Words: 5,450

Warning(s): Mentions of war, death, and some foul language


For the first time in a very long while, Sakura felt warm and comfortable.

The soles of her feet weren't throbbing, she wasn't entertaining a pulsing headache, and her muscles weren't spasming randomly. Instead the constant adrenaline and caffeine induced buzz that spanned her whole body, Sakura felt blissful nothingness. The exhausted fog that had hung over her thoughts and actions like a wet blanket had been removed. While her thoughts weren't sharp or clear yet, it seemed more like her head had been enveloped in a plush comforter—or cotton balls—and they were slowly being pulled away.

Like she was waking up.

The thought removed the rest of the cotton balls clouding her mind in a hurry, and Sakura was struck with the sudden realization that she was indeed waking up. Her eyelids still felt heavy and stuck together, but the surge of panic that blasted through her system helped her to open her eyes all the way.

Where was she? How long had she been out? Was she supposed to be operating? Who was on shift? What time was it? When was her next scheduled operation? Was it now? Why hadn't anyone come and gotten her yet?

Sakura's heart felt like it was racing a million miles an hour, and the area in her immediate vision was hazy and out of focus. Every cell in her body was screaming move! but without a clear sense of direction or threat. Her pupils were dilated to near the point of enveloping the viridian hue that surrounded them, and every hair on dusting her skin raised.

Breathe. The deep gulp of air Sakura forced into her lungs helped drive down the blind panic that had engulfed her. She blinked a couple times and pushed herself to actually take in her surroundings.

A half circle of wooden chairs. Familiar sketches of the surrounding area and medical tents. Her standard black pants and long-sleeved shirt on the floor. Crème canvas walls that fluttered in the slight breeze.

She was in her tent.

Now secure in her surroundings, the adrenaline and fear emptied her system in a rush, leaving her to sag bonelessly against her brick of a bed. Sakura might have just woken up, but there was no way she was going to trick herself into thinking she was rested. Yawning heavily, Sakura determined that if she was needed, someone would have summoned her by now. Although it bothered her that she didn't remember falling asleep, she didn't seem to be in any danger. So, she snuggled closer into her threadbare pillow and tried to fall back asleep.

But couldn't.

Sakura was safe in her own tent, swathed in the perfect amount of blankets, and she was still tired enough that she didn't even mind the scratchy material of her pillow. Still, there was this insistent nagging in the back of her mind that pushed for her to leave her comfortable cocoon. Scowling, Sakura rubbed her face into her bed like she was trying to remove the annoying—and very demanding—impulse to get out of bed.

Why would she leave her bed when she had absolutely nowhere to b—

With a painful thud, Sakura's heart thudded to a stop in her chest and she flew up from her pillow with an angry, meaningless shriek. The blanket she'd been so comfortable in before was nothing but a hindrance now, and she struggled to move her limbs as fast as she could.

How the fuck could I forget?! Sakura punched her arm through her shirt with nearly enough force to tear through the fabric. Her pants got the same rough treatment (she did not remember hanging them there), and she was still struggling with a sandal as she pushed through the fabric door to her tent.

Sasuke was going to kill her!

-x-

About halfway to the training grounds in the forest, Sakura realized that Sasuke's chakra signature was absent. Not that, the more she thought about it, they had ever agreed on meeting in the small patch of trees that she had been punching holes in for the last couple of days. In fact, she had no idea where Sasuke was, or if he would even agree to talk to her again. The boy might seem as cold as the Kumo air, but she happened to know his pride had always been a rather sensitive spot of his.

And she had just stomped all over it by not showing up to train.

"Damnit!" Sakura growled, clenching her hands around the sweaty locks of her hair. It would take forever to talk Sasuke down frown whatever tizzy he had worked himself up into. She had finally gotten Sasuke to agree to teach her, and she had fucked it up!

A jagged rock on the path in front of her became the focus of her fury, and Sakura launched it through a successive line of trees after a sharp kick. Cracking sounds ricocheted through the forest for several seconds, causing the squawks of frightened birds and fleeing animals, before silence final fell once more.

When it did, Sakura sighed, squared her shoulders, and marched to the training grounds. There was nothing more to be done. All she could do was try to figure the damn technique out on her own. Maybe later she would have time to talk Sasuke around and soothe his ruffled feathers.

The clearing Sakura walked into was not the clearing she had left behind, though. Shattered trees and cracked earth proved this was where Sakura had been training in the last couple of days—she even recognized the large crater where she had broken down earlier—but the dummies that had been set up were not her doing.

Her first thought was Kakashi. It made the most sense that he would try to help her. But as she admired the care that had been taken in weaving each dummy together, she realized there was no way Kakashi had put in this much time to prepare for a training session. Even Naruto, as much as she loved him, was more of the show-up-and-wing-it type.

No, there was only one person who could have set this up. Her throat felt tight as her fingers traveled wonderingly over the carefully woven targets. All this time Sakura had been so convinced Sasuke didn't care. It hurt—she wished desperately it wasn't true—but perhaps she'd been pounding on the solid walls around Sasuke's heart for too long without taking a step back. Perhaps, while she was busy pounding on her patch of Sasuke's barrier, the rest of his defenses had been slowly crumbling away.

Withdrawing her hand from the carefully assembled target, Sakura clenched it into a fist as her resolve hardened. She had to find Sasuke.

-x-

Despite the fact that she wasn't a sensor, Sakura didn't anticipate any problems in finding Sasuke. Of course, like most things, this meant the task became unusually difficult. She frowned as she trudged through the underbrush, scanning the chakra signatures in camp once more. Just as she was about to make a third pass, she felt it.

Is that really Sasuke?

Just the touch of his chakra sent her heartbeat racing in her chest. This time, though, it wasn't accompanied by the sickening cocktail of anxiety and desperation that never failed to turn her stomach. It was as if she was looking into an earlier version of Sasuke. The maelstrom of hate she usually felt haunting his chakra was gone. Sasuke was—peaceful. Tired, definitely, his chakra reserves were at about half the behemoth amount they usually rested at, but he was calmer than Sakura had ever felt. Including the year she had known him as a genin.

Why is he in the central medic hub? Sakura's brow furrowed as she broke through the edge of the forest into the clearing. "Medic hub" was a grandiose term for what was basically a slightly larger tent with a plethora of chairs and coffee. Still, when medics were on a break they never failed to meet there to exchange tips, confer on a patient, or simply share a cup of liquid energy. While others weren't technically barred from entering, they never did. Ever.

So, why was Sasuke there? Even if he had been looking for her—a thought Sakura couldn't dismiss as quickly as she might have in the past—it wouldn't have taken him long to determine that she wasn't there. Why had he lingered there for—Sakura glanced at the sun in the sky—six hours? Seven? In the back of her mind, she contemplated how serious her chakra exhaustion must be to sleep for more than eight hours and still feel this exhausted. Her brief second of concern was dismissed in favor of finding out what the last Uchiha was doing in her medic hub.

Ninjas and medics alike offered Sakura small smiles and weary waves as she traversed the camp. It felt like she was always a second too late in responding, but if anyone was offended they certainly didn't say anything. Perhaps she was always this distracted; it certainly sounded like her.

For no reason at all, her palms began to sweat as she neared the tent. Sakura had faced Sasuke when he was mad with revenge, unfeeling and cold, murderous in the name of justice, and broken in pain. Now that he was the most sane and whole she'd ever encountered him, she hesitated.

To be rebuked by this Sasuke would cut deeper than any previous rejection ever had. Should he turn her away now, Sakura couldn't brush it off as Sasuke being too wrapped up in revenge and darkness.

Standing in front of the tent flap, Sakura took a deep breath and pushed it aside. If Sasuke was going to reject her, he was going to reject her. Right now, she needed to focus on getting the ninjas lying in the tents home safely.

Sasuke didn't see her when she entered the tent, but he was the first thing she saw. A line of medics waited in front of his seated form. The majority of them chatted easily, holding coffee in their hands as they waited. A few glanced warily in his direction, of course, but none left their places.

Most remarkable of all were the ninjas who sat before him, backs turned with ease to his lethal hands. These were her colleagues, and in some cases, her friends. To see Sasuke so accepted into their midst was nothing more than breathtaking, and Sakura had to swallow back tears of happiness to avoid making a scene.

She hadn't the slightest clue what brought this on, but she thanked every entity that could have made it possible fervently.

When the medic-nin in front of him began to stir, the tranquil meditation of their chakra exchange was broken, and Sasuke immediately became more aware of his surroundings. Sakura could see the way his chest rose and fell more quickly—more shallow in contrast to deep meditation breaths—and his eyes darted under his lids.

"You still have another four hours to sleep," he said, opening his eyes to bore into hers. Sakura's heart stuttered at the same time that her lungs failed to draw breath. The maelstrom of darkness that had swirled in Sasuke's obsidian orbs for three years had settled. It hadn't dissipated entirely, but instead hung heavily around his eyes in a way that made him look haunted. Vulnerable. Repentant.

Then the corner of Sasuke's lip twitched, just the barest hint of a smile, and Sakura's composure was gone. Regardless of the fact that the was surrounded by her fellow medics-people who looked up to her-Sakura's eyes began to water. This was the boy who had bolstered Sakura's confidence before the chunin exams. This was the teammate who had held her hand so desperately in the Forest of Death. This was the Sasuke she had fallen in love with. Finally, finally, he had come home.

The medic in front of Sasuke shifted, most likely uncomfortable with being right in the middle of their quasi-reunion. A simple movement, but it was enough to shatter the fragile spell that had captivated them both. Sasuke glanced away, and suddenly Sakura could breathe again. With the influx of oxygen the world around her stabilized. Though there was still a faint ringing underscoring her thoughts, her brain scrambled to play catch up with what Sasuke had just said.

"You-you exchanged access to your chakra for my right to sleep?" Acts of kindness, especially ones this large, meant something from Sasuke. He had used violence to try and break his bonds, spat hateful words to push his friends away from a weak heart. But he had never, never used generosity as a ploy. Never had he used a saccharine smile to achieve a twisted goal.

"Hn," Sasuke confirmed, avoiding her gaze. Instead, he turned to the next medic in line and gestured her forward. It was Yuri, a young amethyst-haired medic from Konoha. He held his hand out, leaving it suspended in midair, and closed his eyes once more, "Go."

Incredulously, Sakura shuffled back a few steps; the dismissal made her uncomfortable, but mostly because she wasn't sure what to do with it. Yuri looked at her once apologetically, bangs mostly covering her eyes, and ducked her head before situating herself so that Sasuke's open hand rested on her shoulder. From across the room, Shizune caught her eye and jerked her head towards the opening in the tent before exiting. Flicking her eyes over Sasuke and Yuri's still forms once more, Sakura pushed the harsh canvas aside and slipped out of the tent.

The flap had barely closed behind her before she rounded on the elder medic.

"Wha-what? Did Sasuke really make a deal so I could sleep?" Sakura whispered harshly, resisting the urge to shake Shizune until so got some answers. Everything was speeding up and slowing down at rates she couldn't handle, "Were you in on this? What is going on here?!"

"He demanded, Sakura. Demanded," Shizune stated. She didn't give up an inch of ground, but she didn't step forward into Sakura's space either, "Sakura, he was frantic. I knew you were doing badly, but to be doing badly enough that Uchiha Sasuke comes up and demands that I let you sleep. Demands that I let him exchange his chakra so you can have time to rest. What is going on with you?"

"I-he was frantic?" Nothing was making sense. Frantic was not a attribute Sakura would chose to apply to Sasuke. "I just haven't slept a while, and Sasuke-Sasuke made me rest before he would teach me how to use the chidori. And I slept through it-our meeting that is."

It was Shizune's turn to be as flabbergasted as Sakura felt.

"The chidori? Sakura, why on earth do you need the-oh."

"Oh," Sakura agreed, her hand fluttered nervously from her heart to her head and back. She felt unsteady and ill. It's not that she wasn't pleased with her Sasuke's apparent return. But when Sasuke had stared down Naruto with murder in his eyes? The hope Sakura had kept alive that their Sasuke would return home had been all but snuffed out.

And, now, just like that, he was back?

"...handling it?"

The high-pitched ringing in her ears-or was it a buzzing in her brain?-died down enough for Sakura to catch the tail end of Shizune's question.

How was she handling it? How was she handling Sasuke's abrupt personality change? His sudden presence in her life again?

When Sakura was still a genin, after both Naruto and Sasuke had left Konoha's walls, she and Ino had rekindled their friendship. The blonde had insisted the two do something together every week, and more often than not they ending up pressing flowers. Sakura wasn't sure why that's always what they ended up doing, but at least one afternoon of every week-or dusk if training had been particularly hellish-the girls would venture out into Konoha's forests and fields to capture the most beautiful blooms they could find.

They would return home with their prizes and press them between the pages of particularly large books. It was for this reason that the girls generally ended up at Sakura's house-she had the most extensive collection of dense medical books available for use. With the heavy weight pressing on them, and the absence of both water and light, the flowers would shrink and condense into smaller versions of themselves. At this point, they could be placed in a scrapbook or picture frame to be treasured forever.

Of course, Sakura hadn't always been patient. There was one time that Sakura had been attempting to preserve one of the largest, brightest sunflowers she had ever seen. It had reminded her of Naruto, all sunny smiles and bright clothes, and she was determined to have it hanging in her room next to her Team 7 photo. Unfortunately, its size meant it it took longer than the usual week to press. By the end of the eighth day, Sakura was staring sullenly at the empty place on the wall where she had planned for the flower to go. Impatient, Sakura decided to go ahead and frame the the flower anyway. Everything was going fine until she was trying to clasp the back of the picture frame closed. The damn thing would just not close no matter how much she wiggled and tugged at it. It was as she was leaning down on the back of the frame that she heard the tell-tale crack of the glass shattering.

Right now, Sakura very much felt like she was the glass panes of the picture frame, being pushed to the edge of fracturing by the overbearing sunflower. Sasuke's resurgence into her life was too much-too soon-and she was having a hard time containing all the emotions that were now spilling over.

Overwhelmed, and still the slightest bit shaky, Sakura sunk to her knees before shifting to sit on the dirt.

"I-I don't know," she admitted quietly. "I'm happy. Really, deliriously happy. Or-or at least I think I am." Sakura cradled her head in her hands. "A week ago I would have been skipping, I think. It's just, after-after everything that's happened? After everything that is happening? It's not that I gave up hope on him"-although it was a close thing- "I-I just…"

What had she done? Shut down, really. Walled up her emotions behind a thick brick wall so she could continue to function. Now that Sakura thought about it, it sounded eerily familiar: she'd pulled a Sasuke.

Sakura repeated this thought out loud, and it drew a chuckle from Shizune. With an exasperated shake of her head, she sunk to the ground next to her. Tonton escaped the woman's grasp the moment she was settled and chose to jump into Sakura's lap and gave a consoling oink. As much time as Sakura spent with the little pig, she could count on one hand the number of times Tonton had elected to cuddle with her. Still, Sakura wasn't about to look a gift-horse-or pig, as it were-in the mouth. She pulled Tonton closer and up into her chest, ignoring the way her eyes were suddenly watering.

I will not cry over Sasuke again. I will not cry over Sasuke again. She repeated it like a mantra in her head until she felt in control of her emotions again.

"That was never going to work for you in the long run," Shizune said eventually. At Sakura's questioning glance, she elaborated, "Pulling a Sasuke. You have too many emotions to keep all locked up. You'd drive yourself into the ground before you successfully smothered them."

Personally, Sakura thought Sasuke had faced a similar problem once. He had to have a lot of emotions to want to lock them away, after all. And there were those moments-those moments that made her heart melt and burst and stutter-where he let his walls down just enough to offer a peek at who he used to be: a kind, loving boy.

"From what I've seen-and from what Sasuke has apparently noticed-you were well on your way to a severe case of chakra depletion, though." Guiltily, Sakura thought of the half-empty container of soldier pills in her pocket this very moment. Thankfully Shizune carried on, "But as overwhelming as this seems right now, I know you'll push through it. I've never seen you back down from a challenge yet. Remember your first surgery?"

Sakura did-perhaps not for the reason Shizune did, though. News of Sasuke had reached the village. Barely two months after his defection, Sasuke had been spotted in a town just south of Otto. He'd held the owner of a small plant nursery at swordpoint and demanded some the region's most rare resources.

It was the first time Sakura saw, without a shadow of a doubt, the path that Sasuke was headed down. However, stuck in Konoha with only mediocre skills at her disposal, Sakura was helpless to stop it. She felt sick and anxious the whole day, and had a hard time focusing on anything else-including her lessons. Probably sensing her student's distraction, Tsunade informed her that she would be performing her first surgery the next day. A chunin had managed to tear most of the ligaments and muscles in his right arm. Not usually surgery worthy, but enough muscles had been damaged that the repair would proceed more smoothly if the medics could see that everything was reattached where it was supposed to go.

As far a surgeries went, it wasn't that serious. The chance of the patient dying, or even losing the use of his arm, was extremely low. Still, though, it had forced her to spend the whole night poring over her books and preparing. Not that she didn't think of Sasuke. But every time Sakura felt her mind start to wander, she reminded herself that it was not Sasuke that would be under her chakra scalpel tomorrow. Sasuke wasn't in any immediate danger, but her patient was-and it was selfish of her to not devote her full attention to her patient.

So, after being apprenticed for a mere two months and preparing for a day, Sakura scrubbed up for her first surgery. Which, she not only successfully completed, but also noticed the hairline fractures spanning his humerus that had not shown up on the initial scans. Again, not really dangerous. But if the patient were to have exerted too much force with his arm again, the bone could have shattered and maybe even ripped up his muscles all over again.

All in all it had been a success. A success that stemmed from putting her personal issues aside and focusing on the patient in front of her. Maybe, if the changes in Sasuke were permanent, they could work on their relationship later.

Shizune was right. She could do this.

"As for Sasuke," Shizune took a deep breath, as if what she was about to say physically pained her, "Well, you've-you've always loved him. Just let whatever feelings you have come. Don't try to hold them back, but don't force them either, kay?"

It was comforting to have the conclusion she'd come to only moments before mirrored back at her. As if she had been following the conversation, and agreed as well, Tonton butted her chest affectionately from her lap and oinked reassuringly.

"Now, as enlightening as that whole conversation was, what I asked was how you were handling the new technique."

A quiet moment as this processed.

Oh.

"Oh."

"Oh," Shizune agreed with a mischievous smile.

Well, fuck me entirely, Sakura thought, dragging her hand through her hair and chuckling weakly. Of course she had to take that question completely out of context. Of course she had to spill her guts, again, for no reason at all. Why wouldn't she have? At least it was only Shizune, but Sakura still found herself feverently wishing for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Sakura was silent for a few minutes as she stared up at the sky. Shizune was patient, though, and merciful. She refrained from teasing her and allowed the younger medic to get her thoughts and blush under control.

"I have the shape right, but I can't get my chakra to make the last jump into the electric phase," she finally explained, thumping her knee aggravatedly with a closed fist. Tonton squeaked, startled by Sakura's sudden anger. She murmured her apologies and petted the pic's bristly back before continuing, "I have an idea, but I'm not sure it's exactly feasible. I'm hoping Sasuke will have some input."

"Okay," Shizune took a second to think through this. "But if you're having this much of a problem with the chakra control, will it be something everyone can do? As it is, there are only a couple of medics who have been taking the brunt of this whole disaster. If it's those same six people, this doesn't really solve much."

"It will it consumes less chakra, hopefully," Sakura told her. These were issues that had been plaguing her as well. She had been struggling with this for sixteen hours, and, modesty aside, she was the best of the best. Even if she did crack it, would others be able to jump in? "In theory lightning users should have an easier time with the technique."

"And we have five lightning users that currently don't have the chakra control to perform heart stimulation," Shizune finished. She closed her eyes and nodded. Sakura could practically see her doing the math behind her eyelids. "And with those users, everyone else might actually be able to take a second to breath before the actual defibrillators come in."

"How long until that again?"

Shizune sighed. "Six days."

Sakura echoed Shizune's sigh. Six days was a long time-especially for a patient in critical condition. About three shinobi were lost to heart attacks each day. So, if the medic task force was able to keep up their current pace-which was a big if-they would still loose eighteen patients by the time supplies arrived. It didn't sound like much, especially not when stacked against the numbers of those they'd already lost. But eighteen ninjas was the Rookie 9 twice over. Two years of ninja for any given nation gone in less than a week.

And that was only accounting for the heart attack patients.

"Son of a bitch," Sakura swore softly. She rubbed circles into one throbbing temple with the hand not cradling Tonton. "We need more medics. Once we get out of here, I'm taking up Tsunade-sama's fight with the council. We need more medics. End of story."

"Having rested medics wouldn't hurt either," Shizune commented dryly. When Sakura glanced at her senior out of the corner of her eyes, Shizune wasn't staring at her as she thought she would be. She didn't have to, though. The comment was pointed enough.

"I just finished sleeping for-er," Sakura glanced at the sun again for reference, "Well, I think it was eight hours. That's plenty rested!"

"And how long had you been on your feet before that Sakura?" Shizune asked sharply. Now she was staring at Sakura. Glaring, actually. "Because I doubt that the Uchiha would storm up to me and demand I let you sleep if you had just had a busy day."

Sakura winced and looked away. She hadn't laid down in over a day before Sasuke bribed her to do so. And there was only a shower and four hour nap separating that time from the last 36 hours she had spent running from tent to tent. If Sasuke hadn't forced her to sleep, there was a very good chance she would have collapsed. Sasuke or Naruto might have been able to do it, but the fact of the matter was that Sakura simply didn't have the chakra reserves. Not naturally, anyway, and artificially generating chakra like she had been was probably going to come and bite her in the ass at some point. She knew that, she did, and yet…

"I had to do something," Sakura bit out. Her free hand clenched once more, but she resisted pounding it on her thigh this time. "I have to do something." The older woman looked ready to protest, but Sakura pointed accusingly at her mentor and snapped, "No, listen to me!"

While Sakura was well known for her temper, it was rarely directed at her superiors. She saved such pleasantries for her peers. In all the years Shizune had known her, she wasn't certain that Sakura had ever raised her voice at her. It was certainly enough to kill whatever protest she had been about to make on her lips. Sakura made sure to make use of her silence.

"Listen," she repeated, fiercely meeting Shizune's gaze, "I am the apprentice of Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin and legendary medic. That just so happens to be what everyone needs right now, but, unfortunately, she's in a coma." Sakura paused to take a breath and fight off the tears that threatened at the thought of Tsunade-sama, still and nearly lifeless on her heavily guarded bed. Now was not the time. "So, the responsibility falls on me. No, listen, it does. Shizune, I will always value your help and advice. Know that. Please know that. But I was always meant to be her successor."

Sakura gently scooted Tonton off her lap. The pig oinked affectionately her once before scurrying over to her owner. With both her hands free, Sakura pushed off the ground to stand once more.

"So it's time for me step up," she said. Her lips quirked in a small smile as she offered a hand to help Shizune up, "Symbolically speaking, of course."

Shizune sighed and took her hand. Once she was on her feet as well, she reluctantly nodded her assent. "Fine. But is there any chance you'll go get more rest once you figure this out?"

Sasuke chose that moment to walk out of the tent. Sakura's traitorous eyes immediately followed the movement of his arm as he brushed the flap open. With his short sleeve on, the majority of his bicep was obscured from her vision. Still, the barest glance of the flexing muscles sent a thrum of excitement flooding through her.

Pathetic, she scolded herself. You're around shirtless men, much buffer shirtless men, and a little peek at a bicep has you drooling? It was as if now that she knew that there was a chance again, all her senses were on high alert. When it came to him, at least.

"I thought I told you to go back to sleep," Sasuke said. He raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow-gah! Did he tweeze or were they naturally that perfect?-as if demanding an answer from an unruly child. When he didn't get the response he wanted, Sasuke crossed his arms disapprovingly and stepped right into her space, probably in an attempt to intimidate her. Sakura was not intimidated, however-more...overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with how close he was (if she raised up on her toes just the tiniest bit she would be kissing him), overwhelmed by his scent. Every breath carried with it a musky scent that was all Sasuke. It was-nice. Some sort of pine mixed with-smoke? Maybe?

It was also making her a little light-headed, because that damned ringing had started in her head again. Sakura had to take a small step back and take a deep breath of clean air-not that he smelled dirty-before the world came back into focus again.

"I told you before, Sasuke," she said, propping her hand on her hip imperiously. No, she was not flirting. She wasn't. "I don't have-"

"Time for rest," Sasuke finished for her. He still looked annoyed but also resigned. If he was a normal teenager, he would probably be rolling his eyes dramatically. As he was not, Sasuke just allowed one small huff of annoyance to escape. His voice tinged on exasperated as he asked, "I'm not going to be able to convince you to go back to sleep, am I?"

He was being gruff, but not cold or cruel. His words weren't honed with the intent to hurt this time. This time Sasuke cared. And she could see it. Clearly. Like, Byakugan-or-Sharingan clearly.

So, despite his obvious annoyance, Sakura smiled.

"Nope!"


All I can really say is that I'm sorry. It's been more than two years since I've updated this and...yikes. A lot has happened since then irl (I graduated, I have a real science job, I'm engaged). Every time I started to work on this though, I seemed to struggle for with how I wanted to this to end, and I finally decided against writing a sex scene at the end. Sorry for everyone who had been waiting ever so patiently for that. My other multi-chap, Poison Brings Out the Best in Me, has two scenes you might want to check out if that's why you're here.

To everyone who is still following this, thank you. Really. I got your reviews, and each of them made me smile (even if I'm just responding to them now). I'm not going to promise that I'll update it again soon, but my New Years Resolution is to write and share at least one thing a month, so maybe the chances are better? Just know that I promise I will not abandon this fic-even if it takes me ten years to complete it and no one is following it anymore.

Anyway, I'm going back and fixing the errors of other chapters, so that's why you all probably got multiple alerts before this chapter was finally posted. As always, reviews give me life and motivation. If you're not too angry with me, maybe share your opinions on this chapter?

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guest (2015. Oct. 3): Glad you found the story interesting! Hope you stumble upon the updated chapter someday.

Guest (2015. Oct. 3): Sorry you think this story is so lame that you read all four chapters of it?

2lazy2login (2015. Oct. 3): They shortened the backspace button and moved the "=" button right into the space I usually hit it at. Finally got used to it! Hope you come back to see the rest of the story someday!

Guest (2015. Oct. 4): Always makes me happy to know someone likes my work. Thanks!

Guest (2016. Dec. 28): This story is NOT discontinued! Hurrah! My updates are just really sporadic. Not Hurrah

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*edited: 2018/01/21