The atmosphere simply was astounding – Sakura had to admit that. A beautiful, round moon hung high on the oil black sky, which was erratically dotted with thousands of twinkling stars. Colorful flashes lit up the darkness around them every time they heard a small explosion, and the glittering fireworks were amazing; all that while the cherry-haired kunoichi and her blonde former teammate sidled close to each other in order to not get lost in the crowd they currently were walking through.

They both were dressed up for the festival; Sakura wore a black and white kimono with crimson butterfly patterns on the sleeves and in the bottom, while Naruto wore a special robe in vivid orange, dark blue and black. For once, Sakura had decided on doing something special with her hair, so she had twisted her long, pink tresses into a bun high on the back of her head. It was held in place by two decorated hair pins. On each pin hung one strand with white pearls, finished with one ancient Chinese coin in the end. Rarely had she felt like the center of people's attention, but on that special day she felt like the whole town ogled her. It made her uncomfortable, yet proud.

The two shinobi managed to escape the mass of people in the main streets of Konoha, and together they walked over to the jinchuuriki's all time favorite restaurant. They were surprised to find nobody sitting there. They uttered a few words about it and came to the conclusion that people seemingly preferred fine dinners on the Spring Festival. Nothing they did mind, since none of them had money enough for fine and expensive dinners, so Ichiraku was the last resort. Life as a ninja did not only take its toll on your body, but also your economy.

With a smile, Sakura was about to sit down, but she was stopped by Naruto, who pulled out her stool and nodded towards it, acting like the gentleman Sakura knew he was not. She laughed at him, and he laughed back, sheepishly, and she sat down. He then pushed her stool close to the counter and sat down himself.

"Konoha really should celebrate more festivals. Then you might act like this all the time, and then I might actually come to like you," the female ninja teased.

"Ow, that hurt, Sakura-chan," the blonde replied with no hurt in his voice whatsoever, and with a glint in his blue eyes.

The slender brunette known as Ayame leaned in over the other side of the counter with a broad smile on her lips.

"Celebrating the Spring Festival together once again, huh? If I did not know better, I would have guessed that there was something special between the two of you." She winked at Naruto, whose cheeks caught a red color.

"Well," Naruto began, stuttering the word out as he scratched his neck, "You actually have a point there, Ayami-chan. Sakura-chan and I have known each other for so long time by know. It is incredible that she has yet not fallen for my amazing charm."

He received a light, but stern, punch on his upper arm from the girl by his side.

The old Sakura would have beaten him off the stool and almost castrated him for his last comment, but she had grown so much – especially during the last year – that such thing no longer would feel natural to her. He liked that. Maybe this was one of the reasons why he had fallen so much in love with her through the year, but somehow, she had not noticed his growing interest. Something – maybe someone – had caught her attention. He dared not asking, and he hoped she soon would notice his ever-so-obvious love.

They both ordered their favorite ramen meal, and silence fell upon them.

Sakura had kept it a secret for the half year she had not seen him; the raven-haired missing-nin. Had he forgotten her? No, it seemed so unlikely. But, still, she could not get the picture of him out of her head. She hated to admit it, but she actually missed him; missed his cold, yet deep and warm eyes, missed his hands of many talents, missed his lips, but most of all, she missed the feeling of him against her and the sound of his smooth voice in her ears.

She immediately cut off the trail of her thoughts and snapped out of the blank stare she had been directing on the wooden counter beneath her. The following moment, a bowl of hot and delicious diet vegetable and fish ramen was placed in front of her. Nodding curtly to Ayame, she parted her chopsticks and began eating in silence.

The atmosphere between them had turned so suddenly. Now she had a hard time forgetting the Uchiha – as usual. If she closed her eyes she would see his crimson eyes. The scene in her room from over a half year ago had burned into her mind, and so had his killer eyes. Back then, she would wake up in the middle of the night, having had a nightmare about it all happening again. But as time had passed, and they had met again, her dreams held more desire than fear; an unbearable longing for something – someone – that she could not decide whether she could have or not. It was all his choice. One thing was that she could not find him – trying to sense his chakra did not work, and second was that if she actually found him, she would not know what to do. He had been the one taking the lead every time, and even though Sakura was well aware that she longed for him just as much as he longed for her, she could not imaging herself taking action of any kind.

Again, she caught herself spacing out. Her fingers had merely been stirring in the ramen with the chopsticks, and her gaze had been blank and lifeless all along.

This time, she shook her head in order to gain the tiniest bit of control over her body and thoughts.

I feel like a sex-craving idiot…

"Is there anything wrong, Sakura-chan?" came a male voice from her side. Mentally cursing herself for being so unreliable, the mentioned girl turned to her friend with a fake smile plastered to her face. Of course, to Naruto her smile looked genuine.

"No, I am fine. Thanks."

By these words, they continued to eat.

The atmosphere between the two friends was tense and awkward as they were heading through the crowd once again. This time, the amount of people was not too bad, and they both knew it was because people had moved up on the stone faces in order to see the fireworks better. Neither of the two shinobi felt like going there this year. Instead, Naruto had promised Sakura to walk her home and call it a day.

For once, Sakura enjoyed the silence as they went down the streets of Konoha, side by side. The tension, even if it was still unnerving, calmed her just a bit. She did not have to think about what to reply to his every comment or question. Ever since her last meeting with the Uchiha, Sakura had found her focus uncontrollable and her ability to say the right thing at the right moment weak. Sasuke's crimson eyes, his loving, yet demanding and craving touches, his soft whisper in her ears, his bare skin against hers, the thought of what he had done to her and still could do – it all sent shivers up her spine and fogged her sense and sanity.

"Nee, Sakura-chan," Naruto suddenly spoke, destroying the silence, "Have you yet not applied for the ANBU Exams? I have heard that Ebisu-sensei is looking for a medical ninja for the Border Team. I think you would make a great Medical ANBU."

Once again, Sakura was brutally torn out from her private mental space. This time, though, she brought a real smile to her lips. The blonde actually had a point there. She was sure it would do her good – especially in her search for Sa--

"No, I have not applied yet. But I think I will. Do you know when and where the first exam takes place?" Naruto shook his head.

"I think you will have to go talk with Baa-sama," he replied and shrugged, "I have not really looked much into it. I just overheard a conversation between Ebisu-sensei and Kinora-sensei."

Nodding, Sakura looked up. A beautiful firework flashed above them, showing a dragon's head in blue and green until it turned red and golden, crumbled and began raining down. Only a few dozen of sparks were still lightening when they hit the ground. The shinobi avoided them skillfully. It would be a shame to have their new robes ruined.

This time, with a lighter atmosphere between them, the two former teammates continued walking in silence. It would not be too long before they reached Sakura's apartment. And Sakura knew that this once again meant that she would be completely alone, her only company being the young man in her mind, and her only entertainment would be their memories.

As they neared her home, Sakura noticed how Naruto seemed to hesitate. His stride weakened, slowed, and finally, when they were only some meters away, he stopped completely. His sudden grip around her wrist forced her to skid to a halt.

"Naru-…"

"Sakura, I would like to know what is wrong. You have not been yourself for a long time. Is it Sasuke?"

Yes…

"No. It is not him," the kunoichi lied with a crease between her brows, "I have just felt a bit lonely. Now that half of my friends are in ANBU, I rarely see them. And I work all the time. I am stressed…"

The hand, which had held Sakura's wrist, now slipped down and took her hand. In one just slightly forceful movement, Naruto tugged his female friend closer, tilted his head and softly kissed her.

Sakura's jade eyes widened in surprise, and Naruto broke away, somewhat flustered.

"You shall know, Sakura-chan, that I am always here for you. You still have me. I do not want you to feel lonely."

It was too much for her to bear. She knew that Naruto was completely and foolishly in love with her, and yet she only had eyes for their missing friend. She was hurting the blonde for ignoring his love. She had never even given him as much as a chance to get her.

Maybe, she thought, Maybe I should give him a chance. After all, it would all be better if I just forgot Sasuke. To him, I am, after all, just a piece of toy for his entertainment…

This time, Sakura leaned closer, letting her lips brush Naruto's. It felt wrong, and yet so right. In the end, Naruto had deserved her love, had he not? At least he had always been there for her, trusted her, protected her, comforted her whenever she was sad, and Sasuke had never been there for her when she needed someone. Never.

Naruto's hand pushed Sakura's face a bit closer, then slid down from her shoulder and passed the Uchiha crest on her chest. Her eyes flung open, not in pain, nor in surprise, but in realization. First of all, Naruto would find out about the scar. Secondly, who was she fooling? She loved Sasuke! She could not just forget him like this. Besides, if she tried, she would merely be using Naruto as an excuse for forgetting the missing-nin, now would she not? In the end, everybody would be hurt.

Breaking away and making distance between them, Sakura let her teary, green eyes meet blue ones.

"I am sorry, Naruto. I cannot do this…" And then, without another word, she ran. Ran away from the person she was hurting, away from the person she owed more than life itself, away from a person who was dumbstruck and now heartbroken.

He did not follow her.

The surface of the lake was glinting beautifully in the moonlight. Every and each firework, each prettier than the former, was reflected innocently. The sight was amazing.

Sakura's dramatic escape had stopped. She now stood among the trees, right besides the clearing, in which the lake was. Leaned against a tree and with still slightly wet cheeks, she stared stoically at the show before her. There were no persons at all, leaving her alone with just herself, the fireworks and the nature around her.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I believe that love is not worth fighting for. In the end, it merely brings tears and pain, sorrow and regret. How would my life have been so much easier without anyone…

Molding the perfect amount of chakra to her feet, she went to the lake and stepped out on it. The watery surface rippled erratically beneath her sandals as she walked. She stopped and stared down, deep into the lake, and found herself not breathing when she realized that the water held the exact same colour as Sasuke's eyes; a cold and deep charcoal colour, in which you easily could get folly lost. Steadily, she tore her gaze away. Now was not a good time thinking about him. She once again set her feet into motion and stopped only when she had reached the middle of the lake.

Looking up, she was surprised to see the amount of fireworks decreasing. It was over midnight and people were gradually out of fireworks, and most had packed together and gone home already. But Sakura felt no sign of exhaustion. The thoughts, the scenes – everything had made her insomniatic, restless. She doubted she would get much sleep that night.

Sighing, she let a hand travel through her hair and released the bun of hair. The hairpins were securely stuffed into the obi, and she enjoyed the feeling of her hair brushing her face and dancing in the wind. A moment like that, thoughtless and worriless – she wished that it would last forever.

"Tell me, Sakura," whispered a voice in her ear. She could feel hot breath on her skin, "Are you training chakra control in the middle of the night?"

One moment, just one moment, her entire focus failed, and Sakura darted through the water surface with a shriek.

Was she merely imagining things?

No, it had sounded and felt so real!

It took her surprisingly long time to regain focus and get up on the water surface again. Now, her face was red and her entire body dripping. She looked around herself but saw nobody, no Sasuke, whom she had heard – that was, until she looked deeper into the forest. He had shocked her and then hid himself. He was toying with her again. The kunoichi forgot everything about longing, missing, and loving, and stomped angrily toward the intruder.

"What was that for, idiot!" she yelled, her whole body shivering with cold and anger. He stepped forth, into the clearing, with a cocky smile permanently plastered to his lips. She was surprised to find his Sharingan inactivated – and so she fell in a trance when she saw his eyes. So deep, so mysterious and cold, yet warm and embracing, loving, longing and simply fantastic…

"Sakura," said Sasuke, who now stood right before her. He let a hand lead her face to his so that their lips could meet untroubled. When he broke away, he continued: "I have missed you."

She wanted to retort upon him, wanted to tell him that it was his own fault and that he was a jerk for abandoning her for half a year. But she was dumbstruck, helpless. And so, compressing every single pissed off feeling she contained that moment, she grabbed his hair roughly and crushed her lips to his, letting go of one eternity's longing.

Of course, Sasuke did not let the chance slip away, so he entered the activity with just as much eagerness and ended up being the one in control yet again. Snaking his arms around her, he drew her closer, much closer, and set his feet into walk. Sakura then was pushed up against a tree, hot kisses all over her lips, neck, throat, and collar bones. Once again she was caught in his grip, but this time it felt different; there was no brutal force pinning her, no demanding, no straddling, nothing that signalized that he was taking her by force. Because he was not. She had lost to him, buckled under his will, and now she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. But she still would not let him do what he wanted with her whenever he wanted it. She wanted a reason.

In one powerful movement she managed to push him away, her breath turned into huffs as she spoke.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, smirking casually.

"I do believe that you know where this lea-…"

"No," she cut him off, "I mean; why did you come back in the first place? What reason did you have for taking advantage of me over half a year ago, in my room? I want a reason!"

There must be one… her mind added.

Sasuke, finally at loss for words, shrugged.

"I do not really know. I just felt like seeing you again. You have been in my mind ever since I cleared my mind off Itachi…"

"But why… why raping me?" This time, Sasuke put a broad smile to his face and neared the woman again.

"Would you have agreed to have sex with me if I had asked instead?" he questioned cockily, leaning in over her and kissing the corner of her silent lips, "Nah, I thought so. See, my methods work."

Grabbing the boy by his collar, Sakura drew him as close as possible.

"You are such an ass." And then she kissed him feverishly, her hands roaming everywhere on his back, neck and hair, and his hands on her hips, torso, breast and face.

Sakura noticed something tugging her obi and realized that the raven-haired Uchiha now was stripping her.

"Out here?" she asked distractedly between kisses.

"It is wet," was his reply, "You will merely catch a cold if you do not get it off." Sakura felt an urge to snort at this, knowing that he partly was right, but that he had no intention of saving her from a cold. After all, he had brought her one at their first 'meeting'. Why would he suddenly care about her health?

"And I will not catch a cold if I am naked outside?"

"Schh!" he silenced her boldly, still talking breathlessly between hot kisses, "Do not try and lecture me."

His hands did not stop their mission, and he soon slid her sticky wet kimono off, discarding it carelessly on the ground. Then, pushing her harder against the tree, he wrapped her legs around his stomach, her thighs rubbing sensually closely against his hips and her crotch against his erection. He noticed how she mewled against his lips by the feeling, and he pushed himself as close as possible, gaining a similar reaction but on an entirely other and more exciting level. He felt himself harden yet furthermore, noticing how shivers ran up and down his entire body and how his belly burned with passion and tightness.

Had she any idea just how much she turned him on? He was losing himself, his entire self-control, whenever she was around, whenever he saw her body, her pleasured facial expression, and heard her moans and sighs.

If Sasuke ever was impatient, then is was in situations like these. No words could describe just how much he just wanted to rip off every trace of cloth on her body and just take her then and there, careless about people would see them or if he would lose himself into complete lust. He was already close to the border of letting go of every inch of control and just fuck her senseless. He knew better, though, though it did not help him much in situations like these.

Beneath her now removed kimono, Sakura wore a top and black, silky underwear decorated with lace and bows. She praised herself lucky that she had decided to wear this special set, though she had not anticipated anything of this, nor with anybody else for that matter.

Sasuke let his hand sneak up under her top to seek her left breast where he found the scar he had made her. Softly, he let his thumb caress it, tracing the silky lines as if he could see it through the fabric of the top. His kisses left her lips and trailed all the way down to the scar, slowly and passionately, and he let his tongue trail the lines like his finger just had done.

"You know," she hiccupped, "That scar really is impossible to remove…" Sasuke merely smiled against her skin.

"You have no reason to remove it whatsoever. It is the proof that you belong to me, and me only," he replied, kissing the scar once before moving upwards again, "I do not intend to let you go…"

"But you have to," she then said firmly, making him stop for a moment and look at her, somewhat surprised. He thought that she had surrend-

"Or else I cannot rid you of your clothes," she continued, smirking wickedly. Sasuke liked her idea. The faster he could get naked, the faster he could let go of all his lust and longing. So he let her down. He was about to untie his purple belt when she stopped him.

"No. Let me do it." He made no objections whatsoever and let his arms fall slackly to his sides. The kunoichi took her time, looking fascinated at his clothes before dropping one object after the other on the ground. It was the first time she had been untied and could do it. And even though she had undressed several men at the hospital, for other reasons, this felt so different. As she slid his open shirt down his shoulders, she let her lips brush over his chest, tenderly and sweetly, and she ended at his lips, kissing him there while sliding his pants down. Then, suddenly, she dug her hand into his underpants, grabbed him and squeezed, a wicked grin on her lips as she then nibbled the skin along his jaw.

It should not have surprised her just how erect he was, but it did, and the thought of him inside her slapped her self-control furiously. Sasuke, too, was giving in, because suddenly he pushed her back against the tree, having failed at restraining his lust any longer, and nearly ripped her top while sliding it off her. Through the whole process, their lust-clouded eyes had been linked with each other, each knowing just how the other one felt. Undressing each other could not be done fast enough.

They were naked in an instant, and Sasuke lifted Sakura's legs up again so that she could snake them around him. Leaning forward, he pressed himself in as the kunoichi gasped in pleasure and tightened her legs' hold around him. He was forced all the way in, buried to the tilt, and they both moaned.

Kissing her again, this time somewhat distractedly, the missing-nin began thrusting, rolling his hips against hers in a steady rhythm.

Breaking away from her lover, Sakura bit her lower lip, throwing her head back. How had she been missing it all; his warmth, his smooth and cool skin, his warm breath every time he exhaled shakily, his body, his touch and affection, but most of all, his way of taking her as if there were no tomorrow.

They were both so excited that they soon felt how they were about to reach the peak of the pleasure. Refusing to see the end so soon, Sasuke withdrew himself much to Sakura's surprise and dismay. She was about to ask, when suddenly she found herself pinned down in the grass. Even under sex Sasuke still moved as fast and elegant as the ninja he was.

Letting himself calm down just a bit, the young man kissed the girl yet again, their tongues mingling sensually as he moved in between her legs. The pause was short – he was so greedy and impatient, longing – so he entered her again. Sakura moaned. It did not help him. It drove him to the edge instantly, and he pumped himself in and out a couple of times under the orgasm in order to bring her with him. It was successful, for she came right after, moaning his name hoarsely as she rolled her hips up against his.

And then it was over. They had both waited for it for a half year, longing and craving each other's touch, and when the time finally had come it all went so fast. Sakura doubted when she would see him again. Maybe he now would leave her forever. After all, in Sasuke's mind, one could impossibly be a strong and independent ninja if he was bound by any relation. He was growing addicted to her, and it would not be too long before he would be unable to cut their bond.

The Uchiha rolled off her, lying on his back in the grass right next to her. The nature was silent around them, and the only thing they heard was each other and their attempts at breathing properly again. The silence, the thought of not knowing his next step, was torturing her. She had to get an answer.

"Sasuke?" mumbled Sakura finally. The man by her side shifted slightly to look at her.

"Hm?" he replied. The girl hesitated a bit, wondering if she really wanted to know the answer to her upcoming question. She decided to go for it anyway.

"Will you be leaving me yet again?" He stared at her, stoic.

"I intended to do so, yes," he replied silently, letting a hand comb through his sweaty midnight locks and sighing, "But I feel no desire to leave. Yet." The last word was added too late. He was unsure. Sakura shifted and rested her head on his bare chest. When she looked up on the sky, she noticed that the fireworks had been ceased and that the moon now was their only source of light.

"Sasuke?" she asked once again.

"What?"

"I think I love you."

"Tsch," he replied, "Love is only for the weak." By these words, Sakura's brows were creased slightly, and she crawled on top of her lover, her eyes piercing his deeply and very seriously. Then they softened.

"Then let me be weak just this once…" By these words, she bent down and kissed him.

Yes, she definitely would be weak for him.