Summary: One-shot. It was the night before Christmas and all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. But an unexpected visitor suddenly appears before a pink-haired kunoichi's door. (saisakusasu)
A/N: This is my first Christmas with ffnet… It's just a one-shot… Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does…
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Sakura just came back from a B-class mission. Yes, she is already a jounin at a young age of sixteen, along with her comrades. Her just-finished mission was to get a scroll containing powerful jutsus from the Hidden Mist Village and they were ambushed along the way. But then, she and her teammates managed to fight back and win.
She was about to turn the knob of her apartment's front door when suddenly a familiar voice called. "Sakura!"
She turned her head to acknowledge his call. "Hi there, Sai-kun! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be preparing for Christmas Eve?" She asked him.
He nodded and said, "Yeah, I've been preparing for tonight before I left my house. I just wanted to come and invite you since my brother is not going to celebrate with me."
"Thanks, Sai-kun. But I would just stay here and rest. I need it anyway, after the mission we just had." She replied while giving him a weak smile.
"Are you sure?" He asked again, a bit more concerned.
She grinned. "Surely am."
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Sai finally "gave in" to Sakura and Naruto, since their first mission altogether with Yamato-sensei. He finally learned how to talk decently (not to mention his talks with Naruto also during that mission). He told the story of his past and his brother and Naruto and Sakura quickly understood him. Maybe, they had this feeling to quickly understand him for he was feeling so much like Sasuke. He was on the verge of avenging his parents since they were murdered by missing-nins from a different village but he wanted to fulfill his goal by strictly following a shinobi's rule to life. This was why he always intend to "have no feelings" about any kind of situation. He was just following a rule for him not to be called a weakling.
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They both waved their goodbyes and Sakura went inside her house. She hesitated first because she felt a familiar presence but then she just shrugged it off for she thought that she might only be hallucinating. She went directly to her bedroom and lied on the bed. She was staring at the ceiling when she felt someone's presence again, just the same one she felt before she entered her apartment. She just shrugged it off again and began to think of what has happened in the past few years.
Her parents passed away just eight months ago. They were killed while they were on a mission to gather some information; they were ambushed by unknown nins and bodies were found dead after three weeks of searching.
Sakura is now alone, all alone. This is going to be the first Christmas without her parents and the third one without Sasuke. Yes, still without Sasuke. They were still unable to bring him back. And she's as lonely as ever. Maybe she hasn't lost all her dear ones yet but the most precious people that she was living for were all gone.
Her eyes drifted from the ceiling to the window. The moon was shining brightly and the leaves were rustling. She could feel the cold breeze and felt a familiar chakra around the vicinity.
'Impossible.' She kept repeating in her mind. But she could feel it and it was really strong. The person having this chakra now moved to the front of her house. Out of curiosity, she decided to take a look to confirm that she was neither dreaming nor hallucinating. As she was going down the stairs, she could feel the person's chakra getting stronger and stronger after each step. When she finally approached the door, she deeply breathed before turning the knob.
When she opened it, no one was there but she could still feel his presence. "Show up! I know someone's there!" She shouted, pretending not to recognize the person's aura.
No sign of anyone or anything moving but the bushes suddenly have something in it, moving. 'Damn it. Show up, man!' She whispered under her breath. Surprisingly, a cat suddenly appeared from the bushes. Disappointed that he didn't show up, she just went inside her apartment again but still, she could feel his presence. She sat on the couch for a little while until she finally decided to go back to sleep. She was about to enter her bedroom when a sudden knock on the door changed her mind. She went down the stairs quickly. She opened it and revealed a person wearing a black coat that has a hood, totally covering his lower face (Shino style but without the glasses).
"Why are you here? Someone might see you." She warned the man standing right in front of him, who was looking straight to her eyes.
"Is that how you welcome back an old friend? That's very rude of you." He said while attempting to enter the door.
She gave him a confused look while blocking his way to her house. "You said "'welcome back'", Sasuke? You're staying for good?"
Smirking, he said. "Nah… Not really… Where's the -kun in my name?"
"Get out of here. Go back to where you came from. Guards might see you and you might get caught." She said in a worried but a little irritated tone.
Still with a smirk plastered on his face, he said. "Where did your manners go, Sakura? Just almost three years after I left, you became rude to your old friends? Neh, Sakura, what happened to you? I think that Sai-guy (rhymes, huh?) had a bad influence on you. Would you mind if I just sip a cup of tea, please?"
"But---" he was cut off by a finger placed on her lips.
"Please?"
"Okay. I'll let you in. But after you finish your stupid cup of tea, get out of here. Got it?" 'If you don't, I'll kick your ass away from here… No… I wouldn't let you leave anymore. 'I'm stronger now, not like your burden teammate a long time ago.' She smirked inwardly at that thought.
"Whatever." He shoved her off the way and went straight to the living room. She almost lost her balance but regained her composure quickly. Then, she followed him in but before closing the door, she made sure that no one was there, maybe eavesdropping. She locked the door afterwards. They didn't know that someone was really there, hiding behind the bushes. He was watching the whole scene and after they went in, he went to the window to see more of their interactions.
"What do you want, green tea or the regular one?" She asked while observing how his features changed. He has grown taller, in fact, a head taller than her. He removed his hood and revealed a tight fit t-shirt and jeans. His legs are long and his stomach is very lean, but muscular, showing the outlook of his abs and arms.
"Uhmm… I'll have the green tea… I haven't tasted one since I left." He replied.
Sakura jaw-dropped at what he just said. "You mean, you haven't tasted one at the Sound Village?"
"Yeah, they don't make one there." His reply went.
Before turning to the kitchen, she muttered. "You have really changed, Sasuke-kun."
"What was that?" He asked
She gave her a confused look. 'How could he hear such soft sound?' "Huh? Uhmm… Nothing."
She stepped into the kitchen and prepared a teapot. She got the teabag and put it on the boiling water. She waited for about five minutes for it to be ready to drink. She added a spoonful of sugar and tasted it. Well, it tasted well.
She quietly put the teapot on the table beside the couch and poured some to their cups. He handed one to Sasuke and he replied with a quiet "Thanks."
There was silence for a few minutes until Sakura decided to break it.
"Why are you here?" She asked him again.
Somehow, there is a part of Sasuke who loved answering questions with another question. "Don't you want me here?"
Sakura glared at his answer. "Why are you here?"
"Ne, Sakura, your temper has gotten worse. That Sai-guy is really a bad influence on you." He smirked at what he said.
"He's not involved here. Answer my question. Why are you here?" She said, still glaring.
"I just wanted to pay my old friends a visit." He smirked again.
'This is getting worse.' "Aren't you scared? You might get caught." She warned him but her expression changed into more like a concerned expression.
"Scared, Sakura? Only weaklings get scared. Wait, where are your parents?"
Her expression changed again. "They passed a few months ago. They were on a mission and were ambushed." She said in a sad tone.
"Sorry to hear that."
Silence.
"You've really changed, Sasuke-kun."
"Yeah. I got stronger with Orochimaru's help. And now, it really is clearer to me the things I like and don't like to do. Well, avenging my clan is still a part of my goals but more to that, there are a lot of things I'd like to do that I think I didn't have the chance to do when I was still here in Konoha."
"Where is this conversation leading to, Sasuke?
"Where's the –kun in my name again?"
"That smirk of yours never left your ever-stoic face. If you're finished sipping your cup of tea, leave now." 'Bastard.' She cursed under her breath.
"What was that? You called me bastard, ne?" His smirk disappeared, a little anger evident on his face.
She stood up, irritated. "Yeah… And now you are over-reacting for I called you a bastard. It's as if no one has ever called you a bastard before! You are such a bastard! You are a cold-hearted bastard! I loathe you for being a bastard! You were such a dumb bastard when you left this village and me! I hate you for everything! You were one of the persons who made my life miserable! You are such a damn stupid dumb cold-hearted bastard! I hate you!" Her tears flowed freely through her cheeks. She fell on the floor, kneeling, hands covering her face. Much to her surprise, Sasuke knelt down in front of her, leveling his face with hers. He hesitatingly stretched out his arm to soothe Sakura's back in a circular motion. Seeing this, she leaned to him and he took this gesture for him to fully stretch out his arms and wrap her in a protective and warm embrace. She continued crying in his chest for a little while, gripping his shirt. There was silence and only her sobs could be heard. After a few minutes, Sasuke broke the embrace and held Sakura in her shoulders.
He brushed her tears away with his right thumb. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I did not mean to hurt you, really. It's just that I've only realized how important you were to me when I came to Orochimaru. You were right, I should've just stayed in this village. And from now on, I will." A little smile spread across his face.
Sakura gave him a confused look. "You're going to stay for good?"
"I've already reported to the Hokage this afternoon, just before you came in. She welcomed me with open arms but she said that I must be of service for Konoha to prove that I'm not going to betray the village again."
Totally brushing all her tears away, Sakura beamed with happiness. "Really? You're going to stay here again?"
He nodded. "Hn."
She embraced him and tears are running through her cheeks again.
"Aren't you happy?"
She just tightened her embrace.
"Then why are you crying?"
She looked at him and closed her eyes. She brushed her lips with his but Sasuke broke the kiss.
"I should be the one to initiate this kind of gesture." He kissed her and her eyes widened but soon after, was shot tight, kissing him back passionately. After a little while, they both broke the kiss, grasping for air.
"Aren't you feeling cold?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah, it's cold. I'll just light the fireplace." Sakura blushed when her gaze met his. She stood up and went towards the direction of the fireplace. Sasuke, feeling cold, followed her, so that he could sit by the fire.
"I'll help you."
"Thanks."
After a few minutes, they successfully lit the fireplace and sat on the floor near it. They shared a blanket that Sakura just got from her closet. She let her head lean on Sasuke's shoulder and he returned her gesture by leaning his head to hers. They were watching the fire peacefully when the clock produced a banging sound, indicating it was already twelve o'clock midnight.
"It's already twelve. Merry Christmas, Sasuke-kun." She said lazily while yawning.
He nodded to let her know he was listening. "Hn. Merry Christmas."
"Aishiteru, Sasuke-kun." She whispered.
He lifted his head a little while possessively wrapping a hand around her shoulders. "Aishiteru." He replied quietly. She also wrapped her arms around his waist.
Seeing this, the eavesdropper backed away from the window where he was peeping through. "You finally made her happy, Uchiha. Now, I'm letting her go." He said, while water was welling in his eyes.
'I finally found happiness' Those were the thoughts that kept repeating in her mind.
Sasuke and Sakura fell asleep this way, feeling safe in each other's arms.She knew it. It was not just plain happiness but at the same time, peace, and of course, love.
They both knew it. It was the new start everyone was waiting for and indeed, the best Christmas Eve, ever.
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Hope you liked it! It took me quite a long time to finish this one.
Please don't forget to leave a review!
Ja, ne!
signed, Autumn Blossom