Hi… this is a rewrite of sorts of Eien no Ai.

Please tell me what you think of this version and if you have read the previous one, please do tell me which one you think is better.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

It's been several months since the man I once claimed to be the love of my life returned to the village. Of course, I should have expected it, but it was unexpected all the same. He brought his team back with him. He, who was bent on breaking his bonds, brought his team back in to Konoha.

Ha! And on top of it all, I had thought everything would be back to normal. Everything would go back to the way it had been before Sasuke left the village. What a fool I was. Looking back on myself then, I realized I was naïve. There had no way it could have all been the same again. How foolish of me…

And – And then, he had to go and send me that request! Unbidden, the tears spilled over and streamed down my face. I smiled bitterly through it all. Of all times for my namesake to come and haunt me… this was definitely the worst.

I suppose, it was ironic in a way that I was supposed to make my debut as the heir of the Haruno gypsy clan at the very festival Sasuke was to propose to Karin. All the leaders of the shinobi villages were to attend, and the entirety of Konoha will be watching him propose to her.

Laughing bitterly to myself, I realize there's this pain in my chest, akin to being stabbed repeatedly, throbbing and growing and making me choke on my own laughter and tears. I shake my head and wipe away my tears. I shouldn't be crying. I should be happy for them, right? Right? I find it pathetic that I can't even convince myself so.

I get up and walk out the door. Right now, I don't want to look at that card. I know I won't be able to throw it away and I realize suddenly, these streets, normally frequented by shinobi, were empty. Quiet. Pathetic. They're all at that party, aren't they?

Right, right. Of course. Who wouldn't want to go to a party thrown by His Highness Uchiha Sasuke and Her Majesty Karin? Me. Especially not if all my backstabbing "friends" were going to be there. I have no idea why that happened. Hell, I don't know why anything happens these days! Even Tsunade-shishou, who I trusted the most, doubts me now. I've seen it in her eyes. And Kakashi-sensei, he – he called me weak. How could they say things about me that weren't true? How could they believe in things that had no basis, nothing to prove that it was right?

Everything I had believed in these 20 years of mine was being stripped away, slowly, slowly by that bitch. I suppose I have no right to judge her, but I did nothing to her. So why did she do all this to me? My mind throws back at me a possibility – maybe she thought I was a threat to her relationship and her Sasuke-kun~. Urgh. I feel disgusted just thinking about the way she throws herself at him. But she needn't worry. He's only had eyes for her ever since everyone thought she'd changed for the better. Since everyone believed her act.

But I knew what she was really like. On top of that, ever since Tsunade-sama had openly started to make moves and plans to eradicate the threat of Sound and Kabuto, I'd noticed her disappearing frequently and acting weirdly around some of the Konoha shinobi. Ambushes had been turned on Konoha shinobi who, all of a sudden, couldn't direct their chakra. It was by my hand alone that so many had lived to tell the tale and continue fighting another day. I gritted my teeth at this thought. If Karin was really the one who was leaking information, I wouldn't hesitate to kill her. Even if the village exiled me for that, I would do it anyway. I would do it for the sake of the village and everyone who was in it.

Back then, when Suigetsu and Juugo, the other two members of Sasuke's team were still alive, I could still confide in them and tell them my worries and be assured everything would be okay. The three of us alone knew Karin's true nature, though Suigetsu had told me it hadn't been this bad before. We had trained together, eaten meals together and had even used to go to work together. All that still hadn't stopped them from dying.

Suigetsu had gone first. He had been attacked and gotten fatally injured by Kisame on the way back home from a mission with Karin and two other shinobi. In the mission report, it said Karin did everything to make sure he survived and yet still failed. He died of excessive blood loss. Later when I examined the body, I noticed one particular cut right over his wrist and veins were made after the battle timeframe stated in the report. I started suspecting her and noticing her movements. It didn't help that she was now the Hokage's prized apprentice instead of me. Every time I tried to warn people about her, they pegged me down as jealous.

So when Juugo died in the hospital during one of his rampages later on, I wasn't surprised when I learned that the medic-in-charge then was Karin. And every day when I visit their graves, I remember who killed them and my resolve stiffens.

But Naruto didn't think that way. One minute he's telling me what a bitch Karin is, and the next he's telling me that I'm just jealous, bitter and how I should just let go of the past and get a new man. In all my wildest dreams, I never thought Naruto would turn his back on me. I guess I was wrong. This truly made me open my eyes. What was I doing, sacrificing everything for a village that couldn't care less about me? I shook my head. No. I shouldn't think that way. Konoha was my life. And yet, a niggling suspicion that my loyalties would one day change surfaced in my mind.

What did people find so special about Karin? I wondered if people just loved new things. Toys. And I laughed bitterly to myself. Don't be stupid. Haruno Sakura was boring, weak, unlike Karin. Naruto, everybody's friend except mine of course, hasn't even invited me to Ichiraku once since she decided to take over my life. I don't want to hate them, I think. But I can't help the feeling hate for people who are dumb enough to fall for her tricks.

It's getting really late. I get to my feet, and to my irony I find that the bench I've been sitting on all this while is the very bench Sasuke left me on years ago when he left Konoha in search of "greater power".

Oh, haha.

Walking down the street back to my apartment, I see Sasuke and Karin run out from their party. I smile just a little bit at the annoyed expression on Sasuke's face. Next my smile vanishes, because I see Karin tiptoeing to peck Sasuke on the lips. Sasuke smiles oh-so-lightly, and my smile comes back, although barely just there. At least he's happy, I think to myself.

I walk past them, a sad smile upon my lips, and they don't even notice me, like I never existed.

I would love it if you could review?

Eien no Ai ( the previous version) is on hiatus at the current moment, until I decide which version I want to continue.