I stared at the paper crane on top of my table. I tried to stop the smile from forming but I couldn't resist. The tiny blue paper sits innocently, waiting to be picked up. I knew exactly who made this.

My eyes searched for pink. It was rather difficult because I sat at the back of the classroom while she was in front. Then my eyes stopped at her petite form, she was busy writing down notes.

Ever since we started dating, she kept on giving me paper cranes. I tried asking her about it but she never answers it. She will ignore the question or change the topic. So I stopped bothering her about it. The only reason I came up with is that she loves making origamis in her spare time. The first time I went to her place, her whole apartment was full of origamis. It was everywhere and she made different types of origamis. Such as flowers and animals.

My thoughts were cut short when I heard the bell rang. The room instantly turn into zoo, students pushing each other outside of the classroom while some were just yelling. I put my things inside of my bag, making sure the paper crane didn't get all wrinkled up. I stood up from my seat and walked towards to Sakura. "Ready to leave?" she nod her head rather cutely, making my face go red.

I helped her with her things, carrying her heavy books to her locker. "How many paper cranes did I already gave you?" She questioned while putting the stuff she doesn't need in her locker.

"995" I said with confidence. She looked at me weirdly, asking how I managed to know it. "Well... I never lost count." Since day one, I made sure that I know how many paper cranes that I have. She shook her head in disbelief, muttering 'unbelievable' along the way.

I smiled warmly at her, but quickly vanishing when I noticed her pale face. I place my palm on her forehead, making her jump out of surprise. "Shit!" I cursed out loud when I felt her heat. She was feeling alright this morning so why did she suddenly have a fever. I took her bag despite of her protest, telling me she was fine. I shook my head no, putting my right hand under her knees and my left arm behind her back.

"I'm taking you at my place."

Sakura loves the hospital, she is actually training under the greatest doctor in the whole Japan, Tsunade Senju. But she hates it when she is confined. Luckily for her, we have a family doctor that could check her. But of course knowing her, she will scare the living daylights out of our doctor.

"I hate you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~💔~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stroked Sakura's soft hair, listening to the sounds of her quiet snores. After a long time of arguing with her, she finally obeyed to me, drinking the medicine I gave her and sleeping after that. My hand slowly went to her face, her pale face. If she stopped breathing right now, you would think she is dead.

I turned to look at my desk, more specifically, the box on top of it. It looks simple on the outside, it was the color black with no colors or designs. However, once you open it, it is full of colorful paper cranes made by Sakura herself. I kept every paper crane she made for me, making sure it was in good shape. 995.

My eyes went back to her sleeping form when she suddenly stirred. She was trying to reach out for something, so I gave her the tiny pillow next to her. She immediately hugged it, I chuckled lightly when Sakura snuggled her face. Cute. I love the girl in front of me with everything I have. Tiny moments like this are precious to me. She broke the wall I built up around me for my whole life. I have no clue how she did it, all that matters is she is here. I would go crazy if she were to disappear.

What am I even thinking, of course she won't disappear. I'm probably hungry. I kissed Sakura on the forehead before going to the kitchen to grab some food. We have the house for ourselves, well except for a couple of maids and butlers. Mom and dad are in a business trip while my older brother, Itachi, is out on a date with Izumi. I glanced at the clock, almost spitting my drink when I realized it was already 8'o clock. Shit! Sakura is going to kill me. She told me to wake her up at 7:00, but the idiotic side of me was too busy admiring her sleep. I took of running to my bedroom, tripping three times before arriving at my room. Sakura was still asleep. 

Oh kami-sama, please be on my side. This is worst that having a gun pointed at you. Sakura can kill anyone with any object. Even if it is a soft tiny pillow. She will freaking castrate me. I walked towards her, gently shaking her. "5 more minutes..."

"Ummm... You might want to wake up already, Sakura. It's already... Eight" the moment those words left my mouth, her eyes snapped open. She kicked the blanket away, throwing a pillow at me which I successfully avoided.

"You idiot! I told you to wake me up earlier than that!" She stormed out of the room, not giving me a chance to process what the hell happened.

Next thing I knew, I heard the door slam shut. But it wasn't my bedroom door, it was the main door. I ran downstairs, opening the door to see if Sakura is still outside. To my dismay, she wasn't. I'm getting a beating of a life time tomorrow. No point in calling her, she will probably throw her phone at a wall again. Worst part, she blamed me.

I sighed out loud, debating whether I should call our family doctor in advance. Last time I pissed off Sakura, she didn't held back in beating me up. I didn't go to school for a whole week because bruises covered my whole body. Worse of all, my mother lectured me every single day. I shuddered at the memory. I was scarred for life after that.

It was kinda weird—scratch that, it is weird. She never acted that way before, usually when I wake her up too late, Sakura could careless and will plop herself back on the bed. Tsk. She took of running, I wouldn't be surprised if someone reported she fainted in the middle of the sidewalk.

I don't have anything better to do now that she is gone. Might as well finish my homework.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~💔~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I arrived at school pretty early. The place look straight out of a horror movie, not a single soul walking around the hallway. It was always like this, I will come to school earlier than the rest and stay inside of the library to find comfort in books. Sakura is really rubbing off me.

Speaking of Sakura, she is always the first one to arrive before me. Well, she is sick after all. I tried calling her last night but it always go straight to voicemail. My panicked state wasn't helping at all. I was worried that something bad happened to her when she left my place. Luckily, her mother contacted me, informing that she went straight to her bedroom and fell asleep. Thank goodness she was safe.

I stayed in the library until the bell rang. The day is always the same. I go to class, listen to the teacher, wait until the class end, and repeat. It wasn't the same without Sakura. Naruto questioned me about her absence and I told him she was sick.

"It's unlikely of her to not go to school" Naruto said, walking beside me as we went to our last class. "Sakura goes to school even if she is burning hot."

"Or maybe she is that sick."

I know I'm lying to myself. I also know that Naruto is right about Sakura. The panick I had last night is slowly creeping back at me. I suffered an hour trying to pay attention to our teacher. But I can't seem to stop worrying about Sakura.

As the last bell rang, I ran out of the classroom. I ignored the weird looks people gave me. I mean, I look like a total idiot running down the hallway. I opened my locker as soon as I arrived. I jumped out of surprise when something fell from my locker. I bend down to reach the pink paper when I suddenly realized it was a paper crane. Attached to it is a small white paper with a letter.

Hey Sasuke. Sorry I'm not in school right now. Well, I actually went here around 3. Luckily, you're already in class. I just want to give you this paper crane. I know I should have given it to you personally but I need to go somewhere. I'll give you one tomorrow when I'm feeling fine. Hopefully. 996.

-Sakura

This girl is really something. She actually went to school just for me to receive the paper crane. Once I see her, I will give her the scolding of a life time. Wait, nevermind. She will give me the beating of a life time in return. I stroked the tiny paper, wishing Sakura was here. Where did she even went? She should have just stayed in their house.

I can't really do anything right now than just go home. Majority of the people in school already left for the day except to those who have extracurricular activities, projects that needs to be finish, etc.

While walking towards the parking lot, I felt a chill running up my spine. I stopped walking for a second, observing my surroundings. I didn't see anything wrong around me.

I have a bad feeling...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~💔~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four days have passed and Sakura is still not around. She texted me earlier that her fever got worse and I should cancel my plans on visiting her. I tried convincing her that I should go check up on her, but to my dismay, she didn't budge.

It was boring without her presence. She was always there in her seat, writing down and being the good student she is. Everyone is afraid of her, not wanting to be on the end of her fist. Sakura is always here annoying the heck out of me, stealing my wallet and buying foods without my permission. A pained smile crept on my face. Naruto noticed this and he patted me on the shoulder.

"I miss her too."

I slumped down my seat, tapping my pen on the table which irritated the people near me. I ignored them and kept on tapping. The silence inside the room was cut short when someone slammed the door open. And that someone is Ino, Sakura's best friend. Tears streamed down her face. Next thing I knew, she was dragging me. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

She didn't answer back, instead, she opened the door to her car and pushed me inside. I didn't have the time to fix myself because she started the car. I was having a hard time adjusting myself in a comfortable position. I was about to glare at her when I noticed her face. Tears ran down her face, she didn't have make-up on, her hair is a mess. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened each second, her knuckles turning white because of it.

I knew better to shut up. Never mess with a girl who is either mad or crying. You might as well visit your own funeral.

"Where are we going?"

"Hospital" her voice sounded so broken. We went silent again. It was a 15 minutes drive to the hospital. I clenched my fist, hoping that Sakura was safe. Why would Ino bother me in the first place.

The beat of my heart is beating uncontrollably. She parked the car near the entrance. "Why are we here?" My voice was shaking when I said that. A tear fell down her face.

"Just follow me" she whispered but I still heard it. So I followed her inside the hospital. With each step I took, I grew more afraid. We rode the elevator to the 5th floor. I heard sobbing in the hallway.

"Mebuki-san?" she slowly lifted her head up to look at me. Just like Ino, tears were streaming down her face. She forced herself to smile at me but failed. "Is something wrong? Where is Sakura?" she stood up and went in front of me.

"She's inside the room," she paused for a second and hugged me, "stay strong" she let go of me and pointed to the door to my left. She wore a pained smile, nodding at me.

I forced myself to walk towards the door. I reached for the knob, my hand shaking uncontrollably. I took a deep breath and entered the room. And then it all came crashing down.

In the middle of the room, Sakura was asleep on the bed. I went beside her, she looks so peaceful. I grabbed her hand, it felt so cold. I stroked her face with my other hand, removing the hair that covered her forehead. One by one, tears fell down on my face. I held both side of her face, kissing the top of her forehead.

She was suffering all this time and I didn't have a single clue. She was already showing signs but I brush it aside. "I'm sorry" I kept on repeating it. Resting my forehead on hers. "Why didn't you tell me? That you were suffering from the pain. I promised you that I will always be there when you need me. But I wasn't. I wasn't here. I'm so sorry. Sakura please wake up. For me..." I closed my eyes, wishing that this was all just a fucked up dream. Wishing that once I opened my eyes again, I'm inside the classroom. But it didn't happen. I'm still in the hospital.

"She didn't want to tell you about this" I heard her mother said. I didn't noticed she entered the room with Ino. "She tried so hard to hide the pain she is feeling everyday. Sakura knew that her life is already ticking. When you started courting her, she wanted to say 'no'. But she fell in love. 1000 days. She accepted you to enter her heart the same day her life is already timed. You made her special and I thank you for that. Thank you for loving and protecting my daughter" she hugged me. Trying to ease the pain we are feeling right now.

Ino then went beside me, giving me a white paper crane. "She wanted me to give you this. 1000 paper cranes was the last words she said before..." she didn't continue. "Here" she handed me letter with the words 'To Sasuke' at the front. "Read it after the..." like before, she didn't continue what she was saying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~💔~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Sasuke,

     I know, cheesy right? So how do I start this? I'm sorry. Sorry for not telling you about my state. I knew I should have told you. But I was scared that you will stop loving me. Well, who would want to date a girl who will die anyways. Sorry about that. Luckily, I didn't broke up with you unlike those cheesy movies we watched. I wanted to tell you, I really do. But something was stopping me. I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart. I enjoyed every second with you. I met you out of pure serendipity. And I didn't regret it one bit. About those paper cranes, I hope you already know the meaning behind it. It was one thing I wanted to do before I disappear. Everytime I gave you one, it shows that one day is already taken away from me. But at the same time, it shows that I love you. So corny. I hope that you didn't threw one. There's a secret inside the paper crane. Below the right wing, there is a assigned number. Open it one by one. You'll love it. Well this is already long. I LOVE YOU SASUKE UCHIHA!

I did what she asked for. I grab the box full of paper cranes and arranged it by order. After that, I opened it one by one. It took me an hour to do that. But it was worth it. A tear escaped and slid down my face. I didn't bother rubbing it off because I was too busy admiring Sakura's work. It formed a drawing of us together. I recognized it instantly. It was the first picture of us together when she finally said 'yes'. One paper stood out and it was the white one, the last paper crane she gave me.

I love you - Sakura

~~~~~~~~~~

Written by: Cherrysanro

Author's note: This must be the saddest oneshot I ever wrote. This was inspired by Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Please don't hate me for changing the meaning behind it. I just really love the idea I came up with. And I hope you love it too!

Fun fact: I finished this oneshot today (September 26) . I looked stupid staying in the corner of my classroom, rushing to finish this. So sorry for any grammatical errors.