Authoress' Notes: Why am I posting this in only now when I wrote this eons ago? Well, beats me. Hahahah. -gets shot very badly- Fufufu.

DISCLAIMER: Simple etymology says it "dis"--"claims" which mean it doesn't claim. Besides, what would be the use of me saying: "Yo ho ho and a buttle of rum, Kishimoto ain't got nothing on me because I own Naruto!" when everyone else in the world knows that he owns it and that we all love him even though he's a tad bit sadistic (most likely) to his fans anyway?

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Cri De Cour
by psychedelic aya

Sometimes, Sakura thinks Sasuke must be sad.

(Even though she can't see him. Even though she can't hear him. Even though she can't feel him.

Even though he's not here.)

And she thinks that maybe she understands him. Maybe she knows how he feels, because didn't she tell him (once upon a time so long ago) that whatever he felt, she'd eventually feel too? (I want to think we're connected that way—)

She was compassionate. Passionate. About these things such as feelings, especially, even though it totally contradicted her ways of logical thinking.

She knows how it feels to have the loneliness eat her up inside—raw, cold and without mercy—the agony of the heart screaming out for someone, anyone, who'd be willing to be there and embrace the pain. And maybe sometimes Sakura knows she wants to take something out of that someone—everything and anything at all—bruised and bloody, because she is more like Sasuke than he thinks and she also wants someone to be there—someone to take care of her, to pamper her, to love her—

—And maybe she wouldn't throw it away—but she would (although she was scared to) abuse it because she was depraved—

(Because Sasuke—always and forever Sasuke—; he could drag anything he wanted out of her—anything and everything at all—without breaking a sweat.)

And she'd ask for nothing in return.

(And maybe Naruto was the same to her, wasn't he? But he had too many other dreams for her to handle. And besides, she couldn't—wouldn't—ever hurt the boy who sacrificed his more than what was needed for her dream, her little selfish dream—which may have become his dream as well.)

Naruto loved her that much, and sometimes Sakura wonders why she never felt the same.

(But of course she loved him—what are you saying? It's just not in the same way.)

And she'd like to spend her life with Naruto, sometimes; because he could make her smile and because he cared—but didn't Sasuke care too? Well?—and because she was selfish and wanted someone to love her. And she knew all the love he spent on her wasn't a waste— because it was love, after all, and such an emotion is meant to be given without ever expecting something in return.

Sakura wishes she could give Naruto something back, sometimes. But she just can't, and she thinks she never will be able to.

Because, because, because. SasukeSasukeSasuke. It's taken up her mind and her heart and her soul and her entire being—it's corrupted—no, blessed—her whole entirety of self; and nothing (absolutely nothing) can just compare.

Why Sasuke? He isn't a prince on a white horse, Sakura would oftentimes tell herself. He wasn't the type of person to understand her like she understood him. In fact, she believed that he didn't love her. At all.

(At this, Inner Sakura would be wryly smiling.

And so?)

Sakura thinks Sasuke must be sad.

(Even though she can't see him. Even though she can't hear him. Even though she can't feel him.

Even though he's not here to know what she thinks.)

But she doesn't care.

That's love.

Exactly.

.//FINI - January 2006

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Authoress' Notes: Short introspective on how painful Sakura's love can be. And I detest, btw, to those who say she is blindly in love. (No offense, dears.) I don't think she's blind as to what Sasuke is. She knows each and every part of him and yet still accepts him as he is. No matter if he's a bastard, a fool, blah blah blah. She loves him. She loves Team 7, right? (She knows Naruto is the Kyuubi and yet she doesn't care about that, either.) I just feel for Sakura. (Damn you Sasuke, come back already and strut yourself in your new clothes!) Ahah. Ahahaha.

Smile. Someone up there loves you.

And no, you don't have to review. No, not really. (Only if, you know, you could.) Fufufu.