AN: O-MA-KE. Again. Are you guys tired of this yet? XD
Omake: She's Looking Lovely
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over Naruto. Hinata would use Gentle Fist on me, and a Little Angel of Blossoms only knows how to make it rain flowers.
There was something different about her that night, something beautiful. He couldn't really tell what it really was, although he knew, just vaguely, he was in awe.
She stood by the window, apparently not noticing him, one of the rare times she did. Luna's rays played shadows on her soft ivory skin, Aeolus weaved through her rose-colored hair, and her green eyes shone in the night. She was wearing some kind of midnight blue material he didn't recognize, and it fell around her slim form gracefully. It was almost a contrast as he viewed her from the door of their mutual bedroom; her white flesh against the silky material made her looked stunning to him.
He traced her form with his dark eyes; her frail looking body looked frailer still in her blue frock. The wind blew at her, causing the blue material, which was just short of her knees, to flutter slightly, giving him a view of her creamy legs. He blushed as he took in the sight of his beautiful kunoichi. That beauty in the blue satin was his. He felt a sudden surge of possessiveness at the thought.
But something was undoubtedly wrong. It was right, yet terribly wrong at the same time. She wasn't too beautiful without a reason.
"Sakura?"
She turned, her hair whipping around. He smiled slightly as she lit up, her smile quite innocent. It was one of the things that he loved most about her. "Oh, Sasuke-kun! You're home! ANBU mission over so soon? You must have been bored!"
But more important matters were at hand, he decided, as she wrapped her warm arms around his waist, her soft body pressed against his hard chest.
"Sakura?"
"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" She frowned, searching his face. "Is there something wrong? You look odd."
He looked down on her, his expression determinedly unfathomable. She was suspiciously beautiful that night, and now he knew why. He felt stupid not to have seen it before. He didn't know how she could have thought about something so… ridiculous. He was determined to get to the bottom of it.
"Sakura…"
She looked up, blinking innocently. "Yes?"
"What are you doing in my favorite shirt? And aren't those my socks?"
AN: I like imagining Sakura-chan in Sasuke's shirt and socks. I've been playing with the idea for some time now. I might even make a fic involving it, though not revolving around it.
Anyway, enough talk… we're going to tackle the next fic! That was only for a taster!
As prelims… Sasuke has a secret, something he would never dare share to anyone. It's that when he left Konoha, everyone thought he left all his memories and mementos behind. Unbeknownst to them all, he had taken one single item that still held the mark of a certain Konoha kunoichi… Please read and review!
Warning: OOC, but for a reason. I never make characters OOC without a reason.
Marshmallow 7:
Ribbon: Sentimentality of an Avenger
Uchiha Sasuke. Avenger.
Sasuke was an avenger. It was a self-proclamation, and it was the cold, hard fact. As an avenger, he had no room for sentimentalities in himself. Everything was composed of revenge, training, and goals, which lead to killing the bringer of his misery, that man, his own brother. Everything else would fall into place later, he supposed. Nothing mattered to him but his brother's eventual demise in his hands. After all, he had left everything that was supposed to matter in Konoha. He had left jovial yells, hysterical laughter, and warm smiles. They only got in the way. An avenger does not have sentimentalities. It was a rule for him.
Yet every rule had an exception.
Uchiha Sasuke had a secret. No one knew, not Itachi, not Orochimaru, not even Kabuto, who always seemed to know everyone's weakness.
When he had left his former life as a Leaf shinobi, he left everything that would remind him of Konoha: his hitai-ate, which now bore a slash across it as a result of his last battle with Naruto, the picture of team 7 all together, left lying facedown in his room, and everything else that had the distinct mark of Konoha and its inhabitants.
Save for one.
As he made ready to leave the Hidden Village of Sound, he pocketed a thin strip of red, which had tied back pink silk once before. He stepped out of his house and made sure to stay in the shadows lest he met those damned bastards who only wanted the power of the eyes he possessed.
He grasped the piece of cloth in his pocket as he sped out of the house unseen. He was going back. Back to the one whose fragrance of cherry blossoms left faint traces of her scent on the crimson ribbon.
I'm… so hungry…
A small raven haired boy with his hair stuck up in odd angles sat on a swing, his eyes drooping and his mouth in a hungry grimace. His stomach gurgled, but he swallowed the urge to run home alone. It was one of those rare times when his niisan would walk home with him, and he wasn't about to pass up the chance.
Uchiha Sasuke swung himself, letting his head dangle from his neck to look at the clouds above. It was a sweltering hot August day, and he was getting impatient. He had half a mind to go where his brother was training, when he heard distant sniffles.
He righted himself, frowning. From afar, he could see a small figure sitting on the ground and three bigger figures, standing imposingly. He watched as the three larger figures, two boys and a girl, speak to the smaller girl in low tones. They seemed to be taunting her, as the girl hiccupped and hid her face behind her hands, and they smirked. One of them muttered something that seemed especially offensive, as the pink-haired girl opened her mouth to defend herself. But before she could, the bigger female slapped her. She gasped as the hand made contact, then she burst into fresh tears.
Now, as aforementioned, he was Uchiha Sasuke, and he was one who did not care for heroics. But beneath his six year old exterior was a beast, roaring bloody murder at the scene he had just witnessed. A gut feeling told him that he was supposed to play knight in shining armor to this little princess in distress.
He slipped off the swing and casually strolled over to the group, picking a pebble up as he went. Then, with hit man accuracy, he aimed the stone at one of the boys, who was about to slap the little girl again. Before his hand could hit the girl, Sasuke's stone landed on his head with a dull thud.
"Hey!" the boy he just hit yelled, rounding on Sasuke, who stood his ground. "You'll pay for that, brat!"
"You shouldn't hit little girls you know," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, moving slowly in front of the sniffling girl. He heard her gasp in surprise.
"You want me to hurt you?" the boy snarled, pulling up his sleeve.
"You'll get hurt even before you can touch me," Sasuke said, smirking arrogantly. "You're just a bunch of academy dropouts."
"What did you say?" the hulk of a girl cried, reddening.
"Let's teach this punk to mind his own business," the second boy growled. Giving a yell, he threw a punch to the youngest Uchiha.
"Look out!" the pink-haired girl shrieked behind him.
Sasuke took the punch in his small hand. As the boy had a momentary pause, the Uchiha used the fist as leverage to lift up in the air. His small body formed a graceful arch, and he let his foot down on the bigger male's head, causing him to come crashing down head first with Sasuke on his crown. He leapt off lightly and barely dodged the other boy's kunai, which slit his upper arm. Not minding the stinging pain, he rammed his elbow into the bully's side, making him collapse. Foolishly, the female bully decided to fight, but Sasuke easily ducked under her incoming punch and threw his own at her stomach. She reeled and fell.
Bloody, dirty, and bruised, the trio staggered away, cursing. Sasuke exhaled deeply, muttering, "Ha, bullies. It's always the same with them." It was a good thing that he often spied his brother training. He only wished that he didn't need such heavy handed fighting, though. He shook his hand to get the circulation back.
"Wow, I wish I was that good." Sasuke turned, and there she was, dirty, tearstained, and wide-eyed with awe. She looked strange, which made him feel strange. He had never seen such soft, shiny, pink hair in all his life, and she was so pale that she seemed to glow even in the sunshine. And her eyes… they were a shade of green he had never seen before, like there was a light in them he couldn't explain. She looked a bit on the ghost-like side, though, with her hair falling into her face so that it hid most of it.
Then she smiled.
He felt odd, as though his stomach was dropping and rising. He felt his jaw sag at the radiance of her shy smile. She looked… pretty, in an ethereal sort of way, and he somehow knew that if her face wasn't dirty and tearstained, and her hair wasn't unkempt and was tied back, then she'd be downright beautiful.
She giggled, a far cry from her previous disposition. "Are you… okay?" she asked. He jolted; he realized that he had been staring for quite a while.
"Aa," he replied, dazed and blushing. Her girlish laugh grew louder. He scowled ruefully. "What?"
"You're funny," she laughed. He reddened a bit more in embarrassment. She tilted her head a little, now serious. "You're hurt, aren't you?" she asked, pointing to his arm.
"It's nothing," he said quickly. He felt ashamed; his brother never usually got injuries from any kind of fight. The girl pulled his arm towards her and bit her lip.
"It looks bad."
"It's nothing."
To a five year old female eye, however, it wasn't. A gash running half the length of his arm, slightly bleeding, looked quite mangled to her. However, instead of blanching, like Sasuke expected her to, she just took his uninjured arm. "Come on," she urged. "Before it gets – what's that big word?"
"Infected?"
"Yeah!" the girl said, lighting up. "You're pretty smart!" Sasuke rolled his eyes. She was ridiculously naïve.
He sat by the water fountain, watching her graceful yet childlike movements as she wet her kerchief on the fountain and washed the wound with it. Sasuke bit his lip to keep from shouting in pain as she swabbed the wound gently. "It's all right to cry, you know," she said quietly as she cleaned the wound.
"I'm not a sissy," Sasuke snorted. She only offered him a shy half-smile.
She held his arm away to look at her handiwork. "Well, one last thing," she said, more to herself. Sasuke watched curiously. She reached into her hair and untied her already loose red ribbon. She stuck her tongue out in apparent concentration and began wrapping the cloth around his arm like a bandage. "There, all done!"
"I really didn't need it, but thanks," Sasuke said gratefully.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the park. It ran through the girl's roseate hair, revealing her abnormally large forehead. Sasuke stared, and the girl hastily flattened her hair around it, clearly embarrassed, and averted her eyes. "What's the matter?" Sasuke asked. The green-eyed girl's head dropped a little, and she played with the hem of her shirt, mumbling something along the lines of "too ugly" and "big forehead". Sasuke, being smart enough to put two and two together, said in a surprised tone, "Oh, but you're prettier when your hair isn't on your forehead."
The girl looked up hopefully. "You… you think so…?" Sasuke nodded, and a pink blush blossomed prettily around her pale cheeks.
They stood there, staring at each other shyly. Sasuke could feel his heart pounding. Then, she stammered, "Well, I have to go home now… my – my mama wants me home by lunch…"
"Already?" Sasuke asked, hoping he didn't sound as disappointed as he felt.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I have to leave you alone!" the coral-haired girl exclaimed, bowing quickly. Then she smiled timidly. "But we'll see each other for sure… I don't want to go… but my mama wants me to go to school at the Ninja Aca – Aca-"
"Academy?" She nodded and bowed her head bashfully. Sasuke scratched the back of his head. "Aa, probably."
The girl's voice began to grow smaller, her hair falling into her face once more. "Well… I have to go now…" She gave him one last bright smile before walking away, looking a little more confident than before.
Everyday after that, Sasuke would come back to the park, just to see her again, but after two weeks of waiting in vain, he gave up. She wasn't going to come back, he decided. She really was like a ghost. He wondered if she was.
A few months later, in the Academy, he would find her, shy, withdrawn, and lonelier than ever.
And he wouldn't recognize her.
Sasuke broke through the last of Orochimaru's defenses, using the snake Sannin's techniques against him. All his efforts not to be seen had gone to waste, but he didn't care. He wanted to go home. He needed to go home. His revenge was fulfilled. He didn't want his life spent as a body for some lying, manipulative bastard. Heck, he didn't want to be a body for anyone else but himself. He needed to get back to her and to everyone else he had left.
He had never planned this at all. He hadn't thought of surviving the fight with Itachi. He had thought he would leave the world without Uchihas because of the sheer power and skill his brother possessed.
But as he had fought, a sudden urge to survive overtook him, making him stronger. Then, he didn't know where the desire had come from, and he assumed it was because he needed to fulfill his other goal of reviving his clan.
Yet now, as he left Sound burning, he knew that all he really wanted was to go home to her, to feel her arms around him, to be able to return to her that ribbon. He was glad he had not returned it sooner on that perfect chance; now he had a reason to go back. The ribbon served as his last connection to his former life, and he would become a shell of a man if he lost it.
Kaa-san… Tou-san…
Sasuke knelt down on the graves of his parents, letting his tears fall to the ground. It was one of those times he felt vulnerable. Every year, he knelt there, remembering the day he had become alone in the world, with no one left to care for him, and he swore revenge by their graves.
Sasuke didn't care whether he was crying openly. No one would see him there. No one stepped into the Uchiha district anymore. It was only he who dared to walk the ghost town of the Uchihas. It was, after all, his.
Crying openly was one thing he did only once a year. He held in all the loneliness he felt, and he never went to their gravesite, only until his their death anniversary. He could vaguely remember tell that girl that he didn't cry because he was a wuss. But now, there was no one around to think he was a wuss, anyway. He wasn't angry, just in terrible pain.
Knowing he was alone didn't help. He isolated himself, saying he'd rather be alone, but in reality, he wanted to be alone because if he learned to become close to anyone, certain death would follow that person. He shut himself in his own world, bent on revenge.
Loneliness… what did other people know about that, anyway? They say, "I'm feeling alone," but Sasuke doubted if the knew what real loneliness was. Only a few people knew what he felt. He had no one left to care, and he could not let anyone care for fear of losing them. That was real loneliness, both self-inflicted and handed down by Fate. He blinked and let his tears fall.
"S-Sasuke-kun?"
He froze. What was she doing here?
"Y-you weren't at training. I told Kakashi-sensei I'd find you-"
"Go away," he said sharply. "I'm not going there today."
"It's just that… you dropped something yesterday… I wanted to return it…"
He could hear her coming closer, and he clenched his fist. She knelt beside him, and when she caught a glimpse of his tearstained face, she gasped, "Oh, Sasuke-kun… Is today… when they…?" He didn't bother to answer, only vaguely feeling embarrassed at the fact she saw him in this state. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the pink-haired kunoichi press her palms together in respect.
She was whispering… what was it?
"Uchiha-san-tachi1, your youngest son is someone to be proud of. He… he is one of the best genin in the village… and even after your deaths he's still trying to be a good son. I know you're watching over him… and I want you to know that your son… is being cared for… because I care for him…"
Sasuke's eyes widened. After her short prayer, she turned to him, smiling meekly. Without a word, she took out a familiar crimson strip from her pocket, lifted her hand, and dabbed away the remnants of the tears on his face. Sasuke felt cold and warm at the same time, at her soft touch, goose bumps crawling his skin.
"You dropped this at practice yesterday, you see, and I picked it up. I was going to return it today, but…" She tried to smile cheerfully again as she opened his immobile hand and placed the ribbon on it. He accepted it, still in a daze.
"Well, I'm sorry for intruding on your privacy, Sasuke-kun," she said softly. She gave him an awkward hug. "If… if you need anything, if you need to talk about anything at all… you know where to find me. Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, too." She let go of him and walked away slowly.
Sasuke wanted to kill himself at his lack of reaction. He felt he had to say something. He wanted to tell her she was stupid to care so much, that all he really wanted was to be left alone, and that whatever she felt for him, it wouldn't really be requited since it was him she was feeling for. He clutched the piece of silk in his palm.
"Hey."
He heard her turn. "Yes?"
He turned to face her, not quite meeting her eye. "Thank you."
And she smiled that smile again. "You're quite welcome, Sasuke-kun."
The incident was never mentioned in the days that followed.
Sasuke hissed as a wound at his side opened again. He had been walking for hours, and his strength was giving way. He had anticipated that escaping Sound would be hard, but he hadn't expected that he had to level it to leave it, and it had taken a considerable amount of stamina and chakra from him.
But it didn't matter anymore. His sight may have been blacking out and his knees giving way, but he was determined to see his journey to the end.
He never regretted leaving, never regretted killing his brother, It was hard for him to regret anything. There were only two things he wished he could change: the fact he wasn't able to protect his parents, and the fact that he wasn't able to say a proper goodbye to her.
He wondered, if his parents weren't killed, would he have had months, or even years, to be together with her? Would he have continuously given her verbal beatings? If he had been able to say a proper goodbye to her, would he have been worried now? For the first time in a while, he was afraid of coming home to no one. He – he was quite embarrassed to admit it to himself now– was worried whether she'd waiting with open arms and an open heart, or not.
She was always kind and thoughtful, especially to him. He had often wanted to tell her she was foolish to always risk her life or he dignity for him, but she would counter he risked her life for her too, and she should only pay it back. He realized only later it was because she loved him too much, and she would keep on falling down for him, whatever he told her.
He felt empty now that she was so far from him, and he wasn't able to tell her exactly what she meant to him; he had too much pride, and he was too in deep with his revenge. Once again, he was glad to have that one last connection with her. He wondered if she felt the connection too.
He had to get home. "Home" he called it now; he had known no other place with people who actually made him feel he really wasn't alone. Sasuke looked up, letting the moonlight guide him. He needed to get home, to let her, once again, save him.
"Oi, Sasuke," Naruto said from his perch overhead, on a tree.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, not bothering to look up as he sharpened kunai. Naruto hung upside down from the branch by molding chakra to his feet. Sasuke frowned; the moron was getting better every day. Besides, the blond was getting too close to his face, and there was an experience involving that he didn't care to repeat. "What do you want?" he asked, getting a muscle tick under his eye in annoyance.
Naruto gave a side-long glance at the pink-haired kunoichi who was listening intently to their teacher's lecture about genjutsu. Sasuke followed Naruto's gaze. "Do you like her?" Naruto asked, watching the girl nod vigorously.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke muttered, resuming what was he was doing, although he knew exactly what Naruto meant.
"I mean, do you like her like her?" Naruto pressed.
"…no."
Naruto fell off from his perch headfirst. "Ouch!" he cried as his legs folded on top of him. Sasuke sighed, not looking at him still. "But, but, why not?"
"Because she's weak and annoying."
Naruto frowned, not understanding. "But what about those times when she saved you? Remember the Chuunin exams, when she jumped in front of you to save you from Gaara?"
The Uchiha genius closed his eyes. "That was pure stupidity. You wouldn't have needed to beat up that Gaara kid if she hadn't done that."
Naruto was indignant on his best female friend's behalf. "Idiot! You wouldn't be here talking about her if she hadn't done that in the first place!" Suddenly, Naruto's frown was replaced with a grin. "But then, you already like her …"
Sasuke opened one eye. "And your proof is…?"
"When she hugged you that time when old hag Tsunade healed you, you didn't push her away! And when I went back to the room after I went to Kakashi-sensei, I heard you talking to each other! When I looked, she had her head on your bed and you were touching her hair!" Naruto smirked triumphantly, crossing his arms. "What was that, then, if you don't like her? Tell me!"
"Shut up. What would you know, anyway?" Sasuke snarled. He was quite determined not to tell Naruto that after had left, he, in fact, had quite a long talk with her.
"Sasuke-kun," she had said, "I'm glad you're all right now…"
He was not going to tell Naruto how his hand had lingered at her back, asking, "How long have I been here?"
"A – a month…"
"And – you were here everyday?"
She had giggled amidst her tears, reddening. "The nurse said it was practically like I lived here."
He could never bring himself to tell Naruto that he had told her, "You don't have to do that for me. You didn't have to."
"But Sasuke-kun, I wanted to."
He couldn't take Naruto's reaction if he told him what he had said and done: "Would you stop it? That's annoying, what you're doing. You're being stupid, caring… caring for me this way, because I don't need it!" She had looked surprised. And head though she was going to cry, but then…
He could never live it down if he told Naruto his pride had been crushed by her words. "Do you remember what Kakashi-sensei told us on that first day? 'Those who don't follow rules are trash.' But…" she choked, "he also said those who don't help their friends out are worse than trash." She had shaken her head violently, her tears falling, "I never want to be trash! I'm already weak as it is…" Her name had come out as a whisper from his lips as she stood up. Then she said, "I – I think I'll leave."
His pride would have hurt as much as that day if he told Naruto he had said, "Don't leave." She had looked back, stunned. "I… you're right," he mumbled. "I'd rather you were weak than if you were trash. It would be… nice if you stayed…"
A surprised look crossed her face then, and there it was, that smile again. "I'm… glad to know I'm needed."
He could never let it escape his lips what Naruto had seen and heard were true. She had indeed stayed and cheered him up with her incessant rambling as she rested her head on his bed, while he ran his fingers through the soft silk. She was the salve to the psychological torture for him that day.
"So what, so what, Sasuke?" Naruto said, breaking his thoughts. "Don't zone out on me! If it's not that, then what is it really, if it's not liking her?"
"It's…"
Naruto went closer. "It's…?"
Sasuke gave a smirk and beckoned Naruto closer, looking around conspiratorially. Naruto looked positively excited at knowing his best friend and rival's secret.
"…it's none of your business."
"What?"
Sasuke slumped down against a tree, panting. He had been walking for a couple of days now. He tore a piece of his bandages around his arms and began to clumsily patch up the wound at his side. He was losing blood quickly, and he needed a medic.
The first thought that crossed his mind was of her. He had heard from Orochimaru that the Hokage had managed to acquire an exceptional apprentice, and the Snake Sannin expressed his amusement at how all three Sannin had a second apprentice who were once Kakashi's students. He had only stared at the Sannin stoically, although he had thought, if he and Naruto had Sannin for teachers, why not her? It was only appropriate. He wondered how skillful she was now. He wondered, if she was there right now with him, if she would be able to heal the wound.
The thought of her stronger, maybe almost as strong as he and Naruto, gave him mixed sensations. A part of him was proud that she had come so far in only a few years, but at the same time, he felt oddly bad, for it meant she didn't need protection any longer.
He wanted to see how much she had changed. How would she look now? Somehow, he couldn't imagine her not being a wispy, small twelve year-old, but he knew that she definitely must have grown. How much had she changed when he left? Was she still happy, optimistic, and a bit of a worrywart? Or had she, like had, faced with loss, locked her heart away, along with her laughs and smiles? He wanted to see her more than ever.
He hoped, in that sense, she hadn't changed. He knew that he had broken her heart countless times, and he had finally reduced it to powder when he had left, but he counted on that unbelievable trait of hers to bounce back.
A dark figure walked the silent roads of Konoha, his head bowed, and his hands clenched in his pockets. Here, finally, was his chance to become stronger in a shorter amount of time, to be able to catch up to the strength of that man.
Uchiha Sasuke watched his feet as they took him to the place that would lead him out of Konoha. He had decided: it wasn't worth staying here. He was an avenger. He had to leave behind everything that wasn't part of training.
One of his fingers ran across a silken object in his pocket, as though mocking his thoughts. In all irony, he had actually taken one of the things that would make him feel sentimental, a feeling that was supposed to be put out of his mind and heart. He felt more frustrated at himself than ever; what was in this stupid red strip of cloth that made him feel as though he would die if he would be parted from it?
Soft footsteps interrupted his thoughts. He narrowed his eyes, feeling a familiar, melancholy aura coming towards him. Suddenly, his heart began to beat faster, faster, so fast that it was hard keeping himself from showing any emotion. Then, it was slowing down again, slower, slower, as though he was losing life. And so it beat – faster now, slower now.
Why her, why now? What was it in him that made her follow him instinctively? It was as though she had a finely-tuned radar for him. She caught sight of him, and her eyes widened at the sight of his packed bag. He knew then that she knew what he was there for. He paused.
"What are you doing here so late at night? Out for a nighttime stroll?"
She seemed to strengthen her resolve. "In order to leave this village," she began in a quiet voice, bowing her head, "you have to pass by this road."
Although he was certainly thinking of doing so, a part of him was holding him back from lashing out at her, because he knew someone's heart was about to be broken. He clutched at the red silk in his pocket tighter, but he showed no emotion.
"Go home and sleep," he said coldly, hoping silently that she would take the hint and not watch him step on her heart. He sidestepped her as she stood her ground. He walked further away from her, each step deliberate and careful. She was going to start on him, and his mind was in conflict on whether he should run or he should stay and listen. His fingers dug into his palm as he held the ribbon.
He could almost hear her tears fall down her cheeks. "Why?" she asked quietly. Her sad and breaking voice rang in his ears as she asked, "Why won't you tell me anything? Why do you always shut everyone out? Why won't you say anything to me-"
"Why should I tell you anything?" he interrupted coldly, pausing in his steps, determinedly not looking at her, as guilt began to slowly eat away at his heart, a feeling that he didn't recognize as such. He hated it when she cried. "I'm telling you that you meddle too much. Stop bothering me all the time."
"You always act like you hate me, Sasuke-kun," she said, a forced smile in her voice. He said nothing. "Do you remember? When we became genin?" He wanted to shut his ears, but he suppressed the desire. "On that day, when the three-man teams were decided, we were alone on this very spot…" His heart thumped louder than ever in his ears. "You were angry at me, weren't you?"
"See? He doesn't have any parents," a girl with long pink hair said arrogantly. Sasuke frowned darkly. "Being alone, he doesn't have to get yelled at. That's why he's so unruly!"
A breeze blew past. "Loneliness…" he murmured.
"Huh?" she asked, leaning forward.
"You can't compare it to how you feel after getting scolded by your parents."
The tone of her voice changed to worry. "What's… wrong?"
He turned to face her, anger blazing in his black orbs. "You are annoying." She gasped and her eyes widened. He walked away, but he knew she was still staring at his back.
He could feel her look up hopefully, and he knew she was smiling. He bit his lip, then released it. "I don't remember."
She sucked in her breath. He could hear her tears fall like raindrops on the ground. She released her breath shakily. "That's right," she said, trying and failing to sound cheerful. "That was a long time ago." He felt her look up. "But it started on that day. You and I, and Naruto and Kakashi-sensei…"
He knew what she was talking about. As if he was watching a film, he found himself reminiscing about their first days together, training. He could remember that rising feeling in his heart whenever the four of them did things together.
"The four of us have done a lot of missions together," she continued as he remembered all those times he slowly learned to smile again, with everyone else. "It was difficult, and it was awful, but…" He swallowed a lump in his throat, remembering all those times with his team. "But… even so… it was fun!" Even with his back turned to her, he still showed no emotion, but his soul was a confusion of such. She sniffed. "I know what happened to your clan. But with revenge alone, you will not be able to make anyone happy." A cloud passed over the moon, darkening the place. "No one…" she continued, her voice silent. "Neither you, or me…"
Why did she have to do this to him now? "I know that," he said, strengthening his decision, although his conscience screamed at him not to, but as always, he ignored it. She gave a sound of surprise. "I am different from you guys. I follow a different path from you guys. The four of us together… it's true I've thought of it as one possible path. But despite that, my heart has chosen revenge." His eyes narrowed. "That's what I live for. I can't be like you or Naruto."
She stepped forward, the anguish in her voice more obvious than ever. "Aren't you going to be lonely by yourself? Sasuke-kun, you told me that being alone is painful!" He frowned even more, the strength of his resolve fluctuating. What was she doing to him? "I know that very well, so much that it hurts!" Tears dropped faster on the ground. "I have family and friends. But… if you leave, for me…" she choked, "to me, it's the same thing as being alone!"
He looked down, guilt washing over him as he thought about what she had said. But to build up his resolution again, he said quietly, "From now on, new paths will start." He heard her step forward.
"I…" she cried, "I love you more than anything!"
His heart stopped then, and then it began to beat faster and faster as he listened, his stomach twisting into different forms. "If you are by my side," she sobbed, despair warping around her tone, "I will make sure you won't regret it. I will make every day more enjoyable, and you will be happy! I would do anything for you! That's why… I beg of you! Please stay here!" She sounded even more desperate as she cried, "I will even help you with your revenge! There must be something I can do! That's why…" her voice quieted down, anguish still evident, "…please… stay here with me…"
What was she doing to make this decision break down? If he didn't care what she thought, why was what she was saying getting to him? The moon reappeared from behind the cloud. She sucked her breath in again as she tried to contain herself. "If that's not possible…" she amended, her voice so quiet that he strained to hear, "…please take me with you…" She sniffed again, sobs coming out louder from her chest.
She was annoying. Why did her tears affect him this way? Why did they always make him stop in his tracks? The most annoying thing in the world, to him, was her tears. It was now or never. This had to make his decision permanent.
He turned to her, his voice cold, his smirk not reaching his eyes. He took a good look at her tearstained face, the face he hated to see in tears. "After all this, you're still annoying." She gasped, and he turned to walk away again, feeling that what was done was done. Then he heard her take another step.
"Don't go!" she screamed. She ran after him. "If you go, I'll scream and-"
He had had enough. He couldn't stand the way she was affecting him. Quickly, he moved so that in the blink of an eye he was behind her.
Another cold breeze blew, making his skin prickle. None of them said a word. He had another immediate decision to make, and it was over with quickly. She had tried her best to make him happy, and now she had tried her best to make him stay. There was nothing she could do now, but there was something he could do, something he needed to do.
Her name flowed out of his throat smoothly, and he let his tongue glide over it, savoring the sensation it left in his mouth. It was the most annoying, most beautiful name in the world.
"Thank you…"
He watched her shoulders move up abruptly as she gasped. The wind weaved in and out of her light crimson locks, locks that were tied back once by the ribbon he clutched at in his pocket. As if in slow motion, he took out his hand.
Thump.
She fell. He could almost hear his name on her lips. Sasuke…kun…
He caught her unconscious form and set her on a nearby bench. How he wanted to stay now as she lay, crying in her sleep. Subconsciously, he wanted to wake her up and tell her it was all a horrible nightmare.
She loves me…
Suddenly, a burning desire took over him. He couldn't stay. Not when there was a man he needed to kill. Before his resolve could be broken down any further, he turned on his heel and left, leaving the one person of whom he carried a memento of.
It was nighttime of the third day. Sasuke was exhausted, having only slept a little and eaten a little in the past few days. Some of his wounds had closed now, but he had also lost a lot of blood.
He looked up hopefully, his eyes guided by the moonlight. There it was, the walls of the home he had betrayed once before. Behind it were his teacher, his best friend and rival, and the most annoying girl in the world. He was finally back. Slowly, he walked down the hill, his every step purposeful. His desire gave him the strength he needed for one last slog. Finally, he reached the wall. He put his hand against it, panting. He was home.
"Oi, you there," he heard someone call from above him. "Who are you and what's your business?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him as he dropped to his knees. His long journey, his pains, and his exhaustion were too much to handle all at once. Slowly, he fell to the ground, his eyes closing. "I'm home…" he whispered, over and over again as the guard above him leapt down, asking if he was all right. "I'm home…"
He could vaguely hear the shouts around him as he smiled a true smile for the first time in years.
"Good lord, it's the Uchiha kid! After all these years too! Quick, call the Godaime and her two apprentices!"
"What should we do with him?"
"Put salve on his wounds right away! Where's the first aid kit?"
His eyes closed completely, and soon he was unaware of his surroundings. He felt himself being pulled onto a stretcher, but only vaguely. All he could think about were their faces, and what would be their reaction to see him back.
He opened his eyes again, slowly, very slowly. His eyes, still half-closed, adjusted to the light, and he felt that the place was oddly familiar. A hospital room…? How did I get here so fast?
"Where is he?" a voice far away asked. "Where's my next patient? Goodness, they come in faster these days, ne? In this room, right?"
"Miss," another voice said warily, "I don't think you should-"
"Oh nonsense," the first voice, a female one, said snappishly. "I have a lot of patients to take care of, and I have to get from one to another quickly so that I can tend to them all, so don't say that I shou-" She stopped abruptly.
A sharp intake of breath. An object clattering to the ground. Then, a voice. His heart pounded wildly.
"Sasuke…kun…?"
"He's been there for twenty minutes, miss, and his right hand, we can't take it out from his pocket, it's strange, but-"
"Go," the first voice choked. "You – you take care of the other patients-"
"But miss-"
"Go!"
"Yes, miss."
Quick footsteps. A sudden halt. Then, a gasp. He braced himself.
"Sasuke-kun…!"
He smirked. "Heh."
He opened his eyes fully. There she was, looking down on him, her hands on the edge of his bed, her graceful mouth open. Her roseate hair was pulled up into a messy bun, her face was pale, and her green orbs were swimming in tears. She sniffed.
"Bastard." He raised his eyebrows. She smiled sadly. "After all this time, that's all you can say?" She blinked, and her tears fell onto his blanket. She screwed up her eyes closed, biting her lip. A sob escaped her lips as she knelt down, crying into his bedspread. "Dammit… I told myself… I wouldn't cry if I saw you again…" She regained composure and stood up, wiping her eyes on her arm. "Sasuke-kun," she began shakily. "You're a classified S-rank criminal now, even if all you did was join Orochimaru."
"I know."
"Even if you came back willingly, you'll still be tried."
"I know that."
"There's a big possibility you might be imprisoned for life, or even executed."
"I know that too."
"But why?" she cried, and the anguish was back in her voice. "I would have rather you didn't come back, since there would be a possibility you would remain alive, but you came back, with the possibility you would be executed!" He raised his free hand and beckoned her closer. She bent her head. Slowly, he slid his hand from his pocket, the red ribbon in between his fingers. He saw her eyes widen. He raised his hand up, reached into her hair, and pulled its hair tie free. Her hair cascaded gracefully down her back.
"Take this," he croaked, pushing the ribbon onto her palm. "It suits you better."
"You risked your life… you came back… just to give me this?" she asked in a would-be-calm voice.
"I don't need it anymore…" he murmured. "This thing… it annoys me. It left me one last connection to you. I'm not sure why I took it with me. But now that I'm home… I don't need that connection anymore…"
"Home?" she repeated. "Do you still think… Konohagakure no Sato is your home?"
"Aa…"
"Then… then…" she stammered, "you aren't going away anymore?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No, you don't," she agreed. She wrapped her arms around him, and he felt her tears drip onto his shirt. "I don't care anymore… I'm going to fight for you… I'm going to help you get through your trial… I'm going to…" She raised her head and gave him a smile. "Welcome home, Sasuke-kun…"
"Aa," he nodded weakly.
She was the girl who made him fall in love for the first time, the girl who comforted him even if he pushed her away, girl whom he strongly denied any feeling for, the girl he last talked to, the girl he had feelings for once again, after years of not being able to feel anything but hate and anger.
"I'm home…"
"Sakura…"
Sentimentalities are hard to forget, and even harder to throw away.
AN: 1Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha
Well, that's probably the longest I've ever written. What do you think?
Anyway, I can't respond to each and every review, since this is going to take too much space. I'm only going respond to reviews I think I need to respond to, okay? If I didn't respond to your review, please don't feel bad!
PrincessChii - Nah, she knows she helped. She was quite amused, actually.
psychedelic aya - Well, LMAO then! Yeah, I think I liked those parts too. The omake... I think that's got to be one of my favorite omake.
Keito-kun - I don't make fanfics of other couples because this collection is about SasuSaku only, but you notice that I drop hints about other couples, ne? I'm thinking of posting the only NaruHina fic I have ever made though...
drunkdragon - You know, I like Rurouni Kenshin's Kenshin and Kaoru pairing too, and in the Net, there are a lot of teacher-student fics revolving around them. But even if I do like the pairing, I still don't read the fics, because those kind of fics make me uncomfortable. It's the same with SasuSaku. I'm really sorry, but please don't feel bad. I appreciate the offer. Really! Honest!
kurama-kawai - Nah, her feelings didn't get hurt, she was quite amused, actually. Kunwari lang yung iyak-iyak niya... Thanks for the long review, as usual!
Ayane Selznick - Tears...? Maybe it's because I write terribly... Nihihihihi... Or maybe because you're sleepy. Sasuke sorted out his feelings because he was feeling emotional that day. And the adjectives? - scratches head sheepishly - Nah, I meant that. To stir feelings in the reader, my English teacher would say. Thanks for reviewing! And yeah, the link you gave me won't show up right. Maybe if you typed spaces in between, like for example: wwwspace.googlespace.spacecom.
Oukaru Hanako - Eek! You flatter me too much! If I could blush (which I couldn't, given my complexion) I would've. And as you noticed... I got Net again! Whoopee! It takes me one and a half hour to get connected, but still! I can officially be your beta-ed again!
To the 35 people (eep! 35! oh my freakin' goodness, you guys are too kind!) who reviewed, you receive a Kisame barf bag!
Well, thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!