"Be safe. . ."

That stare he would give me held a hint of worry every time he said those words to me. I never thought much of it, but now I can see it. All of the images of him are spiraling through my mind and I don't understand why.

"How do you think she'll feel about the Uchiha?"

"Ecstatic, I hope."

What?

What is this?

"We'll get ramen to celebrate when she wakes up."

Naruto? What's happening?

'The Uchiha?' Sasuke. . .

Sasuke. . .

No. . .

Suddenly that cautious expression he gave me popped back into my mind. That low mumble of an 'I love you' clicked in my brain immediately. Then the feeling of sorrow that invaded my every emotion when he left made my heart skip a bit in a negative manner.

It was then that Sakura's eyes opened, only to be faced with a white ceiling. She questioned where she was in her mind, until a knuckle-head of a sun-kissed blonde's face appeared in her vision. He gave her a wide smile, revealing his teeth and closing his eyes in happiness.

"You're awake!" He exclaimed happily.

She slowly sat up and looked around the room. Kakashi, Sai, Shikamaru, and Naruto were there, their expressions showing relief from her waking up.

"How-" She stopped once she heard her voice, which was very raspy. Kakashi immediately gave her a glass of water, which she chugged.

The Hatake placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "You've been out for three days. Apparently you had a poison in your system that would've killed you if it wasn't extracted."

She placed her hand on the area where the needle struck her neck and sighed, "I remember. Sasori gave it to me with no warning."

"Well," Naruto sat on the side of Sakura's bed and smiled at her, "Sasori is officially dead. He was stabbed in the back of the head with some sort of knife."

Sai stepped into the conversation, "It's quite strange. Sasuke Uchiha used his katana on Deidara and Itachi, yet Sasori died from a knife. We assume that he was killed by Itachi, whom had weaponry skills with knives."

The Haruno lowered her head and tightened her grip on the rim of her sheets. She bit her lip for a second, before asking, "A-And Sasuke Uchiha. . . What happened to him?" She tried her best not to sound too anxious, for the chances of suspicion were not quite over yet.

Kakashi looked at her and replied, "We got him. Despite all of the resistance of getting arrested and the successful attempts of escape in the past, he did not restrain whatsoever."

"He achieved his goal, what would have been the point of going on the run for the rest of his life anyway?" The sun-kissed blonde thought aloud.

The Hatake man continued, "He went through trial yesterday."

Sakura's head whipped up immediately and she asked, "And?"

A smirk crossed Naruto's features, "He's getting a death sentence in two days."

Just then, Sakura's heart literally skipped a beat. Like Naruto said, Sasuke didn't resist arrest and she couldn't understand why. His arrest was one thing to mourn over, but his death. . . It emotionally killed her just thinking about it.

Trying to hold back her tears, she said, "I-I see. . ."

Naruto gave her a worried look and asked, "Are you alright?"

The pinkette looked at Naruto and gave him a fake smile, "This is just a lot to take in after just waking up from a three day sleep. I'm still a bit tired, so I'd like a few more hours of rest."

"Well, I'll go talk to the nurse and ask when you can go home," Naruto replied and left the room.

Kakashi gave a nod and said, "I'll be leaving as well. I need to go home and pack."

"Pack? For what?" Sakura asked.

"Since this case is officially over, I'm going on a vacation to Suna for a week. I'll be leaving tomorrow night after work by train. I need the break."

Sai gave a fake smile, "I may take a few days off myself, but I'm not so sure you. Perhaps you should spend some time recovering, Ugly."

She nodded and Naruto walked into the room, and exclaimed, "You're free to go after the nurses check on you. We should go eat ramen to celebrate!"

"Sorry, Naruto. I just. . . I really want to go home," she emphasized her words carefully to get the point across to Naruto, because she knows how stubborn he can be.

A disappointed expression crossed Naruto's features as he said, "You sure?"

Giving another fake smile, she replied, "Yeah. I'll talk to you soon."

Sai stared at Sakura's smile, contemplating the meaning behind it, for he knew her smile was false.

"Alright, well you need a ride, right? I can take yo-"

"Actually," Sai cut Naruto off, "I'll be escorting Ugly home."

With his blonde eyebrow twitching, he replied, "Fine..."

The pinkette stared at Sai's fake smile and wondering why he would be willing to take her home. They were never very close in the first place, due to Sai's resistance to emotion and his awkwardness. He was always so blunt and rude at times that Sakura never really cared to get closer to him, despite the fact that they are friends. He's just so different compared to her other co-workers.

~*~*~*~*~*~

To put it simply, the atmosphere was incredibly awkward. There was absolutely nothing to escape it, other than occupying her sense of mind and staring out the car window at the passing buildings, trees, and people. As she stared at the people on the street, she watched smiles form on their expressions and all she wanted to do was yell, because she knows there is no way for happiness to be present inside her now that everything fell apart. She knows it's her fault, but love is inevitable and it can never be expected. Falling in love was simply something that Sakura never really thought about. There was never any time for it, yet deep in her heart, she wished for it. No, she was desperate for it. The pinkette always tried to be stoic, but she knew that wasn't the real her. The deprivation of a love life was depressing in a way, due to the fact that all of her co-workers and friends were able to find love, yet. . . She was an outlier.

A detective is respected. They risk their lives and put their brains and critical thinking to good use that can save others. Detectives are incredibly smart and use logic rather than reason and that was exactly how Sakura was when it came to her job. Yet of all of the cases, of all of the criminals and dangerous people she has become faced with, she ended up falling deeply in love with a man whom was known for his crime. As much as she tried to get away from her feelings for him, his reasons for killing were. . . reasonable in a way, which resulted in her acceptance of him. She's supposed to feel guilty, right? Yet she doesn't. The only thing she feels guilty for is his arrest. And now. . . He's going to be put to death.

"What are you thinking about, Ugly?"

Sakura's gaze left the window as she turned her head to look at Sai. He still had his eyes focused on the road with his hands on the steering wheel. She shrugged and replied, "Not much."

Sometimes she wondered if Sai was aware of his awkwardness.

"So, the Uchiha. . ."

Cringing at the name, she said, "W-What about him?"

Giving a fake chuckle, he replied, "I was quite surprised by your reaction to the news of his sentence. You seemed almost upset."

Slightly glaring at the emotionless icicle, she averted her emerald eyes back at the window and said, "I was upset that the trail couldn't be postponed until I woke up."

"And your reasoning?"

"You guys have no idea what happened in that hideout. For all you know, he could've saved my life," that was when Sakura knew her defense for the criminal got the best of her.

Sai's fake smile turned into a frown and he said with zero emotion present in his tone, "Perhaps you are hinting at the unrealistic theory that Sasuke Uchiha did indeed save you?"

What was she supposed to say? Would lying be the best option at this point? Well, she's been lying to them this whole time, what's another lie going to do?

Sighing the emerald-eyed detective replied with a bland tone, "It was simply a suggestion. I never said he did save my life. Besides, if for some reason Sasuke Uchiha did indeed save my life, I wouldn't have been aware of it. I was unconscious the whole time due to the poison Sasori injected in me."

"Then I guess there was no use in complaining about the date of the trial," Sai said, slightly furrowing his eyebrows at Sakura's behavior towards the whole situation.

And at that exact moment, Sai's trust for Sakura began decreasing.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The silence of the room was interrupted with the click of a door closing. She still faced the door and placed her forehead on it, not ready to look at her home just yet. It was a dreadful feeling. It's the same feeling someone has when a loved one died and they can't face their picture just yet. That feeling was a result of loss. In a way, she felt that it would be better if Sasuke were already dead as opposed to him sitting in a cold cell counting down the hours until his death.

But in reality, Sakura didn't like the idea of the Uchiha dying period.

Several seconds went by that felt like hours when she decided to turn around and take a look at her home. Something immediately broke in her emotional barrier that caused a wave of pain that felt like the water from a broken dam was drowning her in her sorrow.

She simply broke down in tears.

Falling on her knees, she craned her head down and let the tear drops drip on the floor below her. Sakura always thought of the occurrence of Sasuke getting arrested. Though she loves him, the pinkette didn't think there would be such an emotional impact on her. Wiping her tears away, she arose from the ground and walked helplessly to her room, trying to avoid gazing at the window that the Uchiha used to enter and exit through.

Shutting her bedroom door, she stared at the unkempt bed. It took her a minute or two to finally build up the courage to lie down on the mattress and when she finally did, she regretted it. His scent still lingered in the fabric sheets that made Sakura wish for his presence.

Is this what love does to people? Can losing the person you love make you so vulnerable to the point that even moving a limb can make you lose all control and break down?

Is love really this painful?

Those questions roamed through the pinkette's head almost as if it were a cycle that repeated over and over again. She simply missed him so much and she didn't think his absence would cause so much pain. In the beginning, Sakura was supposed to be happy at the thought of Sasuke Uchiha being arrested, but now, now that she has fallen in love with him, the pain is so unbelievably unbearable.

Just then, Sakura felt a wave of anger take control of her emotions, because Sakura knew that Sasuke wasn't meant for this fate. He is simply a man who was blinded by revenge and wanted vengeance for his deceased family, but was led down a darker path than he ever expected. For this reason, she felt vexed.

Sitting up in her bed, a fire of motivation sparked in the pit of her stomach, because she wasn't going to stand for this. The detective was not going to let him die on the accord of anyone. And at that split moment, she made up her mind.

She was going to save Sasuke like he saved her.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Why hello there. Hope you didn't forget about this story XD

Anywho, sorry for the long delay, a lot has been going on lately, but I updated nonetheless, so no more complaining, right? I know this chapter wasn't as interesting as the rest, but I felt it was important to emphasize the emotions that Sakura felt in detail.

The next chapter will be the last one!

Constructive criticism is well appreciative and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

~Kit_Katzzz