She raced through the house, the big good for nothing house. She checked every room, whipping her eyes in every crevice of the lower floor.
The beating of her heart too fast for comfort like the consistent slams of a drum. Her breathing uneven in fright, but she continued to search for him.
Sasuke-kun.
For that person with a cruel attitude. For that person with the inability to portray his honest feelings. For the person who's rare smiles would make her whole world fill with color.
Sasuke-kun.
When her search turned empty, Sakura dashed up the stairs.
Sasuke-kun.
She opened doors left and right and checked anywhere from behind desks to closets and even under couches. With her pastel pink hair out of order and her forehead perspiring she came upon the only door left unchecked. She held hope in her chest, praying that she finally found him. Praying that he would be behind this door.
Her grip, suffocating the door knob, gradually turned and she slowly pushed the door aside.
And with her vibrant green eyes she found him.
But it wasn't the boy who held his wits in check with a devious smirk. It wasn't the Uchiha that stood with immense pride and confidence.
It was a little, lost boy, that she found. His eyes downcast, his body hadn't even flinched when she discovered him. He was on the wooden floor at the foot of his brother's bed, an elbow perched on his right knee. His hand gripping his charcoal hair tightly, obscuring her complete view of his face.
In the dark, like always. He was always walking back into that horrible safety net. A place so far down even Naruto had barely been able to help him.
And now, now he was sinking deeper into his darkness. A place where she wanted to so desperately take him far away from.
Sakura took slow, quiet steps into the room and closed the door behind her. She used the moonlight to guide her way towards him. As she got closer she noticed photographs around him, all scattered, some still in the albums that lay askew, however many fell around his body. All the photos held him and Itachi or the both of them and their parents. All the photos kept the bits of happiness Sasuke was able to feel so long ago.
She stood before him, tears welling in her eyes, her lip quivering.
"Sasuke-kun." She whispered.
And she fell to the floor in between his legs. She knew he wouldn't want to speak and for once, she couldn't find her voice either.
Her hands fisted her thin skirt, frustrated that she couldn't do anything for him but cry. All her efforts to find him and for what? To cry herself? She was supposed to be comforting him right now and she just couldn't bring herself to say a thing.
Warm droplets fell upon her hands, and she shook as he sat motionless in silence.
She had to let him know that it was okay to crush his walls. She had to let him know that he'd kill himself if he continued to keep his sadness, his loneliness locked inside of him.
She raised her head when he took his hand from his hair, resting his palm on his knee he gazed back at her. He looked at her with an expression she could only recognize as emptiness, like he was staring through clear glass.
It was as if she wasn't even sitting before him.
Sakura studied his face, he seemed exhausted but she could tell by the skin around his eyes that he hadn't allowed himself to cry. Everything about him, from his face to his feet, seemed like someone wretched his soul from his body.
And in her heart, suddenly that little boy she knew from long ago appeared. That little boy that always held back his tears whether for falling and scraping his knees or spilling a bowl of tomatoes.
"What are you doing here?" His voice sounded like jagged edges.
Stop it, Sasuke-kun.
"How'd you get in here?" He questioned again.
Stop.
He sighed.
"I want to be alone. Leave." He held her gaze, and she saw the lost little boy again. Briefly but surely she knew he was screaming inside this young man who faced her now.
"Go."
But she only cried more, she hated crying. She cried for everything and now she was crying for him and it made her cry harder.
"I said-"
Her hands gripped his broad shoulders, clenching them tightly. Sakura was tired.
Tired from running to her car after Naruto had called her, informing her that Itachi was gone. Tired from fearing the worst when Naruto told her that Sasuke hadn't contacted him at all since the news. She was tired of Sasuke running away.
"Sasuke-kun, you baka!" Her heartbroken voice filled the large bedroom as he remained silent once more.
"Aren't I your friend? Isn't Naruto your friend? Isn't Kakashi-sensei someone you can rely on?" Her breath hitched as she stared at his face, searching for the slightest reaction.
"We know how strong you are," his eyes widened but it was only a flicker, "we know that you would rather carry everything upon yourself! We know that you hate to talk about trivial things!" He met her eyes again but chose not to speak.
"Sasuke-kun you are a teme," That got him to slightly narrow his eyes. "because you don't let anyone even be within an arm's length close to you! And you know why?" She paused in her frustration, gathering up more courage from all the years of pent up anger towards Sasuke.
"It's because truthfully you know you already care about all of us but caring about people makes a person weak." Her tears welled up once more. "But Sasuke-kun, caring…and letting people support you, that is something that makes you even stronger!" Her eyes were extremely puffy at this point and because she hadn't bothered to wipe away her tears her cheeks were irritated from all her bothersome crying.
She chose at that time to bring her arm to harshly rub her face as she was irritated at herself for being such a stupid girl.
She felt a grip on her hand just then and slowly her arm was brought down. With her hand still in his grasp she saw in his face, a vague attempt at a smug smirk and the softening of his beautiful eyes.
"You really are annoying."
She sat frozen for a moment until she noticed water gathering in his eyes.
Immediately before he could tell her to go away again, before he could try to assure her that he was fine, she wrapped her arms around him. Her hand weaved through his hair to cradle his head. She used her other arm to wrap around his shoulders, gripping his shirt as tightly as she could.
Sasuke's forehead rested on her shoulder and she felt his hands hold her hips in place. He wasn't completely embracing her back but he hadn't pushed her aside either, which made her glad.
His right hand rose and she felt a gentle pressure on the middle of her back. She felt a dampness growing on her chest and she realized, he was crying. Sakura could only hold him tighter as he shook in her arms although he tried to hide it. His barrier was for once, letting her through.
Sakura knew he hated being pitied but what she always tried to confirm with him was that it wasn't pity she felt, it was sadness. Sadness for Sasuke and all the heartbreak in his life. Sadness for all the things she could not do for him to make him happy. She wanted to be his strength, his light in his endlessly dark life.
Now that his brother was lost she had to do everything in her power to keep Sasuke from straying even further. Itachi-san would have wanted that. When Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and herself found out the truth they never mentioned it to Sasuke. They wanted Sasuke to tell them himself, eventually.
They discovered that until the very end, Itachi wanted the best for Sasuke. Despite their differences and misunderstandings, Itachi loved Sasuke with every action he chose to make. And now he was gone because of Madara Uchiha's conniving plans to annihilate his nephews.
The monster wanted all the power of the Uchiha Corporations to himself. He even underhandedly used agents of the Uchiha Police Force to work under his command. Luckily once Sakura and the others found out, they put their connections together to take Madara down. And no matter how much Sasuke would try to deny it, those powerful allies he had were indeed his friends.
Now Sakura wished that they had found out sooner, so that perhaps Itachi would have been saved in time. It was during the three month battle in the hospital that Itachi gradually slipped into a permanent coma. Sasuke had stopped going to school and visited his brother everyday. She could only watch as Sasuke continued to drift deeper into despair. Secretly, she made sure Itachi's flowers were fresh each time Sasuke left after his visits. But his condition only grew worse and Sasuke became more distant. Today, Sasuke received word that Itachi would never come back and decided that it was time to let his brother leave. He left the hospital as soon as he finished signing the paperwork.
That's how they finally came to be in this empty room. This room full of Sasuke-kun and Itachi-san's memories. All memories that she knew Sasuke-kun missed so dearly.
"Neh, Sasuke-kun."
She began to release her hold because she wanted to speak to him directly. It only surprised her more when he used both of his arms to pull her back against him. With his arms wound around her he weakly commanded, "Not yet."
Sakura's cheeks began to resemble roses and so she bashfully held him once more, instinctively lacing her fingers in his hair. Her other hand resting on his upper back.
"Sasuke-kun." She took a deep breath. "You are not alone." Sasuke stiffened in their embrace. "Sasuke-kun, when you're frustrated or confused or upset…you'll always have me or your other friends. We all care about your well-being and you know how bad I am at lying so it's the honest fact I'm giving you." She sighed.
"I know what you want to do, Sasuke-kun. You want to push us all away. You want to take all your troubles on your own shoulders." Sakura paused, not really expecting any answers from him. She was always babbling, or so he frequently told her.
"Your actions are so obvious that not a single one of your friends are going to let you do that to yourself anymore. Especially me." Sakura bit back her oncoming tears, she was seriously getting annoyed at her sensitivity. She sniffled anyway and was unaware of Sasuke's playful smirk hiding under her chin.
"Sasuke-kun, no matter how hard you try to keep me out of your life, I'm never going to leave you alone." She gave her own small smile, despite their circumstances.
"Because I am and always will be annoying."
Her heart was beating fast again, today was not a good day to tell him the real reason why she couldn't leave him alone. Telling him that she was in love with him while he was in such a difficult situation didn't scream good timing. But if she could be a friend by his side then that already meant the world to her.
Sasuke's arm slid from her body and as they grew apart he kept his hands on her waist. Sakura although she missed his warmth was able to run her eyes over his face. She saw his tiredness and smiled weakly at him, using her thumb to wipe moisture away from his eyes.
Sasuke watched her for a moment, they were completely covered in the moon's light and so her features were clear to him. Her soft pink hair was slightly in disarray. Her warm green eyes still held strong even after all her crying. She was biting her lower lip, probably thinking hard about something.
This was Sakura.
Even her outfit seemed frazzled, he frowned. Knowing her, she probably ran around wearing that stupid determined look on her face until she found him. That thought led Sasuke to realize how completely exhausted she appeared to be.
And despite all that, to him, she was beautiful.
He had listened to every word and every sob she befell on him tonight. He thought and thought as she spoke and cried. Every part of her ranting he took into consideration.
Sasuke knew he had nothing to question when it came to Sakura. The thing about her was that she always spoke what her feelings told her. Unlike him, who was only blunt when he didn't want to answer anymore bothersome questions.
Sasuke also already knew that he believed every piece of what she said to him, he was just frightened. He knew he hated admitting that to himself but he was afraid of caring because of the loss that usually came with that emotion. He learned enough of that from the loss of all his family members. But tonight he realized something else, something he tried to deny for years.
The Uchiha heir brought his hand to cup her face, his eyes softened as she leaned in his touch. Her small hand moved to hold his in place, her hand that carried all the adoration in the world covering his own tainted one. He saw the familiar sense of home in her facial expression and it only fueled his realization.
He had been afraid of letting Sakura continue by his side because of all the corruption that followed him. And yet with every obstacle they faced, she came to fight for him with strength he never imagined anyone could ever have. He chuckled inwardly, Sakura was most likely unaware of just how many times she had saved him these past few years. His excuse had always been that letting his emotions get the better of him would only make him build more weaknesses. And where that may be true, Sakura always made him want to become stronger for the both of them.
What he realized tonight was that he didn't want to go through this life anymore if she wasn't there to support him. Life without Sakura would be black and white, he knew that. Even thinking of something like that already hurt and after tonight, he wasn't going to let that happen.
Something tugged at his heart just then, the same tug that bothered him whenever she would smile at him. That tug that came when she would pout if he teased her or the tug that came when she would turn to face him with her big bubble eyes. He even felt that tug when he was alone, actually missing her warm voice.
He knew that as much as he needed her to be by his side, he wanted to be there to protect her as well. He wanted to be there when she cried or when she was pissed off. He wanted to be someone that could make her happy. Sasuke wanted to be there for every amusing expression she made.
Focusing on her face with it's entirety he wanted to kiss her right then and there. Which kind of scared him considering his brother had left the world today and he shouldn't have feelings like that right now. Surprisingly however, he didn't feel completely shattered. He didn't feel alone in the slightest bit.
"Sakura." Her eyes widened and he smirked at the silly woman. "Thank you, for everything."
Her eyes widened, tears started on their own accord and she half laughed half sniffled. She continued to cry even while she tried to rub her tears away. But she was for some reason, incredibly happy. But if he was thankful that meant that she had helped him in some way. Sasuke chose to comfort her now, chuckling quietly to himself. He affectionately rubbed her head, hoping he was actually helping her cry less. "We should go take care of things, knowing Naruto he's probably pulling his hair out over the preparations for my brother." The amused young man suggested.
As he began to stand he brought her up with him, releasing her only when she was steady. He watched her wipe away the last of her tears and then she gave him one of her infamous smiles, "Okay." She replied.
He released a playful huff and with his hands stuffed in his pockets he walked to the door, her soft foot steps pattering behind. When he reached the door he stopped and stared at the ground.
Sakura's hand went to his shoulder, worry in her voice, "Sasuke-kun, is something wrong?"
He turned around and her hand slid to his chest, she raised her face to stare at him. His protective hand came to tangle itself ever so gently in her hair, she hadn't realized how close his face was until he stopped moving a hair's width away. Her eyes were probably the size of the moon and her face most likely resembled a very ripe tomato.
"Sa-"
She had barely made a squeak when suddenly she felt something warm and soft against her lips. In the same split second, Sasuke stole one more kiss before he straightened his posture again and gave her his world renowned Uchiha smirk. Wordlessly he began to walk away without her.
She stood in place, mouth agape, but after realizing that her handsome friend wasn't in front of her anymore she ran to catch up to him.
"Sasuke-kun, what was-"
But she was silenced once more when he held her hand, which were invitingly warm. The blushing girl walked behind him while keeping the fingers of her free hand on her lips. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, letting him guide the way as she kept her gaze on their joined hands.
Hand in hand.
Side by side.
They would never feel alone, again.