When all that was happening in Konoha, Sasuke was on his mission. Since the death of the two conspiracies of Konoha, Sasuke was happy. He got his revenge. He got out from Orochimaru's plans and best of all, he had Sakura now. He had to catch up on things with her once he got back. He had to know what she did while he was gone.

His mission that day was rather easy. It was just to get a secret scroll from this hermit on the mountain. But the mountain was occupied by wild animals. Surely, Sasuke could beat them but he still took precaution and brought more konais and shurikens than usual.

He took the main path, which was less dangerous. Master Tsunade said that the hermit, Mitsukage, lived inside a cave on the east side of the mountain path. He walked to reserve his chakra for climbing the mountain.

He finally reached the foot of the mountain and decided to climb it with the use of chakra but somehow, he wasn't able to use it. Something was preventing him from using it. He kept falling on his behind every time he tried.

"Damn." Sasuke remarked, "The hermit must have used chakra on this mountain." He decided to climb the mountain the old fashioned way.

An hour passed by. He found the cave and a very old man inside it. "Come in, boy."

Sasuke followed his order. He looked around. The cave was furnished with makeshift furniture. The bed was made of straw covered with a piece of cloth. On the makeshift shelves, there were numerous scrolls, bottles, and papers.

"Master Mitsukage," Sasuke started, "Master Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, asked me to get the Scroll of Fertility from you."

Master Mitsukage exclaimed, "Tsunade? I heard a great deal about Tsunade from Sarutobi. I was thinking that Jiraiya would be Hokage. But yes, the Scroll of Fertility is what she wants. Wait a minute." He stood up and walked toward the makeshift shelves. "You must be an Uchiha, judging from that sign on your back."

"How did you see…" Sasuke wondered.

"I saw it when you came in, boy." Master Mitsukage said, "Your clan is one of the best Too bad you're the only one left. It's difficult to marry an Uchiha, you know." He kept fiddling with the scrolls.

"What do you mean difficult?" Sasuke inquired. "My cousins get married easily."

"You didn't know what their partners went through, though. Have you noticed that when an Uchiha marries, the married couple looks alike? Also, have you noticed that all of the offspring of Uchihas have the advance bloodline called Sharingan?" Master Mitsukage told Sasuke his observations. Sasuke didn't notice those before but Master Mitsukage was right.

"What about it?" Sasuke asked.

"I can see that you have someone special in your heart." Master Mitsukage included, "You want to rebuild your clan with this girl but you don't even know what she has to undergo before you could finally live together and have smaller versions of both of you."

"What do you mean…How did… I didn't…" Sasuke was amazed of the hermit's knowledge. "I didn't say anything like that and yet, you knew…"

"Lad," Master Mitsukage looked at him. "Look at my eyes."

Sasuke was shocked. "That is the Sharingan! But wait," He stared at the other one. "That one is the Byakugan. How did that happen?"

"The elders of families with advance bloodlines usually make arranged marriages for the clan members. They chose who is strong and brave enough to undergo the Rituals of Transformation." Master Mitsukage explained. "Those couples who don't undergo those rituals risked the abnormality of the bloodline. Hatake Kakashi was an example. His mother was Uchiha Yukina. Hatake Gyojo wasn't that brave enough to undergo the Rituals of Transformation. Now, look at Hatake Kakashi. He had Sharingan in one eye and a normal eye on the other. He was disowned as an Uchiha, together with Gyojo and Yukina. Gyojo was killed in a mission. Because of depression, Uchiha Yukina died. That's why Hatake Kakashi was alone and barely used his Sharingan." He paused for a moment. "As for my case, my father was a Hyuuga and my mother was an Uchiha. It was difficult for both clans. The other clan wants the Sharingan to stay. The other clan wants the Byakugan to remain. My parents decided to run off and lived in the outskirts of town. When they had me, they were surprised. One eye was the Sharingan of my mother and the other was the Byakugan of my father. They loved me so dearly but people were afraid of me. Some called me a freak, even a monster. When I finally completed my studies as a ninja, I seek refuge here. That was how I lived since then." Master Mitsukage gave him two scrolls, a piece of paper, and a potion.

"What are these?" Sasuke asked him.

"The paper indicates the rules and the steps for the Rituals of Transformation. The potion is for the first stage and the other scroll is for the last stage of the rituals." Master Mitsukage said, "The Rituals of Transformation of the Hyuuga clan is easier, you know. The genes of the Byakugan are really strong so the Hyuuga family doesn't perform the Rituals. The Uchiha clan is rather complicated."

"Thank you, Master Mitsukage." Sasuke said, "You have been very helpful."

"Your welcome." Master Mitsukage said.

Sasuke left Master Mitsukage and headed back to Konoha. On the way, he read the instructions. After doing so, he sighed. "This is going to be tough for her."

He ran back to Konoha and immediately gave the Scroll of Fertility to Master Tsunade. Master Tsunade was proud of him and praised him. "Sasuke, I'm so pleased with you. You had been able to kill one of Konoha's conspiracies." Master Tsunade added, "I'm really proud of you. Sakura must be happy for you."

Sasuke blushed. "I guess she is."

"But did she tell you about her engagement with Neji?" Master Tsunade added, "Poor guy... When you came back, Sakura backed out on the engagement."

Sasuke looked at Master Tsunade. 'She was engaged and she never told me?'

Master Tsunade continued, "But you are the best choice to marry her. Both of you are perfect for each…" Master Tsunade stopped. She looked for Sasuke. Then, she sighed, "Aw. Young love…. I miss the old days…"

!

Sasuke left after hearing about Sakura and Neji. 'She shouldn't have left him. She wouldn't suffer those stupid rituals if she didn't leave him. Why?' He ran back to Sakura's house and didn't bother knocking on the door. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT NEJI AND YOU?"

Sakura was in the kitchen, making dinner for herself. She knew Sasuke won't be back but when she was startled when she heard Sasuke scream, especially when he said 'Neji'. She ran towards the door and saw a very angry Sasuke on her doorstep.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Sakura argued, "I mean I wanted to but you left so suddenly!"

"Well, if you're already engaged, why did you break up with him?" Sasuke retorted, "YOU SHOULDN'T HURT PEOPLE LIKE THAT!"

Sakura got insulted. "IT WASN'T MY FAULT! I TOLD HIM THAT I REALLY LOVE YOU BUT HE DIDN'T CARE!"

"YOU SHOULD'VE LOVE HIM BACK AND FORGET ABOUT ME!" Sasuke shouted at her. He could see that tears were present in those emerald eyes that he loved.

Sakura shouted back, "SO NOW YOU DON'T CARE THAT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH?" Tears fell down from her eyes. She brushed off Sasuke when she went out. She looked at his back. "I HATE YOU!" Then, she ran.

Sasuke fell down on his knees. "I'm really sorry that I have to hurt you like this." Tears fell down from his eyes. "I'm really sorry." He closed the door and left.

!

Sakura ran; tears continued to drop from her eyes. She didn't care that everybody could see her. She didn't care about anything at all.

Naruto was eating ramen at his favorite restaurant with Hinata and Neji. Of course, Naruto and Hinata were lovey-dovey while Neji was some kind of third wheel. Neji stared at his ramen bowl.

"Come on, Naruto. Say "ah"…" Hinata was feeding him dumplings. "Say "ah"…" Naruto opened his mouth and Hinata placed the dumpling in his mouth.

Hinata was about to feed Naruto another dumpling when she saw someone wearing a red dress and blue sandals running. "Neji…" She shook Neji's shoulder. The older Hyuuga looked at her. "Sakura's running over there."

"Are you sure it's her?" Neji asked Hinata.

Hinata nodded. "She's the only one in Konoha who wears blue sandals and a red dress."

Neji stood up and followed Sakura. He ran out of the city and used his Byakugan to locate her. Then, he found her. She was sitting on the ground near the river. Her head rested on her knees.

"Sakura," Neji approached her. "Are you alright?"

Sakura looked at him. Her eyes were a little bit red from crying and her face was wet from tears. But she smiled at him. "I'm okay."

"You don't look okay." Neji suddenly asked, "Did Sasuke make you cry?" His brows were knitted together with a frown.

Sakura instantly shook her head. "No, he didn't make me cry. Don't worry, Neji. I'm fine."

Neji doubted her words but he wrapped his arm over her. "Why don't you stay at the Hyuuga main house tonight with Hinata? If you don't like to, I'd take you to Choji and Ino's place."

She shook her head. "I'm fine, really. Leave me here. I'd go home later."

Neji sighed. "Are you really sure?"

Sakura nodded and smiled. "I promise you that." She went back to her original position. 'I must've looked pathetic in his eyes.'

Neji stood up and ran back to Konoha. "Sasuke… you're gonna pay for making her cry…"

!

Sasuke went to his old home years ago. Everything was dusty. He started dusting his bed by removing the covers carefully. The mattress seemed fine to him. He laid down there and stared at the cob webs on the ceiling.

Out of the blue, somebody banged the door. "OPEN UP, UCHIHA!" He knew who that voice belonged to – Hyuuga Neji.

"It's open…" Then, he muttered, "…bastard."

Neji opened the door. Since Sasuke's place was an apartment, Neji was standing right in front of Sasuke. However, Neji didn't hear his last remark but he was angry, none the less. "UCHIHA SASUKE, STAND UP!"

Sasuke didn't bother to look at him. "What's your problem?"

"HOW DARE YOU MAKE SAKURA CRY LIKE THAT, BASTARD?" Neji shouted at him. "WHY?"

"It's your fault, actually." Sasuke closed her eyes. "If you didn't break up with her, I wouldn't have been angry with her."

"She wasn't the one who broke our engagement." Neji added, "I was the one who broke up with her."

"None the less, you should've defended what you have with her." Sasuke retorted, "If you really love her, go get her. I don't care."

"Why?" Neji hit himself mentally. 'What a stupid question!'

"Because I don't love her anymore…" Sasuke added, "Now, if you're satisfied, you can go away now."

Neji was furious with his answer. He knew how much Sakura loved that bastard and now, he was just going to leave her like that. He took one of his konais and threw it at him.

The problem was that Sasuke was faster than Neji. He took out one of his own konais and made the one that Neji threw fall on the floor. "Don't throw those at me. I didn't kill Itachi just like that, you know."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Neji retorted, "That killing your brother made you stronger?"

He answered coldly. "Yes." He rolled over his side so he faced the window.

"Why you…." Neji threw three shurikens.

Sasuke blocked those shurikens. "Missed me again…"

"Stand up and fight like a man." Neji was a little annoyed now. "Maybe you're too chicken to fight with me."

Sasuke got insulted and looked at him. "If that's what you want…" He stood up. "Fine… Let's take this battle in the outskirts."

Neji obliged and ran towards the outskirts of the village. Sasuke followed. The outskirts looked peaceful as the wind blew by. The outskirts were covered with green grass that outlined the forest.

As of that moment, two figures stood there, ready to fight. Neji activated his Byakugan while Sasuke activated his Sharingan. At that turning point, the fight began.

Neji made the first attack. "Hakkesho Kaiten!" (Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin) He stroked at one of Sasuke's tenketsu (Chakra holes). "One."

Sasuke fell on his knee for a moment. "You're strong. I didn't see that one coming."

Neji was about to touch him again when Sasuke used his ShiShi Rendan (Lion Combo). He punched Neji's stomach a few times and kicked him. It sent Neji flying in the air. Then, Sasuke jumped and does the Kage Buyou (Shadow Leaf Dance). After that, Sasuke kicked Neji but Neji blocked it. What Neji didn't know was that Sasuke was ready to hit his face. That made Neji fell down.

Sasuke stood in front of Neji. He smirked, "I told you… ARGH!"

"Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight!" Neji touched seven chakra holes on Sasuke's legs.

It made Sasuke fall down on his back. "I let my guard down."

They stood up and continued to beat each other up. Blood was dripping from their faces. Some of their bones were broken as well. Their chakra levels were low but they were still standing, glaring at each other.

Sasuke yelled, "I told you that you can have her."

"Why?" Neji's eyes were starting to water. "Can't you see that she loves you that much? She loves you…"

"I CAN'T BEAR TO HURT HER BECAUSE I LOVE HER!" That was Sasuke's unexpected answer.

Neji seemed shocked. But he replied angrily. "HOW CAN YOU BREAK HER HEART AND SAY THAT YOU LOVE HER?"

Sasuke fell down to his knees and beat the ground. "I love her a lot but if I want to be together forever with her, she has to…"

"… to do the Rituals of Transformation." Hatake Kakashi said. The two boys stopped and looked at him.

"Why are you here, Sir Kakashi?" Sasuke stood up and cleaned his knees. They got dirty because of the ground.

"I was here because I saw you two fighting." Kakashi added, "I wanted to see the battle between Sharingan and Byakugan."

"What did you mean by the 'Rituals of Transformation'?" Neji was curious. "And why does Sakura have to do that in order to be together with Sasuke?"

Kakashi sighed and took a deep breath. "The Rituals of Transformation is used in order to transform a man or a woman into a different person. These rituals were specifically used to keep the advance bloodlines normal. Unlike the Hyuuga clan, the Uchiha clan performs these rituals to make sure that no abnormalities form."

"What type of abnormalities?" Neji asked him. Sasuke also listened even if he knew what Kakashi was saying.

Kakashi showed Neji his Sharingan. "This is on example of the abnormalities I'm talking about."

Neji was amazed. Neji inquired, "My clan doesn't do those rituals when a relative marries. Why?"

"The Byakugan bloodline is strong unless it is stopped by another bloodline." Kakashi asked, "Sasuke, you met the hermit Master Mitsukage, right?"

Sasuke nodded. "He had the Sharingan and the Byakugan all together."

Neji didn't ask anymore questions. Now, he understood why Sasuke pushed Sakura away from him. He didn't want to make her undergo those rituals. He looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke had a sad look on his face. A painter won't be able to paint his face. "Neji," He looked at his opponent. "Did you see Sakura?"

Neji nodded. "She's on the river banks, sitting and crying by herself. I offered her to stay at the main house but she declined."

"I'm sorry, Neji – for hurting you that is." Sasuke apologized. He never did that before but he felt that it was right to do so. After all, he was the reason why he and Sakura didn't end up together.

"Don't be." Neji looked in the other direction and started to walk away. But then, he halted. "Just don't hurt her again because if you do, I'm going to kill you." He continued walking and never looked back.

Kakashi sighed. "Love's powerful, huh?"

Sasuke nodded. "I know. Is there a way not to do those rituals? I don't want to hurt her…"

Kakashi shook his head. "Both of you are risking to have children with the same condition as mine." He added, "And didn't you want to rebuild the Uchiha clan with Sakura? If you're going to do so, those children should have Sharingan on both eyes."

"I know…" Sasuke argued. "But the rituals' were too difficult."

"Ah…" Kakashi was surprised. "So you knew…"

"Master Mitsukage told me." Sasuke answered, "He gave me the essential things…"

"Don't have doubts if you really love Sakura." Kakashi said, "I knew from the very beginning that she loves you a lot. You just have to trust her. If she really loves you, she'd do anything for you."

Sasuke smiled at his old teacher. "Thank you, Sir Kakashi."

"Go get her, Sasuke."

Sasuke waved and ran as fast as he could to the river banks. He ran and ran until he saw her there. He wasn't surprised to see her like that. He knew she was strong and brave. But sometimes, a brave person needed to let the emotions get out and that was what Sakura was doing – venting her emotions through tears.

Sakura was crying; she didn't have any idea that Neji and Sasuke fought. She just cried. She didn't knew why would he do that to her. She was so confused and depressed.

Sasuke approached her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you, Sakura."

Sakura raised her head but didn't dare to look at him. "Why did you even have doubts about my love for you?"

Sasuke pondered on her question and gave her a simple answer. "I guess I was scared."

She asked him a simple question. "Scared of what?"

Sasuke answered, "Of losing you…"

"You'll never lose me, Sasuke." Sakura snuggled in. "I love you that much…."

"What if you had to face death in order to be with me, would you still…?" He can't finish his question because Sakura suddenly kissed him.

"Yes…" Sakura whispered as she broke their kiss. "I'd do it even if I had to face death."

They just stayed there all night. Inside his arms was the girl of his dreams. She was happy. All the sadness disappeared and the pain was gone.

But behind the three someone was watching them. Sadness could be seen in his eyes but, out of the blue, he smiled. "Be happy, Sakura." He looked away and carried a knap sack on his back. He stared to walk away from them, from sadness, and from Konoha.

!

Author's Notes:

Okay. Okay. Don't hate me because it isn't over yet! It seems like it's over but no, it isn't. Sakura has to perform the Rituals of Transformation, remember?

I hope this chapter didn't take too long. I had a little difficulty in researching about the battle. I wanna thank for providing me with the data of the attacks and such.

Oh, yeah, thank you to the following for reviewing and I sympathize with them about Neji. I know it's sad but not everything's perfect in life: JusticeDream, KarmaLord, sillymail, and mfpeach

Preview for Chapter 3: A Mission to Forget

"I'm glad you came to see me." Master Tsunade said to Neji. "I have a three-man mission for you and two others."

Neji answered, "I was hoping you have one for me – alone, Master Tsunade."

Master Tsunade shook her head. "This mission requires three people namely Aburame Shino, Kiba, and you, Hyuuga Neji." She paused for a moment as the other two men came out from the other room.

"Hi-ya!" Kiba said. Akamaru barked. Shino just nodded.

Master Tsunade continued, "I want the three of you to find a few things for me. First, I want you to find a certain bug called Mangekyou. This bug could change colors and shape. That's the reason it's really hard to find. Second, I need you to find special roots. Those roots had certain scents that I'll let you smell later on. Lastly, I want you to find a woman named Tsubasa Makoto. According to my sources, she lives in the Wave Country as of the moment. She usually moves a lot but I think she's there."

Neji looked confused. "I can't see the relevance of these things…"

"These are the ingredients to use in order to do the reverse form of the Rituals of Transformation." Master Tsunade concluded.

Standard Disclaimer Apply.