Hey everybody! It has been forever since I have written, so you're going to have to cut me a little slack with this one. :D This is my version of when Sasuke leaves Konoha for Orochimaru (curse him! grr) so if all the details don't quite match up to the manga or show exactly, that would be the reason.

This is centered much on Sasuke's inner struggles as he severs bonds and his relationship with Sakura. So, if he seems a little OOC it's only because you are seeing more of his inner battles and personality and not so much the cold mask we're used to seeing/reading. I also wanted to focus on that 'first love' feeling. You know the confusion and the nervousness? I think it's going to be really cute! Tell me what you think. Okay I'm done rambling now. Enjoy!

I do not own any of the Naruto characters, Kishimoto does.

He had finally made his decision.

To gain the power he needed to kill his traitorous brother, he had to leave Konoha. Orochimaru was, in the end, his only option. He thought over this as he slipped on his shoes and walked out the door, on his way to the last training session with his team he would ever have. Rain dripped from the sky in small droplets, almost as if it could sense the sadness in his heart, it was crying in sympathy for him. He looked around the streets of Konoha as he treaded along the path to the training field, taking in the small things he would miss. None of it mattered in the end. He knew that his destiny was that of an avenger, to kill his brother was his only purpose in life now, and all these little things truly would come to mean nothing. Nonetheless, he would miss them. This was his home town after all. Looking up at the clouded sky above him, he took a deep breath and tried to rid himself of the sentimental thoughts in his head, it was making him sick. Sasuke walked slowly, taking his time to think, Kakashi would be late anyway. As the training field finally came into his view, his dark blue orbs noted the figure already waiting there. Sakura. She was leaning up against one of the wooden posts, looking up at the rain. Her hair was damp and sticking to the skin of her face, but she didn't seem to mind the rain that was now pouring down. She turned her gaze in his direction and smiled.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun." She said softly as she saw him approach.

"Hn," He sounded in response. He never really knew what to say to her, and in his mind, it was a waste of time to try and come up with something.

"How are you this morning?" She tried again in an attempt to get him to form an actual verbal reply. Her emerald orbs watched him expectantly, waiting for him to speak or even to acknowledge that she had spoken.

Sasuke took a moment to think while glancing at her from under the veil of black hair that hid his face. Taking a breath, he considered if it was even worth it to speak to her, seeing as within two days or so he would be gone and most likely never talk with her again. On the other hand, that was just it. He would never talk to her again. He sighed as he weighed his options and in the end he decided that if these were the last chances to speak to his teammate, he might as well take them.

"I'm…okay." He stated flatly, the words feeling awkward as they passed over his pale lips. Looking up at her, he saw her staring at him. The intensity of her green eyed gaze made him look back down at the wet earth beneath him.

'Why is she staring at me like that?" He thought to himself in confusion. He tried to brush it off as nothing but when he looked back up to her, she was still looking at him in the same way. She seemed somewhat shocked and just kept starring, her wide emerald eyes glimmering slightly in the gray light of the cloudy sky. He finally just decided to ask her what she was starring at, and get it over with.

"What?" Sasuke asked, trying to sound cold and demanding as usual, but sounding more nervous than anything when it came out. Sasuke regretted it as soon as his question left his mouth. He hated it when girls stared at him, it always made him feel awkward, that's the very reason why he always ignored them in the first place. They were annoying and stupid for making him feel that way and it was a waste of time for him to talk to them.

She continued to look at him and then answered his inquisition. "You…never answer me when I ask you that…and you did this time." Sakura still sounded slightly in awe that he had for once actually replied to her.

He looked at her, registering what she had said. A twinge of guilt pricked at his heart as he realized that he really never had. And now, he would be leaving. His gaze fell back to the mud at his feet, his thoughts running through all of the things he was prepared to leave behind, his home, his town…but mostly, his friends. His face was blank as he internally fought himself. He tried to convince his sentimental half that it was necessary to leave, that his revenge, his purpose depended on it. He would not let his family die in vain; he wouldn't let their memory be tarnished by his inability to avenge them all because he couldn't let go. How weak was he? His dark blue orbs were filled with a hidden sadness as he looked up to her again and spoke,

"Sorry." He stated quietly.

She looked at him worry filling her green eyes. Her thoughts suddenly turned to panic. Had she upset Sasuke-kun? Trying to fix her mistake she stepped closer to him, attempting to reach out and comfort him, to which he swiftly dodged. Her eyes saddened as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings; I was just surprised that's all. I didn't think it would make you sad. It wasn't a bad thing that you never answered me, it was just different that you did." She rambled, unsure of how to fix what she had done; a pink blush dusted her cheeks.

He looked up at her, trying to look annoyed. "You didn't 'hurt my feelings'. I'm fine, really. It's nothing." He stated his voice sounding just as cold as it usually was.

"Oh…Okay," She said, looking down to the soaked ground beneath her sandals.

The sound of footsteps could be heard as their other teammate arrived, late as usual. But this time, Sasuke was somewhat glad that Naruto had been late, the whole situation would have been much more awkward with him there to blurt out things without thought. Sasuke didn't turn to face Naruto as he ran up to them, his face filled with true annoyance now. But why was he annoyed? He thought to himself. It's not like Sakura and him were having a great conversation to begin with. He thought over it and chalked it up to him just being irritated by Naruto as usual. However somewhere deep down in a place where Sasuke himself didn't even realize existed, he knew that he had enjoyed his little time alone with Sakura. He always had. Every time they would be left alone he would savor her presence, even if he didn't ever act like it or acknowledge that he did. She would be someone that he would miss most. However that was something that Sasuke Uchiha would never admit to anyone—or to himself for that matter.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed. His bright smile just as jubilant as always, his hands placed on the back of his head as he walked closer to his comrades.

"Hi Naruto," She replied to him, but her eyes did not meet his, they were focused on Sasuke as they always were.

Kakashi showed up around twenty minutes later, making up an excuse for his tardiness, his only visible eye squinting in his form of displaying a smile as he apologized. Naruto complained as always, Sakura scolded him and Kakashi chuckled at them. It was a perfectly happy, normal training session for everyone—well, everyone but Sasuke that is. He watched them quietly, the pangs of guilt flooded his being again and he wrapped his arms around his middle to try and hold himself together. Why did this decision hurt so much? He had gone over his plan multiple times in his mind, every detail accounted for, but he never anticipated this pain. It shouldn't be so hard to let go. So why was it? He finally snapped out of his internal thoughts at the sound of his name.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Kakashi asked in concern, noting the pain in Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke straightened himself out, closing off his inner feelings once more and putting his usual expression back on. Looking up at Kakashi, he responded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said.

Kakashi looked at him warily, taking acute notice to Sasuke's quick closing off of emotion. He knew something was wrong, but he decided it could wait until Sasuke wanted to talk.

Training went on as usual. By the end of the lesson all Sasuke wanted was to go home and disappear, being around these people hurt. It hurt him to see all of the things he was losing, and while he struggled to tell himself that it was worth it in the end, it still did not ease his guilt. He stared up to the rainy sky and prayed to whatever god might be listening. He prayed that he could just let go, sever all attachments and bonds like he knew he had to—but apparently, no one was listening. Ever since his family was taken from him Sasuke had always tried to keep a distance from people, so he wouldn't get emotionally attached—wouldn't make friends. However, that had proved impossible for him. In the end, he had started to care.

"Sasuke?" Sakura's soft voice chimed, pulling him from his reverie.

"Hn," He sounded in reply, looking at her from under his long bangs.

"Do you…maybe…want to go on a walk with me?" She asked hesitantly, a faint rosy blush evident on the porcelain skin of her face. She looked up at him, seeing his eyes on her; she looked back down quickly and attempted to make it sound less weak and desperate. "Or, if that doesn't work for you, maybe we could do something tomorrow? I mean we don't have training tomorrow so I thought..you know, maybe." She realized as the words passed her lips that her follow up statement had sounded even more desperate.

'Why do I even bother? I know he doesn't like me, I just keep thinking that one of these days…he'll say yes." She thought to herself in defeat.

"Look Sasuke-kun, forget I said—." She was about to try to retract her former sentences when she was interrupted.

"Sure. Let's do something tomorrow." His voice was smooth as the words fell from his pale lips. The nervousness and confusion he felt that shown in his eyes was quite obvious, so he kept his dark navy orbs trained on the ground at his feet, concentrating on keeping his usual tone of voice .

"R-really?" She asked.

"Yeah."

Sasuke himself didn't understand why he was saying yes, maybe he just felt that if he was leaving anyway what left was there to lose. 'Why not?' He had thought. His thought process was now trying to comprehend why he had accepted the offer and not turned it down like every other time. The whole 'nothing left to lose' thing wasn't like him, but for now it was what he clung to as his reasoning. He glanced up to her eyes again and then returned his gaze to the mud beneath him. He took a deep breath and looked up to the sky, not understanding what it was that he felt, and suddenly he started to regret what he was getting himself into. He shouldn't be getting even more attached to someone now, it went against his plan, and it would only make it harder to reach his goal. Why in the world then had he said yes? He didn't know; he just did it. It was like he spoke the words before he really thought it through. That wasn't like him at all; he usually thought things through more thoroughly before deciding on one thing or another. So, why didn't he this time? Maybe it was because deep down he knew that all he wanted was to spend a little more time with her before she would be gone forever. No. He wouldn't accept that, he couldn't. He settled on the fact that he was leaving anyway so it didn't matter what he did in his last few days in Konoha, and it couldn't hurt if he didn't get attached. So that's all he had to do, stick to his new little plan, don't build bridges that he can't burn.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked as she observed the contemplation in his eyes.

He did not respond.

"So, what time should we meet?" She tried again; worried that he would change his mind if she didn't keep his attention. She took a step closer to him, and hesitantly reached out to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. He didn't say anything at first but turned to look at her. His gaze drifted over the hand on him, and then he spoke up once he came out of his train of thoughts.

"I don't care. Whatever time you want." He stated as flatly as possible.

Her shimmering emeralds lit up once more and she smiled.

"Great! So, I'll meet you at your place at 11:00? Thanks Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed excitedly as she ran off back toward her house.

Before he had a chance to respond, she was gone. He sighed and looked back up to the rain, his thoughts trailing back to his earlier question. What had he gotten himself into?

That's all for now! Let me know what you thought. And thanks in advance!