Chapter Six: Night Stalks and Invitations

Ancient Greece:

It sounded as if all the birds of Greece had migrated to the small glen in the woods, but it was in fact the opposite. There was not a single fowl insight as they had all been scared off by the wild screeching and flashing blue electricity. While no birds were present, two pairs of wings could still be found, but they belonged to an entirely different species. One pair was black and leathered. At the tips, sharp talons shone in the lowering sunlight as the owner sweat with exertion and breathed with heavy pants. The second pair were soft as a dove's but colored in a faint grey. The discolored feathers shifted slightly as a breeze passed through them while the owner stood with his arms folded and a single black eye observing.

The blue electricity, once steady and bright, began to flicker as the dark haired seraph began to pant with exhaustion. A growl of frustration erupted from Sasuke's lips as the last tendril died. As the snarl echoed and died, the mountain meadow fell quiet for a moment as Sasuke slumped to his knees. He clenched the grass, pulling it from its roots as he tried to regain his breath. After the short rest, he stood up. With a look of determination on his face, he began to concentrate and start the hand signs that would summon the blue lightning again.

"That's enough for today," Kakashi said.

Sasuke shot him a look. "One more time," he insisted as he moved to continue.

A hand on his shoulder stopped his fingers mid sign. "No more," Kakashi said more firmly. "It's too power is not meant to be wielded more than twice in a session. In time you will build up more strength and that number will increase. But for now, you need to rest, we can pick this back up tomorrow."

Sasuke remained in his stance for a few more seconds then finally gave in. Straightening and walking over the small stream, he bent down to cup several greedy gulps of water. The last handful he splashed over his face. It felt cool and refreshing against his hot skin. Feeling revived, he stood back up and rubbed his sore shoulders.

Kakashi was already resting against a tree trunk when he finished, his face covered by a scroll of parchment as he vigorously studied it. Sasuke's eye twitched when he heard the older seraph giggle behind the page. The silver seraph was a peculiar one. He was several centuries older than himself and had earned quite the reputation during the war. Ever since the war ended, he had become somewhat of a recluse. He was still loyal and served the blessed, but he spent more time on earth than he did in the heavens. A decade or so ago he had started mentoring Sasuke. He had been one of Naruto's mentors first and when he and the blonde started up their rivalry, Naruto had introduced them. It was then that Kakashi began to mentor him as well. Sasuke liked the silver man, even possibly looked up to him, but he was still odd.

Despite knowing him for a good amount of years, he still did not know much about the seraph. He was not sure how exactly his wings had become tarnished, but the man had many mysteries. He had his theories, most of them linked to the sharingan that he possessed and kept hidden. Sasuke had only seen his family's bloodline on the man a handful of times. How he came to possess and wield it was just another mystery that made Kakashi. One thing he did know was the man's perverse habits. He knew that scroll was nothing academic. Despite what Jiraiya, the seraph that had given it to him, claimed it to be. The sage proclaimed it to be a composition of rigorously collected data and research. He and Naruto had stolen it once and found it to be nothing but a highly graphic pictograph of some rather intimate moments between a man and a woman. Speaking of the loud mouthed angel, he was late.

As if Sasuke's thought had a magical summons, the loud thuds of something crashing through the forest broke the tranquility of the glade surrounding them. Sasuke glanced towards the sound while Kakashi remained unphased by the approach of something that sounded like a herd of elephants. From the pine trees and underbrush, Naruto burst through the foliage. Arms wildly pumping as he sprinted towards them, Sasuke took in the blonde seraph who had several sticks and leaves collected in his spiky hair, making him look like a crazed wild man.

"Where have you been?" Sasuke asked as he settled down near Kakashi who finally peeked out from over his scroll.

Naruto's heavy panting filled the air as he sat down with them under the shade of the tree. Kakashi moved his attention back to his scroll as his hand casually dug through a satchel sitting on the ground beside him.

"Sorry, sorry, I was with Sakura and we kind of lost track of time."

Sasuke's head whipped to the side. "Sakura?" He asked in confusion, looking at the blonde as he drank from a flask of water offered to him by Kakashi.

Naruto paused and looked at Sasuke. "Yeah, Sakura, remember that mortal we met a couple weeks back."

"I know who she is moron, I am not like you and have the memory of a goldfish," Sasuke replied in annoyance. "My question is, why were you with her?"

Naruto shrugged. "She asked if I wanted a tour of her family's olive grove the other day when we went into the city."

"You spent time with her before today?"

Naruto gave him an odd look, "Of course, pretty much everyday since we met her," he clarified. He paused for a moment, analyzing Sasuke's expression and odd reaction to this new information. Suddenly he was hit with an idea and a devilish grin spread across his face. "Why do you sound so bothered? Jealous?"

Kakashi peeked over the papyrus scroll in his hands to satisfy some of the intrigue that developed from the conversation being exchanged before him. This was not the first time Naruto had mentioned a mortal girl he had been spending time with. Kakashi had heard his blonde student talk about her a handful of times over the week.

It was no oddity for Naruto to meet and take a fascination with a mortal. The boy both liked and lacked friends, so he was happy to accept them in any shape and form. Whether they be angel, mortal, or in Sasuke's case, demon. Whomever and whatever they were, Naruto made them his friends. Although Kakashi figured the dark haired seraph would argue that terminology to label his relationship with the rambunctious angel.

What made the conversation particularly interesting was the fact that Sasuke seemed to know the girl as well. That one fact was enough to draw his attention away from the most recent addition to his personal library. Sasuke only associated with mortals enough to influence their soul before moving on to the next, never bothering to learn their name or recall their face. Therefore, it spoke volumes as to the impact this mortal must have made on Sasuke for him to not only remember her, but to question Naruto about her. If it were anyone else it would seem insignificant. But this was not just anyone else, this was Sasuke. And Sasuke was Sasuke. He did not ask questions unless genuinely interested.

Kakashi caught Sasuke's dark gaze move to him and he quickly retreated back behind the scroll. As he stared at the Egyptian pictographs that illustrated Jiraiya's most recent imagination of a pharaoh, a slave girl, and their forbidden love, Kakashi continued to listen sharply as Sasuke nonchalantly interrogated Naruto and his associations with their mortal acquaintance.

Sasuke stiffened at the accusation of being jealous, he was above such things. He quickly looked towards Kakashi whose one visible dark eye quickly disappeared back behind the scroll. Sasuke frowned at the nosy seraph, knowing full well that the older man was still listening closely to their conversation. He shot Naruto a glare.

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed. "There is nothing to be jealous of. She's an insignificant mortal. I am just concerned about her talking. If you keep showing up, how is she supposed to forget about our existence? She's going to tell someone."

Naruto shook his head. "She won't do that."

"How can you be so sure?" Sasuke challenged.

"She is not stupid," Naruto endorsed. "And she gave me her word."

"Whatever," Sasuke brushed off.

Naruto noticed Sasuke's effort to seem casual. Deciding he was not quite done with his fun he continued. "She asked about you the other day," he baited, watching him closely from the corner of his eye.

Sasuke's eyes snapped to Naruto. It was brief but Naruto caught the genuine eagerness before it was quickly masked with indifference. "What did she want to know?" he asked casually.

"She was just curious about why she hadn't seen you," Naruto answered. "You know, you should join us sometime. She knows the market really well in the city."

"Tch, why would I want to waste my time with a mundane mortal?"

"She's different," Naruto defended. "She said she would show me a sensational overlook of the sea tomorrow. You should come!"

"Why would I want to do that when I can just fly over the sea?" Sasuke argued.

Growing tired of Sasuke's indifference Naruto waved his question off. "Suit yourself, just offering to come."

"Hn," Sasuke hummed as he laid down and settled in the long grass.

"So is that a yes? You'll come?"

"Hn."

Two Weeks Ago

Darkness had consumed the earth several hours ago. Sasuke had done his very best to not be here. Confused and frustrated, he had no answer as to why he was here. But he was. Perched on the tall rock wall that surrounded the humble estate, Sasuke watched the figure in the garden. Several tall fruit trees hid him in the shadows and he did his best to ignore the sweet scent of ripened fruit that wafted in the breeze.

It had not taken him long to find her. Despite his seemingly withdrawn attitude from the mornings earlier conversation, he had found he had retained every scrap of information about her that she had shared. It was annoying. Annoying, but useful. She had talked about her family's olive grove that was located just outside the small town at the base of the mountain. Most of the area was farming and agriculture but there was only one olive grove.

She was kneeled down on the ground in front a little garden. Herbs and flowers flourished in the small bed as she quietly hummed to herself. Her hair was left free to tumble down around her back and face. She paused in her digging around a rosemary bush to tuck the curtain of locks falling into her face behind her ear. Sasuke watched as the movement left a muddy smear across her cheek as she went back to digging her bare hands around in the dirt. As he watched her move from plant to plant, sometimes pulling weeds while other times pruning the plants themselves, he found himself gaining more questions in his mind than answers.

The first question was if the girl was ever not dirty. He watched her gather up a basket of collected herbs and brush off her dirty dress. With the wicker balanced on a hip she walked into the small brick home and disappeared behind a door. With no more reason to remain, now that his object of observance was no longer visible, Sasuke spread his wings and took off into the air, concluding that he would have to return again in order to collect more information in order to satisfy his curiosity.

Sasuke had returned the very next night, as well as the next, and the next, and the next. In fact, he had returned every night since meeting her two weeks ago. He told himself it was to make sure she was not telling anyone of his kind's existence. But deep down, he knew there was more to it than that. He had yet to figure out that reason and that irked him. He did not like to be ignorant of things, he wanted to understand. Ignorance was a weakness and this girl, while seemingly normal in almost every way, had somehow managed to stand out to him.

Tonight his attendance was no different. As soon as the sun began its descent beyond the horizon, sending Naruto and Kakashi back to their heaven above, Sasuke had swiftly found himself perched at his usual point of observation. There was still a small amount of reflected light in the sky, but complete darkness would soon consume the world.

He was earlier than usual. Passersby were frequent as they returned to their homes in the dusk light. Each time a fellow farmer or merchant passed by on their return home from the market, they each called out to Sakura with a happy greeting. She returned each and every one with a happy wave, a warm smile, and her own cheerful greeting. A few stopped and spoke with her, mostly girls her own age and a few elderly. When a young boy stopped by and spoke with her as well, Sasuke listened in, his heightened hearing not missing a word. The young boy spoke of his grandfather and an ailment he had been experiencing. Sakura asked a few more questions and as he answered her, her face scrunched in thought as she listened. When finished she told the boy to head home and she would be by later to visit. Not long after she disappeared into her home. On any other evening, this was usually the time when Sasuke would depart, but this time, he lingered.

Sakura entered her home from the back door that led into the kitchen. Her mother was standing at the table taking inventory of the cellars with the woman who helped around the house. They were not excessively rich but her family did well enough that they were able to hold a few servants to help maintain the small manor as well as a few workers that helped her father with the olive grove and oil pressing during the harvests. Upon her entry, her mother looked up from the ledger and gave her a warm smile. Her golden hair was swept up into its usual bun as her green eyes shone with warmth.

"Pyrros' grandfather is not doing well," Sakura announced as she walked over to a wall with several dried herbs and a shelf of medicinal salves. She began to collect various supplies into a small basket. "I am going to go over to and check on him. I do not think it is anything serious but he has never been in full health since that cough developed."

Her mother paused to peek outside. "Very well but be quick about it and take your cloak. It might be chilly tonight when you come back."

Sakura nodded as she grabbed her cloak from a peg next to the door and slipped out. With hurried steps she walked down the path that led from the back door through the garden to the back gate. As she crossed her family's property and onto the road that ran by her home, she began to walk briskly towards the small home of the carpenter.

He did not live too far away, but he certainly lived in the secluded area of the mountainside. He was somewhat of a hermit until his daughter and grandson came to live with them after his son-in-law died. Pyrros was learning the trade quickly, which was good given his grandfather's declining health. Already the twelve year old boy did the majority of the work while his grandfather sat and instructed him. His hands had become stiff with arthritis which Sakura did her best to relieve and keep functioning. She had done well to keep him healthy over the past year but a few months ago he developed a cough and it began to take a heavy toll. Most days the old carpenter could only manage to walk a small way before running out of breath.

By no means was Sakura a physician but she had a basic knowledge that she did her best to expand. The small, secluded town did not have a physician. This forced people to travel to the city which was far and expensive. For most minor ailments they came to her and anything more they would make the journey or pay the expense to have a physician come to them.

But the carpenter was too frail to travel such a distance and the expense of paying a person trained in medicine to come was too steep for the suffering carpenter's business. So Sakura did her best to help as much as she could. She accepted the small carvings made by the boy and the pottery made by Pyrros' mother as payment, although she would do it for nothing if the family let her. The carvings she passed onto other children she visited to persuade them or reward them for taking medications. The pottery she made use by storing salves and medicines.

Sasuke followed the maiden all the way to a small hovel of a home. To the side of the home was an open shed full of half finished furniture. The smell of fresh cut oak and cypress was heavy in the air. The closer to the home, the more potent the smell became.

He had moved with silence and a stealth with each step. With it being a new moon, it was easy to follow closely and not be seen. When Sakura arrived at the humble abode, she knocked on the door and was greeted by the same young boy that she had spoken with earlier. Behind the boy appeared a woman who looked to be the boy's mother, who eagerly invited Sakura inside.

When Sakura disappeared through the door, Sasuke moved. Taking up a position next to a small hole in the wall, that served as a window. He peered in to watch Sakura lean over a frail looking man laying in a bed.

He watched her as she reached out a delicate hand and felt the old man's forehead, she seemed satisfied with the results and continued further with her examination. Sasuke continued to observe her as she helped the man sit up and with her ear pressed to his chest, she listened to his ragged breathing for a while. She continued various tasks, preparing tea, rubbing an ointment on the man's chest, and speaking with the woman.

All the while, Sasuke watched her. The way she moved and handled her patient with such gentleness. The reassuring smile she gave the grandson when he worriedly asked if his grandfather would be okay. As Sakura spoke with the young boy's mother he noted the compassionate friendliness in which she interacted with the woman. From what he had observed, Sakura's family was among the more wealthy in the countryside. This family was obviously struggling. And in a society segregated by class, Sakura was certainly far higher on the ladder than this family. But despite this fact, Sasuke noticed the maiden treat each member of the family with respect. There was no superiority in the way she interacted with them. Instead she treated them with kindness. But it was not out of pity or charity, Sasuke realized. He recalled the way Sakura had seemed to know and care about everyone that had passed by her house. She did everything out of the goodness of her heart and with pure intent.

This discovery disturbed Sasuke. It was people like her that attracted his kind. Both blessed and fallen. The blessed reveled in such purity and guarded the souls as if they were the most precious stones to be found. But the fallen saw them differently. They saw such mortals as a challenge and they took enjoyment in tainting such precious souls. A person such as Sakura would draw any demon towards her, especially the more powerful ones. Sasuke frowned at this thought. She was a vulnerable target and here she was, traveling in the middle of the night just to tend to some sickly old man without any regard as to what could be lurking in the dark.

Unconsciously he felt himself reaching out for any indication that there was another of his kind nearby. He felt no presence, but that did not mean she would cross paths with one on her way home. He was not sure why, but the thought of someone influencing her, whether it be good or bad, disturbed him.

Sakura was regretting not bringing a lantern with her. When she had left her home, the sky was still a navy blue and gave off enough light to see the silhouettes of her surroundings. Now, there was nothing. A heavy curtain of clouds overhead blocked the faint starlight that would normally help guide her. And with the moon being at the beginning of a new cycle, it too failed to produce a light bright enough to penetrate through the veil of clouds. Sakura knew the path that led to her house well enough. In fact she knew it so well, that it was easy enough to navigate through the darkness. But it was not necessarily the possibility of going astray that had Sakura on edge.

There was nothing she could see nor did she hear anything. There was no evidence that her normal senses picked up that anything was amiss. But the prickling of her skin as the hairs rose on her arms and neck, along with the deep impression of being watched, made her feel uneasy.

She had started her journey home, grasping her basket tightly with one arm and holding a small clay jar given to her as payment. Through the darkness she strode with slow, steady steps. At first she ignored the uneasy feeling. She had never been one to be afraid of darkness. Her village was safe and secluded, nothing bad ever happened. And it was not necessarily fear that she was feeling, she was not sure what emotion it was. But as her adrenaline began to make its way through her body, the feeling intensified.

She picked up her steps, moving quickly through the dark and guiding herself with the familiar feel of the ground beneath her feet. She was nearly jogging when the sudden break of the quiet surrounding her was interrupted by a voice. A dark, sultry voice that was both alarming and alluring.

"You should not be out here by yourself."

Sakura let out a yelp as the smooth deep voice sounded far closer than it should without her knowledge of a person's presence. The sound of broken pottery echoed around her as she whirled in the direction of the voice. Staring out into the darkness, she strained her eyes for something. Eventually she managed to distinguish something. A dark figure leaning against something tall and slender, perhaps a tree? Unable to get her feet to move closer, she strained to identify the person. Her eyes adjusted a little more and noticed the light color of the pale skin that was not covered by the black cloak wrapped around their body. A pair of arms were folded across a chest. Near their right shoulder she caught the shine of a silver brooch holding the cloak tight, an indistinguishable emblem was engraved on it but it was too dark to make out the details. As she looked higher she found what was the person's neck and face, and then she caught the faint glow of red.

Anyone would be afraid. They would scream. They would run. But Sakura did none of these. Because she knew those eyes, she knew that voice. She had only seen and heard them once a couple weeks ago but they were memorable enough that it only took once to memorize. Many times she thought she had imagined such features. But there had been a pair of blue eyes that had returned nearly every day as a reminder, as evidence that she was not insane. But she never thought she would see this particular set of eyes again. While she knew the person before her was not a threat, it did not mean she was at ease.

"Sasuke?" She asked, her voice sounding small in the darkness as she looked for confirmation of his identity.

"Hn."

Not only was the girl always dirty, but it seemed that she was always dropping pottery. His eyes looked down at the broken shards by her sandaled feet, his blood trait made it easy for him to take in the individual pieces with detail, despite the darkness around them. With slow survey, he trailed his eyes up to her face to see her squinting in effort to see through the dark. It was another reminder just how weak mortals were.

The reminder brought about a twinge of disappointment. He was not sure why, but he found himself always hoping that she would somehow be different, superior to the other mortals. The past two weeks of observing her in the dead of night had been frustrating to find out just how annoyingly normal she was. Aside from the one time fluke of her ability to resist his bloodline, she was monotonous. But that was not as annoying as the fact that he found himself continuing his habits every night, regardless of the repetitive findings.

She called out his name, her tone hesitant. It was as if she was not fully sure it was him. He wondered if it mattered to her whether or not if she was correct. He let out his signature hum and watched a small flicker of relief wash across her face at the confirmation of his identity. Although he still sensed an uneasiness about her, he found himself content that she seemed somewhat comforted with the fact that it was his presence and not someone else.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice holding confusion.

"I would like to ask the same thing," he found himself replying. "It's dark out."

He saw a twinge of challenge in her face at his comment. And he liked it. It was that minuscule feature about her that had caught his attention before. It was that defiant sort of bravery that he realized set her apart from other mortals. She just needed some gentle coaxing in order to show it.

"I am not afraid of the dark," she stated firmly.

Sasuke's mouth curled at her determined bravery. He quickly stepped to her side, his steps light and silent with only the shift in air to give warning of his movement. In the blink of an eye he was at her side, leaning into her ear.

"It's not the dark that you should be afraid of, but what's in the dark," he whispered.

She startled at the sudden close proximity. Her sandals made a scraping sound as she turned and shuffled away from him. Her whole body twitched and her grasp on the basket faltered. It too fell towards the ground but before joining the broken jar, Sasuke reached out and caught it.

"Tch, so clumsy," he mumbled to himself as he lifted the basket and pressed it back into her shaking arms. He was slightly disappointed in how her summoned courage seemed to be so easily shaken. But he was torn, for he enjoyed the way his words and proximity seemed to rattle her as well.

"Thanks," Sakura said quietly as she managed to get her shaking hands to grasp the returned item.

Sasuke tucked his hands into his cloak and began to walk down the road. When she did not follow he paused to look back at her. "Are you coming?" he asked, his voice holding impatience.

She stared at him, barley making out his body in the dark. "Where are we going?"

Sasuke did his best to not roll his eyes. "To your manor," he replied, making it sound as if it were the most obvious answer.

"...oh..okay," Sakura stumbled out but failed to move.

Sasuke raised a brow. "Well?"

"R-right," she quickly stuttered as she finally managed to move.

When she moved, he moved, and she had to quicken her steps for several strides before she fell into step with him. After a short while they settled into a slow pace, Sakura's sandals making a small pitter-patter with each step, while Sasuke strode silently next to her. As they walked in silence, Sasuke watched her closely from the corner of his eye.

It felt different than the last time they had walked together. She was less vocal than a few weeks ago. While her never ending stream of questions had been annoying, he was beginning to think that this odd, reserved version of her bothered him more.

And it was not just the lack of talking that was different. Her body had still yet to fully relax. Her steps were more rigid and he could see her fingers grasping tightly at the woven basket frame. Sasuke found himself frowning, puzzled by her change in personality.

"Why haven't I seen you with Naruto again?"

At her question Sasuke suddenly found his answer as to what was different. Naruto was not here. It was the blessed one who she had directed all of her questions to last time and it had been the blonde's presence that had put her at ease. Sasuke knew he did not give off a calming aura, in fact most of the time he intentionally put people off. Why he expected her reaction to his presence to be different was beyond him.

"Why would you expect to see me with him?" Sasuke asked in a dull tone, keeping his head pointed ahead as he watched her in his peripherals.

"I just thought since you were friends…"

"Whatever that idiot has led you to believe-" he interrupted with a cold tone- "we are not friends."

There was an uncomfortable pause before she let out a quiet, "Oh."

He watched her press her lips together and look down at the ground. He was unsure as to how to interpret her body language. Was she was trying to watch the path so as not to trip or had he hurt her feelings. As he was not one for dealing with emotions, and this girl seemed to be one that had highly elevated ones, he did what he did best.

He ignored it.

For the rest of the walk back she remained quiet and somber. Towards the end, her steps had become slightly slower and she fell behind him a half pace. When they reached her home, Sasuke stopped and turned sharply to face her when he reached the gate. Preoccupied with staring down at the ground, Sakura nearly walked into his chest but was stopped when he stuck a hand out and stopped her. She looked up at the contact, her wide eyes blinking rapidly as she looked up at him.

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

He let out a "Tch," before stepping to the side for her to see the warm lamp light coming from the windows of her home. "We arrived."

She stared at her house, a faint look of confusion on her face as if she did not recognize it. She looked back to him, her face tilted with inquiry, and her large forehead creased with confused wrinkles. "How do you know where I live?"

Sasuke was grateful for the darkness as it hid the momentary bought of panic. His mind raced as he scrambled for a reason. "You said your family owned an olive grove, this is the only one for miles," he explained, deciding to go with a partial truth, leaving out the part that he found it two weeks ago and had frequented it every night since.

"Oh," she said with a small nod, "right, of course."

He watched as she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and nibbled at it. Her eyes moved around, just as nervously. To the ground, at her hands, his shoulder, the wall that they stood by. Sasuke stood silently waiting until finally she managed to look him in the eye. She held his gaze for a moment before lowering it again.

"Thank you for escorting me," she finally said, addressing his chest.

Sasuke waited until she raised her eyes again before giving an acknowledging, "Hn," and turned to walk away.

Sakura watched his back, thoroughly confused and perplexed by the encounter. She had asked Naruto about him after the first week of their first encounter, curious as to his absence and whereabouts. Naruto had given her a slightly hedged answer, explaining that Sasuke was not much of a socialite and liked to keep to himself. It had killed her to keep so quiet on the walk home. So much so that she had to physically tense herself so as to not disrupt the silence. She liked Naruto and by the way he spoke of Sasuke, she felt that she would like him too. But he made her nervous and unsure. Unsure of how to act or what to say. He was unpredictable, one moment close and intense, the next far and aloof. Each of those examples went for both physically and mentally.

"Hey Sasuke," she called out, causing him to pause in his steps.

She froze as the words came out of her mouth on their own accord, for she was sure her mind did not tell it to do such a thing. He turned around, staring intensely at her, waiting for her to speak. But she was unsure as to why she had even called out to him. His mouth thinned, a sign of annoyance and she began to frantically think of something to say. Her mind thought of Naruto which inspired her.

"Tomorrow Naruto and I are going to a spot on the cliffs at sunset. You are welcome to come-" Sasuke had turned and began to walk away- "...if you want," she finished after he had already vanished into the darkness.

Sakura was left standing alone at the gate of her home. A small frown pulled at her face as her shoulders sagged. Naruto would be disappointed. He talked often on how he wanted the three of them to be friends. Unfortunately, Sakura was beginning to doubt that would ever happen. A breeze passed through ruffling her hair and causing her to shiver out of her depressed stupor and retreat into the warmth of her home.

Unknown to her, a dark figure sat perched on the wall that faced the windows of her personal quarters. As her silhouette moved about behind the drawn curtains, Sasuke watched it. Perhaps it was time he expanded his observances to a more closer and personal examination.