DISCLAIMER: I don't have enough money to own Naruto… that means I don't own Naruto.

Avenger
By: Gensomaden-Saiyuki

It never really mattered to me that I'll never be capable of loving again. After what my brother did, I promised myself that I would never love again. I will embrace the darkness, the gloom of life, and I will live a life of hatred and vengeance… because he took the life of hundreds of Uchihas by his own hands, and I will make him pay the price, and I will take no other trade from him than his own life. Yes, the equivalent price of the death of all the Uchihas is the death of another Uchiha… and it won't be me who should die… it should be him.

They say I may be the most egocentric person, but they just don't understand… They didn't have a brother who killed everyone with the same blood running through their veins… nobody understood me completely.

…Except one.

She doesn't have any sibling who killed someone of the same blood as hers, she doesn't have an advanced bloodline like I do, and of all people, why did it have to be her, who would understand me?

She's so annoying!

I promised myself, I will never love again, but I broke that promise.

I thought nobody understood me, yet I was wrong.

She did.

She proved me wrong.

Yet I hurt her.

But it was the right thing to do.

I'm an avenger; I must be incapable of love.

It has been two and a half years ever since I last saw her, when she begged me to take her with me on my quest to kill my brother, she begged me to stay… but not only that, she professed her love to me. I didn't know what to say, but I just left her a word of gratitude.

… But something tells me, what I said to her wasn't enough.

… I needed to tell her an equivalent of what she said.

Everything in this world asks for a price. And something like love is so expensive, and you can never haggle for a lower price. Love can also be equivalent to death. Yet, you can refuse the offer of Love. And that's just what I did.

I know they're still looking for me. I know they would.

I've been hearing news that she has gotten better, that she became the Godaime's apprentice, that she inherited a goliath-like strength and her mentor's infamous short temper. Ah, yes, you can easily boil her blood, yet she cries so easily.

I also heard that her teammate… my teammate as well… had been training with the Godaime's teammate outside Konoha, and now he returned, stronger than ever.

… I also heard they found a replacement for me in the team. A former ANBU named Sai; they also found a replacement for Kakashi-sensei… I heard he was injured, so he was replaced by one of Konoha's best ANBU, named Yamato.

I didn't hear these things sometimes; I see them for myself during my free time. I secretly head back to Konoha and see what's going on. I never get spotted.

Today is just like one of those times, here I am, hiding on the branches of a heavily-leafed tree, yet I can still see my surroundings clearly, thanks to the moonlight. I have hidden my chakra, so that ANBUs won't notice.

In front of where this tree is standing is a bench… seated there is a pink-haired kunoichi… it was her.

She, who loved me…

She, who understood me…

And everytime I get the chance to visit my hometown, I always see her like that… crying under the moonlight.

… After all these years, she still does love me.

… Even after all those times when I insult her, even after all those times when I rejected her, even after all those times when I pushed her away, even after all those times when I ignored her… even after I walked out of her life for so long… she still does love me.

And that was when it struck me hard.

My brother was right – no matter how hard I try, I still am weak.

Even if I turned my back on my hometown and allowed myself to be Orochimaru's underling to get more power… I still am weak.

For one reason.

Her…

She was my weakness… yet it is she who makes me strong, because she was the only one who made me feel loved again… She was my weakness, and what a terrible weakness that was.

No, please… Sakura, don't you understand!

I left you because I needed hatred!

I left you because I need not be loved!

I left you because I… I didn't want to love you.

I'm an avenger, and I must be incapable of love.

Yet I always denied the fact that I already… anonymously… loved you.

And now, I take in the fact that I did.

Now stop crying…

Don't love me… Don't love me anymore…

I cannot be an avenger if somebody loves me and I love them back…

Hate me, Sakura, forget me for I have hurt you, resent me…

Then, I noticed that somebody was already seated beside her… it was her new teammate: Sai.

He had possessed one trait that I don't: he always smiled.

"I don't know why sometimes I can feel him…" Sakura told Sai, "I don't know why sometimes I… I can sense that he never left at all… it's like he's just here, somewhere… I don't know why I still cry for him after all those times… No matter how hurt he made me feel, I still loved him… I thought I became stronger and that I have forgotten him already… But Sai… it hurts when it hits me like this… when my heart tells me that I still yearn for him… and I want this to stop, badly… I want to forget about him, because I know, no matter what I do, I shouldn't love him, because he won't love me back… he doesn't need love for he is an avenger."

I wanted to hug her, hold her tight in my arms, I wanted to show her how I felt…

Then, I saw Sai placing his hand on the side of Sakura's head and he leaned her head on his shoulder, as he ran his hand on her pastel locks, the other hand patting her back. He placed his chin gently on her head and stared lovingly at her, "Ssshh, stop crying."

Her hands flew to her face as she cried all the more.

"I wish… Sai, I wish I loved you!" and then, Sakura hugged Sai tightly, "Sai... you remind me so much of him…"

Sai was shocked for a brief moment and he closed his eyes and his arms wrapped around Sakura's body and he said, "Please don't compare me to him… I know he's much more skilled than I am… but I'm already aware that I'm much more foul-mouthed than him, you know… and that's such a bad trait."

He smiled at her.

She smiled back and shook her head, "You remind me so much of him… But you are much more positive than he is…"

"Sakura… I…" Sai lost his words.

Finding no words to say, he just brushed his lips against hers and she closed her eyes as she kissed him back.

And my world collapsed for that one moment… she allowed herself to love another person. She had set me free, to be the avenger that I am.

Sakura, never love me again.

I loved you, but I never will again.

And with that, I took my leave stealthily as I head back to Otogakure.

Sakura, an avenger like me should never love.

Love makes avengers weak.

So right now Sakura, I said it once before, and I'll say it once again…

Thank you.

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for understanding me.

Thank you… you finally let me be an avenger.

Thank you because I met you.

Thank you.

And now, my delayed mission begins…

…My mission for vengeance.

And now, no one and nothing can stop me.

Not even you.

Not even your love for me.

So now, please love another person…

Never love me again.

Everything in this world asks for a price… Nothing in this world is free… Not even freedom. Freedom can be exchanged for justice, for respect… But Love… Love can be equivalent to death.

And now, I learned that Vengeance has a price too.

And I traded my Love to finally gain Vengeance.

So now Sakura, I can really say...

I, Uchiha Sasuke, the avenger, am incapable of love.

I killed my own heart, and that's a start for my life of vengeance… Now I know I can never love again.

Goodbye, Sakura.

THE END

I made this out of the blue recently. I just love it when I ideas hit me!

So please tell me what you think.

Exclusively,
+Releina Artemis+