I
Sasuke Uchiha loved to play a game. He would dial a random phone number, call it, and check if he could do the same thing the next day. It began as a whim, but soon, it became a habit. He did it because he got sick and tired of listening to the same voicemail of his deceased mother.
"Hello. This is Mikoto Uchiha, I can't answer the phone at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep."
It was a little after midnight when he decided to play that little game of his again. Sasuke would usually get cursed at for calling so late, but he didn't even give a damn about that. There were times when the number he'd dial was already invalid, or times when nobody would answer at all. However, he was bored, young and lonely. What he wanted most in the world was that voice that would be able to match up with his mother's.
He checked his logs and saw that he had already attempted to make fifty calls that night.
"Fifty-first", he muttered, as he dialed another string of numbers. He placed the phone to his right ear and patiently waited for someone to pick up. On the seventh ring, the call was answered.
Sasuke waited for an irritated voice, a curse, anything. It didn't come. He stirred beneath his blanket to look at his gloomy ceiling, and remained silent. All he could hear was the gentle breathing of the person on the other end of the line. He was sure that his could be heard too. He waited for the call to be dropped, but it wasn't.
Together, he and the stranger on the opposite end basked in silence for ten, twenty, forty minutes.
Finally, Sasuke scoffed and said "Good night."
"Night", the strangers voice replied.
He hung up, and stared at the phone number displayed on his screen with a tiny, amused smile on his face.
"Finally", he whispered, as he saved the number under Miss 51.
He had no idea why he wanted to keep that randomly dialed number, but the more he thought about it, the more she seemed to stand out. With an unwavering smile, he proceeded to close his eyes and drift to sleep.
Sakura Haruno yawned, fixing her gaze on her phone, wondering who was calling so late at night. The ID was set to private, so she wouldn't be able to call back. The voice intrigued her in a way, a young man's voice that was a little deep but husky at the same time.
Sakura waited for the young man to say something, anything. But he didn't. She curled up into a ball underneath her blankets, and remained silent. All she could hear was the gentle breathing of the person on the other end of the line. His soft inhales and exhales, slowly lulling her to sleep.
Together, she and the stranger on the opposite end basked in silence for ten, twenty, forty minutes.
"Good night," came the young man's voice after forty-five minutes.
"Night," she echoed before closing her eyes, only to find herself not so tired; her mind was filled with thoughts of the stranger on the other end of the line. The stranger who did nothing but breathe softly into the phone for forty minutes. Sakura hugged her pillow closer to her chest and nestled her chin against it. Her sheets rustled with the tiny movement she made, and before completely falling into a deep slumber, she took her headphones out to listen to several acoustic songs. They were, after all, her lullaby.