Chapter 3

A/N SOOOOOO….. I don't own anything except the story line. BUH BYEZ ENJOYZ DA STORAYY! Oh p.s I'm considering doing an Itasaku or Gaasaku, but I can't decide which to do first. Help?

Her world stopped moving, her chest stopped beating, her eyes widened and never blinked once, but her head was pounding. Her chest tightened as she began to suffocate. Her head began to spiral and spin and just as she thought she was going to faint, her brain kicked back into working shape. She could feel the relief of hanging around her friends, but her heart twisted when she thought of the bad memories. In that moment, it seemed as though there were more of the latter memories. The chance to escape the pain was within her grasp, but could she take it? Would it be worth the risk?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the blue-haired woman.

"Sakura, you may have three days to consider this idea. Itachi is currently speaking with his brother about a similar issue," the woman was smiling comfortingly toward Sakura. In the tense air that was created by the intimidating men, the blue haired woman was like a ray of kind sunshine.

"Konan, we did not discuss such circumstances!" the orange-haired man hissed furiously. His eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a sneer, causing the pinkette to flinch backwards.

"Calm down, Pein. She obviously needs time to think this over," Konan's smile dropped from her face as she turned to glare at the Pein. Neither of them backed down from the fight, and it seemed as though they were staring at each other with no intent of losing to the other.

Pein growled and nodded, his sneer never leaving his face as he turned his back on the pinkette. "Fine. Haruno, you have 72 hours to decide. Sasori, take her back," the leader hissed and disappeared, along with the man-plant and Konan. Deidara shrugged to himself, leaving as well with a wave goodbye with Chizuko. Sasori and Sakura remained in the room, the latter staring at the ground.

Sakura held her breath, not forgetting that this man could've killed her not long ago. She flinched, touching the area where the temporary poison had cut and entered her body. The girl glanced upward, emerald eyes widening as she saw his lazy eyes scanning her, especially where her hand held onto her previous injury. His eyes hardened as he looked at the torn clothing and the cut that was no longer there. Because of her superb healing, there would be no scar.

Unsure of what to say, or how to get the puppet master to stop looking at her, Sakura began to shift around. His hard brown eyes connected with her forest green ones. They relaxed minutely, but Sakura didn't notice; she stepped around him and headed toward the door. She opened the door and waited for the puppeteer.

Sasori took the lead, swiftly and silently. The young medic followed him wordlessly and soon found that she was staring at the man-or puppet in front of her. She was entranced by his blood red hair and the way it fell just above his eyes and touched the back of his neck. His eyes were a stunning brown contrast against his pale skin. Though, she found herself wondering if it was even considered skin since he was a puppet. But for a puppet, his movements were smooth and fluid, unlike the jerky and sudden actions that one associates with puppets.

When they arrived at the cell that currently housed the pinkette, Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. She looked up at Sasori, witnessing a new fire burning in those half-lidded brown eyes. "Staring isn't polite, Sa-ku-ra." He smirked, dragging out the syllables of her name. Sakura felt her face heat up with a mixture of embarrassment and a bit of frustration.

Sasori watched her as her face lit up with a shade of pink that rivaled her own hair color. He looked deep into those emerald orbs and saw a story of many heartbreaks play out. It pained him deeply- and that bothered him. Who was this girl to have an effect such as this on him? He clenched his fist and ground his teeth together before turning away and disappearing down the hall.

Sakura, despite being frazzled, caught his subtle movements. A small, pale hand reached toward the vacant area that was occupied by the puppet master only moments ago. A burning pain filled her, starting in her toes and boiling up to her head. The way he walked away left her speechless, and, surprisingly, hurt.

A rough hand grabbed her shoulder and jerked her away from the pain bubbling inside of her. She met a pair of onyx eyes that were unmistakable. "Sasuke," Sakura started, feeling nervous about the scene he most likely saw. She opened and closed her mouth, unsure of how to continue. Her anxiety was washed away when the stoical man she thought she could predict wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his chest.

His breath ruffled her hair, and the medic in the pinkette noted his accelerated heart rate. He didn't let go as he spoke, voice hushed and rapid. "Did they ask you to join?" The strong, unwavering voice that Sakura remembered was no longer there, instead replaced by a voice of nervousness and, quite possibly, hopelessness.

She tilted her head up, trying not to break the embrace they were in. Those onyx eyes that remained headstrong and always looked down upon others were shaking uncontrollably. She found herself unable to look away and even more reluctant to say anything except the truth. "They did, and they gave me time to think about it," she began with a whisper, feeling the taller raven haired boy piercing gaze. "Did they ask you to join?"

Sasuke looked into her emerald eyes, wondering why he was doing all of this. Something inside of him told him that it felt right, but another, rather larger, part of him was saying it was just to see where her loyalties lie. He wanted-no, needed to know where she stood. "I'd never join my brother and the others in this group of traitors," he spat out the word as if it were poison, emphasizing his point. "Be honest with me, Sakura. Are you actually considering joining these people?" Sasuke peered down at the girl still located in his arms and gave a tight squeeze.

To Sakura this squeeze was painful, but it made her think that he honestly wanted the truth. And she felt that it was all she could give him. She laid her head against his chest, taking in a deep breath of air. "I am actually of a mind to agree to join." Emerald eyes fluttered shut as she gratefully accepted the heat radiating off of the boy.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke stared down at the girl who threw her head back at the sound of his furious voice. "You traitor!" he barked out as he let go of the girl. He watched her eyes widen and her face take on a look of hurt. With a sense of sadistic joy, he struck her face and watched her fall to the ground.

The girl stumbled backward before completely falling to her knees. She saw black dots dance happily across her vision, but before it all went black, Sasuke jerked her forward. His hand tightened around the collar of her shirt that was in his grip and the sadistic contentment he felt was demonstrated in his blood red eyes. The dazed girl placed a small hand on the cheek that Sasuke struck. She pulled the hand away from the raw, stinging area and saw drops of blood, meaning that his nails cut her.

"You hit me," she whispered, still staring at the slightly bloody hand. She looked up and met the Sharingan head on. "You hit me," the pinkette said, much louder than the first time. She clenched her bloody hand and let it glow with the luminescent emerald green that was her chakra. "How dare you hit me!" Sakura bellowed as her fist connected with his face with a speed that very few knew about.

"OOF!" Sasuke practically flew across the room. His back hit the wall knocking the wind out of him long enough for Sakura to appear in front of him and knock him out.

"I'm sorry," the cherry blossom kunoichi stated as she glanced down at his unconscious body. Turning away, she walked to her rock-*ahem* bed and lay down. Within moments, she was tossing and turning in her sleep.

The pinkette yawned loudly, sitting up in her rather unnecessarily large bed. She looked around the room almost expectantly, as if searching for something, before getting up and dressing herself for a day at the hospital. With her medic uniform on and a cup of coffee in her hand, Sakura padded out of the door. She turned to lock the door, but found herself staring into the quiet home. She had no siblings and her parents died, so she lived in a quiet, uneventful, and rather lonely home.

She had already begun her commute to the hospital when she decided to take the longer route, the one that weaved through most of Konoha, and say hello to her friends. She would be early arriving at the hospital if she took the back roads. Her first stop was the Yamanaka flower shop. Upon entering, Sakura saw Ino leaning across the counter, planting a kiss on Shikamaru's cheek. The pinkette left before she could be noticed.

Back on the road, she felt herself envy the way her best friend/rival had something she couldn't obtain. But she shook it off, lecturing herself about how she should be happy for Ino and Shikamaru. But it was empty- she was empty.

She passed by the Hokage Tower, her mood rather sour. But upon seeing a bright glimpse of yellow, her mood took to the sky. Pumping chakra to her feet, she ran toward her other best friend. Just as she was only ten feet away, she nearly tripped over her own feet to stop. Naruto held Hinata close, as if he were not going to see his beloved for quite some time. Sakura guessed that it meant he would be leaving on a mission soon. She turned around rather dejectedly.

Now with her mood down in the dumps, she slugged her way to the hospital. When she reached the back entrance, she felt her knees give out. And when she was on the dirty ground, she felt the remains of her heart shatter. She was utterly alone in this world. There was no denying it. At that moment, Sakura knew that there was no point in pretending. She wouldn't hold back anymore.

And the shattered cherry blossom cried.

Sakura awoke suddenly, startled by her own dream. The coolness on her cheeks told her that she was crying. She reached up, flinching as she touched the cheek Sasuke hit. The pinkette healed it slowly, taking pleasure in the way her chakra produced heat.

Resting her head once more, she became a victim to the sleep that consumed her.

Sakura woke up in a large bed, like the one in her home. But it was different, she could tell. Sitting up lethargically, the pinkette glanced around the room. The walls were black with a cherry blossom tree on the southernmost wall. Petals danced across the walls with an invisible breeze as their companion. It was beautiful, and only an artist could have created such a masterpiece. After staring in awe at the artwork that was her room, she got herself ready, dressing in average ninja wear. The pinkette exited the room and glanced at the mahogany door with a cherry blossom carving.

In an odd, twisted sense, seeing that carving made her proud. She trained with some of the best. She was considered one of the best. And although she was feared, she knew it was because people feared what they could not beat.

With a triumphant smile, Sakura raced down the hall. She stopped herself in front of one particular door. Not bothering to look at the carving, she barged straight into the room and stood next the disgruntled creature on the bed.

"Dei-chan, wake up!" Sakura tugged the blanket down from his body and threw it across the room. The blonde haired mess groaned, suppressing a shiver. He shot her a glare that meant a thousand death threats before waving her off with Azami.

"Go find your boyfriend or something, Pinky," Deidara turned away from her, putting the pillow over him.

Sakura pouted, about to reply when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind. She let out a shriek of surprise before tilting her head around and letting her eyes meet a pair of brown ones. The pinkette grinned and leaned forward, letting the redhead meet her halfway. They kissed softly, before separating.

"I love you, Sasori," Sakura whispered, laughing a bit at the redhead's all knowing smirk.

"Hn," Sasori replied, earning himself a hit from the cherry blossom in his arms. "Yes, I love you too."

Their moment was interrupted by a pillow flying at their faces.

"Stop it! You're scaring Azami and Chizuko!"

Sakura jolted forward, her forehead scrunching together as she tried to make sense of her dream. She would not be sleeping for the rest of the night.

A/N hopefully this is a lot better than the last one. Azami and Chizuko are probably going to be making several appearances in this fanfiction as I continue to rewrite the chapters. Please write a new review and let me know how the updated chapters are coming along.

D.A.R.N