Sakura continued to walk in front of Sasuke on the journey back and as she began to calm herself she started to feel regret for giving Sasuke such a cold shoulder. However at the same time she couldn't help but wonder why she continued to bother attempting to reciprocate affection from the Uchiha. Everyone had always thought she was crazy for attempting, deliberately and silently, to love Sasuke whose heart had been scorned with hate and vengeance from so many years ago. She knew he still harvested resentment and bitterness towards his brother and she couldn't blame him. But it never yielded her undying faith that she had in him and that's what few people understood. She had no faith in them, together as lovers, she was certain it'd never happen (though it never stopped her fantasies about the handsome boy) but her faith in him was unwavering and undeniable.

I don't care what they say… She whispered in the back of her mind I'm in love with you… A smile crept across her face that was accompanied by a rose hue in her cheeks as she glanced black almost flirtatiously at the raven haired vixen. She accidently converted back to her more girlish form and giggled lightly as she eyed him over her shoulder, catching an inquisitive look from the slightly older nin who looked at her with a questionable eyebrow making Sakura snap back to her matured state. Idiot… She smacked herself subconsciously for being so awkward around him like she used to be. I don't need the pain…I thought I was over this crap… She scorned herself as she looked down at her feet trail in the blackened grass that was shadowed from trees overhead, not paying mind to the fact she was walking in a dark forest where attention is best left on your surroundings rather than ones feet.

"Sakura, watch out!" Sasuke called out to the blossom a moment to late as she mindlessly walked herself right into a tree.

She said nothing as she sat, knees together on the itchy grass scolding herself for being so distracted by the one person who knew how to tug at her heart strings before cutting them completely and leaving her broken hearted over and over again. She wasn't even sure if she had endured any injuries from her recklessness and frankly she didn't care. But a twinge of light and a flicker of heat caught her irritated expression, ripping it from the reclusive shadows that hid her shame and she glanced up to see Sasuke's index finger had turned in a miniscule flame providing enough light to illuminate each other faces. She watched him kneel down beside her and bring the flame close enough to her pale skin to study her face as he began to check her for scrapes, his eyes merely inches from hers now and she could feel the color rising back into her cheeks. She couldn't recall a time they had been so close to the other.

"What are you doing..?" Sakura asked hesitantly, Saskue's onyx eyes shifting upward to look into her own emerald eyes before brushing the back of his hand against her cheek.



"You're cheek…it's scraped." He said rather dryly before moving the light to examine her other body parts the light lingering for a moment too long on the hint of cleavage that rested under her ripped clothing from the previous battle. Ignorant woman… He scolded to himself trying to distract his mind from his undeniable hormones. Who runs into a tree? That's just stupid… he continued to ramble on inside his brain until Sakura gently moved his light away from her body as she looked away, still feeling rather distraught.

"I'm fine, thank you." She said quietly, Sasuke staring at her for a moment longer his illumination before gently blowing out the tiny flame. There was a still air between them as silence over took their surroundings and Sasuke prayed she would break the silence like she normally did but alas there was no such luck as she stared blankly into the trees.

Sasuke sighed heavily before rising to his feet, extending a hand to Sakura who still sat on the forest floor. She shifted her eyes to the raven haired nin and smiled gently before taking one of the only kind gestures he had ever offered her.

"Sakura…" Sasuke began speaking rather quietly as if afraid to wake the sleeping forest "About earlier…what I said, about what you did with the snake being something?"

What the hell was he doing? Was he…APOLOGIZEING?! Sakura stared at him, no doubt with the eyes of that similar to a deer caught off guard. Had she truly hit the tree THAT hard?

"It was pretty…." Sasuke hesitated "Impressive…but you still can't beat me." He said slyly before slinking past her, a smug grin creased across his face eyeing her mischievously.

Sakura raised her eye along with an eyebrow as he walked by a broad smirk filling her lips as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Oh really?" Her voice condescending "prove it."

The challenge made Sasuke stop dead in his track and turn slowly towards the confidant nin who radiated with mischief. "You can't be serious" Sasuke's voice smug and smooth with ease but he could see her expression was entirely serious and his face fell flat with a cold stare as he turned his back to her. "No" he said retorted coldly.



Don't let him walk away from you like that! Sakura screamed inside her head as she diligently racked her brain for a way to convince him to test her abilities. "Give me one good reason why and don't play the female card on me." She sneered waiting his verbal response but much to her surprise and likening she got a physical one instead.

With movements that could only be matched by the wind, Sasuke pinned Sakura against a trunk of a tree his dark eyes gleaming at her through a seductive grin.

"Is that what you want?" He whispered delicately into her ear his warm breath feathering her cool flesh making the hairs on her body stand on edge.

This is it… She thought as her body lurched with enough force to through Sasuke from her both of them taking their traditional fighting stances. Weither she was doing it in attempt to prove herself, impress Sasuke or for her own mental health, she wasn't sure but as she balanced the gleaming Kunai in-between her slender ivory digits she knew one thing, she had to win or at least come close.

-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-

AN: DUN dun DUN! Hahaha. Whoo! Rawr! . just as a side note I got some inspiration for this chapter from the song "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. That song makes my heart ache…