Everything was completely silent. All of Sakura's screams had finally faded as she seemed to fall into a calm sleep. Each time Ino had gone in worry to wake her up from her nightmares, all she would do was smile at her before slipping back into sleep. Something about her smile was so horrifying to Ino. It was so dark, so broken. Her mind wandered, to the very day Naruto had left with the others to find Sasuke for the first time…

///

It was a beautiful day, too pretty to be one of sorrow. But just as Ino was walking along the village rode after working her days worth in the flower shop, she was stopped by the site of Sakura standing with her head held low in front of the single bench that sat aligned with the wall. She watched for just a few moments, her heart seeming to drop lower.

"Sakura," She called, putting on a cheerful composure as she walked to stand with her friend.

As expected, she didn't receive an answer. Sakura merely stood with her hair falling over her eyes, as she had her hand placed on the arm of the bench, caressing the stone with her thumb absentmindedly.

They stood side by side in silence for what seemed like hours to Ino. She couldn't avert her eyes from her friend, for once unable to cheer her up.

"Hey…Ino…?" Sakura's voice came out hoarse, like it was the first time she had ever spoken.

"Ah," Ino's voice caught in her throat for a second, caught by surprise, "yeah?" She smiled again.

"Do you…love Sasuke-Kun?" Sakura shifted her gaze to Ino, still keeping her head turned away. She didn't sound critical, and the question wasn't insinuated in a rivalry way. She honestly just wanted to know if she was alone, or if her feelings were simply selfish and typical. At least, that's what Ino got out of it, but when it came to Sakura—her judge of character was pretty good.

Ino sighed, grasping her hand within her other, and looked down at the bench; "no…I don't. I'd like to think I do, really, but I couldn't possibly. I know hardly anything about the guy…" she stopped, realizing she was rambling. She got nervous with Sakura like that, seeming so empty.

"You do, though, Sakura." She patted Sakura's shoulder, grinning. "I can tell you…honestly love him. And, I'm happy you do. He should be with someone who can love him truly….don't worry, Naruto will bring him back. Hate to admit it, but that little pest is pretty strong. And, I'm sure Sasuke will beg for your forgiveness! He hates seeing you cry, trust me." She smiled wide, squeezing her shoulder quickly before letting go.

Sakura's eyes filled with tears that never fell as she finally turned to face Ino, smiling as best she could at her friend.

///

Ino sighed, leaning against the wooden wall. The entire village seemed to be asleep, the sun barely raised as it left a soft blue hue in the outside sky.

Sasuke rose quietly from where he had been asleep, careful not to wake anyone up. He placed his sword in the large rope tied around his waist before making his way into the forest. Not even the birds dared to break the silence the world seemed to hold at that very moment as he walked through the leaves with no expression to betray his thoughts.

Thoughts of his old team;

Thoughts of her;

Her tear brimmed eyes;

His threat;

The way he always seemed to feel when he saw her;

But of course, he had no time for feelings like that, let alone thoughts. He caught site of the small town as his gaze hardened.

He knew exactly where to find her.

Sakura stood, frozen where she stood. She was in the exact time, exact place, that Sasuke had left her. He was there, and so was her past self. He stood turned away from her the entire time, as she pleaded with all her heart for him to stay.

'Don't you leave me! One more step and I'll scream-' Like he had done before, he disappeared before her eyes, only to reappear behind her. For a split second, she thought she had lost him then and there, but he was with her, silent for only a few moments. Realization hit Sakura as she watched the memory in horror;

'Sakura…' his voice played through her mind, just as it had then.

"Turn around!" She screamed, her voice seemed to echo through the memory.

'Thank you…' she was speechless once more, in memory and in present. Just as he tapped her nerve, the entire world went black.

But the dream, still far from over; she knew that, of course. This wasn't the first time she had it, over time she grew conscious of her dreaming as she saw herself falling through memories, watching the laughter and heartbreak consume her very soul. Seeing all the things she did wrong, all the times she reacted in the worse kind of way.

Abruptly, she landed in a meadow of pale white flowers, moving as if there had been a gust of strong wind. She didn't remember this part of the dream.

She saw herself, standing over something that tainted the flowers red.

She walked hesitantly over to where her other self stood. Her eyes grew wide in horror at her own dark smile as she stood in two places over the mangled bodies of Team 7.

All four of them.

Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and herself; each of them locked in the memory of their happy days.

Gripping her blankets tight, Sakura began to scream, surely awakening anyone within range of her piercing cries of sorrow as she sobbed into the blanket, yelling mumbled threats against herself at the sight of her dead happiness. She cried louder, undisturbed by anything as her pillow grew wet from her tears.

Softly, a cold hand brushed her cheek, immediately pulling her from her night terror as she shot upward, smacking the hand away from her out of soul reaction. She gasped for air, pulling the blanket up to her chest as she cried, still in the midst of a dream. She turned to the side of her bed, expecting to see Ino but saw nothing but the empty room.

Still huffing for air, she looked around, confused and afraid. Finally coming a bit to her senses, she sensed someone on her other side. She turned her head, coming face to face with the cause of her nightmares.

It all hit her suddenly, as she managed to catch her breath. Her throat hurt, and her stomach was sore from how hard she had gripped it with the other hand.

She tried to take in each feature of his face, noticing most his onyx eyes only a few inches away from her emerald green eyes. She couldn't speak; she knew that before even trying, as they stared at each other.

At that very moment, there was one thing that caught her even further off guard than his very presence.

And that was the obvious look of concern spread across his features as he searched her eyes for a reason behind everything.

He raised his hand, touching her jaw bone softly, before quickly pulling back; his expression gone back to his usual emotionless composure.

"Sakura" he spoke firmly, pulling back to give distance between the two of them, "I need you to stay in the Land of the Waves for a while. If you refuse, I will have no problems with killing you and anyone who came with you."

Sakura's heart beat picked up once more at his request, as her confusion rose. Another crack would have appeared if all this really did show on her physically, as the signs of the old Sasuke resided back into the emotionless shell that held himself so proudly before her.

"Stay…?" Her voice was raspy as she cleared it subconsciously, "why would I…stay here longer than I have to…?" She waited for him to return her gaze, but he kept his eyes fixed somewhere off in the distance.