Heya! This is just my new project for the summer, since I have nothing better to do.

It's my first Naruto fic, so be nice! Important note: Sasuke is two years older than Sakura and Naruto. Summary: It was five years ago. I was nineteen. I had just passed my Jounin exam. And then I met him..."You conceited, stuck-up, selfish, pathetic excuse of a man!" Unfortunately, the man I would fall in love with was the man I passionately hated. Life's funny like that. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its characters. I only own the plot.

Contradicted Chapter One: Clash of the Jounins If I tried to describe the last five years in a single sentence it would be: the most entirely contradicting five years I have ever experienced. It even managed to beat the hustle and hazards of hormonal teenage years when you dabble in everything and get yourselves into Kami knows how much trouble. My best friend Naruto suggested I write everything down, tell the story of my life through ink and paper. A memoir, so to speak. It is, perhaps, one of the few good ideas he's had off the battleground. Nothing against him, of course, it's just that when he's not fighting or training, he's eating ramen or sleeping. Or possibly down at the local inn having a pint. Not having good ideas. So, my life. I won't bore you with my childhood; I was too busy being shy and teased about my big forehead. I attended the Academy, set on becoming a ninja if only to prove that I was worth the space I take up. I graduated with top marks and became a Genin under Hatake Kakashi. Normally there would be teams of three, but thanks to unequal amount of people who graduated, it was just me and Uzumaki Naruto. From then on I trained as hard as possible, and Naruto and I quickly climbed ranks. His incredible stamina and cheeky nin-jutsus worked in his favour, and my brains and healing skills got us through tough times alive, although not unscarred. And then things got interesting. I was nineteen. I had just passed my Jounin exam. And then I met him. My name is Haruno Sakura. And this is how I, very reluctantly, fell in love.

Five years ago 3rd September Six a.m., or around somewhere there. "And good morning Konoha! It's six a.m., a bit misty so don't forget to wrap up if you plan on leaving the house early, although it's bound it warm up later. And for you all Jounins out there, yes, that means you Haruno Sakura, its time to get out there and celebrate your first day as a Jounin!"

The voice was cheerful and excited, more so than normal on this particular day. Usually Haruno Sakura would just snuggle into her warm covers and tell the owner to shove off, but today was an exception. Because, just as he had mentioned, today was her first day as a Jounin. So she opened her eyes, revealing apple green orbs, and grinned at the blonde standing over her. "Good morning Naruto!" the nineteen year old chirped, sitting up and letting the covers fall to her waist. "Ah, isn't it such a great morning and all?" she said, beaming at her best friend of seven years. To say she was happy would be an understatement. Ecstatic might just cover it. Naruto grinned back at Sakura, his baby blue eyes alight with cheerfulness and amusement. "You bet Sakura-chan! So get up! We're going to celebrate with me treating you to breakfast!" "Not ramen?" Sakura said suspiciously. Naruto pouted. "Unfortunately, no ramen." The roseate haired young woman laughed, and it brought a smile to her teammate's face. Sakura was a free spirited, that was for sure. Perhaps constant associating with the always hyperactive blonde had made her this way, but as much as he liked to believe that, he knew it was simply finally having self-confidence that she had been lacking a few years ago. Naruto shook his head and left the room to allow the still laughing Haruno to get up and dressed. She emerged not five minutes later, fully dressed and washed. She had an amazing ability to be ready and wide-awake within minutes of getting up; one ability Naruto was hard pressed to find in other females. "Okay!" Naruto said, getting up from the crimson sofa that dominated the small living room, "Lets go!" Half an hour later found the friends sitting in a small caf, tucking into a hearty fried breakfast. Naruto held a glass of milk up, clinking it against Sakura's glass of orange juice. "To Sakura becoming a Jounin!" Naruto yelled, before diving for the food piled high on his plate. Sakura giggled and took a swig of her orange juice before attacking her food with as much vigour as her blonde teammate, only with a lot more manners, something which wasn't that hard to accomplish. Sakura remembered when Naruto had passed the Jounin exam a year ago. They had both participated, but when it had come to the finals the two had a sudden bout of extremely bad luck and been pitted against each other. They had resented needing to fight each other, but gave it their all, and, with no surprise to anyone, Naruto won. But Sakura did give him one hell of a fight. Sakura had not once resented her best friend for going on to become a Jounin while she stayed a Chuunin; the fates had been against them that day. She did, however, occasionally feel like she had been left behind again, both Kakashi and Naruto being Jounins meant they very little free time. But the roseate haired nineteen year old was finally a Jounin along with her ex-sensei and her friends. And boy did it feel good. She could almost feel the power and self-importance rushing

through her. Whoops. Lets not get too ahead of ourselves, Sakura thought to herself sternly. Its one thing to be proud and happy about passing the exam, but to think you're all that great because of it? Yes, okay, a nice stroke of the ego is fine, but Sakura always avoided getting an overly large egoshe had met to many arrogant bastards for her liking, and she had no desires to end up like them. "Yo." Sakura blinked, emerging from her musings slowly. She looked up at the smiling silver haired copy-nin known as Hatake Kakashi, and grinned. "Kakashi-sensei!" they chorused. "Kakashi," he corrected lazily, "I haven't been your sensei for a while, you know." Sakura nodded while Naruto just shrugged and leapt at his food again. The nineteen year old smiled up at the older Jounin. "Sit with us Kakashi." Kakashi shook his head, lifting up the take away Styrofoam cup of coffee as if that was all that needed saying. Sakura glared. Kakashi blinked. Sakura pouted. Kakashi sat down. "So," Naruto said through a mouthful of fried rice, once Kakashi had settled at their table, "I forgot to ask. What did you think of Sakura's new gen-jutsu? I helped her create it!" the blonde said proudly, swallowing that mouthful of rice. Kakashi rolled his one visible, droopy dark eye at Naruto's poor table manners and looked at Sakura. "It was very interesting. Figures you would use bright yellow canaries, I think you blinded your opponent." "That was the point!" Sakura cried in exasperation, knowing full well that silver haired ninja was only teasing her. "You're so difficult to please, Kakashi." The emerald-eyed woman pouted. Kakashi smiled through the material of his mask, reaching over and ruffling Sakura's roseate locks as he often done when she was younger. She waved him away with a mock angry look. "Well done, Sakura. I'm proud of you." The rare appraisal from her ex-sensei caused her apple green eyes to widen and a huge smile to spread across her face. "Anyway," Kakashi said hurriedly, feeling slightly uncomfortable with Sakura beaming at him. Usually, she was yelling at him for being late or a pervert, although he was inclined to disagree with the latter. "Everyone's meeting up at the inn tonight to celebrate the initiation of the new Jounins. Genma is rather looking forward to seeing you as well."

Sakura's beam immediately slipped, to Kakashi's immense relief. Genma was that womanising, arrogant flirt with an oral fixation who called himself one of Kakashi's best friends. Of all the egotistical jerks Sakura had met, she had to admit, she rather liked this one. Despite his major flaws, he was rather funny, and a good friend. If only he wasn't so bent on bedding her. "Sounds good to me," Naruto said, finally finished with his mountain of food. "Should be a blast, right Sakura-chan?" "Right," she agreed weakly.

10 a.m. Tsunade surveyed the four newly charged Jounins before her. They all stood in a line, backs straight and eyes forward, save one. This military like precision was something Tsunade found almost annoying at times, but it was something that they all seemed to do in her presence. Thank Kami for people like Uzumaki Naruto, who she had long ago deemed a nutcase, and Haruno Sakura, who was now smiling at her respectfully. Tsunade would've smiled back, had there not been other people with them. Aside from her medic student, there was a twenty one year old young man called Takashi Akito, and the nineteen year olds Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba. All talented, all deserving of the Jounin title. Good. "Congratulations," She finally said, a smile on her face, "You have all passed the Jounin exam and from today, you will be known as Jounins. You will complete B and A Rank missions and sometimes you will be away from Konoha for a long period of time. Your duty is to Konoha and as a Jounin; everything else comes second, sometimes including your lives. Is that understood?" "Hai Hokage-sama!" three cried in unison. "Of course, Tsunade-sama." Sakura smiled, despite having just been told that she might have to lay her life down for her village. She was rather hoping it wouldn't come to that, and, well, Sakura was an optimist. Lets just leave it at that. "You all know where the Jounin Headquarters are, right?" They all nodded. "Right, well, go and meet your new comrades. Dismissed." Immediately Kiba and Akito disappeared through the large double doors, while Sakura and Hinata lingered. Tsunade sighed, and counted. Three. Two. One "WE DID IT!" Sakura suddenly yelled, jumping from one foot to another in happiness, "It's official, Hina, we're Jounins!" Tsunade was sure that the pink haired woman was spending too much time with Naruto. It was obvious. Only Naruto had jumped around her office like that when he had been declared a Jounin, although he hadn't even waited for the others to leave. At least Sakura had retained

some common courtesy, no matter how much Naruto was turning her into the female version of himself. Kami forbid that thought. All thoughts stopped when Sakura threw her arms around Tsunade. "Arigato, Tsunade-sama! I wouldn't've been able to do this without you!" "Don't be silly, Sakura." Tsunade muttered, "You would've done just fine without me." Sakura frowned and pulled away, giving Tsunade a stern look. "Don't go turning into Kakashi, never accepting a compliment. Never gives one, never accepts one. Honestly!" Tsunade chortled. No matter how much the apple green eyed girl cursed her former sensei, anyone with common sense and eyes could tell she loved him to bits and wouldn't change him for the world. Tsunade sometimes wondered whether Kakashi was actually aware of this; teenage girls tended to baffle him, even ones he had trained. "Ano, arigato Tsunade-sama, for taking the time to train me as well." Hinata mumbled from beside Sakura. "Nonsense," Tsunade chastised gently, "All I did was show you a few tricks, and you did the rest. You're not like Sakura, who needs her hand held through out the entire thing." "Excuse me?" Sakura pouted. Hinata giggled. "Off you go, then. I'm sure Naruto is waiting for you both." Tsunade smiled. Hinata flushed at the thought of the blonde and both of the other women caught it, smiling knowingly. "Lets go Hina!" Sakura chirped, taking her friend's arm and dragging her off. "Ja ne Tsunadesama!" "Ja ne!" Tsunade called after the two young women who were now barrelling past several ninjas and civilians, intent on getting to the Jounin HQ. "Gomen!" Hinata called over her shoulder as Sakura dragged her on, having accidentally barrelled into someone's shoulder. Sakura looked over her shoulder to see who Hinata was apologising to, and consequently smacked straight into someone herself. Someone with a very muscular chest, as it was, and Sakura, had she been intoxicated, would've thought she had run into a wall. "Wha" she gasped, as she bounced backwards and landed on her ass, cushioning her fall at the last minute with a well-placed jutsu that was usually used for suffocating people like a pillow would. A flair of creativity that had just saved her buttocks from being bruised. "Gomen-nasai!" Sakura said quickly, looking up at him. And she had to admit, she liked what she saw. He was tall, slender yet you could see the powerful muscles, and handsome, with smooth features, onyx eyes that held little warmth and charcoal black hair styled in spikes. He was dressed in ANBU uniform, and it suited him well.

Very well. The vest clung to him like a second skin and the swirly tattoo on his left bicep seemed to flatter him perfectly. And then he sneered at her. "Watch where you're going." He spat, stepping around her and walking off. Sakura sat there, dumbfounded for only a split second, before reality and her anger of being treated like a grotty child- caught up with her. Her opinion of him took such a steep dive it was almost vertical. "Excuse me?" she shrieked, jumping to her feet and whirling around to glare at his retreating back. "You! You ANBU shithead!" Hinata winced. He stopped in his tracks, turning around with an almost shocked look that was near instantaneously replaced with a cold sneer. "Where the hell do you get off treating people like they're beneath you?" she spat angrily, her cheeks turning pink in rage. "I concede, it was my fault I ran into you, but I apologised to you! Do you even have manners?" "What?" he replied coldly, "Why should you even care? You ran into me. You apologised. I gave you some advice. End of." "Advice? You call that advice? I don't call sneering and looking down your nose at me advice!" Sakura snarled, her eyes darkening to the point of dark, deep green. Hinata sighed. She wanted to intervene, but common sense told her that if she wanted to keep her life intact, she should juststay away. Yeah. That's a good idea. "You were sprawled on the floor, how else am I meant to look at you?" the onyx eyed man retorted sarcastically. "I meant metaphorically!" "Well, thanks for clearing that up!" Hinata was getting all too aware of the stares they were receiving. She was tempted to start begging the floor to swallow her up whole. Where was Naruto when you needed a funny moment? Sakura looked just about ready to spit deadly nails. Hinata was rather grateful Genma had yet to teach Sakura how to shoot senbon needles from her mouth, because that would've been a disaster at that very moment. "You conceited, stuck-up, selfish pathetic excuse of a man!" Sakura suddenly screamed. "Go to hell you psychotic, interfering bitch!" he yelled back. At that point, both decided to turn on their heels and stomp off.

That guy really made me all riled up. It was only later did I discover who he was from Hinata's cousin, Neji. I had just called the genius ANBU Captain and only survivor of the Uchiha massacre a conceited, stuck-up selfish pathetic excuse of a man. Uchiha Sasuke. The orphan everyone loves. Oh how I hated him.

Well, that's it. Tell me if it's worth continuing or if I should just give up now! Review! Ciao, Chiya Contradicted Chapter Two: Normality Is Overrated I'll tell you something now. Uzumaki Naruto is quite possibly the nosiest, most interfering person on this planet. And to think, he's been my best friend all these years, as well as my team mate. Makes getting a boyfriend quite hard. But I've had a few. Boyfriends, that is. Just a couple. Nothing serious. I was, after all, only seventeen or eighteen. My first fling was at fifteen, and that was with Naruto. We kissed. Dated for exactly two days before unanimously agreeing we were better off as friends. I don't regret trying, and knowing my first kiss had gone to someone I trusted with my life was something I could never abhor. When I was seventeen, my good friend Inuzuka Kiba asked me out. Oh, the fun we had! Kiba was undoubtedly amusing, and the month we spent together consisted of having the time of our lives. I think Naruto spent the entire time being jealous and irritated about having to share his best friend, the poor thing. But eventually the constant fights between Kiba and Naruto wore me down, and I broke it off with Kiba. We still remained friends, thankfully. Perhaps you are starting to understand what I mean when I say Uzumaki Naruto is the most interfering person on this planet. At the age of eighteen, a grand total of six years ago, I met Hyuuga Neji for the first time. Well, I had seen the genius around, had watched him fight against Naruto in the first Chuunin exam, and even said a polite hello whenever Naruto stopped in the street to talk to him. But it was when Hinata introduced me to him did we first ever have a proper conversation. Neji, unlike Kiba, was highly intelligent with an almost cynical, sarcastic sense of humour. After I won an argument against him concerning the political states of higher class families, he seemed to gain a new respect for me, and the next few months were spent arguing and debating

everything and anything. Naruto didn't seem to mind so much, after all, Neji didn't demand my attention twenty four/seven like Kiba did. And then he asked me out for dinner. And then we went to a bar. Got drunk. I invited him into my flat. You can guess the rest. Naruto wasn't pleased when he did his daily wake up call only to find two lumps in the bed instead of one. Perhaps "wasn't pleased" is an understatement. He was utterly furious. Neji and I had to avoid each other for the next month to evade any trouble with our mutual friend. Not that we were scared or anything, it just seemed like an intelligent, mature idea. Yeah. Sometimes I just want to kill Uzumaki Naruto in his sleep. Not that I'd succeed. But everyone dreams, right?

Five years ago 10th September 11.45 a.m. "AAAAAARRRRGH!" Anyone that had been planning on sleeping til midday in the village of Konoha was rudely awakened by the shrill scream. The few ninjas that had still been in bednamely one Hatake Kakashisat up sharply, wondering if the village was under attack. "NARUTO!" Kakashi lay back down. After all, it was only Naruto signing his death warrant. Only a quarter of a mile away, a roseate haired nineteen year old came barrelling out of the Hokage's office, intent on killing a certain blonde. Her apple green eyes were stormy, and the expression on her face could only be articulated as highly dangerous. It was a sensible choice on most people's part to get out of her way. Unfortunately, "most people" meant there were one or two people who apparently didn't know a dangerous girl when they saw one. Or they just didn't want to admit that a girl could be dangerous in any way. Either way, it was bound to lead to disaster.

"NARUTO!" Sakura hollered again, stomping down the street, making a clear path through the crowds as everyone scrambled hastily away from her, in fear of their lives. Except one man, who grabbed her arm and forced her to come to a stand still. "What are you doing, screaming bloody murder in the middle of the street?" he hissed. Sakura whirled around, arm still caught in a tight grip, and looked up into onyx eyes she instantly recognised. "You!" she seethed. "Let go of my arm!" "No," Uchiha Sasuke snapped, "You'll only go scaring half the village to death!" "I can scream from here, you know," Sakura threatened, her eyes narrowing, "So let go of my arm so I can kill my best friend and then everyone can relax!" "For Kami's sake, woman" "My name is Haruno Sakura, not woman!" the irate nineteen year old all but snarled at the older ninja. Sasuke blinked, unused to pink haired, enraged girls snarling at him. Usually they fell over their own feet staring at him with hearts where their eyes should be. This was ratherdiffere nt. Perhaps she didn't know he was? He needed a different approach. "Why the hell would you want to kill your best friend?" he tried. "Because oh, why do you care? Let me go Uchiha!" So, she did know! How absurd! "You know who I am?" Sasuke said in a rare moment of surprise. "Yes!" she shrieked, looking very, very annoyed, "Uchiha Sasuke, ANBU Captain, Neji-kun told me, whatever! Let me go!" Sasuke felt his own hackles rising again. There was something about this insolent pink haired witch that galled him. "Look, you impertinent child, didn't anyone teach you about respect?" he sneered. Something flashed in Sakura's apple green eyes, something entirely hazardous. Sasuke should've backed off then, but like most arrogant men, he didn't seem to think it mattered. He changed his mind after she drew back her free arm, spat out "I'll teach you respect!" and slammed a fist into his jaw. It was a rather powerful punch. Not that he'd ever admit it, but in his surprise, he let go of her arm. She gave a harrumph and stalked off. Sasuke felt rather sorry for her so-called best friend. 12.30 p.m.

"Found you!" Sakura yelled triumphantly, stalking towards the kyuubi vessel at the ramen stand. She must've passed Ichiraku Ramen Place at least six times, but she supposed he had known she would checkand then his stomach told him that ramen had been put off long enough. "Sakura!" Naruto chuckled weakly, looking up at the looming figure of his childhood best friend. "Um, what can I do for you?" "You!" she snarled, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Offering me up for missions like I have no say in them?" The blue eyedeighteen year old scratched the back of his neck nervously, letting out an anxious titter. "Ano" he mumbled, "Well, uh, I didn't think you'd be that upsetI mean, it's only a bodyguard missionB Rank, you know" Sakura raised a hand and whacked him over the head. Naruto grimaced, and the pink haired woman sat down next to him and ordered a bowl of miso ramen. "You're paying." Sakura told him matter-of-factly. Naruto nodded his head instantly, unable to hold back his sigh of relief. The scary part was over. "Honestly, Naruto!" Sakura suddenly burst out, "Why am I on this mission? I'm a medic! I'm a lot more helpful back here in the hospital than protecting some idiotic Lord of some sort." So much for the scary part being over. "I know!" the roseate haired woman declared, her apple green eyes almost piercing a hole through Naruto, who very much wanted to cower, but pride stopped him, "You just didn't want to be bored!" The blonde, normally noisy shinobi winced. She had it in one. "Yeah, well, Tsunade-baa-chan made me Captain and said I should take three others!" Naruto said, puffing his chest out in a display of self-importance. Sakura couldn't help but smile and know that he was simply trying to do his best. "I said you because I know I'll just screw it up without someone to help me." Naruto added a lot more weakly. Sakura shook her head, "Naruto-kun, you don't need me. You've been fine the last year, haven't you?" "Yeah, well" Sakura sighed, and thanked Ayame as she placed a bowl full of ramen in front of her. "Anyway!" Naruto said, after thanking Ayame as well, and taking a largemouthful of his ramen, "I asked Hinata-chan earlier, you know, because having the Byakugan would help, and she said yes, and I need to ask someone elsepreferably a guy, just so I don't end up stuck with three girls, because that would suck" "Naruto" she said warningly. If anything, Sakura was a feminist. "Gomen!" Naruto said cheerfully, finishing his bowl of ramen speedily. He didn't sound that sorry, most likely because he was too used to his pink haired best friend's mood swings and knew that

giving her what she wanted even if he obviously didn't mean it was usually the best way to solve any temper-induced problems. "Alright people!" yelled a familiar voice. The shinobi and kunoichi looked up from their bowls, having opposite reactions to the people in front of them. "Kiba! Hinata!" Sakura grinned, "What" "Hinata-chan, good to see you!" Naruto said loudly over Sakura, giving Kiba the filthiest look he could conjure. Hinata flushed, pressing her fingers together awkwardly as she glanced between her jubilant team mate and her blonde crush. Sakura, like Hinata, also glanced between her ex-boyfriend and her best friend, wondering what argument would occur now. Kiba and Naruto had a long rivalry that came from two loud mouths constantly clashing with each other, always vying for attention. It didn't help that Naruto's best friend and teammate liked Kiba enough to date him and that Kiba's best friend and teammate absolutely adored Naruto. It left poor Sakura and Hinata in rather obstinate positions. "Oi, oi, Sakura, how's it going?" Kiba greeted cheerfully as he sat down next to her. He gave her an irresistible lopsided grin that always made the pink haired woman smile. "Got a B Rank mission next week," Sakura replied, finishing off her bowl of ramen before fully turning to the Inuzuka, "It's been a week, Kiba! It's been exactly seven days since we turned into Jounins!" she said excitedly. Kiba grinned back at her. "I know! I heard about the mission, Hinata told me. Is that baka stealing all my lady friends for this mission?" "Of course not, you still got Shino, right?" "Shino's notSakura! Shame on you! I don't think Shino would enjoy being called a girl you know!" Kiba tried to keep a stern face, but gave up at the sound of Sakura's giggles, and grinned at the roseate haired girl. "You're rubbing off me, Kiba," Sakura said through her chuckles, "It's all your fault!" "Oh, yeah, blame it all on the male!" "But of course!" Kiba and Sakura grinned at each other, Naruto glared at them and Hinata stood to the side, watching nervously. Ah, normality. Isn't it such a nice thing? The friendly, cheerful banter continued between Sakura and Kiba, and Naruto decided his time was better spent talking to the Hyuuga and eating ramen rather than glaring. It was a rather wise deduction on his part, and the next hour was spent in relative peace as a result. Until Uchiha Sasuke decided he wanted ramen for lunch.

1.45 p.m. Hyuuga Neji was very well aware of two things at that very moment. One was that hisclose friend Naruto seemed to have finally forgiven him for that incident with a certain pink haired kunoichi six months ago. Two was that fellow ANBU Captain Uchiha Sasuke looked like he wanted to kill that pink haired kunoichi. Just what had Haruno Sakura got herself into now? And that was how Neji found himself restraining a furious Sasuke. Which was, understandably, rather difficult. "Justwhat exactly isgoing on!" Neji demanded, glancing thankfully at his younger cousin who had grabbed hold of Sasuke's free arm. Only a couple of feet away, Naruto had resorted to grabbing Sakura around the waist and Kiba stood in front of her, blocking her view of the angry Uchiha and talking to her in a low, soothing voice. "Damnit Hyuuga, let me go!" Sasuke roared. "Hinata!" "H-he said," stammered Hinata, "That females sh-should stick t-to being ho- housewives." Neji winced, and kept a tighter grip on Sasuke, hoping to Kami that Naruto could restrain Sakura, and that she would not resort to using her super human strength in this instant. It was well known to her friends and acquaintances that Sakura detested anyone that considered females to be weak and incapable of earning a living, let alone being successful ninjas. Her reaction to being told so was usually violent and exceedingly dangerous. "Sakura!" Neji called over everyone's voices, "Sakura, listen to me!" "What?" she snapped angrily, twisting and turning in Naruto's grip. "Do you respect me?" he demanded. Sakura blinked. Whatever she had expected, it certainly wasn't that. Where was the get yourself together girl! and the don't take it so seriously! ? "Yeah, your point?" she snapped, her anger quickly over taking her surprise. "Good, because I respect you!" Surprise came again. This time to everyone. Rarely did Hyuuga Neji state that he respected someone. "What?" Kiba said dumbly, turning around and consequently allowing Sakura a full view of a snarling Sasuke, and the Hyuuga cousins restraining him. "What are you on about?" Sasuke growled at Neji. Glad he had gotten everyone attention and no one was shouting themselves hoarse anymore, he continued in a calmer voice.

"You shouldn't listen to people who don't know what they're on about, alright?" "WHAT!" Sasuke yelled. Surprisingly, it was Hinata who elbowed in him in the gut. "You know what I was like before the Chuunin exam. Naruto showed me a better world. No one's done that for Sasuke, so he doesn't know what is considered something you'd take highly offensive." Neji said matter-of-factly. Sasuke renewed his struggles. Normally, he would be able to get out of their grip easily, but he was loath to hurting the few friends he had. "Better world? You've lost it Hyuuga!" Sasuke growled. "I respect you. Doesn't my opinion weigh more, as your friend?" Sakura sighed in resignation. Apparently, Neji's words had hit home. Naruto tentatively let go of her, and since she didn't immediately race towards the still restrained Uchiha, everyone assumed that Haruno Sakura had been successfully calmed down. And within five minutes of her anger flaring up. It was a new record. Neji turned to Sasuke. "Since she's no longer planning to attack you, you can calm down." "Calm down?" the Uchiha gritted out, "She's punched me twice today!" Naruto let out a snort. "Twice? I only saw onedamnit" "Are you okay?" Kiba asked Sakura, who nodded, still glaring heatedly at the onyx eyed twenty one year old. "Thanks Neji-kun." She said, her apple green eyes moving from Sasuke to the lavender eyed man. Neji nodded, and looked at his cousin. She bit her lip, nodded, and simultaneously they let go of Sasuke. "About time!" Sasuke snapped, his cold stare swivelling from the Hyuugas to Sakura. He snorted, "Pathetic. As expected from a female, they need a male to protect them." Sakura's anger erupted once more, but before she could act, or Naruto could restrain her, or even Neji could react in some way, Sasuke crumpled to the ground, fully unconscious. Hinata stood over him with a rather odd look on her face. "He was annoying me."

Now this is something to remember. I'll always remember this, I'll always get a kick out of it, and I'll always burst out laughing when I think of it. Hyuuga Hinata had just knocked Uchiha Sasuke unconscious with a single strike. Now that's not normal. Then again... Normality is overrated.

Well, first off, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I didn't expect the first chapter to do so well, so here's me hoping that this one does just as well! So review again please! The next chapter should be up in a week. Until then...toodles! Chiya Contradicted Chapter Three: Painful Apologies Missions are unpredictable. They can go horribly wrong when they were meant to be simple, C Rank missionssuch as that time in the Wave Countryand they can go perfectly well when you expected them to be rather difficult and the death rate to be impossibly high. Expect the unexpected. Look underneath the obvious. Kakashi taught me that. At the same time certain circumstances lead to consequences you couldn't see coming even you were some sort of freak psychic. Consequences that could change your entire life. Yeah, being a ninja is pretty screwed up. Not that I'd have it any other way. As such, that simple B Rank bodyguard mission was put back by a month, which surprised both us and Tsunade, and so we celebrated Kakashi's thirty third birthday on the fifteenth of September by waking him up with an armful of presents and arranging a party at his favourite inn with all his friends later that night. We ended up all getting trashed, and Genma damned near got me caught in his sticky lust webluckily, Raidou saved my ass by kicking his ass, as he's wont to do when Genma gets a little out of control. We then celebrated Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino's nineteenth birthdays on the twenty second, and that was spent having a picnic in the park and generally winding down from our crazy training regimes. Shikamaru, already an ANBU Strategist, appreciated it greatly, while Ino took the chance to flirt outrageously with the boys. And then we all went back to doing missions and training our asses off. And then it came. The mission.

It changed my life. And the life of Uchiha Sasuke.

Five years ago 5th October 3 a.m., I think It was late. Or really early, depending on how you look at it. Either way, every sane person was fast asleep in their beds like the good people they were. Heck, even the bad people were asleep. Although the line between good and bad is always blurred, so really, it's just easier to say that everyone was asleep. Except the weirdo currently banging on Haruno Sakura's front door. It wasn't Naruto, Sakura noted sleepily as she tumbled out of bed. Naruto had the spare keys, so that he could do his daily wake up call. The kunoichi staggered to her feet and slipped on her dressing gown, running a hand through her roseate messy hair in a half-hearted attempt to fix it. Giving up on any resemblance of being tidy and presentable, she padded the short distance to the front door; inwardly cursing whomever it was up at this blasphemous hour. Unlocking the two locks, she wrenched the door open, hand moving to her thigh where a kunai was always strapped. She halted upon seeing a Chuunin she vaguely recognised as Kotetsu. The surname escaped her. Kotetsu opened his mouth to speak, but an irate Sakura beat him to it. "Damnit Kotetsu-san!" she said, anger sparking in her apple green eyes, "D'you know how early it is?" "Sorry Sakura-san," Kotetsu winced, "Tsunade-sama requests your presence within the next ten minutes." Sakura sighed, anger leaving her. "Hai, hai, sorry for snapping. I'm just a girl who needs her beauty sleep." She smiled tiredly at the raven haired Chuunin, who smiled back. "I doubt you need beauty sleep, Sakura-san, when you're perfectly attractive as you are," Kotetsu noted as if it was a fact, and not a matter of opinion. The kunoichi raised an eyebrow at the cheesy line, but then smiled at him again. "I have to go get the others. Good luck for whatever Tsunade-sama wants you for." He said, before leaping back into the night. "Thanks," she mumbled, going back into her small apartment to get changed. After wriggling into a pair of black combats and a red t-shirt with the Haruno symbol on the back, she zipped up her green vest over it and stepped out into the cool night, locking the door behind her. Five minutes later found the green eyed kunoichi standing in Tsunade's office, both women fighting off a yawn while they waited for the others to arrive.

"Ohayo!" cried a blonde as he staggered into the office, "Can someone explain why I'm here at three in the morning?" Tsunade sighed, noticing that while Naruto had managed to get changed, he still wore his bear sleeping hat. Always a kid at heart, that one. She rubbed her tired golden coloured eyes as her student snatched the hat off Naruto's head, attempting to smooth out his wild blonde locks. Normally the Uzumaki would whine and tell her to bugger off, but he simply didn't have enough energy for it at this time in the nightor morninghowever you see it. "We have to wait for two others first, Naruto." Tsunade told the normally hyperactive blonde. "Fine, fine." He sighed, finally waving Sakura away from his wild tresses. Within the next five minutes, Hinata walked in looking more awake than Naruto, Sakura or Tsunade, which wasn't all that hard to accomplish. The Hyuuga pushed her index fingers together and flushed when Naruto greeted her enthusiastically. How the blonde remained cheerful sounding as well sleepy was beyond anyone in that room. "Who else are we waiting for Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked as Hinata shyly greeted Naruto back. Before the Hokage could respond, the door opened once more and a familiar raven haired, onyx eyed, twenty one year old stepped through. "Hokage-sama." Uchiha Sasuke greeted, eyes sweeping over the room. He sneered at the trio staring back at him with something akin to shock. Hinata gave a muffled 'eep!' and shuffled back. The incident that had occurred not even a month ago resurfaced in both the high class shinobis' minds. Hinata had spent the last month avoiding Sasuke at all costs, not wanting to face his wrath. Because shy, little Hyuuga Hinata had knocked out big, strong Uchiha Sasuke, and neither could forget it. Well, that, and everyone refused to let them forget it. It had definitely been the talk of the month. "Sasuke," Tsunade said, noting the tension and saying nothing, "Good, good. Now that everyone is here" Immediately the four formed a line front of her, awaiting her news. Tsunade resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. "You probably won't know this, Sasuke, but last month I assigned Naruto a four-man B Rank bodyguard mission. Naruto asked Sakura and Hinata to join him, but because the mission was delayed, didn't choose a fourth person." Sasuke nodded to show his understanding. "However, I received an urgent call just half an hour from Feudal Lord Tanaka Hideki regarding the mission. He and his family need to travel to the Hidden Grass Village. The Rain Country, where they live, has gone into revolt and the family has been targeted. As such, this mission has been upgraded to A Rank and Sasuke will accompany you on the mission." The reactions to this were immediate; Sakura let out a little hiss, performing a death glare that almost outshone that of Sasuke and Neji's. Naruto groaned at the thought of a stuck up bastard that could rile Sakura up just by being in the same room her. Hinata bit her lip and stared at the floor, inwardly cursing.

Sasuke just glared. At everyone. Including Tsunade. "Tsunade?" Naruto said, "Will I still be Captain?" The Hokage nodded. "However, Naruto, if Sasuke insists on something, I suggest you do it, he's not in ANBU for nothing." There was silence. Along with more glaring. Tsunade sighed. She sincerely hoped that each and every one of them returned alive. And it wasn't the Rain-nin she was worried about either. "Your mission scrolls will be given to you when you meet up at dawn to leave. Shizune will meet you at the gates. Is that understood?" "Hai Hokage-sama!" "Dismissed." They were out of there faster than you could say 'go!'. 6.35 a.m. The rising sun was just glaring at her, like it was her fault it had to get up to give them light and heat. Sakura glared back, just like it was the sun's fault that she had to go on a mission with Uchiha Sasuke. Either way, Sakura wasn't very happy as she trudged her way to the gates, travel pack settled on her shoulders and her long roseate hair pulled into a plait to keep it out of the way. She hadn't bothered to get changed, although she did shower, fully aware that probably was the last decent shower she would have in the next two weeks. Hot water was a novelty she always missed when going on missions. "Heya Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted cheerfully, as she approached him. He was standing next to Shizune, who held an armful of scrolls. "Ohayo Naruto-kun, Shizune!" she replied, taking one of the scrolls heaped in the older woman's arms. Shizune smiled gratefully at her, now only carrying two scrolls. "Sakura-chan, how are you?" Shizune asked the nineteen year old who was something like a little sister to her. Training together under Tsunade had assured that, and the two spent a lot time together researching techniques and working together at the hospital. "A little frustrated." Sakura admitted. Shizune raised her eyebrow. "Uchiha Sasuke is coming with us. She doesn't like him." Naruto supplied, taking his usual stance of resting his head on the arms folded behind him. "Sasuke, huh?" the brunette said, "Understandable. I always dreaded the day you two crossed paths. He's ratherderogatoryabout females."

"Understatement of the bloody year." Sakura grumbled. They stopped the conversation there as Hinata and Sasuke walked towards them, a noticeable ten feet gap between them. Hinata immediately put Naruto between her and the Uchiha, and Sasuke just sneered. As usual. This was going to be a long mission. As they prepared to walk through the main gates, Sakura only had to blink to miss the approach of three people. Neji trudged through the gates, looking exhausted as he carried his teammate Tenten on his back, who was fast asleep. Rock Lee stumbled along beside them, large eyes half closed. Obviously their mission had been gruelling. "Neji-nii-san!" Hinata said in surprise, "Are you alright?" "Hai" Neji mumbled, as Shizune rushed forward to take Tenten off Neji's back. To everyone's surprise, Neji refused to let her go. "She's running low on chakra. There's some tricky Rain-nin out there, so be careful." "Are any of you hurt?" the pink haired kunoichi asked worriedly, as Shizune raised an eyebrow at them and instead went to help Lee. "Nothing more than a few scrapes and cuts," Neji replied, "Don't worry Sakura, we're heading straight to the hospital." She knew that was the most she was going to get, and nodded. She had a mission to do, after all. 4.05 p.m. "FUCK!" It was entirely scarring to know that it was Hyuuga Hinata who had snarled the crude word. Sakura was going to have words with Kiba; his foul language was starting to affect his sweet, normally innocent teammate. Although it shouldn't have been a surprise, they had been travelling for ten hours already and each and every one of them looked about ready to kill each other. Sakura was currently glaring at the two males. Naruto had irritated her to the point of fury by whining about ramen withdrawals and bickering with Sasuke about which path to take when Hinata was the one guiding them, her map reading skills better than any of theirs. She was also mad at Sasukebut then again, when wasn't she? It seemed the only person she wasn't feeling ill towards was Hinata, who had her own issues with the men. And currently Hinata was glaring furiously at Sasuke, who was glaring heatedly back. It's notoriously difficult to get Hinata pissed off. Normally she'll just stand there, pressing her index fingers together and turning seven shades of red. But if one pushed really, really hard, they would either be knocked out or yelled at in highly offensive language. Yes, Hyuuga Hinata was a force to reckoned with while angry. And so Sakura and Hinata glowered.

Naruto shivered in horror. Sasuke glowered back. One had to feel particularly sorry for the Feudal Lord and his family. They didn't know what was about to hit them. "Turn right." Hinata said waspishly, map severely creased and frayed with all the twisting in the Hyuuga's hands it had suffered. Naruto, who was leading, turned right at the junction. Sakura sighed as the foursome trudged onwards, as silent as a graveyard. They were expected in the Hidden Rain Village tomorrow afternoon, and she knew they'd have to sort out their issues by then. They needed to work as a team, and they couldn't do that if they were all livid as hell at each other. And so, she came to a conclusion. She stopped. Sasuke walked straight into her. And swore loudly. "Shut up," Sakura demanded, her voice ice-cold. Hinata and Naruto had come to a stand still upon the sound of the raven haired man releasing a stream of obscenities. "This is getting ridiculous. This mission is important. D'you know how much we're being paid? Surely you understand the precarious state of relations Konoha is having with Rain and Cloud? If we're spotted, they'll take us down. Why? Because we're from Konoha." They stared at her. Sasuke realized what the pink haired brat was saying was completely true, but, of course, he'd never admit it. "We're acting stupidly, we're putting ourselves in danger and our anger is clouding our judgement. I suggest a truce for the rest of this mission." "Alright" Hinata said softly. "Yeah," Naruto agreed sheepishly. Sasuke nodded, scowl still firmly in place. "Good," she cleared her throat. "Naruto, I apologise for snapping at you. UchSasuke, I'm sorry for attempting to give you a black eye." Shock hit all of them like a barrel full of frogs. Had Sakurapink haired, green eyed, viciously feminist Sakura apologised to Sasuke? "Hinata." "Er, right!" Hinata stammered, "Um, Sasuke-sanI'm s-sorry. For, you knowkn-knocking you out a month ago."

Hinata, it seemed, was back to normal. Not that Sasuke noticed, since his head was still reeling in shock of an apology from the most unlikely person. It was Naruto next. "Ah, sorry, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, Sasuke. I didn't mean to annoy you all." Naruto said, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. Sasuke. Now this was going to be interesting. "Sasuke. Apologise." Sakura demanded, arms crossed, "We all have." He sneered, "This is stupid. Why should I apologise when I did nothing wrong?" And people call him a genius? "Nothing wrong?" Sakura snapped, "You conceited prat! You're the worst out of all of us! At least we care about the mission enough to swallow our pride and apologise." "What is that meant to mean?" Sasuke bit out, both participants' tempers starting to reach boiling point. "It meant that you don't deserve the title of ANBU Captain, let alone Jounin, you narcissistic wanker!" That stung. A lot. "You" We never did get to find out what she was, as Hinata suddenly let a yell, Byakugan activated. "SAKURA! WATCH OUT!" On pure reflex, Sakura's hand shot out and clasped around the senbon needle that had been whizzing it's way towards her, only inches from her neck. She swore, slipping it into her pocket as she reached into her holster, pulling out a kunai and gripping it tightly. Sasuke and Naruto were immediately on guard, whipping out their own kunais and eyes searching the area around them. "Hinata," Sasuke mumbled to the Hyuuga standing behind him, "What d'you see?" "Rain-nin," she muttered back, "Ten, as far as I can see." "Shit." Naruto hissed. "We're surrounded." Hinata added, with slight frustration tainting her voice.

Rain-nin. Ten of them. They could fight, but that would be suicide. They outnumbered them by miles. They could run, but that was also suicide. It came down to the fact they had to move and fight at the same time. "Hinata, stay with me at all times," Naruto muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "Sasuke, Sakura, stay together." They nodded. As more weapons came soaring at them, one thing became painfully clear. This was going to hurt.

I'd love to be able to tell you that we were okay, that we got out of it reasonably unharmed because those Rain-nin were just incompetent Genins. But that would be lying. And trust me, it hurt like a bitch.

Okie dokeys, first thing first! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and please, please, please review this chapter as well! Next chapter should be up in a week. Toodles! Chiya Heya everyone. Sorry it took so long to update, but I lost my mojo...aka, I had writer's block. But here's the next chapter, and I hope you all enjoy! Disclaimer: I wish I owned Sasuke. And Kakashi. And Neji. And Kiba. But, alas, I don't.

Contradicted Chapter Four: Fight For Your Life There's something about fighting for your life. The adrenaline pumping in your veins, your heart beating rapidly in your chest, the pulse thrumming in your ears, the fluid movements of your body, capable of taking a life within split second. It's intoxicating. But at the same time, it scares the shit out of you.

Because one day something will go wrong. You'll meet someone far too strong, too powerful, too merciless. Luck won't be on your side. You'll be exhausted by the end. Hurt. Angry. Defeated. And you die. Every shinobi expects it. Because dying from old age is just asking too much. Death is always around the corner. How depressing.

Five years ago 5th October 4.30 p.m. They had been fighting for fifteen minutes and only half the Rain-nins had been killed or at least knocked out. The enemy ninjas seemed to be of Jounin status, which certainly didn't help their predicament. Two rookie Jounin kunoichis, a noisy blonde and a cold hearted ANBU against ten now five- experienced, harsh Jounins. Sakura was starting to get fed up. She was fatigued, aggravated, the fact Sasuke hadn't apologised to her was highly irritating and she was covered in bruises and cuts. Sodding Rain-nins. Sodding Sasuke! Sakura ducked an impending slash of a kunai, spinning on her heel and lashing her foot out, connecting with her opponent's stomach. He reeled back, and Sakura took advantage of his momentary lapse of concentration to flick a senbon at his neck, the sliver of metal embedding itself deeply in the muscle. Sakura grimaced as the ninja suddenly transformed into a log in a puff of smoke, annoyed that she had been fooled by the common Kawarimi no Justu. Now she had a distinct disadvantage due to the fact she had no idea where her enemy now was. She closed her eyes, focusing on her surroundings, her chakra spreading out, feeling and searching. Several meters away, Sasuke was in a heated battle with two ninjas, and not far from him was Hinata using the Jyuken on her opponent. Further away was Naruto, overwhelming his opponent using his Kage Bunshin. She frowned and turned away from her teammates. Slowly withdrawing a kunai from her pouch, she steadied herself. Where was he? Thereno, there! Sakura whipped around, flinging her kunai at a shadow behind a large rock. The Rain-nin leapt up to avoid it, blocking the descending sun. She winced at the sudden change of light, but focused her chakra, channelling it into her foot and stomping her heel into the ground just as her opponent landed. A tremor followed by a large rip in the earth definitely succeeded in surprising the ninja, and he fell into the tear and was crushed almost instantly.

Sakura sighed. She should probably help out Sasuke, but he was such a prat! If he was so great, then he should be able to deal with two ninjas, right? Honestly, he had gone against more then two at some point in his life if he was a real talented shinobi. What a predicament Sakura had gotten herself into. She looked at Sasuke, who was currently propelling balls of fire at his opponents. To help him or not to help him? Ah, he didn't need help. The kunoichi turned away from the Uchiha, looking over to her female companion and friend. Perhaps she would help Hinata. Not that Hinata needed help, but just for the sake of "URGH!" Maybe not. She whirled around, apple eyes focusing on the bane of her existence. And then the horror started to captivate her. He did need help. He did, and she had ignored him and now there was a kunai jammed into his gut and he was bleeding and "SASUKE!" Guilt was going to have to come later. Within seconds, the medic had snapped back into business mode and with silent feet, raced towards her injured comrade. She approached one of the Rain-nin with his back to her, pulling out her kunai and quick as a flash tore the blade across his neck. It was barbaric, and cruel, but necessary. As the body dropped to the ground, Naruto finished off his opponent and hurried to engage the second of the two Rain-nin left. Sakura dropped onto her knees beside Sasuke, hands reaching for the kunai handle that was on show, the rest buried beneath crimson blood and pale white skin. "Here," she said breathlessly, "Let me see." "No!" the Uchiha gritted out, trying to block out the spasms of pain drifting up his side. "I'm the medic on this team!" Sakura replied hotly, "It's my job to heal you!" "Not here, it's too dangerous" "Guys!" Naruto barked over his shoulder, parrying a kick, "Just get out of here. Sasuke's right, Sakura-chan; you need to get him out of here before you can heal him. You know that!" The rose haired kunoichi gave a little humph before getting to her feet again, gathering chakra in her arms, flexing her muscles automatically before reaching down to pick up Sasukeonly to be knocked away. "Uchiha!" she growled. "Haruno." He retorted nonchalantly, onyx eyes narrowed in contempt. "I can move by myself." "You stubborn idiot!" Sakura snapped, as her temper began to reach dangerous points. Inner Sakura inched awayor further insidemuttering about silly Uchihas and anger management.

Sasuke gave a "Hn." in response, slowly inching to his feet. He staggered slightly, and Sakura instantly moved forward to help, only to receive a death glare of all death glares. Somewhere in her mind, whatever space that wasn't occupied by tactics, techniques and reflexes, Hinata wondered who exactly was more stubborn. It was definitely a close call. "Kami!" Naruto whirled around, making the foolish mistake of just ignoring the Rain-nin he was fighting. Who, coincidently, just gaped at the sheer nuttiness of Naruto. "What are you two, retarded? We're in the middle of a battle! STOP ARGUING AND BEING STUBORRN EGOTISTICAL IDIOTS!" Of course, then he got stabbed the shoulder by the Rain-nin he had been ignoring. The entire thing could only be portrayed as catastrophic. 5.10 p.m. They were back to the square one: staring at each other in extreme contempt as the air around them started cracking under the intense pressure of resentment. Sakura busied herself attending to Naruto and Sasuke's kunai wounds, scowl firmly in place, while Hinata sat next to Naruto, fiddling at his messy blond hair in an attempt to ignore the tension. Hinata bit her lip, flattening a strand of canary yellow hair that simply wouldn't stay put with the rest of his hair. Her lavender eyes flickered from the cute male asleep with his head on her lap to the roseate haired kunoichi currently crouched beside a handsome raven haired man, pushing chakra into the wound in his side. The entire situation, Hinata decided, was unbearable. Someone needed to talk to Tsunade about her choice of teams. And soon. Before some other poor idiots got themselves in a mess like this. Then again, the golden eyed Godaime would probably just laugh and say, "Well, you're alive, aren't you?" Which would just be typical. Hinata then decided it was best, once the mission was over, to never mention it again. "There," Sakura said as she placed a gauze over the chakra-stitched wound, "Give it six hours and it should be healed, between my chakra and yours." "Hn." Sasuke grunted, pulling down his shirt. "You could at least say thank you." The kunoichi said irritably. There was a pause, in which Hinata groaned inwardly and simply waited for the angry retort. "Arigato." Hinata blinked. Sakura blinked. Naruto let out a muffled snore.

"Um. You're welcome." Sakura said softly, looking completely perplexed. Where was the angry snap? The jibe? The sneer? The anything remotely Sasuke-like? Sasuke snorted, suppressing a wince as muted pain jolted through his side. "Of course," he added with a tell-tale smirk, "You're not much of a healer, are you? Shouldn't the recovery time for a minor wound be a lot shorter?" "Why you!" the apple eyed woman growled, "Only Shizune and Tsunade-sama could give you perhaps half an hour less! Ungrateful brat!" Hinata sighed. It was nice while it lasted. 6th October 10.40 a.m. The fatigued foursome approached the Hidden Rain Village warily and as quietly as possible. Their Konoha headbands had been shoved into their rucksacks, cloaks swung over their shoulders and hoods shadowing their faces. Hinata wore sunglasses, hiding her tell-tale Hyuuga eyes. Dressed in all black, they looked dangerous and a group you should leave alone. Which was the general idea. Sakura felt entirely anxious. They hadn't left a single Rain-nin alive during the attackalthough they had paid with tired, bruised and damaged bodiesso no one knew they were coming. But still, they were walking into a village whose entire system was in revolt and seemed to take extreme dislike to Fire Country ninjas. The medic winced at the sight of smashed gates and the deserted path beyond it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hinata walk closer to Naruto, but the face behind the sunglasses remained impassive. They had agreed on the way to take to the roofs and avoid all busy routes. Sasuke, who had been to the Hidden Rain Village a few times already, would lead them. Luckily, it was mostly the civilians who were in revolt and most of the Rain-nins were attempting to keep the peace, although there were certainly a few (such as the ten Rain-nin that had attacked them) that were causing more chaos than the civilians. Either way, the Village's shinobis were rather busy. Sasuke turned and nodded, ignoring the faint twinge in his side. At the gesture, the four of them pushed chakra into their feet and leapt onto the nearest grey tiled roof. The murky, brittle air that promised rain chilled them to their very bones. It didn't take them long to find the manor that belonged to Feudal Lord Tanaka Hideki. But as they jumped down into the gardens, the entire place seemed deserted. No guards, no servants, nothing. Sakura never did like Ghost stories. "Hinata." Naruto whispered.

The Hyuuga nodded her understanding, muttering firmly, "Byakugan!" Her lavender eyes puffed up with chakra, and she scanned the area tersely. Her eyes focused downwards, and caught sight of movement. Below? Perhaps "The basement." Naruto nodded and walked inside the building, noting its bare appearance. The walls were charred; some of the sliding doors had holes torn through them. It had been raided already? Were the people below not the Feudal Lord and his family, but angry civilians or worse, shinobi? "Be careful." Hinata whispered once they had found the entrance to the basement. Naruto and Sakura went down first, kunais gripped in their hands, glinting dangerously in the almost nonexistent light. Sakura spread out her chakra again, searching and feeling. Naruto used his extraordinary night visioncourtesy of the Kyuubi, one had to assumeto scour the surrounding area. THUNK! Sakura blinked. She had moved reflexively to the right, only to have something thrown at her an axe? Who in the name of seven hells used those anymore? Perplexed apple green eyes stared at the weapon now buried in the wooden walls. "W-who goes there? I-I have weapons! I can fight, you know!" a shaky voice came from the darkness. "Tanaka-sama?" Sakura called tentatively. "Who are you?" the voice demanded. "My name is Haruno Sakura of the Konoha Village. I am part of the team sent here to retrieve Tanaka-sama." She replied tonelessly, eyes scouring the basement in an attempt to find them, although Naruto had already spotted them. "That's our lot, alright." Naruto muttered to Sakura. "Who's with you?" the voice was definitely male, Sakura decided. "Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke." The kunoichi replied. "That's it? No one followed you? Are youwait! Rose! Don't move!" the voice became decidedly panicked, and Sakura picked up movement. A pair of feet shuffled towards them, and Naruto became impatient and found the light switch. Light filled the small room. A small girl stood before Sakura, looking up at her with large blue eyes. In her hand was a single dying white rose. "Oh, hello," Sakura said, pushing back her hood and squatting down next to the girl that couldn't be more than six years old. "Who are you then?" "Tanaka Rose," she said quietly.

"Rose. What a pretty name." She said softly, taking the dirt streaked cheeks and the sorrowful eyes. Eyes that seemed to be highly similar to Naruto's baby blue orbs when the people from the village spat at him and cursed him for the Kyuubi. "Is Miss going to take us away from here?" Rose asked, looking up at her. Sakura smiled sadly and nodded. Small arms encircled her neck in a hug, and the roseate haired kunoichi sighed, scooping the tiny six year old in her arms, standing up. "Tanaka Hideki-sama, right?" Naruto said to the black haired man crouched in a darkish corner. "Hai," mumbled the man, clutching something in arms, "Please, can we leave now?" "Not yet, we needed to get the low down on what's happening," Naruto told him, before turning to stairway entrance and calling, "Hinata, Sasuke! You can come down!" "Who" "Our comrades, Tanaka-sama." "Oh." Once everyone had been introduced and settled in, as much as one could settle in a basement anyway, Hideki went on to explain his situation. His wife was a kunoichi (which struck the group as odd, and Sasuke made a dry comment about women being useless, which earned him a slap from Sakura) who had left two months ago on a mission to Konoha to sign a peace treaty and form allies. Unfortunately, the Rain Village leader had long before been corrupted by his power, and attacked Konoha. Of course, they were driven off almost instantly, and half the shinobi on that mission had fled, ashamed of their country's corrupted ways. His wife had been one of them. Since then, the families of those who had fled had been targeted, and were forced to leave the Village. Hideki, Rose and the bundle in his arms that was their two-month-old son, was one of the few of those families left. "Politics," Sakura snorted, "Its ridiculous." "Politics is what keep people civilized," Sasuke said pointedly. "We are lucky Tsunade-sama is a good politician as well as a good ninja. Even if she is a woman." Sakura rolled her eyes. It was going to take a stick of dynamite and an act of castration for Uchiha Sasuke to finally see women as equals. And Sakura could easily do both. 7th October 3.15 p.m.

Getting out of the Village had been easy enough; no one had stood in their way. Well, except some drunken fool that had recognised Hideki, but that was dealt with when Hinata only had to poke him before he went toppling over. After that it was a straightforward journey to the Grass Country, a pleasant little place with pleasant, peaceful people. Which was a nice change. Hideki's wife had greeted them with tears and happiness, pulling her entire family into an overpowering hug. Hinata and Sakura had smiled fondly at the sight. Rose waved happily as they left, making them promise to visit if they ever passed by. Sasuke scowled the entire time, while Sakura happily gave Rose a little cuddle and said goodbye. The journey home, however, was a little different. "I think that went rather well." Naruto said happily as they walked along the path on a cliff edge. "We haven't gotten home yet." Sasuke pointed out sourly. "True, but still, mission complete, right?" the blond replied. "Hmm," Sakura agreed, looking over the cliff edge with interest. It was a hundred feet drop into a lush valley. A rather pretty valley at that. "Hey, wow, I haven't seen that flower before." She said, peering down at the white flower blossoming out of the cliff a few feet down. "Want a closer look?" a voice growled in her ear. Before anyone could react at all, a hand smashed into the small of Sakura's back, and the only thing stopping her from tumbling off the cliff was the arm wrapped around her waist. Pain exploded in her spine, pain that spread throughout her entire body. Her skin tingled to the point that it actually hurt, her muscles ached and her head pounded furiously. "SAKURA!" All of the sudden, her entire body felt weak. She slumped into the huge man's arms, unable to hold herself up. Her limbs felt dull, lifeless. "So, these are the ninjas that slaughtered ten of our men and stole a family from right under our nose?" sneered the man. "How pathetic." Through half closed eyes, she looked back at the others. Hinata lay unconscious in another man's arms, and Naruto struggled violently against two other burly men. Sasuke remained motionless pinned against a tree, onyx eyes full of fury. "What d'you want?" Sasuke spat. "We want to know where you hid the Tanakas." The man holding Sakura growled. "Not a chance!" Naruto yelled. At this comment, the huge man holding Sakura suddenly flipped her over, holding her by the ankle. Sakura dangled, alarmed, over the hundred foot drop into the valley.

Not good. "Lets try again, shall we? Tell us where the Tanakas are or little miss pinky here falls to her death." "Sakura!" Naruto yelped, receiving an elbow to the gut. "Fine, fine, we'll tell you, just put her down." "No." It was entirely disconcerting to know that the cold word had escaped past the lips of Uchiha Sasuke. "Drop her," he continued coolly, "I'd rather her dead than the Tanakas." Naruto gaped at him. If Sakura could, she would've gasped. Did he really despise her that much? That he would ask for her death? But why? She would never do that to him, and she hated him a lot more than he hated her! Right? The man chuckled. "I'm not stupid. You think she could save herself. She can't. No chakra. I drained it all from her with the Chakra Kyuushuu." "I know." Sasuke replied coldly. "Sasuke!" Naruto growled. Sasuke ignored him resolutely. The Rain-nin nodded, smirking. "You are a cold man." "Drop her!" he snapped. "SAKURA!" And so she fell.

There is only one thing I can say right now Ouch.

Well, just wanted to say thanks to everyone who reviewed and keep reviewing! Cos the more you review, the more likely I'll update faster... Ciao! Chiya Hey again! Just wanna say a quick thanks to absolutely everyone who reviewed! I was so surprised by the amount I got! So big, big BIG thanks to you lot out there.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Enjoy!

Contradicted Chapter Five: Seeing Red Luck. Is there really such a thing? Is everything already laid out for us, fate set in stone? Or do we rule our lives, do our actions dictate if we live or perish? I think so. Lets face it; sitting on our asses all day isn't going to get us anywhere. Our actions are the reason things happen. If you have a kunai flying at you, you react: dodge, parry, block. If you don'tthat's it. You're screwed. Luck is something that should've gone horribly wrong but didn't. And there's always a reason for that. A scientific reason. As a medic, I believe in science and that's it. So luck? Just a simple way of saying the improbable event happened. And so for every time there's a whythere's an answer. Sometimes you've just got to look harder to find it.

Five years ago 14th October 12.10 p.m. You know, Haruno Sakura could honestly say she didn't feel all that bad. All right, so the last thing she remembered was Sasuke's cold words then falling a hundred feet, and then passing out upon a sickening collision with the ground. Apple eyes blinked at the impossibly white ceiling. That's it. She was calling a decorator as soon as she could get back to her normal state of body (and mind). Waking up to sheer white was more sickening than neon orange. She blinked again. Bracing her arms against the edges of the bed, Sakura attempted to sit up. And that's when the pain hit her.

It was excruciating. It was like every single cell in her body was on fire and she couldn't do anything to stop it. Her insides were heavy with lava, burning and searing as it moved. Whatever small amount of chakra she had recollected during the time she had been unconscious simply wasn't enough to act like a pain-combat. Moreover, the pain seemed to be extra concentrated around her left leg, chest and head, which didn't exactly help. Sakura couldn't help it. She let out a strangled yell. "Huh?" someone started, the voice coming from the chair beside the bed. An inky black eye blinked lazily in a way that couldn't be mistaken. "Kakashi," Sakura gasped, apple eyes blurring, "Oh Kami, it hurts." "Hang on a sec, Sakura," her ex-sensei said reassuringly as he got up, taking quick strides to the door. Poking his head outside, he called for Shizune, who came hurrying in. The brunette hushed poor Sakura, who was now whimpering as waves of intense pain racked her frame. Shizune filled a syringe with pale liquid, grabbing the pink haired kunoichi's arm and pressing on a vein to make it more prominent. Shizune pressed the needle in, allowing the liquid to enter her system. There were a few moments before Sakura slowly relaxed, the pain dulling enough to become bearable. "There you are, Sakura-chan," Shizune said with a gentle smile, "You should be fine now. How are you feeling?" "Urgh," Sakura groaned in response. "What d'you think?" "Well, you had a pretty nasty fall. In fact, you shouldn't even be alive. It's a miracle." Sakura blinked. "I thought" Sakura stammered, apple eyes widening, "I thought someone saved me, or something. There's no other reason I would bealiveright?" Shizune shook her head, "No, Sakura. Naruto didn't have time to save you, and neither did Sasuke. Hinata was unconscious, so unless a Rain-nin suddenly decided on a change of heart, which is practically impossible, you free fell a hundred feetand survived." The significance of Shizune's words hit her like a train. "Butthe velocity of which I would've hit the ground" "Should've shattered every single one of your bones. In which case, you only broke a leg, misplaced a few ribs and cracked your skull open." Sakura finally noticed that her left leg was wrapped in a cast and her chest was tightly wound with bandages. Lifting her hand up, she tenderly felt her temple, feeling a still healing scar running from above her right eyebrow into her hair. "That's impossible," Sakura whispered, startled eyes swivelling from the brunette to the silver haired copy-nin. "Kakashi, surelysomething"

Kakashi shook his head, "It's a mystery, Sakura. Just consider yourself the luckiest person on this planet." A mystery. The one thing Sakura hatedquestions that had no answers. Or, if better put, questions whose answers were a bitch and a half to find. Typical. Sighing, Sakura put it out of her mind. There was just one thing left to confront "Sasuke." She muttered to herself furiously. "What?" Kakashi replied, eyebrow raised. Sakura shook her head. "What happened?" she asked, feigning memory loss, "I just remember being hit by the Chakra Kyuushuu and thennothing." Kakashi sighed. "According to Naruto, you were hit and then dangled over the cliff edge by a Rain-nin. Naruto and Sasuke were held down and Hinata was knocked unconscious." She knew this "They wanted to know the location of the Tanakas, and when they failed to receive that information, you were dropped." So. Naruto hadn't mentioned Sasuke's demands that she was to be dropped. Why? Why would Naruto not tell on the sexist, arrogant, evilbastard? He deserved a hundred times as many painful kunai stabs for what he did to her! "Huh." She said monotonously. Kakashi winced. There was obviously more to the story Naruto had told, that much was obvious from the way Sakura's normally bright, cheerful eyes had darkened rapidly and a frown had appeared between her brows. And whomever her anger was directed at, he honestly felt sorry for them. In the silence, as Shizune checked Sakura's vitals and Kakashi awkwardly avoided Sakura's anger laden eyes, the sound of footfalls in the corridor fell upon them. Within seconds the door opened again, and there stood a certain blond and his female companion. "Naruto, Hinata," Shizune greeted, jotting something down in her clipboard, "Good to see you again. Sakura, I'll be back in an hour." And with that, she left. "Sakura-chan! You're awake!" Naruto cried happily, bounding over to her and hugging her gently, avoiding any pressure on her chest. He failed to notice the waves of rage rolling off her. "Hey, Naruto, Hina." Sakura said, as Inner Sakura grappled with her anger, forcing it under lock and key for another time. With her mind's eye, she could just see a glowing red, chibi Sakura screaming and shouting in a little cage, while Inner Sakura shook her head pitifully. Normal Sakura shook her head, dispersing any odd images. "I'm so glad you're awake, Sakura." Hinata muttered.

The roseate haired kunoichi smiled at her female best friend, all the while devising ways to maim, torture and disfigure a certain nameless Uchiha Sasuke. 24th October 9.07 a.m. "What am I, inadequate?" Sakura grumbled as Naruto carried her bridal style into her living room, "I CAN WALK YOU KNOW!" she hollered in his ear, if only to annoy the blond. It didn't work. "Naruto's only helping, Sakura-chan." Hinata told her, placing her bag on the table as Naruto lowered the kunoichi onto the sofa. She took a moment to glare at the cast on her leg, the only thing that still hadn't healed after seventeen days. It didn't help that the cast was covered in pen squiggles made by her friends. Squiggles that lookedparticularly wrong in some way The front door, which hadn't been closed properly, burst open again to reveal a certain dogtrainer skidding in, arms full of medicine bottles and a large, white canine at his heels. "Kami, you've only got a broken leg, what's with all the pills, Sakura?" Inuzuka Kiba asked, dropping the numerous plastic white bottles onto the table beside her bag. "There's one for my headacheson the account I cracked my skull openum, there's one to he lp my bones heal faster, and there's another one used to amplify the effects of chakra so that when medics work on wounds they heal faster. And the rest are simply for my medic kit, I was running out of a few things." Sakura explained, wincing as Naruto lifted her leg and placed in on a stool. "Riiiight" Kiba muttered, leaning down to ruffle his dog's fur. Akamaru whined in pleasure. Sakura had spent the last ten days in hospital, recovering from her little trip down the valley. Her ribs, having been misplaced so horrendously, were finally settled and back in place. The scar running across her scalp had healed, leaving a faint line. Any traces of bruises, and count on it, she had plenty, had disappeared, only feeling uncomfortable when she put a lot of pressure on the areas they had been. Only her leg remained to be fully healed, although it was certainly on its way to recovery. Tsunade had been by to visit several times, once time asking for her mission report. Like Naruto, she failed to mention the words that had came out of Uchiha Sasuke's mouth, promising herself she would not lower herself to his level. She was a honourable ninja, after all. Soon after waking up, they celebrated Naruto's nineteenth birthday with cake and a small party in Sakura's hospital room, even though they were almost a week late. Sakura had almost thumped herself upon realising she had slept through her best friend's birthday. And in all that time, she had seen neither onyx eyes nor trademark scowl of Uchiha Sasuke. "Naruto? What happened to Sasuke?" Sakura suddenly asked, looking up at her blond friend.

Naruto stiffened for a split second, before relaxing. Nobody missed it. "Nothing, Sakura. He chased away the Rain-nin while I went down to get you. Woke up Hinata and we all ran the entire way back to Konoha, calling for back-up as we went. An ANBU team met usNeji was there. He was dead worried about you and all, Sakura-chan." Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but Naruto threw her a calculating look and the Hyuuga quickly retreated. There were secrets in the air. 19th November 6.24 p.m. A certain roseate haired kunoichi stumbled into her apartment exhaustedly, dropping several pounds worth of weapons onto the floor as she did. Amongst the mess, she could just about distinguish the lump on her couch to be Kibahe was STILL asleep!and the several bottles, cans, empty crisp packets and cigarette butts littered on the floor still untouched from last night. Why in the name of seven hells did she consent to Naruto and Kiba's idea of a party IN HER APARTMENT? Oh, yes, she remembered why. There were reasons. Several, in fact. One, she had only just regained the use of her leg completely, no pain attached, so she was in high spirits. Two, Kiba and Naruto seemed to be getting on for once, and there wasn't a chance in hell she was going jeopardize that. Threewell, she felt like getting drunk to the point of complete paralytic -ness after a gruelling work out. Unfortunately, she hadn't counted on Kakashi turning up on her doorstep at six the next morning, rousing both Naruto and Sakura for an all day training session for good old times sake. Sakura could bet her sadistic ex-sensei knew they were going to have killer hangovers. In fact, there was no point betting on it. It was a veritable fact. Apple eyes fluttered closed from sheer exhaustion, but then flew open again upon realising that she had been about to collapse on her sharp, pointy, dangerous weapons. How embarrassing would that be? Sighing, Sakura nudged the weapons with her foot into the hallway closet, before carefully making her way to the sofa, groaning at the state of her once plush carpet. The worn out nineteen year old grumbled as she poked the ruggedly handsome male on her sofa. "Kiba? Kiba? Kiba, wake up you asshole, you've been sleeping all day." Kiba replied by rolling over. It occurred to Sakura, through her hazy, sleep filled mind, that half of the village's women would kill to have Inuzuka Kiba passed out on their sofa, but that was neither here nor there. Okay, so he was hot. He was nice, rough and gentle at the same time and a bloody animal in bed. She could testify for all of those, even the last one, but at the moment she wasn't interested. She just wanted her sofa back.

"KIBA!" One moment she was standing over him, yelling. The next she was half on top of him, head settled in the hollow of his shoulder, a leg between his and a undisputable smirk plastered on his face. Suffice to say, Sakura could only think of one word: "Huh?" "I woke up earlier, you know." Kiba grumbled, eyes still firmly shut. Sakura blinked, trying to regain her bearings. "You did?" "Yeah. Made myself some food. Trained a bit. Then my body sortacrashed." "Oh," Sakura mumbled, shifting so she was a little more comfortable, "How long have you been rebooting then?" "Coupla hours." The pink haired young woman sighed, and resigned herself to the entity that was Kiba. She reached up and dragged down a blanket from the back of the sofa, throwing it over themselves and settling down again. Within moments, she was dozing off when "Kiba?" "Yeah?" "Get your hand off my butt." She could sense his grin. "Sorry." The hand didn't move. "Kiba." "What?" "Hand. Move. Now." "Right." The hand shifted, but not enough. It was on her thigh. A little too high "Kiba!"

"Sorry, sorry." The grin remained. So did the hand, but only for the second it took to give a squeeze. "KIBA!" The following events had nothing to do with sleep and were highly violent. The result was Kiba groaning over the several million bruises he had just received and Sakura stomping out of the apartment, intent on getting some groceries as well as leaving Kiba to his punishment cleaning up her flat. Dirty minded flirt. He's almost as bad as Genma. He deserved it. Sakura assured herself, making her way to the supermarket. It was only down the road from her flat, so within minutes she was inside, picking up a basket and moving down the aisles and allowing her mind to wonder. Speaking of Genma, where had he been the last two weeks? Normally he turned up at her doorstep at least twice a week, bearing flowers or chocolates or sometimes alcohol and asking for a date. Each time she declined, although occasionally, when she was feeling particularly cheerful, she would allow him to enter and they would share a bottle of wine. Of course, most of the time he ended up being thrown out anyway, but that was beside the point. He was on a mission, Sakura supposed. That, or he'd given up. But that was almost ridiculous, Genma had been after her for a whole year already, he couldn't just give up like that. To be honest, she didn't know what she would do if he gave up. Who would bring her flowers to put on her bedside table? The nineteen year old, while worrying over flowers and dirty minded flirts, failed to look where she was going. As a result, she smacked straight into someone, dropping her basket and falling flat on her ass. She hardly had the time to save herself from the bruises. "Oh!" she gasped, looking up, "I'm sor" the apology fell away upon the realisation of who she had just smacked into. Apple eyes roved over those black combats, a dark blue t-shirt that clung to his toned chest like a second skin, up over smooth lips, a perfect nose and fathomless onyx eyes. "Sasuke." She muttered. To her complete surprise, the normally cold Uchiha genius offered her a hand to help her up one that she resolutely ignored, collecting the fallen groceries and placing them back in her basket before getting to her feet. "Sakura." For the first time since she had met him, he had said her first name. "Leave me alone, Sasuke." She said coldly, brushing past him. She didn't count on his hand grasping her arm and stopping her in her tracks. "Sakura," he said monotonously, eyes searching hers, "I apologise."

Hehe WHAT? "You apologise?" Sakura hissed, "Fuck, Sasuke, you made them drop me. It was a hundred feet down and I had no chakra and you made them drop me! And moreover, why the hell did you wait til I ran into you to apologise? Why didn't you come see me in hospital?" "I've been indisposed of for the last few weeks." Sasuke replied coolly. Whatever that means. "Right. Right." She muttered angrily, wrenching her arm out of his grip. "Sakura," he said, just as she was about to stomp off, "I wasn't apologising for your injuries." Sakura whirled around, gaping at him. "I was apologising for my behaviour during the journey to Rain." He said evenly. The pink haired kunoichi could only stand there, resembling a goldfish for a few moments. And then that pent up anger, that little chibi Sakura that had been caged, was released. She put down her basket, took a few steps forward and SMACK! slapped Sasuke as hard as she could. Which was pretty damned hard. She stood, glaring furiously at him for a second or two, before turning on her heel, picking up her basket and walking away. Well. It could've been a lot worse. At least there are no bits of Uchiha all over the aisle.

Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke. Can I have a doll version of him? So I can mutilate it? Please? Oh, who am I kidding? He drove me over my limits that time. He sent me spiralling into a web of hate and anger and so many pent up negative emotions I thought I was going to explode. I wasn't the most pleasant of people to socialise with for a few days after that little episode. I promised myself the next time I would see him, I would challenge him to a fight, and use up all that pent up anger.

But I didn't. I just walked past him. Ignored the fact he existed. In fact, it was almost two years before I talked to Uchiha Sasuke again.

Alright-y then, that's another chapter finished! Hope y'all enjoyed it and will review to tell me what you think. Toodles! Chiya Hey guys! Sorry it's taken a while to update, but here I am with the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed (the amount of reviews I get shocks me even more with each chapter!) and I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! There also seems to be a problem with the break line, so I'll have to improvise... -sighDisclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any of the characters you recognise from the manga/anime. -----------Contradicted Chapter Six: Alteration of Time Two years. There's a lot that can happen in that space of time. In the two years since my near fatal tumble down the valley, I adapted to becoming a Jounin. I grew up, became more battle scarred. I trained harder than I had ever trained before, in both ninja skills and medical skills. Tsunade announced I had now reached Shizune's level of expertise, and that I no longer needed to train under her guidance. But Kakashi still continues to teach me new things when it comes to fighting. I appreciated it, learnt as much I possibly could. Because war was at our gates. Those Rain-nin that we had been having trouble with finally stopped revolting, and decided that we were the reason everything went wrong. Cloud, always their ally, agreed. War hadn't officially been declared yet, and neither had they attempted a major attack, but it was only a matter of time. Security rose. Tsunade remained tense, furious. As for my friends, my life, it remained the same in some ways, different in others. People came and went, busy with missions. Naruto joined ANBU not long after his twentieth birthday, and so was often away. No wonder I had trouble waking up in the morning without his loud voice. Hinata trained with me, every day in the afternoon when we were both in Konoha. It was a difficult life, the one of a shinobi. Those two years were testament of that. But I never gave up. I felt an inward need to succeed, flourish, and become a powerful, respected kunoichi. A need I never had until I met Uchiha Sasuke.

The one man I hadn't said a single word to during those two years. Figures. --------------Three years ago 4th June 7.35 a.m. Breathe. Just focus on the breathing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. A twenty one year old woman crouched on her hands and knees, her torn and bloody fingers hooking into a loose stone on the floor. The cold, stone room chilled her to the very bones. They were underground, where the warm sun couldn't find her, and she felt like the world had deserted her. Her clothes, once perfectly comfortable and usable, were in tatters. Her skin was angry red, covered in splotches, welts and bruises. Angry scarlet cuts sliced across her entire body, stinging constantly. There was no reprieve. No break. Just constant pain. The woman eyes clenched shut, fruitlessly trying to deny these familiar pictures invading her mind. I can't see you, I can't see you, I can't see you The memory, forcefully dragged to the surface, blistered her. A familiar fifteen year old blond lay in his own blood, his body littered with kunai, shuriken and senbon. Was he dead? Did he There was no time to wonder, no time to cry, because something else had been forced upon hersilver hair, unmoving bodyand then anotherscreaming voice, pain-filled lavender eyes it had to stop, it's gotta stop Stop it. Stop it. Stop it stop it stop it STOP IT! "I know all their names, you know." Came that voice she hated. It was cold, unforgivingit was the voice of the person causing her all this pain. "Uzumaki Naruto." Blond, dull blue eyes, kunai, shuriken, senbon, blood, and more blood, and so much more blood "Hatake Kakashi." Matted sliver hair, empty eye socket, Sharingan torn out, twisted limbs, where was his mask? "Hyuuga Hinata." No, no, no, not Hina-chan, not sweet little Hinata, Kami, where was the screaming coming fromwas itno, Kami, no, stop screaming, stop screaming, stop screaming

"Inuzuka Kiba." Wide, dull chocolate eyes, brown hair matted with his own blood, unmoving hands clutching the scarlet stained fur of his lifeless canine companion, and Kami, Kiba, wake up, wake up, wake up "I could go on all day. You have many friends after alland they'll end up like that, if you don't tell me what was in that scroll." Suddenly the pain stopped. It simply ceased to exist. The woman's eyes snapped open, revealing bright apple green. She trembled, pushing her hands off the floor and sat there, on her hunches. She wrapped her arms around herself, frowning. Because for the first time in the last twenty four hours, everything made sense. "What was in the scroll?" She looked up at the dark figure in the corner. She grimaced, feeling blood slide from the corner of her lips and down her chin. She must be a sight. But it didn't matter. "The contents were" she started in a hoarse voice, "Directions" "Yes?" "Directions on how to make ramen." There was stony silence. And then that horrible man in the corner chuckled, stepping towards her. The face of Morino Ibiki greeted her. "Congratulations, Haruno. You just made it into ANBU." Haruno Sakura just about managed a faint smile before she passed out. 6.10 p.m. "Kami, Naruto, you could've at least made some sort of hint. Like, I dunno, they force you to relive the most horrifying moments of your life and then show you picture of the mangled corpses of your friends and by then you're so far gone you don't know what's real and what isn't?" "Keep it down, would you!" Naruto replied, looking around furtively. "Naruto, we're in my apartment and no one else is around." Sakura deadpanned, continuing to rub liberal amounts of cream onto her bruises. Sakura had spent the last three days undertaking her ANBU Entry Exam, which was quite definitely the hardest exam she had ever taken (which was generally the point). The first day was the written exams, which she passed with flying colours, as well as the personality evaluation, which determined which area she would succeed most in. Needless to say, she ended up as a Healer-nin, although when she wasn't on a mission she would be helping Shikamaru in

the Strategy and Tactics department or training with her squad. She wasn't entirely sure which squad she was in yet, but it didn't matter. The second day was the taijutsu exams. She was pitted against Genma, who attempted to cop a feel several times during a fight, which resulted in Sakura knocking him out from sheer annoyance. Needless to say, she passed that one pretty easily as well. The third day was the toughest. She was given a scroll with the location of something secret (not real, obviously) and then placed under Morino Ibiki, the infamous Interrogator. She had genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjustu used on her, but it was the genjutsu they mostly focused on. They obviously did their research since they hit Sakura in all the right places. She was pretty sure she would've failed that one if she hadn't been reminded it was an exam she needed to pass. "How was it, anyway?" Naruto asked hesitantly, despite Sakura's assurances, "I remember mine. It was awful." "Yeah, I remember as well. You wouldn't sleep in your own bed for a whole week straight." Sakura said teasingly, even though they both knew she wasn't really making fun of him, "It washorrible," She muttered. "I almost lost it." Naruto sighed. "Are you alright? You don't need anything? I mean, I can always tell the others to bugger off" "No!" Sakura said sharply. Her blond friend recoiled in surprise, "I mean, no, don't bother. People being around me, my friends, knowing they're safe and here next to meit'll help." "Okay" Naruto agreed reluctantly, just as a knock on the door announced the arrival of the first of their friends. The roseate haired twenty one year old stood up, ignoring the sharp pains in her sore muscles, walked to the door and opened it. An older, silver haired ex-sensei stood at in her doorway, loosely holding one his precious orange Icha Icha books in one of his hands. Beside him was what one would call a grinning pervert. With a senbon hanging from his lips. Three guesses as to who that is. "Kakashi!" Sakura greeted happily, going as far as flinging her arms around him, to which the copy-nin had to suppress the feelings of discomfiture. He settled for patting her on the head and giving her an eye crease when she looked up at him. "Hey, hey. Do I get hug? Huh? Huh?" Shiranui Genma grinned, holding out his arms expectantly. Sakura blinked at him. "Pleeeeeeease?" Sakura sighed, stepping forward. But before Genma's powerful arms could surround her, she simply gave him a little smack over the head before walking back into her flat.

"You're mean!" Genma pouted, bouncing in after her, Kakashi following his friend nonchalantly and closing the door behind him. "And I got you these pretty flowers!" he continued, whipping out a bunch of multicoloured nature wrapped in pretty paper. "Do I even want to know where you suddenly pulled those from?" Sakura asked, eyebrows raised. Although the flowers did look absolutely gorgeous, and she knew it probably would've cost a bomb to get something that exquisite. "Congratulations on passing the exam." Genma said, giving her a normal, pleasant smile. It was that that made Sakura take the flowers, give Genma a quick hug before disappearing into her bedroom to put the flowers in a vase. "Eh, Kakashi-sensei! Good to see you!" Naruto's voice rang from the small living room. "It's Kakashi. Kakashi. No more sensei!" "Oh, right, right. Sorry Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura smiled to herself, knowing Naruto had probably done that on purpose. The copy-nin's exstudent knew perfectly well that Kakashi loathed being called senseiespecially by those he didn't even teach anymore. After placing all the flowers in a vase, Sakura stepped back into the hallway just in time to hear a jubilant knock on the door. Answering it, she was happy to see Kiba and Hinata standing in the doorway. Sakura couldn't help herself; she flung her arms around both of them, unable to repress the images from her mental torture. Both Kiba and Hinata were slightly taken back, but then participated in the three-way hug, sensing Sakura needed some sort of comfort. Eventually, they broke apart, and Sakura ducked down to Akamaru, giving the large canine a quick hug as well, undeniably glad when she noticed his fur was a white as snow. "You alright Sakura?" Kiba asked, frowning slightly. "Yeah, just had a rough time," She replied, giving a little grin and pulling them into the hallway. "Come on in! We're just waiting on Neji and Ino" The door burst open, and in came tumbling Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji. Sakura blinked. "Hey, forehead!" Yamanaka Ino said cheerfully, hugging her friend, "You don't mind that I brought Shika-kun and Chouji, do you?" Sakura barely had time to reply when Lee came bouncing through the open door, followed shortly by Tenten and Neji. "Sakura-san!" Rock Lee cried, "Congratulations! Neji told me and Tenten earlier that you made it, so of course we insisted on coming and praising you!" "More like Lee insisted" Tenten interjected.

Sakura kept a smile on her face, despite the overwhelming amount of people in her hallway. "Well, I'm glad you came! I made enough food and drink to serve an army, after all!" It went unsaid that such amount of food and drink could easily be eradicated by Chouji and Naruto alone. "Sorry for the intrusion, Sakura." Neji said politely. "Oh, no, Neji-kun, it's alright, honestly" The door burst open once again, and there stood the revered Godaime and Shizune. It was obvious, by the flush of her cheeks, that Tsunade had had a few cups -or bottles- of sake already. "Sakura! Well done, honey!" Tsunade said happily, gathering Sakura into her arms, "I'm so proud of you!" Sakura sweatdropped. After a few minutes of people all talking and yelling over each other, Sakura prepared to move everyone into the living roomuntil the door burst open again to reveal Anko, Asuma and Kurenai. "We heard you made it into ANBU!" Anko said gleefully, hopping into the mess of humans, "We decided to come by and say congrats!" Now this was just ridiculous. "Sake, anyone?" Something told Sakura that tonight wasn't going to be the peaceful dinner between friends she had planned. 5th June 4.30 a.m. Sakura lay on her bed, breathing hard. She was covered in sweat, making her pink locks stick to her face and her cotton t-shirt to cling to her skin. She had long ago kicked away the covers, and her shorts had somehow disappeared as well. It wasn't particularly hot yet, but Sakura had just woken up from one of the worst nightmares she had suffered in a long while now. She should've known that those images would haunt her at night. The mangled corpses of her closest friendsthey would stay with her for a long time. The roseate haired woman slowly clambered off the bed; half begging her heart to slow it's incredibly fast beat against her ribcage. Peering out of her bedroom and into the living room, she sighed at the mess. Mostly everyone had gone home, except Naruto and Hinata, both of which were curled up together on the sofa. And obviously Kiba, since Akamaru was sleeping peacefully at the door of the spare bedroom.

She didn't want to rouse neither Naruto nor Hinata, especially since Hinata was getting attention she had been wanting for a long time now. Naruto remained clueless about the Hyuuga's feelings, something which Sakura wanted to strangle her best friend slash surrogate brother for. Apple eyes landed on the slightly ajar door of the spare bedroom. Without even thinking about it, Sakura walked towards it, stepping over Akamaru and bending down to stroke him when he half-woke, ever the guard. Once the canine was asleep again, Sakura slipped into the spare bedroom, smiling at the sight of Kiba sprawled across the bed, covers forgotten and only wearing black boxers. "Kiba?" she whispered as she approached the bed. Hearing no reply but a steady snore, Sakura simply climbed onto the bed, settling herself next to him and leaning her head on his chest. "HmmS'kura?" Kiba mumbled, wrapping his arms around her. "Yeah" Sakura whispered, "Go back to sleep, Kiba." "S'matter?" he muttered, eyes still shut. His grip around her tightened, and the pink haired twenty one year old could only smile, laying a hand on the part of his chest that wasn't occupied by her head and feeling his calm, hypnotic heartbeat. "Just bad dreams. Nothing to worry about." There was silence for a few moments, before Kiba managed to crack an eye open and look at her. "Why is it whenever we stay over at each other's houses, we end up in the same bed?" Sakura could honestly admit she hadn't realised that was the case. But if she thought about it, it was actually quite true. Especially over the last two years. "I don't know." She mumbled into his warm, sculptured chest. "Hmm." Kiba let his eyes flutter shut again, "Sweet dreams, 'Kura." "Night." She whispered in response, before letting Kiba's warmth lull her to sleep. 7th June 9.00 a.m. "Good morning, Sakura." Nara Shikamaru greeted the woman approaching the desk where he was currently forced to spend his morning. "Morning, Shikamaru. How's it going?" "I'm utterly bored." The genius replied through a yawn, blinking slowly. He looked down at the piles of paper in front of him, and began sifting through them. "So I see," Sakura commented with a grin, "I forgot to ask yesterday did you get Ino home alright?"

"Alright enough," Shikamaru replied, "For a guy taking his pissed out of her head girlfriend home. Sometimes I reckon she's more trouble than it's worth." "Oh, don't be silly. You'll probably end up married." Sakura teased. "Don't say that!" Shikamaru frowned, "That's downright scary!" Sakura burst out laughing; receiving odd looks from the few people passing them. She simply offered them a bright grin before turning back to her old friend, who had finally found what he needed. He cleared his throat before reading out loud. "Alright. Haruno Sakura, age 21, blah blah blah, I think you know your own addressand birthdayah, you have a full schedule today. You must've impressed a lot of people." "Sorry?" Sakura frowned, confusion written all over her features. "Most newbies in ANBU just start in a squad, sometimes specialised, sometimes not. The fact you're a medic-nin, which, by the way, is too much of a rarity around here, and you've been placed in my department as well as on a squad means they think you can handle the stress and flourish in this environment." Shikamaru droned out an explanation. Sakura blinked. She had thought that getting a department, and a specialised spot on a squad was normal! Obviously not. Shikamaru blinked. "Not to mention you've been made Captain-in-running." He let out a low whistle, "Someone really likes you Sakura." "What!" Captain-in-running? She wasn't that special! Shikamaru looked up at her, "You'll be made Captain of your own squad within a couple of years. Only three people in our generation have made Captain-in-running as soon as they got here; me, Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke. We've all achieved Captain status within two years." Sakura simply stood there and resembled a goldfish, earning a few more looks from people passing by. "Well, anyway, here's your schedule. You're getting your equipment and tattoo done at nine thirty; someone will show you your locker afterwards. At eleven, you're to head over to the Strategy and Tactics Department. I'll meet with you and show you the ropes, okay? You're free after that until two, and then you're meeting your squad." He told her, before handing her a map, her schedule, a file and a set of keys. Sakura took the objects, looking rather baffled and shocked. "Chin up, Sakura." Shikamaru said, offering her a smile, "All that training paid off." Suddenly Sakura grinned, her eyes lighting up. "You're right! Thanks, Shika-kun!"

She turned on her heel and walked off, knowing her old friend was scowling at her retreating back for the 'Shika-kun' remark. But honestly? She didn't care. This was it. The thing she had been waiting for. Life as a respected kunoichi. 2.00 p.m. Haruno Sakura stood before the white door, looking just a tad pale. This was it. She had gone through everything else, getting her tattoo, her uniform and equipment, looking around Shikamaru's department, everything. Just one last thing. The three people she was about spend half her waking hours with. Biting her lip, she stared at the door, wondering if she had the guts to walk in. What if they didn't like her? What if they thought she was too inexperienced and demanded that everything she been awarded be revoked? Oh Kami. Just get it over with! Inner Sakura screamed at her. And with that demand, Sakura gathered all the courage she had and placed her hand on the doorknob, twisting firmly and hearing a click as the door swung open. She took a deep breath, and stepped inside "HIYA!" In the split second she had walked in, a blond kid jumped at her, a huge grin plastered on his face. In her surprise, she jumped a foot in her air and let out a squeal. Haruno Sakura died of a heart attack. Well, okay, that was a bit exaggerated. "You must be Sakura-chan! HI! I'm Hiroshi! But most people call me Hiro so feel free to! I heard you're a medic-nin! Is that true? We've been waiting for a medic-nin for ages! Since just after I arrived, and that was a year ago!" Sakura gaped at the child grinning up at her, swinging back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Um" "Sorry about that," Said a voice from behind her. She whirled around, only to come face to face with a pretty brunette who looked a few years older than her. "Hiro-kun can be a lot if it's your first time meeting him." "Oh" Sakura mumbled, flustered, "I'm Haruno Sakura." She bowed slightly to the brunette, who returned the gesture and smiled.

"Itou Leiko," she replied, "Pleased to meet you, Sakura-san." "Please, just Sakura," She grinned. After receiving a smile and a nod, she turned to the blond boy, bowing slightly again. "Hey, Hiro. Nice to meet you." "Hiya, Sakura!" he said happily, green eyes sparkling, "I'm really glad you're on our squad! Naruto says you're really cool!" "Does he now?" Sakura grinned, already liking the blond child, "Well, if said anything else, I would have bury him alive, wouldn't I?" "No need!" Hiro said cheerfully, giving her a wide grin, "Naruto even said you were really pretty! I guess he's right!" Sakura blushed, and took a moment to wonder why a kid like Hiro was on an ANBU squad. He barely looked nine years old. "Captain will be here soon, Hiro-kun. Calm down if you don't want him on your case again." Leiko warned the hyperactive blond. Hiro shrugged, spinning on his heel, simply for the hell of it. "He's always on my case!" Sakura had barely begun to wonder who the Captain was when the door slammed open. Sakura turned around, and found herself looking into onyx eyes. Uchiha Sasuke. Her Captain was Uchiha Sasuke. Someone up there really hated her. ----------Lets face it. A lot can happen in two years. People change, lifestyles differ. People, tastes, preferences come and go without abundance. One thing never changed for me over those two years. My hatred for one Uchiha Sasuke. Heya. Gonna keep this short, since I should be leaving the just about now to head to my friend's place. So thanks to everyone who reviewed, sorry about the slight wait, and I hope you enjoy this rather short chapter! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. ---------------Contradicted Chapter Seven: Silent Run

A girl once asked me why I disliked Sasuke so much. So I told her about the valley incident. I found her response rather odd: "But you survived, didn't you? No harm, no foul?" I was sure I mentioned the cracked skull, messed up ribs and the funny position my leg was in afterwards. How did that constitute as no harm, no foul? I was sure I was justified to hate Sasuke as much as I wanted. After all, even after two years, I still get light headaches from time to time, which just pop up out of nowhere. It wasn't the physical harm I was mad about either, although it certainly did its part. It was his cold attitude, the way he nonchalantly told those Rain-nin to sod my life and end it. It was the way he didn't seem to care, not even about his own comrade. He didn't care enough to exhaust every other option before allowing me to die. Since, well, the mission came first. I understood that. But if death is involved, the first thing you do is look for any other way out. A genius like him? There was definitely another way out. But when I mentioned this to Naruto, he squirmed restlessly in his seat and quickly changed the subject. And let's face it; usually he's quick to agree on such subjects and join in with a rant of his own. He doesn't much like Sasuke either. There was definitely something I was missing. Something that my best friend wasn't telling me. But what? Three years ago 7th June 2.15 p.m. Haruno Sakura stared at him like he was the devil in disguise. In her opinion, he was the devil in disguise, but unfortunately, no one really agreed with her. Except Kiba, who was the only one of her friends who bitched about him with her. But that was neither here nor there. The fact was he, the devil's advocate, was standing in front of her with a tell-tale smirk and cold onyx eyes. Oh hell no. Sakura span on her heel and walked towards the door. There was just no way she was staying. Then a voice stopped her in her tracks. A voice that, surprisingly, didn't belong to Sasuke and wasn't aimed at her. "Good afternoon, Sasuke-chaaaaaaaaaan!" Hiro's voice sung happily, completely unaware of Sakura's escape plan. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that?" Sasuke's tense voice followed shortly afterwards.

Sakura took a deep breath, begging her self-control to hold. But Hiro's child-like, honey-sweet voice continued. "Ne, but Sasuke-chan sounds so cute!" That was it. Something in Sakura snapped, relieving her from her normally iron-hard selfcontroland a giggle escaped past her lips, causing her hand to fly to her mouth. "Something you find amusing, Haruno?" Sasuke asked coldly, turning to her. "Look, Sasuke-chan!" another giggle flew from behind Sakura's hand. "We have a medic-nin! Her name is Sakura-chan! Now Leiko-chan won't be lonely and can have girly chats during our breaks!" Leiko responded to this by rolling her eyes, and Sasuke gave a twitch: a sign that he was getting irritated. Hiro grinned up at him, green eyes sparkling and blond hair mussed in a cute way. "And we can play together!" Hiro continued, looking at the pink haired woman, who was currently grasping the wall with her unoccupied hand. "Right, Sakura-chan?" Sakura's apple green eyes flicked from the cute child to the scowling Sasukeand promptly burst out laughing. "Haruno" Sasuke growled warningly, near the end of his tether. It didn't help that Sakura showed no signs of stopping, clutching her stomach and tears of mirth leaking from her brighter than usual apple orbs. "HaSasuke-chanHiro-kun, you're so kaiwaii!" she stammered out between her giggles. Hiro grinned in response, bouncing over to the hysterical woman and wrapping his arms around her waist, looking out from under Sakura's elbow and blowing a raspberry at his Captain. "See! Sakura-chan appreciates me! You're so mean, Sasuke-chan!" Sakura, who had just about getting to grips with herself again, found herself lapsing back into peals of laughter. "HARUNO! HIROSHI!" Sasuke finally yelled, onyx eye twitching furiously. Sakura gave a snort and somehow suppressed the rest of her giggles. She wiped away the tears on her cheeks, and finally looked at Sasuke with a serious expression. "How did I end up in your squad again?" Sasuke sighed, simply glad she had stopped laughing at him. Hiro was usually manageable, but somehow the arrival of a new member, especially one that didn't seem afraid of their mean, cold Captain, had made the blond more hyper and rebellious than usual. Not to mention more cutelooking in Sakura's eyes. "We've been waiting for a medic-nin for ages, Haruno, no other reason," He informed the pink haired woman, looking disgruntled. "And don't go making a fuss either, just because you don't like me"

"Understatement of the century, Uchiha." Sasuke continued, ignoring that remark, "I'm the Captain of this squad and therefore what I say, goes. No arguing, Haruno, no matter how much you enjoy it" "Aww, but I earned the right to argue with you!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Sakura's petulant pout. Suddenly all forms of amusement disappeared from her face. "After all, you did sent me tumbling down a hundred foot drop without so much a second thought, right?" Sasuke winced inwardly, even if his outward expression showed no change. "Still banging on about that?" Sasuke sneered. "You made Sakura-chan fall?" Hiro-kun piped up, still latched onto Sakura's waist, "Sasuke-chan, that's mean!" "Hiro-kun," Sakura placed a hand on his messy blond hair, causing the green-eyed boy to pout and fall silent. She kept her eyes focused on the Uchiha; "I haven't forgiven you for that." "I don't need forgiving, Haruno." He coldly replied. Sakura raised an eyebrow, keeping a tight rein on her anger, even though Inner Sakura was screaming and shouting every obscenity she knew. "You know what? I was rightthat first time I met you. You are a conceited pathetic excuse of a man. If it wasn't for the fact this squad is in dire need of a medic and that, well, Hiro-kun is really sweet, I'll put up with you for that. Otherwise I'd walk right back out the door." "Please don't!" Hiro-kun immediately pleaded. "Don't worry, I won't." Sakura assured, as Sasuke gave a snort. "I don't care what you think of me or the squad, Haruno. As long as you train and you listen to me during missions, whatever." Sasuke replied, already looking bored. Sakura replied with a scathing comment, one that made Sasuke's temper flare slightly, and thus began the first argument among the many that would follow during their time together on the same squad. Suddenly ANBU life just got difficult. 6.00 p.m. "Leiko-san!" Sakura called, running after the brunette. Leiko stopped and turned, waiting for her to skid to a stop beside her. "Its just Leiko," She informed the pink haired woman, who smiled in response, "What can I do for you, Sakura?"

"Er, I was just wonderingare you busy at the moment?" Leiko shook her head. "I was just planning on going home and vegging out on the couch." "Oh, good, nothing important then," Sakura said cheerfully, "Want to join me for a G&T? I'd like to get to know you better, since socialising during training will be difficult, what with the constant arguing" Leiko gave a laugh, her hazel eyes lighting up. "Sure thing, Sakura." She replied, receiving a bright grin in response. Sakura led the brunette to her favourite ninja-only inn, which meant they could feely move around in their ANBU uniform and not get worried looks. Within a couple of minutes, the two women had settled down in a table in the corner, with gin and tonics placed in front of them. "So, I guess you and the Captain have history, huh?" Leiko said, sipping at her glass. "Yeah, I suppose. Not much of one. We knew each other long enough for us to dislike each other violently. Then he pulled that stunt andwell, I never talked to him again. Until now, anyway." "Went straight back into fighting and all, obviously." "Ah," Sakura scratched her neck sheepishly, "I'm sorry, things are gonna get a bit rough, what with me and him constantly clashing." "It's okay, you can distract him while we escape!" the brunette said cheerfully. Sakura giggled, "Yeah, that's true. Although, can I ask a question?" "Sure, shoot." "AhHiro-kun?" "He's fifteen years old." "WHAT!" 8.30 p.m. Haruno Sakura, unsurprisingly enough, was spacing out again as she travelled up and down the aisles of packaged food. Someone ought to tell her that for kunoichi, spacing out isn't entirely a good thing to do. But she did so anyway. This time she was spacing out because her thoughts were centred on her version of a crazy day. ANBU was turning out to be nothing like she had expected. What with Sasuke being her Squad Leader, and her being the squad's medic and the Deputy Captain (efficiently renamed by Leiko, who said Captain-in-running was too much of a mouthful). Not to mention Hiro-kun, the fifteen year old who looked and acted like a nine year old. He was also the most adorable thing she had come across in long while, and she had to wonder what he was doing hunting down crazy, nail polish wearing missing-nins with ANBU.

And there was Leiko-chan, who she knew the least about. Leiko was twenty-six already, three years older than Sasuke. She was a lot quieter than the rest of the Squad, who constantly yelled to get themselves heard. She knew nothing about their skills on the field though; they had only gone through the basic things before telling Sakura their training schedule and splitting up. Speaking of training schedules, she had to get up every morning at six a.m. for training, save Sunday. Thank Kami for the traditional day of rest, even if she wasn't religious in any sort of way. And yet, during Sakura's musing, she managed to accomplish something she had done once before: run straight into a certain Uchiha in the middle of the supermarket. "Do you ever watch where you're going?" Sasuke asked, eyebrow raised. Sakura huffed, getting to her feet and collecting her fallen groceries. "This is getting old, Haruno. How can call yourself a kunoichi when you can't even stay on your own two feet?" Sakura scowled, deciding it was useless to deem that insult with a reply, and simply walked past him. "Haruno." "What d'you want, Uchiha?" The words that followed caused Sakura to whirl around and gape at his retreating back. "Congratulations on making it into ANBU. You did good." Sakura found herself at a loss of what to say or think of that, except the one thing that seemed to keep popping up in her mind: Uchiha Sasuke was the most contradicted being she had ever met. 8th June 9.20 a.m. Sakura was hot, sweaty, her muscles ached and complained every possible second and she was just about ready to die in the middle of that field, flat on her back and staring at the rising sun. Unfortunately, no one seemed to be all that keen on letting her pass out there and then. "Come on Sakura-chan!" Hiro-kun said cheerfully, leaning over her and blocking out the sun. How much energy did this kid have? Even the others seemed to have slowed down considerably! "Get up, get up, get up!" he leaned down, whispering into his ear, "Can't have Sasuke-chan thinking he's better than you, eh?" Hiro-kun was definitely as devious as he was adorable. But it worked, and slowly Sakura rolled onto her side, and then pushed herself off the ground with her glove covered hands, eventually managing to stagger to her feet. She pushed her pink locks away from her face, especially the stubborn strands that stuck to her forehead, slick with perspiration.

"Yay, Sakura-chan!" Hiro-kun said happily, dancing circles around the exhausted woman, "Let's go kick some butt, huh?" "Right" she mumbled, wondering how she meant to kick butt when all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep. "Or not" "Aww, c'mon Sakura-chan!" Hiro pouted, tugging on her elbow. "Hai, hai" Finally, Sakura picked up her new, fallen katana and replaced in its holder, still strapped into her back. Slipping her hand into her hip pouch, she pulled out a kunai. Almost instantly, she was forced deflect a rain of shuriken, missing half of them, which Hiro seemed to easily block for her. "Alright, lets just give up for now. We've only got ten minutes left anyway. Sakura obviously needs to work on her stamina." Sasuke said, jumping from a high, thick branch and landing lightly on the ground. "Humph." was Sakura's response, stretching tiredly and tugging her elbow length gloves off, which was difficult considering the rubber was sticking to her skin. "I'm serious Haruno. You want to stay the Deputy? Start proving you're worth the title." Leiko landed smoothly next to Sasuke, although she immediately sat down and started tugging off her own gloves, grumbling complaints under her breath. "Oh, sod you," Sakura groaned, collapsing back onto the ground, "We've been fighting non-stop for three hours. That's exhausting!" "War's coming our way, Haruno!" Sasuke retorted angrily, "You need to be able to fight for long periods of time or by Kami, you will suffer! Its them or you in war, don't you understand that?" It was that moment in time that Sakura realised that this was the difference between being in ANBU and simply being a Jounin. But the roseate haired kunoichi was as stubborn as a mule, so she didn't back down from Sasuke's obviously boiling over temper. "I'm haven't been a Jounin for the last two years for nothing, you know!" she said heatedly, sitting up. "I know what war is! I know what it's like to fight to the death!" "Bullshit! You've never been in a war!" "How does that make any difference? I still fight others for Konoha!" There was silence, as Sasuke stared at her with ice-cold onyx eyes. Finally, he looked away, but his equally cold voice followed, "Fine. Five laps around the city walls." "What!" Sakura cried, outraged. She was tired enough as it was, but to run twenty laps around the city walls? That was at least five miles for each lap! "Sasuke-chan, really, there's no need to me that mean!" Hiro piped up, but he was promptly ignored.

"Well? Why aren't you moving?" Sasuke snapped. Finally Sakura got to her feet. The way she saw it, if she did what she was told, she'd prove to him that no matter what crazy thing she was ordered to do, she could do it. She could manage it. She was a kunoichi who had been trained under the Godaime herself; she could surely do a twenty-five mile run! Which is exactly what she did. "Ah, Captain?" Leiko said, watching Sakura set off at a jog, "That was a bit too harsh, don't you think?" "She needs it." Silence followed. ---------------See, for the first time since I had met him, I knew he had a point. Taijutsu had always been my weakest point, and so my stamina suffered. And war was facing us, coming towards us like a bull. My stamina needed to be worked on. I had known it for a long time. But I never admitted it to him. I was too stubborn. Instead, day after day, I ran those laps. Occasionally he added another lap, and then he even joined me on those runs. It was the only time we ever stayed in each other's company and never talked. Never argued. We made up for it during squad training though. Eventually, my stamina improved. Which was exactly what we had both wanted in the first place. But we never stopped running. h, gomen, gomen! Its been two months, I know, but I've started college now, and I never seem to have time for anything these days! I've been working on this chapter for several weeks now, but I've finally finished it and here's the result. Not entirely too sure about it, but I suppose you can tell me just how crap it is. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Enjoy!

Contradicted Chapter Eight: No Matter What Being a kunoichi had been my dream since I was only five years old. I wanted to be like those amazing women who could seduce, surprise and kick ass. I wanted lightening quick reflexes and be able to punch a hole through a tree without even thinking about it. I wanted to be everything a kunoichi should be. Unfortunately, it meant I wanted to be something my parents hated.

My father and mother were old fashioned. They believed that a woman's place was in the house, serving her husband and looking after her kids. Perhaps she could have a part time job, but only when the kids were at school. I grew up swathed in pretty dresses and a perfect, fake smile and following orders. I played with dolls inside instead of in the fields with my school friends. I read books. I was the sweet, mild daughter. I hated it. I was six years old when I met Uzumaki Naruto. The first thing he said to me was: "I wanna be Hokage!" I thought he was nuts. I thought he was an idiot. I thought he was the bravest person in the world. I loved him to bits. One day we played together in the playground until my father came to pick me up. As usual he scowled at the state of my dress, which was covered in mud and frayed at the hems, and my hair, which was sticking up all over place with twigs and leaves littered about. But then his emerald eyes fell on Naruto, and he adopted the harshest look he could ever manage. It was terrifying for a pair of six year olds. He grabbed my arm painfully hard, and dragged me away. "Never talk to that monster again!" The words resounded in my head. Monster? Naruto? I stopped. I stared at him. And for the first time in my life, I yelled back. For the first time in Naruto's life, someone stood up for him. Since then there had been a lot of yelling, hitting, screaming and punishments thrown back and forth between my family, until one day I told them, straight out, I had applied for the Academy with Naruto. The result was terrifying for my nine year old self, but I had gathered all my confidence for this, and I knew there was always a price to chasing your dreams. I paid the price. My family disowned me not much longer after I graduated from the Academy. But it didn't matter. Because I had my brother, Naruto. And he would always be there for me, like I'd always be there for him. No matter what. Three years ago 12th November 3.25 p.m. "SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAAN!"

The woman in question looked up at the towering wall, blowing upwards to force her pink locks away from her eyes. A cloud of condensed carbon dioxide floated from her mouth as she did so, but she didn't seem to notice the cold, if her clothes were anything to go by. A pair of shorts and a tank top coupled with running trainers. It's a wonder her ass hadn't frozen off yet. "Hiro-kun, what are you doing?" Sakura replied, spotting the hyperactive blond prancing around the wall walkway with his ANBU mask in place. He looked odd with the too-big dog mask hiding his bright green eyes. "Being guard!" he replied, hopping along the wall to keep up with Sakura's running. "What lap are you on?" "Nineteenth." Sakura huffed, easily skipping over a puddle. "Ne, Sakura-chan, you'll be finished soon then!" "Yeah, just another six more to go," Sakura muttered dryly, before opting a more cheerful voice for Hiro's benefit, "Yep! Watch me go, eh?" Hiro stopped, a bright smile hidden by his mask. "I gotta go back to my post. See you on the next lap, Sakura-chan!" "Hai, hai!" Sakura called over her shoulder, before turning back to her task. Ten minutes later, as Sakura passed Hiro's post again, she heard his honey-sweet voice call out: "GO SAKURA-CHAN, GO!" The next lap, it was "ONLY FOUR MORE TO GO SAKURA-CHAN!" After that was, "WOW, HOW FAST WAS THAT? YOU ROCK, SAKURA-CHAN!" The next lap, however, he was silent and completely out of sight. Sakura wondered if he had already finished his post, but decided that was impossible. The shortest shifts for guards were three hours long; Hiro had only been there half an hour at the most. The lap after that, he still wasn't there and Sakura was starting to get worried. Another lap, he still wasn't there. So Sakura slowed down and craned her neck to try and spot him, only to get nothing. Until a black frame came flying down the side of the wall, and Sakura found herself staring at the ANBU gear clad Hiroshi. "Hiro-kun?" Sakura skidded to a stop. Hiro pushed his dog mask aside, revealing a serious expression that looked out of place on his young features. Sakura instantly knew something was wrong. "Sakura," the loss of honorifics made an impact on the pink haired woman, and suddenly she was filled with unadulterated dread and horror. "Hokage-sama wants you at the hospital, pronto." "Why?" she blurted, rather unprofessionally. Hiro's green eyes told her everything she needed to know.

Sakura turned around, gathering chakra in her legs and shooting off, leaving Hiro amidst a whirlwind of autumn leaves. Once they settled, Sakura was already approaching the hospital's emergency section doors. "Sakura-san!" one of the nurses handed her a file as she walked in, "Tsunade-sama is in theatre room number five. The patient is Uzumaki Naruto" Sakura breathed in sharply, and the nurse pointedly ignored the reaction as they hurried down a corridor. "who is currently suffering from hemorrhaging, abrasions to his chest, arms and legs, broken collarbone and two cracked ribs, and severe damage to his stomach area" Sakura fought to keep a clear mind. Naruto had been on an ANBU S-classed mission for the last three weeks; she knew that much. What had happened? Was the rest of his team alive? It must've been nasty to bring down Naruto of all people, who housed the Kyuubi. Sakura slammed into theatre room number five, allowing herself a second to take in the damage. And Kami, there was damage. Her blond surrogate brother lay on the floor, surrounded by chakra-laced chalk kanji characters and symbols and lines, constricting the red chakra that bubbled around his tanned, crimson streaked skin. Pools of blood dripped around his body and Sakura, for a moment, could see nothing but crimson: Blood. Vicious chakra. Eyes. Kyuubi. It took all of her willpower to not break down and scream. "SAKURA! I NEED YOUR HELP!" Tsunade's panic-laced voice broke through her mental bubble. Sakura immediately yanked on an apron, washed her hands and approached her shishou. "Take over!" Tsunade ordered, and the pink haired girl mechanically switched places with the golden eyed woman, pressing chakra into a line that led to Naruto's marred skin. "This isn't working!" Sakura ground out, forcing more chakra out, but as she did so she was met with resistance and the chakra weakened far too much for anyone's liking. "Tsunade-sama" "I know!" the Godaime was covered in blood and sweat and was hard pressed to find the solution to this crazy problemif the Kyuubi would stop taking over, they could work, but the red chakra that incased the vessel was dangerous. They couldn't go anywhere near him. It had taken Kakashi and his ANBU team to move Naruto here, and they were now in separate rooms being treated for third degree burns and inches deep slashes. "Naruto" Sakura muttered helplessly as she felt her chakra being repulsed. It was too much to take in. One moment she had been jogging on Sasuke's orders, the next, she was struggling to save Naruto's life Naruto is going to die. The notion hit her like a ton of bricks.

Naruto is dying already. He's hurt, badly. Look at the stomach wound. And the seal, it all messed up Sakura stumbled backwards, and someone, she didn't know who, rushed forward to replace the chakra she been attempting to shove down the line. But apple eyes were fixed on his bodyhis tanned, toned body and messy, tussled blond hair and cobalt eyeseyes that were slitted and scarlet, tanned skin that was marred with cuts, nicks, slashes, all bleeding out thick, crimson liquid, hair that was streaked with blood and grime and sweat "I'd do anything for you Sakura-chan. You know that. I'd never, ever let you die, no matter what." She was struggling to breathe now; her chest was rising and falling rapidly and the sound was harsh on her ears. She struggled to maintain balance, even though she was on her knees already. She went to put her hand down and a splash! resounded in her ears. She looked down. Her hand was in a pool of his blood. Naruto! Like someone had flipped a switch, Sakura leapt to her feet. She yanked on her elbow length gloves, re-tied her hair back since it was falling out of its ponytail and quickly approached Naruto's glowing body before anyone could really process what she was doing. "Sakura! What are youNO!" Tsunade's yells fell short, because in the next second, Sakura had pushed her hands through the bubbling, red chakra and placed them on her best friend's skin, forcing out her chakra. It took a few seconds for the pain to hit her, but when it did, it was excruciating. Her skin felt like it was sizzling, her nerve ends being fried, her head span as the room grew louder and louder. But she never stopped pushing chakra; carefully regenerating cells and knitting skin back together. Never stopped until the moment she passed out. 13th November 12.25 p.m. Uchiha Sasuke was angry. Okay, that was a complete understatement, because he was just angry; he was bloody livid. It wasn't hard to guess whom at: Haruno Sakura. The damned pink haired medic had gotten herself all messed up to save that Kyuubi vessel, and sunk her arms into the damned fox's chakra and come out mauled and scarred and, more importantly, passed out! Okay, so she saved the stupid blond's life. That was beside the point! You don't go sinking your arms into a demon's chakra for Kami's sake!

And it wasn't just him that was angry; the Hokage was too, as she had just spent the last twelve waking hours grumbling obscenities about foolish roseate haired medics and how much she was going to get it when she woke up. Luckily, the idiot's arms had been healed already. Tsunade had seen to that. Besides, they had an important mission soon, derived from Naruto's state. She wouldn't tell them anything until she had decided who else would be accompanying Squad Uchiha. Sasuke sighed, the scowled at the Sakura's still form wrapped in bed sheets. He was just begging for her to wake up so that he could scream and yell at her, when all of the sudden his wish came true and the roseate haired woman began to stir. "Hmm?" she mumbled, opened her apple green eyes. "Oi." Sakura blinked, struggling to sit up. Her eyes fell on Sasuke. "Oh! Um" "Baka." He grunted, folding his arms. Sakura scowled. "Who d'you think you're calling" "D'you know how much damage you did your chakra pathways? And your arms? Damnit, Sakura, I can't always be there to save your ass!" "You've never saved my ass, thank you very much!" Sakura immediately retorted. Honestly! She had only just woken up and she was already arguing with Sasukemust be a record of some sort. "Yes, I have!" Sasuke burst out, rather uncharacteristically. And regretted it instantly. Sakura had no recollection of what happened at the cliff top and he preferred it would stay that way. Sakura was staring at him with questioning apple eyesit was a rather attractive look, Sasuke admitted grudgingly, although her personality certainly needed work. He backtracked. He shouldn't be even thinking about that kind of stuff! "Justdon't do something that risky again. You're invaluable to the Squad, alright?" Sakura blinked. What was wrong with him today? "How's Naruto?" she asked, switching to a safer topic. Sasuke took it gratefully, although the scowl never left his face. "Recovering, thanks to your stunt. He's out of the woods, anyway. Just a matter of healing some of those broken bones he had." Sakura nodded, thankful and happy that her childhood best friend was all right. A few scars and moments of excruciating pain were worth saving his ass. "We're going on a mission, Sakura." The apple eyed woman looked up at him in surprise. Sasuke continued.

"To investigate what happened with Uzumaki. Tsunade-sama wants us in her office this evening, six o'clock. I'll make sure you're dismissed by then." And with that, Sasuke was gone. Confusing bastard, Sakura thought irritably, before settling herself to get a lecture or two. 6.00 p.m. The Godaime Hokage, better known as Tsunade-sama, drummed her long, slender fingers against the polished desktop. Her golden eyes were narrowed, focused solely on the sheepish looking roseate haired medic standing before her with her Squad. Tsunade seemed to be waiting for something, or someone, and she seemed content to glower at the medic. Who stared at the floor shamefacedly. At her feet Hiro was sitting, leaning against her leg and humming cheerfully. His playful green eyes followed the movement of a butterfly that flitted against the window outside. Just to the right of his gaze, Leiko was leaning against the wall, eyes slightly out of focus as she stared into space. And finally, their Captain stood beside Sakura, allowing his gaze to flicker down to Hiro occasionally and scowl at his immaturity. Finally, the door was pushed open, and everyone turned to watch a scowling Naruto being wheeled into the room by Hyuuga Neji. "I HATE wheelchairs!" The blond sulked. Despite the tense atmosphere, everyone chuckled. 6.15 p.m. "Tsunade-sama, who else are we waiting for?" Sasuke asked once silence had fallen over the group. "Kakashi." "WHAT!" This was going to take a while. 6.55 p.m. By the time the always late silver haired shinobi arrived, Sakura had been lectured and yelled at to an inch of her life by Tsunade and Naruto respectively, Naruto and Hiro had played rockpaper-scissors a total of thirty times, and Sakura and Sasuke engaged themselves in another pointless argument. "No, miso soup is NOT nourishing enough to get you through three days of constant fighting and very little sleep!" Sakura said hotly.

"So how did I manage it then?" Sasuke shot at her. "Kami knows, you probably royally fucked up your body for a few weeks" "I did not, thank you!" "Excuse me, I'm the medic, I think I know!" "It wasn't your body, you know" "OH SHUT UP!" Naruto hollered, just as the door was pushed open, and Kakashi stood there, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry, I had to get a cat out of a tree for an old lady" "Save it, Kakashi." Tsunade ordered brusquely, waving the silver haired ninja in. As the door closed behind him, and everyone ceased to talk, Tsunade started the meeting. The next half hour was filled with talks of strategy and politics, causing most of them to space out while Sakura and Sasuke bickered. Eventually, mostly to shut the annoying teammates up, Tsunade told them something they did not want to hear. "Naruto's attacker remains anonymous." There was silence as Sakura's apple eyes immediately flew towards the Hokage. "What?" "I don't understand," Hiro piped up, "Surely Naruto-chan would've seen what attacked him." "Who, actually," Naruto sighed, "It was definitely a who. He was wearing strange garbred and black cloak was what I got before he smashed my head in and forced Kyuubi to semi-take over." Everyone winced but carried on without any other reaction. "So we don't even know who we're looking for?" "No, we don't," Tsunade sighed, "But we do know where to start. Naruto was attacked in Sand, not far from Suna. Most likely, his attacker is around there." For the first time since they had arrived, the group was graced with Leiko's inquisitive voice, "I apologize if this sounds rude, but why are we sending ANBU after someone who attacked a shinobi of ours? I mean, shinobi get attacked every day and we don't send out search parties for them. So why now?" "A valid question," Tsunade sighed, "I believe the attacker knew about the Kyuubi." There was shocked silence as everyone stared at each other in horror. No one knew about the Kyuubi. Nobody but the leaf shinobi that had fought against them. That a stranger, someone who had not even stepped in their village as far as they knew, to know about Naruto and that he housed the Kyuubiits implications ranged from concerning to terrifying.

Sakura looked at her best friend, the one person she couldn't live without. He was staring at his lap with unreadable cobalt eyes, and she knew he was in pain; once again he was a danger to his friends because someone had information they shouldn't have. "So," Sakura said, looking at the Hokage, her fists clenched at her sides, "When do we leave? Cos I want to give the bastard a message." Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "No one messes with my friends."

She gave us a week. A week to get ready, to prepare; a week for Naruto to recover enough for him to join us. In that week, I trained harder than ever before. Whoever he was, the bastard was going to pay. He hurt Naruto. He almost killed Naruto. My Kami, no matter what, he was going to pay. Oh my God, guys, I am SO SORRY! I never meant to take this long updating! Really! I can't apologise enough. Instead, I spent the entire of today working on this when I should've been working on my english coursework which is due in two days...and I haven't even started it! But, yeah, I had a bit of writer's block as well, and then suddenly my muse came back, soooo...yeah...here's the result. You guys can tell me if its as crap as I think it is. Its a tad angsty at the end, just a warning... Also, thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. They made me update more than anything, really. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Hiro-kun and Leiko are mine though...

Contradicted Chapter Nine: Black Savior "I live to destroy this world, and every being on it! I live to rid the world of its impurities us! Everything! And youyou're going to die right now." Sabaku no Gaara. Psychotic maniac. Insomniac. Murderer. Gaara.

A little rough around the edges, protective, gentle and kind. The best person you could have around to cover your back. Why the huge difference? Naruto. Naruto fought him. Naruto almost killed himself in the process. Naruto saved Gaarafrom himself. Which is when I realized. Naruto is the hero. The savior. He brings light into people's dark, horrific worlds. So who would save Naruto? Me? Could I do it? Was I strong enough?

Three years ago 23rd November 3.45 a.m. Haruno Sakura was staring, once again, at the ceiling of her tent. Wide awake. At Kami knows what time in the morning. She would knowif she could be bothered to lift her arm to look at her watch. Her team mate and friend Leiko was fast asleep beside her, her back to her. On Sakura's other side, Hiro-kun was curled up in a little ball, clutching a tattered bunny by its almost ripped to pieces ear. He was facing her, his other arm splayed out under his head and his hand clutching a few strands of Sakura's pink locks. Sakura smiled at her young team mate. In the time she had been in Squad Uchiha, she realized that the blond seemed to have gained an attachment to her, and it was cute, in a sense. Sakura's smile froze. She could hear something moving outsidea slight rustle. Were they being attacked? Leiko and Hiro-kun were still asleep. They hadn't heard anything, and Hiro was exceptional at sensing attacks. Sakura held her breath. They were in the middle of the desert, and by tomorrow midday they would be in Suna. This was Gaara's territory. Not a lot of people ventured here. A shadow fell over the tent. Apple green eyes peered through the small gap of the entrance, but she couldn't see anything. Slowly, carefully, without alerting anyone to any movements, she reached under her pillow and felt her fingers wrap around the cool handle of her kunai. Her muscles tensed, ready. The shadow moved slightly. What if it was Naruto? It was his turn for watch

No. Naruto didn't move like that. No matter how much better the blond had gotten, he still couldn't stay quiet. And this person, this shadow, was utterly silent. Not a whisper of movement. Sakura took a slow breath, counting slowly. Three. Slowly. Carefully. Lying in wait. Two. Tense. Dangerous. Caution. One. She moved so suddenly and silently that Hiro didn't even notice the loss of pink locks in his hand, remaining blissfully asleep. Sakura collided heavily with the intruder, sending them both toppling to the ground. Her kunai was poised above a pale neck, and she found herself straddling him, her other hand trapping both of his hands above his head. For a second all was heard was heavy breathing on both parts, before a cloud obstructing the moonlight lazily floated past, allowing a beam of pale light to fall on the intruder's face. Jade eyes stared curiously up at her. "Kami," Sakura breathed once she realized who it was, "Gaara." She wrenched the kunai away from his neck, her face flushing. "Oh Kami, I'm so sorry," she rambled, "I thought it someone dangerous, someone attacking us, oh, Kami, I'm still sitting on you, sorry, sorry, sorry!" she staggered backwards, toppling off the vaguely amused redhead and landing on the sand. "Sakura." Gaara greeted, his voice calm. The only thing that showed his emotions was a slight glint of amusement in his normally blank jade eyes. He was laughing at her! Sakura wanted to pout at the injustice of it all. Gaara got up gracefully, dusting the sand off his clothes. Since the roseate haired kunoichi was still sitting awkwardly, staring up at him in horror, the redhead strode over to her, hooked one hand under her arm and pulled her to her feet easily. "Uh, thanks" Sakura replied automatically, dusting herself off as well. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, uh, Kazekage-sama" Wrong move. Sakura let out a small 'eep' and ducked away from Gaara's threatening fist. Right. Not doing that again. "I thought," Gaara said tersely, lowering his arm, "that I told you not to call me that." Sakura sighed. Ever since Naruto had originally saved him, and since then the best friends had helped the redhead out a fair amount of times over the years...Sakura had even once saved Gaara from certain death after he went against several S-classed missing nins all at once with her quick thinking and medical jutsus. Well, Gaara had gained the notion that if anyone was allowed to treat him just like another person in the crowd, it was Naruto and Sakura. "Rightsorry, Gaara. Reflex, you know?" Sakura gave him a small grin.

"Of coursewho's on watch?" he asked, looking around. "Don't tell me you were, and you decided to do it from your bed." "Ha ha," Sakura muttered dryly, "Actually" Sakura pointed up to the only tree in the near area, and Gaara looked up to see a peacefully sleeping Naruto sprawled across a branch. "Well, that explains it." "Yep." 5.30 a.m. The mismatched pair had spent the last two hours, or just under, catching up, trading new information about this and that and moving Naruto back to the other tent shared by Kakashi and Sasuke without waking him up (which was easily achieved by Gaara's sand). They found themselves sitting next to a fire, Sakura toasting marshmallows, as was her routine when she was on watch, and trying and failing to feed them to Gaara. "UmGaara?" "Yes?" "What are you doing here anyway?" "" It occurred to Gaara then that Haruno Sakura, no matter how much she had changed since nine years ago, she could still be that ditzy pink haired girl when she wanted to. "Insomniac, remember?" "Ohhhh yeah" 11.45 a.m. It was almost midday, and the sun was high in the sky, beating down at them like it had every intention of over boiling their cells. Sakura flitted back and forth between her team mates, forcing bottles of water onto them and scolding Naruto whenever he tried to take his t-shirt off. By the time they got to the gates of Suna, Gaara, who had gone ahead to get back to whatever he did as the Kazekage, was waiting for them. In the shade. Sodding bastard. "Oh thank Kami!" Naruto whimpered, running into the shade and yanking off his sweat-soaked tshirt. Sakura took that moment to be thankful that Hinata wasn't here; otherwise the Hyuuga heir would've most definitely fainted from the combination of heat and Naruto's six pack. "You're putting that back on in a sec." Sakura told the blond calmly, only to be greeted with a pink tongue sticking out at her. Sakura could only roll her eyes.

"Lets go in," Gaara said, smoothly turning around and walking through the gates into Suna. "The Council Tower is fully air conditioned." It was at this point that Gaara was left standing with a yawning Kakashi, while the others became lost in the crowd as they battled to get to the cooled building first. "Why haven't they grown up?" Gaara asked the silver haired Jounin. Kakashi shrugged. 12.33 p.m. "No." "But Sasuke-chaaaaaaaaan!" "No." A small fifteen year old who looked six years younger than he really was, pouted at his Captain. Finding that his wide green eyes that could melt metal was not affecting Sasuke, he turned to the one person he could count on instantly giving in. "SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!" Sakura, who had heard nothing of his earlier exchange with Sasuke, having been on the other side of the room, telling Naruto exactly why it was not all right for him to run around shirtless in the sun, turned around to look at the small blondonly to be tackled. "Huh!" Sakura yelped in surprise, catching the small teenager as he latched onto her waist. She stumbled only slightly, keeping her balance with the grace of a fully-fledged kunoichi. "Hai?" she said wearily. Naruto took this moment to escape, taking refuge next to Gaara, who simply gave him a cool look. "Can I have a sweet?" Sakura blinked. Looking down, she witnessed something a female should never be subjected to: Hiro's pleading green eyes. Like every other female, she turned to mush. "Uh, of course, Hiro-kun" Hiro flashed her a happy smile, waltzing off to the table situated in the center of the room, and grabbing a chocolate from the ornate bowl. Sakura was left, dazed. At this point, every male in the room realized this was why Hiro always got his way: he was cute. And boy, did he know it.

"Hang on a second, Hiroshi." Hiro cringed. His hand was curled around the chocolate. He had been so close! "Drop the chocolate." He dropped it. "Now behave." Hiro had to use all his willpower to not glare at one Itou Leiko. Fortunately for him, Gaara announced the start of the meeting, and he was saved from the pretence of sulking. Or, more specifically, Sakura was saved from the torture of seeing him sulk. "Right!" Sakura clapped her hands together, a determined glint in her apple green orbs, "Lets find out what son of a bitch messed with my buddy." This time, the males wondered if it was all right to be this scared. They took another look at the scowling roseate haired Jounin. The answer was immediate. Yes. 24th November 4.45 p.m. "Sowe've got a) the location, and b) the ever elusive black and red coat. Now why does it seem like this mission may take forever and a day?" "Because it will at this rate." "Would you two shut up and actually focus for once?" "" "Hey, Captain, did you know that you've spent a total of four solid hours yelling in the last day?" "HARUNO!" "Yeah?" "You bloody" Crackle. Snap. An exclamation of pain. Another crackle. Then silence. Haruno Sakura slipped her wireless radio out of her ear, blinking at it curiously. Slipping it back in, she spoke into the microphone hovering in front of her mouth.

"Did" "Yeah." Came the short reply from Neji. "I love Kakashi." Sakura sighed to Leiko, who simply smiled in response. Moving past another pointless exchange over the radio, Sakura was officially borednot to mention frustrated. They had spent an entire day searching for clues around the area Naruto had been attacked, splitting up into teams and combing every inch of land within a two-mile radius. It was tedious. It was hot. It was utterly pointless. These feelings were shared by all seven ANBU members. Sakura and Leiko worked slowly together, eyes flickering back and forth over the sand, searching for non-existent clues. Not too far from them, Hiro trained with his katana as they walked, swishing it back and forth, slicing the air. A mile away, Kakashi was scolding Sasuke for being so irritable, Naruto was frowning as he wracked his mind, trying to think of anything he had missed and Neji Well, Neji just wanted to go home. Two hours later, they had met up once; swapped Leiko for Naruto (since the blond was about to be murdered by all three ANBU Captains) and no one had found anything. Except, perhaps, a group of rogue Rain-nins. "Ah, damnit." Sakura said idly, as she sensed the five enemy shinobis slowly take their places around them, hidden amongst the trees. Her hand curled around a kunai, the other going to her forehead in an attempt to shield her eyes from the glare of the sinking sun. "I think I broke a finger nail." "Hmm," Naruto mumbled non-committedly, and Hiro simply blinked. The two normally hyperactive blonds knew what to do: act ignorant. And yet, none of them could help being excitedhappy, almost. Finally, something interesting. Something to do. Someone to hit without having to apologize afterwards. And Kami knows they needed that. "Ready?" Naruto murmured into his microphone, the sound floating into Sakura's ear. "Always." Sakura mumbled back. They moved so suddenly the Rain-nin never really knew what hit them. Hiro wasted two within a couple of seconds, tackling a third and swiping his katana at him. Naruto grabbed another, throwing a vicious punch. Sakura took the last one, throwing several kunais. They met their mark. The entire thing was over within thirty seconds.

"Ah, that felt good," Sakura said, rubbing her shoulder and rolling it slightly, satisfied with the click it emitted. "Any injuries?" "Nope." Naruto replied. "Nuh uh." Hiro chimed in, replacing his katana in its holder. Well, Sakura thought with a frown, that was a bit disappointing. They couldn't've been any higher than Chuunins. Of course, that moment of excitement was just the start. Everyone knew when it rained, it poured. "Everything alright?" Came the crackle of Leiko's voice over the radio. "Yeah, just some Rain-nins. All sorted." Sakura replied. "Okay. Good. We should probably meet up again, the sun is starting to SHIT!" The radio crackled, and broken words seeped through. "Leiko!" "What" Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening. What was happening? Were they okay? "Leiko? Kakashi? Neji? SASUKE?!" Sakura yelled into her microphone. All she received was the continuous broken words. "movecareful!" "son of a bitch!" "SakuraSakura!" Hiro and Naruto both turned on their heels and ran in the direction of the others, Sakura gathering herself in time to follow. "Guys! Talk to me, damnit! Where are you?! What's happening?" Panic was starting to set in. She almost cried with relief when Neji's voice came through clearonly to feel like crying in terror when his words registered. "They're all around usI don't believe it! Sakura, it's the red and black cloaks! At least five of them! And damnit, they're powerful!" "He's there, isn't he?" Naruto growled. "HARUNO!"

Sakura inhaled sharply at the sound of Sasuke's voice; it wasn't cold, like she was used to, butafraid? "Haruno, listen to me! Don't come here!" "WHAT?!" Sakura shrieked. What an absurd demand! They were in trouble and he was refusing help? What was he, deranged? Or so egotistical that he wanted all the credit? She wouldn't put it past him. "D'you understand me? As your Captain, I'm ordering you to retreat!" "Are you insane?!" "No, just" "what are you doing" "No, wait" "LEIKO!" All three stopped in their tracks as a piercing scream filled their ears, before it turned to static. Even without the radio, they could hear the faint screaming. Sakura's hands shook. Hiro grimaced. Naruto's breathing was shallow. After a couple of seconds, Sakura forced her hands to stop shaking. Her apple green eyes darkened, and her hands curled into fists. "C'mon, we're going to help them." She declared. There wasn't a response. They simply raced towards the faint sounds of screaming. Because Sakura would be damned before she let Sasuke die. She hadn't quite finished with the bastard yet. They arrived on the scene less than a minute later. 7.56 p.m. Ninety minutes later Just breathe. Kami, breathe, girl. You can manage that, right? Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Sakura choked, and Sasuke winced as a spray of blood erupted from her mouth. So much for just breathing. Apple orbs blurred slightly. Her breathing was shallow, and sporadic. She was bleeding heavily from a deep wound in her side, and from slightly more shallow cuts that scattered her body. A kunai was buried in her shoulder.

"She's a pretty one, I'll give you that, Sasuke-kun." The smooth voice floated over the pair, and the hand clutching her pink locks tightened. Sakura winced. Sasuke asked Kami for a miracle. "Leave her alone." Sasuke growled. The words took a while to process in Sakura's pain-dulled mind, but when they did, a dry smile appeared on her blood-smeared face. "That's new," she mumbled, her voice hoarse, "C'mon, Uchiha, why aren't you asking for my death this time?" There was no response. Apple orbs shut then opened again. Things were starting to get blurry. She had used up all her chakra in her last attackit had been worth it. The shark guyKisame? was unconscious. Naruto She tried to look for her blond surrogate brother, but the bastard had a tight grip on her hair. She couldn't move her head. All she could do was stare at Sasuke, lying on his stomach, lying in a pool of his own blood, only just managing to lift his head to look at her and her captor. "Sakura" She stared at him. The words spewed out of his mouth without him realizing what he was doing. "I'm sorry, Sakura." The pink haired medic-nin blinked. Her captor chuckled cruelly. He yanked on her hair, tilting her head upwards. Apple green met a swirl of red and black. The world around her melted away, and then exploded with pain. This was it. Sasuke had apologized willingly. It was obvious what came next. She was going to die. Hey everyone! I'm back...only four and half weeks! Its not as bad as last time, right? This chapter jumps around a lot, so pay attention to the date and time, so you don't get confused. Also, thanks for the reviews...I think I hit some sort of record there... Anyways, enjoy! Disclaimer: Naruto and characters belong to K. Masahi. But Hiro-kun is mine :P

Contradicted Chapter Ten: Fallen Uchiha Sasuke was ten years old when it happened. His day had started out like any other day. He went to school. He trained. He ignored all the girls. He came home, expecting supper on the table. Instead, he found the bodies of his entire extended family. His mother. Dead. His father. Dead. His brother. The murderer. Uchiha Itachi. Three years ago, during my first and most painful encounter with the man, I knew virtually nothing about him. Except the few statuses everyone knew: Traitor. Murderer. Insanely powerful. Mangekyou Sharingan. Now, I know too much. Far too much. Three years ago 24th November 6.45 p.m. Itou Leiko Leiko was the first. And the worst. "SHIT!" "LEIKO!" Sasuke inhaled sharply as he watched his team mate being enclosed in clay. What was happening? Sharingan immediately switched on, flickering back and forth, trying to understand where the attack was coming from. And then the forms started appearingfour of them. All swathed in red and black cloaks, straw hats hiding their faces.

One of them had attacked Naruto. They weren't ready for this. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a voice drawled. It sounded all too hauntingly familiar to Sasuke's ears. Kakashi laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, jolting the Captain back to earth. He nodded, and the silver haired ninja slowly pulled up his forehead protector, the single Sharingan inspecting the ball of clay currently imprisoning Leiko. She seemed to have managed to avoid an arm getting caught. "No Naruto-kun? What a shame." Another one said. Where was Neji? He was talking hurriedly into his microphone. Sasuke followed his example, thanking Kakashi for distracting the men by firing question after question at them. The Uchiha hardly listened as insults and angry taunts were thrown back and forth, but one thing did catch his attention. There was clay around Leiko's once-free arm now. It was tightening, and pulsating. Barely a second later, it exploded. Leiko's scream was deafening. Less than a minute later, there was another explosion. This time there were no screams. Just blood. She died that day. No one could save her. No one. 25th November 1.34 a.m. It didn't take very long for Haruno Sakura to acknowledge the fact she was alive. The pain was enough of reminder to that. That, and she was bitingly cold. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon" someone mumbled above her. Sakura desperately wanted to open her eyes, but she couldn't. Her eyelids were too heavy. Her body was too tired. She was in too pain. Her mind was all over the place. She could hardly form a coherent thought. It was understandable. She shouldn't even be alive, let alone awake. Conscious. "C'mon, Sakura, wake up. Wake up!"

I can't. I can't. I'm sorrySasuke And she was gone again. 24th November 7.03 p.m. Hyuuga Neji Neji was second. "FUCK!" "Neji, damnit! Stay with me!" Thud. A kunai to the shoulder. Chakra strings wrapped around him. He ripped them apart. "Naruto, watch out!" The straw hats were gone now, on all save one. He was fighting a redhead with puppets. Hit. Miss. Hit. Hit. Miss. Throw. Dodge. Parry. Hit. Miss. Dodge. DODGE! His name was Sasori. He was fast, powerful, and had too many limbs in the form of toys. Dangerous toys. Squelch. Neji cringed. Another piece of Leiko, stepped on. He wanted to curl up and die, but Kami forbid he should. They were too vicious. Too fast. Too powerful. It was six against three. The fourth one was watching from the depths of his cloak and straw hat. Leader? Probably. Either way, they were struggling. It was understandable. They had just witnessed the violent death of their teammate. Dodge. Parry. Hit. Dodge. Hit. Miss. Dodge. Dodge? DODGE!

He couldn't dodge. He had done the one thing he always knew never to doleave an opening. First came the pain. Then an odd tingling sensation. And that was it. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground. Neji was hit by a poisoned kunai. No one quite knows what happened afterwards, but he survived. Unrealistically. Another miracle. 25th November 3.45 a.m. Sakura woke up again. It was even colder than before, but the pain wasn't as bad. She could even try to open her eyes. Apple orbs slowly flickered open. Blinked, once, twice, then firmly shut again. She was in a cell of some sort. The walls and floor were made of stonewhich explained the coldand she was lying against the wall, cradled in Sasuke's arms. Made sense. Share body heat. But the fact remained: she was definitely meant to be dead. First the wounds in her side, and her shoulder, and everywhere else Sakura quickly opened her eyes, and stared. The wound in her shoulder had been frozen with some sort of ice-jutsu. Her side wound had probably been too, considering how much it ached. Amazing. Sasuke had frozen the wounds, preventing further bleeding and literally freezing the process of her physical death. It would work, at least til morning. Until then her cells would slowly degenerate and collapse. But by then she would've gathered enough chakra to heal herself. Sakura glanced up at the Uchiha. He was asleep, leaning his head against the wall. He's a bastard, Sakura thought, as consciousness began slipping away from her again, but a smart one. 24th November 7.32 p.m. Hiroshi Hiro, oh my darling Hiro-kun He was next "Sakura-chan, watch"

Sakura skidded back, narrowly avoiding an explosion of clay. She winced, looking desperately at Neji, who was sprawled under a bush. Kakashi had somehow managed to take time to move him, and Sakura had been taking stolen seconds to push chakra into him. "Thanks Hiro-kun," Sakura panted, feeling extremely appreciative. In the mess, she had not sensed the explosive heading right towards her, and Hiro's shout had prevented a severe injury occurring. Breathless, and struggling to collect her thoughts, she hurried into action. The shark dude Kisame? That was he had referred to him as was vicious, and attention demanding. And arrogant. And wouldn't shut the hell up! She flipped backwards, avoiding a graceful yet forceful swing of Kisame's Samehada. She could feel the air being ripped where she had been crouched seconds before. "C'mon, c'mon, little girl, give me some fun, don't run away" he leered and chuckled. Sakura suppressed a shiver and hauled several kunais at him. They missedshe expected it. She threw several more in quick successionthey missed again. But she wasn't aiming for him. "What was that? Call yourself ANBU?" Kisame jeered. Sakura smirked. Kisame froze. Behind him, Deidarathe clay wielding bastardhad fallen victim to his own bombs. They had been scattered, waiting for someone to accidentally step on them, and Sakura had just pierced every single one that surrounded him. The explosions were deafening and blinding, and Deidara quickly jumped out of the way. But Hiro had been ready for that move, and in one quick sweep, slammed his katana through Deidara's heart. "Wellbugger me" Deidara muttered tonelessly, wide eyed, and fell to the ground. He didn't get up again. 7.39 p.m. She was starting to tire. In fact, she had started to tire a long time ago, but she could really feel her muscles groaning now. Fatigue was starting to pound against her brain, but she steadily fought on, intent on protecting herself and Neji, who had been attacked twice now. It was at this point that realized that this was not going to end well unless they got some help. But how? Who could they spare? No one. Who was fastest? Kakashi. Making her decision, she ducked an impending kunai, her hands forming several seals. Throwing one of her best genjutsus at Kisameit would hold him for at least fifteen seconds, she could guarantee thatshe darted towards Kakashi, who had just driven his Chidori through Sasori. He wouldn't be getting up any time soon. "Kakashi, we need to" she started, but Kakashi seemed to know where her train of thought was going.

"No." he said sharply, moving forward to help Sasuke, who was struggling to escape his own genjutsu. Impatiently, Sakura avoided a kunai and pressed a hand against Sasuke's arm, muttering a firm "Kai!" Sasuke blinked, shaking his head. "Thanks." He said automatically, before rushing back into action. "We can't do this alone!" She hissed, frowning as Kisame shook off the genjutsu. She raised her katana to protect herself from the onslaught of kunais and shurikens. "I'll send Pakkun." Kakashi retorted, forming seals and muttering, "Katon Housenka!". Several balls of fire erupted from his mouth, flying towards Kisame. The quick water Jutsu put them right out, but it revealed several shuriken that had been hidden inside the fire. One of them slammed into Kisame's stomach, and he grunted. "No! You're faster!" Sakura snapped, watching Naruto lunge forward and protect Neji from a rain of senbonthat had come from the leader. Sakura stared, wide eyed. Everyone froze. The leader had finally stepped forward and removed his straw hat. Black eyes swirled dangerously. Uchiha Itachi. "No" Sasuke stepped back, horrified. "Well" Itachi said coolly, "Isn't this a nice little reunion." His eyes ventured over Sasuke, then Naruto- who stared, pale, also horrified, having finally identified his attacker- and then to Hiro, who suddenly looked furiously. "You." Hiro growled. "Me." Itachi replied calmly. Before anyone knew what was happening, Hiro had leapt at the S Classed Missing-nin, katana flashing dangerous. And before this could process, black bled into red, and Hiro froze and crashed into the ground. "No one look at him!" Sasuke immediately shouted, averting his own eyes from those red and black ones. Mangekyou Sharingan. Sakura shuddered to think of the effects of such a powerful weapon. That's when it happened. His scream deafened her, and numbed her mind. Because her darling little Hiro was currently under the effects of such a weapon. "NO!" Sakura shouted, barely heard over Hiro's piercing screams. He was on his knees, hands planted over his ears, his green eyes wide, full of pain and torture

Sakura scrambled forwardavoid the eyes, avoid the eyesand wrapped her arms around the screaming blond. "Kai!" she shouted desperately, forcing chakra into him, "Kai! Damnit, kai, kai, kai, kai!" It wasn't working. "Bastard!" Sasuke roared, his own Sharingan alight with sheer, unadulterated hate. He leapt forward, the Chidori forming in his handthe movement caused Itachi to break eye contact with Hiro, and simply grabbed Sasuke's arm, twisting it and smoothly sliding a kunai into his stomach. The Chidori faded. Hiro stopped screaming, shuddered in Sakura's arms, and slipped out of consciousness. It was a long time before Hiro woke up again. 25th November 5.34 a.m. "Sakura!" The next time Sakura came around, Sasuke was awake and ready for her. Ready in the sense he was ready to fire rapid questions at her tired brain. Typical. "Are you all right? Did I do okay with ice-jutsu? Does it hurt? Have you collected enough chakra? Can you heal yourself yet? Are you" "Sasuke" "Itachi put you under the Mangekyou, knocked you right out. I don't know exactly what he did, but you screaming for ages, I thought I was going to go insane, no matter what I did, I couldn't stop him, fuck" "SASUKE!" "Andhuh?" Sakura never thought there would be a day where Uchiha Sasuke would ramble. At her. Yep, the world has ended and she was in some sort of hell. "The ice-jutsu was a good idea. No, I'm not all right, in fact, I should be dead, but for some odd reason, I tend not to die even when logical reasoning says I should. I think I have enough chakra to heal you, but not enough for the injuries I sustaineddon't give me that look, I'm the medic hereand where the fuck are we?" "Some sort of underground cell," he replied, his onyx eyes tired, "Left to die, I expect. It'll be hard for the others to find us at any rate. We could blast our way out, but I think Itachi was banking on the fact we're injured to keep us here. He was right, that fucking bastard." Sakura winced at his tone. The entire ordeal had sparked something in himanger, hatredemotion. It was beyond his control, the emotion in him. He was furious at Itachi, a man

he hadn't seen since the Uchiha massacre, and scared for Sakura. Grief was there as well Leiko had been his friend and teammate for two years and now she was "Whathappened to the others? Neji?" "They left him. Kazekage-sama should find him easily." "Naruto?" The silence that greeted her was terrifying. 24th November 7.45 p.m. Uzumaki Naruto There were only three of them left now. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Kakashi had left upon Sakura's hysterical screams with Hiro's comatose form, seeking aid from Gaara. He moved impossibly fastit was a loss that was necessary. He hadn't left easily thoughSakura had to engage Kisame in close combat, and Sasuke and Naruto worked together to distract Itachi for at least a secondlong enough for Kakashi to slip away. "Dear me, you have dwindled in numbers. However will you cope?" Kisame mocked, throwing a punch. Sakura dodgedbut he still scraped her, chakra slicing her cheek. "Wowdwindled. I wasn't aware you had the mental capacity for such a long word." Sakura snapped, stomping her heel into the ground, cracking it instantly. Kisame leapt out of the way. Sakura knew things had turned for the worse. They weren't ready for this, for Itachi. Sasuke wasn't meant to be anywhere near him, the anger and killing intent in his eyes made that obvious. He was fighting in the sense of I-don't-care-if-it-kills-me-to-kill-you way. And it made Sakura scared for him. Which she couldn't really handle right now. She couldn't handle these weird feelings for him she hated him for Kami's sakeand on top of that, her life was extreme danger. Kisame was just as dangerous, and it seemed the duty to kill him had fallen on her. The kunoichi took a deep breath, and shot into action. Creating several replicas of herself, she sent them flying at him. They were defeated easily, and she sent another wave. And again. And again. Eventually, Kisame got annoyed. "Alright, this is pathetic." Kisame growled, swiping his Samehada at one of them. It swiped her over the shoulder, and to his surprise, as the copy disappeared in a poof of smoke, another one came flying at him through the smoke, kunai in hand, only inches away from him. Kisame growled and slammed a kunai into her shoulder. To his surprise, she didn't disappear. Instead, she grimaced. Because she was very much real. "Wha"

"Surprise." Sakura smirked, forming seals at rapid speed and slamming her hands at his chest. Kisame's eyes widened. She had just performed a medical jutsuthe exact reverse of healing. She had cut straight through some very important arteries. Kisame choked, and a spray of blood erupted from his mouth, splattering Sakura. She grimaced as she stepped away. "Bitch" he muttered, slowly lifting his Samehada. Sakura darted out of the way, but that wasn't what Kisame had in mindinstead, he swung it around, catching an unsuspecting Naruto over the head. Sakura screamed as Naruto was thrown several feet. He slammed into the ground, blood already seeping from the head wound. Slowly, the blond staggered to his feet, just as Kisame hit the ground, his blue eyes dazed and clouded. "NARUTO!" Sakura and Sasuke shot forward, but not quickly enough. Itachi became nothing but a blur, and the end result was a katana slammed straight through Naruto's stomach. Naruto staggered, then, slowly, gracefully, fell. 25th November 6.30 a.m. Sakura had never cried so much. Neither had she screamed so much, nor punched a wall when her shoulder already burned, and nor had she ever had to be restrained by Sasuke of all people. Because he had told something that had shattered her completely. Itachi had taken Naruto. "Sakuradamnit, Sakura, calm down" "NO! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Sakura screamed, slamming her fist into the wall again. Her hand burned and blood splattered against the stone, but she paid no mind to the pain. "SAKURA!" Sasuke yelled, snatching her fist out of the air. He pulled her towards him, wrapping an arm around her, trapping her arms. "Damnit!" "Let me GO!" Sakura retorted, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes were dark with pain and grief, and she struggled fruitlessly against him. "Pleaselet me go" Slowly, she sagged against him, fatigue slamming her into submission. She had no energy left. "You're hurting yourself." Sasuke muttered. "I can't handle this," her voice cracked, "First Leiko, and then Neji, and Hiro, and now Naruto"

"I know." He murmured, his own voice strained, "I know. But you can't do this to yourself. You've got to rest, get your chakra up and running so you can heal us and we can get out of here and get that baka back." Sakura sniffed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the evident rip of Sasuke's shirt, and the deep kunai wound in this stomach. Gathering her chakra, she pressed her hands against the wound and slowly began knitting the wound shut. Sasuke remained perfectly still as she worked, and within five minutes his worse injury had been healed. "Thanks." Sasuke muttered, becoming aware that he had been saying that word quite often today. He didn't receive a reply. Sakura swayed on the spot, and slowly collapsed against him. Sasuke wrapped his other arm around her, keeping her upright. "Sasuke?" "Yeah?" "Promise mewe'll save himpromise" her voice was slow, cracked and tired. She had very little chakra left now. "I promise."

Uchiha Sasuke was twenty three years old when it happened. The night Uchiha Itachi walked back into his life, and coincidently, into mine. The Uchiha massacre had been devastating. What occurred here was almost as bad. Leiko. Dead. Neji. Poisoned. Hiro. Comatose. Naruto. Gone. After the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke carefully built up walls around him, keeping people out. His cold front kept him from making friends he could lose againbut he failed. He had friends. Those walls came tumbling down again when they suffered at his older brother's hands. And I finally understood him. Hey everyone! Sorry again for the wait, and I won't even make any excuses, but you should know there won't be any updates for at least a month or so. My exams are coming up and I need to focus on that. The good news, however, is that after my exams I can kick back and relax, so that means more updates more regularly! So enjoy this chapter!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, unfortunately.

Contradicted Chapter Eleven: Uncontrolled Damage You may, perhaps, recall the moment I talked about Gaara and Naruto. How Naruto saved Gaara from himself, how he was the hero. The hero. It's such a heavy, meaningful word, isn't it? To be a person that saves the day. Hero. In our world, it's the only way to die without being forgotten. Die a hero. Basically, die young and powerful, die protecting your teammates, protecting Konoha, and get the mission done. It's a tall order, being a hero, dying a hero. Hero. Kami, who made that word up? They ought to be strangled. Jeez. The idiot obviously never thought of the consequences of coming up with a word like hero. If you're not a hero, you're just a nobody, or you're known for all the wrong reasons. But Narutohe's a hero all right. He probably doesn't even realize it. He just swoops in, saves the day and gives that lopsided grin of his. All he thinks is that's he's doing the most obvious thing you can do. Lending a helping hand. And that's what makes him the true hero. But if Naruto's the real hero, and he's the one in trouble, who's supposed to save him? Sasuke? Gaara? Kakashi? Me? While chasing after Akatsuki, who had already done so much damage to an entire ANBU Squad? Reality, sometimes, utterly sucks. Because that night, three years ago, I faced the probability that I was going to lose Naruto. My Naruto, my hero, my brother. And that night, I lashed out. I cried. And I couldn't stop screaming. Three years ago 24th November

Sabaku no Gaara was a very anti-social person. No one blamed him for it. He had spent his childhood hated, lied to and sheltered. His early teenage years were spent killing for a hobby. He hated the world, and the world, in return, hated him back. Except Uzumaki Naruto. He set things right. Showed him another path, one that didn't involve genocide and the general destruction of the Earth and all the living things on it; one that involved having friends. So Gaara started himself a new life, at the ripe age of twelve, slowly making himself into the person he is today. But he was still very anti-social. He didn't have friends; he didn't really call them friends. Instead, he had a list of "Important People" in his head, and told himself that he would always protect them. His brother, Kankuro, who had helped and guided him to the title of Kazekage, was on the list, and so was his sister Temari, who had always looked after him during this period. Also on the list was his student, the woman who brought him his coffee every nightbecause, damn, he wouldn't survive without caffeineand, of course, the entire nation of Suna. Obviously. But also on his list were two Konoha ninjas. More specifically, a medic and a demon holder, just like him. Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto. And the moment Hatake Kakashi slammed into his office, holding the small blond brat in his arms, his normally calm face tense and flickering with alarm, Gaara's heart dropped and the foreign feeling took over him. By the time Kakashi had managed to utter the words, "We're in trouble." Gaara was on his feet and throwing orders down the phone to his brother. Within a minute, Hiro had been moved to the hospital (with the promising threat of, "Keep him alive or Sakura will have your head!" thrown at the alarmed medic from Kakashi), and within another minute, they gathered at Suna's gates, with five extra Jounins, two of which were Kankuro and Temari, two of which were Suna's best medics, racing across the desert to the ever distant forest. When they only found the Hyuuga, as well as the remains of Itou Leiko, that foreign feeling did nothing but grow. It took them all night to find the others. It was only when they eventually found a severely injured Sakura and the Uchiha, notably without Naruto, did Gaara finally identify that foreign feeling that seemed to be getting ever more prominent. It was fear. For the first time in his life, Gaara was scared. 25th November 10.30 a.m. White.

This whole waking up to white thing was getting annoying, Sakura thought dimly. Her eyes were half open, apple orbs peeking out from eyelashes, only halfway focused. The ceiling blurred and refocused several times, but the fact remained. It was white. "You're awake!" an unfamiliar voice cried. "Thank Kami, you had us all worried for a while there. The amount of blood you losthonestly, I don't know how you survived" Sheer dumb luck, Sakura thought sarcastically. Or, maybe, I don't know, the fact I'm a medic means I can control my chakra flow perfectly and direct it instantly to any wounds?! "Anyway, we healed you up very nicely, you should be able to get up and move about in a couple of days" the voice rambled on. Sakura sighed; half thinking she should probably open her eyes properly and look somewhere other than the white ceiling. She honestly didn't know how Naruto dealt with it, being in the hospital so oftenNARUTO! Panic and nausea hit her all at once. She sat up quicklytoo quickly, her head spinning and her eyes blurring. The chatty nurse gasped in surprise. "Haruno-san! Please, you shouldn't be moving!" "When did I arrive here?" Sakura demanded, swinging her legs from the bed, bare feet touching cold tiles. "Um, just a few hours agoplease, Haruno-san, you can't move yet" Sakura ignored her, eyes focusing on the clock opposite her bed. 10:35. It had been hours since Akatsukiand Naruto Her eyes caught sight of jet-black hair, her line of vision snapping to the bed under the clock. The suddenly frail-looking form of Hyuuga Neji lay within the crisp white sheets, eyes shut and skin pale. The steady beep of the heart monitor soothed Sakura's nerves, letting her know that he was alive and all right. If only she could say the same for Naruto. "Where's Hiroshi?" The nurse blinked, "Uh, just here, Haruno-sanwait! Don't get up! Oh Kami" Sakura ignored the poor, harassed nurse, yanking the IV tube from her arm and walking over to the small blond in the bed next to hers. There was no infectious smile now, no bright green eyes sparkling with mischief. Sakura felt her heart sink at the sight of the small teenager lying there, unconscious "He's comatose." The nurse told her softly. Sakura shut her eyes, willing back the tears. There was no time for this, no time to think of the horrors Hiro-kun would be suffering in his Mangekyou induced coma. Once she had deemed it safe again, her eyes flickered open and she reached towards Hiro's rucksack that lay beside his

bed. Bringing out the pink tattered bunny that Hiro never traveled without, she took his hand and curled it around the bunny. But seeing Hiro lying there, completely motionless, a hand curled around that bunny, a tear slid down her cheek. She was going to murder Uchiha Itachi. 10.56 a.m. The Kazekage's office was silent. And this wasn't from the lack of occupants either; three men occupied the large space. The first was the Kazekage himself, Sabaku no Gaara. He was sat on his chair at his large desk, as he did everyday, with a slight difference. There was no paperwork taking place today, despite the large pile that continuously grew. No, he simply sat there, tense and severely pissed off. The second was Hatake Kakashi. He sat on the window seat, nonchalantly picking at his tank top. To any normal person, he would seem completely at ease. Only those who knew him well noticed the way the muscles in his arms would flex, the way his lazy dark eye kept darting around the room. There was no ease in this man. The third man was none other than Uchiha Sasuke. It was very obvious as to what he was feeling: his continuous pacing back and forth proved it. Dark eyes glared at the floor and fists clenched and unclenched. The restlessness of this particular Uchiha showed what the other two men were feeling: tension and the need for blood. So when the double doors slammed open, needless to say, all three men were immediately on their feet. It turned out to be a certain pink haired kunoichi. "Why the hell are you still here!" she shouted, her green eyes dark with anger and anxiety. "Sakura!" "Why aren't you tracking them?" she demanded. "Sakura" Kakashi sighed, "We can't just chase them. This is Wind territory, we need permission." "What?" Sakura hissed, and all three males had to suppress a wince. She rounded on Gaara, "You're the Kazekage! Why haven't they got permission yet?!" "Sakura," Gaara started in a placated tone (as much as an emotionally stunted Kazekage could placate anyway), "It isn't that simple. The council needs to grant permission as well, and they're a bit skeptical about letting some of their best ninjas chase after Akatsuki, especially for someone from a different Country." "Damnit, that's just stupid!" Sakura snapped, "Aren't we your allies?!"

Sasuke sighed at his team's resident medic, "Sakura, this is bad enough as it is. Don't make this even more difficult." "NO!" Sakura yelled angrily, "No, you're the ones making this difficultyou're the ones making this harder than it really is!" she rounded on Gaara and Kakashi, her voice now adopting a deadly whisper, "This is Naruto we're talking about. Naruto." The way she said his name, with such love and importance, hit the three men in the face. They had known what they were dealing with, they had known Sakura would react like this, they had known they should've been long gone, chasing down Akatsuki and Naruto, but her words still hit home. "HARUNO!" Sasuke snapped, adopting what Leiko always used to call his I'm-the-Captain-solisten-to-me voice. "Stand down!" Sakura's head snapped to the onyx eyed Uchiha, disbelief in her apple eyes. "Stand down." He repeated, his voice becoming slightly softer and tinted with pity. Slowly, Sakura stood up straight, apple eyes giving away the betrayal she felt, and whispered, "Yes, Captain, sir." The air was thick with tension, and awkward silence reigned. To be told to stand down was often an embarrassing affair for shinobis, mostly because it meant you were behaving extremely irresponsible. It was also a harsh reminder that you always answered to those more powerful than you, and to a shinobi, that was often a ruthless blow to the pride. Sakura had never been told to stand down before. Ever. By anyone. Not Kakashi, or Tsunade, or, until now, Sasuke. It took her a moment to recover and remember what had caused her to reach such a state. Luckily, at this point, a quick knock resounded on the door. "Enter." Gaara said sharply, his jade eyes still on Sakura. Kankuro entered. He had a weary face. Sakura trembled, trying to squash the rampage of emotions swelling up inside her, trying hard to remain professional. Being told to stand down was having its affect on the rule-abiding kunoichi. "Gaara," he had hesitantly, "The council has made their decision." There was a tense pause. All eyes were fixed on the puppet master. "They won't allow us to send a rescue team. They say this is Konoha's problem, as Akatsuki will no longer be on Wind territory by now." "What!" Sasuke said angrily. "That's bullocks!" "I know. I'm sorry, I did all I could." Kankuro replied, his eyes betraying his anger, while his face remained impassive.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, "So, one of my team is dead, another comatose and another poisoned; and the one in most dangerthe most dangerous is terms of the demonis being allowed to be taken away and probably murdered on a mere whim of a council?! We waited for nothing then!" "Uchiha," Gaara cut across calmly, the warning clear. Sasuke fell silent, but his onyx eyes conveyed everything. The redhead turned to his brother; "I'm putting you and Temari in charge of the village. Do you understand?" "Gaara?" Kankuro said in surprise. Gaara calmly picked up his gourd. "Sakura, get your weapons and first aid kit. We'll meet you in the lobby." Sakura didn't bother to question him; she understood what he was doing. And finally! Something was getting done! She hurried out of the room. Gaara turned to Kakashi. "Have you contacted the Hokage?" Kakashi nodded. "She's very concerned. Two ANBU teams are on their way as we speak." The Kazekage nodded, satisfied. "Good. In the mean time, it's about time we got that idiot back." "Gaara!" Kankuro exclaimed, "You'd be disobeying the councilyou could lose your Kazekage title!" "I'm not disobeying them. I only need their permission while we give chase in Wind. They are no longer here. I am merely accompanying my allies on a standard Search And Rescue mission." Kankuro gaped for a moment, before his pride caught up with him and he straightened himself out. "Yes, Kazekage-sama," he smirked, "Kick some ass for me." "You can bet on that." Gaara growled as he swept from the room, Sasuke and Kakashi at his heels. 12.45 p.m. The midday heat was harsher than Sakura could remember, and this was with being under the shade of the trees and foliage. She could feel her t-shirt sticking to her body, soaked with sweat as they leapt from branch to branch. Pakkun was ahead of her, leading the way with his nose. "You okay Sakura?" Kakashi murmured into his microphone from somewhere behind her. "Yeah. Just hot." "We'll take a quick break" Gaara suggested, but was quickly cut off. "No!" Sakura growled, "No, we've wasted enough time. I've trained for long distance running, I can manage!" Gaara opened his mouth again, but this time Sasuke interrupted. "Leave it, she's right. I didn't have her running laps around the village for nothing."

They could barely see each other, running with at least two trees between them, but Sakura managed to catch Sasuke's satisfied look from in between the leaves. Scarily enough, she knew he was proud of her, of how she was fighting and holding herself in this ordeal. He was right to be proud. Five years ago, she would've just cried. Sakura shook her head and looked back towards Pakkun. They had been running for almost two hours in unbearable heat that just seemed to be getting worse. No breaks, very little provisions. This was going to be tough. Against her will, her apple orbs swiveled sideways again, taking in Sasuke's lean form moving gracefully over the branches. She wondered how he was holding up. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours. His team was falling apart, with only two standing, one comatose and the other dead. And all that at his older brother's hand. It was a wonder the black haired Captain hadn't completely flipped yet. 5.35 p.m. Static. Sakura hated static. Static represented problems. Malfunctions. Disconnected from your teammates. It reminded her of the day before, of Leiko's screams of pain before the radio turned to static "Kami." Sakura growled, tapping the earphone impatiently. Eventually, the static gave way to voices. "Sakura? Sasuke? Kakashi-san? Kazekage-sama? Bloody static" "Shikamaru!" Sakura cried happily. "Sakura! Good. Look, we're coming up to the forest" "Stop!" Pakkun suddenly yelped, skidding to a stop on a branch high above her. Sakura almost tripped over herself, trying to stop halfway from leaping off the branch she had one foot planted on. "Sakura?" Shikamaru questioned in her ear. "Hang on, one second Shika." She muttered, looking up at Pakkun. Kakashi landed smoothly beside her, also looking up at Pakkun as he scrambled down the branches and slipped, Kakashi catching him easily. "I'm smelling a lot of horribly tainted chakra. A lot. As in, there must be pools of the stuff. But that's not all. I'm smelling something bigger, more furious and a hell of a lot more dangerous. To be honest, I'm just a tad terrified to get closer." "The Kyuubi." Gaara said calmly, gracefully jumping down on the branch next to theirs, Sasuke following. "We would've sensed something that potent, wouldn't we?" Sakura asked.

"My nose is far more sensitive than your ability to sense chakra. You'll feel it within the next fifteen minutes." "I don't understand. No one can sense the Kyuubi's chakra, that's why a lot of people don't know about Naruto. Why can you smell it now?" Sasuke questioned. There was silence, as everyone contemplated this. Sakura bit her lip, and on pure reflex, looked up to Kakashi for an answer. He had it. He had the answer. She could tell from the way his eye had suddenly darkened and his stance changed. And it worried her. "Kakashi?" she whispered. "I should've realized sooner. Kami, I'm an idiot." "Kakashi, just" "They're trying to take Kyuubi." He said. "What? What d'you mean?" "Take Kyuubi? Like, how? Make him turn? Control him? What?" "Kakashi-san?" Kakashi cleared his throat, stopping the barrage of questions. "They, to put it crudely, want to forcibly eject the Kyuubi from Naruto's body." There was silence again, this time as they stood there in shock. Finally, Sakura's voiced the question they all wanted to the answer to. "Wouldwould he survive?" her voice trembled. She was afraid of the answer. Everyone was. "No." Haruno Sakura knew, at that very moment, that some things were worth pushing yourself beyond the limits, no matter the damage, no matter the impending doom of death. To Sakura, the one thing, one person worth death, was Uzumaki Naruto. Which was why Sakura whirled around and hurtled at break neck speed towards Akatsuki, forgetting her fatigue and uncaring for the danger ahead. She just ran. And she couldn't help but feel comforted when she felt Sasuke's presence right by her.

Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if we had left earlier. If they had left without me, even. Just gone and tracked them down.

The fight would've taken place earlier. The blood would've been spilt faster. But even then, I know we would've been too late. They had a day head start after all. It was irrational of us to think we had enough time to stop them. That Shikamaru and the others stood a chance of helping, when even we didn't. We never stood a chance. Naruto never stood a chance. He was long gone by the time we caught up. We were too late Contradicted Chapter Twelve: Let It Rain I was twelve when it happened. I came home with a smile on my face simply because Naruto and I had somehow managed to pass Kakashi's ridiculous bell test, and not because we got the bells, but because we worked together to get them; well, after Naruto got over his original haste anyway. But the smile was wiped away in an instance the moment the front door swung open revealing my mother staring at me with cold eyes. Her words were colder. Brutal, harsh and each sentence stabbed me in the heart. "We packed your stuff. It's in the garden. We've contacted the Hokage and had you emancipated and disowned. Since it seems you're very serious about this kunoichi business, we will have nothing more to do with you. We are a proud family, the Harunos. We won't have you marring our name by a girl playing soldier." I was twelve years old. I could fight and I was more intelligent than my senseis in the Academy. But I was still just a kid. A kid being told that she was being disowned and thrown out of her home. "What?" I breathed, "ButMama" "I'm not your mother, Sakura." The door was slammed in my face. Three years ago 26th November 2.34 a.m.

It was raining. Haruno Sakura, once upon a time, loved the rain. She often ended up soaked as soon as the heavens opened, and reveled in the feeling of heavy droplets cascading on her head and body. But now, Sakura did nothing but curse it. The rain made her footing a little less sure, her sight unclear and her enemies harder to hit. Which was a problem when you were fighting twenty or so Jounin level Cloud-nins. "Unbelievable." Sakura breathed, as heavy sheets of rain soaked her clothes straight through to the skin and her hair stuck to her face. She dealt a lethal blow to the side of someone's head, already turning to meet someone else's foot and twist them into the air as the shinobi behind her crumpled to the ground. Eleven down, nine more to go Kakashi's Chidori lit up the cold night air. Gaara's sand crashed down upon several shinobis. A fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth, obliterating a couple of trapped shinobi. Sakura's fist met the ground, uprooting trees and throwing everyone into the air, crushing a few unsuspecting idiots. Seventeen down, three more to go. "Never could say much about Cloud-nins fighting abilities." Sakura drawled, punching another in the nose. Surprisingly, he dodgedbarelybefore retaliating with a several kunai swipes. It all happened so fast that it was pure reflex and luck that allowed Sakura to dodge most of them, tears forming in her Jounin flak jacket and one thin, shallow cut across her chest. "Ow." Sakura frowned, before snapping her palm into her opponent's chest, sending him clear through several trees before hitting the ground with an ominous sounding crack. Eighteen down She let the others deal with the last two, the two with most power and skills it seemed, since they were still alive despite being against Kakashi, Sasuke and Gaara. She focused on healing herself, her mind whirling as she tried to take in the facts. One. Naruto had been gone for more than day. Two. The over powering chakra they had felt earlier was completely gone, leaving only bare traces for them to track by. Three. They were attacked by Cloud shinobi, twenty of them at that. Why? What's the point? Sakura knew they were close allies with Rain, and everyone knew the status of Rain and Fire's relationship. Which meant Akatsuki were utilizing Cloud's, and most likely Rain's, shinobis for their own purposes. Which had probably sparked off the civil war two years ago

And she was wasting time. Politics could come later. Now, she needed to focus. "Tsunade's gonna be pissed," Sasuke murmured as he walked up to her, his shoulder a mess of blood and wrangled skin. He winced, trying to ignore the pain. "Could you?" "Don't even ask." Sakura replied with a tired smile, reaching into her medical bag for disinfectant. After cleaning out his wound and healing it up, Sakura looked over to Kakashi and Gaara. They seemed fairly uninjured. "We'll just take a five minute breather before we head out again. Unfortunately, the rain has washed away Naruto's scent, so until my nin dogs find something, we'll be going blind." Kakashi said, having finished off the last shinobi. He walked up to the pair, placing a comforting hand on Sakura's soaked hair. She forced a smile for her ex-sensei. "I don't feel comfortable taking a break." Gaara said coolly, as his sand wrecked hell behind him, gathering the bodies and disposing of them in a rather crude manner. There would nothing left for the families once he was done, but Sakura couldn't bring herself to feel pity. They had wasted precious time and energy, and stood between her and Naruto. "Maybe so, Gaara, but we don't have boundless amounts of energy like you," Sakura sighed, feeling none too happy as well, "We need a short break to recuperate. We've been running all day and fighting for the last hour." "Very well. I'll scout the surrounding area while you rest." Gaara replied tonelessly, and Sakura could sense the tension rolling off him in waves. "Ah, so will I." Kakashi smiled at the two younger ANBU members. Sakura blinked. The silver haired copy-nin hadn't even worked up a sweat!Stamina freak, Inner Sakura grumbled. 2.55 a.m. Uchiha Sasuke was stumped. He was alone with Sakura for the first time since those alarming few hours in the underground cell, fighting to simply survive. Since he had held her in his arms and comforted her as she cried for her best friend. And he had no idea what to say to the stressed and worried pink haired kunoichi. So he did what he did best; sat there and ignored everyone and everything. At least, until Sakura opened her mouth. Which didn't take very long. "Sasuke?" She sat down next to him, alarmingly close. Sasuke glanced at her before taking up his previous job of staring at absolutely nothing, unless you counted the moss on the trees. "What?" "Do youdo you think we'll make it in time?" "I don't know, Sakura." Sasuke replied honestly, for some reason finding himself unable to turn his head and simply look at her. But he could feel her trembling.

"Hey," he murmured, still unable to look at her. His hand, completely against his will, sought out hers, squeezing gently in comfort. "It'll be alright. It's Naruto after all. Idiot doesn't know how to diehe's too stubborn." Sakura let out a laugh, tilting her head back to stare up at the night sky and the rain highlighted by the pale moon. "Yeah," she agreed softly, "That's my Naruto all right." And the two sat there together in silence, feeling completely out of reality with each other and yet totally comfortable. For five minutes Sakura forgot she was chasing after her best friend, chasing for his life, and held the hand of the man she used to hate. For five minutes Sasuke forgot his past, forgot his misgivings towards making friends, and held the hand of the only girl who never hesitated to yell back to him. For five minutes they sat in the rain, holding hands. 4.17 a.m. "Sakura? Jeez, what is with these damn things" Sakura hurriedly flipped her transmitter on, almost missing a narrow branch as she did so. "Shikamaru?" Sakura tried. The radio frazzled with static for a moment, before Shikamaru's voice bled through. "Sakura! Ah, right, we're approximately an hour behind you" "Right! We marked a tree when you need to start heading north-west, okay? Should be another half hour until you rea" The radio skittered in her ear again, before returning to clear transmission. "Kami, this is annoying." "Tell me about it," Shikamaru grumbled, "We'll try and catch up." "Waitwho's with you?" "UhKiba, Hinata, Ino and Genma." Shikamaru replied. "We had Raidou too but he went to Sand as a representative for Konoha." "Alright. I'll see you soon hopefully." "Good luck, Sakura. And be careful." "You too. Over and out." Sakura sighed, flipping the transmitter off and pushing her rapidly drying hair away from her face. It had stopped raining a while ago, but the heavy clouds still loomed menacingly. Kakashi dropped back to run by her. "How long?" he asked, and Sakura understood.

"An hour." "Not enough," he looked at her with one inky black eye, "Something's about to happen, Sakura. I can feel it." Sakura involuntarily tensed, keeping her bright green eyes on their path. Pakkun raced ahead. "Sakura" They both knew they were thinking the same thing. The last time Kakashi had confided in Sakura about a feeling, they had both ended up in hospital struggling not to take the tragic trip into the bright light at the end of the long corridor. Sakura hated Kakashi's instincts; they were far too correct and often ended in bloodshed and an extended visit to the nearest hospital. "He'll be all right," Sakura muttered with as much conviction as she could manage. "He has to be." Kakashi smiled gently, just visible beneath his dark mask, before dashing ahead. It was barely ten minutes later that Kakashi's bad feelings started playing out in reality. "I'm sensing chakra!" Pakkun yelled over his shoulder, speeding up. "It's Itachi's!" "Is he on his own?" Gaara demanded. "I thinkno! I'm sensing something else. Damnitits Kisame's!" "But I killed him!" Sakura groaned, "I sliced open the superior vena cava and the right pulmonary veinthey're tied directly to his heart, that should've killed him!" She was met by blank stares. "Idiots." Sakura grumbled. "But that's it, right? Just Kisame and Itachi?" Sasuke asked, his onyx eyes sparking with hatred. All three of his team mates had to suppress a flinch. "I think so. I can't sense anything else." "What about that chakra before, Pakkun?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly. His apparent lack of interest would have irked Sakura once upon a time; but now she knew better. Her ex-sensei was very worried. "That malevolent, evil one? Yeah, I'm getting small traces but nothing concrete. It's long gone Kakashi." "D'you think they've taken the Kyuubi already?" Sakura whispered, her voice taunt with anxiety. There was silence. And Sakura felt as if her heart was about to shatter.

"We're close." Pakkun intoned, breaking through the uneasy silence. All of them double checked that their chakra was hidden and nothing was leaking through. Sakura busied herself with mentally running over possible tactics, even though she knew Kakashi would come up with better one within seconds. "Sasuke," Kakashi's low voice was easily heard in the still night, "Keep your temper in check." Sasuke threw the older shinobi a disgruntled look, before reluctantly nodding. Pakkun skidded to a stop on a lower branch, sniffing the air. He looked pointedly at Kakashi, who nodded in response. The other three took this as a sign to remain as quiet as possible, which was further backed up when Kakashi made several signals, telling them that they were less that twenty meters from their targets. Sakura had a bizarre flashback to the day Kakashi had taught them the hand signals. Naruto hadn't been able to grasp the concept of each signal for weeks, until Kakashi and Sakura had taken a vow of silence, communicating in signals until he understood everything being said. It had workedbut Sakura couldn't help but question if he would ever use those signals again. There was a pause, before the slowly treading mismatched team was interrupted by a cold voice. "Really, did you think I wouldn't notice?" Sakura froze. Beside her, Sasuke tensed. Kakashi's one lazy eye swept below them, looking directly at familiar bottomless raven eyes. "Well, look what we have here." Kakashi drawled, dropping from the branch and landing lightly before him. Sakura landed next to him, giving Uchiha Itachi the coldest look she could manage. Itachi simply smirked. "I thought you'd be dead by now," Itachi noted, before turning to look up at his younger brother, who glared back down at him. Sakura was grateful that Gaara had managed to hide himself somewhere. "But I suppose my dear little brother would've done anything to keep you alive, hmm?" "Go. To. Hell." Sasuke growled. Itachi simply ignored him, looking back at the tense kunoichi. "I suppose you're looking for Naruto-kun?" Hard jade eyes glowered at him, almost daring him to do something stupid. Itachi only chuckled lightly. "You won't need to look very far. We've got what we wanted." Sakura tried her very best to remain impassive, to not give away her rapid heartbeat, her fright, but her hands shook despite her efforts. Itachi merely smiled pleasantly. "Have fun." He drawled, and just as Gaara's sand crashed into the immediate vicinity, he disappeared. A loud growl from Gaara was heard, but it didn't register with Sakura. The moment Itachi had disappeared, she took off.

"SAKURA!" She didn't hear anything but the thumping of her heart thrumming in her ears, the pounding of her feet on the wet ground. He was close, she could feel it She skidded into a clearing, stopping abruptly. Her friends caught up with her easily, instantly catching sight of what had caused Sakura to become statue still. A blond lay sprawled in the middle of the clearing, utterly motionless. "Oh no" Kakashi murmured. The sound jarred Sakura into action. She sprinted to the blond, hoping, praying that it wasn't him, but his features where unmistakable. Faint whiskers, partially open cobalt eyes, mouth opened in a silent scream. This was Uzumaki Naruto and he wasn't breathing. "No, no, no" Sakura breathed, scrambling to check his pulse. Nothing. "Like hell, Naruto!" she snarled, placing his hands on his chest, and pushing down hard, once, twice, three timesshe tilted his head back, pinched his nose and breathed into his mouth. And then again she thumped his chest three times, breathed into his mouth The cycle of resuscitation continued even as the three stunned men walked to her, Kakashi bending and taking hold of Naruto's hand. "Sakura" Sakura shook her head furiously, ignoring the tears welling up in her anguished green eyes. She continued resolutely, even as Kakashi's gentle voice floated in her ears. "Sakurahe's stone cold" Sakura drew back, pausing as her tears finally spilled over. She took a gasping breath, praying for a miracle before gathering chakra into her hands and slamming it directly into his heart. It was a technique used as a last resort in resuscitation, but nothing happened. "Sakura!" "NO!" Sakura shouted, doing it again. "No, damnit, YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME NARUTO!" "Sakura, HE'S DEAD!" The emotion in Kakashi's voice shocked the medic into stilling, staring at her ex-sensei with such grief it almost hurt to simply look at her. She finally turned her gaze back to Naruto, reaching for him again. Kakashi almost reached out and stopped her, but she only took the blond into her arms, cradling him silently. "Naruto" she whispered, her throat tightening with emotion, "Naruto" she sobbed out, burying her head into his chest. "Naruto, come backpleasecome back"

No one moved to comfort her. Her sobs filled the quiet night air, and three men could do nothing but look away, their own tears struggling to escape. "Naruto" It had started raining again.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's cheerful voice danced in the air before reaching my ears. My blond best friend raced towards me, as I sat at Ichiraku nursing a bowl of ramen, my bags piled up next to me. "Hey Naruto." I sniffed. "Eh, Sakura-chan? What's the matter?" he asked, his bright blue eyes concerned. They darted over to the pile of bags before settling back on my face. "My parentstheythey kicked me out Naruto" I managed to get out without bursting into tears. I was rather proud of myself. Naruto stood there in shock for a moment, before glancing at Ayame. She gave him an encouraging nod, and my twelve year old best friend stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." He murmured. By this time, I could not hold my tears back, and I sobbed into his bright orange jumper. Naruto simply held me. "You can stay with me, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, once my sobs had subsided. "You know you can rely on me, ne?" I nodded into his jumper, clutching at him desperately. I had never loved my best friend more than this moment. "I'll look after you. Always. I promise." But now Now Who was supposed to look after me now? Hey everyone! See, quick update? Aren't I being good this summer? Well, sorry for the cries of outrage I recieved, and trust me, I spent a lot of time contemplating what happens next. Well, I won't keep you from reading, but I will say thank you for all the feedback I've had. I broke my personal record with the last chapter, so thank yooou! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Really, if I did, would I be here?

ENJOY!

Contradicted Chapter Thirteen: Soldier's Name What do you do when you've been disowned, emancipated and judged family-less because you a chased a dream; an honourable dream of protecting your village, your friends, your family? Your best friend comes to your rescue, putting you up for several months until you can find a flat of your own. What do you do when said best friend starts messing with your love life; when suddenly having a lover is practically impossible because the someone who's always been there gets amazingly overly protective, even when it concerns people he'd trust with his life? You kick him into next Tuesday and rant and rage for a good while, until you hug him and you don't want to let go. What do you do when you're nothing more than a soldier; a shinobi who's life span is shorter than a may fly's? What do you do when you're a medic, talented in a subject that dictates that you watch people die every day, watch families lose loved ones, because you couldn't save them? You drink yourself into oblivion until your best friend comes along and takes you home, tucks you in, puts a glass of water and some aspirin on your bedside table and whispers in your ear about all the adventures you had together and all the people you saved on all those missions. What do you do What do you do when said best friend, said hero of your life, suddenly leaves you? You drink yourself into oblivion, and stagger home with some random person, because there's no one to tuck you in and no one to scream at you for being irresponsible. There's no one left but you and an etched name on a memorial stone.

Three years ago 1st December 3.17 p.m. "We stand here today to honour and mourn the death of our friend and protector, Uzumaki Naruto"

Haruno Sakura had been to many funerals in her lifetime. It came with her job, her status. People died all the time in their lives; that's how things simply went. Sakura attended each funeral with tears in her eyes and watching as the families broke down sobbing loudly into the still air. She remembered the first funeral she had ever gone to. It had been that of her disowned aunt's; a kunoichi like her, proud and ferocious. She had been only five years old as she watched the casket being lowered into the ground and promised herself to honour her aunt's memory; to become a kunoichi and save the her village too. She kept her promise and became a formidable opponent to all that crossed her path. She did everything with Naruto right by her. "only twenty one years old, and amazing in every sense of the word" Somewhere along the line, when she was fifteen, her father had died. She attended that funeral too, because despite having never talked to her parents since she was disowned, she still remembered the time he would pick her up and throw her into the air, laughter ringing their ears. She decided to honour that memory as well, watching her mother sob into the cold night air as her father was lowered into the ground. She promised that one day she would leave her profession and carry on the Haruno name, have her own family that she would support and love; no matter what. "in just a few short years, he would've been named the successor to the Hokage name" It was a promise she had yet to keep, and once upon a time she would've hit herself for considering giving everything up to follow up on that promise so quickly, but now Now she stood at another funeral, and it was by far the worst. She didn't simply stand there watching the family sob their hearts out; she was the family, and she was utterly numb. Normally, she stood at the back, far far away from the speakers and the family, but today she stood at the forefront of a mass of black sea that was specked with the occasional orange accessory as a tribute. She stood at the front, watching Tsunade making her speech and not really hearing her; feeling Hinata clench her hand tightly but not feeling the pain or hearing her heart wrenching sobs. But sometimes, occasionally, she came to herself, and she would be overwhelmed by the hundreds of people standing behind her, all from different countries and villages, all paying tribute to this one person, to this one being To her best friend. And she shut herself down just to prevent herself from screaming. "And" Tsunade swallowed the lump in her throat, "And if anyone else would like to say a few words" The way that golden coloured eyes seemed to point directly at Sakura made her flinch, and then she realised all her friends were looking at her expectantly. Hinata with her puffy red eyes, Kiba with his sorrowful gaze, Kakashi with his emotion-laced one eye and Sasuke, with his understanding onyx stare. Sakura found herself stumbling away from Hinata, walking up the few steps to the podium.

Tsunade rested her hand briefly on her shoulder, before walking off hurriedly to drown herself in sake. Haruno Sakura found herself staring at three hundred odd people, knowing all of them knew her, whether by face or simply by name. If Naruto knew all of these people, then he would've told them about her "Sakura-chan! She's my best friend, see? I've known her for yeeeeears. She's the best!" Somehow, without understanding what she was doing, feeling, anything, Sakura opened her mouth and began to talk. "Fifteen years ago, I stood in a playground watching a little blond boy sitting on the swings, all alone. When I walked up to him to ask if he was okay, he looked up at me with sad blue eyes before grinning and saying, in the proudest voice he could muster, 'I'm gonna be Hokage one day.' It was by far the most random thing anyone had ever said to me, but it was at that moment I knew this boy, this sad lonely boy, was telling the truth. He was going to be Hokage one day." Sakura closed her eyes briefly. "Uzumaki Naruto was my best friend" 1st December 10.03 a.m. Five Hours Before The Funeral Hatake Kakashi knew that today was going to be painful the moment he woke up with a massive hangover and staring at the all-familiar photo of Team Seven on his bedside table. Just looking at Naruto's twelve-year-old photographic self hurt. Managing to take his eyes off those messy blond locks and deep blue eyes to blink at his clock, he realized he was two hours late to meet Sakura at the caf for breakfast. Kakashi almost kicked himself. Because although he knew he was always late for everything, today was the day of the funeral, and he didn't want to think what Sakura was going through, if he, whose entire team was dead, was hurting still. Because if he was hurting, then Sakura was in sheer, infinite agony. Scrambling out of bed with none of the grace he normally possessed, Kakashi yanked on some clean clothes and grabbed his keys and wallet before rushing out of the house. Only to remember the small parcel lying under his bed, and screeched back into the house, flung himself under his bed, grabbed the small object and then scrambled right out of there. Kakashi arrived at the caf exactly five minutes after getting up and was relieved to see Sakura just tucking into a hearty breakfast oftoast. The silver haired ninja sighed. Was his student planning on starving herself? He honestly hadn't seen her eat a decent meal since before they had left Konoha in the first place.

"Yo, Sakura." Kakashi greeted as he sat down opposite her. Haruno Sakura looked up briefly, before looking back at her toast. Kakashi sighed again. No "YOU'RE LATE!", no demands for explanations. Absolutely no emotion except that ever present blankness. He was starting to consider what would happen if she turned into his female replica. She didn't deserve that. Not someone who used to be so full of passion and emotion. "Sakura" "She's gone, Kakashi." Kakashi blinked. She? "Thevoice inside me. The inner version of me. D'you rememberI told you about herremember?" He remembered. He recalled his reaction: "Well, Sakura, I'll just ship you off to the mental asylum, shall I?" to which she responded by punching him. But then she had told him about her fight with Ino in the Chuunin exams, how she couldn't take over her mind because a small, inner version of herself had kicked the blonde out. "Ishe's always been there with me, Kakashialways" Kakashi didn't like where this was going. "Butshe's gone Kakashi." She finally looked at him with scared green eyes. "There's a part of me gone." Kakashi opened his mouth to say something, and found himself speechless. For the first time in his life, Kakashi didn't know what to say to his student. He couldn't comfort her, couldn't tease her, couldn't Suddenly, the small part of him that was screaming for Naruto's return became all that louder. Because Naruto would know what to do. He would know Kakashi remembered the package sitting in his pocket. "Sakura" She was picking at her toast again. "Sakura, I want you to eat properly." "I'm not hungry." The words seemed to slip out automatically.

"I don't care. I won't have you wasting away in front of me, Sakura." She was silent, and Kakashi knew there was only one thing for it. This could go either way; she might scream, might cry, might accept and appreciate it. But at least there would be some emotion there somewhere. "How about some ramen?" Sakura's head lifted sharply and so quickly, Kakashi was surprised she hadn't pulled a muscle. Her blank green eyes seemed to stare at him endlessly, and for the life of him, Kakashi didn't understand why the hell he was getting nervous like some teenager under the scrutiny of a pretty girl. But Kami was on his side today. "Okay." In the next bizarre, Naruto-channeling half hour, Sakura devoured six bowls of ramen. But Kakashi could only smile to himself, pay the large bill, and wordlessly leave the package in the pink haired medic's bag. 1st December 1.12p.m. Two Hours Before The Funeral Hyuuga Hinata couldn't stop crying. No one blamed her. Everyone, even Kiba and Neji, were well aware that she had been completely, irrevocably in love with Uzumaki Naruto. So when she and the rest of their team came across that clearing and saw a sobbing Sakura cradling a very still blond, she broke down. She still hadn't exactly put herself together, even five days later on the day of the funeral. She still cried whenever she even thought about Naruto, still cried whenever she saw Sakura. And she was crying now, as Sakura held her hand and Kiba offered her tissues. The three best friends felt out of place without their fourth member of the group, but they still sat together in this field, waiting for that moment when they would have to go home, get changed and walk with the rest of the village to the cemetery for the ceremony. "Where d'you think Naruto is now?" Sakura asked abruptly. Hinata and Kiba stared at her. "Do you thinkthere's such a place as heaven?" she continued, tilting her head back to look at the cold, cloud strewn sky. "My mother always said there was." Hinata sniffed, taking the offered tissues and wiping her eyes.

"I hope so," Kiba added, "Its nice to look forward to something when you're on your deathbed, y'know?" There was a general murmur of agreement as Hinata laid her head on Kiba's lap. "I thinkhe's watching us nowwondering when we're all gonna cheer up." Hinata said quietly. Sakura smiled slightly. "I'd like to think that too, Hina-chan. AndI bet he's up there driving the oldies crazy" "He'll be happy to see Sandaime, won't he?" "Very." "Jumping around and shouting indignantly about he missed his chances at Hokage" "and the old Sandaime wondering who sentenced him to this torture for eternity" "He'll be remembered forever and forever by all the Countries and villages. He saved too many lives, raised people's hopes everywhere. No one will forget him." "Damn straight." Kiba reached out and took the pink haired girl's hand, and the three of them sat in companionable silence on that cold December afternoon. 1st December 11.55 p.m. Eight Hours After The Funeral Haruno Sakura knew this was a bad idea. She knew as she walked out of her flat, three hours earlier, she knew as she paid her entrance fee to the bouncer, and she knew once she ordered her third margarita. She knew when she sat down next to Uchiha Sasuke, leaned her head against his arm, and listened to him order her her fifth margarita. "Are you alright?" Sasuke asked her quietly. Sakura took a moment to think about a time when she could sneer at Sasuke and not care about anything he said. It seemed so long ago "No, not really." "Trying to go numb?" "Already numb," Sakura replied, taking the margarita as soon as it was set down in front of her. "Just giving myself a reason to feel like this."

Sasuke nodded as she tipped her head back and downed the entire glass, almost slipping off her stool in the process. Sasuke reached out and steadied her. "Why are you?" "Because I know what's like to lose your family," Sasuke looked at her with unreadable onyx eyes, before looking back at his half finished pint. It was his third. "And being ten years old, I didn't have the pleasure of knowing you could drown your sorrows in alcohol." Sakura smiled slightly at her Captain, reaching out and grasping his hand. "We didn't start out too good, did we?" Sasuke looked at her. "I thinka clean slate would be goodyou know?" Sasuke stared at her; with her somewhat out of focus apple eyes, her mused pink hair and her glistening, slightly parted lips. She was a completely different person to that indignant, loud nineteen year old he had once known. "Yeah," Sasuke agreed, "That sounds good." Sakura smiled, and promptly pressed her lips against his firmly, giving him a delicious kiss tasting of sugar and margarita. Sasuke blinked, surprised and unwilling to admit it, staring at the smirk playing on Sakura's full lips. "Uhthat's an odd clean slate." "Well," Sakura grinned, "I'm going home with someone tonight, and I'd rather it not be a stranger waking up in my bed, you know?" This was history in the making. Haruno Sakura was propositioning the great, arrogant Uchiha Sasukeand she didn't seem to be expecting a 'No.' for an answer. "Who's the arrogant one now?" Sasuke murmured, as Sakura leaned closer. She was too close for comfort, the swells of her breasts pressing against his chest. "Sakura" Sakura pulled back suddenly, smirking at him. She raised a delicate eyebrow, appearing anything but delicate, before turning on her heel and stalking out of the packed club. Her heels clattered against the wet cobbled stones as the rain soaked her within seconds. For a brief second, in her alcohol clouded mind, the image of Naruto's dead body lying in her arms as the heavens opened up flashed in her mind, but this was the reason she had drunk herself stupid tonight. She shook her head and in an instant, the image was gone. "SAKURA!" She could hear the pounding of shinobi sandals against the ground as the black haired man caught up with her. She could tell by the way he slipped a little as he grabbed her arm that he wasn't exactly sober either, and that suited her just fine.

"Sasu" she started, but was cut off as he lowered his head and kissed her hard, teasing her lips open and deftly starting that battle of dominance with her tongue. "Hmm" she hummed against his lips, sending miniature shockwaves through Sasuke that he was sure wasn't meant to exist. They only broke apart when oxygen became a necessity and even then it was only to move themselves to Sakura's flat. They stumbled up the stairs to her apartment, their hands and lips never quite leaving each other, even as Sakura scrambled to find her keys and unlock the door. The clothes started disappearing the moment they closed the door behind them, and the only pause they took was as Sasuke muttered those damning words. "This isn't right Sakura." "I know." "You're grieving." "Then let me cope." Nothing else was said.

We all deal with death in different ways. Hinata cries and cries and cries until she has no tears left, because she simply wasn't there for the man she loved. Kiba is there for others and forgets to help himself, because his friends are hurting and he's forgotten that he cared about his rival too. Neji holds his head high and gets on with life because emotion is for the weak, until, eventually, he lets himself hurt. Gaara looks over his village and promises to protect each and every person there, especially those on his "Important People" list, because he failed to help the most important one. Tsunade drowns herself in sake and paperwork, then remembers the blond boy who entrusted his village to her and promises to make Konoha thrive. Kakashi stands at the memorial stone, looking at the newest addition and knowing its just another name to honour and talk to in the morning. Sasuke closes everyone and everything off, until he realises he can't, because people have an uncanny ability to sneak past those kind of defences and hold you close. I've always dealt with death the same way. I drink and drink and drink until I feel nothing, and then I stagger home with a stranger so I can feel something. After that, I don't know what happens, because I've never gotten that far. Because Uzumaki Naruto always stopped me by then. Except, he's not here to stop me.

And all that's left is me and an etched name in a memorial stone. Hey guys, I'm back!! Just a quick thanks for all the wicked reviews I've got! I can't believe I hit a hundred for the last chapter; personal record! All thanks to you! This chapter is more looking into how Sakura is feeling about it all, which, basically, as you may have gathered for the title, is emptiness. Its a final look into Sakura's mind directly after Naruto's death before the next and final time jump. Hope y'all enjoy it! Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. At least, I don't think so...lemme just check if the contract saying I get Naruto has arrived yet..

Contradicted Chapter Fourteen: Empty "Are you okay?" My eyes fluttered open and I found myself staring into deep cerulean eyes. He smiled at meI love his smiles, so unlike his cheerful grins, because his smiles reach your soul and pulled away so I could sit up. I sighed, ripping grass from the soil in boredom. "I'm fine." "You don't look it." "I'm just bored." "No, you're not." I wondered when he achieved this amazing ability to read my mind. Not when I had been looking, that's for sure. Maybe living together, all those years ago, had worked its magic. Maybe he had just known me for too long. Maybe he had just grown up. I ripped up more blades of grass. "We're Chuunins now." "Yeah. Isn't it great?" His eyes sparkled. He really was happy. On his way to completing his dream. "Yeah." I agreed. "Sakura-chan!" he sighed, "Just say it. Whatever's on your mind, just say it." "We're gonna be taking on harder missions now, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are. All for the village, Sakura-chan." "What ifwhat if one of us doesn't come back?" He faltered for a moment, before slinging an arm around my shoulders and grinning at me. "Nonsense, Sakura. I'll be Hokage; you'll be the best medic in the world. We'll both grow old, protecting and healing, getting married, having kids, grandkids. The whole lot. You and me together, Sakura-chan, us against the world. No one is bringing us down." I remember smiling and agreeing. I remember laughing at myself. We were invincible. Immortal. Us against the world. No one was gonna bring us down. Three years ago 3rd December 11.20 a.m. The memorial stone had seen many names. Famous or unknown, blond or dark haired, powerful or average. They were all different. All special in some way. But they held one common ground. The fact these names were shinobi who died in the field, honouring Konoha. Uchiha Obito. There was one man who would stand at the memorial stone every morning, staring at the etched names with sadness gripping his heart. Every morning, since the fateful day his best friend's name was added, all those years ago. Rin. Yondaime. The fact that since then, his two remaining team members had been added, and he had left behind, that almost shattered him. The amount of S-Class missions under his belt because he had been feeling slightly suicidal was unbelievable. His reputation preceded him. The copy ninja. The most dangerous opponent from Konoha you'll ever face, with the exception of Tsunade. But he finally took on another team. Swore to protect them. The most irregular pair; a pink haired girl with an affinity for genjutsu and the most amazing chakra control he had ever seen. A blond Kyuubi container who's potential was simply staggering. And their friendshiptwo best friends who were determined to take on the world, together. This had been his main reason for accepting them. Alone, they amazed. Together, they dumbfounded. "Kakashi-sensei!" The man in question turned around to see that all familiar pink hair and smile. But her eyes were empty. Dead. There was no happiness in this girl, and the reason lay on the memorial stone. "I thought I told you not to call me that." Hatake Kakashi sighed.

"Eh, you'll always be my sensei, Kakashi." Haruno Sakura replied, before looking at the memorial stone. The fake smile simply ceased to exist. In her hands, she held a single sunflower. "Hey," Sakura said softly, placing the sunflower on top of the memorial stone. Kakashi knew she wasn't talking to him. "How's my crazy buddy? Frolicking in the clouds? Tch, as usual I have to clean up your messes" Her finger traced the newest addition to the memorial stone. "I have to go. Gotta talk to Tsunade-sama. I'll tell her you said hi." She paused. "Love you." She got to her feet, pressed her hands together and said a short prayer, before looking at Kakashi. "Same time tomorrow?" "Yeah." Kakashi murmured, watching the pink haired girl who's mask was almost perfect. She smiled at him before turning on her heel and walking off. He turned to look at the memorial stone one more time, idly wondering when the next S-Class mission would be available. His gaze lingered on the name, before he turned and walked away. Uzumaki Naruto. 11.50 p.m. Sakura sat in the ANBU break room, staring intently at the folder in her hands, but anyone with decent perception skills, which was a given in the ANBU break room, could see she was not really concentrating, not really seeing the words written in front of her. She was chewing her lip, her apple green eyes glazed over as she thought of something. Her colleagues could only hope her thoughts weren't on the recent events, but it seemed to be asking too much. Her thoughts were on the recent events, but not the more heart-shattering version. She desperately tried not to think about Naruto, so instead she panicked over something else; sleeping with her Captain. Yeah, that was a smart move. Sasuke hadn't been there when she had woken up with a hangover and reaching for the bedside table for the aspirin, only to realise Naruto couldn't have put it there. She had staggered out of bed, promptly thrown up in the toilet before crashing into her shower and blasting freezing cold water around her. It hadn't been a pretty morning. She hadn't seen Sasuke since; her team had been taken off duty until Tsunade deemed them fit enough to get back together. And even then, she wasn't sure they could be together anymore. With Leiko dead, her funeral taking place in two days, and Hiro still in a coma, Sakura suffering

from her best friend's death and Sasuke most likely not stable due to his traumatic reunion with his brother, chances were Tsunade would split them up. Sakura finally blinked, noticing the odd quietness in the room. She looked up, and all of a sudden everyone looked busy, eyes shifting slightly as noise erupted. The medic suppressed a snort in disbelief, and looked back at the folder in her hands, this time trying to concentrate. It was Hiro's medical files, and it was surprisingly thick for a fifteen year old. But she supposed all ANBU personnel's medical files were obscenely thick; there wasn't a time where all of them hadn't, at least once, been teetering on the edge of death. Even so, it came as a shock to her to find out that Hiro had been in a Mangekyou Sharingan coma before, nine years before. It wasn't the only thing she found out either; the same time he had been placed in a coma, his entire family had been completely destroyed by none other than Uchiha Itachi, leaving him in the care of Itou Leiko, a family friend. Who was also now dead. Sakura's hate for the man seemed to increase more, although she had been certain it was impossible. "Sakura?" Sakura's head shot up, snapping the folder shut by reflex. It was, after all, confidential information. She found herself staring at a lazy looking male her age. "Shika-kun." Sakura blinked. "Hey." Nara Shikamaru offered a lazy smile and one of the cups of coffee he was holding. Sakura took it gratefully, and her friend sat down next to her. "How's little Hiro?" Sakura sighed, looking back at the closed folder. "Still comatose. I don't get it. When Kakashi was hit with the Mangekyou, Tsunade brought him back no problem. Why is Hiro so difficult? Although this being his second coma might factor in it" "Ahem," Shikamaru grinned, "You know anything medical goes over my head, right?" Sakura snorted. "Excuse me, you with your two hundred and something IQ, you could probably study anything and get it." She paused, trying to find a safer subject that didn't involve medicine, Naruto, Sasuke or anything related. "Ahhow's Ino-chan?" "A little upset, given the recent events. But I don't think there's a single shinobi here that wasn't affected so" Shikamaru seemed to sense that Sakura didn't particularly feel like discussing this subject, so he swiftly moved on, even though he knew the reason he had first come here was to discuss something directly related to Naruto. Oh how he hated Tsunade at this moment. "Have you heard? Someone say Sasuke leaving a block of flats yesterday morning. He looked dishevelled; the girls are already trying to figure out who he slept with. A lot of kunoichis live in that flat apparentlySakura?" Sakura had effectively managed to suppress her blush, but not enough for Shikamaru not to notice the slight pink hue blessing her cheeks at the moment. "Sakura? No way!"

At this point, Sakura cursed all the ninjas in Konoha and their unyielding need to gossip. It was no surprise Shikamaru had already heard, after all Ino was the Gossip Queen. Shikamaru heard everything. "Shhh!" Sakura hissed, as everyone looked their way again. She shot them a glare, which sent them back to their activities. "Don't you dare tell Ino. It was a mistakea drunken one at that. I was just trying to find a way to cope!" "Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru yawned flippantly, "You know I don't really care. Don't worry, I won't say anything." He paused, before adding in a much more serious tone, "On the subject of coping" At this point, Sakura wished her shift at the hospital would come a lot sooner; instead of having to sit through whatever bullshit Shikamaru would say to her. She honestly had had enough of 'How are you coping?' and 'Such a tragedy! Naruto-kun was such a sweet little boy.' Most of the civilians used to hate him, and now they simpered over her, constantly asking how she was. It was infuriating! At least her fellow ninjas had the common sense to not lie to her so bloody obviously. "Tsunade-sama has letters for you." Sakura blinked. That was unexpected. "Letters?" "Yeah," Shikamaru continued, setting his cup of coffee down, "They've been arriving all week, but Tsunade kept them until she thought you were ready to even acknowledge the fact they were there." Blunt as always. "You meanletters" "From friends of Naruto," Shikamaru stated, and ignored how their carefully eavesdropping colleagues flinched, "I don't know what the letters say, but they're from people who actually cared about Naruto. People who have come across him on his travels and missions. They're all addressed to you." "Oh." Was all Sakura managed. Shikamaru got to his feet, offering her a gentle smile. "Come pick them up whenever you're ready, Sakura." "Um, yeah, okay." At that moment, they both knew it would a long time before Sakura was ready to look at those letters. 7th December 8.42 p.m.

Tsunade sat alone in her office, staring at the pile of letters. Most of them were addressed to Sakura, but there were a few addressed to her. This didn't surprise her. She was, after all, Hokage. Even so, they were mostly letters of condolences from allies. Gaara had personally written a letter, the words blunt and straight to the point, but Tsunade could sense the redhead was suffering almost as badly as Sakura. Tsunade had never had a case where a shinobi died and suddenly everyone was talking about it. Not since Yondaime. But another chaotic blond, another amazing boy who touched people's hearts, another cruel death. And everyone knew. Everyone cared. And everyone wanted to reach out to the pink haired girl that they knew was Naruto's best friend. But nobody could quite reach her. She was on automatic, keeping a fake smile plastered on her face, running around the hospital shouting orders as another ninja careening near death was wheeled in. Her eyes didn't hold that spark any more. Her voice was flat. You took one glance at her and immediately wanted to throw a strop at Kami for taking Naruto away. Oh Naruto-kun Tsunade shook her head, pushing the letters aside. She couldn't think about Naruto at a time like this. She couldn't miss him desperately, no matter how much she wanted. She was going to need a clear head for this. There was a knock. "Come in!" A dark haired twenty three year old stepped in, looking tired. Tsunade observed him with a carefully neutral face, feeling just as exhausted as he looked. "Hokage-sama?" "We're just waiting for someone else." At that moment, another knock sounded, before the door creaked open without waiting for a response. "Tsunade-sama?" Came an equally tired voice, before the person in question stopped and took in the other person standing there. Tsunade should've known that putting Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura in the same room was still a strain that ended up with explosions and bruises. Jaded green eyes clashed briefly with hard onyx orbs. For a brief moment they stared at each other, images flashing in their minds of that fateful drunken night. Finally, Sakura looked away and to her ex-sensei. "You wanted me, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade sighed, looking at the one letter that remained on her desk, set aside from the rest of the pile. The messy scrawl was so so familiar, and so so heart wrenching. It was unopened as of yet, despite having been sitting on her desk for the last four days. Finally, Tsunade looked at her ex-student. "How was your first shift at the hospital?" "Fine. Like I never left." Sakura replied listlessly, her emerald eyes empty. Tsunade remembered a time where you could ask her about shift and she could talk for half an hour about all the patients she treated and how she saved someone's life or lost another. For some reason, despite how her constant talking used to annoy her, she desperately wished Sakura would do so again. The golden eyed woman looked at Sasuke instead. "I trust your injuries are fully healed?" "Yes." She wanted something emotional, something vibrant and sarcastic, loud and caustic. Not emptiness and resignation to a horrible life. She wanted them at each other's throats. She wanted Sakura and Sasuke, not these shells. But this was what she got. This was what Itachi had done to them. Tsunade felt anger build up in her. "I read your mission statements." Silence. "Am I to understand that Rain and Cloud have been helping Akatsuki?" They both nodded. "Very well. Sasuke, I've prepared you a solo undercover mission," Tsunade stated, getting to her feet and fetching a mission scroll from the drawers in the corner. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You will be infiltrating a base in the Rain Country. Sources tell me this is where all the plans for the revolt took place. You can bet Akatsuki are controlling things there as well." "Akatsuki would recognise me." "No, our insider has informed me that Akatsuki never makes appearances. No one knows what they look like. You'll be using a disguise anyway." Sasuke blinked. "How long?" "A year. At the very least."

Both ANBU Jounins stared at this declaration. "A year? Hokage-sama" "You want revenge, don't you?" Tsunade demanded sharply. The answer, of course, was a slow nod. "Right, then you'll do it my way. I don't want you ending up dead somewhere in a ditch because you or Sakura foolishly chased down Itachi, but I'm not going to stop you from helping significantly. We need information. You're going to get us that, Sasuke." No more listlessness, but a sudden spark in Sasuke's eyes that looked all too much like bloodlust. "After your mission is over, you'll be joining the others on the front lines." "Front lines, Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade ignored the remark, ploughing on. "Sakura, next week you will also be leaving." "What?" "You'll be joining Genma at Red Base on the borders. Our head medic there wants a break. With the coming chaos, I want our best there. That's you Sakura. You'll be based there for a minimum of two years and during that time you will be in charge of both medicine and will be Captain of your own ANBU team. As such, Sasuke, your team is officially disbanded." "Tsunade-sama!" Tsunade sat down again, her golden eyes alight with emotion. "Sasuke, Sakura," she started in a soft voice, "I made these decisions in preparation for my statement tomorrow. You must understand how important you two will be in the grand scheme of things in the next few years. Do you accept?" "Of course, but" "Obviously, but would you just" "Tomorrow," she said loudly, drowning out their voices and cutting them off, her eyes sparking in anger, "We're going to get our revenge. Rain and Cloud have been attacking us sporadically for two years now, and in the name of peace, we have not retaliated. But they have made links with Akatsuki and helped with the murder of Uzumaki Naruto, taking away not only an honourable Jounin very important to this village, but the Kyuubi too. Well, I've had enough." There was comprehension dawning on both Sasuke and Sakura. She looked tense. He looked indefinitely pleased. "Tomorrow, we declare war!" 8th December

9.30 a.m. Sakura dug through her bag impatiently, looking for her purse. Her shift started at the hospital in half an hour, and she was scrambling around her flat looking for her essentials. Her keys were under her bed, her pocket mirror in the bathroom, hairbrush in the kitchen, and her purse, she hoped, was in her other bag that she didn't take to work. But then her hand brushed against something odd, so she clasped her hand around it and pulled it out, sending a scarf and a glove spilling out onto the floor. It was a package. Flat and thick. There were words scribbled across the front in Kakashi's handwriting. Naruto wanted you to have this. Kakashi. Sakura flinched, staring. Her hands shook. Hesitantly, wondering if she really wanted to do this, if she was even ready for this, she slowly opened it, taking out two smaller envelopes and a heavy large book, which seemed to burst open instantly in a whirlwind of colours, photos and messy handwriting. Me and Sakura, aged 9. WATERFIGHT! Good thing Sakura hasn't developed, her top is see through :P Me, Sakura, Kiba and Hinata, aged 16. Happy Birthday Hina-chan! Sakura felt something in her stirring and cracking. Pages and pages and pages of photos and memories and friends... Kiba and Sakura, aged 17. I admit it, they look cute together. Don't tell Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan, aged 19. She's so pretty here, surrounded by sakura blossoms. This is my fav. picture of her. Love ya Sakura-chan! Sakura snapped the book shut, trying to focus. Work in twenty minutes. She could look later. She turned her attention to the envelopes, opening one slowly so that badly shaking hands wouldn't end up with a paper cut. She looked at the contents before something in her cracked violently and reach near shattering point. Naruto's will. I can't, I can't, I can't The thick papers fell on the table, ignored. She reached for the other envelope blindly, trying to suppress this need to cry. She wrenched it open, yanking out the lined paper and messy scrawl that came with it. She looked at it, reading slowly. Something in her shattered completely.

And she cried. For the first time in two weeks, she cried.

Dear Sakura-chan, If you're reading this, then I guess the worst has happened and I'm dead. So lets start off with the obvious: IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT! Knowing you, you're blaming yourself for not being fast enough, for not being there, whatever it was that happened. Well, it's not your fault. Sakura-chan, if I'm dead, then I went down fighting and thinking of you and Hinata. I can promise you that. Anyways, moving on from that. I decided to leave letters and a few other things with Kakashisensei when I was first attacked by whoever it was. It made me realise that maybe we're not as immortal as we like to think, you know? This guy forced the Kyuubi out before I even had a proper a chance. So I thought, leave some letters, just in case. I can't stand the thought of leaving without saying goodbye. So here it is, Sakura-chan. My goodbyes. We've been best friends for a long time, Sakura-chan. A very long time. And in all that time, you've always stuck by me, you've made sacrifices and pulled through for me. I've never found anyone quite like you in all my travels, no one as brave, as stubborn, as gifted as you. You're gorgeous, talented, a feminist who punches first and forgives later. A girl who always tries to save lives, even when there's no hope left. You never did know when to give up. Sakura, you're amazing. You just are. I had to start this letter over and over because what can you really say to the girl who can read your thoughts? You're my best friend. My first friend. So even if you're grieving now, just you remember, I'm probably hovering around you right now, watching your back like the annoying little guardian angel I am and will always be. I'm sorry if the ink is a bit messed up. Writing all these letters has got me in tears and this one, this last one, this most important one, has pushed me over the edge. I hope you're not crying either, but it's too much to ask, isn't it? Do you remember your father's funeral? You cried for days afterwards. For a man who had disowned you and hated you for beingwell, you. But you cried. And you cried. Because you have such an amazing heart, Sakura, one that allowed you to look past the outer masks. You were the first person our age to give me a chance, no matter what your parents said. You forgave your father because he was dead, and didn't deserve to hated anymore. But you still cried. Well cry now, Sakura-chan. Just get it out. Grieve. Scream. Hit something, hard. Loose control. Do that now. But when you're done, you'll be stronger than ever. And you'll be able to do me a couple more favours. Look after Hina-chan. I love her Sakura, and have for a long time. I just didn't know how to tell her. Maybe when you read this I already have and we were together and she'll need extra attention, maybe not. I've already confessed my feelings for her in another letter. So just look after her, like the sister she is to you.

Let Kiba look after you. I know he'll want to. He'll try his hardest and you'll push him away. Well, don't. He's a good guy, even if I spent half my life arguing with him. He's my friend and I cared about him. I just wanted you to know that. Find it in your heart to forgive Sasuke. He saved you, Sakura. That day on the cliff? He saved you. Jumped off the cliff after you, used some sort of chakra-draining jutsu to lessen the impact. He was in a chakra-depleted coma for a week. He didn't want you to know. Didn't want you to get sentimental. Attached. You know, I think he likes and respects you, and he was just a little freaked out by that. Finallyfind happiness. Find someone to love, find peace. And when you do, tell your story Sakura. A memoir of sorts. You're a wonderful person and I demand you share that with the rest of the world. I guess this is it. Sorry for being an idiot sometimes, sorry for interfering so much, sorry for dying on you. It was meant to me and you, us against the world. I guess it's just you now. But you know what? You'll manage. You can do it, Sakura-chan. You can do it. I love you, Naruto xxx Hey guys! Thank you sooooo much for all the amazing reviews I've been getting!! Another record for me...I'm completely stunned...This is the last update from me before I go to Portugal next Tuesday, and I'll be there for just over a week. So I should update when I get back! Otherwise, enjoy this chapter!! Disclaimer: I don't own anything. ENJOY!

Contradicted Chapter Fifteen: Red Base It didn't take long for war to crash down on us like heavy boulders. The impact was shattering suddenly life was a chaotic mess of a constant chantfight, eat, sleep, fight, fight, sleep, heal, eat, heal, fight and we had nothing left to do but survive. In the few sporadic weeks that we got a lull of peace and I didn't have bleeding, dying patients or I wasn't hiding in the trees, suppressing my chakra, I found myself in the mess tent of Red

Base, sitting with my friends and comrades and exchanging jokes, news of family at home, the occasional naughty drink and a grope here or theremen were more rowdy when they were liable to die at any moment. No surprise there. This was my life for the next two years. Just me, my chakra, a whole lot of blood and mangled limbs, and a bunch of riotous men. Believe me when I say things could've been better. One year ago 28th March 7.32 a.m. Beep. Beep. Beep. A mere half a mile from the borders of the Fire Country, in the infamous Red Base known for its ability to protect Konoha even the most pressing of circumstances, in a washed out orange tent, an alarm blared irritably at its owner. Beep. Beep. Beep. In that washed out orange tent was also the little bedside table the alarm clock stood, and next to it was a camp bed. The camp bed was piled up with duvets wrapped around a determinedly still asleep form with pink hair splayed out across the pillow. Beep. Beep. Beep. Eventually the pink haired woman could no longer ignore the alarm and sent an arm flinging haphazardly at it. Surprisingly, despite the fact her eyes were still closed, a hand connected with the alarm and it was thrown carelessly across the tent. Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm bleated angrily from its spot, and the once dark tent was briefly filled with light and the alarm, for a reason that the woman could not quite grasp, finally shut up. Unfortunately for her, it was replaced by something bigger, louder and more persistent. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKURA!" Haruno Sakura slowly opened her eyes, staring at a familiar grinning face and a senbon waggling close to her eye. Sighing, she closed her eyes, rolled over and pulled her duvets over her head, wondering why the hell the Gods were pissed off at her and what she had done to deserve this fate. This was further backed up when the duvets suddenly disappeared leaving a semi-naked Sakura growling death threats into her pillow. Shiranui Genma let out a low whistle, staring at Sakura's underwear-clad form.

"Damn, Kami loves me today." He grinned. "Oh, fuck off." Sakura groused, reaching blearily for her clock, only to realise she had sent it flying. She could only hope it wasn't broken, because it was the only way she managed to get up on time in the morning. Save those glorious days that Genma made it his duty to wake her up sorry, did she say glorious? She meant horrifying. "What's the time?" she added. "Seven thirty fiveno, sixin the morning," Genma replied, looking very much like a kitten who had just gotten his cream. He sprawled himself next to her, obviously not expecting any collateral damage as he wrapped an arm around her bare waist. He seemed right in this assumption as Sakura simply buried her face into his shirt and mumbled something sleepily. "Anyway, people want to see the Birthday Girl." "Well, tell them to piss off then." Sakura muttered, her eyes still closed. Genma grinned, trailing a hand over her spine. He felt her shiver slightly against his chest. "How about a kiss for your lurver?" the slightly deeper than normal voice washed over her, and it wasn't hard to detect the amusement and anticipation undertoning the teasingly sexy lilt. "You're not my lover!" Sakura replied on reflex, finally sitting up. Genma chuckled at the obviously expected answer, taking the senbon out of his mouth and brushing his mouth and against hers in a sweet, short kiss. The pink haired woman sighed, looking at the older man with irritation mixed with just a hint of desire that Genma, in all his practised glory, spotted easily. "We're just" "fuck-buddies?" Genma guessed with an all familiar grin. He wondered, very briefly, what a gorgeous twenty three year old medic was doing with a thirty six year old Jounin with an oral obsession, but pushed it to the back of his mind. In this war and death strewn time of their lives, any pleasure was welcome. Sakura let out a puff of air, "You, me, the rest of Red Baseyou'd think we were all sexually depraved, the way things go on around here. Even Ino's been messing about and she's bloody engaged!" "It's a harsh world right now, can't say I blame them. Now what I really want to know iswhy are you, oh Miss Perfect Medic, messing about as well?" "Who could resist you?" Sakura teased, before slipping from his grasp and reaching for her clothes. "Really, I need an outlet and I trust you not to take it seriously. And besides, you've been gagging for it for years." She laughed. "Gagging for it?!" Genma spluttered, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back towards him, "Watch it missy!" he grinned, kissing her again before releasing her and getting to his feet. "Hurry up and get dressed, cos as much as I love staring at your ass, we have places to be." Sakura snorted, pulling on her denim shorts and a black tank top with a red cross on the back, pronouncing her a medic. After shoving her feet into her sandals, wrapping her kunai holster into place and picking up her trusty bag, she followed Genma out of her tenther home for the last two years. A sea of tents surrounded them, arranged neatly in rows and columns with enough space for several people to walk in between. It was only a brief walk through them to the immense

clearing with four huge tents, all within a couple of minutes of leisurely walking. One had a red cross painted brightly over the canvas, indicating it was the hospital bay where Sakura spent most of her days. Another was camouflaged green and brown and was shut; it was where business went on and tactics were drawn up carefully by the big shots who liked to boss everyone around. Sakura was often there as well, as the head medic and a Captain, her presence was often demanded. The largest tent was the mess hall and even this early in the morning you could hear the chaotic shouting and laughter. The other slightly smaller tent were the communal showers, which was probably full at this time. Genma led her to the mess hall, grinning enthusiastically. Sakura looked at him suspiciously, wondering why he was so happy. No one ever dared look this cheerful this early in the morning. Especially not around Sakura. Sakura ducked into the mess tent and cringed as a loud shout crashed into her ears. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKURA!" Oh, she was going to kill Genma. 9.02 a.m. Sakura chewed her way through a slice of chocolate cake as she scribbled her way through the several mounds of paperwork that had been lazing around her office for the last month. Once upon a time she would've been horrified that she was doing paperwork on her birthday in fact, right about now, she would still be asleep! But, unfortunately, Sakura had resigned herself to the fact that nothing was normal in Red Base. Sakura sighed, taking the last bite of her birthday chocolate cake, savouring the sweet taste. Chocolate was such a rarity these days, especially when meals often consisted of fish and rice. "Sakura-san!" whined a voice just beyond the canvas wall in front of her. She sighed again, getting to her feet and dumping the empty paper plate in the bin. Ducking through the narrow gap between her office and the large room filled with mostly empty camp beds, she quickly honed in on the man settled on a bed near the entrance. "Now what?" She frowned at the man who pouted pathetically at her. His arm was wrapped in a sling and there were stitches running across his bare shoulder and into his chest, showing a horrible mix match of deep cuts that took more than chakra to heal. Even so, this was one of the least horrible cases she had had to treat here in Red Base, and the man before her seemed to like pulling the 'Oh, please, help me, I'm a war victim.' routine, as if she would take pity and give him a blow job. "Its hurts again," he faux-whimpered, looking at her with big watery blue eyes, "Can you give me something for it?" Like a fuck? went unsaid but was perfectly clear in his voice. Sakura huffed, looking vaguely annoyed. The bastard was lucky she hadn't mentioned his inappropriate slurs to Genma; he was taking Kakashi's warning to look after Sakura to heart. She had three broken bones, five sprained wrists, twenty broken noses and countless bruises on her account. And those were the ones she knew about! "Sure." She said flatly, an idea coming into her head. The idiot stared at her in wonder and anticipation, having always gotten a "Deal with it!" thrown at him. She turned around, reaching

for the drawers that lined the edges of the room. "Turn over." She ordered, and he did so happily, stretching on his stomach. Sakura retrieved a syringe from a drawer, as well as a bottle of painkillers mixed with sedatives. She filled the syringe, flicking the long, fat needle happily. A little bit of liquid dribbled out and she walked back to her annoying patient. "Close your eyes." She said, her voice containing a seductive lilt. He happily complied, a large grin on his face. "You sure you don't want me to turn around?" he asked. "No, no, not yet." She took the duvets away from his body, looking highly amused as she pulled down his trousers and boxers, staring at the pale ass before her. She steadied the syringe, leaning backwards slightly and before plunging the needle into the muscle at full force. His pain filled scream was like music to her ears. "There you go!" she said cheerfully, throwing the needle in the bin. "That should keep you happy for a while, hmm?" He whimpered, this time for real. Sakura grinned, walking back towards her office, humming happy birthday to me as she went. "Hey, Sakura!" a familiar voice called from the entrance over the obnoxious groaning of the man she had just happily tortured. She turned around, the grin on her face becoming more genuine as she looked at a face she hadn't seen in two months. "Kiba-kun!" she shouted in surprise, hugging the taller male. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, returning her hug warmly. "What are you doing here?" she smiled as she pulled away, taking in the muscular form of one of her best friends. "Just passing through from a mission with the brats. Escort, utterly harmless and completely boring," Kiba grinned, running a hand through his hair and messing it up easily. "How are you, birthday girl?" Sakura shrugged nonchalantly, a small smile tugging her lips. "What can I say? I'm working on my birthday!" "Yeah, life sucks, we got it." He snickered, before looking over her shoulder to find the source of the constant groaning. His eyes settled on the man near them. "Jeez, what happened to him?" Sakura grinned, "You really don't want to know!" Somehow, Kiba knew he didn't. 1.17 p.m. "Don't you dare, Shiranui!"

"Vhad?" "Urgh, close your mouth, Genma, no one wants to see you digesting your food." Genma swallowed and childishly stuck his tongue out at the blonde medic. Next to him, Sakura lamented over the last piece of strawberry that had just been stolen from her bowl. Her fingers were stained pink from all the strawberries she had just devoured and she settled to sucking the juices off her fingers, unaware that all the males in the near vicinity found this riveting. "I can't believe you took my last strawberry!" Sakura groaned, once she had finished cleaning her fingers. Genma blinked, taking his eyes away from her pink stained lips, and grinning at his friend, "What can I say? They looked delectable." Ino snorted, pushing away her half finished fruit salad. She looked at her childhood friend with clear blue eyes that sometimes reminded Sakura of Naruto's deep blue eyes, "Somehow I don't even think he was talking about the strawberries. Are you guys screwing or what?" "Oh, shut up, Ino-pig." "Come on Forehead! I wanna know!" "This conversation is so old it must be getting back pains." Neji intoned coolly from opposite Genma, "Besides, it's obvious they're screwing." "NEJI!" Sakura yelped, stunned that Neji was actually doing something very much like gossiping, "I think I like it more when you'reintellectual!" "Naruto told me to be more socially open." He replied blankly. A sudden quiet descended over the group, as they all glanced at Sakura and hurriedly looked away again. It was like sitting with a bunch of teenagers. Sakura sighed, looking up at the canvas ceiling of the mess hall. Every time Naruto was mentioned, she could feel her heart constricting painfully at the loss of her best friend. It had been over a year since he had left her, but she felt it weighing heavily on her whenever her thoughts strayed across to the blond. But despite all this, she had forced herself to move on. Naruto wouldn't half strangle her if she spent the rest of her life miserable. "Well, Naruto was right," Sakura nodded. "You gossip your heart out." she added seriously. Neji smiled in amusement, as Genma and Ino gaped. "Anyway, when's your next patrol?" Sakura asked the group, after a moment or two of silence. "This evening" Ino sighed, "Captain said we need to do double time." "Two days? Ouch. Don't die on me out there, you hear me?" Sakura ordered, a teasing smile on her lips and barely readable concern in her eyes. Ino spotted it anyway, and smiled reassuringly back at her friend.

"Came back yesterday, so I'm giving my team a week break. We did triple time," Neji said, "We were lucky no one was hurt too badly." Sakura vaguely remembered, somewhere between screaming at Ino to bring her more adrenaline shots and trying to bring a heart-stilled soldier back to them, that it was Neji who brought in the perverted man she had happily tortured this morning. "What about you, Genma?" Ino asked. "Me and Sakura are tag-teaming in a couple of days for triple time." Genma replied, taking out a senbon and flicking it into his mouth. "They're saying we're getting a bit stretched," Sakura added, "I mean, we'll be lucky to get a one day patrol from now on and tag-teams aren't going to happen very often either anymore. This constant day-to-day battlingits not working, is it?" "No, its not." Neji agreed. "Maybe you should bring that up next time there's a meeting?" Ino suggested. "And have Morino-san at our throats?" Genma snorted, his senbon waggling enthusiastically as he talked. "Worth a try." "Maybe." There was a brief pause as a loud squeal of static filled the air, briefly punctuated by the blaring words of "CODE WHITE!" thrown into their ears. Another moment, and the static was gone. "Speaking of meetings" Sakura sighed, as she got to her feet with Genma and Neji. Throughout the mess hall, eleven other team captains were getting to their feet begrudgingly; it was time to leave their friends and food and face reality. Ino grumpily stayed in her seat. "Why can't I be a Captain?" she sulked. "Because you're childish, Ino-pig." "Shut up Forehead!" Sakura sighed, looking at the blonde medic seriously, "Come find me before you leave, okay?" The connotations were obvious. In case you die out there. Ino quickly plastered a grin on her face, but her eyes gave her away. "Don't see why I should bother" I'm not going to leave you. Not like Naruto did.

4.56 p.m. Sakura was back in her faded orange tent, searching for her towel amongst the pile of clothes that littered the corner she had aptly named clothing corner. She had slotted a few pieces of smooth pine boards underneath, to stop the clothes getting dirty on the canvas floor, which tended to be covered in mud. Eventually she found the dark blue towel (light colours got dirty too quickly) and fished it out from where it was jammed between the tent wall and a pile of socks. A flash of black writing against faded orange caught her attention, and she leaned down again to check it out. Property of Uzumaki Naruto. Sakura smiled sadly, tracing the name with her finger. She sometimes wished that Red Base had a memorial stone of its own, so she could go pay her respects every morning, just as she knew Kakashi would be doing back in Konoha. Sakura quickly snapped back to reality, tucking shampoo, body wash and a fresh pair of underwear into the towel and rolling it up, tucking it under her arm. She left the tent, slipping her feet into the sandals waiting just outside and walked hurriedly to the communal showers. She only had half an hour before her next shift at the Hospital Bay started, and to be honest, she wasn't all that happy about leaving her subordinate, Miyana, alone. She stepped into the large tent, thanking Kami that it was normally fairly empty around this time. Rows of showers filled the large space, along with lockers and benches down the sides. Finding her locker, she stripped and placed her clothes, weapons and headband inside, placing the key back on the silver dog tag necklace that all war-ninjas wore for identification. Sighing happily, she stepped under a jet of hot water, letting it ease her tense muscles. Perhaps this was one of the best things about Red Base; they were situated right above underground hot springs, which supplied hot water all year round. Unfortunately, her happiness was short lived. "SAKURA-SAN! ARE YOU IN HERE?!" bellowed a voice from the entrance. Groaning, Sakura retrieved her towel and wrapped it around herself as she replied. "YEAH! WHAT IS IT?!" "We've got incoming! You're needed at the Hospital Bay, pronto!" Sakura let out a blistering string of swear words that even Kakashi would cringe at. She hurried back to her locker, yanking it open and pulling out her clothes, getting dressed quickly. After hurriedly pulling her hair back in a short ponytail and clipping back her fringe, she made the quick run across the clearing to her workplace. Even as she was arriving, there were shouts nearing. Almost seconds later, a familiar face crashed through the line of trees surrounding the clearing, carrying a limp form. A few others that Sakura knew had been guarding the borders quickly followed her. "Hinata!" Sakura cried out in surprise, taking in the Hyuuga's bloody form, "Are you alright? Who's this?"

The once shy twenty two year old sprinted towards her. "We found him while we were patrolling. Had half a battalion of Rain ninjas after him. My whole team was wiped out, Sakura." Her voice was strong, despite the horrors she must've seen. Naruto's death had done that. "Lay him down," Sakura ordered as they stepped into the Hospital Bay. Hinata complied, laying out the limp, bloody and mangled form on the nearest bed. "Kami, he's messed up. Lacerations and burns to the torso and legs, senbons everywhereMiyana, get me antiseptic, adrenaline and" "Don't worry, I know!" Miyana said, darting away and saving Sakura the trouble of ordering everything. "Hinata, help me out." Sakura looked at the exhausted Hyuuga. Her pearly eyes puffed up, examining the battered form. "Multiple fractures in the left leg, dislocated right shoulder, shattered right wristI think that's it. Oh, wait, he's got a glamour on" "Jeez!" Sakura cried, "Well, I'll deal with the glamour in a secondwho is this guy anyway" "Well, he's one of ours. The glamour's fading, see, and he's got an ANBU tattoo" "Good enough for me!" Sakura said cheerfully, gathering green chakra in her hands and hovering it above the man's chest and gently pressed it down, letting the chakra seep through the chakra high ways to the places it was most needed. She focused on stopping the bleeding first, before moving onto the broken bones. The whole process took over an hour, in which Miyana fussed over Hinata, who grumbled about medics and their unyielding need to fix anythingeven if it was just a scratch or two. Or heavily bleeding wounds, as was actually the case. By the time Sakura pulled away, feeling exhausted and knowing that Ino must've left already and she hadn't had the chance to say goodbye, the glamour had faded completely and Sakura had failed to notice. "Urgh" Sakura groaned, sending some of her own chakra to her aching shoulders. "UhSakura?" Hinata tried. "What?" "Umlook." Look? Where? She turned to Hinata, her eyes blank, and followed the pointed finger back to her patient. Oh. Oh. "Sasuke?" Hey everyone! Sorry this took me a while to get up, but its finally here! For those of you who asked, a glamour is a type of chakra fuelled disguise. Its like a genjutsu made to make people

think you like slightly different. It doesn't take much chakra to use, which is why Sasuke uses it on his mission. They tend to last a few hours without being fuelled, which is why when Sakura was working on him, she didn't recognise him. Thanks for all the reviews! Disclaimer: Don't own anything! ENJOY!

Contradicted Chapter Sixteen: Vengeful Past It was a beautiful view. Green, rolling hills as far as the eye could see, the grass fresh and healthy due to the always being rained upon. There was no one around. No one but us. "Ne, Sakura-chan. How long are you just gonna stand there?" I was sixteen years old the last time I saw it. Naruto was complaining because he was starved, dirty and tiredand so was I. But the moment I saw that view, so near the border between Rain and Fire, I stopped. I was captivated. "Sakuraaaaaa-chaaaaan!" Naruto whined. He didn't get it. My best friend could see the beauty in someone's heart but not in a landscape. "Why don't we rest here for a while? We've been walking for ten hours after all." I suggested. Naruto sighed, and flopped to the ground. He had given up. "You better have food." He warned. I turned my back on the view and grinned at my best friend, lying down next to him, enjoying the feel of such soft grass. "Lets stay here tonight," Naruto decided suddenly, looking up at the rapidly darkening sky, "We can try and touch the stars." And if anyone could touch the stars, it would be him. One year ago 31st March 7.35 p.m.

"Oh, Kami" Genma breathed, as he stood at the top of the hill, staring at the view before him. "This is" "Horrifying," Sakura finished for him as she stepped up beside him. She surveyed the once green hills carefully. Bodies were strewn everywhere, kunais and katanas blood covered and littering the ground. Everything was red. Everything reeked of death. "Guess we were too late." "Must've been an epic battle," Genma murmured. "Everyone's dead." "Captain Sakura," said a voice behind them, and Sakura turned around to face the six other members of their collective team. Two looked like they were going to be sick. "What should we " "Search and rescue, obviously. Check everyone, including the Rain and Cloud shinobi. We might find someone alive, if we're lucky. Kenji, you radio for back up. We're gonna need help carrying our people home so they can be buried." Sakura ordered. "All of them?" "Yes, all of them!" Sakura snapped, "They're still our people! They deserve a burial in honour of the way they sacrificed their lives for Konoha! We're not barbarians!" All six of their subordinates cowered. Sakura scowled at them, and they instantly scampered down towards the death-strewn battlefield. Genma shook his head. "C'mon," he murmured, "Lets see if we can save anyone." The two Captains headed down the steep slope to the valley, carefully picking their way through blasted holes in the ground. The air stank of blood and traces of chakra shimmered against the dusk setting. Twisted limbs and distorted faces stretched like a never-ending sea, and only hardened war veterans didn't feel the need to turn around and expel their dinner. For ten minutes they slowly picked their way through the mass of bodies, blood and weapons, checking pulses and dog tags. "Got a live one here!" a shout sounded from the other end of the valley, beyond Sakura's view. Sakura ditched the fairly unscarred looking male at her feetdied of poisoned kunai, it looked likeand hurried towards the voice. She found her long-distance fighter Takeo crouched beside a bloodied female with long blue hair. Her eyes were partially open, fazed. Her breaths were coming in short gasps. Sakura surveyed the damage quickly and methodically. Starting with her head, she calculated the number of wounds. Fractured hairline. Kunai to the shoulderflesh wound. Couple of broken ribs. Chakra-made wound in her abdomendoesn't look good. Several fractures in her left leg. Spine doesn't look goodslammed against something? Her lung--! Sakura instantly made for the ribs first, afraid of a punctured lung. Her chakra sunk into the woman's chest, slowly stitching bone and marrow together. Soon, her breathing steadied enough for oxygen to reach her brain properly and her eyes focused again. "No" she murmured.

"Miss, please, don't talk." Sakura said carefully, now inspecting her head wound. She couldn't treat that hereno head wound could be treated by chakra. There was too little known about the brain for that. "Captain," Takeo gulped, trying to get the pink haired medic's attention, "Captain!" "No" the woman moaned again. "This better be good, Takeo." Sakura growled. "She's" Takeo stammered, not sure how to put it, "She's, um" "Spit it out!" "A Rain-nin! She's a Rain-nin!" Sakura's head shot up, staring at Takeo with vivid apple green eyes. Takeo gulped again, motioning to the headband wrapped around her right leg. It was decidedly not the swirl of Konoha. Just four lines. A Rain ninja. Sakura pulled back, stunned. This changed everything. "Please" the woman begged, "Don't take me. Don't torture me. I don't know anything!" she coughed viciously, blood spurting from her lips. "Please" Sakura lowered her head, her fists clenching on her knees. This woman was rightshe was obliged to bring enemy ninjas in, heal them and submit them for interrogationbasically, torture. She was obliged to keep on healing them throughout this period, allowing them to be hurt over and over. Naruto had hated it. She hated it. "WhWhat's your name?" Sakura asked. "Mika," she whispered, her eyes terrified and yet understanding, knowing that Sakura was torn. "Iargh!" she cried out in pain. Sakura flinched, reaching into her medic's bag and finding a syringe and morphine. After receiving a shot, Mika calmed down. "I" she tried again, "I never wanted tofightI neverwantedthis war" She couldn't do it. She couldn't hand this poor woman over to interrogation. "Naruto." Apple green eyes snapped to Mika again, widening at the familiar name. "You're his friendaren't you? Pink hairgreen eyesthe greatest medic in Konoha, he said" Sakura sat, speechless.

"He saved my baby boyfive years agomy darling boyyou'reSakura?" She nodded slowly, still stunned. "He's okayyeah? He didn'the's not?" Sakura swallowed thickly. She could feel her eyes moistening. "He's dead, Mika. He died over a year ago. This warwe declared war because your country had a hand in killing him." She told the other woman, her voice steady and refusing to betray her twisting heart. "I'm sorry" Mika murmured, looking pained. Sakura wandered if it was physical or emotional or just both. "Such a sweet boy" Sakura finally reached a decision. She reached into her bag, filling the same syringe with an acid red liquid. She fought to keep her hand steady, pressing the tip of the needle against Mika's arm. "Just for the pain." She told Mika quietly. The blue haired woman smiled gently, and Sakura wondered if she knew exactly what was about to happen. Fighting her tears, she pressed the needle in and let the acid red liquid rage rampant on Mika's system. "You're justlikeNaruto said" Mika told her faintly, "So kind hearted" "Well, Naruto never lies." Sakura smiled weakly, taking her hand and Mika smiled as her eyes flickered shut. Slowly, her breathing shallowed and started fading, until she became completely still. Carefully, Sakura checked the pulse, and failed to find the comforting beat. She was dead. Sakura inhaled deeply, feeling the tears threaten to appear again. She looked at her pale team mate, her eyes taking on a hard glint. "You don't tell anyone about this, you understand?" Takeo nodded shakily. "Keep checking." She added, and Takeo scrambled to his feet, picking his way through bodies and occasionally leaning down to check them. It was only when he had disappeared that Sakura allowed the tears to fall. 2nd April 9.20 a.m. When Sakura and Genma's teams finally made their return from patrol, they were so exhausted they thought if they went to sleep for twenty years, it still wouldn't be enough. Triple timing was always tough, and they had spent three days amongst dead bodies, carrying their own men back to base and examining the Rain-nins for any clues.

Unfortunately for Haruno Sakura, she not only was a team Captain and liable to all sorts of things, but she was also head medic, which meant she spent a lot of her time in the Hospital Bay. Which also meant that while Genma and the others stumbled off to bed, Sakura dragged herself to the large tent just across from where she had been debriefed and hoped that no one demanded her attention so she could fall asleep in the bed in her office. No such luck. She had almost forgotten that Sasuke was still lying in that bed near the entrance. Andworse luckhe was awake when she arrived. "Sakura!" he called, when she practically fell through the entrance. "Not now, Sasuke" she said weakly. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, as he pushed away the covers and got upalmost falling over as he did so. Broken bones, when healed by chakra, usually took their time in building up strength. Sasuke had forgotten that, but he knew they'd be fine within a few hours. "Could ask you the same thing!" Sakura shot back at the black haired twenty five year old, sending him a vicious glare that normally sent her patients skidding back into their beds. Sasuke simply glared back. "Get back in that bed!" she snapped eventually, as Ino rushed out from the office and helped Sakura to the nearest bedcoincidently the one next to Sasuke'sdespite Sakura barely paying her any attention. Sasuke did as he was told, but only because Sakura was also being shoved into a bed and he could easily interrogate her there. She looked like death warmed up. "Get some sleep." Ino told the head medic sternly, and Sakura resisted the urge to pout. Sleep was welcome anyway. "I'm supposed to be working" she protested weakly. "Not in that condition you're not," Ino said matter-of-factly, handing her a couple of aspirins for the mind splitting migraine currently bouncing around the insides of her mind, "I'll hold the fort. And wake you up if we get anything bad." Sakura smiled gratefully at the blonde, who simply grinned and headed off back to the office to finish her paperwork. The two ex-team mates found themselves alone. "What happened to you?" Sasuke asked more gently, looking at her tired form curling under the covers. "We found a battle field. It was death incarnate," Sakura replied tiredly, from the sheer fact she couldn't find the energy to argue anymore. "Fifty-four of ours dead. Sixty-one of theirs." "Shit." Sasuke murmured, hoping it was no one he knew. Or Sakura knew. The poor woman had already lost the only family she ever had. Sasuke stared at her for a moment, this pink haired girl that had changed so much from when she had first run into him. Nineteen years old, spirited and with an undying belief that everyone was equal. Then Naruto had been wrenched from her. Now she was twenty three years old and world-weary.

Sakura closed her eyes. Sasuke sighed, before asking, "Are you okay?" Her eyes snapped open, staring at her ex-Captain in complete disbelief. "Umcould be betterwhat's up with you? Fever?" Sasuke smiled amusedly, "No. I'm mostly better. I'm leaving tonight." "They caught you, didn't they? At the base?" Sakura asked softly, thinking back to that day over a year ago when Tsunade had disbanded their team and had sent them on their dangerous long missions. "Yeah. Itachi turned up unexpectedly. Saw straight through the glamour, of course. I was lucky I got out in timelet alone cross the border" Sakura tensed at the mention of the bastard who had murdered Uzumaki Naruto. Sasuke noticed but didn't note on it. Neither of them had gotten their revenge. Neither of them were satisfied yet. Neither of them would be until their hands were stained with blood. And thenwhere would that leave them? Sakura yawned widely, trying to rid her dangerous thoughts. Sleep was beckoning insistently. "Sakura?" "Hmm?" "D'you remember that dayfour years ago? We got into a fight, and Neji was holding me back, and he said he respected you?" There was no response. He couldn't see her face, since it pressed against the pillow, but she shifted slightly, and he assumed she was still listening. He honestly didn't know why he was saying this, but it had a long time since he had seen her, this pretty roseate haired girl, who had seen too much and felt too much. "Took me a whilebut I agree, Sakura. With Neji. I guessyou've earned my respect." There was silence once more, as Sakura shifted again. And then there was a deep breath that sounded like a light snore. Unfortunately for Sasuke, she had fallen asleep. 11.12 p.m. "CODE BLACK! CODE BLACK!" Sakura jolted awake at the words being blared around the base, and after her mind filtered the meaning, she jumped to her feet. The words "Code Black" kept on being blared for the next few minutes as Sakura scrambled to get herself together, changing into her spare ANBU gear. After making sure her headband was in placeand where the hell was Sasuke?she darted out of the tent and found the place absolutely thriving with life. People were running back and forth, shouting words and the higher ups were yelling orders.

Code Black. She'd never heard those words being blared out before, but she knew what they meant. Breach. There had been a breach at the border and now floods of Rain and Cloud were heading right at them. And it was up to them to fight them off or Kami forbid, they would hit Konoha. "Haruno-san!" gasped a familiar looking Chuunin, "Morino-san is asking for you." More like screaming for her. She could hear him inside the large tent opposite her, probably in the main area. Her name was spewed out several times along with several swearwords. "I'm here!" she yelled at him as she skidded inside the canvas area. "Where d'you want me?" Morino Ibiki glowered at her. "Where the hell have you been? Never mind, I don't want to know. I know you're supposed to be head medic and all that, and you could probably save a lot lives in the Hospital Bay, but I'd rather you be out there fighting and upholding the field medic position. I'm pulling Yamanaka and putting her in charge of the Hospital Bay. Any questions? No? Good, get your team and MOVE! Sector Thirteen!" Sakura nodded and was about to rush off and find her team, when Morino added something else. "I'm putting Uchiha in your care. Don't let him die." Don't let him die. Not in a million years. Sakura thought hotly, as she hurried outside and met with her team at their meeting point, just beyond the Hospital Bay. Sasuke was already standing there like he was Captain again, that hard look in his eyes showing he was ready to kick some Rain ass. "Sector Thirteen," said Sakura quietly as she approached them, "You know what to do." Three men stared at her, talented but not hardened enough, before nodding slowly and taking off into the woods. The fourth man was Sasuke, talented and hardened beyond repair, and he stood by her side, as she made sure her small bag contained all the things she needed, medical and otherwise. "Hey," Sasuke said, "If Itachi turns up" "Then we'll send him to hell, together." Sakura replied flatly, shouldering her bag and walking towards the woods. Sasuke watched her back for a few moments, the way she stood straight and proud, before following. He felt ready for anything. He would need to be. 3rd April 1.34 a.m. Where the hell is he?!

Sakura hated this particular scenario. The one where she was completely alone, injured, it was dark and she had no idea where her enemies were. She had been in this scenario once before, back when Naruto was still alive. Back whenlike a completely different time. She shook her head sharply, trying to focus. She sent chakra to her heavily bleeding leg, hoping to heal it before someone came crashing down on her. Her ears strained to hear something anythingthat could tell her if anyone was near by. Where the hell is Sasuke?! Sakura thought hotly for the third time in the last fifteen minutes. She'd never thought that she'd ever need the company of the Uchiha, but if there was anyone she'd feel comfortable with in this situation, it'd be him. Because, well, she trusted him. "Shit!" she hissed under her breath as her arm scraped against the rough bark of the tree she was currently crouching in, tearing at her skin. This was not a good day for her. Suddenly the tree exploded under, sending her into a free fall of about twenty feet. Sakura, thanks to her sharp mind and sharper reflexives, landed safely in a near by tree, cursing fluently in her mind. So she wasn't alone after all. Just as she got herself comfortable enough to start figuring out where her attacker was, the branch she was crouched on also exploded, showering her in slivers of wood. She fell to the floor, landing awkwardly on her injured leg, and pressed her hands together in a seal, body-flickering to a new hiding place. She felt about with her chakra, searching carefully for her attacker, trying to steady herself. The constant loss of blood from her leg was making her light headed. Slowly, knowing that she had no choice, she pulled her chakra back and set about healing herself. Which turned out to be a bad idea anyway. For a brief moment she felt foreign chakra building up, and before she had time to react, light exploded in front of her eyes, blinding her for a few seconds. She reeled backwards, feeling a rush of heat collide with her face. As she scrambled away blindly, she cried out as flames licked at her clothes, burning her skin. A quick water jutsu put everything right out, but she was still only getting her vision back, and she sensed before she saw the katana swinging at her. Sakura ducked sharply, hearing the katana collide with the tree with a dull thunk. A hand grabbed her suddenly, pulling her to her feet. Sakura blinked rapidly, trying desperately to get her eyes to work. Her vision blurred before focusing, and for some reason her enemy decided to wait til she had her vision back. He was taller than her, having to lean down to stare her in the eyes. His face was blurred, a mixture of black and white and redred? Sakura gasped, pulling against the man's grip. She knew who this was. Her eyes immediately slammed shut, but she knew it was fruitless. She didn't move. She couldn't. She was paralyzed. Her voice was gone. She was completely helpless. Red and black burned into the insides of her eyelids. She remembered that fateful mission to sand that claimed her best friend. She remembered the viciousness of the one man who had planned it all.

The one man who had her trapped in his red and black gaze, with absolutely no one around to help her. Uchiha Itachi. Heya guys. Sorry for the long wait...back at college now, so it's busy busy busy. Its a really important year too, last one before uni, so I guess you guys will just have to put up with irregular updates. But for now, enjoy! Disclaimer: If you recognised it, I don't own it.

Contradicted Chapter Seventeen: The Truth of War There's a place in everyone that no one can touch. It's somewhere buried deep, normally burning brightly and keeping you warm. It's your sanctuary, your deepest feelings, your very soul. But sometimes it bleeds. Sometimes it hurts so much you want to tear it out. It manifests your nightmares, your hate, your pain, your deepest and darkest essences that you've ignored and suppressed all your life. This place is untouchable by anyone but you. When people reach out, it's to your brain. Your conscious thoughts, your carefully measured feelings. No one can see this place, this burning soul that warms and bleeds and comforts and pains. It's no one but you. My soul was unusual in the sense that it liked to talk to me. It manifested an appearance and personality of its own. Inner Sakura, I called her. She was always talking. Always a sarcastic remark, always a witty response that somehow superimposed itself onto my tongue and out my mouth. She was smart, but cynical. Harsh. Resilient. She wasn't nave like me. She could survive anything. Anything but that night. Anything but Naruto. Anything but his death. My soul hid from me after that. Inner Sakura no longer made sarcastic remarks, no longer lost her temper at a sexist comment. She simply hid. Faded into the darkness that was rapidly overcoming my being. For over a year she was gone. For over a year I fell deeper and deeper into this black hole. Deeper and deeper and deeper And thensomething happened. A twinge. A far away voice. "Look who's back" she said. It was so faint I thought I had imagined it. I ignored it. After all, I was more concerned about the fact it was Sasuke lying on the hospital camp bed before me. But barely a week later, she came back. She gazed into red and black. As Uchiha Itachi did the impossible, as he violated every meaning of inaccessibility, as he stared into my soul, she screamed. I screamed with her. One year ago

3rd April 1.37 a.m. Uchiha Sasuke was almost certain that he'd completely lost that pink haired wrench. Wellalmost was being too kind. He had lost her. She had disappeared into the darkness more than twenty minutes ago, when a stampede of Rain-nin fell upon the two ANBU Captains. Her shouts had faded fifteen minutes ago, along with the clangs of katanas clashing, shortly followed by the feeling of chakra washing over the area. There was nothing but darkness accompanying him now, and he was pretty certain Sakura was close by. Maybe. Hopefully. For Kami's sake Sasuke thought to himself angrily, you were supposed to look after her! Even as the thought swirled through his brain, his Sharingan tinted eyes surveyed the surrounding area. Nothing but treesandwhat was that? No, just an owl. Sasuke stalked his way through the woods, looking highly strung. One would have to feel sorry for anyone or thing that crossed him now, especially if they were someone Sasuke didn't particularly likebasically, anyonesince he looked like he would kill at the first sign of movement and the only thing that would stop him would be a flash of roseate hair and apple green eyes. JeezSakura He couldn't really understand why he was worried either. She had proven herself capable to him over and over with such a determination that it struck a feeling of something close to respect in him. She could look after herself. No problem. Waithe was worried? When the hell did he start worrying about pink haired girls? When they're your team's medic. Well, ex-team. That's all it is. Sentimentalityand selfpreservation. Good person to keep around. Yeah.Sasuke assured himself briefly, before nodding resolutely and continuing his search. Suddenly, a blast of wind whipped around him, sending leaves into the air. Sasuke, narrowing his eyes, spun on his heel and searched the area. The night had been completely still until this moment. There had been no windand yethe didn't sense any chakra. His Sharingan saw nothing. What was happening? It happened again, stronger yet, pushing him briefly backwards before he managed to use chakra to keep him place. The wind pushed harder still, until, suddenly, it stopped. Behind him, Sakura screamed. 2.03 a.m. Ino used to think that life, while it had its bad points, was overall a pleasant experience. From the moment she started in nursery, to when she made her first flower arrangement, to befriending Haruno Sakura, to becoming a kunoichi. From her team, her parents, her friends, her numerous lovers, her fianc Shikamarulife was made up of good and bad parts, but most of the time, she found, the good outweighed the bad. Then Naruto died. The war started. Sakura was lost.

The injured were pouring into the Hospital Bay. This was when the bad outweighed the good. This was when it hit home. When the shinobis fighting for their country came into the Hospital bleeding and missing limbs, when she had to judge who she could save and who was a lost cause. When she decided who lived and who died. But it was the moment that Sasuke burst into the already flooded Hospital Bay cradling a barely alive Sakura that it really hit her. This was a war. A war that had been waged for over a year, a war that had shattered her life. A war that was killing her from her very core. "HELP HER!" Sasuke shouted, his eyes conveying his panic. "Ino, Kami, please, HELP HER!" This was the clincher. The bit that made her heart bleed. She stood over a dying man, a man that she could save, she could if she stayed and helped him. This man had a life back in Konoha, probably a family too, and she could save him. Save his family and friends from the grief. But what would that mean? She'd lose Sakura. There was no contest in the end. She chose. She chose to let this man, this man with family and friends, to die, because she walked away from him and to Sakura. She chose Sakura. She'd always choose Sakura. "Set her down!" Ino commanded, trying not to think about what she had just done, "I know there's no bedsset her down in the office!" As Sasuke ducked under the flap between the office and the main area, he set her on the bed and briefly listened to the shouts and groans coming from the other side of the canvas. This was war all right. Ino came in a second later, and surveyed the damage quickly. She winced. She honestly didn't know if she could fix this the flesh wounds were no problem, and the broken bones could be handled easily enough, but the internal bleedingthe head wound "What happened to her?" Ino asked as she set to work. She was probably killing at least five people by just focusing on Sakura, but she forced herself to continue. "I... I heard her screamingand by the time I found her, she was just lying on the ground she wouldn't wake up" he sounded like he was in shock. Ino pretended not to be freaked out by this. This was Sasuke after all. Ino worked on silently, pressing chakra into the pink haired medic. She wasn't as talented as Sakura, and she knew it, but the moment Sakura's life was out of danger, she could be sent to the Hospital in Konoha for proper treatmentif Rain hadn't taken Konoha yet, if the Hospital wasn't burned to the ground "I think" Sasuke finally said after a long bout of a silence, "I thinkit wasI tachi."

Ino looked sharply. "Your brother?" He nodded silently. "The onehe killed Naruto, didn't he?" "Yeah." Ino looked back down at Sakura. She was nowhere near being saved. Other people were dying. She was supposed to be in charge of the Hospital Bay. She was supposed to be saving people. Plural. Not just one person no matter how much she loved her no matter how much she would hate herself "No, don't you dare!" Sasuke suddenly erupted, somehow reading her thoughts. Or perhaps she was wavering visibly. "You can't! She can't die, Ino. I've already got Naruto's death on my conscious, don't add her!" Ino gave him a startled look. Did he really blame himself for Naruto? Maybe for not getting there on time, for not killing Itachi earlier, for being related to the bastard But still "Ino, please." The near-begging did her in. She focused on healing her best friend again, and inwardly kicked herself for nearly giving up on Sakura. She had to save her. She had to. Because it looked like Sasuke was just as reliant on Sakura's survival for his sanity to remain intact as she was. And Sakura Sakura was the meaning of life. She always was. She kept living for Naruto. After Naruto. She kept herself alive. The room warmed up, almost as if responding appreciatively to her efforts. Ino shivered, the hairs on her neck standing on end. And then, her chakra swimming down a bundle of nerves cut short. Worried, Ino pushed around a little, and then pulled back. She paled, realizing the meaning of what she found. "What? What's the matter?" Ino opened her mouth, and then closed it. She shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. "If you're right, then she's in an Mangekyou-induced coma. Not only that, but she's paralyzed." The room temperature dropped below freezing. 4.35 a.m. Sakura surveyed her surroundings strangely. Never had she seen such never-ending blackness. It was thick, like fog; swirling around her she moved her hands. It was almost like she had been

painted immaculately against a black background. She could see herself clearly, but everything else was simplyblack. She sighed. Was it worth moving? What would she step on? Was there anything to step on? She decided she might as well risk it. After all, there was no way this place was real. It just couldn't be. Black fog? Probably just caught in a genjutsu. What had she been doing before this? She couldn't remember. Never mind. Sakura determinedly lifted her foot and placed it back on the ground floorfogwhatever gingerly. She placed her weight on it and pushed herself forwards, finding herself taking a step. Right. So, she could move. She continued to take a few more steps, before realizing she was getting tired. A bed would be good A bed appeared just to her right. She blinked, shrugged, and made a mental note to tell her enemy this was a crap genjutsu. It just wasn't scaring heronly catering for her needslikea glass of water? One appeared in her hand. She sipped, but it simply passed through her and splashed to the non-existent ground. The droplet collided withwhatever it wasmiles below her, like whatever she stood on only carried her, and everything else passed through it. It echoed slightly, reaching her ears. She blinked again, and then made her way to the bed. It, at least, seemed to hold her weight and she didn't slip through it. Actually, it was very comfortable. More comfortable than her bed at home Nowhow was she supposed to get out of this stupid genjutsu? 5.13 a.m. "Any change?" Ino asked when she got a moment to check on Sakura and Sasuke. After marginally stabilizing Sakura, she could no longer ignore the havoc taking place next door. The injured were still pouring in, but a steady trickle now. It was manageable. The higher ups of Red Base were starting to congregate and try and get a response from Konoha. The radio simply turned out static and messenger birds returned empty-handed. It was worrying, to say the least. "Her eyes flickered." Sasuke said flatly, his eyes not leaving Sakura's prone form. He hadn't left the Hospital Bay since he had run in with the pink haired medic in his arms, but had helped sort out the stream of injured in the Bay, and, unfortunately, churning out a dead body from a bed to let someone else use it. This was punctuated by running back to the office to check on Sakura and eventually he gave up and just sat there with her. "Hate to say it but" "means nothing? She said that to me when she was trying to help Hiro." He paused, as if suddenly realizing something. "Hiro-kun woke up a week after you and Sakura left." Ino supplied, heading back to the flap. "Shizune, using some of Sakura's notes and Tsunade's expertise, figured it out. He's a Captain over at Violet Base now." "Hn."

"I'll be back later." Ino said quietly, before ducking back into the Bay. She cleared her head, closed her heart tightly, and faced a room that reeked of death with determination. But her heart almost burst when Hinata limped into the Bay, the side of her face covered in blood. "Hinata!" She gasped. "I'm alright," she said thickly, and with difficultly. Ino immediately identified the broken nose, and raised her hand to fix it. Hinata let her set the bones straight and heal a little, but pulled back before Ino could properly finish. "Its fine," she insisted, when Ino was about to protest. Her voice was a little less congested. "Look, Morino-san is freaking. Konoha isn't answering, Violet and Cyane have both been hit and we're looking at a death toll hitting several hundred," Ino wasn't surprised by this number. She was at the heart of it. She was the one responsible for making those numbers a little less. "And we're not including Konoha in that," Hinata added, causing Ino's head to spin. "Not to mention that members of the Akatsuki have been spotted and Sakura's fucking missing. She was supposed to check in an hour ago" "Sakura's here," Ino cut in, "Has been since two. We think Itachi got her. She's a wreck, Hina. Mangekyou-induced coma and paralysis. Not to mention the head wound, internal bleeding, broken bones and the flesh wounds." "Fuck." Hinata bleated feebly. "Yeah." "Well, I better tell Morino-san that. How's things here?" "Considering I've had more people die on me tonight than I've had in my entire lifetime, I'd say fucking peachy." Hinata nodded, her pale lavender eyes dull. Ino wished desperately, as she had done repeatedly for the last year, that Naruto hadn't died. Hinata would be happy, and probably married with a child on the way, and Sakura would be her same old fun-loving self, and this warthese deathsthey never would've happened. "Don't suppose you've seen Uchiha?" Hinata asked. "Yeah, he's the one who brought Sakura in." "Why doesn't that surprise me?" Hinata said with a faint smile, like she knew something Ino didn't. The Hyuuga shook her head, then pressed a hand to Ino's shoulder. The blonde medic couldn't help but notice the cuts engraved into her palm. "I'll be back. I justI have to knowKiba's in Konoha. I gotta know he's okay." Ino's eyes widened as she took in those words. Hinata smiled again, and limped off. Ino shook herself and shouted after her. "Hinata! Wait! Please!" She ran out of the Bay, looking around desperately. There was no sign of the shorter woman.

"You can't, Hina!" she shouted, even though she couldn't see her, "Hina, it's too dangerous! Its suicide!" But there was no point. She was gone. 5.34 a.m. Sakura had gotten bored of trying to get out of the genjutsu, so she had just lay thinking of things to fill her black fog with. Eventually, she sprawled herself across the head of Yondaime, atop of the figures of the Hokages she had replicated, looking down on her replicated version of Konoha. It used to be Naruto's favourite place in the world, and she simply kept thinking about him. "Hey, Sakura-chan." Sakura flinched, instantly recognising the voice. She got to her feet, turning around slowly. And there he was. Like nothing had ever happened. Blond locks flying everywhere, cobalt eyes glinting happily and that chesire grin he wore so often. Right down to the whiskers. "What?" she whispered. "Aww, not even a hi? You're so mean, Sakura-chan!" She stepped back. Her heart pounded like she had run twenty laps around the walls of Konoha. She looked up to her fake blue sky and shouted, "STOP IT! STOP IT! HE'S DEAD!" "Really?" The fake Naruto said, looking at himself cheerfully. The sky darkened. "Ah, kidding ya. I know I'm dead. It's actually pretty neat. I get to follow people around. I think Kiba's falling in love with Hina-chan." "Shut up! You don't exist! YOU'RE DEAD!" Fake Naruto lost his smile, scratching the back of his neck in a familiar gesture. Slowly, he moved forward, stopping a foot from her. "This isn't a genjutsu, Sakura." Sakura stepped back again. Naruto stepped forward, holding a hand out placatingly. "What?" she demanded. "This isn't a genjutsu. D'you remember who you ran into before this?" "Ino. I don't." "It was Itachi." The name acted like a trigger, and suddenly her mind was washed with memories. Fighting Rainnin, losing Sasuke, falling from the trees, Itachi, red and black Naruto stepped forward again and placed a hand on her shoulder. He was solid. He was actually there.

"You're trapped in your own mind, Sakura. I just came to visit, being dead and all. Its quite possible." Her shoulder's shook. She stared at the ground beneath her that was quickly blurring. She gripped at the nearest thing, and found Naruto, her sweet Naruto that had been gone for so long, who was so near herand found herself gripping him tightly in an intense hug, hanging on for dear life. Because he was there. He was actually there. Who cared if she was dreaming this, or if this was a genjutsu, despite what Naruto had said. She would've given anything for another moment with him, and this was what she had right in front of her. How would she say no? How could she turn her back? It wasNaruto "Its okay, Sakura-chan. I'll stick around until you figure a way out." He murmured. That was it. Sakura broke. "IIthought I was g-going to lose it," she sobbed into his chest, his warm, familiar chest that she snuggled into so often in her life, that had been lost to her for so long, "I c-couldn't handle it. Not a world without you. It'sit's too hard, Naruto. It's too hard." "Eh, Sakura-chan. I'm not that special." Sakura laughed incredulously, and found herself wandering if she even wanted to leave. 5.47 a.m. Sasuke found himself alone with the still pink haired woman once more. For the last half hour, Morino had been staring at his best medic with something akin to annoyance and veiled worry and had mumbled to himself all the things he was going to do the alive Rain-nins they had managed to capture, before stalking off and shouting loudly to his subordinates, Ino following. Sasuke never thought he'd ever find himself in this situation. Sitting at the bedside of a woman. A woman that had established herself as very much in his life and refused to budge, besides taking an extreme dislike to him as well. She was Haruno Sakura, an entity that baffled and interested him, an entity that had completely earned his respect and trust andwhat? What came after that? He had never felt so strongly for a woman. This was new to him. And now, she was in a coma, another victim to his brother. Another scar on his closed off heart. What was he supposed to do? What if she didn't wake up for weeks, months, years? What if she never woke up? Sasuke didn't know if he could cope with that. Hey guys! Sorry this took a while, have been snowed under with coursework (joy). Gonna keep this short, so thanks for the reviews, and hope you enjoy this installment!!

Disclaimer: Know it? Don't own it.

Contradicted Chapter Eighteen: Time to Save the World The sixth month anniversary of Naruto's death found me making my way back to Konoha for the first time since I had left. This is probably completely unsurprising to youbut maybe you'd be more surprised to hear that I had really no desire to set foot in Konoha at the time. Why? The place reeked of civilisation. Of villagers making their way through the markets, of little houses spiralling into the sky with terracotta roofs and dirty windows and little flowerpots on the windowsills. It was, in all essence of the word, home. But it was no home to me without Naruto. Hinata begged and cried. Kiba pleaded. Tsunade ordered. Ino yelled. Shikamaru sighed in disappointment. No one could persuade me to leave Red Base and return to Konoha for the small get together taking place in Naruto's name. No one, that is, but Kakashi. "There's no one left, Sakura," He said to me the night before, on his way back to Konoha from a lengthy suicide mission. He had stopped by so I could heal him, so Tsunade wouldn't freak out on him. "There's only you. Everyone else is dead." His words made my heart bleed. Kakashi, who had suffered, had lost all his team matesexcept me. The next morning, I packed a small bag and left with him for Konoha. That day, I cried for my best friend, for my team mate, as Kakashi held me, silent, his heart racing a mile a minute under my ear. I clutched at his vest, like a lost child, and hoped to Kami I would never, ever lose him. But who was I kidding? One year ago 3rd April 9.25 a.m. Haruno Sakura sat atop the Yondaime's head, concentrating as hard possible. Her hands made fluid, fast movements that Naruto easily kept up with, but unlike Sakura's concentration-induced frown, he was grinning happily. Their hands got faster, became blurs even, the tension filling the air until "SNAP!"

Sakura cried out in anger. Naruto laughed as he scooped the pile of cards towards him, two sixes sitting innocently on top. "Bloody six" Sakura grumbled. "Aw, don't be a sore loser!" Naruto said cheerfully, sorting out the cards in his hands, pushing them into a neat pile. Sakura leaned forward and swiftly managed to send the cards flying into the air in every direction. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto tutted. Sakura smirked as Naruto got up, chasing after the cards that seemed to hover in the air, just out of reach. The blond jumped, snatching a few. Sakura laughed and got up to help. Soon the air was filled with laughter as the two childhood friends jumped through the air, chasing the ever evasive cards. Eventually, there were only a few left, but Sakura seemed to be in a playful mood, and tackled Naruto to the ground, yanked his cards out of his hand and sped off. "HEY!" Naruto cried, jumping to his feet and chasing after her. Sakura led them down through the streets of Konoha, always a few steps ahead, her laughter guiding Naruto whenever he lost sight of her. Eventually, he caught up with her on the Training Grounds they had trained in as Genins with Kakashi, the pink haired kunoichi sitting in a tree, her legs swinging as she smiled happily. Naruto climbed up and sat next to her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Where d'you think Kakashi is?" Sakura asked quietly, after a moment of silence. "I dunno. I guess we'll never know until you wake up." Sakura frowned, "I don't want to wake up yet. I don't want to leave you." "Maybe not yet," Naruto said softly, "But you'll have to at some point." 9.37 a.m. Hyuuga Hinata had seen many things in her lifetime, a lot of which could badly scar someone to the point of insanity. She thought that was the case when she had realised Naruto was truly dead and gone, but somehow she had survived, battle-scarred and no longer innocent, yes, but she had survived. But this really was testing her capability to cope. As she sat, crouched amongst the thick leaves of an oak tree, her eyes puffed up as she surveyed the scene, she could only repress the urge to vomit. Konoha was in ruins. The outer walls had been blasted to the ground, rubble littering the ground, the city in chaos. Civilians screamed as Rain and Cloud-nin, in their hundreds, battled furiously with the obviously tired and wounded shinobis of Konoha. Bodies littered the streets, and fires licked out of windows, burning buildings slowly and surely. The air stank of blood and tears,

smoke rising from the village turned battleground and more and more of Konoha's ninjas were failing to keep up, making clumsy mistakes that cost them their lives. Hinata couldn't just sit there. She had to find Kiba. She performed the few healing Justus she knew, making sure she wasn't losing any blood. Her sprained ankle would survive, but even so, she wrapped a bandage tightly around and swallowed a few painkillers, along with soldier pills. Finally, she ditched her bag, made sure she had enough weapons, and then, clutching several kunai in her hands, stealthily jumped down and began her way into Konoha. It was worse here. The smoke clouded her vision, causing her to cough and her eyes to water. Pulling a bandana around her mouth and nose, she made her way through the worst of the smoke, keeping away from the small battles between shinobis. She knew Kiba would've gone straight for the Academy, getting the kids out; even after he had quit his job there to take on Genins, he still held a soft spot for budding shinobi kids. The problem was that the Academy was on the other side of the village; and in between her and there were a lot of dangers. Undaunted, she continued, taking off at a run, jumping over fallen debris and skidding under flying projectiles. At one point she almost stumbled over a dead bodya civilian, by her clothes, young and fresh and innocent and so very very deadbut it was as she passed Sakura's old flat that her path was interrupted. "YOU!" shouted a strong male voice, clear over the yells and screams "STOP!" Hinata found herself doing as she was told, but only to peer through the faint smoke and see who had apprehended her. A giant of a man, with a Cloud hitae-ate across his bulging forearm, glared at her. "By the order ofargh!" he yelped, as Hinata's kunai hit him dead in the chest, piercing muscle and bone. "Oh" he groaned, before falling heavily to the ground, his eyes rolling back. "I'm busy." She told him, stepping over his form and setting off in a run again. But it seemed luck wasn't with her, as someone else shouted at her; this time, the voice was female and panicked. A civilian, Hinata thought, as she double backed. "Please!" sobbed the woman, clutching at a bundle of blankets, a small hand poking through. "Please, help us!" "Why aren't you in the safety houses, Ma'am?" Hinata asked, grabbing her arm and forcibly, as she wouldn't stop crying, leading the woman down the torn apart road, her eyes darting back and forth for the slightest sign of trouble. "II was out shopping when it happened. I had to go back for my baby, and by then" she gasped for air, tears streaking down her face, "Everyone was fightingno one had time" "Right, of course," Hinata replied automatically, and then"GET DOWN!" The woman gasped. Hinata forced her to the ground, turning around and, protecting her leg with chakra, hit the piece of concrete flying towards them with a powerful roundhouse kick. The

concrete skittered away, but her leg buckled under the impact, sending sharp sparks of pain up her leg and torso. "Shit!" she seethed, as the Rain-nin responsible for the flying piece of concrete grinned, slowly approaching her with a maniacal look in her eye. Instantly, Hinata pulled the woman to her feet and gave her a push, "RUN! TO THE ACADEMY! RUN DAMNIT!!" She ran, still crying, and Hinata, still in pain, faced her enemy. That was until several more of them arrived beside their comrade, all of them looking for blood. "Well" Hinata groaned, "Bugger that." She turned around and ran. They followed. 10.14 a.m. "FOCUS! Uchiha!" Uchiha Sasuke blinked, before giving his trademark scowl at the tense and frustrated superior and reluctantly giving him his full attention. Morino gave Sasuke a cold glare before continuing his supposedly quick debrief. "There are still enemy-nins in the area, regrouping I suspect. We gave them a good fight; BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH! The Hospital Bay is packed out with our fallen comrades! We've suffered badly, and with obviously no back up coming from Konoha, we need to fight this out on our own, so listen up" No shit, Sasuke thought dully, as if his mind refused to get riled up by anything beyond fixing Sakura. But who knew if, and when, that would happen? The only people capable of fixing her were Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura. And they were all just a tad unavailable. The woman next to Sasuke shifted and accidentally brushed her elbow against him, causing the brooding Uchiha to crash back into present day. Grudgingly, he began listening again. "Team Yuri, you're taking Section Twelve. Team Hyuuga, Section Five. Uchiha, track down Team Haruno and re-do Section Thirteen" Oh, bollocks. "and Team Ka" Morino paused suddenly, his ears straining to catch the sudden sound outside. It was getting progressively louder, and Sasuke just about deciphered the sounds to be rough barks before CRASH! A huge white dog streaked with red and limping badly skidded into the tent, tripping awkwardly and toppling into a table, which flipped over onto the floor with a loud crash. Sasuke felt his hands go cold. The dog slowly got up, whining pathetically as Sasuke instantly got to his feet and went to the easily recognizable dog.

"Hey Akamaru," Sasuke said quietly, soothingly rubbing behind his ears, one of which had a nasty bleed, "What have you got for us, hmm?" even as he said the words, he saw the faint outline of a crumpled paper, its camouflage tag almost peeled off. Seizing it quickly, he gave Akamaru a quick once over. He was bleeding quite badly from numerous kunai wounds. "Someone take him to the vet." Sasuke ordered, unable to stop himself from thinking that if Sakura had been here, she would healing the dog right now herself. "Uchiha!" Morino barked, "Hurry up and read it!" Sasuke waited until someone had led the limping Akamaru away before smoothing out the parchment and reading the hastily scrawled words marked in blood. "Konoha invaded. Big trouble, too many. Safe houses breached, many shinobis taken prisoners or dead, others in hiding. Back up needed, but don't come without numbers. Kiba." There was stunned silence. "Damn." Well said, Sasuke thought dismally. "Uchiha," Morino finally said quietly, "Contact Gaara. And find a way to wake Haruno up." Easier said then done. Sasuke nodded mutely, turning on his heel and hurrying out into the clearing. He was momentarily stunned by the pile of bodies near the Hospital Bay, forgetting that he himself had helped move them there. Gathering his wits, he ran to the birdcage, hidden by several protective barriers and well-placed bushes keeping from sight; passing through the barriers with ease. Scribbling out a note, he attached it the fastest eagle they had and released him into the air. That done, he turned back and rushed to the Hospital Bay. "INO! INO!" "What? What's happened?" Ino's voice came as she stepped out of the office, holding a syringe and several pots of painkillers. His head felt clouded. Was this really happening? Maybe this was a dream. It was starting to feel like it. He felt completely removed from himself; so entirely calm when he should be freaking out and getting ready to tackle Konoha head first by himself. Kami, what was wrong with him? "Konoha's been taken." He told the blonde, who gasped, her blue eyes instantly flooding with tears. "H-How bad?" she asked after a moment of silence. "Bad. Kiba sent Akamaru. Some of them are hiding; others either dead or prisoners."

Ino bit her lip. "Hinata went to find Kiba. Oh Kami, I knew I should've stopped her. What if she dies? Sakura would" She didn't finish. She didn't have to. Another loss to Sakura would shatter her. It was obvious. "We've got to wake her up." Sasuke said. "How?" "I don't know! Can't you get the notes, the ones Sakura made to wake Hiro up? Doesn't she keep copies of those kinds of things?" "Maybe. I can search the office. Check her tent." Ino said, turning around and rushing back into the office, and moving things around. Sasuke followed her, his eyes instantly moving towards the pink haired girl lying on the camp bed, her breathing slow. Her eyes flickered slightly. "Which one is her tent?" Sasuke asked, unable to look away from the prone form. "The orange one. It used to be Naruto's." Of course. Sasuke's eyes were still glued to Sakura. Eventually, after a couple of minutes, Ino turned around and waved a hand in front of Sasuke's face. "C'mon, Sasuke-kun. We gotta save Sakura." Yeah. Save Sakura, save Konoha, save the world. No problem. 10.23 a.m. Sakura was pretty sure something was wrong. This was odd, because technically, there could be nothing wrong with finally being able to spend time with your deceased best friend. But something was definitely wrong, and Sakura knew it. "Sakura?" The pink haired girl turned around and smiled at the blond, grabbing his hand and squeezing gently. Naruto smiled sadly, squeezing back. "We're running out of time." Sakura's insides froze. "What?" "You're needed, Sakura. You can't stay. People are going to die."

"But!" "No. You're needed. Listen." Sakura frowned, opening her mouth to say something, but Naruto shook his head and she quietened. Slowly, faint voices began to fill the air. "Chakra usage on the brainSasuke, this is way advanced stuff. I've only done small bits, and always supervised by Tsunade, or Shizune, or Sakura!" Sakura gasped. It was Ino! And she was talking to Sasuke? What was going on? Were they trying to wake her up? Why? She was happy here! "If this goes wrong, she could stay like this permanently." Wait, wait, wait! Sakura knew the risks of chakra usage on the brain, knew perfectly well of Ino's incapabilities when it came to that subject. It was an extremely advanced subject that no medic had a complete grasp on, not even the self-proclaimed experts. And if Ino used it on her, chances were that she'd be stuck in this world with only Naruto for company for the rest of her life. Okay, as much as she loved Naruto, not so appealing. "We need her. Hinata and Kiba are in huge trouble in Konohaand Kakashi's there too. Sakura would hate herself forever if she wasn't around and they." The sentence faded out. Sakura didn't need to hear the rest. KibaHinata Kakashi I'm coming. 10.25 a.m. "HeyHEY!" Hinata whirled around at the voice, her breathing hard, her limbs almost ready to collapse. There was Chuunin running up to her, vaguely recognisableKotetsu?and badly bleeding. His call had been hushed slightly. Smart, considering they were being hunted in their own village. "Hinata? Hyuuga Hinata?" he questioned, clutching the kunai wound bleeding profusely from his forearm. The strip of white cloth wrapped around it was almost completely red. "That's me," she replied wearily, and the silver haired copy-nin next to her laid a hand on her shoulder, silently asking her to relax. She did what she was told, letting her shoulders slump slightly, knowing perfectly well that she was safest with Hatake Kakashi around. "Kiba's been on the lookout for you. He heard you came. He's in the North-West section, the underground safe house"

"Under the tree house in Kawada's garden. We know of it." They turned to leave, but Kakashi turned back and questioned, "Will you be all right?" "I have a few more people to find. Things are only getting worse. I swear, the more we kill, the more that replace them." Kotetsu replied. Kakashi nodded, understanding perfectly. He himself had found Hinata running from a large group of Cloud and Rain-nins. Kakashi had fought with her, but they had found themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number that simply increased over time, so they made a hasty retreat. Kotetsu bowed respectfully and took off in a run. Kakashi nodded to Hinata and the pair broke into their own runs, heading north-west. They passed several desolate buildings, fires crackling inside and screams erupting in the distance. They had no choice but to hope they belonged to the enemy. "Wait!" Kakashi suddenly whispered, but too late. "FOUND THEM!" erupted a voice from above them, echoing all around. Before either Jounin could blink, they were surrounded. "Ah, jeez" Kakashi sighed. 10.35 a.m. "I guessthis is it." Back to Yondaime's head. The sun was setting now, creating a beautiful mirage of red, orange, pink and purple. Naruto stood just in front of her, bathed in the colours, highlighting his blond hair and the whisker-scars seeming deeper. His eyes glowed surreally blue. "Yeah" Sakura agreed, so softly that Naruto, for almost a second, thought he hadn't heard it. Naruto reached out and touched her cheek gently. "I'm proud of you." Sakura blinked, confused. "You've been amazing. You kept on living, just like I asked." She shook her head. Pink locks flew everywhere, causing Naruto to smile. She reached up, touching the fingers on her cheek hesitantly, before clasping onto them tightly. "Naruto" "Its time." Sakura could feel her heart racing in her chest, so loud that it seemed like a drumbeat. "No, please"

"Its time, Sakura. Its time to go." "Naruto!" she cried, launching forward, clutching onto his chest. But there was no comforting heartbeat waiting for her. Just hollowed silence. Just death. "Close your eyes," he whispered softly, running his hands through her locks. She sighed, closing her eyes obediently, apple green disappearing under pale eyelids. She held onto him tightly, but somehow he was slipping away, fading almost. She wanted to open her eyes, but she didn't dare. He was still therejust aboutshe could hear a ghostly voice by her. "Time to save the world." Her eyes snapped open. Sasuke's face hovered above hers. Shock and relief flickered across his dark eyes. "Sakura!" Well, I'm back. I hope everyone had a brill Christmas and New Year! Anyways, here's the next installment of Contradicted. It's a bit longer than usual, but, uh, I'm sure you'll enjoy most of it. Not to mention it's only a few more chapters and then we're at the end! Seems unreal...well, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Much appreciated! Disclaimer: I don't know Naruto...honest... Enjoy!

Contradicted Chapter Nineteen: Long Live Konoha There's something to be said about the shinobis of Konoha. They never take things lying down. Never. Not even Hyuuga Neji, who could probably pass for the mortal form of Calmness. Which explains why even after an entire night and day of countless Cloud and Rain-nins raining down upon Konoha, they still hadn't quite got a handle on the situation. Many of the top shinobis were hiding, planning, figuring out how to strike backor on the streets, doing the actual fighting, finding and taking care of the lost and frightened citizens that hadn't already been thrown into the makeshifts prisons erected in the Main Square. Information leaked about. We learnt that Tsunade had been apprehended at the beginning of the night, and a monumental battle between her and two othersleaders of the invasion, probably had continued through the night and well into the morning. No one had time to help herANBU were a bit busy themselves. Kiba, we knew, was rallying ninjas, organizing a response. No one knew what had happened to Hinata or Kakashi. This normally would've frightened me; but I heard they were together, and so I didn't worry. I trusted them both to survive.

We don't take anything lying down. Not when it comes to our livelihoods, our homes Our freedom. Everyone fought bravely, without a flicker of doubt that we would reclaim what was ours until sunset. At sunset, our dreams were crushed. And the destruction of Konoha truly began. One year ago 3rd April 1.00 p.m. Sakura's head was still moaning at her, if the minor headache was anything to go by. But this was fine by her; when she had woken up a couple of hours previously, a sledgehammer pounding on the inside of her skull had made itself known to her before her eyes had even adjusted to the light of the tent. Luckily a couple of very strong painkillers and some careful chakra movement had remedied that. But what was fine to her, apparently, was not fine for her ex-Captain. "Are you absolutely sure?" "For crying out loud, Sasuke, I'm not going to keel over at any moment!" Sakura snapped, but she instantly regretted it. Sasuke had done a lot of her recently, and she wasn't doing a good job of showing her gratitude. She sighed, "Sorry. I'm fine. Just a minor headache. Just focus!" "Excuse me," Sasuke snorted, "You don't need to tell me to foARGH!" Sakura skidded to a stop, looking back. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, but she spied the large hole blown up in the road. Looking about to make sure no one had heard his yell, and deeming the area safefor nowshe backtracked to it and looked down. Sasuke was lying face down in an old, and therefore empty, thankfully, sewer. It was a good five-foot drop, and Sakura had to assume that the hole had been made during the take over. Konoha's roads were filled with holes and debris lying about. It made getting places a bit more dangerous, on top of the fact an enemy could pass by at any moment, seen or unseen. "Are you all right?" Sakura questioned, placing her hands on her knees to keep her balance. Sasuke let out a muffled groan, before rolling over and sitting up. He looked a little worse for wear, but no visible injuries jumped out to Sakura's trained eye. "What happened?" Sasuke mumbled something, getting to his feet and attempting to get rid of the dust clinging to his jacket. Sakura blinked, before raising an eyebrow. Sasuke looked up at her, winced at the sun glaring down at them, before clearing his throat and repeating himself.

"Itripped." Sakura was rather proud that she simply grinned and held down the laughter threatening to break free. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Sasuke grumbled. Sakura snickered, offering a hand that he took, and pulling him up. As soon as he was on level ground, he began walking, "It's completely not my fault." "Of course not," Sakura said in a serious tone, following him, "Personally, I blame the rock. Stupid thing, what was it doing lying there? Has it no consideration?" "Exactly!" Sasuke agreed. Sakura burst into quiet chuckles, and Sasuke only smiled, secretly pleased he had gotten the pink haired woman to laugh. She had been in a proactive, no-time-for-messing-about mood since she had awoken, and Sasuke was worried that eventually the stress of the situation would cause a nervous breakdown. But he didn't know it would the last laugh he would hear from her for a long time. "Anyway," Sakura said, having finally gotten over her humour, "Better send the quarterly report. Its just gone one." Sasuke nodded, before reaching under his hair and flicking the wireless radio in his ear on. "Base, this is Uchiha," he murmured, the sensitive technology picking up his voice. "Can you read me?" "Loud and clear, Uchiha," growled Morino's voice. "What's the latest?" "Our earlier hypothesis was correct. The outer streets are mostly deserted, with guards on most corners. There's not much fighting going on; they've either been captured or are underground in hiding. We haven't had any contact with any Leaf as of yet. But we did overhear one of the Rain saying that the prisoners were being rounded up in the Main Square." "The Main Square? No one's really used that place in years, its practically sealed offits where the public executions took place, and since that was banned fifteen years ago" Morino murmured, "Whoever's in charge must know Konoha very well." Sasuke's eyes widened. He turned to Sakura, and instantly knew she was thinking the same thing. "Akatsuki" she breathed angrily. "Itachi." "You've got it!" Morino said, and then his voice turned harsh, "I want you to get to Kiba. I don't want you anywhere near the Main Square. I'm sorry, but you just can't be trusted not to do anything stupid where Itachi is involved." "No! Morino-san" Sakura protested.

"That's an order!" he barked, "I've got incoming from Hyuugadon't you dare disobey orders, you understand? I'll have you both stripped of your status if you do! Got it?!" "Yes, sir." They said, glancing at each other. "Good. Over and out." The radio flickered to static and they turned their ear pieces off. Sakura sighed. "Kiba it is, then." Sasuke froze, and then anger began to bleed out of him, "You're not serious, are you? Sakura HarunoI'm not letting him go. I won't. I want him dead." She turned to look at him, her eyes dark and hard. "And he will die. We'll kill him, together." She turned away, her fists clenching angrily. Eventually, she took a deep breath and her shoulders sagged slightly, "We need to go to Kiba first. Plan with him. Arrange retaliation. When everyone is fighting, we'll catch Itachi. Everyone will be too busy to intervene." "Alright." She turned around again, smiling shakily. She reached out and took his hand, squeezing gently. "Yeah?" Sasuke swallowed, looking at their joint hands, and then at her face, "Yeah." 2.15 p.m. Inuzuka Kiba lay down for the first time in six hours. He had to; the only medic in the vicinity had been on his back since the early hours in the morning, berating him to get some rest. Eventually her constant nagging had worn his nerves thin and he retreated to the half full Dormitory to get much needed peace and quiet. Everyone here was asleep, catching an odd hour or so, recovering from fighting through the night and morning. But try as hard as he could, he just couldn't sleep. One of the Genins had overheard a group of Rain-nin discussing what had happened to the Bases. All of them had been virtually eradicated. What chance did Konoha have without back up? Not to mention Sakura was still back at the base. What had happened to her? He knew Hinata had come for him, but she still hadn't arrived, and that worried him. What worried him even more was why Sakura wasn't with Hinata. She'd kill herself before letting Hinata walk straight into danger without anyone covering her back. Which meantsomething had happened to Sakura. Kami, his head hurt. His body was numb, still pumped with adrenaline. He wanted to move, to keep going, to fightbut the damned medic wouldn't let him. Loud voices filtered from the entrance. Kiba wondered briefly what was going on, hearing his medic's voice raise above all the rest.

"Absolutely not, he's only just agreed to go get some rest! As happy as he'll be to see you, he won't know any better while he's asleep and in the meantime, he can get some respite!" Kiba groaned into his pillow. Bloody medics Whoever it was responded, but quietly enough that Kiba couldn't hear. All of a sudden, the medic let out a yell, and a bark sounded through the area, causing Kiba to sit up sharply. A large white ball of fur burst into the Dormitory. "AKAMARU!" Kiba shouted, jumping off the bed and hugging the dog, who barked softly and licked his cheek. "Kami, I missed you!" "Stupid mutt followed all the way from Red Base and we didn't even realise til an hour ago." grumbled a voice. Kiba looked up and grinned at the sight of Sasuke and Sakura in the doorway, relief flooding his system. She was okay. Sakura was okay. "Yes, that dog is a genius." Sakura smiled, walking over and ruffling his fur. Kiba stood up and pulled Sakura into a warm hug. "Are you alright?" Sakura nodded, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek. "Are you?" Kiba grinned, "Never been better," He pulled away from her, and clapped Sasuke on the back, who looked briefly surprised before his expression returned to stoic. "Good to see you both. Right!" he clapped his hands together, "Lets get this show on the road!" His medic groaned loudly. Sakura simply smiled. Kiba led them into the main area where a couple of people were huddling over blueprints and maps. Akamaru trotted behind them, before curling up under the table. "I think it's a bit obvious in saying that we're at a bit of a disadvantage, number wise. There's about three of them to every one of us. It doesn't help that half our guys have been taken prisoners, and most of our medics as well, so a lot of us are still injured and aren't capable of fighting to our full ability." "I can help with that," Sakura said, "I've been lying around for eleven hours, building up my chakra. I'll be able to fix up most minor injuries without feeling too shabby." "That'd be great. I'll set you up in the First Aid Room and get people to start queuing up." Kiba said, and Sakura felt pride welling up inside her; seeing Kiba taking charge, organising the resistance, fighting for his village harder than anyone. He was a born leader but never had the chance to truly show it. And now Now he was in charge. He was fighting back. "Anyway, the one advantage we do have is that we know this village better than anyone. We know the secret passages and we know the terrain. With enough planning, I reckon we could take all the lackeys down without too much fuss."

"That's brilliant!" Sakura exclaimed. "Unfortunately, we've got two problems." Kiba sighed. "Time," Sasuke intoned coolly. "To plan efficiently so that it's pulled off without a hitch would take at least a month of recon and living underground, waiting to be found by the bastards. Half of the people here would be caught in that time." "Yeah, that's problem number one," Kiba nodded, "And we all know that attacking nowwell, we might as well just commit suicide now and kiss Konoha goodbye." "I've sent word to Gaara," Sasuke offered, "But it'll take at least a week for him to gather the necessary numbers and make his way here. Not to mention plan an organised attack." Sakura sighed. Her headache was getting worse. "Okay. We'll make it ten days. The plan won't be perfect, and we'll lose some of the troops, but I reckon with enough effort, we'll get there. Which moves me on to the second problem." Kiba paused, and then offered a seat to Sakura, his eyes dark. Worried, the medic sat down. "The leaders. Akatsuki. Are you aware they are responsible for this?" They nodded mutely. "We can't take them on. We're not strong enough. Itachi alone is a big problem, and Kisamemaybe with Kakashi we could take him on, but Kami knows where he is." "Youyou don't where he is?" Sakura asked, her hands trembling. "No. But Kotetsu said he was with Hinata, so I'll assume they're okay." Kiba really didn't want to assume, didn't want to rely on fates and Kakashi's deity-like ability on the battleground, but he had to, for Sakura. Convincing her that they were okay was important; how else would she be able to focus on the matter at hand? "But back to Itachi. Word's gone round that Hiroshi came from Violet Base, and he's hiding out in the underground passageways. We all know he's a vicious little bastard when he wants to be, so I reckon, between him and you two, you could take out Itachi." Sakura looked up at Sasuke. He looked pensive, but determined. Sakura turned her green gaze back to Kiba. "There's just one thing. If you relay the plan back to Morino, he'll negate it. He doesn't want us near Itachi. He thinks our emotions will get in the way." "Then we don't tell Morino. Look, I've got it from first-hand experience that you are far more powerful when you're emotional, Sakura. You took out a whole building once because you were pissed off. I think we could use that kind of power against Itachi." Sakura nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful. "So," Sasuke eventually said, "The next nine days will be recon. We should find out the general positions of the guards and their shifts. If we take them all out at once using the underground passageways, it'll negate at least half their force. The Gaara's lot will come in and help us sort

out the rest, while the three of us take on Itachi. When, and if, Kakashi shows up, he can take on Kisame. Otherwise, we'll just figure something out." "Simple and sweet." Sakura nodded. "This is going to go very wrong." "And turn into a bloodbath." "Don't we know it." 3.45 p.m. Hatake Kakashi studied his face's reflection in the cool, clear water. His mask was bunched up around his neck, and his cheek sported a rapidly healing cut. He sighed, eventually dipping his hands into the water and splashing his face. The cut stung for a split second, and then returned to being ignored. I need to shave. He thought, idly running his hand over the small amount of stubble growing. He hated facial hair. It was incredibly annoying. He briefly wondered whether he had shaving cream in his bag or not, and decided to check. Delving through the backpackwhich he had hurriedly packed last night, knowing he would not return to his flat in a very long time if he had to go undergroundhe pushed aside the few articles of clothing, raised an eyebrow at the hairbrush what was the point? He never brushed his hairand finally found the aerosol bottle. Looking quite pleased with himself, he fetched a sharp kunai out of his holster and bent over the pool of water again. As he spread shaving cream over his face, he heard a faint noise behind him, and the wards he had set around the area flickered. A moment later, his companion stepped into the cave, her arms full of fruits. "You know," came her voice, "I'm still shocked that there's a hidden cave complete with fresh water above the Sandaime's head" She set the fruits down on a cloth. "Kakashi?" Hinata called down the large cave, wondering where the older man was. Kakashi shaved in record time, and was just putting down the kunai to wash his face again when Hinata walked around the boulder that hid the pool from view. Kakashi looked up, and Hinata gasped. "Uhum" she stammered, her face turning red. "Hmm?" "Y-Your face!" she stuttered out, turning even redder. It occurred to her, right then, that Sakura was going to kill her. The pink haired girl had been chasing after Kakashi's real face since she had become a Genin and was placed under his tutelage. And Kami was it worth chasing after. He was incredibly handsome, with smooth skin marred only by a couple of scars, high cheekbones and a soft, gentle smile.

"Oh. Well, doesn't matter," Kakashi shrugged, leaving his mask bunched up around his neck. "It's only there from habit these days" his lips quirked into a smile, "Don't tell Sakura though. She'll kill me." You and me bothHinata thought faintly, turning away and fighting back her blush. She felt like she was fifteen again. "Well I, uh, got some fruits to eat. No rabbits in sight, unfortunately." "That's all right." Kakashi said, patting her shoulder as he walked past her, inspecting the array of fruits she had picked. There was a good variety at least, and Kakashi picked up a peach and dipped it into the bucket next to him, washing it clean before taking a large bite. Hinata followed his example, only with an apple, her cheeks still faintly pink. They sat in silence as they ate, Hinata refusing to look at him in case she ended up staring. Eventually, Kakashi threw an apple core down to the further end of the cave, and turned to Hinata. "Hinata-chan, there's something we should discuss." Hinata slowly, and hating herself for it, turned to look at him, and instantly went red again. "Umyes?" "The next few days things will get very difficult. I doubt you need me to tell you that." Hinata nodded. Her blush disappeared. Time to get serious. "So here's what we're going to do" 6.13 p.m. Sakura was getting tired, and so was Sasuke. Kiba could tell it from a mile off. Sakura had spent most of the afternoon healing people, and Sasuke probably hadn't had any sleep for the last twenty-four hours. He drew the line when Sakura's head almost dropped onto Sasuke's shoulder. "Go to bed," He told her sternly. "Both of you." They protested, obviously. But Kiba was very stubborn, much more than Sakura, and eventually the two gave up and headed for the Dormitory. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to have had the same idea and the beds were full, save one. "I'll sleep on the floor." Sasuke offered, and then wondered why he had done so. What was he turning into, a gentleman? Kami forbid! "Don't be ridiculous," Sakura said, "We'll just share." Umwhat?! She rolled her eyes at his bemused expression.

"It's not like we haven't done it before." Ah, yes, that night of drunken passion. It was a shame he'd forgotten half of it, but at least he could remember what Sakura looked like naked, with an expression of unbridled pleasure upon her features. The image was burned into his mind, visited frequently during late sleepless nights while he was undercover. He snapped back to the present when he realised Sakura was shrugging off her jacket and shoes, leaving her in a t-shirt and shorts. Sasuke hurriedly did the same, getting into the single bed first, eyes staring at the ceiling. He felt the mattress sink slightly under Sakura's weight, and almost jumped when she settled her head next his, her breath tickling his neck. Sasuke felt his whole body tense, and remained that way as Sakura slowly drifted off to sleep. Minutes later, their legs became entangled and arm stretched out across his chest. Sakura was definitely a restless sleeper. Slowly, the black haired Uchiha relaxed. He was beginning to realise that he liked her warm body pressed against his, completely trusting. With a smile on his face, he too drifted off peacefully. Unfortunately for them, their peace was not to last. Kiba rushed in, barely twenty minutes later, and shook them awake. Sakura mumbled sleepily and pressed her face into Sasuke's chest, thinking nothing of the way she woke up. She had spent plenty of time simply sleeping with her male friends, and waking up with them was nothing new. Sasuke, however, was a tad more jumpy and sat up straight away, instantly cursing himself when Sakura let out a mild groan and sat up as well. "What?" Sakura groused. "Something big is happening at sundown in the Main Square. I make that in fifteen minutes. I suggest we find out what." They both sighed and got out of bed. Jamming their feet into their sandals and shrugging on their jackets, they followed Kiba back into the main area. Kotetsu was standing there, looking quite panicked. "They've brought out the gallows," He blurted as soon as he saw the pink haired medic and the Uchiha, "And the prisoners must've been told what's happening because they're all completely panicked and scared, even the shinobis. I think they're planning an execution!" Sakura gasped. "What?!" Sasuke groaned. "We better go find out then!" Kiba growled, grabbing his own jacket. "Lead the way, Kotetsu." The Chuunin nodded, and together they climbed back out into the open, making their way carefully through the garden and into a small back street within Kawada's compound that led straight into the stone cliffs; Kotetsu placed his hand on a boulder, which faded from existence and revealed the entrance into the underground passageways. They all hurried through, the boulder returning as Sasuke passed.

It was a short walk to the Main Square entranceway. They got out a good three hundred yards away, and noting that the area was empty, concealed themselves as they climbed a tree that overlooked the Main Square. Sakura held back a gasp. Large cages filled to the brim with civilians stood around the central point, where, on the stone stage, a wooden structure had been put up. The noose swayed in the breeze threateningly. "Where are the shinobis?" she whispered, and Kotetsu pointed them out. Sakura bit her lip, pushing away her tears. They were in cages as well, high in the air on a large ledge. Each of them were shackled and bound, and Sakura knew instantly that the shackles were made of chakra draining metal that prevented them from escaping. She could see a lot of people she knew up there; her fellow medics, colleagues from ANBU, the odd person from her Academy Class The civilians were shouting and crying. The guards laughed and occasionally sent a shockwave through the cage, crippling them. There seemed to be no one the streets today; all the Rain and Cloud-nins stood near the cages, laughing, jeering, throwing things at the cage suspended above them. Sasuke grabbed her hand, "We can't do anything now." he reminded her. Sakura only nodded mutely, and Sasuke looked at her worriedly until a loud bang caused his head to swivel back to the stage. The door that led into the Hokage's building had slammed open, and a woman, wrinkled and grey-haired, was thrown through. A man in Akatsuki garb followed, and looked at the crowd with cold black eyes. Itachi. They thought. But it was what happened next that shocked them. The woman, her hands shackled behind her back, on her knees from the throw, finally looked up, and strong golden eyes blazed at them. It was Tsunade. "Oh Kami!" Sakura whispered. She was old. She looked how she was meant to, without any glamour to conceal her. Not even the faintest trace of chakra to help her. Sakura was shocked she was even awake. Itachi grabbed the back of her shirt, and pulled her up roughly. Even from far away, Sakura could tell the Hokage was badly wounded. Forget awake, how was the woman even alive? Itachi raised a hand, and silence fell over his subordinates. The civilians were watching apprehensively; none of them recognised their Hokage in her true form. But the shinobis, watching from above, suddenly looked terrified. They knew who this woman was, and they knew what was about to happen. "Perhaps," Itachi addressed the civilians coolly, "You would recognise this woman if she was in her regular form. But it is certainly a shame you cannot even identify your own Hokage."

There was uproar. The civilians shouted, cried, yelled out in shock. The shinobis bellowed every conceivable curse they knew. Itachi opened his mouth, and like clockwork, everyone fell silent. "Today is April 3rd. Today will be marked as the end of an era. The end of Konoha as you know it." He smiled. It was cold. "Today is the day your Hokage dies." Sakura gasped, and again noise erupted. Her mind reeled. This couldn't be happening, this wasn't going to happen. She was going to stop it, yes, she was. She started to move, but Sasuke grasped her tightly, pulling her back into his chest and wrapping his arms around her. "No. We can't." he said into her ear. "No! I can't justwe have to save her!" Sasuke hated himself at the moment, but there was nothing for it. "No, Sakura! You'll get us all killed and then Tsunade-sama is dead anyway. And then Konoha has no chance!" "NoNO! Kiba" "He's right. There's nothing we can do." His words hit her hard. She stilled for a moment, shocked, and then renewed her struggles. She couldn't sit by and do nothing. She couldn't! But now there were three, highly trained and capable men holding her down. Sakura finally stilled upon realising that Tsunade was being led to the noose. "Oh Kami, no" she whimpered. "Something will happen. She'll fight back. Come on, fight back! You're the Hokage! Come on Tsunade-sama!" Sasuke felt the faint feeling of panic rising in him. Sakura was wording his exact feelings, his hopes, and then, at that moment, he felt everything, his tarnished hope, shatter. She was going to die. "Fight back, please" "Here's a little bit of your dignity." Kisame smirked, looking as alive as ever as he stepped out onto the stage. Taking several long strides, he slammed his palm into the back of Tsunade's head, causing her to tilt forward. A small amount of chakra filtered into her system, just enough to trigger her glamour and causing her skin to taunt, and her hair to regain colour. She was Tsunade again. "Please, Tsunade" Even though it was impossible that she had heard Sakura, Tsunade looked right at them, and smirked. She stood tall, strong, and defiant. She was a leader, through and through. Even as she

forced onto the trapdoor, and the noose was looped around her neck, she never let a single negative emotion flicker through her eyes. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and everyone silent again. "You'll never take us down. You'll never really have Konoha, Itachi." Itachi didn't reply, but nodded to Kisame, who placed his hand on the lever. Tsunade whirled back around to her civilians, and then looked up at the shinobis above. And then she started shouting. "Long live Konoha!" Slowly, people joined in. The words rang around the Square, growing louder and louder until Kakashi and Hinata could hear it from their cave. "Long live Konoha! Long live Konoha! Long live Konoha!" Kisame slammed his hand on the lever. The trapdoor swung open, and Tsunade fell. The rope strained. There was no struggle. There were no brave yells. Only silence. The sun had set, blood red. The body swayed gently in the breeze. Hey there everyone! I'm back, once again after leaving you to sweat it over that cliffie (sorry, sorry!), with another installment of this rather intriuguing plot (honestly, the things my brain comes up with--even I can't predict it). Well, anyway, you'll be pleased to note that this chapter is slightly more light hearted than usual, with a nice ending that won't make you want to kill me. Only cos the next few chapters will be absolutely killer, as the fight to take back Konoha truly begins. Fun, fun! Thanks for all the reviews! Disclaimer: Don't own it. Honest. ENJOY!

Contradicted Chapter Twenty: Silence Sometimes, when I lie awake at night in the First Aid Room, Sasuke at my side, I pretend that I'm just working a regular shift at Konoha's hospital. I pretend Tsunade has just told me I can go on a break from healing chicken pox and a little boy's sprained wrist. I pretend that after my break, I'll finish my shift and go home, take a nice bath and then have dinner with Naruto.

And then Kiba crashes into the room, bleeding from multiple wounds and cursing heatedly about the idiot Rain-nin that had almost caught and killed him, and I can't pretend anymore. Sometimes, when Sasuke is sitting by himself in the Mess Room, just staring at his food, I sit next to him and take his hand and say the damned words "Everything is going to be okay.". And then he looks at me, onyx eyes screaming hatred and pain and anger and loss, and all I do is clutch his hand tighter, because nothing will ever be okay again, and we both know it. Sometimes, when I'm on recon duty, I stare at the back of an unsuspecting Cloud-nin's head from the safety of the secret passageway entry, and I try to just concentrate on the mission, the details, the facts. And then he turns to his comrade and laughs over a jokea goddamned joke And then I'm running back to base covered in their blood. Sometimes, when I think the world should just implode on itself and Kami be damned, I see Kiba cuddling Akamaru warmly, or a group of Chuunins laughing, or a whisper of revenge passed around, or just Sasuke looking back at me and half-smiling. And then I'm back into it, back into my work-mode, back into the plans and battles and healing. But sometimes, just sometimes, I want to remember. I want to think of my days as a Genin, of the good times I had with my friends. The craps dates and the flirty guys at the club. The unceremonious early morning wake up calls and the late nights fighting for someone's life and succeeding. The ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The weekly flowers from Genma, the amused smiles from Kakashi, the intelligent conversations with Neji, the latest gossip from Ino. The shy smiles from Hinata. The warm hugs from Kiba. The scathing words from Sasuke. The bright grins and brash words from Naruto. That little word of wisdom from Tsunade. Sometimes, just sometimes, I want to remember. I want to remember without feeling like I've lost everything. I want to remember without wanting to cry. One year ago 4th April 4.12 p.m. The silence that came from the First Aid Room was almost alarming. Inuzuka Kiba had given himself many excuses to pass the large room, but every single time no sounds were emitted. He was almost terrified of opening the door, of finding a despondent medic staring at the wall. Even after Naruto's death, Sakura had cried. She had mourned and grieved. She had, disbelievingly, slept with the Uchiha just to forget. And yet, since the execution, she had no shown a single emotion. Blank eyes coupled with a blank expression was what met him whenever he saw the girl in the last twenty four hours.

And despite his worries, Kiba never once opened the door. 6th April 1.20 a.m. It was almost alarming how much she had changed in three days. The despondency was suddenly replaced with a scary forcefulness in her work. She healed, battled, fought and killed with such emotion that Kiba was afraid that one day she'd snap. And then, just as he passed the First Aid Room again, this time with the cold Uchiha trailing after him, a faint sound caught his ears. The two men fell still and listened to the muffled sobs. Before he could do anything, Sasuke opened the door and walked in, shutting the door behind him. Kiba waited, and waited some more, until it became apparent that Sasuke would not return any time soon, and left the pair to it. 7th April 3.07 p.m. Flicking through the brief reports didn't take much time, but it was something to do while watching the pink-haired medic and the stoic avenger out of the corner of his eye. Kiba knew something was up between those two, especially since the pair, while they weren't outside on a mission of some sort, stuck to each other like glue. It wasodd. They shouldn't suit each other whatsoever, Kiba thought, what with her temper and his views on women. And yet past events had somehow entwined the two; a mutual respect and trust hung delicately like a silver thread. Kiba read another couple of lines detailing the guard schedule for the Hokage Building, before glancing at the couple again. Sakura was eating her late lunch slowly, thoughtfully reading an ancient medical scroll. She suddenly frowned, swallowing her food before searching for a pen. Sasuke rolled his eyes, leaning forward and taking the pen that was settled behind Sakura's ear. Smiling sheepishly, the medic took the proffered pen and began scribbling down notes. Kiba sighed. The harmony between them was almost perfect, in a delicate unrefined way. So when would the two stop denying everything and get together already? 10th April 6.33 a.m. When Uchiha Sasuke woke up that morning, he felt an aching heaviness on his chest that could've had something to do with the fact it had been exactly a week since Tsunade's execution. On the other hand, it was probably because a certain medic was sleeping half on top of him.

For a moment he allowed himself to forget everything and enjoy the warmth of a familiar body sprawled against himonly briefly lamenting over the fact she was fully dressed in one of his too-large t-shirts and a pair of shortsbefore giving over to the fact he had to wake Sakura up. This wasn't going to be easy. Sasuke knew that from the last four days of waking up with her; the pink haired medic simply wasn't a morning person. Slowly, he disentangled himself from the woman, stretching lazily and yawning. Sakura gave a little keening mewl at the loss of warmth, and Sasuke, despite everything, felt a surge of lust course through him at the small sound. Sasuke decided he'd be better off taking a cold shower rather than waking Sakura up. He returned barely ten minutes later and was glad to note that Sakura was sitting up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Pushing aside the curtains that shielded the officecomplete with the bed from the treatment area, Sasuke rubbed a towel through his wet hair and flicked droplets of cold water onto Sakura. Emerald eyes glowered at him. "Morning," Sasuke smirked. Sakura yawned, before replying, "Mornin'. What's the time?" He dropped the wet towel on the unsuspecting medic's head before checking the clock, "Six forty-five. Time to get up." He said, watching Sakura pull the towel off her head and stretch lethargically. The t-shirt slipped off a shoulder, and Sasuke knew that there was nothing more he wanted to do than suckle on that expanse of collarbone. Simply sleeping in the same bed as Haruno Sakura was definitely going to kill him. "Are you okay?" the feminine voice cut through the haze Sasuke had unknowingly sunk into. Sasuke blinked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Go take a shower. We've got the supplies mission in an hour." Sakura nodded and padded past him, grabbing her wash things from a table as she did so. Flashing him a sleepy smile, she was gone. Sasuke sat down on the unmade bed heavily. How was it that just after taking a cold shower, she had managed to work him up again? His head dropped into his hands. This was torture, and yet, there was nothing he could do. She was vulnerable. She had suffered another loss. He wouldn't sleep with her again, not like last time, not as just a comfort thing. And when the hell did he start thinking about her in this way? 8.30 a.m. Hinata woke up rather suddenly. She briefly wondered why, and then heard the steady series of small explosions from the back of the cave. Sighing, she realised it was only Kakashi. She had been awoken in the same way for the last five days; she supposed it was about time she was used to it. Pushing the small blanket off her frame, she rolled off the bedding made up of straw and jackets. Stretching briefly, she began the long trek to the back of the cave. As she walked, the walls

around her became more charred and crumbled. Unperturbed, she finally came upon the silver haired copy-nin with a ball of chakra in his hand, slamming it into the wall, sending dust and rocks everywhere. Hinata coughed and winced. Kakashi turned around and waved. "Yo. Sleep well?" "Yes, thanks. Umd'you need a hand?" "No, noalmost done anyway." Hinata perked up, "Really?" "Yep. And then we can focus on the main problem." Hinata sighed. She hated thinking about that problem. It was worse than the fact Konoha had been taken over and that she had no idea if her friends were still safe or not. It was worse, because she was forced to accept something might happen to the man who had taken care of her this past week. "Kakashi" "Don't start, Hina-chan. I'm not going to change my mind." Hinata sullenly stared at the obstinate man, hating herself for letting this happen. "What about Sakura?" she blurted, "You're all she's got left! Her sensei, Tsunade, is dead. Naruto is dead. You're the last one! Are you really going to do that to her?" The Hyuuga saw something flash through his single lazy eye. Hinata hated herself every time she was forced to use this card on Kakashi, but it was the only one that seemed to have any effect. She had to keep reminding him, in sheer hope that he'd change his mind. But then, unlike all the other times where he had simply turned around and ignored her for mentioning this, he walked towards her with a very serious expression settled on his facial features. He pulled down his mask, and Hinata found herself staring at his handsome face apprehensively. "I want you to do something for me, Hina-chan," he started quietly; "I want to pass on this message to her for me." Hinata felt her stomach churn horribly. "Kakashi" He placed his hands on her shoulders, stooping so they face to face. Hinata resisted the urge to wrench backwards and scream at him. "Please." He added softly. Hinata shook her head violently. "Why? Why do you have to do this? Kakashi, please, let someone else! We're almost throughif you could get that message to Jiraiya on timehe knows a way around ita way that doesn't involve you dying!" Kakashi sighed, and spoke to her calmly, quietly, "And let the Kyuubi destroy everything and everyone, including us and Sakura? Hinata, please."

Hinata felt the tears creeping up on her. Her throat choked up. Slowly, she nodded, and as Kakashi said the words she forced herself to imprint into her brain, she felt the tears well up in her eyes and slowly, terribly, slid down her cheeks. His arms wrapped around her, and she sobbed at the injustice of war, and the bravery of the man before her. 1.55 p.m. Crash! Sakura winced as she threw herself onto the ground, rubble flying everywhere. Dust rose and almost blinded her instantly, and the pink haired Jounin rolled away from the point of danger and hopped to her feet. Coughing as silently as possible to clean her lungs of the harmful particles, she scanned the misty surroundings. She was in one of the old sewers, and she couldn't see any of her companions. Sighing, Sakura cursed her luck. She had been on a mission with Sasuke to pick up the supplies that been left in one of the secret exits by Morino, as well as smuggling in several more Leaf shinobis, but on the way back they had been ambushed by Rain-nin as soon as they hit the old sewers. Sakura could only be thankful that they hadn't discovered the secret passageways. The dust was clearing. Sakura felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise suddenly, and instinct caused to leap sideways. A kunai clanged against the wall where she had been standing. Her assailant was still hidden by the rubble and dust, but Sakura lashed out fast, hitting the Rain-nin with a kunai. A thumpthe bastard had fallen. Pleased with herself, Sakura set out to find her companions. She didn't move far; the dust had almost completely cleared up, and Sakura only needed to walk a little way down the tunnel to find Sasuke leaning over a dead Rain-nin. The Uchiha reacted instantly to the sound of her footsteps, a kunai almost leaving his hand before he caught a flash of pink hair. Sasuke sighed in relief. "There you are. What happened?" "The initial explosion threw me back a bit. I'm okay, I cushioned my fall." Sakura explained as she picked up a bag full of supplies. "Is everyone okay here?" Sasuke looked over his shoulder to the group scattered about behind him. The blonde woman smirked, twirling a blood stained kunai in her hand. "Never better." Yamanaka Ino declared, looking rather satisfied. "We've been itching to kill some of these bastards since we got invaded," Shiranui Genma grinned. "We kinda ran out round the Bases. Killed 'em all." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. You'll be plenty satisfied in three daysif things go right." "Oh, we'll be satisfied, even if things don't go quite right. We're killing as many of these motherfuckers as possible." Ino growled.

Sakura found herself smiling as she looked at each of the new arrivals. All of them had fire burning their eyes. They were determined to take back their village, no matter the cost. It was a nice change; those who had been around when Tsunade's execution took place often found their confidence wavering. It wasn't easy getting over such traumatising news. Sasuke finally stood up, having checked that all their attackers were well and truly dead. "Alright, time to get back to base. Make sure we've got all the supplies. Was anything damaged?" "No, don't think so." Was the general response as they shouldered the large bags and headed down the tunnel. Their footsteps were muffled by chakra. Genma fell back to sling an arm around Sakura. "How have you been, gorgeous?" The medic rolled her eyes, "How the hell d'you think I've been?" she muttered dryly. Genma sighed. "I hear you. What I mean is, are you coping okay?" "Well enough to get me through the next few days." Sakura replied, before looking up at Genma, "Kakashi and Hinata are missing, but there's been no sighting of them in the Main Square, so we're assuming they're in hiding." "Probably. It's Kakashi after all. He's most likely got some sharp plan he's sorting." Genma conceded, before looking down at Sakura and grinning lecherously, "So, y'know, it's tradition to sleep with someone the evening before battle." "Genma" Sakura growled. The older Jounin laughed, raising his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Yeah, yeah, it won't be me you'll be rolling in the sheets with before battle, I hear you." "Damn straight." "Go easy on Uchiha though, yeah?" Genma snickered, before leaping ahead to catch up with Ino. Sakura's mind took a moment to process this. And then the first thought of that really doesn't sound too bad was quickly replaced with a hang onwhat?! The perturbed medic realised she was lagging behind and rushed to catch up, falling into step with Sasuke and unable to help herself from occasionally glancing at him. The Uchiha caught her eye once, and smiled briefly, instantly causing Sakura's mind to go into overdrive. She really hadn't noticed how much their relationship had changed recently. Nor had she noticed how much she relied on him; he was her rock when things got incredibly shaky. And now Genma's comment had forced her to come to one conclusion: she spent far too much time with the Uchiha than could be considered normal. Which meant she liked him. Him. Uchiha Sasuke. The bane of her existence. Kami, this was weird.

"Hey, Sakura, you've got a cut on your arm. Give me your pack, and heal it." Sasuke suddenly said. The pink haired Captain gaped at the Uchiha. When the hell had he started being this considerate? And friendly? AndandKami, she was totally blind, wasn't she? "Sakura?" The words sunk in. Sakura wordlessly handed over her pack and sought out the cut she hadn't even realised was there. Which was odd, considering how much it ached now that she knew it was there. Hovering a hand over the large and slowly bleeding slash, she automatically healed it without so much as thinking about it. Sasuke gave her a quizzical look as he handed her bag back. Sakura ignored it stubbornly. This whole thing was weird. And more importantly, not happening. She did not want smile back at him and blurt out all her worries. She certainly did not want to reach over and hold his hand, no matter how many times she had done it before. And, most of all, she did not want to just grab him and kiss him senseless. Oh, who are you kidding here? Sakura thought helplessly, glancing at the Uchiha again. He was telling Ino to put a sock in it before her loud voice got them thrown into a cage. She instantly smiled at the reprimanding Ino-pig was receiving, and then hastily wiped it off her face. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Sakura thought angrily. You don't like him. Not like that. He's just been a good friend. He was there when Naruto died and he was there when Tsunade-shishou died. Don't over-think things! And with that last thought, Sakura pushed the matter out of her mind and succumbed to the exasperating concept of denial. 11th April 1.45 a.m. Sakura didn't sprawl over him as soon as she got into bed, which surprised Sasuke. But the pinkhaired woman had been acting oddly nearly all day noweven going as far as locking herself up in the First Aid Room with a million and one small injuries that the Leaf-nins could probably survive without her assistance. She hadn't said anything as she got ready for bed either; normally he was the silent one while she occasionally mentioned some idea or another for the battle. It was only another two days away now Sasuke frowned when the medic laid her head on the pillow and put as much space between in him and her as possible. What did I do this time? The bewildered thought fell through Sasuke's mind. It was quickly followed by an age-old complaint about women never telling you why they were angry. Sasuke sighed, pushing the slightly sexist thought aside. Women were irrational at times, but Sakura would murder him for even thinking something along those lines. The onyx eyed ex-Captain scowled. He was even changing his thoughts because of her! How ridiculous!

Determined to get to the bottom of this, Sasuke turned to the unnaturally quiet medic. "What's the matter?" he asked gently. He twitched. He had meant to be more forceful. Stupid mouth. There was a pause, and then a softly spoken, "Nothing. Go to sleep." He twitched again. She wasn't even looking at him! Sod it all, he was going to sleep. Women were crazy at times. Best just to leave it. But slowly the time trickled past, and neither found the sleep they craved. The silence in the room was tense, and Sakura, despite how much she tried, couldn't fall into a slumber. She was hyperactively aware of the presence a mere few inches away, and trying to sleep on the edge of the bed wasn't exactly helping. Eventually Sasuke lost all patience and tugged Sakura backwards into his arms. Wide emerald eyes skittered over his face in surprise. "Idiot." He grumbled, and Sakura couldn't help but relax into his embrace. They were both asleep within seconds. 12th April 7.35 p.m. Unfortunately for Sasuke, that was not the end of things. He endured her evasiveness for the following day and a half, only receiving any physical contact from her when she crawled into bed, curling hesitantly against the side of his body. He had no idea what the idiot was thinking, but it was starting to piss him off. "Say, Uchiha." Sasuke blinked, and looked at Kiba, who was frowning. The Rec Room was full for the first time ever, as most shinobis were back from the missions and were preparing for the final battle that would start at dawn. "Hn?" "It's not a very good atmosphere in here, is it?" It took a moment for Sasuke to comprehend this, as he really was thinking about other things annoying pink haired medics with a habit of driving him crazyonly to realise that Kiba was right. The gathered Leaf-nin were either sitting in silence or chatting nervously. Little groups had been formed, and men and women alike traded stories on their families and friends, while a few hugged tersely, as if to say goodbye. There were twenty or so civilians amongst them, and they looked down-right terrified. It definitely wasn't a good atmosphere. "Hn." Sasuke agreed.

"We've got to do something. Anything. We can't have them like this tomorrow. They need to be ready." The moments didn't even make a dent in Sasuke's current thoughts, as Sakura had walked in carrying a large sack that looked like it would break a normal person's back. Sakura, however, had heard Kiba's words, and dropped the bag at his feet with a dull thunk, smirking. For the first time in two days, she seemed normal. "Leave it to me, Kiba," she told him, before hopping onto a table, waving her hands to catch everyone's attention. "Hey guys, can I have a moment please?" she shouted, and the terse chatter faded as everyone turned to their resident head medic. Kiba peeked into the sack. His eyes widened briefly, before a huge grin spread across his face. Sakura smiled easily, running a hand through her hair. "For those that don't know me, my name is Haruno Sakura. I'm the head medic here. I'd just like to say a few words to you." She briefly looked around, her smile fading, "I know you're all feeling scared. We have a long and hard fight ahead of us, and we'll staring death in the face. Yes, some of us will die. Yes, all of us will suffer." The crowd looked queasy, but Sakura's voice took a hard tone. "But we are Konoha's shinobis, protectors by nature. We are soldiers in a war. At dawn tomorrow, we walk out this compound with no intentions of returning. At dawn tomorrow, we begin the struggle to take our village back." "Damn straight!" Kiba shouted. A forceful roar of agreement followed. "At dawn tomorrow we will reap our revenge and make Tsunade proud of us." The roar came again, louder and louder as Sakura shouted over them, "And when we are done, Konoha will be ours!" The crowd of shinobis erupted, jumping to their feet and shouting with her. Sasuke was stunned to hear the familiar phrase that had haunted everyone for days. "LONG LIVE KONOHA! LONG LIVE KONOHA!" Kiba jumped up onto the table along side Sakura and shouted with her. Akamaru's barks joined the chaos. Sasuke was briefly surprised when he saw a stray tear fall from passionate apple green eyes, but he only shook his head and joined in. Finally the crowd settled again, looking fired up and ready to take on anything. Kiba was pleased. "Last but not least," Sakura finally said, "We had a little tradition back on Red Base. On the eve before battle, those going into battle would gather together and get completely trashed." She paused, before picking up the sack and emptying the contents onto the table. An incredible amount of cans fell out. "I'd like to honour that tradition, if you don't mind." Sakura grinned, and another appreciative roar rose as Sakura and Kiba leapt back down, letting the crowd take the cans of alcohol. "Thanks, Sakura," Kiba murmured into the medic's ear, hugging her warmly, "Now, isn't there something else you need to do?"

Sakura gave him a confused look, and Kiba only nodded his head in the direction of a certain onyx eyed man. The medic bit her lip, and then something slid across her eyes. Sasuke was surprised when Sakura grabbed his hand and lead him away from the Rec Room. She was complete silent as she took him the short distance to the First Aid Room, closing the door firmly behind her. "Sakura?" Sakura anxiously bit her lip again, obviously deliberating something in her head. "What?" he began to say, and then, very suddenly, her soft lips were on his, and his mind went completely blank. He only pulled her closer, encouraging her as lips parted and tongues danced sensuously. And then, just as suddenly, she pulled away. "What?" he repeated dumbly. "ISasukeI didn't even realise until recently. And thenI just denied it. But I can't anymore. Tomorrow there's a good chance one of us will die, and I justI wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't tell you." Sasuke blinked, trying to look away from her kiss-swollen lips. And then the words shattered his haze, making him blink again. "I can't stop thinking about that night after Naruto's funeral." She told him quietly. Sasuke opened his mouth, only to close it again, lost for words. Sakura ploughed ahead anyway, "And I want you. In fact, I don't just want you, I need you. And it's scary, because I never thought that I'dwell" she cleared her throat nervously, "You were on my mind a lot when you were gone on that mission. And then you came back, and something clickedand Ijeez, I'm losing track here" Sasuke stared at her. Sakura stared back, irritation beginning to show in her eyes. "Kami, you prat! I'm trying to tell you that I love you, so say something!" And then Sasuke opened his mouthand laughed. Before the anger in Sakura could bubble up and burst out at him, he pulled her closer and placed a sound kiss on her lips. "You idiot," he told her, smirking, "I've only been in love with you sinceforever." A soundless "Oh." fell from Sakura's lips, apple green eyes widening. "And you're right; we might die tomorrow, so let's make the most of it." And with that, Sasuke kissed her again. Hey everyone, I'm back! Mucho gracias for all the reviews--I live off them, don't ya know?--and well, here's the result of an entire of day of writing. Literally. I started six hours ago and wrote

the whole damned thing, while listening to loud music. I'm pretty sure it stems from finally catching up with the manga. Anyways, am on two weeks hols now so the next update will be before I go back to college. Only if I get plenty of reviews though, ne? Disclaimer: Eto...if I lived to be three hundred and sixty nine, I still won't own Naruto. ENJOY!

Contradicted Chapter Twenty One: Sunrise Dawn. The sun rises gracefully in Konoha, with gorgeous pinks and stunning purples and hues of grey mingling with the faded blackness of a retreating night. Most of the village is rousing by this time, market stools being set up, shop keepers making their morning stock take, workers picking up their teas and coffees, mothers making breakfast, fathers reading the newspaper and smiling amusedly as the kids bounce around with early morning hyperactiveness. Dawn. Neji rouses me with a sense of urgency, and it takes me a moment to realise we're on a mission, and that dawn is our wake up call. We have to pack up quick to catch up with the target, who should be moving by now. I forget that I've left my towel by the stream and leave it behind. Dawn. Hinata rolls over and lets out a small cloud of breath that floats lazily in the morning air, sleeping bag crinkling noisily. I open an eye and see Naruto sitting up, watching her with a dazed smile, and I look away, unable to stop this sudden happiness. Dawn. Hinata's screaming, the sound muffled against Kiba's chest. Ino sobs quietly, clutching at Shikamaru. Genma lays a hand on Kakashi's slightly shaking shoulder, and Gaara stands silently, unable to comprehend. Sasuke is clutching my arm tightly. It's still raining. Dawn. He's stone cold in my arms, his blue eyes detached and empty. I can't stop cryingI'll never stop crying it seemsand the sun rises, dazzlingly, peaking over the trees, an array of blood red colour. The sun rises, ignoring the fact that Naruto is dead, and can't appreciate it anymore. Night. Sasuke kisses me heatedly, passionately, hands wondering, worshipping every part of my body. He murmurs something in my earyou can't die tomorrowpromise meliveand I promise, make him promise too, and feel the promises turn to ash. Dawn is coming. Time to take our revenge. Time to fight. Time to kill. One year ago 13th April 4.49 a.m. Inuzuka Kiba had just begun his breakfast when the couple immerged. Like clockwork, everyone in the vicinity paused in their activities and glanced over at the recognisable duo; after all, their names carried a lot of weight. Uchiha Sasuke, the orphan, avenger, the little brother of the son-

of-a-bitch that killed their Hokage and took their village. Haruno Sakura, the talented medic, vicious fighter, the hardened woman who had lost nearly everything in one fell swoop. Along with Kiba himself, everyone looked at them like their saviours. Kiba snorted. They were fools. The takeover had messed with their heads. The Haruno and the Uchiha were no saviours. They would not swoop in and save everyone. People were going to die a lot of people. Sasuke would not be there to intervene at just the right moment, just like Sakura would not be there to pick them up, heal their wounds and send them on their way. This was war, not a clich. But if they were the symbolic human-shaped version of hope to these shinobis waiting for possible death and certain pain, that was fine. Everyone needed that last little bit of hope, after all. And from the way they walking so close to each other, Sakura had finally caught on to her feelings and done something about them. That was good. Sasuke was Sakura's last vestige of hope; hope for a better life. A happy life. If they could just get through the next few days alive. His hope was Kami knows where, holed up with Hatake Kakashi. "Mornin' lovebirds!" Kiba greeted cheerfully, despite his dark thoughts. Perception was everything for those other shinobis watching them. Sakura smiled and dropped into the seat opposite Kiba, Sasuke sitting close beside her. "Hey, Kiba. How are you feeling this morning?" "Ah, y'know" he murmured, waving his hand flippantly. Sasuke nodded in understanding. Sakura smiled again, and Kiba wondered if it was to compensate for the fact there would be no one smiling in a mere hour or so. "Make sure you eat up," she said, "Both of you. Can't have my boys getting hungry on the field, can we?" My boys. Kiba remembered a time where she would murmur the words gently, completely defusing a hostile argument between himself and that smart-mouth blond he had underappreciated, while Kakashi looked on in amusement. Just those two words and they were all mush in her hands. The term my boys had grown to encompass Neji and little Hiro from her old, ruined Squad, and now Sasuke too, but along the way she had lost the most important one. Kiba smiled easily and tucked into his food, while Sasuke heaped both his and her plates with food, letting his hand clasp hers for a second. Kiba caught her brief and yet genuine smile, and desperately hoped they would be okay. An hour til dawn. 6.03 a.m. Haruno Sakura walked down the cold, impersonal stone passageway with the generic feeling of blankness that had settled over her entire mind within the last half hour. As she approached a side passage that would lead to an exit, a hand shot out and stilled her. She turned, looking into unfathomable onyx eyes, trying to freeze out the fire that erupted in her chest as she did so.

He didn't say anything, only leaned down and briefly kissed her, dry lips pressing hard against hers, before pulling away. His rough fingers adjusted her slightly lopsided hitae-ate, brushing against her hair, before letting her go and walking around her. Sakura watched him leave with trepidation, only comforting herself with the fact she would meet him as soon as the first phasethe least dangerous phasewas over. Grasping a kunai from her holster, she approached the exit silently, forcibly ejecting any thoughts connected to Sasukeor Kiba, Kakashi, Hinata, Inoin order to focus on her targets. And there they were, standing just down the road from the secret passageway exit. Three shinobitwo Rain and one Cloudall spread out over this four-way junction in the road. She had taken one of the hardest kills of the entire village, and that was fine. It would keep her mind occupied. Sakura checked her watch. 06:09. Six minutes left. Already the sky was starting to get lighter, tinting a grey-blue and pushing away the blackness of the night. She waited for a few more minutes to crawl by before darting out of the secret entrance, skittering behind the nearest tree. Her chakra was suppressed, and the Guards sleepy, waiting for the switch-over, so no one noticed her. In fact, no one noticed her as she crawled up behind the stock-still Rain-nin closest to her, glancing at her watch again. Just a few more seconds The sun peaked over the hill in a blaze of glory, shining brightly over the ruined village. At that exact moment, Sakura leapt upon her target, yanking his head back by his hair and dragging a kunai across his exposed throat. The Rain-nin made a gurgling noise of surprise, barely audible, before collapsing to the ground. The Cloud-nin noticed and let out a shoutone that alerted his companionbut paid the price as a bloody kunai hurtled through the air and collided with his skull with a sickening crack. He was dead within seconds. Sakura supposed it was testament to the fact she had truly changed in the last few years when the remaining Rain-nin was dealt with quickly and brutally, without an ounce of mercy in her fluid movements. Retrieving her blood-stained weapons, she jumped up a tree and waited for the Guards that would relieve the fallen men from their duty to arrive. They arrived barely five minutes later, and Sakura was so restless that she threw a kunai the moment they appeared. Cursing herself for her impatience, she thanked her luck that the kunai connected with an unsuspecting Cloud-nin's neck. The other two went into immediate alert, but Sakura was quick to capture them in a genjutsu. It was child's play. Once Konoha had the element of surprise, it honestly was too easy. There was just too much of a difference between their calibre of shinobi. But Sakura was getting cocky, and that was what proved her downfall when one of the Rain-nin broke out of the genjutsu and suddenly leapt at her with incredible speed, katana flashing. Sakura threw herself sideways, but the katana glanced across her cheek, leaving a stinging cut. The Rain-nin changed tactic within a split-second, swinging the sharp steel downwards, intent on slicing through her stomach. Sakura rolled away, pushing herself off the ground with a hand and a foot swinging to connect with the Rain-nin's head. He stumbled, and Sakura took the opportunity to yank out her own katana and gut him with it. The Rain-nin's eyes widened, blood streaking out of his mouth and dribbling down his chin.

"Bitch" he choked out, "You don't stand a chance of taking this village back." Sakura twisted the katana, causing him to choke and gurgle helplessly. "Yeah?" Sakura growled, "Tell that to the rest of your dead comrades!" She yanked out the katana. His eyes rolled backwards into his head and his body slumped forward. She leaned down, checking his pulse, finding none, and went to deal with the other still captured in the genjutsu. Only to find he had already been dealt with. "You've changed, Sakura-chan." Came that honey-sweet voice she was incredibly familiar with. And yet, she hadn't heard it in over a year... Turning to her right, where the voice had floated from, she looked up into the tree, and found an ANBU gear-clad boy crouched on a branch. His face was covered by a dog mask, but she didn't need to guess twice as to who it was. "Hiro" she whispered. He jumped down, landing gracefully and silently, before walking towards the pink haired medic. He stopped just before her, and her fingers reached out on their own accord. Pushing aside the mask, she found those bright green eyes and mess of blond curls, and that smilethat gentle, happy smile he had always wornit was still there Sakura yanked him forwards and hugged the younger boy tightly, his happy laughter filling her ears. This, she remembered, was what she was fighting for. Laughter, happiness...lovethat was what she was fighting for. Not just revenge. Hiro had reminded her, all these months later, so long after Naruto's death, that it was what Naruto had fought for. And to see him again, to see him alive and well and still smiling, despite everything that had happened to him, was a miracle. It was more than Sakura herself had ever managed. "It's great to see you, Sakura-chan." Hiro grinned as he pulled away. "And you, Hiro-kun." She murmured, ruffling his hair. But the happy reunion wasn't to last, as at that moment, Konoha's warning system kicked in and a high pitch wail filled the air. The village's captors were finally aware that half of their shinobis had been killed during the Guard switchover. Sakura looked about, knowing the streets would soon be filled with enemy-nin, before turning back to Hiro. "Let's go!" He grabbed her hand and together they took off down the road, their footfalls silent on the crumbled path. Just a few streets away, Sasuke was wiping clean his katana with a handkerchief, six bodies littered on the ground around him. He looked up at them as they approached, smirking at the sight of Hiro. "Sasuke-chaaaaan!" Hiro shouted happily, jumping right onto his ex-Captain. "Oi, get off, Hiroshi!"

"We've got to get a move on." "I knowdamnit, Hiroshi" "Haaiiii, Captain!" Sakura was filled with such nostalgia at the sight that she almost made a remark to Leikoonly to violently remember that she was dead, and so was Naruto and Tsunade, and they would be too if they didn't get a move on "Alright, boys, break it up. Let's move out. We've got a village to save." Sakura ordered, determined to get back to her fighting mindset. Finally Hiro let go of Sasuke and nodded. Sasuke sighed, sheathing his katana, and followed Sakura as she darted back into the secret passageway. Only moments after the entrance sealed shut behind Hiro did a flood of Cloud and Rain-nin came down upon the streets of Konoha, shouting as they went. The alarms were still wailing. The fight had begun. 6.21 a.m. It had barely been minutes since the alarm went off that a rather calm Chuunin Rain-nin, named Suzuki Jin, watched as his fellow comrades took to the rather empty streets of Konoha, where not a Leaf-nin was in sight. They were good, Suzuki knew, for they killed every Guard taking place in the switch-over and had disappeared right after. But still, there was about one of them to every four Rain and Cloud-nin. He looked around. His colleagues up here on the wall were rather more nervous than he was. They paced left and right, looking back and forth over the village. The high pitched wail of the alarm was making it hard for communications, so Suzuki hoped it would switch off soonand then it did. Suddenly everything was a lot quieter, with only shouts erupting from the village beneath them. Suzuki rolled his eyes. All this fuss But then a faint rumbling caught his ears, only audible because the alarm had finally shut up. Thinking it was just his imagination, Suzuki ignored itonly to find he couldn't, because now the wall was starting to tremor. What in the name of hell was that? Suzuki suddenly realised that no one was looking on the other side of the wall. Whirling around, he scanned the large clearing, and then the trees just ahead that surrounded Konoha. Was it just him, or were the trees shaking rather dramatically considering this light wind? It was hard to tell, because the sun was rising rather brightly today, and it was hard to see with it blazing away in the corner of his eye. But there was no mistake when someone drifted, seemingly in mid air, out of the trees and into the clearing. Who the hell was that? Suzuki squinted, and then suddenly realised that he wasn't floating in mid air, but standing on a cloud of sand. The stranger's stark red hair and cold jade eyes leapt out at him.

Oh dear Kami. Sabaku no Gaara. Okay. Okay. This wasn't too bad. Akatsuki could kill him, no problem. Hell, a good size of Rain and Cloud-nin could knock him out. Kill him. This wasn't too bad But then Gaara smirked up at him, jade eyes glinting dangerous, and raised his hand. And all of a sudden, a hoard of Sand and Leaf-nin erupted from the trees, streaking towards Konoha's walls, a never ending river of enemy-nin here to claim back Konoha. Ah, shit was all Suzuki managed before the sun was blocked out, and they were there, right in front of himand then the world erupted in pain, before melting into black. 7.01 a.m. "It's started!" Hinata shouted down the cave, peering out of the opening into the chaos happening below. "Kakashi, we should get down there!" "Hang on, almost ready!" came his distant reply, followed by a thump and a string of profanities that made Hinata roll her eyes. Moments later, Kakashi appeared, shaking dust out of his hair and rubbing the developing bruise on his forehead. "Fixed it up as much as I could, but it'll still be a bit dangerous. You'll have to tell them to be careful." "Right," Hinata replied, shouldering her small pack and looking back into the chaos below her again. Her enhanced eye sight was immediately drawn to the large white dog tackling a Rain-nin. "Kami, that's Akamaru! AndKiba! He's okay!" Kakashi smiled, placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Let's go help him out then." Hinata grinned at him, and together they left their cave, leaping back down to Konoha for the first time in nearly two weeks. Kiba wasn't farbut there were plenty of enemies along the way, and it was easy to fight now that the numbers had been levelled with outside help. It was unreal, seeing four different countries fighting in the hidden village of Konoha, but it was easy to see who was their friend and who was their enemy from the hitae-ates and the colours of their flak jackets. Kakashi caught a wayward shuriken, and returned it with deadly accuracy, catching the Cloud-nin in the stomach. Hinata skidded into a courtyard, backtracking when an explosive tag exploded just to her right, leaping over a body and hoping it wasn't a Leaf or Sand-nin, or worse, someone she knew, and briefly looked over her shoulder to check Kakashi was with her. Finding he was, she focused on her target. Kiba looked around just in time to see her. "Kiba! KIBA!" she shouted, ducking under a kunai and stopping to scuffle with a Cloud-nin. Kiba's eyes widened. "Hinata!" he shouted, lunging for the Cloud-nin, and together the pair brought the bastard down, Hinata finished him off with a sharp stab of a kunai.

Kiba sucked in a breath, and then stared at Hinata. "Hinayou're okayKami, you're okay" Hinata wiped away a streak of blood from her cheek, grinning and gasping for breath from her run. Laughing from sheer relief, she tackled the Inuzuka in a hug, the pair crashing to the floor just in time to avoid an explosion of fire over their heads. Kakashi hurried to deal with the culprit. "I was with Kakashiwe have a safe way out of the villagewho's supposed to be getting the captured?" Hinata asked, still lying on top of an incredibly dazed Kiba. "I am," he replied after a second, "You have a way out? Fantastic, I was just going to keep the civilians in the secret passageways, but there's always the risk they'd follow" The two rolled apart before a large boulder crashed down on where they had been lying, a huge Cloud-nin growling at them and flexing his over-sized muscles. Kiba and Hinata looked at each other and both leapt with seamless cooperation. Kiba ducked a massive arm, and slashed at it with his katana. "Where the hell have you been, Hina?" Hinata leapt into the air with Akamaru, both descending on the Cloud-nin with kunais, claws and sharp teeth, only to be thrown off again before enough damage was made. Hinata leapt to her feet. "Secret cave. Had water and alland you'll never get this" "What?" Kiba shouted before nodding to Akamaru and the pair leaping into action. "I saw Kakashi's face!" Kiba almost stopped in mid-air, which turned out to be good thing, as the fist swinging towards miscalculated and ended up missing up, causing the Cloud-nin to lose his balance. Kiba and Akamaru landed on his back, Kiba plunging his katana into the large meat beneath his feet, Akamaru using his claws to full capacity, sending the Cloud-nin into the ground. "You've gotta be kidding me!" he said, yanking out his katana and sheathing it. "Nope." Hinata smiled. "Sakura's gonna kill you." "Yeah, well, kinda planning on not telling herKakashi!" Kakashi raised a hand in greeting, before catching a kunai with it. "You go with Kiba to release the prisoners. Get them to safety." "What will you do?" Kakashi threw the kunai back, catching the Rain-nin in the chest. "I'm going to keep the area relatively empty so you can get everyone out easily enough. Better hurry though. You can bet things are going to get a lot worse very soon." Kiba nodded and grabbed Hinata's hand, leading her away. Kakashi quickly called after them, "Hinata-chan, you know what to do if the worst happens."

Hinata suddenly tightened her grip on Kiba's hand. "I'll be there." She called back softly, and Kakashi nodded before leaping back into the action. The pair took off in a run. "The worst?" Kiba questioned. Hinata shook her head, "Just hope it doesn't happen." Kiba decided he didn't like the sound of that. 2.31 p.m. Sakura gasped for breath, the cut on her cheek stinging violently as it pressed against the small stones and dust of the rough ground. She leapt to her feet with a one-handed jump, twisting to avoid the explosion from where she had just been lying. Forcing chakra into her feet, she landed with a blast as the ground cracked and crumbled further, crushing several Rain-nins. Then she was running, swooping past several bodies to wrench her katana from the ground, swinging it time to block another attack of shuriken. The battle had been going on for hours nowon and off everywhere, with people falling every minute. Explosions riddled the village, buildings collapsing with a tonne of brick and stone and crushing everyone in the vicinity, fires burning out of control. Their village was beyond destroyed now, but Sakura had expected it to be. But the question that burned in her mind was simple. Where the hell is Itachi? It was afternoon. The sun hung high in the sky, the beautiful blue skies mocking where the smoke didn't obscure it. How ironic. So much death, and yet the weather was stunning. "Sakura, watch out!" She leapt high into the air to avoid the ball of flame that skittered right at her, raising a hand of thanks to Hyuuga Neji, who only nodded and tackled a nearby Cloud-nin, movements swift and deadly. Sakura landed quietly, just behind a Rain-nin, and swiftly stabbed her with her katana, and then moving on before she had even fallen to the ground. There really was no time for mercy now. The Main Square was filled with bodies, and it made it hard to walk. Everywhere she looked, there was death. Pain. Some of them weren't quite deadjust dying, just hovering there, in painand she spotted such a Sand-nin a little further down. She couldn't ignore her medic instincts, and was by the Sand-nin's side within moments. She was blonde, and her face was so incredibly matted with blood and sweat that it took a moment for her to realise that Sakura knew this woman. "S-Sakura" she whispered. "Oh Kami, Temari!" Sakura murmured, immediately drawing chakra into her hand and examining the damage. Fractured ribs, deep penetration wounds to her stomach, both bleeding profusely she had minutes to live, and needed a blood transfusionshit!

Sakura kicked out her panic and started working on the blonde, repairing cells and stitching together tissue and skin as quickly as she could without damaging her work. Temari would be left with scars, she just didn't have time to be that careful, but at least it was healing. After the wounds were closed, the focused on healing the bone just enough to let Temari move without inflicting too much damage. Her task accomplished, a mere fifteen minutes later, she leaned back, letting out a breath. Temari sat up slowly. "Thanks," She said, her voice cracking slightly. "We need medics like you back in Suna." "Doesn't everyone?" Sakura quipped, smiling tiredly. It was brief, as a moment later she had pushed Temari down and covered her as a rain of kunai fell down upon them. Sakura cried out as one collided with her shoulder with a sickening crack and another slashed her side. "SAKURA!" Sasuke shouted, from a ledge above her. Leaping to the roof of an empty cage, he tackled the culprit, katana doing its work within seconds. Sasuke looked down on Sakura, who had reached back and yanked out the kunai and was now healing it slowly, green eyes shut. Temari staggered to her feet and almost fell again, before Neji jumped in and steadied her. "Get her out of here." Sakura gasped. "Sakura, no!" Temari protested. "You need a blood transfusion," the pink haired medic growled, wincing as the deep cut in her side stretched slightly, "And there's a Hospital Bay being set up outside the village. You wouldn't last two seconds with the amount of blood you've just lost, so Neji, get her out of here." Neji nodded, picking up the protesting blonde without much effort. "Keep yourself safe, Sakura." Sakura let out a sigh as she finished healing her shoulder, "You too, Neji. See you later, Temari." They left as Sasuke leapt down and helped Sakura up. Silently, he wrapped the side wound in gauze, eyes flickering between the torn flesh and the once-imprisoned civilians and Leaf-nin slowly trickling out of the Hokage Building. Kiba and Hinata were in there, freeing the rest of the captives, as they had been all morning. Sasuke knew the prisoners had been kept in separate areas, all under protective barriers, making the job of freeing them all ten times harder. "Why don't you just heal it?" he finally asked Sakura. "Gotta save my chakra. Itachi could turn up any moment" Their heads whirled around as a faint explosion from beneath them rumbled the ground. There was a pause, and then a series of more explosions rattled the ground and the surrounding buildings, and then suddenly there was a rush of screaming civilians pouring out of the Hokage Building as fast as they could go BOOM! Another explosion went off, this time a lot louder and a lot closer. Sakura felt her heart drop when another explosion caused the bottom of the Hokage Building to explode outwards and then

CRASH! The building collapsed in an eruption of rock and stone and glass, showering everyone in the vicinity with dust and rubble. Sakura screamed, while Sasuke yanked the medic into his chest and bent them over to avoid anything flying into their faces. Several glass shards from windows sliced across his back, along with glancing blows of small rocks, but nothing that damaged too badly. And then it was over, dust billowing in the air, ears ringing from the crash. And Sakura screamed again, pushing Sasuke away and looking utterly horrified. "KibaHinatathey were in there! Oh Kami, they were" Sasuke felt his heart go cold, but found it wasn't from the alarming fact that Sakura's friends might just be deadthe series of explosions from beneath them was probably the basement collapsing in on itself, so Sasuke didn't really see how they had survivedbut rather, his heart went cold from the voice that followed. "Well, that was unbelievably fun." Sakura froze. "Don't you think, Itachi?" Hey everyone. I'm back (finally). Here's the next installment, which I've spent all day finishing when I should've been studying...well, I actually think this chapter went quite well, considering what I was trying to obtain. But let me know, okay? Oh, and thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far. And check out the poll on my profile page; I just want to know what Sakura pairing you guys think I should write after Contradicted is over. Disclaimer: Don't own any of it. Enjoy!

Contradicted Chapter Twenty Two: Private Hell The first time I stared death in the face I was fourteen. Naruto had been away with Jiraiya, and Ino and I were on a simple two-man surveillance mission in Grass. A simple C-Class mission that had us camping for two days and keeping an eye on a single stretch of road. No one expected any troublebut trouble came, crawling up behind us in the form of a rogue paedophilic Stonenin and catching us unawares. Ino took a blow that knocked her out within the first five minutes of our desperate struggle, and his fingers wrapped around the base of my throat, squeezing tightly and cutting off my windpipe. I gasped for breath, pushing fruitlessly against himdesperate to remember what Tsunade had only just begun teaching me about using chakra to create strengthcursing the fact my kunai had already been knocked out of my handand all the while he leered and chuckled as he strangled the life out of me.

And then he pulled me forwards, fingers tightening and I choked as a slimy tongue ran up my cheek in a lewd gesture. He was laughing, and it sounded like death itself. "I'm going to take your pretty blonde friend home and fuck her until she's broken and dead." Maybe it was the fact I was starting to go dizzy from lack of oxygen. Maybe it was the tongue on my cheek. Maybe it was his promise of hell for my best friend. Maybe it was a combination of all three. All I know is that the next moment, I had put enough chakra in my fist to put it straight through his skull. Staring death in the face had forced my mind to act on a subconscious level and to harness that which I hadn't managed to control before. Such fear hadn't taken me very often since, but as I looked at Naruto and Tsunade's murderer, I knew that moment would come again. I could protect my best friend from a paedophile, but could I protect myself against a sociopath? Could Sasuke? When the fingers clenched around my throat, would I be able to pull that final, deciding punch? One year ago 13th April 2.46 p.m. Her first thought was that it was so incredibly dark, a pitch black that swirled and hung heavily over her normally sharp eyes. Her second was the painan intense, brutal pain that seemed to emanate from various parts of her body, although where exactly was beyond her; all she knew was that her nerve endings were on fire. She tried to move and realised that she couldn't, because there was an immense weight on her left arm and dear Kami was that painful too; but it was entirely beyond her as to why. Her mind was struggling to remember what had happened before she had woken up in this private hell, but it was so easily distracted by the pain. When was the last time she had been hurt to the point of distraction? Before Naruto's death, surely She let out a groan. She had thought of him again, and thinking of him still hurt, and emotional pain on top of physical pain was definitely unwelcome. Instead she returned to trying to recollect her memory. There was the battle, Kakashi, and then Kiba. What had she been doing with Kiba? Taking people out of the cagestaking them through the back passageway Kakashi had created and leading them into the mountains. And then returning for the restthe Hokage Building Her memory stopped at the feeling of white hot eruption followed abruptly by black. What in the name of seven hells had happened and why was it so dark? She hadn't gone blind, had she? "Hello? Is anyone out there alive?" The voice came as a welcome haven but it was faint, almost as if it was shouting through a wall. Her throat was raw and painfully dry, and shouting back was definitely not on the menu. She tried to move again, and only managed to roll over on her side, letting out a whimper of pain when her chest burned.

There was a grating noise from where the voice had come from, followed by something very odd that she couldn't identify. It sounded like two very straight edges of rock were rubbing against each other in a screech of noise that sent spasms of pain through her head. It was making her very nauseous as well, but it stopped as suddenly as it had started, and relief flooded her when it followed by a loud thunk and suddenlythere was light. Not a lot of it, granted. Just a flickering flame that sent light bouncing off into the recesses of darkness that surrounded her rather mangled looking body. And she wasn't blindthat was definitely a plus. The downside was that her arm was trapped underneath a rather large piece of rock. Well, bollocks. The voice stepped closer, a standard ball of flame floating ahead to shed light. "Hello?" The Voice called again, distinctly female. Still staring at the area where her arm disappeared beneath the blood splattered rockher blood, most likelyshe simply let out a rasping, rattling breath, hoping that it was enough to attract the Voice's attention. It did, because hurried footsteps suddenly became louder and louder as the Voice headed towards her. It gave its own gasp of recognition, and then "Hinata! Thank Kami, you're alive!" Hyuuga Hinata was distinctly aware of this rather obvious fact, because there was simply no way that death was this painful. Unless she was in hell, and that was just mean, considering what she had gone through in her lifetime. The ball of fire floated above her, but she still couldn't tell who the Voice was because despite her eyesight not being completely lost, she couldn't focus on anything. Everything was blurred. And it was slightly disconcerting. "Hold on," the Voice urged, and a hand wrapped in medicinal green chakra hovered over her forehead. She felt the intrusive chakra sinking in and travelling down her own chakra highways, leaving a slightly cool sensation as it went. Hinata wasn't entirely sure how long the chakra went about her body, the hand moving as the chakra did, but soon she was starting to feel marginally better. Her head wasn't hurting so much and her eyesight was starting to focus as well. The Voice was mumbling to herself, "Three fractured ribslacerationsthreefivenine open woundsclean fissure in right armconcussion is receding, that's good" Hinata let out another wordless rasp. The Voice suddenly looked at her, and Hinata realised who it was. Shizune. At this moment, Hinata had to thank her lucky stars. Considering her rather death-calling situation, the chances of one of the best medics in Konoha finding her was near zero. Maybe Naruto was watching her back after all. "You probably inhaled a lot of smoke and small stones. Hang on," she informed her, pressing a chakra lit hand to her throat. It was rather like cool water slipping down her throat and washing away the aches and dryness. She could really see the perks of being a medic at the moment.

The chakra receded and Hinata spluttered slightly at the after effects, and then winced as she sat up. Her ribs had been healed as well, but only half sitting because of her trapped arm was a strain on her side, which was sporting some very large gashes that had already started scabbing and stopped bleeding thanks to Shizune's expertise. "Thanks," Hinata mumbled, eyeing her arm worriedly. The rock wasn't as large some of the others that were scattered across the cracked ground. Above them, the ceiling had completely caved in and only chakra barriers holding up the ground above had kept them from being buried alive. A faint blue shimmer indicated that it was still intact. She wondered who had put it there. "Shizunemy arm?" "I know. The moment I lift that rock away, it'd take about three minutes for you to bleed to death. I just wanted to make sure you stopped bleeding everywhere else first. Buy us a little time." Shizune explained, as she examined Hinata's other wounds. "What happened?" Hinata suddenly had an odd feeling of coldness creeping up her spine. Something was so terribly wrong, and in her still confused mind, she couldn't identify what it was. She had forgotten something important, she was sure of that. Blinking, she realised that Shizune was answering her question. "a series of explosions that toppled the Hokage Building from the inside. Most of the prisoners escaped, but everyone I was with died. I barely had any time to fling myself into an alcove. Judging by the splinter that was in your leg, and the wood about here, you must've hid under a table. It probably took most of the hits. You're so very lucky, Hinata." Hinata looked up at the murky brown ceiling. Thank you, Naruto. Shizune suddenly picked up the rock, and the pain intensified to beyond what Hinata was used to. She cried out in surprise, eyes squeezing shut. The medic made a soothing sound as she pressed her hands to the mangled and almost crushed arm, piecing together fragments of bone first. Slowly, but surely, Shizune had managed to repair the arm enough to prevent impending death from blood loss, but the bones weren't completely repaired and it would scar heavily. But Shizune couldn't do much else; healing all of Hinata's wounds had sapped her chakra and now she was starting to run out. "You good?" Shizune said as she pulled away, her shoulders sagging from the strain of sitting still and concentrating for so long. "Yeah" Hinata grumbled, flexing her shoulder and lifting her arm gingerly. Shizune rummaged around her small bag and pulled out an old t-shirt, ripping it into strips. Using the longest one, she looped it around the Hyuuga's neck and around the arm, creating a make-shift sling. "Just don't jar it." Shizune warned. But for all the good the warning did, she might as well have saved her breath. Hinata suddenly stiffened and her eyes widened. She had rememberedwhy the chill had gone up her spine

She scrambled to her feet, using her one hand to create her own fireball. And then she darted out into the darkness, the fireball bouncing around her. Shizune hurried after her, opening her mouth to question the suddenly frantic black haired woman, when Hinata shouted into the devastated area. "KIBA! KIBA, WHERE ARE YOU!? KIBA!" Shizune's heart sank. 2.53 p.m. Thunk! Sakura let out a heavy, gasping breath and paused, crouched on the side of the wall. Below her the wall was littered with numerous weapons, weapons that she had only just avoided by the skin of her teeth. Only five minutes into the fight, and she was already starting to tire. That wasn't good. She reached into her hip pouch and pulled out a soldier pill. Throwing it into her mouth, she barely had time to chew and swallow before she was moving again, narrowly avoiding a few kunai. As she landed, she channelled chakra into her feet and hit the ground as hard as she could. The ground splintered with such force it was as if an earthquake had hit, and it sent everyone in the vicinity jumping upwards. Sasuke took the chance to shoot several shuriken at his brother, his aim precise and deadly. But Itachi was faster than that, and became nothing but a blur as he collided with Sasuke, kunai flashing before sinking into flesh and bone. Sasuke did nothing but wince, his hand lighting up with Chidori as he punched his brother across the face. The two Uchihas skidded away from each other and then started again, nothing but blurs that clashed and flashed as weapons flew without abandon. Sakura took the moment to glance over to Hiro, who was battling furiously with Kisame. "Sakura!" At the shout, and with her instincts screaming, she ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding a huge fireball that singed the tips of her hair. Leaping to her feet and streaking across the uneven ground, she bounced off another wall, snatching up a huge piece of debris as she did so, and swinging it down as she descended over Itachi. He moved, but the boulder caught his side and he went skidding. Apparently that pissed him off, because the next moment his eyes span and flashed red, and Sakura had to turn away, eyes shut before Itachi could capture her again. She felt horribly naked, no matter how well toned her instincts were, with her back to this murdering bastard that had no qualms with killing her as well. Deeming herself safe, she turned back again, this time keeping her eyes on his shadow. And thenItachi laughed. Sakura was pretty sure she had never heard such a chilling sound. "What are you fighting for, Haruno Sakura?" The words sent sparks of anger through her. What the hell was the bastard questioning?!

"My village!" Sakura spat, resentment visible in her posture, even if her eyes were averted. "The village you have taken and plundered almost destroyed! The village you once served until youyou son of a bitchyou killed your family and left Sasuke to suffer!" Sasuke suddenly stiffened, watching the exchange warily. His hand tightened around the cool metal handle of a kunai, ready to pounce at the slightest movement from Itachi. Whatever was happening between his girlfriendloverwhat the hell were they anyway?and his brother was obviously needed for Sakura's sake of closure. She needed to let loose on him. "What else, Sakura-san?" Kami, he was smirking at her. She wanted to rip out his eyes. "What else? No matter what my brother means to youwhat this village means to youwhat are you fighting for?" Sakura felt oddly compelled to answer, and if that meant unleashing verbal anger on him, that was fine by her. "For Naruto, you bastard! For Naruto, for Tsunadefor everyone you've killed, for everything you've done to me! For taking away Naruto from me!" she shouted, and then "SAKURA, NO!" she looked up. She realised her mistake the moment her emerald eyes clashed with those vibrant and deadly red ones, black pinnacles spinning and sending her world into a horrifying black and white nightmare. She had been caught in a genjutsu for Kami knows how long, compelling her anger to rise and the truth to come into the forefront of her mind. She had fallen straight into the trap of such an obscure genjutsu, all leading to meeting Itachi's eyes and being trapped here. "You're rather selfish, Sakura-san," Itachi announced, white against the murky black background. She was unrestricted, untouched even, but she knew that would change very quickly. This was Tsukuyomi. This was a three-day round trip to hell. This time she didn't hesitate in meeting his eyes; after all, she was already trapped. "Selfish? Hark the pot calling the kettle black!" she snapped. "I never denied my own selfishness. You, however, attack me with words of reclaiming Konoha, for honour. But all you want, Sakura-san, isrevenge." There was nothing she could say to that, because the next moment the oppressive blackness melted and was replaced with another type of blackness. Night. It was outside, in a clearing and right there, lying so very still with cobalt eyes wide open was Naruto. "Youyou!" she just about managed, recoiling in horror. She couldn't go through this again not again, please

"And how does that make you any better than me?" Itachi's cold voice flooded her mind, and before her eyes time flew backwards, landing her in the middle of a huge battle. Naruto, with eight red chakra tails flying haphazardly around and eyes burning scarlet, literally roared as numerous Akatsuki members battled hard to get a hold of him. Sakura fell to her knees, her eyes swimming with tears as Itachi pinned Naruto down, hand burning with chakra. A man with oddly ringed eyes and numerous piercings drove a katana mercilessly through his chest. Naruto choked, blood spraying everywhere oh Kami, the blood and then another blood-curdling roar was ripped from his throat. Elongated claws swiped at the powerful manSakura could literally feel the power radiating off of him, even in this distorted memory-worldbut he leapt backwards and in turn used his kunai to rip across Naruto's throat. Sakura screamed, horrified, so desperately wanting to close her eyes and block it out, but she couldn't. She was stuck. She was, literally, in hell. The Itachi beside her chuckled at her reaction, the sadistic bastard obviously enjoying the distraught look on the medic's face. And it was obvious something incredibly horrific was about to happen because even as Naruto's throat healed over, he was losingbadly. Face dug into the ground, the Akatsuki members made a series of hand seals and a ball of light surrounded Naruto's body. The jutsu to retrieve the Kyuubi had begun. Barely conscious, and the murderously red chakra fluctuating horribly, Naruto's half blue-half red eyes suddenly turned towards her. His voice was raspy, quiet, but in this nightmarish world, she heard it in perfect clarity. "Sakurahelpme" Her screams echoed. She was suddenly running, towards Naruto, wanting to do something anythingbut then she reached nothing. Blackness. The scene changed. She was looking at a terrified young Sasuke, and then she knew where she was. The Uchiha massacre. "Why are you showing me this?!" she screamed at him, already horrified as the young boy scrambled away from the dead bodies of his parents. "Why?!" He didn't reply. The scene changed again and again, every bad memory, every mission gone wrong, every death she had experienced, the war all over againand all the while, Naruto appeared and disappeared, his body suspended in mid-air, still conscious and yet slowly dying as Kyuubi was steadily torn from him. And then, suddenly, after what had seemed an eternity, they returned to blackness. Itachi was standing before her. "You won't be in a coma when you're released from here," He informed her, as she gasped and cried, hands clenched in her hair. "I want to see if you can still fight me after this." "You" she started, but never finished as she was suddenly tipped back into reality.

It took her a couple of seconds to understand what was happening, and it was her downfall. Sasuke was running towards her, shouting her name, but Itachi was already standing over her and last thing she saw was his perpetual smirk and the flash of kunai. Her world exploded in pain as she pitched backwardsand then there was nothing. 3.01 p.m. "KIBA!" Hinata barrelled through the hole in the wall Shizune had created, feeling at first relief at the sight of Kiba's prone form half covered by Akamaru, and then mounting panic that he might not be alive. Uncaring for her broken and mangled arm, she gently moved Akamaru off Kiba's chest and winced when she realised that she could feel bones sticking out from the matted and bloody fur. Shizune checked Kiba's pulse, and for one eternity-feeling second Hinata felt her heartbeat thumping erratically against her chest. "He's alivebarely!" For a split second her heart stopped, and then she let out a strangled sob of relief. If she had lost Kiba on top of Narutoshe honestly didn't know if she would cope. Not to mention Sakura would be out there, battling Itachi, and that was asking for death too. What if she had been left alone in the world? "But we've got a big problem," Shizune said, as chakra lit hands hovered over Kiba's chest. As Hinata looked up at her, she nodded down at Kiba's leg. Or, rather, where a huge boulder was where Kiba's lower right leg should've been. "Oh Kami!" she choked out. The boulder was at least three times bigger than the one that had trapped her arm. His leg was probably completely crushed. "Not just that," she said, "but I'm running out of chakra. I can heal all his minor wounds, but his legI'd need all my chakra to save it. We can't go for help eitherby the time we'd gotten hold of a decent medic, he'd be dead." Hinata swallowed thickly, tears threatening to blur her eyesight. This entire war had been so unfair, so unjust. She had felt her heart go cold from Naruto's death, but it wasn't cold enough to survive this. What was she supposed to do? She turned away from Kiba's blood-streaked face, checking Akamaru over. It was no use. The dog was very much dead, beaten from the falling rocks and explosions. It was probably how Kiba had survivedin a last act of love and loyalty; Akamaru had covered Kiba and protected his owner to the very end. "What are our options?" Hinata's questioned, voice trembling. "Not very many, I'm afraid. We wait, he dies. I try to save his leg, I might pass out from chakra exhaustion half way through and he dies from blood loss. Our best bet, it seems, is to amputate. He'll bleed, but it'll be easier to heal."

Hinata wavered. It did seem like the best optionbut losing a leg was a lot like the end of the world to most shinobis. Could Kiba survive such a thing? He would have to, Hinata finally decided. It was that or let him dieand she just couldn't let that happen. "Whatever's best." She murmured. Shizune nodded, but then paused when the Inuzuka stirred. The little healing she had done was dragging him out of unconsciousness, and she couldn't start with him caught half way between awake and sleeping. She sent a little more chakra into him, speeding his return to consciousness a little. Kiba groaned, a guttural noise that made Hinata snap her gaze back to him. Slowly, very slowly, his eyes opened and dazed brown eyes stared back at her. They blinked, and then focused. "Fuck!" he suddenly blurted, groaning again, "Fuck, it hurts." Hinata sniffed and grabbed his hand, squeezing gently. She shifted so that Kiba could lay his head on her lap, saving him the discomfort of lying on cracked stone. "I know," she mumbled. "Hina" he choked out, "What happened?" "Explosion. The entire Hokage Building collapsed." Hinata explained softly, running a hand through his hair soothingly. His eyes stared blearily into hers. "My leg" "Completely crushed, I'm afraid," Shizune told him, and his eyes snapped over to her in surprise, "We're gonna have to amputate." Kiba sat up sharply, choking out "Amputate?!" before suddenly collapsing back onto Hinata's lap with a pain-filled groan, arm clutching his chest. "We don't have time. Either your leg or your life. Your choice, Kiba." He groaned. "Fine. Fine. Take it off. Kami." Shizune took out a kunai and sterilized it with a disinfectant spray from her medical pouch. She didn't look all that happy about using a kunai, but it was the best thing she had at hand. As she readied herself to make the downward swing, Kiba brought his suddenly terrified brown gaze to Hinata. "Hinawhere'sAkamaru?" A tear escaped and fell down her cheek. She looked over at the prone form of Akamaru, and Kiba slowly followed her gaze. "KibaI'm sorryI'm so sorry!" Hinata wasn't sure if the following distraught howl was because of the loss of his beloved familiar or the pain of his leg being sliced offor if it was simply both. Hinata could only cry with him. 3.41 p.m.

Hatake Kakashi was fairly sure that the powerful, malevolent chakra fluctuating from outside of Konoha could only mean trouble. Even as he raced towards it with Pakkun, Genma and Kurenai, he knew something very bad was about to happen. How very typical of him to go heading towards it. But he supposed he was ready for this. He had told Hinata he was ready for death. "You sure it's a good idea to leave the village?" Kurenai questioned. "We're winning. Which means they're about to pull out their ace card." Kakashi replied. "Which would be the wicked-feelin' chakra we're tracking, right?" Genma contributed, senbon wiggling between his lips, "Although, Kakashi, mate, I'm surprised you're not back there kicking Itachi's ass for laying a hand on Sakura, hm? Cos you know she's gonna fight him, if she hasn't started already." "Could say the same back to you." Kakashi replied. Genma laughed. "You're right. The three of us til the endcos Asuma, bless him, already gone ahead of us. Sorry, Kurenai." "It's fine. I prefer to remember rather than forget. I can't believe it's only been two weeks since he" Kurenai paused, shaking her head, "Anyway! What d'you reckon it is?" "We're about to find out." The three and one dog jumped down into a clearing, finding themselves face to face with a single man. A member of Akatsuki if the cloak was anything to go by. It was easy to tell that the malevolent chakra they had been tracking was coming from him, which was rather disconcerting. Just how powerful was this man? And then, suddenly, he was looking at them. His eyes were ringed. Ringed. Surely, that was impossiblesurely that doujutsu was extinctnothing more than a legend? "Who are you?" Kakashi quietly demanded. The man simply tilted his head, looking back at them with calmness. And then he replied, "My name is Pein. I am the leader of Akatsuki." Genma and Kurenai suddenly fell into defensive mode, ready to strike at the slightest moment. Kakashi barely blinked. "Don't worry," Pein said, with a hint of amusement in his voice, "I only stopped by to return something." And then, so fast that Kakashi's sharingan barely caught the movement, Pein pulled out a scroll, unrolled it and swiped it with a bitten thumb. His hand hit the floor, a myriad of lines of spreading until it covered the entirety of the clearing. "What the fuck?" Genma growled. Pein looked up at them and smirked "Have fun."

and promptly disappeared. "What the fuck!" Genma repeated, over a low rumbling that was starting to grow from the centre of the summing jutsu. "MOVE!" Kakashi shouted, and all three took to the trees, streaking back to Konoha. Pakkun easily kept up with them, panting. "KakashiKakashiit's" "I know!" The rumbling continued, along with several trees being uprooted and thrown about to create space. Kakashi ducked to avoid a flying tree, skittering across a branch and leaping high into the air. As he hung, suspended briefly in mid-air, he twisted around and took in the terrifying sight. The rumbling stopped, followed by an ear-splitting roar that ripped through the air. He remembered it so well As he stared at the huge red nine-tailed fox that had been let loose so close to Konoha, Kakashi mentally prepared himself for what was to come. The Kyuubi had been unleashed. ey! Well, I'm finally back. I really had intended on updating this much sooner, but I found this chapter really difficult to write. I'm still not quite sure it'll live up to expectations, so let me know, okay? The good news is that my exams are over, so the next chapter--which is the last, not including the epilogue, if I do end up doing one--will be up within a couple of weeks. Also, for those who haven't participated in the "Which Sakura pairing shall I write for the summer" poll (its on my profile) should hurry up, because it'll be closing on the 16th. Itachi's winning-obviously--so if you don't want him, get voting! So, I've spent all day doing this, and it's now half two in the morning...sleep is abeckoning... Disclaimer: I've previously mentioned twenty two times that I have non-ownage on Naruto. Has it sunk in yet? Enjoy!

Contradicted Chapter Twenty Three: Fatal Culmination Black. What's going on? What's happening? Where am I?

I can't see. Why can't I see? What's going on? Move. But I can't! Sakura My name. That's my name. Who said my name? Why is so fuzzy, distant? Sakura! I'm trying! I'm trying, oh Kami, I'm tryingwhy can't I move? Start simple. Blink. No. Just the right eye. Right eye moves. Left burns and bleeds and aches. Something is very wrong here. Sakura! Getting closer. Clearer. Hand! Fingers twitch. Okay. That's a start. Now, vision. Vision is good. Vision is SAKURA! One year ago 13th April 3.16 p.m. The screams were haunting. Any moment now the panic was going to settle in, then crawl up her throat and choke her until she couldn't move, couldn't breatheshe was just waiting for it to happen. Her hands were already shaking from over-exerting her chakra reserves and her muscles pulled, groaned and ached from the stress. She was a Jounin, a trained medic and an espionage specialist. Her skills were unique and demanded over a wide range of missions, but nothing, absolutely nothing, was as damaging to her psyche and body as this. Nothing had ever pushed her this far. Any moment nowshe'd collapseand then what? Sakura was chasing down Itachi with Sasuke, and Shizune was Kami-knows-where, hopefully anywhere other than the pile of rubble the Hokage Building had been reduced to, but the chances of that were slim at best. Tsunade was dead. That left her as ranking medic in the Hospital Bay that had been put up on the outskirts of Konoha. From here, placed on the cliff tops over the Hokage monuments, she could see the destruction of her home taking place. Not that she had much time to watch. The wounded poured in faster than sand fell though the cracks between fingers. Both Sand and Leaf ninjas, and then the civilians that been caught in the crossfire, all of them flooding into the large-yet-never-big-enough Hospital Bay, with only twenty other medics in her arsenal. Too many. Too much. Never enough time.

"Ino-san!" "Coming!" Ino quickly wrapped a tourniquet around the stump that had once been a leg, falling back on civilian methods when chakra needed to be saved. The tourniquet would stop the man from bleeding out in the next twenty minutes, probably no longer, but Ino simply didn't have the time or the chakra to do any more than that. The man groaned. Ino wished she had time to at least give him a dose of morphine, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. No time. Never enough time. She hurried to the young medic that had been shouting for her, and the woman that was slumped on the blanketed ground. The actual tent area had long since overflowed and there was wounded everywhere, barely leaving the medics any space to walk. The woman had a kunai thrust straight into her chest, and only the metal stopped the lungs from collapsing inwards. From the positioning, she reckoned an important vein had probably been nicked. Too much. The woman rasped. The medicuntrained for combat medicine, and yet bravely holding upasked the question Ino wanted to never hear again after this was over. "Fatal or?" "Dead." Ino cut her off, the word leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She'd cry if she could, but she'd long since stopped feeling the emotion. The medic nodded, already slightly battle-hardened as she pulled out a red lipstick and marked "D" on the woman's forehead. No one would help her now. The two medics parted, the young one helping to mark out who was worth saving and who wasn't as they came in, and Ino dealing with those that stood a chance. Stopping, she helped a young woman who had "F" marked on her foreheadfatal, but workable, if reached fast enoughand worked on healing the gut wound with a mixture of quickly applied stitches and the bare minimum amount of chakra she could afford. Quickly wiping the "F" away, she replaced it with an "S"safe. "INO!" She could barely go a few minutes without someone shouting her name, and her head ached. Whirling around, never pausing despite the fatigue, she stopped dead in her tracks. Hiroshi leapt up from the Yondaime's head and onto the cliff edge, his small arms cradling a larger figurea figure with pink hair. Ino's heart stopped then skittered, and the panic that she was so scared of overcoming her crawled up her throat. She swallowed it down with horror-filled forcefulness, and rushed forwards. Sakura's entire left side of her face was covered in blood, dripping at an alarming rate. Ino's first thought was that she had received a head wound of some sort, when she caught the diagonal gouge running over her left eye and into her cheek. Not only that, but her entire frame was littered with open wounds, ranging from mild cuts to deep gashes, and Ino had a feeling there would be some internal bleeding as well. "Put her here!" Ino commanded, motioning to the closest empty space there was. Hiro was quick to comply, standing up to reveal that his entire front was covered in Sakura's blood.

Head wounds always bleed like that, head wounds always bleed like thatIno had to repeat the mantra in her head to convince herself that it wasn't fatal, it wasn'tshe could save Sakura, she could, she had done it before "Ino," Hiro said quietly, and the blonde looked up, the trails of her long hair tinged with red. He looked sympathetic and worried, "Her eye" Ino looked back at Sakura. She was no expert ophthalmologist, and she simply didn't have the time to try and find anyone that wasshe would have to do with what she had, and deal with the consequences later. Ino nodded to Hiro, already pouring chakra into Sakura's worst wounds. "Thank you." Hiro nodded back. "I've gottaSasuke's facing Itachi and Kisame's around somewhere" "Hiroshi!" Hiro paused to see Gaara running towards him, his expression feral. He had obviously stopped in to check on Temari, and had spotted Sakura's arrival as well. "Coming through!" Another familiar voice shouted, and it was only with a tinge of hope that Ino looked up from Sakura, realising that yes, it was Shizune, but was that ? Yes, that was also Kiba in her arms, unconscious and missing part of his leg. Ino barely felt anything at this revelation, and that alone almost made her choke in despair. Where was her humanity going, surrounded by all this death? Somewhere above her, Gaara was talking to Hiro. They bid her farewell, and leapt back into the fray of the village. Ino barely acknowledged them, trying to concentrate on saving Sakura. In the back of her mind, a voice wondered where Hinata was, if not with Kiba, and if she was deadand another voice questioned the thunderous roar that shook the foundations of the earth, eyes barely taking in the red nine-tailed fox on the other side of the village. And then she wondered if they were all going to die, and found herself unable to firmly believe they weren't. Save Sakura, her mind bleated feebly. Save Sakura. Save Sakura. Save 3.39 p.m. Kakashi was fairly sure that the fates, deities and life in general absolutely hated him. Seriously, why else would he be facing the nine-tailed fox for the second time in his life? The fox that had claimed his sensei, had left Naruto orphaned and hated within the village, and then claimed talented boy's life when Akatsuki had deemed him as collateral damage in their quest to gain the Kyuubi. Said fox let out a mind-numbing roar and sent several trees flying. At this rate, they'd be out of a forest, which wasn't all that appealing to Kakashi. He rather liked the forest. "Fools!" The Kyuubi hissed, and Kakashi veered backwards to avoid a gigantic paw from squishing him like a bug. More shinobis were arriving to help, the offending Cloud and Rain-nins

either dead, injured or high-tailing it as fast as possible away from the Kyuubi. "You think you can stop me? Ha! Your precious Yellow Flash is dead! Who will save you now?" Me, Kakashi thought sullenly, if you would justHOLD STILL! Just as he thought the obstinate words, Genma and Neji rushed forwards with several scrolls, his old friend tossing him one as Neji handed out the others. "Tenten was kind enough to lend us these," Neji said, unrolling the one left in his hand and waiting for everyone else to do so as well. Kakashi's hands acted on their own, never quite linked to his thought processesthings would take far too long if Kakashi didn't rely on instinct and experience. "Why didn't she come as well?" Kakashi wondered aloud. "Spinal injury. Not pretty." Genma declared, biting on his senbon hard to convey his frustration. And then, "NOW!" Everyone else in possession of a scroll flung them skywards, the paper fluttering in the breeze for a split second before long coils of chakra-infused metal sprung out, snapping like cobras at the Kyuubi. Four wrapped around each paw and clung, vice-like, as several shinobis snatched the other end of the metal chain and worked at securing it to the ground with a wide range of Justu. The Kyuubi didn't like this one bit, and made them very aware of this fact by whipping his tails at them. But they had predicted that reaction as well, and three iron chains wrapped themselves around the tails, holding them in place. This was going better than last time, Kakashi realised, and then suspected that a village which had been attacked by the same vicious creature twice in so many years would remember how to deal with it. He snatched his own chain out of the air, and with his sharingan highlighting the way, he swung the opposite end around the Kyuubi's snout like a muzzle, but unlike the others, he did not try to secure it to the ground. He only let the chain swing, yanking him into the air and landing on the Kyuubi's snout with graceful ease. He hadn't wanted to do this without Hinata present, but there was always his back up method. Hinata could be dead for all he knew, and there was simply no time to wait. The fox was really getting mad now, and unable to talk, he let out a fierce growl and swung his head side to side, attempting to rid of the fly clinging to him between his eyes. Kakashi simply held on by directing chakra to his feet, and his hands moved, making the complicated series of hand seals of the familiar kinjutsu. "KAKASHI!" Damnit all to hell! Interrupted, his hand seals faulted and he whirled around. Recognising the voice and the heavily injured woman standing at the treeline, he realised that Hyuuga Hinata had held onto her promise after all. Unfortunately for him, the Kyuubi recognised her as well. With a sheer surge of power, the chain wrapped around his snout snapped and one his paws flung free. The chain yanked out of the earth, tearing through powerful jutsu and securing weaponry alike, and flung around like a whip. It all happened so fast that an unsuspecting Rock Lee found himself in the path of a heavy metal chain, and prepared for impending death via painful whiplash. It never came.

He was thrust sideways, and seconds later, the sound of metal colliding with flesh seared through the air. Hyuuga Neji collided with a tree several feet away, and slumped to the ground, utterly still. A rumbling laugh tore through the shouts as the others scrambled to avoid the flying chain that eventually settled to the ground once the fox had stopped moving his paw. "Hyuuga Hinata, the love of Naruto's life," The Kyuubi growled, and if foxes grinned, he would certainly be doing so at this moment. "How interesting to finally meet you in the flesh." Kakashi, vaulting down from the tree he had fled to when the Kyuubi had partially freed himself, placed himself directly in front of the horrified Hinata, who was staring at her cousin with a paleness that emphasised her anguish. "And Hatake Kakashi, the revered sensei! Just need little Sakura to make the complete set...but of course, she'd be off fighting the Uchiha, wouldn't she?" Kakashi glared up at him, which was apparently all he needed to say. The Kyuubi merely laughed again, paying no mind to the fact he was held down. "Naruto loved you all so dearly, with his hopes and dreams to become the Hokage," he sneered, "A brat that never accepted that he was nothing more than a host, a Jinchuuriki! He died screaming. He died as nothing." The words seemed to be having an effect on Hinata. On all of them, in fact. The shinobis, Sand and Leaf alike, scrambled to secure the other chains more effectively. The pale woman grabbed Kakashi's wrist, and breathed out two words. "Seal him." The Kyuubi let out another thunderous roar that shook the earth. With another surge of power and demon chakra, more chains ripped out of the earth and went flying. Everyone scattered. A few unfortunate individuals didn't quite make it and were killed instantly. And then he crouched low, massive teeth gleaming as he glowered at Kakashi and Hinata. "No Naruto to control me anymore. I can finally have my revenge. Your village" Here, he let out another bark-like laugh, muscles in his legs tensing. "is dead!" He sprung, leaping clear over them. Destroying Konoha had become the Kyuubi's target once more. 3.41 p.m. The terrain was rough, and loose stones and dirt would send a civilian flying in moments at the speed he was running. But no civilian could run this fast. Chakra pumped through his legs, forcing him to go faster and faster. He was starting to approach Lee's top speed, which would but nothing short of astonishing, if it wasn't for the circumstances he found himself in.

Nara Shikamaru was often accused of laziness, but no one could doubt that he'd do anything when it was dire. A hawk flew overhead, circled a while and then let out a wearisome cry. Shikamaru ignored it, feet pounding against the dirt road. There was no one in sight. The Kyuubi's roars were growing fainter and fainter as he moved further from the ruined village. He only hoped he'd make it in time. He only hoped that the stupid Sannin was running just as fast. Minutes ticked by. Soon, the only thing he could hear was his own harsh breathing. Exhaustion was held at bay by the soldier pill he had swallowed before leaving. Ino's words were ringing in his head, over and over. "If we don't seal the Kyuubi, we're all going to die." Which would mean that Akatsuki had won. It would mean the Kyuubi would go on to plunder the rest of the villages until someone managed to seal or kill it. It would mean the end of the shinobi countries. It would mean the end of everything he had ever known. Shikamaru only ran harder, despite the burn his legs were feeling. And thenwas it? Yes! That was a hulking figure pelting towards him, turning the corner into view, sandals slapping against the dirt. Barely a minute later and they had slowed enough to stop as they reached each other. "The Kyuubiit's" Shikamaru gasped out, doubled over and bracing his hands on his knees. Jiraiya nodded, more serious than he had been in years. His eyes were tired. He'd obviously been travelling for over a week, hard and fast, in order to reach the village. "Tsunade?" "It's true." Shikamaru straightened, his expression strained, "The Hokage was executed ten days ago." Jiraiya let out a breath that conveyed everything. For a brief second, Shikamaru felt nothing but sympathy for the Sannin, who had lost his protgs and then his best friend, along with his village. At his age, on top of everything he had been through in his lifetime was it too much? And then there was nothing but admiration as Jiraiya straightened and whipped out a summoning scroll. Biting his thumb and swiping it across the scroll, he slammed his hand into the ground and with a slow rumbling, a huge toad came into existence. "Is it time?" Gamabunta rumbled. "Yes. Let's show these people how it's done, eh?" he said, hopping up onto the toad's head. Shikamaru followed. "Hold on, kid!" Suddenly they were soaring through the air, each leap stretching further and further. Shikamaru could only hope that they made it on time. 3.45 p.m.

Sakura woke up with a gasp. And then the world veered, shook and trembled, off-balance and incomplete in some way. Chilling hysteria crawled up her spine and her whole body screamed. Nerve endings on fire, acid crawling her veins, muscles frozen in ice. Nothing but pain and panic for all of three eternity-like seconds. And then blue eyes and blonde hair appeared, and for another moment, her confused mind instantly thought Naruto, and then recognised the distinctly feminine face swimming before her. "Ino!" "Sakura!" Ino all but wept in relief. "Oh, Kami, thank you. You're okay." She paused, and then hedged in, "Mostly." Sakura sat up, cringing when a scabbed over cut across her chest pulled. Her vision was still awkward in some way, and her head pounded so badly that she really couldn't think clearly enough to sort out what was going on. Carefully manoeuvring chakra up to her head, hoping to ease the pain, she realised that there were several chakra pathways that had been cut off. She stopped, and realised that everything on her left side was black. She couldn't see anything out of her left eye. Panic returned with a vengeance. Ino scrambled to retrieve a mirror from her hip pouch and pushed it into her shaking hands. Pink locks fell in matted strings around her face, and gauze covered her left eye, held in place by white bandages wrapped diagonally around her head. Her right eye was a bright green, dancing and alert. Judging from the pain, she had been cut across her temple, over her left eye and into her cheek. It was a serious wound. How the hell had it happened? Her mind struggled to catch up. She looked around, feeling out of place with her awkward perception. The Hospital Bay. Surrounded by the dead and wounded. The battle, of courseit would be damaging, she had expected it to bedeath and gore andand she was remembering. The deaths she had relived in the colourless nightmare world of the Mangekyou sharingan Itachi. Sasuke! The earth trembled as an ungodly sound erupted from behind her. Ino cringed, taking the mirror from Sakura's slack grip. Her gaze said it allturn around. She had to twist all the way around to see her broken village, left eye cutting off what should've just been a simple turn of the head. She didn't know how she missed the chakra presence, or maybe she hadn't, and that sick feeling in her stomach was from that demonic acid aura rolling in waves off the huge red shape just beyond the opposite end of the village. Having been friends with Naruto for so long, she knew the presence of the Kyuubi before she even really processed what she saw.

Her heart twisted. She blinked, trying to focus her one eye, and veered away from the Kyuubi. From her position near the ledge, she could pretty much see the whole village; especially since most of it had been levelled already. Finally, black fire caught her gaze, and she found her lover and his brother fighting an epic battle on the east side of the village, destroying everything in their path. Their presence was so great that Sakura, as attuned to chakra as she was, felt the ripples of their chakra even through the acid that was the Kyuubi's demonic chakra. And then she remembered that she was meant to be fighting that battle as well. She got to her feet, ignoring Ino's protests. A little chakra guiding had her limbs back to full movement, even if it ached to do so. Then she was digging through her hip pouch for her last remaining soldier pill. Ino was not happy with this. "Sakura, what the hell d'you think you're doing? You lost a lot of blood with that injury, you can't see out of your left eye, you're not used to the altered vision and your depth perception will be completely off! How are you supposed to aim? Why do I even need to tell you this? You're a medic! You should know better!" "Where's my katana?" Sakura asked, ignoring everything her friend had just said. Ino glowered and pointed, resigned, at her ANBU-issue weapon that lay on the floor, steel gleaming. Sakura snatched it up, ignoring the fact she had almost over-shot the grab and that she had nearly fallen over as well. The eye would take some getting used to. "There are others that need your help." Sakura pointed out. "I was busy saving you," Ino told her, "But I wouldn't have bothered if I'd known you go and get yourself killed anyway." Sakura smiled at her. "You're a better medic than you get credit for. You take care of yourself, okay? Help these people and get through this alive." "Sakurathis is starting to sound like a goodbye" Ino growled warningly. "Just in case." She turned back to face the village, clutching the katana in one hand. One foot on the ledge, and she turned back again, very briefly, "I love you, Ino-pig." She leapt. "SAKURA!" Moments later, the Kyuubi took towards the village. Seconds after that, a huge shadow passed over the Hospital Bay, and Ino looked up see the underbelly of a vast toad that landed with a deafening thump on a pile of rubble that had once been a building. Clinging to the head, looking a little worse for wear, was Shikamaruthank Kami, the lazy bastard made itand the revered Sannin, Jiraiya. Maybe there was hope after all. Shikamaru gratefully jumped over to Ino, immediately slumping into the hug she gave him. "Never again," he breathed, "Stupid frog. And my legsis it possible to get chakra burn?"

Ino gave a shaky laugh and sat him down on the ledge, retrieving a bottle of water for him. And then she left him to watch the two significant battles that were unfurling before him, returning to her duty as medic. 3.51 p.m. Blood splattered his face. Sasuke was quite fine with that. He was not fine by the fact the blood had erupted from his mouth and then splattered Itachi on the face, and the way he was pinned to the wall via the katana through his shoulder and into the brick behind him. Oh, and the hand around his throat. This was definitely not a good moment. And he was pretty sure that the spots dancing in front of his eyes were really not good either. His chest was heaving, desperate to get oxygen that simply wasn't coming. Sasuke really didn't understand how Itachi's grip was still so powerful, even with him bleeding out through his stomach wound, and his arm burned badly. Any moment nowany momenthe was going to black out and then he was very sure as to what came next But what about his revenge? His family, his mother and father? And Sakura Was she okay? Had Hiro gotten her to the Hospital Bay in time? There had been so much blood, and she had been left to bleed as Itachi turned on him, and Hiro scrambled to knock out Kisame in order to reach her. What if she had bled to death? What if? Dead or alive, Sakura wouldn't want him to lose. His lungs burned, and the spots danced, grew bigger and began to merge as his eyes began to lose focus. Desperate for oxygen, he struggled, ignoring the fact he was cutting up the wound in his shoulder a lot worse. His hand swiped at Itachi's face, almost putting out an eye. In a distressed, unmanly move, his knee slammed upwards. Apparently, the pain of losing his ability to have children would not deter his brother from choking him to death. But the grip did slacken slightly and Itachi hissed. Just enough of sweet oxygen trickled into his lungs, enough for the spots to contract a little. Over Itachi's shoulder, he saw a massive toad facing off a nine-tailed fox and wondered if he was hallucinating. And then, quite suddenly, the tip of a katana appeared through Itachi's chest and then disappeared again. A hand followed, gripping the Uchiha by the back of the neck and yanking him forcefully away, throwing him into the nearest standing wall. The wall crumpled under the impact. And then Sasuke could breathe, but the loss of oxygen had obviously fucked up his brain, because he was absolutely certain he was still hallucinating. A pink haired angel stood before him, blood dripping from the katana held at her side, a bright green eye locked onto his. A hand reached out and yanked the katana from his shoulder and thenhe slumped forwards.

She caught him awkwardly, sinking to the ground slowly to lay him down. Taking a quick assessment of his injuries, she knew he would need medical attention, and quickbut she didn't have time just yet. Whirling around, she just about blocked the onslaught of kunai, a couple nicking at her skin. She wasn't so used to her altered vision, but Itachi was heavily injured and bleeding very badly. Even so, she knew not to underestimate him, and they flew at each other and collided with an explosion. Kunai and katana clanged as they met, and bone shattered as a chakra-enhanced punch glanced across his shoulder. A senbon sliced across her uninjured cheek and then, simultaneously, they jumped backwards and regarded each other carefully. "I did not think you would be back." Itachi said silkily, sounding at ease even at death's doorstep. "You killed Naruto, and Tsunade-sama. You destroyed my village. I'll keep coming back until you're dead." she snarled. Itachi gave her a bloodied smirk and several balls of fire erupted from his mouth, and it was all Sakura could do to dodge and duck and avoid. One skittered over her arm and the burn ached, but she ignored it as she hefted up a door-sized, thick marbled rock that had once been part of a wall and hurled it at him. Itachi all but flung himself out of the way "Katon Karyuu Endan!" and straight into the path of a fire dragon. Sakura, wide-eyed and surprised, looked back at a dazed Sasuke, whose hands fell from their final seal position and eyes finally slid shut as he slumped into unconsciousness. She turned back to Itachi and saw him lying, utterly still, amongst a pile of rubble. Not wasting a moment, she hurried back to Sasuke, and began to heal the worst of his injuries. A little probing noted, in utter despair, that his final jutsu had drained the rest of his chakra, and he probably wouldn't wake up for days, even weeks. She looked up again. Her perception was still odd to her, so for a moment, she turned her head back and forth in confusion. And then she realised. "You fucking son of a bitch!" The Kyuubi let out a deafening howl that shook the earth, and a blinding light seared through her vision for minutes on end. In the distance, Hyuuga Hinata screamed in agony, and Jiraiya fell to the ground with a sickening thump. The light faded, leaving nothing but silence. Sakura's eye trained on the spot Uchiha Itachi had just been laying. The battle was over, her lover in her arms as a hand automatically began to heal his wounds, and her best friend's murderer was nowhere to be seen. He had escaped. Itachi was gone. Haruno Sakura cried. ey! Well, I'm finally back. I really had intended on updating this much sooner, but I found this chapter really difficult to write. I'm still not quite sure it'll live up to expectations, so let me know, okay? The good news is that my exams are over, so the next chapter--which is the last,

not including the epilogue, if I do end up doing one--will be up within a couple of weeks. Also, for those who haven't participated in the "Which Sakura pairing shall I write for the summer" poll (its on my profile) should hurry up, because it'll be closing on the 16th. Itachi's winning-obviously--so if you don't want him, get voting! So, I've spent all day doing this, and it's now half two in the morning...sleep is abeckoning... Disclaimer: I've previously mentioned twenty two times that I have non-ownage on Naruto. Has it sunk in yet? Enjoy!

Contradicted Chapter Twenty Three: Fatal Culmination Black. What's going on? What's happening? Where am I? I can't see. Why can't I see? What's going on? Move. But I can't! Sakura My name. That's my name. Who said my name? Why is so fuzzy, distant? Sakura! I'm trying! I'm trying, oh Kami, I'm tryingwhy can't I move? Start simple. Blink. No. Just the right eye. Right eye moves. Left burns and bleeds and aches. Something is very wrong here. Sakura! Getting closer. Clearer. Hand! Fingers twitch. Okay. That's a start. Now, vision. Vision is good. Vision is SAKURA! One year ago

13th April 3.16 p.m. The screams were haunting. Any moment now the panic was going to settle in, then crawl up her throat and choke her until she couldn't move, couldn't breatheshe was just waiting for it to happen. Her hands were already shaking from over-exerting her chakra reserves and her muscles pulled, groaned and ached from the stress. She was a Jounin, a trained medic and an espionage specialist. Her skills were unique and demanded over a wide range of missions, but nothing, absolutely nothing, was as damaging to her psyche and body as this. Nothing had ever pushed her this far. Any moment nowshe'd collapseand then what? Sakura was chasing down Itachi with Sasuke, and Shizune was Kami-knows-where, hopefully anywhere other than the pile of rubble the Hokage Building had been reduced to, but the chances of that were slim at best. Tsunade was dead. That left her as ranking medic in the Hospital Bay that had been put up on the outskirts of Konoha. From here, placed on the cliff tops over the Hokage monuments, she could see the destruction of her home taking place. Not that she had much time to watch. The wounded poured in faster than sand fell though the cracks between fingers. Both Sand and Leaf ninjas, and then the civilians that been caught in the crossfire, all of them flooding into the large-yet-never-big-enough Hospital Bay, with only twenty other medics in her arsenal. Too many. Too much. Never enough time. "Ino-san!" "Coming!" Ino quickly wrapped a tourniquet around the stump that had once been a leg, falling back on civilian methods when chakra needed to be saved. The tourniquet would stop the man from bleeding out in the next twenty minutes, probably no longer, but Ino simply didn't have the time or the chakra to do any more than that. The man groaned. Ino wished she had time to at least give him a dose of morphine, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. No time. Never enough time. She hurried to the young medic that had been shouting for her, and the woman that was slumped on the blanketed ground. The actual tent area had long since overflowed and there was wounded everywhere, barely leaving the medics any space to walk. The woman had a kunai thrust straight into her chest, and only the metal stopped the lungs from collapsing inwards. From the positioning, she reckoned an important vein had probably been nicked. Too much. The woman rasped. The medicuntrained for combat medicine, and yet bravely holding upasked the question Ino wanted to never hear again after this was over. "Fatal or?" "Dead." Ino cut her off, the word leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She'd cry if she could, but she'd long since stopped feeling the emotion. The medic nodded, already slightly battle-hardened as she pulled out a red lipstick and marked "D" on the woman's forehead. No one would help her now. The two medics parted, the young

one helping to mark out who was worth saving and who wasn't as they came in, and Ino dealing with those that stood a chance. Stopping, she helped a young woman who had "F" marked on her foreheadfatal, but workable, if reached fast enoughand worked on healing the gut wound with a mixture of quickly applied stitches and the bare minimum amount of chakra she could afford. Quickly wiping the "F" away, she replaced it with an "S"safe. "INO!" She could barely go a few minutes without someone shouting her name, and her head ached. Whirling around, never pausing despite the fatigue, she stopped dead in her tracks. Hiroshi leapt up from the Yondaime's head and onto the cliff edge, his small arms cradling a larger figurea figure with pink hair. Ino's heart stopped then skittered, and the panic that she was so scared of overcoming her crawled up her throat. She swallowed it down with horror-filled forcefulness, and rushed forwards. Sakura's entire left side of her face was covered in blood, dripping at an alarming rate. Ino's first thought was that she had received a head wound of some sort, when she caught the diagonal gouge running over her left eye and into her cheek. Not only that, but her entire frame was littered with open wounds, ranging from mild cuts to deep gashes, and Ino had a feeling there would be some internal bleeding as well. "Put her here!" Ino commanded, motioning to the closest empty space there was. Hiro was quick to comply, standing up to reveal that his entire front was covered in Sakura's blood. Head wounds always bleed like that, head wounds always bleed like thatIno had to repeat the mantra in her head to convince herself that it wasn't fatal, it wasn'tshe could save Sakura, she could, she had done it before "Ino," Hiro said quietly, and the blonde looked up, the trails of her long hair tinged with red. He looked sympathetic and worried, "Her eye" Ino looked back at Sakura. She was no expert ophthalmologist, and she simply didn't have the time to try and find anyone that wasshe would have to do with what she had, and deal with the consequences later. Ino nodded to Hiro, already pouring chakra into Sakura's worst wounds. "Thank you." Hiro nodded back. "I've gottaSasuke's facing Itachi and Kisame's around somewhere" "Hiroshi!" Hiro paused to see Gaara running towards him, his expression feral. He had obviously stopped in to check on Temari, and had spotted Sakura's arrival as well. "Coming through!" Another familiar voice shouted, and it was only with a tinge of hope that Ino looked up from Sakura, realising that yes, it was Shizune, but was that? Yes, that was also Kiba in her arms, unconscious and missing part of his leg. Ino barely felt anything at this revelation, and that alone almost made her choke in despair. Where was her humanity going, surrounded by all this death?

Somewhere above her, Gaara was talking to Hiro. They bid her farewell, and leapt back into the fray of the village. Ino barely acknowledged them, trying to concentrate on saving Sakura. In the back of her mind, a voice wondered where Hinata was, if not with Kiba, and if she was deadand another voice questioned the thunderous roar that shook the foundations of the earth, eyes barely taking in the red nine-tailed fox on the other side of the village. And then she wondered if they were all going to die, and found herself unable to firmly believe they weren't. Save Sakura, her mind bleated feebly. Save Sakura. Save Sakura. Save 3.39 p.m. Kakashi was fairly sure that the fates, deities and life in general absolutely hated him. Seriously, why else would he be facing the nine-tailed fox for the second time in his life? The fox that had claimed his sensei, had left Naruto orphaned and hated within the village, and then claimed talented boy's life when Akatsuki had deemed him as collateral damage in their quest to gain the Kyuubi. Said fox let out a mind-numbing roar and sent several trees flying. At this rate, they'd be out of a forest, which wasn't all that appealing to Kakashi. He rather liked the forest. "Fools!" The Kyuubi hissed, and Kakashi veered backwards to avoid a gigantic paw from squishing him like a bug. More shinobis were arriving to help, the offending Cloud and Rain-nins either dead, injured or high-tailing it as fast as possible away from the Kyuubi. "You think you can stop me? Ha! Your precious Yellow Flash is dead! Who will save you now?" Me, Kakashi thought sullenly, if you would justHOLD STILL! Just as he thought the obstinate words, Genma and Neji rushed forwards with several scrolls, his old friend tossing him one as Neji handed out the others. "Tenten was kind enough to lend us these," Neji said, unrolling the one left in his hand and waiting for everyone else to do so as well. Kakashi's hands acted on their own, never quite linked to his thought processesthings would take far too long if Kakashi didn't rely on instinct and experience. "Why didn't she come as well?" Kakashi wondered aloud. "Spinal injury. Not pretty." Genma declared, biting on his senbon hard to convey his frustration. And then, "NOW!" Everyone else in possession of a scroll flung them skywards, the paper fluttering in the breeze for a split second before long coils of chakra-infused metal sprung out, snapping like cobras at the Kyuubi. Four wrapped around each paw and clung, vice-like, as several shinobis snatched the other end of the metal chain and worked at securing it to the ground with a wide range of Justu. The Kyuubi didn't like this one bit, and made them very aware of this fact by whipping his tails at them. But they had predicted that reaction as well, and three iron chains wrapped themselves around the tails, holding them in place.

This was going better than last time, Kakashi realised, and then suspected that a village which had been attacked by the same vicious creature twice in so many years would remember how to deal with it. He snatched his own chain out of the air, and with his sharingan highlighting the way, he swung the opposite end around the Kyuubi's snout like a muzzle, but unlike the others, he did not try to secure it to the ground. He only let the chain swing, yanking him into the air and landing on the Kyuubi's snout with graceful ease. He hadn't wanted to do this without Hinata present, but there was always his back up method. Hinata could be dead for all he knew, and there was simply no time to wait. The fox was really getting mad now, and unable to talk, he let out a fierce growl and swung his head side to side, attempting to rid of the fly clinging to him between his eyes. Kakashi simply held on by directing chakra to his feet, and his hands moved, making the complicated series of hand seals of the familiar kinjutsu. "KAKASHI!" Damnit all to hell! Interrupted, his hand seals faulted and he whirled around. Recognising the voice and the heavily injured woman standing at the treeline, he realised that Hyuuga Hinata had held onto her promise after all. Unfortunately for him, the Kyuubi recognised her as well. With a sheer surge of power, the chain wrapped around his snout snapped and one his paws flung free. The chain yanked out of the earth, tearing through powerful jutsu and securing weaponry alike, and flung around like a whip. It all happened so fast that an unsuspecting Rock Lee found himself in the path of a heavy metal chain, and prepared for impending death via painful whiplash. It never came. He was thrust sideways, and seconds later, the sound of metal colliding with flesh seared through the air. Hyuuga Neji collided with a tree several feet away, and slumped to the ground, utterly still. A rumbling laugh tore through the shouts as the others scrambled to avoid the flying chain that eventually settled to the ground once the fox had stopped moving his paw. "Hyuuga Hinata, the love of Naruto's life," The Kyuubi growled, and if foxes grinned, he would certainly be doing so at this moment. "How interesting to finally meet you in the flesh." Kakashi, vaulting down from the tree he had fled to when the Kyuubi had partially freed himself, placed himself directly in front of the horrified Hinata, who was staring at her cousin with a paleness that emphasised her anguish. "And Hatake Kakashi, the revered sensei! Just need little Sakura to make the complete set...but of course, she'd be off fighting the Uchiha, wouldn't she?" Kakashi glared up at him, which was apparently all he needed to say. The Kyuubi merely laughed again, paying no mind to the fact he was held down. "Naruto loved you all so dearly, with his hopes and dreams to become the Hokage," he sneered, "A brat that never accepted that he was nothing more than a host, a Jinchuuriki! He died screaming. He died as nothing."

The words seemed to be having an effect on Hinata. On all of them, in fact. The shinobis, Sand and Leaf alike, scrambled to secure the other chains more effectively. The pale woman grabbed Kakashi's wrist, and breathed out two words. "Seal him." The Kyuubi let out another thunderous roar that shook the earth. With another surge of power and demon chakra, more chains ripped out of the earth and went flying. Everyone scattered. A few unfortunate individuals didn't quite make it and were killed instantly. And then he crouched low, massive teeth gleaming as he glowered at Kakashi and Hinata. "No Naruto to control me anymore. I can finally have my revenge. Your village" Here, he let out another bark-like laugh, muscles in his legs tensing. "is dead!" He sprung, leaping clear over them. Destroying Konoha had become the Kyuubi's target once more. 3.41 p.m. The terrain was rough, and loose stones and dirt would send a civilian flying in moments at the speed he was running. But no civilian could run this fast. Chakra pumped through his legs, forcing him to go faster and faster. He was starting to approach Lee's top speed, which would but nothing short of astonishing, if it wasn't for the circumstances he found himself in. Nara Shikamaru was often accused of laziness, but no one could doubt that he'd do anything when it was dire. A hawk flew overhead, circled a while and then let out a wearisome cry. Shikamaru ignored it, feet pounding against the dirt road. There was no one in sight. The Kyuubi's roars were growing fainter and fainter as he moved further from the ruined village. He only hoped he'd make it in time. He only hoped that the stupid Sannin was running just as fast. Minutes ticked by. Soon, the only thing he could hear was his own harsh breathing. Exhaustion was held at bay by the soldier pill he had swallowed before leaving. Ino's words were ringing in his head, over and over. "If we don't seal the Kyuubi, we're all going to die." Which would mean that Akatsuki had won. It would mean the Kyuubi would go on to plunder the rest of the villages until someone managed to seal or kill it. It would mean the end of the shinobi countries. It would mean the end of everything he had ever known. Shikamaru only ran harder, despite the burn his legs were feeling. And thenwas it? Yes! That was a hulking figure pelting towards him, turning the corner into view, sandals slapping against the dirt. Barely a minute later and they had slowed enough to stop as they reached each other. "The Kyuubiit's" Shikamaru gasped out, doubled over and bracing his hands on his knees.

Jiraiya nodded, more serious than he had been in years. His eyes were tired. He'd obviously been travelling for over a week, hard and fast, in order to reach the village. "Tsunade?" "It's true." Shikamaru straightened, his expression strained, "The Hokage was executed ten days ago." Jiraiya let out a breath that conveyed everything. For a brief second, Shikamaru felt nothing but sympathy for the Sannin, who had lost his protgs and then his best friend, along with his village. At his age, on top of everything he had been through in his lifetime was it too much? And then there was nothing but admiration as Jiraiya straightened and whipped out a summoning scroll. Biting his thumb and swiping it across the scroll, he slammed his hand into the ground and with a slow rumbling, a huge toad came into existence. "Is it time?" Gamabunta rumbled. "Yes. Let's show these people how it's done, eh?" he said, hopping up onto the toad's head. Shikamaru followed. "Hold on, kid!" Suddenly they were soaring through the air, each leap stretching further and further. Shikamaru could only hope that they made it on time. 3.45 p.m. Sakura woke up with a gasp. And then the world veered, shook and trembled, off-balance and incomplete in some way. Chilling hysteria crawled up her spine and her whole body screamed. Nerve endings on fire, acid crawling her veins, muscles frozen in ice. Nothing but pain and panic for all of three eternity-like seconds. And then blue eyes and blonde hair appeared, and for another moment, her confused mind instantly thought Naruto, and then recognised the distinctly feminine face swimming before her. "Ino!" "Sakura!" Ino all but wept in relief. "Oh, Kami, thank you. You're okay." She paused, and then hedged in, "Mostly." Sakura sat up, cringing when a scabbed over cut across her chest pulled. Her vision was still awkward in some way, and her head pounded so badly that she really couldn't think clearly enough to sort out what was going on. Carefully manoeuvring chakra up to her head, hoping to ease the pain, she realised that there were several chakra pathways that had been cut off. She stopped, and realised that everything on her left side was black. She couldn't see anything out of her left eye. Panic returned with a vengeance. Ino scrambled to retrieve a mirror from her hip pouch and pushed it into her shaking hands.

Pink locks fell in matted strings around her face, and gauze covered her left eye, held in place by white bandages wrapped diagonally around her head. Her right eye was a bright green, dancing and alert. Judging from the pain, she had been cut across her temple, over her left eye and into her cheek. It was a serious wound. How the hell had it happened? Her mind struggled to catch up. She looked around, feeling out of place with her awkward perception. The Hospital Bay. Surrounded by the dead and wounded. The battle, of courseit would be damaging, she had expected it to bedeath and gore andand she was remembering. The deaths she had relived in the colourless nightmare world of the Mangekyou sharingan Itachi. Sasuke! The earth trembled as an ungodly sound erupted from behind her. Ino cringed, taking the mirror from Sakura's slack grip. Her gaze said it allturn around. She had to twist all the way around to see her broken village, left eye cutting off what should've just been a simple turn of the head. She didn't know how she missed the chakra presence, or maybe she hadn't, and that sick feeling in her stomach was from that demonic acid aura rolling in waves off the huge red shape just beyond the opposite end of the village. Having been friends with Naruto for so long, she knew the presence of the Kyuubi before she even really processed what she saw. Her heart twisted. She blinked, trying to focus her one eye, and veered away from the Kyuubi. From her position near the ledge, she could pretty much see the whole village; especially since most of it had been levelled already. Finally, black fire caught her gaze, and she found her lover and his brother fighting an epic battle on the east side of the village, destroying everything in their path. Their presence was so great that Sakura, as attuned to chakra as she was, felt the ripples of their chakra even through the acid that was the Kyuubi's demonic chakra. And then she remembered that she was meant to be fighting that battle as well. She got to her feet, ignoring Ino's protests. A little chakra guiding had her limbs back to full movement, even if it ached to do so. Then she was digging through her hip pouch for her last remaining soldier pill. Ino was not happy with this. "Sakura, what the hell d'you think you're doing? You lost a lot of blood with that injury, you can't see out of your left eye, you're not used to the altered vision and your depth perception will be completely off! How are you supposed to aim? Why do I even need to tell you this? You're a medic! You should know better!" "Where's my katana?" Sakura asked, ignoring everything her friend had just said. Ino glowered and pointed, resigned, at her ANBU-issue weapon that lay on the floor, steel gleaming. Sakura snatched it up, ignoring the fact she had almost over-shot the grab and that she had nearly fallen over as well. The eye would take some getting used to. "There are others that need your help." Sakura pointed out.

"I was busy saving you," Ino told her, "But I wouldn't have bothered if I'd known you go and get yourself killed anyway." Sakura smiled at her. "You're a better medic than you get credit for. You take care of yourself, okay? Help these people and get through this alive." "Sakurathis is starting to sound like a goodbye" Ino growled warningly. "Just in case." She turned back to face the village, clutching the katana in one hand. One foot on the ledge, and she turned back again, very briefly, "I love you, Ino-pig." She leapt. "SAKURA!" Moments later, the Kyuubi took towards the village. Seconds after that, a huge shadow passed over the Hospital Bay, and Ino looked up see the underbelly of a vast toad that landed with a deafening thump on a pile of rubble that had once been a building. Clinging to the head, looking a little worse for wear, was Shikamaruthank Kami, the lazy bastard made itand the revered Sannin, Jiraiya. Maybe there was hope after all. Shikamaru gratefully jumped over to Ino, immediately slumping into the hug she gave him. "Never again," he breathed, "Stupid frog. And my legsis it possible to get chakra burn?" Ino gave a shaky laugh and sat him down on the ledge, retrieving a bottle of water for him. And then she left him to watch the two significant battles that were unfurling before him, returning to her duty as medic. 3.51 p.m. Blood splattered his face. Sasuke was quite fine with that. He was not fine by the fact the blood had erupted from his mouth and then splattered Itachi on the face, and the way he was pinned to the wall via the katana through his shoulder and into the brick behind him. Oh, and the hand around his throat. This was definitely not a good moment. And he was pretty sure that the spots dancing in front of his eyes were really not good either. His chest was heaving, desperate to get oxygen that simply wasn't coming. Sasuke really didn't understand how Itachi's grip was still so powerful, even with him bleeding out through his stomach wound, and his arm burned badly. Any moment nowany momenthe was going to black out and then he was very sure as to what came next But what about his revenge? His family, his mother and father? And Sakura

Was she okay? Had Hiro gotten her to the Hospital Bay in time? There had been so much blood, and she had been left to bleed as Itachi turned on him, and Hiro scrambled to knock out Kisame in order to reach her. What if she had bled to death? What if? Dead or alive, Sakura wouldn't want him to lose. His lungs burned, and the spots danced, grew bigger and began to merge as his eyes began to lose focus. Desperate for oxygen, he struggled, ignoring the fact he was cutting up the wound in his shoulder a lot worse. His hand swiped at Itachi's face, almost putting out an eye. In a distressed, unmanly move, his knee slammed upwards. Apparently, the pain of losing his ability to have children would not deter his brother from choking him to death. But the grip did slacken slightly and Itachi hissed. Just enough of sweet oxygen trickled into his lungs, enough for the spots to contract a little. Over Itachi's shoulder, he saw a massive toad facing off a nine-tailed fox and wondered if he was hallucinating. And then, quite suddenly, the tip of a katana appeared through Itachi's chest and then disappeared again. A hand followed, gripping the Uchiha by the back of the neck and yanking him forcefully away, throwing him into the nearest standing wall. The wall crumpled under the impact. And then Sasuke could breathe, but the loss of oxygen had obviously fucked up his brain, because he was absolutely certain he was still hallucinating. A pink haired angel stood before him, blood dripping from the katana held at her side, a bright green eye locked onto his. A hand reached out and yanked the katana from his shoulder and thenhe slumped forwards. She caught him awkwardly, sinking to the ground slowly to lay him down. Taking a quick assessment of his injuries, she knew he would need medical attention, and quickbut she didn't have time just yet. Whirling around, she just about blocked the onslaught of kunai, a couple nicking at her skin. She wasn't so used to her altered vision, but Itachi was heavily injured and bleeding very badly. Even so, she knew not to underestimate him, and they flew at each other and collided with an explosion. Kunai and katana clanged as they met, and bone shattered as a chakra-enhanced punch glanced across his shoulder. A senbon sliced across her uninjured cheek and then, simultaneously, they jumped backwards and regarded each other carefully. "I did not think you would be back." Itachi said silkily, sounding at ease even at death's doorstep. "You killed Naruto, and Tsunade-sama. You destroyed my village. I'll keep coming back until you're dead." she snarled. Itachi gave her a bloodied smirk and several balls of fire erupted from his mouth, and it was all Sakura could do to dodge and duck and avoid. One skittered over her arm and the burn ached, but she ignored it as she hefted up a door-sized, thick marbled rock that had once been part of a wall and hurled it at him. Itachi all but flung himself out of the way "Katon Karyuu Endan!" and straight into the path of a fire dragon. Sakura, wide-eyed and surprised, looked back at a dazed Sasuke, whose hands fell from their final seal position and eyes finally slid shut as he slumped into unconsciousness.

She turned back to Itachi and saw him lying, utterly still, amongst a pile of rubble. Not wasting a moment, she hurried back to Sasuke, and began to heal the worst of his injuries. A little probing noted, in utter despair, that his final jutsu had drained the rest of his chakra, and he probably wouldn't wake up for days, even weeks. She looked up again. Her perception was still odd to her, so for a moment, she turned her head back and forth in confusion. And then she realised. "You fucking son of a bitch!" The Kyuubi let out a deafening howl that shook the earth, and a blinding light seared through her vision for minutes on end. In the distance, Hyuuga Hinata screamed in agony, and Jiraiya fell to the ground with a sickening thump. The light faded, leaving nothing but silence. Sakura's eye trained on the spot Uchiha Itachi had just been laying. The battle was over, her lover in her arms as a hand automatically began to heal his wounds, and her best friend's murderer was nowhere to be seen. He had escaped. Itachi was gone. Haruno Sakura cried. Edit: Sorry guys, I was in a real rush last night so I didn't have the time to add an author's note. Seriously, I've been up all night, first finishing off this chapter and then catching an early morning flight out here to Portugal. I've only got the internet for today so I thought I'd add this little note while I can. Yes, this is the last chapter. It was thrown together haphazardly and I didn't even proof-read it. So excuse the typos and I'm sorry if this doesn't quite live up to your expectations. But I hope you enjoy it anyway. And I will try and type up the epilogue while I'm out here, so look forward to that. Edit2 (08.01.09): Okay, okay. My sincere apologies...I've tried to write the epilogue and it just doesn't seem to be coming. So, I officially give up. The story ended in a good enough place for me and I hope you're not too disappointed; one day I'll come back and write the stupid thing, but I wouldn't hold your breath. Thank you for travelling this amazing journey with me; Contradicted will always have a special place in my heart, along with all it's faithful fans. You guys have been amazing. Disclaimer: For the last time...don't own it! Enjoy!

Contradicted Chapter Twenty Four: Start Living In the end, Konoha, my home, had been completely destroyed in the battle. Many had died. Some were civilians. Some were complete strangers. Some were the enemy.

Some were the people I loved. The village was completely uninhabitable. Homes would need to be rebuild, markets and stores set up once more. The hospital would need to be built from scratch. The roads cleared and mended, the holes filled and the debris swept away. Even the monuments would need patching up. And before even that could start, the civilians would need to be housed. The wounded healed and taken care of. There was so much to do And I didn't know if I could do it. In that moment, with Sasuke cradled in my arms, the sun blinding my tear-streaked vision, the pile of rubble soaked with Itachi's bloodI couldn't do anything. I didn't have the will. I couldn't even get off my knees. In that moment, more than anything, I wanted Naruto. But life is cruel and sadistic, and I remained Naruto-less, and eventually I got up. Because the world never stops turning. And life never pauses. Just get up. And move on. One year ago 13th April 4.15 p.m. By the time Sakura got up, her legs were numb and near buckled at the sudden combined weight of lifting herself and Sasuke. Her arms were not numb, however, and trembled in pain. She had to put Sasuke down again, kicking aside rocks and pebbles to create a somewhat decent space. He was mostly healed, but she didn't have the chakra to prevent the scarring. But what did that matter? They were all leaving this war scarred. She stood up again, using the heel of her palm to wipe away residue tears from her right cheek. Her left eye remained blissfully and agonizingly black. She felt shattered. Her body was at its limit, ready to collapse at the nearest sign of peace. Her mind was fractured and still healing from the virtual mind-rape it had suffered from Itachi's eyes. She still hadn't really acknowledged that she was blind in one eye. Sakura sniffed, disbelieving that it really was over her muscles were still tense, ready to move at the slightest whisper of movementbut she couldn't see the Kyuubi anymore, and she couldn't hear anything. All she saw was smoke and rubble and destruction and bodies. It was too quiet.

She turned and looked up and down the street, seeing nothing that moved or breathed, and decided she wasn't going to make her way back to the Hospital Bay. She didn't have the energy. Eventually someone would find her. So she walked back to Sasuke, leaking a little chakra into her arms to kick-start the muscles, and picked him up. She took him the short distance to the nearest rock that was bigger than hernot far, and coincidently the one she had chucked at Itachiand settled down beside it, leaning against the rough marble. Sasuke's head settled into her lap. She buried her hand into his hair. It was silent. The sun beat down upon her face. Smoke rose in large, lazy plumes, blocking her view of most of the village. The fires that had ravaged the village had left an intoxicating heat. Her eye blinked a couple of times, wanting sleep, but her muscles clenched and disallowed such a thought. And the silence was deafening. Her mind buzzed, batted out formulations and helpful jutsumedical, defensive, offensiveand she picked up the nearest and safest route from the street and calculated how long it would take her to throw a sizable rock at an imaginary enemy depending on their positioning and the heaviness of the rock. Her eye soaked in the number of bodies in her vision and their countries ten Cloud, six Rain, eight Fireand then catalogued which buildings she remembered standing here, on this street. Her own breath rattled in her ears. Quiet, too quiet Had Itachi really escaped? Had he died in the forest, unable to move, unable to heal himself? How had he escaped in the first place? Why didn't she kill him when she had the chance? How was Sasuke going to take this? What would Naruto say now? Would he smile and tell her to get up? Would he cry as well? How much had she lost? How much had she lost? Everything. Naruto was dead, and now, so was her mentor and leader, Tsunade. There was no Hokage to rule, no one to tell them what to do. The village, Konoha, her home, had been completely eradicated. How many friends had she lost in this very battle? She knew some were definitely gone. Because that was life and it was unfair and unjust and so very cruel. She was used to that now. Hinata and Kiba had been in the Hokage Building when it had collapsed. She remembered that now, and she remembered hearing Hinata scream during that bright flash of light that she knew was the Kyuubi being sealed. Was she okay? Was Kiba dead? Had they both survived? She hoped so. But that would be asking too much. Was Kakashi okay? Genma? Neji? They would've fought the Kyuubi. Had they survived? Had she really lost everything? No. No.

She hadn't. Her hand tightened over matted locks of ebony hair. She laughed, and it sounded delirious and relieved and tired all at once. She really hadn't lost everything. Because through all the hell and hate and death, she had gained something amazing. Uchiha Sasuke. Four years ago, had she realised that she would be calling Sasuke amazing, she would've laughed in disbelief. But life is contradicting in that sense, and now she clung to his unconscious form, face pressed against his cheek and she cried in relief, because after everything that had happened, she hadn't lost Sasuke. This was the way Kakashi found her an hour later. He appeared through the smoke, calling her name and looking so entirely relieved when he spotted her hunched over Sasuke. "Sakura!" She looked up, her neck complaining painfully as she did so. Relief flooded her and she thought she might just faint there and then, because now she wouldn't need to worry about leaving herself as a target, but she held herself together because she needed to know about everyone else too. "Kakashi," she said breathlessly, and then, very carefully moving Sasuke's head to the floor, she sprung up and dashed to him. "Kakashi!" Sakura hit his chest suddenly and she was hugging him hard, and Kakashi would normally pat her on the head and wriggle away uncomfortably, but the situation warranted this particular hug returned. So he bundled her up into his arms and let her cling. Eventually she pulled back. "Are you okay?" she blurted before he could even ask her the same thing. "Could be worse," Kakashi shrugged, posture slouched and uncaring, eye jumping over her figure, showing the fatigue that his body wouldn't allow, "I was worried about you." "I'm fine," she muttered. Pausing, she added, "And so is Sasuke. He needs some more medical attention, but nothing that can't hold." Kakashi nodded but didn't offer much else. The pair stared at each other, seemingly waiting for the other to do something. Anything. Minutes trailed by, and Sakura was struck by how strange it was, now that she only had one eye as well, and now she looked like a distorted mirror image of her ex-sensei. Things had changed so much during the war. Now what would happen? Were they just supposed tokeep going? Kakashi stepped forward, taking a hold of her elbow.

"C'mon," he murmured, leading her back to Sasuke, "I think it's time we left." Sakura could only let herself be guided. 27th April 10.25 a.m. "Next!" Sakura pushed together a few notes and slid them into a folder, sighing. She stored it away in a filing cabinet as the door squeaked open and someone shuffled into the room. Sakura braced herself for another patient, another complaining Konoha civilian who had no idea how minimal their injury was. She turned around and smiled politely at the agitated middle-aged woman standing in front of her desk, fiddling insistently with the frayed edges of the bandage wrapped around her forearm. "Kichi-san, how nice to see you again." She greeted pleasantly. Despite what she had been through, she still knew how to paste a smile on her face and appear unaffected by anything in front of her patients. It was one thing she could, at the very least, fall back on in times like these. "It's almost impossible to book an appointment with you, Haruno-san. Popular as ever, I see." Kichi drawled, sitting gracefully in the chair. She was a high-class socialite, married to one of Hyuuga elders. She was out of place in the heat of the desert and nothing more than a refugee, and she made it known how much she despised it to everyone who mattered. Unfortunately, Sakura had found herself labelled as someone who mattered. "My apologies, Kichi-san. I'm very busy these days." The medic replied, pulling on a pair of gloves. She stepped over to the woman and took her arm carefully, unwrapping the bandage. A sore looking and rather deep cut that ran several inches seemed to glower at her. The stitches holding it closed almost seemed just a little barbaric compared to the fluidity of chakra-healing. "Alright, I'm going to take these stitches out and heal it over with chakra. You'll have a scar, unfortunately, but it'll be very faint and not at all noticeable. Okay?" Kichi pursed her lips. "Very well." Sakura got to work. She did it all automatically, as she did with most mundane tasks, and her mind wandered as she worked. She thought about Hinata, who was still getting used to having a separate entity held within her, and Kiba, who was struggling to cope with his leg missing. She thought about Kakashi, who was running the reconstruction of Konohanot that he wanted to, but rather from the lack of experienced and non-injured shinobis Konoha had left. She straightened her back, lips tugging into a familiar fake-smile. "All done. You're free to leave, Kichi-san." "Finally." Kichi sniffed, getting up. She bowed shortly and nodded to her, then left. Sakura let her smile slip before slouching into her chair, grabbing the relevant paperwork to be filled and filed. She had a short ten minute break now before the next patient. The last two weeks had been hectic and so very tiring. She had wanted to just curl up and sleep for weeks on end, but how could she, when her village had been destroyed and civilians and

shinobi alike needed immediate medical attention? With Kiba grievously injured and Sasuke in a coma, the Leaf-nins turned to their last remaining leader: Haruno Sakura. Once again she had found herself with a tremendous duty towards her country. She ordered the dead to be buried beside Konoha. She led the resettlement to Suna, taking care of the injured as they travelled. She set up clinics and dealt with the worst cases. She liased with Gaarabeing the only one he trustedto deal with politics and resettlement and money and then reported back to the council. She healed and arranged and delegated and led until she couldn't think straight. But she'd rather work til she was old and weary than think about the war, think about all they had lost and the very little they had gained. She'd rather work than think about Uchiha Itachi and the fact she had failed to avenge Naruto's death. With another weary sigh, she filed the paperwork and pressed a couple of fingers to the fresh bandage wrapping around her eye. Chakra seeped in and gently soothed the ache. She was still blind in that eye and she seriously doubted her vision would ever return. She could sense the severe damage to the cornea, lens and retina. After soothing the away the pain and her oncoming headache, she considered the time and stood up. Pushing aside a curtain that blocked away a single corner of the expansive room, she only needed to take a few steps before she was right next to the occupied bed. Sasuke remained still and alarmingly lifeless, in a way that would always make her heart jolt when she saw him lying there. If it was it wasn't for the steady beep of the heart monitor, she'd probably suffer heart attacks every time she looked at him. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed and took his pale hand, pressing a gentle kiss to it. "Hey," she whispered softly against his hand, "Wake up soon, okay?" "Sakura?" Kami, it was so easy to make her jump these days! War-induced paranoia wasn't planning on letting her go any time soon, that much was apparent. "One moment!" she called back. She looked at Sasuke again, reaching over to brush hair from his forehead before getting up and going to greet her visitors. Kiba grinned at her from his wheelchair and Hinata smiled, a hand resting self-consciously on her stomach, both the perfect image of broken veterans hiding their pain. "You would never believe what I saw today," Kiba announced instantly, as Hinata helped him manoeuvre the wheelchair next to the sofa, before sitting down herself. Sakura took a place opposite them on a chair. "What?" "Iruka-sensei and Kakashi." Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. Kiba's grin grew wider. It made it easier to forget that only one of his legs made it past the wheelchair seat. "They looked downright cosy too. All cuddled up and sharing a sandwich." He said, wiggling his eyebrows comically.

Hinata laughed. Sakura spluttered. "What are you suggesting about my sensei, mister?!" "Oh come on, you ever wondered why you never seen him with a woman? And don't bullshit me, I know you go through the window in his apartment all the time, and you've never once caught him out?" Sakura spluttered some more, wanting to deny everything, and waved her arms about in disbelief as she babbled about innocence and privacy and there was no way her sensei had swung that way all that time and never once mentioned itan image that had Hinata and Kiba in tears of laughter. After a while the pink haired medic gave up and laughed with them. It was worth it, just to forget about reality and to gossip and laugh with her friends. For five minutes, she pretended the war had never happened. 12.45 p.m. "Meeting adjourned. Haruno-san, can you stay behind?" The medic nodded and stayed seated while people moved past her to reach the door. She busied herself with packing away her meticulously taken notes until the last council-member or Konoha official had left. "Sakura?" She looked up and found herself staring into jade eyes. Gaara's face gave away nothing but she could discern the concern in his eyes. It was a familiar look. All her friends looked at her the same way. "Kazekage-sama." He glowered. She coughed into her hand. "Uh, Gaara-kun. Yeah." "How are you feeling, Sakura?" he asked, slipping into a seat by hers. His Kazekage robes always looked out of place on him, she thought idly. Sakura shrugged, responding automatically as she often did when someone enquired after her health or mental well-being. "A little battered, but moving on." She figured it went over better than "I'm fine.". Unfortunately, most of her friends had clued into that one by now. "Sakura." "What?" yelped Sakura, voice oozing self-consciousness. She just didn't do opening up at the moment. Surely Gaara of all people would understand that? And frankly, she found it so much easier to focus on the now, rather than the past or the future. It was the only way she hadn't broken down into little pieces yet.

Apparently he did understand, because he simply sighed and patted her on the shoulder. In her mind, she equated it to something like a bear-hug of comfort, coming from her incredibly stoic friend. "I have news for you," Gaara suddenly told her after a moment of companionable silence, his jade eyes revealing nothing. "Your council members are considering who to appoint as the Hokage." "Oh?" There was another pause. "They want Kakashi to step up." Sakura let out a derisive snort, looking out of the expansive windows that showed the Suna skyline. Everything was brown or gold or shades thereof. It was disconcerting, compared to the view she had seen so often from the Hokage Building. A building that was now blown to bits. Dear Kami, would life ever return to normal after this? She forced herself to stay on topic. "He'll never do it. Barely any missions, barely able to leave the village, and tonnes of paperwork? Not a chance." Gaara nodded, having suspected the very same thing. "They have a second optionone they're quite keen on, actually." She was so tired. So tired of politics, of reconstruction, of healing her village and her people and her friends when she wanted to tell everyone to piss off and leave her alone. She wanted to grieve, for Naruto, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Neji, Akamaru and so many others. She wanted Sasuke to wake up so they could start living. So she could start living "You've been quite amazing, y'know," he said abruptly, "Having such a pivotal role in the war, taking the responsibility of looking after your villagers and the shinobis after everything you've gone through. The war is over and yet you haven't stopped at all." True. So true. And now she wished she could just stop and cry. But every time she tried, nothing happened. "Sakura, they want to make you Hokage." All of a sudden, she realised that she'd never start living. 8.31 p.m. "So, how's it look, Doc?" "Don't call me that Hinata."

The Hyuuga smiled and laughed and neither reached her pearly lavender eyes. Sakura smiled back and it looked like a mockery of a smile that she had once bestowed on the world, seemingly so long ago. "Well?" Hinata prompted once they had stopped pretending to smile. "No infection. No interior damage. No degenerative side effects. Perfect looking seal, same as yesterday." She announced, and then her voice took a softer tone, "What's it likehaving a seal that we always associated with Naruto?" The black haired beauty smiled, and this time it was truly a wonderful smile that made her eyes spark with light. Sakura felt somewhat astounded. "It's a part of Naruto, y'know? It'sI feel proud. The villagers condemned him for being a Jinchuuriki, but now I have the Kyuubi inside me, and I can feel the power, I can hear the horrible things it says, and it makes me proud, because Naruto had this thing inside him for all his life, and he still turned out amazing. Now I can take his burden. He wouldn't be happy unless he knew the Kyuubi locked up somewhere safe, and now he can rest in peace knowing that it is." Sakura took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Guess there's no replacing him, huh?" Hinata shook her head. "No. But I love Kiba too, and I think I'm ready to move on and be happy, just like Naruto-kun told me to be." At least someone got their happy ending, Sakura thought to herself, as she turned and shrugged her white coat off. And who deserved it more than Hinata? "How's Kiba doing?" she asked, eyes flickering to the curtain that hid Sasuke. "Not so good. It's so easy to put on a mask, isn't it? But when it comes down to it, he's lost his leg, and his familiar, and there's no easy way to deal with that." No. There wasn't. There was never an easy way to deal with anything these days. "I best be off. I promised Kiba I'd pick him up from the Mess Hall, and you know how difficult it is to manoeuvre that wheelchair through the sand to the tents. I swear, the sooner Konoha is rebuilt, the better for everyone" How strange, the way people coped. Once upon a time, Hinata could barely string a sentence together without blushing and stuttering, and now strong, long and winding talk would pour from her mouth to fill the silence. Sakura didn't mind. She hated the silence as well, but silence was rare with a life as busy as hers. Silence only came when she sat with Sasuke at night. "Goodnight, Hinata." "Night, Sakura." The Hyuuga left, closing the door quietly behind her. Sakura checked the clock and figured she could grab some dinner after her meeting with Kakashi and Shizune.

It didn't take long for her to settle on the chair next to the bed, brushing a kiss to Sasuke's forehead before settling down to read through the reports the Genins and Chuunins had made concerning the quality of living amongst the civilians. They had been comfortably set up in all available hotel rooms and Sand families had helpfully taken a large amount of orphans. The shinobis who weren't back at Konoha rebuilding, were settled in tents just beyond Suna's walls. Large amounts were still in hospital, where Shizune had taken control of things. Briefly, she told herself to invite Gaara back to Konoha once it had been rebuilt, and throw a festival in his honour for being such a wonderful ally and taking care of them so well. Of course, she'd need the Hokage's permission, but She stopped, remembering what Gaara had told her earlier. Would she be the Hokage at that point? Uneasily, she checked the clock again and was thankful for the fact it was time to leave for her meeting. She got up, pushing the thought out of her mind, and instead focusing on Sasuke. "Gotta go, Uchiha," she told him softly, kissing his forehead again, "I'll be back soon." She passed the open curtains, putting the reports on her desk, and shrugging on her light jacket. It was night, and that was a stark difference in temperature compared to day. Something she would never be used to. Checking she had all the right files and her notebook, her hand was on the doorknob when she paused. Something wasn't quite right, and her instincts were screaming at her. She had learnt to not ignore them. She whirled around. Sasuke's hand was twitching. Her breath suddenly abandoned her and escaped in a swift, surprised whoosh. She took several gasping breaths, and then came out tiny, doubtful hope lacing the trembling voice. "Sasuke?" His hand moved again, this time sharper and almost rising completely off the bed. Sakura rushed to his side, holding her breath as onyx eyes flickered under their eyelids. A moment later, he stilled again, and Sakura waited a few more tense moments, before her shoulders slumped. "Prat," she muttered fondly, but disappointed, and touched his cheek gently; "I thought you were going to wake up." Very suddenly, so fast that she couldn't honestly say how it happened, Sasuke's hand wrapped around hers, and onyx eyes fluttered open and dazedly took her in. "Sa" he rasped. She inhaled sharply. A single apple green eye widened in surprise and alarm, before lighting in sheer relief. She reached for the water and helpfully held it to his lips, and he took several gulps.

"Sakura." She didn't quite believe it. "Are you okay? How d'you feel?" she asked, feeling as if she was in a dream of some sort. But that couldn't be right, reallyshe didn't sleep until she has run herself completely exhausted, so that her sleep was deep and dreamless. "Sore." He replied, dark eyes jumping back and forth, and then, "Is it is the warover? Sakura?" This was the most torturous and beautiful dream she had had in a long time, that was for sure. She sat down on the edge of the bed and curled her hand around his, revelling in how real he felt. "It's over, Sasuke. You've been unconscious for two weeks. We're in Suna, and we've started rebuilding Konoha already." "AndandItachi?" She winced. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I thought you killed him, but he disappeared after I started to heal you. I don't know if he's dead or alive. His body was never found, but the injuries he sustainedhe can't have survived those" He closed his eyes briefly and then opened them again. Sakura half-expected rage but found only resigned calm. "Your eyewill it ever?" "No. I don't think so." He didn't say anything. Instead he seemed to drink her in with his eyes, reaching up to pull her closer. Her fingers ran over his cheeks, nose, lips, feeling the flawlessly pale skin beginning to warm up to normal temperature. Was this really happening? Was he really? "Sasuke" she whispered. And then he kissed her, softly and gently and very chastely. She very nearly started crying there and then and only clung to him, feeling his dry and chapped lips pressed against hers. He was awake, oh Kami, he woke up "We survived, Sakura." He muttered against her lips, "I guess that's all we can really ask for." He was awake, and he was holding her and kissing her. He was awake, and she felt the tiny threads holding her together snapping one by one until she could do nothing but let him hold her and kiss her as she fell to pieces. Sasuke was awake, and Sakura thought her heart would burst. 29th April 1.06 p.m.

True to Sakura's expectations, Kakashi shot down the idea of him taking on the job as Hokage. True to Gaara's word, they asked her to take up the mantle that lunch meeting. Despite having known about it, the words still stunned her. It was Sasuke that answered. He had barely left her side since he had woken up, although that was partly her doing as well. War had made them both more paranoid than drug addicts and it came out as jumping at sudden movements and refusing to be apart in case something happened. Although what could possibly happen, neither really knew. "No." Sakura went from being stunned to staring at Sasuke in disbelief. "What?" Sasuke shook his head. "No." "Uchiha-san, this is really not your choice," A council Elder told him sternly. Sakura blinked. "Haruno-san, I understand if you need time to think this over. But despite your age, you have done a remarkable job leading us to recovery. Tsunade-sama would have been extremely proud of you." "Not only that," another Elder added, "But you're the best suited. You've worked under Tsunade for years. You know what it takes to be a Hokage. I imagined you've performed plenty of duties regarding that title before." Sakura glanced at her boyfriend. He looked increasingly annoyed. In the corner, Kakashi shook his head. "I, er" she started, "I need to think about it. If you don't mind." The Elders nodded and hummed in that way of theirs. "Hurry back with an answer, Haruno-san. Time is of the essence." Sakura gripped Sasuke's arm and led him away. He let her, saying nothing until they reached the safety of her office. "I want to leave." The words seemed to hit her straight in the face. She blinked, dazed, as if the impact had been physical. "What?" she repeated. "I want to leave. The both of us, that is. Justget out. We need to get out of here, Sakura. We need some time out." She digested the words for a moment. "Sasuke" she sighed, "They need me here." "The hell they do!" he shouted, suddenly, a burst of anger that she hadn't expected at all. "Can't you see how overworked you are? Can't you see that you need time to heal? The last few years have been hell for everyone, but you suffered the worst. Sakura, you haven't even grieved for Naruto properly. What about Tsunade? Neji? When do you start grieving for them?"

Sakura's mouth opened, but she had nothing to say, so she snapped it shut again. Sasuke had started pacing, trying to work off his agitation. "If you became Hokage, when d'you think you'd have time for anything? Don't you just want totell everyone to go away and deal with it themselves? Don't you want to just relax for the first time in years? Because now's the opportunity. If you become Hokage, you won't ever relax again." This was all true, and she knew it. How often had she wished for time for herself? Now that Sasuke was awake, she had wished it more and more in the last two days. Everything had happened so fast, when had really any time to focus on herself? Losing Leiko and then Naruto, fighting on the front lines of an intensive war, the Mangekyou-induced coma and seeing Naruto again, Konoha's capture and Tsunade's execution, the re-taking of their village and then the Kyuubi and Itachieverything had happened so very fast. Her coping mechanism had been to just keep moving. But why did the pain have to keep coming? Because she loved her village, and Naruto had sworn to protect it, and the least she could do for him and for her village was to rebuild and protect it in his place. She told Sasuke as such. His eyes became soft and he walked over to her, cradling her face in his hands. "Sakura," he murmured softly, "The Hokage was Naruto's dream, not yours." She gripped his shirt and closed her eye, the image of Naruto flashing instantly before her. Sasuke's voice was gentle and his breath ghosted across her nose. "And he loved you more than Konoha. Much more, Sakura." She was trembling. When had that happened? "I have so much invested in Konoha, Sasuke. My friends" "they won't blame you. And we'll be back soon enough. We just need some time. To heal. You can't do that here." "Can't I?" His eyes were expressive and open, and oh how strange that was, strange and yet so very normal at this point. His simple "No." seemed to cut straight into her. Sakura wanted to laugh and she wanted to cry as well, a myriad of emotions storming through her until she couldn't make heads or tails of anything she felt. He was right. She needed to heal. Away from Suna. Away from every reminder there was of the war. After everything, after all this, it was just her and Sasuke. Haruno Sakura, the talented medic, and Uchiha Sasuke, the stoic Captain. How things had changed, how they had changed, but they started together and now, they would finish it together.

Her life was decided in a single word. "Okay." -This is a story about a girl, a girl who was forced to grow up fast and face tragedy and violence without flinching. She lost countless people, including the one person she loved more than anything. She fought and healed in the front lines of a war she helped instigate. She bled and hurt and nearly died more times than she could count. This is a story about a girl who fell in love with a boy. He was an asshole. At first. Time and war changed everything. He went from asshole to the love of her life. So much has changed since I was nineteen years old and naively happy. This is my story. My name is Haruno Sakura. I am twenty four years old, and the last five years were some of the horrible I've ever had to face. On the other hand, five years ago, on the third of September, I met the man I would hate then love. I met the man who would help me heal. Life's just contradicted like that. I left Suna a year ago. I started living again. Moral of the story? Just keep moving. Never stop moving. Look back but never for long, always with a smile. Look forward. Appreciate everything and everyone around you. You never know when you'll lose them. We're alive. That in itself is utterly amazing. Thank you, Naruto. Haruno Sakura.