"Please, don't leave me! Don't go! I love you!"

"Saaaaasssssuuukkeeeeee!"

Sakura opens her eyes and finds herself staring at the point of his sword. She continues looking up until she meets his dark eyes. Those eyes which used to melt her heart and send shivers down her spine. Those eyes that could make her do anything he wanted.

But today, for the first time she had ever seen, those eyes didn't show their usual hard, aloof coldness. They waver as his bottom lip trembles ever so slightly. As he looks at her, his eyes cloud over and grow misty.

Slowly, he pulls back his sword. Sakura stares in shock. What is he up to?

"I-I-" he starts. He squeezes his eyes shut, obviously conflicted. Then he swings his sword back around and holds it underneath her chin. Why can't I kill her? It's been easy for me to kill everyone else…why not her?

"Sasuke.." she whispers quietly, drawing him out of the daze he was in. "Why?"

"Can't you be a little more original?" he snaps. "That's the same question everyone asks me. 'Why did you leave? Why do you have to kill your brother? Why don't you love me? Why-'"

"-don't you just kill me?" Sakura interrupts, finishing her question.

He stops short, his eyes wide. "What?"

"Why don't you kill me? Stop teasing me with my life. One minute I think that I'm about to die, the next you put your sword up, only to pull it out again a minute later. Have some pity and just kill me now!" she yells.

She finally seems to see the sadness in his eyes as he watches her. Her eyes grow wide and her voice drops to a whisper. "Or…is it that you can't kill me?" She gets her answer when he sheathes his sword and turns away.

"Sakura," he says quietly. "Do you remember what you said to me that night?"

She knows exactly what night he means. "Yes," she whispers.

"Did you mean any of it?"

"Yes."

He pauses for a moment, still turned with his back to her. "Do you still?"

She softly gasps. "I…don't know."

He closes his eyes. "You know, Sakura, you were the one."

"I was the what?"

"You were the only one," he says, turning to face her. "Who could've stopped me."

"But I tried to! And you just…left me."

He looks down. "I was…confused. I didn't know what to do."

Suddenly, he's right in front of her, her chin cupped in his hand. "I almost went back for you. Almost took you with me."

Tears start to well up in her eyes. "Well, why didn't you?"

"Because. I couldn't let Orochimaru get his filthy hands on you. He would've taken you from me and would've destroyed your beautiful innocence."

"Sasuke," she whispers, pulling back.

"Sakura, I-"

He jumps back as a black kunai comes flying out of the bushes. Another pale, dark haired youth stands up, glaring at Sasuke. "Don't touch her again or next time I won't miss."

"Sai!" Sakura whispers.

Sasuke clenches his teeth, glaring at the intruder. "You again?" He jumps towards Sai, Chidori already stretching from his hand, Mangekyō Sharingan activated.

Sai's body grows rigid as he is trapped in Sasuke's genjutsu. Sakura's eyes grow wide. "Sai! Sasuke, stop it!" She chases after him, kunai in hand, remembering what Lady Tsunade had taught her.

Looking over his shoulder, Sasuke slides to a stop. His eyes grow wide as he sees Sakura approaching. She runs towards him, arm extended forward. She crashes into him, her kunai lodging itself in his back.

Sasuke screams as the pain shoots through his body. He had experienced pain before-that's what happens when you live with Orochimaru-but nothing like this. He looks down and sees the tip of the blade protruding from his chest.

Both Sai and Sasuke begin to sway softly before falling to the ground. Sakura gasps and runs to the dark haired boy. "Sai! Sai, are you alright?"

Sasuke's breathing becomes labored. He watches in pain as Sakura's tears roll down her face as she tries healing the other man. The concern and worry in her voice is enough to break his heart.

"S-Sakura.." he mutters. She looks up at him. "I guess… you found… someone else."

She wipes away a tear. "A lot happens when you're gone for three years."

"So I… lost my chance?"

She gasps. Since when did he ever want a chance?

"Sakura… does he… make you happy?"

Nodding her head, she wipes away another tear. "More than anything. He's one of my best friends and teammate and… " She looks down at his unconscious form. "…and I love him."

Sasuke winces but at the words rather than the physical wound. "I… I'm glad to hear that…" Sasuke coughs, literally feeling his heart failing him.

"Hey, Sakura," he whispers. "When he wakes up… make sure to tell him… that if he doesn't take care of you… I'll come back to haunt him."

Despite her tears, that manages to make Sakura smile. "I will, Sasuke. But you don't have to worry about that."

"Sakura, I… I lo-" He cuts himself off. He sees the way she looks at Sai, how she lovingly pushes his hair back from his face, how she whispers words to him that he can't hear. I can't tell her. She doesn't love me any more. She doesn't need me. She has him.

"Sakura, go."

"What?" she asks, looking over at him.

"Take your friend… and go. Suigetsu will be… coming soon. If he sees you… he'll kill you. So, go."

She smiles at him, tears forming in her eyes again. "Thank you, Sasuke." She slips Sai's arm over her shoulders and disappears.

Sasuke lies there, feeling every fading heartbeat thump through his body. His breathing grows shallow and his eyelids grow heavier. As he feels the life ebbing out of himself, he thinks back to a little pink haired girl, confessing her love to him and how-just now-he wanted to do the same. Too bad she'll never know.

She'll never know that he thought she was the most beautiful girl in Konoha. She'll never know how her beautiful emerald eyes drove him insane sometimes. She'll never know how badly he wanted to kiss those rosy lips. She'll never know how badly her had wanted to tell her. She'll never know how he felt.

Please, don't leave. Don't go. I love you.

…Sakura