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 Seventeen – Trials and Retributions

"Hyaaah!" shouted a female, the sun beginning to rise, as she charged down towards her opponent, her eyes narrowing as she kept a close watch on the other. The two darted back and forth, moving quickly and attacking once more, each time the weapon on their hand clashed. The slight wind blew past them, a weakened leaf falling every now and then to the dry ground below. Creasing her brow, the girl's hold on her rather battered kunai tightened. For sparring purposes, she didn't like to use the brand new weapons it took forever to get. Neither did her companion so they were pretty much even. Whenever they decided to have a spar, they both used their battered kunai, the wear and tear obvious from use in the Academy. "Get ready Kyouta!" shouted the female as she charged. A couple more dulled kunai were in between the fingers of her right hand, dulled shuriken in between the fingers of her left.

The sun had already risen when the two tired Academy students were lying down on the ground, trying to regain the breath that they had lost. Today was a Saturday which meant there were no classes for them. On days such as those, the pair went around, trying to find a place where they could spar in peace. The older shinobi had taken the better training areas so they chose to rouse when most would prefer to have even half an hour more of extra sleep. Missions, D-Rank or otherwise, took their toll on all of the ninja. The pair had also made a pact ever since they had gotten to know each other better since the special lecture some time before. She had always been better at Tai Jutsu and he had always been better at Nin Jutsu, though they weren't talent-less in the other. Sensing that the female was about to say something, Kyouta opened his steel gray eyes tiredly. "Yeah, Fuuko?"

"Ne, Kyouta-kun, aren't you still amazed by Sakura-sensei? Even though that talk was so long ago, since I met her, my decision to become a Medical Specialist like her and Onee-san has become even stronger!" said Fuuko brightly, her eyes twinkling in delight as she felt the wind blow against her cheeks softly. Her male companion gave a soft grunt as he tightened his fists into a palm, uprooting a few blades of grass as he did so. He was impressed with how far she had gone ever since she became a Genin herself four years ago. He had heard stories that she was never the strongest, nor did she have the most amount of chakra. The only things she could depend on was her immense knowledge and her perfect chakra control. "I wish I could talk to Sakura-sensei again. She seems really nice," said Fuuko wistfully, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Yeah, well, I'm amazed that she's so lucky," muttered Kyouta as he turned on his side, half-closing his eyes. Sometime during the day, Fuuko would always mention Sakura. His classmate was absolutely smitten with what Sakura had achieved. Stories sometimes surfaced about Sakura, her teammates back in her Genin days and about her Jounin instructor, Hatake Kakashi. Her teammates, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, had developed very well and the results were obvious but not so much with Sakura. Since the incident one year ago that involved them especially, Sakura had decided to become the apprentice of the Godaime herself, only to become one of the best Medical Specialists one year later. "I mean, who would have thought, given her background, that she'll become one of the best Medical Specialists of today?" added Kyouta as an afterthought.

A bit a way away, the Chuunin being talked about was walking, whistling a merry tune. The Godaime herself had given her two days off from their training and had even given her the choice of wearing her hitai-ate for the two days or not. Although she wanted to, her parents pleaded with her to let them see her eyes for the next forty-eight hours. Seeing her parents like that, Sakura had given way to her parents' wishes. She had also found it amusing that everyone she knew stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time in years without her hitai-ate. It had only been seven months since her training began. Sakura's ears pricked as she began to hear a rather animated talk from two Academy students. Walking towards the source of the voices, Sakura had decided to spy on what the two students were doing. It wasn't harmful anyway.

"I find it really amazing to become a Medical Specialist," chattered Fuuko excitedly, her crystal blue eyes shining in excitement. Kyouta, sitting upright this time, nodded slowly as he raked his fingers through his dark charcoal locks. He had tightened his grip around the strands of hair, pulling at their roots as he let his fingers glide by. Sometimes, he got tired of hearing the same conversation over and over, wondering if the girl beside him had anything else to talk about. Other times, he wanted to stand up, shake some sense into her and say there were other things to talk about other than becoming a Medical Specialist. He admitted they were pretty amazing but he didn't want to become one. It didn't suit his nature. His steel gray eyes dulled in boredom as he half-listened to Fuuko's banter. "If Sakura-sensei becomes a Jounin next year and we become Genin the year after next, I really hope that I get to be her student," said Fuuko wistfully, her blue eyes glazing. Kyouta nodded slowly, knowing that would be a good thing for her. Silently, he wished he would become her student too. Who knows, maybe she could impart on him some very useful Jutsu.

"Those are binding words you just spoke," said Sakura as she walked out of her hiding place from behind the tree. The two ten year olds jerked their head towards Sakura, their cheeks reddening out of embarrassment. Sakura giggled softly as she sat down on the grass. "Well, I hope I get to become a Jounin next year. Sometimes, I hear Tsunade-shishou or even Kakashi-sensei talking about the application forms for next year's exams and I hear that there are really talented Chuunin who are going to try out to become Jounin for their respective villages," informed Sakura as she pulled her knees closer to her chest, "All the same, I want to try out next year." The two Academy students nodded, still embarrassed that she had heard their conversation. "I'm not doing anything today. If you want, I can help you out on whatever you were training for. It looks like you were," offered Sakura, a grin on her face.

South Konoha Gate

"Thank you for your time, Uchiha-san!" chirped one of the other Chuunin on guard as Sasuke made his way down from the watch tower. The sole Uchiha grunted a reply as he blew away his stubborn hair away from his face. Like every other Nin in the village, even he was required to serve so many shifts guarding one of the four gates of the village. The South Gate was probably the second most turbulent gate in the past few weeks, the much better of the free Chuunin and Jounin often found themselves being stationed there as opposed to the other three. "Uhh… Uchiha-san?" squeaked the same Chuunin as he flipped the papers on the clip board he was holding. Sasuke looked back, a slight gleam of annoyance shining in his eyes. "Your next shift is tomorrow from two in the afternoon to seven in the evening," informed the Chuunin, fear written in his eyes. Sasuke was notorious for paralyzing fellow Nin with just a look.

"Aa," muttered the Uchiha before turning around and pocketing his hands. Looking up, he noticed a couple of birds whizzing past the otherwise unperturbed sky above. Managing to stifle a yawn, Sasuke continued his way towards Ichiraku. He had a sudden craving for ramen. The few villagers who were awake looked up at saw him as he continued walking. Some were frowning, others nonchalant and still others, smiling, though only slightly. He had a mixed reputation in Konoha. Some easily forgave him for his treason; others couldn't find the heart in them to forgive the young boy who would readily give up everything he had ever known for the one thing that corrupted the heart and mind, power. Others were in between both forgiving and despising him. "They should mind their own lives," mumbled Sasuke as his onyx eyes gleamed with annoyance once more, ignoring the looks that he was getting.

The rest of the rather short walk was uneventful. The rare breath of wind blew past and a leaf, every now and then, would fall from the trees and the bushes, landing in his path as his foot crushed against the brittle leaves mercilessly. The sun had begun to beat down on the busy and somewhat bustling village of Konoha with each step that he took. Suddenly, he stopped. He could hear kunai and shuriken landing with a heavy thud on their mark and chakra burning in the air. He could hear voices as well, the voice of a young boy, a young girl and, surprisingly, her voice as well. Wheeling around, he began walking towards the source of the sound, ignoring the slight rumble of his stomach. It's not like he hadn't experienced skipping breakfast and lunch before. Or even if he didn't, he had barely anything to fill his stomach up, possibly just a bite of leftover fish or rations. Spying a tree, Sasuke hid behind it, peering out occasionally to see what they were doing. Mostly, he was leaning against it, deciding it was safer for his presence to be unknown.

"See," said Sakura as she knelt down and punched the ground weakly. The small amount of chakra she concentrated on her fist was enough to shatter the ground. The shattered ground wasn't so large an area but it was enough to stare and gape at. Such a weak punch had delivered such a devastating blow. "The trick to do that is to gather your chakra at your fist and the moment your fist makes contact with whatever target you have in mind, release the chakra. It doesn't have to be a lot, nor does your punch have to be all that strong. What matters is that your release of chakra is correctly timed," explained Sakura as she drew stick figure diagrams on the sandy ground nearby with a sturdy twig. The two Academy students nodded, trying to understand what she just did. A soft laugh escaped Sakura as she watched the two analyze and interpret what she had just said.

"So, first step is to mold chakra and then gather it towards your fist, right?" asked Kyouta, clarifying if he got that piece of information correctly. The Chuunin nodded, her green eyes shining slightly. Kyouta bent his head slightly as he closed his eyes, concentrating on molding chakra and putting it where he needed it most, in his fist. After a few moments, Kyouta finally opened his eyes and slammed his fist into the ground. A few cracks managed to appear but it was nothing close to what Sakura had just done. It looked more or less like a patch of extremely parched land. A frown found its way to Kyouta's face as he stared at the result. A hand patted his head, fingers weaving in between the strands of dark locks. "Sa-Sakura-sensei?" asked Kyouta, unsure of what she was doing.

"That was a pretty good try for your first. When I first did that four years ago, I could barely get a scratch down on the ground," said Sakura, a reassuring smile on her face. The young boy's pride swelled with that compliment, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. 'He may remind me of Sasuke-kun but he didn't have a past as dark as his and he's still such an innocent boy…' thought Sakura as she released her hold on his head. The slight blush remained in his cheeks as he patted his right hand slightly, as if trying to remove the pain that way. "Now, Fuuko-chan, why don't you try?" spoke Sakura, facing the plum haired girl, the same reassuring grin on her face. Fuuko reddened visibly, stammering her reply. 'Never knew I had this kind of effect on Academy students… I'd always thought that they'd react this way to either Naruto or Sasuke-kun but never to me…'

Gathering chakra just like Kyouta, Fuuko unconsciously closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Sakura's interested jade eyes kept an eye on Fuuko, watching the younger girl's every move. Kyouta glanced at his classmate sideways, somewhat sure that she wouldn't do much better than he did. She might have more accuracy in controlling her chakra but they were basically of the same caliber everywhere else. A few moments later, Fuuko opened her eyes and slammed into the ground. A resounding crack reverberated through the otherwise quiet surroundings. When the dust had cleared out, a crack similar to what Kyouta made earlier was seen. Fuuko's shoulders sagged slightly, mostly in disappointment.

"Really, don't worry about it. I don't expect you guys to get it anyway this young," said Sakura as she stood up, "It was a nice shot anyway. It might be a bit too advanced for you, for now. Maybe when you're older I'll be able to teach it to you." The two Academy students nodded, their expressions still sullen. Looking back, Sakura smiled slightly. Fuuko and Kyouta looked at each other, wondering why she was smiling at a tree. "Sasuke-kun, I know you're there," she spoke as her jade eyes sent out a piercing gaze. An involuntary shudder ran through Sasuke's spine as he unwillingly stepped out from behind his hiding place. "What were you doing there? Don't tell me you were just passing by. That excuse is too old," said Sakura, her eyes softening slightly. Sasuke shrugged carelessly as he walked towards the other three. Fuuko waved shyly, a greeting and no more. Kyouta averted his gaze. "Well, explain yourself Uchiha!" said Sakura with slight vigor, pointing at her former teammate.

"Just came back from my shift at the South Gate and I really was passing by until I heard you training these two," explained Sasuke without any effort to hide the truth. Sakura raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "Ask them if you don't believe me," muttered Sasuke gruffly, turning his head away as he pocketed his hands. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Sasuke stood in their midst in eerie silence. Kyouta looked as if he wanted to ask Sasuke something but refrained from doing so, Fuuko was impatiently waiting for the next training and Sakura had nothing else to say. Looking at the other boy, Sasuke read his question in mind. "Yes, I do have the Sharingan. It isn't dead yet," said Sasuke, almost drawled it really. Kyouta's eyes brightened considerably at hearing that. Closing his eyes, Sasuke concentrated chakra onto his pupils, forcing the fearsome bloodline to rise. Sakura flinched when she saw that. She still had nightmares about that day in the forest.

Forest: Four O'Clock in the Afternoon

Fingers twitched slightly in annoyance. He didn't know how he was convinced but he was. He had at least managed to tell them that he wanted to eat breakfast first and they complied. Then again, the three of them hadn't had a lot of breakfast either. The Uchiha was fairly impressed with the way Kyouta and Fuuko were developing as ninjas, their styles strikingly similar to that of Team Seven. Now, all they were missing was a bungling moron who, underneath the idiocy, was a pretty good ninja, if he was really into the role. Surprisingly, there were very few awkward moments between himself and the other Chuunin, their time mostly divided to instructing the other two Academy students what to do next. For some reason, he felt at ease even if he was missing one day's training. At the back of his mind, he felt like he deserved a break, no matter how rare it was.

Kyouta found himself lying on his stomach, his arms barely managing to support his weight. His vision blurred every now and then as he continued panting. He hadn't expected to be able to spar with Uchiha Sasuke himself, surprised that Sakura had been able to force Sasuke to come with them at all. Fuuko was training with Sakura for most of the day, seeing as his fellow Academy student had expressed her desires to become a Medical Specialist, causing Sakura to divert most of her attention towards the plum haired student. He didn't know if he had impressed the Uchiha or not but he had hoped that he did. It was a difficult thing to get Sasuke's respect. Even majority of the Jounin simply existed in Sasuke's eyes, even his own Jounin instructor. The Godaime obviously had it, as she was the Hokage but if she weren't, it would have most likely been a story. As his vision finally settled, he noticed that Sasuke opened his mouth to speak.

"You've got potential, that's a fact," said Sasuke slowly as he walked towards the Academy student. Kyouta found his cheeks burning in both embarrassment and awe. It was even harder to get a compliment from the Uchiha. The Godaime herself never got any compliments from Sasuke but only the barest of thanks when it was the appropriate time. "You're ten, right kid?" asked Sasuke, his gaze focused sideways as he watched Sakura talk to Fuuko about, most probably something to do with Medical Jutsu. Kyouta nodded slowly, wondering why he was asking such a question. "In two years, if you're going to pass the test and become a Genin, I'll acknowledge you as someone who holds the same potential as I did when I graduated," responded Sasuke as he looked back at Kyouta. He didn't know why he was feeling this way but somehow, he saw himself in Kyouta, minus the dark and distorted past.

"Sasuke-kun, it's time to go!" shouted Sakura as she waved her hands in the air. The Uchiha looked behind him then back at Kyouta before finally turning around and walking towards his former teammate. Today was an unexpectedly good day, one of the few days that actually didn't end up with him being irritated. "What was that all about?" asked Sakura when Sasuke had finally reached her side. He shrugged carelessly as he pocketed his hands, his gait relaxed. The Chuunin kunoichi smiled slightly as she looked forward, her hands swinging rhythmically. The two Academy students kept their gazes on the two Chuunin as they continued walking. On impulse, Sakura had pecked his cheek and started running girlishly away from Sasuke. "Think of it as thanks for training Kyouta-kun today," explained Sakura as she waved her hand before running off, "See you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun!" With that, she turned around and left.

"What the—" muttered Sasuke as his hand unconsciously touched the cheek where her lips had landed. A sudden shiver ran through his spine as he remembered the sensation of her soft lips on his rough cheeks. Shaking off the feeling, the usual frown went back to his face. Looking up, he saw a vaguely familiar figure waving cheerfully at him, a smile on the figure's face. Squinting his eyes and shielding it from the bright sunlight, Sasuke managed to make out who the figure was. "Oh great," groaned the Uchiha as he smacked his forehead. The figure fled with what looked like an evil grin on. "That was Kakashi," he muttered as his shoulders sagged, "I'll kill him if he says anything about it."

Tsuzuku…

Okay, more or less one week later, I've finished writing chapter seventeen and what a relief it's been. Nine more chapters until PPV comes to an end and its sequel will start.

For some deranged reason, I've got the urge to start writing the sequel, since, with what's left of PPV won't make such a major difference in the plotline of PPV:AT. And even if it did, there would've been notes about it in my master document that has everything to do with PPV and PPV:AT, from chapter titles and summaries to the characters in the stories.

Anyway, I originally didn't plan on Sasuke appearing but, since he did, he did. The reason he's unexpectedly nice, sort of, towards Kyouta because Kyouta really does have Sasuke's attitude and potential. It just happens to be that Kyouta doesn't have a mentally unstable brother who decided to kill his entire Clan for the sake of measuring his strength. Sasuke… did.

The part about Sakura remembering that day in the forest? Refer to Chapter Fifteen – Kaleidoscope for more details. I don't think I need to explain that much.

And now, I hope I'll be able to update next week since October 22 – November 6 is my sem break. Look forward to more chapters and no, I won't post PPV:AT until I finish PPV.

Next Chapter: Chapter Eighteen – Kuchiyose no Jutsu

Chapter Preview: "Even if you've made a contract with the slugs, it doesn't mean that you've had much practice in summoning them," explained Tsunade as the wind blew past them, the grass in the field rustling against each other. Lifting her thumb to her lips, Tsunade bit it, blood seeping through. O-hitsuji, Saru, Inu, Tori. Placing her hand on the ground, symbols had automatically begun to spread out into a circular form. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" shouted Tsunade as smoke began to appear. A slight smirk found its way to Tsunade's face the moment the smoke cleared. "Sakura, meet Katsue," introduced Tsunade, motioning towards the slug, "Katsue, meet Sakura." The slug moved its antennae in greeting, bowing its head slightly. Sakura waved her hand, a little nervous at the sight of the giant slug. "Sakura, your goal for this month is to be able to summon Katsue, one of the biggest slugs and a direct daughter of the Slug King, Katsuyu. Summoning him will be for another time," instructed Tsunade as she waved her hand in the air. With a nod, the slug bowed and disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Hopefully, you will see her again soon."