Previously

"Come on Uchiha. I'll heal you whenever you need it, and help you train. I promise to not get in your way."

Uchiha...he didn't like the way she said his name at all. She did have a point though. Her healing skills might come in handy. Sighing, he looked at her in the eyes. "One condition."

Sakura grinned. "Name it."

"Don't fall in love with me." 'Not again.'

She blinked, wondering whether she had heard him correctly. 'Arrogant little bastard.' She huffed and looked away, a quick nod answering his question.

He jumped onto a tree above her and looked back. His face was cold and harsh. "If you can't keep up, I'll leave you behind." He told her before disappearing.

She allowed chakra to build up in the soles of her feet before jumping onto the branch of a tree after him.

'Love?' The Kunoichi pondered. 'Did I...love him?'

Chapter 7 – Welcome to Ketaki

It was beginning to be a peaceful day in the village hidden in leaves until...

"WHAT?!" The blond Kunoichi roared, causing everyone around to stop momentarily and stare.

Tsunade placed a hand against her forehead and sighed. "You heard me Ino, shes gone." The over-worked Hokage needed some sake. Badly.

"Why are we just sitting here then! Shouldn't you send a team after her?!" The blond pointed accusingly at the Hokage—anger sering through her eyes. She had come back from the mission to Sound along with her other teammates only to find out that her best friend was missing.

"Indeed! We must bring her back!" Lee came up besides Ino. Shikamaru grunted in approval along with Neji.

"Tusnade-sama, Sakura doesn't know what she's getting herself into. We have to save her!. We..."

"Thats enough, Ino." Naruto muttered. He had been eerily quiet about the whole situation and it hadn't gone unnoticed at all. Out of all present, Tsunade had expected him to be the loudest about Sakura's retrieval...but he had just remained silent. They all turned back to see him staring at the ground. He appeared completely calm...almost on the verge of uncaring.

"N..Naruto-kun?" Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder only to have it shrugged off.

"Just leave her alone. If it's what she wants to do then why should we stop her?"

"But..." Ino began only to be silenced by Naruto's glare. His eyes told them everything they needed to know. He turned from them and quickly walked away. His destination was uncertain, but he just needed to get away. It was happening all over again—he was being deserted. The only difference was that he knew there was nothing he could do about it this time. Sakura was strong, and she could take care of herself—that much he knew. But he still couldn't help himself from worrying.

'Sakura-chan...'

"Sakura-chan! Come on, he was seen nearby here. We'll get him for sure this time!" The excited blond grasped onto Sakura's hand and attempted to pull her along with him; she easily pulled her hand away from his grasp though.

"Wha..." He turned around with a puzzled look. "Sakura-chan?"

She was staring at the ground—her eyes hidden by loose strands of hair. He could tell something was wrong right away. Naruto noticed that both of her hands by her sides had clenched fists. They were slightly shaking but she fought to keep them under control.

"Just stop." Her voice was soft and almost silent but Naruto's sharp ears caught on.

"Sakura-chan...I don't understand. We can save him this time!"

She shook her head and looked up at the confused boy. "Just forget it." To his surprise, she wasn't crying. She didn't look to have one sad bone in her body at all. But she did look angry. He wondered if it was with himself. Had he done something wrong to make her mad? He hoped not.

It was her next words that took his breath away. "Stop being selfish Naruto." Her words almost stung. Almost.

"Sa..ku..ra?" Was this really the girl he had come to care deeply for? Sweet innocent Sakura? No.

"What's wrong...?"

She huffed and looked away. "Don't be stupid. He doesn't want to be saved."

His eyes softened. She had been acting strange every since they had returned from their mission at Orochimaru's base. Seeing Sasuke had cheered her up, he was certain of it. But they learned the hard way that the boy they had come across was no longer their Sasuke. It was silly really, Naruto knew that Sakura had expected things would be easier. She had wanted Sasuke to see them and just apologize for everything then return willingly. Naruto knew otherwise, but he couldn't find it in his heart to tell that to Sakura. She loved the boy after-all. Maybe if he had told her, than her reaction would have been different.

"It was his dream to become more powerful and kill someone, wasn't it?"

Naruto nodded.

"Then just let him be. If that's what makes him happy...then let him be. We have no right to stop him."

She slightly chuckled and looked back at him. She no longer looked angry, but bitter. "We're almost as bad as he is you know?"

Naruto let his eyebrows drop lower. "Who?"

"Orochimaru."

The blond was taken aback by her comment, but he knew there was truth in her words—he just refused to admit it.

"Promise me Naruto. Promise that you'll let him go." She looked at him with determined eyes, holding her right hand out to him and extending her pinky.

'Just like old times.'

Naruto grasped onto her pinky with his own and nodded. The blond sighed and agreed to a promise he probably wouldn't be able to keep for the second time in his life.

Naruto leaned back on the roof top and stared at the bright blue sky. It was such a beautiful day. There were no signs of trouble anywhere—yet he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he continued to get in the pit of his stomach. He had discovered this place once... before he actually knew the event which had occurred there—the Uchiha district. It was one of the few places in the busy village of Konoha where one could find peace. It was ironic really...the price that once had to be paid for peace to exist in this deserted district.

He closed his eyes only for a second and upon opening them, he was met with another pair. The brightness of the morning was momentarily eclipsed by her shadow.

"Hinata?"

She plopped herself down next to him and laid back to stare at the sky along with the blond. He turned his attention from the sky to her face. She was smiling, slightly blushing—she was always blushing. Her now-long hair was scattered all around her—each thin strand shining brightly as the sunlight came down upon it.

"Its a...a beautiful day. Ne, Na-Naruto-kun?"

He slowly nodded, not sure whether she noticed his movement at all.

"It...it shouldn't be s-spent alone."

He found it harder to turn away from her as the blush deepened on her pale skin. He hadn't realized it, but he was smiling. The Hyuga turned to look at him through transparent eyes.

"Mmm." He responded and nodded at her before they both turned their attention back to the sky.

'The day shouldn't be spent alone. Are you alone Sakura-chan?'

"Arigato, Hinata-chan."

'No, Sakura will never be alone.'

He had to be a monster, because no other words really came to her mind at the time. He was still suffering from his injuries—she was sure of it—and even so, he swiftly moved from tree to tree at a pace which surprised Sakura. She'd die before she admitted it, but after a while, keeping up with the s-class-nin was becoming a tiring task. She had come to find out that life was basically a ritual for the quiet Uchiha. Every day, he would awake at the brink of dawn and prepare to go on the move once again. He would keep traveling at the same pace for, give or take, six hours, then take an hour long break.

That hour felt like nothing to her aching legs though. And just as soon as she had found a comfortable resting spot somewhere on the grass, they would be off again for another six hours. Sakura had no idea where it was that Sasuke was headed and she was beginning to think that he was just a clueless. Leave it to a man to search for directions based on instinct. She let the thought find comfort in the back of her mind though; patience was something she'd have to build up sooner or later anyways—why not take the chance once presented.

Sakura had quickly come to fall in love with the night. Since the brink of dawn, there were a few words she'd long to hear come out of Sasuke's mouth—not that many did anyways...

"Hn. We'll camp here."

And she would smile and take a deep breath, allowing all of her belongings to topple to the ground carelessly along with her tired body. Had there been anyone trying to attack them, she would have welcomed death with open hands. Sasuke would scoff at her and leave in search of something to eat. The usual pray was fish—though after a long day, anything would suffice. He was never gone long, but when he came back, he would always be greeted with the same sight. Sakura would no longer be laying carelessly down on the ground, but instead nestled comfortably into her sleeping bag. There would also be a fire made, which he had yet to figure out how she kept doing.

Sasuke would quickly cook the meal and nudge her back awake to eat her portion. It was a different feeling to him. Something he wasn't used to after spending so many years locked up in the snake's lair...but it felt nice. He was beginning to like the way each day just carelessly went by...and how when he awoke, there would always be another presence nearby—almost reassuring to him that he was indeed alive. He had his memories of what his life had been like in Konoha when he was still a child, but thats all they were, memories. He could see them, and remember, but he couldn't really feel what it had been like. Maybe like this. He hoped it had been like this. Though, moments like those made him wish he too had lost his memories because no matter how hard he tried to forget, there was still something he NEEDED to accomplish, and after so much given up and wasted—Sasuke would not let anything or anyone stand in his path.

"Good night Uchiha-san." She acknowledged before snuggling back into her sleeping bag.

"Hn."

Sakura frowned inside the warmth of her sleeping bag. He never said it back. Though she really didn't know what had possessed her to think otherwise in the first place. At night, Sasuke would prop himself up against a tree and close his eyes. She wouldn't really call it sleeping—because he didn't seem to be asleep at all. In fact, he seemed rather alert. His hands were crossed over his chest, one of them dangerously close to his katana. His breathing was rhytmatic and cool, and his lids appeared to be barely closed. She had an urge to test her theory one night and find out whether he really slept or not, but decided against it.

Though there was a night when she might have tested their boundaries a little too closely. She had finished eating, as had he, and was just carelessly lying inside her sleeping-bag staring up at the star filled sky. There were millions—billions—of stars in the sky, all shining so brightly that Sakura could do nothing more than smile as her eyes twinkled under their radiance. Sasuke was of course against a random tree, eyes shut.

"Uchiha-san?" She looked over to where he sat. His breathing remained the same and he made no sudden movements at all—almost as if he hadn't heard her call his name at all...but she knew he had.

"Why did you do it?" The question had been itching her ever since she first learned his name a few years back. The reason she was taught seemed, for lack of a better term, foolish if nothing more. Revenge...the murderer of so many. She had been taught of the murder of his entire clan, excluding him of course, and how it was one of his own clan members who had killed them. And now, Uchiha Sasuke was in search of said man to kill him...

Sasuke still made no movements. He was far from being asleep—such a word no longer existed to the young ninja—but he refused to answer such pointless unnecessary questions. The way Sakura always meddled still bothered him...far too much for his own liking.

"Why did you betray Konoha Uchiha-san?"

He had a feeling that she wouldn't stop her annoying questioning. With eyes still closed, he spoke out in a low voice, "I'm sure you've been told."

Sakura smirked and let her eyes shift back to the night sky. "I'm not sure I can believe anything I've been told for the past four years, Uchiha-san."

He let his eyes subconsciously open after a few minutes and studied her. Although she appeared to be content, he could see the confusion and uncertainty written all over her...it was especially visible to him in her chakra patterns.

"Justice needs to be done."

She shook at the sound of his voice, not expecting him to say anything. She looked back at his dull eyes and the way they carelessly looked at her, as if she were less than a person. Did he know how intimidating his gaze was? She was sure he did.

"By you?"

"No one else is willing to do anything."

She partially raised herself from her sleeping-bag with her elbows. "You know that's not true."

He closed his eyes once again, removing those traitorous eyes from his view.

"Was there really a need to consult with the enemy in order to kill that man though? I'm sure you could have become just as strong had you remained in Konoha."

"Sleep."

"Don't you see, if you do end up killing this man...you'll be just like him."

It was just like Sakura to attempt to talk him out of things, even with no memory of him. But just as many times before, her attempts would continue to fail.

"He was part of your clan...I-"

His eyes sprung open, no longer able to ignore her blind comments.

"Did they tell you, Sakura, that the man who killed my clan was my own brother?" He heard a gasp come from her way but continued with a dark tone. "I suggest you shut your mouth, Sakura, if you do not know what you are talking about."

He stared directly at her eyes as she seemed to be processing the information she had just been given. No, nothing had ever been mentioned to her about that. She fisted her hands, cursing at herself for ever making such a stupid decision to have her memories changed—she was putting not only herself in danger but also others if cases such as Sasuke Uchiha's had to remain secrets.

After what seemed like forever, she nodded and slid back into her sleeping-bag, never removing her eyes from his.

"You're right Uchiha-san. I'm sorry."

He watched her for the longest time as she slept with a deep frown on her face. Whatever was going on through her mind, must have not been pleasant at all. This night had been the longest conversation she'd had with him...and the last as well.

It was after a long week of traveling that they finally reached any signs of life. It was a small village, apparently located in the Land of Grass. According to signs they had passed, the village was known as Ketaki—and was located sixty miles from the Village Hidden in Grass, Kusagakure. Everything about the village was beyond beautiful to Sakura's eyes. There were beautiful flowers everywhere emitting a glorious aroma in the streets—it was almost like a dream. There was almost a careless air that surrounded the entire village. There had been no questioning concerning their entrance, Sakura was sure no one had even realized they had arrived. There were hundreds of people littering the villages only major road, but they would not spare each other even a glance. She found it rather odd, especially coming from Konoha where chatter about others constantly slithered through the streets.

She looked up at the man besides her but he seemed to be just like one of them. He spared no one a glance and just walked forward—maybe he did know where he was headed after all. After a few minutes of walking, Sasuke had led them to what looked to be a motel. Though it wasn't the best looking one, Sakura was at least glad that she wouldn't have to sleep on the ground another night.

The room Sasuke had gotten for them was rather small, and kind of dirty, but again, Sakura held no room for complaints. She was at least glad that the small room had two beds. She threw her belongings down and sat down on the bed, allowing her upper half to fall back on the mattress. She closed her eyes and let a long sigh escape her, enjoying the softness beneath her.

"I'm in heaven." She whispered to herself.

She heard rustling in the room and looked up to see what Sasuke was doing. He was just about to turn the doorknob to the door when she called out to him.

"Where are you going?"

"I have things to do. Stay in this room, I'll be back later." She fell back down, staring at the roof, allowing her eyes to close once again as she heard the click of the door as it shut and she was left alone.

She wondered how her friends were doing back in Konoha. Would they leave to try and find her, or just forget about her and move on. She hardly doubted it was the latter though, especially with someone like Naruto as a friend. She hadn't really thought out what would happen if she were to be found. Would she also be labeled as a traitor and thrown into a prison cell? How would she explain her actions to everyone...

The kunoichi groaned as she stood up from the bed, heading straight for the bathroom for long over-due relaxation. She would figure everything out later, once she was sure all the facts and lies were in order.

The hours passed one right after the other, yet there was still no sign of Sasuke anywhere. Sakura was quickly growing impatient sitting alone in the motel room. There really were only two things to do. A- sleep, or B- look out the window. Though she was rather tired and the view of the town was lovely, neither felt like the right choice to her.

It was when her stomach made a rather unlady-like noise that she figured out what she had to do. Rummaging through her backpack, she quickly recovered the stash of money she had brought along for emergencies. Sasuke couldn't have possibly meant she had to stay in the room and die of starvation... Right? Besides, she would be back before anyone even realized she was gone. The hard light outside in the streets was that of mid-afternoon. All of the commotion in the streets seemed to by dying down—or at least going at a slower pace. One thing she was glad of was the cooler air signaling the coming of the night.

She found a cute little stand that reminded her very much of Ichiraku Ramen back at home. She usually preferred to avoid ramen as a meal, but all of a sudden it was all she was craving for. As her meal was placed before her she imagined it was Teuchi-san and Ayame-san instead of the unknown man in front of her.

"Sakura-san," Ayame would say, "how nice to see you today!"

"Thanks for the meal old man!" Naruto would yell before digging into his bowl of ramen loudly, slurping and gulping it all down without a care in the world. To her other side would be Kakashi, quickly plotting a way to eat his meal, and leave them with the bill... all without having to risk a glance at his mask-covered face. Her memories told her Sai was also there, but she began to wonder if it was Sasuke who had once been there.

Sighing, she picked up the chopsticks besides her bowl. "Itadakimasu." She slowly whispered. It didn't taste quite as good alone though.

Once she exited from the ramen stand, she realized how late it had gotten. She wasn't sure when it was that the sun had set, but the sky was now almost pitch black. There were still people roaming the streets, but not quite as many as Sakura felt comfortable with. The atmosphere was almost eerie. Although the paper lanterns hanging from the many shops helped to quell some of the uneasiness in the pit of her stomach, she unconsciously began to walk faster back to her motel room.

"Excuse me, miss?"

She jumped at the sound of another voice. Not even while ordering ramen had a person from this town spoken to her. Sakura slowly turned to find a little boy staring up at her. He looked to be about eight, or ten years old. She noticeably relaxed as she stared at him—it was only a harmless child. She cursed at herself for letting paranoia get the best of her.

She kneeled in front of the little boy, giving him a friendly smile. "Yes?"

He looked around the village for a second, a frightened look passing through his eyes. Sakura was sure he was on the verge of tears. "I-I...I think I'm lost."

Sakura nodded, giving the little boy a reassuring look. "Where are your parents?"

The little boy looked down at the ground. "Dead, miss."

Sakura furrowed her brows. "Then who are you living with?"

"My older brother..."

The little boy looked up as he saw her stand before him once again. His brown eyes were twinkling with unshed tears. Sakura held a hand out for him to hold on to and a small smile. "Then lets go find him."

The little boy smiled. "Really miss?"

Sakura could only nod. "Do you think you'd recognized your home if you saw it again." The boy nodded a reply. Sasuke would probably be very angry with her when she arrived back at the motel room, but she couldn't possibly leave this little boy to die out on the streets.

"Then come on, lets go."

He griped her hand lightly and they both began to walk down the dark street.

By the time Sasuke had arrived back in the motel room, it was well into the night. He stumbled through the door, his body failing him, and made a dash for the bathroom. He felt a burning sensation in his throat as he emptied the few cups of alcohol he had drank that night into the toilet. He had expected side effects from the Mangekyo Sharingan without a doubt, but he had never dreamed they would be this strong. It felt as if he had been completely drained of all his energy within a second. It was worth it though. He had managed to leave the new Sharingan activated for a period of two minutes now. It wasn't enough, but it was a start nontheless.

It was as he let his body fall to the floor while regaining his breath that he noticed something wasn't right. It was just him alone in that room. There was no bubbly presence nearby, and no pink hair within sight. He didn't need to move to know she wasn't in the room, but he did so anyway.

"Sakura...?"

The first thought that entered his mind was that she had returned back to Konoha. He'd like to believe he was glad to be rid of her annoying chatter, but the deep frown on his face thought otherwise. He clenched his fists as he sat down on the cold mattress. Everything could now go at the pace he wanted and there would be no need for rest. And now that she had returned, he wouldn't have to be worried about being tracked down by Konoha-nin's who would come to find her. It was as if a burden had been lifted off of his shoulders.

He let his body fall back on the bed, much like Sakura had done when they had first arrived in the room. He pulled the cloak she had lent him off himself and let it fall to the ground, leaving him in only a loose black T-shirt he had acquired earlier that day and the rest of the uniform he had received from Orochimaru.

He had almost let the fatigue completely take control of him until he turned his head and looked at the nearly empty bed besides his own.

"Shit..."

The house the little boy had led her to was a good two or three miles from the busy village streets. It was a modest size, but Sakura could tell the years were finally wearing it down. She felt pity for the boy for having to live in such a run-down place, but it was much better than the streets.

"We found it miss!" He seemed excited as he looked up at her. The little boy gripped her hand a little tighter and led her towards the house in a slow jog. "Come on, I want you to meet my brother."

She knew she should have probably turned around and returned to the motel since it was getting extremely late, but a quick 'hello' wouldn't cause any harm.

Once inside the old house, he led her down a hallway to a brightly lit room.

"Onii-chan, I'm home!"

Inside of the room there were about ten or twelve guys, each looked to be in their twenty's. They all smiled malevolently at her as she walked in with the boy. Her heart rate hitched a little due to the looks she was receiving. It was as if they were all undressing her in their minds.

"Good job Dai, I see you brought an exotic looking one this time."

Sakura supposed the one who had spoken was the little boys brother. He looked like an older version of him. Brown eyes and matching hair. The older brother however, had a much darker look than the little boy. Two words he had spoken kept replaying over and over in her mind. This time. This time?

Did that mean she wasn't the first girl the little boy had brought home. She felt the need to say something, but was speechless as she stared at all of the men. It didn't take much to figure out why they had the little boy bring girls back to their home. She was so disgusted she could barely look at any of them. How could such sick creatures exist.

Sakura was sure the little boy didn't know what it was that went on once the girls were left in the house.

"Can I go now Taro?"

Said man nodded and stood from his seat, walking closer and closer towards Sakura. She grimaced and gave him the dirtiest look possible.

"What do you want?" She hissed.

His chuckle made Sakura unconscionably take a step back. "You look smart enough to figure that out little girly."

Her frown depended as he stepped closer and her back met the wall. "Bastard."

He shook his head at her, stopping a couple of feet from her. "Now now, such nasty words shouldn't come out of such a pretty little mouth."

She didn't fail to hear the numerous cheers that came from within the room.

"What's your name little girl?" He purred.

Replaying all she had just heard in her mind over, she tried to find a reason to let any of these monsters live, but non could be found. When he came within an arm's distance of her, she smirked. It went unnoticed by Taro though, because that same second he found himself laying against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Taro brought his hand up to his mouth, coughing violently for a few seconds. Each time he did, blood would splatter onto his welcoming fist. He looked up at the pink-haired girl with disbelief.

"Sakura." She grinned.

All of the other men in the room stood, some rushing to help Taro up. He pushed them all away however and stood on his own. "A Kunoichi, huh?" He wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand.

"Then I guess we wont go easy on you." He smirked.

They all took a step closer to her. Sakura didn't let her resolve crack, but something told her these guys weren't your average sick lowlifes.

Shit...

End Chapter 7

So very very sorry for taking so long to update this story. Its been like what? 4 months.. wow.. I guess I just couldn't find the proper inspiration to help me finish writing the chapter... but i've got some new ideas now so it should be fine from now on. I will finish this story, no matter how long it takes :)

As for the last chapter...heh.. I hadn't even noticed that little line was just like the one from A walk to remember lol, thanks for those of you who pointed it out to me. Do you guys think I should go back and change that a little though since it sounds too Cliché? Or should I just leave it as is??

More OC's in this chapter :) they're fun to come up with... and the best part is that I can do whatever I want to them. W00t.

Remember to Review 3

Love,

Fates Princess