"But tell me now, where was my fault
In loving you with my whole heart"
-Mumford & Sons
It was the night of graduation and I, Sakura Haruno, was on top of the world. I had everything I wanted - I was going to the school of my dreams, I had a lot of friends, I wasn't going to be held down by the relationship I had just gotten out of (although I wish that I had realized that Kiba wasn't my type earlier...), and I was finally getting out of the hell-hole that was high school forever.
Really, what more could I want?
Graduation was okay - walking across the stage to get my diploma was a blur, as were the various speeches, but the best part of the night was the much-anticipated party afterward. It was held by my ex-boyfriend Kiba himself, but I wanted to be there anyway. Everyone that mattered was going to be there.
Looking back, everything that happened there was a blur too. I remember talking to Ino briefly, and avoiding Kiba, but everything that mattered happened when Sasuke pulled me away.
"What is this about?" I laughed, once we were outside under a tree. I could hear music from the party from where we were standing, and was itching to get back in. Besides, it was raining, and I didn't want to get my new dress wet.
Sasuke looked uncomfortable, which was strange for him. Usually Sasuke was the collected one, whereas I was the girl that freaked over everything. Oh well. "Sakura, there's something I have to tell you." He said.
I was barely paying attention. "What is it, Sasuke?" Really, you'd think he would have thought to do this earlier.
"Well," he said, "you've been my best friend since fifth grade, and since we're going to different schools next year, I figured it would be now or never..." he paused, "I've never felt this way about anyone before, and I wanted to tell you before it was too late: I love you, Sakura."
If I was distracted before, I was definitely paying full attention now. "Did you just say what I think you did?"
"Yes," Sasuke said, "and I was hoping that you were feeling the same way."
"S-sasuke," I replied, "We're friends - best friends. I don't want to ruin what we already have."
His face was blank. I knew he did this when he was hiding something. "Okay." he said, simply.
"How much have you had to drink?" I said, laughing a little. Maybe it was just the alcohol he had consumed that was making him think this way. It had to be.
"You think I'm saying this because I'm drunk?" He asked incredulously. "You know I don't drink, Sakura."
That completely slipped my mind. "Look," I went on, "we've just graduated. That makes people things that they'll regret later. I don't want this to happen to us."
"It's fine." Sasuke said.
"We should totally stay friends though!" I said hastily, before returning to the party. I would apologize later - Sasuke would understand. Besides, I was sure he didn't mean it.
It wasn't until I had gotten back inside that I realized I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. Sasuke was my best friend. He had just said he loved me, and I had acted completely bitchy about it. I hadn't even thought about whether or not I felt the same way - did I?
I thought about the way Sasuke had been looking at me lately, how he had always wanted to be around me. He always made me happy, and I had thought about dating him once, but it had seemed weird. Now I wasn't so sure.
"Ino, where's Sasuke?" I asked my friend who was now in a conversation with a member of the football team.
"I dunno," she said, "I thought I saw him..."
"Oh, Sasuke?" said the guy she was with, "He left like an hour ago!"
What?
"Sakura, where are you going?" Ino called after me, confused, "Don't you want to stay longer?"
"I've got to go!" I replied, "I'll explain later."
It was pouring outside, but I didn't care. I had to find Sasuke and apologize. To tell him that I had changed my mind.
Kiba's house wasn't far away from the school, which wasn't that far away from Sasuke's house, so I decided to walk - I was completely broke and couldn't afford a cab, and Ino had been my ride to the party.
As I hurried, I thought of what I would say. Nothing came to mind, so I just decided to wing it when I found him. Talking to Sasuke wouldn't be hard - I talked to him all the time.
When I was only two blocks away from Sasuke's house, I spotted the flashing blue and red lights of police cars. When I walked closer, I saw an ambulance and another car that had skidded off the road onto the sidewalk. Someone was being carried on a stretcher-
"Sasuke!" I cried, and broke out into a run. This had to be a mistake, that couldn't be Sasuke.
"Miss, I'm afraid you can't come any closer." A police man prevented me from getting any nearer to Sasuke. I could hardly see him through the rain, but it didn't look good. Was he even breathing?
It was all my fault.
"I have to see him!" I screamed. "I have to!"
The ambulance drove away, along with my best friend.
"Is he okay?" I said. "Answer me!"
The policeman sighed, he looked sad and tired. He explained that while Sasuke was walking home a car skidded off the road and hit him. He was being taken to the hospital now, and he was lucky he was still alive.
This was how I found myself in the hospital waiting room the night of graduation.
Ino and Naruto sat beside me, as nervous as I was. Naruto was pacing the room; Ino was silently crying into her hands. I had called Ino from Kiba's stupid party and told her what happened - she and Naruto came to pick me up, and then we drove to the hospital.
Sasuke was in bad shape, the doctor that had come to talk to us said that it wasn't likely that he would live through the night. We were the only ones there for him at the time - Sasuke's parents had died when he was eleven, and he had been living with his brother Itachi ever since. Itachi had just been notified of the accident and was now flying in from New York where he had been checking in on his father's company.
"It's all my fault." I said, after the doctor left.
"Don't say that, Sakura." Ino sniffed, "It isn't anyone's fault."
I explained to her what happened at the party, and why Sasuke had left in the first place. "If he hadn't left he would still be alive." I sobbed.
We got to see Sasuke when Itachi arrived four hours later - it was three o' clock in the morning by then, and Ino and Naruto had fallen asleep by then. I couldn't sleep. I was too afraid that if I did Sasuke would be gone when I woke up.
Sasuke's face was covered with cuts and bruises, and was bandaged up pretty bad. He was only breathing faintly.
"Come on, Sasuke." Naruto whispered, "Don't d-" he broke down on the last word.
Itachi looked at his little brother, his face devoid of expression. It was an Uchiha coping technique - don't let anyone see that you're feeling anything, no matter what.
I left the room after that - I couldn't look at Sasuke anymore without feeling overwhelming guilt. Why hadn't I just said yes?
I walked outside, suddenly needing fresh air. The rain had gone down to a drizzle, and I walked along the sidewalk beside the hospital. If I had just said I loved him back, none of this would be happening.
The streetlight I was beside suddenly went out, followed by the others. I was suddenly alone in the darkness. Where did the hospital go? Did we suddenly have a power outage?
I heard something move beside me, and tried not to panic. It was nothing, I told myself. You're just hallucinating from the stress. Go back to he hospital, now.
"Sakura." I jumped. Standing before me was an unearthly-looking woman with short blue hair. Her clothes were white, and she gazed at me calmly.
"Who are you?" I said, the darkness was overwhelming. I couldn't see anyone but the woman - she seemed to be glowing.
She smiled, it was a smile that unnerved me. "It doesn't matter who I am." she said, "I am here to offer you a choice."
I shook my head, I must be dreaming. "Listen," I said, "I'm in no mood for this. I really should be going-"
"Back to the friend that's going to be dead the next time you see him?" She said. "Really now, I would think that you would want to listen to what I have to say."
"H-how did you know-"
"I know a lot about you, Sakura Haruno. More than you know yourself, I must say. I've been watching you for awhile - you have everything you want: money, popularity, a family. Not a single bad thing has happened to you in all of your life, and yet you act absolutely dreadful to anyone who isn't like you."
"That isn't true..." I trailed off. It was true, I never paid much attention to the unpopular kids - a lot of them were just freaks, so why would I want to talk to them? Besides, I had Ino and Sasuke, and so many other people.
The woman only smirked, and went on. "You have proved this by dismissing your friend when he was trying to tell you of his love - such cruel behavior, even from you, Sakura. I was surprised myself."
"What do you want from me?" I said.
"Like I said, I'm here to offer you a choice. By the time you return to him, Sasuke Uchiha will be dead - something we hadn't planned on happening. Sasuke will grow up to be an extremely important person in the future. His early death may affect the world as we know it."
"But-" I started to say.
"Let me finish." She said. "Sakura Haruno, I am willing to give Sasuke his life back, in exchange for another- your own."
I stared at her blankly while everything she said replayed in my head. I always knew Sasuke would do something big, he was just that kind of person. Not only did he have big dreams, but he was kind to everyone he met. Everyone loved him. I was lucky he was my best friend.
Was. He would be dead the next time I saw him. "Okay," I said, "I'll do it."
The woman nodded, "Because of your selflessness in saving your friend, I will also offer you a chance to save your own life. The next time you wake up, it will be the first day of school of this year again. You will have to get Sasuke to fall in love with you by graduation - today, in fact. It will be difficult, but it's possible."
"Okay." I answered, "I can do that." Getting Sasuke to fall in love with me? That was her big task? I could do that - he was already in love with me. I would get Sasuke back and get to spend more time with him.
She pulled out a piece of paper out of thin air, along with one of those feathers people used to write with a long time ago - how old was this lady? "I'll have to ask you to sign here."
I signed my name, wondering if I was going mad.
The paper vanished into thin air as soon as I was done. "My time here is done." The woman said. "Good luck, Sakura Haruno."
"I'm ready." I answered shakily.
"There's something I forgot to add," she said with a little smirk, "Sasuke won't remember you at all when you wake up. You will have to start anew."
"But-" I said, but she was already gone.
A/N: I don't know what is it with me and the supernatural stuff, but I just thought of this idea and had to write it in a fan fiction. For those of you who are reading "The Promise", I promise (pun not intended) that I'm still writing it, and it will be up soon. ;)
The beginning of this was super dramatic, so sorry about that! I hope that you will review this and tell me what you think! :) And thanks for reading!
Update 6/17/15: This is me slowly trying to fix any grammatical/inconsistency errors in my story (although I probably won't be able to find all of them). Since the story has gotten to seventeen chapters now I thought it would be a good idea to make sure it all matches up. :P For those of you reading this for the first time, please bear with me, and thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.