Stripped Bare

Here it is, another chapter. I am so sorry it took so long! Between lack of inspiration and the fact that I'd rather be out doing fun, summery things, this chapter once again took longer than anticipated. I hope the wait was worth it. Please enjoy!

I don't own Naruto and any of its characters.

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Stripped Bare- Chapter 24

Sakura's brow creased as she concentrated on painstakingly removing the toxins bit by bit from Miyabi's damaged brain tissue. She wasn't sure how long she had been at it. The procedure required that she immerse herself completely in the task as she hunched over the bed back at Wet Dreams.

Their return from Houseki had been swift and uneventful...or at least that's what she had been told. She had slept most of the way, draped over Kakashi's back as she recovered her strength. She had awoken only a couple of hours before their arrival, and had insisted that she immediately resume healing the mysterious girl as soon as they arrived at the club.

Cold and dreary skies welcomed them when they finally arrived the club. She was greeted tearfully by the remaining girls, their pretty faces flooded with relief as they all tried to hug her at once.

The moment Jitsu spied the girl hanging limply in Naruto's arms, she immediately rushed toward him to take her hand, sobbing so hard that her words couldn't be made out by any one.

Tora had explained that the girl they had rescued was Aiya, a girl who used to work at the club and the friend Jitsu had missed so much. She had been the last to disappear before Sakura's arrival but for whatever reason, she had managed to avoid the deranged doctor's procedure long enough to get rescued.

Their joy was short lived as Sakura wearily explained that there was no guarantee she would be able to heal Aiya or Miyabi, but she was going to try. She ordered a room to be temporarily designated to the task of reviving them, and Jitsu had insisted her room be used for the job. Naruto and Yamato marched the girls up into the room and laid them out on the beds before Sakura asked that she be left alone for the next few hours.

Hesitant to let her out of her sight, Kakashi had grudgingly agreed, but remained in the common room on the couch thumbing through his copy of Icha Icha. His uncovered eye did little more than stare blankly at the pages.

Two hours later, Sakura had finished flushing all the toxins from Aiya's system and mending damaged brain matter. The only thing left to do was to wait and see if she would wake up or not. After eating a meal at Kakashi's request, she started work on Miyabi, repeating the same process of working on only small groups of cells at a time.

More than once, Kakashi had forced her to take a break when he could feel her chakra reserves dwindling from down the hall, sometimes resorting to force to pry her away. He refused to let Sakura put herself in any more danger on this mission, not when he had only just gotten her back.

And now here she was, about halfway through treating her second patient, when Kakashi again stepped into the room. She didn't want to take a break, but didn't feel like fighting him this time. Wordlessly, she let him guide her across the hall to the familiar bunk bed she shared with Misaki. She climbed in wearily without changing her clothes, pulled the covers up to her chin, and was instantly asleep.

Kakashi pulled up a chair, having appointed himself as sentinel to make sure that she actually was sleeping and not sneaking back into the room to heal some more. He turned away Naruto, Misaki and even Sasuke who came to see her. There would be time for visiting later. Right now, Sakura just needed to rest.

He realized he could never again go on a mission with this beautiful woman. He care for her so much that it clouded his judgment. He did stupid things that were out of character for him, made decisions that could jeopardize the mission. His feelings in his heart overruled the logic in his head, and he knew a shinobi like that was a hazard on the battlefield.

He loved her, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wouldn't work. Assuming she did want to pursue something with him, the fact remained that he would continue to take dangerous solo missions while she worked relentlessly in the hospital. Every mission he took came with the high risk that it might be his last, and Sakura didn't deserve to worry about him like that. She often worked nights, and even if he was in the village, their conflicting schedules would ensure that they would see little of each other.

Kakashi let out an irritated sigh. He was just torturing himself by thinking about it. Their relationship would end the moment they set foot back in Konoha. It was simple as that. He would do well to start severing those bonds while they were still in Fuzen Machi so the transition wouldn't be quite so abrupt. Not reaching out to run his fingers through that soft pink hair or denying himself a kiss of those soft lips would be the hardest mission of all. It would hurt him like hell, but it would be the best thing for her, and he took a small amount of comfort in that.

XXXXX

Yamato, Naruto, Sai and Sasuke had taken up temporary residence downstairs now that the club was closed until further notice. When asked about Dajaku and Tsurenai, Yamato had simply stated that neither one would be coming back. He didn't need to explain further. Everyone could hear the grim tone in his voice that said the two of them were dead.

Misaki, like a child at story time, wanted all the gruesome details of how the big bad politician and evil kidnapping shinobi had met their ends. Yamato explained that he didn't have the details to give considering Kakashi had disposed of both of them, and right now it would be best not to disturb him while he was looking after Sakura. She had pouted, but accepted that she would have to hear the story another time.

Naruto joined her in pouting, upset that all the action had been over by the time he had arrived. Yamato couldn't help but think the two blonds were actually quite similar in many ways.

"The man got what was coming to him." Tora said sourly from her seat at one of the many tables in the room. "The bastard sold us out just so he could make even more money that what we were giving him. Hell, he already wanted over half of our tips and that still wasn't enough for him."

"It's a good thing he's already dead, or I would have done it myself," Kitsune chimed in from the seat she had taken near Sasuke and Yamato.

Jitsu nodded silently, lips pressed in a grim line. Even Misaki bobbed her head of curls in agreement. It appeared none of them could forgive the former owner for what he had done.

None of the men present could find the right words to say. None of them could imagine a life where they were forced to sell their bodies to survive, and then to be betrayed by the very man who had given them all hope. They too would not be able to forgive such a deed.

"I wonder how much money he made off all of us," Tora said bitterly, raising a glass of amber liquid to her lips. She had helped herself to what was at the bar since Dajaku would not be coming back to scold her.

"Well, he certainly didn't put it towards fixing up the place," Kistune replied, crossing her legs beneath the table and letting her toe bump against Sasuke's calf intentionally. The Uchiha discreetly readjusted himself in his chair so that his leg was beyond her reach.

"Well, now that Dajaku and Tsurenai are gone, we should get to keep all their stuff right?" Misaki said, her voice surprisingly bright despite the dark topic of their conversation. "We should clean out their rooms! Maybe we'll find things that we can sell!"

Tora nodded. It was a good idea considering they had no real means of supporting themselves at the moment since none of them really wanted to keep the club open. They could sell what they could to get by for a while.

"Let's do it now," Jitsu said quietly. "It's better than sitting around and waiting."

They all had to agree. Waiting around for the moment when Miyabi and Aiya recovered was fraying everyone's nerves. It would be good to find a task to occupy them for a while.

"We don't have anything else to do, so we'll help you," Sai said with his usual false smile in place. Sasuke normally would have made an annoyed comment about how he had just offered everyone's assistance without asking for anyone's input, but surprisingly enough, he remained silent as he rose from his seat with the others and proceeded to follow after the girls.

XXXXX

Sakura sighed wearily, resting her head on the edge of the bed where Miyabi laid fully healed but still unconscious. The medic was exhausted in a way that was more than chakra depletion. The very marrow of her bones felt weary and she was also mentally and emotionally exhausted as well.

She wished there was something else she could do, some magic cure that would bring these girls back to life, but she knew she had already done all she could, and now she just had to wait. Waiting was always the hardest part.

The mattress cushioned her forehead as she closed her eyes. She wished she could be in Kakashi's arms right now, curled up in bed so he could hold her close and whisper soothing words to her. She wanted to be near him, but ever since their return to the club, he had been aloof, distant. He sat rigidly in the chair in her room while she rested between healings rather than joining her and wrapping her in his arms. Gone were the lingering glances and soft kisses that she had enjoyed in his motel room. It only confirmed her fears that now that their mission was coming to a close, he had no need to be intimate with her. Their bond was severed, clean and easy, and it saddened her how quickly and effortlessly he had made the switch.

She knew she was a fool, for what could Kakashi see in someone like her when his books were full of curvaceous and aggressive women who made every moment in the bedroom wild and passionate. Sakura was still new to sex, inexperienced and certainly not curvaceous. It had always been Kakashi who did most of the work, touching her in the most amazing ways so that she couldn't help but cry out his name.

She had to admit, he played the part of a lover well and during their time together it had been so easy to believe that he had truly felt something for her, that perhaps he even loved her. As blissful as those moments had been, the stark contrast to reality made it hurt even more than if his touches had been simply clinical from the start.

Hot tears welled up in her eyes but she blinked them back fiercely. What happened to the man who had saved her, that had held her so closed upon her waking up like a fairy tale princess? But that was just it, wasn't it? She was no princess and this was not a fairy tail with dragons and witches and a happy ending at the last page. She was just a silly girl, not yet a woman even after all she had been through if she still held out hope that she could continue this fantasy with Kakashi indefinitely.

She should get used to his attitude towards her and perhaps change her own, no longer waiting hopefully for his kiss or savor the lingering brush of his hand. She had once warmed his bed, but now they were once again nothing more than a teacher and his former student, and she should start acting like it.

Before her mind could continue its walk down this bleak and depressing path, she heard a soft murmur come from the neighboring bed. Sakura instantly jumped to her feet and breathlessly hovered over the sandy blonde haired girl. The eyelashes that had rested so gently on her porcelain skin fluttered open to reveal twin amber orbs.

Immediately Sakura slipped into medic mode, speaking gently and clearly as she explained who she was and where they were. Aiya listened with wide eyes, taking in her surroundings as if she couldn't quite believe she was no longer in the basement of Iyashii's mansion.

"I-I'm not...I'm not one of them?" she said softly, voice wavering.

Sakura smiled and shook her head, trying not to remember the hauntingly vacant eyes of all the women who had suffered the fate both of them had so narrowly avoided. "No," the kunoichi assured. "That nightmare is over. You don't have to worry about Dajaku or Iyashii ever again."

A soft gasp at the doorway had both of their heads turning. Jitsu stood there, green eyes wide and glistening with tears.

"Aiya," she whispered softly, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

Silence stretched between the two, breathless and surreal, until the spell was suddenly broken by Jitsu rushing forward and throwing her arms around her friend. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she sobbingly confessed that she thought she would never see her again and how much she had been missed. Aiya hugged right back, the feel of the smaller dancer's arms around her proving that this was indeed reality, not a cruel dream.

Sakura watched them with a smile on her lips, her own heart swelling with joy and relief. Aiya was going to be okay. Her medicinal efforts had saved her. Jade eyes slid from the tender scene in front if her to the raven haired woman that was still motionless on the adjacent bed. She only hoped her second patient would make a similar recovery.

"Can I go into the common room?" Aiya sniffled when she finally broke away from her friend. "I want to see everyone."

Sakura nodded and told her it was fine as long as she took things slow. The medic had no idea of knowing what kind of effects the horrible treatment might have had on the young girl's body and it was wise to play it safe for a while.

Jitsu helped the sandy haired girl off the bed and offered an arm to steady herself as she walked. Aiya's eyes fell to Miyabi's unconscious form, taking in the sight of the older woman and knew that moments ago, she was just like her. Waking up was a small miracle and she instantly understood that there was no way of knowing if Miyabi would also be lucky enough to open her eyes.

Sakura watched the couple move slowly into the hall and instantly a chorus of joyful cries erupted as Aiya was surrounded by her fellow dancers. They slowly made their way down the hall and out of sight as the recently awakened girl headed for the couch in the central area. Their voices could clearly be heard and Sakura smiled at the sounds of both laughter and joyful tears. These girls were a family as close as any bound by blood, and today a member they thought to be dead had been returned to them. She looked down tiredly at her own two hands, skin pale and lightly scarred in a few places. These hands had saved Aiya. They were hands of a kunoichi, hands that could both destroy and heal.

She sensed rather than heard a presence in the doorway and looked up to find Kakashi standing there. Though she was exhausted, a smile came easily to her lips at the sight of him.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he replied, entering the room quietly. Though there was another empty chair, he did not sit. A moment of silence passed between them and Sakura began to wonder if he would say anything else when he finally spoke. "You did well, Sakura. I'm proud of you."

The comment was so vague that the medic wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about? Aiya's successful healing? Her own recovering from the brink of death? This mission as a whole? Whatever he was referring to, Sakura felt it was too soon to celebrate, not when Miyabi was still lying there lifeless and silent.

As if reading her thoughts, Kakashi spoke softly. "Whatever happens, know that you saved a life. You worked a miracle, Sakura. You can't ask for more than that. You can't save them all."

Sakura had heard that saying over and over during her time as a medic and it was a phrase she had come to loathe. The ones she couldn't save always left her wondering if there was something more she could have done, if she had the ability to save their lives, but failed. If Miyabi never recovered, it would be even worse. This time it was personal. This was a woman she had laughed and cried and lived with. This was a friend. If Sakura couldn't save her, she would be haunted by it forever.

"I know," Sakura said softly. "But I've got to try."

She managed to keep her voice from wavering, but hot tears pricked at her eyes and threatened to fall. As if sensing her distress, Kakashi drew closer and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The action conveyed what couldn't be said with words.

Why was this man so perceptive to what she was feeling now, yet so oblivious to all the emotions she had regarding him? Why couldn't he see how much she loved him? How could he not know that her heart was breaking at the very thought of no longer having a place in his arms? She wanted to demand answers from him, but refused to be more of a fool than she already was. She didn't think she could bare Kakashi telling her that all of his loving actions were just part of the act he put up for the mission. She would rather hear nothing at all than hear him tell her she meant nothing to him.

Even so, she couldn't resist reaching up and resting her hand lightly on the one on her shoulder. She could feel his warmth through the glove and she ached for more of his touch. Suddenly, not caring that he might push her away, she intertwined their fingers and gently tugged, hoping to draw him close enough that she could pull down his mask and press her lips to his. She had expected him to possibly resist her, but what she hadn't predicted was a hiss of pain.

"Kakashi?" she questioned, instantly concerned as she got to her feet, her grip tightening on his wrist as he tried to pull it away.

"It's nothing," the masked man said, but Sakura did not relinquish her hold.

"Let me see."

Grudgingly, the Copy Nin allowed the determined medic to gently push up his shirt sleeve to his shoulder and then unwound the bandage he had applied upon returning to Fuzen Machi. He winced as she let out a gasp at the ugly gash that marred his bicep, knowing he was about to get an ear full.

"Kakashi, when did this happen? Why didn't you tell me about it so I could heal it for you?" her voice was soft but held a sharpness that betrayed her anger. He knew she would be mad and if she saw his injury, and she would insist on healing it whether she had the chakra or not.

"It happened when I was fighting Kudou. When you finally regained consciousness, the first priority was to heal the rescued dancers. You were already so exhausted from healing them that I didn't want to add to your chakra depletion. Besides, I've had worse injuries than this."

Sakura immediately summoned healing energy to her hand and began probing the wound, checking for infection. "You mean to say you traveled all the way here from Houseki while carrying me with this wound?"

Kakashi shrugged and Sakura sighed.

"You really are an idiot. You're lucky this wasn't anything more serious. If you had continued to let it go without treatment, you could have ended up with a nasty infection."

Despite the edge of anger in her voice, her fingers moved over his skin tenderly. It was the closest she could get to a loving caress and she savored the moment as she flooded the wound with medicinal chakra.

"You don't have any other wounds you've been hiding from me, do you?" she asked as she healed. Her tone was soft and playful but Kakashi knew just how serious she was.

"My back," he replied simply, knowing that if he hid his injury from her and she found out about it later, she would do more than just scold him. She would probably give him a couple of new injuries before getting around to healing the old ones.

Sakura sighed irritably as she finished mending his arm. "Shirt. Off."

He obeyed, pulling his shirt over his head as she pressed down on his shoulder, guiding him to sit on the bed Aiya had so recently vacated. As she peeled the hastily applied dressing from his shoulder, her breath left her lungs in a small sound of astonished horror when she saw the burn that stretched diagonally over his back, the skin still blackened in some places and red and swollen in others.

"Kakashi," she breathed, amazed that he had carried her all the way back to Fuzen Machi with such an injury. "What the hell happened?"

"Kudou. He was a lightning element user, and a good one too."

Sakura knew a burn like this had to be extremely painful, especially when left untreated for so long. While his arm had been uninfected, his back was not so lucky. The skin was far too hot to the touch, and she could see how the wound was still oozing slightly, only now the liquid was yellowish and opaque. She wanted to throttle Kakashi for being so stupid, but her main concern was healing him and she didn't think she currently had the strength to do both.

She quietly let her hands rest upon his wound, noting how he tensed and let out a soft grunt of pain. She worked quickly, repairing the damaged tissue and cleansing the infection. Pale green chakra flooded the area, numbing the pain and soothing the skin as she worked. She felt Kakashi's muscles relax under her fingertips as the pain that had persisted since the fight finally drained away. The medic felt her own body fatigue under the stress of using so much chakra but she pressed on, not wanting Kakashi to have to endure the pain any longer, and not wanting this quiet moment and the excuse to touch him end so soon.

Minutes later, his back was healed without so much as a scar left behind. Sakura tried her hardest not to sag against him, even though she was exhausted. If he saw how tired she was, he would just chastise her for it and continue to conceal his injuries from her.

She let her thumb rub over the perfect skin that had been an infected mess only minutes ago and was suddenly gripped by the impulse to press her lips to the muscular expanse of his back. She knew it wasn't a good idea and that he probably wouldn't approve but she didn't care anymore.

She lowered her head, intending to complete the healing with a soft kiss when a bright flash of orange appeared in the doorway. Naruto stood there beaming, and Sasuke was at his side a moment later.

"Sakura-chan, you did it! You healed Aiya! She's awake now and as good as new. Isn't that great?"

The kunoichi jerked away from Kakashi, hoping they hadn't noticed what she was about to do. The moment between them was broken and Sakura reluctantly stepped away and allowed the jounin to put his shirt back on. She wasn't aware of the way Sasuke followed her lingering glance on his bare back or the narrowing of his eyes at the defeated hunch of her shoulders when he stood from the bed without a word.

"Yeah, I can't believe it," she said, offering them a tired smile. "Now if only my own team would stop hiding their injuries from me, maybe I could rest a little easier."

Kakashi chuckled sheepishly, trying to think of something that would placate her. It turned out he didn't have to when Naruto excitedly exclaimed that Aiya had agreed to tell the story of her daring escape from Iyashii's mansion and her inevitable recapture and that Sakura should be present to hear it.

"Okay, I'll be out in a minute, but please quiet down," she said, her tone growing stern as she gestured towards and unconscious Miyabi. "Not all of my patients have recovered, you know."

Naruto gave a hasty apology before excitedly rushing away, dragging the Uchiha with him. With the rambunctious blond gone, Sakura's shoulders slumped as exhaustion started to get the better of her. She had used far too much chakra, but she wasn't about to tell Kakashi that and have to listen to him lecture her again.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sensing that she had pushed herself to her limits.

"I'm fine," Sakura said with a dismissive wave of her hand, but when she tried to stand, her knees buckled. She would have fallen to the ground if Kakashi hadn't caught her, holding her smaller body against his in an embrace.

"Sakura, you're a terrible liar," Kakashi sighed, trying to ignore how good it felt to cradle her in his arms. "You've overworked yourself again."

"No, I'll be fine, just give me a second," Sakura mumbled defiantly even as her body sagged against him and her eyelids grew heavy.

"You'll be fine if you rest," he countered, scooping her up bridal style in his arms as if she weighed nothing. ""Right now you need to lie down."

He lowered her petite body onto the bed, and though Sakura usually would have protested against being babied, she was already asleep by the time her head hit the pillow. The Copy Nin gazed down at her serene visage, resisting the powerful urge to brush aside candy colored fringe and kiss her forehead. He wanted to remain by her side, wanted to hold her, protect her, but she no longer had a use for him.

He wanted to stay and watch over her but knew that the sooner he separated himself from her, the better. There was no point in drawing out the pain of losing her by agonizing over what he could never have.

With a heavy heart, Kakashi turned and left the room, gently closing the door behind him. The cold metal of the doorknob against his palm and the click of the latch sliding into place seemed to hold a horrible finality. He wished that he could just as easily close the door on his own emotions. If he could stop loving her, then maybe the horrible pain in his chest would ease.

XXXXX

"Are you sure Sakura is alright?" Naruto asked for the tenth time as the two of them stood side by side in the kitchen helping the girls prepare dinner.

"Yes. She's fine," the Copy Nin replied, drawing on deep reserves of patience as he chopped an onion. "She just needs rest. She's been using too much chakra lately."

The orange clad ninja paused in the middle of hacking an unfortunate carrot into uneven chunks, pointing his knife at his former teacher as he spoke enthusiastically. "She'll feel much better after we give her some of this food, right Kakashi-sensei?"

The silver haired man was quickly discovering that letting Naruto help in the kitchen by giving him a knife had been a very bad idea. He slowly placed his hand over the blond's wrist and applied a steady pressure until the knife was lowered. "If you want to make sure what we give her is edible, you'd better focus on cutting those carrots into smaller pieces, not cutting up my face."

Naruto grinned sheepishly when he realized just where he had been pointing his knife.

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered from his seat on the wooden bench. Yamato and the Uchiha had accompanied Tora and Misaki to the market, pitching in to buy all the extra food they would need to feed five additional men.

Sai sat across from him, peeling potatoes with a kunai since there weren't enough knives to go around. Surprisingly, the two had actually been able to sit in the same room and act civilized to each other, but that was probably due to the fact that Sai had his hands full with a very persistent Kitsune. Sasuke had been completely uninterested in all of her flirtatious antics, brushing her off and calling her annoying whenever she turned on her seductive charm. Sai on the other hand was completely clueless when it came to women and wasn't at all sure how to handle the redhead's forwardness.

As the artist carefully peeled potatoes, she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso and pressing her generous bust to his back.

"Hey there," she purred. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Well, I'd lend you a kunai and have you help with the potatoes but they're tricky to use if you're not accustomed to handling them, and I wouldn't want you to cut yourself," Sai answered, not pausing for a moment as he expertly separated the vegetable from its skin.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and Kitsune giggled. "That's too bad," she breathed. "Perhaps there's something else I could do for you, something a little more...enjoyable."

"Enjoyable? As in...fun? I've heard people are happy when they are having fun. What do you propose?"

Kitsune laughed again, clearly amused and intrigued by Sai's odd answer. She had never met a man who wasn't ready to bed her after one simple, innuendo-filled comment. The young man's social ineptness was quite a change and she took it as a challenge. Not only that, but she found him quite attractive and his innocence only made him more desirable.

Her hand snaked down his chest, brushing over exposed abdominals to rest in his lap. "Perhaps I could help you with something like....this?" she whispered, giving the area between his legs a light squeeze.

Sai sucked in his breath as his eyes went wide, his kunai slipping from his fingers and falling to the table with a clatter.

"Kitsune, leave the poor thing alone," Tora chastised from her place in the doorway, a glass of amber alcohol in her hand. "Don't go corrupting the first pure soul we've had in here in years."

The redhead pouted but withdrew, but not before whispering something in Sai's ear about meeting her in her room later to which the hopelessly clueless man answered, "Do you fear sleeping alone? I hear many people are afraid of the dark."

Yamato chuckled from his place outside the hall and Tora sighed. Sasuke found the whole thing irritating enough that he stood up and left the crowded kitchen. Kakashi smiled quietly behind his mask and Naruto, who had been watching Misaki demonstrate how to cut carrots correctly, had been so focused that he had missed the entire exchange.

Jitsu and Aiya were not present, but that was to be expected. The rescued dancer had told her story about how she managed to get away, only to be recaptured, but hadn't left Jitsu's side for a moment. Even now they remained on the couch in the common room, hands clasped firmly together. It was as if Jitsu was afraid to let her out of her sight for fear that having her best friend returned to her was all just a dream and she would wake up to find her missing once more.

Sasuke left the commotion of the kitchen behind, walking instead to the closed door down the hall. He ignored the questioning look Yamato gave him as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

He told himself he simply wanted to check on Sakura but he knew that wasn't entirely true. Since seeing his teammate for the first time after her long mission, he sensed a change in her. It wasn't so much how she looked, although he'd heard that she had become quite adept at fashionably styling her hair and applying makeup for her performances, a fact he was very curious to see proven. Mostly, it was about the way she carried herself. She seemed more confident now, more secure in her own skin. She had always been strong, but now that strength was accompanied by a sort of femininity Sasuke had never seen in her before.

It wasn't that she took care in her appearance. In fact, since returning, Sakura had been so busy healing the girls that she hadn't even bothered to shower until Kakashi forcibly made her take a break to do so, and for the most part, sleep deprivation ensured she looked like hell. But there was something in how she moved, how she spoke, a subtle sway in her hips, a panther-like grace that ran deeper than just the way she moved as a ninja.

This new Sakura was a mystery to him, but what really interested him was the fact that she hadn't fawned over him once. Hell, she hadn't even let her gaze linger on him. It was as if she no longer retained those childhood affections for him. Sasuke should have been glad to have finally rid himself of the admirer that had done nothing but irritate him, but he found himself feeling just the opposite. He was disappointed by the loss, and strangely jealous of the man she seemed to look at the most.

He was angered by his own feelings. After the loss of his clan, he had never let himself feel affection for anybody, yet here he was, interested in the girl that he had spent most of his life brushing off. The fact that he didn't understand his own emotions angered him more. When Sakura had been available, he hadn't wanted her, and now when it appeared he couldn't have her, he was suddenly intrigued. It might be a good idea to just stay away from the kunoichi for a while so he could sort out just what it was he was feeling, but that would mean leaving her with Kakashi and that was something he really didn't want to do.

She wasn't obvious about it, and a less observant individual might not have noticed, but Sakura was definitely interested in Kakashi. He could also see that Kakashi's attitude towards her had changed as well. He hovered around her constantly and seemed unusually concerned with her wellbeing. He didn't touch her often, but when he did, the touches were soft and tender, like those of a lover.

Sasuke had no way of knowing the extent of what had transpired between them, but he could sense both of them resisting their own feelings. They cared for each other, but for whatever reason, didn't want to show it. He could see it every time one caught the other looking, and the looker would quickly avert their eyes somewhere else. He could see it when they realized they'd been touching too long, or deliberately avoided touching at all. Sakura definitely had strong feelings for her teacher, and seemed to have forgotten all about the Uchiha in the process, and now that this Sakura was sexier, more confident, and completely uninterested in him, Sasuke found himself wanting that affection back.

The sun had been shrouded in clouds all day and had finally admitted defeat and sunk beneath the horizon. The room was lit only by a small lamp in the corner and the amber glow softened Sakura's features as the dark haired man approached. He looked at her for a long moment, trying to figure out what had him so captivated.

She slept soundly, sooty lashes resting gently against porcelain skin, petal pink lips parted invitingly. Had her lips always looked so soft? He wondered if Kakashi had had the privilege of tasting them and the thought angered him. What the hell did she see in that old man anyway? Hadn't the Uchiha been the one she had been waiting her whole life for?

Determined to sample her lips himself, Sasuke leaned over her sleeping form, bracing his hands on the bed as he leaned down to brush his lips against hers. He was so close that he could feel her warm breath against his cheek. He would remind her who she had initially loved, would show her that she still needed him, that he still had her heart in his hand, and this time he was ready to accept it.

Just as he was about to press his lips to hers, a sound behind him had him turning around quickly. His eyes widened at what he saw.

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That's it for now. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story until now. I really appreciate all the comments and emails I get regarding this story. All of your feedback has kept me writing when I really didn't want to work on this story anymore. The next chapter should be out soon and this time I mean it because it's already mostly done.

~J-Pop