Feelings Unspoken Chapter 2: Courage: The Will to Climb, a naruto fanfic

AN: Here's the 2nd installment of Feelings Unspoken! Wow! 17 whole reviews for the first chapter of Feelings Unspoken! Thanks to everyone who reviewed/wished me a happy birthday!

WARNING: The beginning may contain a few spoilers for those who are not caught up/finished the Sai and Sasuke arc (manga chapter 305 ). You can skip the first bit (up until you see the title) if you don't want to spoil anything for yourself, I tried not to add anything too important in there for those who aren't up to date with the latest.

In root, we are merely tools. Do anything to complete the mission. Sacrifice, betray, and kill. We are used only to serve and obey. Becoming an ANBU Root member strips you from your name, your future, and your emotions. Existing, but never living.

A smile is the best way to deal with difficult situations. Even if it means having to fake it. People smile when they are feeling this emotion, also known as happiness. While I use a smile to my own benefit. With a smile, you are able to deceive, to trick one into thinking differently. Using a smile has gotten me out of many situations, and never once failed me. So on the first day I met my new team, I smiled.

And got punched in the face.

It wasn't the exact reaction I was expecting, hence the reason of why I staggered back about 10 feet. Haruno Sakura, that ugly hag punched me. With a smile, you are able to deceive. I bad mouth Sasuke-kun, and received a punch in return. He was still a soft spot for the two back then. It didn't matter much to me anyways. My mission was to merely kill Uchiha Sasuke, and I was willing to do anything to complete it. Having no emotions had its ups and downs. Without emotions, I am able to swiftly finish the task without hesitation. But happiness, friends, family, love... They were the price to pay.

"That picture book you carry... You carry it because it's the only thing that proves that you exist... Am I right? Despite saying that you have no emotions, you are unable to forget that you once existed as a brother. Your bond with your brother is very important to you. And you don't want to lose it... That is why you always keep that book with you... Because you don't want to lose that bond... Right?"

My brother and I... We weren't blood related... But he was the only one that became close enough to me to earn the title as my brother. And now that I think about it... My relationship with my brother was a lot like Naruto's and Sasuke's. My brother had already died, but their bond could still be saved. All we needed to do was bring Sasuke back.

The only question was. What was more important?

The mission? Or the bonds?

"I don't care what happens to me, as long as I bring Sasuke back."

As soon as Naruto said that. I made it my mission to protect their slowly fading bond. Do anything to complete the mission. And I will. I will help save their bond. I will find out why Naruto and Sakura still treasure their friendship with a traitor like Sasuke. And more importantly... I'll find out how to create my own.

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The day that Uchiha Sasuke escaped from Team Kakashi was the day I failed my first mission. And when he was brought back to Konoha, he was immediately rushed into the hospital, Sakura right beside him.

Hours. It took hours... She locked herself up in that hospital room for hours, healing him with all that she could do. Only one other working beside her, the Hokage herself. Hours seemed like days as I occasionally sat beside Naruto in the waiting room. And by the time he was in stable condition, she herself had collapsed on his bedside from chakra depletion. And that's when I wondered... If I were to betray them for the sake of something like revenge... Would they go this far for me? After all, I was only a replacement for Uchiha Sasuke. And when I thought about it, an odd feeling inside me surfaced... Was I worried I would lose the bonds I had created with Naruto and Sakura because he had come back? Would the return of Sasuke mean the departure of the former Root member named Sai?

I frowned when I saw the sight of her head resting on the side of his bed, her hand close of his, but never touching. How she breathed in and out with a smile on her face, knowing that she saved him for once. Knowing that she was finally able to do something for him.

Only once had I heard from Naruto that she loved Sasuke. But back then, love was just a word to me, I had never felt it myself, and so have no experience with it what so ever. And as the former team 7 members began to rebuild that wounded, but never broken bond, that unanswered question continued to haunt my head. I was merely a replacement. Therefore when the original member of team 7 was brought back, I would become nothing once more.

"Sai? Is something wrong? You've been distant lately."

"No. Nothings wrong." I lied, adding a small forced smile to cover up my thoughts.

She frowned as she grabbed my hand in hers. I looked down as I stared at our two hands intertwined. Her hands were warm. "Sasuke-kun is Sasuke-kun, and you are you. Sai, no matter how bad our relationship was in the beginning, you earned your spot as a family member of Team 7. You are not just a replacement for Sasuke-kun. You are Sai, a fully qualified member of Team 7, and more importantly... Our friend." She smiled as she gave my hand a small squeeze. "I want you to know that."

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I could see the way she treated Naruto, and the way she treated Sasuke. I carefully noted the differences, and confidently placed her relationship with Naruto in the best friends category while placing hers and Sasukes in the unknown category.

It was difficult to distinguish what type of relationship those two had. It was clear the two treated each other differently, with more tenderness and care (well, as much as a stuck up Uchiha can show) And maybe... If his tone could be a bit softer, and if she could be a little less emotional, their relationship could work. Then again, the day Sasuke was able to be gentle; Naruto would be able to quit ramen. Who knows how their relationship works.

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The sound of chair legs scraping against the wooden floor flowed throughout the dimly lighted room as Sai sat down in front of a large piece of canvas. Pale fingers quietly grabbing a single red pastel he began his work. "But don't usually people title their drawings? Like how you felt when you drew it?" Back then, I was still apart of ANBU Root, and therefore had my emotions suppressed. But now, in Konoha, I feel relaxed and calm, and I'm slowly, but surely regaining my abilities to use my emotions.

With one last stroke, the former ANBU member settled the piece of red pastel on a nearby table. Sai slowly scanned his newest art work. A red heart. He carefully smudged the piece with his index finger, and then backed away from it, adding small final touches. Something was missing though. He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, before grabbing a large proportion of black oil paint. Quickly digging through his drawers for a large brush, the black haired boy settled back onto his chair and began making even, steady strokes, along his painting. Completely covering the heart. He smiled as he examined the canvas fully painted in black.

Carefully setting it aside for it to dry, he began to clean up. Taking a quick glance at the clock hung on the wall, Sai silently told himself he had just less than 10 minutes before heading to the bridge. A sigh escaped his mouth as he quietly washed the brush under the sink. Never judge a book by its cover, as the saying goes. Although this painting may seem like a worthless, plain, black piece of paper. Just scratch it a bit, look under, and you'll find something new.

A heart.

Feelings underneath the void of black.

Silently grabbing the edges of the painting, Sai hung it upon an empty space on his wall. A satisfied smile was placed on his face as he closed his eyes.

I think I'll call it Feelings Unspoken.

A Sasuke x Sakura Twoshot

The Feeling of Courage: The Will to Climb

Feelings Unspoken

He cast his best friend a glance as he approached the bridge, midnight black eyes scanning for the regular blob of pink. There was none. She's late today. No greeting between the two rivals were exchanged as Sasuke walked passed him, closing his eyes settling into his regular pose at his usual spot. "Good morning." Naruto dragged out in a sarcastic tone after a few moments of silence. The raven haired boy lazily opened one of his eyes and nodded in return, ignoring his tone. "Hn."

And then silence.

Only the chirping of a few birds flying by was heard as the two best friends waited, tension filling up the atmosphere. Naruto's leg started twitching in an irritated fashion. Usually Sakura would've been here to talk to him, to make the hours of their late teacher go by faster, but now... He was with him. And him, aka Uchiha Sasuke, doesn't talk. With a sigh, Naruto gave in. "Don't you feel just the slightest bit guilty?" He asked, questioning his friends humanity. "No." Came a fast response.

He couldn't believe that she fell in love with this guy. "You're an asshole." Naruto stated as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. And then silence settled between them again. Sasuke closed his eyes as his face titled towards the sky, the suns light reflecting off his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh. "Where is she?" He asked in a somewhat monotone voice.

Oh. So now he cared.

Naruto felt the corners of his mouth twitching into a grin. "She's on a date with fuzzy eyebrows!" Naruto shouted with a smile plastered over his face. Sasuke's head immediately darted towards Naruto's direction, teeth gritted together and hands clenched in fists, ready to punch the daylights out of him.

The sound of footsteps walking towards them caught Sasuke's attention as he twisted his head towards the source of sound. Sai merely ignored his teammates glare as he rested a hand on his hip. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun." He greeted with a smile. Naruto leaned against the railing of the bridge, his two arms causally tucking behide his head. A small grin appeared on the blonds face. "Che. Drop the smile, why are you late today?" Sai's smile did not fade from his face as he walked to the right side of Naruto, settling himself down on the base of the bridge. "I was merely working on my newest drawing." The former ANBU root member explained while he unpacked his art supplies from his bag. Naruto's tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth, creating a 'tsk' like sound. "Lame excuse, your art work isn't that special anyways." Sai only smiled as he closed his bag.

"Neither is your dick."

Naruto's right eye twitched. "I-I'm gunna-" Before Naruto got a chance to punch his teammates head, Sai casually scanned the area. Finally noticing that they were missing a teammate. "Where's Sakura today?" Sai asked, facing Naruto.

Naruto put on somewhat of a pout upon hearing their teammates name as he quietly shifted back into his former position, choosing not to answer. "..." Sai then turned his face towards Sasuke, who was leaning against the bridge, arms crossed. Sasuke, feeling eyes upon him lazily opened his eyes to face Sai's. "Ask Naruto." He merely stated.

Naruto frowned. "Shes not coming today."

Another one of his smiles appeared on his face as one of his eyebrows arched in curiosity.

"Oh? Is that so." 'Sai couldn't help but smirk at Sasuke. "I wonder why."

She awoke in her beige colored room. Green orbs lazily scanned her room for the time. 10:30 it read. The team was supposed to meet at the bridge at 9. Sighing, Sakura rolled to her side on the bed. The bed. Oh, I was sleeping on the bed yesterday... She wrapped her blankets around herself, slowly breathing in the warmth. She felt cozy. Feeling her eye grow heavy, Sakura quickly snapped them open. "I'm already late today." She told no one in particular.

Forcing herself up from the warmth of her bed, she dragged herself towards her cabinet. The doors created a creaking sound as she opened it up, grabbing her usual attire. Sakura walked towards the washroom with a sigh, clothes in hand as she locked the door behind her. She stared at the large mirror before her, and frowned.

Don't waste my time.

She shook her head infront of the mirror, gently slapping her cheeks with each hand. "Stupid, stupid!" She told herself. She grabbed her face cloth from its hook and silently turned on the taps. The cold water splashed against her face in a refreshing manner. "I don't feel like facing him, at least, not yet." She told her reflection. Sighing for the sigh... third time in ten minutes, she quickly dabbed her face dry before throwing the cloth back on its hanger. She swiftly changed out of her sleepwear and into her training outfit. Quickly raking through her hair with her fingers she tightened the ends of her headband. "Lets call Ino and train with her for today."

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"Sakura's not here again?" Naruto asked as he arrived at the bridge the next day. Sai, who came early this time smiled as he shook his head. "Actually, I've seen her at the other training grounds with Yamanaka-san"

"Ino?" Naruto asked in a surprise manner. Weren't they rivals?

Sai chuckled, "I believe that's her name."

A cough was made by the other raven haired boy who leaned against the railing of the bridge. Naruto greeted him with a small yo, before settling into his spot. "Sasuke, go get her, stop brooding around." Naruto ordered his friend.

"Hn." He replied as he used his elbows to push him up.

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The two girls breathed in and out heavily as they continued to practice in the open fields. "I'm sorry again," Sakura told her blond friend as she rolled to the ground, successfully dodging her friends upper cut. "For calling you out, I know your missing your team practices for me." She finished, throwing a few shuriken while running head on towards her opponent.

The sound of metal hitting metal was made as Ino blocked each of the shuriken thrown at her with her own kunai. "Heh, it's alright. Having a chance to dent that forehead of yours is worth it!" She teased, readying her fist as the pink haired girl drew near. Sakura disappeared in a blur, just before Ino's fist made contact with her skin. Ino's eyes widened as she quickly scanned the area for her friend.

She gasped as she felt wire quickly wrapping around her arms. With one slight pull of the string, Ino's arms were tied to her back, rendering her hands useless. The blond turned around to face a grinning Sakura. "Hey!" The pink haired girl laughed, index finger pointing to her forehead. "This forehead is full of knowledge, unlike someone's." Sakura teased, bending over and flicking her friends forehead.

Ino smirked, despite her hands being tied up and having her forehead flicked upon. "Knowledge of what? What Sasuke-kun's favorite color is?" Ino teased back.

Sakura's grin faded.

Ino caught the look in her eyes as her own teasing smile faded into a worried frown. "Oh. Is... Is that why you've been skipping your team's practices for the past 2 days?" She asked in a quiet manner. Her green eyes looked stared into the ground. "Yeah... Kinda..." She drew out. Sakura tugged the wire once more, as its grip became loose around Ino's arms.

The Yamanaka heiress rubbed her sore arms for a moment before looking down at her best friend, who currently sat on the ground, knees tucked under her chin. Ino knelt down and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "What did he do this time?" She asked. Sakura gently shook her head back and forth. "Nothing much... Its more like what I did..." Sakura explained.

Ino gasped.

"... You..."

"You forced yourself on him?!"

Sakura's eyes widened as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "Baka!" Lightly smacking her friend on the back of the head for saying something only Naruto would say. "N-Nani! Ino! Never!" She blushed.

Ino shrugged. "It was a possibility." She joked.

She received a glare from her friend. The blond pouted. "Do you want to tal-" Ino halted to a stop as her best friend suddenly jumped right up. "Oh! Shoot!" She heard Sakura say, gently smacking the side of her own head. "Ino I forgot to remind you! You're rounds in the hospital starts in..." Sakura tapped her lip with her finger in a thinking manner as she looked to the sky, reading the sun. "I'm guessing 5 minutes." Sakura predicted.

"Ehh?!" The blond yelled. Ino paused as she imagined Tsunade chasing her throughout the hospital, creating cracks throughout the floor with each step. "IIINO! YOU'RE LATE!" Tsunade would say, her eyes sparkling with an evil gleam as the fire behind her roared. Ino shivered. "Why didn't you tell me before?" Ino shouted in a hectic manner, quickly running towards her bag.

Sakura nervously scratched her cheek as she let out a never laugh. "I guess I forgot?" She told her friend.

"Tsk, and you said that forehead of yours was full of knowledge." Ino mocked while she threw her weapons hurriedly into her bag.

Sakura pouted. "Hey!" She said, puffing her cheeks as her arms crossed over her chest. Ino gave a teasing wink while sticking out her tongue. "Alright then my little forehead girl! I'll see you sometime soon! Ja!" Ino waved before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Pink hair slightly waved from the wind the cloud had produced as Sakura's fake pout faded. "Ja..." She said, moments too late.

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Sakura sighed to herself as she quietly packed her weapons neatly into her bag. So much for training. She zipped her bag close as she stood up taking her time with the buckle as she strapped it just below her hip. She gave her bag a little pat before turning around.

Ow.

She thought as she fell backwards after crashing into something. She landed on the ground with an 'oof!' Rubbing her sore bottom as she muttered a string of curses.

"Sakura." Came a voice.

Her green eyes snapped open at the voice. "S-Sasuke-kun!" She shouted in surprise as she quickly jumped up from her former position. Sasuke clicked his tongue as he shook his head, his hand finding the back of his neck while the other stayed in his pocket. Sakura stood straight up as she gulped, nervously waiting for him to state his reason for finding her. He crossed his arms as he looked away from her. Because the trees are so pretty. Sakura mocked in her head.

"Naruto told me to get you." The Uchiha explained.

Sakura's head titled to the side. "What for?" She asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Something about not showing up for training."

"Oh..." Was her only reply as she nervously played with the helm of her skirt.

"Are you coming?" He asked, already taking a few steps away from her, but stopping before going too far.

"Um... Listen, Sasuke-kun..." She began in a shaky voice as she scratched the back of her head. "I don't think I'll be able to come today. I actually just sparred with Ino right before you came... And I guess I'm a bit tired"

Lier. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he quietly scanned his surroundings. Nothing had been demolished by her punches, meaning she used little to no chakra during the training. Before she noticed, he adverted his gaze back to her. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Sasuke started walking back towards Team Kakashi's training grounds. "Go home then." He told her as he walked.

Sakura nodded, even though he wasn't facing her. "Y-yeah. I will." She answered in a voice just loud enough for him to hear. "Can you tell Kaka-sensei that I'll be there tomorrow?" She asked.

He gave a slight nod. "Aa."

Sasuke stopped walking as he turned around once more to face her. She stood her ground. "If you're tired, eat something and sleep. Don't go to the hospital and do something stupid." He said before turning back around, slowly fading into the forest green area.

"So tired. Worked... Hospital. Pull. My. Hair. Kill. Kids." She muttered to herself as she closed the door with an impatient amount of force. Sakura ignored the loud bang, smiling as she caught sight of her lovely sofa. Throwing herself onto the seat, she breathed in the heavenly scent of leather. She massaged her aching back after spending the night working at the hospital, despite that Sasuke warned her not to do. A yawn escaped her mouth as she blinked her eyes open, her focus directed to the clock that hung on the wall in her small living room. It's only... 11:30am

Tick tock.

"Shimatta!"

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"She's not here again..." Naruto complained in an annoying voice. Sai shrugged. "Maybe she's late?" He said in a non-caring tone as he guided his paint brush towards the blank piece of paper. Naruto scratched his chin, doubting the guess of his teammate. "Who could possibly be later then Kakashi-sensei?" He asked.

"I'll choose to ignore that." Came the voice of their grey haired teacher as he continued to read the newest addition of Make Out Paradise.

Sasuke ran his hand through his hair. "She told me she'd be here today."

All four of them sighed.

A nearby eagle signaled its presence as its call echoed throughout of town. Naruto blinked while looking towards the sky, the sun immediately damaging his eyes. "OW OW!" Sasuke shook his head disapproval of his idiotic friends actions.

Sai looked towards sky, his hands providing a layer of shade from the sun. "What's that?" He asked, using his other hand to point at the bird soaring just above them.

"Messenger hawk." Sasuke stated.

"Hmm?" Kakashi said in a lazy manner, his book finally uncovering his eyes as he looked up as well. The brown eagle slowly drew closer towards the ground as Kakashi stuck his arm out, signaling for the eagle to land. Taking the message from the eagles talon, Kakashi gave a nod, and it fly off once more. Carefully unfolding the message, his gray eyes scanned over the printing. "Ahaha..." Came his nervous laugh. "Looks like I have a short meeting along with the other jounins, I should be back in an hour or two. Wait here. Ja ne." Kakashi explained in a slight rush before a puff of smoke replaced him.

It has happened before, so the team knew what to do. Sai quickly deposited his brushes back into his bag before standing up. "Naruto? Ramen?" Sai asked, pointing to the nearby stand. Naruto's eyes beamed for a moment before he bit down on his lip hard. " No. I'm. going. to. visit. Sakura-chan." He forced his reply. Sai smirked. "Really?" He mocked his teammates will.

"... Fine."

Sai laughed.

"Take out only though, I'll eat it at her place." Naruto said as he too got up from his position.

"Don't bother."

"Shut up bastard. You're the one that should be visiting her." Naruto growled.

"She's not sick." Sasuke stated.

"You know you're the reason she hasn't been here lately!" The blond yelled, accusing his friend.

Sasuke glared at him. "How do you all of a sudden know things I know?"

And with a lunge started by yours truly, Naruto.

The fist fight starts.

Sai sighed before sitting back down, unhooking a summoning scroll from his hip, before neatly painting a black inked bird on the paper. "Ninpou, choujuu giga." he whispers as the bird slowly crawls off the paper and soars to life, into the air.

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She had quickly grabbed a bite to go before slamming the door shut once more, this time running towards the training grounds in hopes her team mates weren't mad at her. She stopped for a small breath of air as she rubbed her eyes awake. "I don't even know if I'm in shape to fight today." She gave out another yawn as she stretched, before jogging towards the bridge again.

"Is that Sai's drawing?" Sakura asked herself, rubbing her eyes as she continued running while looking up at the cloudless blue sky. The bird started to descend in a fast pace, quickly shortening the distance between the two. Sakura stopped running before closing her eyes shut, using her arms as a shield for her head. She hoped the bird knew when to stop so it wouldn't crash into her.

She waited a few moments before carefully opening one eye, then two. She blinked. "Where'd it go?"

Her head suddenly felt heavier. The bird pecked at her forehead with its beak a few times, earning a string of colorful words to erupt from Sakura's mouth, before slowly flowing out of its form. Sakura watched in curiosity as the bird became a small message written in neat, short strokes.

"Dickless... and... emo boy are fighting..." Sakura read out loud, causing a few passing villagers to look at her strangely.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Who's emoboy?" She asked the bird/writing. It didn't reply. Thinking for a moment Sakura scratched the top of her head. A lightblub appeared. "Oh! That's Sasuk-"

She gasped.

"Naruto and Sasuke-kun are fighting!" She screamed, running as fast as she could towards the bridge.

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Sasuke and Naruto both glared at each other each had one of the others fist caught within their hands. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Stop!" Sakura yelled in a frantic manner as soon as she came in hearing distance.

Her voice was drowned out by Naruto's growl. "You asshole! Stop treating her like dirt!" He emphasized each word while using brute force to push the raven haired boy back. Sasuke's grip tightened. "What am I suppose to treat her like? A princess? She's a ninja you idiot, she doesn't need pampering!" He shoved back with more force.

The two broke apart, only for a moment before lunging at each other again. A punch. A kick. "I'm not asking you to treat her like a princess! Just treat her better!" Naruto yelled as he blocked one of Sasuke's punches. If they weren't fighting like this, Sakura would've laughed at the sight.

Sasuke quickly did a 180 degree turn, followed by a low kick, causing Naruto to stumble to the ground. The raven haired boy didn't give his friend anytime to retaliate as he picked the bruised blond up by his collar. "You don't know anything." Sasuke told him a dark tone.

Sakura watched in horror as the two best friends fought, thankful that they weren't using charka, but still scared that they'd get hurt. "Stop fighting you two!" She watched as Sasuke readied his fist for another punch but quickly disappeared from her spot, reappearing right between the two. Her back faced Naruto as her face held a determined look. She stood her ground with both arms extended, using her body as a shield.

And bam.

His fist made contact with her stomach.

She fell over, onto her knees as she gripped her stomach in pain. Her eyes snapped shut as she let out dry coughs of blood. Both boys could only stare, wide eyed at the sight of their fallen teammate in silence. Naruto gulped, his hand hesitantly reaching the shoulder of her pink haired girl. "S-Sakura-chan..." Naruto barely shook her shoulder, almost as if she'd break. Sasuke stared at his trembling hand in horror.

She gripped the fabric of her shirt tighter as she felt tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. "Stop... Stop fighting because of me..." She told them in a weak voice. She gripped the railing of the bridge, using it as support to help her up; when Naruto had tried to help her she pushed him so he'd land right beside Sasuke on the ground. She drew in a few shaky breathes as bit her lip in frustration.

"Both of you are so stupid! Beating each other! You guys are best friends! Fighting each other because of THIS!" She panted, pointing to herself before continuing. "This... this stupid, worthless girl..." Her eyes were set in a downcast.

"I'm sorry okay? Whatever it was I did to make you two fight! I was a coward! Okay? I admit it!" She shouted at her two friends who both held a guilty expression on their faces. "I, Haruno Sakura, ran away because I was scared of facing my team!" She hugged her stomach, slightly bowing down to the two as she shoulders shook with each sob. "So... Just stop fighting..."

Naruto forced himself to talk grabbing as much sound of his voice he could, he called out her name in a croaked voice... "Sakura-chan..."

Green eyes glared at the two. "Sit your asses down so I can heal you two idiots!"

Naruto extended his ankle out for her to heal. From the looks of it she was tired, she had barely started to heal his bruises and already she was breathing harder then usual. Naruto silently covered the bruises on his arms. "I didn't get too many." He told her. She nodded. Naruto could only frown at the sight of the bags under her eyes, but chose not to say anything about it.

"You two should apologize to each other." She told him in a sincere tone as she managed a smile.

Naruto pouted as he shook his head. "No way! Not after the ways he treats you! He doesn't deserve it!"

Sakura let out a bitter chuckle. "Sasuke-kun can be a bit harsh sometimes... But he treats you and I better then a lot of other people, even though you may not notice it..." She explained in a motherly tone.

Naruto stayed stubborn. "Better as in what? One percent better then how he treats Itachi?"

Sakura gasped at the name before smacking the blond on the head. "Naruto!"

He frowned as he rubbed his head. "Yeah yeah." He said in an irritated tone.

Sakura went back to patching up the other bruises Sasuke had inflicted on him. "I'm thankful he at least cares about us though." She told him as her chakra started glow around her hands.

"Define care..." Naruto muttered under his breath.

She ignored his comment. "Sasuke-kun has his own way of showing us that we're important, even though it's just really hard to notice it."

"Then why?"

"Your arm please." She asked in a polite tone.

Naruto covered his arm with his orange sleeves as he slightly backed away. "I don't have any on my arm."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she forcefully grabbed his arm, pulling the sleeves up to his shoulder before healing it. There was a moment of silence before Sakura went back to their older conversation.

"Why what?" She asked, not looking at him.

"If you're able to tell me that his ways of showing that he cares are small, why aren't you able to notice them yourself?"

The chakra flow from her hands stopped as she looked up in confusion. "W-What do you mean?"

Naruto frowned. "If you know that he cares, even if he expresses it in the most stupidest way invented. Why... Why do you cry?" He asked in a somewhat blunt manner.

Sakura only smiled before adverting her gaze back to his bruised arm. "This is Sasuke-kun we're talking about. Not Lee or anything... I love him for the way he is. Even though I just wish he could show a bit more emotions from time to time. It just gets tiring sometimes you know? I only have so much patience." She explained.

Naruto threw his head to the side. "Che. If I were allowed to, I'd make you happy by beating the crap out of him until he acts 100x nicer then Lee." He told her in a smug tone.

Sakura laughed. "Naruto, you're doing more then enough just being a friend I can rely on." She said before finishing the last of the bruises on his arm.

Naruto let out a smile chuckle as he pulled his sleeve back down. "Good luck." He grinned giving her his own version of the 'good guy' pose.

Sakura smiled. "Yeah, I'll need it." She pushed herself up with her hands. Silently brushing the imaginary dust off her skirt before walking towards Sasuke's direction. Breath in. Breath out.

"Your arm." She asked extending her hand out. He silently complied as he placed his arm in her hands. The pair sat in a silent atmosphere, not highly filled with tension, but not completely comfortable with each others presence. The growing tree nearby provided a handsome amount of shade for the pair sitting underneath it.

A couple of times, he'd steal a glance at her, studying her facial expressions as she healed him with a content smile plastered on her face. "You look tired." Sasuke stated, finally starting a conversation between the two. She looked up, slightly surprised he was in a talking mood, and slightly worried he'd be mad at her for going against his request to rest up instead of working at the hospital. "Yeah, I'm a bit sleepy." She carefully chose her words. He nodded. "Hospital, am I right?" He asked in a monotone voice. She looked away for a moment, slightly ashamed she was so easy to read, before nodding a yes in reply.

She switched to his other arm.

"Don't over do it."

She did nothing but nod. After finishing his arms, she scanned for any other form of cuts or bruises on him. Her eyes landed upon his cheek. Her hand meekly pointed to his cheek. Sasuke blinked her a moment before reflexes acted, his own hand making contact with his cheek. He hissed in pain, his cheek was swollen. "Should I heal that?" Sakura asked. "I'll just put some medicine on it myself." He stood up, most of the healing was done anyways, he could live with a bruised cheek for a few days. "It'll take longer to heal without some help of a medic." She told him. He nodded. "It's fine."

She caught his hand just before he started walking away. "No. I did that didn't I? Let me heal it."

"No. Your chakra levels are low." He shook his hand free from hers.

She stood up, just centimeters away from him. "Listen." She told him, poking his chest. "In case you haven't noticed. I don't melt with every touch; do you see hearts in my eyes now?" She asks him in an irritated tone as she points to her jaded green eyes. "If it's my health you're worrying about. I've pushed myself a lot more then this, so I don't get what your problem is." She paused for a moment before cupping his un-bruised cheek in her hand. "I know you don't like human contact, but just let me do this for you." She smiled a sincere smile.

Sasuke looked away for a moment before plopping back down. Both his legs and arms crossed. "... Hurry up then."

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Her hand lingered on his cheek after she finished healing it, but he didn't brush her hand off. "I... I wanted to say that I'm sorry for... you know... slapping you a couple days ago..." She apologized. If she had known better, it was almost as if he leaned into her touch. But his eyes remained locked on with hers, showing no sign of it ever softening. "Hn."

"I'm also sorry for not showing up on time today." He was about to tell her to shut up, but she continued. "And I'm sorry for causing you two to fight over me."

His eyes narrowed. "It wasn't over you."

Her hand slightly moved away from his face, finally noticing she let it dwell on his cheek for too long. "Heh... I guess your right, who'd want to fight over me anyways eh?" She scratched her head and stuck out her tongue in a nervous joking manner.

"Don't assume things." He told her. She meekly nodded, earning a shake of his head in disapproval before falling backwards onto the grass.

As much as she wanted to lie down beside him, she fought the temptation. Gathering the courage, she took his hand in hers. He looked over at her direction, then at their intertwined hands. "Why are you holding my hand?" He asked.

She merely smiles. "I just wanted a chance to hold it before I stop."

His eyebrow arches up in confusion. "Stop what?"

Her smile turned bitter. "Loving you." She whispered.

He let out a mocking laugh. "What ever happened to you saying that you love me more then anything?"

She removed her hands from his as she quickly stood up, looking down at him. "Don't ever take my love for granted." She glared. Her hands rested on each side of her hip as she took a shaky breath in. "I'm going to say this once. And only once. As a landmark for my goal." She closed her eyes.

"I... Haruno Sakura..." She bit down on her lip, hoping her voice wouldn't crack. She looked down to face him, his face still emotionless, but his eyes paid close attention. The thought of that only made her more nervous. "I..."

Love you...

I love you so much...

"I don't love you anymore."

With a bitter smile, she walks away.

"Did you know it was my dream to climb over that wall?"

Snap Shots:

The sun beats down on Haruno Sakura as she climbs a tall grey wall. The top still far from her reach. Her grip on the yellow rope tightens as she uses all her strength to move forward.

Crystal like tears shine against the sun as it rolls down her porcelain like face.

A bitter smile.

Her pale, shaking hand.

Letting go of the rope.

A pink haired girl plunging into nothingness as her tears fly up towards the top of the wall, higher then she'll ever reach.

Picture! Haruno Sakura, with a bitter smile as she closes her eyes, surrendering into the darkness that consumes them both.

Team Kakashi stayed in an awkward silence as they awaited their teacher to come back from the meeting. Sakura, now sat beside Naruto, her knees tucked under her chin, her eyes in a downcast. A puff of smoke on top of the bridge railing alerted them that he was back. "Yo!" Smiled Kakashi as he gave his students the usual wave.

The team only nodded after being told to head towards the usual training grounds.

"Sasuke? Sakura?" Kakashi waved a hand infront of her, snapping her out of her daze. "H-Hai?" She answered. Kakashi smiled. "You two are partners again for today." The gray haired man told her. "Oh..." Was her only reply.

Sasuke waited the scene unplay from a distance, noting her nervousness with each mention of his name. She was uncomfortable. He knew. He sighed, running a hand through his hair before walking towards his teammate and former teacher. "I wanted to fight against Sai today." Sasuke told Kakashi, not sparing the pink haired girl a glance.

Does he think I'm weak?

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"Naruto. Don't go easy on me." Sakura stated as the two friends stood face to face in the center of the sparring area. Naruto blinked as he shook his head in a frantic manner. "No way! You were already tired from whatever you did yesterday, plus you didn't even get a chance to rest after healing the two of us!"

His reaction earned a smile from her. "Just do it for me."

Naruto frowned. "Why?"

"I'm proving myself." She told him.

Sakura went into an offensive position as she smirked. "I'm giving it my all, so whatever you do, don't hold back." And with a single punch at the ground, the forest floor erupted from beneath.

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She probably took my request of a change of sparring partners the wrong way. After the healing session, she ignored me in every possible way. And when I got close, I can feel her nervousness radiating off of her. Her chakra levels were low after healing us both, which in her case was bad news since she depends mainly on her chakra when in combat. I chose to fight against Sai because I knew Naruto would at least go easy on her, if not let her win.

I let out a sigh as the three of us watched the fight commence from a nearby tree branch. Sai was once again painting while Kakashi had his nose stuck in the book again.

I adverted my gaze back to the battle. Naruto had already landed a few punches on her, while she kept missing. Her speed was decreasing by the second as well. Just another minute and she would collapse from chakra depletion.

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"S-Sakura-chan!" Naruto panicked as soon as her body fell limp towards the ground. As on cue, Sasuke silently appeared before the two. "Are you okay?" Naruto yelled, shaking her shoulders. "Dobe. Don't kill her." Sasuke told him as he walked towards the two.

Sasuke said nothing while bending down, scooping her body from Naruto's hands. "Are you taking her home?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded before jumping off.

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Sasuke silently removed her weapons bag from her hip before placing her onto her small single sized bed. Grabbing her tanned colored blanket, he tossed it on top of her body. The unconscious Sakura let out a content sigh as the warmth of the blanket devoured her.

Sasuke felt the corners of his mouth twitch into the smallest smile. Turning around to face the rest of her room, his attention was adverted to a picture frame that laid face down on her table. Curious, Sasuke walked towards it, his hands picking up the small rectangular frame. It was their team picture. He looked at the picture frame, and then back at the sleeping Sakura a few times before shrugging to himself, placing the frame up right before heading towards the door.

"Aishiteru, Sasuke-kun." She whispered in her sleep.

His hand halted on the door knob as he turned around to face the sleeping form of his team mate. He knelt down in front of her, watching the girls oddly cute sleeping habits. His face drew closer towards hers, so close he could feel her breath blowing against his face. Sasuke stopped himself, his lips mere inches away from touching hers. He smiled, patting her head a few times before leaving.

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Jaded green eyes were greeted by the rays of the sun as she awoke the next morning. Tiredly rubbing her eyes awake she scanned her surroundings. She was in her room. She looked down at her clothing; her ninja attire from yesterday. Sakura did one good stretch before getting off her bed. Walking towards the showers she eyes caught the sight of their team picture faced up. Out of curiosity, she walked towards the picture and stared at it once more. There was a small piece of paper attached to it. Carefully unfolding the paper she read the note.

Lets spar at todays practice.

- Sasuke

Sakura let out a laugh.

"Sasuke-kun has his own way of showing us that we're important."

Because she knew, this was his own way of telling her...

He's sorry.

Sakura placed the team picture up right onto the desk and then stored the note into the desk drawer. She looked in the mirror and smiled to herself.

"I'm finally half way over that wall of yours. Sasuke-kun."

Snapshot! Green eyes snap open, full of determination.

A chakra enhanced hand grabs onto the wall as her fall slowly comes to a stop.

The pink haired girl focuses chakra onto her feet.

She walks all the way up to the point where she last left off, and took another step.

Before grabbing the rope.

Climbing once more.

(AN:) Ack. It's late, (gomen!) but it's still New Years, so it's not REALLY late...

That's it folks! The end of my really long two-shot birthday/New Years special! I wanted to write in each of Kakashi's students POV, so that's why I wrote Sai's point of view at the beginning of this chapter since I already wrote Naruto's, Sasuke's and of course Sakura's. Which one did you like best? I personally liked Sai's for some reason.

It did not turn out the way I planned it to. At all! But I hope its still good enough for you guys!

Edit// The story has now been edited for spelling/grammar mistakes! If you do find one... I guess I missed it! xD

Enjoy guys!

01/02/08

Happy New Years guys!

Review please?: D