Disclaimer: The characters are not mine but the storyline is :D Enjoy!

Pain,

Pain registered in my mind as soon as he gripped the collar of my shirt. I gasped at the sheer power of his grip. He then slammed me back first into the cream white walls of the living room. Everything seemed to swirl as I crumpled to the ground and grimaced in, once again, pain. I could not give up just yet.

He pulled me up by the scruff of my neck and kept me there with his vice-like grip, never letting go. I tried my hardest to pry off his twelve centimeter long fingers from my neck. Failing to do so, like every other time, I tried to escape but my legs were already off the wooden floor. His breath was heavily laden with liquor.

He laughed a menacing laugh and sneered at my efforts to escape. He used his free hand and put it on my right leg, moving it up and down my leg. In those few seconds, I was at the liberty of his huge, coarse hands. If he just used slightly more strength, one 'crack' and I would be gone. Not ready to walk through the gates of death just yet, I mustered up all my courage and spat in his face before I kicked him in the groin.

With a surprised cry, he loosened his grip on me and crouched down. Taking the chance of his unawareness, I grabbed my haversack from the coffee table and hobbled towards the front door.

"Come back, bitch," his low voice rumbled as he spat those words that I dreaded to hear.

Blinking back tears of fear, I shut the door behind me and headed to the basketball court near my high school.

The beggars by the street must have been surprised to see a girl out of her residence at such a late hour. I shook off their gaze and ambled towards the basketball court. I cautiously glanced back once in a while to make sure he was not tailing me.

I was finally convinced that he was not when I slumped into the metal bench that was under the only source of light for the basketball court. I could feel a large bruise forming on my back as I put my haversack down beneath me. At least my existing cuts and bruises were healing faster than the new cuts that were coming.

I flinched as I bent down to get my basketball from my grey haversack. I tossed the dull orange coloured basketball into the court before tying up my cherry coloured hair into a messy ponytail. Walking into the court, I picked up the ball and positioned myself at the three-point mark.

I tried to take a three-point shot at the basket but I missed by a few inches. I shook my head as I went for the ball. Arching my arms above my head, I tried again. I aimed for the basket and lobbed the ball into the air. I scored! I grinned widely, thinking that I was alone.

Unexpectedly, I heard a few claps coming from behind me. Suddenly aware of another's presence, I felt very naked with only a pair of knee length Bermudas and a printed t-shirt on me. I spun around on my heels and looked discern in the darkness. A tall and well-muscled figure stood in the darkness, commanding all my attention.

After a few seconds, the figure stepped under the lamppost. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Sasuke," I called to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking you that question, Saku," he replied, sauntering towards me.

I stared into his black eyes that had a glint of mischief on them. "I told you not to call me that," I said, bouncing the ball in front of me.

"Okay, fine. Sakura, why are you here so late?" he asked, snatching the ball from me in a playful manner. He flashed me a boyish grin, trying to get away with stealing my ball. He was always so uptight around everyone else who assumed he was something when he was not. If not for me being his friend, I would have never seen any of those nice smiles.

"You tell me why you're here first!" I replied, snatching the ball back from him and scoring another three-pointer. He whacked me on the back in congratulation and let out a 'Whoa!" I winced but tried my hardest not to show any of the pain I was feeling on my face. He could not find out what my Dad had been doing to me all this while. Everything would all be out.

"Shall we have a game?" The youngest Uchiha pitched.

"You're on," I shot back, trying to smile though I felt that I would fall anytime soon.

I bounced the ball in front of me then tried to dribble it past him. I narrowed my green eyes in concentration.

Fake left then go right… Fake right… Oops!

The ball slipped through my fingers and I lost it to him. Not ready to lose to him so early into the game, I tried to get the basketball back from him but before I could even catch up, I tripped and fell on my knees. I stopped myself from crying out by gritting my teeth. My breathing became heavy and I felt like I was about to faint. Sasuke stopped in his tracks when he could no longer hear my footsteps. My only best friend abandoned the ball that they were fighting over and rushed towards me.

"Saku, are you okay?" he furrowed his brows worriedly as he put his hands on my shoulders. I muttered jokingly that I was fine and tried to stand up. My legs gave way before I could even lift them a metre off the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut. Preparing for another knock when I crashed hard onto the basketball court but it never came…

Instead of the pain that coursed through my bones, I was swathed by two strong arms lifting me off the ground. It felt like I was in heaven. Not bothered by problems and pain but relieved by the stillness and tranquillity.

I opened my bottle green eyes and was glad to see Saauke's chiselled face looking down at me. I put my arms around his neck so that I would not fall off and get hurt again. He smirked at me and pulled me closer to his lanky frame. I snuggled my head into his dark blue shirt and breathed in his scent.

Hmm… Cinnamon…

His smell always reminded me of the cosiness of a home. Even though I never really had a home, he always made me feel like I did ever since we were twelve.

FLASHBACK

At the old apple tree down my street, I would always try to get my hand on one every single day…

I pulled a woollen red scarf over my mouth and looked up at the soaring apple tree that was going to be bald in three weeks. As I always did, I jumped for a shiny red apple that was staring down at my diminutive 115-centimetre frame. I reached out my hand and tried again… Knowing that I would never get a chance to taste that longed fruit, I gave up and stopped jumping. I hunched down and closed my eyes.

Just as I would never taste that fruit, I would never get the chance to see my mother again. I could not hide my tear-stained cheeks any longer. I hugged my knees and sobbed quietly under the old apple tree. I felt more alone than ever as the autumn wind blew harshly against my skin and chilled me to the bone. That was when I nearly gave up on life but the unlikely Sasuke pulled me back up onto my feet.

"Hey," a young boy around my age called out and walked up to me. I lifted my head acknowledging his presence. Instead of going to stand in front of me, he went behind the apple tree. I looked at his actions trying to understand why he was doing exactly that.

"Did you know that this tree always drops its apples behind itself?" he asked as he picked up an apple and tried to sit next to me. I did feel startled by his actions by nonetheless made space for him to sit in the grass next to me. He polished the apple on his khaki coat then put it in my two hands and flashed me a charming smile. Due to the tears that I cried, my hair stuck to my face. He tucked the strands of hair behind my ears and urged me to take a bite. Reassured after his last smile, I took a bite. It seemed like the world stopped spinning and only both of us were alive.

I told him everything that was plaguing me. I told him about my mother dying of a car crash. I told him about how my family was in shambles with my Dad being the sole breadwinner and how lonely I felt without my Mom. Throughout my talking, his eyes kept locked with mine. It made me feel like the lost of someone who cared for you brought along another who cared too.

When I finally stopped, he put him arm around me and whispered in my ear," If you ever need someone to listen and be there for you, I will be here forever." I let his words sink in for a while. I smiled at him feeling comforted by his words.

"I'm Haruno Sakura," I said to him.

"What's your name?"

"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke,"

Then, at the age of twelve,

I knew I fell in love.

END OF FLASHBACK

With his hands still carrying me, Sasuke sat on the metal bench under the lamp.

"Sa-ku-ra," he whispered. I turned my head towards him. There had been nothing between us ever since we became the best of friends but I never dared to tell him about my situation at home.

"You know you can tell me anything," he said to me, making me feel fine.

Those words were what I longed to hear for the last six years. I sat up on his lap, and to his surprise, enveloped him in a big bear hug. Slowly but surely, he put his strong arms around me and made me feel like I was never, ever going to be alone on this earth. I buried my head into his neck and filled my body with his scent again. I never wanted to let go but I had to. If he were to know, I would have to let go.

I released the hug and went to sit next to him. I could feel his worried gaze on me as I debated if I should spill the beans and tell him The Secret. The Secret that I kept for six years scared of it. If I let it out, who knows what would happen to me? The Secret kept me in my place. It decided my existence on this earth.

"Before I tell you, can you promise me that only you and I will know of this?" I said, looking up at him.

"Of course I promise no one will know. You can trust me, Saku." He replied, reassuring me with a hand on my shoulder.

Here goes, goodbye Secret. Now it will be our Secret.

"I have been," I started. "I have been abused by my father for the past six years. I've always tried to cover up for all the cuts and bruises that he caused," I paused and gestured to my scars that he used to question me about. Sasuke put on his game face. The hard, angry face that he only put on when we went into games with the team. If looks could kill, our opponents would have died.

"I was afraid. Afraid of what would happen to me if someone found out so I made all sorts of excuses to cover up. I was mad, no, furious that he would do that to his own daughter but I did not dare to go up against him. I channelled my anger into basketball and soon became captain of our team under Coach Kakashi. Basketball was my solution to going against him. I couldn't do without it." I said looking blankly at the empty basketball court in front of me.

"I did not dare to tell anyone. It was not something anyone would understand. He abused me because he lost Mom. He could not cope without her. He went to drink loads at a time and once he got back, I was dead meat. Just now," I stopped and shaked my head. "He was worse today. He tried to sexually assault me. Usually it would be just bashing, me not retaliating. He would be out cold in his room and I would be hiding in mine. This time I could not take it. I left and I came here. Where I met you," I finished and looked at Sasuke.

His face was hardened and his gaze was steely. He tried to put his arm around me but he ended up touching the bruise on my back. I furrowed my brows at his slightest touch. Sasuke saw my reaction and asked if he could look at it. I hesitated for a moment but gave him permission after making sure no one else was looking. I closed my eyes slowly as he lifted my t-shirt.

Silence filled the dark night around us. I could feel his fingers tracing the dreaded bruise on my back. He did not say anything. I could only hear his steady breathing.

'Sasuke-kun, is it really bad?' I asked him, even though I could tell through the tense atmosphere that it was really, really bad.

He managed to grunt out that it would heal but ceased to say anything else. I turned to face him and eyed him up. His raven bangs covered his eyes as he leaned forward with his fingers clasped in front of him. His body was tense but I felt him relax when I placed my hand on his shoulder. After what seemed like an hour, he turned to face me and held my hands in his.

'Haruno Sakura, I want you to know we'll get out of here. We will go out of this place. We will start a new life,' he paused and looked deep into my pools of bottle green. 'If you're with me, that is,' he muttered. I could tell he was not joking as he usually would. It was not like him but it still felt like he was telling the truth. I smiled slightly at his thoughtfulness.

'If you're with me, that is,' I said cheekily. He brightened at my words and immediately captured me in a crushing hug. 'SASUKE!! Not so tight!' I gasped at the pain that seared through my back. He quickly let go of me and scanned my face worriedly, hoping he did not hurt me. I reassured him by standing up and twirling around once. It was not like me to act so feminine but everything seemed like a dream that night.

Uchiha Sasuke took hold of my twirling arms, pulled me toward him and captured my lips with his. He kept his hands around me as he deepened the kiss, pulling me closer and closer. I was kissing back, forgetting everything else around me. My hands found the way up to his hair and stayed there, roaming freely. He stopped abruptly, pulling away slightly, leaning his forehead on mine. I opened my eyes, slightly angry that I was away from 'heaven'.

'I,' he muttered, keeping his gaze on me. "I didn't know if I should have done that now though I loved you every since we were still fourteen."

That made up for the abrupt stop and I was rejoicing instead of feeling 'angry' a second before. I smiled and gave him a peck on his cheek, turning him slightly red. The Uchiha Sasuke Never Turned Red!

'I've been waiting for you to say that,' I replied, ruffling his hair. He flashed me his grin that only I and a few others had ever seen and wrapped me in his arms again.

Sasuke sighed in relief. 'I thought you didn't like me. I wondered if it was just a one-sided thing. I guess I thought wrong.' He never shared his thoughts like that, I was really, really glad that he did now.

I breathed in his scent and smiled as he said those words. After a while, I pulled away, picked up my old basketball and tossed it to him. Reassured that we would get through The Secret, I asked him if we could have another game. He shrugged and started to dribble the ball while reminding me not to strain myself. I gave him a friendly whack on his back and nodded my head. Taking a chance while he was laughing, I snatched the ball from him and scored another three-pointer.

He stopped laughing and gave me a cheeky glance, shouting "I LOVE YOU!" in an attempt to make me misss the mark, which I did. The ball flew away from the basket and I turned to face him, annoyance written all over my face. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly before giving me a smirk. The game was on.

As we continued to play through the night, I hoped, deep in my heart, that this would last...

Forever.

Author's note:

-It took me a while to find the time to type the whole story. I decided it would be a one-shot but if you, readers, give me feedback wanting a sequel, I could think about it. :D

-Review and tell me

Off,

Takiizumi-Rei