Choco-sama/hime:

Okay, I couldn't help but write this up even though I know that we still haven't had finished up one of our stories but I just really had to. I've been hung up on reading SaiSaku stories and well, this just came into mind so yeah. Anyway, it's just a oneshot with two chapters or so so don't sweat it. It's a bit of a SAIxSAKURAxSASUKE, but yeah...

I hope you guys like it and enjoy this too...

WARNING! Sasuke will be a bit OOC and all, and Sakura's gonna get a bit fragile, like really fragile, physically as in she's sick and all. Also, this isn't a ninja-based life, it focuses more on normal lives so yeah.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! I REPEAT, I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! EVERYTHING IS PURELY FICTIONAL AND WAS CREATED OUT OF THE CRAZINESS OF THE WRITER, ME!

ENJOY MINNA!

and when i found it in me to tell you you went

and left me in the air hanging

Unbound

SASUKE

Everything started when I was seven, and so were you. You had the best smiles of all, the sweetest words, the gentlest touch and the prettiest eyes, we were immersed in our own little world, and I spent all my days with you when I could, however, I was such a naive boy who didn't realized everything. Our friendship started by the sand box, we were young and we were free to do everything.

"Excuse me, can I play with you?" Seven-year old Uchiha Sasuke shyly twiddled his fingers behind his back when he approached the roseate who was playing by the sand box all alone. The kids were playing on another corner, laughing happily and chasing after each other. The girl looked up and he felt his heart skip a beat when their eyes met, he had seen all sorts of eye color, but this was the first time he saw a person with such beautiful emerald-green eyes. It mirrored her innocence and her gentleness and he couldn't help but shrink when she studied him carefully.

"Yeah, you can play with me." He smiled ever so slightly, he thought she would rebuff him or chase him away but she had readily accepted his offer. As they played in the sand and created sand castles and brushing of hands, he noticed that her fingers were so soft, like a baby's. She was so gentle and he was so careful not to break her with his touch.

"Sasu-chan, let's go home now." They both looked up to see his mother standing in front of them, her eyes gentle and her lips in a smile. He noticed that Sakura looked down and avoided the older woman's curious gaze.

"Can I play with you again uhm..." He blushed faintly when he realized that he never asked her for her name. But the girl laughed slightly before supplying the answer that fit her perfectly.

"Sakura, I'm Sakura H-..." She stopped before she could say her last name and he was curious, however, since his mother was waiting, he didn't pry her for answers and waved goodbye to her, he knew that she would be waiting by the sand box and so would he.

"Do you like her Sasu-chan?" Sasuke innocently looked up and bobbed his head before continuing eating the dango his kaa-san had made for him. He didn't notice the sad look that passed over her face or the fact that she seemed less talkative today than usual.

The next day, she was there again, waiting as usual, playing with the sand. He held a cherry blossom in one hand, he didn't knew if she would like it, but that was the only flower that he had been able to pick up. She was smiling again, and it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside when he saw her there.

"I hope you like cherry blossoms, they were the only thing I could afford." She smiled again in reply and gave him a small kiss on the cheek in return, causing him to blush. As usual, the kids were on the other side again, and he was curious about it.

"Sasuke-kun, if I suddenly go away, would you miss me?" Sasuke felt his heart sped up a bit before going down as if he fell a cliff and then resuming to it's steady rhythm.

"I would miss you, but you won't go away and leave me now, wouldn't you?" She shook her head and Sasuke felt relief wash over him. They had played again until time went by and he was picked up by his mother who smiled again at the girl.

"See you tomorrow then." She said before gathering her things and walking towards the opposite side.

"Kaa-san, why do you think I'm the only one playing with her? They always avoid her when she's there but when she's not, they play by the sand box." His mother smiled and patted his head before giving her advice to him that he didn't understand fully.

"Some things are better left untouched and unsaid, you do not know how long your friendship will last so enjoy it for now." Sasuke frowned then and stood up on his seat and placed his hands on his heart and declared wholeheartedly as he could that he would never leave her side.

"Our friendship will last, forever and ever! That's a promise!" His mother smiled before giving her another one of her sad smiles that confused him to no end.

Our friendship continued even then, and our circle grew larger as we grew up. We were thirteen then and you still were that same person I met by the sand box, you seemed frozen in time, never changing. But I was changing, and slowly I was bound by my duty to my clan, and you were still an enigma to me.

"Oi, teme, are you joining us for snacks later?" Sasuke shook his head gracefully before walking towards the Uchiha compound, hands in his pocket. As he entered the compound, the guards on duty greeted him and he replied formally as well. As he reached the main house, he heard the voice of his brother and his mother talking, from the state of her voice, she must have been crying.

"I'm sorry kaa-san, I have to leave, this is for the best of our country and our family."

"Itachi, that's not the only option you have, you know that as well."

"I have to do this kaa-san, it pains me to depart as well, but if I want to protect those I cherish, I have to do this." He heard his mother sob again and before he could open the door, he came face to face with his brother, who was carrying several luggage.

"A-aniki, why are you packed? Are you leaving?" Itachi looked coldly at him before poking him in the forehead and walking towards the car that was waiting, without even taking a single look at them or his mother crying. He turned for answers to his mother who simply sobbed even more and entered the house looking devastated.

Their dinner was silent, no one was talking and no one bothered to talk about what happened at all. Sasuke tried to eat but he couldn't even swallow anything at all, much less drink the water. He couldn't look at the broken form of his mother anymore.

"Okaa-san, I..."

"Sasuke, I want you to submit a letter requesting for your immediate transfer. We are leaving for Sound on Friday, and remember about your duty to the clan." Sasuke narrowed his eyes before questioning the older man who answered him back without hesitation.

"What duty? You never once looked at me so why now? And why do I have to go with you to Sound, I like it here, and I don't want to leave Konoha." Fugaku narrowed his eyes before silently straightening up and looking at him with eyes that could have bore a hole on the back of his head.

"You are now the heir of the Uchiha clan, and so, do not forget that you have a duty to this clan. We will be leaving Konoha and that's that. No more questions, request for immediate transfer or I will do it myself." Saying this, the man left the table and went up towards his study. Sasuke couldn't help but curse his older brother for leaving without any reason at all.

"I'm sorry Sasu-chan, I couldn't change his or Itachi's mind... But I want you to be happy, so..."

"No, otou-sama is correct, I have to uphold my duty to the clan. As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy okaa-san, so please smile." His kaa-san smiled this time without sadness in her eyes before hugging him, but the face of his best friends flashed in his mind. He couldn't keep his promise to be with them forever.

"Nani?! Oi teme, why are you transferring to Sound?" Naruto said when he told them that he was leaving during one of their Thursday night get-together.

"Family reasons." He simply said, he looked at her, but all he saw was her gentle smile again, but sadness seemed to be present in her emerald-green eyes.

"When are you leaving then?" Sasuke rubbed his temple and sighed frustratedly before answering.

"Friday."

"Tomorrow?! But that's like preposterous, what about our plans, our promises and everything? You can't possibly give up on us!" Naruto hollered while the others agreed, he was about to answer but Sakura stopped their outbursts for him.

"Stop it minna, Sasuke has a duty to his clan as well as you guys all have. Understand his circumstances, it's not like he won't be writing or communicating with us, right?" Sasuke looked at the girl he called his best friend, her eyes were the same, except for the glint of something he couldn't remember.

"Oi, teme, don't forget to write, okay?" Naruto said before he departed. TenTen and Ino smiled sadly at him, Neji was cold and aloof as well but he bid him goodbye. Lee was crying rivers of tears while Kiba was silent. Hinata was clutching Naruto's sleeve in an attempt to rein him in.

"Hn." Sasuke said in reply which was a yes.

"Sasuke-kun, take care of yourself okay. Oh, Sakura-chan wanted to give you this, she couldn't be here for some reasons, sorry." He was saddened by the news but he covered it up quickly before getting inside the car, he took one last look at the place he grew up before facing the destiny that awaited him.

Your letter was never opened, I knew what you would say and I had also promised you that I would come back for you even if it took us a long time... But duty was important and I was left bound by it with no choice.

"Otou-san, is there anything I can do for you? I'm quite busy with my studies so if it's not important, then please..." Fugaku glared at him before pointing towards the girl who was sitting on the chair outside in the garden. She was beautiful, yes, but what she had was common beauty.

"She is pretty, isn't she?" Sasuke nodded and he noticed the smile that graced the man's lips.

"Who is she?"

"She is the daughter of the ruler of the Cloud kingdom, and your future wife." Sasuke didn't answer before walking away slowly towards the door.

"Where do you think are you going young man?" Sasuke looked at him with a serious look before answering him without emotion.

"I shall be acquainting myself with my future bride." Fugaku was pleased and Sasuke tried to keep his cool, as he walked towards the girl, the face of Sakura was slowly fading away, her pink hair, her cherry lips, her emerald-green eyes, her pale complexion, her gentleness, her sweet scent, they were starting to slip away from him.

"Hello, I... I'm sorry if I was intruding on anything."

"Ie, it's fine. May I sit with you?" The girl blushed and he resisted the urge to run away from the girl.

"I'm sorry if you were forced into this... Otou-san told me that this is the only way to stop an uprising between our kingdoms, and since your clan was closely related to the king, it was arranged." Sasuke looked at the girl, his eyes were blank and the girl waited for his response.

"I know, I'm sorry as well." The girl smiled and Sasuke couldn't help but feel an empty hole left in his chest as he turned his back on the one thing that kept him going on even when he was broken inside.

Meeting you once again was coincidental, I was twenty three and so were you. I wanted to kiss you, to hug you but I was bound... And I couldn't even come near you without hurting myself all over again. You never changed a single bit after all...

"Minami, you are invited to attend the wedding of Haruno-sama and Yoshimura-sama at Konohagakure. Your invitations are on the table, make sure that you prepare yourselves and be presentable, you never know when you might pass or walk by her." Sasuke looked at his wife as she walked towards him, carrying two envelopes, invitations to a wedding at Konohagakure.

"What are those, Minami?" Sasuke asked casually, while continuing writing on a small notebook, oblivious to the sad look that the girl had sported on her face for his lack of affection.

"T-these are invitations to Haruno-sama's w-wedding ceremony." He looked at her without emotion before grabbing the invitation from her outstretched hands. He scanned the paper for any other information, but that was all that there is.

'You are cordially invited to the wedding of Haruno Saki and Yoshimura Saito. We would be honored to see your presence there, truly yours, Haruno and Yoshimura clan.'

"Do you want to go?" His wife looked at him with wide eyes that were brimming with excitement, but she caught herself and asked a safe question.

"U-uhm, if you want to go there that is..." Sasuke looked at her, he sighed slightly before approaching her and giving her the invitation. She seemed downhearted but when he told her the last of his response, he heard her mutter excitedly.

"Keep it, and tell the maids to prepare, we shall be leaving tomorrow." Sasuke walked towards his study, a part of him didn't understood the reason as to why he was feeling a bit nervous and excited at the same time of the thought of returning back to Konoha after ten years of losing contact with his old friends. It wasn't until they were traveling when he decided to ask his wife about this Haruno persona and why there was such a fuss with her wedding.

"Minami..." His wife immediately turned her head towards him, they were traveling towards Konoha, and the driver told them that they would arrive in two hours at the speed they were going.

"Y-yes, anata?" He twitched his eyebrows ever so slightly at the pet name but he didn't say anything, it would be weird if one of them didn't call each other pet names.

"Tell me who this Haruno is and why almost everyone are excited at the news that she's getting married?" Sasuke asked, curiosity looming over him as he looked at the same scene outside the car's window, trees and more trees, proof that they were nearing Konoha.

"Y-you don't know her?" He resisted the urge to answer her sarcastically and waited instead for her to continue her explanation.

"W-well, she's the one who rules the Fire country, in short term. She also has control over a large part of the Water and Lightning country, she didn't wreak war like other rulers did before, she had sent diplomats and they all signed alliance with her. I heard that her clan lives in Konohagakure for now, she's the youngest ruler of the Main Haruno clan." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this when his question was answered.

"Because the whole main family except her were killed in an ambush back then. Their car went toppling over the mountain due to someone firing at the tires, some rumors said it blew up. The only who didn't die was Haruno-sama because she could never handle long and exhausting travels." Sasuke nodded as the information sunk in, but something about this person made him feel queasy and nervous as if he had done something he shouldn't have done.

"Don't be too nervous about meeting her, she may be very important, but she doesn't look at everything close-minded. The reason as to why the different kingdoms are still ruled by their respective rulers is because she told them that she won't replace them, she doesn't need a political dynasty. She's so kind and so gentle, and..."

"Why are you so excited to meet her then?" Sasuke asked, looking bored as usual.

"Because even though we see her, her face is always covered as to not reveal who she truly is." Sasuke nodded as he remembered the female person who he bumped into a year ago during the tea ceremony held at the manor.

"I see..." As Sasuke looked ahead of him, he couldn't help but feel melancholic about his return... Just maybe, he wanted to know what happened to them, to her... But the welcome he got was far from what he epected, especially when he had to face a lot of men who wanted to clobber him, for reasons he doesn't know.

"A-anata, who were those men, why did they try to attack you?" Sasuke dismissed her with a wave of his hand and opened the door of his old house, he walked silently and settled on the couch, thinking about the past when he noticed a cherry blossom on the vase, and he knew that it was freshly placed...

"Sakura..." He was bound, and even though he wanted to be with her, to hold her, to claim her, to tell her how special she was, he was bound... And he couldn't do that without hurting both of them in the process.

and with a small smile she bid me goodbye

leaving me alone, unbound

A/N: Okay, so, this is the first part, it's a Sasuke P.O.V, and I won't be doing a Sakura P.O.V from the start, just about a continuation of this, but I will mention what happened to her and who she really is and why she knows Sasuke's wife now. Hope you guys enjoyed this story!