whispering goodbyes, a naruto fanfic

A/N: Argh. It should not have taken this long to write a one-shot. Nevertheless, thank you so much to my beta Seynee for putting up with me and my horrible writing skills despite the fact that she a very busy person. (: I'm still not fully satisfied, but heck. I just want this to be done and over with. I hope you guys enjoy this! PS, to find out more about the updates of my stories, read the A/N at the ends as well~

Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all.

w h i s p e r i n g g o o d b y e s

Because after all, you live only to die afterwards.

Running was like a routine to him.

Step. Step. Step. Breathe.

Step. Step. Step.

A loud bang.

Lying in his own pool of warm blood, there were only so many things he wanted to do but just as many things he couldn't do.

He wanted to see her eyes. He wanted to look into her endless emerald orbs .

The light that reflected the happiness within when he proposed to her just one month ago. The way the corners of her eyes crinkled in delight, while she jumped up and down screaming "Yes!", waking up the whole town in the process.

The small twinkle that always shone, whenever she smiled or when she was thinking of something mischievous. He vaguely recalled the trick she pulled on Naruto last week. She had taken all of his ramen and soaked it in mud water before filling his bathtub with it. The blond ate his ramen as usual, only to do the unthinkable. He spat it out the moment it entered his mouth.

The way her eyes always darkened, somehow maintaining her usual vibrancy whenever lust consumed her and guaranteeing him a wild, sleepless night. It always ended with her sleepy eyes closing, her lips murmuring "I love you" before she hugged his body close and cuddled with him.

He wanted to see her smile.

Her beautiful, delightful smile that always managed to brighten the atmosphere in the room.

Her lips were always covered with her favourite shiny lip balm, which tasted of mint and strawberries. The smile was an automatic response whenever someone complimented her and she would always hastily throw a compliment back, beaming the whole time.

Her fake smile, the one she always wore whenever she was invited to an absolutely useless and boring dinner party she dragged him to which he hated, but would give anything to see it again. Because it would mean that she was still there. Still there for him.

And one of his favourites, the smile reserved only for him. The very same smile that he always woke up to in the morning, with the sunlight streaming through the window and resting on their naked bodies, tangled up together under the sheets. This was also her secret weapon whenever she wanted something.

He missed all of it.

He would give anything, anything at all, just to see that beautiful face one last time. But no matter what she wanted or what he had to do, he always gave in to her.

Because that was what he did.

He-

"Stay with me son! Don't close your eyes. The ambulance is coming soon! Stay with me!"

-gave in.

When he next awoke, the world was like a white sheet. It was like seeing the realm through a blurry microscope. Every little detail was just distorted and hazy.

"What the... Where am I...?" he squinted his onyx eyes, a little scared of the bright light that surrounded him. Sitting up, he suddenly clutched his head in pain, groaning when another sharp feeling shot through his head. "Hello? Anyone out there?" he tried again, voice hoarse and scratchy.

Struggling to stand up straight, he headed towards the first thing he saw that wasn't white. From afar, it looked strange. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was a small transparent, plastic ball filled with different, bright colours and patterns attached to a long circular holder. It was a toy. A shaker, to be exact. Holding the handle, he carefully gave it a shake.

Kling! Kling! Kling!

It was different from other shakers then. The sound made was high, melodious and properly pitched; unlike most toy shakers, which make low and whole noises. There were plenty of swirls and dots on the surface, so full of life and energy. He shook it again.

Kling! Kling! Kling!

A small smile made its way to his lips. The sound reminded him of Sakura. His best friend. His fiancé. His everything. Pocketing the shaker, he stood up from his crouched position and took another look around. Everything was a lot clearer now. The white cloud was fading and he could clearly tell that he was overlooking Konoha City, on top of the highest cliff. As he shifted his weight from his left leg to the right, the shaker sounded again.

Kling! Kling! Klin-

"He's awake! Someone get the doctor!"

He knew he was in a hospital. Sasuke refocused his vision. Was it all a dream? He tried to pat his pockets but either his hand was too numb to move, or there was nothing there. It was probably the latter. Blinking, he found himself surrounded by all of his friends. Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, Hinata... Everyone was there. Even his teacher from school, Kakashi Hatake was there. But right next to him was the girl he truly loved.

Sakura Haruno.

The pink-haired woman was currently fussing over him, pushing his bangs back whenever it fell and covered his eyes. "How are you feeling, love?" she spoke out, feeling relief come over her when he gripped her hand and pulled her closer.

"… F-fine," Sasuke didn't mean to stutter, but his throat felt incredibly dry and horrible. At least he was able to see her eyes and smile again. He was afraid they would only exist in his dead memories. Reaching forward, he traced the perfect features on her face and swore to memorize every single inch of it. He twirled a loose pink strand that fell from her fringe that she had let loose, and used his index finger to slowly follow the shape of her eyebrows, eyes, nose and finally, her cherry lips.

While tracing her cheekbones, he felt something wet fall on his finger. Looking into her eyes for the second time, there were tears falling and she made no move to wipe them away. Instead, Sasuke did it for her. "What's wrong? Don't cry..." he murmured, bringing her face closer to his, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She tasted of her usual mint and strawberries but it had a bittersweet under taste to it. Her lips felt familiar, and it should, considering this was the very same pair of lips he has been kissing for over five years now, since they were sixteen years-old. He broke apart from the kiss and saw hope her emerald eyes. Sighing, he rested his forehead against hers only to feel her pull away.

"I thought I lost you, Sasuke-kun... W-when I heard that you got shot by that stupid robber, I-I... Something in me completely wilted and died..." Finally, she couldn't hold back her tears. A waterfall was practically running down her cheek, staining Sasuke's shirt in the process. She choked and coughed in the midst of crying while Sasuke just held her quietly, muttering apologies and rocking her back and forth.

When night fell, Sakura curled up next to Sasuke, with his arm rounded protectively around her waist in the small, crammed hospital bed. Technically, visiting hours were long over but since Sakura knew the hospital head doctor, Tsunade-san, she was allowed to look after her beloved boyfriend till the wee hours of the morning. When Sasuke awoke the next morning, he could not have been happier. To wake up and find a gorgeous girl sleeping in your arms is every man's fantasy. But this was different. This girl... this girl was his soul mate. The woman of his dreams, and even beyond that.

He gently shook her up, as much as it pained him to do so. He liked seeing her sleep. The way her long lashes were fanned out like palm fronds only made him want her more. The way her cherry lips parted open and pouted irresistibly made him love her more. When Sakura finally awoke, she sighed happily to be in the arms of the man she loved.

"Good morning," she whispered, leaning in and kissed the corner of her fiancé's lips.

"Good morning to you too… Are you hungry? Do you want to go get something from home or the cafeteria?" Sasuke questioned, and almost on cue, the petite woman's stomach growled.

She gave a small giggle. "Just a little. You'll be fine right? I'll just go home and take a shower. And I'll make you some, y'know, edible food as well." Sakura smiled teasingly, pushing herself off the bed and put (putting) her slippers back on. She kissed Sasuke on the forehead, then the top of his nose and finally, his lips.

"I love you, Sasuke-kun," she muttered, smiling into the kiss.

"Hn. I know." Sasuke couldn't help being a little cocky, after all.

As her delighted laughter filled the air, Sasuke smirked and told her the words she had been waiting to hear ever since he had his near brush with death.

"I love you too."

His heart rate suddenly sped up, and almost instantly, he couldn't breathe. The surrounding air choked him as his onyx orbs widened.

Without thinking, he reached forward and slammed as hard as he could into the bright red emergency button found next to his hospital bed.

What was happening?

Why couldn't he feel life in himself anymore?

It was like everything was in slow motion. From the second the emergency button was sounded, he felt as if he was in a black and white movie. Everything was silent, he was falling onto his knees and gradually, his long, lean frame hit floor with a loud thud.

Pain.

Pain surrounded his entire body, from his aching head to his numb toes. Confusion and desperation filled him. Why was this happening to him?

Why?

As the doctors and nurses hurriedly filled the room, he felt himself being lifted off the floor and onto the orange stretcher. As he was taken to the nearest operating room, he caught the words "…call his immediate family...crucial situation…heart stopped for minutes ...". His head was hurting so bad, he was willing to throw himself onto a wall just to ebb the pain away. While the nurses were running along the hallway to reach the room, he grabbed one of them by their blue sleeves and muttered,

"I want to see Sakura. Sakura Haruno... One last time. Please..." He let himself drift off into an unconscious state right after.

Haruno-san? This is for you."

She sobbed, raising her tear-stained face. "W-what is this?"

"Uchiha-san requested us to give this you if anything were to happen to him… please accept it."

Sitting outside of the operation room, Sakura clutched the letter she had just received in fear. Did Sasuke know something like this would happen? Was that why he had prepared a letter beforehand? She took a deep breath to calm herself, and slowly opened the letter with shaky hands. Bracing herself, she unfolded the neatly slotted paper in the envelope and read.

Dear Sakura,

If you're reading this right now, it means that something unexpected has happen[ed] to me because I told the nurse to only give this to you if I'm most likely not able to come out alive.

Please don't cry.

Do you remember the very first day we met?

You spilled that disgusting strawberry-banana-raspberry milkshake thing on me. You have to admit, it was gross. I've always thought that it was the worst thing on the damn menu, and that probably no one will ever buy it. But I was wrong.

You, the girl with the weirdest natural hair color (don't throw this letter away just yet), actually had that ghastly purple grey drink in your hands. You were wearing that pretty, pretty white dress that day. It had brown light laces all over the top and bottom right? You looked like an angel in that.

How did that lead me to asking you out anyways? I don't know what the hell possessed me to do that but thank the bloody gods above that I did. And I have no idea what crazed you to say yes, but thank you for becoming the most important thing to me now.

One last thing.

I know I don't tell you this very much, but I love you Sakura Haruno. I wish that I could have stayed alive long enough to call you Sakura Uchiha, but this is probably a good thing as well. At least when you start over on your life, people will still see you as a single, head-strong and beautiful woman.

I'll say this- or rather, write this as many times as l can when I'm still alive and breathing.

I love you.

Please don't ever forget that alright? And lastly... Forgive me, Sakura. I love you more than life itself.

-Sasuke

Before Sasuke left the human world, the last sound he heard was the pretty, high tinkling.

Kling. Kling. Kling.

It was all over.

- e n d –

A/N: Yeah… you guys see why I'm not too happy with this? Yup. Don't hesitate to let me know what your thoughts on this are. (: Firstly though, I have to apologise. Being the idiot I am, I didn't save the upcoming chapters of 'The Devil's Rein' so that will be post-hiatus, until I can figure out where the story is heading towards. I actually prefer doing one-shots, because I don't feel the pressure to update consistently.

I'm a horrible person, I know. If you have a prompt for me, on anything, let me know! Thanks once again to the extra talented Seynee, who we all know have amazing powers to turn something trash-worthy to decent writing. :D x