Disclaimer: I don't own any of this and I'm not trying to sell any of it.

AN: It's the beginning of a loooooong day! Alright guys so if you haven't noticed already I have my second 100-Reviews-One-Shot up! It's called Questions and you can find it by going into my profile and... well... looking. I want R&R's for this chapter cuz it's a good one XD Go TEAM! (o, o )... what team might that be? TEAM WoB! (-_ - )... team... WoB... YEAH!

lol I'm being silly P:

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Chapter 21: Worth the Tears

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Thursday (part 1)

The wind whipped their hair around as they raced down the freeway; speeding around the Cliffside they drove on. It was pitch black and Sakura was cold and tired. She buried her face into Sasuke's back; cursing the helmet she was wearing for not letting her cheeks feel his warmth, and wrapping her bare arms tight around his body. Night was upon them and the moon loomed high in the sky, appearing huge and full as its reflection cascaded off the waves of the beach that surrounded the Cliffside.

"What time is it?" Sasuke said, shouting over his shoulder so that his voice wasn't carried off before Sakura could hear him.

She didn't want to pull out her cell phone, afraid that she'd drop it and never find it again, so she pulled her wrist up and pushed a button on her watch, causing it to glow with a light green light.

"One minute past midnight," she said.

"Hnn," was all Sasuke said in response as they entered into a city. He slowed briefly but not enough to come close to the designated speed limit. After two more turns they were back out of the town and heading through a road that was overshadowed by trees; their leaves and limbs covering up the glow of the moon, and the headlight on Sasuke's motorcycle being their only source of light. Without the headlight the world around them seemed pitch black and eerie.

After several more minutes Sakura began to realize that they were still on the outskirts of the town. In the blurred reflections of light she was able to make out the occasional mailbox here and there. Then, once she was sure they were finally out of the town's boundaries, Sasuke slowed the bike down enough to turn onto a long driveway that curved up a hill on a brick drive that was surrounded by thick bushes laden with flowers.

The ride up the driveway was only a few minutes long, but Sakura guessed that it would have taken at least half an hour if they had walked up. They slowed to a stop and she finally pulled away from his back.

'Where's the house?' she thought to herself, gasping and turning her head hurriedly as if expecting the house to be hiding somewhere behind the bushes. Sasuke turned the steering wheel of his motorcycle and grabbed Sakura's attention; brushing her shoulder and pointing towards the light of his head beam. In the surrounding area, Sakura notices a large ruin of rubble, moss, and weeds that were taking over the remnants of a large mansion of a house.

"Where are we?" She asked solemnly.

"We're at the last place I ever saw my mother and father," Sasuke said. "Welcome Sakura, to the Uchiha memorial; a tomb where the majority of my family rests and haunt the grounds."

"Quit talking like that! You're creeping me out!" Sakura said, lightly punching him in the shoulder.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. The humor helps," Sasuke said, chuckling softly. "I'm serious about this being the place they all died though."

"What happened that day? It's never been elaborated on," Sakura said, sitting up, and listening attentively. Sasuke knew she would be asking him this if he brought her here so he was prepared to tell the story. It was the first time he had ever recounted it to someone. Itachi was the only one who had spoken to the police after the events; Sasuke had been too tormented at the time and didn't want to tell anyone.

Once he had overcome the majority of his grief, the police tried again, but he knew it had been Itachi's fault; an accident of course, but Itachi's fault no less, and the police were already aware of that so he just acted like he couldn't remember the event when he was questioned again. He never recounted the events in his journal after the initial entries he wrote; too nervous to face the feelings that would be brought up if he did. He was ready to express his memory to Sakura though, starting with the day before the event.

"Sasuke, are all of your things packed?" Mikoto Uchiha asked, entering her youngest son's room. The seven-year-old Sasuke was sitting atop his heavily packed suitcase.

"Yes mom," he said roughly. "Why can't Naruto come with us?"

"Oh Sasuke, we already discussed this," Mikoto said. She walked to her adorable son and sat on the floor next to him, bringing her hand up to the back of his head and pushing some of his hair up. She always thought he looked his cutest when his hair looked unruly in the back. "Your father and I did think of bringing him but the family is very traditional and they wouldn't understand the connection we all have with him. You wouldn't want Naruto to feel shunned would you?"

"No…" Sasuke mumbled. "But it'd be more fun if he was there too."

"I know dear but we'll only be gone for a week. Come now, cheer up, you've met your little cousins before; you're going to have plenty of fun."

Sasuke nodded his head, feigning agreement. Mikoto ushered him off of his suitcase and lifted it off of the ground, taking it to the car.

"Hey nii-san, is the family reunion thing really going to be fun?" Sasuke said to Itachi as he entered his older brother's bed room.

"Not sure, it only comes around ever ten years. I was two last time so I don't remember anything," Itachi said. Itachi was lying on his stomach, reading a large book for one of his advance classes Sasuke assumed. Sasuke walked over to him and sat across his back, placing his arms across the top of Itachi's head and reading the book as well.

"That book has a lot of difficult words…" Sasuke murmured. "What's Sell-a-chim-or-faa?"

Itachi chuckled. "It's selachimorpha. I'm reading about sharks."

"Why?"

"My biology teacher has odd shark-like characteristics."

"I can't wait to get into high school," Sasuke beamed as he continued leaning on Itachi's head.

"Are you two ready? Let's go, we have a long drive ahead of us." The boys turned towards the door and caught sight of their father, Fugaku, walking down the hall.

After a couple more minutes so that everyone could relieve themselves' or grab anything they might have almost forgot, the four of them hopped into the car and began the five hour journey to their family reunion. Sasuke slept the majority of the way since they left early and he easily grew bored with car games.

Once they arrived they found the rooms they'd be staying in and unloaded their belongings. The rest of the day and the few days to come were relatively quiet as the residence of the household waited for the rest of the family to turn up.

On the third day, the house was filled to the brim with Uchiha. Wherever he turned Sasuke was surrounded by people who looked like him, his brother, his mother, or his father, or they looked like a combination as genetics mixed and matched themselves before his eyes. Itachi was by far the smartest one at the reunion, though there were plenty of cousins and other more distant relatives who tried to give him a run for his money.

Sasuke was caught up by the attention that seemed to present itself and then pull away just as quickly. In one moment he was being adored for his cute looks and charming yet sarcastic attitude. Many of his aunts and female relatives wanted to hold and hug him, pinch his cheeks, and rattle his hair. No one wanted to play with him though. After they had gushed over him their attention turned to Itachi or his parents.

Because Itachi was older, he wasn't as adorable, but he was still attractive. His naturally charismatic personality had the family flocking to him, as if begging to eat whatever he had in his hands. They challenged him at wits; they sparred with him in the backyard; challenging him to sports or just rough housing. No one wanted to do this with Sasuke and he wasn't sure why; he and Naruto were always fooling around so it's not like it was anything new to him.

After wandering around for an hour, hoping for some sort of attention, Sasuke decided to explore the grounds beyond the mansion. It took him forever to get to the main road, he thought he had been walking forever and once he reached the mailbox he seriously considered turning back, but he was already this far so he might as well continue forward. With this thought in mind, Sasuke turned from the direction of the town and walked even further away.

Another endless amount of time seemed to pass and he had reached a small park. It was empty and looked abandoned; not a single child in site. There weren't even rambunctious teenagers hoping to cause trouble. He edged around the park, pretending that some ominous villain was hiding under the slides, threatening to jump out at him and cut his throat in half.

"You won't get me!" Sasuke yelled at nothing and ran around the park. Shouting at the top of his lungs like he and Naruto always did. "Quick Naruto! We have to get in the jet! I'll fly it, you fire the gun!" He climbed onto a swing and kicked off, propelling himself backwards and forwards, higher and higher, all while acting like Naruto was with him.

"Naruto, the enemy is in sight! Get him!" Sasuke shouted. "Oh no they hit us! Abandon the jet!" He made some strange sound that suggested a deadly and disastrous explosion and let go of the swing, flying through the air and tumbling along the ground until he stopped on his back. "Oh no… they… cough, cough, hack… got me… bleh…"

He lay on the sand for a few more minutes, but the game was ultimately boring him so he got back up and scanned around the playground, hoping for inspiration, or a new mission.

"The enemy's lair," he said, spotting a large barbeque. He inched over to it, hiding behind the grounds play equipment. "Poor fool. You didn't realize you were going to have the world's most powerful… ninja… yea that's a good one… You didn't realize that the police force sent a ninja after you. Now you'll die!" Sasuke charged the barbeque, picking a stick up and swinging it wildly.

No one was behind the barbeque though. He knew this but it would have been so much more fun if Naruto really was playing with him. He dropped the stick and slumped onto the ground.

"This reunion sucks!" Sasuke said loudly. "I wish my family would pay attention to me at least a little more…" He noticed some red jug next to the barbeque. "I wonder what that is…" After walking over to it, he unscrewed the lid and sniffed. "Ew! It's gas! That smells nasty." He put the jug back down, suddenly very disinterested in it, and then notices a lighter lying on top of the barbeque. "Oh hey, I've seen one of those before."

Sasuke picked the lighter up and began flicking it, but he wasn't able to start a fire. "Man I wish I knew how to get this to light up."

"What are you doing here?"

Sasuke whipped around and gasped slightly, then relief filled him as he realized Itachi was the one talking to him. "Nii-san! I'm playing with Naruto…"

Itachi sighed, realizing that Sasuke had been feeling insurmountably lonely. "The family's worried about you, you know? Let's head back." He noticed Sasuke's face drop at the idea and added, "I'll stay by your side the rest of the trip."

"Okay," Sasuke said brightly. He tossed the lighter back on the ground, near the gasoline, and walked towards Itachi.

"What are you playing with that lighter for?" Itachi snapped. "Sasuke that's dangerous, you know better than to be playing with those."

"Awe Itachi-niisan, I couldn't even get it to light, I wasn't hurting anything."

"But you threw it next to the gasoline jug, you obviously don't know the dangers that occur when you play with fire," Itachi said, exasperated. "Here, I'll show you."

"Really? Sweet," Sasuke said. Even though Itachi was scorning him for being foolish Sasuke still liked watching matches and lighters light up with flames.

Itachi grabbed the jug and poured a tiny amount onto the cement underneath the barbeque. He grabbed the lighter, holding the red button and turning the silver wheel until a spark ignited and a small flame danced atop of it. He placed the flame near the sidewalk and the two of them watched as the tiny splash of gasoline ignited for several seconds. Then Itachi's face grew very serious. There was a strange popping sound that sounded like large guns going off followed by sounds that reminded Sasuke of something bursting.

Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him hurriedly into an embrace as a force Sasuke didn't recognize pushed them into the large sandbox that the play equipment stood upon.

"And that's it?" Sakura said. She was back to cuddling against Sasuke; neither had dressed properly for the cold night.

"Yep," Sasuke said. "Itachi swore he was the one who did it." He looked across the mansion's remains longingly. "To be honest though… I mean, this is my first time thinking about the events so thoroughly, but, unless he had used some kind of timer I can't really understand how he did do it."

"You never asked?" Sakura inquired.

"No, he always just said it was his fault." They continued sitting on the bike, chilled by the breeze that crossed the night, or was it the memories and spirits of Sasuke's family?

"What are you kids doing here?" A man said. They turned towards his voice and watched as a police officer stood off of a moped and walked over to them. "You aren't vandalizing this memorial are you?"

"No I'm mourning my dead family," Sasuke said. He pulled out his student ID to prove he was an Uchiha.

The man's angry expression lightened a little. "Alright then, just remember that you two are past curfew."

"Yes sir, we're about to leave anyway."

The policeman walked back to his moped and drove away.

"Do you still want to be a policeman Sasuke?" Sakura asked jokingly.

She noticed Sasuke tense up and wondered if he was blushing. "The idea has always been there," he said, causing her to laugh. "So why were you and Karin fighting?" Sasuke said, hoping to get Sakura to stop laughing.

She did indeed stop laughing. "Because she thinks we had sex."

"Damnit, I didn't have sex with you to avoid crap like that," Sasuke said, sounding quite aggravated.

"And that's the only reason, huh?" Sakura was shocked by this discovery.

Sasuke tensed again and Sakura knew he was blushing this time. "Well… We know where your feelings lie and all, but I don't want to do something with someone who I'm not exactly dedicated to…"

"Would you rather have sex with Kasai?" Sakura said; asking more sternly then she had meant to."

"Ewe… She's like my mom…. And she's my family..."

"So why can't we—" Sakura didn't necessarily want to push such a touchy topic but if he wasn't dedicated to another woman than why couldn't they finally be together?

Sasuke sighed heavily, wound up from annoyance. This wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "Sakura I don't want to focus on that okay? I'm sorry but I don't want to get into anything when I don't plan on sticking around. Do you really want to start something, fall deeper in love with me, and then have me break up with you to fulfill my plans?"

"I'm willing to wait for you—" Sakura started to say but he cut her off again.

"I don't plan on coming back."

She gaped at him. "But why? It's not like you're even going that far away!"

"I don't want to be this close to where my family died. I don't want to be so close to where my parents lived. I don't want to stay in that manor. I want to help Kasai and then I want to leave."

"You just want to run away?"

"Che! I don't expect you to understand."

"I try to… I really do…"

"Can we just go back now?"

Sakura sat defeated. She grabbed her helmet and put it back on her head as Sasuke did the same and turned his bike's engine back on. They traveled the five hours back to their home as quickly as they could, stopping only for gas. On and on Sakura cried into Sasuke's back, hoping he was mistaking her convulsions as shudders from the cold then from her dry sobbing. He wasn't fooled, but there wasn't a whole lot he could do during the trip anyway.

As they arrived into their own town, the sun had started to rise. He sped through quickly and parked on her driveway. She stayed on his bike for a few more minutes, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist and her head resting on his neck.

"I know it will hurt me in the long run but can I have you until you leave?"

"No."

Sakura stood off the bike and rushed into her house, not bothering to return the helmet to him. She didn't want him to see her mascara-smeared, puffy eyed face.

Sasuke slumped on his bike, mustering up the strength to go home and face his brother, and the strength to let Sakura go and not run after her. "It would hurt me too…" He said, mumbling to himself and backing his bike out of her drive way.

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AN: I feel so BAD for not working on my Shaman King or Pokemon stories! But I'm just so into WoB at the moment! Probably because I've actually written out to chapter 23 so really I only have 4 more chapters to write and then the series will be complete! I have to focus on this and get it up for all of you! Especially for the fans who've been reading since I first started the series. I feel like I owe you guys a hell of a lot for sticking with the story after that LONG hiatus! Thank-you! The least I can do is finish it right!? I have to at least focus on getting the second chapter of my Furuba story out though because that's only released monthly and what would it say about me if I neglected it too? Oh well this AN is long and I'm rambling so until next time XD