Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
He'd heard it said that if you love someone you have to be willing to let them go. But he never claimed to love her. To him she was just one more step in accomplishing his goal. He would kill Itachi then restore his clan. However he needed help with the second part, and he wanted her help.
She was his. The pink hair, the green eyes, the naive smile the un-wavering devotion was his. It did not belong to the man in front of him, the man he was going to kill.
He could hear her begging him to stop. But at the end of the day he never claimed to love her or value her opinion. So why should he stop? She was simply a part of his plan and this man was spoiling it.
She was supposed to wait for him. To willingly take him back and love him. She wasn't supposed to move on, to shower someone else with her warmth and love.
"Mine," he snarled, facing the unconscious man lying face-first on the ground. The brown hair spread out across the grass seemed to mock him, even if the man in question could not.
"No!"
Pink strands mixed with brown. She shielded the man's body withers. She protected him. "Don't Sasuke." Her voice was pleading and he fought not to notice the way her tears made her eyes seem brighter.
"Why?"
"I love him."
It was at that point that Sasuke realised one horrifying fact. He loved Haruno Sakura. She had his heart and she broke it, just like he'd done to her. Only she'd found someone to mend hers.
He'd heard it said that if you love someone you have to be willing to let them go. Sasuke loved Sakura.
He let her go.