"Blossom, it is almost time.

Blossom, do not grow complacent.

The world will soon see…"

It dawned on him in that moment that he hadn't met her before. Not really, anyway. Sure, he caught brief glimpses of her during the heat of battle or when she'd been pushed to her limits, but he had never formally met her. Not until now. She hovered above him, dark eyes watching intently, 'It was she who invited you in here.'She whispered, 'She's afraid you won't accept her. She knows you…'The dark eyes became a vibrant green once more and knew she was back. "I'm sorry." She whispered as a soft blush crept over her cheeks.

"Don't be." He murmured as their lips met, "I accept you. All of you. Every dark secret, the monsters in your closet. I am your teammate and your friend and I..." The unspoken words hung in the air and her eyes softened.

"Thank you." She smiled, kissing him once more. It was as if his whole body was on fire, igniting at the touch of her skin on his. The smell of her made him dizzy and the look in her eyes made something inside him stir, wanting to dominate her.

For those who knew the Nara, they were all lazy people, geniuses, the lot of them, but lazy nonetheless. It was rather uncharacteristic that he would want such a thing, to exert himself over her. To show a display of dominance and power, control, and show her he could do all the things she needed to protect her and stand beside her. It was the vibe that came from her, that filled in the air around them that pulled this from him. This woman was so troublesome but he couldn't stop what he felt; what he needed and wanted made him ache in ways he had never thought was possible. He'd watched her grow and become who she was and he accepted everything about her, even the things she failed to accept about herself, especially those things.

Their kisses were soft and fluttering at first, slowly turning fevered and passionate as if the world would swallow them whole if they stopped, as if the world would end and realities would collide into vast nothingness. He could feel the power inside her battling for dominance, the beings deep inside her clawing for him, for her to relieve the aches she no doubt felt within herself. He wanted to her to let go. He wanted her there with him in every sense of the way. "Stop fighting for control." He whispered against her ear and he kissed along her jaw.

The rosette pulled away, her eyes wide with fear of what he'd said, he didn't know what he was asking. "Shika.. I can't, I don't know.."

"I know. If you want others to accept you, you need to accept yourself. You don't always have to be in control. Not with me. Not here." He stated softly, his hands running down her sides, his warm skin making goosebumps appear over her body. It was electrifying, what he made her feel. She was so afraid of what would happen, but the look in his eyes told her not to be. It told her everything she needed to hear and for once, she allowed herself to be free.

The room became dark and dropped a few degrees in temperature as a strange chakra spilled around them, dark eyes staring down at him, "You are not afraid of her. Of her power. Of what lies ahead." Mused the soft melodic voice somewhere inside his mind. "She can rule countries and dominate worlds. She can take life as fast as she can give it." Shikamaru looked deep into the depths of those emerald pools and saw nothing but compassion, deep rooted pain and suffering. He could see the nights she stayed up late studying and training, he could see the tears she shed and the blood that she bled. He could see the anxiety and the anger, the fear and the hatred she held inside her for all these years. He saw change and growth. He saw a soul older than time, and still he knew he wouldn't back down. He wouldn't walk away. She'd seen too many backs turned on her. Too many doors shut in her face. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't fear the unknown.

His lips crashed upon her and the voice let a hum of approval before clearing through the darkness, leaving only the two of them. It was like fireworks, bright lights and the first walk out of the Konoha gates. It was exciting, exhilarating, and scary what he felt, but he couldn't stop. Every part of her was contrast to what he had ever known and he didn't want to let go.

He didn't know how they ended up here and he didn't care to seek answers to unasked questions. He didn't know what would happen next, but he would ponder upon that at a later date. Right now he was painfully present in the hold of warm hands and aching bodies. He didn't need to know beyond the room they shared, even if it ended up being just for one night.

*.*.*.*

"Blossom, it is almost time to wake up.

It is almost time to go.

Blossom, it is time to become a Queen.

Do not allow those who mock you make you question your power."

The morning sun crept along the land that smelled of death, blood painting the clean cut green grass that once smelled of dew and sunshine. Red eyes glanced around and took in the scenery. Who could do such a thing? Several bodies were lying about. Well, what was left of their bodies anyway. There were bits and pieces of what could be classified as bodies and innards, he wasn't a medic but he knew that some of these things should have had more attachments to them. The Uchiha heir was not amused at this moment - his squadron had been on the hunt of whatever or whoever was doing these gruesome murders. They couldn't even find enough evidence to piece together as to who the targets were - no bands found declaring their affiliations, no special markers about them.

Whatever was left of them was reduced to near on nothing, if they were lucky that is.

The groaning sound of the elder Uchiha came from behind the stoic man, "You know, we have seen a lot of fucked up shit in ANBU, but this tops it. It just looks like the kyuubi got loose and went on a killing spree. Each one of these scenes just gets more fucked up than the last one."

In not so many words, Itachi agreed with his cousin. "It doesn't look like we missed them by much this time." He finally said, "The blood looks fresh and smells too pungent for it to be days old."

Shisui sighed deeply, "I'm aware of that, but the more we come across shit like this the less I really want to find out who or what it is that we are chasing."

"They could be a defeating some unknown force. What if they could be a potential comrade?" Came a third voice, earning a look from the two Uchiha. Dark brown eyes stared back at blood red ones, the Nara had heard of Haruno and Uchiha's meeting from the former a few days prior to this mission. He knew the Uchiha hadn't said a word to anyone and he wondered if the Uchiha had been suspecting her the whole time.

He had.

Uchiha Itachi was wondering if he made a mistake by letting a possible psychotic shinobi roam freely. But somethings just didn't check out. Haruno had not been out of the village in a few weeks as Shizune had been away on her honeymoon with Genma, Haruno had been put in full charge of the hospital - it was to the point that the Hokage had even taken her off roaster for mission for the time being.

He also knew that the rosette was training for ANBU exams that were coming up in the following months. She had been training with a fellow member of the name Sai, not to mention the Nara and Hyuuga. It was strange, she could have taken the exams a year or two ago but she had put it off several times. He wondered if the new addition to her arsenal was her deciding factor. At any rate, all of these things pointed to the fact that she couldn't have been the culprit. When the first attack had happened, Nara had made it a point to seek the rosette out only to confirm his own suspicions that the medic had been too busy with her duties to even be aware of the situation.

"Whatever the case, we need to find out what is going on and why. This is getting out of control and the potential threat could mean a threat to our village." Itachi finally said. There was tension between the two and it was making Shisui rather uneasy, as if there were two conversations happening and the meaning of the second one was lost on him. He would be sure to ask his cousin about it when the Nara was not around.

"Let's get back to the village and let the Hokage know what has been found." Shisui finally suggested after a few more moments of stiff silence - the two males were too intense for his likings and it felt as if there was a silent pissing test going on, one that he didn't care to weigh in on.

*.*.*.*.

"Blossom, you will make them fall to their knees.

They will know what true power looks like

And they will rue the day

They took you away."

A groan escaped her lips as she put her head down on her desk, the cool surface a temporary, but welcomed reprieve from the mountains of paperwork that awaited her. There was a dull throb that ached the back of her head and made her vision a bit blurred. She'd pulled a sixteen hour shift and was now going through tedious amounts of paperwork, she felt as though she had been on auto pilot all day. Damn that Shizune and damn her shishou, sometimes it felt as though the later was rubbing off on the former in terms of putting off paperwork.

"You work too much, ugly." Came a stiff voice. Sakura's eye twitched as she slowly pulled her head up, "Hello, Sai. What can I do for you?" She bit out, "If you're not hurt, I am sure I can make accommodations to fix that for you."

The threat was not lost on the straight faced male, but he chose not to comment. "I was put onto your old team today. They needed a fourth body."

Ah, straight and to the point.

"Was there a point to this statement?" Sakura asked dryly.

"Just thought I'd tell you." Came a dry answer.

Sakura remained silent before putting her head back on the desk, "Thanks." She finally said as she closed her eyes.

"Your exam is only a handful of days away. Do you feel adequately prepared?"

Sakura stiffened at the question, "It's hard to answer that. I'm not sure if I'm ready or not."

This caused Sai to cock his head to the side, "You're ready. Physically you are ideal and your strength has become unrivaled. Are you finding it hard to mentally prepare?"

Sakura smiled to herself, she knew the man didn't understand social gestures or knew social cues very well. He was curt and to the point but always curious as he didn't not understand the human mind regardless of being human himself. He'd been trained to be a machine, to follow orders and be nothing but obedient, his soul taken from him and now he struggled to piece what he could together to make his picture whole again. Some part of her could relate with him, the rest felt terrible for what had been done to him.

"I think so." Came her answer finally.

Sai considered this and responded softly, "You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. Don't let this field dull your shine. It will light the way for those around you. You will keep us from the dark." Sakura's head shot up from her desk, that was one of the most beautiful things anyone had ever said to her.

"Sai..." she whispered.

"You are bright, Sakura. Hold on to that. Some of us don't know what it's like to feel the sun, you're the closest we'll ever get." Sai gave one of signature fake smiles before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

It was the kind of smile that tried to hide the not so distant ghosts of someone's pain.

*.*.*.*

"You will rule them all

And they will have no choice but to bow down."

"Thank you for seeing me so late... on your day off."

"You're hurt and I'm a medic, just bring me some coffee or something next time and we'll call it even." Sakura mused as she slowly cleaned up a rather nasty looking gash on Uchiha Shisui's rib cage.

"Of course. I hear you like dango, maybe I can bring some of that." Laughed Shisui as he watched the rosette perk up at the mention of her favorite snack, she hated when he acted all innocent as if he didn't know exactly what she loved.

"Don't tease me when it comes to sweets, Uchiha." The medic growled, a smile on her lips as the Uchiha laughed wholeheartedly. There weren't many Uchiha's the rosette felt comfortable around, Shisui was pretty much as far as it got. They had come to known each other as he was often the captain of any missions she shared with Itachi and a few with Hyuuga and Nara. He was always so sweet to her. Of course, outside of missions he had to pretend to not know who she really was because it would be telling for him to know so much about someone he "rarely" met.

When at the Uchiha compound, people did not question much because everyone knew the heir and his brother were close, just as the heir was close with the elder Uchiha. It was inevitable that he meet his younger cousin's friends and teammates - but outside of the clan, no one would expect the two to know each other. "How have you been?" Uchiha asked the medic, "Haven't had many missions together lately."

"Yeah, I've decided to actually go for ANBU instead of beings an interim. I also have had to fill in as head of the hospital as Shizune has been on honeymoon. Usually we split the responsibility but it's all on my lately." Sakura answered honestly, she didn't see the harm of letting him in on her life. They were well acquainted and he knew a fair amount about her as it was, more than many considered possible. He was no stranger to the affairs in her life, and she refused to alienate him all of a sudden.

"Nice. Maybe you'll be on my team more." Shisui mused, bumping his shoulder into the rosette's.

"That'd be nice." Sakura smiled as she finished wrapping his midsection, "I'm just wrapping you up so there's some support there. I healed it but the discomfort may feel otherwise. You should be fine without it after a few days."

"Thank you." He murmured as he brought her close to him. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply, his arms wrapped securely around her waist. Sakura gave a soft smile and pushed her fingers through his hair and kissed him on the cheek. After some time he pulled away from the rosette, "You're not going to budge on this, are you?" He asked softly, earning a look from the rosette. "Okay, okay.. I understand." Before he could do anything, he pulled her forward and kissed her forehead when he wanted to kiss her lips. "Dammit..." He groaned as he felt her body heat seeping through his clothing.

"Shh... it's okay." Sakura smiled again softly, "Come on. You should get cleaned up. I have some clothing you've left here in the bathroom. Go ahead, the gauze it waterproof." Shisui only nodded once and went into the bathroom.

*.*.*.*

"There's a Uchiha in your guest room." Murmured a tired voice.

"I'm aware. He came by last night and I fixed him up. He was nearly depleted of chakra." Sakura answered back sleepily. There was a small smile that formed by her ear, "I can smell him on you.." He whispered, sending goosebumps down her arms and neck.

"We both know the answer to that." She answered back, not the least bit upset. Nara gave a chuckle before pulling the rosette onto her back and kissing her deeply, "I don't share. No matter the circumstances." He said between rough kisses.

"No one said you were sharing." Was enough to satisfy the Nara.

As of lately, he had grown more and more predatory, he didn't know why he felt as though he was constantly on the verge of attack. He was still his usual lazy self, but he was willing to strike at all times if needed. He was aware more now of the stares Sakura endured day and night, no matter where she was. He observed so much more now and at times it bothered him. A few nights prior he felt the hot stare of two sets of red orbs watching them at the bar. He knew why they were there and it bothered him greatly but he didn't react because Sakura was happy at that moment and ignored their onlookers. So he followed suit.

The Uchiha were getting too close, sticking their noses into things that had nothing to do with them. Sasuke and Kakashi being around more often now, of course they underestimated their lone female teammate, they thought she couldn't detect them. Truth was she detected them before they were even in the hospital or near her home. She would always give him an odd look that let him know she knew they were there. Uchiha Itachi was increasingly showing the same interest, except he was a bit more subtle. Well, he thought he was. Itachi thought he understood, but he had no idea. Not the slightest clue as to what had been seen, what happened to him. He didn't know a damn thing.

Shisui was the only outsider and Uchiha that didn't push or watch or whatever was going on. Shisui knew and was understanding. He kept to himself and allowed the medic space. He cared gravely and there was no doubt in that. Sakura was someone who could make a person's soul ache from missing her, she was an enigma and he couldn't be angry with the Hatake and Uchiha being too anxious to figure her out. He too felt the pull and the need, but it didn't mean he wasn't annoyed by their shenanigans. Nara also didn't like the prospect of Sakura being so close to someone who was so obviously enchanted by her - not that he had any room to talk, he himself was entirely bewitched by the rosette and did not truly know where he stood, where they stood together. Something told him he did know the answer, and he felt guilty for wanting some sort of confirmation, but at the moment he was heavily satisfied by having the pink haired woman in his arms.

"You will conquer them all."

*.*.*.*

Author's note: If you are thoroughly confused, then I have done my job *maniacal laughter ensues* But seriously, it took forever to set this up right, hope you're as surprised as I was with writing this! Hope you all enjoy it!