Forgotten Dream

Chapter I: Who are you?

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would this really be published on Of course I don't own the series! But I do own the poem at the very beginning of this chapter.

Lift your eyes unto the sky

Who says that you're alone?

There's a heart beating for yours in the valley beyond

And a place for you to go home.

Rain fell upon the carnage strewn battlefield, like tears of heaven shed for the souls of the dying. Uchiha Sasuke gazed up at the overcast sky, letting the chill rain freeze his body, numbing the pain from his wounds. The look on his face was that of a lost child separated from its mother. Beside him, the corpse of his late brother, Itachi, began to grow cold. He had done it. He had killed one of the most powerful men on the face of the planet. And now that he had, he had nothing.

A single tear fell from his dark eye, mingling with the endless rain. There was nothing left for him here. It seemed that his life just went through different phases of complication. First living in the shadow of his nii-san, then being an avenger in a city of peace, then training under Orochimaru, struggling to gain enough power to surpass his sensei before it was too late and Orochimaru took his body away from him, then leading Team Hebi on a desperate attempt to find and kill Itachi, the final battle between brothers, and now this. This aching loneliness, this knowing that he was alone in the world, this pain. Nothing was left for him now. All that remained was emptiness.

Sasuke picked himself up and dragged his aching body into the shelter offered by a tree on the edge of the battlefield. Resting his back against the trunk, Sasuke allowed himself to sink to the earthy ground, utterly exhausted. He bowed his head as though in prayer, too tired to even muster the dignity to die sitting up straight.

Something cold and wet blew into the side of his head, carried by the breeze that accompanied all storms. Sasuke picked it up, examining it dully. It was a cherry blossom. A sakura. Sakura…

Her face appeared clearly in his mind, full of the same laughter that had always been present in it in the days before he left. Pale pink hair framed her rosy countenance, her jade green eyes full of the joy that she always seemed to possess at the mere sight of him. "Sasuke-kun," he heard her softly say, endowing the suffix with a tender love unlike anyone else's. He smiled at the recollection of her. Next to her appeared another figure. This one was a boy, a blond child of Sasuke's own age, with sapphire blue eyes that sparkled with mischief and whisker marks on his cheeks. Naruto. His face sported the same idiotic grin that was so often upon it in the days of their youth.

"Sasuke-teme, remember?" he heard Naruto's voice ask. "We'll always wait for you. You're part of the Team. We'll always be your friends. Always."

"Always, Naruto," the Sasuke of here and now said. A tired smile made its way onto his beaten face. Maybe there was something left after all. He picked himself up as the clouds began to break, the light of the sun shining down upon Sasuke as he headed to a place he had not seen in five and a half years. His home. Konohagakure no Sato. The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Just… a little… further, Sasuke thought to himself as he plodded on. He had not stopped walking since reaching his decision to return home the previous day, and he was exhausted. Stopping was not an option, however. Sasuke had not escaped unscathed from his battle with Itachi; he had many wounds too serious for his limited medical skills to be of any use to. He'd lost a dangerous amount of blood too, and his vision was foggy. If only he could rest for just a little while… but Sasuke harbored no doubts. He knew that if he stopped now and allowed himself to sleep, it would be a sleep from which he would never awaken. So just keep going, his mind told him.

Sasuke limped on, using his katana as a crutch. The Uchiha was beaten indeed, if he would resort to using such a proud weapon as a mere walking stick. But there was no other way, not if he wanted to be able to keep walking long enough to reach the Village.

For the past few hours, he'd been traveling through territory that he recognized. He may have only been here once before, but the journey that had brought him to this land was momentous enough for the scenery to forever be embedded in his mind. This was the area near Konoha, where he had fled with the Sound Four after he agreed to Orochimaru's proposal to leave the Leaf in favor of Otogakure. In other words, it was the area near his home. He was almost there. Just a little farther until he should reach the road, and then it was only a short journey to the gates themselves…

The thought offered slight comfort, giving him the strength required to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Soon. Soon. Soon, he would be able to see Naruto and Sakura again. Soon.

Down the beaten track that was the road leading into Konohagakure Village he plodded, almost utterly spent. The gates loomed into view, and Sasuke doubted that he had ever seen a more welcome sight. The guards at their post started at the sight of his beaten body dragging itself forward. He saw them approach him, and grinned tiredly. A hazy blackness was already spreading across his vision; he had not arrived a moment too soon. Knowing that help was here, Sasuke finally allowed his tired body to give in to the fatigue that had plagued him since his victory over Itachi the previous day. The iron determination that had fueled his body until now vanished, and he promptly blacked out.

When Sasuke awoke, he was lying in a warm bed, covered in soft blankets. His wounds had been bandaged so that he was no longer loosing blood, and much of the general gore of combat had been cleaned from his body. The result was so very comfortable that he would have sighed in ecstasy, had he been a different man. As it was, he merely settled comfortably amidst the warm layers, content to just lie here for the time being.

There was a bustling outside of the door, and a woman entered wearing the white uniform of a Konoha nurse. So he was in the hospital, then. That would explain the uniform white coloring of both his room and bed. If he were here, that would mean that they weren't planning on executing him for treason anytime soon, though whether or not they eventually planned to was probably still not decided. That was fine with him. He had been aware the entire time since he left five and a half years ago that if he ever returned he would most likely be sentenced to death; he'd only returned in the hope of being allowed to see Naruto and Sakura one more time before he died.

The nurse cleared her throat, effectively returning his attention to her.

"Now, how are you feeling?" she asked. Sasuke turned to face her, his response that he was fine catching in his throat as he really looked at her for the first time, and noticed her bright green eyes, her cherry blossom hair…

"Sakura?!" he asked, incredulous. She looked a little startled that he knew her name, but the shock only deterred her questions for a second before she began the little interview again, though this time less like a professional nurse and more like a confused teenage girl.

"Yes, my name is Sakura. How did you know that? I'm not wearing my name tag at the moment, and-"

"Sakura, don't you remember me?" he interrupted her.

"Remember you… from where?"

"Sakura, we were Genin together. You, Naruto, and I; we were Team Seven. When I left you said that you loved me…" he trailed off at her confused expression.

"I never had another teammate. Only Naruto. Our squad was special in that we only had two trainees. There was never anyone else. Who are you?"

A/N: Muhaha, I actually managed to type all of chapter one in less than a day. I feel really special now. Please review to tell me what you thought of it.