Darkness

Four years later, Sasuke walked through Konoha's streets.

After he was utterly beaten by Naruto, and placed into probation for a year, not much had changed. He was still trailed by shrieking fangirls, he was still able to surpass Naruto in almost anything despite the battle that brought him back to Konoha, and his house was still its same, lonely place shrouded in darkness.

The only difference was that everyone seemed more mature, and there was one person who was not chasing him. That person was none other than his teammate, Sakura Haruno.

"Is that all, sir?" asked the cashier at the grocery store, batting her eyelashes and making a suggestive pose.

"Yes," he said, ignoring the girl. He took the bag full of groceries and headed straight for home.

Once inside, Sasuke placed the bag on top of his dining table and grabbed a banana. He climbed on top of the roof peeling the banana, and rested his head on his free arm.

In the air, a faint whoosh could be heard. Sasuke sighed. The whooshing sound belonged to the ninjas that were assigned to watch him. They checked on him every two hours. Honestly, he thought. Don't they already see I have no intention of leaving Konoha illegally? He finished the banana and threw it through his window and into the waste basket. Then he dozed off where he lay until the presence of another person woke him up. He looked on the other side of his roof and Sakura was walking towards the house. He jumped over to greet her.

"Naruto wanted to know what you were doing and asked me to check," Sakura casually explained, "and Kakashi asked me to tell you we're having a team meeting tonight."

"Aah." He noticed a glimmer of sadness in her eyes, but quickly dismissed it and headed back towards his house while Sakura was walking the opposite way.

Later that night, the whole team met in one of the classrooms in the school building.

"I've called you all here to announce we have a mission tomorrow," said Kakashi. "Of course, since Sasuke is on probation, he won't be joining us."

Naruto slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "Why not? Can't you make Grandma Tsunade lift up his probation for a while?"

"No, I can't. If you're wondering why you're even here, Sasuke, it's because you're part of a team." He gave them all a hard stare with his one eye, then smiled and said, "That's all."

Before they all left, Yamato reminded Naruto, Sakura, and Sai to meet at the Hokage's office for information on the meeting in the morning.

"Ah, there he is! Oi! Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned around and Naruto was running towards him with Sakura following behind after waving goodbye to Sai.

"Sorry that you couldn't come with us on our mission," said Naruto.

He shrugged and continued on his way.

Naruto crossed his arms and scowled. "At least say something."

"I don't need to, loser."

Sakura saw the irritation flare up in Naruto's eyes, and quickly changed the subject. "How has everything been, Sasuke?"

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He answered in an annoyed tone, "Nothing here has changed." He glanced at their devastated faces, and with a smirk he added, "Which makes it my home."

They both laughed at his joke and Naruto pounded Sasuke on the back. "Hey let's go get some ramen, my treat!" said Naruto.

"Sorry, but my mom's back and Ipromised to get some juice and go home right away," said Sakura.

"Aw." That was it for his plans to eat with company.

"I'll see you tomorrow." With a wave, Sakura headed for the nearest market.

"Sakura. She's changed," Sasuke said as he watched Sakura's retreating form.

"Well whaddya expect after being gone for so long? Sakura really missed you; but you're back, so now she is happy."

Sasuke sighed at the blonde-haired kid's stupidity. "No, dumbass. She looks happy enough about our team. What I mean is that there might be a sadness that's . . . deeper."

Naruto pondered over Sasuke's observation for a moment. "That sadness has always been there," he agreed, "like a darkness that can't be brightened."

Sasuke and Naruto went their separate ways. As soon as he was home, Sasuke plopped himself on his bed. Something silky tickled his fingers, and from under his mattress, he pulled out a red ribbon. What the hell is this? he thought.

Something in the back of his mind began to egg at Sasuke, but he shrugged it off and threw the ribbon on top of his bedside table. Before drifting off to sleep, he thought about the words Naruto had said. In response, he thought, What kind of darkness is in her heart?