A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and support so far guys, it means a lot.

Chapter Two: Below the Surface

Consciousness faded in slowly, a tangled mess of memory and fantasy blurring across Sakura's mind as she made the reluctant transition from asleep to awake.

Still at the blissful stage where the mind hasn't updated itself with where you are and why, the pink haired girl sighed and snuggled closer to the warm body behind her, feeling safe in its embrace.

Slowly things began to filter in.

The stale smell of the air, the chirping of the birds and other woodland noises that shouldn't have been as clear as they were, all at odds with what she expected to find, hear and smell when she awoke.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, attempting to regulate the amount of light that overwhelmed her maladapted eyes with controlled exposure.

Gradually the world around her came into focus.

Her eyes fell on the bare single small room in which she found herself, tracing the lazy lines the dust mote created as the danced in the sunlight that managed to force its way through dust encrusted windows.

This isn't my room, she thought, sudden disorientation driving her close to panic before the resultant adrenaline rush could awaken her enough for the memory of how she had found herself in her current position to permeate her consciousness.

I found Sasuke… he was injured and I brought him here and…, Sakura was bombarded with a series of second hand thought's and emotions which obliterated the last of her sense of sleepy bliss.

The void yawned, stretching out in search of her.

Instinctively she cowered against the thing she lay against, hands tugging at the arms folded around her.

The medical nin's eyes tracked down, hardly daring to believe what she saw.

Part of her had wondered if the memory of climbing into bed next to Sasuke while he slept was only a dream.

The bandage-clad arms holding her would seem to forego that conclusion.

Sakura's face discovered an interesting new shade of red as she rolled over wordlessly, coming face to chest with a sleeping Sasuke.

Her face somehow managed to colour even deeper as she peeked up from beneath her eyelashes, at the almost feminine features of the Uchiha heir.

This isn't right, I need to move before he wakes up.

Sakura could easily picture a shocked an offended Sasuke forcing her away from him while berating her boldness.

Despite this she didn't move.

What are you doing, move…move now!

Her body had apparently gone on strike without telling her first.

You're going nowhere honey, the inner Sakura said around a stifled laugh, Can't break free of something you don't want to.

Sakura mentally sent a baleful glare at her alter-ego as said figment laughed heartily at her expense.

The pink haired girl stole another quick look at Sasuke's sleeping face, confirming he was indeed unconscious for the foreseeable future.

Sakura sighed happily in spite of herself. This might be the first and last chance she had to do this.

It wouldn't hurt to stay like this a little longer.


Sasuke's awakening was a little less pleasant.

In his dreams, his bruised and battered form was being chased through endless dark corriodrs by a laughing Orachimaru as the snake master taunted him, telling Sasuke not to damage his new body too much.

Suddenly Sakura had appeared, her arms stretched out and a shy smile on her face.

"Sasuke-kun"

He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

A dark, serpentine shadow slithered from the darkness behind the pink haired shinobi, an inhumanly wide grin on the pale face that emerged from its darkened maw.

Sauke tried to grab one of the kurai he kept in the pouch at his side but his hands fumbled the weapon and it fell away into the nothingness beneath him.

The snake master opened his mouth, the long blade of the mystical sword the Sannin had at his beck and call emerging instead of his impossibly long tongue, shining even in the absence of any external light.

He froze as the blade swept down toward the unsuspecting girl.

"Sakura!"

He woke with a strangled cry, his arms clutching at empty air.

Sasuke lay there panting for a moment, his arms convulsively trying to hug at something that was no longer there.

A cold sweat covered his aching body as he stared at the twitching appendages, trying to shake the impression that they were somehow lighter than they should be.

She breathed deeply to calm himself, an odd scent tickling his nose.

His brow wrinkled as he inhaled again. This strange smell did not belong in the musty old cabin he was sheltering in.

It was at once familiar yet infuriatingly implacable.

His hand traced a lingering pattern of warmth that wasn't big enough to be his own, the source of this scent.

Before he could investigate further a new smell brought itself to his attention. It was accompanied by quiet bubbling that his stomach seemed to recognise before he did.

He strained his head to look at the stove, spotting Sakura standing over the ancient iron construct.

She was stirring something in an equally old looking pot, pausing every now and again to scoop some of the contents into a small saucer and tasting it.

Sasuke couldn't help but notice with some concern that she grimaced a little swallowing the contents of the saucer.

The pink haired girl considered the tiny bag next to her, picking out a few herbs and crushing them into the contents of the pot.

She took another tentative sip and this time didn't grimace…well, not as much anyway.

She carefully took the pot off the heat using a scrap of cloth most likely torn from the old bed sheets.

"Oh", she said, her smile catching him off guard, "Sasuke, you're awake, and just in time".

She moved swiftly to the small table in the centre of the room, pouring out a measure of the pot's contents into one of the two wooden bowls waiting there, and the rest into another.

"I made breakfast", she said with a cheeriness that sounded false to his trained ear, "It's only a fish stew, but I was lucky to find a stream nearby. There isn't much game in these woods, well nothing that I could catch quickly anyway. I've set a few traps so we might have something better for dinner".

Sasuke blinked at the pink haired girl's sudden talkativeness, overwhelmed as always by someone capable of uttering more than two or three sentences at a time.

"I see", he tried to sit as she approached, by only managed to wedge himself up on one elbow before his muscles cramped in protest of there continued mistreatment.

"Sasuke", she hurried to his side, putting the bowl on the chair and assisting him into a sitting position.

"I don't need help", he ground out, his pride kicking in and taking affront at being helped sit like some sort of invalid.

Sakura didn't even look at him until she was done, making sure he would slump over the moment she let go.

"There we go", she said with another smile as if he hadn't even spoken and Sasuke felt a small unexplained smile tugging at his lips as she turned away, taking up the bowl of stew again so that she could sit down next to the bed.

She blew on the steaming contents and began to raise it to his lips.

"I will feed myself", he said with an air of finality, fighting trembling muscles to reach out for the bowl.

Sakura held it away from his shaking hands, clearly resisting the urge to glare sternly at him.

Sasuke however didn't resist the urge.

"I haven't had chance to heal your muscular damage yet", she explained, placing a hand on his and lowering them both, "So shouldn't strain yourself anymore than necessary".

Sasuke nodded reluctantly. Sakura was the medical expert here, not him.

"Fine", he said, her mention of healing chasing up a hazy memory of what he remembered before he had passed out the previous night.

"Sakura, what happened last night".

Sakura let out a startled squeak.

"W-what do you mean?", she asked, suddenly not meeting his gaze.

"What made me pass out?", he clarified, perplexed by her reaction. Had she made a mistake of some sort she was trying to hide?

"You better eat this before it goes cold", she said avoiding the question, "You need to keep your strength up".

Sasuke didn't object again as she raised the bowl to his lips, allowing a little of the broth and meat to enter his mouth.

His froze, his cheeks bulging.

Whatever new skills the pink haired girl may have acquired since he had last seen her, cooking was not one of them.

Thus he was faced with a dilemma. His tongue was opposed to his swallowing, but his stomach, and his common sense advised otherwise.

Sasuke looked at her hopeful expression, feeling himself sweat.

Oh, the agony of choice.

He swallowed thickly, wincing a little as the bitter tasting crime against cuisine ran down his gullet to his grateful stomach.

"How was it?", she asked, smiling apologetically when he levelled a semi-accusing look at her, "Sorry. I'm not used to cooking for anyone but myself".

He kept his mouth closed, choosing to pursue his earlier line of questioning.

"Are you going to stop stalling now?"

Sakura blushed a little, rubbing the back of her head, "Sorry…I'm not sure what happened. I corrected enough of the problems to keep you out of danger, but I think it would be safer for you for a more experienced medic to supervise the rest of your treatment in that area".

Sasuke nodded curtly and leant back against the bed's headrest.

"But I'll take care of your other injuries myself", she rushed to add, "I mean…I think it would be best if…"

"If I can face my punishment on my own two feet", he completed her thought, shaking his head when she tried to object.

"I know you're going to hand me over Sakura. You're a good shinobi".

Sakura looked away guiltily, feeling as if she had betrayed him somehow.

"Sakura", he spoke firmly, making her look at him before continuing, "It's stupid to concern yourself, I knew what I was doing when I left".

"You're right", she said, a brittle smile on her face as she regarded him, "Thank you Sasuke".

He averted his gaze, grunting an acknowledgement of her gratitude.

Only a fool like Naruto would have fallen for that, but it wasn't his place to question her motives.

He glanced back as she stood.

"I'll get to work after I've eaten and properly sanitized this place", she walked back over to the table, eyeing her own bowl less than enthusiastically, "With any luck I can get most of your injuries healed today and we can work on your physical therapy tomorrow…oh".

She jogged back over, retrieving a small black pill from her pouch, "Now that you've eaten, I need you to swallow this, it will replenish the blood you lost".

Sasuke accepted the pill wordlessly, having seen Kabuto use the things numerous times.

He watched bemused as Sakura began to rip up the remainder of the old bed sheets, fashioning a crude apron and hair net out of the dusty cloth.

He let his head fall back as she began moving around the room.

If nothing else, the next few days promised to be interesting.


Sasuke's amusement didn't stop there.

Over the course of the next five days he got to watch a sight no man had previously seen except Sakura's father.

Domestic Sakura was a sight to behold. Cleaning and dusting in a fashion only a true novice could manage, he had to choke down a laugh every time she dusted to enthusiastically, raising enough of the thick powder to leave herself sneezing for a number of minutes.

She would wake up before him and start breakfast and clean whatever required it until lunch, and from there on out she worked on his injuries, healing only for a few hours to maintain her own strength, and day by day he would feel a little stronger.


Sasuke smiled unnoticed for the fourth time in as many minutes as Sakura hummed to herself while damp dusting the cabin's only table.

It was a strangely endearing trait she didn't even seem aware of most of the time, and coupled with the oddly homey atmosphere that seemed to have arisen in the small house in the woods that was currently his home.

A part of him wondered if he might have enjoyed something like this had his family not been butchered while he was a child, forcing on to a path that was ultimately destined to end in the office of the Hokage or soon after.

In a way it was nice to know he had had the chance, in a manner of speaking. One less thing to regret.

Sakura yawned, stretching lithely and happily tossing the rag back onto the pile of similar scraps and removing the makeshift protective clothing.

"All done", she giggled as if something funny had just occurred to her, looking over at him with her hands clasped behind her back, "You know, I think I'm almost getting used to this".

Sasuke's expression had her laughing again.

"What?", she pouted, "You don't think I'd be a good wife?".

He falter for a second catching the vulnerable, almost pleading air to her question beneath the playful pout.

What brought this on, he wondered, ignoring the fact that his own train of thought had been running along similar lines not to long ago.

"Do be foolish", he said looking away from her coolly.

Sakura's smile fell before coming back at full force.

"Hey Sasuke, how about we do something different today", she watched as he looked at her questioningly out of the corner of his eye.

"I was thinking you might like to go outside today, you've been getting a lot better, I think you could managed a short walk", she hid a smile as she thought of the perfect way to get him to agree, "Naruto went through something similar and he was up and around already by this time".

She saw his fist clench, old rivalry rearing its head just as she had predicted it might.

"Fine", he said after a moment of silence, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed as Sakura smiled and helped him to his feet.

She still had to act as a living crutch, despite he noticed, being shorter than him by at least a head now, but he was moving more or less under his own power when they left the cabin.

Sasuke raised a hand to his face, shielding his eyes while they adjusted to dealing with direct sunlight for the first time in nearly a week.

He took a cleansing breath of the fresh spring air, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin.

"Come on", Sakura urged, "We didn't come out here for you to stand around admiring the scenery all day, you still need to work on those muscles of yours if you want to be able to walk any time soon".

Sasuke nodded his agreement and let Sakura lead the way.

They made slow but steady progress through the woodland, their path rarely changing direction, and it soon became a apparent that the pink haired girl had a specific destination in mind.

Sasuke pulled a low hanging branch aside while she helped him hobble under it. Despite only having walked half a mile, his legs already throbbed uncomfortably, although he'd never admit to such a thing.

"Almost there", she assured him, somehow catching on to his hidden discomfort.

They cleared the last of the tricky terrain, an incline that tested Sasuke's trembling legs to their limit, but they eventually emerged onto the bank of a small river.

They stood there together for a moment, listening to the soothing sounds of the river as the sunlight bounced of the glassy surface.

Sakura helped him find a seat against a nearby rock before taking a seat across from him.

"Tired", she asked.

He opened his mouth to deny that claim, but sighed catching sight of the look in her eyes. She was asking as a professional, not someone who used to be a friend.

"A little", he grudgingly admitted.

"Any pain?"

He grunted and looked out over the river, missing Sakura's angry expression.

Did I really once think his attitude was cool, she wondered irritably, opening her mouth to shout at him.

Her words never left her lips.

The vision of the dark haired young man staring out moodily over the water locked the air in her lungs, preventing any speech on her part.

Her stomach fluttered and the void trembled, reminding her once more of the reason she had brought him out here.

You'll probably never get another moment like this, no matter how long you try to delay healing him.

Sakura felt a little guilt as inner Sakura raised that point, but right now she was past caring.

"Sakura…"

Her head came up as she realised he had spoken her name, "Yes Sasuke?".

"Three days"

"What?", she asked confused, wondering where he was going with such a strange comment.

He looked at her piercingly and Sakura blushed, looking away shyly like she would have when they were kids.

"Three days, that's how long it should have taken to heal me", even though his voice was smooth and non-judgemental, Sakura felt as if she had been pole axed to the spot.

He watched her reaction without commenting at first, "This isn't the first time I've been beaten to within an inch of my life. Kabuto has healed me from worse in less time and I know you're better than him".

Sakura felt a mild thrill at the compliment even as guilt bowed her head.

"So the question", he carried on, scrutinising what little of her face he could make out at this angle, "Is why have you been dragging things out".

The Uchiha heir had a number of suspicions, ranging from time being needed for sufficient ANBU forces to be moved into position, to the whole of the past three days being the result of a complex illusion, Orachimaru had tortured him with such things as part of his training in the past, or possibly even the result of his brother's Tsukiyomi attack.

The thought of being locked in Itachi's shadow realm while his body lay helpless before him made him shiver.

No, that couldn't be true, if this was a result of the Tsukiyomi something would have happened by now. Itachi used that attack to crush the spirit of his victims, and apart from a few blows to his pride, Sasuke hadn't suffered in that area.

Sakura looked up and he was momentarily taken aback by the open look in mint eyed girl's eyes. Without speaking even he was able to pick up on the tremendous waves of loneliness and longing spilling out from those sad orbs.

Sasuke found himself unable to look away as another possibility entered his mind.

She…she still cares for me?

Sakura broke gaze first, blushing and looking away, giving them both time to collect their thoughts.

"I'm sorry Sasuke", she whispered, her chest tightening as she realised she had been discovered, and knowing this meant it was all coming to an end sooner than she would have liked.

The void rumbled with anticipation.

"I'm being selfish…I'll-"

"Let's go" he cut her off.

Sakura risked a glance in his direction, seeing him staring out over the water again, "Sasuke?".

"I'm getting hungry and it will take us some time to make it back to the cabin, it would be best if we leave now", he looked over at her and smiled a thin smile, "Right?".

Sakura smiled, feeling her eyes threatening to tear up again, "Right".

This…What does this mean, he wondered as he let her help him to his feet, If she does still hold feelings for me after all this time, could it be she doesn't want to turn me over?

Sasuke remembered the story she had told him all those nights ago, about her rejection by Naruto after he had left. In particular he recalled the pain in her voice when she had spoken about him leaving.

Lost in thought he failed to notice the outcropping of rock exposed by spring thaw floods until his lumbering foot coiled with it.

The raven-haired boy tried to regain his balance but muscles that had already decided they had been abused to far, cramped violently, bringing him down.

He heard a yelp not his own as the ground rushed in and he closed his eys to brace for impact.

He growled under his breath at his own clumsiness as jagged rocks bit into his arms and back.

It seemed he had rolled over mid fall for some reason, landing back first.

His chest felt heavier than it should as well, something had landed on top of him as he fell.

Opening his eyes he glared up…straight into a pair of startled mint green orbs.

His glare dissolved as he realised what he was looking at, and what it was that was laying atop him.

"S-Sasuke?", Sakura asked in a shaky voice, her face warming as she felt the young man's arm around her waist. He must have pulled her to him as they fell.

She felt her embarrassment grow. Pushing away from him she scrambled off him and stood a little way off from him blushing furiously.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I didn't mean to…"

To get up so fast?, the inner Sakura offered sounding vexed.

"It doesn't matter", he said, awkwardly working his way into a sitting position, "I tripped".

"I-I see", she stammered, mentally slapping herself for sounding so pathetic.

She carefully assisted Sasuke to his feet, this time keeping a close eye out for any rocky outcroppings as they tackled the slope a second time.

As they walked in silence back to the cabin Sasuke was deep in thought. There was no doubt after that little incident.

This presented a surprising dilemma of conscious to the young Uchiha. While he knew he should return to face his punishment, doing so would cause Sakura yet another bout of pain and grief on his behalf, and for some reason…that bothered him.

His brow knitted in frustration.

Something would have to be done.


Sakura awoke with a start, scarred and disorientated by the darkness around her.

When it finally dawned on her where she was, she relaxed, but only a little. Something still had her edgy.

Perhaps it was a result of all the Chakra she had exerted on Sasuke, attempting to apologise for her earlier selfishness by healing him properly.

He still wouldn't be able to walk properly for a few more days but…

Sakura felt her heart clench in her chest.

Her hand had sort out the man of her affections the moment she had awoken, but only now did it register she couldn't feel him.

"Sasuke?", the pink haired girl sat up, eyes scanning the darkness in search of him but finding herself alone in the small room.

Terror gripped her as she felt a growing numbness spreading out from her stomach.

The void knew her protector was gone.

Sasuke!

She almost fell from the bed, clutching at her stomach as she bolted from the room, throwing the door aside in her reckless panic.

The moon was out, illuminating the area surrounding the cabin.

Sasuke was nowhere in sight.

Sasu-

Sakura was doubled over as an icy chill cut through her stomach, and a hungry growl seemed to fill her mind.

"Sasuke", she whimpered, her eyes lighting on a soft depression in the earth.

Tracks, they had to be his tracks.

"Sasuke!"

Holding her goose-pimpled abdomen, the pink haired girl set off as fast as she could.

As if sensing her intent the void pushed at her instinctive defences, trying to swallow her while she was vulnerable.

Sakura felt herself crying.

Sasuke had abandoned her again, this time without even so much as a goodbye, intentional or otherwise, and without him the void would swallow her whole.

Call it luck, fate, logic, chance, whatever you will, but it was not long before Sakura found herself in sight of the retreating form of Sasuke Uchiha.

He was picking himself up having stumbled on legs still not ready to bare him over large distances, shuffling at stiff legged but determined gait away from the cabin.

The void snarled in frustration as the sight of him seemed to beat it back into its forced slumber.

"Sasuke!", the raven haired boy froze but didn't turn, "Sasuke wait!"

Sakura was still weeping openly when she reached him, grabbing the back of his flimsy vest in both hands as if her life depended on it refusing to let go.

She buried her tear soaked face in his back, crying like she had when he had left the first time.

"Why?", she sobbed, her voice muffled, "Why did you try to leave me again? Did I do something wrong, did I annoy you again? I'm sorry, please, I'm sorry…".

Sasuke's fists clenched at his sides and she clung on harder, scared that he might try and throw her off him.

After a moment of silence broken only by her muffled cries, he spoke.

"You're only making this harder", his voice held a tremor she hadn't heard before. It wasn't quite anger, or annoyance, it was almost…sadness? Regret?

"You should have stayed asleep".

Sakura felt her tears dry, anger swelling up in place of her fear.

"Baka!", she yelled, banging a fist hard against his back, "Jerk!"

She continued to drum against his back until her strength ran out and she was left leaning against him panting.

"Are you finished?", he asked quietly but she didn't answer.

"Just tell me why"

Sasuke sighed his shoulders tensing as if he were considering making a run for it instead of replying.

"I…don't want to see you hurt again"

"What?", she asked, trying to walk around him to get a look at his face but finding that he would turn away very time she got close, "By running away again?".

"Yes", he answered, glancing over his shoulder briefly.

"How did you think that would help me?", she demanded, "You just want to avoid the Hokage".

"What would happen if I let you take me back Sakura?"

When she was silent he continued, "If I go back, I'm dead unless I run. I've spent my entire life with no one, living only a hollow existence. I would spare you that pain".

She felt her breath catch as he turned to regard her with solemn eyes, "That is why I choose to run".

"Sasuke-kun", she traced the outline of his jaw timidly with one hand, "Why would you do something like that for me?".

He smiled a rare smile, reaching up and holding her hand in an oddly gentle way, "To thank you".

Sakura blushed when he didn't look away, but continued to stare directly into her eyes.

Suddenly his face changed, contorting into a look of pain.

His hand left hers, tracing back to small dart sticking out of his neck.

He pulled it free, and held it up as everything began to waver and ripple as if he were viewing the world underwater.

What…what is…, his thoughts began to slow and slur. In front of him he could see Sakura trying to take the dart from him, speaking with worry in her eyes, but he couldn't hear anything.

Behind her, five animal masked figures stepped out from behind the trees.

In one of their hands was a small blowgun.

ANBU…It was an ambush…Sakura set me up…

Sasuke felt his legs give way but he didn't feel like he was falling even as he watched the ground grow closer.

As Sakura screamed his name above him, he didn't feel any anger, just a kind of hollowness, like the day his Clan had been butchered.

A void.

Darkness stole the world.


---Author Notes---

And I bet you all thought they were heading for the happy ending didn't you? More fool you.

Stayed tuned to find out what happens next in Chapter Three: Soul Scarred; Sasuke stands trial and Sakura must overcome her guilt before it eats her alive. Perhaps she can find help from some old friends. Is there no happy ending?

Till next time, Betweenheavenandhell