This chapter is for those of you who've been dying to see some SasSak fluff. This one leans more toward Sasuke finally beginning to admit how he feels though he is still in denial about how strong they are.
Disclaimer: I've said it once and I'll say it again...I don't own Naruto
Ch. 10: Back with Team Snake
Ino had told Sakura where to look for Sasuke. It was proof that the medical nin was nervous when is didn't cross her mind to question how her friend knew where to look. Sakura said good bye to everyone and told them not to worry. She would either be back soon or traveling with Sasuke. They all nodded their agreement and then she left.
She arrived at the area a few hours later. Karin was already standing there with a grin on her face. The red head walked forward until she was standing in front of Sakura. The medic was wary of the girl. She had after all hated Sakura the last time the medical nin checked.
"Well it's about damn time you got here. Sasuke has been getting restless. We weren't sure we would be able to keep him still much longer," Karin stated unexpectedly.
Once Sakura got over the shock she asked, "Does he know I'm here?"
"No. We thought that if we told him you were coming he would run and hide. So we didn't tell him."
"I don't understand."
"Frankly I don't understand him either. I just know he's not happy now that you're not with us and we want to fix that. So go find him already and don't leave until he agrees to let you stay."
"But then I won't be leaving at all."
"Now you're getting the picture, princess."
Sakura blinked, "Are you feeling alright, Karin? I thought you hated me."
"I did. Now I don't. Go find him now will ya. He's become a slave driver since you've been gone. He's in that direction," Karin stated pointing in the direction she saw Sasuke's chakra.
Sakura nodded and ran off towards him. She found him a few miles from team snake's camp. He didn't notice her at first and she debated on the best way to get his attention. She went with instinct. Unfortunately for Sasuke, Sakura's instinct was anger.
She walked up behind him and said in a voice that he knew meant trouble, "Oh, Sasuke. I found you."
Sasuke turned around to face her but the minute he did she hit him. He stumbled and almost cringed when he saw the anger radiating of the kunoichi.
"Sakura."
"Hello. I believe I owe you a few bruises for what you did," she stated.
"You're angry."
"I am now yes. I wasn't when I woke up a few days ago in my apartment. Oh no I wasn't angry then, Sasuke. Why did you do that to me? Do you know how I felt when I woke up and you weren't there? I thought that you were going to let me stay. Instead you abandon me again."
"I did not..."
"Don't you dare deny it, Sasuke. I woke up and you were gone. That is abandonment like it or not. You left me just like you did three years ago. Oh I wasn't angry...I was hurt."
He flinched. Sasuke didn't like knowing that he had hurt her. It was already a bother that he cared about her at all. She was a distraction and he couldn't have that right now. He was also finding that she was a distraction even when she wasn't there. During the past few days he had been plagued with thoughts of her. No matter what he did they wouldn't go away. Now she was here. He turned his back to her.
"Go home, Sakura," he said in the coldest voice he could muster.
She eyed him carefully, "Do you really want me to go?"
"Yes," he said telling the biggest lie of his life.
"Fine, I'll leave, Sasuke" she whispered.
He flinched again. She wasn't adding the -kun to the end of his name. It hurt. He began to turn around. Silent tears had began to fall down her face but she didn't utter a sound. Sasuke suppressed a groan when he saw them. Why did he have to feel this way? He hated it when she cried especially when she tried to pretend she wasn't crying.
Sasuke was standing in front of her and wrapping his arms around her barely a few seconds after seeing her tears. Her eyes widened in surprise. She could feel his breath against her ear when he spoke.
"Don't cry. I already told you that I hated it when you cried," he ordered her quietly.
She buried her face in his shirt so he couldn't see her cry. Sakura didn't like him seeing her cry anymore than he like to see it. She never wanted him to think of her as weak again. She wanted to prove that she could help him if he would let her. But the damn tears wouldn't stop.
"Do you want me to leave?" she repeated her question.
"No, damn it. I never want to let you out of my sight again. You're a distraction and I can't afford that right now," he growled. "Added to that you're not my prisoner anymore. I though you would want to go home.
She looked up at him, "I never was a prisoner. I stayed because I wanted to stay."
A hundred emotions stormed through him right then. He could only identify one of them...confusion. She would probably forever confuse him.
"Why do you want to stay, Sakura? I've done nothing but hurt you."
She gave him a small smile, "Because I love you, Sasuke-kun. That's the only reason I need."
"But..." he didn't get to finish.
"I love you, Sasuke Uchiha. Because of that I can forgive anything you do without any problem. You can't do anything to make me stop caring."
He placed his forehead against hers and whispered, "What am I going to do with you?"
"I don't know."
He closed his eyes, "I have nothing left in me to give, Sakura. You'd be better of loving someone else."
"I don't need anything from you. All I ask is that you let me stay with you."
"Why?"
"So I can help you."
His onyx eyes snapped open and looked straight into her emerald green ones. Time seemed to hold still for just one moment. The forest around them which had been filled with night sounds was silent. Nothing moved even an inch as the two of them looked at the other waiting for something they couldn't identify.
Sakura's heart was pounding and she had to force herself to breath normally. He was standing so close at the moment and it was playing with her system. It didn't help that she was in his arms and there wasn't any space between their bodied except for the gap that separated their mouths. She was suddenly wishing that gap wasn't there either.
Sasuke's thoughts ran in the same direction as Sakura's even though he was still in slight denial of his feelings for her. He admitted that she mattered to him but that was it. There was nothing more to his feelings.
Neither of them noticed that the gap was closing until it was too late. Then their minds just shut down. All that mattered was how the kiss made them feel. Sakura had gasped in shock and Sasuke took full advantage of the moment by deepening the kiss. The kunoichi wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck so that she could hold him closer. Sasuke's grip tightened just a little. They separated only when their bodied demanded oxygen. Onyx and emerald stared at each other. Then he stepped away and then, just as suddenly as it had stopped, time started again.
"That didn't mean anything," he said telling yet another major lie. That was getting to be a habit he wasn't sure he should keep.
She just smiled, "I know."
"I 'll never understand why you stay with me. I've got nothing to give and I'll probably hurt you again," he stated.
"I know but I don't need anything from you and if you hurt me again I'll just forgive you again."
He shook his head at her logic, "If you insist on staying I won't stop you. Let's go back to camp."
She followed without hesitation. Sasuke really needed to stop going out of character around her. It really was getting on his nerves. The trouble was that he didn't understand why it happened. One moment he's as distant and cold as he usually is but the minute he sees something bother her he immediately tries to fix it even if that means showing her emotion. It hit him like a ton of bricks. This girl had worked her way through the armor he guarded himself with. She mattered to him...a lot. He looked back at her. She smiled. He quickly looked away. Yup, definitely mattered to him way too much. He considered this for a moment before deciding that it didn't matter as long as it didn't get in the way of killing Itachi.
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"It's about damn time," Karin stated when Sasuke and Sakura arrived at camp.
"Geez, Karin. Can you yell any louder?" Suigetsu asked sarcastically.
"Of course I can. Want to see?"
"Not really."
"Then shut up."
"Glad to have you back, Sakura," Jugo greeted his friend.
Sakura fidgeted. She was wearing her village headband again and all of her ninja gear again. There was no point in trying to hide it anymore. The others knew that she was a kunoichi now.
"Are you guys sure you don't mind?" Sakura asked the team.
"Nope. Not so long as his holiness over there will take a chill pill now," Suigetsu said cheerfully.
Sasuke shot him a glare but the swordsman ignored it as usual.
Sakura smiled at them, "Then I'll make everyone some breakfast."
"That is just what I wanted to hear. Food that is actually edible," Suigetsu said dramatically.
Karin's eye twitched, "And what was wrong with my food, Suigetsu?"
"Nothing Karin. I'm sure that it was suppose to be black after you cooked it," he said sweetly.
She growled and then hit Suigetsu hard enough to send him into a tree. Everyone just shook their heads at the two. Sakura looked over to Suigetsu and blinked. The man was smiling. How in the hell could he be smiling right now? He had just gotten knocked into a tree and he was smiling.
"Suigetsu, why do you keep making Karin angry like that?" she asked him.
"Because it's fun pissing her off," Suigetsu replied cheerfully. When he was standing next to Sakura he whispered so the other's couldn't hear, "and it reminds her that I exist."
Sakura blinked for a moment, "You have a very weird way of getting attention, Suigetsu. If you keep that up you'll be dead from all the attention."
He gave an exaggerated sigh, "I know but apparently I was born to suffer."
She snorted, "And they say teenage girls are drama queens."
He just grinned at her.
Sakura seemed to consider him for a moment, "You know...you might get her attention in a much better way if you do it without pissing her off."
Suigetsu smirked, "But that wouldn't be any fun."
The medic shrugged, "Your funeral. Probably literally after Karin is finished with you."
He just chuckled, "I can't wait."
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After breakfast Jugo suggested that they go to a village. Maybe there would be rumors about the Akatsuki or Itachi there. Then they would have a place to start looking. The rest of the team agreed. Of course Suigetsu had to stop to rest every half hour and drink tons of water while he was at it. This annoyed the impatient Uchiha but he didn't say anything. If he did then Suigetsu would start resting more often just to annoy him. Then they would never reach the village. As it was they didn't make it until lunch time.
"Go do whatever you like. Keep your ears open for anything regarding the Akatsuki or Itachi. Sakura, you'll stay with me," Sasuke ordered everyone.
Sakura walked next to Sasuke. She was looking around her when her stomach decided to make it's desire for food known. The blush made it to her cheeks before she could stop it. Sasuke glanced back and mentally smiled. Yes mentally. He only showed emotion when she was crying damn it and that was the way it would stay...or so he told himself.
"Are you hungry?" he asked like he didn't know the answer.
She glared at him because she knew that he knew the answer, "No. My stomach is just growling for the fun of it. Of course I'm hungry."
He smirked, "Why didn't you just say so?"
"Sasuke-kun...I love you very much but if you don't get me some food or allow me to go get it myself you will be spending the night in the hospital."
He continued to smirk as he led her to a restaurant. Her temper was definitely still the same. Although there was a time she wouldn't have threatened him no matter what he did. It was weird that he was glad she felt comfortable enough around him to threaten him. It was also odd that he didn't get angry when he was threatened by her. His first reaction was normally to kick the ass of whoever threatened him. Sasuke let out a sigh. This caring about someone would take some getting use too.
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Team snake with the exception of Jugo met after dinner outside the village. The only thing of interest that any of them had heard was that a team of Konoha ninja were searching for the Akatsuki and that Naruto was among them. Sasuke considered this then shrugged. It didn't matter.
Sakura wondered if they would be better off joining the Konoha ninjas. They were both looking for the same thing and their skills could be useful. She didn't say anything to the rest of the team though. Sasuke would probably get upset and the others were going to agree with him. She was still too unsure of her place here to risk making the suggestion.
Just then she saw Jugo walking towards them. The big man motioned for Sasuke to come over. Sasuke ordered the others to stay put and went to meet him. A little while later the two of them walked back to the group together.
"I heard some useful information regarding the Akatsuki," the big man stated.
"Well, what was it?" Karin snapped at him.
"They're after the tailed beast. If we can find one and stay near by then we will be sure to find one of the members. If that member isn't Itachi then whoever it is might know where to look for him."
"That sounds like a good idea," Suigetsu said thoughtfully. "The only problem I see is where do we find a carrier of a tailed beast."
Sakura knew where one was. Not only that she knew which one Itachi was suppose to be after. Her green eyes met Sasuke's onyx eyes.
"I know. Not only that I know which one Itachi is after."
Karin glared at her, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"I didn't think of it. It's been three years since Itachi specifically targeted the nine tailed fox."
Sasuke's eyes widened for a moment as it clicked. Three years ago Itachi attacked and he had been after Naruto. At the time no one told him why his brother had been after his best friend. Now it made sence. Naruto was the fox jinchuriki.
"Naruto," he stated.
Sakura nodded.
"We can't join his group. They arrest all of us except the princess here," Karin said.
"We could travel parallel to them. Hell we can even use Sakura as a spy. She can rejoin their group and if they find anything interesting she can inform us," Suigetsu suggested.
Sakura blinked. When she understood what he was suggesting she wished he hadn't. She didn't want to betray her friends anymore than she wanted to betray Sasuke.
"Don't I get a say in this?" Sakura asked.
"You want to help Sasuke don't you?" Karin asked.
"Yes but..."
"Then what's the problem?"
Sasuke had been listening to this in silence. He knew what her problem was. She loved him and would do this if he asked her to but they were her friends. She didn't want to have to betray them to be loyal to him. He watched her. She didn't meet his gaze.
"No," he stated.
"What?" Karin asked.
"I won't ask Sakura to betray her friends."
Sakura met his gaze now in relief. She smiled at him in silent thanks.
"We will send her to them but only to see if they really will arrest us. If they won't we'll join them," Sasuke continued.
"And if they will?" Jugo asked.
"We'll travel parallel to them and take turns keeping an eye on them."
They all agreed to this plan. Sasuke looked over to Sakura who had remained silent. She considered this for a moment then looked at him.
"I'm allowed to come back right? If they say they'll arrest you I won't have to stay with them will I?"
He shook his head.
"Then it sounds like a good plan to me."
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A few hours later the Konoha team was sitting around a fire. They were discussing the best way to find Itachi. Suddenly everyone went quiet. They felt someone approaching. They all stood and got into a fighting position. Then relaxed when Sakura walked out of the woods. She smiled at them and everyone greeted her happily.
"So Sakura are you here to join the team?" Naruto asked.
She shook her head, "I'm here to ask if you plan on arresting team snake or not."
Everyone looked at her for a moment. They hadn't considered that question. Everyone turned to Kakashi who was the team leader. He thought about it for a moment.
He looked Sakura in the eye and said, "No we don't."
She smiled, "Good. Because they want to join your team."
There you go. A fluff chapter. Now don't forget to let me know what you think of the chapter.
