Author's Note: Ahhh, dear readers! It's been a while! Actually, not really, but WHO CARES. So anyways, this story. Errr.. got the idea sometime this past week whilst I was trying to go to sleep. Thought it was pretty surprising that no one had tried it before (unless someone HAS tried it before, and I just haven't read it.. in that case, my SINCEREST APOLOGIES), so I decided to give it a go. Writing this story actually depressed me. The angsty-ness of it ASTOUNDS me. But I like it. I hope you do too. Enjoy.

-Crysthur

He sat alone in his room. He rarely spoke. There was no need to speak, much less anyone to speak to. In the beginning, he had spoken, had yelled, had screamed out loud to himself, just to break the oppressive silence and find shelter from the solitude. It always surprised him how normal he sounded. He wanted his voice to scratch, to croak, to give some indication of the person he was inside. But it was always the same, the same voice that innumerable girls had fawned over in his youth. The normalcy didn't seem to fit. So by and by, he had ceased speaking all together. Now, he lived in silence, watching the world pass him by. From his perch on the windowsill, he watched day turn into night, and night into day. True sleep never came. It hadn't come to him since that day, so many years ago. Even the short, uneasy dozes he slipped into when exhaustion claimed him were haunted by memories and dark dreams. And his dreams, how vivid they were. Every noise, every movement, every little detail came back to him as he relived that day, the day he, Uchiha Sasuke, died.

-x-

He sat alone in his cell. Heavy chains covered him, binding him tightly to the wall. A hacking cough echoed off the walls. Having been imprisoned in the most secure cell in Konoha's vast prison system, all the while getting daily injections that all but destroyed his chakra levels, for almost a month now, Sasuke's health wasn't doing too well.

Not like it matters much… He thought cynically to himself. After all, today was the day. A metallic grinding filled the room as the key turned in its lock. They were coming for him. The cell was filled with light as the door was opened, just long enough to allow someone entry. Darkness covered the room once more as the door closed with a resounding clang. Sasuke didn't look up as footsteps approached him. It was probably just one of the Hokage's lackeys, come to read him a list of his crimes or something of that sort. He heard a scroll being unrolled. Had he been in better spirits, and if the situation weren't looking so grim, Sasuke would have smirked at the predictability of it all.

"Sasuke-kun."

All feelings of morbid self-pity disappeared as those two words registered in his mind. His head whipped up and he found her outline in the dark.

"Sakura?" He hadn't seen her since the night he left the village, some four years ago. He had frequently wondered whether or not she was going to come see him during his month-long imprisonment, but had given up on the idea as the weeks dragged by. Now, here she was. But then… why now, on today of all days?

For a moment, there was silence. Then, she spoke again.

"Uchiha Sasuke. You have been charged with numerous crimes against the Hidden Village of Konoha …"

So she was here on the bidding of the Hokage. Silly of him to think that she might have come to see him. After all, as she was so occupied with detailing right now, he had done some pretty horrendous things in the years after he left. He watched her as the list went on and on. She never once looked up from the scroll she was reading from.

"…including the murders of all fifteen members of the three ANBU teams that were sent to retrieve you in the past, as well as four of the five ANBU members on the last team that was sent before you were finally detained by the fifth member, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto… Sasuke winced at the memory. Naruto, of all people. The irony of it all killed him every time. His thoughts were interrupted as Sakura finally looked up.

"You have been found guilty on all charges."

In her eyes, Sasuke saw a hardness that wasn't quite there before. There was an edge in her voice, the sense of lost innocence, of having to mature before her time. Feelings of what he identified as guilt washed over him. After all, he had undoubtedly been a large part of the reason for that. Finding that he could no longer look at her, he lowered his head once again.

"The punishment is death, to be carried out at 12 o'clock midnight. It is now 10 o'clock p.m. Uchiha Sasuke, you have two hours left to live."

"…two hours left to live…" The words echoed in his head. Is this what she came here for, to taunt me? Is she getting some sick, twisted satisfaction out of all this? Does she hate me that much? His mind registered noises of her movement. So she's leaving now…

To his surprise, she did no such thing. Instead, she sat down on the ground in front of him.

"Sasuke-kun…"

That edge in her voice had disappeared. Looking up, he saw that the hardness in her eyes had been replaced by the soft green he knew so well. She spoke again.

"I want to spend them with you."

-x-

He listened as she started talking, telling him about the things that had happened in her life since he left. Apparently, she had found her calling as a medical-nin. She was no longer the somewhat useless kunoichi who always seemed to be dragging their team down back in the day. In fact, she had become a very distinguished medical-nin, second only to the Hokage who had trained her. She asked him questions as well, about the places he had been, the things he had seen. He kept his answers short, for he found that he preferred listening to her talk rather than contributing to the conversation himself. Closing his eyes, he let her voice flow over him, bringing along with it a kind of peace that he hadn't experienced in years.

She stopped talking. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes to find her staring intensely at him.

"It's 11:55."

So his time was up. Though surprised at how time flew, he kept his expression even.

"If I ask you a question… will you answer honestly?"

Curious as to what her question was, he agreed.

"Hn."

"Do you regret leaving, Sasuke-kun?"

He was taken by surprise. The entire time they had talked, she had avoided the whole topic of his betrayal. And now, she was asking him point-blank about it. He almost scoffed at the absurdity of it. Here he was, about to be executed, and she asked him if he regretted it. Of course he did. But looking into her eyes, he realized that she wasn't asking if he regretted the things he had done; she was asking if he regretted the things he hadn't done because he left. The opportunities he had missed out on, the friendships that never formed… and the relationships that never flourished.

Looking straight at her, he answered.

"Aa."

And they both knew it was true.

She smiled, a sad little smile, and it made something in him ache. He had an overwhelming urge to try to convey to her what he was feeling.

"Sakura… I'm sorry… for everything."

And then her lips were on his, and it was the sweetest feeling he had ever known.

So this is what goodbye is…

And then it was over. He opened his eyes, trying desperately to hold onto the feeling of her as the tears started to slide down her face.

"Yeah… me too."

One simple word, uttered in a whisper…

"Henge."

And he suddenly found himself staring at his own face.

The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain on the back of his neck before he slipped into unconsciousness.

And when he woke up, his world was in ruins.

-x-

No one knew how she had managed to do it, how she had gotten him out of his chains and out of the cell, or how she had fooled the guards, fooled everyone into thinking she was him. No one knew until it was all over, when her body transformed back.

She always was the smart one…

He had awakened in the woods just outside of Konoha. He supposed that she meant for him to escape, but he couldn't do it. He was shattered, in too deep of a shock to even move. That is where they found him, two days later. The Hokage, being too shocked by what had occurred, pardoned him of his offenses. No one suspected him of orchestrating anything; they knew that it was impossible for him to perform any jutsus with the injections they gave him. Plus, no one could believe that even he, Uchiha Sasuke, traitor to the village of Konoha, could devise such a sick crime. The Hokage thought that she was being merciful in letting him live, but in reality, it was pure torture to him. When he ventured out on the streets, people whispered and pointed. Though he knew that there was nothing he could have done to stop her, he still felt the guilt wash over him anew everyday. And just as he stopped talking, he stopped going outside, choosing instead to isolate himself in a secluded area of the village, plagued by his thoughts and dreams as he sat alone in his room.