So this was written literally right after Sasuke's initial design was revealed over a month ago, but before it was revealed that Kakashi would be the Hokage. Inspired by Final Fantasy XIII and the fact that Sasuke's new design looks similar to Snow Villiers' (even though, in this case, Sakura is the Snow to Sasuke's Serah). Also slightly edited, just because.
The fireworks had been Naruto's idea. Something big, bright, and flashy to commemorate the end of a long and brutal war – the start of a new, peaceful era.
The fireworks were one of the main parts of the festival that took place in autumn, on the anniversary of the end of the war. The other main part consisted of hanging lanterns and emas inscribed with dreams for the future on a tree in the center of the village. The tree had been planted immediately when a majority of Konoha's ninja population had returned from the war.
Today, three years later, it stood proud and tall, a fixture of the village and a permanent reminder of the idyllic world that was once merely an illusion, but now something the villagers wished to make a reality.
As Sasuke hung his own ema on the tree – inscribed with the same wish he'd written the previous year, for safety and happiness for his loved ones and for peace of mind for himself – he tried to ignore the suspicious stares people sent his way. Three years had done wonders for his soured reputation in the village, but he'd long accepted that there were some wounds he'd inflicted that would be impossible to heal.
And really, he was partially responsible for the war whose end the village was currently celebrating – he couldn't deny that. And if not him, then his predecessors…
They said that the fireworks could grant wishes, and though Sasuke never considered himself a superstitious person, he found himself placing his faith in the fireworks every year.
There was a spot by the lake where he'd cast his first fireball jutsu with a perfect view of the was too busy enjoying the festival, so the lake was empty tonight. Sasuke sat on the docks with his knees pulled up to his chest, staring pensively up at the fireworks, and exhaled slowly. As cowardly as it sounded, he wished (not on the fireworks) that he could just stay there forever, that time would freeze so that he wouldn't have to think about the past or the future or anything but the present.
Sasuke killed that particular train of thought before it could go any further. Wishful thinking like that would eventually lead to reminiscing about the past, to the summer festivals he'd attend with Itachi and Shisui, to the festival in that one village he'd attended with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi back when things were simpler, easier.
"Making a wish?"
He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed again. How Sakura had managed to find him here, of all places, was beyond him. Her chakra felt as warm and comforting as ever, albeit a bit more subdued than usual. He moved over to give her space to sit next to him, and he didn't look in her direction as she removed her shoes and kicked the water below them with her feet. "Ah, I wish I could've gone to the festival…" she sighed. Sasuke didn't flinch away or push her off when she leaned tiredly against him.
"There's still tomorrow," he said simply. "And the day after. And the day after that."
"That's if I get everything done on time," she grumbled. "I might as well be Hokage myself, if Tsunade-sama's going to make me do all her paperwork…" She bolted upright suddenly. "Oh yeah! About that! I found another one of your brother's mission reports. Do you want to take a look at it tomorrow?"
Sasuke didn't respond. "Are you okay?" Sakura asked him quietly.
When he finally turned to look at her, he saw no suspicion in her eyes, nothing that indicated that she felt unsafe in his presence. "Same wish," he said finally in a low whisper.
Thankfully, she knew him well enough to know exactly what he was talking about. Her expression softened as she took his hand in hers and squeezed it comfortingly. "You know…" she said slowly with a mischievous smile. "You should wish for something bigger. These are wish-granting fireworks, you know? Like in the stories."
Stories that Academy students had written, but stories nonetheless – stories that future generations would no doubt accept as the gospel truth, like the horror stories about the Uchiha clan's curse, like the stories about how the Uchiha clan was directly responsible for the war whose end the fireworks were celebrating… "Stories, huh…?" Sasuke said faintly.
He felt Sakura shift next to him so that she was facing him, but she still held onto his hand tightly. "Don't worry," she said earnestly. "We'll figure something out. We'll clear your brother's name, and everyone will see what an amazing person he was."
Sasuke drew his hands away. "What will that accomplish?" he said in a low whisper. "Itachi will be the exception, not the rule. Everyone will still see the clan as…" He trailed off and hugged his knees to his chest. A coil in his mind tightened, but he willed it not to spring – not on Sakura.
Sakura shifted again, drawing away from him slowly, and something jolted painfully in Sasuke's chest. "Hey…" she said. "You know how my dad likes making jewelry?" She held two pendants out in front of him – both with the Uchiha clan symbol. They were crafted beautifully, with care, and Sasuke couldn't help but stare at them for longer than necessary. "Do you like it?"
Sasuke took the pendant from her, but settled for holding it gently in his palm. Sakura smiled, surely taking his silence as a sign of approval. "Sasuke-kun…" she said slowly. "I know things have been hard, but… I want you to understand something. No matter what happens, no matter what anyone says…" She took a deep breath. "I'll always be right here, by your side."
A breath caught in Sasuke's throat, followed by overwhelming guilt. Every ounce of common sense he had dictated that he didn't deserve this, that he'd pushed her away too much, hurt her too much, to deserve this sort of compassion from her. And now, she was giving everything she had to support him, and there was nothing he could do in return.
Sakura smiled wistfully, fastening one of the pendants around his neck. "You said before… that you wanted to make sure that what happened to you doesn't happen to anyone ever again, right?" Sasuke kept silent, not quite sure where she was going with this.
She fastened the other pendant around her neck. "Like I said," she said briskly, "no matter what happens, no matter what anyone says, I will always be there by your side." She took his hands in hers and smiled brightly at him. It occurred to him that the Uchiha pendant looked better on her than it ever would on him, but he crushed that particular train of thought before he could start dwelling on it. "So don't worry."
He didn't lean on her so much as collapse into her, and she had to wrap her arms around him so that they both wouldn't fall into the lake. "Thank you," he said breathlessly.
She didn't say anything in return, but she hugged him more tightly. The explosions of fireworks in the sky sounded almost cheerful as they mixed with the sound of laughter.