New Beginnings
By: Funk Master Chung
The north wind whipped her soft pink hair across her face and into her eyes. Sakura Haruno, nineteen years old, an accomplished joanin. She'd been on mission after mission for the last four years, never getting a moment to herself. It was December, the snow was falling in light flakes as it clumped to her eyelashes and turned her tears into ice droplets.
It had been eight years since she'd last seen Sasuke. That fateful day that he had left his friends and her behind. The pain was still there. Every day she tried to tell herself that it was getting better but every day she felt as if she'd lost a piece of her heart. She didn't know how many times Naruto had tried to cheer her up by taking her out; he'd always had strong feelings for her. But now she had finally become numb to the pain. After all the suffering she finally felt that she could move on with her life. Naruto was a kind and caring individual, she felt she should give him a chance, he deserved it, and she deserved to move on with her life. Too long had she looked towards the sunrise in hopes of Sasuke's return, too many times had she cried herself to sleep at night wanting him to hold her in his arms and whisper sweet words of passion in her ear. It was time to start living again.
She turned from the open window and slowly closed it with her long graceful fingers. Naruto would be there to pick her up for a night of ramen any time now. When he'd made his usual wake up call she had asked if he wanted to do anything tonight. So here it was, eight-o clock, dressed in a red blouse with black pants, she was ready for her date.
The doorbell rang the minute it hit eight.
"Evening Naruto." She said with a smile.
"Hey Sakura, are you ready?"
"Yeah, let's go."
As they walked down the streets littered with the decorations of the Christmas season Sakura couldn't help but notice how so many things reminded her of Sasuke. Even the ornaments on the tree made her think of a Christmas they had once shared together. They had gone sledding. Naruto had dragged him along. The whole time he just stood there with a frown on his face, but Sakura knew she had seen a small smirk form on those lips when Naruto had crashed into that tree. It had been a good day for all of them.
She smiled at the memory; those times had become few and far between in the last few weeks before Sasuke had left. She would always miss those times.
"Sakura?"
She was ripped from her thoughts when Naruto asked the question. She looked over at him and realized that she hadn't talked to him the whole way to the restaurant.
"Are you okay?" A concerned look clouded his features.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I guess I was just lost in my thoughts." She gave him a small smile of reassurance that seemed to quell his worries.
"Okay, well, what is it that you want?"
She glanced at the menu in front of her. Thousands of ramen dishes. She decided on some yakisoba. Naruto thought it would be cool to order the whole menu so when the food arrived Sakura barely had room to eat at the table.
When they arrived back at her apartment, stuffed and satisfied, Sakura was surprised to find that she'd had a good time with Naruto. She never would have thought it possible, but when he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek she didn't pull away.
"Good night Sakura," he said, his cheeks turning red.
"Good night Naruto."
She stepped into her apartment and closed the door. All the lights were off, which was odd because she always left one on when she knew she would be out late. It was just a habit that she had picked up in the last few years.
Shrugging her shoulders she reached for the light switch when she felt a presence behind her. Pulling the shuriken from her purse she whipped around only to have it fall to the floor as she dropped it in shock. Staring back at her were those eyes of crimson that she had missed every day for the last eight years.
"S..Sasuke?"
It was all she could get out. All the emotions she had thought gone came swarming up inside of her like an angry tiger ready to pounce. All the pain, all the tears and finally as she was starting to put her life back together here he was, shattering her resolve with one look. This wasn't fair, she wasn't the damsel in distress he remembered and he was damn wrong if he thought he could just come in here and sweep her off her feet.
Realizing that he hadn't moved since the moment he saw her brought her back to reality.
"What the hell are you doing here?! Eight years Sasuke, eight! Why now?"
Her jade green eyes flashed to his, holding him there. She made sure he knew she wasn't asking for an answer, she was demanding one.
He took a step towards her and reached out his hand. She whipped out another shuriken ready for an attack, but to her surprise he flipped on the lights. She saw that he was covered in blood from head to toe. But it wasn't his own; from what she could see he had no injuries. Fear began to take its hold. Had he come here to kill her?
Taking a step back she glanced into his eyes once more, and all she saw there was pain. It was so overwhelming that she felt she might run into his arms and hold him to take it all away. But she knew that was out of the question. He had been with Orochimaru for the last eight years; the Sasuke she knew was dead. The man before her was a cold-blooded traitor.
Taking another step towards her his eyes changed from crimson red to onyx black. He was putting away his greatest weapon. Unsure of what to think Sakura just stood and stared at the man she had loved for so long.
"Sakura," he opened his mouth for the first time. Hearing his voice was wonderful, she had missed it so much, but she continued to glare daggers at him, keeping her shuriken at the ready if he tried anything.
"I left Orochimaru, I wouldn't let him control me anymore; I killed him. I know I'm considered a traitor by you and everyone in this village, but I had to come back to…" he trailed off. Sasuke had never been one for words. He didn't like to talk much and Sakura knew that, but she wanted an explanation and she would get one if it killed him.
" Come back to?" she urged.
He took a deep breath, "I had to come back to see you. Are you satisfied?"
Sakura was at a loss for words. Never had Sasuke come out and said something so personal to her. Quickly regaining her composure she stated blatantly, "No, I'm not satisfied. Why me? Why did you have to see me? I want to hear it from you, or is this all some kind of ploy to get me to trust you so you can kill me?"
Sasuke looked pained at her words. They had come off with a lot more venom then she had originally planned but then again, he'd put her through hell these last eight years so he should deserve it. But why then, did her heart ache when she saw that sadness in his eyes? A long silence filled the room. Finally he spoke, barely above a whisper he uttered the words, " because…I love you."
Sakura's eyes filled with tears as she dropped the shuriken and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I love you too."
She leaned up and kissed him. A kiss full of pain and sorrow, but also hope and joy. From the day she'd met him she'd known that this day would come. He loved her and she loved him. It was all she could have asked for in the world.
As their lips parted she looked into those onyx eyes and saw all that he'd meant to say but didn't have the courage to speak aloud. Tears of happiness streaked down her face as his arms encircled her waist and he pulled her mouth to his again, claiming her as his.
EPILOGUESakura stirred the pot of ramen as she watched her husband decorate the tree with their son Takeshi. It had been three years since that December evening that Sasuke Uchiha had made his return. Shortly thereafter they had been married and nine months later little Takeshi had been born. Sasuke loved his son to death. They spent hour after hour playing with shuriken. Little Takeshi wanted to learn all of daddy's ninja skills. He had black hair just like he father and the crimson eyes to go with it. He was already shaping up to be a prodigy in their village.
Sasuke got up from where he was kneeling, leaving Takeshi to put the rest of the ornaments on the bottom. Coming up behind Sakura he put his hands around her and rested them on her swollen belly. Sakura craned her head back only to feel Sasuke's lips melt into hers.
Reluctantly she pulled away,
"Alright, you've gotten what you came over here for. Now go help your son finish the tree. I don't want him putting a hook through his finger. You know my parents are going to be here soon and I want the food to be perfect. It won't be if you keep distracting me." She pouted.
Sasuke, amused by her slight annoyance replied, " Is it wrong for me to want to kiss the woman I love?"
Sakura rolled her eyes, letting a small smile creep to her lips. " Well, I'm willing to bet that in a month you won't want to be around," she said, putting her hand on his, which was resting on her belly. Only one year after Takeshi was born Sakura found herself pregnant yet again. She remembered how he had slowly backed out of the room as they had delivered their son. Of course, who could blame him? She had been screaming bloody murder. But the look on his face when he held little Takeshi in his arms for the first time was more than enough to make up for it.
Turning around to face him she pressed her mouth against his once more before taking her arms and pulling his hands off of her.
"I love you too. Now go," she said, giving him a little shove towards Takeshi. She laughed out loud at the frown on his face as he walked back to help pick up the hooks that Takeshi was now throwing all over the floor in frustration.
Sakura smiled, this was her family, and it was still growing. Placing one hand on her navel she felt their baby kick. She could tell that this one would be a handful, but she was up to the challenge. She would give everything she had to her family just as Sasuke would, and they would make it work. Living with, laughing at, and loving each other every day.