Knowing full well that he still could not forgive Itachi for his actions, Sasuke decided that he would not hold anything against Sakura. What she had done was her choice, and he could not with all his strength, find it in his heart to hate her. This was his fault. He understood that. So, unable to face his guilt should Sakura awaken, Sasuke decided that it was best if he left her alone.

Placing her back in the cave, Sasuke collected wood to keep the fire burning through the night. As he was about to leave, Sasuke kneeled beside Sakura and placing his hand upon her face, bent down and kissed her lips. It was the first time that he had felt such a passion in his heart. In that moment, he would have traded his whole life to be able to go back in time to be with her. After all those years that she had chased him, this was the first time that he had ever looked back at her. Pulling out his kunai, Sasuke took a lock of her hair, wrapped it in a piece of cloth, and stuffed it into his gi. Standing up, he walked out of the cave and began to make his way through the trees.

Putting his hand over his gi where the lock of Sakura's hair was being held, Sasuke felt his heart burn with each step he took further and further away. However, the moment of longing was short-lived as Sasuke felt a presence up ahead.

Coming down from the trees, Sasuke crouched behind a bush. He could hear voices.

"Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto, trailing behind. "Are you sure that Sasuke had come this way?"

"The smell of Sasuke is faint but distinct. It's him." hissed Orochimaru.

Sasuke paused. He knew that it would not be long before they found Sakura's cave. Looking towards the ground, Sasuke knew he had to make a choice: get to Sakura before they do, or let fate take its course. Sasuke stayed there for a while listening to their footsteps trailing away.

Sasuke jumped up. Doubling back, Sasuke rushed back to the cave. As he hurried, ahead he could see the glow of the fire emanating from the cave, but it was too late. Coming to a stop several yards from the cave, he could see Orochimaru and Kabuto entering. As he waited to see what would happen, he heard their voices echoing from inside the cave.

"Do you think he was here?" asked Kabuto.

"Maybe…." said Orochimaru with irritation in his voice. "There's a much stronger smell though…..shampoo…."

As Sasuke listened to the conversation, he thought it was strange that they did not mention Sakura. Suddenly a cough came from behind him.

Turning around, Sasuke found Sakura lying on the ground. She had vomited. From what it looked like, she had tried to chase after him when he left.

Not saying a word, Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her onto his back. Sasuke shrugged to get a better hold of her, and then took off into the night. Looking back, he could not sense anyone following and he did not think that Orochimaru was alerted to their movements. Believing that he had gotten away safely, Sasuke knew that it was just a matter of time before they picked up his trail.

Sakura could feel herself moving. Peeking her eyes open, she could see the sun shining through the trees as she felt herself being carried through the air. Blinking her eyes, she turned her head to see who was carrying her.

Sakura gasped.

"Don't move," said Sasuke. "I'll lose my balance."

Peeking down, Sakura could see that they were bounding through the treetops.

"Wha…."

"Orochimaru is on our trail. We need to keep moving…" said Sasuke, answering her question.

Sakura found his temperament very strange. As she remained silent, she slowly began to remember last night's events. Putting a hand over her face, Sakura felt embarrassed.

…Oh my god…what did I say!? she thought.

"Where are…" she stammered.

"I'm taking you back to Konoha. It's the safest place," said Sasuke, answering her question again.

Safest place!? thought Sakura, thinking she must have hit her head somewhere along the way.

Unable to think of anything else to say, Sakura remained quiet. However, as it was now dawn, Sasuke had well reached his limit. Finding a grassy spot, Sasuke came to a stop before letting Sakura down. Not saying anything, he took off his gi and folding it, used it as a pillow so he could sleep.

Sakura was beyond weird. Didn't he realize that she could just run away? Shocked by the turn of events, Sakura sat down and tucked her knees in. Looking over at Sasuke, she wondered why she wasn't running away.

"Keep watch," said Sasuke with his eyes closed.

Even more shocked, Sakura could only shake her head yes. Looking up at the sky, she could see that it was almost noon. Leaning her back against a tree, Sakura began to count the hours until nightfall.

When the late afternoon rolled around, Sakura began to yawn but cut it short when her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten that whole time. Luckily there was a stream nearby where she was able to get a drink, and more so, wash the taste of vomit out of her mouth.

"Hungry?" asked Sasuke suddenly.

Sakura jumped.

"There's a village nearby," said Sasuke, sitting up. "Let's get something to eat."

As they made their way toward the village, Sakura could not help but notice how strange they might look passing by. However, as they approached the village, Sakura noticed that the characters who were there were a lot more strange-looking than they were.

Turning her head from left to right, Sakura noticed that there weren't any women around. Something gave her the feeling that this was no ordinary village. As she passed her eyes over the scenery, she began to recognize some of them. Some were listed as Class A criminals.

"Here," said Sasuke, giving her a pouch. "Get us something to eat."

Stopping in the middle of the road, Sakura watched Sasuke walk off.

Sakura had never felt as many eyes upon her at once, and it didn't feel like the normal kind of threat. At that moment, she felt like a giant steak that was tossed into a pen of ravaging wolves.

Well, she thought. I'm just going to have to make it appear as if this type of atmosphere doesn't bother me.

Walking into the nearest bar, Sakura went to the counter and ordered two bentos to go. As the creepy bartender placed the order, Sakura felt a hand grab her behind.

BOOM!!

Sakura had punched the criminal so hard that he skidded all the way out into the road. As he got up, Sakura's fist had already met with his face, but this time she had room not to cause any damage, so she sent him flying down the road. Everyone around her gawked at her sheer power.

"ANYONE ELSE WANNA FUCK WITH ME!?" she yelled. Her eyes seared through everyone that was standing on that road.

As the crowd dispersed, only a few were brave enough to look on.

Grabbing her order from the bartender, she stomped off down the street to the other end of the village. By that time, everyone she encountered stepped aside because they had already heard of what an impression she made. As she neared the end of the road however, she ran into group of men looking for some action.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a criminal infested place like this?" asked a man with tattoos. "You lost?"

Sakura recognized this shinobi immediately. He was listed in the bingo book. There was no mistaking the tattoos he had, this one was bad.

"Can I buy you a drink?" said another man. He had three scars carved deep into his face. "We can have lots of fun."

"Piss off," said Sakura, looking them dead in the eye.

"Oh, she likes it rough, huh?" said a third man, circling behind her.

Gross, that's all she could think.

This third guy stunk really bad, and it was a wonder that he had friends willing to be around his stench. As the third man came back to the front, Sakura's path was blocked by the three of them. Passing her eyes over them, she knew that she would be fine with just the other two, but the man from the bingo book was going to be much more of a challenge. She wasn't sure if she could make it if she had two others to worry about. The odds were against her.

"Move, or be moved," said Sakura calmly.

"I choose to be moved," said the shinobi with tattoos, looking up and down Sakura as he said so.

BOOM!!

Before Sakura could respond, the shinobi with tattoos got blasted backwards. As the dust cloud settled, Sakura opened her eyes to see that Sasuke stood between them.

"Is there a problem?" said Sasuke, scaring the other two shinobi with his eyes alone.

Looking behind them, the two shinobi saw that the guy who got hit was not moving. They didn't see his attack coming. Frightened by Sasuke's speed, they ran off.

Turning around, Sasuke faced a sudden swarm of shinobi that had gathered behind them. As they looked at him in anger, Sasuke merely turned back around, put his arm around Sakura, and together they proceeded to walk out of the village unharmed.

"Ari…"

"Did you get my food?" said Sasuke sharply.

"Ha..Hai…." stammered Sakura, handing over the package. "Nothing sweet."

Pulling out a bento, Sasuke handed the bag back to Sakura before walking away to eat. Feeling lonesome, Sakura sat where she stood and opened her bento.

Memories began show themselves as Sakura looked at her bento. There were many times that Team 7 shared bentos. The first ever being the day they became a team. It was amazing to think how special moments were shared over such a little thing. Sakura, picking up her chopsticks, proceeded to take her meal alone.

"Itadakimasu…"

As dusk fell, Sakura and Sasuke came upon an opening in the forest. The grass here was soft as the rain could easily reach it. Lying down upon the grass, Sasuke rolled onto his side so that he faced away from Sakura. Sakura lay down on her back, and stayed awake to watch the stars come out.

The whole scene felt incredibly nostalgic. There were so many nights that she and Sasuke slept under the stars like this with Kakashi and Naruto by their sides. Sakura remembered how they always made her sleep in the middle, a natural way of protecting a girl as she slept. She was lucky, she knew, to be in the company of such a group of wonderful friends. These thoughts however, were soon invaded by something much more pressing.

Sasuke's sudden appearance back there, she had to admit, was quite dashing. The way he looked when he suddenly defended her was too much for her to bear.

Sakura blushed. After all this time, Sasuke still held a control over her just as he somehow did before. She never understood what drove her so crazy over him. Looking back at it, she felt stupid. Taking a deep breath, Sakura let out a big sigh.

Although Sasuke had remained lying on his side for over an hour now, he was still wide awake. Hearing her sigh made him anxious. She was so close to him, lying just five feet away. Thinking back, he felt embarassed at the thought of his protecting Sakura.

Sakura turned away from Sasuke, but as she lay there something caught her attention.

Is that me!? she thought, catching a whiff of her armpit as her head lay on her arm.

The thought of Sasuke or anyone smelling her that way was too much to bear, and she hoped that his shinobi senses didn't pick up on the smell. Sitting up quietly, she looked over at Sasuke to see if he was asleep. Thinking that he might think that she ran away, Sakura decided to leave her pleated sash behind. Tip-toeing away, Sakura went in search of a stream.

Walking through the forest was nice. It had not yet gotten chilly, so she figured she had a good chance to dry off well. Soon she came upon a small waterfall with a deep basin to catch the water below.

Perfect! she thought.

Making her way down to the pool, she looked back and forth to see if she could sense any presence. Feeling nothing, she began to strip off her clothes.

Stepping into the pool, Sakura was freezing but feeling fresh already. Diving down, Sakura shook her head to get the dirt out of her hair. She didn't have any soap or shampoo, but it would have to do for now. Coming back up, Sakura did a backfloat to watch the stars. She giggled at how funny she must look, but it made her feel giddy and naughty, so she closed her eyes in pure bliss.

Too bad Ino's not here, then I could have someone to share this stupid moment with, thought Sakura.

Opening her eyes, Sakura saw a shooting star. As her conciousness glazed over with peace and tranquility, she made a wish.

I wish that everything would turn out alright, she thought.

Sitting up, Sakura swam back and forth in the pool, streaming through the water like an otter.

After a short time, Sakura had begun to wade out of the pool when something stopped her.

Ouch!

Sakura felt like her foot got stuck on a reed or something. As she tried to wiggle her foot out, she couldn't seem to find a way to slip her heel through. She thought it was strange that she could have slipped her foot into something so snuggly without noticing.

Sakura had to duck her head under the water to reach her ankle, but was unable to feel out what it was that had caught her. Coming back up for air, she wiped the water from her face before going down for another try. What was stranger than before was the fact that she could not feel anything, anything at all. It was as if her ankle was bare. Surfacing, Sakura soon found that her suspicions were warranted.

Arms suddenly wrapped themselves around Sakura's neck, and she was yanked so that her leg was stretched away from where her foot was stuck.

"Well, well, well... what have we here?" said a harsh voice.

Sakura turned to see that it was the shinobi with tattoos who had caught her. Yanking her again, Sakura felt her leg stretch in pain. Unable to get a sure footing with that angle, the only thing keeping Sakura's head from going under were her arms that hung onto him.

"Aaaaaw, don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you..." said the shinobi, brushing his cheek against hers.

"Let me go..." warned Sakura.

"But why? I don't think you want to go..."

"I warned you..."

Suddenly, Sakura bit down hard on the shinobi's arm, biting so deep that the blood squirted into her mouth as she bit.

The shinobi immediately let go of Sakura, screaming. The juitsu that the shinobi was using suddenly released Sakura's leg. Ducking below the water, Sakura used the current to distance herself from him. Coming back up, she could still hear him screaming. There was blood gushing from his arm, and he looked furious.

Concentrating chakura on her palms, Sakura began to pull herself up and onto the surface of the water, but she was instead grabbed around the wrist and yanked up instead. Standing between the shinobi and her was Sasuke. Taking off his gi, Sasuke passed it back to her without looking.

"You again?" seethed the shinobi. "I'll tear your little girlfriend apart in front of your eyes and make you watch."

The water around them began to churn. Between the shinobi and Sasuke, a whirlpool began to form. However, Sakura wasn't fooled.

Looking from side-to-side, Sakura remembered well that the bingo book listed this shinobi's specialty in surprise attacks using the water element and genjuitsu, illusions of the mind. The whirlpool was not an illusion, but rather a distraction so that he could use genjuitsu without them noticing.

There! she thought.

"KAI!!" she yelled, before jumping off the surface of the water. However, she was stopped short as Sasuke grabbed her by the gi and pulled her into him. Drawing his sword, he cut off the shinobi's head in one fell swoop before landing on the opposite bank. As Sakura watched the world around her begin to swirl, she saw that she was already in a genjuitsu that she did not break.

How did he?... she thought, bewildered.

Sakura soon realized that the shinobi had somehow cast two separate genjuitsus. The second was the real distraction, obviously cast so that she would move, while the first was cast at a time she thought hard to discover.

Sakura gasped.

It was while I was swimming away... she thought. What calculation...

Sakura's surprise doubled when she saw what the shinobi was hiding. The area that she was standing in had what looked like giant claw of water that was about to engulf the area of where she had been standing. She would have drowned if the shinobi managed to touch her with it. Lucky for her, Sasuke's Sharingan saw right through the genjuitsu. Without it, she may have died.

The post-thought-process of battle was soon overwhelmed. Sakura had finally realized that she was still scathely clothed and pressed against Itachi's brother.

"Aaaah!" she shrieked, jumping back.

Closing the gi around her as tightly as she could, she turned red from head to toe.

Sasuke could not help but blush, though the darkness hid the coloration well. Turning, Sasuke walked back to where he was laying.

When Sakura was sure he was gone, she climbed down to where she had left her clothes. Crouching down, she could not help but sneak a tiny whiff of his gi.

Standing up, Sakura giggled to herself.

Sasuke smells good, alright...but nowhere nearly as good as his brother does!