Disclaimer: I have yet to own Naruto. I'll let you know when I do.

A/N: Just wanted to give thanks to everyone who's been reading this so far, and also for everyone's reviews. I hope this chapter picks up the pace if it was a little slow prior to this. In response to some comments, I changed my original approach to this chapter to incorporate more of Sasuke's side of things, and I think it turned out for the better. I won't be posting the next chapter until after the current manga arc is complete so I can see how/if I want to integrate it into this fanfic. Hope you can stand the wait!

I also went back and fixed some glaring mistakes I found and somehow missed in the previous chapters. I proofread them before I posted them initially, I swear. Nothing substantial changed, so don't go back and read for content; you can, however, check out the song I picked out for each chapter as suggested background music. I typed up the lyrics if there were any. Check out my profile for a compiled list so far, as well as links to hear at least a sample of all but one of the songs. Well, here we go:

Chapter 6: Consolation

Sasuke was a few hours into his trip back to the Sound village when he suddenly stopped. Looking back toward Konoha, Sakura's smile once again flashed in his mind.

'It's too bad you didn't stop by later. My family's leaving in the morning. They're going to be out of town for a couple weeks, so we could just stay at my place instead of coming all the way out here, not to mention being a little more comfortable.'

Sighing, he wondered why he was even considering going back. I do have time before I need to get back, he justified to himself. It wouldn't hurt to spend a little more time with her. It's not like I don't enjoy being with her.

'Doesn't hurt to make the best out of a situation, right?' she had said.

He stood a little longer in indecision before chiding himself. Why am I making such a big deal out of this? There's nothing wrong with wanting to stay a little longer, especially since I'm running out of time. I shouldn't feel guilty about this, right? Yeah, so it's no big deal. I'll just go back. It doesn't mean anything.

Having convinced himself of his choice, he started making his way back toward Konoha and arrived just before dawn. He was surprised to find the lights on at her apartment. Cautiously opening the balcony door a crack, he peered in to find Sakura alone in her room. It looked like she had just gotten out of bed and was heading over to her closet to pick out some clothes. Sasuke quietly let himself into the room.

Sakura immediately spun around, arms readied for attack, but quickly let them fall back down to her sides as she recognized her attacker.

"Am I still dreaming?" she murmured to herself.

Ignoring her bewilderment, he questioned, "Are your parents still here?"

Before Sakura could reply, they heard footsteps approaching her room. Sakura quickly shoved Sasuke into her closet and closed the doors moments before her mother opened the door to her bedroom while calling her name to make sure she was awake.

Plastering the biggest smile on her face, Sakura answered, "Yes, Mom?"

"Oh, good, Sakura, you're up. Hurry up and get dressed. Even your grandparents are ready to go."

"Ok, give me just a minute and I'll be downstairs." She walked over to her closet and opened the door to find a smirking Sasuke holding up her usual outfit. She covered her mouth to mute the laugh she couldn't hold back, and then whispered as she changed, "My mom just woke me up and insisted I go walk with them to the gate to see them off. I won't be long."

He nodded, contemplating how he had never taken notice of how cute her green and pink striped pajamas looked on her. He also thought about how nice it must be to have family.

After seeing her parents and grandparents off, Sakura hurriedly returned home, half afraid he would already be gone. But he sat patiently on her floor awaiting her return.

"So they're gone now?" he inquired as he stood up to face her.

"Yup."

Few seconds of awkward silence.

"Don't you have to get back?" she said to break the silence.

"It's ok. He's traveling somewhere with Kabuto." At the Sound-nins' mention, he saw her give a slight shudder. "They had already left before I had to come here, and they won't be back for at least a week, so I've got time."

"Oh, ok," she acknowledged. "I have to leave in a few hours to make my official report to Tsunade-sama. She might give me the day off since I just got back from a mission. Normally I'd spend the day training, but if you're going to be here, then I'll just come straight back."

I never knew she could be so disciplined, training on her days off even. Was this because of me? Because I left? Looking her straight in the eye, he questioned, "So, you're ok with me being here?"

"Uh, yeah," she responded, in a slightly sarcastic tone before trying to stifle a yawn.

"Are you tired?" he asked in a surprisingly sincere manner.

"Aren't you? I'm guessing you didn't get any sleep yet."

"I'm fine, but we could sleep some before your meeting," he suggested.

"As in sleep, sleep. Not, you know."

Does she have to look so puzzled like that? I'm just trying to be nice. "Sleep is fine."

Sakura changed back into her pajamas and offered one of her larger t-shirts for him to wear with his boxers. She eagerly climbed into bed with him, excited for the cuddling. He tried to ignore her enthusiasm. Wrapping an arm around her and allowing her to use his shoulder as a pillow, they both eventually fell asleep….

Sakura dreamt that she was back in the Uchiha complex, making dinner for she guessed Sasuke. There was an infant in a crib next to her, and she scolded a little pink-haired girl who ran hazardously through the kitchen.

"But Daddy asked me to run through the house," the little girl whined.

"Well, don't always do what Daddy says, you'll get hurt," Sakura lectured warmly. "Now dinner's almost ready, so go sit down at the table.

"Yes, Mommy," the little girl replied obediently.

Sakura deftly picked up the baby in one arm and a pot in the other and carried them both to the dining table.

"Here, let me take him for you," she heard in Sasuke's voice as she was trying to set the food down on the table. When she looked up at him, though, he had no face. Where features should have been was only blankness, like someone had erased them.

As she stared at his lack of face, Sakura suddenly opened her eyes and realized she was in bed. What a weird dream, she thought to herself. She looked beside her only to find an empty spot. Did he leave?

She quickly jumped out of bed to leave her room, only to be met with a delicious aroma as she opened her bedroom door. She walked down the steps and found Sasuke in the kitchen making breakfast. Who knew he could cook? Of course, he was living alone a long time, so naturally he had to make food for himself.

"Good morning," he said without looking up. "Go ahead and sit down, it's just about ready."

"Um, ok," she replied hesitantly. This is very weird. I certainly wasn't expecting anything like this from him.

Neither spoke much during the meal, after which Sakura left to make her report to Tsunade. I hope he'll still be here when I get back. She sighed. Actually, I wish he'd never leave again.

Sakura quickly arrived at the hokage's office to find her mentor sleeping, her head resting on top of the many scrolls strewn about her desk. I guess she's gotten behind in her paper work again, Sakura thought with a trace of a grin. Clearing her throat, she spoke in a clear voice, "Tsunade-sama, I'm here to make my full report on the mission I returned from last night."

The hokage was startled out of sleep, knocking off a few scrolls off the desk during her trip back to consciousness. "Oh, Sakura, is it that late already? Sorry, I must have just dozed off for a few minutes."

"For my report-"

"Hang on, I could use some fresh air. Let's do this outside on the deck. Would you go ahead and find Shizune as well? Thanks."

After reporting all the events of the missions, Sakura was relieved that Tsunade had enough faith in her to send her to intercept the spy. Unfortunately, Kakashi wouldn't be well enough to make the trip, so they'd have to find temporary replacements. Naruto, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, immediately and vigorously took off in search of new members as if he had any authority in the matter.

Just then, an elder interrupted them, wishing to speak with Tsunade.

"This probably means I won't have time to train you today, Sakura. Go ahead and take the day to rest, so you'll be refreshed to hopefully be on your way tomorrow."

"Thanks, Tsunade-sama."

"Oh, where will you be today? At home?"

"Yes, I'll be at home." She added, "Um, just studying, by myself. Why do you ask?"

"I'll send someone to you when I have all the details for the mission. See you then, Sakura."

"Bye," she called, hoping she hadn't been too obvious and suspicious by her response.

On her way home, Sakura decided to stop to pick up some groceries. Rummaging through the carrots, she accidentally backed into someone. "Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed before realizing Naruto had purposely snuck up behind her.

"Hey, Sakura, whatcha doing?"

"Just picking up some groceries on my way home. I thought you were out looking for teammates," she joked.

"I am. I just saw you from across the street and decided to say hi."

Sakura walked up to the counter with the goods to pay the owner as Naruto rambled on about something or other until he caught her attention with, "Say, do you want to meet up tonight? I was thinking we could have a little get together to sort of commemorate our first attempt in our search for Sasuke."

"That's actually a really good idea, Naruto. I'm surprised," she commented as they started walking in the direction of her apartment.

"You shouldn't be, I'm always coming up with good ideas."

"More like immature ones," she muttered under her breath. More audibly, "What time did you want to meet? Later would probably be better for me. There's a lot of studying I want to do today."

"I was thinking around midnight. We could have it by the memorial stone," he explained.

"Where we first became a team. You did come up with a good idea. Did you want to wear anything special? I can borrow one of my mom's kimono's if you like."

"Yeah, that'd be neat. I have a haori coat I can wear."

"I'm really excited for this," she honestly confessed. "Should we just meet at the stone at midnight then?"

"Why don't I pick you up? If we're going to dress up, I should escort you, right?"

"Uh, meeting there is fine," she tried to convince.

"No, I want to pick you up. I promise I'll be on time, say 10 to midnight?"

"Well, ok, if you insist. My family's away on a trip, so just knock at the front door instead of coming up to my balcony."

"Got it. See you tonight!" Naruto called as he was already bounding with an abundant amount of energy down the street.

"Wait!" Sakura tried to call but was already out of earshot. "I was supposed to tell you Tsunade-sama is choosing the new team members," she muttered to herself. "Oh well, he'll figure it out eventually."

Arriving back at home, Sakura found Sasuke peacefully asleep in her bed. Not wanting to wake him, she crept back down to the living room to look over some medical scrolls in the meantime. She was currently studying about an offensive chakra manipulation technique that can be performed on an opponent. I guess I'll work on this until noon and go wake up Sasuke for lunch if he isn't already up by then.

The clock read about 11:30 when Sakura heard some movement from upstairs. Rolling her scroll back up, she went upstairs to check on Sasuke. Opening the door, she held off speaking up in order to observe him stretching. He looks so cute in boxers and a t-shirt! He seems so much less intimidating dressed like that. "Did you sleep well?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, sorry for sleeping so late," he apologized as he got dressed.

"It's ok. I got in some good study time, so it's not like I minded," she reassured.

"What were you studying?"

"Just some medical stuff."

"Is it hard?"

"Yeah, it is. You have to put in a lot of time learning and practicing before you start to see any results. I'm not sure I'll even be able to do what I was just studying."

"I see."

"I really like it, though. I don't know how to explain it. It just feels like…it fits, you know? I always felt like I didn't compare at all to you, and then later even to Naruto, but now I feel like I have an area I'm good at, too. Something I can contribute."

"That's good. So you're happy with what you're doing here?"

"Yeah, I'd say I am. It'd be better if you were here, too, though," she confessed.

"Are you hungry for lunch? I can go make something."

"I can make it since you made breakfast."

"I don't mind. You can keep studying then," he insisted.

"Um, all right. I brought back some more vegetables on my way home."

He nodded as he headed down toward the kitchen.

Sasuke quickly put something together for lunch, and they were once again eating mostly in silence until Sakura couldn't stand it anymore.

"So what are your plans here exactly? How long are you going to be staying?"

"I just thought I'd hang out for a little bit. Do you know when you're leaving on your next mission?" he inquired.

"Most likely tomorrow."

"Then I'll most likely head back tomorrow before dawn," he answered.

"So you only want to hang out then?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"I see."

"Is the food ok?"

"Why don't you want to have sex?" she asked instead.

"Huh? We can if you like, if that's what you want."

"Well, no. I mean, yes. I like it, but that's not all I want. It just seemed that was all you wanted." A little flustered, she finally disclosed, "I'm just trying to figure things out, that's all. I can never tell what you're thinking."

"You want to know what I'm thinking?" he asked.

"Yes. Please."

"You can't always get what you want."

Sakura slumped her head and shoulders in defeat.

After cleaning up the dishes, the pair returned to Sakura's bedroom. They just sat on the floor looking around the room for a few minutes.

I never expected this to be so awkward. I wouldn't have come back if we were just going to sit around for the rest of the day, but I probably shouldn't try leaving until it gets dark, Sasuke thought. As he shifted in his sitting position, he heard Sakura finally speak up.

"I'm going to stretch, if you don't mind. I want to make sure I'm loose for the mission."

"Sure, go ahead. Is it going to be a dangerous one?"

"Well, I'm not really sure what to expect, but yes, it's definitely high risk," she responded. She started stretching by swinging her legs out into a split.

I had no idea she was so flexible. Sasuke swallowed, trying not to be turned on. As a distraction, he started doing some sit-ups. Not knowing what else to talk about, he asked, "So what's this mission about?"

"Um…" was her only response.

Grunting slightly from the exercises, he pointed out, "I thought we already went through this. I gave you my word. I'm just making conversation, anyway."

"…"

"What, is the mission about me or something?" he joked.

"I…I'm sorry," was all she gave before running down the hall and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Following her, he called "Hey, Sakura," at the closed door. "Um, is something wrong?" This is even worse than those awkward silences. I really wish I could just leave right now. Should I risk just walking out transformed as someone else? But then I'd be kinda a jerk to her if I left right now, he thought. Not that I haven't been a jerk up to this point, but still….

Sighing he knocked. "Sakura, please open the door." No response. "Please?" Still nothing. "Come on, you're the one who keeps wanting to talk, and now here you are shutting me out."

At that, he finally heard a click. Sasuke tentatively swung the door open to find Sakura sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her knees. Her arms hugged her legs tightly.

Softening a little, Sasuke crouched down in front of her and hesitantly reached out and gently touched her arm with the fingertips. "Are you ok?" he asked, sounding so sincere to even surprise himself.

She only jerked at the touch, though, and quickly snapped her head up to stare back at him with fierce pale green eyes. In them, he could read sorrow, anger, fear, bitterness, confusion, all blended together. A combination he was all too familiar with. Without speaking, he simply wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up against him after rocking back to a sitting position to lean his back against the wall. He loosened his hold on her temporarily as she shifted to tuck her legs underneath her so she could better press herself up against his chest.

"You can cry if you want to."

"No," she replied defiantly, as determination played across her face. "I've cried enough already. I vowed after you left that I would be strong for the both of you. I just need a few minutes to sort things out, that's all. I'll be fine," she reassured, although only somewhat convincingly.

She seemed content to just be held by him, so he didn't bother to come up with anything more to say. At first, he ran his hand up and down her back to try to comfort her, but eventually he started enjoying the contact himself. Enjoying it a little too much. He was consciously trying to ignore the fact that it felt really good to hold someone, to have a warm body pressed so close to him like this. The way she clung to him for support, the way she seemed so helpless in his arms, it was starting to turn him on. His mind inadvertently flashed a memory of her stretching earlier where her long legs were spread far apart, and he was definitely on his way.

He shifted his weight slightly, as if that would help the situation. In reaction to the movement, Sakura lifted her head up to face him, staring up at him with big innocent eyes. She probably has no idea what she's doing to me right now. I could take her right now if I wanted to. I could have her right now, she would certainly let me…

Forcefully changing his train of thought, I was doing so well about not getting too involved. Even last night, which was very pleasurable, was only that to me. She probably put her whole self in it, but it was nothing more than that to me. I can't get too involved here. I can't let her get too involved here.

"Sasuke?" She looked at him questioningly.

That did it. Upon hearing her say his name, he threw out all reserve and aggressively pulled her in close to him as his lips hungrily devoured hers lips. His stomach jumped as his tongue found hers. After a few minutes, Sasuke stood up, pulling Sakura up with him. She feels so light. He started to make their way out of the bathroom, but got delayed when he had her backed up to the wall for another few minutes of heavy kissing. They eventually stumbled their way down the hall and were halfway across her bedroom to the bed when they heard a sudden knock at the front door.

Each of them jumped back from the other, neither quite looking their partner in the eye from embarrassment of what had just been transpiring between them.

Clearing her throat, Sakura spoke first. "I should probably go see who that is. It's probably someone stopping by to report the details for tomorrow."

"Right, yeah, I'll just wait up here then." Good one, like that wasn't obvious, he scolded himself.

Sakura turned and walked dazedly down the stairs, still reeling from the passion they shared a moment ago. She opened the door to see that she had been right; it was one of Tsunade's assistants.

"Sakura, Tsunade-sama would like me to inform you that you will meet your new team tomorrow morning at 8am outside the academy stadium. She would then like you to report to her directly before you depart for the mission. Is this all clear?"

"Yes, thank you. Tell Tsunda-sama I will see her in the morning then."

"Very good. Have a good evening, Sakura."

"You, too." She closed the door and leaned against it for balance as she released a sigh.

She returned back upstairs to find Sasuke preoccupied by push-ups. Shrugging, she resumed the stretching she had started, and did a little working out herself.

"Oh, Sasuke, please don't stop," Sakura practically begged.

"How about like this? How does this feel."

"That feels wonderful. Oh, yes, I definitely like that."

"Ok, now it's your turn to give me a back massage."

"I guess if we must switch," she responded disappointingly. She was only a few minutes into her share of giving a massage when Sasuke suddenly pulled away from her. "That's good. I'm all sweaty from working out, so I'm going to go take a shower now," he explained quickly.

"It doesn't bother me, but that's fine. Do you want me to clean it first?" she offered.

"I'll do it. Why don't you make something for dinner while I do that?"

"Sure. Would sukiyaki be ok?"

"Yeah."

"It should only take about 45 minutes."

"Ok, I'll be done by then."

They each went their respective ways. Sasuke vigorously scrubbed the tub and shower area. He even cleaned the sink while he was at it. I've got to get my mind off of this, but nothing seems to be working. I can't believe what I almost did. If that guy hadn't interrupted….

His thoughts were interrupted by Sakura opening the bathroom door. "It's ready," she reported.

"I'll be right down." She went back downstairs, and Sasuke took a deep breath before following.

Dinner went smoothly. They ended up chatting about various methods of training, a nice safe topic. Sakura offered to do the dishes so Sasuke could go ahead and take that shower he had wanted.

Back in the bathroom, Sasuke undressed and set his clothes aside. Seating himself on the stool and lathering up, he relished the refreshing sensation of washing everything away.

After he finished bathing, he stepped into the freshly filled tub of hot water. Leaning back against the side, he exhaled out all his thoughts, good and bad, and inhaled renewal along with the steam. He was just getting settled in the meditation when Sakura entered the room.

"Do you mind if I shower now?"

He answered, "No, go ahead." His voice cracked a little. Only slightly though.

Despite his efforts not to, he couldn't help but watch her undress and scrub her skin clean. She almost took on an angelic appearance as she rinsed the soap from her body.

He swallowed hard as she gracefully stepped into the tub to join him. He quickly stood up to exit the tub when she lightly placed a hand on his arm. "No, please stay."

He complied and obediently sat back down.

Think of something to say, think of something to say, think of something to say. "So, why do you have family outside of Konoha?" he thought to say.

"Huh? Oh, because most of them are from Setagaya. Only my grandfather on my mom's side is from Konoha."

Silence.

"It's actually kind of a neat story, how my grandparents met. Would you like to hear it?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Apparently my grandmother was a famed shamisen (traditional guitar) player and dancer. She was asked to entertain all over the Fire country, and occasionally even in other countries. Anyway, my grandfather was assigned to a mission that involved being her escort as an alias to spy on something, I can't remember exactly what. Well, to tell the short version, he ended up saving her life as well as falling in love with her. Of course, she didn't take any notice of him. In fact, she didn't care for ninjas at all because she detests any sort of violence. But he wouldn't give up. Every time he'd pass through the area, he would give her a new dancing fan, or a new pick for the shamisen, something like that. Well, eventually she started falling for him. Through his gifts, he was showing appreciation for the arts and proving that just because he was a ninja, it didn't mean he couldn't be more than that. She was so impressed by his efforts and stubborn determination that she agreed to marry him and moved to Konoha with him. Isn't that romantic? Anyway, as for my parents, they met on one of my mom's visits there, and apparently against my grandparents' wishes, she went ahead and married him. I'm not sure why, maybe it was to appease my grandfather, but my dad then moved to Konoha and opened up a tatami store here, and my mom helps him out. They still go back to the town every few years, but I haven't been back since I entered into the academy."

"So, not a lot of ninjas in your family then?"

"Nope. My grandfather is the only one I know."

"Are you ready to get out?"

"Yeah, sure."

Sasuke stepped out first, then handed back a towel to Sakura before grabbing one for himself. After drying himself off and as he was getting dressed, he posed the question, "So why did you want to become a ninja then?"

"I don't know," she responded while throwing on a tank top and shorts. "I guess from all the stories my grandfather told me when I was little. It sounded exciting, and it seemed like something that would make him proud."

"Hn."

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you become a ninja? It was expected of you in your family, I'm guessing," she conjectured.

"Yeah, it was…but I guess I also wanted to be like my brother and gain approval from my father."

Sakura didn't react for a few seconds due to shock from Sasuke actually talking about himself. "What was he like? Your father, I mean."

Taking a seat on the bed, "He was a stern man, but not in a harsh way. I wanted more than anything for him to acknowledge me. As a ninja, as a son, I don't know. Maybe it was because his approval was so difficult to earn that it made me want it so much. All he ever saw, though, was my brother. He was the star of the family, a ninja who could really bring honor to our family name. And I was nowhere near his level in anything. I didn't mind too much, though. I liked having a talented brother to look up to. But then, he started acting…different. And then…that day…he…"

Sakura, who had been standing up to that point, carefully sat down next to him. Before she had a chance to try to comfort him, he leaned in and rested his head against her chest. She quickly held his head in one arm, and wrapped her other arm around his body.

When she felt him start to pull himself away, she started, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked about my family so much. Or pushed you to talk about yours. I wasn't thinking about how it would affect you, sorry." As she was apologizing, she steadily became lost within the deep sadness she discovered in his eyes.

"No," he murmured as he leaned back in toward her. This time, though, he kissed her softly, caressing her face with both hands as he did. "Sakura," he breathed as he slowly undressed her, allowing her to do the same to him. Gently lowering her on the bed, he did what he was struggling all evening to avoid. And for once he was glad he wasn't as self-disciplined as he wanted to be.

Sakura woke suddenly. She looked up at her alarm clock. 11:18pm. Laying her head back down on the pillow, she mentally ran through what just happened. I was just sitting on the bed next to Sasuke, and he seemed pretty upset dredging up memories of his family. And the next thing I knew, he was kissing me. Not detached like the first time, not passionate like the second time, but in a gentle, longing kind of way. And after that…I guess that's what you call intimacy. Wow. Just, wow.

But afterward he had said, 'Why am I so weak?' All I could do was hold him tight as he clung to me. I just didn't know what to do. I just can't fathom what he's going through. To think he's been bottling this up inside since for so long, before we were even teammates…teammates…Crap! Naruto! I almost forgot all about it.

She carefully slid her way out of Sasuke's arms so as not to disturb him, and then crept quietly toward the door when she heard Sasuke ask, "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that Naruto and I had made plans to meet up tonight. It's nothing really. But I didn't want to say no, though, you know, to not cause any suspicion. Just go back to sleep, I'll be back in a bit."

Sasuke rolled over and tried not to wonder what they could be doing together so late at night. Curiosity got the better of him, though, when he heard a knock at the door. "Is he picking her up?" He quietly snuck out into the hallway and peered down the stairs to the front door. He gasped when he saw Sakura was decked out in a deep mauve kimono decorated with pink cherry blossoms that matched her hair perfectly. She had pinned her hair up in a small, messy bun. But the real shock was that even Naruto had dressed up, and in a dark green haori coat and black hakama pants. Where could they be going dressed up like that? He quickly put out of mind the fact that he observed Naruto hold out his arm for Sakura to grab as he escorted her out of the apartment, causing a big smile to develop on her face.

Resigning himself back to bed on account that there was nothing he could do, he reflected on the day. I wonder what she was upset about earlier. And what did she mean when she said she was trying to be strong for us. It seems like she's doing pretty well for herself here, though. She's really grown in more than one way since I left.

A few hours later, he heard Sakura enter the apartment, then almost noiselessly walk up the stairs and into her parents' room. About 10 minutes later, she was back in her bedroom, wearing the tank top and shorts again.

"So how'd it go?" Sasuke asked her.

"Oh, it was fine."

"What did you do?"

"We just had a little get together before the mission, that's all," she said with a shrug.

He hated the fact that he could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth. Putting out of mind the many speculations he had concocted, he slid over to give her room to climb back into bed with him.

"So are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"This isn't working for you, is it?" he brought up.

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"I mean, me. Visiting you like this every few weeks. Sneaking around, having to lie to everyone. It's not you. And I know it bothers you that I'm still with the Sound."

"No, it's fine, really," she tried to convince. When he didn't respond, she added, "I mean it, this whole thing is fine."

"Is it still fine if I tell you I don't love you? That I don't feel the same way about you that you do about me?"

"Why are you doing this all of a sudden? I thought things were going well." She was fighting hard to hold back the tears. "Didn't you enjoy tonight?"

"No, I did."

"Then…why?"

Kissing her on the forehead, he ordered, "Just get some sleep, ok? That way you won't be tired for the mission."

A few minutes later, he added, "Thank you for tonight, I needed that."

As hard as she tried to stay awake, to quench the fears slowly eating away at her by staring at his face as he slept, she eventually drifted into sleep herself, lying in his arms.

In the morning, she awoke to the sound of her alarm clock, and found herself alone in her bed again. This time, though, she felt Sasuke wouldn't be downstairs making breakfast. Climbing out of bed and walking over to her dresser, she noticed that he had left his wedding ring behind. In a swell of emotions, she grasped for her own ring that hung on a chain around her neck. She violently ripped it off as she collapsed in a heap onto the floor, sobbing fiercely.
(Track 6)

Earlier that morning, while it was still dark, Sasuke made his way along the rooftops and eventually passed over the village wall. After traveling some distance beyond that, he dropped down to the ground. Bending over, stretching out his arms in front of him to rest his weight against a tree, he let the tears run freely down his face and drip down onto the ground. What have I done?