Hiya everyone xD Its only been like, 3 days since my last update, go mee! XD I'm going to warn you before you read this chapter, this chapter may or may not be extremely boring compared to previous chapters, and may or may not be extremely more confusing than other chapters xD but I needed this chapter to make characters meet characters and make stuff happen. Otherwise this story wouldn't go anywhere and I'd leave it at chapter 3 again xD lol

Please read and review :D Makes me wanna write more XD Oh and for those who read my other stories, I'm planning on continuing Ethereal Reflections sometime soon, and will start adding more oneshots to CCSN xD (cba to write the full title)

Fragmented Lullabyes

Chapter 4

Thorns

Swift movements of his feet danced with the swaying flowers as he leapt across the distances separating him from her in mere seconds. His movements too fast to see or notice, the only trace he had been there would be the slight rift he left in the air, and the faint smell of freshly cut grass. He had ran towards her direction as soon as he felt her anxieties. He could feel it, she was in danger. Things like sensing her anxieties, her pains, her happiness too, had all become natural to him, but he didn't want it any other way.

He was happy as long as she was safe, but he would only come to save her in rare occasions, when her life was in real danger. He felt that she was in much more danger if he was to be beside her, as he was a selfish man. He knew he would never be able to let her go, and he would suffocate her in his psychotic love, and would not be able to contain himself around her. But here she was in such a dangerous situation. He growled in annoyance at how useless the guard he created for her was. The temptation to completely replace her current protector was increasing, his desire to completely monopolize her growing day by day. The only thing preventing him from doing this, and from losing any more of his insanity, was the fear of losing her completely.

He was slowly nearing closer and closer to the cave slowing down more and more to avoid being spotted. It was a beautiful sight, a raven haired man with coal black eyes, bathed under the moonlight rushing through reeds of long blades of grass. Silently, he activated his sharingan, trying to identify the source of the danger. Just as he activated his sharingan, he immediately understood the problem. Leaf Ninjas.

He cursed inwardly at their stupidity, annoyed and irritated beyond all belief. "Idiots. They're going to end up killing the one they intend to save…" He thought to himself, eyes widening slightly as he soon realised they had no intention to rescue Sakura. His shock quickly fading, he smirked to himself and closed his eyes. "If that's how you're gonna play Konoha…" He thought dryly.

--

It was all very sudden.

The cave walls had exploded, sending sharp fragments of stone flying at the people in the cave. Shouts and war cries of unknown people, and the tormented and pained screams of prisoners that the Akatsuki had kept echoed throughout the cave and forest surrounding it. Huge turrets of flames came roaring in the cave, painting the cave walls a miserable crimson red. The cave was collapsing, and Sakura wasn't even awake yet. She felt herself be lifted on a strong back, her arms drooping and her eyelids half open. Half asleep, she didn't feel any harm coming from the vicious flames heading at her direction, and she couldn't understand the string of curses that her blonde friend was shouting.

Among the bustling panic, she felt everything slur, a dizzy and slowed motion wavering around her. It was hot… Really hot, and she found she couldn't breathe. Getting more awake and aware of her suffocation, she held tight to Deidara, and felt herself being carried towards what she hoped was an area of clean, breathable fresh air while trying her best to deal with the pain of her burning lungs. He body was aching, her lungs burning, her vision going white at the lack of oxygen.

It felt like ages had passed until she could breathe, but it was all worth it to feel the soothing cold air in her body again. Much more sober than a moment ago, her head rose as she looked at her surroundings. She was still on Deidara's back, but they were still running through what seemed like forests. Her whole body was numb, so she could do nothing but remain on his back as they fled.

Moments and moments went by, Deidara not uttering a word. She longed to hear someone's voice, she felt so dreary and her throat was dry. But she didn't dare say anything as Deidara was concentrating seriously, but she couldn't help but feel like everything was a dream.

Slowly, her body went limp again as she drifted back to sleep. Deidara noticed this, and after just a few more moments, he slowed down, and turned his head to look at the sleeping kunoichi. Still running, he headed towards a waterfall, where he would finally be able to rest, not sensing anymore leaf ninja's chakra around him. He was worried about the giant turrets of flame that had attacked them in their sleep, how they could of gotten that type of power for such normal ninja.

He had been running for about half an hour, the time had gone quickly, but nevertheless, every second counted. He didn't know where the other Akatsuki members went, they were all separated. The strange thing was that he couldn't care less about them, he was only worried about Sakura.

Looking forward, he saw with his gentle blue eyes, a low waterfall. It was quite pretty, still bathed in the moonlight, the silver water sparkling and flowing into the small lake of water, the only thing breaking the silence. He stepped slowly towards a nearby tuft of grass, and lay Sakura gently down, smiling lovingly as she murmured in her sleep. He sat there next to her, imagining the impossible. He imagined her smiling back to him, but in his home town with his sister, in a beautiful mansion decorated with flowers. He imagined himself if he were out of Akatsuki, he wouldn't have to fight anymore, and Sakura wouldn't have any other objection for not being with him. He was so willing to give up everything for her, he really loved her.

Sighing, he knew none of his wishes would be granted, but a wonderful idea sparked up in his head. He slowly came closer to her, and wrapped his arm around her, bringing her closer. He held her tightly, taking in the faint scent of vanilla in her hair, and savouring the moment. Sakura woke up slowly, very drowsy and dozy, and breathed in slowly while letting him hug her closely. It was calm, and they were so distracted that they didn't notice a very dark murderous presence among them.

They sat there, in silence, their heartbeats mingling. Everything silent and peaceful, no sorrow, just calmness. Everything felt like a dream, especially when a piercing red hot pain ignited in Deidara's back through to his chest.

Deidara gasped in pain, desperately trying to unsheathe his katana from his belt after pushing Sakura out of danger. He felt himself being pushed onto the floor, a foot digging into his spine, and plunging a sword further into his back. Coughing out blood, he tried his best to get up and counter attack, but instead his arms and legs fell lifelessly. He could hear Sakura's voice, her screams screaming at the attacker. He saw in mild shock that she wasn't being hurt or attacked in any way. Relieved, he watched as she was put under a genjutsu and was caught with an arm as her body went limp. He could see her tears roll down her cheeks unseeingly, her beautiful face.

He coughed up more blood. He couldn't feel anything; the pain had long gone from him. Everything was fading, the waterfall, the trees, the moon, her. In a way, he was thankful that she would be partially safe, as he didn't feel any murderous intent directed at her, but felt a relieved and loving aura directed to Sakura instead. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to die in front of her. He wanted to live, to have a wonderful loving life with her. He wanted to live. Even so, he was thankful that he could die with her mourning for him, that enough was to make him smile one last smile.

Slowly fading, his gentle blue eyes looking at the one he loved, he accepted the death that was approaching.

Seconds that felt like hours passed and he started to wonder why he wasn't dead yet.

He slowly raised his head to his attacker, eyes widening with shock and pain as he slowly recognised the man in front of him. His attacker noticed this, and held his breath before he spoke, his gaze never leaving the girl in his arms.

"Don't think I'm letting you live because I want to." A deep but elegant voice whispered deadly, the sound of his voice barely detectable against the soft sound of the water splashing down from the waterfall. Before Deidara could reply, the man continued.

"Don't think I'm letting you live because I'm letting you be with Sakura either. You're simply a tool." To this, Deidara gritted his teeth, his eyebrows furrowing as his instincts to protect his pride rose.

"You're just a tool to protect Sakura."

"A tool?" Deidara barely managed to say, blood trickling down his mouth as he fought the urge to cough.

"I thought you'd be stronger than this. I let you be with her, to be my replacement for a while in protecting her." The raven haired man said casually, tucking a lock of pink coral hair behind the sleeping girl's left ear, and bringing her closer into his arms, breathing her scent in deeply.

"W...What the hell..." Deidara started, not even caring about his wounds anymore.

"I'll take care of her for the time being. Get stronger. Strong enough to protect her. That's the only reason I'm letting you live, because you love her. Not as much as I do, but enough to never betray her and sacrifice your life for her. You can choose to tell people about this, but regardless if you do or not... If at the next time you and Sakura meet, you fail to protect her..." The man paused before he spoke, closing his eyes and clenching his fists.

"If you don't die while protecting her... I'll kill you." His eyes opened suddenly, revealing beautiful but fearsome crimson eyes, watching the blonde before him lose his consciousness.

Minutes after the blond lost consciousness, the Uchiha sighed, seriously worried about what he should do about protecting her now that his first plan had failed. 'It would be a real pain the ass if she saw me in reality too soon, I would never be able to let her go.' He chuckled at that thought. 'I really should have been more patient I guess...' He thought, but instantly took back the thought of regret. He knew he shouldn't risk her safety, he'd be the one upset if she was hurt, no one else.

He smiled helplessly, admitting defeat to the beautiful girl in his arms. He caressed her face gently, his eyes scanning her entire body for any injuries. His chest tightened as he saw her injured arm, muttering under his breath how he would make the person who did this to her live through a living hell. Summoning his chakra gently and slowly, trying not to use too much so his chakra would become noticeable, a soft glowing green aura illuminating her skin.

As she was waking up, she saw a faint soft green glow around her, making her feel light headed and dizzy. She couldn't feel any pain in her left arm, and felt herself be surrounded by a comfortable warmth. Her eyes half drooping, she just stared at the green glow, until she noticed a pair of familiar onyx eyes looking into her own. He noticed her waking up, and hesitated before making a decision. But before he could start, she interrupted with a question.

"Did I die?" She asked innocently, completely serious as she looked at the Uchiha. It took a few seconds to grasp what she had just asked him, he was anticipating more of a, "Who the heck are you!?" or "Why did you leave me that night?" or worse, "Why did you come again?". After he got to grips with reality, a deep chuckle escaped his lips, laughing at her whack judgement of the situation. He thought he'd be more of a demon than an angel from heaven, but he didn't mind as long as she was thinking about him. Chuckling, he guessed he must have been really serious, since the longer he delayed with laughter, the more Sakura seemed to be worried.

"Koishii, you aren't dead." He told her, his voiced laced with amusement, a sadistic grin never leaving his face. But as soon as he saw her expression, the humour and grin vanished. She sat in his arms, eyes embedded with fear.

"If I'm not dead… Then who are you?" She whispered, obviously too scared to speak normally. He sighed with frustration, all amusement gone. He looked at her sombrely, then closed his eyes. With this, he could feel her body freeze. She probably guessed he was going to try to kill her, or at least cast another genjutsu on her. At this, he couldn't stop himself from feeling a little hurt, but he guessed it couldn't be helped. To her, he was an enemy and a dangerous one at that. He guessed that was how Sakura felt when having to talk to other people from her village. He smirked inwardly, 'I'll just have to make her sure that I'm not an enemy then.'

He opened his eyes again, revealing the same sombre beautiful but cold ebony eyes that she had seen on that night a few months ago. Blinking, she gazed at him, unsure whether to do a hit and run or to stay until he clarified things. If he was really an Uchiha, she would have to capture him.

Glaring at the Uchiha, her eyes wandered further away, beyond his shoulder and she saw a blonde heap on the ground next to the waterfall.

"Sakura." He started, with that same deep mellow voice. 'It really was this man...' She thought, her attention gathered. "Some things... Are better left unknown." He finished simply. She frowned, and let out a tantrum.

She pushed him away and flung herself backwards while sending several kunai at him. He recovered quickly and deflected all the kunai. How, Sakura didn't know. She had missed it all within a blink of an eye.

Blinking again, she saw him disappear, she couldn't sense his chakra at all and if he didn't have that dangerous aura around him all the time, she would have let it pass as him retreating. But she knew better, she needed to find him soon, before he attacks her. Before she acted at all, she swiftly moved Deidara away and placed him gently next to the silver waterfall. She then returned to her original location, not wanting to risk his life in any fighting she may have to do.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on scanning the area trying to sense any chakra, then as she failed she immediately switched to trying to sense the sound of a heartbeat. Opening her eyes with shock and gathering an immense amount of chakra into her right fist, a sickening crack opening up the earth rung in her ears, dust entering her eyes and throat. Ready to try to deflect any counterattack her opponent could do, she leapt from the mass of rubble, landing on a nearby pine tree. She held her breath, her body shaking from a sudden overdose of adrenaline. Instead of seeing a mauled buried half-dead body among the rubble, she saw nothing. Perhaps he really did retreat.

Her shoulders laxed as she sighed with relief, but she realized she made a fatal mistake as she realized an arm was around her waist, and a kunai at her neck.

The man behind her sighed, saying something like "I guess you really did forget me, huh..." whilst withdrawing the hand with the kunai in it. "I guess it can't be helped... Since I was the one who erased your memories of me..." He continued, but she dismissed whatever he said as something he was rambling on about to try to confuse her. And it was working.

She was about to question him further, before she heard him form seals with amazing speed, she was bewildered as he only needed one hand to form them. Gaping at her inactivity, she realised she had pretty much let this man attack her like a sitting duck. She gathered chakra in her elbow and was about smash his chest into pieces when the man caught her elbow swiftly, chuckling at her impatience. As he tightened the grip on her elbow, she felt her strength weakening and the world around her swirling. She felt her knees buckle and her eyes droop slightly, but to her surprise, she was caught and held by two strong arms before she could fall from the tree.

She wanted to struggle, but her body betrayed her, everything but her head fell limp as he continued to absorb her chakra. She felt herself be cradled tightly, her face resting at the crook of his neck. He smelt really really nice, like the scent of fields, and a really crisp fresh smell... Maybe it was aftershave? She ushered those thoughts away though, as she reminded herself again that he was an enemy. A sarcastic part of her that was trying to replace her ghost of a friend argued that she couldn't do anything right now, and she may as well ogle at the hot guy in front of her. She rolled her eyes in disgust at her own thoughts, and attempted to move her arms and legs. Not even being able to lift them, she lost hope, and waited for something to happen.

"Gomen ne, I won't let you run away from me again." He said as he gazed at her, not blinking or changing where he was looking at. At his heated stare, Sakura could feel herself blush tomato red, realizing that this man had even seen her naked, and that she had slept with him. She directed her sight to something else, something really unimportant, and tried to think of thoughts that would have nothing to do with the man in front of her. It didn't work for long though, but it didn't have to. He immediately started racing through trees with Sakura in his arms, carrying her bridal style, speeding away to a place that Sakura hoped would be able to escape from.

"I drained the chakra from your body, and also any energy that you may have left." He started, as if trying to initialize a conversation. "We're in the Country of Earth right now, but we're going to relocate somewhere else."

She wanted to ask 'where?' and she wanted to ask 'why?'. Taking one swift glance at her, he paused before an amused grin formed on his face.

"I'm not gonna tell you where, that would be just stupid." He chuckled, "And to explain why... Well... Like I said earlier, some things are better left unknown."

If Sakura could huff, she would have, instead she let herself be carried off through the endless mass of trees.

--

"Hey." She randomly whispered in an ANBU meeting for the next mission she would be forced to take. She was returned with a nonchalant 'Hn' and felt familiar loving arms wrap around her waist. The ANBU sitting next to her probably heard her, as they looked towards her direction, returning to paying attention to the mission briefer once again after she didn't reply for a few moments.

"You said I might be able to see you one day." She spoke softly to herself, causing the ANBU to look at her. They probably were looking at her weirdly, but she couldn't see underneath their masks anyway. She could feel the man behind her chest's tighten before he answered.

"You should concentrate more on the mission briefing rather than me." 'Changing the subject obviously' she thought sarcasticly. She pouted in response.

"Stop changing the subject. You know I could care less." She scowled a bit too loud to be unnoticed. This earned her a "...Miss Haruno? You have a probl- I mean question?" from the briefer and an amused chuckle from the man behind her. She ignored the briefer and sent 'evil mind waves' that she hoped would hit him in some way. It might have worked, since she heard him sigh into her ear, causing her to shudder at the warmth that she craved. His arms slipped down from her waist. Hugging her and holding her arms together so she wouldn't be able to respond, he put his head into the crook of her neck and rested it there. She knew what he meant, and he meant for her to listen, she was so used to their silent language of their body and gestures, it amazed herself how she could understand such an enigma.

Closing her eyes in response, letting him know she understood, she leaned slightly backwards into his warm chest.

"If you ever see me, I hope you'll run away. I'm not a good person." He said simply, as if it were a matter-of-fact thing. She wanted to ask "How will I know it will be you?" but it was still his turn to speak.

"If you ever see me, I won't let you know it's me till the very end. Plus, unless you really do remember me completely, you probably won't ever see me." He ended, and disappeared into thin air.

She sighed, annoyed at his usual mysterious choice of words, but brushed it aside when she was handed a scroll by a nervous blonde Hokage. She left as soon as she got the scroll, the sight of the Hokage quivering at her feet pissing her off deeply. She wanted to ignore the words that he had spoken to her, but for some reason like every other thing he said, the words stuck in her mind repeating themselves over and over. Arriving at her house, his words like a broken record driving her nuts, she quickly stripped down in her bedroom and entered her bathroom. She was about to enter her shower room when she saw an ivory, white fully bloomed rose resting in front of her vanity mirror. She reached for it and cringed in pain. She withdrew her fingers and raised them to her eye level. She 'tched' at the fresh cuts, sighing as she remembered that roses have thorns.

She carefully picked the white rose up, taking it to her bedroom and leaving it at her study table, eyes wondering in amazement as she noticed a small concealed piece of paper camouflaged as a petal. Gently placing the rose down, it took her quite a lot of effort to get the concealed piece of paper without pricking herself anymore.

Finally getting the paper out, she unfolded the paper and saw it was a note. Reading the message, her eyes widened as the message sunk in. She placed the paper onto the table, her mouth agape. She immediately turned to start her long forgotten shower, trying to forget and ignore what she had just read.

The luke-warm water came pouring down in tumbles, causing her to shudder in contrast to her icy skin. Cupping her hands and trying to collect water, she splashed it against her face, trying to get herself to wake up. She wasn't thinking properly, and it was no surprise why.

After a while, she got out of the shower, got dressed and grabbed her rucksack. She filled it with various weapons, a few medic scrolls and satchel of soldier pills. Her mission this time was to go to the Lightning Country, to either marry or spy on the Raikage. She didn't need the extra stress. As she passed her study table, she glanced once more at the note, furrowed her eyebrows once more and crushed the note into a small paper ball, throwing it into a dustbin while exiting her room but she missed her target.

She didn't know when she was going to return, but she didn't really have much sentimental care for the village anymore. It had nothing she wanted to keep in it. She didn't even want to take this stupid mission, but she was just too lucky to be the only remaining person that would be capable of taking it. If she didn't, the guilt of letting a war occur would have haunted her, not that she would of cared if Konoha went down in ruins anyway. All she meant to Konoha was a pretty good and violent tool, and all Konoha meant to her was her salary and enough to eat.

She sighed, knowing she was getting way too worked up again. It's not like she was seeing anyone anyway, which was pretty much the whole reason they asked her. Biting her lip, she thought back to the note again. She was not one to take advice, but the words that he said to her, and the words that the letter had had written on it haunted her.

Making her way to the village gates where she would have to meet her fellow ANBU team members, she could of sworn she sensed a dark lurking shadow following her. It disappeared though as she left her house, so she quickly forgot about it.

As soon as she arrived at the gates of Konoha, she got one more basic debriefing, and then departing for the country of lightning.

Completely out of sensing range, the dark presence that she had felt earlier, smirked as it entered her house. The shadow turned out to be a man, with raven hair and dark black locks.

He sniggered as he saw his crumpled letter on her bedroom floor, smeared with a faint fingerprint of blood. He uncrumpled the paper and reread what he had written. Chuckling slightly, he guessed he had been a tad sadistic with his message.

『Koishii

A word of warning

Every rose has its thorns

Even the most beautiful ones.

If you don't start a war fuelled by Konoha's betrayal

I'll start it for you.

Sending my love, you should know who this is from.』

After reading it to himself slowly, he decided to crumple it up again and burned it with a small push of burning chakra. His face expressionless, he made his way back to the gates to see that his target was already miles away. He disguised himself again, blending in with the shadows, bracing himself for a long and tedious journey.

--

Sakura couldn't remember what a field looked like. They had been running through endless miles of forest and trees, much faster than she could probably ever run. She wanted to run away, but it was obvious from his speed and her current condition she wouldn't be able to pull a hit and run off. She wondered about Deidara, she hoped he was found by other Akatsuki members so he could be safe. Then she realized she was hoping that another one of her enemies would be safe. 'A very kind enemy' she argued back at herself, annoyed at her sudden decision to argue with herself over nothing.

She raised her head and decided to try to annoy the person carrying her. Her first idea was to ask him loads of questions and bug him, it seemed to work with any other guy. This plan seemed to backfire, annoying her more than it annoyed him.

"Ne, ne. Whats your name?" She had asked innocently?

"Hmm? My name? My name shouldn't be of importance to you yet." He smirked, "What about you? I'm more interested in you."

"Haruno Sakura. Now tell me your name!" She grumbled annoyingly, well aware this man knew what her name was already.

"Heh, that's a pretty name. It really suits you. What's your favourite colour?" He continued, changing the subject entirely, his eyes not moving an inch as he sped through the forests. It was quite insulting actually, the guy who she had slept once with not even looking at her while he asked her personal things.

"Blue." She said through gritted teeth, glaring at him. He turned to her, his face showing mock surprise, smirking at her. She blushed at the sudden attention, before making an angry face.

"What?" She asked grouchily.

"Nothing, I just thought your favourite colour would have been red."

"Why's that?" He paused before he answered.

"…No reason." She lifted her eyebrows in suspicion. She would of interrogated him further but he silenced her with a cold glare. It wasn't much a glare though, more of a sad stare that she could imagine her non-existant friend would make. It was the sort of look that said "Please Sakura… Don't ask anymore."

She took her eyes off him and tried to define their current location again, but giving up after she saw more endless trees. Suddenly, it dawned on her.

"Who was the one who blew the Akatsuki hideout up?" She asked seriously.

"...Me."

"...Why?"

Suddenly, he stopped, earning a curious stare from her. He simply said "Gomen ne Sakura. I have to put you under genjutsu. Can't have you seeing where I'm taking you."

Her eyes widened as the trees suddenly turned into her house, and a mirror appearing in front of her. She looked in horror as she saw herself as a younger teenage girl clad in red again, probably around 13. She heard a voice calling, feminine but stern.

"Sakura? Sakura! Wake up Sakura!" A familiar voice called out, her voice echoing in Sakura's ears. 'Crap. Just what I need.' She thought, then turning around as she saw that same man clad in a black cloak. He seemed to be smiling to himself, his eyes shut and completely oblivious to her death glare.

Turning around, Sakura walked outside of her room, walking down the stairs to her living room slowly. The next sight made her want to cry.

Her mother was standing in front of her, hands on her hips with an angry expression on her face. Her dad was sitting under the kotatsu, eating a simple breakfast of fried eggs and bacon whilst reading the daily newspaper, not even going to try to get involved with the two feminine member's rows.

Sakura stood there, mouth slightly open, understanding completely the intentions of this genjutsu, or at least she thought she did. Her mother ignored her unknown surprise and continued to lecture her.

"Mou... Sakura. You told me to wake you up today extra early today! When I tried you threw several pillows at me! Next time even if you DO have a dat- I mean have to meet up with _____-kun I won't bother waking you up!" She huffed out, going back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

She felt nauseous, the last thing she needed right now were the warm images of her parents. She heard a deep chuckle from behind her, and saw the cloaked Uchiha.

"Having fun yet Koishii?" He asked, his eyes gleaming with amusement. Before she could answer, her mother interrupted and she was forced to look away.

"Oi. Sakura. Hurry up and eat, your crush might miss you if you're late." Her mother told her, ushering her to the Kotatsu. Sakura turned around once more, and saw that he was gone.

Eating her fake breakfast rushedly, she rushed out the house to where she guessed she was supposed to meet her supposed "crush". She couldn't recall ever having any interest in guys at this age, nor at any other. Even so, anything was better than confronting her dead parents all over again.

She ended up going to the training grounds where she had became a genin, but that was all she could remember about that place. She couldn't remember at all how she became a genin. Behind her she heard that arrogant voice again, but this one was much colder and less deep.

She turned around ready to scowl at the black cloaked man, but instead she was surprised by a younger raven haired boy and a blonde boy. The blonde boy she guessed was Naruto. She looked away in disgust at the future Hokage, hating his false affection more than anything else. Looking at the raven haired boy clad in blue, she couldn't quite remember him. She definitely knew she knew him, but she couldn't remember him at all. It definitely didn't help when Naruto tried to annoy them both.

"Oi oi! _____-teme! Stop going near my beloved Sakura-chan!" he bellowed, pouting as the other guy elbowed him on the head whilst calling him an idiot, an obviously annoyed and bored expression on his face. Sakura glared at him, taking a cautious stance. Said person noticed this and raised his eyebrows with curiosity.

"Who the heck are you?" She asked. Apparantly she had asked something really strange since the expressions on both of their faces were dumbstruck. In fact, it felt like they thought she grew another head.

"I'm serious. Who the heck are you." She repeated, clutching her fist tightly ready to draw chakra. They looked at her, and both looked somewhat worried.

"Sakura-chan... What's wrong? It's ______-teme, why wouldn't he be?" Naruto stated, extremely worried for his favourite pink haired kunoichi.

"What the hell Naruto, I've never seen him before in my life." She replied, earning two wide eyed faces. She saw Naruto's gaze direct at the dark haired boy, then at her again.

"Sakura." The normal dark voice spoke again, but the voice didn't come from the boy in front of her. In fact, the boys in front of her seemed to have frozen in place.

She turned around, and saw the man again wearing that annoying smirk. She tried to gather chakra into her fist, but found it useless, no chakra came. Not being able to do anything special, she attempted to land a clean punch onto his face, her strength shouldn't be so weak that she can't punch hard enough without chakra. The man easily caught it, grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer to him and crushing her against his chest.

"Sakura."

"Why the hell did you put me in such a confusing fucking genjutsu!? Who the fucking heck ARE you!?" She shouted, her temper taking over her common sense to try to stay alive. He looked at her coldly, sending chills through her spine.

"I already told you Sakura. A long long time ago. I'm not a good person. Every rose has it's thorns. I won't tell you who I am until you can finally remember my name." He said softly, letting go of her slowly, and taking a step away from her trying to let her realise.

As he let her go, she looked up and saw the man in front of her hold a white rose. Her eyes widened, and he could have sworn there was a tear.

"Gomen ne... Koishii."

--

He watched her fall unconscious, and immediately continued his journey. He didn't want to keep her in genjutsu for too long, he didn't want her to remember too much of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shed a tear. He only stopped completely when in his horror and shock, she had whispered in a sigh something that he never expected her to come out of her mouth. Not this soon anyway.

"Sasuke-kun..."

--

"Do you know how hard it is?

Not to run towards you and steal you away,

To stop being your knight in shining armour,

And almost instantly become the masked villain?

This is for your own good, princess."

I really hope you liked this chapter XD Even though I doubt it, since it was probably really boring and confusing, but keep reading D: I'll make it get better ;~; somehow xD

Remember :D Review pleasee 3 They make me wanna update faster lol xD Oh and no flames please =D