Her Paper Heart -

Kerrie-chan

"Scenario #3: Birthday Boom
It's Sasuke's birthday and Naruto and Sakura have something planned. But first, they have to find the birthday boy. Sakura locates him first, finding him at the Uchiha shrine. He is in a sour mood, and refuses to budge. How does Sakura coax him out?"

So yeah waha might be a bit of ooc on Sasuke's part but I tried ^^' its difficult when you have 1000 word limit O.o

Sakura sighed dramatically, allowing her pink bangs to fall over her eyes as her shoulders slumped slightly. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Why did he have to be so cold? Inner Sakura screamed in frustration. Why did he have to be…to be…Sasuke? Arg. Her eyes trailed up from their hiding place behind the candy coloured screen of her hair and landed on the dark head in front of her once more. She sighed again. Life just wasn't fair to girls with big foreheads.

After not-so-gently telling her to go away Sasuke went back to brooding, staring at the Uchiha memorial as if it would provide some answer to the demons that lay deep in his heart. Part of him felt incredibly guilty for being rude and altogether cruel to his female teammate. That was, however, a very small part. If she actually cared as much as she said she did –a fact, which Sasuke sincerely doubted- then she would see, he wanted to be left alone. He knew that on some level her infatuated mind wanted only the best for him. It was what truly

was

best for him that was in conflict. Apparently their opinions differed on the matter.

"Sasuke-kun-"

"Go. Away." He spoke slowly and in a tone of voice that promised action if his demands weren't met. Too bad Sakura wasn't afraid of him like so many others seemed to be.

The pale haired girl groaned, rolling her eyes. She may love him for his stubbornness, among other things, but sometimes she just wanted to scream!

Stupid Sasuke-kun can't even see that I'm trying to make him happy. One shouldn't be alone on their birthday!

She thought frowning. Naruto was going to flip. He had everyone waiting back in one of the classrooms at the Academy, a surprise party waiting for Sasuke. After all, it wasn't every day that one turned the big one-six.

Too bad Sasuke didn't see it that way.

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn't really surprised that Sakura had ignored his wish to be alone. She always did. It was slightly heart warming to know she cared enough to put up with his mood swings. He snorted to himself.

Cares enough to put up with me…that's the infatuation talking. She sees me as nothing more than a pretty face to swoon over. If she knew my dark side she wouldn't be so loving.

His thoughts were cynical as he prepared himself for the long haul. He knew she wasn't going to leave anytime soon. He sighed. She had too big of a heart for her own good…

"Alright Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke was startled out of his brooding by Sakura's quiet voice. Quiet…there was something wrong. Sakura was hardly ever quiet when it came to him, and then it was only because he had hurt her feelings. She didn't sound hurt, just silently frustrated and worried. Frowning, he stood from his crouching position in front of the shrine, turning as he did so. "Nani?" What was she talking about? Alright what?

Sakura took a deep breath, wringing her hands anxiously. "I can see that you truly want to be alone, so I will leave."

Sasuke blinked in surprise. She was…leaving? But she never left! A sort of panic settled in his stomach and his eyebrows furrowed. Why did it bother him so much? Solitude is what he wanted…what he deserved. Then why did the thought of her leaving bother him so much? Anger surged over him, replacing the confusion and panic. What was he thinking? He didn't need anyone! Least of all a silly teenage girl who was superficially in 'love' with him.

"However, before I go, I want to give you your birthday present." Sakura paused, exhaling loudly.

Come on Sakura, gather your courage…

She chanted to herself, willing her hand to move to the pouch she carried on her hip. This was it. The moment she had waited four long years for. It was time to tell him how she

really

felt. Sakura knew he thought she just had some silly school girl crush on his face like Ino did, but he was wrong. She saw the pain, the loneliness, the

darkness

that dwelled inside of him. She could see it in his eyes. She just hoped her efforts weren't going to waste. That today he would see that she loved him for him.

Sasuke watched her pull something out of her kunai carrying case. His curiosity got the better of him. He hadn't got a birthday present in years. Not since his parents were murdered by his bastard of an older brother. The thought caused a scowl to grow on his face.

Itachi…

By the time he surfaced from his angry thoughts Sakura had retrieved the item from her kunai case and thrust it out in front of her, into his hands. A pretty blush crossed her face and Sasuke could tell she was decidedly embarrassed, or nervous, or perhaps even both. Curiously, he peered down at the object that had been thrust into his hands.

It was a small piece of pink post-it paper cut into the shape of a heart. A small blue inked line decorated the edge of the fragile scrap, and in the very center of the heart was two words.

My Heart.

Confusion settled over Sasuke once more as he stared at the small paper heart. What was it suppose to mean? Even knowing Sakura as well as he did he was still horribly bewildered at the meaning of the two neatly printed words. My Heart? What did she mean by that? Before he knew it, Sakura was speaking again.

"I know you think that my feelings for you are only a crush…that I only care about you because you look good. But you're wrong Sasuke-kun. I love about you because you are you. I can see the loneliness, the pain, in your eyes, so I gave you the one thing that might be able to help drive away the loneliness and anger –if you let it-. My heart. I only want to help you, and if you think it's best that you are alone right now, I will leave you." After spewing the words out in a rush, Sakura whirled around, preparing to leave. She couldn't believe she had said that! Where had the courage come from? She shook her head. Instead of staying around for rejection she hurried forward, intent on disappearing before the shock wore off.

However, before she got even three steps a firm hand grasped her wrist tightly, effectively cutting off her escape.

"Sakura."

Sakura froze at the sound of her name. It sounded…different somehow. He had said her name hundreds of times before, but this time was different. Slowly she turned so that she was facing him, his hand still firmly circling her wrist.

What she saw was surprising. Sasuke's head was bent forward to that his ebony bangs shadowed his eyes. His expression was unreadable because of it.

Sasuke was surprised. Not because she had gathered the courage to tell him she loved him –she told him at least once a day normally- but because he could tell she actually meant it. Maybe she did see him for all he was, the good and the bad. His icy heart melted slightly at the sight of the small heart clutched in his right hand. She gave to him the one thing that meant the most to her. He understood then what the two words meant and cursed himself for being so blind before now. It was time to change…if only a little bit, he decided a tiny smile tilting the corner of his lips.

"Sakura." He stated again, lifting his head so that his dark eyes stared into her confused sage ones. With a firm jerk on her wrist, Sakura was stumbling towards him, falling against his chest, her blush intensifying.

"Sas-Sasuke-kun…?" She stuttered, blinking owlishly at him, her rose coloured lips parting somewhat.

His eyes darkened, moving down her face to rest on her parted lips. Maybe softening a bit wasn't such a bad thing. A smirk grew on his face. "Aa," he acknowledged her question before dipping his head and brushing his lips across hers.

No, letting her in wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

"SASUKE NO BAKA!" A voice from the entrance to the shrine screeched as the thumping of feet on marble ensued.

Sasuke's smirk grew.

Happy Birthday indeed.

Morning -

Ingenue

Morning is a long time coming.

He had never quite thought about it, in fact, he chose not to think of this happening at all- especially not with her.

Yet there she was, sleeping peacefully in his shirt that wasn't properly buttoned, in his bed that barely held both of them, and with him.

He found himself replaying the memories of the past night in slow motion- Naruto's impromptu 'party' he had been dragged to, her unease at returning to her home in the dark, his unexpected invitation to take her home (Though to who's home had never been specified). And then fierce memories of her- her scent (Rose and lavender), her taste (He could taste the surprisingly high-quality sake Naruto had bought. But that was surpassed by another taste he couldn't put his finger on), and gods, the way she felt in his arms and around him (Like hot silk and sakura, no pun intended).

Throughout his reverie, a little voice nagged at him. It whispered of her- like how glorious she was beneath him and other delicious things he could do to make her squirm. About how nice the mewling and soft moans were to his ears. Another voice hissed that this would only detour him from avenging his clan, from killing Itachi. That she would only be a weakness, only hinder him and his quest for strength. She could only make him weak.

A third and final voice only had one thing to say- that he ought to be more careful, for he could've began the rebuilding of his clan much earlier than he had desired or anticipated.

That thought jerked him back to reality.

His gaze drifted from her face to her belly and in that moment he made his decision.

He couldn't take responsibility for another life- especially the life of his child. Not yet- Itachi was still out there. He could not- no; he would not rest until that man was dead by his own hands.

There was no noise made as he threw together a small pack, nothing to alert her that he was up and about.

And maybe, if he had enough strength to crawl back to Konoha after he killed Itachi, he would see her with a little boy with dark hair and eyes clutching her skirt with a chubby hand. And maybe, (After Naruto and Kakashi-sensei beat his ass for leaving like he did) there could be a little girl. And maybe, if he was lucky, she would smile at him like she did hours ago as she drifted off.

When she woke, it only took seconds to put the pieces together- he had departed. She wasn't surprised, disappointed, of course, but not surprised.

After all, morning is inevitable.

Stay -

n00bshoes

Stay...

Stay, until my tears can dry.

It hadn't been the first time Sakura cried.

Sasuke always had threatened to go find Itachi. But at the age of 18, he was mature, yet he always agonized. Sakura pondered if he still longed to find Itachi, or maybe Naruto. It was always after an apex of a good moment.

Sakura had simply watched from across the bed as Sasuke would twist and turn in agony. He still seemed to want revenge, and the nightmares still surfaced into silent screams only Sakura could see from the bedside as she'd wake.

Stay, my memories are resurfacing.

Still, there were those times when everything was peaceful. Sasuke actually acted like he cared. It was like playing house, and he finally was promising to marry her eventually. If only he would.

"I wish I could, but I feel tied to the past, Sakura. Will you accept me for what I am?"

Sakura remembered the Sasuke of the past. Cold and uncaring. Calculating, and stuck on his objective. He had slowly changed as he matured.

Maybe it was just puberty, but it was on that night of the Konoha ball where Sasuke was to stand watch, Sakura could've sworn she saw a blush of jealousy as she twirled with Rock Lee in her gown. Eventually, Sakura got to dance with Sasuke, and they finally connected. Somehow, Sasuke had blossomed.

In a bit, warmth it is.

-

Sasuke had finally asked Sakura for a walk, and they had talked the night away. The disappearance of Naruto had come up, but Sasuke told Sakura simply: "He was with me, and then he was gone. I couldn't sense him anywhere."

Sakura sighed everytime Sasuke explained it. Sasuke would merely look down in despair, and look up to the sky, the ceiling, the top of the forest. It was the same words everytime.

If I fall, if you leave, everything good of me disappears

.

Sakura felt deprived of the truth, and the answers to the questions she always asked. "Why can't we marry, Sasuke?"

"I wish I could, but I feel tied to the past."

Itachi. It had to be him. Sakura knew that no matter how warm-hearted Sasuke could be, the insides of him were a wreck. His memories of his youth must've still broke at him.

Stay inside my dear.
Don't you come out my dear.

"Don't leave," Sakura would say with a sigh from the bed as Sasuke would dress for his daily missions. Sakura herself had been a chuunin and had her duties. Still, she always felt somehow, if she didn't see Sasuke for a little while, he'd be gone forever.

In a bit, warmth it is.

And every time, Sasuke would smile half-heartedly. "My cherry blossom. Will you accept me for what I am?"

Sakura would always nod, but bite her upper lip quietly, replying, "I've always liked you. What could possibly deter me from you?"

Sasuke would shake his head, and laugh as if an inner twisted joke had been told.

If I fall, if you leave, everything good of me disappears.

It was only one bad moment that Sakura failed in her attack and was held by the enemy. Sasuke cursed.

"Sharingan! Quickly, Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked agonized and shook his head.

"Kage no bunshin!" Sasuke shouted. Several forms of him appeared and attacked the enemy.

As the enemy was taken out, Sakura looked towards Sasuke appalled.

"That...that's Naruto's attack."

Sasuke wiped the blood from his dagger and looked in despair.

"I always asked you, Sakura. -Would you accept me for what I am?-"

Sakura shook in anguish. "You murdered Naruto, didn't you?" Tears formed at her cheeks.

Stay my dear.
Stay my dear.

Sasuke shook his head as his form changed to echo the mentioned person's image. "No. I killed Sasuke."

Stay

I Dreamt -

psychedelic aya

I dreamt of you.

I dreamt of you, under the pouring rain. You stood outside, you were waiting for me—and immediately, at that instant, I knew I was dreaming already, because you would

never

wait for me. It had to be some misconception, some illusion, some dream.

Which it was, in all actuality.

You were drenched under the downpour—your clothes were stained with tears. If they were

your

tears or just the sky's, I still do not know. But you were wet, and not to mention you got wet waiting for

me.

It had to be a dream.

I idly wondered why you did not bother using that umbrella you brought to protect you. It had a gloomy color—it was

black, and I knew you were not

that

gothic as to actually carry a pure black umbrella—but an umbrella is an umbrella and it protects you from the downpour of what we call rain.

And it was, quite obviously at that,

raining.

So why, why didn't you shield yourself from the sky?

You were never so irrational; you never did such nonsense things. Between both of us, it was I who was the careless one, remember? I was the one who got drenched in the storm while you stayed protected under your umbrella.

And yet now, that's not the case. You're the one who's soaked and I'm the one who's dry.

Since when did things change?

Since when did

you

change?

I don't remember, which I find pretty odd. Because if it comes to you, I usually remember

everything.

But now I don't.

Hm. I

am

dreaming.

You see me and you don't smile. I didn't expect you to. You never smiled at me, and even if you did, I must've missed it.

See? We're both at fault here… your coldness and my ignorance are not a good mix.

Maybe we should've never been together, maybe we should've never been friends, maybe we should've never been more than friends. I don't understand our relationship anymore. But I know its there. It's not a tangible entity, but its

there. I know it is. I always have.

I want to step out of the rain to join you. Although we're far away, I can see you shaking. I can see you trembling.

You are waiting for me, I know. And I will come to you. But why are you so scared?

…Don't you want me to join you?

You should probably know by now that I simply do not care what you say. I will not listen to you. I will not be governed by your opinions anymore. I will do what I want.

And right now, I want to step into the rain, get drenched if needed and run over to you.

And although I know you will push me away, I will not go, because I know you don't

really

want me to go. You want me to stay.

You

need

me to stay.

And I will. You probably know I will.

The rain calls, and I step out, ready to get as wet as you are. I am ready to join you, don't you know that? But apparently, even if I am out of my shade, nothing hits. There is no rain.

That is because you are there, holding the black umbrella above me.

And again, I recognize this to be a dream. I must remind myself what it is—a delusion of my mind, and nothing more—before I get too attached to it. I might not want to face reality.

Because in reality, you would

never

protect me. It's a truth I've had to accept.

You're staring at me, but you do not smile. This is the second time. I still didn't expect you to.

And again, I wonder,

"Don't you want me to join you?"

I'm not a weakling anymore. You can't push me away so easily.

You seem to know how read my thoughts.

"No."

"W-what?"

You surprise me with your answer. You're looking at me with oddity know, there's something in your eyes I cannot decipher. Although somehow, I understand.

You feel alone, don't you?

I know you're not my problem to begin with. I know I shouldn't mind, nor care.

But the fact is, I do. And I don't regret it.

If there wasn't so much rainwater on your face, I would've guessed you were crying.

You need someone there with you. You know this, don't you?

So I ask again,

"…Don't you want me to join you?"

You stubbornly shake your head.

"No." You say again. Then, "I want to join you."

I should know that I'm dreaming.

Because I dreamt of

you.

I dreamt of you, under the pouring rain. You stood outside, you were waiting for me—and immediately, at that instant, I knew I was dreaming already, because you would

never

wait for me. It had to be some misconception, some illusion, some dream.

But it wasn't.

You and I, we were

really

together, under that black umbrella of yours that protected us from the pouring rain. You were soaked, and I was not. We made an odd picture, walking down the street like that, but I did not care.

And neither did you, right?

I should know that I'm dreaming.

But I didn't. Your touch seemed

too

real, and I couldn't tell apart reality anymore.

Maybe someday, I'll dream of you again, and realize it

not

to be a dream after all, hopefully sooner than I did now. And maybe at that time, I'll tell you.

I'll tell you that I dreamt of you.

…And I'll also mention, even though it's still a hazy picture—

I'll mention that you were smiling.

Little Uchiha Brats -

Tenshi no Hana-chan

Sakura groaned under the covers of her and Sasuke's mutual futon. Was it morning already? She opened her eyes sleepily and sunlight streamed into her eyes. She blinked thrice to get the spots from her eyes. She cast the clock a sleepy look and realized she should have woken up 45 minutes ago.

She whipped the covers of her body and sat up so fast that her sight blacked out for a moment. "Shit," she muttered, combing her hair frantically with her fingers. "I should have been cooking breakfast!"

The warm body beside her shifted to face her. "Don't curse," Sasuke muttered sleepily, eyeing her under droopy eyes.

"But it's late! The kids-"

"-are at a very impressionable age. It won't look good for us all if the children suddenly started muttering curses like you are."

Sakura smiled slightly even in her frustration. Sasuke still thought rather rationally, even when half-asleep.

"Besides," he added, "you misread the clock,

again

. It's only 6:45. Go back to sleep."

"Do you really think I could sleep and wake up again in fifteen minutes?" she asked bitingly.

Scratch the thought of the Uchiha

padre de familia

being rational,

she said to herself.

"Aa," he replied, using his all-purpose reply. "Right again. As usual. You're quite cheerful today, itoshii." Sakura heard, as only who knew Sasuke for as long as she did, a tinge of sarcasm in his remark.

"Don't you start, Uchiha Sasuke," she began. She never got down to her speech as she was grabbed by the waist and pulled into the waiting, albeit playful, arms of her husband. "Sa-su-ke!" she cried, trying to keep the anger in her voice, but unfortunately, it was consumed by giggles. She struggled to be free of his tight grasp. "Don't you think I'm done with you, Uchiha Sasuke! I'm going to beat you up for this!"

"Hn." Yet another all-purpose reply. "I'd like to see you try, Tiger."

"Kyaaaa!" Sakura spent another minute trying to wriggle out of Sasuke's tight hold, their conversation nothing but chuckles and giggles. Finally, the pink-haired woman gave up and settled herself onto Sasuke's arm, nuzzling her head against his chest.

"Mou, why do you

always

win these wrestling matches?" she asked, sighing in comfort.

"May I remind you that two nights ago you were the one wrestling me into bed and, for six times straight, had your way wi-"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura hissed as she glared at her husband. "Our children need not hear about our sex life!" Sasuke's chest gaze a low rumble as he chuckled once more.

"Hn."

She hit him with a pillow.

A few minutes of comfortable silence passed, Sasuke breathing in the scent of his wife's hair, and Sakura absently stroking the arm that held her by the waist.

Sakura was happy as any woman could be. She was married to the most handsome man, inside out, in the world, and they had gone strong for sixteen years.

Before, when she had announced she was getting married at the age of 20 to friends and family, all sorts of people had warned her about the dangers of being married so early. Their maturity, or lack thereof, would play a major role once they decided to start a family. And there was the fact that Sasuke seemed to care more about restoring his clan than her. She had been influenced, and had therefore been afraid to tie the knot with the Uchiha genius.

But Sasuke's will prevailed. She loved him, and he loved her, despite trying to hide behind the fact he wanted to have a family. They married, despite the words that many used to hold them back.

At first, Sakura's fears made her uncomfortable. But Sasuke, through the years, had proven that he married not only for the sake of her bearing 'little Uchiha brats'. He loved her, and cherished her, even if he didn't show it all the time. Sakura understood her husband's pride and heart.

They had changed. Oh, she was still the feisty, cheerful female, and he was still the brooding, silent male. But she had matured to the point that she knew how to control her emotions, and he had learned to laugh and let loose once in a while.

And that made Sakura a very happy married woman.

The pink-haired kunoichi glanced at the clock. She grinned.

"He's coming," she told her husband, who knew of this fact already.

Sure as the sun rose in the east, they heard a sliding door slam open, and two little feet scurrying towards their room's direction. Sasuke gave Sakura a knowing look.

"TOU-CHAAAAN! KAAAAAA-CHAAAAAN!"

Their sliding door burst open and a very small, very cheerful, and very hyper missile crashed into them. "Ka-chan! Tou-chan!" the little one greeted. Sasuke ruffled his hair.

"Good morning to you too, Shin," he said quietly, smiling fondly.

The youngest of the brat pack, Uchiha Shinnosuke. He was still Sakura's baby at three, but he was already showing skill and determination at being a shinobi, though his Sharingan was yet to be activated. Like his father, his hair stood up on end, and he had black eyes. But already, he showed that he was like his mother in demeanor, shining, smiling, and happy. Like all the Uchihas, it seemed, Shin-chan was showing the same intellect that resided in both his parents' brains. He made Sakura glow in pride. (He also made her wonder if Sasuke was like that when he was young. She never asked, as part of the unwritten rules of being married to Uchiha Sasuke.)

"Ne, ne, Tou-chan," Shin pleaded, his eyes wide like a puppy's. "Teach me how to thwow the shuyiken! Ne, ne, teach me! Pwease?"

And like his mother, little Shin had charm that no one could say no to.

"Of course, Shin," Sasuke said, taking the hyper little boy into his arms. The still-young looking Uchiha took his young son into his arms and got up. "Come on."

"Don't push him too hard," Sakura called at his retreating back.

"I won't," Sasuke called back, going to the direction of the garden.

A sudden scream made Sakura jump. "GET OUT!"

"OKAAACHAAAN!"

Sakura shook her head.

When will those children learn?

Sighing, she put a robe over her nightdress and went to the source of the noise.

When she got there, she got an eyeful of what the screaming was about.

The fourth of the Uchiha brat pack, Uchiha Soushi. He suffered what Sakura called the 'middle child syndrome'. At ten, he was too old to play with Shinnosuke, but was also alienated by his older siblings. Like his younger brother, he also had raven locks that stood up, but his eyes shone green. He was already a genin, with his Sharingan already being used, a genius like all the Uchihas, but Sakura thought a lot pressure was put on him, as he was expected to have brains like his ancestors. He and Sasuke were often at each other's throats, the latter wanting to uphold the family standard, the former wanting to spend his time slacking off, or in his words, relaxing.

But he was also quite determined to prove himself to his father. Every morning, he would get up and train, struggling to keep his standard as top of his class. Personally, Sakura thought he was already brilliant enough to be allowed to sleep until the very last minute, but her heart told her that this was just part of a mother's biases.

His early morning practice also constituted of trying to get equipment, which was precisely the reason why he was in the hall, having a shouting match with someone else.

Sakura put a hand to her temples. "Let me guess," she said, a less-than-happy look on her face. "You're

borrowing

kunai from Setsuna again."

Soushi threw a barrage of explanations at his mother. "I was gonna train, an' I needed kunai, so I asked Niichan, but he wouldn't let me, so I tried to get from Tou-san's, but my conscience said that I wasn't as'posed to 'cause he needed 'em for his ANBU missions an' I would leave 'em scattered aroun' the house, so I tried to get some from the heirloom room, but they're heirlooms, and you wouldn't let me touch 'em, an' so I went to get Setsuna-neechan's, an' here I am bein' bullied by her again 'cause I tried to get some from her closet an' she woke up an' threw me out an' this wouldn'ta have happened

if you guys just get me a kunai set of my own!

"

"But what did you do to your old kunai set?" Sakura asked. "You traded it for a set of new toy cars! Me just letting you borrow mine is just teaching you responsibility!"

"I didn't trade 'em, I sold 'em,

then

I bought new toy cars!" Soushi tried to excuse himself feebly.

"But isn't that the same thing?" Setsuna said, sneering, her arms crossed.

"Don't you start, Setsuna-crow!" Soushi yelled.

"What! You – you – Soushi no

baka

!"

The real middle child of the Uchiha family, Uchiha Setsuna. She had her father's pride, but her mother's energy. She had long pink hair, and viridian eyes. Everyone was thankful that she didn't inherit her mother's forehead. In fact, at fourteen, she was one of the two 'belles of Konoha', with her sassy attitude and her golden voice. Her Sharingan first activated when she was seven, which was considered early. Sasuke was quite proud, as he was the one who trained her. Setsuna was a real daddy's girl, getting his knack for rushing into battle. She constantly bickered with Soushi, but she got along well with everyone else. She graduated at the top of her batch in the Ninja Academy, but for the first time in many years of the Academy's history, she was sharing her place with someone.

That someone was currently waking up on the other futon in the room.

"Man, you guys sure know how to start a day," the girl in the futon said, smoothing her bed head.

The second in the brood, Uchiha Seiya. She was older to Setsuna by only two minutes, as they were twins. As twins went, they looked very much the same, but they were as different as oil and water. She was the yin to her sister's yang. Recently, she had tried to look a bit different from her twin, cutting her hair into a practical length, just enough for a chuunin. But they were the best of friends, there was no doubt in that. She formed the logical and quieter half of the 'belles of Konoha' also having a beautiful singing voice. Seiya was like her mother in her optimism, but like her father in brooding silence. Like her sister, her Sharingan had activated when she was seven, under their father's tutelage, and she was also a daddy's girl, although not as spoilt-sounding as her sassier twin. She rarely raised her voice, but was strong in her opinions.

Seiya stood up, putting her hands on her hips. "You know I would have let you borrow if you woke me up," she told Soushi gently as she took her sister's side in 'battle'. "Are you sure you're not doing this to annoy Setsuna-chan?" The boy stuck his tongue out at his twin sisters. Sakura shook her head again.

"Now, you guys, why don't you stop bickering and prepare breakfast," Sakura said. "Setsuna-chan, I believe it's your turn to help me cook?"

"Yes, Kaa-san," Setsuna said, giving Soushi one last glare. "I'll just braid my hair and dress up and I'll be right down."

As she closed the door behind her, Sakura heard Seiya comment, "I told you to cut your hair. But you're just so stubborn."

"I don't want to cut my beautiful locks,

thankyouverymuch!

"

Soushi and Sakura exchanged exasperated looks. Despite how much Setsuna denied it, she could be incredibly vain, reminding Sakura of a certain blonde of the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Mother and son went down to the kitchen, where a dark figure in a shirt with a high collar and shorts was drinking orange juice. When he saw Sakura, he gave a small smile.

"Good morning, Okaa-sama, Soushi-kun."

The eldest of the 'little Uchiha brats', Uchiha Seiji. He was handsome, the current heartthrob of Konoha, with his raven hair falling around his eyes in casual elegance, his lanky form strong and trained well in the arts of a nin. His Sharingan was first awakened when he was seven and a half. At sixteen, he was most like his father, smart, silent, stubborn, and had throngs of girls to form his fan club, but he brushed them off like his father did. He made his family swell with pride, although Sakura constantly worried about her other children having to grow in his shadow. But so far, each excelled in their own field, so there was no damage yet.

Seiji was also a very good brother. He was very protective of his sisters (Setsuna often complained that he prevented her from meeting boys), and taught his brothers jutsus well. (Sasuke once commented offhandedly that he was almost like Itachi in terms of brotherly affection, right before their clan was killed. But he and Sakura already suppressed any feelings of fear from him, knowing for sure they would not allow him to turn out like Itachi.) Always questioning authority, Sakura was glad that he never questioned hers, but she knew it was always because Sasuke was quite an imposing figure, and Seiji admired his father very much, and also because he was his mother's boy.

"Hey, niichan!" Soushi said brightly.

"What's up, Soushi?" Seiji replied, smiling faintly. Soushi ran out of the kitchen, presumably to join his father and younger brother. Sakura bustled around, making breakfast. "Do you want help with that, Okaa-sama?"

"That's very gentlemanly, Seiji-chan-" (at this, he frowned) "-but Setsuna-chan promised to help me today." She grinned. "Why don't you sit and talk to me? What's up with you and Hinata-chan's daughter?"

"Which one?" Seiji asked, his voice turning icy, although his face resembled a cherry.

"You know who I mean," Sakura said merrily.

"Ayane's fine," he said curtly. "She's her same, annoying self."

"You sound just like your father when he was your age," Sakura said, smiling reminiscently. "I annoyed him so much."

"Hn."

Sakura sighed, smiling at her son. "You really are Sasuke's son," she said. "You don't annoy me as much, though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" a voice in the doorway said. Sasuke was there, along with Shin and Soushi, listening in on the conversation with an amused expression.

"You

annoy

me," Sakura said, giggling.

"Shut up." There was a laugh in Sasuke's deep voice. Sakura stuck out her tongue. Seiji shook his head, wearing a slight smile.

"How can you guys be so childish?"

"Maybe it's because they look really young for their age," Setsuna called from the hall. She was bouncing in her steps, her braid swinging to and fro. Seiya sauntered in after her, her hands behind her head in a casual way. They were both donning their ninja outfits, Setsuna in a dark green sleeveless overcoat with a dark blue scarf, her thighs wrapped in bandages, and her Konoha head protector like a headband on her head, and Seiya in a dark green overcoat similar to her Sakura's when she was younger, and her head protector was around her waist, like a belt.

The couple smiled at the compliment. The usual chatter before breakfast commenced.

"Ne, Onii-sama," Seiya asked, "how's Ayane-neechan?"

Seiji glared at his little sister. "You talk as if she's your sister-in-law by me, or something." Everyone saw his ears go red, though.

"Oh, but I call her Ayane-neechan because I respect her, and she's been like an older sister to me," Seiya said, blinking innocently.

"Nice try, Seiya," Seiji muttered, glaring at her. His face was beet red, betraying his true feelings. Everyone who understood laughed.

"I tried to deny Sakura the same way, Seiji," Sasuke said quietly.

"Otou-sama, not you too?" Seiji protested, this being one of the rare times he lost his composure.

"Aa."

"So what are your plans after school, Soushi-kun?" Sakura said in the middle of stirring the miso soup.

"I'm goin' over to Uzumaki's house," Soushi said brightly. "Naruto-jichan said he'd be teachin' me an' Jiro an' Garin a real special jutsu he invented himself."

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged worried looks. "I don't think you should-" Sasuke started.

"But you're the one who said I ashould learn new jutsus!" Soushi protested.

"This one is… questionable," Sasuke replied.

"S'it forbidden?" Soushi looked excited. Sakura glared at him.

"No, but trust me, it won't do the Uchiha reputation any good," Sasuke said. Sakura made mental note to beat Naruto up for attempting to teach her son a jutsu she would be embarrassed of.

"This isn't the Sexy no Jutsu, is it?" Setsuna blurted out. Her parents, Seiya, and Seiji looked at her incredulously. Soushi looked positively excited. "What?" she asked, as though she had no idea.

"W'happens if you use it?" Soushi asked Setsuna.

"Well, you-"

Seiya shut her twin's mouth with her hand just in time. She smiled sheepishly at Soushi. "It's too complicated anyway," she said hastily. "You wouldn't learn it even if Setsuna told you." It was just her and Setsuna's luck they had happened to be in Sharingan mode when the jutsu was shown to them.

However, Seiya only fueled the fire with her words. "All right! I'm gonna learn this technique faster than Jiro!" Soushi shouted, pumping his fist in the air. The twins, Seiji, and their parents sweatdropped.

Shin, however, had other concerns. "Kaa-chan?" he asked, tugging at her apron.

"Yes, Shin-chan?" Sakura said, looking down and smiling.

"Are me an' Kaoru-chan an' Makoto-chan an' otha kids play today?"

"Yes, you are," Sakura said brightly. "You're all going to stay at your Neji-jichan and Tenten-bachan's house and play and learn jutsus!" Shin beamed at the prospect of playing with his best friends.

"So, Seiya-chan, how's Kakashi-sensei treating you?" Sasuke was asking his daughter.

"He's still always late, if that's what you mean," Seiya muttered, pouting. Sasuke sighed.

"He's been like that ever since," Sasuke commented. "I still wonder how he passed Ninja Academy." Sakura, Seiji and Setsuna nodded darkly, knowing the infamous habit of the white-haired jounin.

(A few miles from home, Kakashi sneezed five times. "Jeez, someone's complaining," Kakashi said, sniffing. "What did I do now?")

"And how about you, Setsuna-chan? How's Kurenai-san?" Sasuke asked, making himself a cup of coffee.

"Well, she's pregnant again, so she can't move much and only gives out missions," Setsuna said. "Isn't it exciting? Gee, I hope Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be late for his own kid's birth."

"I don't think he would allow that," Sakura commented mildly. "He didn't let that happen when Kenji, Garin and Hikari were born."

"I suppose so," Setsuna replied, although she did not look too sure.

"I still think they should have put you and Seiya in the same team," Sasuke said. "You would have made a formidable force."

"Oh, Otou-san," Seiya sighed. "That was two years ago. Are you still fussing about that?"

"Ah, never mind him, Seiya-chan," Sakura said. "Sasuke-kun tends to live in the past."

"And besides, even without Seiya-chan, I, Kazuki, and Mikado still make a strong team," Setsuna announced proudly. "We're the best chuunin team in Konoha!"

Seiya pulled a pouting face at her sister. "That was me caring for one second about your biases," she said coolly, returning her face to its normal form. "I, Takeshi, and Mari-chan are the best. No doubt about that. They've got me for strategy, Takeshi for the man-power, and Mari-chan for the medical skill. And we're all skilled."

"Who's biased now?" Setsuna asked, smirking triumphantly. "Besides, you're in love with that blond slacker Nara Takeshi. Admit it! You blush around him. And Uzumaki Mari is your best friend, besides me of course.

Obviously,

you would be biased."

"W-what!" Seiya stuttered. "But

you're

biased too, since you've been in love with Hyuuga Kazuki since forever!"

"That's enough," Sasuke muttered, restraining his twin daughters, who had already stood up from the table. "We're not interested in your love lives. Just as you are not interested in ours."

"It's none of your business, Otou-san!" they both yelled. Even Sasuke had the grace to look taken aback.

"Don't speak to Otou-sama that way," Seiji said offhandedly.

"You stay out of this too!" both girls yelled at him. Seiji raised his eyebrows, then sighed, going back to his daydream.

"Girls!" Sakura said sharply, her jade eyes glinting, just as the twins started to fight again. Setsuna and Seiya froze and went back to their seats. If there was one person scarier than their father, it was their mother.

Sakura exhaled sharply as she set down the food on their table. "That's better," she commented cheerfully, back to her old self. "Goodness, you all are just as rude as your father."

"Hey!" everyone, excluding Shin, exclaimed indignantly. Sakura merely smirked.

"Well, eat up!" she said, smiling.

"Itadakimasu!"

In a few moments, the family was once again talking, laughing, and teasing, just as any family would. Sakura watched contentedly as Sasuke was trying to talk Soushi out of learning the Sexy no Jutsu (but Sakura knew he would never succeed. Her Sasuke never had the verbal skill to do so anyway), Setsuna teasing Seiji about Uzumaki Ayane, who was denying any connection to the girl so vehemently that it was hardly believable, and Seiya playing the doting older sister to Shin.

Uchiha Sasuke. The father and husband. He knew how to exact discipline, and his sons and daughters looked up to him. He was a captain in the ANBU, and he was one of the Hokage's closest advisers, the Hokage who happened to be the Rokudaime, Uzumaki Naruto. Though at the age of thirty-six, he was still being chased by a few old maids in the squad, but he pushed them away in favor of his much more beautiful wife.

Uchiha Seiji. The perfect big brother. He respected and admired his father, and strove to be just like him, if not better. His teammates, Uzumaki Ayane and Hatake Kenji, were lucky to have him. They were his best friends, but he, like his father, was too proud to show his affection for them, especially for the only female in his team. They were one of the best chuunin teams in the village, and he made Sakura the happiest mother on the face of the planet.

Uchiha Seiya. The eldest daughter. She was logical and practical, much like her mother. She was one of the best chuunin strategists, and with her teammates Nara Takeshi and Uzumaki Mari, they made a formidable team. She was the rational, caring sister to Setsuna, and though they were far apart in terms of teams, she would still fight for her sister. Seiya was one of her mother's closest friends.

Uchiha Setsuna, The feisty one. She had pride that helped her fuel her desire to win. Her beauty won many hearts, just like her twin, but she would never accept any proposal unless it came from the boy she loved, Hyuuga Kazuki. She rushed onto battle, and she would do anything to protect her sister from anything, may it be attacks from other nins, or boys who wanted to take her out.

Uchiha Soushi. The mischievous boy. He grew up with Uzumaki Jiro and Hatake Garin, under the tutelage of Uzumaki Naruto, therefore catching Naruto's attitude of cheerfulness, carelessness, and ramen-lovingness. He was at a constant verbal battle with his father, but Sakura knew it was because, at clichéd as it seemed, they cared for each other. And even though he always annoyed his sisters, he would give up his reputation as a sister-fighter to protect them.

Uchiha Shinnosuke. The baby. He was a surprise to his parents, as they didn't anticipate his being conceived, which made the birth all the more joyful. He stuck close to his friends who were his age, Akimichi Ukyo, Hyuuga Kaoru, Nara Makoto, and Hatake Sogetsu, training with them to become competent genins. Since his father was an ANBU and needed to constantly train, his mother spent most of her day with her class in the Ninja Academy, and his siblings were often at training, he stayed with his friends at the Hyuuga mansion, babysat by Hyuuga Tenten, which contributed to his friendliness and ability to adapt to any kind of person. And he continued to have no resentment about being left.

Uchiha Sakura. One heck of a proud mother and wife.

My family make sacrifices for them worth it.

Sakura jumped when she heard the doorbell being rang. "I'll get it," she announced as her family stood up from their seats to do more preparations for the day.

She opened the door to a midnight-blue haired girl with blue eyes. "Hi, Sakura-baachan!" she greeted cheerfully.

(Sakura found it odd she had blue eyes, instead of the white eyes the Hyuuga had. But she heard from Seiji that her white eyes only formed when she was using the Byakugan.)

"Ayane-chan," she nodded, grinning to the girl. "Seiji'll be here in a minute. And don't call me 'baachan'," she added, laughing. "You make me sound so old."

Naruto's eldest child giggled. "Of course, Sakura-san," she amended. "I'm sorry."

After a few moments of chitchat and catching up to the news, Seiji arrived.

"You're here," he said coolly.

"Oh no, Seiji-kun, I don't

always

pick you up here so you won't be late," Ayane said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Well, are you all set?" Seiji nodded, and Ayane took him by his arm. "Ja, Sakura-san!" she said, waving.

"Ja ne, Ayane-chan, Seiji-kun!" she replied. "Don't let my son get himself in trouble!"

She heard Ayane's distant laugh. Soon, they turned the corner, and they were gone. Sakura sighed.

A few minutes later, her daughters came bounding out of the house. "It's all your fault I'm going to be late!" Setsuna accused Seiya. "You're just cocky Kakashi-sensei is always late!"

"Well, I don't put on so much make-up, like you do!" Seiya exclaimed.

"Of course I don't! I only put a little blush on and mascara and lip-gloss!"

"But that's going to wear off anyway!"

"My my," Sakura said as they passed her. "You two are really quite cheerful in the mornings."

"Ja, Okaachan!" they said in unison.

"Ja ne," she called. "Setsuna, don't bite at Kazuki too much! And Seiya, don't be bossy around Takeshi so much! He might run away!"

"OKAAACHAAAN!" they yelled indignantly, stopping their run for a moment, both turning bright red. She just grinned and waved them away.

A few seconds after that, the only Academy Student of the family came running out of the house, hurriedly stuffing his things into his backpack. "Gottagojaokaachan!" Soushi said in one breath, running past her.

"Don't lose my extra kunai!" she reminded him.

As he turned the corner, a very confused Tenten came walking. "They're late, aren't they?" she said as she arrived by the gate.

"What else?" she replied apologetically as Tenten shook her head.

"Anyway, I'm here to pick Shin up," Tenten said briskly, going straight to business. She looked over Sakura's shoulder. "He ready yet?"

"He'll be coming any minute," Sakura replied. "I think Sasuke-kun's still brushing his son's teeth."

Tenten laughed. "You know, I thought I'd never hear about Sasuke doing things for someone else. But after all, he's being a father, isn't he?"

"Ah, well, you know how fathers go," Sakura said, nodding at Tenten's observation. "Neji's changed the same way, hasn't he?"

"Yes," Tenten said, smiling fondly. "And Shikamaru-san isn't a slacker much anymore, although he's passed that trait to his son. Even Naruto's matured a bit." The brunette suddenly scowled. "But I would really appreciate it if he didn't pass on his traits to children."

Sakura groaned. "You're telling me. Do you know he's planning to teach the kids the Sexy no Jutsu?"

"What?" Tenten exclaimed. "I'm glad none of my kids are hanging out with him."

After a few minutes of catching up to the news, Shinnosuke and Sasuke appeared behind Sakura. The older Uchiha nodded his greeting to Tenten. "Well, I'll be taking your son now," she said. "Come on, Shin-chan, Kaoru-chan is waiting to play with you."

"Yay!" Shin replied happily. "Bye bye, Kaa-chan, Tou-chan!"

"Ja ne," Sakura said, smiling back and waving. "Have fun, okay?"

As the two turned the corner, Sasuke wrapped his arms around his wife's waist. Sakura wondered why his actions still induced a blushing reaction from her.

"Aren't you late for class?" he mumbled into her neck.

"Nah, my first class isn't until nine," she said. She could feel Sasuke's low rumble in the chest on her back.

"Then, fancy going back to bed and…" He trailed off, leaving the rest to Sakura's imagination. She blushed deeper and giggled.

"As much as I'd love to, Sasuke-kun, that'd tempt me to cut off all my classes and spend the whole day in bed with you," Sakura replied softly, running her fingers around Sasuke's arms. "Besides, don't you have to get a mission from Naruto?"

"Aa." Sasuke removed his arms from her waist and turned her to face him. She found herself looking at his wicked grin. "Then… why don't we go home early and leave the cooking to the kids… and go up to our room and…"

"Oh, you perverted bastard!" she exclaimed, laughing. "Fine, I'll let you have your way tonight." She returned his evil grin. "But you so totally owe me."

"Done." He gave her a peck on the cheek. "Well, I have to go now." With that, he took leave of her.

At last, Sakura was alone, looking at the trail that her husband left.

I'm feeling so fond of everyone today… Maybe I just fell in love with my family even more…

With that last thought in her head, she went off to prepare for her first class.

A transparent figure watched Sakura get into the house. He smirked.

Idiot brother,

he thought.

Falling in love with such a woman and having little Uchiha brats with her.

So he managed to fulfill his goals after all.

In the end, my foolish little brother turned out not to be so foolish after all.

This time, he smiled a true smile.

I'll be watching you, idiot.

The next generation are the hope of the world. And sometimes, for some people, they are the means for change.

Wishing Upon a Star -

blissyblissliss

They sat on the roof of his mansion, enjoying the view of the star filled sky from their position as well as enjoying each other's mutual company.

"The stars are so pretty tonight," Sakura said softly, as she tilted her head up to look at the star filled sky. It was a moonless night; the stars were like jewels twinkling in the night sky.

Sasuke smiled gently at her, as he too, enjoyed stargazing as a hobby. It was no surprise though, since the Uchiha mansion provided one of the best viewing spots for stargazing. The night was quiet, with the occasional breeze in the air.

"Not as beautiful as you," he replied, tangling his fingers into her soft pastel pink hair.

She blushed at his comment and turned back, punching his shoulder lightly and playfully. When they were alone like times like this, Sasuke was really sweet to her. His comments like these never ceased to make her blush, although they had been together for quite a period of time.

"Have you seen a shooting star before, Sasuke-kun?" she asked all of a sudden.

"Yeah, why?"

"You know, Sasuke-kun," said Sakura, leaning into his chest as she tilted her head to look at him. "There's a saying that if you see a shooting star and you wish upon it, your wish will come true,"

"A wish huh?" mused Sasuke as he appeared to think deeply on that for a minute, his fingers on his left hand all the while tangling themselves into her hair.

"I guess I got my wish already," he said at last, a small smile on his lips.

"You did?" asked Sakura curiously as she turned around and looked into his black obsidian eyes.

His left hand still in her pastel pink hair, his right hand rose to cup her cheek gently.

"I found you,"

Bastard -

Tenshi no Hana-chan

Mmph. Sasuke-kun.

Bastard.

Sakura covered herself with her comforters, pouting and eating cookies under it. "Bastard," she said under her breath. She imagined the head of the teddy bear cookie as the Uchiha's raven topped head, and its chocolate chip eyes the prodigy's onyx orbs.

So cute.

She glared at it and bit the head off savagely.

Jerk. Idiot. Bastard.

"You're annoying."

"You're being weak – as always."

"I don't think you'll be able to reach my level, or even Naruto's."

She took another chocolate chip Yummy Bears! cookie, stared angrily at it, bit its head off, and chewed on the severed head as savagely as she could.

Ah, this brings back memories,

Inner-Sakura said, smirking.

The first day of training with Kakashi-sensei, and finding Sasuke-kun buried to the neck in the ground… I thought it was his severed head…

Mmph

, Sakura thought furiously.

If only his head were as severed as this cookie bear head I'm chewing on.

Ah, sadistic, aren't we?

Soon, her cookie bowl was filled with headless cookie bears. She looked down guiltily and began to nibble on them.

Stupid Sasuke-kun,

Sakura thought, her expression sullen.

If he thought I was weak, why'd he asked me to train with him in the first place?

"Sakura, we're going to train together."

"W-what?

Are you serious, Sasuke-kun?"

"Aa.

We're training together. The dobe and the hentai are on a mission. Don't make me repeat myself again."

"Really?

O-okay then!"

Stupid, stupid move! I should have known he would call me weak, that bastard!

Inner-Sakura cried, clutching her head.

I

knew

I should've given up on him!

"Lalalalala!" Sakura sang loudly, covering her ears. "I'm not liiistening to that voice in my heeeaaaad!"

You!

You listen to me or you won't have a coping mechanism!

Sakura crammed the Yummy Bears! cookies into her mouth in frustration.

"Oi!

That wasn't even taijutsu!"

"O-oh!

Sasuke-kun, I'm SO sorry!"

"Ch.

You're a useless sparring partner."

"Would you like me to stop healing you, Sasuke-

kun?"

"Lalalalala! I'm not going to remember thaaat!"

But she really couldn't help remembering. Sasuke was too much of a bastard.

"Useless weakling."

"Sasuke-kun… That… kind of hurts…"

"No wonder you're not an ANBU captain like me and Naruto."

"That's because I'm a medic!"

Sakura remembered him getting peeved.

Hell yeah!

Inner-Sakura screamed.

"Now you've gone too far! Just because you've got the Sharingan doesn't mean you can insult me!"

"I'm not insulting you."

"What are you doing then, Mister Righteous? Telling the truth?"

"To put it bluntly… yes."

"Naruto-kun was right. You

are

a bastard."

Whoohoo! We got to poke Sasuke-kun in the chest!

"Where the hell are you going now, Sakura?"

"Home!

Where weaklings like me belong!"

I think you left really deep footprints on the forest floor,

Inner-Sakura offered.

"Ch. I wish I'd left a footprint on his face," Sakura muttered.

Bastard.

Bastard.

Bastard.

BASTARD!

Sakura sniffed, holding back tears. "And here I was thinking he'd finally look at me as more than a friend and a teammate."

Valentine's Day is so near, too,

Inner-Sakura pouted.

"I hate him."

I wish he'd just shrivel up and die.

"Why do I keep waiting?"

It's tiring, this waiting business.

"If only…"

If only…

"If only I wasn't so in love with him!"

Bastard.

Bastard.

BASTARD!

"Oi."

Whoa… who turned on the lights?

"Mmm…" Sakura groaned. "Turn off the friggin' lights, dammit. I'm trying to sleep."

"You left the light on."

"I was under my blanke-e-et," Sakura grumbled as she stifled a yawn.

"You have crumbs on your bed."

"Mmphgloobrm mimpfble wmbd."

"Well said."

Sakura opened her sand-laden eyes to look into amused onyx orbs.

She covered her eyes as they adjusted to the light. "You," she muttered, glaring. "What do

you

want? Here to tell me off for going home when I'm not wanted?"

"I wanted to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about," Sakura snapped. "Go away." She grabbed her comforter from him and pulled it over head. "I'm still mad at you, you know, Sasuke-kun."

"You can't stay mad at me forever," Sasuke said, sitting down on her bed.

"I can and I will!" Sakura yelled from under her blanket.

"Sakura, listen to me," Sasuke said with a maddeningly patient air. Sakura hated that. "You're acting like a three year old." He pulled the quilt to look at her scowling face and her tousled hair.

"You have some nerve insulting me in my own apartment."

"I'm not insulting you."

"That's what you said last time."

"I'm telling the truth."

"See?"

"No, no, I mean, I really didn't want to insult you." He actually had the grace to look apologetic.

"Yeah, right."

"Dammit, I'm telling the truth, Sakura."

"So why are you here?" she asked, as suspiciously as she could in her groggy state.

"I want to ask for your help."

"What, you want to marry me so you can complete your goal of reviving the Uchiha clan but unfortunately you can't love me because you don't know how?"

Sasuke snorted. "You have quite an imagination, Sakura, but it's not that."

Sakura scratched the back of her head irritably. "Then get to the point!" She was cranky whenever someone disturbed her sleep, and even more so when the one who disturbed her sleep was someone she was very irritated at.

He took her hand, looking hesitant. "Can you be… be with me… you know… for Valentines…?" He was as pink as Sakura's hair.

Sakura raised her eyebrows. For a second, she felt like saying, "Oh… Sasuke-kun! I – I – I'd love to!" She had the blush and the facial expression to complete the look already.

Do it!

Inner-Sakura hissed.

She watched his expression. Then her eyes grew wide in realization. She withdrew her hand and dived under the covers.

"Sakura!" Sasuke said, agitated. "I'm serious!"

"You're not! I know what you're planning!"

Bastard, bastard, BASTARD!

"What?"

"I annoy you! You wouldn't ask me if you weren't planning something! You think I'm weak! You really reallywouldn't ask me out if you were in your right mind!"

"Sa-ku-ra," Sasuke said, sounding restrained. "Would you get out of there?"

"No I won't! You're just using me to get away from your stupid fangirls! Now, listen up, Sasuke-kun, I may be a bit of a fangirl sometimes, but I'm not stupid!" She threw her covers off angrily, glaring at his surprised face. "Why don't you get one of your

idiotic

fangirls and ask

her

to be your date just so you can get away from the rest of them? You can get any girl you want. So beat it!" With that, she dove under the comforter again.

Sasuke frowned and pulled the covers off her head again. "Sakura, just listen to me for one minute."

"No." She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her head once more.

"Just for a second." He grabbed the blanket again.

"No." She snatched the comforter from him violently.

He grabbed her foot from under the covers and tickled the sole. Sakura shrieked. "Kyaaaa! Sasuke-kun, I'm warning you!" She tried staying angry, but unfortunately, she was giggling.

He pulled the comforter from over her head. "I told you to listen to me."

She kicked his hand away. He looked surprised. She let out a miffed sound. "Sasuke-kun, no matter how much you make me laugh, that still doesn't change the fact that I don't want you using me. I've gotten over that stage where I would humiliate myself just to get near you."

"Sakura, that's not-"

"Don't expect me to believe that!"

"Just hear me out, okay?"

She scowled at him, but then began to grin evilly when she got a little idea. "Say please. With sugar on top."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You're not serious-"

"Dead serious," she said, smirking. "Say it. Or I won't listen. You've got to learn some manners sometime, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke glared at her. "Fine. Would you listen to me, prettypleasewithsugarontop?"

"I'm listening." She smiled sweetly, but they both knew she could explode any second.

"Good." He looked her in the eye. He was as stubborn as she was. "For one thing, Sakura, I didn't mean to be too blunt with you this afternoon. I'm sorry about that.

"For another, I wasn't exactly going to ask you to be my date, I wanted to know if I can hide out here for a while during Valentines since those girls are going to mob my house. But that seems near impossible since you're quite mad at me."

I sure as hell am!

Inner-Sakura raged.

"And for another-" This time, he glared a bit more at her, "-I don't get any girl I want."

Sakura laughed bitterly. "You expect me to believe that? I believe the 'I'm sorry" part, which is holy for you by the way, and the fangirl-mobbing part, but I don't think I can believe your I-don't-get-any-girl-I-want act. You're Uchiha

Sasuke

, for Pete's sake! All the single girls in Konoha love you! They'd love to go out with you!"

"That's where you're wrong. There's one girl who wouldn't." She blinked curiously. He looked at her so intensely that she reddened.

"Would you go out with me, after I've been such a jerk to you today?" The Uchiha genius said this with a straight face, without even stammering or blushing.

She was about to say he was joking, but this was Sasuke, the guy with no sense of humor. She looked at him shrewdly, deciding to play along. She wasn't "forehead girl" for nothing. "That depends. Are you asking?"

"Depends. Are you going to say yes?"

Sakura looked mutinous for a second, then blushed prettily. "You jerk, backing me up to a corner like that."

Sasuke shrugged, smirking. "It's what I do. Now, what's your answer?"

"How can I answer when you're not even asking?" As Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, Sakura said quickly, "Don't answer that. It's just… this isn't how I envisioned you asking me out."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You anticipated this encounter?"

"Nah, I dreamt of it." Her eyes looked glazed. "You would tell me that I'm weak and annoying, but only because you want me weak so you can protect me, and I'm annoying because you can't get me out of your mind." She sighed. "Like that's ever going to happe- oh my lord, did I just say that out loud?" Blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Some dream," he muttered, a naughty glint in his eyes.

Hey, it's the best dream in the world!

Inner-Sakura fumed.

"But now that I think about it," Sasuke mused, "I guess it's all true." He blinked, looking abashed. "Oops, did I say that out loud?"

"It's true?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke scowled. "You needn't mind."

"It concerns me," Sakura said, pouting.

"The dobe and Kakashi have been dropping hints about it, so I know they notice. Pfft, that's why they left us in the first place." He looked irked, but he smirked at her again. "I'm surprised you haven't. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

"Hey!"

Sasuke crossed his arms. "Anyway, don't change the topic. Your answer is…?"

She sent him another icy look. "You know you're a bastard, don't you?"

"You know you're annoying, right?" Sasuke countered.

She deliberated him for a moment.

"Then my answer is yes, I probably would," Sakura replied with a tone of finality. She grinned, and Sasuke nodded.

"Then it's settled. You're moving in with me. Before Valentines."

"Su – What?"

He gave her his most arrogant look. "You heard me right. I want those bitches to know I have a girlfriend."

She wrestled him down to the bed, scowling accusatorily. "See? Ha! I knew it! You

are

using me to get away from your fangirls! And who says I'm your girlfriend?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and flipped their position. Sakura was as red as a beet. "I

do. And you got it mixed up. I'm running away from them because I have you." With that, he closed the distance between them, and without warning, he kissed her.

Explosives, fireworks, electricity, fire, static...!

Inner-Sakura shrieked, going happily wild.

When he was done with her, she looked at him in the eye dreamily, flushed. "Bastard."

Sasuke smirked.

"I know."

Bending the Shinobi Ways -

CrAzY-SiLLy-Me

From outside, you'd think the forest was peaceful at that time, animals were running around freely, doing nothing but their own thing; look for food, care for their young or even escape from a predator. Speaking of predators, one human being, a criminal of Konoha, tried to escape a group of ANBU team.

"Kso, I can't shake them off!"

Again, he tried to run away, dodging a few kunais that were thrown at him and hopping from branch to branch. He was determined to lose them and as he saw an opening of the forest, his determination grew and his frown turned to a smirk.

"Hah! I win!"

As soon as he jumped off from a thick branch, a kunai came in contact with his left thigh and a few more to stop him from running away. "Damn it!" he yelled, landing on the ground face down as he tried to get up and remove the kunai that was shot at him.

"Don't bother," a voice said as the owner came right out of the thick bushes and trees that surrounded the area. The victim looked up with angry and horrified eyes as he saw the figure emerge from the darkness and pull off his ANBU mask to reveal his eyes red with 3 black comma-like shapes circling around his eye pupil. "You're caught."

"Uchiha…" he muttered icily and spat on the ground as if the name was a dirty word. Sasuke twitched and resisted to punch the guy square on the face. Unfortunately, he didn't have such resistance when it came to his family name.

WHAP!

That sure gave the criminal a taste of his own medicine and to never ever insult the name of the Team Captain of ANBU.

"Geez, you didn't have to go that far Uchiha."

Sasuke just grunted and placed his mask back on. "Let's go back team, Hokage-sama told us not to kill him,

yet

." The group nodded and they headed back towards Konoha, carrying their target with them.

"Yep, great job ANBU team! You did well, you're all dismissed, except for you Uchiha Sasuke" The Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, said to them as they gave their respects and left, leaving their team captain behind. "So, you used the old trick again eh, Sasuke-teme?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." he replied. As much as he wanted to call him dobe, he really couldn't, He is, after all, lower than him, the Hokage.

"Damn respects…"

he cursed at it in his mind and turned back to his best friend and former rival.

"Oi, Sasuke, no need to be formal and respectful when we're alone! How many times must I tell you that?"

"Sorry Naruto, but if I get used to it, I might start losing respect to you even in the presence of the other ninjas." He said, giving a sigh. "Anyway, what do you want? You wouldn't tell me to stay behind for nothing."

"Ah, yes, that," he said, putting a scroll down and turned to face him. "How come you always go straight home without seeing a medic nin first? Didn't I tell you and everyone else that every ninja who comes back from a mission must have a check-up?"

"I don't need it."

"Oh really?" he asked, giving his infamous foxy grin "Then how come you have lots of bandages wrapped around your hands and arms eh? Even if you gloves do hide them, I can still tell Sasuke, and I think you also have bandages around your abdomen."

"…"

"Am I right?"

"She told you, huh?"

Naruto remained silent for a while before giving a grin, then a light chuckle until he laughed, his kid-like self returning. Sasuke glared at him with a slight blush creeping through his cheeks. "Shut up," he said and added "dobe." He smirked as the blonde stopped and gave a menacing look. "I'm no longer a dead last, I'm a dead first!"

"True, but you're still an idiot."

"Fine, fine, say what you want," he said, pouting and then smirked again, turning to face him. "So, having feelings for our little Sakura-chan yet?"

Again, he blushed and glared. "No," he snapped "A shinobi mustn't have feelings or emotions."

"Yes, yes, I know that crap thing." Naruto said, waving a hand at him lazily. "But that rule is only meant for missions, I mean, look at me! I've got Hinata-chan as my wife and I'm happy! You've already accomplished one of your goals and now, all you need to do is resurrect your clan and you certainly can't do that on your own!"

The Uchiha prodigy just gave a sigh and narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "You're Hokage, you

are

the rules, but I, like any other ninjas out there, must follow and live by the rules. So don't expect me to have a feeling like that you did towards Hinata-san."

Though not used to adding suffixes to names, he still had to give respect to those who are higher than him, as what his team does to him. He looked down and gave another sigh. "Are you telling me to break those rules?"

"Break, no! I meant bend the rules!"

He raised a brow. "And how?"

Naruto grinned. "I know your secret Sasuke," he recalled the last talk they had when he was so thirsty after an A-rank mission that he grabbed a bottle which he thought was water inside but was really truth serum. "You told me yourself that you like her."

Sasuke couldn't counter that, he could clearly remember how embarrassed he was when he confessed it right in front of him and a few of his ANBU team. Oh how he wanted to say that it was only an infatuation but Naruto had a solution to almost all of his loopholes.

"So, what exactly is the reason why she goes to your house every night?"

"I just… want to avoid those nurses there… they keep on looking at me with hearts in their eyes…"

Naruto laughed and pointed at him. "You're an ANBU captain, don't twell me the man who doesn't fear anything fears girls!"

"I do not!"

"Yes you do."

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Not!"

"Prove it by going there to the hospital right now!'

"Shit," he cursed, again, Naruto had caught him. "When did you get so smart?"

"Since it involved you and Sakura-chan," Naruto answered. "So, there is something going on between you eh?"

The Uchiha prodigy snorted. "No, Naruto, and if that's all you're going to say, can I go home now? I'm really tired."

"Yeah, but you still have to pass by the hospital!"

Sasuke sighed, "Fine." And to the hospital he went. After he walked outside his office, he sighed and leaned on the door.

"Bend the rules, huh?"

he began to walk out of the building and towards the hospital, hands in his pockets and ANBU mask covering his face. Not that it really prevented some of the nurses to find out but at least they hesitated, thinking that it might be someone else.

He entered a patient's room where Sakura was talking to Hinata who stayed in the hospital for a few days since Naruto insisted and that in case the baby was to come, at least she's already there. Sasuke pushed the lower part of his mask upwards, removing it from his head and placed it inside his backpack. "Hey Sakura, Hianta-sama."

The two girls turned to the voice to see a slightly smiling Sasuke as they returned it with a warmer smile. "Good to see you, Sasuke-san." Hinata greeted as he walked towards them and gave a slight bow as a sign of respect, even if the former Hyuuga told him it wasn't necessary.

"Were you able to escape your fangirls out there?" Sakura asked and got up to place her record down on the bedside table.

"Aa," he answered, placing back his hands in his pockets. "I was just glad they hesitated at glomping me."

The two giggled at him as he gave a horror-stricken face at the thought of all the nurses leaving their patients or post just to get a hug from him. "How annoying…"

"Hey," Sakura said, giving a poke on the forehead. "You once thought of me as that."

"Yeah,

once

."

"Did Naruto-kun ask you to go here Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked, looking at him as he turned to face her and gave a nod. "Aa, he did."

"Okay Hinata-sama, I just need to check your blood pressure and you can get some rest." Sakura said and turned to Sasuke. "Maybe you should wait for me at home."

"Iie," he replied, shaking his head. "I'll meet you at

the

bridge." With that, he got up, made a hand seal and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hinata sat up as Sakura began to check her blood pressure.

"Sakura-chan,"

"Hmm..?"

"Do you still love him?"

She didn't answer for a while before giving a bright smile. "Yes, I tried to forget about it but I can't, and you know what, my love finally got through him."

Hinata wasn't able to fully understand but she somehow had a feeling that what she thought of was the right answer.

"Perhaps she and Sasuke-san are already in a relationship without us knowing."

She smiled to herself.

"I'm happy for you Sakura-chan."

The moon that night was shining bright and the stars added lights to the dark sky as a warm wind blew over the streets of Konoha.

"Still as peaceful as ever,"

a man thought, walking around the place as he reached his destination. He hesitated at first before walking towards the bridge, the place where his old team usually met, when he was still a genin.

"How many years has it been since I last went to this place?"

Resting a hand on the railings, he looked down below the calm river that flowed continuously, never seeming to come to an end. His eyes stared at it, looking as his reflection did the same. He reminisced the past after he closed his eyelids; this was also the place where he told her how he really felt, after he came back from his goal in killing his brother.

Flashback:

Sakura had decided to walk around that night. She had been tired after tending to a few injured ninjas and Tsunade-sama had given her a break. The medic nin, with her hair up in a bun, thought of walking toward the bridge where she and team 7 would usually meet, such a thought brought a sad smile on her lips as she continued to head towards the old place.

Upon reaching there, she didn't expect to see someone, more so to see

that

someone on the bridge, clinging to the railings as if for support as he continued to cross the bridge.

"Could it be..?"

her heart raced as she walked faster, her feet breaking a jog, then to a run. Sakura had reached the middle of the bridge and stopped as the approaching figure did so as well. Both their eyes met and widened as she fought the tears that tried to flow down her eyes.

He, on the other hand gave a small smile, a smile that she and team 7 only saw, a smile he always reserved for close friends of his, however, it not only showed happiness but also pain and sorrow, as well as guilt.

"Who would've thought,"

he began, inching towards her, his right hand clutching to his left side that was badly bleeding. His lips still had that smile on his face as he was only a few inches apart from her.

"Who would've thought that the last person I saw here before I left, will also be the first person I'll see when I come back…"

he whispered so as she could be the only one to hear. He continued before she could say something.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, and again… thank…you…"

she knew he was wounded badly and had a hard time to speak yet he still spoke, just for her, just for her to know what he feels and felt back then.

He collapsed onto her after he whispered a soft

"I missed you…"

and everything went black as he felt her arms catch her and wrapped around his body, he knew right then and there that he was safe, just the way he felt back in the forest of death after Orochimaru gave him the curse seal and before he fainted, it was like déjà vu but that didn't matter to him, he just knew that she won't let anything happen to him, after all, there were only 3 people whom he

really

trusted and one of them is

her

End of Flashback

"You're so deep in thought, ne, Sasuke-kun?"

He was interrupted in his train of thoughts when he heard a feminine voice. Sasuke smirked and turned his head slightly towards his former teammate. "Are you sure? I asked you to meet me here remember?" Sakura blinked and placed a finger below her chin, a gesture that showed that she was thinking. "Oh, right."

He laughed a bit and turned his whole body to face her. "You told him, didn't you?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't stop bothering me, but not everything about…us…"

"I figured as much," he said, looking to meet her gaze. "What exactly did you tell him?"

"That you wanted to avoid some of the nurses there so I decided to go to you instead."

"I see…" he whispered more to himself than to her. He faced the water below again and rested both elbows on the railing, hands clasped before him like his usual pose back in the Academy except he was standing. "So, ready to tell them yet?"

"About what?"

Sasuke smirked "What we talked about last night, what I asked you, and what you answered."

Flashback:

Sakura had just finished treating his wounds by wrapping bandages around his arms and abdomen. She and Sasuke had agreed to meet here in his house instead of him going to the hospital. Sasuke hated the thought of the other girls trying to capture him in their arms and Sakura was jealous of it, even if she knew he wasn't interested in those girls. Just the thought of it angered and irritated her that she wrapped the bandage around his most severed injury too tight that the pain was too much for him to ignore.

"Sakura, that hurts! Are you trying to kill me?"

"O-oh, s-sorry Sasu-kun!"

She fixed the bandages again and then took the first aid kit to set it aside. They both heard the tea kettle whistle that she stood up to get it and so that they could drink and just relax that cold stormy night. Sasuke gave a sigh and leaned back the couch, looking up at the ceiling. He placed one hand inside his pocket, fingering the small thing inside it as he tried to think of what to say.

The medic nin came back with a tray full of two cups of tea, the pot and a few snacks for them to eat and drink. It's been two years since they had a relationship and no one seemed to know except for her parents and those who have noticed their behavior lately. He stared at her as she began to pour tea on one cup, her hair was held up in a bun by two black chopsticks that he had given her last year in a festival. She only had on a white long-sleeved button-up shirt that went just an inch above her knees, he only had the bandages on and his black ANBU pants but they didn't seem to care, they were sort of, used to it. She stayed over most of the time, after all, she does live on her own right now and though her parents refused to let her, she had convinced them that she was old enough to take care of herself and that she'd still come and visit them. Sometimes, it would be him staying over at her house.

"Sakura,"

At the mention of her name, she stopped pouring the tea and turned to him.

"Yes..?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you for the past few days."

Her green eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she thought of a few possible things he would be telling her that rainy night.

"What is it?"

she asked, looking down to hide her blush. He got up and took her hand, pulling the now strong, yet still fragile girl up into his arms but still kept a good distance so he could continue. He raised his hand to brush away her bangs that covered her eyes.

"I really love your eyes, someday, I'd make sure your bangs won't be able to cover them, then again, maybe you do that so that I'm the only one who could get a better look at them."

He grinned and she smiled back shyly.

"And when the others said that you have a wide forehead, they were just jealous because they wish to have one like yours so that they could get my attention to kiss it."

He indicated by planting a short and sweet kiss on her forehead.

"Then your hair, it's soft and has a unique color, most of all, I like it whenever it comes into contact on any part of me."

This, he pulled the chopsticks out as her long hair fell down slowly.

"Whoever said that I like girls with long hair was wrong, in fact, it should be I like

a

girl with long hair and who goes by the name of Haruno Sakura,"

he said, earning a slight blush from her as he knelt down on one knee, taking out the object he was fingering at a while ago from his pocket

"Soon to be,"

he opened the navy blue box and revealed a simple yet elegant silver ring.

"Uchiha Sakura."

He knew that she didn't like anything fancy or most precisely, preferred simple jewelry and silver, more than gold. It wasn't as nice as a gold jewelry but to her, silver was still one that she'll most likely appreciate.

"Sakura, will you marry me?"

Lost of words, she clasped her hands on her mouth as tears formed in her eyes and she gave an enthusiastic nod. She pulled him up, tackling him to a tight hug and planting a kiss on his lips before she spoke

"Of course I will."

And he smiled at her answer. He took the ring, grab her left hand gently and placed the ring on her ring-finger.

"Good."

Was his answer, it usually was and she didn't care. She just slowly closed her eyes when their foreheads touched as she felt his warm breath caress her face and the gap between their lips gone when he kissed her gently but with love and passion. To make things more intense, she pulled him on the couch and right then and there did things began to heat up, hotter than the now forgotten tea.

End of Flashback

She blushed a bit before walking towards him and leaned on the railings. "Are you sure I'll say

I do

?" Sasuke again, smirked and closed his eyes, feeling the cool breeze blow at his face and his bangs being pushed away by the night wind. "Yes, I'm positive you will."

"Are you sure I'll be happy?"

"Very

happy,"

"Will you say you love me occasionally?"

"Always,"

"Will you get mad if I show affection in public?"

"I won't be satisfied with just that."

"Are

you

ready to let them know?"

"More than you think."

"Will you love me forever?"

"Not even death is enough for us to part."

"Then, I'm ready as always."

"Good." He answered and straightened himself up. "It's getting late, you should go home." He added, matter-of-factly, "Unless you still want to check my wounds?"

"Good guess." She said. "Not only your wounds though." She said slyly and gave a wink.

He smirked; eyes still closed "Hn." And with that, the two walked towards his home, Sasuke still thinking of what Naruto had said earlier. "You know what, Naruto told me I should bend the rules about a shinobi not supposed to be showing emotions."

"And..?"

"I forgot to tell him that I already broke it,"

"Oh really?" She asked as he stopped and pulled her towards him; she twirled around as if they were dancing until she was in his arms, gazing at each other intently. "Since when, Sasu-kun?" as if she didn't know and slowly closed her eyes when his forehead touched hers, it was usually a gesture that he was going to kiss her. "Since I said I love you." And he captured her lips into his, arms wrapping around her small waist whilst she did the same around her neck.

After they parted to catch their breaths, they held each others hand and walked on home, his home. "Just so you know, I'm actually a rule-breaker,"

"And you always will."

Memories -

blissyblissliss

I'm so tired of being here

Suppressed by all my childish fears

And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just bleed

Cause your presence still lingers here

And it won't leave me alone

The young woman walked into the bedroom of her small house. Throwing herself onto the bed, she felt the tears pressing at her eyes. It had been almost three weeks. She just couldn't take it, couldn't accept that the love of her life was gone. But he was… he was gone and he was never coming back. She turned on her side, grabbing the picture off the nightstand. It was of the two of them, at Naruto and Hinata's wedding.

God, he looked so handsome, all dressed up for one of best friends' big day. She couldn't wait until the day they got married… a day she knew now would never come. A single tear slid down her cheek as she forced herself to put the picture down. After that first tear escaped her eye, there was no stopping the rest of them. They just flowed and flowed. She couldn't help it… it just hurt so badly. The pain was just so intense since his… she couldn't even bring herself to think the word 'death.'

Sniffling loudly, she stood, stumbling into the bathroom. She leaned over the sink, clinging to it so tightly that her hands were turning white. She cursed silently as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her bubblegum pink hair was a mess, her eyes were swollen, her nose was red… she was a wreck. She tried to tell herself time and time again that soon enough it would be okay. He could come home and hold her and make everything better.

But he can't come home, he's dead,

she thought bitterly. She felt the anger coursing through her, growing rapidly by the minute. Why the hell shouldn't she be? She was mad at him for leaving her, mad at herself for not being able to accept that he was gone, mad at that he had taken that mission alone without her and left her behind.

She had wanted to participate in the mission, but he had refused to let her. The mission was a highly ranked one, he had said, and he did not want her to get hurt. That was so like him, he cared for everyone close to him, but he didn't care about himself.

She felt the tears coming again, so she shut off the bathroom light and went back into the bedroom. She climbed back in bed, pulling the covers up over her head and curling into a fetal position, hoping that the sadness would end soon.

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have… all of me

Later that night, she spent her time gazing through her photo albums of him and her. They had been so happy together, she remembered. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she flipped from page to page, remembering the times she had shared with him.

She had been so happy with him, but all because of one mission, just one mission, he had slipped away from her. She thought back to the day when they had held a memorial for him. Everyone close to him had been present. The ex. rookie nine, his ex and present teammates, hell, practically everyone was present, even the Hokage. Even Kakashi was on time on that day. Tears flowed down freely as she remembered what Naruto, one of his best friends and teammate had said about him.

"He's the kind of guy you won't be able to forget, no matter how hard you try. He was one of the best friends a guy could have. One thing about him that people don't seem to realize is that he's fiercely loyal… once you break down those initial walls, he'd take his life for you. All I can think about is how much he'll be missed and how much we all loved him…"

The tears dripped down, dampening the photos in the album, but she didn't really notice. Her world felt so empty at the moment. She didn't think she could ever laugh again, at least not sincerely. Her world was taken from her in an instant. The man she'd laughed with, cried with, and told her deepest secrets too was dead. She lay back on the couch, biting her lip to try and stifle her sob, but it didn't work. She grabbed the pillow she had brought downstairs with her, clutching it tightly as she let the tears overcome her yet again.

You used to captivate me, with your resonating life

And now I'm bound by the life you left behind

Your face it haunts, my once pleasant dreams

Your voice it chased away, all the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have… all of me

Four days later, she still hadn't left the house. Hinata had brought her food from the grocery once, so she didn't have to go herself. Still, it wasn't like she was in the mood to eat. How could she think about eating? Now she was sitting on the floor of their… her living room, a large cardboard box in front of her. It was a box that she kept for years, containing a bunch of memorabilia from their relationship. Pictures, scrapbooks, and souvenirs from the trips he'd taken her on. She didn't know why she continued to look at these things when they only made her feel even more horrible than before. She leaned back slightly, covering her eyes as the tears slipped out of them yet again.

"You know, looking at all those pictures of him isn't going to bring him back," a voice said softly from the door, causing her to jump. Turning around, she saw Naruto standing in the doorway.

"I… I know Naruto. I just…"

"You have to stop dwelling Sakura. I know how much it hurts you to think about him being gone, but it'll get better, trust me," he said, walking over and sitting down next to her. He had just gotten home after another grueling mission. Man, it was still so different going on missions without him. It was taking a lot of getting used to.

"How can you tell me to stop dwelling Naruto! He's DEAD! How am I ever going to get over this?" she cried, tears sliding down her cheeks. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him as she began to sob loudly.

"I don't know, but you will. I'm so sorry," he said soothingly, rocking her back and forth.

Sniffling, she spoke again, "I… I guess I just have to accept that he's gone."

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone

But though you're still with me,

I've been alone all along

Packing up the box, she got out her packaging tape, stretching it across and sealing the box shut. She slid the box over to the basement door, opening it. Walking down the steps, she carried the box down and placed it on a table against the wall. She sighed as she felt another tear slide down her cheek. Naruto was right. She had to stop dwelling. No matter how hard it was, or how much it hurt, she was going to have to move on. She knew that he wouldn't want her to be living this way.

Walking back up the steps into the living room, she shut off the basement light. As she made her way back onto the couch, she noticed she had missed a picture. It was a picture of the two of them after they had gotten back from their first A-rank mission.

She reopened the basement door, going down the steps once more. She placed the picture on top of the box, the box that contained all she had left of him… memories. She sighed loudly, turning away. She climbed back up the steps. Once she reached the top, she turned back and looked at the picture, blowing it a kiss as she turned the light out.

"I love you, Sasuke."

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have… all of me

Behind Those Eyes -

Dark Angelic Kitty

"Hey there young man." An old man called out to an 18 year old boy whowas passing by in the outskirts of Konohagakure.

The teenager raised a perfect eyebrow at him and made no sign of movement. He didn't like strangers you see.

"Can you do me a favor and keep this bottle of liquid." The old man smiled as he asked and waved the tiny bottle in his hand lightly. The young man however, just looked at the old man like he was some kind of freak and stayed still. Doesn't he know that

he, Uchiha Sasuke, doesn't do favors? Especially to freakish old weirdos?

"Well, can you?" The old man asked, getting a little impatient, and ignored the man's cold expressions.

Sasuke analyzed the elderly for a minute and then at the bottle. For some strange reason, he felt himself nod and stretched out his hand to get the bottle of liquid.

"Thank you. Your good deed will be rewarded." The old man said happily and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Ok…

Sasuke stared at the bottle in his hands as he rested against a tree. He had just finished his training so he had nothing better to do but to play around with the bottle a bit. The colour of the liquid was as red as a fresh ripe apple on a hot summer day and the bottle was made of the clearest glass with intricate designs engraved on it.

Curiously, he unscrewed the glass chess-piece like cap and sniffed it carefully. The bottle was so filled up with the mysterious liquid that if one false movement is made, and the contents will immediately pour out.

"Heyy Sasuke-kun!" A familiar light tingly voice popped out of nowhere like a rabbit in a burrow and out of the blue, Sasuke felt himself jerk forward as two hands playfully pushed him on the back. Unexpectedly and accidentally, the bottle forced its way into his mouth for he was just sniffing it under his nose a while ago and didn't have enough time topull it away.

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Haruno Sakura asked as she noticed a stunned expression on his face. Did she really push him that hard?

"Err…sorry, about that? I think I pushed a little bit too hard…everything alright now Sasuke-kun?" Sakura inquired nervously to the raven-haired boy.

"Um…Are you mad Sasuke-kun?" She asked timidly and slowly walked around him until she was in faced him directly.

"No." He suddenly answered monotonously.

Uh-oh…

Sakura bit her lips and screamed at herself in her mind for being so stupid. Why did she push him?

And now he's mad…

she thought as two anime tears ran down her cheeks. (T.T)

Sasuke just stayed silent and had his head bent down making his dark hair fall over his eyes. Cautiously, she lifted his head up with her hands, hoping to see the famous Uchiha smirk on his lips but in the end…his expression only made her gasp instead.

His eyes were hollow and emptier than usual and his face was totally blank and lifeless. He looked almost like a zombie.

"S-Sasuke-kun? Are y-you okay?" She stammered. Oh boy, she was in big trouble this time. She had really made him mad.

"Yes."

"I'm really sorry for pushing you like that…are you mad that I pushed you? I'll restrain myself next time."

"No, but I think I drank a bottle of truth serum." He answered dully and just kept a dead expression on his face.

"What?" She flashed him a sign of confusion. "Truth serum? What's that?"

"I think it's a kind of liquid that makes you tell the truth without you knowing you that drank it." He replied with absolutely no emotion.

"You drank a truth serum? B-But why? You sure? How did you even get something like that? I didn't know those actually existed." Sakura said skeptically.

"An old man gave the bottle to me and then you came along and pushed me suddenly making me drink it because I was sniffing it at the time."

"Ack! So… when are you going to be back to normal?" Shesaid worriedlyand observed him. He was still the same hot man that she loved but she wasn't sure she wanted to love a half-dead man forever.

"I don't know. It depends."

"So…when you return to normal, will you remember what happened?"

"Maybe..."

"A truth serum eh?"

"Yup."

Inner Sakura: This is interesting...why don't we ask him some questions?

Noo! That's rude! I can't do that to Sasuke-kun!

Inner Sakura: C'mon you know you want to!

Well yeah! But...oh alright, I guess one or two questions wouldn't hurt.

Sakura thought to herself.

"…S-Sasuke-kun, who do you like better? Me or Ino-pig?"

"You."

Inner Sakura: Hell yeah! Take that Ino-pig! You see? That was a great idea! Now, let's ask him more!

"Okay um...Sasuke-kun, do you like me?"

"Yes."

Inner Sakura: Oh my god! Hell yeah!

"Do you think I have a large forehead?"

"Yes."

Inner Sakura: WHAT! Damn you...

"Do you think I'm annoying?"

"Yes."

Inner Sakura: Why you little...

"Grr...Why?"

"Because I can't stop thinking about you whenever I'm with you or alone."

Sakura felt her lower jaw drop. Did he just say that to her? Did he really like her? But why did he reject her when she asked him out on a date? One way to find out…

"Um...do you like me as a friend or as a lover?" She asked shyly, blushing deep red and felt her heart beat faster and faster and faster.

"Lover."

Her eyes widened and couldn't help but smile widely.

Is this a dream? This MUST be HEAVEN!

"Sasuke-kun, do you think I'm pretty?"

"Yes."

"Why did you-"

Before she could ask anymore, Sasuke's eyes and expression became normal again and began to fill with life.

"Ugh…what the hell just happened?" He muttered as he rubbed his head. "Sakura? What the heck are you doing here?"

She just stared at him with that same big smile.

"What?" He asked in annoyance and raised an uneasy eyebrow. "What's with the smile?"

Sakura, who had just become the happiest girl in the universe, lost control of herself and hugged him while planting a deep passionate kiss on him, "Hey Sasuke-kun! I love you too!"

And in his

very

shocked mind, stomach, and body…he felt happy butterflies.