Notes: Here's the continuation of Promises: Unwelcome Rebel that focuses more on Sakura's side of the story. Read and review, okay! Once again, mucho thanks to cOpiE-niNja who wrote this for me. If ever you get confused, read Promises: Unwelcome Rebel because it's the first part of the story. I guess they can stand on their own that's why I separated them.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Promises: Mai Fumetsu
gift fic from cOpiE-niNja
[posted with permission]
Leaves fall silently,
It withers along with time
Stays as memories,
It will linger forever
Beyond our silent goodbyes
"Three years…it's been three years since you left Sasuke-kun…" Sakura muttered to herself, holding the picture of Uchiha Sasuke.
She dressed, ate breakfast and walked down the roads of Konoha as cheerful as she could be. Sakura greeted everyone with a smile but deep inside she was always reminded of the time when Uchiha Sasuke left this place, making her feel pain and loneliness. She was always reminded of how she held him, how she embraced him tightly, afraid that she might not have another chance to do it again, afraid that he would not come back.
"Sasuke might have done better than I did. I think he's better in this aspect than me," Naruto complained.
"Sasuke might get very angry if he discovers what you have done Naruto…" Chouji said.
"Sasuke-kun is the best!" Ino shouted.
"And he is one of the best ninjas I've known. He is smart and strong and he has his own techniques," Shikamaru added while scratching his head.
These were the words that greeted Sakura in the early morning. She, like all of them, wished for Uchiha Sasuke's return. She wished that nobody would forget him but every word that they spoke was a pain to her heart.
They looked at her, "S-Sakura…gomen" they apologized after realizing that she heard them talking about him and observing that her eyes were so lonely, reflecting what she felt inside.
"Iie. I should be the one saying sorry. I must have interrupted you. I was just wondering, Ino do you already have the flowers I ordered? I need it now…"
"Uhh…oh! Yeah…yes. It's in the shop, you can just go there and claim it."
"Thank you. I should be going now. Ja ne!" She left smiling and joyful while her friends felt sad and guilty. Sad because she was still hurt by the mention of Sasuke's name and guilty for knowing that they were the ones who reminded her of him.
Sakura headed to Ino's flower shop and got her roses. As she was walking, she came across Hinata who was on her way too.
"Ohayou," Hinata greeted.
"Ohayou! Are you going to the hospital?" Sakura asked.
"Hai! I brought fruits. I know they're good for the children's health." They both laughed.
"Ohayou, minna-san!" Hinata and Sakura greeted as they arrived at their destination.
"Hey everybody, Hinata-san and Sakura-san are already here!" one of the patients shouted.
"We brought something for you. I hope you'll eat the fruits that Hinata-san gave you, okay? "
"Okay!" they answered.
"Tell us stories again, Sakura-san. About ninjas!" one boy exclaimed.
"Yeah! Someday I would like to be the Hokage and be the best ninja ever!" another said.
"Is it my turn to tell stories?" Sakura asked the excited kids. They answered "Hai!" and so she told them stories about a great Hokage, ninjas, enemies and how history unfolded in their land.
At some point of the storytelling, one girl shouted, "I heard Hinata-san has a crush on a ninja named Naruto. Is that true?" Hinata blushed, not able to answer the question. The girl continued, "I heard Sakura-san has a crush on a ninja too…"
"Who?" the children asked, intrigued.
"It's Uchiha Sasuke, isn't it? They say he's a loner but he also fights well and he has this technique that only his family knows. Isn't he great?"
"Where is he now? I don't hear his name in school…"
"Shirimasen. Where is he Sakura-san?"
"He left… He left Konoha years ago…"
"Why? Doesn't he like our country?" one boy asked.
"No. It's not that…"
"He just needed to do something outside Konoha," Hinata explained. Sakura looked at her and she smiled. "Okay everybody, can you sing the song we've taught you?"
As the two of them headed home, Hinata tried to explain to her companion. "Ne, Sakura-chan…"
"Hmm?"
"A-ano… I did not mean to lie earlier, I just…"
"Arigato. Arigato Hinata. I was about to break down when you said that. Thank you for preventing me from crying and getting hurt." Hinata smiled, knowing that she did the right thing to help her friend.
As the moon shone brightly down on Earth, a young blonde ninja walked on the road of the Leaf village. He was heading back home when a familiar figure caught his attention.
Someone was under the cherry blossom tree.
Naruto approached the person, not really surprised when he learned who she was.
Sakura sat; her head was lying on her knees. Her pink hair covered her face and her arms held her legs. She was crying.
Words were not necessary to explain why she had broken down like this. No one ever gave her sympathy except this man.
"Sakura?" he asked but she was not shocked to know that someone saw her.
"Naruto…"
"What are you doing here Sakura-chan?"
"Is it bad? Is it bad to wait for someone? Is it bad to love someone who'll never love you back? Is it bad…"
Naruto bowed his head. Not even him could answer that question. They were the same. They love someone who would never love them back.
She continued, "I tried to stop him. I tried everything to show him and tell him how I feel… but he never gave me the chance…he never listened. He never cared… He never…"
"When he never listened to you and he never felt what you felt for him, I was there. I heard everything that you said and felt your love for him. And if I could only be Uchiha Sasuke, I will be, but I could not. So I'm sorry. Sorry for not letting you know that I was there and sorry for being the one who heard and felt was meant for Sasuke. Don't cry anymore, Sakura-chan, it hurts to see you cry…"
He carried her as she fell asleep after crying under the tree, the tree that was her witness and the one that listened to her and sheltered her throughout her pains and agonies, her company when no one was with her. But tonight, there was someone who could help her, someone who would listen to her and someone who could protect her against her pains. Someone in the presence of Uzumaki Naruto.
"I hate you Uchiha Sasuke! I hate you for doing this to all of us. I hate you for making Sakura cry every time. I hate you! And I hate the fact that you are the only one who can make her smile again and the fact that you're the one she loves. Stop what you are doing and come back! We cannot wait any longer!"
Little did Naruto know that the girl behind him could hear what he was saying. He did not know that Sakura was already awake and was crying. He's right. We cannot wait any longer. Come home, Sasuke-kun!
And this night would be the end of hurting over Sasuke. Tomorrow would be very different. Tomorrow there would be only smiles and laughter, no more crying and lonely hearts.
Blood shed. Death. War. It had already started. Orochimaru had already attacked. It was the end of peace.
Everyone fought. Death was everywhere and, as a ninja, it was their will, their vow and duty to fight in war. They fought willingly because it was an honor to die fighting.
But because she had devoted her life in medicine, she could not ignore the call of help of those who suffered during the war.
"Onegai! Allow me to go the North! They need our medications! They need my help!" Sakura was reasoning with the elders of Konoha. Earlier, news from the North informed her about the loss of many civilians. Sakura was affected by the reports and as a student of medicine; she could not ignore the people.
"But Konoha needs you in fighting against our adversaries. We can send other doctors to help the North. You need to stay."
"Iie. I will allow her to go. Don't you have trust in my apprentice? The voice of the Hokage spoke.
"But…"
"Ne? I am the Hokage and I think you should respect my decision. Haruno Sakura is my student and I've taught her all that I know in curing people. How could you possibly question my abilities?" The unyielding words of Tsunade were truly absolute and it seemed like nobody could change her mind. They couldn't do anything but accept.
The moon was full, silent and solemn, lighting the darkness that surrounds the heart of Naruto. "Sakura-chan…" the blonde approached his former teammate.
"Hmm?"
"The North… It's really far from here. If you go…"
"I will go because I want to help our fellowmen. I will not go because I want to escape the image of Sasuke. I will not go because I'm afraid that I might see him fight against us. I will go because I want help…and unlike him I will come back. I will never abandon my home."
She walked away, smiling at her friend. He was left amazed. He thought Sakura would break down and cry but she was strong... Strong enough to fight in battle and eventually, win.
She set foot on the streets of the Northern part of Konoha. It was worse than the place that she came from. People were miserable. They really need help and she was grateful to Tsunade for giving her permission.
"This was the first place that was attacked by the enemies. We couldn't do anything, our ninjas have already gone to fight and we were left here…"a woman was explaining to Sakura when she asked about the cause of the disaster.
That's when her operation started. She was continuously helped and cured people in every way that she could. Day by day she would go to a small room where she cured the sick.
The fierce wind angrily slapped her face; the day was quite different. This was stranger and darker than the other days that she spent here.
A dark haze that surrounded the North disturbed everyone especially Sakura. As a ninja, she was troubled by the situation and as a doctor, she felt scared for he patients.
"Doctor! Onegai! Doctor, help us!"
"Dooshite?"
"M-my child! She was just playing outside when a black smoke entered the house…then after that she just fell down!"
"Yes! Yes that's also what happened to my father! He just collapsed as I was cooking. A smoke entered our house too."
All of them had the same story. Someone collapsed because of a dark smoke. All of them asked for her help but their last ray of hope would suddenly lose radiance and would also be trapped to the dark path that would only lead them to death.
They were all the same. The hope that they were clinging to also suffered the same illness that tormented the place.
The emerald-eyed lady fell down, saying the name of the only person that she thought of. "Sasuke…"
There was silence and peace. Everything was calm and back to normal. People could already laugh and be happy…the war was over. They won the battle.
Happily running and jumping, Lee had something special to tell the Hokage. "Hokage! I must tell you something! It's important!"
"Nani?"
"He's back! He came back! Sasuke!"
The great leader paused for a while then he grinned. "Finally."
He hastily went to the place where he always went to, the place where he was certain that the unwelcomed rebel would go to. He just knew that he would go there.
When he finally saw him, standing in front of the house of their friend, he thought of all the times they've been together, the times they laughed and competed, the times when they fought against their enemies together. He remembered their fight when he tried to bring him back to Konoha and their fight in the war four years ago.
Everything got to his nerves so he decided to reveal his self. He was half angry and half happy to see him.
"How could you possibly come back here? Everyone waited for you but you turn us all down. So how can you come back now that no one longs for you anymore?" and hatred conquered his heart. "Talk! Why can't you speak? Have you lost your tongue? Is that what Orochimaru wanted? Is that what you wanted? To lose something to become stronger?"
The man continued to be silent and this annoyed the Hokage all the more. "You should show respect, behind you is the Hokage of the fire country, and you are a trespasser. You are an unwelcome rebel."
However the hatred seemed to disappear especially when the man started to speak. His hatred became the loneliness that he felt for waiting for this man. "I came back to face the punishment you shall give me. I came to face the consequence of my crime. If what you say is true, that you are the real Hokage, I will surrender myself to you. But before I get my sentence, can you tell me where Haruno Sakura is?"
The Hokage beamed when he heard such words that were not typical for the man. He could not believe that he could say those. "Such words are from a weak man. What the history tells about you is not right. I've known Uchiha Sasuke myself, and he will never admit defeat even at his last breath. But if you really want to be punished, then I will exile you to the Northern part of Konoha. Tonight you shall go."
He left him standing there, unmoved by his words. He didn't notice that the loud Hokage had a plan.
"Has he left?"
"Yes. The ANBU squad leader has escorted him to the North. We have done what you have told us to do," the ANBU informed the Hokage.
"Good. Report to me when he arrived there."
"Yes."
Looking at the heavens, Naruto smiled, "Sakura, he has returned."
Uchiha Sasuke had read the scroll and everything was clear to him. Only one thing was unclear, where was Sakura?
The scroll was the key to where she might be and Ino, Shikamaru and Choujiwould help him find her. He was slowly discovering where she was with every step and the voice of a screaming nurse led him to the answer.
"…sama!… Tsunade-sama! Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan!"
The former Hokage faced him. "Uchiha, I've been expecting you. Come with me."
She guided him to the clinic. They stopped in front of a room. Tsunade spoke again, "I suppose you already know what happened to her, right?"
Sasuke nodded in answer.
"Since she accumulated the disease, Sakura hasn't wakened up and she had convulsion attacks. This will lead her to death. If something happens, call me. Immediately."
Then he entered the room. There she was, sleeping soundly o the bed. His heart pumped faster, his gladness filled his world. Hinata and Tsunade left him alone with the sleeping girl.
He spotted a scroll under the hands of Sakura. It was the other half of the scroll that Naruto gave him. He read it:
She was the only one who could speak your name without showing any pain. And she was the only one who could speak about you over and over again without crying. But I know deep inside her. Behind the happy face that she wanted us to see, is a lonely heart crying and hoping that someone would save her from her pain.
If I could do it, I will. But I know that only the person who made her like this can save her from her pain… and it's you. I know she's tired. Tired of hoping and crying for you. She's tired of loving someone who doesn't show affections towards her. She's tired of getting hurt. No, she's not tired of getting hurt; she's used of getting hurt.
All this time you never said a word to her. You never talked to her about what she feels. The only word that you can tell her is 'annoying'… and that annoys me. I hate you for not valuing Sakura the way I valued her.
I really hate you for doing this to everyone. Why couldn't you just be the Sasuke that we've known? Why did you long for greater power? I just want you to know that you are strong and powerful just the way you are. I should've said this before you went away. I should've been the one who stopped you when you were about to leave. I was a coward; I was a fool for not knowing that it was my last day with you.
If she didn't see you leave, she might have moved on without any guilt but I could not change what happened, it is all meant to end that way. I'm setting an end to what we've started and this is my way of doing it. I hope you do yours.
"Doctor! My finger, it's bleeding!" cried a boy.
"What happened?"
"I did not mean to hurt him doctor. We were just playing…"explained another one.
"Hurry, doctor! I'm losing all my blood!"
Sakura got bandages from the clinic and returned to the boys. "Here."
"Thanks, Sakura-sama!"
Next time promise me not to cry over small things okay?"
"Hai!" they answered as they left her. She was about to return to the clinic when a voice stopped her.
"You still like promises?"
She was shaken. Was it true? Did the voice really speak to her or did the wind just tease her? Sakura faced the owner of the voice and to her surprise, she was right. It was him.
She did not move closer to him, nor did she spoke to him. She just stayed there, not knowing what to do. It was really Uchiha Sasuke.
He started to walk closer to her however the tears that fell from her cheek made her speak.
"Onegai! Don't come any closer! If you'll leave again, don't come near me anymore. I want to forget you… but I can't! I already have the chance to forget you now but then you come back and make me believe again. I can't wait any longer; I can't afford to lose you anymore. I've become numb because of you… I have nothing to lose now… Please…"
But he came closer and when he did, she broke down.
She knelt down and cried.
He stood in front of her. And he embraced her.
"Gomen nasai."
And they were happy. He was telling her a story of what happened to him during Orochimaru's reign.
By and by she realized that his voice was becoming deeper and deeper. It was like he was really beside her, talking and telling her stories… stories that sounded like lullabies.
She woke up, opened her eyes and saw the gleaming lights of the sun. As her eyes roam the room that she was in, she saw a familiar person sleeping at the side of her bed. With his raven hair, she could not be mistaken. It's him!
She stroked his hair, a thing she used to do every time she woke him up years ago. "Are you tired because of your fight?"
Her tears slowly fell. "I was scared…I thought you won't come back…will you leave me again, Sasuke?"
He awoke. Still sleepy, he looked at the inhabitant of the bed. He held her hands and squeezed it when he realized that she's finally awake.
"You're hard to wake up!" greeted Sakura. "Okeiri nasai, Sasuke-kun…"
And for the third time he gave a smile.
A man who lives forever is an immortal. It was her immortal love for him that connected them and brought them back together. It was her immortal hope that made her wait patiently until he comes back home.
They know that no matter how many years he go away and no matter how many years she wait for him, there will still be her immortal heart that would forever be loving him.
Notes: Reviews and constructive criticisms are appreciated.