young kunoichi had been missing for near to seven months on an S-class mission, involving S-class criminal ninjas.

Akatsuki.

However, the Godaime had another problem on her hands. There was a new assassin on the loose, one that had seemed to come of age about 2 months prior. The assassin was female, as the one who'd sighted her noted her small figure and flashing blue eyes. It was rumored that she was affiliated with Akatsuki, as sightings of the person were said to have seen her traveling and fighting alongside the S-class criminal Nins in their trademark cloaks.

Her name…

Red Iris.

"KATON: GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!"

A large fireball of chakra erupted from the mouth of the pink-haired in-training fire-wielder. The large ball of fire shot from their lips as their opponent leapt into the air, forming handseals to avoid being incinerated. Chakra aided in the dodge, feet planting against the nearest tree and pushing off with blinding speed.

In an instant, the sound of metal crashing upon metal could be heard resounding through the trees.

Not allowing defeat, the two opponents locked death grips with kunai.

Fierce green met blood red sharingan.

After a moment of intense glaring, the two leapt apart, each forming handseals for their next attack. Soon, the high-pitched sound of chirping birds filled the forest as blinding white light shone in each ninja's hand.

"CHIDORI!" Both shouted, launching themselves toward one another.

White light met white light as the two combatants locked gazes again. Pain shot up their arms as their chakra attacks began deteriorating the other's chakra channels in their arms.

In an instant, red sharingan changed again, and fierce green snapped their eyes closed quickly.

"Good."

Sakura felt her hand being released and she jumped away, flipping backwards and landing gracefully on the unseen branch behind her. Her right hand throbbed with pain and she could feel blood trickling down her sore fingers as she drew several deep, rejuvenating breaths.

Finally, allowing her eyes to open slowly, she looked across the battlefield where she and Sasuke had been training.

It was torn to shreds.

Smiling faintly, she looked up to see her opponent standing on a tree a few meters from her. His left hand was in the same condition as hers, but the smile on his face betrayed nothing of his pain.

"Good." He repeated. Leaping off his branch, he pulled a kunai from his holster and attacked. Sakura rolled out of the way in time, her left hand groping her right side holster awkwardly as she struggled to arm herself in time.

With a frustrated cry, she pushed herself towards the edge of the branch and felt her body begin to fall. Using the short amount of freefall to arm herself, she yanked a few shuriken between her fingers, throwing them at her now descending opponent as she flipped again, landing roughly on the torn up earth.

Her opponent landed a few nanoseconds later, his right hand disappearing behind him as he pulled another weapon from his kunai holster.

Sakura knew then that in order for her to get an attack plan in place she would have to put more distance between them. So, gathering chakra to her feet, she pushed off the ground and jumped high into the air, landing swiftly on a branch and propelling herself upward. She paused only a few seconds when she heard,

"Running from an enemy can be seen as a weakness…"

Sakura smirked as she pulled a senbon drenched in a paralysis fluid from her medic pack. "And putting distance from the enemy allows for surprises!" she fired back, throwing the senbon in the wake of a kunai.

Sasuke barely dodged it, having seen through the attack with the sharingan. He smirked. Catching the kunai between two fingers, he let the subduing senbon pass safely by before he changed his course of pursuit.

Sakura threw a glance behind her and saw that she was no longer being pursued. Pausing only momentarily on a nearby branch, she drew air into her burning lungs. Just as she thought that she might have succeeded in out-maneuvering him, she heard the flick and snap of thin wire. Jerking her head in the direction of the sound, she saw several kunai encircling her before she ultimately was pinned to the tree.

She heard a quiet chuckling to her right and her eyes jerked in the direction only to find Sasuke standing casually 50 feet in front of her.

"Focus." He murmured, his voice carrying through the air and reaching her ears a few seconds later.

Sakura closed her eyes against the cool breeze making them tear up. She could almost hear him chuckle and perform the seals for his next attack.

"KATON: Karyuu Endan."

Opening her jade eyes, Sakura gathered chakra to her hands and quickly spread it until it completely surrounded her. The flames came at her, threatening to engulf her entirely, but she snapped her good hand, holding a kunai up and sliced through the wire holding her still. Pushing more chakra to her feet, she jumped up and over the wall of fire approaching. The shield of chakra she'd gathered around herself aided in her escape from the flames. Sakura flipped twice as she cleared the hot flames…

…landing gracefully in a defensive position on the other side, the tree incinerating the spot she'd been trapped on just seconds before…

Sasuke smirked.

She's gotten much better. He thought to himself before pulling his last weapon from his pack. He snapped it open, all four blades opening and locking into place as he stared warily at his opponent.

Her breathing was coming in short painful gasps, her lungs having taken in too much carbon monoxide from his last fire attack. She turned her eyes up at him, seeing him already preparing another attack.

Never wastes a second, does he? She thought bitterly as she forced herself to her feet. In her evasion of his last attack, she'd used up a good percentage of her chakra and boy was she feeling it. Her knees trembled a little, but she put her gloved hands on them, forcing herself to stand again.

"What are you waiting for?" She snapped, her determined gaze finding his scrutinizing one.

Sasuke smirked and jumped off his branch, disappearing from her sight. Sakura looked around wildly for him as her hands clenched into fists. That windmill shuriken would be a pain in the ass to dodge if she didn't catch sight of him soon. Either that or he's planning on distracting me from the attack while he comes at me from another direction…Her thoughts mirrored nothing to the determined glare etched into her features.

She heard the quad-bladed weapon hurling at her before she actually saw it. From experience, she knew there was a second one following the first. Thinking quickly, she dodged the first one, watching as it barely grazed her cheek before slicing through the trees.

What happened next surprised her.

Her feet were pulled off of the branch and the second shuriken coming at her was stopped as someone caught it in their hand. Sakura's heart pounded hard in her chest as she looked up at the owner of the chest she'd stumbled into.

"You should've told me you were worn out." Sasuke admonished quietly, feeling her heart beat hard against his chest. He smirked, though, when he felt her protest. She put both hands on his shoulders and tried to push herself away.

"I-I'm fine." She countered, putting as much of a bite into her words as possible. She didn't look up at his face though, already knowing that his red gaze was scrutinizing her closely.

"Yeah, right." He muttered and wrapped an arm around her waist. With the other he snapped the shuriken closed and put it away before slipping his hand behind her knees and scooping her off of her feet.

No longer having something to ground her fatigue on, Sakura felt her eyelids begin to droop. It also doesn't help that he's so warm either…She barely had time to think before she started to drift off.

Sasuke smirked as he started walking back. The forest around them where they'd been training the last few weeks was completely torn up. Trees had been uprooted or burnt to a crisp. The grass was dead from too many jutsus used, to too much chakra transferred through it.

Looks like we'll have to find another place to train. He thought smugly to himself as he looked down at her exhausted face. The memory of the past battle still very fresh in his mind, her recalled how quickly she'd managed to dodge his attacks and how swiftly she'd countered them with her own.

You really have grown, Sakura. He though smugly. Pulling her closer against him, he leapt into the trees, taking a shorter route back home.

Exhausted eyes opened against the morning sunlight. The first thing to reach her senses was the overwhelming stench of blood. Snapping her eyes open, she looked around, taking in her surroundings immediately before jumping from her current position to one of complete concealment.

She'd been knocked out.

The source of the blood of course had been from her opponents, or should she say…

Targets.

Smirking to herself, she tenderly pulled two purple blooms from her pouch. Her fingers, now more than mostly covered in blood, bloodied up the flower blooms as she tossed one onto the chest of the dead leader of lackeys. Brushing her hands off contentedly, she hunched down low, making sure she masked her chakra to keep herself inconspicuous.

Her slim-fitting attire reeked of blood and sweat, but she held her breath as she heard people approaching. Her katana was safely sheathed on her back and she got a good grip on the hilt in the event of having to kill and run.

Several villagers from the village of her targets found the site of the brutal massacre. Their eyes widened and their faces paled at the signature bloody flower lying on one of the dead men.

"IT'S HER! RED IRIS HAS STRUCK AGAIN!" They screamed before tearing off in a dead run as far from the scene as possible.

Ino smirked.

Itachi-kun will be pleased.

Soft touches trailed on her cheek, gently coaxing her back to consciousness. Her eyes opened reluctantly, knowing that a stern lecture would await her.

"You're awake." A voice said to her right. Emerald green groggily looked up into obsidian orbs gazing down at her intently. "Hi." She whispered, her throat feeling dry as the sand from Sunagakure.

Sasuke smirked. "You were out for a while. It's a good thing we stopped when we did, you were almost out of chakra and could've died from chakra depletion."

Here it comes…

He sighed. "Next time, just say something, ok?"

Sakura nodded slightly, eyes wide at his mild reprimand. She felt him brush several strands of pink from her eyes before his hand moved to behind her shoulder. "Here, sit up and drink." He said, taking a glass of water off of the night table and handing it to her once she'd sat up completely. Sakura took the cup from him and tilted the rim towards her lips. Crisp, cool water filled her mouth and soothed her throat as she swallowed. She looked back up at her teammate, who nodded, encouraging her to drink more. Sakura closed her eyes as she finished the water. Her throat felt worlds better and her vision had cleared drastically.

"You've gotten stronger."

Sakura's head jerked up and her eyes widened a little as she stared at Sasuke, dumbfounded. "I mean it." He said, a smirk slowly gracing itself on his handsome features.

"Arigatou." She whispered, wiping a hand across her mouth shyly as she bowed her head. She felt a larger, warmer hand engulf hers that held her now empty cup. "How is your hand?" he asked, taking the cup from her and looking closely at her bandaged right hand.

"About as fine as yours." She said, smirking as she looked back up at him. "You put up one hell of a fight."

"So did you."

Sakura beamed. "I'm up for a rematch whenever you want, Sasuke-kun." She said playfully, smiling happily up at him. He still had her hand in his, and he used this advantage as he gently tugged her towards him. Catching her by her upper arms, he leaned in close until their foreheads were touching.

"I'll look forward to it." He smirked, watching her reaction for a second before closing the small distance between them and capturing her lips with his own. Sakura felt him mold his lips with hers, gently coaxing her to respond, which she did a moment later. Leaning over her, he lightly pushed her by her shoulder so that she fell back against the soft pillow with him on top of her. Both of her arms snaked around his strong chest while he hovered just inches above her petite frame. He smirked and softly ran the tip of his tongue over her lower lip. Sakura complied, parting her lips slowly so that the kiss turned passionate. She felt his weight pin her down, almost as if keeping her from going anywhere. She tightened her grip a little, silently telling him not to let her go.

Once they finally broke apart, Sasuke gathered her in his arms, holding her close to his chest. "You should rest a little more. Your body is still weak." He felt her sigh but sensed no hostility from her because of his comment. He smiled. She is learning. He thought silently.

"Hai, Sasuke-kun, but…" She looked up into his eyes. "Would you stay here with me?"

Sasuke smirked.

"Aa."

Sakura snuggled up against him as he pulled the covers over the both of them a moment later. Sakura fell asleep almost instantly as she felt Sasuke stroke her shoulder-length hair. "Sleep well my little Cherry Blossom." She heard him say softly in her ear before nodding off completely.

He waited until he felt her heartbeat slow to a calm pace and her breathing even out. He knew she was asleep.

It's a good thing too, he thought to himself as he slipped out of her embrace and bringing the med kit over to the bed. I didn't want to have to set her fractured bones with her still awake. He winced as he looked over the damage done. Usually, Sakura would allow the bones to heal on their own, using the pain as a reminder for her mistakes in battle. But now that she was improving so quickly, Sasuke would hear nothing of that anymore. The substance he'd slipped into her drink would replenish her chakra faster, hence his reasoning for wanting her to finish it up completely.

Being as gentle as he could, he set the two fractures in her rib, wrapping a roll of bandage around them before gathering a small amount of chakra to his hand. Sakura had taught him the basics of medical ninjutsu and he was thankful, because whether she liked it or not, he was going to make sure that she was going to recover properly and swiftly this time.

The damaged chakra channels in her right arm were a whole different story, however. But already having knowledge of how to fix this, Sasuke quickly healed them, having taken care of his several hours prior.

Sakura mumbled softly in her sleep.

Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed, watching in fascination as she shifted slightly on the bed, her pink hair splaying out on the pillow, creating a halo around her head.

She's grown up, hasn't she? A gleeful voice said in his mind.

Tch, leave me alone. I don't need you to toy with my thoughts.

Idiot. I AM your thoughts. Your innermost ones, that is.

Hn.

You're so stubborn. Anyway, once this is all over, are you finally going to make her an Uchiha like you've been thinking for over the past year now?

Go away. I'll think about that when the time comes.

Hehe, sure whatever buddy. You're still already thinking about it now.

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke snapped. His obsidian eyes widened slightly as he saw Sakura roll over in her sleep. "Fuck." He murmured, hoping he didn't wake her. He put the med pack away and slid his shirt off before crawling back in beside her. Sakura immediately cuddled close to him, wrapping an arm comfortably around his torso while her legs entangled with his. Sasuke smirked as he wrapped an arm possessively around her waist.

I could definitely get used to this.

Exhausted, yet triumphantly, she fought darkness as she trudged to the meeting place of the five Akatsuki out on this mission. Her bleary blue eyes scanned the forest, searching for the small, remote cottage Itachi had given her the location of.

In the distance, she could make out the faint light coming from one of the windows. She smiled. She was back.

Before she could continue forward, however, she felt someone drop beside her and the cool metal of a kunai being pressed into her throat. "I-It's me." She barely got out, already recognizing his chakra.

"Heh, well you should know better than to not mask your chakra, yeah? I thought Itachi trained you better. He won't be too happy with you, yeah?" Deidara said smugly as he removed the kunai from her throat.

"…"

Ino grudgingly followed the blonde back towards the small cottage, her anger barely being diffused as she forced herself to replay the events of her mission over in her head.

She'd been assigned her third assassination. It was a former supporter of Akatsuki who had been snitching details to Konoha about Akatsuki activity over the past several months. She'd killed him easily, him not putting up much of a fight due to his disbelief and horror that Akatsuki would use someone else to come after him. His men had come after her, however, and naturally she'd been forced to fight them. Her head ached with a last blow to the head with the hilt of one of the men's katanas. Ino fought to stay conscious again as she felt another wave of dizziness wash over her.

"Oi, kunoichi, hurry up. Itachi knows we're coming, yeah? He'll want to discuss your mission when you get back, yeah?"

Ino nodded and bit her lip hard, tasting a little blood as she used the pain to keep her awake. Her calve throbbed with the long slash she'd obtained in trying to dodge having her body be sliced up when her own katana had been swiped from her hand.

I won't be so stupid again. She vowed silently to herself, her anger biting into her mind and pouring through her like icy water. Itachi is going to be so mad. I killed the bastard, yes, but they recognized me.

The door to the cottage swung open as Deidara kicked it. Ino squinted in the bright light pouring through the opening. "Oi, I found her! Where's Itachi? He'll want to see her, yeah?"

Ino felt herself being grabbed from behind, and her legs screamed for her to drop to her knees. But instinct told her to resist. She jerked her body around, her right hand reaching over her shoulder and grasping the cool hilt of her katana in a tight grip.

Deidara snorted.

"He's just being an ass right now kunoichi, yeah? Nothing to worry about." Ino's eyes widened as she looked up into deep crimson. "Follow me." He said smoothly, gesturing for her to comply. Ino glared over her shoulder at Deidara who had gone to join the other two Akatsuki at the table, all of them playing some sort of card came.

Itachi disappeared through a doorway and Ino followed after him, wondering what on earth he wanted. The moment she passed through the open doorway the door closed with a snap behind her. Ino spun around only to find Itachi leaning casually against the door.

"Was your mission successful?"

Ino nodded, understanding coming to her immediately. "Hai. He didn't resist much and was easy to dispose of."

"But,"

Ino sighed. There was no hiding anything from this guy. "But his asshole bodyguards came after me." She grumbled, bowing her head. "I killed them all of course, but…" her voice trailed off. She threw a sly look over her shoulder, hiding the smirk on her face.

"But,"

"It's nothing." She said softly, her fingers fumbling with the strap holding her katana in place.

"Were you recognized?" Itachi asked, his voice stern.

Ino swallowed hard, feigning a guilty look.

"Just as Red Iris." She murmured. Just then, she felt a finger curling around her chin as her gaze was lifted from the ground to stare up into his scarlet eyes.

"Red Iris? The deadly assassin whom no one has an encounter with and survives?" Even through the darkness, Ino could see the smirk on his face.

"You got it." She said her voice barely audible and a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Nice job." Itachi murmured softly, pulling her closer. Their lips brushed for a moment before he closed the distance and kissed her hard. Ino stopped resisting after that and allowed her body to melt to his on its own accord.

When they broke apart, she felt his gaze scrutinizing her closely.

"You were hurt." He said, his voice betraying nothing in his words.

Ino shrugged. "It's nothing." She repeated taking a step back and pulling her katana off before leaning it against the side of the bed. She felt a hand go behind her now short blonde hair to grip the back of her neck. She winced sharply as his fingers brushed by the shallow gash behind her head from where she'd taken the blow from the katana hilt.

"No, its not." He said, allowing a little concern to leak into his words. "You have a concussion and you've been losing blood." Ino averted her gaze.

"Sit." He commanded, pointing to the bed. Ino rolled her eyes, but she didn't argue. Sinking onto the soft mattress, she felt his hand grow warm as he gathered chakra to it.

The dizziness grew as warmth engulfed her body and the added fatigue from her harrowing escape aided to her inability to stay awake; she soon felt herself falling. Itachi caught her easily and scooped her up, laying her on the bed. He watched as her body grew limp. He sighed.

"Stubborn." He murmured as he went back to the task at hand. She would not be able to travel in the morning in her current condition. A concussion was the cause of the dizziness and of course the gash in her leg would slow her down as well. He finished healing her head wound and his gaze turned to the angry red gash on her leg. Taking some bandages from his pack, he set to work cleaning and then wrapping the bloody mess.

Once he was done, he cast a knowing look at her. She did well for her third solo assassination. He thought to himself before standing and making to leave. The rest of the members would want to know what had happened and the debriefing would go much faster once they returned home if everyone else knew the mission specifics.

Itachi slipped from the room silently, his gaze lingering on her slumbering form a moment longer before he closed the door behind him.

…………

Morning came, all too swiftly.

It would be so much nicer if one didn't wake up with a throbbing headache and sore muscles. Ino mentally gripped. Sitting up, she tied her hair back, taking a note of the bandages wrapped around the now healing wound. After getting her things together from her mission she headed out, noticing that Deidara, Kisame and Sasori were no longer out in the main room of the small cabin.

"Kunoichi."

Ino spun around on her heel fast, her hand gripping her katana tightly. Sasori was standing behind her, sending her a funny look. "Itachi told me to inform you that he's gone on another mission. He will meet you back at base in a few hours."

Ino nodded.

The trip back to Akatsuki's base was in Ino's opinion, fucking ass boring and uneventful. The temperature had dropped, as the seasons were changing from fall gradually into winter. Cold air bit into her, freezing her to the bone. Ino closed her eyes, forcing herself not to think about the cold. She was thankful that she had time to ponder her thoughts. Sakura was kidnapped over 6 months ago. What is Itachi-kun up to? He's not planning on engaging Sasuke any time soon, is he? I honestly thought he'd forgotten all about his icy bastard younger brother. But why the hell would Itachi bring Sakura out of Konoha and to the base? He had me leave the room before I was able to hear anything, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about this. Ino sighed, showing her frustration out loud. Kisame shot a look back at her, but she didn't meet his gaze, ignoring him completely.

When they arrived back, Ino slipped through the entrance and headed straight for her room. Her limbs felt heavy and her eyelids were fighting against her as she struggled to keep them open. Sasori threw her a smirk and a wave goodnight as she grasped the cool metal doorknob in her hand. Rolling her sky-blue eyes, Ino pushed her door open and spun around, leaning her body against the heavy wood to close it abruptly.

Once her door was closed and safely locked behind her she heard Sasori chuckling in the hallway at her.

Slipping into the bathroom, Ino peeled her combat suit off, tossing it to the floor and turning on the hot water tap. Stepping in, she felt the water hit her back, pounding from the showerhead and stinging her freezing skin. Quickly getting clean, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself up tightly in a robe and drying her shoulder-length hair. As she returned to her room, she felt another presence in the room.

"You're back early." She said shortly, not bothering to look up. She knew it was him before he deftly moved forward, never stopping until he was directly in front of her. Ino side-stepped so she was out of his proximity. She finished toweling her hair and walked back to the bathroom, tossing her towel over the side of the tub.

Before she knew what happened, she felt two hands gripping her shoulders and she was spun around quickly.

Wide blue eyes stared up into dark crimson.

"Something wrong, Red Iris?" His deep voice taunted smugly.

Ino's eyes narrowed. Kuso. I can't keep anything from him, can I? She thought bitterly to herself.

"Nope, everything's fine." She retorted, wriggling in his grasp, trying to free herself.

Itachi smirked. "That so?" Ino dropped her fiery gaze from his face.

Frowning slightly, Itachi lifted her chin up until she stared him in the eyes. "Something is bothering you." He stated emotionlessly. Ino bit her lip as she felt her face go red in shame. Hateful tears overflowed in her eyes as her ability to block them failed.

"What's this? Red Iris, THE Red Iris is crying?" Itachi asked, his voice slightly mocking. Ino put both hands on his chest and pushed herself away. "Stop it." She said in a low voice. She turned away.

"I've never thought you would be one to turn your back on someone…" Itachi's voice trailed off. Ino spun around, her face red and tears streaking down her cheeks. "Shut up! Just SHUT UP!" She cried, turning back around and covering her face with her hands. She couldn't hold the tears in any longer.

Guilt overflowed from her heart and regret began to grip her as she felt two warm arms embrace her from behind. Her body froze up when she realized who it was. "Why the tears little kunoichi?" he whispered in her ear. Ino shivered, not responding.

Itachi smirked, though he didn't much feel like it. Her behavior bothered him. This wasn't the fiery kunoichi he'd fallen for.

Ino pulled away from him, but not before he caught her by the arm and gently but firmly guided her back to him. Once she felt her body against his warm chest, her fatigue began to take over. Her eyelids fluttered shut as she fought to stay conscious.

No, I mustn't fall asleep. I've got to get an answer out of him. I can't keep going on blindly like this any longer. There's something he's not telling me. Ino felt herself being scooped up off of her feet.

"Rest. We'll talk in the morning." His deep voice said smoothly in her ear. He removed his shirt, climbing in next to her and pulling her against his strong form.

Ino fell asleep almost instantly. The last thought on her mind was, I guess I can wait another few hours…

Sleep slowly ebbed away from her mind as she opened her heavy eyelids. Blinking several times to make sure she was fully awake, she sat up fast, wincing in pain.

"You of all people should know not to do that when you've got fractured ribs." An icy voice said from her right.

Sakura jerked her gaze in that direction, only to stare up into deep onyx. "Sasuke…" Her voice trailed off. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Lay down." He said sternly. It took her a moment to comply. Her brain was still fuzzy from sleep and was a little more than slow on the uptake.

"Huh?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Gently putting both hands on her shoulders, he pushed her back so that she was once again lying down. Sakura blushed furiously as he slowly pushed her shirt up. "Sa-Sasuke-kun, w-what are y-you doing?" She stuttered, her cheeks matching her hair color now.

Sasuke smirked before with a sharp flick of his wrist, tore her shirt off. Wide emerald green met amused onyx. Sakura struggled to cover herself. Her arms hugged her upper torso, even though it was covered completely by a sports bra, she still felt vulnerable. Sasuke smirked as he leaned forward, closing the distance between them. He caught her trembling hands in his own and brought each one to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly before placing them by her head. "What's the matter Sakura?" He asked tauntingly.

"N-nothing!" She whimpered, turning her head so she couldn't see his smirk. It had already turned her insides to jelly. Sasuke sighed. Taking one of her hands with his, he pulled it in front of his face before his dark gaze fell on her bandaged chest.

"Show me." He said sharply. He gave her hand a squeeze. Sakura looked back up at him, her eyes full of confusion.

"Huh?" She asked, her ignorance showing in her tone.

"I want you to show me how you would heal bones." Sakura's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly at this. "Why?" She asked, daring to challenge him. "Because." He answered, never taking his gaze off of her. "This sort of training won't help you." He finished, his eyes watchfully observing her reaction.

Sakura wrinkled her face in malcontent. "Who says? It worked just fine before you showed up back home."

"Show me." He said, choosing not to respond to her last comment. Sakura shook her head. "This is my choice, Sasuke-kun." She said softly. Sasuke narrowed his now bleeding crimson eyes.

"Why?" He snapped.

Sakura's watery green gaze snapped up to his face. "I…" she choked on her response, turning her head so she couldn't see his face, a curtain of pink covering her now heated cheeks. A long moment of silence passed. Neither of them moved, however.

"Show me." He said in a gentler tone. Sakura swallowed. Carefully, she slowly began to gather green chakra to her hand, transferring it into Sasuke's. He softly laid his now glowing hand on her chest, feeling the fractures he'd set start to move and heal. Sakura sucked in a sharp breath of air as she felt one of her ribs move slightly. She felt soft touches trail down her neck and to her shoulder as Sasuke gently took her attention away from the pain.

When it was over, she had hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

Satisfied that she would indeed be back to normal by the middle of the day, Sasuke removed his hand from her now clammy skin. He noticed her shaking a little and he turned his attention back to her, concerned. She'd hidden her face in the pillow and had let her tears flow freely. "Stupid, lame, weak…" he heard her mutter. He took her by the shoulders and turned her so that she laid face up, looking at him through swollen puffy eyes.

"Sakura…" He said softly. His fingers trailed from the top of her bangs down to her chin. "Why?"

"I don't want you to see me weak anymore." She said, her tone hardening considerably. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Weak?" He asked, lifting her now drooping chin. She nodded, fresh tears spilling onto her cheeks.

"Weak." He repeated.

Sakura watched him as she slowly nodded again.

"You've survived more than I would have ever thought possible, Sakura. How the fucking hell can you still call yourself weak?"

Sakura's eyes widened. "I'm nowhere near as strong as you. I don't want to be a burden to you in your fight with Itachi. I made a promise to you, and I damn well intend to keep it." Her voice was hard. Much too hard for his liking. But he could see the determination in her eyes, and he didn't need the sharingan to see her resolve in her statement.

Pride swelled inside of him as he realized that she'd grown stronger with him. The six months he'd been training with her, guiding her towards a new level of strength, she'd improved drastically, but failed to see it herself.

Leaning forward, Sasuke brushed a few strands of pink away from her face. He felt her close her eyes. He softly kissed each eyelid before his lips moved to her forehead, then to each cheek. He tasted her salty tears on her cheeks before finally capturing her lips in a bittersweet kiss. He felt her slowly, shakily wrap both of her arms around his neck, and he pulled her up against him, enveloping her in his strong arms.

Strong fingers gently massaged her scalp before running through her short pink tresses while his other hand wrapped possessively around her waist. Sakura leaned into him, eventually relaxing in his grip as their kiss turned passionate.

Once they broke apart, Sasuke kept them so that their noses were touching. They took a moment to catch their breaths but Sasuke spoke before Sakura had the chance to. "You are the furthest thing from weak." He murmured softly. His intense gaze met hers; and in such close proximity, green bled together with onyx, uniting them at the sight of their vision. "Don't you dare think otherwise."

Sakura felt another wave of tears start to come. She nodded and then immediately felt herself being pulled close. After a long, peaceful moment, Sasuke pulled away, laying her back down again. "Rest a little more. I'm going to make breakfast." Sakura nodded. He started to get up, but Sakura caught his hand before he was completely out of reach.

She gave it a gentle squeeze and she felt him doing the same…a ghost of a real smile gracing his lips. Sakura's heart leapt into her throat. Sasuke leaned down, his lips brushing her forehead while his other hand closed her eyes.

"That's an order."

Sakura giggled softly. "Hai, Uchiha-san."

He smirked.

She's getting there.

Katon: Karyuu Endan: wall of fire technique.

A/N: Wow. Sorry it took me soooooo long to update guys! I've been busy. I hope you all liked it!

Hmm…that little blue/purplish button looks appealing, ne? XD

Reviewers who get cookies!

QuickSilverWitch: lol, not just yet! But there will be…in the future. xD

Shinobi Darkbeak: arigatou! I'm working on it! xD

StarFire and Sakura: I wish people would be more open to this pairing. Its really not all that bad you know. xD hehe. Anyways, see u next chapter!

StormDragon666: hehe, more SasuSaku in the chapter than the last.

Egyptian-Fire: xD thank you so much for your support! Reviewers like you make me wanna keep writing. xD

Sakura: XD free ramen for you! You absolutely rule! Lol! THANK YOU for your wonderful review! It completely and totally made my day!

Mela-chan818: hehe. Yep! Another chapter uploaded and ready for reading! xD hehehe. See ya next chapter! (and on AIM of course. Lol!)

Sweetmaiden: continuous as usual. Lol! I'm working on trying to move the pairings along a little more. I want to bring out the character personalities as well as their differences and similarities. I want to show why each pairing fits together because I think it actually helps people to see where each one is coming from.

Mayakopapoika: wow, what an interesting name. lol! Thank you so much for reading! I'm glad you like it! I hope its not too dark and gloomy…xP

Itachiismyluver: lol, ok! Thanks for reading!

AnimexMusica: hehehe, this one isn't quite as long as the last chapter…but I'm working on it. Lol!

Player L: I appreciate it!

Blood Stained: You're not a SasuSaku fan? OO wow. Well, I'm glad you like this. I hope that I will be able to persuade you and maybe change that! Lol!

Popcorngirl1234: lol, not too in-depth? xD sorry if it was kinda long. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!