SIX

Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba and Chouji had retreated to their room minutes after dinner. Shikamaru still felt angry with the Uchiha for charging at his best friend while Chouji was too ashamed to speak to either of the three. Naruto was cool with the three but he became volatile because of Neji. Sasuke, after dealing with so many things without enough rest, decided to sleep right away.

The cold atmosphere intensified because of the sudden discord. Neither of the four expected that they would hate each other at least even once.

Bee-beep! Bee-beep!

Dull raven eyes opened due to the irritating tone of his cellular phone. Did I forget to shut it off again? Damn… Sasuke dug his arm under his pillow to retrieve his cell phone and then pulled it out. He blinked several times before being able to read the message on the screen.

"Good night otouto."

"…fuck…you…" Sasuke shut the phone off and shoved it under his pillow again. It was two in the morning for goodness' sake and of course, most people were asleep by that time. And just seconds ago, his brother sent him a text message which awakened him. Getting back to sleep was something Sasuke had trouble with ever since weeks ago.

Sasuke suddenly felt the slow movement of slumber in his system. He was more than happy to finally get the grasp of that sleep and slowly, he closed his eyes in fulfillment of his hope only…

CRASH!

Shouts were heard from the other cabins and decks when the ship jerked to side. Even Sasuke was hauled from his slumber land at an instant. He sat upright and looked around at the dark room for any sign of what was happening. But when another loud and jolting collision happened, the Uchiha hauled himself off the bed and ran to the window to check on the side of the ship. He saw Shikamaru gazing into the window even before he reached one.

"Is that a ship?" He heard Shikamaru mutter.

Sasuke tried to make something out of the foggy environment outside but before he could see the assailant, something crashed against their ship again, throwing the two backwards.

"AMBUSH!" Someone was yelling frantically outside.

Before Sasuke could even stand, Naruto had already pulled him up. He couldn't make out the words the blonde was saying because of the screams from outside. Nevertheless, they made a run for it. Chouji and Shikamaru followed closely behind as they made their way through the student-filled corridor.

Another smash against the other side of the ship was felt and the students in the corridors hit the wall unceremoniously. The unfortunate ones got trampled on by the panicking ones who forced themselves to stand and run to the stairs.

"GET ONTO THE LIFE BOATS!" A crew vied with the noise of the crying students. "MOVE IT!"

Sasuke didn't bother panicking; he was used to worse situations. He simply pulled his best friend with him as they rushed to the stairs. And when they did reach the steps, it was proved that it was harder to get up. Everyone was pushing to get themselves through the door way but neither of the front liners was moving. It was either their shoulders were stuck or their legs got tangled with the others' limbs.

"This way!"

Sasuke and Naruto turned and saw Shikamaru waving at them. They also knew what he meant by those words: he had thought of another way. The Uchiha eyed Uzumaki before following the blonde towards Shikamaru. Once they reached the other two, Chouji pointed to a ladder that led to the lower deck. The four headed down immediately, when they saw that some students noticed their path and were already running for the ladder.

The lower deck had a slight flood of ocean water and as Sasuke had observed it was getting higher rapidly. The ship is tilting. He could feel it but he didn't have time to stare stupidly at the moving chandeliers like the protagonists do in movies. Sasuke just continued on running behind the group until they reached a door that was opened by the current of the incoming water.

"This is déjà vu man…" Naruto muttered after getting himself through the flooded doorway. "I won't wonder if someone would shout 'Jack' or 'Rose' any time now."

And Naruto was right when he said that it seemed déjà vu. When they reached another ladder at the end of the room they entered, they climbed up. There, they saw students crying and shouting with life vests on. Life boats were being lowered while some teens tried to jump into them. In addition to that, it was funny to find that there was a group of students who opted to sing to calm the others down.

"Is this ship named, by any chance, Titanic?" Naruto gulped.

Sasuke glared at him as if implying how stupid that statement was. But actually, Naruto had a point. They were sinking…fast. But that wasn't the only thing that attracted the Uchiha's attention. From that open space, he clearly saw what was attacking them. There were ships meters away from theirs and it seemed that it had just stopped hitting them with, probably, torpedoes.

"LIFE VESTS!" A crew threw yellow life vests to those who were pleading for one. Chouji caught four and gave each of them one.

"Let's go." Sasuke paved their way through the students who were crowding at the side of the ship. Everyone was trying to get their arms at least over the side of the life boats.

Sasuke looked around and pointed at a half-filled life boat. The three quickly ran there and pushed their way through the crowd. Unknown to them, the Uchiha remained standing in the middle of the crying people. For some reason, he felt okay. Reposed and reticent.

"AHH!" Another torpedo hit the bottom of the ship and more water got to the upper decks.

But Sasuke remained standing there with his eyes at the vast dark ocean that reflected bits of scattered heavenly light.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?" A student roared when he bumped into the Uchiha. "Move it!"

The Uchiha glared at him in the corner of his eyes. "Don't mess with me."

The guy gulped and scampered away like a threatened child.

"Sasuke." The handsome raven head turned and saw his brother feet away from him. He knew he was calling him to join him in a life yacht or something. (Okay, he was exaggerating.) Itachi looked pretty calm like he had always been.

And in that fleeting moment, Sasuke shook his head.

Suddenly, an explosion erupted from a hole which had some distance from Sasuke's feet. It had cast black fumes up in the air together with the red blaze that lit up the horrified faces of the students who gaped at the spot where the other students had been. Those students affected by the explosion were either lying on their bellies or on their backs. Included among them was the Uchiha.

The lady Sasuke admired so much was slicing some onions when tears began to leak from her eyes.

"W-why are you crying?" Sasuke ran and held her hand which held the knife with his little hands.

"It's natural to cry when you slice onions." She shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

"Then don't use onions in cooking anymore!" the little raven head commanded in a powerless tone.

"My eyes just hurt Sasuke, no worries. I'm alright." She smiled.

There was a wet cold blanket that was placed completely around his pained body. But the temperature of that blanket was too cold and the wetness was compared to a pure liquid. No doubt, he was in the waters…actually, way deep beyond his expectation.

Sasuke gradually opened his eyes and saw bubbles emerge from the ship which was submerging with him. In fact, it was pulling him down. There was also the light of the moon and the stars beautifully twinkling at the surface of the ocean. And now that he was beneath the surface, he saw cerulean surface as the night sky.

In the water, he was twisting and spinning as the boat pulled him lower and lower… deeper and deeper into nothingness…

Maybe that was what he wished for when he shook his head. Maybe that was what he wished for when he didn't go with his friends to the life boat.

Death.

What? His eyes involuntarily refocused when he saw a familiar color near him. Pink hair. It took his weak head some seconds before recognizing the only girl who had such mane.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to swim…swim back up and pull that lady with him. Save her…in other words.

Sasuke, with all his almighty strength, moved his arms and swam up despite the pull of the ship downwards. His hands were feeble now because of the pressure and the temperature but his mind was willing him to move. His hand stretched out to a painful extent until his fingers felt the very tips of her hair. After more seconds of struggling against the current, he finally locked his hold around her arm and pulled her up.

Slowly but surely, they got up until their heads bobbed up the surface. Sasuke turned his head to see any available material to cling onto and fortunately, there was a wrecked floor board floating in the water. Shit. He moved his freezing arms to pull himself closer to the support until such time that he was able to hang Sakura's torso over the board. Sasuke, on the other hand, remained hanging at the side of the board while eyeing the area for any sign of salvation.

I'm not going to die. He thought.

But didn't he want to die just a while ago?

Not yet. Sasuke glanced at Sakura's sickly state before moving his head again to see an available place for refuge.

Actually, he could have gone off and drowned willingly, leaving the poor Haruno hanging for her life. But there was something that stopped him from doing so. Maybe it was pity—his conscience was knocking on his petrified heart. Maybe it was simply a heroic thing to do. Maybe he really didn't want to die.

Maybe he just wanted to forget an incident that caused her death.

"Augh…" Sakura moaned and then coughed out water. Her eyes squinted and then relaxed.

The Uchiha was forced to think and observe fast enough to make them both survive. Ironically, he didn't see any life boats. Just great. He thought with gritted teeth. He stained his eyes to see what was beyond the vicinity and despite the darkness, he saw a small island meters from them. Well, meters were way longer when traveled personally in water compared to land.

Sasuke held on the floor board and gave it a push. It was tedious because his legs were already experiencing pangs of a subzero environment. Nevertheless, he still continued with the action. He figured it was harder to move his legs and arms if he had to hold Haruno with him while he swam towards the island.

Where was Itachi anyway when he needed him? Not that he wanted help from the older Uchiha, but it was weird knowing that he didn't send off a searching brigade right away.

Sasuke's flying thoughts was caught once more when Sakura coughed out loud and her fingers clawed on the board. If only she could wake up and swim on her own… but the Uchiha also knew that if he did coerce her to swim, it would be much more trouble. Sacrifice was what he needed to do.

Gradually, the distance of the island diminished. Sasuke's legs were growing powerless as seconds went by. The salty water tortured his open mouth as he tried hard to breathe…

Nearer… a little more… the coast was becoming clear…

Sasuke gave out a loud shout of pain and relief when he successfully pushed the board onto the sandy shore. His body fell forward to the ground and he stayed there, panting, for about minutes. The gray sand clung to his white flesh and raven hair. His once keen eyes bore a dull shade of fatigue. But overall, he was relieved for they were finally safe from the water.

Emerald eyes opened and still a vague curtain veiled the view before them. The owner of those eyes mildly blinked to clear the haze in her sight and then clapped her hand on the ground where she was. Dry…? With all her remaining strength, the girl pushed herself up to get a better look at the earth. "Sand…" She muttered to herself.

Something cackled from her right and it made her turn. She saw a lively fire, dancing coldly against the chill of the sea breeze. "Where am I?"

There was a faint sound of sand being moved. She looked to the sound's direction and there, she saw a familiar guy who looked at her for a second or two before continuing his deed.

"Sasuke?" She asked in confusion.

Sasuke, who was currently hanging his shirt on a low coconut tree, looked over his shoulder before moving on.

"What happened?" Sakura's head turned to face the dark waters and the sky that was reflected on them. She gazed down and saw that her skirt was torn and her shirt was soaked. The last thing that she remembered was that while everyone was panicking, someone pushed her and she hit a wall.

"The ship sank." Of course, Sasuke was a man of few words. Well, it depends.

"The—sank?" Sakura's transparent face showed a clear sign of shock. "W-where's Neji? Is he safe?!"

Sasuke stopped from moving his hands for a second before going on. "I don't know." Why don't you ask him if he's worried about you at all? Sasuke was actually annoyed by the fact that Sakura was a total idiot when it came to Neji. Didn't she notice it? Did she even try noticing it?

"You don't—" Sakura paused and looked around. "We're the only ones here?" Her anxiety was driving her mad. "The others—"

"…"

"We're the only ones who survived?" Sakura needed to clear things out.

"How the hell should I know?" The Uchiha shot her a glare. Why did he save her again? Was it to be vexed to the utmost extent? He moved away from the tree and tended the bonfire with a twig in hand. While watching the fire dance before him, he heard Sakura say, "oh god" before completely covering her face with both hands.

Sasuke didn't want (and know how) to comfort the depressed lady. As he had observed, she was more of sad to know that Neji was not there than happy to know that she was alive and kicking. He just continued poking the blazing branches without looking up. "Take your blouse off or else you'd have a problem with colds."

Sakura wanted to retaliate but she knew that the raven head was right. But she wouldn't dare do it in front of a guy. "I'll be fine."

"Hn." Sasuke preferred not to continue the conversation.

The night sky was at its darkest. Soon enough, Sasuke knew that the morning sun would come but that would be in about three hours more. Maybe he should start worrying about food and water. Well ocean water was abundant but of course they couldn't drink that.

"Stay here." He said. He stood up and began walking towards the dim part of the island. He knew that there were coconut trees there that would be able to supply them drinks.

"N-no! I'll go with you!" Sakura scrambled to her feet and caught up with him.

The Uchiha sighed exasperatedly and spoke without even looking over his shoulder. "Watch the fire. No one will eat you out there."

"But—"

"Don't be stupid." He cut her off before moving on to the tall trees in view.

Sakura's parted lips closed and curved into a frown. He didn't have to speak so harshly. She thought before turning back to the bonfire. Her white feet playfully dipped into the sand. "He never spoke to me that way before… he was cold alright but…" She plopped down near the fire and then rubbed her hands together. "Neji…where are you…?"

- - -

Uchiha Sasuke returned from his trip to the nearby grove of coconut trees and brought six coconuts with him. When he dropped the fruits, he noticed that Sakura was obviously ignoring his return. At first he just paid no heed to her change of mood. He created a slit on the coconut with the use of a sharp rock he found somewhere. He handed it to her in a gesture of offering it as a drink but to his irritation, Sakura wasn't moving to take the fruit.

What does she want now? Sasuke took back the fruit and placed it against a young tree.

"Why did you even bother saving me if you hate me this much." The pink head spoke while her back was still turned to the Uchiha.

"What?" Sasuke halted driving the edge of the rock into the fruit he had in hand.

"You speak to me as if I am utterly worthless," she paused, "and stupid."

"Hn." Sasuke continued opening the coconut up.

"And I don't get it why you have so much cruel things to say and yet you could not explain your side!" Sakura bolted upright but now she was turned to Sasuke.

This egotistic jerk is asking for it! Sakura's wild inner sub conscience bared her fangs. Kick him in the spleen!

Sasuke didn't even lift his head.

"I could feel it… you loathe my very presence!"

"Shut up."

Argh! Just twist his head and make lasagna out of his brain! The voice roared. "WHY? Why couldn't you just tell me WHY?"

"Because you're an idiot when it came to Neji. Because you are insensitive of your own feelings and you don't know a sense of self-respect. Because you're annoying when you know you're insecure. Because you're weak. Because I always become humiliated when in front of you. Because you keep on getting near me."

"But you're the one who saved me!"

"Because you fuckin' pull my attention for some reason that I don't get!"

Sakura was amazed by how Sasuke just burst out of his perfect shell. Likewise, Sasuke was shocked to know what he really felt all this time.

"What?" Sakura gaped.

"What?" Embarrassed, the Uchiha withdrew from the exchange of words and began opening another fruit.

"I mean…" Sakura placed a strand of hair behind her ear. "…really?"

"Hn." Sasuke threw the fruit he handed out a while ago to Sakura. He concluded that the only idea that got into her head was his last statement.

Sakura caught the fruit in her hands and drank the sweet juice of the coconut; after which she stared at it as if it was telling her something incredible.

- - -

Haruno Sakura woke up minutes after the silence reigned between her and Sasuke. She found herself lying on her side with her pretty face towards the bon fire that was now represented by cool pieces of carbon wood. She pushed herself up and looked at the silent place before wiping her cheek to get rid of the sand. "Wow, I didn't realize I fell asleep." She told herself before yawning and stretching. After doing so, she gazed at the ocean, only to find the Uchiha sitting on the sand while throwing pebbles to the approaching waves.

"Sasuke?"

The young Uchiha didn't respond.

Sakura approached the teen with careful steps and then stopped by his side. Her hands were clasped behind her and her right foot drew circles in the sand. "I'm sorry for speaking to you that way."

Sasuke raised his hand and threw a shiny pebble to the ocean.

Sakura eyed him, waiting eagerly for a reply, but no answer came. "But thanks for what you said. I never had someone to tell me my defects."

"Ask your friend for more observations." Sasuke muttered before throwing another pebble.

She smiled and sat beside him. She held her knees towards her chest and secured them with her arms. "I don't have any."

He threw a speeding stone and it reached the farthest.

She looked at the foam created by the waves at their feet. Suddenly, tears dropped from her eyes but she quickly wiped them off with her thumb.

The Uchiha caught sight of those clear crystals that fell from her green eyes but he didn't say anything though Sakura caught his look.

"My eyes just hurt Sasuke. No worries, I'm alright." She drew her knees closer.

Sasuke was silenced (well, he already was). He was reminded of the lady in her memories for she said the same thing when she sliced onions once. He looked away to the fading stars and said, "Who said I'm worrying?"

The panorama was beautiful and everything was at peace. Sasuke stopped from throwing more stones to the ocean. Sakura, on the other hand, was also staring off at the distance.

"Thanks." Sakura mumbled. "For saving me."

Sasuke snorted and it made the pink head laugh.

"What now?"

"You sound like a pig."

"Hn."

Sakura hid her face in between her knees and continued chuckling until she got herself controlled again.

"I heard a voice here!"

Sasuke bolted upright and spun around when he heard someone yelling from the dark part of the island.

"Hey, that voice sounds familiar." Sakura also stood up and faced the moving leaves from afar.

Sasuke picked up a sharp stone from the ground and slowly approached the source of the noise.

The leaves rustled and lights shone from the direction of the noise. Gradually, figures of men came into view, and after more seconds, the two recognized the approaching people.

"SASUKE!" Naruto shouted and ran to his best friend with a flash light still clasped in hand.

"Sasuke!" Chouji and Shikamaru followed and the three embraced the young Uchiha.

"WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" Naruto punched him at the shoulder.

"Don't yell at my ear." Sasuke smirked. Actually, he was overly happy to see his friends. Although he didn't show it, he sure did love to see them.

"Sakura!"

Sakura ran immediately to the man who had two other men hold the flashlights for him. Neji, the guy who shouted her name, received her in his arms and then caressed her hair. "Are you hurt?"

"No…" She mumbled.

"Why the hell didn't you jump to the life boat? Damn it Sasuke, you're a suicide whore!" Naruto laughed.

"So all of you are here?" Sasuke asked while receiving thick blanket from Chouji.

"It's funny actually. The hotel is at the other side of this island." Shikamaru shrugged.

Sasuke wanted to smack himself. All the while they were waiting for rescue when their destination was already there in that island.

"Uchiha."

The four turned to the Hyuuga.

"I hate to say this but thank you for saving Sakura."

The three gaped at Sasuke.

"Whatever." He cocked his head slightly to the left and then turned his back on him.

"Come on." Neji motioned his girl friend towards the path where they came from.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called out before she was moved. "About having a friend, I think I already have one."

Sasuke remained motionless despite the urge within him to look at the speaker. He just waved his hand in a gesture of good bye and walked off while his friends followed him. (Though Naruto wanted to stay a bit more but Neji was with Sakura.)

Sakura smiled to herself and followed Neji's lead. And I think it's you.

END

A/N: Yay! Sorry for the reaaallly late update. I have two research papers to do, two novels to read, a script to reedit and I also have an upcoming underground meeting on Friday for our play in school! In addition to my misfortune, I have only nine days for the semesteral break!

Thank you for the readers and reviewers! Harhar! I'm done with the stage of discord! Next chapters are focused on amity! Yay!