Light Shaded Dream

Chapter 4 – Payment

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

-:-

Sakura remained silent, dumbfounded by how stupid she was to rush out and just call out his name.

"I'll say it again...how do you know my name?" Sasuke hissed.

Sakura took a deep breath, and began lying.

"You're well-known in my village. That's it, you arrogant jerk," She calmly replied.

Sasuke continued to stare at her suspiciously. Something about her chakra levels and her voice made him think of someone he knew so many years ago.

"And what village is that, you annoying girl?" He asked.

Sakura remained silent, unable to think of an excuse for that one.

"I'm unable to tell you that information."

"Hn. If you're a Konoha ANBU in disguise, you're doing a pretty bad job at it," He said.

Sakura stopped herself from releasing her anger, and her eyes stayed fixed on the boy.

"Who are you, really? You seem so...familiar...it's irritating me," He said.

He ran his fingers through his hair, and stared at the girl in front of him. The girl didn't move, so he continued his way back to wherever he was headed.

"Stay out of my way, annoying girl," He hissed, before walking completely out of sight.

Sakura remained where she was, unable to yell an insult back at him. She regained her composure, and ran back to the inn, slamming her door shut. Her jutsu began to wear off as her emotions began flowing out of her.

"N-no...I...have to stay...cold and emotionless...or else...the jutsu...w-will...wear off..." She said.

Her tears began to flow down her face, staining her calm and elegant features. She ran to the bed and plopped onto the mattress, sticking her head in the pillow, letting the tears flow, her sobbing muffled by the sheets. She kept yelling, "I hate you, I hate you!" into the pillow, unable to swallow up her bottled up emotions.

"I can't take this anymore!" She yelled.

Just at that moment, the others had returned from their night adventures, and opened the door, finding a broken Sakura sobbing on the bed. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata rushed to her side, beginning a series of comforting. The boys knew better than to get into the matter, and just sat together talking about weapons and techniques.

"Hush, Sakura, it's okay. Don't worry about it, we're all here for you..." Ino said, rubbing Sakura's back.

"Yeah! Cheer up! I'll even let you...uh...torture Neji!" Tenten happily said.

Neji gave Tenten a glare, and Tenten helplessly shrugged her shoulders, resuming her duties as a best friend.

"Sakura, who did this to you?" Hinata asked, in a quiet voice.

Sakura looked up from her pillow momentarily; her eyes bloodshot and sticky from her tears.

"I hate him," She said.

Everyone in the room winced at the malice present in her voice, and felt sympathetic for her.

"It's okay, Sakura. Don't worry now...we'll bring him back, and after that, you won't ever have to talk to him anymore, don't worry," Ino said.

Sakura had not been able to process these words, as thinking about bringing him back gave her an even bigger heartache, and resumed stuffing her face in the pillow. Naruto, seeing the situation worsen, got up, and began making his way to the broken girl. The girls gave him stares that told him 'Mess-this-up-and-we-will-kill-you-and-your-ramen', and he smiled at them. He sat down next to Sakura, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura...if he did this to you, than is he really worth crying for? Is he worth your time?" Naruto asked.

Sakura looked at him, thinking to herself. She mentally thanked him for being like a brother to her, and shook her head.

"No..."

"If you really love him, Sakura, you might have to do some thinking...he's not worth it, Sakura. He's not worth you. You deserve someone...so much better than a cold-blooded murderer like him, Sakura. You don't deserve living with a heartache."

The girls looked at Naruto, relieved he had been able to calm her down. Sakura gave Naruto her first genuine smile in so many years, and wiped away her tears. Naruto nodded to her, and walked back to the boys. Everyone was relieved that Naruto had known Sakura almost as well as Ino did, and was able to stop her from doing the unimaginable.

"You're...r-right...N-Naruto...thanks..."

Naruto smiled at her, and gave her a thumbs-up.

"No problem, Sakura-chan!"

-:-

The days in the Sound Village went by quickly. Their progress had gotten nowhere, but they were directly ordered by Tsunade that they were not permitted to return until they had brought him back; that is of course, if none of the members have been fatally injured, or there was such an emergency that they were forced to flee back. Sakura continued her patrol, even though she would never near Sasuke again. Neji and Tenten took close observations of the villagers and their daily habits, Ino and Shikamaru paid close attention to the ANBU squads, and Hinata and Naruto befriended the kind villagers. Sakura's experience at the village was not so great; she had developed fan boys as soon as she stepped out of the inn, and hated having them follow her around. Now I know how Sasuke felt...She thought, every time she was forced on the run.

Sakura perched on a tree branch in the middle of the forest, quietly taken in the calm environment. She knew where Sasuke was; she could feel his strong chakra from where she was perching. But she dared not near him in fear of losing her control of her jutsu, so she had grown accustomed to ignoring the sounds from his training. She hoped that he could not sense her chakra, since she had lowered it just to stay hidden. She was lost in thought, thinking about the days of Konoha...

I don't understand this! I can't take it. Why him? Him of all people! Why was he the one that destiny has chosen for me; the one that I was fated to fall in love with? I don't understand this; I don't know how much longer I can keep this up! Thinking back on the days, I realize that I was a huge nuisance; it's no wonder why I was always weak. But...he was so cold to me, back at the inn. He was...different. Those bimbos that didn't even deserve to look at Sasuke didn't understand him like I did. They liked him for his looks - his mysterious onyx eyes, his intriguing, well-toned body, and his strength. They didn't care at all that he was a cold-hearted, arrogant jerk! But...something about him dove into my skin, my heart. I knew that behind his nearly impenetrable wall of ice, I knew that behind that was a heart of kindness and warmth, locked away by the sorrowful events of his childhood. I don't blame him for being so cold-hearted and arrogant; his childhood was so traumatic I'm surprised he's even able to acknowledge someone's presence. No, he was just a bird with clipped wings that was unable to fly. He was locked inside...

"I thought I told you to stay away," A voice hissed.

Sakura was knocked back into reality as a voice drifted through her ears, and she jumped up in shock.

"I did stay away. I didn't bother you in training, did I?" She asked, irritation flooding out of her voice.

"But here you are."

"I didn't bother you, so just go back training for power for—..." Sakura stopped herself, almost giving away her cover.

"For what?" Sasuke asked, curiosity and anger slipping out of his voice.

This girl knew more about him than anyone else in the village. Her familiarity with him was eerie.

"..."

Before Sakura knew what hit her, she was plunged to the ground and slammed against a tree trunk.

"You are not new to my village...not this village," Sasuke hissed.

Sakura got up, her body jolting in pain from the enormous force exerted on her. She still remained silent, and Sasuke slammed her right back at the tree.

"Who are you?" He yelled.

Sakura's body slumped to the ground, her knees supporting her abused body. Her shirt was flowing with blood, and she felt the warm liquid dripping down her back and onto her legs.

"Tell.Me.Who.You.Are!" Sasuke yelled.

His self-control was leaving him. He kept slamming Sakura into the tree, and Sakura still remained silent. His anger was driving him insane.

"Shut up...for once in your life Sasuke...and let me explain..." Sakura said.

This time pools of her blood formed over the grass stained her body with blood all over, and she still managed to smile at him.

"He was right and wrong at the same time..." She whispered to herself.

Sasuke heard this, but refrained himself from killing her.

"He was right that I needed to think this over, but he was wrong about you," She whispered through breaths.

"That doesn't answer my question," Sasuke said.

"I wasn't done yet, Uchiha!" She yelled.

Sasuke froze. He knew that nobody in the Sound Village knew of his last name. He was simply known around there as 'Orochimaru's Pawn', or 'Sharingan Eye'. But nobody there knew of his last name, other than Orochimaru and Kabuto. Sakura looked at him, and pulled out a bloodied cherry blossom from her pocket. By now, the petals were weak and torn due to the force of being slammed against the trunk, but some were still connected together.

"Does...this look familiar to you, Uchiha?" She asked.

Sasuke looked at it, and winced in pain. He remembered. He remembered perfectly now.

"Why the hell are you here, Sakura? And why are you disguised?" He asked.

Sakura laughed, and shook her head.

"No, Uchiha. Why are you here? Why aren't you in Konoha?" She asked him.

"...Power."

"Selfish jerk! Isn't it obvious? We were sent here to bring you back. After many of the ANBU squads failed to bring you back, and even failed to come back alive, Hokage-sama was forced to send all her best away just to get you back! How can you be so selfish?" She cried out.

Sasuke remained silent, unable to say anything. He had hurt his cherry blossom. He still wasn't sure if she was still his cherry blossom, but he was sure that he had made the biggest mistake of his life. And now, he was paying the consequences.

"And to think...that I loved you, Uchiha..." Sakura said.

Sasuke continued to stare at her. Her words had stabbed him right in the heart; they had dug deep. She got up, and faced him with her bloodied body.

"We'll just see if you're still worth anything to me, Uchiha," She whispered.

With her statement, she disappeared, leaving Sasuke to stare at a pool of blood in the grass.

I made the biggest mistake of my life, and now this is my payment, he thought.

-:-

A bit of OOC. Sorry!