A/N: I do not own Naruto.
A young Sasuke sits atop the Hokage mountain, looking over the village that lay beneath him, and pondering over the choice he was about to make.
From his vantage point he can make out the streets where he spent his childhood, a childhood that came to an abrupt halt long before it should have. He can see the trodden path that leads to the Uchiha compound, the gentle and quiet Nakano river flowing seamlessly behind it, the busy main street lined with vendors, the academy building beside the dome of the Hokage's office, the training grounds where team seven met earlier this morning. People look like swarms of ants, bustling about, blissfully unaware that tomorrow will mark the five year anniversary of the annihilation of a mighty clan. He knows from having traversed those streets countless times that Konoha is a large and mighty village, but from where he sits, everything looks so impossibly small that he feels cramped, suffocated. The tall walls and the massive gates that surround Konoha feel like a cage, leaving no room for growth and progress.
He imagines what lies beyond those walls; a world that houses strong shinobis, countless opportunities, a snake sannin that has promised him power, and a once-a-brother whom he has sworn to defeat. He knows that the life he has been tied to will eventually lead him out of the village, because Itachi is hardly going to return and Konoha will not allow him to hunt down a missing nin without interfering, the only question that surrounds his defection is when.
Looking down at the village basking cozily in the receding afternoon sunlight, devoid of any urgency to chase after progress, he thinks it won't be long from now.
The reverie he is lost in is broken when he senses movement close by. He turns around to see Sakura approaching with a bento box and book in hand, and he is instantly wary. But his hesitance leaves as easily as it sprouted once he realizes they are alone. Sakura, he found, was quite different when she wasn't around others. He had shared quite a many meaningful conversations while waiting for the dobe and their perpetually late sensei. She was far calmer when she wasn't around Naruto and did not constantly seek his affections in Ino's absence. It seemed like her competitive behavior shielded her otherwise thoughtful and pleasant personality, although he was hardly one to pick faults when he himself had been provoked by Naruto on multiple occasions.
"Oh, Sasuke-kun. I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you'd be here. Would you like me to leave?" she says bashfully.
"No, you can stay." He finds himself saying before he has the chance to mull over those words, but he finds he doesn't regret them when she smiles at him prettily. If he was not plagued by revenge, he thinks, a beautiful girl like her would never have to fight for his attention.
She walks over and takes a spot beside him, but sits far enough to not invade his personal space, for which he is grateful. He wonders if she'll strike up a conversation, but she only opens her book to a dog eared page and immerses herself in reading, another thing for which he is grateful, because he doubts he can stomach a conversation right now. He glances at her sideways and raises his eyebrows when he recognizes the title of the book she's reading, it's a classical literature text that he once saw in his father's library, and he is reminded of how smart and well read the girl beside him truly is. He smiles a small, unseen smile and returns his gaze to the village.
They stay there for hours, sitting quietly under the dimmed sun, not exchanging any words. With every hour that passes, Sasuke's mood increasingly darkens. A weight in his stomach grows heavier every time he imagines what lies ahead of the approaching nightfall. Tomorrow is a day that Sasuke well and truly dreads. He doesn't even realize that he is grinding his teeth until he feels Sakura's hand slide on top of his, anchoring him to the present. Any other day, he'd shake of her hand, but today he is weak and he needs something with warmth and a pulse to drag his thoughts away from those who are now dust, and so he gives in and lets her intertwine their fingers.
Quietly, they share their warmth for a many long minutes until Sakura speaks.
"Sasuke-kun, would you like to share my bento with me?"
Sasuke looks at her as if he's contemplating something, and then speaks without answering her question.
"Sakura. This…doesn't mean anything."
He expects her to be sad or angry, but her eyes only reflect understanding as she says-
"I know that, Sasuke-kun. I know you've been burdened with purpose and you don't have time for these notions right now. And that's okay, I'm only asking you to share my bento with me, nothing more."
Sasuke's eyes widens as he realizes how perceptive she is, and he allows himself a moment to imagine what life would have been like if he wasn't burdened by the purpose she spoke of. If he didn't have to carry the weight of vengeance, he thinks, he would have made his life worthwhile by protecting her and making her happy. He thinks of the future that was stolen from him and wonders if, in another lifetime, his family would have accepted her as his wife. He smiles a little as he thinks of how much her mother would have loved her kind and sweet disposition and how his father, who was no fan of people marrying outside the clan, would have approved of her after learning of her taste in literature and the sharpness of her mind.
He nods as he accepts the bento she hands him and, if only for a little while, the demons of revenge and loss stop clawing at his back.
In his mind the decision is made. He knows he has to leave Konoha, and soon, otherwise the fondness that he feels in his heart right now would overshadow his desire to avenge his clan. He promises to himself that as soon as his goal is achieved, he'd run right back to her jade eyes and spend the rest of his life trying to make up for his betrayal. He'd take her out to eat anmitsu, share his mother's tomato onigiri recipe with her, and take her to explore the Uchiha clan's extensive library. He would bring her back to this spot to look at the village, and build her a house wherever she points her finger. He would give her all the happiness that he has to deny her now.
Some dark corner of his mind laughs at how much his brother would have loved her wits, but he promptly shuts it away. His brother died along with the rest of his family and left a stranger in his wake, a monster to be slain, but there will be time to worry about that tomorrow.
For now he has a quiet place, overly salty rice balls, and a pretty girl's hand in his, and everything is okay.
A/N: I've always wondered what Sasuke thanks Sakura for when he leaves Konoha, and I think it might have been a moment like this :)
Review and tell me what you think!