Title: Begin Again
Summary: She had thought that was it for him. That he would never again be the Sasuke she knew. That he would always be trapped in darkness, and his only freedom, his only real relief, would be death. That sadness would forever engulf him until death came to embrace him.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Rating: M
Author's Notes: Enjoy, guys. Reviews will be appreciated xo

Chapter One

To say that Sasuke was tired would be an understatement.

To say that he was exhausted would be putting it mildly.

Sasuke was drained.

He hadn't known that the war would tire him out so much. He hadn't known how much damn effort he had to put into defending himself and his stupid teammates.

His annoying, clingy teammates.

He shifted in his hospital bed, and grunted at the sharp pain in his side. He wouldn't have gotten that deep gash if it hadn't been for her.

Sakura.

She was so annoying. He had never met someone so damn annoying, and he had known Naruto all his life. The memory of what happened was still fresh in his mind. He could still see Sakura's tears and her open-mouthed shock when he jumped in front of her, just in time to take the hit.

"Sasukeh!" Naruto shouted frantically as he battled Madara himself. "Look! Sakura! Quick!"

Sasuke turned his head and his eyes widened when he saw the sharp blade heading straight for the pinkette, who was not paying any attention to her surroundings. How could she be so dumb? They were at war, for Kami's sake. She should be more alert!

Acting quickly, he ran to her, hoping to deflect the blade and save them both from any injury. But that wasn't the case. He was so worried about her, he couldn't think properly, and-

Boom.

It landed in his side.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, rushing to his side. "Sasuke, whatever you do, don't close your eyes!"

Despite her warning, he couldn't help himself. His eyelids fluttered closed.

"Sasuke-san?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the nurse smiling down at him. "How are you feeling, Sasuke-san? Are your injuries any better?"

He gave a gruff nod.

"Well, that's good to know. Are you in any pain? Would you like your pain killers?"

Another nod.

"Very well, Sasuke-san. I'll be right back with them. By the way, you have a visitor here to see you. Someone who claims to be your best friend and keeps calling you teme. Would you like to see him?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Dobe. What an idiot. He nodded again and the nurse scurried out of the room. A moment later, the door slammed open and Naruto strolled in, a satisfied look on his face. Sasuke scowled at him. Naruto had healed so quickly.

"Teme," Naruto greeted, grinning at him.

"Dobe."

"How are ya feeling?"

A pause. Sasuke was contemplating whether to answer him or not. "...Fine."

"Good to hear, buddy. Hey, Kakashi can't wait to see you. He almost cried when I told him you were back."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"...Nah. But he's excited."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again.

"Sakura's pretty glad, too."

"Hn."

"Even though she's pissed at you."

"For what?"

"Oh, you know," Naruto said, nonchalantly, "for leaving the village and trying to kill her and then trying to destroy the village. Usual stuff. No big deal. Happens to people all the time." Naruto grinned, and Sasuke couldn't help a small smirk at his friend's stupid joke.

"You're gonna apologize though, right?"

Sasuke looked away, a sudden guilt crawling into his heart.

Naruto's face grew serious. "Teme...you're not gonna apologize?"

He said nothing.

"She loves you, you know that...right?"

"I know, idiot," Sasuke snapped. Of course he knew Sakura loved him. Of course he knew that. How could he forget? She completely filled the emptiness in him back in their genin days. She made him feel important, wanted...she made him feel loved and accepted. And it's not like he wasn't thankful for that. He was. He always had been. "She tried to kill me too."

She had tried to kill him. She had tried to kill him. Sakura, of all people. Sakura, who he thought would never turn against him, even though he had betrayed her. Sakura, who loved him to the very last. He remembered the way his chest tightened when he felt her presence behind him, turning to see the knife at his back...

Anger had fueled him. Hot, dark anger that was too evil and too cruel for words.

He had already been angry, because when Kakashi deflected his first attack against her, there was a kind of pathetic relief in the pit of his stomach and he hated it.

"Right. But she did it out of love. Can you say the same?"

"...Fuck off, dobe."

Naruto threw his hands up in the air, as if surrendering. "Hey, whatever, Sasuke, I'm just saying...no one has loved you like Sakura, and if you think she's going to come crawling back to you after all that's happened, you're a moron."

"You're the moron. Now get out."

"You better apologize."

"Get out."

XX

Sakura always had a good life.

Good friends, good parents, a good home, good food, good vibes.

Just an all-in-all, happy, normal lifestyle.

She was content like that. She had never wanted things to change. She had never wanted to meet him.

But she did.

Looking back, she'd like to that that maybe she never really loved him as much as she thought. She'd like to think that it was all just some big, stupid crush that was fuelled by her lust for him.

She knew, however, that would be lying to herself.

And she wasn't one to lie.

Well, except for sometimes. When it was completely necessary.

There are many things she wished to say to him.

Like how much she adored his rebellious hair, or how much she loved his distant black eyes, no matter how cold or bitter they seemed. She'd tell him that she loved his little smirks, or the way he would use annoyance to cover his amusement. She'd tell him that she loved his deep, smooth voice or his woodsy, masculine scent. She'd tell him that she loved when he fell asleep, because his face would relax and it would seem as if he had no struggles or pain.

She would tell him, again, how much he meant to her.

How much she loved him.

How all she ever wished for him was happiness-even when his hand was wrapped around her neck. She would ask him what he meant when he said thank you. Two simple words. Two simple words that felt as if they held so much meaning for her.

For them.

Yes. There were many, many things she wished to say to him. Many things about him that left her breathless.

She had thought that was it for him. That he would never again be the Sasuke she knew. That he would always be trapped in darkness, and his only freedom, his only real relief, would be death. That sadness would forever engulf him until death came to embrace him.

And then he jumped in front of her.

It seemed like a blur at the time. She hadn't expected it. Shikamaru had been saying something to her, and she had let her guard down to listen. What she didn't know was that Shikamaru was just warning her about the blade.

And when she turned, she thought, that's it, then. It's over.

It was definitely a surprise when Sasuke jumped in front of her, the look on his face a mix between panic and annoyance. When the blade lodged into him, it felt like the earth had stopped moving.

And all she could think was, that damn bastard! He better not be dead! He better be alive, and stay alive!

Sakura was pretty sure she had screamed out to him, but she couldn't quite remember.

"Sakura? Are you even listening to me?"

She snapped to attention and peered at Ino. "Yes, of course."

Ino frowned. "Then what did I just say?"

Sakura pressed her lips together and smiled sheepishly. "I don't know."

The blond sighed in exasperation. "Come on, Sakura. You have to tell me what I should wear for the festival. It's tonight, and I want Shikamaru to ask me already!"

"Why don't you ask him?"

Ino gaped. "Are you stupid or something, billboard brow? That's not how it works. The guy always asks the girl first. It's a code."

"A code?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Please, Ino. That's ridiculous. If you want something, go get it."

As if on cue, the two girls looked up and saw Shikamaru walking down the street, hands in his pockets, staring at nothing, cigarette dangling from his lips.

"In this case, what you want is Shikamaru. And I will admit, he's hot. So go get him."

"Sakura-"

"Go!" Sakura said, shoving her forward. She watched, disappointed, as Ino bumped into him, blushed, mumbled an apology and darted away.

She sighed heavily. Maybe it was time to visit Sasuke. She hadn't visited him ever since he was put in the hospital. She hadn't seen him since the war. In all honesty, she was avoiding him.

She couldn't bear to look him in the eyes and watch him reject her again.

It would kill her.

But she knew that the only reason he has been in the hospital for so long was because of the injury he had protected her from.

Maybe she should bring him something.

So she bought some apples, and a pretty, white rose, and made her way over to see the man she was so desperately in love with.

She prayed everything would go well.

Did you guys like it? A little boring, but, it will get more entertaining, I promise! This was only the first chapter, after all. Anyway, review please! Much love xo