Complexity

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

by summerdragonfly

Chapter VI

"A Time To Think"

A/N: Um, Sasunaru is NOT implied in this chapter, kthnx. I don't write

yaoi/yuri couples, not that there's anything wrong with that, I just don't

write them. This is just an example that Sasuke and Naruto truly are friends,

though nothing more in this story. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haruno Sakura lived in a traditional Japanese house, with sliding screen doors

that were pretty much vulnerable to any type of abuse, especially rough

openings.

Apparently some people didn't care.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, then went over to investigate the source of

the noise. "......Naruto...." she said exasperately when she arrived

there.

Uzumaki Naruto was lying face flat on top of the screen door that he

had crashed through. How he ended up there was anyone's guess.

"Wha....?" Sasuke had just appeared, and his expression was the same

as Sakura's.

"Naruto, just what are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"....uh...." Naruto got up and wiped himself off. "Um, Hinata-chan said

that Sasuke had come over to talk to you and I wanted to talk to Sasuke

about something, so uh---I came over and heard you guys yelling at

each other and I wanted to listen---AAAH....I mean...um..."

"You wanted to spy on us?" Sasuke said in an annoyed tone.

"....more like eavesdrop," Sakura corrected.

"No---well, sorta---ok, yeah," Naruto admitted sheepishly. "So I sort

of LEANED against your door and uh...I guess I was leaning too much

and it...kinda...um...collapsed," He finished in a small voice.

Sasuke and Sakura just stared.

"Sorry?" Naruto said uncertainly.

Sakura shook her head. "...it's OK...." *Though I'm kind of annoyed...*

"You said you wanted to talk to me?" Sasuke said.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "If Sakura-chan wouldn't mind."

"......." Sakura's head was hurting now. "No, not at all...." She

held her hand to her temple.

Sasuke made an instinctive movement towards her, but she said, "No,

I'm OK...I think...I just need a lie-down...yes..."

"Are you going to be all right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, just go and talk to him..."

*Sakura....*

* * *

"So what do you want, anyway?" Sasuke asked ten minutes later.

"I have a bone to pick with you." Naruto said, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

"And what's that?"

"Sakura."

".....and?"

"Look, I don't know what you're doing, but I don't like it at all."

"What are you talking about?"

"You show up, she gets all captivated by you again, and then you're yelling at each other."

"....."

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Naruto demanded.

Sasuke knew that he should trust Naruto, but the whole situation was still very uncomfortable for them all. "...I don't know."

Naruto sighed. "Are you two....uh....again?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't see how.....how she could ever forgive me."

Naruto thought long and hard. "Well, Sakura-chan's a forgiving person."

"Not when it comes to this."

"You know, you're not the only person who's changed."

*The moron has a point.* Sasuke thought.

Naruto saw the way Sasuke was comtemplating, and said quickly, "Don't get

the wrong idea or anything...Sakura-chan's just a friend now." he was

blushing a little.

".....oh." Sasuke knew. *Hinata.*

"Anyway---" Naruto continued hurriedly. "Everyone's really confused about you two,

and uh...."

"Why should it be anyone's business what goes on with Sakura and me?" Sasuke said.

"Sorry to burst your bubble...." Naruto said. "But...everyone...loves Sakura. She's sort of become the

image of a different type of strength and determination in this village...and..."

"They all hate me?"

"No. They worship you."

"Then they'd stay out of this."

Naruto shrugged. "I just don't want to see Sakura-chan hurt or anything like

that, you know."

*I don't want to see her hurt either...* Sasuke thought. *That's the last thing

that I want....*

"Tell me something, Sasuke." Naruto said suddenly.

"Nani?"

"...do you really love Sakura?"

Sasuke did not know how to respond to this. He thought that the only person who

should know that he loved Sakura was Sakura herself.

Naruto thought that he was starting out too big, and said, "...uh..like care

about her and stuff."

"I do." Sasuke said, and before he knew it, he was actually telling Naruto

what was on his mind. "I don't ever want her to be sad....not if I can help it.

I want to see her smiling...always. I don't want to her to hurt, and it

kills me that I'm always somehow the cause of that..."

"......."

"...if something's bothering her, I have to help her....I wouldn't do the

same for anybody...Sakura....Sakura....is different."

*Is this really...Sasuke?* Naruto thought.

"I want her to be happy."

"We all do."

"...maybe there's something wrong with the way I feel."

"Why is that?"

"...I told myself a long time ago that feelings and emotions will only

make me weak. But now..."

"You're never going to learn, are you?"

"What?"

"SHE loves YOU, man." Naruto said in the voice that one would use to

explain something very simple to someone very dumb. "And since I

don't have a two-watt lightbulb for a brain, prior to popular

belief, I can tell as can anyone else that you love her, too."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Do you hear yourself when you talk? 'I want her to be happy...'

I can't believe that I'm hearing this from you."

Sasuke shook his head. "But I shouldn't be feeling this way."

"Who cares?" Naruto said loudly. "What are you going to now if

you're not going to be with her? You've already accomplished your

revenge...do you really want to leave her? I don't think you

would've came back if you did."

After a while when Sasuke didn't say anything, Naruto continued,

"Besides, everyone's saying that you three are like a family

already. You love your son, you love her, what's there to question?"

Sasuke was about to open his mouth and argue when Naruto

countered, "And don't even say that Sakura-chan wouldn't forgive

you because that's stupid. She was never angry with you, Sasuke,

and she's more happy that you're back then frustrated that

you left."

"......"

"You did what I could never do, Sasuke, and you won her over.

She loves you as much as you love her, you baka, and we'll

all get to breathe again once you get that through your head."

Sasuke stared. Here he was, getting told off by Naruto. Uzumaki

Naruto. "Did you rehearse this?" he asked.

"Uh...kinda....are you convinced yet?"

"....."

"...I'm going to go now, but you'd better think about what

I said."

* * *

The wind blew his dark bangs across his eyes as he sat at the

familiar bench, completely lost in his own thoughts. It did

not help when cherry blossoms got picked up in the wind

and one landed on his leg.

Sakura.

*Goddamit, why is this so hard?* He thought to himself angrily.

*Even I don't know what I want...*

As he thought about it more and more, he realized that his

feelings for Sakura truly were genuine. There was no denying

this. No matter how hard he tried to bury those images of her

smiling and those memories of them being together, laughing

and just enjoying each other's presence.

The way his heart thumped and that inevitable pink tinge

across his face was not controllable when he was with her, and

the everlasting wish for her not to be sad somehow could not

go away.

This was, as much as he was uncomfortable about it, love.

And it didn't matter what others had to say about it, did it?

Why did he care if people thought he was "weak"....well, he

could just prove them wrong the hard way...but no...Sakura

wouldn't want him to be like that...

As long as she was happy, as long as Takeshi was happy, there

was nothing else that could've troubled Sasuke. As he sat there

gazing blankly into the distance, it became clear to him at

last that he had found truly precious people. An empty part

of him that had not been filled since the murder of his family

all those years ago was now filled.

For the first time in nearly twenty years, he was content. His

deed was done, what happened had happened, and all there was

now were these people....Sakura. Takeshi. Naruto. Kakashi. And

all those people he'd come to acknowledge. Called companions,

maybe even friends.

And as he got up and started walking once more, his conflicting

thoughts about love and emotions along with strength and

pride were conflicting no more. In order to have strength, you

need love, and that love for the people that are important

to you.

He smiled as the sakura blossoms continued to blow in

the gentle breeze of that fine Autumn day.

.:END CHAPTER VI:.

A/N: Ugh. I didn't like that too much. It's weird to write

Sasuke contemplating about feelings. Almost too weird. Hope

you liked it though. One more chapter to go! =D