[Modern AU, action-filled]

Sasuke sees her everywhere. She's always in the corner of his eye, watching him. And it drives him crazy, knowing that no one else sees her—it's just him. Just him and her—her emerald eyes. He used to love those eyes. They used to represent something very different, very tempting. Not lust, but rather freedom. Freedom from school, from obligations, from family, and from life. Now those eyes represent his insanity.

"Sasuke, are you alright?"

He glances up, a bit shaken. "Yeah. Sorry, Hinata."

She smiles—warm, comforting. "It's alright. Naruto always said that your mind wanders a lot."

He takes another sip of his coffee. "I guess."

"Well, it's great to finally meet the infallible Uchiha Sasuke."

"Infallible, huh? Is that what Naruto said?"

"Well, not exactly," she concedes, "but the way he described you sure as hell implied it."

"Really? Well, he described you as shy and not very talkative, so I guess he just sucks at describing people."

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Oh, that. I used to be really shy. Naruto really helped me come out of my shell—not even my cousin could do that. But when he's around...well, he still takes my breath away."

"Don't turn to mush on me."

"Ah, sorry." Her grip on her tea—green tea, which Sasuke hates—tightens. "Ino says that I do that a lot."

"Talk about Naruto? Well, he's your boyfriend. Isn't that kind of expected?"

"Well, I talked about him before he was my boyfriend, too."

"Stalker?" Sasuke means it as a joke, but Hinata just shuffles in her seat. "...Hinata, are you—"

"It wasn't really stalking," she says hastily. "I just tried to be around him a lot. And I tried to figure out where he was going so I could be there, too. That's it. I wasn't really doing anything wrong—"

"But that is still considered stalking."

Her face goes red and she turns away. "I didn't really think it through, okay?"

"I can tell." He moves his cup to the side and leans forward. "So, why'd you call me here? You almost gave my brother a heart attack, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"A random number that I didn't have in my contacts suddenly tells me to meet them behind the indie coffee shop. No explanation, and especially no context. My brother thought you were a drug dealer or something."

"You didn't have my contact?"

"Didn't care enough to put it into my phone. It's in there now."

"Well, that's good, I guess," Hinata mutters. "So, I asked you here because I want to get Naruto a gift for his birthday."

"...his birthday that is four months away?"

"I like to be prepared."

"Fair enough, I guess. So, why do you need my help? You're the stalker, aren't you?"

"Okay, I was barely a stalker!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Sure, whatever. Okay, you want my opinion? Give him a ramen coupon. He will literally worship you afterward. Honestly, if you give him any indication that you remembered his birthday—and that you don't hate him—he'll probably declare his love for you from the rooftops."

Hinata giggles. "Really?"

"I'm not joking. He did it to me in middle school. I'm sure he didn't mean it that way but that's what everyone else thought. It was the most awkward week of my life."

"...oh." Changing the subject, she says, "So I can get him anything?"

"Literally anything. If you fail at this I will forever think you're completely and utterly incompetent and unfit to live. It's not mean, it's just common sense." A bit harsher than I intended, but that's my fault for not investing time into a personal filter.

"Oh, r-right." Obviously a bit spooked, she stands and says, "It was nice to meet you! Thanks for the...help."

Okay, he didn't expect her to run. But she's running. So, Sasuke says, "You're welcome." She makes her way out of the store and Sasuke sighs.

"Every time you meet a pretty girl, you always send her running away in fear," the voice whispers and Sasuke shivers. Not here. Not in public. He stands and walks towards the exit, but she was still next to him. "You always ignore me nowadays. When did you get this mean? What happened to my Sasuke?"

And Sasuke does not respond—not in public. Not where everyone will think that he's crazy for talking to thin air. Not that he's not crazy. He is, obviously, and the "woman" next to him is proof of that. How? Well, she simply doesn't exist. She's not real and she isn't even a ghost. She's just a figment of his imagination, and she follows him around. Everywhere, actually.

All crazy people have an origin story, and so does he.

When he was young, he had two best friends: Uzumaki Naruto—who was problematic, seeing as they used to beat each other to a pulp—and a little girl with pink hair and green eyes. He called her—still calls her—Haruno Sakura. Little him thought that he was clever making that pun. For some reason, it never entered his mind that one shouldn't be able to name their best friend. People generally come with names already given to them.

So, Uchiha Sasuke had an imaginary friend. One that wouldn't judge him for what he did or who he was, one that didn't expect him to be great...one that stood by him, no matter what. But then, Sasuke grew up. He knew that Haruno Sakura didn't exist—no one heard her voice and sometimes people would walk through her—and his imaginary friend was no more. So, why can he still see her? He's seventeen and he sees someone who doesn't exist.

"Stop ignoring me—ooh, there's that pizza place that we wanted to go to. Are we still broke."

Unconsciously, he thinks, Yep.

"Dang it, we can't get pizza and—wait, that's Ino. Oh my god, is she dating someone? He has his arm around her shoulders!"

Sasuke squints in the direction he was facing, then sees them. Huh, Ino's got a boyfriend. That's new.

"You bet it is! Ami would eat this stuff up!"

I guess I can get a favor from her. Not that she has anything that I want.

"She has money. You know, for pizza."

Stop it with the pizza. Besides, I still have to study for tomorrow's assessment.

"Why'd you take an online class for summer again?"

It looks great on a college application—and there I go again, talking to someone who doesn't exist. It's a frustrating habit that he's been trying to break for as long as he can remember. However, he's not getting professional help—and refuses to—and it's hard when Sakura just happens to be his inner consciousness. She brings forth the important things that he accidentally ignores. Ino and her boyfriend, for example, had been in plain sight, but his mind just merged them into the rest of the crowd. It was Sakura who pointed them out specifically. Besides, I'm probably late. I wonder what time it is.

"Should be around three-thirty," Sakura mutters, seemingly unminding of the dozens of people walking straight through her. "Mother expects us to be home by five, so we have some time."

I have classwork.

"It's not due until Friday. It's Wednesday, let's relax a bit. How about we head to the park? There's always something cool going on there." The last time he went to the park, he ended up beaten to a pulp by a bunch of thirteen-year-olds with yellow belts in karate. "Come on, it'll be fun."

No, it won't.

"But you'll still go, anyway."

...yeah.

-

It takes a ten-minute leisurely walk to get to Konoha's largest park. He always found it a bit disappointing—there are more dirt roads than actual playground equipment—but the kids these days seem to be all over the place. Maybe it has something to do with that one famous YouTube video that was set here.

"We would have taken the bait when we were their age, too."

Sasuke can't exactly argue.

"Look, it's Konyo's kid. Or maybe his brother."

Sasuke squints at the little kid he was previously lazily observing. Huh. He does look eerily like Konyo. Probably a sibling.

"He never mentioned a sibling."

Yeah, well, he also never mentioned a kid. Even more, he's barely older than us.

"It's not impossible."

Yeah, but it's pretty improbable.

"Yeah, but still." Sakura perks up. "Ooh, those might be some Tsukubaneso! We need it in our book of plants. Remember how we screwed up preserving the last one?"

I always screw up preserving it for some reason. Sasuke rises. Please shut up now. The plants are on the far side of the playground, the place that the kids think is boring and the adults don't care enough to approach. It takes a hot minute to walk there, but when he does, he is immediately disappointed. These aren't Tsukubaneso.

And, of course, the world decides to screw him over because that is when an arm wraps itself around his neck and a voice whispers in his ear, "Move and you die."

"Oh my god," Sakura says. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, we're going to die!"

Sasuke swallows. He shouldn't have come here. Why is he listening to the stupid voice in his head, anyway? He should be ignoring it. It gets him into more trouble than it's worth. Stupid. He's stupid.

"Don't say that!" Sakura snaps, still panicking. "Do something, Sasuke! He's dragging you somewhere!"

Oh, he thinks, she's right. He feels his feet stumbling along the floor and a hand still curled around his neck.

"Don't let him take us anywhere! Rule number one: run!"

Sasuke doesn't run. He should. That's what he has always been told to do—never go to the second location. And yet...Sasuke was scared. He can't run.

"Okay, okay, let's think. Why are they taking us?"

Sasuke's mind won't work.

"That's okay, that's alright, that's what I'm here for. Okay, Dad is a politician, Mom is the police chief, and Itachi is a vigilante...so, basically anyone could be gunning for us."

They're getting deeper into the forest and Sasuke no longer knows where they are.

"What about him? The guy dragging us? Sasuke, can you feel his hands? Really feel them on your neck?"

They're big, meaty. His grip is strong and I'm scared I'm scared I'm scaredscaredscared—

"You're sweating. His grip might feel tight but your body sweats a lot when you're scared. If his arm is big then the rest of his probably is, too. Strong, probably, but not fast. We're fast, Sasuke."

I used to do track. I should have still done track and is that his car 'cause it's a white van. He's a stereotypical kidnapper I can't believe I'm getting kidnapped by a stereotypical kidnapper—

"Breathe, Sasuke. We're gonna need it. Whatever happens, we can't get into that van. Even if we die right here, we can't get into that van."

It's like a jolt running through his system. He stops—suddenly, without warning—and the man behind him stumbles. His grip loosens and Sasuke takes advantage.

"Get back here you brat!" The man screams in a rage as Sasuke darts away. "Your daddy can't save you this time!"

"Dad. He mentioned Dad. Oh no, Dad screwed up. It's probably that crappy new bill that he signed—watch out for that tree root!" Sakura's right but Sasuke trips anyway, crashing to the ground. The man approaches and Sakura is frantic. "Oh my god, Sasuke, we lost your contacts! He's too blurry! He's holding something in his hand. It better not be a gun or we're dead." Sasuke kicks, trying to get his footing, but it's no use. He's disoriented and frustrated and downright terrified. "Sasuke!" He feels a hand on his and...and that's not right. The man is still too far away—Sasuke had been too fast for him to catch up just yet. As he looks up, he can make out a blurry figure with pink hair and two green dots in the middle of its face.

...Sakura?

Her grip on his hand is so hard that it hurts and she pulls so hard and fast that he thinks his elbow will break. And yet, it's his left arm that pushes him up, but Sakura was pulling—he knows it, he feels it—but either way, he's up now, and he can run. So he does.

He feels the man's fingers ghost the back of his left arm, but he's already ten feet ahead when his brain processes it. Throughout the whole thing, Sakura's grip on his right arm stays firm, and Sasuke is stunned. Sakura had never, not even once, had any physical contact with him. Not even when they were kids playing Ninjas, little sticks and all. She would always dance away from him—and it never looked like she had done it on purpose. Over the years, Sasuke had just accepted that it was his mind compensating for the fact that he wouldn't feel a thing when he touched her—a way to keep his younger self sane. Until now, he had written it off.

But now Sakura is holding him, almost pulling him away from the man. How can you touch me?

"I don't know—woah, random stick!" This time, Sasuke dodges. "Okay, let's think! We don't know where we are, we're just running in the general direction that we came from. We just have to keep going until we lose him."

How can I tell when we lose him?

"When we stop hearing him. Do not, under any circumstances, turn around, we might fall—like into that ditch." Sasuke jumps to the side and continues on his way, avoiding said ditch. "Okay, we saw the man when we still had our contacts on...just a little, at least. What does he look like?"

Buff. Tan skin. Red hair. But the way he talks, it's weird—

"An accent. He's probably from the north. Uncle Korin also talks like that."

He's wearing normal clothes. He has a thick jacket on, and skinny jeans.

"Restricts his movement even more. There's a branch on the ground."

Sasuke side-steps it and continues. He doesn't have glasses. He might have contacts. He's clean-shaven—no beard or mustache or anything. His eyes are green, darker than yours. Why are we doing this again?

"To tell the police when we get out of here."

Right. If we get out of here. Remember that thing in his hand? The thing that might be a gun?

"We'll get to safety, Sasuke."

He doubts it. While he's much faster than the red-haired man, he also has less stamina than he remembers. The last time he ran this much was during his middle school years, and that had been a long time ago. I should have gone to the gym more.

"The playground is close. Hear the sounds of the kids?"

Sasuke pushes himself into full-gear because they are going to make it to the playground. Unfortunately, it only tires him out faster. Sakura's grip is as tight as ever, but she's no longer dragging him. In fact, she looks just as tired as he is. Right when they break into the clearing, he is tackled to the ground.

"Sasuke! His hand, he has a—"

Sasuke's brain barely processes the knife before it goes straight into his side. The pain is blinding—somehow not as bad as he is expecting—but Sakura is still holding onto his hand and he squeezes. Faintly, he makes out Sakura's left hand making its way towards the man's face. Oddly, it's his fist that buries itself into the man's jaw with so much force that his head snaps up.

"Get the kids' attention, Sasuke! Scare the man away!"

And, well, Sasuke is near a playground full of thirteen-year-olds with yellow belts in karate. He knows exactly what will get their attention. So, he screams with all his might, "PEDOPHILE!"

The man is off of him in less than a moment, and Sasuke can feel his glare. "I ain't done with you, kid." But he runs off, and for a moment, Sasuke feels an overwhelming sense of relief. Then his adrenaline melts away and he is left squirming in pain. It hurts!

"I know, Sasuke," Sakura soothes. He can feel her fingers brushing through his hair, even if his hair is perfectly still. He feels her gently kiss his forehead.

It hurts so much!

"I k-know, Sasuke. They're coming to help us."

And they do, after what feels like an eternity. He hears shouts of panic and hands on him—flickering around him hesitantly. Thankfully, no one pulls the knife out. At least the thirteen-year-olds aren't that stupid. He suddenly feels glad that normal middle schoolers tend to have phones.

Slowly, he lets his eyes flutter shut because he is so, so sleepy.

"Hey, hey, stay awake! Remember what all those YouTube videos said! Stay awake!"

He honestly doesn't care anymore.

"For me, Sasuke. Stay awake for me."

You're not even real.

"I'm literally touching you and you're telling me that I'm not real? Some kind of best friend you are."

Sasuke knows what she's doing—keeping him awake. Still, he argues back. You're just a figment of my imagination.

"That's a rude thing to say."

You don't exist—

"Uchiha goddamn Sasuke, you shut your face right now! I've been your best friend for fifteen years! I've been by your side every waking moment, making sure that you don't get yourself killed—just like right now! I...I love you, Uchiha Sasuke. You made me to love you and I will never ever forget that, so you better not, either!"

His vision was slowly fading. What, you want to be my girlfriend now, Haruno?

She smiles—it's small and shaky, but it's a smile nonetheless. "I'll be whatever you want, Sasuke. That's what I'm here for." She stops folding her fingers through his hair. "You better not die, Sasuke."

Sasuke can't make out any of his surroundings, not the color of the grass or the shoes of the countless kids surrounding him. And yet, Sakura is crystal clear, even when he closes his eyes. Taking in a deep breath, Sasuke speaks. In fact, he speaks a name that he hasn't said out loud in over a decade.

"I won't, Sakura."

-

Uchiha Sasuke lives on. He lives to see countless TV interviews in the local news, newspaper articles written about him, and a kickstart in the marketing business—it turns out that he can act remarkably well, even during stressful situations.

During a dinner with his dear brother, he off-handedly mentions that he never would have made it out without "her." Itachi, eyebrow raised, asks, "Who?"

Sasuke smiles. "You'd think I was crazy if I told you."

"Are you crazy."

"Not at all."

"So then, telling me shouldn't be a problem."

Sasuke smiles—slowly, but brightly. "So, you know how I joke about my imaginary girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"Well, what if I told you that she wasn't so imaginary?"

Itachi pauses, contemplating. Then he grins. "I'd say, 'Welcome to the club.'"

fin

-

I SCREWED UP AGAIN. I started this today at 8:00 a.m. finished at approximately 4:09 p.m. (As you can probably imagine, a lot of YouTube was watching in between writing this.) Why am I like this?

Also, I kind of did a Hinata and Sasuke friendship? But, like, he scared her away by having no filter. Well, his filter is Sakura and he wasn't letting her be his filter.

If you're confused about the ending, I meant that Itachi also has a best friend/significant other that he thought up. Whether that's Shisui or Izumi or someone else entirely, I don't really know. But, yeah.

Are you disappointed in me? I'm disappointed in me. But, like, I tried. I think I'll try to take next month off to actually write a decent one-shot because obviously I suck at this "get things done on time" thing.

Anyway, bye!

- SSSRHA2