Love's challenges Chapter 1: Sadness emerge victorious, a naruto fanfic

How wonderful life is…. Now that you're in the world.

Sakura was cleaning her things up in her old apartment. Boxes filled up her apartment, cloth covering every object of her house. The kitchen is in top shape, but depression pierced the air around her apartment. Finally, her wish was granted. She wanted to get out of this depressing and desolate place. Was it because of Naruto and Sasuke? No, she was their beloved imouto. Was it because she was rejected from Sasuke? No, Sasuke only hugged her and told her he would always love her as a sibling. Why? What is the reason why she is moving away? She looked out the window with a tear dropping down her pale, pink cheeks. She touched the rain stained window while looking down surprised at the figure holding a guitar. She saw a precious photo of her past on her bed stand and hugged it tightly while letting her sadness out. It was a year ago when love suddenly bloomed in her life.

A year ago

Sakura walked down the hallways of Konoha High with confidence and happiness surrounding her, making her aura seemed bright and bubbly. Why wouldn't she be happy? She had two best friends/big brothers that she looked up to. She loved them so much, she had allowed them to even stay permanently at her apartment. She heard shouts from afar and giggling fan girls not far from where she is standing only meaning the people she loved was close. Who are these two?

Uzumaki Naruto. The knucklehead of the school and all time rival/sibling to Sasuke. He has spiky,blonde hair and azure eyes with a wide grin that seems to always be on his face. He has a hot body (consisting of six packs and runner's body) and sun kissed skin. He was of course in love with the pale girl he had in his arms. Yes, he is in love with her best friend, Hinata Hyuuga who would blush and stutter when Naruto is near or does something embarrassing to her. Why did her friend love Naruto who is a prankster? Because what Hinata saw in Naruto was determination to prove everybody wrong, will to accomplish what he sets his mind onto and optimism to brighten up anybody's mood. Truly, he is a born leader if only he knew when to act serious and be quiet. To Sakura, he's like a big brother she never had, very protective of her.

Uchiha Sasuke. The wanted male of the school. He is very silent and smart as opposed to his loud blonde friend. He has a calm demeanor, or rather mysterious (at least that's what the fangirls think of, guys just think he's gay) He has the common physical trait of the Uchiha which is his beautiful pale facial features, lean body just like Naruto's and dark blue hair (a trait of his mother). He too like Naruto, is very protective of Sakura and wouldn't let anyone date her without his and Naruto's consent (and of course, a few chores here and some errands there to be done, *cough*).

What about Sakura?

She is a unique, exotic beauty. Her most noticeable features are her pink hair, emerald eyes, perfectly sculptured face and petite body that just caught attention of any man who were to pass her. She is a loud, impatient, bad mouthed but with a twist of smarts and analytical mind. She has a side of gentleness that made her look elegant especially when she walked. Her hips would sway to the left and right repeatedly and long creamy legs to make it look even sexier. But she is very naïve in subjects of sexual anatomy and physical attractions. Yes, she doesn't know what's love and what it feels like to be in love. She envied Naruto having to know what love felt like, what it means. She is grateful for having Sasuke and Naruto protect her from the hands of perverted man but for once she wanted freedom to choose who she wanted be with and experience 'love'.

Did I mention she had a thing/natural talent for music?

Haruno Sakura, is a natural musician. Her voice can reach notes. She can play the guitar, piano, cello, violin and many more instruments. She can compose waltzes, melodies, rhapsodies and pieces. Heck, she's got her own musician's haven in her own apartment. Her musician's haven had instruments of sort (even a church organ) and a small table facing her beautiful garden that's usually bathed with the warm colors of sunset if she were to compose or practice in the evening or the night sky covered in a blanket of stars with fireflies as night lights if she were to compose at night.

One day, she was walking around the park, when she heard the sound of an acoustic guitar somewhere nearby. She quickly ran towards the sound of the guitar to find out the mystery guitarist but only to be disappointed. The mystery guitarist was gone. She sat down on the bench and sighed. She sat up with new hope of seeing the mystery guitarist! She is determined and will let nothing get in her way if she is focused on something.

Every day, she would walk that same path and hear the same melody and only finding nothing. She gave up as she realized it was stupid to find this guitarist and she should focus on more important matters. As she was about to leave, her nose bumped someone's hard chest. She got up and apologized to the person she bumped to only find her mystery guitarist.

He had long ebony hair that was tied in a loose ponytail, blood red eyes, lean body and tanned skin. She sworn she seen him somewhere but she can't put her finger on it. She got snapped back into reality when the man began playing the lovely melody she so wanted to hear. She sat right behind him and intently listened to the lovely melody the man beside her was playing. She loved it. She felt like she was complete. She looked up to his face only to blush madly at the sight of his handsome face staring at her back. He only chuckled and kept on playing. She noticed his voice was very velvety and smooth. She placed her head on his shoulder and hoped that this feeling would last forever.

8 months ago

She finally knew his name and vice versa. Despite his silent 'hn', she finally got it out.

His name is Uchiha Itachi, relative to her best friend Sasuke.

Although she found him amusing, he found her annoying. Her presence was like a hindrance towards him. He thought he could run or scare the girl away but that only lured her more. She seems to have a magnet for danger he concluded. He decided to get rid of her.

She came to the usual spot with a bright smile and happy aura surrounding her. His chest felt quite painful seeing that smile and he didn't know why. He wanted to get it over with before he could feel even guiltier. Before she could lift her hand to place it on his forehead to check his temperature, he slapped her hand and said to her two words.

You're annoying.

She became wide eyed and stood there for a moment as her brain began to process the words he said to her. He said she was annoying. She looked down, turned the other way and walked away, head facing down with hot tears wetting her cheeks. Little did she know on his side, he felt immense pain in his chest. He didn't understand why he felt that way. What was so special about that girl that made him regretful of his decision?

After that incident, Sakura never even went near to his spot. He missed her humming and bright smile. He missed having her waiting here in this spot with dango for both of them to eat. He just missed her a lot. Even he couldn't concentrate on playing his guitar right. He just had to see her again.

On Sakura's side, she felt really sad. She kept herself locked up in her room for 2 months straight with 36 pints of ice cream. Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata and Ino had to break in just to see what was wrong with Sakura. Hinata and Ino even had to bath her. Sakura realizing the trouble her friends are going through for her, she put on the brightest smile and lied to them saying she was stressed out from assignments. They believed it and asked her to make her famous beef stew and ramen for making them worried which she did but her kitchen exploded because of Naruto's blabbering and Sakura's power punch. (KA-BOOOM!)

They just went out of ramen where Sakura was hiding from the piercing sunshine rays behind Sasuke . Sasuke smirked and gave her a piggy back ride to Ichiraku's ramen. Sakura just giggled and kept her face buried in his shoulder so that she wouldn't have to face the sun. The baby faced sun(TELETUBBIES!).

Across the street, Itachi was enjoying his dango in the simple tea shop ad choked when he saw his little brother carrying a pink haired figure on his back. Itachi was angry and jealous that his little brother could carry the person he missed the most. That was it. He got his answer. He didn't only miss her. He loved her. He loved how she melted the ice around his heart and how she would never fail to bring dango for him to eat when she found out he liked dango.

As Sakura and friends chattered and ate away, Kakashi-sensei came in with the normal Icha Icha paradise in his hands. He ordered a beef ramen and it came to him quickly. Everyone stared at Kakashi in anticipation, hoping that he would bring down his mask and show the lower part of his face. Everyone's hearts was pounding, even the Ichiraku owner stared at Kakashi. To their frustration, Kakashi's meal was eaten with lightning speed. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto made a grab for his mask in which Kakashi ran away in a comical way. All of them groaned in defeat and paid for their meal. Everyone parted ways to Sakura's house but Sakura decided to take a walk around the park.

Sakura took in the scenery. The sky glowed a fusion of orange and yellow, the trees had a slight darker color and small daisies decorated the fields. She smiled at the sight and kept on walking with a rising suspicion. She felt like she was being stalked. She looked at her watch and realized it was late but a hand grabbed her and dragged her somewhere. She tried to get out of it but her attacker's grip was too strong. Her back collided with the hard surfaces of the rock which caused her to wince in pain. When she saw who dragged her there, she saw the person who had made her depressed for 2 months straight (with a lot of ice cream eating). She stood up and glared at him. He didn't shudder at her glare nor did he falter. He took in the image of her face and body and her wonderful scent. She blushed that she was being observed but that didn't mean she couldn't speak.

"Why did you drag me out here? No doubt to tell me to move to a different country." Sakura spat sarcastically.

"I assure you, it has nothing to do with that." Itachi replied calmly.

"Get on with it. I have people at home expecting me to come home." Sakura said as her patience grew thin.

"I wanted to say that…..I missed you" Sakura was caught off guard by that statement. He missed her? He was the very person who chased her away and now he misses her?

"Isn't this what you wanted? The hot guy in front of you to love you? Or was it merely because you wanted some good ol' sex, Sakura?" Sakura's inner chirped in which made Sakura blush.

Itachi noticed her blushing and caressed her cheek which caused her spine to tingle. When he touched her lips, her tears began to flow because she couldn't take it anymore. She looked downwards, ashamed to face the man in front of her. Itachi brought her chin up with his hand and made her look at him. He could see she was crying because of this meeting. He wiped the tears on her cheeks away and enveloped her in a bear hug. Her tears flowed out more and hiccups were heard. She could hear him chuckle as he released her to wipe her tears away, but she didn't expect anything when he cupped her face.

Itachi brought his lips closer to Sakura and knew she was getting butterflies in her stomach at his sudden intrusion of breathing space. He smirked and kissed her softly on the lips. When they stopped, Sakura looked at him with a confused look. He took her hand and let his mouth open to voice out the words he wanted to say.

I missed you a lot. I thought you were annoying but I didn't know that slowly I was falling for you. You broke my ice walls. Sakura, I love you.

A few tears trickled her cheeks. She wiped them quickly and smiled sincerely only for him. They hugged once more and left the park hand in hand.

4 months ago(In Sakura's apartment)

"SAKURA! HOW COULD YOU?" Sasuke screamed at her. Sakura gulped and looked down. She didn't want to face Sasuke. She only told Naruto and Hinata and asked they keep it a secret, especially from Sasuke. How did he find out?

He was searching walking around the park to find Sakura because he was worried that she might have been kidnapped. He was surprised to see Sakura in Itachi's lap happily feeding him dango. He approached them with an angry face. Sakura wanted to stand up but Itachi held her down.

"Looks like nii-kun and Sakura has known each other I see." Sasuke said angrily.

"Is something the matter Sasuke?" Itachi glared at him. Sakura didn't like where this was going.

"Well, I'm here to take MY friend seeing she is occupied with you, I'm assuming you two were going to elope." Sasuke replied sarcastically. He grabbed Sakura's hand tightly and took her home.

"Sasuke-kun… I wanted to tell you.. but" Sakura felt a slap on her face. She fell down and touched her cheek.

Sasuke looked at her scornfully.

"BITCH! You better stop seeing Itachi and end this relationship OR I WILL!" Sasuke said to her with pure anger. He stormed out of the house while Sakura broke down and curled herself into a ball. Hinata quickly hugged her while Naruto went outside to find Sasuke. Sakura went upstairs into her room and locked herself in the darkness. She cried on her pillow with Sasuke's words in her mind repeating like a broken record.

For 2 weeks, Sakura didn't come out of her room. Hinata and Naruto became worried while Sasuke was away on a field trip. They would knock on her door and leave food near her door which Sakura would sometimes eat. Sakura couldn't eat because Sasuke's angry image kept creeping onto her mind. Even when Itachi called her phone, she wouldn't answer it for fear that Sasuke would intrude and shout at her again.

Itachi was disappointed that his girlfriend didn't answer his calls. He ruffled his long hair roughly. He knew something was going to happen because of Sasuke's angry expression the other day. He decided to take a risk by walking to her house at night and confront her, even if it meant knocking her out and bringing her to the Uchiha manor.

That night, Sakura was on the balcony of her room staring at the moon that shone brightly. She could only stare at it and wish she could be with Itachi even if it meant Sasuke would be angry. She was surprised to see Itachi in the distance staring at her. She wanted to run away and run back into her room but something told her to stay. Her body relaxed when she saw Itachi. Itachi held his arms out and encouraging her to jump. She did without any thought and Itachi caught her swiftly and kissed her forehead. She cried into his shirt and hugged him tightly. Itachi hugged her and pat her back. When she stopped crying, she looked up to Itachi with a scared expression.

"Sakura, why did you avoid me?"

"I…I… I can't tell you! I shouldn't even be here in your arms!"

"Then why are you here if you're only going to tell me that?"

"I….I.." Sakura replied hesitantly. Itachi stood up and left her there without saying a word not even sparing her a glance. Sakura felt her tears swell up in her eyes. She couldn't let him go even if Sasuke threatened her not to. She ran up to him and hugged him from the back.

"Itachi.. don't leave… Sasuke forced me not to see you….I was very lonely..I love being in your company. I love feeding you and hearing you play your guitar. I love you so much it makes it so hard for me to live without you!" Sakura replied with tears that flowed down her cheeks. Itachi turned to face her and hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. Sakura could only cry her heart out. Her heart couldn't handle anymore. Suddenly, she heard clapping from afar. She saw Sasuke smirking and quickly shrank in her position. Itachi pushed Sakura behind him but Sasuke raised his hand asking him to halt.

"Looks like you both passed my test. Itachi finally has the balls to chase the girl of his dreams and Sakura was brave enough to defy my orders which proved that you both really love each other" Sasuke replied with a sincere smile on his lips. He tested them both and was satisfied with the results. He left the lovebirds alone and hoped his parents could accept this relationship.

2 months ago

Everything was perfect. The Uchiha elders approved of her and the Haruno elder's of him. Both of them felt really happy. They did many duets together for only those who were close to them to hear. He loved hearing her voice singing and harmonizing with his guitar. To him, she was perfect. Even though Sasuke would occasionally bump in their romantic advances but that didn't stop them from torturing Sasuke.

(How was Sasuke tortured? Well one day while Sakura was waiting for Itachi, Sasuke decided to flirt with Sakura even though he knew what her response would be. To his surprise, Sakura punched him hard which made him faint. When he woke up he found that he was wearing a wig and a woman's outfit and found Itachi and Sakura evilly smirking in the corner. When he tried to move, he noticed her hands were tied and he realized he is not in Sakura's apartment but he was in cart and it was near A BAR THAT NARUTO AND LEE WOULD DRINK AT! Sasuke apologized and begged the two of them not to push the cart down but his pleas were useless. Sakura kicked his cart down that went into the bar. When he got in there, everyone pounced on him thinking he was a girl. He had his pride scarred REALLY BAD that day)

Now that they had graduated, they were free for a few months to think about which college they would enroll in. For Sasuke, he chose business (he chose to inherit the Uchiha business which his father reserved for Itachi). For Sakura, she chose music and for Naruto, he chose on Hotel management.

Itachi spent every day with her knowing she was having her break. He spent it with taking her out to eat, taking her to amusement parks or just even sitting in the park and playing his guitar while she hummed to it. If they were at home, they would play go or shogi, run around while tickling each other or just rest in each other's laps. But to him, her graduation meant something big for him. Now, he could propose to her.

A few days ago, he was surprised to find that the Uchiha elders wanted his presence. When he confronted them, they asked him whether this relationship was going to be permanent in which he responded positively. Suddenly, the Uchiha took out a comb that was decorated with pearls and white roses and an emerald and ruby in the middle of the ring. He was confused and asked why they were doing this. They were laughing at him saying that he was an idiot. Then it struck him, they wanted him to propose to her. He took the comb and ring and planned out his proposal.

That night, Itachi brought Sakura (with Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke spying in the background) to a high class restaurant. Their seat was near the window where Sakura could see and enjoy the lovely background while Itachi admired her beauty. During their meal, Itachi dropped hints of his activities which only made Sakura blush and hit him playfully on his arm which made Itachi smirk at his oncoming plan. After they ate, he walked to the park and sat on his favourite spot.

"Sakura, if you could marry anyone, who would that be?"

"Of course it would be you Itachi-kun! You made me really happy and content. I don't want anyone else than you!" Sakura said with enthusiasm

"Then, Haruno Sakura *Itachi kneels down* Will you marry me and live the rest of your life with me?"

"I….I….YES! YES! YES! YES!" Itachi hugged her and carried her up in the air. Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata witnessed this and smiled at the scene. Both of them swayed slowly looking up to the sky that had bright stars. When the fireworks began to decorate the sky, Itachi turned Sakura around and kissed her chastely on her lips. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment. Little did they know of the tragedy about to befall them.

Suddenly, they saw a red haired man pointing a gun towards Itachi. Sakura knew him as her stalker and he would call her doll if she was around him. He was smirking madly and pointing his gun at Itachi.

"WHEN I DECIDE TO WOO MY DOLL, LOOKS LIKE MY COLLEAGUE HAD TO DATE HER AND WIN HER HEART! BUT NOW, THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE! I'M THE ONE GOING TO HAVE HER NOT YOU!" the man became trigger happy and shot a lot of bullets into Itachi's way. Itachi hugged Sakura and pulled her behind him hoping she wouldn't get injured. When the bullets were almost about to hit him, he closed his eyes and thanked god for at least giving him time to spend with his love. But he didn't feel anything but he heard a scream from Sakura.

When he opened his eyes, the man who threatened him passed out and Sasuke fell down with blood coughed out of his mouth staining his shirt.

Itachi grabbed Sasuke from falling and shouted at Naruto to call 911 and asked them to come here ASAP. He shouted at his brother for his recklessness and threatened him to live. Sasuke could only laugh(which resulted in more blood coming out of his mouth).

"Itachi-nii… I don't think I'll make it"

"SASUKE DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT! YOU PROMISED TO SEE ME AND SAKURA GET MARRIED! YOU PROMISED TO HELP!"

"Itachi-niii… bring everyone closer. I want to say something." Sasuke voiced out while coughing madly

Everyone came closer to Sasuke's bloody body.

"Dobe, you are the most idiotic person I've ever met. You would shout and whine at small little things. You are stubborn and foolish but also very loyal and trustworthy. You'll always be my best friend and I hoped that you would be my best man."

"Hinata, the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans are rivals but I want you to take care of Naruto and make sure he makes everyone happy. Including you"

"Itachi nii, I love you and thank you for all that you've done for me. Please Itachi-nii, make Sakura happy. I will haunt your ass if I see her unhappy"

Sasuke touched Sakura's cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. Before he could give her his last words, his heart beat stopped.

Sayonara, everyone.

With that, the hand that touched Sakura's cheek fell to the ground leaving a screaming Sakura.

Present

What was in the photo? It was a picture of Sasuke, Sakura and Itachi smiling during winter in the park. She hugged it tightly and touched her lips. She remembered, Sasuke kissed her right before his death. Itachi had to restrain her from doing something she might regret. She let go of her photo and went to her living room. She decided to move out because it had too much memories of Sasuke even though Itachi protested. She hadn't sold the house yet, she just covered the objects. Suddenly, her heart stop beating. She fell down to the floor hard. She saw darkness conquering her sight but heard Itachi's voice shouting her name.

Suddenly she found herself on a lake. She looked around to see where she was. She could only find daisies around the edges of the lake. I must be on my way to heaven, Sakura concluded. As she kept on walking suddenly she saw darkness approaching. She tried to run but she couldn't, her legs wouldn't move. As the whole lake engulf in darkness, she saw Itachi's silhouette looking at her with sadness. As she tried to scream for him, her voice couldn't come out. All she could do was cry and reach her hand out for his silhouette. She fell down on her knees and had her fists bang on the floor of darkness in frustration.

Suddenly, a glowing hand appeared in front of her. She looked up and her heart began to swell. It was Sasuke wearing a yukata, offering her help. She took the hand tightly and got up slowly and trembling. Sasuke caressed her cheek and smiled at her. She tried to hug him but she suddenly heard someone else's voice. She looked down to her feet surprised. Her body was disappearing slowly. She reached out for Sasuke's yukata and cried into it. Sasuke pat her head and pushed her away. As her neck began to disappear she saw Sasuke saying something to her. For one last time, Sasuke hugged her tightly and bid her farewell.

She woke up to a worried Itachi shaking her. She woke up groggily and hugged Itachi. She cried into his shirt while he sighed in relief. He looked around the apartment surprised that all the objects were covered in white cloth. He nudged his fiancé and asked,

"Sakura, why are all the items in your apartment covered?"

"I wanted to move. This apartment holds many memories. I wanted to run. I didn't want to remember. When I remember those memories, I will remember that tragedy!" Itachi tried to calm her down by humming their favourite song but Sakura still wouldn't calm down. He hummed Sasuke's favorite song and only then she calmed down.

"Sakura, don't blame yourself for his death. He died saving us"

"But Sasori was the one who shot him! If you didn't date me, SASUKE WOULDN'T BE DEAD!"

"Listen here, Sasuke sacrificed his life for our happiness. HOW WOULD HE FEEL IF HE KNEW YOU'RE STILL SAD FOR HIM?" Itachi shouted at her in pure anger. She felt like she slapped into reality. She knew it wasn't her fault he died, but her conscience nagged at her that she was the cause of his death. Itachi held her chin up forcing her to make eye contact with him.

"Sasuke asked me to make sure you're happy even if anything happened. He loved you Sakura. He loved you so much. He wanted to see you happy. You must move on Sakura, focus on the future. The past is behind us." Itachi said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Suddenly she remembered what Sasuke was trying to say to her. Suddenly, she saw Sasuke over Itachi's shoulder. As his lips began to move, she understood what his last wish was.

He wanted Sakura and Itachi happy even if it meant him out of the picture. He wanted everyone happy, everyone to move on past his death. He wanted Sakura to take care of Itachi, to make sure Itachi is happy from the troubles of the world.

Sakura's small hands touched Itachi's face with a small smile decorated her lips. She hugged him tightly and apologized to him for her behavior. She finally understood Sasuke's wish and vowed to herself that she would make Itachi happy. She kissed his cheek and smiled brightly. She stood up holding his hand to bringing him to the balcony to see the sunrise. When she let her hand out, a drop of snow landed into her palm. Itachi snaked his arms around Sakura's waist and brought her closer to him to make sure she wasn't cold.

Finally, they felt happy. Once, their relationship is finally accepted.

FIN!

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HOLY CRAP! FINALLY IT WAS FINISHED! TOOK ME MORE THAN 2 WEEKS TO FINISH THIS! Please leave a comment and give your ideas on what story and what type of story I should write. Don't worry, for those who didn't like this ending, there's an alternate one. It'll come out soon.