Ch. 5

Cherry Blossom Lament

"You can't help me,

I'm so frightened.

You can't help me,

I'm so tired.

But in my dreams…

The wolves tear out my heart."

-A Vampire's Lament, Atreyu

"Hokage-sama, we have intercepted an enemy shinobi wearing the attire that matches that of an Akatsuki. We think he has some interesting things to tell us about the location of the Konoha missing-nin Haruno Sakura."

The fifth hokage of Konohagakure village nearly flipped her desk over and sent her chair out of the window with the amount of chakra she sent out when she stood, a fire in her eyes as she looked intensely at the scout.

"What did you say? Shit…Akatsuki…? Send out the Seven immediately. As in now, this very second! Give them the information that you get from the prisoner and send them out stat! Understand?"

The scout turned and fled the room as fast as he possibly could, knowing that failure this time might mean death. So he went to summon the team of Konoha's seven most elite ninja, wondering why this girl was so important to the village's leader.

Meanwhile, Tsunade stood looking out her window, staring up at the moon.

"Sakura…if they have you, please, hold on…we will help you kill him and retrieve Sasuke…so please, just hold on…"

Sakura sat in silence with Sasori, uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze. She was quite aware that he was staring at her; but she chose to ignore it and looked elsewhere.

She decided to make conversation, trying to alleviate the ominous silence bearing down on them.

"Sasori-san, would you like me to get you anything?"Sasori just stared, acting as if Sakura had said nothing.

"Maybe some tea or soup?"

Still nothing.

"Sasori-san?"The man's silence was now thoroughly irritating. Sakura was getting frustrated with him for completely ignoring her. She stood, knocking her chair over as she did so. She slammed her hands down on the table, causing it to crack slightly under the pressure of her pent-up chakra. Leaning over the table so that her nose was almost touching Sasori's, Sakura stared angrily into his eyes and spoke.

"Sasori-san, I would like to thank you for helping me dress and clean up, but I'm afraid I cannot do that if you don't even give me the slightest inclination of how I should go about doing so. So, quite frankly, I would like to tell you that you are really pissing me off."

He still stared, which she found infuriating. But he stood after a moment, and put his hands on her shoulders, just as Deidara had done. But his touch was completely different. It was not caring, loving, or concerned. It was empty and cold, as if it longed for something that it could never, ever have.

"Sasori-san…what…?"Sakura looked into his eyes and saw that they were just as hollow and chilled as his touch. She felt a sudden and immense wave of pity for the small man, and she could only imagine what he must go through. She did not know what was wrong, but she knew that it ate him up inside constantly. She put her small hand up to his face, stroking the side of his cheek. She saw his eyes close and felt his jaw tighten, as if he were in unbearable emotional pain. Sakura climbed up onto the table, her knees touching his stomach as she slid up closer to him. Her hand felt wet suddenly, and she looked into his face yet again, only to see silent tears rolling down them and onto her delicate fingers. She couldn't take it anymore. He needed to be held, to know that somebody wanted him to exist. That he was not just a tool, and that he meant something to somebody.

So she threw her arms around his neck, her fingers twisting through his soft red hair. She pulled him into a tight embrace, herself crying a little as she did so. Sasori did not seem to want to return her contact, but after a few moments, Sakura felt him slowly wrap his arms around her midsection and pull her in closer.

Only seconds later, Sakura opened her eyes and looked up. Standing in front of her was the man she wanted to see the least, now or ever. Uchiha Itachi. He must have masked his chakra. That's why Sasori hasn't noticed him yet…

She was still wrapped around Sasori, who had buried his face in her shoulder. This put her in a very awkward position. She was holding one broken soul close while staring up at the face of a man who didn't even have a soul to break, and the only thing she could do to conserve the little dignity he hadn't taken away from her was stare at him with equal contempt.

But she felt as if that little dignity was scraped away when that man took her face in his hands and brought it up to his, smothering her in a quiet kiss. She could do nothing; she did not want Sasori to know that she was kissing Itachi and hugging him at the same time. But she did not want to kiss Itachi; she had never been in such a preposterous situation before. So she chose what her heart told her not to but her head said would be the most reasonable decision. She continued to kiss Itachi.

After what seemed like forever, Itachi pulled away from Sakura's face, smirking arrogantly. She glared at him as he brought his mouth down to her ear.

"Thanks love…see you tonight."And with that, he disappeared, which Sakura discovered he had gotten quite good at.

Not long after that, Sasori stepped back slightly, looking into Sakura's eyes. She repressed a moan of pity for him when she saw his tear-stained face and his eyes, still cold, yet not as empty.

"Sakura-san…you remind me of someone. Is it alright if we speak more often?"

Sakura found the question quite ridiculous. Of course he could talk to her more often As a matter of fact, if he did not she would take it quite offensively and scout him out, picking a fight.

So she settled for nodding her head in assent, giving him a small smile at the same time. The eyes of stone before her seemed to soften substantially, and she sighed, wanting only the best for the poor man facing her.

Sasori took her hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze as he left.

Sakura drank her tea that she had made for herself slowly, enjoying her final minutes of solitude. She looked to the hours ahead with nothing but dread; she did not want to go back to that room with that man.

She closed her eyes and took a shallow breath, taking her last sip of tea. She sat for a moment, taking in the empty kitchen for what seemed like no reason, and slowly stood to walk over to the sink. She placed her cup down on the side of the counter and thought of things from her past that brought a smile to her face, as well as tears to her eyes.

--- --- ---

Sakura's breathing was shallow and inconsistent. She had been running for what seemed like hours, and her lack of sleep from previous nights were taking their toll. She had to keep him in sight or she would lose him forever.

When he reached the edge of the village he stopped, causing her to stop suddenly as well. She clutched her hands to her chest and looked at his back desperately, wanting to go to him and hold him, and never let him leave. But she had to remain hidden, the only exception being his discovery of her himself.

"Sakura…"

She froze. He knew. How long did he know…? She stepped closer, still a good 100 feet away.

"Why are you following me?"She thought he was stupid for asking that question. He knew how she felt for him; henceforth, she followed him when he left.

"Sasuke…please, don't leave. Don't leave us!"He still did not turn to face her.

"If you leave, I'll scream. Sasuke, please, there are other ways! I…I can help you, please…I'll go with you, anything, just please don't leave me."

Sakura was sobbing. She was desperate not to part from the boy she loved, but she knew that brute force alone would not stop him from leaving them all behind. She tried to sway him with touching words.

"Sasuke…I love you!"

Sasuke still did nothing. He did not move towards her, he did not move to leave, and he did not speak. And then he was gone. Sakura gasped, fumbling to the spot where he had just been like a child in the dark. Her sobbing was now uncontrollable; she repeatedly yelled no, thinking it would somehow cause him to materialize in her arms. She stood staring down at where Sasuke was just standing when she felt a gust of wind behind her, and her crying stopped. She stood still, staring straight ahead, watching the leaves rustle on their branches and drift down to the cold ground of Konoha village.

Her heart stopped when she heard him speak behind her.

"Sakura…thank you."

And with that, she grunted as a sharp pain shot through her back, and she knew no more.

The next morning, Sakura found herself on a cold bench, her back and neck aching from sleeping on such a stiff surface. She sat up, and the memories of the night before came flooding back, causing her to scrunch into a ball. She sobbed uncontrollably yet again, wanting to die…she could do nothing…

But approaching footsteps drew her out of her thoughts, and she looked up from between the notch her knees made when she pulled them close. She saw Kakashi running towards her, a concerned look on his face. Or at least she thought it would be, if she could see his face.

He came and kneeled down next to her, frantically asking her what was wrong.

"Sasuke…I wasn't good enough…I love him, and he only…said thank you…"

Kakashi inhaled sharply at her words. He motioned with his hand, indicating to a squad of shinobi to search the area around the village.

"Sakura, did he tell you where he was going?"

She shook her head.

"Did he say anything?"

"He only…said thank you…"

"Why, what was he thanking you for?"

"Sensei…he said thank you because…he couldn't say he loved me back…"

Kakashi felt a wave of pity for the small girl in front of him. He spoke softly as not to upset her further.

"Sakura…you told him you loved him, didn't you?"

She nodded her head and her sobs were renewed. It killed Kakashi inside, but he had to know everything.

"And he didn't say he loved you, even though he knew he may never see you again…?"

She cried longer and louder than ever, calling out a pang of guilt in Kakashi. He was unbelievably angry at Sasuke…hurting this girl, the girl he knew loved him, his teammate, his friend…

End flashback

--- --- ---

Sakura smiled as she wiped a tear from her cheek. It bring her a smile only because it reminded her of a time when she was so fragile, a time when she was not consumed by hate, bloodlust and torment. Ever since she had turned fourteen her anguish had consumed her, eating away at her day by day, and she finally left her home, at the age of fifteen, to look for her love. She regretted not asking Naruto to come; but at the same time she was glad she didn't, as he probably would have succeeded in talking her out of it. But then again, if he did, then she wouldn't be here right now, a prisoner and plaything of the great Akatsuki four.

She wouldn't be walking down a dark hallway, dreading what would happen when she walked through the approaching door, wanting to turn and run, and never look back. And most of all, she wouldn't be placing her hand, which seemed to be thinking for itself, on the handle of the door, slowly sliding it back, holding her breath, her heart screaming out the one name it knew best:

Please, help me, Sasuke…