Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

I'd just like to clarify something: Naruto and Hinata did NOT sleep together or do anything of that kind (just kissing). They're a little young (I realize that fifteen-year-olds do the dirty deed, but in my story they don't). Neither did Sasuke and Sakura, kay? Just kissing…for now. : )

Thanks for all of the reviews! Whew, it's been a hectic week for me. I was stuck in Washington because my aunt had to go in for emergency surgery to get her appendix out, and then the next day the brakes went out in my dad's truck…which cost a butt load of money to fix. And then my grandma fell and broke her hip, and then my uncle had a heart attack…so I've been spending just about all week in the hospital. Man, when it rains, it pours in my family.

(Sorry for the ranting up there. I'll go on with the story now)

Chapter Fifteen: Rings and Revelations

That night Sakura tossed and turned on her bedroll. She dreamt of her days as a captive of Akatsuki. The memories, long held at bay by her rational mind, were beginning to resurface. She awoke in a cold sweat, panting.

She hadn't told Sasuke everything.

During breakfast the next morning the subject of how to track Akatsuki came up. They decided to travel back to the bunkers where Sakura had been held and start from there.

While picking up camp, Sakura tentatively approached Sasuke.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

Sakura didn't respond, and suddenly felt extremely nervous. Why am I nervous? It's not like I've never kissed a guy…extremely passionately…before. Oh wait! I haven't. While Sakura was telling herself not to feel nervous, Sasuke set aside what he had been doing and sighed.

"Sakura, what is it?" he asked impatiently.

Sakura shook herself from her conversation within her mind and cleared her throat.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Sasuke. It's just…I wanted to ask you something."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Sakura stepped closer to him and looked up into his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Sasuke…I wanted to talk to you about Itachi."

Sasuke's expression instantly became hard, and his look cold. "No." Sasuke turned around and started to walk away.

Sakura expected the scowl to crease his face, but it still hurt nonetheless. "Sasuke, please. I really need to talk to you about…what he did to me."

Sasuke froze. So did everyone else who had been pretending not to listen. They were all looking at Sakura as if she were an alien.

"What are you talking about, Sakura?" asked the ever-hyperactive Naruto. He forced a smile on his lips. "I thought you already talked about it with Sasuke? Why do you want to drag it all up now? I mean-" he was interrupted by a tug on his sleeve. He looked down at Hinata. She shook her head slowly, silently telling him to stop. Naruto frowned, but remained quiet.

Sakura swallowed. "I just wanted to warn everyone before…they come."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Before who comes?

Sakura avoided his eyes and looked at the ground, and then up at the cloudy sky. "Akatsuki."

Sai entered the conversation, his smile noticeably absent. "Why would they come back?"

Sakura swallowed again. "I…took something."

Hinata had a worried look on her face, and Naruto's face looked red, probably from holding his breath so as not to speak out.

Sai's face resembled Sasuke's: impassive.

However, Sasuke's voice was anything but emotionless. "Just tell us what you did, Sakura. I'm sick of playing your little question-and-answer games."

Sakura flinched. She reached into her kunai pouch and withdrew with something in her fist. She held her fist out in front of her and everyone gathered round. Sakura opened her fist, so that her palm was flat.

Hinata gasped.

Naruto said, "Eh?" and scratched his head.

Sai smiled.

Sasuke's frowned.

It was a ring. A ruby ring.

After a few moments realization dawned on them.

Sasuke closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "Sakura."

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Tell me you did not take Itachi's Akatsuki's ring."

"I did not take Itachi's Akatsuki's ring."

"Well then what is it?"

"Itachi's Akatsuki's ring."

Sasuke seethed with anger. "You just said it wasn't."

Sakura managed a small attempt at humor. She gave a small smile and said, "That's because you told me to." Her smile instantly disappeared when Sasuke opened his eyes again. He looked like he wanted to throttle her. But instead of yelling, he calmly asked, "Why did you take it?"

Sakura shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe I could've used it as leverage. I didn't think I was going to be rescued at the time, so I tried to think of alternate plans." Seeing Sasuke's death glare made Sakura throw her hands in the air in frustration, the ring securely held in her fist. "I don't know, Sasuke! I thought it might weaken him or something."

"How did you take it?" Sai asked.

Sakura bit her lip, looking sheepish. "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Sasuke snapped, irritation pouring from him.

"I…I can't remember."

"What do you mean, you can't remember?" Sasuke repeated.

"What are you, a parrot?" retorted Sakura. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. "That time is still a bit hazy. I had a dream about it last night. And when I woke up and looked in my kunai pouch, there was the ring."

"Whoa…" said Naruto.

Sasuke turned around and stalked off into the thick trees. Sakura was about to call after him when she remembered what happened last time. Her cheeks turned bright pink and she bit her lip. The naughty part of her wanted to follow him and to hell with the consequences. But the rational side of her won over. This was neither the time nor the place for such things.

After a few moments Naruto broke the silence. "Why do you think the rings are so important?" he asked in a whisper.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know. Tsunade let me read the profiles on everyone we have classified under Akatsuki after I defeated Sasori, but we don't have anything on the rings." She gave a wry smile. "The only people we could've asked were pulverized by us."

Sai smiled. "Good one. I read in a book once that that is an example of 'irony'. I believe, in this case, I am supposed to laugh?" The last statement was more of a question, and he tilted his head slightly, waiting for a response.

Sakura, quite used to Sai's behavior by now, nodded and said, "Sure."

Sai chuckled quietly, and then sobered quickly when he realized that no one else was.

No one got angry with him, for Sai was new to the whole "emotions" thing. He deserved a break after all those years of not feeling anything.

Sakura put the ring back inside her pouch after examining it for a few more moments. It was a blood-red ruby set in a simple band of silver. On the ruby was the symbol Suzaku, which represented the Vermilion bird, a noble and graceful creature. For the life of her Sakura couldn't fathom why it would be in the hands of a monster like Itachi.

The group dispersed to finish packing up camp. When they were done, Sakura went in search of Sasuke, as he had not yet returned.

Sakura called his name, but didn't want to rouse too much noise for fear of enemies finding them. She quickly became frustrated with him, and contemplated punching a nearby tree. But she didn't feel like destroying a tree just to vent her frustration. She'd save that for when she found Sasuke.

Sasuke sat on the rock by the pond, watching the sun rise in the sky. His mind was racing with suppressed emotion, but the thing that disgusted him the most was his fear. Not fear for himself, but for someone else.

When Sasuke saw Sakura had Itachi's ring, one thing entered his mind: death. Itachi would stop at nothing to reclaim the ring that meant so much to him, and Sakura was only an obstacle that needed to be removed. Sakura's life meant nothing to Itachi. But it meant everything to Sasuke.

He wasn't sure if this was love, as he hadn't loved anyone since the Uchiha massacre all those years ago. He knew that he didn't want to see her emerald eyes full of pain ever again. He wasn't sure if he could willingly die for her, though. He hadn't yet accomplished his goal of killing Itachi. Or repopulating his clan. If he died, there would be no more Uchiha in the world.

He'd spent most of his life trying to remain cold and distant from people that he wasn't sure if he could ever return to the little boy he used to be before his family was so cruelly taken away from him.

Sasuke scowled. He was weak. No matter how hard he tried to break the bonds between Team 7, he couldn't. They just wouldn't give up on him, and for some reason it made his heart hurt to know that he had caused them pain and anguish. He wished that they hated him, because then he could hate them too. But no. The idiots still cared about him. That's all he needed. More things to tie him down and keep him from reaching his goal.

He smirked when he thought of Naruto. Idiot. Loudmouth. Brave. Loyal. Friend. Brother. Those six words could be used to summon up Naruto. In Naruto, he had found another family. Another brother. One that wouldn't betray him. One that he could count on. Of course, he had no intention of Naruto becoming stronger than him, but he guessed that it would be okay if they were equals.

He shook his head slightly when he thought of Kakashi, his sensei and substitute older brother. He couldn't say that he was a father-figure to him, but Kakashi was definitely a role model to him. In a lot of ways, Sasuke resembled Kakashi. Not in his physical appearance, but in his character. Sasuke had heard tales of Kakashi as a child, and how he was considered a genius. He remembered the night when Kakashi had told him of how his comrade had died, and how he came to possess the Sharingan. At the time, Sasuke couldn't have cared less about comrades. To him, the mission would always come first. But now that he was having these revelations about how much he actually cared about his teammates, he wasn't so sure that he would abandon them again.

His thoughts turned to Sakura. His heart beat faster when he thought of just how much their relationship and changed over the years. When they first became teammates, he wouldn't have given her the time of day. He ignored her attentions, and called her annoying. He treated her like she treated Naruto, when Naruto had a crush on her. Sasuke regretted that, but then again she was a little obsessed and a tad bit crazy.

Sasuke couldn't pinpoint the turning point in their relationship. He remembered their first real mission, when they encountered assassins on their way to the Country of Waves. Kakashi had left the two shinobi to them. Naruto froze, and Sasuke had smirked at the blond boy, and called him a scaredy-cat. But there was more. They had left Tazuna open to attack. Sakura stepped in front of him, ready to protect Tazuna, even though her death was imminent against the assassin. Sasuke and seen him reach for Sakura, prepared to strike her down. His heart had stopped, but his body reacted. He could see the fear in her face, and he had placed himself in front of her, protecting her with his own body. To this day he couldn't recall why he had done it. He told himself then that he was protecting the mission, Tazuna, but now he wasn't so sure.

And of course, there was when he obtained the curse seal from Orochimaru. He had awoken from his feverish state to see Sakura bruised and beaten, her beautiful pink locks sheared. He had reacted instantly, and demanded to see her attacker. He wanted to kill him. Kill him for hurting her, and touching her. Of course, at the time, he attributed his need for retribution to the curse seal. He just wanted to test it out on someone, and who better than an enemy shinobi? Now, he knew what he had really felt then.

But his heart wasn't ready to accept such feelings. That's why he'd left Konoha. He was scared of the feelings that were surfacing. So he did everything in his power to squash them, even going so far as to attempt to kill Naruto. He couldn't kill Sakura, though. He'd had the chance. That night he had left, he could have snapped her thin neck instead of knocking her out. He told himself then that he couldn't kill her because then he would be wanted for murder, and Konoha would never stop hunting him down. So he just left her there, tears still falling down her pale cheeks. That was his way of breaking bonds.

But it hadn't worked. Sakura had managed to find the only crack in the hard wall around his heart, and had wormed her way in. Sasuke still couldn't believe it.

The sound of someone approaching interrupted his musings. Without turning around her knew who it was.

"What do you want, Sakura?" he asked, not even bothering to look at her.

She approached him and sat down next to him on the boulder. She looked at him, and then scooted closer and leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder. He made no attempt to move away, and did not even stiffen his body.

"Sasuke…I don't know what the future holds."

Sasuke didn't like the way that she sounded when she said that.

Sakura didn't expect a reply, but she still paused in case he wanted to say something. Not surprisingly, he didn't.

"Sasuke…what I'm trying to say is…is…." Sakura took a deep breath and began again.

"Sasuke, if I die, I want you to know something."

Sasuke stiffened when she said that. He shook her off and scowled. "Stop talking like that you want me to feel sorry for you."

Sakura expected something like that, but it still hurt. She reached up and cupped Sasuke's chin, turning his face to look at her. She gently kissed him, to which he responded most eagerly. Before Sasuke could deepen the kiss, Sakura pulled back.

"I love you."

Sasuke remained expressionless.

"Sasuke, I wanted you to know that in case something happens to either of us. That way, if I die, I could die without any regrets at having not said everything in my heart."

"Sakura-"

"No, let me finish, Sasuke. I need to tell you this. I think you need to hear it as well."

Sasuke acquiesced and remained silent.

"Sasuke, ever since I was a little girl I took a liking to you. At first, it was just a silly schoolgirl crush. It wasn't until I got to know the real you that I started falling in love with you. I don't know when it happened, or even why, but I do know that I love you, and I would do anything for you. I have to admit, though, that you broke my heart when you left on that bench that night. Those two and half years apart really wore on me. I hate to admit it, but I started giving up on you. I had a lot of friends, and so I tried to move on. Lee was always there for me, and made me feel wanted. Naruto would go out on a date with me in an instant, as long as we split the costs. So I tried to fill the gap that you made in my heart when you left."

Sakura clasped his large, callused hand in hers. "But nothing could fill the gap. You were the one that made it, and you are the only one that can fill it in again." She looked into his eyes. "You did that, Sasuke. My heart is finally full again, thanks to you."

She kissed him again, and allowed this kiss to go on longer. This time it was Sasuke who broke the kiss.

"Damnit, Sakura! Why couldn't you just hate me? Then I wouldn't feel so damn confused!"

Sakura grinned. "I always did get on your nerves, didn't I?" She tilted her head up. "Just part of my charm."

Sasuke swooped down and kissed her again, this time more heatedly. As their tongues met, Sasuke felt his blood heat, and the surge of desire that he felt scared the hell out of him. He'd been met with advances from women before, but he'd rejected them, not interested. He hadn't realized that kissing could be so…fun. Maybe he would've done it sooner. But something inside told himself that it would only be "fun" with Sakura.

He broke the kiss once again before things could go too far. While they caught their breath, Sasuke and Sakura simply stared at one another. They communicated their feelings through nonverbal communication, and it wasn't until several minutes later that they finally returned to camp.

They found Naruto and Hinata leaning against a tree, holding hands. Hinata was blushing slightly, but she was getting better now that she had nothing to be shy about. Sai was sitting against a tree, doodling on his pad of paper.

"Let's go." Sasuke said curtly. The group had only taken a few steps in the desired direction when dark blurs came to stop in front of them, blocking their way.

Sakura's heart stopped.

Akatsuki!

I have an issue. I'm not exactly sure if Kakashi ever told Sasuke, Sakura, or Naruto about Obito and Rin. But in my fic, he at least told Sasuke about how he obtained the Sharingan. So if anyone was confused on that, or angry, I apologize.

On another note I got my employee outfit today. It looks like it belongs in "Little House in the Prairie", no joke. Anyways, just thought I'd throw that little tidbit in.

Oh, and thank you to everyone who reads and reviews, they are much appreciated and help me not be so lazy in updating. But, as promised, here is the new chapter on Friday (well…I guess it's really late on Thursday night, but I guess with the time differences it could be Friday somewhere…so technically this is early again)! Enjoy!

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