Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and sorry for the long delay! Enjoy. :)

Chapter Four

The next time she wished to get Sasuke's attention, Sakura mentally noted, she would definitely mention creating a jutsu.

In fact, because of her words Sasuke's face transformed from clear vexation to slight curiosity in a matter of seconds. Trying and failing to maintain nonchalance, he took a step towards her, beckoning her to continue.

"Yes," Sakura told him with amusement. "I'm working on a jutsu, Sasuke-kun."

"What is it?" Sasuke briskly asked.

Sakura stifled a giggle. Conversation was being made, and she was beginning to like teasing the Uchiha. "It's a secret," she told him, biting her lip and clasping her hands. "Classified. For medic-nins only."

Slightly bewildered, Sasuke took a step back. "Hn."

Mildly disappointed that he did not even try to obtain more information, Sakura gave a slight pout. However, she realized, it was probably good that he was not interested anymore. Her "secret jutsu" wasn't really successful. Okay, she thought. I haven't even started it. It was foolish, but getting Sasuke's full attention was so rare that she had to mention it. She was close to starting her jutsu; all she needed were some ointments, an easy way to figure out to teach grown ninjas medical basics, and flowers. Lots of flowers.

As expected, Sasuke gradually edged away, ignoring Sakura. It was her cue to leave, but, she figured, if she had to walk all the way to his home for the sake of his health then she had every right to talk to him. Part of her felt like a little girl again, trying to speak with Sasuke no matter what. She put her hands on her hips and spoke. "Just because it's a medical jutsu doesn't mean it's not interesting—"

"Creating your own jutsu," Sasuke cut her off. "Takes a lot of work. They're not for fun and games and playing nurse."

Taken aback, Sakura folded her arms and glowered. "Thanks for your support," she bitterly replied.

"You're welcome."

"I'll be going now," Sakura told him. What a jerk….!

Looking at her from the corner of his eye, Sasuke frowned. "Hold on," he abruptly commanded. He took a step towards her and grabbed her arm, pulling her a little closer to him. Sakura's eyes widened at his gesture, band without argument she heeded his request. Upon seeing her expression, Sasuke loosened his grip and quickly averted his gaze from her.

"Many jutsus," he tentatively informed her with a more inviting tone, "like those you start from scratch, take a lot of work. Kakashi knows a lot about this."

"I'm sure he does," Sakura slowly replied, raising her eyebrow.

"I modified his chidori," he told her, fixing his gaze on his feet. Sakura watched his apprehension, and it was as if he wasn't sure whether to mention this tidbit of information to her or not. He rarely spoke to her about his techniques or as Naruto would call them, 'cool new moves,' but as an Uchiha, they were a big part of who he was. He spent most of his life training and trying to be the best; hoping to kill his brother and avenge his family. It was one thing for Sasuke to open up, but when he spoke of subject that was a large part of his life, that would give someone an idea of his weaknesses and strengths, it was something else.

"The chidori nagashi was especially difficult to master. You need perfect range, and lots of chakra control to master. It'll be hard to teach other people one of your techniques, if it's anything like that."

"Oh yes," Sakura bitterly smiled. She remembered that technique. In fact, it was what he used to attack her, Naruto, and Sai when they met up with him for the first time in three years. She remembered that jutsu well.

"This jutsu," she told him, "is for me and Ino's class. It's not that serious, Sasuke-kun. Maybe you can be my test subject?" she offered, eying his hand.

Sasuke suddenly balled his fists, shoving his hands in his pocket. "Would you shut up about that?" he growled. "Leave me the hell alone."

"All right," Sakura said, putting her hands up defensively. Obviously a touchy subject. "Just thought you wanted to know since you came to my class and all..."

Sasuke looked at her, eyes cold. Everything she said to him usually made things go wrong, but this conversation was inevitable.

"It was only once," he bluntly told her. "I was looking for Naruto."

"Right." Always with the excuses, she presumed. Of course, his search for Naruto probably wasn't an excuse—the spirited, hyperactive ninja was his best friend after all—but she still didn't like being shot down like that.

"Sasuke-kun," she beseeched of him, "tell me the truth. Why did you really come that day? And yes, you told me you were looking for Naruto twice. But had it ever occurred to you that you could have just waited outside if you wanted to talk to him? I know it sounds ridiculous, but there's nothing to be ashamed of if you're interested in what us medics do."

Sasuke looked at her incredulously, snapping his mouth shut. He finally heaved a sigh as he turned to walk away, glared back at her once, and walked away some more.

"It was only one time," he told her, once more. "Stop being so desperate. I have many other things to do than see you." And with that, he entered his house and shut the door.

With his final statement, that was also when it all started. Sasuke did not return to Ino and Sakura's class, but instead suddenly acquired the power of omniscience. Ino was the first to speak of this.

"I see him everywhere we go," she told Sakura one day before class. "But here? Not so much. So much for that, huh Sakura-chan?"

"He's just trying to spite us," Sakura replied. "He'll probably ignore me when team seven meets today. Now, shush! We have to begin." She turned to the class, feigning a bright smile to their audience.

The usual students were present; from the old, retiring ninjas who wanted to learn one last technique until retiring to the young and eager genins who thought they were lucky to get taught by the one who trained under the Hokage. Her former classmates such as Kiba and Shikamaru were present, and Naruto, of course, sat up front.

"Well," Sakura began. "Can anyone remind us of what we did last class? Shousen no Jutsu, am I correct?"

"Where's the Uchiha?" Someone suddenly barked.

"What?" Sakura incredulously blurted out. She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at the speaker. "Why does it matter? He hasn't been here in a while."

"He's your friend isn't he?" a small girl of about thirteen explained. "We just thought he would be here."

"Well he's not," Ino briskly snapped. She put her hands on her hips. "Damn fangirls," she muttered under her breath, and Sakura rolled her eyes at the irony. "Keep going, Sakura."

Sakura mechanically nodded and started writing on the board. She concentrated, trying to block the words from her mind. 'He's your friend, isn't he…?'

Of course he is, she reassured herself. After writing the objectives on the board, Sakura sat down and watched Ino teach the class. Naruto was scribbling down illegible notes and a few young girls in the back were whispering and giggling. One young man squinted to see the board, but his eyes often settled for Ino's backside instead. He's just stubborn, that's all.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly shouted, raising his hand. "I need help."

Blinking back into reality, Sakura noticed that the class was doing busywork. She walked over to her friend, wringing her hands. "What is it Naruto?"

He pointed to his paper. "What does this mean—?" He suddenly stopped upon seeing his expression, and his brow scrunched with worry. "Hey, Sakura-chan…what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She gave a small smile. "I was just thinking."

"Oh." Taking one more look at her, he bit his lip and put his arm around her. Not too long after he grinned, as he was blessed with an epiphany. "Ah, don't worry Sakura-chan!" he reassured her. "You'll get to teach next time!"

Sakura forced a laugh. "Yeah…"

"Turn in your papers!" Ino suddenly shrieked. "You've had enough time to work on them. After I get them you can go home."

"Finally," Shikamaru muttered. "I can't stand that woman."

"Remember we're meeting with Kakashi and Sasuke and Sai," Naruto said, as he stood, jumbling all of his words together. He handed his paper to Ino, who narrowed her eyes at him.

"Bye Sakura," she said, her nose in the air.

"At Ichiraiku," Naruto continued. "I'll walk you there!"

For the next few minutes, Sakura listened to Naruto chatter on about how great the class was, what he was going to do to beat Sasuke next time he called him an idiot, and of course, ramen. As expected, Sakura playfully shot him down as he spoke, just for old time's sake.

When they arrived, the scene was quite unimpressive. Sai was quietly examining his food, and Sasuke stood nonchalantly to the side, eyes closed and hands in his pockets. Kakashi looked up from his book and waved as Naruto ran in to claim his bowl of ramen. He wasted no time to start eating.

"Whas tha meenin a tis, Kakaashe-sens?" Naruto asked, with his mouth full. He swallowed, and resumed. "We haven't met like this in a long time!"

Setting his book down, Kakashi cleared his throat and spoke. "Sakura has been talking about a project," Kakashi told him, "so I was thinking we could take a small D or C-rank mission to get what she needs."

"A D or C rank mission?" Naruto frowned, narrowing his eyes. "Kakashi-sensei, are you kidding? Those are for genins."

"You are a genin," Sai pointed out. "And Sasuke-kun is too."

"Shut up," Naruto snapped.

"That's it?" Sasuke said.

"Hold on," Kakashi told him, his smile hidden by his mask. "This mission might take us to the Sand village."

"The sand village?" Sakura's eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and amusement. She sat up straighter in her stool, as she hadn't learned of anything interesting in a while. It would be nice to see the sand siblings again after all they had been through. "It's been a while since I've been there," she told Kakashi. "Do you think you can get me a map?"

"No," Sai told her.

"We're all going," Kakashi clarified.

In a split second Naruto jumped up in joy, knocking his bowl of ramen to the ground. Sai gave a small smile and Sasuke, unimpressed, looked blankly at Kakashi.

"When are we leaving?" Naruto eagerly asked Kakashi. "Soon?"

"Well, the Hokage still has some things to work out," he replied as he glanced at Sasuke. "Just be patient Naruto; we'll be going eventually."

"Good enough for me," Sakura said, grabbing her bag and nodding at Naruto. In her peripheral vision, she could see Sasuke staring at her. Not wanting to be under scrutiny for too long, Sakura edged out of the stand. "It's been a long day, so I'll see you guys later, okay?"

Without wasting time, Sakura departed from the ramen stand. She sighed as she watched the sun set and wondered why she let Sasuke intimidate her into leaving the stand early. He was just as much as a stupid kid as she was, so why was she afraid? So stupid, she realized, that he, a once S-ranked, missing nin couldn't even sneak up without her noticing.

"What type of plants do they have that we don't have?" she heard him ask her back, not long after she sensed his presence. He was standing a few feet away, but just close enough for her to hear him. "It's amazing," he continued, with a flippant tone, "Kakashi would do anything to get out of the village these days."

"I don't blame him," Sakura softly said. "His team is back together, after all. And I don't know what plants they have there, but I trust Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke said nothing, and she sighed, shaking her head. And I know you do to.

"These plants you're talking about," she continued, turning to face him. "Where are they?"

Slightly widening his dark eyes at her willingness to follow him, Sasuke hesitated. He apprehensively beckoned towards her. "Just follow me," he muttered.

They walked through the quiet evening, Sasuke always one step ahead of Sakura. It was nothing new to Sakura, but she was surprised when Sasuke stopped every once in a while to see if she was still behind him. When they arrived to their destination, he slightly nudged her, and even in the dark, she knew where she was.

"Your home," she softly said.

Sasuke grunted, and gestured her to the back of his house. They were met with a gate laced with thick vines and thorny vines were on the ground before the gate. Without paying heed to both, Sasuke pushed the gate open and was presented with a small garden.

A large variety of colors covered the ground, and Sakura figured that meant a plethora of flower types were present. Most of the garden was made up of wild flowers and some cherry blossoms. A few daffodils and carnations resided in the middle of the garden, as if they were the centerpiece. The flowers were half dead, but still vibrant enough to be admired and still viable for care.

"They don't look that healthy, but they still have a little life in them," Sakura softly noted. "Someone must have been taking care of them."

"It rains a lot, doesn't it?" Sasuke snapped. "The sun's never out in this damn village."

Smiling to herself, Sakura ignored him and picked up a daffodil. She twirled it around in her finger and looked at him. "These are my favorites," she told him as she smelled the flower. "It really does bring back memories, doesn't it?"

"I don't care if you take some," Sasuke told her, turning from her. He folded his arms, looking into the distance. "They're useless anyway."

Sakura nodded as she crouched down and pulled up some flowers from the roots. She quickly put some in her school bag, hoping to finish her task before sunset was fully complete. When she was content, Sakura stood and wiped her hands on her skirt.

"Thank you for this," she said. She beamed, turning to face him, but by that time he was long gone.

Author's Note: For the first time in a long time I was eager to write another chapter for one of my stories. It was strange being excited to come home to write fanfiction. Oh yeah, and it would be really nice to have reviews to match the amount of hits this fic gets...