Restoration Book 3/3: Sakura's Fate

Chapter 6

That night, after falling asleep, I was stunned to feel a presence in my head. It wasn't just any presence, either. It was Sasuke.

Just as I came to that conclusion, the man himself appeared before me, and we wordlessly stared at one another in surprise for a long time. Finally, he said, "This must be what Naruto was talking about." I nodded, surveying his appearance in awe.

Every morning after we escaped the asylum, Naruto would tell us about how he spoke with Hinata while sleeping. That's how he received the information on where to find her.

"Do you think this is gonna happen every night now?"

Sasuke shrugged, offering a hand for me to hold so both of us could test what sensations we could pick up in this state, "As if I need you to annoy me for even more hours of the day."

I rolled my eyes, intertwining our fingers and squeezing a bit more tightly than necessary, making him wince as he smirked, "Likewise, Jerk."

I could feel his hand in mine, but it wasn't quite as strong as if we were awake. I'd get a ghost of his emotions occasionally, but it wasn't constant and varied in strength. This would've scared me a few months ago, but now it's just another otherworldly occurrence.

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair and looked around at the endless black space surrounding us, "What do we do now?"

He pulled my hand so I could step closer before sitting. I followed his lead, unsure. "Nothing we can do but wait until this ends, or we wake up, right?"

Red and black eyes studied my face as we sat silently for a moment before he suddenly asked, "After this is over, what are you gonna do?"

"We already had this conversation, didn't we? I'll probably continue studying and go back to school."

Sasuke paused, his lips turned down into a slight frown. I pulled his other hand into mine, so all our fingers were interlaced, and he'd have no choice but to acknowledge me, "Sasuke, what's wrong?"

His jaw flexed, and he glared at our hands, tightening his grip slightly, "Do you think you'll stay in a dorm?"

My mouth opened slightly as I took in his question. What he's trying to ask is if I'm going to remain close by in Konoha.

My brow furrowed, and I followed his lead, "I-I don't know yet. My parents have to be worried about me..." I didn't need to look up to see my response had left him disappointed, but he wouldn't say that out loud. That would be too sincere for him since I've pushed my luck with getting him to talk about his feelings as of late.

Before it could get too awkward, I tried to lighten the mood, "Look at the bright side! No matter what happens, we'll always see each other when we're asleep, right?"

My chest tightened when I bit the bullet and lifted my gaze to see his response. He's not doing it on purpose. I know he's not, but I can tell just by the look on his face that those lurking fears of abandonment are tearing his nerves to shreds right now.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I climbed up to my knees to hug his face to my chest, a blush coming to my face as I realized what I was doing. He froze in shock, but I forced myself to reassure him despite my bashfulness, "I'm not gonna leave you, okay? I promise. You don't have to worry. "

His hesitant arms slowly circled around my body, and he guided my legs around his waist so I sat atop his crossed legs. Sasuke didn't say anything but simply accepted my embrace. A small smile tugged at my lips as I kissed the top of his head.

One of these days, it won't be so hard for him to talk about the hard stuff, and I will wait patiently until it comes because he's already done the same for me.