If you have a certain preference for whom Sasuke picks, then please tell me. Believe it or not, I'm not psychic and will not know if people want SasuSaku or KataSasu unless I am told. You may think that your one review makes no difference, but trust me, it does. Each opinion I hear makes me rethink my decisions, so please tell me any suggestions you may have (even if it is not SasuSaku or KataSasu related).

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Sasuke, on the other hand, is all mine, and I don't care what Katana and Sakura say, but I'm keeping him!

Sasuke woke up panting for breath at 1:47am. Not the first time his nightmares cost him valuable hours of sleep. Not wanting to risk seeing Sakura again in one of his walks, he tried to find another way of occupying his time. This attempt failed, and instead he ended up wasting four hours. Sasuke for once didn't care. It was better than having to face Sakura. He just couldn't look her in the eye without feeling guilt, yet another part of him couldn't stop feeling guilt until he came clean. Oh, how he hated paradoxes…

Sasuke pulled at his hair and groaned in frustration. Despite seven hours of straight training without even stopping for a meal, he couldn't stop the guilt. Every time he turned around he saw Sakura. She filled his every thought, haunting him. He felt wrong, as if something big and hairy had settled into the pit of his stomach. I must Sakura stay Sakura focused Sakura on Sakura training! As you could see, that course of action wasn't exactly working out too well for him. The wind blew, causing Sasuke's hair to settle right in front if his eyes and tickle his nose. Sasuke groaned and moved it away. A bird chirped…loudly. Too loudly for Sasuke. So he threw a rock at it. The bird flew away hastily. A fly buzzed near his ear. Sasuke released a quick flow of chakra and killed it. The wind blew again. Sasuke growled angrily and removed the strand of hair that irritated his nose yet again. His mouth tasted funny. His stomach growled. His eye was twitching. His sanity was evaporating. Heck, even his too-cool-for-a-haircut composure was leaving him.

In other words, Sasuke was agitated. His guilt was eating him from the inside. The smallest things were pissing him off. He had to go see Sakura, before he went crazy...he also needed to eat before he passed out…

If one were to walk past the Haruno household that evening, they would hear loud sobs through one of the open windows. Sobs of a seventeen-year-old girl who had just had her heart broken. Sobs of one Haruno Sakura.

She had been there…she had seen. Sasuke thought no one had noticed him slip away, but how could she not? Every one of her thoughts had been focused around him since she turned five. She had made a mental note of where Sasuke was headed, and then she too slipped away when she had her chance. She had seen him in a clearing with his arms wrapped around Katana. She had been right about them, but she would much rather be wrong. She tried to make her legs move, tried to make herself walk away, but her limbs would not oblige. Naruto and Hinata had come looking for her, and it was they who prevented their kiss. Had they not come, Sakura did not know how she could be able to deal with watching the person she loved kiss another. She no longer remember the delight that Sasuke's kiss with her had brought, in fact she hardly even remembered that kiss at all. All she could think about was the almost-kiss he shared with Katana and the emotion shimmering in his eyes as he did so. It was the most emotion she had ever seen from him, and it shattered her heart to know that she would never see that look directed to her. Only to Katana. No…I must be strong…I have to…move on…Even as she thought it, she knew it would be impossible for her. Her love for Sasuke was not some puppy love that would die down after a few months, it was true love. If only he could return the feeling. For her there was only one, and that was Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly paid the cashier, grabbed his to-go meal, and ran out the door. He quickly swallowed down his meal as he ran to Sakura's house. Of course, it was only after he had run ten blocks that he realized he was going the wrong way. This was, in short, not his day.

The doorbell rang, but Sakura didn't care. Her parents were out on missions and she certainly wasn't going to answer the door. Especially not in her current state. The doorbell rang a second time. Then a third time, shortly followed by a fourth time. But Sakura was persistent. She would not move. Then the doorbell started to ring repeatedly without even any brief intervals. It seemed as if whoever it was at the door was getting impatient.

After five minutes of hearing the oh-so-traditional ding-dong (I mean, who came up with that anyway?), Sakura finally gave in. She answered the door and found herself face-to-face with Sasuke. Not now…she thought, though she truly was glad he was here, I'm still busy trying to get over him, and now he has to come over here and make me want him more!

Sasuke's thought process was a tad bit different. She's been crying…I hope it wasn't because of me. It can't be because of me…she doesn't even know yet! Maybe she stubbed her toe…or was cutting onions…or she poked her eye, uh, both of them…

Though these were all likely possibilities (if they can even be called that), Sasuke had a strange feeling her cause of stress had been him.

Before Sakura could ask what he was doing at her house, he pulled her close and was about to kiss her, but decided at the last minute that a hug would be safer and pulled her into a soft embrace. Luckily, Sakura didn't notice his change of action, she was too busy enjoying the feel of his arms around her.

"I saw you and Katana the other night"

"I'm sorry"

"You love her"

"I don't" said Sasuke automatically.

"Really?"

Sasuke sighed and decided he should come clean, else he'd forever lose his sanity. "I don't know."

Sakura nodded her head. She did not seem surprised, only upset. "Please Sasuke," she begged, "either me or her…not both. I can't deal with the pain."

Sasuke was speechless. He hated to hurt her.

Sasuke and Sakura stood there for all of five minutes, still locked in an embrace until…

"Whoa! Sasuke teme is at it again!!!" screamed Naruto, shocked at his so-called "emotionless" friend's recent actions.

Why does he have to show up everywhere!?, thought a quite aggravated Sasuke.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly pulled away from each other. There was a quite visual blush on Sakura's face yet Sasuke looked unaffected as usual.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, waiting for an explanation. But Sasuke, being more of an I-am-emotionless-therefore-I-am-god type of person, merely walked away.

Or at least that is what it seemed like. Sasuke emotions (which supposedly don't exist) were actually having a raging battle inside him. Once he was out of sight from Sakura and Naruto, Sasuke began to run. He felt lightheaded…as if none of this was real. He didn't feel like Sasuke anymore. He felt like a normal person with normal problems. For Sasuke this was both a source of concern and leisure. Oh great…another paradox!

Then, in a puff of smoke, Kakashi appeared in front of him. Sasuke was running so fast that he had trouble stopping, but Kakashi quickly solved this problem by placing a sturdy hand out to stop him. And, as planned, Sasuke ran into it. One word: Ouch.

"Ah, Sasuke," said Kakashi, completely ignoring the intense glare Sasuke was directing towards him, "Just the person who I was looking for. We need to have a talk."

"No," replied Sasuke through gritted teeth, "I don't think we do."

"Well I think we do."

"Well I don't"

"Well I do"

"Well I don't"

"Well that's nice" responded Kakashi. Sasuke grimaced.

"Fine. What?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed the whole Sakura-Katana dilemma you've been having."

"Last time I checked that wasn't any of your business."

Kakashi laughed. "Trust me, I'm not giving you advice on which one to pick…I just wanted to tell you that I like your new attitude."

Sasuke blinked. "…what??"

"Haven't you noticed? You're acting human now. You haven't even thought about killing your brother. Your biggest worry has now become your love life."

These words dumped the weight of reality onto Sasuke like an 800 ton anvil.

"That's not a bad thing Sasuke. Despite the despair your teen love life is bringing you," said Kakashi with a touch of amusement in his voice, "you're still happier now than you ever were before."

And it was true. Every word. Sasuke no longer wanted to be an avenger. He yearned for a better purpose in life, and now he had one. He could feel the pressure of killing Itachi lift of his shoulders. He hadn't felt this free since he was eight.

Kakashi, realizing his work here was done, said a quick good-bye to Sasuke and left. Sasuke, who felt he had already taken his small dose of emotion for today, decided that it was perhaps time for bed too.

That night Sasuke slept soundly for the first time in nine years.

By now, you may have noticed that I never go in to Katana's thoughts. Fear not, there is a reason for this. To me, Katana is a strong person who doesn't like to show weakness, and that is how Sasuke sees her as well. Although this story is also occasionally told from Sakura's point of view, it is mainly from Sasuke's, and so I wanted my readers to see Katana the same way Sasuke did. I think that if I went into her character emotionally, it would ruin her seemingly flawless appearance and show "weakness" (in some form of speaking). I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure (I don't know why I couldn't have just wrote '99.9' but what the heck) that I will be writing her thoughts in the last chapter when she is either rejected/chosen by Sasuke, because I think you guys will find it interesting to know what Katana is thinking. But for now, I want her character to appear the same way as Sasuke sees her so…yeah…

and sorry for getting a little angsty while describing Sakura...I can't help it...I love angst!

REVIEW OR DIE…

Okay just kidding but please review anyway -