Their second day traveling to the former headquarters of Uchiha Madara was a duplicate of the first. Silence followed them like a fourth teammate—Karin's near-constant cooing and whining notwithstanding.

Sakura tensed as Sasuke signaled for her and Karin to drop from the trees and make camp. Other than the grunt she'd gotten from him yesterday, he hadn't said a thing to her. He indicated what he wanted her to do with gestures and hand signals.

Sakura's stomach clenched. She thought it was more than she expected…or deserved.

Again, she left camp to gather firewood. She was thankful for the…quiet? No, she thought, that wasn't it. She was thankful for the time to let her guard down—her muscles ached with maintaining the appearance of impassivity. Sakura breathed deeply and rolled her shoulders, relaxing the tightness as she hunted for suitable branches and thought about her teammate.

As silent as he'd been, Sakura was surprised Sasuke had even grunted at her, given their current relationship—she scoffed, Relationship? She was stunned he hadn't asked the Hokage to remove her from the mission altogether.

As Sakura stepped back into camp, she was glad to see only Karin, sitting on a rock with her arms folded. She shot Sakura a flinty-eyed look which she chose to ignore—they had a few days ahead of them and, as much as she disliked Karin, fighting with her wouldn't make this already difficult trip any easier.

"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura asked, more to break the silence than because she wanted to know—she figured he was hunting for dinner.

Karin harrumphed and sharply turned her head away.

All right. Don't talk. Fine by me, thought Sakura.

It really wasn't fine by her, though. With all the tension she held inside, Sakura felt about ready to explode. She missed Naruto's goofy ways and Sai's inappropriate remarks—she could use a good laugh. She'd settle for just a little conversation—even if it was with Karin. Instead, she stretched her arms high over her head and arched her back, exhaling out days of tension. Sakura hated to admit it, but she felt more relaxed without Sasuke around—every time she looked at him, the weight of guilt on her became heavier.

With one final pop of her shoulder joints, Sakura got to the task of setting up the campfire. Without preamble, Karin shot off the rock she'd been perched on and began raking her fingers through her hair, attempting to smooth it down. She shifted her shorts a little lower on her hips and tugged her shirt straight. A second later, Sasuke landed in their clearing.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! You're back so soon! What a surprise!"

Sakura crinkled her brows in confusion—Karin was a sensor! She knew Sasuke was coming—she'd probably been tracking him the entire time. Why was she acting so shocked? When she wrapped her arms around one of Sasuke's, Sakura had her answer. Karin just needed him to slow down for a second so she could grab a hold of him.

Apparently, Sakura had spent too much time letting her guard down because, before she could stop herself, she snorted derisively at Karin's tactics.

When two heads whipped in her direction, Sakura trained her eyes on the firewood, hoping neither one of them noticed the reddening of her cheeks.

Karin gushed with every bite of dinner, complimenting Sasuke on the delicious rabbit he'd caught—she swore she'd never tasted better—to no avail. He'd hummed his typical, monosyllabic response once, and that was all the conversation she'd gotten.

Karin thought she'd lose her mind from boredom. At least with Taka, Suigetsu was talkative and kept her entertained. She never realized Sasuke was so dull.

She glanced at him and thought with a smirk, He's lucky he's so good-looking.

She watched him throw a bone into the fire, the fat crackling and flames flaring. He stuck the tip of his thumb into his mouth, sucking the last bit of juice off—Karin leaned forward as his full lips closed around it. Her eyes widened when she saw him pull his thumb slowly out, the tip of his tongue flicking across the pad of his finger.

"Oooh," Karin moaned, unable to contain her ecstasy. Two sets of eyes narrowed at her odd outburst and Karin quickly came back to reality.

"Um, really, really good rabbit, Sasuke-kun. It's, uh, excellent."

Sasuke shrugged and pulled a whetstone out of his pack and began sharpening his blade. Sakura opened a book and leaned closer to the fire to read. Karin looked from one to the other and sighed.

She really couldn't wait for this mission to end.

Sakura was surprised when, after dinner, Karin volunteered to clean up. Her intentions, however, became clear with one sentence.

"Sasuke-kun? I'll be down at the stream, washing up…if you need me."

It took all of Sakura's willpower not to fling a kunai at her—until she came to a realization that made her throat close up.

She was alone with Sasuke.

Mustering up her courage, Sakura stole a glance at him. She'd intended to look at him for a second and then go back to her book, but she couldn't take her eyes off him—Sasuke was even more handsome than she remembered.

The silver of his headband's metal plate turned molten gold in the reflected flames. Her mind flashed to a thirteen-year-old Sasuke sitting across from her, the same Konoha hitai-ate tied around his head. His arms were not so thick with muscle. His legs were only as long as hers and not as corded with sinew as this man's. His chest had been small enough that she could wrap her arms around it. She knew her fingertips would barely touch if she embraced this man's broad chest. She swallowed hard and the image of a younger Sasuke dissipated in the cold night air.

The flickering firelight caused deep shadows to fall across his features, emphasizing the narrowing of his face—the full, smooth cheeks of boyhood were no more. Sakura was a little dizzy and disconcerted as she took in all the changes time had wrought in Sasuke. She was having difficulty finding the boy who was her friend in the face of the man sitting before her.

A spark of desire flared unexpectedly as she watched, hypnotized by the sure, skillful movement of his hands as they ran methodically down his katana. Her cheeks burned at the unbidden surge of longing. She forced her eyes from Sasuke to her book. Staring at the page before her, she counted to ten and turned a page with a shaky hand—she hadn't taken in a single word, but she had to keep up the façade of reading. She counted thirty seconds more—as her heart beat double-time—before she chanced another look.

Sakura thought that the onset of adulthood had carved a mesmerizing angularity into Sasuke. She found that when she gazed at him, she lost the ability or desire to blink. Every flex of muscle as he ran the stone expertly down his blade made her mouth go dry.

She wrenched her eyes back to her book and turned another page. Frustration rose in her—was this what she'd been reduced to? Peeking at Sasuke? Sakura gripped the edges of her book tightly and reprimanded herself for her weakness. She was a Konoha shinobi. A proud member of Team Seven.

And she loved him…with all of her heart.

Steeling herself, Sakura thought she must lift her head and face him. She knew that she had wronged him, but they had been friends once. She would be brave and suffer whatever punishment Sasuke meted out.

Immediately, panic choked her. What if Sasuke never wanted to repair the rift between them? What if his anger and disappointment in her was too much to move past?

She forcefully swallowed past the dry lump wedged in her throat. She would not live with regrets. She would no longer live as a coward.

Hoping her voice would not betray her fear, she lifted her head and opened her mouth to address him.

"Sasuke-kuuun!"

As their eyes locked, Sakura was perplexed. Was that her voice screeching his name like that? And why was Sasuke already looking at her?

"Sasuke-kuuuuuun!"

As they both stared, eyes wide, Sakura found she was unable to utter a word. A cold thrill ran through her stomach.

His eyes!

Emotion welled up inside of her as she realized this was one part of Sasuke that she remembered with perfect clarity, the one thing that had not changed.

Now that the anger in them had disappeared, she could see the boy she loved was still in there. She was entranced, watching his lids slowly lower and then rise again to reveal the dusky blackness she'd longed to see again. An elated grin began to spread across Sakura's face as she saw a familiar warmth in Sasuke's eyes—could it be that there was hope for forgiveness after all?

"Oh, Sasuke-kuuuuuun!"

The spell around them was broken when Karin plopped herself on the ground next to Sasuke and wound her arms around his like a snake. She leaned her head against his shoulder, twirling her hair around her finger coquettishly.

The grin slid from Sakura's face at Karin's arrival and she hid in the safety of her book. She felt slightly off balance as she wondered if what she'd seen in Sasuke's eyes was real. She fought to keep her hands from shaking as she wondered…was there really a chance they could be friends again?

"Sasuke-kun, didn't you hear me? I was wondering if you wanted to come for a walk with me," Karin cooed bashfully.

Sakura lifted her eyes just enough to see Karin's shorts and midriff-baring top—how could she wear so little when Fire Country was well into autumn? Her lip unconsciously curled as she saw the belt Karin had made out of her hitai-ate. She knew she would never consider Karin a true ninja of the Leaf—the woman wouldn't even wear the uniform. Sakura felt pride in her green vest. She sneered at Karin's garish and impractical outfit as she pulled her cloak around her and shivered, partially from the cold and partially in disgust.

"The forest is so beautiful this time of night, Sasuke-kun, and so…empty." Her voice turned husky as she moved her lips closer to his ear.

There was no mistaking the implication—Karin's throaty invitation wasn't exactly subtle. Sakura grit her teeth, fighting against her murderous intent.

How was it that this woman was the teammate Sasuke chose? What did she have that Sakura didn't?

She ran her eyes over the provocative outfit that hugged Karin's curvaceous figure and flicked her eyes back to Sasuke who was now staring at the fire. Was he actually considering her request?

She felt like she'd been kicked in the gut as she recalled her earlier thoughts of how exquisitely masculine Sasuke had become. When Sakura called him teammate, they were children. She lifted her book in front of her face like a shield, her eyes burning as she wondered if the adult Sasuke found things in Karin that he would never see in her.

Sasuke unwound his arm from Karin's grip as he sat back, his gaze never wavering from the flames as he decreed, "We should get some rest. I'll take first watch."

Sakura felt her muscles relax at Sasuke's dismissal of Karin's offer as chills ran through her body at the deep rumble of Sasuke's voice. How different it was, and yet, how very much the same.

"And you'll come get me for second watch, Sasuke-kun?" purred Karin, her eyes sparkling.

Peering over the top of her book, Sakura thought contemptuously that it didn't matter what watch Karin took, she certainly wouldn't be looking out for her safety. She wouldn't notice if Sakura was eaten by a giant bear in her sleep, but if one even sniffed in Sasuke's direction—well, she'd probably pull a Lion's Barrage on it.

"No. You'll take third watch."

His eyes snapped up from the campfire, connecting with Sakura's and, despite her desperate wish to stop it, her breath left in a rush.

"Sakura…I'll wake you in a few hours."

She nodded slightly and before Karin could even finish whining his name, Sasuke took to the trees. Pouting and huffing, Karin finally got into her sleeping bag to sulk.

Sakura sat trembling by the fire. Looking into his eyes made his return to Konoha real.

Her Sasuke-kun had come home.

She closed her eyes and swallowed with difficulty. Hearing him say her name—she felt like he'd reached out and touched her. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Her eyes snapped up to the treetops, knowing he was there…watching. Overwhelmed with an inexplicable panic by the thought of his gaze, Sakura needed to move—she had to get into her sleeping bag and think.

She slid inside her bedroll and snuggled into the downy warmth. As she began to relax into sleep, she smiled, hoping that, one day, Sasuke might find it in himself to cordially coexist with her in the village. Maybe they might even be friends again. With these happy thoughts lulling her, Sakura drifted peacefully to sleep.

High in the treetops on watch, Karin slapped at another mosquito and scratched her leg. Aren't bugs supposed to die in the cold, she thought, scratching herself raw. Irritating pests.

As she waved her hand all around, shooing bugs away, Karin wished it was this easy to shoo other pests away. Her eyes landed on Sakura sleeping near the fire.

She hated the idea of anyone female within ten feet of Sasuke. During the time they spent together as Taka, Karin had become an expert at keeping all other women at bay—which was no easy feat, considering Sasuke's irresistible good looks. Although he hadn't shown an interest in anyone before, there was no telling when he might get the itch—and Karin wanted to be sure she was the only available woman to scratch it for him.

So far, that day hadn't come, but Karin could wait. She was very patient.

Keeping Sakura at bay would be a little harder than most, she thought. Sakura and Sasuke had a history together—they had been teammates. Karin knew how highly Sasuke regarded Naruto, but she was unsure about the depth of his feelings for his pink-haired teammate.

She thought about how she'd detected both of their disturbed chakra signatures yesterday and huffed angrily at what it implied. She also mulled over Sasuke's attentiveness to Sakura—Karin had to fight for every scrap of attention she could get from him, but one word from Sakura and Sasuke was jumping to her aid.

Sakura was clearly a threat—she'd have to look for an opening to drive a wedge between her and Sasuke. Karin would not allow anyone to take what was rightfully hers.

Looking down on him from a sturdy branch as she continued to keep watch, Karin giggled with delight as any irritating thoughts she had melted away at the sight of Sasuke's handsome face.

He was comfortably sprawled out in his sleeping bag. She gazed at the gentle flush of sleep on his cheeks and the way his hands were thrown above his head like a child in slumber. Karin chose not to look at the way his one hand stretched higher above his head, as if reaching out toward the sleeping bag just feet away from his.

Sakura shifted and stretched in the cold, gray dawn. Automatically folding up her bedroll and strapping it to her pack, she looked from the fire to her teammates.

It seemed that sitting in the trees was too far away from Sasuke for Karin's liking, so she'd crept closer to him during the early morning—so close that she was sitting just inches from him. As Sakura's eyes fell on her, Karin sneered and moved another inch closer to Sasuke.

Despite her previous doubts, Sakura felt her confidence rise as she noted that, while Karin was sitting near the still-sleeping Sasuke, she'd still kept a fair distance from him.

Was she afraid of coming closer?

Sakura reassessed her earlier conclusions about Sasuke and Karin's relationship. Maybe she was nothing more than an overeager fanatic. Maybe she held no sway over Sasuke's heart. Relief washing over her, she filled a pot with water for tea and set it over the flames as she left to catch some breakfast.

There was only the sound of her feet shushing through piles of rust-colored leaves to break the silence that followed her to the stream—nothing to distract her from her thoughts of Sasuke.

Sakura's hopeful mood from last night when she'd locked eyes with Sasuke was still with her this morning. She thought she'd seen something different in his gaze than the anger she'd seen previously. Last night, his eyes were the eyes of her Sasuke-kun again—the boy she'd fallen in love with, the boy who had been her friend. Her longing for that boy was a physical pain in her chest.

But, she thought painfully, he's not a boy anymore, is he?

Shaking her head at her roller-coaster of emotions, she thought about Karin. There must be something special about her. Why would he choose her, otherwise?

She was aware of Karin's rare talent for sensing chakra. She was sure that had been a valuable tool in Sasuke's search for his brother. But what if there was another reason Sasuke selected her? Sakura had always taken pride in her own tightly muscled physique. She wasn't as soft and curvy as Ino, but she wasn't completely devoid of feminine assets. She chastised herself for even entertaining the thought, but she couldn't help but wonder—was she not attractive to Sasuke?

She immediately tried to put a stop to that way of thinking—she and Sasuke were barely even friends and she was wondering if he thought she was attractive? What was wrong with her?

Sakura channeled chakra to her foot and stomped on the shore, causing glittering fish to leap from the water. As she impaled three with deadly accuracy, her thoughts wandered again. What if Sasuke just didn't care for her type? Would he choose a more well-endowed woman to share a—she swallowed bitterly—relationship with?

In all her years spent loving Sasuke, Sakura had never once thought that he simply wouldn't like her. She thought that, if she worked hard enough, he would surely see how deeply she cared and that would be enough.

She gutted the fish by the shore with a little more violence than was necessary as her misery began to snowball. Rinsing her weapons and the fish in the lake, she knew she had to nip this thinking in the bud. She took a deep breath and resolved not to let her heart overpower her. She would focus on the path in front of her—complete this mission and work on gaining Sasuke's trust as a friend once again. She willed herself not to think any further than that.

As she neared camp, Sakura heard Karin's girlish giggle and froze. What if she walked in on something she did not want to see? Her legs were already taking backward steps before Sakura stopped herself.

She would not be a coward.

Breaking three long, thin branches from the nearest tree, Sakura took aggressive strides toward camp, keeping her eyes on the ground. She sat down by the fire and began staking each fish on the broken twigs and forcefully planting them near the flames.

The comforting smell of tea filled her nose as warm curls of steam drifted around her face—a cup had appeared directly under her chin. She looked up to see Sasuke, his eyes averted, holding out the hot drink to her. She glanced over to see Karin on the opposite side of camp, her arms crossed and her face red and sulky. She flicked her eyes back toward Sasuke to see that he was now staring at her—probably wondering why she hadn't taken the cup, she realized with alarm.

Trying to regain her composure, she moved her gaze from him to the tea as she slid both hands around the mug and murmured, "Thank you."

His hand lingered beneath hers for a moment, causing her to look up. Warmth exploded in her chest as she saw the faintest ghost of a smirk on Sasuke's face.

"You're welcome."

Okay...so...I need your help. Some person, who shall remain nameless (but her pen name ends in Paige and begins with a mythical creature), says there's a curse on third chapters-they don't get reviewed! Please show this anonymous person that third chapters rule! Review until you can't review no more! And know that you have my undying gratitude...you all make me smile like a crazy person!

Anyhoo, I owe my lack of sanity and flawless commas to the masterful beta skillz of Unicorn Paige. You are the very, very best...even if you're wrong about cabbage.