By: Crystalin Elf
Type: One-Shot
Pairing: Slight one-sided Sasu/Naru; Naru/Saku
"I want the one I love to be happy, more than I want their love returned."
- Then… you don't need the person you love to love you back? -
"Of course, I would be delighted to have their love returned. But… if the person I love is happy, that's
all I need to be happy"
- I'm sure the person you love must be very happy! -
-- Tomoyo and Sakura
- Card Captor Sakura
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A ninja will show no outward emotion. Doing so gives the enemy an advantage, and giving the enemy
an advantage, any advantage, is another mark of disgrace upon the family name. He ignores the fact
that he is the last of his family name, save for that traitor. He will be strong, he will defeat the
traitor, and then, despite how he feels for a certain blonde member of his team, he will marry and
rebuild his clan.
He will ignore his love for the blonde haired baka, and his affection for the pink haired girl. He has a
destiny he can't deny forever, and they all know it. He will chose that destiny over them in the end,
so they no longer force their affection onto him.
It's easy to do, since she sees Naruto's love for her now. And returns it. They're to be married in a week,
and that will be that. They'll live together, do missions together, and have children. Hopefully,
they'll get to grow old together, so the loudmouth can fulfill his dream of being hokage. They talk
about their future constantly, while shooting sad looks at him.
He continues to find Lee's reaction to the marriage announcement amusing. The thick browed ninja had
run about he village in tears… he vaguely sympathized with the other man, since he loved Naruto
as much as Lee loved Sakura, but…
If Naruto was happy with Sakura, then that was all he needed to be happy.
They worry about him, but try to keep it hidden. They know he'll leave after they get married, and they
wonder if he'll even have a future once his task is finished. If it gets finished… he can't say for
certain that he is stronger than the man he has vowed to kill. But he'll leave anyway, and they know
he won't let them come with him.
Newlyweds need time alone, after all.
And they know that he knows that they would give up that time alone, to help him. But he won't let
them come with him, because he cares for them too much. Far better, he thinks, to die killing his
brother, than to risk either of them dieing while he kills that man. They can live with losing him,
since they have each other, but he knows he can't live without them anymore.
He doesn't want to see them get hurt because of him.
He's lost to many loved ones already, and has told them he refuses to risk either of them. They smile
sadly, and accept his answer, knowing that he can be just as stubborn as Naruto. They'd go with
him anyway, except he has managed to get the Fifth Hokage to forbid them from following him.
He thinks it would be better to leave now, before they get married, but he can't. They've both managed
to extract a promise from him, that'll he'll stay until then. And he never breaks the promises he
makes… otherwise, he might be persuaded from this path, persuaded to stay with them.
Naruto is willing to help him kill that man, and Sakura is willing to help rebuild his clan, but he always
turns them down. He can't place that kind of burden on them, so he only tells them sternly that if
they take care of each other, he'll be fine.
And somehow, they understand what he wants to say, but can't.
It's in the way that Naruto tightens his hold on Sakura, the sadness flashing through his eyes again. He's
obviously not as dense as everyone says, if he can understand the meaning behind his words.
Sakura too, looks sad. Then he takes them out to eat, and gets them talking about past missions. He
says he'll try his best to come back, and asks them for suggestions on what they should all do when
he gets back. He'd almost say or promise anything, to make the sadness leave their eyes.
Almost.
But what they want him to say remains unsaid, and by the time dinner is over, someone is waiting to talk
to them about last minute wedding plans, and he slips away unnoticed.
The week passes by too soon, and the wedding doesn't last nearly long enough in his mind. He won't
forget how handsome Naruto is in his tux, or how beautiful Sakura is in her shimmering white
wedding gown. He tells them they look like a prince and princess getting married. She insists that
he stands in the crowd while she throws her bouquet, and with a slight smile he does so.
He catches the bouquet.
He wants to glare at her, but can't do so on her 'special day' so he settles for a long suffering sigh as an
absurd amount of women descend to try and drag him to the celebratory party. The newly weds
dance for a bit, and then Sakura claims him for a single dance, refusing to let him go without at
least getting one in with him. Naruto insists on doing the same, and he obliges without any fuss, though
he has to push away the wistful feeling that they could stay like this forever.
Then Kakashi does something outrageous, and causes enough of a distraction for him to slip away. He'll
have to remember to thank the older man if he makes it back to the village alive. He's left their
wedding present in Kakashi's hands as well; he trusts that that executing the task will keep the
older jounin safely inside the village.
He doesn't want his former teacher coming with him either.
He has collected his packs and made it safely out of the village before anyway besides Kakashi, Naruto,
and Sakura have noticed that he's left the party. No one will know that he's really gone for a few
days. And then… well, the hokage has promised to tell people that he is on a mission. After all, a
solitary jounin on a mission isn't odd at all.
Hopefully, she'll also manage to send Naruto and Sakura on some easy mission as well, preferably one
away from the village. He doesn't want people harassing them about his whereabouts.
He travels several miles before he stops for the night, and takes the time to look back at the road back to
the village. He misses them already, and he hopes that their evening continues to go well. And
their lives… he wants them to be happy.
No matter what, as long as he can think that they're happy, then he can be happy as well. And perhaps,
having a place to return to can give him the extra determination to defeat his brother, and live.
He wants to be there to make sure his friends are happy. That Naruto is happy…
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Crystalin Elf: Oh… god… this sucked. *hides head in shame* RAKKA! Why did you make me post this?!
Rakka: It's good for you. Perhaps you'll receive good criticism and continue to improve.
Crystalin Elf: *whimpers* I will never improve…
Rakka: Minna! Thanks for reading, and please ignore Crys's current lack of confidence. She's visiting
her family over the weekend and… well, things never go well when she sees them.