"Take me with you!" Sakura says desperately, hardly knowing what she's saying, just so intensely aware that one wrong word could spell the end of Team Seven.

It feels as though she is standing on a precipice, and if she missteps it'll be Sasuke who falls, not her. She can barely breathe through the tears, can already feel her eyes swelling up.

"You don't even know what you're offering." Sasuke says, sounding disdainful.

Maybe it's true. Maybe she's just a stupid girl in over her head. But the idea of Sasuke leaving, really abandoning Konoha and becoming a missing-nin… he would be her enemy. Naruto's enemy. They would be expected to attack him on sight.

When Sakura thinks about the future she envisaged with Sasuke, it never involved him being alone.

"I do know." She says, certainty hardening her voice. Sasuke's head tilts ever so slightly. "I'd technically be betraying Konoha. I'd have to leave my parents, my friends. My team. But isn't that the whole point of being on a team in the first place? When one member's in trouble, you don't just abandon them to their fate just to complete the mission. Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash, remember? If you feel like you have to do this… then I can't just leave you to face it all alone."

Sasuke finally turns to face her. The disdain is gone. He looks pensive, dark eyes examining every inch of her face. Sakura keeps her eyes on his jaw, very aware of the possibility of his Sharingan activating at a moment's notice.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Sasuke says.

"Of course! Naruto would do the same thing!"

"No, he wouldn't. Naruto wants to be Hokage. He can't do that if he's under Orochimaru's thumb. Have you thought about that? Having to work for him, be a member of Oto?"

Is he… actually considering this?

Emboldened, Sakura clenches her fists. "I'd hate it, I can't pretend otherwise. But I hate the idea of leaving you alone with that snake even more!"

"I'll be safe with him, because he needs me. You would be collateral. He'd kill you on sight, or use you against me. I'm not giving him any kind of advantage."

"Yes, you are! If you go with him, you're giving up your body, right? Or at least risking him taking it from you! You're already beholden to him. You need an ally. Someone you know is truly on your side, who can't be turned against you." Sakura is one step away from outright pleading. She's so set on the path she's laid, it feels like all other roads are closed to her now. If he rejects her, sends her running back to Konoha, how could she look Naruto in the eye?

She can feel Sasuke's gaze, as heavy as a touch grazing her cheek, but she can't look up. She can't risk seeing red and giving him the opportunity to take away her choice.

"You're just saying all this because you think you love me." Sasuke grunts, stepping back.

"I… I know you hate me, Sasuke-kun. I know you think I'm annoying. I don't mind. I can be better for you, I promise. I can change." She says, tears thickening her voice. He probably hates her even more now.

"You shouldn't." Sasuke says, his voice softer than before. "Think about this. You're offering to throw away your entire life for me. What's the point in that?"

"I'd be with you." Sakura says, surprised he even had to ask.

In an instant, he's in front of her, eyes red and staring into hers. She gasps, closing her eyes a fraction too late.

"Open your eyes." Sasuke says.

"No!" She shakes her head. The feel of her hair is still jarring to her, just barely brushing against her shoulders. She's used to a heavy weight down her back. It was comforting, letting her long, silken locks hide her face. Now she feels all too exposed.

"I'm not going to do anything. Just open them."

Sakura grits her teeth. If he'd wanted to use his Sharingan, he could've the moment their eyes met. She has to risk this. She has to trust him.

She opens her eyes slowly, peeking up at him.

He's –

He's… smiling.

What?

It's small, just a little quirk of his lips, but it's not the smirk she's used to glimpsing, it's something else entirely.

"I thought being on this team was the path I was meant to walk. I was wrong. I was born for one purpose, to be an avenger. I plan to kill a certain man." Sasuke says, his scarlet eyes still alien and strange to her. She's so used to his gaze being dark, with flashes of indigo in the sunlight. "Will you help me?"

Sakura's eyes widen. "You – you want me to help? Of course! I'll work hard to get stronger and I won't let you down, I promise!"

Sasuke lets out a little huff of amusement. "Just don't get in my way. Come on, then. We're leaving."

Sakura beams, rushing forward to join him, then stops. An icy shock runs through her. What is she doing? Abandoning Konoha? Leaving her friends, Ino, Naruto? Losing half of Team Seven will hurt him so badly.

And her parents…

Sasuke is watching her, his eyes back to normal. He looks resigned, as if he expected her to chicken out.

That strengthens her resolve. She's tired of being left behind. She's tired of just watching as Team Seven fights for their lives. On their very first mission, she didn't even get a scratch. She was supposed to be the one protecting Tazuna, but Sasuke leapt in front of her, and then Kakashi did the same thing. Naruto and Sasuke fought Haku – Sasuke nearly died – while Kakashi held off a missing-nin on his own, because Sakura was too weak to do anything. All she did on that mission was cry over Sasuke.

When Naruto and Sasuke charged at each other, each one wielding a deadly jutsu, she had been powerless to stop them. The most she could do was try to block their strikes with her body. She had to be saved, again.

"I'm coming." Sakura says firmly.

Sasuke looks at her with something that might be respect.

"Thank you." He says.

xxxxxxxx

They reach the outskirts of Konoha without being stopped, though Sakura spends the entire time looking over her shoulder and seeing eyes in the dark.

She can't imagine the consequences of being caught trying to abandon your village. She remembers the gouge running through Zabuza's hitae ate. The desperation in his eyes when he realised Gato had betrayed him. The life of a missing-nin is fraught with peril and treachery. At least this way, Sasuke will have one good ally, like Haku was for Zabuza.

Sakura pushes away the memory of two unmarked graves, an abandoned sword and tool.

Four shinobi dart in front of them.

Sakura flinches, taking a step back.

"Who's the girl?" A boy with silver hair says, raising an eyebrow at her.

"None of your business." Sasuke says flatly, ignoring Sakura's sudden inability to breathe. "If you get in my way, I'll kill you all."

The nin smirk at each other. Sakura has a sinking feeling that Sasuke couldn't even kill one of these people. They feel strong.

"Of course, Sasuke-sama." The same silver-haired boy says, wrestling his expression into a parody of politeness.

Sasuke narrows his eyes. "Why are you even here?"

"Ever since we left the village, we decided you should lead us. Please forgive us for before."

Before? Sakura looks around them. They're Oto nin, clearly, and she can see Orochimaru's mark on some of them. They probably all bear his cursed seal. What had they done to Sasuke that required forgiveness?

"Hmph. It's fine either way. Let's go." Sasuke shrugs, the very picture of nonchalance, and starts walking.

Sakura hurries to match his pace, not wanting to walk with the strange nin. She can still feel their eyes digging into her back. She's not supposed to be here. She's probably disturbing some grand plan of Orochimaru's. Good.

The moon is high in the sky. Visibility is good. They are probably guaranteed a large head start, since Sakura was the only one to suspect Sasuke might try to leave tonight. Sakura notes all of this as they travel. It's easier to focus on the practical elements, to treat it all like a mission, than to get stuck in the emotional aspects. If she thinks too hard about what she's doing, that knot of fear in her stomach will intensify until she can't go any further. Instead, she notes the cloudless sky, the ground hardened by a lack of recent rain. She's not dressed for a mission, but she did make sure to grab a belt with pouches full of supplies, just in case. She's been on edge ever since the invasion, waiting for feathers to float in front of her and for a waking nightmare to begin again.

It's just a mission.

She doesn't think about her parents' faces, or wonder how long it will take them to realise she's gone. She doesn't picture her empty bed, the photo of Team Seven she left behind. She cannot dwell on Naruto's reaction when he hears the news. She can't regret leaving just as they were starting to become real friends, not just teammates who had been forced together.

Sasuke seems to believe she has 'chosen' him above everything else in her life, but really Sakura just felt like she had nothing left to offer but herself. She had tried reasoning with him, pleading with him and begging him, and nothing worked. She knew Sasuke would become unreachable the moment he severed ties with Konoha. All she could do was go with him. To do anything else would have felt like giving up.

He lectured her about loneliness, once. How could she leave him alone, knowing it was his greatest fear?

They've been running for hours. Her internal clock tells her it's nearly three, and she needs sleep now. She's not quite at the point of dragging her feet yet, so she soldiers on, for once not even thinking about impressing Sasuke.

The Sound Four keep giving her looks.

She has the distinct feeling they're planning to do away with her the moment they get the chance. What could Sasuke even do? Fight them and be defeated? Go back to Konoha and be arrested? She's aware that her presence is a burden – because isn't it always, she thinks bitterly – and he'd be better off without her in many ways. But he must know it too, and he still said yes.

The Forest of Death was the first time Sakura and Sasuke had been forced to survive together. The first time he had relied on her. She clutched his hand while he writhed in agony, allowed him to grip her too hard, puffing out pained breaths against her sweat-soaked hair. She had soothed him with nonsense words, stroking his hand and at one point even trying to rock him back and forth, anything to take his mind of the burning in his veins. She had helped him, and he had let her.

He asked her to keep the cursed seal a secret, and she had. They'd left the forest as different people, their shared horrors linking them together.

You think you love me, Sasuke had said, as if it was ridiculous.

The smile on his face when she had said her reward would be being with him – that must have been when it finally dawned on him.

God help me, I do love him, Sakura thinks, the last of her tears flying off her cheek as she leaps from branch to branch.

And I don't care that he doesn't love me.

xxxxxxxx

The only other girl tosses Sakura something when she starts to flag, falling behind. A soldier pill. Sakura's seen them before, knows all about them from a logical standpoint, but has never taken one. Kakashi had told her that relying on them means you'll never learn your natural limits, and so will never be able to exceed them.

Sakura takes the pill. Kakashi isn't here right now. She can't imagine what he would think if he was. The ache in her muscles begins to recede. She lands on the next branch and springs forward with renewed vigour.

She is not going to fall behind.

The Sound Four drop into a clearing, so Sakura follows suit, landing next to Sasuke in a crouch.

"Sasuke-sama… I think this will be a good place. We've gone far enough from Konoha." The silver-haired boy says.

"What is it?" Sasuke asks. Sakura can see how tense the muscles in his arms are, despite the casual way he's standing.

"Well, we've got an important order from Orochimaru-sama. The last and final one."

"I'm asking what the hell that is!" Sasuke snaps.

Sakura winces. He's gotten them into enough trouble on missions with his brusqueness. Sakura or Kakashi always end up having to step in to smooth things over.

The Sound Four are silent.

Sakura fights the urge to fidget. Orochimaru couldn't have predicted her presence. There's no way the final order is for Sasuke to get rid of her. Surely not?

The boy smirks, his painted lips glinting in the dawning sunlight. "You must die once."

Sakura jolts, her hands raising reflexively as if in defence. When no one comes at Sasuke with a kunai, she forces her shoulders back down, breathing out hard. She's not ready for a fight. She's got some wire, a half-full kunai holster and some medicinal herbs. There has to be something she can do.

"You're telling me to… die once?" Sasuke says incredulously.

The boy pulls something from his pocket. "Seishingan. I'll have you take this."

"What the hell is that?"

"Your current cursed seal is level one. That pill will forcefully increase the curse's level to two." The girl speaks up, hand on hip, deceptively casual. Sakura can read the tension in the lines of her body.

"However, the level two seal will dramatically increase its contamination speed. If we don't do anything, you will die." The silver-haired boy says, uncharacteristically solemn. "In other words, in order to control the level two power, your body needs some time to adjust. With the level two curse, you will probably possess the same level of strength as us. When the seal is awakened, there will only be a few minutes… until you 'die.'"

Sakura's breathing is rapid and shallow. She can't force it to slow down. Everything feels surreal, like a bizarre dream that feels strange even while you're sleeping. She wishes she could just wake up and find herself at home, in bed, knowing Sasuke is already up and training, Naruto is sound asleep and Kakashi is reading on a nearby rooftop.

"What'll happen after I die?" Sasuke asks after a moment of strained silence. He glances at Sakura, his lips flattening to a white line.

"Don't worry. That's what we're here for."

The boy explains about their barrier jutsu and how it'll be no problem for them to protect him. Sasuke, predictably, questions their skills. Sakura notices that they take care to call him 'Sasuke-sama' even after he's rude to them. They must have been ordered to stay on his good side. Unluckily for them, he doesn't have one.

"I'll be comatose, then?" Sasuke says, displeased. He shakes his head. "Fine. But just know, if I wake up and something's happened to Sakura, you'll have to explain to Orochimaru why you had to kill me. I bet that's something we all want to avoid, right?"

The Sound Four shift on their feet, suddenly looking everywhere but at Sakura.

"Will it hurt?" Sakura asks, her voice soft.

"What?" The silver-haired boy says gruffly.

"Taking the pill. Will it hurt Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke scowls. He hates it when she worries about him, but given the fact that this will actually kill him, Sakura thinks she's entitled to a little concern.

"Not any more than he can handle, I'm sure."

Sasuke shakes a pill out of the bottle and stares at it, stark against his white palm. Sakura touches his sleeve lightly, used to only being permitted the slightest of touches. Sasuke pushes his arm back against her hand, and for a moment her fingers curl around his forearm, feeling his warmth leech into her skin.

She meets his eyes, hoping she can communicate her feelings with this one look. He nods back at her, then gently extricates himself from her grip.

"Don't look back." Is the last thing he says to her before he tips the pill into his mouth and all hell breaks loose.

Hello, friends.

This plotbunny kept biting me and I just had to write it :/

I hope those who made it this far enjoyed it! This is basically my attempt to make Sasuke likeable again (or at least not a murderous arsebiscuit) and for SasuSaku to make sense. (Just another wish fulfilment fic for me!) This whole thing was inspired by me noticing Sakura actually asks Sasuke to take her with him, though Sasuke obviously ignores her in canon. I hadn't read that scene in years and genuinely couldn't remember what was said in it, so I couldn't help but wonder when I reread it 1) Was Sakura serious or just saying whatever she could to try to persuade Sasuke to stay? And 2) What would have happened if Sasuke said yes?

I have quite a few ideas for Sakura's development, both combat and personality-wise. She's not going to be a carbon copy of Tsunade, since she left Konoha instead of asking to be her apprentice. I really like the plan I've got for her, but I'm open to suggestions :) I've not got a lot of plot planned out, just a fair few ideas and scenes I'd like to include.

There's no huge change that pushed Sasuke to accept Sakura's offer this time around, just a slightly different conversation.

Quick poll for fun: Who has the best character development in Naruto?

(If you don't think any of the character development is good, whose would you rewrite if you could?)