Ereneid's first collaboration fic is now up, and it is a SasuSaku pairing fic! Thank you for taking some time to read the fic we have created/made (do thank Erestor, because most of the parts in this fic was done by him) and we hope that you enjoy reading it as well. Below is the whole summary of the fanfic:
Summary: He always knew that Sakura would never abandon him, even more so in his time of need. Her mind, body, heart and soul will always be unmistakably his, even though he never went out of his way to merit such a favorable reaction from her. At the end of every day, when all was said and done, she was nothing more but a mere pawn to him; just a woman who had ultimately agreed to be his baby maker – how very wrong he was.
Disclaimer: We do not know Naruto. It belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. We, however, only own the plot.
Fleeting Countenance
Chapter 1
The day had started normal enough. Everything looked perfect, as if nothing could ever go wrong and all was indeed right with the world. If only she knew better…
Looking back, she then saw with utmost clarity – everything that had happened earlier on can be exactly likened to that of a calm before a storm. By the time she had realized things for what they really were, it was already too late.
Five years without any contact whatsoever…
He suddenly had the gall to return to us, flashing that trademark haughty smirk of his…
The minute our eyes met, I just knew… that he was up to no good…
Sakura smiled at her reflection in the mirror, somewhat feeling more than ready to tackle a brand new day all on her own. Her work load at the hospital had been a total bitch for the past few days, leaving sparse time for rest in between shifts what with all the illnesses going about and the sudden increase of Konoha's shinobi out on missions.
Feeling quite content with her overall appearance and becoming increasingly worried on the telling off that Tsunade would be giving her if ever she were to come in late, she quickly made her way out of her house, ever unmindful of the distant murmurings and the finger pointing that were happening in quick succession around her.
"Have you heard?"
Sakura looked up quickly from her engrossed running, cheeks flushed, as she discreetly focused her gaze on the pair of young women gossiping at the distance. Though she hated to admit it - for she was not one to engage on such frivolous behavior herself, something about their brief exchange had immediately caught her attention.
"They say that there has been a sighting of him near the village just now."
She wasn't prepared for any of this. None of them were.
"No, not this one"
Anxious emerald eyes roved about the many doors that had lined through the corridor that she was currently in. Sweat slowly trickled down to her brow as she hastily made a move to wipe it away, breathing harshly as she did so.
"Iie…not now. Not when I still haven't found him…"
Much to her chagrin, Sakura had already found herself to be at her limit. The crippling fatigue along with the foreboding prospect of not even finding him was steadily gnawing at her jumbled nerves by the minute. It didn't even help that she was particularly frustrated with everything at the moment, her mind completely in disarray, unable to form any coherent thought.
With the rate things were going, if they didn't find him soon…
"Damn it!"
Sakura quickly bit back a curse as she had again found herself face to face with a dead end. Desperately looking around for any alternative routes that she could possibly take, she mumbled off-handedly, the underlying frustration and longing easily felt through her voice. "Sasuke-kun, just where the hell are you?!"
It had all happened too fast.
Next thing she knew, there was a loud explosion in the distance…
She carefully strained her ears, trying hard to pinpoint the source of the whole commotion. The sound of frantic steps was then heard as she had hurried along the various corridors, only stopping for breath, a very prominent smile on her face, when she had seen a large crevice on a particularly lengthy section of the wall that she was currently facing.
And even amongst all the varying debris and rubble that were currently lying in pieces around her, she swore that nothing more could have had looked particularly ethereal to her at that moment.
Numerous long streams of light were filtering in through the many cracks that had lined through the messed up wall, and that large gaping hole in the center – it was an outright invitation, the very embodiment of everything that she had ever wished for to happen all these years - that one in a million chance of possibly seeing him, here and now…
Alive, breathing and in the flesh…
And she couldn't help but just grin bitterly despite the current situation, albeit wondering to herself on how something that was the result of mindless destruction could in turn be so beautiful in its own right.
She clenched her fists tightly, as if to once again reassure herself that everything would turn out alright in the end. There was no turning back for her now.
"Just a little more… until I see him."
And she was quick to move, hoping against all hope that it was not too late.
She hadn't felt this way ever since that disastrous end of a rescue mission that had happened a few years back. Sakura promptly bit back the bile that was threatening to escape from her mouth, quickly chastising herself for the momentary show of weakness.
Sakura ran as fast as she could to where her instincts told her. She was tired of thinking; the medic nin just let her feet take her wherever she needs to go.
Sai? she quickly ran towards her 'temporary' teammate and scanned him as quick as she could for any injuries. Apparently, the Ne member was unharmed, though he was not looking at her, but rather, somewhere...
"Sakura ka?"
And so they meet again…
"Sasuke…-kun…?"
Then and there, she just knew, that time had indeed been particularly harsh on all of them. Really, it was quite amazing to see on what a few years can do to completely change a person.
She suppressed the shudder that had threatened to come out when she had first laid her eyes on him after all these years.
Sasuke looked different now. Gone was the black neck band outfit with matching shorts, as well as the bandages on his arms and legs. The man who had disappeared for two and a half years now wore a robe that bares his smooth chest that was well-toned. If one would look closely, on his back, near the collar was the Uchiha insignia, though it was now sized up probably no bigger than a shuriken.
A navy blue-colored cloth was tied over his black-colored trousers, and the signature thick, purple cord-like belt worn by Otogakure nins was wrapped around twice on his waist. While Orochimaru favored his 'belt' to stand up on its own and stand out, the Uchiha avenger was rather modest, choosing to tie it on his left side instead and let it hang loosely.
He had definitely grown to be a handsome young man – a definite heartbreaker even; she had no qualms about that. But what had struck her the most among all these changes were those cold, cold emotionless eyes of his…
Sakura quickly looked away, pained beyond words, not bearing to look at him any further. It had hurt - it hurt a lot to see the person you love throw away everything he had just for the sake of revenge.
Then and there, she just knew, that the gap that she had been trying to bridge between them since forever was made even wider; and this time around, she wasn't even sure if there was still a hope that she could ever reach for him inside those cold walls that he had painstakingly built up to protect himself.
If only…If only things were different…
It disgusted her, that he still had such a firm hold on her emotions after all this time. She thought that she was already over him, quickly coming into terms with the fact that she was never the one to blame for his sudden departure from Konoha.
Sasuke stared down at all of them, his former comrades, an air of arrogance about him.
Sakura shook her head slowly, the very last vestiges of disbelief still etched on her features. This was truly not the Sasuke-kun that she had come to know and love. All those years that he had spent away with the Snake Sannin, it had definitely changed him for the worse.
"Can a person who can't even save one of his friends become Hokage?"
Sasuke was mocking them, the underlying malice and dark intent oozing in every word. It had all happened too fast; in the span of a few precious seconds, she was once again forced to be an unwilling bystander, as he had just attempted what she had thought then to be the unthinkable – raising his sword against Naruto, the one person that he had considered as a brother all these years, in an attempt to kill him.
So different from before…
A determined glint had appeared on her eyes as she tried hard to control the sudden tumult of emotions welling up inside her. Clenching her hands tightly at her sides, Sakura glared up at the Uchiha hatefully, much too engrossed with the current ordeal that she hadn't noticed the small trail of blood running from the palms of her hands, the dark red blending well with the brown, as it quickly came into contact with the ground that she was currently standing on.
She would definitely prove it to him – prove to him that she was not the same naïve defenseless girl he had left on that cold unforgiving bench a few years back.
If only she had been stronger, then she would have had more to present to him – would have probably given him enough reason to stay with her, or just even take her along with him on his quest for power. But she was never going to be enough for him, wasn't she?
You were always so selfish, even way back then.
Sakura broke out from her reverie, smiling sadly. Uchiha Sasuke… he never did care for anyone other than himself, didn't he?
Wherever you are right now… I just hope you're happy.
Casting a final sideways glance at the gossiping women at the distance, she continued on her way, a wistful smile on her lips - unfortunately failing to stick around for a while to hear what one of the gossiping women was about to say next.
"Yes, you've heard right. But, he hasn't been only sighted. Uchiha Sasuke's finally back to stay - for good"
It had been so long ago, five years to be exact, since he had last step foot on his home village. He would have had particularly enjoyed the experience, nostalgic as it was, if he had not been currently under the impression that his presence - or even the merest thought of it - was particularly uncalled for at the moment.
Truth be told, Sasuke couldn't exactly blame them for acting in such a manner towards him, but the least thing they could do was to be at least be subtle about it. He knew that he had done a myriad of unspeakable wrongs, a vast majority of them were even towards people that he hadn't even bothered to get the names of, but he had done them all for the sake of achieving power – all for a power that he could use to ultimately put an end to his existence.
He was desperate for power…
And then it came, that one fateful day when he had finally succeeded on his life long mission – exacting revenge on the one man that had made his life a living hell.
But as he stared, mesmerized, at the bloodied sword that he had held with such a firm grip on his hand, he couldn't help but once again ask himself as he looked back on his troubled past - on the family that he had lost at such a young age, on the friends that he had ultimately betrayed in his unrelenting search for power, and on the strong desire for revenge that had so consumed his every waking moment all these years – was it even all worth it to begin with?
Was this what my family would have wanted for me?
And amidst all the snide remarks and the finger pointing that was going on behind his back, and with the numerous ANBU present flanking him at all sides to escort him to the Hokage, he still didn't know the answer.
Smiling bitterly despite himself, he shook his head slowly, finding the whole situation to be vaguely amusing on his part. The Uchiha Sasuke was – of all things – unsure? He suppressed the snort of indignation that had threatened to come out of him that moment, obviously nonplussed at the idea.
Well, it was either that, or he just refused to acknowledge the truth and the harsh repercussions that came along with it. Knowing him, he wasn't one for weaknesses. He hated it, definitely abhorred the feelings that had coursed through him at the merest thought of having regrets – regrets for doing the things that he did.
What was there left to live for?
He had nothing left…had nothing more to give…
His head was bowed, face currently devoid of all emotion. The distant ticking of a clock was the only one there to keep him company as he patiently waited for the Hokage, who had claimed to have been particularly busy at the moment, to accommodate him.
Truth be told, he had a fair amount of idea on what to expect from the little rendezvous that he will be having with the Hokage later – he is an S-class missing nin after all.
And after some careful deliberation that had most probably stemmed out from sheer utter boredom – much to his chagrin, he had deduced that things didn't actually bode too well for him at the moment.
No surprises there.
Well, there was no use crying over spilled milk. He was young and impulsive then, and he had done what he thought was best at that time. Besides, he preferred to get things quickly done and over with.
And with the rate things were going…
Sasuke closed his eyes as he sighed softly, somewhat feeling drained all of a sudden. These past few days had been a particularly trying time for him, and coupled with all the mindless waiting… Let's just say that he's not much of a happy guy at the moment - rather far from it really.
Please, just let it all end…
"Uchiha."
Bingo.
He opened one eye lazily to peek at the person that had such audacity to disturb him at his brief moment of rest – though he already had a good idea on who it was - the barest hint of a smirk on his lips.
A very much disapproving Tsunade was currently looming over him, her arms over her chest. He could tell just right off the bat that she was not that pleased to see him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, frowning slightly – his irritation with her manner of dealing with him quickly growing by the minute.
Well, since he hadn't given her a first good impression – God, help him, as he wasn't even going to do anything to make her think otherwise - then might as well make the most out of it, right?
"Hn. About time, old hag…"
Too bad that he hadn't noticed the fist that was currently hurtling towards him - by the time he had actually noticed, it was already too late. There was a loud thud as Tsunade's fist had connected soundly with his head.
Cursing softly as he struggled to remain conscious, the last thing he saw before fainting altogether was Tsunade's smug face peering down at him. Then and there, he knew that she had won their little battle, but no one said that he had to like it one bit.
Man… that's
going to leave a bruise…
He woke up after a few hours, and the Uchiha noticed that he had been unceremoniously transferred to a holding cell. Judging from the light that had shown through the small window of the detention area, it was already noon. Damn the old hag... she had managed to make him doze off for a few hours or so.
"Had a nice dream?"
Speak of the devil...
The Godaime Hokage was sitting on the dirty flooring just outside the grills of the holding cell he was in, a small bottle of sake just beside her. The saucer used for drinking the said liquor was on her slender fingers – the very same seemingly frail fingers that were also used to knock him out for a few hours or so. "Had a nice dream?" she repeated.
Sasuke chose not to reply. Maybe, just maybe, the old hag would shut up.
Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. "Want some sake?" she asked again, trying to initiate conversation.
"I'm not yet twenty." he informed her in a voice that could pass off as 'polite' in his terms. Unfortunately, for many, it sounded quite rude. However, Tsunade chose to ignore it and continued her drinking.
"Yes, but does that mean you're not yet ready to start reviving the clan?"
His head snapped at the mention of the word 'clan'. The raven-haired Sharingan user stared down and hard at the village leader. "Are you implying something, you old hag?"
"Not really. If you choose to believe that, I will not hold it against you." the pigtailed woman said, taking a last few sips on her sake saucer before setting it down. Just as the said porcelain had been set down, her cinnamon-colored irises met Sasuke's onyx-colored ones. "But then again, I'll get straight to the point, Uchiha."
"Fine."
"You're the last Uchiha alive. The last." Tsunade placed an emphasis on her last statement. "Your clan is one of Konohagakure's pride, beside the many powerful clans that reside in the village. Your kekkei genkai is of utmost importance to the village as well, and is in on the brink of extinction. You understand what it is that I am saying?"
"... Not really."
Tsunade resisted the urge to grab him by the collar of his robes and slam him over and over again against the grills to snap the damn arrogance of his. "Fine. As Godaime Hokage, I order you to get married to my protégé."
Tense silence filled the small room. The blonde woman waited for his reply, and this is what she got: "... You want me to get married to the girl holding your pig?"
Erestor speaks:
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What he said. Please do review!
