Fated Encounter

CHAPTER 11

The weather was nice. Spring had literally bashed its way in in less than a week, and the warm weather was nice on one's skin. Sakura sat on the rock with her eyes closed soaking in as much of the sun as she could. It warmed her skin and made her feel a bit better.

There were no signs of wind or even clouds in the sky. Sakura felt quite content. Well, as long as she could drown away the sound of Sasuke training near her. She was merely meditating and trying to get used to her own skin, whereas he had his kusanagi out and was practicing with it. He didn't make much sound luckily, but the slow sound of his boots scraping against the rocks was the only sign that he was there.

The past week Sakura has trailed after the Uchiha like a lost puppy and, so far, he didn't seem to mind. Sakura was impressed that Sasuke could train almost hours on end without even breaking a sweat or then he was just slacking. But slacking didn't fit in with Sasuke.

And as she opened her eyes to peek at him down at the lower boulder, she could evidently see him training.

Kusanagi didn't even make a sound as it moved through the air with Sasuke's swift and elegant movements. Truly its masters weapon.

Orochimaru and Kabuto had been away from the hideout the last two days and even though Sakura insisted that she stays indoors, Sasuke had other plans. He wouldn't let her to stay alone inside the hideout, but when it came to outside she could go freely as she wishes. Not that she knew where to go, so she mostly stayed close to Sasuke.

She still had no way to get help from anyone else except Sasuke and, so far, Sakura has come up with nothing. Thinking of a plan to try to inform some of the closest people to her was hard since she was sure the Elders were constantly making sure that she wouldn't get near Konoha. It wouldn't even surprise her if there were someone sent after her because the Elders probably didn't think that she was dead.

So far nothing had breached the serenity that surrounded her ever since Orochimaru left the hideout. Sakura had no idea for how long they would be away, but she was glad that no one would try to take her at least for a while.

Yesterday she was able to finally heal the burns given to her by the acid thrown on her arm by Kabuto. It was a huge step for her to be able to do it by herself, because it meant that she was getting better. Her body might look like a starved skeleton for now, but she had her chakra slowly coming back. And her hunger was increasing fast. Normally she would only eat two or three times a day, but now she's been eating at least four small meals.

Even Sasuke seemed satisfied with her progress. He might not talk much with her and mostly grunts for her to be either quicker or eat more, but Sasuke seemed to be someone she could trust.

Sasuke seemed aloof at times and sometimes he acted as if she wasn't there, but she wasn't that stupid. His actions were subtle, but she saw them. The way he slightly turned his head to make sure that she was following him or the way he used more of his senses when she ventured further away from him. He was constantly on to her and Sakura was thankful for that.

It wasn't because she wanted to a damsel-in-distress, but rather because she knew that her body was still recovering. Since they were in Oto, she didn't doubt for a second that a nukenin would attack her.

The brown color of her hair had slowly started to fade away and Sakura's familiar pink was already visible. Everyone would know that she was Haruno Sakura. There probably was no one else with a vibrant colored hair as she did in the whole world, and she had already gotten fame as the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage.

"Sakura," Sasuke's voice cut through Sakura's sun bathing and she looked down at the ledge. Sasuke was pointing behind her and she turned to see black clouds slowly moving towards them. A bright flash lit up the clouds and Sakura realized that it was a storm coming.

"Oh, great," she breathed and got up.

Sasuke had already begun walking towards the waterfall at the back of the lake. Sakura followed him on the upper ledge, not keen on getting wet at all from the upcoming rain. And she had thought that this day would be nice and sunny.

The lake was in a pit of sorts. It was at the bottom of a valley that consisted of a huge tall rock walls.

Jumping down from her ledge Sakura landed few steps behind Sasuke. They slowly walked towards the cave entrance hidden behind the waterfall. Sakura shivered from the moisture and the spraying drops of water and quickly walked after Sasuke.

It was Sasuke's hiding place of sorts. The place was covered by bamboo curtains from the entrance of the cave. There was a wooden platform at the end that could easily fit ten people and the place had torches on the platform. Since no natural light came inside Sasuke lit up the torches. The flames would also help warm up the place. The stone ground was uneven and you had to look where you were walking.

Sakura hopped on to the high platform and sat down on the blanket laying there while grabbing another one to cover her legs with. Only two days ago had Sasuke showed this place to her, even though they've been coming to the waterfall since they arrived in Oto. It was kind of comfy, but also very wet place, but what can you expect from a place that was inside a cave and behind a water fall.

The sound of the roaring waterfall covered the rain, but you could still hear the thunder that begun rolling over them.

Sasuke leaned to the wall next to her and closed his eyes.

They didn't have much to talk about at all. Sasuke wasn't the type to ask question and would rather be in silence than initiate a small talk of any kind.

Sakura, on the other hand, was getting used to being around the brooding Uchiha and she craved to talk to someone.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn." He grunted, but Sakura took it as a sign to talk.

"What has it been like to you?"

Sakura's question caused him to open his eyes and look at her, "What?"

"I mean, did Orochimaru test on you, too?"

Sasuke's face stayed passive, "Yes, and no."

"What kind of an answer is that?" She asked again and crossed her arms. Sasuke had leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Immunity to most poisons." He finally said and Sakura's eyes widened.

"H-how did they do that to you?"

"In taking small amounts," Sasuke shrugged.

Sakura huffed as she leaned back against the wall.

"He's a creep." She mumbled and pursed her lips. Trying to not think about everything that Orochimaru has done Sakura shook her head and stared at one of the flames. Thinking about the Snake Sannin made her sick to her stomach. She didn't even want to know what had happened to the other test subjects before her, who were subjected to the same drug she had been injected with.

The pain and suffering was agonizing.

Relaxing and concentrating was making things easier for her, but a contact with anything organic still hurt. Sasuke, so far, has avoided touching her at all cost and she's been willing to take a shower every other day. Showering wasn't as bad as touching another person was.

The cave suddenly shook from the strength of the thunder.

Sakura closed her eyes. It seemed almost unnatural to her. In the cave, everything seemed to be ten times worse since everything echoed easily. Tough the waterfall hid most of the sounds.

She needed to get her mind somewhere else.

"Will you help me?" She suddenly asked from Sasuke.

"With what?" He grumbled back.

"To help me get used to touching other people. Please."

"Sakura." He sighed clearly annoyed by her request.

"I'm already used to your snakes! I need to get used to human contact, too! And you're the only one around here."

"You should have gone back to Konoha, then."

"You know, I can't."

Shaking his hand annoyed Sasuke moved off the wall and turned to sit towards Sakura. She instantly scooted off the wall, too, and in to a better position. Sasuke was offering his hand to her and she gently grabbed it. He had already closed his eyes and Sakura felt his calming presence surround her. He was meditating and ignoring her at the same time.

Sakura's palm tingled with tiny needles as she focused all her energy to it. Pushing the effect out of her skin and controlling the chakra that tried to force its way upwards was getting easier.

They were like that until the storm had passed over the lake. It was an hour and Sakura was sweating from the effort she was putting in. Sasuke had slid his palm further up on her wrist a while ago, and that was when it became hard. Your hands were much easier to control since Sakura was a medical shinobi, but your wrists were a whole another thing.

Her brows were low and she was sure Sasuke was staring at her. She didn't want to give up yet. Pushing and pushing herself further until she couldn't do anything more, Sakura pulled her arm away from him and collapsed on to her back while breathing hard.

Sakura was sitting opposite of Sasuke the next day. They were eating dinner in the hideout and her hands were shaking. She had to use her left hand to balance her right hand to be able to use her chopsticks. Luckily Sasuke didn't comment on the clumsy way of eating at all or she would have probably tried smashing his head in to the wall. It was already embarrassing enough.

They had once again practiced the skin-on-skin contact and she felt depleted from her chakra.

The door to their left opened and startled Sakura that the piece of meat on her chopsticks fell back on to the plate. Sakura sighed in annoyance and glared towards the door.

Kabuto slipped into the room with a smirk on his face.

"Sasuke-kun, Orochimaru-sama has a mission for you." He said and came to a stop next to the table. Kabuto had a scroll in his hand that he offered to Sasuke.

Sasuke read through the contents and give one of his icy glares at the gray-haired man.

"You do anything and you'll regret it." He said and got up from the table. "Sakura," he addressed her, "go to the room, now."

"Why?" Sakura looked unsure. Was Sasuke going to leave her alone with these people?

Instead of answering her question Sasuke was already leaving the room and Sakura had to run, in order to keep up with his pace. Kabuto did not follow them and Sakura breathed in relief.

"What's going on, Sasuke?" She asked again as Sasuke opened the door to their room. They've been sleeping in the same room for the past week and Sasuke had brought a futon few days ago for him to sleep on.

"I'll be gone for a few days. I don't want you to leave the room at all." He finally said and grabbed kusanagi from leaning against the bed.

"You're leaving me here with these two? Sasuke you can't do that!" A panic started to seize her with the mere idea of having to be alone with Kabuto and Orochimaru. She was still chakra depleted from their practice few hours ago and there was no way she could protect herself. Even though Orochimaru said that the experiment with her was finish, she was not going to be that stupid to trust the man.

There was no way she was going to stay here without Sasuke.

"Sakura, calm down." Sasuke grumbled and pulled at the sleeve of her shirt avoiding touching her skin. Sakura didn't realize that she was pulling at her hair in attempt to understand everything.

His eyes sought hers and she stared at him with fear, "Stay in this room. Do not leave anywhere, okay?"

Sakura nodded like a robot.

"I'll come back as soon as I can." His words didn't reassure her at all and she couldn't do anything as he left through the door.

Left standing in the middle of the tiny bedroom, Sakura felt lost. The idea that Kabuto could come inside the room any second was frightening. Quickly she scanned the room and her eyes zeroed on the dresser.

Luckily she didn't need any chakra to move the thing and she made a quick work at it. In few seconds the dresser was blocking the door and it gave tiny bit of relief to her. It might not stop Kabuto completely, but it would do the trick of slowing him down if she was asleep.

She backed away, not once letting her gaze waver from the door, and sat down on to the bed. Carefully she laid down and stared at the door.

It might have been minutes or hours before exhaustion got the better of her, and she fell asleep.

Sakura woke up with a start. Her heart pounded inside her chest and her head was spinning. She was sure someone had banged on the door.

Waiting in complete silence, Sakura stared at the door controlling her breathing and squeezing the life out of the blanket on her body. Kabuto had to be coming for her, she was so sure of it. She could feel the needle being poked inside her vein and Karin starting the infusion for the liquid.

Suddenly a lump formed in her throat and she had to cough. It was an overwhelming feeling to be having these things around her. She tried remembering that none of the images in her head were not true. There was no needle in her vein and there was no tube going into the stomach. She was just lying on Sasuke's bed waiting for him, and no one had banged on the door.

She was completely alone.

No one was threatening her.

No one was coming for her.

She just had to wait for Sasuke to come back.

What if he didn't come back?

"Sakura."

"Sakura."

"What?" she mumbled.

"Sakura, open the door."

"What door?"

She curled further into herself and pulled the blanket closer.

"Sakura!" The voice said a bit louder and it was followed by loud banging.

Sakura was pulled out of her deep slumber as she sat up so fast that her head swam from the sudden movement. Her heart pounded once again and she looked around the dark room. Nothing.

Another set of bangs on the door made her scoot back on the bed and stare intently at the door. Everything was so muddled up. Her mind still sluggish and slow from being asleep, she couldn't even comprehend to use her senses to see who was behind the door.

"Sakura! Are you in there?" Came Sasuke's familair voice.

Out of pure relief she jumped from the bed and pushed the dresser away.

The door opened from the outside and for a moment Sakura was blinded by the light coming from the hall.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked startled as Sakura wrapped her arms around his middle. "What are you doing?" He asked carefully as Sakura literally considered squeezing the life out of him. She couldn't even care less that her skin was once again reacting to the unfamiliar bacteria of Sasuke's clothes and skin.

Yup, I did it once again. Updated a week early.

ATTENTION! Just wanted to explain how this story goes. I won't be covering all the parts of Naruto like someone expected/thought. This story will only follow the events that happen with Sasuke in them since this is from Sasuke's point of view along with Sakura's. There will be very likely be scenes from Naruto's point of view, too, just to show you guys where this story is at and how things might have changed with Sakura's disappearance.

So no this will not cover everything that Naruto universe has to offer. Unfortunately. Otherwise this story wouldn't be coming to its end anytime soon in the next ten years. So that's why I'm skipping most of the story line and I will be focusing on Sasuke's side of things. For example, I will be doing massive amount of research for this story by going through episodes of Shippuden and manga to see some of the timeline, and I don't want to make my readers wait for eternity for me to finish this.

Also movies will be added to this story so you'll be seeing scenes from them, too.

Thanks for reviewers:

ILoveSxS

Uchiha Misaki

Lady Rini

snowcoloredwolf

Emily da great

Waterlilly333

Tomo

jenicholle

and three guests.

Leave a review! They make my day and tell me if you're actually liking this story or not. And I really want to hear your thought about the way I'll be approaching this whole thing and using the events from the actual Naruto.

BUT I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS OR EVENTS THAT COME FROM THE MANGA OR ANIME! I only own the changes and ideas I add into the original story line. :D

- Jakura