Wow, it has been a while. A few things before we begin...

Please note: While this story does have some similarities with my other fics ("Changes of Time" and "She Waits by the Window"), they are not a part of the same overall story. Yes, the Sound and the Leaf are at war while Naruto is Hokage, just like in "Changes of Time." Yes, Sakura does mention waiting for Sasuke every day by her bedroom window, as in "She Waits by the Window." But still, this story is its own one-shot within itself. It is not connected to the other stories.

I think that's all. As always, reviews are much appreciated, but flames will be doused with water. Enjoy!

It had been a nasty day of battle. The Sound and the Leaf were both fighting with all they had. It was hard to say who exactly was winning, but one thing was for certain: both sides were feeling the heavy effects of war.

Sakura held her head high as she surveyed the battlefield before her. The forest was dense with trees and traps. Only glimpses of the setting sun could be seen overhead, smoke from the explosions and dense foliage obscuring the sight of the sky.

The darkness began to set in. She knew that the battle was risky. She knew that going in on her own would be dangerous. She knew that there would be a good chance that she wouldn't return from this battle.

But she also knew that she could not afford to stand back and wait for the wounded to be brought to her. They were losing men at an alarming rate. If she didn't go out and help the wounded where they were, the Leaf were sure to not only lose this battle, but also most of their best men. Sakura knew it was her duty to keep her fellow warriors alive, and so, without a second thought, she plunged head-on into the forest.

The more she searched, the heavier her heart felt. Blood cruelly decorated the trees. Dead bodies from both sides littered the forest. Some were sprawled out on the ground; others were dangling limply in the trees above her. Some were missing limbs; others were so mangled that she couldn't even tell for whom they had been fighting. The carnage was immense. It was a sight of true horror.

Yet Sakura pressed on, never batting an eye to her surroundings. She numbed her senses to the odor of the raw blood and gunpowder, to the sight of so many dead, to the brokenness permeating throughout her entire being. It was essential that she not get caught up in her own thoughts and feelings. The less she focused on herself, the more people she could save, and that was what was most important.

Sakura continued her search, hoping to find someone still alive amongst all of the death. Her stomach turned with relief and fear when she saw one person still alive, but only barely. He was sitting, leaning his back against a tree. In addition to the obvious broken bones, his right shoulder was bleeding heavily and his breathing was labored. Surrounded by corpses, one would have thought that he would have been dead too. But when he lifted his head to look the kunoichi, it was clear that he was still alive. It was even more surprising when he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Sakura… how troublesome…"

Sakura dropped to her knees next to her teammate and pulled out her medical supplies, working quickly. "Shikamaru," she whispered as she prepared to treat his wounds. "You think it's troublesome that I'm here?" she asked, a slight chuckle in her words. Even though he was on the verge of dying, he still kept his laid-back look on life. She gave him a drink of water. "Are you telling me you want to die?"

"You're supposed to be behind the lines, waiting for the wounded to come to you," he stated very matter-of-factly. "You shouldn't be out here on the field."

"I'm not doing any good just sitting and waiting for others to come to me—the ones who are hurt are stuck out here and there is no one to bring them in. I have to come to them."

Shikamaru's eyes darkened. "If you keep that attitude, then you'll end up like him," he said as he threw his head to his right.

Sakura looked to where Shikamaru was motioning and almost gasped aloud. There, pinned to a tree with several kunais, was Kabuto, her own rival medic-nin. He was covered in blood, his body heavily mutilated, a look of surprise etched forever in his cold eyes. "What happened?" she asked, turning back to Shikamaru and trying to rid her mind of the image.

Shikamaru tried to sit up more, but soon slumped into his uncomfortable slouch. "He was out trying to help his men in the field too. In the middle of trying to treat one, he was ambushed and killed."

"You saw this happen?" Sakura asked as she used her chakra to heal his broken bones.

"I was a part of the ambush," he stated. "It was all going as planned until another team from the Sound showed up. They killed everyone in my squad except me."

"How did you get away?"

"After putting up a fight and obtaining a few cuts and broken bones, I was knocked out. They must have thought I was dead and moved on without checking to see if everyone was truly dead."

Sakura nodded and stood, surveying Shikamaru with a doctor's eye. She extended her hand to him to help him up. He cocked a brow and frowned at her hand. She sighed. "Do you wanna sit here forever and wait to die? I've fixed your broken bones—you should be able to walk now."

Slowly, Shikamaru got to his feet with Sakura's help. She quickly wrapped his shoulder and placed it in a makeshift sling. "You have to head back and tell the Hokage what happened. A lot of people are wondering what happened to your squad."

"I didn't realize we were so important," he said with a smirk.

"Every shinobi is important. You have to hurry though—it's getting dark quickly, and it won't be safe to travel alone once it gets completely dark—"

"Wait, where do you think you're going?"

Another sigh escaped Sakura's lips. She was not planning on arguing with Shikamaru. "I have to stay out here and look for more—"

"No, you don't! Are you crazy? That's suicide!" He shook his head violently. "No, you have to come back. You're the best medic-nin we have. We can't lose you."

"And I can't sit around and wait for others to be brought to me! No one is being brought in because they're all slowly dying out there! What's the point of being here when I'm not helping anyone?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth to retort when a flaming kunai came out of nowhere, barely missing the side of his head. Both quickly got in fighting position back to back. "What was that?" Sakura whispered.

"We're being watched…" Shikamaru warned.

Sakura swallowed and gathered her courage. "Show yourself!" she yelled. No response. "If you wanna fight, I'll give you a fight, dammit!"

Shikamaru turned rapidly. "What the hell are you thinking!"

"Go! You have to get back to the Hokage! We need you, and you're the only one who can tell what really happened to your squad!"

"But—"

"Just go!"

Shikamaru knew there was no point in arguing anymore. Heaving a great sigh, he turned toward the village and said, "You know, you can be so troublesome sometimes."

Sakura glared at first, but it soon faded as Shikamaru turned his head to smirk at her. "Good luck," was all he said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura smiled. She turned back to face her opponent, a drive to succeed racing through her veins. "If you're going to fight me," she called, "then fight me so I can see your face!"

A soft, menacing chuckle wafted through the air. Sakura's brow furrowed; she didn't like being toyed with like a genin. Still is in ready stance, she called again, "Come on, you coward! Stop hiding like a child and face me!"

"You really want to fight me? You really want to see my face?"

Sakura was tired of his games. "What do you think, jackass? If I didn't would I still be here?" Her grip on the kunai tightened. "Come on!"

Suddenly, a figure dropped from the trees behind her. She turned around quickly, ready to fight. But, to her surprise, he did not seem as ready to fight. Kneeling down, he slowly stood, his height growing to a few inches above Sakura. His black hair was long and messy, and his pale skin was covered in the same garment that Orochimaru himself wore. However, it was his eyes that caught her attention. They were eyes that used to hold emotion—used to hold pain—but now they were cold and dead. There was nothing in them that showed he was a living soul. There was only hatred and death. And the color…

Red.

Sakura's eyes widened considerably as she realized who she was facing. An arrogant smirk tugged at his lips as he spoke. "Surprised to see me, Sakura?"

Sakura's lips thinned considerably. "So… it is true. The great Uchiha Sasuke really is fighting for the Sound." She threw her kunai at his feet. "It makes me sick."

He picked the kunai up and twirled it around his fingers lazily. "You should have seen this coming. You knew I would never return to the Leaf."

But I hoped, Sakura thought. "I had a gut feeling."

"So tell me," Sasuke started as he began circling her, stilling twirling the kunai, "how is Naruto?"

His tone was cold, and Sakura knew that he was not really interested in his former teammate's status. She stood still, all traces of emotion gone from her face. "He's Hokage, just like he always dreamed. And for the record, he's doing an amazing job."

"I knew he'd go far," he stated.

"Though you'd never admit it," Sakura blurted without any regrets.

Sasuke kept walking and talking, acting as if he had not heard Sakura's smart remark. "And tell me, Sakura," he started again, "how are you?"

She held her head high, still keeping her face clear of all emotion. "Well enough. I'm a full medic-nin now, and I've even developed a few new healing techniques."

"Impressive, I must say. You've done better than I thought." He stopped walking when he was standing right in front of her.

"Like you have any right to judge me," Sakura stated with a calm fury. "Tell me, Sasuke, what have you done? Sure, you've become stronger, but for what purpose?" Her voice grew louder with every sentence as she stared up unblinkingly into his eyes. "All you've done is hurt people, and you started with the ones closest to you."

Sasuke chuckled again, a sound that sent shivers down Sakura's spine. "I hurt the people around me, or I hurt you?"

"Both," she replied simply.

"Hn." He began walking and twirling again. "You're right about one thing: I have gotten more powerful."

"And you think you haven't hurt us?" Sakura scoffed. "I would have thought that you of all people would know the pain of betrayal."

"Don't even pretend like your 'pain of betrayal' is anywhere close to what I went through," Sasuke snapped.

At this point, Sakura could no longer contain the rage swelling inside her. "What the hell are you trying to say! Are you saying that I don't know what it feels like to watch someone that you looked up to, that you admired, that you loved, betray his family and friends for his own selfish desires! Because if you are, you've forgotten who you're talking to!" Sakura took a breath and said what she had wanted to say for quite some time now.

"You're no better than Itachi."

In an instant Sasuke had disappeared and reappeared in from on Sakura with the kunai to her neck. "What?" he ground out in a low voice.

"You heard me," Sakura continued. "If your parents saw you now, they'd be ashamed. To see one son betray his family, and see the other betray his whole village… I know I'd disown both of you."

The blade pressed harder against her neck. "May I remind you that you are at my mercy?" Sasuke growled. "I could kill you at any time. And wouldn't that be selfish of you: to let me kill you when your village needs you?"

"I'm not afraid of you, and I'm not afraid of death. I am not the little girl you once knew. However, if you want to kill me…"

The Sakura in front of Sasuke disappeared as the real Sakura emerged from a nearby bush. "… you'll have to fight me."

Sasuke chuckled. "A shadow-clone replacement jutsu. I should have seen through it."

Sakura pulled out her weapons and took her ready stance. "Maybe I've just gotten better."

"Or maybe I got too wrapped up in my emotions to notice." Sasuke also took a ready stance. "Don't count on it happening again."

"I wasn't."

The two stood for a moment, waiting for the other to strike. In one swift movement, Sakura charged Sasuke, her fist ready to strike. In that same moment, Sasuke dodged her attack and retaliated with his own. The attack barely missed her, thanks to her quick movement.

Sakura came to a quick stop to reassess her circumstances, but the pause proved to be a mistake. Sasuke came at her, Sharingan eyes blazing, and kicked with such force that she went flying into the air. She remained motionless in the air for a moment before she realized that Sasuke was right beside her in the air, making a series of hand signals. She turned in mid-air and landed a super-strength punch on his abdomen, sending him not only down to the ground, but into it. She landed stealthily on the ground as Sasuke got up, chuckling. "You're right. You're not the little girl I fought alongside of years ago."

Sakura help her head high. "Stop talking and come at me, you bastard."

"Getting a little testy, are we?"

Sakura was tired of his games and his teasing. In a fit of rage, she charged him again.

The move turned out to be a mistake. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke disappeared and reappeared behind Sakura with three shuriken and two kunai. He threw them at lightening speed before she could turn around, causing a large gash above her right knee and many smaller cuts on her arms. One shuriken embedded itself so deeply into her left calf that it would not fall out voluntarily. She fell to the ground, and for afleeting moment Sasuke thought he had won.

Still, he approached her carefully, not sure if he had truly won. She was resting on her side with her back turned to him, so he could not read her facial expressions.

Her motionless body provided no clear sign of victory. He was soon standing over her, his shadow completely covering her body. He leaned down to study her more carefully, but soon regretted doing so. Just when he was close enough, Sakura flipped onto her back and threw two shuriken at her attacker. The weapons grazed Sasuke's arms, and while he was perturbed at his lack of judgment for the second time that day, he soon recovered and took advantage of his opponent's position.

Sakura was still on the ground when it happened. She wasn't sure where she went wrong—she was usually so fast to recover from an attack and retaliate, but this time she was not fast enough. While trying to get up from lying on her back, Sasuke pinned her to the ground and ran a kunai straight through her abdomen.

She lay there in shock, not believing what he had just done. The man she loved had just delivered the final blow. Her chakra was too low; she could not save herself. Her body was frozen. She wanted to cry in pain, to scream in frustration, to hurt the man who had broken her heart so many times before, and who had now more than likely just killed her.

He stared at her with frozen eyes, almost as if to say, "I told you so." He began to get up, planning to leave her here on the battlefield, when she grabbed his shoulders desperately. She lifted herself slightly off the ground, her breathing ragged and labored. "Sasuke…" she began.

He stared at her expectantly, her green eyes growing softer and weaker with each rasping breath. He did not know what to do. Part of him told him to leave and never look back. But there was a smaller part of him urging him to stay, to hear her final words. It was the least he could do, being her former team member and friend.

"Sasuke… I… I want you to know… I always hoped you'd come back. I waited for you… every night and day… hoping you would return. I hoped and prayed… that you would come back… even if I wasn't the reason. I hoped you would come home. But today proved to me…" she winced in pain, "that you won't ever come home. And for that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you feel you can never come home."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she placed a hand on his cheek. "Sasuke-kun, I love you. And I always will."

The intimate confession awakened something in Sasuke. He stared blankly at her, her words not fully registering. How could she still love me? After all this time, after how much I hurt her… how can she still love me? The revelation shocked him.

But what really shocked him was the searing pain shot through his entire being, starting at his heart and then traveling all over his body. He looked down at his body and saw, with great horror, a kunai sticking out of his chest.

She had stabbed him through the back all the way through his body. She'd had a kunai in her other hand the entire time.

He gaped as he looked back at the girl hanging on to his arms, surprised to see a new coldness to her eyes, tears falling freely now.

"Sasuke-kun, I love you… but I'm… not… sorry."

Sasuke coughed violently, spraying blood with each cough. Sakura's eyes showed that she was slowly fading as she let go of her love. He looked at her with sad eyes as her chest, once heaving up and down heavily, was now slowly but surely coming to a stop. It wasn't long before he knew she was dead, and he knew is time would be soon.

With great difficulty, he moved his body beside hers, wrapping his arms around her waist. He wasn't sure why he was doing it, but it just… felt right. He felt warm, like he had just regained his soul from the devil. He rested his forehead against the back of her head and muttered, "You saved me, Sakura. Thank you." With that said, he closed his eyes and relaxed, waiting for eternal sleep to take him. His rhythmic breathing soon slowed, and consciousness slowly crept away.

So much was gained. So much was lost. All it took was one final impasse.