I Will Always Be With You

Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 7: Confessions and Problems

Sasuke leaned on a tree and closed his eyes.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Of course…" "You promise?"

"I promise…"

Sasuke opened his eyes when he heard a loud voice calling his name.

"Sasuke-teme!" the voice greeted.

Sasuke looked in the direction the voice came from, and nodded. It was Naruto. For some reason, the dope had asked him to meet him here so early in the morning. They didn't have practice today so it was just him and Naruto, spending an entire day together.

As Naruto reached Sasuke, the fox-like boy grinned, "Ohayo, teme!"

"Not so loud, dope, I can already hear you without you screaming…" the raven-haired boy replied.

Naruto's grin widened, "Hey, teme, have you eaten breakfast yet?" he asked.

Sasuke finally looked at Naruto, "No," he plainly replied.

"Really?" the blonde asked as his face lightened up, "Then let's go to Ichikaru and eat ramen for breakfast!" he said, dragging Sasuke along with him.

By the time they got there, you could see a Sasuke with dust and leaves on his hair, and an exhausted looking Naruto.

"Ne, teme, couldn't you have just tagged along with me rather than make me drag you all the way across the town?" the boy complained.

Sasuke dusted off the dirt and leaves on his hair and body. And as he quietly sat down on the bench beside Naruto, his face still had the same stoic expression he had a while ago.

"Teme, you're such an jerk!" Naruto whined. "Two orders of special ramen please!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto.

"Sakura-chan's all sad now and it's all your fault," Naruto started to tell his friend. He suddenly stopped talking when he saw two bowls of steaming ramen in front of him.

"Sankou!" Naruto thanked the cook and started to fill his stomach with his precious ramen, "You know, I never see Sakura-chan smile anymore ever since you called her weak, again…" the boy replied slurping down the last of his soup, "One more order please!" he asked the cook.

Sasuke suddenly faced Naruto, and unfortunately for him, Naruto noticed his sudden reaction. "What's the matter teme? I'm just telling you the truth," he kept on blabbing on, "Ever since the day you totally pushed Sakura-chan away from you, she's always been sad."

Unexpected silence surrounded the two boys.

"You were Sakura-chan's happiness, and when you pushed her away from you, you took her happiness away… and left her with nothing…"

Sasuke was at lost for words.

"When you finally find that special someone, make their happiness yours and protect them with all your heart… Make them smile everyday and let them feel you'll always be there for them no matter what…"

Sasuke looked away, "Shut up, dope, you have no idea how much it hurts me to see her that way," he muttered.

"What?" Naruto asked, choking on his ramen.

"Nothing, dope, I didn't say anything."

"No, I heard you say something!" Naruto protested, "I heard you say that it hurts you to see Sakura-chan all sad and all!"

Naruto gasped, "Could it be, Sasuke-teme, you have a crush on Sakura-chan too?" he shouted from shock.

Sasuke leaned in to Naruto and covered his mouth, "Shut up, dope!" he hissed.

Naruto grinned and pulled away from Sasuke's grip, "Teme likes Sakura-chan, teme likes Sakura-chan!" Naruto teased.

Naruto suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, "So that means that it was never unrequited love on Sakura-chan's part!" he happily thought.

Sasuke stopped and gave up, "No, dope, I always loved her and I always will," he silently said, "From the very first time I saw her, I immediately fell in love…"

Naruto suddenly became confused, "Ne, teme… if you did love her, why didn't you tell her?" he asked.

Sasuke sighed as he looked up at the skies and closed his eyes, "When my brother killed my clan, I let go of all my emotions, and erased all my feelings for her. It was only now that I realized, it was impossible to forget…"

--

Sakura was happily walking down the street to her house. She just quickly went to the groceries and bought some flowers at Ino's place. Ever since she went to Ino and told her about her real life, they had somehow become best friends again. Sakura slowly opened the door to her house and entered the kitchen.

"I'm home!" Sakura said inside the seemingly empty house. She placed the flower inside a vase and started to cook dinner.

"Sakura?" a feminine voice called, "Is that you?"

Sakura sighed, "Hai, oka-san, I'm home," she replied.

She heard sounds coming from the steps and knew her mother was coming down to probably talk to her. And as soon as she knew her mother was standing by the doorway of her kitchen, she planted a fake smile on her face.

She turned around and faced her mother, "Conbanwa, oka-san," she greeted.

Her mother just nodded in reply. "Sakura," she said.

"Hai, oka-san?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

"By the way, I forget to tell you, you're father and I are moving," she stated.

The smile on Sakura's face quickly turned into a frown. "What?" she asked, "Are you kidding me, oka-san?" she laughed nervously, "Because this isn't a funny joke."

"No, Sakura. You're father and I are moving to the Sand village. He's been assigned to a mission that's going to last for a few years, and I've decided to move with him there rather than stay apart from him for however many years."

Sakura was taken aback, "But, oka-san, what about-"

"What about you?" her mother cut in, "Well I don't know, it's up to you. You can choose to come with us, or you can choose to stay. But keep this in mind Sakura, if you choose to stay, never of think of us as your family ever again."

Sakura remained silent.

"Sakura, if you decide to come with us, we'll start over again, I'm willing to forget the mistakes you've made," her mother stated, "However, if you choose to stay, you're being a fool."

Her mother walked closer and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "Don't let your emotions lay out the path of your life, honey. Especially when you know that the one you love can never return your feelings. Don't go into the darkness that you don't need to come into; don't feel the pain you can avoid," and for the first time in years, her mother kissed her forehead, showing her love and affection towards her…

It felt like it had been an eternity since Sakura had received her mother's kissed…

"When was the last time she had kissed me?" Sakura asked herself.

Sakura's eyes were soon filled with tears as she suddenly felt a pang of regret, "That's right," she told herself, "They stopped showing their love for me…ever since… his death…"

--

ShamanShadow here…Sorry for rushing it a bit…. I promise to update at least once every week!

R&R please! Thanks to those who have reviewed!