Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…. Bla bla no need to rub it in! …
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It was no use! Sakura Haruno couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. She was too excited, just imagining Sasuke's face was enough to make her smile. However, her smile always faded when she remembered the words he left her with, "Thank you."
What was that Uchiha thinking? Why does he come back after all of this time? He left even after Sakura tried to stop him and even when Naruto fought all out to bring him back. Maybe all these questions would soon be answered, or perhaps not.
Naruto couldn't sleep either; all he could remember of Sasuke was that battle in which they fought each other. Something didn't feel quite right, rumors like this take some time to travel back all the way to Konoha. Shouldn't Sasuke have made it back by now? Was something stopping him from coming back?
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Nearly a week passed and no sign of Sasuke. It was a Saturday morning; the weather hadn't changed much either. Rain poured down. Instead of the gentle raindrops, now drops splashed onto the ground causing drum-like sounds.
Sakura sat on a bench, the same one Sasuke placed her in after their last encounter. Her clothes were soaked, but she didn't seem to care.
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto mumbled, walking up to Sakura holding an umbrella, which he placed over her soaked head.
She didn't look up at him, on the contrary she continued staring off into space.
"I'm sorry Sakura-chan." He continued, his voice gentle.
Sakura shrugged, "For what?"
"For not bringing Sasuke back like I promised you."
"Silly, I'm not worried about THAT. I just have a lot of work to do so I decided to take a break!" She shrugged him off again with a smile unmatched to her worried eyes.
"Take a break? In the rain?"
"It relaxes me!" She protested grumpily.
"Yeah ok whatever Sakura-chan…" Naruto rolled his eyes.
After a moment of silence the young ninja medic stood up away and walked into the rain. "Why isn't he here yet?" She asked quietly after another pause.
"He'll be here." He smiled to her and left her to her own thoughts.
Another week passed and still no sign of Sasuke Uchiha. The weather seemed to accompany Sakura's mood of waiting. Three years seemed so short compared to these past few days to Sakura.
It poured again the following Saturday, Sakura sitting on her bench waiting for Sasuke. It was getting darker. At one point she was sure most konoichi were sleeping. Soon she began to doze off, the exhaustion of waiting was finally catching up to her.
Just when she was about to close her eyes she heard a familiar voice.
"Right where I left you."
She knew that voice… though it changed somewhat, it was deeper now. Sakura's eyes opened to see Sasuke standing in front of her with a small smile. The smile didn't suit his new appearance; longish hair covering some of his face, sharingan eyes and a long cloak. Previously a beautiful boy now a handsome young man.
"S-Sasuke…" Unsure if she was imagining him, she pulled on both of his cheeks to make sure. His sharingan eyes instantly turned to normal and he gave her a sweat drop look.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelped happily, hugging her dear old friend. He patted her awkwardly on her head. The young Uchiha had grown taller than Sakura, now almost a head taller than her but barely taller than Naruto. "You're soaked! You must be tired AND hungry. Come on Sasuke-kun, you can stay at my place! You can see the others tomorrow."
Once she pulled away he shook his head, "You're still annoying." He smirked, but she noticed his smile didn't have its previous warmth. He wanted to hug his friend but didn't. His recent experiences had taught him to stay away from affection and too much unnecessary physical contact. This is what he came back for, things that truly mattered. Friendship and affection, the things Sakura offered him at this moment. Maybe a few weeks with his old friends would help him go back into his old self.
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A shorter chapter this time! Next chapter gets more to the juicy bits, No guarantees though, but feel free to bribe me with reviews. I gotta soft spot for reviews… the buggers can change my mood any time.
Note: If I make any mistakes regarding info, please let me know I like to keep things accurate and realistic.
By the way, a big thank you to my reviewers; fullmetalwhorething and Niebezpiczny Ksiezyc (I wish I had a cool name like that . ;;)