Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Naruto nor any of the theories below. Enjoy! Please comment! Thanks! Arigatou! Salamat! Haha

BTW:

Word - statements

Word - thoughts

Lesson #6: NEWTON'S THIRD LAW OF MOTION

"Every action results in an equal and opposite reaction"

She could feel it. No doubt about it. It was his chakra signature, yet something about it was a bit.. off, so to speak. Anyway, with more chakra pumped to her feet, she sped towards the origin of that chakra signature.

"Sasuke-kun!"

The echoes of what sounded like a thousand birds slowly dissipated. This gave Sakura a chance to survey her surroundings "Looks like a really heated battle just happened here not too long ago.. Why is there a bloodied girl lying there? What does this mean?"

"…Sakura"

It was actually him, looking at her with eyes full of nothing but coldness and sheer hatred; his left eye shedding streams of blood - a side effect of exhausting his Mangekyo Sharingan. He was as handsome as ever, yet something in the back of her mind kept egging her that the man before her was not the Sasuke she grew to care about.

"He's like a different person… Is this really Sasuke?…"

"What do you want with me?"

That same cool, yet emotionless voice still sent shivers down her spine, but now a sliver of dread and fear came into the mix.

With all the courage and strength she could muster, she said the words that she never thought would ever come out of her mouth.

"Sasuke-kun! I will follow you! I'll leave Konoha!!"

"You wouldn't gain anything by following me… What are you plotting?"

"The sheer coldness in his eyes is unwavering. So much for the direct approach."

"I'm not plotting anything!.. It's just… I've always regretted not going with you when you left Konoha"

This was an outright lie. The thing she's always been regretting is not being strong enough to stop him from leaving. Yet, she had to sell it to the Uchiha. It was her burden after all.

"She's… an old… friend…And she loves him too… But…" thought Karin

When his expression remained unchanged, she continued.

"I'll do whatever you want me to do. I don't want to have anymore regrets"

Regrets? Yeah right. Disobeying direct orders. Putting her comrades to deep sleep. Taking action into her own hands without enough planning nor back-up. She'd regret the rashness of her actions, if she would manage to survive this ordeal - keyword: IF.

"Do you know what I want?"

"It doesn't matter! I'll do whatever you say--"

Here it comes…

"I WANT TO DESTROY KONOHA! THAT'S WHAT I WANT…"

Regrets? "A bit. But I have to do this… This is my burden after all"

"Would you really betray Konoha for me?"

"In other words… my family for my love?… or what I thought was love… Kuso…I guess I have no other choice…"

"…Yes…If… you say so…"

"But why do I feel my heart breaking?… This feels so wrong…But Kakashi said "Don't worry! It'll all be like it used to be"…"

"Then… you'll have to prove it…If you'll kill her…" he said while pointing at the semi-conscious Karin "I'll let you come with me"

"Nani?! Is he really serious about this?… I'm not mistaken… It's in his eyes…Kuso… I must not show fear… This is for Sasuke-kun… and for Konoha…" she thought while unsheathing her poison-laced kunai.

"Who is she?"

"One of the members of my team, Taka. As you can see, she's no use to me now… Sakura… you were a healer, weren't you?… you'll make a good replacement for her"

"Replacement? So is that what we are? Huh, Sasuke-kun? You'd just throw us away, team 7, Konoha, after you've deemed us as having "no use to you now"?! This definitely isn't the old Sasuke-kun… He's changed".

This train of thought rattled up such a storm in her mind that it was rather difficult than it already was to maintain her poker face, while drawing closer to her supposed target.

"What's wrong Sakura? Can't you do it?…"

"Do what? Kill her? She… has nothing to do with this… Kill you on the other hand?…If I… If I…If I kill Sasuke-kun now… everything will be over…. "It'll all be like it used to be"… Kakashi… "

However, her current train of thought left her vulnerable for Sasuke to reactivate his Chidori and take her from behind.

"Stop… Sasuke…" muttered the semi-conscious Karin.

Realizing her vulnerability, she quickly turned around, only to find Chidori within inches of her face. She had no time to react. She couldn't even close her eyes.

3 cm… 2 cm… 1 cm…

Blood splattered across the floor.

That, needless to say, was the deciding factor, which tipped the scale towards the man who truly deserved her love.

Kakashi arrived just in time to prevent Chidori from meeting its mark, with minor injury to his right hand.

"Nani?!" both Sakura and Sasuke thought

"Judging from my injury…he really meant to kill her… the bastard" Kakashi thought

"You've fallen… Sasuke…" Kakashi said.

Without hesitation, Sasuke aimed a roundhouse kick to Kakashi's left side. Kakashi jumped to avoid the kick and countered with a kick of his own. This time, the kick makes its mark.

Sasuke distances himself from them by a few feet. "Heh! One after another"

"Sakura… Were you trying to kill Sasuke on your own?…"

This took Sakura by surprise. This was not intended to be a question; it was a matter of fact.

Sakura could not bear to look upon her savior, her true love, let alone reply. "H-hai…"

"There's no need for you to take that burden on yourself… As the leader of Team 7, it's my fault that this happened… Sakura… I said things I shouldn't have to try and reassure you".

Those words Kakashi used to say crept up her mind for the third time "Don't worry! It'll all be like it used to be" Along with those words, that all too familiar friendly eye crinkle made it more believable.

"Maybe I was just trying to reassure myself… Sorry I haven't been a very good sensei…"

"…That's not true…" Sakura said "You taught me that those who didn't follow the rules were scum, but those who betray their friends are even worse than scum… You helped me pick myself up by ignoring me and seeking apprenticeship under Tsunade-shishou…You helped mend my heart and allowed myself the chance to love again…You taught me enough to last a lifetime…"

"There's definitely something going on between these two…" Sasuke mused.

"Sasuke… I don't like saying the same thing over and over… but I will tell you one more time… don't become consumed by revenge"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! BRING ME ITACHI… AND MY FATHER AND MOTHER BRING ME MY CLAN!! THEN I WILL STOP!!!"

"I don't want to kill you" Kakashi said "for Sakura-chan's sake" he added

"You say it like you actually could!! Don't act like I'm still your student… I've been dying to kill you, Kakashi"

"Is this… what Madara has done to him?" Kakashi thought "Sakura… heal her until she's able to talk. There's still time. She knows… a lot about the enemy"

"What about you?"

"Sakura…Take her with you… and get out of here…" "I don't want you to get hurt" he added

"Kakashi-sensei…Please don't do this… I don't want you to get hurt… this is my burden to bear… not yours… "

As if he could read her thoughts, he said "I will take the burden from you. It's my duty."

"It's the same eye crinkle…please take care of yourself… don't get killed… I still haven't told you anything…everything…I'll come back for you as soon as I'm finished healing her…"

"Go on, Sakura. Hurry"

A.N. Obviously based on Naruto 482, which I definetly do not own. No detail was taken away. Only additional musings were added. The longest chapter of the story!

Actually upon reading the chapter, I was half happy and half heartbroken. Former because I'm an avid Kakasaku supporter. Latter because I also am an avid Sasusaku supporter.

Please Read and Review! Those who review are smart, good-looking and sexy! Haha