Here is chapter three! Please Enjoy, granted, this one is much shorter than the last, enjoy regardless.

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The next few days were uneventful to all but Sasuke and Sakura. The two were hyper sensitive to one another. Every look and every small brush of fingers was electrified. They started to long for night. At night they talked.

Sakura had done most of the talking, but Sasuke readily supplied answers when she asked about his home. He told her that Shisui was his cousin, which she found amusing. He told her about his brother and loud, idiot best friend. When she asked about his parents he surprised them both by going into great detail about always needing to impress his father and having a huge soft spot for his mother.

Sakura responded in kind. She explained that her mother had begun drinking after Sakura had turned down two marriage proposals and the eldest, Karin, had received none. She admitted that she, for whatever reason had always been her father's favorite, which caused a large amount of tension between all the sisters. Though, Sakura admitted that she did not care. She did not particularly like the twins and she nearly despised Karin; the three were all spoiled, selfish and they treated Hanan horribly.

Sasuke was struck by the protective love Sakura showed the youngest Haruno girl. He respected the way that Sakura cared for Hanan. His respect for her as a person grew each night, too. He learned that Sakura was by far more intelligent than any woman he'd met. She read medical books by the dozen and she admitted she longed to know medical jutsu, but could not because her family were civilians.

"That's why I sneak to the woods." Sakura announced on the fifth night of their talks. She was leaning on her rustic wood head board, looking out the windows behind the bed. Sasuke remained silent, leaning against Sakura's desk a few feet from her.

"I…I heal animals." She whispered. Sasuke carefully studied her through his mask.

"By heal, you mean what?" His deep voice was not judgmental so the younger girl continued.

"With Chakra." Green eyes locked on the mask.

"I thought you had a signature. You hide it well." Sasuke moved up to her, he stood at the side of the bed and motioned her forward. Sakura adjusted herself to sit on the edge, his long legs moved to trap hers gently.

"Hold still." Sasuke whispered, his fingers softly gripped her chin. He lifted her head until her green eyes looked in the small slits in his mask. She gasped when she noticed the glowing red. Moments later the red was replaced by the deep onyx that Sakura had gotten so used to.

"You have great Chakra control. With the proper teacher you could hone that into becoming a mednin." Sasuke stated. He was still holding her chin. His thumb unconsciously rubbed her plump lower lip.

"It won't happen. Not while I'm stuck in this house." Sakura whispered. She closed her eyes, leaning into his hand.

Sasuke's heart was pounding. His mind told him to pull away; she's only eighteen! But his body stayed put. A soft smile curved on her lips and Sasuke lost control.

"Hold still." He repeated. He felt Sakura tense up, but she kept her eyes closed. Sasuke pushed his mask to the side of his head, then slowly leaned down to her. He paused, their lips barely touching.

"Sasuke." Sakura breathed his name, pleading.

He held back a groan and pressed their lips together. Nothing had ever felt so good in his life. Sakura was soft and giving, allowing him to explore her sweet mouth. And when she shyly touched her tongue to his, he did groan.

They fell back on the soft comforter, the kiss intensified when Sasuke's hands began to roam. They lightly skimmed her whole body and Sasuke briefly registered how petite she was. Sakura's hands slid over his broad shoulders up to his hair, where they caught his mask.

She released a gasp, fully realizing what was happening. Sasuke, too, was pulled back to reality. Quickly he slid his mask back on with a curse, leaning up on his elbows to stare at Sakura.

"You can open your eyes." His voice was husky.

"I don't want to. I'll see the mask. I'm sick of it." Her eyes slowly opened to reveal dark emerald. "I want to see the man who makes me feel like this." She reached for his hand and pressed it over her left breast.

Sasuke's throat ran dry. His heart was pounding just as hard as hers and he longed to kiss her again.

"I'm sorry. This was unprofessional of me." He pulled back roughly, making his way to the couch where he turned his back to Sakura.

Sakura swallowed the onslaught of emotions. She knew it had been wrong, she didn't even know what he looked like, but she was incredibly drawn to him. She tried to relax, but was unable to. She moved to stand next to her desk, green eyes stared at the large forest below.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there until she felt Sasuke moved silently behind her. They stood, not touching, but close enough to feel heat radiating from one another.

"I want to leave here." Sakura finally said. "This home is so sheltered. It makes me feel small." She pressed her slim hand to the glass. "But the only way I'll leave is if I marry someone. And the only way I'll marry someone is if my parents approve. Which they won't unless he meets their ridiculous standards. So the irony is… I'll always be sheltered." She released a bitter laugh.

Sakura spun around quickly, pressing herself to Sasuke's front accidentally. She blushed, "I'm sorry about the kiss."

She walked to her bed, crawled in and buried herself in. She heard Sasuke slip back to the couch. Silently. Sakura closed her eyes when the tears threatened to leak out.

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Thanks for reading! Next chapter to come soon!

-DarkBlossom