Chapter 1

A/N: sorry for this very late update! I forgot to tell everyone this is an AU. My bad. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! I present you chapter 1! sorry for not updating for a really LONG time.

Warning: ooc-ness., etc.

Disclaimer: I do not own naruto.

"I don't know why but somehow… deep inside me, I wanted her alive." - Sasuke Uchiha

Narita Airport…

It was mid-summer, and it seems a lot of foreigners, or just plain citizens are seen throughout the airport. It seems some plan on to enjoy their holiday outside the country. With the airport full of buzzling people, it was hard to locate someone. She sighed.

"Oi, Iruka-chan, what exactly are we doing here?" and here, someone had accompanied her, and the best part was that it was Kakashi. Great. Just great.

'Not.' She thought. She looked around hoping to find the one she was looking for, totally trying to ignore him. Kakashi, sensing this, just hummed and tried to look around, spotting anyone her friend was looking for. But, how could he gelp if he didn't know, no?

"Hey, Iruka, who are you looking for exactly?" he asked. He just heard a grunt and mumblings from Iruka. "Hey, Iru-" he was cut-off.

"Will you just shut up? Could you just stay put for a while? I didn't even ask you to accompany me. Why are you even here anyway?" she asked, annoyed. Before he could answer her, they heard a shout. Immediately, they looked into the source. Iruka smiled but that didn't go the same with Kakashi.

'Just who is she?' was what he thought.

A young woman fidgeted a little as she slowly entered the entrance. Why did she volunteer to do this again? Sigh. But, at least this was like an excuse to see him. She slowly made her way to the receptionist. The person in the receptionist, saw her and smiled.

"Ah, Sakura-san, good morning! Are you here to see Uchiha-san?" she asked. Sakura smiled and nodded. The receptionist immediately ushered Sakura to go up to where he was. As the elevators closed, she sighed as she fiddled with her fingers. She was getting a little nervous. How would she say it to him? A lot of things ran through her head. She was snapped out from her reverie after hearing the doors open with a 'ching.' She slowly went out as she resumed walking a bit. Standing now outside his office, she took a deep breath before knocking at the door.

Hearing a soft 'come in', she opened the door and went in. Sasuke momentarily looked at her before looking back at somewhat Sakura knew were documents. She made herself comfortable as she made her way to one of the couches as she sat, looking back at the raven-head.

"I see I might have come in the wrong time. Forgive my inrusion." She said. A soft 'hn' was the reply.

.

Silence…

.

Only the sound of pen scribbling on the paper can be heard and some occasional sighs. Sensing that the other wouldn't say something, he looked at her.

"So, what did you come here for? I thought you were a little busy and all." He asked. She looked at him.

"Ah, well you see, Shikamaru and the others thought of the gang, well, you know… going out… like those. So, we thought we would invite-" before she could finish what she was saying, he cut her off.

"No. I won't come. I'm busy." Was all he said. Sakura looked at her lap, saddened by the answer she received. She was hoping, even if it was just a tiny bit, that he would reconsider. But, she knew that it was futile. If she would just ask him again, it would all be just the same. Standing up, she looked back one last time before bowing a bit.

"Then, see you around, Sasuke-kun. I'll be off. And, you should probably rest a bit. I bet you're tired." With a nod, she left, closing the door behind her.

After Sakura left, Sasuke stopped for a while. He stretched a bit, not liking the feeling of his body stiff. Maybe a bit rest will do. Looking at the last paper he had to sign, he finished it off before going to one of his long couches located at his office. He slowly made his way there. As he lay down, he couldn't help but look outside, looking at the clear blue sky.

Something that reminded him of her eyes.

Her beautiful azure eyes.

Suddenly, he placed a hand above his eyes, as pictures of her began to loom over him. Why was it? It's been years!

'7 years, huh? When will you stop hunting me, Naruko? Won't you ever want me to move on?' he thought. ' or am I the one scared…I don't know why but somehow… deep inside me, I want you alive.' He thought. With all this thoughts in mind, he drifted off to sleep.

'Naruko…'

Somewhere…

Iruka smiled as she heard her voice. She smiled happily as she went to her.

"Nari! It's good to see you."she said as they hugged. The one identified as 'Nari' broke the hug.

"Yeah, so are you, auntie!" she said. Suddenly, they heard a cough, momentarily making them know that they were not the only ones. Iruka mumbled something before glaring at Kakashi. Kakashi merely help his hands up, looking a lot innocent.

"So, Iruka-chan, care to introduce me to her?"

.

.

.

Iruka looked at him and back at her, who only smiled sheeplessly. She sighed.

"Oh, you need not to, auntie! My name's Tonari Namikaze. Long time no see, sensei!" and she grinned. Kakashi's eyes widened.

The whole trip towards Tonari's apartment was quiet. Kakashi just looked on as he drived them while Iruka would make small conversations with her. Still, Kakashi couldn't believe it.

Flashback…

"Oh, you need not to, auntie! My name's Tonari Namikaze. Long time no see, sensei!" and she grinned. Kakashi's eyes widened. He studied her closer. The young woman, Tonari, looked a lot like his former student. Feeling the man's intense gaze on her, Iruka coughed. Kakashi eye smiled.

"Hahaha. Sorry 'bout that. So, where were we?" he asked. The two could only giggle nervously.

.

.

.

"Seriously?! It's me, Kakashi-sensei! You can't remember? Or have you gotten old to notice, eh?" she said. Kakashi blinked.

"You're-!"

"Well, I guess you could say I changed a lot, huh?" she said as she scratched the back of her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

End of flashback…

"-sei! Kakashi-sensei!" he heard someone calling him. He looked at the mirror and saw that Tonari, as she introduced herself, looked at him.

"Yes. Is something the matter?" he asked. She blinked.

"Ah. You were somewhat out a while ago. What were you thinking about so deeply, sensei?" she asked.

Ah, Kakashi just smiled towards her. She glanced back at them, seeing as they were chatting before resuming. After a few hours, they have stopped. He glanced at his clock. It was already 12 noon.

"Well, it's already lunchtime. Why don't we help you so that afterwards we could eat." Kakashi said. The two nodded.

Sakura headed towards the café downtown. It was quite small yet still popular. Going inside, she saw them all in some corner chatting. She walked over to them. Ino, spotting Sakura coming their way, stopped talking, and waved at her, telling her to come. As Sakura greeted everyone and seated beside her, they looked at her.

"So, how did it go?" she asked. Sakura could only look at them sadly.

"Sasuke-kun… he declined. He said he was really busy." She answered.

"Well, figures. Handling a large company like that is really tiresome. I didn't know why we bothered asking him in the first place." Shikamaru mumbled.

They all looked at each other and nodded. Sakura even volunteered to do it even though she knew this would be the outcome. Sigh. Ino patted Sakura by the shoulder at the same time, reassuring her that it was fine. They all knew Sakura felt saddened about this but so do they.

After everyone left, Sakura went to a nearby shop and proceeded her way towards her destination. It was a long walk yet she didn't mind. Stopping, she crouched down, and slowly removing the leaves as she placed the dark crimson roses she bought just beside it. A small sad smile made its way to her lips. On it was written:

Here lies a maiden

Full of wonder,

Bright as the sun,

Someone strong and kind…

She didn't bother to read the name, only seeing this made her want to cry. She bit her lip. How long has it been already? 7 years? She looked up the sky, slightly blocking the rays of sun with her hand. The sun was shining brightly complementing the clear blue sky. How it reminded her of her friend. She looked back at the grave.

"How long has it been since you left us all? Are you happy in where you are? Do you miss us? 'cause we do…" her last words were a little chocked out as tears slowly fell from her eyes. Why?

She left after a few minutes of looking at it. What she didn't know was that someone else was also there.

she stopped for a while. Iruka, wondering, called out to her. This snapped her back to her senses. She sheeplessly smiled as they all sat down on the couch.

"Thank you for helping me today, Aunt Iruka, Kakashi-sensei." She said. Iruka smiled while Kakashi nodded. Tonari suddenly looked out of the sky. It was beautiful.

"Nari, you should go and rest. The jetlag must still be getting onto you. You should rest." She offered. Feeling tired, she could only nod as she excused herself, making her way to her room. Hearing the door shut, Kakashi looked at Iruka, demanding for an explanation. She could only sigh. She looked outside, looking a little bit distant as she thought of whether or not she should tell him about this. But, knowing him, he would not stop until he gets what he wanted to know. Slowly, she looked at him, telling him not to speak of a word to anyone about what she would say. Seeing the nod, she continued on, talking about what Kakashi wanted to know.

After the explanation…

The two were silent. Suddenly, Iruka's phone rang. Looking at the screen, she found out that Shikamaru texted her about something. She sighed. She was about to get up when suddenly Kakashi went near her. He grabbed her hand asking her where she would be going.

"Shikamaru texted me about something. I need to go check it out." She said. Kakashi then stood back up, Iruka as well, as they both made their way towards the door. She left a note telling her that they left and that she would come and see her tomorrow. With that, they both left.

-end of chapter 1-

A/N: hey guys! So, um, sorry? Anyways, I hope you guys would like this chapter.(even if just a bit…hehehe) this is pretty short but I hope it would suffice for the time time being. Thank you once again! Oh, and Iruka here is female. Sorry.

Please read and review~!

Ja ne,

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