Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Naruto. I asked for my birthday, but it didn't happen.

Chapter 14

Closing in, Spiraling Out

Sakura sat in front of Sasori, who was slowly bandaging up her hands. He didn't say anything, but then again, she hadn't expected him to. She flinched as he brushed against the hurt skin. He felt her stiffen and looked up with one eyebrow raised.

Sakura looked down.

"What happened, yeah?" Deidara asked for the thousandth time. He was seated beside Sasori, hovering over his shoulder like a nervous mother. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing." Sakura answered back in a whisper. There was a long moment of silence, as Sasori continued to wrap her hands.

She looked up and saw the hurt look on Deidara's face. She tried to coax a smile out of him by giving one of her own, but it was halfhearted and died quickly. If they hadn't seen it, Deidara and Sasori would have sworn it was never there, it happened so quickly.

"Sakura, you want to come outside with me, yeah?" Deidara asked softly as he stood and Sasori finished with Sakura's hands. Sakura looked to the other side of the room, where Itachi was listening to Kisame talk about something. He looked up and their eyes met. She broke off first, standing as well.

"Hai."

She ignored Itachi's gaze on her back as they headed out of the house and into the cool night.

Hinata gave a small grunt as she slumped down against the large rock in the clearing. Tenten leaned on her other side, giving a small groan as she rubbed her legs.

"Damn I'm sore."

Hinata nodded silently as she looked at the others. Choji, Shino, Lee, and Kiba were talking together softly.

Neji was leaning against a tree away from the others, staring into the darkness. Hinata bit her lip as she watched him, worried. He really did love Sakura, didn't he? Hinata felt a warm body press against her, and she wrapped her arms around Akamaru's neck as he lay down next to her and Tenten. She buried her face in his fur as she looked over his head at her cousin.

Hinata rushed down the darkened street, carrying a large brown bag in her arms. She shifted it in her arms as she went, turning a corner.

Crash.

Hinata flew backward with a yelp, landing on her bottom. She heard an exclamation of surprise from someone else as well. She brushed the hair out of her eyes as she made to stand and looked up.

"Sorry about that Hinata." Sakura amended worriedly as she held out a hand. "I didn't see you."

"It's alright." Hinata whispered with a small smile as she took the hand put out to her and Sakura pulled her upright. Sakura then bent down and began picking up Hinata's groceries.

"I-It's alright. You don't h-have to." Hinata began quickly, but was silenced as Sakura shot her a reproachful look. Hinata merely bent down as well, and began gathering the oranges she had bought.

"Are those for Naruto's house?" Sakura asked.

Hinata looked up, startled, as she dropped the oranges in her arms. They bounced onto the ground and she bent down to hurriedly pick them up again. "N-nani?" She knew her face was beet red.

"You've been sleeping over there the past few nights." Sakura answered back as she placed the items she had retrieved back into the paper sack. She looked to Hinata, who was still blushing furiously. "Oi, Hinata, it's alright. I understand. You miss him. I…" She stopped, and Hinata turned to see her frowning, her lip trembling.

"What?" Hinata asked slowly.

"I used to do the same thing." Was all Sakura said as she continued to pick up the last few items.

Hinata nodded. "You miss h-him too?"

"Hai." Sakura nodded. She didn't add an 'and Sasuke', but Hinata heard it, whether it was spoken or not.

"Oh, Sakura, I a-almost forgot." Hinata gathered the last few items, placing them inside the bag. "N-Neji wanted me to ask you if y-you were coming by the h-house for training t-tomorrow."

Sakura gave a small smile. "I wouldn't miss it, Hinata. Tell him I'll definitely be there."

Hinata smiled. "Ok." She looked back at Sakura. She was so strong now! And pretty. And smart. Hinata frowned. Not like her. No wonder Naruto loved Sakura. Hinata had always known Naruto loved Sakura, but…Hinata had always hoped that he'd see her…that he'd notice her too.

It's the same thing, isn't it Neji? I've always been in Sakura's shadow when it comes to Naruto's love…and you've been in Sasuke's when it comes to Sakura, ne? Hinata gave a small bow to Sakura in thanks for the help. Sakura waved it off with a grin, "Want me to walk with you?"

Hinata nodded, and they headed towards Naruto's apartment.

"Sakura?"

"Hai?"

"Do you…do you s-still love S-Sasuke?"

There was a long moment of silence. Hinata turned to watch Sakura, and saw that she was looking up at the sky, her face thoughtful. She turned to Hinata with a sad smile, "You know what Hinata, I don't think I do…" She shrugged. "I've always said I'm still in love with him but…I've made myself believe he's never coming back. I guess I just have to move on."

"What do you th-think about N-Neji?"

Sakura blinked. "Nani?"

"He…uh…" Hinata gave a small squeal as she buried her face down in the grocery bag so she wouldn't have to look back at Sakura, who was watching in faint amusement and confusion.

"Neji?"

"H-hai."

"I don't know. I mean, he's kind and smart, and he can be funny sometimes. He's cute too. But…I don't know."

Hinata heard a small sigh at the end of Sakura's revelation. Hinata bit her lip as she battled within herself on whether or not to speak. "Sakura?"

"Hn?"

"He likes you." Hinata smiled shakily. "A lot."

Sakura stopped walking, and Hinata turned to look back at her. She had a strange look on her face, as if she were happy and sad at the same time. She was rubbing one arm, shuffling her feet. "He does?"

"Hai."

Sakura nodded. "Oh…Thanks." She tucked a few strands of errant hair out of her eyes. She smiled at Hinata, a genuine Sakura smile. "Thanks a lot." Then she disappeared into the air.

Hinata noticed that she was standing in front of Naruto's apartment. She slipped open the door and slipped inside slowly. She leaned against the door, the bag still in her arms. What had she done? Was it a good thing?

The next day, Hinata saw Sakura talking with Neji during training, and he gave a small smile. They went to the New Year's festival together that night.

Hinata had never seen her cousin so happy, and…she didn't think she'd seen Sakura that happy for a long while either.

Hinata continued to watch her cousin, her gaze sympathetic. She'd found Naruto again. He loved her…but who did Neji have? Hinata knew it wasn't Sakura's fault. She had cared deeply for Neji, Hinata knew that, but maybe it just wasn't love the way Hinata loved Naruto.

"We're almost there." Neji whispered into the air, and Hinata and the others turned to look at him. He was staring into the darkness, his Byakugan glowing.

"We're almost there…"

Shikamaru edged around the corner of the tree, surveying the clearing in front of them for enemy shinobi. He looked back at Temari, Ino, and Naruto, and nodded his head. Everything was clear.

Temari moved ahead of him, taking the lead as she went into the clearing, one hand on her fan. She slowly walked inside of the small shrine at the edge of the clearing, disappearing inside.

Those were the longest moments of Shikamaru's life.

Would Temari come out alive? What if there had been some enemy shinobi in the shrine that they hadn't sensed? What if this was an Akatsuki trap?

Then Temari was walking outside again, holding something in her hands. Shikamaru, Ino, and Naruto appeared in front of her.

"Did you find anything, Temari?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Temari nodded. "Hai." She opened her hand and they all looked down. It was a small, frog key chain, with the chain broken, as if it had fallen off of something.

Naruto grabbed it, "This is Sakura-chan's!"

"How do you know?" Ino asked.

"I gave it to her." He rubbed his finger over the small frog. "This is her's." He looked up at them excitedly. "We have to be close. We have to be."

"Well, we at least know we're going in the right direction." Shikamaru shrugged. Ino and Temari nodded, while Naruto continued to rub the frog thoughtfully, his gaze never leaving it.

Ino placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, we're bunking here for the night."

"But we're so close!" He wailed, sounding desperate, eyes alight in his fervor to find his friend. "Sakura-chan is waiting for us! I'm not going to stop. She needs me. I won't abandon her!"
"We're not abandoning her." Shikamaru snapped. "We're getting some sleep so we'll be well rested to rescue her, Naruto."

"Don't make me knock you out, baka." Ino muttered as she curled up in her cloak. "I'll do it, too. You won't be helping Sakura if you faint from exhaustion. What kind of a rescue party will we be if we don't have enough chakra to even fight back?"

Naruto opened his mouth to argue but stopped as Temari shot him a dirty look. He closed it as he gave a small huff of annoyance. "Fine."

Shikamaru gave a sigh and a shake of his head as he and Temari leaned against each other.

Naruto watched them fall asleep, still holding each other's hands. Ino was asleep too. Naruto shrugged deeper into his cloak as he listened to the forest sounds. He gripped the key chain tightly in his hand, afraid to let go.

Oi, Sakura-chan. I'm coming.

He closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them. His vision was blurry but he ignored the tears. He missed her.

Naruto watched her as they stood at the edge of the gate. Jiraiya was watching them rather impatiently. "Hurry it up, Naruto."

Naruto frowned at him, before he looked back at Sakura. She was watching him worriedly, the tears filling her eyes. He gave her a weak smile. "I'll be coming back, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded silently, though she sniffled.

"And when I come back, me, you, and teme can be a team again, ne? We'll take the ANBU Exam together, and the Jônin Exam. And I'll become Hokage, and Teme will be an ANBU captain, and you'll be the best medical shinobi ever and a great mom."

Sakura gave a weak laugh. "A mother?"

"Hai. You're better with kids than Sasuke. You'll be a great mom and your kid is going to be better than the three legendary Sannin combined and the Akatsuki leader, and anyone else with power!" He finished lamely, not knowing who else to include.

Sakura shook her head, even as the tears made their way down her cheeks. "I do like children." She agreed with another sniffle.

Naruto stepped closer to her, cupping his cheek in her hand. He brushed a few tears away as he smiled at her confidently. "Will it make you happy, if we're a team again? I just want you to be happy, Sakura-chan! Why can't you be happy? Please…I just want…you to be happy."

He then turned away abruptly, not looking back as he and Jiraiya walked out of the gate.

"Promise me you'll come back!"

Naruto slowly turned around to see her watching him, hugging herself as she watched them walk away. Her shoulders were shaking.

Naruto nodded. "I promise."

Sakura gave a small smile as she nodded too. "Then I promise you, Naruto…if you come back here…to me…then I'll be happy, ne?"

It struck Naruto deeply; the fact that she had said merely that she wanted him back. There was nothing about Sasuke. No, 'promise me you'll bring back my Sasuke-kun and I'll be happy, Naruto'. Just, 'if you come back to me, then I'll be happy'. Maybe she didn't love him like he had hoped all his life, but she still loved him like a brother. And that's all he wanted now. He wanted Sakura to be happy because she was the most precious person to him in the world.

Sasuke may have been his friend…

…but Sakura was his best friend. She was his sister, his mother, and sometimes even the girlfriend he had always wanted.

Naruto grinned at her, "Hai Sakura-chan. I'll hold you to your promise."

"The same goes for me." Sakura whispered.

Naruto then sped off with Jiraiya. He looked back once, to see Sakura still watching them from the gate. She had slipped down to her knees, sobbing helplessly. He wanted to go back and comfort her, but he couldn't. He had to be strong. He had to fulfill his promise. He'd bring back Sasuke too.

That way, Sakura would have to fulfill hers. And then…they'd all be happy.

Sakura looked up at the sky. She and Deidara were in the flower garden behind the Temple. It was quiet, with the exception of the crickets. They chirped cheerfully in the background, as if mocking her.

Sakura hugged her knees to herself as she watched Deidara beside her. He was looking at her worriedly, as if he wanted to help her but he didn't know how.

"Deidara…?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that they hate me now?" Sakura asked softly. "My old friends, I mean."

Deidara gave a small sigh as he leaned back, looking up at the sky. "Your friends love you very much, Sakura. Or at least, from what I've seen, yeah."

"Hai." Was the soft reply.

"I bet you that even now, they are looking for you. They don't hate you, yeah."

"What about when they find out I'm in Akatsuki?"

Deidara shrugged. "I think they'd still love you, Sakura-chan, yeah."

"…but what if I betrayed them?" She asked hoarsely.

Deidara blinked, looking back at her. She was staring into the shadows, her gaze afraid. She was blinking furiously, as if trying to hold back tears. She wouldn't look at him, just stared ahead into the darkness.

"You haven't, yeah."

Sakura nodded numbly. That wasn't the answer she was looking for. "But what if I did? No one can love someone else when they've betrayed them."

"Naruto still considered Sasuke his friend after he betrayed all of Konoha to go with Orochimaru, didn't he, yeah?"

Sakura turned to look at Deidara, her gaze grateful. "I…I guess so…"

Deidara gave her a lopsided grin. "You're the type of person who you can't hate, Sakura-chan. No matter what you do, your friends will always love you and they'll always support you, yeah. I've seen it in their eyes, the few times I've met them. They'd do anything to keep you safe and to see you happy."

"I think…I think you're right, Deidara." Sakura murmured softly. "I…thank you." She closed her eyes as the few tears escaped from beneath her eyelids.

Deidara watched the tears fall. I'd like to be reincarnated as one of your tears, Sakura-chan yeah…because I'd be born in your eyes, live on your face, and die on your lips. He continued to watch her, not allowing himself any closer. That would be the perfect way to die, ne?

"I got you some things, Sakura-chan, yeah." Deidara began. "When you told me you liked to garden, I went down to the village and bought you some tools." He pulled a spade out of his cloak. "And I got you a hat too, yeah, so you don't get sunburnt."

Sakura gave a small laugh as she leaned against his shoulder. "That's nice of you. Arigato, Deidara. Maybe I can begin gardening tomorrow."

"That would be great, yeah. Kisame, Itachi, Sasori, and I are heading off tomorrow. We'll be back by nightfall, of course. It'll be a simple mission."

Sakura nodded. "Right."

They stayed in silence for a long time.

"Deidara?"

"Hai?"

"Thanks for being such a great friend."

"No problem, yeah." Deidara slung an arm around her shoulders, "But I think you need to go and sleep."

"I guess so."

"Come on sleepy-head, let's get to into bed yeah."

Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone in Konoha. The sun's first morning rays were breaking over the Hokage Faces, illuminating the entire sleeping town in a warm light.

But he didn't feel any of it. Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets as he continued to look at the stone. There was a new name etched into it. Sakura's.

He would never be able to protect his teammates, would he?

She may not have been dead, but she was as closed off from him as possible. His little Sakura-chan. The weak member of Team Seven. She wasn't so weak now, was she?

Kakashi wondered how long he stood in front of the stone each morning. For so long it had been just him, standing there and looking at Obito's name. After a while, Sakura had been standing beside him, holding his hand as they stared on in silence and she would talk about how Sasuke and Naruto were never coming back.

He would try and be optimistic and tell her they were coming back to her, just for her. Just to see their Sakura-chan again. But the lies had stuck in his throat and he had merely remained silent.

And now…now there was no one to stand with him. He was more lost than ever. No Sakura. After Sasuke and Naruto had left, he had doubted himself so much. He'd hated himself for not being able to stop Sasuke's fall, or Naruto's departure.

Sakura had helped him to accept the fact that he couldn't do everything. That it all happened for a reason.

But she was gone now.

He'd felt so guilty when he'd stood there with her, looking at that stone. He'd seen Obito's name and he had realized that he had never believed in Sakura, just like he hadn't believed in Obito when he had needed him to most.

He had never given Sakura the proper training she had needed, so she had sought it from someone else. She had become so strong. She had been so promising…

…and then Sasuke had come back.

Kakashi wondered, if Sasuke hadn't been there with them when they had gone to get her back, would she have come with them?

Sakura had sworn she'd never give up on a friend. That she'd never hurt any of her friends…but Kakashi was hurting so badly now. It wasn't visible, but he felt as if he were bleeding all over. He was alone again.

He'd always had Sakura to be there for him.

And now he was alone again.

The two shinobi leaned against the tree, chests heaving. Their faces were hidden behind ANBU masks, one a fox, the other a cat. The sign of Konoha was carved onto the pale forehead of each. They wore the normal black ANBU cloak, now stained and ripped.

Kakashi pushed back his hood, revealing silver hair that caught the last rays of the setting sun. He slipped off his fox mask, breathing in deeply from beneath his other mask, which covered the lower half of his face. He slid down slowly to the base of the limb, his legs sprawled out in front of him. Sweat dripped from his forehead, slipping down the ridge of his nose before the droplet hit his pant leg.

The second figure also took off her mask and brushed back her hood. She remained standing shakily, holding onto a kunai for reassurance. She breathed in deeply, wincing as she placed a hand to her side.

"Kakashi, how are your injuries?"

Kakashi looked up at his ANBU partner. His entire right side felt like it was on fire, but he didn't think she was any better. Besides, what could she do now that she hadn't done before? He shifted, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. He tried not to touch his leg. He winced as the movement jostled it.

"I think it's broken." He muttered through gritted teeth.

The kunoichi knelt next to him then, apparently oblivious to her own injuries. She pushed back his ANBU cloak, revealing his Jônin outfit. Several maroon stains were slowly growing larger. Kakashi blinked as he saw green chakra flicker on her fingertips, it's light barely a glow.

"Don't try it. You can't force your chakra Sa—" He was silenced as the female shinobi placed a hand over his mouth, one hand going for a weapon.

Sakura Haruno took her hand from his mouth as she felt the enemy shinobi's chakra levels slowly fade away. She then placed her hand on his leg at the break. Her fingers began glowing faintly once more with green chakra. "Do you have the scroll?"

"Hai." Kakashi nodded. "But that was sloppy of us. We should have seen them coming a mile away."

"We were overconfident. Our informant wasn't entirely truthful." Sakura amended with a small nod. "Fifty ANBU is a large leap from ten."

Kakashi nodded with a small laugh, but he winced with a cough. "You can't heal me Sakura. I'm going to die. Just let it go. I've lost more blood than I can live without. So have you. Use the last of your chakra to heal your own wounds."

"I'll be the judge of severity here, Kakashi. I am the one with the medical training." Sakura spoke back crisply, slowly resetting the break in his leg. "Take off your vest and shirt, Kakashi. I'm going to need to dress your wounds when I finish with this."

Kakashi merely did as he was told, slipping off his cloak, vest, and shirt. He already felt an immense relief in his leg, though it still hurt like hell. Sakura didn't have enough chakra to numb the pain, so he felt everything as she slowly reset it, forcing the bone to grow at an abnormal rate.

When she finished, her sweat was slowly dripping onto his bare chest. She blinked, not wanting to get it in her eyes as she brushed her sleeve across her forehead. She gave a small sigh as she grabbed her pack, pulling out a cloth and some bandages. She pulled out a small bottle of clear liquid, soaking the cloth in it. She coughed into her sleeve, seeing the blood fleck across her sleeve. She ignored it, and tried to ignore the fact that Kakashi had seen it as well.

"We were ready for ten of them…but not fifty." Kakashi began hoarsely; trying to keep his mind off of the cloth that Sakura was bringing up to his shoulder. He bit his lip with a hiss as the disinfectant came in contact with his wounds. He watched as she wiped away the blood around it. The wound was large. He wasn't surprised, however. He was more surprised that his arm hadn't been severed off.

Sakura nodded as she began tightly winding bandages around the wound and a splint, "Three of your ribs are broken." She answered back matter-of-factly. "I don't have enough chakra to reset them. You'll have to wait until we get back to Konoha."

Kakashi nodded silently. He looked to Sakura and marveled at the confidence and self-assuredness that she now held. When she had been younger, she had always doubted herself and her own skills, knowing that she was weak. Her younger self would have panicked at the mere sight of blood, crying and sobbing hopelessly.

Look at my little Sakura now…Kakashi eyes lighted with pride as he watched the bent head in front of him, working diligently. She's all grown up.

Kakashi would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation. The weakest member of Team Seven was the one he now looked to for strength. But…he was dying. So was she… After all, she had been acting on full bravado when she'd said they'd get back to Konoha. She was a great actor, since she'd been lying through her teeth. They were both dying. And they both knew it.

"Sakura…I have to…tell you something." Kakashi managed. He had to tell her she was important to him. He had to tell her was proud of her…he couldn't let her die like Obito did, without knowing…

Sakura looked up at him. "Don't talk. It will take too much of your strength." She turned to the large gash on his stomach. She cleaned it, but as she placed her hands over the wound, her chakra flitted then died. This wound was large, and it continued to ooze blood. She blinked furiously. Then she bit her lip, looking up at Kakashi.

"Do you trust me?"

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Of course I do, Sakura."

"Alright." Sakura breathed in deeply, placing two fingers to the wound on her own stomach. She took them off, her fingers soaked in the crimson liquid. She began making kanji symbols around his wound in a circle. Kakashi watched in strange fascination.

Then Sakura did a few rapid hand seals, before placing her fingers in the five gaps between the letters. A small amount of chakra splashed onto his skin, cooling under her touch. The bloody kanji swirled and melted down into his wound. He gave a small gasp, but looked down to see that it was no longer bleeding.

Sakura swayed slightly as she leaned back, taking her hand from him. She breathed in sharp, rapid breaths. "That was the last of my chakra." She then bandaged the wound to keep out infection. She gritted her teeth as she slipped off her own ANBU cloak.

Kakashi watched her, feeling like a weak fool since he couldn't move. But the tingling sensation from Sakura's jutsus had yet to fade, and besides that, he had no strength to move at all.

Sakura slipped off the upper half of her shinobi outfit, and Kakashi turned away out of respect.

He looked out of the corner of his eye to see the large, gaping wound in her stomach. She had a hand pressed against it, the blood seeping through her fingers as she closed her eyes in a grimace. Kakashi saw a greenish tint around her fingers, no longer even a glow, and knew she was disinfecting the wound. She took her blood-soaked hand away from her stomach and pulled out some more bandages. She began wrapping the wound tightly, trying not to grimace. Kakashi was proud of her. She didn't cry out once.

But then again, Sakura never cried anymore.

She was so different than the young Sakura he used to know. Her eyes were duller and harder, no longer a bright, glistening emerald. More like the faded leaves of an old, dying tree.

Kakashi had been there to watch it all. In the beginning, it wasn't that easy to spot. She would fake smiles and hang around with her friends, but he could see her screaming and crying behind her happy eyes. She was so good at pretending now.

He had watched her die inside.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

She's alive and I still can't save her. I said I'd never let another one of my teammates die…but what can I do? Kakashi thought to himself as she leaned up against him, catching her breath.

She was always away on missions. She didn't like staying in Konoha for long. If Tsunade didn't assign her a mission, she would assign herself one, since she was in charge of the ANBU rosters.

When Tsunade had learned about this, she'd made Sakura stop. She'd forced her to remain in Konoha for long periods of time, with her own office and everything. It didn't last long.

When something drastic came along, she always sent for Sakura. Not because she knew Sakura wanted the mission, but because she knew that Sakura was one of the only people qualified for it.

This had been one of those missions.

"I think…I think we're close to the border of Konohagakure." Sakura managed to gasp out, looking over at Kakashi. She saw him smile at her, a weak smile. She returned it.

Kakashi memorized the smile, holding it close to himself. It was like all of her others now: fake, or sad. All the happy ones were fake, and the genuine ones were sad and lonely. But they were still beautiful. He memorized it, because he knew it was the last one he'd ever see. They were both dying…the mission had been impossible. No one could have survived it. Not even a legendary Sannin could have successfully made it through that mission and survived.

It was suicidal.

Kakashi merely wished he could have seen a real Sakura smile…he missed those. It had been years since he'd seen Sakura give a happy smile that wasn't fake. Kakashi blinked as he felt himself being lifted up.

Sakura shifted him on her back, "Hold onto me around my neck." She ordered as she breathed in deeply. His legs hit against her wounded side, but she didn't seem bothered by it.

"Sakura, you can't do this. You don't have the strength left. Leave me behind and go to Konoha. Get help and bring it back."

"You idiot. We both know you'll die out here without proper care. No one could go to Tsunade and get back here in time. I'm carrying you because you can't move. It's my shinobi way, just like yours, remember? Never leave a teammate behind? Protect those precious to you with your life?"

"I knew I should have never taught you that." Kakashi muttered darkly as Sakura began jumping through the trees. He was surprised at the fact that she could even move. He saw the pain flicker through her eyes as she ran, but she never so much as whimpered or cried out. Her mouth was compressed in a tight line.

Kakashi felt himself begin to get sleepy. Blood loss was making him drowsy. Also, his chakra levels were zero. He was too tired to do anything. He eyes began closing, and the last thing he saw was a group of Konoha ANBU landing in front of them, their cloaks blending into the shadows of the forest.

He let out a small, relieved laugh as he fell unconscious.

Kakashi blinked as a bird flew through the clearing, twittering. He gave a small sigh as he traced the names carved inside of the stone one last time. Then he began heading back towards Tsunade's office in the vain hope that they'd gotten word on Sakura's whereabouts.

Sasuke whipped through the trees, eyes blazing crimson. So close…he could almost smell it.

"You can obtain the Mangekou Sharingan by murdering your closest friend."

Itachi's words echoed throughout his mind. He wouldn't do that, of course. He would never kill Naruto, even if the idiot was mad at him for what he had said to Sakura. He wondered, however, if he could gain it by killing the woman he loved.

Surely it was the same thing?

And that way, he wouldn't have any regrets.

Sasuke landed on a tree branch, balancing on his heels. He listened intently to the sounds of the forest around him. It was quiet. The wind shifted, blowing across his face. It was cold, but he ignored it. The morning air in the mountains was always cold.

He jumped onto the ground, his footsteps not making a sound as he flitted through the trees.

He pressed up against one of the trees that edged the large clearing. He saw the large temple in the distance. A small dirt road a few meters from where he stood winded its way through the forest and into the clearing towards the temple.

Sasuke felt excitement and anger bubble inside of his stomach as he smiled triumphantly. I have you now, Sakura.

He knew Itachi and the others were gone. He had felt their chakra signatures fade far away earlier in the morning. It was just him and Sakura. He'd kill her, get the scroll for Tomokazu, and then wait for Itachi.

It was all working out perfectly.

He heard the door of the temple open and he stiffened, eyes narrowing as he pulled a kunai out of his pack. This was it…

He rushed forward to the back of the house, where he heard soft footsteps. Someone had been walking on the porch. Something gave a small 'thunk' as it was placed on the wooden porch, before more footsteps were heard. He peered around the side of the house, his kunai still in hand as he stepped around the corner.

Her back was to him.

She was sitting among the flowers, a large bandana holding her hair back and blocking her face from the sun, almost completely hiding the pink. But a few tendrils blew in the morning wind. She was wearing a working gi and hakama. She was humming a soft tune as she worked. She hadn't sensed him yet. She was completely unarmed.

He took another step forward and a twig snapped.

He saw her stiffen, before she turned around slowly, almost fearfully. Her wide, jade eyes met his hate filled crimson ones, and time seemed to stop.

"…Sasuke?"

(A/N: Hehehe, sorry about the cliffhanger. I had to do it. Hope you all liked the chapter. The next one will definitely be action packed and filled with angst. Great time to run out on us Akatsuki! Grr! Poor Sakura is all alone now.

Poor Kakashi, his part was sad. I love that man.

The confrontation continues…in the next chapter.

See ya later,

Your evil cliffhanger queen, Lady Hanaka

Question: If con is the opposite of pro, then what is the opposite of progress?)