tooktherightpath | [Voicemail] Somarium Dreamnet

[ It's late at night on April 1st when Sasuke gets this text. ]

Sasuke... can we talk?

[ It takes Sasuke a while to answer. He doesn't want to dare believe that anything good is going to come of this, but he may as well get it over with. ]

Yeah...

Okay.
Lets meet at the fountain.
I can be there in 10.

I'll be a bit longer. See you soon.

Sakura was waiting for Sasuke at the fountain, just like she said.

The young girl was dressed in a puce-colored dress and some black stockings, a pair of black, lace-up riding boots on her feet and a fuzzy black cardigan. She was with Kin, who was running around Sakura as she played with him, waiting for Sasuke to arrive.

The young girl bent own, ruffling Kin's fur. She was fourteen now, and it was strange, but it did look as if she had grown, even if only just a little.

"Kiiiiiin, you're such a good boy!"

Kin barked happily and tried to lick Sakura's face. The minute Sasuke came close enough for his sharp ears to hear, he stopped and turned to look in Sasuke's direction perfectly fixated. His master was back to normal.

Kin barked again and took off at a run for Sasuke.

The young ninja paused in his walk. Despite the heavy feeling in his heart the sight of his dog running to meet him made him smile if only a little.

"Kin." He knelt down and pet his dog, who tried his hardest not to lick Sasuke's face and ultimately ended up losing that attempt at self restraint.

Sasuke accepted the dogs affection, but he did eventually straighten and looked down the way to Sakura. She looked fine, as if the fight had never happened at all.

Sakura rose to her feet. She stared over at Sasuke as dog and master were reunited, remaining silent for a bit. It was nice, to watch the two. She was perfectly healed and dressed cute for the day; the party had lasted awhile.

But one important person had not been there.

But how to start this.

"...I saw your post," She began, keeping the topic off of the two of them. "...About D-san and Ichijou-san leaving. I'm sorry...

"Are... you staying in the house by yourself?"

It took a lot to get closer to Sakura, but he managed it somehow. He stopped a few feet away before Sakura started talking.

He didn't know what to say. He looked away his fist clenched slightly at his side.

Kin whined and licked at Sasuke's hand comfortingly.

"No, I'm staying with my brother and Kamui for now."

He couldn't stay there. Not right now.

"I see."

Sakura lapsed into silence. She was unsure of what to say to him. So much had been said during that fight...

Her Star Key rattled against her chest. Its bright pink-and-gold color stood out prominently against the black-and-purple she wore.

Sasuke looked down at the space between them. They were so close and yet so far from one another. Had it really only been a few days ago that they were close friends? Was it that easy to break the tie?

The expression on Sasuke's face didn't change, but the aura around him was noticeably darker, at least to someone sensitive to that sort of thing. He shifted a bit, not sure what to say, before finally speaking.

"Thank you for taking care of Kin."

"Its fine. Kin is a good dog, so it was okay.

"He slept with me in my room, so I felt safe. It was kind of like having Kero-chan again." Her voice lifted a small bit, trying to put light into their conversation... but even so, it seemed to fall flat. It was idle chatter, attempting to pierce through the real conversation that needed to be had.

'Sasuke... we need to talk.' That had been the text. She had called him here to talk, and yet, still...

...Still...

Sasuke nodded. If Kin hadn't been his, he might have been tempted to leave Kin with Sakura still. He dropped his hand down to Kin's silky head and pet him a few times.

Talk...right..

Sasuke cleared his throat. What was he supposed to say? They were supposed to talk but...Then again it wasn't as if the elephant in the room wasn't obvious.

"Sakura...I..." Sasuke paused. God what... "I'm sorry."

Sakura looked up to Sasuke quickly. She was silent for a moment, his apology lingering in the night air. The young girl looked away from him for a moment.

"...You don't have to say that," Sakura stated, and her foot sort of dug a little into the ground,her boot kicking up a small bit of dirt. "I know--I know it wasn't your fault. So you don't need to apologize."

That silence -- if only for a moment Sasuke was sure Sakura was going to say she didn't want the apology, and she had every right to deny it. His fists clenched at his side and he stayed looking down not daring to meet her gaze.

"How can you say that? How can you possibly say it wasn't my fault?" Sasuke closed his eyes. His fists shook lightly from how tightly he was clenching them. "I knew what I was saying...even if it wasn't true, I knew what I was saying to hurt you."

"I understand if you don't want to accept the apology, you should deny it." He turned his back to Sakura as if he was about to walk away.

"But I--" Sakura saw he was turning away, leaving as if tha was the end of the conversation, as if that was all that they would be able to talk about. As if this was the end.

"Sasuke, wait!" Sakura took a few running steps over to him her dress fluttering with every darting step. The now fourteen-year-old girl grabbed the back of his shirt with both hands, keeping him from advancing.

"You're walking away?!" She was practically shouting at him, and maybe she was. She couldn't tell, but she did know that her voice was ringing over the rolling sound of the fountain. "You're just going to walk away from me...

"After everything I said to you then?!"

Sasuke paused when he felt Sakura's hands on his back. She was so close to him. He wanted to turn around then and take her into her arms. To tell her it was okay, and it had all been part of a nightmare in the dream they were both trapped in.

That wasn't what he did.

"I remember what you said." Sasuke said his voice quiet but firm. "It's better this way Sakura. You deserve someone who will protect you no matter the cost. I..." Sasuke's head lowered. "I'm not that person."

It hurt. It hurt more than Sasuke could even imagine it hurting, but it was true. Sasuke hadn't been able to stop himself from saying what he did, and if Sakura hadn't fought back he would have...

Sakura felt a strange ball of anguish buried deep into her chest. She was speechless. She didn't know what to say to Sasuke, didn't know what the right words were, or what to do... this whole time, she had struggled, trying to find her own feelings, trying to sort out how she felt...

And then, then...

"So that's it, then." Her voice was flat, on the verge of trembling. Her fingers still held onto Sasuke's shirt.

"You're walking away... after everything we've been through together as friends...?

"After everything to said to me, and after all that's happened here in Somarium..." Sakura seemed like she was building up to something great, like she was going to yell at him, or unleash some sort of grand speech, but whatever may had been, it fizzled out, and her voice cracked before going quiet, her head lowering.

"Sasuke, how could you...?"

"How could you leave now...

"...After I've fallen in love with you?"

Was she...Sasuke's eyes went wide when he heard the first sound of Sakura's tears. There was something both beautiful and tragic in the sound of those tears. Sasuke's fist clenched at his side ready to say again that he was doing what was right when those fateful words fell from her lips.

'I've fallen in love with you'.

It was everything he'd wanted to hear. No longer under the effects of the new moon he could hear the words in all their magnitude. This wasn't just about friendship, it was something far deeper and something Sasuke had felt all along.

Sasuke pulled away then as if he was going to continue walking away. He turned instead to face Sakura and wasn't that a mistake? He nearly staggered at the sight of her crying yet again because of him.

"How...Sakura how can you say that?" Sasuke's voice remained steady despite the emotions welling up in his chest.

"I tried to push you away, I..." His fist clenched and he looked back down at the ground unable to stand the sight of the tears he had caused. "I almost killed you. Why...How can you stand there and say you," Dear god could he actually say the words back to her? "How could you say you love me?"

Sakura's head snapped up, partially glaring at him through her tears.

"How many times do you want me to say it?!" She shouted at him over the fountain; it seemed like it was roaring to her, drowning out her words.

"Even if the Sasuke I saw is inside of you, that doesn't mean that Sasuke is a bad person! It just means that there are parts of him that need to be loved even more!

"So stop--" And Sakura closed her eyes tightly, "Stop acting like you're some horrible person...! Because the Sasuke I know is is an amazing person!"

"Sakura why..." Sasuke's fist clenched again. He could feel his own emotions welling up inside of him. How could he deny it? It was this very reason that he'd started to fall in love with her in the first place. This faith she had in him even when he showed the worst of himself.

His eyes started to burn a bit as unshed tears coated his eyes. The roar of the fountain seemed to cut out every other sound leaving the two of them alone in their own world.

"Why are you such a good person?" The words were said quietly barely above a whisper.

He moved forward feeling as if his limbs weren't his own and wrapped Sakura up into a tight hug. His own emotional dam felt as if it was breaking and shattering. The sound of the fountain was a torrent in Sasuke's ears trying to reach him and wash away his doubt and insecurity.

She didn't answer him. Sakura was swept up into Sasuke's hug, and she took it in for everything it was worth. She hugged the Uchiha tightly, never wanting to let him go. She didn't know where in her dream she was, but she hoped that she didn't wake up to find that this was all in her mind. Sakura just hugged him back, her own tears still prickling in the corners of her eyes.

"Sasuke..." Her words whispered into his ear. "...Everything...

"...Is going to be all right." It was her invincible spell.

Sasuke drew in a breath. All he could smell was Sakura, a mix of her shampoo and soap and something that was entirely just her.

He loved her. Deep down in his soul Sasuke knew he loved Sakura. She was his most important person and though he knew this was only a dream he could hope that somehow this would become a reality. He hoped this could be come a reality he could wake up to, one he didn't have to worry about leaving or fear that it would be taken away from him.

"Sakura..." His voice was soft, yet almost pleading, but the question he wanted to ask was a promise Sakura couldn't give.

[Voicemail] Somarium Dreamnet

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