Time for SasuSaku! When we last left Sasuke, Sakura had drugged him into sleeping due to him reacting to some very traumatizing memories. And Sakura feeling very upset with herself for doing it, however, Kakashi came along with some sound advice, lifting her spirits a bit. Now she's back. What happens now? And why do I feel like I recited something off a soap opera?

Just a slight warning: It's been awhile since I've read the chapters past 384 and the manga is really giving me any incentive to read anymore in Part 2 (maybe when Kishi straighten things out, I will) so if I get anything wrong, don't kill me!! Just chalk it up to AU and don't worry about it. A lot of the events I put Sasuke through was how I envisioned the fight ending, but I can't remember some details while others…really don't thrill me to begin with.

This is also a possible manga spoilers warning, too. But if you've read chapter three already, don't worry about it, then.

Anyhow…on to the fic.

Title: Finding the Broken Pieces
Genre: Angst, AU
Timeline: Post Sasuke's Return
Summary: Sasuke's back in Konoha, but Naruto learns of the events that occurred while he was away and his past. Sasuke, meanwhile, ponders his own life and the battle with his brother. When the pieces are broken and left astray, someone must come and put them back together. NaruHina, SasuSaku
Pairings: NaruHina, SasuSaku
Rating: G
Author's Note: This fanfic is AU past Naruto Chapter 384. It's mostly the end result that differs. Basically, I wrote it different from what Kishi wrote (primarily because this fic was imagined before Chapter 384).
Disclaimer: I really wish I was a successful mangaka, however, I'm not, I can't draw period so therefore Naruto doesn't belong to me in the slightest. Naruto belongs solely to Kishimoto.

Reflection in a Field of Shattered Glass

Sakura opened the door to Sasuke's hospital room. It had been a day since the debriefing. She had visited Sasuke after the meeting, but he had been still asleep, not that she had expected him awake. She merely stayed by his bedside until the ANBU knocked on the door and told her to leave.

This time, Sasuke was awake. He was sitting up in bed, a vacant look on his face; however, he seemed calmer today. Sakura frowned, holding the bag of tomatoes closer to her chest. Then again, he seemed calm yesterday, too, before he started shaking.

She walked up to the bed, placed the bag down next to the bedside table and sat down in the chair. She took one of the tomatoes, the plate and knife she brought with her and started cutting it in pieces. She felt Sasuke watching her as she did. After finishing, she put the slices on the plate and set it on the table.

"Why…are you here?"

The voice surprised Sakura. She stared at Sasuke, who stared back with that same vacant look on his face. She swallowed, reached out and grasped his bound hand, ignoring him flinching. "I came because I care about you, Sasuke-kun."

He looked desperate; she had never seen that look on him before. "Why?"

"Sasuke-kun, I want to help you!" Sakura tightened her grip on his hand. "Please, tell me…what happened? I'll do anything I can to help."

Sasuke shook his head, his eyes still glazed over. "No…Sakura…I can't…you can't hear…"

He stopped because Sakura had stood up and embraced him, holding him tightly. He gasped, but she refused to let go to see his reaction properly. "Please…" she pleaded. "Let me in. Talk to me!"

She felt his body relax, it was like a feeling of resignation overtook him. His head dropped down, his breath on her shoulder as he sighed. "My…clan…The Mangekyou Sharingan…You have to kill people for it."

Feeling shocked at his sudden response, Sakura drew back. Her mind immediately went to Kakashi, who she knew had a kind of Mangekyou Sharingan, but she could not believe he would kill someone to get it?

"This special eye…" Sasuke still appeared reluctant; he did not appear to be enjoying talking about this. "You have to kill your best friend to receive it."

Now Sakura was even more confused. She never knew anyone around Kakashi to consider them his best friend. However, what confused her most was why Sasuke refused to tell her all of this before.

"And there's another after that, the Mangekyou causes blindness, but that can be fixed, but in order to do that, you have to…" Sasuke bit the lower part of his lip as if something horrible came to mind, "kill your brother…I think…and take his eyes."

Sakura suddenly felt short of breath and disgusted. Kill a brother and take his eyes? Why was there so much bloodshed for such power? And of course, that still did not explain how Kakashi got his eye and why Sasuke was so reluctant to tell her this? It sounded like an awful power, killing people just to gain a power, but how did this factor into Sasuke's battle? "Sasuke-kun…I don't understand. How does this…?"

"My clan…" His voice sounded wretched, like he hated himself. "At one time, my clan did this regularly, trying to gain the Mangekyou and the eyes after that. My clan…they bloodied their hands, killed each other, just to gain some pathetic eyes!" Sasuke screamed.

Sakura stared, wide eyed at him. Again, she took his hand and held it tightly to reassure him. "But your family didn't do this, right?" she reasoned, knowing that the Uchiha clan had been quite respectable when they were all alive. "So that means they rejected that way, that way that leads only to carnage and death. That means they changed…for the better."

Sasuke's eyes widened, surprise etched on his face. Clearly, he had not thought of that. But then it faded, replaced with uncertainty. "But…"

"Sasuke-kun…I know you don't like it, in fact, I don't blame you. However, your family changed. That's what matters." Sakura tried to be cheerful, but she felt there was something else to Sasuke's depression. "Is this why? Is this why your brother killed…?"

He nodded, just a bit, his face vacant again. "Yes. He hated how the clan had changed their ways and he wanted me to…" He looked down, avoiding her eyes, still staring as if the room did not exist at all, "he wanted me to gain the Mangekyou myself and take my eyes so he could see again."

Sakura felt her mouth drop, shocked over what his brother had planned. Despite knowing everything Itachi had done, the idea still stunned, not to mention sickened, her. She grasped his hand, squeezing it, to tell him it was all right now. Itachi was dead now; he would never attempt to hurt Sasuke again. Ever.

"Then…" continued Sasuke in an empty voice, "he came…"

Sakura blinked, confused over who Sasuke was talking about. Naruto had said there had only been three people in the room where he found Sasuke: Sasuke himself, Itachi and the man known as Juugo. Did he mean Juugo? "Sasuke-kun? Who…?"

"He's the one behind it all," said Sasuke, not acknowledging Sakura's confusion. "The Akatsuki, helping Itachi with killing the clan, the Kyuubi attack…and he…he…" Sasuke began to tremble as Sakura's mind reeled from the information. Itachi had help? The Kyuubi attack was not random?

"…He…put me in a Genjutsu…made me k – k – ill…" He began to shake almost uncontrollable again, but this time, Sakura did not go running for a drug. This time she applied chakra, sending it flowing through his body, making it serve as a relaxer in the place of medication. After awhile, his body began to stop, he was breathing heavily, blinking rapidly, instead. He still refused to look her directly in the eye.

"Sasuke-kun, did this person make you kill Itachi?" she asked after he appeared to be much calmer.

But he shook his head. "No…he made me…" he mouthed the word, seemed unable to say it. Of course, this only served to confuse Sakura even more; however, she also felt anger. This man, whoever he was, appeared to be partly responsible for Sasuke's condition. Itachi was dead and out of her reach, but if she ever came across this other person, he would rue the day he messed with Sasuke!

"You and Naruto…"

The response caught Sakura off guard, but then, upon seeing the anguish on his face, realized what he was talking about…and her anger grew. This person put Sasuke in a genjutsu and caused him to kill her and Naruto. "Oh, Sasuke-kun…" She kept one hand on his while placing her free hand on his far shoulder, resting her head on the closer one. He flinched at the contact, but otherwise did not object. "Don't worry," she whispered, "Naruto and I can handle anything that comes after us. I promise."

"Not this person." Immediately, Sakura drew back. "This person, I don't know, but I'm not letting either of you get hurt."

Now she was angry, only not at this mysterious person, but Sasuke. "How do you know that?" she asked, trying her best to keep her temper because she did not want to yell at him. "We haven't even tri – "

"You just can't!" he screamed. "You can't and I…I can't protect…" he gritted the last part out, his teeth bearing down, but Sakura was not going to pet him this time. Instead, she stood up and hit the wall with her fist. Sasuke stared at her in complete shock.

"Uchiha," she began, not even going to address him by his first name, "I spent the past three years training myself so I wouldn't be useless anymore. That training was grueling and sometimes I wasn't sure if I was making any progress, but you know what?" She frowned, determination in her eyes and face. "I kept going because I had something to work for. You, for one thing, and to prove that I didn't need protecting anymore."

Sasuke blinked. She could see the disbelief on his face. She never thought she would be yelling at Sasuke! And from the look of things, Sasuke had not thought of it either. "I don't know how strong his person is, but I assure you, if he comes after you again, you won't be alone in facing him. We'll defeat him – me, you and Naruto – together, okay, Sasuke-kun?" She sat back down, an indomitable smile on her face and ignoring the fist-shaped crack in the wall.

He continued to stare at her, but his eyes did not hold that vacant look anymore. They seemed to hold something else, however, then he turned away and his eyes changed again, desperate, scared, guilt. He started trembling again and mumbling words she could not understand. She grasped his hand, holding it even tighter than before. And finally, she could make out his mumbling…

"My brother, my brother, I killed him, my brother, I killed him…" He shook his head as if in denial. "Didn't mean to, accident, killed him, shouldn't have, mother, father, sorry, no, no, no, NO!"

"Sasuke-kun!" She shook him, confused. Is he delirious? Has his state of mind changed? Placing a hand on his forehead confirmed to her that he was feverish; his eyes remained desperate so she gently lowered him back down to the bed, holding him down as he struggled and mumbled denials and apologies to his parents over his brother's death. Maybe he's regressed into a childlike state? He doesn't remember the Uchiha massacre so to him, Itachi's done nothing and he's accidentally killed him. That's why he keeps apologizing to his parents? However, that made her question how Itachi died in the first place. Naruto had said Sasuke had seemed crazy when they first met.

Sakura got up and rushed over to the trail of medical supplies. This time, however, she did not pick up the drug she had last time. Instead, she picked up one that would produce a calming effect, not a sleep. Rushing back over to Sasuke, she injected the drug into his arm.

At once, the effects of the drug began to change him. His eyes softened, his trembling stopped, he began to breathe evenly and stopped mumbling. Glancing over to her, he blinked and, with a look of hopelessness, said, "Sakura…"

She held his hand and gave him an encouraging smile. "We'll get through this, Sasuke-kun. I promise."

For the first time, Sasuke squeezed her hand, surprising her. Maybe it was the effect of the drug, but still, it surprised her. "Will we?" he muttered.

Sakura nodded, happiness filling her for the first time since they left the battlefield with Sasuke in their care. She felt like she had finally made some headway into Sasuke's problems. "Yes, we will. One step at a time."

I really hope I wrote Sasuke right (have I complained about this enough? Yeah…I'll slink back into my turtle shell now). Sasuke internalizes everything emotionally. Normally, I have a field day with a character like Sasuke, but that internalizing…just doesn't work with me. So I hope I wrote him well.

Finally, this is the last of the purely SasuSaku or NaruHina chapters. The next (and last) two are a mix. There's only a bit SasuSaku in the next one, through, it's more Team 7ish than anything.

Thanks for reading - NessaMoon