Sometimes I wonder if my feet have their own brain. They had led me all the way back to Konoha, in the middle of the night no less. They had also led me right to the doors of my family's old mansion. Why? It's not as though there was anything in there except for dust and memories. And why was I even back in the village? It wasn't like there was anyone that I wanted to see and besides, I was technically considered a rogue ninja now, I doubted they'd really want me back.
But then I sensed another presence. A chakra and an extremely strong one at that. I turned my head to see, still pretty far down the road, a figure walking in my direction. Dammit, I thought to myself, now of all times someone has to show up. Now I'll have to escape before they notice me. I was about to dash away when I noticed two things: 1) their steps were smooth, silent, and lithe, a sign of rigorous training and 2) very flattering feminine curves. I decided to stick around for a while. I remembered how I had all those fangirls when I was still in the village, and perhaps it wouldn't be so bad for me to have a little fun. And surely one of my fangirls would very much enjoy it. So I leaned against the wall of my old house and waited to see who the lucky winner would be.
The girl had walked a good deal closer and finally stepped into a patch of moonlight. The first thing I saw was short pink hair that was glowing in the moonlight. Pink hair like a cherry blossom, bubblegum hybrid. There was only one person in the world whose hair could be so annoyingly odd. Sakura.
To my extreme surprise, my heart rate quickened. My eyes moved away from her hair and inspected the rest of her body. As soon as I was done, I shamefully realized that I had just checked out Sakura. I stood puzzled at myself for a moment and then shook it off. I let out a sigh which broke Sakura's trance as her jade eyes darted up to meet eyes of onyx. Shock quickly sunk to hatred as she realized who she was glaring at. I was greatly bothered by the fact that her eyes held nothing but hate. But what bothered me even more was that I was being bothered by her look. Since when did I care how Sakura looked at me? She didn't look afraid or hurt, and no tears were flowing from her eyes. The fragile and flirtatious girl that I had left behind in Konoha had been replaced by a strong and beautiful woman. Yes, beautiful. I could no longer deny that she made my heart flutter every time I looked at her.
I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I just barely missed the kunai knife that was flying towards me. She had changed. Sakura wasn't running at me with tears of joy streaming down her face. She attacked me instead. I had no wish to fight her, so I made no counter-attack.
"Uchiha." My head jolted up. Uchiha? Not Sasuke-kun? I wasn't about to let her know how much that hurt me, so I replied in my typical cold manner.
"Sakura," I said indifferently. The results were just as I had hoped for: she was surprised to be called by her first name. The hate that flared in her eyes began to melt a bit. I took a step closer. Then another. And another. She didn't flinch. There was now only about one short yard between us, and I was curious to know what she would do next.
"Get out," she said. The hate may have eased in her eyes but there was still venom in her words.
"What if I don't want to?" I challenged stubbornly.
"You're not welcome here. Get out. Now."
"Sakura-chan," I whispered sincerely. No! I thought, I just let go of my cold persona! Damn this heart! What's she going to say now?
She just gasped and her body tightened a bit. I took the opportunity to fill in two of the three feet that separated us. She bore into my eyes with a mix of emotions; her mind was probably telling her one thing while her heart was telling her another. I could easily read this in her eyes. Perhaps she hadn't changed that much after all. Maybe we had both put up personas. Mine, to show that I hadn't changed, and hers to show that she had.
"Sakura-chan, listen. I need to talk to you." She tried to take a step backwards, but I caught her hand. Her touch sent my heart jumping. I wanted more. I realized that needed her.
She gazed at our combined hands for a moment and then slowly looked up to meet my eyes. Screw this, I said to myself. I pulled her towards me and enveloped her in my arms. She was tense and frozen against my body, but little by little she eased up. She even pressed against me a little. I couldn't suppress a smirk.
"Why did you come back?" Her voice was barely audible.
"At first I didn't know why. It was as if my feet just carried me here for no reason. But I think I figured it out."
"And?" She had probably figured it out herself, but I couldn't tell if she was scared or excited.
"Because I need you, Sakura-chan." Before she could protest, I made the most daring move of my life: I tilted her chin up and gently kissed her full lips.
Of course, she froze. But soon she returned my kiss with one of her own, and my body was overloaded with bliss. I kissed back a little harder and a little more passionately and her lips replied with the same enthusiasm. One of my arms gladly coiled around her petite waist as the other moved up her back. She seemed to like this new position much better and let out a small sigh. She then wrapped one arm around my neck while her other hand danced through my hair, keeping my head pinned down to hers (not that I minded).
Sakura broke the kiss and leaned against my chest. We were both panting slightly.
"I need you, too." She looked up at me with the most beautiful and sincere eyes I had ever seen. I grabbed her, and despite how lame it may sound, I spun her around. Without hesitation I dove in for another kiss.