My very first try. Enjoy.

She looked different, he thought. Her eyes shone nowhere near bright enough. Her posture was rigid. Not to mention that she was taller than he had remembered.

Sasuke was standing in front of her, sizing her up. She looked so radiant, so beautiful – just like in his dreams, yet still so different. Her arms were outstretched in a welcoming gesture. But that wasn't meant for him. Her lips were spread in the most breathtaking of smiles. But that wasn't meant for him. Her eyes were staring into his soul. But he knew, of course, that wasn't meant for him.

"It's a master piece, isn't it?"

No, it was meant for them. Sasuke turned around to look at the man. Pride filled his eyes as his gaze wandered between the raven and his teammate. "Excuse me, I just couldn't help but noticing how transfixed you are with our beautiful Sakura-sama. It's our village's pride and joy. We wanted to honour her for heroically saving our village a year ago. You know she single-handedly eradicated the deadliest epidemic to ever plague these lands. Do you like it?" Expectantly, he looked at Sasuke, silently commanding him to agree.

The Uchiha glanced back at his teammate. His eyes fell on her forehead.

"The colour of her Diamond Seal is wrong", he noted softly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the man scratching his head. "Oh… well, uhm... that's not possible… You've probably just never seen her yourself, so you wouldn't know tiny details like these, right?" The man tried to laugh it off, but Sasuke could only scoff. Of course he noticed details like these. He noticed everything about her. She was his teammate, after all.

But then again, Sasuke was travelling under a false name. A dirty vagabond like him could never have crossed paths with one of the legendary Sannin, much less spared a glance at her fabled Byakugo Seal.

Still, Sasuke felt the need to correct the man. "Her seal is not jade green. It's a light blue colour, actually. Turns purple when she activates it. Though I can understand why you went with jade. Compliments the colour of her eyes." He was just about to walk away, when the man's voice stopped him.

"You seem to know a lot about Sakura-sama. Did you meet her?" There was a faint hint of accusation in his voice, Sasuke realised. These people were very protective of her. She seemed to be their own personal goddess; a low-life outsider had no business changing this perfect image they constructed of her.

Sasuke looked back at the man, then turned his gaze to Sakura. "Ah, I met her."

When he had stocked up on supplies, he set out to leave the village. But for reasons Sasuke was not yet ready to think about, his feet lead him to the village centre instead of the village gates.

How ironic, he thought. Sasuke had left Konoha because he thought he wasn't worthy to stay. Wasn't worthy of all the love and friendship offered to him there. Wasn't worthy of her. And yet everywhere he went, she haunted him.

She haunted him in that cherry orchard that was dedicated to her. She haunted him in that park filled with Sakura trees that bore her name. And now, she haunted him in this life-sized statue of her never-waning beauty standing in the village centre.

All of these countless memorials were honouring her strength, compassion, and love, all the while reminding him that he was missing all three.

With a tired sigh, Sasuke let his gaze fall on the inscription at the bottom of her feet.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. In endless gratitude for the legendary Sannin Haruno Sakura, who serves as the living proof that together, we can move mountains.

His lips turned upward at the sight of the engraving. Sasuke let his eyes wander over the figure of his teammate, landing on her face.

Sakura's smile reminded him of that day he left Konoha, poking her forehead and promising her to return. Truth be told, Sasuke wasn't sure whether he was really going to keep that promise. At times he still felt so dirty, so unworthy, that he swore he was never going to step foot in her life again.

But one breathtaking smile from her, one loving gaze, was all it took to make him question his entire life – even if it was from a statue.

Sasuke turned around, heading for the village gates. The words of the engraving still echoed in his head.

He was sick and tired of going fast, he decided.

Maybe, Sasuke thought, it was time to go far.

Maybe, Sasuke realised, it was time to go home.