Kind of, or maybe it is a continuation of my fic A Past Beyond. Still SakuraXSakumo pairing but only partially. Sakura will have other pairings, I think. This fic may or may not end as SakuraXSakumo. I haven't gone that far ahead yet. I only thought about this last night and I decided to start writing it.
Today is Sunday, March 11, 2007. 3:12 PM.
By the way, I suggest reading A Past Beyond first. I'm not sure if this can stand on it's own but I'll try to make it that way.
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He was a frightening image, the way breath hissed out between his teeth. The insidious tremble of his body and the intensity of the expression flaring in his eyes made him all the more terrifying. She couldn't blame him for being angry.
Yet it wasn't about the anger. It was about the pain behind it.
"I'm sorry." Her voice came out a strong whisper, an explanation and apology all the same. She practically heard his heart crack and shatter to a thousand pieces just by the look in his eyes. But her heart also cracked at the sight of him.
She never wanted this to happen, although she always felt it would. Further words from her weren't given chance to come out of her mouth for he spoke.
"Who." The way he said it didn't have a clear end punctuation. It was both a demand and a question.
She became hesitant. She couldn't tell him. Would he believe that she's in love with a dead man? Their sensei's father no less. She doubted it. "You would not believe me if I told you." She regretted saying that.
Only silence. For a minute, she thought that it was over.
"Is that all you have to say?" His blue eyes accused her, and it was evident that he wanted to say something else but chose not to say it. It felt like everything that would come out of her mouth would only upset him more so she chose not to give a reply.
"I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU!" That was why it was all the more heartbreaking. "WHY WON'T YOU GIVE ME A CHANCE!" He was shouting… at her. He never shouted at her… not like this. She took a step back, despite herself. His eyes were closed shut, head facing down, but she could see his teeth bared in fury.
It wasn't that she never wanted to give him a chance. It's that she can not— would not.
"Naruto…" His posture shifted, and she hoped frantically that he was under control. "Hinata loves you." Pathetic, but that was her only excuse. "I-I'm not the one for you, Naruto. Hinata had always been there for you, hiding, but was always there. Ever since she met you she…"
"You think I don't know all that?!" He cut in, a little more sharper than he would have wanted. Sakura blinked, and stared at him in disbelief and her eyes widening at shock from his answer. "I'm not that dense, Sakura!"
"Naruto… she loves you… more than I ever could. Please understand."
Naruto growled, shaking. "Have you ever thought that you're the one who needs to understand?! You say you can't love me like she does. But haven't you ever thought that I feel the same way for her!? You're the one I love Sakura, not Hinata! I've always known her feelings, like you've always known mine!"
She felt, rather than saw Naruto's angry grimace, and winced as she felt the pulse of power that followed it. He seemed to struggle with it for a minute, fists shaking.
She stood there in silence absorbing everything that he just told her. As much as she wanted to break away from his gaze, she couldn't and it pains her even more. She finally does so and stared at the ground.
"Is it still Sasuke?" His voice was steady and monotone, his face now blank and serious, but she has known him long enough to know that he was still angry. Hiding his emotions had always been one of his specialties. Just like it has been hers.
"No." It was her reply, done without delay. She had gotten over their teammate for two years now, ever since that day. An incident only she knows about.
He had known for a long time that she was over that teme, although she never told him. He simply asked just to have the little satisfaction of hearing her say it however of a petty matter it was to him. He would have smiled a little, if not for what he was feeling.
He was crying. He felt it running down his neck, and sticky under his eyes. His lips tasted salty from his tears, and he wondered how long he had been crying for, exactly. He jerked forwards, as if he were about to grab her and stopped himself at the very last moment. His eyes flickers, turns red before going back to the pain-filled blue, then looked away.
Sakura didn't give him any time to say anything else. She turned around. She wanted to look back. But no. This time, she will be the one who walks away. This time, she will the one who turns her back. Not Naruto. Not Sasuke.
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As you can see what I said up there, the date this was written. Okay. It took me more than a year to finish this. Back then I hated what I had already written but when I read it today, I kind of liked it a little. So I finished it. And Voila! But this is actually the second version of this first chapter. The first was kinda like a SasuXSaku, not at all like this NaruXSaku. And I would also liked to add that I DO NOT like the end of this chapter. And it's so short! I rushed it.