Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Warning : OOCness, fluff, Naruto stalking Sasuke, shounen-ai, AU, slightly bastardized Sasuke –though I'm a certified Sasuke fan, I have to admit that Sasuke isn't one of the kindest anime characters…- Includes slight character bashing since the fic is mostly in Sasuke's POV XD Includes vague references to the Naruto storyline, so… vague spoilers? It's long :)

Notes : AU-drabblish, oneshot, reincarnation fanfic. This is a rather cliché and common idea, but I hope my approach is different from the others XD

A pale hand shot out from the mass of dark blue sheets, accurately hitting the alarm clock's button… along with the clock itself. The force of impact was so great that in the person's attempt to stop the insistent ringing, he pushed off the clock to the hard, tiled floor, and he was woken up a bit later because of the tragic sound of splattering screws, glass, and the other remains of the clock.

He pushed away the sheets that tangled themselves into his body, and his hair is sticking out in all directions. Dark eyes surrounded his eyes, and the black orbs look bloodshot. He glared at the broken clock, which is now unable to tell the time. He grabbed the cellular phone that's placed on the bedside table on his left –the alarm clock was on the table on his right- and glared again at the flash of light.

6:45, the figures told him.

Damn it all.

He got up his bed, uncaring about the mess he made, and even more uncaring about the reactions of the house servants when they see another "uncharacteristic" behavior from him.

He has been like this since a week ago. He feels as though there's something clawing out of his chest, wanting to get out desperately, even though he has no idea what exactly is it. Crankiness radiated from him since that day when he suddenly collapsed because of the sheer pain inside his head and inside his chest, and it grew worse each passing day.

His foul mood is even worse than his good moods, which usually consists of him snapping harshly at everybody making the slightest mistake. Now, he snaps at everyone and destroys everything.

His body followed a mundane routine: wake up, take a bath, brush teeth, dress, go downstairs, see—

"Good morning, Sasuke." A classy voice greeted him, though it lacked the inherent warmth greetings usually contained. It suits Sasuke fine; the younger Uchiha doesn't acknowledge the other man's presence, and walked straight to the dining table, breakfast readied already.

"We'll be leaving in fifteen; don't be late." The voice came again, and the chair scraped against the floor as the person stood up. Sasuke doesn't glance up, because he knows that Itachi is currently staring at the mop of his blue-black hair, as though it would help explain Sasuke's maddening mood swings.

Itachi sighs afterwards, with Sasuke still munching on his omelet and bacon, and leaves the dining room.

"I guess it's taking its toll," Itachi murmurs lowly on his way out, but Sasuke doesn't pay attention.

xXxXxXxXx

He passed by the security station on his way towards the car. He saw the usual – the guards on the morning shift: Yamato (the dark-haired guy who acts more feminine than all the other girls he met before), Asuma (the burly, middle-aged man who holds a cigarette every time Sasuke sees him), Shikamaru (the lazy teenager who is the one who strategizes the security plan of the whole estate) and—

There's this person, with golden-yellow hair and blue, blue eyes, that stands out in their crowd. The person who looks no older than seventeen, is grinning brightly at his companions, tugging nervously at the guard's uniform encasing his tanned body. Hmm, a new guard…

That's weird. Itachi always includes him whenever they'd need to select a new guard.

But it's only a small matter, compared to the huge tasks that await him as soon as he gets inside his office.

"Sasuke, we're going." Itachi's composed voice –though there's a hint of disappointment and morbid amusement- called out to him, and he nodded somberly, before going towards the car with his brother.

He doesn't notice it, but he felt much calmer since a week ago. And it was all because he saw the brilliantly-colored eyes of the new security guard.

xXxXxXxXx

It's strange, since it's only quarter-to-eight, and the traffic is already very heavy. Never had Sasuke experienced this huge traffic since Orochimaru protested against the government and did an almost-successful rally by blocking all major roads.

Their car stopped near the stoplight, the driver patiently waiting for the light to turn back to green. Sasuke let out a bored breath; god, how long would this torture take?

His dark-hued eyes glanced, accidentally of course, and landed on the cab directly beside them. It happened so that Sasuke could clearly see the driver.

The driver has blonde hair, cerulean-colored eyes, and those adorable whisker-marks on his cheeks, and still contains that bright, heartwarming grin. Sasuke's eyes widened in realization, and—

The car surged forward, leaving the cab behind, and Sasuke in the seat, fingers tightening their hold on the edges of his business suit, with his heart fluttering wildly in an unexplainable phenomenon.

Itachi, seeing his younger brother's surprised expression from the mirror, smirked self-assuredly on his seat.

Sasuke doesn't notice it, but his heartbeat still hasn't regained its normal pace, ten minutes after he last caught the glimpse of that awfully-familiar smile.

xXxXxXxXx

He finished typing up the business proposal that's due later this afternoon, and he held back the urge to hit the glass-covered desk with his forehead. The headaches returned merrily, and his body tingled with some sort of excitement.

The curtains are drawn tightly, not allowing any sunlight to enter his office. He sighs tiredly; he didn't get much sleep last night… again.

Those dreams are bugging him again, as they continuously did since seven days ago. He feels as though he is floating, in each of the dreams, and merely watching the events happening with his own eyes.

He often sees himself, though it's also not him, in navy-blue high-collared shirt with a fan symbol on the back, and pristine-white shorts with a boy dressed in an outrageous orange jumpsuit. He couldn't see the person's face, but he could see himself –that's not really him, he reminds himself again- at ease with the other.

I should stop thinking about it. They're just dreams. Not real, far from real, Sasuke assures himself, before standing up resolutely. He wants to go out so that he could free himself from the thoughts clawing at him at the moment.

When he opens the door, however, he is greeted by the sight of his older brother ushering a blond male around. Itachi's voice is calm and stern, and when Sasuke strained his ears, he could hear Itachi explaining the person's job as a clerk.

Sasuke's eyes widened in recognition. It's him, his mind screamed, though his lips remained frozen. The same hair, same eyes, same smile… Sasuke stiffly turned around and marched towards the other direction, trying valiantly to erase the scene from his mind.

As soon as Sasuke left, Itachi stopped speaking and pointedly looked at the shorter blond. Then, he gazed at Sasuke's rapidly-disappearing back, and placed a hand over the blond's shoulder in a rare gesture of support.

Without knowing it, Sasuke has acknowledged the blond's presence. That was enough to add to the I'm-so-good-and-you-all-know-it smirk in Itachi's lips, and it was more than enough for a smile to settle on Naruto's face.

xXxXxXxXx

He looked at the report he should be reviewing, but all he could see is the white screen with splashes of color. He tried rubbing his eyes for a good fifteen minutes already, to no avail. The lack of sleep for seven successive days is really getting to him, and he almost fell, face-down, on the floor when he entered his office.

I need to take a break, Sasuke thinks, and because of that, he's now standing in front of his older brother, asking for permission to go on an indefinitely-long vacation. Itachi's expression is hidden carefully beneath that ridiculous, all-black-with-red-clouds-design cloak that he insisted he wear today.

"Take care, foolish little brother."

Sasuke goes out of the office without a word, intent on staying somewhere far away. Then, he stopped. Foolish little brother? That jolt in his chest returned, though it wasn't as painful as the other times. He shook his head, dispelling any other thoughts.

He dug his hand into his pants' pocket, and grabbed his phone. He searched for the name Haruno Sakura on his phonebook –he would never put her into speed-dial no matter how many times she insisted; he would never memorize her number as well- and pressed call once he found it. Though they go out pretty often, she's more of a 'for appearances' type of girl; the media doesn't snoop into his personal life when they see him going out with the pink-haired girl.

"Sakura," He spoke to the phone, ignoring the squealing and incessant chattering on the other side. For a brief moment, he wondered once again, why of all people, he chose to go out with Sakura. It was just a brief, insignificant thought, so he pushed it back to the deep recesses of his mind with practiced ease.

"Meet me at the usual restaurant…" Long pause, with Sasuke about to hang up and prevent the woman from talking in that annoying voice further—

He almost sighed at the girl's repetitive questions. "Yes, Sakura." The tone suggested that he was talking to somebody way below his intelligence level. "The French restaurant near my office. Yes, yes, yes, damn it, see you there."

Click. The phone snapped shut, and Sasuke strode down the hall, his mood completely sour. Again, he wonders why he puts up with these things.

xXxXxXxXx

He's currently standing in front of a flower shop belonging to his acquaintances; he thought that he had been too harsh on Sakura earlier. Or not, his mind supplies wryly, you just want her to continue being your official girlfriend. Anyway, no matter what the reason, he's going to buy her a dozen roses. It's also good if they're spotted by the usual reporters that have nothing else to do but stalk the younger Uchiha.

He opens the door silently, and he is greeted by a smirking Ino. Her pale blue eyes contain a different shine today; he noticed that she keeps on glancing at him with expectation on her eyes, and he feels as though somebody else is watching him intently, boring holes into the back of his head. He ignores it expertly, like he does with the rest of the world.

After choosing the roses, he goes to the cashier and he glances up at the cashier.

The blond hair is more golden than Ino's; the blue orbs are a couple of shades darker than Ino's. After a few seconds of staring, Sasuke realizes that, this is that guy again. He opens his mouth to inquire about the odd jobs the other has—

"That would be 2400 yen," The cashier –who's also his security guard, the cab driver and the new employee at their company- says softly, a forced smile straining his lips. The smile is wide and fit for salespersons, making his whisker-marks stretch and make him look like a golden cat.

"Yeah," Sasuke mutters, and takes a wad of bills. He doesn't count them; he just took the flowers –fully wrapped and with a dainty, red ribbon- and placed his money on the table.

"Mister, your change—" The younger one's voice is higher than his, and he has this bizarre feeling that he has heard the voice before, from a time longer than he could ever imagine.

"Keep the change," He murmurs loud enough for the cashier to hear, and he refuses to acknowledge the poorly-hidden grin in Ino's face. After all, he's known to never give excess money to anyone.

He leaves the blond cashier and Ino inside the flower shop, all the while trying to quell the feeling gripping his pounding heart. He shook the feeling off; he doesn't like it the fact that when he closed his eyes momentarily, he's greeted by the smiling face of the man whose name he doesn't even know.

xXxXxXxXx

"Sasuke-kun!" He feels as though his ears are bleeding from the overly-excited greeting. Her cream-colored hands wrapped around his neck, her face zooming right in front of him. The other patrons of the French restaurant they're meeting at are hopefully staring at them, while he is currently dissecting Sakura into millions of unidentifiable pieces inside his mind.

"You're heavy. Get off," Sasuke gruffly tells her, and when her pout didn't work on the cold-hearted teen, she sighs heavily and releases her boyfriend. She feels a couple of eyes staring distastefully at her actions and she flashes a peace sign behind her back. The glares at her back lessened its intensity, but they are still staring at her actions.

"Let's go, Sasuke-kun," She cheerfully announces, one hand grabbing the roses Sasuke gave her earlier, and one hand tugging forcefully at the dark-haired man's arm. He frowns at her, but she just flashed him a charming smile. Too bad it doesn't work well, but at least the man isn't looking at her with the look that wants to kill her painfully.

She passes by a distinct table on her way out. She flashes a small smile at them: there's a person with horrendously thick eyebrows, a pale girl with navy blue hair, a male wearing a high-collared shirt along with black glasses, and a blonde woman with piercing blue eyes.

As she drags her reluctant and pissed-off boyfriend towards a restaurant that she wants to go to, she could feel the four people from the table at the restaurant following them.

xXxXxXxXx

Sakura insisted that they eat here, a fast-food-like restaurant, and he sits on the seat calmly, black eyes blank and uncaring. Sakura told him earlier, in her screechy voice, that a friend of hers owns this restaurant, so she thought they could pay him a visit. And that she is tired of eating fancy food everyday.

He rolls his eyes, obviously not amused with the turn of events, and he taps his fingers on the glass table, waiting for a waiter to take their order. He sees a piece of white clothing standing near him, and he looks up from the menu disinterestedly.

It's…

"Good afternoon. May I take your order?" The same smile, the same skin color, the same hair, the same eyes… It's him again. The pounding headache disappears, and his irritation fades away at the sight of the now-familiar blond. He doesn't notice the pointed stare Sakura is giving him from across the table, nor the forlorn look that crossed the waiter's eyes as they stared at each other.

"I'd like to have Set Meal A and change the drink to iced lemon tea," Sakura's voice is too casual, but it's enough to jolt him awake from his reverie. He breaks eye contact with the waiter, and he missed the depressed sigh the blond gave.

"I'd like to have the fifth Set Meal; make the cola one size larger," His curt voice feels too rash on his ears, but it's steady, without the shaky quality he thought it would have.

The blond leaves with a little, respectful bow, and Sasuke's head starts to hurt again. As the blond turns around, the cheerful, forced smile fades away completely, but Sasuke doesn't notice.

xXxXxXxXx

"Sasuke…" Sakura whispers softly, and Sasuke doesn't pay heed to the sudden drop in the "endearment suffix" that his girlfriend always attaches to his name. He finishes wiping off the stain on his lips, and he patiently waits for the tab to come.

Earlier in their meal, Sakura introduced him to Akimichi Chouji, her friend and owner of this restaurant. He wanted to ask Mr. Akimichi about the blond waiter, but he had decided that all the instances he saw the blond today are merely coincidences.

"Sasuke…" Something in Sakura's voice forces him to look at her, and when he does, her eyes are sorrowful, and there are tears welling inside them. He doesn't feel bad; he just feels annoyed at this new display. When would she learn that doing antics like this doesn't raise her image in his eyes?

When would she learn that she is nothing but an annoyance to him?

"I think we should call this off, Sasuke. I couldn't take this anymore," Sakura says tearfully, and Sasuke merely stares at her sobbing form. Other patrons of the restaurant are gaping at them, and he wards them away with his patented Death Glare. The snoopy people look away ashamedly in fear of provoking his wrath.

"I like you a lot, Sasuke… but… it's just that…" Stammering, Sakura tried to make her point across, despite the cascading tears on her cheeks layered with make-up.

"Fine," Sasuke murmurs distastefully, though the anger isn't directed at the fact that they're breaking up. "Have a nice day, Haruno." He leaves another stash of money, enough to pay for their meals.

He was three steps away from Sakura when she spoke again.

"I want you to find your happiness back, Sasuke," She says determinedly, and he shrugs, and continued with his journey out. I really need that vacation, Sasuke thinks, because I'd also need to escape the reporters asking about this break-up.

A little further from the scene, the blond waiter watches Sasuke walk away, before he moves to Sakura's table, his blue eyes slightly regretful. He collects the money, but he stops at the sight of Sakura's real tears.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," He mumbles, low enough for them to be the only to hear. The green-eyed girl smiles through her tears, and she looks up at the familiar blond male.

"It's okay. I hope this works…" She trails off, her eyes growing distant, before abruptly returning back to her senses. "I only wish for your happiness… Even before, you're the only one who could give him happiness…"

Sasuke walks away from the restaurant, unaware of the conversation that took place when he left. The headache lessens its strength, but the void in his heart only grew impossibly larger.

xXxXxXxXx

The plane trip to Kanagawa had been rather short; too short for Sasuke to feel comfortable with sleeping on the plane's seats, even though Tokyo Airlines is known for being one of the top five airlines in the world.

Whatever, his mind whispered dully, and he made his way towards the private car waiting for him in the airport. The drive towards the Uchiha summer house is a quick one; Sasuke wasted no time in shooing the driver away and trudging up the mansion-size rest house.

He promptly locked the door –along with the multiple locks and security systems developed by Shikamaru and his team- before easily finding the bedroom and collapsing on top of the bouncy mattress.

He slept like a log until the next day; it's a rare opportunity for him ever since he was plagued by those memory-like dreams. The only thing he could see in his dreams is the light sketch-like scenery of the young blond male smiling. It didn't anger Sasuke anymore to see that image, though. It rather depressed him, since he thinks that a myriad of emotions is hiding behind that brilliant smile.

He shakes his newly-washed hair, sending water everywhere in the bathroom. It's strange that he pays attention to total strangers such as the blond male; usually, he'd just go on with his life and forget whoever and whatever he meets. So… what makes the blond stand out so much, making Sasuke unable to forget?

Forget… forget… his vision spun hazily, and he blindly grabbed the metallic towel rack for support. He collapsed on his knees, one hand clutching his aching head. He struggled to even his breathing –he would not die because of hyperventilation- while fighting to keep his eyes open. It also wouldn't be pretty if he dies because he cracked his skull on his pristine white bathroom.

Darkness is closing in on him, and—

He sees a vision, for lack of a better term, of himself standing on top of a plateau, looking down cockily and coldly at a certain person assembled below him. He recognized a woman that looks oddly like Sakura, and a person that resembles him distantly. There was also another person, but he couldn't see his face. He only knows that he is standing there, rigidly, surprised at seeing him, he could assume, and clad in a black-and-orange jumpsuit.

Then, the vision fades away, only to be replaced with a younger version of himself seated calmly on a classroom, and suddenly, a person was pushed forward, landing exactly on him, hitting him right on his lips. He felt another wave of headache, as well as tremors shaking his pale-skinned figure.

The vision disappears again, and another one replaces it. Mist covers his sight, but he could still see the young Sasuke-look-a-like, blocking an attack for the same unseen person.

The images he sees are moving at the speed of light, and it didn't help with the problem with his losing balance and sight. He recalled, for the last time he could remember, the blond's smiling face, before darkness completely embraced him.

xXxXxXxXx

"Sasuke-sama," A feminine voice called out to him. Hands held his shoulders firmly, shaking his form back and forth. His eyelids feel heavy but he opens them snappily anyway. After a few moments, his eyesight focuses on TenTen's face, her large brown eyes peering concernedly at him.

His eyes narrow dangerously at her closeness, and she backs away hastily, quickly explaining that she arrived here yesterday evening, after she was sent by his older brother. She –and her companion- found him sprawled on the bathroom floor. He didn't wake up since then, and now—

"Get lost," Sasuke orders darkly, mood completely bitter. TenTen, having served the Uchiha household for five years already –and having first-hand knowledge of how volatile and cruel Sasuke could be- merely bowed down in respect before closing the door with a dull click.

Sasuke stares numbly at his shaking hands. The headache subsided a little, but it still wasn't enough to not drive him insane.

A couple of minutes later –spent with Sasuke staring dully at the paleness of his hands and the headache throbbing gladly inside his skull- a couple of knocks resounded from the door. He doesn't acknowledge it, but the round of knocking was repeated more solidly. "Come in," Sasuke commanded gruffly, his eyes dilating at the sight that greeted him.

It's still that young male, with the sun-colored hair and ocean-hued eyes.

"It's good to see you up, Sasuke-sama," The blond says to him, while walking calmly towards the bed. Sasuke's cheeks flushed at the sama suffix, and he immediately berated himself for it. The dull colors of the servant's outfit doesn't suit the happiness that seems to be immediately associated with blond-haired people. It seems to dampen the bright colors that belong to him, and Sasuke considered changing the uniform…

"Hn," He responded a bit belatedly, but it coaxed a surprised look in the other's eyes. The surprise was short-lived, however, and it was replaced by strange glint in those blue orbs.

After delivering the steaming soup, along with some other food and cutlery, the servant –who's also a bodyguard, a cab driver, an employee at their company, a cashier at the flower shop, and a waiter at the restaurant that belongs to Akimichi Chouji- straightened his posture and got up to leave.

"Wait—" Sasuke bit his lip. Wait WHAT? He tried to read the other's name from the tag pinned on his upper right chest, but he couldn't see it clearly.

Na—

"Yes, sir?" Questioning blue eyes stared at him, but it's not merely for curiosity; there's a tint of hopefulness, and Sasuke wants to ask him why is he always there with him.

Ru—

"It's nothing. You may leave." The other's blue eyes dulled for a moment, but it disappeared quickly, as the servant –who's also several other things- made his way to the door and exited the room, closing the door softly.

The headache returns, only ten times worse. But Sasuke doesn't care about that at the moment. The void in his chest got impossibly, undeniably bigger, and—

He's crying. Tears are spilling out uncontrollably from his obsidian eyes, but he doesn't wipe them out, because the pain is too great already. He lets the tears fall, even though he thinks those are signs of weaknesses and vulnerability, because an ancient memory etched into his very core tells him that for this moment, he needs to cry.

From the other side of the closed door, the servant collapses brokenly on the floor, the sound muffled by his thick clothes. Tears are streaming freely down his cheeks, and at that moment, the two threads connecting the two grew stronger.

xXxXxXxXx

"For the seventh time, Kakashi, what are you doing here?" Sasuke's voice is bitter and unrelenting, and Kakashi wonders if the others cheated on him. Dealing with Sasuke is no picnic –from the life ages ago, and it continues on at this present time- and from the slightly reddish edges of his eyes, he could see that the pain the separation has caused is showing, even though Sasuke is unaware of it.

"Of course I'm here to cheer up my favorite, the one-and-only Sasuke-chan!" The grin at the end of the sentence is unbearable for the younger Uchiha, and he almost clobbered the gray-haired man, who unfortunately happened to be his uncle.

Sasuke merely glared.

Kakashi sweatdropped and decided to amend his statement, unless he already wants to die painfully and gruesomely under Sasuke's cruel, sadistic hands.

"Itachi sent me to find you," Itachi blackmailed me and decided that making me walk over heated iron is good practice, Sasuke translated inside his mind.

"And supervise you on your vacation," Stalk me wherever I go including the toilet, during this angst-festival somewhere far away, Sasuke continued mentally, but his eyes are still glaring coldly at Kakashi's smiling face.

"And make sure you do no naughty stuff." And make sure I do no naughty stuff.

"Go to hell." Sasuke slammed the door shut, completely missing the distant expression in Kakashi's eyes. As well as—

"Now I wish the two of them are going at it like rabbits… anything is better than this…" Kakashi murmurs sorrowfully at the door, but the door doesn't answer. He sighs wearily, and calls a couple of people on his phone, after checking that Sasuke wouldn't sneak up on him and eavesdrop on their conversation.

xXxXxXxXx

Sasuke walked slowly, trailing after the much-enthusiastic Kakashi around. He rarely deems himself in need of a vacation, so he is not familiar with the festivals in this area. It seems that there's a week-long festival, and it ends tonight. His uncle dragged him out his bedroom earlier this evening, and after force-feeding him, Kakashi continued in nearly pulling out his arm out of its socket.

And now, here they are, walking aimlessly thru the numerous stalls selling and specializing in different products. Kakashi kept glancing at him and grinning behind his hand, making Sasuke feel very suspicious of his uncle's most-probably-perverted plans.

Kakashi stopped his fruitless walking, and Sasuke stared at their first stall. It's target shooting, and the stall guard looks creepy, to say the least. Black rings surround his piercing green eyes, and he just stares eerily at the would-be costumers. His face lights up slightly at the sight of Kakashi going inside the stall.

"Hey there, Gaara; I'd like to try your stall…" Kakashi begins casually, and he glances sneakily at Sasuke before chuckling secretively. "Oh, and include another gun for my little Sasuke-chan…"

The person named Gaara looks faintly amused at the Sasuke-chan, but Sasuke doesn't react. He knows that Kakashi knows that he won't hesitate to decapitate the man once he go too far with his provocation.

"Two sets," Gaara announces, and a blond male wearing casual clothes –navy blue shirt and orange cargo pants this time- appears from the side of the stall. He assembles the things needed for Sasuke and Kakashi to play on the target shooting, and with Sasuke trying hard not to stare too much.

He could swear that there are more than five pairs of eyes staring at him while he's trying to shoot down the prizes. He doesn't miss anything, though afterwards, he stares at his hands and find out that they're sweating and shaking. Kakashi won a dolphin stuff toy, and it triggers something distant from the back of his mind. He shakes it off nonchalantly, and he glances at his prize. It's a golden fox with big blue eyes; Sasuke continually fights off the sudden urge to walk away, no, run away, and never come back. His eyesight clouds for a brief moment, and he walks out of the stall, leaving the fox stuff toy inside.

Kakashi follows him silently, though the gray-haired man talked to Gaara in low whispers before going after him. His uncle walks with him, whistling some annoying tune.

"You gave it to him, didn't you?" Kakashi asks vaguely, and Sasuke doesn't respond.

The answer is all too clear, despite the fogginess of his memories overlapping with each other.

xXxXxXxXx

It's just too much for him to handle.

They just came from the animal booth, displaying lots of furry and scary animals such as hamsters and snakes, and the blond male had been there as well. Kakashi claims to also know the owner of that particular stall. They chatted animatedly for a long while, leaving Sasuke alone with the blond, while he pretends to be interested with the snakes.

Kiba, as the store owner is called, then shooed them away and told them to visit Neji's stall near his. Kakashi waved and dragged Sasuke away and unto the fortune telling stall. The owner is a white-eyed male –that decidedly looks like a female- who Kakashi is also friends with.

The sight of those inhuman-looking eyes made Sasuke tingle with some sort of recognition, but it was quickly washed away. After all, nobody else was ever successful in imprinting himself in Sasuke's mind aside from the blond guy.

Though Sasuke didn't really listen to the guy's readings, nor does he believe that his future lies on tarot cards, there were some choice words that remained inside his mind, resonating and repeating themselves over and over.

Recall… love long-lost… search… most important person… different scenarios… darkness… separation… pain…

Sasuke clutched at his chest and he quickly got up from his seat and went out of the stall, his mind full of things that he couldn't recognize. He doesn't notice that Kakashi didn't follow him.

xXxXxXxXx

"You know, a person is only considered truly strong if he protects the person most important to him," a pale person –he's unsure of the other's gender- says, his long hair cascading freely down his back and some bangs falling over to partially hide his porcelain-like face.

Sasuke's back stiffened from its position –brooding alone in the cliff overlooking the festival- and returned to the normal one when the person sits beside him, not too far away for them to be unable to hear each other, and not too close to invade his personal space.

"I don't have any important persons," Sasuke spat, and the other simply smiled at his awfully-defensive answer.

"Sure you don't," The answer is soft, and the tone irritated Sasuke. It reminds him of the tones mothers use when their children are being unreasonable in denying the obvious facts.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Sasuke snapped, head turning slightly to glare effectively at the other male. The other smiled again, and stood up. His long, elegant fingers pointed to the direction of the festivity.

"Sasuke-san, I can only wish for your happiness," The person with long, ebony hair said kindly, eyes softening despite the harsh glare the other is throwing at him. "But…" The person paused for a brief moment, as though debating whether he should continue or not.

"Everything else lies in your own hands," The moonlight hit the person's face entirely, making him look like an ethereal creature. And Sasuke's vision spun wildly, and instead of the casually-dressed person in front of him, he saw the same person with pink-colored over-all suit, with black swirls as designs. The person is walking away tranquilly from a blond person wearing the same orange jumpsuit he sees in his dreams.

Then, the scene changed into the same misty area with ice mirrors surrounding him, confining him, and he saw himself fall into the arms of the same orange-clad boy. The long-haired person is standing, looming over him in the vision, pointed needles in one hand.

Haku simply stood there, as Sasuke's hands clutched his spiky-crowned head in pain. He's resisting the memories, he thinks, but he could understand the other's predicament. After all, he has been like that as well when he first received his memories of the life long-lost.

But what the things he said are true. He could only wish for Sasuke's happiness, since it pains him a lot to see the strength and radiance from Naruto fade away from his despair of Sasuke not remembering anything at all. He could only wish, along with everybody else who care for the two.

Everything else, however, lies in Sasuke's admittedly-often-unstable hands.

xXxXxXxXx

He doesn't in believe in phrases such as 'let your heart guide you' but during the past hour, he relied on the deep-seated feeling inside him to lead the way. He aimlessly set forth from the hill, away from the man/woman talking to him about important persons. The headache subsided almost fully, but he feels detached from his body, as though somebody else –somebody else that's strangely he, himself- is operating his own body.

His numbed legs stop their aimless, futile search for an invisible, unidentified object, and Sasuke finds himself in the middle of a huge and excited crowd. From the corner of his mind, he recognizes Kakashi's silver hair amongst the bustling people. He bumps to someone, and his mouth opens, ready to verbally harass and intimidate the person, when he sees who the person is.

"It's you," Sasuke finally say, as the earlier-rowdy crowd arrange themselves into pairs. He sees Kakashi's face again, and it looked mischievous, making him arch an eyebrow minutely at his uncle's direction.

"Yeah," The blond male smiles at him, but the smile is nowhere near happy. But since it isn't completely disgusted or depressed, Sasuke gives a small smile in return for the sentiment.

A loud rumbling sound comes out from the gigantic speakers that are placed all around the area; it was followed by an upbeat series of drumbeats, and it all gave way to a happy-go-lucky tune.

"Let's go," The blond says, holding his hand carefully, as though he'd disappear into thin air if he's held otherwise. Sasuke doesn't get a chance to ask, as he's whisked away by the stranger towards the other pairs of people, and they follow a set of routine steps. The blue-eyed male explains to him about the Festival Dance, which marks the end of the celebration.

"It's said that if two people dance together in this festival… they'd be together forever," Sasuke's partner chokes on the last word, and black eyes held numerous questions within its depths. The blond looks at Sasuke straight in the eye; those ocean-blue eyes hold loneliness, isolation and grief that the dark-haired man couldn't fathom. His mind, though, whispers that the sadness in his dance partner's eyes is caused by nobody other than him.

"Tell me…" Sasuke's lips open and form those words without his consent, but he feels as though he needs to say them anyway. "Are we going to be together forever?"

It's like a trance, when the blond looks up at him with happiness at his words. The sudden brightness on his companion's face jolted Sasuke out of his trance though, and he blinks his obsidian eyes, as though waking up from a dream. He amends his question, in a way that introduced frustrating hopelessness in the cerulean eyes again.

"I mean… it's what the dance says, right?" Like a glass figurine falling down from a high place, the fantasy-like moment was shattered. The blond knew that it was too good to be true, but he carried on with his plan.

"Don't worry about it. Our fate isn't dictated by some stupid dance; it's dedicated by our hearts and the choices we make," With those words, the blond male with deep-blue eyes left him standing amongst the throng of people. He watches how the blond's back get smaller and smaller, until the people partying prevented him from seeing the other.

Sasuke bows down his head in an attempt to quell the sadness pounding through his veins. He doesn't notice it when Kakashi walks up to him and walks him home.

xXxXxXxXx

The vacation finishes all too soon, and Sasuke finds himself back with his tiresome work. To his surprise, Sakura didn't nag at him at his sudden disappearance. Itachi looks more irritated and disappointed at him than ever; Kakashi is avoiding him. However, he has always been antisocial so the loss in human contact doesn't bother him as it should to other normal people.

Today's Friday, and Sasuke is walking down the spiral staircase and is planning to take a stroll down the Uchiha Estate's grounds. Itachi is somewhere inside the giant mansion, probably plotting some more ways to gobble up the competitors and reign over the entire business field.

He opens the door, and he sees a black-haired male holding a gleaming kitchen knife and the pointed object is digging on Shikamaru's shoulder already. All the security guards are tied-up, and the black-haired male isn't alone. He's got a couple of people with him, but they're all wearing tight black clothing that covers them from head to toe. All that's visible are the hair and the eyes.

"Oh, I knew you'd come out, Mr. Uchiha," The black-haired male says, turning around to face Sasuke. He finds out that the other's eyes are also black-hued, and he bears some odd, vague resemblance to Sasuke's own face.

"My name's Sai, and I'm here to get a copy of the top security system developed by the person named Nara Shikamaru," He states cheerfully, a smile curved against the black masks. Sasuke snorts derisively before gazing coolly at Sai.

"Do whatever you want." He walks towards the huge area to the right, his original destination.

"Even kill this person?" Sai speaks with some uncanny confidence and it forced Sasuke to look back and in a split second, he's already in-between Sai and the blond security guard who's tied up tightly and couldn't possibly defend himself.

He feels searing pain across his arms, his chest, and he looks down to see that the kitchen knife is embedded to his upper left arm, after making a line across his chest, instead of hitting the blond. Sai backs away with satisfaction and guilt, but Sasuke disregards it because the door is flung open and Itachi comes out, and suddenly, Kakashi appears from the side, and—

The blond's face looms over his own, face creased with worry.

"Sasuke, don't leave me, please don't leave me again!" The blond's words sound comforting and familiar to him, and he smirks painfully, blood spilling thickly from his lips.

"Stop crying, Naruto," He musters to lift a shaky, pale hand to cup the blond's cheek, before he descended to the darkness pulling him away. He doesn't notice that he has called the blond's name already.

"SASUKE!"

Before losing consciousness completely, Sasuke thinks, Naruto… I won't lose you again.

xXxXxXxXx

The Rokudaime Hokage's inauguration was certainly controversial. The village of Konoha hasn't completely accepted Uzumaki Naruto as a person on his own right, and that he isn't going to go berserk and be taken over by the Kyuubi locked within him anytime in the future. But the biggest controversy came in the form of Uchiha Sasuke, traitor to Konoha and Orochimaru's student, who admitted that he has been lovers with the newest Hokage.

The ninjas of the village were more than wary, but the common people accepted him with open, welcoming arms. It was all right in the world until…

A surprise attack rained on Konoha, and even though everybody gave their best, they managed to get to the Hokage's Head Quarters, and Naruto was supposed to be killed –after all, the dagger is mere centimeters away from his heart; it'd cause instant death, undoubtedly- if not for Sasuke's interference. It hit a vital point in Sasuke's body, killing him instead of Naruto.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto let his rage take control of him –after all, not only his most important person was killed; Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and the others were already killed by the skilled attackers- and he emerged victorious with wiping out every single opposition ninjas.

He committed suicide within that day, and he was found lying dead beside Sasuke's corpse. But before the two legendary ninjas died, a promise was made.

A promise to meet again, and live together… forever.

xXxXxXxXx

He wakes up groggily, but the energy hums beneath his skin, and inside his veins. He hears voices, but he closes his eyes hastily and pretends to be still unconscious, when the door slams open.

"I told you brat," A grown-up woman's voice. "Being with that kid is no good to you."

"Tsunade is right, Naruto," The blond's name was spoken again. This time, the voice belongs to an older man. "I told you countless times before. That person betrayed you too many times already—"

"My brother isn't a traitor." Itachi's voice came, and it has the steely quality in it. Sasuke realizes that the others have been talking about him.

"Naruto, what are you going to do?" Sakura's voice, and it has the "concerned-friend" quality in it.

"I won't give up. Maybe my method is wrong. Maybe, letting him see me, or everybody, isn't a very great way of making him remember. Maybe—" The blond's voice sound depressed, but the determination is clear.

Sasuke's consciousness give way to the rising darkness, and he vows to himself about never letting Naruto, the blond that has evoked so many feelings and confusion inside him in so little time, sound sad anymore.

xXxXxXxXx

The date is October 10.

He's wearing his orange cargo pants, orange jacket and plain black shirt. He bought the exact same attire, since he wants to at least, relive the moments that overlapped with his own consciousness. In his past life, in the village where he strives to be acknowledged, this day is the day that he hates most, because everybody else is celebrating Kyuubi's defeat.

On this world, in this time and place, however, this day is the symbol of hope. It makes him hope for something unattainable, as proved by the vacant months that passed by. His friends promised to party with him later tonight, and Naruto is grateful for their concern for him and his problem.

There's a knock on the door and he stares quizzically at it from his spot on the floor. The others aren't due in another three hours, but… maybe they got excited? Naruto bounced to his feet and hurriedly yelled "I'm coming!" to the person on the other side of the door.

He flings it open and he greets it cheerfully, smiles and all. The smile dropped, however, when he sees the person on the welcome mat.

"Sa-Sasuke," He stammers out the name, and his fingers clutch at the door painfully. The other is wearing a high-collar navy-blue shirt, and white pants.

"You're still wearing that?" Sasuke's voice is disapproving, and he waltzes inside Naruto's apartment, with the owner of the house still slack-jawed.

"Are you going to stand there all day? You're supposed to entertain your visitors, dobe," Sasuke's tone is light-hearted, much like the banter they exchanged as often as breathing way back then.

"What's-what's going on!" Naruto asks, arms flailing around him in confusion. Sasuke stares at him with something strange in his eyes, and the next thing Naruto knew, he's pinned on the hard floor with the dark-haired man's frame completely over his.

"I'm sorry it took so long," Sasuke whispers over Naruto's lips, before kissing the blond. Naruto closes his eyes in sheer bliss, and in happiness. Finally…

"Happy Birthday, dobe," At all other times, Naruto would have exploded over the age-old nickname… but this time is special. After waiting for so long, finally, Sasuke remembered him. And it's better than any other birthday gift anybody could give him.

"I missed you, Sasuke-teme," He says, while the other's mouth latches unto the junction of his neck and shoulder. The younger Uchiha doesn't answer, but Naruto could feel the curve of the smile that crossed his lover's lips.

Remember, I love you.

OWARI

Uchiha Itachi calmly walks away from Naruto's apartment, pointedly ignoring the rhythmic thumping and the crashes he heard. He has done his work here –that is, stalking finding out Naruto's address. The longer-haired Uchiha meets Kakashi whistling innocently at the hallway, and he cocks one elegant eyebrow at their uncle.

"Leaving already, Itachi-kun?" Kakashi asks sweetly, ignoring Itachi's slightly-curious look.

Itachi's eyebrow ticked dangerously, imperceptibly. "I'm a busy man, Kakashi. Besides… I've already given my birthday gift to Naruto-kun."

"Birthday gift?" Kakashi echoes, fervently hoping that Itachi won't find out about the video cameras installed all over Naruto's apartment. Hell knows what the more-insane, older Uchiha would do to his internal organs if he accidentally sees videos of his brother going at it with his younger lover. After all, Itachi is the well-known asexual who doesn't give a damn about sex and—

"Yeah. Strawberry-flavored lube," And Itachi walks away nonchalantly, blatantly ignoring how Kakashi's jaw dropped to the ground.

From somewhere not too far away… Sai wailed. "My gift is also strawberry-flavored lube!"

End Sort-of OMAKE

Phew. -dies from speed-typing-

The price for the roses is made-up XD Normally, I would research about places and stuff like that, but since I finished this in one hour, I could safely say that almost everything here is made up –sweatdrop- But I really want to give a couple of oneshots for you guys since I wasn't able to log last weekend. And that I wasn't able to update my fics for a long time –more sweatdrops-

This is a request/challenge from a very good friend of mine, Shino Kataki, and the request includes: reincarnation fanfic, mentions of SasuSaku, stalker Naruto, the words: endearment, speed-dial, cards, and myriad… and at least eight main Naruto characters (Err, I think I included almost everyone here). I believe I provided her all of the things she requested :D

I hope you guys like it :) Reviews are very much appreciated. Flames will be ignored.