Naruto 1. make me whole again!

Hey people! This is my new Sasu/Saku! I just posted a new chapter to "birthday kiss" and should be coming very soon with something from "is this really love". I should also stop posting so many fics or I'll be over my head.

Disclaimer: Don't on Naruto.

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Sakura heard the news all around konoha that day. She first heard it coming from the whispering mouths of two gossiping old ladies. She just rolled her eyes and moved on, not thinking much of it. She had gotten a tip off from Shizune that an old herb collector had found a very rare and powerful healing herb off the border of Konoha. The herb was good for almost any medicine and was said to double the effects of healing when used properly; she wasn't about to pass up such an opportunity for such a trivial matter as gossip. But she couldn't help but hear snippets of whispered conversations slipping past the creases between the fingers of her fellow villagers' hands. She finally gave in and eavesdropped on four konoha kunoichi who seemed to be giggling a fair amount. They were situated by the corner of a food stand and Sakura made herself look busy by looking at the carrots.

"It's him, Sasuke Uchiha!" Exclaimed an excited redhead.

"Well, did you see him?"

"Well… No, but Kiki did!" The redhead squealed. "Go ahead, tell them what you saw Kiki!" She gestured to the tallest of the four girls.

"Well, there was a big crowd, right around the Hokage office, so I peeked my head over," the three other girls snickered, "Stop that!" They all stopped. "Anyways, all I saw was the back of his head as a few ANBU escorted him up the stairs towards the Hokage's tower." She finished.

"Were the ANBU taking him as their prisoner?" Asked a pinch faced blond.

"Not that I know of… They actually looked really excited about seeing him." Kiki responded.

"Did he look good?"

"I don't know!" Kiki yelled, but Sakura wasn't interested in their argument, she headed straight for Ichiraku Ramen where she would find Naruto and ask him if the gossip was true, he would be the first to know and if he didn't, it would be a good idea to tell him what she had heard.

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Sakura spotted her destination and instantly recognized a small speck of blond hair, poking out from the restaurant side. Her fast walk became a slow jog and then evolved into a full run. Ichiraku ramen became larger and larger as she grew closer and then finally became a size bigger than herself as she stood next to it. She heard the unmistakable sound of Naruto slurping up his noodles and babbling on about who knows what to the ramen waitress.

"Naruto," She panted. Naruto whirled around and gave a quizzical look regarding as to why she was in such a rush. "They keep on saying it…" Naruto creased his brow. "HE'S BACK! SASUKE'S BACK!" She yelled.

Naruto jumped out of his stool, disregarding his ramen as if it were the last thing he ever wished to see. "What?" It was a dimwitted response but Sakura would've found herself saying the same thing if someone had broken the news to her in the same way.

"The villagers, they keep on saying it. They say that Sasuke is at the Hokage's tower right now!" Sakura exclaimed, the beating of her heart pushed the words out of her mouth a little too fast. Never once in her life had she felt so many emotions at once. It wasn't like the time when Sasuke left and all she could feel was sorrow. It was more confusing this time. She could have felt sad, happy, scared. She didn't know what to feel.

Naruto grabbed her hand immediately and dragged her onto the street, towing her towards the general direction of the Hokage tower. She didn't need his hand on hers but he kept on pulling her and she was only glad to comply. As the two raced towards the tower, people turned their heads in confusion.

"Hey! Watch where you're going," came the shouts and bellows from shopkeepers and shoppers. Sakura didn't stop to apologize; neither did Naruto. Sakura couldn't even recognize the shouting; all she could hear was a quickened yet steady, "Thump, thump" in her ears.

The pair made a sharp turn for Tsunade's work place and sprinted up the stairs. They ran down the familiar halls and finally reached the Hokage office. Without even a knock, they both barged into the room. Sakura leaned her hand on the wall as a support so she could catch her breath. When she felt well enough to stand on her own without collapsing, she looked around the room.

Tsunade sat at her desk not looking one bit angry or surprised in the least. Sakura respected her sensei for understanding the rude entrance. She inched her gaze towards Shizune who was standing behind Tsunade. She looked a little mad, but that was understandable. Kakashi-sensei stood in the far corner of the room, looking as if he had died and gone to heaven (probably because Sasuke was back) and Jiraya stood nearer the desk with one of his rarer serious expressions. The room was a mix of different emotions that all seemed to have been rolled up into one when Sakura had first heard the news that day.

She searched the room for that familiar stance, that familiar stoic expression that she used to ogle at in her pre-teen years. She spotted him, in the middle of the room looking at her with his piercing eyes. It was almost alarming to feel them on her face, to know that they saw her, that Sasuke saw her. She wondered what she looked like; confident, smart, annoying… She found herself plunging for him as tears spilled from her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his middle, while her knees rested on the ground and her face pressed into his stomach, stifling her sobs.

The old Sakura was pouring out in her every action. She hugged him like she used to when she was either worried or scared for him. She realized that this hug was no different from the others as it was one-sided; Sasuke hadn't budged, he just stood there. She sobbed for a couple of seconds more when she felt a pat on her back. She found herself cheering up now that Sasuke had made a gesture of kindness towards her but turned to see Naruto who was attempting to comfort her. She stood up and nuzzled her tearstained face into her best friends neck as he wrapped his arms around her.

Once Sakura had calmed down, she realized her embarrassing mistake and sat down on the sofa in the corner of the room with Naruto to listen to the discussion that had been taking place before they had arrived. She felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment as she watched everyone resume their discussion.

Tsunade was currently telling Sasuke that he was not to be punished because he had killed off three S ranked criminals in the time he was gone. She thanked him but of course reassured him that he would be doing only D and C ranked missions within the village until he proved he was here to stay. When the meeting was over and Sasuke had been given the terms as to which he would live by, Tsunade asked Sasuke and Sakura to stay behind. Sakura fidgeted with her black skirt at her place on the sofa. Sasuke pulled up one of the chairs so that the two were on the opposite ends of the room. Tsunade who remained at her desk looking a little annoyed as she eyed the door as if expecting something.

After a few moments of awkward silence, there came a knock at the door and Shizune popped her head through the door. "There is an urgent message from the council."

"Coming! Sasuke, Sakura, you both wait here," She marched off, looking a little proud of herself with a slight smirk on her face.

Sakura looked up to see Sasuke looking the other way. It wasn't the type of determined effort that people usually had in awkward situations. He looked away in genuine disinterest. It was as if Tsunade and Shizune hadn't planned this whole thing to get the two of them alone, and Sakura knew that Sasuke had noticed that, he wasn't stupid after all, he just didn't care!

"I'm sorry about earlier," she sputtered out awkwardly.

He sighed, "Sakura, it's only what I expected from you." Sakura cringed a little at his words. She looked away defiantly; only looking forward to the minute Tsunade re-entered the room. Nothing had changed. No. It was by far worse than it had been before. At least the old Sasuke had demonstrated some sort of humanity.

"I missed you," she couldn't bear to face him while she said it. There could still be hope for him and her. After all, he had come back. He was probably putting his old life behind him and was ready to start a new one. Sakura herself couldn't picture Sasuke choosing another woman over herself. Even if he didn't love her he would probably marry her just to restore his clan. After all, Sakura was the girl that was always there for him before. She knew about the secret curse on his neck, and kept it a secret. She recalled when he was in a coma due to his meeting with Itachi. She had stayed with him as long as the hospital visiting hours permitted and maybe even longer. She couldn't remember a time that she had ever left him alone when he was in need. She always did what was in her power to help him.

She looked up to see his reaction to her truthful words, but he was still looking away. "Why can't you just say something? Anything! I waited for you for five years Sasuke! I never thought of anyone else in those years! Ever since the day you left… I felt empty, why can't you see that? Please!" She looked his way desperately. "Say something! Make me whole again!" She begged.

The door opened to reveal Tsunade. Sakura abruptly regained her composure. Tsunade still noticed there was something amiss so she sent Sakura home to take the day off, telling her that she would send Shikamaru to search for the special herbs she needed instead.

Sakura was escorted to the door by Tsunade and left to go find Naruto so he could comfort her. She had never felt so weak and vulnerable in her life. Especially these last five years of her life. She was an accomplished healer whose skills rivaled Tsunade herself. She could use her fist to break the ground but she couldn't face a silly boy.

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Once Sakura had left the office, Tsunade turned around to see Sasuke, sitting in the very same position he had been in when she had left the room only 20 minutes before. She strode to her desk, sat down, and faced him.

"I am very interested in your new goal Sasuke, and was wondering on your progress. Our village could definitely see some new Uchihas running around. It definitely takes me back to when your clan was at its prime. How are you doing on that goal Sasuke?" She asked him out of sheer curiosity. She was just as curious as everyone else in this village.

"I have already begun," he replied. Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise, "how?" was the only word that came to mind.

"I have a wife… And she's pregnant."

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DRAMA!!! Anyways, hope you enjoy. I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and then yesterday I read a sad one-shot that just pushed me into writing it. I've been getting sick of all the fics where Sasuke comes back, falls in love with Sakura and all is happy. I wanted to read an angst filled story. Well not too much angst…


	2. one side triangle

I'm surprised at how popular this story already is! Obviously there are more Sasu/Saku fans out there than there are Itachi/OC fans. Too bad. Oh well, I'm actually liking this story more than the others… Even though I'm a die-hard Itachi fan.

P.S. Sorry for any OOCness, I can't help it, but if you have any tips on how I can tweak on the way I portray the characters, be my guest! And yah… Sasuke isn't the type to marry, that's the thing that really made me nervous when I was posting this story. I thought everyone would hate it. But it seems to be reeling in the hitters and reviewers!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

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Sakura found herself at Ichiraku eating a bowl of ramen with Naruto. When she had run into Naruto after coming from the Hokage tower, he seemed happy. She was envious of how normal he made everything look. He ran to Ichiraku like he normally did, he screamed for five bowls of ramen like he normally did, and he told the ramen guy that Sakura was paying, like he normally did. He seemed a little impatient as he talked to Sakura. Knowing Naruto, he was probably just waiting for Sasuke to get out of whatever stupid meeting he was in so he could pummel him. Then Naruto would drag all of them to go on one of those D or C ranked missions. At this point, Naruto was probably willing to surrender any A ranked mission just to reconnect with Sasuke. Sakura looked at the way Naruto made the whole situation seem normal, she was very envious.

"Naruto,"

"Yes Sakura?" He answered through a mouth full of noodles.

"I don't have any money on me."

Naruto swallowed, "Awwww, Sakura! You're just saying that! Come on Sakura! How is a man like me supposed to eat everyday? I can't afford this!" Sakura smiled inwardly while Naruto continued his ranting. It was a nice feeling, a nice distraction from reality.

Sakura sighed, "Come on Naruto… I'll pay, we have to go find Sasuke…"

"Don't do that to me! You scared me to death!" Naruto scolded. Sakura rolled her eyes, left a couple of bills on the counter and dragged Naruto out of his seat. "NOOOOO!! My ramen!"

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They arrived at the Hokage tower; this time in less of a hurry. Once they arrived at Tsunade's door, Sakura knocked and waited for the muffled, "Come in!" to push the door open.

"Tsunade-sama," she greeted once spotting her sensei at her usual seat. She saw Sasuke sitting in the same seat since she had left the room last. She didn't pay attention to the other figure sitting off to the left of Sasuke, in front of Tsunade's desk. She noticed a look of pity on her sensei's face and didn't understand.

"Who's she!" Sakura noticed Naruto pointing to the chair next to Sasuke's. She followed the general direction his finger pointed in and her eyes landed on a slender figure. The girls' face didn't match that of any she had ever seen in konoha. She owned a crisp freshness to her delicate features and a defined innocence adorned her beauty. Her curly chestnut hair framed the olive skinned face. The girl had a button nose and sweet, little, golden brown eyes.

"Hello, my name is Rei," Reis' cheeks were tinted a slight pink as she said so, only adding on to the strong aura of innocence she already possessed. Sakura looked to Tsunade for an explanation. She pushed all the negative thoughts from her mind. Not wanting to believe the nagging feeling that this girl wasn't just anybody.

"Rei, is a friend of Sasuke's and will become a citizen of this village," Tsunade thought it best to leave out the part where Rei was married to Sasuke and was bearing his child, her cautions were proved right when she noticed Sakura flinch at the word friend. "We are right now discussing the subject as to where the couple will be residing. The Uchiha district is at the moment, unfit for residency. Do you know of anyone with an apartment with extra room?" Tsunade asked, deciding it was better for Sakura to participate in the conversation rather than listen with her fists curled up.

Sakura put on the fakest of smiles and said, "They can live with me. My apartment has three bedrooms, that way they won't be stuck in the same room until the Uchiha residence is renovated." That was the last thing Sakura needed. Sasuke sleeping with miss perfect (too late).

"Perfect Sakura!" Tsunade cheered. "Are you OK with this? Or do you want another alternative Sasuke?"

"I'm certainly OK with it!" Rei smiled at Sakura.

"Well then, it's settled!" Tsunade picked up a bottle of sake, "Now leave! I have important business!"

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Sakura was currently giving a tour of her apartment. She had gained a small fortune from all the A ranked missions she had completed. She also had profited from her healing abilities in the hospital. Her apartment was even nicer than her parents' house and she couldn't wait to show it off to Sasuke. As she showed the two her house she realized that they had been following behind her the entire time. To most people this wasn't bothersome, but Sakura was just too afraid to even glance over her shoulder for fear of what she might or might not see.

"…And that's the tour." Sakura finally turned around in the middle of her kitchen. As a result, she did not like what she saw. Sasuke's palm was lightly touching Reis' elbow as if she were too delicate to walk around a house without collapsing. The way he looked at her was as if he took his eyes away from her for one second she would disappear into thin air and never return. Sakura felt her heart leap and dive at the sight. Jealousy overtook her emotions. "M-my room is the one at the back of the apartment," She spoke loudly and desperately, trying to divert Sasuke's attention to anything else. "You can pick from the other two." She offered, giving them something to do other than look at each other. No matter what, she wouldn't believe what the smarter part of her mind was telling her. She refused to believe what was in front of her eyes.

"Thank you Sakura-chan." Rei smiled. "I think I'll take the room on the other side of the apartment, I tend to snore," she admitted. Sasuke smirked.

"Then I guess you'll have to take the room next to mine Sasuke," Sakura said. She noticed a slight frown on the Uchiha's face and immediately excused herself to use the bathroom.

She shut the door and looked at her reflection. Her lips were quivering and her vision blurry. She angrily bit her lips down and scraped at the tears in her eyes. She would not loose her composure. Once she rinsed her face and patted it dry she headed for the door but heard something coming from the living room. It was Rei, she was giggling. "Sasuke! Stop that!" The hand that had reached for the doorknob dropped. Sakura quietly made a few hand signs. Instantly a duplicate of herself appeared before her. The clone transformed itself into an artificial form of the man in her living room. The fake Sasuke towered over her with a calm expression. He looked at her, slowly lifting a palm to Sakura's face so he could finger a pink lock of hair. A tear fell from her left eye as she lifted her own palm towards his face but there was a sharp knock at the door. The clone poofed into thin air and Sakura wiped the tear from her eye.

"Yes?" She called out after splashing a bit more water on her face.

"Um, sorry Sakura-chan! But do you know where I can find some sheets for the beds?" Sakura opened the door and found Rei with a nervous expression on her face.

"Right in there," Sakura smiled as she pointed to the closet behind the smaller girl.

"Ah! Thank you!" She turned and opened the closet door, "Do you mind?" she asked before digging through Sakura's closet.

"Of course not! Go ahead!" she encouraged. She watched the girl search for the right sized sheets and curiosity got the best of her. "So… How old are you?" She asked casually.

"Only a year younger than you and Sasuke." She answered while she unfolded a floral bed sheet only to find it was a size too small.

"So 17?"

"Yep!" she chirped.

"How did you meet?" Sakura asked, the question sounded light hearted and innocent but Sakura's heart was burning for the answer.

"Um…" Sakura noticed the girl's expression change, "I-I was one of the experiments at Orochimaru's lab. Well… I was going to be an experiment until Sasuke killed Orochimaru himself. Sasuke had decided he didn't need Orochimaru and was ready to kill Itachi. It just so happened that he killed that snake before he performed an experiment on me. After that I followed Sasuke who at first seemed annoyed but he's gotten used to me." _'Hmph, I think he has,' _Sakura thought bitterly. "How did you meet Sasuke-kun?" Sakura was woken from her reverie.

"Hmm?"

"How did you meet Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura almost laughed at the suffix added to his name, it sounded familiar. "Well, I've known Sasuke for a very long time," She hoped that news would intimidate the girl but all she could see written on her face was sheer curiosity. "We were on a team together."

"Oh?"

"Yes, team seven." Sakura felt like an old lady telling a group of children about the old days when the boys were all 'lining up' so to speak. "Naruto was on our team as well."

"Naruto? I like him." She smiled. Sakura smiled as well.

"Me too," If this girl was going to steal Sasuke, Sakura would sure enough not going to let her anywhere near Naruto.

Rei found the right sized sheets for the beds, thanked Sakura and left to make the beds for her and Sasuke. Sakura headed for the kitchen to make some dinner. She spotted Sasuke at the counter, he seemed to have beaten her to the punch because the pots were boiling with water and he was pealing a carrot. Sakura sat down at the table as she watched Sasuke. His usual facial expression was back on, unlike how it had been when _she _was in the room.

"H-how are you Sasuke-kun?" she added the suffix to his name purposefully.

"Good," he replied as he dumped a handful of chopped carrots into the boiling water. _'Why can't he just say my name?' _Sakura thought. She so badly wanted him to say it as a way of proving that she existed to him.

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Dinner had been as expected, torture. Sakura felt like the third person as she watched the two interact. Sasuke would smirk at all the things that Rei said but not really contributing to the conversations. Once in a while, Rei would ask Sakura a question out of politeness and Sakura would answer equally as polite. But that was it. Sakura felt like the far away tip of a triangle. Floating pathetically above the other two points in envy wishing to be closer. When dinner was over, Rei offered to clean the kitchen for Sakura. Sakura accepted with a smile and excused herself to go to bed. Sasuke followed because his room was in the same end of the apartment.

Sakura refused to look back when she felt his presence behind her. She opened the bathroom door and closed it behind her but a hard object stopped it. She looked up to see Sasuke, his face scolding and serious. "Sakura!" Sakura gasped. "Stop! Get over this!" He demanded.

"How can I, when I've lived my life for so long, just for you?" She whispered, a sparkling tear gliding down her cheek. She raised her palm to his face because the temptation was just too strong. This was not a fantasy. Before she could reach his pale skin, his fist formed a tight grip around hers.

"Stop that! I have a girlfriend, and she's pregnant! Stop messing with other peoples lives just for your own selfish reasons!" The tear that prickled her cheek fell to the ground and then came a downpour. This was not a fantasy, it was real; and that's what she needed to understand. She was being selfish, but he was too. He had been selfish the day he left. He had been selfish every time he called her annoying. He was being selfish when he came into _her _house and actually said that to her!

Sasuke left her in the doorframe for his own room now. Sakura stood there for only a few seconds before she quit the bathroom and headed for her own bed. She didn't change into her pajamas and slowly buried herself in the covers she wiped the tears from her face again and fell asleep.

'_I promise to stop messing with your life Sasuke…kun_

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So yah! 1 whole day! Actually I was home sick today which kind of sucks 'cause my teachers chose me for this leadership conference thing and I was stoked to go 'cause it's only my first week of school and they already think I'm smart! Oh well, maybe better run next year! So yeah, I decided to make my sick day fun by writing you all a new chapter! How about you all cheer me up with some R&Ring! Pretty Please! OH YAH!!! This chapter's 275 words longer!


	3. Healing her wounds

Hey! This chapter is a little more optimistic, and boring... :( Sakura is trying to take Sasuke's advice and starts talking with Rei a little more as a way of not 'meddling' in other peoples business. But of course, this story is angst so you shan't be expecting more than 3 optimistic chapters from me. Prepare for serious water works maybe next time, depending on how the story molds itself out to be. I might just give you another happy chapter!

Disclaimer: don't own Naruto.

P.S. Reviews were great! Keep 'em comin'!!! All it takes is a couple of words and presto!! Reviews motivate me, which probably does nothing for my creative mind but I don't care! Cause I love the feeling!

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Sakura woke the next morning to tempting aromas sneaking through the crack of her bedroom door. She slipped out of bed to find herself in the same clothing as yesterday. She stretched widely then rubbed her eyes from sleep and general morning puffiness. Following the senses in her nose, she lazily trotted on to the kitchen where she found Rei cooking her all time favorite breakfast. Crepes. Without a word, Sakura reached for the fridge door and took out some fresh strawberries that she always kept handy, some kiwi, and cool whip. She looked over at

Rei and felt envious at how awake she looked. Sakura had almost forgotten how beautiful Sasuke's 'girlfriend' was. Sakura had only figured out 5 minutes before she went to bed that Rei was Sasuke's girlfriend and that she was pregnant. The girlfriend part hadn't taken her by very much surprise but the pregnant part certainly did.

"How was your sleep?" Sakura was taking Sasuke's advice and decided it was time to at least attempt to get over him. She had convinced herself the night before that it had been stupid of her to 'obsess' over one person for so long. Obsess being the key word in her mind. It was, after all, a foolish obsession, and Sakura had let it go on for too long.

"Good! Thank you! And yourself?" Rei peeked over her shoulder from her place at the stove.

Sakura smiled, "I've had better," that was a lie, most nights since Sasuke left Sakura would stay awake and just stare at his picture.

"That's too bad… Well anyways, it happens from time to time!" Rei cheered. "Usually when I wake up in the middle of the night, I tend to get a glass of milk; it really helps to calm you down," Rei removed the last crepe from the pan. She set the crepes on a serving dish in front of Sakura.

"With you living here, I won't have to cook a meal for the rest of my life! And believe me, that's a good thing!" Sakura laughed as Rei chopped up a few tomatoes, no doubt for Sasuke who hated sweets.

Rei chuckled, "I'm sure you're not that bad!" She encouraged.

"Well we all have our faults don't we?" Sakura asked, wondering shamefully, what type of faults Rei had herself.

Rei smiled, "Now I know you're bad at cooking, but what can you do? What's your hobby?" Sakura frowned. This girl was just as curious about the pink-haired kunoichi as Sakura was of her!

"I'd hate to brag, but I am an excellent healer. I am the head healer at konoha hospital!" Rei seemed very intrigued.

"Really? I've always wanted to know what it would be like as a healer! Is it nice? Is it rewarding to help people?" she asked.

"Everyday," Sakura gave a genuine smile and in return she received one equally as true. _'She is a very nice girl Sasuke-kun…'_

"Well! Dig in!" Rei said once Sasuke entered the room. Sakura smiled at him, hiding her emotions well. She felt happier when she noticed the edges of his mouth tug a little.

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"What's this place?" Rei stopped in front of a large abandoned building. Sakura and Sasuke had taken her on a tour of the village that morning.

"Um… It's originally where the Hokage's family used to live when our village was first established. Whenever there was a new Hokage, his or her family would reside here because of its grandeur and immense security," Sakura recited smartly.

"But why is it abandoned?" Rei frowned.

"They built a new one. But I think the new one's just for show really; more a beacon of tradition than anything. Our former hokage's family lived in the same house as him so it's really just an old tradition that has been outlived."

"Oh!" Rei and Sakura continued on with Sasuke behind them. The girls both chattered away. Sakura was sure to keep her emotions in check and the afternoon went splendidly.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel a small tinge of delight that the love of his life and the girl that he spent his childhood with, were getting along so well. He remembered having mental images of Sakura throwing herself violently for Rei the moment she would lay eyes on her. _'You certainly have changed… Sakura' _

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The training fields never felt like home more in her life as Sakura found herself just there. She needed to get a bit of breathing space. Rei was pleasant to be around, but Sakura couldn't get over the past in one night. She needed time to heal her wounds, to forget. Then she could forgive. The problem was, could she forget? Of course she could! Sakura would gradually dig a whole deeper and deeper into her heart, so she could bury her forbidden feelings.

Sakura stretched out on the grass, not feeling very enthusiastic about training. She stared at the clouds and immediately thought of Shikamaru. She chuckled to herself while she watched a turtle shaped cloud pass by. She would never ridicule that lazy boy again. Cloud watching was so relaxing and calm. She watched the clouds go by, searching for shapes and figures. So far she saw a toilet, a dog, and a hand. Who knew this would be so entertaining?

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It was 10 o'clock by the time Sakura opened the door of her apartment. There was no sound but she knew that Sasuke and Rei were still here. Rei had told her they would be home by the time she got back from training. Sakura quietly set down her things and tiptoed towards her living room. She noticed her apartment was pitch black and she didn't like the emptiness she felt. Even though her house had been empty before the arrival of her formal love and his current one. Sakura poked her head around the doorframe of her living room. She saw nothing but her sparkling clean furniture. _'Damn that Rei for being so perfect!' _Sakura cursed inwardly.

"That's a perfect day Sasuke-kun!" Sakura heard Reis voice from the kitchen. She cut through the living room and reached the kitchen. It was the only room in the apartment with the lights on. Sasuke and Rei were sitting at the kitchen table with a calendar spread out in front of them. Rei looked overly excited over something while Sasuke acknowledged Sakura's presence by lifting his head.

"Hi! What are you guys? Vampires? There's not a single light on in this house!" Sakura teased.

"Oh! Sorry Sakura-chan! We were just picking a date for our wedding! You wanna see?" Sakuras' heart sank for what seemed the 5th time that weak but she agreed and sat at the table.

"We're thinking that we will need at least one month of planning at the least. I also don't want my belly to grow too much by my wedding night so we're going for the closest time possible." Rei stated.

"So you're thinking of mid March or possibly around the end of March?" Sakura asked politely.

"Sasuke thinks it should be around March 27th or 28th," Rei said. Sakuras eyes widened.

"Oh, well that's definitely a beautiful time of year." Sakura complemented, trying not to cry out right there and then.

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Hey! Sorry about the amount of time it took me to update. High school is one big reality check! Homework, homework, homework! I was also gone this weekend to a special camp where I learnt about different issues such as racism, poverty, hunger, etc… It was such a great experience! I met all these people from Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe etc… Along with a bunch of other youths from Canada.

Anyways… sorry for the shortness as well. I'm supposed to be doing homework right now. But I'll let you all know that I've laid out all of the events in my story, so I know exactly where I'm going with this!


	4. of fake kisses and lumpy throats

Sorry for not posting. I've been really sick for the past few months and I don't feel like explaining myself. I hope you understand. Please don't get mad at me. Anyways, this chapter has a bit of mystery in it. It's not that big of a mystery though but I'm still keeping it a secret from you. But I have the ending planned out and I really like it. Actually, I love it. I don't know if you will, but oh well. If you're into a story like this than you probably would like the ending.

Thanks for waiting for me, hopefully I keep the same people that liked this story from the beginning!

Disclaimer: don't own.

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"_Where is IT!! I want you to find the child!"_

_"Yes sir!" _

_"I don't have all the time in the world! I want it before I die!"_

_"Yes sir"_

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Sakura cringed at the sound of Reis' booming voice as she sat at her kitchen table. She couldn't help but smile at the fact that Sasuke was on the receiving end of the terror that was his girlfriends' voice. She listened to the words that were being yelled from the living room.

"Sasuke, I can't do this anymore! I can't live like this!" Rei screamed.

"Rei," Sakura could imagine Sasuke's calm and reserved face right now. He was probably trying to calm down the raging brunette. Sakura frowned.

"Sasuke this is the last straw! You NEVER show any emotion towards me, no feeling!" Rei yelled, Sakura found herself able to relate to Reis' words, if only the girl really knew what it meant to be completely ignored by the person you love.

Rei became calm and serious, "I can't marry you Sasuke. You just don't feel like normal people do… I thought that I could help you find that emotion that left you when your brother killed everyone, but it's obvious I can't. It's over." Sakura's heart leapt so hard she found herself jumping out of her seat. She regained her composure instantly when Rei walked through the door. Her curly brown head was bowed as if she was hiding tears.

Sakura's chair moved and Reis' head lifted at the sound. Her olive cheeks were tinted a darker shade of pink and her golden eyes held a sorrow that was rarely there. "Sorry Sakura-chan… I know I'm being terribly rude, I can understand if you don't want me to stay here anymore."

Sakura cringed at the pure innocence nearly gushing from every pore of the girl in front of her. She was tempted to kick the girl out ever since her perfect little frame walked through the front door of the apartment but the little angel on Sakura's shoulder got the best of her.

"Rei, you're my friend, I would never kick you out." Sakura smiled.

Rei smiled, "thank you."

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Sakura found herself regretting her earlier conversation when Sasuke left her apartment for Naruto's place. The second he left Rei turned to her immediately.

"Hey Sakura, will you teach me how to be a medic nin?"

Sakura smiled, "of course," no awkward situations here, maybe Rei would be a little easier to live with now that she wasn't with the man of Sakura's dreams.

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After numerous hours of medical training and comical mistakes on Rei's part, Sakura decided to leave for a little while. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty for all the fish they used to practice on. Rei had killed them all, with the exception of the fish that unfortunately turned an odd orange color and obtained a bunch of blue spots. Sakura had tried to heal it but it didn't work, so they eventually put it in a tank so Sakura could study it later.

She told Rei she was headed for Tsunade's office for some "Medical" talk when in reality she was headed for Naruto's. Of course she was stopping by to see Naruto, if Sasuke happened to be there, so be it. She stepped into the fresh midnight air and made her way past sleeping houses and closed food stands.

She walked the moonlit streets just like the time Sasuke left, all alone. She spotted Naruto's tiny apartment. The place was so small she wouldn't be surprised to know that Sasuke would be sleeping on the floor that night.

She studied the door in front of her as she contemplated on whether to knock or not; it wasn't like she visited Naruto's at midnight everynight. She had only been in the place about 5 times in her life. '_On the other hand I think I'm gonna go back home…' _Sakura turned to see Sasuke standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"S-Sasuke?"

"What are you doing?" His voice was so dull that his question didn't even sound like a question. That was the thing with Sasuke; questions didn't suit him well.

"I-I was just…" Sakura racked her brain for an excuse.

"Don't answer…" Sakura turned her gaze towards Sasuke's; he was looking straight at her.

"Rei is sleeping," Sakura didn't understand why she had told him that, it must have been all of the tension between them at that second that pushed her to say something, anything.

"Naruto's sleeping too."

"Oh… Well that's good, you can never get enough sleep," _'How did we start talking about this?' _Sakura asked herself. "Rei is still staying with me, she's doing well…" Sakura bowed her gaze towards her feet, which were currently brushing the stone steps nervously.

"I don't care."

Sakura widened her eyes as her gaze landed back on his intense face, half of which was lit by the glowing light of the moon.

"Uhm… Oh! That's interesting…"

"Sakura…"

"Mmmm?" Sakura's mouth was going numb.

"You still like me don't you…" Sakura's eyes widened in surprise then returned to their normal state. She hated the way his question was really a statement and he didn't need her to say anything to know what she was thinking. But still, she wondered what was about to happen. The moment was just too intense. "Walk with me." She saw the expression on his face. It was hard and emotionless. She didn't answer as she took a step down the front porch towards Sasuke. They were at least 10 feet apart and it stayed that way as they set off in the general direction of the ramen shop, the opposite way from her house.

Sakura found the distance between them to be awkward but Sasuke didn't seem to mind as he silently walked to her left side. She wasn't about to shorten the distance in fear of changing his mood, although she wasn't very sure what that mood was. Did he feel like talking to her to get his mind off of Rei? Or did this have something to do with what he had said earlier about their past? Was he going to talk at all?

"Uhm… Where are we going?" Sakura asked silently, maybe too silently because Sasuke just kept looking forward as he walked on as if no one spoke at all. Sakura remained silent and looked towards the water where Itachi fought Kakashi years ago. Memories that had embedded themselves in the back of her head flew through her mind. Everything was so different now. If only he knew how hard she worked to find him again, how much she worried that he had truly become evil and would never come back. She couldn't help herself and lifted her head to gaze upon his perfect face. He was still staring ahead but his expression was more relaxed and calm, the way it always was when they were younger.

They stopped by the ledge of the water where Sakura watched Sasuke walk toward the fence and lean his elbows on it while he stared at the surface of the water. Sakura hesitated before she followed in his lead. She decided to keep the distance between them and leaned over the railing as well. She looked at the calm surface of the water. It was so still, she just wanted to touch it to see it move.

"Sakura…" Sakura watched as a tiny leave floated onto the surface of the water, interrupting the calm and sending ripples all around it. She slowly turned to the right and noticed that Sasuke was staring at her again. A lump formed in her throat and she didn't know if she was going to choke, sob or turn mute. Sasuke spoke again so she temporarily forgot about the lump. "Are you mad at me?" Again, Sasuke's question was more of a statement. A small breeze played lightly with the long bangs on his forehead.

The lump in her throat made her voice slightly distorted and different when she finally used it. "No Sasuke… I would never be mad at you." Her voice felt older with a small detection of sorrow. _'So this is what a lump in the throat does?' _She thought inwardly.

"Good…" Sasuke took a step forward. _9 feet_. Sakura's eyes widened, what was he doing?! They had been a whole 10 feet apart the whole night! _Step. 8 feet. _Sasuke kept on walking, and his pace never changed. He was moving fast enough to make her stumble back a little yet slow enough as if to make a decision with himself. As if he was in the middle of thinking something over.

Sasuke stopped at a distance of 1 foot and Sakura could honestly feel the heat radiating off of his body. She noticed how much taller he was. Her head reached the bottom of his chin. Their bodies were almost touching but not quite. She looked up into his eyes. They were gazing straight at her, unblinking. Her lips parted his name preparing to form on them any moment.

"Sasuke!" Sakura snapped out of her trance as she stumbled away from Sasuke and she fell to the pavement.

"Rei" Sakura looked up to the very spot Sasuke had just been. He wasn't there any more. She turned her head to the right and about another 6 or 7 feet off she saw Rei standing in a similar position to what Sakura had been in only moments ago. She gazed into Sasuke's eyes as he towered over her tiny frame. Sasuke was mumbling to Rei under his breath and only she could hear as Sakura sat on the pavement, watching. She watched as a small tear formed at the corner of Rei's striking golden eye and she reached up on her tiptoes to grab Sasuke's neck and indulge him in a very long kiss. Sakura watched even more in fascination as the two locked lips and couldn't help but think. _'Was he going to kiss me too, if she hadn't come along?' _Then it clicked, If Rei never came along, ever, maybe Sakura would have been the pregnant one, or the one wearing the engagement ring on her wedding finger! She slowly stood up and walked away as the two kissed. It was much too late to stay up. She had to head back home. A hand made it's way back up to her throat, it was still there. Why was that stupid lump there?

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That's it!! Thank you once again! And if you didn't read my first authors note, I Was very Sick!! So sorry for not posting, I have no idea when the next chapter will be up but I have already started working on it XD


	5. heartbroken twice

READ THIS!!!

Hey! New chapter and thankfully it didn't take months to get out there! OK, what I have to say is this. If you're gonna leave a review, then please help me out. I really want you to tell me what I need to make this story better. Do I need more dialogue? Do I need to be more descriptive with places and things? Etc… I know I pay attention to spelling, I don't think I put in any really annoying mistakes like 'dat' instead of that, or just lazy spelling mistakes, but if I do then write it down please. Also give me some advice on my plot. Is it too repetitive? Is it too predictable? Or do I need to keep it more interesting each chapter? Thank you!!! And if you don't feel like writing stuff like this then just drop a good review!

Disclaimer: don't own.

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Sakura found her head was just about to explode as she sat in the stuffy wedding dress store, or whatever people called those places. The saleswomen all radiated superficial and stuck up, the place contained a heavy floral smell, and all the white was giving her a headache. She sat in one of the beige, poofy chairs behind Rei who couldn't stop squealing in the full-length mirror. She looked absolutely ravishing, like spring itself with the pure white dress that ended bellow her knees making her seem light and easy going. The dress had cute little sleeves that ended bellow her shoulders and the whole thing had just enough lace to make it look old-fashioned yet not crazy 80's.

"I think that one's it dear!" cried the saleslady in an attempt to not sound jealous as she compared her own pointy face in the mirror next to Rei. There were a few wrinkles at the corner of her squinty eyes that were covered in foundation in vein attempt to hide them up. Her blond, highlighted hair was so thin and brittle that it was painfully obvious that it had seen many die jobs. Next to Rei she probably realized the hours of primping every morning was really just useless.

"What do you think Sakura-chan?" Rei did a cute little spin and Sakura couldn't help but anticipate the day Rei's belly became so big because of the baby that she wouldn't fit into the dress.

"It's perfect." She smiled sweetly. It had been a week since the incident at the waterfront with Sasuke, and he hadn't mentioned it once. Sakura desperately wanted to know what had gone on that night. Had Sasuke decided on going for some silent, "no talking" stroll; or was he looking for something more? Whatever it was, she only wished that Rei had come at least 30 seconds later. Maybe Sakura would've been able to find out. This thought brought on a whole string of other thoughts, and soon Sakura was lost in her own mind. Maybe she'd be the pregnant one now if Rei hadn't come along. Actually, she definitely would have been the one bearing the next Uchiha in her stomach. Everyone else had been sure of it too. All those years when people comforted her, they would say, "Don't worry, after he gets his revenge he'll come straight back to you." The whole issue was so predictable, but then this little pixie of a creature came along and ruined it all. Sasuke was never the type to fall in love and even though this truth had always existed, Sakura thought that he would at least come to her for the sake of making a few Uchiha prodigies and nothing more. But that was still better than nothing…

"I'll take it!" squealed Rei after a moment of thought. Sakura looked up to see her paying for the dress then got up to follow Rei out the door, but Rei wasn't moving, she seemed to have remembered something then all of a sudden her cute little head popped up brightly, "Bridesmaid dresses!" Sakura immediately looked to the saleswoman to see her reaction, and there it was, _jackpot, _written between the thin lines of her very eyelashes. All Sakura knew was that she was in for a very long and even more humiliating day.

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Most girls think it's an exiting thing to get to do. Try on dresses all day for your best friends wedding. But suddenly, when you lay your eyes on those big, frilly, pink parachutes then it all goes downhill. And it doesn't help that in the real world, _you_ were the one that was going to attend the same wedding in a _white_ dress, not pink and frilly because the man you love is marrying some random girl he knocked up. But it seems that you can't always get what you want. Sakura realized that very early in life, but she never got used to it, still, she realized as she examined her reflection in the store mirror, in her shocking orange poof. She couldn't help but twitch at the site.

"Mm… Orange just doesn't go with Sakura's abnormal hair."

Twitch, _abnormal? _

"Oh, I agree, a dress like this would look great on any other girl, but not on her."

Twitch twitch, _not on her?_

"We should probably make sure we pay more attention to what looks good on Sakura, the other bridesmaids are gorgeous, they can pull off any look, especially Ino."

Twitch twitch twitch, _especially INO!!!_

"Um excuse me? _Hello? _If you haven't noticed, there is a girl with abnormal _pink _hair standing in your face! Please get me out of this dress now! Like you said, orange obviously does not go with pink and I'm guessing you weren't stupid enough to realize that when you picked it out in the first place!" Sakura half yelled at the saleswoman. It was only polite to keep your voice at a moderate level in public.

The saleswoman replied in an annoyingly snub voice. "Everyone _knows _orange is one of the new trends in bridesmaid dresses." Well Sakura didn't know that, and frankly she didn't care. At one point that would be the topic of the day, but she had stopped caring years ago, when Sasuke left. All that mattered was training; all she wanted to do was save the man she loved. Who could ever do that by having the brilliant knowledge of trendy bridesmaid dresses. But sometimes, Sakura would look at her reflection and notice the rough skin, or the newly hard look on her once delicate and light face. Her hands had developed calluses and she didn't even notice, all she cared about was one thing. But there would be moments when Sakura would look down at her body and sigh, and this was one of them. She had become more of a woman of course, but not as gracefully as Ino, or Hinata, due to intense training.

Sakura calmed herself down, "Can we go for something green?" she sighed seeing Rei's cheery expression at her cooperative words.

"Fine, I'll see what we have," the saleswoman rolled her eyes as she took off to find the ugliest green dress in the store. Sakura turned to Rei.

"I hope I look pretty for Sasuke." Rei went on wistfully. Funny, it was only before Sasuke left that Sakura would have said the same annoying thing every bloody morning as she walked towards the bridge. "Sakura?" Rei piped up as she shot out of her reverie.

"Hmm? Yes, what is it?"

"Do you like Sasuke?" Rei's face was serious and curious at the same time, she also looked a little worried. Sakura decided to play it dumb with her next response.

"Of course I like Sasuke! He was on my team, so I obviously grew to like him over the years." She smiled innocently, but her response was obviously not right.

"No…" Rei turned her golden gaze to her left shoulder. "Do you love him…" she asked without making eye contact.

Sakura didn't respond, it was already so obvious in her every reaction.

"What went on between you two?" Rei asked, taking Sakura's silence for an answer.

"Nothing went on, he just pushed me aside, as always…" Sakura remembered the time Sasuke had gone crazy in the forest of death. She remembered holding on to him for dear life. Sasuke had just stopped and the cursed marks started to disintegrate. Sakura had taken it as a sign that maybe Sasuke did have feelings for her deep down and that maybe the feel of her arms around his waist had brought him back to earth. She also recalled to when he was in the hospital from his meeting with Itachi. When he finally woke up she threw her arms around him, and was so relieved that he didn't push her off. But she always remembered the day he left, the day he said thank you, and truly broke her heart for the very first time. All that hoping down the drain, but then there was a new hope. Save Sasuke. That was what she hoped for, but now that he was saved, he broke her heart a second time, now there was no hope at all as she looked into Rei's sparkling eyes.

"Green dress it is!" Came the snub voice of the saleswoman. Sakura looked up and cringed at the sight of the tent-like dress.

"Try it on! Try it on!" Rei cheered, obviously already forgotten the previous conversation because she must have taken the information as harmless to her future marriage, and who wouldn't, there was no way that Sasuke would ever be unfaithful with a girl like Sakura.

Sakura grabbed the butt ugly dress and fit it over her 'abnormal' pink hair. She looked at her reflection, it wasn't as bad as the tacky orange one, a little plain but still very nice actually when you looked at it for a while. She understood why the saleswoman had picked it out in the first place. On a hanger the dress looked atrocious, but on a body it was almost trendy. It was a dark green, a color that would turn peoples heads away at first glance, but it suited Sakura nicely enough to not be embarrassing.

"I like it" Sakura said, figuring it was the nicest she would get with the saleswoman's help, and Rei ordered three for fitting, one for Sakura, one for Hinata, and one for Ino.

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"Sakura!" Rei squealed while they were on the way home. Sasuke was still moved into Naruto's house because Rei wouldn't have it any other way. Because the wedding was only a couple weeks away, she only wanted to see Sasuke when there was a wedding planner in sight. It had something to do with luck Sakura guessed. At least she didn't have to worry about any more awkward meetings with Sasuke.

"Hm?" Sakura responded.

"I completely forgot! I need to have a party with all the girls! You know? Like a bachelor party, except for it's all girls!" Rei's cheeks were all puffed up and rosy from the chilly air and her excitement.

Sakura smiled, "Good idea!" Sakura laughed inwardly as the sight of a police officer AKA stripper dancing on Rei's lap with a bunch of girls laughing in a circle. Rei was almost too innocent to picture the whole thing, but she obviously wasn't innocent enough when it came to Sasuke, Sakura thought as she looked at the slight bulge of Rei's stomach. Sakura had a slight surge of joy when she realized she was the innocent one in physical ways compared to Rei. She hadn't even had her first kiss yet. Usually that wasn't a thing to brag about, but that was all part of Rei's charm, she looked untouched, when in reality she was… well she just wasn't. But Sakura still had her virginity, and for once, she was proud, because she didn't have to look at Rei and see the picture of innocence once she realized this. _'Ha! Take that!' _

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Well, that's it! Hope you like it. And now Rei is aware of Sakura's feeling! Uh oh. Anyways, sorry it took longer than expected but my parents banned me from the computer once again due to exams. Oh well. I actually liked this chapter although it lacked in plot really. It was just kind of a "The following day" aftermath type of thing. Anyways, please review and if you didn't read my first message, please do scroll up top and read it. XD.


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