A/N: We're finally at the last chapter! Please make note of the rating increase, the end of this chapter becomes very explicit.

Following the emotional introduction with Sasuke's soulmate where Naruto and Karin discovered they were family, the group had spent hours talking about their lives. While Sasuke told Karin stories of growing up in the village and the history behind their home, Naruto made sure to tone down the image of majesty with the reality of living in a village that embodied chaos. Sakura was the only one who tried to paint a humble picture of the city, attempting to find a middle ground between the two extremes.

When Sasuke told Karin the history behind the stone faces and the legacy the Hokage left behind, Naruto made sure to temper the illustrious impression with the fact he had frequently given the Third Hokage nosebleeds with his Sexy Jutsu - a story that Karin listened to with apt horror - before, of course, giving her his speech on how he was destined to be the Sixth Hokage. Sakura, trying to find a modest median, told Karin about how the village had begun as a treaty between the Senju and the Uchiha but how shinobi and civilians alike now lived together in harmony.

After a handful of stories from their childhood, Sakura - concerned her new friend was getting whiplash from the wild pacing of their tales - had asked her what her childhood had been like. The fact Karin had struggled to find a story to share with them, stating that she didn't want to bring down the mood, made Sakura's chest ache.

Instead, she asked about what it was like living on the island and if she had traveled anywhere interesting. This was met with a flurry of stories of gentle adventures and tales of beautiful scenery, the Uzumaki's travels across the countries filled with colorful experiences that felt more like they belonged in a fairy tale. While she talked about towering stone fortresses, sprawling cave systems, stormy islands, and the curious life she would find thriving in these hidden worlds, Karin had a content smile on her face that put everyone's hearts at ease.

It was hours before Sakura finally noticed the sun had set and to remember that she had wanted to visit Shisui since he had just returned home earlier that day. Promising to drop by again the next day for lunch, Sakura said her goodbyes and welcomed Karin into the village and into her little family with a hug.

Excusing herself, she left Sasuke - and now Karin's - house, walking down a familiar path towards a familiar home closer to the heart of the Uchiha district. As she walked, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips. She couldn't be happier to have Karin become a part of the village, the unusual but kind woman making Sasuke and Naruto happy. She had always wondered who would be the one to say Sasuke's hilarious soul mark and finding out it was the sharp tongued and even sharper witted Uzumaki was something that brought her a great amount of joy.

Karin would fit right in.

With a smile still lingering on her face, she walked up the pathway to Shisui's home and knocked on the door. It was only a few moments later that the door swung open, revealing the also smiling face of her own soulmate.

"You look happy," Shisui greeted, leaning down for a kiss.

Giving him a peck on the lips, she replied, "I'm going to ruin a surprise for you."

"Color me very interested," he laughed before gesturing inside, "Why not ruin it for me inside over some tea?"

"That sounds wonderful."

"What are the chances? Not only did Sasuke finally find his soulmate but she's an Uzumaki?" Shisui commented after Sakura told him of Karin before laughing, "I should give Itachi and Izumi some slack for keeping this gem away from me."

"To be fair, I think she just got here yesterday afternoon. The Fifth might have wanted Sasuke to be the one to reveal the big news," Sakura tried, smiling against the rim of her cup before taking a sip.

"Don't worry, I'll pretend to be surprised," he promised with a wink before dramatically lamenting, leaning back against the couch they shared, "Although I can't help but feel hurt that my baby cousin didn't invite me over to meet his soulmate too."

She laughed. "He probably didn't want you scaring her off."

He snorted in amusement, propping up his arm on the back of the couch and resting his chin in his hand.

"She'll have plenty of chances to get scared off as she meets the rest of the family." He paused, his eyebrows briefly furrowing in legitimate concern before he rapidly changed the subject before she could comment. "You were right though."

"About?" she asked, setting her glass back on the coffee table in front of them.

Shisui held up three fingers. "These things certainly do come in threes."

"I told you," Sakura agreed with a nod, "Even since Ino told me she found her soulmate, I was waiting to find out who would be third."

"They should be happy we set such a great example," he hummed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"I'm happy to take the lead," she purred with a hidden meaning as she nestled closer, tilting her head up to kiss him.

They shared one kiss then two. Then another and another, their kisses slowly lingering and growing more urgent until her heart was racing in her chest and her head felt like it was spinning. She basked in the feeling, searching out more in the arms and lips of his soulmate, her hand sliding up his chest and making him shiver.

Shisui hummed against her lips, the deep grumble sounding more like a groan and making her belly flutter, before slowly pressing her against the couch. Heat grew in her chest at the feeling of him above her, her hands growing bolder as he kissed her into the cushions.

Sakura heard him take a sharp breath as she skimmed her fingertips down his chest and stomach before circling around his back and pulling him closer. His sound of bliss sent pride and heat down her spine before he took her breath away by swiping his tongue across her lips.

She felt him smile when she gasped, something that lit a fire of challenge within her. Slowly wrapping her leg around his thigh, she made him shiver, before she nipped his bottom lip. While she succeeded in stealing his smug smile, his heated, returning kiss and his hand wrapping around the back of her neck to pull her closer dragged a breathy whimper from her. A quiet sound that encouraged him to deepen the kiss until their tongues finally met.

Even though Sakura's chest and her cheeks burned, the heat growing within her pushed her onwards, pulling him closer and encouraging him further. Her head was spinning as they kissed, his tongue against hers and his body heavy above her sending pleasure racing through her. When her nails dug into the strong line of his back, he breathed in sharply, his lips hovering above hers for a heartbeat before beginning to draw a line across her cheek to her ear and down her neck.

Shisui's breath was hot against her skin as he pressed an open mouthed kiss to her throat, her own breath coming fast as his body moved against hers.

"I can feel your heart racing," he hummed against her skin, his voice rough as his lips lingered on her pulse point.

"I can't imagine why," she gasped in return.

He paused for a moment before snorting in amusement, the Uchiha hiding his face in her neck, something that made Sakura burst into giggles. They both began to laugh, their passion slowly fading as their amusement grew. While their affection for one another remained unchanged, they had both hit the limits of what they were ready for in that moment. Once their fit of laughter finally settled into the occasional giggle, Shisui raised his head, leaning up to press a quick peck to her lips before flopping back against the couch next to her.

Pulling her against his chest to cuddle instead, Sakura happily nestled up to him, her breathing still coming fast and her body still heated. Pressing her ear to his chest, she found the sound of his rapid heartbeat, the evidence of his own excitement making her laugh once more before she settled against him comfortably.

Despite them being soulmates, they were both still new at their romance. She was glad they were on the same page since, even though the tension slowly uncoiling in her belly was far from unpleasant, she wasn't sure she was ready for much more. She was more than happy to instead cuddle as they normally did, listening to his heart gradually calm as he held her, his face nestled against her hair.

As Sakura listened to his heartbeat, however, her thoughts were drawn to something far more worrisome. Thoughts that she had been pushing to the side as she instead tried to just enjoy being with him. Thoughts of how many times his heart nearly stopped beating for good. Thoughts of the time it had been silenced and the soulmark in the crook of her thigh had been whisked away.

Anxiety welled within her as her thoughts escalated and she briefly wondered if he could hear her thoughts when his arms tightened around her. She could feel as tension slowly rose within him but she refused to bring up the questions that she had had since that day all those years ago.

"I'm happy you're here," she muttered against his chest instead, feeling as he stopped breathing for a moment.

"Me too…" Shisui whispered into her hair, sounding like that wasn't what he wanted to say.

Instead of replying, she nestled closer, wanting to enjoy the fact he was here now instead of worrying about the past. She didn't want to ruin the moment they had now by bringing up old fears.

A question for another time, Sakura decided, even as the weight of her worries grew heavier and heavier in her chest.

Shisui and Sakura said their goodbyes to Sasuke and Karin as the pair left Shisui's home following a visit. Sasuke was due to return to his mission hunting down the remaining Akatsuki members and had wanted to pick Shisui's brain on a handful of techniques regarding the sharingan. Karin and Sakura, on the other hand, needed no excuse to spend time together after developing an easy friendship.

While Shisui had expected there was something deeper to Sasuke's oddly specific questions than he let on as he grilled him over theoretical applications of the sharingan in regards to space time techniques, the elder Uchiha was too distracted to press him for any meaningful information.

Over the past few weeks, he had noticed how Sakura had slowly grown more and more tense, her mounting unhappiness making his own anxiety rise. It was obvious that something was on her mind, something that brought her a great amount of distress, but she continued to keep it to herself. Even during casual interactions like the friendly conversation she had with Karin over pastries - the two laughing and chatting about Karin's laboratory near the hospital - there was a hidden tension just beneath the surface of her expression.

He could see it in the lines of her smile and the crinkle of her eyes that her thoughts were elsewhere. If he was honest with himself, there was no question as to what was bringing her so much stress. Nonetheless, he had hoped that he could put off this conversation for longer. Forever would have been nice, although he knew it was unreasonable to hope for such a thing from a woman such as Sakura.

Shisui thought back to their first date and how she had inadvertently brought up the time he had died. Not to mention how distraught she had been when he had nearly been killed just recently. He knew that it was those concerns that weighed her down now and, more than that, it had been questions about that night that had been haunting her for over a decade.

She deserved to know the truth. He knew that, he had known that. He also knew that he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell it; if he was ready to talk aloud about something he had kept secret for most of his life. He wasn't sure he'd ever be ready...

When Sasuke and Karin left, instead of sitting on the couch and nestling up with one of her many books spread across his living room table, Sakura had excused herself to go sit outside on the porch. He gave her some time to herself while he tidied up, convincing himself it was time to give her some privacy when in reality it was time he needed to further rehearse the conversation he had been planning for months.

Tonight would be the night he finally told her everything.

Folding a throw blanket and returning it to the back of the couch, he took a deep breath, steeling himself for the conversation to come, before stepping outside. He immediately spotted Sakura sitting at the end of the elevated walkway that bordered his home, his soulmate looking up at the starry night sky and the crescent moon. A crescent moon that always reminded him of that night, the night he had sacrificed everything to prevent a war.

A thousand different greetings flashed through his mind as he tried to figure out how to talk to her in that moment. "Beautiful night tonight", "Sasuke and Karin seem to be doing well", "Dinner was delicious". No matter what he came up with, it all felt like hollow platitudes that couldn't even touch upon the weight that sat on both of their hearts.

Instead, Shisui just walked forward and sat next to her silently, his gaze rising up to the sky to look up at the crescent moon with her.

"I think it's time you heard everything," he finally said, Sakura's gaze finally breaking away from the sky to fall on him.

"What are you talking about?" she answered, wary.

Shisui met her eyes, attempting a weak smile that didn't fool either of them. "The answers to the questions that have been bothering you ever since your soulmark disappeared for a night fourteen years ago."

Sakura's eyes widened, her lips parting as if to speak although no words came. Instead, she closed her mouth with a concerned expression, waiting for him to continue instead.

"I'm not sure where to start but…" Shisui took a deep breath, still not sure if he was ready himself to talk about what happened then. "When I was sixteen, a war was about to start. Not one between nations... but one between my clan and the village. My family was planning a coup."

Sakura gasped softly, bringing a hand to her mouth to conceal her shocked expression.

"I can understand why to be honest. You can't see it now, with Itachi being the Hokage, but my clan was once the outcasts of the village. I was told that, ever since the rule of the Second Hokage - ever since the founding of the village if you consider the desertion of Madara Uchiha - we have been unwelcome."

"For as long as I could remember growing up, we were untrusted. People considered us unstable and dangerous, like one wrong step would make us snap like rabid animals," he explained, unable to keep the very real hurt he still remembered from that time from slipping into his voice, "We were never allowed any real political power and we were only given useless positions of no real substance. Even the police station was a farce where all of our decisions would be overturned."

"I understood why they wanted it to stop. But I also knew that a coup would kill hundreds - maybe even thousands - of innocent people. It could spark another world war and I wasn't sure if anyone would survive. So I did everything I could to stop it…" Shisui continued before finally turning to face Sakura again, worried by what he'd find in her expression.

When he found nothing but her attention, her understanding, and her worry, he continued, "Do you remember the battle between the Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura?"

"Of course. It rained ash for weeks. We nearly had to evacuate the village since they were struggling to put the fires out for so long," Sakura answered, her eyebrows furrowed as she remembered the fallout.

"Danzo, the man who tried to assassinate the Third Hokage… Before his attack, he tried to kill me too."

"He…" Sakura started, "Why would he do such a thing?"

"Because I was going to stop the coup," Shisui answered simply.

"I don't understand…"

"My most powerful jutsu is a genjutsu that I can use with my Mangekyo Sharingan - the ultimate form of my clan's bloodline trait. It's a technique that, well, to put it simply, it's... mind control," Shisui cleared his throat, knowing that the fact he was not only capable of something so morally ambiguous but that he had used this technique was something that made people uncomfortable, "I was going to use it on the person who was leading the coup to put an end to the revolt. I was going to use it on Sasuke and Itachi's father."

"Fugaku?" Sakura parroted in shock, "Fugaku was leading the coup?"

"He was. He was willing to do anything to bring my family out of the shadows, to take the respect of the village even if it was through fear. And I was willing to do anything to stop him. Little did I know Danzo would do anything to stop me."

"Why? What did Danzo have to gain from the village going to war with itself?" she asked.

"The destruction of my clan and the corpses of my family members. He would sacrifice anything and anyone to rule the village. And he had discovered how to steal our sharingan and use it for himself. He very much wanted my eyes…" Shisui brought a hand to his eye, shuddering at the memory of the sensation of Danzo ripping it from its socket. "When he attacked me after I had gotten approval from the Third to use my jutsu on Fugaku, he succeeded in stealing one."

"After he ambushed me, I realized that he wouldn't stop until I was dead and that I could no longer go through with my plan. So, I found Itachi. I gave him my remaining eye and… And I…" Shisui felt his throat tightening as he struggled to get the words out, to finally say out loud what he had done in his desperation to save the people he loved, "I killed myself."

Sakura's quiet gasp felt like a knife sliding between his ribs. He felt her warm hand settle on his knee, trying to comfort him. When he looked to her and saw the unshed tears in her eyes, he had to turn away, unable to meet her gaze with the lump growing in his throat.

Shisui tried to force out a laugh as he rubbed the back of his head, trying to play off his humiliation as simple embarrassment. He tried to fall back on humor as he normally did in situations like these but all the jokes he tried to muster tasted like ash on the back of his tongue. It felt wrong, his fake smile falling as he refused to meet her eyes.

"I threw myself from a cliff and landed in the river below," he explained instead, unable to hide behind his humor and instead choosing to tell his soulmate the truth she deserved to know, "But even though I told Itachi to let me die, he didn't. He jumped in after me and took me to the hospital. The medical ninja there saved my life. He went to the Third and told him everything that had happened and the Third confronted Danzo."

"The Third took back my eye from Danzo and gave it back to me. Itachi gave me back my other eye too. It was because of this show of faith, because the Third got revenge for me and gave me back my eye despite its power, that negotiations were finally able to take place. They came to the agreement that Itachi would be groomed to be the Fifth Hokage, the first Uchiha Hokage in history. Itachi was actually supposed to take over when he turned twenty but, well… you remember what happened."

Shisui had expected Sakura to bombard him with questions, accusations, even insults, but instead he was met with silence. He almost felt it was worse.

"I know this is a lot to take in all at once but I wanted you to know. You deserved to know..." he continued, feeling like he was babbling, before he whispered, "The only regret I had when I was falling was that I was going to hurt you."

He was surprised by the set of arms that wrapped around him tightly, drawing him into a warm embrace. He felt his heart drop into his stomach at Sakura's sniffles as she held him and it wasn't until he felt how she was shaking that he realized how hard she was crying.

"Oh, please don't cry!" Shisui tried to apologize as he looped his arms around her, pulling her close in an attempt at an apology, "I just, I wanted to, I-"

He immediately regretted going into so much detail, telling her about how he had committed suicide. He had wanted to tell her the truth like she deserved, not make her cry. Before he could continue with his rambling apology, she cut him off.

"I'm so, so, so…" Sakura growled before pulling away, her watery eyes glaring down at him, "Angry with you!"

Before he could even come up with a reply, shocked by her response, she continued, "I can't believe you'd think that killing yourself was the answer! That you thought that would ever be a course of action for you! That that would even be a thought for you! Do you have any idea how many people you abandoned, how many hearts you broke? How do you think Itachi felt? What about Sasuke? What about me?"

"Sakura, I-" Shisui tried, unsure of what to even say.

"I can't believe you would throw your life away like that!" she interrupted viciously before her expression slowly softened, "But I… I'm proud of you."

"I don't understand," he muttered, not sure if he had heard her right.

"You were doing anything you could to stop a war. You were willing to do anything, even sacrifice your life, to protect the people you love. You were so young, just sixteen… I can't imagine how hard that must have been, how much that must have hurt…" Sakura explained, a slow smile building as she gazed at him, "And you did it. You prevented a revolt, you stopped a war. And now your family is a treasured part of the village. We'd be nothing without all of you."

"I'm proud of you," she repeated, now smiling openly - even through her tears - as she held his gaze.

"Thank you…" Shisui weakly whispered in return, realizing no one had ever told them they were proud of him for what he had done.

His suicide and everything he had done to save the village had been brushed under the rug and hidden away. He hadn't even spoken about it since the day he woke up in the hospital and Itachi told him everything. He knew that it was necessary, that any information about the would be coup escaping could mean an end to the fragile peace. He hadn't done what he did for fame or appreciation, he had done it because he wanted to save the village.

To have someone tell them they were proud of him for everything he did though, for everything he was ready to sacrifice, and to tell him that he had made a difference… it felt like a weight lifted off of his shoulders. He could feel heat rapidly building behind his eyes as he gazed into the watery eyes of his soulmate.

"It was because of that night that I became a medical ninja, you know," Sakura confessed, wiping her damp cheeks, "When I thought I lost you, I was devastated. I had never even met you and I was just a kid but you were my soulmate… I thought I lost you forever and, when my soulmark came back that morning, my mom told me it must have been because your life was saved by a medical ninja."

She smiled as she continued. "I knew then what I wanted to do with my life. That I never wanted anyone to hurt like I had been. That I wanted to be the reason that someone could feel the same relief I did when they saw their soulmark come back."

Amazement that he had affected her life so much before they had even met surged through him alongside a breathtaking wave of shame. He was touched by how she had decided to become a healer to save lives after he had nearly died but he felt ashamed for having put her through so much. A single tear finally escaped his control as he reaches out to grasp her hands in his.

"I'm so sorry I did that to you. I always hoped you wouldn't remember or that you would forget or that it wouldn't hurt so much. I had hoped that I wasn't abandoning you, that you would be okay," he apologized, unable to control the tears that continued to fall as he dropped his head in shame.

Sakura gently pulled her hands away to instead wrap her arms around his shoulders, pulling his head against her chest. He looped his arms around her waist, falling into her warm embrace.

"You're an idiot for doing something so reckless. For breaking the hearts of so many people, for sacrificing yourself… but thank you," she whispered against his hair, holding him close, "Thank you for doing whatever you could for our home. And thank you for showing me my purpose in life. Without you, I don't know where I'd be."

Shisui tried to speak, desperate to say anything to thank her for her kindness, her affection, her understanding, but a fresh wave of hot tears cuts him off. He held her tighter instead, taking a deep, shaky breath as he gathered the strength he could in that moment to string together five wobbly words.

"I'm sorry for hurting you."

She pulled away from him, her warm hands cupping his face as she smiled. He never felt more vulnerable than in that moment, his soulmate seeing his tears as he broke down after confessing the secret he had held for nearly fifteen years.

"Just never do it again," Sakura said firmly, wiping his tears away with her thumbs, "Or I'll bring you back just to kill you myself!"

He laughed, the emotional tension around them falling away with her joke.

"I promise," Shisui finally answered, gazing up at her with a warmth flooding his heart unlike anything he had ever felt.

"I'm holding you to it," she laughed, leaning forward to press a lingering kiss to his lips before he pulled her into his arms, hiding his smile as well as tears that continued to fall.

For the weeks following his confession, Sakura and Shisui were inseparable. Every moment not spent on a mission, at the hospital, or with friends was spent in each other's company and in each other's arms.

More often than not, with the passion between them growing more and more powerful every day, the time they spent together was frequently marked with bouts of kissing and wandering hands.

Today was no different, the soulmates having laid down in bed together in the early afternoon to take a nap but having gotten distracted by gentle kisses that slowly turned into something far more heated.

Shisui had Sakura pressed against his bed, his weight settled between her thighs as he kissed her for all he is worth. His tongue explored her mouth as her soft hands snuck under his shirt to explore the lines of his back, her fingertips tracing scars she was now more than familiar with.

With his messy hair even further mussed and his eyes half lidded from satisfaction, he pulled away from her embrace to look down at his flushed soulmate. He felt a wave of affection for her as he gazed at her, his soulmate bathed in the dim, warm light drifting in through the blinds of his bedroom window.

"You know, after all this time…" he started to tease, shivering as she dragged her fingernails down his belly, "I still haven't seen your soulmark."

A catlike smile spread across her lips as Sakura purred, "I guess you'll have to find it then."

His own smile widening in excitement, he asked, "Are you ready for that?"

"Yes," she answered easily, her smile losing it's teasing edge as she looked up at him with warmth in her eyes.

Shisui leaned down to press a lingering kiss to her lips before he dipped down, trailing soft kisses down her neck. Sitting up, he gently dragged his fingers down her arm, appreciating the powerful muscles she had built through years of training, until he grasped her hand. Splaying open her fingers, he curiously checked for his familiar handwriting along the sides of her fingers, pressing a kiss to each fingertip when he finished his investigation.

When he took her left hand, repeating the same process, Sakura asked, "Don't you think you would have noticed it if it were there?"

He nipped the tip of her ring finger, drawing a laugh from her as he smiled. "It never hurts to check again."

Smoothing his hands down her arm, his fingers settled on the zipper of her shirt, looking up to her and getting a smile of silent permission. He pulled down the zipper, revealing a bra of simple design and an expanse of smooth, creamy skin. His eyes flicked across the revealed skin, lingering on the scars scattered across her form.

Shisui reached out, brushing his thumb across a particularly painful looking scar on her belly, a frown pulling the edges of his lips.

"It's from my battle with Sasori of the Red Sand. He ran me through near the end of the fight. It was a poisoned blade and difficult to heal at the end of that fight," Sakura explained softly, his frown only deepening, before she reached up to cradle his face in her hands.

"I'm still here," she comforted, her thumbs smoothing out the lines of his frown as she smiled up at him, bringing him back to the moment with her, "And I won too."

He smiled in return, cupping her hand and nuzzling her palm before kissing her wrist. "You certainly did."

Pulling away, he dipped down, pressing a kiss to the jagged scar and drawing a soft gasp from his soulmate. A wave of heat washed over him at the sound, Shisui deciding he loved the sound of her gasp and wanted to hear more. Pressing more kisses to her belly, his hands skimmed up her sides, tracing the curve of her waist as he opened her shirt further.

Looking up at her, he felt a rush of satisfaction at the sight of his soulmate's half lidded expression.

"Your eyes," she breathed, Shisui feeling a wave of embarrassment as he realized that he had activated his sharingan in his excitement.

"Does it bother you?" he asked, his anxiety building as he stilled completely, waiting for her answer.

Sakura smiled, meeting his gaze, as she answered, "I think it's romantic."

He nearly sagged in relief, pressing one final kiss to her soft belly before saying, "Roll over, darling."

She gave him an impish smile before rolling over, allowing him to slip her shirt off of her shoulders. His eyes greedily took in every inch of revealed skin although he found no familiar handwriting. Dropping her shirt off the edge of the bed, his gaze snapped to the scar on her back which matched the one on her belly. Bowing down, he pressed a kiss to the mark, drawing a sigh from his soulmate.

Reaching up, Shisui ran his fingers through her hair, lifting up her candy colored locks to check the nape of her neck. Sakura giggled in response, her laughter turning into a sigh as he kissed the back of her neck. He lingered for a moment, nuzzling her hairline, before brushing his lips against her skin and shivering at the sound she made.

His trailed kisses down the arch of her spine as he held himself above her, only stopping when he found the cloth of her bra. Heart racing, he unclasped the clip, before continuing his path downwards, his hands smoothing along her hips and down her thighs.

Pulling back to look at her legs, he found nothing, before continuing to the bottoms of her feet. Sakura muffled her laughter in the pillow as he tickled her by checking her toes. Finding nothing on either foot, his hands slid back up her thighs and up her hips, his fingertips dipping into the waistband of her shorts.

"Is this okay?" he asked, his voice deep with his growing arousal.

"Please keep going," she hummed, heat building in his chest and in his belly.

Grasping the waistband of Sakura's shorts, he gently pulled them down. His breath stopped in his chest as he slowly revealed a pair of panties doing little to conceal her rounded rear. She lifted her hips to allow him to pull her shorts down and off of her feet, Shisui unable to look away from the beauty beneath him as he dropped the cloth to the floor next to the bed without another thought.

Hesitantly, Shisui reached out, running his hands up the back of her strong thighs to cup her rear, his pants becoming uncomfortably tight. He slowly pulled down the edge of her panties, peeking beneath the thin strip of cloth to look for his handwriting. Finding nothing, he smoothed the fabric back down and grasped her muscled rear once more, his soulmate wiggling her hips in return and making his pounding heart skip a beat.

"Roll back over," he rumbled and she happily did so, looking up at him with half lidded eyes.

Holding himself above her, he dipped down to press a lingering kiss to her lips. One kiss turned into many as he became distracted, Shisui running his tongue across her lips and slowly sinking into her warm embrace.

His focus was only broken when Sakura whispered against his mouth, "Keep going."

He smiled against her lips before pulling back again, this time grasping the straps of her bra hanging onto her shoulder and delicately tugging the strips of cloth down and off her arms. Sakura brushed her knee up his thigh and hip in silent encouragement, urging him onwards as he pulled off her bra and revealed her breasts. He swallowed once, having to actively focus on finding his soulmark instead of getting lost in the passion building between them.

Dropping down, he pressed a kiss to the center of her chest, one hand gliding up her side before settling on her breast. Drawing a line of kisses to the other, he captured a nipple between his lips, drawing a gasp from his soulmate. Dragging his tongue across the nub, he rolled the other between his fingertips, Sakura's soft moan sending a bolt of heat to his straining length.

Tracing a new line of kisses to her other breast, he repeated the process, revelling in her gasps and how her legs tightened around his hips.

It took more effort than he could have imagined to pull himself away to continue downward, dragging his lips across the sensitive skin of her belly before stopping at her underwear. He paused, looking up at his lover from between her thighs, her flushed cheeks and parted lips making his member ache. He hooked his fingers around her panties, her heated veridian gaze meeting his sharingan bright eyes.

"Shisui," was all she whispered, his name being not only all the permission he needed but a heated request.

His head swam as he pulled off her panties, Sakura lifting her hips to make it easier to slip the strip of cloth down her thighs and off her feet. He settled between her legs, his cheeks burning as he gazed down at her. Soft, pink lips framed a tender core already dewy with her own arousal, the intoxicating scent of her desire making his length throb.

His hands settled on her thighs to spread her legs wider and it was only then that he finally caught sight of it. Written in his familiar handwriting was her soulmark, hidden in the crook of her thigh.

"I didn't know angels had pink hair," he read aloud before huffing out a laugh that sounded more like a moan.

"No wonder you wouldn't show it to me…" Shisui mused, his voice deep with desire, before he pressed a kiss to the soulmark that bound them together.

Sakura gasped, her teasing reply dying on her lips as her legs twitched in surprise, before he pulled back to press a kiss to her core. She moaned, her thighs tightening around his shoulders and encouraging him to continue. The scent of her made his heart race and his cock throb, his own need making it difficult to resist the urge to grind himself into the sheets beneath him.

He kissed her swollen lips again and again before dragging his tongue across her sensitive pearl, deeply satisfied when a cry spilled from her lips. He reached up to run his fingers down her tender slit, her folds slick with arousal. Encouraged by her squirming hips, he slipped a finger inside of her as he licked again, basking in the sounds of pleasure that slipped free from his soulmate.

He slowly pumped his finger in and out of Sakura's hot passage as he circled his tongue around her clit. When he added another finger, her hand tangled in his messy hair, Shisui moaning against her. By the time he added a final finger, she was soaking wet and rocking her hips against his lips, his soulmate so slick and ready that she made not a single sound of discomfort.

"Shisui!" she gasped, her fingers tightening in his curls, "I want-"

Finally pulling back, he looked up at Sakura, his sharingan allowing him to memorize her flushed expression and the desire in her eyes. Needily tugging on the shoulder of his shirt, he readily obeyed, following her pull to press a hungry kiss to her lips. She returned his passion, her hands sliding down his back to tug at the hem of his shirt.

Pulling his shirt upwards, he only parted from her for the moment it took for her to tug it over his head. As their lips met once again, her hands snuck between them to undo the button on his pants, parting the cloth and giving his straining length a semblance of relief.

Unwilling to part, he reached down to push his pants off, easily slipping them off of his legs and off the edge of the bed. Slipping his hand between them to grip his length, he took a breath to ask if she was ready one final time, but she interrupted him by hooking her leg around him hips and pulling him closer in silent assent.

Groaning quietly, Shisui kissed her deeply as he pressed the head of his weeping member into her center. Her swollen lips parted around his thickness, his soulmate arching against him in encouragement as he slowly pushed into her welcoming channel. He filled her with gradually deepening thrusts, gathering her slickness as he sunk farther and father inside of her, until he finally seated himself deep within her heat.

He didn't realize he was holding his breath until Sakura rolled her hips and made him gasp against her mouth as she drew him deeper inside of her, the head of his member pressing flush against her innermost barrier. Their lips moved against one anothers as she adjusted to his girth buried within her and he adjusted to the blissful sensation of her soft, tight walls around him. Slowly, he pulled out before effortlessly sinking back inside of her soaking passage, Sakura groaning as he filled her inch by inch.

Dropping his forehead to her shoulder, he pressed open mouth kisses to the line of her throat, moaning against her skin as her slick walls tightened around him. She gasped in pleasure when he snapped his hips against hers, Shisui making sure to repeat the motion with his next thrust. He sighed in satisfaction when her fingers threaded into his hair, pulling him closer to her as she rocked back into his thrusts, helping him find the motion he needed to please her.

Shisui's free hand slid across the sheets, finding her hand so they could lace their fingers together as he filled her. Even with the pleasure that came from seating himself over and over within her soaking walls, he maintained a steady pace, so caught up in the passion of their first time together.

Each of his slow but powerful thrusts drew a sound of bliss from his lover's lips, her fingers tightening in his hair as she arched against him. He could hear her whispering something that sounded almost like his name between each gasp but he could hardly make sense of it with his own pleasure mounting.

When Sakura came, it was with a broken cry, her thighs tightening around his waist as her passage spasmed around his cock. He muffled his own moan against her neck, the rhythmic clenching of her walls and her euphoric cries bringing him to his own end. Shisui buried himself inside of her a handful more times, dragging out her orgasm as far as he could, before hilting himself deep within her as he finished, pouring himself against her innermost barrier.

Panting, the soulmates lied together for a dozen heartbeats, basking in the lingering pleasure. When his euphoria faded enough to think, he lifted himself onto his elbow, kissing her deeply. Drunk with passion, their kisses were unhurried and meticulous, their fingers still laced together. Pressing his lips to hers one last time, he pulled back and slipped out of her, Sakura gasping as she was left empty of his thickness but not his seed.

Dipping down, he scooped up her underwear from the floor as well as a rag from his nightstand. Offering her the cloth, he helped slip her panties back onto the hips of his boneless soulmate to catch the product of their passion before it stained his crumpled comforter. Lying back down at Sakura's side, she nestled against his chest with a contented sigh, his arms looping around her as he buried his face in her hair.

"That was…" Shisui started, unable to come up with the words he needed to explain how incredible that had been with the haze of euphoria still fogging his thoughts.

"Amazing," she finished for him with a soft laugh.

Pulling back just enough to gently tilt up her head, he pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. A kiss that was followed by another and another until he pulled away to press his forehead to hers. Gazing into her eyes, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips or the utter joy in that moment that fueled it.

"I love you," Shisui confessed, unable to come up with a better time or place to tell her what had been in his heart for months than in the bliss following them giving themselves to each other.

Sakura's returning smile was soft and sweet as she threaded her fingers into his messy hair, pulling him down into a tender kiss. When she spoke, the adoration in her voice and in her veridian eyes made his heart swell.

"I love you too."

A/N: This originally started off as being a simple three-shot but it turned into something a lot more complex as I started writing it. It definitely took a lot longer than expected to finish it but I am very happy with the result. Thank you everyone who has stuck around and showed so much love for this story!