Disclaimer: I own not Naruto, or France. For if I owned France, I would DESTROY IT!

Warnings: Lemon, and language!

Dedicated to my good friend, Shaamy-kun! Hope you like it!

Shuumatsu no Tani

Tears fell from Sakura's green eyes as she jumped between the trees, chasing after Sasuke's chakra signature. Naruto had promised to bring Sasuke back himself, but his fight with Kimimaro had drained his chakra to the point that he couldn't continue. Thus it had fallen to Sakura, the weakest of Team Kakashi, to bring back their team mate… their friend… the man she had loved for so long…

Between jumps, she paused to catch her breath, pressing her back to the cool, rough tree bark. Something had changed ahead of her. Sasuke had stopped moving. He was standing just beyond a break in the trees, waiting in anticipation. Sakura knew he had felt her pursuit, but she had assumed he would continue to run until either she caught him, or he had entered Otogakure's territory, where Sakura would be forced to give up the chase.

The last of her tears fell, dripping onto the tree branch. She wiped them away carelessly, a fierce look coming to her eyes. This was it. She had caught him. Now she had to convince him to come back.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she launched herself through the remainder of the trees, landing soundlessly on the water in a great valley. She took a quick moment to appreciate the beauty of the place; high walls of rock bordered the valley on three sides, while a large waterfall occupied the fourth. On either side of the waterfall stood a huge statue; ancient shinobi from the old world. She recognized one as the Shodaime Hokage, but the second was a stranger to her. He had a calm, passive face, with spiky hair that flowed gracefully from his head. He was obviously a shinobi of some importance.

Sakura turned away from the waterfall to face the boy in front of her. His eyes were widened in shock and recognition, with settled fast into the usual Uchiha sneer.

"Sakura… I didn't expect it to be you..."

Sakura took a step forward.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"I thought it would have been Naruto. The dobe would have been a more appropriate choice to send after me. He's stronger than you are."

Sakura ignored this. "Sasuke-kun, please… Come home."

Sasuke regarded her coolly for a moment. "No."

Frustration began to build within the pink-haired girl. "Come home, Sasuke-kun. Your team needs you. Your friends need you."

Sasuke snorted. "Friends? That's a weakness I cannot afford."

"Weakness?" Sakura exclaimed. "Is that what we are to you?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes. A weakness. So long as I stay in Konoha, playing along to the peaceful antics of the Hokage, I will never attain power. You know of my goal, Sakura. I must defeat Itachi and avenge my clan. Until that day, I can have no friends. My dreams lay in the past, along with my clan. I need power, and if Orochimaru will give me that power, then I will gladly go to him."

Sakura shook her head desperately. "Sasuke, Orochimaru only wants you for your body. He wants to make you stronger so that he can take control of your body. How would your clan feel about that?"

Sasuke's face hardened. "You dare to speak to me about my clan? You know nothing!"

In anger, Sasuke charged at Sakura, but she was ready for him. As he lunged forward to land a punch, she gracefully sidestepped him and grasped his wrist, like her master had shown her. She twisted her arm slightly, exerting only the smallest amount of pressure, before throwing him across the valley.

Sasuke skidded across the water until he eventually regained his balance. Again his eyes registered shock, but now they were a brilliant red, as opposed to their normal obsidian.

He had activated the Sharingan.

"I see that being Tsunade's pupil has improved your skills."

Sakura didn't comment. Instead, she focused her chakra to her feet and ran forward, using her chakra to boost her speed. She made to punch, but Sasuke dodged at the last second, and the blow glanced off of his shoulder. The impact, however, was enough to drive him into the rocky wall, causing a downpour of fragmented rock to cascade around him.

"Impressive, Sakura." Sasuke said, stepping out of the crater. "But not impressive enough."

A chirping noise filled the air, and a bluish-white glow obscured Sasuke's hand. He was forming a Chidori.

"No…" Sakura murmured. The Chidori was designed to kill with one shot. Sasuke was now out for blood.

"Does the fact that I love you not matter at all?" Sakura yelled, new tears falling from her delicate face. "Are you really as cold as your brother?"

Sasuke paused, staring in shock. Unconsciously, he let go of his Chidori, and the shimmering electric chakra fade away.

"You –" he began to say, but Sakura cut him off.

"You keep going on like you need no one, but you know what? You're nothing without other people, Sasuke! You're no better than the rest of us, you're only human. You need other people, just like we do. And I need you, Sasuke. I love you. What good is the Sharingan if you can't see something as simple as that?"

"Sakura…"

Sakura wiped away her tears roughly. "You need us, Uchiha! We can help you! You don't need to go down this dark road to Orochimaru. You can stay with us, and we'll help you get stronger. We'll even help you with your quest! And if you don't want us to help you fight Itachi, that's fine, but we'll be there, cheering you from the side. Don't be like him and destroy everything you have, Sasuke. Naruto needs you, and so do I."

There was a slight blur of movement, and Sasuke vanished from sight, appearing an instant later behind Sakura. It was so reminiscent of the night he had left Konoha, when he had knocked her out and placed her on that park bench. For a moment, she feared that he would do it again. Would he render her unconscious and leave her on the side of the valley? Or would he simply allow her to sink beneath the water and drown? Her heart seemed to stop in that instant.

She flinched as she felt him move behind her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to defend herself, but instead of a pressure on her neck, she felt his hands slid gently around her waist, pulling her against his warm chest.

"Sakura…" he murmured in a low, husky tone. "Did you really mean what you said?"

"Of course I did." She replied, her voice quiet. "We'll follow you to the ends of the earth, and we'll help you get to Itachi."

Sasuke chuckled behind her, and she felt a jolt run through her body. Did he really just do that?

"That's not what I meant." Sasuke clarified. "What I meant was; do you really love me?"

Now it was Sakura's turn to laugh.

"How can you ask that, Sasuke?" she asked. "Everyone knows that I've loved you for as long as I can remember, ever since…"

She trailed off as she felt his hot lips against the nape of her neck, trailing kisses there. She felt a warmth begin to spread through her body at the contact, and she closed her eyes.

'If I'm dreaming, don't let me wake up…' she thought to herself.

"I love you too, Sakura." Sasuke whispered against her skin, making a tingle run down her spine. She turned in his arms and wrapped her own arms around his neck so that they were facing each other. There was a moment where their eyes met, emerald green to vivid crimson, and she watched as they slowly faded back to black. He smiled then, a true smile, and she felt her heart melting. Without another thought, she crushed her lips to his in a needy kiss that was immediately reciprocated. She felt his lips moving against hers, and she wanted to die, for surely she had reached heaven.

For a long time the stood, wrapped around each other, and eventually they pulled apart. There was a moment of awkward silence between them as they felt their hearts racing. Sakura could see that Sasuke was uncertain of what to do next, so she took pity on him and made the first move, pressing her palm against the rather prominent bulge in his pants. His breath hissed out from between clenched teeth, and his eyes clouded over with lust. He pushed his body against hers roughly and slid a hand down her chest, cupping one of her breasts and rubbing it gently as his teeth and lips went to work on her neck. Sakura moaned out, grinding her hips against his and feeling his erection rubbing against her and making her moist. All thought left her head in that moment, and before she knew it she had pulled off her leggings and raised her skirt, and her hands were fumbling the zipper on his pant in a desperate attempt to remove them.

Releasing her breasts, Sasuke quickly took off his pants and shirt, throwing them onto the water without a care. Sakura pulled her dress over her head, before pulling back for a second to take in the sight in front of her.

Sasuke was perfection. His muscled chest and arms glistened with a thin sheen of sweat, and his large erection stood out proudly between his legs. It was his face, however, that captivated her. His hair was slightly tousled, falling over his pale skin, and his lips were parted as he took in her figure.

Sasuke's eyes raked over Sakura's body, taking in every exquisite detail, from the pink nipples of her breasts to the small patch of rosy pink hair where her legs met. Stretching out a hand, he ran his fingertips over her exposed breasts, eliciting a shiver of pleasure from the girl.

"Sasuke… I want you so bad right now…"

Sasuke moved his fingers lower, dipping them between her legs. He brushed over her pink hair and slowly slid a finger into her warm depths, making her cry out and push down on his finger, forcing it further into herself. With his other hand, he began to massage her breasts again as his finger slid in and out of her. After a few moments longer, she pulled away from him, her face flushed.

Without a word, she dropped to her knees in front of him. In that moment, Sasuke experienced a pleasure that he had never before known, as her mouth engulfed his cock and closed around it, sucking on it hard. He felt his whole body twitch as her head bobbed up and down, her tongue licking the soft underside of his cock. Her hand came up and began to fondle his balls, and after a few minutes he felt an intense pressure building in his loins.

"Sakura, I'm gonna –"

Sakura closed her lips tighter, forming a vacuum around his cock. Her mouth began to work even faster, and Sasuke's vision glazed over as his seed shot out into her eagerly awaiting mouth. Without removing her mouth, she swallowed his salty cum.

Panting, Sasuke lifted Sakura from her knees and lowered her to the water's surface, using his chakra to keep them both afloat. He kissed her roughly, and she grasped the base of his cock, leading him to her wetness. He slid in slowly, not wanting to hurt her, but it wasn't long before her legs wrapped around his back, digging her heels into the small of his back and forcing the rest of his erection into her. As he entered her completely, his vision became blurry and he had to clench his teeth to keep himself focused.

He allowed Sakura to determine the pace by using her legs to pull him into her. At first, it was slow and steady, but all too soon she was forcing him in faster and faster, raking her nails down his exposed chest. Likewise, Sasuke used his mouth and tongue on her breasts, running his tongue across the nipples before sucking them into his mouth. Sakura cried out again, grinding her hips down, onto him, and he felt a second orgasm building.

Sakura came first. She screamed his name and pushed down hard against him again and again, her face going red as she reached her climax. Sasuke followed soon after, coming deep inside of her with a few powerful thrusts. His sweaty head fell against her chest, his breathing labored. Sakura was still trembling underneath him, holding him in place so that he couldn't pull out of her.

"That was amazing…" Sakura said, her voice high and giddy. Sasuke made an appreciative noise and wrapped his arms around her back, not wanting to let go. He took a deep breath and lifted his head, looking into her eyes once more.

"I guess I have everything I need waiting for me in Konoha." He said quietly. "And only a fool would turn his back on you."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You're coming back?"

To answer her, Sasuke kissed her deeply.

For several minutes they stayed like that. After what seemed like an eternity, Sakura moved her hips against his again, and Sasuke's body responded of its own accord, craving more of her.

For hours, they laid on the water, reveling in each other's bodies, until, at last, the moon rose high above them, promising a new day on the horizon, and new beginnings for them.

The End