I hope you'll like this new chapter, or at least be patient with me because the one after that is better, in my opinion. I might do minor changes after my beta, Reppad98, has looked through it :)

I sincerely appreciate all reviews, favorites and followers, and all support! It's more than I've ever gotten before with any story, and I just hope my chapters are to your expectations, and that everyone will continue to read and like this story.

So I hope you'll enjoy chapter 4, and I'll update as usual in a week :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 4 – Empty days

Sasuke

It was obvious how the Dobe had a new mission in life, adding to his dream of becoming Hokage, and actually making him even more annoying than usual. Project 'Cheer up Sakura-chan' was failing miserably, though. Every attempt at bonding and becoming friends was in vain. This was not entirely new, as Sakura had refused Naruto's advances for years, but for the first time she met him with apathy and indifference.

Her eyes were so... dead after that weird 72 hours incident. She did the barest minimum on missions, leaving most of the work to him and Naruto. And of course they got the job done, but she should have done her third of gardening, painting fences, dog walking, diaper changing (whose bright idea was it to leave babysitting to shinobi anyway?) and being at the receiving end of cat claws. Apparently the domestic courses of Konoha's citizens were never ending. With one tardy pervert and one walking dead, the two-man orphan fight force was all they got. He should ask the Hokage for replacements. Something was very wrong in a scenario where the dead last was his biggest asset. Actually, he could ask to be switched to another team, which would probably be easier to arrange. He should-

"Sakura-chan, come on a date with me! It'll be fun, I promise!" It was just so hard to think through Naruto's nasal, boisterous voice. Sasuke wondered if he would ever get used to that loudmouth. Probably not, since years at the academy had done nothing to help him in that respect.

"No."

"Aw. Please." The Dobe didn't know when to give up. She was a hopeless case, something Sasuke could have told him at their very first day together.

"No." Puppy dog eyes had no effect on the Ice Princess.

Sakura had that vacant expression again, and she somehow seemed incredibly lonely. Stupid girl, as if she knew anything about loneliness. "We'll have a team dinner." Both eyes snapped to Sasuke, as if this was such a rare occasion, for him to initiate social contact. He was allowed to attempt to salvage this wreckage too, so they could stop acting all surprised and annoying.

"Yay, that's a great idea! Dibbs for Ichiraku Ramen!"

"No." Perhaps he had thought that he would make a difference. Maybe he unconsciously waited for fangirl Sakura to come back, or for there to be something left of her inside this stranger. Frankly, he never expected her to say no to him. It was something new entirely, seeing her back as she walked away, and Sasuke was sure of one thing: He did not like how this made him feel.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After just a few weeks as genin, he had come to know the red bridge more intimately than he ever wished for, scratches, furrows, flaking paint and all. There was so much time wasted, waiting. And the company could have been better.

"Hey Sasuke. Do you think we could be trapped in the same dream?" Fangirl-Sakura hadn't resurfaced once. He almost missed her. Today was a good day, though. She was less gloomy and more reflective.

"No."

"Hm, maybe not."

"I'm not trapped in a dream."

She looked like she had just solved the mysteries of the universe. "This must be my dream."

"It's not a dream." He sighed and looked away. He could have been at the lake now, working on his Katon. Instead he had to listen to this pointless chatter. At least she talked, for a change.

"Individual dreams. It makes sense. Our genin days together were the happiest I had. Of course it would send me here. World peace, you know. What a laugh." He didn't find her statement fun at all, rather the confusing kind. Of course she appeared bitter and resentful, her most prominent traits ever after the 72 hours incident. "If everyone dream their happiest memories, they would naturally succumb more easily, because they're content. Even if it's all fake. But we're probably not supposed to know that, and I'm a fluke, somehow." There was not much point in answering. She just ignored him anyway. She was too far gone at this point. "Kakashi-sensei probably dreams of his genin days, or at least his chūnin days before his team died. Tsunade-shishou might dream about her brother, or Dan. It's a comfort, after all. To know that at least they're happy, while they're trapped. Your dream is probably about your family."

"What?" What the hell did she know? She knew nothing about his- No, she knew nothing. "You have no right to assume anything."

"-And Ino is happy in some relationship or other, Hinata probably relives all her encounters with Naruto. Lee... I don't want to know." She shuddered at the thought, whatever her associations with this Lee person were. She continued to list off people at random, some he knew and some he had never heard of. She sketched out their probable happy scenarios. But one was missing. Although he would not call himself a curious person...

"What about Naruto?"

She took her time with the answer. Her pink bangs fell in front of her face as she tilted forward slightly, clutching her stomach. "Naruto... He's not dreaming. He would fight to prevent this, and never give up. Since I'm here... we all failed. And Naruto... is not dreaming."

Her words felt like a chilly wind, heavy implications. He had to remind himself, firmly, that he was talking to a crazy person. A complete lunatic. She was convincing, and sincere, only because she was caught in her own madness. Whatever she said, she was wrong. They were all safe. Team 7, his... acquaintances, they were here, every day, safe. There was no danger, not while they stayed in Konoha. Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and Sakura. Her words could not change that.

Kakashi finally showed up, cue for Naruto to wake up and shout "you're late!" and for Team 7 to finally move on to today's mission. What a waste of time. He could have done anything - train, learn a new jutsu or perfecting those he already knew - and it would be more constructive than helping unimportant people with inconsequential tasks. Menial chores that left little to the mind than roaming, back to red blood dripping, dripping, spinning, run, run, get stronger and face me again... it never left him. Sasuke caught pink from the corner of his vision. Sakura was never far away.

After that day happened, his days had been a grey pit of lonely and bitter undertakings. Training. Observing that there was another one equally alone. Training. Showing Naruto who was superior. More training, revenge. Sakura used to annoy him and pester him endlessly. Her meaningless prattle, warmth and light, as opposed to his feelings of ice and darkness. No experience had cast a shadow over her existence, and so she was shallow, bright, insensitive. These days were a whole new level of different. She occupied his thoughts, intruding at any moment and all the time. She used to represent normalcy, but after her transformation she was the increasing anomaly. Her behavior was, contrary to his expectations, not that of a devotee in need of protection. Something had happened with the bright girl that used to be Sakura, in the span of their graduation until their team formed. She had changed drastically, and he had a creeping feeling that his life would make another turn in her wake.

He'd known, in some shimmering depth of his mind, that this team would make his life difficult. Training, revenge and endless loneliness - strength to do that one task - demanded dedication. Still, he would have walked that path, although it was obvious someone as bright as Sakura didn't belong there. He would have seen it through, alone. That option was no longer available. As inconceivable as it was, this stranger, Sakura, was a storm in his life; unpredictable and impossible to escape. He might even be the calm point which she spun around. Unbelievable as it was when he watched her doing nothing, looking at clouds with a bored expression while he slaved away in some garden, she was in fact and in every aspect of the word, his superior. In which case the next logical step, his only option really, was to destroy her and break free – surpass her, and come closer to the ultimate Goal.