Sakura picked pieces of dirt from underneath her fingernails as she made her way to the memorial stone that Kakashi-Sensei always visited. It was springtime and cherry blossom petals rained on her and her path, covering the grass with a blanket of pink.
Sakura blossoms.
Two and a half years have passed since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, but the memories still burned fresh in her mind. The nightmares at night never ceased. She would wake up early in the morning and take a stroll to the memorial stone at the break of dawn to pay respects for her fallen friends.
Neji. Asuma. Itachi. So many others.
Stopping mid-stride, Sakura turned her head up to admire the flowering trees and a small smile found itself on her face. At the end of the war, Konoha's buildings were significantly damaged. The sakura trees, however, still somehow bloomed despite all the ruins.
Sasuke. The thought of Sasuke caused Sakura to turn her head back down and continue walking. In the two and a half years, she had only spoken to him a handful of times. He came back after the war, after the death of Black Zetsu, with feelings of contentment. His revenge had long been over.
"So Sasuke, what is your goal now?" asked Kakashi. Sasuke merely stared at him and did not produce a reply. There were more important matters at stake, and so Kakashi decided not to push the subject.
"I WILL NOT FALL AT THE HANDS OF THE NINE-TAILS AND THE UCHIHA BRAT!" screamed Black Zetsu while he charged at the duo. Naruto and Sasuke nodded at each other, and ran forward.
"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" yelled Naruto, and around one hundred shadow clones poofed into vision, each with a rasenshuriken in hand. Sasuke jumped and attempted a kick at Black Zetsu, but the black shinobi's speed allowed him to easily dodge Sasuke. Naruto's shadow clones all charged at Black Zetsu at once, but a powerful blast of chakra from him took out a quarter of the shadow clones. The real Naruto turned to Sasuke and said, "I have a plan."
All the shadow clones had been eliminated and Black Zetsu turned his attention back on Naruto and Sasuke. "CATCH!" Naruto called out to Sasuke while throwing him a wind-infused rasenshuriken. Sasuke smirked as this was the same tactic the duo had used on Zabuza on their very first A-ranked mission as kids. Catching the rasenshuriken easily, Sasuke hurled it at Black Zetsu, expecting him to dodge it easily. As predicted, Black Zetsu dodged the rasenshuriken, sending it behind him, and laughed at Sasuke's amateur attempt at striking him.
Suddenly, the rasenshuriken that Black Zetsu had dodged turned into Naruto. "NOW NARUTO!" ordered Sasuke. Using the powers given to them by the Sage of the Six Paths, Naruto and Sasuke unleashed their own powerful attacks on Black Zetsu, one from behind and one from the front. There was a large explosion, and when the smoke cleared, Black Zetsu's lifeless body fell to the ground and vanished.
Naruto and Sasuke both passed out, and when they finally woke up, they were in the hospital tent of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
For what reason Sasuke finally decided to return, Sakura had no idea. She tried her best to avoid him, to convince herself that all romantic feelings were long gone. But inside, she knew that she still loved him.
As she approached the memorial stone, she could make out a person already standing there.
"That's strange," she thought, "Who would come here this early?"
Getting closer, there was no mistaking the spiky raven hair of the man that stood there. Sakura gasped and stopped in her tracks. Sasuke turned around and made his way slowly to her. As much as she wanted to get away from him, Sakura's brain told her to stay, so she did.
"Sakura."
"Sasuke."
"I was waiting for you."
"Oh."
She eyed the ground and shifted uncomfortably, until she felt a hand on her chin, tilting her head up. Sakura found herself face-to-face and eye-to-eye with Sasuke Uchiha.
"Why did you come back?" Sakura whispered.
Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. When he finally opened them, Sakura swore that she saw a glint of emotion in his otherwise dark eyes. "I had some unfinished business to do," Sasuke replied. Sakura was startled.
"Unfinished business?"
"Hn."
She was totally confused, so she merely nodded. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. All the past memories flashed through her mind, and she remembered all the pain that she and her friends had to go through.
"You have unfinished business?" she started to say. "I waited for four years for you to come back. You said you had business to take care of. You had your revenge. Naruto, all your friends, and I… We all tried to bring you back and do you see how much we suffered because of it?"
"Sakura…"
"No, Sasuke. Listen. If you have something to do, then by all means, do it. Leave your loved ones hanging and begging for you to come back like they did six years ago. Leave everyone. Leave… me."
Sasuke tensed at the last phrase, and Sakura saw him tense up.
"You're leaving again, aren't you? SASUKE UCHIHA, HOW COULD YOU BE SUCH A SELFISH BASTARD. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PAIN I WENT THROUGH? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PAIN NARUTO AND KAKASHI AND EVERYONE ELSE WENT THROUGH? WHAT ELSE IS THERE FOR YOU TO DO? YOU LEFT US ONCE ALREADY."
A sob escaped Sakura's lips and her balance wobbled, causing her to fall into Sasuke's arms. He sat them both down and looked at Sakura.
"After all you did, Sasuke, I should hate you. We all should hate you. Sometimes I question myself if I'm making the right choice for my heart by choosing to keep loving you."
Sasuke stared at Sakura.
"You still love me?"
She turned away from him and nodded through her tears.
"Sakura, look at me."
Sakura turned her head towards Sasuke and immediately, she found herself melting into the softest of kisses. His lips barely touched hers, as if he was asking her if she was being serious. With a cry of both sadness and joy, Sakura leaned herself forward, pressing her lips fully on his. He could taste the saltiness of her tears.
"I can't say that I love you back right now, Sakura. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm back. I have unfinished business. Until I fully trust myself to surrender my heart to you, my business remains unfinished. I want to love you back like you love me, and if you're willing to give me the chance to, it would be an honor."
A genuine smile crossed Sakura's face and she engulfed him in a hug.
"Of course, you idiot. Of course."