AN- Sakura and Sasuke as of chapter 412, or whatever the new chapter for the 23rd was. May have been 413, she wasn't even in it though. This is an exercise I am doing to see how well I can show the characters emotions and state of mind at a given time. Time, chapter 413, or whatever.

A Pain Too Strong

The forest floor was damp, the skies tears still a dead weight on the earthen floor. While Sakura too was done crying, the pain was heavy in the bottom of her heart and unlike the earthen floor, it would never diminish. Her pain only pushed her, harder and harder everyday. The more intensely she felt it, the more she tried to become strong. Only though strength could she bring Sasuke back. If she never amounted to anything, their generation would not be worth his time.

She stared through the leaves, deep into the forest. The darkness was soothing to her. Sasuke wouldn't be moving during the day if he could help it. She knew he was awake and somewhere close by. They had come so close… so close to finding him after he had fought Itachi. If only they could have got to him.

Through the last few years, never had she felt pain the way she did now. This uncertainty, this miserable passing of time that she did nothing while Sasuke could be hurt was unbearable. Was he okay? Was he coming back? Was he dead… had Itachi killed him before he took his last breath?

Sakura closed her eyes. The pain was unbearable. She felt like she needed to scream, just to do something, anything that would be more than nothing. The seconds seemed to drag on like years, each one full of nothing but empty, lifeless pain. She felt like she couldn't even breathe. Before… before she knew Sasuke was with Orochimaru and training. She knew he was okay until the time came and then he had even eliminated that threat.

"Where are you, Sasuke?" Sakura spoke aloud.

With Naruto gone and Tsunade busy, she had had no one close to keep her mind from these thoughts. Of course, she didn't think that even they could keep her mind numb from these thoughts. Sasuke truly meant everything to her… without him in the world… well, she wasn't sure she could handle that.

At times like this, she couldn't keep the memories of him from consuming her thoughts. It was all she had of him and she would cherish it for the rest of her life.

His last words to her as he left her behind forever haunted her. But she knew they weren't true. Sasuke was lying to himself, lying to the world about how he felt. She had got through to him, she had made him think before he became a monster. He had risked his life to save her and Naruto on more than one occasion… He did care. He cared so much, he couldn't even be around them for fear of it preventing him from killing Itachi.

But what now?

Now that he was gone… why did he have to stay away? Why couldn't he come home…why did he have to put them through this? Didn't he understand what true pain felt like?

Sakura burst out into a sob that she didn't realize she was holding.

Didn't he know how much it hurt to lose someone that you loved? If he knew…. then how could he do this to her?

The tears streamed down her face and Sakura wondered if she would ever be able to think of him without it ending like this. She could pass her days in a routine without crying because she stayed busy. But when she had nothing to occupy her time, her emotions chained her to misery.

Sometimes she just felt angry. She thought that if she ever saw Sasuke again she might attack. He never had to leave. He would have gotten stronger here. Naruto and she had improved dramatically and he still acted as if they were as weak as they were when they were genin.

But still, Sasuke had never meant for them to form such bonds. He never wanted any of this to happen. It made her wonder if he even cared to live now that Itachi was dead.

Sakura immediately stood. She wasn't sure why. She wanted to do something, to look for him… What if he really was in pain, physical or otherwise and needed her? What if he never wanted to see her again… ever? What if Sasuke really was different… and he truly wished to see her and Naruto dead?

Her tears burned her as she furiously wiped them away.

Sakura concentrated an enormous amount of chakra in her fist and let it all spill out of her, splitting the ground in two. The repercussions of her outburst were devastating. She restructured the forest with a single blow, but now she felt drained. She had released too much chakra too quickly.

She stood for a moment, silent tears running down her face. She held out as long as she could, facing the destruction her pain had caused. She wondered if she had used too much chakra… maybe she wouldn't survive it. Behind her, the earth was solid as if nothing had happened.

Slowly, she started to fall. The world moved in slow motion as her body floated to the ground like a feather. It as like she was high, being so exhausted and depressed. Everything was dark and she could no longer see through the pitch black.

All she could do was feel.

After only the cool feeling of the wind on her skin, she felt a soft grip on her waist. The solid and painful landing on the ground never came. Warm hands held her steady, refusing to let her fall any further, lifting her feet from the ground.

Her eyes were open, but she couldn't see. She twisted her head, but all she could see was the faint silhouette of a man with spiky hair.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked, slightly annoyed someone had interrupted her make believe deliverance from this hellish pain.

There was a long moment of silence before a very familiar voice answered, "Sakura."

She heard his voice and she could feel him holding her tightly. But she still didn't believe it. She must have been hallucinating.

Sakura laughed as much as her low chakra level would allow. When she spoke, her voice was aloof and cold.

"Like Sasuke would try to help me… Sasuke hates me… He tried to kill me… He would rather I killed myself and put an end to my pathetic existence than to cause him the trouble of having to do it himself…" Sakura's voice grew quiet and shaky as the tears formed in her eyes.

"And even knowing all of this… I would still give my life for his… I still love him more than my own village… I would give up everything for him," Sakura whispered.

She thought she felt something hot strike her forehead just before the blackness overtook her.

Sasuke stared at Sakura, unconscious in his arms. The earth shattering explosion of power had truly alerted him. The threat he felt from this power was enough to make him need to know what danger might lie near. When he saw Sakura, barely even standing on her feet, he thought he was losing his mind. However, beginning only inches before her, the devastation that stretched for miles was proof that she was the one to have caused it.

He was about to turn and leave… until he saw her collapse. Even though he was a great distance from her, he caught her just before she would have hit the ground. She was delirious, exhausted from too much chakra loss.

She had looked just as she did the last time he saw her, but only now, he was focusing on her rather than trying to ignore her.

When he said her name, it was instinctive, just like his reaction to catch her. He didn't know why he did it. He just did. She seemed to not realize what reality was as she spoke of him like he wasn't there. At first, he only took it as incessant rambling, but as she continued, he felt like a dagger had been thrust into his chest.

Every thought of reason he had was to put her down and walk away… but at the same time, he knew she was so weak, she just might seriously be in danger unless she was cared for. His team was still recovering from capturing the demon, so he could easily escape for an evening without question.

Her words had sliced open wounds he thought he had sewn shut. She spoke as if she cared for him with such severity she would be willing to do everything Itachi had to ensure his future.

Why was it that everyone felt the need to give their life for his? What kind of life could he have if everyone who cared for him died so he could live on without them? Sasuke stared at Sakura and barely noticed as the tear rolled off his cheek and streamed down her face.

This pain he felt… did she feel it too? It was a pain too strong to overcome, one he couldn't be responsible for.