Just One…

-Fino

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters

She was there in the center of it all, glowing as if spotlights were shining down at her from every angle. She moved slower then the rest, taking her time with every step and every roll. She smiled, closing her eyes and running her fingers through her tousled hair; which she had cut even shorter. She was the goddess of my dreams. I would never see her as this, not in life, and most definitely never in death.

She drew me in as if to remind me of what I had left behind, teasing me of something I could never obtain. I had thrown it all away for the ultimate goal; one of which I would never regret mind you.

Somehow I moved across that crowded floor, enticed by her dance, her rhythm, her…

I touched her hip lightly, yet she never opened her eyes as if I wasn't even there and maybe I wasn't. I moved around to her back and placed my other hand on her hip letting her movements guide my hands. My feet never moved, but my eyes watched her as she continued to smile and dance as if my presence meant nothing. It almost made me sad to think about it so I didn't. I guess that's how she always felt when I was around, like nothing.

I moved around to her front, keeping my hands on her body as if I was attached to her. I couldn't help but smile at her as she bit her lip to the swell of the music. I suppose this is the other life, the one I chose not to partake in. When I came to the crossroad that fateful day I chose the road that would benefit me the most. With all decisions, sacrifices must be made in order to reach your goal. I was so close to my goal I could taste it, but these dreams would always remind me of that other road. As I said before though, I have no regrets.

My smile grew as she raised her hands above her head and dipped to the beat causing me to bend over her to keep my hands placed securely on her hips. The song had changed and so had she. We all had changed; gone on with our lives. Whether it was the road or the music it made no difference.

She rolled her body up towards me as she brought her arms down. She again bit her lip and smiled as her hands worked their way down across her chest pulling at her tank-top and bra as if to extinguish some of the heat radiating off her body. Her hands continued down and settled on top of mine. With a gentle shove she pushed my hands to her thighs and then to her rear.

I smirked at her antics.

Her smile died down as she leaned into me.

"Dance with me, just once…" She whispered ever so gently. It took me by surprise; she had never said anything before.

I pulled my hands back to her hips slowly, making sure she felt the heat in my finger tips. Her smile grew once again and we moved together.

I never got close to her or touched her with more then my hands, but she knew I was moving with her. Everything faded away as I swayed with her mimicking her movements. No one was there; it was just us and a beat. Not a noticeable beat, just a throbbing of a musical intention that played in the background.

Hours seemed to pass like minutes as we swayed back and forth. I would wake up soon and begin another day of my life. But my body never shifted nor did my mind push for conciseness. I was stuck here in my mind on an empty dance floor with my hands on the hips of a childhood friend, one that loved me enough to stop me from taking the wrong road. Only she didn't know that it wasn't the wrong road for me, just for her.

I sighed inward at the thought and shook my head. I needed to wake up and train, I needed to begin the day, but I could not wake myself. I just stayed there with her in my grasp. I felt her hand touch my cheek softly. I looked at her in annoyance then sniffed the air. I had never smelled anything like it before. It wasn't the smell of anything burning or of blood, nor was it sweet like flowers or honey. It was strange.

She looked at me with a glint in her eye then turned it to a look of concern at my confusion.

I sniffed again and again trying to locate it; turning my head this way and that finding the source only to lose it again. Sakura placed her hand on my cheek again to stop my frantic search and smiled at me. It was her.

I grabbed her wrist and held it up to my nose and inhaled the scent. There was something about it that was almost intoxicating; I just couldn't get enough of it. My nose moved from her wrist to her elbow to her neck. She giggled as I pressed my nose against her throat. The smell seemed to be a little different at each spot. It also seemed to grow in strength as I moved inward.

Perfume perhaps?

No. This was something that was too real to be manufactured. It was her smell, the smell of sweat with just a little dirt. I sniffed at her neck a bit more. There was a fresh wet smell like what the dew leaves on moss or after a cool rain falls on the…

I had to stop myself of the thought, but I couldn't stop smelling her. She continued dancing as I moved down her body stopping suddenly as her hips. My breaths were labored and my face was sweating. I could feel the water dripping off my face in sheets. When had it gotten so hot in here that it would cause me sweat so?

Her hips moved slower and I could feel her eyes on me as her hands dropped down to my shoulders. Her touch eased the tension that I had not noticed growing there. I cooled down and my breaths slowed but my face was still wet. My eyes were even clouding up as the water entered them.

I felt her hands move from my shoulders to my face. She cupped it gently in her hands and ran her thumbs over my cheek bones and underneath my eyes. That is when I realized that it wasn't sweat dripping from my face, it was tears. I was crying, but why?

I let my head fall to her stomach and breathed in her scent again bringing some relief to my eyes. I pushed her shirt up over her hips, burying my face in the cove of her ribs and stomach.

I shouldn't be doing this, I kept telling myself, but it was all I could do from breaking down.

"Sasuke…" I heard her voice speak to me from above causeing me to look up at her. She kneeled down in front of me and hugged me.

"I will never leave you." She whispered gently into my ear as a cried into her shoulder; "We will never leave you. Never again will you be alone…"

Her voice faded off as light peaked in my window from above. Groaning I stretched on my bed, loosening my body from its sleep and my mind from its dream.

Shaking my head I rolled over. Never had she spoke to me, much less touch me.

Once again I stretched and took a deep breath to wake my brain up and there it was. That scent. I rose quickly sniffing the air only to come up wanting. I was still not awake and was imagining things.

Throwing myself back on my bed I smelled it again. I smelled her as if she had been right there. Turning over on my side I found it. The smell was all over the pillow next to me along with a lone pink strand of hair. I touched the pillow gently feeling a light warmth radiating from it. I scanned the room for some remnant of an intruder and found none, just the lonely moan of the walls and floors.

Never…

I spotted the last message on the table stationed at the over end of the bed. Her calling card, her memory, her.

The pink blossoms glittered in the suns rays and I cried.

-Fino