Her lips are just as soft as they were on Halloween and even sweeter than I remember them being two years ago. For almost a year I have longed for her to return my feelings, love me the way that she did our first summer together. I had been skeptical about meeting her, sure that she would scold me in a way that only Sakura could. Instead, she has forgiven me, held me in her arms, and wished for the past to have never happened. For the first time this year, I feel a spark of hope more vivid than ever.

That is until Sakura pushes hard against my chest, forcing our lips to part.

"Sasuke what are you doing?!" She exclaims, her eyes wide with confusion and concern.

"You wished things could have been avoided," I state, confused at her rejection and concerned I have ruined my one chance at being with her again, my one chance at regaining my life.

Sakura's face fades from concerned into exasperated before my eyes as she rises to her feet. "I can't keep doing this Sasuke. I'm trying to be here for you, despite everything but this isn't okay. Whatever you are going through can't be fixed this way." Sakura states standing and facing me, hugging herself tightly as her face contorts in concentration her thoughts forming carefully. "I'm with Kiba, and regardless of any feelings you have towards me, mine will never change towards him. I care about him Sasuke. More than I thought was possible, more than I thought I cared for you. That's never going to change."

Her voice trembles as she looks down at me, gripping her own arms as if to keep herself together. I can tell it's hard for her to say what she has said to me but more importantly, I can see the sincerity glimmering in her eyes.

The shock starts to wear off leaving a hollow feeling behind, one I am all too familiar with, one that I have been living with for years. Being rejected once under the guise of Kiba was one thing but being rejected a second time as myself, it's becoming apparent that I have been a fool. I had no chance of winning her back. This ludicrous dream I have been chasing was never going to come to pass. For me, there has only ever been one path, the path I have been desperately fleeing from but one I could never truly escape.

I can't muster up a voice, if I could it would be that of a broken child pleading for something they knew was unattainable. Instead, I watch Sakura turn on heel and slowly walk off in the direction of not her home but that of Inuzuka's, pink hair dancing in the wind like a birthday ribbon.

It takes me a moment to collect myself and my thoughts. My last-ditch effort to change my fate has expired and all my bridges have been burned. In a sick way, it feels as though this was my path all along. If I hadn't chased after Sakura I would still have ties with my friends that could pull me from the black abyss I am terrified of being sucked into.

Sadly though, my fate is sealed.

With steely resolve I stand to my feet, twisting my back left and right in an attempt to stretch. Sakura won't tell anyone but Kiba about this meeting and even if Naruto were to find out he wouldn't listen, not anymore. It's better this way. With no one left to care I can do what has always been expected of me, what I now can fully embrace.