Another new chapter! With a big confrontation scene between Sasuke and Sakura!

Enjoy~

Disclaimer: Naruto and the other characters are not mine, only the plot is.

Sakura can only watch with wide eyes as the man before her cripples to the ground; his body hitting the floor with a soft thud. She can see blood pooling under the body and trembles slightly as she watches the puddle grow. The man standing beside him is completely frazzled and moving towards the gun, but she's only able to focus on the body laying dead on the floor. The body of the man who ruined her reputation at her old high school; the man who destroyed her confidence and made her believe no one can be trusted.

While Sakura is watching the blood move towards her feet, Sasuke is focused on watching the Masaru move towards the gun in his dead partner's hand. Sasuke is still tied up and unable to move, so he's stuck watching the gun once again being raised. However, there is another bang sound and Sasuke watches as blood pours of of Masaru's leg before he cripples to the ground just as his partner did moments ago.

Sasuke can now hear footsteps entering the room, and he watches as weapon bearing men enter the room. Sasuke recognizes none of the men until he sees a blonde enter the room. Sasuke's reaction is a smirk upon seeing said man; even though he should be expressing a different emotion at the moment. Realizing he needs to check on Sakura, he turns his head to see her still fixated on the body of her ex-boyfriend. Sasuke wonders if she even notices Masaru was shot as well.

"Untie those two and get two medics in here! Grab the live one and throw him in the van with his other cronies after you handcuff him!" An intimidating man yells as he saunters into the room. Sasuke watches as his orders are immediately followed and he is soon untied. Sakura is also untied at the same time, but the medics have to keep her up by holding her.

"You bastard, Uchiha!" Masaru screams at Sasuke as he is lifted off the ground by some of the men who had come into the room. Sasuke notices Masaru can't stand on the leg he was shot on; none of the medics are moving to treat him either.

"I can't believe you never caught on." Sasuke state as he smirks to Masaru who is now being dragged out of the room. Sasuke can hear more curses as Masaru enter the hall, but he ignores them as Naruto makes his way over to him.

"You got pretty lucky." Naruto offers up as he looks his friend over.

"I wish Sakura was too." Sasuke speaks sadly as he sees Sakura is still being held up by medics as they decide how they are going to move her to their ambulance.

"Ah." Is the only sound Naruto is able to offer Sasuke as he watches his best friend retreat into himself after looking over at Sakura.

"We need to get you to the hospital as well." A medic states as she walks from Sakura to Sasuke.

"I'm fine, shouldn't be focusing on Sakura." Sasuke replies as he watches a stretcher being placed beside Sakura.

"She's a bit more stable now and my colleagues are moving her to their ambulance. Therefore, I'm taking you to mine." The medic states with authority as she stares Sasuke down.

"I'm fine; I don't need to go to the hospital." Sasuke says arguably as he matches the medics tough stare.

"I will sedate you and drag you to my ambulance if I have to. You are going to the hospit-" The medic explains with no exceptions to Sasuke, except she is interrupted before she can finish.

"Hey! Hey! We're losing her! Her pulse is weakening, we need to get her to the hospital now!" One of the medics shouts as he worriedly looks over the girl he had just put on the stretcher.

Everyone in the room watches as the stretcher is suddenly thrust towards the door by the medic. All the armed men, the remaining medic, Naruto, and Sasuke all follow the stretcher's movements out into the hallway. All praying for the safety of the girl.

"As I was saying, you have a concussion. I need to at least have that checked out at the hospit- Hey! Hey!" The medic yells as she watches her patient slowly teeter on his feet before his body starts following towards her. She's afraid he'll fall and crush her, but the blonde standing next to him cuts in and grabs the man before he hits the floor.

"You don't have to drug him now."

Sasuke blinks slowly and then opens his eyes, only to shut them again as harsh light hits his eyes. His body tells him to go back to sleep, but his mind tells him he needs to wake up. The reason is unclear to a groggy Sasuke at first, but then everything hits him all at once as he remembers what happened..? Sasuke realizes he's not sure when it happened, and at the sudden realization, his body springs up.

"Woah, calm down." A familiar voice says soothingly after Sasuke's sudden alertness.

Sasuke is able to open his eyes now that the bright light isn't straight in his eyes, and he turns to the side to see Naruto sitting in a chair. Sasuke had thought he was at home when he first woke up, but now he realizes he is in the hospital. The smell of bleach and latex overwhelming his nose.

"But Sakura is-"

"Fine." Naruto finishes as he looks his best friend straight in the eyes.

"You're not lying?" Sasuke questions as he lays back not his bed, his brain running horrible scenarios through his head.

"She was out of surgery two hours ago, and is recovering." Naruto explains while looking down at his hands.

"Why do you look like that?" Sasuke asks as he watches his friend avoid looking at him.

"Sakura is fine. It's just, it's just that I feel guilty about what happened. If I had been able to get to the police station faster, than she wouldn't have-" Tears are streaming down Naruto's cheeks as he mulls over what he should have done. Sasuke is slightly taken back by the tears leaving his best friend's eyes, it has been quite some time since he's seen such reaction from Naruto.

"It's not your fault dobe. If you hadn't come when you did, Sakura would have bullet holes in her body. If she even lived until you came." Sasuke shakily says as he turns to look straight at the wall in front of him. His mind playing back the scene that had been about to happen before Naruto showed up with the calvary.

"It's not your fault either." Naruto whispers as he watches his friend stare off into nothingness. He can hear Sasuke click his tongue at the remark even as Sasuke's body remains positioned the same way.

"Hell it isn't. If it weren't for me, she never wou-"

"It was her aunt, step-mother, whoever the hell she is faults!" Naruto suddenly yells as he stands up and leans over his best friend; Naruto knows what his best friend already blames himself for, and he's not going to have this incident with Sakura added to the list.

"Mesu?" Sasuke utters as he turns to Naruto who is seated once again.

"The cops got her. Oh, that reminds me. The big scary guy you saw in the room? He's the leader of that task force, and he wants to talk to you sometime. You know, get more details."

"What did they say about her?" Sasuke inquires as he watches his friend lean back into the chair and make himself comfortable.

"They really didn't tell me anything; I'm not nearly involved as you. They told me they got Mesu, Masaru will probably be put on death row, and about Sakura's ex." Naruto comments as he goes over the list of what happened while Sasuke was out.

"What about him?"

"You know those rapes that had been happening? The ones that led to us getting lectures at school?" Naruto vocalizes as he leans towards his best friend.

"What about 'em?"

"It was Sakura's ex-boyfriend that was behind them. He left DNA on the victims, but the cops hadn't been able to match it until they took his DNA and put it into the system. I guess a bunch of alarms went off at the match."

"He was a real piece of work." Sasuke expresses as he closes his eyes.

"He really is dead though, so you'll never have to worry about him again." Naruto asserts, and afterwards, watches his best friend's body relax.

"Do you know when I can leave?"

"Probably after they can really look you over. They couldn't do to much with you unconscious." Naruto articulates while stretching his legs out.

"How long do you think that will take?"

"Mmmm, note sure. I should probably tell them you're awake." Naruto states as his best friends eyes turn into slits and stare straight at him.

"Okay, okay. I can take a hint. I'll be right back, teme!" Naruto shouts as he stands up and makes his way towards the door with a skip in his step.

Sasuke sighs after Naruto is gone, but he is happy the dobe is loud as normal. It makes it seem like nothing bad had just happened to him and Sakura.

"You're all set to leave, Mr. Uchiha." The doctor states as she hands over some forms to Sasuke; the forms indicating what he should do for his concussion and follow-up visit.

"Thanks, doc." Sasuke weakly says as he stares at the paperwork he had just been handed.

"Have a nice day." The doctor offers Sasuke as she turns and starts to make he way to the door.

"Ah, wait!" Sasuke yells as he stands up and looks at the doctor.

"Do you know what room Sakura Haruno is in?" Sasuke inquires as the doctor glances over her shoulder to look at him.

"I'm sorry, I don't. The front desk should have it though." The doctor offers Sasuke before she reaches the door, turns the knob, and steps out.

Sasuke doesn't say anything after the doctor leaves, instead he just sighs and makes his way to the door as well. No one had been in the room with him for privacy reasons, but Naruto is outside his hospital room door waiting for him. The blonde instantly greets Sasuke with a smile he can't return when Sasuke opens his hospital room door and steps out. Sasuke's mind is just focused more on finding Sakura than matching his best friend's happiness.

"So, you good?" Naruto questions his best friend as he notices the paper work in Sasuke's hand.

"Where's Sakura's room?" Sasuke demands after walking to stand in front of Naruto.

"Right to it, huh? She's in room 304." Naruto says while paying close attention to his friend's reaction.

"I'm going." Sasuke asserts before he turns and starts making his way towards the elev-

"Elevator is this way." Naruto says teasingly as he points his thumb in the opposite direction Sasuke is going.

"I know." Sasuke utters quietly as if he did know, but Naruto knows better. Therefore, he just grins and follows his friend.

"Miss Haruno, I know you're still in shock but I need some answers." The intimidating man from early assures towards the girl currently curled up on the hospital bed he is facing.

The girl utters nothing back as she pulls her knees closer to her chest. The man has been in her room for ten minutes, and she has not once responded to him. She has been listening though, and all she wants is for him to leave so she can have some time to herself. Naturally it's what anyone would want after hearing the news she has been told in the past ten minutes.

"I see. Once again Miss Harun-" The man starts before he is interrupted by the door of Sakura's hospital room opening. Sakura doesn't pay any attention as to who now enters her hospital room, but the intimating man does.

"Oh, Mr. Uchiha." The man utters as he watches Sasuke walk towards him. Sakura remains in the same position though, and forces her eye to not look at Sasuke as he gets closer and closer to her.

"Do you mind giving us a minute?" Sasuke asks Mr. Intimidating, hoping he'll be inclined to leave since Sasuke could hear him getting no response from Sakura.

"Well, I need to get some answer from her."

"Maybe if I talk to her it'll make her more comfortable to answer your questions?" Sasuke inputs with his eyes directed at the man he is talking to, so he doesn't notice Sakura's body tense on the bed.

The man takes a few seconds to think Sasuke's offer over. He really wants the answers to his questions, but as Sasuke said, he's not getting anywhere with Sakura. It's not like it's going to kill him if he goes and gets some ice cream from the hospital cafeteria while these two talk it out..

"Okay. I'll also be interrogating you next." The man says as he points at Sasuke.

"Sure, sure." Sasuke assures as he nods his head to the man. The man seems skeptical at first, but brushes his skepticism off and walks out the door.

Sasuke doesn't waste any time in sitting in the chair next to Sakura's bed, and Sakura doesn't waste her time in turning her body the other way. Sasuke sighs at her reaction, but doesn't make any movement to sit on the bed or roll her over to face him. He's not sure what state of mind she's in, and he doesn't want to make a bad one worse.

"You're pretty silent; reminds me of when I first met you." Sasuke states to Sakura's back.

"I don't know to many details about all that happened, do you want to fill me in?" Sasuke gently inquires as he leans back in the chair.

Sakura isn't sure what she should do after Sasuke's question. She does know all the details of everything that happened, but she doesn't think she can share them. Just thinking of everything she was just told by the intimidating man moments ago is bringing tears to her eyes.

"Sakura, keeping everything bottled up isn't healthy. Plus, I went through everything to, I have a right to know." Sasuke speaks innocently, not realizing he had just flipped a switch in Sakura's brain.

Sasuke is startled when Sakura suddenly sits up in bed, turns her head, and glares straight at him. Of all the things he thought she may do, this is not one of them. He remains in the chair, but he sits up straight as he takes in his angry girlfriend.

"Me keeping everything bottled up isn't healthy?! You wanna know who is the one keeping everything bottled up!" Sakura yells as she moves to the edge of her bed before standing up and leaning down in Sasuke's face.

"You're the one keeping everything bottled up! I know nothing about your family! Well, I did before I was kidnapped, beaten, and enlightened by a drug dealing murderer! So you wanna say who's the one keeping everything bottled up again, huh? I dare you too!" Sakura screams into Sasuke's face as she stabs his chest harshly with her index finger.

Sasuke can only stare wide-eyed at his girlfriend who is currently going off on him. He's never seen her this worked up, and it's quite terrifying for her to be standing in his face and screaming at him in the moment. Sasuke wonders if he should get a doctor or nurse to come in and sedate her. Deciding he needs to calm Sakura down, Sasuke carefully puts his hands up in a surrender pose.

"You're right." Sasuke whispers as Sakura stands back up straight. Sasuke relaxes now that Sakura is out of his face, but he still feels uncomfortable as she glares down at him

"That's it?" Sakura asks as she crosses her arms and glares down even harder at Sasuke.

"What else am I suppose to say?"

"Maybe explain everything fully. Your crazy friend only touched the tip of the ice burg, I want to know the whole ice burg." Sakura expresses as she sits down on her bed; here arms are still crossed and her eyes are still slitted.

Sasuke freezes after Sakura's statement about wanting to know everything about his family. How does she just expect him to open up and tell her everything about his family. How his brother got into a debt because of drugs, how he was held captive until his debt was paid off, how his dad tried to rescue him without the money, how his dad was then beaten, how his dad became paralyzed waist down afterwards, how his brother still ended up being killed, how his brother's murder escaped, how his family lost everything, how his mother became mentally unstable, and how his family then just fell apart? How is he suppose to tell Sakura any of that? He's never told anyone.

"So you're still not going to tell me." Sakura declares more than questions as she leans back onto her bed.

"You know, I told you about my tragic event before I even knew you. Yet, here we are months later, and you still can't say anything to me about your past." Sakura states sarcastically before she throws her head back and laughs.

"You know, I loved you, I still do. But, this isn't going to work. We didn't start our relationship because of normal reasons, and it's only led to disaster." Sakura whispers sadly as she keeps her head back and just stares up at the ceiling. All of the fun and sad times running through her head, making a tear fall down each cheek.

Sasuke stays silent as he watches Sakura reflect on their past; he's mostly silent because he doesn't know what to say. She's saying she loves him, but then speaking as if she wants to break up with him.

"I still love you." Sasuke finally whispers out. Sakura pulls her head down into its normal position and meets Sasuke's eyes after doing so. She gives a small, sad smile before she reaches her left hand out to grab Sasuke's right hand.

"We need a break. I'm going away after all of this, and that will give you some time to work through your past." Sakura softly speaks out as she holds both Sasuke's gaze and hand.

"Why are you going away?" Why are we breaking up?

"My aunt, my real aunt was killed by Mesu. She was the only relative I had left, so now I have no one. I'm going to go away to boarding school to finish my schooling. The police said I won't need to find a guardian if I go to boarding school."

"How did no one know your aunt was dead?" Sakura drops her eyes, and stares down at her and Sasuke's intertwined hands.

"Mesu killed her in her apartment, paid off the lease for a year, and told the neighbors she-my aunt- was going on vacation for a while. She had been on a break from designing as well, so no one realized she was..." Gone, Sakura's brain finishes as tears begin to cascade down Sakura's cheeks. Sakura hadn't known her aunt to well, but she was the last relative Sakura had, so now, Sakura realizes she is all alone.

Sasuke squeezes Sakura's hand tighter and moves to sit next to her. He thought he may be rejected, but she goes right into his chest and he wraps his arms around her. All while wondering why she wants to leave him? To leave these kind of moments behind?

"My mom will still take you in." Sasuke whispers into Sakura's hair after her crying ceases a little.

"No. I'm going away. I need to get away for a little while." Sakura utters into Sasuke's chest.

"You don't need to get away. Why do you want to leave Konoha? Why do you want to leave me?" Sasuke is the one with anger in his voice now, and Sakura backs out of his chest so she can face him eye to eye. Back when she first started talking about need space and time, she knew he wouldn't understand or even consider why.

"Sasuke between everything that's happened recently, you don't think it's a good idea for me to get away from Konoha lately? My dad was shot and killed by his crazy ex-wife! I was mislead by that same lady! I was kidnapped, beaten, and almost shot! You don't think I should get away?!" Sakura says everything calmly, but Sasuke's expression doesn't resemble that emotion as he puts his forehead on hers.

"I understand all that. I just thought me being here would be enough to keep you her." Sasuke utters into Sakura's face with anger at first, but it dies down into sadness.

"You have helped me through a lot, Sasuke. But our relationship isn't at a stable point right now where I can rely on you." Sakura whispers as she closes her eyes and takes in what she knows will be the last few minutes of intimacy with Sasuke for a while.

"How isn't it stable?" Sasuke asks as he watches her eyes close.

"What just happened involved your brother's murder, you still won't tell me about your past, you won't tell me why you won't talk about your past, and oh, you cheated on me! Cheated on me and stood me up." Tears are streaming down Sakura's cheeks now as she recalls all the fresh and old memories that have drastically changed her and her life.

"I thought you forgave me for the thing with Ami." Sasuke whispers as he watches the tears run down Sakura's cheeks. He wipes them away as he tries to understand what Sakura is thinking; her emotions are going everywhere.

"It doesn't mean I don't remember that it happened. We need a break Sasuke. I need some time to figure out my life and myself again, and you need time to do the same thing. I still want to go to college here, so I'll be back in the fall." Sakura mutters with a smile, but with tears still falling out of her eyes, she doesn't looks happy.

"That's far away." Sasuke states as he tries to control the anger and sadness building up inside of him. He knows he screwed up and is screwed up, but he wants Sakura around.

"It'll be here before you know it." Sakura whispers before she places a kiss on Sasuke's nose. Sasuke says nothing after her display of affection, instead he just stands up and walks out of the room. Slamming the door behind him.

Sakura doesn't yell anything to him or run after him though, she knows he's upset and confused. Sakura won't deny she's the reason, and in a sick twisted kind of way, she's glad she's the one who has created those emotions in him this time. For once, it's not Sakura who feels unloved or confused about their relationship. This time Sasuke is the one who has to deal with those emotions.

"Or not." Sakura utters to herself before waterfalls start pouring out of her eyes. She clutches the blanket on her bed as her heart feels as if it is splitting into two.

"Hey! So how'd it go? Di-" Naruto starts out as Sasuke walks, or more like marches, out of Sakura's room. Sasuke doesn't even stop to acknowledge Naruto. Instead, he just turns the wrong way down the hallway again. Naruto instantly follows after, and is forced to put a lot effort in order to keep up with Sasuke.

"Teme! The elevator is that wa-" Naruto offers up before his voice catches in his throat at finally seeing Sasuke's face. Naruto stops dead in his tracks after seeing Sasuke's face, and as Naruto's best friend walks farther and farther way, Naruto can only wonder what happened in that hospital room. He's never seen Sasuke look like that. Even when Sasuke's brother died, Sasuke didn't look so torn apart.

Hope I didn't break anyone's heart too much!

Happy summer!

~S-cherry-Blossem

P.S Thanks for all the favs, reviews, and follows! They mean a lot!

P.P.S Pool boy has a few new edited chapters that are much better than the old ones. I'm also going to be working on updating this story's earlier chapters as well!