A/N: For those who are yet to read this story: May you love this story as much as the rest of my readers did. If this story did not satisfy your expectations or if it made your hearts warm and fuzzy all over, the review button is just there to tell me what you think about it.

For those who have already read this story, I welcome you to do so yet again. Why? Well, I reconstructed some of the chapters for all of you to have a better reading experience. This is in return for your love and support to all of my fics, especially this one that I deem you all loved so much.

Anyhow, without further ado, let's rock! –AERIN

LEGEND:

italics- flashback

CHAPTER 1

Early Beginnings, Persisting Dreams

The sun was shining at the Konoha Ninja Academy and its radiance was reflected on the faces of the genins waiting to be teamed up with those they were going to train with in preparation for missions and exams to come.

"Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto..."

"Yoohoo!"

Naruto exclaimed, delighted that the pink haired shinobi is his team mate.

"Uchiha Sasuke..."

Naruto sat down, and this time, it was Sakura's turn to exclaim in delight.

"Hell yeah!"

Sasuke was not pleased with this arrangement. The only sign of emotion was a flicker of annoyance in those dark eyes.

"Why do I get to team up with Uchiha Sasuke, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke is on the top of the graduating class, we wanted to balance the teams, and Naruto...you were dead last!", Iruka explained.

Sasuke smirked at this complain and calmly answered, "Try not to bring me down, dead last."

Sakura was quiet, yet pleased in knowing that from now on, the three of them would stay together.

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"That bell challenge sure was hard," Naruto said while the three of them were walking home.

"You really are stupid Naruto, " Sakura said.

" Kakashi-sensei's aim was not really to test us if we could get the bells, but to make us realize that we have to work together to get the job done".

"I knew that, I was just testing your memory," Naruto answered.

"Plonk!"

Sakura hitting Naruto in the head said:

"You're hopeless!"

"Well, I better run home. See ya!" Naruto said while evading another hit from Sakura.

Sasuke was left alone with Sakura. He felt strange without knowing why. Why would he even spend his time getting to know her? She was just like the other girls. She was annoying.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Hn...," Sasuke answered.

"Would you like to have some ramen with me? We just finished training and --," Sakura was cut short by Sasuke's glaring stare.

" I am tired, you can go by yourself," Sasuke answered, turning around abruptly and placing his hands on his pockets.

Sakura watched as he walked away. She sighed.

Just as she expected...

As Sakura turned her back and walked away, Sasuke looked back at her. The Uchiha pride kept him from running to her and tell her that he wanted to have ramen with her...

Sighing, Sasuke placed his hands on his pockets and headed for the opposite direction.

Sakura felt an urge to look back. Yet, she was fighting it because all she wanted now was to rest and just forget Sasuke.

" Well Sakura, it was really a bad timing..." she scolded herself.

Then, she couldn't resist the desire, and finally, she glanced backwards... and saw Sasuke walking away...

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Sakura woke up from her sleep, the remnants of the dream slowly fading away into the deepest recesses of her mind. She looked out the window and beheld the starry sky.

" Ever since he left, all I ever dreamed of were those days… Those days wherein everything was still so peaceful. Those days wherein I am more than eager to wake up just so I could see him even if he doesn't notice me…"

Sakura slumped back into her bed and looked at the ceiling. She could feel the tears coming but she blinked them back, only to find them flowing right down her face.

" I am so weak. I can't even stop myself from crying. I can't even protect the ones I loved. I couldn't even stop him from leaving…"

Sakura pulled the covers above her head and wept.

She had been crying herself to sleep since that fateful day…and always, she dreamt of him. All Sakura wanted was to forget and to live on…yet everytime she walks by the town, she feels the emptiness.

It was odd to actually feel so attached to somebody who was always cold to her. He never smiled at her, never touched her nor looked at her long enough.

" Yet why did everything fall apart the moment you walked away?"

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Sasuke found this first mission outside Konoha a chance to test whatever it is that he has learned. He was pondering these thoughts when the Demon Brothers suddenly attacked their party.

"Sakura!" Sasuke heard himself exclaim.

Suddenly, he just found himself in front of her, "protecting" her from the assassins of the Mist.

"Now what?" he angrily asked himself, realizing that all he was thinking about was her, and that he was in a very compromising situation.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.

Sasuke blinked back to reality, understanding that he was saved.

" Darn!" he told himself.

He let the others fuss about Naruto's wounds and scolded himself for that foolish action...but it was what he wanted, wasn't it? He wanted to protect her...but why?

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(Fighting with Haku...)

It was dark.

Quiet.

Sasuke winced with remembered pain.

All those needles from that Haku-boy hurt like hell.

He must be dead.

"What a pity," he said to himself. "I hope that dobe would be able to protect her when I am gone..."

Protect her? Protect who? "

"This is annoying." Sasuke thought.

Suddenly, a flicker of light touched his eyes...and a voice.

"I knew all the rules of being a shinobi. A shinobi should not show his/her emotions no matter what the situation is. That was the rule, yet now...Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke was suddenly aware of the sobbing head on his chest.

"Sakura."

Sasuke realized that he was not yet dead.

He squinted at the sunlight and saw a flurry of pink hair crying on his chest. " Sakura, you are heavy..."

It was all he could manage to say.

The tear streaked face looked up to him and smiled.

"Sasuke-kun..." relief flooded Sakura.

"So you are not dead..." she said to herself as tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks.

All of a sudden, she embraced him and buried her head in his chest.

Sasuke wanted to push her away. But strangely, he felt warm and tingly all over. He just allowed her to hold him close, without saying anything, he closed his eyes and allowed her embrace and the comforting silence envelope both of them.

He felt relieved. At least he can still have his revenge. He can still grow strong and kill that one person he hated the most.

But when he remembered that dark, quiet moment of believing he was dead, he realized that it was not revenge he was thinking about…

" I was worrying about who will protect you when I'm gone."

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Sasuke suddenly woke up from his sleep only to find himself surrounded by darkness. He shook his head to clear the remnants of the dream…

That strange dream of the old days…

The dream kept on coming back, as if haunting him, taunting him, convincing him to go back to Konoha…

To go back to the happy days with Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and…

" Sakura."

Sasuke angrily threw a kunai to the opposite wall. He hissed in anger, as if losing all his self-control with one single name he desperately wanted to forget.

" Darn it. Those memories are not mine anymore. I am no longer the Sasuke-kun she knew. These memories keep on pestering me like hell and I don't want anything to do with it anymore!"

This time, his whole holster of kunai hit the opposite wall.

He could not get it out of his head…

He could still clearly remember her tear-streaked face, begging him to remain with her in Konoha and simply be happy and contented. He could clearly remember the constricting pain he felt in his heart, the anguish, the guilt and even the reluctance to leave. He wanted to tell her a lot of things, but all he ended up saying was:

" Thank you."

This time, it was his knuckles that hit the wall.

Despite the warm, red blood dripping from his fingers, Sasuke could not feel the pain.

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Sasuke was completely focused in killing this last guy. He wanted to show him that he was strong. He wanted his revenge to be this exciting. He wanted to see his own brother begging for his life.

Then, somebody stopped him in his tracks.

"This isn't Sasuke-kun!" Sakura told herself. She ran towards him to stop him, forgetting the danger and the pain.

Sakura embraced Sasuke from behind. For one whole moment, the world stopped. The smell of cherry blossoms filled the air. As time halted, she held on to him.

Sasuke wanted to remove this annoying person from him...annoying person? Suddenly, all the frenzy and desire to kill left Sasuke. One look at the tear-filled green eyes, one request from that person he now admits, closest to his heart. " Sasuke-kun, stop...please..." he heard Sakura say.

Sasuke suddenly felt cool comfort from her cold arms. He closed his eyes and wished that time would stop, even for this brief moment. And it did.

The dreams kept coming to both of their slumbering forms.

They wished to be rid of each other.

They want to forget each other.

But the bonds that formed between them still existed.

Even if it hurts so much.

They are linked. They are bound to each other.

Sasuke looked at her. For a brief second, he remembered the uncontrollable frenzy and power he had. All he was thinking was the desire to kill, to exact revenge. Nobody could have stopped him...nobody except her...Sasuke was shocked at this realization. As all other genins were busy, Sakura suddenly embraced Sasuke and buried her head in his chest. Sasuke could not define this feeling whenever she was in his arms...He held her close...and it felt good.

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Surrounded by the deep darkness of this autumn night, two souls find comfort in their dreams…

Dreams they never wanted to have.

Faces they never wanted to see again.

Memories they never wanted to return to.

Will they ever meet again in this lifetime?

Both of them simply close their eyes to sleep, not aware of what awaits them as the cool winter sets in…

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A/N: There! I was feeling a bit nostalgic so I chose the good parts to give the background for the two. How was that for an introduction? Please, let me know! -AERIN