As Fate Would Have It

BuBBly CaNis luPus

"Sakura-chan, honey! Come with me, please." Okaasan calls for me as I chat with ojiisan.

Ojiisan is really sick and okaasan and me have to visit him in the hospital every now and then. Ojiisan almost never says anything when I talk to him, but I know he's listening. Ojiisan's nice and will always, always be there for me, because if he isn't it'll make me sad and he knows that.

"Ok, okaasan!" I turn back to ojiisan and plant a kiss on his cheek. "We'll be right back, ok ojiisan? Okaasan and me are going to do something..."

I follow after okaasan and she walks down one of the stairs slowly, as if to taunt me.

I know what's happening! Okaasan's challenging me to a race down the stairs!

It is so on!

Laughing uncontrollably, I bolt down the other flight of stairs, running as if life itself depended on it. Okaasan would not beat me in a race, not if I can help it!

I almost trip over the rim of my new pink dress, but luckily, I regain my balance in time to jump over the last few steps.

Panting, I reach the next floor before okaasan and yes! I win! I can finally claim a victory for myself!

Pumping my fists in the air, I jump around excitedly, waiting for okaasan to return.

Even after a few minutes, and I've calmed down drastically, I stay patiently and wait for okaasan.

And wait…

Ten minutes pass and yet, okaasan is still nowhere to be found!

I start to panic, and before I know it, tears are streaming down my face.

I hate crying a lot, so I hastily try to wipe away any trace of the salty water dripping down my cheeks, but it just keeps on coming!

During this entire time, I keep wondering where okaasan is. Did she get lost in the big, scary hallways of the hospital? Was okaasan hurt? Was okaasan even coming to get me?

Sobbing hysterically, I crouch down and curl myself into a ball, hiding until okaasan came. I remain like that for awhile until I hear footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Okaasan?" I try to call out, but all I can manage is a hoarse whisper.

"Do I look like your okaasan?"

Instead of okaasan's kind, loving voice, all I hear is a raspy, cold one.

Looking up, I blush considerably. I just called this boy my okaasan!

The boy standing before me, glaring down at me seems to be 5, around my age. He has the weirdest hair-style ever to be witnessed by my eyes, but it suits him perfectly. The chicken-butt hair-style, I mean. Onyx eyes that hold almost no emotion—is that concern in his eyes?—narrow notably upon seeing my distraught state.

I can't help but stare dumbly at the little boy—he is too pretty. His sigh interrupts me from my trance, and my attention snaps toward his eyes.

Once again, he sighs audibly and in an exasperated voice he asks:

"What are you doing here, crying your eyes out, all alone, in an empty hospital floor?"

The sound of his voice leaves me breathless, and for a moment I freeze. How could I talk to him normally?

"A–anou, okaasan and me were having a r–race down the stairs and now sh–she's gone." My sobbing has stopped significantly, but small hiccups escape every so often.

Another glare is sent my way.

"Is that it?"

The nerve of this guy! He struts up, like he's all that, and now he's putting me down?!

"What do you mean, 'is that it?'? Of course that's it! What else could it be? Wouldn't you cry if your okaasan got lost?!"

By now, I'm on my feet, shrieking in his face and jabbing at his chest with my finger whenever I so please.

He looks at me with his sad eyes.

"I–I'm visiting my okaasan at the hospital right now. Both my otousan and my okaasan were in a car accident and I came with my brother to see them."

Guilt spreads throughout my body as I look into his hurt eyes.

The tears are coming back now, and I don't even bother wiping them away. All I can think of doing is wrapping my arms around the poor, broken boy before me.

So that is what I do.

His black, miserable eyes widen drastically at my actions, but he accepts it. With my arms enveloping his torso and my head lying on his chest, I bawl. Not for me, but for him.

I feel him hesitate a little before placing his own arms gently around me. He tilts his head and lets it rest there, on top of my head.

Before I know it, I start to feel drowsy from all the sobbing, and the last thing I feel before sleep consumes me is a soft, constant drip of tears on my hair.

Groaning, I refuse to wake from my slumber. It had been such a nice nap…

Suddenly, the soft hand shaking me awake pinches me. Hard.

My eyes snap open, and I sit up immediately, bonking my head on something hard.

"Ow. What was that for?"

It's the boy. And he's holding his head as if there were a bump on it.

Oh. So that's what I bumped into…

"Ah! I'm so sorry…" I stop, realizing that I don't know the name of the boy I had just shared a nap with. The only thing I do remember is falling asleep while hugging a boy who returned the gesture.

The boy must have just woken up too, since pink still stains his pale cheeks, embarrassment practically written on his face.

"Sasuke. My name in Uchiha Sasuke." Like magic, the blush disappears as he states his name with pride.

I nod understandingly and start again. "Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?"

This time it's his turn to nod before asking something. "Your name is…?"

He trails off, as if he is too special to actually ask the question.

"Sakura, Haruno Sakura."

Smiling brightly I take his hand and drag him up with me.

"Let's go visit your okaasan, ok? She must be getting worried."

With that, he leads the way to his okaasan's room, never once letting go of my hand.

Together, we arrive at a room with 2 beds, both of the occupants unconscious. In the corner, however, there is a young man—hey! That must be Sasuke-kun's niisan!—reading a magazine, tapping his foot impatiently.

I feel Sasuke-kun's hand tighten around mine as he calls out.

"Aniki… I'm back."

Immediately upon hearing Sasuke-kun's voice, he drops his magazine and rushes over to us. Picking Sasuke-kun up, he hugs him firmly before setting him down.

"Where did you wander off to? I was worried Sasuke." The man only allows enough time for Sasuke-kun to nod before continuing, "Who's your friend? Why don't you introduce her?"

Sasuke-kun's niisan resembles Sasuke-kun but in a much older way. His hair looks just as silky, but it's much longer and it's tied in the back. Strange wrinkles also appear on his face under his eyes, but his eyes are kind, drawing me into them instantly.

"Anou, this is Sakura-chan, and this," he points to his aniki," is my aniki, Itachi."

I smile shyly as Itachi-san offers his hand.

"Ohayo, Itachi-san," not knowing what to say, I blurt out the next thing that comes to mind. "D–do you like my new dress?"

Sasuke-kun smiles, holding back a laugh, at this and Itachi-san chuckles.

"Yes, Sakura-chan, I like your dress. You look very pretty in it."

Both a smile and a blush appear on my face, and I step toward Sasuke-kun to take his hand. He allows this and for awhile, the three of us—Sasuke-kun, Itachi-san and me—stay like this, talking and laughing.

Knock. Knock.

"Come in." Itachi-san's voice is very clear and strong, just like Sasuke-kun's.

Soon after, the door slides open and a head of brown hair and a pair of familiar green eyes are revealed…

"Okaasan!" I scamper over without even thinking, dragging Sasuke-kun with me, and I hug okaasan's legs. "Where were you, okaasan? Did you get lost?!"

Okaasan giggles as if I were the one lost!

"Sakura-chan, I went to the bathroom. Where did you think I went?"

Oh. OHH.

"S–so you weren't declaring a race when you walked down the stairs?"

Once again the beautiful sound of okaasan's laughter fills my ears.

"No, I can't say I remember doing that."

Humiliation washes over me and I start to sob yet again.

However, this time it's Sasuke-kun who hugs me as I cry, soaking his shirt with my tears. He pats my head awkwardly, having probably never comforted someone before, and sighs.

"What is with girls and crying?"

The sound of laughter fills the room and for once, I don't mind that they're laughing at me.

"Anou… Sasuke-kun? Will I ever see you again?"

"I dunno, Sakura-chan. What do you think?"

"If it's meant to be, it'll happen."

…

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt, otouto, Sakura-chan, but Sasuke will be attending Konoha Elementary School in fall—"

"Really?! Aren't I going there too, okaasan?"

"Well, yes…"

"Yay! Sasuke-kun, we'll be classmates!"

"I–I can't wait."

Bah, I should have updated other stories (I swear, I was trying) but then I found this, an old, incomplete thing, just waiting to be finished, I couldn't help myself. And here you have it. Next to be updated will either be "Home Free" or this new one-shot that I've been working on since… February. Yes I get distracted. Now go review!