It was time; Naruto had wanted me to come with him today. Simply, as he put it, to hang out and catch up. I guess within the 2 and a half years he was gone training with Jiriya he learned how to mess with people's minds. I stood in front of my mirror, fixing my pink hair after putting my Konoha headband in. Looking at myself in the mirror I saw all that haunted me.
-Flashback-
I ran down the road faster than I had thought possible. I had to stop him; I could not let him leave. I ran into him walking on the only road that leads out of Konoha.
"It's the dead of the night…what are you doing out here," Sasuke asked, as emotionless as ever.
"This road is the only way out of the village so I've been keeping watch," I answered.
"Just go back to bed," he said. He walked around me; one step at a time, an echoing silence fell. Tears started to fall from my eyes. No matter how hard I tried to not seem weak, I always cried.
"Why don't you ever tell me anything? Why do you have to be so silent? Why can't you just…let me in?" I bombarded him with questions, questions that I wanted answers to.
"Like I said, my business is none of yours. Just leave me alone."
"Sasuke…I know the deal with your clan. But revenge, just for your own sake...That won't make anyone happy. Not you Sasuke…Not me either."
"I knew it. I'm not like you people, I'm on a different path. I can never be like you or Naruto."
I tried to choke back my tears but they fell anyway. "So you're choosing the lonely path? Remember what you told me, what it's like to be lonely? I've got family and friends, but if I lose you, I'll be very lonely. I…I'm so in love with you that I can't even stand it! Sasuke! Stay with me and I'll never let you regret it. We'll have fun everyday and…and you'll be happy! I'll make sure of it! I'll do anything for you Sasuke! Just please don't go! I'll even help you take revenge! So please stay with me. If you can't then maybe I could go with you?" My tears had become a water fall as I shouted my confession at him, only hoping to stop him.
"You…make me sick," he said. I choked on a gasp and I felt part of me tear in half. He started walking again.
"Don't leave me! One more step and I'll scream!"
Quick as lightening he was behind me.
"Sakura…thank you."
I was so shocked I did not see it coming. He hit the spot on the back of my neck. The spot that knocked me out cold, and left me on a park bench where I woke up the next morning screaming his name.
-End flashback-
I could not help myself thinking about all the things that had happened between me and Sasuke. The time he had been bitten by that snake Orochimaru and had fallen unconscious in the Forest of Death. The time where Gaara had been recruited by his village to help destroy Konoha and Sasuke had helped save me. Granted Naruto had done most of the work but Sasuke still helped. I glance at my bedside clock noticing I was late and came tearing out of my house. Naruto would worry if I was too late.
I, literally, ran into Naruto as I came flying down the road. For once he was on time. We walked down the road just like old times. Talking and laughing, that brought back memories of the good old days.
"What have you been up to Naruto," I asked him.
"Just got back from a mission yesterday; you should have seen me Sakura-chan. I beat the living daylights out of those idiotic ninja. It was like fighting Genin."
"You're still a Genin, Naruto."
Naruto frowned, "Don't remind me Sakura-chan. You'll kill my buzz. By the way, how are things with you?"
"Tsunade's overworking me at the hospital, adding in extra training sessions and then knocking herself out with sake leaving me all the paperwork. Pretty much a normal day for me," I said laughing.
That's when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. A large human shaped shadow looming above me and Naruto atop an electricity poll. I could not believe my eyes, and at the same time I did not want to believe it. After all the times we had fought to bring him back, after all the tears and broken dreams, Sasuke stood looking down at us. No emotion on his face, it was unbelievable.
Naruto stopped his laughing and directed his gaze from me to where I was staring. Shock coursed through his features. Suddenly he started laughing; I stared at him thinking him an idiot. How could he be laughing at a time like this?
"You make me sick…Sakura…Thank you," Sasuke's words from when we where twelve echoed in my head again.
-Hokage tower-
Sasuke stood in front of my master, Tsunade.
"Why come back Uchiha," she asked.
"My mission is done. I have become stronger, Orochimaru is dead and so is my brother."
Tsunade turned in her chair and crossed her arms.
"Come on Granny Tsunade. Let him stay. He came back on his own, right Sasuke?" Naruto pleaded and laughed. He grinned at Sasuke earning a cold glare. I just watched indifferently, I didn't want to be here right now. I didn't want everything that I had buried to resurface and rear its ugly head. Sasuke glanced at me through the corner of his eye, my sad eyes met his. Little to no emotion was all I could see. I wish I could tell what he was thinking.
-Flashback-
It was a day soon after we had been declared team 7. Kakashi had insisted we all take a picture together to mark the day. I stood in-between Sasuke and Naruto as the two fought with words back in forth.
"Dobe."
"Don't call me a dobe, teme."
I frowned, "Will you two stop and just smile," I said rolling my eyes.
-End flashback-
That picture still stood next to my bed, and there where many times where I would look at it and find myself crying late at night. That was the only time I allowed myself to cry anymore. Late at night, when nobody could see or hear me.
Later that night, after Naruto's constant begging and pleading, he, Sasuke, Sai, and I sat in Ichiraku's. Naruto shouted with joy as the rest of us broke our chopsticks and dug in. I turned my head slightly and peered past my bangs to watch Sasuke. Tsunade had allowed him to stay with one year's probation and at all time Naruto or I was to be with him, keeping an eye on him. We were both, Naruto and I, to report to Tsunade every night and tell her each little detail that went on during the day.
By watching Sasuke I saw the sadness in his eyes. The look like something was wrong. I did not say anything, just watched him and listened as Naruto guzzled down his ramen and then ordered another bowl. I could feel Sai's gaze in my back keeping a close eye on me. I knew he detected my discomfort but was too nice to say anything. Sai and I had become closer since he joined our team, despite our differences. My grip tightened on my chopsticks and I directed my attention back to my untouched ramen. I no longer felt hungry. I let my mind wonder.
-Flashback-
I sat on the park bench next to Sasuke. We had just started talking.
"In fact the one person whose opinion I value… the only one I really want to be close to…is you Sasuke. I'd do almost anything to win your attention…your respect…because I have a crush on you…I'm…desperate," I said blushing and leaning closer towards him.
Closer and closer I came to him, feeling him lean closer too. It was finally going to happen, my first kiss, and with Sasuke of all people. The one person I wanted to kiss. Our lips almost touched will all of a sudden he got up and ran saying he would be back in a minute. I just figured he was shy and waited for him. It was all so perfect to me, I was on cloud nine. That is until he came back and told me I make him sick.
-End Flashback-
I wish we could go back to those days. The days as team 7, we left Ichiraku's about an hour later, Naruto and I split the bill. I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things and walked back through the door of my house 30 minutes after I had left my team and Sasuke. I went to bed early thinking of what I had to do.
-The next day-
I had spent most of the day at the hospital, working my butt off. Mostly because I wanted to get my mind off of a certain someone. Now I could no longer run, Naruto had come to the hospital, with Sasuke, and dragged me out of the hospital. No matter how hard I fought against Naruto he held on to the back of my shirt, and literally, dragged me, heels skidding, out of the hospital, waving to the other nurse of duty.
It was sunset and I stood alone with Sasuke, not talking. Naruto had suddenly remembered that he had to report to Tsunade and had run off waving saying he would be back as soon as he could. The wind blew and messed up my hair but I did not care to fix it. At least not at this time; Sasuke stared at me and I stared back. A flicker of emotion passed through his features and I felt my eyes go wide. I was rare to see any kind of expression on Sasuke's face, let alone the one I saw. Pain and regret; something was bothering him. We stared each other down, an old fashioned staring contest, looking at him, I remembered again. The day he left, me shouting my love to him, clinging to him for dear life. I eventually broke eye contact.
"Naruto is coming, I better go," I said.
True to word Naruto came running down the road waving at us.
"Hey! Sakura! Sasuke!"
I teleported away from there, "What's with her," asked Naruto.
"I don't know," replied Sasuke.
-Day three-
I worked my butt off training today. The nurse who had been on duty last night was there this morning and would not let me work, saying I did too much and I should take a day to myself. I knew Naruto had just talked her into giving me the day off.
"Working hard," as deep voice asked from behind me.
I turned to find Sasuke walking towards me. "I want to talk to you," he said.
"Naruto was supposed to be watching you," I said.
"He was, until I told him I need to speak with you."
"Well go on ahead, talk," I said. I wanted to leave but I had been raised with manners.
"Why won't you look at me? Why won't you talk? You were so enamored with me when we were young. You promised to always love me. Can you still love me now?"
His questions caught me off guard; I honestly did not want to give him answers. When I looked at him I saw his sharingan activated.
"So much seems to have changed and I want it to go back to the way it use to be. I never thought I would come to this," he said. Shock coursed through me, and as if the match all the sadness and the shock that ran through both of us the rain began to fall. I could hear Naruto in the distance arguing with Sai and saying he was going to train with me. That's the same old Naruto; he passed by Sasuke and I and started using shadow clones to attack himself. The rain kept falling and I was suddenly dry.
Sai stood behind me with an ink jutsu umbrella which he held over my head. Sasuke remained out in the rain. I looked at Sai and then at the ground, so much conflicted within me.
I looked at Sasuke, having found the courage deep within me. "I know I'll never get back to what we where before, but I don't think that I love you anymore. It's too hard to keep pretending
It's too hard to ignore But I know that I don't love you anymore," I said.
I could feel Sai's shock behind me, he knew better than anyone, after having suffered from plenty of my super strength punches after he bad mouthed Sasuke, that I had feeling for Sasuke and I wanted nothing more that to have him back. Sai nodded and smiled.
"I'm proud of you Sakura," he said. It was the first real compliment he had given me. So he knew all along that I was fighting with myself about Sasuke.
Sasuke walked away, seeming as though my words had done nothing. I never looked back, I just kept looking forward.
-Sasuke POV-
I remember that night. The night I left. Sakura chasing after me telling me she loved me, asking me to stay. I had hoped she would understand that back then I could not return her love. Not with Orochimaru hunting me and Itachi's ways of killing people I love. I had thought she would still love me when I came back and that then I could tell her I always loved her.
That night I had knocked her out, and that night was also the night where I had cried for the first time in years.
"I wish that we could go back to the way we were before."