A thoughtful insight. Established in year 2007 and completed on the 29th of November 2008.

The evening winds blew gently on Sakura as she trekked through the soft, mossy forest grass. She paused by a large , withered tree and pressed her palm against its bark.

'So smooth' she thought. 'Funny,' she mused, how love was so much like this tree. It grew, it aged, but it still lives. Jade green eyes raised mournfully to the darkening sky. Traces of

early stars caught her gaze. 'Maybe...maybe I'll just starwatch a while.' she decided, trying to push unpleasant churns of unhappiness aside. She found a cozy clearing and settled

herself on the grass. The cool grass caressed her bare arms and the undersides of her legs. Sakura watched the sky. One by one, twinkling stars began to show, adding sprinkles of

glitter to the inky night. It was amazing...how the stars made the black stand out. The colour of his hair. The shade of his eyes.. Sakura's heartbeat quickened with a twinge of hurt and

longing. She turned her head away. 'No...not now. I just want to forget.' The winds blew stronger, pounding into her eardrums—like a torrent of memories she was forced to relive.

Reluctantly, her mind went back to that awful day when he left. Her eyes slid shut with shame as she painfully recalled...how she pleaded and begged him to stay. She poured her

heart out to him. The last thing she remembered him saying was, "Thank you." She never really understood why he said that. Thank you for what? for caring about me? for loving me?

or were you being sarcastic? Thank you for being a pain?

A swift pressure on her neck...then...blackness filled her memory. She remembered waking up on the bench and, with a heavy heart, knew he was gone.

~*~

Sakura felt brave enough to look up at the sky once more. The wind was gentle again. Sakura felt contentment sink into her. The stars shone brighter than ever. Sakura's eyelids

began to close. She struggled to stare up...not at the stars but the black, black heavens.

"Sasuke."

~*~

Sasuke relaxed on the bough of a tree as he watched Sakura surrender to slumber. He leaned back and straightened the sleeves of his white gi. Then he rested his head back and

watched her sleep. He could hear the wind playing mischieviously through the leaves, cradling them softly. He could hear her calm, steady breathing. Sasuke automatically knew her

guard was down. He'd always known that ever since Team 7 had spent their first night together during a long and particularly rowdy mission. He never found out what possessed him

to stay up and watch out for her...no...stay up and WATCH her while she slept. Perhaps his interests weren't cut out for women but Sakura was so fascinating to look at—even while

she slept. Her once long rose quartz coloured hair formed a magnificent pool around her head. Her bangs framing a peaceful, angelic face. The small curve gracing her lips as she

dreamlessly rested. Sasuke felt the sudden impulse to get closer to her. She had been alone all this while in the forest and he felt the need to watch over her just in case—from a

distance. He jumped from the branch and landed seamlessly on the ground. Like a shadow, he made his way towards her and looked down at her sleeping form. Sasuke exhaled

deeply and lowered himself beside her. His fingers absent-mindedly found their way to her silky locks and began stroking the rosy strands with his fingertips. His thoughts recollected

the day Kakashi asked Team 7 to introduce themselves and invited them to share their dislikes...their dreams. His are still etched strongly in his mind. Kill Itachi. That was the first.

And the second? "Revive my clan."

Sakura's turn was before his. The extreme obviousness of her crush on him was surprisingly amusing even though he kept his expression stoic—uncaring, and his emotions in check.

Oh she was annoying at times, he had to admit. But there was no denying that spark between them—however small...or strange.

And what of the time Sakura tried to talk him out of leaving the village?Was it worth leaving behind all that he had grown somewhat attached to?Sasuke actually stopped to consider

it, realizing that this was the first time he was asking himself whether if this was what he had really wanted—without the interference of him being hell-bent on destroying Itachi into a

thousand pathetic pieces. Not Sasuke the "avenger" but just plain Uchiha Sasuke. The darker side of him had clearly won the battle. Even the latter part of himself—the real part of

himself, also administered a degree of acceptance on beginning a path for ultimate revenge. But that decision didn't just hurt Uchiha Sasuke...

Was it worth it? Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he sighed.

'Yes..' he decided after a morbid sense of deliberation, 'yes it was. I could never rest while knowing he's still around.'

But at that time, Sakura's pleas had moved him by lengths and he, for a powerful moment, was tempted to stay. Sakura's pleas, her eyes, her tears, her heart. Her...

Sasuke's attention was caught by Sakura's sleepy sigh—soft and content. Her resting form inclined towards Sasuke's person—as if unconsciously sensing him there. He stilled. The

fingers stroking her locks halted in hesitation as Sakura angled her head, her cheek barely an inch away. Slowly, very gently, Sasuke touched her cheek and cupped it with his hand.

The corners of Sakura's mouth were lightly tugged upwards as she snuggled nearer his warmth. Hypnotically, almost magnetically, Sasuke's coal coloured eyes took in all of Sakura. Her

delicate yet alluringly robust face. . .her matured body.

Sasuke's head drifted down...lower. He felt Sakura's hot breath fan his lips. Lower still. A soft brush...

And Sasuke's head snapped up and glanced at the sky. Dawn was approaching.

~*~

Sakura's eyes fluttered open to the lightening of daybreak. Slightly disorientated, her mind almost startlingly began to rake for something.

But what?Something. . .

Her cheek, her lips. They both held a warm, sweet tingle.

~*~

Leaves were ripped from their branches as the last surviving Uchiha whipped past sturdy trees. His mind still drunk from his recent encounter.

'Sakura...' A burst of adrenaline urged him to move on faster.

'One day...we could be......maybe...someday...' Sasuke's eyes then hardened.

'But I'm making no promises.'