The Promise of an Angel

Lady jOEy

(A/N: to readers, i know it cant possibly be the best but I tell you, this will( I hope) is worth-reading...

domo arigato!!!

Love is so powerful isn't it, that whatever you do to it it would still be 'love'? It's like an intensive property in Chemistry. It depends on the kind, not on the amount. So even when you hide love, even when you forsake it, even when you kill it bazillion times, it would still go back and whatever you do, it would still be called 'love.' it was kind of hard for me to accept that fact after what happened back then…

Spring had arrived. It's her favourite season of the year, as well as mine. It's when flowers would bloom beautifully which cheers her up and I just love seeing her cute pink lips forming that breathtaking smile.

"Sasuke…" As I heard a voice from behind, I turned around to see who it was. I thought I saw an angel with pink hair but realized it wasn't just an angel; she was the goddess of angels for me, Sakura. She looked really lovely wearing her pink silk kimono with detailed designs of cherry blossoms.

"How do I look?" She asked with her head bowed lowered.

I held out my hand her, answering, "You look lovely as ever."

I noticed her cute cheeks turned crimson, "really?"

"Of course." I held her chin up, placed my arm on her shoulder and walked together passing through the stalls of the festival

The festival was, as always, fun especially tonight that I have Riko with me to spend it with. After almost a hundred of stuffs that we did, we decided to call it a night. Before going to our own abodes, Sakura asked me to pass by the old wooden bridge by the lake.

"Sakura, may I ask, why do you love stopping by here every time we have a chance?" I asked with my two hands in my pocket.

"Because… we've spent the best memories together here Sasuke." I smiled to her reply as I watched her gaze at the lake with the moonlight reflected on the surface of the water.

I just love the way she cherish memories, when she treasures every moment, or just the simple fact that she gives importance on anything around her, I love everything about her.

While enjoying the beautiful scenery, something hit me. 'Why not take this chance to confess to her? Sakura and I had been going out for months now but still she hadn't said anything that their relationship is official. I wanted to know what she really thinks about us going out. So I took up all my courage to say, "Sakura…" she turned to face me and I just can't help but to sigh to her face' loveliness, "we've been going out now, for God knows how long. I don't want to hurry you up but I just wanted to know if—" my words were cut off when Sakura surprisingly placed her hand on my chest with her other palm on my cheek and held me close to her. For a moment she was staring at my dark orbs and before I knew it, our lips were sealed with a kiss.

The morning sunshine greeted me as a new day started. I jumped out of my bed and headed to take a bath. I grabbed some breakfast as I headed to Sakura's place, dashing through the forest. What happened last night was really unforgettable. After staying at the bridge, I took Sakura home where she gave me a goodnight kiss. She hadn't said anything but who needs words when she already answered you with a kiss? A smile painted on my face as I continued to head to her place. I stopped when I was just a few steps before their house to fix my self. I was about to enter into their gate when I noticed a group of people were at Sakura's doorstep. The wooden door swung open with Sakura holding the door for them. She welcomed the people with her usual sweet smile and let them all in. before she could close the door, I noticed that the last person who went in was quite familiar. It wasn't long after I recognized who it was. I couldn't be mistaken; it's definite that it was Neji. I decided that I would talk to her later.

"Ey! Sakura!" I ran after her at the marketplace. I went beside her and tried to catch my breath and both of us continued to walk together. "I went to your place a while ago but you had some visitors."

"Oh" was all that she could say.

"I noticed that Neji and some members of their clan were also there." She didn't say anything so I just continued, "and wasn't Neji the person your parents chose for you to marry even before you were born?" I asked, kidding around and she answered…

"Yeah". I felt pain on my chest, like the pain that you feel when you get hit by a kunai.

"So what was his family doing there?" I asked awkwardly.

"They did what they were supposed to be doing, talking about our marriage." She said that without her facial expression changing, and another kunai hits me.

"What?" I wanted to shout out to her. What was she thinking? It's as if she wasn't in herself.

"What about us?" I asked with my hands on her shoulders, trying to stop her from walking. I felt unexplainable pains taking over me.

"What about it? It's not as if we two were officially together. I mean Sasuke, we were just going out. So it's NOT a PROBLEM. It's NO BIG DEAL. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have to go and prepare for dinner."

An oversized kunai hit me, thrusting deeply into my severely bleeding heart. And she left with that, leaving me shocked, jaw dropped. 'What just happened?' I asked to myself. 'That couldn't be Sakura, it wasn't just her. It was so unlike her. She couldn't do something like that, could she?' I asked these questions and my mind just can't find a way to answer them. I wanted to burst out and just shout out to let these unwanted feelings flow out, but I wouldn't. I don't want people around me to think that I'm out of my mind. Three kunais hit me. Its either she wanted to say, I HATE YOU, or GO AWAY… AHOLE! So I just turned and left.

It was all too sudden. Yesterday, we were so happy together and in just a snap everything vanished. It's as if those times never happened. I kept on asking to myself why Sakura would do that. Maybe she was just going out with me while Neji wasn't there. When that thought came to my mind, I stopped thinking and decided to forget about everything. The next thing I knew, my beloved Sakura and her fiancé were married. A year and a half later, a war was declared by a foreign nation and as one of the best Jounins, I was asked to lead some Genins and Chuunin on our battle. Sakura also took part in it; she was in the medic team, curing wounded ninjas. I wished that I would just get hurt because then, I would get a chance to be near to her, but I could not do so. Before I prepared to battle, I dedicated my life in this war to Sakura, even though she didn't know, I just did.

The second day of the war was harder than we thought but still we made it sure that everything is under control. As I was talking to one of my apprentices behind big rocks, I caught sight of Neji hiding behind the bushes. He was also a respected Jounin like me. I was about to look away when I noticed a shurinken thrown at his direction, and so I grabbed a kunai and threw it to the shurinken to block it. I went nearer to him as he thanked me for what I did. I felt a presence around us, but it was too late for an opponent was already pointing her samurai to him. Suddenly everything slowed down. I couldn't do anything but just to block it with myself. I could die.

'I couldn't call this life without Sakura by my side. I thought by saving Sakura's loved one, Neji, would make her happy and with that, I would be too.' So I decided to push him away, with the sharp samurai hitting my broken heart. Everything became blurry and soon after that, darkness dominated, feeling my soul separate with my body.

I saw light, like a light after a long dark tunnel. After a few moments, I could see everything around me visibly. I then realized that I was on a hospital, with a patient's clothing and a bandaged head. I didn't know what happened. Good thing, someone went in the room. He was wearing a black kimono, had a white aging hair, he was Sakura's father. "Where's Sakura?" she was the first person that really came to my mind.

"Sakura is…" he tried to answer but was interrupted.

"How about Neji? How is he?"

"He died just hours after you saved him." He answered with his head down.

"So where is Sakura now? How is she doing?" I asked once again.

"Sakura… My daughter Sakura is…" He tried to continue but clearly his emotions were stopping him. Sooner, his wife, Riko's mother, appeared behind him and held his back to comfort him.

"Just go on. I'll tell him." His wife whispered to her and he left shutting the door behind him. I can't do anything but to stay on bed, still puzzled. She got a stool and positioned herself beside my bed

"Sakura… Sakura died." As those words came out of Sakura's mother's mouth, my jaws dropped, my hair stood, my heart stopped beating for a second, and I think my soul just jumped out of my body.

'How? Maybe we were defeated and the enemy went on to the village and attacked them, including my Sakura.' That was what I thought, but I was wrong.

"Right after you were attacked, you were brought to the medic team… you were loosing a lot of blood and people thought you would soon die because your only chance is to replace your heart, where you were hit. But someone volunteered to be your donor and you were saved. That person was our Sakura." She got hold of her handkerchief and cried.

"I don't get it. Why would a doctor agree to take the heart of a healthy person just like that?" I asked, not knowing what to think.

"You're wrong. Sakura was unwell. Her life is a terminal. The doctor said she would only last for months. But we didn't know that our baby would be taken for us sooner." She wiped her tears and continued," my daughter loved you. She only agreed to marry Neji for our family have a big debt to their clan and it's the only way we can pay them. She decided not to talk to you for you to forget about her, but trust me, not a night passed that she wouldn't weep in her bed, thinking of you. Forgive Sakura, Sasuke. Forgive her. We're sorry." And with that she left. I didn't know what to do.

It was so hard to absorb all that has been said. So hard that you can compare it to High school lessons that you have to learn in a snap. I then felt tears sliding down by my cheeks. The whole world just dropped on me. 'Why would she do that? Why?!' I wanted to shout out how stupid she was. But could you call someone stupid for doing something for love? I couldn't.

After months, I realized so many things. Like how lucky I am to be loved by an angel like her. I went to the bridge beside the lake, got a piece of paper from my pocket and read what Sakura wrote before she died. The last part said: "I will love you forever." I placed my hand over my chest. I smiled at the thought that she would always be with me. Even though it was so hard to take up all those things, but just like high school, you have to learn it one by one and you have to live it by the rest of your lifetime. Well, even after what happened, life must go on, not for me but for my beloved.

OWARI