Sasuke wakes reluctantly, not wanting to let go of that dream. It was the perfect happy ending he'd wanted for so long, and now knew he'd never have. Rolling to his side and curling up as pain claws at his chest and stomach, Sasuke allows himself to sob quietly, letting the misery out before it broke him. This was the third night in a row he'd had this dream, and each time it seemed to hurt a little more. Now however, it was the day team seven was due back from their mission. Sasuke hoped that would put an end to the dream. Kakashi wouldn't come to him, and nothing was going to change. The last of his hope fades away, crushed under the weight of his despair.

Pain and sobs racking his body, Sasuke curls up into the fetal position, arms wrapped around his knees. Forehead to knees, Sasuke cries until he can't cry anymore. Wrung out and beyond exhausted, Sasuke gladly lets the oblivion of a dreamless sleep claim him. When he wakes again, the first weak rays of sunlight are streaming in through his windows. Still emotionally drained, Sasuke can only lay in his bed staring at the window, letting the day pass as it would, just like he'd been doing for days now.

It occurs to Sasuke that even though his dream wouldn't become reality, after a month, there was a pretty good chance Sakura would come by on her way back in to check on him. Sasuke didn't want to see anyone, this was why he'd taken to staying on his room. To avoid Sakura however, he was going to have to leave his room. Glancing at the weak light coming in the window again, Sasuke decides that now would be the best time to head out. Even if there was anyone out this early, he could easily avoid them. Once he was outside of the village, hiding in the forest that surrounded Konoha would e simplicity itself.

Rolling out of bed, Sasuke grabs the last pair of shorts he'd worn from where he'd dropped them next to his bed. Pulling them on, he heads over to the door, pausing just long enough to pull his shoes on. In the next instant, Sasuke is out the door and running down the deserted road, heading for the gate of the village. Not having seen anyone in the village, Sasuke relaxes once he's stepped through the gates, disappearing into the trees. Jumping up, Sasuke lands on a low-hanging branch on the tree next to him. Not missing a beat, he continues to run, jumping from branch to branch, tree to tree. Winded, Sasuke stops several minutes later and drops down to sit on the branch he was standing on, leaning back to rest against the trunk of the tree. Closing his eyes, Sasuke concentrates on catching his breath, enjoying the distraction intense exercise was brining him.

Sasuke spends the entire day and half of the night running himself to exhaustion through the forest outside the walls of Konoha, then resting until he could do it again. When at last he returned to his room, he found a note from Sakura tucked under the edge of his door waiting for him. Ignoring the note, Sasuke steps over the bit of paper and into his room. collapsing fully clothed into his bed, Sasuke sleeps until first light, and again gets up before the village begins to stir and head back out into the forest for another day of running. Late that night he returned to a second note, and an accompanying flower. Again he stepped over them and into his room. He kept this up for a week, leaving himself to exhausted to dream, and effectively avoiding everyone. Sakura's notes continued and were sometimes accompanied by notes from Naruto as well.

After that first week, things changed abruptly and unexpectedly. His frenzied run through the forest was brought to a sudden stop when he found another ninja standing in his path. Jerking to a stop, he stands nearly panting, looking up slightly into the deep blue eyes of an older boy. The boy wore a leaf headband, but Sasuke wasn't sure he recognized him. A few moment's silent examination triggered a vague memory. This boy was one of the youngest Jounin in the village. Sasuke couldn't remember his name, but at that moment there were other questions on his mind.

"What are you doing?"

"Stopping you. I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you, but I don't feel like running all day long."

Sasuke is so caught off guard by this answer it takes him a moment to recover and reply. "What? Why the hell are you following me?"

"Your team hasn't seen you in a while, and they were starting to worry. Your sensei asked for my help. He thought he might be why you were avoiding your team."

Sasuke felt his heart clench at the mention of Kakashi. It was the first time in a week he'd felt pain. It was also the first time in a week he'd thought about the older man. Roughly, Sasuke pushes these thoughts aside. He was tired of hurting. He was tired of pining over his sensei. He needed to do something, change everything. It was time to move past all of this and start his life over new. Squaring his shoulders, Sasuke takes a better look at the ninja in front of him, deciding that he was cute enough to be tempting. Letting a small smile curl the corners of his lips upward, Sasuke lets himself relax, waiting until he's caught his breath before speaking again.

"He's the root of it, yeah, but he's not the only reason. I just haven't been feeling sociable. Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Kyousuke, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Kyousuke... I think I've heard of you. You're one of the youngest Jounin in the village. It's nice to meet you too. How do you know Kakashi-sensei?"

"Actually, I don't. He came to me because I'm particularly good at stealth missions."

Sasuke couldn't help but return the grin he was being offered. "Yeah, I noticed that. I could learn something from you."

The laughter his own joke received was a deep rumble that made goose flesh break out on Sasuke's arms, and something low in his stomach clench. Without meaning to or even thinking of it, Sasuke takes a step closer to the older boy, locking his own black eyes on the beautiful deep blue eyes of Kyousuke.

Kyousuke could almost feel the boy's attraction, and as those fathomless black eyes locked on his, he felt himself reacting. He could see the pain behind Sasuke's eyes though, and he had a pretty good idea of what caused that pain. Knowing this allowed Kyousuke to steel his will, holding his attraction to the boy in check. They would be friends, and nothing more. Kyousuke was fine with this. Attraction aside, he liked the boy already.

"I think this is the start of a wonderful friendship, Sasuke."