"When We First Met"
When we first met
Your hair was long and brown
You hadn't yet cut it all off
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I was a withdrawn kid growing up and mostly kept to myself. Unheard of since I was an Uchiha, more known for our stoic appearance and superiority in everything we do. But I was always overshadowed by Itachi-niisan.
Anything I did he did first and better. I am 8 and still in the academy when Itachi had already graduated at my age. What else was I to do when I had nothing to make my otou-san proud of? Even my teachers at the academy tell me that the things I do are only to be expected of Itachi's otouto.
I don't hate Itachi though because he's the best big brother there is, but for once I want to be better at something than him. I want to be recognized for me, Sasuke, not because I'm an Uchiha and not because I'm Itachi's otouto.
I was trying to practice my kunai and shuriken throwing secretly in one of the lesser used training grounds bordering the forest. I hit the bull's eye everytime when I use stationary targets but I have a problem when it comes to throwing at moving targets. It was frustrating and tiring and I was just about to quit when someone spoke behind me.
"You're doing it wrong."
I was startled and quite ashamed of myself for not sensing someone sneaking up on me. Either she, because the voice was definitely a girl's, was good at stealth or was a fangirl stalking me. I turned around and saw the other quiet student in class, Sakura no last name.
Most tease her for her larger than normal forehead but I guess it couldn't be helped because she's also the smartest in the class, maybe not as smart as Nara though I couldn't be sure because that boy is just too lazy to even try. While I may be the top student with good grades all-around, she aces all the written exams and has excellent chakra control. Even Itachi was impressed with her. Her only weakness was the physical exams but she was catching up already.
She was found outside village gates when she was about 4 years old wandering and lost with no memory of who she was and where she came from. She was taken into custody by the village to be assessed by a Yamanaka but her mind seemed to have a block. All they found out was that her name was Sakura. Her past was a mystery and no other village has claimed her thus far.
Like most orphans, she was kept in the orphanage until it was found out that she had photographic memory and perfect chakra control. She was later on enrolled in the shinobi academy and became a protege of the Senju Tsunade to be trained for medical jutsu in the future.
She was an oddity to me the first time I saw her in class when we were five. She was and is the only person I know who had pink hair much like her namesake and her eyes were green like spring. She was seated in front of me but we've never spoken to each other again since that first day she greeted me and introduced herself. Later on, I found it annoying how I would always end up getting distracted by her pink hair.
She kept to herself, often found in the library or at the hospital helping out. She doesn't have friends either except maybe for that other quiet girl, Hyuuga who would sit with her during lunch time or that Yamanaka girl who I would see with her picking flowers and herbs on the weekends.
"Tch, annoying. How would you know? Have you been able to hit a moving target before?" I asked, quite offended. I guess she wasn't a fangirl because who was brave enough to tell an Uchiha that? Or maybe because she grew up with the Senju that she thinks she is equal to an Uchiha.
"Gomen, I didn't mean to offend you. I just came from picking some herbs when I saw you and I just wanted to help. Theoretically I could hit the target, but I still lack the physical skill to do that. If you want I could help you with your calculations then maybe you could help me improve my physical conditioning." She offered.
I thought about it and saw that it would benefit us plus she wasn't a fangirl which was a major deciding factor to me and maybe she could also help me with my chakra control.
"Aa. But we keep this a secret." After all, Uchihas and Senjus weren't known to socialize since the days of Madara and Hashirama. Both were already dead but they have passed on their stubbornness to their descendants.
"If that's what you want." She conceded. "You can call me Sakura."
"Sasuke."
And that's how we started as training partners. I've been able to perfect my shuriken and kunai throwing with her guidance while I helped her with her taijutsu. She also taught me some chakra control exercises like tree climbing and I've managed to perform the great fireball jutsu with much success that my otou-san was able to praise me for the good work. All in all, my grades have improved since we started hanging out after class and she has also upped her stamina and speed.
It was only a matter of time when we eventually became friends because really, it was just natural if you put two loners together. I had someone who favored me more than Itachi and she had someone to celebrate her self-appointed birthdays with when the sakura trees bloom.
And through the years I've watched that pink hair grow longer. Tch. It was still annoying.
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By the time we graduated from the academy at 12, Sakura and I were put in the same genin team with Namikaze Naruto.
Now I don't really mind being in a team with the dobe if he wasn't such a dobe. He was the Hokage's son and my okaa-san was close to his mother but we've never really been close friends despite the dobe thinking otherwise. He didn't take things seriously, failing exams and playing pranks, and wore a lot of orange and was loud for a ninja like he hasn't even heard of stealth. But every team after all needed someone to take all the hits and Naruto had great stamina and lots of chakra to serve the purpose.
If only he wouldn't try to take Sakura's attention from me. For the longest time he had been asking Sakura out on dates. Not that I want to date her myself, Uchihas don't dawdle with such mundane practices. But I've been used to being her only boy friend and having her attention to myself. Sakura is just too nice sometimes even to the dobe. I blame the Senju.
"Introduce yourself, your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams." Hatake Kakashi-sensei said.
"Why don't you go first Kakashi-niisan?" Naruto said excitedly.
"Ne, Naruto, even if we've known each other for a long time, as of now I'm your jounin instructor hence you should call me sensei. " Kakashi chided lightly.
"He he... gomen, sensei." Naruto apologized sheepishly.
"I am Hatake Kakashi, my likes... dislikes...hmm...I have many hobbies and my dream... I can't tell you yet." He finished.
"But we didn't learn anything about you sensei!" Sakura pouted, crossing her arms.
"Kawaii! My student is just too cute." Kakashi said, eyes crinkled in a smile, ruffling Sakura's hair which was annoyingly the first of many. I guess I would also have to look out for Kakashi-sensei stealing her attention from me.
"I am Namikaze Naruto. I like ramen especially from Ichiraku's because it is the best ramen ever and learning new jutsu. I dislike waiting for ramen to cook and Sasuke-teme because he hoards Sakura-chan to himself. I enjoy pulling pranks and not getting caught, spending time with otou-san and okaa-san and meeting new people. My dream is to be the best Hokage ever so people will recognize me as more than just my father's son!" the dobe said.
Hn. So maybe we have almost the same dream. But still, if I could find someone else to pay him attention then he would leave Sakura alone.
"I am Sakura. I don't have a last name. I like learning medical jutsu from Tsunade-shisou, doing ikebana with Ino and origami with Hinata and being friends with Sasuke-kun. I dislike people who tease me or think less of me. My hobbies are reading books, helping Shizune-neesan at the hospital and training with Sasuke-kun. My dreams are to be head medic, to have a family of my own someday and to help Sasuke-kun achieve his dreams" she said passionately. "and Naruto too." she added, smiling at Naruto who was smiling widely his face would split.
I felt my heart swell and my lips turned up in a small smile even if she mentioned the dobe too. I didn't know she thought of me that much to include me in her dreams. But her wanting to have a family is something I haven't considered. Of course she would want to since she was an orphan but thinking about her with her own family bothered me.
"Hn, Uchiha Sasuke. I have a few likes and there are many things I dislike. My hobbies are studying new jutsu and training with aniki and Sakura. I don't have a dream but rather a goal... that is to stand under my own light and be recognized for my own achievements."
That's how team seven started before our team became a legend. Before all the cool jutsus like chidori and rasengan, before Sakura could smash boulders with just a pinky and heal like no other, before Naruto and I finally became rival and bestfriends, before I had awakened my Sharingan, before Kakashi-sensei and his infamous bell test.
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And then there was that other period in team seven, the dark ages as Naruto would call it or what Sakura would tease me as the time when Sasuke-kun was stupid. It was during our first chunnin exams at the forest of death when I received the cursed seal from Orochimaru, when Sakura cut off her hair to fight off those damn Oto nins, when I got lost in power and Sakura stopped me, when I got jealous of Naruto having more power and protecting Sakura when I couldn't when Oto tried to invade Konoha, when Naruto and I fought at the top of the hospital and almost hit Sakura with the chidori and rasengan.
It was when I contemplated betraying my family, friends and village to follow Orochimaru because I needed power to be better than Itachi and especially better than the dobe. I needed power because Sakura didn't have to cut her hair if I had been stronger.
Sakura had unexpectedly been there near the village exit and stopped me from making a bad decision. Because following a criminal would make me powerful but a traitor to my village and it will not make me better than Itachi or Naruto. Because taking shortcuts is not a Sasuke-kun thing to do. Because I may not be a prodigy like Itachi but I have always worked hard to achieve my goals and dreams. Because leaving my home, family and friends for power will take me down a lonely road and if our paths ever cross again we won't be friends anymore but enemies.
"You really are... annoying." Why is it that she was always there to point out my weakness?
"If you insist to leave then you are not the Sasuke-kun I know. You are not my Sasuke-kun. As much as I love you, this is the one thing I cannot help you with." Her voice breaking as she cried.
That she loves me is what I'll remember most from that night. What caught my attention more than anything else; more than being a traitor and not being better than Naruto or Itachi, more than being enemies when our paths cross again. That she knows me and loves me and I am her Sasuke-kun felt like I was better than Itachi and definitely Naruto, already. Because Sakura has accepted me for who I am.
And when I turned back, I hugged her for all she's worth, for all these feelings I don't know how to express and for all the times she had always been there. "Sakura...thank you."
It wasn't enough but I hoped she understood what I meant. She breathes a sigh of relief. "Just don't think of ever leaving me alone again."
It was at this moment I realized that I had been so close to doing just that. Up to this day, I don't know what I would have become had I not listened to her, what would our future would have been like? I think of a different time and a different me and a different Sakura and I don't like what I imagine. I hope that other Sasuke wasn't that stupid. I pulled back from hugging her to look at her.
"Aa." I promised.
She smiles through her tears, the smile she has always given me.
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And now it's long once again, oh
Oh, it's long once again
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We were 13, when Naruto and I had to leave for our training with Master Jiraiya and Kakashi-sensei respectively. In light of the recent events, it was decided that we train separately for our own protection as Orochimaru was still after me and some rogue nin were after Naruto being the Hokage's son. Unfortunately, Sakura had to stay at Konoha with her Tsunade-shisou for her own training.
I don't know how to tell her goodbye because I was coming back anyway. We have never again spoken of what she told me that day I almost betrayed Konoha but I did know what I wanted her to do for me, in case some idiot had the gall to try anything. Because I am not as oblivious as people think I am.
I caressed her cheek touching the edges of her hair, drinking in the sight of her, thinking long hair suited her better. I vowed silently that I'll train hard so I could protect her the way I want to but then she surprised me with what she said.
"It's just hair Sasuke-kun. It would grow eventually but I'd cut it all off again if it means I could protect you."
"I'm not breaking my promise. I'll be back." I whispered as she hugged me for the last time in what would be a few years. She nodded her head once meaning she understood what I really meant. Wait for me.
As we crossed the gates of Konoha, I turned around with my Sharingan on to memorize the way she looked to keep me company for the long time ahead, and noted that she smiled that smile I have claimed to be mine.
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It was a good three years of training, and I have learned a lot on the road, improving my Sharingan, copying and practicing jutsus, learning how to wield a katana, perfecting the chidori and making up my own jutsu.
We were heading home to Konoha, back to my family, and back to Sakura. I wonder how long her hair was now or if she cut it again. My own hair has grown longer as well.
As the gates of Konoha came to view, the first person I saw was the dobe waiting for me. Naruto matured as well, physically that is. No longer the runt he was, he was now as tall as me and looked more like the Yondaime.
"Teme! I just arrived a little less than an hour ago and I knew you were also coming back today. Want to go find Sakura-chan so we could all go to Ichiraku's?"
"Hn." As if I wanted to share Sakura with him and eat ramen the first time I return. I turned to Kakashi-sensei and he just nodded, granting me permission. I teleported to the hospital, knowing her schedule from the letters she'd send me before Naruto could say more.
I arrived at the hospital lobby, in search of pink hair. I flashed my chakra and waited. I felt her presence behind me before she could speak up. "Sasuke-kun."
I turned around and saw her for the first time in 3 years. She was taller, more womanly than girlish, her hair down her shoulder blades and still pink and shiny and smooth.
"Sakura." I greeted back and she smiled that smile that belonged to me.
We were 16 and definitely older but it had been 3 years spent apart so we went through the stage of getting to know each other again. It was an awkward but necessary process. We had to adjust to the changes in each other. I was more aware now that she was a girl, no, a young woman and that I was not above staring.
We talked, her mostly of what happened when I was gone that she hasn't included in her letters. I only wrote to her to inform her if we've moved to a new location but I sent her trinkets from my travels.
She told me about Yamanaka and Nara getting together and of this boy, Sai, whom she met on a mission under Yamato-taichou who looked like me but smiled falsely and loved to draw and always called her ugly.
I wasn't pleased to be only hearing about this now and scowled. Sakura must have seen it and assured me that Sai didn't really mean it. He only did it because he read it in a book that one should give names the opposite of what they really think.
I had more reason to hunt this Sai, so he thinks Sakura is beautiful and went about complimenting her in a backwards kind of way. Sakura said it was just Sai being friendly and he meant no harm.
Days pass and we fell into routine again. We ate and took long walks, trained and took missions together and finally finally passed that damn chunnin exam together. I have also succeeded at last to foist Naruto's attention at Sakura's friend, Hinata, the quiet Hyuga girl who (un)fortunately and incidentally had a crush on the dobe.
I had never been more sure of what I had known when Sakura stopped me from leaving, that despite how much stronger I have become and would become; I would always have a weakness.
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As I kept track of every haircut that we ever had
I could, I could see how long it had been, oh
Oh, how long it had been
And this thought, made it clearer
I ought to be near her
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We were 18, jounins and ANBU hopefuls, when we had our first fight. Sakura was escorting the Kazekage's children when they visited from Suna for a diplomatic meeting. It was quite obvious to me that Gaara had taken a liking to her despite his stoic appearance. I should know.
However, Sakura was oblivious and kept insisting that Gaara just wanted to be friends and that the invitation to visit Suna was just for training other medic nins and that the only reason he held her hand was to assist her when she tripped. I told her that she shouldn't be so nice lest he thinks she's interested in being more and it was improper behaviour for kunoichi to fraternize with foreign ninja. That was when she blew up at me.
"Sasuke-kun, Gaara is from Suna who we are allies with, so fraternizing is deemed acceptable. This is a task the Hokage has assigned to me specifically and if you have a problem with it then you should take it out on him. And if ever you were insinuating that I was flirting with him, so what!? It's not as if it's your business anyway." She replied hotly.
None of my business? The nerve! "How could it not be my business when he is taking liberties at you?"
"Really, Sasuke-kun, when have you been delegated to defending my honor?" She asked me, openly.
It goes without saying, shouldn't it? I wasn't just imagining all our time together was I? She was the one who told me she loved me. Has her feelings changed since then? I furrowed my brows not quite sure how to answer. "Hn."
"Sometimes, Sasuke-kun, I wish you'd just tell me what you actually want to say and not have me interpret your grunts for you. Come find me when you know the answer." she said, before leaving in a swirl of sakura petals.
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I was venting all my frustrations at the training ground when Kakashi-sensei came upon me. "Mou, Sasuke-kun, stop mauling the innocent trees. Yamato will have to replace them again."
"Hn."
"You can't blame her you know. She hasn't been approached by any Konoha male because of you but I don't think foreign nin especially someone like Gaara will give you the same deference. It's easy to see that Sakura is a good catch and I know you've known that for a long time now. Question is why haven't you done anything about it?"
"I didn't think I had to. I thought she knew." I mumbled.
"Sasuke-kun, you still have much to learn about women. They always want you to talk to them to say what you feel. Just because she may have had feelings for you doesn't mean she'll wait around forever. If you don't ask her out exclusively then she could say yes to anyone who asks her before you. She's not truly yours until you stake your claim." Kakashi-sensei said before he left me to my musings.
And so I have come to realize that I have been taking Sakura for granted. That she deserved much more from me. That I should man up and tell her exactly what I feel.
I found Sakura at her house, her hair newly cut up to her shoulders.
"I just wanted some change. Sasuke-kun." She said before I could even ask.
"Aa." I answered back. I was disappointed to be the reason she cut her hair once again and this time it was because she was angry at me but I hoped she was ready for the change I wanted.
"So have you thought about what you wanted to say?"
"Go out with me, everyday until people understand that you are mine. Stay with me, through good times and in bad. Be with me, now and always."
"But why Sasuke-kun?" she asked with her brows raised, green eyes piercing mine.
I think back to that time when she first told me she loved me.
"I have been helplessly in love with you since the moment you first told me you loved me, maybe even way before that. You had been there from the start, lending me your help, patiently teaching me and training with me. You were always there to listen the rare moments that I talk, to comfort and cheer me on even if I don't ask for it. You know when to fill in the silences and when to just let it be. You were my friend first then teammate. You support my dreams like they were your own but know when to stop me from taking the wrong path. You know me. You have always seen me for me, not Uchiha Sasuke but just Sasuke."
"To me, you would always be Sasuke-kun. I love you, always have and always will. I think I have known it since the first time I saw you but I was too shy to approach you. It has only grown the more time we spent together. Even if I don't know where I came from or have a last name, I feel as if I have always been meant to love you."
We were 18 when I answered her confession from when we were 12 and confessed my feelings back, when I pulled her to me and kissed her for all she's worth and she kissed me back equally as fervent.
We were 18 when I told myself that I had been an idiot for wasting so much time that we could have been doing this instead.
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We were 20, when I was promoted ANBU captain and Sakura would become the head medic upon Tsunade's retirement. She had made one of her dreams come true and I was finally out of Itachi's shadow. Even Naruto was halfway to his dream, spending time attending meetings and going on diplomatic visits with his father.
We were 20, when Sakura fulfilled my dirty dreams. Because contrary to popular belief, Uchihas are not asexual, at least not this Uchiha.
We were out sparring as usual. It was so hot that day like the rest of the previous days before it. Konoha summer was starting to feel like Suna and it wasn't helping that Sakura was only wearing a mesh shirt over her bindings, having removed her top due to the heat. It wasn't as if she's not flustered as well when I removed my shirt.
We weren't getting anywhere with our training with the both of us distracted. Sakura and I have had a lot of practice with foreplay but never with the actual thing. We talked about it before and we had been waiting for that moment when it would just feel natural. Just then it suddenly rained. Huge drops that were unrelenting and so we had to take cover. Her apartment was nearer so we hurried there.
We arrived, drenched, cold and shivering. She went to the bathroom to change while handing me a set of my clothes I would leave with her when I'm too tired to go home after training. She came out wearing a big loose shirt just above her knees.
She was running a towel on her hair which was now halfway down her back. She sat on the bed and I sat beside her and took the towel from her hands. "Here, let me help you."
I was getting distracted being this close to her, seeing a large expanse of smooth fair skin when her shirt rode up to her thighs when she sat down, with her hair smelling like rain and of her.
I guess somehow she sensed it too.
She turned around to face me while I dropped the towel. I moved closer to her with our lips almost touching, my eyes boring into hers, my hands on her waist and on her nape pulling her to me.
The first touch of our lips felt electric like a spark of chidori. Then the spark became fire driving us closer together, feeding from the hunger that was burning inside me.
We fell into the bed, twisted on each other, our desire seeping and fanning the flames into a blaze that's threatening to spiral out of our control.
She looked at me and beyond the haze in her hooded green green eyes, I realized what she wanted. Not just making love or bringing her fulfillment or any of the stuff that happens when you engage in sex.
Just me.
And I wanted her too, not just physically. But all of her to be mine.
I remember the rain as it fell that day. Huge drops splattering the earth. I could hear each drop fall much like the beating of my heart. I remember feeling cold then warm then on fire. I remember how her hair smelled like rain and of girl. I remember the taste of desire, sweet and spicy on my lips. I remember soft smooth skin, lush curves, silky hair and gentle caresses on my fingertips.
I remember green eyes filled with trust and love staring at me with understanding. Both of us knew that there was no going back from here. I remember her reaching up to kiss me as if to seal a silent deal– how this would change everything, and her arms enclosing me in a tight embrace as we breached into an unfamiliar territory of adulthood and left our remaining innocence behind.
It wasn't awkward this horizontal dance we were doing. It was as natural as breathing fire. I remember soft moans and tangled limbs and how right it felt to be one with her like this, as if we were melting into each other, our edges blurred and melded. And just before we reached that blinding bliss, I remember thinking I could never love anyone as much as I love her.
After, as I lay in her bed awake while Sakura slept with her head on my chest, our arms wrapped around each other, my hand lazily playing with her hair, I remember wishing I could hold her like this every night, spent and sated and mine. And as sleep claimed me, I remember hearing the wind outside humming a lullaby.
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It would take another 2 years, a few fights (mostly my fault- possessiveness was another Uchiha trait) and cut hair (mostly hers) followed by clandestine make-up activities worthy of Icha Icha (what!? I could read and Kakashi was my sensei and he saw it fit to educate me in so many things), a truce between Uchiha and Senju (which Itachi has supported being the new clan head) before she became Uchiha Sakura. Finally, she had a last name, most importantly it was mine.
In a few weeks, Sakura would have another one of her dreams come true. She and I would be welcoming our little boy.
I plan to give her a big family, of black-haired boys and pink-haired girls, all with her eyes even if she wanted them to have mine and of course, my family's kekkei genkai. I dread of having pink-haired boys though but hopefully having the Sharingan will make them look threatening. She doesn't know of my plans yet but I'm sure I could persuade her. It was a goal I was very much looking forward to. This was one area I beat Itachi hands down. The continuation of my clan rests upon my shoulders or more crudely somewhere lower between my legs and no, it's not my kunai.
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When I was younger, I never thought that my life would turn out like this. This was infinitely better than what I could have ever dreamed of. But Sakura believed otherwise, saying she knew it all along. Sometimes, I want to believe her too. And to think this all started when we first met.
All I see is where our days repeat
And our love goes on
As our hair grows long
- Hellogoodbye
For Sasuke's birthday. O-tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu!