Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Recap:

Maybe Inner Sakura was right. She was in love with Sasuke Uchiha.

"Well?" Asked Sasuke, waiting for an answer.

Sakura stepped closer, and was now about two feet from him. She could feel Naruto go into protective mode behind her, getting the kunai in his hand ready.

"You should come back because...," started Sakura, she let out a deep breath and then looked directly into his once-alive, but now curious and dark, eyes, "... because I love you."

End Recap.

Naruto wasn't upset about what Sakura had just said. Actually, he was expecting it. One main reason that he wanted Sasuke back was for the village. After Sasuke left, everything was different. Especially team seven and all of the "rookies". Even though Sasuke was sometimes a pain in the ass, they all missed him. The other main reason was for Sakura. Sakura is like a little sister to both him and Sasuke, so he saw how sad she got when Sasuke left. He could also tell that she never got over Sasuke, no matter how much she tried to hide or deny it. Naruto was also her teammate and friend after all.

"I love you, Sasuke," Sakura said again, her shiny emerald eyes looking desperately for an answer.

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction once it sunk in.

'She still loves me? After all of these years of me shunning her away? After all of those painful words I said to her. Does she really still love me?' Sasuke thought, 'But... what if I still love her too?'

The three ninja stood in place, each of them as still as a statue.

But Naruto, being impatient, said, "Would you two just make up? Or make out, it doesn't really matter right now, just hurry up already. I think I hear some ninja, probably the rogue ninja that Granny mentioned earlier."

Naruto then roughly pushed Sakura forward. Sakura got ready to fall, expecting the inevitable, but it never came. Instead, she fell into the iron-hard chest of the Uchiha. She could feel the muscles that her inner was talking about earlier beneath his thin, black shirt.

'Naruto, wait until I get my hands on you! ...Wait, where did that bastard go?' Thought Sakura. She looked behind her, trying to find the blond.

'He probably left to find the ninjas... or to give you two some privacy...,' Inner Sakura said with a wink and sly smile.

Sakura turned her head around but blushed when she realized how close she was to Sasuke.

"U-um S-S-Sasuke..."

'Dammit, stop stuttering!' Sakura thought.

"Yes?" Sasuke asked coolly.

"Um... Naruto's not here. I mean, we're the only ones here, so talk. Why can't you come back to the village with me?" Asked Sakura, knowing that her childhood friend would comply.

Sasuke's guard lowered. It always did when he was around her. He always felt more... alive when he was with her. He would do anything to make her happy... well, everything except for this.

"I can't, Sakura. I still have to train."

"Please, Sasuke. I miss you so much!" Sakura pleaded.

'Dammit, I hate seeing her like this. Why do I keep doing this? Why do I keep breaking her heart?' Sasuke thought, 'Oh... now I remember why I left in the first place. Part of it was to kill Itachi but instead, I ended up kill Orochimaru. The other part was to spare her of the pain I keep causing her. I do love her but I can't go back. It'll just cause her even more pain. I have to come up with an excuse. I got one but going to cause her five times the pain that I've already caused her... dammit,' Sasuke thought in frustration. 'I'm sorry Sakura, but I have to do this... for you. For us.'

"Sakura, stop trying to convince me to go with you. Stop all of your nonsense and lying about loving me and wanting me back," Sasuke said, trying to cover the hurt in his voice.

"What? What makes you think that I'm lying!" Sakura said angrily, "What do you want me to say then? What can I say to make you believe that I'm not lying or talking gibberish? Oh, I know the perfect thing to say. How about I tell you that I cried for you every single night after you left? Or do you want me to tell you that I had nightmares of you leaving again, or even worse, dying?" Sakura's eyes started building up tears while she tried to push the horrible memory away. She tried her best to hold the hot, salty tears back.

"I felt so alone when you left Sasuke. I had no one else to turn to when I needed to talk or cry. You were the only one that understood me... but you were gone. Do you want me to tell you that I blamed myself for you leaving? I tried to tell myself that it wasn't my fault, but that didn't change anything. That didn't change the past," Sakura stopped for a second to catch her breath, letting a small whimper escape her lips. She tried to swallow the lump of pain and sadness that was forming in her throat. Each word that she said cut deeper and deeper into Sasuke's heart.

"Do you know the guilt that I had to live with? Did you know how scared I felt? Or did you know that I locked myself away until Naruto and Ino took me out of my room by force? Do you believe me now Sasuke? Huh?" Sakura was now yelling, the tears that she had tried to hold back were now running down her face, flushed with anger. She started clenching her fists. "What else do-," but she was then cut off by a pair of lips, slamming down onto her's.

Sakura stood there, her wet eyes were wide. She was shocked when she realized that Sasuke Uchiha was kissing her. She then unclenched her fists, letting her petite body go limp as she leaned into him, breathing in his hypnotizing scent of something sweet and spicy. She closed her eyes, forgetting about the hard, green land below them, the bright peachy colored sunrise above them, the thick trees around them; forgetting about everything, and kissed him back. Sasuke slid one hand onto her back, the other one was playing with her silky, pink locks. Sakura slid her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Once the two needed air, they separated. They were both breathing hard from the lack of oxygen, each had a slight blush on their face. Sakura's lips turned up into a small smile as Sasuke gave her another small kiss. He used his thumb to wipe away any stray tears. Sasuke then leaned his face into her's, their foreheads now touching.

He whispered, "I love you too."

Sakura's smile widened, but Sasuke's face remained serious.

"But I... can't be with you," Sasuke finished.

Sakura's heart broke when he said that. "What do you mean, you can't be with me?" She said, her head spinning with confusion.

Tears started coming out again. Sakura slowly nodded her head left and right, trying to comprehend what he just said. "Why?"

"Sakura, you know that I have to find Itachi. You know better than anyone else," Sasuke said.

"Then why did you kiss me? If you knew that you'd have to leave anyway, then why did you lead me on like this! I can't believe-," exploded Sakura before being interrupted by a noise from behind.

"Sakura! We have to go, NOW! Some of the ninja that Granny Tsunade was talking about are walking this way! They don't know that we're here yet, but we need to go!" Naruto said, panicking.

Sakura looked back at Sasuke, a pair of green eyes, filled with hate and disbelief connected with a pair of black eyes, filled with regret and sorrow.

"This is your last chance, bastard. Are you coming or not?" Sakura spat, her voice cracking.

"I'm sorry Sakura, I can't," Sasuke said while putting his hand onto her shoulder, his throat going dry.

"Come on, we have to go, guys! Remember, we can't be caught," Naruto reminded them.

"Whatever Sasuke. If training is more important than the person that you 'love', then I don't care anymore! I thought we were still friends, like before. I thought that, maybe, we could be more than friends, but I guess I thought wrong. I don't care about you anymore, OK? I don't need you!" Sakura said, her body trembling.

She then pushed herself roughly out of his arms. She and Naruto jumped into the branches and started running back to Konoha. Sakura never looked back.

After covering about three hours worth of running, Sakura's weariness, and the events that occurred earlier, caught up with her. She started crying again. Her crying then led to sobbing.

"Sakura, stop," Naruto said.

Sakura stopped where she was. She was shaking hard now. Naruto walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Let it out, Sakura. It's going to be OK, I promise," Naruto murmured again and again while patting her back, letting her cry into his orange jacket.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I was so stupid...," Sakura cried over and over again. "I'm so stupid for thinking we were still friends. I was so stupid to be in love with him," Sakura looked into Naruto's eyes, "I still love him, Naruto..."

Naruto continued to pat her back and said, "I know Sakura, I know."

After her cries calmed down to hiccups, Sakura was so tired that her body could barely support her. Naruto noticed, picked her up, and continued back to Konoha. He was still about another five or six hours away from the village when he decided to stop. He was getting tired now; carrying a teammate for about three hours straight definitely had its toll on you, especially after getting only and hour or so of sleep. He got the blanket out of Sakura's backpack and laid her down to rest. Naruto sat down next to her, making sure that no one tried to harm her. After about an hour of silence, Naruto heard a rustling sound to his left.

"Naruto?" Asked the too-familiar voice.

Sasuke will be kinda OOC, mostly because he's in love and because he and Sakura were best friends.

E person :)

4-7-11

edited on 6-18-11