Artheph's Note: OH LOOK! Last chapter! Man…even though this story was shorter than Something's Not Right…it still provided plenty o' headaches. Probably even more. Cause there were times when a scene JUST would not work out or when I wasn't sure if it was enough. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it! And…silly Shikamaru…tsk tsk.
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Sasuke was sitting on the top of the Hokage monument. He heard someone come up from behind him.
"You really are an idiot, Sasuke," Shikamaru said, as he settled down comfortably next to his teammate.
"Shut up."
"You took my little metaphor to the heart, didn't you."
Sasuke didn't respond.
"Well, I guess this mess is a bit my fault. I must have forgotten to tell you one more thing. If you truly love her, the little cracks only form on the edges of the mirror. Your image is still whole, even if it is flawed. The mirror won't shatter if you can handle the responsibility."
Sasuke looked at Shikamaru. "How'd you get so goddamn smart?"
Shikamaru smirked. "Ino can teach you wonders."
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Sakura found a rose in front of her door. A note was attached to it.
"Will you accept this rose in forgiveness?"
Sakura massaged her temples as she stepped into her apartment, bringing the rose inside with her.
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She met Sasuke in the afternoon.
"So?"
Sakura threw the rose at him. "Why should I accept your damn flower?"
As he caught it and offered it back to her, he said, "Because I can't bear to have the mirror shattered. I swear I will never hurt you again."
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And so they were back together again.
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"What are you thinking about?"
"Mission. Classified though," Sasuke vaguely replied. "You?"
Sakura pouted on the inside. That's it? Mission?
"Mission, which is classified AS WELL."
Sakura debated whether to stick her tongue out, but, in reality, she was highly irritated by his lack of response. Their noncommittal dialogue had been occurring more often, as they spent more time apart on their missions and various training.
"Aa."
This seemingly uninterested expression fed the angry flame burning in her. She erupted.
"I can't TAKE IT. We hardly ever see each other anymore. We don't talk. We don't CONNECT. What's happening to us? Is it really just the mission? Or is there something else?"
"Sakura…"
"You don't open up anymore! It's like you've reverted back to the Sasuke who was consumed with revenge and power! You hardly laugh. You hardly smile. I hate it!"
"Sakura, I…"
As the tears formed in her eyes, Sakura stood up.
"But most of all, I HATE YOU, UCHIHA SASUKE."
She paused and suddenly conjured up the rose she had accepted the last time they had gotten back together.
"And take your damn flower back."
Using her ninja abilities, Sakura vanished into the air.
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Half an hour later, Sakura was doubtful of her actions. She hadn't meant to explode like that. Nor did she mean to have her words be so harsh. So, she decided to go back to the area where she had ruthlessly yelled at Sasuke, hoping that he might still be there. However, when she arrived, no one was there. The only sign of their break up was the rose, pinned to a tree by a kunai. The image almost looked like Cupid with his own arrow piercing his heart.
Sakura sighed as she took out the kunai and placed the rose in a pocket.
"I guess what's done is done," she murmured to herself.
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"And now that you know all about me, I think it's time you went to Tenten," Sasuke concluded.
"You kids make everything so complicated," Neji smirked as he left the field.
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"I guess that pretty much sums it up," Sakura said.
"Men can cause so much pain sometimes."
"Yeah, but somehow, we can't live without them."
"Tenten?"
The two women looked behind them. Neji was approaching.
Sakura smiled. "I should be getting home then. See you around."
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An hour after retelling her relationship with Sasuke, Sakura trudged towards her apartment. Once she reached the door, she found a piece of paper taped to it.
"Regret? Always have."
As realization struck, Sakura finally let those held in tears fall, partly in relief and partly in frustration of her foolish actions.
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"Sasuke?" came a trembling voice.
Sasuke turned around from the view of the village. "Yeah?"
Sakura was holding the rose, which she had saved from their last break up. However, it was now withered and browning, its petals so dry and delicate that they would probably break if touched.
"Do you remember this?" She held the rose up towards him.
Sasuke frowned a little, trying to find the significance of this dying flower.
"…no."
"No? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure."
Sakura bit down on her lip to prevent it from quivering. "Then…I guess there's no point in this. I'll be going now…"
She was about to leave when Sasuke caught her arm that was holding the rose to get a better look at it. He fingered the edges of the hole he had caused in its stem.
"Is this…the rose I gave you?"
She gave a hopeful smile. "Yes!"
"What about it?"
"Well…okay." Sakura took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "I just wanted to say that…" She forced herself to look up into his eyes. "…that I'm sorry."
Sasuke only watched her, his eyes emotionless.
"And…I was hoping that we could perhaps…exchange our 'withering relationship' with a fresh start, like…"
She gathered her chakra and made a hand seal.
POOF!
The old brown rose suddenly became a new, velvety red one with a lush green stem.
"Like this." She gave a small smile.
Sasuke took the rose and fingered its fresh petals. He then held up the rose in the air, as if toasting with a glass of champagne.
"To a new start."
Sakura eyes lit up and this time, her smile was wide.
"To a new start."
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Neji and Tenten came up the hill and saw the pair in a deep embrace.
"Hmmph. They stole our spot."
"Oh, don't be so possessive, Neji. It's open to the publi-…wait…ours?"
The corners of Neji's mouth turned upwards into a little smile. "Ours."
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Artheph's Note: Oh, I SO could not help myself. I HAD to make it Sasuke/Sakura and Neji/Tenten. Did anyone get the four squished names in the summary? SakuraSasukeTentenNeji… cause their relationships were all intertwined and such. Yeah, the story was gonna be Sasuke/Tenten at first. But Crysthur was mightily disgruntled. So, I changed it to Sasuke/Sakura and Neji/Tenten.