Oh wow. You guys are awesome. Thank you butterfly9070, Blissangel91494, lavlicekian, KassfromVenus, iam schadenfruede, kimrb, usagyind, nightcall16, guest, guest, and guest for your reviews. I had family visit from out of town so I'm posting this two days later than I planned on. It's longer and there's an action sequence! Please enjoy and don't hesitate to let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Mr. Masashi Kishimotoet al owns it.

A picture is worth a thousand words. This concept served Sasuke well especially during his time away from Hidden Leaf. Ninjas were trained to be perceptive. The ability to read a person could be matters of life or death. However, everything was up in the air when it came to matters of love.

He straightened his tie and walked into the venue. Today was the engagement party for Shikamaru and Temari. Friends, family, the Kages, and other dignitaries alike mingled. Due to Shikamaru's position in the Shinobi Union and his general kindness. Sasuke wasn't surprised at the amount of people attending. Their marriage was also political. Temari was the older sister of the current Kazekage, Gaara. It was amusing to watch Shikamaru interact with everyone.

"Thank you for coming." Tamari smiled. Although, he didn't know her very well he could tell she was someone that was genuine.

"It's good to see you." Shikamaru stated, pleased. "Too bad we can't all just have a simple dinner." Temari responded to the statement with a jab to the ribs. Shikamaru grinned sheepishly at her.

"Hey! Shikamaru!" Naruto's boisterous voice could probably be heard from Suna itself. He put his arms around the smiling couple. Sasuke moved aside to give them more room.

"Hi Sasuke-kun." Sasuke turned to see Hinata walk towards him. Hinata was calm water to the roaring wind that was Naruto, but her eyes contain the same fire he saw in his friend. Naruto's letter had contained a lot of things about the woman standing in front of him. Perhaps he should give them to her.

"Congratulations to you too, Hinata."

"Thank you. We loved the gift you sent us." Hinata glanced at Naruto and smiled. "He was really happy you wrote back." Sasuke cleared his throat. He was happy his friend found someone he really cared about.

"Hey Hinata! You coming over? Oh hey Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, unabashed.

"See you later Sasuke-kun. You should come over for dinner soon."

As he made his way across the reception hall, various people approached him. When he saw the Raikage, to his chagrin, there was tension for everyone around them. The story of how the Raikage sacrificed an arm to Sasuke's Amaterasu was well know in some circles, circles that were in attendance tonight.

"Looks like we're even." He gave a pointed look to Sasuke's arm. "But you're welcome to try at my other arm." It was silent around them. After a moment, the Raikage burst out with a loud laugh and slapped Sasuke's back with a loud thump. It would be a lie if he wasn't a little relieved when the Raikage moved in toward Shikamaru and Temari.

He walked toward the bar and looked around again for Sakura. It had been two weeks since he came back and to his frustration he had hardly seen her. They planned on meeting at this engagement party.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke looked at the man standing by the bar. The man was similar in height to him but where Sasuke was lean this guy was bulky. He had short brown hair, which was spiked. His fingernails were clean but his hands were rough and calloused. He had the appearance of someone who practiced being relaxed but was always alert. He had stubble and a flashy grin. A woman approached them and grabbed one of the man's upper arms, showing off his biceps.

"I know you! Well I guess I know of you. I was a year behind you in the academy. Huge fan of yours…That is until you left the village and became a missing-nin and caused a lot of trouble for the village, but that's all in the past." The man flashed Sasuke a huge grin. Sasuke was surprised the guy wasn't panting for breath. "My name is Sen Nakamura. What's yours. Er. I guess I already know your name. Anyhow, nice to meet you." Sen reached his hand out to Sasuke.

"Nice to meet you." Sasuke responded, reaching to shake Sen's hand. The handshake was quick but unnecessarily firm.

"Sasuke-kun! Sorry. Were you waiting long?" Sakura's voice rang out. Both men looked toward her, seeing her quickened his heart and cleared his mind. She wore a simple v-neck black dress that gathered at her waist and dipped low in the front. His eyes met hers and he watched happily as her checks flushed a light pink.

"Hi" Sasuke said, cracking a small smile when she reached him.

"Hi back." Her hands brushed against his briefly. He stared unrepentantly into her green eyes.

"Hey Sakura." Sen greeted, interrupting Sasuke's moment of indulgence.

"Hey Sen." Sakura replied. "Sorry, didn't see you for a moment there."

"That's alright. As long as you do when it matters." Sen winked at her. "I better go. The lady here needs a dance."

"And here I thought you forgot about me." The woman responded, still clutching Sen's arm. Sen gave a small wave at Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded and turned to the bartender. He noticed out of the corner of his eye Sen placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder and whispering close to her ear before he walked off. Sakura smiled and nodded. Sasuke furrowed his brow. Sakura walked next to him and gave him a dazzling smile. His fingers shamelessly lingered on hers when he passed her drink to her. They stood a moment in comfortable silence.

"Hey Sasuke! Sakura! Get over here!" Naruto called out, in mock whisper. Only Naruto could pass off "whispering" across so many people and still be heard clearly. There were two empty seats next to Naruto at the table full their friends. The light dimmed and he glanced at Sakura. They moved together towards one of their most cherished friend.

They felt a surge of chakra and the room darkened completely. Sasuke activated his Sharigan and he felt Sakura channel her chakra throughout her body. They moved in tandem towards the figure approaching the Raikage arriving in time for Sasuke to deflect and grab ahold of the person's arm while Sakura placed her chakra sharpened hand next to the person's throat. He sensed Naruto appear behind the person's back. The light switched back on and revealed a civilian woman dressed in an evening gown.

"What are you doing? Let go!" The woman cried out. She had a syringe in her hand pointed at the Raikage. She stared at it in disbelief.

Naruto's eyes met Sasuke and Sakura. Anyone with training could feel the strong killing intent that was coming from the woman just a moment ago. It was gone now and she stood there scared and confused, holding the syringe. The guards arrived and took ahold of the her. She burst into tears and struggled against them as they pried the syringe out of her hand.

"I'll let you guys take care of this." The Raikage said, walking away. He scratched at his neck and his disgruntled assistant, Mabui and right hand man, Darui followed after him. Darui glanced back at them in acknowledgement before leaving.

Shikamaru took control of the situation and shifted the troubled guests' attention to him and Temari. Kakashi proposed a toast at the couple. The stress of the incident was soon forgotten, but it left everyone exhausted.

"Hey. You think we can go to ramen after this?" Naruto asked, he looked around the table at his friends eagerly. Sasuke and Sakura sat quietly next to him.

"Sakura, did you get hurt just now? You look pale." Ino looked at Sakura, concerned.

"Hm? No. I'm fine." Sakura replied, distractedly. The rest of the evening went by calmly but Sasuke noticed Sakura becoming more and more quiet. There was no reaction when everyone caved in to Naruto's desire for ramen for the after party.

"I think I'm going to head home. I'll join you guys next time." Sakura gave a reassuring smile to everyone. Sasuke noticed more than a few concerned looks.

"I'll walk you home." Sasuke said, standing up. "Should I save you seat at Ichiraku?" Naruto asked.

"Sure." He replied. If anyone noticed Sasuke putting a hand on Sakura's back they didn't say anything. They were halfway out the door when they heard Naruto yell, "Did you see that?! His hand!"

"Did Naruto say something just now?"

"No." Sakura tilted her head to the side and smirked at him. They walked in enjoyable silence, arms brushing more than once. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Hm?"

"That business with Kido? Thanks…for being there." She looked up at him and smile. He couldn't help but smile back. They arrived at her apartment and she paused at door.

"I'm sorry." She blurted, her keys slipped out of her hands.

"For what?" He picked up her keys and handed it over.

"I was careless and got kidnapped."

Ah. So that was why she had shame in her eyes after fighting Kido, Sasuke thought.

"You more than took care of the situation."

"I didn't want you to see me in such a state, but I'm glad you come in the end."

Sasuke took ahold of her and pulled her into his arms. He felt her gasp in surprise and felt her hands slowly wrap around him.

"Sasuke-kun?" Her voice muffled against him. He chuckled and gently pulled back. He tapped her on the forehead.

"Rest. I'll see you tomorrow?" His previous actions were catching up to him and he felt his face warm. She nodded at him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. By the time he overcame his shock she had entered her apartment and shut the door.

He walked towards Ichiraku, his hand rubbing the grin plastered on his face.