Reach Catch me if you can, a naruto fanfic

Stop chasing. No matter how fast you run, you'll never catch me.

Reach

After they had finished their training today, he expected to be dragged into a ramen celebration again by Naruto and Sakura, like every time they had finished training.

Kakashi had left as soon as he had dismissed them, succeeding in escaping the ramen fest. Sasuke was not so lucky as Naruto had grabbed and clinged on to his arm as soon as they were finished. He winced as he Naruto opened his mouth wide to scream "Ramen" right next to his delicate ears. The annoyed boy closed his eyes, expecting Sakura to join in with the merry chorus. After Naruto's scream had deafened his ears and reverberated out, he waited still for Sakura's answering cheer. Surprisingly, he did not hear one.

He opened his eyes in surprise, turning to his pink haired teammate. Naruto was also surprised and his lips curbed down in a small frown.

"Ne, Sakura-chan! Aren't you going to celebrate with us?" he asked, waving his arms up and down, and causing Sasuke to jiggle unpleasantly at the contact.

Sasuke shrugged quickly out of Naruto's grip. "Annoying," he muttered.

Sakura flashed Naruto a bright smile and said, "You and Sasuke-kun go ahead, I'm going to train some more."

Naruto's mouth dropped to the ground and Sasuke's eyebrows lifted.

EHH??? SAKURA-CHAN SAY WHAT?

"Sakura-chan, we just finished training! Aren't you hungry? Let's go eat!" Naruto shrieked, coming over to tug on Sakura's arm.

She smiled at him while worming out of his grip and patted his arm comfortingly, then whipped out a furious, glaring pink lunch box. "I came prepared!" She exclaimed, proudly holding it up.

Naruto was momentarily blinded and Sasuke cringed back from the pure girl pink. Really, what was with her and pink? The color was rude and screamed LOOK AT ME, and annoyingly, she also had pink hair which meant he had to look at it every day.

She stared at them for a while and then shrugged. "Here, Naruto, my treat. Enjoy your ramen, guys!" she said, shoving some coins into Naruto's hands. Naruto, seemingly confused, stared down at the money and then Sakura who was walking back toward the training arena. Her shoulders were slightly slumped like she was carrying a heavy burden.

Sasuke sighed. "I'm leaving dobe. Hope you choke on your ramen," he said, walking the opposite direction away from Sakura.

Naruto's head whipped back and forth, watching his two best friends walk away from him and each other and sighed.

Naruto and Sakura were very close and no one else would have noticed the strain on her bright smile even if they were watching closely.

But Naruto could tell.

What's wrong Sakura-chan?

Aim high, reach for the sky, either way, we'll still eventually die, so why not have some fun? Guys?

It had become a routine, so Sasuke had been thrown off for a few days, not used to not having to go along with his friend's expedition to the ramen stand every day after training.

But now, there was a new routine. Everyday, Sakura would refuse to come, each day wanting to train extra and he, Sasuke, could go home and be alone by himself.

He found that he did not enjoy it as much as being with the loudmouth and the over exuberant pinky.

He also noticed with increasing alarm the fatigue Sakura was radiating. It seemed she had trained very hard the day before and had no energy left the next day to train in their scheduled sessions. Kakashi had felt a little sorry for Sakura and hinted that she should take a break.

She had thrown a tantrum, surprisingly, shocking both their sensei and her teammates. After that, she had picked fights on them with a vengeance, throwing her punches with extra oomph and wrecking havoc on the arena.

He sighed in annoyance. Her skill was not increasing anyhow; he failed to see why she insisted on continuing to train extra. She was dragging the rest of them down.

He proceeded to voice his thoughts aloud after they had finished training.

"Come eat ramen with us, today," he said uninterestedly, not looking at her. Naruto and Sakura stared at him. He kept his face hidden, not wanting to meet their incredulous stares.

"Eh…that's okay, I brought my own lunch already. I'm gonna stay and train," Sakura said slowly, confused.

Sasuke's head whipped around and his eyes pierced hers.

"I didn't ask for your permission. You're coming with us," he said and then strode quickly over to her and started dragging her toward the direction of the ramen stand.

Naruto stood by the sidelines, gaping. Sasuke's eyes turned colder when he realized how light she was. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to face her surprised face.

"Have you been eating?" he demanded.

Her eyes widened and she nodded yes. "Of course, Sasuke-kun."

He disregarded her and quickly stole the lunch box out of her hands and opened it up. He frowned when he saw all there was was a water bottle and a roll of sushi.

He turned to glare at her.

"What?!"

"You're not eating enough," he deadpanned.

She shrugged out of his grip and quickly took her lunch box back, shaking her head. "Really, Sasuke-kun, you're acting weird today. See you guys tomorrow," she said, turning away.

His hand shot out and grabbed her arm, jerking her to a stop. "Stop wasting your time. It's no use no matter how much extra you train. You'll still always be weak," he said mercilessly.

Naruto smacked his forehead and peeked from between his fingers, scared for Sakura's reaction.

"You think what you like, Sasuke-kun, but one day, I'll be as strong as you and Naruto," she said determinedly.

Naruto had to hold back a snicker and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her words.

"You never will be and you know it. Give it up," he said.

She turned to glare at him for the first time that day, her happy mood starting to break.

"Why—"

"You're wasting your energy and you can barely keep your eyes open, I can see it. You're using all your energy just to stay standing," he commented.

She bristled.

"I have plenty of energy left to train and just leave me alone!" she said and shrugged out of his grip, stomping away.

He stared after her. He didn't like that she walked away from him.

"Fight me."

She continued walking away, ignoring him. She was forced to skid to a stop to avoid crashing into Sasuke who had suddenly appeared in front of her. She looked up irritably up at him.

"What's your problem, Sasuke-kun?" she said with an edge to her voice.

He remained staring down at her, his eyes dark and unreadable. Suddenly, he jabbed at her swiftly and she was forced to stumble back to avoid being punched in the stomach.

She looked at him in outrage.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?"

"Beat me, or you're coming to ramen with us."

She narrowed her eyes. "Fine, if that's the way you want it," she ground out and flew at him.

He dodged easily and she stumbled forward, turning ungracefully. She glared at him. Dropping her lunch box, she reached into her pack and threw a series of shuriken at him.

Naruto watched in shock.

"Oi, teme! Stop! Don't bother Sakura if she wants to train!"

He did not heed the blonde.

"Sakura-chan! Just take a break today, okay? Sasuke-teme's a jerk, don't mind him!

She did not listen.

It ended too fast for Sakura, she ended up with her hands twisted behind her back, held forcefully to Sasuke's taller body.

She wriggled and twisted her arms, struggling to come free.

He only tightened his grip, his expression cold, not even triumphant. He stared down at the pink head.

She strained her head around to try to glare at him. "Sasuke-kun, if you don't let go now, you're going to regret it," she said, breathing unevenly.

He snorted. "If you twist your hands anymore, you'll break them," he said dangerously.

Sakura jerked in frustration. "Let go, Sasuke!"

He stiffened when he realized she had dropped the affectionate –kun and his heart twanged uncomfortably for a second.

"Struggling is futile. You're too weak. Give it up."

She almost shrieked in frustration. "I'm saying this one more time. Let. Go."

He only roughly pulled her closer to him. "Stop trying so hard for something you'll never reach."

Her eyes narrowed, fully provoked.

He didn't expect what happened next. He had not known she was strong enough to do it.

She broke her wrists.

Shocked at feeling the bones crunch beneath his hands, he immediately let go and felt her whirl around quickly, her leg coming up and kicking him painfully in the ribs.

He stumbled back, still staring at her in shock, hands flying up to his side, feeling the tenderness already forming.

That girl kicks hard.

Naruto stared too. He started to run toward Sakura but he saw Sasuke flash quickly to her side. Before she could react and kick him again, he took her hands gently and examined them.

Sasuke stared in disgusted shock down at her hands. They were both twisted at an unusual angle and his stomach flipped uncomfortably. She tried to draw them away but Sasuke, reacting on instinct grasped her wrists tightly.

Don't let me go

Don't go

She let out a cry of pain and he immediately let go. She stumbled back, bumping into Naruto. Naruto steadied her and rubbed her shoulders comfortingly and glared at Sasuke.

He turned Sakura to him who let him and he held her arms gently, looking at her wrists.

"Look what you did, you bastard!" he shouted at Sasuke, looking in horror at her mangled wrists.

Sasuke, recovering from his shock, crossed his arms and turned away.

"It's not my fault she's so foolish," he muttered childishly. He mentally slapped himself in the head. Why was he acting like this?

Naruto looked up and caught Sakura's expression. He looked quickly away, not wanting to embarrass her.

"You're the one who forced her to fight with you!"

"Hn. And I was right. She's still weak."

Sakura's head jerked.

"And you think you are strong, Sasuke-kun?" she asked in a soft voice.

He stiffened.

"Do you feel better when you pick on people weaker than yourself so you can feel better? Because you still haven't achieved your revenge? Do you feel like a failure?" she went on with an edge in her voice.

Shocked at the venom she was directing at him, he whirled around, furious, his sharigan automatically activating.

"Shut up," he hissed. He winced when he saw her hands again and then looked up to see her face scrunched up in pain. He turned quickly, looking away.

Naruto, worried tried to push Sakura along. "Come on, Sakura-chan, let's go to the hospital."

"Revenge isn't the answer to everything, Sasuke-kun," she said softly, sadly in goodbye, letting Naruto lead her in the direction of the hospital.

"Revenge is the only way," he muttered, after she and Naruto had disappeared from sight.

He stared after her, contemplating her words and then shook his head.

She was foolish and weak.

But then he remembered how she had freed herself from him, breaking her wrists in the process and blanched at the thought. It would have been hard to twist against him in the first place; he was holding her very tightly, and it must have taken a lot of willpower to actually break them.

Do you feel like a failure?

Sakura…have I failed you?

I cannot love you without hurting you. I cannot live without loving you. Tell me, love, what should I do?

He did not visit her.

She was a waste of his time. At least, that's what he liked to think.

She didn't show up to training for a few days and then one day she was back, her wrists all healed with intense medical healing from the hospital.

Her appearance was a bit frazzled, her hair messy and unkempt, her eyes a bit duller than he was used to. Her complexion was a shade paler but her expression was jubilant.

She waved cheerily at him.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" she chirruped, waving at him. Not expecting him to answer, she turned to Naruto and they started a lively banter.

Sasuke watched from the sidelines and he felt a foreign emotion settle in the bottom of his stomach. He watched enviously as the two of them had fun together, seeming to forget he was there at all.

He bristled at himself, telling himself to stop thinking stupid things. He wasn't jealous of the dobe.

Later, after training had been finished and after Kakashi confirmed the details of Sakura and Sasuke's fight, they were free to go.

Kakashi was baffled by the fact Sakura had managed to land a kick on the famous Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura's expression turned frigid by that and Kakashi quickly covered up his mistake.

"I-I mean, I knew you had it in you, Sakura-chan!" he said quickly and then chuckled nervously and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, his right hand waving farewell.

Sakura remained silent after he had left, her expression not as happy as before.

Naruto hesitantly tried to get her to come to ramen.

"Ne…Sakura-chan? Do…do you want to come eat—"

She looked at him, past him and cut him off. "I don't want to, Naruto."

Naruto nodded sadly. He turned to Sasuke. "Let's go, teme."

Sasuke regarded Sakura for a moment. The girl, for once, she looked truly lost. The emotion in her eyes, he couldn't quite understand it, but he knew, she was breaking inside.

How pathetic. Crying over being weak. It was her fault in the first place.

"Hn."

The two turned from her and walked to the ramen stand.

Sakura watched them leave and instead of heading back to the training area, she instead sat down on the ground, her knees bent and her arms hugging her knees to herself.

She sat there, watching the backs of her two best friends go farther and farther away.

She hated it. Always having to watch their backs, having to be protected.

Left behind.

She stared for a long while, still watching even after they had disappeared from sight. She sat there, eyes dry, but heart crying inside. She still sat there, even after the sun had started to shift, the shadow of herself changing, the sky turning darker.

She did not mind.

It wasn't like she had anywhere to go.

He watched her train, hidden in the shadow of the tree's leaves, his hair obscuring his eyes from view.

He sighed.

Her form was all wrong and her technique was horrendous. It's a good thing she had good chakra control.

But later, he noted that she had fierce determination and even though her energy was clearly waning, she still plowed on with unlimited willpower.

He found himself thinking that she looked quite endearing, fighting stubbornly, even though everything was futile.

It was becoming quite dark and Sasuke's stomach was starting to grumble. She had been at it for a few hours and his eyes narrowed. Did she even eat dinner?

Shouldn't she be headed home by now?

After a while, she finally burned out thoroughly and flopped to the ground, exhausted. She rolled onto her stomach and then put her head on top of her hands, looking out to the horizon.

Her hair spilled over and covered her vision. She blew half-heartedly, the pink strands flying up and then falling back down.

She sighed.

How could you leave me?

Suddenly, she was alerted to someone else's presence.

"Your moves are poorly executed," said a smooth, bored voice.

She closed her eyes, ignoring him. She was too tired today to rise to the bait.

He raised his eyebrows at her. Finally, after a moment of silence, he couldn't resist asking. "Why do you insist on training, Sakura?" he asked, truly confused.

He waited patiently for her to answer.

"Why do you insist on getting revenge?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle.

He narrowed his eyes. "Answer my question."

She shifted, sitting up and tucking her knees to her chest, still staring out at the horizon, not looking at him. He stood behind her, watching her back. She seemed so far away.

She still did not answer.

"He killed my family and I want to avenge them. I'm an avenger, Sakura," he said coldly.

She still did not speak and he found that her silence was even more annoying than her loud voice.

"You're so annoying!" he said.

She finally stood, her movements tired and slow, like she had the weight of a thousand suns upon her. When she finally turned to face him, he was overwhelmed by the sadness in her eyes.

He turned away. "Revenge is the only way," he muttered.

She regarded his still form. "Will you be happy, Sasuke-kun?" her voice, sad and quiet, wise.

His eyes widened and he whirled, confused.

Her green ones held his crimson ones, not letting go. He could see something that confused him, something that threw him off track. Like she could see inside of his heart, his soul.

He blinked. "It doesn't matter," he said, still looking at her.

She slowly shut her eyes. "Would your family have wanted you to be like this?"

Her words pierced him. They made his heart beat again, his feelings break out, his love be felt. He shied away from it and struck out ferociously.

"You don't know what it feels like, losing all of your family!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "You're always there, in your little pink Sakura world where everything's fine and easy and you have no worries! Stop pretending like you understand me because you don't! It's annoying!"

How did she do this? How did she make him lose control?

She opened her eyes and regarded him warily. She smiled brightly but this time, Sasuke could detect the strain in it.

"And you're weak Sasuke-kun," she blurted out. Her eyes widened in horror. She had not meant for that to come out but the words he had shouted at her…they cut deeply.

His eyes bulged. "What?" he hissed.

"I-I…I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, I didn—"

"What?" he said again, his tone murderous. "You think I'm weak? What about you? You can't do anything by yourself, it's always me and Naruto watching out for you and you call me weak?"

"I never asked for you guys to—"

"Then why don't you get stronger?"

"I'M TRYING!" she exploded, her small form shaking violently. His eyes widened at her outburst. Sakura never shouts at him. He felt something foreign stir in his stomach again. He worked carefully to regain his control and shrugged.

"You're not fit to be a ninja," he said harshly, wanting her to back off and stop making him feel this way. She looked at him and shook her head slowly,

"You don't see it yet, do you Sasuke-kun?" she asked softly, her tone disappointed.

His eyes narrowed, trying to decipher what she was saying.

"You don't see that I'm stronger than you."

His mind almost overloaded with what she was saying. WHAT?

"Explain," he demanded.

She shook her head no.

He sneered unkindly. "You're stupid."

She snapped.

"Sasuke-kun, why do you want to become stronger?" she asked sweetly.

He looked at her as if she were mentally retarded.

"Revenge," he said in a bored tone.

"That's why you're weak, Sasuke-kun."

He glared at her, fuming dangerously but she did not break down. "You're mind is so clouded over by thoughts of revenge that you don't see what you have. You're fueled on by thoughts of killing your brother that you don't realize how weak you really are."

He experienced rage so great his vision turned red. She continued anyway, disregarding his furious expression.

"And because you feel insecure inside, you pick on those weaker than yourself to make yourself feel stronger."

His fists clenched. "That's…not…true," he hissed. His fists clenched and he started shaking. Her words were painful.

"You were too weak to even save your own family, to protect your own teammates and yourself," she went on, too mad at him to care.

His hand struck out and caught her on the face with a loud echoing crack.

His eyes widened as he saw her fall, her hands outstretched, catching herself on the ground, her head bent to the side, long pink hair covering her eyes. He stares, shocked at what he has done. He takes a quick step forward but her head shoots up, looking at him.

Her eyes pierce him through. Her green orbs are burning in fury, but underneath the anger, he caught a flash of pain. In the dim light, he can see a red handprint begin to form on her smooth pale skin. He stares in horror.

"Yeah, you're right Sasuke-kun. I don't understand you. I'm too stupid," she spit out, her lips cracking up into a malicious grin directed at him. He flinched. She went on.

"I'm weak, I'm foolish, I'm annoying, and I'm a burden," she said, her voice wavering, her smile trembling. Her eyes are starting to water and Sasuke can only stare in silence.

He cannot believe that he has struck her.

"I'm always doing something wrong, aren't I, Sasuke-kun? When eat ramen, I'm annoying and when I don't, I'm still annoying."

"When I talk, I'm annoying, and when I don't, I still manage to annoy you,"

"When I'm weak, I'm annoying, and when I try to be strong, I'm still foolish and annoying in your eyes."

"Annoying, annoying, annoying. Don't you get tired of saying it?" she said softly, her smile hurting her face.

"Will I never be good enough in your eyes?"

He stared at her.

I have failed you, Sakura.

Her smile dropped and she sighed tiredly.

"You're a jerk, Sasuke."

Her words struck deep into his heart and he found to his horror that they hurt. Didn't she love him?

"And you're annoying," he shot out before he knew what he was doing. He bit back a curse. He couldn't help it. When she hurt him, he had to retaliate.

He saw her fists clench and her form shake. She shook her head slowly.

"Does my pain make you happy?" she asked softly.

His mind reeled back from her question and he saw that clearly, she was in pain. And he was the cause of it. This knowledge made his heart beat unpleasantly.

He quickly knelt down beside her and took her arm gently. He watched in amazement as her eyes flashed, a dozen emotions passing through until he saw fear cloud them. His own eyes darkened in sadness.

She's…afraid of me?

Quickly, she jerked her arm away but then saw how much her action hurt him. She stared confusedly at him. He bent his head, his hair obscuring his eyes from her.

Hesitantly, she put her arm gently on his shoulder. When he looked up, she gasped.

His eyes were so filled with sorrow that she wanted to cry.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun," she said, her voice soft and remorseful. His eyes widened in surprise as she drew him into a loving hug. Her cheek grazed his and his chest swelled at the brisk touch. He was motionless; his arms limp at his side.

Why…is she comforting me?

Sakura sighed and then drew away and he wanted to protest the warmth leaving him.

She stood slowly and he reached out to her, wanting to say sorry, seeing the glaring handprint on her cheek but she waved softly and said goodbye.

With a swirl of white cherry blossoms, she was gone.

He was left there, reaching for the vanished presence of disguised love.

Don't you love me?

Unaware of the sharpness of soft green grass, I cut my fingers on their thin blades. Unaware of the fragility of my heart, you cut open my heart in dismay.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto complained, drawing out the name. "Where's Sakura-chan? She's never late!"

Sasuke did not reply but he frowned. Could it be possible she was avoiding him. He held back a wince, remembering the day before, when he had unintentionally struck her, consumed by rage.

You can't protect your own teammates…

Sorry, Sakura.

Sorry.

Goddamn it! Why couldn't he say it?

Finally, Kakashi-sensei arrived with a poof! and greeted them. He was even later than usual.

"Kakashi-sensei! Where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked impatiently, immediately coming to his teacher, tugging on his arm.

Kakashi regarded them for a while, his one eye solemn and sad.

"Sakura won't be joining us today, she's taking the day off," Kakashi said after a while. Then he took a breath. "All right then, let's ge—"

"Where is she?" Sasuke asked, cutting him off, his tone dark.

Kakashi turned to look at him, amazed. Naruto stared too. Sasuke never cared where Sakura was. Naruto quickly recovered and resumed on tugging on his sensei's arm.

"Yeah, sensei, where is she?"

Kakashi sighed, closing his eyes, his hand coming up to pinch his nose. "She's at a funeral."

Naruto and Sasuke were silent.

"Oh, poor Sakura-chan. Was it…her cousin, or her grandma?" Naruto ventured after a moment.

Kakashi only stared at them.

"Eh…her dog?"

Kakashi sighed again. "Her parents were annihilated on a mission about 2 weeks ago. They haven't been able to retrieve the bodies so they're holding the funeral now."

Naruto could only stare. Oh.

Poor Sakura-chan

Sasuke almost bowed over from the sudden arrow of pain he was experiencing. Is it possible to hurt for her? he thought.

You don't know what it feels like, losing all of your family!

Oh.

Sorry, Sakura.

Sorry.

I'd say I'm sorry but it wouldn't fix anything. I'd say I hate you, but then I'd be lying. I'd say I love you, but you're already leaving.