Hey friends, welcome back to the saga of Sakura and Sasuke. Sorry for the wait: I had some health and life issues, though thankfully, I am doing much better now :) Also, this chapter was wicked hard to write. I actually printed it out and kept the rough draft by my bedside table, furiously scribbling revision notes and new passages when I could steal a few minutes before bed. Special thanks to both fanofthisfiction and Sakura's Unicorn for beta'ing. You each had unique and awesome things to add and fix!
Since it's been a little while since I updated, I thought I'd offer you guys a CONTEST PRIZE. There's going to be a mystery at the end of the chapter. The first person to guess the answer to the question in their review wins a SasuSaku one-shot:) If you win, you'll pick three words to be the title of the story. Leave your guess in your review!
And now, enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-One: Steal My Dreams
Sakura wondered if she should pinch herself but didn't dare because if this was a genjutsu, she never wanted to wake up. Sasuke held her close and, with her ear pressed to his chest, she could hear his heart beating a wild rhythm that matched her own. He had kissed her! She closed her eyes and leaned into his embrace. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she couldn't understand why because she had never been so happy.
He loved her. That kiss hadn't lied, and his heart thundering in her ears told her it was true.
They held each other for a long time, Sakura's arms wrapped tightly around Sasuke as if she would never let him go. Then, still clinging to each other, they walked down the garden path, lanterns casting golden halos over their heads. She twined her arm around his waist while his arm encircled her shoulders, a comforting weight. They didn't speak; they didn't have to.
By the arching gates strung with paper lanterns, they paused under the sheltering canopy of a blossoming cherry tree. Sasuke turned to Sakura and kissed her and kissed her, his lips finding purchase on her neck, her ear, her lips. A breeze blew softly through the branches, dusting them with shimmering snow and pink blossoms.
Sakura felt like she was floating, flying, soaring high into the starry night. She ran her fingers through Sasuke's thick hair, twisting the unruly locks and drawing him closer, deepening the kiss.
When they parted, Sakura gasped for breath. She almost asked him what had changed, but she snapped her jaw shut and instead, nuzzled into the crook of his neck. She was afraid that if she spoke, she would break the spell. She closed her eyes and brushed away the last of her tears. To calm herself, she inhaled deeply, the faint smell of snow mixing with the scent of flowers perfuming the air.
She took his arm in hers once more and leaned her head on his shoulder, letting him lead her through the streets sparkling with snowmelt. In the distance, a song echoed from a bar, though it was impossible to place the tune, garbled as it was by distance and drunkenness.
Everything looked so beautiful tonight, as if each house, each tree, each cobblestone shone with an inner light. It was like she was seeing everything for the first time: the full moon hanging low in the sky, veiled by violet clouds; the fluttering of streamers on festival stalls closed for the night.
Even the trash in the street took on new beauty, like the red candy wrapper rattling as it danced over the cobblestones. The breeze gusted down the street, blowing the aroma of burnt sugar and fried dough from the shuttered festival booths. The night was magical.
Sakura could feel Sasuke looking at her, making her skin prickle. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she met his gaze. For the first time, his expression was unguarded. It was like looking into a still pool, and she was able to see clearly into the liquid depths of his eyes. He loved her. He loved her, he loved her, he loved her. Her heartbeat quickened. He ran his fingertips along her jaw; she kissed his palm.
Was it possible to die of happiness? Her heart was so full of joy, she thought it might burst. How many long, lonely years had she waited for this moment? Now that it was happening—no longer a dream, but really, truly happening!—she was dizzy with emotion and more intoxicated than she had ever been.
A smile touched her lips at the thought. She recalled a time just after the war when a medical nin had tended her wounds. First, the oozing acid burns on her skin had been soothed with a healing balm, bringing such intense, cooling relief, Sakura had thought she might faint. Then her battered system had been flooded with healing chakra, so sweet and cool to her injured body, she had been lifted into a state of euphoria. She had helped her comrades win the war, and Sasuke had returned to Team Seven. She could finally and completely allow herself to relax.
If that healing had been exhilarating, then this moment with Sasuke was that multiplied by a thousand. This wasn't just Sasuke returning to their squad—Sasuke was returning to her. She grinned, even as tears brimmed her eyes.
Sasuke tilted his head, looking at her with bird-like intensity as if he was wondering what she was thinking. Then he leaned forward and kissed her again, his breath becoming her breath. All the years of loneliness fell away from her as she leaned into his caress. If she died tomorrow—if the world ended once and for all—she would truly have no regrets.
It seemed to take no time at all to walk to Sasuke's house. He led her inside, the door creaking open. They didn't turn on the lights. The outer layer of Sakura's kimono fell somewhere on the stairs, the inner layer, on the second-floor landing. Though her fingers shook, she managed to tumble the fine silk of Sasuke's garments by the open door to his bedroom.
This was another kind of dance, no different from sparring or the dance in the garden. Except, there were no weapons and no music. No words. Not until the end, when they lay tangled in each other's arms, Sakura's head pillowed on his bare chest.
"I love you," she said, leaning up to whisper into the hollow of his neck.
He bent towards her and kissed the corner of her mouth. It was enough.
#
Sasuke's eyes closed, his arm resting on the curve of Sakura's waist, her body curled up against his. He fell into a deep sleep and dreamed.
He was walking to his home, the front flowerbeds teaming with spring blossoms, the aroma of baking bread wafting out from the open windows. He heard laughter coming from inside, and he smiled, feeling a contentedness he had not experienced since childhood.
"Tadaima," he called as he removed his shoes by the door. He heard a squeal and the thunder of tiny feet before a child burst into view, her face beaming with happiness.
"Papa!"
He scooped her up and grinned. Sakura stepped out from the kitchen, wiping her flour-dusted hands on her apron before flinging her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek. "Welcome home, honey."
This felt…right. This was how it should be.
He was home.
#
Sakura fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. But as the night drew on, she tossed and turned as dreams plagued her.
She found herself on the moon again, high up in a tower of Toneri's palace. Her leg was held captive in the chakra-resistant manacle once more. The huge, floor-to-ceiling windows dwarfed her as she peered out at the horizon. She turned her face to the false sun illuminating the jagged face of the planet, outlining its steep dunes and stone spires. Nothing moved in the barren landscape. The silence that settled over her was heavy and suffocating.
She crept as close to the window as her chains allowed, scanning the distance for a rider who would never come for her.
"Sasuke…" The name escaped her lips with a sigh. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She did not bother to wipe them away.
#
Enemies surrounded Sasuke, but he wasn't afraid. Broken and bleeding as he was, he knew he could kill them. But he also knew that he might die trying.
Overhead, the moon was a pale sickle half-hidden by the clouds. Even in this dim light, he had no trouble seeing his enemies, men cloaked head to foot in swathes of black shadow. The only portion of their faces he could see clearly were their eyes whirling red with stolen Sharingan. He would kill these impostors and avenge his clan.
The enemy shinobi tensed, ready to attack again when one lone figure strode forward. He was taller than the rest but thin, his cloak hanging at odd angles as if he was nothing more than bones. He raised one skeletal finger to the starless sky, and the rest parted before him and hung back, their red eyes never leaving Sasuke.
"Give up," the leader boomed.
Sasuke spat on the dry ground and stalked forward, each footstep raising clouds of silvery dust. "I'll give up when I'm dead."
The man chuckled, a grating sound, his eyes glinting a bloody red. "But will you give up before she dies?" The enemy drew back his cloak with a flourish, revealing Sakura's limp form in his arms. He pressed a kunai against her neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
Sasuke froze, every muscle in his body taut. The color drained from his face.
The enemy laughed again, pressing the blade tighter against Sakura's throat. Three drops of blood fell from the tip of his knife to splatter in the dust. "Give up, Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke trembled, rage and panic flooding him. His vision swam with red as his scream reverberated into the still night.
#
"Mama, when is Papa coming home?" Sakura's daughter asked. Two dark eyes gazed up at her, questioning.
Sakura smiled even as her own eyes welled up with tears. She blinked down at the child who looked so much like her father. "Soon," Sakura replied, though the words sounded hollow, even to her. "When Papa's done with his mission."
The girl sniffled. "He won't miss my birthday again…" Her bottom lip trembled. "Will he?"
Sakura couldn't answer. Instead, she gathered the child into her arms, turning her face away so the poor young one couldn't see the tears coursing down her cheeks.
#
His enemy chuckled, bony hands weaving chakra around Sasuke into a thick, smothering cocoon. Dead leaves rattled in the dry breeze, and dust swirled about his feet, but Sasuke couldn't move, couldn't even blink. He was trapped. Terror coursed through his veins like a bitter, icy poison as he fought uselessly against invisible restraints.
Sasuke was no stranger to terror; the emotion had haunted his childhood, had given him dreadful insight into controlling others through genjutsu. Sasuke was a master of crafting horrors, of finding his enemies' deepest, most debilitating fear and attacking them with it.
Once, he had cast this very scenario over Sakura, a genjutsu where Sasuke stabbed Sakura through the heart over and over again. He hadn't done it out of hatred; it had been a message. This is what will happen if you are close to me, if you trust me. Don't love me.
But she hadn't stopped loving him. And despite swearing to protect Sakura—to never hurt her again—here he was. Sakura, I never told you. I never wanted you to know. We share the same nightmare.
The terror he experienced the night his brother murdered his entire clan was nothing compared this. If Sasuke could have commanded his heart to stop beating, his lungs to stop breathing, he would have done so without hesitation. But though his Sharingan whirled, and his muscles strained until sweat broke out in icy rivulets along his flesh, it was all for nothing. The web of chakra held him frozen to the spot.
His enemy laughed lowly, his spidery hands poised in the air on the verge of attack. There was a pause when even the wind held its breath. The dust settled, and the leaves remained silent.
The man grinned, white teeth glinting in the low light. "Kill her," he commanded.
Sasuke's body jerked forward though his mind cried for him to stop. Before him, Sakura lay paralyzed, her eyes wide and pleading. Sasuke could not even scream as his knife plunged deep into her shuddering breast.
#
The full moon rose above Sakura, its milky-white light shining on a silvery garden. Rose bushes of every size and variety twined around archways or stood in manicured rows. The heady fragrance made her feel drunk.
The moonlight shifted, and a dark shape hovered on the edge of her vision. She whirled around, ready to attack. Then she relaxed.
"Sasuke-kun?" she called, stepping toward the dark silhouette. She couldn't see him clearly, but she knew it was him.
He stepped out of the shadow and into the silver light, which made his face look alabaster pale. He paused, studying her, his expression masked. He took her hand in his. "I'll never be able to give you what you want, Sakura."
She shook her head and gripped his hand so tightly in hers, her fingers ached. "You don't need to give me anything," she replied fiercely. "Your love is enough." She lifted a trembling hand to his face and cupped his cheek, forcing him to look into her eyes.
"And what if it's not enough?" he asked, his voice breaking. He turned his face away from her, but she held on fast and did not let him pull away.
"It will be," she insisted. She leaned forward and kissed him, his lips tasting like salt.
The moon seemed to glow brighter and brighter until Sakura had to close her eyes against the light.
Love is blind, she heard a voice sing, the words soft and lilting. With a smile, Sakura fell into a deep slumber, the dream dissolving back into darkness.
#
"And what if it's not enough?" Sasuke asked, his iron mask of calm cracking, his voice shaking.
"It will be," Sakura said, and her lips met his. She tasted like roses. The fragrance of the garden—of her—made him lightheaded. But how could he be enough? How could he ever make up for the past? For what he had done to her?
He tried to pull away, but she drew him closer and kissed his cheek. "Love is blind," she whispered, then closed her eyes and smiled as she dissolved into petals on the wind. Sasuke was left holding nothing.
He stared down at his empty hand. He couldn't understand any of this. His feelings contradicted everything logical thing he knew he should do. He was supposed to protect Sakura—not hurt her again.
Heart aching, he wrenched himself out of the dream, eyes snapping open. Sweat covered his skin. Sakura was still curled against him and snoring softly, her curves illuminated by the faint moonlight. With care, he freed himself from her embrace, feeling the loss of her keenly as he stepped out of bed. He had made a mistake. He knew that he had. But he couldn't bring himself to regret it.
Perhaps that was the biggest crime of all.
His skin prickled as if it fit him too tightly, and his forehead felt feverishly hot. He couldn't stay here, couldn't face Sakura yet. He needed to think. He strode to his closet and put on a uniform, then sprinted soundlessly out the door and down the stairwell. He put on his coat and paused by the entryway, listening. There was no sound from Sakura. Without wasting another minute, he threw open the door and disappeared into the night, the moon hanging low over the horizon, the sky just beginning to pale with the light of false dawn.
#
Weak sunlight shone through the threadbare curtains. Sakura's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, she wasn't sure where she was. Then memory returned in a rush. She twisted in the bed, her hand falling on the empty depression beside her.
Fear, cold and constricting, rushed through her in an icy wave. She fought it off, forced herself to breathe. She wrapped the sheet around her naked body then half-stumbled, half-fell out of bed. She didn't have the voice to call out for him. Instead, she moved in a flurry of white sheets out of the bedroom and onto the stairwell landing, cold feet slapping the wooden floor.
His packed bags were still by the front door. She relaxed, if only a little, and the tightness in her throat eased. "Sasuke-kun?" she called shrilly. No answer.
She hurried down the steps and into the kitchen, where a lone spider scuttled across the dusty countertop. Still no sign of him.
Where could he have gone? Why had he left? Had she done something wrong? Before fear could grip her again in its icy talons, she did basic Genin breathing exercises, forcing herself to calm. Be logical, Sakura told herself, even as the river of terror threatened to overflow her tenuous control. He wouldn't leave without a word. He loves you.
"He loves me," she breathed, her voice ragged. She sat down on the bottom step and leaned against the wall, her hand falling onto Sasuke's pack. Last night had been so beautiful. Everything had made sense—they had made sense. Now Sakura shivered and pulled her knees into her chest, feeling more alone than ever. Did Sasuke regret sleeping with her? Why had he left? Stop that, Sakura chided herself. Think logically!
"If I were Sasuke," she said aloud, her fingers gripping the bedroll strapped atop his bag, "what would I be thinking?" Her lips twitched into a wry smile as an answer came to her. "He wouldn't want to hurt me. I'm certain of that. Though he's a bastard at doing it anyway." She snorted. That line of thinking wouldn't help.
She had to try to see things from Sasuke's perspective. "If I were Sasuke-kun…I would probably be freaking out. And in pain. I'd probably need to go somewhere quiet to think." She sighed, letting out a long breath. How long had Sasuke been gone? He would come back to her…wouldn't he?
She held her head in her hands and drew another deep breath, then another. "He loves me," she whispered, pulling the sheet around her more tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to sob. "He loves me!" she shouted, her voice ringing like a battle cry through the empty house.
She stood abruptly, grim determination pressing her lips into a thin line. She strode back to the bedroom, cast off the sheet, and dressed herself properly. She took time to comb her hair with her fingers; the action was soothing and gave her time to think.
Sakura knew Sasuke better than anyone else, with the exception of Naruto. Sasuke needed her now, she knew that. He needed comfort and likely, a reality check. And, Sakura admitted, she needed reassurance that he hadn't changed his mind about her. She shook her head and gritted her teeth. When she found him, she was going to make him promise that he would come back to her. She would make him swear that he was hers! She tugged too hard at a knot in her tangled tresses and bit back a yelp of pain. Sasuke might love her, true, but would he allow himself to be with her?
"I'll figure that out later," she muttered to herself, sweeping back her hair into a simple ponytail. She bit her lip and went through a list of places Sasuke might be, weighing all the possibilities in her mind. Her brow furrowed. Then she smiled, a flash of insight coming to her. The last of her fear drained out of her like puss from a wound. Sasuke was still in Konoha, and Sakura would find him—because she knew exactly where he must be.
First person to guess where Sasuke is gets a SasuSaku one-shot. Leave your guess in your review:) Thanks for being the best readers ever!