"Do you still love..me?"

Sakura averted her gaze downward for a moment. When she looked up, she snapped "How dare you talk to me about Naruto like that!?"

Without a proper response, Sasuke knew that he had angered the Hokage. So, before he said anything else, he left. He dissapeard behind the door, allowing Sakura to let out a sigh of releif.

Sasuke found himself at the memorial, his sharingan eyes scanning the rock for his sensei's name."You should've stayed with her" he told the rock, once he came upon the name. "You promised to care for her because of your dead friend...You should've never fell in love with her."

Suddenly, a young voice from behind, asked, "Are you talking about my dad?" Sasuke turned around, staring at the daughter of his teacher.

"Hi" he greeted the girl gently. "Your daddy was a good man. And I bet that he's very proud of you. Sakura told me that you're an amazing medic already"

The girl blushed, but was quick to cover it. "She told me a lot about you too" she confessed

Sasuke paused for a second. "What exactly did she tell you?" he asked curiously.

"She said that when you were younger, you were the best ninja around. Everyone wanted to challenge you. You were the one to beat." Sasuke grinned. "She also told me about Naruto" Sasuke's grin faded. But the girl smiled at the sound of his name.

"What did she tell you about him?" Sasuke wondered.

"She said that he was always cheerful, which caused her to be happy most of the time. He was funny, crazy, and he cared a lot about Konoha" The girl sounded greatly impressed by Naruto's personality. "She told me that she loved him a lot"

Sasuke forced a smile.

So she loves him after all. Just like I thought. I could never make her happy the way Naruto made her happy. I should tell her that he's still alive. So she can be really happy.

"I'll..I'll see you later, okay Rin?" he strolled away from the cheerful child. Not knowing where to go, he walks the streets of Konoha. Hereminisced of how he had abandoned the village. How he had left Konoha and how he allowed Itachi to shape most of his life. If only he was given a chance to rewind time...

He ended up standing on the white, arched, bridge, ovelooking a pond. He leaned his elbows for support, glancing at his reflection from the water. Who exactly was he to Sakura? He clearly remembered her shriek of horror when she revealed "I LOVE YOU!" persuading him to remain in Konoha.

She cared so much.

And he didn't give a damn.

Just then, Sasuke watched a petite figure tap on his shoulder from the water.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you" Sakura apolgized. And there she stood beside him. "I can't hold a grude with you. Not when...I just don't want to lose anyone right now"

There was a long pause. Both of them stood beside the other. Sasuke gazed at her facial features, losing any senses of reality around him. He grasped for her thin hand. Sakura had permitted him.

And she liked the touch of his hand.

For years, every hand that tried reaching out to her felt so cold. It was simply comforting.

Why couldn't I let her care for me?

Sakura sighed, summoning courage to face him. "Do you really want to know the truth Sasuke?" The Uchiha nodded. "Yeah, I do" he replied softly, curving his lips, anticipating an answer that was bound to make him happy.

"I really did love Naruto" His heart sank. "I loved him, but not the way I wanted to. I wanted to love him..the way I loved you." she paused

"I'm sorry.." was all the words that spilled from his mouth.

"I hoped that one day that I would magically fall for him. I tried to... But I just couldn't" she revealed calm murmur. A tear trailed down her cheek "And he knew that I was only trying to replace...you"

Sasuke took the edge of his hand and cleared the one tear that had fallen from her face. He couldn't stand the sight of her crying.

"Why did you desprately want to love him so much?" he asked softly. Sakura didn't respond directly. She had to search the answer in her mind.

"Because he was here when you weren't." she finally replied. "He was the last string I held on to" Sasuke wasn't sure how to react. All he did was put his arms around Sakura, embracing her to assure that he will stick with her through thick and thin. Unfortunately, that statement was untrue.

When he released his arms out, he finally confessed, "I can't love you"

"..."

"I mean I do love you, but I can't. I'm scared of hurting you" Sasuke tilted his head on Sakura's forehead, grasping at her hands. He sighed deeply. A steady wind blew, causing the water to ripple, smearing their reflection together.

"I didn't say that you had to--" she started to whisper

"Sakura, in about two weeks, I'm gonna die"

A/N

The truth is I got bored of it. So, I needed to be inspired. The cure was a good browse through SasuSaku fanarts from deviantart. Now I'm back up! Yay. And no, you weren't hallucinating when you read the last quote of the chapter. More will be revealed later!

Peace