Fallen Petals
by Diana-san
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Summary: Sasuke returns to Konoha after six years. Sakura thought her feelings for Sasuke has vanished but her heart says otherwise. Will they ever be together or will one of them have to die before the other realizes the mistake they made?
Chapter 1
Haruno Sakura stared at the gates of Konoha. A cold drafty wind blew against her skin. The pink-haired kunoichi was standing on top of a tree branch that supported her weight as she steadied herself against the trunk of the tree. Hidden behind the leaves of the tree, she stared at the tall gates that closed in around Konoha, her home village. A blond boy wearing a bright orange jacket was carrying another boy on his back. That boy had black hair that was spiked and eyes that looked like they showed absolutely no emotion. On the back of his dark blue shirt was the Uchiha clan's symbol.
Sakura's grip on the bark of the tree trunk got harder as she broke the bark off the tree. Tears glided down her cheeks as she stared at the rebellious black-haired boy. The one who she thought she loved.
"Sasuke…"
Sakura emerged from the shadows of the tree and jumped down to the ground. She was just coming home from a mission when she saw Uzumaki Naruto carrying Uchiha Sasuke on his back. Not wanting to be seem by either of them, she hid in a tree while watching the two boys enter through the gate.
As Sakura walked to the tall gates that loomed before her, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
'Sasuke, after six years, you have finally come back. Whether if it was willingly or dragged here by force.'
Sakura closed her eyes as she traveled back to the time when she last saw of her beloved Sasuke.
Sasuke was about to leave the village when Sakura tried to stop him. After confessing her love for him, she still couldn't stop him. Threatening to scream out loud as to wake the whole village, Sasuke quickly put her to sleep. The last words he said to her were, "Sakura, thank you."
Now that she was 18 years of age, she had given up any hope of ever seeing Sasuke ever again. She never thought that a day would come when Sasuke would return to the peaceful village of Konoha. Not unless…
Sakura gasped. Was his revenge fulfilled? Did Sasuke kill his older brother, Itachi, for killing his whole clan? These unsettling thoughts made Sakura creased her forehead in worry. Sakura instinctively placed her hand on her forehead, the forehead that has always been made fun of by the other children when she was younger. Now, her forehead was not the unusually wide forehead the kids made fun of anymore. It was as normal as anyone else's forehead and no one could make fun of it no more. Sakura's soft pink hair had grown out since the time she hacked some off at the Chunin exam. It was now past the shoulder and at her chest level. Sakura's hitai-ate was tied tightly around her head so her bangs wouldn't cover her forehead.
She gazed off into the distance as she dwelled on her memories of Sasuke. Sakura shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. 'No, Sakura. Get a grip of yourself. You are officially over Uchiha Sasuke and you don't need to think about him anymore. You have no feelings for him whatsoever except for being just friends.'
Sakura held her up with a look of defiance in her emerald green eyes. 'You no longer have to worry and fret over Sasuke like you're his mother. You are your own person and the only person you need to take care of is you!'
With the little pep talk in mind, Sakura boldly strolled past the gates and into Konoha. After a few steps, Sakura lost her bravery and slouched into a grim walk. 'But, how am I going to face him then?'
A deep sigh escaped from Sakura's mouth as she walked through the village, thinking of what to do. Before she knew it, she ended up in front of the Konoha Hospital. She stared at the building as she stood quietly in front of it. The vast building loomed in front of her and Sakura wondered how many times she has stopped in front of this building. She has been here many times and would always just naturally walk in like it was her home. In fact, it was almost like her second home. She had spent countless hours in the rooms, attending to patients and caring for their needs. When she wasn't busy working, she would pore over the hundreds of medical books stacked up in the tall shelves of the small study room located near the back of the hospital. Yes, she had probably spent more time in that hospital than in her own home. Yet, as comfortable as she was with the hospital, it now feels like a whole other place to her. It seems out of place to her as if she has never seen or heard of the hospital before.
'Should I go in?' Sakura asked silently to herself. She felt ridiculous for even asking such a question but she was unsure if going in would be a wise choice. She knew that Sasuke would most likely be in there, seeing as he had a bunch of injuries on him when she saw him by the gates. Sakura hesitated as she walked towards the doors leading inside the hospital. She stopped a few steps in front of the door and decided against it. 'I can't do it. Not now. I'm not prepared to see him. Even if I'm not madly in love with him anymore, I won't know what to do or say in front of him.'
Sakura turned around and started to walk back the way she came when she heard someone calling her name. The familiar loud voice that spoke her name in deep affection crossed her ears.
"Sakura-chan!"
The voice was heard loud and clear and it was coming from the blonde-headed boy with a mouth too big for him and a jacket too orange to be a natural color found in nature. Sakura stopped and tried to force a small smile as she turned around and greeted her teammate and friend, Naruto.
"Hello Naruto!" Sakura said brightly. She walked slowly towards the blonde who was now taller than her even though she was surely taller than him six years ago.
"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Sasuke is back! He's alive and he's being treated inside the hospital," Naruto exclaimed. He waved his arms up and down as he spoke as if his arm movements would help express his excitement.
Sakura smiled a little at Naruto's cheerful disposition. "Oh, is that so? I hope he feels better then."
Sakura turned around and began to walk away but Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. His aquamarine eyes showed his state of confusion as he questioned her.
"Eh? Sakura-chan, don't you want to see him?"
Sakura turned her head and smiled at Naruto. "Yes, I'll go visit him later. Don't worry," Sakura said, reassuring Naruto. "I just have a few things to do right now," she lied. She waited for Naruto to say something as she hoped that he couldn't see through her lie.
"Oh, ok!" Naruto said, understandingly. "Then I'll see you later, 'kay?"
Sakura nodded and smiled. "Yea, later." Naruto turned and walked off, probably going to eat ramen at his favorite ramen shop, Ichiraku. Sakura sighed in relief, glad that she didn't get caught.
Sakura began walking but she didn't know where she was headed towards. Her thoughts were muddled and she felt like her feet were doing the walking by themselves and she was only being dragged along by an invisible force. She began to lose her sense of direction and she felt like she was walking around aimlessly. She couldn't tell north from south or east from west. People walked by her and she felt like time had stood still and that time was mocking her. She didn't know where she was headed yet she continued on walking as if she would reach her destination soon. She soon found herself at the door of the Hokage's office. She stood in front of it for quite some time before proceeding closer to the door. She raised her right hand to knock on the wooden frame of the door but without even knocking, a voice from inside said, "Come in."
Sakura pushed the wooden door opened and walked over to the only desk that was in the office. Piles of paper were stacked up on the desk and it looked like endless amount of paperwork. Scrolls and ancient looking books cluttered around all the paperwork. It looked like a rat could have crawled into the mess and died inside of it without anyone ever noticing until the horrid smell would arose. Sakura shuddered at the thought of a dead rat sleeping underneath the piles of paperwork. A woman with blonde hair tied into two loose ponytails was hunched over a large book filled with what seem like endless amount of pages. Sakura began to feel dizzy as she stared at the large book. The Hokage flipped through the pages and without looking up, she began to question the pink-haired kunoichi.
"What are you doing here, Sakura?" the woman asked her young apprentice.
Sakura hesitated before saying anything and then spoke up. "I was just walking around town and decided to drop by, Tsuande-sama."
"Hmmm," was all that came out of Tsunade's mouth. Tsunade turned around in her chair and looked out at the village through the huge and wide window that overlooked the whole village.
After a few moments of silence, Tsunade spoke. "You do know that Uchiha Sasuke is back, am I correct?"
Sakura nodded slowly but then realized that Tsunade couldn't see her nod so she mumbled a quiet "Yes."
Tsunade continued, "He's in a lot of pain right now and his condition isn't good. He's been injured in almost every place possible and he seems to be in a state of confusion."
Sakura's eyes widened as she listened to Tsunade-sama speaking. Sakura's heart pounded against her chest and she felt like she couldn't breathe. She feared the worst and she almost didn't want to ask her question. She took a deep breath. "Tsunade-sama …" Sakura said weakly. "Is he going to be alright?"
There was a brief silence as Sakura waited for a reply. Tsunade looked at her with a sad look in her brown eyes. Sakura only stared blankly into space, her usual sparkling green eyes now filled with confusion and worry. She clenched her fists tighter still and gritted her teeth as if she was the one in pain and not Sasuke. The room started to spin and her mind was racing with a million thoughts that can't seen to settle themselves until they reach an answer. But only one thought came back over and over and it seem to have stamped itself permanently onto Sakura's brain. Her worry and confusion intensified as her greatest fear came into life. Tsunade opened her mouth and started to speak as Sakura's world fell into a dark oblivion. The truth was out and now Sakura regretted ever coming out of her house this morning. The words rang clear as she repeated it in her head and out loud to see if it was true. It was indeed.
"He only has a few hours to live if he doesn't get any better."
