¤ Chapter 13.: Gold coin ¤

"Run, Sasuke!"

"Is that you,"

Sky blue eyes looked up from the diamond the goddess wore around her neck. He looked into her hazel eyes, tears welling from years hidden and forgotten. There was no more doubt in the blonde's mind that this woman was the one he had been searching for all his life, that this woman was the one who could give him the answers to the questions he had been harboring all his life.

It wasn't just Sasuke who had been searching for the pink-haired girl with emerald eyes for years since childhood, a girl who brought him lemon ice cream on one of his thousand sad days. Naruto had also been searching his whole life for this woman who appeared in his dreams, teaching him love, virtue, and devotion. In the lonely and dark moments when he hated his existence because of the out-of-control beast inside him, even as a little boy, he resorted to sleep because he knew she would be there waiting for him and because he longed to hide in her hug from the ugliness of the world that cursed him with this burden.

The blond knelt in front of the woman who didn't dare to look him in the eyes and instead looked at her palms. Naruto reached out, cupping her palms in his hazel eyes and looking up anxiously.

"Tell me, who are you?"

The goddess opened her mouth tentatively, about to speak. She saw glimmers of hope in his bright eyes, just like when he was still small - just like when she held him in her arms when he was born.

Her voice strung from her throat when she mustered enough courage to speak. Before that happened, his eyelids opened wide in sudden surprise and gradually began to close with a dull thud as Jiraiya walked up and hit him in the back of the head. The boy collapsed; Tsunade instinctively scooped him into her arms and stroked his hair gently.

"Naruto…"

Accompanied by whistling lightning, the Uchiha burst into the room, standing there surprised to find the door already kicked open. He called back wild lightning and sized up the unconscious blond with a frown.

The white-haired shaman stopped him from further actions by raising his palm. "It was for his own good. He is still a child. He wouldn't understand.'

Sasuke snorted and walked over to his friend's motionless body to check his condition and vitals. He only glanced briefly at the woman, who was not paying him attention. She was mesmerized, watching the sleeping boy in her arms that she was clinging to like a tick.

The raven-haired man didn't take long to find that the Uzumaki was relatively okay. He was only stunned so he could kill him tomorrow. He had other concerns now; now that he knew the blond was fine, he had to find out what was wrong with his pinkette immediately. For that reason, he immediately turned around and headed for the exit until the anxious voice of the Goddess of Love stopped him.

"Uchiha,"

Sasuke stopped but didn't turn his face to her. There was a tense silence that not even the white-haired shaman between them dared to break.

The woman redirected her gaze to the boy in her arms, gently brushing away a strand of hair that fell into his eyes, then looked up again. "Just... Don't hurt her."

The Uchiha didn't react; he just walked into the dark night.

Tsunade exchanged a meaningful look with Jiraiya.

*.*.*.*

The raven-haired man walked along the paved path through the streets of Konoha for a while. Gradually, his steps increased in intensity and speed until his walk became a run. In just a little while, he was running along tree branches, which were so violent that he broke them when he bounced. When the journey seemed endlessly long, he undid the button at his neck that held his cloak together and soared into the heights, electrical sparks flying from his body to give him the speed he needed to reach his destination in the shortest possible time. He couldn't let anything happen to her, not because of his fault. Not because he was late but because he hesitated so long. Not because he was relying on someone else. Why had he been so stupid as to entrust her protection to someone else when it was his sole responsibility?

With a thud, the Uchiha landed on his knees near the girl's house. He sighed in relief when he saw a familiar green flashing light in the window on the first floor. He even smirked at how reckless and careless she was. Anyone could walk down this street, even at night hours, and glimpse her nocturnal antics.

Shaking his head, he adjusted the collar of his white shirt and shoved his hands into his pockets. Taking a casual and relaxed step to calm his troubled breathing, he walked over to the front door of her tiny house and knocked softly.

His eyebrows shot up to the heavens as a sound like something falling and breaking came from the house. He resisted the urge to smirk as a series of creative expletives rang out from the house. If possible, he would have raised his eyebrows even more as the sounds reached his ears, and a pink-haired girl came down the stairs with a loud mumble and approached him to open the door. If Sasuke were religious, he would have sworn he heard the girl promise to kill whoever was bothering her with her bare hands.

"What the f.." she trailed off mid-sentence, her emerald eyes resting on Sasuke.

The black-haired man leaned against the frame and glared at her with an undisguised smirk of amusement.

"Sasuke?"

"One of a kind,"

Sakura shook her head to regain her composure. "What are you doing here? It's two in the morning.'

Sasuke winced slightly inside, though he didn't show it on the outside. In haste, he omitted the critical fact that ordinary people do not meet at such times.

Not that the Uchiha wasn't sleeping at all. Even his body needed rest to regenerate and gain energy, but it didn't need it as much as humans. Moreover, it was typical for a creature like him to meet at night.

It was a matter of seconds before he started going through all the textbooks he had studied on interpersonal relationships in his memory. And even though it was against his will - well, let's be honest, he wanted to throw up, but desperate situations call for desperate actions - he also took a look at the orange books that the blond kept pushing him. Finding the only clue now valuable for him, the Uchiha bet on the one thing that never failed him with Naruto when he needed to change the subject. He had to redirect the conversation to the pink-haired girl.

"You didn't come today,"

"Yes," she acknowledged. "I wasn't feeling well, Sasuke-kun,"

It was true that Sakura was fully prepared to face another day, but after idly staring and thinking about her mother's strange behavior, she sat on the couch. The hours she passed one after the other without noticing as she analyzed what had happened. She could not find the reasons for her mother's fury. Wasn't she the one who convinced her to accept this mission and that only she could handle it? Wasn't it Sakura who vehemently rejected her and Tsunade the one who forced her to do it? So why was she making such a fuss now that she said he kissed her?

However, despite the confusion after meeting the Goddess of Love, the pink-haired girl wasn't lying to Sasuke; she wasn't feeling well that day. Her stomach protested, she felt weak, and her legs wouldn't listen to her, refusing to hold her weight and stability. Everything was falling out of her hands; her whole world was spinning, her head was aching, and everything was echoing. That's why she decided to spend today in that uncomfortable bed of her house.

"Hmph,"

"So…" She looked up at him again and blinked. "What are you doing here?"

'Yamanaka,' the Uchiha called with an order in his mind.

, Oh, fuck me!' Ino screamed in terror, clutching her heart and sitting up on the bed. She looked around before collapsing face down into the pillow again to get the Uchiha out of her mind. 'I'm sleeping, Sasuke. What do you want?'

The Uchiha briefly explained the situation he found himself in, resisting the urge to send a million stinging bolts of lightning into her abode for the sarcastic remarks that flashed through her mind and that he -however and unfortunately- had to hear.

'Then tell her...'

The Uchiha mentally growled. In the course of tomorrow, he will have to attend two funerals - Uzumaki's and Yamanaka's.

"Itachi has a visit," Sasuke spoke in a deep voice. As Sakura blinked in confusion, he sighed tiredly and emphasized. "Thevisit of woman,"

A small smile spread across Sakura's face, growing larger every hundredth until it became devilish. She stepped back to make room for the younger Uchiha in her house.

As they entered the living room, she scratched the back of her neck and thought about the empty contents of her refrigerator. "I don't have much here,"

The pink-haired girl didn't know how to behave; she wasn't prepared for his unexpected visit. It was different; it wasn't like Naruto willingly led their conversations. Unlike the hyperactive and loud blond, the black-haired man was quiet; he didn't start conversations for no reason, which made Sakura nervous. She watched as he sat on the sofa nonchalantly, as if all the arrogance and education he was brimming with had fallen off him. She soon found herself comparing him to Naruto as he first put one leg out and then the other before crossing them, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

Without opening his eyes, he raised his left hand and wiggled his fingers to motion for her to come to him.

Sakura blinked in confusion.

Sasukeopened one eye and repeated his gesture. Sakura took a few unsteady steps until she was near him. What she didn't expect was when the black-haired man reached out and pulled her to him.

Sasuke put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his chest, burying his head in her hair and breathing in her floral scent.

"Sasuke?" she said uncertainly.

"Huh?"

"I..."

Stunned, the pinkette thought, then realized she felt comfortable in his arms. In fact, for the first time in a long time, she felt truly relaxed and safe. She wasn't thinking about her task, her mother, Naruto, or being exposed and condemned by the downworlders to the fact that the divinity would reveal her transgression and she would be charged.

All she felt was Sasuke's presence.

She snuggled into his arms and made herself comfortable. She put her feet up on the couch and curled up like a cat. Sasuke half smirked and stroked her hair as she winced under his hands.

He watched as her relaxed body reflected her faith in him. He grimaced bitterly, wondering if it would have been like this if the situation had been different, if the circumstances in which they had met this time were different, and if his sweet pinkette had any idea what he was if she were lying peacefully in his arms like this.

On the other hand, Sakura's thoughts and feelings were completely different. How many times had she dreamed of such a moment, where she would give herself entirely to him, where he would caress her hair, where she would experience such a moment together with him without being bound by the heavenly laws of her country? Not even in her most secret dreams, in her most beautiful imaginings, had his touch been so gentle, so kind as it was right now when he brushed strands of hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear.

The magic of the atmosphere was almost unreal, almost magical until it was interrupted by the growl of Sakura's parched stomach.

The black-haired man couldn't resist an amused laugh, which he tried to cover by choking. Sakura sat up instantly, crossing her arms over her stomach, onyx eyes looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Sasuke stood up and placed his palm before the girl's face. He wiggled his fingers seductively until Sakura placed her hand in his and stood up at his invitation.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.

Suddenly, she felt him let go of her hand, saw him crouch slightly, and screamed as he slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"On a trip," he replied sarcastically.

As he walked her towards the area where the kitchen was located, she was kicking wildly and pounding his back with her fists all the while, but she felt as if he didn't notice her blows at all. It wasn't until he sat her down like a five-year-old on the kitchen counter that Sakura could glare at him.

She watched as Sasuke crept to the fridge, which he opened, peering inside, frowning before turning back to the pink-haired girl. After a while, he closed the refrigerator door with a slow movement and a frown; as if thinking about something, he looked into the void.

"What?" she sputtered, offended, wrinkling her nose. "I didn't lie. Seriously, I have almost nothing here.'

She paused momentarily, then wanted to continue her explanation, but the raven-haired man unexpectedly interrupted her.

"Don't you like human food?"

Sakura stared blankly at him with her mouth hanging open. No muscle on her face could move, emerald eyes were wide open, and no sound left her lips. Stunned, she remained rigid as a statue as the meaning of his words sank into her mind. He knew it.

She felt her bottom lip quiver involuntarily. Even though she was sitting, she felt like her whole world had started spinning; she couldn't find a stable point.

The black-haired man wasn't stupid; he noticed her when she entered his life. He saw the day her pastel pink hair changed to a more subtle one. He also noticed when her face became paler and when she began to look ill. Even then, when Naruto told him about their first evening together, he quickly guessed that the daughter of the Goddess had panicked and had nothing else to offer the blond except a watermelon. He also assumed that the only food she ate was the one he ordered Itachi to bring her and the hotdog he gave her.

"Sakura,"

His deep voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Her emerald eyes looked up and stared into the dark onyxes. Instinctively, she started spouting off a bunch of nonsensical excuses and textbook phrases she'd learned in case of an emergency.

He put his hand over her mouth to silence her and waited for her breathing to settle and for her to look into his eyes.

"Sakura. My best friend is a jinchuuriki." he reminded her to let her know that he was past this and creatures from other worlds beyond human understanding were nothing new to him.

Only when she nodded did he remove his hand from her mouth.

The body of the daughter of the Goddess of Love relaxed at his words. She felt a sense of security and understanding as if someone finally understood her anxiety, which she could not explain to anyone through words. It was strange to her that she didn't panic because she had just confirmed to Sasuke that she was no ordinary human being. For a moment, she felt she completely understood why Naruto chose the cold, heartless-looking black-haired man as his best friend.

Sakura looked down and nodded timidly. "Human food tastes like slush."

The black-haired man walked up to her and bowed slightly to her face.

"A couple of tomatoes and I'll conjure up something,"

Sakura laughed cynically, and this time, without further ado, she wiggled her fingers, and next to the stove, accompanied by green sparkles, his little wish appeared. She watched in dumb amazement as he gracefully began to move around her kitchen; as he gradually opened all the cabinets and shelves, she was surprised to find out what objects were in this room. He expertly picked them out and stored them on the kitchen counter.

If she hadn't heard with her ears from her blond friend a few days ago that this man who was throwing ingredients into a pot and expertly stirring its contents with a wooden spoon was human, she would have thought a downworlder had bewitched her. His elegance resembled that of a vampire; the way he stirred the contents of the pot was like a wizard; his attraction was that of a werewolf, and he read her thoughts like a sentient. However, this one single person had all these magical qualities that bewitched her senses.

She was snapped out of her reverie by the realization of a wooden object in front of her face. It was a wooden spoon on which he had collected some thick red substance. With a reluctant grimace, Sakura closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and allowed him to put the wooden spoon in her mouth.

Her green eyes opened wide, and she started waving her hands around her mouth because the liquid was too hot. "It is good! What is it?"

"Tomato soup," he replied dryly, wiping his hands on a towel and returning to the pot to stir the soup with a wooden spoon.

After his words, there was a chilling silence that Sasuke didn't like for a while. He looked back only to see the pink-haired girl jump off the kitchen counter, her bare feet landing on the cold floor and slowly approaching him. She stared into his eyes – all the while, one single specific memory was coming to her mind, a memory that materialized as she raised her right hand.

Sakura stopped close to him, only a few centimeters separating them. She touched his arm first, then moved to his shoulder and collarbone, over which she traveled to the cursed seal, which she circled with her index finger and slid down to his chest. The girl did not stop in her movement; she gently grabbed the thin string between her fingers and pulled the necklace out from under the fabric of his shirt into the light of day. Sasuke grabbed her wrist to stop her, but the pinkette pushed him away with his other free hand. Her emerald eyes studied the all-too-familiar gold coin pendant in wonder before moving to his face. She gazed into his deep eyes before softly whispering the almost unquestionable conclusion she had come to.

"You remember me," she whispered, tilting her head back as she looked at his lips. "Right?"

He cupped her face and leaned in to meet her lips.

The pinkette waved her hand to turn off the stove just before the raven-haired man trapped her in a hungry kiss. He forced her back until her back was against the wall, leaving her only the narrowest of space between the wall and his body, tormenting her mouth in the kiss he had craved for so many years. Sakura gasped and tilted her head back, the black-haired man taking this opportunity to latch onto her neck, earning another gasp from her lips. He smirked against her skin; he dug his fingers into the soft skin of her hips and moved to her thighs, lifting her off the ground and forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist. Sakura was dizzy from the speed and passion that was taking her, but she didn't want to stop; she couldn't – she didn't want to stop him; she dug her fingers into his raven hair and pulled to force him to pull his head away from her collarbone so she could kiss him again.

The black-haired man complied with the desire of the young pink-haired girl he was holding in his arms, showering her with more kisses that ripped from the inside of his infernal soul.

"Sasuke," she gasped as he slammed her against the wall again, a little harder this time.

The ceiling began to shake uncontrollably, plates and glasses began to collide, and objects in the vicinity started to levitate and fly and swirl around uncontrollably.

Sasuke smirked. "Calm down,"

Sakura blushed, stilling her quickened breathing as he gently placed her on the ground. She raised her hands to calm the storm, and the objects immediately fell to the ground, and both found themselves in a flurry of broken shards; the chandelier shattered as it fell to the ground.

Sakura rubbed her eyes as she looked at the trigger she hoped was just a bad dream. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the tense silence was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone, but this time, the sound was unfamiliar to the pink-haired girl, so she turned to Sasuke, who was reaching into the pocket of his black pants with an unreadable expression.

"Let it be important, usuratonkachi."

"Dude," the blond screeched so loudly that even Sakura could hear him, who was still slightly out of it, looking at the mess she had made. "Either I'm drunk, or I saw her, Teme,"

"I don't have time for that now, idiot," he growled, about to hang up.

"Yeah, hey, how's Sakura doing?" Naruto yelled again with a flirtatious tone of voice. "Don't keep secrets. Have you fucked her yet? How soooooooo?"

Sasuke's eyebrows twitched.

"It's none of your business, idiot!" Sakura snapped.

The pink-haired girl grabbed the phone from Sasuke's hand and slammed it against the wall, but before it shattered, they both heard the blonde's surprised and horrified scream, " Wait a minute, you guys are together?!"

TBC:) Thanks for reading! M.