Sasuke approached the gate of Konoha, drenched in rain. He didn't know why he had come, or what he was looking for, but during his eight years away from the Village Hidden in Leaves, he had learned to trust his instincts. They had led him hear.
Looking up at the grand gate of the city he once lived, he felt . . . nothing. Nothing at all. This somewhat surprised, but not much, for the day he left the village he stopped feeling. Now, the only emotion that ever crossed his mind was hatred, pure hatred for the man who slaughtered everyone he ever knew and loved. Itachi. The mere mention of that name drove him mad.
"Why is it that you are so weak, foolish little brother? It is because you lack . . . hatred."
Sasuke slipped in the gate of the city, undetected by the eagle-eyed ANBU watching from the guard towers. The road before him was unchanged, but the city was different. Even in the light of the moon, Konoha beat with a different pulse. The trees lining the road were taller, the air smelled surprisingly clean. Nothing stirred in the cold night. Eight years ago, even at this late hour, ANBU and various Jounin would be seen stalking the streets. Konoha has become accustomed to peace.
A bush stirred by the side of the road. Before a single drop of rain could fall, Sasuke whipped out his blade and in an instant a little brown squirrel lay dead. He smirked to himself. The creature lay cleaved in two, blood spilling onto the paved road. One of its legs twitched a little, then stopped. Blood. He wasn't sure why he liked it so much. Perhaps it was the smell of blood that so attracted him. Or perhaps it was merely the idea of it. Whatever the case, his desire for blood had led to deaths of many innocent people. But there was one person's blood he had yet to draw, his own brother's. Oh, he could just imagine it, the day he finally finds his brother. He could almost feel the fear, the pain in his brother's face, the blood splattered on the walls.
"Orochimaru, where have you been?" Orochimaru entered the main hall of his palace with Kabuto, surprised to find Sasuke waiting there.
"You promised to teach me a new jutsu and now you're late. You know I don't tolerate such things from you!"
"Sasuke-kun, have respect for—" Kabuto was cut off by the look in Sasuke's eye, suddenly overwhelmed by fear.
"Sasuke-kun, forgive me," Orochimaru taunted, "but I was making preparations. It has been three years. Remember our deal, Sasuke-kun?"
A smirk appeared on Sasuke's emotionless face. "I almost forgot." A sudden pain burst in Orochimaru's side, and look of confusion spread across his face. He looked down to find a blade piercing his side. How? Sasuke was a good two meters away, how could he move so fast? Orochimaru's confusion melted away into horror as he coughed up blood again and again.
"As if I would let a freak like you take my body!" Sasuke twisted the blade in Orochimaru's side, and new pain erupted, blood flowing more freely. The Sannin fell dead to the floor, and Kabuto's face twisted in fear as his master fell.
"OROCHIMARU-SAMA!" Sasuke turned to face Kabuto, Orochimaru's blood splattered all over the walls and across Sasuke's clothes. Tears began to drip down Kabuto's cheeks, not so much for the death of his master as for his fear for his own life. He screamed in terror as pain exploded in his body. Numbness. Nothingness. Kabuto drew his last breath, watching his own blood seep into the ground.
Sasuke was awakened from his musings as he sensed a presence nearby. Just ahead of him on a bench, a girl with pink hair lay fast asleep in the pouring rain, her body coated in mud. He approached her slowly. She was sprawled across the bench were he left her, as if she had been waiting for him to return this whole time.
"Sasuke-kun, if you leave I'll scream and—" She paused as Sasuke suddenly appeared behind her.
"Arigato, Sakura." The girl collapsed before him, unconscious.
He looked at her drenched, mud cover form. There were bruises covering her arms, and with his sharingan he could tell that there was almost no chakra left in her body. She had been training herself to complete exhaustion. Her left arm hung limply over the side of the bench, an empty bottle of sleeping medicine held loosely in her hand. She was even more beautiful than the last time he saw her, almost five years ago. Yet, he was once again surprised at the indifference he felt. Nothing, not emotion whatsoever permeated his mind. The sight of this former friend, sleeping so peacefully, did not affect him at all.
The rain began to pour even harder, beating down upon him with furiosity. He wasn't quite sure why, hut his instinct told him to, and so he did. Sasuke gently lifted Sakura's limp form in his arms, and carried her towards her house, or what once was her house eight years ago. She seemed so fragile, so vulnerable. Could someone this frail truly be the prized apprentice of Tsunade?
Nothing could be heard as he walked through streets except for the rain pounding on the road and roofs of houses. He encountered many unfamiliar buildings along the way, but the streets were the same. He arrived at her house, and was about to set her down of the porch. However, he noticed something strange. He couldn't sense anyone within the home. Odd. Eight years ago, even when her father and sister were off on missions, Sakura's mother normally stayed home. He decided to go inside, out of the rain. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked.
He brought Sakura up to her room and laid her on the bed, gently removing her boots and placing them on the floor. Her room was a mess. Papers and medical textbooks were flung everywhere. The floor was lined thick with books and papers, and hidden somewhere in the mess was a week-old rotten sandwich she had forgotten about, those house keys she couldn't find, and her ANBU mask, along with other various forgotten items. Sasuke was shocked; an ANBU mask? Eight years ago, she could hardly keep up with him and Naruto. And when they met five years ago, he didn't get the chance to assess her abilities. Tsunade-sama, you must be quite the teacher.
Sasuke looked over to her desk. On it rested a picture of her, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and that kid, what's his name, the wuss that had replaced him. Kakashi stood proudly beside his new Team 7; Naruto wore that stupid grin of his; the wuss looked unsure of what expression he should use. Sakura seemed genuinely happy to be with her friends, a glowing smile spread across her face, her eyes two deep pools of liquid emerald. Sakura stirred a little but did not wake up. She seemed so peaceful in her sleep, unaware of the pains of the world.
Something caught his attention. Buried under the mound of papers, Sasuke pulled out a picture frame covered in a thick layer of dust. Wiping the glass clean, he looked at the photograph with shock. Sakura stood in the center looking so young, Naruto glaring at somebody on the left, Kakashi standing proudly behind them. The fourth figure was torn out, a big gaping hole where someone once stood.
"Ok guys, we're taking a group picture," Kakashi-sensei said, bored as usual.
"Fine, as long as we leave Naruto out." Naruto glared fiercely at Sasuke, who looked back indifferently.
"You think you're so cool, don't you!"
"No, just that you're such a moron"
"Damn it Sasuke, I'll kill you."
"Baka"
"Quit fighting you guys!" Sakura's voice begged. The four of them stood in front of the camera, Naruto glaring furiously at Sasuke, Sasuke staring in the other direction. Sakura smiled happily at the camera. What's she so happy about?
Sasuke stared at the photo for some time. The edges where the picture had been torn were uneven, jagged. The picture was torn in anger. He then felt something unfamiliar, something he hadn't felt in a long time. What was it? Gradually it grew stronger, this feeling. Could it be – is this . . . sadness? Sasuke buried the picture back under the mountains of books and stood next to Sakura's bed. She had moved on. She was happy now, with Naruto, Kakashi, and that pansy-boy. He watched as her chest moved slowly up and down with each breath. Even with the sharingan, her body seemed almost flawless, despite the fact that she was coated in mud. Her beauty had only improved with her age. The sadness within him grew a little more as he stared longingly at the girl he once couldn't get rid of. He smirked to himself. How ironic.
He gently brushed a strand of soggy pink hair out of her mud covered face and leaned in so close that his lips almost touched her ear. As softly as he could, he whispered, "Arigato, Sakura"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sakura awoke with a start, her breath harsh and the rain beating down against her. She looked around; there was no one in sight. She was sweating, despite the cold of the rain. She was still sitting on the bench by the side of the road, the leaves of the trees blowing softly in the wind. Carefully, she removed a slip of torn paper from the pocket in her vest. She unfolded it, revealing a picture of the boy she had tried to forget, the boy she thought she had forgotten. She crushed the picture in her hand and screamed out as loud as she possibly could.
"WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?" Her voice echoed in the stillness of the night, her cry falling upon deaf ears. The rain mingled with the ink of the photo, and the boys face began to melt away. She covered her eyes with her hand, and for the first time in almost five years, she sobbed openly, her tears lost amongst the thousands of raindrops falling from the sky.