Crash of a Star

Chapter One: Out of Area

Cross-over: Naruto/Death Note

Pairing: L/Saku (Some implied Near/Saku)

Rated: M for violence, language and other suggestive themes.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Death Note do not belong to me.

Quick author note: Uh, hi...Long time, no see. So, I just wanted to start out with an apology since that seems appropriate. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. I've had...a lot going on. So, acknowledging that it has been quite a while, I went to have a look at where I left off, only to find...that my writing style has changed. Considerably. Therefore, this story is getting a revision. This is chapter one, already revised. With that said, after revision, this story is going to be getting updated frequently from now on, I promise.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that as I re-read what I had written, I very much felt that I did not properly portray Sakura's feelings in a lot of places correctly. Therefore, there are a lot of changes made here, so even if you have read this chapter, it would be advisable to read it once more.

A/N: 3/21/2014 Everything from this chapter on has been revised properly.

As always, enjoy.

And I was never afraid of the dark,

Until you, oh the weapon you make of my heart,

And it's true, I was never afraid of the dark,

Death forces you to feel a lot of things.

For Haruno Sakura, it was like a wave of emotions that bled to the surface as she lay on the forest floor, raking her trembling fingers in the dirt. It was like a rush of alleviating coolness that started at the top of her head, spreading through her chest and growing warmer as it reached the tips of her toes. Stinging tears fell from the lashes of her bleary eyes, and streaked dirt stained trails down her paling face.

The senbon pinned in her arms had nothing to do with the trilling pain that made her body shudder, and it wasn't the large, gaping hole in her abdomen, courtesy of a jutsu whose wielder she'd never thought she would see again that made her feel so exposed, and open and cold inside. That event and all the hurt it could bring had been rode out until the moment where she had found herself in her current condition. Throat slashed and covered in bruises, body riddled with kunai and shuriken, she simply laid there without a sound as a flurry of ANBU raced through the forest. She watched their shadowed forms move through the thicket of trees, blind to her presence and unable to sense her slowly fading chakra signature.

The kunoichi's heart beat slow in her chest, numb and thumping in protest as she drew in a ragged breath and finally closed her eyes. Faint shouting fell to her ears, coming from a distance that was not so far away, but the words held no meaning to her.

She had already heard what she had—unknowingly—waited for what felt like a lifetime to hear and quite unfortunately, after she had listened, Sakura had come to the bitter conclusion that she no longer cared.

Sasuke Uchiha had finally made his long anticipated return to Konoha.

He was accommodated by the entirety of the rookie nine, with Naruto at the lead as he stumbled through the village gates, chakra nearly spent and a few superficial wounds. Five years had gone by without a hitch since word had gotten around that Sasuke had succeeded with his revenge, only to seemingly drop off the face of the earth sometime afterward. He could have come back at any time, seeing as the vendetta he'd been fiercely obsessing over for years had finally been resolved. The clamor of his betrayals had died down, and the council, to her own silent shock, was even willing to compromise in regards to his offenses against the village in the favor of his own self-reinstatement, to boot.

Sasuke, as well-informed as any S-class rogue nin had to be about the goings on in the shinobi world, certainly had to have known all of these things the moment the information had presented itself. And that is why, as she stood away from the cluster of ninja that had swarmed around him as if he were an unearthed tragic hero, she wondered why he had chosen today.

Naruto was standing at the front among their fellow peers, pelting the Uchiha with more questions than he could answer. At one point, Sasuke's dark eyes trailed away from the crowd in search of something...and found hers.

They stared at each other; Sasuke's eyes a flat, dim gray in comparison to the reflective and intimidatingly dark she had become accustomed to since so long ago. So calm and so tired, yet, not once did they leave her face. He was certainly looking at her—his unrelenting gaze was almost curious, but for what and why, she didn't know.

The undisclosed staring contest continued. After a while, it started to bother her. The look he gave was so pitiful; so weak...so un-Sasuke like. Sakura had always thought with the greatest bitterness, that the moment she would witness this man's most weakest moment was when she would attend his funeral and watch his vulnerable form being carried off in a casket.

She had been so wrong.

He was home; he was safe, and yet it felt far too late. The very vacancy in that permanent, blank stare exclaimed every horror he had seen in every way his words never would. Banter-filled mornings and exhilarating, fun-filled sparing matches with the boys she adored. Lazing at the training grounds late in the afternoon to talk about this and that, later wandering through the village streets. Linked arms, chorusing laughter and eventually a pause at Ichiraku's for a bowl of ramen in the evening...no more.

There had never been a time as painfully clear as this where she was forced to acknowledge the cruel reality of the truth.

Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha's team seven no longer existed. The boy she knew had died with his revenge, and all they were left with was a shell in his likeness.

Sakura was suddenly very inexplicably angry.

Her jaw clenched and her shoulders tensed as she slowly balled her fists at her side. Apparently having noticed an abrupt change in the pink haired girl, Sasuke's eyes widened. He took a small step back despite the great sea of people placed between them. Sakura's jade eyes widened in fleeting disbelief—in the right setting, she might have found Sasuke's withdrawal from her quite amusing—and then narrowed acutely as Naruto regained the dark haired man's attention in that moment. The Uchiha clan survivor reluctantly looked down at the blonde young man who was only about a half a head shorter now, and placed a hand on his spiky hair. Sakura saw him frown and mutter something, though his voice was lost among the crowd.

The roseate haired girl shuddered in her increasing frustration and turned away to stalk off toward the village's center. It was in that moment that all her walls flew up; no person, no words, no thing could penetrate the wrath that very nearly tangibly warped the atmosphere around her. Sakura was angry as she strode down the quiet street, though a small, quiet part of her told her that her fury was misplaced. She was scared, because a larger part of her was screaming to her that this was the end, no matter how she told herself she felt about it.

But, most of all—Sakura was very deeply and irreversibly hurt.

Sakura's footsteps gradually turned into deliberate stomps as she made her way through the village streets. She hadn't thrown a fit or encountered anything that inspired this much rage in over six years, but she felt compelled to let it flow free and consume her, unrestrained.

That's a pretty bad idea...Her Inner self warned. The roseate haired girl laughed bitterly to herself. It was almost as if she and her other persona had switched mentalities for a time, as Inner would often be the one to fan the flames on her quieted anger, drawing it out through treacherous and inconsistent slips in her most dominant and sound personality.

Ignoring Inner's foreboding words, the pinkette continued around the corner to disappear from the public eye, leaving a small trail of web-like fissures crawling through the ground after her.

The forest near the back entrance of Konoha appeared to be her destination. Without so much as a moment's hesitation, Sakura disarmed the seals and scaled the tall fence. She jumped over the edge and landed safely on the other side, crouching as she touched the ground and then rising cautiously to full height.

I really don't advise this! Sakura! Inner warned once more. Sakura closed her eyes tighter than necessary and concentrated on almost completely masking her chakra signature. She knew there were guards posted at every exit in the village, and ANBU would be on her before she could take another step if they sensed her wandering around outside of it.

Shiki is stationed at the east post...She pondered, chewing on her bottom lip as she mulled over her available options. She had chosen the south post for a reason, knowing that the north one was clearly occupied, and not wanting to risk encountering someone at the west gate. No one would be here and she was certain of this, because the person who normally guarded this section was currently standing among the crowd she had abandoned; an arm draped around the shoulders of his dark-haired sweetheart and a senbon dangling lazily from his mouth.

Clever thinking, but where the hell are we going? Inner wanted to know. The crisp leaves of late fall crunched beneath her feet as Sakura dipped her head and journeyed through the dense forest, only pausing now and then to untangle herself from a gnarled branch that caught in her hair.

If she was honest with herself, she didn't know where she was going; only that she needed to keep moving forward.

A few steps further found the medic nin out of the cluster of leafless oaks and exposed to the soft warmth of sunlight. She stared up at the late afternoon sky, watching the puffy white clouds roll lazily by. A small brook divided the area and another arrangement of trees, flowing quietly over a bed of rocks at the bottom of the narrow estuary. Finally alone and feeling somewhat sedated by the scenery, Sakura settled herself down in the grass, slowly inhaling the scent of the sun-baked earth and reveling in the natural silence that worked gradually to dissolve the remains of her indignant mood.

But the serenity was obviously not meant to last.

A shadow fell over her closed lids as Sakura rolled onto her back, shoulder-length coral tresses fanning out against a rare patch of green grass. Thinking it to be a cloud passing over the sun, she placed a hand over her eyes and let out a somewhat content sigh.

That was when she felt the hand on her neck. Startled, the kunoichi's eyes flew open to meet twin orbs of dark. Immediately, she sat up quickly. Her head pulsed as heat inflamed her face when she was again met with the unusually calm and alarming eyes that matched that terribly familiar face. Her heart slammed up into her chest as his hands clamped down on her shoulders with a firm, almost threatening grip.

Sasuke stared at her until Sakura had the decency to realize he was waiting for her to say something.

Anger, rediscovered, stirred within her. Sakura quickly pulled away and brought herself to stand. Sasuke didn't move as if he intended to go after her, as she had the odd feeling he would. Instead, his eyes lifted slowly and blinked in what could only be described as mild surprise, as if he had only just noticed Sakura had moved.

He was staring again; charcoal eyes glinting as the sunlight swept over the small clearing. Sakura's own eyes steeled on reflex, and she stared back uncertainly. A part of her was expecting the feigned look of wonder to melt from his handsome features, and the brooding look or pretentious smirk to which she had grown so accustomed to reappear.

But there was only silence...and Sasuke's haunting expression never changed.

When her expectations were not met, the kunoichi slowly lowered her guard. Startled, her anger escaped her and curiosity quickly took up residence before she could decide how to feel next.

Why had Sasuke come looking for her, anyway? Leaving him and the crowd of villagers behind, she had not expected him to come seeking her out like this. Eight or so years ago, she thought absently, he had wanted nothing to do with her. It had taken her a ridiculous amount of time to come to terms with this, and after coming to accept this, all of her obstructions had fallen away. Though the unpleasantness concerning their relationship did not stop there, after so long Sakura had found a way to move on.

No longer harboring any unrequited feelings or, (In Ino's own words) depriving herself of things she could have, Sakura had rebuilt a new, unbreakable foundation for herself. While things could never be the same, the bond with her reformed team was something she came to cherish. Gradually, she was able to fully enjoy the time she spent with the people who were there for her, and cared for her without the burden of constant worry.

Obsession dwindled from concern to wonder, and eventually it was lost in time...

Why did he come back now? A small, very angry voice in Sakura's head inquired. Her fists tightened again at her sides. Taking a step forward, her sandaled feet crunched the dead leaves on the ground. Sasuke was watching her very closely and had noticed her slow advance, but the sound was not enough to startle her out of her own infuriated thoughts.

After all this time...After how long they were made to wait, how dare he come back and put everything she had created into jeopardy?

Are you going to let this happen? Asked the very same voice as before. In her correct mind, Sakura may have realized at this time that she was, quite literally, going insane.

"...No." Sakura decided firmly, quietly to herself. She couldn't allow this to happen. Sasuke's eyes were jet black saucers by now. His fingers were knotted in the grass beneath his hands, squeezing so hard that his knuckles hand turned white. Sakura silently watched his mouth open slowly and then close.

She was obviously upset by his abrupt return, he had already gathered from the moment he had arrived, but that was now probably an understatement.

"Sakura," he tried, hyper aware of the tone of his voice. The pink haired girl stared down at him, her mouth steeled into a hard and unforgiving line. Her usually cheerful green eyes were alight with anger.

"Listen to me. I..." Sasuke's mouth went unexpectedly dry and he suddenly found himself unable to speak.

Damn it...He had prepared himself for this. He had been prepared to admit that he had made many, many mistakes, and that he was prepared to face the consequences. His team, his home and everything that was important to him were right here in this village. There was so much to say...so much to tell them, and he had waited five long years to summon the courage to give them the explanation and comfort they deserved. He didn't want Sakura's affection or her forgiveness, and he certainly wasn't expecting it.

A sense of closure was what she deserved; to be free from the grief and worry he knew that his absence had tormented his closest friends with.

What was left of his pride had practically dwindled to nothing when he saw her face behind the crowd today. Her anger resonated with him, and now as he forced herself to look at her face and the accumulated anger behind her eyes, he wondered if an earlier return could have lessened such animosity...

But...

It didn't matter. Everything he needed to explain would be said here, and she would be the first to know.

"Sakura, look..." Sasuke began, taking a cautious step forward.

Those were the last words he was able to say before he found himself lying on his back, pinned to the ground with a kunai aimed at his throat.

Fifteen minutes later found the two former team mates beneath the shadows of a clearing, panting, bleeding and running on chakra vapors. Small craters riddled the abused expanse of earth, trees slain from their roots and strewn across the remnants of a once docile little forest; murdered in constitution to the unbridled wrath of one Uchiha Sasuke and one roseate terror.

Sakura pressed her back against a canted tree and heaved a sigh. The cicadas in the branches hummed in unison, and then their descant broke apart at the sound of hurried footfalls. The kunoichi's clouded green orbs flitted to the Uchiha lying face down on the ground near her feet, his disheveled raven hair caked with dirt, blood and littered with specks of dead leaves. A carmine pool spanned out from under his unmoving body, staining the ground and darkening the parched tufts of weathered earth.

Huffing and pressing her hand against the gaping wound in her stomach, Sakura gently toed him in the side and only stared on dispassionately when Sasuke did not move.

He was dead.

TBC