Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! Only the parts that I'm adapting into the original story line.

Fated Encounter

CHAPTER 14

"Naruto, calm down." Tsunade's stern voice said as she leaned against her desk that was filled with paperwork that she needed to sort out.

Naruto was walking back and front on the floor scratching his head. He was obviously agitated by everything and bothered by the whole situation.

"I want to go and find her, Tsunade-baa-chan." Naruto finally said after a moment of silence. "I want to see with my own two eyes what had happened."

"Naruto, we've been through this many times. I've send people to scout the area regularly and even Kakashi lead a team that sorted through the closest villages. We need to believe the message we got when she disappeared."

"I don't think she's dead."

"You can-"

"No!" Naruto fired back, "I would know if she was dead. She is somewhere, but doesn't want to be found."

Tsunade closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, "If she doesn't want to be found then she must have a very good reason for that. I'm sure if she's alive, your paths will cross with her at some point. But there's no point in assembling another crew to go and find her."

"But, Tsunade-"

"Naruto." This time it was Kakashi's turn to calm the teenager down. "We looked through everywhere. And not even Pakkun could get a scent on her. Either she was very much chakra depleted or somehow she was able to change her scent. But if she doesn't want to be found than we should leave her, for now."

"Sasuke doesn't want to be found, but I still try to bring him back. I'm not giving up on Sakura!"

"I know, but this time the situation is something different."

"I want to speak with the two shinobi, who came from the mission alone and without Sakura." Naruto had fire in his eyes as he looked straight at his Hokage.

"Both Nigaro Yuu and Dani Reina have been through an investigation conducted by the Yamanaka clan. There's nothing more they can say or do for now. They send their condolences for you." Tsunade spoke calmly.

"I still want to see them." Naruto fired back stubbornly.

"Fine." Tsunade was getting tired of Naruto's prying to have a conversation with the two chūnin.

A grin finally found its way on Naruto's face, "Thanks, Tsunade-baa-chan."

Naruto had a hunch that something bigger, then that Sakura just had died accidentally, was going on. He couldn't do anything else about the feeling except follow his instincts.

Sasuke already left the village and Naruto expected to return to see Sakura back at Konoha after finishing his training with Jiraiya. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case. And going after Sasuke, alone nonetheless, was hard.

Naruto only wished that Sakura would have been there to meet with the Uchiha, but she wasn't. But he was sure she isn't dead. There might be a possibility, but there was no way Sakura was dead.

He will return Sasuke back to village and he will find Sakura.

There's no other option. Naruto was determined to make his plans become reality. He promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back almost three years ago, and he will not brake that promise. Just like he made a promise to himself that he will find Sakura. Whether it was her body or if she was alive and well.

Luckily Naruto wasn't alone with this burden. He has Kakashi-sensei to back him up and their new team leader Yamato along with Sai. Sai came to their group to replace the absence of Sakura and mostly Sasuke. And then there was everyone else from Konoha. All his friends and even Gaara from Suna. They were able to save him few weeks ago from the Akatsuki.

Unfortunately, they lost another life at the same time.

But with team 10's help, they were able to succeed.

Even though, Naruto hadn't seen Sakura in over two years, he was proud of her. He heard from everyone in the village how she became stronger and gained more fame as a medical kunoichi. And let's not forget that she became a jōnin with the help of team 10. Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were priceless to Naruto. They helped his friend and one day he will give them something back.

To be honest, Sakura was exhausted.

Sasuke had demanded her this morning to spar with him, since something had made him agitated. Well that something was Orochimaru. He was supposed to train with Sasuke once again, but for some reason cancelled the session.

Sakura had taken notice that every time Orochimaru cancelled their training session, Sasuke would get this odd look on his face. It wasn't anything very notable, but after being such a long time with him Sakura got the hang of some of his traits. Sasuke was planning on something.

Every single time after training, Sakura had to shower, of course. That was another thing that drained even more of her chakra to the point that she was ready to collapse. Her muscles were sore from being used so much, and Sasuke wasn't the type of partner to let you go easy.

Yes, Sakura was malnourished, but she was still able to take care of herself. Sasuke demanded for her to go beyond her own limit with ninjutsu and that is exactly what she did.

Sasuke was sharpening his kusanagi on the bed while Sakura was leaning against his shoulder. Her back was facing the door as she just stared at the wall right behind the bed. Her mind couldn't even think.

Her hair was still wet from the shower and she was embarrassingly wetting Sasuke's shirt. He didn't seem to mind that she was literally hogging his personal space. But the reason for that was that she was cold. This hideout was much cooler, than the ones before, and Sasuke was like a heater. Teenage boys and their hormones. If only her hormones would do the same kind of trick.

Or then it was just Sasuke's elemental power of controlling the fire.

But still it was very much unfair.

A tiny nudge on Sakura's side from Sasuke alerted her that she had fallen asleep. When you might ask, she had no idea. Her brain was foggy from the sudden alertness and she licked her lips.

"Lay down." Sasuke commanded once again and she was too tired to argue with him.

Snuggling under the sheets felt amazing. It warmed her even more since she had been sitting on top of the cover.

Sasuke's warm body glided under the same blanket without any trouble. Right away, Sakura scooted her body right against him to warm up even more.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked suddenly.

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

Sakura shrugged under the covers and in the deep darkness.

"Everything?" Sakura didn't expect an answer from him as they fell in to a comfortable silence.

Sakura felt Sasuke's breath on her forehead rather than she saw him. One of the downsides of living underground was that it was always so dark if you turned off the lights.

Unlike every other time, Sakura felt herself unable to fall asleep. Sasuke's breathing had long ago evened out indicating that he was asleep. Sakura's mind was more restless than her body. Her muscles ached from the intense training session, but her mind couldn't find the similar kind of exhaustion her body succumbed easily into.

She had no idea what got to her body and mind as she blindly reached up. Gently Sakura's nose bumped against Sasuke's jaw and as she reached even hire and her lips brushed the same spot. For a beat of a second, Sakura stayed still and waited a reaction from her companion. His breathing was just as level as it was before.

A sudden flash of realization struck Sakura and she quickly pulled back. What was she doing? She was obviously crossing some boundaries that had been set between them.

In a twisted way, she was molesting him in his sleep!

Sakura breathed out hard and bit down on her lip. What was going on inside her head? What made her do something like this?

It wasn't that she liked Sasuke or anything. She was over her childish crush to the hottest boy in her class back at the academy. But here she was molesting him in his sleep without his approval.

Yes, she and him had grown closer with each passing day, but Sasuke only saw her as an annoying little sister that wouldn't leave him alone. Well unlike siblings normally, they even slept in the same bed and maybe occasionally cuddled, but that was as far as things were going to go ever.

Almost too deep in thought, Sakura's mind barely registered the soft feeling of Sasuke's warm hand sneaking around her waist.

Sakura froze from the touch against her skin as she realized that her t-shirt had run up over her stomach. She barely even dared to breathed as she listened to any kind of changes in Sasuke's inhales and exhales. Nothing had changed.

Slowly she breathed out and relaxed her body.

He was still asleep. Good.

"Sakura." Sasuke's voice completely startled her and she tried to scramble away from the boy in front of her. Sasuke arm that was wrapped around her waist halted her movements instantly.

"S-S-Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed. "Y-you're awake!"

He didn't reply to her comment and instead only pulled her closer to him. Her body was entirely flushed against his with their legs tangled together. The hand that was lying against her back moved upwards in the darkness and Sakura's whole body erupted into goosebumps. She could only wish he didn't feel them. His touch was so feathery light that she shivered and her breath hitched for a moment.

Overcome with sensations, Sakura could only wait and feel what the Uchiha was doing. His hand slowly moving upwards on her back was something that she probably should have not allowed, but as Sasuke's hand reached the back of her neck from under the shirt, it was only a tiny thing compared to what happened next. She was trapped under his arm while his fingers wrapped themselves in her hair.

It was something Sakura never expected to happen, but still it did, when Sasuke tilted her head back and she felt the soft brush of his lips against hers. Again, Sakura was perplexed as to why he was doing this?

But as her mind tried to come up with reasons to her question, her body had a mind of its own as her lips pressed against his. It was the subtlest movement, but Sasuke noticed it. His lips pressed harder against her like something had broken between them at that moment.

Sakura's own hand slid up his shirt clad front and wrapped around his neck pulling him even closer.

Her breathing had labored and she moaned against the gentle bite on her lip. Sasuke's touch was intoxicating her more and more. Trying to shift as close to him as possible, Sakura's body tingled with excitement.

Sasuke's lips were so soft and demanding at the same time. He was everything one would hope for in a kiss.

And as his lips started trailing their way down her cheek and to her neck, Sakura felt her mind losing all sense of reality.

Sakura was sitting on a table in one of the labs in the hideout. Kabuto was mixing something on the other end of the room completely ignoring her presence. The book she was reading about poisons was very interesting and she's been reading it for the past three hours while taking few notes.

She found a small notebook after Sasuke brought her to this hideout.

Kabuto was digging through the cabinets, moving things around and obviously not finding what he needed.

"Sakura," his voice said, "I need you to do something for me."

Sakura wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It wasn't Kabuto's style to ask her for anything or make her do anything. He normally would glare at her and maybe ask few thinks, but never made her do his bidding.

Sasuke made it very clear that if he messed with her, then there would be consequences.

"What do you need?" she asked passively. It wasn't a good idea to show her nervousness around the medical shinobi. Kabuto was a strong opponent just like her, but since Sakura hasn't been training much for a while, she wasn't sure she could take him on. The occasional sparring sessions with Sasuke were nothing compared to the vigorous training Sakura had with her mentor, Tsunade.

But when on her own in the bedroom, she would control her chakra as if she was ready to punch something. Just barely making the chakra burst from her hands, but keeping it concealed. It was a good thing that she hadn't forgotten how to use her abilities after months of immobilization.

"Down at the second-floor lab is a vial with purple acid in it. I need you to go and get it. It's on a counter in the middle of the room."

"Why can't you go and get it?" Sakura wasn't his errand boy. Well, girl.

"I need to watch this," he pointed at the beaker that had clear liquid in it, "so that it doesn't explode."

Sakura shook her head and grabbed her notebook from the table. Without another word to the other shinobi she began making her way towards the stairs. Sakura hasn't been to the other lab yet and not many had even gone there at all.

Kabuto came a few times from there and when the door at the bottom of the stairs was open, Sakura could see bluish light shining from inside. She had no idea what the lab was for and what they were doing down there at all.

The door was closed at the bottom like always, but as Sakura turned the knob it opened. To say mildly, the contents inside the room surprised her. There were rows and rows of water tanks that went from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

Sakura couldn't see anything in the tanks of water, and as she stared at them intently she didn't notice the cords lying around. Almost slipping on one, Sakura was luckily able to find her balance before tumbling on to the floor.

A loud chuckle echoed in the room causing Sakura to panic momentarily. Looking around she couldn't see anything or anyone. No one was moving anywhere and the laughter had died down already.

"Whose there?" Sakura asked out loud. Her own voice echoed in the vast lab.

"That depends." The same voice that had chuckled asked.

Walking around the tanks, Sakura looked around the place.

"Depends on what?" She asked again.

"Depends on who you are."

Sakura felt her brow twitch from annoyance. Who the hell was this guy?

"Stop playing games with me." Sakura snapped. She wasn't in the mood to entertain anyone.

"Well someone's feisty. You actually remind me of a certain red head." The voice explained. "You sure you're not her? Through this tank every color seems a bit blurred, but I think you're not as curvaceous as her. Unless she decided to starve herself."

"You're talking about Karin?" Sakura joined the dots. Karin was a red head and had a feisty temper to her, too. But other than the temper, neither of them were similar at all, at least in Sakura's mind.

"Yeah, that's her. You're not Karin then, huh?"

"Obviously, not."

So far Sakura hadn't seen anyone. There was no one else except her in the lab. But he had mentioned being in one of the tanks. Maybe he was invisible?

"If you're looking for me, I'm right here." A figure appeared next to Sakura in a tank and caught her by surprise. She stumbled back as her heart started to race in panic.

Her eyes took in the sight of a teenager, about her age, in the tank. And he was completely naked.

Lifting her arm to block the lower parts of the boy, Sakura took few more steps back.

"Oh, come on! Like you haven't seen a naked man before!" He taunted and Sakura had to fight her blush.

"N-not in this situation." While training to be a medical kunoichi it was unavoidable to not see a naked man, but this was whole another thing. This boy was in a water tank and naked for not medical purposes. She wasn't doing any kind of medical exam on him. Absolutely, not!

"Ah! You've had sex before then, huh?" He taunted some more with a smirk on his face.

"No!" Sakura yelled mortified. "I'm a medical kunoichi! Not a whore!"

"Well, I never said you were a whore." The boy scratched his head and came to the edge of the tank pressing his forehead against it. "But with a hickey like that, I wouldn't exclude the possibilities."

Even more mortified with the situation, Sakura's other hand flew to her neck. How the hell had he noticed it!

"Stop that!" Sakura glared.

"Don't blame me! You're the one with a t-shirt on that shows a little too much!" The boy continued to chuckle.

"If you were here, I would punch you to Suna and back!" Sakura growled and the boy laughed even more.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's just that I get really bored of just floating here." He scratched his head again.

"So you're one of Orochimaru's test subject, too?" Sakura asked more softly. Her skin prickled with the memory of having those needles in her skin and the affect they caused on her. She was getting the hang of it all slowly, but when you were tired it was hard to control her chakra.

This time the boy looked surprised, "Orochimaru, tested on you, too?"

Sakura only nodded. Instinctively her other hand reach for the other. Her skin prickled again and she got the feeling of itch on it.

"I guess not everyone is as lucky as that Sasuke-guy." The boy shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"He got the easiest way by being only bitten, but the rest of us are a result of probing with needles and stuff that has been put into us."

"We're all unique in our own way."

The boy started laughing, "That's deep." Sakura smiled.

"What's your name?" Sakura finally asked.

"Hōzuki Suigetsu, from Kirigakure. What about you, girly?"

"Haruno Sakura."

Suigetsu's eyes widened, "You're Sasuke's teammate!"

"I thought he was the only one who deserted Konoha." He chuckled again with amusement.

"Things are not always that simple." Sakura shrugged and turned to walk away from the tank. She needed to get back to Kabuto with the acid.

"So," Suigetsu raised his voice, "about that hickey!"

"I'm not telling you." Sakura said back.

"Oh, come on! I'm bored! Entertain me!"

"I need to get back upstairs. Sorry." Sakura said back and took the purple liquid that was on the counter in the middle of the room.

As Sakura made her way back to Kabuto with the vial in her hand, she couldn't help the aggravation that overcame her. Every single time she saw someone new that had been through the experimenting that she had, it just angered her. This whole situation was so inhuman. How can anyone think this is okay?

Even though it's different for everyone, it's still wrong. No matter how bad of a person you are and deserve it, it just isn't fair. And now Suigetsu is spending his days in a tank of water with nothing else to do. How boring and exhausting that must be. Nothing to do and nowhere to go except stare at the same walls that held you captive.

"Sakura." Sasuke's voice startled her and she whipped around to face him.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun? You startled me." Holding her hand over her heart Sakura could feel her heart pounding inside her chest.

Sasuke's eyes were on the steps that lead to the prison that held Suigetsu.

"What were you doing down here?" He calmly asked before looking back at the thin girl in front of him.

"Kabuto asked me to pick something for him," she showed the bottle.

Sasuke nodded while walking towards the girl. Silently she started walking right next to him.

Sasuke was training the whole morning with Orochimaru and for some reason she wasn't allowed to join them. It was Orochimaru's decision, but Sakura thought it better to follow through rather than fight against him.

As they neared the other lab Sasuke finally stopped and turned back to Sakura, "Get your stuff from there and come back to the room."

Sakura nodded and hurried in. Kabuto was patiently reading something on the counter when Sakura placed the small vial next to him.

"Here."

Kabuto's eyes lingered on her form for a moment, before he took the vial. Then his attention was solely on the beaker he worked on and Sakura was entirely forgotten.

Grabbing the book with her, she left the room. Sasuke had already disappeared from the hallway and she made her way back to their room, alone.

Sasuke was in the shower when she got in the room. Sakura sat on the bed sideways and opened the book and started reading. She couldn't get the sight of Suigetsu out of her head. Not because he was naked, but in general. This whole thing just bothered her. By being here with Sasuke seemed to be more of a burden that anything else. She wanted to get out of here.

But where could she go? If the Council of Konoha was after her then there weren't many places she could hide. Now after Naruto almost discovering her and everything, her cover might have been blown. On the other hand, if Sasuke hadn't used his sharingan on her and she had seen Naruto would everything be okay?

Would she be safely back in Kohoha with everyone else or would there still be a threat over her, head. Naruto's presence won't honestly affect the elders one bit. There's no way they would change their minds over eliminating her. She would be dead right now. But by being here and watching Orochimaru torture these people wasn't right either.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke finally asked when he came from the shower. He had only a pair of pants on and water was still dripping from his hair.

Sakura's face was contorted with deep line of confusion and thinking. Relaxing her head, she leaned fully against the wall behind her.

"I want to get out." She said truth fully. "Being here and seeing these things is making me more and more anxious to get away."

Sasuke stood silently in the room taking in the tired looking girl on the bed.

"I know." He finally said. "You just need to hang on a bit longer."

"How long exactly?"

"Few weeks, maybe a month."

"Can't you be more specific, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke placed the towel he used to dry his hair on the chair in the room before walking in front of Sakura. He stretched his hands to grab Sakura to pull her on the edge of the bed.

"Couple more weeks, Sakura. That's all I'm asking of you. Then we'll get out of here, finally."

"What are you even waiting for?" More times than not, it was hard to read what was going on in Sasuke's head. He was so silent and brooding most of the time that she only recognized when he wanted something from her. Everything else inside his head was off limits to everyone.

He leaned down to her level, and to Sakura's surprise kissed the side of her lips and whispered, "For the right time."

So what did you guys think? I really want to hear your thoughts? Am I progressing the SasuSaku relationship too fast?

Thanks for reviewers:

Emily da great

caslspirit15

Lady Rini

toffeemilk

ILoveSxS

Uchiha Misaki

guest

Kumikocr

Guest

ChaosGirlxXxX

itachi13080

SasSak236

- Jakura