When they were little, hide-and-seek had been their go-to game. It was a simple enough game; he and Naruto would hide and Sakura would seek. A lot of the time it was rather unfair, as Sasuke and Naruto were excellently stealthy, moving just out of Sakura's reach as she approached their hiding spots. Thankfully, Sakura was a good sport about it. Naruto was clumsy and would often get caught after tripping or running into something, swearing with an extremely colorful vocabulary for a boy his age. Not Sasuke though, oftentimes he'd hide in spots just so he could see Sakura from the shadows. While she was looking for him, he was always nearby watching her every move, never once letting her out of his sight lest he lose his "hide-and-seek champion" title.
In all honesty, the game usually wasn't all that fun because everything was entirely too predictable. Naruto would trip and swear, Sakura would find him; Sasuke would be careful, Sakura would never find him. He would follow her deep into the forest, matching every step high above her in the branches of the trees and she would never notice. With every step he would urge her silently, 'Just turn around.' But her determination to find him pushed her impulsively forward, never realizing he was only a few steps behind. 'I'm right here!' He often wished to call out to her, but remained silent in honor of the game.
As years passed, more years than he could bear to count, their game never seemed to end. Naruto had joined the search party and would no longer be caught tripping over his feet but it still played out the same. He would watch Sakura's back, watching her sweaty, dirty pink hair swishing back and forth on her head, unrelentingly motivated forward just to find him. "Sakura, wait up!" Naruto chorused after the sprinting girl ― no, she was a woman now, in all respects of the word. She was beautiful, he realized. More beautiful than he had ever noticed in the past. He wished he could've told her but he is stuck in silence, drifting after them through the trees, wishing with all his might that she would just turn around and look at him.
"Let's go home, Sakura." He heard Naruto say, his voice filled with more emotion than he'd ever heard in the man's voice. "He's gone. You know he is."
Sakura turned to face the blonde, tears streaming down her beautiful face. "He can't be gone!" She shouted back, her hands balled up into fists. if only she would look over Naruto's fat head! "This is how we used to play, don't you remember?" She seemed to be hoping to reassure the both of them but her voice was wracked with sobs.
Sasuke needed her to see him, the game needed to end somehow, it always had and it always would. There was something in him that wished to keep playing, just to be able to keep watch over her, to make sure she was safe but he knew it was time. Just over the breath of whisper, he murmured coolly, "I win again, Sakura-chan."
The air seemed suddenly cold, she had heard him, she had heard his voice when it should have been furthest from her as possible yet she had heard his smooth, careful voice. She spun around to face the Uchiha but saw only the thick forest surrounding her. Afterall it was no use playing hide-and-seek with a ghost.