DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Naruto"

Chapter 8: Deserted

Things went wrong. Horribly wrong in fact.

Sakura stared at the bloody mess before her and tried to fight the panic that was eating at her lungs.

Breathe, she told herself. Just breathe.

Kakashi's sharingan was active. In the blink of an eye, paper bombs attached to kunai whizzed towards them. Kakashi dived from the tree tops in time to push the messenger from the blast. Tenten pulled out her scroll and sent kunai in the direction of the assault and distantly they heard metal against metal as their assailants blocked the attack. And then more kunai, but they came from behind this time, catching Sakura off guard. One grazed her leg and she winced. Kakashi blocked the others.

Sakura swallowed thickly and focused her breathing. Getting to her knees, she controlled the shaking in her hands and felt for his pulse along his throat. It was there.

Good. She nodded.

She forced chakra into her hands causing a green glow to appear. As sweat beaded on her skin, she touched her glowing hands to the gaping wound in his side. After an assessment of the damage, Sakura had decided it was the most life threatening wound. As her chakra flowed out her fingertips, the torn muscle began to stitch together, becoming once again whole.

The assassins never showed themselves. They were obviously long range fighters. Shikamaru hid for the moment, to think up a course of action… it didn't take long. Tenten would continue to attack, hopefully distracting the assassins, while Kakashi and he would find them and take them out. Sakura would stay with the messenger and protect him. The plan would have worked… really it would have, if the messenger hadn't been such a coward. He bolted.

Sakura tried not to think about the fact that the others were still battling the assailants and she was alone. The blood flow was normal now and the skin was sutured. There was little left but a nigh invisible scar. Sakura turned her focus to the other injuries, but she was confident now that she knew he was stable.

When Sakura caught up, the messenger was already on the ground bleeding profusely from a wound in his side. The assassin was just about to go in for the kill, when Sakura's fist connected with his jaw. He flew a few feet into a tree, breaking a few ribs. She approached him and punched him again, this time breaking his jaw and knocking him unconscious. She tied him to the tree and then rushed to her client's side.

Sakura wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled. He would be fine now and the documents he carried were still safe. But where were the others? Surely they hadn't deserted her. Just as the thought appeared, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Tenten walked into the clearing. When they saw what Sakura had done… they were surprised, to say the least. Kakashi smiled.

"Well done." He said.

She sighed a relieved smile.

Sasuke leaned against a tree. His hands were fisted inside his pockets and he glared at his feet, his raven hair hiding his eyes. Although he had proven himself to Orochimaru, it still wasn't enough. His snake of a master scolded him on everything he had done wrong, lectured on what he could have done better. And then, even in his exhausted state, Orochimaru beat him and didn't let up until Sasuke was unmoving on the ground. Kabuto had healed him, but it had still taken a few days for him to fully recuperate… for which he was scolded for being weak. After a few moments of sulking, Sasuke looked up and sighed. He had the day to himself to reflect… on all his shortcomings. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the soft breeze. Perhaps he wasn't so callous.

Cherry blossom petals fell in the breeze, surrounding him in a rain of pink and white. The scent wafted through the air and filled his lungs, at the sweet fragrance, the tiniest of smiles played at Sasuke's lips. And then memories started to flood back to him, memories he had been trying to suppress. In the realization, his eyes shot open and a scowl settled on his face. That had been a long time ago, he had severed those bonds.

He pulled at his shirt, it felt a little tight, a tad too small. He realized that he was growing, getting taller. He was getting stronger too, no matter what Orochimaru would have him believe. He started to count back the days, trying to figure out how long ago it had been since he had last seen Sakura. He couldn't remember, all the days had merged, the hours becoming indistinguishable. Again, he scowled.

Annoying.

He was thinking about her again. With thoughts of Sakura came thoughts of Naruto, with thoughts of Naruto came thoughts of anger… and pride. He had deserted his friends, his teammates. Now, for today, he had deserted his teacher. He frowned at the thought. Would he always be a deserter, like he would always be an avenger? These moments of reflection always unsettled him. Why Orochimaru insisted upon the quiet days, Sasuke didn't understand. Perhaps his teacher grew tired also. Either way, the desired thoughts never came, his mind always wandered to thoughts of his past and what his future could have been.

He heard a rustling in the forest. He stepped behind the tree as four shinobi burst forward. He hid in the shadows and watched as they came closer… his face darkened when he recognized the three in the lead. What were they doing here? He didn't feel much like a fight, so he remained where he was. And then he saw a shock of pink hair. His eyes were pulled along as his head bobbed to get a better view, and in a brief moment of carelessness, he stepped out into the light. He felt the sun kiss his skin the moment he saw her face and it was like that one moment of beauty made up for all the darkness in his life. Forgotten, for the briefest second, all the pain he'd been enduring. And then, as if fate were mocking him, his charcoal eyes locked with jade ones… but only for a moment. He stepped into the shadows and jumped into the tree branches above.

He scowled. Angry with himself for allowing such things to cloud his judgment, he cursed. He only hoped she hadn't truly seen him. He would forget about her… he had to.

Sakura blinked. Her eyes widened and she looked back, but there was nothing there. She had sworn she had seen him… she had seen a raven-haired man lurking in the shadows.

"Sasuke?" she whispered.

A/N So... yeah. What'd you guys think? Hopefully enough romance without being too ooc. Let me know. R&R please!