Forgotten Life

Chapter 8- Everything He did

Sasuke was having a hard time falling asleep. First, Sakura had tried her best to explain what his life had really been like and then she got torn up inside and rushed away, leaving Naruto to bear the weight of the truth. Then when she returns and Naruto has explained in detail the hurt he'd caused Sakura, she forgives him for things that he still does not remember doing.

Part of him said that this was a good thing but another part still worried that there was unfinished business from his past that could return to haunt his new life. He dreaded the mere thought of that as his fresh start had left him a happier person and he enjoyed seeing the smiles on the faces of his friends, rather than the tears that Sakura had shed just recently over him. He could only imagine that the tears she shed now were nothing compared to what she'd done in the past.

When he last looked at the clock, it read 2:30 AM. Shortly after, his exhaustion took over him and he was finally at peace.

It seemed he had not been sleeping long when it began. It was a quiet night and he was in his home, his backpack filled with the objects he would need for his journey. He was looking at a picture that was sitting on a desk in his room. It was the same picture that he'd seen in Sakura's house, the one with he, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. He laid it face down before leaving his house, not turning back.

He was halfway there, the gates only a few blocks away from him now when he saw her. She was there waiting for him, silently.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked as he continued walking.

"I knew you would come this way, so I waited for you," she responded, her face still calm.

"Leave and go back to sleep," he grumbled as he walked past her.

"Why won't you talk to me? You're always so quiet and you won't even say a single word to me!" she said, becoming distressed now as she turned to look at him with teary eyes.

"I told you: I don't need your help! So quit trying to look after me," Sasuke replied.

Silence exchanged between them.

Then, "No matter what, you always hate me, don't you? Do you remember, when we became genins, the day our three-man team was first decided...the first time we were here by ourselves, you were so mad at me."

Sakura recounted the memory of Sasuke explaining loneliness to her and then she quoted, "You're annoying."

Sasuke lied, "I don't remember that."

Sakura paused in shock before laughing off his forgetfulness. "Yeah, I guess that is in the past, huh? But that's when everything started, our team, all of our memories...together. We did missions together and...even though it was painful and difficult at times, I enjoyed it."

Sakura paused, seeing that she was getting nowhere, just by reminiscing. Then she said in a low voice, "I know about your past Sasuke. Even if you get revenge, I won't bring anyone happiness. Not even you,...or me."

"I already know," he said with a smirk.

Sakura looked up in shock.

"I'm different from you and Naruto. I cant follow the same path as you guys. Up until now, we have done everything as a group but now...there is something else I must do...alone. In my heart, I have already decided to pursue revenge and that is the only reason that I live.

I'll never be like you or Naruto..."

Sakura was getting desperate, Sasuke could sense it, but in his dream, he did not care. He only wanted her gone. Why couldn't she just make this easy?

"Do you really want to be alone again, Sasuke? You told me how painful that was, and right now, I know your pain! "I may have friends and family,...but if you were to leave...to me, I would be just as alone as you were," she exclaimed, clenching her fist as she tried to grasp the words that would turn him around.

The words sunk into Sasuke's mind but he pushed them away. He could not let this girl stop him now, not when he was so close.

"From here on, we begin new and separate paths," he said simply, taking a step forward.

"I-I love you, Sasuke-kun! I love you with all my heart! If you were to stay here with me, there would be no regrets. We'd do something fun every day and we'd be happy...I swear! I would do anything for you, so...please just stay with me!

I'll even help you with your revenge...I don't know what I could do but I would try my best to do something. If you can't stay here, then take me with you..."

Sasuke clenched his teeth. Why couldn't she just listen to him when he told her to leave? He didn't want to hear this, he didn't want to feel her pain, it would only make it harder for him to leave. He knew what he had to say. It would hurt her, he knew, but it had to be done.

"You really are...annoying," he said, turning to her so that she could see he was serious. Then he quickly turned away and began to walk, his hands still in his pockets.

"Don't leave! If you do, I'll scream!" she exclaimed suddenly waving her arms frantically.

He was behind her in a flash. She was stunned into silence as he spoke softly to her, "Sakura...thank you." Sakura fell into his arms as she passed out from the pressure point and he laid her on the bench before rushing away to the gates.

His eyes opened slowly and he stared up at the ceiling of the room. It was dark, just like that night. He felt something wet on his cheek and touched it only to find that it was a tear. A single tear.

So this was the extent of the pain he'd caused Sakura. Those cruel, heartless words, that had been him. He had tore her down to a bare shell, that much was evident as he thought about the differences between the younger Sakura he now remembered and the older one that he knew.

"I have to make this right...," he whispered in the dark as he sat up in the bed. He looked over to the door and walked to it, almost in a trance. He turned the knob, swung it open, and then took two more steps to stand in front of Sakura's bedroom door.

He knocked twice, and when there was no answer, he timidly turned the knob. He was surprised to find it unlocked. He stepped inside Sakura's dark room and felt around until he found a small lamp by her bedside.

He turned it on and then looked at Sakura's face for a moment in the dim light. Her eyebrows were scrunched together and her face appeared wet, although Sasuke could not tell if she was sweating or crying.

Unable to hold in his desire to apologize to her, he touched her face gently and whispered, "Sakura..."