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This life, is it worth living without the one you love?

Only time can separate love.

The hardening feelings have etched themselves onto your heart,

Gripping it; suffocating it.

"I will not leave you alone, Sakura!"

A cry. Her cry.

A whimper is followed by the sounds of a cascading wind.

The rain that falls has stopped, but the ground is forever dampened.

Love will never touch the ground.

When one falls seven times; they stand up eight.

"Promise…?"

Silence.

"I promise."

Thump. Thump…Thu-

The sound of his harmonious voice faded in her ear as the room grew silent for a quick moment, her mind unable to register the events that had taken place. The man was leaning against her, his body a mere dead weight. Her heart skipped a beat as panic set into her system, her brain suddenly clicking on as she grasped his shoulders roughly, trying to shake him from what she hoped was a mere act.

Sasuke is not a joker…

Laying him on the bed, she felt for his head, her hand reaching out to clasp it as she grunted. Her lip moved under her teeth as she bit down, hard, her voice echoing into the room and entering the hallways.

"I need a nurse in here stat! This man is burning up!" The girl's voice rang in her ear before a noticeable sound of footsteps came from outside the door. The whitened wood swung open, a flurry of men and women in white filing in and grabbing necessary materials. Some tried to soothe her and carry her out the door, but, she refused, explaining her position as a doctor in Konoha hospital. Reluctantly, they allowed her to partake in the recovering of the Uchiha.

Sakura rolled up her sleeves, quickly washing her hands in the sink across the room while shouting out orders to the unfamiliar faces of the nurses. They complied, grabbing their gloves and watching her, waiting for her next command. Moving towards Sasuke, the girl moved her hair behind her, placing her cool hands on his now exposed chest. She began searching for a source of the poison, her eyes hard from concentration.

"I know it's here…If I can just ext-" The girl halted, her eyes widening as she found what she was looking for, her words moving from her mouth in rapid amounts.

"Get an IV in his arm! Hand me two bowls of water and the antidote we had made! Place it in the water and wait for it to settle! I have an idea" The others speedily complied, their bodies easily maneuvering around each other due to experience. Soon, her materials were gathered as her breath hitched in anticipation. She glanced at his bare chest, her jade eyes noting Sasuke's littered body. Scars of different shapes and sizes stuck to his skin in small and large markings, etched into his clear and paling coat. She gulped, her pink brows furrowing as she placed her hands in one bowl, pulling out a light green substance that surrounded her hands. She watched Sasuke's face for any sign of consciousness. When receiving none, she continued with her work, pushing the ball of liquid through his skin and dispersing it throughout his cells and organs. She noticed his body flinch from the sudden painful contact, but she commenced. She repeated it twice, stopping when Sasuke's breathing returned to normal as his somewhat tan color returned to his features, a happy sigh moving from the girl's lips as she sat in the chair beside his bed in exhaustion. A doctor approached her, placing his hand upon her shoulder as he looked down at her with a sympathetic smile.

"You should get some rest. That procedure you just preformed is one of the hardest poison healing techniques to perform." The verdigris eyed girl nodded, a strand of contrasting pink framing her heart shaped face as she let her hand rest in her palm tiredly.

"Sasuke…If only you knew the pain and happiness you trouble me with." Feeling heavy, her eyes shut as they were both engulfed in a peaceful silence.


A light haired man, whiskers engraved across his pinkened cheeks walked silently along a broken road, eyes set ahead of him. Sapphire clashed with the golden sun above, his breathing steady as his golden locks moved with the gentle wind. A small stream of air escaped his lips as he walked, his mind on the day's events. For this man, a strong willed, lovable, and loud-mouthed person, was troubled with the thoughts of his two teammates. He was giving up the one thing that has kept him striving since he was a mere boy.

"Sakura-chan…Sasuke-teme…"

His brows furrowed in frustration as he stuffed his hands in his pockets forcefully. Naruto let his feet drag a bit as the thoughts seemed to weigh down his very being. When they got together, would he be left behind? The idea plagued him as he tried to push the feeling of betrayal from his gut. Growling, he kicked a rock, his ears perking as the sound of it's skipping halted. His head rose, eyes showing confusion as they met amethyst orbs and darkened blue locks.

"Hello, Naruto-san." Naruto stood upright at the mention of his name being spoken so formally.

"Takashi? What are you doing here?" The man smirked, a small chuckle leaving his quirked mouth as he noticed the lack of respect the blonde exhibited. He ignored it and continued.

"I'm just taking a stroll…Where are your teammates, Naruto-san?" Naruto seemed confused by the question. It was almost obvious where Sasuke was. A small frown formed on his face, knowing he was most likely looking for Sakura, knowing fully well that she was his most recent romantic interest. Naruto shrugged as he moved to walk past Takashi.

"Hmph, Dunno. Why don't you lo-"His sentence was interrupted by a tug on his arm. He turned, looking at the man behind him in a questioning glance.

"Cherry blossoms are fragile. The wind is only gentle enough to keep it from hitting the ground…" With those words softly spoken, the blue haired man let go of the blonde, walking the direction from which Naruto came.


Tiredly, the sleeping girl sat next to her beloved, her arms entwined with one another as they rested upon the white sheets, her head tucked cozily onto them. A light click sounded behind the two, her jade eyes fluttering open as she rubbed a tired eye, slowly. Turning her head, she gave a small smile as she spoke softly.

"Hello Takashi-san…What are you doing here?" The girl gave him a questioning look as she tried to remove the tiredness encased in her voice. The amethyst eyes man gave a small wave as a greeting, his blue hair tossed to the side as he moved his hand to his other, clasping them together in front of his chest.

"I came to see how Sasuke-san was! How is the fellow doing, hmm? I heard he almost lost his life just a few hours ago!" The girl blinked surprisingly, not realizing that much time had passed since she had treated her teammate. The girl smiled, nodding slowly as she eyed the unmoving body of the Uchiha behind her.

"Yes…He came pretty close." Takashi stepped forward as the girl spoke, his eyes downcast towards her saddened figure.

"Don't worry Sakura-san, you've done a great job healing the boy." He placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her towards his being, much to the pinkette's surprise. Enveloped in a now tight hug, Sakura moved her arms towards the man's waist, reluctantly hugging him back. A small smirk quirked the corners of the rich man's lips as he stepped back, His arm around her shoulders as he gave her a friendly wink. "Come with me! We should celebrate your victory! I'll buy you dinner…I'm sure you're hungry after that ordeal, right, Sakura-san?" His words seemed enticing to the girl, her eyebrow slowly rising as she gave him a skeptical look, though slowly nodded an acceptance. He smiled, pulling her out the door.

"Perfect! Let's get going then!" He stated cheerily, his menacing grin going unnoticed by Sakura.

From behind closed doors, ruby eyes shot open, holding swirling commas as he moved his head towards the spot the two once stood.

"That little fucker…" Sasuke muttered to himself, his black eyebrows furrowing as he moved the sheet harshly from his being, slowly moving from his spot on the bed. It took him a quick moment before he was fully able to stand without the need for support from his bed. Grabbing his shirt, he moved to the white doors, putting his arms through the garment first before stepping out the door, covering his bandaged abdomen.

Stepping outside, the man ignored protests from the scolding nurses behind him. He watched in dismay as the two figures were no where to be seen. He cursed to himself in a flurry, kicking the dirt beneath him as he moved forward, his best bet: Finding Naruto.


Naruto grunted, slamming the porcelain cup onto the wooden table before him, his face red, his eyes, hazy.

"Gimme Anotha' one!" The man working behind the table looked at him, shaking his head as he grabbed the cup from him, his eyes showing his disappointment in the blonde before him. Naruto ignored it, giving him a rare glare as he scoffed.

"Stupid ass with a freakin' attitude…Imma kick his ass lata'" Naruto chuckled at his thought as the drink was set down before him, the glass full with a thin, clear liquid filled to the top of the glass. Naruto grabbed it roughly, putting it to his lips as he took a few sips as he savored the cold liquid covering his throat. His movements continued as he moved his hand to set the cup down in it's previous position.

When troubled with thoughts, he found himself acting like Tsunade, much to his dismay. Jiriya, when he was alive, always told him the consequences of drinking large quantities of alcohol.

"When you get old enough, don't go drinking like a fish like that old hag, Tsunade." Naruto laughed, holding his stomach as his teacher made fun of the current Hokage. Wiping a tear from his eye, he let his bright smile reach the face of his sensei, whom in return, chuckled at his naïve antics.

"Geez Pervy-sensei, you shouldn't be talking! You drink all the time! Not to mention you always get other women drunk so you ca-" His sentence was cut short by a blow to the top of the head. Groaning, the blonde held the now throbbing spot on his head. "Hey! What was that for?" Naruto paused, noticing the face of his sensei shifting from a fun loving man to a serious one, much to the boy's confusion.

"Don't let stupid things like alcohol effect your judgment, Naruto. That's what I mean when I say not to become like Tsunade…." His words trailed off as his thoughts were obviously of his old teammate. Naruto made a stubborn noise, wrapping his arms around one another and placing it over his chest.

"I'll never be that way, Sensei! Believe it!"

Naruto choked back tears at the memory, his blue eyes clearing as he rubbed his face, his vision becoming better as he sighed. A familiar aura pulled Naruto from his thoughts as he turned, his eyes widening as he stood from his spot on the stool, forcing it to topple over.

"Sasuke! What the hell are you doing out of the hospital so soon?" Sasuke grunted, a smirk forming on his face as he looked at his slightly drunken friend. His nose crinkled in disgust as he remembered the horrid smell of the strong substance. It was the same smell the girl's breath was when he kissed her, thinking it was in fact his pink haired teammate.

"Dope, you smell like shit. What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke paused, not waiting for an answer as Naruto blushed in embarrassment as he turned away, annoyed. He knew Naruto's response wouldn't be immediate. Because he didn't feel like waiting for the answer, he continued. "Have you seen Sakura? That Takashi guy took her from the hospital and I've been looking for them…He had a nasty smirk on his damn face." Sasuke grunted, clenching his fists that currently lay in the pockets of his baggy black pants. He blew a strand of black from his eyes as Naruto gave him a look of confusion and shock.

"N-no…Well, I mean I saw him before I got here. He said he was looking for you two…But I figured he was just looking for Sakura-chan…." Sasuke looked at Naruto in annoyance, anger flooding from his veins as his Sharingan activated. He lunged forward, grabbing the collar of his best friend's jacket as he shook him hard.

"You idiot! Why didn't you stop him? He's up to no good-the stupid little prick that he is!" His grasp loosened as he pushed the blonde from him, causing him to stumble due to his slightly foggy mind. Naruto coughed, giving his friend a furious expression.

"You're the idiot! If you were awake, why the fuck didn't you go after him!" Sasuke scoffed, looking at his feet in thought. Though Naruto was right, he refused to admit that Sakura's potential danger was partially his fault. He bit his bottom lip in frustration as his and Naruto's eyes met; clashing in anger and hurt.

"What should we do then…?" the ebony haired man asked his sapphire eyed friend. Naruto stood upright, dusting off his clothing before thinking in silence.

"I guess we'll have to split up, look for hotspots they could most likely be at…" Sasuke nodded, continuing off his friend's comment.

"Yeah…He said he was taking her out to dinner. Due to his social status, it's going to be the nicest place around here…" The two nodded as they gave each other reassuring smirks, before sprinting off in opposite directions.

The hunt begins…