Her mission was over. She was tired and hungry and she just wanted to get home. It had been a long escort mission and she never wanted to do it again. But she knew that she would have to.
Up ahead, she felt another chakra and she stopped dead in her tracks. She knew exactly whose chakra that belonged to. It was her former teammate, Sasuke Uchiha. She could feel her heart start to pick up its beat. She knew that he could feel her, so why wasn't he running, or moving?
She could both ignore and try to forget the fact that his chakra is not that far from hers, or she can go after him. She knew what Naruto would do, but she was different. Ever since the last time she had seen him, the time he had tried to kill her, she didn't know what she was supposed to feel anymore. She knew that he wasn't the same Sasuke-kun anymore. He did not protect her anymore or eat ramen with her team anymore. His eyes were even colder than when he was twelve. She did not know this new Sasuke. She had come to face that fact now. Time had made her a realist, even if it hurt to think those things about the love of her life. Yes, she still loves him. She cannot help it. No matter how many times she tries to push him from her heart, he never leaves. He is always present, either inside her head or in her heart. It does not matter. She still hopes deep down that the Sasuke that she loves is still there, waiting to come back to her and Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei.
With that, she started to run towards him. If he started to run away, then she would damn well chase after him until he disappeared again. She was not the same Sakura anymore either. She was stronger now and she did not let tears blur her vision anymore. This time, she vowed, things were going to be different.
He could feel her coming and he knew that he needed to move and fast. She was gaining on him, but he just couldn't force his limbs to move. He didn't know why, they just wouldn't. Maybe it's because he wants to see if she hates him by now, especially after all the things he has done. He had tried to kill her for kami's sake!
He waited for her, because there was no point in trying to get away by now. She was already almost to him.
She finally entered the clearing and stopped to where there was still quite a bit of distance between them. Good, he thought. He did not want to be close to her.
"Sakura…" he spoke her name so easily. It made her heart wrench and a lump form in her throat. How could he have this much power over her? She would never understand how she let him.
"Sasuke," she spoke and it felt so unfinished on her lips. Right now, she did not feel like he deserved to have the prefix fall from her lips.
He smirked at her and she hated that he could be so smug about this situation. She hated that she didn't hold any power over him like he did to her. She wanted to hate him, but she just couldn't. Every time she tried, she failed.
Her gaze went to the wound on his shoulder. It was torn open and horribly bandaged. He caught her looking at it and he fixed an icy glare at her. She glared right back and met his strong gaze with one of her own.
Every single time his gaze locked with hers, she became transfixed. He was just so damn mesmerizing. She could see the deep hatred behind his glare and she knew that it wasn't addressed to her, but to the world and what it had thrown at him. She could also see pain behind all of it. She had always wanted to be the one to be able to make the pain go away or at least make it bearable. Make him happy.
Sasuke looked at her. He could feel her looking inside of him, down to his very soul. For some unknown reason, he couldn't look away. He cursed himself for the hold she still had on him. He needed to get rid of it.
He appeared in front of her and she didn't even seem shocked, which angered him. He unsheathed his katana and held it at her throat, all the while her gaze never straying from his.
"So you want to kill me," she stated. It was a stated fact, not a question. She could feel the bloodlust coming off him like waves, yet she was not afraid. She would never be afraid of him. Maybe it was because he had always protected her or maybe it was because of the love she harbored for him. She did not know.
"Hn," he answered.
As soon as the word/grunt escaped his perfect lips, Sakura went into action. She kneed him in the gut and knocked his katana out of his hands. She knew that he was surprised, so she took that to her advantage.
She gave him a swift kick to his injured shoulder and heard him cry out in pain. Her heart twisted because she hated herself for hurting him. She never thought that she would ever in her lifetime, but it had to be done.
He had his sharingan activated and was looking at her intently. She did not see a glare or a smirk. His face was unreadable as he did his fire style jutsu. She dodged out of the way and he came at her. She punched the ground, which in turn made him jump out of the way. She threw kunai at him, but he dodged them.
All of a sudden, she felt his presence right behind her. She turned around quickly, but then he put his katana up to her throat. She stopped dead in her tracks and met his gaze.
Sasuke Uchiha was angry, no he was beyond angry. He was furious. He had let her get the better of him and she had given him a few more injuries. She also made his shoulder open up again.
Just when he was about to drive the katana across her throat, he met her gaze.
"Go ahead and kill me, Sasuke-kun," she almost whispered, "you'll be doing me a favor."
He stopped his advances and watched as some blood traveled down her throat. It was nothing serious like he wanted to do a moment ago though.
He met her gaze and knew that she meant exactly what she said. Flashbacks of their past was going through his head like a fast movie and he almost forgot where he was and what he was doing.
He saw her bent over him and bawling. She thought he was dead. He told her that she was heavy and she instantly jumped up and started screaming his name. Another one was of her looking down before the chuunin exams and then him giving her a confidence boost. Then he saw her looking beaten and bloody and he could feel that rage go through himself again. He was going to give those guys exactly what they deserved, but she stopped him from going too far. He could feel his body come alive like electricity once she wrapped her arms around him telling him to stop. He also remembered when he was fighting Gaara and thought for sure he was going to die, but she jumped in front of him before Gaara could land the final blow. She took it to save him and once Naruto had defeated Gaara, he made sure to catch her. Lastly, he remembered the night he decided to leave the village. She met him at the entrance and spilled her heart out to him.
He had tried for so many years to suppress those memories of her and team seven, but they all just came crashing back and hit him like a tidal wave.
He noticed that she was not crying. She was looking at him and he was about to kill her, and she didn't even seem the least bit scared or defensive.
She smiled that smile that only belongs to him, and said, "I love you, Sasuke-kun."
He knew the words that just escaped her mouth were real and she meant it with every fiber of her being.
Here he was about to kill her, and she still loves him. Her words repeated themselves inside his head over and over again until he realized something.
He had left things unfinished. With her and with everything he had left behind. And Sasuke Uchiha never leaves anything unfinished. He lowered his katana and put it back in its sheath. Her eyes widened in shock and then he saw something else. Hope.
He could see all the questions in her eyes and he didn't know if he could answer them. The smile found its way back to her lips and she wrapped her arms around him just like all those years ago. She still smelled the same as she did back then. Just like all the other times, he didn't push her away. She was the only one he let in his personal space. She was the only one allowed to do so.
"Sakura, I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear.
By now he could feel her tears soaking his shirt and he knew then that they weren't a sign of weakness. She was crying because she was happy. He could also feel her healing his shoulder. The pain went away with her touch. How fitting it was for her to become a medic.
When she was finished, she pulled away. She looked at him and wiped away the dried up tears that had stained her beautiful face.
"Let's go home, Sasuke-kun."
As she started to walk away, he followed.