Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its' characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
"The Cherry tree swaying through time will eventually blossom…"
Hana
It was one very hot morning in Konoha. In this kind of day ordinary people would be in their houses doing their ordinary jobs. While there children are busy doing their boring chores. I am not one of those ordinary citizens. I don't do those boring chores. I am a shinobi. I wouldn't be inside the house. In fact, I spend a lot of time outside it. I have to train. I have to get stronger. I need to defeat my brother. And I have to meet my teammates and our very late teacher in the bridge to start our training sessions.
I was always the first one to reach the meeting place. And our teacher would be the very last. I leaned back against the bridge. Soon, one by one of my teammates will be appearing.
"Sasuke-kun, Ohayou!"
Haruno Sakura the only female ninja in our team has arrived. She will always be the first one to greet me. And I will just nod my head in reply. But that never stops her. You see Sakura likes me. She never stops hoping that one day I might like her too. After greeting me, she smiled and turned her attention to watch the calm river. I turned my eyes to observed her.
Sakura. The name suits her well. With her long pink locks, bright green eyes and lips that always smile. She's always so bright and cheery. Full of life. And just like the flower she was named after, she's delicate and fragile. So easy to break. That's why our whole team always protected her. Even if it costs my life, I will protect her. She's one of the most important people in my life. I don't want to lose anyone again. The silence was broken when my last teammate arrived.
"Sakura-chan, Sasuke… OHAYOU!"
Uzumaki Naruto.
"Ohayou!" Sakura replied. I merely nodded.
dobe, the loudest ninja, my teammate, my rival and… my friend. Although I never admitted it. Naruto became one of my closest friends. Now, our team is complete. We just have to wait for our teacher.
We waited and waited some more.
After 5 hours later. He arrived.
Our team training began. We have to fight against our sensei. Kakashi shows no mercy during team training. He even changed the location of our usual training place and brought us to a small field. But, even when training with us he still reads "that" book. I don't know why a Jounin like him loves to read those books so much. After the non-stop training sessions we finally get to rest. We were terribly exhausted.
Especially Sakura. She may have good chakra control but her stamina is very low. Also, her strength is average compared to Kakashi. She tried to land punches and kicks to our teacher but he avoided them easily. In the end our teacher still won against us.
"25 minutes rest only." Kakashi-sensei calmly said. And he resumed to reading his book.
We sat down the grass and rested. I noticed that for a small field it was full of trees and colorful flowers. I suddenly saw a tree filled with cherry blossoms. It was a magnificent sight. All of the pink flowers were in full bloom. They were gracefully swaying with the wind. Except for one. At one branch was a little bud. That blossom hasn't bloomed yet. I take a looked at my pink haired teammate. She still hasn't bloomed fully.
The Chuunin exam
We were at the forest of Death. I don't seem to recall what happened. All I remember is being knocked out and my mind began to darken. Slowly, the darkness in my mind began to fade. And I saw Sakura holding me, pleading and crying. Then, I just saw the Sound nins on the ground. The two was injured. While the other one has a broken arm.
"Did I break his arm?"
Sakura quickly rushed to my aid. I noticed that all over her body there were plenty of cuts and bruises. And her once long hair was now short. Short. I have to admit short hair looks so much better on her.
"Ahhh! Sakura-chan, your hair!" the dobe shouted.
I could tell something happened. Sakura was always conscious of how she looks. Especially her hair. Did she cut her own hair to save us?
I guess the small blossom finally started to bloom.
Chuunin exam: Finals (1 month training)
Kakashi-sensei decided to personally train me for the finals. As usual he's late. When will he learn to be punctual? It was a bright day. So I decided to train on my own for a few minutes. I went to the small field where we once trained. It was still the same. Filled with trees and pretty flowers. Then, I saw the cherry blossom tree. The little bud that I once saw is now flower.
After the 3rd Hokage's death
I don't understand. Why? Why…why am I so weak? I couldn't protect Sakura during the fight with Gaara. I couldn't defeat Naruto. I can't defeat my brother. I need to be strong. I need to defeat Itachi. I am an avenger. I have to seek Orochimaru…for power.
That night I was about to leave Konoha when I saw Sakura. She's trying her best to stop me from leaving. She's trying to convince me that I'll be happy with her everyday. But I have a different path to take.
"I…I love you with all my heart!" she shouted. Tears are freely flowing down on her face.
I'm sorry Sakura. I guess…I won't be able to see you bloom.
"Thank you."
And I left her alone on the bench.
I pass by the training field before going to the gate and saw the cherry blossom tree. I noticed that the little flower that bloomed is now dying and its' pink petals are now falling on the ground.
I wasted no more time and headed to the gate.
At the Hidden Sound Village
I finally made it. I have reach Orochimaru's lair. The whole place was dark and it has a cold atmosphere. He and Kabuto were already there. Waiting for my arrival. He promised to give me power and I accepted. He decided to personally train me for 2-3 years.
"Training will begin tomorrow, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru said. And he left.
Next day
I arrived to the place Orochimaru ordered me to go. It will be the place where we will train. I observed the surroundings carefully. Unlike the training field in Konoha, this one was wide, full of grass and no flowers. Only one tree exists. A cherry blossom tree. Suddenly, an image of Sakura flashed inside my head. I decided to shake it off. The tree doesn't have any flowers on its' branches. All it has now are tiny buds waiting to bloom.
2 years later…
I'm still with the Hidden Sound and here I am still training. I have grown exceptionally strong over the years and even mastered many of Orochimaru's forbidden jutsus. This morning, Kabuto told me surprising news. Orochimaru's is planning to attack Konoha. Tomorrow. And I'm coming with him. So, I'm going back after all. I looked over the cherry blossoms. And I wonder how Sakura's doing. All of the tree's buds have become pretty flowers. They finally blossomed at last.
Konoha: 1 year later.
There was blood everywhere. Many shinobis have fallen on the ground. Dead. Orochimaru's plan of overthrowing Konoha failed. The Godaime and the Sannin Jiraiya defeated him. I was also defeated during the war. By Naruto and…Sakura. I encountered them in the middle of the battlefield. I was surprised by the growth of Naruto and especially Sakura. The Sannin Jiraiya trained Naruto. While, Sakura was taught by the Hokage herself. She became an impressive medic nin with incredible strength. Both of them convinced me to go back home. In the end, I lose the battle and gave in. I still remembered Sakura's face that time. She was smiling. A smile I thought I wouldn't see again. It seems that smile was just for me to see.
The Hokage allowed me to live and be one of the Hidden Leaf's shinobi again. I will still stay with Team 7 and go on missions with them. But I have to share a house with the dobe for 2 years and Kakashi and Anko will be my teachers. Just to make sure I won't leave again.
2 years passed by…
I am an Anbu captain now. I have my own small apartment and enough money for a living. I still haven't defeated my brother. Information of his whereabouts is unknown. Plus, the Akatsuki is now gone. But I still didn't give up on my goal of defeating him. And the dobe? He's an Anbu too. In fact, he's in my platoon. Both of us haven't change much over the years. Except physically and in rank. Kakashi-sensei is the one that hasn't change over the years. He's still a Jounin and our mentor. Sakura? Sakura wanted to join the Anbu too. But we wouldn't let her. Me, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei immediately objected. The Anbu is too dangerous for her. We are still protective over our cherry blossom.
One morning I went to the training fields in Konoha. It's been a long time since I took a walk in this place. I've been very busy because of the missions assigned to me. I realized that someone was there already. I'm not the earliest one anymore. It was Sakura. I decided to watch her carefully from the shadows. It was very early in the morning and she was training already! I guess she wanted to prove to us that she could be part of the Anbu too. I observed her graceful movements, her beautiful face and her captivating eyes. How she have grown these past years! She was no longer a little girl. She has grown into a beautiful young woman. Sakura finally blossomed into a beautiful flower.
Soon my teammates will be coming to this place. So, I decided to reveal myself. When Sakura sense my chakra, she immediately turned around to see me. "Sasuke-kun…how long have you been there?" Sakura inquired. Her faced puzzled. "Ohayou." I greeted in a low voice. Sakura looked shocked. Then, she smiled. " Ohayou! I'm sorry but, I…I have to go and train some more..." Sakura cheerfully replied. I nodded my head. And she quickly resumed to her practice.
I looked over and saw the cherry blossom tree. The very same tree I last saw when I left Konoha years ago. All of its flowers were in full bloom. The once wilted flower I saw was now gone. In its place was a beautiful blossom. The only blossom to stand out from the rest. It took this little flower a long time. But I think that this last cherry blossom to bloom was the most rare and beautiful one of all.
END
My 2nd fanfic! It was hard writing this. I wanted to make a different SasuSaku. One, that is told fully in Sasuke's point of view and two even though Sakura doesn't have much dialogue I still wanted the readers to see her grow and that's through the flower. The cherry blossoms symbolizes lots of things in this story.
If you don't understand the timeline or the events in this story: I recommend that you read the manga. Most of the events and quotations of the characters came from the manga.
I also want to say a BIG thank you to those who have read and reviewed Scar. Thank you so much! This is for all of you!
I hope you enjoyed reading this and please review!
P.S. Sasuke's birthday is on July 23. Happy Birthday Sasuke!