Sasuke ran a tired hand through his raven hair. He had been sporting a headache for three days straight now and it seemed with every passing hour, he was putting himself further at odds with each of his teammates; Sakura worst of all.

He didn't need the disapproving frown from Naruto nor the blank stare from Kakashi to know he had to talk to Sakura again, properly this time. A man would have to be blind to miss her obvious distress with him. Yet, for all his ocular prowess, Sasuke was woefully inept to deal with her hurt expression. Nevertheless, this was between him and Sakura. He had to talk to her before she withdrew any more than she already had. Somehow, a quiet Sakura just felt wrong.

Sasuke trudged a little further, letting his mind wander.

They had made camp within the rugged landscape, finding purchase in a small cavernous area he had previously used once or twice on his journey here. It would ward off the breeze, maintain a level of heat and most importantly, keep them well hidden. They could not afford another ambush. Or rather, Sasuke did not have the patience to endure another round of cocky rogue nin attacking him and his team; a scenario which was becoming increasingly likely the closer they traversed towards the seal.

Sasuke frowned. On his previous investigations, he had never incurred this much trouble with the missing-nin. In fact, they almost appeared to keep clear of him, if not ignore him completely. He had initially reasoned that to be a side effect of their external 'influence', or perhaps sensible survival instincts not to go up against an Uchiha, but now he was reconsidering.

The four of them had not drawn any attention to themselves, and despite Naruto's obnoxious colouring and big mouth, even he had remained stealthy in their travels. So how and why were they being attacked now? And by disproportionately skilled ninja – their lack of presence had been a new surprise, as were their unprovoked attacks. Were the nin getting closer to unlocking the seal and subsequently running defence? Had they recognized someone else's signature and attacked based off that? …Yet, they had referred to him by name…

Naruto had questioned if the rogues were the 'summoned' nin, and it was altogether a likely conclusion. Yet, for all their previous independence, the nin had worked together surprisingly well, almost as if their directives had changed or been altered for some reason. Sasuke chose to keep his suspicions of such circumstances to himself. He tried not to dwell further on the issue; he had more pressing matters for tonight.

With Naruto and Kakashi making camp and catching food, Sasuke ventured to follow Sakura to where she had volunteered to refill their canteens. She had been uncharacteristically quiet after the battle and Sasuke wasn't about to delude himself into thinking it had nothing to do with how he treated her. It was frustrating. She was frustrating.

Sasuke found her a little deeper into the thinning landscape, where trees were being traded for rockfaces, and canyons hedged them in to create wind tunnels of ice and snow. They were getting close now; Sasuke recognised the daunting land formations for the maze of rock that they were. Orochimaru's base was imminent.

Sasuke jolted out of his musings at the sight of Sakura, staring haplessly at the waxing moon, illuminated by its ethereal glow. It was a rare cloudless winters night, and Sasuke's breath stuttered at the beauty it created by shining upon Sakura as it was. They hadn't had a moment alone together since this whole thing started, and Sasuke willed himself to stay collected in the face of his sudden distraction.

"Sakura." He called, stepping out into her line of sight.

"Sasuke." She greeted calmly.

He was remarkably unprepared against her vision, all shimmering green and soft pink under the pale moonlight. It made something pull in him and Sasuke quickly diverted his eyes and cleared his throat. He chanced a glance back and his words completely abandoned him at the sight of her sad little smile.

"I almost don't want to hear what you have to say. It feels like every time we talk these days, we end up fighting in some way." Sakura laughed hollowly.

Sasuke steeled himself. He would not apologise for his actions in keeping her from the fight, he felt well justified in his decision. But he did want to address the mounting tension between them, the things that had been left unsaid. Usually such trivial matters wouldn't bother him; a lack of talk being suitable to his character. But he was coming to terms with the fact that when it came to Sakura, he was remarkably uncharacteristic. Or at least he felt so… another reason he had left her behind all those years ago.

"I don't want to fight. But we do have to talk." It came out like a command.

Sakura titled her head at him in invitation, but her body remained closed off; cautious, he could not help but notice. He decided it was best to start from the beginning – the reason she was here in the first place. He never had thanked her…

"I wanted to say… the seal… I don't expect – "

Sakura mercifully saved him from his faltering by shaking her head.

"I've made up my mind, Sasuke. Anyone would do the same. In fact, I'm sure you would've already done it had you been able." There she gave him a pointed look, "You don't need to convince me this is the right choice, Sasuke."

Sasuke felt the air escape his lungs in a deep sigh. He wasn't sure if he was more comforted or concerned by the apparent ease with which she accepted the situation so completely. He knew she was a fierce and dedicated kunoichi, but did she have to be so ready to risk her life on a gamble? He would call her foolish, if it weren't so hypocritical of him to say.

Before he could muster a response, Sakura spoke again. "I've been meaning to ask…Why didn't you just ask me in the first place? Instead of all this?" she gestured lamely to their surroundings.

It was an entirely reasonable question, and yet Sasuke did not have a reasonable answer. He had hoped she would skip over that particular aspect of their journey and write it off as unimportant in the face of everything else.

Keeping his voice steady, Sasuke supplied her with the only answer that made sense. "Kakashi wouldn't have approved it. Not without a thorough examination of the evidence. From the outside it's basically suicide to anyone who isn't you. This is a time sensitive mission, and I didn't have the luxury of time to convince him to let you go. I had to speed the process along, make him approve."

Sakura furrowed her brow and lightly shook her head, "We've already been over that part, Sasuke. You just had to ask, and explain it properly. It's obviously a risk, but not an unacceptable one. But I want to know why you felt you couldn't just ask me in the first place. I would've helped you… we're friends."

Something about the way she said friends made him itch. He couldn't explain it. He couldn't explain a lot of things when it came to him and Sakura. Yes, they were undoubtedly friends. They both took careful measures to make sure they were clear, platonic friends; so why was that hard-won word suddenly bothering him so much? He shook himself from that line of thought quickly, turning to answer Sakura's question.

It would've been easy to spout something along the lines of her nature to adhere to authority figures, suggesting she wouldn't go without the Hokage's permission. Which would be true for someone like Sakura; something they didn't have time for. And yet, that was not what came out of his mouth.

"Perhaps I thought you would agree for the wrong reason..."

Sasuke could almost slap himself. He wasn't sure where his honesty was coming from all of a sudden; his creeping fear that he had all but squashed down, but it was too late to take it back.

Sakura's frown became a little more pronounced. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Sasuke wrestled with himself before conceding. "I didn't want you to feel as though you could not say no to me."

He saw her whirl with confusion. "So, you decided to kidnap me instead? That doesn't even make sense Sasuke." Her calm demeanour was slipping in the face of the verbal mess that was coming out of his mouth.

Shit. Were her eyes always this big? Why the hell is she looking at me like that? "I needed you." He said clumsily, "and that hasn't changed, I just… I reasoned that if you were angry with me, you wouldn't make decisions based off previous feelings of devotion…"

He could see the absolute bewilderment on her face morphing into incredulousness. She scoffed then placed her hands on her hips to stare him down.

"How chivalrous of you Sasuke." Her tone was deeply scathing, but then she paused, "So, then all that stuff you said about giving up Konoha for me was… was a test?" she said much softer, almost to herself than to him.

It's easy for someone to give up something they don't want. A traitorous part of himself whispered. He buried that voice down, deep down.

Sasuke faltered. This wasn't going how he planned. No, it wasn't a test. It was the truth and it had just slipped out, and he was almost ashamed about how much he meant every word. Ashamed of how easy it was to compel Sakura to risk her life, just because he had asked. It utterly terrified him. He did need her help. He just wished there was another way, any other way that didn't involve her. But there wasn't, and so he had reluctantly made his way to Konoha to get it. If only Kakashi had been less of a pain in the ass, and hadn't reminded him of how much he was risking by using Sakura; hadn't taken all of his insecurities and laid them bare for him to reconcile with.

He had a sworn duty to protect Konoha, and in this case Sakura was the key. But he wasn't about to admit that he had, up until this point, been in a constant state of flux between requesting her help and leaving her the hell out of it. No doubt that was one of the main reasons the rest of his team were getting whiplash from his actions. He could barely process them himself with the rate he was going. Something about Sakura just made him lose all notion of rationality. It was dangerous for him to be around her, for more than one reason.

He knew it didn't make much sense, but he didn't want to get her involved. He snatched her cause he needed her – it was logical – he had to force more than one hand to get her out of the village. But he stopped because he feared for her. In a way, he supposed it was a test. He wanted her to get mad and tell him to shove it, give him a reason to stay away, for her to be kept away. For her to choose Konoha over him. But she hadn't, and everything went according to his reasonable planning. And he was annoyed. She was too damned devoted, if not solely to him, then at least to her teammates! And he was too arrogant to admit he was living in a new brand of his own personal hell – incapable of rational decision making when it came to her.

He was fighting a war between trusting her to protect herself, and wanting to keep her as far away from any danger as possible. Himself included. It was utterly ridiculous. He didn't know how to be around her anymore. Yes, he would've given up Konoha for her help, he just didn't expect her decision to fill him with so much trepidation. It was just so much easier to care from a distance.

Sasuke realised too late what his hesitance looked like as he risked a glance at Sakura. The hurt in her eyes cut far deeper than any physical wound he could remember. Her mouth dropped agape. He saw the moment she chose anger over tears and immediately knew every ounce of her impending wrath would be justified in her eyes.

"Unbelievable."

"Sakura – "

"No, really Sasuke. How incredibly thoughtful of you to go out of your way to stroke your own ego in thinking I would be incapable of making a decision that's not about you! That you thought you had to trick me into doing the right thing! Wow, I can practically feel myself falling for you all over again!"

Sasuke was becoming increasingly agitated by her cries, and felt his distress spike when he saw the glistening at the corner of her eyes. He was frustrated, damnit! She had to understand he was trying to give her an out; she was one of his precious people, and he was being forced to use her, risk her, knowing he wouldn't be able to help, should things go wrong. He didn't want her here to be a sacrificial pawn, no matter how skilled she was. But he didn't have a choice. She did. She had to understand.

"You think I want you here?" He shouted. "You have clearly proven yourself to be incompetent of reason in the past when it comes to me. Should I have expected anything different from you?" He shot back mindlessly, pausing abruptly upon realising the implication of his words. He heard the audible hitch in her breath. Fuck. I am the biggest hypocritic.

"Wait, Sakura that's not – "

"You know what, you're right Sasuke. I never should've trusted myself when I didn't crush your skull upon realising you genjutsued me a second time, to abduct me no less! I shouldn't have trusted myself when I defended you against Kakashi when he wanted to cancel this whole mission before it even began. I shouldn't have trusted myself when I thought that maybe this time you had come back home to us!"

Sasuke's eyes blew wide at her exclamation, before settling back to his defence of indifference. If that's what she thought… he would only ever cause her pain. She was clearly happier without him in her life to screw everything up.

"Yes. You shouldn't have."

Sasuke stared hard into the emerald sheen of her eyes and dared her to refute him. This conversation was over.

"Stay on that high horse Uchiha, the view is clearly better up there." Sakura bit out darkly.

"Hn."

Without another word she leapt away into the darkness, leaving the last Uchiha to feel utterly defeated by his own incompetence, and desperately needing to Chidori something.

Naruto pretended not to notice the way Sasuke's shoulders were set by his ears when he returned, without Sakura, and sporting a particularly sour expression. Instead, Naruto hid his frown behind the rabbit he was in charge of cleaning, and silently hoped that Sakura wasn't in a similar state. Sasuke was practically leeching an electrical fire from his being; Naruto thought he could probably cook the rabbit in seconds if he weren't so worried about it tasting like charred lightning. Not worth it. Teme might just electrocute me for asking.

Naruto swallowed a sigh and eyed Kakashi from his place across the fire; his ex-sensei seemingly distracted by something in the distance. He saw the way Kakashi glanced over to Sasuke, then back the way he came. Naruto didn't have to be the World's Number One (unpredictable) Ninja to know what Kakashi was thinking.

Therefore, he wasn't surprised when, after a couple more minutes, Kakashi excused himself to fetch more firewood as 'it seems like a cold night ahead. I'll make sure we're prepared for it.' before wondering off into the dark canyon.

And Naruto absolutely pretended not to see the way Sasuke's red eyes trailed after their ex-sensei, nor the way he clenched his fist that lay charged and buzzing in his lap.

It was going to be a loooong night.

Sakura knew it was likely immature, but she just needed space from Sasuke, and his suffocating arrogance. She wanted to scream. She refused to cry. She just needed to pound something. Preferably Sasuke's face. But for now, she would settle for splashing cold water on her face and aggressively ripping up some firewood with her bare hands, if she could find some in this damn rocky maze!

She had followed the small frozen stream for a couple of kilometres when her frustration bade her to stop and cool down before she lost herself within the canyon, or worse, invite another ambush. They were in enemy territory, she had to be discrete and aware, even if a part of her would gladly welcome a physical fight right about now. She just had to bury it all down, keep it controlled, keep it professional. Keep it all locked away. Just don't think about it.

Taking deep breaths, Sakura briskly walked up and down the length of the riverbed to calm her frustration. She was still pacing wildly when she felt his presence. Sakura fought a strangled groan. She couldn't do this right now! She held it together best she could after the ambush, and then just now, but this was asking too much! She knew she would break if Kakashi so invited her to. She hid her fear with anger.

Kakashi saw the way Sakura stiffened when she sensed his presence. With a controlled exhale she turned around to face him as he joined her by the frozen stream.

"I'm not in the mood Kakashi." She clipped.

"So I see." He tried levity.

Her emerald eyes blazed with a fire Kakashi knew better than to tease. He looked her over, a fighting stance but a wilted spirit. Something in him burned at the sight of her distressed once again in the aftermath of Sasuke. It frustrated him. He'd grown rather tired of watching Sasuke antagonise her lately; good-intentions be damned.

"What happened?" he asked softly, keeping a respectful distance between them.

"Nothing happened." She huffed looking away, "I was just reminded why I am such an idiot."

He nodded slowly. "Doesn't sound like nothing." He noted, not un-kindly.

She smothered a flinch and Kakashi knew what was going to come out her mouth before she even said it.

"I'm fine."

Kakashi didn't have to be Rokudaime of the Leaf, a legendary shinobi, ex-ANBU Captain, and seasoned male to know that, well… that just wasn't true. And let it be said that despite being all those things, he still had the audacity, or was it perhaps foolish courage, to question the scorned woman's said 'fineness'.

If there was one thing Kakashi had come to learn about Sakura after years by her side; it was how to handle her at her most devastating. Contrary to what the mass populous assumes about his spit-fire medic, she is not most dangerous or scary at her peak, but rather at her quietest. A silent Sakura is always a far scarier phenomenon. If he could just get her to explode a little, coax out the anger and stress and sadness before it ate her up anymore. He knew from experience how much worse it would get to allow things to tear at you from the inside; he was the self-appointed King of suffering in silence, in fact. Perhaps it was hypocritical of him, but he didn't want that for her. He could reason with a fiery Sakura, it was however, much harder to persuade a stone-walled Sakura.

He sensed she had already accumulated a nice depository of brick and mortar in the past few days to make an excellent and impassable wall with how much she was attempting to compartmentalise. But the stress of the mission, the stress of her teammates, was clearly taking a toll. He doubted she even had the chance to begin processing her abrupt departure from Konoha, let alone the consequences of the spontaneous mission, should she fail. Of course, a good shinobi doesn't allow their emotions to affect them in the field; they are irrelevant. But that wasn't his team, and that wasn't Sakura. She thrived on emotions and to see her lock parts of herself away in self-defence just didn't sit right with him. They both needed her to break down that wall before it did more harm than good. Which is why he braced himself with his next words.

"Normally I wouldn't argue against a doctor, let alone a woman on her emotional or physical state, but I don't think you can say that you're fine right now, Sakura."

There was most definitely a violent flinch and a current of tension seemed to envelope the air, but she remained with her back stubbornly turned to him. Kakashi inwardly sighed and prayed she would forgive him for this. It just so happened that baiting his medic into an emotional outburst in order to process her feelings, was also a dangerous affair in and of itself.

"I think it might be a good idea for you to just relax and calm down."

Nothing.

Damn. Double Damn. Shit. Crap. Damn. She's stonewalling. Fuck. Kakashi didn't even try to hide his grimace with his next one, speaking in the most condescending way possible, and hoping he'd still have a head to put his stupid Hokage hat on by the end of his sentence.

"Sakura, you're clearly over-react – "

Sakura whirled around to face him, throwing her arms out with the motion. "What do you want from me Kakashi!?"

Kakashi stood calm in the face of her fury. He looked at the fierce woman before him, standing open and heated and strong, and swore she was simply beautiful. She was always breathtaking to him.

"Nothing." He exhaled.

Everything.

Kakashi paused; stopped breathing at his sudden internal declaration. Everything?

He took a breath, and repeated the thought, turning it over in his mind. Everything. It didn't shock him as much as he thought. In fact, if he were to be ruthlessly honest with himself, this particular notion had long been an acknowledged fact – one he had kept studiously at bay. One that he had distracted himself from with pathetic excuses for all the reasons why he craved to see her, be with her... touch her. And all the reasons why he shouldn't. She wasn't ready and maybe he hadn't been either. It was just sometimes easier to live in denial than in longing…

"Ha! Well you'd be about the only one." Sakura griped.

Kakashi snapped back to reality and buried the thought back down into the crevasses of his unreachable mind. Sakura was talking now, this was good, he just had to keep her that way. Encourage her to break through that wall with her own strength.

"Sakura, if this is about the seal – "

"I'm fine Sensei, I can handle whatever that damn seal throws at me." She sniffed folding her arms across her chest and looking out over the icy riverbed.

He tucked his hands in his pockets, watching her. "I don't doubt you."

Keeping her gem stone eyes cast away from him, she murmured, "You did once…"

Kakashi felt his gut twist and clenched his jaw. He hadn't expected this particular process of thought. Was that what was bothering her? Sakura continued with an almost pitiful laugh.

"I don't blame you. I was a mess back then, and you had orders to wrangle a Jinchuuriki and the last Uchiha. No one would ever look twice at a skinny pink nobody like me. Looks like we were both set up to fail from the get go, huh?" Her laugh was verging on watery. "If Shishou hadn't taken me in when she did..." She shook her head and tightened her arms around herself.

Kakashi took a step forward, his voice commanding her attention. "All that was a long time ago Sakura, and I take full responsibility for my own inability to see your potential and properly facilitate your training. Don't mistake my shortcomings for your own. I'm sorry that – "

"I'm not trying to give you crap about your teaching, Sensei." She cut him off, turning to face him fully, eyes stubbornly dry. "Even if we do agree it was less than stellar at first. I forgave you a long time ago. And I don't need you to butter me up because you think I'm being unreasonable. I know what I'm capable of."

Sakura rubbed her hands up and down her arms, words tumbling from her mouth. "I just… I just thought I had left that weak, insecure little girl behind. I thought I was done being defined by the past."

"Sasuke." Kakashi filled in, quietly studying her.

Sakura tensed for a moment, then her shoulders dropped and she gazed at him with such vulnerability, Kakashi felt the pit of his stomach drop out from under him.

"Is that all I'm ever going to be? Forever defined by that name? A useless little girl with a stupid dream, chasing after things she could never reach."

Not for the first time, Kakashi was stunned by the familiar despair in Sakura's eyes. The same haunting sorrow he sees in them when she's had a patient die on her, the same gloss of defeat that looks so wrong on her face. His fingers twitched with the urge to wipe that look away.

"Well I grew up. I'm so much more than that. I'm stronger now. I'm supposed to be stronger than this. I shouldn't be – ", She cut herself off and recomposed with a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei. I didn't mean to put this on you. I was just… I let my emotions get to me." His pink haired medic muttered, turning away from him again.

She was retreating, rebuilding the parts of the wall she'd just smashed a fist through; reinforcing that protective barrier against anyone getting too close or her getting out. He frowned at her. He wanted that wall demolished; wanted to have nothing obstruct this woman from taking on the world with all her confidence and drive. He wanted nothing to block the world from seeing exactly what he sees. Kakashi stepped forward.

"Don't ever apologise for the way you feel. The conviction you carry in your emotions is exactly what makes you strong, Sakura." Kakashi heard himself say firmly. "And if anyone is stupid enough to see you as anything less than the talented, fierce woman that you are, then they aren't worth wasting your breath on."

The air felt clear for a moment, almost still. Sakura stared at him then, surprise and gratefulness gracing her flushed face. Kakashi tried not to feel embarrassed by her blatant shock at his sincerity. Surely, he's given her compliments before? He wasn't that much of an asshole. Not to her anyway.

Sakura rewarded him with a dazed but sincere smile, and Kakashi was ashamed at the way his heart lifted at the mere sight of the damn thing. It was flattened a moment later when her smile tightened at the edges and she gave him an eye crinkle of her own.

"That's sweet of you to say, Kakashi. But I'm fine, really…it was nothing. Besides, what's another burden between friends?" she joked, her smile a perfect imitation of the ones he would readily give her, once upon a time.

Something in him twisted and snapped at that and before Kakashi realised what he was doing, he had flash-stepped before her, and took one of her cold hands in both of his. He felt the breath of her gasp on his clothed neck at his sudden proximity, felt her pulse jump from where his long fingers encompassed her hand. His nose brushed her forehead as he tipped his head down to speak.

"I once swore to you that I would shield your burdens from you…" he murmured, absently warming her hand between his.

"Kakashi – "

Grey eyes locked onto jade in the pale moonlight. "I failed you then. I will not fail you again."

Kakashi was sure his heart stumbled a beat when Sakura squeezed his hand, and unconsciously licked her lips. Her bright eyes were studying his, almost wild with questions and muted surprise, her cheeks a pretty pink that he liked all too much on her. Kakashi was certain he was reflecting his own surprise at his actions. He hadn't thought, just moved. He simply couldn't stand her thinking she was alone in something like this. That she thought herself or her task a burden to bear alone. He clearly failed as a friend to have allowed her to come to such a conclusion whilst standing right beside him. And that damn fake smile she gave him! He hated his expression on her, and had his hands not been wrapped around her own, he would've physically cleansed her soft face of it.

His eyes studied hers intently, watching as she processed his actions and looked at him in a calm marvel. Her cold nose brushed his lightly as she took a breath. She froze with the movement, as did he. Kakashi knew in the back of his mind that this was reckless of him, stupid even. This was different from his usual demonstrations of comfort, and they both knew it.

For one moment it felt as though they had crossed some invisible threshold; entered into a new realm between the two of them – unnameable but real. It felt foolishly exhilarating, and Kakashi was surprised that he felt not one ounce of fear being there with her. But then, there was a shift in the green of her eyes, Sakura's gaze growing distant and her perfect pink brows furrowed to shake her head at herself. Why did she look so sad again?

Sakura tentatively stepped away first, but kept her hand in his, almost reverently. "I'm not asking you to shield my burdens." She whispered, and squeezed his hand once more. "It's… not your place, Kakashi."

There was something entirely unreadable and heavy in her sad expression. Kakashi had never felt so inept in his skillset.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama."

Carefully, she withdrew her hand and made the slow walk back to camp.

Kakashi ran an aggravated hand through his silver mane, his breath an uncomfortable stutter. He pointedly curled his hand in a fist to keep from touching his strangely tingling nose. Kakashi let his frown sink into the creases of his face as he watched her back retreat further from him.

"Shit."

"You should apologise."

"What?"

"To Sakura-chan. Just say you're sorry. She really isn't that complicated you know."

"What makes you think I need to apologise to her for anything?"

Naruto snorted, settling Sasuke with a blank stare. "Aside from the obvious reasons, it's clear you just came back from upsetting her again, and now you're agitated about it. So, just say you're sorry."

"I'm not… I have no reason to apologise." Sasuke snapped. His pride had taken enough hits for one night, he was not about to take advice from Naruto.

"Sure you do. You've got two modes, Sasuke." Naruto said sagely, gesticulating with his fingers. "Sulking Stoic, and Angry Stoic. Both of which bare a resemblance constipation by the way."

"Why you – " Sasuke's snarl was cut off by Naruto casually tucking his hands behind his head and leaning back against the cave wall.

"You clearly went to talk to Sakura, and it didn't quite go the way you planned. So, you probably said something carelessly cruel, perhaps without meaning it, to shake her away from getting too close to the truth." Here, he eyed the Uchiha pointedly. "Then she probably ripped you a new one and now you're back to being your stoically sulking self."

"It's none of your damn business." Sasuke growled, glaring at the ground.

"Quit being an ass, Teme."

"Then quit butting in where you don't belong, Dobe."

They glared at each other in the low firelight.

"Wanna spar?"

"You're on, Usuratonkachi."

"Are you freaking kidding me?! I leave for thirty minutes and you two start tearing chunks off each other?" Sakura had just enough peace of mind to not raise her voice above a threatening reprimand. She had enough sense not to shout in a cavernous area, sense that her two idiotic teammates seemed to abandon in order to have a brawl with each other in enemy territory!

"Mou, Sakura-chan it was just a friendly spar." Naruto rubbed the back of his head guilty, unknowingly exposing a darkening bruise forming at the base of his stomach.

Her eyebrow twitched violently.

"Friendly my ass! You!" she pointed harshly at Sasuke, "You were the one who said we're trying to keep a low profile. Or was the ambush not enough action for you? And you!" her finger found a sheepish Naruto, "you know better by now! Hinata would be disappointed in you."

"Just like the old days huh?" Kakashi sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm supposed to be conserving my chakra so I can release this stupid seal and now you're needlessly fighting and forcing me to expend my chakra on healing you two idiots! And after all the fuss you made!" She rounded her glare back on the lone Uchiha.

He glared right back, his eyes short of flashing crimson. "We're fine. We don't need your help."

"Shut the hell up Sasuke! I can see from here you've got a dislocated shoulder and probably three cracked ribs!" Sakura placed her hands squarely on her hips, eyeing down the two legendary shinobi sitting roughened and petulant before her. If I knew these two were going to be ignorant fools and blow our position then I could've at least got in some landscaping action and demolished a couple of caves! Cha! Why do I have to be the sensible one all the time?

"We're sorry Sakura-chan. We were just having a bit of fun." Naruto deeply regretted his choice of words when a vein seemed to pop on Sakura's temple. He shrunk back a little further. "Kurama will heal me up real good, I promise. So, don't worry about me."

The lone woman huffed. "I don't want to hear it. You and Kakashi can finish up dinner since you're both so 'healthy'."

Naruto gratefully took his cue to escape and shuffled over to a decidedly weary looking Kakashi. Naruto glanced at him, then back at a seething Sakura and lowly murmured "You're in the doghouse too?"

He got on eye crinkle and an absent hum. "Any tips on how to get out?" His ex-sensei quipped light-heartedly.

Naruto gave a nervous smile. "Wait for permission, and don't shit on her nice things."

"Even my dogs know that."

A spark of mischief found its way into Naruto's tone when he next whispered. "It also really helps to work on your puppy dog face. Sakura is a sucker for pretty pouty lips."

Kakashi paused in the motion of taking the rabbit off the fire. Sliding his eyes to regard the sneaky blond next to him, Kakashi let a lazily smirk cross his covered face; a face Naruto would most definitely not be seeing in the near future.

"Nice try, Naruto."

"Damn. Worth a shot." Naruto cursed softly. But one look at the picture that was an irate Sakura scolding a stubborn Sasuke had him thanking all his lucky stars that he was implanted with a demon fox to get him out of the situations like that!

"Don't heal me. I already told you, I don't want you using your chakra – ", Sasuke tried to shift away from Sakura, but she planted herself firmly between his splayed legs, coming to kneel between them.

"Be quiet." Sakura snapped, alighting her hand with diagnostic chakra and pressing it to his chest.

Sasuke had another reprimand on the tip of tongue to stop her attempts at healing him, but it all slipped away the moment his eyes gazed upon her face. Her cheeks and nose were pink from the chill, and the glow of her chakra seemed to illuminate the green of her eyes that much more. She was mesmerising when she was in her element. He had realised that years ago when he first lost his arm and witnessed her muster up all she could to heal them. She was dirty and bloodied and striking. And while he had rewarded her devotion by impaling her quite literally with suffering, she returned the favour by using the last of her strength to heal and save him. Yet here he was again, all but repeating the tradition.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke blurted.

"What for?" Sakura asked gruffly, not looking up from where she'd begun mending his ribs.

"Take your pick." It came out more like a sneer than anything, and Sasuke winced.

Green eyes flickered up to his and narrowed. "You know, it's really hard to accept an apology when you're still acting like a prick."

Sasuke released a slow breath when she looked back down. "I know. I'm… sorry."

"What is that, your new favourite word or something?"

She was being snarky, and she knew it wasn't entirely undeserved, but damnit she couldn't catch a break! Parts of her were still reeling from her most recent fight with Sasuke and she hadn't even been able to properly compose herself before she'd been distracted by another member of Team Seven. And distracted was putting it lightly… She knew what he was doing; trying to get her to talk, let it out, it was just so Kakashi! She felt a strange pang in her heart. No! She couldn't think about that. We are so not going there right now! Stupid Kakashi, Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Naruto! Oh, how she missed Yamato and Sai.

"You know what, forget it." Sasuke bit out, attempting to wrench himself from her grasp.

"Sit down!" Sakura barked, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and yanking him down, ignoring his surprised grunt at her strength. She hadn't even used chakra.

She was inwardly satisfied at his grumpy glare. Newsflash to the Uchiha, he wasn't her favourite person at the moment either! Taking a moment to settle herself back down, Sakura reactivated her healing jutsu and lost herself in her thoughts, letting her mind wander to the aggravating man in front of her.

She could hardly say she was an expert in 'Sasuke', but it was clear even from their interaction in the canyon, that he was troubled by their presence here. Of course, it hurt to know the true nature of how she came to be part of this mission. After all this time, Sasuke still didn't see her as anything beyond that silly little girl. His lack of faith in her hurt more than she expected it to; made her realise that she had nothing to do with why he wanted her. It was merely about the power she possesses. And if he could separate the ability from the girl, well, she had no doubt that he would've done so without a moment's hesitation.

"You think I want you here?" His words replayed like a loop in her mind. She bit the inside of her cheek. She supposed he couldn't have been much clearer.

Sakura tried to recall Naruto's sage counsel – Sasuke is never good at communicating with words. She fought back a bitter laugh; he certainly had overachieved in that area tonight, she could almost congratulate him on a new personal best! Except, as she appraised him once more, sitting before her all crumpled and sullen, she remembered Naruto's second observation. They could all see Sasuke was a little lost, not being able to solve a problem on his own, and Kami forbid – having to reach out for help. And they all knew from experience that a 'lost Sasuke' sometimes has the tendency to lash out when cornered by things beyond his control. Sakura almost let a wry smile cross her face at the fact that Team Seven was known for their impulsivity. No wonder Sasuke was stressed.

Sakura supposed it would be a healthier use of her time to find it within herself to offer a bit of understanding for his earlier comments, cruel as they were. She has pink hair, Kakashi reads erotica, Naruto loves Ramen, and Sasuke can cut deep with his words – alleged 'bad communicator' and all. Universal facts. If she hasn't accepted it by now, well, that was just making things harder for herself wasn't it? She had grown thicker skin over the years, Tsunade ensured it. You couldn't be a medic, much less a kunoichi without diamond hard skin.

And what Kakashi said earlier by the riverbed…

She shook her head. One unfathomable male at a time.

"…So, are you going to tell me why you let Naruto beat you up?" She asked in a calmer tone.

"I didn't – " Sasuke began to protest vehemently until Sakura pressed a little harder on his shoulder to make her point.

"You were punishing yourself for something." She said softly, "And I'm not going to pretend it had something to do with me, seeing as you made things pretty clear earlier… But, if it helps…you're forgiven."

"What?" Sasuke snapped his head up to look at her so fast he was surprised he didn't break something.

Sakura shifted absently with the movement, but had her focus not been entirely dedicated to the task at hand, she might've caught Sasuke's dazed expression. As it was, she continued unaware, and Sasuke schooled his expression back to apathy before she could notice.

"Whatever was said earlier, between us, it's forgotten. You obviously had your reasons for doing what you did, and I had my reasons for reacting the way I did. Call it a misunderstanding, even though you didn't have to be such a huge jerk about it." She flickered her eyes up to meet his, and offered him a fierce stare. "And for the record, I'm sorry too. But we're a team Sasuke and I said I'd help so I'm staying, whether you want me here or not."

She paused and tilted her lips in a quiet smile. "I'll always have your back, Sasuke. Just promise you won't forget all that next time, okay?"

Sasuke sat in careful appraisal of the woman before him. One could almost call it a glare if not for his helpless expression. "You – you're different."

Every time he saw her, she seemed to keep surprising him, challenging him. And with each change, good or bad, he found he could never stop wanting to know her more. Perhaps, if things were different… ?

"Yeah well, I guess that's life huh? Try avoid sleeping on your right side, there will still be some tenderness." Standing up, Sakura dusted off her knees and turned to make her way over to Kakashi and Naruto. She stopped when she heard Sasuke call out softly.

"Sakura… thanks for…thanks."

Quirking a brow at him from her over her shoulder she deadpanned. "Well that was painful. Who would've thought it was easier for you to say sorry than it was for you to say thank you." She teased lightly.

"Tch." Sasuke tilted his chin up and away from her; arrogance firmly back in place.

Sakura smiled a little stronger. "You're welcome Sasuke… But if you're ever a jerk to me again, I will break something."

"Hn." He smirked back in the face of her steady smile.

Yamato sighed at the vacant space before him. He had hoped the fates would just be the tiniest bit kinder on him and not make things play out exactly the way he so prayed they didn't.

"What now, Taichou?" Sai questioned from beside him, sounding similarly put out.

Suigetsu had, predictably, vanished the moment they landed. One moment Yamato was standing next to him, the next, he was standing next to a puddle of water and thin air. Strangely enough, he was in two minds about his 'partners' disappearance. One could hardly blame him for feeling relieved; especially after the hours of torture he endured by riding with the cocky, talkative, vulgar punk. If Yamato had to undergo one more moment of being regaled by Suigetsu's descriptive and horrific conquests, both on and off the field, he was going to…! Well he didn't know what he would've done, but it wouldn't have been an approved use of his talents!

However, the other, more mission-oriented side of him was thoroughly annoyed at the lack of the Kiri-man's presence. The kid just had to go and make a hard job harder, didn't he? He blamed Kakashi-senpai for this mess! That was it! No more making spontaneous reading benches for him, or footing the bill, or fetching him his secret cravings of frozen yogurt! Yamato was going to have a serious talk with him about how actions have far reaching consequences, and this consequence in particular was going to affect his Senpai's free gardening services!

"Taichou, did we have a plan for this scenario?"

Yamato took a breath and craned his neck to regard their surroundings. It was nightfall and the unfamiliar terrain and cold weather would be a nightmare to try and navigate blindly now. Not to mention Whirlpool was rumoured to be riddled with numerous seals and traps within their sacred land. It would be a fool's errand to overestimate their chances and underestimate the variables. He glanced back at his patient kohai.

"Fortunately, Tsunade-sama and myself did predict as much, although it is a serious pain for it to have come to fruition. The good news is that I implanted some very small seeds into Suigetsu's water canteen which are linked to my chakra. Since he ingested a good amount of them already, I can easily track him whilst they are still within his system."

"That is very intelligent of you Taichou, and a useful ability. However, I assume there is some supplementary bad news, since you qualified the initial news as 'good'."

Yamato graced Sai with a small smile, turned grimace at his observation. "You're correct Sai. The bad news being that although we can track him, the destination of where Suigetsu goes is entirely up to him. We just have to hope his motives truly are to find Karin, if she is even here. I can already feel he is still on the move, but if he has any sense, he'll likely make camp for the night once he realises we're not on his trail." Yamato flexed his jaw. "As it is, we are quite literally at the hands of Suigetsu and his impulses."

Sai took a moment to mull over the information, eventually nodding resolutely. "I see. This could potentially become a situation which Dickless would describe as 'balls-deep in shit'?"

Yamato scrunched his nose and frowned, attempting to piece together what exactly Sai was quoting. "Ah, I think the actual phrasing for that one is 'up shit creek'." Yamato scratched his cheek and shrugged. "But I suppose with Naruto you never really know."

"Thank you for the correction, Taichou." Sai quickly pulled out a non-descript black book.

Yamato's tired smile became a little more genuine at the familiar sight of Sai physically cataloguing his correction in the back of the book Kakashi had gifted him. Sai had been endearingly confused as to why anyone would gift a blank book, and had point blank refused such a 'purposeless gift'. But after some vague hinting and suspicious whispering from Kakashi, it soon became a staple upon his person.

"You're welcome Sai."

Yamato busied himself by inspecting the immediate area for a suitable space to make camp for the night. It was completely ridiculous of him, but he felt himself tense with every meter that Suigetsu got further from them. Tsunade had entrusted him with this, and he was already having to make up lost ground without letting their one and only lead slip through his fingers. He clenched his hands. Incompetence cost ninja's their lives, and he was now responsible for the lives his team. A family he once thought impossible for someone like him. Ironic how he now sought his 'once family' to help him save his new family. Yamato scoffed. As if he could ever have considered that man to be anything comparable to kin. And now he was absurdly desperate to find him. He never thought he'd see the day where he'd give anything to see Orochimaru again. Yamato felt his thoughts twist and darken.

"Senpai?"

Yamato snapped his head up at his kohai's curiously informal address. Sai only ever called him 'senpai' within the village.

"Sai?"

Yamato tried not to startle as his young friend walked up to him, set a firm hand on his shoulder and looked straight into his almond eyes.

"It will be alright."

It took all of five seconds for the shock of the kind gesture to wear off, before Yamato released a breath he didn't realised was being held. He clamped a grateful hand onto Sai's shoulder and let his tension go.

"Yeah. We'll make it so."

A/N: Okay, this chapter was a bish to write and I'm sorry it's taken a while. This chapter has gone through several rewrites and I'm still not happy with it, but I just have to get it out of the way so we can move on to the fun parts.

This chapter was a regrouping moment of sorts. People clearing the air, or further muddling it in some cases. A lot of different perspectives to give a bit of insight on where everyone is sitting on their perilous journey. But more perils to come, I promise!

As always, I love to hear your thoughts or comments. If you have any theories or want to hear more from anyone's perspective in particular!