A/N: Keep in mind that the end of chapter two was slightly changed (a name, to be precise) and a segment of this chapter will not be completely understood if you overlook it. Also keep in mind that this may be the last update until the end of this or next week because of finals. But hey, you never know – I might be able to fit one in if I get distracted enough. Enjoy reading, and reviewing is always appreciated!

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't expect Sakura's arrival to be so taxing. But seeing as how the memories of his old life in Konoha had been easily repressed when he didn't have any visual – and physical – reminders, he should've known better.

She'd certainly developed an immunity against him, that was for sure. Sakura was no longer the swooning fan girl he once knew, often meeting his usual snide remarks with equally sardonic responses. It had knocked him slightly off-kilter at first, but he would never admit to that. He didn't quite know how to deal with this new and improved Haruno Sakura. He often resorted to being an asshole, but even that defense mechanism didn't work; she clashed and counteracted, and that only tested his patience.

The Uchiha's patience was slowly but surely dwindling. He'd never known Orochimaru to do things half-assed, and had never expected him to. So when he was brought in and informed that his training would be put on hold – and notions of the body transfer, to some of his relief – some years ago in order to reconstruct Sound, it had been a nasty surprise. And he'd made sure to verbalize it too, and that was probably how he managed to get into Orochimaru's inner circle. It didn't do much to alleviate him, but initially, receiving the title had been something to revel in a little.

Not until he was informed that he had to literally act the title, though. And that meant paperwork and holding conferences and practicing propriety towards council members that he honestly didn't give two shits about. Sasuke was growing impatient and restless, and Sakura's presence just became a convenient excuse to displace all of his frustrations onto her.

Orochimaru had become so involved in rebuilding Sound that he'd practically dropped everything else, leaving Kabuto to do his dirty work. And what the medic didn't have time to do, well, that was where Sasuke unfortunately came in. Sasuke still managed to remind Orochimaru every now and then of his training, but the former sannin was now wont to dismissing him with an effortless wave of his hand, which was usually accompanied by some bullshit excuse.

The medic-nin's duties became so time consuming that his medical department became exanimate and nearly stagnant. He'd left one of his top apprentices in charge, but even though she kept it running, she didn't have much to contribute. It was then that Orochimaru whimsically decided to send out an appeal to Konoha. Although it reeked of suspicion and was quite vague, he could only hope that it would instigate an action that wouldn't fail to be recognized among the other villages: an effort to rebuild shaky relations between Konoha and Sound.

With Orochimaru being so busy and Sasuke having to juggle duties with Kabuto, the younger Uchiha's retribution over Itachi was pushed to the wayside, and was proceeded to be treated as a trivial chore. Seeing as how it had been among the first on his list of priorities, this clearly did not sit too well with Sasuke.

Sasuke decided that Sakura being there could very well speed up Sound's progress so that he could finally resume his training, but she seemed to be more of a nuisance than anything else. Her presence warranted Sasuke to mull over certain things that he had blissfully been unable to recall since he had taken up residence in Sound. Before Sakura had made her grand reentry into his life, it had all been a matter of out of sight, out of mind.

He sighed wearily, eyeing the petite, motionless body that still managed to take up his entire bed. The Konoha medic was sprawled out and engulfed in his covers, and the only sure sign that she occupied his bed was the faded pink hair that peeked out from the top of the comforter. Sasuke was entirely too sure that when Sakura awoke, she wouldn't take to him too kindly.

It was nearly eight in the morning when the aforementioned motionless body began to stir. The Uchiha couldn't for the life of him fully convince himself that he was prepared – be it mentally or physically – for when Sakura would awaken. With that in mind, he strolled into the kitchen to grab the bowl of fruit sitting on top of the table. The fruit was merely for comfort, though.

And the steel bowl was for self-defense.

When Sakura opened her eyes, the first thing she set her sights on was the expanse of stark white ceiling. Patches of sunlight and shadow flickered and danced upon it, the silhouettes of tree branches swaying in a gentle breeze. She stretched and sighed softly, feeling warm and well rested.

Until she realized that she hadn't stepped foot into a hostel. At all.

Events of the day before all rushed back to her, followed by what had followed come evening. Livid, she forced herself to sit up, only to meet the steady, unflinching gaze of Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura was so overwrought with indignation that she couldn't bring herself to say much of anything in that moment. She continued to meet his blank stare, balling her fists into the fabric of his sheets.

He lifted his hand from his lap, producing something small and red. "Apple?" he deadpanned.

Sakura lashed out and smacked it out of his hand. "Sasuke," she enunciated, loud and clear, "you are the most tactless prick I've ever met!"

He blinked indolently at her in what seemed to be incredulity, which was his first mistake. The moment he opened his eyes, she lunged at him, toppling he and his chair over and effectively pinning him face first into the carpet. She straddled his back, gathering chakra from her legs to the ground when he attempted to buck her off. Sasuke swung his left arm backwards, grimacing when the back of his hand collided with the side of her face. Disoriented, the medic stumbled a little. Sasuke flipped onto his back and took her wrists into his hands, making an effort to push her off.

His second mistake was underestimating her. She pushed her wrists against his grasp, for a moment keeping him down with a strength he never knew she possessed. Sakura gasped as he kneed her in the gut, causing her to fall against him, her forehead knocking into his. They wrenched away from one another, groaning and holding their heads.

Sakura was the first to recover and was on him again in mere seconds. He gritted his teeth, wrapping an arm around her slender waist to drag her onto the floor. The Uchiha tangled his legs with hers and yet again gathered her wrists into both of his hands, and was certain that if that didn't immobilize her, he didn't know what would.

"What's your trauma?" she panted, struggling against him. She pinched his ankles with her toenails. Sakura rolled over only to have him come along for the ride. "It's got to be some form of – OW! – developmental problem! Or…"

He flipped her onto her back. "Sakura…"

She smirked at him. "Bipolar? Borderline? Anti– what are you–"

Sasuke swiftly leaned forward and bit down on her arm.

Sakura yelped in surprise more than anything else. She thrashed against him, hooking her arm under the back of his thigh while the other hand pushed firmly against his chest. They tumbled until the kunoichi got him onto his back again, elbowing him in the ribs.

Sasuke grasped her by her forearms and pushed her away before rolling onto his back. His lungs burned for air and he was certain that a couple of his ribs were bruised, and that Sakura had just broken the skin on his ankles with her toenails.

The pink-haired kunoichi sighed, twisting onto her stomach and running a hand through her hair. She located the bowl of fruit at the foot of the bed, taking one of the apples and biting into it. "I'll need to return to the hospital. I'm going to use your shower," she mentioned casually before taking another bite.

When she rose to her feet to find the bathroom, Sasuke found that he was much too drained to even act indifferent. He remained on the floor, staring up at the ceiling in disbelief while listening to the shower turn on.

His pride a little damaged and his body a little sore, he got off of the floor and forced the bathroom door open. Sakura squealed, and he watched her futile attempt to cover up behind the frosted glass door. Sasuke made sure to stand there for as long as possible, finding some satisfaction in her discomfort.

When he was certain that he'd had enough fun with her for the morning, he backed away and closed the door – but not before flushing the toilet.

The Uchiha smirked as she screamed.

Sakura stepped out of the bathroom, warily eyeing the lopsided door as it dangled precariously from its hinges. She peered into the Sound-nin's bedroom to find him sitting at the edge of the bed, donning a towel that hung loosely around his hips and not much else.

She tensed as their eyes met.

"I'd steer clear of Nanako if I were you."

She gave him a sidelong glance. "You think I can't fend for myself," she deadpanned. It wasn't a question.

He averted his gaze. "Her father was killed during Sound's invasion of Konoha." Sasuke stood, readjusting his towel. "The last thing you should do here is let your guard down. Even if Orochimaru considers you a useful tool, there are many villagers who may think otherwise," he said quietly. "Even I get the hook for originally being from Konoha, on occasion." He shrugged.

Sakura nodded mutely, getting out of his way as he headed towards the bathroom. "Sasuke," she murmured.

He stopped mid-stride, but he didn't turn to face her.

She gazed at the back of his head. "She doesn't pose a threat to me. But keep in mind that you do." Sakura gritted her teeth. "As a medic, you may think me docile; but also keep in mind that in most cases, I had to first learn how to destroy someone before I could even begin to heal them."

Sasuke watched her saunter into his kitchen, snorting when she was just out of sight. Docile, my ass.