Sorry for the long wait guys! My mom still hasn't gotten the chapters transferred, and I like this particular story a lot so I decided to write the next chapter up...

Anyway, I decided to write on my IPhone notes for any chapters when I feel like it since I always have it with me... I've also written another story on it, but I won't update that one until I finish that whole story or at least finish some of my other stories.

Enjoy!

Started on: 12-14-10

Summary: Something—even though it was so small—happened to Sasuke during his curse mark transition from Orochimaru, and now the brooding teenager is now transforming in front of their eyes for everyone to see. The bite was a success, yes, but the only flaw is that for some reason the possessed Sasuke has a newfound interest in Sakura, who can watch helplessly as he merges with his dark, possessive side, still not sure if she likes it or not.

Disclaimer: IDNON. Hurrrrrplz.

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Of Dark and Light

Chapter 5

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Sakura groaned as she attempted to wave off the peeking fingers of sunlight that dribbled in through her window, sleep causing her to fail to assess the situation and environment at hand. Her eyelids fluttered when the passing light brightened, even for a moment, as if someone had used a mirror to manipulate the energy and redirect it.

At first, she felt sore all over from running to and fro and being knocked into people - the aftermath of neglecting to train often which was, admittedly, her own fault. Squeezing her eyes shut when the sun blinded her, she gasped when a sharp pain twisted in her shoulder, memories of last night playing right in front of her eyes.

'You bite me... I bite you.'

Her eyes snapped open as fear and realization pumped through her system, all thoughts of drifting back to sleep thrown out the window.

What had happened last night? Backtracking, she mulled over what she could recall whilst trying to calm her beating heart. Sasuke in the hospital; she had tried to run and tell Kakashi, but he had intercepted her and forced her to make a promise to him. Then Kakashi came in, a chase began, she bit him and fell, he left...

Flinging her to her bed and crawling atop her with such a calm expression that left her breathless in fright, his eyes swirling onyx in the moonlight, his sharp teeth sinking into her shoulder...

Wait! Where was Sasuke?

Jolting slightly, she groaned softly in pain when her shoulder throbbed. However, when she heard rustling in her own bed, she paused and forgot about her injury.

The pinkette nearly shrieked in surprise when her body was lifted and placed on the opposite side of the bed. Exhaling, she peered closely and noticed that Sasuke had neither woken up nor left her bed since the encounter. On the contrary, he had made himself comfortable by snuggling her unconsciously - whether that was some bodily instinct where he grasped things in his sleep that radiated warmth or a result of the Curse Mark's, dareshesay, possessiveness she could not decipher.

A blush rushed from the planes of her cheeks to the tingling ends of her toes. His narrow chin lay on the crown of her pink mop, and she could feel the drawled exhales escaping through his nose shifting her hair. His arms - muscular as she had thought they would be - wrapped around her, one at her waist as the other was draped below of the back of her neck. They pulled her close to his chest, a clothed wall of dark blue that must have served as some sort of sleeping mask since she slept well last night, even with the pain. Her face turned seven different shades of red when she remembered how he had gently licked the wound afterward, making sure to be slow as to not hurt her anymore...

Wiggling a little, she peered up at his tranquil face and stared in awe. His narrowly chiseled face that normally adorned a scowl was flattened into a relaxed expression; sleep, after all, brought out weaknesses and inner thoughts out for all to see. His black, long eyelashes kissed his pale cheeks as he whispered softly, his messy bangs trickling across his forehead and his hair flaring out. She would have giggled at his bedhead if the situation had not been so severe.

Clanging of pots and pans were distant, but Sakura panicked slightly at the familiar sound of her mom's humming and their television rumbling with various sound effects, no doubt her dad skimming through channels before going to work. The thought of her parents walking in on her now scared her to death. But whom should she be scared for? Her parents were civilians, and despite how violent they can be when furious, they stood no chance against Sasuke. Her mom and dad could force her to separate from Sasuke forever, reprimand her until her ears bleed and ground her for who knows when. But Sasuke, who knows what would happen if he snapped...

She groaned again when the light pierced her eyesight, moving and stretching to avoid the annoyance. Even in his sleep, Sasuke seemed to know her struggling and growled, tightening his hold on her. The Haruno squeaked and froze, sighing in relief when he exhaled sleepily and nuzzled into her hair. She gulped, flushed and most likely flustered. The girl wasn't used to any type of physical contact from her brooding teammate whatsoever, so she was sensitive to his every movement.

So now what? She panicked. She knew she should be trying to escape from his hold, but from her experiences on missions, she knew he was a very light sleeper. The other option would be to wait in his arms and hope for the best when he wakes up, although she didn't know how he would react. Either way, he would catch her.

The latter option sounded the best to the pinkette's ears - savoring the way he held her when he was HIM and not possessed by his curse mark and his warmth. Maybe she could even fake sleeping and he could leave without asking her. But Sakura shook off the tempting thought. That would be the coward's way out, and besides, she needed to find Kakashi as soon as possible to reseal the mark.

Swallowing down her fear, she brought a shaking hand to the arm around her shoulders, her finger quietly dribbling down his arms. He dipped his head and his brow tilted upwards, but otherwise he didn't move. They trailed down slowly to the hand on her spine, gripping it gently only for him to knit his brows and groan in protest, hugging her.

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The beast within the Uchiha purred in its sleep, knowing very well that near its host, their person of interest - a familiar pink-haired girl - was safe and sound in their arms.

The being instinctively protested when it sensed the warm chakra of Sakura attempt to drift away, even if she didn't mean to leave them. Even as it slumbered, it still influenced its host to keep her close.

No matter what.

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Sakura stopped trying to pry off Sasuke's arms after the fifth attempt; he had a grip like steel and instincts of a wild animal. She sighed, watching him as he slept for a few more moments. He was so relaxed, so peaceful... She wished she saw more expressions like these on his face rather than his cold stares and detached scowls.

She briefly wondered why she wasn't as stricken in fear as she thought she would be. The pinkette predicted she would be dashing out the door with her heart pounding against her ribs and rationality thrown out the window the moment realization set in. Instead, she lay on her bed while the same teammate that chomped on her snuggled into her like a teddy bear. Of course she was afraid, but it seemed that the idea that Sasuke had been possessed by the curse mark and had not attacked her on his own accord calmed her down. After all, the curse mark had receded before she blacked out on her own bed, the Uchiha passed out on her body.

She squinted when the light pierced her eyes again, glaring at the source when her emerald pools widened in shock.

There, outside on her balcony, near her sliding glass door were several jonin huddled on her small patio, Kakashi and Anko and Gai included. The bowl-cut haired man was crouching low and fiddling with his headband, redirecting the sunlight outside to her face. Squinting when she was blinded by the streak for a moment, she watched as Kakashi clamped his hand on his rival's shoulder, his lips moving to form words she could not hear. After a mere second Gai nodded, stepping back as Kakashi and the purple-haired woman did so forward. Sakura felt relief flood into her system at the sight of her silver-haired sensei smiling almost apologetically behind his mask.

He continued towards the glass doors until he stood right in front of them, placing his palm on the one of the clear surfaces. His chest rose, as if he were inhaling deeply, just as Sasuke murmured something into her neck. Blushing out of discomfort, she sent a desperate look that screamed "hurry!".

Kakashi seemed to understand her unwritten plea and leaned forward on the door, exhaling out his mask as he fogged up the clear exit. He breathed the same way about five more time until his finger smeared against the white cloud. Quickly he worked, his slashes and swirls turning into neat, legible writing.

"DAI-JO-U-BU?" It spelled out an she redirected her gaze at her fearful teacher. Smiling, she nodded minutely and his shoulders visibly loosened their tension.

"SA-SU-KE? ASLEEP?" He scribbled hastily, and the pinkette flinched when she heard a loud clatter from downstairs and her mom muttering "dammit". The Uchiha stirred, his arms shifting around her as he pulled her into a more comfortable position, only moaning in protest at the noise. Sakura stared at him in a mixture of fear and awe. 'Wow, using the curse mark must have taken a lot out of him... He's usually up once Naruto begins squirming in his sleep early in the morning.' She took notice of his early-bird habits one day when it was her turn taking watch over the campsite on a mission.

The jonin moved in her peripheral vision, obviously panicking if the genin they were sent out to capture had woken from his slumber, effectively putting her in danger. She waved her hand in the air negatively, really wishing she could just project her voice and communicate normally.

"HA-YA-KU," Her sensei wrote another message right after he spotted her gesture. "GET AWAY FROM HIM."

The Haruno wanted to scream out that that's exactly what she had been trying to do for the past ten minutes, but swallowed her voice. Instead, she caressed his hand with the ends of her fingers, massaging the small, invisible knots in his palm. Observing his face, she continued as one dark eyebrow twitched upwards when she unwound a tough one. He sighed, and instantly, his desperate hold on her relaxed.

There it was, a small window of hope. Sakura's throat muscles bobbed up and down nervously as she gulped, working on his other limp hand. It was now or never - she placed both hands over his, drawing circles with her thumbs. He made no movement as she slowly pushed the right one away, onto his side. The coral-haired girl grinned out of nerve and anxiety. Twisting her body cautiously with her arms pressing down on the mattress, she rolled over once, nearing the edge of the mattress -

"S-Sakura?"

The pinkette let out a yelp as she was nearly sent on a painful fall to the floor. She was able to right herself in time, flipping on her back to stare back into smothering, onyx eyes.

Sasuke was in the same position as he had been, only his arms were laid out in front of him lazily. He blinked sluggishly as he peered at her with half-lidded orbs underneath the curtain of messy bangs nearly covering his two eyes. He lifted his head, continuing to stare at her. Sakura had to bite her tongue and clench her fists when trembles instinctively erupted throughout her body, fear rising swiftly like bile to her throat.

He didn't say anything more though his eyes strayed and - following his gaze - she realized what he may have wanted. She couldn't control the flinch when he reached out towards her.

'Relax, Sakura,' She eyed his hand whilst attempting to control her out-of-control heartbeat. 'The Curse Mark is gone... This is Uchiha Sasuke, your crush, your teammate, your drive. He will not hurt you.' Oh, how badly she wanted to believe in those words.

The soft, feather-like shivers that came from his delicate touch made something within her tighten and compact. Slowly they cupped her own hand, having no firm grip on her. His hands were soft, fingers long and feminine, yet they were much larger than hers.

He kept his eyes on their hands, sleepily blinking once again as he leaned against her soft pillow, inhaling deeply.

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Vanilla... Strawberries... Honey...

The beast growled in bliss.

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"You're safe..." Was the first thing that he managed to sputter in a husky tone. Sakura peered down at him, and emerald clashing with lukewarm shades of grey.

'I...' Her heart fluttered in her chest, replacing the fright from moments before. The Uchiha lightly tugged on her arm and she obliged, scooting closer to his body. He gently shut her hand into a relaxed fist, pressing his pale pink lips to her knuckles. 'I...!'

"Thank you," He whispered.

She blinked in wonderment. 'What for?' She wanted to ask.

But alas, she could only watch as the one whom attacked her and the one whom she was attached to fell into a peaceful slumber.

Originally, that was what she was aiming for: a quick yet effective escape. Now, all she wanted was answers from the boy who bit her muscle-deep.

Speaking of which, Sakura had expected to wake up to painful throbbing but no such event occurred. She had experienced muscle cuts before, and waiting for them to heal was a slow and trecherous process. The Haruno could recall waking up in the middle of early of morning because the pain was so great, wave after wave of seemingly never-ending pain. Hazily, she recalled a second time when Sasuke lapped at her wounds, like a mother cat to its kitten. Did his new artificial power have to do with this new healing ability? She was going to have to look that up later.

A small, almost inaudible rap on the door echoed in the empty room and caused Sakura to jump in surprise. Glancing back to the window, she saw Kakashi gesturing madly towards her with his hands, pulling them to his chest. 'Come here.'

Hesitantly, she sent a withering and worried gaze towards the slumbering Uchiha. She carefully slid her hand out of his, and this time, he allowed her to do so.

Smiling softly, she brushed his messy bangs out of the way of his closed eyes, fingertips brushing his forehead with a gentle swipe.

And then she picked herself up and speed-walked to the door, instantly ripping them both open and, ignoring the jonin rushing past her into her room, sank in relief. The silver-haired man reacted a second later, catching her by the shoulders.

"You've done well," Kakashi muttered apologetically. "I'm sorry..." '...for not keeping my promise.'

Sakura could only laugh shakily, rubbing her face with the palms of her hands. "It's fine..." The pinkette dropped her smile as she glanced back to see at least five jonin - Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, Anko, and a man whose face was familiar yet unrecognizable - huddling around the boy sleeping peacefully on her bed. "What's going to happen to him?" She whispered in a low tone.

Kakashi paused, and that one second grated on her nerves for quite some time afterwards. "He'll be fine; we're just going to be sealing his mark a little bit more tighter," He smiled behind his mask dismissively. "Why don't you go downstairs and show your parents you're fine? Your mom's calling you..."

True to his words, a strong voice resounded in the bustling pathway to town that her patio hovered over. "Sakura? Are you up there?"

The Haruno's eyes widened. Did her mom know? Wide-eyed, she faced her sensei and sighed in relief at the shake of his head. "Yeah mom, I'm up here," She called back, leaning forward to catch a glimpse of the woman whom took care of her since day one.

There she stood just outside the archway on the first floor, head tilted with small amounts of flour matting on her cheeks. From the scent if blueberries downstairs, Sakura could tell she was making pancakes. Long, pastel-painted locks cascaded down her shoulders with blue eyes shining in the light. An apron adorned her petite body, and the pinkette wanted to smile at the splitting image if the situation had not been so severe.

"Breakfast is ready!" She hollered from below at a medium volume.

"Okay!" Sakura called back just as loud, waving to ensure her mom wouldn't get suspicious about her behavior.

She and Sakura threw back a few more quirks here and there before her stubborn mother with her highly-sensitive maternal instincts left begrudgingly. The pinkette began to sweat a little when she shot questions like 'is everything alright?' or 'did something happen? something doesn't feel right...' at her. At the relieving sight of her mom leaving, Sakura cheerily rang out, "Be there in five minutes!"

The kuniochi faced the jonin, only to see Sasuke tied up with several chakra binding ropes on his arms and legs. Gai swung him on his back as gently as a taijutsu master could before nodding at a weary Kakashi. "What are you doing to him?" Sakura exploded in a panic, rushing over to the Uchiha's side when her silver-haired sensei blocked her pathway.

"Don't worry; we have it all under control," Kakashi pat her on the back, placing his hands on her shoulders whilst leading her to the door that led outside her bedroom. "Just relax... You've been through a lot."

'That doesn't mean that you should treat Sasuke like he's a dangerous, wild animal!' Sakura countered inwardly. 'His curse mark is gone; it won't influence him anymore! So why are you treating your student like this?'

Wanting to know the answer, she pivoted on her heel and opened her mouth, only to find herself alone in her somehow larger room.

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She sighed dejectedly as she strolled along the dusty roads of the bustling marketplace of the Leaf Village. Just like the days before, children were squealing as their parents watched them carefully, men and women pulling in people with their interesting descriptions for them to buy their products. Fraught with worry, she took a small glance at the Hokage Tower before tearing her eyes off of it, as if she would be caught doing so. How was Sasuke doing? She wanted to know so badly. For the past several hours, all she had seen him for was his curse mark and out-of-character shenanigans. Now, that one moment when he turns normal, he's torn away from her before he could even make a conscious decision for himself.

"Takoyaki!" One man hollered as she passed by his stall absentmindedly, ignoring the large activity of the village. Funny, she thought. Now she was acting more like Sasuke with only a couple of days of seeing and interacting with him, though it wasn't him in actuality... The marketer seemed to have spotted her out with her bright cotton-candy hair and yelled louder boastfully.

"Ramen!" Another shouted out, though instead of the small, wooden stall from before, it was larger. Ichiraku, she noted. She decided that they decided to put a little bit of their products out there in the popular marketplace for both business-sake and public eyes. Her eyes skimmed over the familiar forms of the greying man and his pretty daughter, but she never let it process in her mind as she passed by them, too.

"Taiyaki! Get your taiyaki!" Sakura hesitated for a moment before glancing at the stall. She never really got the chance to eat pastries and all, so she saw taiyaki as a uncommon occurrence and grabbed one whatever the time. The owner seemed to have noticed her and smiled kindly. "Would you want one?"

Well, she was feeling a little empty... "Yes, please." She grinned politely, taking out her wallet.

"250 yen, please," The younger man calculated, pulling out her large, fish taiyaki. The sight of food lifted up her spirits as her fake smile turned real, bowing respectfully at the owner. "Arigato!"

"Come again!" She left the stalls and nibbled on her pastry, watching as the number of stalls began to waver and real stores popped up left and right of her.

She passed by a familiar cafe filled with western pastries, the sweet smells of cinnamon buns and sweet glaze, the light hum of chatter warming her in more ways than she could count. Straight, black coffee and powdery sugar wafted in the air as she stopped at the stopped at the doorstep.

Peering inside momentarily, she caught a sight of a couple sitting comfortably on the wood, red plush booths. The girl was plain but had a small sense of beauty as she smiled to her partner easily, sipping her pale-brown drink. She watched as the boy's eyes travelled down to the girl's lips before a hint of a chuckle lit up in his bottomless eyes. He leaned forward and wiped the white, thick cream off her top lip with the rough pad of his thumb. Blushing, the girl sheepishly laughed and he joined in, both of them kicking their legs back and forth off the ground gently.

When Sakura thought she had seen enough, she nearly jumped back when a teen clad in colorful yet dark attire stepped out, the door swiveling on its pivot point. He gave her a strange look when the bells above halted in their jingling before strolling past her cautiously. The pinkette blushed, growling almost lowly at herself, and stormed off in her embarrassment. She didn't know what was worse, watching a couple that she desperately wished was her and her crush, or staring dumbly at an attractive-looking boy who gave her a look as if she was crazy.

However, despite her inner turmoil, she decided to take a little more time before heading back home. A variety of stores her eyes flickered over, ones that sold trickets, another that sold books, appliances, expensive electronics, when an object caught her eye though the thick, dusty glass of the store window.

She blinked, eying the pale blue notebook whilst regarding the object with curiosity and wariness. There it lay, in front of her eyes next to many others, on its withering pedestal behind the glass window of the shop.

Frowning, she slumped back a little, wondering why such a common item would catch her interest. Her brain was running a mile a minute as she attempted to conjure a reason; it was at the tip of her tongue...

Her head snapped back up attentively, emerald pools blazing as they tried bore holes into the notebook. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of it before?

Nodding at her semi-brilliant plan, she confidently strolled through the store doors, a soft jingle of bells sounding her arrival.

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Hey guys... long time no see? Don't kill me! D;

I haven't been updating lately because school has been killing me... and sucking out my writing inspiration. I swear, whenever I wanna write down a story or a new chapter or something, my humanities teacher gives me a freakin' epas or extended response that makes me feel like writing isn't worth it... -_-

Anyway, how long has it been, one year, two years...? My writing has probably changed, but i don't know if you can tell. If you can, try to pick out the spot that I stopped then picked up on a while later ;D

This chapter isn't that exciting... GOMENASAI! I needed more of a plot-builder rather than chapter after chapter of action-action-action... slow writing is essential to plot building... or is that just me? lol.

I'll try to write out more chapters in the future-I decided to just write a new chapter rather than waiting for my mom to transfer the documents... for how long? xD I can't even tell.

Anyway, review... the usual request. I'm asking for at least constructive reviews. What I mean by this is like a 'conversation' to me rather than a distant "update please!" or something. I've noticed reviews that actually mean something or say something towards me directly actually motivate me, and the motivation I usually need to write these stories has been sucked dry... Ask questions, think about what could happen in the future and all that, maybe even request something? I might not do the request thing right away, but the conversations of support in your reviews usually keep me going :P

Anyway, wish me luck!

Minna, fighting! (Yes, I'm into KPop and KDramas now, shoot me... please dont. xD)

~CiiCiinREX.

P.S. OMG, As soon as I saved this, I realized that this thing was written a year ago. LOLOLOL. I"M SOOOO SORRY!