Author's note: Hi everyone! This is my first fanfiction ever. I always wondered what their lives would have been like if Sasuke had decided to return to Konoha after his brother died, so I decided to write it! English is not my first language, so please let me know if something is wrong!

This is going to be a multi-chapter story.

Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) don't own Naruto.

"Sakura, behind you!" he yelled as he fought his way next to her.

Her eyes turned to the enemy standing behind her, and she barely managed to dodge the two shurikens thrown at her. She felt one of the shurikens brush her cheek, and a few drops of blood slid down her face. But she didn't lose her concentration. She didn't even flinch. Instead, her eyes focused fiercely on her opponent as she built up an impressive amount of chakra in her left fist. She took advantage of the sudden proximity of the enemy to send him waltzing ungracefully on a tree—which was cut in half by the impact. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, as his head fell limply on his right shoulder. Sakura knew he wasn't going to get up anytime soon. Honestly, she wasn't even sure he was going to get up at all.

She felt her teammate's fingers encircle her wrist to pull her close to him. About twenty enemies surrounded them; there was no way out. But surprisingly, Sasuke's proximity gave her a certain sense of security. She knew for a fact that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She wouldn't let anything happen to him either. That's why the new Hokage—Naruto—always insisted on sending them on every mission together. Naruto knew they would protect each other with their lives. They were each other's best chance of survival. Plus, there was no denying it: they complemented each other perfectly. Sure, Sasuke was technically far stronger than she could ever hope to be, but her medical ninjutsu and her analytical mind were essential on their team. They were equals, and it couldn't make her prouder.

It was all almost surreal, and sometimes Sakura had to pinch herself to make sure that all of this—her whole life since Sasuke's return—wasn't a dream or, worse, an elaborate genjutsu. After all, after Sasuke left the village 12 years ago, Sakura had slowly lost hope that he would come back to them. She wanted him to come back. She desperately wanted him to come back to them. She even begged Naruto to bring him back. But she stopped believing it would happen when they met him at Orochimaru's hideout. That day, she realized he was so deeply rooted in his own darkness that they had no chance to reason with him. He had to find his way back on his own. And she sincerely hoped he would find his way home.

He had found it. He came back. He had been there, with them, since before the 4th Great Shinobi War. He fought beside them; he protected them with his own life. He did everything in his power to make up for all the bad things he did, even if it meant he had to put his own pride aside.

He came back to them.

He came back for them.

She felt his presence like a winter breeze tickling her spine, crawling up her neck in a strangely comforting way. She felt it deep in her guts, the same feeling she had felt before he left in the middle of the night three years ago. Somehow, she knew he was about to cross the gates. She knew he was about to come back. She had known it, despite the lingering uncertainty of everyone around her, the moment Itachi's death had reached their ears. She saw it—the uncertainty about his return—even in Naruto's eyes. Naruto, who had always been the first to be optimistic, even when Sasuke had both feet firmly anchored in his darkness. Naruto, who never gave up on him.

But this time, it seemed she was the one getting her hopes up.

Her feet moved on their own as she walked along the path, lit by the full moon's light, leading directly to the gates. She even walked past that bench—the one she had woken up on three years earlier. It brought back memories—good and bad ones—of their genin's days. It brought back memories of that night—memories she sometimes wanted to get rid of, for it was too painful to think about it. And she heard the sound of her own footsteps, echoing all around her, as she did so.

The sound of her footsteps soon mingled with a more distant noise beyond the gates. It was faint, but it was enough for her heart to start drumming against her chest. She narrowed her eyes; it didn't take long for her to recognize the familiar figure emerging from the forest's darkness. And when her eyes met his—his breathtaking eyes, as beautiful as two polished onyx stones—she felt her legs buckle under her weight. But she remained standing, motionless, as he walked through Konoha's gates.

"You came back," she whispered as if her words could somehow make him disappear. She dared to take a step forward and another one. She wanted to touch him, to confirm that it—this whole surreal scene—wasn't some dream. But she changed her mind to move further when he stopped moving. She remained still, her fingers fidgeting behind her back as they both stared at each other.

He nodded. It was subtle, and anyone would have thought it was just their imagination playing tricks on them. But Sakura knew him well enough to detect it. She knew that every little movement, no matter how insignificant it might seem, meant something when it came to the Uchiha. And she knew it was his way of saying 'Yes, I came back.' She knew it was his way of telling her he had done what he had to do. He was ready to come back to them. And as she came to realize it, her heart seemed to skip a beat; she felt dizzy as air struggled to reach her lungs.

And, finally, she stepped forward to take him in her arms. He made no move to stop her as her arms found their way around his neck.

He was home.

He never let go of her wrist. On the contrary, he drew her closer to him as if that small gesture was enough to protect her from all the bloodthirsty shinobis around them. His jaw was tight; Sakura could see a glint of anger in his eyes. More than a glint actually: she caught a glimpse of his hands shaking in anger. And she knew very well what had triggered this sudden rage. For a brief moment, her hand rested on her cheek. She felt blood against her fingertips. Sasuke tensed as she moved her hand away from her face to see the extent of the damage. She smirked in his direction. 'It's just a scratch,' she wanted to say. But she knew it would not reassure him, nor it would appease the growing rage bubbling inside him.

"He's hiding," she heard him say after a few seconds of silence. Sakura had noticed earlier that he was nowhere near them. She couldn't feel his presence, but Sasuke could. He knew where he was.

"Good." She felt his gaze fall on her, question marks in his eyes. Sasuke would certainly have preferred to get it over with as quickly as possible, but Sakura knew they had to be careful. He was powerful. He was dangerous. "We need to get rid of his nuisances before we go after him. They'll only get in our way if we aim for him right now."

His gaze lingered on her for a long moment. And when Sakura finally turned her head towards him, she felt her heart tighten a bit. Pride. It was what she could see in his eyes. He was proud of her, and it was beautiful.

But she didn't take the time to appreciate the sight: right now, she had other things to think about. They needed to find a way to take care of every enemy without exhausting themself, for another enemy—far stronger—was waiting for them. "I'll take care of those on the right. You take care of those on the left. We fight with our backs to each other."

He nodded.

"You've changed."

Her eyes met his, and she frowned. His words echoed in her mind for a moment as she stared at him, visibly confused. She wasn't sure how to take his words. Was it a compliment? Was she delusional to think that those three words contained a part of recognition—a recognition she had never really received from him? She imperceptibly shook her head. Sakura knew him. She knew he would never compliment her so openly. Whatever those words meant, it wasn't what she thought.

And, to be honest, she still had a hard time trusting him since his return. It had been maybe three weeks since he was back, but she still felt uncomfortable around him. She felt uneasy.

She doubted his intentions.

A bitter smirk spread across the kunoichi's lips. "Is that such a bad thing?"

A heavy silence hung between them. And as the seconds passed, Sakura grew more and more uncomfortable. Instinctively, her arms wrapped themselves around her own body, and she pulled back her legs close to her chest. However, her eyes did not leave him as he stared at her curiously. He seemed oddly surprised by her reaction as if he expected anything but this. "No, it's not."

A hint of surprise appeared in her eyes, but she didn't answer. She just watched Sasuke silently as a smile—a real one—found its way to her lips.

He let go of her wrist, and she turned her back to him. They were close to each other, close enough that no enemy could push their way between them. A kunai in her hand, she patiently observed each of her opponents. She was analyzing the battlefield, trying to find a way to waste as little chakra as she possibly could. Reaching her limit was not an option. But Sasuke was much more impulsive than she was and, within seconds, four enemies were already lying on the ground. Sometimes she found him a little too reckless for her taste, but that was the way he was. That was the way he had always been.

She launched herself into the crowd a few seconds later, and she managed to knock out two of her opponents at once—smashing their skulls together. Then she whirled around to kick one of them, sending him flying next to Sasuke. Her teammate shoved gracelessly a chidori in his chest, killing him within seconds. And the battle continued for a while. It continued until Sakura noticed that she and Sasuke were now far—too far—from each other. And at that moment, as her enemies did everything in their power to drag her further away from her teammate, Sakura knew something was going to happen. Something bad.

How could she have been so blind?

That was his plan all along. He wanted to drive them apart.

"Did you think you had the slightest chance against me?"

She didn't have time to turn around. She didn't even have time to make a move. She felt a katana sink into her back, and pierce her chest until it came out the other side. Her breath became shorter; she knew he had pierced a lung. And a trickle of blood flowed from her half-opened mouth. In the distance, she heard Sasuke call out her name. She heard the hint of panic in his voice. But she could focus on nothing else than his voice as he seemed to take pleasure in turning his katana in all directions to accentuate her pain. She clenched her teeth. The pain was unbearable.

"Face it, Sakura," he began, letting out a bitter laugh. "You have no chance against me. But still, I have to grant it to you. Without you to bother me, it would be a lot easier to kill him. And then, achieving my goal will be nothing more than a piece of cake."

Without the slightest delicacy, he removed the katana from her body. She fell to the ground, unable to stand on her legs. The last things she saw were the intense purple glow that suddenly surrounded her, and the black flames that shamelessly licked their enemies' bodies. The last things she heard were the desperate cries of enemies, and Sasuke's voice—a hoarse voice filled with rage—calling for her. 'Don't you dare die, Sakura Haruno.'

She tried. She tried so hard to stay awake. But with every single second, she felt her whole body—each of her limbs—go limp. Her vision became blurry. The pain—which was unbearable a few minutes ago—slowly faded away. And she felt herself being engulfed deeper and deeper into the darkness as her whole body—her entire soul—was giving up on the sparkle of life still shining deep in herself. Her eyelids grew heavy, and darkness came to replace the muddled scenery around her.

She never felt so peaceful.

Death was much sweeter than she had expected.

I hope you enjoyed it! :-)