Well not much to say about this one... Enjoy Act Two.

Piercing Scarlet

Act Two

Just For You

The sun was on the horizon as Sakura was awoken by the paper boy. The boy was short with a crop of shaggy yellow hair. It sort of reminded her of the famous Naruto Uzumaki. She greeted him a couple of times before, but she never stopped to examine the innocent blue eyes of the callused fists who fought their way for attention. She just knew him as 'the everyday paper boy' not an individual person with a name. Now she thought of him as a second Naruto.

"Thank You. I don't know what I would've done if I caught a cold. What's your name?"

Her voice was sincere and a smile danced across her lips, but in all reality she just wanted his name so she could stop thinking of him as Naruto. It was painful. The boy smiled a sheepish grin, a few baby teeth missing from his used to be perfect set.

"I'm --"

His name wasn't audible to Sakura. Confusion struck her body.

"Excuse me? I didn't catch that..."

"My names ..."

He paused for a second then bent down and whispered his name into her ear. Her next heartbeat would be a painful one and it'd echo through her hollowed out chest.

'Naruto Uzumaki...'

His body faded with the wind. Sakura's hands trembled in shock. That couldn't be right. She reached to get up, but the door frame had turned into two snakes. Sakura flinched and scurried away like a mouse. Every since she met Orochimaru she a growing fear of snakes.

"Don't be afraid..."

One of the snakes hissed. Why? Why did it speak with that same voice that he did?

"Sasuke...?"

Her voice was once again frail. She had no idea how to react, but before she could the snake lunged towards her. Sakura threw her arms up in defense. It was the best she could do. She couldn't attack Sasuke. Her heart wouldn't let her, no matter how hard she tried.

Then the scenery broke apart like shattered glass and only Sakura was spared to float in an oblivion of nothingness. She pulled her legs close to her and buried her face in her arms. Why was this happening? Laughter tinkled in her ears. She looked up. Unexplainably she was sitting by a tree, gazing at a girl, pink hair and emerald eyes. She was short, just like the paper boy. A younger Sakura.

"Hey Sakura, Isn't spring time beautiful?"

A male voice called out from beside. She jumped and looked beside her. A boy, a few years older than her younger self sat against the tree, looking up as Sakura. His face was blurred, but she saw dark hair pulled back into a pony tail. She didn't recognize him, but her younger self did. The young girl turned to face the scenery. Sakura noticed the nice little field of flowers, glowing in the spring sunshine. The tress were lush and the bird chirped within the air.

"You know Haruno means the Spring Of or Bloom. It fits you so well."

She couldn't see it, but she could tell by the tone in his voice was sincere and he wore a smile. The younger Sakura twirled around in the flowers.

"I know! That's why it's my favorite season!"

"Spring should be everyday, just for you."

That line struck Sakura hard. She had a moment of De Ja Vu. Could this moment had happened before? Why didn't she remember. Why did she remember that phrase? The younger Sakura continued to twirl.

"Beautiful..."

The boy whispered.

"It's all so dull compared to her..."

Sakura was shocked by his words. She wasn't beautiful, not even when she tried. Ino was beautiful. Sakura was just another girl trying to get by in life, looking forward to nothing. Her life seemed so blank now.

The world around her fast forwarded and the sun began to set. Her eyes were only fast enough to follow a few things. Within a few seconds, the crickets were chirping in place of the bird and the sky became darker, illuminated by the stars. The small pink girl had fallen asleep on the boy's lap. He ran his fingers through her silky hair.

"Don't forget me..."

His words were a whisper, like the wind. Then Sakura's world began to shake. What was happening now? He turned to face her. His face cleared out. He smiled towards her and mouthed the words 'I Love You'. Sakura sat frozen.

"Sasuke?"

Her eyes fluttered open, as she stared at the paper boy. She realized now. He didn't have blond hair, it wasn't blond. It just simply wasn't. The description she had dreamt up earlier was completely in accurate. The boy had brown hair and he was tall for his age.

"Here's todays paper."

He handed her the paper and walked off. What a dream that was.