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

Fated Encounter

CHAPTER 21

Sasuke didn't like Sakura's body language from the Southern Hideout all the way to the village that they stayed the night. She traveled on the other side of Karin and Suigetsu avoiding being with him at all cost. He wasn't sure if she did it on purpose because of the thoughtful look on her face, or if she had actually planned on doing so.

It was so unfamiliar to him to see her so independent and even going as far as to refuse his offer.

It took him a while to get the hang of what she was thinking, but as the night came closer and closer, he was more and more certain that he knew the answer. Up until the moment that Sakura left with Suigetsu to let the prisoners free, she was completely fine. But after coming back with Suigetsu braking the door, she seemed so much more distant.

Sasuke knew of Karin's infatuation towards him, so when she made advances at him, he plain ignored them. Even though, the red-head came only inches from him and tried using her charm, he stayed in place avoiding her. If he had plain refused her, she might have decided not to come with the group. Luckily, something had snapped her from her refusal of coming with them.

Even with an excuse of only traveling a small portion of the way with them, it was obvious that Karin was going to stick around. She had obviously felt embarrassed by his ignorance towards her, as she had flushed bright red when the door was slashed to pieces.

Karin was a determined woman with incredible abilities. The way she healed was quick and efficient. With a single bite, she could heal anyone. Of course, compared to Sakura's healing abilities and the way she controlled her chakra, it can be deadly to Karin. And Karin's sensory abilities were also a great bonus. She could easily detect any nin from miles away so they could prepare for an attack.

It would also help with keeping Sakura away from Konoha's shinobi.

The Elders of Konoha wouldn't be stupid enough to send only a one person after a girl like Sakura, so anything that could help keep the Elders away from Sakura was good enough. She was still recovering slowly, but surely. Her weight was coming on and it was evident with the way her cheeks had started to fill out, and the black circles under her eyes had disappeared.

She looked much more healthier and not so tired all the time.

Sasuke shook his head in frustration. He was sitting down in the corner of their room waiting for everyone else to fall asleep.

The waiting and being alone gave him too much time to think. And more often than not he noticed his thoughts circling around Sakura. If he didn't get his mind back set on finding Itachi, this could very much hinder him. His thoughts were constantly everywhere else then where they should be, and it frustrated him.

Sasuke should be focusing on finding Itachi at all costs. That is why he assembled the group, to help him find him and hopefully he will be able to kill him.

His original plan was to get only Karin, Suigetsu and Jūgo. They were all necessary to get his plan to work. Sakura only came in later and was a piece that wasn't part of his original plan. However, her medical skills were up to bar with anyone else. She was very talented and it never hurt to have another medical nin among them. If only she could heal faster and be the strongest version of herself.

So far Sasuke wasn't entirely sure was Sakura going to hinder them, or actually be of help.

But, unfortunately, he couldn't help but feel that small bang in his chest if he thought of leaving her behind.

Time went by much faster as he pondered things in his mind. Soon it was time to wake Sakura up and Sasuke got up from his position on the floor. Sakura was snuggled inside her blanket holding on to it for dead life. She was always so cold especially during nighttime.

Gently he placed his hand on her shoulder and shook her a little. At first, she mumbled something incoherent, but in seconds her eyes opened tiredly.

Sakura got up from under her cover and rubbed her eyes.

She was so childlike.

As Sakura settled in her place in the corner of the room, Sasuke headed for the small pouch that Karin had bought when they entered the village. Grabbing a bottle of water, he offered it for her.

She grabbed it like a starving woman and drank all of it.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" She asked him softly.

"No." He really wasn't that tired, but he could see the displeasure in Sakura's eyes. She knew that he wasn't very good at sleeping. It was getting a bit better back in the hideout, but since going on road, it seems that old habits just come back.

They bickered about his sleeping habits for a while. It was actually quite refreshing. She was like a mother hen always makings sure that he was doing fine. As that thought flew through his mind, he felt a tiny bang on sadness in his chest. Being alone for so long and no one to take care of him, it was so easy to just ignore everything. But the closer he got with Sakura, the more she seemed to smother him like he was a child.

She hadn't changed at all. Maybe matured quite a bit on the outside and little on the inside, but she was still the same Sakura he knew. She was always worrying for everyone else.

But she was still very distant.

"What happened when you were with Suigetsu freeing the prisoners?" He suddenly blurted out. A part of him wanted to get to the bottom of this.

"Nothing." Sakura shrugged her shoulders and acting as if she didn't care.

"Sakura."

"Seriously!" She then exploded with a flushed face.

"Is this about Karin?" Sasuke asked rather softly. All in all, he couldn't believe he was the one bringing this up and not Sakura.

"Nothing happened, Sakura." The more he talked, the more he realized how insecure Sakura actually was. Things were whole a lot different when they were almost constantly alone in Orochimaru's hideout. Here they were surrounded by two other people, and one of them was interested at him.

The Sakura back in the day would have already attacked Karin and demanded that she stopped her infatuation with him. That is what she did with Ino often, but now instead of confronting Karin, she stayed back as if a kicked puppy.

"It's not about that either." She muttered lowly with a pout.

In seconds her eyes glazed over as she merely stared at the wall. Sasuke waited patiently and silently watching the inner monologue she was obviously having inside her head.

Sakura's next words made Sasuke do almost a double take. At first, he wasn't even sure if she had actually said them because it seemed that neither had she heard herself mutter those words.

"Did they actually favor polyamorous relationships?"

Sasuke wanted to sigh in both exasperation and humor. Was she actually thinking something like that?

The only reason for her to be so muddled up and silent had to be because of her insecurities. Sasuke didn't know what was causing these kinds of feelings inside of her, but it had to be something to do with Karin. Never in these past few months has she even been this insecure.

"Do you like Karin?" She again blurted without even thinking her words. A flash of relief passed through her face, before a mask of nervousness came, and then her face flamed up like a fire.

Sasuke scratched the back of his head, "Sakura, haven't I made my advances clear enough?"

It was the truth coming from him.

"You two-" She stared explaining and Sasuke knew right away where this was going. She was going to ask about why Karin locked the door back in the Southern Hideout.

"Nothing happened. She tried, but failed."

"S-she tried something?"

"Yes. But I'm not interested in her."

Suigetsu's muddled murmurs echoed in the room catching both Sasuke's and Sakura's attention. He moved under his covers, but didn't wake up. Neither Karin was awake too as she breathed softly on her own futon.

Sasuke turned his attention back towards Sakura, "Sakura, you're being annoying."

Her face flushed once again and she looked down on her lap.

"And no." Why not tease her some more?

Her bright green eyes faced him as she tilted her head in confusion. He leaned closer to her, near her ear, "I'm not interested in polyamorous relationships, either."

At that point, Sakura reminded him of a certain Hyūga heiress. If she was the girl in question, Sakura would have likely fainted. It took her a moment to regain her breathing once again, but soon enough she relaxed back against the wall.

Neither said anything else at all during Sakura's watch. They silently observed their surroundings, listening to everything that might be a threat.

Just before Sakura shift was about to end, Sasuke finally slipped under his own covers on the futon, while Sakura went over to Suigetsu. She had to violently push at him to wake him up, and after five minutes of pushing him around Sakura grabbed his arm and squeezed. Luckily for him, Sakura didn't break the bone under the skin and muscle, but it made Suigetsu hiss in pain and sit up faster than ever before.

Sasuke looked at the scene in front of him mildly amused with Sakura's antics. She was slowly getting her strength back. That was a good sign.

And once again, it was just too easy to succumb into thoughts of Sakura. To be so consumed by her that he once again forgot his ultimate goal of killing Itachi. It was becoming a very bad habit that was too hard to rid of; the more he struggled, the more he fell.

This is super short. Apologizes, but I didn't have much time as you know. I have next weekend totally free of anything so I PROMISE chapter 22 will be MUCH MUCH longer.

Thanks for reviewers:

Lady Rini

IheartSasuSakuIta

Uchiha Misaki

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Chaty

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severito

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I would like to know what you guys think about Sasuke's inner thoughts? I know we haven't seen much of his side of things in few chapters, so I thought now would be the best time to show some of them.

Next chapter will have a battle scene in it. Hopefully I'll be able to write one well, because that is not something I'm used to writing... :D

- Jakura