Another One-Shot

YIPEE!

Disclaimer: I own a TV, a computer, gazillions of books and a jacket. If you check the list, you'll realize that Naruto is not one of them,

!#$*()

Sweet Dreams

When I left the village this morning, I never thought that I'd be here. Out of all the places and all the people, I never thought I'd be here with him.

And worst of all, I was alone.

I, Sakura Haruno, top medical-nin, apprentice of the Hokage, and former member of the now inexistent group seven, was standing in the legendary Valley of Death –where all the hopes to bring back Sasuke were lost, -in front of non other than the most disgusting and cruel excuse of a human being that had ever set foot on the planet.

I watched him with hatred, eyeing his moves.

He stared back at me, amused. We both seemed to be frozen in the moment, and if his pitch-black hair hadn't been swinging softly with the wind, I would've thought that I was staring at a picture. Right then, his compelling black eyes turned blood red, and even though I knew this technique, it didn't fail to amaze me.

"I've seen you before, haven't I?" He asked in a smooth velvet voice. A voice so beckoning that it almost broke through my wall of ire. I glared at him and snarled.

"Itachi"

I'd only seen him once, but Itachi Uchiha was certainly a legend around Konoha. An infamous murderer who spilled his family's blood without so much as a flinch (as far as I've been told) and then turned his back on his only remaining relative: hi brother.

My teammate.

Sasuke.

"Yes, I have." He answered his self-made question. "You are my foolish brother's teammate. Your hair color is not too common." He said more to himself than to me. "I have to say, my brother made the right choice by leaving you and all those weaklings behind. You were holding him back."

"Shut up." I spat with hatred. "You have no right to say what's right or not for him. Not after you did."

"I did what I had to." He said lightly. It churned my stomach to see him so calm and lighthearted as he talked about the massacre of his family.

"You're disgusting." I said, feeling the fowl taste on my mouth. I clenched my jaw and tried to contain my face from contorting into those expressions of pure hatred and disgust that I wanted to expose so bad.

He smirked. "Tell me something new." He whispered to my ear.

I was completely shocked. When had he approached me? How had he gotten to me before I noticed?

Without a second to react, he punched me straight in the gut and sent me flying back against a cliff. The same cliff that I'd always imagined Naruto smashing into every time I heard the story. The one I'd imagined the thousand times that I'd come here, hoping to find any remain of Sasuke's memory.

I stood up from my rock wanna-be grave and wiped the small trickle of blood that oozed from the back of my head, staining my hair.

"You know what? I don't have much time." Itachi said. "I'll just get this over with."

"Don't underestimate me." I threatened, trying to sound imposing and intimidating. Judging by his smirk, it had been a poor attempt. He didn't say another word when his red eyes shifted once again and turned into one of the most feared techniques for every ninja.

"Mangyeko Sharingan!" Itachi's smooth voice bounced swiftly across the Valley of Death and was carried away by the wind. I knew I was in trouble.

I was suddenly hanging by a rope that held my wrists from what, I didn't see. The only thing that I could see were my feet dangling over nothingness and a cord tht tied my hands into the infinite.

"You should consider it an honor to die by the hand of the Mangyeko Sharingan, you foolish girl." Itachi said, standing on the same nothingness from which I hung. I hid the fear behind my eyes and bit my lip to stop it from quivering, but a whimper of fear escaped my lips before I was able to bite it back. Itachi smirked again.

Without speaking a word, he thrust his sword into my abdomen. I felt the tearing pain and bit back a scream. He withdrew the sword and repeated the process on me over and over.

After the third time, my tearing scream filled the air of wherever I was. I couldn't stop a single tear from rolling down my face, but I vowed not to let another one fall. Itachi Uchiha was not going to make me cry.

"You're more resistant than I thought…" he considered. "No matter, I'll break you in no time."

"Stick it where the sun shines." I managed between my gritted teeth. He drew back the sword and was ready to thrust it into my chest to give the final blow, but he stopped midway and smirked.

This wasn't a normal smirk, though. It was more emotional. There was something behind it. Something excited Itachi.

The rope loosened its grip on me and I fell to the ground. I looked around me. I was in Valley of Death.

"We'll take this up some other time. There is a more important pray that calls for me." Itachi said and disappeared.

Before I did anything else, my hands flew to my stomach and chest, checking the damage.

Nothing.

Not even a scratch was to be seen.

"Sakura!!!!!!" I heard a voice call me and my blood grew cold. Was Itachi back? Was this my final hour?

"Sakura!" The voice called again, but this time a sense of recognition hit me. Once more, the voice filled the Valley.

"Naruto," I whispered. "Naruto!" I yelled this time. My blond friend emerged from the top of the cliff and jumped towards me.

"Sakura-chaaaaan!" Naruto ran and hugged me. Behing him, Gai-sensei and Lee ran vigorously towards me as well, while TenTen and Neji followed, bored.

"Sakura-san! It warms my heart to see you alive and well!" Lee said. I smiled at him. He was definitely a weird guy, but he was sweet enough.

"Hey… What are you all doing here?" I asked. Naruto grinned.

"The Hokage sent us because there were rumors of Itachi around, and she wanted to make sure you got home okay. But apparently, that thing about Itachi wasn't true." His expression fell a bit at this. I chose not to tell him about out encounter, or he'd recklessly chase after him. "Sucks, too. I was really excited about a mission like this." I felt a pang of guilt at his disappointment.

"How about when we get home I treat you to Ichiraku's?" I offered. Naruto's face lit up once again and he nodded vigorously.

"Well, it's time to g back to Konoha! We have to report to our Youthful Hokage!" Gai-sensei said. Lee cheered him on.

The rest of the day was monotonous, and I went to sleep early. For some reason, I was exhausted. However, a sound woke me up I the middle of the night.

With my heightened senses, I perceived the presence of another Shinobi, but I pretended to sleep, until said intruder came close to my bed. With a quick motion, I drew a kunai from under my mattress and flung it into the dark and indistinguishable figure in the pitch-black room.

The figure counterattacked and we fought in the darkness. The moves were predictable, almost familiar. It wasn't until he (in one of my punches, the intruder grunted, and I recognized a male voice) trapped my foot mid-kick and hissed that it all hit me.

"Sakura quit it!"

My eyes widened in realization. I stared in shock at the dark figure, which I could not see, yet I gaped at.

Two years is a long time, but not long enough to forget the voice of a friend.

"Sasuke." I whispered. It wasn't a question. It wasn't a statement. The words just jumped off my lips before I was able to do anything about it. He turned the lights on and I was awed. "It's you."

He was as breathtaking as always. There was that pain an sadness that I'd always known in his eyes, and I realized that I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. Surprisingly, he just looked back at me, sad.

"Yes." He said. I couldn't contain myself. I jumped in his arms and wrapped mine around his neck. Drawing a deep breath, I took in his scent and waited for him to push me away. Surprisingly, he didn't.

Sasuke didn't push me away. Or insult me. Or get annoyed. Or did anything for a moment. After a few seconds, he put his arms around me and leveled his lips to my ears.

"Sakura, you have to wake up." He said so softly and smoothly that I could've melted right then and there. But then it hit me.

Wake up?

"Wake up, Sakura." He said once again.

I jolted up in my bed and looked around me.

No Sasuke.

It was all a dream…

I sighed and went to the kitchen for some water. After that, I fell asleep again.

($*&%)

I didn't bother telling my friends about my dream. I didn't deem it important enough. It was just one dream, right?

Wrong.

I was working at the hospital, treating the wounds of a soldier, when Shizune rushed in to the room, alarmed.

"Sakura, there is someone who needs your immediate attention! The Hokage is out. I'll take care of this one. Go to room 305 ASAP!" I ran to the room, naturally.

However, when I entered, the bed was empty. Empty and made.

Was this Shizune's idea of a joke?

"Sakura," came the same velvet voice from my dream. I didn't turn around. I couldn't face him again. Not here. Not now.

"Sakura," He called again. Unable to resist, I turned to him and glanced shyly at his face. We locked gazes for a moment and then I looked away.

"Stop it." I said. "You're not real." I mumbled.

"Sakura, listen to me." He said sternly, grabbing my wrist. How could he not be real if he felt so? He was holding my wrist. He was there. How could he be fake?

But what if he wasn't?

What if last night's dream was just a coincidence? What if Sasuke really was here.

"Sasuke?" I asked meekly. "Are you really here?"

"Yes." He whispered in my ear again. I felt the warm air brush and caress my cheek and every inch of my body stiffened. The small glass containing the bandages I'd brought collapsed under my grip and wounded my hand.

Ever so gently, Sasuke took it without speaking and wrapped one of the bandages around it. After he did, he didn't let go of my hand. He brought it up to his face and brushed the back of it to his lips, like the kiss of a butterfly.

He whispered so softly that the breeze of his breath gently played in my skin.

"Sakura, wake up." He sounded almost begging. "You've got to wake up."

Again, I jolted up from my bed in the on-call room.

It'd all been a dream, again.

But it felt so real… His lips.. his breath… his hand… even the glass…

I raised my hand and held it in front of me. Baffled, I stared at the tourniquet wrapped around my hand gently. Just like he had.

So he was here, right?

Sasuke was here?

I wanted to believe that he was. Oh, I craved to believe that he was here with me… but some part of me told me not to fool myself.

Of course he wasn't…

Why would Sasuke come back to Konoha?

But then what about the bandage?

I figured the best thing was to talk it over with Ino and Hinata.

*#)%*2

"Seriously forehead, you can't possibly believe that." Ino said. "I mean come on! Put your feet on the ground! He's been gone for two years, he's not coming back!"

"But then what about the dreams, and the bandage?!" I demanded. I knew it wasn't fair, but I wanted an answer, and I didn't care where it came from.

"Sakura," Hinata said softly, "the probably is just a projection of your mind, and you must've injured your hand at some point and treated it yourself without noticing. It happens all the time, you are usually very distracted."

I knew they were right. What was I thinking?

"Seriously, forehead, you've gotta wake up!" Ino said, but from her lips came Sasuke's voice. I knew what came now.

Quickly and in one motion, I sat up in my bed. It was the middle of the night. Ow had I gotten here?

"Sakura." Sasuke said. I turned in the direction of his voice and desperately I whispered.

"Sasuke!" and I clung to what I guessed to be his neck.

"Sakura, you've…." He began, but I cut him off.

"Don't." I whispered desperately. "Don't say it. When you say it, I'll wake up, and then you'll be gone…" I began sobbing. "Don't say it… please…" I begged. He held me close to his body. And caressed my cheek with his hand.

"Wake up…"

For the first time, I didn't jolt up. I was groggy and in pain…

I wasn't in a room… what was going on?

A bright sun ray pierced my eyes through my eyelashes and I heard gentle wind and the quiet of death. Slowly, I parted my eyes and almost gasped.

I was in the Valley of Death. Most of my body rested on the ground, but there was someone cradling my head, whispering indistinctively. I made an effort to make out the words of this person, who's face was hidden with the sun.

"Sakura, wake up…"

My eyes flew open.

That voice.

Those words.

"Sasuke…" I said.

Was I still asleep? Was this just another cruel dream?

"Sakura," Sasuke said to me. I stared at him like a deer in the light. "That bastard had trapped you in his Mangyeko." Sasuke said in a cold voice. So cold and sharp that I could hardly believe that just moments ago he was begging for me to wake up. I looked to the floor several feet away.

Itachi Uchiha laid there in his demise. There was a sword thrust into his chest, an even from here I knew he was dead. Wide eyed, I turned to Sasuke.

"You…?"

"Hn." He said and looked away. I tried to move but I couldn't. I was severely injured. "He trapped you in his Mangyekou while we fought. He developed a new technique where he accesses to the victim's memory to trap them. That's what he did to you." he said coldly.

"Sasuke." I said, trying to rise.

"Don't move. You're injured." He said and kept me there. That is when I knew that there was some shred of my dream Sasuke in the real one. I smiled a small and painful smile which he didn't notice.

"Thank you." I whispered. And there, in his arms, I fell deep asleep, as comfortable as I've ever been.

!*#(%

There.

Blame Art History class.

Or maybe French.

Who knows?

Hope you like it!