A/N: Haha, yes I'm still alive. I just realize I wrote myself into a hole. This long delay is the result of confusion on my part and a total lack of inspiration. Hope you're not too disappointed!

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The news of Uchiha Sasuke's return and impending trial spread quickly throughout the village of Konoha. Sakura's friends had wanted to keep her company for the rest of the day in her apartment, but Sakura told them she wanted to be alone.

She spent the day sitting by the prison building on the opposite side of the jounin guarding the door. She did not care what he thought; all she knew was that she needed to be as close to Sasuke as possible. When the guards changed shifts, she heard one of them whisper something to the other.

For the whole day she did not eat or speak; she just leaned her head against the cold, rough concrete and kept her gaze focused on the swaying of the trees.

During this time, she thought about everything that had happened in the past two weeks. It was amazing how much her world had changed once Sasuke had entered into the picture again. It was a series of incredible consequences that led her back to him.

If the Hokage had not assigned her to the task, would they ever have met again? If Sakura had actually read the mission report, would she have gathered the courage to partake in the task? What if Sasuke had followed the other pair of Shinobi that night?

The poisoned ANBU needle had brought him back to her, but she almost wished that it had never hit. If it had not, the last words he said to her would have been a death threat, but he also would not be locked in a prison awaiting his sentence. Maybe this was what he meant when he left her that night after bringing her back to Konoha. Maybe he knew it would end in something like this.

As the day passed into the evening, the lights above the door of the prison entrance clicked on. Sakura regretting not bringing a jacket as the cool night air prickled over her skin. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them tight. As she rocked back and forth, she wondered how long she would stay. Maybe the whole night; she was just not ready to go yet.

At around eight o'clock, the particular jounin guard on duty, who had been shifting around uncomfortably for three hours, disappeared into the prison building. After a few minutes, he returned and walked right up to her.

Sakura looked up at him, wondering why he was suddenly confronting her. His face was awkward and a little confused.

"Haruno Sakura-san."

She stared at him expectantly.

"I...I spoke to the ANBU nins in charge of Uchiha Sasuke-san. They asked if you were still out here, and I told them you were."

She remained silent and her gaze fell to his shins covered by the familiar jounin bandages.

"They want you to leave..."

Sakura's eyes shot back up at him defensively.

"They can't do that," she said coarsely. She had not heard her own voice in a long time.

"They can. But...they also said they didn't expect you to go without something in return. So...they agreed to let you have five minutes with him."

Her heart practically jumped out of her chest from the excitement.

Five minutes. It was not much, but it was better than nothing. She stood up with newfound energy and looked at the jounin guard with wide eyes.

"What?" Sakura whispered. The guard tried avoiding her fixed gaze, embarrassed.

"Really?" she asked breathlessly.

He nodded, and he proceeded to unlock the prison door for her. "C8."

She gave a grateful look to him and then sprinted inside. Her legs were weak from disuse but spurred on by her sheer anticipation of seeing Sasuke. The halls were dimly lighted and she moved sideways, squinting to read the numbers on the doors. She stopped when she finally reached C8.

She knocked on the door impatiently. There was some muffled talking and then someone opened it. It was one of the two ANBU nin. Through the crack, Sakura could see that the other was sitting down on the chair behind a desk.

"Sakura-san," the ANBU said steadily. He seemed to take an eternity to open the door completely and get out of the way.

When the gap was wide enough, Sakura ran into the cell. She had never been in a prison before and felt a sudden chill from its austerity. The gray walls looked cold and depressing; it appeared every bit the appropriate quarters marking the transition from life to death. The room she entered was divided into two. The ANBU nins were in the half closer to the door where Sakura stood, and a faint, transparent blue wall separated them from the back half. She guessed that it was a shield of some sort.

Her stomach twisted uncomfortably when she noticed a figure sitting behind it. Sasuke was leaning his head back on the side wall. One of his knees were bent, the other lay flat against the ground. His left hand was grabbing the injured right one, which rested in his lap. He looked up at the sound of light footsteps.

Sakura paused in the middle of the room. She unconsciously clenched her fists, keeping her eyes focused on him.

Sasuke watched her silently.

Slowly Sakura walked right up to the shield and sat down with her legs tucked under her, her weight resting her shins. Sasuke instinctively moved toward her as close as possible. Her hand reached out.

"Sakura-san," the ANBU nin warned from behind, "the wall is made of chakra, so it would be in your best interest not to touch it."

She recoiled her hand. It seemed to hit her a few seconds later that this meant she would not be able to touch him. The realization was like a sharp jab to her stomach.

"Sasuke..." she whispered weakly as her eyes traveled over his body, checking for wounds. There did not seem to be any, but the bandages around his injured arm were bloodied again.

"What are you doing here?" he said in a low voice.

"I had to see you," she said softly.

"They told me you waited outside the whole day."

"Yes."

"Why?"

She smiled sadly and searched his face for understanding. "You can stop asking me that."

Sasuke looked at her intently for a moment, and then lowered his head and sighed. For awhile he was silent, and Sakura felt an intense desire to hold him. Soon the need for his touch became suddenly overwhelming. The barrier was translucent and thin, and he was so close; she wanted to feel his presence. It would be worth the sting.

"Sasuke-kun..."

He looked up abruptly, hearing something in her voice that caused alarm. His eyes were sharp.

"Sakura, don't touch it!"

Her hand paused a few centimeters away from the shield and she looked at him painfully.

"Sasuke," she choked out, "I can't...I have to..." Her body ached.

"Sakura," he said in a controlled, cautionary voice, "don't do it. This is not a normal chakra wall."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ignoring his warnings.

Sasuke felt the panic of a hundred small needles dig into his skin as he watched her. She was not listening, and he grew desperate. "Sakura! If you move your hand any closer—I will reach out and grab it to stop you."

Sakura opened her eyes quickly and gave him a pleading look. Sasuke had found the only way to make her change her mind—she did not want him to hurt himself.

Her hand withdrew and fell over her mouth. Sakura shifted her weight to the side and sat down hard on the cold stone floor. It felt so hopeless. Sakura did not want to cry in front of him, but it was impossible for her to keep her emotions in check now. Her tears flowed freely and soon she found herself sobbing violently, hiccupping from her despair and fear. Her pink hair which had spent the whole day being teased by the wind fell like a canopy over her face.

Sasuke thought he should say something. He never liked seeing her like this. He spoke after some time. "Sakura, this day was going to come."

This fact did not appease Sakura, and she continued to shake from her intense weeping.

Sasuke leaned closer to the barrier, so his nose was just barely unscathed.

"The Hokage told me that she'd do it quickly tomorrow...I won't even feel anything."

It was a lie, but it might make her feel better.

It did not. "How can you say that?" she spoke, horrified, between gasps. She looked up at him but she could not see Sasuke clearly, his image was blurred.

"Sakura," Sasuke sighed, "I don't want you to cry the last time I see you."

This only made her tears fall faster and her face twist up into an agonizing frown. Sasuke grew impatient.

"Look, we don't have much time. I have some things I need you to do for me."

Sakura took a few deep breaths. She sniffed heavily and used a hand to force the tears and hair out of her face. He had her attention now. If there was anything she could still do for him, whatever it was, she would. She shifted her body to face him again.

"What is it?" Sakura met his intent black eyes.

Sasuke paused and looked to the ground. His jaw tensed. Finally, he spoke in a quiet voice. "Tell Naruto...that I hope he can forgive me."

Sakura felt her shoulders drop. "He will, Sasuke, I know he will," she whispered reassuringly.

Sasuke shifted his gaze to the wall, keeping his face concentrated. He searched his mind for anything else he had wanted to get off his chest. "I want him to take care of you. Let Lee-san help too. He deserves you."

Sakura lowered her head. "Sasuke-kun..."

Then Sasuke remembered something. It was important. "Sakura, look at me."

She turned her head up again.

"When you're at the trial tomorrow...you're going to hear about a lot of the bad things I've done. I—"

"Sakura-san—You have two more minutes," the ANBU nin reminded her from behind. Sakura realized then with annoyance that they had been sitting by the desks, watching them the whole time. She hoped that their voices had been low enough not to be heard.

Sasuke felt the thrill of anxiety as he realized that time was running out. Whatever he had left to tell her, he had to get it out now. He felt dizzy all of a sudden and found it impossible to think with a clear head. What she meant to him, he hoped he had shown her already.

When he spoke again, it was with a resigned voice. "But no matter what you hear, no matter what you think of me afterwards, I want you to know...I meant everything I said and did last night."

"Okay." Her reply was barely audible.

It was easy for her to say that now, but Sasuke knew she did not understand the full extent of his crimes. He took an uneasy, deep breath. He cursed the stifling barrier that separated them as he rubbed his neck roughly. It was cruel, not being able to touch her one last time.

"Sakura."

She shifted herself back into the kneeling position and sat down on her legs. Her lips pressed together expectantly.

"This is it," Sasuke said softly, watching her with his head tilted.

He observed the lines on her face drawn by her drying tears. They shimmered in the dim prison lighting. Her eyes were wide in disbelief.

Sasuke straightened up. "You've rescued me already," he said. "So just let me go this time. It will be easier for everyone."

Sakura looked into his eyes which were filled with a focused passion. They were brave and reassuring. She had never thought that this might be what he had expected all these years, the inevitable end to a life desperately led.

"Sakura-san—"the ANBU nin interrupted uncomfortably.

Sakura turned her head around and Sasuke looked up at the ANBU guard.

"Time's up. You'll have to leave now."

Sakura felt her body sink into the ground. She was not ready.

"Just..." her voice broke off. Suddenly, she did not know what she was going to ask for. Five more minutes? Ten? Twenty? Would it be easier to leave then?

Sakura faced Sasuke again.

His expression was serious. "Sakura...get some rest."

Sasuke slowly supported his body into a standing position.

Sakura followed him and noticed the tiredness in her body for the first time as she attempted to stand still. Worrying all day had been exhausting. She leaned in as close as she could.

"Sasuke-kun," she whispered. For some reason she was calmer now.

She had never been one to hold back her feelings, but she wanted to make sure he knew.

"You're the only one. You know that...right? It has always been...just you—it is always going to be you. Remember that."

There was a heavy silence and Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to absorb the weight of her words and memorize the pitch of her voice. He knew she meant what she said now, but he wondered if she would take it all back tomorrow. Although she was obviously devoted, everyone had a limit. If the Hokage had on file half the crimes he had committed, there would be no way Sakura would not see him differently after the trial. Before, this information might have encouraged her to keep her distance. But now that he was caught, he did not want to die with her hating him.

Sakura observed Sasuke with his eyes closed, wondering what he was thinking about. The ANBU nin touched Sakura's forearm and she turned to the masked shinobi.

"Sakura-san."

It took all of Sakura's willpower to finally turn her back to Sasuke. But as soon as she did, she ran out of the cell, not daring to look back.