Author's Note: This chapter came a little earlier than expected. It was my dog's birthday today and his favorite thing to do in the world is to sit in my lap all day. So what did I do? Well, you can thank him for the chapter.

P.S. Thanks to all my reviewers, likers, and sharers. I LOVE YOU GUYS. My dog loves you too, because the more feedback I get, the more encouraged I am to write, which of course, means more lap time for him. So you have both of our thanks. As always, let me know what you think!

Pairing: SasuSaku

Chapter 13: Not Giving Up

Sasuke ran his fingers through his now wet hair that was hanging down from the weight of the river water. He stared at his pink-haired teammate in astonishment as she walked towards him, hands fisted at her sides as she came down the boardwalk.

"This is ridiculous," he spat at her quickly, not sure of what he was supposed to do in this situation. Sasuke would be the first to admit that he rather enjoyed sparring and would love for the opportunity to battle with Naruto again, or even Kakashi. But Sakura? The last time he had gone toe to toe with her, they had both meant to kill each other. That was the only time that he had challenged her and he regretted it every time he looked into her face. Sasuke didn't like the idea of going up against her at all, simply because it went against every instinct in his body. Sakura was someone that he had once, and now again, considered very dear to him. Before Sasuke had deserted the village, he had always been there to protect Sakura, not fight her!

"I'm not going to fight you," he said rigidly as she got closer and closer. Then he saw her right fist begin to glow and she started to run at him, gaining momentum with each step.

"You don't really have a choice!" she yelled, pulling back her fist, and aiming for his face.

Sasuke's eyes grew wide when she didn't pull her punch. He instantly jumped into the air, barely dodging her blow. He watched from above as Sakura's weight carried her out onto the water. The kunoichi instantly spun on the lake's orange surface, reaching into her weapon's pouch, and throwing shuriken up into the air towards him.

To Sasuke's surprise, these were also true to their mark and Sasuke had barely managed to spin in the air fast enough to avoid the first two, but one got close enough to deeply cut the top of his left shoulder. Sasuke winced and landed to his feet on the water next to her, channeling chakra instinctively to the soles of his feet.

Angry now, he grabbed her wrist and tried to pin her arm behind her back, much like he had done to her a few nights ago in her office. However, she was less compliant this time, soaked with slippery water, and with one less arm to secure his hold, he couldn't maintain a grip as she spun out of it.

Sakura grabbed down hard onto his forearm and Sasuke cussed internally at the sheer strength of her hold.

He managed to catch one small smirk from his teammate before she had both hands on his arm, and was swinging him up and out into the air before her. Sasuke collided not too graciously with the water and he skipped across it like a rock. He sent chakra to his palms and grabbed onto the waves that rose up around him. Sasuke managed to stop his momentum and he spun on his palms, pushing against the water's rocky surface and landing back down on his feet.

That was it. He was thoroughly pissed now. Rising to stand fully, he activated his Sharingan and sent his teammate a heated red and purple glare.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sakura crossed her arms in triumphant satisfaction at Sasuke's leveled stare. She tried not to waver at the crimson and violet eyes that fell upon her. Instead, she looked down at Sasuke's feet, like she often did when sparring against Kakashi. The Sharingan wasn't something Sakura was fearless of, being as it was one of the most powerful kekkei genkai that was renowned throughout the shinobi world as one of the "Three Great Dojutsu." His other eye was also classified as such and it terrified Sakura even more, simply because she had witnessed the power of the Rinnegan through the Akatsuki's many demonstrations. And then there was Madara. How she would battle that type of powers, she wasn't sure. On the other hand, Sakura was proud of herself for being able to incite this type of reaction out of Sasuke. This is exactly what she wanted.

"Glad to know you're taking me seriously now," she taunted.

Suddenly, his feet moved, and Sakura jumped back as he lunged towards her. Dammit. He was a lot quicker than she expected and he caught hold of her waist and threw her down into the water, the both of them now submerging into the lake's murky depths.

Sakura reached forward, then sent her elbow back into his side. Even underwater, Sakura's strength was immense and the Uchiha grunted when she made contact with his ribs. He released her and she made a break for the water's surface. She inhaled sharply when she emerged. Kneeling on the water's surface, she looked down to find Sasuke. But when she looked up, he was already before her, standing above her and looking down at her.

Before she could react, Sasuke had a hold of her arm and he pulled her up to look at him. She closed her eyes when she met his, hoping it wasn't too late. Sakura had her defenses up. If he caught her in a genjutsu, she was certain that she would know. His grip was unyielding as she tried to pull away from him.

"Enough of this!" he hissed at her. "What are you going to accomplish by this?"

Sakura stopped struggling long enough to answer him. She opened her eyes and glared at his chest when she answered, "I'm going to make you understand."

Then, to punctuate her statement, she headbutted him. Hard. Neither of them were wearing their forehead protectors, so the impact of their skulls was brutal. After a dazed second, Sasuke bounced back from the hit, and Sakura had already pulled back her fist to strike him. She missed, aimed again with her other fist, and watched as her fist slid past Sasuke's cheek as he dodged again. Sakura continued to take shots at him, each unsuccessful as the Uchiha backed and ducked away from her. Blasted Sharingan. She would be lucky if she even managed to graze him.

Sasuke remained solely on the defensive the entire time Sakura drove him back towards the forest on the other side of the lake. He eluded every punch and kick she threw at him, but never tried to strike her back. His sword still hung limply at his side and his fingers didn't even twitch to make a hand sign. This infuriated Sakura. Sasuke was barely exerting himself. She had managed to piss him off just enough to engage in combat with him but she would have to take it to the next step before he would fight her with any real intent.

She continued to swing, jabbing faster and faster, using every spiraling kick and punch she had in her book. And of course, Sasuke was still managing to evade her every move. She was hoping that if she continued to apply the pressure thick enough, he would eventually have to strike back.

This reminded her of her fight with Kido. Sakura had repeatedly hit the man who had kidnapped her in an attempt to draw Sasuke back to the village in order to steal the Sharingan. During her battle with him, he had taunted her about Sasuke as she tried to land a solid blow against the unwavering tailed-beat chakra that he wore as a cloak. "No matter how many times you try, the result is always the same," he had told her as her punches made no damage in his defenses. At the time, he had been referring to her attacks, but Sakura couldn't help but think of his remarks in relation to her unrewarded feelings for Sasuke. She had told him countless times how much she loved him and not once had he reciprocated her feelings. She had been victorious in her fight with Kido and had convinced herself that like with that fight, she wouldn't give up on her feelings for Sasuke.

It didn't matter how many times she was going to have to tell him, she loved him. She loved him with everything that was in her. Sakura wasn't simply going to tell him that anymore. She was going to make him understand once and for all, even if that meant having to pulverize him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Even with his Sharingan, Sasuke was barely managing to avoid any of Sakura's ferocious blows. He knew that the instant she managed to land a hit, he would be done for. Sakura had already cracked a few of his ribs and with each turn his body made, pain exploded in his side. Not to mention, that she had almost knocked him unconscious with that headbutt. Sasuke gritted his teeth at the pain in his side and head and contemplated how to stop her merciless stream of blows without hurting her.

He couldn't bring himself to throw any hits back, or use his ninjutsu against her. If she would only look into his eyes, he might be able to place a genjutsu on her, but she was being tactful by completely avoiding them, predicting his attack solely from the movement of his feet. She could have only learned this from Kakashi. He was impressed at how successfully she was managing to pull this off.

Sakura was skillfully pushing him back and he raised his arms against her blows. He learned pretty quickly that even this was risky, considering her superior strength. Any contact at all sent vibrations through his bones, so Sasuke tried to avoid her reaches altogether.

His foot touched solid ground finally, cueing Sasuke that they had reached the bank on the other side of the river. Just as he backed into the woods, he managed to slip behind a tree just in time for her next blow. Of course, the tree splintered and broke under her chakra-infused punch. The collapsing tree reminded Sasuke why it was important to not slip up even once. The moment he did, it would be over.

He bounded into the treetops and Sakura scanned the ground around her. She had momentarily lost sight of him when she had bounded away from the tree. It didn't take her long to find him, because she caught his eyes. This time, she didn't look away. Just as he was about to place her in a genjutsu, she spoke.

"Fight back!" she yelled up at him, her voice filled with anger.

Sasuke saw the emotion in her green eyes. It took his pounding head and throbbing side to remind him that he was thoroughly annoyed with her.

"I can't." he growled down at her.

She suddenly kicked the tree he was standing in and Sasuke had to jump to the next one to avoid crumbling down with it. At this rate, she was going to destroy the entire forest.

She was no longer making eye contact with him, and Sasuke grunted. He had missed his opportunity and he wasn't going to be able to use the Sharingan on her as long as she avoided his gaze. He was going to have to make her look at him.

Sasuke suddenly reached into his weapon pouch and crouched. He waited until she appeared in the tree beside him and then he sent rigged shuriken into the air around her. Sakura looked around in surprise as Sasuke yanked back on the wire strings that were attached to the shuriken that made full circles around her. He pulled again forcefully, and the wires tightened around her body, jerking her back against the tree. Successfully tying her to the tree, he watched for a few seconds as Sakura struggled to free herself.

Sasuke made his way towards her and crouched in front of her. "You need to stop this and listen to me."

She looked away from him, still avoiding his eyes. "Let me go."

"Not until you've calmed down," he stated firmly.

A smirk touched her features and Sasuke instantly frowned. "Calm down? I'm just getting fired up."

"Sakuraaa," he warned. But before he could tell her how ridiculous she was being, an explosion erupted from somewhere behind him. Sasuke turned instantly and watched as a trail of paper bombs began to ignite. One by one, they were detonating closer and closer to where they were. He spotted the last one just a couple of feet away from him. When had she-!?

Releasing the wire that kept them both attached to the tree, Sasuke grabbed Sakura with his one arm and dove out of the tree just seconds before it exploded into a million pieces.

"YOU'RE CRAZY!" he yelled as he tried to keep a firm hold on her in the air. It was difficult considering the wood and fire that was hailing on the them now. She managed to raise her knee between her stomach and Sasuke's chest. Sasuke tried to tighten his grip but her foot came next and she kicked away from him. They both successfully landed on their feet next to each other.

A shadow covered them and Sasuke looked up to see the tree top crashing its way down on them. It fell quickly and Sasuke reacted on instinct. Summoning his chakra, he formed his hand signs and yanked out his katana. He ran his chidori down the blade and sliced through the air. The tree spilt and collapsed on either side of them.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sakura had gawked as Sasuke's split the tree with his chidori. Now, the tree top created walls around them and Sasuke turned and glared at her with those powerful eyes. In that moment, he was seriously a fearsome sight to behold and it made Sakura rethink her entire plan. How far was she willing to go to piss him off?

"You're taking this way too far," he growled seriously, taking a step towards her.

"I have to make you understand," she said as he took another step. "It's the only way."

"Understand what, Sakura?!" he asked heatedly, taking yet another step.

"Understand how much I love you!" she yelled, sending her chakra fist in the ground between them. She heard Sasuke curse as the ground rose beneath him. Bounding back from the split tree and collapsing floor, Sakura lost eyesight of the Uchiha in the rubble. The landscape was now a disaster, and it had all been her. Sasuke had yet to send an attack her way.

And then she heard him, in the shadows of the trees behind her. How the hell did he manage to pop up out of nowhere?! He was running very quickly towards her, a shadow in the shadows.

Sasuke lunged for her and she turned and ran. Grabbing hold of a low branch, Sakura swung up into another tree, bounding from limb to limb until she had reached her maximum speed. Sasuke was right behind her, keeping up with her. She could practically feel his fingers grazing her back as he reached out to grab her.

And then suddenly, he was stepping out of a swirling vortex just in front of her. He had suddenly appeared there. Of course! He was teleporting. That explained how he was appearing from nowhere. Was this the power of the Rinnegan?

Sakura had bounded from the last limb a little too early. She reached back her arm, letting her thrust carry her through the air towards him.

"Shannaro!" she yelled as her fist connected with his side. A loud crack resounded in the air and Sakura smiled. After a second however, Sakura realized that it wasn't Sasuke that she had hit. Instead, her fist had connected with the purple rib cage of Sasuke's partially formed Susanoo. The skeletal chakra arm reached out and snatched her, picking her up off the ground. Sakura tried to break free but the grip was too strong and she stopped trying altogether when she met Sasuke's fiery eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I refuse to stay in this village and play at love with you. Fighting me isn't going to change my mind. Find. Someone. Else."

Sakura resisted the tears that sprung to her eyes. There were those words again. Those heartbreaking words that made Sakura want to cry.

"Playing at love?!" she yelled. "Do you think that's what I am doing?"

Sasuke didn't respond but he didn't release her either.

"You want me to move on?" she yelled again. "Is that what you really want me to do, Sasuke?"

Again, no response.

"You want me to fall in love with someone else? Do you want me to 'play at love' with Lee, or Kiba, or Shino, or some other random person you don't even know?"

Sasuke frowned at her. He narrowed his eyes at her words. "Yes," he finally replied, looking away from her.

Sakura glared down at him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sasuke poured more chakra into his Susanoo as Sakura pushed against his avatar's fingers. Damn woman and her ridiculous inhuman strength. When would she give up?

"Get it through your head," she said through her teeth as she flexed her arms out. "There's never going to be anyone else."

His Susanoo arm brought her closer to him and this time Sakura looked at him squarely in the eyes despite his Sharingan and Rinnegan eyes. He matched her scowl. The both of them were so stubborn. He was angry with Sakura. Angry that she had caused him to exhaust his visual prowress. Angry about the pain in his forehead and side. Angry that she had brought this bothersome subject up. . . again.

Sasuke couldn't admit to Sakura that it bothered him to imagine her with someone else. There was a part of him that longed for a family of his own. Sasuke had been beating back this part of himself ever since he set his feet in this damn village. Maybe it had taken this fight to make Sasuke realize that his feelings for Sakura ran deeper than he had thought. How else could he explain why he had absolutely zero desire to fight her back, or the way his vision had gone slightly red when she mentioned Lee's, Kiba's, and Shino's names so easily in reference.

Did Sasuke love Sakura? Maybe he did.

But how much? It would be selfish of him to accept her feelings. It would be cruel of him to take what she so freely offered and then leave her behind. If he loved her, he wouldn't do that. Right?

Slowly, he placed her gently back down until she was on her two feet again. "Enough. No more fighting," he pleaded as the Susanoo disappeared into the air around them.

"Tell me that you understand first," she said undecidedly. It seemed she wasn't sure whether or not their fight should end.

"Understand what, other than that you're not going to stop ringing my ears with your nonsense?"

Sasuke sat down on the branch that currently supported them, leaning his back against the tree and clutching his side.

Sakura strode over towards him. Crouching beside him, she reached for his shirt and Sasuke tried not to pull away when she lifted it. He winced when her fingers grazed his cracked ribs. He cursed under his breath when he saw the explosion of purple that was forming under his skin and then exhaled when Sakura's palm began to glow green. It was impressive that she had any chakra left to spare.

"Did you really have to do that?" he groaned as she slowly mended the bone. "That was uncalled for."

"Let's just say you're lucky that I hit you underwater . . with an elbow," she replied and Sasuke glared at her devious grin.

"If you think that pummeling me is going to change my mind about leaving-" he began, but was cut off as she looked up into his eyes. Sasuke leaned his head forward so that his hair hung over his Rinnegan eye. His other eye, turned back to onyx.

"I don't expect you to stay here and 'play at love,'" she said softly. Sasuke looked away.

"All I would need to know is that you love me back," she continued gently. "We don't have to be together to love each other, Sasuke." Their eyes met at that statement, but Sasuke broke and looked down at her glowing palm instead.

"That's a miserable life, don't you think?" he grunted. A pain went through his side and he winced. It was hard enough for the Uchiha to even talk about things like this, not to mention that she had her bare hand against his side while he spoke.

She finished and carefully pulled down his shirt. Then, she moved to his cut arm and her fingers began to glow again. "You can decide that you don't love me. You can decide to leave this village and never return my feelings. But you're not going to walk away thinking that if you do, I'll move on. Is that clear?"

"Hn," he grunted again.

"Good, I'm glad you get it now." She offered him a small smile before turning her attention back to his arm.

"You didn't have to break my ribs to tell me that," he glared at her.

After the wound was healed, she placed her palms on her hips.

"Well you are kind of stubborn," she said.

"And you're annoying."