When he was seeing her, you could see he had his doubts
And now he's missing her because he know he's missing out
And now it's haunting him, with memories like a ghost
And he's so terrified because no one even comes close
'Ugh. So close.' A raven haired man thought to himself as he ran through the forests. The Uchiha avenger's mission was over: Itachi was dead, and Konoha was only a few more miles away.
He abruptly stopped. Will Konoha still accept him? Or will he be marked a murderer a missing-nin, a criminal? What's worse, will she still accept him?
'Of course she will.' His arrogant voice added. 'Like Sakura would give up on you after all those years.'
From the tall branch he stood on, Sasuke could see the top of the walls of his home village protruding from the treetops.
A sense of relief filled his chest. His pain and suffering was over. He could come home. He'll sweep Sakura off her feet like a hero, carry her home, and live happily ever after as Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha.
---------------
Haruno Sakura waltzed out of the grocery store with two brown paper bags in hand, both filled to the rim. It didn't bother her though. She was strong, very strong.
Her life was perfect now. She had the strength and the medical skills of the slug sannin, she lived as the second ANBU captain and the top medic in Konoha, she got the best pay, she had her friends and her family with her, and she had the fiancé all of Konoha envied.
Yes, she was the soon be Mrs. Neji Hyuuga. The rock on her finger proved it. Sakura was living the life.
---------------
Izumo and Kotetsu leaned lazily on the desk. They were on guard duty, where NOTHING ever happens.
Until now.
A flash of black and purple was coming through the forests. "SAKURA!" it screamed.
The two sentinels craned their necks to see the commotion. They jumped from behind the table and braced themselves. But then, who in their right mind who run to Konoha and scream out the top medic's name?
"You could be so stupid." Izumo added as his partner thought aloud to himself. Anyone hurt or in critical condition would be directly sent to the said kunoichi in the hospital, of course.
BANG! The flash of black and purple slammed directly into them, causing the two to fall to the ground with an 'OOF!' and 'ACK!'
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the first ANBU captain appeared to be passing by accompanied by his two teammates.
"Oi Izumo-san! Kotetsu-san! Lying down on the ground and rubbing your head is NOT a sign of youth!" Rock Lee shouted at the top of his lungs making his two teammates cringe.
The said sentinels moaned in pain. The captain, Neji, looked up and coolly referred to the one who knocked down the guards who stood beside them. "Uchiha…Sasuke."
----------------
Sakura was in for it. The 24-year old was dead. She was late for a meeting with Neji!!
They were supposed to meet up at the front gates HALF AN HOUR AGO to go together to meet her parents for wedding planning.
'I must have been day dreaming while putting the groceries back.' She thought, running through the streets of Konoha as fast as possible.
"NEJI-KUN!" She managed to pant out as she breathed heavily. "I'm sorry I'm late, I just had to--"
"Sakura." Her fiancé said calmly, whirling around and grabbing her in his arms, kissing her passionately.
---------------
He's the guy that you should be sorry for
He had the world but he thought that he wanted more
I owe it all to the mistake that he made back then
I owe it all to my girl's ex-boyfriend
Sasuke couldn't watch. Sakura was in the arms of Neji and kissing him. 'Nonononono…NO!'
Sakura was supposed to fall for HIM, HE was supposed to sweep her off her feet and take her to the UCHIHA compound.
He watched as the pink haired kunoichi broke the kiss between her and the white-eyed ANBU captain. "What did you do that for?" she whispered to her stoic to-be-husband. He rarely pulled a PDA with her. "I was late."
Neji spun his cherry blossom around in his arms, making her face where her ex-teammate stood, a shocked expression on his face.
At that moment, Neji was pondering on how lucky he was at that very moment.
So then along comes me, this undeserving mess
Who would've believed my life be so blessed
Two years ago when he left all that debris
Who would've known that he would leave everything I need
"Sakura…"
If it wasn't for him, I would still be searching
If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't know my best friend
If it wasn't for him, you would be able to see
That if it wasn't for him, he'd be as happy as me
"Sasuke?"
Bad sign. She had dropped the sweet appendage to his name. Then, Sasuke had realized his worse nightmare: Sakura had moved on.
They were supposed to revive the Uchiha name. They were supposed to have three kids--Yuuki, Fugaku and Sasuke jr.—with her green eyes and his sharingan and black hair (there will be hell to pay if his children would have pink).
---------------
Neji observed the tension between the pinkette and the Uchiha, expecting her to burst into tears.
She touched Neji's cheek, signaling him to let go. He disobeyed and tightened his grip. "Neji…"
Said Hyuuga regretfully let her out of his grasp.
Sakura walked slowly to Sasuke. So many thoughts ran through her head. So many questions. 'Why is he still alive? And here? Why? What is he now? Is he still the Sasuke Uchiha I knew…and loved?'
This was the best time for Inner to pop out. She didn't.
"You're too late, you know." She said, hanging her head low and letting her bangs cover her eyes.
The eyes Sasuke missed.
"Nine years too late."
'What are you saying?! You miss him you're supposed to run into his arms and cry your eyes out!! He's your lost friend! Teammate…brother…'
"Hn." He said sternly. Growing up with the Uchiha, Sakura could translate any version of his usual response. I know. He meant.
"Naruto missed you." She said.
"I guess so." I know.
"Sasuke?"
"Yeah?"
She hugged him crying tears of joy. "I missed you too."
"Sakura." Neji called his future wife. "I know your parents don't like being made to wait."
She let go of her teammate, and walked to her fiancé. She wiped the tear tracks on her face and held his hand wordlessly.
He let her walked ahead, but whispered to his Tenten, the saner of the teammates. "Take him to the Hokage." She nodded as he added, "wake up those two idiots." He said, referring to the now unconscious Kotetsu and Izumo.
---------------
"WHAT!!???" The 6th Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, screamed at the now deafened teammate of Hyuuga Neji.
Tenten magically produced a wooden stick and slammed the knuckleheaded Hokage on the back of his head. "NARUTO! CALM DOWN!"
"Owiee…Tenten, what the hell was that for?"
She just rolled her eyes at him. "You can be such an idiot sometimes."
"Just tell me, IS SASUKE-TEME BACK OR NOT?"
"Why don't you find out yourself?" A suave, velvety voice from the door behind them added.
"TEME!" Naruto growled—happily. He jumped over the desk and ran to the Uchiha, nearly colliding with the weapons mistress in the process. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!!??"
Another bonk was given to Naruto on the head. "Dobe."
"TENTEN!!" another shout came from the window. Lee stood there, calling out to his teammate. "Oi! Uchiha-san!"
"Bushy-brows!"
"Uchiha-san, I wasn't able to ask what you were doing here."
"Hn."
"Sasuke, what are you doing here?"
---------------
Sakura and Neji's wedding was only a week away. Sakura was busy with her mother and Hinata about food and drinks and Neji was with Haruno Ken (Sakura's father) and his uncle working on the guest list.
"Sakura come with me." Her mom motioned her to her parents' room.
Haruno Haruka dragged her daughter to the chest at the foot of her bed. "Mother? What about the caterers downstairs?"
"Nonsense. They have other weddings to plan too. Besides, you got enough caterers to feed the whole of Konoha!"
"Mother, just tell me what you need to. I have to get to the hospital soon."
Haruka knelt down beside the chest and opened it. From there, she pulled out a couple of knick-knacks before revealing a large white box.
Sakura watched her mother as she opened the box, taking out a long off white cloth. "Mother?"
"It was my wedding dress." She laid it flat on her lap, and stroked the silk and satin fabric. It was a halter dress, with a small bow right below the bust. It draped freely after the bow, as the skirt would drag on the floor behind the wearer: it was beautiful.
"Oh wow." Sakura said, standing up and holding the dress in front of the mirror. She spun around as if she was dancing with Neji.
Haruka rested her head on her daughter's shoulder. "I want you to wear it."
---------------
When she and I settle down you can bet
That he's gonna have to settle for less
Naruto took Sasuke around Konoha. He hasn't been home since Orichimaru's attack. It has improved a lot since then; everyone was happy, everything was green and clean…it was perfect.
"And Shikamaru got married to Temari, and Gaara has a girlfriend! I mean he's a sadistic bastard and is really threatening…come to think of it, I don't see what Sho-neechan sees in him…" Naruto droned on, updating Sasuke on everyone's love life.
"Naruto-kun!" a small voice shouted from the park entrance. It was Hinata, waving to her fiancé.
"Oi, Hinata, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked. Nevertheless, he swept her into his arms and kissed her forehead.
"Sakura-chan and Neji-niisan's wedding is going to be here." She pointed to the open field behind her.
'Wedding?'
"Hey Naruto!" Sakura shouted from behind the group, together with Ino. "Hinata! Sasuke." She waved.
"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved back.
"Hi. Hinata, where's Neji?"
He's someone I'd hate to be
I got the girl and he's left with just a memory
Sakura got her answer. He hugged her waist from behind and kissed her head. Neji nodded in acknowledgement to the other people. "Hinata-sama, Hokage-sama, Yamanaka-san…Uchiha."
---------------
Sakura and Neji's wedding day, Sakura's house 9:33 a.m.
"HOMYGAWD, FOREHEAD! YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL!!" Ino squealed as the four other women in the room nodded in agreement. Sakura had just put on her dress, and Ino was just about to fix her hair and Hinata her make-up.
She pulled a robe over the dress, hoping not to ruin it while they were fixing her face. She blushed at the thought of what today was—her wedding day. It rendered her speechless as well.
The other girls from the Konoha twelve were dressed in the same slender cut dress, but in different colors (because Sakura knew her best friends did NOT look good in pink), namely purple for Ino, lilac for Hinata, green for Tenten and red for Temari.
"C'mon Tenten." Temari beckoned. "We need to fix the transportation arrangements—no way Sakura's running through the trees in that."
The two girls ran out, lifting their floor length skirts.
"Well, let see what we can do."
---------------
Sakura and Neji's wedding day, Hyuuga Compound 9:45 a.m.
Neji entered ANBU at age seventeen. Before that, he was a jounin at fifteen, a chuunin at fourteen, and he mastered all his family's specialties before turning thirteen. What was he afraid of?
He straightened his tie on his western style tuxedo as the Naruto, Lee, Shikamaru and Sasuke walked in his room.
"Ne, Neji, you'd better hurry up before you're late for your own wedding." Naruto commented.
"Weddings are so troublesome." Shikamaru, the lazy genius and the third ANBU captain, added lazily, reminiscing on his own wedding. "Ya sure you don't wanna back out?? Women---wives especially---are so troublesome."
He's the guy that you should feel sorry for
He had the world but he thought that he wanted more
Sasuke hid his inner thoughts under his hard, cold gaze. 'Back off Hyuuga. Sakura's mine.'
I owe it all to the mistake he made back then
I owe it all to my girl's ex-boyfriend
Neji closed his eyes and smirked. "I've never been so sure about anything in my life."
"That's it Neji! Use the power of youth!" Lee shouted. "YOSH!"
"C'mon! Let's go before Tsunade obaa-san (she may not be Hokage anymore, but she runs majority of the council and thus gets to do the special ceremonies) gets impatient..." Naruto added, almost pushing the other four men through the shoji doors.
"Naruto, you're so troublesome."
---------------
"Saki!" Ino rushed the pinkette out of the carriage and through the park gates.
"Ino! You're gonna ruin my dress!" Said bride shouted back to her blond best friend.
Hinata, Tenten and Temari stood by the front gate, wait for the two, along with Haruka. They all watched in awe as Sakura stepped into the sun. She was radiant in her mother's dress as it framed her body beautifully. Her bubblegum hair was tied in a loose bun, letting her front bangs flow freely beside her cheeks. A veil works around her head like a crown and covered her face traditionally. The bouquet she held was composed of pink and yellow roses.
The walked slowly to the lake, being careful not to ruin the hem of their dresses. Finally, they arrived at the venue: a white carpet signaling the center aisle leading to the gazebo by the lake. The aisle was lined with twenty rows of chairs, five in each row. It was a comparatively small wedding, just as Sakura imagined.
It was a dream come true.
Ken approached his wife and child with a smile--and a broken heart. It hurt to see his little girl grow up so soon. It hurt to know she was a kunoichi, and she could die any time, it hurt to know that she would only be the second child to her brother in the eyes of the public, but it always hurt most for a father to giveaway his daughter.
"You ready Saki?" Haruka whispered excitedly in her daughter's ear.
Sakura nodded slightly, looking a pale blue.
"Relax honey." She cooed, hoping to comfort her daughter. "You've been through harder, haven't you?"
Sakura exhaled and let the color come back to her cheeks. Of course she's been through harder.
'Right...' Inner Sakura reprimanded sarcastically.
'Try living with a mother who's obsessed with frills and bows your whole life and a father who wanted to invite the four other warlords and their countries to your wedding.'
'Nevermind.' Inner Sakura sunk back in to her dark corner of her mind.
'So much for self-courage.'
As Sakura was having a spaced-out moment, she and her parents had already made it to the aisle. 'Canon' was played by the two violinists and cellist at the end of the long white carpet. All the guests stood and turned to view the young bride.
Sakura looked at all her friends lining the aisle: Lee, Shikamaru, Gaara with his girlfriend Shoko, Kiba with his sisters, Shino, Sai, Chouji, Gai, Kakashi, Shizune, Yamato, Kurenai, Ino, Tenten, Temari, Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke...all those faces, but there was only one she was happy to see. And she met him at the very end.
If it wasn't for him, I would still be searching
Neji waited for her. She looked radiant as the sun reflected off her dress.
If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't know my best friend
She smiled. Her face was covered by a light blush, whether it was natural or make-up, it fit her perfectly.
Sakura stepped up beside her lover, in front of her mentor and idol, Tsunade.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Hyuuga Neji and Haruno Sakura in Holy Matrimony."
The rest of the ceremony was a blur. They just stood there, anticipating Tsunade's ending statement.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
And kiss they did.
If it wasn't for him, you'd be able to see
Sasuke cringed inwardly at his spot beside Naruto. It wasn't very comforting to see the girl he's been in love with for years kiss his competition.
Neji broke the kiss and stared into the emerald orbs of his new wife. "Mrs. Hyuuga." He said, pulling them in the upright position from their once bowed tango-like one.
"Mrs. Hyuuga..." Sakura repeated dreamily. "I like the sound of that." she added, hugging his arm lovingly.
That if it wasn't for him, he'd be as happy as me
'I shouldn't have killed Karin.'