The cliff underneath their feet felt fragile, the heavy rain shifting the soil to mud, the rock slippery and precarious to stand on. They stood together, shoulder-to-shoulder, save for their leader, who stood in front of them, white shirt slipping to reveal one pale, muscled shoulder, water glistening on his skin. They watched the battle beneath them with calculating eyes – wondering how risky it would be to attempt to slip away into the trees of the dark forest that lay behind them.

Sasuke tilted his head back slightly to see the battle in its entirety. There were hundreds of shinobi swarming en masse in a head-on collision. The defensive side was clearly visible – the shinobi in the thinner jackets being pushed back towards the rock face, pulling out dangerous techniques in desperation.

Hebi watched their leader cautiously, who seemed interested in the fight going on below them, black eyes scanning the crowd, occasionally brushing water out of his eyes impatiently as the rain poured on, heedless of the growing desperation of the shinobi.

"An invasion." Sasuke muttered, more to himself than the others. It was obvious. None of the shinobi had attempted to flee, meaning there was more to lose here than lives. What could be important enough to risk an entire army?

Karin took a careful step forward, mindful of the slippery rock underfoot, and said timidly, "Sasuke-kun? Shouldn't we leave? I mean, it's a bit dangerous…"

She was so loud and obnoxious most of the time, but when Sasuke got like this, quiet, intense and unapproachable, she felt so confused and afraid – Sasuke was a wild card. You couldn't truly call him unemotional, in the short time she had known him, he had displayed one emotion in particular: anger. It wasn't easy to rouse his anger, but when it flared Karin ducked. She had enough self-preservation to know not to bait a wild animal. Because that was what Sasuke was, wild and dangerous. And now, stuck in the dark and freezing cold, she was forcibly reminded that he was the most unpredictable person she had ever met.

Sasuke didn't reply, didn't make any sign that he had heard her.

Karin pursed her lips, and then, so slowly and subtly even Sasuke couldn't feel it, she probed his chakra with her own. What she felt immediately was intense interest, fascination… he was actually studying the battle, presumably searching for something his Sharingan could copy. But then suddenly, so suddenly and severely it jolted her, his chakra shuddered in shock, unexpected and unpleasant, his whole aura rippling with disquiet.

At the same time, his head had jerked to the right, his Sharingan now activated, red eyes sweeping the battlefield until he found what he was looking for, his chakra now thrumming with confusion and annoyance.

Karin followed his stare and the chakra his own had entwined with unconsciously, a clean, soothing medicinal feel to the energy Sasuke had suddenly focused on.

A young girl no older than Karin herself was on the battlefield, pink hair shining in the rain, fists up defensively, spinning around to snap a kick at a shinobi who had been sneaking up on her. Karin couldn't see much – her own eyesight coupled with rain and dark made it impossible to discern the girl's features. Still, for the girl to have caused such a violent reaction in Sasuke just by the sight of her alone, she must be someone he had known once in the past.

Karin bit back the sudden flare of jealousy at the thought of any past girl, and took another step closer to Sasuke.

"Do you know her?" She asked curiously.

Sasuke turned his head to glare at her, his eyes spinning ominously, his mouth a dark, unhappy line.

"Yes." He stated, his tone making it obvious that this girl held no happy memories for him. Karin relaxed.

"She shouldn't be here." He said, surprising Karin. Sasuke normally had to be prodded, cajoled and coaxed into merely snapping, 'go away, Karin,' so it was odd to hear him speak up without being forced.

He sounded deeply irritated that this girl would dare to be fighting anywhere near him.

The ground shifted, echoes and reverberations murmuring along the ground, stones slipping and falling off the edge of the cliff.

The girl had just punched the ground, creating a crater with just her fist!

Karin gave Sasuke a shocked look, which he ignored. He didn't seem surprised at all.

The shinobi who hadn't been killed by that one deadly blow were using their own jutsu to defend themselves, ripping up boulders to throw at the girl.

She dodged the immense rocks and flew at a group of shinobi. One of them hurled a massive boulder larger than himself at her. She carried on speeding towards him, one fist outstretched to obliterate the boulder without even slowing her sprint, bits of rock flying everywhere.

"Karin, Juugo." He suddenly snapped, eyes still on the girl, "Go and see what is taking Suigetsu so long."

Karin gave Juugo a deeply unimpressed look. Having to go and tug Suigetsu from whatever flooded river he was undoubtedly enjoying with the silent giant whilst Sasuke stood making eyes at some monstrous girl was not what she had planned to do tonight. Tonight was supposed to be when they made camp on high ground. Karin had planned to sneak into Sasuke's bedroll –

"Go." Sasuke glared at them both, his tone sharp and angry.

Oh, angry Sasuke. Karin shuddered and backed up into Juugo, who kindly took her arm and led her into the forest, ignoring her annoyed glaring.

Sasuke stood alone, shirt soaked through, head held high, red eyes glaring through the gloom at the distant figure of the girl he used to know in a past life.

xxxxxxxx

The daimyo was short and sort of cheerful-looking, with a sharp tongue and a talent for coaxing chuckles out of Sakura, who normally tried to keep a friendly rapport with her clients, but felt too exhausted to keep up the friendly, amusing conversation up for long.

When the day had begun it had been sunny and clear, lulling Sakura into false sense of security, daring to hope the day may actually go as planned.

She had been tasked with accompanying a local lord to Konoha, ensuring his safety and comfort through any means. It spoke volumes of Tsunade's confidence in her that she had been allowed to go with only a small squad with her for back up.

Except now that back up was dead and the invading forces were pushing the fight closer and closer to her client's hiding place.

Yes, she had managed to stumble onto a battlefield, oblivious daimyo in tow.

Stupid.

She'd secured the man in a small, muddy hollow with a bush mostly obscuring his sodden, miserable form. With the shinobi focused on invading/defending, it was unlikely they would poke around the bushes looking for someone to kill.

And yet, here they came.

Sakura gritted her teeth and hauled the man out of the hollow with one hand, sharp ears catching the sound of the battle growing closer as more and more of the shinobi were snuffed out, chakra flaring and dying all around the forest.

The sky was inky black, stars white and clear as though sewn into a sheet of pure black cloth and hung up above the trees.

"Look, you're going to have to crawl, very quietly and slowly, over to where we hid the carriage, OK? You can drive it, the horses won't have bolted, they're trained for battle situations. Head west for another mile and a half, you should be there in no time." Sakura said urgently, hands on the little man's shoulder, urging him to understand quickly.

He looked up at her, expression fearful yet confused by something, "Why can't you drive? Are you hurt?"

This was the moment that shinobi inevitably had to put the client before themselves.

"Just take the reins, head west. You can't miss Konoha." Sakura said firmly.

She saw realisation dawn on him. He had already seen the rest of their team cut down, and now he was going have to leave one on a battlefield. Sakura hoped he didn't sue for emotional suffering.

She'd managed to coax him into crawling through the undergrowth, sniffling from fear and worry.

OK. Time for a big distraction to cover his escape. Fear slunk low and heavy in her stomach, making every step hard and uneven.

She pushed her way through the trees until she struck gold, a massive clearing teeming with shinobi.

She kicked out a man who had been sneaking up on her, breaking his neck and felling him swiftly. She had been noticed by now, groups of shinobi creeping towards her. The fear leapt in her stomach but adrenaline kicked in and smothered the sensation of terror she always felt in battle. Always, right from the start of her career as a shinobi, she could never see any fight as anything but a near-death experience.

Rain was dripping into her eyes and she couldn't even wipe it away as she ducked, weaved and punched her way through great swathes of the crowd.

She tensed her entire body, every muscle clenching in anticipation of the blow, then threw her fist down at the ground, shockwaves rippling through her arm as her fist ripped through rock and dirt. Shinobi all around leapt away, a few not as lucky, sinking below or being crushed by flying, jagged pieces of rock.

Time to get serious.

After at least half an hour of solid, uninterrupted fighting, Sakura was beginning to tire, yet she continued on. The remaining shinobi were few in number, yet strong.

One in particular was giving her a lot of trouble, capable of firing ice bullets from his hands, incredibly fast and hard. Dodging was getting gradually more difficult.

Sakura sprang backwards, landing on her hands and flipping into the air to avoid the hail of ice rocketing towards her.

She threw a spray of kunai whilst upside down, shattering several ice bullets before they could strike her, landing on her feet and rolling away from yet another barrage of ice.

Pain splintered along her arm, the bone cracking and skin splitting as one of the bullets hit its target. She sucked in a breath, tears of pain in her arms. She directed chakra to her arm, trying to numb the sensation before the agony could overcome her.

Shit, the arm was broken. She dived behind a tree to stop herself getting impaled on a particularly large spike of ice. When had it become just her and this bloody ice nin? The fight must have been taken elsewhere, to even ground, where she wasn't busy tearing up the rock beneath them and throwing it at people.

This was one of her worst match-ups. She relied heavily on her super strength, so close-combat was her best kind. This was long-range assault, impossible to attack and exhausting to dodge.

She ducked around the tree and managed to stagger out of the path of six bullets, hearing them rip through the earth behind her on impact.

The ice nin didn't seem to be running out of chakra any time soon.

Sakura ran, dodged and rolled, using those all-important evasive skills Tsunade had drummed into her. Her skin was tinged blue from cold, the constant shower of rain and icy bullets spreading bitter chill through her veins.

Her foot slipped and she fell to one knee, just for one second, but that was long enough for the nin to launch a bullet right at her face.

She threw her arms in front of her face, flinching back from the icy blow.

Her eyes opened halfway, slices of green visible as she lowered her arms when the expected impact didn't come.

A man stood in front of her, his white shirt soaked through and sticking to his skin, his sword raised to block the bullets from hitting Sakura's face, his stance casual.

Despite the dark, despite the haze of heavy grey rain, Sakura recognised him, would know that man anywhere, night or day, rain or shine.

Sasuke.

Her heart felt as though it was bulging inside her chest, the shock gripping her where she knelt, her eyes glued to the back of his head, silently willing him to turn around, to prove who he was.

He vanished.

Sakura let out a small breath, a cloud of mist escaping her mouth as she looked wildly around her, confused and scared – had she just imagined Sasuke had saved her? Her arm stung viciously.

Then a small wet noise drew her attention.

Sasuke withdrew his blade from the ice nin's back, wiping the blood on the fallen man's shirt with a look of mild distaste.

Sakura felt herself shrink back as he looked at her with those horribly empty eyes. Bonds are a weakness, he'd said back then when they'd met for the first time in years, before he'd attempted to drive his sword into Naruto's back.

His sword glistened now in the moonlight. He hadn't quite managed to clean it completely; Sakura could still see streaks of red on the metal, smudged by his fingerprints. She felt terror seep through her just as quickly as the cold had descended upon the clearing, rime and ice tipping every blade of glass and painting the surface of the ground from the enemy shinobi's ice attacks.

Sasuke twisted his wrist, spinning his sword effortlessly, sending his weapon flying into his other hand, his movements fluid and smooth. His eyes were completely black, so much so that they looked like little shadowy pits in his pale face from so far away.

Sakura stood up, feeling grateful she hadn't slipped or made a fool of herself yet. Her mind hadn't quite grasped the magnitude of the situation. All she knew was that Sasuke, someone whose company she would have felt completely safe in just a few years ago, was scaring her more with his dark, empty eyes and spinning blade, than the ice nin with his bloodlust had minutes before.

"What are you doing here?" He began to move towards her, his rolling, unhurried gait reminding her of a predator stalking its prey.

She took a step back, the frightened expression frozen on her face, "I accidentally fell into a war, I think. Sasuke-kun, please, please… just come back…" Her voice broke on the last few words. She turned her face away, pressing her hand against her eyes and breathing in deeply, trying to control herself.

His steps were crisp, decisive and drawing closer with every second. She pushed her drenched hair out of her face, knowing exactly how bedraggled she must look right now, slightly exasperated that even now, sixteen years old and in this situation, she still cared if she looked bad.

She was looking at the floor, anything but at the familiar angles of his face, the strong cheekbones, the hard jawline – the older, harder parody of the boy she once loved. And if she was honest with herself, she felt excited, her heart fluttering as he drew near.

A hand touched her hair and she nearly jumped out of her skin, big, childish green eyes flying up to meet his narrowed red Sharingan.

"That's it." Sasuke said softly, tomoes spinning, "You are dead."

Sakura tried to step back, legs shaking, but he stepped with her without hesitation. Her chin was tucked in, her head down, her mouth wobbling and thinking inexplicably, this is not a game.

"That's how easy it would be for me to kill you," He continued, "You looked me in the eyes. Do you not have any survival instincts, even now? Or is there something else on your mind?"

His voice lowered, almost a whisper. She couldn't look away from his eyes, genjutsu or not, "If you leave," He said, a mocking lilt to his words, "To me, it will be the same as being alone."

Her words.

The last words she had ever said to him in Konoha.

"Take me with you," He continued, "I promise, I'll do my best to make you happy for the rest of our lives."

"Stop it." She said, her voice a horribly weak, timid little thing.

Sasuke's frown twisted up into a smirk, "That's your weakness, Sakura. I could kill you now. You wouldn't stop me, because you," His hand brushed her hair back in a scornful parody of a comforting, tender gesture, his fingers hard and cold against her face, "value my life above your own. Or am I wrong?"

Sakura quivered, tears spilling over and trickling down her face. She'd thought she was so strong. With her new strength, her new sensei, her self-worth. Just the sight of him was enough to erase all of that. All of the hard work, the desperate attempts to get somewhere in her life, to catch up to her two teammates, terrified of being left alone.

Valuing her life above Sasuke's. He was mocking her love, that was obvious, but he'd mistaken something.

"Yes." Sakura spoke up, a little more strength in her voice, "You're wrong. You aren't the only person I value in my life. I'd die for Naruto," The hand in her hair stilled, moving back, "For my parents. For Kakashi-sensei, for Ino. I know you think bonds are weak, but I would… would much rather have people to care about than live alone…" Even people she barely knew, blurry faces from her childhood, like her uncle, her aunt, all people she cared about.

"That's because you are weak." He hissed, his face in hers in a way that would have been a dream come true to her once. Once, but not now, "If someone had a kunai to my throat and told you to kill yourself, you would do it. You would be the one to die."

"For you," Sakura said quietly, "So it would be worth it."

A surprised silence.

Sasuke moved back slightly, then scoffed, "You are still the annoying child I left behind. I didn't believe it was possible you wouldn't have changed at all."

"I'm a chuunin now," Sakura said, looking at him a little sadly, because he'd never really understood her, "If you can't see how I've changed, than that's only because you weren't there to see it happen."

Sasuke's eyes were hard, no emotion flickering in those dark depths, even as his Sharingan whirred and whirred around as he looked at her.

His other hand traced her wounded arm, lightly yet with still enough pressure to make her hiss in pain.

"I think it's sad," She whispered, pain audible in her voice, "That you would give us all up so easily. I don't understand why you had to leave. What are you going to do after you kill him?"

He was silent.

"It's none of my business. But I think you didn't plan it out enough –"

"Be quiet," The hand in her hair suddenly tugged painfully, pulling her face closer to his, "You would never understand. You still have your parents. You are a weak, pathetic excuse for a ninja, concerned more about being a good wife to someone who feels nothing for you than training to get stronger."

"Wanting to make you happy doesn't make me worthy of your scorn." She told him mildly, "I think… I think I'm ready to find someone who wants me back." She didn't know why she was voicing this aloud, let alone to Sasuke of all people, but it was such a novel concept, loving someone who wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, "I don't think I can wait any longer, Sasuke-kun. Not for you to love me back, but for you to stop… stop being so selfish. Because that's what it is, isn't it? Selfish. I-Itachi… he hurt a lot of people too, I know. But you aren't doing anything noble by doing the same…"

His blade was at her throat in a flash, "You cannot compare leaving a village to massacring your entire family," Sasuke snapped, his voice so icy and venomous that she swallowed and tried to back off, "I never wanted your love. I never encouraged any of you to get attached to me. I just wanted to get strong so I could kill him."

The sword was so cold that its touch stung her bare skin.

Sakura reached up to touch it. His eyes didn't leave hers, not even as her fingers caressed the metal.

She squeezed her hand into a fist, and the metal folded beneath her grip with a shriek.

"You don't know anything about strength." Sakura told him.

Sasuke jerked his sword away, incensed, staring at the crumpled sword in his hands, her fingerprints visible in the warped metal.

"And you don't know anything about me." She took a firm step backwards. He didn't follow.

And then he vanished with a hiss, just like that night.

The moon was full, just like that night had been, but unlike that night, she felt hands on her shoulders and a breath at her ear. Always mocking. Mocking whatever it was she felt for him, using it against her.

"If you die fighting Itachi, you'll die a tool," She cried out, "He wanted you to go after him and you'll only be doing what he wants –"

Fingertips at her throat. One squeeze and she'd be dead.

"Go on," She said boldly, shocking herself, "Do it. Kill me. Then run away. You're good at that."

"You'd just let me?" He muttered at her back.

Sakura let out a sigh, exasperated and full of self-loathing.

Sasuke's fingers squeezed lightly and she exploded into smoke, leaving a log behind.

She reappeared at the other side of the clearing, something almost proud in her stance, her chin held up, his fists clenched. He was used to seeing her slumped down, her eyes on the ground, her hands stroking through her hair timidly, her knees shaking in fear.

"Credit me with some survival instincts," She said bitterly, looking at him from across the clearing, "If you remember, I'm the smart one."

"Smart," A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth, "Oh, Sakura. Is that what they told you?"

"No," She said evenly, "Come home, Sasuke."

Her arm ached to the bone.

Sasuke was shaking his head, "You'll die, Sakura."

"Not alone." Her words were abrupt, but her meaning was clear.

Sasuke looked at her, not a single emotion gracing his handsome face, even though his words had torn through her.

"Goodbye." She whispered when he disappeared, and maybe it was just the rustle of the leaves above her, but she thought she heard an answering reply.

Goodbye.

xxxxxxxx

Five years later

Konoha was still the same, even after so many years. The same proud fortress of a village, housing some of the best and worst nin in the Land of Fire. He'd been born and raised from within these walls. He could hear people shouting and laughing from within the village, could smell the salt of something cooking in the marketplace, the phantoms from his childhood still inhabiting the village.

He walked down the main path to the village, the familiar breeze lifting his hair gently from his face. He knew he was being watched closely and was aware the alarm would have already been raised.

Ah.

A team of Anbu in front of him, blocking the path. A woman with twin buns and a cat mask held a spiked maul with expert control and stance. Another woman with long, dark hair and a bird mask stood in the middle, her stance haughty and confident, and the third, a male, his posture a mere slouch, his mask a deer.

Itachi smirked, raising his hands to indicate he had no weapons.

"I surrender." He said casually, "Can I speak with Haruno Sakura?"

New stoooooooory!

Oh hello plot bunny, how nice to meet – OW! Oh my God, ow! Stop biting me! Stop!

Pretty much my reaction when this plot bunny was forcing me to write this despite EVERY OTHER BLOODY FANFICTION I NEED TO UPDATE. ARGH.

I realised something the other day.

I really do try to keep the characters, well, in character, but whenever I wrote Sakura, I slipped into Fanon!Sakura, the one who was sarcastic, stuck up for herself and mysteriously didn't give a shit about Sasuke, bewildering him and causing him to realise he luuuuuurved her. Oh dear.

Silly me.

Canon!Sakura is flirty, a bit selfish but with good intentions, cries very easily and has a hot temper. She's just as loud and prone to overreacting as Naruto – in fact, they are eerily similar.

So who the hell have I been writing about?

No longer!

This story is Sakura developing, and this scene in particular is the catalyst for her change. But I'm going to try my best to stick with canon.

And yes, Itachi really did just wander up to the Konoha main entrance and casually surrender to the people who have been hunting him for years. I know. I felt like it was something he'd do XD

Naruto's the Hokage!

Whoooo!

And the three Anbu there seem oddly familiar!

I'm happy with several characters' five years later selves, but do you have any requests for any characters? Like, how do you see them five years after the manga's over?

I'm fixed on Ino, Naruto, Lee and Kakashi, but the other characters' lives are flexible at the moment.

Sakura and the others will be about twenty-one.

I've planned this whole story out so I'm happy! Yay!

My results from my University stuff are coming back and so far I've passed everything… really scared of failing!

Sakura told Sasuke a few home-truths, but so did he, so it's all good.

So I have a written record: Sakura will be, flirty, good at talking herself out of situations, a bit of a gambler, compassionate, hot-headed and intelligent, and now, at twenty-one, much better at standing up for herself.

This is an AU, by the way, so if I diverge from canon… well, good.

Who else is disliking the way the manga is heading? It's hardly a spoiler that Sasuke turns out to be a total douchenozzle, but oh look, wimpy Sakura's back and she's brought her tears and uselessness!

Where is the Sakura who KILLED SASORI? She killed Sasori!

Oh, and in the manga, they're all making a big deal out of Tsunade being able to heal without using handseals, um, does anyone else remember Sakura healing her stomach whilst IMPALED ON A SWORD, without handseals? Yeah, me too. And that was way back in the Rescue Gaara arc. Kishimoto, please be consistent.

I also don't like what he's done to the single most badass female, Anko. Oh, you're having the life sucked out of you? Marvellous. Lying down unconscious like a swooning wench so we can all get a great view of your rack? Fanservice vs feminism, guess who wins!

By the way, if Sasuke was out of character in this chapter, it's only because he was.

XD

Oh yeah, and Itachi's reaction to Sasuke being all YOU DIED AND I WAS LIKE, SO SAD, SO I'M GONNA GO AND KILL KONOHA DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU LOVE KONOHA was ridiculous, he didn't even give him a slap or at least look exasperated. I'd have disowned the fucker there and then.

Sorry.

Fan rage.

It burns.

Quick poll for fun: Who is better, Sasuke or Itachi? List your reasons why.

A) Sasuke

B) Itachi

C) Chicken pie.

See you later, my dears :)