Cherry Blossoms

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He had always liked cherry blossoms. They seemed to be so sweet and innocent as they were carried in the wind, having no idea where they would be heading. They would just trust that they would be safe. Trust and safe were words Sasuke hardly ever used. There had always been danger or a person who had betrayed their village. For years, he had wondered what it was like to be safe. After his parents had died and he began his vengeful journey to kill his brother, he had desperately tried to distance himself from everyone. Even the people that wanted to help him. He could see through their act. Or so he thought. He knew... he knew everyone just wanted to hurt him. He... he... knew. Just like his brother. His... demon of a brother.

He hadn't trusted his former sensei, Kakashi, either. He had been hiding too much from the trio of students. Of course, as they got to know him, he seemed much more trustworthy, but still a little shady. Naruto and Sakura, the students that unfortunately were chosen to be in his group, were very easy to hate... at first. Naruto was obnoxious and loud and Sakura was a lousy fighter and a flirt. He often went on his own to train while they both bickered and fought. He had tried to keep away from them, to not get to know them any more than he did. He was fine on his own. He didn't need anybody... but Sakura hadn't understood that. She would constantly worry about him and show her concern by trying to get him to back out of things. But what she just didn't get was that he never backed down. He would never back down from a challenge, no matter how hurt he was. And it seemed every time he told her that she would become even more worried and angry. She would wrap her arms around him and sob. Telling him not to go. That she couldn't live with the thought that he'd died because of her. He would push her away. "I'm not going to die." he would say. She would sigh, nod, and then walk away.

That was the first time someone worried about him. That was the first time someone cared if he lived or perished. Sasuke would tell her to stop worrying about him but he didn't believe what he said. The truth was, he couldn't have been happier that someone had given a care. It had made him... so... happy. One night, he had actually laid in his bed, sobbing, from such joy. Of course, he wouldn't let Sakura know that. He still felt defensive and unsafe. He would still keep himself away from others.

That would change. After we were pronounced journeyman ninja, they were able to be out on their own. The trio of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke split up and went their separate ways. Sasuke would often get into fights because of his cockiness. He would never lose though. He was much too strong for that. Though, every fight he won, every bruise he received, he could not shake this feeling that something was missing. That something had been torn away when he became a journeyman. When he realized what it was, he had felt an overwhelming anger at himself. He couldn't feel this way. He pushed away his thoughts and fought even harder than before, but it didn't matter, he felt empty. It didn't matter that he was one of the strongest and most feared ninjas around, he needed her.

By odd coincidence, he ran into her, the very next week he had realized what he needed. She had looked so much more grown up than before, which didn't surprised him, since they were both eighteen now. What surprised him was that she was so beautiful. Her body seemed to have grown so that her forehead was now regular proportion and her hair had grown down to her lower back and wore it in a long, smooth ponytail. Her emerald eyes had seemed to sparkle when she saw him. Her rosebud lips curved into a joyous smile and she ran over to him and embraced him. She had babbled some thing's about how happy she was to see him but was interrupted by his lips meeting her's. She had gasped and then closed her eyes, as he deepened the kiss. They pulled away and they had stared at each other in awe and then smiled and kissed again.

They were split up again when the Hokage needed Sasuke to go on a mission for them, involving a new villain, Yamato, the Ninja of Fire. He had come back after three months, to find a loving Sakura waiting for him. Now living together, this was what Sasuke had always secretly wanted. A safe and trusting house live in. A place to call home. But most of all a loving person, always watching out for him.

He found it quite ironic that he ended up with a woman named 'Cherry Blossom,' but instead of pondering the laws and physics of it all, he just treasured the coincidence.

He had always liked cherry blossoms. They seemed so sweet and innocent as they were carried in the wind, having no idea where they were going. They would just trust that they would be safe. Trust and safe were words Sasuke had hardly ever used, because words were not needed. All he needed was Sakura by his side and he knew... he knew that they could become cherry blossoms and just let the wind take them away.

A/N: Hello! I'm back! I reposted this earlier under my old/new name, Kerridwen LeStrange. I did not commit plagiarism, I swear! Ask her! I'M her. Haha, so did you like it? I hope you did. This little oneshot is really cute in my opinion! XD So...

Please READ and REVIEW.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Gwen