Hey buddies! Sorry for taking so long to update, I was MADLY occupied with my 30kisses -which have deadlines- and school, which takes over most of my time, so I...

Dun think I forgot how to write, ne?

ALL this chappie was written while at school, in the breaks between the lessons. And just so you know, the NaruSaku part is NOT a couple-ish part. I hate NaruSaku as a pairing, and besides, this is a NaruHina and SasuSaku fic, among the rest.

Number of A4 pages? 13.

jenny-r's date of birth on June. Akylina's account...her lucky number.

I hope yu like

I dun own Naruto.

Again, again, once again. Troubled by nightmares, Konohagakure's prince, Uchiha Sasuke sat up in his cold bed. He looked around, the hallow shadows that fell into his room, darkness everywhere, the only source of light being the wide open window that was so tall to reach the ceiling, the dark red curtain that were hanging parted, leaving the bluish light of the moon fall in with nothing standing in its way. He shook his head and his dark bangs fell in his eyes, hiding the obsidian orbs behind the prince's ebony strands.

Once again, after so many years he had seen it again. It came in his dream and he saw it. The silence. The cold. The darkness. Blood everywhere. The sound of the blade diving into flesh. Blood dripping. Bodies on the floor. And he weak. He is weak and panicked. He cannot do a thing. He s so small, so young and so afraid. His eyes are wide open with fear, he pleads, he cries, he calls their names, but they don't answer. The don't hear him. They can't.

"And then she says forget about revenge..." Sasuke murmured. How can he forget? His brother killed them. The massacre ruined and marked his life with an indellible scar. And he would never get over this feeling the witness of if his left inside him. Sorrow. Emptiness. Cold. Freezing cold that was enough to keep him from falling, cease him from crying and stop him from failing. He became incredibly strong and lived up until now to do what he was meant to.

"How can I forget?" Fingers wrapping around fabric, fists grabbing tight hold of the silky sheets, teeth clencched and his heartbeat bumping. It drives him crazy, but he cannot throw it away; he doesn't want to. "How can I forget what he did? HOW the hell am I supposed to survive in the world he left for me? How else?!" He grabbed his head and closed his eyes, tightly, so tight, he cannot forget.

"Brother?!"

A heartbeat.

"Brother, what's going on?"

A scared voice, trembling.

"Brother, stop!"

A whisper.

"Brother!"

A breath.

"Father! Mother! NO!"

A cry.

A scream. A life ruined. Sasuke the child is dead.

"I will no more be weak. I will find you. I will kill you with my bare hands I swore it and I'll do it Just wait."

The morning found her wandering around the streets of Konoha. The breeze blew through her hair, it was a bit cold, but she didn't seem to mind. She found her feet taking her to the house of a certain someone, a certain friend. Even though there was already three months since she had came back, he seemed to be the only one who hadn't noticed. She had missed him, a bit more than her other friends. A bit more, but still, less than him. Less than Sasuke.

She reached the aging building and walked up the stairs, to reach the lone room where the blond fox-boy lived. Once she stepped right in front of his door, she looked around at the small balcony, still not deciding to raise her hand to knock.

"Quite the decisive person you are, ne Sakura?" he Inner self mocked her.

"I guess I'm doing my best to keep up!" Sakura murmured. But even this little convo with Inner Sakura did the small bit of its job, and motivated her. Her arm extended from her body and her fingers gently tapped on the wooden door.

"Coming!" A loud reaply came from the inside and she smiled. He obviously hadn't changed at all.

Although, what she would see, the one she was going to face, the words she was going to say still frightened her. Away for so long, so long...How is he going to react now? And the door opened.

The blond's bangs fell in his face, his forehead protector probably left somewhere inside. His deep blue eyes were wide open in surprise, awe consuming him, his jaw dropped at the sight of the pink-haired blossom in front of him.

"S...Sakura-chan??"

"Hey Naruto..."

"Sakura-chan..." The fox-boy still couldn't believe what was laid in front of his very eyes.

"It's been three months since I came back and...You didn't seem to notice, so...Can I come in?"

"SAAAAKURA-CHAAAAAAN! YOU CAME BACK! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"

"Uh...I'm glad to see you too, Naruto...But there's no need to shout...?"

"Uuuh, yeah..Come in! Why haven't you told me before?" Naruto contunued, still loudly.

"Well, since it's three months...I thought you knew, and you just didn't want to see me in your eyes." Sakura mumbled hesitently.

"Whaaaat?" Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor. "Why would I even think like that, Sakura-chan? You're a friend that I thought I lost and I missed you! And I'm really, really, really glad that you came back!" The blond's smile had reached his ears, and his eyes were gleaming with happiness like the surface of the sea when the sun hit sit. Sakura simled at him too, putting her greatest efforts to keep her composure and tell Naruto everything. She would either start herself, or he would ask, sooner or later.

"Naruto, I--"

"So, Sakura-chan, where were you? What have you been doing all these three years?"

And now that she had just thought of it!

"Well...First of all, I killed Uchiha Itachi and then Tsunade kind of "exiled" me, so I went to the Mist. But three months ago, they said they'd be allies to Suna, so I came back." Her immediate honesty scared even her. Her eyes stayed unchanged though, and only a blank expression, similar to that Sasuke used to wear on came to her face.

"Wait, wait...WHAT?! You...You killed an Uchiha? And...Itachi? Why? Sasuke-teme doesn't know! And why did Tsunade-baa exile you?" Naruto was more surprised than ever.

He was a slow one for sure.

"Well..." THe choking between her words. She knew it would come, sooner or later. "I killed Itachi because...he...r..-Did something horrible to me, just to part me and Sasuke...But Sasuke doesn't know he's dead...Don't rush to tel him, though...Tsunade would eat me alive if...Well, and ust because I killed "a person of Konoha, even an exiled one" she consiedered the fact of banning me from the kingdom the most possible solution...And when I came back, she wanted to exile me, but Shikamaru defended me and so now here I am."

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto sat down on his bed beside her. She wasn't on the verge of tears, strangely enough for the Sakura he knew. He looked up to her, she surely had changed.

"And just because I know you want to know, deep inside, I will tell you why I killed Itachi. Even if Tsunade and Shikamaru said it should be a secret between us three, I want you to know..But..." Sakura stopped and turned to face Naruto. He was confused, for sure, but his eyes were telling her that her secret would be safe with him.

"If it's a secret, then I'll cherish it as my own, Sakura-chan! No one will know!"

"Thank you, Naruto...You have to know that no one, no one and especially Sasuke can know, and you have to be extra careful if you talk to him about me."

"Uh...Alright Sakura-chan...If you say so."

"Believe me, once you get to know...You won't believe me."

"Hm...But you still haven't told me...So I don't know how I'll react." Naruto scratched his head.

"You're right..." Sakura said fidgeting her fingers together, her eyes fixed onto them. Looking up to her friend, she sucked in a breath and spoke. "I killed Uchiha Itachi because in his sickening desire to part me from Sasuke, he raped me." The steadiness in her voice, the flow of emotions in her words, her eyes keeping contact with his wide opened ones. Naruto didn't even move, or avert his eyes from Sakura's.

"What?" His hand on his lap, his fist clenched, his brows furrowed. No screaming, no shouting, no loud reactions. "Hm.." His eyes were saying he was thinking. "That bastard. He keeps on hurting the people I love. He's lucky he's dead. You did a great job killing him, Sakura-chan. You've rid the world from one of the bad guys. From the most worthless piece of shit." He looked up into her eyes again and now smiled. "I knew you'd do something great one day, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto..." Sakura smiled. She had hoped for such a reaction from his side, and now thaqt she got it, she was glad.

"Naruto...I've got to ask you...About Sasuke..." Sakura raised her head and looked around at the blond boy's room, as if searching for the one survivor of the Uchiha clan, or any sign of him even stepping in here.

"Sasuke...What about him?" Sudden;y, Naruto's tone had become cold.

"What has he been doing all this time? Were you still in the team, with Kakashi-sensei?"

"Well...Some time before you come, we kind of...almost killed each other." Naruto's voice faded.

"What? Why?" He worried eyes came back and her face returned to the sweet concerned blossom she was back then.

"Hmm...Let's just say that we quit being so friendly to each other...We can't considear each other "best friend" anymore...Wel, it was a mistake of both. Events, the words, and we ended up on the rooftops, punching each other. Look, here." he said and pulled his shirt at the point of his neck. A sharp wound that was probably still bleeding from time to time, still healing, was there, laying from the back of his neck to his collarbone, almost adorning the tanned skin. "That's what's left to me, apart from the bruises that already faded."

"...If...if it's still healing, even...Even on you...What did you two fight for? How did he manage to do this?" Sakura's fingers were on her lips, her eyes wide open.

"I payed him the same, don't worry! You must have noticed, Sakura-chan." There was a bitterness in his voice that could mean only one thing. "Do you still love him, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked up surprised, not daring to look at him directly. She couldn't tell herself, whether she still felt the same towards Sasuke. "...I...I don't know, I love...I lvoe many people, and Sasuke in many ways...But...In the way you mean it...I..I don't know. I really don't. And I don't know him anymore, after all this time and what he did..."

"And...At least, am I still one of your best friends?"

"Since you support and believe in me, and you're by my side, you are my best friend, Naruto."

"Do you still trust me, Sakura-chan?"

"Do you?"

"Of course!"

"I do too."

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke has changed. Tsunade told me he's in m,uch danger. He...His body tries to automatically break the seal Kakashi-sensei placed upon the curse. And if he does break it...He probably won't be able to control it." Naruto's solemn look didn't drop.

"But...But why?"

"They say he's pressured...His birthday is coming up, and it's the deadline for him to find a girl to marry him, just for him to become King...So be careful, Sakura-chan. Don't follow him, if he asks you something like that. He'll use even you. He doesn't really love you." The blond responded.

Sakura blinked.

"What..Why?"

Naruto looked at her, confused.

"You ask why? He's slowly but steadily losing control, Sakura-chan. Even if you wish to help him, he might hurt even you. And Tsunade-baa told me that if he indeed loses control, he will be recognising no one, not even those he now holds most dear." Naruto talking like that. Something had changed, for sure.

"And what...What i will do is my own decision, Naruto. Thank you for your advice. For helping me and for telling me everythng. But if indeed things are this way, I know and you do too, deep down, that my heart will not allow me to ignore Sasuke. We'll both have to help him." This time, even though there was no particular reason, she was crying, silently, not letting her sobs take over, but the flood of tears in her eyes and those running down her cheeks were more than enough. Her voice trembled in her last words and she brought her hands to her face, unable to control herself anymore.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto gasped, and then wrapped his former teammate in his arms. Her tears were falling on his hands and fingers, but he could see she was silently trying to cease them and stop. "All these tears for that bastard..."

"Naruto...Please--"

"Gomen, Sakura-chan. But you know now what we think of each other..."

"I wouldn't say that. Please promise me that no matter what happens, you'll help. Please..."

Naruto's brows furrowed. Surely, Sasuke used to be his best friend. True, they had fought; Sasuke had started it. He still thought of him the same as before. If something happened to him, Sakura would be sad. He would be sad, both for letting Sasuke down and disappointing Sakura. He didn't want this.

"Look, Sakura-chan...I can't promise I certainly will do something, but I can swear that I'll try. I'll try, I can promise that!"

Sakura smiled, and in his embrace, she could feel her previous warmth comng back to her. She looked up, to him, to his smiling face, that again, again had that idiotic grin of his on, letting her know it was alright.

"Everything will somehow be okay, right?" She asked.

"Aa! If we put our best in it, they will!"

"Thank you, Naruto. Thanks." She felt him giving her a last tight hug, and then let go of the embrace. She stood up, getting ready to go. "I guess I'll just...See you around?"

"Ehgee...It's a bit hard to wander around and not fall on me!" The blond's grin reached his ears. "Goodbye, Sakura-chan!"

"Goodbye Naruto."

And she stepped out.

Her conversations with Naruto had made some things clear in her mind. She may have had her love for Sasuke locked up inside for long,, but her will to help him and her feelings for him were way above what others told her to act towards him. She had made her decision, and it was her final. She would help him, no matter if she would have to strain herself or not. She didn't care even if she would have to get hurt, or die for him.

She wanted to rebuild the few little things they had in the past. She wouldn't admit it to even herself, but it was unfair, she thought, for Sasuke to be parted from her so viciously just because of his brother's twisted will.

She found her feet taking her directly to the palace.

Strange thing how she couldn't control her own limbs today.

But she did want to go to the palace. She did want to see him. After that one time she went to check up on him, she hadn't seen him, just a few times when he returned from battles. And the truth is that she wanted to discuss what she had learned from Naruto with him.

And so, even when Inner Sakura screamed "no" making it painful for her to think, she kept walking towards the shelter of the last Uchiha in life.

Or at least, she hoped for him to be the last Uchiha in life.

Tha palace garden had changed from the last time she had seen it. Not very much, but still changes were changes, and notable ones! The rose trees had finally bloomed and the scent they released in all the garder could be fatal for someone not used to it. The fragrance matched the changed scenery, that included now little sulptues in the shape of the previous Kings and Queens, as well as the Hokages, and right in the middle of the garden, the big marble-made fountain was surrounded by an ivory-like kind of jasmine, which released the smell that reminded her of everything she lived, felt, thought and breathed in at the past six years. All her memories returned and flashed in her mind at once, and she felt a chill running down her spine. So many memories...

So many dreams that were never to be fullfilled...So many things left undone, so many words left unspoken...All their expectations were turned down, and they tried and failed. There was a problem already, alright, because she was just a random girl in Konohagakure and he was the King's son. Typical set for a fairytale, but this was their life, not a fairytale. The society was parting them. But they worked it out together and got over it, Sakura with tears and Sasuke cold and sober. And now Sakura was afraid, and she couldn't tell where that growing fear was gushing up from. She only knew that she was afraid of the words she would address to him, of the reflections of her words on his face, of his reaction...Most of all, how would she be able to look up to his face, withouth drowning in the dark ebony depths of his eyes.

"Will you back off now? And I thought you finally made up your mind!" Inner Sakura intruded."Just go on, scaredy cat!" she mocked her, with the very same nickname Sasuke used for Naruto when they were Genins.

Inner Sakura had become both bossy and extremely irritating today.

But the one to motivate her as well.

Sakura walked on the stone-made path among the flourished garden and reached the entrance; the guards standing right and left looked rather funny than scary. Even though she still had the traces of tears from before on her cheeks, Sakura couldn't help but smile, once seing them.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Is the prince inside?" She put on her mask and begun, her hands folded behind her back.

The guards looked at each other, not sure if they had to asnwer a yes or a no. The prince had told them not to let any fangirl, and girl at all enter, unless it was a medical nin sent from Tsunade. Bu the Fifth had told them to ignore their orders. And when the Uchiha boy had learned it, overraged, he threatened them, telling them that if they dared disobeying him, they would not only lose their jobs, but their heads as well.

Seriously, that summer-born boy didn't like trespassers.

And so now they were trying to balance the two statements of the Fifth and the prince.

"Um...Do you have some job here, miss?"

"Uh...As a matter of the fact, it seems that I do...I came to check up on the prince. I've got a permission signed from Tsunade-sama." Sakura said and begun searching in her pockets, to seem more convincing.

"Oh...It's alright then miss, if Godaime-sama has sent you, you don't need papers to get through. You're free to pass."

"Thank you, gentlemen."

How naive! And she hadn't even used a genjutsu on them! She passed inside. That lie would have only fooled a kid and yet they believed it! Now she knew that Sasuke was not so safe, even inside his own house.

She was only looking at her feet as she was wandering around the halls and long corridors, and so she didn't notice the changes inside as well. Only when she finally reached his door did she raise her head, and took a deep breath, and raised her hand to the doorknob, and turned it. Once the small "click" sound that assured her of the dooropened was heard, she almost took a step back.

"Now or never!" Inner Sakura screamed inside her head. Seriously, if she were alive, Sakura would have killed her inner.

She pushed the door and entered the dark room. It was almost noon, yet the room gave the impression of these hollow hours of dawn. A bluish light was sitting on everything, obviously the curtains were not opened yet.

Sakura walked further in and noticeed that his bed was messy, like some fight had taken place there. Some of his pillows were torn and the sheets as well, feathers here and there, a kunai somewhere in the mess and...

A few blood drops on the sheets.

Sakura brought her hand to her mouth. If THAT was how his bed was, then how was HE? Tha blood drops were extended to the floor as well, she noticed. And then, as she walked towards them, a wave of cool air hit her, and her hair fell in her face. She brought her hand to her forehead and looked at the direction where the breeze came from. That window was slightly opened, and its curtains were now slightly moving, and Sakura saw that someone was sitting on the inside of the window sill.

She walked carefully over to where that someone sat and pulled the curtain to the left.

It was him.

And from what she could see now, the window was wide opened.

He turned his head at once to look at the intruder, ready to shout anyone out. But when his eyes met her, he froze.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, holding his left arm behind his head.He seemed to just have it there as a "pillow" for his head not to rest directly on the cold marble, yet Sakura could tell he was trying to hide something.

Maybe the bleeding limb?

That was it. No more lies. It was the moment of truth.

"I went to see Naruto earlier. And don't tak that look with me, Sasuke." she added when he grimaced in disapproval. "He told me you fought...And some more things that Tsunade either hid or did not want to tell us both. It is more about you than me, though."

"Oh yeah?" She had captured his attention, but he couldn't drop the ironic tone in his voice so easily. "And what did that moron tell you?"

"Take me seriously for once in your life, Sasuke, will you? You'd do me a great favor!" she exploaded. "It's about the curse seal!"

Did he even blink when the words left her lips?

Sakura brought her hands to her forehead in frustration and sat beside him, trying to steam off. But was he playing with her or not, he didn't seem to help her do it.

"Oh...I see." He murmured. So apathetic! Even HE was not SO stoic!

"And if this motivates you at all, I know about your deadline as well." Sakura murmured, this time more silently. And that did have some effect on him, finally.

"Who told you?" Sasuke asked, immediately losening. And when he realised that she had sat next to him, he repeated loudly. "Who told you!"

"Naruto. Naruto told me everything, and from the facts I can tell that he added nothing of his own in his explanations. So you can't hide from me. You wouldn't be able to even if Naruto hadn't told me a word. Are you losing your control over the seal?" she asked, putting effort in keeping her voice steady.

"That dumpface...Who does he think he is?" Sasuke muttered, loud enough for Sakura to hear him. "He jumped to the wrong conclusion again..."

"No, he didn't. That is not something he made up, Tsunade told him. You can doubt anyone, but not Tsunade. We both know that you can hide form anyone but her. So answer me honestly."

"Can I do else?" Sasuke answered with a mocking tone in his voice. "I may be losing it. So what?"

"So what? So what you say? Do you know what's going to happen if you get worse? Do you? Are you even curious to know how serious it is, what damage has it brought to you?"

"Too overreacting and dramatic to believe you."

"For once in your life take it seriously! I am a girl, how did you expect me to speak? We're talking about your own boydy, your own mind!"

"It's not like I care, anyway."

"That's the point, Sasuke! You never care for anything. You never take anything seriously, you only greedily seek power so you can have your revenge...But it's time for you to learn that you no more need to feel that hatred for your brother."

Sasuke looked up to meet her eyes. His were hard and his explression had changed to the coldest of his colder ones.

"And who do you think you are to try to be the one who will talk me out of it? Who do you think you are?" He shouted, right in front of her.

"The one who killed him for you."

"Yeah, right...What?" He turned and looked at her, seeking the truth not in her voice, her words, but her eyes.

And she fearlessly looked back to him, a strength she didn't know she owned, not afraid of his eyes anymore. He could read everything in her if he wanted, and she didn't have a problem letting him do it.

"Why...Lie...Tell me it is a lie..." He felt like everything around him was spinning, falling, like the solid ground was shattered suddenly and he was falling, deep, down, in the darkness.

"No, it's not a lie. And I'll tell youwhy I kille dhim. I had three reasons, two of my own and one about us both. And trust me, they are not just any reasons." Sakura sucked in a breath and continued. "Surely you remember the problems we had when we wanted to be together. The king's son with just a random girl? Not happening! Both Tsunade and the rest of people, all the kingdom's society was against our decision. And it seems that so was your brother. About a month before I disappeared, I was sent into the forest to gather some herbs and other plants that we needed in the medical centre. The forest...I have many great memories in there from our old team, and the worst of all as well, thanks to Itachi. He didn't like the fact that you were trying to fix your life and build new dreams, I guess...So he felt like destroying everything again, this time targetting the only one you seemed to mostly care about at that time, me. He found me wandering around alone in the forest, would he miss such a chance to harm me? He raped me and then left, just like that. Seems like he knew I woldn't want to be with you after something like that. Who knows? The point is that he had guessed right, and he wanted to part us, and he got his wish. Some time after that, I realised that I was pregnant and seeed him, secretly, not letting anyone know of anything that had happened to me. I found him and battled him, then killed him. I came back and since Tsunade saw me in the mess I was, I told her everything. She bannd me from here but did not exile me because of what I've been through. I had been wandering around in the forest and the hills out there, and without realising it, I had reached the Mist. Or at least, the lands and forests around it. I gave birth to Itachi's child but abandoned it somewhere out there, and since I couldn't come back home, I've asked for shelter in the Mist. That's all that happened until that one time I cured you after the battle. That's why I was missing, that's why I killed Itachi, that's why I will now ask you to forgive me. I may havee brought more pain or emptiness than him" Sakura had finally told him all the truth, everything that happened, but even though she had explained every little thing and felt somehow relieved, her fear of his reaction still bugged her.

Not a single breath had left her lips after her last word. Not a single tear had appeared in her eyes, those emerald orbs that now were filled with worry and looking directly at his own ebony ones.

He seemed to be lost in his own little world though; like every word Sakura had uttered had placed another brick on this invisible walls he lifted around him. The cold in his eyes had disappeared and now in the solemn dark depths of obsidian poolsonly emptiness was reflected. An emptiness that Sasuke could somehow tell made him need to feel, and this need scared him, he was so afraid of it, because it made him remember his old feelings, and that fear made him weak, weak again.

He didn't want to be weak again. He needed to be strong. And the fear would only go away if he had a comfort. If he opened up and tried to keep someone by his side. Now there was no one to cease him from doing it.

"Won;t you say anything?" Sakura asked, her eyes begging for an answer.

But he didn't reply.

You must hate me now...I took your dream from you. I killed a member of your family too. I am no better than him." She continued, and stood up. "I shall leave now. I'm sorry, I won't bother you again. I guess Tsunade was right, I should have stayed out of your life." she said and took a step, but could not continue.

He had caught her hand.

"Sakura..."

And he stood up, and turned her to face him.

"...Will you marry me?"

And he kissed her.

Done, done, done! Done, finally done! Oh my, you have no idea how my heart bumps right now! I can barely breathe! I'm serious!

Maybe it is because I hadn't written a good SasuSaku chappie for long...

please tell me if you liked it! Skip the NaruSaku part, it's FRIENDSHIP and NOT couple-ish!

List of songs on mp3 player while writting it:

Staind - Right here, Coldplay - Fix You, Skillet - Whispers In The Dark, Red Jumpsuit Apparattus - You Guardian Angel, Hoobastank - Remember Me, AFI - Prelude 12/21, Within Temptation - The Howling, Adema - Do you Hear Me, Lacuna Coil - Enjoy The Silence, Hoobastnak - If Only, Within Temptation - Forgiven, Lacuna Coil - Unspoken, Emery - Studying politics, Seether - Broken, Thousant Foot Krutch - Hurt, Nightwish - Come Cover Me (live), Within Temptation - The Heart of Everythng, Thousant Foot Krutch - Stranger, Breaking Benjamin - Saturate