Naruto 1. Welcome Home

**Author's Note: So this is my first story, please review and don't be afraid to add constructive criticism :)**

Uchiha Sasuke wasn't the typical person to appreciate his surroundings, but for some reason he felt the need to leave his home and take a walk into town. The sun was out and shining in Konoha, and everyone was out and about, running errands or just simply enjoying the nice weather.

It had been a while since he went out by himself, normally he'd be at the training grounds until sundown, not bothering to go out in public unless he needed to buy food or cleaning supplies. He didn't know why he was out now, his brain told him to go back and train, but his feet just kept walking forward into town, with no particular destination.

Continuing on, Sasuke glanced at some young children running around in the streets, throwing fake shuriken and yelling in delight if one struck another child. The corners of Sasuke's mouth slightly rose, having been amused at the playful spirits of the future shinobi.

"I hit you! Now you're dead!" one girl shouted in glee

"Kagebunshin no Jutsu! Now I got you!" one boy yelled, trying to make hand signs.

"Take this!" one boy yelled, throwing a "shuriken" but missed, and hit Sasuke right in the middle of his stomach, then fell to the ground. Sasuke bent to pick it up, and examined the bent edges of the plastic.

Then he looked up and saw one of the children stare warily at Sasuke. The childrens' laughter ceased, and many adults stopped what they were doing to watch the situation, concern clear on their faces. Ignoring the gasps of the men and women around him, Sasuke walked over to the small boy and held out the fake shuriken.

"Here, be careful next time." he said to the boy.

The boy looked at Sasuke, and cautiously took the shuriken out of his hand, his eyes lowered, not wanting to make eye contact with the Uchiha.

"A- Arigatō." the boy said shakingly. He swiftly ran back to his friends and the boys ran off in another direction, almost tripping over each other. Sasuke watched the boys until they disappeared, and his eyes narrowed.

The men and women were whispering to each other while swiftly glancing at the Uchiha, distrust being present in some of their eyes. Sasuke closed his eyes, put his hands in his pockets and continued onward down the road, ignoring the stares and whispers. Sasuke wasn't in the least bit surprised, he'd been treated this way ever since he returned to Konoha a couple months ago.

* * *

Prior to his return, Sasuke had struggled with his decision to return home. Only after killing his brother did he learn the truth of why Itatchi had murdered his clan, orders from Konoha. His mind was at war.

_He did it to protect the village_

_He was forced to kill his family, to MURDER them _

_He cared about the village enough to kill his clan_

_He spared me_

_What about revenge? What is my path now?_

_I am an avenger._

_My life's purpose.._

He had nothing.

"Damn it." he sighed.

He gathered chakra to his feet and jumped into the trees, letting his feet decide his destination.

He was apprehended as soon as he was spotted near Konoha's gates.

"Hey! Is that Uchiha Sasuke?!" one of the shinobi standing near the gate yelled.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He almost forgot how cautious these guards were, now that Sasuke's name was now probably branded as a traitor. He wouldn't be surprised if he was listed in the infamous bingo book. He jumped down from the branch he was perched on.

"It is! Report to Lady Hokage IMMEDIATELY!" the other shouted, pulling out a kunai.

"Don't bother." Sasuke said with boredom in his voice. "I'm not here for trouble."

The guards glanced at each other with doubt in their eyes, not believing Sasuke.

"Would I be standing here alone if I was lying? You can check around all you want, but there are no men with me and I have no plans to hurt anyone. See for yourself, can you detect any other chakra signatures besides ours in this area?" Sasuke asked them, pointing behind him into the woods. They stared at Sasuke for a long time, not speaking, and finally lowered their kunai.

"Fine. Uchiha Sasuke, come with us."

"Hn."

* * *

She had been working all day, piles of paperwork yet to be signed. She picked up a bottle of sake and drained the remainder of the calming liquid. Just as she signed one more paper, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in." she said briefly.

The door opened and two anbu entered, one's mask resembling some sort of cat, the other, a nameless animal with a turquoise blue pattern swirled around the mask.

"Lady Tsunade, we have a situation." one said.

Tsunade's eyes looked up from her paperwork, she put her sake down.

"What kind of situation?"

Her question was answered when Uchiha Sasuke entered the room.

The Hokage had her hands folded under her chin, her honey colored eyes narrowed suspiciously. Sasuke glared at the two Anbu standing at each end of Lady Tsunade's desk.

"Are anbu really necessary?" Sasuke asked giving the two animal masked shinobi pointed stares.

"I don't know, are they?" Lady Tsunade retorted. "Why have you returned? What are you planning? It must have been a difficult decision to come back and face everyone."

"I can assure you I have nothing planned. I just wish to be re recognized as a Konoha shinobi."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed further. "How do I know that you aren't lying?" she asked

"You don't." Sasuke said plainly.

The two stared at each other for a long time, not blinking once. Then Lady Tsunade smirked.

"Welcome back Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

Something inside Haruno Sakura was beginning to slip. She stood in the middle of town, her feet glued to the ground, with her loudmouthed teammate Uzumaki Naruto as she tried to make sense of the situation. She looked at the man standing in front of her, searching his eyes for any signs of doubt or lies, she found none. She looked over at Naruto, who's fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, and he took a step toward the fellow shinobi standing in front of them.

"Shikamaru…can you.. say that again? I..just..I don't think I heard you right." for once Naruto was choking on his words, Sakura thought to herself, hell if she tried to even utter one word it would come out slurred and unsteady. But that was understandable given the current situation. She was slipping more.

Shikamaru sighed and put his hands in his pockets, taking a deep breath, concern on his face.

More.

"I just got word from Lady Tsunade." Shikamaru began.

Breaking.

"Sasuke's back. He's returned to Konoha." he said

She cracked.

Her eyes flew open and without warning, her feet broke free, and she dashed upwards, gathering chakra to her feet and dashed from building to building with lightning speed. She heard someone following her, no doubt that it was Naruto.

Sakura's eyes were burning with tears as she pumped more chakra to her feet and increased her speed dramatically, leaving Naruto behind.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled.

Sakura ignored Naruto's shouts.

_He's back. He's finally back.. _

Sakura felt like her muscles were on fire, and there was a giant pit in her stomach, but she ignored her body's cries for rest. Her feet made loud clacking sounds as she landed on a rooftop made of tiles, putting cracks in some of them, but she didn't care. She had to get to Hokage Tower. She just had to. Naruto, pumping chakra to his feet, finally caught up with his pink-haired teammate. For what seemed like an eternity, they dashed and ran, finally reaching their destination.

The two ran through the halls of the Hokage Tower, nearly crashing into anyone who was in their way, including a squad of genin, who seemed shocked that two ninja could run at that speed, and dashed through the door to the Hokage's office. Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened. They stood, breathing heavily, un moving, in the doorway as they took in the figure standing before them. Sakura's eyes danced all around Sasuke's body, taking in his muscular arms, his infamous stoic appearance, the Uchiha crest he proudly wore everyday of his life…

The boy, or the man she loved was back.

* * *

Sasuke turned around and looked at his old teammates, surprised that he felt a strong wave of nostalgia hit him, although he didn't show it. His onyx eyes met blue and green ones, each pair staring at his with shock and wonder. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out who would be the first to break the awkward silence, and his guess was correct when Naruto moved an inch.

"Sasuke.." Naruto said, slowly walking over to him. He stopped a few feet away, then without warning punched Sasuke's shoulder and grinned widely at him.

"Well it's about time you came back Teme! I heard you killed Orochimaru! I knew you wouldn't let that bastard take your body! Let's have a fight right now! You and me! I'll beat you in a second just you-"

"Shut up Dobe!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Sasuke inwardly sighed, he didn't think the dobe would change, mentally at least, physically he greatly changed. He was taller, that's for sure. His voice became deeper, but nonetheless still headache inducing.

"And you could never beat me." Sasuke said, punching Naruto's shoulder like his blonde teammate had done earlier.

Naruto looked at him then with acceptance, the kind of look that only a friend would give Sasuke, especially since he went without friendly support for three years, Orochimaru far from being categorized as a friend, let alone his reunion with Itatchi.

Then there was a small whimper.

Sasuke turned to see Sakura staring wide-eyed at the door, tears ready to run down her flushed cheeks, almost matching her pink hair. He noticed her hair grew slightly, down to her shoulders, and her arms and legs were toned and looked strong. She no longer looked like the little twelve year old girl he left unconscious on a bench the night that she tried to stop him from leaving Konoha. She had one arm on the doorframe, supporting herself. Something stirred inside his heart.

"Sakura." he said acknowledging her presence.

At the sound of her name Sakura dashed forward. Sasuke expected to be hit or punched as Naruto had done, but he didn't feel the impact of her fist, but instead had felt Sakura's arms wrap around Sasuke's neck, burying her face into his shirt.

The room went silent once more.

Sasuke grunted from Sakura's crushing hug, surprised at her strength, and wanted to tell her to get off of him, but he looked up at Naruto staring at him, giving Sasuke a very serious look that said "Don't you dare."

Sasuke hesitated, listening to Sakura's hurried breaths, her hands clutching his shirt tightly. Slowly, he began to lift his arms to return his teammate's hug. Sakura was shaking violently in his arms, squeezing him tighter to her body.

"Sasuke-kun…you're..back." she whimpered softly.

Sasuke's eyes softened slightly. He rested his head on top of her pink one.

"I'm back."

* * *

Many D Ranked missions later, Sasuke had worked to earn back the trust of his former fellow shinobi, which was surprisingly successful.

He and Hyuga Neji had a pretty normal conversation between them, normal meaning the occasional nod and acknowledgment of each other's existence. Yamanaka Ino quickly accepted Sasuke back into their group, much to Sakura's dismay. Even Kakashi had graciously welcomed his former student back, occasionally having some friendly sparring sessions, this time without the means to kill each other.

However, he had yet to earn back the trust of most of the villagers, this fact staring Sasuke in the face each day, not that he gave a damn what anyone else thought.

It became exponentially worse the more Sasuke showed his face in the village, especially one day when Sakura had actually managed to convince him to take a walk with her. He didn't know why he had agreed, but he later found himself walking side by side with his former teammate through the streets of Konoha.

Everyone stared at the pair, whispering to each other and giving nervous stares. Sasuke ignored them, being stoic as always.

But what _did_ bother him was that Sakura was not reacting to the whispers and stares around her. She chatted on like nothing was wrong.

Sasuke stared at her with confusion in his eyes. In their years as squad seven, anyone who said anything negative about Sasuke would be punched very hard or slammed into the ground by Sakura herself.

"Don't you DARE say that about my Sasuke-kun!" Sakura would yell.

But the Sakura who was walking next to him seemed like a different person, not even reacting to the villagers

"I don't trust him. Once a traitor, always a traitor." Sasuke had heard one woman say.

"I heard he actually killed Orochimaru. Who's to say he won't kill our Hokage?" another said.

"I think that he's plotting something. A rouge ninja doesn't just decide to come back to his village out of nowhere. He must have some sort of plan to destroy our village." an old woman said.

Sasuke closed his eyes, but opened them once more when he felt someone standing in front of him and Sakura. A Konoha shinobi that he didn't recognize stood in front of them smirking.

"Can we help you?" Sakura said to him, placing her hand on her hip impatiently.

"Honey, you could do so much better than that traitor." he said looking at Sasuke sneering.

"Come with me and I'll prove it it you." he said grabbing Sakura's hand. There was a hungry lust in his eyes..

Sasuke had activated his sharingan, observing his big muscular arms that could crush Sakura's arms if he wanted to, there'd be no way Sakura could fight off this guy.

But evidently, he didn't need to defend her, because what had happened next caught Sasuke off guard to an extreme level.

Sakura smiled sweetly at the shinobi and without warning punched his stomach, his bones emitting a sickening crunch from the impact, sending him flying into a group of trees, or logs, as they now were.

Sasuke froze, his eyes slowly turning from red to black. He couldn't process what had just happened, even as everyone around them went silent and stared at Sakura, then at the shinobi struggling to get on his feet, swaying back and forth like he drank too much sake.

"You might want to ice that." Sakura said sweetly. She walked back to Sasuke grabbed his arm and led him onward. The voices increased in volume drastically, but all Sasuke could do was look at his former teammate.

_What. The. Hell._

"No matter what anyone says, I'll always support you and stay by your side Sasuke-kun." Sakura said looking straight ahead with a satisfied look on her face.

Sasuke felt Sakura entwine her hand with his, giving his hand a supportive squeeze. Sasuke looked at their hands, Sakura's surprisingly soft and warm despite the powerful punch she had delivered a few moments ago.

Sasuke looked at Sakura's face, expecting her to glance at him, but she continued to stare straight ahead, never letting his hand go. That's when Sasuke realized; he had support. It may not be from everyone in Konoha, but Sakura's reassurance was enough.

Returning to present time, Sasuke sighed to himself and continued his walk into town. Despite the fact that he had been back in Konoha for about five months, he hadn't really taken the time to take in the village, he only remembered the old Konoha that he lived in back when he was twelve. Taking in the buildings around him, he noticed that some of them had been recently painted or rebuilt, some shops that he remembered were even completely gone, replaced with flower shops and dango stands. Sasuke's steps were halted suddenly, hearing a familiar loud mouth voice coming out of the Ichiraku ramen stand. Sasuke smirked, he had a good idea who it was, and his guess was right when he saw a figure wearing an orange jump suit sitting down next to a tower of empty ramen bowls, making loud slurping noises.

"And then I used my rasengan to PULVERIZE him! That guy didn't know what was coming! Nobody can beat the Great Uzumaki Naruto!"

"You mean knucklehead." Sasuke said entering the stand.

"Shut up Teme! Naruto exclaimed ditching his chopsticks and picking up his fifth bowl of ramen to drink the broth.

Sasuke watched Naruto drain the ramen bowl. Sasuke would never see why Naruto was so infatuated with this ramen, he practically came here everyday to inhale seven to ten bowls of the stuff, while Sasuke only had it once in his life when he Naruto and Sakura had offered to buy Kakashi lunch, but only hoping to get a peek at his face under the navy mask he always wore back when they were all genin. He didn't see what was so special about it. It was tasty sure, but it was just ramen. Though he would never say that to Naruto, that would result in a Naruto rant which Sasuke would avoid at all costs. He went three years without one, and he didn't want to break his streak.

Naruto had just finished his bowl of ramen when a pink haired kunoichi walked into the stand, adjusting her backpack strap on her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan! What's up?" Naruto said excitedly.

Sasuke glanced at his old teammate, noticing a glimmer of excitement in her green eyes.

"Lady Tsunade summoned us, the three of us are to report to her as soon as possible." Sakura said looking at Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke turned to her.

"Did she say why?" he asked Sakura.

Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "No, but I have a good feeling about this. We may be getting a mission, who knows?!" Sakura said excitedly.

Naruto looked at Sakura, then flashed a giant smile.

"What are we waiting for?!" Naruto practically yelled, slamming money down at the stand to pay for the ramen he inhaled. "Let's go!" Naruto dashed out of Ichiraku, leaving a startled Sasuke and Sakura behind him.

"He hasn't changed has he?' Sasuke said feeling Naruto's chakra level rising with excitement.

Sakura smiled. "Not in the least."

**Yay Chapter one complete! Leave some reviews and I'll post chapter 2! Or don't and I'll still post it, haha. **


	2. Training

**Author's Note: SO happy you guys like it so far! (No weird flashback transitions anymore, pinky promise :) ) And don't worry, Sakura will NOT be portrayed as weak or annoying (As you'll see in this chapter), I personally love her character and she deserves to be portrayed as changed and freaking awesome. With that being said, here's chapter 2! **

Sakura felt as if she were in a dream, everything that had happened to her in the past hour was surreal. She was standing in Lady Tsunade's office, in the middle of Sasuke and Naruto, just like they had when they were genin. Sakura's eyes were glowing, there would be only one reason as to why all three of them were summoned to Tsunade's office.

"It's been a long time you three." Lady Tsunade began, folding her hands on her desk. "I assume you probably already know why I summoned you here-"

"Not really, isn't it obvious? You've finally opened those old eyes of yours and are finally going to give me a mission worthy of my skills!" Naruto said, crossing both of his arms behind his head.

Lady Tsunade sighed. "Well not exactl-"

"I mean it's about time Bāchan, my talents are finally being recognized-" Naruto was abruptly cut off when he felt the impact of a fist to his head.

"Shut up and let the woman TALK YOU IDIOT!" Sakura exclaimed. Inwardly, she sighed. When she thought she wanted things to be like how they used to be, she didn't mean _exactly _how they used to be. Naruto's constant bragging and complaints that missions were too easy always irked her, some things would never change, even after three years.

"SAKURA-CHAN THAT HURT!" Naruto complained, rubbing his head, but nonetheless continued to talk. "Come on Bāchan! Give me something challenging! I haven't been pushed far enough-"

"You're right."

"-in my years as a shinobi and I deserve- …wait what?" Naruto said, abruptly stopping his rant.

"I said," Lady Tsunade said taking a frustrated breath, "You're right. You haven't been pushed enough."

Naruto looked at Lady Tsunade, for once not knowing what to say, looking very confused. Then he spoke again.

"Heh, of course I'm right." Naruto said satisfyingly. Sakura rolled her eyes. He's so immature.

Tsunade smirked "That's why I'm sending _all three _of you on a mission."

Sakura's heart looked at the two men standing next to her on either side, a very surprised Naruto who began to smile very widely, and at Sasuke, stoic as always, but she noticed a slight gleam of interest in his onyx eyes. Sakura found herself slowly begin to smile.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, you three are a team again, I'm officially reinstating Team Seven." Tsunade said with pride in her voice. "Now for the matter of your mission."

"It's an investigation, so pay attention to the details I'm about to give you." Tsunade said.

Sakura's ears perked up, eager to learn the details of the mission.

"We've received reports of strange, massive amounts of chakra developing in the woods near the Land of Rice Patties. These people have little to no shinobi, most are just farmers, so it's not surprising that nobody wants to go out there and investigate. You're mission is to go out there and find the source of this chakra." Tsunade said, looking at each of them.

"I don't get it. It sounds pretty easy, I mean what's so special about this chakra?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade looked into Naruto's eyes. "These chakra levels are massive, too massive to belong to regular shinobi, massive enough…" she sighed. "To be the chakra of a tailed beast."

Naruto's head shot up, his demeanor suddenly serious. Sakura looked over at Naruto, worry filling her body. She knew how sensitive Naruto was about tailed beasts and their jinjuriki, after all he was one himself. Then her worry vanished when Naruto looked up with a determined smile on his face.

"Ok then! No sense in wasting any time! Let's move!" he yelled, thrusting his fist in the air.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, you're due to leave first thing tomorrow." Tsunade said, turning her attention to a pile of paperwork on her desk. "If you're so eager, spend some time at the training grounds before you head out tomorrow. I'm sure you three will want to get…re-acquainted with each other.." Tsunade finished awkwardly, giving Sasuke a somewhat pointed stare. Then she sighed.

"I expect success from this group. You were each trained by a member of the Sanin, like myself. That means you each contain the power that Jiraya, Orochimaru, and myself have, or had in Orochimaru's case. You are all capable of success." she turned to Sakura. "I also expect my student to represent me well. Being the only chunin in team seven as of right now, I trust that you'll make smart choices on this mission Sakura."

Sakura looked at her Shishō with pride in her eyes. She would make her proud.

"Understood." Sakura said.

Sakura clenched both of her fists, finally the last three years of her training would pay off. She would show her teammates that she wasn't the same weak, defenseless twelve year old who always needed to be protected.

No more relying on Naruto and Sasuke to watch her back. This time, she would watch theirs.

This time, she would be right by their side, where she belonged. Where she always belonged.

"Hey wait. Where's Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked "Team seven won't be complete without him."

Sakura had almost forgotten. Where _was_ their old sensei?

"Kakashi is currently on another mission, he won't be back for a few weeks at the most." Tsunade responded.

Sakura sighed. Oh well, but she wasn't going to be the one to sulk at her almost full team. They'll just have to give Kakashi a rain check.

"Dismissed." Tsunade said, pouring a cup of sake.

"Let's go! We don't have time to relax!" Naruto yelled excitedly, grabbing Sakura's wrist and pulling her with him into the hallway.

"Naruto! Where the hell are you going?!" Sakura exclaimed, prying her wrist free of Naruto's grip.

"Where do ya think? You heard Bāchan,The training grounds! We gotta get in shape for tomorrow!"

Sakura sighed, but continued to follow her teammate, although not at his pace. She walked slower, but not slow enough to loose sight of Naruto. Then she felt a figure fall into step beside her.

"So you're a chunin." Sasuke said, with a little interest peaking in his voice.

Sakura smiled. She knew the chunin exams weren't for a few more months, so Naruto was still ranked as a genin, not having taken the exam again. It completely passed her mind that Sasuke wasn't a chunin. Inner Sakura laughed, it must be KILLING him to know that she surpassed him. Although she was freaking out on the inside, she remained calm on the outside.

"It wasn't easy. With Naruto gone I had to be placed with two strangers on a team. It just..never felt the same." she said, looking at her feet as they moved forward at an even pace. "But the training I received from Lady Tsunade paid off." she looked at Sasuke, and was surprised to find him looking at her. Not straight ahead like he always did when someone tried to speak with him, but directly at her face. Back when she was twelve, she would have done anything to have Sasuke look at her when she talked to him. Normally he'd just stare off somewhere, interest absent from his face, but he never told her to shut up back then, so she just kept talking. She wasn't used to this behavior from him, but she liked it.

* * *

Team seven soon found themselves at the training grounds, standing around the short wooden pillars that held so many memories. Sakura smiled, remembering back to when Kakashi had challenged them to take two bells hanging off his vest from him, proving their worth to become genin. It had ended with Naruto tied to one of the pillars, (and constantly caught in traps that had him hanging by his feet by a rope), Sakura caught in a genjutsu of Sasuke broken and injured, and Sasuke being dragged into the ground with only his head left above ground. Sakura remembered the joy she felt after going against the rules to feed Naruto lunch, that event turning out to be what their sensei had wanted them to do all along.

"_Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." _he had said.

Things sure have changed since then, Sakura thought, they were all stronger, more responsible-

"OK Teme! You and me right now!" Naruto suddenly yelled whipping out a kunai.

Scratch that, not all of them were responsible.

Sasuke smirked. "If we fought then you'd be beaten so badly that it would just be me and Sakura on the mission tomorrow." he said

Sakura blushed slightly. She imagined going on a mission with Sasuke, fighting by his side, defending him,

_Healing him.. _

"No way! I could totally kick your ass!" Naruto exclaimed, over confident as ever.

"Naruto stop. If you want to fight someone so badly then fight me." Sakura said, taking out her black fighting gloves.

Naruto frowned. "But Sakura-chan, I might hurt you." Naruto said warily.

Sakura tightened her glove, putting her hand in front of her face, clenching her fist. "I'm tougher than I look. You know that."

Naruto looked into Sakura's eyes then snickered. "Alright then let's do it!" he yelled dashing towards the more woodsy part of the grounds.

Sasuke was interested- scratch that- extremely interested at the scene that had just unfolded in front of him. He saw a gleam in Sakura's eyes, a gleam that he had never seen in her before. In the months that had passed since he had returned to Konoha, she had been proving to him daily that she had changed, both mentally and physically. And now she was gracefully dodging every attack the dobe had thrown at her, even all of the clones he produced couldn't hit Sakura. But he knew that Naruto was going easy on her, and Sasuke had a feeling that Sakura hadn't shown her full abilities yet. He watched as the two ninja, so caught up in their fight, move further into the woods. He was about to follow when he felt a familiar chakra signature behind him. He smirked.

"What do you think he'll do when he finds out he's fighting a clone?" Sasuke said, still facing the woods.

"I'm not going to risk him getting hurt." Sakura said.

"You think you could manage to hurt him?" Sasuke asked

"Like I said, I'm tougher than I look."

At this Sasuke turned to face her. "Then prove it."

Sakura smiled mischievously "I was hoping you'd say that."

Sasuke gripped his kusanagi "How do I know that you aren't a clone as well?"

Sakura flipped a kunai skillfully in her hand and took a fighting stance. "I guess you'll just have to find out."

They stared at each other for a minute, sizing each other out. Sakura was more than ready, to her surprise not even having an ounce of nervousness in her body. She moved her right foot back.

_Watch how much I've grown Sasuke-kun. _She dashed forward.

* * *

She came right at him, with no fear in her eyes. She threw her kunai, aiming right for his chest. Sasuke drew his kusanagi just in time to send Sakura's kunai spiraling in the other direction. Regardless of her failed attack, she still came at him, pulling her fist back to prepare for an impact. Sasuke dodged her first punch and grabbed hold of her wrist. She immediately twisted her wrist free with little effort, much to Sasuke's surprise. Sakura's leg swung unexpectedly, making an impact on Sasuke's side, launching him sideways in midair. He skillfully flipped in midair, landed, then dashed forward. Sakura ran towards him as well, both of her fists clenched together. Suddenly, she stopped, pivoted smoothly and quickly on her right foot, and her fist made contact with Sasuke's clone that snuck up behind her. The clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. How the hell did she detect his clone, and so fast? He snapped out of his private thoughts as he felt Sakura appear behind him. He spun around caught her fist in his hand before it smashed into his face. He smirked triumphantly, but then he saw the corners of Sakura's mouth slowly begin to rise.

And that's when he felt it.

A severe pain began shooting through his hand, traveling up his arm. He grimaced as he saw her give him a triumphant smile.

At first he was confused, he had blocked her punch before it had made impact with his body-

That's when he realized it had made contact, his hand.

There was something about her punches that made them different from normal ones, remembering the punch she had delivered to that shinobi on their walk that one day.

"_I'm tougher than I look" _

Then she raised her leg and slammed it into the ground, jumping up quickly.

Without warning the earth began to crumble at a rapid speed. Sasuke's perception and movements became unsteady as he tried not to fall in-between the giant cracks rapidly spreading through the ground. He quickly sprung into the air, gaining height between him and the ground. He landed safely where the cracks didn't meet the ground, then swiftly spun to once again block Sakura's punch, more pain spreading through his hand and arm. He shoved her away into the air, but she flipped and landed gracefully on her feet. She looked at him, and suddenly glared.

"You're going easy on me." she said accusingly, putting a hand on her hip.

Well _of course_ he was, he didn't want her to land in the hospital because of training, with him being the ultimate cause of her injuries. But of course he was in that mindset before he had witnessed her shatter the ground and manage to cause intense pain form just one punch. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

This was not the same girl that was his teammate three years ago, not the same defenseless kunoichi who had ogled him from day one.

This girl was a stranger.

A pair of fingers jabbed the back of his neck, and his body became limp, sagging to the ground.

Dammit! How did he miss her clone behind him? He cursed under his breath.

He fell to his knees, fighting against his body's will to completely fall on the ground, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of weakening him.

She walked in front of him and gave him annoyed look.

"I don't know why you didn't use your sharingan, but I do know one thing.." she began.

Her hand began to glow blue, her chakra visibly surrounding her hand taking the shape of sharp edges. Sasuke recognized it, chakra scalpels. He'd seen them countless times from Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand man, using them to slice and cut others' skin apart.

She placed her hand right near his neck, almost touching his skin.

"Never underestimate me ever again." she said.

Sasuke looked at Sakura, taking in the kunoichi that stood in front of him. She looked powerful, strong.

Her once timid and averting eyes were now focused and ready to take on anything that came her way.

Sasuke realized that she really had changed.

And somewhere deep down in his heart he was proud of her.

Sakura sighed, and Sasuke watched as her chakra scalpels became dull, the sharp edges lessening more and more. Her chakra blended into a light green, and she took his hand in hers and poured her chakra into his hand. Sasuke felt a warm tingling as the pain in his hand and arm began to subside. Sakura reached behind his neck and placed three fingers on his skin, her chakra flowing into his body, the numbness throughout dulling.

Sasuke stared at his hand that was engulfed in Sakura's chakra. What was wrong with him? Why hadn't he used his full strength? Why hadn't he used his Sharingan? He most definitely would have won this sparring match if he activated his bloodline right from the beginning. He would have known every move she would make, sparing any injuries or over using chakra.

So why in the hell didn't he use his eyes?

Sakura's chakra faded and she let go of Sasuke's hands, rising to her feet. She sighed and extended her hand to Sasuke who was still kneeling on the ground. He reached for her hand and grabbed it, but suddenly yanked her arm and she went down, rolling onto her back. Sasuke leaned over her, his hands pinning her arms to the ground, preventing their use. Sakura's eyes were wide open, her lips slightly parted. He had caught her off guard, finally.

"You're the one who shouldn't underestimate me." he said, silently praising himself.

Sakura smirked "Who said I ever did?" She pushed into his chest, launching them off of the ground.

But Sasuke was ready, he spun her around and pinned her back to a tree, once again restraining her arms to her sides. His knee was pressed into both of her thighs just above her knees, she was completely immobilized. She struggled, but then her movements ceased. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Now that's the Sasuke-kun I know."

Sasuke smirked. He held his position for a few more seconds, all the while finding himself staring into Sakura's green eyes. She stared right back, never breaking eye contact with him. It took a minute to realize how close their bodies were, their stomachs almost touching.

Sasuke was not one for affection or physical contact, especially not with girls, but something was pushing him towards the girl in front of him. It was a growing attraction that made Sasuke want to get closer to her. He leaned in.

Closer.

His hand brushed down her arm.

_Closer _

"Sasuke.." Sakura began, then her head flipped to the side, and she rolled her eyes "Shit."

"Did you really think that I wouldn't notice that I was fighting a clone Sakura-chan?! You just wanted alone time with Teme!" Sasuke heard Naruto yell. He turned to see the dobe emerging from the forest. Sakura pushed into Sasuke's chest, her touch feeling like a jolt of electricity running through his body. She walked over to Naruto.

"Naruto calm down, you can't be the only one who gets training in today." Sakura said sighing, crossing her arms. Naruto crossed his arms behind his head and huffed in annoyance.

"I'll let it slide, besides Teme needs all the training he can get." Naruto said

"You should be talking about yourself." Sasuke retorted.

"SHUT UP TEME." Naruto exclaimed.

"Both of you stop!" Sakura complained. "Anyway, it's getting dark. We should head in and get some rest for tomorrow."

Naruto tightened his headband and let out a giant yawn. "Sounds good to me, man am I tired."

"So was it before or after Sakura's clone disappeared that you lost?" Sasuke asked casually.

Naruto frowned. "I knew it was a clone all along."

"Then why did you take so long?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"Whatever."

Sakura closed her eyes in annoyance, however, she had to admit that she kind of missed these moments, no matter how frustrating they were. Sasuke and Naruto constantly bickering had been part of her daily life on her squad, and she would have given anything to have moments like these again in her life.

Now she finally got her wish.

Naruto rubbed his stomach. "Man I'm starving. And I know just what will hit the spot!"

"Don't tell me you're getting ramen again, that's the second time today. And I thought you just said that you were tired." Sakura said.

"I'll need my strength! I'm not gonna take any chances!" Naruto exclaimed, running off "See you guys tomorrow! Dattebayo!" he yelled, disappearing rather quickly.

Sasuke and Sakura were left standing together in the wide field, instantly looking at each other. Sakura sighed, then smiled.

"I guess I'm gonna head in too." She said, starting to walk down the hill. "I'll see you tomorrow Sasuke-kun." she flashed him a smile. She turned on her heels and began to walk away.

"Sakura." Sasuke said suddenly.

She turned around and looked at him with curious eyes. For a moment he was lost in thought, entranced by her presence in front of the setting sun, the deep golden rays causing her skin to glow and making her eyes a lighter shade of green. Sasuke almost didn't say anything, but then found his words.

"I want a re-match."

Sakura stared at him, then laughed lightly. "I'm looking forward to it."

She turned around and continued to walk down the hill, Sasuke watching her the whole time.

He finally knew why he hadn't used his Sharingan earlier.

He didn't want to risk hurting her, to see tears stream down her face.

He didn't want to cause her any pain.

Because he realized that she was too important to him.

**Not gonna lie, I had fun writing this chapter. Anyway, please review!**


	3. Dreams

**Author's Note: Guys thank you SO much for the reviews you don't understand how helpful/ day making they are :) So happy that you like the story so far! Here's chapter three! **

_She was flying through the trees, her pink hair flowing in the breeze behind her head. Her bright green eyes scanned the vast forest ahead of her, searching for any signs of danger that may exist in front of her. She looked to the right and left of herself, observing her teammates accompanying her. The blonde on her left was eagerly looking from side to side, his eyes full of determination. He looked as if he was ready for any enemies that would spontaneously show up, which she was thankful for. The raven haired male on her right, however, remained calm but easily had tabs on whether they were the only shinobi in the area. It was because his eyes were not the normal black they always were, but alive with his sharingan activated, scanning around them for any unfamiliar chakra signatures. She felt safe knowing that her teammates were aware and focused. This mission would be a success. She could feel it. But that feeling was swiftly drained from her body when up ahead she saw a figure dashing their way. She could feel the negative, evil energy of the enemy's chakra. _

"_Watch it guys!" she yelled, pumping chakra to her feet. _

_Gathering her energy, she shot ahead and slammed her fist into the shinobi's chest, not getting a chance to see the face of their attacker before he or she flew backwards embedding into a tree. She landed on a thick branch and quickly scanned the forest for anymore signs of danger. When she was sure there weren't any others, she turned around to assure her teammates that they were safe. _

_But she was wrong, very wrong._

_She saw a figure slowly walking towards her blonde teammate from the shadows of the tree, its body slowly being lighted by the sun as it moved closer to the blonde on the branch. _

_Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth and began to move her feet to aid her friend._

_But she couldn't._

_No sound came out of her mouth, not even the sound of her hurried breaths. Her feet seemed glued to the branch she was balanced on, her muscles not obeying her commands to move forward._

_Panic rose in her body to an abnormal level._

_The stranger walked more into the sun, showing her that it was no doubt a female, taking in her curves and small waist. She moved slowly, her balance perfect. Finally, the enemy's body was submerged in sunlight._

_And she looked on in horror and in realization that the enemy was an exact mirror copy of herself, shoulder length pink hair and toned arms and legs. Her mirror self smiled a sinister smile as she whipped out a kunai. The blonde remained un moved, staring straight ahead like nothing was wrong._

_MOVE she wanted to scream at him, only her voice remained absent, and her legs un moving._

"_You don't need him." Her other self said smoothly._

_The kunai came down and dug into the blonde's neck, blood splattering against the bark of the tree._

_A soundless scream erupted from her throat as she watched her friend fall from the branch, blood spilling everywhere. _

_The doppleganger before her laughed as if she were enjoying the scene before her._

"_NARUTO!" she heard her mind scream as she looked at his lifeless form on the ground._

_Then her doppleganger jumped to the branch where her other teammate was standing._

_Her blood ran cold._

_He stood there, unmoving, like Naruto had before his throat was cut open. He looked directly into her wet eyes, his own still active with the sharingan that she loved. _

"_Sakura." he simply said._

_No,God please no.._

_The kunai entered his body. _

_She found her voice_

"_SASUKE-KUN!"_

* * *

Sakura shot up in her bed, sweat drenching her body, her heart pounding. Her head flew from left to right, frantically searching for her doppleganger, but slowly calmed down when she realized she was in her bedroom, and that she had only dreamt everything. She exhaled, her voice peeking through her breath shakily. She wrapped her arms around her legs, bringing them to her chest, and held them tightly. She didn't dare close her eyes, or she'd see her friends' throats be slit all over again. She just stared at the wall ahead of her, trying to eradicate the vision from her head. No matter how hard she tried, the image was still vivid, like she was still in the nightmare. She squeezed her eyes so tightly shut that a mixture of colors and patterns danced behind her eyelids in the darkness that she saw, but not even that could hide the vision of her two friends being killed right in front of her.

Not to mention, she saw herself as the one who killed them, enjoying the sight of their blood, the lust for the red liquid that she saw in her very own eyes that stared back at her…

There was no way she'd be able to fall back asleep now.

Sakura glanced out her window and saw the sun just barely beginning to rise, giving her an excuse to get an early start. She sighed and flung her sheets away. Her bare feet met the hard, smooth surface of her floor, but were quickly withdrawn in a hurry when an image of blood splattered on wood flashed before her eyes. She gasped, her stomach dropping. She stared at her floor for a few minutes before finally believing that she was being crazy, and there was no blood on the polished wood. She slowly placed one foot on the floor, then more steadily placed the other. She rose form her bed and walked over to her closet to grab a clean pair of clothes.

It was just a dream, she kept telling herself over and over again. Just a dream..

She took her shirt in her hands and buried her face into the cool fabric.

But it felt so real…

* * *

Sasuke had left his home right when the sun had risen, keeping to his habit of always being early on days he was assigned missions. He was always first, always waiting for the rest of his team to show up so they could embark from the village. Currently, he was leaning against a tree close to the gates leading out of the village. His arms were crossed comfortably against his chest, his head arched back against the bark of the tree. He stared up at the sunrise, thoughts dancing in his head. He didn't want to, but he finally admitted to himself that he kind of missed missions with his old squad, or reformed squad as they were now. He closed his eyes and thought back to all the missions they partook in, from chasing down a lost cat to protecting clients from dangerous shinobi, each of them watching each others' backs. He remembered Naruto's endless energy and determination, Kakashi's skilled battle tactics, Sakura's intelligence and alertness…

Sasuke felt a familiar chakra signature heading his way, clearing his thoughts away. His eyes opened and he saw Naruto walking towards him, rubbing his eyes. He loudly yawned.

"Morning Teme." Naruto said, tiredness slurring his words a little.

"Hn." was all he said, acknowledging Naruto, closing his eyes once more.

Naruto looked around him and Sasuke. "Where's Sakura-chan? She's normally here before I am."

Sasuke's eyes instantly opened. Naruto was right, where was she? Sakura wasn't one to be late, that characteristic was reserved for Kakashi, and he wasn't even on this mission. She was always the second to arrive after Sasuke, and the two would wait until Naruto showed up about ten minutes later.

But Naruto was here, as he had pointed out, and their other teammate wasn't.

That's not like her, Sasuke thought.

Naruto leaned against a tree next to Sasuke, taking up his usual position of crossing his arms behind his head. "Man, I'm so pumped to get out of the village on a real mission." Naruto began.

"I mean once in a while Sakura-chan and I would be sent out on some missions, but they were always so boring. I think we've escorted so many old guys that I'm starting to think that I'm turning into one."

Sasuke smirked, the corners of his mouth rising only slightly.

"And now I really get to try out some new techniques I've been working on, and all that training that Ero-Senin gave me won't be thrown away." Naruto said excitedly. "And I know that Sakura-chan wasn't wasting her time with Bāchan, man you should see what she can turn into dust."

Sasuke smirked again. "From what I've seen you two have been getting along fine." he said.

Naruto's smile slowly faded. "Not all of us.." he said looking into Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke frowned, _Not all of us?_

Sasuke didn't have time to think about what Naruto had said, because he felt another familiar chakra signature heading towards them, and Naruto's smile re-appeared.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto said excitedly as Sakura walked towards him and Sasuke.

* * *

Sakura was occupied with putting on her infamous black fighting gloves, making sure they hugged every finger and inch of her hand. As she walked the grass swished against her feet, strangely calming her nerves, which she was utterly grateful for. Regardless of her early rise, her movements were slow and she ended up taking more time to get ready than she normally would have. She ended up leaving her home very late, but she figured it would be ok, she needed time to gather her thoughts. She needed a distraction after last night, and this mission with Naruto and Sasuke-kun would be just the thing. After all, it was just a dream. She'd get over it, she hoped.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." She looked up at her teammates. "Good mor-"

She choked on her words.

Naruto and Sasuke were both leaning against trees, their necks exposed in the air. Her eyes widened as her nightmare came alive in her mind once more as she saw a flash of blood erupt from their necks and splash onto the bark of the tree. A jolt of fear spread down her spine, but left as quickly as it came. The blood vanished from her sight as she inhaled deeply. "..ning." she finished shakily.

_Stop imagining things. It was just a dream. Don't let this distract you._

Sakura banished the vision from her head, blocking it out completely this time. She would not be slowed down by something like this. She was stronger, more capable now.

But her shaking shoulders said otherwise.

Sasuke leaned up from the tree and activated his sharingan, his eyes dancing around them, no doubt searching for something.

Sakura sighed. He probably thinks there' s danger around because of my behavior just now, she thought.

After looking all around him, Sasuke's eyes calmed down and remained stationary once more.

Sasuke looked at her, frowning, his sharingan still active. Sakura felt her heart beat against her chest as they stared at each other. There was something about Sasuke that she picked up on right away.

Was that concern that she saw in Sasuke?

Slowly, his red eyes melted back into their normal onyx color, his eyes never leaving Sakura's.

* * *

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, concern flooding his face, walking over to her. "What's wrong?"

Sakura shook her head. "It's nothing. I thought I saw something, but I was imagining it." She smiled

"Are we ready?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, not in annoyance, but in confusion. Why was she acting so strange?

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"I'm fine." Sakura said, laughing a little. "Just a little tired."

Sasuke noticed some faint dark circles under her eyes, believing her statement that she was tired.

But she was fine?

Bullshit, Sasuke thought. There was something that made her scared, something that triggered her fright when she looked at him and Naruto.

And he was going to find out what it was.

Naruto's face was still uncertain, but he dismissed the feeling and smiled. He grabbed Sasuke's shirt and Sakura's arm and pulled them towards him. "Let's do this!"

Sasuke and Sakura both twisted away from Naruto, Sakura punching Naruto's shoulder.

"Touch me again and I'll-" Sakura and Sasuke began to say at the same time, but they both stopped, and looked at each other.

Sasuke noticed that Sakura had a slight blush on her cheeks. Sasuke just looked away, that same strange feeling spreading through his stomach that had invaded him the other day when he and Sakura were sparring. He would find out what this feeling was too, happening whenever he and Sakura had some sort of connection. He had already come to the conclusion that he cared for her, there was no doubt in his mind.

But he felt something else for her, and it was unknown to him.

"Oh wait! I almost forgot!" Naruto exclaimed, swinging his backpack off of his shoulders and brought it in front of him. He began to rummage through it, and a few seconds later drew something out of the tan backpack. Naruto turned to Sasuke and held out something wrapped in blue cloth for him to take. Sasuke looked at Naruto warily, but took the item into his hands and began to un-wrap it.

Sasuke's eyes widened, taken by complete surprise. He was not expecting this.

Sakura looked down at Sasuke's hands and inhaled quickly, happiness flooding her features.

Naruto's eyes were closed, grinning widely. "It may have been damaged from before, but I kept it just incase you came back." he said gleefully.

Sasuke continued to look down at his hands, the cloth ribboning down the sides of his hands, the metal shining, the leaf symbol of Konoha prominently displayed. Sasuke's hands were frozen under his old headband, not believing that it was real. His eyes traced the giant scratch that stretched across the leaf, a remembrance of when he and Naruto fought each other, Naruto determined to bring Sasuke back home. His rasengan had grazed the metal, making the scratch that Sasuke now appreciated. It was a sign of their friendship, between him and his best friend.

He looked at Naruto and Sakura, the only two people who had thought of a future with him.

The only people who had hope that their team would be complete once more.

"We can get you a new one once we get back from the mission." Naruto babbled "A nice, new-"

"No." Sasuke said, cutting off Naruto.

Sasuke's hands moved, flipping the headband so the metal was touching his hands. He brought his arms up, and secured the headband to his forehead, tying the fabric into a knot.

"I want this one." he simply said. He tightened the knot.

Naruto beamed happily. Sakura's eyes were back to their usual brightness, not even indicating that they had been widened in terror like they had been moments ago.

Sasuke tilted his head up towards the sun, the Konoha leaf catching the light and shining in all its glory.

The three shinobi turned their heads to the gate, nothing ahead but the vast forest.

"Alright, let's go!" Naruto's determinated voice exclaimed, thrusting his fist in the air.

Sakura looked out into the forest, a smile of bliss and determination on her face.

Sasuke looked at his teammates, and warmth spread throughout his body.

Arigatō.

Naruto.

Sakura..

**The mission begins next chapter! Thank you guys so much for reading this, it seriously makes my day :) P.S. Sakura's dream is important, so stay tuned ;)**


	4. The Jutsu

**Author's Note: Fluff coming up soon, promise ;) Chapter 4!**

The sun was beginning to set, ending day one of their yet to be completed mission. Even though the three of them had been moving all day, nobody seemed to be lagging behind or complaining that their muscles were burning, begging for rest.

It would take two more days to reach The Land of Rice Patties, though flying through endless rows of identical trees slowed time drastically, so much that one minute felt like an hour.

It also didn't help that they hadn't encountered one single enemy.

Not one.

Which only heightened their haste, to make certain that this trend would continue.

Sasuke was on constant alert, every five minutes activating his sharingan and searching for the tiniest flicker of unfamiliar chakra, but of course he found nothing, just the reassuring chakras of his teammates.

Naruto's was the most dominant, but that was to be expected. After all, he had something bigger than him contributing to his chakra. The Kyuubi would always be behind Naruto's chakra levels, like any jinjuriki, emitting a sinister yet powerful aura of chakra. But behind the fox, Naruto's chakra was always bright and strong, the sheer opposite of his Bijuu.

Then there was Sakura.

Her chakra had never been particularly noticeable before, Sasuke had always felt her signature, but to him it was just chakra, nothing special. But now her chakra felt welcoming and warm, a hidden source of sheer will and power ready to burst forth and be released. When she had healed him after their sparring match, he felt warm and almost happy with her chakra running through his body. He felt comfort in it, so much that he continued to engulf his senses into her signature.

It was only when he felt a small drop in her chakra that he turned his head to his left to look at her.

She was looking straight ahead, fully absorbed in her travel patterns alternating each foot that pushed off each branch. Her eyes were opened at a normal standing, her body stable and confident. To his eyes, she seemed fine and fit, nothing holding her back, but he sighed as he felt another drop in her chakra, this time smaller. He saw her reach into a pocket of her backpack and pull out a small plastic container filled with many tiny beads. She opened the cap and took one out, rolling it between her gloved fingers.

It was then that Sasuke realized that those weren't beads, but soldier pills, used to give shinobi bursts of energy and the necessary strength to continue with their duties.

Her hand rose to her mouth.

"Hold on." Sasuke said suddenly, landing on an approaching branch.

Sakura had just barely placed the pill near her lips when her hand dropped and she skillfully grasped an overhead branch, swung, flipped in the air and landed on her branch.

So much for that needed soldier pill, Sasuke thought.

Naruto landed and quickly turned around to face Sasuke.

"What? Why did we stop?" he asked with urgency in his voice. Sasuke watched surprisingly as Naruto panted slightly, putting his arm out against the tree for support.

So even Naruto was beginning to feel exhaust, not that he would ever let that stop him, Sasuke thought.

Sasuke looked at Sakura once more, her shoulders now moving up and down at a faster rate with her breathing.

Even he was beginning to feel the effects of their non stop travel, heat rushing into his body from lack of movement.

"We're stopping for the night. We all need rest." Sasuke simply said.

Naruto's breathing lessened, and he turned his head towards the forest.

"Really, it won't kill us to get some rest." Saukra said, leaning her back against her tree.

Naruto continued to look onward, but finally turned back to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Fine, but only because I don't wanna have to carry you two with me." Naruto said cockily.

He must really be tired, Sasuke thought, sighing.

The three of them simultaneously jumped, and landed smoothly on the grassy ground.

* * *

The sun was inches from setting, making everything seem peaceful and calm. Sakura inhaled the grassy scent of the forest as she picked up twigs and sticks to add to their fire which was quickly made thanks to the famous Uchiha katon style jutsu.

Sakura bent down to retrieve a piece of wood when suddenly her vision blurred, and she was on her knees. She remained there, frustrated, allowing her sight to return and for the dizziness to pass.

Was she really that tired? Sure she had risen early this morning from a terrible nightmare and she had been moving all day, but she'd been through worse. Much worse.

_What's wrong with you? Get it together!, _Inner Sakura was exclaiming.

Sakura sighed and rose to her feet, continuing her fun filled quest of gathering wood.

She twirled a small twig around her fingers, letting her thoughts take over.

She remembered being so determined to make this mission a success, so determined to not be a burden. So determined that she resorted to her precious soldier pills that had been miracle workers in the past.

But of course Sasuke had been watching her, she'd seen from the corner of her eye, and he made everyone stop to rest.

She couldn't shake the feeling that he only said that because he had noticed her quick slip of fatigue from her chakra, after all he had been using his sharingan..

She snapped the twig in her hand, letting the splinters sprinkle to the ground.

No dammit, no.

She would not have Sasuke look down upon her again, she didn't need to be looked after.

The man she loved would accept her, and she thought she had come close the other day at the training grounds. There was something about the way he had looked at her when she was healing him, when he pinned her against the tree. When his body got closer and closer to her own, his hand sending sparks down her skin..

And she wanted him to look at her like that again, for him to want to be close to her.

Sakura made up her mind.

She'd show him a different side of her, a side of her that only Lady Tsunade had seen during their training. A fierce, powerful side.

With a determined smile on, she spun on her heels to head back to their campground, but her feet froze.

Her ears perked up as she heard a small rustle from a giant patch of bushes. She bent down to drop the collected firewood onto the ground, the sticks clattering against one another.

She turned to the source of the rustling and her eyes narrowed. She quietly and slowly grabbed a kunai form her pouch and held it horizontally in front of her body.

"I'm not in the mood, so why don't you just come out and make things easier." she said.

She heard a male voice speak out. "Aren't we sounding confident?" the voice said.

Sakura's left leg slid slightly behind her, taking up a fighting stance.

"You're too weak to take me on, so why don't you just hand that kunai over?" he asked.

"If I'm too weak then why are you still hiding from me?" Sakura asked, her eyes alert.

Suddenly she felt a rush of wind and a presence behind her.

"Good point."

She spun on her foot to face her enemy and their kunai clanged together, grinding so hard that sparks flew from the impact. She flipped backwards away from the strange shinobi, regained her footing, and dashed forward pumping what little chakra she could muster into her clenched fist.

Her motion was abruptly stopped when he swiftly dodged her fist and grabbed her neck.

All oxygen was instantly cut off from her lungs as she tried to gasp for air.

She watched him make quick, unfamiliar hand signs with his free hand, Sakura shocked at his speed and his ability to make actual signs with only one hand.

She looked up into the eyes of her attacker, and her body instantly went limp as he jammed his middle and index fingers right between her eyes, a strange sealing pattern glowing on his fingers.

Her body fell to the ground, an icy sensation spreading through her head.

Her skin began to glow between her crossed eyes, and it spread across her forehead.

She felt the iciness invade her brain, attacking her nerves.

Her attacker smiled. "Don't worry, it may not feel comfortable now, but the feeling will pass, and you'll know what to do." he said viciously.

Sakura opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but her mind was suddenly attacked once more with strange and malicious impulses. Her eyes widened as she envisioned killing other people, causing them extreme pain, listening to the sounds of their voices pleading for their lives. She heard their bones crack under her fist, she felt their blood flow onto her skin.

Something clicked inside her head, something was happening that began to scare her. The impulses were turning into needs, intense desires. Everything she had considered to be wrong was suddenly right, everything that she would normally be against she was suddenly for. Slowly she abandoned her fear and strangely but confidently welcomed the gruesome images into her mind. The glowing light between her eyes vanished, along with her remorse. She absorbed herself in these gruesome images.

And she wanted nothing more than for these visions to be real.

* * *

Sasuke absentmindedly stared into the fire, taking in the woodsy aroma and the radiating heat that pulsed around him and Naruto. He watched as the flames devoured the last piece of brown wood, charring it to black. The fire would be dying soon, Sakura would have to hurry back with the firewood. He frowned, she'd been gone for a good ten minutes. Did it really take that long to collect firewood?

* * *

"I'll go get some more." she had said rising from the ground.

Sasuke had risen too. "Don't go alone."

"Oh don't bother, it doesn't take long to collect simple twigs. Plus we haven't encountered any enemies, I think I'll be fine." she said smirking.

She turned to leave but Sasuke grabbed her wrist. There was no way he'd let her go alone, even to complete a task as simple as collecting firewood. He wouldn't know what he would do if she was attacked or seriously injured. He'd hate himself.

She turned to him again and gently placed her free hand on top of his. "I'll be ok." she said reassuringly "It's just a simple task. Everything will be fine." She smiled at him, rotating her wrist so that her palm was touching Sasuke's, and she slowly entwined her fingers with his. She smiled once more and withdrew her hand, her fingers brushing lightly against Sasuke's still outreached hand. His eyes lingered on hers once more, and she finally turned and walked on into the forest. Sasuke was grateful that her back was to him, otherwise she'd see him blush.

* * *

Sasuke looked over at Naruto, who was occupied with sharpening a twig to a point with a kunai, the sound of wood cracking from the chiseling.

He'd been meaning to ask Naruto something for a while, and with Sakura absent this was his chance, and probably his only chance.

"Hey Dobe." Sasuke said, trying to make his voice sound impassive.

Naruto smirked. "Yeah Teme?"

"This morning. What did you mean by _not all of us?" _he asked, looking into the fire.

The sound of cracking wood stopped.

Sasuke looked at his best friend, who was looking into the fire, the flames reflecting against his blue eyes. It took a minute of silence before Naruto finally looked at Sasuke. He sighed.

"Listen Sasuke, there's something you really need to understand." Naruto began, his tone very serious. It made Sasuke nervous how serious Naruto was, so out of his character.

"After you left… Sakura-chan…was never the same." Naruto said.

Something inside Sasuke stirred, and he narrowed his eyes.

"She moped around the village, not her usual cheery self, even the simplest D-ranked missions became a challenge for her." Naruto continued. "Something inside of her broke."

Sasuke's stomach dropped. He continued to stare into Naruto's eyes, trying to find any hint of un-seriousness, but he found none. Then it all sank in. He was the one who caused her pain. It was him who had changed the fragile girl he once knew, he broke her. Naruto spoke again.

"But then, things changed."

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat.

"I was in the hospital, well my team was, after we….tried to bring you home." Naruto began.

Just the mention of that time made Sasuke feel even more pathetic.

"And Sakura-chan had visited me…when she saw you weren't with us…something entirely different affected her."

"And that is?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked Sasuke straight in the eyes. "Determination."

There was a very long pause.

Naruto spoke again. "Before she left my room, she had apologized to me and said that next time she and I would bring you back together. And the next day I found out that she was made the disciple of the Fifth Hokage."

Sasuke felt bewildered. All of this information was too much. The Sakura that Naruto had just described didn't even come close to the Sakura that he knew. But he had picked up an overwhelming sense of determination and will from her, so that matched up. He had learned a new side of Sakura that she hadn't even showed him yet, and he had a feeling that there was more to what she could do. Being trained by the Fifth Hokage probably wasn't a walk in the park. As if on cue, Naruto practically read his mind.

"And it sure wasn't easy. I'd pass by to watch sometimes and by the end of their training she'd be exhausted, and barely able to stand. One time she collapsed on the street, coughing up blood. I ran over to help her but she pushed me away. 'Don't touch me.' she had said. She got up on her own and continued to walk. Her will power and strength had increased so drastically that I almost didn't recognize her.

"When I came back to the village after training, Sakura and I had to face Kakashi-sensei and do the same exercise he gave all of us back when we were genin; the bell exercise. At one point, we completely lost Kakashi-sensei, he was nowhere to be found; he hid well.

"That was until Sakura suddenly punched the ground, and it completely shattered and broke, revealing Kakashi's hiding place. That was the strongest I've ever seen her, and she's continued to get stronger. Hell, she had a kusanagi put right through her stomach and she continued to fight."

Sasuke's body was frozen, un moving. Not even the heat radiating from the fire onto his body could melt his position. He looked at his own kusanagi, resting against the log he was sitting on.

_She was stabbed with that? _

The image of Sakura being stabbed straight through with a kusanagi came to Sasuke's mind, and he instantly banished the vision from his mind. But another came in its absence. It was a younger Sakura, tears streaming down her face.

"_Please don't leave me! I love you with all my heart! Stay with me!" she had cried._

Sasuke cringed, returning to the present.

Naruto laughed lightly. "It's ok Sasuke. You still have a whole other side of her to discover. She's a strong and powerful-"

"Who's strong and powerful?" a voice interrupted.

Sasuke and Naruto turned to see Sakura walking towards them, a bundle of sticks wrapped in her arms.

"Hey what took you so long?" Naruto said jokingly as Sakura threw the sticks into the fire, the flame growing.

"I got distracted." she replied, sitting down on the ground next to Sasuke. "What are you boys talking about?" she asked, her voice slurring slightly.

Naruto shrugged playfully. "Oh you know, guy stuff." he said winking at Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked at Sakura, who was staring into the fire. Her eyes were half closed, and she seemed in a dream like trance when she stared into the flames.

She must be exhausted, Sasuke remembered. "Let's get some rest, we'll head out early tomorrow." he said.

Naruto got up and pulled a tightly packed sleeping bag out of his backpack. he unrolled it effortlessly and draped it on the grass. Sasuke was currently doing the same, then turned and noticed that Sakura hadn't moved from her seat, and was still staring into the fire, entranced by it.

"Sakura?" he asked cautiously.

"What?" she replied tersely, her eyes still fixated on her mark.

Sasuke was a little taken back, but continued to speak. "You should get some rest."

"I will. Just go to sleep." she replied moodily.

Sasuke froze. There was something wrong with her voice. No, it wasn't up or down an octave. It was the same voice that she always had. But something was off. Something didn't feel right.

And he looked at Sakura's unmoving eyes, and his stomach dropped when he saw the bright green of her eyes melt into a dark evergreen. He was about to open his mouth, but she blinked, and her eyes were the same green color they'd always been. She turned to Sasuke. His mouth was still slightly open, trying to make sense of the situation that just unfolded before him. She smiled innocently at him.

"Goodnight Sasuke-kun.."

* * *

Sakura's eyes opened calmly. She saw nothing but darkness, the fire now eating at the last bit of wood. She stretched her arms above her head. She felt good, no, she felt amazing. She needed the sleep, how else would she dream of herself accomplishing her deepest desires?

She looked over at Sasuke, who was asleep in his sleeping bag, his eyes gently shut, his face peaceful. He was close enough to her that she reached out and stroked his cheek, further lulling him into sleep. She then imagined her fingers leaving a trail of blood down his neck, the thought sending chills of excitement down her spine. She withdrew her arm when she heard the sound of a zipper. She hid in her sleeping bag and watched Naruto get up and head in the direction she had went in to collect firewood a few hours earlier. He was running his hand through his messy, spiky hair. Sakura watched him disappear, and her thoughts were suddenly overtaken.

The night disappeared and she saw blood, so much glorious blood. She heard screaming and pleading, music to her ears. She saw horrified blue eyes stare back at her, and she took them in with glee as they turned lifeless by her hand.

"_Don't worry, it may not feel comfortable now, but the feeling will pass, and you'll know what to do." _his voice echoed in her head once more.

She smiled, feeling a rush of excitement throughout her body.

He was right. She felt great. And she did know what to do.

She knew _exactly _what to do..

* * *

Naruto dunked his head into the river, letting the cool water rush into his senses, waking him up. He didn't care that they had a few more hours of sleep left, he wanted to be the first one awake so there would be no delaying in their departure.

Bāchan said they had to investigate bijuu level chakra, and there was no way that Naruto would let his team lag behind. What if another jinjuriki like himself was in danger? He wouldn't forgive himself if he lost another jinjuriki to the greed of those who wanted the power of the tailed beasts, regardless if the jinjuriki was a complete stranger. He felt connections to the others like himself in a deep way, deeper than any connection that he'd felt before. They were family to him, more than family even. He shook out his hair, water droplets spraying everywhere.

_Crack_

Naruto's ears perked up, his eyes narrowing. He slowly rose to his feet and pulled a kunai.

He spun, ready to attack, but quickly stopped himself when he saw her standing there.

"Oh, Sakura-chan! I thought you were an enemy or something." Naruto said with relief in his voice. Sakura walked closer to Naruto, saying nothing, her movements slow.

"I was thinking, since you're awake we should wake up Teme and head out earlier than we planned." Naruto continued. "In fact I'm not even tired anymore!"

"Then let me help you with that." Sakura replied, inches away from Naruto.

"Help me with wha-" Naruto began, but cut himself off. His eyes widened and his stomach dropped. He looked at Sakura, a kunai in her hand. She began to point it at him.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, looking into her eyes. Then he gasped.

Her eyes weren't the bright spring green they normally were, but a dark evergreen, her pupils almost not visible. She lunged forward and grabbed Naruto's throat, catching him by surprise and cutting off his air. She pressed the kunai to his side, the weapon entering his flesh, blood trickling down Naruto's side. He cringed, but his eyes never left Sakura's. He took in unfamiliar evergreen eyes.

This was not Sakura-chan.

She smiled at him. "Goodnight, Naruto."

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes to the darkness surrounding him. He couldn't explain it, but he woke with a terrible feeling in his stomach.

"Sakura. Naruto." he said, sitting up. "Let's head out. I've got a bad-" he stopped talking when he saw two empty sleeping bags next to his. He quickly put the pieces together.

_SHIT._

* * *

She was quick, but Naruto was quicker. He slapped her weapon out of her hand and kicked her stomach, sending her flying. She flipped in mid air and landed smoothly on her feet. Her eyes met his, full of lust. Naruto looked right back at her, worry spreading.

She must be under some jutsu, that would explain her eye color.

"_And her attempt to kill you." _A voice retorted.

Naruto closed and opened his eyes, and he found himself face to face with the Kyuubi.

"I don't need you for this. I don't want to hurt Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

"That's girl's under a jutsu, one that I haven't seen in years." the fox said.

"You've seen this before?! What jutsu is it?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It has no name, but it was designed to twist one's perception and morals, giving them the desire to kill." the fox replied.

A sick feeling entered Naruto's stomach. He knew that Sakura would never kill for fun, and it must be destroying her mind. "How do I undo the jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"You need to tap her forehead to release it, it's the only way." the fox said.

Naruto nodded and turned away.

The fox disappeared and Naruto was back in the forest, facing his friend.

There was an intense hunger in her eyes that scared him.

Without warning, she punched the ground and the earth shattered. Naruto jumped up, avoiding the mini earthquake beneath him. He thought he was safe, but then he heard laughter. He looked above him and to his horror saw Sakura above him, and she slammed him into the ground, shaking the forest. Naruto felt his entire body radiate with intense pain as he slammed into the rough ground. Naruto's body was paralyzed, his limbs not obeying his commands to move. More pain shot through his body as he coughed up blood. He grimaced as Sakura grabbed his neck and pulled him out of the earth like he weighed nothing. She held him up, and extended her right hand, her chakra becoming visible and sharp. Naruto instantly recognized Sakura's chakra scalpels, as she had used them on their previous missions.

"Sakura-chan..don't." he coughed, barely able to speak. Her extended hand rose.

She smiled. "Sayōnara, Naruto."

Her arm swiped down.

**Hehe cliffhanger until the next chapter.. Also, Happy New Year! Please Review! **


	5. A Stranger

**Author's Note: The wait is over! Chapter 5 :) PS If you don't handle the mention of blood well then be careful reading this; even though I'm probably making this out to be more worse than it sounds.. oh well just incase :) **

"Sayōnara, Naruto."

The words felt satisfying coming out of her mouth, each syllable tasting sweet on her tounge. Her fingernails dug into Naruto's neck, savoring his pleading blue eyes that were frozen on her outstretched hand that glowed sharp with her chakra scalpel. In a few seconds, her arm would slice through the air and enter Naruto's neck, releasing the blood that she craved so desperately to be released from his flesh.

She shivered with excitement at the thought of the hot, life-giving red liquid that pulsed through his veins that was just begging to flow out of his body. She would engulf herself in it, enwrap her senses into the glorious warmth.

Her arm came down. Her eyes gleamed at her fingers were about to graze his skin..

_Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu! _

Her hand stopped abruptly as she felt the blazing heat rushing around her, the flames beginning to radiate the extreme temperature onto her skin. The heat rushed through her, re arranging her senses and distorting her judgement. She gritted her teeth at the rapidly approaching flames, their intensity filling her core with nothing but torridity. She growled frustratedly and reluctantly released her iron grip from Naruto, letting him fall to the ground as she skillfully flipped in midair, flying above the giant fireball that now scorched the ground beneath her. She cursed the flames for preventing her from her task. Her evergreen eyes glared into the forest, the source of the jutsu. But of course she knew well enough who had cast the jutsu, after all it had always been his clan's specialty. But how dare he interfere with her affairs? How dare he get in her way when she was so close?

She landed effortlessly into the grassy field, glaring him standing a few feet away from her position, his eyes red with his coveted bloodline.

Sasuke watched the flames rush towards his teammates, the fire blazing in all its glory, singeing the tips of the grassy field. The temperature rose drastically, tinting the sky to a fierce orange as the flames' light glowed brightly. He watched as Sakura's head swiftly turned in his direction, her hand still grasped around Naruto's throat tightly. She hand't moved at first, her eyes fixed into the fire. Five seconds later, she released Naruto's throat, shoving him to the ground with a thud. Sasuke saw Naruto's hands rapidly form signs, and Sasuke let out a breath when a log had quickly appeared in Naruto's place before the hungry flames had a chance to devour his body. Sakura had evaded the flames by leaping into the air, the moon adding an eerie sheen to her pink hair. Sasuke had felt a dramatic increase in her chakra, so much of an increase that it immediately sent a small shiver down his spine, which was unusual for him. She landed on the ground, the grass swishing against her feet. Her eyes swam around the steam that had been left from the fireball, swirling in multiple patterns and leaving the area with the smell of wood smoke and ember. She slowly turned her head, and her eyes bored into his own. The deep evergreen of her eyes had seemed to darken, the leftover fire reflecting against her irises making her appearance threatening and ominous. Her glare had intensified as Sasuke activated his sharingan, who observed in disbelief as her chakra network rapidly overproduced an unfamiliar energy through Sakura's body. The chakra seemed to seap out of her body, surround her figure with an ominous energy.

Sasuke's mind raced with multiple theories and questions, but he had already knew. Sakura was under a jutsu, an extremely effective jutsu that was completely unfamiliar to Sasuke. But whatever the jutsu was, Sakura was completely enveloped in it, her behavior and eye color clearly proved this fact. But of course something didn't add up. Who had cast the jutsu on her, and when? The three of them had been together the whole day-

Then his blood went cold; Because they hadn't been together the whole day, that streak had broken when Sakura had went off to collect firewood.

"_Everything will be fine." _her reassuring voice echoed in his head, but the girl that was standing before him didn't come close to matching the sweet, clear voice in his head. Sasuke inwardly cursed himself for letting her go out alone, he should have went with her, then she wouldn't have been attacked and he could have protected her..

Sasuke continued to look at Sakura as if he could somehow will her to overcome the horrific impulses that were planted in her brain. His red eyes narrowed, never leaving her gaze. Evergreen stayed glued to red as Sasuke felt the air around him become disturbed as Naruto had suddenly appeared beside him.

"Thanks for almost burning me alive, Teme." Naruto said sarcastically, although his eyes were not arched in an amused manner. His eyes went from Sasuke to Sakura, and his mouth dropped slightly, a serious frown painted on his face. Sasuke continued to watch Sakura silently, contemplating the situation at hand, one of his trusted teammates had tried to kill Naruto, and she had tried to do so probably against her will.

Sasuke blinked. "It was the only way to get her off of you."

Naruto gritted his teeth, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

"Something- some jutsu is affecting Sakura-chan. She..tried to kill me…" Naruto barely spoke, staring at Sakura with anger present on his face.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. He clearly knew that Naruto wasn't directing his anger at Sakura, but at the unknown castor of this unfamiliar jutsu, who had planted her malicious desires into her head.

"I'll kill him. I'll absolutely kill the bastard who did this to her." Naruto said with great threat in his voice.

Slightly shaken by Naruto's behavior, Sasuke turned to see Naruto's blue eyes full of flecks of red, his anger activating the awareness of the Kyuubi, who thrived on Naruto's anger.

Sasuke quickly nudged Naruto's side with his elbow. "Naruto, calm down."

"You should listen to Sasuke-kun, Naruto." Sasuke heard Sakura say in a seductive manner.

Naruto and Sasuke turned to the girl who stood before them, the stranger that had taken over their Sakura. She was smiling at them in a hungrily way, as if they were hot meals and she hadn't had eaten for months. Her eyes were haunting, Sasuke could not refrain from getting lost in the depths that were her eyes. But behind the dark evergreen were the bright spring green eyes of the Sakura that Sasuke had always known, and now more than ever deeply cared for.

Sakura smirked. "Naruto, I don't want you to hurt yourself, or Sasuke-kun, because I will be the one who spills your _delicious_ blood." she said placing her fingers near her pink lips. "And I will get what I want."

Something boiled inside Sasuke's body, and the pressure was rising steadily as her words sunk in. The heat spread to every limb of his body, attacking every inch of his will not to launch himself at the blood thirsty girl who stood before him. The only thing that had stopped him was the fact that this wasn't Sakura, this was an anomaly of his pink haired friend. This Sakura was an evil, malicious girl who sought for blood, and would do anything to satisfy her blood famine.

Naruto had grunted in frustration, and finally kept silent no longer. "Sakura-chan! This isn't you! This juts has turned you into a complete stranger! Break through Sakura! I know you're still there!" he exclaimed, his desperate eyes searching Sakura for any sign of remorse or familiarity for her teammates. Sakura lowered her eyes to the ground, and for an instant she looked as if she were contemplating her actions. She put her gloved hand out below her, and slowly closed it into a tight fist. She looked up at Naruto, her fist still clenched, and her mouth slowly spread into a wicked smile.

"You're right Naruto. This isn't me." she began, meeting his eyes. "And I couldn't think of a better version of myself than what I am now."

Naruto's eyes widened, while Sasuke was still intently staring at Sakura.

Sakura laughed. "I've never felt so..fulfilling..amazing..and I don't want to go back. This awakening that I've had has made me realize how strong I can be-"

"No! This _jutsu _has your mind completely screwing with you Sakura-chan! Who did this to you?!" Naruto interjected suddenly, his hands reached out to Sakura in a desperate attempt to somehow reach into her thoughts. "Tell me!"

At this, Sakura burst into terse laughter, catching Naruto off guard. She ran her hand through her pink tresses, some stray pieces flowing against her flushed cheeks and slightly curling against her back. She raised her clenched fist, and held it parallel to her head with her elbow resting on her other arm that was crossed around her mid-section.

"I'll release that jutsu! I'll save you from-"

"I don't WANT to be saved Naruto!" Sakura screeched suddenly, stomping her foot aggressively that sent a giant fissure spidering out from the impact of her foot. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, taken aback by her response completely.

Sasuke watched intently as he detected Sakura's chakra rise once more, this time the majority of the energy flowing towards her fist.

"I've never felt more… redefined." Sskura began, smiling in bliss at her gloved fist. "He was right, the uneasiness passed my body, I feel amazing, powerful.." Sakura said dreamily.

Sasuke finally spoke before Naruto. "What man?" he asked intently, his sharingan blazing through the darkness like two beaming sources of ember. "Sakura who did this to you?"

Sakura's dreamy look slowly vanished, melting back into her angered stare. Her chakra level in her fist grew sharply, and her eyes grew even darker, pushing Sakura farther back into the darkness of the jutsu. Her foot stretched back slightly, and she glared into Sasuke's sharingan.

"That doesn't matter. All I care about right now is that you tow end up dead at my feet." She smiled sinisterly, the lust dominant her eyes as of it had been there her whole existence. Just like her normal green eyes, her morals once again vanished completely, eradicating every essence of her normal self.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, and began to reach for his kusanagi, but a hand had suddenly clamped down onto his wrist. Sasuke turned to Naruto, who was intently staring at Sakura.

"Her forehead. We need to release the jutsu by pouring chakra into her forehead. That's the source." Naruto said, letting go of his hold on Sasuke's wrist.

Sasuke's hand slowly dropped from the handle of his sword. Her forehead? He focused his sharingan to Sakura's chakra flow, and sure enough he saw a massive buildup accumulating right between her eyebrows, a prominent circle that swam in multiple rotations that reminded Sasuke of Naruto's rasengan. He watched as her chakra suddenly flowed from her forehead, traveling down her neck, into her right arm, and finally into her fist, and Sasuke recoiled when her fist be can to glow a violent blue. The jagged edges of her chakra spiked out furiously around her fist, light reflected once more onto her eyes, evergreen flashing against blue. She looked vicious, bloodthirsty. She looked as if she were ready to tear Sasuke apart right where he stood.

And without warning she disappeared, as Sasuke's reflexes were too slow to dodge the blow that had landed on his stomach, knocking the wind out of his lungs. His body flew backwards and slammed into a tree, the wood splintering immediately on impact.

"Sasukehh!" Naruto's voice yelled, lingering on his name.

Sasuke coughed violently, the whites of his eyes shining. He saw blood erupt from his mouth, splattering on the soft dirt. He felt his body disobey him, his limbs not moving on his command; although finally he managed to raise his arm and grasp the tree for support, and slowly rose to his feet. He looked up, grimacing as he wiped a stray drop of blood from the corner of his mouth. To his horror Sakura's fist still glowed, and her eyes bugged out looking at the blood splattered on the ground, which seemed to trigger the maliciousness that now existed in her body.

"That's perfect." she whispered, but loud enough for Sasuke to hear, and her words trigged more coughing and nausea. He cursed himself for not anticipating her attack, and he slowly rose to his feet, forcing his legs to cooperate with his will. He looked at Sakura's feet, the only level that his eyes were allowing him to see.

If this were any other enemy, Sasuke would have finished them off by this time, but this was Sakura, and he couldn't risk seriously injuring her. He would just have to get close enough to tap her forehead as Naruto had said-

_Naruto.._

Sasuke had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Everything was eerily quiet, no sounds of fighting or struggle, and if he knew his best friend well Sasuke knew Naruto would've taken action by now. Sasuke finally raised his eyes, and every cell in his body froze. He saw a figure laying on the ground, soaked in blood and un-moving. His limbs were twisted at unnatural angles , bending in directions that seemed completely impossible. His arms were sprawled out in front of him, an abandoned kunai in his slack hand. Dark blood was spilling down his contorted face, dampening his cheeks and swimming around his faint blue eyes that were frozen open. Sasuke didn't have to ask to find out that the figure was Naruto, and that Sakura had completely mangled him during Sasuke's momentary weakness. She stood over Naruto, looking down at his mangled form.

_No, this isn't happening_. _This can't be happening.._

Sakura looked up from Naruto, and to Sasuke's horror her fist was dripping red, the blood flowing down her arm and pooling around her elbow. She massaged her palm with her fingers, rubbing Naruto's blood around her whole hand, circling her thumb slowly. Cold sweat dripped down Sasuke's temple, the whites of his eyes dominating his onyx irises. His brain was overworking to process the image his eyes were projecting to him.

"Naruto, get up!" he finally breathed out, but Sasuke knew his speech was hopeless, his best friend had been horribly destroyed, almost unrecognizable to anyone who would lay their eyes upon Naruto this moment. Sasuke's body shook with an unrecognizable emotion that was over taking his body.

Sakura stepped forward so that her feet were inches from Naruto's emotionless face, and Sasuke saw her chakra funnel into her foot, and she moved her foot with blinding speed right into Naruto's face. Sasuke's heart raced when he heard a sickening crunch vibrate through his ears, and he looked away from his unconscious friend , knowing that if he peeked a look that his stomach would empty out against his control, and probably further satisfying Sakura's newfound desire for human bodily fluids. He heard a sick, tumultuous laugh.

"Now it's your turn Sasuke-kun. Help me feel alive." Sakura said smiling.

And that's when it happened. The unfamiliar energy and emotions that Sasuke had felt before suddenly had a name. It wasn't fear, agony, or anger. It had been a combination of the three, pure heated fury. And this emotion had given him the strength to fully rise to his feet and fill his lungs with sweet oxygen. It gave him the ability to stare once more into her evil, putrid eyes. And it helped him realize that this was not Sakura. This girl was a monster who had taken over the mind of the real Sakura; The Sakura who cared for others' well-being, the Sakura who had grown into a confident strong kunoichi who had managed to catch Sasuke off guard. The Sakura he deeply cared for..

And Sasuke knew that to get her back, he would have to fight the darkness out of her head.

The warm breeze blew into his face as he once again activated his sharingan. Sasuke's mind raced with attacks, counter attacks, and defense methods that would effectively allow him to get close enough to her.

He watched Sakura remain where she was, the warm breeze now strongly blowing into Sasuke's face once more. It was just the two of them, there were no sounds of the usual nocturnal animals, the breeze blew on, the leaves on the trees were still, unmoving, just like their positions.

He knew that he would have to evade her fists completely, that was a given. And he knew that Sakura was a skilled genjutsu user, he would have to be on guard. This stranger Sakura would have no morals and wouldn't hesitate to attack like before when she punched Sasuke into a tree without-

Sasuke's mind froze in mid thought.

The breeze now swirled in all directions, ruffling his black hair on his head, as if to blow a realization into his head, skimming back to his analysis.

The trees…

The un-moving leaves…

Genjutsu user..

The breeze..

_Genjutsu…!_

It had hit him like a propelling train, and Sasuke's hands flew rapidly forming the correct hand signs. As he formed the final sign, Sakura's eyes narrowed, and she knew that Sasuke had caught on.

Because all of this wasn't real.

"KAI!"

**Yay another chapter completed! Don't know when the next one will be up because midterms are coming up and I gotta study. Yay high school…. Anyway, Review! :)**


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Naruto, Adventure, Romance