Sasuke walked through the dark forest that was known as the Forest of Death for a reason. He was already ambushed by more spawns than he can keep track of and he'd already depleted five potions.

"Why here of all the places..." Sasuke scratched the back of his neck as he stepped over tree roots that stuck up from the ground. He dove into the game about an hour earlier, and during that hour, he'd been walking through this forest looking for Crystalee, "I swear, once I find her..."

There was suddenly the sound of leaves rustling as the strong wind blew through the forest. Sasuke pulled out his sword instinctively and looked around cautiously, "anyone out there?"

He called, no one responded.

The wind blew through again, only this time, there were cherry blossom petals, "cherry blossoms? In a forest like this?" He didn't expect to find any cherry blossom trees in a dark and deadly forest like this one, but sure enough, he walked into a small clearing, and there, at the heart of the forest, was a giant cherry blossom tree, "holy crap..."

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

Sasuke jumped and turned around, drawing his sword, but stopped when he saw a girl with pink hair, "h-hey..."

"Sasuke?"

That voice. "Yeah. You're Crystalee?"

"Mhm! Nice to finally  meet you!" The girl grinned happily and nodded. She was excited and cute. It was hard for Sasuke to believe that she was actually older than him.

"Well, your name really matches your hair. Is that the color in the game or also in the real world?"

"This is really my hair color, which is why I was named what I was named." Crystalee stroked her short pastel hair, then looked up at him, "well, you definitely look the same way you look in real life! That's nice! I thought you looked really handsome in real life, to be honest."

Sasuke blushed at her remark, then turned his head and cleared his throat, "yeah..."

"So anyways, if you made it as far as you did, you must be one of the strongest players in the game!"

Sasuke sighed and sat down underneath the cherry blossom tree, "yeah, well, one of them. The strongest has to be the one that cleared the game. That's obviously not me." He chuckled.

"That's a good point." Crystalee nodded, "any idea who it is?"

"No." Sasuke leaned his head back and shut his eyes, "but I'd really give anything to meet him in person."

"Hm..." Crystalee tapped her chin, "how do you know it's a guy?"

"I dunno." He shrugged, "I just don't assume a lot of girls played the game before it was cleared and became a huge hit." They were silent until he heard her walk to stand over him.

"You're looking at him."

Sasuke's eyes opened wide, "wait, what?"

Crystalee smiled and held up a victory sign with her index and middle fingers, "I'm the one who cleared the game."

He stood up and grabbed at the tree behind him for support, "you're kidding! I had..."

"How could I not have cleared the game if I left that crystal on that level in the first place? I mean, like I said, anyone able to clear that level has to be a great player, like myself!"

Sasuke stared into her emerald green eyes and saw the wonder she held in them. She clearly had high respects for him, even though she was able to clear the entire game, "I'm not that great... I mean, that's coming from the player that defeated the boss on the top level."

"Oh don't be so humble!" Crystalee laughed.

That's ironic... Sasuke shut his eyes, "if you're the strongest player, then why'd you stop playing?"

"I never stopped." Crystalee leaned her head back, "I've just been playing on the down-low as a newbie player, talking to other people and helping them out. Then, wanting to challenge myself, I discovered this forbidden dungeon, the Forest of Death, and decided to take it on all by myself. Now I've conquered the heart of the forest and planted this cherry blossom tree."

Sasuke looked up and studied the tree, feeling the bark under his fingertips, "taken from how big this tree's gotten, you've been here a long time..."

"Yep. I planted this when I was diagnosed with my cancer, actually." Crystalee rubbed her elbow, "and I decided to plant it here because in the midst of all the chaos in this forest, there will always be something pure and perfect in its heart. Kind of like myself. Maybe you, too."

"Me?"

She nodded, "I could tell, from the moment I saw you, something's troubling you, right?" Crystalee stared at the tree, "I think it was fate that brought us together. No... It wasn't fate. It was meant to be. We both needed someone to talk to and relate to, so here we are. You start."

Sasuke sighed, "shouldn't we go somewhere else? Before we get ambushed here?"

"No." Crystalee smiled, "the tree's strength keeps all evil spawns out of its range. In other words, stay in the clearing and no one can find us. Even players who aren't strong enough to get through the forest safely haven't found this spot, yet. Tells you how strong you are, huh?"

"Yeah. Sure." Sasuke smirked, "well, uh, it's been my goal to clear the game for as long as I could remember. My brother Itachi and I always dove together into this game, then our best friend, Shisui, got into it, too. It was his dream to clear the game, and Itachi and I helped him in order to fulfill that dream. Then..."

"Then?"

"There was someone in the game that was jealous of how strong Shisui had gotten. I wasn't even close to how strong he and Itachi were. He saw Shisui's stats and offered him real money for his avatar. 100,000,000 yen, at least."

"What?!" Crystalee's eyes bugged out, "that's almost a million US dollars!"

"Yeah. But Shisui declined, and the guy began to hold a grudge. So he continued to challenge Shisui to battles and fights, and whenever he found me and Itachi online but not Shisui, then he'd challenge Itachi.m, which is why Itachi ordered me to never dive on my own. One day, he told us to meet him the following day at a specific time. The three of us left the game the rest of the day to talk over what's going on with this guy. Shisui told us not to worry about a thing and that he's just trying to get stronger. We believed him.  When that time came, we all dove together in the same room, then we went to the meeting spot, and instead of finding him there, we found another guy that challenged Shisui. He fought the guy, and from the first blow, the guy was defeated. But... It was after that blow that Shisui suddenly went offline." Sasuke stopped and clenched his fists, trying to control his emotions, "when Itachi and I logged out, we found his body where he'd left it when we dove into the game, but he was dead." He glanced over at Crystalee, and her reaction worried him. She held her hands over her mouth and her eyes were glossy, "after that, uh, Itachi left the game. The autopsy said that he died of a drug overdose, and we think Shisui's rival stole his credentials and somehow found his address. Meanwhile, as Shisui fought the newbie online, his rival was offline and going to Shisui's house with a drug, and so by the time we logged out, he was gone. We pressed charges and he was locked up a week later... But... Shisui's still dead. Itachi refuses to touch the console now, so it's up to me to clear the game for both of them."

"S-Sasuke..." Crystalee looked at him and sat at the base of the tree, "I had no idea..."

"Yeah, well." Sasuke shrugged as he sat next to her, "it's definitely been motivation to get stronger. And,
clearly, I guess I have gotten stronger."

"Well." Crystalee smiled, "I guess it's my turn."

"Yeah."

"So as you know, my real name isn't Crystalee, it's just my avatar name. My real name is... Sakura Haruno. For eight years, I've been diagnosed with terminal cancer passed down from both parents. Mom died from a stroke when I was nine and Dad died of a heart attack when I was ten. From there, things went really downhill." She took a deep breath, "my uncle took me in, leaving the impression that he was going to treat me like his own daughter. Instead, he treated me like I was his slave. He made me get him stuff, make him stuff, and if it wasn't good enough, he'd throw it at me and lock me in my room, leaving me to starve. And if I was ever in pain from the disease that I thought I could easily forget about, he would slap me and tell me to 'be a man'." Crystalee scoffed, "eventually, a few years later, I heard about this game and thought it'd be a cool twist on life. So I went to a friend's house without my uncle finding out and played it. For the first time, I didn't feel weak or in pain. I felt stronger. The moment I met Dr. Kurahashi and heard about Yuuki and the Medicuboid just last year, I wanted it. To be in this game for all my life. He'd warned me that it would only make me weaker, but I don't care what happens to my material body anymore. My avatar in this game is all I need. To have a strength that I could never have in the real world ever again is what I've always dreamed of. And now I have it. So the beginning of last year, I abandoned Sakura and resurrected Crystalee, the woman that cleared Ninja Magic Online without a single weapon."

"So it is you..." Sasuke stared at her, "but... Your terminal cancer... Is it... Receding?"

Crystalee smiled sadly as her eyes got glossy again, "no."

He only looked at the ground and pursed his lips, "why did I think... Losing my best friend is one thing, but knowing that death stares me right in the face is another... Going to bed one night and not knowing whether I'll even wake up the next morning... Crystalee... Sakura, please tell me this---"

"Don't call me that." Crystalee shut her eyes, "Sakura was my weaker past self."

"No. You're still Sakura inside you." Sasuke grabbed her hand, "you're strong enough to have made it this far! Heck, strong enough to clear the game with nothing but your fists! That isn't the strong will of an avatar like Crystalee. All along, that will, strength, and courage is Sakura. She's stronger than you know. Trust me."

Crystalee looked at him, then smiled, "Sasuke..."

"Listen." Sasuke turned to face her, "I don't know how long you have, but... Will you help me?"

"With what?"

"I want you to help me and my friends clear the game again."

She looked at him, "but... Why?"

"Because we want to fight alongside the strongest player in the game before she goes." He smiled sadly.

"I can't... It's not--"

"Sakura."

She froze. That name... Why can't I... She slowly turned to look at Sasuke as tears filled her eyes.

"You are Sakura, aren't you?"

She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"I don't want Crystalee's help. I want Sakura's." Sasuke squeezed her hand, "so will you help?"

Crystalee smiled and nodded, "yes."