Well, it's been a little while, hasn't it? Since November, actually! Thanks so much to everyone who wrote me lovely messages and reviews in the interim. I'm on summer break now after a bit of a grueling year of school, and I thought I would celebrate by posting one last Naruto fic:)
I recently watched the Naruto: The Last movie and thought to myself: What about Sakura and Sasuke? How in the world do those two finally get together? Also, other questions, like: Was Sasuke at Naruto's wedding? And if he had been...what would he have felt like? Before I knew it, I had an idea for a one shot...and then the one shot became a full length fic with many chapters! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it:)
This story is set just after Naruto: The Last, so please watch that movie first before reading. And now, without further blah blah blah, my last Naruto fic!
Chapter One: Dreams & Blossoms & Snow
Konohagakure, 3 AM. One day before the wedding.
Sasuke's reflection rippled across a cup of sake, glittering from the bright sunlight. The wind blew a cherry blossom petal over his reflected face, forming concentric circles and obscuring his reflection until he could only make out the vague shape of his black hair, the backdrop of pink blossoms from above. Without removing the petal, he took a sip and gazed around him. Weeping cherry trees swayed in the breeze, casting more fluttering petals into the air and snowing pink as far as he could see.
His eyes fell on Sakura, petals covering her shock of pink hair. "You're quiet today." He tipped back his cup and drained it.
She leaned back against the tree, low branches half-curtaining her with flowers. "Am I?" Chuckling, she refilled their cups, her fingers brushing his when she handed him his sake.
He clinked cups with her and frowned. "What's so funny?"
Tilting her head, she looked up at him with unblinking green eyes. The breeze played in her hair and scattered more petals over her, dotting her red dress with pink and pooling in her lap.
"I suppose it's how content I am. That's what's funny. I know you'll be leaving soon—you always do." She met his startled gaze with a sad smile. "And even though a part of me will do anything for you to stay, another part knows you won't, no matter what I do. And that makes this…" She gestured with her cup at the trees, then at him. "…all the more precious." Setting her sake down, she leaned forward and plucked a flower out of his hair and held it out to him, grinning.
Stunned into silence, he reached out with an unsteady hand to take the flower, but just then the wind gusted and blew it out of his grasp. She laughed at that, and for a moment, the sound of the wind and her laughter seemed to be one rushing sound.
His breath caught, and his throat tightened, though he wasn't sure why. Frowning, he reached up into the overhanging tree and, with a quick slice of a kunai, cut off a long thin branch covered with buds. With a few twists, he curled it into a wreathe, giving Sakura a questioning look before holding it out to her, raising it as if to crown her.
She threw back her head and laughed, shoulders shaking, which only deepened Sasuke's frown. He still didn't get the joke. The breeze whipped back her hair, scattering the flowers that had settled on her. Suddenly, as if he had been caught in a genjutsu, her face dissolved into hundreds of flowers, and the wind blew her away as if she was nothing more than petals.
Heart pounding, he leapt to his feet and called her name, over and over again. No answer. The gust of wind turned into a gale, and the air became so thick with flowers, he could have been caught in a snow storm. He groped blindly about, but still could not find her. Only the faint sound of her laughter could be heard over the wind, drifting somewhere far away from him.
Just as suddenly as the wind had started, it ceased. Sasuke blinked, finding himself on his hands and knees and half-buried in a bank of snow. He lurched to his feet.
"Sakura?!" His voice echoed back to him a hundred times: Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…
The cherry blossom trees still surrounded him, but they were starkly bare, branches covered in an inch of snow and not one trace of the flowers that had been there only moments before. He turned in a full circle, still shouting her name. No echoes this time. Only silence. Then a hint of laughter danced on the air, and a breeze stirred, carrying a single pink blossom. It fluttered like a thing alive before dropping in his outstretched hand.
He sat straight up in bed, sweat pouring down his back, blood pounding in his temples. It was only a dream. Had it been a nightmare? He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It didn't make any sense: flowers and snow hadn't been enough to send his heart racing like this, and yet here he was, panting as if he had run for miles.
He staggered out of bed, cursing as he slipped on his clothes. It was well before dawn, but he was wide awake. He never slept well in Konoha; another reason why he rarely came home. Without bothering to light a candle, he padded downstairs and filled the kettle for tea. The crackling fire on the stove and the tinny, percolating pops of the water were the only sounds.
The house was too big, he thought, and not for the first time. It was one of the ready-mades Yamato was famous for, and large because Naruto had insisted on it, despite Sasuke's protests. Besides a few cushions scattered in the living room and the bare cooking essentials in the kitchen, the rooms remained largely empty. Even his bedroom contained only a few changes of clothes and a small, lumpy mattress. He didn't need much. He never stayed long.
Although this visit would be different. He had stayed almost a full week—much longer than he had intended. The plan had been to protect Konoha from falling meteors and then leave. Unfortunately for him, Naruto had decided to get married at the end of the week. The Moron had said that something about the world almost ending had inspired him not to wait but, truth be told, once Naruto figured out he wanted to do something, he did it.
Sighing, he rifled in the dark kitchen for a clean tea cup and found that all were covered in a thick layer of dust. One even contained a dead spider, legs held stiffly up in the air. He shook his head, then busied himself with washing out the worst of the cups, dumping the dead insect down the drain.
Outside, the wind picked up, and clouds banished what little moonlight had illuminated the kitchen. Rain slapped against the windows and lighting flashed. Thunder rumbled, loud enough to shake the window panes. Turning off the tap, Sasuke stared out of the dark windows, afterimages of lightning still flickering on his eyes. He imagined he could see the pond just outside the window, the rain that must be dancing concentric circles across its surface. The image in his mind only exacerbated his mood. Though this house was not his childhood home, it was built close enough in location to make Sasuke feel, at times like these, that it would have been wiser to live elsewhere.
He poured himself tea and retreated to a cushion in the living room to calm his thoughts, but meditation did little to lift his mood. For some reason, the cool calm of the void was broken by fragmented images of cherry blossoms floating on the breeze, and the sound of laughter chiming faintly, as if from far away. By the time he finished, his tea was cold, and the faint light of predawn filtered into the living room. A spider scuttled across the floorboards, leaving a faint trail of footprints in the dust. He thought about swatting it, but instead rose, shrugged on a coat, and left the dark house.
Outside, the tall grass bent low under the weight of watery beads, and tangled bushes shook in the light wind, splattering moisture everywhere. The rain had tapered off and now a thick mist covered everything, obscuring the overgrown meadow that had sprung up over the old Uchiha district. Stepping into the fog was like entering a dense cloud, but he knew the path well enough to walk it without being able to see it. The silhouettes of trees floated by him and he wondered, briefly, if either of his old teammates would be awake, before stalking off to the training grounds alone.
Hope you enjoyed! Will try to post again over the weekend. Until then, please review! :)