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Note: This was a fanfic I wrote three years ago and I thought I should share this fanfiction with you all! ^^ Hope you all like! Please PM your comments so I can post it here! ^^

The Flower that Blooms in Spring

Chapter 1 – Ten Years Later

The rain poured heavily upon him, indicating the most crucial part of his life. Why had he done this in the first place? It’s been far too long…almost ten years now. He hasn’t seen EITHER of them for a long time, but this wasn’t the time to ponder such things.

He had a goal to set, a race to finish, and two figures to run away from. He glanced over his shoulder as the first shinobi jumped from behind the bushes. Quickly, he clapped his hands together and disappeared, much to the shinobi’s surprise. The second shinobi appeared a few seconds later, startled to see his companion just standing there, looking around.

“What are you doing? Find him!” he hissed.

The shorter shinobi glanced at him, annoyed with the fact that his taller companion was spitting orders at him, but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. “He disappeared!” he hissed back.

The taller shinobi sighed and looked up. “Heh. Looks like he’s decided to come home after all,” he said, nodding towards the trees.

“What’s there?” he asked.

He stared at the shorter shinobi and sighed. “You really ARE a newbie! Just beyond those mountains is the hidden village of Konoha.”

“Konoha…” The shorter shinobi stared at the mountains and turned back to glance at his companion. He was shocked to find him walking back. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about him anymore. It may be his home, but that place is where he’ll mostly likely get killed. Let’s go!” With that said, he disappeared behind the bushes once again.

“D….demo!”

“I said let’s go!” the voice called out, interrupting the already annoyed shorter shinobi. Without another word, he turned and followed the taller shinobi back to their village.
“Can this day get ANY boring?” Once again, their sensei was late for their final training as Chuunins. Naruto pressed his back against the tree and sighed, folding his arms across his chest in annoyance.

Sakura looked up from staring at a single flower resting in between her feet on the ground. It was the second day now that Kakashi-sensei has been late and it STILL didn’t make up for the other late days he’s had for those past ten years. The pink haired girl looked up to glance at Sasuke sitting far away from them on a bolder, just thinking about his life. She couldn’t help but notice how he’s grown quite handsome in the ten years they’ve been together (although she’s noticed that since they were kids). Much to her relief, after coming back from seeking Itachi, he came back alive, but was badly wounded. He never really said anything about their conversation they shared before he left Konoha, but Sakura knew better than to mention something that personal to him after just killing a member of his family. Plus, she felt quite awkward about it after, since he just said thank you in return and put her to sleep.

“He must be getting old!” Naruto commented, laughing maniacally. This sudden outburst, removed Sakura from her reverie.

“Who’s getting old?” a voice appeared from behind them.

All three looked up to see Kakashi jumping down from a tree branch. Sakura didn’t really care anymore whether he was late or not, since she was used to that habit already, except maybe for Naruto who STILL held a grudge against their silver haired sensei even after ten years of being together. Sasuke…well he never really cared about it in the first place. He probably thought more about how to surpass his older brother than getting angry at a perverted Jounin who loved to read “Icha-Icha Paradise.”

“KAKASHI-SENSEI!” Naruto’s eyes were about to jump out of their sockets as soon as he noticed it was their sensei. He angrily shook his fists in the air and began to shout obscene words, adding “you’re late AGAIN!”

A vein popped out of Sakura’s temples. “NARUTO!” She shot a fist in the air towards Naruto, giving him a bump on the top of his head. “Urusai! You’re STILL the loudest person EVER! MOU!”

Naruto crouched low and began to whimper, feeling abused by his ‘Sakura-Chan.’

“My, you are so very kind to defend me, Sakura-chan!” Kakashi commented, with what he called the ‘charming smile.’

To Sakura it was more like a perverted, child-pornography smile. “Who said I was defending you, baka no sensei?” She jerked her eyes towards Kakashi. “You’re late AGAIN and you STILL haven’t learned to be ON TIME for ten long years!” Okay, so she too was holding a grudge against him. Who can blame her?

Kakashi nervously rubbed the back of his neck and then followed a VERY silent environment around them. No one said a word, except maybe for Naruto whining about the bump in his head Sakura gave him.

“Sensei,” Sasuke voice pierced through the silent air.

“Hm?” Kakashi turned his eyes towards Sasuke.

“What’s the Jounin exam going to be like?”

Kakashi made a thoughtful look. “It’s like going on a mission, to test your skill on how you handle situations well. The missions however are a lot more dangerous and require a lot more logic and stamina in order to reach a higher level as a shinobi.” He circled the three of them, his hands clasped behind his back.

Sasuke stood up, stuffing his hands in his now long pant pockets. Sakura examined him, noticing for the first time how much he’s changed. He was no longer that stubborn boy she knew a long time ago, but he still held a frown and refused to smile whenever she tried to make him smile. He has gotten a lot taller and muscular and was sporting an outfit unlike the one he had before. He no longer wore that shirt that went around his neck like a funnel, but instead it was replaced with a regular sized black shirt. Underneath his shirt, he wore a white, long sleeved shirt, long enough to cover his hands, but short enough to see them every time he moved his arms. His cargo pants were black and the only thing that remained true to the old Sasuke, were his slippers. It still fit him, much to her surprise, but then she remembered that she was the one who bought those slippers in the first place for his birthday last year. She blinked and looked at him. He looked at her, but did not flinch.

“Okay, so!”

“Kakashi,” someone called.

All four looked up. A woman with long blond hair tied up into a ponytail approached them. Following behind her, was her attendant, Shizune, who was four years older than the three of the training Chuunin. The usual pink piglet that hung around her arms was walking beside her, big and fat. Sakura’s surprised that they have kept the pig as their pet instead of eating it for its meat.

“OH! Tsunade-obaachan!” Naruto called.

Sakura admired Tsunade for putting up with Naruto through all these years. She has learned to tolerate Naruto calling her ‘granny’ all the time. The blond woman looked up and stared at Sakura. “May I speak with you for a moment, Kakashi?”

The pink haired girl blinked. It seemed she was talking to her, but not really, which confused Sakura the most. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to notice this. “Sakura? Wasn’t she looking at you when she asked Kakashi to talk to her?” Naruto asked after watching the whole scene and after Kakashi left to speak with Tsunade.

Sakura didn’t know how to answer that. How was she supposed to know the answer to that question? She was as confused as he.

“Dobe,” Sasuke suddenly said.

Naruto’s eyes bulged in annoyance. “Nani?” He jumped around to face Sasuke and threw angry fists in the air. “Say that again Sasuke! I’ll kick your a**!”

Sasuke just stood there, which annoyed Naruto even more.

Meanwhile, in the other side of the room, Tsunade, Kakashi and Shizune were in a small circle, talking amongst each other. Shizune glanced over at Sakura, who was watching them intently. “Hokage-sama…”

“Don’t worry about her, Shizune,” Tsunade spoke. She turned to look at Kakashi. “Kakashi, he’s come back.”

The silver haired Jounin blinked in surprise. “He has? You mean…” He turned to look at Sakura. “My, isn’t that a perfect timing and on her birthday too.”

Tsunade sighed. “Now is not the time to make jokes, Kakashi. He’s come back injured and is asking for her. His wife has seen him already, but now he wants to see his daughter. Frankly, I do not approve of him seeing her.”

“Hokage-sama? Doushite?” Shizune asked.

“I’ve seen him work, Shizune and if we continue to keep him here, he’s going to endanger not only his family, but all of Konoha as well. He’ll spark a war between Konoha and Mist village.”

“Demo…what did he do?”

Tsunade glared at Shizune. She wasn’t the type of person to answer so many questions from the same person. She turned back to Kakashi. “You have been much of a father figure to Sakura than that man, so if you don’t mind keeping this to yourself…”

Kakashi lifted up a hand and nodded. “Of course, Hokage-sama.” Unlike Shizune, he knew what was going on. He has spent ten years taking care of Sakura and when Akano Haruno was hit with a temporary illness, he offered her a home, while her mother recovered in the hospital. Eventually, Akano recovered and Sakura was once again brought back to her old house. Sasuke and Naruto never knew about Sakura’s mother or Kakashi now being her legal guardian and he would rather keep it between himself and his ‘daughter.’

“Good, now comes the hard part.” Tsunade took a deep breath. “He has asked to be escorted back to Mist Village after he has recovered. He plans to speak with the Elder there and re-negotiate his ‘situation.’”

Suddenly, Kakashi’s face turned into a serious frown. “And might I ask WHO he has asked to escort him?”

Tsunade glanced over her shoulder towards Sakura.

“I disagree,” Kakashi suddenly said, after realizing who it was she was looking at. “Why are we sending one of our own to escort who was once one of our own back to the place where he’s supposed to belong? You said so yourself, Hokage-sama…he is a danger to our village and to his family.”

“If he does not get escorted back to Mist Village, then he refuses to leave the village,” Tsunade simply replied.

“Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama, but I would have to refuse. You’re telling me to send Sakura, to escort him and ONLY Sakura?”

When Tsunade was about to say something, all three of them were startled when they heard a deep voice behind them. “I will go with Sakura,” that deep voice said.

Sasuke stood there now, his hands stuffed in his pant pockets, his forehead creased with worry. Everyone was surprised at this request. Naruto appeared seconds later, annoyed beyond heck, wondering what was going on. “Sasuke! What are you babbling about? Where are you going with Sakura-chan!”

Sakura stood there, her eyes widened in shock. Kakashi stared at her. Has she heard the whole thing? “Sakura….”

The dark haired Chuunin glanced at her.

“Where is he? Where is otousan?”

But before Kakashi had a chance to protest, Tsunade took a step forward and said, “I’ll take you to him.”

“Nani? Nani? Nani? Sakura-chan? What happened to your otousan?” Naruto was immediately pounded in the head by Sasuke, who was getting a lot more irritated than he already was at the blond Chuunin.

Sakura did not answer instead she followed Tsunade and Shizune back towards the village. Sasuke watched her leave, wondering how she was feeling about this whole thing. What did her father ever do? What happened those last ten years? “Well, why don’t we just continue with our training, hm?”

“Demo, what about Sakura-chan?” Naruto looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto’s head and petted him like a dog and smiled at him innocently. “Naruto! Naruto! Don’t worry about Sakura-chan, she’ll be fine! She’ll be back, but right now we need to focus on you training, ne?” He let go and straightened up. “Follow me.”

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other and then followed their sensei towards the opposite direction where Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura went off to.

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The hospital was quiet, except for the occasional screams from patients in pain from severe wounds. Sakura never liked hospitals, even though she’s spent most of her time visiting some of her comrades in the village who have been injured and she too had fallen victim to staying one night in the hospital. She had fallen three stories from a building after a thief came into their house and tried to steal some valuables. At the time, her mother was still recovering and Sakura had to come back and pick up her stuff while she stayed with Kakashi-sensei. At that time, she was still too young to stay by herself, so Kakashi-sensei offered her a room in his apartment. She was just going into her room when she heard a crash from her kitchen. She fought against the perpetrator, who tried to steal her mother’s most treasured possession and after a scuffle, ended up falling out of her window and into the ground. Kakashi-sensei was there to walk with her to his apartment and had seen the whole thing. If she had fallen further more, she would have died instantly, but she only received a temporary spinal injury on her back and it was healed quickly by Hokage-sama.

Sakura was led by Hokage-sama towards another hallway, one she hasn’t really had a chance to explore. This particular hallway was located on the very first level, one that she heard from the nurses that wasn’t used all that much. She was told it was only used for the most ‘criminally insane,’ once with no hope of ever recovering.

They had reached the end of the hallway now and finally, after a few minutes, Hokage-sama stopped and turned to face the pink haired girl. “He’s in there,” she said quietly. The blond woman stepped aside, while her attendant opened the door for Sakura.

Shizune gave her an encouraging smile, in which Sakura returned with one of her own as she took a step forward inside the room. The door quietly closed behind her and she was greeted with a call from a feminine voice from across the room. “Sakura,” the voice called.

Sakura immediately recognized her mother’s voice. “Okasan?”

A lamp across the pink haired girl suddenly flicked on, revealing a middle aged woman sitting on a chair beside an occupied bed. She could see a lump underneath the blanket of the bed and this told her that someone she knew was laying there, waiting to see her. “He’s…he’s come home.”

Her mother stood up and in seconds, had wrapped her arms around her daughter in a tight embrace. “He wants to see you, Sakura. I…” She was crying now. Sakura could tell by the way she was breathing. “I…I was so shocked to see him. It’s been…ten years.”

Ten years…has it been THAT long? She couldn’t believe it herself as she glanced over her mother’s shoulder towards the figure lying on the bed. The figure moved so that his face could be seen from underneath the light that escaped from the small lamp. Could this really be her father? The father who abandoned his family for ten long years?

He gave a smile, but Sakura only returned it with a frown. Why had he come JUST now? “Sakura,” he called. “Wow, you’ve grown. Look at you.” From where she could see, Haruno Jounichi was injured badly. His left eye was battered and his nose looked broken. The pink haired girl examined him for a while, noting the white bandage wrapped around his torso.

She gently removed herself from her mother’s grasp and approached her father cautiously. Sakura couldn’t understand it…WHY was he here now? WHY had he come now? She wanted to know. She wanted HIM to explain EVERYTHING! “Where have you been?” was all she could ask. Her courage had suddenly left her.

Sakura doesn’t know much about her father. He was a famous negotiator around Konoha, adored by his friends and loved by his family. For twelve long years, Jounichi Haruno knew the difference between what to ask and what not to ask during dangerous missions. He was Konoha’s super weapon in time of war and was the brains in Hokage-sama’s palace. People knew that Sakura’s intelligence and cunning ways came from her father, but her weakness during a fight also came from him. In the long line of the Haruno family, there has been only ONE fighter amongst them, with the name of Akito Haruno. Other than that, the Haruno children were only known to have logical attributes rather than physical attributes.

Jounichi said nothing.

The pink haired girl took a step forward. “Why won’t you answer me? Where have you been all this time! Why are you here now? Why did you make okasan wait THIS long?”

This time, Jounichi turned his eyes away from her. “I wanted to protect my family, so I left. Don’t worry, once I’ve recovered, I’ll be out of your life for good.”

“That’s not…” Sakura clenched her fists at her sides. “That’s not what I want! I want my father back! I want him to stay! His WIFE needs him!”

Akano placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Sakura…”

She closed her lips. She didn’t want to talk anymore. If she continues to speak, then she won’t be able to stop the emotions that she has been holding in for so long. If only he hadn’t left…if only he had told his family what he was up to, then she wouldn’t be having these emotional problems. “Fine… You want to leave so much… I’ll agree to escort you back to Mist Village.”

“You don’t understand! I…”

“Then MAKE me understand because I REALLY don’t!”

“This is only for you and your mother’s protection…as well as the village’s…I hope at least THIS you can understand…” Jounichi looked up and stared into his daughter’s green eyes. She had his eyes…a bright emerald green.

Sakura had enough. She turned around and headed for the door without another word, leaving her mother and her father speechless.

--------------------

The rain had already fallen.

A single tear escapes and falls on a puddle created by the clouds.

“Sakura?”

She could hear someone calling her name, but she wasn’t turning her head towards that voice. She really didn’t understand anything anymore. All she wanted was to be happy…but now he’s come back. Ten years…she thought he had died, but it turns out, he wasn’t dead. He was alive and now he was going to go back dead to her again. She has this chance to be with him after being away for so long, but that chance would soon be gone after Jounichi Haruno recovers from his injuries.

“Sakura!”

She could hear the voice getting closer now as she shivered from the cold rain. She could feel her clothes soaking from the rain, but Sakura would not move from her spot on the boulder.

Then she felt someone putting a jacket over her shoulders.

Sakura looked up. For a while, the figure was blurry and she was unable to recognize the face staring back at her, until her ears could hear clearly his familiar voice. “Sakura! What are you doing? Do you want to get yourself sick?”

“Sa…Sasuke-kun?” Yes…it was him. She recognized his deep, deep voice.

Sasuke sighed and offered a hand to her. “You should get inside…you’ll get sick if you stay here.” He studied her for a minute. Something told him, she hasn’t even reached the front steps of her house and that she has been sitting on that piece of boulder that decorated the front yard for God knows how long.

The pink haired girl looked up and stared at Sasuke’s hand. She hesitated for a bit, but then she took it and was helped up on her feet. Shivering, the dark haired Chuunin led her at the front steps of the Haruno house. Sakura, with shaking hands, reached for her keys from inside her bag and unlocked the door, having to put so much effort in it since she was already wet and freezing cold.

Once they were inside, Sakura, with her feet soaking wet, removed her shoes and dumped them just beside her wet coat, in which she just hanged at the coat hanger beside the door. “Come in,” she mumbled to Sasuke.

Sasuke was hesitant at first, but he went inside anyway, closing the door behind him gently. He watched as Sakura marched heavily towards a small hallway, where three doors were located, two beside one another and one across from the other two. The pink haired girl went to the left side of the door and at once Sasuke heard the door close behind her.

Seconds later, Sakura was dressed up in her pajamas as soon as she left the room. Just as he suspected, they were pink and he had to admit, the pinks roses that adorned the attire suited Sakura very well. Sasuke didn’t know what to do at this point, except stand awkwardly by the door, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“What are you doing there? You’re welcome to join me for some coffee,” Sakura said quietly. The whole house was quiet, as if the pink haired Chuunin has been alone all her life. She went over to the kitchen and prepared two mugs.

This gesture told Sasuke that he had no choice but to take off his shoes and coat and hang his black coat where Sakura hanged hers. He joined her in seconds, unsure whether it was appropriate for him to sit down right away while she was still standing making the coffee.

Without looking back, Sakura suddenly said, “I won’t bite, Sasuke-kun.” She turned and smiled at him. “Daijoubu! Why don’t you sit down?”

Sasuke nodded and picked the nearest chair to him and sat down.

After that, everything was silent, except for the sound of the spoon banging against the ceramic mugs as Sakura mixed the coffee and water together. When she was done, the only sound was her walking over to the table and placing his mug in front of him and her pulling up a chair opposite of him to sit down.

For a moment, they sat in silence. Sasuke sipped his coffee, which was a lot bitter than he imagined coffee would be, while Sakura stared at hers.

“Sasuke-kun?” The silent air around them had suddenly been broken as the pink haired girl spoke.

The dark haired Chuunin looked up from his coffee. “Nani?”

Sakura took a deep breath and stared straight into his dark eyes. “You and I never really talked about what happened ten years ago when I…when I said THAT to you. You came back and…and…you acted like nothing happened...”

It took a while for Sasuke to register the whole information in his memories before he slowly nodded. He didn’t understand why she was mentioning this all of a sudden, when she had OTHER things to worry about. THAT, meaning her declaration of love for him ten years ago before he left to fight with Itachi. He didn’t know how to respond, so he kept silent for a while.

Sakura blinked and tried again. “How did you feel about what I said to you?”

How DID He feel? How DOES he feel now? He came back asking the same question and for ten long years the same question still plagued his mind. This girl, who had declared the most honest thing in his life to him, was sitting right in front of him, wanting to know what HIS honest answer was. He didn’t know how to answer that either. “I….I don’t know how I feel, Sakura. I’m sorry, I just don’t know.” This was ridiculous! He shouldn’t be here in the first place. He didn’t want to feel awkward than he already was. “I think I should go.” Sasuke stood up. “Thank you for the coffee. Get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.” God he was sounding like a mother! He turned to leave, but a hand on his arm had stopped him abruptly. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at Sakura who looked like she was about to cry.

“A…arigatou gozaimasu. Thank you for helping me out of my thoughts, or else I would’ve been badly sick.”

Sasuke nodded.

“Gomenne…” Sakura let go of his arm and looked down at her half empty mug. She wanted him to stay. She wanted him to comfort her, but she knew she couldn’t force him to do whatever she wanted him to do. This was Sasuke for crying out loud! When was he EVER the type of guy to listen to a girl’s cries? She was silly to think that Sasuke would EVER fall for her…she was silly to think that she was still in love with him after ten long years of being comrades in the battle field.

The dark haired Chuunin looked at her. Why on earth was she apologizing to him? He noticed a small glint in her eyes and after a few more seconds, a single tear came streaking down her cheeks.

“I…I must look pathetic to you crying like that,” she whispered, mostly to herself. Afraid of crying more, Sakura wiped her tears away quickly with her arms and mindlessly twirled her mug in between the palm of her hands. Suddenly, she began to laugh bitterly.

Sasuke lifted up a single eyebrow curiously.

“This is some birthday present I’ve got from a man who was never there for me,” she said quietly, lifting up the mug to her face and began sipping her coffee. “Happy Birthday to me!” She gave a long sigh before downing the last drop of her coffee. Sakura didn’t care anymore what Sasuke thought of her or how she was acting. Her father…her mother…Sasuke…They were the type of people that have hurt her for the last couple of years. Her mother’s sickness, Sasuke’s annoyed looks of her and her father’s return…they were all just too much for her.

Without thinking, she laid her face on the table in front of her, her left cheek cold against the wooden furniture built by her father all those years ago. To her mother, it was the fondest memory she had of him before he left and so she chose to keep the round table to where it originally was. She closed her eyes and only meant to sleep for a little bit, to give herself time to think but ended up falling asleep right there.

Sasuke stood there awkwardly, watching her eyes close into a deep slumber. He didn’t know why, but he found himself mesmerized by the way her hair glowed under the moonlight that was peeking through the kitchen window. He didn’t realize how long her hair had gotten…REALLY long, now reaching past her waist. He sighed, realizing that Sakura had indeed fallen asleep. He knew he couldn’t leave her asleep like that…he JUST knew. The dark haired Jounin-to-be turned and walked over to where Sakura was and looked down at her. “You really are pathetic…” He paused and brushed the back of his hand gently against her exposed cheek. Sakura was indeed attractive, though weak, but she was quite astonishing and she didn’t have to lift a finger to do so. He was wondering in his mind whether she noticed how pretty she looked. Sasuke blinked. Did he just give a compliment about Sakura’s looks? He shook his head in disbelief and took a long deep breath before lifting up Sakura’s body gently into his arms and carried her to her bed.

Chapter 2 – A Chaotic Illusion

There was a moment of silence between them. He kept glancing at the boy and then turning away every time the boy would look at him. Jounichi looked up at his daughter who was walking just a bit ahead of them. He never knew how much of a beauty she had become…so much like her mother. But he knew that the stubborn side of her came from him.

“It’s getting dark…we should camp for the night…it would be too dangerous if we’re walking around in the dark unattended…” Sasuke went on ahead to look around for a spot.

Sakura stopped to rest nearby a tree, her arms folded across her chest, while trying to avoid eye contact with her father.

“Is there something going on with you and that young man?” Jounichi suddenly asked, joining his daughter on the tree. “I mean that boy is an Uchiha…do you really think being involved with an Uchiha is a good idea?” Normally, he wouldn’t mind if his daughter was involved with anyone, except maybe for Sasuke. He remembered the boy as being the type to drive away a lot of people due to what had happened to the whole clan. He was there when he Sasuke was only ten years old, being taken gently by the hand by Hokage-sama. Jounichi never really figured out what happened after that.

The pink haired twenty-two year old frowned up at her father. She gave him a stern look before looking away towards where Sasuke had disappeared to. “Why does it matter to you?” She couldn’t BELIEVE her father was telling her not to get involved with Sasuke. He had no idea HOW much she’s been involved with his life already…how much he had to go through, she had to go through in her heart…the pain, the suffering…all of it. However, the only difference was that she wasn’t there to see how it turned out in the end.

Sasuke came back a couple minutes later without his backpack. “I think I found the right spot to camp for the night…” He turned and left. Sakura followed him without a word, while Jounichi decided to keep their conversation at that and deal with it later before following his daughter.

Seconds later, they ended up in an opening where the tallest of all trees were surrounding the camp Sasuke had clearly made. Fire was already burning in the middle of a single tree stump, a large fallen tree to their right and a readied tent for a single person to sleep in. Sasuke settled himself on the tree stump, while Sakura decided to sit where the fallen tree was and stare at the fire. Jounichi glanced at the tent, where no one seemed to be occupying it and turned his attention towards the boy who seemed to make his daughter’s heart flutter…or so what he’s heard from his wife.

“You can have the tent for the night…” Sakura spoke, without looking at her father. “I’m not too tired…” She nodded towards Jounichi’s arm that was resting around his torso where he had been hit by a kunai.

Jounichi wasn’t sure he was referring to him or to Sasuke, but since Sasuke made no reaction, he figured it was him she was talking to. He sighed and walked over to where his daughter was sitting and sat down beside her. “I’ve endured a lot of injuries over the years and this doesn’t compare to any of those…It’s just a scratch.”

“So I guess the injury in your heart counts as one of them?” This time, Sakura glanced up at her father with a hurt look on her face. Jounichi felt his heart had been ripped piece by piece by that look…that was the same look his wife gave him the moment he stepped back into his family’s world after ten long years.

Sasuke could only listen. He wasn’t part of this little quarrel they had between father and daughter. If he stepped into this, he would only make things worse, not better. Besides…he didn’t know how to deal with this sort of stuff.

“Sakura…” Jounichi sighed and turned his head to stare at the fire in front of them. “I know you’re still angry with me about not telling you where I’ve been for the last ten years. I really want to tell you, but right now I don’t think I’m ready. I don’t think you’d be able to grasp the situation I’m in.”

The pink haired jounin stood up, her fists clenched at her sides. “Then TRY ME! I’m no longer a child, otousan! I am twenty-two years old…I am no longer the naïve little girl you once knew!”

“I JUST DON’T WANT YOU INVOLVED! THAT’S ALL!” Jounichi had stood up on his feet, his whole six feet form towering over his daughter’s five foot six. The wrinkles on his forehead multiplied the moment the frown and then the anger showed up on his face. The sound of his deep, resounding voice echoed amongst the trees.

Sakura stood her ground, not intimated by his tall form at all.

Sasuke would dare not look. He sat silently, carving a piece of wood which used to be the size of his hand and now had turned into one that was now the size of his palms. Then, he heard something rustling in the bushes. Sasuke froze in his spot, stood up stared at the bushes. “Sakura…”

Sakura looked up. “Nani?” She followed his wandering eyes to where dark bushes were moving slightly in a slant. It stopped for a second and then it continued on to shake. Jounichi looked as well. If he was a fighter now, he’d be taking out his kunai from his side pocket where he would usually put it.

“Stay here,” Sakura commanded to her father. Sasuke lifted up his hand to stop her from following him. “No, you stay here,” he said. “Protect your father while I go and check it out.”

Sakura frowned. “I think YOU should stay here Sasuke-kun while I go check it out myself…” She took a step forward ahead of Sasuke, but Sasuke would not tolerate such rude behavior. He placed a hand on her shoulder and firmly squeezed it. Sakura squirmed under his rough touch and jerked her head to look at him.

He was looking down at her frowning. “Stop trying to avoid your father…” Sasuke walked pass her and stopped a few feet away from Sakura before turning his head to look back at her. “Besides…it’s both our jobs to protect him. So do your part and protect him.” With that said, Sasuke disappeared behind the dark bushes.

Sakura stared at where he disappeared and touched the shoulder where Sasuke had squeezed. She sighed and walked silently back to her father and silently took out her kunai from the side of her leg where the pocket was attached and stood in front of him, trying to avoid his eyes again.

“You know, you’ve really grown up,” Jounichi suddenly said. “I would’ve expected you to give the position as the enforcer and let the man have his way, but you…you really stood your ground. I’m so proud of you.”

“You don’t know me long enough to say that,” Sakura replied without looking at him. “Just stay where you are…it could be an ambush.” She gripped her hand around her kunai and stared at the dark bushes. Sasuke hadn’t come back yet, so something must have happened and she was beginning to worry.

--------------

...Meanwhile...

Sasuke looked around, his sharingan at the ready. The bush began to rustle more and he took a slow step towards it. It was odd, but if anyone were to attack them, the person on the other side of the bush would’ve jumped out of his or her spot and charged at him by now. “Come out! There’s no point in hiding! You have been found so…why don’t you come out nice and!” He quickly took out his kunai and was about to throw it at the perpetrator, when something small and white came out of the bushes. It stopped, went on its hind legs and smelled the air before running off. Sasuke sighed and was about to put his kunai back into its place when he realized something. “Kuso!” It was odd that a white rabbit was here in the spring time when it should be hibernating somewhere… “KUSO!” he hissed before turning around and running back to where Sakura and Jounichi were. Naruto would’ve fallen for that the second time, but HIM? What pisses him off was that fact that HE, Uchiha Sasuke would fall for such a trick!

-------------

“AH!” She winced as she was pinned against the tree behind her by a large hand that was choking her to death. Sakura coughed, searching in her pockets to find a secondary weapon to slice as the man’s arms. She glanced at her father, who was held restraint by a second person. She hadn’t seen them coming, let alone FEEL them coming. She wasn’t really good at that sort of stuff, that’s why she’s quite surprised at herself for making it this far. However, it wasn’t the time to ponder that. She had to find a way to get away from this large man’s grasp before he kills her.

“I could have so much fun with you since you’re strikingly hot! But…” the man nipped at her ear. Sakura winced. “You’re in the way…” He grinned and licked the side of her mouth.

“SAKURA!” Jounichi tried to struggle his way out from the other shinobi’s grasp, but the wound in his side kept him from doing so. The other shinobi kicked his wound and he fell to his side, writhing in pain.

Sakura could only watch as her father was being kicked and beaten. Suddenly, she felt seething pain in her right arm. The pink haired Chuunin wanted to scream, but she wouldn’t dare. She didn’t want to show her fear…not yet. Not in front of this man who seems to want to destroy every inch of her.

“Yai!”

The man looked up at the man who now gripped his hand tightly around Jounichi’s hair, pulling him up in a sitting position. This man seemed more relaxed… more calm, but Sakura knew better than to judge anyone by his looks. From where she stood, or rather, was pinned against, this man with the long sandy blond hair looked to be the deadliest out of the two of them.

“I need her to be un-harmed. Yamato-sama and Kasumi-sama do not want her to be harmed. Once they are finished with her, you can go at it after. Right now…” He lifted up Jounichi by the hair until his eyes were leveled with him and glared down at Jounichi. “This man is the priority. HE’S the one who needs the punishment…not her.” He punched Jounichi in the gut and he fell unconscious on the ground.

Sakura slowly moved his arms behind her back, making sure none of them could see and reached inside her back pocket to find her second kunai resting inside.

The man who was called Yai had a disappointed look on his face. He stared back at Sakura and leaned his chin on her shoulder and whispered, “You’re one lucky b***h….”

The pink haired Chuunin smirked. “Lucky? Heh. Lucky is my middle name!” With a swift move, she sliced at the hand choking her.

The kunai sliced at the back of his hand, forcing Yai to cry in pain. “AARGGHHH!” He grabbed the back of his hand with his other hand and stumbled backwards. Sakura fell on the soft earth, coughing. Yai glared at her. “WHY YOU LITTLE!” He winced when a second kunai comes flying pass him, slicing his arm and hitting the tree where it stayed. It barely missed Sakura. Yai looked over his shoulder as a second figure comes charging forward…fast…his dark spiky hair visible to the naked eye. He was even more difficult to find since his dark clothes camouflaged every movement. He moved like lightning and it was impossible to detect where he would go next. Yai jumped out of the way as a second kunai whizzes pass him, scratching his other arm. He didn’t see Sasuke coming when all of a sudden he noticed him appear right in front of him, blocking Sakura.

“Sakura! Are you all right?” he said, without looking at Sakura.

Sakura slowly got up from the ground and nodded. “Yeah…I’m fine…I think…” She glanced over at her father lying on the ground. “Otousan!” She was about to go after him, when Sasuke stops her. She looks up confused.

“Sakura…stay where you are. This man…” He glares at the man standing beside the unconscious Jounichi. “He looks dangerous. When I’ve driven him far enough from your father, grab him quickly and leave.”

“So…you want to fight me?” The man smiled, his whole body calm, but it seems to be emitting a lot of power. “Well, go ahead. I give you the honor of attacking first.” He goes into his fighting position…which was more like standing still than anything else. Sasuke could feel the amount of chakra in this man and it has a lot. He needs to be careful this time as he stands face to face with him. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself…” The man smiled and bows politely. “My name is Mizoguchi Kayo and you are?”

Sasuke frowns. “Uchiha….Sasuke….”

“Ah, you are the great Sasuke Uchiha! It’s a pleasure to meet you Uchiha…kun!” He claps his hands together in excitement, sending off chills down Sasuke’s spine. Kayo continues to smile and before Sasuke even had a chance, he charges, not giving Sasuke a chance at all to recover from his odd behavior.

Sakura gasped, watching in horror.

“Sakura! Get out of here now!” Sasuke quickly shifted his left feet so it was a bit behind his right one and gets into fighting position, waiting until he was close enough, his hands clenched in front of him. In the middle of his attack, Kayo quickly draws a sword from his side and slashes it towards Sasuke.

Sakura obeyed, lifting her father up from the ground with so much effort. “Come on Otousan, you have to help me out here!” Jounichi looked up tiredly and nodded, staggering alongside her as they left for the safety of the woods.

Sasuke barely managed to get away, when the sword was so close into slashing the front part of his skin. To his relief, it only managed to tear the front part of his shirt. He scanned the way Kayo moved with his sharingan and began copying his attacks, only just dodging every assault he was throwing at him.

“Copying my moves?” Kayo spoke, appearing behind Sasuke. He lifted up his arms and does a seal with his hands. The taller man pressed a hand around Sasuke’s head (Sasuke unable to move at this point) and shocked him. Sasuke screamed in pain. He kicked at Kayo and somersaulted backwards away from his grasp. “Are you able to copy that?” The man spoke in a slightly different tone of voice from what Sasuke was used to.

This was going to be a tough battle…not that he wasn’t used to it.

Sasuke took out his large shuriken, Fuuma and charges at him. “Fire hurricane!” He speeds up and throws his Fuuma at Kayo and while the weapon was speeding towards his enemy, Sasuke summons his fire jitsu, creating an illusion of a fire hurricane. Kayo didn’t seem surprised, while he stands there, not even flinching. Sasuke was aware of this, but he continued on with his attack, watching the fire hurricane reach its end point. Kayo stood his ground, clenching his fists together and just as the fire began to burn, he lifted up his palms and with a speed of light, he quickly performs his hand seals. He smirks and glanced over at Sasuke before jumping out of harm’s way. “Let’s see how well you do with this, Uchiha-kun!” After finishing his hand seals, Kayo formed his right hand like a gun and pretends to shoot at Sasuke.

Sasuke watched him curiously, but whatever he had done, would not affect him because nothing was working. He was surprised though that his fire hurricane had suddenly dissolved like nothing ever happened. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, he was surrounded with dead bodies. Sasuke blinked and looked down at all of them. They were all wearing the Uchiha emblem on their backs. A woman, dressed in a pink dress looked up from the ground, her eyes a blood red and stared at Sasuke, reaching out her hands towards him. Sasuke shook his head. ‘No this can’t be real,’ he thought, backing up a little. ‘This is an illusion…” Sasuke looked up, smirking. “This won’t work on me!”

Then other dead bodies followed along the woman, their eyes all blood red, calling his name. Sasuke noticed a dead woman with familiar long pink hair begging for her to be saved. Her familiar green eyes were the only thing that gave away who she was. They were crawling towards him, all ten or twenty bodies that were calling at him. Sasuke quickly took his kunai and stabbed himself on the leg.

“It’s not going to work, Uchiha-kun. You might believe it will work with you from before, but this time, it won’t. My illusions are real and active…” Kayo laughed, his voice echoing in his head.

‘Nani?’

The woman with the pink hair stood up, staggering towards him, her eyes now turning into the same red all the other dead bodies possessed. From out of nowhere, she produced a large sword and began attacking him…skillfully even, familiar to Sasuke. It was the same thing Kayo was doing.

“Everything is connected, Uchiha-kun!” Kayo was nowhere to be found as Sasuke noticed. The woman slashed at his arm, leaving a deep gash.

Sasuke winced and glanced down at the wound at his stomach. ‘Everything is connected…’ He placed a hand on his wounded stomach and stared at the blood in his hands. ‘Everything is connected…Masaka! That first attack! It must have triggered the illusion and his second attack, the electricity in my brain must have triggered the way I think!’

“Good! Now you’re getting it!”

Sasuke dodged as more attacks came his way from the pink haired woman. When he found the opening, he summoned his fire attack and burned her to the ground, as well as the others. However, more dead bodies came at him. ‘I got it!’ He grabbed his kunai and slashed himself on the stomach. Sasuke winced, the pain adding to the wound that Kayo inflicted on his stomach from earlier. Sasuke looked up, the illusions quickly disappearing and he was once again face to face with his enemy.

Kayo smiled and clapped his hands together. “Very good! I didn’t think you’d understand the concept of my perfect attack! You truly are from an advanced bloodline! I’m sure your mother and father would’ve been very proud of you!”

Kayo! Forget about him for now! I want you to come back to me!

“What’s that?” Kayo suddenly said, looking up at the sky.

Sasuke’s eyes furrowed, wondering who in the hell he was talking to. He fell to his knees, his arm over his double wounds on his stomach. However, he quickly stood up, grabbing his large shuriken from his back and gets ready for a second fight when Kayo looked back at him. “Well, well, you are in luck…” He smiled and bowed. “It has been a pleasure fighting you, but right now I must go.” Kayo turned around and picked up his fallen companion from the ground and disappeared behind a thick mist that appeared from out of nowhere. Sasuke froze for a bit and when he knew they were gone for sure, he turned and began staggering towards the woods where he believed Sakura and her father had gone.

---------------

“I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART! I WANT YOU STAY WITH ME!” Sakura opened her eyes and looked around groggily. She had fallen asleep on one of the big rocks, her whole body now ached from sleeping on the hard surface. The pink haired Chuunin couldn’t believe how long it’s been since she’s dreamed of that time she had confessed her love to Sasuke before he left.

Why now?

She has finally begun to forget that embarrassing moment and has finally begun to forget her feelings towards him. Sakura promised herself that whatever the circumstances, she wouldn’t fall for him again. She just wanted to be his friend from now on, a true teammate whom he could tell secrets to.

The young woman of twenty-two, after her birthday has passed, found her father asleep on the ground adjacent to her. To her relief, she could see him breathing slowly and knew that Jounichi Haruno had survived that assault from the two shinobis. She stood up and slowly walked towards the front entrance of the cave. She was starting to feel worried for Sasuke. He’s been gone for at least two hours.

Sakura sighed and walked back towards the very back of the cave, back towards her father, when suddenly, she heard someone staggering in. Startled, she jumped around and noticed Sasuke leaning against the entrance, bleeding all over. “Sasuke-kun!” she yelped, running up to him.

Sasuke looked at her and without a word; he closed his eyes and fell forward on the ground.

Chapter 3 – Father and Daughter

“You almost gave me a heart attack, Sasuke-kun…” Sakura spoke gently to him, while she finished bandaging Sasuke’s wounded torso. She had already finished bandaging his wounded left leg as well, while at the same time, wondering what had happened in the battle against that cold looking man. When she saw him fall on the ground, she was reminded of the time when Sasuke was in a long coma before the Chuunin exam even happened.

Sasuke hit himself mentally in the head for not being able to fight back better. He had dealt with those dangerous fights before, but why hadn’t he beaten the man? He wasn’t even close to injuring him! He gritted his teeth angrily and winced when he tried to move from his spot. A hand gently placed itself on his shoulder. Sasuke looked up to find Sakura looking at him worriedly.

“You shouldn’t move so much Sasuke-kun…besides…” She looked away, putting the extra rolls of bandages back in her backpack. “You’ll get him next time.”

The dark haired man looked at her curiously. Sakura noticed him looking at her and she looked up and smiled, sighing deeply. “Well, I’ve known you forever so I’ve caught up with your facial expressions when you’re feeling a certain way…”

Sasuke stared at her for a second, then turned away, glancing at the sleeping man on the floor, with a long pink jacket that covered only a portion of his body. He noticed that it was Sakura’s pink trench coat in which he wasn’t used to her wearing. Actually, he barely saw her wearing it. “How is he doing?”

Sakura looked to where Sasuke was staring at and took a long deep breath. “He’ll survive, I think…” He glanced back at her. She had on a look of regret, worry and anger, all mixed into one thing in which Sasuke could not comprehend. He could predict one thing about her, but so far, she’s been so hard to understand these days. Ever since he returned from his battle with his brother, it seemed Sakura has been distant, as if she no longer…Sasuke shook his head mentally and slowly stood up, having to stagger a few times from the pain he was experiencing right now. “Where are you going?” Sakura’s gentle voice spoke. There was a bit of worry in her tone of voice.

“We have to keep moving and-!” He stopped when he noticed a shadow moving in close, followed by the sound of footsteps coming their way. Sasuke slowly took out his kunai, while Sakura, noticing the same thing, also took out hers.

The shadow became smaller and smaller and the sound of footsteps became louder. Seconds later, the same man whom injured Sasuke very badly, appeared in front of them. He gave a bow to Sasuke and Sakura, before stepping aside to let someone else in. Sasuke flinched, while Sakura’s heart beat a lot faster than it normally did.

A second figure appeared in front of them, this time, much younger. He had long red hair tied up into a ponytail behind him and his eyes were an eerie aqua green, similar to Gaara, but much brighter. He didn’t appear to be much older than them, but his height made it impossible to guess exactly how old he was. The man was at least two more inches taller than Sakura’s father. The man stopped and smirked. “THESE are the two that defeated Yai?”

Kayo nodded, standing a bit behind the man. “Mostly that boy over there, Yamato-sama.” He pointed to Sasuke, who kept his hand gripped around his kunai.

The man named Yamato, turned his head to stare at Sasuke. “I see,” he said, lifting up a curious eyebrow. “Remind me to kill Yai when I get back…”

There was a disappointed look on Kayo’s face, but he bowed and said, “Yes, Yamato-sama.”

“So you are the one Kayo told me about…” Yamato took a few steps forward and stopped just as close as he could possibly get to Sasuke and leaned down so low that their noses were almost touching. Yamato smirked at him. “I do not see any resemblance with your brother. He was a LOT more appealing than you…” He leaned back and laughed. He turned his eyes on Sakura. “It’s nice to meet you, neechan!” Yamato smiled at him and turned around.

Sakura blinked, a hint of red coloring her cheeks.

Sasuke gripped his hand tightly around his kunai that his knuckles were turning white. He gritted his teeth, now pissed off by the man’s comment. He was ready to slice off the man’s long red hair before a voice stopped him.

“NO WAIT!”

Sakura and Sasuke both turned their eyes to Jounichi, who was slowly standing up from his spot on the floor. He staggered for a bit, but managed to lift his head up at Yamato and Kayo. “I don’t want any trouble,” he continued. “I don’t want anyone else hurt.”

Yamato turned his head to look at him. “Well no one would be if they just do as they are told!”

“WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?” Sakura yelled. She too, gripped her hands tightly around her kunais. She was ready to charge, when she felt herself being lifted off the ground. A hand suddenly gripped itself around her throat. She coughed and looked down to find Kayo grinning up at her.

Yamato laughed, not looking at any of them. “Tsk, tsk what a temper your daughter has, Jounichi…I wonder where she gets that from.” He glanced at Jounichi.

Jounichi felt his heart beat faster. Just watching her being choked to death like that, was killing him. He didn’t need this…he didn’t WANT this. Not like this…

“SAKURA!” Sasuke yelled. “You b*****d! LET HER GO!” He was about to attack, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Sasuke turned to find Jounichi standing behind him now.

Jounichi shook his head at Sasuke. “No, I don’t want anyone else hurt.”

“What about your daughter? Don’t you care about her?” Sasuke was annoyed with this man. It makes him wonder how on earth he could be Sakura’s father when all he’s done is run away from his family and then come back ten years later only to ruin his family once again. It was THIS man who deserves to be hurt.

“Of course I care about her…I care about her a great deal.” Jounichi glances at his daughter. “I’m sorry for being such a terrible father to you Sakura. I haven’t done anything to deserve you so…”

Sakura stared at him worriedly.

“I’ll go with them quietly…please don’t look for me.” He removed his hand from Sasuke’s shoulder and looks at Yamato. “I’m ready to go with you.”

Yamato looks at Kayo and nods head, telling him to let go of the girl. Kayo lets her go immediately and she falls on the ground hard, coughing for air. “Good choice,” Yamato spoke, walking off. Kayo stopped behind Jounichi and pushes him. Jounichi did not fight back instead he takes one glance at his daughter before following them.

Sakura quickly stood up. “OTOUSAN! DON’T GO WITH THEM! We still need to take you to the Mist Village!” There were tears now escaping Sakura’s eyes. “You…you still need to tell me what’s going on. You still have to explain to me where you’ve been in the last ten years…”

Jounichi stops and looks at her one last time and smiled. “You’ve done enough…thank you.” He glanced at Sasuke. “Please take care of her for me…” Wind surrounded all three of them as they stood outside. Sasuke watched, paying attention to every move they make, in case they try to attack, but to his surprise none of them did.

“OTOUSAN!” Sakura ran towards them, but in mere seconds, they were already gone. Sakura stood there, frozen, covered in a whirlwind of leaves that were left behind. She looked up, unable to grasp the situation they were in. Sasuke watched her for a moment. There was something mesmerizing about the way she stood there, her hair flying in all directions from the wind, her hands clasped together over her chest, her tears twinkling in the night. “OTOUSAN!” she yelled again.

-----------------------

FLASHBACK...

She was six years old, a little girl with so many dreams. Her long pink hair flowed freely behind her, a red headband pulling back her bangs and showing off her forehead. Kids have always teased her about how big her forehead was, but her parents, her dear sweet parents always made sure she was thought of as beautiful. That is why Sakura Haruno loved them very much.

Sakura kneeled down to touch the soft petals of a fallen pink flower from their tree in the backyard. She loved the smell of sakura in bloom. Not only did they smell wonderful, they bloomed into beautiful flowers in the spring. She has often wondered why her parents named her ‘Sakura,’ when she knew she wasn’t that close to an actual sakura flower. A sakura was much more radiant than herself, much softer looking and even more beautiful. She touched her own pink hair…maybe it was because of her pink hair that they named her after the flower?

“What are you doing, sweetheart?”

The little girl looked up and noticed her father walking down the cemented pathway her mother made around the garden. Her mother loved the garden and it was the best place where the young Sakura can forget all the worries in her life. The dancing tulips and the glittering roses were amongst the beautiful, but none could compare to the beauty that was blossoming in the spring of the cherry blossom. She stood up excitedly, expecting her father to return tomorrow, but this was definitely a surprise. “PAPA!” Sakura ran to her heart’s content towards her father and she was scooped lovingly in his arms. “I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow?”

Jounichi smiled and kissed her cheek. “To me, it’s already tomorrow.” He glanced towards the garden. “So what were you doing before I got here?”

Sakura pointed excitedly towards the sakura tree. “I was watching the sakura flowers bloom! And it’s still blooming! It’s so pretty!”

“Oh really? Do you want to watch it together then?”

“Okay!”

Jounichi carried his daughter over to the sakura tree and stood beneath it. The pink petals began to fall faster as the wind picked up and they could both smell the fragrance getting stronger and stronger, as a sign of the blossoming flowers in the trees. He gently puts Sakura back down on the ground, now holding her hand. They stood there silently, just watching the petals dance in the air.

“Papa?” Sakura spoke gently.

He looked down at his daughter. “Yes?”

“Why did you and mama name me Sakura?” She was looking up, her bright green eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Well…” Jounichi leaned down and picked up his daughter in his arms. He smiled at her and reached up with one hand to grab a blossom flower from the tree nearest to him. He placed the flower behind his daughter’s ear. “Just like a seed, when you were born, you were just so tiny and vulnerable. Your mother wanted to name you something that as you grow up, you would bloom into someone beautiful. So, she named you Sakura. Every spring, a sakura flower grows from a tree and make the tree beautiful and that’s just exactly how you turned out.” He curled a strand of pink hair behind his daughter’s ear. “You’ve grown into the most beautiful girl, even prettier than any other girls in your school. Your mother and I are so proud to know that your heart too…” He placed a palm against Sakura’s heart. “Has become even prettier than any other girl’s.”

“Really?” Sakura asked, smiling.

Jounichi nodded. “Oh yes. That’s why your mother and I love you very much.”

Sakura smiled brightly again. “I love you and mama too, papa!” She hugged her father, the flower from her ear falling down softly on the ground.

END OF FLASHBACK

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Sakura picked up the pink trench-coat from the ground and stared at it. He had lied to her that time. If BOTH of them loved her, why would he leave her behind without any explanations whatsoever? Why did he suddenly tell them not to attack those two people and then suddenly walk off with them?

Sasuke watched her for a moment as she stood there, not saying a word. Really, he wasn’t good with this. Being a comforter was the last thing he’d be, especially if he hadn’t come across with this kind of experience before. He didn’t really grow up with a family; so for starters, he thought that Sakura was even lucky to have two parents. Deciding on something, Sasuke picked up Sakura’s backpack filled with bandages and some other stuff and handed it to her. “We’re going after him,” he suddenly said. He grabbed his own backpack and put it on as well.

The pink haired chuunin looked up, surprised at this decision and blinked. “What?”

He couldn’t believe it either. Normally, if they failed a mission, the best thing to do was go back to Konoha and inform the Hokage-sama on what had happened and from there, have her decide on what to in this situation. However, it was the look on Sakura’s face that led Sasuke to decide to go after Jounichi. It wasn’t like he felt sorry for her or anything or the fact that he cared for her… he just thought she looked pathetic, that’s all… “You heard what I said.” He shifted his feet and began walking out of the cave. “We’re going to find your father and once we do, you can ask as many questions as you like.”

Sakura stared at his back and quickly followed him. Did she hear that right? Did he really care for her this much to make such a decision? Had he finally admitted his friendship towards her? No matter how much it may hurt that he will always think of her as his teammate and now a friend, it still felt good at least to turn to someone and tell them your feelings. It’s not like she still loved him anyway…right?

She was walking beside him now. Oh good, she caught up, he thought. Sasuke looked around. The aura left by Jounichi and the two men was still very strong, but he knew both of them should be careful about following that, since it could lead them to a trap. “Do you know where they went?” she finally asked, after a long silence. “This forest is awfully big.” Sasuke didn’t answer, which meant for her to be quiet. And so, she shut her mouth and followed him. She watched as he marked a tree with his kunai, just in case they get lost in the forest.

They had walked about half a mile, when they were suddenly brought back to where they started from. Sakura said nothing, though in her mind she was quite frustrated, confused at the same time and wondering what went on in Sasuke’s head to suddenly have them go back to the starting point of their journey to bring back her father. “Sasuke-kun…”

Sasuke didn’t answer again instead he began walking once more. Sakura sighed and followed him for the second time. And, just like before, they have only walked half a mile until they were brought back again to the beginning. However, instead of getting frustrated or trying for the third time to get out of the forest, Sasuke looked around the tree he marked and noticed something odd about that tree and the tree beside it. He hadn’t realized it before but the other tree also had a mark in which he didn’t remember putting in. Someone else must have come back for them and had done this in order for them to get lost. “They know we’ve followed them, so pay attention to where we are, Sakura…” He looked to where Sakura was, and she was sitting on a tree stump. “They’ve done something to keep us lost.”

Sakura looked up and nodded her mind wandering. For a moment there, Sasuke wondered whether she had heard him the first time. “What have they done? I don’t see anyone attacking us.”

The dark haired Chuunin moved to where the two points meet and put his hand on the tree nearest to him. “Someone has put a jitsu to keep us trapped in this forest. We’ve been going around and around for nearly two hours now. It seems they knew we’d follow them eventually.”

“So all we have to do is break the seal right?” Sakura spoke, standing up to stand beside Sasuke and do the same thing he was doing. She moved her hand around and eventually her hand touched Sasuke’s. She stared at their two hands touching and slowly removed hers. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, before walking back to the tree stump.

“It’s not uh…impossible, but in this case I think this seal is temporary.”

“How do you know?”

Sasuke turned around too quickly to look at Sakura, when the pain in his side became visible again. He winced and placed an arm over it. “It’s- it’s because of the environment the jitsu is in. Some jitus don’t really last long depending on how or where they’re using it.”

“So how long do you think it will last?” Sakura stood up. “Sasuke-kun, your wound is bleeding.” She sighed. “You really shouldn’t move so abruptly.” The pink haired kneeled down beside the tree stump instead of sitting back down on it and patted it, telling him to sit there.

Sasuke turned back around. “I’m fine,” he said, staring at the tree. There must be something on the tree that could deactivate the jitsu. He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned over to the tree and knocked on it. It was hollow…most trees weren’t THIS hollow.

“Sasuke-kun…”

Sasuke didn’t listen, instead he continued knocking on the other parts of tree, and most of them weren’t that hollow except for the one he knocked on earlier. “Sakura, there is something here.” He knocked on that hollow surface again, as he turned to glance at Sakura.

“Sasuke-kun, please don’t try to move so much!” Sakura repeated, almost yelling now. She approached him and tugged at the sleeve of his shirt. “I don’t want you to die!” Sasuke stood there, shocked by her actions. All he could do was look down and do nothing as she continued to rant. Sakura repeated her words over and over again, tears now falling from her eyes. “Why do people want to leave me so much? Do they hate me so much that they would rather be injured and slowly die instead of seeing me? Why do they risk their lives for me? Am I not good enough for-?” She stopped when she felt strong arms suddenly go around her. “No…let go,” Sakura spoke, shaking her head, trying to get away, but Sasuke would not let go.

Sasuke didn’t know what he was doing at this point. Maybe it was the fact that all he COULD do was embracing her in his arms and say nothing. He felt her shaking and soon he could feel her burying her face in his chest and crying her heart out. He felt her grabbing the back of his shirt, a sign of burden for the pink haired Chuunin. To be honest, he was quite surprised at his own actions and the fact that Sakura had any problems at all. He always thought, because Sakura always held a smile on her face every time he saw her, that Haruno Sakura had a loving family. However, Sasuke was all wrong. “I guess you and I are similar in some ways, Sakura,” he suddenly said, without even thinking it.

Sakura stopped crying for a bit to listen.

“We both have problems with at least one member of our own family,” he said, putting his arms back down, but she was still holding on really tightly, her face still buried in his chest. It really did kill him if she cried so much.

Sakura looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. “You’re right…” It was such a bright smile that Sasuke admitted was quite cute, although he would never admit it. “Thank you, Sasuke-kun.”

Sasuke nodded and walked back to the tree. “Did you see this?”

Sakura nodded. “Yes, you showed me.”

The dark haired Chuunin knocked on that hollow surface the third time. “There’s something behind this spot right here.” He closed his eyes and summoned his Sharingan and allowed his Chidori to appear. “Stand back,” he warned.

Sakura watched as the red in his eyes appeared again and in his right hand, sparks began to appear around his fingers. She took a few steps back. “Chidori!” He yelled, touching the palm of his hand with the electricity. Seconds later, the tree was found cut in half. Sasuke looked inside the tree, while at the same time he could hear Sakura coming back to his side, looking in as well. Inside the tree, he found a kunai with a seal paper attached to it that said, “Explode.”

“SAKURA!” Sasuke grabbed her waist and they both landed on the ground, with their heads ducked just in time to hear the loud BANG around the trees. Sasuke kept his and Sakura’s head bowed low as the explosions continued its massacre in the trees. Curious, Sasuke quickly looked up and noticed that at least six trees had been completely demolished, but it led to a new opening in which Sasuke was hoping for. He was ready to get up off of Sakura, when Sakura’s voice startled him.

“Sasuke-kun! Your wound!”

Sasuke looked down at her, a look of worry in her bright green eyes. He slowly turned his head down at his wound and noticed that the bandage had come off, revealing the gash in his stomach.

“I’m so sorry! It wasn’t put in properly!”

“Don’t worry about that, we have to get going.” He quickly got off of her and helped Sakura up. “Look, the explosion created a new path that wasn’t there before,” he explained. “The seal has been broken.”

“At least let me put more bandages on it more properly!” There was a tone of defiance in her voice this time, telling him that she had enough of repeating herself. Sasuke sighed, giving up turned to face her.

Sakura looked around for her backpack and was relieved when it didn’t explode among the rest of the trees and grabbed it quickly, taking out the bandages. “You have to take off your shirt,” she commanded.

Sasuke was about to protest, but he lifted up his shirt slowly and allowed Sakura access to his wound. She dabbed more alcohol into it, making Sasuke wince and watched her do her work. He hadn’t really watched her bandaging up anyone. Her soft hands moved around, touching his bare skin as she began working through his wound with the bandages she brought along with her just in case. He watched and part of him admired the way she worked. There was so much concentration for someone whose mind worried about the problems in her life. Normally, he wouldn’t have that kind of patience, but her own patience put Sasuke in a whirlwind of new emotions he has never felt before.

“There! Done! See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” She smiled up at him and handed him his shirt back. “We can finally get going, but if you do as much moving to have that bleed again, you HAVE to let me know, or else I won’t speak to you again!” She winked and turned. “It’s this way right?”

Sasuke watched her back, her long pink hair flowing. “Yes.” He blinked a couple of times and snapped out of it before walking pass Sakura to lead the way to the new path that had been created. What just happened back there? He thought to himself. There were too many things swirling in his mind that Sasuke decided to erase that memory from it. There was no need to worry for something that small anyway…

---------------------------

“Don’t you think that was much too easy, niichan?” A woman with short red hair looked up from painting her nails and glanced at her twin brother who sat on a chair, watching the glowing crystal ball before him.

“That’s expected from a man born from the Uchiha Clan,” he said, smirking, instead of disappointed with the fact that the two had gotten away. His long red hair flipped to the other side of his shoulder as he turned to look at his sister. “Neechan, maybe it’s time that you and Kayo show our guests the RIGHT way to the Mist Village, ne?” He gave his sister a smile and turned his head towards his very trusted friend, who was standing by the door obediently.

The red haired woman glanced at Kayo and scoffed. “Work with him? Yamato, didn’t I tell you before that I DO NOT work with amateurs like him?”

Yamato raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh now, now, don’t be so harsh on him, Kasumi. I believe that when you start working with someone knew, you will learn to work WELL with him! I mean, wasn’t that the same with you and Yai?”

Kasumi glared at him and stood up, wiping off imaginary dust off of her miniskirt. “Then why did you have to go on and killing my precious, Yai-chan? He and I were having fun!”

“Because I am very protective of you.” He stood up from his chair and walked over to her. “He was eyeing that pink haired girl the moment he set his eyes on her. He was cheating on you!”

Kasumi frowned. “Well even then, you could’ve let ME kill him for being such a jerk!”

Yamato smiled and placed a hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you, but I wanted you to keep your energy. Maybe you and Kayo can hit it off as well…who knows, he could be the next man for you.”

Kasumi jerked her face away from her brother and glanced at the crystal ball. “Actually, I have someone else in mind…” She approached the crystal ball and watched as Sasuke’s face popped into the crystal ball. “He’s very cute. I want to play with him.”

Yamato continued so smile. “Good. Kayo, you have your second mission.”

Kayo bowed. “Hai!”

“Let’s give them a night to remember…”

Chapter 4 – Surrender

It’s been hours since they’ve walked and Sakura, too tired from all the hiking up a steep hill, couldn’t remember the last time she counted how many trees they’ve passed. It’s been days, she assumed, but her mind wandered too much, thinking about her father and what he was going through now. They were lost, she thought, and Sasuke was too proud to admit that he had gotten them both lost. It was understandable really…Sakura had understood why. She knew that Sasuke was still upset over the fact that he couldn’t beat the man, whom the red haired man called, “Kayo.” She was walking slightly behind Sasuke, reminding herself that she needed to work on power walking up a steep hill when she got back to Konoha so she wouldn’t be far behind him.

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped. Sakura stopped as well, looking up at him from where she stood, ten meters away. He turned to look at her. “I hear running water,” he said. Sasuke turned back around and continued walking, following the noise of the running water. Sakura hadn’t heard it, but she believed him and followed him anyway.

They ended up stopping in front of clear waters running down a short stream, where it would eventually end up at the other side to where a small waterfall would be. The waterfall led to a beautiful lake where fish was abundant and the water became clearer and clearer underneath the bright moonlight. “We can rest here for a bit…we need to stop for water anyway,” he spoke, kneeling down in front of the pond and taking out something from his backpack. It was a water canteen and he placed the canteen close to the water and dragged it down deep so the water would come flowing in. Sakura watched him do this, before realizing she needed to do the same. Just as she was about to take some water for herself inside the canteen, Sasuke was standing up again and was leaving.

“Where are you going?” she asked, turning her head to look at him.

Sasuke looked at her. “It’s too dark to go traveling at this hour, so I’m going to set up a tent nearby. Don’t worry, I’ll be right back. In the meantime, you get some rest…”

Sakura nodded. “All right.” She watched him leave before she turned to grab some water for her canteen. When she was done, Sakura sat down on the ground and watched the stream flow. It was quiet, but quite eerie, especially with the moon casting down shadows around the trees. The fish, to where she could see was quite tasty to look and she found herself drooling for the meat. It took her a moment to realize that she was hungry and, deciding to catch the fish for food, she took off her sandals and socks and dipped her bare feet into the water. She didn’t know how to catch a fish, since she was no fisherman, so she took out her kunai and began walking through the water to where most fish were swimming around. As she went deeper into the water, the level almost reaching her chin, the clothes she was wearing was starting to weigh her down. ‘This is not going to work,’ she said to herself. Sighing, she looked around, making sure no one was watching and quickly took off her blouse, leaving only her bra and tossed her shirt to a nearby boulder. She did she same with her skirt, reaching down to unclasp the sides and tossed it beside her shirt. With the clothes no longer weighing her down, leaving her half naked, Sakura swam to the bottom of the lake and began catching the fish with her kunai.

Unknown to her, however, a shadow was watching her in the distance. He took the form of a dark spiky haired man with the Konoha bandana around his forehead. His dark eyes scanned for her and when he saw her flip her head back up from the water to breathe, he saw the way her seductive body move and it was driving him crazy… He had to have her…now he understood what his friend meant. He gave a smile and took a few steps towards her.

--------------------

He had a bad feeling around this place. They should’ve already reached the village by now and he KNEW he had the right calculations on when they would arrive, which should’ve been yesterday. Sasuke decided to head straight to the Mist Village and maybe ask a few questions about Jounichi and the men who took him. The village would most likely have some kind of answer. The dark haired Chuunin stood up after finishing setting up the tent and walked back to where he had left Sakura.

“Ah! Sasuke-kun!” Sasuke stopped and looked over his shoulder at Sakura. She approached him and sat down on the log nearest to him. “Are you going somewhere? I’ve already finished getting myself some water for tonight and tomorrow!”

Sasuke lifted up a curious eyebrow, glancing up to where she had come from and only noticed another way to the….lake? “Where did you come from?”

The pink haired Chuunin smiled, pointing to the path she appeared from, while at the same time, dropping something on the floor. “There was another short cut I noticed so I decided to take that path. It’s actually much quicker than the one you and I found.”

Sasuke nodded. “I see…”

“Are you going somewhere now?”

“I’m going to catch us some fish.”

“Oh! Don’t worry about it! I caught some while you were setting up the tent! See?” She picked up something from the floor and showed it to him. There was at least six medium sized fish attached to two kunais, attached to a hook. “I thought I’d do them myself! Here, you want to help me cook them?” Sakura was facing Sasuke, so he could basically see her facial expressions and her concentration. She was still the same, yet something was off, but he couldn’t quite see it. The pink haired Chuunin smiled up at him and began placing the fish on the fire he made, having to lean over to do it. Sakura’s shirt was opened at the front Sasuke noticed, and was showing her cleavage.

Sasuke blinked and blushed, clearing his throat. “Uh, sure…” What on earth is happening to him? Is there some kind of spell he didn’t know happen to him? Without even knowing what he was doing, he sat down beside her and began helping her cook the fish in the fire. Sakura stood up, hoping to put the fish around the fire so there was more room for them to cook and as when she was walking back to her original spot, she tripped and fell into Sasuke’s arms.

“Oh! Sorry!” Sakura looked up, her green eyes mesmerizing underneath the moonlight. Sasuke stared back at them, his dark eyes gleaming and watching her intently. His arms were around her, wincing at his injured arm, an instinct to when she fell on top of him so she wouldn’t fall down.

Sakura bit her bottom lip. His touch was so warm, she found herself shivering. She wanted to stay in his arms forever… She leaned her face closer to his, their eyes still locked into each other. Sasuke couldn’t move, couldn’t understand what was happening, confused beyond imagination and froze in his spot, while he felt her moving her head towards him, hoping for a kiss. What were they doing? They needed to rest now so they could have a full day tomorrow! But her lips…they were quite luscious and Sasuke found himself staring at them. He wanted it so bad; he knew this was his chance.

And then…

They kissed like nothing else in the world mattered…

‘Mmmmmmm……so tasty!’ Kasumi thought in her head. ‘I could get used to this! I wonder how that pathetic Kayo is doing!’

------------------

She had done her job. She pulled her head out of the water and threw the fish she caught back into land and reached back to the rocks to grab her clothes, but…they were no longer there. Startled, Sakura looked around for it and found herself face to face with a familiar figure standing before her. “Sasuke-kun! What are you doing here?”

Sasuke kneeled down and looked down at her. He reached over and played with her pink hair before standing up again to join her. Sakura blinked, confused at this action and could only watch as Sasuke silently joined her into the water, still in his clothes. “How long have you wanted me, Sakura?”

Sakura blinked again. “Nani?”

“Tell me you want me…” In seconds, he was suddenly behind her, whispering in her ear, his lips so close to her. Surprised, all Sakura could do was stand there, bewildered by his actions. He put his arm around her and began caressing her breasts. Sakura closed her eyes and began moaning, her knees getting weak from his touch.

“Sa-Sasuke-kun…” She couldn’t take it anymore, but she couldn’t understand it either. What had gotten into Sasuke? What’s with the sudden change in personality…the persistence? The…She could no longer think when she felt him kiss the back of her neck, licking down until he reached the base of her spine. Sakura moaned again as her arms were lifted up so she could feel his hair underneath her hands.

“Tell me you want me,” he whispered again, now moving to face her. He licked her cheek and then pressed his lips hard against hers. Sakura kissed him back, not really thinking anymore. She surrenders now…surrender to everything she has ever known to be a terrible fate and would rather enjoy this night before she knew it would shatter right at her feet. She knew she wanted him…despite the fact that she kept telling herself she needed to get over him but now…she has never felt like this before…the sensation, the passion…the warmth of a man named Uchiha Sasuke.

“I want you,” Sakura whispered. But wait…something was not right.

He continued down this time, putting his face between her breasts and was ready to reach behind her to unclasp her bra, when he felt something cold and sharp against his neck. The dark haired Chuunin blinked and backed away quickly, knowing full well that he had already lost his fun. Sakura was glaring at him, wearing nothing but underwear, holding up her kunai close to him. “YOU’RE NOT SASUKE-KUN!”

Sasuke smirked. “Awww, you got me,” he said, before revealing his true self.

“YOU!” Sakura couldn’t believe she would let him TOUCH her like that! She was disgusted with herself for thinking such lustfully of Sasuke!

Kayo grinned and bowed down. “Yes, my name is Kayo…nice to meet you Sakura-chan!” He gave a smile as soon as he looked back up, licking his lips. “I did enjoy our time together…I wish we could do it again!”

Sakura winced, throwing her kunai towards him, in which Kayo barely dodged. It hit a tree right behind him, almost hitting his ear. “What have you done to Sasuke-kun?” She was a lot angry with herself than towards the man standing before her.

He only smiled and shrugged. “Who knows…probably already having fun with my dear friend, Kasumi-chan.” Eyeing Sakura one more time, he produced her clothes from behind him and tossed it on the ground.

The pink haired girl’s eyes widened, quickly bending down to grab her clothes. She was quite surprised by the sudden change in this man’s character, but she knew she shouldn’t be fooled by mere actions. This man almost fooled her with his jitsu as Sasuke. If she hadn’t known, they would’ve…Sakura shook her head out of those thoughts and put on her clothes quickly. Kayo watched her do this, impressed by how much beauty she possessed, but felt sorry that he would have to kill her soon enough. But then again…maybe he should have his fun first before torturing her. It was better slashing at her right in front of the Uchiha boy’s eyes. Sakura looked back at him, grabbing her other kunai and clenched her hand around it.

Kayo lifted up an eyebrow curiously. “Do you plan to kill me with that right now or go to Sasuke before Kasumi consumes him?” He watched as her eyes widened even more. It was cute, but it was starting to annoy him. Kayo stepped aside, offering her an opening to go through. “If you wish so much to see him, then I won’t stop you.” Besides….he has other opportunities to kill her next time.

Sakura hesitated at first and ran passed him, still has her hand gripped around the kunai in case he attacked. She turned her head and noticed that he was gone, so she continued on forward back towards the campfire. The pink haired Chuunin’s heart began to pound, her worries growing and growing as soon as she made a quick turn in time to see a woman who looked like her, on top of Sasuke. “SASUKE-KUN!”

The woman looked up, her long, pink disheveled hair changing into a short red colour and her eyes a deep shade of red. She smirked and stood up, dusting off dirt from her skirt. “Ah, I see Kayo-kun has left you in my hands. Well, that’s a lot better anyway so I can show you what I have done to your boyfriend!” The woman laughed and kneeled down beside Sasuke and lifted him up until his head was against her breast, her arms around him protectively. “Let’s see how well you do, in saving him instead of the other way around little girl!”

Sakura frowned. “For your information…” Suddenly, she slammed a palm down on the ground and a huge force suddenly shakes the ground. Startled, the woman fell on her butt, having to let go of the unconscious Sasuke and gasped. “I have NEVER been the one to be saved by him…well maybe except that one time.” Okay, so she stretched the truth a little, but they didn’t need to know that!

‘What? What is this power she possesses? My brother never told me about this!’ Kasumi thought loudly in her mind. “And even IF I needed saving, I wouldn’t have to scream like a damsel in distress!” Kasumi could hear Sakura speaking. Before she had a chance to get up, Sakura used her jitsu again, the same giant wave sending her flying. Kasumi hit her back against a tree, but managed to slash at Sakura with her knife. She coughed up blood as soon as she hit the tree.

“KAYO!” Kasumi screamed in rage.

“Yes?” Kayo appeared quickly at her side.

“WHY DID YOU LET HER GO? WHO’S SIDE ARE YOU ON?” Kasumi stood up quickly. “MAYBE I SHOULD’VE TALKED TO MY BROTHER ABOUT YOU NOT BEING PART OF THIS GROUP?”

Kayo sighed. “Yes, yes of course. I’ll stop them, don’t worry about a thing youstupid b***h,” he mumbled before walking over to Sakura. “I honestly DID have fun, Sakura-chan, but I have a job to do…I live to serve Yamato-sama!”

Sakura frowned, wincing at the pain that Kasumi managed to inflict on her stomach. “And I live to be a good medical-nin!” She quickly fished something from her pockets and slammed it down on the ground. Smoke suddenly surrounded the air and seconds later, Sakura and Sasuke were gone.

“Where did they go?” Kasumi coughed and looked around. She glared at Kayo and slapped his arm as hard as she could. Kayo only winced, wishing he could chop off her head right here, right now, but that wouldn’t make his Yamato-sama happy. “GET THEM YOU IDIOT! AARGGHHH! WHY DID MY BROTHER EVEN ACCEPT YOU? YOU’RE WORTHLESS!”

------------------

...Flashback...

She was very young and didn’t really understand what it meant to be ‘in love.’ Many girls have mentioned to their friends that they were in love with a certain boy, but none were prepared for what Sakura felt when she first set her eyes on a dark haired boy standing in front of the class, ready and waiting to show his teacher the jitsu he was supposed to show. Sakura watched him do his jitsu and was amazed at how much talent he had for someone so young.

“GO SASUKE-KUUUNN!” Sakura glanced to her right to see her new friend Ino standing up and cheering for the dark haired boy. All the other girls did the same, except for one dark haired girl who seemed to be staring at a blond boy right in front of her to even care about the talented boy standing in the front. Sakura turned her eyes back towards Sasuke and watched him some more. Time seemed to have stood still when Sasuke quickly glanced outside the window to take a glimpse at a butterfly flying near the window. Sakura noticed this too, but she was too busy watching him engulfed with this butterfly, where it paused in front of the window and flew off. Something about the way he stared at the butterfly made her think and then suddenly, Sakura was smitten with the boy with the faraway look.

...End of flashback...

----------------

“Sasuke-kun…” She laid him down slowly behind a large tree and kneeled in front of him, checking his pulse. To her relief, she could feel it and knew that he was still alive. She checked for any injuries, forgetting about her own and sighed in contempt when she saw none. However, this made Sakura even more suspicious about what that woman had attempt to do on him. She must’ve done SOMETHING to make him fall unconscious like this. “Sasuke-kun?” She patted his face, hoping that would wake him up, but he seemed to be in deep sleep to focus on anything. “Ah!” Sakura winced and glanced down at the wound in her stomach, removing her hand that was keeping the flow of blood from seeping out. “Sasuke-kun…You’ll- you’ll be all right…” She was getting sleepy now. Sakura took a deep breath and sat down next to Sasuke, resting her back against the tree as well. She only meant to sleep for a while, but as soon as she closed her eyes, she suddenly fell into a deep slumber.

-----------------

The world was engulfed in darkness. He was suddenly alone. No one to see, no one to hear and no one to call for help. He opened his mouth to yell out, but nothing would come out. He ran forward, reaching out his arms towards a light that was pushing him forward. It was so small, yet it kept him going. When he was close enough, he closed his hand around the light, but only felt nothing.

The light suddenly disappeared and once again, he was surrounded with darkness.

Isn’t anyone going to help him?

And as if someone had heard his thoughts, pink petals began to consume him, surrounding him with a calmness he has never felt before. He glanced to his right and noticed a young woman with long flowing pink hair looking up at the sky. There were large pink flowers surrounding her, each seven feet tall. She was smiling, her green eyes shining with so much radiance.

He knew her, but he couldn’t see her face. She looked so familiar to him, but why can’t he remember her name?

She glanced at him and kept that smile on her face. He still couldn’t recognize her. Why can’t he see her? He touched all around his face and only noticed that he was blindfolded. He tried to remove it, but the blindfold was too tight that he couldn’t remove it.

“Are you willing to see me now?” the girl spoke.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Then why aren’t you removing the blindfold?”

“Because I can’t…”

“Yes, you can…trust me. Once you do, you’re not alone anymore okay?”

He nodded. “…okay…” For the third time, he pulled the blindfold from around his eyes with all his might and this time, it came off…

-----------------

Sasuke opened his eyes slowly and at once, he looked around. It took him a while to realize what happened, but he was very confused as to why he was lying down on the ground with his back against a tree. He tried to move, but Sasuke felt something heavy on his stomach. He glanced down and noticed a flow of pink hair on his chest, belonging to a young woman with her cheek resting on his lap, her whole body on the ground.

“Sakura?” he whispered. He tried to shake her awake, but she wasn’t moving. “Sakura,” Sasuke called the second time, this time a lot louder. The dark haired Chuunin used both his arms as a lever to sit himself up straight and shook her again. “Sakura!” Sasuke paused and looked down, just realizing that there was blood soaking his shirt. “s**t!” Sasuke lifted her head up, but her eyes were closed and she wasn’t responding. Her head only lolled to the side, the blood in her stomach suddenly visible. “Damn it!” he swore, lifting her up slowly in his arms. “Sakura, wake up!” His heart began to beat. He got up from the ground and began running forward. “DAMMIT SAKURA! You CAN’T give up now!” He didn’t know where he was going, but he had to find a village soon. “You hear me, Sakura? You’re NOT giving up now! We still have to find your father!” He quickly jumped over five branches before landing on the soft ground again.

No…

She couldn’t die.

Not now.

Not ever.

Not when he was beginning to have new feelings for this young woman…

Feelings he has never felt before in his sad, forsaken life.

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The basement was crammed and dark that even the rats were afraid to venture inside to steal anything they could find. A lone figure sat in the corner, chained in both hands and feet so he couldn’t move. Only his head was unchained, enabling him to see where everything was.

Jounichi had dreamt that he was back home, sitting in the living room with his wife and child, smiling happily, but he knew he was far from his happy ending. His sin was far greater than any happiness he deserved. He knew this from the moment he decided to take that mission twenty-one years ago.

The sound of the door opening could be heard. Jounichi lifted up his head slowly and listened as the footsteps could be heard right after the door was closed. He watched carefully as a figure began to take shape…the figure belonging to none other than Yamato.

“You know, you surprised me when you volunteered to become our prisoner,” Yamato spoke, walking over close enough for Jounichi to see his face. The resemblance was uncanny… “I thought you were the persistent type, but I obviously thought wrong.”

“Whatever you wish to do to me, do it now…” Jounichi said, looking away.

Yamato shook his head. “Oh no no, I would NEVER do that! Not until your DAUGHTER comes and sees you in this pathetic state! Not until you tell her the truth about what an UNFAIR father and husband you’ve been to her and your wife!”

“Please…leave them alone,” the older man begged. “They have nothing to do with this!”

“Of course not…” Yamato unlocked the door and stepped inside, placing a hand underneath Jounichi’s chin and forced him to look up. “But don’t you think it’s time that they BECOME part of this? After all…you were the one who FORCED them to be part of this. They had no other choice, thanks to you.”

He knew he felt ashamed. He knew the sins he committed; he knew what he had to do to remove himself from that sin. If only this young man was willing to remove the only two people from making turning him insane from being part of HIS dilemma. This was HIS alone and NO ONE else. “PLEASE! Leave them alone! Leave my daughter alone!”

“SHUT UP!” Yamato punched him across the face; sending Jounichi’s head to loll to the side, blood pouring at the side of his mouth. “You have NO RIGHT to beg for your daughter’s mercy! How do you think WE felt when we finally found you and you suddenly had to leave without even saying good bye?” He punched him again. “How do you think WE felt when you left us with NOTHING but the clothes in our backs? How do you think WE felt when…when she breathed her last breath by saying YOUR name?”

“I’m…I’m sorry…” Jounichi mumbled, looking back up with a battered face.

“TOO LATE!” Yamato turned around and locked the door behind him. “It’s too late for you…Otousan…” With that said, he walked out of the cell and closed the door behind him.

Chapter 5 – Hands Clenched

He hummed a little tune, from a song that he knew when he was a child. Generally, he kept quiet every time he started mixing up herbs in his bowl so he wouldn’t put too many or too little of them, but for someone who just cured a little girl from her disease this afternoon, it was something to hum about. He started shaking a little bit of pepper into the bowl and stirred it around with the wooden spoon. And just as he looked outside the window he noticed a figure running towards the little cabin he called home.

Curious, he stopped stirring and watched as the figure continued to run and soon stood by the door knocking frantically. “Someone help!” The young man yelled. He ran to the door quickly and opened it. The young man didn’t give the older man a chance to ask what happened because he carried the unconscious young woman inside quickly.

“You are wounded!” He told the young man. “Let me take a look at your shoulder!” He was about to reach out to place a piece of leaf on his bleeding shoulder, when the young man shook his head, slapping his hand away.

“Don’t worry about me!” There was a lot of worry in his tone of voice and he glanced down at the young woman with long pink hair. “Please help her!”

He nodded. “All right, place her down here.” He closed the door and lead the young man inside a room filled only with a single bed, an opened window with an off white curtain, a dresser drawer near the door and a small closet marked, ‘un-opened herbs and spices.’ The dark haired man urgently carried the young woman to the single bed and placed her down gently.

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Long time ago, all he had to worry about was how to defeat him. Day and night, he had thought a lot about the man whom he had looked up to, the man he had called his ‘brother’ and the man who had betrayed his whole family. He would shut out everyone else and placed a cold barrier around himself. He had learned to throw unwanted feelings aside and replace it with nothing but an empty, featherless weight on his shoulders.

However, he was not prepared for this night. Sasuke didn’t stop himself from worrying too much about the people around him, especially the people whom he had gotten to call his ‘friends,’ but Sasuke never really thought about what he was doing now. It only took a quick glimpse of his past to realize that he already WAS. His heart was pounding and his hair was standing on end, worrying for the one person who had become part of his life.

Sasuke heard the door open slightly and the man who had helped him carry Sakura to a bedroom came back out after what seemed like forever and glanced at him. “How is she?” the dark haired youth spoke, standing up eagerly.

The older man nodded, walking over to his small kitchen and placed the bowl he carried into the room down on the counter. After doing this, he turns back around and said, “She’ll be all right. It’s a good thing you brought her to me on time, or else she would’ve died. Her wound was pretty deep, but I managed to stop the bleeding.” He watched as the young man nodded and was silent for a while. “She’s resting right now, but you can see her if you want.”

Sasuke glanced towards the closed room. “I will see her.” He glanced back at the older man and bowed. “Arigatou gozaimasu, eto…”

“I’m sorry, how rude of me for not introducing myself.” The medicine man approached Sasuke and bowed. “Boku wa-Shinpachi Kiyoshi des. And you are?”

Sasuke hesitated to answer, glancing once and a while at the room, then said quietly, “Uchiha Sasuke…Thank you once again Shinpachi Kiyoshi-san.”

Kiyoshi shook his head. “No, don’t call me that. Just call me Kiyoshi.”

“All right…Kiyoshi.” Sasuke gives the older man another glance to make sure it was all right and when he was sure Kiyoshi had given him a look of approval, Sasuke turns and heads for the room.

--------------------

It was dark inside, just as Sasuke expected. It was also quite roomy, with beds that have thin mattresses on them and all four covered in thin, white bed sheets. There was a window overlooking a moon that was hiding behind a large mountain and it brightened the dark room, creating a curtain of shadows. Sakura was on the very last bed by the window, a blanket over her body. Sasuke crept closer, careful not to disturb her from her sleep. When he was close enough, he looked down at her pale face. This was the second time Sasuke has seen her asleep like this…peaceful like a Goddess. He had always looked away from the pretty girls who flocked nearby him, but this was the first time he had actually looked straight at the face of a pretty girl.

She stirred in her sleep and Sasuke froze at his spot. He didn’t know why, but maybe he was scared with the fact that she might see him watching her this whole time while she slept. Something told him that she wasn’t the type of girl who liked to be watched by a guy he knew she had liked forever. But then again, he wasn’t sure anymore how she felt about him. Why should she worry about him, when she has other things to worry about? Sasuke watched as a strand of pink hair fell across her face. He felt like he had to…he felt like it was supposed to be right that he reached over to curl the strand behind her ear.

She had awakened to the sound of birds chirping in the trees and the sun shining in her eyes. Sakura stretched and yawned, but winced when she felt a sharp pain on her stomach. She looked around, fully aware now that she was in a strange place…a room. A sudden panic suddenly fills her heart and it began to pound heavily. She sat up, but only for a little before allowing herself to lie back down on the bed.

“You shouldn’t move so fast or the wound will open up,” spoke an unfamiliar, deep voice, which obviously belonged to a man. Startled, Sakura glanced up and noticed a middle aged man with dark hair smiling down at her. “Here, you should take this to ease the pain.” He showed her a small bottle that he held in his hand.

Sakura stared down at it and sat up slowly and held the bottle in her hands. She removed the cork from the top of the bottle and began drinking it. She almost spat the bitter taste out but despite the torturous taste, Sakura finished the whole bottle.

Kiyoshi smiled, patting her on the head. She reminded him so much of someone he knew from when he was a child. The only difference was…she was a girl. “Good girl.”

“Where am I?” She looked around and spotted someone sitting on a chair beside another bed beside hers, his feet propped up on the bed. His head was leaned forward, his chin touching his chest and his arms were folded across his chest. It took her a while to register that it was Sauke. “Sasuke-kun?”

The middle aged man glanced at Sasuke, then back at Sakura. “He’s been watching you all night and from all the worries, I guess it really absorbed his energy and has fallen asleep. You’re lucky to have a boyfriend like him.”

Sakura blushed. “He’s not my boyfriend…” She continues to stare at Sasuke. She saw him stir in his sleep, his head jerking up and now lolling to the side. Sakura was about to laugh, when she decided to stop herself from doing so and as she did this, a sound escaped her lips. Kiyoshi glanced at her, lifting up an eyebrow amusingly. Sakura looked away, embarrassed. She was only holding back her laugh but she ended up snorting.

It was only seconds later did Sasuke finally wake up. He looked around groggily and saw Sakura looking out the window. “Ah, you’re finally awake!” the middle aged man said, looking at the young man now. Sasuke takes one glance at Sakura, before he got up from his chair and walked over to them.

Kiyoshi cleared his throat and says, “Well I’ll leave you two alone now.” With that said, he turns and leaves the room, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone. Both of them watched as Kiyoshi closed the door behind him.

They were silent for a while, both of them unsure on how to start the conversation. It was until Sasuke spoke did the awkwardness between them disappeared. “So how are you feeling?”

Sakura smiled at him and nodded. “I’m fine. It still hurts, but I’m fine. What about you?”

Sasuke blinked at her.

“The last time I remember, your shoulder was still injured.” She nodded to where the injury of his shoulder should be and noticed that it was already patched up, probably by that man she saw earlier. “But I can see the man already fixed it up for you. Who was he?”

The dark haired Chuunin sat down on the bed next to hers and stared out the window. It was suddenly morning now and he could hear the birds chirping in the distance. “He says his name is Kiyoshi Shinpachi.”

Sakura nodded. “I should introduce myself to him when he comes back.”

“Right now though, you need to rest.” He stood up and was ready to walk off, when he suddenly stopped. Curious, Sakura just stared at him. Sasuke took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to say and in an attempt to find the right words, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Sakura asked, turning half of her body slightly to face him.

Sasuke shrugged. “I don’t know…I feel like I should apologize.” Without giving her a chance to ask, he turned and left the room.

Sakura looked back down and then turned her head to glance out the window. “No…I should be the one apologizing.” An image flashed in her mind of the impostor Sasuke and her in that intimate embrace, him trailing kisses down all over her naked body and her enjoying every moment of it…lust overcoming the real emotions she was feeling for this man.

-----------------

Sasuke had only walked a few steps once he was out of the room when he noticed Kiyoshi pouring some tea into two cups. Kiyoshi looked up and gestured for him to sit down on the chair across from where he stood. “I made some tea for the both of us. I mixed in a special herb in your tea to help you ease your nerves.”

The dark haired youth hesitated for a moment, then decided that he was harmless after all and then sat down on the chair the older man pointed out to him.

He watched as Kiyoshi sat down on the chair across from him. “I am a very curious man, so I wonder, what brings two shinobis from Konoha all the way here?” Kiyoshi asked.

Sasuke slowly picked up his mug in between the palm of his hands, his shoulder still throbbing but managed to put his lips against the ceramic cup. Cautiously, careful not to burn his tongue, he drank the tea. It had the same bitter taste as a regular tea, but there was a little bit of sweetness added to it, which Sasuke figured was the special herb Kiyoshi was talking about. “We’re on a mission…” was all the young man said, before continuing on his quest to finish the cup.

Kiyoshi gave Sasuke time to drink his tea, before he decided to finish the conversation in which he had started. “Must be a very dangerous mission to have you injured on your shoulder and for her to be stabbed in the stomach…A little bit more to the right and she would’ve lost her liver.”

Sasuke glanced at him, his cup paused in mid-air, now very curious about what Kyoshi had just said. “Stabbed?”

Kiyoshi stared back at him, putting down his cup, a surprised look on his face. “You mean you had no idea she was stabbed? I’m not quite sure, but it looked like a stab wound and a close one too. It looked as though whatever weapon this person used to stab her, he or she seemed to know what they were doing.”

The dark haired youth glanced back at the room. “So you have seen different types of wounds in this line of work?”

The older man nodded. “I am after all, a medicine man.”

Sasuke looked back at him. “Why are you living alone here?”

Kiyoshi shrugged. “I found it a comfort for me to be living in isolation. It helps me work better. Anyway, this is not about me, it is about your friend. She would need to rest for at least a week for her wound to heal.” He paused and watched as Sasuke stared back at the room where the girl was, in a deep thought.

“I know…I have known this was a dangerous mission. I couldn’t let her go alone and escort her father back to where he shouldn’t be.”

“What do you mean?”

He didn’t know why he started telling everything to this man, but Sasuke found it easy to talk to him somehow. Kiyoshi seemed like a harmless man. “I don’t quite understand it myself, but our mission was to escort her father back to Mist Village. Then we were attacked by some men and then he was taken away…What I didn’t understand was that he willingly went with them.” Sasuke put the cup down, finished with his tea and stood up.

Kiyoshi nodded, understanding that this was the end of their conversation. “Give your friend time to recover then, so you can go and find her father. She needs at least a week as I mentioned before.”

Sasuke started walking towards the door and paused to look at him. “If it’s all right with you, we’ll stay.”

The older man agreed. “Yes, it’s fine.” Curiously, he watched as Sasuke opened the door and stepped out of the cabin. “Where are you going?”

The young man didn’t look at him, when he said, “I need some fresh air…” With that said, he closed the door behind him.

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Flashback...

Eight year old Haruno Sakura swung her feet and she began to move back and forth on the swing. School wasn’t all that great for her today. Kids her age made fun of her forehead, teased her about the colour of her hair and began talking behind her back. The kids, whom she considered her ‘friends,’ weren’t helping, instead they mocked at her along with the other ‘popular’ kids, afraid that if they didn’t, and they in turn would be teased and ridiculed.

A few tears began falling from her eyes, but Sakura knew she had to be strong…for her mother and for her father. She wasn’t the type to cry so easily, but it was hard to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. But before she could catch the last tear, it began to stream down her porcelain-like face and down on the sandy ground.

“Why are you crying?” Sakura looked up, quickly rubbing her face, hoping maybe to remove the redness from her eyes, but it made it worse. She was staring up at a young boy with dark spikey hair, who was staring curiously at her. He had a gentle face on.

Sakura shook her head, annoyed that a boy like him could be so nosy. “I am not!” she hissed, pressing her feet on the ground to stop swinging. Despite the gentleness in his eyes, Sakura couldn’t help but be annoyed with this outlook on her, since she wasn’t SUPPOSED to feel this way.

The young boy frowned, but didn’t say a word as he sat down on the other swing beside her. “Kids are very mean,” he said finally, after a few moments of silence. When he didn’t get a reply from her, the young boy went on. “Don’t let what they say get to you. Usually if they say something bad about you, they’re just jealous.”

“Jealous?” This time, Sakura looked up, interested in the way the boy said this to her. “Why would they be jealous of me?”

The dark haired boy shrugged. “I dunno…maybe some of them are jealous because you have parents who love you, while they don’t have anyone to love them, so they take out all their frustrations on you. Sometimes, kids need to find someone to blame for what they don’t have.”

Sakura thought about what the boy said for a minute and looked at him. She noticed a few kids staring at them and then turning to their friends to whisper obviously more rumors about her and this boy. “You shouldn’t talk to me or they’ll start talking about you too.”

The boy beside her shrugged. “I don’t care.” He stood up and nodded towards her. “If you want to tell me anything, I’m here to listen…”

That was the promise the boy had made that afternoon. Sakura didn’t even know his name as she watched bewildered at the wise little boy who walked off, glaring at the people who dared to mock him behind his back.

End of Flashback...

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What were they supposed to do now? Sasuke sat on the rocking chair on the deck and stared up at the bright moon above. There were no traces of Jounichi anywhere and it was difficult to start from the beginning and retrace their steps. The only option would be to go straight to wherever Mist Village is and hunt him down. Maybe there they could get clues on the man’s whereabouts.

The dark haired Chuunin glanced down at his arms.

Clench, unclench, clench. His hands were so weak, it was impossible to go on and searching. If Sakura were to recover now, he wouldn’t be able to do anything, since his shoulder was still quite damaged from the previous battles he had. But then again, he still had enough chakra to continue on with his search for Jounichi.

Sasuke stood up. It was decided. If he leaves now, there would still be time to come back and bring Sakura home to Konoha as she recovers.

“You really think going alone is a good idea?” The dark haired Jounin looked behind him and noticed the older man leaned against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest. “You remind me quite well of someone I knew a long time ago…”

“I’m used to working alone…” How does he even know what he thinks? Does he have some kind of special power to read people’s minds? It didn’t matter though because Sakura would be safe with him and this he knew very well in his heart. “Please, take care of her…”

Kiyoshi furrowed his eyebrows curiously. “And what should I tell her?”

Sasuke didn’t answer for a while, deciding on something good for Kiyoshi to explain to Sakura on where he had gone. “Tell her that I’ll be back with her father alive.”

“Hm…And what if she decides to follow you?”

“Then I can’t stop her…”

“Will you stop me now?” Startled, Sasuke turned around to find the pink haired Chuunin struggling to walk towards him. Kiyoshi caught her just in time before she fell forward from the medicine she took from the man. “Sasuke-kun, please don’t do this on my behalf.”

The dark haired Chuunin looked away. “I’m not,” he spoke, his fists clenched at his sides. “I’m not doing this for you.”

Sakura frowned. “Then, tell me why you’re planning on going alone? If not for me, then who? You? What’s your involvement in all this? He’s my father…not yours.” She knew she was going too far, but she couldn’t help it.

“You should be resting,” Kiyoshi spoke gently to Sakura.

Sakura shook her head. “I’m tired of resting and feeling helpless!” she yelled, pulling herself away from Kiyoshi’s grasp and began to slowly walk towards Sasuke. “Sasuke-kun if you’re doing this for male pride, then I won’t stand for it! I am going with you and that’s final! I won’t just sit here and wonder whether you’ve gotten yourself killed or not!”

“No…” Sasuke said firmly.

“What?” Sakura couldn’t believe what she was hearing!

Sasuke glared at her. “You’re not going with me.”

“You’re not telling me what to do!” Sakura clenched her fists as well. “It’s my choice whether to go or not!”

And in a swift motion, he was seconds in front of her, his hands gripped on both her arms and shaking her. “I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU AGAIN!”

Sakura blinked, staring into his eyes, speechless.

Sasuke looked away quickly, startled even by his own words and suddenly let go of her. “…” What was he thinking saying those things? Has he lost his mind? “Kiyoshi-san, can you please take Sakura back inside?”

Kiyoshi nodded and placed an arm around the young woman. “Please, you need to rest…”

This time, Sakura did not protest, confused beyond anything else. She let Kiyoshi lead her back to the room, but managed to glance behind her towards Sasuke’s back who stood there, still quite bewildered about what he had said. Seconds later, she was back on her bed and was tucked in gently by the older man she barely knew. “I am sorry I have not introduced myself…” Sakura slowly lifted her head up at the man with the proper use of English. “Boku wa-Shinpachi Kiyoshi-des.” He bowed slightly and smiled at her.

Sakura smiled back slightly, still engulfed in the conversation she had with Sasuke. “Wa…watashi wa-Haruno…Sakura-des.”

Kiyoshi’s eyes widened. “Haruno?”

“Hai,” Sakura spoke gently, her eyes focused towards the door. She wondered what Sasuke was doing now.

“You mean Haruno Jounichi’s daughter?”

Sakura turned her head back at Kiyoshi, now curious. “Yes…how… How did you know that?” She figured Sasuke told him by now, since he seems to trust this man.

“I see, so you’re Jounichi’s daughter…” He seemed to hold an amused look on his face and Sakura saw this, her eyes still searching and curious for Kiyoshi’s knowledge on her father. “Your father, your mother and I grew up together in Konoha. I knew there was something familiar about you. You really do have your father’s eyes and your mother’s smile.”

“You knew both my parents? Then why are you here living alone in the middle of nowhere?” Sakura gently shifted her weight from her right to her left as she lay on her bed and leaned her back against the wall. She was suddenly getting tired from all this talking all of a sudden. “Why aren’t you with them back in Konoha?”

Kiyoshi seemed to have hesitated, but watching her like this brought back a lot of memories of when Jounichi, Chiharu and Kiyoshi were very young…about twelve to be exact, when all three of them joined the Academy. “Your parents loved Konoha and of course I did too, but I wanted to see the world so by the time I was old enough, I left Konoha and ended up here. How are they by the way? I haven’t heard from them for so long…Ten years I believe.” Then, it occurred to him that the question he was asking was already answered by Sasuke. However, he wanted to know from his best friends’ daughter.

Sakura thought about it. So the letters that kept coming for her parents came from this man. How is she supposed to tell her parents’ best friend about the situation they were in now? “They’re…they’re all right,” she lied.

The older man nodded. He can understand that this whole thing must be traumatizing for her. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a good idea to tell her exactly what he knew about her parents…about Jounichi. “Well, I’m glad. It’s really a small world to meet you in a time like this.”

“Yes it is,” Sakura said quietly. Was it really a good idea to lie to the man like this? After all…she barely knew him so maybe it was all right.

Kiyoshi nodded. “Now you need to rest. The medicine is still working its way around your body, that’s why you’re getting tired.” He turned and began walking out of the room, when Sakura’s voice stopped him.

“Kiyoshi-san? Could you please tell Sasuke-kun to wait for me? I want to go with him…”

The older man looked at her and nodded. “Sure thing, kiddo.” He watched as Sakura lied back down on her bed. She pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes to sleep. Kiyoshi watched her for a bit before leaving the room.

When he got back to the kitchen area, Sasuke was already back inside, sitting on the same spot he sat earlier when he had tea. He was looking through a map in which Kiyoshi recognized as his own handwriting. The older man was quite surprised at how good Sasuke was with searching for the right items around his home. “You made this map?” was the first thing Sasuke asked when he noticed the older man walking into the kitchen.

Kiyoshi nodded. “…with my own two hands. I have been traveling around for a while and I made sure to write down the villages, the mountains, the lakes and rivers so maybe others like you know your way around.”

“Can I take this with me?”

“So you’re really going?”

Sasuke didn’t reply. He was getting quite tired with how nosy this man was.

The older man sighed. “You can. I have several more copies of the map.”

The dark haired Chuunin looked back down at the map. “I see that the Mist Village is only a few kilometers away from here.”

Kiyoshi nodded his head. “It’ll take two days to get there on foot, but there’s a faster way of getting there.” He approached Sasuke and stood behind him to point at the map. He traced a finger along the lines, in which were marked the rivers and then moved his finger down to a drawing of triangles behind the lines. “These mountains have a few pathways that lead faster to the village. If you’re brave enough, it’ll take you there in twenty-four hours.”

“Then, I’ll take that,” Sasuke decided, rolling up the map as he stood up. He stuffed the man-made map in the back pocket of his pants and began searching through the cabinets like it was his own.

The older man glanced at him, surprised at this quick decision and quite annoyed with the way he was treating his own home. “Um…Are you sure about your decision?” He ignored the way Sasuke was stuffing some medicines and herbs into a backpack, which reminded him oddly of his own backpack he rarely used. “Where did you find that backpack? Isn’t that mine?” He had forgotten to ignore, because he was getting annoyed with the boy’s rudeness.

Sasuke ignored Kiyoshi’s pleas about his backpacks and glanced at him. “You said there were pathways through the mountains, which will take me shorter than the two days of walking through the river path. I don’t want to waste two days just trying to search for Sakura’s father.” He would first kill himself if he sees Sakura sad when he finds out that in those two days, Jounichi would be dead.

Kiyoshi sighed, giving up on watching cautiously as Sasuke took whatever he could find and stuffing them into the backpack which clearly wasn’t his. He figured that Sasuke wouldn’t give a damn whose house he was destroying as long as it accomplished something good. Kiyoshi has to give him points for being such a loyal young man for the woman he cared about. “You might want to grab one of the bottles in the top shelf on the right cupboard,” he suggested.

Sasuke paused from his scavenging and did as he was told, reaching with his long arms towards the top shelf on the right cupboard. He grasped his fingers around a medium sized bottle and gently removed it from the shelf. Sasuke glanced at it for a while, and then looked up at Kiyoshi. “What is this?”

“It’s a potion for you, just in case you get really injured. It’ll stop the blood flow to your wounded shoulder as well.”

Sasuke nodded and stuffed the bottle in the backpack. When he was done, he stared at the drawers in front of him, emotions running through his face, his back facing the older man. “If I don’t come back, please tell Sakura…”

“Tell her what?” Kiyoshi asked curiously.

“I barely know you, but I know that you can tell her this for me…Tell her that…” Sasuke turned his head to glance at Kiyoshi. “I never once stopped thinking about her when I left ten years ago to find my brother…I really don’t understand how I’m feeling right now, but all I know is that I want to do anything for her. So…”

Kiyoshi nodded his lips in a straight line. “Don’t worry, I’ll let her know.”

“Thank you…” Sasuke closed all the cupboards he almost left opened and closed his backpack and put it on his back. With one last glance at the older man, Sasuke wordlessly turned and began walking out.

“Aren’t you going to say good bye to her?” Kiyoshi asked.

Sasuke stopped by the doorway, said nothing and then left the cabin completely.

The older man sighed and watched through the opened door, the young man disappearing into the darkness of the forest. “All this for the sake of love…” Kiyoshi said to himself, shaking his head. “What has the world come today?” He walked to the door and closed it after he made sure Sasuke was gone.

Chapter 6 – Sayuri

The morning mist covered the land and surrounded the whole world with an eerie portrait, similar to horror stories told to children who were thought to be brave. Normally, people would still be comfortable in their beds, tucked under their blankets and waited until afternoon sunshine welcome them with warm kisses on their cheeks. However, there was one who was too impatient to wait for sunrise and would rather stare above the fog and welcome it.

Her long eyelashes fluttered once and a while, forcing the sleep that has consumed her for a few days (after taking pain medicines) to wither away like the wind, but she knew it was impossible. Sakura heard a soft knock and when she wouldn’t answer, she heard it again; this time a lot louder. She needed not to comply, because at the third knock, the door opened. It was an hour now since she last heard from Kiyoshi Shinpachi.

“I was beginning to think you disliked me for giving you so many pain medicines…” Kiyoshi spoke mildly, adding a little chuckle to his comment.

Sakura kept her eyes trained outside the window towards the cloudy texture of the forest. “If I wasn’t wounded, I would have gone with him.” Yes, she knew that Sasuke would be stubborn enough to go alone. Any mission Sasuke would be assigned to, he would take away any risks to accomplish.

Kiyoshi was not surprised, however that Sakura knew right away of the decision Sasuke had made. “Either way, I have a feeling you were planning on going to him I suppose?”

Sajyra glanced at him. “I barely know you, yet you seem to know what I’m thinking.”

The older man laughed half-heartedly and handed her another bottle of the pain medicine. “The Haruno family are known for their stubbornness when it comes to the people they love.”

The pink haired Chuunin looked away, embarrassed about Kiyoshi’s statement, not because she was denying it, but because most of it was true. “How long?”

Kiyoshi nodded, understanding the question. “Two more days of drinking the medicine provided for you and then you can come with me to the village where Sausuke had gone off to.”

She agreed and drank the entire bottle with two gulps before handing the empty bottle back to Kiyoshi. Much to his interest, Kiyoshi took the bottle without another word and left the room.

When Sakura was sure he was gone, she glanced out the window and said silently to herself. “Sasuke-kun, please wait for me…”

------------------

Lately he hasn’t been himself. Sleeping late wasn’t his normal habit he had welcomed, but in the most recent events, insomnia had taken over. A day had arrived quicker than he imagined and in those twenty-four hours he spent, he continued on to journey until he arrived at his destination. Mist village was true to its name and to prove such a statement, the village itself was surrounded with an array of cloudy mist and silence. Sasuke was unsure at first whether to venture no further, deeper towards the “lively” part of town with people walking as if they were dead, down sidewalks.

“Can I help you, young man?” Sasuke glanced up, after realizing he wasn’t alone and noticed a brightly uniformed middle-aged woman smiling at him.

Although Sasuke found it quite odd that a woman was wearing brightly coloured garments under the lucid, serene mood of the village, he went on to say, “Yes, I am looking for a certain man…”

The woman, with her raspy, deep voice, laughed out loud. “Boy, there are many handsome young men your age looking for a man!”

Sasuke blinked and when he realized what she meant, his eyes widened and he blushed. The woman laughed again. “Perhaps, I should be a little clear on the jokes I make! Now, what is the name of this man you are looking for?”

The dark haired Chuunin let the woman’s horrid jokes slide away before saying, “His name is Jounichi Haruno.”

The laughter suddenly died down, the woman’s face now replaced with a look of shock. “I don’t know him…” She turned and headed back inside her home.

“Wait…” Sasuke was seconds in front of her. “You had that look just now…you KNOW him, don’t you?” He could tell that just by looking into her eyes, the woman was debating whether to trust Sasuke with the information she might know, or lie to him straight out.

She sighed and took a quick glance to her right, before saying, “It’s going to be a long story…”

“I have all day…” True, he had all day, but part of him was hesitant whether to stay in the village long enough to listen to a middle-aged woman’s tale.

She stared at him, a skeptical look played in her eyes, yet she strolled pass him and walked inside her simple, straw hat home. “Well, come on in,” the woman said, after noticing that the young Chuunin still stood outside as if waiting to be invited in.

Sasuke took one big step with his long legs and he was inside the small house, having to duck just below the doorway. Inside, Sasuke noticed, was a lot bigger than he thought. Of course, for a woman living alone, it was quite surprising. Perhaps the only thing that made it bigger was the lack of furniture. There was a kitchen in the left hand corner of the large space that made up the whole house and if Sakura had seen such a thing, she would think if the most “cutest” kitchen. On the same side of the kitchen, which was of course a round wooden dining table, with four legs, one having to be propped on top of a small flat rock to keep it steady. With this table were two chairs, one of them, the farthest to him had one leg broken (though you can never really tell), since it seemed to have been glued on tight together.

“I apologize for the mess,” the woman said in a very apologetic tone. She walked over to her kitchen counter, which was practically made into old bricks stuck together and began pouring tea from a kettle on to a cup. “Have a seat!” She gestured for Sasuke to sit on the nearest chair while she served him tea and sat on the broken chair. It squeaked once, then it stopped altogether after that.

Sasuke mumbled a “thank you,” for the tea before taking a few sips from it. When he had done so, the dark haired Chuunin put the cup back down and patiently waited, all the while the woman was thinking on how to start off this story. She nodded to her right. “You see that pile of rubbish on the mountain over there?” The young Chuunin glanced to his left, only noticing the window overlooking the high mountain of Mist village. “That pile of rubbish used to be a temple, which was destroyed twenty-one years ago. In that temple a very important priestess guarded that very same temple with a very important scroll inside…”

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“Sayuri-sama!” A girl about eighteen, with long brown hair looked up from her sweeping. A second girl, a year younger than her, walked up to her. “Your father wishes to speak with you.”

“All right,” Sayuri nodded. “I will be there in a few moments. I have to finish sweeping.” The young girl nodded and was just heading out the door when it opened by itself. She gasped, startled by the sound, followed by the heavy footsteps of two men.

“What happened Rika? Did something happen?” Sayuri poked her head from behind the shrine.

Rika shook her head. “I am fine, Sayuri-sama…” She glanced at one of the men dressed in their traditional Mist village ninja robes and frowned. “Do knock before barging inside, Gin-kun!”

The handsome Chuunin gave her an apologetic look. “Gomen, Rika-chan but this is quite urgent. I need to speak with the Yamakage-sama.”

“He is as usual in his office, Gin-kun,” Sayuri replied, nodding at a building just adjacent to the temple the young woman was sweeping from. She took a quick glance at the man standing behind Gin. He looked very young, although a few years older than herself and wore the trademark of Konoha around his forehead, a village whom Sayuri knew her father has been negotiating with for the past two years. She had seen him before, but never really taken a good look at this man before her. Indeed, from what Rika had told her, he was very handsome, tall and rugged looking. Her father had told her that a man from Konoha would be coming back after two years for the scroll they were waiting for. The scroll was a very important document that Sayuri had been protecting for those two years. As a priestess, it was her duty to guard this very important document, despite the fact that she had no idea WHAT was written in it. “Now, would you mind leaving so I can sweep the floor you are standing on?”

Gin looked down at the leaves and dirt he was standing on and quickly stepped away. “Ah! Gomen…We will go.” And when he had finished apologizing, Gin led the man up the steps of the temple towards the palace.

“Rika-chan?” Sayuri looked back towards the front gates and noticed Rika just coming back seconds later. “Rika-chan, did you ever find out the name of that man Gin-kun is with?”

“Mou, Sayuri-sama,” Rika said, frowning. “Have you already forgotten his name? It was only two years ago…eto, I think it was Jounichi Haruno. Why?”

Sayuri shrugged and continued sweeping. “No reason…” When she finished sweeping the floor, Sayuri leaned the broom against the shrine wall and turned towards Rika. “Come now, Rika-chan, I think I better go see father. He is quite impatient when I am not there every time he asks for me.” She walked pass Rika and ascended up the steps towards the temple.

They had arrived ten minutes later on the front doors of the palace. Gin stood near the door, chatting with the two guards, while listening to the conversation that was happening inside the palace walls. “Really, Gin-kun, do you have other things to do besides listening to conversations?”

Gin straightened up and turned to face Sayuri and Rika, sweat pouring down at the sides of his face. “Ah! Sayuri-sama! I was just…”

Sayuri sighed. “No need to apologize, Gin-kun…” She walked pass him, ignoring the pleas of the guards that there was an important conversation happening inside and walked in. Rika followed closely and watched as her young priestess slowly sashayed towards the conversation, careful not to disrupt something important.

“Ah, Sayuri…” The conversation quickly ceased there at the sight of the young woman walking down the aisle. The Yamakage stood up and walked over to his daughter gracefully, his steps as quiet as anything. “Haruno-san, I would like you to meet my daughter, Sayuri.”

The tall, young man turned to look at her and nodded. “Nice to meet you, Sayuri-san.” He bowed, while Sayuri did so in return, giving him a kind smile. And when he lifted his head back up, the young woman had a chance to look into his eyes. His eyes were a bright green and Sayuri was very good at observing people’s eyes and this man’s eyes held so much knowledge of the world. This man had traveled many places and had seen many things, unlike her, who was trapped watching over the temple and not know what was happening outside of the Mist village walls.

“Nice to meet you as well, Haruno-san,” Sayuri retorted.

“Haruno-san, Sayuri is the priestess of the temple here in Mist village and she is the one who protects the scroll that Konoha wishes to achieve.”

“Otousama, I have been wondering…” Both men’s heads turned to look at her. Sayuri saw it as a sign of intrusion to their conversation, but she went on to ask, “What is the scroll for? What is written inside?”

Her father seemed to hesitate, but what surprised her was the fact that this man before her, this stranger from Konoha was the one who answered. “The scroll is a contract tying two large lands together and in this case, Konoha and Mist. It is a very important document and your village is the one that has published it, to make it legal and to make it safe from other villages who wish for domination of others.”

Sayuri nodded and smiled at him. “Thank you for that information. I honestly thought THAT would’ve been the answer.” She glanced at her father. “Why couldn’t you tell me that yourself when I was assigned to protect the scroll?”

The Yamakage sighed. “I didn’t think it was that important anyway.”

“Importan? Don’t you think it was important to let me KNOW about these things so I’m NOT confused?”

There was silence and after a few seconds, the sound of someone clearing their throat could be heard. Sayuri and her father turned their heads at the man who gently bowed and said, “I am done my business here. Thank you again. I will inform the Hokage-sama that the scroll is finished and I shall come back tomorrow to pick it up.”

Sayuri watched as the man turned and headed out the door. ‘Tomorrow,’ she thought. ‘Tomorrow, I’ll see him again….’

----------------

And tomorrow had arrived…

Sayuri was up early in her sweeping and stood closer by the gates and once and a while glancing to see whether Gin would open the door, followed by the handsome man from Konoha. She was intrigued by him, the way he moved, the way he spoke…he was one of the first few men she would dare make any eye contacts with. A priestess was not allowed to look at a man a certain way, only respect, but Sayuri found herself attracted to him.

Then, the moment of truth…

She heard footsteps heading towards the gate. The sound of footsteps paused and then the gate suddenly opened. However, Sayuri was not prepared for what was behind that gate. Two tall men appeared from behind the creaking gate, wearing unfamiliar black robes, their faces covered everything in black, except their eyes. There were black marks around their eyes, indicating that eyes were the most important feature for these men. Startled, Sayuri picked up her broom to the level of her eyes and gripped her hands around it. “Who are you?”

One man, taller than the other one, seemed to have only noticed Sayuri there. Without a word, he charged towards her and started attacking. To his surprise, however, Sayuri was sporting best defenses against her opponent. “Good for you Priestess…I didn’t think women like you could defend such attacks.”

“Well I am not like other women!”

The sound of a fist clashing against a broom could be heard. The noise attracted many of the Mist ninjas patrolling the area and Rika and Gin were there seconds later to witness Sayuri fight with all her might. “Sayuri-sama!” Rika gasped as the broom Sayuri was using broke from one of the men’s strong fists.

“Sayuri-sama!” Gin ran to her aid, but the shorter man was already attacking him so the Chuunin was forced to defend himself from his new opponent. He crossed his arms in front of his face to block the man’s attacks, but he had a mistake by leaving an opening near his stomach and he was punched in his gut and he collapsed on the floor.

“GIN-KUN!” Rika was about to run to him when she too was knocked unconscious by the same man.

“RIKA-CHAN!”

The man grabbed Rika’s wrist. “Oh, bad idea to let your guard down…” The man was about to punch her in the gut when something stopped him. Surprised, he glanced up and noticed a hand gripped around his wrist.

“You’re right…bad idea,” a man spoke from behind the ninja. Sayuri glanced behind the man and noticed Jounichi frowning up at the taller man. “I am no fighter, sir but when it comes to hurting women, I don’t tolerate such behavior. Now, please let go of her.”

The taller man smirked. “And what will you do if I don’t?”

Jounichi kept the frown on his face. He really was no fighter, but even shinobis who only go to different villages to negotiate matters, still have to train and learn how to defend themselves and others. Konoha were strong on many shinobis whose hearts were defending people. The brown haired man took one deep breath before making his moves.

Startled, his opponent was surprised with these fast attacks and he had no time to defend himself. His companion was behind Jounichi seconds later, attacking from behind. Much to his surprise, however, Jounichi used some kind of jitsu and appeared behind the other one and punches him from there. The shorter shinobi gasped and fell to his knees and collapsed.

“Why you-!” The taller man charged, but Jounichi was ready for this and he used a different jitsu, sharp leaves appearing around him and cutting through his opponent’s skin. He screamed, blood pouring from the cuts. He charged again, but since there were lots of blood from this particular attack, the man collapsed, breathing hard. “What’s…what’s happening to me?”

Jounichi sighed. “These leaves have a special ‘something’ inside them so you just lie there and do nothing.” He walked over to him and crouched down beside him. “Now tell me, why did you attack Sayuri-san and those people over there?” he asked, pointing to Gin and Rika unconscious on the floor.

“We were sent here for the scroll. The scroll belongs to us!”

“Belongs to you?”

“You’re trusting the wrong pe-!” Suddenly, something shot through the air, pass by Jounichi’s foot and plunges directly into the man’s heart and he dies instantly. “Good job, Haruno-san.” Jounichi looks up and noticed the Yamakage approaching them. The one who threw the kunai to the man’s heart was another ninja and he walked over to the dead ninja and pulled out his kunai and replaced it back in its sheath. “Are you all right, Sayuri?”

Sayuri nodded and smiled at Jounichi. “Arigatou gozaimasu Haruno-san,” she said, bowing in gratitude. “Haruno-san protected me father.”

Yamakage nodded in approval. “Yes I saw. And I believe I have found someone to protect you from now on, Sayuri.”

Jounichi looked at him curiously. “Me, sir?”

“I saw the way you fight and I’m hiring you as my daughter’s bodyguard until the scroll is COMPLETELY finished. Since Konoha and Mist will soon be allies, this would be a great opportunity to test the trust of our new allies.”

The taller man didn’t say a word.

“Good, I’m glad we understand each other. Tanaka, please do take care of Gin and Rika for me. I don’t want any mess in my courtyard. Sayuri let’s go back inside.” With that said, he turned and left, while the tall shinobi named Tanaka picked up the two men easily with his arms and left.

“I’ll be there, father,” Sayuri called. She glanced at Jounichi and to his surprise and even her, kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you again, Haruno-san.” She smiled at him and goes over to Gin and Rika to make sure they were all right and to her relief they were.

Jounichi watched her for a bit before turning around and leaving, contemplating on the new job he was unaware he had been hired to do. ‘Okay, since when have I become someone’s bodyguard?’

-------------------

“The end,” the middle-aged woman said, leaning back.

Sasuke stared at her, annoyed that she suddenly stopped without ending the story right. “The end?”

The woman shrugged and stood up. “Well for now anyway. I’m quite tired and it’s been a long day for me. I’m sure you are tired as well, Mr…?”

“Sasuke…Uchiha Sasuke,” the dark haired Chuunin replied quietly.

“Yes… Uchiha-san,” the woman said, smiling kindly at him. “You will stay if you want to hear more of my story.” She turned and got ready to go upstairs, when Sasuke’s voice stopped her at the first step.

“How do you know if this story is true? And if it’s true, how would you have known the whole story?”

The woman smiled. “I guess you will have to find out tomorrow, ne? I’ll go and prepare your room for you. But I’m sure you already know who I am…I have always been beside my Sayuri-sama for as long as I can remember”

Sasuke blinked and watched her go up the stairs. “Rika…san,” he mumbled.

Chapter 7 – Kiyoshi’s Story

Clouds hovered above the quiet village. Outside, he hadn’t noticed any form of life, except maybe that of a small rodent that scurried from one shelter to another across the wet pavement. He felt as though they were the only ones left in the world-just him and…Sasuke turned away from the window and looked over at Rika. She was a woman who was somehow connected to Jounichi’s former lover, Sayuri.

“You’re still here,” the woman said as a matter of fact.

Sasuke went to sit next to her on the dining room chair. “I am. I want to know the rest of the story.”

Rika smiled. “For you to say such words prove you are willing to open up your heart for the woman you love.”

Sasuke said nothing.

“Very well…” She cleared her throat, before continuing on. “Sayuri-sama was falling deeper and deeper in love with this man from Konoha. She was careful of course, not to reveal such feelings in front of everyone she knew in the village. I was the only one knowledgeable enough for her love for Jounichi…”

------------------------------------

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

He glanced to his right and noticed the Priestess approaching. Her long brown hair was beautiful under the moonlight and Jounichi couldn’t help but notice such radiance coming from her. He has often wondered why such women were chosen for the job as a priestess, whether they were chosen for their looks or their intelligence.

She laughed. “Haruno-san? Are you all right?”

Jounich blinked. He hadn’t noticed that was staring at her the whole time. Jounichi turned away and stared up at the sky. “Wonderful?”

Sayuri nodded. “The stars. I have often wondered why they are much brighter and more beautiful at night.” She looked at him and smiled.

Jounichi saw the sadness in her eyes.

“My mother once told me that dark and light have this great impact when working together than light with light or dark with dark.”

“You mean opposites attract?” He continued to stare deeper into her brown eyes.

Sayuri nodded. “I guess you could put it that way.” She looked up into the sky. So many memories were beginning to take flight in her mind as she sat down on the ground and began humming a tune.

“What’s that?”

The brown haired girl looked up. “What’s what?”

Jounichi leaned against the tree behind him and folded his arms across his chest. “That song you’re humming…it’s nice.”

“It’s what my mother used to hum to me to sleep during these quiet of nights.” Sayuri stood up and started to sing out the words in a clear, concise voice.

“Oh beautiful night

How wonderful the stars

How magnificent the moon

A unicorn dances in the sky

Brightening the night with its splendor

A bird sings

Telling the world good night

How soon you shall sleep

Into wonderful dream

No nightmare shall consume you

But may it be romance and happiness

Oh beautiful night

How wonderful the sky

Thousands of twinkle In the darkest of night…”

She ended the song and continued to stare up at the sky, unaware that Jounichi was staring at her, mesmerized by her voice, the song and her beauty.

He too was feeling deeper and deeper in love.

-----------------

...In the middle of the night...

Sayuri awoke at the sound of a door opening. Slowly, she got up from bed. ‘Who on earth would be awake at this hour?’ She thought. Cautiously, she walked over to the door, then opened it quickly, widening it in front of her. However, there was no one there. She peeked her head out and glanced around, but still there was no sign of anyone’s presence in the hallway. Moonlight fell upon the hallway leading to the shrine, where the scroll would be. Her eyes followed those lights towards a shadowed figure. “Who’s there?” Sayuri grabbed to the side of her dresser drawer a broom that Rika had left behind.

The figure paused to look at her.

She held the broom at her eye level and approached the figure carefully. “What do you want?”

Suddenly, she was pinned against the wall. Sayuri fired back by swinging her broom to the side of the attacker, allowing herself room to escape.

After being hit hard to the side, the figure quickly recovered and ran after her. She was caught off guard when he appeared in front of her, with nowhere to escape. She tried to fight back again, but the attacker swung his knife, aiming for her belly. Sayuri managed to avoid a dangerous retaliation, but barely. She could tell this was a man attacking her, from the way he moved. Nevertheless, despite what gender the attacker was, she knew she had to stop thinking about that. Both would be after her life. ‘What am I running away for?’ she thought to herself. ‘Haruno-san…’ Sayuri needed to be brave.

Suddenly, the young woman stopped running and pivoted so fast that the shinobi was even shocked at this move. He stopped dead in his tracks and noticed the expression in Sayuri change from fear to determination. “What do you want?” She clenched her hand tightly around her broom.

“Nothing that concerns you, Priestess!” He charged again, slashing at her with his dagger.

Sayuri gasped, blocking every inch of the shinobi’s attacks. He was slowly forcing her back against the wall, hoping to trap her. She took another step and behind her, she felt the cold wall. She was too distracted by the wall that she hadn’t seen the knife come down on her arm and the shinobi managed to leave a deep gash on her right arm. She winced, but she released no cry.

The shinobi decided to finish her off with a final blow, but before he could do anything, something got in his way. It took her a moment to realize that someone had moved in front of her for the second time. She wasn’t the only one surprised by the presence of Haruno Jounichi. He looked at Jounichi intently. “This does not concern Konoha! Why do you protect a priestess from the Mist? THEY are the ones not to be trusted!”

Jounich frowned. “Are you all right, Sayuri-san?”

Sayuri clutched at her injured arm. “Hai.”

Jounichi’s frown stuck on his face. He grabbed his kunai and pointed it against the man’s chest. “Perhaps it is you who should not be trusted!” There was a dangerous look in the brown haired man’s eyes, something Sayuri has never seen before.

“I have come to destroy the scroll in which will cause harm not only for us, but mostly for Konoha! Your Hokage does not know the real truth behind his so-called ally!”

“And what is the truth?”

The shinobi opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly stopped and fell forward. Startled, Jounichi caught him and noticed three kunais wedged at his back, blood dripping endlessly around them. Jounichi looked up and saw the Yamakage standing there with two of his own shinobis at his side.

“Throw the body away,” Yamakage ordered to one of his men.

One shinobi took the dead body from Jounichi and dragged him away.

“Good job once again, Haruno-san. I will always remember the many times you have saved my daughter. I am now at ease, knowing a man like you can fight well to protect my daughter.”

Jounichi nodded. “It is my duty, after all.”

The Yamakage nodded an approval and glanced at his daughter, then back at Jounichi. “It seems the shinobi from Cloud managed to enter the shrine and disposed of the scroll we have worked on for days. I’m afraid, your duty will have to prolong in protecting my daughter as we start from the beginning.” There was a hint of irritation from the last sentences in the Yamakage’s voice. He turned to his daughter. “Sayuri, are you all right?”

Sayuri stood up slowly, but winced when she felt her knees buckle. “Hai, otousama…”

“Good. You seem uninjured, so continue to protect the scroll. Rika, please tend to your Priestess.” With that said, he turned and left.

“Hai!” Rika ran to Sayuri’s side immediately.

Jounichi watched Sayuri’s father leave without every look of concern for his daughter. “Does he not worry for your well-being?” he said outloud.

Sayuri laughed. “My father has always been like that.” She stood up slowly. “I am used to it-AH!” Her knees buckled again and she was forced to sit back down.

“Sayuri-sama! What’s the matter?” Rika glanced down at her with a look of deep concern.

Sayuri sighed. “I guess my body is not used to so much physical activities. I will be all right. I just need to unbuckle my knees for a moment.”

“But…your injury! Your father told me to take care of you immediately!”

The brown haired girl looked up at Rika and smiled reassuringly at her. “It’s only a cut!”

“It is not only a cut.” Rika looked up and noticed Jounichi approaching her. Without another word, she watched as the Konoha man kneeled in front of her, with his back towards her. “Rika-san, please help Sayuri-san climb on to my back.”

It took Rika a while to realize what he was trying to do before she answered “Hai!” and helped Sayuri slowly climb on Jounichi’s back. When she was finished, she stepped back and watched as Sayuri’s petite form fit well with the larger stature of the man’s back.

“Hang on to me tightly, Sayuri-san,” he said to Sayuri.

Rika followed closely as they made their way to their small infirmary within the perimeter. It was only a few doors away, but for Sayuri, she wished they could be like this for eternity as she laid her head against his back.

When they arrived, the infirmary was as expected, empty. Rika quickly went ahead and rummaged through the drawers for some herbs or anything that could help with Sayuri’s wound. When she finished, she went to where Sayuri sat in one of the empty beds, with Jounichi standing nearby.

“This is all I could find,” Rika said, putting the things on the bed. She took out a gauze and poured a little bit of alcohol in it, just enough to soak the gauze. Then when she was satisfied, she dabbed the gauze filled alcohol on to the wound. Sayuri flinched from the stinging and took a deep breath. “Gomenne,” Rika said quietly.

Sayuri shook her head. “Mmm, it’s all right.”

As Rika continued to dab the alcohol to remove the excess blood from around the wound, she was surprised how deep the gash was on Sayuri’s arm.

“You were brave back there,” Jounichi suddenly said out loud.

The brown haired woman shook her head and replied, without looking at Jounichi in the eyes. “If I was brave, I wouldn’t have been able to cut myself like this.”

“Being brave does not necessarily mean you are not injured. All brave men and women have some way to show they were, during a scuffle.” He glanced at Rika, who was staring at the deep gash on Sayuri’s arm, who also seemed unsure on what to do. “How is the wound, Rika-san?”

Rika looked up. “Eto…” There was a drop of sweat pouring from the side of her face. “I…I don’t really know how to stitch up a wound. I am merely a handmaiden to the Priestess. Gomen-nasai, Sayuri-sama.”

Sayuri shook her head again. “Please…do not apologize so.”

Jounichi reached over and fished through the things Rika brought from the drawer and took out a needle and a roll of thread. Rika watched as he pulled up a chair beside the bed and began working through the wound with the thread and needle, slowly, yet expertly stitching up the gash.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Sayuri asked, her eyes widening in amazement.

The brown haired man smiled. “During a mission, usually there are three shinobis. One who understands the concept of their surroundings, one who is a very strong fighter and one who was a healer in case any of the two were injured.”

“And you are the third,” Sayuri said. She liked the feeling of his large hands on her skin. He felt warm and comforting and she wondered what it would be like if she were in his arms right now.

Jounichi nodded. “Yes.” He finished the stitching by tying the ends together and dabbed more alcohol around the wound to get rid of the blood from her skin. “You should be all right now.”

Sayuri looked down at her wound, which was now closed up. She clenched her right hand, but she still felt pain and she winced. “Arigatou.”

The older man shook his head. “You shouldn’t move around so.”

The brown haired girl nodded. “Right...” She looked at Jounichi straight in the eyes. “Please teach me how to fight.”

Jounichi was caught off guard with this request. “Nani?”

Sayuri sighed and looked out the window. “I want to be able to learn how to fight back at least, instead of defending myself all the time. I do not want to see the disappointed look on my father’s face that his own daughter, who became a priestess to protect the scroll, does not even know how to injure an attacker.”

“Sayuri-sama…”

Jounichi stood up. “Protecting something or someone does not mean you need to fight back. I was quite impressed with how well you handled yourself against the shinobi from the Cloud country. You do not need to learn how to fight. You are already a good fighter within you.”

“PLEASE!” Sayuri pleaded with a louder tone in her voice.

Startled, the brown haired man looked at her and allowed her to continue speaking her mind.

“I…I REALLY want to learn how to fight back! This is the only chance I have of learning! I trust you! My father trusts you! Rika trusts you!”

Jounichi took a long deep breath and did not reply for a while. Sayuri patiently waited for an answer, while Rika sat beside Sayuri without a word.

After a long silence, the older man finally spoke. “So you are prepared to face the dangers of a real fight between shinobis? You are prepared to even kill a man even in dire situations?”

Sayuri nodded and with a firm answer, said, “Yes.”

“Very well, I shall teach you. However, you need to heal yourself first before we go on this training.”

“Ohhhhh! THANK YOU SO MUCH! THANK YOU!” Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him in for a hug. Surprised at this, the only thing Jounichi could do was pat her on the back awkwardly, while Rika watched on, confirming to herself that indeed, Sayuri was in love with this man.

------------------------

“Ah! You’re awake now…” Kiyoshi entered the room, carrying a tray of what Sakura could see, bottles of more medicines that she was sure he was prepared to feed her for her wound. He stopped dead in his tracks and was surprised to see Sakura already standing and was rummaging through his closet. “Uh…I see that Sasuke has taught you SOME things…even going through a man’s closet.”

Sakura looked at him. “If you knew my father, then you would already expect that I cannot sit here and wait for Sasuke-kun to come back.” She grabbed a large duffel bag that she was glad to have found and placed it on the bed and began putting random things inside.

Kiyoshi placed the tray on the table and walked up to her. “There is a fine line between courage and stupidity.” He watched as the pink haired girl zipped the duffel bag closed and was heading for the door. Sighing, he quickly walked passed her and blocked the door. “Were you listening to what I was just saying?”

“Please Kiyoshi-san…” Sakura looked up with a determined look in her eyes.

The older man shook his head. “Sasuke specifically told me to-!”

“TO HELL WITH SASUKE-KUN!” She clenched her fists at her sides, shaking with anger. Her eyes were burning with rage as she stared face to face with Jounichi’s old friend. She looked away quickly and took a deep breath to calm down.

“Did you really mean that?”

Sakura looked back at him. “Of course I…didn’t.” She took a deep breath and adjusted the duffel bag on her shoulder. “I…I love Sasuke-kun.”

“Then if you love him so much, then you wouldn’t be planning to go off after him and getting yourself hurt. I’m sure Sasuke wouldn’t want that from you.”

The pink haired girl shook her head. “The one Sasuke-kun is looking for is my father. He’s my father, Kiyoshi-san! I…I want to at least be able to help out.” She glanced down on the ground, her fists still clenched at her side.

Kiyoshi looked down at her. He sighed, placing a hand on top of her head. “You really ARE Chiharu’s daughter.”

Surprised at this, Sakura looked up at him.

The older man smiled, but deep down the pink haired girl knew he was hiding something deeper behind that smile. “When she was determined, she would always clench her fists and look down on the ground as if not wanting to show how brave she really was. That’s what I loved about her.”

“You…loved her?” She blushed and looked away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Kiyoshi shook his head. “It’s all right. I don’t mind answering for you. Yes, I loved her. Your father, your mother and I were the best of friends, but I was always the one looking out for Chiharu. I knew of her feelings for Jounichi, but he was blinded of them. You see, your father also loved the idea of being out there in the world and traveling. Both of us loved it, but Chiharu, being the only girl in our group, was comfortable with staying in the village.” He chuckled at a little bit of memory. “She would always scold us for wandering off too far from the village when we were eleven.”

Sakura sat down on the chair near the table where Kiyoshi had placed the tray of medicine and continued to listen to Kiyoshi’s story. She put the duffel bag down on the floor. “She scolded you?” She smiled. “My mother always believed that being scolded was the best way to understand the wrong things done to people.”

“That’s EXACTLY the same thing she would always say whenever your father and I went off out of the village without her. In reality you see, when she would say that, it meant she wanted to do the same thing you were doing!” He laughed again and remembered the way Chiharu looked every time they wouldn’t listen to her. Kiyoshi looked at Sakura curiously. She was hesitating about something. “Is there something you’d like to ask me?”

“Um…did you ever tell my mother you loved her?” When she asked this, Sakura wasn’t looking at Kiyoshi straight in the eyes. She seemed quite too shy to ask more personal questions regarding himself and his best friends.

Kiyoshi looked out the window. “Of course not. If I did, you wouldn’t be here by now.”

Sakura glanced back at him.

“You see, your mother and father were arranged to be married.”

“What?” Sakura was shocked at this information. “A…arranged marriage?”

Kiyoshi blinked. “Oh damn…” He shook his head. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that. Don’t worry, your parents loved each other very much.”

The pink haired girl frowned. “Loved?”

“Oh! Um…they still love each other of course!” He laughed nervously, hoping that Sakura was going to let go about what he said. Kiyoshi took a long deep breath, Sakura watching him intently and rubbed the back of his neck. “Listen, I did love your mother, but in the end, Jounichi has learned to love Chiharu. I knew from the very beginning, Chiharu’s heart will always belong to a man like him. He was a lot more outgoing and stronger than I was, so who better than to protect your mother, but your father.”

Sakura stood up. “The truth.”

“What?”

She grabbed the bag from the floor and slung it on her shoulder. “The other reason why I want to go after my father is to find out the truth from him…and why he’s been missing for ten long years. I deserve to know the truth at least, Kiyoshi-san. I will only ask this of you.”

Kiyoshi stared deep into her eyes. She was serious and Kiyoshi knew that right there. Once a Haruno…always a Haruno and that’s what Kiyoshi has learned from Jounichi all these years.