Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

One Time, One Meeting

The Possibilities Are Endless

Perspective

Sakura-

The passage of time leaves few things untouched by its callus fingers. For Sakura one of those many things was her long held childhood crush on the one and only Uchiha Sasuke. Truth be told, she was more than a little aggrieved when the realization struck her, but at the time she'd had very little time to react to it. What with Naruto and said Uchiha's continued existence being uncertain.

Now, seeing his solitary form-a silhouette against the light of the setting sun-it felt like a knife to her heart. Alternatively, it might be better to liken it to a long awaited death. You know its coming, but that doesn't stop it from hurting.

The moment in itself was almost nostalgic, and if she just closed her eyes she could almost pretend five years hadn't passed and the Sasuke leaning heavily on the bridge-his head bent, arms crossed lazily over his trunk,-was the same one that put stars in her eyes and made her heart race just from a mere glance.

She mentally shook off the impulse to reminisce. That was then and this was now, and this was her life now. Free of the Uchiha Prodigy's influence. She kept her eyes wide open and watched him with only a passing interest.

He didn't seem keen on moving; only bits of his disheveled hair wafting with the breeze kicking up as the golden dome sank slowly behind the horizon. In a distant part of her mind, she imagined his eyes closed against the light, flutters of stray hair tickling his face.

The soft treading of feet, however, disturbed her musings. Sakura's gaze sought out the source of the disturbance and caught sight of dark lavender locks, tinted with the red light of the setting sun. Hyuuga Hinata walked briskly, wholly unaware of anyone else's presence. Her gaze seemed to stay focused on the ground directly in front of her, her mouth turned down in a slight frown as her hair danced with the wafting breeze.

Sakura's heart clenched, knowing full well what had put the sad frown, however slight it may seem, on her face. Guilt ate away at her insides as she watched the girl approach the bridge with only slight awareness of her surroundings.

She still recalled the conversation she'd stumbled upon earlier in the day. It seemed Hinata had taken to avoiding her crush every since the incident during Pein's invasion. This was entirely to Naruto's benefit considering he hadn't seemed very keen on the pending conversation with the Hyuuga Heiress. Nevertheless, they had been fated to cross paths sometime. It seemed this day was such a day.

Rounding the corner, the first person she saw had been Naruto. She'd called out to him and waved, only to meet the Heiresses pained gaze right after. She didn't need to be a genius to know what had transpired. Hinata had quickly dismissed herself and scampered off.

A certain prodigy seemed to have noticed her presence as well. Dropping his laid back posture, he drew himself to his full height, his head turning slightly to acknowledge her presence as she came upon him.

"Hyuuga." Sakura heard him say in his usual gruff manner. A high pitched squeak emanated from the startled Kunoichi as she stumbled back in shock. It was hard for her to miss the raised eyebrow and amused sparkle gleaming in his dark gaze.

"Sasuke-kun!" Hinata gasped. Her hand clasped loose at her throat, trying-Sakura assumed-to still her beating heart.

"Aren't you out a bit late?" Sasuke asked. His arms, once folded over his chest, now tucked into his pant pockets as he inclined his head to talk to the heiress. Sakura would swear later that Sasuke was smiling. "I thought a Hime like you would have an early curfew."

She saw Hinata duck her head in quick fashion, no doubt to hide a tell-tale blush. She strained to hear Hinata's response, but whatever was said was lost as the wind kicked up. She continued to watch however, fascinated by the exchange between the two of them.

An odd quickening tickled her chest when the quirk in Sasuke's lips turned into a full blown smile. Blown away, Sakura could only blink. Confusion began to burrow in her head. Never had she seen Sasuke show an sort of familiarity to anyone, but there he was talking to Hinata like she was an old friend. Or something more.

Shaking her head, she decided to let it be. It really wasn't her business anymore. Sakura smiled to herself as she strolled off, wondering if there was a way to persuade Naruto to eat something besides ramen tonight.