Do you know what a fairytale is? It's a story worth fighting for..until the end..until that 'happily ever after'.

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Sakura's POV

After I saw my younger self walk away with my dad, our feet led us to somewhere else. While walking down the crowded sidewalk, the surroundings shifted. Everything became a sudden blur. Sasuke immediately grabbed hold of my hand as a new horizon came to view.

"Where are we now?"

I shook my head, ignoring the faint show of black spreading across my shoulders. Dammit. I need to find that "time's heart" thingy or whatever object it is. Soon this condition will be braching out all over my body and there'a no way in hell will I be able to hide it from Sasuke. Why must my life be so complicated?

Because you have the curse, little one.

My eyes widened in a fraction. I glanced briefly at Sasuke who only stared blankly at me. He sighed and motioned to our new surroundings. "Well, this is your memory, isn't it? You've got to have an idea where we are.. Or rather, what time we're in." I felt a lump form in my throat.

That voice. Where did that come from? I swear, I heard someone talking to me!

Things are getting more messed up, now.

"I.." I darted my eyes to a familiar building. It was a house with large windows and a apple trees infront. The lawn stretched out beneath our feet. No wonder this scene is familiar.. I took a step towards the almost ghostly home.

"That's me." I absentmindedly blurted out while peeking through an open window.

I saw myself again. But the scene was a lot more different than the first one we saw earlier. I was taller in this memory. My hair grew longer and my face crestfallen as my younger self held a picture frame to her chest. Clutching it as if her life depended on it. She was wearing her least favorite black shirt.

"Three years, daddy.. I miss you so much."

After that, I saw myself cry. I noticed some boxes stacked in a corner.

Now I remember. This happened when I was ten years old. The third year since my father's death. My grandmother was helping me move out of our old house. This is a painful memory. One of my worst. This scene became the turning point of my life. The girl who almost had everything, lost everything in the end. It's like waking up from a dream. You wouldn't know you're dreaming until you've opened your eyes to reality.

"Sakura,"

I ignored Sasuke and closed my eyes when I saw my ten-year-old self hurried towards the kitchen.

"Where is she going?"

With a shaky breath, I answered his question.

"Attempting suicide."

I glanced at the raven-haired boy and saw how frantic he looked. "What? Suicide?! Fuck, then we need to----"

"Sasuke, this is just a memory. She's alive. I'm alive. We're the same, remember?"

That calmed him down a bit, but his eyes still looked worried.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you attempt something as idiotic as that?"

"You already know the answer to that, Uchiha. Mind you, my life before wasn't some cheesy fairytale."

We started walking away, keeping our eyes open for anything that can be a clue to what we're looking for. Honestly, it was a great relief to get away from that horrible scene. Watching yourself during your darkest moments is devastating. I wouldn't even last a day doing it. But who am I to complain? I need to. We need to---well, Sasuke has no choice, has he?

What "fault" am I suppose to find in my past? Everything in it screams sins!

"How can you find something if you don't even know what it is?"

I vocalized my thoughts. Sasuke gave me a reassuring smile. "We'll get through this, I promise." But just as he said that last word, shadows casted from the nearby streetlights inched closer towards us.

The shadows materialized into cloaked human figures with blank faces. Oh, no..

"S-Sasuke, we need to go!"

And so we ran again.

The creatures, estimatedly hundreds of them, soared high in the sky and swoop down every once in a while. The two of us were theb running down a long, spiral staircase. I'm too preoccupied to even wonder how we got here! Our surroundings changed and there was a blinding light up ahead. We passed through it and the radiance ripped our skins.

The curse is awake.

There's that voice again! And it sounded nearer this time. I was pulled out of my trance when I felt Sasuke pulling me up. I have no idea what's happening! Everything feels surreal. My head's spinning.

"Sakura!"

I smiled faintly. Letting my eyes adjust to the light, I saw Sasuke Uchiha wrapping his arms around my shoulders. He panted, looking exhausted from all the running. Relife washed over his features when he saw me smile. He pulled me into an embrace.

"What are those?"

"I wish I knew."

I averted elsewhere. Having Sasuke with me is a great relief but why do I feel so guilty with his mere presence? He doesn't deserve to be here. He doesn't deserve any of this. Just then, a surge of what ifs came flooding in my head. What if he didn't get involved in any of this? What if I never told him about my visions? What if we never met?

What if he didn't love me?

Will anything change if fate gave him a second chance at life? I sighed. That's what sucks about the present. You can't change the past, yet you don't know what the future has in store for you. It's like living uncertainty every single day.

"Come on, let's get moving."

I felt him slightly drag me somewhere. My eyes glued on our entangled hands. Is it even possible falling in love with a man this deep? I guess I'll never know the answer to that. But one thing is for sure, I want to keep this man safe. I want to give his proper life back, just in case someone takes mine.

"Sasuke.."

He turned to me with a puzzle expression. I continued, "We should take separate ways." What I said made his face further distort into the depths of confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

I avoided his eyes. "You shouldn't be with me anyway. This is my dilemma, not yours."

His hands gripped my shoulders and he made me look at him. I reluctantly did so, acting brave under his smouldering gaze. His eyes held a certain level of seriousness and it scares me.

"Sakura, you're talking nonsense! Haven't I told you, we're in this together?!"

"You told me that just to make me feel better! But whatever we do, Uchiha, the ending won't change. We can run away from everything but we can't run away from ourselves!"

"What on earth are you talking abou---"

"We're not getting the bigger picture here, Sasuke. We--I can't escape the inevitable. Whoever wants me dead will do anything to do so. Just get out of my way."

The next moment, his hands fell limp on his sides. The concerned look was gone. His eyes were cold and painfully depressing. At the back of my mind, I wanted to take back what I said. But somehow, that little voice reminded me he'll get into more trouble if we try to push through this thing.

"Can't you think of another way to spare my life? I thought you're smart, Haruno. You're acting as if I can't decide whether I'd like to die with you or not.."

I lowered my head. His tone sounded disappointed and it hurts me more.

He sighed. "But if that's what you want. Goodbye, Haruno."

After that, his footsteps resounded further away. I fought the urge to cry and proceeded walking the opposite direction; having an empty space next to me.

Just like before, the surroundings changed. The scene in front of me shifted into a classroom. I scanned the room and found my teenage self sitting alone at the back. I was reading a book. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. When I walked infront of her, I then realized she can't see me. Well, of course this is just a fragment of me past. But then again, I couldn't find the fault in this scene either. Not long, a few students came bustling through the door.

Two boys and three girls.

Bullies.

They edged closer to her.

"Hey there, freak! Why are you all alone?"

"Geez. Can't you see? She's reading a book. What an exciting thing to do, ain't it?"

The five of them all threw their heads back in laughter. I saw my thirteen-year-old self close the book and stood, annoyed, glaring at the girl who said that.

"You say 'reading a book' like it's a bad thing. Why? Didn't you parents ever taught you how to read?"

That made the girl furious. She grinned maliciously and spat on the pinkette's face,

"Says the one who doesn't have one! Oohh.. Look guys, she's angry! I wonder what she's gonna do now!"

I tore my eyes away from the scene and started strolling around the campus. I've had enough of pitying myself. That, and it's kind of awkward to watch yourself get all angry at your bullies. I wasn't the one to stand up for myself in the first place, but there are some things in life that pumps you out of your comfort zone. You know you had enough when you feel like tolerating the immature is a shitty thing to do.

From the corner of my eye, I saw something glimmer in the light. I ran towards the corridors and chased that glint of light. Is that what I'm suppose to be looking for? Anxiousness washed over me as I kept my pace.

"There!"

I shouted as I passed through the sea of students who were walking down the main halls. I ran at full speed and stopped in front of an empty laboratory. Carefully, I grasp the doorknob and walked in. The dark devoured me and the sudden feeling of loneliness came as a nostalgic pang in my chest.

I tried to decipher where that little glint went but instead of seeing light, I suddenly found myself boring into empty pits.

Eyes.

Cold. Dark. Evil.

They're like blackholes and a chill ran down my spin as the cloaked phantom drew nearer. My heart beated abnormally as I backed away. I fundled with the door and jumped outside. I ran like a madman and rounded a corridor.

This is insane! Where did all of those cloaked men come from?!

I stopped, just outside the school. I was trying to catch my breathe when the odd voice spoke again,

Soon..very soon. You have little time left, mortal.

After that, a devious laughter rang in my head. I darted my eyes at my right arm and noticed the blackening became worse. It's now rapidly spreading it's way up my neck. I immediately checked my torso and gasped when it my skin was tainted ink black. It was covering half of my body. Eating me.

What did I do to deserve such fate?

Before I could even think of my next action, a excruciating pain shot from the wound on my left arm. Blood oozed out and dripped on the grass beneath my feet. Sweat trickled from my forehead and my knees felt weak.

I kneeled on the ground, clutching my left arm and trying to keep myself conscious.

The pain was killing me. I couldn't handle it anymore. I fell to the ground and in that particular moment, death seems like a pleasing option.

Sasuke..

I just hope he's alright. I hope he's safe. From the moment I fell in love with that man, up until now, my only wish is that he has a better future ahead of him.

With or without me in it.

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