Oneshot! warning:: there is NOTHING happy about this in the slightest possible way, and it's supposed to be like that, because a certain authoress was very depressed and let it all out in the writing.
Uchiha Sasuke walked into his house and looked around. After 8 years of being gone, it hadn't changed much. Sure, there would be a lot of work and restocking to do, but that was expected. The only other tell-tale sign that it had been years and not days was the thick layer of dust covering everything. The gloom and hostile emptiness had surrounded the Uchiha home even when it was populated. No use procrastinating... he thought. Putting down his stuff, Sasuke began the long task of cleaning up.
After a few hours of hard work, the downstairs area looked livable again. Calling it a day, Sasuke sat down on a couch, grabbed a tomato from the bag he had bought earlier, and thought about the situation. After all, 8 years means a lot to catch up on.
First things first, where are Sakura and Naruto?
Sasuke would hardly admit it, but he had missed his teammates, however annoying and foolish they were. And since he had arrived back, there had been no sign of either one of them. In fact, there was no sign of any of his former friends…reaching no conclusion, he decided they were probably on a mission or something of that sort. Then again, he hadn't really seen much of Kohona since his return…
From the second he had walked passed the gates, Sasuke had been escorted to and interrogated by Tsunade, 5th Hokage. Which is another weird thing…
For betraying the village, and running off for 8 years, Sasuke's punishment had been bizarrely light…
flashback
Sasuke sat gazing at the ground, his face expressionless. Across the desk sat Tsunade, sober and serious. "You may leave now." She indicated the two guards standing behind Sasuke, "I'll call if I need you." They walked out, leaving Sasuke to whatever Tsunade had in store for him.
"Uchiha Sasuke, tell me the truth."
"Hn. What do you want to know?"
"Did you kill Orochimaru?"
"Yes."
"Did you kill Uchiha Itachi?"
"Yes"
"Have you met with Uzumaki Naruto or Haruno Sakura since you're return?"
Sasuke looked up. What does that have to do with anything? But Tsunade's expression told him to just answer the question: "No."
"Good. I've decided that you're punishment will be 2 months house arrest, and then 6 months where you are forbidden to leave Kohona. You are not to have any missions for a year. You may take any available ninja tests during that time, since your abilities obviously surpass your last recorded level." Tsunade sighed, "You're dismissed."
Sasuke stared, opened is mouth to argue, and then decided against it. Turning around, he walked out.
End Flashback
Sasuke's whole experience with Tsunade had shocked him entirely. First, she was nice to him. After everything thing that happened, he expected something painful, at least. Not that he was complaining. No, Uchiha Sasuke wasn't stupid. But even he couldn't figure out why he had been let off. Honestly, his sentence was light in every which way possible…
Second, why did she ask about Naruto and Sakura? Did they have something to do with this?
Nothing made sense, and this bothered Sasuke. In an Uchiha's mind, things are supposed to make sense…
Two months later…. (basically when he's out of house arrest…)
"Sasuke! You're back!" Said boy turned around to find Hinata, Tenten, Ino, Shikamaru, and Neji walking towards him. He stopped, and waited for them to catch up. Where are Naruto and Sakura?
"Did Tsunade really let you off?"
"Hn… pretty much." Sasuke said. The others looked at each other.
"Do you think it's because of-" Ino asked. Sasuke looked at her.
"Because of what?"
"Oh…nothing…" But Sasuke wasn't paying attention.
"Do you guys know where Naruto and Sakura are? I haven't seen either of them anywhere…"
"Oh you'll see them around soon, I'm sure." Tenten answered, but her voice didn't sound quite right. "They're probably training. They've been doing that a lot lately, ever since ..."
"Ever since what?"
"Oh! nothing…"
"Hn…ok. Thanks." Sasuke didn't really believe her, but let it slide.
"I guess we'll be seeing you later…" The situation had become awkward, much to Sasuke's surprise. What's going on with everybody? Has everybody changed that much?
Back at home, Sasuke found himself, once again, lying on the couch, thinking about the day's strange incidents. Unable to figure things out, he fell asleep with only one clear thought: I'll go to the training grounds tomorrow and find Naruto and Sakura. Maybe they can explain everything…
The next day, Sasuke walked toward the old team 7 training grounds. As he got closer, sounds of sparring could be heard, as well laughter. He easily identified the two voices as Sakura and Naruto. Finally, answers…
Standing behind the trees surrounding the area, Sasuke watched as his old teammates fight. Both their skills had improved, and they were moving at incredible speeds, but something wasn't right. Sasuke looked at them again, and it hit him: Sakura wasn't attacking.
In fact, she wasn't defending herself either. All she did was dodge Naruto's never ending attacks. And no matter how close it looked to Sasuke, she never got a scratch, and she didn't seem to tire either. It was as if she wasn't there. What's going on?
A shuriken flew right past his head, startling Sasuke out of his thoughts. He jumped out of the way, and looked up. Both Naruto and Sakura stood there, shocked.
Naruto broke out of the daze first, running towards Sasuke as fast as he could (which, by the way, is pretty fast) "SASUKE-TEME YOU CAME BACK!!!!!"
"Get off me, dobe." But Sasuke got up smiling.
"Sakura-Chan! Teme's returned!!!"
Sasuke looked at Sakura, and found himself shocked. "Sasuke-kun…" Sakura's was smiling her first real smile in a long time, yet she looked so sad, almost regretful.
"Sasuke-kun…I knew you would come back. I promised to wait for you, remember? And you're back now." A tear slid down her cheek, and her eyes said that she would never see him again...
"Sakura, what going –" Sasuke gasped. Cherry blossoms swirled around Sakura, who waved, and slowly, she faded away. "Sakura?"
"She's gone." Sasuke turned around. Naruto was standing behind him, tears running down his face.
"What do you mean, she's gone? What happened? Why won't anybody explain?"
Naruto just beckoned for him to follow.
Sasuke stared at the tombstone, choking back a quiet sob. "No...it's not possible. Wha-what happened?"
"We're not really sure. Even though her….spirit, I guess you could call it… was still around after, she just kinda avoided the subject. We just decided that she couldn't handle the emotions."
"Why?"
"She promised, remember?" Sasuke looked up. Just for that? To think that she had…stayed…just for a promise he barely remembered her making… Tears fell freely from his eyes now, but he could still barely make out the words on the tombstone.
Haruno Sakura
Beloved friend and daughter
Death: (insert date that Sasuke left)
(A/N: the lyrics from a song fit this perfectly:
I'll wait for you, at heaven's gate
Oh I don't care how long it takes
And I'll tell Saint Pete I can't come in
Without my love and my best friend
Oh this ain't nothing new.
Sweetheart, I'll wait for you.
From "I'll wait for you" by Joe Nichols. )
R&R!!! this was a randomly inspired one day. it was written in a VERY SHORT amount of time. It relates to nothing else...
:P