O.o You people amaze me. So many reviews! ^_^ Oh, and happy New Year's everyone! (Even if you don't celebrate it!)

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Dedication: To rEbEl-fOr-sHoW, because she makes me smile. Also to my chocokittens, and my crackfiction. I love you both so much.

---

I swore loudly.

It was the third time I'd tried calling Hinata, and so far, she hadn't picked up. I swear, if she's with Naruto, I'm going to… well, I'm going to squeal in fangirlish joy, let's face it. I know, I know, it's stupid, but they're so cute, it's almost surreal.

I checked the clock, nervously nervous-nervous-nervous-just-waiting-for-something-to-go-wrong and, just to pass the time, flicked the TV on. I went through channel after channel, but there was nothing on. It somehow irked me to no end. Why was there nothing on, ever? Is it just me, or is there something really wrong with that?

The phone rang, and I dove at it.

"Hello?"

"Get your scrawny ass down to HQ, right now." Uchiha's voice sounded through the receiver, and I hissed. How could he call me, when I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to see him again?

"And why should I, your Greatness? Just because?"

"No, you dumb bitch, because Tsunade's got a job for us, and I don't really want to show up at your house again randomly."

His emphasis on that last word set me to steaming, but I controlled it, and brought my voice to that sub-zero level that worked so well at concealing emotions, in both Kakashi and me. "Fine. I'll see you in a half an hour."

And then I hung up, not even wanting to think about him.

Well, I had half an hour to goof off. Or I could take a shower, and feel at least like I tried… And so that's what I did. I went and took a ten-minute shower (not even close to long enough, in my opinion), towel-dried my hair, and got dressed.

I pulled on an old, worn pair of cut-offs that had, at one point, been my favorite pair of jeans, over fishnet stockings, and I rummaged around my bedroom floor until I found my black-and-red-striped long-sleeved t-shirt, and tugged it over my head.

A makeup check (bright green liner with black mascara, just for the hell of it) later, and another stolen jacket, and I was ready to go. I grabbed the hand-gun-and-chain ensemble that I'd recently started using, tugged my bright red high tops on, and I was out the door.

I ambled down the street, my hands shoved deep in the pockets of Kakashi's coat. Wait, was this Kakashi's coat? It didn't look like it, because I'd never seen it before, and it smelled different.

But whatever. It must have been one of Anko's.

I snuck into the abandoned alleyway, took one look at the dilapidated door (I didn't even have the heart to mentally abuse the crappy thing right now), and went in.

It went black, just as it had the last two times I'd entered this place, but I'd figured that that was because it was so dark, it would blind even the most sensitive leech. As a mere human, I was worse then useless in this kind of dark. It was like they had sucked the light from the place, and it almost gave me shivers.

And then the sickly yellow light flickered on, and I found Uchiha at my right side. I didn't move a muscle. As far as I was concerned, he'd stopped existing until I figured out just what he was to me.

And Tsunade was staring at me, her hands fisted on the table in the middle of the room. I walked over to her, Uchiha keeping silent at my side, until we were right across from her, the table separating us.

Her voice sounded exhausted when she spoke. "I need you two to do a scouting mission along the outskirts of the city. There have been more attacks then usual, and I want to know why."

I nodded, and was about to ask her a question, but she held up a hand to stop me, just as Anko did. So that'swhere Anko got that particular trait from…

"No, Sakura, no one else is going with you, but you'll be in constant contact with Hinata and myself. If you find out what it is that's causing all of these attacks, I want you to report back to me immediately, I don't care what it is you're doing. These are drop-everything circumstances, Sakura."

I clenched my fists. That meant if we had found out what was causing the leeches to be in such an uproar, we were to leave the humans in the area defenseless, not a care in the world to their situation. I wouldn't be able to do that.

But Uchiha was nodding, and so I clenched my jaw, and nodded rather mechanically. One or two lives were weighed against the entire city. It just wasn't worth it. Of course, I'm just telling myself that. And as long as I keep telling myself that, I should be fine one-lives-two-lives-three-lives-four-what's-the-difference-in-the-end?

"Oh, and Sakura?" I blinked at Tsunade as she spoke. "Come back alive, I don't want to deal with an angry Kakashi."

I nodded mechanically for a second time, and then both Uchiha and I turned to leave the place. My hands were still clenched at my sides, and it was all I could do to keep myself from shaking. Tsunade knew how much I hated unnecessary human death. It was so… pointless.

But human death and leech death were two very different things, I found myself thinking. Leeches caused death. It was a preternatural part of them - ingrained into their very beings. And part of me understands that and doesn't hold it against them.

The rest of me, of course, is a different story. The rest of me stopped caring the minute I saw my mother's favorite necklace hanging from a person who smelled of death's wrist, and I knew I would never be the same. Any other kid would have told you the same.

I threw open the door (alright, I've given up, I have no energy to insult the damn thing), and I walked out into bright sunshine, the day icy white with cold, Uchiha behind me.

I shivered, and re-considered my choice of clothes.

I wanted pants. And so that was where I was headed, home, to find some pants. Because I was cold, damnit, and if there's one thing I hate besides leeches, it's the cold. I shuddered, and rushed home.

Uchiha ambled after me, but I was too cold to care.

---

I wrapped my arms around my now-clad-in-jeans legs, pulled them up to my chest, and rested my chin on them. Uchiha was sitting across from me at the still-meant-for-four-people table in the kitchen, and he was staring at me with something like pity on his face.

Why pity? Of all things, it had to be pity.

"Princess, does this really bother you that much?"

I answered, unthinking. "Don't call me that, and yes, it does. I'll probably be numb by the end of the day. Just… don't talk to me until after this mission is over, alright? I probably won't be able to think all that well until then."

He nodded his assent, but I don't think he really understood. Or maybe he did. He wasn't trying to coddle me, or touch me, or even comfort me. He just let me sit there, numb in my own… there's no word for what I was feeling. It was shock and anger and numbness, all at once, and it was kind of sickening.

And I still wasn't sure how I felt about him.

Something told me, though, that unless I brought the subject up, he would let it rest, and not bring it up. It hit too close to home, and I just… couldn't deal with it, not right now. There was too much else on my mind.

A few hours later, and the sun was starting to set. It always did, here. The sun set so early, and people never went in until late… A leeches' paradise, I thought, but said nothing aloud.

We left my house, both clad in black, him, because that was him, and me, because that was the colour of my mood. I was in no mood to play around. I wanted this thing over and done with, but it wouldn't be, not for a few days at least.

And I had gone so far as to do my hair up with needle-sharp daggers, left open for all the world to see. I didn't want to be messed with, and it would be severely detrimental to anyone, mortal or immortal, to come near me.

Even Uchiha was affected by my black black-black-black-stark-as-night-without-stars-black mood. But he just seemed amused, and that made my mood even blacker, if it was possible.

I think I go through varying degrees of dislike with this kid. Some days he mildly annoys me, and then sometimes he really annoys me, and then some of the time I can't stand to see his face. But most of the time I just want to smack him so hard he'll never smirk again.

Yeah, let's go with that.

Because annoyance is easier to deal with then… everything else there is. Everything else is still untested waters, still dangerous, still… scary, I guess is the best way to put it. Because there's just so much…

And we're nothing alike, he and I. I'm normally a fairly happy person. I like my chocolate and my guns and my solitude. And he's… him. That's all there is too it. You just can't describe Uchiha. It's impossible.

So we went along to the dirtiest streets in Konoha, and I find myself slightly sickened by the place. It's not as bad as New York, not by far, but it's more hopeless. Like there's nothing to live for, here. At least, in New York, people would fight if they were about to die. Here, it just felt like people were willing to give up.

It's sad, but I don't think too much on it. We get a room at a dingy motel right on the outskirts of town, and I sigh in irritation. People are always bound to talk, but I really did not appreciate the way the owner was looking at me, because it looked like… well, it looked like he wanted to eat me.

And I just find that disturbing.

As soon as we got up to the room, I shoved the key into the key-hole, and shoved the door open. If I had to break the door into very small pieces to get in, I would.

Thankfully, I didn't have to go to those kinds of measures, but I basically dropped everything as soon as we were in, and plopped myself down on one of the beds, intent on a nice, long nap. Screw off, I was tired.

And so I slept.

I wasn't sure for how long, but it couldn't have been for more then a few hours, because, when I woke up, disoriented, and unsure just who I was, the sun was setting, and the room was awash in bloody light. I cringed. I really have a love-hate relationship with the colour red. I love it, because it's just a pretty colour, but I associate it with all the wrong things.

While I was happily musing about nothing in particular, I tried to sit. Strangely, I couldn't. I looked down at the thing keeping me from moving, and was morbidly surprised to see an arm across my waist, keeping my in place.

Uchiha was lying on the bed next to me, his breathing soft and slow, his arm tossed across my waist. I stared at him, so deep in sleep, as he was. He looked… peaceful. And then, of course, I realized who this was, and I shrieked, and pushed him away from me.

He landed on the ground with a muted thump, and plenty of colourful language. Bastard. Wait, that made me a hypocrite… oh well.

"There is another bed," I hissed at him, looking down at him from my position on the bed above him. He grinned up at me. What the hell?

"Princess, your shit was on the other bed. Where else would I have slept?"

"I do not have shit, and you could have moved it. And I thought I told you not to call me that."

His voice went flat. "You would have beaten me for just thinking of touching your stuff." He ignored my other comment, and I felt the hiss of anger, a pleasant buzz just beneath my skin, and I wanted to kick him again. I want to do that a lot, don't I? But, urgh, he's just so annoying. He was annoying, because he was right.

I flicked my stare to the digital clock sitting on the bedside table in between the two beds, avoiding Uchiha's steady gaze. It was almost six, according to the glowing red numbers, and I knew we ought to have been getting ready to go on patrol.

"Get up, and go get ready to go. I don't want Tsunade to be bitching because we're not doing our job."

He nodded, and heaved himself up off the floor. He stood, towering over me, as I was sitting on the bed, and he looked so far away, and so lonely, that for a second, part of my heart ached. I'll blame it on the weather.

He left, and went to get changed. I pulled myself out of the warm spot on the bed (don't you just hate that, when you have to get of a lovely, comfortable, warm spot? It's worse when someone makes you move, so they can have said spot. Grawr), and went and looked out the window.

The setting sun had turned the entire street the same colour as our room, if a little lighter, without the walls and that, and I smiled a little bitterly. I could already see it, see the blood the streets would be covered in after Uchiha no-not-Uchiha-Sasuke-right? and I had finished our patrol. It would be even worse if it wasn't his blood or mine, it would be worse if it was some innocent's blood.

Because leeches don't bleed. They just turn to dust, and leave marks on the people who've been changed by them. Scars. Many, many scars. I rubbed my hand gently over the still-healing scars on my arm, left from my last meeting with a leech. And that's what I get for not paying attention.

Uchiha is at my side again, changed into civilian clothes, and he jerked his head towards the bathroom, indicating I should go get changed, too. I nodded, and whisked myself into the bathroom, grabbing my pack as I go.

I hate the fact that I have to wear a dress.

Tsunade specified it in the mission briefing. I needed to play the little lady, while we're on these missions (note the 's'. She hinted there may be more. Damn). Because, let's face it. No one suspects the girl.

I strapped a miniature pair of handguns to the outside of my thighs, so high up that no one wouldn't be able to see them, even under the bloody dress (fuck, anger, I hate dresses), and then was about to zip up the dress.

To my great horror, however, I realized it didn't zip up. It laced up. Oh no. I groaned to myself. I'm not dexterous enough to lace it up on my own. Oh, god no. Why me?

I poked my head out of the bathroom, and called out softly. "Uchiha?"

"I have a name," was all he replied, not moving from his place on the bed.

I growled. "Fine. Sasuke. I need your help."

He blinked at me, and got up, and came over. It was only a few meters, but it seemed like it took him way too little time to cross that distance.

I sighed. "Could you lace my dress up? I can't do it on my own."

He nodded without saying anything, and I turned around, to let him do the work that I, sadly, could not. His fingers danced over my back, and I shuddered. What? His fingers were cold. Wait, why am I defending myself to no one? That doesn't make sense.

I mentally smacked myself. I really was going crazy, wasn't I?

His voice (too perfect, too deep, too unreal) broke through my thoughts. He wasn't in my personal space, for once. "There."

"Thanks." I murmured, and slipped a fallen strap back onto my shoulder. "So, are we going to go?"

He nodded, his eyes not on my face. I didn't realize until later he had been staring at my bare shoulder.

---

Our cover was that we were a couple who was looking for a place to move into; and I think Tsunade was trying to tell us something, but I ignored it. No reason to give her false hope. I don't like Uchiha like that. Actually, I hardly like him at all.

But, let's face it, people would think it strange if they saw a couple walking down the street together, and they were together, or they looked it, and they weren't holding hands.

So our fingers were twined together, and I was mentally cursing my brains out. Of course, one of the parts of being a good hunter is the ability to pretend you don't know what's going on around you.

I really hate the cold, did you know that? I shivered, and Uchiha looked down at me. The concern on his face almost looked real. "Are you cold?"

I nodded, and was shocked when he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. It's just an act, just an act, just like how we have to ignore the dead and the dying if we find out what's wrong with the leeches…

"I don't want you getting sick." He smirked down at me, and I wanted to kick him. He could be so damn angelic when he wanted to be, it was actually scary. But, if I kicked him, it would ruin this whole mission. People (leeches, to be more correct) needed to think we were blissfully in love. Even if we weren't. Especially considering we aren't.

"Mhmm…" I murmured and curled into him, as I had watched Anko curl into Kakashi on many occasions when they had been walking together. He didn't even look startled, he just wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me a little closer.

A shudder of disgust ran through me (or at least I think was disgust. I hope it was disgust), and I murmured in his ear "You wanna keep your balls? Then this had better let up, before I freak the fuck out and kill you, understand?"

"Yes ma'am," he whispered back, for all appearances looking like he was whispering sweet nothings in my ear. Okay. I didn't even know I had the words 'sweet nothings' in my vocabulary. It's kind of gross. Ew. I didn't even know I had the word 'sweet' in my vocabulary at all, actually.

We walked down the street together, hand-in-hand, and I could feel eyes following us. Eyes, so many eyes, human and leech, followed us, and I knew that there would be a sort of training tonight.

"Uchiha, they're watching us… as soon as the sun's gone down all the way, we have leeches to kill."

He nodded. "Don't get yourself killed."

I smiled up at him, sunny and fake and bored, and then said "'Course not. You don't want to face Kakashi if I die, right?"

He nodded, bored too, and we stood at the end of the street, watching as the last rays on the sun disappear behind the horizon, waiting, just waiting…

---

I hissed, Uchiha behind me, as I turned the leech hiding behind a garbage can into Swiss cheese. It was past midnight, and I was getting tired. This was taking too long, and there were too many of them. I was running out of bullets, and if I did, I would have to resort to the knives in my hair, and I really didn't want to have to do that.

Uchiha liked close-up-and-personal way better then I did, and I watched him tear through another leech with some satisfaction. Watching anyone kill those things is satisfying, even when it's not my own doing. Mwaha. I laughed to myself evilly, and then dashed around Uchiha so that I didn't shoot him in the head.

A brief moment of calm gave us both a chance to catch our breath. "Sakura, we have to get out of here. No one else is out at this time, and I don't think either of us can last much longer."

I nodded, sweat sticking my hair to my forehead, and we both expended the last of our energy moving as fast as we could getting out of there.

It didn't take us long to get back to the hotel, and we scaled the two-stories quickly. Once we were in, it didn't take us anytime at all to collapse on the bed, gasping for air.

"Let's not do that again, alright?"

He nodded, still taking deep gulps of air, but he didn't say anything for a moment. "Tsunade's right. There's something really weird going on here."

I stared at the ceiling. "Leeches don't like being in close proximity to each other, unless they're from the same blood-nest. It's rare to find that many leeches from different lines in the same area." I shook my head. "It's not normal, Uchiha."

"Princess, my name is Sasuke."

"I know that, but I prefer to call you Uchiha. And my name is Sakura, but you don't really call me that, either, do you?"

He half shrugged in the darkness, from what I could see. I was so tired… and there was plenty of time tomorrow to figure out just what was going on with the leeches. Plenty of time to figure out just why Uchiha insisted on being annoying. Plenty of time.