A/N: A few days past a month...I'm getting faster, right? I'll admit that it's hard—but fun—working with four different fanfics at once.
This is the last chapter. Then the epilogue! :)
Itachi glances in my direction as Sakura excuses herself for a restroom break. We have only traveled two hours, and I have a feeling there isn't much left to go before we reach his destination. I look up at his thoughtful gaze. "What?" He purses his lips, debating whether he should reply or not. Finally he clears his throat.
"I thought it would be Naruto Uzumaki who would change your heart, but it looks like I was wrong." I stare down at my hands, embarrassed that he would bring this up at such a time as this.
"Hmm."
"Do you care about her, little brother?" His voice has a tenderness to it that I haven't heard in years. I answer without hesitation. "Yes."
He pauses, as if to make sure his wording is correct. "...Do you love her?" I close my eyes and think to myself what the answer is. I think back to all the memories I have of her, from our academy days even to now.
Sakura has been the only woman who has stuck to my side, I admit. I have done so much to harm her and in return she has loved me. I glance in the direction that Sakura had gone, and a longing in my heart suddenly appears. I want to give her the same thing she gave me. I am about to open my mouth to respond, but I feel Itachi's hand on my shoulder and I see a small smile on his face.
"Show her." As soon as the words leave his mouth, a rustling comes from our right. We don't react however because we both see the bubblegum colored hair peeking behind a bush. Once in view, I notice her flushed cheeks as she smooths out her pant legs. "Sorry for the break. Let's continue."
Itachi takes the lead again as Sakura and I follow close behind. As we fly through the forest, the wind whips our hair into our faces. When I move some of my hair out of my eyes, I take a quick glance at Sakura, to try to read her thoughts.
She is biting her lip gingerly, and her eyebrows are slightly furrowed. She catches my eyes and gives me a smile in reassurance, but as I look away I can't help but feel like something is wrong.
I can't help but feel like I should be correcting whatever is the problem, even though I know it must be about me. Itachi's questions ring in my ears, and again I feel less than adequate to even have feelings for Sakura.
Could I ever show her the affection that she has always given me? Her smile—her genuine smile—is imprinted in my mind, and I can't help the slight forming of a smile on my lips. I have to, I decide.
"Do not enter this cave, Sasuke." Itachi's corpse gives us one last glance, then enters the dark cavern. Sakura and I look at one another, wondering if we should obey his command.
We have only traveled a total of three hours, so our energy levels haven't decreased much. My adrenaline is actually making me more energized. I can feel my chakra coursing through my veins, ready to attack when necessary. I also feel a strong pull to see what is hiding in the darkness. I nod to Sakura, and she nods back in agreement. We both walk through the entrance.
It has gotten dark very quickly, and I feel Sakura's smooth hand find mine. We interlock our hands and silently trudge through. My heart starts to pound in my chest, and I can't tell if it's because of the situation or because of the strong hand holding mine. Her strong will is what has kept me from completely succumbing to the darkness, I finally realize. I just have to keep her away from the darkness.
We don't have to walk much longer until we see two figures, one I recognize as Itachi, the other I have to look twice. The dark fabric is hiding his form, but I take a quick breath. The stench of reptiles is all around this cave, and I even see a slithering snake next to the hunched figure. Is it..?
He stands up and reveals his face. Although not Orochimaru like I originally thought, this white haired man named Kabuto is just as dangerous. With my hand still in Sakura's, I take a few steps in his direction and slowly unsheathe my sword.
"Tell us what is going on!" I growl, eyeing the snake like man. His piercing eyes find mine, then rakes over Sakura's hand connected to my own, and finally he gives a devious grin.
"You want to know the plan? Fine. Tobi plans to resurrect the Ten-Tails and become its jinchūriki to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the world. All he has left is to capture Naruto and Killer B. Oh, and Sasuke—in exchange for my...cooperation...I have been promised you and Sakura." A maniacal laugh escapes his lips as Sakura and I in surprise.
"Sa—Sasuke, who is this?" Her grip on my hand tightens. I can see that Sakura's other fist is in a tight ball, and I can feel her chakra already being pulled to it. She's getting ready to attack.
We said that Kabuto was the one who trained her and gave her the skills she has. Although now is not the best time to break the truth to her, it needs to be done. Before I can say anything, however, the devilish man cackles more.
"Sakura-san, you don't remember me? I am the one who trained you, after all. Or at least that's what Tobi told me to say, eh Sasuke?"
I send chidori through my blade and in two seconds am about to cut his body in half. Then the Itachi corpse blocks my path and yanks me a yard away. "This Impure World Reincarnation will not be ended if Kabuto dies, Sasuke. I must put him through genjutsu so stop him. It looks like you have something of more importance than this to take care of, anyway."
He points to Sakura who at the moment is racing towards a slimy snake. I watch her fist collide with the creature, and then its body lies limply. She turns towards me, then, and gives me a pained expression.
As Itachi runs toward the white haired man, I take out every snake in my way until I reach the pinkette. Anger, regret, and guilt rage inside of my body as I fight to get closer to her side.
I should have told her.
Ten feet away.
I should never have agreed to manipulate her like this.
Five feet.
I can't hurt her anymore.
I hold my breath as I stare into her emerald eyes. Emotions are swirling through her face, and she looks away as her body starts to tremble. When she finally looks back at me, it's a piercing look that sends a shiver through my whole form.
"Were you just manipulating me? Like some kind of puppet, ready to attack at your every whim?" Her words sting and it feels like there's a lump in my throat. I reach out to her, but she takes a step back. I clench my jaw. "Sakura, I—"
"I knew none of this made sense. Some of my memories didn't fit into this story. All of this was just a charade, huh? I bet you don't even..." She doesn't finish her sentence, but takes a big gulp of air. I see tears starting to form in her eyes, and she starts to sniffle. Without another word, she turns her back on me and runs out of the cave's dark mouth.
Stunned, I stand there for a few seconds. Her glare was like knives, poised to tear me apart. It was this moment that I could see a shadow of darkness starting to build in her own heart. And it was all because of me and my actions.
As I start to hear shuffling and clashing, I turn back to my revived brother's side. Once I activate my new sharingan, a deep, guttural sound escapes my throat. This fight just got way more personal.
(After the Valley of the End fight with Naruto. Everything between would roughly be the same, only Sakura was missing.)
The sun shines down brightly, and I squint a few times to clear my vision. Suddenly, a shadow hovers over me, blocking the sunlight. As my eyes adjust to the figure, the pain that I had almost forgotten about was starting to subside. That's when I notice the pink strands of hair.
Immediately I try to sit up, but she forcefully makes me fall back down again. I hear her murmur something to herself, but she doesn't speak to me. I look to my left at the unconscious blond. It looks like she has healed him first.
I jerk my head back to look up at her and try to make eye contact. Finally, I find my voice and hoarsely say her name. "Sakura." The pressure of her hand healing my battered body becomes lighter, then a second later is gone. I feel tired, but I force myself to stay awake.
"I–I'm sorry." She finally lets our eyes meet. The look she is giving me is one, although not as harsh, similar to the last time I saw her in the cave. It leaves an emptiness in my chest, and I clench my jaw. Her eyes dart back to Naruto, then to me again.
"You better be. Geez." A hint of sarcasm is in her voice, but I'd rather receive a smile. I knew this would never work out. "I'll see you back in the village, Sasuke." And with that, she disappears again. I watch her small but tough form walk away, her pink hair shimmering in the sunlight.
I drift in and out of sleep, but soon movement next to me brings me back to reality. A yawn escapes Naruto's lips, but then he sits up and scratches his head. "Who healed us? This seems like the work of—of Sakura-chan!" He scrambles to his feet until he falls back down onto his rear from exhaustion.
"It was, dobe."
"She went missing months ago, teme. None of us have been able to contact her and you're tellin' me she randomly zapped here to heal us, then disappeared again?!" I slowly stand myself up and stare at the wrappings surrounding the nub left from my severed left arm. Naruto has the same thing done to his right arm. I sigh.
"It's my fault she was gone. She had a concussion and lost her memories, and..and Tobi tricked me into lying to her about everything." I hold my hand up to stop Naruto from interrupting me. "She was told that she and I left together, years ago. And also that we were a..a couple." His ocean blue eyes are wide in shock at this realization.
"She was with me, until Itachi's reanimated body and I found Kabuto. He exposed the lie and she left." His mouth sets into a hard line, one that makes his normal immaturity erased from his face. Then he pounds his fist into his hand.
"Why would she show up just to heal us, though? Besides the fact that we're super awesome ninja, dattebayo!" I smack his head, leaving a stinging sensation in my hand.
"Ask her when we get back to the village. She said she'll be there." Naruto starts to jump around, suddenly full of energy again. Meanwhile, Kakashi makes his way to us and gives as surprised a face as he possibly can with one eye showing.
"Kakashi-sensei—Sakura-chan is back! Teme over here brainwashed her, but she's back in the village!" Kakashi glances between our two wrapped up shoulders, and says nothing as Naruto advances down to lower ground. We match our strides until he clears his throat.
"Care to explain what happened to our strong girl?"
And explain I do—from the moment we faced off, right to when she healed my wounds. I even note the darkness that has been planted in her heart, and that I ultimately should be the one to pay the price whenever she succumbs to it. At this, he shakes his head.
"Sakura is powerful, Sasuke. She may not look it, but she can take on this burden. You've just got to show her you support her—just like she supported you."
I nod in response, dreading the image in my mind of Sakura going off the deep end like I did. I take in a deep breath, then let it out. All I have to do is care for her like she cared for me.
A/N: Next is the epilogue. Sorry this chapter is a little scattered...I did not want to have to replay the whole end fight with Kaguya and all that craziness.
I understand that at one part, Naruto is seriously injured and Sakura saves him. Let's just pretend that didn't happen, okay? ^^;
Well thanks for reading this chapter! I wanted to make it longer than my usual ones, but it ended up being about the same length. I have had a hard time writing this chapter, and I'm really sorry it may not be up to par like the rest of the chapters.
Let me know if you think I should have gone more in depth with Sasuke realizing he truly cares about Sakura, or whatever you feel like writing to me about!