Song of a Cherry Blossom
by Diana-san

Author's Note: Used a brief insert song "Long Kiss Goodbye" by HALCALI. Sorry for the wait! I wrote a bunch of one-shots so you can check them out on my profile. I also have a tumblr that I post some of my one-shots. You can send me prompt requests and I will try to respond. Happy New Year!

To Nixbloodlust - Thanks for the song recommendations! I will consider trying to fit them in but can't really promise you on that. :c

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or "Long Kiss Goodbye".

Chapter 24

Sakura shivered as she tried to pull her blanket up over her shoulders. Her hands felt around and she realized that the blanket on top was an odd shape. Her eyes opened as she rolled to one side.

"Boo," Sasuke said in a monotone voice as his face hovered in front of Sakura's.

She shrieked as she backed herself up in a corner. Glancing around, she finally took notice of her surroundings. They were inside a shed. Sakura recalled the events of last night as her face turned pink. They had spent the night together. Although nothing had happened, she hugged the jacket on top of her close to her face. It was still embarrassing somewhat.

"We should go back now before they send a search and rescue team to look for us," Sasuke stated calmly as he straightened up and took the jacket away from Sakura.

"You should put on your pants," he said as he looked away with a slight tinge of red across his face. He quickly placed his jacket on as Sakura made her way over to her jeans. They were still damp from the rain but dried considerably well overnight. She quickly placed her jeans back on and folded her t-shirt and jacket in a neat pile.

The two of them made their way back to the cabin where Kakashi was standing outside with an angry look across his normally stoic face.

"Sasuke and Sakura, you have some explaining to do," Kakashi said with a stern tone.

Sakura bowed her head in apology as she walked in after Sasuke. She could hear chatter and laughter coming from the dining hall where everyone must have gathered for breakfast. She followed Sasuke as they followed behind Kakashi to an empty room.

"Well?" Kakashi asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door to stare down at his two students.

"Please don't blame Sasuke. It was my fault. I went out without permission to look for something I lost and then got caught in the storm. Sasuke only came to look for me to bring me back," Sakura quickly explained.

"I know. Naruto and Hinata told me what happened when I noticed you two were missing from dinner. I was out of my mind trying to figure out what to do when you guys didn't come back last night. I was this close to sending everyone home early in case the worse happened to you two." Kakashi sighed as he uncrossed his arms. "Thankfully, Sasuke sent a text to Naruto to tell him that he found you and that you were seeking shelter in a shed. That put my mind at ease for the night."

Sakura quickly glanced at Sasuke. She didn't realize how terrible the situation was from her teacher's standpoint. Two students gone missing in the woods during a storm? Kakashi must have been going through hell. She was relieved that Sasuke had the sense to inform Naruto of the situation.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei," she said as she bowed her head to the ground. "I acted rashly and caused you trouble!"

Sasuke said nothing but he turned his head away as he tried not to look at his teacher in the eyes.

Kakashi sighed. "Well, I'm just glad you two are okay. But I can't let you two get off without punishment so you two are banned from today's activities and will have to stay inside the cabin until we leave this afternoon."

Sakura hung her head. "Yes," she replied.

"Go eat breakfast now," Kakashi ordered. "You two probably hadn't eaten since last night."

Sakura's stomach seemed to answer with a low rumble. She clutched her stomach in embarrassment as she realized just how hungry she was. She slowly got up and made her way to the door as Sasuke followed behind her.

"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi called out to him. Sasuke turned his head as Kakashi whispered to his ear, "That was nice of you to go rescue Sakura." Kakashi straightened up and smiled at him as Sasuke blushed and rubbed his ear.

"Guess you have a soft spot for her after all," Kakashi drawled as he walked past Sasuke and followed after Sakura.

The three of them entered the dining hall and immediately, Karin dashed over to Sasuke as she hugged his arm. "Where were you Sasuke-kun? I couldn't find you at all during dinner last night! I got so worried!"

He shrugged her off. "I was out."

"Out? Out where? Where could you go?" Karin asked in puzzlement.

"Just out."

Naruto and Hinata rushed over to Sakura as Hinata hugged Sakura.

"I was so worried about you Sakura-san! Are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"Did you find it?" Naruto asked.

Sakura nodded as she took out her pendant from the pocket of her jacket. "Yes, I'm sorry for worrying you two."

Naruto smiled. "Geez, don't scare us like that! I was worried when I saw that it was raining outside and I was going to come find you but that bastard beat me to it," he said as he glanced over at Sasuke.

Sakura smiled and giggled. "Ah, I promised I won't do it again next time!"

The three of them sat down for breakfast as Sasuke and Karin joined them on the other side. Throughout breakfast, Karin kept prodding Sasuke for information about where he went but Sasuke remained silent on the matter. He cut into a tomato with his knife as he ate a slice. Naruto and Hinata only exchanged glances as they wondered what went on last night between Sakura and Sasuke.

After breakfast, everyone prepared to go out for the last day of activities except for Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto was depressed when he heard that the two of them were punished. "WHAT! LET ME TALK TO KAKASHI-SENSEI AND GET HIM TO CHANGE HIS MIND!" he declared as he began to march to find his teacher.

Sasuke flicked him on the forehead. "Stop, you idiot. You're making a scene!"

"B-but it's the last day we can spend together!" Naruto whined.

"It's fine. Just go. I get the chance to be apart from Karin so it's a win for me."

Naruto stopped his complaints when he realized Sasuke was right. "Alright, I guess. But make sure Sakura-chan isn't bored out of her mind!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he turned to walk away.

Sakura was sitting in the dining room still as she held a cup of tea in her hands. She realized she was still wearing Sasuke's sweater and her face turned another shade of pink. Did anyone notice? She glanced at the sweater and then brought her arm up as she pressed her nose against the sleeve to inhale. It smelled a little like Sasuke from what she could remember whenever he was near her.

"Are you smelling me?"

Sakura's ears turned pink when she heard Sasuke's voice next to her. She turned to see him sitting down next to her.

"N-no!" she exclaimed as she dropped her arm and went back to holding her tea with two hands. Rather than being embarrassed about smelling his sweater, she was embarrassed that she got caught.

"Would you tell me why you went out there last night?" he asked as he stared out at the room in front of them.

"I-I went looking for something." She took out her pendant and showed him. "It was a gift from my parents… before they passed away."

He looked at the pendant. It was in the shape of a cherry blossom. He picked it up with his right hand as he looked closer at it. Somehow, the pendant seemed familiar. As if he had seen it from somewhere. He tried to rack his mind of where it could be from but his mind came up blank.

He returned the pendant to her as he waited for her to continue telling her story. Sakura glanced back at him and sighed as she realized he was waiting for more to the tale.

"You were crying," he said softly.

"I am scared of thunderstorms," she replied as she set aside her tea cup to the side.

"You looked more than just scared," he mentioned.

"I remembered how my parents died," she said softly. "I had blocked out some of my memories and forgot how that night truly happened. I originally thought it was just a regular fire but it wasn't. It was a storm worse than the one last night and the lightning struck our house. They died in the fire and I think I always blamed myself for their deaths. We could have avoided the fire if I didn't get mad and leave the house that night. We were supposed to have gone seen the fireworks for the cherry blossom festival that night. Instead, they died tragically while I survived alone."

Sasuke remained silent as he listened. Sakura closed her eyes as a tear slowly formed underneath her eyes.

"Last night, I had wondered if I was meant to have died with them. Maybe I wasn't supposed to have survived," Sakura said quietly as she continued on.

Sasuke placed his hand on top of hers. "No, you were given a once in a lifetime chance to live. To fulfill your dreams. Don't let that chance slip away from you.

A once in a lifetime chance? Those words were familiar. She recalled Danzo's words about his offer being a once in a lifetime opportunity. Fulfill her dreams? She wondered what her parents would have told her if they were still alive.

He continued to hold onto her hand as they sat there in silence. It was a nice moment for her as she realized how much better she felt to have shared the pain that was in her heart. Maybe she could finally move on and start living life the way she had wanted before the accident. Thinking back about her goal to finish school, she realized that she had been holding back on her dreams this whole time. It was just an excuse she had kept telling to herself over and over. Her parents had never actually said such things to her. Maybe her grandparents did at one point but her mother had always encouraged her to follow her dreams wherever it took her.

"Don't give up fighting for what you love," Sakura murmured to herself. She had given up. In a big way. The past her would have jumped at the offer in a heartbeat. Her dream was to be on that big stage.

She glanced over at Sasuke. If she was going to follow this dream of hers, did that perhaps mean that she should let him go at the same time? She couldn't possibly have both. He was going to have to marry Karin for the sake of his company. She glanced sadly at him as she wondered what his dream was. Was it to be president of the company? Have his father finally acknowledge him? Or was it for his older brother to return home? Sai had mentioned that they were close before.

"What is your dream?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke turned to look at her. Simply stating what seemed to be the obvious, "To be with you."

Those words came at her in a surprise and Sakura flailed her arms out from the shock. It was stupid of her because she ended up knocking over the cup of tea that was sitting beside her.

Perhaps she was grateful for her clumsiness since it avoided the awkwardness of trying to answer to Sasuke's forward confession. She sighed as she knelt down to begin picking up the broken pieces. Sasuke grabbed her hand.

"Go get a dust pan. I'll handle it over here," he ordered.

She glanced at him for a moment before leaving to find what he requested of her. Glancing back at him, she could tell that he didn't really need the dust pan. He probably knew she was just as uncomfortable as he was in that current situation.

A week passed and everything seemed to be normal again back in school as it was before. Sakura was barely able to focus on her schoolwork. The days were drawing near until it became weeks and then February had arrived.

It felt like March was drawing closer and closer as she prolonged her thoughts about everything happening in her life. The end of the year competition was coming up and she still didn't have a song that felt suitable enough to submit. Danzo's offer was still on the table and Sakura didn't have an answer yet for it. Sasuke's impending wedding seemed to be the one thing that was coming closest the fastest. She knew it was only a matter of time before he and Karin would go from engaged to wedded.

As Sakura walked through the hallways on her way back from the bathroom, she slowly peeked through one of the windows to the classroom. Sasuke was staring out the window with a bored look on his face. Or maybe he was thinking intently. She could never tell since his expression didn't change much between his gazes.

He hadn't mention much about the wedding and she couldn't tell if he was really going to go through with it. It had seemed that he was just going along for it for the moment but she wondered until when the reality will set in for the both of them.

Karin was always gushing on and on about minor wedding details but it didn't seem like she was planning most of it as she had left that all up to some wedding planner that her father had hired.

Sakura sighed as she leaned against the wall.

"Sakura-chan!"

She glanced up and looked over as Naruto came running over towards her. "Hey, want to go ice skating this weekend?"

"Ice skating?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun! You know how to ice skate right?"

Sakura bit her lip. She had never gone before. "Yeah," she lied. I mean it's just like walking on ice right? How hard can it be?

"Okay cool! It'll be you, me, Hinata, Neji, Tenten, and Sasuke!"

She immediately bolted upright from her leaning position. "The six of us?!" It sounded almost like a triple date. Except only one pair was technically a couple.

"Yeah, Sasuke and I always go each year. We usually go with the Hyuugas and Neji always brings his girlfriend along. Sasuke is determined to go because…" Naruto leaned in to whisper into Sakura's ear. "Karin has a dress fitting this weekend so she can't make it."

Sakura glanced at Naruto. "Why are you telling me this?"

Naruto winked. "Oh, you know!" He nudged her. "It's quite obvious Sakura-chan! And it's Valentine's Day that day!"

Sakura frowned. She wasn't sure what Naruto was hinting at. "Naruto, you know he's engaged right?"

Naruto sighed. "Stop reminding me! Ever since news about that broke out, he hasn't been much fun. Just moody all the time. Like always but more so on an irritable level. I really hope it doesn't happen but I'm getting roped into best man duties and it seems as if it is coming true."

Naruto looked sadly into the classroom. "I honestly didn't think he would have to get married until after we graduated."

The bell rang to signal the end of the break.

"So Saturday then?" Naruto asked as he walked towards the classroom door.

"Ah," she responded back.

Valentine's Day?

The thought hung over her head for the remainder of the day.

Sakura took out the tray of chocolates from the fridge as she tested one to see how it tasted. They weren't the best chocolate ever but she had made them from scratch. She sighed as she filled up one bag with the homemade chocolate. She had no idea why she was making them to begin with. But she assumed the receiver would be happy at least to get them. Or maybe he'll spit them out and hate her forever.

The doorbell rang. She wondered who it could be on a weekend morning. She was sure she paid her rent on time. She opened it and was surprised to see Sai standing at the doorway.

"Sai!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" he said with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as her crease lines over her forehead increased. She can't remember a time when he ever brought good news to her.

"I just dropped by because I'm visiting Konoha today."

She folded her arms. "Yes, and…" she prodded him.

"My surgery was successful!"

She uncrossed her arms. "That's great news Sai!" she said happily. And it was. She was worried when she didn't hear back from him after the break.

"Well, of course, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here. I've been resting back at my parents' house and realized how bored I was now that I have no job or school to focus on."

"But you have been working on your art right?"

"Yeah, but it's a bit difficult to jump back into it. I seemed to have lost the motivation."

Sai asked if he could come in and Sakura gestured for him to sit down at her kitchen table. He noticed the chocolates on the kitchen counter. "For Sasuke?" he said with a coy smile.

She quickly ran to hide them as she threw them in her bag. "N-no," she muttered. "They're just for me to eat."

"How are things between you and Sasuke?"

Sakura stared up at the ceiling. "He asked me to elope with him."

Sai gave a small smile. "And you didn't?"

"You know that it's not possible."

"Only you seem to make it impossible," Sai murmured.

"For a moment, I considered it. Running away with him. But then I realized how selfish it would be of us."

"Isn't love selfish sometimes?"

Sakura frowned. "I can't be that person. As much as I want to, I would always feel guilty. If the day comes that he changes his feelings for me, wouldn't he come to hate me and resent me?"

"I don't think he would ever hate you."

They were silent as each were lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Sakura broke the silence.

Sakura bit her lip. "Actually, it's good that you are here. You were right about Danzo. He came to find me awhile back to offer me your role."

Sai remained silent.

"I-I think I'm going to take it!" Sakura blurted out.

Sai seemed unfazed as he waited for Sakura to continue on.

"A-and Danzo told me about how you created that scandal as a way to promote the movie later on."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean I'm not mad about what you did. Maybe a little. But now, it doesn't really matter," Sakura responded.

"So, does Sasuke know about this?" he asked.

"He doesn't know yet. He doesn't know much about anything. About me being Saki. About this offer. I think it's best that way. We'll go our separate paths."

Sai sighed and got up. "It seems as if you guys need more help than I had hoped."

"Help?" Sakura didn't know what he meant by that.

"I'll be going now. Thanks for letting me stay awhile." Sai got up to leave and without another word, he was gone.

Sakura stared at the closed door. If anything, Sai was getting stranger and stranger by the minute. She wondered if this was the effect of the post-idol life. Or maybe he didn't get surgery in the right place.

She didn't have time to think over what Sai's visit meant as she glanced at the clock. She had better get moving soon if she wanted to catch the subway to meet up with everyone for ice skating. Sakura grabbed her bag as she headed out.

Ice skating was not as fun as she had imagined it to be. Sakura could barely stand on the ice without tripping every five seconds. Everyone in the group skated by like a pro as Hinata bent down to help Sakura get back up.

"Hold on to the railing, Sakura-san," Hinata suggested.

Sakura sighed as she grabbed onto the railing. She hated the railing. All the little kids were giving her the look because she was slower than them and was hogging up the railing. Sakura glared at one kid who went around her.

She stood up on her shaky legs as she took a step forward. And then a second step. She was doing it. She was walking on ice. Sakura grinned as she sped up a little while pulling herself with the help of the railing. She was almost about to reach one of the entrances.

Sakura looked across as she looked at the railing that was on the other side of the entrance. She had to somehow hop over without any railing support. She slowly let go of the railing as she reached out to grab onto the next part of the railing. She missed as her skates gave way from underneath her and she could feel herself falling forward.

But she didn't fall. She stared at the ice ground in front of her. Sakura glanced up and behind her to see Sasuke looking back down at her. His arm was around her waist as he caught her from behind.

"Why are you so bad at this?" he asked.

Sakura stuck out her lips in a pout. "I'm sorry I don't go skating each year like you guys do!"

He smiled smugly as he let go of her and she grabbed back onto the railing again. He held out an arm. "Here," he said. "You can use me as a railing."

Sakura glanced at his arm. "No," she said as she looked away. She wasn't going to be made fun of by him.

"Would you rather hold up the kids in the back?"

They both glanced behind them as a trail of kids were slowly making their way closer to them.

"Fine," Sakura grumbled as she grabbed onto his arm with both of her hands. He slowly skated towards the center of the ice rink as Sakura got half-dragged along. He held out his hands as she grabbed on with her hands. Slowly, he led her around in circles as Sakura tried to get used to the feeling of gliding on the ice.

She smiled as she realized how much more fun it was to glide than to walk and trip.

They stopped suddenly as Sasuke paused in the middle of the ice rink. Sakura looked up as she wondered why he was stopping so suddenly.

"Sakura…" he started. "I'm going to marry Karin."

The world seemed to stand still as Sakura heard those words. People whizzed by around them on the rink but she could only stare back at him.

She opened her mouth, trying to find the words to reply back. But no sound came out. Her throat felt dry and her she wasn't sure if she was hyperventilating or if the cold had just reached her ears and was causing a panic up and down her spine. She tried to say something. But before she could, the loudspeaker came on and announced to the entire rink that the rink was closing temporarily for cleaning.

Sasuke took her hand and began to move her towards the exit as a crowd of skaters followed behind. Sakura could only numbly follow as he dragged her along. She didn't want to believe in those words. But it was true.

As they waited for the rink with the rest of the group, Sakura couldn't bring herself up to say anything since everyone was there. She watched Sasuke who seemed to be unable to look her in the eyes now. Her heart was aching and she wondered if everyone was aware of how strange the atmosphere was. Maybe it was just her. She should say something to clear the air. Should she confess to Sasuke? Tell him not to marry Karin? What should she do? Her mind raced with a dozen different possibilities.

But she never got the chance as Sasuke got a phone call and had to leave. The group protested since they still had the rest of the day left at the rink but Sasuke only mentioned that it was business matters and that he had to go. Without even an apology, he left quietly only to look back once at Sakura. She noticed but didn't know what else to say. He had to go.

It was only at the end of the day that she looked into her bag and realized that she never gave him the chocolate she made for him.

On the following Monday return to school, Sakura was determined to find Sasuke and confess to him and give him the chocolate. But the chance never came. Sasuke didn't appear on Monday or the next day or even the day after that. Karin wasn't in class either. She asked Naruto but he didn't know anything. It was only on Thursday when Kakashi announced to the class that Sasuke had taken a withdrawal and that Karin had withdrew as well. It came to a shock to the class and there were murmurs of what could be the reason why.

Sakura knew why. There could be no other reason. She confirmed it when she saw the news the following day. She was passing by an electronics store on the way home. Sasuke was on the screen along with his father shown at some sort of conference. The announcer reporting said that the company was being handed down to Sasuke.

Sakura couldn't believe it. Sasuke was already transitioning to becoming the successor to Uchiha Corporation. As she stood in front of the large display television, she could slowly feel the great distance that was between her and Sasuke. She felt like he was already disappearing further and further away from her.

The days went by as more news popped up about the Uchiha Corporation. Stock prices were going up as the news announced of the impending marriage between Sasuke and Karin.

February turned to March. Sakura stared at the ceiling as a song came on the radio. She turned her head to glance at her phone, wondering if Sasuke would contact her. He never did. She clutched the phone in her hand as she sat on her bed. After a moment of staring off into space, she dialed a number. She waited as she listened to the dialing tone of the phone that blended in with the background of the music from her radio.

"Watashi nari ni "ai saretai" afureru no ni kimi ga mienai
Nido to kimi ni aenai sonna ki ga surunda..."

Even though "I want to be loved" in my own way, it fills me, but I can't see you
I just have the feeling that I'll never see you again...

"H-hello?" Sakura responded as the other line picked up.

"I'm glad you called," the voice on the other end responded.

"I thought a lot about it over the past few days," Sakura said as she clutched the sheets underneath her free hand. "I-I want to take your offer!"

Danzo smiled at the other end of the line. "Very well. I shall go ahead and arrange everything for you."

As Sakura lowered the phone from her ear, a tear fell down her cheek and landed on top of hand. It was clear now that she and Sasuke had to move on with their respective paths.

"Good bye…" she said softly as the phone clicked to signal the line going dead. "…Sasuke."

"Tsutaetai no ni umai kotoba miataranai
Watashi tabun uso demo ii no ni "ikanai de" mo ienai yo"

I want to tell you that, but I can't find the right words
Maybe it's okay if I lie, but I can't even say "Don't go away"

"Nigittetate ga hanaretara
Kimi wa itsuka wasurechau no?
Watashi no koto"

When our hands come apart
Will you forget someday?
About me?