Naruto 1. Breathe

** I switch from Sakura's point of view to third person once she meets other characters—so please don't think I'm crazy:] She should be about 22/23. The 10 years I talk about is from the point of when Sasuke left—If what im saying doesn't make sense—please wait for new chapters. But this starts after he has already killed his brother and the war has ended. He never returned (so still a threat to Konoha), but instead went off on his own mission. And whatever is in italics= Sakura's inner thoughts. The song that I use is To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra. It is an incredibly beautiful song and will always be a favorite of mine. Every time I listen to it I can't help but think of Sasusaku:) GO LISTEN! Enjoy! I do not own any of the characters or the original Naruto story. They are from the great Masashi Kishimoto.**

_I can't believe I'm lost. This mission was supposed to be a piece of cake. _

The sun had fallen and the owls were already spying through the woods. The sleepy trees seemed to groan in the wind and a chill slithered down my spine. _Ugh dummy, I knew I should have left with the others._

I have never been afraid of the forest at night. In fact, I loved the way the moon could illuminate the land and outline its beauty, so it would never be lost in the dark. The air is crisp with the beginning of fall, my favorite season. With this season will come the opportunity for spring to flourish. Leaves will soon fall, and change color for their glorious decent. I believe those two seasons belong together, but sadly are not able to exist at the same time. Nature just won't allow it. It's almost like how the sun will never meet the moon. Yet, the cherry blossoms never show their sadness. They bloom every year like they did the last. However, every blossom has a weakness, but with that weakness she finds rebirth.

Trickling water could be heard in the distance, and before I could scold myself for losing focus, my feet were already walking in its direction. Tangled, moss covered tree roots, served as giant obstacles to climb over. Preforming this task just amplified the pounding in my aching feet. I needed rest_. I suppose one night wouldn't hurt. Naruto will be waiting, but he knows I can take care of myself. Besides, at this tired pace, I'll never make it back._

"Hmm," I hummed with warmth, as I cupped the cold liquid in my hands to refresh my face. The silence in the air was such a comfort, but at the same time, a curse. Such empty sound allowed for reflection and the emergence of old memories. However, I was alone and in the dark. I wouldn't have to hide my tears or brush them from my cheeks. My sorrow would be allowed to breathe, and because of that, I found comfort. I sat against a tree trunk overlooking the moons wrinkled reflection on the small river surface. _Ahh, I would be content to just stay here forever. _

Closing my eyes, I just breathed. Thinking was too exhausting, and my brain had endured enough over the past few days. I just needed to breathe, and so I did.

I don't know how much time had passed, but I must have fallen asleep because I awoke to rain. It was still dark, but the rhythm of droplets hitting leaves accompanied the silence of the forest. I inhaled the sticky air and hugged my knees close to my chest. The moon and all of its elegance, was still floating among the stars. For some reason I felt as if we had an understanding, like it too was missing something. Even the stars seemed to lack their lucent beauty. To me, the night was crying. _Don't cry._

"You're not alone," I exhaled to the sky, hoping my message would comfort the frozen moon.

"Hn," a deep warm vibration danced in the rain.

And at that moment, I became the frozen moon.

10 minutes, no, 30 minutes. I wasn't breathing, i couldn't breathe…..

In reality, 45 seconds had passed and the rain had suddenly penetrated my shelter. And I couldn't move, I couldn't think, couldn't breathe. The pounding of my heart usurped the percussion from the clouds. The only thing that saved my life was the cursed muscle reflex of the human body. My lungs filled with air, but I still felt as if I was suffocating. My shaking hand gripped my pounding heart. _No way, there's no possible way. Calm down Sakura, it's not possible._

No matter how many times she told herself that, the silent tears still fell with the moons. _Sakura. Its. Not. Him. _

Inhaling deep and gripping her heart tighter, she slowly turned toward the direction of the familiar voice. The same wicked voice that haunts her in her dreams- The same soothing voice from her childhood memories-The same exact voice that she loved. _Loves_

And in that same second, 10 years melted away and her heart had released a devastating scream of buried agony. The dark silhouette began to slowly creep towards her shaking body. With every footstep came the crunching sound of dead leaves. She wanted to run, but the only thing moving was the same hand that had gripped her heart. It weakly reached out to the mysterious figure.

"Its…..not…." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Sa-sasu-ke-kun?"

Her eyes widened as rays from the moon wrapped around his masculine frame. His pale porcelain skin looked like white marble, worthy of a Greek statue. His black hair and long bangs perfectly framed his mature, sculpted face. The dark color of his hair almost appeared to have a reflection of blue from the moon's brilliance. His eyes were neither mean nor warm, but grey and carefully shadowed.

His movement stopped when Sakura reached for her kunai. She squeezed her eyes tight and jumped into an immediate defensive position. When she opened her eyes again, it was as if a halo of fire irrupted around her body. Her brilliant green eyes showed the same furry and courage that proceeded to eliminate Sasori. She was ready. She was prepared. _You have worked for this moment, don't throw it away._

Sasuke's eyes slightly narrowed, but his continence did not falter. He knew she was bluffing, she was shaking—and not from the rain.

"What are you doing here?" He growled.

It took her a few seconds to register his words. She was hypnotized by his changed voice. It was deeper, and vibrated through her bones as if it could keep her warm. She just wanted to close her eyes and tell him to speak again. But, she too had changed. No longer was she going to be the weak one. That was in the past. _You can do this._


	2. Comet

"Hah, nice to see you too Sasuke," she responded with a sly smile, happy to forget the kun at the end of his name.

"Leave," he demanded through his teeth as he turned his back and started walking away.

Oh she was pissed now. "Don't you dare turn your back to me!" She screamed as she charged forward with a kick aimed towards his head. He caught her foot like she planned, then she twisted down to grab his ankles. Just before she was about to make a hole in the earth, he yanked her by the leg and threw her into a tree. Instead of crashing, she flipped and sent a chakra powered kick into the trees side, slipping it in half. Pushing off from the force of impact, she jumped to safety in the high branches.

She stood over him displaying a look of disgust, no one would have ever thought she at one time possessed feelings for him. Rain made the ground soft and the tree branches slick. She would have to focus to make sure she wouldn't give him an opportunity to take her down. Sasuke still stood in the middle of the clearing, and when he looked up, his eyes were red with rage. However, she noticed something else in their depths, but couldn't find an emotion worthy of such magnetism.

"I do not care whether you live or die," he said with perfect clarity "And you WILL die if you push my patience further. Do not interfere."

_Teme._ Sakura was so angry he had said those words to her, that she didn't even hear his last demand. Anger was what she called the emotion, but broken was how she really felt. The feeling of being the same pathetic little girl from all those years ago just fueled her temper. All of those years trying to forget his existence, trying to forget his voice, his smell, his face. All of those years of training were to become strong enough, so that at this exact moment, she would find her strength. _10 years. Gah, how we've changed. _And with just one look at him, one word out of his mouth, and one touch, she had lost those 10 years.

The reality of the situation kicked in—she couldn't kill him. She knew that this very well may be the last time she would witness the moon among the stars. And she knew that no matter what he would ever do or say to her, she would always love him. It was what she was born to do. She was created to love the Uchiha. So if he really did want to fight her till the death, she would just smile at her love, for she would be dead without him anyway.

He was beginning to walk away, and a feeling of despair washed over her. He was leaving her again, like all those years ago. She couldn't help but feel panicked. With her strong façade fading, the little girl began to surface. The rain was still pouring and with each second, she felt like she would never see him again. Reaching for him, she almost let out a whimper. In response, her other hand pulled her wrist into her chest, while her teeth bit hard into her bottom lip. She watched him vanish into the shadows and with every step he took, it was like the pieces of her "mended" heart were being smashed against a wall. _Don't leave me._

Before she could think, her feet started moving on their own. Her other mind had taken over. Jumping through the moons tears from tree to tree, she yelled out his name. "Sasuke!" She moved fast from branch to branch, not really sure which direction she was heading. "Sasuke!" She couldn't feel his chakra, but then again she had never felt it to begin with. _Sasuke._

She stopped when she realized she had reached the edge of a cliff, which was connected to the valley below by a giant waterfall. There was no way someone could have gone beyond that point. This was the end. He was gone. Ever since that one night, she had regretted not doing more to stop him. She promised him love and happiness forever. The fact that he still left was justification that she meant nothing to him. _I still mean nothing to him._

The wind started to pick up and she began to notice something strange. _Where are all the animals? _She climbed up to the higher branches to see if she could see more from a greater height. Deciding to continue her search, she called out his name, "Sasuke!" It echoed through the valley below.

She stared into the darkness hoping for a response, longing for an answer.

Nothing. Just the symphony of rushing water and falling tears. Not until…H_uh, Sasuke?_ She could sense chakra close by, and before she knew it, she was speeding through the trees by the edge of the cliff towards the chakra. She didn't care about all of the possible outcomes, or how reckless she was acting. She just needed to speak to him. Maybe, just maybe, if he heard what she had to say, he would understand that he could still find happiness. And she was willing to do everything in her power to make sure of that. Even if that meant letting go of her dream that he would return with her to Konoha. She was almost there. "Sas—!"

In that same second, Sakura felt an impact so great, she blacked out for a few seconds. Her fingers clawed at the bark of the tree she was slammed against. "Ugh," she groaned, but was quickly silenced by a hand over her mouth. What brought her out of a daze faster was the sudden warmth that was spread over her body. Blinking the darkness away, her green eyes met obsidian—dark obsidian.

"Mask you chakra, " Sasuke whispered without losing the intensity of a barked command.

Sakura's eyebrows scrunched together with confusion. She tried shaking off the hand that was covering her mouth so that she could speak. But, her efforts were destroyed when Sasuke pressed her harder into the skin of the tree. She inhaled sharply and widened her eyes.

"Now!" He demanded.

Her legs were pinned by his, and his warm breath now trickled down her neck. Without hesitation she masked her chakra.

In response, Sasuke loosened his grip, but never increased his distance.

Sakura was losing her mind. She couldn't help but feel complete euphoria being so close to him. His heart beat was so controlled and almost inhuman, it only made hers speed. Her breathing made her self-conscious, and the rhymed expanding of her chest made her blush. She was so caught up in the warmth of his body, that she couldn't remember what she was going to say. There he was; she didn't lose him. Wide green eyes stared into the depths of his black bottomless orbs, and she didn't have a thought.

They stayed that way for what seemed to be an eternity. Unfortunately, the moment was shattered by an approaching mass of powerful chakra. Sakura inhaled sharply, finally realizing just how incredibly powerful the chakra signature was. And, on top of that, there wasn't just one, there were several. Confused even more, Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but was again silenced by Sasuke's speed. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke's lips hovered over her ear. She went stiff when he began to speak.

"Assyrians," he breathed. Sakura couldn't help but close her eyes to such an intoxicating melody. Only when she could feel the cold return to her neck did she open them.

_Assyrians?.…Assyrians, why does that name sound so familiar. _Then it hit her. Lady Tsunade had warned her team about them a couple of months ago. They were supposed to be a new clan of vicious, merciless killers. To them any ninja from any village was considered a target and killed on sight. _This is not good. And if Sasuke doesn't want to fight them, then they are more formidable then I can imagine._

Sakura's thundering heartbeat was on the verge of giving their location away. She knew she had to calm down, but the proximity of how close she was to Sasuke combined with the threat of death, just created a crescendo. When Sasuke looked up to see her rosy cheeks, he finally released her body. He knew she understood the severity of their situation. They were outnumbered and overpowered. They had to lay low for any chance of getting away. With a slight nod, Sakura communicated her understanding.

Just as Sasuke turned around, the chakra signatures disappeared.

_Crap._

Just as she was about to reach for her kunai, she felt a burning sensation wrap around her ankle. In the next second her feet were pulled out from under her, and she was tumbling to the forest floor. Hitting her head on the branch she was perched on, she knew she had internal bleeding.

Gathering her chakra to cushion the imminent collision seemed incredibly difficult. Every time she increased her chakra flow, her right ankle felt like it was being dipped in fire. "ahh," she hissed through her teeth.

Her landing was hardly cushioned and she felt drained of her strength_. Broken - 3 ribs, 1 finger, left wrist. _She rolled to her side to look at her ankle. Instead, she was gifted with the very sight of three men and one woman, each carrying a glowing gold whip. Currently, one was tied around her burning ankle. Not caring to examine them further, she punched the ground creating spears of earth that were easily avoided by her enemy. She needed to distract them so she could heal herself. Yet, just thinking about healing her wound caused her leg to ache. _The golden whip. What is that thing?_

"Wondering why you feel so weak?" The tallest member chuckled. They were all dressed in black robes that were trimmed in gold.

_I am not weak!_

And with an explosion of power, she grabbed the whip and yanked as hard as she could. She managed to surprise the other clansmen and swung her attacker into the tree. Her hands where severely burned, but she had managed to untie the rope around her ankle. Before she could heal however, she would have to deal with the others in front of her.

With little time to react, whips flew at her from every direction. Twisting and flipping through the air, she barely escaped each crack. Enveloped in a green glow, she spontaneously began healing her broken ribs and wrist. Her blackened hands and ankle would have to wait. She would just have to channel the stinging pain into power. But there was one problem, she felt like she had been drained of more than half of her chakra. _The whip._ She was going to have to use every ounce of the chakra she had left with calculation and intelligence.

Every time she put a foot on the ground, she had a total of .75 seconds to push her momentum up so she wouldn't be snagged by the devils tail.

Finally managing to reach a height advantage in the trees, she tried to catch her breath. Shadow clones were created for each nemesis and they entered their own battle of taijustu. Sakura needed to think of a plan, but all of a sudden, the puff sound of her clones being killed alerted her ears.

Then it hit her—_wait, where's Sasuke?_ She didn't want to believe that he had left her—again. _No, he wouldn't….but he did say.._

_*FLASHBACK*_

"I do not care whether you live or die. And you will die if you push my patience further. Do not interfere."

*END*

A bullet of pain impaled her heart. She was bait—left for dead while he was free to run away in the night. After every single disappointment in him, you would think she would have learned by now.

Yet, in the back of her mind, looking off into the trees, she whispered— _Run. _

Dodging a shuriken, she was forced to dive to the left. If she had stayed her body would have been split in half by a surprise attack. Unfortunately, the leader had recovered and was pissed to the bone. Free falling, she had little control of where she would land. In mid-air she twisted like a tornado and released a shower of kunai in every direction. Landing, she immediately back flipped to avoid 3 whips. One managed to graze along her back creating a long open gash. She resisted the urge to scream, but only because she didn't want to give them any satisfaction.

She continued to dance through the attacks, punching and kicking anyone that she could get close enough to. But, it was no use, they seemed invincible. From her observations, they only possessed golden whips and were skilled highly in taijutsu. It didn't seem like they had any other talents. And with their chakra sucking whips, they managed to have an advantage in distance, which sucked when she was trying to get close enough to knock them out.

Sakura was covered with deep burn marks, most were dripping blood. And the hit to her head from her previous decent was beginning to make her vision blurry. Finally, she managed to land a chakra powered kick on the women, sending her full speed into a tree with a broken jaw. She didn't move after that. One of the men rushed over to her side and checked her pulse. Judging from his destroyed expression, she was dead. And with a growing smirk, she recounted. _1 down, 3 to go._

However, her smirk was short lived when the man disappeared in a flash. _Such speed. _Dodging a series of punches and kicks from the others, she tried to find relief in the high tree branches. Jumping through the tree levels, a sudden feeling of uneasiness followed her. Then—

BOOM!

Unable to restrain a yell of agony, Sakura screamed as she was kicked in the spine with such force, she fell like a comet into the earth.

On her back, the pain was too excruciating to move. She lay in a crater with her face to the stars, examining their beauty once again. Her eyes fought to stay conscious, but she was losing that battle—and fast. However, seconds seemed to pass like hours while she was admiring the night. With no strength left, she knew this was it. She would sleep well tonight.

A single tear escaped her right eye, but she refused to shed a tear for _him_. That tear alone was for Naruto. Trying to catch her breath, her chest rose and fell into a steady rhythm. And even though the pain in her back was like fire, the pain in her chest was 10 times greater. _I'm sorry my dear friend. I have failed you once again._

Alas, silence drowned the air. And as she stared up at the lonely moon, she began to hum.

**_By the cracks of his skin I climbed to the top_**

**_ I climbed the tree to see the world_**

**_ When the gusts came around to blow me down_**

**_ I held on as tightly as you held onto me_**

**_I held on as tightly as you held onto me_**

And with a calming breath she closed her eyes.


End file.
