Here's a oneshot I thought of when I was listening to the song "Pushing Me Away" by Linkin Park. It's between Sakura and a mysterious character to be revealed at the end...
The Kunoichi leapt out of her window and bid goodbye to her village for a while. She wasn't coming back without him. Silently walking throughout the moonlit night, she followed the path that led away from the village and into the wilderness. A few days passed and she was getting exhausted. She traveled more than fifty miles on foot by the cover of night and through her weariness, she misjudged her feet and fell off of the cliff edge she was sliding across. She plummeted about forty feet and heard a sickening crunch as she landed. She knew her leg was broken…
Through the dizziness she saw a figure walking towards her, but couldn't make out if it was a friend or foe, for the waves of unconsciousness were drowning her senses. The figure… what sounded like a man… asked her some questions, she mumbled incomprehensible answers and gave in to the darkness.
She slowly came to and felt herself not on the cold, hard ground, but on a bed near a source of heat. She groggily leaned forward on her elbows to look at her surroundings, but was pushed back down by a gentle hand. She looked over and was surprised to see a man with a mask covering his face, "You need to rest. Lay back down, I'll get you something to eat. You can't push yourself too hard, Sakura."
She gave him a suspicious look, "How do you know my name?"
He grabbed a bowl of soup and pointed at her bag she was carrying, "It's on the flap of that bag."
"You looked through my stuff?!"
He handed her the bowl and threw his hands up in defense, "I had to make sure you weren't with Orochimaru."
"I see. So you're afraid of him?"
The man sneered, "Tch, of course not. I just don't want to kill anymore innocent people sent from that man."
Sakura looked down at the soup and drank a little, "He's sending men after you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I betrayed his orders and didn't kill someone I was supposed to."
Her eyes widened, "Who?"
The man put lit a candle and put the main fire out, "That will be a different story."
As he turned to walk out of the room she asked him to stop, "Wait, you know my name. What's yours?"
The man chuckled, "That is also for a different time. Go to sleep."
Five weeks went by and she was able to get around by herself with the help of a makeshift crutch. Her and the man were sitting at the table and eating lunch.
"So, are you going to tell me you're name yet?"
The man chuckled, "Yes, but not right now."
"Why?"
He pointed at her leg, "If something happens, I want you to be able to leave on your own."
She put down her glass and looked at him, "What do you mean?"
He placed his hashi down, "I will not reveal anything until you are better."
She slammed her fist on the table, "Won't you tell me something dammit!"
"I suppose I should…" He unbuttoned two clasps on the side of his mask, allowing for the portion beneath the nose to fall and clatter on the table. "Is that good enough for you?"
She crossed her arms, "What about the top half?"
He shook his head, "Not yet."
She stood and grabbed her crutch, "I'm going for a walk…"
Once outside she sat down a log and sighed, she resigned her mind to her thoughts.
'Who the hell is this guy? Why won't he tell me anything?!'
She sighed again, allowing her thoughts to drift to him.
'Sasuke…'
Sakura stood once again and walked back inside. She found the man carving a small animal out of wood.
"What are you making?"
He looked up, "Something for one of my friends…"
She stared closely at the object, "What happened to him?"
He smiled, "Knowing him… he's probably stuffing his face right now and laughing like an idiot…"
Sakura saw another little piece of wood and pointed to it, "What's that one going to be?"
He looked at it, "I don't know yet, but it's going to be for someone special…"
"What ever happened to her?"
"Heh… she probably moved on and forgot all about me."
Sakura smiled, "People aren't that easily forgotten."
He chuckled and put down the kunai and wood, "Let's take a look at that leg."
She walked over to the bed and sat down, propping her leg up on a nearby chair, "There you go, it's all yours."
He grabbed a pail of warm water and soaked a cloth in it while he removed the bandaging around her leg. Staring and poking and certain points, he placed her leg back onto the chair and draped the warm cloth over it; "It looks fine. With any luck you'll be able to move without bandages in about a week."
Her eyes lit up, "Really? You mean I can continue my search?"
He nodded and wrapped her leg in clean bandages, "What are you looking for?"
She bowed her head, "I'm looking for someone very dear to me…"
His brow rose behind the mask, "Oh really, who?"
She blushed, "No, I can't tell you…"
He looked at her, "Do you want to know something else about me?"
"Sure."
"Actually…no. I can't show you that yet…"
"What? Why?"
"It's nothing. I'll tell you later." He looked out the window, "Look, it's almost dark. I'll go and get more firewood."
"Do whatever you want."
He walked out of the room without a word.
Six more days passed with no conversation between the two, until he spoke up during dinner, "Your leg is fine. There is no need for you to use the crutch anymore."
She looked out of the window at the rain," I'm leaving tomorrow."
"I see. In that case, I will do as I promised."
She looked up and scoffed, "And what will that be?"
He stood and walked over to her, kneeling with his head bowed, "You may remove this mask from my face."
Trembling with curiosity, Sakura reached her hands around the back of his head, she unclasped the final four buttons and dropped her hands, "I can't do it…"
He eyed her, "Yes you can, just pull the mask up."
"I…"
"Do I need to do something else?"
"I can't do this to someone I don't even know."
"You're wrong." He grabbed her hands and pushed them to her sides, forcing his lips from under the jawless mask to hers.
She froze and backed away, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Remove my mask."
She walked into the bedroom and grabbed her bag, about to walk outside into the pouring rain, "No. I'm leaving."
He grabbed her wrist and spun her into his chest, "Sakura Haruno!"
She looked at him with wide eyes, "My bag only had my first name, village and rank, how do you know my last name!"
"I'll say it again, remove my mask."
She moved her hands to the mask and pushed it upward, it clunked to the floor and rolled to her feet. Her hands dropped to her sides and she began crying, "Why…" She gasped and smacked his chest, "Why the fuck didn't you tell me!"
He remained silent and wrapped his arms around her.
She fully broke down and buried her face into his shirt. Sobbing she spoke, "Why the hell didn't you say anything… why…"
Her frame shook with each sob and he answered, "I did it to protect you, Sakura."
She pushed away from him, "So tell me why the fuck you had to just up and leave the people that cared about you!? Do you know how many times Naruto and I looked for you?! How many times I cried my eyes out, begging for you to come back to me!?"
He bowed his head, "Orochimaru was coming for my body… I couldn't allow him to harm you and Naruto."
"That gives you no right to fucking leave like that! To just leave me standing there in the dark!"
"I'm sorry…"
She fell to her knees and sat there, "I've been waiting… I've been waiting so long for you…"
"I know you have… and I'm sorry…"
She jumped up and walked towards the door, "Sorry doesn't cut it. We searched and searched… never finding any trace of you!"
Sakura walked out into the rain and sat on a log, staring into the crying sky.
He followed her and sat down next to her, "I know…" He reached into his pocket, "Here… this is for you…"
She stared at the beautiful creation in front of her. It was a necklace with a wooden flower petal carved into it, "That other necklace was for me?"
He nodded, "I was waiting to give it to you… the other one is for Naruto."
She put it around her neck, her tears fading away, "It's so pretty…"
He smiled and kissed her forehead, "Not nearly as pretty as you."
She chuckled and looked through the pouring rain at him with hopeful eyes, "Will you come back with me Sasuke?"
He nodded.
She looked down, "Who did Orochimaru want you to kill?"
He ran a hand over her pink hair, "He wanted me to kill you… he thought of you as an obstacle in my progress…" He paused and grabbed her chin, staring into her eyes, "I refused to and he banished me, sending men to kill me…"
R&R Please!