.Itsuka.

(.Someday.)

(.prelude: reunion.)

"Sakura-chan..." His voice froze her, her head bowed. The chill wind cascaded through the surrounding trees, a dirty haze sweeping up from the bare ground and swirling around them. They stood, former teammates, former companions, back to back. Neither could look at the other. Soft pink hair whipped across her face and stung her skin, fast numbing under the dry assault of dirt and wind and cold. A filthy white backdrop of clouds gathered ominously overhead and obscured the blue sky hastening into dusk somewhere above them. "You... why...?" His voice cracked as if he couldn't comprehend the meaning of the words emerging from his mouth. "How could you...?"

Every word a kunai piercing her heart. Every word a tear falling silently down her face. Every word a shattered promise.

She could flee. He wouldn't follow. Broken, he would stay where she left him. The cliff face gaping before her had enough protruding roots to slow her fall, if not break it completely. But she couldn't. Not after everything that had happened. Not after everything they had gone through and become, together and apart. "I had to, Naruto," her voice remarkably steady, as if there were no kunai, as if there were no tears, as if there were no promises. "I knew you couldn't save him. I knew I couldn't stop him. I had to do it. You understand, right? Don't you, Naruto?"

That last phrase burst from her lips with a sob, a crushing pressure mounting in her gut as she pressed a hand to her mouth, nausea mounting.

It should be raining. Rain would be perfect. This dry weather, cracking skin and bone, was not the right setting for something like this.

"Where is he?" Naruto turned at last and she flinched, feeling his deep blue eyes boring into her back. He was trying so hard to keep anger and betrayal from his voice but– even now, after all this time, she could still read him easily. "Where is Sasuke?"

(.part I: solitude.)

(he who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster.

–Friedrich Nietzsche)

(.introduction.)

(You wouldn't come back. I knew you wouldn't come back. I don't know how I knew it as I stood there, tears dripping down my face, hands clutched to my heart as if to bring me some small comfort. It was a subconscious feeling of security, but no matter how hard I tried to block it out of my mind, the feeling– no, the knowledge that no matter what, no matter how hard Naruto fought, no matter how hard any of them fought, Sasuke– you had made up your mind. And that was that.

Even as Lee-san laid a hand on my shoulder, as he spoke words of comfort and I smiled hollowly in return, I knew that you would never come back to Konoha. Not until your brother was dead. Maybe not even then. And I felt fear, cold, snaking fear wriggling up my spine and into my brain. I couldn't stop you. I walked away in a daze, hands freezing blocks of ice limp and useless at my side. Why couldn't I stop you? Why did you thank me then leave me behind? Why won't you ever acknowledge me? Why, dammit?

Tears mounted in my eyes again, but they would not fall as I then knew, and this terrible knowledge chilled my heart and froze my lungs.

Come closer, and I'll whisper a secret, Sasuke. I knew what you looked for in everyone, and I knew then what you didn't see in me.

Strength...

Power...

Fearlessness...

And I knew then that–

...I am weak.

...I am powerless.

...I am afraid.

And so I could do nothing for you, with you. Not as I was then. ((But as I am now...?)) You had become the air in my lungs, the strength in my limbs, the blood in my veins. This crushing pressure kept mounting in my chest until I felt as if it might shatter into a thousand shimmering shards of ice.

Unsurprisingly, I couldn't sleep that night. I lay in bed for what must have been hours, staring, staring, staring out the window at the merciless moon glaring down on me through the thin curtains shielding my window yet not me. The moon had just begun waning from the night before, a shining beacon illuminating my room and piercing my heart with its sharp rays. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't close my eyes. Would you like to know why, Sasuke? Imprinted forever on my eyelids when I venture to sleep is the image of your back, the red and white of your Uchiha crest emblazoned in my mind. I rolled over and set my feet on the hardwood floor. Moving with practiced silence, I left the house that night.

Traveling aimlessly, my wandering feet took me to the very place where I had last seen you. A cloud's shadow stretched across the cobblestones as I stood there, its cool darkness a welcome relief from the judgemental moon. There is the tree from behind which I'd emerged. Here is where I had stood. There is where you had stood. There is where you appeared behind me. Here is where I fell before you. There is the bench where I slept. There is where you laid me down and left me behind.

I couldn't move. My legs refused to obey my will. And then I snapped. I ran faster than I had ever run before; I ran home. I couldn't live without you. I wouldn't.

I promised that when we met again, Sasuke, I would be stronger. I would have power. I would not be afraid.

Do you accept me now?

Do you love me now?

((Do I...?))

Running faster than I ever had before, I fled. I packed everything I could possibly need. The gate-guards must have assumed I was back-up for those who had already left; they offered not a word of protest as I fled through the gate. Izumo-san even offered a shout of "Good luck!"

I wonder if he would have offered that if he'd known my intentions, but I still appreciated it.

I didn't look back until Konoha was already out of sight, and only then to make sure I wasn't being followed.

–Haruno Sakura)

(.chapter one: flight.)

(.three years earlier.)

"Uchiha Sasuke-kun has disappeared."

"What?!" A violent slamming of palms against counter toppled a vase from its counter, spilling flowers and water across the floor. Purely on reflex, Yamanaka Ino snatched a towel and knelt to mop up the mess without looking, fixing her gaze firmly on the other young woman before her. "Sasuke-kun what?"

Hinata flinched and bit her lip, tapping her fingers together nervously. The bright morning sun shone through the beautifully adorned windows of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, lending the assortments of blossoms an ethereal glow. "S-S-Sasuke-kun left the village," she whispered. "I was passing by here and thought I should let you k-know."

A vein pulsed in Ino's forehead as she retrained herself from lunging at the timid girl. "What are you talking about?" she managed to grit out through clenched teeth. "What do you mean, left? Like kidnapped?"

Her lower lip trembled uncertainly. "N-Neji-niisan, Kiba-kun, Chouji-kun, Shikamaru-kun, and Naruto-kun have gone after him, but I... I think he left on his own."

"Chouji and Shikamaru? Sasuke-kun? Where did he go, and why?" She viciously wrung the towel like a neck and glared at her.

"I don't know!" Hinata cried, visibly shrinking from the heat of Ino's stare. "I heard that Naruto-kun and the others had been sent after Sasuke-kun. That's... that's all I know!"

"Tch," Ino hissed through her teeth and slapped the wet towel against the tiled floor. "Does Sakura know Sasuke-kun is missing?"

"Um–"

Ino jumped up, tearing off her apron and dashing past Hinata. "Let's go."

"W-where are we going?" Wide-eyed, Hinata stared as Ino started closing up the shop.

"Sakura needs to know about this." Single-minded determination gleamed angrily from her pale eyes as she flipped the sign on the door to read CLOSED. "Come on, you're coming too."

She squeaked as Ino shoved her out the door and slammed it behind them, the bells tinkling cheerfully in stark contrast to Ino's mood. "B-but–!"

Angry strides crunched the gravel beneath her feet as Ino growled with frustration, stalking her way down the thoroughfare, not bothering to weave her way through the crowd; her glare was enough to clear a path. Sasuke-kun, gone? He seemed like the last person to leave the village. Why? Hinata must have heard wrong. That's it. Maybe he'd been kidnapped. Or maybe Sasuke-kun was sent as an advance scout, and the others are following him. Yeah. That's what's going on. It would be ridiculous that he leave the village without orders. Yeah...

"Sakura!" She pounded on the door of her former best friend's house repeatedly.

"M-maybe she's not home?" A panting Hinata had been forced to take two steps for every one of Ino's.

Not listening, Ino tried the door and found it unlocked. She could navigate this house in her sleep; she'd been here so many times when they were little, it had been almost like her second home. Bounding up the stairs two at a time, she barged into Sakura's room. "Saku–"

Hinata slammed into her back as the other girl stopped cold. "I–Ino?" Standing on tiptoes, the other young woman peered over Ino's shoulder to see what had halted her fury.

A single sheet of paper lay facedown on the floor, edges fluttering from the slight breeze but weighted down by the forehead protector of a Konoha shinobi. Sakura's forehead protector. Printed in Sakura's delicate handwriting was a single word- Sumimasen. I'm sorry.

Inexplicitly, Ino's hand shook as she reached down to pick it up, eyes flicking over the hiragana characters as she turned the paper over. On the back was a letter, neatly written as if for a formal essay back in the Academy, the precise strokes of the kanji fluidly streaming in perfect columns down the page. Sakura had always been good at calligraphy. Her breath caught in her throat, but she swallowed and hollowly read it aloud, voice unable or unwilling to go above a whisper. "Sumimasen, minna-san. Watashi..."

I'm sorry, everyone. Pink hair whipped behind her as she ran, the red sun rising before her and painting her face with a blood-like shine. All her tears long since spent, Haruno Sakura recklessly dashed from tree branch to tree branch, her bag strapped to her back. I'm going to be gone for a long time. Please forgive me for not telling you personally, but you would try to stop me. I've taken matters into my own hands. I'm going after Sasuke-kun.

She could still sense the violent explosions of Chakra from battle like a blurry imprint on the scene of a movie; a single threading line of Chakra that could only be described as evil wound its way among the trees, never pausing for too long in one spot, strong enough that it could still be sensed now, a full day later. I'm leaving of my own free will; I haven't been captured or coerced, nor is this being written under duress. Please take this letter to the handwriting analysts if you have doubts. No time to stop, no time to check for survivors or even determine the victor.

I haven't the time to write to everyone I'm leaving behind. Mother, Father... I'm sorry. It is through no fault of yours that I'm leaving. I owe everything I am to the two of you. I'm sorry I couldn't be a better daughter.

Sorry, Ino. Looks like I'll be spending the most time with Sasuke-kun from now on.

She refused to slow her frantic pace, relying purely on luck and reflex to keep her safe from any traps. Doubting the pursued would have had time to set anything subtle, she maintained her leaping, reckless speed in spite of better judgment.

Kakashi-sensei... thank you. It's because of you and your training that I was able to gather the courage to make my decision. Please don't blame yourself; I'm sure you tried your best to keep him from going. I hope your next Genin squad won't be so troublesome.

Naruto... I know I asked you to bring him back, and I know you'll try so hard... I shouldn't have placed that burden on you. I've always looked down on you, you know? But... I was wrong. You're going to be a great ninja someday. If we meet again, I promise I'll be stronger.

Her green eyes glared through the trees, barely registering the leaves whizzing behind her as she grew closer and closer to the border of the Land of Fire, looking ahead into the distance, far, far ahead until she imagined she could see that red-and-white Uchiha crest emblazoned on a blue-clad back.

I may be thinking too much of myself by assuming the thought will cross your mind, but please, do not follow me. Let me go. I love all of you, but I can't abandon Sasuke-kun. His path has become mine; I have none of my own. I can't ask you to agree, but please understand why I must go.

I've spent too much time here already. Everyone, thank you for everything. I'll miss Konohagakure, but I've made my decision. I'm sorry.

Sayonara.

A/N: After much deliberating, chapter one is finally complete. This idea of Sakura following Sasuke has been kicking around in the back of my head for several months now, so it's about time I set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, to be more literal) and got to work.

SPOILER WARNINGS: Well, the premise of the story is one big spoiler for anyone who's just started the series. Oops. I can't say for sure whether or not there will be further spoilers for the manga (for the most part, I'm going to be trying to remain within the parameters of Japan's release of the anime; however, if you haven't yet read the manga and don't wish to be spoiled, I suggest stopping now, since I don't know if/when I will start spoiling that.

I'd like to thank the amazing i AM the Random Idiot for beta-ing and for finally convincing me to read ahead of the Japanese release of the anime and read the manga. This definitely wouldn't have been even remotely possible without her.

Reviews would be extremely appreciated; anything from constructive criticism to flames are welcomed. As with Raikiri no Yume, I'll have extra things with every chapter posted on my livejournal, the link to which is at the bottom of my profile if anyone is interested. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you again in chapter two!