Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Second person, replaced. No rules broken!
TRAITOR
…
…
A Sakura Haruno story
(10 Fragments)
berryboom
I
I am eight. I sit alone on a bench, watching the other children of the Academy devour their lunches happily during recess. I have forgotten mine at home.
My gaze in particular is drawn to the black-haired boy leaning against the terrace a few feet away, quietly munching a large tomato. I'm not the only one who thinks he's cute, so I know many of my classmates are staring at him too.
My stomach grumbles, and I moan, putting my head down on my knees.
When I look up, I see red.
There's a fat red tomato sitting just beside me on the place I could swear was vacant before, its skin stretched taut and firm as I pick it up.
I look around, wondering who put it there.
My eyes are again lured to the boy's retreating back, walking away from the benches towards the academy.
I think I have a clue, but I don't believe it.
And I'm too chicken to return it, so I simply sink my teeth in the delicious fruit. It was meant for me, I think.
II
I am twelve, and I have graduated.
I can't be more contented that Iruka-sensei put the star student, Uchiha Sasuke, my crush, in my team. Even the third teammate, Naruto, can't mar my delight. And I've passed Kakashi-sensei's survival test to become genin.
I am on a mission to the Land of Waves. All seems serene as I travel to my destination, but that is just the calm before the storm.
The rogue ninjas emerge from nowhere and before I can blink, Kakashi-sensei is in their grasp, incapacitated and then omitted by their swamp jutsu.
One of the hooded figures zoom towards me, and acting as bold as I can, I stand before the bridge builder Tazuna in a defensive stance.
Yet I know I have no chance, as the ninja draws nearer, smelling of death from afar. I feel cold all over; I panic and my knees wobble—
Warmth suddenly rushes before me, and my eyes only see the red and white of the Uchiha Crest emblazoned on his dark shirt.
Sasuke stands defensively in front of me, his arms outstretched, his head bent low as he comes close to cornering the enemy.
I feel a strong sense of comfort, as if someone has just draped a warm cloak over my shivering shoulders.
And that is one of the countable times that Uchiha Sasuke shows he really cares.
III
He is leaving Konoha.
The inevitability of his decision had already been carved in my brain since Orochimaru's attack in the Forest of Death.
"Sasuke will come after me in search of power," the snake had predicted.
As I near the retreating figure of the Uchiha ahead the familiar bench and the surrounding bushes—where he had first called me annoying, I realize with a grim smile—I take a deep breath before I try convincing him to stay, for his sake, for Kakashi's, for Naruto's, for mine.
But I already know it's hopeless to fight his ambitious personality.
He is hell bent on leaving. He doesn't even twitch or look back when I cry out:
"I love you so much!"
He doesn't want to take me with him, saying it's dangerous. He doesn't wish for all the joy I could—and would—bless him with if he stays.
Before I can struggle for a new rebuttal, all of a sudden, he's behind me, close behind me. His breath fans the nape of my neck, brushing away the tendrils hanging there, as he whispers.
"Thank you."
I drift towards blackness and oblivion, tears still trailing down my face, as he knocks me out and I collapse.
I know those two words of gratitude will always remain etched in my brain.
IV
Three years have passed.
Everything has changed, but still it feels like déjà vu as I and your newly assembled team set off to capture the Akatsuki spy and hopefully retrieve Sasuke.
Captain Yamato is a fine substitute guardian. Naruto has always been my old friend and teammate. The only one I'm discomfited with is Sai.
I can't see him in the place of Sasuke.
Years may have passed, minds may have changed. But mine and Naruto's love and friendship for our former teammate is strong, and Sai can't just take it.
I grit my teeth as the pale, black-haired boy—he does resemble him though—calmly goes on infighting the Uchiha. I have an urge to knock him senseless.
"Uchiha Sasuke is nothing but a traitor who defected from his home village and went off after Orochimaru."
I see Naruto furious, enraged, his hands clenched into fists. But I tell him calmly not to bother.
"Forgive him," I tell Sai on Naruto's behalf, bestowing him with a fake smile.
Sai doesn't see through it; that's why my knuckles collide easily against his cheek, catching him off guard, sending him flying across the dirt road to sprawl on the ground. On his cheekappears a livid bruise.
"Don't ever dare insult Sasuke-kun in front of me, because I won't forgive you," I hiss with an almost feral temper.
Sasuke is not a traitor. He'll come back. We'll bring him back.
…
…
But later when I finally corner the Uchiha, standing magnificently and arrogantly on the edge of the round crater, I wonder.
I wonder as he declares effortlessly that he would give his life to Orochimaru in exchange for power to kill his brother.
I wonder as his figure slowly blazes away amidst the flames making him disappear. He spares us all one glance—I don't decipher the wistfulness behind his stone façade at that moment—and is gone.
I wonder if he would ever come back.
I wonder if at heart he really is a traitor.
V
He's an international criminal, and I know it.
My affection for Uchiha Sasuke is blighted with regret, grief, fury—for all that he has become.
He kills his own brother, and quenches the desire for revenge in himself. And shortly after that he comes to know that his huge battle with his brother was just a setup in which he was the main subject.
He comes to know about his pacifist brother's actual intentions and care for him which never wavered even as he demolished the Uchiha Clan under orders from the elders of Leaf.
Curse that masquerade Tobi. And curse Sasuke's blind sentiments and his idiocy that caused him to turn against Konoha and eradicate the elders instead of carrying on his brother's patriotic wishes.
And that is why, giving Naruto and the others the slip, I have set out to kill Sasuke.
It doesn't go as I planned.
"I'll do anything you want me to do," I coax him. But there's nothing but skepticism on his face.
He tells me to execute the mortally wounded figure of a red-haired girl lying at his feet. Only then will he let me along.
I feel a stab of anguish pierce my heart as he presents me with the brutal and hellish choice.
How can a Konohan turn this way? How could our Sasuke-kun turn this way?
He sees through my deception, and the pain in my heart is doubled when he tries to slay me himself in the next subsequent moments.
And Naruto is there. He saves me. Kakashi saves me.
Sasuke—you traitor.
VI
The Fourth Shinobi War is at his climax, and also at its beginning.
All the other enemy units have been destroyed. All that remains is the peak point of it—fighting the masquerade Tobi, who actually is Uchiha Obito, and the real Uchiha Madara.
Many of the allied units have sacrificed their lives. Things seem to be quite painful and difficult, even after the previous, reanimated Hokage of the Leaf come to assist.
And that's where hope blossoms. Perhaps it had always been there, in the form of a bud which was now blooming.
Uchiha Sasuke came back in the middle of the war.
He reclaimed his loyalty to Konoha. In that instant, I don't care what could have happened to mold the iron of his heart. On his face is apparent sincerity. My vision blurs with the moisture in my eyes.
He…He came back. On his own.
…
…
Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke. They both defeat the evil nemesis together as the heroes of the Shinobi world.
But only one glitch remains: that is the sudden and mysterious disappearance of a mortally wounded but an alive Obito from the battlefield at its final point. The units return to their villages, still cautious yet victoriously happy over their success.
VII
Sasuke's proposal to me was a bit indecent, blunt and kind of annoying. But my love and affection erases all irritation from my heart. It's only the time for rejoicing.
We are married just a month after the ending of the war and the return to the village. Everyone is happy for us; I notice that Naruto smiles at me more often now, and gives time to Hinata. I'm glad for them both.
Happiness is at zenith.
But it will soon fleet.
VIII
"Can't they send anyone else, Sasuke-kun?" I implore.
I'm afraid to lose him. Again.
He's been assigned along with an Anbu squad to locate the missing defective, Uchiha Obito, detain him and bring him back to Konoha. Even kill him if things get out of control.
Everyone thought Sasuke was the perfect man for the mission to deal with another Uchiha. They couldn't even think of sending Kakashi, who was in a miserable condition.
But I'm scared, and deep down, I know he shouldn't go. His eyes still haven't healed properly after the Great War, and even though the other physical casualties have been fixed, he's not fully recovered.
That's what only I think.
"No, they can't," he stated simply as he put on his shoes and straightened up, ready to leave. He's wearing the green jacket typical of the Leaf, and it makes me proud.
I grab his arm. "I should go with you. Think about it again," I insist, drawing close to him.
He pries me off gently, looking away. "Don't worry. I'm strong."
"Of course I'll worry," I hiss, grabbing the front of his jacket. "You're my husband!"
His lips pull up in his characteristic small smile, as his stares down at my anguished face. "And you're my wife. So trust me."
"Be safe." I surrender, loosening my hold on him. He ducks in, and plants a short, sweet kiss on my lips, all the while staring in my eyes.
There's something in his obsidian pools that troubles me. But before I can decipher it, he's walking away. At the last minute, he looks behind.
"I'll come back this time. I promise."
And he's gone.
IX
It is Sasuke's promise that keeps me going. Life seems empty without him, but there are my old acquaintances and friends to fill the temporary hole.
A week morphs into two, and then a month. I start feeling a bit tense, but of course some missions go even longer than that.
I sit with Naruto and Sai. It's a random clubhouse, and I'm just talking to my friends and drinking the special red wine that is served to us.
"When's Teme coming back?" Naruto asks.
I smile at him. "He'll be back soon."
I turn back to my delicious drink, but my hand slips. The glass hits the wooden floor, shattering into a million pieces and spilling the crimson wine which looks as sinister as blood the way it is splattered.
I stare unnervingly at my hand. There is a bit commotion around me, with Naruto's and the waitress's voice the loudest.
Something is off beam, be this premonition or not.
…
…
On the first day of the next month, I'm summoned to Tsunade's Hokage mansion. She is still the leader until the elections. I find her sitting placidly on her typical chair behind the desk, but her forehead is creased into a hard line.
There's Shizune on her side, and an…Anbu wearing an animal mask.
"Sakura," Tsunade addresses me. "This is an Anbu from the platoon that was sent to find Uchiha Obito."
I feel my spirits lift. "They're back! Where's Sasuke, then?"
The Anbu stands there impassively and then nods when Tsunade gazes at him. I feel confused, unnerved. Tension slowly blights my relief.
"What's wrong, Tsunade-shishou?"
Tsunade seems to steel herself. "This is the only Anbu who survived among the sent unit. The rest of them are…dead."
My heart lurches painfully against my chest. I feel myself losing it as I mutter, "But what about Sasuke?"
"I'm afraid he's dead as well."
(Don't worry. I'm strong.)
"No—he's strong! He can't die!"
The Anbu's voice overlaps Tsunade's condolences. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Uchiha Sasuke is quite extraordinary in his talents, but he was slightly ill when we departed. I noted it, as well as some others. But he was persistent and—"
I cut off his stupid reasons with a demented shriek. "He promised me! He can't die!"
All my dreams can't die.
(Trust me.)
The man goes on ruthlessly. "He assisted us with all his might. Or, we assisted him and he did most of the battle. But it took a moment of indecision to intensify his bad luck. He protected his comrades. But it cost him his life."
His voice buzzes in the background of swirling mist and voices, or one voice, his voice. That's all what fills my mind.
(I'll come back this time.)
"Shut up—"
"Sakura!" Tsunade calls sharply. "He died for the peace of the world! You should be proud. The mission was successful due to him. Obito's corpse is under autopsy right now."
Still buzzing. Low voices. Blurred vision. Tilting room—
"Sakura!"
(I promise.)
"He would have won if not for his previous ailment," The man drones on. His voice gets lower and lower, and I understand nothing but the last line. "…pretty big for an ex-traitor."
That word. Fury pounds my head, making a brutal ache. I still have a blurred vision, with the swirling gray mist. I force my eyes open, anger bursting like a torrent through a dam.
"Sasuke was not a traitor! He isn't a traitor! He promised me! You useless—"
The veins in my eyes pop.
Tsunade is shouting in concern as she and Shizune run towards me. I slip into a blind world where I feel pain and ache, but I see nothing.
I collapse—
Once more. But the arms supporting me are not his, this time.
—With all my dreams.
X
Ripping the paper into tiny shreds, I lean over the railing and throw them one by one down, where they float on the surface of the river shining under the moonlight.
It is the only one picture of the perfect couple: the beautiful dark-haired man in his wedding suit, the pink-haired slender girl in a dress of overflowing white satin and net.
Or, it was. Now it was in pitiful remains, scattered over the water.
Time can't heal. Years may go past, but old love and pain remains. A reminder.
His face seems to form in the water. Dark where the night touches the river, his hair…the moonlight forming his pale, radiant face. His eyes, two shadowy almonds. His lips, a line curled upwards. Slowly, I visualize his whole face in splendid quality.
My hand lands tenderly over my swollen stomach, and the vision shatters.
As the tears trail down my cheeks again, I think about my child's future.
My little Uchiha Itachi.
Sometimes I think he should turn out to be like his father. Brave, strong, ambitious—for the peace of the world.
But his father had betrayed me, and this was one reality that seemed logical only to me.
He broke his promise. He never came back.
I hope my child will be as bold as his father and the one he was named after, but loyal to the village as well as his relations.
In spite of all that, Sasuke really was a traitor.
A/N: Please review.
NoNoNo. That doesn't mean SasuSaku should have such an end.
edit_20/12/13