Aishiteru, Cherry Blossom

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Chapter One: Hits and Misses

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I want to be known for my hits, not just my misses...
-- Fall Out Boy

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"I'm under WHAT?"

Sasuke's shout could, no doubt, be heard throughout Konohagure. Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, the best medic nin in the village (only a little ahead of Sakura), and new Hokage, sighed and put a hand to her head. I could use some sake right about now. "You're under a village-arrest. You're not allowed to communicate with anyone outside of the village, go on any missions as a ninja, or leave the village premesis for a year."

"A year."

"Hai, Uchiha, a year."

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked angrily, fists clenched. His eyes flashed darkly.

"Train. Shop. I don't know. But you're forbidden to leave the village." Tsunade's hand reached for the drawer with the sake. One more inch... come on... just a little sip...

"You're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking, Uchiha? You betrayed us. You went to Orochimaru. I should have you killed, but no. I'm being kind; I'm letting you live, and even maybe letting you go on missions and such... after a year." Tsuande's gaze was razor-sharp.

Sasuke was about to retort, but a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Come in," the Fifth Hokage growled, glaring at the wall. Damn kids.

Sakura opened the door, her eyes flickering from Sasuke to Tsunade. "Er... Tsunade-sensei, I'm here for training."

Tsuande let out a barely suppressed groan. All this, and now training. Well, so much for that sake. She turned to the Uchiha. "Come with us. I'm not letting you out of my sight until you agree to stay here."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, her heart thumping a little faster. Train in front of Sasuke? He's say she was weak. He'd say she couldn't fight worth a damn...

"Fine." Sasuke gave a curt nod and stood, folding his arms and following the two as they strode confidently to a clearing. He glanced at Sakura, her pink hair swaying in the breeze. He remembered when it was mid-back in length, and he remembered when he woke up from his curse and realized that it was short. It was the first mark of Sakura becoming a kunoichi, a real ninja... and many more were to come. He'd heard about her battle with Ino, how her 'second mind' had thrown Ino out of her head to make the match a draw. The weak, simpering Haruno Sakura he remembered wasn't like that.

Tsunade stood to the side as Sakura punched the ground. A huge crater appeared from her fist, and Sasuke's eyes widened. When had she gotten so strong? The training continued, with Sakura punching holes in trees and forming various jutsus, even turning once and throwing a kunai at her sensei, who quickly blocked it and gave the girl a smile. "You've exceeded my expectations, Sakura," the Sannin said with a satisfied grin.

Sakura was breathless but giddy. "Domo, Tsunade-sama."

"I'd like to give you a mission. A-class, possibly more. It depends." This time, she glanced at Sasuke, her eyes slightly narrowed as the Uchiha ground his teeth together in a fury. Not that Sakura didn't deserve an A-class mission... her performance had been astounding... but it felt extremely unfair that she could go when he couldn't. The old insults rose in him again: weak, worthless, pathetic... although now, he knew, they weren't true anymore. Nor, he realized, were they then. In fact, if anything it was probably his insults that lowered her morale and stopped her from being her best in the first place. What an idiot he was.

The pink-haired girl's eyes were alight. "Tsunade-sama! I'd... I'd love it! What is this mission?"

The Fifth Hokage smirked and whispered in the girl's ear. "You'd be going with Hyuuga Neji and Sabaku no Gaara. Naruto will accompany you some of the way, as well."

"Gaara? Why does it concern him?"

"Rumor has it that he is planning an attack on Sunakagure, as well. Of all people, Gaara as the Kazekage needs to be involved in this mission. He refused flat-out to send any of his elite jounin, so he's the best option."

Sasuke felt a spark of curiosity. Who was 'he'? "Tsunade...-sama."

"Hai, Sasuke?" Tsunade turned, her face sterner when she looked at him.

"Am I dismissed?" His face was impassive as he checked his watch; 5:45. Sakura and he needed to go to get ramen, anyway.

"Do you agree to the terms?" Sakura was watching with a small frown on her features as she slipped the kunais into her pouch and ran her fingers through her hair to comb it.

What else could he do? Sasuke felt a rage rising in his stomach, but he merely scowled. "Hai. I agree."

"Wonderful. Then you're dismissed. Sakura, wonderful job. Come to the Tower at six tomorrow morning to get the details of your mission; you, Hyuuga, and the Kazekage will leave around seven-thirty." Tsunade smiled slightly as her pupil nodded and walked off with the Uchiha. As she watched them, her smile turned to the ghost of a frown. That Uchiha... it was obvious he had feelings for her apprentice. And she knew that Sakura had felt likewise in the past... well, up to five years in the past. But the girl was now seventeen, with her own choices, amazing strength, and astounding brilliance that rivaled even Shikamaru's cunning and smarts. And Tsunade would be damned if she let some backstabber Uchiha ruin Sakura's triumphs. Oh, yes. The Fifth Hokage was going to put a very tight leash, indeed, on that miserable Uchiha.

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"Sasuke, why did you ask me here?"

The question caught him unawares. The prodigy was swallowing his ramen and almost choked. "What do you mean? I already said we had a lot to catch up on."

"Sasuke, please... you never gave me the time of day before. Why now? Why do you care now?"

Damn good question, he thought miserably as he stared into her emerald-green orbs. "Look, Sakura..." Again, he was at a loss for words. This girl seemed to do that to him. "Sakura, I haven't seen you in four or five years. And you've... improved since then. Greatly improved."

"Domo. But you're not answering my question."

She'd also gotten bolder, curse it.

"I'm not one with words, Sakura. You know that."

"And yet you're infinitely more talkative than you were when you, um... left."

"Hn."

There it is, Sakura thought with a constricted smile. The famous 'hn'. The answer to all of my questions at age twelve. "Well, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," she said with a small smile, finishing off her ramen.

He said nothing, only stared at his soup. "I can't belive I'm on an arrest," he said hoarsely after a moment.

"I can't blame Tsunade-sama. You betrayed the village." You betrayed me, she wanted to say.

"I wanted power," he said, looking at her. "You wouldn't understand."

The words by themselvesstung horribly, but what they implied was a total slap in the face: You wouldn't understand. You're not powerful enough. You're not good enough. It was like being a genin all over again. Sakura looked at him, her eyes the same metallic green they had been while training. She could feel Inner Sakura urging her on: Go on. Beat the shit out of him. He deserves it, thedamned scum..."Well, Sasuke-kun," she said nastily, adding the suffix sarcastically (you go, girl), "I suppose I wouldn't understand, would I? I'm only Sakura, the girly-girl... the idiot, thefearful, the worstkunoichi in the village... and theworst ninja in the village.Pretty, weak, fragile Sakura, who you don't give a damn about." Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, more than a little taken aback, but the angry girl kept on her tirade. "Sasuke, I'm not weak anymore. Actually, I was never weak. It was only by being compared to you and Naruto, two geniuses, and by being perpetually insulted by you, that I felt I was weak at all. I train with one of the legendary Sannin. I can make earthquakes with a step. I can extract nearly all poisons, not to mention clot blood, heal wounds, and bring someone back from the brink of death. I can, Uchiha Sasuke, punch you to infinity and beyond right now, if I had half a mind to. Lucky for you, I don't, because I think that that comment was purely stupidity. If you knew... no, I know you know. If you acknolwedged that I was as powerful as you... maybe even more... you would be luckier, and still have a friend in me." She stood up angrily. "I hope you're happy. Welcome back to Konohagure, Sasuke. Welcome back, traitor."

And she gathered chakra into her feet, leaping away from the ramen shop without another word.

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Sakura exhaled deeply in the shower, letting the hot water run over her body. She wasn't particularly sore, nor particularly dirty... but the encounter with Sasuke had left her wanting to be extremely clean, left her wanting to wash away all of the remnants of her old wounds and insecurities. "I want him to know," she yelled suddenly into the showerhead, scrubbing shampoo into her hair vigorously, "that I can hit! That I can defeat! I want him to know I'm not weak anymore! I'M NOT WEAK ANYMORE! I'M NOT WEAK! I'M NOT!" The last word was shouted with a dry sob behind it.

Shaking her head to stop the tears that would surely come from this rant, Sakura turned off the water and grabbed her towel, rubbing herself dry before wrapping it around and walking into her room, trying to calm herself down. She looked up and gasped, flushing furiously. "Gaara!" She hurried to adjust the towel. "What the fu- what are you doing here?"

He gazed at her unemotionally, as always. "I heard a scream. I thought there was trouble."

"Oh..." She laughed nervously. "No, no. I was just... erm... letting out some of my emotions. Venting. You know."

He stared at her. "And you do this by screaming in the shower?"

"Um... yeah. It helps." She smiled slightly, still blushing. "But... er... Gaara, I'm kind of... well... I need to change."

The desert ruler looked amused. "So sorry. I'll see you tomorrow." He vanished in a swirl of sand, leaving Sakura staring weakly at the spot where he vanished.

"Right. See you."

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As Sasuke walked home, he marveled over his former teammate's words. Who would have ever thought that Haruno Sakura, number one fan of Uchiha Sasuke, and obsequious idiot that she had been at twelve years old, would have snapped- no, yelled- at Uchiha Sasuke himself?

Not him, that was for sure.

The words didn't hurt him much. Yes, they hurt, but they incited something that made him happy. Haruno Sakura didn't like him anymore... so be it. After he was done with her, she would again, soon enough.

After all, Sasuke loved a challenge.