"I'm sorry"

"How to re-open a closed chapter"

- Part one -

"So, they were here, after all... "

Sakura had reached them with a catlike jump and after realizing the gravity of the situation she had kneaded chakra and started to remedy that disaster.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed with his usual kindness.

The girl doesn't even deem them worthy of a glance , panicked by the bloody wound, amputation. They were two idiots! How they had reduced themselves that way? Was that face-off really necessary?

She would never understand those two, by now she had resigned and ... they do not deserve to have more than one arm. Idiots.

"Sakura, I ... "

So here is, the supreme idiot; the concentrate divine of epic crap.

"Just shut up for now. I'm concentrating!" and to have him so close to her, helpless and shabby, in and of itself was not to help her, it would have been too much to hear anything he had to say.

So, with an unexpected surge of pride that she did not even know from where it originated, she had promptly silenced him, while tears piled up to the limits of the eyelids and pressed to exit.

She felt stupid. She was crying, again. Sasuke, after all, not was entirely wrong to consider her boring and unbearable, considering that she did nothing but cry in his presence.

And she was afraid, no, she was terrified at the thought that he might say something stupid, forcing her to permanently embed his body in the marble hand of Madara Uchiha with a well-aimed punch - the rage on a cripple went against the Hippocratic oath.

He had watched her fight against the tears with his one eye open and he had suddenly felt ... a pile of shit.

The great Sasuke Uchiha felt like shit and not just for the poor conditions in which he was: he had rationalized that he had hurt everyone, including her - especially her.

He had never really asked himself why he had overplayed his hand so much with her, taking almost a sadistic delight to reject and denigrate her. After all, she did not represent a danger to the realization of his distorted dream; Naruto was his enemy, he was the greatest obstacle. Nevertheless, when Sakura had repeated to love him for the umpteenth time, blinded by an insane rage, he had tried to get out from the weight of those words that had awakened in him distant memories: the love of his mother, the warmth of a family. He had reacted nastily to that painful feeling, considering that attempt to stop him like boring and unlikely.

How that silly little girls could think about frivolous things like love, when he had explained clearly what were his intentions?

Probably, she had hoped to be able to stop him, fooling him with those pathetic slush, as in the Land of Iron; but he had a plan, a purpose and no one would stop him.

Moreover, how she was thinking about him still in that way? He believed that he was quite clear about. After all he had done to her, the way he treated her, where it came from that security? How she could declare to love him? What attracted her to him? He was certainly not a blatant example of a man whom one could easily fall in love, but she, diehard, continued to cry and tell him everything would be fine, that they would be happy together.

He had heard enough nonsense. He had to silence her, to shut her liar and inane mouth, to lower the curtain on that scene already seen previously, to clarify once and for all that her love had no chance and especially he had to avoid that she could follow them - he did not want to have her around. It was the last of his desires.

He had runned through the breastbone, the heart. Her tears were crystallized in her wide open eyes and only a moan of pain was gone from her lips, before collapsing unconscious on the ground. In that time he had not felt any regret for what he had done, no pain or sorrow. he believed it was the right thing to do because whatever the epilogue of that battle had been , she should have considered him like a closed chapter.

Therefore, it was more than possible that she hated him, that she no longer wanted to look him in the face. He looked sadly her eyes full of tears, her narrow lips and trembling hands that still oozed all the love that she had reserved only to him, as always, and he realized - finally - that chapter was not yet closed, not quite, perhaps ...

Suddenly he felt lost, terrified by the knowledge that he deserved her hatred, and he had hoped that she could forgive him. This time, however, he should have done the first step, he should humble himself in front of her.

Despite her peremptory order to be silent, his lips had articulated three words, the most appropriates.

"I'm sorry "

And the heart of Sakura had lost a beat. Actually it had lost them all ... it had stopped and was barely able to start again and the tears began to fall like a river in flood.

After the shock, she had taken courage. For once he was voluntarily placed himself in fault, he admitted that among the multitudes of bullshits he had done, probably there were some which related her personally. But not being entirely sure, she wanted to clarify what he meant ...

"You're sorry? For what? "

She did not expect him to make a list of all the times that he had acted as a bastard - a whole day would not be enough - or that he would say to her something silly - it would be too good to be true. She was not surprised, therefore, when she heard him summarize all in five words.

"For everything up till now "

Vague, too vague, very vague. Obscenely vague.

Obviously, her thoughts were not focused on nukenin who had become, on having tried to kill Raikage's brother, killing his brother, then Danzo, on his key role for the start of the war and finally on having tried to kill Naruto... but on a bench, a kunai to her throat and on his hand inside herbreastbone.

"You'd better damn well be!" exclaimed, considering herself lucky for that little more than nothing that he had given her, adding a "Shannaroo... you jerk!" liberating.

These words were heard and restrictive compared to the insults that he deserved.

she wanted to insult him for too long a time and she thought that, probably, trashed in that way, she would not run the risk of being charred by an amaterasu.

She felt lighter. The big burden, that she had carried for four years, had finally found relief.

What he thought? That she would cry and she would whisper his name?

she had been crying, it is true, but the little pride, that was left in her, had chosen the insult instead of: "Sasuke-kun, you have been too rash, I love you the same even if you're a little psychotic bastard and without an arm. It does not matter if you've tried to kill me - twice in a row - if you've insulted me as the latest shit of the universe and if you have locked me in a jutsu where your arm pierced me like meat cooked on a spit, right in the direction of my heart in love. It does not matter, as long as you're here, healthy - more or less - and safe. " Tipical band boring speech by Sakura. No, it would not be the case to say those words.

She had cried, cried like never before, for relief and anger. And they had smile.

Even Sasuke - extraordinarily.

She could not remember the last time she saw his smile. Sure it was not like Naruto's smile: thirty-two white teeth; it was crooked, as that of a person who does not know how to do it, and then and there, with her eyes obfuscate by tears, it seemed almost a figment of her imagination.

Yes, he had smiled, recognizing her forgiveness in that insult. That strange attitude that Sakura had always had to forgive him always.. Of course the idea of being insulted by her was very strange. Probably, in the past, she would have added a "Kun" not to exceed, but at that moment he thought it more than appropriate, almost ironic.

Perhaps Sakura, like Naruto, was the only person in the world that had always understood him.

In that time he had not thought about later, he had enjoyed that moment of peace he had not felt in a long time. No thought, no pain, except the physical, harbored in his Being.

On those hands of marble, Team 7 had met again. It seemed as time had not passed, nothing happened: Naruto smiled and Sakura cried. A charming scene very familiar.

Kakashi was left on the sidelines. He knew he would ne out le piace because his children needed to be alone. By now they had grown, but in the end, they were still the same.

Naruto and Sasuke still had something to do before returning home. They dissolved the Infinite Tsukuyomi , awakening all from eternal dream in which they were locked up. The war was really over.

Sasuke also satisfied Naruto's request to release the Tailed beasts and at the same time he was able to reflect on all that had happened, on loneliness and his desire for revenge.

He realized he was never been alone because his friend, his brother, had always shared the pain he felt. He had lived for too long in the memory of the life that had been taken away from him, not realizing that he was losing the opportunity of living one different. He had loaded on his shoulders sorrows and hopes of his parents, of his brother, believing that the only way forward was revenge.

He was alone and hungry for love in a world full of hate and more he felt the grip of fear, more he walked away all who would know how to placate it.

Naruto had never abandoned him, and now he could finally understand why he thought of him as a brother. The two of them were the same things, they were united by the same desires, the same fears; they were united by a fate that had put them to an hard test to help them understand the true essence of friendship and... love.

( to be continued...)

Writer's corner

Hello everyone!

I'm really sorry but I had to divide the chapter because it was too complicated for me to translate. I'm a donkey braying. :-)

In the Italian version there are some ironic jokes and I hope that the translation has not changed them too.

I would like to thank the users who have entered the history in the list of favorite and who just read. Thank you so much! Really.

I hope you enjoy it. I would love to know your opinions. I am sorry if there are mistakes.

This chapter is an introduction, there are still some quote taken from the original manga. In the near the real story begins. I will try to publish it as soon as possible. I'll see you soon.

Blueorchid31