title: 7:31
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH ON LJ! 2012
rating: T-M

summary: o18: Sakura doesn't see dead people. She sees ghosts of the ones that she loves, and she's not ready to let go yet.

REVISED 6.30.14

.o18.
Ghost

"I see dead people…"

Naruto droned ominously as he lowered his jaw and squinted his eyes to make it seem like he was unsure of something. Sakura growled, punching him upside the head.

"You idiot! You do not see ghosts."

"I didn't say I saw ghosts! I said I saw dead people! Haven't you ever seen The Sixth Sense? My goodness, Sakura. And I thought I lived under a rock."

Sakura retorted, "Well, not everyone has seen that movie." She turned to Sai. "Have you seen it?"

"Of course. Who hasn't?"

She growled before calling Kakashi over.

"Sensei—have you seen The Sixth Sense?"

"I've watched it four times already," Kakashi said, putting his book away. "You're saying that you haven't? What, Sakura, do you live under a rock or something?"

Sakura bit her lip in frustration as the three boys teased her for her "hipster qualities" and how by seeing the movie was "mainstream," which she wasn't.

"Screw you," she said, pulling on her gloves. "Shit just got serious. Now, which one of you wants to get your ass kicked first?"

.

.

.

Sakura sighed in exhaustion as she trailed home, dragging her feet. The three guys were still on the training field, the energy knocked out of them. She thought they would be there until tomorrow morning.

Opening the door to her apartment, she stumbled in as Sasuke caught her before she fell.

"Watch your step," he said with care.

She groaned. "Ugh. Thanks. Anyway, why weren't you there?"

"I didn't feel like going today. I have some pain."

"That's never stopped you before," she said suspiciously. "Are you cheating on me?"

His face turned into one she'd never seen before—contorted with shock and surprise. "You think I'd cheat on you? Sakura." He shook his head. "You should know me better than that."

"You're right," she sighed. "I'm sorry." She opened her arms out for a hug, which he took. "Anyway, so what's the real reason?"

He nodded towards the TV. "The Sixth Sense was on. I didn't want to miss it."

"Oh, come on!" Sakura said in exasperation, stamping her foot. "Literally, has everybody but me seen that movie?"

"You haven't seen it?"

She groaned. "I'm going to bed."

"Sakura, don't be like this," Sasuke said, walking after her.

"Good night, Sasuke-kun." She slammed the door.

.

.

.

She tossed and turned in her sleep, taking up most of the bed. Sasuke was still watching TV, and she was always on the verge of waking up.

"Nngh," she moaned in annoyance. The blankets were too hot covering her, but they were too cold without. She sighed.

Then, the TV noises stopped. She could finally fall asleep peacefully.

And she dreamt of ghosts—lots of them. The people she loved. All ghosts. All see through.

All out of her grasp.

There was Kakashi, approaching her. He was a sort of pale white transparent color. He waved at her, smiling underneath his mask.

"Yo! Sakura! How's it going?"

Sai floated along next to him. "Hey, ugly," he said. Their voices echoed, since they weren't there. They weren't real.

"Sakura-chan!" This time, Naruto floated up. "Haven't seen you in a while. How's life?"

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, before Sasuke floated up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, but she couldn't feel him behind her. It was almost like nothing was there. She tried to touch his arms, but her hands only went through his body.

"Sasuke-kun—" she said.

He was snuggling his nose in her shoulder. "Hey."

She broke free from his unreal grasp and looked around her. "You're all ghosts. All of you." She reached out to touch Naruto's shoulder only to feel nothing.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "But it's okay. I don't mind. It's just you we're worried about. I don't know, being a ghost seems so much more carefree. Like we have nothing to worry about."

"But…"

"We miss you, Sakura-chan. But we're happy here, too! Hopefully, you can join us sometime soon." He gave her a big grin.

She looked at all of them, feeling tears prick in her eyes. "You all mean so much to me."

"You, too," Kakashi said, winking at her. Sai nodded, and Naruto chuckled. She then turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun…" she turned back to her boyfriend, to see him in a sad smirk.

"Hn." I do, too.

She reached out to cup his cheeks where they would have been, had he been a real man. "I love you," she said.

He put his hands on her waist, trying to pull her closer. She moved towards his ghost.

Then, she leaned in, knowing her lips would touch only air, but…

.

.

.

"Sakura—wake up. Wake up!"

"Hnn…I…" she propped herself up as she saw Sasuke, his cheek red.

"Sasuke-kun! What happened?"

"You were having a nightmare and kicked me in the jaw," he muttered. "What's wrong? Are you alright?" he put a finger to her cheek and she noticed that she was crying.

"It's fine."

"It's not fine. You're not okay. Tell me, what's wrong?"

He sat down on the bed next to her.

"I had a bad dream."

"What was it about?"

She sighed. "I dreamed that you, and everyone else…left me." She said the last part in such a quiet whisper she was unsure if he had heard her or not.

"That's ridiculous. Why would we leave you?"

"Well, not voluntarily. You were all…ghosts."

"That's even more absurd."

Sakura frowned. "You're awful." She pulled the covers back over her, and he patted her shoulder.

"Fine, I'm sorry. Come here."

He held her tight and whispered in her hair, "We're not going to leave you."

She hugged him tight. "You promise?"

"Hn." Yeah.

"Okay."

Then, he pushed her back down onto the bed and kissed her again before trailing his fingers down to the hem of her shirt.

She responded by kicking off her sweatpants and kissing him back.

.

.

.

True to her thoughts, the rest of the team was still lying on the training grounds, unable to get up.

"Ugh, Sakura-chan," Naruto groaned. "You pack a punch."

"I can't even breathe," Sai said. "I'm so hungry."

"I almost shit myself," Kakashi mentioned. "You've gotten so strong."

Sasuke smirked as Sakura sighed, kneeling over each of her teammates and healing them. Soon, they were back on their feet, and stretching out their limbs.

"Well, so, that's that," Kakashi said.

"So, Sakura," Naruto said, not using his brain. "Do you see dead people?"

Sakura felt a vein in her forehead pop, but instead, she said, "I used to." She turned to Sasuke. "But not anymore."

"Oh." This response shocked Naruto. "Okay."

Unbeknownst to all of them, she had watched the so called "under a rock" movie that her teammates teased her about. And she loved it. Every second of it.

"You're about to see dead people pretty soon, though," she said, walking towards him while cracking her knuckles.

He gulped.

Slight changes!