Disclaimer: whispers I own naruto...(:A angry masashi kishimoto appears in midair and glaring:) I don't own naruto...

Her clouded mind was filled with the echoes of her steps. Her hair seemed to obey to the gentle wind as she reminisced. She appeared drowned with thoughts that as she took a step, it all went darker. She silently went up the stairs of the most peaceful place in the village. Or so she thought.

An image of the boy she had long loved greeted her as she reached the top of the stairs. He welcomed her with a smile full of kindness. She was too occupied with her contemplation to realize that this was so out of his character. A smile. She can't see the fact that this was the first time he made such a compassionate expression, not the constant face filled with coldness, not the constant smirk he always gave.

She continued to walk until she reached him. He motioned her to sit down, and so she did.

"I never thought you'd come…" began sasuke.

"The famous Uchiha Sasuke is the one waiting for me here. How can I not come?" she replied hazily but still filled with sarcasm.

He smiled gently while she laughed. The first time in the whole week that she laughed. It was uncanny. She doesn't usually laugh when she's talking to sasuke. Actually, she doesn't at all because whenever they're together, he always dumps her and it's not a laughing matter. (But if you're a lunatic like me, then you'll find these situations funny.)

Cold raindrops fell from the clouds. The weather seems to tell sakura's mind. In her consciousness, she was fighting a storm that's destroying everything…

"Sakura…" he softly said.

She looked at him intently as if she was telling him to continue. He felt something weird, she too. He didn't usually felt this but…

"I love you sakura."

Her vision quickly blurred as those words came out of his mouth. A hundred thousand emotions dashed through her pretty face but only one she picked.

She hastily stood up but sasuke grasped her arm gently. Tears flowing down her eyes, she whispered, "sasuke…Please."

"Sakura…" he, then, slowly released her arm and she began to run away.

"I've always dreamed that he'd say those words to me. But now, everything just feels so wrong." She thought. "Kami-sama, please help me…"

His frozen body just sat there in the deafening silence. His mind was running rapidly. Every corner of his pallid face had shown every bit of his sadness. He was much too guilty to place those words on sakura in such a bad time. When her world was beginning to fall into pieces. But he thought that this could only be the last time he could say this to sakura… the last time…

"Are you kidding sasuke? The last time? What the? It isn't like she's gonna die you know…"

He stood up carrying emotions he had long abandoned. The feeling of sadness had once again filled his vengeful life. He began to walk home slowly, glancing around him as if to see sakura standing there by his side saying "I love you too, sasuke-kun."

He finally reached his house. The rain was still pouring heavily outside. He changed his wet clothes into dry ones and sat down next to the window. After about an hour of reminiscing, his thoughts left him. His blurred vision became clear as he focused on the image of a certain girl, standing in his front doors, soaking wet. He didn't think twice on going downstairs and into the rain. The only thought that came to his mind was…sakura is there.

Perhaps he was much too worried and excited on seeing sakura that when he opened the doors, he was only greeted with the vision of the heavy rain and the silence that was filled with the sound of the drops of water. He quickly reached for his cloak and went out of his house and locking it. He walked slowly as his mind again began to wander off. He didn't know where exactly he's going. His mind was filled with images of sakura. Only sakura.

His feet seemed to agree with his heart. He was now walking up the certain steps that he just took a while ago. His heart was now beating faster and faster as he took a step. He wasn't entirely sure why he was feeling like this at this time, but the reason had just dashed through his pale face like the burst of wind that came along with the heavy rain.

"Sakura…" his voice was hoarse but then he continued, "…I'm sorry."

Her action was quick. In a blink of an eye, she was embracing sasuke tightly. Sasuke was shocked but then he relaxed onto it. He embraced sakura back gently.

"I love you too, sasuke-kun…" she said as tears shed from her eyes, "…please don't ever let go."

Sakura was shocked when sasuke pulled her away from him. He smiled warmly and pressed his lips into hers. Sakura's eyes widened but she immediately calmed down and let him guide her.

"Tsu-tsunade-sama…you're j-just joking right… th-theyre not really here in the village right? Right Tsunade-sama? Right?"

Kakashi caught the fainting yokoto and led her into a chair in front of the hokage table. She was breathing heavily and Kakashi could only look at the stuttering yokoto, worriedly. She buried her attractive face in her palms.

"No…this can't be happening… not now… no… what about sakura? Imoto!"

She immediately turned her head to face the worried hokage.

"Hokage-sama, sakura's still out there!" exclaimed yokoto fearfully.

"Okay, and I'll tell the ANBU to keep an eye out for…him…" replied Tsunade, seriously.

"Let's go yokoto-chan."

Yokoto and Kakashi disappeared out of the Hokage's office, only leaving a worrying aura in the room. Tsunade immediately called the ANBU captain and told him all the details. She was worried about having Orochimaru in the village. She thought for a minute then quickly stood up and got out of her office.

The quick drops of rain had now slow down. Their faces were now plastered with sad but sincere smiles. Sasuke suddenly felt a familiar aura. The same dark aura as Orochimaru's. His smile quickly faded as he stood up.

"What's wrong sasuke-kun?" sakura asked in concern.

"Sakura, be careful…" replied sasuke seriously.

A group of Nins appeared and encircled sakura and sasuke. Their forehead protectors bore the mark of the infamous hidden village of sound. They first tried to attack sakura but sasuke was too quick for them. He blocked all the blows that were aimed at sakura and performed the Katon Goukakyuu technique. This wasn't really that helpful for it only hit 3 of the Nins.

"I thought I trained you well, sasuke-kun." The dark voice started, emphasizing the "s" in sasuke.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" sasuke asked as he reached for 4 kunais in his pouch.

"Hmmm… At first I wanted to get you back sasuke-kun, but I found something that's much more entertaining." Orochimaru replied as he walked towards the couple, eyeing on sakura.

Sasuke quickly went between the maniac-smirking Orochimaru and the nervous sakura.

"Stay away from her!" sasuke then growled; his cold eyes glared furiously at the snake sannin.

"What's the matter sasuke-kun? Are you jealous? Hahaha! Don't worry boy, I'm still getting your body. For now, I just need to…" Orochimaru smiled even more manically, "…kill that worthless girl."

Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke froze for a moment, but then he charged at Orochimaru, only to be blocked by the sound-nins. Sure they weren't that strong, but they managed to stop sasuke from getting even closer to Orochimaru.

He rushed kicks and punches to Nins and managed to make some of them unconscious. A burst of red light filled the serious view. Sasuke then stopped with his attacks and saw all the Nins cry out loud. His ears then were filled with loud cries of horror, pain and pleading. His onyx eyes now traveled around, only to see all the Nins, including Orochimaru, was screaming their heads out and falling one by one. They all became pale; their faces scrunched in horror, and then became lifeless and cold.

"Matataki no Hono'o technique."

A weak but determined voice came from behind him. Sakura was trembling slightly; her hands bore the symbol of the tiger. He smirked at her and was returned with a weak smile. Much to his surprise, a large snake then appeared in front of him. He turned around to grab sakura and run away but then no sakura was in sight. Orochimaru's lifeless body was no more, so was sakura.

"Shit! SAKURA!" he growled as he attempted to chase orochimaru but the snake was much of a hindrance to him.

"Do you think we could make it in time?" She asked worriedly. Her delicate hands were clenched in a fist.

"Yokoto-chan, sakura-chan can handle herself, and I believe she's with sasuke. Just hope orochimaru doesn't find them before us." Kakashi replied with a slight hint of hopelessness in his tone.

They both gathered their chakra and did a chakra-powered jump from the roof of one house and into a building's rooftop. They both ran as fast as they could, not minding of getting wet by the rain. The rain was still pouring hard. Then suddenly they both stop dead.

"…Orochimaru!"

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and scanned the surroundings but found no one. A silhouette then appeared in his view. One was worried and scared at the sight of the sound-nins scattered in the rooftop, and one was calming the other down.

"Sasuke, where's sakura-chan?" both silhouette came closer, only to show his silver-haired sensei and an older replica of sakura.

"Orochimaru got away with her." He deactivated his Sharingan quickly. His face then frowned even more at the sight of Kakashi's worried face.

"Shit no…" kakashi then glanced at yokoto, who was now shaking furiously.

Three groups of sound-nins then came into view. Each group consisted of 20 Nins. Kakashi, sasuke and yokoto then made their usual fighting stance and began the battle. Three shurikens appeared into his view as he punched a Nin. He evaded it easily but one still caught a piece of his shirt. Onyx turned red and in one swift move, 12 Nins were gone.

"Sasuke, find sakura quick!" ordered kakashi as he used chidori in the Nin captain.

Sasuke nodded in reply as he jumped out of the rooftop. Blood mixed with rain was the scent that surrounded him. With no hesitation, he started his search, jumping roof to roof. He searched in the forest but found nothing. He cursed under his breath as he ran.

A loud scream and a faint aura reached his senses, as he turned left. Running fast, his eyes examined every inch of the forest, and then a vision of a pink haired girl lying in the cold forest grounds had changed his anger into sorrow. Slowly making his way towards the girl, tears now filling his orbs. There was sakura…lying cold, lifeless.

"Fuck no…" was the only words that managed to come out his mouth… "This is just a genjutsu right? You aren't sakura…"

He brought her slender body into his arms as he examined every inch of her face. Tears now falling down with the rain, he was crying. He touched her soft cheek as he shook his head.

"This isn't true right? No… It's just a dream right? Right?"

A gasp came from behind him. Trees swelled with the cold wind. Two figures came running towards them, towards the lifeless sakura. Sadness, it was filling the air. Yokoto tried to heal sakura, but it failed. She was dead…

Maniac laughter filled their ears, it was orochimaru. He walked clumsily, out of the trees surrounding the blood-filled clearing. Ten Nins appeared behind him. His snake-like face turned into a frown as he then felt again that burning feeling inside him. His insides were on fire, killing him. He made hand seals as he then disappeared from the view. Nins were charging at the three, again, the battle. Sasuke couldn't fight now; his chakra was all used. Pain was felt in his back, blood dripping out of it. One second, all went black…
Wind blowing gently, her hair fluttered. Walking into the roads that seemed unfamiliar to him. Her back was in front of him.

"She really is beautiful," he thought, as her name escaped his lips softly.

She stopped, her long hair fluttered smoothly with the wind. She sighed then turned around, hand stretched towards him…

"Sasuke-kun…"

A/N:

Well, this first chapter is like the last chapter. The upcoming chapters are like "what happened before this." well you get it right?

Any comments, suggestions, NON-violent reactions, please REVIEW! Hehehe…