She's frozen, wanting so badly to move, but so scared to move as well.

"Sasuke…kun," she finally whispers, just like she did that day at the base.

But this time there's no reply from him. Only dead silence.

"Why are you here?" her voice cracks pitifully at the end, belying the pain, still so raw, so close to the surface.

"For revenge," he answers succinctly.

She closes her eyes and a scoff of laughter crosses her lips. "Of course. Why am I not surprised? After all that's all you ever think about."

She scuffs a foot, seeking a better stance. "So who are you getting revenge on this time?" she asks, tugging her glove on better. "Naruto? Kakashi? Tsunade-shishou?"

"The council."

She stills then. He knew. He had finally found out the truth. "So you know," she says quietly.

She hears his sharp intake of air. "Oh, yes. I knew," she replies quickly, still in that quiet voice.

Sakura can feel his glare on her, but she forces herself to ignore it. "I tried… I tried to warn you…"

He flash-stepped in front of her and thrust her back into the wall. "You knew?! And you didn't tell me?"

His arms pinned across her windpipe, cutting off her air supply. She feels the tears leaking out of her eyes.

"You… wouldn't… be…lieve," she managed to choke out.

"So that gave you the right to lie?!"

He didn't expect an answer for that one, she knew. Just like he had been sometimes. She could still read his expression easily.

"Where are they?!" He watched calmly as she began to turn blue. Sakura shook her head slightly, indicating her refusal to speak.

His eyes bled red, and shifted into six red orbitals on a black background. "Where's the council, Sakura?"

She opened her eyes slightly. "I'm not a traitor like you," she rasped, green eyes hard.

He gritted his teeth and closed his left eye. Their gazes locked, and her eyes went wide as he loosened his grip slightly.

"Tsukuyomi," he whispered as her body slumped down the wall, her mind trapped in his genjutsu.

Sasuke looked about the black and white world of his nightmares. As he looked about, he caught sight of Sakura. He just stood there, an observer as her worst nightmares came to life about her.

Trees rustled against the sky as the washed out pinkette stood on a cobblestone road.

"Don't go!" she shrieked, no longer thirteen but nearly sixteen. "If you go, I'll scream--!"

A younger version of himself vanished from before her, to appear at her back.

"Sakura…"

She sucked in a breath as the trees waved in a breeze.

"Thank you."

The real Sasuke narrowed his eyes as the scene looped back to the start.

"Don't go!" This time she tried to grab his hand. Her hand passed through air as the mirage vanished to whisper in her ear.

"Stop it!" she shouted as the third round of it began. "Please!"

Sasuke felt his heart weaken slightly at that word. Please. But he watched the scene play out again. The memory he couldn't forget haunted her as well. Did she understand what he had meant by those two words he had whispered into the night?

"Please!" her broken cry interrupted his contemplation. She was on her knees now. "Please, stop."

Abruptly, the world shifted around them. White splashes of blood splattered against the ground, up against the sky. And an all too familiar body hit the ground before him.

Sakura didn't move now, just watched with horrified eyes as her beloved was slain over and over and over in front of her. Her mouth moved in horrified whispers, but not a word passed over her lips.

Then the one thing he couldn't stand leaked out of her eye. A single tear spilled down her cheek before splashing to the ground. With it, the genjutsu broke, leaving Sasuke panting from the exertion. He glanced down to see the now colorful head below him.

The pinkette's mouth still whispered unheard words, her mind still lost to him.

He stared at her, horror sinking in as another tear slid down her porcelain skin. "Sakura."

She didn't respond as two more watery jewels fell unchecked.

"Sakura!" He hadn't meant to do this. Not to her. She wasn't supposed to be like this.

"Don't go!"

He grabbed her shoulders as his eyes returned to their normal onyx. "Sakura!" He gave them a gentle shake. "Can you hear me?"

He caught the whispered words then. "He's not here. It's just a trick. He's gone. Somebody stop him. He's not here. It's just a trick," she repeated over and over as the tears fell from her eyes.

"Sakura, snap out of it!" He felt sick then. What had he done? Kami, what had he done to her?

All in the damned pursuit of revenge.

"And not me."

He slid a trembling hand hesitantly over her cheek. His broken, dying cherry blossom now. How could he have brought her to this?

Her worst fantasies… he'd never considered them being of him. And worse, he'd realized she hadn't figured out the truth of his words. How many nights had she lain awake trying to decipher that message?

But could he blame her for not knowing?

She may understand the hollow satisfaction of pride, but obviously his subtle words were a mystery too great for her.

"Thank you" for loving me.

"Thank you" for saving me.

"Thank you" for trying.

"Thank you" for everything…

Sakura tried to convince herself that this was all fake. A cheap illusion. She knew it. But it didn't keep the wounds on her hear from tearing wide open for everyone to see. See how weak she was, how hurt she still was over something from her childhood.

What a self-fulfilling prophesy she had uttered. His damn pursuit of revenge was going to drive her insane… because she knew the truth and stood in his way.

"It won't make anyone happy… And not me…"

She could feel the tears on her cheeks, hot and acidic as they spilled over. Barely had they started, then she felt a rough, hesitant hand steal across her cheek, trying to wipe them away. She knew whose hand it was.

"I'm… sorry," he whispered, reaching through all her memories to reach her.

And with those two words, she finds that all the horrors of that world are banished, sent back to where they belong, the world of nightmares. Where she would deal with them in good time.

"You are?" she asked quietly.

He looked in her green eyes, cleared of the clouds of memory, and almost smiled. For him, it was at least. The slight upward turn of the lips, barely even there. He nodded.

Sakura realized then that she had been holding the past against him. Hated him for leaving her. But she also realized it was time to let it go. So she told him how.

"My grandfather told me." At his obviously (to her) confused expression, she explained. "My grandfather told me the truth of what happened to your family. He died before you left. We cleaned out his things and I found his journal. It had everything in there."

"So you knew…"

She nodded at the unspoken part.

He sighed. "Then you know why I have to do this."

"No. I don't," she answered. "You don't have to do this. You're choosing to do this. Just like you chose to leave."

They were both quiet then, remembering a night years ago of broken hearts.

"It meant more," he said finally.

She nodded slightly. "I know you meant more."

"You were right," he admitted. "Revenge… it doesn't fill the void."

She hugged him then, gently enfolding him in her arms. "I know."

The End

A/N: I am not, read NOT!, doing another sequel for this oneshot. If you want more to this story line, use your imaginations. I'm out of ideas for it. I hope all you reviewers who requested a second piece enjoy this. Personally, I like the first piece better but I hope I cleared up unanswered questions. And the whole grandfather thing was made up. It would be cool though. And now that this is done, I can move on to my other pieces! Reviews are love!