Chapter 9

Naruto's breathing was beginning to slow down as he neared the end of his rope. All his chakra was completely gone.

"Naruto, you realize that if that had been Sasuke you would be dead." Kakashi grumbled.

Naruto's knees began to buckle as his chakra level dropped. His vision began to swim as he blinked his bright blue eyes.

'Sasuke...'

He fell to his knees, his hands clenched around his blonde hair.

"It's been three months, Kakashi-sensei, and I still haven't improved. I don't know how much longer Sakura can keep herself alive."

Kakashi watched as Naruto began to fall apart. He wanted so badly to run to his side and to take away all the pain that was inflicting him, but, he knew that if he did so Naruto would never grow up to become the man he knew he would become.

"Naruto hold yourself together. I know it's been a long time since Sakura went missing but you can't let it get to you. She is safe; you have to believe that otherwise you'll never achieve your goal."

Naruto began to shake his head.

"Sasuke is so strong...and he only keeps getting stronger, there's no way I could ever rival him..."

Kakashi walked over so he was standing in front of Naruto's trembling form.

"What happened to you being so motivated that you'd do anything to get him back? Did that just suddenly vanish when you realized that you might not ever be strong enough to beat him? I thought the whole point to this was so that you could at least withstand him, not beat him. You do want to bring him back to the village, don't you?"

Naruto grip tightened on his hair.

Kakashi sighed as he closed his eyes.

"Look Naruto, I honestly think you're strong enough to take Sasuke on, but, you have to realize that if you use your new technique it could kill him. But you already know that, don't you?"

Naruto let go of his hair to look up at his Sensei.

"I know it could kill him, but the thing is, if I have one technique that could kill him he probably has like 5 that could kill me."

"True, he is training with Orochimaru so I'm sure he's learned lots of forbidden techniques. The question is, are you ready to face the reality that you might not be able to bring Sasuke back to the village... That you might have to kill him?" Kakashi stated while going through his pack to find his red book.

Darkness covered Naruto's eyes as Kakashi drew the sought after book out of his pack.

"Kakashi-sensei, I won't kill him. I'd rather die than kill him."

Kakashi rubbed his right arm.

"Naruto, you might not have a choice. It's time you came to the fact that you might have to kill him in order to save Sakura. I know it'll be hard for you, but at the same time, you know it's something you have to do."

Naruto glared at Kakashi, causing him to fall back a few steps.

"Kakashi-sensei, I swear to you that I will not kill him. He's the brother I never had and I'm going to make sure he comes back to the village."

"Even if you do bring him back, he very well might be put to death."

Naruto closed his eyes as his hands began to turn white from how hard he was clenching them.

"Then if that happens I'll make sure he doesn't get killed. Sakura and I will leave the village with him if Granny is so set on killing him. I won't let him get killed."

Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"You're a true friend Naruto. I hope I always have you on my side and not against me."

Naruto was caught off guard when Kakashi said this.

"Uhh...we'll always be friends, Kakashi-sensei. You've always been there for me and I haven't forgotten all the times you saved me when I was being stupid."

Kakashi raised an eye brow.

"There were a lot of times, weren't there?"

Naruto folded his arms and stuck his nose to the left.

"Well don't get all high and mighty." He grumbled as Kakashi broke into a fit of light laughter.

Naruto flipped a Kunai in his hand.

"Let's get back to training, I promise by this time tomorrow I'll have this down flat."

Kakashi set his book down on the ground to let his hands be free to stop Naruto's attacks.

Emerald eyes flashed in the darkness as she crept down the deserted hallway. There was no way she was going to let him get away with what he did.

Sakura stopped short when she heard footsteps coming down the hall in the direction she was headed. She muttered profusely under her breath as she shot up in the air and flipped so she was hanging upside down from the ceiling. Masking her chakra she folded her arms to help her shirt from falling down.

Her target walked into her vision and she had to hold back the giggle that wanted to erupt inside her. The look on his face was intense; he was always on guard even when he didn't have to fear anything. His spiky hair gleamed as he looked from his left to his right. Sakura's eyes widened as she realized that he probably felt that something was out of place.

'Darn it! No matter how hard I try to hide my chakra he can sense something! Why can't I do this without being caught? I guess I really do suck at it.'

While Sakura was busy stewing over all the reason why she wasn't a good Ninja the chakra flow on her feet began to shimmer away. There was a slight popping sound as the chakra completely left the soles of her feet. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, her arms flapping in the air, as if she could keep herself up by doing that.

Sasuke titled his head upward in time to see the rush of pink hair that was quickly approaching. Automatically he held out his arms, to stop her from falling and hitting her head on the cement floor. When he was sure he had a good grip on her he looked down into her face. She wasn't meeting his eyes and she seemed to be upset.

'What did I do? She was falling and if it wasn't for me she would have fallen and hurt herself. Girls are confusing, wait, I rephrase, Sakura is confusing.'

"What were you doing up there in the first place?" He snapped as she glared up at him. In response she folded her arms across her chest and looked in a different direction. Anger boiled inside of him as she gave him the cold shoulder.

"Sakura you're an idiot."

She looked down pointedly at the fact that she was still in his arms and she could tell that he had no intention of letting her go.

"Uh, Sasuke...can you let me go now?"

Her words seemed to remind him that he truly did have her in his arms. He simply let his hands fall to his side causing her to fall, her arms flaying as she hit the ground on her backside, hard. She stood up and rubbed her behind, her pink locks falling into her eyes.

"You are such a..." she trailed off.

Sasuke smirked, "Such a what?"

Her eyes shook with anger as she looked straight into his innocent expression. Sakura had been stuck in this hole for three long months. Sasuke had driven her insane every since the time she gave in and tried to seduce him, and it wasn't because he was drop dead gorgeous but because he was a smart mouth. Everything that came out of his mouth that wasn't a grunt was filled with sarcasm.

Using her index finger she poked him on his nose.

"You are the worst kind of guy I've ever met! I have no idea why I even had feelings for you! I'm so glad I got over your chicken butt head. I didn't know it was possible for your ego to grow even more but I was clearly mistaken. The three months that I've been held here you've become even more arrogant and full of yourself..." she continued her ranting but Sasuke wasn't listening any longer. The anger had built up in his chest to the point where he knew he was going to explode.

"...You have no feeling whatsoever; I don't think you're capable of having any feelings. Heck when we were sparring and I basically threw myself at you all you did was stand there, struggle, and then push me away. You have no hormones at all perhaps that means Kabuto is more your type..." she squealed when she felt her back hit the wall. A gasp of pain left her lips involuntarily.

Sasuke's eyes were a blood red as he pushed her against the wall.

"Shut. Up."

Sakura had to be honest with herself, it had been a month since she had made him fly off the handle like this. In all honesty she was scared. There was just something different about his eyes now as he was looking at her, accusing her in his silent ways.

Her green eyes glazed over as she let go of the restraints that held back the anger that had been coming out the past month.

"Make me! You're the one that has the pigheaded attitude."

"You only call Ino the pig." He hissed through clenched teeth. Sakura just noticed how close his face was to hers. They were only a few inches apart, the closeness making it so she had no choice but to look into his fierce eyes.

"Why do you even care? You've never cared before! You see me on my knees and you just walk away, how can you do that? I don't care anymore Sasuke...I don't."

When she spoke the words it brought back the memory for both of them that happened a few weeks earlier.

The Kunai whizzed past her left ear. A sweat drop slid down her temple. Her chest heaved up and down quickly as she gasped for air. Exhaustion was clearly outlined on her face.

"Ready to stop already?" the voice remarked sarcastically.

She gazed up at him, her green eyes clashing with her pink hair that had grown longer in length since she first got there. He was exhausted like she was but he still wanted to train. She cringed as she felt her sweat roll into one of the many wounds that surrounded her body.

"I'll never give up."

Sasuke smirked at her vain response.

"Good."

Sakura's knees shook as she forced her aching body to stand. Her eyes glazed over as her mind brought up the scene from three years ago.

"So, Sasuke?" the boy with pineapple hair asked.

"Yeah, he's gone." Naruto muttered softly.

That didn't stop Sakura from hearing those fateful words. Her hand shook that was on the doorknob. He really was gone, even after her declaring herself to him and Naruto going after him, he still left. Lifting her head she walked in behind Tsunade. Naruto's eyes fell on her and he instantly stiffened. Sakura could clearly see the failure in his eyes as he looked at her. He scrambled around on the bed.

"Sakura...I promise I'll keep my promise! I'll bring him back Sakura, it was after all, a promise of a lifetime."

Sakura slid to her knees again from the memory of Naruto. How could she be forgetting about him when he most likely was working relentlessly to find her?

Sasuke's eyes widened as he watched her fall onto her knees for the second time. She began to shake beyond belief as he watched her. The only time he had seen her like this was when they were in the Forest of Death and Orochimaru had attacked them. What could possibly have her that freaked out?

He slowly walked over to her and looked down at her crunched form.

"What are you doing? You need to stand up so we can practice some more. You have a lot to learn and master."

Sakura's trembling didn't cease by hearing his voice. She looked in front of her, not really focusing on anything. He bent down so he was eye level with her and turned her face so she had no choice but to look at him.

"N-Naruto...he gave everything for me...all the time. And--here I am just training when I should be...trying to find a way out...Naruto..." her voice faltered at the end. Hearing Naruto's name stirred something deep within Sasuke. His eyes turned a deep red, causing her to cringe away.

"Forget about that dope! You're Orochimaru's pet now and you have no chance of being saved. It's time you forgot about your past and think only of your future here."

Her eyes snapped wide by the comment. The current look of helplessness was replaced with hatred.

"I don't want to be here! Can't you see that? If you wouldn't have come back in the first place I never would be in this mess!"

Sasuke dropped his hand from her face and stood up, the look of death in his eyes. He turned around and started to walk away. Sakura's eyes filled with tears of hatred as she watched him.

"You'll always be the selfish monster that Orochimaru created! I'll never feel the same for you that I did back when we were kids. Never."

Sasuke stopped momentarily as she spoke, once she finished he strode away, not looking back. Sakura clasped her hands to her chest. How she hated showing weakness...but this was something that had hit her out of the blue that she couldn't ignore it like she usually did. And he left her...like he always did...when she needed him the most.

They both were silent for a few moments until she couldn't stand it anymore.

"For heaven's sake Sasuke, can you please let me go?"

His eyes focused on hers again as he glared. She gulped as the anger returned full force.

"You really think you have me all figured out, don't you Sakura?" he snarled.

His grip on her arms tightened as he sneered at her.

"You really think you have me figured out. You know nothing!"

Sakura closed her eyes to try to get away from the Sharingan. Sasuke could feel himself going over the edge from the anger that boiled underneath his skin. When she opened her eyes again they were set in stone.

"Sasuke, I don't care if I don't know you. I've given you so many chances to let me in but you shut me out each time. I'm done with you. Done."

Something in him snapped when she spoke those words. He gazed at her trying to get the urge to silence her forever out of his mind. Sakura didn't look away from him. She noticed once again how close they were. His body was pressed against hers, his hot breath on her face. The electricity she always felt when he touched her traveled through her body.

They starred at each other, not being able to look away from the other. His breathing began to accelerate the longer they stayed in this position. Sakura's eyes widened as he leaned down closer to her lips. She nearly fainted when he brushed his lips against hers. The contact made her freeze. She stood there, her eyes wide while his lips moved against her frozen lips.

'What is happening? Why is he kissing me? Did I do something to make him do this? He's going to hate me so much for this...isn't he?'

'Stop worrying about that! Just be happy he's actually kissing you. Wow, his lips really do feel as soft as we imagined them.' Her inner stated, clearly in bliss.

She gasped when she felt his tongue slide along her lower lip. He took advantage of the opening in her mouth and slid his tongue inside her mouth. Sakura wanted to push him away in anger but she was utterly under his control. Letting her eyes close she began to melt into the kiss. Her fingers twitched from their place at her side.

Steadily she moved her hands up and lightly placed them in the opening of his shirt. Wind whipped against her face as the warmness she felt was suddenly gone. Sasuke was on the other side of the hallway, his eyes masked behind darkness. Sakura looked at him in confusion as he never once lifted his head.

"Sasuke..."

"...Shut up Sakura."

Sakura was stunned as she leaned against the wall once again. So...he was upset with it, with her for letting it happen.

'I should have pushed away before he did. That way I wouldn't be feeling this rejection.'

Sakura could see the strain in his arms as he clenched his hands into fists. Gulping she brought her eyes to the ground. Her eyes snapped up when she heard him begin to walk away from her. Her face hardened as she ran after him.

"You're the one that kissed me! What was that all about? And why are you so mad at me when I wasn't the one to do it."

Her annoyance grew when he didn't answer her. So she did the only thing she could do, follow him.

"I want to know why you kissed me darn it!" she shouted, her voice bouncing off the empty walls. Sasuke stopped in his tracks, not caring to turn back to look at her.

"It was a mistake," he paused; Sakura felt as though she was punched in the gut, "It will never happen again Sakura. Don't fill your heart with petty hopes and dreams. You are Orochimaru's and you will always be his. You mean nothing to me and you never will. I don't have time for you or for anyone else." His voice was detached of emotion as he spoke.

"Leave me alone. You're annoying."

Sakura planted her feet on the floor as he vanished from her eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes as she clenched her hands at her side. There was no way she was going to let this get to her. Purple chakra began to outline her figure as she bowed her head, allowing the darkness to consume her.

Orochimaru smiled from the corner of the hall as he watched Sakura. This was exactly what she needed. One little push from Sasuke would send her over the edge; make her want to become powerful enough to have him recognize her.

'Good job Sasuke, you may have lower your guard for a different reason but you quickly recovered. There is no mistake that you have marked her heart and forever will.'

His tongue licked his lips as the darkness grew around Sakura.

"Now you will come to me willingly."

Orochimaru turned around and walked slowly away from the girl down the hall. Sasuke was leaning against the entrance to his quarters as he walked up. Orochimaru could tell by the empty look in his eyes that he was trying desperately to hide something.

"The first step in our mission is complete. Although I never imagined you'd go to those measures to acquire her."

Sasuke didn't even beat an eyelid as he gazed emotionlessly at his Sensei.

"Hn."

That brought a smile to Orochimaru's lips.

"I let it slid this time Sasuke, but next time it happens I won't be so forgiving."

"There won't be a next time." Sasuke muttered profusely.

"For your sake I hope not."

Then he walked past Sasuke and into his chambers.

Sasuke's black eyes fell to the ground once Orochimaru was out of seeing range.

'I'm such a fool.'

A/N: Wow, I am terribly sorry for the long delay for this chapter. Spring Semester started and I haven't had time to write. This chapter is really short and I apologize for that. Well, there we all have it, Sasuke kissed Sakura! But why? Was it for the mission Orochimaru gave him? Or because of something else? Teehee. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I realize its really short and I'll try to make the next one longer. I'm having some writers block so thats part of the reason its taking me so long to get the chapters out. If anyone has any idea feel free to tell me!

Oh, and I realize i said before that reviews dont' really matter but it is nice knowing people like the story and are reading. Please, please review! I won't hate you if you don't though. :D All right, thanks to all you guys that read and review deligently. I really apperiate it! And i have to thank Silver agian for being a great beta. Without her this story wouldn't exist nearly as well as it does.