Chapter 7

For a month following the Nara ball, Sakura and Sasuke did not interact beyond what they needed to. Other than training, they avoided each other entirely. They never sparred together, instead choosing to fight their other team members. Every dinner party, ball, and visit to the theatre was filled with apparent indifference between the two of them. It did not, however, help curb their jealousy or make their hearts feel any better.

Instead, the two sort of floated along, trying to distract themselves from each other. That is why when Kakashi ordered them to spar and work on tag-team techniques during training one day, they were both incredibly uncomfortable.

It was a beautifully morning in March. The sun was out, and life was beginning to bloom around them. Sakura would be turning 19 in two weeks, and the cherry trees were growing rapidly. Team Seven chose to meet early in the morning for training, and the sun was coloring the sky yellow and blue. They were all dressed in their ninja gear, and had been waiting for Kakashi for half an hour.

"Where is he?!" Naruto yawned.

"He's always late, Naruto, and you know that." Sakura stated calmly. She had chosen to stay home the night before instead of going to see another play at the theatre, and therefor she was the only one who was well-rested.

"Of course she wants to defend him," Sasuke seethed mentally. Though he had not observed Sakura and Kakashi showing physical intimacy, he was still overly-suspicious of their relationship. To make matters worse, the dobe had dragged him out to the theatre last night, and he was exhausted. He had been forced to sit through some tragedy while Naruto flirted with his soon-to-be fiance, and Nanami gushed about all the gossip around the village. Though Sasuke was not seriously courting her yet, she did accompany him to the theatre or a dinner party occasionally. He was mostly apathetic towards her, but she didn't seem to acknowledge or care about that. She was an airhead, and Sasuke had felt himself wishing Sakura were there. Even if they didn't speak often, he found her wit and intellect refreshing.

For Sasuke, spending time apart from Sakura was less beneficial to him than he would have let on. He found himself thinking about her more and more. He watched her when they were together. He knew her facial expressions better than anyone's, and he could almost always make out the emotion in her beautiful green eyes. He found himself longing to grab her hand, to wrap his arm around her waist, to stroke her cheek bone. As he watched her talk to Naruto and Sai that early morning, he saw her brush back part of her hair. In that moment, he desired to see her hair down. It was always up and out of her face, and he had no idea how long and luscious it was.

Today, her hair was once again in a simple bun, held up by a red ribbon. He longed to reach out and pull her hair down, but stopped himself. He could not touch her, because that would only throw off the weird balance they had. Instead, he chose to lean against a cherry blossom tree that had yet to bloom and waited for Kakashi. When he finally appeared, he felt relief. He would no longer have to stand there, trying to divert his eyes from Sakura and keeping himself from throttling Naruto for acting like a fool.

"Ah, sorry I'm late!" Kakashi said for what seemed like the thousandth time. "I was helping-"

"Don't lie to us!" Sakura and Naruto yelled at the same time. Sasuke smirked at Kakashi's guilty face.

"Ah, well, let's just get down to business." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "We'll be sparring today, and we're going to mix up the normal pairing a lot. Today, Sakura and Sasuke will be fighting while Naruto and Sai work on team combinations with me."

Kakashi watched as Sakura and Sasuke looked like their eyes were about to pop out of their heads. Sasuke looked full of disbelief, and Sakura looked angry.

"Kakashi" she hissed. "Why can't I work on team combinations?"

"Because Sasuke has been back for almost a month and you two haven't worked together once." Kakashi told them. "I don't think you two understand that since you have the strongest and fastest taijutsu on the team, you need to be learning how to work and communicate together. Before you can do that, you need to spar."

"But-" Sakura began, before she was surprisingly stopped by Sasuke.

"Sakura," Sasuke checked her. She turned to him, breathless at the sound of her name, eyes wide with anticipation. Sasuke almost had his breath knocked away. "Kakashi is right. If we're on a team together, we need to work together."

Sakura just nodded at him, obviously resigned to the fact that she would be sparring with him. Naruto and Sai had already moved to another field that was separated by cherry blossom trees. Kakashi nodded at them before jumping up and disappearing through the small forest. Sasuke prepared himself for the fight, taking off his cloak and hanging it on a tree limb. He was turning towards Sakura, about to dictate the rules of the spar, when he felt the earth beneath him shake.

Jumping swiftly and landing roughly ten feet away, he saw that Sakura had punched the ground, destroying the area where he had been standing not 5 seconds before. She screamed out "Shannaroo!". Quickly putting himself into defense mode, Sasuke prepared to battle his pink-haired teammate.

The two quickly became familiar with each other's tricks. While Sasuke was faster and better with ninjutsu, Sakura was stronger and had greater control of the surroundings because of her immense strength. The fighting developed, becoming more and more intense. Every punch Sakura threw was fiercer and wilder, and every chidori Sasuke aimed at her was more and more deadly. The ground around them was being decimated, far worse than whenever Sakura sparred with Naruto.

It was as though the two were taking this match to let all of their frustration and anger at each other out. All of the pent up jealousy, bitterness, and sexual desire was being sweat out as the two continuously attacked each other.

Sasuke attempted to perform a sneak attack on Sakura. He ran up behind her quicker than lightening, and attempted to grab her from behind. Sakura, however, grabbed his arm and flipped his body over, landing him on the ground. She straddled his lap, raising her fist back to aiming to hit his face. She hesitated. Looking at Sasuke, she saw his dark eyes flash with something intense and animalistic. He was breathing rapidly, his lips parted. Sakura felt herself growing hot. She leaned in closer to him, inhaling his scent. Their faces were inches apart, and it would have been so easy to close the distance between them.

Sasuke realized that Sakura's hair had come down during their battle. It was shorter than he anticipated. It came down to her shoulder and waved lightly in the wind. It was such a lovely shade of pink, glowing in the morning sun. He wanted nothing more than to bury his hands in it, and kiss her senseless.

Just as he had resolved to give in to his temptation, the sound of Naruto's voice was moving closer and closer. Sasuke turned his head towards the noise, cursing under his breath. All at once, Sakura was standing over him, offering her hand.

"I won," she smirked as he took her hand. She pulled him up a little too hard, and their noses almost touched when he was standing.

"Not likely, Sakura," he breathed into her face, before smirking and turning away. "You couldn't even finish me off."

"Hmph, arrogant!" She called him, her face contorted in disbelief. "Just wait until I get my hands on you again! Shannaroo!"

At that moment, Naruto moved out of the woods, followed by Sai and Kakashi. "Sakura-chan! Wait until you see the awesome technique that Sai and I worked out!"

Sakura let out a nervous laugh. She was still a little shaken from her and Sasuke's intense sparring. "Of course, Naruto," she moved to follow Sai and Naruto while Kakashi stood by Sasuke.

"How did it go?" Kakashi asked cheerfully.

"Hn. Fine." Sasuke told him.

"Do you think that you and Sakura will be able to work together as a team from now on?" Kakashi pushed. "I've seen the animosity that has been growing between you two, and I don't like it. Whether you want it or not, Sakura cares deeply about you."

Sasuke waited a few moments to answer, his eyes flashing with confusion and a hint of tenderness. "I do."

Kakashi looked at his student, a small smile of hope hidden beneath his mask.

A week later, while Team Seven was on a mission just outside Konoha, they were ambushed by the large group of rogue ninja they were searching for.

Naruto had impulsively gone after the leader of the group. Kakashi had quickly followed, leaving Sai, Sakura, and Sasuke to deal with the rest. Sakura was punching the idiots left and right, while Sasuke was taking them out with Kusanagi and various ninjutsu. Sai was a short distance away, providing support from afar.

Sasuke was removing Kusanagi from a ninja's gut when he felt someone coming from behind. He turned around and saw a sword heading straight for his gut. In a pink flash, Sakura came between the ninja and Sasuke, taking the hit. He could see the edge of the blade coming through her back. Sakura punched the ninja who had stabbed her, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

Sasuke felt blind rage spread through him as Sakura collapsed in his arms, her entire being in immense pain.

"Sai!" He called out in wild desperation. The wound was so deep that Sakura was sure to die if she didn't receive medical attention immediately. "Kakashi! Naruto!"

"Sh, Sasuke-kun!" She gasped. "Help me pull this out."
"Sakura, you'll lose more blood-"

"Just listen to me, Uchiha!" Even as she was losing blood rapidly, her voice still managed to sound venomous. He obliged, pulling the sword out. As soon as he did, the small diamond on her forehead began glowing. Long black lines spread down her face, neck, and disappeared into her clothing. He watched as the giant gash on her abdomen began sizzling, closing and healing itself.

His eyes widened. Sakura was on her feet again abruptly. "Let's go, Sasuke-kun." She told him gently.

"Thank you, Sakura." He told her quietly. She flashed him a smile before running headfirst into the group on ninja. Her power was incredible. She destroyed every last ninja with a small punch to the ground.

Sasuke felt a smirk forming on his face. So that was what Sakura's power entailed. Not only could she rapidly heal herself, but her strength was amplified heavily. She was absolutely fearsome. His felt his heart beating faster in his chest than it ever had.

Sasuke insisted that Sakura ride on his horse with him on the way home. Even though she told him numerous times that she was fine, he would not believe her. Part of the plan for the mission had involved Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi following Sai and Sasuke who were on horseback, from the trees. After Sakura's injury and subsequent fatigue, however, Sasuke refused to let her walk. When Kakashi had encouraged it, there really was no use for Sakura's arguing.

She put her hands around his waist and held tight. Sasuke was traveling quickly to get her home, and they had left the others behind a while back.

"Sasuke-kun," she told him. "You're going really fast."

He turned his head to her slightly. "I can go faster," he smirked.

Sakura blushed, her mind going to other places that weren't necessarily appropriate to think about a teammate. It didn't help that she could feel the definition of his muscles underneath his clothing, and she could smell his deep musky scent every time she breathed in.

"Sasuke-kun?" Her voice roused him as they got closer to her home.

"Hn?"

"Will you be coming to my birthday party?" She was turning nineteen in exactly one week. Naruto was hosting her birthday dance at his home, and most of their friends would be attending. Nanami had been conveniently left off the guest list. Ever since their first day of sparring at the training grounds, Sasuke and Sakura had a different dynamic in their relationship. Sasuke was becoming more protective and kind around her, while Sakura was sweeter and more likely to blush around him.

"Hn," he confirmed with a nod. She blushed into his coat, her arms squeezing tighter than before.

They rode up to Sakura's front door. Sasuke helped her inside, but she insisted that she was fine.

"I promise, Sasuke-kun," she smiled up at him. "Thank you for taking me home. You didn't have to."

"Hn," Sasuke looked at her for a few moments. A faint blush had spread out across her cheeks. She looked adorable, and couldn't help but reach his hand out and poke her in the forehead the same way Itachi had done to him as a child. "I'll see you soon, Sakura."

With that, he disappeared, leaving a confused and blushing woman behind him.

Naruto went home and freshened up shortly after their mission. Hinata was coming over for dinner that night, and he had to look his absolute best. He found himself falling more and more in love with the Hyuga heiress as the days went by. He was beginning to question how he had ever overlooked or forgotten her while growing up. In fact, he planned to propose to her that very night.

He dressed carefully in a black suit with a golden vest. His hair was carefully combed back in the style Hinata liked best and he wore her favorite cravat. He had just finished dressing and was walking downstairs when he heard a knock at the door. His butler moved to open the door, revealing Hinata. She was a vision of pure beauty. Wearing a mauve and heather dress with small stones flowers embed into the skirt and matching jewelry, she resembled a beautiful orchid. Naruto loved the way her dark hair shined, and how lovely her kind lavender eyes looked when they were on him. Her beautiful curves were displayed to him in her dress, and not for the first time, Naruto had to suspend his thoughts that would surely make Hinata blush if she ever knew about them.

"Good evening, Hinata!" Naruto cheered at her.

"Ah, Good evening Naruto-kun!" She smiled serenely at him. His heart beat heavily in his chest.

He offered her his arm and escorted her to dinner. If it were up to him, she would never let go of his arm. They dined together happily, and later that night, Naruto took Hinata out into his garden. The moon was incredibly large, shining upon the young couple. Naruto could not help but watch Hinata as her eyes took in the world around her. It was a cold night, but the two shinobi felt warm together.

"Hinata…" Naruto began, pulling her face to look at his.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" She breathed, wide eyed.

"Hinata…I've never had a family." Naruto took a deep breath. "And I've never known if I could ever start one with someone. But with you…I want to stay with you. Forever!"

Hinata smiled at him, he gentle eyes full of happiness. "I love you, Naruto-kun."

"I love you too, Hinata." Naruto looked her directly in the eyes. "Will you be my wife?" He blushed and looked away. He felt Hinata's gentle hand turn his face back towards her.

"I thought you'd never ask," Hinata gave him the confirmation he needed. "I've waited for you for a very long time."

At that, Naruto grabbed Hinata around her waist and pulled her in for their first kiss. It was like breathing in the sky. The moon and the sun had finally found each other, and were working together in perfect harmony. They were meant to be. As they broke apart, Naruto did not relinquish his hold on Hinata. They watched the moon together, embracing their love and relishing in the future they had together.

The next day, they would tell all of their friends and family. No doubt Sakura would be overwhelmed with tears, and even Sasuke would have a small smirk for the pair. But for the night, it was just about Naruto and Hinata.

They were not aware that not far away was a man with a Spiral Mask covering his face, watching and plotting something to threaten their future.