Hi everyone ! Taking a short break from my other fanfiction Ransom. I did explain the reason why in my authors note, so if you are curious about that and do not yet know, take a look at the newest chapter of Ransom :)

Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this fanfiction! I think its going to be a good one. Please comment to let me know!

I do not own Naruto.


Sakura had come to the conclusion that weddings definitely weren't her thing. And it wasn't that she wasn't having a good time, that wasn't it at all. She was so incredibly proud that Naruto had finally found happiness with Hinata, she could tell by the gleam in his eyes, and by the wide childlike smile that hadn't fallen from his face all night that this was the first time in his life that he had finally been at complete peace with himself, and that was nice to know. Never had she fully understood the hardships that Naruto had gone through as a child, but it was obvious that there was always something deep within him that resembled some sort of longing or loneliness, or both. For this reason, she couldn't shake the fluttering in her heart or the smile that was plastered on her face. But as the night progressed, that fluttering turned to discomfort and the smile was replaced with a frown. After the wedding itself, the party had moved to a larger venue for the reception, and that was where everything turned into a slow and agonizing hell, as Sakura found herself being wall flowered, forced to watch everyone else dance with each other and have a good time. Unannounced to her, dates were a bit of a necessity as she seemed to be one of the only people in the room who didn't seem to have anybody. And the worst part about it wasn't that she couldn't find a date, because if she had really wanted to she was sure it would have been easy for her. No, the reason she chose to attend the wedding alone was the same reason she had decided to avoid weddings from now on if she could help it, and she wasn't proud to admit that she knew exactly what it was.

Sasuke Uchiha. The man who had not only single handedly stolen her heart, but who had also shattered it into pieces multiple times if that was possible, and left her prisoner to her own masochistic affection for him. She had confessed her love to him when they were twelve, trying to keep him from making a mistake she knew he would eventually regret, but he merely brushed her aside and left. Left her, left the village, and a part of her believed that he had left himself as well, completely giving up on his own will. For years she had suffered with her own anxieties and depressions, trying to get over him, but she couldn't free her heart, no matter how hard she tried. Even when they had met again as teenagers and he had tried to kill her, she couldn't stop her feelings and they continued to eat away at her. But that was long ago now. After the fourth Shinobi war, Sasuke had returned as his old self, apologizing to her for everything he had done. And being the fool she was she had accepted the apology without hesitation, and before she knew it she and Sasuke were almost inseparable. For the few months that he had stayed in Konoha after the war, they were always together and it confused her. Of course he would often go with Naruto sometimes, or his Taka comrades, but she found a certain gentleness between herself and him that wasn't there before, almost like he was interested and was finally reciprocating her feelings. But before any sort of relationship was established, he was gone again, leaving her with nothing but a promise that he would one day be back. A promise that she now felt was forgotten, as it had two and a half years since that day and there she was...still alone.

Sakura leaned her chin into her cupped hands that were being propped up by her elbows on one of the round tables that bordered the dance floor and took a deep breath. Taking the straw of her White Russian into her lips she began to chug it back, the sting of the liquid running down her throat assuring her that it would indeed take the edge off. Her eyes wondered around the dance floor, watching as everyone laughed and continued having fun in pure intoxicated bliss, none of them noticing her wallowing in her own self pity at the table. Ino and Sai were passionately making out while slow dancing, Kiba's girlfriend Tamaki had her back to him, slowly grinding her behind into him as he clutched her hips roughly, and Shikamaru and Temari were off to the side talking with one another. Even Lee and Tenten were sloppily dancing around the floor. And then there was Naruto and Hinata who were also slow dancing, Naruto's forehead resting on hers as he looked down at her, his cheeks flushed with a drunken blush. Sakura continued to watch as her best friend looked lovingly into the Hyuuga's silver orbs, and she couldn't help but feel a tug of envy pull at her heart. The only thing she ever wanted in the world was for a man to look at her like that, to look at her like she was the only thing that mattered, like she was his world.

"Care for some company?"

The sudden voice snapped her out of her daze and she quickly pulled away from her drink and looked up. Unfortunately pulling away from the straw so fast caused some of her drink to spill out of the corner of her mouth. Quickly, hoping that the man who was now standing before hadn't noticed her arm shot up and she wiped it away. Mentally cursing to herself, she decided to blame the alcohol. Luckily the man just smiled. He had a beautiful smile, and fair had long dark brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail that hung over one shoulder and a strong jaw line, he was clearly a Hyuuga. His large silver eyes were looking down at her with a gentle kindness that she wasn't used to and she immediately felt the need to retreat. Pushing away from the table, Sakura stood from her chair, the results of her previous drinks finally hitting her as her vision went blurry. She shook it off and quickly bowed to the man.

"I'm sorry; I was actually just about to go out for some air." She said to him and without waiting for a response she rushed away, bolting towards the exit that led out onto a balcony. Ripping the door open Sakura released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and threw herself at the railing of the balcony, her hands grasping the wood as tightly as she could for support, and she leaned so that her head was thrown over the side as if she were going to get sick.

Her heart was beating rapidly and she couldn't help but struggle for breath. Her anxiety had been sparked. What had done it, she didn't quite know, but her chest felt as though it were about to collapse in on itself, she needed to calm down. Her fingernails scraped along the wood of the railing as she straightened up, trying to regain her composure. Of course it didn't help that she had had almost seven drinks so far that night, including two glasses of wine, but right now all she wanted was another one.

Why was it so painful to be here? Why even now did she feel as though she was a prisoner in her own routined life? She was pathetic, and had been for as long as she could remember. As kids, it was always either Naruto or Sasuke who got things done, as teenagers she was always so depressed because of Sasuke's absence that she had let Naruto fall into his own despair and now she was back in the same spot. But this time she had no one to distract her from her own pain, Sasuke was gone, Ino was gone, and now Naruto was gone as well. She was going to just continue to feel this way until she completely wasted away, she could feel it.

Finally calming her pulse down, Sakura looked out into the village that surrounded the reception hall.

"I thought I saw you come out here."

She turned her head slightly over her shoulder towards the voice she knew oh too well. Silver hair gelled to one side, a navy blue mask that hid the lower half of his face, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura's past sensei and present Hokage of Konoha. He was walking over to her slowly, hands pressed into his pants pockets, his dark eyes glued to the younger girl with a concerned gleam swimming through them. She said nothing, but her gaze followed him until he reached her completely.

"The heat getting to you?"

She returned her gaze back to look out over the balcony, her eyes desperately trying to focus on each and every one of the twinkling lights from the city around them at once.

"Yeah…" she chuckled innocently. It was a lie, but she really didn't need to burden anyone else with her melodrama, let alone the Hokage. There was a long silence between them that allowed Sakura to try to mentally sober up slightly.

She could feel his gaze burning into her and decided to quickly change the subject. "They uh, picked a beautiful night."

Kakashi nodded his head, a small smile forming under his mask. "That they certainly did. Though, it's nowhere near as beautiful as the bride."

Sakura smiled. "You're right. Hinata looks amazing. Naruto…really is a lucky man." She could feel her heart break slightly at her own words and once again became solemnly quiet. Naruto Uzumaki; her best friend, childhood comrade, and brother like figure, it felt like so long ago but there had been a time where he had tried to win over Sakura's heart. Of course she couldn't return his feelings, although she knew it would have made her life much easier if she could. She loved Naruto more than any other man she knew, but the feeling was completely plutonic. She spent most of her life routing for Hinata, encouraging her to confess her feelings to the blond buffoon. But despite how happy she felt for them now, she couldn't help but feel a bit distressed. Naruto was gone now, he had bigger priorities then keeping Sakura company when she was feeling down or listening to complain like a love struck teenager. Gone were the days where Sakura was the most import woman in his life. She knew she was being selfish, but she couldn't help it, not when her heart was in so much pain.

Her breathing had become shallow once again causing Kakashi to take notice and furrow his eyebrows at her. He had known Sakura for a long time, and even though she was a grown woman now, and he was no longer her teacher, it still pained him to see her so torn apart.

"Sakura…"he said in a hushed tone. Sakura's head whipped around to face him. She knew what was coming, she had known it was going to happen all night and even though she had tried her best to avoid it, she couldn't escape the question. "Is everything…okay?"

Deciding quickly to mask her true emotions Sakura smiled, hoping that it didn't look as forced as it felt. "Of course, I'm just a little tired, that's all." Another lie. Taking a step backwards, Sakura let go of the railing and backed further away from him. "Actually now that I think about it, I should probably get going now. I work early tomorrow morning."

Kakashi eyed her suspiciously but said nothing as she shuffled towards the wooden stairs that led from the balcony to the street below. "Could you…maybe congratulate Naruto one more time for me?"

Sakura watched as Kakashi craned his neck over his shoulder, looking into the window of the reception hall. "I would…"he began hesitantly. Sakura followed his gaze, looking in at everyone dancing and chatting through the glass. It didn't take her long to find groom who was half keeled over on the ground and being helped up by Sai and Shikamaru. He was smiled widely and looked as if he was either yelling to someone or singing along with the music. Hinata was standing behind him; her face beat red in pure embarrassment. "But I have a feeling he wouldn't remember even if I did."

Sakura giggled to herself. Well….he's yours now Hinata. Have fun.

After saying a quick goodbye to Kakashi, Sakura descended down the stairs and away from the reception hall as fast as she could, every step making her feel less and less anxious. That is until she reached Konoha's main street, and the sight before her took her breath away, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.

The street was filled with couples, people holding hands, people laughing together; it was as though she had stepped into the scene of a bad romance movie. Sakura's eyes darted around taking the horrifying sight in before basically running down the street towards her apartment. What the hell was going on tonight? Had it always been like this and she merely hadn't noticed? Or perhaps it was just due to the effects of the alcohol that she felt as though she was the only single person in her city at this moment.

Once she had made it to her building, she flew up the stairs, shoved the key in the door, pulled it open and threw herself inside, slamming the door shut again and pressing her back against it as if she were trying to keep something or someone from getting inside. Exhaling deeply she stared into the dark that surrounded her. Finally she was home. After a moment she pushed herself away from the door, slugging her purse to the side with one hand and feeling blindly around the wall with her other hand for the light switch. Her fingers brushed against it just with the right amount of pressure to turn it on, and for a moment her eyes stung from the brightness. Quickly she adjusted though as she looked around her kitchen. It was small but very cozy, and honestly all she needed. If she were to walk straight, she would find herself walking down a narrow hallway that lead to her living room, bathroom and bedroom.

Sighing once more, she lazily kicked her heels off and started to ascend down the dim hallway where a small blinking red light caught her eye. Midway down the hallway, standing against the wall was a small table that was host to a small lamp, an old picture of Sakura's genin team, and a phone. The phone blinked violently letting Sakura know that she indeed had a message, so without hesitation Sakura extended her hand and pressed the message button.

"You have one new voice message. To review your messages, please press-"

Sakura pressed the pound button before the machine had time to finish.

"Message one."

"Hi sweety! It's mum!"

Immediately Sakura smiled. It had been a while since she had spoken to her mother. Ever since she had moved out of their house one year ago they rarely talked, only on occasion. In fact, the last time they had talked had been weeks before Naruto's wedding. Sakura leaned into a more comfortable standing position.

"And da-" her father's voice wrung out from somewhere in the distance, but was cut off almost immediately with a violent hacking cough.

"I told you to stay in bed! Go, go, go!" Sakura's mother's voice boomed following the cough, causing the young pinette to giggle. She missed her parents bickering.

"I'm sorry we couldn't make it to the wedding honey, your father has come down with a terrible cold, and I hate leaving him here alone. I hope you gave Naruto and Hinata our best wishes! I'm still so surprised that little goofball is married. I remember when you were both so little and he was just a little wiry thing."

Sakura smiled at her mother's words. She could barely believe it herself. It had seemed like just yesterday they were all in team seven together, gallivanting away on missions, and having their childish fun. Things were so easy back then. As she listened to her mother continue about Naruto, and the old days, Sakura's eyes drifted to the picture that sat behind the phone. It was an old picture of team seven; Sakura was in the middle of the photo, smiling wildly between a scowling Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi was behind them, his hands resting on top of the boys heads. From anyone who didn't know the group, it would seem like a tense picture, but she knew that it was anything but. This was what they used to be, what she missed; Naruto and Sasuke's frantic rivalry, Sakura's innocence, Kakashi's fatherly role. She missed it all.

Slowly Sakura's thoughts traveled back to what her mother was saying. But it wasn't that long before she wished she had just continued to zone out.

"Anyway," her mother continued with a tone that made Sakura feel somewhat uneasy. "I'm sure it was a lovely wedding. I can't wait to go to my little girls!" There is was. Sakura immediately frowned. This wasn't going to start….was it? Her mother chuckled. "I know I'm getting ahead of myself." Way ahead. "but you should really start to look for someone Sakura….you're twenty one years old and everyone else your age has someone. You're father and I are starting to worry about you." She was pulling this card. "Just the other day I was talking to Mrs. Yamanaka about Ino, and she told me tha-"

Click.

"Message deleted."

Sakura huffed as her fingers left the cold buttons of the phone. The last thing she wanted to hear right now was anything about Ino and Sai. She had seen enough of them throughout the night. The worst moment probably being when Ino caught the bouquet from Hinata and practically jumped Sai right then and there. It was awkward, and made mostly everyone in the scene uncomfortable, especially Sakura. That had been enough of them for the evening, or forever at least in her opinion.

Sakura went to her room after that, and without undressing she tossed herself on her bed so that she was laying spread eagle, staring up at the dark ceiling. Silence and darkness engulfed her. She was alone, much like she always was now a day; left with nothing but her thoughts. And thoughts of what? Of Naruto and Hinata, of Ino and Sai, of her parents, of her future, and…of Sasuke. Where was he now? What was he doing? Would he ever return to her? That she didn't know, though she was beginning to doubt he would. It had been a long time she had even heard from him. He didn't write, he didn't call. She had no idea what was going on in his head, or in her head for that matter. She was twenty one years old, she should have just moved on. But how could she do that? She knew who her heart belonged to, no matter if he kept it close to his own, or merely hidden away from the world.

Sakura's eyes had just begun to drift closed when she felt the bed beside her head sink in on itself. She quickly looked around but saw nothing but darkness. Then something soft and warm bumped into her forehead, and her ears were filled with the sound of a quiet purr. Sakura smiled as she nuzzled the forehead of her cat, Ame, with her own forehead.

"Hi Ame-chan." She announced, reaching her hand out and stroking the cats black fur. The cat nuzzled back for a moment before curling up beside her. She had been a home warming gift from Kiba and his girlfriend Tamaki. And although at first Sakura wasn't too keen on the idea of having a pet to take care of, she had grown to love her little companion and was very grateful that she was there with her, especially on nights where her anxiety consumed her like this.

Turning over on her side, Sakura curled herself around the small warm being, taking shelter in the comfort that she felt from the presence of another living thing, and eventually fell asleep to the lulling sound of her soft purr.