Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.
Sakura didn't quite understand why she had let him go. It was still incredibly apparent, both to herself and others, that her feelings for him hadn't changed. All those wasted hours, sitting in her room telling her visitors she was over him, it was done. All the while it had been herself she was trying to convince, herself she was lying to.
What difference did it make he was gone? She could speak to a wall and get the same response in a conversation. She knew she couldn't of made him stay in the first place. He would've left even if she put up a fight. She was annoying, she only got in his way. Nothing she said would have made him stay.
"Just keep telling yourself that, Sakura." Her voice broke the silence of her darkened room. Her voice cracked as she spoke, proof she hadn't been able to hold back her tears.
He was always so cruel to her, he took her for granted. He was bad for her, exactly the opposite of what she needed. Then again... who cares what she needed? She loved everything about him, down to his unsympathetic attitude. It all made those rare but sweet moments between them so much more special. Those moments when, if only for a second, he seemed to care for her, for her feelings..
Shaking herself from her trance, Sakura tried to remember his eyes. His cold, solitary eyes that never seemed to be looking directly at her, but instead past her to some greater thought. Instead of hating him, however, she found her mind wandering to how she would lose herself in those eyes. She was still lost in his ebony eyes, they were like ruptures she couldn't seem to pull herself out of. A hole she was doomed to be lost in forever, alone.
Sakura couldn't help but let a mocking laugh escape her lips. She was in too deep with him. She loved him too much. Yes, practically every woman he passed --no-- graced with his presence would say the same thing, but she said it with all honesty. And it was that honesty that was slowly eating away at her soul and emotions. Maybe that was why she had let him go. But the thought of that only made her laugh again.
Yes, I love him so much I let him go to his death...
She had to admit it. She both hated and loved that he paid no interest towards women, only keeping his mind on that man. For though it meant certain heartbreak for her, she found pleasure in knowing she would not soon find him holding another woman in his arms. Another woman in his heart.
Sakura was often told the expression how if you let something go, and if it was truly yours, it would return. Could that be why she stood by and watched him leave her life? Possibly forever? That would be quite a stupid reason, and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. Sakura knew he never belonged to her, he never even cared enough to conceal his true thoughts of her.
'You're annoying...'
She remembered his words well. He often told her them, much as she had to her yellow haired teammate.
"You're annoying!" Sakura snapped, the idea of her wanting to say those words to him surprised her. She had never thought of him in that way. Maybe it was time she did?
She didn't know why she spent so much time chasing after him, and now mourning his departure. It was all folly in everyone's eyes, as well as in her own now. He simply didn't see her the same way she saw him.
She had a rather large crowd she could pick another boy from. This time one who would acknowledge her and treat her right. But she couldn't, none of them was him. Maybe in some way she enjoyed the challenge of chasing after the one that could not be caught.
She wanted him to see her now. Since he had left she had devoted her time to her training. She had become strong in more than one way, but he'd still call her a weakling. Compared to him, she was. His bloodline was unmatched, it held no rivals.
Could that be why she had let him leave? To prove that she'd didn't need him? To show she could say goodbye to him and not falter?
Another laugh.
That was a lie. She did need him. She needed him so much it pained her inside. She had faltered, as well. She was faltering right now, regretting that she had not stopped him.
He's probably already forgotten me, why can't I just forget him?
If he was still alive, that is. He had wanted his revenge so badly it pained Sakura. She wished that she could have taken his troubles away. But right now, she wished more than anything that he had taken her with him.
A sudden anger boiled inside of her. She found herself hating him for what he had put her through. What he was putting her though. She hated herself for hating him. She hated...
A knock on the door downstairs shattered her thoughts. She rose from her bed, checking herself in the mirror before she exited her room. Her face was blotchy from tears, but she shrugged it off... what did it matter?
Her heart beat increased for some reason as she descended the stairs. The thuds from her bare feet on the wood floors was nothing compared to the thuds in her chest.
She slid her hand around the cold handle as she reached the door. She expected it to be her sensei or another visitor but as she opened the door a gasp escaped her lips.
Sakura had only opened the door partway. The man who stood before her had frozen her in time. Her emerald eyes had met with his ebony ones and suddenly she felt herself falling.
It was in that moment Sakura realized why she had let him leave. She had always known why. He needed to complete what he set out to do before he could truly live. If she hadn't he would have continued his life as an empty shell. An emotionless human.
Sakura stepped to the side to welcome him in. To welcome him home. She felt a cold, calloused hand cup her chin and she once again rose her eyes to his. She noticed red stains on his clothes and skin but did not press him on the matter. Sakura knew he was an avenger and there was nothing she could do to change that.
"Sakura... I didn't kill him..." The words that came from his lips seemed like a dream to Sakura, "In the last minutes of the battle... I thought of your words..."
With revenge alone you will not be able to make anyone happy... No one... Neither you... Nor me...
"Sakura..." His words were barely audible, "Because of your words... I couldn't kill him..."
At that moment Sakura could have sworn she saw a glimpse of hate flicker in his eyes. A hate and longing to kill his brother once and for all. Before she could respond to that, however, Sasuke brushed his lips gently across hers for was seemed to be only a brief moment.
Sakura smiled as she pulled away from him, "So... I finally caught you, Sasuke-kun? Making me worry and chase you like that....was annoying..."
At the word annoying Sasuke leaned in, grinning, for another kiss but was stopped by Sakura's hands on his chest, "But I love that about you."