He was lonely, it started to dawn on him after all those years of seeking revenge.


Chapter 1:

Solitary Man


After killing his brother, there was a hole left inside of his heart. Not, Sakura nor his best friend could fill that empty space. He did care for them, but it wasn't the same.

After the war, everyone had hoped for a better future, except for Sasuke. He saw nothing. His goals, completed, for the worse. He was in constant battle between his thoughts on what he would be doing in the future, trying to imagine it. To no avail, there was nothing, only an empty road.

He thought that maybe traveling the world would do him good and give him a better, clearer picture for the days to come but it still didn't. So he decided to go back to Konoha, where his 'comrades' were.

Upon entering the villages, it brought a lot of nostalgia to the surface. Training with his team, Sakura and the fangirls stalking him, ... The good things and the bad ones. The only conclusion that came to mind after the reminiscence was that he felt empty.

Sakura had finally realized after the war how she admired and loved Naruto, how he was the only one who was there for her. She was just blindly in love with an illusion of Sasuke. It took all those years for her just to realise that. They eventually got married. Sasuke was truly happy for them, "The dobe got what he wanted", he musingly thought to himself. He wanted to be a Hokage, check. He loved Sakura and won her heart, check. He wanted Sasuke to come back to the village, kinda check. "Life turned out...peacefully" he guessed.

As he was walking down the streets of Konoha to the Hokage Tower, he was imagining his life here.

"Become a teacher at the academy, sounds peaceful, or join the ANBU with long hours and dangerous missions" He didn't know what he wanted. He wanted to stay, but on the other hand he didn't. Nothing kept him here and everyone else of the rookie team 7 was entangled in their own relationships and hardships. He had no place here.

As he came inside of the Hokage Tower; Naruto stormed at him and embraced him. "Temeee! I missed youuu!" Some things never do change, do they? Sasuke thought to himself.

"Naruto, get off me...pl..ease?" Sasuke 'politely' asked the yellow-haired Hokage.

"So what have brought you back here, Sasuke?" Naruto curiously asked with a grin on his face.

"Came to visit you guys, I suppose" Sasuke answered unknowingly. Why did he come, indeed?

"Well I'm glad to hear that! You know, maybe you can stay this time and help restoring that compound of yours? Waddya say?" That thought never came across Sasuke's mind. "For what purpose?" he asked. "You know, to restore it back to its glory.." Naruto scratched his head as the realization dawned on him that maybe this was a sensitive subject. Hn, is the only thing that he could utter. This was a sign for Naruto to change the subject. After a moment of silence, Sakura came barging in the office. "Sasuke! Welcome back!" she smiled at him with a genuine smile. She looked happy, he thought to himself. Sakura walked to Naruto and held his hand. As they were standing next to each other, they told him the news that they were expecting a child. He was happy for them but this just made him realize more about the fact how 'alone' he was. He truly was the last Uchiha. Was this his destiny, his curse? To be alone, empty; a life filled with solitude. He quickly shook the dark thoughts away.

After being invited to their home and having dinner, Naruto showed him to his temporary residence. "It's nice that you're back, yknow?" Naruto smiled. Sasuke just looked at Naruto with an understanding glance and nodded. He was glad too, because Konoha was now the only thing that felt close to being 'home'.

The place he will reside in was nonetheless Naruto's old studio. It remained just the same save for a few changes in furniture and setting. "Here, this is the key, hope you'll stay longer this time Teme! I should go home now. See ya tomorrow perhaps!" with that being said, Naruto walked back to his home. When finally 'settling' his stuff, his tiredness hit him like wave so he decided to lay down. Entangled deep within his own thoughts, Home... will I ever find it? And with that last thought he fell into a deep slumber.