-1Crossing Borders

交差のボーダー

By: Sweet Bliss

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永久に愛で

(Forever in Love)

…

Sasuke wiped the blood off his mouth with a smirk on his face. Sai was practically dying and Sasuke was glad that it had been his sword that was about to end this pathetic man's life. He winced in pain as his leg started to sting from the previous wound Sai had managed to get in.

"Any last words," Sasuke spit out as he raised his sword. Sai just looked back up at him blankly.

"STOP!"

Sasuke turned to see his tiny (ex)servant on her knees. Her dainty fists clenched by her sides, blood leaking from her throat and side. He began to wonder how anyone would so much as try to hurt her. And now he was pissed even more. No one got away with hurting his Sakura. Not if he had anything to say.

And all due to this, Sasuke barley even took time to notice Sai's actions until he felt a sword go right through him…

………

Chapter Ten

……….

Green orbs widened as they saw the blade being pushed through her ex-master's body. The blood dripped down his chin, staining the snowy ground. She breathed out his name as she watched as the blade pulled out and Sasuke had to keep himself upright by shoving his own sword into the ground.

She could feel the tears welling up. Was this how was really was? She brought her bloodstained hand to her face, some of the red liquid smearing onto her porcelain skin. It was so cruel.

She stood up slowly, the pain from her wounds shooting throughout her body. She forced herself forward, even as she tumbled into the snow. Sai, who had pushed Sasuke down unto the ground and rolled him over so he was now facing heavenward, stopped his movements to look at her.

"Sakura," he whispered as he lowered his sword.

Did she have a death wish? If she interfered, he'd have to kill her. He watched with blank eyes as she crawled closer to them. What with all the blood that had been shed from her body, she'd die.

"Please, Sai," she weakly called out to him. "Please, don't kill him."

His sword fell out of his shaking hands. He didn't even hear the sound as it made contact with the ground. All he saw was the angel in front of him, broken and bleeding. Sakura smiled sadly to him, tears streaming down her face from the pain of her wounds and the love she felt for the Uchiha.

Sai had a feeling that he was going to rot in hell just for causing her so much pain.

He stumbled backwards, his eyes focused on the girl who had somehow appeared in his life and managed to capture his heart in just a few seconds. And he knew that in that moment, there was no way he could ever compare to Sasuke.

They were dying together, Sasuke from wounds and she from heartache.

Sai watched as the third wheel as Sakura slumped to Sasuke's motionless body. She clasped his large hand in between her two fail ones, whispering for him to please stay alive. Her sobs and his ragged breathing were the only sounds echoing throughout the world in that moment.

He walked away form the two, not being able to bear the scene playing before him. He was just the third party member. The understudy, the backstage man who did everything just right but there was always someone better. Someone like Sakura would never be able to love him like she did the Uchiha prodigy.

He had to get out.

"Sasuke, please open your eyes," Sakura sobbed, shaking the body lying limp in her arms.

Her tears dripped on her freezing hands, pricking them over and over again in a never ceasing flood. Her body was sore, the pain numbing her limbs. But the tugging at her heart by the mere thought that Sasuke might be dead was unbearable.

She felt him stir a little and then finally was met with two seas of pitch black. She smiled despite their conditions and brushed her thumb across his cheek, wiping off the fresh blood from a cut upon his face.

"Hey," she spoke softly to him.

Her voice was a gentle hum against the cool breeze that swept by. And even though he probably wouldn't live to see another sunrise or sunset, he wouldn't regret that now. Not after the heavens above granted him his wish.

Just to be able to see her again.

"Where's Sai?" he coughed out and she ignored the blood that leaked from the corner of his mouth.

Sakura looked around, realizing for the first time that Sai was nowhere to be seen, and answered simply, "He's gone."

And when Sasuke attempted to move out of her lap, she just pushed him down again--gently though--and eased his worries.

"Naruto and the others will handle this. Don't move, your wounds are nothing to sneeze at."

Sasuke scoffed--which turned out into a gurgle of blood--and answered, "I'm fine. What's a tiny scratch going to do to me."

"Sasuke," the young woman began, "you are staying right here and you can't do anything about it."

He rolled his eyes, now paler in color than they once were. Her hand rested on the cloth above his wound, placing pressure on it and oddly enough he voiced no complaints. Sakura bit her lip, unable to keep the tears from spilling over, as she felt the warm liquid seep onto her hands.

Was this really the end?

They lapsed into silence, no words were needed at the moment. The grey clouds were dispersing above them, the torrent of white puffs diminishing. And in the horizon the sun was setting once again.

Maybe for the final time.

And once Sakura began to think about things like that, she didn't feel as bad as she normally would have.

Of course she'd miss her family, she'd never gotten the chance to see them again. She'd miss the feel of the wet, green grass between her toes and the sun's radiant beams on her face. Her friends, her village, Konoha. The cherry blossom petals blowing in a summer breeze, the forget-me-nots sitting on a wooden table in the Uchiha household, fighting with Ami. Things that once gone, would never come back again.

But the thought of being with this man, her first and only love, until the end and beyond was enough for her to move on happily.

Love… the word stuck out above the rest.

She'd never thought that she'd be here today all because of a war. But it was true. She went to Konohagakure--a place that she had always imagined of going to, learned how to fight, made friends, and fell in love along the way.

If Sound had never burst into her village and she hadn't been rescued by the Leaf, she mused, what would it have been like?

Would she have married a farmer like her father and had a tiny family of her own? Would she have worked in the rice field that overlooked the large village of Konoha? Would she have stood atop that hill and daydreamed about the possibility of going there one day? Would she have been happy?

She supposed she might have been, but she wouldn't know now. If she went back her life would have never went back to normal. Not since she'd gotten to see first-hand the temples that pierced through the clouds and feel the cherry blossoms tickle her cheeks.

She felt his fingers dance across her scratched skin, brushing back light pink tresses. And when he wiped away the moisture from her face it was then she realized what she should have known all along--what she had been suppressing all this time.

Not since she'd met Uchiha Sasuke had she ever been able to live like she had before. If she had went back when he had ordered to, if Sai had not have kidnapped her, she would have never been able to have that kind of life.

"Sakura," he whispered, snapping her out of her inner thoughts.

It seemed like such a dream…

She cocked her head to the side, his hand still resting in place and hers atop his.

"I… I'm sorry I never got to take you home…"

She smiled, albeit softly, and said, "That doesn't bother me, Sasuke. I'm with you… I am home."

I love you.

He gave her a tiny grin as he spoke, "I wish… I really didn't want you to leave. I… didn't want the possibility of you being hurt though. Because you… are home to me as well."

I love you, too.

"Sasuke, I am glad that I was able to be with you, no matter how short it was-"

He cut her off though. With his finger over her plump, pink lips he shook his head.

"This isn't the end. Remember, Neji still has to murder Naruto for his drunken song that one night. Ino and Hinata need someone to go shopping with. And the village wouldn't be the same without you and Ami at each other's throats. You will live, Sakura, I promise you that."

Tears slipped out of her eyes and landed on his pale face, making it seem as though he, too, were crying. Her fingers threaded with his and placed both of their hands over her heart.

"No! I don't want you to promise me that I'll live. I want you to say that you'll be with me forever! That you will make it through this with me or we die together. I can't live without you Sasuke! I'm… in love with you."

The end of her outburst was softer, quieter than the rest. It was the first time she'd ever said it aloud and she was beginning to regret not saying it enough. She looked in his eyes, now hazy and threatening to close forever.

Summoning as much strength as he had left to use, he lifted himself up higher on her lap and brought his lips to hers.

And that was his way of saying that he loved her too.

She removed her hand from his chest and laced it with his other hand as she slumped down on the cold ground beside him. She shifted closer to him, foreheads against each other, hands laced, legs intertwined, blood mixing with each other, and hearts beating together in their own love song. They were one.

Just like light could not exist without darkness and good wouldn't survive without evil, she wouldn't live without him. He was her breath of fresh air, her oxygen. She was his ray of light, his life support.

And no matter what happened in the end, they'd always be in love.

Forget me not?…Never

…

The End

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A/N: I am so very sorry for the very later update. I cannot begin to apologize enough. I've been trying to get the ending right for the past nine months (my wastebasket is full of scrapped ideas) I am not happy with this ending either, but it feels sort of right. Who knew that my new boyfriend, a lazy/rainy Sunday afternoon, and a song called "Parade" (12th Naruto ending theme; very depressing and so is the ending animation) would cure my writer's block. Once I had the first few paragraphs down, I just wrote. And thus the final product. It's an open ender so you can jump to your own conclusions. Don't kill me. And sometime later I might rewrite this chapter or add another to show what happened to the other characters, but until then… ENJOY! Love you all very much and thank you for supporting this story. I wouldn't be here without you all! Thanks for your support and be sure to check out my other fiction (soon to update as well) The Heat of Summer Sunshine! Bye!