AUTHOR's NOTE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME~ YEY!

Sorry, this update took a long while to upload. That's because this chapter is really long.

The reviews are one of my treasured birthday presents. Thanks for reading!

I'll be really busy next week so I might not be able to post another update soon.

(That's why this update is long)

I'll try my best though :)

Chapter 7

Sasuke

Her body shook remembering the young man from across the multitude of her locked memories. Sasuke looked intimidating like before and he had that expressionless face staring at both of them. It was really him- his hair, his stand and his eyes that still bored hatred to the world. Seconds pass, as silence between the two parties pursued. She started to feel the weight of reality sinking in. Sasuke was staring at them without any sound.

It has been what? Eight years since she last saw him and he didn't change one bit. Anxiety was inevitable… so was fear. It didn't help when she remembered that time when Sasuke tried to kill her without even batting an eye. She knew he could kill them if he wanted it.

But why was he here?

Did he specifically came with a purpose or was he just passing by?

A trail of thought ran in her mind up until Rikuto went forward to block her view of the Uchiha that was on the other side of the plains.

"Sasuke. You've been following us." Sakura stared at Rikuto when he said that in a matter of fact tone. It was as if he knew it from the very start.

He was? When? She was clearly disturbed by the fact that he knew and she didn't. Sasuke must have been pretty far from her if she never felt it and Rikuto must have keener senses than her if he managed to pick his aura up. What was more surprising was that the ANBU captain knew it from the very start without acting a bit strange. He must be a sensory type, she concluded… and a good actor which was already a proven fact.

Whatever reason why he was there, it may not be the noblest of ideas. He had proven himself after he sided with the Akatsuki that he was a lone man. It'd be a good thing if they manage to escape him alive. He was no ordinary ninja after all. She swallowed and gazed at Rikuto. Clenching her fists tightly, she thought of the worst-case scenario.

She grabbed the shirt of the man beside her and tugged it twice. She doesn't know the skills or abilities of the ANBU captain but she certainly know what Sasuke's sharingan can do. Despite her worries, Rikuto smiled warmly and placed a hand on top of her head. "You don't have to worry," only made her worries worse.

"I came here with one purpose," Sasuke's voice was low but it was still the same after all those years. It was a bit charming too if she may add. If only he was on their side, there wouldn't be any debate whether or not it was the right time to praise the vocals of the enemy.

"You want her right? Probably not in the same way I want her though." Rikuto felt smug. It was because he knew why there was an Uchiha in front of them now.

Apparently, Sasuke doesn't have the common sense when to show up. He didn't have to appear when he was ravishing the woman beside her, especially now that she had accepted him in her personal space. On the other hand, Sakura immediately darted a look at Rikuto. She can't believe how he would still try to joke during this circumstance. She tried to peer behind the ANBU's back to check out her former teammate. She could see the look of irritation pasted on his face. It somehow lighted up after a few seconds when he grabbed the sheath of his katana.

"If you know then there's no need for discussion." Sasuke flashed a grin as he got out the sword from its protector. Rikuto raised his arm to the side to cover for the girl if by chance Sasuke decided to attack immediately.

Sakura deepened her frown. She didn't want to cling to his back nor she wanted to become a liability for Rikuto. She can fight for her own safety. She was one step from moving away from his back but she found herself glued to the ground. Unlike Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke's backs that made her feel that she couldn't do anything; Rikuto's did not condemn her for being weak. In fact, he of all people knows what she can do. She certainly did not need his protection. She guessed that it must have been an ANBU or a Male thing.

"Uchiha, you've been kidnapping medical ninjas and you're also responsible for injuring a lot of Village elders tying to lure the Tenshi out. Am I right?" He did not speak. Instead he walked towards them like a predator. He took small, silent strides as if trying to observe what they would do next. Rikuto sighed and snapped his fingers to the side. Almost twenty people came out all at once, wearing their cloak and cat masks.

Her two other escorts joined in immediately and tried to use a fog jutsu to erase the aura of their chakras. As their view totally concealed everyone else's chakra, Rikuto did not ask permission to topple the woman off her feet so that she'd fall on his hands. He smiled and ensured that she was secured in his arms before he started running.

"There's no time." He whispered as he tried to jump away from the scene. When she looked back, all she could see was the fog that swallowed the whole area. She didn't hear anything at all.

Sakura flinched. She couldn't help but think that Rikuto just offered a lot of his men to Sasuke so they both could escape. This was Sasuke that they were dealing with and they're up against one of the most powerful eyes that they've ever faced.

If Sasuke wasn't born with his Sharingan, those ANBU guys will catch him most definitely. But even with a fog jutsu to conceal them, or any other type of jutsu, when dealing with the Sharingan, it wouldn't be long until Sasuke finish the fight. He will definitely come to pursue them both. At that moment, she realized something vital. There's no time? He probably knew that their sole purpose was to buy them time to escape. That left a terrible feeling in her chest. She wouldn't dare sacrifice anyone just to escape. It was plain madness.

She grabbed Rikuto's cloak by the neck and shook it lightly.

"Sasuke will kill them." She could see the man look down swiftly before he looked back at the road he was trekking. After a few moments of silence, he replied with a sigh. "They're going to buy us some time." He said what she feared to hear. She gritted her teeth in response. She knew it. Rikuto knew they didn't have a chance from the very start.

"What will happen to them?" she bit her lip. She already know the answer to that. There were only two possible answers after all. It's either Sasuke feels generous and he won't kill anyone or he might feel irritated and kill them. They either live or they die depending on his mood.

"Sakura, he's the one who kidnapped all the medical ninjas and injured elders from all the villages except for Konoha." He said lowly. "He was luring you out and the Hokage expected this but we didn't have a clue. In case something happened, she ordered a platoon of ANBU's to go with us secretly." Sakura started to realize that this was a much bigger case than she previously imagined. Everything was connected and she wasn't informed about it. Although she had her reasons to be mad, she didn't. Her worries overpowered her anger but silence got a hold of her.

"We will go back to the village using the back route. He must not know you're the Tenshi." Sakura had a confused look on her face. Did she hear it right? She thought that Sasuke knew all this while that Tenshi and Haruno Sakura is one and the same.

"He doesn't know?" she followed. Rikuto lightly shook his head. "He might... but we're not sure if he really does." Sakura tried to think about it. She gave no opportunities for other people to know that she was the Tenshi as it was agreed that only her home village and the ANBU know this secret.

Was it because of my hair? Sasuke must have heard about her from the ninjas he kidnapped and found out about how the Tenshi has pink hair. He must have tried going to her first to see whether or not his suspicions were true. Which was a simple conclusion for being a former teammate. It wasn't had to miss a brightly colored hair such as hers.

"And also, you should forget about them Sakura." Sakura glanced back. She was obviously dismayed about what he just said. He must be referring to his team who's now trying to fight a life or death match with Sasuke. She's reminded of another reason why she didn't like them. They're always the martyrs.

"They're your team mates. You're an ANBU captain. What's wrong with you and what's wrong with me thinking about that especially when I'm the one who has to make every pound of document about deaths and casualties of our village!" she snapped. Surprised, she stayed silent, afraid that what she said had crossed the line. Rikuto sighed and stared down at her. It was the first time he looked at her seriously. She was taken aback by the way he placed his eyes on hers that she almost lost the will to start another argument. She was only giving her opinion and a valid one at that.

"Did you ever wonder why we wear masks?" he asked. He had longed returned his eyes back on the road, jumping up and down from one branch to another. She was caught off guard by the way he asked the question but nevertheless, answered it.

"I know... that much." Everyone in Leaf knows about it. They were like the secret agents of Konoha. Nobody knows who the members of the ANBU corps are or what they do when they're not on missions. Nobody knows how old they are or what kind of life he or she are leading behind those masks. They wear it so they won't be too memorable to one another. It was a cursed mask.

"We're different. We do not operate like Team 7. We value mission than teammates. Believe me when I say, they're happy to die to protect you." And she wasn't. She closed her eyes and prayed to whatever gods were listening to at least whisper some decency to Sasuke so he wouldn't kill anyone from that batch of ANBU. There was an awkward pause between the two of them and the air seemed quite heavy not to notice. Sakura tried to say something but Rikuto snickered making her turn his way instead. She saw him smile at her as he nudged his head to the side.

"Anyway, if you don't stop talking now, I'll be making sure you do something worthwhile with your mouth. I'm getting excited carrying you like this." Utterly surprised, he couldn't hold in his laughter when Sakura immediately placed a hand on her mouth. Although they both know it was a joke, or at least Sakura thinks it is, she started to blush tremendously. She didn't know why Rikuto was still so carefree despite the problems that they are facing but he was special that way. She hid her face using her hands and scolded herself for imagining whatever he had in mind. She couldn't help but deny that she felt a little excited.

0.o.0.o.0

It was Rikuto's decision to stop for a moment. He had a nasty feeling that something already went wrong with the people he had sent to stop the Uchiha. He sent out a pigeon with a letter for the Hokage about the things that occurred during the encounter and things he believed will happen if they encounter Sasuke again.

He left Sakura to sit by a tree, never to move at the circle that he drew around it. Sakura calmly nodded. Rikuto was still the Team leader assigned to this mission. She decided that she was going to follow whatever decision he decides to make. He told her about sending out a letter to the Hokage for back up. They will need another fifteen more hours to get back to the village and they need a group to meet up with them to ensure Sakura's safety. With that, Rikuto decided to go alone, instructing her to stay behind.

Meanwhile, Rikuto made sure that the letter successfully reaches the Hokage by capsuling the bird in a barrier. As he watched the bird until it flew out of sight, he jumped down at the clearing without making a sound. There was another reason why he had to stay away from Sakura and decided to send a letter instead of trying to rush back as fast as possible. He had the weirdest feeling that Sasuke was already closing in and even if they ran, he would only be a continuous threat. He decided that it was high time for a confrontation.

He closed his eyes and searched the trees from his far left. Sasuke emerged with his sharingan activated. He looked like he had a hard time dealing with them and although he was bloody; he doubt that all those blood came only from him. His suspicions were correct when he saw two bloody masks that he was holding. Without warning, he threw it towards Rikuto who caught it seamlessly with his right hand.

"I didn't plan to kill anyone… but there were two who absolutely didn't want me to go through. They said something about protecting the Tenshi. I thought I should let you know." He started. "It was their last words." Rikuto gazed at the mask and figured out whom it belonged to. It was the companions who Sakura cared for. He smiled a bitter one. He was sure that they felt appreciated when she stopped to talk to both of them. It sparked hatred from deep within him but he stopped and calmed himself with a sarcastic smile.

"I see…" Rikuto threw the masks gently aside, which landed perfectly upright in the wet grass. "That's a pity. They really liked her very much." Sasuke, confident as he was, frowned for a moment. He wondered why every time someone spoke about the Tenshi, which he believed with out a doubt was Sakura Haruno herself; they all had this soft, endearing moment.

All he could remember was the pink haired girl that was in his memories. She was the one that always cried and the one that always bothered him. She was foolish and predictable. He remembered, years before when he attempted to kill her because he thought she was so annoying he'd be doing the world a favor, she was the same Sakura even if she improved a little. He knew from the start that she was not the offense type in the same level like Naruto and that she always has the need to be protected. He really can't imagine the girl they seem to give their respect about or if she really was the miraculous Tenshi the five kages recognize.

"You don't seem to understand what I'm saying." He said when he clearly saw his confused face as he started thinking about it. Annoyed at how he read him, he tried to ignore what he was thinking and focused at the ANBU who was poised coolly for someone being threatened.

"What do you mean by that?"

"What do you know about her after eight years? You know nothing." Rikuto accused, clearly irritated at how ignorant he could be. Sakura has been pushing herself so hard to prove to other people that she was someone who can also do something. Whenever she sees Naruto and how he would save the day or reflect on Sasuke who never gave her importance, not once, she resolved to make herself better. Before she knew it, she was already recognized for her art but she was never contented with it.

"Every time I went home, I would see her at the same spot, training even every after of a stressful day. She's kind of stubborn don't you think?" Sasuke nudged his head to the side. He clearly didn't care about it at all. He had his own worries to pity another ninja who can only try so hard to be better because she couldn't keep up. Certainly, he had his own set of worries to worries himself.

"What do I care?" he asked.

"Exactly my point. You don't. That's why she keeps doing what she's doing. She doesn't want to be recognized by the other villages or become famous in the medical field. All she wanted was her team mates recognition." Sasuke scoffed. He felt this was going nowhere. Whatever happened to Sakura, was not in the list of his concerns. What he was concerned about right now was for someone to fix his blurring vision. He can care another time after this was fixed.

"Sasuke, you don't deserve a woman like her." that irked Sasuke and that surprised him. And who deserves to be with her, you? he thought. The ANBU were suicidal ninjas. He knew she wouldn't be happy to have him beside her. Not that he cared, or did he? It was a stupid conjecture.

"You can have her once I'm finished with her. I'm going to use her for my own benefit and you're going to stay out of it." Rikuto deepened a frown.

"Says who?"

"Says me." Sasuke drew out his Katana and poised it over to his front.

"Over my dead body then…" Rikuto got his double blades from his side and positioned it in front of him. He wasn't going down without a fight. Certainly, he wouldn't allow Sasuke to take her without him, doing something about it.

"If you so wish…" Sasuke leaped forwardsand engaged him into a fight.

.0.0

He has been gone for quite some time now and she couldn't help but think that something happened to him. Sure she promised not to go beyond the circle but what if he didn't come back? She started to panic. She had a foreboding when he waved goodbye to her. "I'll be back, don't worry…" was his last words. Sakura stood up from the rock that she has been sitting on, tried to think about it for a while and took her seat again. She has been doing this for five times already and every time she stood up, her worries doubled. She just wants to make sure he was all right, was there something wrong about that? She reasoned.

She stood up one last time and took that appropriate step outside of the circle. When she crossed the line, she felt the barrier that was pushing her back in weaken.

"What was that about?" she looked back and saw nothing out of the ordinary. When her curiosity was killed as to what might have happened to her, she tried to check whether or not she was capable to find Rikuto wherever he was. He'll scold her for sure but that doesn't really matter as long as she knows he is all right.

"Sakura?" She almost jumped from the surprise. It was as if Rikuto instantly knew that she went out of the circle and he came back to reprimand her.

"I'm sorry Rikuto… I was just worri-" Sakura was frozen when she lifted her face up to look at the man that she thought was the captain of the ANBU. She backed away almost readily when she saw Sasuke coming out form the dark. He said her name warmly but almost unsure if he had called it properly. It has been years after all that he last said that name.

"No wonder I couldn't find you, you were inside a barrier…" Sasuke said coolly. His injuries were out in plain view and Sakura knew that he needed mending soon. Not that she would readily offer her services now that she's feeling threatened by his mere presence.

By meaning of a barrier, it might have something to do with the circle Rikuto drew on the ground. If she was right and Sasuke was able to find her because of it, she just made a huge mistake going out of the barrier.

"W-what do you want?" Sakura had a kunai out and ready in front of her. She knows that Sasuke is oblivious about her abilities and that makes it advantageous for her if ever she tries to fight him back. She might raise a possibility that she might win against him.

"Come with me Sakura." He held his hand out in front of her. She was tempted to take it for a moment but remained sane that he wasn't exactly the person she can trust at this moment.

"W-what for?" she questioned. Sasuke frowned and brought his hand down, somewhat annoyed that she had refused his offer. He thought being kind to her would yield a much more positive result. It worked before, why is now different?

"You're not to ask questions. I want you to come alone with me," Sasuke tried to contain the irritation in his voice but Sakura knew he was in a bad mood already. He thought it would be easy to get to her without fighting so much as he did today. Maybe his years of using the Sharingan provided that pride and confidence that he'll be able to do anything he wanted. That was his downfall; he was too complacent.

"What if I don't go?" She asked again. Sasuke thought she wasn't listening to what he just said. Nevertheless, he answered.

"Even if I have to drag you half dead, you will go with me…" Sakura took another step back. She knew she had to outrun this man if she wanted to escape. She started looking around trying to ascertain whether or not Rikuto would be back. If he was a sensory type, he'd be running back here if she went outside that circle. She wondered why he hasn't come back. Did something… happen?

"He won't be coming," he said with a smirk on his face. Sasuke knew what she was thinking. She was still predictable, he thought. If this Sakura shared passionate exchanges with that man, there was no way she wouldn't think about him in her last moments when planning to escape. And as expected, Sakura was fixed on the ground trying to fight out the negative shock she had been feeling for quite some time now.

"W-what do you mean by that?" He definitely said he'd be back. Sasuke was uttering simple nonsense. Her mind went on and on with reasons. He was still alive, she knows.

"I see… You should be able to recognize who that mask belongs to then…" Sasuke threw a familiar cat mask over to her side and Sakura briefly glanced down to double check it. There was no doubt it belonged to him. She felt as if the earth shook beneath her feet as she suddenly lost strength to remain standing.

"W-what did you do to him?" Sasuke looked at her fragility and couldn't find the right words to answer her truthfully. He knew there was only one answer and he can't sugar coat a description of death by his hands even if he wanted to.

"Sasuke, speak up!" Sakura shouted again. This time, he saw her glaring at him.

"He's dead." He finally answered.

"H-he's not... he promised…" Sakura embraced herself.

"I killed him with my own two hands…" he said as he tried to recall what happened earlier before he went out to search for her.

++Flashback++

"You're quite irritating." Sasuke huffed as he did one last shove in the sword he was holding. Rikuto knew it was his time but tried to hold on to him as much as possible. A blood trickled down at the side of his mouth when he started coughing out blood. He managed to smile, that's always a bad sign right? He thought. Although he managed to inflict some damage to the Uchiha, he feared it wasn't enough to stop him from taking Sakura.

"Y-you're quite annoying too…" Rikuto answered back. Sasuke pulled away from him and gave him one last kick, making him land with his back on a tree. He sat there unmoved, trying his best to do something. He knew if he let him go, Sasuke would just destroy Sakura's life that she managed to fix for eight long years. He didn't want that to happen.

"I never expect you to do this much… why offer your life for her? It's pathetic." Rikuto closed his eyes and tried his best to answer. He didn't have much time to live anyway. It wouldn't be bad to give one or two more insults before he died.

"Pathetic? Yeah. I wanted to do a lot of things with her. You ruined it you stupid brat." Sasuke scoffed at that idea. He started thinking about those things he wanted to do to her and nothing normal seemed to cross his mind. He had to give it to him though; he fought him till the end.

"Any last wish?" he managed to say out of respect for the man.

"Yeah, please tell her…" Sasuke opened his eyes and returned his view to the girl in front of her. Although he promised to tell her the words he said, somehow he didn't want to say it.

"He died, I killed him. That's what happened." Sasuke narrated as he walked towards her to make her see the full glory of his injuries. Rikuto got to him too and he's already weak from fighting those ANBU members. Sakura was tempted to fix him as if it was the right thing to do but she remained unmoved, shocked at what she just heard. Finally, she regained control of herself.

"No…" Sakura stood up, facing Sasuke defiantly. Her body shook as she tried to control her anger. She surprised herself how she stood up against Sasuke, a man she previously tried to kill but couldn't. In fact, she didn't even care whether he starts to try attacking her. She was complacent in one thing. If what Rikuto told her was true, he needed her for something and she was willing to wager that even if tried, he won't kill her.

Knowing that, she formed a triangular shape using both her hands and tried to mentally heighten her senses using her chakra. She tried to locate the shinobi that had failed to fulfill the promise to come back. As long as she was near, she won't let him die.

She figured he would be near and she was right. She tried to walk towards the direction where he was located but he was stopped by a swipe from Sasuke's Katana that she easily avoided. She continued her way without being threatened with that attack.

"Sakura, I'm warning you." Sakura stopped only to look back at Sasuke, her eyes, almost threatening him to let her go. She backed away and started to run as fast as she could only to be stopped once again by a chidori strike from her back, which she foiled by knocking his arm to the side. He launched his second attack by kicking her in the stomach. Sakura held her other arm in front of it to catch the impact. She wasn't about to let him attack her without a fight.

"I promise I'll go with you. I heard you're not sure of my abilities. Use this chance to see if I'm worth taking or not!" Sasuke stopped to frown at her stubbornness. She had a point. If he allowed her to go, he'll be able to see if she was even worth taking. Sasuke closed his eyes and withdrew his sharingan. Sakura was delighted with his decision and immediately took the chance to run towards Rikuto.

She saw him splattered on the floor, the grass turned red from his blood. Obviously, she was distraught with the sight but instead of wallowing from the pain, she knelt down, trying to establish whether he was alive or not… whether he can still be saved. Luckily, however much faint, he still had a pulse.

Sakura then performed a series of seals with her hands, biting a tip of her skin on her thumb to squeeze a small amount of blood. "Summoning Jutsu." Out from below her, a small circle of light enveloped her. It lasted a couple of seconds before something materialized from her back. It looked like a well-made puppet, better than those used in the Land of Sand. Its red hair was long and strikingly beautiful. The eyes were pure pearls of white and its lips were sealed with a stitching. Its flesh was a smooth and well-carved wood with globular joints and it wore a long cape that covered the rest of its body. The fingers were surgical instruments ranging from a scalpel, syringe, needles and a cauterizing pen. What was more impressive was how it floated at Sakura's back with only strings attached on her fingers, joints and spinal cord.

Sasuke watched as the hair of the doll enveloped the arms and feet of the ANBU captain, trying to levitate and suspend the man in front of her. When Sakura opened her eyes, it was the same pearls of white that the doll had. She extended her fingers in front of her and started to move her fingers in an incredible speed. The fingers of the doll followed the same speed as that of Sakura and he could see, little by little how she worked extensively at the injury he had caused the man. When the procedure draw to a close, she saw Sakura closed her fist and the puppet that was on her back, carefully laid down Rikuto on the ground. She raised a finger up and the Jutsu slowly floated upwards, detaching the strings that were attached to her. Slowly, her jutsu dissipated. It didn't take her more than 10 minutes until he saw a contented face in her previously distraught ones.

Sakura approached Rikuto and using a green chakra, placed a hand on his stomach. She tried to control the bleeding and stimulated the reproduction of blood from inside his body. Slowly, Rikuto regained his color from being ghastly to a somehow normal pinkish color, in which part, excited Sakura. She smiled when she saw a reaction form at his face.

"Rikuto…?" She asked, trying to confirm a response. When his eyes slowly opened, Sakura used her free hand to get the small penlight attached on her belt. She checked the dilation of his pupils and smiled when she knew it was normal.

"Sakura?" he asked. The woman withdrew her hand on his abdomen when she had normalized everything. "Good job coming back…" she whispered. He tried to get up but she pushed him down.

"Just lie down." Sakura grabbed another thing that was in the belt pocket of her uniform and positioned the bottle in front of his face. When he saw this, he grabbed it and brushed it away but Sakura held on to the bottle.

"Is that Sakura's special sleeping gas?" he smirked but frowned afterwards, trying to feel the twist in his stomach. She closed her eyes and smiled. "I can't believe you have the energy to fool around." He closed her eyes but stared right after the time he opened them again. He lifted a hand to caress her face.

"I-I made y-you worry huh?" Sakura laughed but her tears started to fall down. She thought she'd never see him again. She'd been in her automatic mode when she saw his bloody mask. Her mind only focused on healing him. She didn't want him to die. As per her reason why, she knew he had become someone important to her.

"Sakura." She heard Sasuke's voice and she knew right there and then that she needed to go. She didn't want Sasuke to repeat her name again. She might kill Rikuto the second time and even she can't revive him from the injuries he might inflict on him. At that moment Sakura embraced Rikuto.

"Please tell the Hokage that I'll be fine and I'll be back. I will try my very best to bring Sasuke home too…" she whispered, her voice low. Rikuto frowned at what she said. He can't allow her to go but he had no power or chakra left to deal with Sasuke however much he objected. Knowing this, Sakura took him by surprise then sprayed the gas in front of his face. Rikuto tried to hold on as long as she can. She stood up refusing to move for another second until she felt Sasuke's eyes pulling her towards him. She followed. Sasuke turned around and started walking.

"I did say you're not supposed to move away from that circle right?" Sakura couldn't believe how he was able to stand up because of his injuries and after receiving a dose from her sleeping gas. But he held on to her, embracing her from her back, leaning to help him stand.

"R-Rikuto?" she started. "I have to go with him." Rikuto didn't speak but he tightened his hold, expressing his disapproval with her decision to go. Sakura smiled at his gesture. She knew, being an ANBU who only values the mission and being the team captain, this was a failure. However, she wasn't a fan of missions that were full of casualties. And unfortunately, he will be if she doesn't go.

"Those who forsake their friends are scum." She said.

"No matter how deep or far Sasuke has fallen. No matter how much he denies it. He's still… our friend and a member of our team. I want to…" Sakura looked down. She didn't know if she's making the right choice but just knowing that she had the chance to know more about Sasuke and in the process, save Rikuto, she couldn't ask for a much better opportunity.

"I understand." Rikuto pulled up her chin to make her face backwards.

"I did say that if you talk too much, I'll put something in your mouth right?" He smiled and suddenly, a tear fell down from her eyes. He leaned down for a kiss, a swift embrace of his lips made her stand on her toes to try and take in more. Not a moment soon after that, he fell down. Sakura tried to catch his fall, placing him properly down before she went and stood up.

"Remove your cloak." Sakura was surprised with his order but tried to follow what he wanted. She lifted her jacket away from her body and folded it neatly beside the ANBU captain. When she stood up, Sasuke was a little intrigued to see her.

She had long pink hair that was fixed in a half bun while the rest fell down at the side of her shoulders. She had beautiful skin that seemed a little too pretty for a kunoichi of her caliber. She also wore a mid half white kimono decorated with bright pink cherry blossoms. She was tall and there was absolutely no trace of that little girl he had expected to see.

"What do you know about her after eight long years?" He remembered what he said and it was disturbing to know that Rikuto had managed to leave an impact like that to make him remember some of the nonsensical things he said. "You don't deserve her…" Sasuke closed his eyes and turned around, pushing away those thoughts.

"Follow me." Was the last thing he said.

I can't let Rikuto die right? Sakura promised that herself... she might punch me if i let him die. :)

Sorry for rushing it a bit.. I'm about to fly somewhere for a vacation.. I"ll update soon! Bye!