You're No Exception

So I decided that I was going to make this multi-chaptered after all. ^^ It was originally called Savin' a Shinobi, but since this is an AU fic, the name sort of lost its purpose.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Naruto or the inspiration, the video Savin' Me by Nickelback.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0

21. 48. 19. 42. 104.

Sigh.

42. 56. 23. 45. 226.

Sometimes I wondered. Wondered if I was an abomination in God's eyes. That I was born to live on Earth as a curse; a devil's advocate; forever damned to hell.

56. 14. 0. 23. 123.

Who else could explain this...thing I could do? It was far from a gift. I knew that much. I was incapable of helping them.

Incapable of helping- saving- anyone.

My persona as an average human could fool anyone, though. Even myself-under the circumstances of being the last person on Earth. And being in a room of mirrors. No one could see passed the mask of a life I had created for myself as an extremely wealthy owner of an impossibly successful company in the vast city of Konoha.

But like all curses, there were no refunds. No return policies. No compromises. No off buttons.

It was possible that I was the one doomed in this world. As if I were a fallen Prophet sent from the heavens. One meant to tell of great things to save others lives. But along the way, had fallen into temptation and lost all abilities except one...

One absolutely useless...

30. 23. 22. 18. 36.

Perhaps, upon being born, I had laid a hand upon the Shinigami and had been cursed for all of my days? Maybe- just maybe I wasn't meant to live and walk among others of this earth. And as punishment I would walk among the living.

60. 34. 17. 50. 145.

Or should I say the dead.

Now you know that I am not normal. I know more about you than you think, without actually knowing you. Don't mistake me for a stalker though, for I have not taken more than one glance at you.

87. 43. 24. 27. 148.

You could say… that I could tell the future. The only future that anyone could be sure of. And that is death.

I know the exact minute- down to the last second- that you will die. Each person has a crimson lifeline above their heads. Something only I can see, because I have been cursed with Shinigami eyes.

The persona I had created for myself was tactical, smart; to order special leave-in obsidian contacts when, over the years, my eye color had darkened to a blood red.

My eyes, at one point of my life though, had not been this menacing red. My brother described them as copper; rust-brown. Onyx was the only color that could successfully cover this wretched color.

18. 27. 57. 31. 57.

Such a menacing color that it pierced your very soul so they knew when you were going to die in less than an instant.

One glance at the numbers above your head was all it took.

But of course, the contacts had only been a futile attempt to block the effects of this curse. As I had said before, curses had no off buttons.

But even the cursed were ignorant to what they were at one time. I was not always aware that I was different. I had not been able to comprehend the numbers above my friends, family, classmates, and ordinary strangers' heads. I figured they were mere numbers, nothing more.

How I wish I still lived the life I had among the ignorant.

These humans…the dead are so oblivious to the fact that one wrong step, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, could end their lives so suddenly. So quickly…

And they would never even know what hit them.

At a young age, I realized that I could not stay ignorant. I would soon learn what the numbers above each head would mean. I would also understand that with every precious person taken away from me, my eyes would darken along with my heart.

The only one in my family that never ever was "too busy" to spend time with me, the most precious person in my life at the time- my mother, would be taken away from me first.

Her numbers were the first ones I saw hit zero.

56. 78. 12. 34. 197.

She had always been such a healthy woman, though. Seeming unbreakable, yet warm and compassionate with everyone she came in contact with.

Until one day, the numbers above her head fell back drastically. It was as if someone had knocked them off.

All but two numbers.

(27 and 32).

I had tried to tell her. Everything inside me had known that something terrible was going to happen to her. Though I had not understood the importance of these numbers, even then- in the crevices of my mind- did I know that the numbers were supposed to stay there.

But somehow, as if the same unknown presence that had struck my mother's numbers, my throat tightened and my jaw was clenched shut.

It stopped me from telling her.

My mother was shot that day. The 27 stood for minutes. And the 32 stood for seconds.

I was seven at the time.

At my mother's funeral my eyes began to turn from a soft copper to a bleak red. Yet, with this change, the numbers began to get mysteriously clearer. As if someone was beginning to remove a layer of film from my eyes.

The second layer of film was removed when I was fifteen. My father's lifeline suddenly took a nose dive, as did my mother's. He only had four years left to live, yet I could- once again, not tell him.

Just as his lifeline had told me, my father died. Of a heart attack.

I saw the blood red letters clearer than ever now, causing my eyes to begin turning more crimson than rust colored. It was as if someone had finally begun wiping my vision of the blurriness. I was both relieved and terrified.

Because the blurriness was still there. Meaning that there was still one "film" left.

I would have to lose someone else for my vision to clear.

When I realized this, I distanced myself from my peers and my family. I would not burden anyone else with my curse because those who had mysteriously died had been relatively close to me. Two of my precious people…my parents.

Yet, as much as I pushed everyone away, two seemed to get past the barrier I had created for myself. They drew themselves closer to me than I had imagined possible.

48. 90. 42. 24. 123.

One was an annoying blonde I had known since childhood; Uzumaki Naruto. I was not worried about his safety, in a sense, because nothing he did shortened his lifeline; even when he had nearly broken his spine when his bungee jumping experience had gone terribly wrong).

He truly was indestructible.

But the other…

"Sasuke-kun, I was wondering...if you would like to do something after school-?"

…the other…

"No, Sakura."

The other was far from unbreakable.

"I-I…Gomen na sai. Perhaps another time…"

Haruno Sakura.

I had to push her away the most.

To keep her as far away from me as humanly possible- since I saw her every day. I refused to look up to meet her face when it was avoidable. I couldn't allow these cursed eyes of mine to look at her for more than half a second. It was easier to not look at her lifeline that way.

(Easier to not see her exact time of death. Easier to not think if I had damned her just because she was infatuated with me).

Yet, as I distanced myself from her, I also drew closer to her than anyone else; subconsciously. I observed her closely, realizing a few admirable traits she had picked up from Naruto or had developed over the years.

Her persistence was something commendable, something worthy of what she was pursuing; becoming a doctor. Something she had inherited from our idiot, blonde, mutual best friend. When she put her mind to something, she never gave up.

Sakura was also truly self-less. While I was pursuing a business major and she pursued medicine, in her spare time she volunteered at the local hospital, despite her fatigue from studying.

But one thing I noticed made me fearful for the first time since the moments before my father's death. It was almost enough to move myself half across the country…

"Sakura-san! Would you care to accompany me on a youthful night as this?" asked a bushy eye-browed, bowl-haired man as he approached a pink haired girl.

"I…" emerald eyes flicked towards a raven haired man. His back was turned to them, yet subconsciously he had felt her eyes on him. "I…Sorry, Lee-kun. But I have to study tonight. And then I have to check in at the hospital. Maybe some other time?"

"I see…you do not have to lie to me, Sakura-san. I know that your eyes are after another."

"Lee-ku-"

"Sayonara, Sakura-san! I will not attempt to court you any longer!!" he interjected before running out of the room.

She was, without a doubt, in love with me (even though Rock Lee was more of an obsessive fan than someone Sakura would ever be mildly interested in.). Which made it nearly impossible to push her away no matter how harsh I appeared.

I also knew that she would not accept an offer from one of her many admirers (she was unusually beautiful) because of it.

75. 43. 54. 25. 108.

Meaning that she wouldn't be giving up on me anytime soon.

But deep down…

(I was glad. Glad that she was mine, even if she was out of my grasp. Even if I couldn't ever touch her, have her in my arms…)

What a selfish man I was.

I knew that I was truly damned when my will gave way three months ago. It had been over a year after graduation since I had seen her. I had already inherited Uchiha Co., running it along side my brother,

x

x

x

The man walked aimlessly through Konoha, a few blocks from Uchiha Co.

He enjoyed getting out of his brother's grasp every once and awhile. Being held captive and commanded to work was intolerable at times. Sasuke ignored the lustful stares and envious glares from both men and women as he walked. He no longer saw people. Just lifelines, which didn't interest him.

There were only two lifelines that had appealed to him still. .

One was Naruto's, who he still occasionally saw when he managed to find an hour during lunch to talk with him. This was also a way of checking if his lifeline was still "healthy". The other he never saw; avoiding at all costs.

But of course, it didn't stop him from looking in the obituaries of the newspaper every day. Nor did it stop him from passing by the hospital every once and awhile. Just to see if she was still alive and had all her limbs…

"...Sasuke-kun?" asked a bewildered voice from behind him. The sweet, soprano sounding voice caused him to stiffen; suddenly freezing on the sidewalk he was walking along.

He had hoped...

"Sasuke-kun...is that you?"

He had prayed...

"Sa-"

That they would never cross paths again. That this would be the only way to keep her safe (safe from the death his eyes saw)…

He had been so careful; ignoring all her phone calls and letters, avoiding the times when Naruto was with her, even going to a different hospital when he had fallen ill.

Yet all these attempts were in vain.

Her warm, delicate hand touched his shoulder and pulled it towards her, as if to turn him around. Unwillingly, Sasuke looked down to meet her mesmerizing, emerald eyes for a split second before looking away.

S so he couldn't see her shocked, happy expression.

So he couldn't see the love she still evidently had for him.

A gasp escaped her lips. "It really is you…" she murmured as she continued to stare up at him. Time seemed to stop in Sasuke's eyes. He no longer saw the lifelines, or even the sidewalk he was standing on.

Just her.

"I missed- I mean- how have you been? Naruto told me you own Uchiha Co. now." She told him with a smile, yet Sasuke noticed from the corners of his eyes that it was somewhat forced. Because she knew this already. In fact, she had been one of the first to know that he had inherited his father's company.

What she didn't know was why he had been ignoring her.

"Aah." He told her emotionlessly. He had hoped that her smile would falter. That she would see that he was still impassive towards her and finally- finally give up.

But instead, a bright smile curled at her lips.

"You never change, do you Sasuke-kun?" she asked as her hand curled around his wrist and dragged him along, to a nearby coffee shop. "I- need to get back to work…" Sasuke protested as she dragged him inside.

She smiled. "Oh, I met up with Naruto who talked with Itachi-san. He said to take the rest of the day off because you work too hard." She frowned for a minute. "You really shouldn't, Sasuke-kun. You could land yourself in the hospital with an ulcer…"

Sasuke gritted his teeth as she began to ramble; perhaps to escape the silence that would fall if she didn't.

What was Naruto and his brother thinking? Trying to bring her closer to him intentionally? Had they not seen, realized that he had been trying to avoid her from the moment he met her?

(She was too precious to lose…)

When she sat him down, Sakura handed him a menu and began to chatter away merrily. Without any restraint or sign of stopping.

But Sasuke listened. To every word. To every giggle. To every pause when she reached for her cup. He should've pushed her away. Should've snapped and snarled at her, as he had done with the others who had desperately tried to come close to him.

But he couldn't…

Not with her…

By the time Sasuke and Sakura left the coffee shop the sun was already setting, which made her smile as the two walked along the streets, side by side. Emerald eyes looked up at him. "I'm glad I got to see you today." She murmured to him. "It's been so long…"

"…Hn." Sasuke replied quietly, yet his mind had been lost somewhere in her conversation and hour before.

(How could he part from her now? She had already drawn him in…)

"…Maybe we can do this again sometime soon?" Sakura asked him curiously, yet she seemed to be bracing herself for the worst.

"Sakura, no." Sasuke finally breathed after a long moment of silence.

(It was just too dangerous).

Her eyes fell. "…I see…could- you at least walk me home? I don't know when I'm going to see you again. Naruto says that you're always busy and..." She asked, pleaded as her voice trailed off.

With an agonized breath, the raven haired man nodded and motioned her to lead the way. But as he did, he didn't miss the bright smile that spread across her face.

I should've refused and told her to never pursue me again…but, as I had said before, I was a selfish man. That and…

I didn't…want to hurt her anymore...-

-

-

"Well, this is it, huh?" Sakura asked with a sad smile as they stood in front of her apartment door. "Aah." He answered absently, as he heard thunder rumbling a few hundred yards away.

"I'm going. Itachi will be expecting me-" Sasuke declared as he turned to leave. But as he did, she caught his wrist. "Sasuke-kun, wait." She begged him.

"Let go of me, Sakura." The man commanded.

I tried to let go. A last, final attempt to push her away.

Her breathing suddenly grew ragged, as if she were trying to hold back tears and a choked sob. "Sasuke-kun…why do you hate me?"

Sasuke stiffened, but didn't turn around. 'Hate…her?' he thought wildly as she went on.

"Did- I do something wrong? Back then? Is that- is that why you can't look at me? Do I disgust you that much?" she asked, her words were shaky now. "Or is it…because I don't look normal?"

He clenched his fists. How was she so blind?

(He couldn't look at her because she disgusted, it was because he wouldn't ever be able to look away.)

(And even if she didn't look 'normal', she was always…always beautiful in his eyes- even if he would never admit it.).

"…Why won't you say anything! Sasuke-kun…."

Suddenly, I found it easy…

"Sasuke-kun please…"

(So very easy)

"At least tell me that you hate me…if you do that, I won't bother you ever again."

To want to give up on what I had worked for, for the past four years (pushing her away; struggling to get her to hate me.)

Because I wanted her. To truly fulfill my claim on her…

And that's what I did.

Sasuke slammed her against her apartment door roughly, causing her to gasp as she stared into his deep obsidian eyes. He gripped her shoulders tightly as she stared back at him with fearful eyes. "You are so…damn…" he growled through his teeth.

"So what, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked him quietly. Her emerald eyes seemed to be breaking before him now.

His grip loosened when a sigh as he struggled to find a word. (To hurt her. To make her understand…to to have her stay attached to him forever…) In defeat, Sasuke trailed his right hand up her collarbone and to cup her cheek. "So damn…" he began again as he leaned closer to her.

"…oblivious." (Annoying, beautiful, persistent, captivating, incessant, mesmerizing…) Sasuke finished and crushed his lips onto hers. Sakura gasped into his mouth as she her knees buckled beneath her. She would've fallen to the ground, if the raven haired man hadn't found his way around her waist.

Once the pinkette had realized what was happening, she slowly melted into his kiss and flung her arms around his neck into a crushing embrace. She found herself quietly moaning as he deepened the kiss, pressing her even more into the door and causing her head to spin.

Never in my life had I found something so intoxicating as her.

The two found themselves on her apartment floor moments later, unable to untangle themselves from each other's arms.

(She was showing him how much she cared, and he was showing her that he always did).

For awhile, I had even forgotten how to breathe.

"Sasuke-kun…" she breathed as he nibbled on her jaw. Sakura was trying to pry him off of her. He sighed in defeat again when he realized that she no longer trying to bring him impossibly close to her. "I'll stop." Sasuke replied reluctantly as he began to push himself upward.

"No!" Sakura told him in defiance, to his surprise. With surprising strength, she dragged him back down to her. A dazed look filled her eyes as Sakura's hands found the sides of his face timidly. "Does this mean that…you don't hate me after all?" She whispered.

Sasuke smirked and nibbled on her jaw again. "I thought you were smart, Sakura." He told her mockingly. But she shivered at how delightful her name sounded as it rolled off his tongue. A blush filled her cheeks as she stared back up at him again.

"Then- why?"

Another sigh escaped his lips. "I'm dangerous, Sakura." He murmured to her. "You shouldn't associate with me I-"his voice trailed off when Sakura caressed his cheek lovingly and smiled at him. "I don't care." She told him quietly.

"I don't want to be away from you anymore. Will you stay with me, tonight, Sasuke-kun?"

Shock filled Sasuke's expression.

"S…Sakura…"

I never thought a woman could entice me as well as she could.

Two words was all it took to destroy my defiance.

"Please, Sasuke-kun?"

If it was not what she had anticipated, I announced my claim on her and let my own selfish desires get the best of me that night. And they continued to, for I saw her regularly.

Even though every bone in my body, every rational thought told me to get rid of her.

But I couldn't...

"I told you, Sasuke-kun. I don't care if it's dangerous to know you. I don't want to be away from you anymore. And I know you don't want me to either."

That was what she told me. And she was right.

Because damn it eventually I had fallen in love with her.

So here I was, waiting for her at a street corner, outside the coffee shop where I had- hours before my first night with her- my rendezvous with Sakura. I tuned out the sounds of the construction site across the street to recall the mocking smile of my brother moments before I left to wait for the pinkette.

The expression I had worn was something Itachi had described as "the happiest expression his foolish otouto could give".

A glimpse of feet across the street caught my eye. My onyx eyes glanced upward to meet a pinkette walking towards me with a bright, shining smile plastered on her lips (a smile just for me).

But as she did this, something I hadn't acknowledged in weeks, that hadn't bothered to cross my mind since the first night with Sakura…

(The numbers)

Were suddenly very clear to me.

They flew out at me and suddenly, drastically- just as my mother's, just as my father's- began to plummet with every step she took.

My heart began to race as I looked around to find something, anything that would and could end her life.

Then, slowly, as if moving in slow motion, a girder which had been snapped from its ropes hurdled itself towards Sakura.

(My precious…precious Sakura…)

But just as before, something clenched itself around my neck. I was suddenly unable to talk and unable to move.

She was going to die.

Just like my mother.

Just like my father.

Her life was going to end so suddenly…and would go on as an accident.

But that's not what scared me the most.

It was the fact that as my vision wiped itself of any blurriness, I noticed that somehow, Sakura had two lifelines; One was above her head, as it was supposed to be.

But the other was…

"Sasuke-kun…you and your brother are the only sons from your family left, right?"

Kami…

"Aah."

Kami…

"Did…you or your brother ever think about…continuing the Uchiha line one day?"

She- Haruno Sakura- was carrying a child.

My child.

I had to force myself to move, force myself to fight against the invisible band attempting to stop me from saving her.

(The mother of my child)

The curse was restricting me from moving. I was not meant to save anyone. There were no exceptions.

She was no exception…

Her smile widened as she moved closer to me, but quickly faded when her observant eyes began to cloud with confusion at the strain that had appeared on my face.

(The woman I was falling in love with…)

"Sasuke-ku-"

"Watch out!!"

Thump.

x-x-x

When you find that special someone,

"The one", your other half,

The boundaries that were there before

Suddenly disappear

Along with your ability to reason with the logical and the illogical.

And when that happens

You would rather throw yourself in front of a moving train

Than spend the rest of your life without them.

x-x-x

Phew. That didn't take like 38493834890389 more days than I had thought. I really am sorry guys. But I've been having trouble seeing the ending to this. I wanted to make it original, something not done before or as much as other stories (or like my other fics).

And then, out of nowhere, I got an idea :D! So I'm going to pursue it.

But of course, you'll have to wait to figure out what it is. (:

Because she was no exception…

xxasukachanxx