Naruto stared down at the Leaf Village from his window. He had finally achieved all of his dreams and although he should have been ecstatic, there was something wrong. He didn't know exactly what it was yet but it was coming, he was sure.
Tsunade had retired a month before, naming him her successor and just a few days ago, he had actually become the official Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha. It had been exhilarating, standing before the villagers, hearing them cheering him and knowing that they finally approved of him and accepted him. His friends had been at the front of the crowd cheering the loudest and the woman he loved at his side.
The thought of the love of his life made him sigh and return to his desk and the enormous pile of paperwork that Tsunade had 'misplaced' until he had taken office. He had heard the comments made by the villagers about his beloved and it had made him proud.
"She loves him so much, just look at the way she looks at him."
"They make the perfect couple. Isn't it just amazing?"
"I bet they will be together forever with the way they love each other. You can just see the devotion between them"
He pretended not to hear the comments but they made him happy. It seemed everyone believed that they were the perfect couple, something he had been trying to convince her for the past eight years. Only recently had she given into him and agreed to become his girlfriend and now they were engaged. He stared at the same paper for a while before giving up and going back to the window. Although all his dreams had been realized, something was off.
"Dobe." Said a voice coming from the shadows outside the window. Naruto turned an unsurprised look in his former best friend, brother, rival's direction. He understood now. This is the 'off' thing he had been feeling.
"Teme." He said mildly. He had given up long ago on trying to convince the Uchiha that he belonged with his team in Konoha. Of course, it had taken their pink haired teammates request to just let him go to make him give up. If Sakura didn't want to force Sasuke to return to the village, then Naruto would obey her wish. It had been her request to return him in the beginning. Besides that, Naruto's first priority now was the safety of the village.
"You know she doesn't really love you." Sasuke said in a slightly smug voice. Naruto turned his gaze back to the village.
Of course he knew that. Sakura had only agreed to marry him because he was the second best thing to the man perched outside his window, the only real link she had to him. Everyone was amazed at the love she showed Naruto but he knew it was only make believe. Naruto knew that Sasuke would just have to ask and she would come running.
He knew that her feelings had never changed for the missing nin no matter what she said to the contrary. He was the one who heard Sasuke's name called out in the throes of passion even though Naruto was the one she was in bed with. He heard her talking in her sleep, calling out for him to come back. Naruto never said anything. He was afraid if he did, she would leave him and the fragile imaginary happiness that he had found would disappear and he would be alone again.
"What do you want?" Naruto finally asked, though he was sure he knew the truth.
"Sakura, of course and to revive my clan. I can't do that without her. I think I would even risk pink haired sons…" There was a spitefulness in the Uchiha's tone that caught Naruto slightly offguard. Sasuke didn't usually allow emotion to color his voice, especially when talking to Naruto because it might infer some kind of weakness.
"Do you hate me that much?" he asked curiously. He was surprised when Sasuke came out of the shadows.
"You aren't worth my hatred. Sakura belongs to me and I can't allow you to have her. If you marry, then taking her will be a little messier."
Naruto examined the face of his one time rival and friend carefully. Sasuke looked older than his twenty years but Naruto imagined that being a highly sought missing nin would do that to a person. He probably had to deal with hunters on a daily basis, looking for the high reward that several villages had placed for his capture. Sasuke Uchiha was not a well-liked person, something Naruto could empathize with.
"So you plan to just take her? Are you even giving her a choice?" Naruto asked, though he knew what Sakura's choice would be.
"She had a choice and she agreed to go. She wanted to tell you but I… convinced her to allow me to inform you that she chose me over you."
Naruto nodded slowly. It probably wouldn't have taken much. He knew that Sakura loved him in her own way and wouldn't have wanted to hurt him. It was one of the reasons she had finally agreed to go out with him. He hadn't really cared at the time because she had just agreed and he couldn't have been happier.
"Then what are you waiting for? Go!" he said, trying to keep his voice void of emotion. Obviously it worked because he saw the Uchiha's smug look falter a bit.
"You aren't going to fight for her?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto smiled. "I love Sakura and if this is what she wants, then so be it. If going missing nin for you will make her happy then I wish her the best… But if you hurt her, then the things I did to Pain will pale in comparison to what I will do to you."
Naruto was unsurprised when Sasuke just disappeared into the shadows he had emerged from. Naruto was proud of himself. He knew Sasuke had been trying to goad him into a fight but Naruto was trying to prove that he was more mature than he had been as a child. He couldn't afford to get into a fight with Sasuke when he was responsible for the safety of the village.
The pride slowly faded when he realized that it was over. His pretend game of happiness had ended and he wasn't the winner. Sakura was probably leaving right now to be with Sasuke, her childhood love, leaving Naruto behind to pick up the pieces of a broken heart. He sighed and glanced at the paperwork on his desk, knowing that tomorrow, he would be declaring Sakura a deserter, in more ways than one. He wondered what the villagers and their friends would say. Somehow he also doubted he would find time to sign the form that condemned Sakura to a life as a missing nin. He turned his gaze back towards the village, wondering what the next day would bring now that he was alone again.