A/N: Hey, guys! It never fails, after I upload the chapter I notice all my typos. So I apologize in advance you notice I forgot words or mispelled something. I often speed type these chapters between work or class or late at night, so I my fingers are flying in hopes of getting it done. Again, things are going to be a little different now. I'm no longer going by the manga, to an extent. This is my version of what's going on between Sakura and Sasuke after 699 but before he leaves, if I even make him do so. I also like the idea of still having some action, a peaceful world is nice, but makes for a boring story. Also, I'm pondering the idea of Itachi being alive, but that will be a while from now. Enjoy!

[This is a little bit of what Sasuke was doing in the three weeks back]

Sasuke had three weeks to himself, and to his surprise, Naruto didn't pester him. Not to say that Naruto didn't come around, but Sasuke didn't find it annoying. He welcomed Naruto into his presence, he actually found himself a little disconnected that Naruto didn't follow him around 24/7, but with his new infatuation with the Hyuuga girl Sasuke couldn't blame him. Naruto deserved love and Sasuke felt pretty damn good for him.

When Naruto wasn't around him, though, he had finally allowed himself to think about how he felt. He thought about Kakashi and Naruto, how protective they were of him, how bonded they felt. He knew Kakashi was ninja enough to let Sasuke go, but he hadn't. He kept faith in Sasuke when he had given Kakashi no reason to, especially considering he had the intent to kill Sakura in front of Kakashi. When he recollected that memory, it had made him cringe. He had poisoned himself for revenge on the innocent, both Itachi and Leaf, and in that confusion made mistakes that would haunt him forever. Although the ties Kakashi and Naruto held with him confused him, they held no comparison to the confusion he felt when he thought about Sakura's devotion.

He had never "really" welcomed her. During their time as team seven, she was in his way. Her annoying crush and weak nature ticked him off. He questioned her motives to being a shinobi, he questioned her abilities, and he damn well didn't think she deserved to be on the same team as Naruto and him. Still, in the chunin exams she had been braver beyond his imagination. He remembered the way she looked, ragged as hell, broken but determined. He didn't quite understand why he reacted so protectively that day, but he was ready to slaughter the sound nin that put her through that. Never did he want to see her so injured, especially over him.

He also thought about her protecting him when Gaara had lost his mind. They both knew she didn't stand a chance, but for him, she stood her ground with only a kunai and blocked Gaara's way to Sasuke. She always shielded him, caught him, picked him up. No matter how many times he rejected her, she just kept shining bright for him.

It was during the three weeks that Sasuke thought less and less about Naruto and Kakashi and more and more about Sakura. He admired her. She had trained with a sannin like Naruto and himself, which made him smirk at the thought of his whole team being the new generation sannin. She had surpassed Tsunade in medical ninjutsu and was currently head medic at the Leaf Hospital. Her strength was terrifying, her abilities flawless, and her kindness knew no boundaries. He didn't know why she loved him, but he was glad. The idea of her love for him made him swell with something. He was relaxed at the idea of her, he had a essence of home when he was with her; he felt safe with Sakura. The day Sakura left the hospital early was the same day Sasuke acknowledged his feelings. In the end, Sasuke didn't find her annoying because she was weak, he found her annoying because of her love. Something he thought he lost the day he lost his clan, something he thought he would never be capable of, something he didn't want anything to do with, she had showered him in for years without an ounce of it in return. He didn't know how to approach it, but Sasuke had realized in the midst of his new struggles to accept himself he would Sakura more than ever, and he would have to learn to love her back.

[Present day, back to the end of chapter two]

We always end up back here, don't we, Sakura? Sasuke thought while looking at her from the trees. He had a relaxed facial expression. Mouth in a simple line, legs crossed on a branch, and his head leaned back against the trunk. He was just watching her. He hadn't expected to see her out of the hospital for another week, but with her skills she must have flown through the whole village and worked over without realizing there was no one else for her to tend to. The nurses and doctors could actually do their job now that the severely complicated procedures had been completed by her. She probably did everything. Tch. Too stubborn to let anyone help her.

His eyes narrowed, she had laid down on the bench in the same position he left her in the night he left. His chest tightened. Was she thinking about him?

She was mindlessly staring at the sky watching the clouds barely move. She finally let herself think about him. Was he okay? Did his arm hurt? Was he really going to be able to move forward or would he revert and attack the village? Was he eating properly? Maybe she at least drop food off at his apartment. From there, she pillaged her memories of times when they were genin. She remembered watching him in pain, watching the hatred grow. She felt pain herself, and hatred with herself for not being able to help him. A cloud rolled over the Sun and with the sudden darkness, she flashed back to the war, her body instinctively activated her chakra seal and the purple lines flourished over her. She shot up, eyes wide, the picture of the ten tails vividly scanned her mind.

She gasped a sharp loud inhale, clutching a kunai on her side. Sasuke faltered at the sight, what had just happened?! His sharingan activated in reaction to her and found his way next to her in a second.

"What's wrong?!" He demanded, taking her right arm in his grasp, looking her dead in the eyes with his multi-color orbs spinning.

She whipped her head in his direction, her eyes like marbles, huge, round and inspirational, but frightened. His grasp tightened, wanting to take away anything but pleasure and happiness in her face.

"Sasuke...kun?" She whispered, "How did you…"

He didn't loosen his grip nor his stance, "Are you okay?" he enunciated each word sternly.

"Hai," she looked confused then realized her situation. Looking down at her hands she examined her chakra designs then made an effort to deactivate her seal. Sasuke was watching her like a hawk. Upon seeing her seal retreat, he slowly let go then straightened his stance next to her, finally breathing at a normal pace and deactivating his own sharingan. Huh. The sharingan just activated… like father's did when mother…. he pushed the thought aside, focusing on Sakura again.

She was beginning to fuss a little, he could sense her discomfort. A smile faker than Sai's old personality planted itself on her face.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke! I don't know what came over me. I," Sakura piped but he cut her off.

"Yes, you do. A seal like that doesn't just accidentally activate, Sakura," he said matter-of-factly to her, "What's going on? You look beat to hell and back. Your eyes are bloodshot, you don't look like you've slept in days, and," her stomach growled, "that."

Her mouth went ajar, He's….worried? ….No. This is just him being annoyed that his teammate is anything less than up to par. Pull it together, Haruno!

"I have responsibilities, now. The village was a nightmare, shinobi were in parts; it's my job to get Leaf back to 100%. I don't have time for sleep or food," her stomach growled in return, arguing her defense. She blushed a little, looking not quite down, but more south of his eyes at the sound of her hunger. She had lost her leverage.

"Hn," he muttered, grabbing her wrist and dragging her down the sidewalk. He was going to watch her eat if he had to, but she would eat. Then, sleep would come after. His strides were long and swift, she stumbled forward when he pulled her so abruptly. Then had to do quick double steps to keep up with him. Her hair was just long enough now for her to have pulled it back into a messy french braid that she had pulled to her side with her Leaf headband in its usual spot atop her head. She was wearing a v-neck red blouse without sleeves, a black skirt that went to her mid-thigh which waved in the wind but she still had her usual sparring black short under it, not that you could tell. The newest addition was her white lab coat, the sleeves were rolled up to mid-forearms and her shoes, although still shinobi appropriate, were pink and strappy. Her hair bellowed in the breeze, as did her skirt and lab coat.

She didn't argue with him, she would be sure to stay on his good side, but she would also keep in mind that to do that would mean to have a backbone when talking to him.

"Where are we going, Sasuke?" she asked.

Sasuke? That's a little too formal for my taste… he thought when he didn't hear the "-kun" after his name.

"Food, you can't do anything properly if you haven't eaten," he claimed. You're too busy looking after everyone else.

She just looked at him through their walking. Why did he care? Not like they had a mission to go on, she'd eat when she had time to worry about it.

They stopped at a side cafe. Tomato dishes were the speciality. Sasuke wasn't sure if it'd still be open, or standing for that matter, but it had survived. It needed some roof repairs and new furniture, but it had enough to still function. They took a seat at the bar.

"Welcome to Toma-san! What can I…" the waitress chimed but halted when she saw Sasuke. It wasn't anything new to him. They should be scared. Word had gotten out that he was with Orchimaru and the truth about the Uchiha Clan. Of course rumors started over why he and Naruto were missing arms, not that the rumors were too far off from the truth. The waitress's eyes screamed fear, her jaw quivered and she faulted in her footing. Sasuke just sat there, eyes closed, hoping she'd at least continue the question for Sakura's sake.

"What? Haven't you ever seen an armless shinobi? Geez," Sakura snapped, "He lost because he was fighting for ya know, the world." Her eyes narrowed in annoyance with the waitress's reaction to him. Sakura knew the reasoning, but she was here and wasn't going to take that.

Sasuke smirked. He didn't open his eyes, but the bite in Sakura's tone was wonderful. He wouldn't be able to comprehend her devotion, but he could now accept it. And by God, did he love that she loved him. His smirk faded. He loved that she loved him but she was still without anything from him in return.

"Sakura, it's alright. I'm used to it," he cooed. The waitress looked between the two. The man she feared was trying to calm the vexed medic who had a reputation of an angel at the hospital and woman she welcomed was staring poisoned kunai at her. Stunned, the waitress remained a few feet away and finished her sentence, "Um, what can I get for you two?"

Sakura relaxed, she looked down at the menu and said, "Two shrimp steamers, miso soup, edamame, a cup of black tea and a cup of sake, please," without looking back up at the waitress.

Sasuke answered, "Grilled tomatoes, steamed rice and green tea." Then the waitress scurried to the back for the preparation.

He didn't feel like initiating the conversation but Sakura's outburst back on the bench had his attention more so than he would like. Right when he was about to speak, Sakura opened her mouth.

"I see the war," she said while looking down at her hands in her lap, "I see Karuma leaving Naruto lifeless, I see the ten tails wiping everyone out, I see Kaguya destroying our lives… most of all, I see…," she hesitated.

"Tell me" he questioned.

She took a deep breath and looked at him. He had opted for a new hand band that didn't reflect any affiliation to Leaf. It pushed part of his hair in between his eyes. His shirt was bigger and you could tell he didn't quite know what to do with his one arm. Where he would normally cross his arms, he didn't have that option. So the larger shirt helped him leave his one arm dangling, or wherever he put it, without much evidence of where it was. He had a cool expression, always watching her. She briefly considered not telling him, but perhaps it would help her sleep at night if she told him.

"I see you. All the time. I see you failing to make it to me in time before I run out of chakra. I see you mangled on a boulder because of Naruto. I see you manic and lost. I see you hopeless. I see you broken," she was becoming frantic. Her breath was quickening, her face was heating up and her throat felt like it was closing. She couldn't control herself, she loved him so much. She had gone three weeks without seeing him, without going to look for him, but not once had she really stopped thinking about him. Her hands were becoming clammy. She didn't need to him to love her back, so she told her herself, she just wanted to know the depth of love she felt for him. Not telling him was like not breathing. She need to tell him so she could live at least a somewhat normal life.

His heart race picked up. He wasn't ready for her confession. He was expecting it to be him, yes, but he thought she'd only give him bare minimal or hide it. The waitress came back and slide their food down in front of them. She left without a word, having heard part of the conversation and sensing the tension, she wanted nothing more to do with the two shinobi in her restaurant.

Sasuke never broke his gaze from Sakura's eyes, which were burning with love, passion and a glimpse of sorrow.

She hadn't been silent long, but she had to say it. "Sasuke. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable," she said looking into his chest, "loving you this much wasn't exactly on my agenda when we graduated the academy." He listened intently. "I had a crush you, a huge one," she scoffed at herself and partially rolled her eyes. "But what I wasn't expecting was for it to grow." She looked back up into his eyes with the same passion as before, "I do love you, but I love you enough to let you find your own happiness." She smiled. It was small, but genuine. Her eyes squinted with it and there was glistened tears threatening to fall over that never did. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun, so sorry." She didn't have to say it for him to understand the meaning behind her last proclamation.

Sakura was apologizing for her annoying love. She was apologizing for the loss of his family. She was apologizing for Itachi. She was so empathic with his feelings it literally destroyed him from the inside out. Then, she simply sipped some sake and took a bite out of a shrimp steamer.

Sakura. You won't even ask for a response in return? And she didn't. Sakura expected nothing out of him. She just wanted for it to be heard. Not that he was sure he had one to begin with, but she deserved something. He took a gulp of green tea.

"Sakura." He stated.

Please, I don't need you to answer. I know what you'll say. "Sasuke, it's okay. You don't have…," but she was interrupted.

"I know. I didn't before, but I know now. I know how much you love me. I'm sorry. I just… I don't know if I can love you back. It's not because of you!," he was worried he would offend her, "It's just, I'm not good. Right now. I need time."

She had an expressionless face, it wasn't harsh but it wasn't happy. She just let his words sink in.

"Then I'll wait," was all she replied and smiled an actual smile, which had successfully convinced him that she'd be okay. Hn. She'll learn to let go and love someone else with time. He was content with their conversation. He didn't burdened to love her in return. Actually, he felt more at ease around her. Confident that she'd move on, but still comfortable in her current thoughts toward him. He went to take another bite out of his grilled tomato, pleased that he finally looked at Sakura as an equal teammate.

I told you, but you just don't understand, do you, Sasuke? Sakura thought while drinking her tea. At the conclusion of their meal, they parted ways. It was civil, a courteous "thank you for eating with me," "we should catch up in a few days," and "see you later," was about the extent of their goodbyes.

They didn't see each other for about a week, when Naruto and Sasuke came back into the hospital for the procedure to replace their arms. Sakura was the head medic over the operations, both successful and a week after that, the boys were released from the hospital. Sakura had lunch with Hinata almost every day and had grown close to the Hyuuga. Life was becoming more and more normal, it had been a month since the war had ended. Things were looking up outside of her emotional life until one night when the entirety of team seven had decided to have dinner together.

"I think I'll be leaving soon," Sasuke said through the conversation of Sai, Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi, "I don't know how long I'll be gone."

Sakura's heart stopped and her vision went black.

A/N: This chapter is a little longer and I'm really not satisfied with it but it's done. I apologize for the typos! -Tsu