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Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim Naruto.

One Hundred Moments

Chapter 011: Stars

Sakura couldn't sleep.

It was because of the fact that this was not her usual resting place, she was sure. The sleeping bag she lay on was terribly overused from her previous missions, and had grown deflated and uncomfortable as a result. To her, it would have been better to sleep on the twiggy, dirty forest floor.

She groaned sullenly, before sitting up lethargically. She lifted heavy eyelids, taking in what was the still forest. All around her, there were tall trees, so dense that nothing could be seen behind them. She knew thee were animals lingering in the trees, for there was an occasional rustling, and the sound of owls.

She sighed— normally, this would have been a peaceful situation, one that could put her to sleep in an instant. But…

…she just wasn't feeling it.

She rubbed her bare arms, as they had began to grow slightly numb. It was cool where they were (too cool for comfort), and the breeze that blew almost silently added to the chill. The fire had also almost burned out completely, so it served to be useless.

Absentmindedly, she glanced around the temporary camp, observing her teammates in their slumber. Over to her left was… Nara Shikamaru, she remembered. The man with absolutely zero drive. It was a wonder as to why Tsunade had sent him with them (And as team leader, she noted enviously) but apparently, his intelligence quotient surpassed two hundred. Sakura had yet to see it.

Then, she glanced at Sasuke, who tying with his back to her. Sasuke had come a long way, she thought to herself. Somehow, someway, the man—(no, the boy, the teenager, she suddenly remembered. He was only seventeen, but he fooled her a lot of the time) had managed to escape Orochimaru's clutches. She was happy to see him around the village again, and certainly happy that he hadn't changed very much.

She also knew that Sasuke had been apprehensive to go on this mission in the first place. A D-Ranked delivery mission… He hated wasted time, and she knew he felt like he was doing just that.

Smiling softly to herself, she slipped out of her sleeping bag silently, crawling over to his sleeping form. Hopefully, he was a deep sleeper. That way, she could steal a few minutes of observing him. Only a few minutes, she reassured herself.

When his deep voice reached her ears, her stomach did flips. She blushed, thought she hadn't done anything as of yet. The medic paused— perhaps it was only the wind. She waited for any further noise.

"Sakura," he spoke again. The girl sighed dejectedly, and continued to crawl to the side of his head.

"Sorry Sasuke-kun," she apologized, sitting in the dirt at his side. Sakura eyed the back of his head, seeing that he wasn't going to make eye contact anytime soon. "I didn't know you were awake."

"What you doing?" He asked, but didn't seem to actually be awaiting an answer. Sasuke sat up, stretching his tight muscles. With a turn of his head, his eyes meet her. "This is a mission, Sakura. It's no time to be fawning over me while I sleep."

"I…" I wasn't. She wanted to say, but couldn't, because she knew it was a lie. It wasn't everyday that she had a chance to be in his sleeping presence, so if she was able to catch just a glimpse of him, it would last her a lifetime.

He was fully aware of how she faltered, though he didn't acknowledged it. Hurting her feelings was the last thing on his mind. But still… seeing her crestfallen expression struck a slight chord within him.

"Sorry," she repeated, "I wasn't trying to wake you. I was just growing restless, so I needed to move my legs."

A blatant lie. How did she expect him to believe that? Sakura never was a good liar. Maybe it was because it just didn't suit her, and she actually cared about people's feelings.

"And," she suddenly added, her face creasing into a scowl. She continued, "I was not fawning over you. You're not worth my attention."

"Hn." He honestly didn't want to get into that conversation again.

"Will you stop trying to win the argument?! You could at least let me win, at least, what with all you put me through! Stop with the arrogan—" Her rant was halted when Sasuke abruptly placed a hand over her mouth. The male teenager spared the team leader a glance, and was relieved when the male continued his loud snoring. His onyx eyes shot back to Sakura when he felt her face heat up.

Sakura frowned at his action, even though (she hated to admit it) his touch was enjoyable. A warm calloused hand over her face, (especially his hand) she couldn't suppress a blush. He smirked, and she was sure it was because he knew she was blushing.

"That's childish, Sakura," he said shortly after, rubbing the palm of his hand against his sleeping bag.

Yeah, I damn right licked your hand! And there's more tongue where that came from!

"If that's all, then go back to sleep."

"Wait!" Sakura screamed. Sasuke frowned at her loudness. "Oh, sorry, but I had to talk to you. About…"

"About?" he stressed sternly.

She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Stars…" she trailed off, absentmindedly looking upward.

"Stars?" his voice was disbelieving.

It was about to happen again: she would talk to him about stars, explaining how they were just like her, and how they were an important part of philosophy. She had done clouds, flowers, water, starfish, grass and wind already, so stars was a given.

"Yeah…" She said breathlessly, watching the twinkling above in the dark violet. Stars were visible in the city as well, but seeing the in the wild was a completely different experience. "…stars are always just there…" Sasuke inaudibly sighed. "They're so beautiful sometimes, that we think we're able to stare at them forever… but the truth is, they'll only disappear in the morning. They won't be available forever…"

After a moments pause, she hastily glanced down at Sasuke.

"Stop reading so far into stars, Sakura," he spat suddenly, tearing his gaze away from her blushing face. The fact that she had said that to him angered him to a degree. "Stars are

gaseous masses in space. They don't disappear in the morning: when the sun comes up they are unable to be seen because of it's brightness. Eventually, they collapse within themselves and explode into nothingness, and are afterwards quickly forgotten. It's that simple, Sakura. They hold no further meaning."

The man lay back down, once again facing away from her. That should shut her up for one night… at least.

"You're right…" Sakura mutter softly. "Sorry again for bothering you." She began to crawl back to her sleeping area.

"Stars are annoying."

The rest went unsaid, but she heard what he had to say.

Owari

Authoress' Note: I wrote this a while ago, and I'm not sure I like it. Whiny Sukura is dislikable, and smartass blunt Sasuke is rather dislikable also. Yeah, well.