Unshed Tears
Written by dryingtears

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

These unshed tears that I hold behind my eyes pain me so. They are like a million knives stabbing my heart, screaming bloody murder for me to release them. But no...no matter how many knives they stab into my emotionless heart, they will never see the light of day. Why?

Rule Twenty-Five of being a ninja; a ninja must never show their tears.

I stared into my mirror, looking into my dull emerald eyes as my reflection was cast on the smooth glass. My fingers traced my cheekbones, touching every centimeter of my pale skin. However, my heartbeat seemed to jolt after my every touch, my eyes wincing at the feel of my gentle fingers.

Why?

My fingers stopped tracing my face, and I moved my hands in a position where I would be able to examine them. They remained long and slender throughout the years of my ninja career, and the only thing that has changed was the invisible stain that remained there.

Blood has stained the hands of beauty.

I felt darkness consume my body every breath I took; is that what loneliness and emptiness did to my heart? It felt my emotions had disappeared; I was no longer able to smile or laugh, I was no longer able to feel the pain I caused others. How I wish I could remember how to love, how I wish I could relearn how to cry. But no, it was not possible.

He took my heart away.

I took a deep breath, and at last stood up from my place in front of my mirror. It was time.

I made my way through the darkness, my ANBU mask masking my face from the unlikely people on the streets at night. I felt no need to use a jutsu to appear at the meeting spot; rather, I liked soaking up the darkness. Its presence soothed me of my pain. I listened intently to the silence of the night, the crickets chirping, the breezes gently blowing, the silent breaths of the serene children happily in slumber. A smile graced my rosy lips, the tranquility of the night giving me a feel for serenity.

I reached my destination not longer than five minutes, and waited by the large village gates. My partner would soon show, as he had learned how to be on time for missions such as these a few years into his career. As I waited patiently for him to show, as I was a few minutes early that our designated meeting time, my eyes wandered in the direction of a faraway bench that held so many memories. My chest pained as I thought about the night when my heart was taken away, and my eyes began to grow watery as tears began to form.

How I wish I could relearn how to cry...

The water soon vanished as I willed them away, as years of practice taught me how to refrain from crying.

...But I can't...because not only does it show weakness...

I smirked behind my mask when I saw my teammate casually walking over. He seemed to be taking his time behind that ANBU mask of his, but I stood against the gate patiently waiting for him to hurry up.

"Sakura-chan."

I nodded to him to acknowledge his presence, and kicked my body off the gate. I walked towards him, and he removed his mask. His cerulean eyes sparkled under the dim moonlight, and his blond hair could serve as a flashlight if it was just a tad bit more luminous. I noticed his eyes stare into my mask, silently pleading me to remove it. I sighed, and gently removed the mask off my face.

"Naruto."

He smiled at me, and I smirked, as that was the closest I could ever get to a smile. His smile soon faded, and all traces of our close brother-sister bond were beginning to disappear. His cerulean eyes stared into my duller emerald ones, an unsaid question in his eyes. I slowly nodded my head, my eyes once again wandering in the direction of the fateful bench.

"You should not have accepted this mission with me, Sakura-chan."

I my gaze drifted back towards my teammate, and I shook my head 'no'.

"No. I would have betrayed my village. This is important to me. I can't avoid him forever. It's too late for me to turn back now. Let's go."

He stared at me, pleading me with his eyes to turn back and lay down on my bed. I once again shook my head in disagreement, my feet like roots planted in the earth. I was not going to back down. This mission was important to not only me, but to my village. After several moments of trying to intimidate me to back down, he gave in, and put on his ANBU mask, his cerulean eyes lost behind the wooden accessory. I followed suite, my lifeless emerald eyes losing even more of their glint. I could see his head turn, his Kitsune Mask's closed eyes seeming to stare right into me.

"Let's go," I whispered.

He nodded, and we both jumped off into the forest. My head turned to watch the only place I was able to call home, disappear behind me. It felt as if it was my final goodbye to the only place I held dear.

Why was I feeling such pain in my heart?

I am a ninja. I am not allowed such pain...

"Sasuke...they're coming for you again. It's amazing how persistent dear old Tsunade is to get you back into your pitiful village. I advise you to meet them off a few kilometers from our gates, so they don't familiarize with the setting in here. They will arrive in two days."

Sasuke stared at his sensei blankly, merely nodding in reply before disappearing out of sight.

So Konoha wanted him back, did they?

He'd make his old village learn their lesson by killing off this next squad.

He's tired of the pitiful distractions wasting the time he could use to train.

I gasped in pain as my fingers hovered over the kunai impaled into my shoulder. My teeth were tightly clenched together, trying to ease the pain of silver metal imbedded into my thick skin. Naruto sat beside me, his breaths short as his heartbeat kept on a violent pulse.

"I can't believe Sound was that security wired! You'd think Orochimaru would want strays to wander so he could screw with their minds or something!" I spat.

Naruto and I were so focused on getting as close to the Sound Village as we possibly could that our defenses were carelessly lowered. When we had picked up their strong chakra levels, it was too late; we were attacked. The ninja weren't higher than Jounin; luckily, we weren't faced with ANBU. The squad was only of two people, so it wasn't like we were severely outnumbered. Naruto managed to dodge a kunai heading his direction (not like it would matter anyway, he has the Kyuubi's chakra) and knock the attacker senseless. Me, on the other hand, was less reflexive as my teammate, and I was able to move my body in an angle that if I were to get hit, it would not be in a critical place. However, I wasn't planning for the kunai to completely get impaled into my left shoulder. Luckily for me, I, like Naruto, was able to knock my attacker senseless.

"I can't believe I was so careless! Agh!"

I bit my bottom lip bitterly as every breath I took brought a jolt of pain into my shoulder. I noticed Naruto look at me sympathetically, his lips formed in a small smile.

"Sakura-chan, I was careless as well. Let's rest here for the night, it seems like a good place to make camp."

I stared at him, my eyebrows furrowed in bitter emotion. He was about to make a move for the imbedded kunai, but I glared at him, forcing his hand to retreat back with my vicious glare. He sighed, shaking his head in disagreement, but his hand returned to his side, hanging numbly as it wasn't sure what it was to do.

"The ninja. Where are they?"

He pointed behind him, where they were tied together with strong rope, chakra strings creating a deadly trap if they were to undo themselves free. I nodded in approval, and my eyes began to glare at the imbedded kunai.

"Are you sure we shouldn't kill them?"

He looked at me and shrugged.

"Even if they're working under that creepy pedophile, they still deserve to live."

I winced at his words. Naruto's kindness was a complete drawback in missions. He wouldn't kill unless he wanted, he wouldn't stain his hands in blood unless it was necessary. My lips remained in a deep frown, my fists tightly clenched.

Why am I thinking such things? Everyone must be kind, even to their enemies...why am I so ferocious? Why is Naruto's good side a drawback to missions? ...Why am I feeling so much emotion?

"Do you want to pull that out yet, or do I have to knock you out for you to let me near that thing?" He asked.

I growled at him, and he seemed taken aback; but he was right, I was getting sick of feeling the sticky liquid all over my arm. His cerulean eyes widened for a few moments, and he looked away from me, obviously hurt from my change of heart. I, myself, was surprised at what I was feeling. Never was I so malicious with one of my closest friends. Never had I growled at a friend so close I could consider him my brother. Never had I felt such dark intent on him. What is wrong with me?

"Let me do it."

He nodded his head in agreement, still looking away from me. I noticed the reflection of the stars present on his cerulean orbs, and I smirked. My hand moved up and gripped the part of the kunai that was sticking out. My free hand grabbed hold of my shirt, and I shoved part of it into my mouth. I bit down on the fabric hard, and the hand gripping the kunai began to get ready to move. Using all of my strength, I forcefully plunged the kunai out of my shoulder, almost screaming out in agony as I felt the cold metal slide out of my body. I threw the bloodied kunai on the floor in front of me, my shoulder numb with tremendous pain. I placed my right hand over my left shoulder, green chakra glowing out of my hand. In a few moments, the pain had almost completely gone.

"Naruto...can you give me the bandages, please? My whole left arm is numb."

He looked at me and nodded, walking over to his back and getting out a roll of his bandages. He threw them over to me, and I caught the roll effortlessly.

"Thank you."

He nodded, and lay down on the grass, closing his eyes, his mind obviously in a long trail of thought. I sighed, and began to roll my shoulder up in bandages. When it was sufficiently covered in bandages, I moved next to my teammate, envying his serene face. He didn't seem as worried about this mission as I was.

"Sakura..."

My eyebrow rose in question; he never left out the honorific unless it was something serious. His eyes remained closed, and I noted that he must have sensed my gaze upon him. I smirked, a tiny smile almost let loose on my lips, as I felt the loving brother-sisterly bond I had with him. He must have taken my silence as an invitation to continue.

"...I don't want to lose you on this mission...please, Sakura. Why didn't you stay home where it was safe?"

My eyes widened in surprise at his words; my heart became the light to the darkness. The feeling I was feeling for this boy, this man, my brother, was immense. Even though he had his Hinata-chan at home, and even though I had such dark intent on him earlier, he was still able to forgive me and still care about me so deeply. It seems that loving his Hinata-chan had made him a kinder and gentler person than he was when we were both Genin. I gently touched his hand, and he opened his eyes.

"Naruto...I had to do this mission. It's been so many years since I had seen him that I had to. I wouldn't let anyone else go with you. They wouldn't understand. Please, Naruto. By me going, we could be a team again. Naruto, even if I am lost in this mission, it will be okay. Because we will have been reunited as a team again. Konoha isn't the same without him; everything things so dull and monotonous. There is no rivalry between you and him, sparking life-threatening battles. There is nothing left for me at Konoha, Naruto. But you, you have Hinata-chan. You have love. Naruto...I'm sorry I'm worrying you. But please, please don't worry about me! I can't even cry anymore, Onii-chan! I'm sorry, so sorry..."

His cerulean eyes bore into mine, his orbs appearing watery. It seemed he wanted to cry. I felt water well up in my eyes once more, and he seemed to notice as well. He sat up straight, and gave me his trademark foxy grin that could make any girl (maybe even guy) laugh at its fakeness. He spread his arms, urging me to move into his arms. My eyes widened, my heart set aflutter with his act of kindness. He smiled at me as I hesitated, and I shyly moved into his embrace. I felt protected against the world. I felt forgiven of my wrongdoings.

"I understand...you still love him. It's okay, Sakura-chan, everything will be okay. We'll bring that teme back, and everything in Konoha will be back to normal. There'll be life-threatening battles between our rivalry, there'll be training days at the bridge with Kakashi-sensei...everything will be back to the way it was. There's no need to say sorry, Sakura-chan. There's no need to worry...imouto. Everyone's here for you..."

My chest pained when I heard him call me 'imouto'. That proved our brother-sisterly bond. My heart screamed for my eyes to cry my millions of unshed tears, but my mind would not allow it. I was a ninja; I was not allowed to show my tears. I swallowed the feeling of emotion with bitterness.

"Sakura, it's okay to let out your tears."

I looked at my friend in the eye, my own orbs searching for answers in his own. How he made me feel safe in his strong, trained arms! How he made me feel loved when I knew I was not able love!

"No..." I bitterly said.

I bit my lip and shut my eyes; the bitterness of my voice was beginning to scare me. Why was I acting this way? Why have I suddenly changed? I clenched the white fabric covering my heart, my knuckles turning white from my strong grip. I felt Naruto nod in understanding, and I was grateful to him for letting me doze off in his arms.

Oh...how I wish this feeling of safety and love would last forever, Onii-chan...

I was awoken before daybreak by Naruto's gentle poke to my forehead. I noticed I was lying down flat on the grass, and I quietly rose from my position, my eyes met with Naruto's gentle eyes.

"It's time."

I nodded, and after giving myself a few minutes to adjust to being awake, we were off.

We were able to see the highest point of the highest building in the Sound Village soon enough. We were both rested, but my left arm was still imperfect, causing me to hate myself for being so careless. The two of us traveled through the trees in silence, the only sound heard the constant chirping of the birds. Soon enough, we were close enough to the village to detect the strongest chakra levels, but oddly, I sensed a strong one a few kilometers away. I was about to question Naruto when he stopped in his tracks, and I followed suite.

"This is a waste of my time. Turn around and go if you still want to be breathing."

The cold, harsh voice! How I remember treasuring the words slipping out of his lips, how I remember how my ears longed to hear his soothing baritone!

"Teme, this is crazy. It's been eight years. You've had enough time playing around here. It's time for you to go back," Naruto growled.

I could sense his chakra levels rising at a dangerously fast rate, and I gently touched his shoulder to calm him down. I knew this was the day we were both waiting for. When we would be reunited as a team, when we would see each other again. This was the day that remained in my dream world, too ridiculous to even be shown into reality. But here it was, in my eyes.

"Still calling me a 'teme', dobe? I told you, this is a waste of time. I need to train."

Naruto narrowed his eyes angrily, his orbs seeming to hide behind black slits. I gripped his shoulder tightly, his chakra levels dying down at my touch, and he turned to face me. I could sense his questioning gaze behind his mask.

"Who's your teammate this time, dobe? Some weakling like eight years ago? The chakra seems so familiar, but something is itching at me that something is different."

I gave Naruto a small, nearly unnoticeable nod, and he understood. He stepped back, and I took a step forward, my heart pounding faster and faster against the bones protecting it. My eyes closed in attempts to calm it down, and my fists were tightly clenched.

"There's no need to care about who I am. You are coming back with us, Uchiha Sasuke."

I noticed a twisted smile grace his lips, his onyx eyes mocking me behind my mask. He didn't seem to remember my voice, as it had deepened a bit and changed from a fan girl-like squeal.

"Oh, so it's a woman. Even better. Time to die."

I was about to charge for him, when Naruto beat him to it. A heated battle broke between them. Indeed, it was just like the old times.

'There'll be life-threatening battles between our rivalry...'
Naruto's chakra was nearly gone. He had used his Rasengan more than once, Sasuke with his chidori as well. Naruto lay on the floor, completely senseless, his ANBU mask split in half next to him. However, I noticed his wounds slowly begin to heal; it was not as fast as it would be if he were in better condition, be he was still healing. During their battle, he would not let me near the fight, and I hated the feeling of watching as the two beat each other up. Every time he sensed my movement, he would turn his head slightly to face me, and he would growl at me, bearing his fox-like fangs, commanding me to stay where I was.

Now it was just Sasuke and I left. It seemed that over the years, he still had the enormous stamina that even Naruto could not come close to with the most intense training, but I could sense that more than half of his supply was gone. But only half of his supply was enough to beat me.

"So, are you going to say who you are before you die?"

I remained silent, and he charged for me. I pumped chakra into my hands, and hit the earth, causing earth to go towards his direction. He was surprised, and jumped off to dodge, and I threw kunai. He was able to dodge them, and landed on a tree branch. I could see one of his eyebrows quirked, as if contemplating where he had seen that before. I noticed him form hand seals, and I was able to do a substitution jutsu, his fire burning the log instead. Using the time between the appearance of the log and his approximate reaction time, I jumped off a tree trunk and flew towards him. I pumped chakra back into my hands, and when I was in reach, I gave him my strongest punch.

I saw a log, and a kunai was thrown at my mask. I felt another kunai stab my body.

I'm...so...weak...

As my back slammed onto the ground upon impact, I winced in tremendous pain, but refused to scream. My mask lay scattered in pieces before me, and I saw a dark shadow looming over my body. It was the end.

"Hmph. The dobe's still knocked out. Looks like you're going to die first."

The soothing baritone was no longer soothing. I felt bitterness and malevolence in every note of his voice, and my chest ached again. I felt my sticky liquid soak into my clothes, and I bit my lower lip in disappointment. Not only was my left arm completely useless, a kunai was impaled deeply in my chest. I didn't have much more time to live. I failed again. I failed everything.

I felt his shadow move away from me, and I felt it once again surround me, this time at a different angle. Even with my eyes closed, I felt his heated gaze upon me. Even if he did realize it was me, Haruno Sakura, it was too late for him to do anything. I was already losing too much blood, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop my death. Not in the middle of a forest.

"Sakura? Hmph. No wonder I didn't notice you. You've grown stronger. Pfft. A pity you still aren't strong enough for me. Looks like it's time for the dobe."

My heart screamed in agony at his words. My accomplishments were not enough to merely make him flinch in surprise? All I got was a merely 'pfft'? I received no recognition? My heart ached in bitter pain.

"Onii-chan...wake up!" I screamed with all my might.

That seemed enough to get Naruto back to consciousness. His eyes jolted open, and he jumped up to his feet, noticeably lightheaded.

"Sakura! Sakura! Imouto!"

I felt him run towards me, and he gently cradled my broken body in his arms. I opened my emerald eyes, and I found myself lost in his serene pools of cerulean. I could see myself in his gentle orbs, and I noticed the unmistakable dullness of my emerald eyes. Any sign of life was gone. And knowing that my life was done made me feel bittersweet.

I didn't have to feel anymore pain. I didn't have to make my tears vanish.

I smiled my first real smile in years, and I felt Naruto gently embrace me. I could feel the salty liquid of his tears drip onto my face, and I couldn't help but finally release the millions of unshed tears that had retreated into my heart.

No...don't cry! It'll make death come nearer. Sakura, get a grip!

I didn't listen to my conscience. Even if I stopped crying, I would still die, no question about it.

"Onii-chan...make the pain go away..." I whispered.

I could feel his sorrow through his cerulean eyes. I could feel his heart breaking when I felt his fingers trace my pale face, his pulse transmitted onto my skin. I could feel his usually collected mind shattering as I looked deeper into the cerulean pools.

"It'll go away, Sakura..."

I was suddenly gently placed back on the floor, his tall figure shading me from the morning sunlight. He gave me one last look, and I was happy that I was able to see his gentle eyes once more before my vision would get blurred.

"Hang in there..."

And then another heated battle began.

I closed my eyes bitterly, my heart racing at my thoughts of Sasuke. How could he be so cruel to strip away the only happiness that was with me at the moment? How could he be so cruel to not give me any acknowledgement of my hard work?

I began to feel lightheaded, my mind circling in a vicious cycle of confusion.

I knew it was the last time I would be able to see Naruto's gentle, cerulean eyes.

I knew it was the last time I would be able to see Sasuke's handsome face.

And after all knowledge had hit me that it was the last time for everything, one last emotion decided to occupy my heart.

Bitterness.

He would never know how much I loved him. He would never know how much I sacrificed for him. He'll never know.

I love you, Sasuke...

He would never hear those words again.

He never gave me the chance.

And now it's over.

He doesn't care that I'm dying.

As my end drew nearer, I only wished that total darkness would encompass me sooner, so I would be released from my cage.

I only wished that death would come sooner to make this pain go away.

End
Well, thanks for reading! Sorry for making Sasuke so mean and cold-hearted, but hey, it wouldn't have worked if he wasn't. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I especially hope I did a good job portraying everyone's emotions. Also, I know it's probably a bit weird having Naruto and Sakura call each other 'Imouto' and 'Onii-chan', but hey...xD

It's a change from the usual happy stores. (:

Oh, and I apologize for my lack of skills for writing battle scenes. XD;
Till next time!