Dedicated to Tsukiko no Yuki for the inspiration of this oneshot and anyone who has experienced love in any of its many forms.
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
A Wish for Tomorrow
by moodiful819
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Have you ever wished that life would just pause for a minute? That everything could just stop? That someone would come help you so you could stop drowning as everyone else started swimming away, leaving you behind? That you wouldn't be alone anymore and everything would be alright?
Sakura watched the snow drift from the sky as she sat, separated from the scene by a wall and a pane of glass. She watched the rarity as it continued to fall. She pressed her forehead to the window, shivering at the cold shock that shot through her before looking below as Konoha's residents stepped out into the night.
She watched as a child bundled in orange ran between his parents. Sakura smiled as she watched Naruto pick his three-year-old son and walk over to his smiling wife, Hinata. He placed a kiss on her cheek and set the child between them, each grabbing a hand and walking down the snow-dusted lane, towards a warm home in more ways than one.
She felt a soft smile grace her face as she watched the family disappear, wishing them all happy lives. 'Those two deserve it.' she thought before returning her attention to the street below.
She watched as two couples made their way towards each other and stop for greetings. She made out their smiling faces, Neji, with his girlfriend, Tenten; Kakashi, with his girlfriend, a girl named Amaya. She watched them give their farewells before continuing on their way. She watched as Neji wrapped his arm around Tenten's shoulder, pulling her closer and watched her lean into the embrace as they continued to walk away. She turned her head to see her teacher and his girlfriend pause in the snow before Amaya leaned up to kiss him and he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him as Sakura watched the figures shrink in distance and blend with the night sky.
Sakura looked around the bedroom of her apartment, a bed, a table, a dresser, a lamp, and some old photos. 'Photos….' she thought. She walked over to her desk, her finger tracing the frames, dust collecting on her finger. She looked at them, searching her brain for the memories of the precious moments they preserved. She looked at the one on her right, a wedding picture of Hinata and Naruto, smiling into the camera.
She turned her gaze to the one to her left, a picture of the rookie nine and Team Gai from a few years ago, minus Sasuke and Asuma. She observed the smiles of her friends and paused as her emerald eyes paused on an ebony-haired woman whose smile never made it to her ruby-red eyes.
Sakura looked sadly at the woman in the photo as she faked a smile for the camera. She knew the reason, as did many other people. It was the death of Asuma. She recalled the day they found out. Kurenai took it the hardest as she sobbed at the memorial stone, watching them engrave the name into the cold stone. She mourned for many more days, before finally emerging from her home weeks after his death. 'Better safe than sorry.' she thought as she remembered what Kakashi had told her the day they found out.
"He never told her how he felt. I think she knew, but she was waiting for him to tell her that. I guess he didn't want to risk it."
"Risk what, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi looked the girl in the eye before he turned his attention to the weeping woman as the rain beat down on them. "He didn't want to risk the pain of having the one you love, reject you. Love is one of the few things in life that can bring with it so much pleasure and yet, so much pain. There are many types Sakura and you can't live without it, don't get me wrong, it's just…that kind of pain is more torturous than anything else on this earth and the worst thing is…you can't do anything to make it stop hurting. That's what makes you live in the safety of watching from afar rather than risk the fear and pain that comes with love. That's why he never told her, Sakura. He was afraid."
Sakura looked from the photo to look at the one resting under her finger and carefully picked it up, studying the frozen moment in her hand. It was one of the few memories of the complete Team 7.
Her thumb brushed over her one and only love as tears came to her eyes, the frame shaking in her hand as she recalled the memory of that fateful night exactly one year ago.
"Sakura-chan! Watch out!" Naruto screamed as more blood escaped from his mouth and the gaping wound in his stomach.
Sakura turned her head to see Itachi coming towards her paralyzed figure, sword in hand. Her mind went into overdrive as memories flashed through her mind, her thoughts echoing in her head. 'It was supposed to be our first mission since Sasuke-kun came back two years ago. Tsunade called up the old Team 7 together to tell us Itachi had been spotted not far from the village. We accepted the mission and set out that night. We traveled swiftly and I stayed away from Sasuke like I had for the past two years. We had a mutual understanding that we weren't going to talk to each other, not after all the damage that had been done. Not after the break became too big for either of us to cross.'
She watched as Itachi's figure came closer, the Akatsuki cloak fluttering behind him in the wind. 'We became strangers to each other, too far-gone for the other to recognize. We became distant, held together loosely by Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. I can't remember the last time we actually talked beyond greetings and short, meaningless questions and replies.'
Itachi was closer now; she could make out every mark on his face. The two scars under his eyes and the look of bloodlust in his eyes as the Sharingan span wildly. She closed her eyes and awaited her fate.
The sound of flesh ripping and birds chirping rang through the night air as Sakura felt a warm fluid hit her. She opened her eyes to see Sasuke; a sword embedded deep within him as Itachi slumped lifelessly to the ground. "S-Sasuke?" she asked. She watched him turn his head to smirk at her, which she returned with a smile before watching him collapse in front of her. "Sasuke!"
She scrambled towards him, watching him pull the sword from his stomach, the sound of flesh tearing and blood spattering ringing throughout the forest. "Sakura…" he said, coughing up blood a second later. She lifted his head slightly and lowered hers. "Sasuke?"
She watched as he turned his head towards her. "I want to tell you some things before I die."
"Sasuke, that's crazy talk. You're not going to die."
"Sakura, listen to me," he said, seriousness etched into his handsome features and voice. "I want to tell you the things I've learned the past few years. I've learned how much you've all changed since I left. How much of a family you've all been to me. How weak I truly am, and…"
She looked down at him expectantly as he trailed off, the echo carried by the wind. "Yes?"
She felt a hand brush back her hair before caressing her face tenderly. "How much you've meant to me. Sakura, I know you probably hate me, that you probably think I'm lower than dirt, and that we've drifted so far apart, we barely recognize each other for who we've become. I've been a fool, Sakura, but as a fool's dying request, can you call me Sasuke-kun one last time and let a fool tell you he loves you more than you'll ever know?"
She smiled at him tenderly. "Aishiteru, Sasuke-kun." He smiled softly and lifted his head to hers. "Aishiteru, Sakura." he whispered against her lips before claiming them.
They kissed as passionate lovers, desperately trying to fend off the shadow of death looming over them. Dawn approached Team 7 as the sun peeked over a mountain and Sasuke's soul departed with the night, sharing his last breath with the woman he loved. She pulled herself from his body and watched as her tears fell onto his serene face. "Sasuke-kun!" she cried as she mourned for all things found and all things lost.
She held the picture frame in her hand, caressing the wood frame with her fingers as she stared out into the midnight air. "We took the long way Sasuke-kun, but maybe next time, we can do things right."