In Konoha Village, rarely were people seen wandering after dark. However, one cold December night a light crunching sound could be heard as 15 year old Haruno Sakura made her way through the long streets winding every which way, not sure of her destination. She was not particularly concerned about her safety; after all, she was a fully capable Ninja now. She rounded a corner, and froze at what she saw. Memories have a way of coming at you unexpectedly, and Sakura almost collapsed there on the snow as she remembered the most painful moment of her life.
It was near these benches that Sakura had begged the one person she truly cared about not to leave her. While it was true she had her parents and other friends…his departure truly made her a wreck. She was powerless to stop him, that had been the worst part. She still remembered his last words to her "thank you". A sudden wave of emotion ran over her and she started crying uncontrollable tears. He wasn't coming back…she'd never see him again.
She staggered over to one of the benches. Why had she left her home, why? It felt like some invisible force had dragged her back to this place. Even over the long, lonely years, her feelings for him hadn't faltered a bit. She sank further into the stone bench and stared at the starry sky. Why couldn't he have moved on? She wondered.
Sometimes she asked what about him attracted her so much. At first it was the fact that he was probably the cutest guy she'd ever seen, but then something else attracted her. It was just…well; the Uchiha boy had seemed so…lonely. She wanted to be his friend, someone he could confide in, not merely because she had a crush on him, but because he was hurt. Yes, he held a great pain in him and she wanted to help heal that pain, if only a little.
She sighed and her breath turned into a cloud in front of her. She shivered, why the hell hadn't she brought a jacket with her? Her head was so full of thought she didn't hear approaching footsteps.
"Sakura" A voice said, and she snapped her head up.
There, standing in front of her, was none other than Sasuke himself. He looked older…and his voice was deeper now. Millions of questions ran through her head 'why is he here? Shouldn't he be with Orichimaru? What about his quest for power?'
She stuttered
"S-Sasuke…is that really you?"
"Yes, as hard as it may be to believe. Well…as to why I'm back…my quest has been done. Itachi is dead…however, I came back because, you were right"
She looked at him with a confused expression, and he elaborated.
"You told me I wouldn't be happy if I succeeded in killing Itachi. You were right. After Orichimaru gave me most of his powers, he was murdered. I don't know by whom, but there was a massive uprising in his clan. It doesn't really matter how it happened, but he died. I killed Itachi with the power I had, Orichimaru was never able to control me like he planned. After my brothers death…I felt…sad, and filled with regret. His murder had not changed anything, I was still alone, and now I truly am the last of the Uchiha clan. I betrayed you, Naruto, and the rest of the village, and I went against what my parents had wanted for me"
There was a long silence as the winter air blew through the trees. Sakura stood up, and gave Sasuke a look of deep pity. Before he could do anything, she threw her arms around him.
"Sasuke…this whole time I never stopped thinking about you. I missed you so much…please, don't leave me again…I love you"
He had already heard her say 'I love you', but this time he said "I love you too".
He returned the hug and they stood there like that, two friends that had been separated for far too long.