Author's Note: this is a three-shot. The first chapter is in Sasuke's POV, the second in Neji's, and the third in Sakura's. So this story is not over. It has been five years since they last saw Sasuke which makes Sakura 20 and Neji 21. Sasuke is sort of supposed to be a bit of an ass.
Summary: NejiSaku Three-shot! Sasuke comes home to find that maybe it is possible for the impossible to occur after you've been gone for five years.
Disclaimer: I own nothing…
Nothing had changed. Well, one thing had changed. Instead of four faces gracing the rock face behind Konoha there were now five. But other than that nothing had changed. The buildings all looked the same and even from here he could see that the people had not really changed either. Their friendly spirit still radiated in the streets. It made Konoha just as bright and hopeful as ever.
As he scanned the area a feeling of familiarity began to overcome him but he quickly suppressed it. If all of this had stayed the same then maybe he still had a chance.
He began to make his way into Konoha. He was careful not to let anyone see the Uchiha symbol on the back of his shirt. If some one saw that the whole town would be buzzing about his arrival and then Naruto would be stalking him again. And that just would not do. He had to see her before anyone else.
He had accomplished his goal and he was ready to move on to the next one. It was time to revive the Uchiha clan. That had been his first thought after killing his brother and it had not taken long to figure out who he wanted to help him with this task. She may have been an annoying woman but she cared about him and she had some how managed to squirm her way into his heart.
And she was talented, to say the least. He had heard rumors of her success. Actually he had heard rumors about all of his old peers. Orochimaru had this annoying but helpful habit of keeping tabs on Konoha and then telling him about everyone and anything of any importance.
Naruto still had the Nine Tailed Fox at his disposal and was a serious contender for the position of sixth Hokage. Further more it would seem that the dobe had gotten married to none other than Hyuuga Hinata. It was almost certain that should the Uzumaki's have children they would be quite powerful and, more than likely, a lot of trouble in the mischievous way.
Speaking of the Hyuuga's, it would seem that Hinata and Hanabi had passed their birthright as clan leader over to their cousin Hyuuga Neji after Lord Hiashi died. It was more than appropriate for them to do so under the circumstances. They were both shy and female which would never win them any support from the other clans.
The real shockers had come in the slightly less important couples. Shikamaru and Ino were getting married and were the talk of the town at the moment. Somehow Kiba and Hanabi had managed to be placed on the same team a few times and now worked together on a regular basis and were causing quite a ruckus amongst the village gossips. And though he had never seen Rock Lee getting married to anyone, the rather unattractive man had managed to win Tenten over to make a rather interesting match.
As far as Sakura went he hadn't heard much other than her striking resemblance to the current Hokage. Her parents had died and Kakashi took care of anything she needed. The super strength, her medical abilities, and her mentorship with the Hokage had pushed her name through out the countries as another serious contender for the title Hokage.
Kakashi was the same as ever doing random solo missions every now and then. But oddly enough he was now part of a special ANBU unit that consisted of five people. It was this group that had Orochimaru worried. It consisted of the five most powerful ninja's in Konoha save the Hokage herself. Naruto with his inner demon, the renowned strategist Shikamaru, the infamous Copy-nin Kakashi, a certain clan leader and ANBU captain Hyuuga Neji, and Sakura the medical ninja that could cure any injury and crush walls with a single finger, was quite a formidable team. That was the reason they were usually sent on S-class missions together.
Traveling in the direction of her old house he noticed Naruto's favorite restaurant, Ichiraku, and decided to stop in. Why waste energy wandering around the city when he could obtain the information here.
"Excuse me old man, could you tell me the whereabouts of someone?" The old man turned towards him and eyed him in curiosity. Perhaps there was also a bit of recognition in his glance as well.
"That depends on if I know them." Sasuke quickly came to the conclusion that the only reason he was getting any information out of this man was because after all these years the old man still recognized him even if he couldn't register who the Uchiha was.
"You know her. I'm looking for a young medic-nin with pink hair." That was all you had to say to someone in Konoha if you wanted to find Sakura. There was no one else in the city with pink hair. The old man smiled.
"Sakura? I know her alright. Right about now she is usually at the hospital. But if she's not there your best bet is the Hokage's office." Sasuke turned quickly with every intention of going straight to the hospital.
"Thank you, old man." As he quickly walked away he heard the old man yell behind him like he had so many years ago.
"It's polite to have a bowl before you leave like that!" Too bad... He had never been a polite person.
As he got closer to the hospital he felt three familiar chakras, one more important than the other two. She was near by.
She had been accompanied by Ino and Hinata to her destination. It would seem that they had gone into the Hyuuga compound before he could see them. Hinata must be visiting family. Deciding to wait in a tree near by, where he could see the compound quite clearly, he sat for nearly forty five minutes before the three of them finally neared the door. He was ready to follow her when something odd happened.
Sakura stayed behind. As the other two kunoichi walked down the street Sasuke contemplated what business Sakura had at the Hyuuga compound. Perhaps that stubborn ass Neji had gotten injured and refused to go to the hospital for treatment. Neji, Kakashi, and Sasuke were the same in that respect. Not one of them would willingly stay in a hospital unless they were unconscious.
That was it. She must be tending a wound. But that theory was shot down as a very healthy looking ANBU captain entered his home on the main branches side of the compound.
What was taking so long? The sun was about to set and she had not left yet. Almost as an answer to his question a window opened and he could see Sakura making dinner. This was explainable too. The team must have decided to meet up and had chosen Hyuuga's house.
Lord, she was just as beautiful as ever. Her hair had grown out again and was down the waist of her white medical coat. He could tell that under the coat she now had curves that had not been there the last time he saw her. The pale skin that he had always loved was glowing in the sunset. Green eyes were sparkling in the fading light.
His suspicion about dinner was confirmed when he felt Shikmaru's chakra making its way towards the compound. A motion in the house caught his attention.
A large pale hand on her hip, a set of male lips near her feminine ones, dark hair mingled with her pink locks, and a black ANBU uniform contrasting with the stark white medical coat.
"She's happy you know." Damn it all… Kakashi and Naruto had showed up. Of all the people to find him it had to be those two. Karma was out to get him. These two were the most likely to rip him apart. Kakashi was the one who had spoken.
"Don't you have anything better to do other than stalk me?" Kakashi's silver brow rose.
"Who ever said this was about you? Personally I would love for you to disappear." There as an edge in Kakashi's voice. It was a known fact that although in their younger years Kakashi was not a great teacher for her, Sakura was Kakashi's favorite. When her parents died Kakashi took over the role as guardian for her. This wasn't Kakashi the teacher speaking, this was Kakashi defending someone he loved like the daughter he would probably never have. Oddly enough Naruto had not spoken yet.
"I only came back for one reason." Kakashi folded his arms in front of his chest.
"Leave her alone Sasuke. She can't leave with you." Sasuke stepped towards the Copy-nin.
"Why ever not? Because Daddy Kakashi said so? You are not her father Kakashi." The older man did not flinch like Sasuke hoped he would. He heard laughter and looked down at the window. Neji was spinning Sakura around as she laughed. When they kissed Sasuke looked away. There was a pause and Sasuke noticed that the remains of the sunset were gone. Night had taken over.
"She knows you're here. They know you're here." Sasuke heard Naruto speak for the first time in five years. But it wasn't the voice he remembered. Naruto had matured.
Sure enough when he turned around two sets of eyes, one pearl and one emerald, stared back at him, defiance shining in them. Sasuke sighed.
"Come to the bench." He said that loud enough for them to hear. He didn't need to elaborate. Everyone knew he meant the bench he had left her on all those years ago. She squeezed Neji's hand and the couple seemed to come to an agreement. She would come. When he turned to leave he found Naruto merely inches from his face.
"If I find her anywhere but here come tomorrow morning I will hunt you down." Sasuke didn't doubt it. More chasing…wonderful. With that he transported out.
He only had to wait a few seconds for her to arrive in a flurry of Sakura petals. He was about to speak when he noticed that she stood where the bench once was. She followed his gaze to where her feet were.
"I destroyed it. That bench reminded me of something unpleasant and I didn't need that reminder. Now, why are you here Sasuke?" That was unexpected. She didn't seem hostile but she did not seem happy to see him. The Sakura he knew would have welcomed him with open arms.
"I am here to rebuild my clan." She nodded obviously realizing that his first goal in life had been accomplished.
"I hope that is successful." Didn't she understand why he was here? Didn't she understand why he had sought her out?
"I was hoping to have you help me with that endeavor." He watched as a small sad smile graced her lips.
"There as a time when I would have accepted your proposal even at the prospect of being a baby breeder for your clan. But that time has long since past. How pathetic I was back then… I am sorry Sasuke. I can't help you." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. There was no reason for her rejection. She was simply being difficult and trying to make him understand the pain she had gone through when he left.
But he hadn't expected this. Her refusal was making him feel. It made him feel disappointed, frustrated, sad, hurt, but mostly angry.
"Why can't you Haruno Sakura?" His gaze hardened and she hardened her gaze in turn.
"Hyuuga." He felt his eyes turn to slits.
"Excuse me?" She looked him straight in the eyes and did not waver.
"My name is Hyuuga Sakura. I have been married for two years now." Sasuke's head shook in denial.
"That is not possible." His anger had left and was replaced by shock. Her delicate arms fold themselves in a way rather similar to the way Kakashi folded his earlier. She had obviously spent too much time with the Copy-nin.
"When a person disappears for five years I'm sure they find that many previously impossible things can suddenly become very possible." He felt his features turn down.
"I see. Am I to assume that you are content with the Hyuuga?" A smile appeared on her face and her hands moved down to her stomach.
"Not content, Sasuke. Happy, Neji and I are happy." He hadn't noticed it before but now that her hands were there to point it out he saw a small bump that had never been there before. The implication was all too clear.
"Congratulations. I will not be coming back." She nodded in understanding.
"I will send your regards to the others." Sakura petals showered down on the spot where she once stood as she departed. With out a word he disappeared in a flurry of leaves.
Things had changed.
End comments: so this is not the end… for once. There are two more chapters. Those revolve around Neji and Sakura if you were wondering why I put it in this category. I will try to have them out with in the week. Hope you liked it.