Alright, I've realized that I haven't updated this story in more than a year. Sorry! My apology probably doesn't cut it, but it amazed me when I looked at my old update dates. How in the world did I update that fast is beyond me. My sasusaku muse is on and off so that probably contributed to the lateness of the conclusion to this fic. And yes, this is the last chapter. I really didn't feel like prolonging it because of the rest of my unfinished stories on this site. This was going to be wrapped up sooner or later anyways.

There was a time period when I forgot all about my stories on this site. Until I checked my email and got various 'reviews' and 'favorites,' that is. I am truly thankful for such diligent readers, and hopefully, I won't be despised by my lack of updates. Arg, enough of this mumbling. Enjoy the last chapter of CrissCross!

Words: 4543

Disclaimer: These beloved characters are sadly not mine.

Chapter Nine – When Push Comes to Shove

Sakura darted through the woods silent and swiftly. She was quite lithe for her age and flexible from all those intense training sessions that Tsunade had put her through. She was acutely aware that her feather-like footsteps would be unheard.

Sakura trained her eyes towards Shisui's direction. She had no clue how the man got himself into such a predicament. The black car following Sasuke and her was probably Shisui and Itachi. She really hadn't been imagining things after all. As she moved, Sakura thought about where Itachi would be. He was very clever so she didn't expect him to be captured. As a matter of fact, he's so clever that he was probably hiding in the shadows at this very moment watching Shisui struggle in amusement. Yes, that was probably right.

She was almost there as she eyed Shisui still in the choke-hold position. His captor had already bounded his hands with rope. Even so, the hand was still around his neck, about to crush his windpipe at any given notice. Her hand lightly fingered Sasuke's watch unconsciously. It was really soft. So that was how leather actually felt. Even something as insignificant as a watch has its own class sometimes. Sakura wondered what she'd get if she sold this, and then immediately dusted the thought away. Sasuke trusted her with his possession. His trust was hard to earn, and she most definitely did not want to lose it at this point in time nor in any time for that matter.

At this thought, she realized that she was practically right behind Shisui. His captor had turned him around and held him by the neck. Fortunately, Shisui was still able to stand, but his legs were wobbling slightly which signaled to Sakura that she had to hurry. It was going to be hard for her to save a grown man, but if she had to carry him while she was kicking butt then that was just going to be impossible.

Shisui's captor began talking to the other men. Sakura realized with relief that they all had lowered their flashlights. That helped her out a lot. She really didn't want anyone to see her darting and saving Shisui. This was just another stroke of luck.

As she snuck behind Shisui, she could feel his salty sweat and hear his labored breathing. Not wanting to scare him yet knowing that she probably didn't have any choice, Sakura poked her finger onto his elbow.

Shisui flinched, but thankfully, it wasn't enough to alert the big oaf of a man holding onto his neck. Shisui's arm slowly slinked farther behind his body, and Sakura thought of something that would alert him as to who was there behind him instead of speaking. Her eyes fell down onto the watch on her wrist. She wearily made Shisui touch the soft, worn out, leather band.

Immediately, his shoulders relaxed. Sakura couldn't believe her luck. Rich people knew brands and worth. Shisui had known that he was touching leather, and in turn, Sasuke's watch at once. Sakura would have laughed at the situation if it wasn't so dire. Shisui was still being choked after all.

She quickly glanced down at the ground for a stick. Something pointy would be able to saw right through the ropes that binded Shisui's arms. If he wasn't tied up, then perhaps he would be of some use in escape. That was a hopeful thought at least.

Sakura's luck increased as she saw a beaten up stick laying on the ground, just a few feet away from her. She quickly darted across and grabbed it as she hopped back into her spot. All of her motions were silent. She prided herself on this. Not to toot her own horn or anything, but she really was an exceptional spy.

Sakura tried to think of a way to get Sasuke's attention so he could distract these burly guards. No options came to her mind of what she could do to catch his attention without catching anybody else's attention as well. Perhaps if she just waited it out, Sasuke would understand and cause a commotion on his own. He was certainly smart enough to come up with this conclusion. Sakura just hoped that she didn't give him too much credit.

Sasuke waited silently in the shadows of the trees. He tried to maneuver himself so he had a perfect view to see behind Shisui. It was really a shame that the man that held Shisui's neck had to be so burly. Sasuke couldn't see a thing. The man was like a wall. He looked impenetrable as well.

The man didn't know what to think. Was Sakura already there? Did she already make a movement and he missed it? He shook that thought away as quickly as it had came. There was no way that he had missed anything. Sasuke was far too observing to miss something like that.

He continued to gaze at Shisui's expression. The only thing left he could count on was Shisui's lack of control on his facial features. The man was rather expressive with his words and his looks. If Sasuke was patient enough, Shisui would definitely betray the hiding spot of Sakura.

True to his thoughts, Shisui had flinched slightly. Sasuke smirked. He knew his cousin well. He supposed it was time to be a distraction now. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke rubbed his temples. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. Since when was a Uchiha a distraction? They were the main attraction, if anything else.

Leaving his cocky thoughts behind, he pictured Sakura's death glare. She would probably scold him for being so conceited. He didn't really care about her lectures anymore. Sasuke just wanted his leather watch back. Oh, having her safe and sound was good too. The smirk was plastered on his face as he once again pictured her insulted facial expression. She was so easy to rile up.

Sasuke glanced at the men in front of him. There were about ten or so. Most were large so he would have to take out the small, skinny ones first. He took one last deep breath before lunging out into the open. Picking up a stone that was near his foot, Sasuke hurled it towards a man closest to him. The stone struck him square in the jaw, and the man bent over, howling in pain. Well, there was one down.

The other men were surprised at the sudden appearance, but they quickly recovered. Fortunately, Sasuke was quicker. He grabbed several more stones as he began to fling them out in succession. He only missed once so that left three down. Seven more to go. The meaty ones were left to be taken down. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke could see Orochimaru's openly shocked and outraged face. He shouted some orders which probably meant for the rest of the box movers to attack him because the next thing Sasuke knew, he was being hurtled through the air by some brick wall of a man.

His back collided with a tree in a gross sounding thud. Sasuke slowly stood up and glanced at Shisui's direction. A red head was furiously sawing away at the binds that held his cousin there. Good, at least he wasn't doing all of the work.

Sasuke pushed himself back up and stood up wobbly. She better thank him for all of this abuse he's going through. A nice dinner and a movie would suffice. That thought was thrown out of his mind when he realized that a meaty fist was coming for his face.

Sakura sawed the rope with the sharp stick harshly. There was no time to waste.

"Sakura, hurry." Shisui's voice urged her.

Beads of sweat had lined her face.

"I'm trying."

"Hurry."

"I said I'm trying!"

A strangled groan tore from a familiar voice across the plot of land. Sakura could recognize Sasuke's voice from anywhere.

Sakura's hands halted in shock.

"Hurry!" Sakura was practically digging her own nails into the ropes in hopes of getting them cut sooner. When the last strands broke free, she hissed out an exclamation. Shisui hooted out in joy as he pumped his fists up as if in victory. His loud action drew attention from the other men that were currently having fun looming over Sasuke.

"Did they just hear me?"

"… Once we're out of here, I'm definitely going to personally introduce you to my fists." Shisui's mouth formed an 'oh'.

"I'm not looking forward to that." He claimed fidgety as some men began to run in their direction.

"You're not going to look forward to this either!" Sakura grunted as she pushed the man in front of her towards the other men. She heard a protest from Shisui before he began grunting to try to get out of the men's way. Sakura used this time to grab various sticks and stones and began hurtling them towards the criminals.

Some actually hit, but their original purpose was to catch them all off guard. While the men were trying to dodge, Sakura jumped in front of Shisui and gave two of the men kicks to their groins. That sent them whirling back in pain.

She twisted her body around and flung one of them towards one man's jaw. A sickening crack alerted her that her leg was still rather strong despite her small frame. She smiled, satisfied, with the result.

"Damn! Why didn't you tell me you could fight?!" Shisui's voice was so loud. Sakura grunted as she twisted her body again to dart in between the man's legs and aimed at his waistline.

"You never asked!" The man tried to grab her ankles, but Sakura grabbed his arm and twisted the other way, hearing another crack. The man yelped in pain.

"Show me that when we get back!"

"I'll do it to you if you'd like!" There was a pause as Sakura kicked high and broke the man's nose.

"On second thought, I don't really want to see that again." After offering one last blow to the ribs, Sakura stood satisfied at the crumbling form of the once tough looking man. She smiled brightly at Shisui.

"Who said that you had a choice?" She gave a playful wink before running towards Sasuke to help him up. The man gave a groan as he stood up.

"What took you so long?"

"I was kicking butt. Didn't you see?" Sakura pointed towards the cowering men on the ground. They were all rolling around on the dirt. It was quite comical to see such large, grown men being outmaneuvered by a single girl. Sakura felt quite proud of herself, to be honest.

Sasuke looked over at her direction and smirked.

"You're not bad for a girl."

"…That's as close as a compliment that I'm ever going to get from you, isn't it?"

"You've gotten smarter from stalking me."

"I don't stalk. I spy."

"And I'm not just handsome. I'm intelligent as well." Sakura rolled her eyes as she snorted.

"Your ego just gets larger by the second."

"Well, gla…" Sasuke was cut off when Shisui ran over to them, panting.

"I'm sorry to disturb your intimate little chat…" At this he gave the two a pointed stare in which both people avoided his gaze. "but we have some serious problems right now. Like that guy who is rummaging through the box." Shisui pointed into the distance, and Sakura could make out Orochimaru's crouched form, slouching over a box.

"Wait, there's weapons in there." Shisui gave her an 'are you serious' look as he groaned.

"I am never going along with Itachi's plans again. Never. Never. Never. Never…" He began chanting as he wandered quickly towards the safety of the trees. Shaking her head, Sakura began to run over towards Orochimaru. A harsh tug stopped her in her steps.

"Are you crazy?" She looked into the eyes of Sasuke. "He is armed, Sakura. You can't just run up to him. Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"Are you worrying for my safety?" Sakura challenged. She was rather interested in his answer. He couldn't be a total ice cube anyways. Everyone had emotions, and his were shown to her more often than any other person, she'd like to think. It was about time that he admitted something.

"…I'm more worried about the damage that is going to be done to my watch." Then again, Uchihas were far too stubborn to admit anything near heartwarming.

"That still means you're worrying for me." She felt a small pang of victory course through her at Sasuke's eye roll.

"If I agree, will you not go after him?"

"Then who will?"

"Me." Sakura gave him an incredulous look.

"You're not the spy. You don't have the job to go after him."

"I'm the one he ordered people to steal from. I should have a say in this as well."

"STOP ARGUING AND GET TO IT!" Shisui's voice rang out from the edge of the darkness. His voice carried out towards Orochimaru's apparently. The old man held up a metal object in the distance. Sakura squinted her eyes to see what it was. When it dawned on her, Orochimaru had already pointed the weapon towards her.

"Oh my g…umph!" The weight of Sasuke toppled Sakura over as she landed on the ground with a loud thud. Sasuke was hunched above her body, and she looked up wonderingly into his worried eyes that caught her off guard.

"You alright?" He was breathless, she realized.

"Yeah…I'm okay." The clicking of a rifle caught both of their attentions.

"Oh, how sweet. This is so sweet, it's sickening." Orochimaru's cold, slimy voice slithered out. Sakura could see his cold, coal eyes glaring at her in the dim moonlight. His dirty appearance shook her to the core. This man was seriously creepy. Even Sasuke shivered slightly. Sakura noticed their uncomfortable position and cleared her throat quietly.

The man on top of her moved slowly off of her. She was slightly disheartened by the lack of warmth. The sight of a loaded pistol however, froze her to the spot. Orochimaru's eyes gleamed as he tilted his head to regard her.

"Are you scared, little girl?" Sakura tried hard to find her voice.

"No." It came out as a croaked whisper, but it was better than nothing. Orochimaru's eyes gleamed darkly.

"Little girls shouldn't lie. You need to be punished." The trigger was pulled back menacingly. Sakura could subconsciously feel Sasuke move slightly next to her. She couldn't stray her eyes anywhere else besides the gun directed at her head. Even in all her years as a spy, she had never encountered a situation where she was at gunpoint. Now she knew how action stars felt. They had to run and escape from various situations such as these. If she could remember correctly, many of the tactics used in those action movies consisted of stalling, quick movement, and help from an unknown spectator. She couldn't really stall. Sakura doubted her mind would work to form coherent sentences. Quick movement was not an option either. Her back was bruised from the impact of Sasuke's push. She winced just trying to maneuver herself along the ground.

"Any last words?" Orochimaru's eyes glinted maliciously. The last option was help from an unknown spectator. Sakura chuckled bitterly in her head. She really was done for this time. She heard the cocking of the pistol once more, and she closed her eyes. This could be done fast.

A couple of things happened at the same time then.

First, Sakura felt a wisp of a cold breeze ruffle her hair. She blinked to find the source of the sudden gentle wind.

Then, she heard a groan from in front of her. Sasuke, had once more, tackled her to the ground.

Lastly, Sakura realized that there was a sickening sound of a gun being fired. For one horror stricken second, Sakura stared up at Sasuke to see if he was the one that had been shot at. The man's calm yet determined face revealed nothing. Even a Uchiha wasn't immune to pain so Sakura relaxed slightly. Sasuke wasn't hurt. Thank god.

She tried to push the young heir of Uchiha Corp. off of her. Sasuke grudgingly moved and rolled onto his back. He had been thoroughly drained of his energy and his physical strength. Sakura strained her eyes towards the standing spot of Orochimaru. He was not standing anymore, and she was shocked to see Itachi bent over him with the gun. A trickle of vibrant red rang from the edge of Orochimaru's head. With a disgusted realization, Sakura shook the sight of blood from her mind as she regarded the man in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" He quirked an amused eyebrow at her, acting as if everything was normal. Leave it to a Uchiha to not even bat an eyelash even when they just killed somebody. This emotional control was both fascinating and frightening at the same time. Sakura tried to put that past her thoughts and focused on the fact that Itachi had just saved her life.

"Did you think I would just leave Shisui here by himself?" Sakura gave a bitter chuckle. She stared at the man still hiding in the shadows and beckoned him towards them. Shisui, moodily began stalking for Itachi. He pointed an accusing finger towards his cousin.

"Weasel! That is the last time I'm ever going to follow you." Itachi smirked.

"You know as well as I that you will definitely follow me no matter what I do." Shisui gaped at him in wonder, and then he paused before he could say anything. At the end, he just opted to sigh.

"I don't know how to deal with you people." That accusing finger was now pointed towards Sakura. "Especially you! What kind of girl are you anyways?" Before Sakura could respond, Sasuke cut in.

"Definitely not a normal one." Sakura resisted the urge to stick out her tongue at the man still sprawled on the ground.

"Is that comfortable?" She used a teasing tone and was delighted when he gave a small hint of a smile.

"It is, actually. Mind joining me?" Surprised at his forwardness, Sakura was cut off by Itachi before she could speak.

"Sorry, Romeo. I already called the cops. They'll be arriving here shortly. If you don't want to be caught up in the middle of this case, I suggest we all move and get out of here." Sakura was surprised at how well thought out Itachi was.

She could only nod in agreement as she watched him pull his younger brother off of the ground. As they wandered into the darkness of the night, the only comfort she had of feeling safe was the constant chatter of Shisui, the amusing retorts from Itachi, and the surprisingly warm hand enclosed over hers from a certain young heir of the Uchiha Corporation.

Epilogue – The Cliché Ending

Sakura walked through the giant reception room. Her emerald green dress glittered in the light, and if she did say so herself, she looked pretty darn good.

Her eyes skimmed through the bustling crowd inside the parlor. There were so many men wearing suit and tie, and the women all dazzled themselves up with jewelry and makeup. Sakura personally disliked the artificial feeling of applying on coats of who knows what onto her skin. She also opted to only wear one string of pearls because a certain someone had once told her that simplicity spoke louder than number.

Sakura followed the rest of the people to stand by a balcony, set up like a stage. She caught Sasuke's eye and smiled. She was graced by a smirk. It was the most she was ever going to get out of him.

Although, it was a pleasant surprise when she saw him dressed up in a tux. He looked even more handsome than usual. Sakura bit her lip. It was no time for daydreaming. This was a very special day for the Uchihas, and she intended on paying attention to every part of the speech that will be given.

Itachi stood right next to Sasuke, and he gave a curt nod towards her. Sakura flashed him a smile as well. The Uchiha brothers really did grow on people even if they were antisocial. Last but not least, she eyed Shisui at the podium, delivering his reception speech.

There were sure to be various changes for the Uchiha Corp with Shisui as the manager, but Sakura was sure that they were going to be improvements from the past.

She remembered how shocked that Shisui was when both Itachi and Sasuke claimed that they had no interest in leading the company. Even Fugaku couldn't go up against two Uchiha boys. In the end, the founder gave up his hopes for his sons and gave Shisui the promotion. He was overjoyed, and Sakura had to smack him a couple of times to get him out of his reverie. She laughed joyously at the thought. Both Itachi and Sasuke were free from their father's wrath.

The Orochimaru case had wrapped up rather nicely as well. The police had arrived at the scene, saw the hurt men and dead Orochimaru in the area with boxes full of weaponry and concluded that there was a gang fight. Case closed. It was disturbing to see how easily the police department came to a conclusion about the murder, but Sakura didn't question it. It had worked in her favor, anyways.

When Tsunade told Sakura of what the outcome was, she tried her hardest to not laugh. It was better for the general public to think of that anyways. Neither she nor the Uchiha family would be dragged into it.

Her eyes caught Sasuke's as she watched him slowly mingle off of the balcony and walk towards her. Her breath caught in her throat as she eyed him as he came closer.

"Aren't you supposed to be up there?" He gave her an amused look.

"Aren't you supposed to be hugging me right now like a good girlfriend should?" Sakura laughed good naturally.

"You technically never asked me out."

"And you technically never hugged me after I said that you should've." His forwardness was rather becoming of him nowadays, Sakura realized as she stretched her arms wide and enveloped him into a warm hug. She could feel his lean muscles against her, and she breathed contently. This was a man that could make a spy feel safe. He must be a keeper.

"So what kind of compliments are you thinking of right now to give me?" She was dating a mind reader, Sakura thought absentmindedly.

"How do you know what I'm thinking about?"

"Hn. You're like an open book to me." A smirk appeared on Sakura's face.

"You like books, right?"

"Mhm."

"Me or books?"

"Well, I just compared you to a book, didn't I? That makes you two even." Sakura made a 'tsk'ing sound with her mouth.

"Admit it. I'm more valuable than your books."

"That's because you still have my watch." Sakura pulled away from the hug to gape at him, but her expression disappeared when he pulled her back. His warmth surrounded her senses until the point where Sakura felt as if she was drunk on his closeness.

"My brother was right."

"Hm?" She was too busy smiling against his shoulder to look at him.

"You really do smell like strawberries."

"What?" Her question was muffled by a deep kiss. Sakura sighed contently on the inside. This was by far, the best mission she's ever gotten. And one, that she'll probably never forget.

And thus, the end of CrissCross.

Please read and review. Just don't kill me for the prolonged lapse of nonexistence.