Thank you for all of the lovely reviews, they are really encouraging! I'm going to reply all of the one's from last chapter tomorrow, don't worry! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations... I'll be honest, if it doesn't I don't want to hear about it. Either way, I hope you enjoy it, I'm sure that you all have different expectations, I tried my best to meet all of them. I'm sorry for any mistakes! Enjoy!
Sami-chan- I'm glad you like it! Well, here's more! Have fun!
...- It makes me happy to know that you love it! Here's some more!
velvettears- Hehe, here's more! Have fun!
xX Aya Marie-chan
Sakura saw his pain. It was shocking. It was beyond stunning that the boy actually even thought about something other than himself or revenge. Had this been Sakura that was three years younger and much more innocent, she would have thrown her arms around him like a desperate child and cried her heart out on his shoulder. Then, he would have proceeded to push her off and say a snide remark like, 'Pitiful and weak as ever…'
Everyone most likely expected her to act like that simpering little girl. Oh how everyone was wrong, as usual. Everyone always underestimated her… even Kakashi-sensei. He probably thought that she had no potential whatsoever and that was why he always paid more attention to Naruto and Sasuke. Boy, was she going to prove every single human being out there that had ever doubted her abilities wrong.
Sakura walked up to Sasuke. Her gaze stayed momentarily fixed on his, meaning, purpose, and determination burning in her eyes. Sasuke quickly recovered from his public display of emotion. At first his face became relieved and then once again dissolved into his collected, snotty expression.
Seeing that face, the face she damned to a thousand hells every day, Sakura smirked. He obviously had no idea what wicked future the fates had in store for him. What a shame.
Without putting another second to waste, Sakura landed her right, chakra-charged fist in his perfect, snobby face. She didn't power it enough to break his jaw, no, she wanted to hear him slur out insults as best as his tongue could muster. She wanted those insults to be only further motivation, not that she needed any. Sasuke flew backwards about ten feet, kicking up a bit of dust and dirt on his way.
The Sound Four and Kabuto chorused in unison, "Sasuke-sama!" Sakura just laughed. She laughed at the pathetic child on the ground and his worthless minions crying out his name. She found it all to be hysterical. At least she had done it. It still didn't seem to satisfy her malevolent side quite yet. She desired deeply to give him a taste of her pain, all of which he caused.
What made her bitterer was the fact that things didn't have to end this way. Sasuke didn't have to leave Konoha in the first place. Even if he felt it completely necessary, he could have said or done something more comforting, instead of forcing her to wallow in her pain alone.
In a sadistic sense, it was all funny. Funny that the one she had loved then and continued to love was the cause of all her pain. Sasuke was only one of the two remaining things she loved. She also loved to hate him. She loved to despise him, detest him, and renounce him. She directed all of herself, all her emotions, her entire heart and soul towards that one man; that one undeserving man. She couldn't help but to laugh. The sound of it was harsh and bitter. Bitter that he had all of her in the palm of his hand.
"This is just too funny," she breathed in between each humorless laugh, "This whole situation is just too hilarious! My whole damn life is just too goddamned humorous!" Sakura was on the verge of a serious mental-breakdown. She walked up to where Sasuke had landed and her smirk grew as she inspected her handy-work. Sasuke looked entirely lost for words. Had he contained the ability to speak properly it was likely that he would have been spitting insults.
Sakura snorted at the sight, "Pathetic, Uchiha. So far you've lost your feelings, Konoha, your pride, your pretty face, and last but not least, me. Now you've also lost your ability to speak…" Sakura took note of the fact that he winced at her words. She shook her head disappointed and turned to walk away.
In a flash, Sasuke appeared in front of Sakura, his arms outstretched to his sides, blocking her path. Sakura sniggered knowing that his attempt was futile. Now Sasuke was the one who looked determined. Sakura, in exchange, simply appeared unfazed, and so she was. She had returned to her sweet, empty, emotionless void.
"I suggest that you move, Uchiha. I had every intention of allowing you to live. What a shame that you've chosen to decline that generous offer," Sakura said in an offhanded voice, "Now I'm not so sure…" Her face then broke into an empty, cold smile. It would surely send shivers down one's spine.
Sasuke just shook his head and disagreed, "No one is dying here." At this, Sakura just let out a heartless laugh.
"Oh, how sweet, the darling Uchiha has decided to spare me," Sakura remarked sarcastically. Sasuke in return arched an eyebrow. Sakura took notice that every time she called him "Uchiha" he involuntarily flinched. She studied his face for a moment, which was currently graced by a purple bruise that began to flourish on his left cheek. Kabuto looked worried as he walked up to Sasuke and began to heal him.
Sakura cracked her knuckles before threatening, "Looks like the suck-up wants his face to match Uchiha's. It's too bad that you could never be handsome enough for that to even happen. Don't worry though, to make up for it, I'll punch you harder, making you not only bruise, but also I'll grace you with a broken nose and jaw as well. Perhaps I could bust an eye socket while I'm at it…" Her grin was terrifyingly malicious, if looks could kill, Kabuto would've been dead before he had a chance to blink.
"Sasuke-sama, Pinkie here, is scary. I can't deal with PMS-y girls, she's all yours," Kabuto refused. Due to his kind little statement, Kabuto received a warning growl from Sakura. Then Kabuto began to walk away.
Sakura whimpered seductively causing Kabuto to stop in his tracks, "Aw, why so soon, Kabuto?" she moved so that she was directly behind him, her breath tickling his ears then continued, "I didn't even get to do anything… Oh, and just so you know, your medic skills, they suck." Kabuto then whipped around to slash her in the face with a kunai in his hand, only for it to meet another. The meeting of the two kunais made a clanking sound. It signaled the beginning of battle, almost like a war cry.
While holding the kunai with her right hand, Sakura dropped to her knees and swung a leg that proceeded to sweep Kabuto's feet out from under him. He fell on his butt, and then blinked in surprise, Sakura wasn't on the ground in front of him anymore. Using her inhuman speed, she had disappeared behind him only to appear in front of him again. She lifted her knee and shoved it into his chin, not bothering to power it with chakra; she wanted a bit of fun before she snapped his head off. Sasuke had turned her into a sadist.
Suddenly Sasuke interrupted their little sparring match and commanded, "Sound Four, Kabuto, keep Naruto preoccupied, I have some unfinished business to attend to. Oh, and if you kill him, the cost will be your life." Sakura blinked for a moment, she had completely forgot about Naruto's presence…
'It really must have taken all of his willpower to keep that promise, but I must say he did well! It's so nice to know that Sasuke would like to keep "dobe" alive…' Sakura thought sardonically to herself.
Interrupting her thoughts, Sasuke said gently, "Sakura, I need to talk to you…" This only received yet another lifeless laugh from Sakura.
"I believe that I attempted the same method three years ago Sasuke. I feel obliged to warn you: it doesn't work. If it didn't work for me, then you're hopeless. Your social skills are absolutely nil," Sakura pointed out dryly. Sasuke choose to roll his eyes and ignore her comment.
'It seems like so much has changed… Not,' Sakura thought cynically to herself.
"Sakura, I need to talk to you about everything," Sasuke finished boldly.
Sakura shook her head and disagreed, "Quite to the contrary, Sasuke, there is nothing for us to talk about anymore. I tried that once and all I acquired in return were wasted words of gratitude."
"Sakura, please, let me talk-," Sasuke began only to be cut off by Sakura.
Sakura interrupted, "NO, DAMNIT, NO! I ALWAYS LET YOU DO THE FUCKING TALKING, AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ALWAYS SAID? ALL YOU EVER COMPLAINED ABOUT WAS HOW GODDAMNED ANNOYING I WAS OR HOW WEAK I WAS! EVEN WHEN I CONFESSED ALL OF MY DEEPEST FEELINGS FOR YOU THAT IS ALL YOU COULD SAY ALONG WITH A SHITTY "THANK YOU!" You lost the right to talk to me a long time ago, what makes you think your sudden appearance changes anything?"
It seemed as if her hand moved on it's own, since she suddenly noticed it flying through midair and slamming itself against Sasuke's already bruised cheek. He could have easily caught that one, and they both knew it. Yet instead he chose to let it hit him, after all, he had it coming.
"Come on, Uchiha, are you afraid to fight a simple girl?" Sakura asked provokingly. Sasuke just stood there, refusing to move a muscle. Sakura just shrugged and smiled sadistically.
"This won't be any fun if you don't play along… I guess it's your own choice whether you defend yourself or not…" Sakura said even though she didn't care in the slightest.
'Cha! Bring it on, you little bastard! I don't give jack if he sits there like a dumb ass or not, that's his problem. In a way, it's like admitting defeat… That egotistic bastard is going to pray for death once I start using some of my new techniques on him, this should be fun!' Inner Sakura roared, pumped for the upcoming battle. For the second time that day, Sakura let all hell loose; she let Inner Sakura have entire control.
Sasuke arched an eyebrow at her demonic expression. Then his eyes widened a bit when he realized what she had done. Oh boy, things are going to get messy…
"You give me no choice, I have to do this. I have to tell you a few things before you go killing me. Do as you wish once I'm done," Sasuke said as he activated his curse seal.
Sakura smirked to herself, 'Ah, so you finally acknowledge my strength and believe me to be a challenge… It's about time.'
Using her godlike speed, Sakura went behind him and whispered evilly in his ear, "Are you sure you're prepared for this Uchiha? Oh, and I'm sorry to tell you, but I won't be listening to a damn empty word you say. Okay, I lied, I'm not sorry in the least!" She grinned at the last part then darted to face him then simply beamed at him. In her current state, it appeared to be an insane smile that would certainly cause her to end up in an asylum.
Sasuke just stared at her, waiting for her to make the first move, she more than willingly obliged. Without a second thought, she gently placed her pointer fingers on his temples. Her touch was soft and comforting, nothing like what you would do in a life-or-death battle. He just gawked at her, baffled.
"Have fun, pretty boy Uchiha, consider me merciful," Sakura hissed then began to vacuum chakra out of his system. She made sure that it was going to be a painful process, one that would certainly have even Uchiha Itachi balling his eyes out. It would gradually become only more painful. Oh the wonders of medic-jutsu.
Sasuke gasped, and then went cross-eyed. His brain wasn't functioning properly; nothing in his body was the instant she began. He clutched his chest and started choking on his own breath. Sasuke fell to his knees, body writhing in pain. Amazingly, and scarily, this wasn't even the worst.
Without his consent, the curse seal took over his body entirely, causing his hair to turn gray and his eyes black. It was quite the sight to behold. Sakura's jutsu began to falter and then cancelled out completely. She just smirked knowing that she could perfectly well handle whatever he had in store for her.
"Since it is quite apparent that I am now the one with the upper-hand, you will listen," Sasuke commanded. Sakura laughed, a cold and heartless laugh.
"Now Sasuke, we wouldn't want you to be taken over completely by that pretty seal, now would we?" Sakura asked as if she were talking to a three-year-old while shaking her head. Calling upon her mighty speed once more, she sped behind him and thrusts the tip of a kunai into the crook of his neck. It hit the mark; it just barely dug precisely into the center of his seal.
His eyes widened and he bit back a scream of pain as the curse mark receded. Knowing the anatomy of the human body was proving more useful than she though. Tomorrow, of course, he could call upon the evil powers once more, but the seal was temporarily disabled.
Once it was done relinquishing control back to Sasuke, Sasuke just stayed on the ground where he had fallen from her jutsu. When he looked up to her, he looked desperate, like his life was reliant on her very being. At this, Sakura scoffed.
"Sakura, please, just let me talk. I need to, I have too. Please," Sasuke said pleadingly. He was on the verge of throwing all of his pride away and kissing her feet, anything, as long as she would listen.
Sakura's voice was now a shaky whisper when she sighed, "Don't talk like you know me, or anyone for that matter. And don't ever talk like you care about Naruto or me… It only hurts more to give us a false sense of hope…" Without looking to see his reaction, she turned around and began to walk away.
"What are you doing? You can't leave…" Sasuke asked, his voice surprisingly steady for his current condition. He mustered all of his remaining stregth to stand.
Sakura, not bothering to look at him, shook her head and replied sadly, "You're not the only one who knows how to leave things behind, Sasuke." Sasuke just stood there, frozen. This situation was far worse than any genjutsu he was ever under. He couldn't think straight, he couldn't even move. The scariest fact was that it was real. Genjutsu would have at least been a merciful fantasy.
As he watched her beautiful retreating figure, he let his control falter for one time in his life. After all, it was impossible to stop. A single cold tear, slipped from the corner of his eye and down his face. It slid gently off of his chin and landed in the dirt at his feet. The dry ground immediately soaked it in. It was as if it were marking history. Uchiha Sasuke cried.