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003. hello

v.

Who was he? That cloaked man with dark hair and blood-red eyes. He had a sinister air to him, intimidating to the point where he was almost attractive.

Until she heard his name breathed from Naruto's lips.

"Uchiha Itachi."

Her blood ran cold at his voice—or hot, technically—as she felt indescribable anger boil in her veins. So this was the man who ruined Sasuke's life. This oddly beautiful man ruined her first love's life.

She couldn't forgive him.

But before she even got a chance to lay a single finger on him, he disappeared.

They didn't even speak.

Sakura gritted her teeth. One day, she promised—one day, she was going to kill him with her bare hands.

iv.

On a solo mission to gather some herbs from the Grass Country, only about two days' worth of walking from Konoha, she found him again.

He was sitting on a boulder, legs crossed. His cloak was folded neatly and placed beside him. It looked like he was meditating. It also looked like he was alone.

When she returned, she never told anyone.

iii.

Although she never admitted it, when Akatsuki ambushed Konoha, he was the first person she looked for.

And she never did find him; she was so busy healing and fighting and healing some more, that if he walked by her, chakra completely unmasked, she might not have even noticed him. She wouldn't have had the chance to tell him how much she hated him and how captivating he was when he meditated, or even how she didn't know how to mangle his body when she got the chance—

But when the battle finally died down, and she was so exhausted, she left the village to a quiet, untouched clearing nearby, to find him there. And for some reason, his crimson eyes, so menacing and so, so lonely, only made her eyelids feel heavier.

Neither said a word as he sat down soundlessly beside her.

She slept peacefully.

ii.

She couldn't stop. She gasped as she gulped for air, unable to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

Naruto. Her Naruto. Her dearest, dearest Naruto—

Gone.

And he was right there, regarding her with those belittling eyes as she struggled to even stand on her own two feet as she felt the despair grabbing at her and pulling her down into its depths. She couldn't quiet down, couldn't think, couldn't breathe—

He placed a single hand on top of her head.

She looked up at him, vision blurred by her tears, and all she could do was grit her teeth, because it was him, people like him that her best friend was dead—

The sound of bones cracking was sickly satisfying as she punched his face, sending him several yards away. He landed on his feet and raised a hand to his jaw, regarding her blankly.

But that was all he did.

i.

And she wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but she just couldn't stay. She couldn't stay in that village ruled by Danzo without suffocating.

She took a long leave, to the outskirts of the Fire Country, where no shinobi lived. She had to get away. She needed time.

She found him and his partner, donning their cloaks and scratched hitai-ate, but did nothing more but narrow her eyes and bring a hand to her holster. Because she had lost the will to fight for justice a long time ago—whatever justice was.

His partner snickered. "You were right. I'll just take a piss somewhere."

And then all too suddenly, they were alone. And it felt like there was a groundbreaking, gravitational pull between them, that only sharpened her senses with each step she took—

And she was set on fire when his body was pressed against hers, when his cold hands held her face, when his lips moved against hers in a passionate dance. It was like beauty and victory and almost, almost love.

She swallowed when they pulled apart, not feeling a hint of fear as she looked up at him. "Hi," she said breathlessly.

His tone was lilting. "Hello."

A/N: I don't know.

I'm back! (Ha, ha, ha…) School has been kicking my ass. Quite victoriously. So I apologize for not updating for so long.

(That, and I have been writing a lot of SasuSaku. Heh.)