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Rising Suspicions

Her face was smeared with sweat & blood. She ran as fast as her legs could carry.

"Its time to put an end to this Sakura!"

A deep voice reverberated in the empty field. His Mangekyo Sharingan twirling fast. He moved towards her with a sinister smile on his face.

Sakura shivered in fear as she backed on the ground.

"No! Don't kill me. Please Sasuke. I beg you."

"What? This isn't me Sakura."

Sasuke yelled from the other corner of the battlefield, his body heavily injured. But Sakura didn't even glance at him as she stared with frightened eyes at someone. Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw him plunging out chidori.

'Wait!..The only person who know this lightning style is me & Kakashi. Does that mean...?'

However his eyes widened when he saw himself standing over the brutely bruised Sakura, ready to take her life at any moment.

'But I am here. Then who is he?...'

Sasuke tried to rush towards his pinkette teammate, but his legs were apparently glued to the surface as he couldn't even lift them.

"No..What's happening? Don't do it. No..."

He saw himself making the way over her as he lifted his chidori stream to attack her.

"NO! DON'T DO It.. "

Chidori passed right through her chest as she coughed out blood & fell down.

Cold and numb.

"SAKURA!... SAKURA! ...No.."

"SAKURA!.."

"SAKURA..!"

Sasuke sat upright on his mat as he breathed heavily. His whole body was drained in sweat. He wiped some from his forehead as he glanced around & observed his surroundings.

He was still in the outskirts of forest. Camping by the river.

'Another nightmare..'

Sasuke have been haunted by them ever since his clan was massacred. He rarely got sleep at night.

Sasuke rose from his sleeping bag and walked out towards the river. He splashed some cold water on his face as he sat on the rock.

He frowned when he remembered his dream. It was the first time he ever saw Sakura in his horrific nightmare. And more of all, he was the villain.

He closed his eyes as he remembered the exact scenario from a year back.

This nightmare might have indeed become a reality back then if Naruto & Kakashi never interfered.

He sighed when he remembered that Sakura still forgave him after everything he did.

Sasuke didn't know whether he should be grateful to her or despise her for being such a weak person.

Ninjas are never supposed to let their emotions overpower them.

It might have made sense if she supported village council in decision of executing him.

Not defending him...

Tchh...so annoying.

Yes. She annoyed him because she never stopped loving him after all that he did.

He only gave her tears & suffering.

Sasuke remembered her tear stained face after war, when she have confessed to him yet again.

Truly, he didn't know why she loved him.

What was her reason?

He know they were all above the fact of physical attributes now.

So, him being good looking have nothing to do with it.

Sasuke then wondered if she liked the birthday present he gave.

Dobe have told him in his last letter that Sakura's birthday was on 28th March & he better give her something.

Sasuke knew that if he didn't send her anything then that stupid blonde would continue pestering him forever, also he wanted to show Sakura gratitude personally.

So he sent her that necklace.

Girls like jewelries. So Sakura would have liked it.

Or did she?

Sasuke shook his head when he realized he have been thinking about Sakura a lot lately.

He really needed to clear off his mind from her and focus on his mission.

He still remember why he took off from the village again.

He was too overcomes by the guilt to live in the same place as his teammates.

Naruto and Sakura never lost hope in him. They stood up against the Kages and the councils just for him.

And he...what did he do?

Tried to kill them!

Not once but multiple times...

Some comrade he was.

Although they forgave him & accepted him again.

But Sasuke can never forgive himself.

Each time, he saw their faces, he would be reminded of old dark self.

So he left the village in a quest of redemption...

He didnt know when will he get the peace of mind though.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Ino have known Sakura for more than a decade. She knew each & every tiny thing about her. They were like sisters in all respects. Even if there was something off about Sakura, Ino would be the first one to notice it.

So when the medic kunoichi trotted in the hospital at 7 am in the morning with a silly smile plastered on her face, Ino wondered what was the reason behind it.

Ino also observed that her hands always wandered towards her neck every now & then.

Squinting her eyes, she saw the outline of a necklace which was hidden in the collar of her red dress.

Maybe that has to do something with her giddy look.

After their duties ended, She finally cornered her friend & inquired about that jewel piece.

" Oh..its! Well its a birthday gift."

Sakura said as she blushed a little and fidgeted with the ends of the chain. Ino gave her a suspicious look as she cocked her eyebrows.

"From whom?"

Sakura tucked a single piece of her hair behind her ear, as she looked away uncomfortably..

"Sasuke kun.."

Ino gasped and placed her hands over her cheeks at the piece of news.

"WHAT THE HECK? You guys are fucking item now. "

Ino shouted so loud that almost everyone in the vicinity turned towards the two girls as Sakura shot her a glare.

"Can't you be quite Pig. And no, we are not."

Sakura said as she told her that it was a birthday present.

"But Still. Sasuke buying a costly present as this, for youuu..."

Ino wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend.

She shouldn't have told her anything in the first place. Now, the blonde head would tease her about it all day long about it and probably even tell others, being a loudmouth...

Damn!

"Don't you dare tell anyone about it."

Sakura hissed at her friend as she warned her strictly. The last thing she wanted now was the rumours starting about her and Sasuke being together.

She knew how fast a news spreads in Konoha.

"Sureeee!"

Ino slurred and smiled slyly as the two kunoichi walked out of the hospital.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Gaara rummaged through his paper works as he searched an old file. Being a Kazekage, he was always loaded with work. But he enjoyed it a lot.

"Ahh, there it is."

It was in the middle of him pulling our the file, that his door slammed open and his sister Temari walked in. Gaara frowned when he observed the tensed look on her face. He haven't seen that expression on her face since the war.

" What's wrong Temari?"

He asked her as she walked closer to him.

"The group of genin sent on an A ranked mission were found dead on the outskirts of the village. "

She told him as Gaara sighed and sat on his chair.

"How old were they?"

"Around fifteen. There were three of them. But that's not the point! "

Gaara gave her a sideways look as she took a deep breath & continued.

"They were killed by the member of rogue criminal organization. Our shinobi reached just in time to see one of them escaping dressed in their usual uniform. "

Gaara tapped his desk lightly as mused over the situation. Ever since the downfall of Akatsuki, several smaller criminal groups have been formed here and there. Apparently, few left members of Akatsuki were behind it.

"Gaara! I have an even worse news."

She said slowly as Gaara chuckled dryly.

"Worse than it? What is it..?"

Temari bit her lip as she said hesitatingly.

" Although our police force wasn't able to catch that man, but they saw his face...It was Sasuke Uchiha. "

""""""""""""""""""""""

"WHAT...? THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS..!"

Naruto Uzumaki's words can be heard throughout the village that morning as he stared at Lady Tsunade and his ex sensei in disbelief.

"Nothing is wrong with us. And watch your language kid."

Tsunade warned him as Naruto slammed his hands on the desk and turned towards Kakashi.

" How can you believe this sensei?"

Kakashi wrinkled his eyebrows as he told calmly.

" Look. Gaara send us this message. There is nothing wrong with that. And I am not saying its Sasuke but..."

"But there can be a possibility...? RIGHT? I thought you know him better than this. Plus, anybody can use a transformation jutsu and turn into him.."

Naruto defended his friend as Tsunade placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Everyone know how sensitive Naruto can get when it concerns the last Uchiha.

"We have already send an official letter to Sasuke. We can't take any risk. if its not Sasuke, it means there is someone out there who has an old grudge against him."

She reasoned as Naruto calmed down a little and acknowledged the grey haired man.

"Kakashi sensei? You believe Sasuke Right. "

The sixth Hokage sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

"I am Hokage Naruto. I can't let my emotions decide. Sasuke was last seen near Suna itself. This puts him under suspicion. We have to handle this situation delicately."

Naruto nodded as a sudden thought came in his mind.

"Don't tell Sakura chan about it. I don't want her to get all worked up."

He almost pleaded the other two occupants of the room as they nodded briskly.

If Naruto was reacting like this, they could only imagine what her reaction will be. She would probably head off to Suna to investigate the situation itself no doubt. For now, it was better to keep it low profile.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

A week later

Sakura Haruno was a very observant person. A quality she inherited from her mother. So, when she went to the grocery store to purchase some items, and noticed the hush hush whispers of the people around, she immediately sensed something was fishy.

She wasn't nosy like other people, so she silently walked away from there. Plus, the Leaf villagers have a bad habit of making a mountain out of a mole hill, so she didn't care.

" Hey Sakura! "

She paused when she heard Lee calling her name and greeted him with a smile.

"Oh. Hello Lee! What a pleasant surprise."

The Almighty youth however didn't pay any attention as he said.

" Sakura its really terrible. Everyone is talking about it. Heck! Elders have even decided to put him in prison for this. I thought that you are his teammate so..."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

She interrupted him in between as Lee froze and blinked his comical eyes..

"You mean...you don't know.? "

"Know what?"

She asked with irritation as she was getting overly impatient.

Lee gulped as he backed away from her and spoke.

"Sasuke have joined a criminal organization and murdered few genins of Suna."

Sakura gave him a look as though saying, Today is not April's fool day, so stop joking...

Lee grabbed her hands and shook his head negatively as he narrated the whole incident. Somehow, the news have leaked throughout the whole village in spite of the privacy and the elders were already ready to execute him.

Sakura stumbled back a few steps as she fisted her necklace and chuckled mirthlessly.

"Umm..no this is a lie..You should send a letter to Sasuke. I am sure he will tell the truth."

"Sakura! We already did. He didn't bother to reply. So everyone is suspecting that..."

"SHUT UP! Don't You Dare Say Anything Against Sasuke! I will prove them wrong. "

She vowed to herself as she walked away from there with a determined look on her face.

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For those, who have read the sakura Shinden, it was mentioned there that Sasuke was suspected of joining a criminal organization. I added it to make things dramatic.

Next chapter, Sasuke will return back to Konoha...

But will he meet Sakura?

You just have to wait and see...

PS don't forget to read and review...

See ya...