Hiya peepz! Happy Belated New Year! XD
I'm back! back from my trip! and this is my first 2006 update! -dances around with party hat on-
hehe...Gomenazai pplz forupdating so late!
you see, this chappie was not written yet when i went over to HK and once i got back i fell sick...Very sick...stomache-aching sick...TT.TT so it was put on hold for quite sometime, and now that i'm all better here it is!
I would also like to apoligize for the many grammatical errors in the last chappie. it was kinda of typed up in a rush and i didn't exactly check through it. So yeah...gomenasai -.-;;
DOMO ARIGATOU TO ALL MY REVIWERS!
308 reviews! WOWzers! O.O
Thank You guyz so much! Thank you! thank you! thank you!
Thank you guyz so mcuh for your lovely and wonderful reviews! I enjoyed reading them and it was something i looked forward to when i returned!
This was the best x-mas pressent ever! w00t! -blows kisses-
Anywaiz, Here's chapter thirteen! it's a long chappie, but not as long as the last one. k i'll leave you guyz to it then!
Happy Reading pplz! Please review at the end if you have time! Arigatou in advance! n.n.
"Text" Normal dialogue
"Text" Dialogue on the phone (other line)
'Text' thought/ what the character is thinking
'Text' Inner Sakura/Sasuke
(Text) Authors Notes (A/N)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from the anime/manga. Kishimoto-sensei does XD
Recap:
Just down the road at the corner of her street, a red-haired figure stood next to an almost wilted rose in the heavy rain. The sand-made shelter still towered over the boy as he picked up the single red flower. A smirk crept onto his features as he crushed the stem in his grip.
"You're too late…Uchiha Sasuke…"
In a blink of an eye, the Sabaku boy was gone.
Forgotten Love- Chapter Thirteen
Heart of Misery
Sasuke ran through the heavy downpours, his feet exploding with chakra, making his speed almost as fast as lightning. His heart felt unsteady. The rush of emotions bubbling within him was confusing his next actions.
Everything was a blur.
Nothing made sense to him anymore.
Once again he wanted to search for answers. No. He NEEDED to search for answers. His legs continued to run unconsciously for his mind was occupied with rhetorical questions.
Running.
Just letting his body take him wherever they may lead him to.
He felt so cold and lonely once again, just like the same feeling he felt every night after the Uchiha massacre.
Before he had realized his feelings for her.
The feeling of lost…
The feeling of being lost.
Left alone in the darkness…letting it consume his already blue heart.
His ice-cold-blue heart. But it was once melted by the bright warm Spring. He was like the Winter. She was like the Spring, bringing light and warmth into his life, like melting the snow after the cold season. Well, that light is now taken away from him, and winter does come again. Coldness rushes in, rebuilding the barriers, refreezing his heart.
He stopped in his tracks at that thought.
She had broken through his cold demeanor, now that he had lost her, what shall become of his life?
Wait.
'Lost her…' His eyes widened in realization as he remembered Itachi's last words.
"You have become quite strong little brother. Is it because you had something to fight for?" Itachi asked. His voice was hoarse and breathless.
Sasuke's eyes widened at the remark.
"Or is it more of a 'someone' that you are fighting for?" Itachi added, the smirk never leaving his features.
"What are you getting at!" Sasuke demanded. Fear erupted through his senses for once. His eyes widened further when Itachi chuckled.
"What are you up to Itachi!"
"You might think…that the one thing that you are fighting for is still there…" He coughed up even more blood. "If only you knew that you have lost it already…"
'How did Itachi know about this…? Unless…'
Was Itachi still the one who was causing his sufferings in life?
Was Itachi behind all of his?
Sasuke needed more information to confirm his assumption. He thought for a moment. He knew how heartbroken he had left her that night five years ago. As he recalled the event, he regretted the fact that he had left no words to reassure her of his return in anyway. A simple 'thank you' doesn't meant much, but back then those words were probably the best ones that could've come out of his mouth at that time. He couldn't help but think that maybe all this was partially his fault too. Did he really expect someone to wait for five years or maybe even more just for his return?
'Has she really moved on?'
Sasuke remained stationary on his spot. He looked up at the dark and could-filled sky, watching as the droplets fall down onto his pale skin. He felt so numb all over, like he had lost all his sense to feel. He took in a shaky breath and had only just realized the warm liquids trailing down his cheeks.
These were his first tears…in over ten years. There they slid, down his cheeks and along his jaw line, mixing with the tears from the sky. Yes. The sky was crying too. The weather all dark and gloomy, like his thoughts, and the icy liquid that streamed down was numbing, just like his feelings.
He felt like he could just stand there and just wither away like the rose he had left behind. He has lost all the will to go on…or has he?
He's lost everything. It was all taken away from him, just like it was ten years ago.
"Oi! Sasuke!" a loud voice called out. His depressing train of thoughts was cut off as he lowered his gaze to meet a spiky-blonde-haired boy under an orange umbrella, waving and running with a wide grin towards him.
'Naruto?' he shut his eyes in frustration. 'I don't need this now…'
The blonde-haired shinobi reached the prodigy and held his umbrella over the drenched ninja.
"Hey Sasuke-teme! You didn't tell me that you came back!" (1)
"…"
Naruto looked up from the floor after catching his breath. He saw the Uchiha's saddened expression and immediately the grin was wiped off of his face.
Naruto wasn't as thickheaded as he used to be. After becoming an item with the used-to-be-timid Hyuuga Hinata, he has learnt how to notice people's expressions and read them accordingly. Them two, as well, have been together for almost five years.
Naruto looked down the road and recognized it as one that led to a certain pink-haired Kunoichi's home. Pieces fell together and Naruto immediately understood the situation.
"Come on Sasuke, we have to talk." With that Naruto slung an arm around the Uchiha's shoulder, which surprisingly Sasuke didn't attempt to shrug off, and began leading the way towards his place.
CLICK.
The door to the bathroom swung open and Sasuke stepped out. His poignant expression had not left his features and Naruto could only pity the poor boy.
They sat on separate sofas with a coffee table in the centre.
"Here." Naruto pushed forward a steaming cup of coffee towards Sasuke, who just continued to stare at the floor in the front of him as though it was the most interesting thing in the world, not moving an inch in any response. But Naruto's actions did not go unnoticed. Sasuke was quite surprised that after the way he had left Konoha and all, that Naruto still remained a friend of his. He really did wonder how strong that this relationship called 'friendship' is. He now understood why Sakura had valued Naruto's friendship in their genin days.
"…Sakura…" Sasuke unconsciously blurted out from his train of thoughts. It was barely above a whisper but Naruto heard it.
Naruto took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed before he began.
"The day after you left…" Sasuke glanced up at the blonde, whom had his hands folded and his gaze fixated on the ground in front of him. "…It was like she was a changed person. You would always see her with that sand dude…and it's been like that for about five years now."
Sasuke tensed up at the mention of the Shukaku boy. The one who took away what belonged to HIM. He stole his little flower from HIM. And the worst thing was being that he did it behind HIS back. Sasuke clenched his fists until his knuckles went pallid through the pressure. He felt this sudden anger surge through his senses. This sudden feeling to slit the said man's throat felt so foreign, so heart wrenching and blood boiling.
Was this…jealousy?
Was he, THE Uchiha Sasuke, ENVIOUS of the Sabaku Boy?
'No! No way! I mean there are those questions that my inner-self brings up every now and then. Those questions like; what does he have that I don't? And, What does she see in him that she doesn't see in me? These questions don't mean anything…right?'
'Yeah… SURE they don't…' inner Sasuke answered, purposely letting his words drip with sarcasm. A retort from Sasuke was held back when Naruto's sudden forced chuckle cut off his thoughts.
"Heh. I still remember how she was…the day after you left." This brought Sasuke back a flashback of the night he had left and how he had broken her heart then. A mental image of the heartbroken kunoichi flashed across his mind.
The tears that streamed down her porcelain face.
Her body shaking all over from the despair.
The wrenching feeling came back and he couldn't help but wonder if he had made her feel this way when he left her that night. Another wave of emotions soared through his senses.
Regret.
Sorrow.
Anger.
Jealousy.
And now…Guilt.
Naruto just stared at his folded hands in reminiscence. He knew that Sasuke had no idea how badly he had broken Sakura's heart five years ago, or the fact that she had seemed to have forgotten all about it the very next day, when she had ever since been Gaara's girlfriend. He knew though, for a fact that no one could explain what had happened overnight or what had healed her broken heart so quickly. Some had made up tales that Gaara had bewitched her, seeing as most couldn't believe that the boy from the village of the sand, whom was in with an attempt to ambush Konoha five years ago, could make the sweet, innocent little Konoha kunoichi fall in love with him. Those rumors died down after a while. Soon everyone just accepted the fact that the two loved each other and could tell that Gaara was treating her well by the full-spirited smile on her features everyday they were together. No one had dared to question her face to face about her past love for the Uchiha and were just content at the fact that she was happy.
"The day after…in the morning…when both of you guys didn't turn up for training. I found it quite weird and so did Kaka-sensei, but we still trained like normal." Naruto paused and forced a small smile at the recollection. Sasuke remained silent, lost in his own thoughts yet listening to Naruto's recount.
"I saw her walking down the street when I was having dinner at Ichiraku. I treated her to ramen and when I asked her about you, she…" Naruto paused yet again, and let out a silent sigh. The image of her broken down face swept through his mind and he did not like the sight. He remember that he had once swore that he would protect the ones that were precious to him and Sakura was more that just a precious teammate to him. He regretted the fact that he wasn't there to stop Sasuke from leaving and making his friend cry, but that was all in the past now.
"She didn't come to training the next day either…I heard that she was at the hospital from Kaka-sensei and planned to head there after my training. Still, I don't know what had happened to her the night before." Naruto took a quick glance at Sasuke and saw the Uchiha with his eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. He took it as a sign for him to continue.
"By the time I had completed my training and headed towards the hospital, she had already left."
"Left?" Sasuke blurted out quickly with his unsteady mind. 'She didn't leave the village, did she?'
"Yeah. She left the hospital." Naruto stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Sasuke let out a silent sigh in relief. The possible fact that she had left after him scared the Uchiha just that tiny bit. Actually, it made his heart beat faster in fear. Maybe more than just a tiny bit. He nodded his head at the blonde shinobi, as a signal to go on.
"I figured that since she was able to leave the hospital so quickly, then her reason for being there in the first place probably wasn't so serious then. But still, I asked Tsunade-baa-chan (2) about her condition and possibly what had happened." Naruto's feature contorted into one of confusion at his next words.
"Now this was what she told me. I still don't seem to understand it though. Apparently whilst baa-chan was examining Sakura-chan, when she was still unconscious, she found a small red vial that was clutched in Sakura-chan's hand." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.
'She didn't attempt suicide now, did she?' Inner Sasuke spoke the worst possibility in Sasuke's thoughts.
"A-A vial?" Sasuke asked to clarify Naruto's words, though it came out in a more unsteadied tone than what he had intended it to be. The blonde shinobi responded with a simple nod.
"Yeah, like I said, it didn't make sense to me either."
"She didn't…?" Sasuke breathed out with panic-stricken eyes.
"No! Of course she didn't! Otherwise she wouldn't be here today!" Naruto tried to laugh off the thought. Sasuke nodded in understanding.
"There was hardly any stuff left inside the when they found it so it was assumed that Sakura-chan drank it all, but a few drops were left and that was more than enough for Tsunade-baa-chan to examine the weird thingy."
"…And?"
"And? Oh! And! And baa-chan found out that the potion did not cause and physical damage of any sort." Again, Sasuke silently sighed in relief, though just a bit too soon.
"But the INTERNAL or MENTAL effects of the potion are still unknown. Who knows? Over time Sakura could've grown an extra arm or something! Maybe even a tail!" Sasuke closed his eyes in frustration and sweat-dropped at the blonde's wild imagination. His eye twitched silently ever so slightly, though the fact that the internal or mental effects of the potion inside the vial were still unknown, this had annoyed the young Uchiha somehow and sent his thoughts into thinking of the worst-case scenarios.
"Well…that's all I guess." Naruto concluded.
Sasuke lowered his gaze back to his connected hands and once again fell into deep thought. What Naruto had told him just now answered only a few of his questions, thought he still felt that there were still pieces missing. He felt that there were mort explanations to Sakura's condition. He was sure of it. It was unexplainable, call it Uchiha instincts, but somehow he could feel it. There was just something else he deeded to know.
"On another note, coincidently on that day as well, there were reports of Atkatsuki sightings exiting the borders of Konoha."
'Atkatsuki?' Sasuke's head shot up at he mention of the organization his brother once belonged to. Naruto had expected this reaction from the Uchiha and just gave a simple nod in acknowledgement.
"Yeah…after further investigations, they discovered that Uchiha Itachi was residing within the Old Uchiha district for sometime, yet there were no evidence of and activities there. Everything was in place, nothing out of the order. It was like he wasn't even there."
'Kuso! Itachi was in Konoha all that time…but…why?'
Naruto's expression saddened when he recalled the time Uchiha Itachi had come to Konoha in attempt to retrieve him. "I just assumed that they were back to try and…take me again…"
'No…that's not it…can't be it…wait!'
Sasuke's eyes widened in realization at how close he was to his answer. It was just beyond his fingertips. The pieces were beginning to fall into place. The vial. The Atkatsuki sighting. Sakura.
"No…"Sasuke breathed out, barely above a whisper and he stood up abruptly. Naruto just stared at the boy with confusion.
"Sasuke?--"
"He was seen inside the Uchiha district?" Sasuke cut him off. Naruto slowly nodded, eyes never leaving the Uchiha though he still could not see where this was leading.
"But there was no evidence of which part he was residing in or what he did there or how long he was there for." Naruto repeated.
'I have a good idea where he was within the district.' Sasuke thought.
"Aa." He replied simply, shrugging off Naruto's repeated words. "Look, I have to go now Naruto. Don't follow me. And, err…thanks." He muttered the last part and before Naruto could react to his words, the door to Naruto's apartment had slammed shut, leaving a gaping Naruto with a dumbfounded expression. 'That…that bastard!'
"SASUKE!"
(1) teme – often means bastard. But as corrected by XyoushaX it's more like a vulgar version of 'you'.
(2) Tsunade-baa-chan – means Tsunade old lady or grandma. Naruto likes to call the Gondaime this seeingfor he knows that she is about fifty years old.
TBC...
again...no action...just...boring information...gah...T.T and so...well...erhmm...this fic is turning out a bit more adventurous than i had thought it would be...so yeah...Sasuke is still on his way to discover Sakura's condition and its leading to a small investigation of his deceased clan. Anywaiz...
Next Chapter: Chapter 14- The Uchiha Secret
Sasuke's intuition leads him towards the Uchiha district where Itachi was last sighted in and he discovers an ancient Uchiha secret.
yes...anywaiz, it still on working progress so it'll be a while. Gomen ne, the next update will not be for a while coz i've just realized that the end of the holidaiz are coming closer and that i need to get out there and enjoy the most of it as i can! hehe...but don't worry, i'll still be writing! XD
anywaiz,
Until Next Time,
Ja Ne pplz!
--(Aitashiaku©)-- (01.16.2006)
