#I can't find a way to break this whole illusion and shake myself hard enough

[misskamelie]

This longing and yearning are so fake because I know they're a byproduct of over-romanticization and idealization, but they feel so real it makes me want to scream. This house of cards can't fall fast enough fr

[bodyswapmischief]

Glitch in the System: A Love Story in Quarantine

(This story is a little different from what, I normally post, in that is doesn't involve body swap or transformations. But, I really loved writing it. And, hope you all enjoy it to)

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!" Carter yelled from his room. The walls of the house reverberated, with his voice.

"Shit, dude! Whet the hell happened," Elijah came hurrying in.

"The restaurant called me. Somebody got the Corona-Virus. Now, the whole restaurant is going to close," Carter sighed out.

Elijah smiles and gives a small laugh, "Welcome to the club. Think about it this way, now you have time to relax ..."

"No, no, no, I can't do that. I need to be on the move, I need to do something to keep busy. I can't just sit on my ass all day watching T.V, no offense." Carter interrupted.

"None taken," Elijah said sarcastically. "Just, wait. I was like you when this all started. I'll give you a day, and you'll see there nothing else to do. You'll even learn to like it." He forewarned.

"Yeah, no, I am going out. So, see you later. This quarantine is not stopping me." Carter proclaimed as he gather his stuff and walked out the door.

...

After attempting to live a normal life, during quarantine, Carter came back to the apartment defeated. "Elijah was right, there was nothing to do." He thought to himself. But, his thoughts quickly faded, when he walked back into the apartment. He began hearing the sounds of women moaning, in sexual pleasure.

He began walking into the living room and there, with his shorts off, ilwas Elijah. He rhythmically pumped his rock hard cock, as his own moans blinded him to the fact that Carter walked in on him.

"No way! Your masturbating on the couch," Carter said perplexed. He wasn't sure if he should laugh or be mad. "The couch is the neutral zone, dude, you can do that shit in your room. I fucking eat here."

Elijah heart stopped, as he turned his head to look at Carter. With lightning speed he put on his shorts and turned off the T.V. "Oh, fuck! Dude ... I wasn't doing anything."

"Bro, I literally just saw you. It's no big deal. I'm going take a shower and try to forget what I just saw." Carter said annoyed.

"Yeah for sure, it just that I didn't expect you home so soon and your usually at work, when I do it so.." Elijah tried to explain.

"Bro. Just stop it ... why the fuck would you tell me you've done it more than once, on the couch ... I didn't need to know that shit! Fuck, dude!" Carter said frustrated.

"Okay, I'll keep my mouth shut. It's just my stress and this awkward situation ... I'm fucking rambling. It's just been hard containing this horny beast, during quarantine." Elijah referred to his cock. "And, Roxy's parent's won't let her come over, so I haven't been able to get my daily dose of sex." Elijah finished with a nervous chuckle and his face turning red, with embarrassment.

"Hey look dude, really it's okay. I'm not that mad about it. I'm more going through shock ... ha. In fact it's going be one of those times we laugh about in the future. The time I saw your dick and caught you masturbating." Carter sighed trying to calm his friend down. "Shit, I feel your pain. Ever since this whole quarantine started the booty well, has been drying out for me, too. In fact, it's been completely dry as of late." Carter continued. "Not going to lie, been masturbating non-stop ... but I have the decency to keep it in my room." He laughs.

Carter proceeded to go to the shower, while in an embarrassed fog, Elijah started straining out the apartment. Elijah was able to calm down enough to start watching tv. After some time passed, Carter came back out. Elijah was worried that Carter was going to say something but, was happily shocked when he just sat next to him.

"So what are we watching." Carter asked.

"Oh, it's a new netflix documentary about this crazy tiger guy and some chick that killed her husband. It's the first episode, so I'll just start it from the beginning." Elijah answered.

As time passed, the two young men found themselves growing more sleepier. The hours moved to the the early morning but, both guys were too invested into the show. Both, unaware of how heavy their eyelids were getting.

...

Carter felt heavy, but strangely comfortable and safe. Even with his eyes closed, they were blinded by the sun in the living room. The soft couch around him, his dick was rock hard. As, he begun to pulsates on something firm on top of him.

Elijah started to wake up as he felt something under him move. His own dick becoming aroused. And pulsating in return. He felt some rock hard cock rubbing at his stomach. Meanwhile, Carter started felling some pressure enlarge and grow against his thigh.

Simultaneously the illusion caused by the sleepy fog wore off, as both boys realized what was happening. They both opened their eyes and saw each others face. In a panic Elijah jump off his roommate and Carter got up off the couch.

"Dude what the fuck were you doing, to me!" Elijah yelled.

"Fuck, dude! I just felt something on me, I didn't know it was you. And, why the fuck am I trying to explain myself. Why the fuck were you sleeping on me!?" Carter yelled back

"I don't fucking know ... I guess we just crashed on the couch and in our sleep our bodies position themselves like that. Fuck, fuck, fuck!." Elijah let out.

"First, I catch you masturbating and now this. You did this on purpose you fucker. You wanted me to help relieve you of your sexual urges. I'm not fucking gay bro." Carter yelled, with his voice shaking.

""What the fuck. I ain't gay either. And, you just talked about how you couldn't get pussy either. And, you were the one that started rubbing your dick on me!!." Elijah retorted.

"Okay ... okay ... this is what's going to happen. We are going to spend the day as far apart from each other as possible. We are going to try forget this and move on. We were half asleep, it didn't mean anything. right?." Carter panicked.

"Yeah, exactly, it meant shit." Carter tried to reassure himself.

They guys walked past each other awkwardly, trying their hardest not to walk into eachother on the way to their rooms. Hours passed, and both guys starting forgetting, about the awkwardness of the morning. Endless content of videos, movies, video games, helped clear their minds.

Carter was getting restless and decided to do some work around the house. There were always things breaking and he never had time to fix them. Elijah also needed new scenery, as he was getting tired of being in his room. So, he went to the living room, to continue his t.v. viewing. The guys looked at eachother awkwardly but they continued what they were doing.

Carter started working around the house, trying to find anything that needed to be fixed. Moving around heavy furniture was the workout he needed. He removed his shirt that started to cling to him do to his sweat.

Elijah awkwardly glanced, at him. "Was he really doing that, after what just happened this morning." Elijah thought to himself. He saw as sweat dripping down his roommates body. It glistened as the sunlight reflected off his body. His abs, biceps, chest, and shoulder working to together, as the flexed and relaxed, to move the heavy furniture. "Thank god we didn't go to sleep with our clothes off. I'm glad we had layers of clothes between us. It would have been way worst, if we were having skin to skin contact." Elijah continued thinking.

He couldn't keep his eyes off his friend. And, his dick was getting hard, as thoughts of his dick pressed against Carter's warm muscular thigh came rushing back into his mind. He started imagining fucking and getting fucked by his friend. He couldn't take it anymore, so he rushed into the bathroom and went into a shower. He started jacking off. He tried to change his thoughts, but images of Carter were stuck in his mind. He tried to think off his girlfriend but it wasn't doing anything, for him anymore.

He started crying, as he kept masturbating to images of his friend. He took his cock and pumped it with the beat of his thoughts. Imagining his shirtless friend. Fucking his friend. Both of their bodies tangled in the act of love. He tried hard to think of anyone else. He thought of his girlfriend, but within a second his mind returned to Carter. He thought of hot female celebrities, but their images couldn't stand the flood of Carter in tight clothes that revealed his gym body. He even tried to think of other guys ... male celebrities, guys at the gym ... but not even they held a light to his sexual attraction for Carter.

He felt it in his core. At this moment he wasn't straight anymore. He wasn't even gay. He only had sexual feelings for one person and the person was Carter. After an hour in the shower, Elijah leaned against the shower wall panting with excasty. His body extremely tired. He couldn't believe how many times he cummed. But, for now his sexual urges seem to be satisfied. But, with his stomach rumbling, he knew he needed to eat something after the steamy masturbatical workout session he just had in the shower.

He walk out and saw, Carter, who by now was done and watching TV. A little embarrassed from what happened this morning and more embarrassed by his thoughts in the shower he said, "Hey, I'm going to cook some food, you hungry."

"Sure," Carter said not looking away from the T.V. Time continued to pass, until the aroma from the kitchen was becoming stronger. His stomach started growling, so he turn his head to see the progress of the food. He saw Elijah working hard. Food stains on his shirt from the spaghetti sauce he made. He looked so cute the way he worked. He was lucky to have him as a friend and a roommate. Unlike Carter, Elijah didnt go to the gym. But that doesn't mean he wasn't fit. He kept himself healthy with daily runs and the occasional hiking trip.

Carter wanted to go up and hug him from behind, and give him a kiss, like a good boyfriend. Then images of the morning popped up in Carter's mind. What the fuck was he thinking. He's not dating Elijah. "I'm not even gay, " Carter thought to himself." But that didn't stop the images of imagining Elijah sucking his dick. And he licking Elijah's ass. As he sat, trying not to think of his friend like that, his dick started growing excited by the thoughts.

"Um dude, I going for a drive ... I've been cooped up in here to long. I need some air." Carter said gathering his things and rushing out the door.

"But the foods almost done." Elijab said a little annoyed.

"I'll eat it when. I back, I just need to go." Carter said in sexual pain as his dick was angry about being ignored.

He drove and called up his list of chicks, until one accepted his offer of sex. He was also glad because she was one of the hottest chicks on his list. He got there and straight away they started making out. But every time Carter blinked or closed his eyes he saw images of Elijah. As, his one night stand began to strip, his erection started going down. The big juicy ass, the nice pair of tits, no longer pleased him. He could feel himself panicking, as she started to strip him of his clothes.

"What your not hard yet." She said unsurprised. "And your so tensed. I got a solution for that." She proceeded to sit him on her chair. Taking his flaccid dick she began to suck. He knew he should be enjoying this, but his dick wouldn't get hard. He closed his eyes, to try imagine something that would turn him on. But, still only thoughts of Elijah filled his mind. And with these thoughts, his dicks began to harden. It was rock hard. The hardest it ever been and made even slightly bigger. He opened his eyes, but as soon as he did he saw the chicks naked body. A body he once loved looking at, but it was causing him to lose his erection. So, he closed his eyes again, as she finished sucking him off.

His dick stayed hard, and now it was his time to please her. But, as he brought his dick to her vagina, the erection started fading. "Hey look this is not working. It's to much effort and I don't like that. Your obviously going through something. You haven't been yourself. Comeback when you got your shit dealt with." She said as she got off the bed and started getting dressed.

Carter felt so embarrassed. "Yeah, I don't know whats wrong with me. No hard feelings?" He shyly looked at her.

She similed, " You aren't the only guy on my list, I can call up. But, you are ... or were the best." She jokingly sighed, as she winked at him.

On, the way home his erection came back. And, the thoughts of Elijah flooded his mind. In the garage he stayed, until he masturbated for an hour. Ashamed of himself he walked into the apartment.

Carter walked in to hear Elijah moaning his name. He walked into the living room, where Elijah was sitting on the couch. Elijah was wearing Carter's dirty clothes, from earlier that day. Shorts wrapped around his ankles, and dick poking out of his briefs, he was jacking off while looking at shirtless picks of Carter on Instagram

"What the fuck!"Carter yelled. Elijah got up with lightning speed. To scared to say anything. Carter came closer and pushed Elijah onto the couch. Elijah started bracing himself, in the fear that Carter was going to start kicking the shit out of him. A few seconds passed. "Fuck," Carter said. Elijah opened his eyes, as he saw Carter begin to kneel down. His mouth staring to envelop Elijah's dick. Instantly both of their dicks became rock hard. There were no longer need for words as they performed the dance of love.

Elijah began to help Carter strip his clothes off and Carter helped position Elijah, so that both of them could suck each others dick in unison. Elijah enjoyed the big muscled body on top of him. He felt safe in Carter's strong arms. Carter enjoyed finally having someone he could care for and love. He no longer needed a fuck list. He just needed Elijah. He loved that he could wrap his arms around Elijah's smaller yet fit body.

During a plethora of orgasms, and taking turns fucking each other, they moved throughout the house and into Carter's bedroom. They laid next to eachother panting form the intense sexual workouts they just did. Their bodies still tingling from the orgasmic rush. They cuddled like that for minutes, slowly relaxing their heart rates and bodies.

Finally Elijah broke the silence. "So what does this mean?"

Carter was shocked by the question."What do you mean?"

"What does this mean for our friendship. Is it going to be awkward around us. I mean l ... I'm no psychologist but the only reason this happened is because of the quarantine. We both are young horny guys ... and we couldn't get sex anywhere else. So, we went to eachother to get our sex fix. So, after quarantine we should psychological revert to normal." Elijah tried to explain.

Carter's heart was a little hurt. "Do you really feel that way. Or, are you just lying to yourself. I know you feel it, too. Some happened to us. There's this energy we share, now, for some reason. If you're saying this because you think that's how I feel, your wrong." He started getting choked up. " I fucking love you, and after the sex we just had, I know you love me to. And, your theory is worng, I was able to get a sex offer from one of the hottest chicks on my list. But I could only think about you. So tell me there's something between us. Because, for the first time I'm actually feeling happy. I found a part of me that been missing .. it's you. I need you ... I need this whatever it is."

Elijah eyes began to get watery, seeing Carter's pain. "No your right, there is something between us. It the most powerful feeling I've ever felt. I can't even think of my girlfriend the same way. I feel nothing for her. But, sitting here with you ... it feels ... it feels like home." Elijah smiled, but started thinking. "So, this changes a lot. I'm going have to break up with my girlfriend. Are we gay, now? What are our friends and family gonna think..." Elijah started to ramble.

But, Carter brought him out of his thoughts, "Don't worry. What ever this is; it is different. I don't feel straight anymore. But, I wouldn't say I was gay. That implies I like guys in general. The truth is I only like you. Elijah, I'm only attracted to you. This love between us it's strong. As long as we are together we can face anything. So, what if my family disowns me or we lose some friends. I'd trade everything I have for you." Carter said shaking from the truth and deep passion of his words.

"I feel the same. I only love you, too. Carter." Elijah smiled up at Carter. And Carter wrapped his muscular arms around Elijah. And, Elijah pressed his head on Carter's muscular chest. Elijah own arms wrapped around Carter. And, Carter felt safe and loved by Elijah smaller yet muscular body. They were both strong. They were in it together, whatever the future held. They were roommates, friends, equals, and now lovers. And, they both smiled knowing that with a radmon glitch in the universe, they found true love.

[fiercyy]

Chapters: 11/? Fandom: Naruto Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Team 7 - Relationship, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Characters: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Tsunade (Naruto), Orochimaru (Naruto) Additional Tags: AU, Post-Chuunin Exams, post chuunin exams attack, Minor Character Death, Trauma, Team 7 Family bonding, Genin Era, Everybody moves in with Sasuke, he's got room, semi-au, Plot Twists, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Roommates, Friends to Enemies, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), Team as Family, Slow Burn Series: Part 1 of Post-Chuunin Exam AU Summary:

Sakura always wished she could relate to her teammates better. She wishes she could take it back.

In which Sasuke acquires some unwanted roommates and a team becomes a family.

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"You skipped training," Kakashi's one visible eye is narrowed in a foreboding expression. His large body takes up the whole doorframe when he holds himself up at full height.

Sasuke turns back to his book, earmarked not him but by Sakura, who the book belongs to. It's a historical account of the longest battle of the First Ninja War. For something so violent, it's extremely boring. "What's the point?" He asks petulantly.

"What's the point in training?" Kakashi asks incredulously. Surely Sakura's win hadn't hit him that hard.

"What's the point in the training we're doing? I'm not getting any stronger!"

"I'm teaching you restraint," begins the lecture he's heard what feels like a hundred times, "The Chidori is powerful and dangerous. You could hurt someone without meaning to."

Sasuke scoffs, "Sakura can beat me. I don't need restraint. In a fight, I'm trying to hurt someone."

"If your ego is so fragile then you're not ready for the responsibility of power."

"I am!" he argues. "But if power is such a burden then why can Sakura and Naruto keep getting stronger and now me?"

"They don't want power for power's sake!"

"Neither do I, I want power so I can use it."

Kakashi's eyes narrow, "I'm your mentor, not theirs. If you want my techniques you'll do things my way."

"Then I don't need you!" And desperate to escape the conversation, he jumps out the window.

"If you had control you wouldn't have hurt Sakura!" Kakashi shouts after him.

"I don't care!" he screams back. But that's a lie.

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Sakura, for her part, has never been so thrilled to lose a fight. It doesn't feel egotistical to think that she basically won. She's just a softy who couldn't let him fall. It's a good thing, isn't it? That her instinct was to protect her teammate. (Even if, had he been thinking properly, he could have grabbed onto the wall with chakra.) That was what Kakashi was always ragging on her about, no? Not putting her team first?

She managed to surprise Sasuke and get the upper hand. She never thought she could do that. Never would have thought to… before.

Thinking about her parents brings her down. She can't do it often, it hurts too much. Since her heart to heart with Kakashi, she's being trying to focus on what she does have, not what she lost.

Her life has been in a quagmire since the attack, but at least she isn't alone. For that reason, she pities Sasuke. They both lost so much but afterward he had nobody. And she had so much. She's learning to be grateful for that, honest she is. She just gets so mad sometimes.

It's like when she was little. She was an angry kid. Her parents worked with her and taught her all the calming techniques; breaking deepy, counting, shoving it all into a box… The box worked best. All her longterm furies shut up where no one could see them. She let the bullies hit her as hard as they wanted. She wouldn't strike out. They could tease her all they liked, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of a reaction.

She can't hold in that inner Sakura anymore. She won't be contained. Instead she's trying to come to terms with it all; work through it as best she can. It's freeing, to be a being who can feel anger again. The fight now, is to not allow it to consume her.

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"Hey," Naruto starts, only for Sasuke to stalk right past him and slam the door to their room. He glances at the clock on the VCR. It's 11:00. The lock clicks. Shit. He's terrible at picking locks. "Aw man, what am I gonna do now?"

Sakura—who sits on the opposite side of the table, books open and post-its at the ready—is unsympathetic. "Sleep on the couch."

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.

Alone in his room, the nightmares plague him worse than before. The prophecy of being swallowed by the earth came true. He finds new things to fear.

Sasuke wakes in the middle of the night.

The voices no longer reside in sleep. Orochimaru's whispers reverberate all around him; promises of power, of bargains. How will you kill your brother if you keep you as you are? He asks with condescension.

Sasuke shakes his head and for now, the pressure in his skull is dislodged. He rises and leaves the bedroom for the living room.

The apartment is dark. There is just enough moonlight to see by. He treads softly into the living room and stares at Naruto's slack body, thrown over the couch and covered in the red wool blanket. It's large enough that all three of them fit under it but in the heat of sleep he's kicked it off his feet. His soft snores, so familiar, settle Sasuke.

He didn't want Naruto to hear his nightmares. They've woken him before, but he never seems to grasp what the nightmares are about. He knew he'd be talking in his sleep tonight. It's always worse when he goes to bed angry. Orochimaru is preying on those feelings, he won't be taken in.

Except he's told no one. They might see it as a sign of weakness, or Kakashi might try and reseal him. What power reserves would be taken from him then? The temptation of more than a taste of what the curse can give him… He's stagnating here, while others flourish. He needs to be stronger. Now. And Orochimaru wants to give him strength. It's that simple.

He'll kill him before fulfilling his end of the bargain.

That thought, formulating a plan, is what makes it too real.

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Sasuke's birthday is last in the calendar year and on the first morning of his 13th year, he wakes up to yelling and the sweet smells of an unhealthy breakfast.

"I made you an omelette actually," Sakura assures, plating her pancakes. It's dry and over seasoned, but he eats every bite slathered in ketchup. There's candles in it and they make him blow them out.

The day is spent in his favourite manner: outside, training. They read together in peace in the grass, for a while after that. (Sasuke and Sakura read. Naruto doodles crude caricatures in the margins of a magazine.) They go to lunch, then the baths. They henge into adult versions of themselves, laughing all the while at their absurd visions of the future. They use the illusions to sneak into a bar that's hosting a pub quiz. A jolly civilian in his 20s hosts. Naruto's only correct contribution is a question about the minutiae of the Teenage Mutant Firefighting Turtles lore.

They win second prize—a pitcher of beer. Their weak, 13-year-old tolerance ensures than they're unable to hold their henges for long after that. Once one breaks, the others do too and laughing all the while, they're kicked out of the bar.

"Technically this is your fault for giving it to us!" Sakura argues, "We didn't order any drinks!" The bouncer is unamused.

They stumble home, leaning on each other.

And when Sasuke stares at the spinning ceiling that night, he doesn't think of his childhood, his anger or the future. For the first time, he relives the same day he'll relive for years-the best birthday he ever had.

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"Teach me how to unlock the Magekyou Sharingan," Sasuke demands. He doesn't know what he's asking.

Kakashi tries to tell himself this, but when he reaches inside himself, looking for compassion, he finds only rage. "No."

"It's my clan's legacy, the next logical step. I need it if I ever hope to-!"

"If you're very lucky you will never have the Magekyou," Kakashi warns, "The cost is too great."

"I'll pay it!"

"If you do," he replies, enunciating carefully, "I will strike you down myself."

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They ambush him in the evening on his way home from another seemingly useless session with Kakashi. The Sound Four and all of their formidable strength and second-hand arguments (such as they are) meant to persuade him to defect on his own. Or to take him by force.

His curse seal burns, curling across his body.

The time has come to remember his purpose.

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Sasuke strains against his restraints, spitting and snarling at his teacher. Kakashi's impassive eyes rove around, but his fingers are tight on the wire. The bark itches and the blood trickles down his arm where the wire has cut him.

"What's this all about?!" He demands.

"Sorry, but I knew you wouldn't want to sit still for another lecture." The second today. "Let it go, forget about revenge. Trust me, following the path of revenge never ends well. You'll only tear yourself apart. Even if you succeed, what will you have then? Nothing. Emptiness."

"Shut up!" Sasuke's blood boils, "What makes you think you know anything about it? You have no idea! Maybe if I were to kill the most important people in your life, anyone who's ever meant anything then you'd understand," he threatens cruelly, uselessly.

"Interesting theory, but everyone I've ever loved is already dead," he says it so calmly. Sasuke never knew that about him. "Besides you. And Naruto and Sakura."

Sasuke's sharp intake of breath is the only indication that his words have any effect.

"You and I are lucky. We've found new people to love, who love us."

The boy looks so small, his head drops so Kakashi can't see his face anymore. He loosens the restraints.

"That's all I wanted to say. You'll do what you want."

.

.

In the room he shares with his teammate, only feet away from his bed, Sasuke packs a bag in the dark. There's a photograph on the desk that he considers taking with him, but that wouldn't be wise. He lays it face down and leaves the room.

He hesitates at the front door and doubles back.

He doesn't know which cousin Sakura's bedroom belonged to. He never visited them before the Massacre. It's one of the reasons he feels safe here, it's untouched by death. They died at the compound with everybody else.

He opens her door a crack. The hinges are well oiled so they don't creak.

Asleep in bed, Sakura's back is to him, arm tucked under her chin and hair falling over her shoulders. He watches her for longer than he should, heart hammering in his chest. He's really going to do this.

He stays until he can't stand it anymore, it's too much.

Outside, the village is quiet. The streetlamps haven't been fixed in many neighborhoods, so he passes through the light and darkness with equal swiftness. His unhurried gait stops at the gates. They loom in front of him, a portal into his future.

"SASUKE!" Sakura shouts, breaking the stillness of the night.

He turns and can't hide his surprise at seeing her. He's a fool. He must have woken her with his goodbye. "What are you doing here?"

"This is the only way out of the village," she evades.

"Go home Sakura."

Before I say things we'll both regret.

"No," her voice breaks. She darts in front of him to block his path. "Why? I thought I understood you but I don't. I just don't. How can you throw everything away?"

"You could never understand me," he replies coldly. "I'm throwing away everything that doesn't matter. Anything that doesn't help me accomplish my goals."

"I know in the beginning you couldn't stand me. You probably hated me. But I thought-" here Sakura hesitates and the tears drip from her chin. "I thought that things were different now. You told me once that I have no idea what it means to be alone, well now I do. I do and I wish I didn't. It's horrible. But it's a little less horrible with you." She chokes on a sob and slaps a hand over her mouth to muffle it.

"You're just as annoying now as you were then." He steps up to her, so they're standing close. "Move," he commands.

"No."

"Move or I'll move you."

Her stance widens but her knees quake. "Try it then."

"Don't you understand that I'll kill you if I have to?" Move!

She laughs, so sad, "For the sake of your revenge."

"I'm travelling a path that you can't follow," in telling her so, he hopes to be kind.

Sasuke pushes past her. Like a willow branch, she moves aside then springs back to watch him walk away. All the fight has gone out of her. "You don't have to be alone. You don't think we would help you?" She cries, "Naruto and I would do anything for you. Why won't you let us?!"

"I don't need you!" He roars. "We aren't the same."

"I love you, don't you understand? Please don't walk away!"

With his back to her, neither can see the effect their words are having on the other, but they can hope. They can imagine.

"Stay," she whispers brokenly. "Or take me with you."

He turns. "Where I'm going, I have no use for you. Forget you ever knew me."

"No. You know that I can't," she says with force. He advances and her speech quickens. "If you move I'll scream, I swear I will, I-" In a flash, he's behind her. A sharp pain in her neck. Darkness descends.

Whispered words. Thank you.

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12 hours earlier…

Though some ninjas choose to work under the cover of night, many realize that it's far easier to work in plain sight, in the day, hidden by the crowd. Sasuke has only been to Kakashi's apartment once before, but he remembers the way. It's not so odd that a student would visit his master in the day time.

He knocks and Kakashi's surprised to find him at the door.

"Can I come in?" He trusts that his sensei's home is secure.

"Sure, Sasuke," Kakashi replies in his usual breezy tone. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to get me a covert meeting with the Hokage."

In under an hour they're in her office. Shizune, their only witness. Tsunade surveys the boy over her steeples fingers. "What can I do for you, Uchiha?"

"I need you to assign me an S-rank mission, to infiltrate Sound." Kakashi's eye cuts to him, "As a double agent."