Disclaimer- I do not, and never will, own Naruto or any of the characters. I just use them mercilessly for my own fan-based pleasure.

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Hero

She always thought he was her hero. She always imagined one day that he would come to her door and sweep her off her feet, just like in the romance novels she loved to stash away and read late at night. She believed one day he would realize he did have feelings for her, even though they never showed through that cold outer shell.

There was never a doubt in her mind, ever. But when he left, when he betrayed the village, when he betrayed her and abandoned his team, her unwavering belief in him faltered. He was always the hero in her mind, but now, in reality, he was the villain. He was fighting against everything he had been raised in, everything shinobi of the leaf were taught to know and cherish.

He had turned to evil to fulfill his lifelong goal, and it hurt her. She had seen him resist that curse that plagued him, she had seen him fend it off, and that bolstered her belief in his abilities and his loyalty even when a stronger sensei was seeking him out. She thought he would never betray the loyalty all shinobi were raised with, she never would have believed that he could do such a thing, but he did.

He left to seek power and strength beyond all comprehension. He left to grow and become strong so that he could finally destroy his scorned brother. She knew that was the thing he wanted to do most, she knew he wanted that traitor dead, but she never knew he would go to such lengths to fulfill his goal. She never knew he was so determined to spill that mans blood, his brothers blood, that he would turn on his own village, his family.

Her heart ached for his return, and she was tearing herself apart. She needed him to come home; she needed him to just be there, just so she could stop hurting inside. She was consumed by the sadness and the pain, devoured by the grieving and the waiting she put herself through. It had been seven long years since he left, and she hadn't overcome the grief it brought her. Her eyes were always dull and lifeless, masking the pain in her heart.

She no longer went out with her friends or held a social life. She was thin and pale, her hair unkempt. She was but a body still breathing without real life. She was nothing, even though her friends told her they needed her. She may have mattered to them, but to herself she was but a broken soul, lost in the dark. Her lamp was gone; her reason for becoming a strong shinobi had vanished.

She wanted to impress him; she wanted to know that she mattered in his eyes. But he had left, and she wasn't able to stop him. She may have bettered herself, she may have become an equal to her closest friend and longest rival, but she was still nothing to him. She wanted to curl up and die, she wanted to stop being...just, being. Sleep never came easy, because when she closed her eyes she saw him with those sharingan eyes, staring her down. She saw him in her dreams, telling her she was worthless and annoying.

So, after a while she stopped sleeping. She stayed up all through the night, trying to occupy her drifting mind. But it usually ended up focused back on him. It was always focused on him, and she could not escape. So, she would stay awake until her body forced her too sleep, or until she passed out from training. That was one thing she still did. She trained, she fought. But it was not with a purpose like before. It only took up time, taking her away from the thoughts that she did not want to face.

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"Come on, Sakura. You have to come out! It isn't healthy, staying in your room all day doing nothing. You don't eat, you don't sleep, you don't talk anymore...Sakura, you're going to kill yourself if you keep this up!" Ino pounded on the door, trying to force some sense into her mourning friend. "Sakura! Come out of there now!!" Her patience had been spent, and she forced the door open, breaking the lock.

Her worried blue eyes widened in shock at the sight before her. Sakura, her best friend, one of the perkiest people she knew, was curled up in an impossibly small bundle covered by bed sheets. She had lost so much weight; she looked like a small child. But she was definitely not a healthy child. Her skin had grown pale and sickly, her eyes ringed by dark circles that almost looked like the sand boy, Gaara, had given her his eyes.

There was no life in her stare, only a hollow gaze that looked semi-conscious. Her hair was tangled and dull. A tired out, pale shadow of what it used to be. Sakura was only a shell of what she used to be. No, Sakura wasn't even there anymore. She was holed up in her head, crying over the loss of her team mate, her friend, her love. Truthfully, she looked like she was dead.

"Sakura...what...what happened to you?" Ino took a few hesitant steps forward, watching the lump under the sheets sit up and hug her knees, rocking back and forth.

"He left, Ino. He left." Her voice was broken and small, her face like that of a child to shocked to react to anything.

Sakura was past tears now. She had secluded herself in her own little world, that which was filled with sorrow and loss. It was a place of darkness. A place that no one but the newest traitor could penetrate.

"Sakura, get up. You need a shower; you've been here for days. You will bathe, you will eat breakfast, and you will come out with me and the gang. You are not letting this kill you, Haruno." With a determined glint in her eye Ino dragged the lifeless kunoichi from her bed and forced her into the bathroom, tossing in a bottle of shampoo afterwards. "Now get clean!!"

Sakura washed and ate half a piece of toast before refusing it, and Ino gave her a disapproving look. She sighed and said nothing, pulling Sakura to her feet and out the door.

"Naruto is waiting for us at Ichiraku's, and you had better get used to seeing more of us. We will not let you go down like this, you hear me? You will get over it, you will move on, and you will thank us! Now walk!!" Ino pushed her forward, not leaving any room for protesting.

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That was four months after he had abandoned her. Since then Ino had roused her from bed every morning and forced food down her throat and taken her out with Naruto and the others, trying to get her life back. But it never happened. She dealt with it, she abided by their wishes, but she never smiled. She never laughed, and it was rare for her to speak more than a sentences' worth of words in one day.

She was still like that, and she knew that without him she wasn't going to change. Rock Lee kept trying to restore her bloom of youth, Naruto tried to get her to loosen up with some alcoholic beverages and lots of sugar, and Ino took her shopping and boy hunting. She tagged along, she watched from clouded eyes, but she never did anything. She lived for them, and that was all there was.

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"Come on, Sakura! You should try it! Really! All you have to do is knock down the bottles! It's fun, believe it!!"

"Carnivals are the perfect thing to restore your bloom of youth, Sakura! I know you can defeat those bottles! Let the fire burn in you heart and push you to victory!" Lee cheered and gave her his biggest smile.

Naruto pressed the ball into her hands, squeezing her fingers for encouragement.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. I know you can do it. Please, for me." He smiled at her and she tried to return it, but the movement was no long familiar to her face.

She blinked and grasped the ball, and one unenthusiastic pitch later she had shattered the glass bottles perched on the stand. The vendor handed her a huge stuffed puffer fish, it's eyes bugging out of its head. She nodded in thanks to the man, who returned it with a smile.

"Good job, lady. Who wants to try next? How about you, blondie!" He encouraged Naruto to take his shot at the game, and afterwards all three of the ninjas were carrying home a large plush.

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She still had that fish, and she cuddled with it whenever she was feeling particularly sad. She knew it was true that the only reason she was alive was because of her friends, because they wouldn't give up on her. And the truth of it was that she was grateful for their care and compassion towards her well being. But to her the life she led no longer mattered, because he had left her.

After a year or two she began a rigorous training session each day with one of her friends, pushing her limit until she passed out or until her partner forced her to stop. There was only one time that she had passed out, and that was her first day of training again after he had gone. No one knew she was going to put herself under that much strain to keep him off her mind, not after her display of lifelessness that she was constantly putting out.

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"Sakura, are you sure you can still fight? You're been going at it for over an hour now, and you don't look so good." Tenten put a hand on her shoulder, her brows sliding together in concern.

"Just fight." Sakura jumped away and returned to a offensive stance, preparing to attack.

Tenten shook her head and muttered, pulling out a couple of shuriken. Ten more minutes passed, and Sakura was swaying on her feet, the training grounds before her swirling and blurring out.

"Sakura, I really think we need to stop. You're going to pass out."

"Just...fight..." Sakura lurched forward and her vision went black.

Tenten was there in an instant to catch her.

"Sakura!"

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They were always cautious when they trained with her now. They always made sure she wasn't going to hurt herself or push her limits to far. There were only two times that she had actually showed emotion since he left, and one time it happened when she was training. The other was right after he had gone when she was overcome by the loss and the pain.

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"Sakura, you've pushed yourself enough. If you try to fight anymore, you'll pass out like last time...or worse. Please Sakura, let's stop." Naruto stood still and watched with concerned eyes as she panted and wiped the sweat from her brow not but six feet away.

"No. Fight." She gritted her teeth and closed her hand into a fist, preparing to strike her blonde sparing partner.

"Sakura, I said it was time to stop." His mouth curved into a frown, and he caught her fist in his hand when she came in for the hit.

She struck out again, with her other fist, and Naruto blocked it as well. Her eyes hardened with rage as she brought her leg up to kick him, and his frown deepened. Quick as lightning he bound her wrists with his chakra and took hold of the oncoming foot aimed at his side. She let out a sound that was not unlike a feral growl, and in an attempt to keep up the fight she attempted to head butt him. She missed entirely when he swept her remaining leg out from under her and she dropped to the ground, unable to fight anymore.

"Naruto, keep fighting. I don't need your little handicap!" That was the first time she had formed a full sentence since he left, and it startled Naruto. He wasn't used to her talking like that, especially since she was angry with him now.

He dropped to the ground, his eyes soft.

"Sakura, just stop. Please."

"No! No, no, no!" She beat on his chest weakly with her fists, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. "No..."

Naruto pulled her into a hug. It pained him to see her this way, and he could do nothing to consol her. Only that traitor could.

"Shhh...calm down Sakura. It's okay. It's okay..." He rubbed her back, trying to think of something better to tell her, but nothing came to mind. Nothing that would be of any use, that is.

She cried into his shirt, and he continued to hug her, trying to show her there was still somebody who was there for her. She had been there when he needed the encouragement the most, and now it was his turn. But the only problem was, he didn't seem to be doing any good. He couldn't get her to laugh anymore, and he felt like he had failed. He had failed his only remaining best friend.

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She hated remembering these things. But they always came back when it rained. Always. She was outside at the moment, letting the rain wash over her and chill her skin. She knew her friends would be angry to find her there, sitting in the middle of a rainstorm without a coat, but she didn't care. The misery poured over her, dripping from her limbs and sinking into her pores.

There was no escape, so she let it stay, pulling her down deeper into that dark, bottomless pit. She currently sat in a tree far from the gates of Konoha, letting the pain run free as it wished. The purple-gray sky above her head just kept on dumping down on her, and the wind tore the leaves from the branches around her and stuck them in her hair and on her skin, or they were blown away, pelted down by the rain.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them close, resting her chin upon them. Her dull, lifeless eyes scanned the chaotic scene around her, not caring that she would probably get sick or die from freezing to death out here. Death was no longer a scary thing, and if it came, it came. That's just how it went nowadays.

She became bored of her position in the trees and she jumped down, not caring that mud splattered her legs when she landed. Little things like that never bothered her anymore. She walked through the deserted woods, not giving any thought as to where she was going. It really didn't matter, she just wanted to go.

A sharp gust of wind whipped back her soaking wet hair and drove the rain into her face mercilessly. She didn't care, she just kept walking. After a long time spent aimlessly wandering the wind died down and the rain slowed to a fine drizzle.

The leaves and the plants shone with renewed life and the animals of the wood came out of their hiding. The clouds broke up and drifted away, leaving a blue sky and the glow of the sun illuminating the green of the forest. Birds tittered back and forth, chipmunks dashed to hunt down food, and a squirrel scolded her from high up in a lanky maple tree.

Everything had returned to life and was moving on again, but she did not. She was stuck in that rut she created for herself, and there was no use trying to escape. She decided it was finally time to head back home. This was one of those rare days when her friends gave her some time alone, and she always took advantage of it.

Once she had tried to read one of her favorite romance novels to waste the day away, but she couldn't bear to finish it. The love that the main characters shared was too much for her to handle, and she ended up curled into a ball on her bed the rest of the day feeling more miserable than usual.

Now she spent her time in the woods, letting go and relieving the suppressed emotions. This was her way of dealing with the stress and releasing it, and it was much different than the way her friends chose to do it, but she didn't mind. She liked being outside, especially when it rained.

She didn't bother reacting when she sensed the chakra of another ninja coming towards her. She didn't even care that they were standing, waiting for her beyond the bushes before her. For some reason, it clicked in her head that the chakra print was familiar to her somehow, but she didn't act upon that either. It didn't matter who was waiting, because she could care less.

"Hello, Sakura. It's been a while." When she pushed past the foliage she came face to face with a tall, muscular nin who had betrayed the leaf village.

Sasuke Uchiha. The one who left her.

She felt her chest tighten unbearably at the sight of her old team member, and her legs buckled. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped her head, dropping to the ground on her knees.

"No, no...not now...you aren't real...you left, you're gone, leave me alone! I'm just imagining things again...go away...please, just go away!" Salty hot tears dripped from her eyes as she hunched over, her face mere inches from the ground.

"Sakura, what's wrong with you? Sakura?" She wasn't paying attention. The bubblegum haired girl was rocking back and forth on her knees, muttering and pressing her hands to her ears to try and shut him out.

She gasped when a pair of large hands took hold of her smaller ones and pulled them from her head. Her eyes flew open and she looked up at the Uchiha before her.

"You. Aren't. Real!! Let go of me! LET GO!!!" She screamed and struggled, trying to break away from his grip.

"Sakura, I am. I'm here, you're here, and I'm coming home. Do you need me to show you that I'm telling the truth?" He let go of one hand and grabbed a kunai from his holster.

In one fluid motion he drew the blade across his palm and grabbed a hold of Sakura's free hand once more. The blood trickled over her fingers and dripped on the ground, and Sasuke watched as Sakura stared wide-eyed at the liquid red.

"Sas...Sasuke? I'm...I'm not imagining things again, am I?" Her voice was weak and shaky, and her eyes burned with a fresh batch of tears.

"No, you aren't. Sakura, what happened to you? You look so...sick." He furrowed his brow and frowned, noticing how pale and thin she was. Angry tears rolled down the cheeks of a very upset Sakura.

"Since when did you care!? When did you ever care?! You were always putting me down, and calling me weak, and ignoring me, and then you decide it would be okay to leave for seven years so I could wait around and torture myself!? How dare you!!" She struggled against his grip, but he didn't let go.

"Sakura, I cared ever since I realized what an idiot I was being when I left. I miss being home." Sasuke pulled the startled kunoichi into a hug, and she didn't even care that his blood was soaking into her shirt. "I'm sorry."

Well, she was stunned. She just sat as the Uchiha boy hugged her close, enveloping her body in warmth that she had longed to feel for years. She sighed and relaxed, snuggling into his chest. The pain in her heart throbbed and ebbed away, replaced by wholeness once more. Sakura smiled for the first time in a long, long time, and she really meant it.

The smile lingered as Sasuke let go and pulled away, his face kind. She had never seen him like that, and quite frankly, she liked it. She liked it a lot. She smiled broadly at him, her eyes shining. He was coming home again. And he had missed her. Sasuke leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to her own, and the sensation she got was so overpowering it made her dizzy.

Who knew. Maybe he was still her hero after all.

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Alrighty!! That was long. I know fer seriously that Sasuke is terribly OOC, but I don't care, so just stuff your protests and deal with it. I had this really weird urge to write a SasuxSaku after I watched Eragon for some reason, so I did. It turned out like this, and I didn't even plan it. Yay me. Anywho, sorry it's crappy, or too long and boring, or whatever, but I think I'm okay with it. I realize it's probably not that interesting, and I have too many flashbacks, but oh well. Life goes on. Thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope you liked it!! If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions just write 'em up and tell me in a review! Thanks again for reading! Well, valete until next time!

Mistoffelees Shadow