Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

Warning: Attempted/Implied Rape In This Chapter; Nothing Too Serious but I've warned ya...

Ah, yes... Another rainy day in the Fire Country, after what seemed like a year-long drought, though in actuality, the water shortage was only several months in length. Even so, the rain seemed to never stop, instead seeming, as fate played its age-old trick upon her on this very day, of all days.

The skies appeared to be weeping heavily, nineteen-year old Sakura Haruno thought to herself as she gracefully lept from tree branch to tree branch, the destination of her solo mission not much farther ahead of her.

She furrowed her eyebrows at this assumption, wondering why the skies would be weeping at all, as nothing tragic holding a remote significance has happened recently for the heavens to cry upon her so endlessly.

Perhaps they cried for her own soul, which was tainted young, and continued eroding as blood stained her hands. She was a shinobi and during her career as a shinobi, she had thus far killed many during her career as a shinobi. Even so, she regretted nothing because regret wasn't in her vocabulary anymore. She had a new ninja way, and her goal now was to gain her own strength and find her own path in life.

She never desired it so much as she did now, and the strength she did have now was well-earned. Sasuke was gone, again, after having nearly destroyed Konoha with the Akatsuki, and luckily, most of the Konoha Twelve had survived the attack.

Unfortunately, the Toad Sannin was gone, and Naruto didn't seem to quite be the same ever since. Lately, he had been trying to perfect a final jutsu that Jiraiya was attempting to pass on to Naruto before his death; the very jutsu that gave The Fourth his legendary status as "The Yellow Flash". That in mind, Naruto had been training alone more than ever, trying to perfect the jutsu and make it his own.

From what she could tell, he wasn't making fast progress without his teacher around to tell him if he was performing it correctly. Luckily, Kakashi had been Minato's student and knew what the jutsu was supposed to look like, and helped Naruto with any flaws. Personally never having learned The Fourth's speed technique, Kakashi couldn't exactly tell Naruto how the deed was done, but rather, he went by memory of his old sensei and gave observations as the two worked out all of the kinks in the technique.

Naruto was all she seemed to have left in the category of a best friend. Sasuke hated her, now more than ever, though then again, he always did hate her. She finally realized it and took it in stride, vowing to herself to live her life putting herself first, rather than everything else. Having accepted that, it was so much easier for her to make it through each day than it had been to hold onto a sliver of hope that he would be hers someday. No, that dream had died a long time ago. Now, she was a survivor. But what happens when The Survivor would someday again cross paths with The Avenger again? She tried not to think of it.

"Solo missions."

Shesighed inwardly to rarely ever went on a team mission anymore because her team—Team Seven—was no more, and without that team around backing her up in the face of danger, there would be no other team for her at all.

Now, she did mostly all Bingo Book assassinations missions. Today's mission was only slightly different from the norm. It was an S-Class mission, involving two people she had grown to loathe. One of those two would die; the other would come back either peaceably or half beaten to death, the latter seeming much more appealing to her.

She had concluded that she would never have a family like she had once dreamed of, because the only family she held dearly was now taking different paths in life. Their bonds were severed by the only person she had been willing to consider having a life with. And now?

Now, she wondered if anything still held a meaning in her heart. She wondered if she still cherished the little, meaningless memories from her childhood while Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, and herself were all together. She couldn't feel much anymore, hardened from the life of a ninja. She had changed in more ways than none.

She was taller now, but still only reached Naruto's chin. She was also much more curvaceous now, especially in her hip area. Her waist was shaped like an hour glass, accentuated with firm ab muscles from her rigorous training. Her breasts had grown as well, and had beautifully complimented the rest of her well-toned body, creating a stunning young woman. Her hair was long again, but was kept pulled away from her face. She wore black, low-cut shorts and a black top that reached just above her naval. The look all-in-all made her look more mature; more like a ninja should.

The old shinobi rule echoed darkly in her mind. She had been thinking of this particular rule a lot lately upon reflecting how much she has changed over the years.

She quickly glanced up at the sky, noticing the clouds darkening. How long had she been running? She wasn't quite sure at this point. All that she knew was her orders, which were simple.

Infiltrate Sound. Kill One Missing Nin. Return With Second Missing Nin Alive. Use Force If Necessary.

It was all such standard protocol for her nowadays—at least the assassination part. Unlike most of her Bingo Book hits, she didn't need a file for either target. She didn't even need a photograph, because she knew them—both of them. The first of the two she was extremely happy to have the opportunity to kill without his precious master around to protect his vermin ass; the second was a person whom she knew painfully far too well than she cared to. He was a man who haunted her dreams each night; her nightmares.

He took her world away and crushed it in his very hands; stealing her will to live but giving her the will to fight, as well as the capability to murder a total stranger without remorse. Now, the only difference was, that the hit would be on someone she had longed to get her revenge on. She would be sure to make him suffer much worse than any victim whom had fallen into the hands of Konohagakure's very own Ibiki Morino and she would make sure that this would be done slowly.

She would murder him in the coldest of blood with a smile on her face. She would fight him if she had to, and she would laugh aloud over his corpse. She would chill any bystanders to the bone with her innocent features, as she would watch the man bleed to death.

But he deserved it, because he was the reason for her new way of life. He was the reason that she would die alone. And finally, he was the reason she would never find peace in her now-empty life—another thing that he was to blame for.

It is amazing how easily your heart can fill with such hatred towards others once someone you love with your entire being is taken away from you. The will that can drive us to kill for that person; to seek revenge for a fate that you can't truly blame them entirely for, but yet make the excuse in your heart and mind that they are the only physical being that exists to blame for such loss.

Her mission was simple: Investigate Anonymous Tip About Team Hawk's Last Known Where Abouts. Kabuto Has Been Reportedly Spotted To Be Associating on Equal Terms with Hawk. Kill Kabuto. Bring Back Sasuke By All Means Necessary, But Keep Him Alive.

And she would do just that. Why would she care if she was forcing him back against his will? That's just it, she didn't care, at least not anymore. Feelings be damned, she was bringing him back if she had to break every bone in his body and drag him back by his chicken-butt hair.

The village had received a report that Kabuto had been performing particular healing jutsu's on Sasuke's more internal organs, particularly, his newly gained Mangekyou Sharingan—his little "parting present" from Itachi—that had been quickly blinding the idiot, faster than it had for Itachi, since Sasuke's transplant jutsu was performed on eyes that were almost completely blind as it was. In other words, Itachi may have gave him a Mangekyou, but it was pretty much useless and sucking all of the life out of Sasuke's vision.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, Kabuto was a terrible medic, or at least, he was compared to Sakura and Tsunade. He had rare forbidden jutsu's, yes, but he also had no access to new medical books with new and modern healing techniques. Sakura assumed that Sasuke should be in worse condition now than he was before Kabuto had begun attempting to heal his eyes.

Another thing about the healing jutsu was that Kabuto was absorbing Sasuke's chakra in combination to his own to heal his eyes. What Sasuke was most likely unaware of is that the drain on his own body wasn't supposed to happen, as it caused internal damages to the heart functions, as well as practically turned his muscles to mush afterwards.

The healing sessions had been leaving Sasuke weakened by the end of the day, Kabuto, on the other hand, was almost completely rejuvenated having almost never used his own chakra on the Uchiha's eye sight. It was genius, yes, and surely Kabuto knew that Sasuke was being destroyed on the inside from such frequent chakra usage. But then again, Kabuto was Kabuto. He was a prick and hated Sasuke inwardly, that much was clear.

It was noon when Sakura parted for her mission. Assuming the time it would take her to get from Leaf to Sound, by the time she would get there, the only person she would have to really focus on as far as putting up a fight would be Kabuto. Sasuke would be weak enough to take back with little-to-no resistance.

The sun began to set as she quickened her pace. The last thing she needed was to arrive in The Sound Village in the dark—that is, if she could even make it there in the dark. Much to her relief though, she vividly saw the village gates ahead and noticed two guards standing outside of it.

She crouched down hiding behind a bush, still masking her chakra completely. She was a good fifty feet away from the gates, at least. She began to perform a few rapid hand seals that caused her fingertips to glow with five faint chakra signatures.

She flicked her pointer finger forward, sending a thin string of chakra towards the biggest of the two guards. She drew her other four fingers back towards her palm before darting them forward, emitting four other chakra strings to attach to the man.

The chakra strings were thin, and they split in several places at the end, emitting five smaller strings at the end. The rest was all up to her brain. She really would have to thank Kankuro for his puppet jutsu later on, she thought to herself. But back to the task at hand.

The chakra strings of her thumb latched onto each finger of his left hand. The strings from her pointer finger had tapped into his chakra bank and stopped the flow entirely. Her middle finger's chakra strings latched onto his left shoulder blade, elbow, and wrist. She did the same with her opposite hand, gaining control of the right side of his body. She knew she had to speed things up so she wouldn't waste too much chakra.

She forced the man into submission, forcing him to take a kunai in his hand and severing his partners brachial artery. She counted looked down at her watch and stared at the hands, waiting for two minutes to pass. Once the hand struck the two minute point, she looked up towards the gates and smiled grimly to herself. Guard number two had bled to death, just as planned.

With a quick flicker of her right wrist, she forced her human puppet to raise his kunai-wielding hand to his throat as she dragged the blade across his pulse point. His body hit the floor and she released her hold on him. Stealthily, she made her way into the gates.

She looked around cautiously, and was surprised to see that there were no other guards in sight. Excellent, she thought, and began to proceed through the shadows of the sunset, treading her way forward to a dark cavern, heavily filled with the foul odor of blood and decay. It smelled as though a massacre had taken place, which was how she identified it at all.

Hawk's Hideout.

She heard a rumor once that there was a sadist among the group but seriously? Could there honestly be carcases or worse spewed about? She entered the cave located just at the edge of Sound, and to her surprise, there were in fact bodies splayed about; they just weren't those of whom she had been expecting. She had been expecting to see dead prisoners, villagers, civilians, children, for God's sakes. But the site before her, she would never forget. Team Hawk... had been wiped out.

Her assassination target was dead with the group, consisting of two males and one female. She noticed one figure not among the small heap of bodies, however, and looking a bit away, she saw his barely breathing form, confirming her suspicions. She looked to the ground, staring in shock at the bleeding figure, as her eyes widened in shock.

The fact that her second target being nearly-dead having done the deed of killings of the snake sannin himself, as well as the sannin's apprentice, and his new team mates, merely astonished her. She couldn't understand his reasoning for wanting to kill the person who he came to for power, but then again, she had no desire to question it either. Truth be told, deep down, she was happy for once, because a monster such as himself would no longer dwell the Earth to destroy more lives, as he had hers and her blonde-haired teammate years ago.

Sasuke's chakra was very faint at this point and he was almost unresponsive, his breaths coming out in short gasps, as though he were fighting for air to enter his lungs. His chest had a gaping hole that lead from his sternum to his lower abdomen, and it was a wonder he was still alive. He must have been injured not too long ago. She rushed to his side and forced healing chakra to her fingertips before roughly protruding them none-too-gently into the gaping hole located at the Uchiha's abdomen.

"Serves the bastard right." She grimly chuckled to herself as he unconsciously winced in pain from the pressure she applied as she sent her healing chakra quickly coursing throughout his body. She gasped as she sensed all of the internal injuries fighting desperately to heal themselves, but failing inevitably.

After about twenty minutes and half of her chakra supply later, his internal damage had been healed, the wound sealed, and he was still unconscious as she jostled him over her shoulder, vanishing in a puff of smoke, only to reappear again outside of the Sound gates.

"Man, the Sound is full of idiots... That was way too easy!" In the back of her mind, she knew she would probably end up near death, if not dead entirely, had she encountered a fight with the Uchiha. But, perhaps her fate had been turning around for the better. Perhaps...

She sighed, in realization that there were three poorly masked chakra signatures surrounding her.

"Well, well, what have we got here?" The first of the five said, stepping out of the shadows to her right, followed by his comrades. He was taller than her by a good four inches, at least. His hair was a bright blue shade and his eyes were a golden yellow, similar in color to the snake Sannin's.

"It looks to me like some bitch is trying to abduct Kabuto-sama's associate from us." Another replied from her left, grinning beneath his long, red hair that covered his face. His height matched the first of the five's and she let out a frustrated groan as another began speaking.

"Well, that just won't do. I do believe some 'punishment' is involved here, eh boys?" This one was eying her from head to toe, standing right in front of her. His black onyx eyes hungrily leered at her body as his black bangs blew in the wind.

All three appeared to be close in age as Sakura, though they held a dark and strong aura around her. Then again, they were Sound ninja. You can't expect them to be necessarily kind hearted. She grimaced at the thought.

In a flash, the first shinobi appeared inches from Sakura, taking Sasuke's limp body from her arms before she could register what he had done. As she turned to face him to retrieve Sasuke, the blue-haired nin had placed him on the ground, and was now grasping her wrists, pushing her backwards until she roughly hit her back against the red heads chest. The red haired one reached to the front of her and held a kunai tightly to her throat, daring her to move.

She could see the third, black haired one walking towards her, his face also holding a predatory gleam to it. He took his own kunai and latched it under her red medic vest as he slowly glided the edge down towards her naval, ripping the material in half to reveal her in a bright red bra.

"Well, look at this boys," the blue haired shinobi spoke, with a hint of satisfaction in his voice, "she's not as innocent as she looks. A red bra, eh? 'Last time I checked, red was the signature color of a whore." They all began to chuckle darkly in unison as she glared ahead in disgust.

The black haired boy began to perform some foreign hand seals before roughly grasping her wrists in his hands. Slowly, what remained of her chakra began seeping from her body and dissolving into nothing. It wasn't long before her body slumped to the ground and she was too weak to move her legs.

The three shinobi grinned amongst one another and all she could do was look at them, her eyes now filled with fear. It was ironic how such a situation was the lengths it would take to get a reaction from Sakura nowadays. But here she was, laying on the grassy ground outside of the Sound Village gates, completely helpless as these three monsters took advantage of her.

She felt paralyzed and couldn't move a muscle, save for her eyes and her lips slightly. The black haired nin proceeded to cut the rest of her shirt off, allowing the ends to fall freely to the ground as he moved to her bra. He also managed to cut that off, leaving her entire upper body bare for them all to see. The blue haired one cut at her skirt with his own kunai, the material falling to the ground with more ease than the rest of her torn clothing.

"Cant. Move. A muscle." She shrieked in pure horror to herself, watching the three in red headed shinobi began roughly pinching and squeezing her breasts from behind her, and she felt his erection pressing into her back.

"No! Shit! Gotta … Move …! Come on, Sakura…! Move…!" Her inner scolded her for not moving at all, but even so, Sakura couldn't move despite her wanting so desperately black haired shinobi cut a straight line from the center of her bra, down her stomach and panties, leaving a long trail of blood in its path from the now visibly large slice that went down her abdomen. The scent of blood was thick in the air. Slowly, she began fading in and out of consciousness from her chakra depletion until finally, she welcomed the sleep, hoping for the nightmare to just be over with.

Suddenly, three shrill screams of agony filled the air as Sakura's barely unconscious form hit roughly off of the ground beneath her. The impact briefly awoke her from her slumber to see a blurry form in front of her. She was still too exhausted, and the moment he lifted her into his arms, the world again went black.

-Three Hours Later-

Sakura awoke to the cool feeling of nightfall as she slowly opened her eyes. The world around her was slowly becoming visible and she noticed that she was wearing a long, white shirt. Soon after, she recalled the day's previous events and began hitting the figure carrying her, her limbs flailing wildly about.

"Let go of me! Let me go!" She screamed, the sheer terror and panic visible in her voice.

"Sakura." She froze once she heard him speak, automatically recognizing the voice that had softly yet sternly just spoke to her. Her green eyes looked up at the onyx ones boring into her own. He had no shirt on, indicating he had covered her up with his own. Who knew the bastard traitor could be so considerate?

"So it wasn't a dream... Damn..." she inwardly groaned to herself.

"Where are we?" She was still weak from the loss of her chakra, and the tone of her voice clearly gave that away.

"Near the boarder."

She looked at him in confusion. "The boarder? Boarder of what?"

"The boarder separating Fire from Water. We're going to Kiri." She got silent. She didn't know why he was taking her to Mist, of all places, but she could care less at this point. Not only was she exhausted, but she was relieved because for once, he wasn't running away. With that, she fell back into her slumber.

They arrived at a shipping port about four hours later, the weather change forcing Sakura awake. She looked at the ground and realized that they were on a ship, surrounded by water. "Sasuke," he looked down at her, "why are you taking me to Kiri?"

He paused at her words thoughtfully before answering her truthfully. "It's quiet there. You remember it here, when we were genin. It's small but it's quiet. Besides, the Uchiha clan originally had roots tied in with Kirigakure dating decades ago at the clan's start." He sighed at the memory of the Akatsuki leader, whom despite popular belief had been very much alive for a good while.

"My ancestor Uchiha Madara was a kage here at one point. Besides, Mist isn't exactly directly allied in with Konohagakure, any ties between the two's residential affairs not being discussed among the two. There's privacy here, and it'll be a nice place to settle down and revive my clan safely."

She froze at his answer, her eyes widening with disbelief. Suddenly, realization dawned on her like a ton of bricks and her eye twitched involuntarily. "Wait... what?! Then what the hell are you taking me with you for?!" She jumped up out of her seat in his lap, where he had been holding onto her since he himself had awoken.

"Sakura... I've been thinking it over and... I've decided that I want you to help me revive the Uchiha clan by baring my children." He answered her, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He didn't even bother asking for her to do such a favor for him. Instead, he stated it like she had no choice, which made Sakura fume with anger.

"What the hell...?! What makes you think that I'm even willing to have your kids, you arrogant bastard!" He looked at her finally, his expression was stern and intimidating to just about anyone except Sakura. Instead, she further stood her ground and continued yelling at him.

"You could have asked nicely, and I may have considered it, though even that would be a long shot, considering how arrogant and self-centered you are. But no! You have to be the arrogant Uchiha bastard that you are and demand as if I'll respond to your every beck and call! What am I, chopped liver?!"

"No, but you are annoying."

Slap.

He didn't even see that one coming and sat there in shock for a moment before resuming his calm composure, glaring slightly at her. "That wasn't necessary."

"The hell it wasn't! I'm not having your precious heirs, so find someone else, baka!"

He let out a frustrated sigh. This was going to be a long ride.

"...You're still coming with me."

She crossed her arms in defeat, not really having the energy at this point to do much else. She honestly couldn't believe how childish she was being at this moment. She figured it was about time though seeing as her holding a coldness for the last several years that could rival the Uchiha's own.

The fog in the air was growing more thicker by the hour as Sakura peered over the edge of the ship, her sleeves covering her hands from the sudden chill that filled the air as Sasuke walked up behind her.

"We'll be in Kiri soon," he whispered loud enough for her to hear him.

She nodded her head in silent understanding, too deep in thought about everything to really be as social with her childhood crush. This surprised him a bit, as he had expected her to be flooding him with questions by now. He didn't call her up on it though, feeling no need to spark any unnecessary conversation.

"Sasuke," her voice was so fragile sounding, he thought she was breaking in two, but didn't think too much of it. He looked at her in acknowledgment and she continued speaking. "Why me?" She didn't have to specify what she meant because he already knew. He honestly didn't really think too much of it, assuming she would have been thrilled at the proposition, and her opposition to the idea of spending her life with him and having children with him, had completely threw him off course.

He thought about his answer carefully, not wanting to upset her, though in all honesty he could care less about her feelings. He was an Uchiha, after all—an avenger at that. To love wasn't in his nature; to care wasn't in hos vocabulary. But he was still human, and she had once been considered a friend and comrade. She deserved an explanation after all of the hell he has put her through, which he can see has been a lot.

He wanted her to understand and hopefully accept that he probably may never love her the way she did him. But he also didn't want her to resent him to the point of denying him the chance to revive his clan. That is why he had to use logic before all else.

"Because you're here, and because I know you well enough to trust that you would be beneficial genetically to help me revive my clan." She was silent as she let his words sink in. She had, after all, expected as much.

She didn't beg him to love her this time, nor would she ever do so again. Truth be told, she wasn't even sure that she still wanted him to. Plus, she knew all too well that Sasuke was flat out stubborn and despite all of her efforts to destroy their bond, he still stood as her biggest weakness and barrier in life. She knew that inevitably, she would wind up succumbing to his wishes.

The ship docked near The Great Naruto bridge in Kirigakure that evening just as the sun was setting. The temperature was freezing as snow fell heavily to the ground. She went to walk to the exit of the ship before feeling her legs being lifted into the air as two strong arms pulled her close to him.

"Wh-What are you doing," she yelped in surprise as he proceeded to casually carry her down to the dock. "H-Hey! Put me down, Sasuke!" She began kicking her legs frantically in protest before he looked down at her raising an eyebrow.

"You have no shoes on, and you'd only be a hindrance if you tried to make it anywhere without. There's an inn not too far from here. We can get a room for a few nights." He proceeded to walk as her objections ceased. She began shivering despite him not seeming to mind the cold.

She noticed a sign ahead of them that read "The Kotiko Inn" and inwardly sighed to herself in relief. She reached her small shaking hand towards the door knob and Sasuke carried her into the inn, where they were greeted by two elderly inn keepers.

"Hello there! How may I help you, young man?" The elderly woman sitting behind the counter top boasted in glee noticing the surprising new potential customers. Sakura began to stammer out some sort of response before Sasuke cut in and answered the woman.

"My new wife and I would like a room for two please, ma'am." Sakura's face turned beat red as her legs began kicking slightly again in protest, but deciding to continue with his little skit, she spoke finally.

"Sasuke-kun, please! Put me down! You've been carrying me forever!" He smirked, noticing her obliging and playing along with his little 'skit' for the elderly couple.

"Ooh! Newly weds, eh? Well, here's your room key, the room is 408! Enjoy your stay, and please! If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask!" The elder woman chimed as she handed Sakura, whom had finally been given the ability to walk freely again, the keys to their bedroom.

"Arigato." Sakura smiled sweetly at the woman before taking Sasuke's hand, roughly dragging him out of the eyesight of the inns keepers before shoving him against a wall.

"What the hell was that all about, Sasuke?! Newly weds?!" She glared whilst trying to keep her voice in as hushed a tone as possible to avoid drawing attention to them.

His only response was a smirk before snatching the keys out of her hand and walking away, forcing her to tread behind him in a huff.

When they reached their room, it was nothing too special – just a double bed, TV, dresser, night stand, kitchen area, bathroom, and closet space. Sasuke sat down on the bed and for the first time that night, Sakura had noticed something—or rather, a few things.

His lips were blue and his skin was more pale than usual. Also, the entire left side of his body was twitching a bit in tremors. The medic in her kicked in instantly and she began approaching him cautiously.

"Sasuke," he looked up at her, "how long has your body been shaking like that?" She hadn't even noticed it while he was carrying her, probably because she too had been shaking from the weather. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't notice it was. Why?" He answered, slowly trying not to stutter and draw further attention to himself. It was too late though and he felt a hand reach out and touch his abdomen. Sakura gasped loudly before grabbing his wrist and noticing his pulse was irregular.

"Sasuke, you've got hypothermia."

He raised an eyebrow at her before shrugging his shoulders again. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

Fine? The boy could die, he would certainly not be fine! She grabbed his hands and dragged him into the bathroom, as she flicked a light on and slammed the door shut, turning a lock and forcing him to look in the mirror.

"Fine my ass! Look at you! You look like a corpse! Come on, you need body heat, now!" She didn't say another word before turning the shower on hot and grabbing his hands again.

Having dubbed the boy dense inwardly, she pulled him into the walk-in shower—clothes and all, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly, causing him to stiffen.

"What are you doing?" He asked, the situation having become all the more awkward. She ignored it though and pulled him down to the floor of the shower, climbing atop his lap and wrapping her arms tightly around him, rubbing his arms and back trying to regain proper blood circulation.

He watched her move almost mechanically as she looked completely unfazed by their position at the moment and decided to just give in and let her do what she wanted. He knew she would do it anyways.

"Sakura," he spoke finally after she had stopped rubbing his arms and just sat there with her forehead to his shoulder, allowing their bodies to absorb the warmth. She looked up at him. "We're still dressed."

She didn't quite get what he was implying and took his observation in a completely different manner. "Ugh, pervert!"

He raised an eyebrow at her again, his expression slightly insulted, though overall unfazed. "No, I meant... What are we going to sleep in?"

Oh crap. She hadn't even thought of that. Suddenly, it dawned on her that they would be forced to sleep in the nude until their clothing dried, and much to her horror, in the same bed. "Oh, Kami..." She put her head in her hands causing him to raise an eyebrow momentarily before smirking.

"Hn. Don't worry, I won't 'take you in your sleep' or anything like that."

Her eyes widened at him before narrowing into tiny slits. Smug bastard. Surely, he could care less about waving his 'man junk' about. Go figure, she gets stuck in this situation with the Uchiha bastard.

She turned the water off and grabbed two towels off of a shelf, handing one to him, while wrapping the other snuggly around her upper body. She began unbuttoning the shirt slight and watched as he looked at her completely shocked to the fact.

"What? You're going to see them anyway."

He said nothing before unfastening his pants, wrapping his towel around his waist, securing it into place as he stood there staring at her, waiting patiently for her to do the same. She looked at him confused momentarily and cocked her head to the side before rolling her eyes and scoffing at him.

"Pervert." She mumbled under her breath, though it wasn't missed by his keen hearing.

His eyebrow shot up in surprise, mostly at the fact that continued managing to insult him so openly. She definitely had changed in more ways that one—a fact he had quickly discovered the moment the wet shirt dropped to the floor, only to be quickly replaced by her towel. He turned the door handle and walked into the bedroom as Sakura slowly followed him as well, sitting on the opposite side of the bed.

"How the hell did I even get myself into this situation?" Sakura pondered aloud, more inwardly than at him. Still, he found himself obliged to answer her question.

"You, of all people, should know the answer to that one, Sakura. Why were you in Sound, anyway?"

She bit her bottom lip. She figured she might as well tell him now.

"I was assigned an S-Ranked assassination and retrieval mission. My targets were Kabuto... and you."

She gave him a proud smirk as his eyes widened a fraction, mainly at the fact that her mission was S-Ranked, and she had no team with her.

Obviously, she had gotten stronger, which made him give an inward smirk. He told himself that perhaps, her genetics really would prove useful towards reviving his clan.

Sakura's body became cold again as she climbed up on towards the top of bed and pulled the blankets down, before sliding her legs underneath them trying to regain her warmth.

She took her damp towel off once her body was covered for the most part and Sasuke stood before walking towards her, doing the same. She laid there stiffly and he knew why. Tension had suddenly grown among the two and she feared that moving may expose a bit too much of herself to him.

After a few moments, she felt the bed humming gently. She looked at Sasuke, and noticed his tremors from his hypothermia had returned worse. This time, he fully acknowledged them, and cursed under his breath.

"Sasuke... Don't think anything of this beyond what it is, but... Come here..."

He looked at her without moving and she let out a frustrated sigh before gripping his shoulder and pulling him towards her, her arms wrapping around him as his trembling began to cease.

He didn't embrace her back, as he felt it was unnecessary and he didn't want to further the awkwardness of the situation, instead, settling for her rubbing her hands gently on his arms in soothing circles, just as she had done in the shower.

She could feel his hot breaths touching her forehead and involuntarily shuddered at the contact. She ignored this though and soon, she noticed something beneath the covers pressing into her stomach—something hard.

"Umm... Sasuke..?"

He gritted his teeth in frustration. Damn. She figured it out. He didn't intend for that to happen, and truth be told, she had brought it onto herself, with their closeness and her insisting on warming him up. He gave out a frustrated grunt and shifted in her arms facing away from her. She stared at him blushing a bit before releasing her grip on his torso and facing the opposite direction of the room.

That was the worst and most awkward night of sleep Sakura ever had, and the morning only made matters worse. For one thing, their clothing was still wet, so they pretty much walked around in a sheet or towel, or didn't get out of bed at all. Their sleeping positions were quite awkward once the two had awoken to see limbs wrapped around one another as the two were in a position closely resembling a cuddle. They shook it off though and pushed it aside.

Finally, after what had seemed to be hours passing, their clothes had become completely dry as the two walked downstairs to the lobby, where they were greeted by the smiling elderly inns keeper.

"Umm, excuse me, ma'am," the elderly woman looked up at the kunoichi raising her eyebrows in acknowledgment, "are there any clothing stores nearby? Preferably any that sells men and women's clothing?" Sakura glanced at the elderly woman, whom had nodded her head in response.

"Hai. Actually, you may not have noticed this last night, but there is a clothing shop in the next building to your left." Sakura blushed, having completely missed the store as she and Sasuke entered during the previous night.

"Arigato!" She beamed at the elderly woman, grabbing Sasuke's hand and visibly dragging him out the door, only to be met by the misty dew that rest in the air of the morning, emitting a shiver from both shinobi as they trudged to the building.

The two walked in and parted, both having money of their own for their own clothing. Sakura had quickly spotted her new attire, which consisted of a black cheongsam. It was long in length, flowing just above her ankles. It was also snug in the chest area, and it accentuated her hips quite nicely. Sakura grabbed a pair of shorts that was several inches above the knee; enough to cover the essentials, which was all she really cared about.

She peered over to a shelf on the wall and noticed shinobi sandals, spotting a pair that resembled her Shishou's heels. She found her size and put them on, giving herself a once over in a full-length mirror before smiling weakly at herself, turning to be met face to... chest with a fully dressed Sasuke.

His outfit was almost a spitting image of the one he wore to the chuunin exams, the only difference being that his shorts came down past his knees further, and his shirt didn't sport the Uchiha symbol.

He looked at Sakura, his eyes slowly inching down her new—and surprisingly suitable—attire as he gave her an approving nod. The two approached the counter and laid their money down for the cashier who happily handed them each a receipt.

The two left without saying a word to each other, and they began walking down a street. Sakura was the first to break the silence, her mind having been plagued by endless questions to throw at him since they'd gotten here.

"Sasuke," said man stopped in his tracks and looked at her, his bangs towering his pale face, "I can't help you with reviving your clan." This caught his attention. Cant? Was she saying that she was unable to bare children? If that's the case, that would truly be unfortunate for him...

"And why cant you?" He asked rather hesitantly, hoping for his own sake that his speculations were actually false for once.

"Because... for one thing I," she paused looking down at the ground as she rubbed one of her arms nervously, "I refuse to sleep with someone who I'm," she paused again, her gaze returning to his as she let out an exasperated sigh before continuing, "someone who I'm not married to."

This response—as completely dragged out and nerve wracking as it had been—had completely thrown him off guard. He had assumed that Sakura wasn't so traditional. Then again, he thought it over, and realized that what she had was logical in a sense of pride. What praise worthy clan would have it's future generations bred in wedlock? They wouldn't. And it was at that moment that something so significant and trivial had dawned on him as a must.

"What-if-we-got-married?" he quickly mumbled out, hoping to not have to repeat himself. Unfortunately for him, though, she couldn't understand a word he had said and asked him to repeat himself. "I said... What if we got married?" His words had become as clear as day and she made a quick retort in a comeback. "And what makes you think I'd be willing to marry you of all people?" He glared at her insult, his eyes narrowing to tiny slits as he spoke calmly again.

"Okay, any other reasons?" He grit his teeth, hoping she didn't have any more. The less complications he had with this whole thing, the better it would be.

"Yes," she said casually, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I refuse to marry someone who does not love me."

"And how would you know, how I feel about you, Sakura?" He hummed her name too naturally for her liking, emitting an involuntary shudder to emit throughout her body.

"Enough experience having known you, bastard," she grumbled out, a hint of sadness in her features. He shrugged.

"Anything else?"

She looked at him thoughtfully, placing a finger to her chin before going to speak again, only to be silenced by the Uchiha, whom had pushed her up against the building, holding her wrists firmly in place.

"Now, you're just making up excuses Sakura. So what is this really about, hm? What are you reallyobjective of in this entire thing?"

She suppressed a shiver brought on by the sudden contact as best as she could before speaking clearly again.

"Those things ARE what this is about, Sasuke. Now, let go of me."

She growled at him pushing her wrists forward as roughly as she could, chakra still faint from her drainage the day before as he only pushed her hands harder to the wall, his body pressing more up against her own, emitting a gasp from her as he leaned towards her ear to whisper something.

"I could love you back, Sakura-chan."

Okay, maybe he was pushing it a bit now. She began trembling in his hands, as she spoke again.

"Love me 'back'? Who says that I still love you, baka? Hm?"

She raised an eyebrow at him in a smirk before his lips gently brushed over her jawline.

"I'll bet you," he whispered into her ear, his warm breath fanning her earlobe, "that I will change your mind."

Gaining back some of her resolve, she rolled her eyes and chuckled softly. "And to think, I always assumed you to be gay, Sasuke."

That was it. There is a fine line between wisecracks and taking cheap yet powerful blows to someone else's pride which a person just should not cross, yet here she was—19-year-old medic nin Haruno Sakura—doing her best to destroy the pride of the man standing before her. That line, had just been crossed and his eyes bore crimson red, filled with rage.

"Care to repeat that?" His tone angry and husky as he whispered to her daringly, emitting a smirk to form on her lips.

"Hai. I said, I always figured you were into guys, Sasuke-kun." Her voice was filled with confidence, malice and smugness that could rival his own. Then again, despite how insulted he was at the comment, he understood her assumptions if only a little.

During their times as genin, he never paid Sakura—or any other female—attention. Plus there was that whole Naruto-Sasuke-Accidental-Kiss-Thing that had aid in egging on her suspicions.

"I can show you that I'm not gay." He retorted slyly.

"Oh really now?"

"Mhmm."

"How—"

Before she could say anymore, he pressed his lips to hers roughly, completely taking the kunoichi by surprise and leaving her breathless as he pulled away a short moment later, smirking down at her.

"And now? Do you still feel that way now, Sakura?"

He whispered merely inches from her face, his smirk never faltering.

"I dunno, but that kiss with Naruto seemed much more heated when we were genin." He cringed and glared at her for a moment before headed towards the more crowded area of town, pulling her by the wrist to follow him.

"Where are we going?" She asked, not noticing the direction which he was headed in, before he stopped.

"The Mizukage's office."

"Why?" She asked reluctantly, suspecting what his answer may be.

"A few issues needing settling regarding our marriage, residency, and village citizenship." She was correct.

"Dammit Sasuke! I told you, I'm not marrying you or reviving your damn clan! All of you arrogant Uchiha bastards can go to hell for all I care! Your clan probably de—" Blinded by rage, she was suddenly shaken by him cutting her rant off by slamming her against a wall by her throat, crimson sharingan glaring into her jade orbs.

"My clan what, Sakura? They what?" he asked her in a mocking tone, challenging her to finish her statement. "You know nothing about my clan but you willhelp me. Otherwise, I will kill you. Do you understand?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Then kill me, Uchiha bastard." Before she could say anymore, his grip on her neck tightened as she slowly lost consciousness. Falling limply into his arms, Sakura's eyes fluttered open briefly before she began choking up a storm from the pressure he applied to her windpipe.

"Dammit, Sasuke! Why are you doing this to me?!"

"Because I love you Sakura." She froze mid-cough, shock spread all over her face.

"You w—"

"—I said, I love you, Sakura. There, I admitted it finally, okay? I could have anyone on the planet and you know that. Hell, I could have spared Karin's life and had her do it. But she was weak, and a whore. You, however..." He trailed off, "you were the one always at my side." She let out a deep breath before walking ahead of him, his eyebrow raised.

"Where are you going?" She stopped and turned back around to face him on her heel.

"To the Mizukage's office, of course." She said softly, her throat still sore from the assault. In all honesty, she knew she crossed a line and took the attack in strife. She had deserved it and felt like an ass about what she said about Sasuke's family—his parents.

"Are you coming?" She held a hand out to him, smiling sadly and weakly at him as he walked towards her, hesitantly accepting her gesture. The two walked to the Mizukage's tower and were greeted by Mist ANBU, whom requested the two wait in a waiting area outside his office until the Mizukage ushered them in.

She noticed his grip on her hand tighten a bit after a few moments waiting in silence. It wasn't intimidating, but rather, attention getting. "Sasuke-kun?" she asked, unawarely adding the prefix to his name, "What is it...?" He looked at her, his eyes full of something she didn't recognize—at least, not from him. Regret.

"Sakura," he looked down at the ground before continuing, "I'm sorry... for what I did back there..."

She tilted her head to the side before nervously lifting a hand to cup his chin, making him look at her face. "It's fine... Don't be, I understand."

Her words soothed him and he began unintentionally brushing the edge of his thumb across her knuckles.

"Sakura?" He whispered, barely audibly though just enough. She looked at him. "Arigato."

A/N: TBC! R&R Please! And check out my other story, "Suddenly"! It needs reviews too -pouts- Anywho, be kind, I'm trying here. :)