Hey guys! I am so sorry for the long wait. I have gotten the will to write again and so I looked at Forced Back and realized that I could do so much better with it. It is still a work in progress, but I got some chapters done and am uploading them now. Thanks for reading and please leave a review for me!

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Chapter 1

Sakura Haruno never used to fear the shadows. When she was younger, she knew that they were only the absence of light in certain places and, therefore, nothing to be afraid of.

The light would always chase the shadows away.

Now though, she was forced to look over her shoulder every few minutes, fearing what might lurk in the shadows. Afraid of what might be in hiding in the cover of darkness.

The 25-year-old woman ran a hand through her long pink hair, a habit she had recently developed when she was nervous. She walked quickly through the city streets after her shift at the hospital. She hated walking alone at night, but the woman who usually gave her a ride home had left earlier that night without telling Sakura and so she was left with no other alternative. The dark streets that were illuminated by the slight glow of the street lamps made the woman shiver uncomfortably. She really didn't like the dark, it brought too many memories back.

Something was wrong. He was supposed to be here already. That boy may be a lot of things, but careless wasn't one of them. Where was he? Sakura stared out the window into the ink black night, a worried frown on her face. The target this time was high profile and she had told him to take more than just Naruto and Neji, but he didn't listen just like always.

Suddenly the front door burst open and the sound of many footsteps and grunting reached her ears, freezing the pinkette in her spot. With shaking hands, she grabbed on to the first thing she could and that just so happened to be a baseball bat. Slowly she crept down the hall, bat raised ready to strike down the intruders. She turned the corner that led to the front hallway and the front door.

Standing in the open doorway stood two men that were supporting a third one between them.

"Sakura, he needs your help bad." She recognized that voice as Naruto's.

"The stubborn fool tried taking the guy on by himself." That judgmental tone was Neji's.

Sakura's eyes landed on the male between them, her mouth opened in silent horror.

She ran towards them and took him from Naruto and Neji.

"SASUKE!"

Sakura shook her head, trying to clear the memory from her mind. That was the past and this was the present. She shouldn't dwell on things that have already happened and let sleeping dogs lie.

Besides, thinking of them only ever brought the pink haired woman pain.

She visibly sagged in relief when her apartment came into her line of sight.

She walked up the stairs and unlocked the door, making sure to lock it behind her as she entered. She slipped out of her white lab coat and draped it over the arm of the couch. Sakura looked around her apartment with empty eyes.

Eyes as empty as her life.

Sakura remembered a time when her life was full of people and energy. There was never a dull moment with her family around and she used to long for time alone to herself.

Now that was all she had, time to herself. Sakura couldn't risk making new friends and quite frankly, she didn't want to. No one could replace the ones she'd lost. She spent her days being cold and aloof, not talking to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. She didn't used to be this way, but 2 years ago, someone forced her to leave her home, her family, and... the only man she had ever loved.

She used to be so full of happiness and life, despite the things she was involved in. She was quick to smile and even quicker to laugh, she would do her best to lighten up the heavy hearts of her family after they had annihilated yet another enemy that threatened them. With the help of a loud and obnoxious blonde man, she usually succeeded.

Sakura looked longingly at the tattoo on her right shoulder.

The one that forever affiliated her with a gang, her only family, The Demons.

She hasn't seen or talked to any of them in 2 years, granted she did everything in her power to hide herself from them. Sakura tried to imagine what they were all doing at that moment. She could see Ino's face scrunched up in irritation at something her boyfriend, Sai, had said, her blonde hair and blue eyes shining. Tenten would most likely be having a one-sided conversation with Neji. Lee would be telling his friend how unyouthful it was to ignore others. Kiba would be trying to have an argument with Shino, who would be silent as ever. Choji would be in the kitchen stuffing his face as usual and Shikamaru would be napping. Hinata would be shyly watching Naruto from across the room. While said knuckle head picked a fight with Sasuke.

Sasuke.

Immediately her head was filled with images of smirks, glares, smoldering onyx eyes, pitch black hair, and a body as deadly as it was beautiful. The 26-year-old male was not only the co-leader of The Demons, he was also Sakura's boyfriend.

At least he was, until she left one night without an explanation.

Although she had a good excuse for leaving, she knew that if Sasuke ever found her he would not be happy. He'd be pissed if she was honest about it. He was always very protective of her and people tended to mysteriously disappear after threatening her. Sakura never wanted to see or feel that anger directed at her.

She made her way to the kitchen to make herself a much-needed cup of tea with honey, when the smallest of sounds was heard coming from the bedroom down the small hallway to the left of the kitchen. No one was here but Sakura and she didn't own any animals either. She put down the cup she had gotten from the cabinet and grabbed a kitchen knife from the block by the stove. There were was nothing in her apartment that was of value to anyone, so if there was someone there, they were the ones she was running from.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she entered her bedroom. It was her body's reaction to invisible danger.

Someone or something was in the room with her.

"So this is where you've been hiding."

The lamp beside her bed flicked to life, shining on a pale face and cold black eyes.

Sakura stopped in the door way, stunned. Of all the people in the world, it just had to be him.

How the hell did he find her? Sakura was positive that she had covered her tracks perfectly. She never used credit cards, made sure she purchased perfect fake IDs, and she'd even dyed her hair blonde for the first year and a half! She knew he was good, but this was just ridiculous. Then again he wasn't just feared because of his strength and power, he was smart too.

Sasuke Uchiha wasn't a man you crossed without consequences.

"It took me longer than I thought it would to find you, Sakura. It's annoying."

The pink haired woman flinched a bit at the tone of his voice.

It was cold and empty, like the deepest depths of the ocean.

"Sasuke let me ex-"

"No. You left without a single word. Do you realize how worried I was about you?"

His words were cold and calm, but Sakura could sense the rage mingled with relief the hid just below the surface.

"You don't understand-"

"You're damn right I don't understand. I thought you loved me. How could you leave us without saying anything? Do you even care-"

"I did it for you guys!" Sakura yelled.

She hadn't meant to say that but it was too much to bare. How dare he lecture her about leaving when he has done the same thing to her so many times. She didn't want to tell him why she left, but now it was too late.

Sasuke wouldn't stop until he found out now.

He stood from where he was sitting and crossed the room in three strides, his now blazing eyes locked on her as if he'd never look away again. His large hands latched on to her upper arms in a vice like grip that refused to relent until she told him what he wanted to know.

"Sakura, what are you talking about?"

She tried to avoid his eyes, but Sasuke wouldn't have it. He made her look at him with her tear filled green eyes.

"I did it to protect you guys, but mostly to protect you, Sasuke. But you ruined it! All the effort I put in to keeping you safe just went out the window! Damn it, Sasuke, you idiot!" She cried into his chest.

All that time and effort she had spent was wasted now. The hours she spent agonizing over the situation now meant nothing because he had found her.

He waited for her to calm down enough to talk, then he sat her down on her bed and stood above her waiting for her explanation.

Sakura took a deep breath and started her story.

"Around the time that I left, I felt as if I were being followed. At first I chalked it up to paranoia, thinking that you were rubbing off on me, but then I was attacked by someone in an alley. I was able to fight them off, but he got away. I figured it was a failed attempt at mugging, but then I saw the same man outside of Tsunade's Bar, talking to some other man about me."

She took a deep breath and then continued.

"He was saying that he just needed another chance and that he would bring me to him. The other man shot him saying that failure wasn't tolerated."

She raised red rimmed eyes to meet Sasuke's stormy ones.

"They were trying to kidnap me to use against you and everyone else! I couldn't be the reason why my friends got hurt! I couldn't be the reason why you got hurt."

Sakura let out a sob and Sasuke sat on the bed and took Sakura into his arms, grateful that after 2 years she was back where she belonged.

With him.

"Sakura, who was it that threatened you?" he asked.

The woman's grip on his shirt tightened and she pressed closer into his side, as if to hide from whoever it was.

"I wasn't just hiding from you guys. I was also hiding from them."

"Sakura. Who. Was. It?"

The pink haired woman looked into his eyes and shivered at how merciless they looked.

"It was an alliance, Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed, growing tired of her evasions.

"Who Sakura?"

"The Akatsuki and the Snakes. They made an alliance to destroy us. You. The Demons. I had to run away and hide. I couldn't let them use me as leverage!"

Sasuke froze at the names of the two gangs that threatened his girl.

One was led by a man that did freaky experiments on people, Orochimaru, leader of the Snakes.

The other was someone that Sasuke knew very well. The man had not only forced his older brother Itachi to kill everyone in their family, but he then killed Itachi after he was of no use to him.

Madara Uchiha, Sasuke's uncle leader of the Akatsuki.

Sasuke held Sakura tightly in his arms, thinking about how terrified she must have been to carry this all on her own. He was so quick to blame her and judge her when she first left, that he hadn't even thought that there might have been a reason why she left.

"Come on. Let's go home." he said.

Sakura shook her head violently and tried to back away, but Sasuke wasn't about to let her go again.

"Sasuke didn't you just hear what-"

"Yes, I heard you, but the only way for you to be safe is for you to be surrounded by your family."

Sakura sat there dazed. Could she really go home and see everything and everyone again? Was that really possible?

"Sakura, we are here for you. You are our friend and apart of the family. You are the love of my life and nobody will ever hurt you. Not while I'm alive."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Sasuke gave her one of his rare tender smiles.

"Sakura, you have to have faith in us. We are family and nothing gets between that."

Then for the first time in 2 years, Sakura smiled. She grabbed a bag and started stuffing clothes from her closet and dresser into it. She then turned to see Sasuke hold his hand out for her to take. She did and felt as if her life were finally on its way back to normal. What she didn't notice was the figures hiding in the trees across the street. All she could see and hear was Sasuke.

"Let's go home."

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Thanks for reading and please, please, please leave a review for me!