Raven: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto OR Something Corporate's "Only Ashes" As much as I wish I did! Someday, you here me Masashi Kishimoto? Someday, it will be mine!! Mwhaahaha!

Pairings: once again, no this is not a shonen ai or yaoi. This is a SasuSaku! If you don't like it then don't get mad at me for my choice in pairing, I just love a cute SasuSaku!

Even though ya cant resist a sweet lil' SasuNaru....

A/N:

ITALICS: thoughts

A note from the Author: ^__^ Ah! It took so amazingly long for me to get this chapter up! I kept bouncing from lyric to lyric in the beginning... I'm so happy that I got so many wonderful reviews.... Thank you to those who reviewed my first chapter, and for all the people who are just reading it... I hope you like it! On to the story!

Raven

Chapter 2: Only Ashes

"Piece by piece, and bit by bit

I'll break this down for you real slow

Still I can't whisper all of this

I can't seem to let this go

Watch the matches, turn to ashes

I can tell as you turn

I smell the sulfur so clear

Fires a beautiful sound

The wings that you burn, they turn to ashes my dear

And ashes just fall to the ground

We're only ashes" -Something Corporate's "Only Ashes"

Chapter 2: Only Ashes

Once again he could not sleep without shutting his eyes to nightmares. The Uchiha Sasuke stood up, getting out of bed, his sheets tumbling silently back onto the hard mattress.

He put his shoes on, and put on his dark blue shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back.

If he could not sleep, he would walk.

Stepping outside he made sure not to make a sound and wondered why he even cared. It's wasn't like anyone lived in the house with him.

Where was he going, he wasn't sure. His feet carried him to the lake.

Alone, as usual.

It was quiet, so he could think clearly. The grass was already sprayed with dew, it being 3:00 am. He sat down under a tree. He was tired still, and he did not realize what kind of tree it was. He looked up drowsily, his black eyes surveying the tree and its branches.

A Cherry tree.

He was so content. For once he was not burdened with thoughts of vengeance.

His eyes wandering to the lake. They surveyed the display before them emotionlessly, tracing the ripples burning the gentle surface. The water was clear, and small fish swam around in its depths without purpose. Soon they would retreat to the muddy bottom and wait until spring, in which they would return to their meaningless lives. He looked back at the moon reflecting off of the lake.

Perfect.

Bright.

Florescent.

He needed some sleep.

Silence drifted through the air as he felt his eyes grow heavy, and drifted off to the shards of memory that were constantly clouding his vision.

*Memory Mode*

A boy, the age of about 9, walked home, a group of other Ninja Academy students following him.

"Hehe, Itachi, Mr. Serious! What a loser, all he does is train! Hey, Itachi, you gonna baby-sit your stupid kid brother today? Hah, or is 'mommy' gonna take care of him? Hahaahaa," another boy laughed, taunting him.

"Shut up Taguya! He's kind of.... dangerous. I think," whispered another boy in his friends ear, looking anxiously at Itachi.

The Uchiha boy was now fully turned around now, not trying to ignore them. His eyes glared impatiently at them, piercing into them like hollow logs.

The other boy snickered and pointed a finger at Itachi.

"Haha, you gonna 'fight' me, Mr, "Uchiha Heir"? Or are you too 'noble'?" laughed the same boy, grinning. Then, little footsteps rounded the corner, as a young Sasuke ran up to them, and tugged on Itachi's shirt.

"Big brother! C'mon home, mother says you have to come to watch me. Will you teach me? To use a big shuriken?" Sasuke asked, his black and fiery eyes sparkled as he turned to look at the other boys.

"Oh, Itachi, your 'mommy' is calling you, you had better run along!" the other boy snickered again.

Sasuke was not one to stand for someone being rude to his big brother, being at the naive age of 3 1/2. "Hey, shut up, you! That's my big brother!" the little Uchiha yelped, his small fists clenched.

The first to speak was Itachi, as the other boy began laughing.

"Go home, little brother," muttered Itachi, becoming increasingly angered. His eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth. His patience was growing thin, and it meant the boys would not laugh for long.

"But, they were-" Sasuke began, only to be cut off.

"GO HOME!" His brother yelled with such anger that Sasuke was frightened, and bowed his head. "Y-yes," And off he ran.

Making sure his brother was gone, Itachi smirked, and his eyes became red, The Sharingan. "You wanted to fight me?"

And mercilessly, in the alleyway of the school, Itachi killed the two boys.

Without hesitation.

....................

And the next morning, a local villager was astounded to find two 9 year old boy's bodies in the school alleyway. Looks of shock were plastered on both the faces.

And for, Itachi, that was that.

*End Memory Mode*

Sasuke had remembered that he had pretended to run home, then had hidden behind a bush to watch. He had been so...stupid. At the time, he had only been 3, but had known enough to realize what happened...

Although he had never told anyone, and to this day was, in a way, sure and not sure why he hadn't. Guilt of his naive actions forced him to long to forget.

He opened the door and walked to his room and sat on his bed. He lay down and drifted off, once again slipping into sleep.

And he did not dream.

He was not shadowed with nightmares.

He was just asleep. This was one of the blissful hours of rest.

No memories.

No recollections.

Just peaceful sleep.

* * * * * * * *

Bright light filtered into the room as Sasuke opened his eyes to rays of sun, beaming on to his bed. As usual, he scowled and looked outside.

Snow.

Pure.

Silent.

Coating the trees and ground like a gentle blanket, drowning the land.

Sasuke did not smile.

He did not frown.

Just... Emotionless.

Checking the clock he hurried off to training alone, and with a pleasant air of silence enveloping him in his solitude. Of course, not every morning was like this, and this was not going to be one of those blissful exceptions.

"Sasuke-kun! There you are! Don't you love the snow?" beamed a bouncy Sakura as she hurried toward him smiling.

"Hn," was his basic reply, and for once he was not down to earth but lost in thought.

She is so pretty. I never noticed her eyes were so green. Nothing gets her down, It's so.. Annoying.

He stopped at the meeting spot and checked his watch, noting Kakashi-sensei's and Naruto's lateness.

Sakura sat down on a log, and Sasuke followed. He sat next to her and Sakura scooted shyly closer to him.

Grinning.

"Hey Sakuraaa!!! Why didn't you wait for me?" Naruto whined as he rounded the corner, his hands up in the air.

"Baka!" Sakura yelled as she hit him on the head with a tight fist.

"Ehh!! Sorry! Is Kakashi late again?" Naruto said, rubbing his head looking around for the missing teacher.

Before Sakura could reply, Kakashi arrived. His silver hair slightly ruffled by the snow that had fallen on his head on the way to meet his students.

"Uh, I got lost?" He looked around sheepishly, and continued, "Training is canceled for today, because of the snow. You have the day off. Uh... Have fun? I have to go work on a drain leak in my house. Stupid drain pipe..." Kakashi said with a wave as he disappeared in a puff.

"Maybe I can get Iruka to buy me ramen! Yeah!" Naruto dashed of with his annoying fox-like grin. His shoes crunched against the new and crisp snow. He even neglected to invite Sakura in his hurry.

Leaving the two of them alone.

And of course, Sakura took that opportunity to ask Sasuke the monotonous question.

"Sasuke-kun, do you want to go down to the park? It is beautiful there when it has snowed," Sakura asked, knowing she would be rejected. She pulled a strand of pink hair back behind her ear, waiting for the reply she knew she would receive.

Again.

"I have other things to do," Sasuke said in monotone. A pang of guilt ran down his spine, though he was unclear on why, as he added, "Sorry."

* * * * * * *

Memories.

Is that all that I have in my head? Memories? Of sorrow? I always reject her and she keeps coming back like a little lost kitten. No matter how many times I push her away, she will always return.

But will she?

No one can wait for ever.

Do I love her?

Yes, I think I do. Sakura...

But... Do I know how to love?

These thoughts ran endlessly through his head. His hand was wrapped around a small bouquet of flowers.

He stood in front of his parents gravestone. Contemplating his thoughts as he set flowers down in the snow by each gravestone.

Only his mother and cousin received special ones, for the rest he had gotten randomly picked buds and blossoms.

Not that he loved them more, just they had been the ones who had loved flowers the most. His aunt had no interest in the fragile plants, being rather less feminine then others, with a hot temper. She had always told Sasuke to train hard and never back down.

And his uncle and father were Uchiha men, never really paying mind to zinnias, or whatever other meaningless plants were there. That had just been their natures.

But his mother was not like them in the least. She was well known for her love of gardening, and had even helped little Chisa, his baby cousin, grow a small patch of sunflowers.

He gently placed several white roses at his mothers stone, and one pink rose in the center.

They had been her favorite.

He backed away slowly to Chisa's grave, placing some sunflowers on her marker. His Uncle Toji had always called her 'sunflower' he had said that she added life and spirit to the Uchiha village.

This was so true. She had been full of life, so pure and innocent, like the snow. Until he had seen her laying dead before him, her dress stained crimson, her face pale and her eyes distant and blank.

But he would force these images out of his head, for these memories could create a feeling of true sorrow, and a true shinobi's heart is cold.

Cold, lonely, and silent.

Then, lastly, he placed a cherry blossom stem onto the young girls marker. Chisa was so much like Sakura.

No, she *had* been so much like Sakura.

Standing he placed the rest of the bouquet on each of his other relatives graves and silently walked away, his eyes on the ground.

And no tears fell from his raven eyes.

His pace had quickened, it was at almost a run now. He was oblivious to Sakura walking absentmindedly in the opposite direction.

Black hair met pink hair.

Bump.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! I am so sorry are you okay?" Sakura said, rubbing her head, where a small bruise was forming.

"Hn? Oh, it's you Sakura," Sasuke answered, surprised that he had been so distracted as to collide with her. What a coincidence. His eyes trailed down to her knee, a large cut from where her knee had scraped the ground as she fell, bumping into him.

"Sakura, you're bleeding. My house is closest, why don't you come with me so you can clean it out," Sasuke muttered, an almost undetectable blush beginning to appear on his face.

Where did that come from? He asked himself mentally as he helped her up.

"Huh? Oh, really? Thank you Sasuke-kun but I have to go, I have some band-aids in my purse. I will fix it up as soon as I reach home. Thanks, though," Sakura laughed a little. Then wondered why she had not accepted his offer.

Inner Sakura was not too happy, but it would have to do. She waved to him and began to walk home. As much as she wanted to go with him, something held her back.

Was she losing her love for him....?

* * * * * * *

By the time Sasuke had finished training it was dark. He was in no rush, but why waste the opportunity to sleep? He opened the door, changed, and lay down in his bed.

Once again, he drifted of, into a slumber of memories.

*Flashback/Dream Mode*

Sasuke age 6

He kicked at the dirt on the ground, waiting for his older brother, Itachi, to get out of school.

"Big brother! Please, teach me today? Please?" yelped a 6 year old Sasuke, running to greet his brother. He tugged on his sleeve, pleading him to pay attention.

Although, once again, Itachi was not listening.

Sometimes it seemed as though he wasn't really there.

"I am sorry, little brother. Soon, perhaps," Itachi said coolly, walking away. He didn't look back, he was most likely out to train.

And again, a broken promise nestled itself among the many others.

Sasuke ran home to play with Chisa as Itachi slowly faded away into the forest. His own parents did not know what he did when he would so often slink away, although, his parents knew he was not normal.

Not normal..

Not at all...

*End of Dream/Flashback mode*

Sasuke woke up, sat up, and looked around, This had not been one of his usual nightmares, but still he could not sleep. These memories were so scattered for him.

And once again Sasuke left for a walk.

At 3:00 am.

Alone.

As usual.

He walked out of his door slowly letting the snow puff up from the ground as he stepped. He was only wearing his Uchiha logo shirt, black shorts, and his usual shoes. But the cold did not bother him. Not really, at least.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing out here alone?" a whispering voice tinged the cold silence as Sasuke whirled around, startled. It was Sakura.

Apparently she had been taking a walk too, as coincidental it may have been. He calmed down, looking at her, his eyes narrowed.

"It's late. I couldn't sleep. That's all," Sasuke muttered, his black hair falling in his face.

"Me too. I, um, that is... Would you maybe, take a walk with me after training tomorrow?" Sakura asked, bracing herself for rejection.

But no monotone, cold, or harsh reply came.

Just a quiet, almost anxious, "Fine."

Inner Sakura was bouncing, and screaming in victory. Sakura blushed, and ran up to him, wrapped her arms around him as he stood there dumbfounded.

A gentle shade of pink rose tinged Sasuke's face as she giggled, letting go of him. His felt a tang of anger bubble within him for showing this emotion, he knew it would set Sakura off like a rocket.

"Sasuke-kun! You're blushing! I'm sorry, I will see you tomorrow then." She blushed again as Sasuke blinked, recovering from Sakura's instant show of affection.

"Yes." Sasuke said as he watched her run off.

What was it that I have gotten myself into? I suppose tomorrow will be a long day...

End of Chapter 2: Only Ashes

I hope you guys liked it! Next chapter will be the date, but only if I get more reviews:)

DragonFlower1: Thank you MOMO! I loved your fanfiction, Dee is so cute. :)

Hope you like this chapter also. Anyway, please review this chapter too, okay?

ph34R th3 Cut3 On3s: Thank you so much for your review, I'm so happy that there are people reading and enjoying my work! I'm very happy that you liked it. At first it was a one shot but, I guess I felt the need to continue ^__^ I was also so flattered to see my story on your favorites list. Thank you so much, I was so happy checking my email to see another review popping up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Brian: thank you dad, glad you liked it! Even though you could have told me in person since we live in the same house.... Oh well, review appreciated! heehe! !_!

Chisaii Shinobi: Thank you for your review! I am so glad I decided to make this not a one shot. I really admire your fan fiction, and your story "White Winters Snow" truly helped me along in writing the first and second chapter. If I had not read it, perhaps I would not have began writing any fan fiction at all. I appreciate your review so much, I'm glad people are enjoying my writing. Thank you :)

summerdragonfly: Thank you for the kind review, I have enjoyed all of your fan fiction and since I am a beginner, Chisaii Shoinobi and your stories truly influenced my writing. I makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know skilled writers like you are reading my works and liking them. Thank you again for the sweet review! Maybe because of your review, I decided to make a new chapter...? :)

Merkitty57: Hehe, Mishishi-chan! Thanks for reviewing my story, even though you could have just as easily told me in person seeing as how we are best friends. But your review was very much appreciated, and by the way.. TROGDOR! Heehee, later Gator!

Chelsey-Chan: Thank you so much for your review! I hope you liked the second chapter, although I was a bit indecisive on making a 2nd chapter or not. I love your work, and I hope to read more from you as well. :) I hope that someday I will be able to write as well as all of those who reviewed me. :)

ChibiA-sama: Wow! I am so happy you reviewed my fan fiction! And I beg to differ that my story is at all better than yours! Your fiction "Brother Dearest" is so welll written, I aspire to learn how to be so efficient and descriptive as you! I hoped you liked my fic, and would really appreciate it is you would review this chapter as well. Thanks again! Also, I know your new fan fiction will get a lot more reviews, It is so good, why wouldnt it? :)

Okay! That took a while, so if I get a couple more reviews I'll start cranking out the date chapter! Yay! Ja ne!