Summary: She had given up on the idea of being anything more than a friend to him, concentrating more on her training than him. During the course of her training, he had begun to realize that what he felt about her was past peripheral vision. Sasuke/Sakura.

Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at all. All the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. The only thing in this story that is mine will be the OCs and the plot itself.

Past Peripheral Vision
Chapter Nine – Their Reunion

"Tomorrow, meet at the bridge at the usual time and because there's something we need to do," said Kakashi with a fond grin, resting his hand on Sakura's head. That was the scene that kept replaying and replaying in her mind as the pink haired Chuunin brushed her hair. A new hitai-ate had been fastened around her head, her old one left behind when she had brought the Mika back to her parents in Kaen Village. When she herself had arrived home in the dead of night, after giving a brief mission report to the Godaime, she had been surprised to find her mother and father awake, worried. Her mother was especially worried for her sake because it was a solo mission. Raking her fingers through her rosette tresses, Sakura made sure there were no tangles. Satisfied, she set down her brush and made her way downstairs. She had risen earlier than her parents and ate breakfast ahead, dressing herself up later, as she normally did back when she was a Genin.

Padding down the steps, she made sure to remain silent. Her parents were still usually asleep at this time, the then Team Seven gathering by the bridge some time before six while they waited for Kakashi for an immeasurable number of hours. If one was to count the number of hours they had to wait for the Jounin manually, it would last a lifetime a thousand times over. With everything in place, the standard kunai and shuriken in their holsters, a thick wad of exploding notes and the Crescent Blade hanging on her back, the pink haired Chuunin exited the house, a note on the kitchen table she had written the night before on top. Her neat writing was obvious against the smooth, white paper. Okaa-san, Otou-san, I'm with Kakashi-sensei today. Don't look for me with Aya-sensei and don't worry about me! -Sakura

She was thankful the bridge wasn't too far away from her house, about a fifteen minute walk at the most, depending on how fast her pace was. She wanted to just spend some time looking over the river and remember the special moments that had taken place there. Kakashi had given the three of them the papers to their first ever Chuunin Exams back then. Her heart plummeted because she didn't want to take it but subtle hints here and there and the invisible encouragement on Sasuke's part made her decide to take the test wholeheartedly. The cool morning air brushed against her face pleasantly as she took a right. The bridge was in plain sight, getting bigger and bigger in one's line of vision with each step taken.

Whistling a happy tune, Sakura made her way towards the bridge that she had always stood on when she was younger. She felt nostalgia come over her senses when Kakashi had asked to meet her there, training of some sort. She hadn't trained under the Jounin in years, especially since she had been under the direct tutelage of the Godaime four years back. A silly grin found its way to her face when she remembered the days she and Naruto would shout at him for being late, Sasuke merely shooting a glare towards the Jounin. When he had given his useless excuse, they'd both shout 'Liar!' with so much force that it could topple down Hokage Mountain! Sasuke had snorted at this and turned his head away. When she had reached the bridge, she bit her lower lip in worry. She didn't expect to feel their chakra when she had arrived. She didn't expect them to come as well. She still felt awkward around him even if it had already been a week and a few days since the hospital incident. Forcing a smile, she walked up to them. "Naruto, Sasuke-kun! What a surprise to see you here," she greeted warmly.

"Ah, Sakura-chan!" said Naruto with a wide grin as he pounced over towards her, like a puppy would follow a master, "I haven't seen you since you came back from your mission!" Naruto paused as he remembered something. Opening his mouth, he spoke once more. "Well, I did but you left Tsunade-baa-chan's office hurriedly," he added knowingly as he nodded his head, as if in deep thought. The sole female gave a sheepish apology, explaining that it was late then and she had to go home to ease her parents' worry. "No trouble at all!" he said as he waved off her excuse, a warm, bright and understanding smile on his face, "I'm sure that your parents worry everyday for your safety." Sasuke's lips twitched slightly at Naruto's last statement. When he was younger, only his mother really ever worried about him. His father didn't think worrying over the welfare of his sons was anything important.

"Kakashi-sensei is going to be late again, don't you think?" asked Sakura goodnaturedly, leaning against the railing like she always did, looking at the still slightly dark sky. Both boys nodded in annoyance as they averted their gaze towards something that could entertain them for the next few hours. She didn't know if they knew why he was always so late. She herself didn't know until fairly recently! It had become her habit to visit the epitaph in memory of a fellow Medical Specialist she had become close to, Inoue Ayane. Ayane wasn't particularly known but she was talented enough to be sent out on missions as the official Medical Specialist of the team. She had blocked an incoming jutsu which was on its way to their charge, dying in the process. She had to go early one morning, as she had an entire day's shift at the hospital, stumbling on a rather solemn Kakashi. The Jounin made her keep it a secret, wanting the other two to remember it as they had always remembered it. "I hope he won't take too long," she added with a sad smile on her face.

A couple of hours had passed by and still there was no sign of the Jounin. Sakura had decided to amuse herself, counting the leaves floating on the river in her mind. Sasuke was content enough to simply stand there and watch whatever was going to happen in the background. Naruto was twitching in annoyance, really unable to sit still for long periods of time, unless he was on a mission. If there was only one thing that could catch his full attention, it was a mission. That and ramen did wonders on the boy's attitude. Running a hand through her cropped rosette colored tresses, Sakura felt the wind brush against the skin of her neck as her hair lifted up slightly from it. A sigh of slight irritation escaped her lips. Though she fully understood why he was late, it wouldn't hurt for him to remember any appointments he had set to keep the people waiting not so annoyed when he arrived.

"Yo!" said the silver haired Jounin, arriving in a flurry of leaves, standing atop a post. Sasuke remained unaffected by Kakashi's showy entrance. Naruto, and even Sakura, played their usual 'Liar' shouting along with the accusing finger pointing. "What? What did I do now?" he asked innocently, jumping done and examining the faces of the three he had taught. Since then, no one had ever been under him, reasons of emotional instabilty and the lack of enthusiasm to teach another Genin trio being the reasons. "Well, anyway, I hope you understand that I was late because I had to help this Obaa-san cross the street with a lot of groceries! I couldn't just very well leave her there now could I!" defending himself like he always did, memories of Obito flashing through his mind every time he did so. Except, back then, there was a higher probability of them being true. His were, as Sakura and Naruto so kindly put it, lies.

"It's rude to make people wait that long, Kakashi-sensei!" said Sakura as she crossed her arms, faking a pout. The Jounin knew better but she acted this way as to not rouse suspicion from the two other Chuunin who were there. Naruto agreed with a couple of punches at the air to emphasize that fact even more. With a laugh, the Jounin scratched the back of his head and apologized, promising to be earlier next time around. "You better!" she accused once more, sending a glare towards the Jounin. Kakashi nodded once more like a puppy scolded by its master. "Anyway, what have you called us all here for?" asked Sakura, deftly changing the topic. The two other male Chuunin nodded in curiosity, their attention focused on the Jounin.

"In Area 67, or the Entrapment Forest," began Kakashi as he drew out a scroll which had a map of the place the Jounin was talking about, "We'll be having our training. Area 67 is known for the various traps that have been set up there, from exploding notes to traps that release projectile weapons, despite it's ten kilometer diameter, smaller than all the other training areas. There are also various wild animals in Area 67, though not as many as the Forest of Death. A river flows from the northeastern part of the map and flows down to the southwest. We'll divide ourselves into pairs, both pairs starting in the southwest gate, following the river towards the northeast end. Each pair will be about a kilometer away from each other and you can set traps for the other pair. The first pair who arrives at the tower in the center, five kilometers away, then raises one of the two flags and waits for the other pair to arrive. Do you all understand?" The three Chuunin nodded, a glimmer of excitement visible in their eyes. "Now, for the pairs. Naruto and I will start in the left gate while Sasuke and Sakura will start at the right gate," announced Kakashi, a wry look on his face. The sole female shifted uncomfortably, her partner indifferent.

The Entrapment Forest

Sasuke and Sakura began moving quickly, stepping away from the obvious traps and eyeing their surroundings carefully for traps that were hidden expertly. It had been about thirty minutes since the four of them had entered the forest and they had probably only gone as far as two hundred and fifty meters from the entrance. The two Chuunin weren't moving as fast as they would have liked, extremely wary about the various traps that lay hidden. The Jounin had decided to humor them and talk about all his experiences in the Entrapment Forest, as well as the experiences of a few other highly qualified Jounin that they knew of. If they, as Jounin, still had a hard time within the Entrapment forest, what more for they who were training to become Jounin in next year's Jounin Exams? The sound of their sandals padding softly against the limbs of the trees were painfully loud in the silence. An explosion resounded, causing the pair to stop on a relatively stable and safe branch.

"Sasuke-kun, do you know what that was?" asked Sakura, slight worry evident in her voice. Though she was competing with both Kakashi and Naruto, she couldn't help but be worried over their safety. The Uchiha shrugged as his onyx eyes trailed the plumes of smoke rising about a kilometer away from them, three degrees below from what he assumed was one kilometer at zero degrees away from them. Sakura shifted her weight from one foot to another with slight uncertainty. Waving off her worry, she forced herself to speak. "Let's go, Sasuke-kun," she spoke softly as she leaped towards the next branch, landing squarely on her feet, "I'm sure Kakashi-sensei and Naruto won't die that easily." With one last glance, the Uchiha squinted his eyes to examine the plume of smoke even further, something off about the timing of the explosion, before following Sakura and continuing forward towards their goal.

One kilometer away from them, well ahead of the second pair, Naruto had a cheeky grin on his face. "I really think they fell for it!" said the fox boy enthusiastically as he moved in pace with the Jounin. Kakashi nodded, impressed at the blonde Chuunin's idea. They had set off an explosive note with logs to try and cause the other pair to stop and pause, even for a few moments. For a ninja, even a few fleeting moments could mean either a victory or a loss. Moving swiftly and silently, the two Konoha Nin continued moving forward, in hopes they'd arrive at the center at least a minute or two before the second pair. Sasuke hated losing and once he found out that he had been duped, his strength as a ninja multiplied to an even greater amount. "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, why'd you pair off Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan together? You know how the relationship is between those two," asked Naruto quietly as his ocean blue eyes became stormy.

"You know how I am, don't you Naruto?" replied the Jounin, speeding up his pace slightly. A slightly confused expression found its way to the Chuunin's face as he looked at the silvery haired male for an explanation. A soft smile found its way to the older man's face. "Nothing, it's nothing," he said finally as his lone eye sparkled slightly, deftly avoiding the edge of the kunai sticking out of the branch, the dark metal glinting. I know how their relationship is going, I don't need to be told. Sakura is still teetering and tottering about how she feels about Sasuke, even if it has been two months since she had taken steps to sever any romantic feelings she has left for Sasuke. Sasuke, on the other hand, doesn't know how to react to the feelings he has deep within him for Sakura, causing the both of them to be even more confused. He loves her, yet he hates her.

In the other side of the forest, the pair consisting of a male and a female sneezed. Sakura slipped, missing the branch she was trying to land on and began falling down towards the forest floor. Shutting her eyes tight, Sakura concentrated on trying to hold onto something then find a way to get back up. Something encircled around Sakura, her cheek feeling cloth as her body was pressed against another. She felt her body being cradled like a baby's, a feeling of being protected washing over her senses. Opening her eyes, jade green met stoic onyx. If she stared hard and long enough, she would be able to see faint tones of red on his cheeks. "Ah! Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she murmured as he let her down from his hold, "Thank you for catching me." The Uchiha nodded slowly before leaping to another branch, silently telling her to follow. Nodding, she followed the Uchiha, both Chuunin pushing themselves to move faster. They had dilly-dallied long enough.

Near the Center Tower

Plumes of smoke were rising from various sections of the forest, the two pairs weary from avoiding the various traps. Sakura was replaying the various traps replaying in her mind. Whoever fixed up the Entrapment Forest was very fond of using exploding notes, she herself getting quite a number of scratches from the impact of flying through the forest after activating an exploding note. Long, slender wounds occasionally striped her skin, the rush of cold air making the blood go away almost instantaneously. Sasuke wasn't exempted from his share of wounds and pain either. He had been forcefully slammed onto tree trunks, his pupils going white momentarily before he managed to gain control of his body and maneuver his way to the least amount of harm possible.

"We're almost there," she managed to rasp out, tiredness obvious in her tone. Sasuke frowned as he moved further and further. Though the Jounin clearly said they could set traps for the other pair, it seemed that neither of them had the time to do so. It was hard enough avoiding the various traps that were set up. The plumes of smoke rising was enough evidence for outsiders to note that people were inside the Entrapment Forest. If they dared to examine the interior of the forest, kunai and shuriken embedded into the limbs of the trees, the soil and occassionally between a broken rock shouted even more what was already painfully obvious. Squinting, Sakura focused her eyes on the tower that was just some distance away, less than half a kilometer. "There's no sign of them from my vantage point," she said as she moved forward.

"Hn," murmured Sasuke as he jumped from tree to tree. Landing squarely on a branch, Sasuke heard something click, panic arising in his body. Shit! Shit! Shit! Without thinking, he moved over towards Sakura and pulled her close to his body, sealing his eyes shut. He heard ropes snap as a storm of weapons, mostly makabishi dropping onto their bodies, scratching him repeatedly. An occasional kunai and shuriken flew out, wounding him even more. One weapon managed to graze softly against Sakura's skin, scratching into an already open wound, forming a cross-shaped wound. Opening his eyes, Sasuke barely managed to see that they were nearing the ground, his vision obscured by her rose tresses. Flipping over so that he was on the bottom, he landed with a painful thud, Sakura still close to his body.

Sakura's cheeks were bright red the minute Sasuke had held onto her suddenly. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his chest as she heard the weapons falling down. Now that they were both on the ground and in a somewhat compromising position. "Sasuke-kun?" she managed to breath out, her voice slightly muffled by the position they were still in. His eyes suddenly snapped open and forced her away from him at arm's length, as if he wasn't hurt at all. Pain coursed through his body as he bit his lower lip to prevent himself from groaning. "Are you alright?" she asked in concern as she looked at him. The Uchiha didn't reply as he stood up, limping. "Sasuke-kun, please, sit down," she murmured as she ran after him, "You're hurt." He looked towards her, his eyes burning. Sakura barely managed to supress a shudder. She thought she had seen his Sharingan.

"I'm fine, Sakura," he hissed with such fury, causing the female to flinch. If she weren't his partner on this mission, he would have probably wrapped his hand around her neck and suffocate her, even for just a few moments. Not minding the pain that was throbbing in his ankle, Sasuke managed to leap up to a relatively low branch and climb upwards. "Come on, Sakura," he shouted from up above before moving forward, pain throbbing continuously in his left ankle as he moved forward. The pink haired Chuunin followed hesitantly, making up her mind to use the Kanashibari no Jutsu on him and strike him at his neck to make him unconscious by the time they got to the tower. Her anxieties wouldn't be put at ease until she had done a check-up on his ankle and the wounds that he had gotten from the trap. In a matter of minutes, they were there, Kakashi and Naruto already waiting for them.

"Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan! It took you a while to get here," pointed out Naruto as he made his way towards the two other Chuunin. Sakura smiled apologetically and Sasuke grunted in annoyance. The blonde Chuunin chose to ignore, or he simply didn't see, the fact that Sasuke was leaning on his right leg so as to not irritate his left ankle even further. "You both look really tired," said Naruto as he continued babbling onwards, still not noticing the fact that Sakura had made her way towards his side, so as to be face to face with the Uchiha. Kakashi frowned as he inched closer, wondering why Sakura was performing hand seals. "Kakashi-sensei and I arrived here around fifteen minutes ago you know," continued Naruto, still oblivious. Gathering all the required chakra, Sakura opened her mouth to speak. Kanashibari no Jutsu. The words sounded sad to the three who were there as Sasuke started to feel numb. "Sakura-chan, what are you doing!" exclaimed Naruto, bewilderment on his face. She didn't seem to hear him.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun, but I need to do this," she spoke as she walked over towards him, applying pressure to his neck, causing him to fall into her arms. "You're far too stubborn for your own good," she murmured as she set him down on the ground, her hand already feeling around his ankle for any possible signs of either muscle damage. The Jounin looked somewhat worriedly over her shoulder as she continued to examine him for anything. Naruto remained confused and silent as he watched Sakura. "Well, it started as a sprain but you continued to irritate it," mumbled Sakura as she performed a Chiyute no Jutsu, her hand glowing as she kept it over the ankle area, immediately regenerating the area that had been damaged. The four remained where they were as Sakura continued to heal his sprained ankle. The Uchiha barely managed to open his lips, a solitary word escaping his lips, unheard by the other three.

Sakura...

Tsuzuku...

And I have finally finished chapter nine, after a week's delay. For that, I'm really sorry!

In my opinion, the way the training went out was a bit rushed. The training is mostly about working together and anticipating the traps set by enemy shinobi, mind you. The end, in my opinion, is sort of bland but I like it just the same.

By the way, thank you thank you thank you so much for your lovely reviews! I never would have expected to even reach one hundred and thirty-nine (139) reviews! For this, I'm going to do something I don't usually do, answering some reviews!

Only Secret: Yes, you happened to be lucky number 100:D

Phoe-chan: Your reviews are one of the reviews I look forward to getting, or hope to be getting! Thanks for all the encouragement. As an answer to you saying I go to a year-round school? Naw. I go to school from June - March, as that is the standard school year here in the Philippines.

TriGemini: Another reviewer I look forward to hearing from! The way your review is somewhat like a summary of the chapter I had just finished makes me feel good, knowing there's someone who reads my works thoroughly.

cherri-chan: It's you:D! Enough said.

Kyo's Lover: I'm glad you like this story! I'm afraid, however, it won't end up as a story wherein Sakura and Sasuke will admit to each other how they feel, at least, not yet. This story has only Sasuke/Sakura themes, as well as it's... sequel, quote unquote. However, keep a sharp lookout for anything that might happen. You just don't know.

And that's all! This chapter is dedicated to those who's reviews I made a comment about or answered.

Feel free to ask questions in your reviews and I'll try to take some time and answer some of them in the next update.

I hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Past Peripheral Vision!

Oh yes. I created a Livejournal Community called springpaperfan which is an archive of Sasuke/Sakura fanfics. Please join and add your own Sasuke/Sakura fanfics!

Next Chapter: Chapter Ten - Konoha Matsuri

Chapter Preview: "No! I said no!" he shouted angrily at the door, locking himself in the room. Her voice penetrated through the wooden frame, pleading with him to change his mind. "It's such a frivolous thing! Why should I spend time in some dumb festival when I could be training for the Jounin Exams?" he retaliated as he remained in a fighting stance, alert if in case she decided to just break down the door using her chakra. She very well could. He knew of her impulses with these things just because she had more than one chance in breaking down the door to find Naruto. He had been unwillingly dragged just so he could help her find the blonde boy and bring him towards the Godaime for whatever she needed him to do. Her answer to his question almost gave him a heart attack. "What did you say!" he shouted as he had been duped in opening the door, his face burning with fury. At his expression, she began to laugh.