A/N: This is an entry for the SasuSaku guild aniversay contest. Please enjoy my entry.
What are you likely to find after a battle? Blood soaked grass, butchered trees, lifeless bodies, the usual. One thing no one expected to see after a battled was Uchiha Sasuke waltzing back into Konoha. What had he done to earn his way back to his village? What could he have possibly done to bring himself to return to the home he had betrayed? Simple, terminate the only things standing in his way. Now that all his obstacles had been surpassed he was ready to come home. The only trouble is, will him home let him back?
It was early morning in Konoha, the village was just barely awaking from a good nights sleep. The main gates in and out of the village were reopening to the world. Two guards stood at the gates entrance and waited for travelers to make their way to town. Through the early morning mist sauntered a shadowy figure. As the figure approached it became more and more clear on who it was. Long black bangs, spiked raven hair. There was no way this was who it appeared to be.
The two men watched the man approached. His blood soaked robe frightened one of the men, but the blood red eyes intrigued another. The jaw of the blond guard dropped as the man walked past them. His hear leapt into his throat and the hairs on his neck stood on end. The guards blue eyes stuck on the mans shape until his disappeared into the morning fog. "S-Sasuke…" The man whispered under his breath.
Sasuke made his way through the village, he just walked. Face forward, head lowered, glazed look, as if he were in a trance. Who was this man looking for? People stopped and gawked at him as he passed them in the streets. Some people knew who he was, some people were startled by his appearance, and some were just plain stunned to see him again. Sasuke seemed the glide through the streets. His step was gentle, silent and his breathing was calm and steady. A woman passed him in the streets, at first she didn't realize who it was, she just looked at the man with a startled look. He was covered in blood, he looked weak. Maybe that was what through her off, the fact that the man looked weak. After all, this woman had known this man. And the man she had known, we never weak.
Sasuke stopped, he turned and her called the woman's name. By this time the woman had started walking again, so this voice calling her name, made her freeze in her tracks. "Sakura." The man said.
The woman was frozen. She could hardly believe what she was hearing, let alone what she had just seen. She hadn't even looked the man in the eyes yet, but that voice, it was without a doubt Sasuke. She turned slowly to face him. Her chartreuse eyes met his, and in and instant all the memories of this man flooded back to her. All the memories she had tried so hard to forget rushed back into her mind. Sakura took a hard swallow and answered the man. "Sasuke…." She said.
"I have returned." He said dropped the katana that had been waiting, unsheathed, in his grip. Sasuke slowly hobbled over to Sakura and wrapped his arms around her.
Sakura stood there, holding her breath, petrified with fear, hurt, anger, excitement, every emotion known to man. "Sasuke…. Why are you here?" She inhaled a cold breath and pushed the man off of her.
"It is done, I have killed my brother, and Orochimaru." Sasuke looked at her.
Sakura looked down at herself, her hands, her clothes, her skin. It was all smeared with blood. Who's blood? She looked at Sasuke, she looked deep into his red Sharingan eyes and started to speak. "Sasuke, you can't be here." She tried to choke back tears. She tried to hold back her cries. She wanted so bad to just cry right now, but she couldn't, not in front of him.
"Why not?" Sasuke's voice lowered.
He seemed hurt. He had no right to be hurt! He had no right o be here. Not after leaving her, his friends, his village. He had absolute no right whatsoever to be upset. "Because, you aren't welcome here." She scowled at him and ran away.
Sasuke watched her disappeared beyond his line of vision in the mist. The few people walking the streets of Konoha this early in the morning had been watching. Sasuke looked at all of them, his gaze was piercing. His scowl was terrifying, knowing what he had done, what he could do. He bent over and picked up his katana, then he made his way back to the Uchiha clan manor.
Sakura sat in the closed office of the academy. The doors were locked, she had the key, she was all alone inside. She was sitting in a chair behind a desk, crying. Hot tears streamed down her face and trickled off her chin. They hit her shirt like bullets. "Why did you have to come back, I was just starting to forget you…." She whispered through the spaces between her fingers.
"Sakura-chan…" A familiar vice called from the other side of the room. It was a gentle voice, kind of understanding.
Sakura's face shot up. Her eyes trailed to the door to see who it was. A man stood in the frame, Naruto. Sakura just looked at the man with the tears still streaming down her face. She wasn't afraid to cry in front of him. "H-he's back." She whimpered in his direction.
"I know, I saw him too." Naruto slowly walked over to the desk and sat on it. "I was on duty with Kiba, at the gate this morning. He didn't recognize him, but I did." Naruto looked down at his hand.
"He shouldn't be here." She wiped her cheeks and eyes, disposing of all the tears. Only leaving a set of puffy, tear stained, pink cheeks.
Naruto simply nodded, he swallowed a little and then forced himself to speak. "S-Sakura, m-maybe we should give him a chance." He looked at him.
Sakura's eyes met his. A look of disgust spread upon her face. "After he left, and refused to come home when we went to get him? Why should I?" She looked away with an angry expression.
"Look Sakura, forgive and forget." Naruto hopped off the desk and walked out the door.
Sakura watched the bond haired boy leave the room. What he had said echoed in her head. 'Forgive and forget.' It said. "Forgive and forget?" She questioned her memory. "How could I forget…" She placed her finger tips on the underside of her forearm and ran the down to the palm of her hand. She wiped her face one more time and pushed herself back up to her feet from the chair.
Half the day had passed, the morning dew was gone, the eerey fog had subsided. Things were bright and sunny in Konoha, like they always were. Naruto was in a better mood, he was releasing his academy class from school for the day, and Sakura was leaving the nurses office. She seemed to be in a better mood as well. Naruto walked up to the pink haired girl and smiled.
"Hi Sakura, about this morning…." He made a sympathetic face.
"Its ok, Naruto." Sakura smiled half-heartedly. "Everything's ok now." She nodded.
Naruto nodded as well. "I better get home to Ino." He smiled a little. "She'll want me to bring lunch home." He waved as he walked in the direction of the ramen shop. "Bye."
"Bye Naruto." She waved back.
Sakura went walking toward her house. Things were ok, but Sakura was still upset about the Sasuke experience from this morning. She was kind of angry still, but mostly just upset. Maybe what Sasuke had done to her wasn't so bad, but he broke her heart, twice. More than twice, but two major times, two times that haunted her the most. Sakura was half way home, but the only way to get there was to pass the Uchiha manor. The old abandoned area was a haunting sight. One she had number herself to ever since her left until this day.
The girl stopped in front of the entrance. She looked past the two big walls separating the road from the private residence. She took a deep breath and began to walk up to the walls. She passed through them, and instantly knew she was walking on hollow ground. She looked around as she began to roam about the area. It was eerily bare. There seemed to be no life at all, within the walls.
The creak of rotting wood startled Sakura. She turned around the face the noise, feeling her heart pound from fear. For some reason she was scared. No one was supposed to be here, but there was. Once person, Sasuke was there. "Sakura, why are you here?" Sasuke's eyes studied the girl.
"I-I was looking for you…." She stuttered nervously.
"Why? I thought I wasn't welcome here." He stepped past the door frame he was standing in.
"I wanted to apologize." She nodded a little.
"Well apology excepted." Sasuke smirked a tad. He sauntered over to the girl "Sakura, I missed you." He looked down in shame.
Sakura looked at the man as if she were waiting. "And?"
"And what?" Sasuke shrugged.
"And where's my apology!" She glared at him.
"What apology?" He looked at her with a confused expression.
"Sasuke, you left! And when we all went to get you, you refused to come back." She started raising her voice.
"So?"
"So?" She gave him a disgusted look. "Do you have any idea what the last 5 years of my life have been like?" She turned around, she was fighting the tears again. "Sasuke, I love you. I always loved you, but you left anyways" She turned back around revealing the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
Sasuke stood there, speechless almost. "Sakura I had to…" He was cut off.
"Had to what?" Sakura screamed letting the tears stream down her face. "I was hoping, for 7 and a half years," She whipped her face clean of tears just to have it stained again. "that you would give up your childish dreams of revenge. Revenge is for children, you have apparently not changed at all since you were 13 years old." She looked at him angrily.
He tried to inch his ward to ward her, he grabbed her arm softly and tried to pull her in. "Sakura, I'm sorry….." Sasuke whispered.
She jerked away and glared at him. "No Sasuke, apology accepted!" She screamed and ripped her long black gloves off her arms. " Look what I have been doing for 5 years!" She flipped over her arms revealing a collection of scratches and scars on her forearms, and wrists. "Sasuke, this what you made me do!" She cried. The tears still ran down her face.
Sasuke's eyes were fixated on Sakura's arms. Why would she do this to herself, and for him? Why? "Sakura, why, how?" He backed away a few inches. He was speechless.
"Because," She growled. "I worried about you for so many nights when you first left. I cried so many times. So many nights alone, I prayed for you, Sasuke." She hugged her arms. Digging her nails into her skin, shaking, crying, and deteriorating right in front of Sasuke. "And when I finally got the chance to bring you home, you refused." She looked up at him and then clinched her eyes closed. "I came home and my heart was shattered." She tried to hard to fight the tears, but somehow they still managed to seep through her eye lids.
Sasuke's heart had broken. He was stunned. He had no idea he could cause so much pain for one person. If this was how Sakura was reacting. How had Naruto taken it? "Sakura…" He looked at the dirt beneath his feet. "I don't deserve you…." He turned to leave the manor. "I will leave."
He started walking to ward the exit. But he was stopped. Sakura ran up and threw her arms around him, from behind. "Sasuke please, please don't leave again." She whispered.
He turned around and wrapped his arms around her as well. "I won't leave ever again." He hugged the girl tight. "I promise." A single tear slipped from his eye. Sasuke looked down at her and wrapped her forearm. "Please, please, please never do this again." He rubbed the scars and scratched gently.
Sakura nodded and smiled a little. "I promise, I won't ever." She buried her face in his chest. "I love you Sasuke." She murmured.
"I love you too." Sasuke wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. "These arms," He said. "these arms will keep you safe forever." He smiled.
"And these arms," Sakura smiled up at him. "will never be marked again." She nodded as a tear seeped out of her eye.
"Sakura what's wrong?" Sasuke whispered as he looked down at the pink haired beauty.
"Nothing Sasuke-kun." She smiled. "I'm just happy. Hap-"
Sasuke had stopped her mid sentence. He had pressed his lips up against her's. "Happier than I ever have been.." Sasuke grinned as he pulled away.
A/N: So what did you think? I am thinking of writing a part tow. We will see. Review?