GENERAL DISCLAIMER APPLIES

.01

The fruit will only grow if you let the planted seed take root.

All he could think and was capable of doing at the moment was to scoff lightly. It was an action that defined the strong opposition he felt towards the idiotic thought that suddenly danced across his mind. But even as he willed it out of his thoughts, it began to linger, taunting and bringing a vast curiosity in him at the same time. Surely it was normal to let the mind wander over these things, but he was one that couldn't be bothered when he had much more important goals to accomplish.

It still didn't stop his onyx eyes from stealing a quick glance at the girl's pretty face. He couldn't lie, at least not to himself because that would be pathetic, and he was anything but that. Her face was titled upwards towards the blue sky, lost in thought, as she stood near the red bridge railing. Their hyperactive teammate had not arrived yet, much less their always late sensei, so he was stuck waiting with her.

Again, the urge to scoff returned when his stubborn eyes gradually lowered from her face to her visible neck, and to her small frame. The manner she was drawing his attention was annoying him to no end. It was just another day of waiting around for their tardy team members, so it was quite perplexing that this wasn't another morning of boredom. He mentally sighed. Judging from the sun's position, he knew that the other two wouldn't be showing up for another half hour. He might as well approach the situation logically and not ignore what was bothering him, even if it was the easiest solution to do so.

The question was, however, how could he start unstringing this web of confusion?

F r ui t s

of

L us t

A light breeze traveled by; swaying some of his raven hair and her vibrant pink locks. She raised her hand to push the stray strands behind her ear. He had watched the small action and could not look away. For some reason, he began noticing the smallest things about his female teammate. It irritated him because insignificant actions caught his attention. It wasn't like he suddenly noticed she had pink hair and green eyes because he did when he first saw her years back. Who wouldn't raise their eyebrow at someone born with those 'unique' qualities?

However, he quickly discarded any thoughts to her appearance because he simply did not care. Therefore, it was certainly contradictory when he was caught up in the "simple" things about her. Things like the whiff of floral scent her short hair gave off when she was in close range to him. And when she was close enough, it was the rosy blush he noticed on her white skin. When she spoke, he sometimes found himself facing her and was met with the mesmerizing mixture of green tones in her eyes.

A short time after, he became transfixed with the way she smiled that gave glow to her visage. It was like she was meant to be happy and it would be utterly strange if she wasn't smiling. He didn't know why her laughter sounded so distinguished from others or why he was immensely drawn to her movement. It wasn't interesting to see someone do a simple thing such as walking, but when she did it, he couldn't look away. Just the mere sight of her caused a tingled discomfort that was soon leading into something untamable.

Those thoughts became frequent, much to his annoyance, and he tried to push them all away. The more he tried, the quicker the thoughts changed. It grew these seeds of urge that emerged when she was around. He wasn't sure what he craved to do but it was strong enough to not ignore or push away.

Before long, he began to notice other things about her. That skin of hers proved to be smoother than he thought when she accidentally brushed her bare arm to the back of his hand. Her growing mounds that made small noticeable bulges under that red dress brought intense curiosity. The ends of the red dress she wore teasingly touched the back of her knees as she walked. And those almost knee-length shorts she wore were like second skin—

It was difficult to not think of this new knowledge when she was with him. It was one of the reasons why he couldn't tolerate spending too much time with her; so he pushed her away with harsh words because he couldn't take the mental images she was provoking by being near. The rational part of him was angry that he was thinking about her that way. She was only an annoying fangirl and not worth ruminating about. Despite his efforts, he knew she was slowly worming herself into his tolerance just like that blonde idiot.

Damn it, he should at least be thinking this way about older, more physically developed women. Not some pink-headed, naive girl that recently entered the stages of puberty. He shouldn't even be thinking this about her, whom he, admittedly, considered to be one of his only friends. So what was the reason for this mental mess?

The answer came to him quickly as his hands clenched into fists. It was all Kakashi's fault for leaving that stupid book of his lying open in the middle of training. The old man could have done it deliberately, though now was not the time to dwell on that. Obviously he was disgusted by what he read even if it was less than five sentences, but it was enough to lose a little respect (that was never shown anyway) for his mentor.

Sure, Kakashi was an adult, but to read that in public? Really, he had no shame. At times, it was a wonder why Kakashi was one of the most respected shinobi across the land. Unlike Kakashi, he knew better because these writings were vulgar. He was of the Uchiha Clan. These sorts of things were extremely frowned upon.

Nevertheless, what he managed to read was persistently roaming in and out of his mind since. Up until now, his thoughts concerning it were mere reflection and comprehension. He was thirteen, a growing teenage boy, and though he didn't want to admit, entering the phases of puberty. Still, he wasn't completely aware of all the changes that came with it because he wasn't informed much about anything of the sexual nature and honestly was more interested in training.

She had sighed across from him and repositioned herself on the bridge by leaning against it. Her arms were propped and one of her legs had bended so the sole of her foot rested on the lowest iron rail. Still looking up at the sky, she didn't notice his eyes focusing on how her shirt's material stretched across her chest. He swallowed.

And it wasn't like he had a parental figure that he trusted with this confusion.

When the two idiots finally showed up, Kakashi explained they will not be training. He briefed them about their mission and to meet at the gates in an hour. After he cursed at Kakashi in his mind, he began to walk in the direction of his apartment to pack his ninja gear. He was too engrossed in his thoughts that he forgot a minor detail.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun!"

He stopped as requested but one of his hands gave a slight jerk. She didn't wait for him to turn around and face her. "Can I walk with you, Sasuke-kun?"

He could detect the blush forming on her cheeks by the tone of her voice. She often asked him—every chance there was—things like this so it shouldn't be unexpected. Yet he couldn't find the usual will to decline her requests politely. Why did she do this when she knew the answer every single time? And for some reason, his mentor's eye was on him as well as the Naurto's…would they start suspecting something if he agreed?

With that note, he opened his mouth to speak, "I don't care what you do."

He was too preoccupied with what the idiot or Kakashi would say to his rather unkind reply to notice that she just smiled and walked closer to him.

"We should hurry," she said, still smiling.

Naruto pouted. "But Sakura-chan! You could've asked me to walk with you!"

"Let's go, Naruto. You're wasting time complaining," said Kakashi before forming hand seals and disappearing in a poof.

Before Naruto babbled some more, Sasuke continued walking and she followed a step behind. She soon fell into the same pace and walked alongside him with her hands behind her back. "Isn't it a beautiful day, Sasuke-kun?"

He didn't think this day was any special. In fact, he hardly paid attention to the course of nature, unless it was necessary to determine the weather conditions in a mission. Was this what she was thinking about back at the bridge? She apparently thought that life or joy depended on aesthetic quality. From his peripheral vision, he eyed her features. Once again, she didn't wait for a response and resorted into silence.

"There's my house, Sasuke-kun, I better hurry. See you later!" She said minutes later, smiling brightly at him and hurrying towards the corner of a street.

He caught himself staring after her, shook his head, and went on.

The mission was simple. They had to travel to a village that took a minimum of two days to walk and bring back some medical supplies that the Konoha Hospital was in short of. It wasn't remotely interesting in the least, but a mission was a mission.

They walked in the usual manner: Naruto and Sakura were at the front, Naruto babbling about the excitement of the mission (he didn't listen to what it was about), and Kakashi was besides Sasuke reading his orange book. Sasuke had walked a couple feet forward, not wanting to be close to him and that stupid book, so he stared ahead with his hands in his pockets. The only problem was that she was in front of him.

Unwillingly, his gaze rested on the back of her head. The sunlight was reflecting her pink strands, making them shine, and was probably the reason why he was focused on it. It was too distinguishable for a ninja in any occasion, not apt for camouflage and it was too girly. If she really wanted to be successful as a shinobi, then she would have to consider dying her hair a common color. He briefly tried to picture her with a variety of dark colors but it was strange.

There wasn't an exact hurry so they took their time until night quickly approached. Kakashi looked from his book and announced they will stop here for the night.

"Stay close together," said Kakashi as they set up camp.

As they ate, Sakura and Naruto argued while Kakashi read. He had sat down with his eyes closed. He tried not to listen to Naruto's complaints about how boring the mission suddenly became or how Sakura was trying to convince him that it wasn't boring at all because they were getting medical supplies from a man who specialized in medicine, who was also an old friend of the Godaime, and it was a privilege to be receiving his help.

He was the first to set up his sleeping bag by the fire. Soon enough, the others mimicked the action, setting their bags around it, forming a circle. The other three chorused "Good night" and settled into their beds. He turned to his side, facing the fire in the center, so sleep could consume him. As he watched the moving flames, he noticed she was directly across from him with her eyes closed. Out of the four, she was always the first to fall asleep. From what he could see, she was used to sleeping with the blanket raised to her chin. It reminded him of a child lying comfortably and securely after being tucked in by parents.

He didn't realize the minutes ticked by until the flames had considerably died down. There was still a low orangey glow that emitted which partially illuminated Naruto's hair, Kakashi's sleeping bag, and her face. Soon, the moon was the only source of light when the night droned on. It made her features become ivory; with pale, glossy lips and light pink hair.

A small voice began to echo in his mind. Why was he staring? Well, it wasn't like there was anything else to look at. Naruto's drooling mouth wasn't a pleasant sight to see. And all he could see of Kakashi was the lump on the ground. So it would be obvious to be looking at—

"You do know there isn't exactly a need to keep watch."

Sasuke blinked in response. Kakashi was awake? Then did that mean he was watching him this whole time? The realization of that made him shift uncomfortably. To think that someone knew of what he was recently doing and thinking, no less, of a teammate was humiliating, especially if that someone was Kakashi. Still, Kakashi couldn't have possibly have known since he had his back to them.

"Hn."

"I know the mission isn't what you or Naruto had in mind, especially if there's a low chance of fighting an enemy, but get some sleep. Nothing will happen under my watch. So relax."

Sasuke sighed, yet another lecture from his so called mentor. Did Kakashi get sick of saying them as much as he was sick of hearing them? With that now in mind, Sasuke turned away from the previous sight and lay on his back, succumbing to sleep.

"Are you serious? This is what we walked all day for?"

They had arrived at their destination the next morning, after some persistence of Naruto's to pick up the pace, and it wasn't what they had expected. There in front stood an old, sole house literally in the middle of the forest. The door suddenly opened and out came an elderly man with a suspicious look on his face.

"Ohayo, we are the Leaf shinobi that our Hokage sent," said Kakashi, walking towards the house.

The man nodded slowly after eyeing Kakashi's mask, thinking it strange instead of suspicious, but squinted at the others. "She sent a couple of kids to retrieve these important medicines?"

Naruto opened his mouth to protest but Sakura raised her hand in front of him warningly and glared. He instantly kept quiet and crossed his arms in a huff. Kakashi replied almost dryly, "They're with me and are very responsible."

The old man scratched his chin. "Still, I will only allow one person to come inside."

"It's no problem," agreed Kakashi and then turned to the trio, "Sasuke, Sakura...Naruto, wait outside for a bit."

When the door closed, Naruto let out a string of curse words at the old man for underestimating him and sat on the ground, arms and legs crossed. As ordered, they waited but Naruto easily got bored then complained about needing to pee. Sakura made a face and Sasuke ignored the unnecessary comment.

Naruto got up and headed towards the forest to go find a bush. Well, at least it was quieter, but it didn't lessen the boredom of having to wait. The minutes ticked by and Sakura sighed. She decided to sit down on the steps, occasionally looking at the window in case the old man would come out and prohibit her from being there. He chose to lean by the stairs moments later to be under the shade the hut provided and wondered if she would find it strange.

When he was sure it had been more than fifteen minutes, she spoke first, "Naruto got lost didn't he?"

Of course, leave it to Naruto to get lost and not find the path to the house. Her eye twitched. "And Kakashi-sensei is taking so long!"

He remained silent, having a hint to what she was going to say next.

"Maybe we should go find Naruto." She stood. He mentally sighed. At least it would give them something to do. As they walked in the direction where Naruto had gone, it became silent once more. She was looking at the scenery, lost in her own world. Didn't she know not to get distracted on a mission? It was the most careless and stupidest thing one could do. Was it because she was with him? A bird appeared from the branches of a tree and flapped away into the sky. Her watchful eyes followed it until it was gone.

He had observed her. She was so...carefree.

Before resentment took over, he diverted his attention and stopped to inspect a footprint on the ground. He crouched down for a better look. It was definitely Naruto's. The idiot never covered his tracks—something suddenly jumped out from the bushes, made a growling noise, and grabbed Sakura from behind. Sakura gave a small scream, attempted to break free of the unknown grasp but ended up tripping over Sasuke and caused him to lose his balance too.

Recognizable, but irritating, laughter erupted from above. "Got ya!"

It was an uncomfortable situation. Sasuke was on his side, part of his face, namely his left ear, on dirt with Sakura sprawled over him. Not to mention the blonde idiot was on top of them both.

"Get off me, Naruto! You weigh a ton!" yelled Sakura, attempting to lift herself from the boy underneath her.

"I'm not that heavy!"

"You are!" she yelled as she pushed, with all her might, the whiskered boy off. They stood to dust off any dirt that collected on their clothes. She turned to the dark-haired and asked with concern, "Are you all right, Sasuke-kun?"

"It's not like he got hurt, Sakura-chan. He just got dirty," said Naruto and stuck his tongue out at him childishly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, ready to make a nasty comment when a soft hand touched his ear. He slightly jumped and turned his angry eyes to Sakura. She retrieved her hand immediately, and with a blush said, "You had a bit of dirt on your ear."

"Let's go," he said instead and took the lead while dusting the dirt off his ear. This whole day is a waste of time.

They returned just in time as Kakashi stepped out of the house. The older man came out, carefully set down three boxes, one for each of the trio to carry, and warned them of the severe fragility of the objects within in exaggeration. After Kakashi reassured the man that the medicines were in good hands, they proceeded to walk back to the village.

"Why do we have to carry all this stuff?" complained Naruto after an hour of walking. No one bothered to answer, much to his disappointment, but kept complaining. "I'm hungry!"

Kakashi sighed. "Since we are ahead of schedule, we can stop and rest for a while."

"All right, Kakashi-sensei!" said Naruto happily and dumped the box carelessly on the ground, which earned a quick scolding from Sakura. Naruto told her to relax and started digging in his bag for his ramen cup.

Sakura looked like she wanted to argue some more, but stopped and gave a small sigh. "There's a waterfall nearby, I'm going to freshen up."

Kakashi nodded as he read his book while Naruto found his ramen cups. "It would be wise to set the tent up and get a fire going. It's going to be a chilly night with possible rain," commented Kakashi as a page turned. Naruto, who was starving, had already begun chewing on the raw noodles.

Sasuke scoffed. His teammates were a bunch of lazy idiots. Nonetheless, he dropped his pack and turned back into the trees. The sticks and logs for the fire were easy to find. He gathered just enough to last a few hours and proceeded to go back to camp. As he walked back, the sounds of water drew him in and he remembered she had gone off in that direction. He never understood the constant female necessity to wash up and Sakura had been doing much of that lately.

Slowly the curiosity returned; the thoughts beginning to take over again as he turned to the route of the water. She had mentioned it was nearby, but with his hearing, he estimated that it was further off. A voice within hastily whispered that he could use this as an excuse to make sure she didn't do anything careless.

Making a decision, he quietly set down the wood and walked through the trees. The sun was lowering and clouds were approaching but the air was still warm enough. As he came closer, he could see the waterfall beyond the trees and caught the sight of pink and red. He moved a bit off to the side so he would be able to see her clearly within some distance. She was placing a white towel on top of a large rock by the water. It looked like she was humming to herself and he noticed she was barefooted.

Suddenly, his eyes widened slightly as she faced the water and began to undress. His hearing picked up the sound of a zipper and shuffling of clothes. His face was flaming up, and his pants were becoming too warm for comfort. She took off her red dress revealing a black mesh top and those green shorts. He never took her as a girl who would wear something as suggestive as that, but marveled at why she didn't wear that dark shirt instead.

Almost immediately, she placed her hands on the bottom and slid it off effortlessly, causing his breath to hitch considerably. He stared at her bare, smooth back and swallowed. Her hands then were placed on her hips. Those knee-length shorts were next...

Unaware, he had walked forward in anticipation and stepped on a small branch, which caused a sound. He reacted first and completely became stiff as he heard her gasp. She swirled around with her arms covering her chest.

Shit.

He remained perfectly still while she looked around with fearful yet cautious eyes. For a moment, he pushed aside who she was; including the fact that she was half nude, and remembered that no matter how naïve she was, she was still a kunoichi. What would happen if she saw him?

As he debated this in his thoughts, she shook her head and grabbed the red dress. She slipped into it quickly; making sure her front was covered in the process, zipped it halfway and gathered her things. In the haste, her movements were clumsy as she struggled to stuff her things into her pack. He had to go back now, but it would be suspicious to turn up before an alarmed Sakura. He would have to wait.

When she grabbed her things, she hurried back to where they had stopped for the night. Only when he was sure she was out of sight did he release the withheld breath. He didn't know which upset him the most, the fact that he was out here in the first place or that the supposed chance didn't fully present itself.

He stayed for a few more minutes until he headed back. Just when he arrived, Kakashi approached him. Inwardly, he panicked if they found him out, yet did not let this threaten his façade and waited until Kakashi spoke, "Did you see anything unusual?"

"No," he stated, putting wood in a pile while repeating, "A shinobi must not show emotion" in his mind.

Kakashi's eye was slowly scanning the area. "Sakura said she had a feeling she was being watched. If that's the case, we better be on our guard."

His tight grip on the log loosened as he dropped it with the rest and nodded in reply. Naruto had managed to put up the tent and was grinning in front of it. "Hey, Sasuke-teme! Look! I did it all by myself!"

Sasuke ignored him and quickly performed some hand signs to start the fire. Naruto kept rambling about how easy it was and to thank him for building shelter. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he turned to look at the result of Naruto's work, only to realize one of them was missing. "Where's Sakura?"

"She's inside admiring, I bet. I didn't have to use the manual this time—"

Kakashi interrupted, "I'm going to scout the area. Stay here and if something arises, defend yourselves. I won't be long."

"But I wanna come too, Kakashi-sensei! This mission is boring enough as it is," complained Naruto and hurried to his side.

"Fine. I guess this would be part of your ninja training for today...Sasuke?" said Kakashi as his gaze turned to the green tent. Sasuke understood. He was to stay here and protect their pink-haired teammate. Both Kakashi and Naruto jumped onto a tree and disappeared from sight.

Sasuke looked down at the mess Naruto made with his ramen cups and, although he didn't like ramen much, he felt hungry. Stomach growling, he went to the tent and walked through the flaps to see something unexpected.

Skin. And lots of it.

There was a sudden scream, causing him to jump back as his face heated up. Momentarily stunned, he blinked, realizing his blood was pumping and what had just occurred. She was still screaming so he hissed, "It's me!"

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked and there was a sigh of relief before it became silent. "You didn't…see anything, right?"

His mind flashed him the mental picture of a semi-naked Sakura in nothing but her bottom underwear. It was so much to take in that he didn't actually remember most of what he had seen. "...No."

There was another sigh inside. "I thought you were Naruto! I told him if he took a peek, I'll make sure he won't be able to feel his face for weeks."

The thought of the idiot walking into her like that was incredibly infuriating. "Hurry up," he muttered in unease and then went towards a log by the fire.

She emerged, completely red in the face as if the situation of Sasuke walking into her just hit. "Ano...where are the others?"

"Checking the area."

"Oh."

It was definitely awkward, although he didn't give any inclination of it, much to her growing embarrassment. So things like that didn't even faze the young Uchiha. She spoke in efforts to rid of the awkwardness she felt, "Naruto left a mess again."

While she proceeded to clean it up, he thought of what he saw, which was slowly registering in his mind. She had been dressing and was turned away from the entrance from a side because he remembered seeing her hold the mesh top ready to put it on. What he recalled most was the flower printed underwear, hugging her small hips, and her bare, short legs. He swallowed and tried to push the thoughts away.

There was a noise of something being dropped and he focused on that. She had always been clumsy. She quickly apologized and bent to pick it up. His obsidian eyes were drawn to how she had curved, especially to her rear. The thoughts of his head were urging him to imagine her naked in that exact position—

He shook his head once and closed his eyes. This wasn't the first time he wished the mission would be over already but this was starting to become extremely unbearable.

When she finished, she had sat next to him on the ground and began humming to herself again. She grew tolerable after the chunin exams. She used to have a hard time shutting up, like Naruto, and didn't have the slightest clue of how childish she was. Now, it was unusual to see her so silent or humming out of the blue. She was confusing at times to him and he didn't know why.

Without thinking twice, he opened his eyes and blurted out, "Why do you like me?"

She stared at him, surprised that he not only started a conversation, but also was actually showing interest in her affection towards him. Her mouth had parted a little from the shock, tempting his eyes to stare at those pink lips. There was short silence before she smiled. "Because you're...Sasuke-kun."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear and he knew that she wasn't being completely honest. It was probably because she wasn't open with her feelings for him. Still, he pressed further. "I want to know the reason why."

She blinked in confusion before a blush appeared on her cheeks. Her head lowered shyly as she answered, "I like you because you're strong and cool—"

His body moved on his own as he found himself closer to her. She stopped speaking, her blush intensifying.

"Keep talking," he ordered after he regained control of his body but stayed within close range.

Nodding, she kept listing the things she 'liked' about him but he wasn't listening as his hand on the ground twitched. He saw what it was trying to do yet he wasn't in control, just as his body had done. His hand went to her dress, fingering the red material. She didn't notice until his fingers slipped under it to touch the hem of her shorts.

"What are you doing?" she asked in alarm, moving back from him.

"There was a bug..." he stated while retreating the traitorous hand. A bug? What a stupid excuse.

"A bug?" It was no secret that she was disgusted with bugs since she was a girl and tried to move away in slight fear. He stopped her by holding back one of her arms.

"It's gone now."

She had looked on the ground for reassurance before relaxing. Then she startled him by giving him a hug, now that he had touched her first. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun!"

Push her away. The demand was ignored as his hands had a mind of their own again as they settled on her back and gradually rose up while remembering the skin below the fabric. His digits reached the tips of her hair and traced the curve of her nape.

"Um...Sasuke-kun?" she said uncomfortably.

She was so tense. It was ironic in the way how she always wanted his touch but it unnerved her at the same time. Why was that?

"W-What is it-t?" she had difficulty whispering, not sure of what he was doing and why. This action was definitely bizarre for her and he sensed it quickly turn into fear. He didn't know he had this much power over her.

However, as to not scare her off by something he didn't completely want to do, he thought of something to cover up what he was doing. "I heard something from a distance."

At his statement, she had stiffened further. "But Kakashi-sensei said it was unlikely that we'll run into enemy shinobi."

He mentally cursed. How could he have forgotten that important fact? He knew that she would believe anything he said, as proven in the past, but she also had put a vast trust in the masked-nin. "He told me you were being watched."

"But I think I was imagining things—"

"Never let your guard down," he said and then added, "Haven't you learned that by now?"

If it was possible, she had frozen more in his hold. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei always told us to—"

"Quiet," he ordered as his hands subconsciously grasped her firmly.

They were silent. He was surrounded by the smell of her hair and neck. It was strange. Her hair was of floral while her skin emitted a scent of strawberry. Did she actually taste of strawberry? He mentally scoffed. Humans don't taste like pieces of fruit. Then perhaps some artificial product of some kind—He got rid of that thought as he finally let go of her and stood. "It's gone now."

She remained on the ground until it processed that he was no longer touching her and stood as well. She stayed a close distance to him anyway. "Shouldn't we tell the others right away?"

"I'll do that..." he mumbled as thoughts preoccupied his mind. Her scent lingered on him despite the fact that her warmth was fading.

The rest of the mission went by smoothly. She hadn't mentioned what happened but blushed every time she glanced in his direction. She was reverting to her earlier fangirl days. And it was annoying. Well, he did give her some reason to act like that.

After they had arrived in the village and delivered the supplies, he was free to head home for a shower. It was a simple D ranked mission and yet he was tired, well at least mentally. As he turned on the water and showered, he was reminded of the sound of the waterfall, followed by her image as she slowly undressed—He stopped the water right away and quickly got out. So now water influenced those idiotic thoughts.

Not wanting to be in a foul mood any further, he went to the kitchen and scanned for any food that was available. It kept his mind off the pink-haired girl until he spotted a box of cherries in the refrigerator. He'll like to pop her cherry—

His eyes widened, shocked at what he thought and the ignominy of it. Why was he even thinking about her right now?

Finally having enough of these thoughts, he went straight to bed. Tomorrow will be another day. This was just a stupid phase that will soon be over.

"Sasuke-kun..." she said sweetly. She always used a different tone when speaking to him but his one was sweeter, coated with a needier whine than usual. And it made his skin crawl. She was sitting beside him, smiling. Her hand gently lay on his knee and he wasn't sure when she had done that without his realization. Yet the unexpected touch alerted his senses.

His face became warm, which indicated he was blushing, much to his disbelief. And all she was doing was simply touching his knee. As soon as he finished that thought, her hand slipped under his shorts and slowly trailed up, her palm disappearing under it. He couldn't move. She began nearing; her half-lidded eyes emitted unbelievable passion. He never thought she was able to do that with those innocent jade eyes.

Yet here she was, coming closer and closer to his face. He tried to swallow, but it was difficult to concentrate when her hand was so warm. He wanted that hand to trail his skin on other untouched places as well. At once, her hand on his thigh disappeared and two hands began pulling at his shirt.

"I-I want to touch you, Sasuke-kun," she breathed heavily, "Please...take it off for me."

She was pleading with such innocence, giving him the utmost impression that he was the only one who could help her and, strangely, was not annoyed at all by her constant neediness. He shuddered when she neared again; her invigorating, fruitful scent was making him feel lightheaded. Just as he was about to comply, she began to fade.

With a jerk, he awoke to the early morning and his heavy breathing. At first, he was confused to where he was since his state of mind was sluggish from being caught up in the foreign incident.

It was just a dream? Cursing, he sat up, not believing that even in his dreams he couldn't be free of her before noticing something was wrong. Perplexed, he looked under the covers and found a stain on his blue boxers.

He panicked. What was this? He couldn't have possibly wet the bed! He wasn't a two year old and this had never happened to him in his entire life. Before pure humiliation took over, another suggestion invaded his mind as he remembered bits and pieces of what he had heard growing up. Boys his age sometimes experienced...wet dreams.

Suddenly angered, he got off the bed, ignored the sticky feeling as he jumped into the shower to cleanse himself. This was pathetic and degrading. Why was this happening to him? Understandably, it was a natural reaction of the human body. He couldn't control it, which was infuriating. He needed to be in complete control to become stronger.

Once showered, he put on fresh clothes and kicked a nearby wooden cabinet, nearly succeeding in breaking it. This was too much. There had to be a way to stop it. He wasn't the dobe who would peek at girls in the hot springs. He wasn't Kakashi who read complete smut as a pastime and in public. He wasn't—

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. His eyes narrowed at once, hating when people disturbed him, and dark orbs narrowed more when he answered it. It was her. Out of all people, why did it have to be her?

"What do you want?" he said harshly, wanting to slam the door in her face like she so much deserved.

"I just came by to give you this," she said meekly, blushing.

Looking down at what she was holding, he blinked. It was a basket full of tomatoes. Unexpectedly, he glanced up at her to see her smiling and the grip on the door handle loosened. The resolution to be rude and make her leave as soon as possible disappeared. Whether it was from the simple act of bringing his desired tomatoes, or the courteous manner of how he had been raised, it felt appropriate to let her in.

Without a word, he stepped aside as she rather hesitantly entered. After he closed the door, she handed him the basket and stood awkwardly. He realized it was the first time she was in his apartment. As she looked around, he put the basket on the table. The red tomatoes looked very plump. Briefly ruminating of all that had happened in several weeks, he closed his eyes. This was a chance to—

"Do you trust me?"

She snapped her head back to him in puzzlement and wondered about this sudden question. It was like when he had asked the reasons of her affection towards him. Although it was strange, she believed that all the questions he asked were to bring them a little closer in conversation. And she always wanted to help him in any way possible.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I, Sasuke-kun?"

His head was down, raven hair over his eyes, and she noticed one of his hands was clenched.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you all righ—"

As she tried to near, his head snapped up, revealing crimson and swirling black. Her widened jade eyes darkened in shade and were in a deep daze. He studied her innocent blank face. She trusted him.

He stayed where he was, simply studying her relaxed yet frozen form. She had not fallen into unconsciousness, instead stood absolutely still in front of him. He neared, faintly aware that his heart was racing, pumping hot blood throughout his body. He didn't feel this unless it was the thrill of a dangerous mission. But lately, it was all he felt when she was around so he had to settle this once and for all.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He was not afraid. Uchihas were not afraid of anything. He raised his arm while he took cautious steps towards her until his hand lay on top of her warm clothing above her chest. Again, he swallowed. His eyes returned to their onyx state as he glanced at her. Moving his hand, he kept his gaze on her and soon his fingers touched the small zipper of her dress. He took a deep breath before pulling it down.

Black material came into view and he was reminded of the netted shirt. When he completely unzipped the red dress, he pushed it off her shoulders so it would fall into a heap at her feet. The black shirt made her skin paler and smoother while her pink hair stood out. His breath hitched.

She looked older, more attractive—He started to back away when he felt a jolt in his stomach. He checked her eyes that were still at lost. A little voice in his head demanded to know. Why did you stop? Why did he stop? He wasn't a coward.

He retook the initial position and carefully began lifting the ends at her sides. The top slid up, revealing skin. He came closer to completely remove it from her head. When it slipped off, he avoided looking at her face and inhaled deeply. This was a chance to see the opposite sex. And he had to get rid of the urge before it started severely affecting his concentration...before it started hurting her.

Again with caution, he began to take steps back until she was in complete view, feeling the same heat on his face but had increased as he diffidently gazed at her naked upper body. This was the first time he had seen a female body, with its delicate frame yet accompanied by a sort of hourglass figure. His eyes had centered on those breasts that he had shamefully thought about frequently. For a moment, he just stared in vigilance before his mechanic hands rose, placing themselves on the round shapes, and were welcomed with the warmth only a body can emit.

What he felt was pure softness. They were small but fitted well in his hands. He didn't know what else to do but to cup them before thinking of squeezing. When he did, the breasts took a few shapes as he pressed with varying force. They looked the most appealing when he lifted them, making them look fuller in contrast to her thin body. As he lowered them, his thumb accidentally brushed against a sensitive pink spot and it became erect.

Perplexed, he removed his hand to see a very pink nipple on snowy flesh. His eyes drank in the sight, becoming amazed as if he were a child in a candy store. Testily, he did the same with the other and watched in fascination as it perked up, showing him a reaction of a female body.

There was only so much his eyes could take until the need to satisfy the curiosity enhanced. His hands began to explore: moving up to her shoulders and neck, down her arms, trailing across her stomach...

As he traced her female curves, he repeatedly monitored her face to see if she would react, but she was deep within the genjustu he placed upon her. He knew she had a talent for that so he put more power behind it.

The urge of which had been bothering him for weeks was still persistent, edging him on to fulfill it and he was reminded of the unfinished dream. Deciding to obey, he pulled at his collar and in a swift movement dropped his shirt onto the floor along with the clothes that had fallen at her feet.

He paid no heed to anything else, entirely centered on the task before him. Slowly, his bare upper chest covered hers and his arms went behind her lower back in a loose embrace. The side of her face touched his first. She was only a couple inches shorter than him and his nose was filled with her annoying yet unforgettable fragrance.

The foreign feeling in his stomach skyrocketed. The touch was like a burst of electricity.

Body to body. Skin to skin.

The feel of her mounds against his bare chest was indescribable. Subconsciously, he began to rub against her and the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood. His eyes closed and seconds later, a groan echoed in his throat, which he had difficultly controlling nonetheless. Hands settled on her small waist, above her long shorts itching for more skin. There was an intense and uncomfortable tightening in his pants. It was better to shed all clothes—

No. His eyes shot open, his digits stopped in their tracks, which had slithered down and touched the band of her underwear. It wasn't supposed to go this far.

Almost immediately, he backed off and looked at her in guilt. Indeed, she was pretty; resembling an exotic doll, but that was all she was right now. She was very much a vulnerable marionette and he knew if he truly wanted, could pull her strings to his complete bidding.

It sounded forbidden and pleasurable. He could finally satisfy the urge that had been slowly driving him insane and she wouldn't really have a problem with it—No! She was Sakura. The loving innocent girl, his teammate...

And she trusts me.

He hastily but carefully clothed her, made sure nothing was out of place, and zipped her before he dressed himself. He had to get rid of the heat in his face before releasing her out of the genjustu. But what would she say? She would question him endlessly and he hated that. It'll be best if he chose another option.

Without hesitation, he pressed a pressure point on her neck, caused her eyes to automatically close and fall forward onto him.

Catching her, he picked up her legs to carry her towards the couch. Pink tresses sprawled over her face as he set her down. He reached to brush them off as a becoming habit of constantly wanting to keep in contact—Don't touch her!

His movements froze, realizing the seriousness of what he had done, and left the room nearly tempted to trash the place in frustration. He didn't dare to come back until her chakra flickered repeatedly, indicating she was awake. As expected, she asked what had happened.

"You fainted," he simply stated, which caused the confusion on her features to increase. Even from where he was standing, he could see the internal battle of trying to remember what happened in her viridian orbs, and he was sure she was losing.

He was assured when she lightly laughed it off, saying that it must have been from the lack of breakfast or something like that. However, it immensely annoyed him that she could be so naïve. She was supposed to be the analyst and tactical of the three. Didn't she remember what he had asked before exposing her to the Sharingan?

"Go home, Sakura."

"But—"

He was tired of this. Nothing felt right and he still hadn't made any sense of this. With a harsher tone, he repeated the demand, "Go home."

She was at lost; not knowing what she had done wrong now, but knew he was completely serious. Nodding in consent, her eyes itched of the withheld tears as she avoided looking at him and walked past towards the door. He too was lost in his thoughts. His hands rose when the door closed and stared at them. They still possessed her warmth and wouldn't stop shaking.

He didn't think it possible, since the inner torment never left him alone, but the torment lessened with time as he became preoccupied with more important series of events. She had gone back to normal yet kept a noticeable distance from him. Did he hurt her with his words? How much would she be hurt by his actions, especially of what he secretly had done in front and to her? She wouldn't know of what happened nor would he know the answers to his questions because he was leaving tonight.

It didn't matter anymore. This child's play was and had been nothing more than a distraction. It lured him off the path but he had to return to his sole purpose, now that he appeared again.

Her tears. Her voice. He had ignored it all as she pleaded him to stay. With one last whiff of her scent, he gave her words of appreciation, knowing she wouldn't understand the whole reasons that came with it.

He watched the familiar vulnerability of her sleeping form on the bench, having seen her in a sleeping state multiple times before, but not with tears twinkling on her eyelashes. It was a chilly night. She would be all right. Someone would find her eventually...

This would probably be the last time they'll meet. He had a goal to accomplish that could end his life, but he long ago accepted that possible fact.

Yet he knew whatever had caused him to act on the curiosity toward his female teammate wasn't finished.

And so it slowly grows...

12.22.07