Burnt Toast

By: Xmarksthespot

Disclaimer: The usual.

Chapter 5. Twenty Four Hours

I place the bread in the toaster, and I stood there. I waited for it to come back into my grasp.

..

She dreamt about Sasuke that night, as well as Naruto, and Kakashi – Team Seven in general. However, it was more of a reminiscent, as scenes from their days as innocent genin flashed in her mind. She distinctly saw the day when they were all isolated inside a cave. Kakashi was near the edges, keeping watch of any approaching enemy and reading his – at the time – mysterious, orange novel which he promised to show them when they were older.

Naruto and Sasuke had been fighting again, and nothing she was saying had worked. She was angry with Naruto for causing Sasuke to wake up from his slumber, and worried about Sasuke who had been getting less and less sleep, as if something was trying to push him away from the team.

But even though in daylight, they were always arguing, and Sakura was always out of the picture, nighttime would come and she would be the one they all huddle around. She never knew this, of course, not until the last few missions together as a team (when Naruto kicked her in the middle of the night!), but ever since the beginning, the two other boys rested near her.

Whether it was to protect her from any predators who were near, or to enrage the other one, or because she was the only source of happiness that they longed for, Sakura never knew. She just felt happy knowing that even when she was pushed away, they never meant to push her too far, because that meant that no matter what, they would always be a team.

..

She woke up startled, ignorant of any past events. Her vision was blurry and heavy lids would droop low every other second; she was still exhausted. She threaded her fingers through the bundle of messy hair, and it wasn't until her arms pushed the petite body up that she saw the stranger laying next to her in bed.

That's when everything came back to her recollection. Sakura spent a while staring at the man – her fiancé – who was peacefully asleep. Slowly, she removed herself from the bed, but her attempt to avoid noise failed, as he let out a yawn.

"You're up," he said, almost surprised. Kyo stretched out his arms, but his eyes were glued to the too-calm kunoichi who stared back blankly.

"You're... home," she stated the obvious. Her eyes flickered all across the room as she turned around and headed for her bathroom. Sakura felt lost almost, as if a hidden desire tried to control her one way, but her conscious told her otherwise.

She chose to ignore her fiancé's questions, turning on the tap so that the rush of water would zone out his voice. When she splashed herself with the droplets, she felt relieved in a way, but it was only for a second. Sakura glanced at her reflection in the mirror in front of her, and noted her reddened eyes and frown lines which were deeper than the last time she looked at herself.

Her fingers extended for the toothbrush, while the other hand turned off the tap so that Kyo's voice was audible.

"Are you okay?" His worrisome face appeared in the mirror she was facing. It grew even more when he saw Sakura nod towards the reflection.

She spat out the toothpaste, quickly rinsing her mouth and then turned to face him. "I'm fine," she said, controlling the tone to a perfect pitch. It neither sounded saddened or frightened by his presence. Her confident stance led her back into the bedroom, but she knew he was still standing there, leaning by the door.

"Sakura," he started, but stopped for a second to walk towards her.

Her eyelids fell down, and she expected a warm hug, a kiss, or his arms holding onto hers. However, all she met with was the strange silence which lingered between the two. Gazing back up, she felt his eyes on hers'

"I'm fine, Kyo," she said with a false smile, but she knew that he didn't buy it.

"No you're not," he said through a stern voice, "What is going on with you?" He asked, watching her approach the entrance of the bedroom door.

Avoiding the topic, her body pivoted away from him, only to be held back by the man. "Let me go," she said slowly. Her eyelids dropped and her voice softened. "I'll go make breakfast now or you'll be late for work."

"I'm going to be staying home today." The grasp around her wrist slightly loosened.

Free from his hold, she pulled her arms in, unsure of what to say. They rarely argued in the past, and even when they did, when they were louder and the argument went on for hours, nothing could be compared to what was happening now. Her lips slowly opened. "The truth is..." She began, but the twists in her chest prevented from thinking clearly. Shaking her head, she merely continued with, "Naruto and I got into a fight. It's about some things from the past," she lied, and her headache grew worse because of it.

She glanced up to see the flustered man become apologetic. After all, her tears, her mentioning of another man, it all seemed more reasonable when it involved one of her best friends.

"Oh, I'm sorry," his voice drifted off. He turned his face to the side, unsure of what to say.

Of course, Sakura wouldn't let him say anything else. "Kyo, these are just problems that I have to resolve on my own... I'm going out with some friends today, and see how I can fix things between me and him." She paused and felt her sweaty palms – lying always made her nervous. "Is that okay?"

His eyes lingered on her, and without thinking, he nodded.

She smiled in response, making her way to the kitchen.

After breakfast, the girl quickly got dressed, heading out the door with a single peck on her fiancé. "You don't have to stay home from work for me. I'll be okay," she said. Her body stopped moving, and something else slipped from her lips:

"...Thank you."

Before she could see his reaction, she turned around and ran for the other end of the village. Never before had she ran so quickly towards the jail cell, but today was most important to her. The coral haired girl slammed the front doors open, which alerted the guards. However, when she came into sight, they sat back down, unworried.

Pale hands dropped the list in front of one of the guards. "Here's a list of things I want to do with the prisoner in that cell," she pointed to the metallic door that weren't too far from them. Of course, the guards knew exactly which door she had in mind, since they had been seeing her too frequently. "I want you to circle all the things I'm allowed to do, and cross out the ones I'm prohibited from," she commanded, dipping her head slightly to the cup filled with pens on the desk.

The older man sourly glanced at the lined piece of paper, and tapped his fingers on the desk as he ran his eyes through. He reached for a pen and crossed out the first three options. He continued on to strike a line through many of the choices, only circling a few and earning a frown from the girl who watched hesitantly.

"I want the last one to be circled," Sakura stated, rather than asked. She stared at him intensely, hoping that the determination in her eyes would convince him to do so.

"We look at it as a weapon. I'm afraid – "

"I'm going to be using the tool. And it's going to be out here in the hallway, so you can keep watch. And he's basically chained down. He can't do anything." She smiled innocently at the man again, and turned her head to encourage his partner to agree.

He let out a sigh. "I'll call the Hokage to verify," he said, giving up, "but I think I know the answer to this one already." He rolled his eyes. Afterwards, he placed a metallic band around her, and following that, led her towards the cell. He fidgeted with the keys for a while, and handed Sakura the list when he did find it. "You've got all night to finish that," he paused, unsure of what to say next and even though his mouth opened, intended to add something, the man merely moved aside to let Sakura into the prison.

"Sasuke-kun!" Her voice was bubbly, similar to her twelve year old self. She didn't care that he only nodded and said nothing after, but sat down happily – was it because that it was his last day, that some part of her urged her to replay the past?

She didn't let him speak (not that he would say anything), as she immediately grab hold of his hands. "I have a surprise for you."

Sakura watched as he rolled his eyes, amused by her giddiness. However, the back of her mind threw herself back into the past, not too far, but far enough so that she could see if she was ever this happy with her own fiancé; the answer was no.

"Hn, and what do you mean by that?" His voice interrupted her thoughts. There was a slight tremor in his movements, as if about to pull his hands away, but nevertheless, they stayed in Sakura's hold.

She grinned. "You'll see." Pulling herself from her seat, she dragged the Uchiha along with her. He was heavier than she remembered him to be, but then again, he was a grown man now, and the one who resided in her memories was just a boy.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" He questioned through the monotone voice. He remain rigid in his stance, preventing the pink haired girl from pulling him any closer to the door.

The woman pouted, cursing at the fact that the chakra suppressors prevented her from showing Sasuke her superhuman strength. "I already have the guards' permission. You can leave your cell for a bit." Using all of her might, she exaggeratedly removed Sasuke from his position bit by bit, until he willingly decided to move (she almost fell over as a result).

Cold eyes were fixed on them as they left the cell, and Sakura held her one hand out to take hold of a bag she left outside by the guards' desk. She knew that Sasuke was merely standing in one position, somewhat uncomfortable being out in the open, and especially standing next to several guards; she hastened her steps.

Pulling over a stool, she placed it in the middle of the dirty hallway, and took a piece of cloth from her bag.

"Sit," she commanded, watching as Sasuke hesitantly did as he was told. She draped the cloth around his neck, and following that, she pulled out a pair of scissors. Loose strands of hair fell in front of her face, but she merely blew them away. Her eyes fixed intently at the man.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked again, clearly aware of what the answer was going to be. She never answered him, so he remained stoic, facing forward and only slanting his head when he felt her fingers guiding him to do so.

Neither of them bothered to correct the silence, so only the heavy breathing could be heard. On occasion, Sakura would step out to the front, examining her work. She measured the lengths by locking her fingers around the dark hairs, sometimes flushing when she lifted them high enough to see Sasuke's peaceful state; she gulped, almost too loudly.

"Hn, what?"

His voice startled her, almost sending her back a few steps. Her eyes were wide through nervousness, and she only replied with a somewhat suppressed chuckle. "Oh, I'm just not used to this. The last time I did this was with the Inuzuka's dog."

Noting the small smile on his face, she felt content. She resumed her work on the back, but her head began to feel heavy, consumed with too many thoughts. On occasion, she would freeze her movements, holding back the tears that she could sense. One tear was released, however, but that was all that she would allow, because she wouldn't allow herself to be careless. She wouldn't let Sasuke see her cry again, especially today. The last day. Their last day.

"I know you're crying," his voice whispered. "Even if I can't see your face right now. I know you're crying." He slightly tilted his head back, so that he could confirm it; his eyes were filled with worry.

Finally sniffing out loud, Sakura raised an arm to wipe away the few tears that lay on her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

She saw Sasuke's mouth twitch, as if in attempt to tell her stop apologizing, but he made no move, only to feel her fingers comb through his hair again and hearing snips from the scissors. However, several times after, Sakura felt his face move; he wanted to say something, but didn't – couldn't. So it was up to her to pull the words out of him, and she decided to put it bluntly, just to save time – they only had so much time left, after all.

"What is it?"

He shook his head slightly. "It's nothing."

Choosing to accept his statement, no matter how visible his lie was, Sakura finished up the haircut. She swept the strands of hair away from his neck and pulled the cloth off his neck, and allowed him to stand up from the stool.

He turned and faced her ."Aa, thank you."

It was when their eyes met that made Sakura certain that Naruto wasn't the only one who seemed to be aging quickly. She knew for the most part that Sasuke's face had remained as flawless as it was a decade ago, seemingly protected by the attacks of a teenager's blemishes and had steered away from any swipes to the face a blade. It was his eyes, nonetheless, now that she could see them perfectly without asking him to raise his hair up for her to see, which was flooded with anxiety, fatigue, and fear.

Sakura hadn't noticed this before, only realizing now that the date was an indirect correlation to his worries; the closer the day was, the more tired he grew. In response to this, she frowned. After all, what was there to do no? Should she avoid the topic and continue to go through the day like any other day? Or should she bring it up, and talk to him about it because it's his last day (those final few words made her cringe at the thought)?

While contemplating on this, her gaze, still fixed on the man, followed him as the guards, now fully aware that his haircut was done, led him back into the cell; she trailed behind him.

Just as she had before, Sakura noted that the cell was a lot cooler than it was in the lobby. Her frown only deepened, having realized that this entire time, Sasuke had been donning a thin shirt. What happened? she asked herself. She used to be so observant of the Uchiha – even the slightest hair out of place would catch her attention back then.

Feeling guilty, she asked him, "Are you cold?" But she received a shrug in response from the man who merely sat down in the same location as he usually sat.

"Are you?" Sakura asked again. She stepped towards him and slid herself down so that her arm was inches away from his; even then, she could feel the cool air lingering between them (and she was wearing a sweater too).

"Hn," was his response, but he tilted his head so that he could see her face in the corner of his eyes.

Sakura only stared back, studying the dark charcoal orbs, which always seemed to amaze her. They shone despite the poor lighting in the cell. Though full of worry, they still had a mix of vibrance in them, like Naruto's eyes, which surprised her even more due to his life conditions during the past few years.

Her dry lips parted, sucking in the cool air. Unaware that there were tears falling down her face, Sakura continued to watch the Uchiha. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, regarding the past few years, which she wasn't present in his life. She wanted to know if he missed them, thought about them, maybe even saw them while they were on missions.

Before she could ask though, she saw that his view was fixed onto her left hand again, specifically at her fourth finger – her ring finger. She smiled. "Does my ring fascinate you that much? Is it that hard to believe that I would be engaged, Sasuke-kun?"

He smirked, but soon, that curve on his lips fell. "I regret leaving," he quietly said.

"What?"

His pause remained for a few minutes before he continued. "I was just thinking... that if I had stayed..." but the rest of the words he muttered was in a softer, quieter pitch, incoherent at first, but when Sakura replayed the words in her head again, she heard what he said.

She responded with something else, trying to convince herself that what he had just stated had a different meaning than what the back of her head was telling her.

He spoke again, and this time, it only confirmed that voice in her mind. And with those words, her heart sank.

Afterwards, she found herself hurriedly wiping the tears from her face. Sakura forced a smile. "It's noon," she stated – exactly twenty four hours left, she added inwardly. "I have to go finish something for a bit." Her words slurred, and she saw the expression on Sasuke's face, realizing that her sudden action must've made it seem like he scared her away with his words – which was partly true. Getting up, she opened the door slightly. "Naruto should be here any minute now – it's his lunch break. And I think he asked the Godaime to substitute for him today, so he should be here the entire day too."

Sasuke's mouth hung open for a bit, but before Sakura could leave, he asked, "Are you coming back?"

Smiling, all Sakura could say was, "Of course. Knowing Naruto, all he would bring is instant ramen, and we both know that those noodles get a little tiring, right? You and I need something healthier, don't you think?"

With that, she ran home. She ran with her left hand held in a fist, and with tears in her eyes. She entered her home, with her conversation with Sasuke trapped in her thoughts.

"I regret leaving... If I had stayed, you wouldn't be wearing this ring, I don't think."

"Oh right, because I would stay loyal as your fangirl. Haha."

"No, because you would be wearing my ring."

"What? What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

..

Date: February 15

Hours until the execution of Sasuke Uchiha: Twenty four

..

..

TBC

A/N: Sorry for the delay guys. Planning to finish this story within the next month though! :D And I know Sasuke was so totally OOC at the end, but meh, people get OOC when they're about to die. At least, in my story they do.

And an explanation for the "how much longer until Sasuke's execution" thing, cause I think I'm sort of confusing myself. Basically, this explanation is just to help me, more than you guys. Okay, so Sakura got up today, lets say around 8AM. She gets to Sasuke's cell around 10AM, cuts his hair, and eventually, it's noon when she leaves. So the chapter is titled 24 hours because 24 hours from where it ends is the time of his execution. Whether it happens or not..you'll have to see. I think I get it now.

Also, for this chapter and the next chapter, the setting takes place on the same day. Even though for the last 4 chapters, each chapter is a different day, I'm making it so that chapter 5 and chapter 6 are from the same day, just split into hours, mainly because theres a lot of stuff I want to fit in, but this chapter was getting long, so I cut it off.

Please review! :)