As Sasuke's eyes fluttered open, the beaming rays of the sun greeted him. A sharp pain had taken over his skull, and he became painfully aware of it with the bright light streaming into his onyx eyes. An exasperated sigh left his lips, and he propped himself up on his elbows. He winced as pain shot through what seemed like every single molecule in his body. His body was not used to this kind of stress. He exhaled through his teeth and let his eyes wander his environment. He had woken up in an unfamiliar place. Might as well figure out where he was.

Upon scanning his surroundings, he came to the conclusion that he was alone somewhere along the edge of the Land of Wind. The open field full of dying grass that he was sitting in was enclosed all around with cherry blossom trees, those dying too. The moisture had been sucked out of the air leaving it dry and unpleasant. The water must've disappeared from the ground, depriving the plants of their needed nutrition. Right, he had taken a nap here, hoping to avoid his team and their never-ending, exhausting, pointless arguing.

Congratulations, dumbass, you can identify your surroundings.

A smirk reached his lips as sarcastic female voice rang through his head. She would always point out when he was being an idiot when they were fourteen, and only got brutally worse as they grew older. She was always kind and forgiving afterwards, though. His knack for pissing her off was, after all, her favorite thing about him. Or so she said. The raven-haired boy had been hearing her voice in abundance lately. She wasn't the type to linger anywhere, so it annoyed him that she was loitering in his mind. The girl never really left Sasuke's mind after he killed Orichimaru and set off with his new team, Heibi. The thought of seeing her again could become reality in moments, although recently, he had lost hope. It had been four years since she had last graced him with her presence. Itachi was dead, the Fourth Great Ninja War had started and ended, and Sasuke was a member of Team 7 and a citizen of Konoha once again. The girl resented the village for what it did to Sasuke, and steered clear, knowing that she was never really welcome there. Her crimes were too iniquitous to be welcomed anywhere; she would be killed or locked up in jail for life.

Kiyomi… the girl's name was a whisper in Sasuke's mind. She was a victim of Orichimaru, becoming one of his lab rats and eventually a tool used for mass-murder. The girl's eccentric spirit was never broken though, an admirable quality, especially with the situation she was in. Kiyomi was a pacifist, never wanting to go through with Orichimaru's orders and hating herself more and more each time a life was lost at her hands. Sasuke remembered the way she would shut herself down, completely free of emotions and thoughts, when she was ordered to kill someone or had to witness it. She always opened up to Sasuke after, for whatever reason. She would cry on his shoulder and talk about everything with him. Perhaps it was because he seemed to always be around her, finding her company pleasant and actually enjoyable. Sasuke didn't like people; he tolerated them. But Kiyomi… Kiyomi he liked.

Where are you now, Kiyomi? Are you at peace, wherever you are? He thought to himself, gazing lazily up at the clouds. They were, after all, the most appealing things to look at in this nearly dead field. Kiyomi had been something pleasing to look at, though. Bright red hair, sharp emerald eyes, and perfect white teeth were only a few of her beautiful qualities. Most of the people she encountered found her ugly, with her freckle-splashed face and the way her sharp features didn't quite seem to fit her circular face shape. Not to mention, her frail body was sickly skinny and a string of curses was always on the tip of her tongue. Kiyomi had never attracted anyone's attention but Sasuke's. He wished she were there with him. She would make a sarcastic or displeased comment about the dead field and get a small smirk from Sasuke in response, comforting them both. He knew her actions too well…

His head snapped to his left and his train of thought was broken when he heard a tired, pained, groan. He swore he recognized it as the girl he was just thinking about, but she couldn't be. Kiyomi wouldn't just show up after four years of being seemingly nonexistent to the world.

"Shit, where am I?" A female was sitting up a few yards away from him, palm to her face. Her body was tense, obviously intensely sore. Her head was pounding, judging from the way the girl held herself. Sasuke watched as she shakily stood up and observed her surroundings. When she turned his way, she froze and her hands, one clutching the back of her neck and the other rubbing her forehead, found their way to her mouth, which they covered. Sasuke took in her appearance and struggled to keep his cool when he realized it was her. Their eyes locked, obsidian meeting emerald. A gasp escaped the redhead's lips and her eyes filled with crystal tears.

"Am I dreaming?" she called. Sasuke stood up and walked towards her, until she was close enough to touch. He reached out and grabbed a shorter strand of her hair, rubbing it between his fingers. He stared at her and his always-hard eyes instantly softened. There was no mistaking it; this was one hundred percent Kiyomi.

"I was about to ask the same thing, Kiyomi…" he murmured, a sad smile gracing his lips. She was as still as a statue, staring at him. When the tears finally spilled out of her eyes, she regained the ability to move and threw herself at the sole Uchiha survivor. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her face in his shoulder, her tears dampening the fabric of his shirt. Sasuke wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her body closer to his. He couldn't believe this was happening. Kiyomi was there, in his arms, after four painfully long years of being separated. She was there. His world stopped spinning and his whole body was overcome with a smothering euphoria. Kiyomi was with Sasuke.

The freckle-faced kunoichi pulled away from the embrace and wiped her tears away, a small chuckle emitting from her lips. Sasuke gave her a curious glance, wondering what she was thinking this time. Just as he opened his mouth to ask, Kiyomi's fist collided with his jaw. Luckily, the frail girl didn't pack a punch. Sasuke barely even flinched. Her speed sucked as well, and her wrist was caught in his hand before one could blink.

"SASUKE, YOU FUCKING IDIOT! FOUR YEARS, AND NOT ONCE DID YOU COME LOOKING FOR ME!" Of course, she was mad at him. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't find something to be pissed off about when it came to him. She continued yelling, very loudly, for a few minutes, and Sasuke just stood there staring at her. He was used to it by now… the girl didn't faze him one bit.

"You know, Kiyomi," he said when she finally calmed down, "you're all bark and no bite."

"I just punched you…"

He responded with a little chuckle and simply gazed into her forest-colored eyes. She huffed in annoyance with him, seeing that her attack really didn't hurt at all. They never did, but why couldn't he at least pretend it hurt once in a while? Yeah, you punched me. But it didn't hurt…

"Say, Sasuke-kun," she said, recovering from her slight embarrassment, "what do you think would happen if I tried to enter Konoha?" The wink she gave him brought up a warm feeling in his heart. He shook his head, not knowing even a sliver of what would happen. He couldn't understand that village anymore. He should've been killed after everything he had done, but he was welcomed back with wide-open arms and a new ninja rank. Kiyomi might not be so welcome though… she worked directly under Orichimaru and was thought to be a loyal and deathly subordinate. And the inhabitants of Konoha were very stubborn.

"Do you think I could've lived there?" she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her small frame against his. Sasuke didn't respond to his lover, instead he just held her tightly and stared at her pretty face. He leaned in for another kiss, and as they were pulling apart, he could feel her presence fading. His eyes widened in shock as her body faded into sparkling dust right before his eyes.

"Kiyomi!" he cried, not wanting the only person he loved to slip away.

"I'm sorry, I can't stay any longer…" The last thing he saw was her sad smile before she fully disappeared, for good.

Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes opened again, and this time he was lying in his childhood room, staring at the ceiling. He swiftly sat up, panting and sweating. His head was spinning and aching. The fact that the room was very dimly lit only made the atmosphere suffocating. He closed his eyes and lightly touched his palm and fingertips to his face, exhaling on his hand.

It was just a dream… he thought, as Kiyomi's face flashed in his mind. She had promised she'd find a way to see him again, but it had been four years. A feeling of dread washed over him as the thought crossed his mind; he probably wasn't going to see her again.

"You idiot! Don't lose hope when it's all you have."

The surviving Uchiha smiled when her voice rang in his ears. She was right; he couldn't give up hope. He stood up and walked over to the window, staring up at the stars in the night sky. A shooting star skyrocketed across the sky, leaving a streak of stardust in the sky. He sighed and made a wish, feeling reassured. Kiyomi always believed in that shit. And most of the time, she was right. Thanks to his wish, he didn't know when, but he did know he'd see her again before he died. Of that he was certain. He was only twenty years old, after all. He had a long life ahead of him.

I'm counting on you, Kiyomi.