"You're fighting with patterns, princeling." Sakura said and sidestepped to dodge Arthur's swing. Angling her body, she grabbed his training sword as he went to pull away, and easily locked both his arms behind his back. "After a while, it's easy to predict your next move." She handed him his sword. "You need to be able to think quickly and change your strategy even in the middle of combat. Stay focused! A predictable battle plan is like plunging your own blade through your gut."

Arthur nodded curtly, and Sakura had to smile at his focus as he charged at her again.

Training Arthur was an interesting experience, to say the least, and she felt oddly proud of his progress considering the time constrictions. Bedivere was already displeased enough with the time their training sessions consumed, and she knew that they were wearing the older man's patience thin. At times, she wondered if Kakashi-sensei felt the same all those years ago when he first took them on as pupils.

I wish you were here Kakashi-sensei…She smiled at the thought of her old teacher, the memories causing a dull ache to spread through her. She'd give anything to hear his voice again, even if it was to listen to one of his usual lectures, reprimanding her for going too far, for not giving a second thought to her own well-being for the sake of theirs.

He'd been among the last to fall, one of the very few that still had some fight in them when the end drew close. And he had died just as fearlessly as he had lived, with the wind at his back and the Will of Fire burning brightly in his chest, more brightly than it had ever burnt. He died protecting her, buying her as much time as he could so she could heal Naruto, their last remaining hope.

And then Naruto fell too, and all our hope vanished. And who did he sacrifice himself for? You, Sakura?

She shook her head, unwilling to allow her thoughts to wander down that same dangerous path ever again. She'd never view Naruto's ultimate sacrifice as anything but what it was: a testament of his love for her and the bond they shared. No one would ever come close to understanding what Naruto meant to her. She never found it in herself to love him the way he wanted her to, and for a while, she hated herself for being unable to provide him with what he deserved.

But then she understood. She understood that their love was not one that could be explained as something as self-destructing as romantic love or be disturbed by something as lowly as death. They were each other's lifelines, tied together for eternity. No one would ever take Naruto's place in her heart, but that did not mean that she couldn't live, that she couldn't be happy. She'd see Naruto again, and it was a comforting thought to know that he and Kakashi-sensei, maybe even Sasuke, were waiting for her to fulfil her own destiny before she joined them. She was going to be happy, one way or another. She owed them that much.

He saved me so that Konoha may live on through me. I am the keeper of the Will of Fire now…

"Stop it."

Arthur's voice tore her away from her inner mussing and she looked at him confused. "Sorry?"

"You're doing it again. Your head's up in the clouds."

"Oh…" she said lamely, scratching the back of her head with an awkward smile. "Sorry. I kinda spaced out there."

"I noticed." Arthur crossed his arms across his chest. "If that's your way of teaching me how to use that bloody Sword, I'm not impressed, wench."

Sakura rolled her eyes and smirked. "That's rich coming from someone who didn't manage to even come close to landing a hit."

Arthur glared at her. "That's rich coming from someone who told me to stay focused five minutes ago. Perhaps you should take your own advice, lass."

Sakura regarded him thoughtfully, taking note of his relaxed stance. "Take my own advice, huh?" It's never a good idea to let your guard down around me, princeling. Not a good idea at all…

He snorted. "Obviously. If I am to learn how to use this damn magic stick then-oomph!"

He grunted as Sakura tackled him, using her bodyweight to throw him off balance. They fell to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs, tumbling across the grass awkwardly. Wrestling her way on top, Sakura smirked triumphantly as she straddled his hips, looking down at Arthur's shocked face.

She pinned his arms by his ears, her smirk widening. "Do you surrender?"

Arthur glared at her heatedly. "You played dirty."

Sakura laughed, releasing his hands, and crossed her arms across her chest. "Of course I did, princeling. My teacher used to tell me to always look underneath the underneath. Expect everything. Honor has no place in a battle to the death."

"I was not aware we were fighting to the death."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't want to kill you, princeling, but King Vortigern and his horde of minions do. And you can be sure that they will employ everything in their arsenal to take you down. To them, playing dirty comes as natural as breathing. That's why you," she poked his chest with her finger, "need to learn how to always have the upper hand in battle and take your enemy by surprise."

Arthur's face grew thoughtful as he regarded her and for just a moment, the hair at the back of her neck stood on edge. His eyes, those icy blue eyes, made her feel self-conscious. As if her carefully constructed mental defenses were useless against them. It was a foolish notion, she decided. Even Ino had never managed to tear through her mind. How could Arthur ever hope to succeed? She wasn't even sure he realized what he was doing. And yet, the disconcerting feeling was still there, and Sakura wanted it to disappear.

"Take the enemy by surprise, huh?" he said, the words rolling off his tongue almost lazily.

Caught up in her own thoughts, it took her a moment to realize that his hands were on her hips, fingers grasping her flesh firmly, as if he didn't want her to escape. She noticed the mischief in his eyes just a second too late and a surprised gasp left her lips as he used his superior body weight to flip them over.

He looked down at her with a triumphant smirk splitting his face, and Sakura was not ashamed to admit that she was utterly flabbergasted. His chest pressed against hers and she could feel the rumble of his chuckles. It was an almost feral sound that reverberated through her, sending chills down her spine and making the hairs at the back of her neck stand in a type of awareness she hadn't felt in a long while.

Her breathing hitched as he lowered himself so that he was resting on his forearms. He was too close, his wide smirk and sharp jawline and blue, blue eyes filling her line of sight completely.

I need to breathe…

But it was hard with Arthur so close and his masculine scent enveloping her, making her feel small, small, small. She pressed her palms on his chest, but she found herself strangely devoid of either the strength or the will to push his away. It was not hard to tell which of the two was true.

His muscles rippled against her fingers with each movement and Sakura bit her lip as she watched him hover above her. For just a few seconds, she noticed his eyes focus on her teeth as she nervously nibbled on her lower lip and she felt the breath leave her lungs at the way his gaze unconsciously darkened.

"Arthur…" she whispered, painfully aware of how breathlessly his name fell from her lips. In the corner of her eye, she noticed him clench his fists on either side of her head and she could see the muscles of his arms tighten, bare as his tunic left them.

She dragged her hand from his chest to his cheek. He didn't even flinch when she lightly touched a small but deep cut she had inflicted on him earlier during their spar. Her chakra shone on the tips of her fingers as she slowly closed the injury, making sure that it wouldn't leave a scar. This time, Arthur didn't move a muscle as she healed him, and he kept his gaze on her. The green of her healing light reflected in his eyes, giving them an unearthly glow. As if something ancient and forgotten was hiding just beneath the surface. She wondered what kind of magic it was that flowed in his veins to give him those eyes and make Excalibur bow to his will.

Something that just might be too much for you, Sakura…

His face was dirty, blond hair tousled and sticking out at odd angles, and his brow was furrowed, as if he was battling with his own thoughts, but for the life of her, Sakura had never felt more self-conscious in the presence of a man before.

But this is Arthur…This is Arthur…

He reached for a strand of her hair, and she visibly gulped. If he saw it, he didn't make any move to acknowledge it. Instead, he played with her hair, twirling the long pink lock around his fingers. He took care to keep his touch light, and gentle in a way she never would have associated with him. The Arthur she knew was brash and arrogant. He was cocky and rough around the edges. But this…this was something else.

"Sakura…" Her name slipped past his lips slowly, deliberately, making her spine tingle. She wondered if he realized how much his whole presence was affecting her. She wasn't sure she wanted to really ask herself why that was. Not just yet. Not when he could die, and she could die, and they could all die. She knew all to well what it meant to ask questions you couldn't find the bloody answers to. Unconsciously, she licked her lips to wet them as she usually did when she was nervous but realized her mistake a moment later when she saw his eyes follow the tip of her tongue.

Something like a growl erupted at the back of his throat, almost animalistic in nature and probably beyond his control. Her fingers tightened on the fabric of his tunic, her knuckles brushing over the sweaty, heated skin of his chest. She could swear she felt him shiver. It was a small victory, knowing that she had an effect on him. It was almost sad compared to what his proximity was suddenly doing to her, but it was still a victory.

Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she stared up at stormy blue eyes that sent shivers of anticipation down her spine, though she wasn't exactly sure what it was she was waiting for.

No…No, no, no. You can't…Not now…

Her eyes widened for just a second when she felt Arthur's fingers brush her chin. The touch was airy, a simple graze of his fingertips, but she felt it with a profound intensity. She wanted to speak, to tell him to get off her and stop whatever it was he was doing. Tell him that she didn't need or want him messing with her thoughts. She did not want to get any more attached than she already was. To him, to all of them. Attachment brought pain and there was no more room in her body for pain.

But she didn't, because words failed her, and she did not trust her voice not to waver.

His fingers grazed her skin again, his thumb rubbing gentle circles just under her eye as he cupped her cheek.

I need to breathe…I need to breathe…She looked up at him, eyes pleading. Please…Don't do this, Arthur. Don't do this to me…

"Oh, for the love of God, will you stop? I think I'm going to puke now."

A mixture of profound relief and equally as profound disappointment flooded Sakura the moment Bill's voice reached her ears. Conflicted as she was, she dared glance up at the man above her. His lips were pressed in a thin line and though he moved to put distance between them, his expression never changed. He sent her a look, eyes as stormy and wild as before. A look full of promise, though of what she didn't know.

"Chop chop, love birds! We have a problem that cannot wait."

Bill's annoyed voice got them both moving, and Sakura rose slowly, not quite trusting her legs not to buckle under the weight of the emotions this little incident had caused her. Her attempt at masking her awkwardness by dusting her clothes seemed pathetic even in her own eyes. She did not glance at Arthur as she walked to follow Bill's retreating form, but she was aware of his presence. It was hard not to be, with his powerful aura still enveloping her.

She did not speak a word to him, and he didn't either.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Sakura stared thoughtfully at Bedivere. "So, you're saying that this Blackleg has taken over the village and is acting as some kind of reigning Lord?"

The man nodded. "The King sent him here to make sure no uprisings took place. His job was to make sure no one challenged the will of the Crown. However, our informants have been reporting increasing cruelty against the villagers, unfair taxation, women going missing in regular intervals, and suspicious deaths of prominent community members."

"Well, I guess we don't need to be scholars to realize who's responsible." The woman gritted her teeth. "But how is that our problem?"

"We need to reach Uther's old bannermen in the North, and that village is not only our stop for supplies but also our shortcut. The only other way is through the Evermer Mountain pass, but the path hasn't been used in years. Last I heard, a rockslide blocked it completely."

"But even if it weren't blocked, the pass is treacherous ground. Fraught with razor sharp peaks, hidden under layers of snow." Bill added. "Our chances of getting out of there in one piece would be slim to none."

Sakura nodded absently, mind running a mile a minute. "And you're absolutely certain there is no other way?"

"Didn't we just say that?"

She rolled her eyes but chose not to respond to Bill's jab. Instead, she shifted her eyes to Bedivere again. "This Blackleg running the place. Do we know if he has men with him?"

The older knight nodded. "He does. They are in unruly condition, feasting and drinking to their heart's content. The villagers are too scared of them and no one holds them accountable for their actions. They are slowly sucking the life out of that village and its people."

"Why is the King even allowing this? An overly-ambitious soldier is a recipe for disaster."

"As long as the rebels are kept at bay, Vortigern does not concern himself with his followers' doings. Or with the fate of mere villagers."

For a while, Sakura remained silent. "Look underneath the underneath."

"I beg your pardon?"

The woman grinned. "Expect the unexpected, adapt and overcome it. 'Tis what my teacher used to say."

"Will you just get on with it, woman?" Bill snapped, clearly agitated.

"Oh, come on, Billie. Don't you trust me?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Smart man." she said just to spite him and smirked at the way he glared at her. "Seeing as our options are pretty damn limited to begin with, our only viable plan right now is to do the one thing King Vortigern and his lackeys would least expect."

"And what would that be?"

She turned to Arthur, who was watching her with a raised eyebrow.

She chuckled, eyes flashing in anticipation. "Why, we are going to walk right into town, of course."

Bill breathed out slowly. "We are doomed."

TBC

Hey you wonderful, wonderful people!

Did things heat up a bit in this chapter or what?

I cannot tell how much I enjoyed writing this. I was just itching to start building up the romance between Sakura and Arthur, but I did not want to start things up too early in the story and make things unbelievable. Hope I achieved that!

Anyway, I'm not gonna ramble this time!

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, I'd love it if you could leave me a review to share your thoughts and feedback.

Until next time!

Lots of love!