Epilogue time.
Two months after the war.
Sakura POV
The town has a smell that can't exactly be described as anything other than Konoha. It's a memory that I never lost, or at least one that has been revived since being back home.
Home.
I walk down the road that is through the center of the town. Small children run by, and many adults look almost as giddy as the kids. A few smile in my direction, and I hesitantly return one. The village is more rejuvenated than it had ever been, I knew that for certain.
It is midday and the sun is shining down on my head. I feel the heat spreading all over my body. Having been outside in the rays for a long time, I have gotten many burns to my scalp, forearms, and face. Luckily I can heal myself and it all peels away within hours.
As I continue on my path, I hear feet crunch behind me. I sense that they are too small to be male feet, so I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding. I turn around only to be pulled into a tight hug by a blonde in a purple and orange dress. My mind flutters as I try to remember her name.
"Hiya, Sakura. Glad to see you again! We were all so worried about you!" She rambles on and I nod my head, tinges of pink starting to fill my cheeks from embarrassment. She seems to notice and scrunches her eyebrows together dramatically.
"Ohhh, Naruto said you might not remember me. I'm your best friend—Ino Yamanaka!" Ino...Yamanaka. Behind her figure the Yamanaka flower shop is just a yard away, and I put two and two together. She must have seen me out her window and come running out. I fold my arms subconsciously in an order to guard myself—the broken self that doesn't remember anything, even my best friend.
She pulls my arm in an effort to drag me towards the flower shop behind us when another figure pops up. This time, I recognize him. He flashes towards my body to hug me. As Naruto wraps his strong arms around me, I lightly pat his back in return. His ocean blue eyes are filling up with tears. So emotional.
"Sakuraaaa-chan! When Sasuke said you'd be back at the village, I didn't realize it would be this long. What have you been doing, dattebayo!?" Once his grip on me is gone, I take a few steps back.
Hearing that name brings back all the feelings I had grown to have for him again during our time together. But the strongest is the pain that runs through my chest now.
Ino must have noticed my reaction because she lightly squeezes my shoulder in comfort. "C'mon, Naruto, let her readjust first before asking questions. Sakura, do you want me to show you around and have some girl time?"
Although I have a feeling both of these energetic blondes will bombard me with questions soon, it seems like Ino will take a little bit longer. I nod my head in agreement.
Naruto frowns and grumbles about taking me to ramen. I try to give him a smile,"You can take me some other time, Naruto. As long as you're paying." He starts to laugh at my response.
"That sounds like the old you, Sakura-chan." I feel my smile falter slightly. The old me, but what am I now? I think about this as I feel Ino take me away from the now waving Naruto Uzumaki.
"So, Sakura. How much exactly...do you remember?" Ino gives me a curious look and I avert my eyes in the opposite direction. I twirl my chopsticks around in my soba noodles and take a moment to reply.
My mind goes back to that alternate world where he and I stayed. A lot of memories consumed me those days, leaving me drained and bewildered. I swallow the lump that has grown in my throat.
"Well, I—uhm...Bits and pieces I guess." I fumble with my bag that contains my notebook. I hesitant showing it to her, but if she is my best friend then I know I should.
I set it on the small table, then flip to the first page. Neat text has filled these first few pages, but once the memories started flooding in I had to write faster. I run my hands through my hair as she picks it up.
I watch her eyes scan my scribbles, then as she thumbs through the rest of the small book. I had copied my written notes down in that small scroll I had in the alternate dimension to this book so that I could have more room to write. It's only filled halfway with random words, phrases, and snippets of my memories.
"This is fascinating...I—I mean, I'm sorry all this happened, Sakura, but as a mind bending ninja this is a rare case of amnesia!" She blushes in embarrassed excitement, but I wave her worries away. "It's nice to know someone else thinks this is..different." She nods her head and stuffs her dinner into her mouth, her eyes never leaving the book.
I sip my water as I look around the restaurant. Ino said that it's new, but I can't quite remember the name. I can't seem to remember anything other than the heartache swirling inside me.
I turn back to the penetrating eyes of Ino. Her blonde bang is pushed behind her ear, so both of her eyes are resting on me. I feel slightly jealous of her beauty, but I shake it away.
"I wish my Dad were still alive..he would probably know more about all this than I would." She mumbles to herself, now closing my book and sliding it back to me. I awkwardly take it back and place it into my bag again. "Is there anything your clan can do, Ino?" I ask, readying myself for an impossibility. She delicately nibbles on her lower lip, then her lights flash with an idea.
"I think I might be able to do something! Meet me at the hokage's tower tomorrow. I'm sure Tsunade would like to discuss this anyway." She picks up her bag and leaves her payment on the table, then I stand up and follow her out of the door.
Once we're outside, I notice the stars shining in the night sky. The crescent moon seems to smile down at us in a protective way. I turn back to my blonde friend and give her a smile. "Thanks for today, Ino. It was fun. And I'll have to pay you back for dinner." She gives me a big smile and waves her hand.
"Girl, I don't know how much I owe you in dinners. Just take this one for once. Get back to your apartment tonight and I'll see your big forehead tomorrow!" She playfully jabs my forehead, then turns in the opposite direction. I around me at the buildings, each almost glowing from the lights. It reminds me of the festival that he and I went to.
I rub my arms as a light breeze rustles through the air. Then a dark flash lands in front of me and I can only stare in shock.
This dark hair has grown since I saw him last, and he has a sash covering his left eye—his rinnegan if I remember correctly. On the other hand, his midnight black eye is staring straight through me. He wears a poncho over his body, but I can barely make out a dark outfit underneath. I stand there, unsure of what to say or even how I feel. All I can think of are the lies he told me during our time together.
"You're back." His smooth voice floats to me, and I suppress the urge to react in an unfriendly way. I plaster a smile onto my face and reply with,"I just got in today, actually." He nods his head, as if knowing when and where I've been all day. I can't shake the feeling that he probably does know these things.
"Hm...It's good to see you, Sakura." I meet his eyes for a second, but then look back down as my heart starts to pound in my chest. He probably could care less about seeing me again. I feel myself start to tremble in anger and words fly out of my mouth.
"If you know what's good for you, you'd stay away from me, Sasuke." I send him a fiery glare, then storm off away from him. In my fury I don't care that it isn't the way to my apartment, or that his face showed any signs of disappointment.
"Sakura, are you sure you want to go through with this? It could be risky." My old mentor, Tsunade, gives me a worried look. I reply with a determined one, and nod my head. She looks back down at the paperwork, then to Ino.
"Ino, I hope you know what you're doing." To this, Ino gives a smirk and a thumbs up. "I went home last night and dug around in my Dad's stuff until I found this. As long as I do it correctly, I should be able to find her memories and restore all of them." Then she gives me a reassuring smile.
"Very well then. See you later, Sakura. I hope this works." I say goodbye to Tsunade and am ushered out of the room by Ino. We make our way out of the central building, then walk over to the hospital.
Due to it being such early hours, no children are outside playing in the streets. We've barely seen many adults and pets cross our path. Ino walks with a strength in her step that I'm sure doesn't disappear often, and again a pang of jealousy hits my chest. She glances at me, a slight worried look in her eyes.
"So you're just gonna ditch Sasuke then?" I roll my eyes, sarcasm wanting to seep out of my very bones. Instead, I shrug and clasp my hands together. She shakes her head.
"Once you'll get your memories back, I'm sure all those feelings will come rushing back. You'll be so embarrassed that you treated him like this."
"I hope I'm not. He's done so much to me, I don't know how I could ever love him in the first place." Before Ino can reply, a nurse greets us and shows us to a secluded room. Two desks are facing each other, and the room is eerily dark. Ino sighs, then cracks her knuckles.
"Well, let's get this show on the road!" We both site down in front of each other, then she reaches for both of my hands. We share one last look, then she lets me go and performs her mind transfer jutsu.
The next thing I know, I am lifting my drowsy head off of the desk, saliva keeping my hair stuck to my lips. My eyes are out of focus for a moment, but then I notice the gorgeous blonde in front of me. I give a slight chuckle from seeing her drained like this.
"Ino pig, wake up. I remember—everything."
A/N: Well thanks for reading this story! I'm not sure when the sequel will be started, but be ready for one. I still want help with the name so if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!
It'll be almost all Sakura's POV as this story was mostly Sasuke's. We will see if Sakura's pain makes her go on a dark path, or if Sasuke can show his love towards her to stop her. This story was mostly Sasuke falling for Sakura, but the next will be Sakura falling for him again.
This epilogue was actually really easy for me to write out, and I've done it in two different settings. Woohoo! I have a few different ideas as to how I'm going to treat the sequel, but be sure it will be longer than this one. This chapter is also how the sequel will be written, so yeah.
I've had a lot of fun writing this fanfic, and I am proud to say that I am officially done with my first story! Once I start the sequel, I will post an update here. Until then—leave a review and please read my other stories. :)