Author Note: Thanks for all the the reviews, guys, nice to know people enjoy the story and also are helping point out some flaws. And, as a result, I'll explain some of my reasoning behind changes.

Why Naruto seems older is because, in a way, he is. Losing Sakura meant he lost a second part of himself instead of just Sasuke. She was his first crush, that first 'romantic' bond whereas Sasuke was 'brotherly' bond. He is more driven, and slightly older as a result. He is still very much Naruto, but he's got an even greater drive to get stronger and an even greater purpose.

On the other hand, Hinata is also taking a heightened role. But most people overstate her place as a 'clan heir.' She was basically kicked out of the clan in all but official name, you remember. She was not living at the compound, Kurenai had taken her off at her father's orders. What's more, I suspect there is actually very little to being the 'heiress' that people tend to write, and even though her father was shown to be far more accommodating and less of a dick, I still don't think there are many 'functions' that they are attending or anything of that sort.

As per training with Tsunade, it's as much fanwank as anything. Parallels don't need to be as such, no, but I just like the concept, and this entire story started as, honestly, a personal joyride into the my ideal changes to the story. It's also a way for me to get gratuitous with certain fight scenes, which I absolutely love to do. Same reason Sakura got her little power, though that was as much a plot point that actually will come up later when both Sasuke and Sakura wonder if the admiration being shown is because of the power, or because of the person. They'll draw different conclusions, as well, so that'll be fun to write.

On Sasuke, if you watch actually, he often was grinning, and even smiling during combat. He didn't sulk nearly as much as people often portray him as doing, and it's sort of a flanderization to see him as this very emo character. He's not emo, really, he's simply reserved. But when he was teasing, or in combat, he was often smiling or grinning. It wasn't excessively common, but it was there. In part 2, much of that seemed to go away, but then again he'd spent three years away from 'reasonable people' and spent it with Kabuto and Orochimaru for a majority of the time. In this, he has Sakura to keep him a bit more... cheerful, as much as Sasuke can be.

It's also why he seems softer. Note, it's all internal. I honestly think that Sasuke is not quite as cool as he puts off. He thinks, he analyzes, and he worries. But he almost never lets it show, and only rarely slips up and lets it get by. Part of Sakura's growth is noticing those little signs. But in a way, Sakura is also keeping Sasuke from changing too much, and he's going to begin relying on her far more, particularly shortly when... well, you'll see. Let's just say that her leaving with him isn't the only divergence from canon we'll be seeing.

Sakura's power, by the way, as referenced in her 'other sensei' thing is actually a version of the Crystal Release, or Shouton, that Guren had. She is an anime filler character, sure, but I enjoyed her and that arc more then I likely should have. But I did, and it fit my purposes. Originally, she was going to get a truly unique power, but I decided to avoid that slippery slope to mary sue-dom and instead simply give her an already existing power. However, much like Yamato's wood release is nowhere near the power of the First Hokage, Sakura's crystal release is only a lesser version of Guren's power. She simply backs it up with medcial knowledge and the like. Generally speaking, she lacks the ability to create the great crystal constructs or large structures of Guren, but has a precise control over creating crystal around her body.

That does bring me to a final point: this follows the anime more then the manga, given I have watched the anime far more then I have read the manga, and which is why the story will begin to slow down far more as I focus on smaller stretches of time and dialog goes up. You may notice that nearly every scene so far has, at most, two characters really, and even when it does it takes place nearly entirely inside the character's minds more often then not. As an exercise to me, this chapter will be dialog heavy, and give some updates on the other characters I've not written about much yet.

Also, as I've wanted to say this and have not a better place to do it: why, for the love of God, do people use Kami so blatantly? Kami can be loosely translated to god, perhaps, but people seem to use it as a stand in for actually saying GOD. Except this makes no sense. It is has more akin to spirits, in a way, or maybe a Greeco-Roman/Scandinavian sort of god in a VERY loose sense, but it certainly doesn't apply to an Judeo-Islamo-Christian conception of a GOD. In a way, you could say someone or something IS a kami, but you wouldn't just say Kami. I am guilty of gratuitous Japanese at times, but this is one mistake that irks me the most whenever I'm reading a story.

So, enough padding my page count and word count with lengthy notes, onward to the story!

"Why are you still here, Sakura?"

They had returned to Orochimaru's current hideout not long ago, rather roughly handed off the prisoner to Kabuto, and then retreated to their own quarters. Both of the ex-Konoha shinobi had rooms right next to each other, for convenience sake, of course. Neither of them knew the full extent of the hideout, and given that Sasuke had been taking Sakura with him when he trained or when on errands at an increasing rate it simply saved time having them close rather then having to hunt through the tunnels for her.

So, they had retired to their quarters. Or, at least, she had expected them to do so. Instead, he followed her into hers, something that made her heart pound in her chest and brain nearly fry itself as it thought of all the possible reasons, many of which would be highly inappropriate to speak of in polite company. He had not asked to come in, but she would have said yes. He knew that, not that he would have cared either way. He would have come in regardless. Then again, she never would have said no.

She wanted to say something, anything really, but her voice was gone. She felt like time was slowed as he waited, eyes closed, and then suddenly was there, with her. Her mind, usually so very fast, seemed to have a hard time comprehending the fact that he was holding her. He was talking to her, as well. Her mind seemed to snap back back as the words reached her and the realization of the situation dawned on her.

"Thank you." he had said, and then he kissed her.

She felt the blood rush to her face, her arms still hanging at her side as thoughts left her. This was not what she had seen in her dreams, not at all how she'd react. She had told herself she would throw her arms around him, and throw herself into the kiss. But instead, she simply stood, half limp, held up only by his strong embrace. She realized that her dream was escaping her, and she honestly didn't care. She found she had very few cares in the world at this moment, and that the world itself could likely burst into flames around her, and she still wouldn't have minded one bit. Unless it caused Sasuke to stop. At which point her unbelievable hate would likely have doused every flame in the entire world for a thousand years.

It could not have lasted more then a few seconds. He broken the kiss, eyes locking with hers. She had not expected this. Wanted, sure. Dreamed about, of course. She realized, however, that she never honestly seemed to think it would actually happen. She had been taken in by the strange limbo state, where Sasuke was always right there there next to her but never with her. Nothing had prepared her for his sudden embrace, and she found that in all the scenarios she had played in her head she had not a single one to deal with this.

He let her go slowly, and then took a seat on her bed. For a moment, she considered throwing herself at him. But then he spoke, words that she had certainly not expected to her. Five little words that surprised her.

"Tell me about yourself, Sakura" he said, motioning for her to sit with him. And so she sat, and she began to talk.

And then, after a few hours of rather mindless chatter, they found themselves in each others arms once more. He was laying back in the bed, holding her loosely, a look of contemplation on his face. Sakura found it easier to speak this time around, but dared not to in fear of causing Sasuke to move or let her go. So they sat, in silence, until he asked that strange question.

It had blindsided her. She stared at him for a moment, and blushed bright crimson when he brushed one of her bangs from in front of her eyes.

"It's been a year. Are you really happy here?" he asked, honest curiosity in his voice.

"S-Sasuke-kun... why would you ask me that?"

She was confused. What sort of question was that? Was she happy?

"Are you happy?" he repeated, eyes locking with hers, expression suddenly very serious.

"Of course!" she shouted, then shrunk back slightly as she realized how loud she had been. "Of course, Sasuke-kun... this is exactly where I want to be. With you..."

She pulled herself closer to him for a moment, burying her face into his chest. But Sasuke was not so easily placated. He looked off into nothing for a moment, speaking up a few moments later.

"Why?" he asked, pulling her closer even if he didn't bother to look back down.

"What?" she asked, head snapping back up to look at him.

"Why do you love me?"

She sat there, staring at him for a long time. She honestly wasn't sure what to say to that question. Be it the shock of it all that had happened since they returned, the shock of the question, or a little from columns a and b, but she couldn't for the life of her actually formulate an actual answer to that. Shouldn't that be an easy question? She couldn't deny she loved him, she honestly truly did! But why? She... didn't know what at all to say.

Finally, he looked down at her, a soft smile on his face. "I don't know either."

And for some reason, she blushed.

"Why are you doing this, Hinata?"

She was at the hospital today, and had been supposed to be going over anatomy and the primary vital spots. It was a day of academics, as close to a rest as Hinata got most of the time now. If sh was not with Tsunade-sensei, training in medical or chakra control, than she was with her father, improving her grasp of the families Gentle Fist style. She was not anywhere near Neji yet, but she was getting better, and it was showing. Between her intense training and Kiba's intense retraining, Team 8 had essentially been put totally on hold. Shino was spending more time with his family as well. It was hard to be away from them for so long, such friends they had become to her. They made a point to meet at least once a week, and religiously made sure they did.

She was very busy. She was not, however, unhappy. But, it was tiring. And it showed, some days more then others, just how hard things were for her. But it was a happy hardship as it was one she had chosen for herself. But sometimes, like today, it was very difficult for her. And Tsunade-sensei could tell.

"Sensei? she asked, confused. She looked up from the book she had been reading. Or, at least, trying to read.

"I've seen your head bob constantly. You're fighting to stay awake." Tsunade said in a sharp tone, arms folded across her chest. "You've been doing that more often lately, too. And your chakra control is suffering. You're constantly fatigued, and don't try and say you're not because you know I can see it in you and tell when you're lying."

Hinata didn't lie. She said nothing at all, unable to formulate a response.

"Go home, Hinata. Go home and rest, and that's an order."

"B-but, Master, I-"

"Go home! You're not proving anything to anyone by staying and you're certainly not going to impress him if you're a wreck. You're taking two weeks off, no training at all. And if you try to get around that, I will drop you as my apprentice, are we clear?"

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sensei!" she managed out, but was still frozen in place. It was not until Tsunade let out a sharp Go! and motioned for the door that she shook herself and collected up her things, quickly heading out of the hospital. Tsunade watched her and sighed. She knew that Hinata was pushing herself far too hard, but she'd hoped that the girl would realize it on her own. She was a truly great apprentice. She did not pick up things fast, but she seemed to have a drive and will to succeed second to none. However, if she kept at this, she was going to burn herself out.

Tsunade would have to be more careful with her in the future. Hinata was falling into a dangerous trap, and failing to think about the consequences of her path. She would sit her down and have a long talk about that. Hopefully she would prove as receptive to that as she was to training and make some adjustments. Tsunade had every faith she would, particularly when informed that she would be no help to Naruto if she burnt out here.

The hokage frowned. The drive she had to help and impress him was truly remarkable. But dangerous. She truly hoped she could help the girl now, because she feared what might happen when he returned, and true danger arrived. Or rather, what she might do to herself.

"Why do you want to be hokage, Naruto?"

Naruto looked up from his bowl, stream of noodles still hanging from his mouth. He stared at his mentor for awhile, mumbling something unintelligible for a moment that caused the white-haired toad sage to sweat-drop. The blond genin seemed to realize this and slurped up the noodles rather noisily. Jiraiya realized those etiquette lessons would need a refresher soon, causing him to grin. Kid wasn't exactly the tactful sort.

"What do you mean why, Pervy Sage? You know why!" Naruto began, causing his sensei to smile at the fire in his eyes.

"Humor me, Naruto."

Naruto paused for a moment to down some of the broth from his bowl, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Yes, they'd definitely need to go over those etiquette lessons again.

"Well, sensei. I want to earn the respect of everyone in the village, and have everyone stop disrespecting me! I want people to look up to me, instead!" he said with excitement, "And..."

"And?" Jiraiya eventually said, eyebrow raised. The kid had trailed off somewhat.

"And, well- I want..." he began, and yet seemed almost at a loss for words. Jiraiya was not used to seeing the kid like that, so much so that it almost worried him. "You see, I want to protect the village and- and I don't want anyone to ever have to live the way I did, believe it!"

It was Jiraiya's turn to be at a loss for words then. It was a strangely mature thing for him to say, but then again Naruto always had been somewhat caught between mature young adult and rambunctious teenaged kid. He showed surprising maturity deep down, but often it was covered up by the very much just as true playful nature on his surface. Naruto was, in a way, a hodgepodge of various traits, given he never had a childhood and so he imitated it in a way, and then by the time he had adult role models they could do only so much. But he already had to be somewhat mature inside.

It was part of what made him, as Kakashi called him, the number one most unpredictable knuckle-headed ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. His 'upbringing' and childhood were fundamentally unlike almost anyone elses, and so he reacted like no one else. Even after all this time training and traveling Jiraiya had only just began to get a picture of the real Naruto.

The real Naruto was an extremely kind, caring, and friendly person who truthfully wished he could just be friends with most people, but lacked the practical experience or knowledge to do actually make it happen. He was rough around the edges and somewhat coarse, but he was also honest and direct. He was who he was, and was not ashamed of that. It was strange, with all the angry glares he'd received he had instead become prideful of himself, rather then ashamed.

The real Naruto cherished the bonds he'd formed and would go to any lengths for one of them. It was his dedication to Sasuke, his strongest bond, and to Sakura, his first attempt at a romantic bond. Both were friends, his closest friends, and his unpredictable nature struck again as it gave him dedication and drive far beyond what most normal people would do. Most would give up, accept that they had made their choices and had to live with them. You couldn't force someone to change. But Naruto knew that, he truly did. But he had faith, nearly religious really, in his friends. He truly believes that he could help them, and bring them back. Jiraiya had that sort of faith once, but it had been for naught. He would not let Naruto's faith end up the same way.

"Why the heck did you ask anyway?" Naruto said, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Not gonna laugh at me, are ya?"

Jiraiya held up his hands and chuckled, "No no no, kid. Far from it. I think it's a noble goal, and a fantastic reason. Reminds me of another of my students, really. Worked out pretty well for him... anyway, hurry up, will you? We need to get back to training."

Well, maybe not to unpredictable. The mention of training made Naruto double his pace. The toad sage had to laugh. Yes, they really would have to go over those etiquette lessons again.

"Why is he pushing himself so hard, Guy-sensei?"

Guy appraised his students carefully before glancing back. Fifty yards back, Lee was unleashing a flurry of axe kicks onto a downed log. He'd been at it for a few hours now, and Guy could just make out his cries of 'five-thousand, three-hundred, and twenty-seven!' and so on in the distance. The log, maybe six feet thick, was worn and beaten, with a smooth notch two-thirds a foot deep from the repeated blows. It was not too uncommon, he supposed. Except for the fact that it was five in the morning.

And Lee had been there when they left last night. At seven.

Guy turned back to his other two students. Neji stood behind Tenten, who had actually asked the question. They had changed their attire recently, both adopting more traditional robes. Neji's were the most suprising; traditional Hyuuga robes were the last thing he'd expected from the boy, but ever since his loss during the chuunin exams, Neji seemed like a changed kid. It warmed Guy's heart, really. He'd tried to get through to him, but it had taken the burning fires of Naruto's youth to truly light a flame under his ass.

But Neji wasn't the only of his students to change, though the other change was perhaps not totally for the better.

"You see, Tenten, Lee's youthful fire has simply been given a new fuel. But not all fuels burn clean, you see." Guy said, teeth shining. Tenten simply stared at him for a moment before sighing.

"Yes, Guy-sensei, but what does that mean?"

"Sakura Haruno left with Sasuke Uchiha." said Neji rather suddenly, and Tenten was surprised to find him watching actually watching Lee of all people. She could not help but notice the change he had undergone, as well. He actually seemed concerned about his teammate.

"Neji is correct, Tenten." Guy said, nodding thoughtfully, "The loss of a rival and love are strong blows. I can't even imagine what would happen if my cool cat rival Kakashi were to disappear."

That made Tenten sweat-drop even more then she already had been. Sometimes, she felt like she was the only sane one on the entire team. Guy had a truly amazing gift, though. Not his taijutsu or his fashion sense (certainly not his fashion sense), but he had the amazing ability to say something without saying anything at all. At least he wasn't prattling on about the fires of youth.

"What Guy-sensei means is that Lee is upset at the loss, and that he was unable to help bring them back." Neji said, never taking his eyes off the younger of his spandex-clad teammates. "He's made a vow to himself that he will never let that happen again, and that he's going to become strong enough to bring them back as well."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "He promised he'd protect Sakura with his life. You should know how seriously Lee take's his promises."

All three of them turned to watch him. He was still going at it, picking up speed with each blow. Suddenly a loud, sharp crack filled the air, causing all of their eyes to go wide. Lee had fallen back, panting. But the log in front of him had cracked straight through the center, splintering off. And all of them could hear him shout, even over the exhaustion.

"Yosh! Now, three-thousand punches!"

"Why is this so damn hard?"

Of all the many things Naruto was, the one that nearly no one knew about him was the fact that he was a fairly accomplished gardener, who had picked up the hobby nearly at random. Some might say it was because he enjoyed the thought of nurturing a living thing, providing and tending to it, or they might say it was because it gave some beauty to a world that seemed to hate him. However, the truth of the matter was simple: the thought flowers were pretty and smelled good.

Being a gardener, he became fairly familiar with the so-called 'languages of flowers.' There were more then one, with some overlapping elements and meanings in each. It wasn't exactly his first priority to learn when he was gardening (though he had a fairly green thumb anyway.) But, after he'd begun spending more time with Hinata, he'd found himself picking up certain things. Eventually, when he began growing flowers for her to press and even talked with Ino about that shared interest he had picked up the meanings of various flowers. It's why he'd picked the flowers he'd given her before he left.

And now he found himself locked in an internal struggle. What flowers would he give her when he got back?

Why was he even thinking of this? He had months before they were going to go back, a fact which rather filled his heart with joy. He loved being out here, on the road with the Pervy Sage, but he loved his hometown more. He loved the streets and his apartment and Ichiraku Ramen Bar and the Hokage Monument that would one day hold his face. He loved it all! But what he loved most was the people. It was so strange. They hated him, or at least many of them did, but he still loved them. He was gonna prove them wrong, show them their conception of him was totally out of place. He was looking forward to going back and taking the next steps to being hokage.

But he still had no idea what flowers to get for Hinata. Knowledge, in a way, was a burden here. He knew what each flower meant, and he knew that she certainly knew as well. So, he was worried about sending the wrong message. He wasn't sure why he was so worried or even what message was the wrong one. He cursed the moment he had become bored and the thought had just popped into his head. Now he was laying here in bed, unable to get it out of his head at all. His sensei was sprawled out in his own mat, snoring heavily, but Naruto had long learned to drown that out.

Now, all that kept him awake was his own mind.

Roses were right out, even given all their meanings. But that wouldn't be right at all, pretty as they were. Celandine came to mind, meaning joys to come. But he found himself worried by the implication that might bring. He certainly couldn't give her a coriander, a flower of lust. But perhaps daisies? Innocence, purity, faith, and cheer fit, but their meaning of simplicity was not quite right. And loyal love. For some reason, a red daisy came to mind. Beauty unknown to the possessor. He actually blushed at that thought. No, perhaps pear blossoms, for lasting friendship.

But for some reason he felt that wasn't enough...

And so he sat and pondered into the wee hours of the night. Eventually, exhaustion claimed him. However, he found it so very odd that he found the thought of giving her a bouquet of purple lilacs and red tulips, accented with honeysuckle. Maybe even some of those daisies and some lavender, as well. It would be pretty, even if it did represent the first emotions and declaration of love, as well as devoted affection, devotion, and trust. His sleep addled mind found that rather fitting.

He slept well, and kept his promise to Hinata. He thought about her even as he slept.

"Why are you so dedicated, Kabuto?"

Kabuto paused his grinding and looked up at his master. He had been gently using a mortar and pestle to work on some of his lord's medicine, but the question had caught him off guard Orochimaru was not a terribly introspective person. Kabuto was not blind, he knew Orochimaru had many flaws, and one of them was his somewhat narrow minded nature. He had a hard time thinking of others, it seemed, in a way other then how they were useful to him. It made him not the most thrilling conversationalist, but Kabuto hadn't pledged allegiance to him for that.

"Because you give me purpose." he said, turning back to his grinding with a grin on his face. "Why do you ask, Lord Orochimaru?"

He did not respond, and Kabuto would not repeat himself. He knew better. And so he put the exchange aside. There would be time to wonder about his Lord's mental activities later.

"Why are you being so troublesome, Ino?"

Ino Yamanaka had changed. Where once she wore rather fashionable clothing with less then half-enough cloth to actually cover her body, now she wore enough that she wouldn't freeze at the first breeze. Shikamaru chuckled at the thought internally as he looked her over. She'd donned an overcoat, much like her sensei, and ever since her elevation to chuunin she'd actually taken to wearing the standard vest they were issued. She wore a longer version of the outfit she'd always wore before, as well as taking on the ANBU-style gloves.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Shikamaru?" she asked, snapping her head around, a vein bulging as she did.

"I'm just saying, you barely come out anymore and now you look like a miniature version of him." he said, holding his hands up plaintively.

She grinned at him and responded teasingly, "Awh, does someone miss me?"

"Yeah, you know how Choji gets." he responded, not even breaking tone at all. Ino found that infuriating about him. He was so damn calm all the time, and hard to read. And ever since she'd started learning under Ibiki, she knew how to read people even better then ever. Her parents hadn't been thrilled, but she'd worn them down by her determination. Shikamaru, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to like it in the bit. Or did he? Grah, why was he so difficult?

She humphed at his response and turned back away, heading off for their weekly team meeting. Most of the original Team Ten had gone off for their various forms of training; Shikamaru and Choji with their respective families, and Ino with both Ibiki and her father. She had come along way in skill, and sometimes she seemed like a brand new person. And other times...

"Besides," she began, walking on without waiting for him to fall back line line with her, "I make this look good."

Shikamaru grumbled something about it being troublesome. Perhaps she hadn't changed so much after all.

"Oh, Jiro, why are you such a fool?"

It was a tragedy of common sense. The rakish troubadour and rogue Jiro had just pledged himself to discover the greatest song in the world to earn the right to court the beautiful and young Youko. It was an impossible task, one that would take him from nation to nation, mystical place to mystical place, and test the very core of his soul. He would be tempted greatly by pleasures of the flesh; luscious young beauties were so very easily drawn to him, and it was so very hard to beat them off. But he would have to struggle on. It would be worth it! Eventually, he would to get to the fantastically written three-chapter love sequence near the end of the book that made the previous dozen or so all worth it.

But what a fool he was! Kakashi could not believe it. Well, he could, actually. He had read this release of Icha Icha Paradise many times, but it never seemed to get old. And the characters never seemed to get stale. He often thought about finding some other books to read, but they just never matched up to this legendary work. But the truth of the matter was that he really simply liked the certainty of knowing what would happen and that in the end there would be no conciquences for the ill things done and the good guys would live happly ever after. He liked the fact that there were good guys, clear cut black and white, unlike the world he was forced to live with as a shinobi.

Kakashi used the books to cope. It was his thing, and he was immensely better of for it. Someday, he hoped to meet the author and tell him that.

"Why can't I love you?"

She was asleep. He was holding her, still, and after they had drifted back into silence the girl had managed to let exhaustion take her. He stared at her, emotionless mask back on his face even with no one around. She snuggled closer into his chest, and he had the strange thought of how cute the sounds were she made when she slept. Small things, little squeaks and other emotes. She'd even wistfully said his name a few times, and it made him wonder if that was because of where she'd fallen asleep or if it was a more regular occurrence.

Sakura had, in many ways, done more for Sasuke then almost anyone else had ever done for him. He had no shortage of people who wished him well or tried to help during his life, despite the fact he spurned their assistance more often then not. They were not helping him, they were helping his name, he knew. He might have savored the attention if it wasn't for that. It wasn't his attention at all. It was nothing but a lie. But Sakura, though starting off that way, had become more, and in the end she'd given up much of herself for Sasuke, not Uchiha.

She deserved to be cared for in that special way, to have three small words said to her by the one she had given up so much for. She did deserve that, and he was rather incapable of providing it. He would not say he loved her, because it would have been a lie like all the false sympathy he was given while growing up. How strange it was for him; he had nothing against manipulating people and tricking them, that was part of being a shinobi. But he cared about her more then he had realized at first, making such an option unappealing, even if she might have actually enjoyed the lie.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place. He cared for her too much to lie, but he could not bring himself to actually feel that way so he wouldn't have to lie. He'd invested too much of himself in his path as an avenger. No, not to much. He shook his head at at thought thought. He didn't regret anything in that, but for the first time he actually felt a regret about his leaving Konoha. But not a regret for him; it was a regret for her. What would have happened had he left her behind? What would she have become. What would he?

She would not have given up on him. He knew her well enough to know that. She would have chased him to the ends of the earth if it meant bringing him home. Just like Naruto.

He paused. He hadn't thought about Naruto for some time. He felt the unfamiliar pang of guilt in that, causing him to scowl. He shouldn't feel guilt for that. He found it odd that he did not regret finishing off the loser when he had the chance. He told himself it was because he didn't want to listen to his brother in everything, or because Sakura had begged him not to. But Naruto would not give up on the pair, he knew. He'd chase them down no matter what they'd said or did. Eventually, he was going to have to fight him again. And for some reason, that thought actually brought the peculiar feeling of fear up in him.

But he was escaping the topic at hand, which coincidentally was also in his hands. He was still holding her, and rather enjoyed that fact. He found the thought of not holding her unappealing. This annoying girl had weaseled her way into his heart, he had to admit. Her persistence was admirable, and perhaps that was it; she reminded him of himself in the chase, abet not quite as violent or with a goal some might say was more noble then his own, but he'd not heeded their advice to abandon it then. And neither had she, despite the fact that he had been easily something that could be described as a colossal jerk. And he was a jerk, he really didn't shy much away from that.

Sasuke had made peace with that part of him long ago. Or so he thought, at least. The loser and the annoying girl tended to make him rethink it slightly, and now she continued to have that almost infuriating ability to make him actually feel guilty. She had power of him, he realized, because of her very nature. She could make him worried, and she could make him smile. But most of all, more then anyone else, he trusted her. That was a rare thing in anyone's life, true trust. He'd found it in her, and maybe that was why he'd let her come.

But he did not love her. And that hurt.