He was happy.

He was outside, in the sun.

Nothing was complicated.

It was Springtime, and he was surrounded by his family.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and never withered. They were eternal.

This was his home, his sanctuary, his paradise. Always safe and secure, just as he remembered it.

Nothing was complicated.

It was untouched perfection, undisturbed.

Nothing was complicated.

Nothing was complicated.

He was home.

He wasn't alone.

And then,

He woke up.

You were just laying there!

Sakura woke up to the memory of her own shouting voice, her chest swelling with anxiety and regret. Oh gosh, she had said an awful lot yesterday. Perhaps too much. Really, who was she to throw accusations at him? ...Arguably, from what she deducted, those accusations were more like cruel facts, but she certainly wasn't entitled to shout whenever she felt like it.

You chose it!

That's what she believed. It was a sort of tragedy, in her mind, what he was doing to himself. A sort of huge shame. What a shame, she thought, for a creature to be suffering without the strength to do anything about it. For life to be there, still there, yet no one was aware of him. His quiet existence was as good as dead, except he wasn't dead. He was just forgotten. What a shame, she thought.

She blamed her insufferable persistence to him on her being a witch. Witches had an enormous respect for life, all life. Life was the most precious concept in the world to a witch, even the life that chose to suffer alone. Sakura knew that all life deserved better than that. There was a clear difference between 'being alive' and 'living'. The vampire, alone in his dusty painting, was not 'living'.

When she finally willed herself to get dressed, to pull on her shoes and to tie her bow, her feet dragged her back to that once desolate place.

Once again, she found herself in front of the large doors that separated this sunny outside place to the vampire's domain. Sakura took a breath, her entire existence hesitant, unable to even bring herself to lift up a fist to knock on the door. Her hands felt clammy. She tapped her foot in place lightly, as if the movement would somehow motivate her to move. It didn't.

You can do it, Sakura! Could she?

Just- Just knock on the door, and then apologize! First thing you do, apologize! Sounds easier thought out than done, surely.

That'll make it better! No- No, it won't make it better, but it's the thought that counts! Surely such a concept would be known to an ageless vampire! Sakura wasn't so sure.

"Alright," She breathed out under her breath before bringing her petite fist to the wood of the door, making a little 'clack' of a knock.

She could hear the little sound echo inside, and wondered if he'd even open the door. She had shouted at him that she was coming back, and he didn't protest to it.

Well.

The girl didn't exactly give him a moment to reply back. She had stomped her little self back down the stairs without even looking up to view his expression. That counted, right? If he really wanted to say no or to insist that she didn't come back, he would've found a way. Yeah. Yeah! He hadn't failed before of sneaking up on her by appearing suddenly, he could've done that again!

At least she had shouted an introduction before leaving.

The little witch paused, remembering that.

Wow, that was bold of her.

"..."

Sakura suddenly turned around on her heel, promptly intending on evacuating the premises.

She had never felt more spiritually connected with the word 'nope' in her entire life.

The loud creak of the doors behind her made the girl stop before going very far at all, glancing over her shoulder. The door was opened, just enough to allow her access. She couldn't see the vampire, figuring he was staying out of the way due to the sunlight.

"...It's...okay?" Sakura heard herself ask out of surprise, hardly believing that she was being let in by the vampire's own choice.

"5 seconds." He spoke out, "4 seconds."

She scampered inside.

He had woken up.

His eyes opened to stare at the ceiling above. It was too quiet, far too quiet to be anything like the world he had been in moments before.

This wasn't 'home'.

His body ached and protested as he sat himself up, clearly hearing a few 'cracks' as he did. The first thing he noticed was how frail he had become as he looked at his hands, though the second thing he noticed was how apathetic he was to that. He was frail, yes, though not as frail as he would've expected to be. Either way, he didn't care. His eyes guided his consciousness towards the window, blocked only by heavy curtains that weren't the same color as he remembered. Everything appeared... Dull.

But, again, he didn't care.

The sunlight just barely passed through the bottom of the curtains, light catching onto the wooden floors and the sprinkles of dust hanging in the air. Everything felt still.

The silent stillness made the only thing that the vampire cared out painfully and unbearably apparent:

He was completely alone.

The girl had ran inside, turning after to view the slouchy vampire shut the door after her.

To her pleasant surprise, he didn't wear his usual hostile-grumpy expression as he had before: Though he wasn't smiling, he wasn't glaring at her either. He released a silent sigh after she entered, closed the door, then glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow. He just looked plain grumpy now, which Sakura supposed was an upgrade.

"...You're-"

"I'd like to first start out by saying how terribly, terribly sorry I am for what I said yesterday." Sakura suddenly bowed, deeply, at the other. Her crimson bow flopping downwards as she did. "I-I was upset and frustrated, but that's really no excuse for shouting at you. I-I understand, after much thought and self-reflection, that I should've explained my thoughts in a more civilized manner and I should've not been so- so accusative." She took a short breath, "Even though I could've very well have been totally correct, it still isn't a topic I should've approached so aggressively. I'm really, really sorry."

There was a lingering silence before the girl peeked up, her nature filled eyes worried as she tried to find some sort of readable thought in his expression. She was holding her breath.

"Sakura, was it?"

She blinked before finding her words. He remembered! "Y-Yes! Sakura! I'm Sakura! Sakura Haruno!"

"Sakura Haruno." He repeated, trying the name on his lips, before adjusting his posture. Sakura realized then that he looked healthier than yesterday. He still looked sickly, yes, but the texture in his skin was becoming less like wrinkled paper. His bones didn't show quite as much in the knuckles of his hands and in his wrists as they had yesterday. Even in his face, which had finally started to fill out some. Small changes, changes that another probably wouldn't notice, but Sakura was naturally observant.

He had drank the vial that she left behind. Sakura cleared her throat, a light blush rising to her cheeks. She was happy. "...Is it... Is it okay to ask you what your name is?"

The vampire had paused, tilting his head some. He looked like he was thinking about it. After a moment of silence, Sakura raised her hands up in a sort of defense, "Y-You don't have to tell me!" She hurriedly assured the other, "I was just curious, you know, since I've been seeing you everyday for a while and-"

"Sasuke."

"W-what?"

"My name. It's Sasuke."

Again, thank you so much for returning back for Chapter Three.

I really appreciate reviews and PM's! I'm slowly working towards the main plot, so if you have suggestions, I'd love to read them and consider many different ideas and opinions.

My goal is to make this story good enough that people want to do fanart of it. I'd die of absolute happiness. 《《o(≧◇≦)o》》

POSSIBLY A FAR OFF GOAL, BUT I'M WORKING AT IT.

(人´∀`)ありがとｰ