A/N: I would like to thank everyone for their positive response to chapter one. I was overwhelmed by the number of people who added this story to their favourites or put it on their story alert list. I will write the next chapter later today or tomorrow! Until then, I hope that you enjoy chapter two.
Chapter Two: The Room for Lease
He has changed. That was the first thought that came to mind when she saw him, walking in through the main entrance gates into the Leaf Village. Even from a distance, she could see the uncharacteristic expression defining his facial features: it was a face of pure and unwavering determination. She made a note of the fact that he had grown taller and matured physically; however it was not his physical maturity that caused the strange, warm and cold pang in her chest; that intermingling feeling of melancholy, hope and happiness. She knew that that feeling was caused by their shared passion, their shared goal: to extract Sasuke from Orochimaru's powerful clutches; to bring Sasuke home. She felt awkward watching him talk to Jiraya. She decided that she would see him later on the in day; after all, she had something important to do. She wondered if it was selfish of her, not asking Naruto to accompany her on the task she was about to embark upon; she knew that he would have liked to. However she felt that she wanted to complete this task on her own; she needed to think about the past and once and for all decide on her position when it came to Sasuke.
So deeply absorbed in her thoughts, Sakura had reached the door of Sasuke's previous lodgings before she even had time to register where she was. Lady Tsunade had asked her if she wished to clear the rest of Sasuke's belongings from his former residence before the apartment was leased. At first she had protested, how did anyone know that Sasuke wouldn't decide to come back tomorrow, or in a few day's or week's time? She said this, but in her heart she knew that he wouldn't be returning back out of sheer will. And even if she set out with Naruto tomorrow to find him, it wasn't going to be a procedure that consumed only a few days. Despite her protests, it hadn't taken long for her to admit to Tsunade that she longed for the opportunity to be in touch with something of Sasuke's once again. Well, not in those exact words; but that was the way that she was feeling. As she moved her hand over his kitchen counter top and drank from a dusty glass on his dish drying rack, as she lay on his pillow in his bed, wrapping a strand of black hair around her finger, she was in touch with Sasuke again; or who and what Sasuke used to be. What would happen if he walked through the door right now? Would she still want him to hold her in his arms? Yes. She knew that the honest answer was yes. But yet, now her reasons for loving him were not as clear as they were two years ago. She no longer knew who or what he was. She could no longer see a clear reason why she felt the way that she did about him. She had admired his determination, his abilities and his appearance; but was there anything else that had made him the person that she had chosen to care so deeply for? He was a paradoxical person, intensely passionate and dispassionate for life simultaneously. He could be icily cold and spiteful, but he could also put his life in danger for the sake of a friend. Sakura sighed as she lifted herself off of the dusty blankets and made her way over to Sasuke's desk. To the twelve and thirteen-year-old Sakura, Sasuke's negative traits had been as translucent as a pane of glass, and his positive traits had been as opaque as a wall of steel. Sakura bent over the desk and blew the dust away from a small picture frame. Picking up the cold metal frame in her sweaty hands, Sakura turned the frame over to see the picture, covered in a thick layer of dust. Her warm breath condensed on the glass in the cold winter air, enabling her to remove the dust on the frame with ease. Her heart began to beat faster as she unearthed the picture of team seven. Tears welled in her eyes and she brushed them away harshly. I promised myself that I wouldn't cry. She gazed at the clearly displeased Sasuke, and then at the joyful young faces of Naruto and herself. Naruto. He had always regarded Sakura romantically. He had always been friendly and willing to help her, he had always tried to protect her with all of his strength. She recalled the incident when Sasuke had informed her of the fact that it had not been his strength that had saved her from Gaara, but Naruto's immense efforts. Why did she treat him so poorly when he was suffering alone? Why did she ignore his relentless efforts to be kind and helpful? Why was I so horrible? She squeezed she picture frame tightly, her immense strength causing the glass to break. Maybe she could talk to Naruto about this, express her feelings and apologise to him for her ignorance. Did he still feel the way he did two years ago about her? Could she ever grow to love Naruto in the way that she loved Sasuke? Now she couldn't stop the tears from cascading down her face and onto the broken glass. They were tears of anger and frustration, of longing and regret. And yet, despite all of this, I love him! Why?
"I want to stop!" Her loud, strangled voice rent through the air in the silent room. "I don't want to love you anymore! I want to stop!"
Sakura collapsed onto Sasuke's untidy bed once more, grasping his quilt cover as though it might turn into its owner.
