Author's Note: Okay, I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who gets ticked when people say that Sakura is useless. For one, she's a medical ninja and her first priority is NOT on the battlefield. Then, there's the people who say that sasusaku doesn't make sense. I've even heard some people say that it supports domestic violence. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That just shows that they're probably upset narusaku fans that are desperate. I don't hate narusaku fans, just the fact that they keep making pitiful excuses. To be honest, I personally think that sasusaku made more sense than naruhina. Don't get me wrong, I do love naruhina. Oh, and last but not least, let's not forget the ones who say that Sarada is Karin's daughter just because she has glasses. Get over it already and stop making excuses!

I apologize for that but I needed to get it off my chest. Anyway, this chapter is pretty much all sasusaku. Enjoy!

READ THE NOTE AT THE BOTTOM PLEASE BECAUSE I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU GUYS THAT I MUST KNOW!

"In the next life," Naruto began, "you won't be an Uchiha... And I won't be the jinchuriki of the kyuubi and maybe, we'll finally be able to understand each other in the afterlife."

Sasuke stared at the Uzumaki with an indifferent expression. Naruto spoke again.

"So save up your hatred and take it all out on me. I will shoulder your hatred and die with you."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in confusion.

Naruto gave a gigantic smile. "Because you are my friend..."

A shift. This time it wasn't a memory.

Sasuke stood in the middle of nowhere. Naruto was across from him and he had a saddened expression. The Uzumaki looked up and his features changed so that they were full of hatred.

"I shouldn't have tried to save you. You're a worthless coward and all you do is hurt everyone!"

The Uchiha gasped slightly. This wasn't like Naruto at all.

Suddenly, Sasuke lost all control of his body and launched forward to grab Naruto's neck. The Uzumaki didn't resist as the Chidori went through his heart. Then, more people appeared. His family, comrades, and the rest of his team. One by one, he murdered all of them and laughed hysterically at the blood on his hands and the bodies on the ground.

Sasuke opened his eyes groggily and breathed heavily. That was the first time in a few days that he hadn't screamed when he woke up from a nightmare. He realized that he had control of his body and slowly moved his hands so that he could see them. Both his real hand and the heavily bandaged one were both clean, no blood. He sighed and sat up, groaning quietly at how stiff he still was.

Four in the morning, of course. Waking up early was normal by now because of those horrible dreams. Sasuke tried to get up, but collapsed onto the couch again almost immediately. The paralyzing poison hadn't completely worn off in his legs apparently. Huffing, the annoyed male remembered what happened last night and that today was the start of preparations. He wondered if all of them were truly up for this, going after Kurushimi. If they weren't then why would they have agreed to come?

Pushing the dumb thought to the back of his mind, Sasuke attempted to get up once again. No luck. Glancing at his chokuto, he grabbed it and used it for support as he forced his legs to move for a third time. This time, he was able to pull himself up and wobbled slightly. Grabbing the arm of the couch, he set out at a slow pace for the bathroom. About halfway there, he accidentally stepped on his other foot while trying to gain control of his legs and fell down with a loud thud.

The noise of the thud was nothing compared to Sasuke's cursing, which made Sakura open her bedroom door with an annoyed expression. As soon as she saw what happened, she let a smirk settle on her face. "Need help?" she asked mockingly and tiredly at the same time.

The male sat up and glared at her. "I can handle myself. Go back to bed," he said harshly as he pulled himself up for another try.

Sakura leaned against the doorframe as she watched him clumsily limp to the bathroom. As soon as he locked the bathroom door, she rolled her eyes and closed her door, plopping down onto the bed and attempting to get some more sleep.

Sasuke held on to the sides of the sink as he attempted to splash his face with cold water at the same time. He thought about what the preparations would include. The most important thing that they needed to figure out was the location of Kurushimi's hideout. Then, the most likely objective would be discovering the number of his forces. He pushed the second thought out of his mind, deciding only to focus on the first task. The cabin in the Cloud was highly unlikely. After he'd woken up at one of their hospitals, Sasuke told the Raikage where the fight had taken place. They searched the site and only found the aftermath of the battle, nothing inside the cabin and nothing that gave him a lead as to where Kenshi had fled.

After making his way back to the couch (not falling this time), Sasuke pondered about possible locations for what seemed like forever. He had eventually ruled out all locations outside of the Land of Fire, deciding that it was the only option. The decision had been made based on the fact that Kurushimi had to somehow have a way of knowing when Sasuke left the village.

He glanced at the clock and was slightly shocked at how long he had sat on the couch wondering. Six in the morning. Now that he finished thinking, he wondered what to do next. It was still too early for everyone to be up and discussing preparations. Honestly, he felt bored. It was never a feeling that came often in the past few years, but ever since he had been given someone to talk to, it came a lot when he was alone.

Sasuke stood up and paced in front of the couch, trying to occupy his attention. He reminisced about how he had been acting since his return. The moment he had first seen Sakura again, everything had become different. His attitude around her had changed a lot, that was for sure. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know why it had changed so much. Instead of trying to act like he couldn't care less about anything, he was actually, well, nice for once. Sasuke frowned as he pondered. To be honest, it felt good that he could act more freely around someone. Why did he only feel like that around her though?

Sighing, he stopped and looked at Sakura's bedroom door and then the clock. It had hardly been five minutes since he had last checked it. He wanted to curse himself for feeling the need to have her presence near him, or at least where he could talk to her.

Right on time, she opened her bedroom door and looked like she was ready to kill someone. "I haven't been able to go back to sleep because of you!"

He sat on the couch. "Hn, sorry."

She sat down next to him. "How long have you been up?"

"A few hours. I thought about locations where we could start searching."

"Don't tell me now. Wait until we see the others so they'll know, too."

"Hn." He stared at the floor. Gosh, he hated the silence that always seemed to interrupt their conversations, but he didn't know what to say next.

She glanced at him and hesitated. Something was bothering her about when he had faced off against Kurushimi and Kenshi. It was weird and abnormal for him, so she decided to just go ahead and ask. "Sasuke?"

He turned his head towards her.

"About your battle with those two..."

He waited with curiousity.

"I don't mean this in the wrong way, but why didn't you use more of your powers against them?"

Sasuke turned his gaze back to the floor. Why didn't he do that? He could've used Perfect Susanoo and it probably would've been a short battle. Then again, he remembered how angry he had gotten when they had brought Sakura up. For some reason, it had infuriated him to the point that he forgot everything about strategy and it clouded his judgement. Instead of telling her that, he shrugged and said, "I guess I just didn't think about it."

She narrowed her eyes. It wasn't like Sasuke to "forget" about his own move set. "So did you 'forget' in our fight when you went easy on me?"

He gasped slightly in surprise. Opening his mouth to defend himself, she quickly interrupted.

"Do you really take me for that much of a fool Sasuke? I'm not mad, just curious."

He closed his mouth. He had hoped that she wouldn't find out about that, but he cursed himself for thinking it was that easy to get it past her. "Hn."

"That's not a good answer."

Something inside of him broke, severing his resistance that held the truth under lock and key. "In our fight, it was because I couldn't do something like I did on the bridge again."

She stared at him in wonder. Sasuke had the urge to set himself on fire, but wasn't showing it on the outside. Sakura turned her gaze forward, speechless at his confession. Wanting to change the subject, she quickly spoke again. "So did you figure out anything else besides locations?"

Grateful that she had switched topics, he answered. "Not really. I want to know what that style Kurushimi uses is. That and why he said that I couldn't copy it."

She pondered. "I'm pretty sure that it has to deal with his eyes. I've never seen any others like them. The orb surrounding him at the festival, was it the same as the first time you saw it?"

He nodded. "It looks like chakra. Even if it is, my Susanoo's sword couldn't break through it. Neither could the black flames."

"Hmm..." She rested her head on the back of the couch and thought again. "We need to learn more about what those eyes can do and how he has them."

Sasuke rested his head on his propped up arm. "Something else we need to know, why couldn't I keep up with Kenshi? I've been able to keep up with everyone else I've faced, so why not him?"

She shook her head. "This is all so weird. If you could hardly keep up with him while using the Sharingan, then how can the rest of us?"

He narrowed his eyes. She was right. If her or someone else faced the swordsman, then how would they be able to keep up with him? "If we see him again, I'll be the one to fight him."

Sakura didn't protest. "We're going to figure out what all of this means. I just wonder how strong their 'army' is..."

That was something that Sasuke hadn't thought about much. He'd been so caught up with Kenshi and Kurushimi that the threat of their followers didn't cross his mind. Confidence rushed through him at the thought of the ninja that were coming on the mission. He smirked and snorted louder than he intended, making her turn her head in shock. "Hn! It doesn't matter how many there are or how strong they are, we're still going to be the ones to come out on top!"

She smiled, which quickly turned into a smirk of her own. "I didn't think that you were one to give an inspiring speech."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's how it's going to end though." At least, that's what he hoped...

They were silent for the next minute until Sasuke spoke, trying to start up another conversation. "What do you think preparations will include today?"

"Probably just figuring out locations. I guess we already have an idea since you've come up with something."

"Hn..."

There it was again, that deadly silence that frustrated the both of them. Neither could figure out why it was always bound to happen between the two of them. They always seemed to run out of things to say around the other. Sasuke was desperately thinking of something to say. Sakura coughed a few times, trying to get rid of the silence for a few moments.

The Uchiha had gotten tired of thinking and said the first thing that popped into his head. "Do you want to go on a walk with me?"

Sakura was surprised at his sudden invitation and stuttered. "Uh, s-sure."

Before they knew it, they were in the middle of the village, looking for nothing in particular. Sasuke made sure to keep them away from anything that involved men's clothing.

"Where do you want to go?" Sasuke asked with a yawn.

"I don't know. A lot of places have been closed since the attack. They're waiting for the Hokage to give the final decision."

"Kakashi still hasn't told the ones that aren't going?"

"No. I don't know what he's waiting for."

They reached a section in the village that was covered with posters. Sakura walked over and inspected one with Sasuke following close behind.

She gasped. "So that's why he's waiting!"

Sasuke looked at her in confusion. She handed the poster to him. He looked it over while she talked.

"He's waiting because he wants to reassure the villages that nothing else is going to go wrong."

He understood everything after he had read the poster. Apparently, a special event was going to take place that day. Fights that were free to go and see between genin of all nations.

He smirked. "Kakashi has really outdone himself this time."

"It's probably for the best though. Not a lot of people have come out of their homes since the attack."

Sasuke wanted to push the thought of their upcoming mission out of his mind for now. He wanted to enjoy the rest of their time in the village, just in case... and this was perfect.

"Do you want to go?" he asked casually.

"Since when do you like to do anything fun?" she asked, beaming.

He frowned. "Do you want me to take you or not?"

She nodded.

They started walking again when Sasuke spoke. "We better go now if we want good seats."

Sasuke's eyelids drooped and he was trying really hard not to fall asleep. Him and Sakura were one of the first few to arrive and get seated in the arena. They had gotten good seats in the front row on the second floor.

Kakashi had told them to stay after the event was done so that they could start preparing. The Hokage was now at the entrance welcoming everyone. You could tell by the way he was speaking that he was really nervous and embarassed.

The Uchiha's eyes had just closed when Sakura shook him awake. He looked at her from the corner of his eye as she began to lecture him.

"When you said that we should go ahead and get seats, you could've told me that it didn't start for the next couple of hours! You could've taken a nap instead of falling asleep now."

He stretched and yawned. "Hn. I'll be awake when the fights start. And would you rather have had the front row seats at the bottom where there's hardly any protection from their moves?"

She leaned back in her seat. "I guess you're right..."

Sasuke began to nod off again but quickly shot up when someone grabbed him by the shoulder and nearly knocked him over the railing.

"I can't wait to kick that idiot Kurushimi's butt! What about you?!" Naruto shouted as he continued to push Sasuke into the railing.

Sasuke finally managed to get Naruto off of him and he maneuvered himself behind the Uzumaki. Putting his best friend in a headlock and grabbing an arm with his free hand, Sasuke shoved Naruto to the edge of the railing. "We aren't supposed to say anything about the mission yet you idiot!" the livid Uchiha whispered through gritted teeth.

As Naruto struggled, Sakura started to get up and break them apart when someone behind them spoke up.

"S-Sasuke please don't hurt my husband," Hinata said with a hint of worry.

Sasuke turned and saw her expression, so he quickly let Naruto go. "Sorry," he apologized.

Hinata relaxed when her husband slowly walked over to her. "Oh, it's okay. Just with the mission coming up and all..." After trailing off, she gave Naruto a scolding hit to the shoulder. "He's right! Don't talk about the mission yet!"

As the couple argued and took their seats next to Sasuke and Sakura, the Uchiha sat back down, still livid.

The seats around them began to fill up, and before they knew it, everyone going on the mission against Kurushimi sat in the same section. Everyone except for Kakashi, who was about to announce the start of the event. Excited villagers chatted from all directions. Sasuke was surprised that everyone had seemingly forgotten about the attack at the festival. Then, he remembered why this event had even happened and silently praised Kakashi for his efforts. The current Hokage certainly knew how to make the best of a tough situation, that was for sure.

Kakashi stepped into the middle of the arena and everyone went silent. He cleared his throat and looked around at the completely filled stadium. "Welcome everyone! I hope that you all enjoy this free event today! Genin of all nations have come here to take each other on in matches that are sure to excite!"

Cheers erupted from all areas. Most of the people piled in the arena started chanting for their nation. When everyone finally settled down, Kakashi officially started the event. "Without further ado, I will announce the first match."

As the Hokage finished, the first competitors came out from seperate openings, waving to where their native villages were. Sasuke watched in interest as the two boys, one from Suna and the other from Ame, took their starting positions. As soon as the match began, their native villages started shouting to show their support.

The battle proved to be one that was definitely worth while. Many minutes of intense fighting rolled on with the boys still going at full strength. The crowd gasped in awe at every amazing move.

Suddenly, the boy from Suna launched an attack that was nearly impossible to follow with the regular eye. Sasuke put a hand to the right side of his face so that the others couldn't see his activated Sharingan. He could easily see every move that the boy made without even activating the Mangekyo. Every strike, every drop of blood and sweat, every twitch from the one being attacked was so clear. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he remembered Kenshi. All of the people that Sasuke had ever faced or watched, he'd been able to keep up with them by using the Sharingan. Why not Kenshi?! How come this guy was the one he struggled with?! Heck, he'd even been able to beat Madara Uchiha for crying out loud! What was it that made Kenshi so special then?! Sasuke tried to remember if anything seemed abnormal in their fight. Only at the very end had he been able to see Kenshi's movements, but even then they were a blur. Nothing came to mind and he dug both of his hands into his hair with frustration.

Sakura squeezed his shoulder and leaned closer so that none of the others could hear. "I know that you're frustrated. We'll figure out all about that later. Just enjoy the show!"

Deactivating his Sharingan, Sasuke turned his attention back to the battle, trying not to focus on Kenshi or Kurushimi.

After countless entertaining matches, Kakashi announced that there would be a short intermission after the next one. Naruto got up and stretched before the next competitors entered the arena. When he sat back down, he heard a crunching noise and remembered that he'd kept a small flyer advertising the event. The Uzumaki took it out of his pocket and examined it after making sure that the fight hadn't started yet. His eyes lit up in surprise and curiosity as he noticed what was written at the bottom.

Technology had become quite advanced over the last few years. Naruto remembered this as he glanced at the gigantic screens around the tops of the arena that allowed people who were further up to see what was going on. Then, he moved his gaze to the person directing the camera that broadcasted the fight to the screens.

"Hey Hinata, I have to go take a leak and uh... get food! Yeah, that's it! Anyway, I probably won't be back for some time so..."

Naruto didn't give his wife a chance to answer before he sped off with an evil laugh echoing through the aisles.

"What was that about?" Sakura asked.

Hinata shrugged before turning her attention back to the battle below.

Naruto had made it halfway to the other side of the arena. An evil grin was still plastered to his face. He was trying to let the fight end before he had reached his destination. But he needed to make it before the intermission if he was going to accomplish his mission.

As the troublesome Uzumaki bided his time, he thought cautiously to himself. "This is gonna be awesome! They'll probably hate me after this, but it's definitely worth it! I can't wait to see the look on their faces! Especially Sasuke's..."

When Naruto had finally reached the man with the camera, he waited just a little longer before he launched his plan. The two genin locked in an intense battle looked to be on the verge of giving out, so Naruto decided it was go time.

Tapping the man on the shoulder, he took out the flyer again and showed it to him. After a confused nod, the blue eyed boy pointed in the direction of where his friends sat.

"I get it now kid," the male said with a smile before turning around. He pointed. "Those two, right?"

"Yep!" Naruto shouted. "Can I stay here so I can get a good view on that screen?"

"Sure!"

Kakashi announced the winner of the match and her village screamed in pleasure.

Someone else came into the middle of the arena and quickly spoke. "Before you all go relieve yourselves and get refreshments, we have to do the special thing we promised at the bottom of the flyer!"

Everyone eagerly sat down and looked up at the screens. Sasuke did the same, not knowing what the man meant.

"Now let's see which two lucky people are gonna be caught by the Kiss Cam!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat back. "This is stupid," he told Sakura.

"Oh c'mon! Lighten up! I think it's cute," she responded.

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked down at his lap. After a few more seconds, he glanced at Sakura to see that she had started to blush madly. Narrowing his eyes, he slowly started to look up at the screen when the man spoke again.

"Looks like we have our two lucky winners!"

Sasuke gasped and set a large frown on his face as he caught view of who was on the screen, a small blush starting to make its way to his face. Pictured on the screen was none other than Sakura and himself...

Everyone around them stared and encouraged them. Neither moved, still frozen in place by shock.

The man in the middle of the arena chuckled. "Go ahead young man! Kiss her already!"

"You have got to be kidding me..." Sasuke thought to himself. The idea of him kissing someone in public had never been a want or need for the Uchiha. To be honest, he never thought about kissing anyone at all.

The stares and encouraging yells only got louder. He glanced at Sakura again and noticed that she was still frozen in place. A chant broke out in a matter of a second. Sasuke was embarrassed beyond belief. Sakura felt exactly the same way.

"KISS! KISS! KISS!"

"If I do this then they'll shut up. But, IN PUBLIC?!" he continued to scream at himself.

"KISS! KISS! KISS!"

The pressure was getting to the disgruntled Uchiha as they continued to chant. He couldn't stand everyone staring at them like this.

"Oh c'mon young man! Don't disappoint everyone here including that young lady!"

The Uchiha clamped down on his seat in fury. He didn't move. Everyone started to moan in annoyance.

"Well it looks like he isn't going to do it. Instead, let's have her kiss the young man behind her!"

Sasuke looked back to see a startled Gaara with his face the same color as his hair. The chants started again and Sakura nervously turned around to face the Kazekage.

"HECK NO!" Sasuke thought to himself. His feet unconsciously began to tap at a rapid pace. The bangs concealing his Rinnegan floated in front of his other eye as he looked down.

Gaara and Sakura gave each other a look that said "let's go ahead and get this over with". They began to slowly lean in with everyone cheering excitedly. Sasuke looked like he was about to have a panic attack when he looked up again. They had almost made it when-

"SCREW IT!"

Sasuke launched himself over the arm of his seat and grabbed the sides of Sakura's face, launching his lips into hers. She got over her shock in a few seconds and started to kiss him back.

Naruto was grinning hysterically at the scene that was in clear view on the screens. His plan had definitely worked, that was for sure. However, his life might very possibly be in jeopardy after the event.

Boy, did Sasuke have her in a tight lip lock, making sure that she couldn't break away and be told to kiss someone else again. To be honest, Sasuke didn't know that he had it in himself to kiss like this.

They finally broke apart when they'd run out of air. They stared at each other with widened eyes and gasped for air. Slowly, they took their hands off of the other and Sasuke maneuvered back over the arm of the chair, leaning back in his seat. Cheers and claps erupted from all directions and the man below beamed.

"Now that's more like it!"

After all the cheers and claps settled down, Sasuke and Sakura looked at the other end of the arena when they heard a laugh. Naruto was right beside the camera guy and waved to them. They shared a quick and knowing glance before jumping up and going after the Uzumaki. Naruto looked around for places to hide before his friends would get a chance to decapitate him; no luck.

Before Naruto knew it, Sasuke was already speeding his way towards him. The yellow haired male ran as fast as he possibly could to the stairs.

"It was just a joke Sasuke! I didn't mean anything bad by it!"

Sasuke's response was filling his hand with lightning. Naruto dodged a few more people before turning around and a Rasengan formed in his hand. "If that's the way it's gonna be then fine!"

They ran at full speed towards the other and everyone in the arena looked from all angles at the two ninja about to clash.

"NARUTO!"

"SASUKE!"

A second before they connected, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and twisted them both around, launching them into the arena wall. This was déjà vu...

The two friends blinked and coughed as they realized that their bodies were stuck in the wall with one half on each end. Naruto formed another Rasengan and was about to strike the wall when the Hokage spoke from inside the arena where their lower halves were located.

"Naruto, if you even scratch this wall, I won't let you go on the mission! Sasuke, if you try and do the same, I'll lock you in prison for the night!"

Sasuke acted like he hadn't heard the Hokage's threats at all and he started to curse his best friend. "A joke?! That's your idea of a joke you idiot?!"

Naruto slapped his hands on the wall. "I was just having fun! Something you don't know the meaning of! It looked to me like you were jealous!"

"Say that again and I'll cut your-" Sasuke didn't have time to finish before he was yanked out of the damaged wall by the leg. His head clanked against the railing and he heard Naruto's do the same. Both males rubbed their heads and slowly opened their eyes to see an infuriated pink haired kunoichi towering over them. Before she could pummel them, Kakashi got in the way with a nervous smile.

"Sakura I know that you're really upset but let me deal with them right now. Okay?"

The fuming female backed down and Kakashi breathed a small sigh of relief. He began to lecture them while constantly glancing over his shoulder at Sakura. She was impatiently tapping her foot and deciding which teammate she wanted to hurt the most.

After the lecture and the end of the event, preparations had taken place. Just as Sasuke and Sakura thought, the main topic had been locations. The Uchiha told everyone of his thoughts on the matter and they ended up agreeing with his judgement. Him and Sakura did not look at each other once in the time of the meeting. Both were still confused and embarassed. When the meeting concluded, both were the first to leave, not wanting to hear what everyone else thought of their "intimate" moment.

Sasuke and Sakura continued to walk back to the apartment in silence. He had been thinking hard about everything that happened in the arena.

"Was Naruto right? Am I jealous? No! No way! Why would I be jealous?! I don't like her like that. Why did I kiss her then?"

Sakura was just as lost as he was.

"I am so confused! Why the heck did Sasuke kiss me?! Was he jealous?! No! What am I thinking?! There has to be some good reason then!"

After a few more minutes of them pondering, Sakura couldn't help it anymore. She had to ask. "Hey, Sasuke? Why did you... you know?"

He had known that the question would pop up sooner or later, but he didn't have an answer yet. Going through the event again, he thought he had found the true reason. "You said that you didn't like Gaara in that way and I thought it would make both of you feel uncomfortable. So..."

She nodded slowly and a sad frown settled on her face. "Oh... well thanks I guess."

"What was I hoping for? He's never going to feel that way and I have to accept it..."

Sasuke glanced at her and noticed her sorrowful expression. Well, he told her the truth. He just wanted to save her and Gaara from being uncomfortable. That was it. Right?

Thinking of something to cheer Sakura up, he came to a conclusion that his next question would be something that he was slightly interested in knowing. He smirked. "How did I do?"

She turned her head in surprise. "What?"

"Give me a rating. Naruto being the worst and Hokage being the best."

She laughed at his scale. "Hmm... I give it a Sasuke."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that good or bad?"

"That's for you to decide. Besides, I think that there's another reason why you kissed me."

Sasuke frowned in curiosity. "Another reason?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb."

His expression didn't change. The Uchiha had no clue what she was talking about.

She leaned closer. "I'm still telling your children that your first kiss was with Naruto."

Sasuke stopped walking and huffed. He was slightly relieved that she didn't think it was because he was jealous or something. At the same time, he was irritated. He had managed to keep that awful memory in the back of his mind for years. "That was an accident and you know it!"

"Doesn't matter. It was still your first kiss," Sakura replied with a laugh.

His smirk returned. "All I like to remember about that was the devastated look on your face."

She glared at him and watched as he made his way in front of her. Sometimes, Sasuke really had a lot of fun teasing her. He leaned closer and whispered mockingly, "I remember you saying something like 'How dare Naruto! Sasuke's first kiss was supposed to be with me!'."

She punched his arm and pushed him out of the way. "That's not what I said."

"Hn, doesn't matter," he mocked again.

They contently thought about how easy it was to joke about things like this. Although, Sakura thought it was weird for Sasuke to be acting in a joking manner. She pushed it to the back of her mind as she remembered another question she wanted to ask. She hesitated, thinking it was embarrassing. "Where did you learn to kiss like that anyway?"

He chuckled quietly in amusement. "You're actually the first person I've kissed. I'm never going to count the dobe."

She gasped in surprise. "Really? What about that other girl? Umm... Karin."

The last Uchiha shuddered at the thought of Karin. "No! Not in a million years. She was even more annoying than you if that's even possible."

"What's the difference between me and her then if she was as annoying as me?"

He could think of a billion reasons that Sakura was much better than Karin, but he said the first thing that came to mind. "Because unlike you, she didn't mature."

"What do you mean?"

"Hn... Like when you made me take off my shirt to heal me. She probably would've drooled and flirted with me. You're usually calm. Even though you stare..."

Sakura playfully punched him again. "What is wrong with you? You never joke around."

He shrugged. "I guess it's because I missed seeing you blush everytime I look at you."

Right after the words came out of his mouth, she blushed.

"Like that," he said.

"Why do you like that?"

Another shrug.

"You sure you didn't get drunk at the arena or something?" she asked.

He nodded. "What about you? Who was your first kiss?"

Sasuke questioned himself for asking that. For some reason, he had to know. Oddly enough, even thoughts of murdering or hurting that person came to mind.

She shyly scratched her head. "No one. I'm not going to count this because it wasn't real."

The hurt in Sakura's eyes was nothing compared to a giant pang of an unknown feeling rushing through Sasuke. All he knew was that it wasn't a good feeling. After another minute, the Uchiha swallowed before replying. "Oh. Then... I guess I won't count it either..."

Another few seconds passed before he thought of some other joking remark to lighten the mood. "If you don't count this one, then I'm not counting the one with Naruto."

Sakura smiled and they continued to joke around on their way back to the apartment.

Author's Note: Hmm... I think that there's probably one more reason why he kissed her. What do you guys think?

To be honest, I hated both Sasuke and Sakura at the beginning of the series. As it progressed, I ended up liking their seperate characters. The part where Sasuke left the first time though, I got a major case of the feels. That was the part when I began to ship them and they became my OTP a little bit later on.

SO I GUESS THIS IS MY WAY OF RESPONDING TO YOUR REVIEWS. READ BELOW.

When did you guys first start to ship sasusaku? What was your favorite "feels" moment with them? I can't decide between when Sasuke left and the forehead poke. Gosh, they both hit me hard in the feels! That bridge moment though... Sasuke you're such an idiot sometimes! Tell me in some reviews please, I'm curious.

P.S. I released a Gaara one shot yesterday if you guys want to go and check that out. Also, I plan on publishing some more stories soon, so I'll say when in my author's notes. One will be post 700 and slightly connected to the Boruto movie. Another will be a different version of sasusaku shortly after The Last. Neither will connect with this story.