Her heart was pounding in her chest, she could feel it, each beat right after the other in a rabid thud against her ribs. It left an echoing dull feeling that never left, the noise ringing through her ears, the only other thing she could hear past it was the whistling of the wind as it shifted against the clearly visible purple chakra emitting from whom she once knew as Sasuke Uchiha.
Her breath was raspy, stinging against her dry through as she sat frozen in fear as he went after those who hurt her with murderous intent. His eyes were read, the familiar black marks streaking through them to compliment such a cold glare. He recognized her, spoke with her in a reassuring manor, but that was what worried her even more; he fought consciously, aware of his surroundings. Her breath caught in her throat at the loud snap of the sound ninja's arms, his shoulders locking out of place.
Everything froze, the only moving image was of him walking away from her. Memories of who she knew flashing through her mind, stopping abruptly on the haunting face of the one who brought him to such a state.
"Sasuke-Kun will seek me for power…" His voice repeating through her mind as tears fell down her cheeks, and in the next instant she was running towards him.
"Stop" she cried, his image growing closer as she reached her arms out, wrapping them around his form. "Please…stop…" she mumbled into the back of his shirt, staring into his eyes as he turned around to stare into her own. She could feel his heart pounding, beating against her own as the black marks slowly resided back into the one scarred on the back of his neck.
Sakura sat up abruptly, her breath catching in her throat as the blankets flowed down around her waist. She was sweating immensely, dangerously overheated. Shivers went through her body as she kicked her blankets off of her, as the soft white blanket fell to the floor. Her breaths were short as she gasped for air as if she had been underwater to the point of breaking; she shifted her knees, hugging them to her chest, her long pink hair falling down her back, a few strands sticking to her face. With each breath, her muscles seemed to shake, the feeling shooting down through her legs as she tried to gain back her composure.
The snake like monster was stuck in her mind as if he was actually there, in her very room. Her voice caught in her throat, making an incoherent sound as tears began to stream down her face. She cried into her knees, the sound echoing through her room with each sob as she tightened the muscles in her arms, pulling her knees closer as a scream pushed its way past her lips.
"Sakura?!" Her mother's voice came worriedly through the wooden door as she pushed it open in an instant, rushing to her daughter's side as she placed her hand on her back, feeling the heat emitting from her skin. "Sakura, what happened?" She questioned, sitting on the side of the bed, placing both hands on the young girl's shoulders. But she received no response in any way, just long cries as her daughter continued to sob in fear and worry. They sat together in the dark until morning broke, letting the sun shine through into the room, making the soft pink of Sakura's hair seem to glow as her cries began to calm down, her shoulders still shaking with her breath.
"I don't think you should go to that exam today…" her mother whispered, keeping her gaze out the window, hoping her daughter would reply to her this time.
She took a minute to catch her breath, to calm herself down as she lifted her head, wiping her eyes of the streaming tears that continued to fall past her will. "I have to meet them, mama." She muttered, getting up and walking out the door and towards the bathroom without a word, leaving her mom alone in her bedroom, her eyes lowered to the floor.
"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto's familiar voice echoed through her mind as she walked up to her two teammates, being, for the first time, late. But considering just who their squad leader was, she knew she wouldn't have to worry too much. His call brought her out of her daze as she looked up to meet his gaze as he ran up to meet her.
"Hi..." She forced a smile, looking down at his resume as he continued to ask her questions about what he should have written on certain spots. "Jeez…" she mumbled, pointing to where he needed to write his answers. Her gaze shifted to Sasuke for a moment before she looked away quickly, gesturing for Naruto to follow her as she walked up to the Raven haired Uchiha. Naruto gave her a questioning look, not used to being included but did as she asked.
"I…I need to talk to both of you before sensei gets here." She muttered, keeping her gaze on her hands as she twisted her fingers together.
They both sat in silence for a few moments before Sasuke sighed, "what is it?" he questioned in a dull tone, his hands forever in his pockets. The tone and careless gesture made her gut turn as she let her shoulders drop.
"I'm not…ready for the Chuunin exams." She muttered, closing her eyes.
"Wh-what? Why, Sakura-Chan?!" Naruto questioned, a bit over frantically. His concern made her feel a bit better, but the feelings disappeared the moment she glanced over at the Uchiha. Smiling darkly, she took a step back, waving her hands passively with a nervous smile.
"No reason. I'm just not that strong." She laughed, "I'll try harder and take it next year. Good luck to the both of you!" She turned around to hide the coming tears as she ran back down the trail, the snake like monster invading her thoughts once more; she couldn't look at Sasuke, the very boy she'd come to care dearly for, without seeing the haunting red marks that dawned her body.
She'd researched a bit about the Chuunin exams before she came, that being the reason why she was late; they wouldn't be able to take them without the full team's consent. Whether it was just a dream or not, she couldn't let herself go willingly to the place that had broken her happiness within the subconscious void of her mind.
'I'm sorry, Sasuke-Kun…Naruto…' She thought to herself as the tears continued to fall.