Dawn
SasuSaku

Chapter 1
The soft, rays of the morning sun shone out from behind the Hokage cliffs, spreading light out across the ninja village. The dawn sky was lit up and the clouds glowed red. "Red sky in the morning"? Some may say that it could be a bad omen. It is believed that bad things are to come on the day that begins with blood red clouds. Then again, it's just a superstition…

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Several birds woke in shock at the sudden outburst from one of the many houses in the village. "Is that the time?!" cried the 17 year old pink haired kunoichi, "I'm late for training!" She charged around, grabbing her kunai and shuriken, and dashed out the house. "Bye, dear!" her mother sang.

Slamming the door behind her, Haruno Sakura ran as fast as she could down the streets towards her team's traditional meeting point on the bridge. "Damn it," she cursed, "Maybe I spent too much time on my hair today... I wanted it to be perfect for Sasuke-kun! Perhaps he would like me if I put more effort into my looks than I usually do!"

She decided to take a shortcut down a narrow alleyway. "I've never been late before…" she thought, worried, "What will Sasuke-kun say? Naruto has been delayed a couple of times before and Kakashi-sensei is always late but I guess they get away with it because Sasuke-kun admires them. But, Sasuke… he's never been late before. He's always there before me!"
The girl was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't sense the presence of another equally flustered young man running down the street she was about to join.

When she did notice him, it was already too late. They collided hard and Sakura fell into him, knocking him onto his back as she fell upon him.
For a moment she was lost in a daze. A warm, soft daze… ah… she could feel the breathing against her neck. Her mind saw images of Uchiha Sasuke there with her. Oh how she wished she could be so close to him. Then it struck her – she was lying on top of a complete strange in the middle of the street where anyone could see her!!

"Ah!" she yelped. She opened her eyes and was faced with a metal Konoha forehead protector and long dark bangs of hair. Her eyes widened. Could it be…? Slowly she dragged her eyes down to see two dark eyes. For a second, she could've sworn she saw a softness to them, but changed her mind when they flickered to a very sharp and pissed off gaze. She'd been the recipient of that look many times… Then she realised who was beneath her… Uchiha Sasuke!
"Get off me, baka," he grunted. He had his hands up by his face and Sakura paused, noticing how vulnerable this position made him look. She was losing herself in his deep eyes when she was suddenly brought back to earth by the words, "Get the hell off..!"

"Ano! I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun! I wasn't looking where I was going!" She jumped off him and got up, somewhat reluctantly. He stood up too and looked away, saying, "Geez…"
"Sorry," she repeated, "I was worried because I was late for training and- … hold on. Sasuke-kun, you're late too?"
"You think?" he said, perhaps a little too harshly, as he turned round and glared at her. Sakura felt his cold gaze and gasped inwardly before sighing and looking down. She was used to being treated like this. Nothing hurts quite like unrequited love, she thought.

Gathering herself and looking back up, she asked, "Why are you late today, Sasuke-kun?"
She noticed an odd expression on his face as she asked. He seemed slightly troubled. However, before she could mention it, he looked off to the side and replied, "I could ask you the same question. But I'm not interested. So I won't."
"U-Uh… okay…" She put on a forced smile and acted cheerful again, struggling to hide her curiosity, "Shall we walk to the meeting point together then? I doubt Kakashi-sensei is there yet."
"Hmph," he said, turning and starting to walk without her. She quickly joined him and walked by his side.
"Ne, Sasuke-kun," she said, looking to him.
"What?" he said. He didn't turn his head. Sakura noticed how he seemed to be staring into the distance, as if deep in thought.
"Ah… are you feeling alright? I mean, it's not like you to be unpunctual…"
"I'm… fine."
She felt her heart skip a beat. She could immediately tell from his hesitation that something was not right.
"I don't believe you. You can trust me, Sasuke-kun."
He was quiet for a moment. Sakura wondered if he was even listening, when he finally spoke, "You're a comrade. That's all. Leave me alone."
The kunoichi dropped back a step in surprise. She felt a blow to her heart. Even if he didn't love her, she'd always thought he'd considered her a friend and yet now…
"Sasuke…" she said, her face contorting as she tried to fight back tears.
"Don't bother yourself with me," he said and leapt up onto the rooftops, making his way to the meeting point without her.
Sakura stopped where she was. A cold wind blew her hair in her face and brought goose bumps to her skin. A tear dropped by her feet and she suddenly felt very alone.

x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x[]x