Chapter 25: Bad News

"Sakura… she was pregnant," Tsunade said sadly.

Sasuke's knees went weak and he had to hold onto the doorknob, so he wouldn't fall down. "Was?" he repeated hoarsely.

Tsunade just nodded and he understood. To know how close he had been to fulfilling his dream was like a slap to the face. The Hokage said softly, "Don't blame her. It wasn't Sakura's fault. I know you've been treating her coldly, but now she needs you now."

"Who did this to her?" he asked darkly. "Who were these people?"

"We're not positive yet. At first, we thought they were from The Sand. But now we think that they were Orochimaru's subordinates. We're not 100 sure though. I'll let you know as soon as our investigation is complete."

Without a reply, he opened the door. Three medic-nin were still inside and he threw them out of the room unceremoniously. He approached Sakura's bed and sat down next to it. Hesitatingly, he raised the sheets to reveal the bandages covering her stomach. She had been pregnant. Why hadn't she told him? Did she know it? Even if she had known, the child was gone. His chance to revive the clan had once again slipped through his grasp.

When he looked at her face, he felt a stinging pain in his chest. She was pale and had a bruise darkening below her eye, probably from a blow to her face. He remembered when he had found her, held her in his arms, bleeding and so close to death. It had been the worst moment of his life. Sakura was alive and that was most important now. He reached out to touch her cheek and felt her stiffen. Slowly she opened her eyes to look at him. "Sasuke…", she muttered weakly. She looked around the hospital room and asked: "What happened?"

"You were attacked in our home."

"Yes. Yes, I remember," her voice was barely audible, "I tried to fight, but he was so fast… I couldn't… I couldn't stop him…" She tried to sit up, but fell back, her face contorted in pain. Obviously in a great deal of agony, she pressed her hands to her abdominal wound.

Sasuke wanted to do something, anything, but he didn't know what. She calmed down and said: "Tsunade said that I was…"

"I know," he interrupted her,"You were pregnant."

She turned her head away from him. Sasuke wanted to say something to make her feel better, but he had no words for what was going through his mind. Moments passed and he heard her cry softly. It was overwhelming, his entire being wanted to flee from the room.

"Sakura," he said forcefully and was surprised that his voice sounded so different. He had to get out of here, the silence was unbearable. He could only hope that she'd understand. Slowly, he stood up. She turned around to look at him. He bent over the bed and placed a hand on her chin. Carefully he tilted her head up and kissed her on the lips. "Forgive me. I wasn't able to protect you." He turned his gaze away from her, and headed for the door.

"Sasuke!" she urgently called after him. "Don't leave!"

He paused, lowered his head and left the room. When the door fell shut behind him, he started to run. He passed Tsunade without reacting to her protests and stormed out of the building. He ran through the village and out the main entrance. Not stopping, until he found himself in the middle of the forest, where he gave free rein to his anger.

With a wild scream he gathered chakra and created a giant fireball, which set the nearest trees on fire. It didn't help. He yelled his frustration into the air and fell to his knees. His hands were trembling. He wanted to leave the village right now, to look for Orochimaru and kill that bastard snake with his bare hands. But he had promised her that he would stay.

He fell against a tree, and while the treetops above him were aflame, he doubled over and tried to cope with the pain and the guilt in his own way. While in The Hidden Leaf Village, his wife laid in her bed, crying her heart out, and needing him by her side more than ever.

Sasuke opened the door and entered the apartment after his wife. It had been six days since he found her so near death on their bedroom floor. Sakura had been released from the hospital today. He was glad to have her with him again, where she was at least some what safe. The last few days, he had spent sneaking around the hospital, watching out for possible attackers.

Sakura went over to the window, which he had had repaired, and looked outside. Nonchalantly, Sasuke stood at the door with her bag in his hand and waited for her to say something. Since he had picked her up, she had been so quiet. It was so uncharacteristic for her. He had expected her to seek comfort from him, but since he had left her crying in that hospital room, she hadn't tried to talk to him about what had happened again.

Because she said nothing, he eventually went to bring her bag to the bedroom. When he came back she was still standing in front of the window. The silence in the room was unbearable.

Like many times before, his instincts urged him to run from the silence, but this time he suppressed it. He remembered how he had held her in his arms and told her that he loved her. It was the truth. There was no point in running from it any more. He couldn't lie to himself any longer. He loved her so much that it hurt and he just wanted her to be happy. Why did something always have to ruin his chance at happiness?

Not everything was lost. With heavy steps, he approached her and pressed himself against her from behind, placing an arm gently around her waist. She leaned back against him and asked: "Do you hate me now?"

"Why would I?"

"I was pregnant. If I was stronger, the child could be alive."

His arms encircled her slender frame and he bent his head to bury his face in her hair. "You are still alive."

"But that isn't enough," she said regretfully. Her eyes were still staring out of the window. "Do you know why I stayed with you despite of all the things that happened, Sasuke? I wanted to help you fulfill your dream. You wanted to revive the clan, I know that. You have been protecting me so many times and I wanted to give you something in return. You were cold to me and eventually my feelings for you waivered. I stayed anyway, because I thought if only I became pregnant, you would be happy."

He listened to her quietly, not knowing what to say.

"Why did this have to happen now?" she asked sadly. "When we were out there in the forest, during the storm, you were so different. I really felt… loved. I was stupid enough to fall in love with you again." She was trembling slightly. Was she crying? He placed a hand on her shoulder and forced her to turn around. She had tears in her eyes. When she pulled him down to her for a soft kiss, he felt something similar to pain in his stomach. And now, finally, he was able to name this pain: love.

But then she let go and took a step back. "Tsunade said, that there is only a small possibilty that I can ever get pregnant again. Most likely, I won't be able to have children." She said it so calmly, but to him it was like a slap to the face.

Before he could react in any way, she said determinedly: "I am only a burden for you. I'll go back to my parents. Talk to Tsunade, I'll agree to a divorce, I won't contest it."

She lowered her head and turned away from him. Wordlessly, he watched her as she went to get her bag from the bedroom and then passed him to walk to the door. She didn't even wait for him to hold her back. She left him, just like that. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. After all, she was right. If she couldn't have children, this marriage was nothing but a burden, right? She put on her shoes and left. The door fell shut and Sasuke was alone once again.

…tbc…