"Sakura and Sasuke prayed to God, so they could be together in the afterlife. The Goddess gave them another chances, they got reincarnated as the same person with fate twisting its tail. Sakura being the forlorn orphaned child while Sasuke got all he ever wanted, his family and successful life ahead of him. Will this be another tragic unrequited love story?"
A/N This is my first AU in English which is not my mother tongue, so bare with my grammar. That is also the reason why it takes forever to update because I need to double check if my translations is right or not. And mind the long-slow-burn story between the characters, I personally love the slow-burn fic. Basically I've had the ending and the plot clear before I began to writeso do not worry I'll abandon you somewhere ;D I was in so much despair either to publish it or not, but here goes nothing
Last update 3.18.23
Disclaimer All characters and material concept were created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is a fan-made fiction solely created for entertainment purposes.
Konohagakure, a few decades before the end of Ninja Era.
Winter.
His black long coat was still wet when Sasuke hurriedly arrived at the hospital. The dim light of the hallways made the freezing night even colder. But he couldn't careless about how thick the snow outside, neither how numbed his face was.
In fact, right at that moment his whole body seemed losing its sense to feel.
"Your wife is in critical state, Uchiha-san."
The door knob felt ridiculously heavy, for a man who could demolish almost everything.
"Uchiha-san?" The nurse who was now gaping at Sasuke, thought it was impossible for Sasuke to come when she just had a phone with him fifteen minutes ago.
"Natsu-san had the ventilator installed just before you came, and he's in a phone with Shizune-san right now. The other doctors are on their way."
Sasuke's eyes fixed to someone who laid peacefully upon the hospital bed. He then felt how fast his heart beating. He clenched his fist hard enough to hold back his body from shivering. Either from cold or hurt.
"Please, go home, Sasuke-kun. Just for today."
He could heard Sakura's pleading from before. How she pleaded for him not to see her leaving.
Three doctors who are responsible for Sakura's treatment came at once before Sasuke even one step closer to his wife. The doctors were talking about the possibilities of Sakura leaving this world-his world-and how to keep her alive with every consequences, gave a great havoc into Sasuke's heart, head, his whole being for sure.
"Both her lung had collapsed. She would barely survive until morning if her body couldn't adapting to the ventilator."
Sasuke reached to his phone, calling their beloved one, Sarada. It kept ringing hundred of times. She would barely survive until morning. Then he let go of his phone. There was one and only hope for him. His eagle had to reach Sarada before dawn.
"She hadn't answer the call, I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered softly into his wife ear, "But, you know our daughter well. She will come."
Sasuke sighed a long deep breath.
"Sakura," Sasuke was inching closer to her face. The deafening sound of the ventilator made everything gloomy even more. Teardrops fell on to her cheek.
/
"Of all days and nights we have spent together, are you really gonna do this to me right now?"
Sakura wiped away the tears that came from those beautiful uneven eyes of her husband.
"Look at yourself, Sasuke-kun. You look so tired I can't stand it anymore, you need a proper rest," with her hand gently stroked Sasuke's cheek, "and you look… old."
"I hate it when you distract me while we were talking," Sasuke took Sakura's cold and frail hand. "Besides, I am old, Sakura," said Sasuke with a smile that could light up the room.
Sakura gave Sasuke a serious look, instead of rewarding his acknowledgement with a smile. "Why are you crying?" her soft voice escaped her mouth along with a sighed.
A rhetorical question. Sakura certainly knew the answer to that question, why would Sasuke-who was rarely seen in tears by anyone not even her-gave up to cry.
But, Sasuke gave his heartfelt reason nonetheless, "Because of all those days and nights we have spent together, I always left you."
Sakura once again exhaled some air that tightened her chest. "But, now you are here," Sakura said after a long paused.
Sasuke sulked in silent. And the long paused once again came while their fingers entangled each others.
"I… what should I do… if you leave me, Sakura?"
With her already miserable state Sakura tried her best to not worsen her husband feeling. "Is that what you really scared about?" she smiled.
Sasuke nodded his head right away.
"I'm not always by your side, you had been there for very long time," He heard what he never wanted most, "I'm so sorry… but you are gonna be just fine, my dear."
Sasuke closed his eyes. There were another drops falling from it.
No, I am not gonna be just fine, Sakura.
"You are gonna watch our daughter grow up, how she would become a greater Kunoichi than I am, than both of us, and how she would relive Uchiha with her own strength just like we always hoped."
She kept going, "and I will wait for you, until we meet again in our other life."
Sakura slipped her hand out of Sasuke's grip. She pointed two fingers on to Sasuke's forehead. She struggled to do just that.
Sasuke couldn't resisted to not kiss his wife. He planted a small kiss at Sakura's temple.
Then he heard Sakura's whispering, "I love you so much, Sasuke-kun."
Kami-sama, I do love her with all my life. Oh you the almighty, please let us be together in our next life. I promise to keep her, take good care of her, so I'm begging you.
Both of the lover prayed the same prayers that night. Time had not always been at their side, for them to love and to hold much longer. It might be not now, not this chapter of life.
/
h E R e • a F t e R
1
/
Hokkaido, 1998.
Winter.
Hokkaido was always covered in snow. Sasuke had never been one to protest. But he almost drown in those glistering snow beneath him like this morning, no matter how hard he tried to walk properly.
"Sasuke-kun?" His mom called five feet ahead of him.
"Ng? I'm fine," Sasuke grunted. Focused on each step of his small feet on the snowy path behind his parents.
"You sure you don't need my help, huh?" asked Itachi from behind.
"I can do this," Sasuke answered curtly.
Sasuke was peeved because Itachi made him awake way too early. And today the dense snow covered almost everything. It was hard to walk especially for four years old Uchiha Sasuke. But people gathered anyway, with their black attire matched those deep grey sky that had haunting this city from early morning.
"Mommy, could Nii-chan and I just wait outside?" asked Sasuke before they entered the funeral home. He didn't afraid of the dead, he hated to see or hear people's crying.
"Sssst," Itachi kept his brother by his side, and had to silent him for the third time.
Sasuke pouted and remained silent as they lined up to give their condolences. He suddenly felt a jabbed into his foot before it finally got numb, yet he was too shy to ask Itachi's help right now for a piggyback.
Sasuke pouted even more. He started to fidgety. Then Sasuke took a glance of someone who pouted and looked fidgety just like him. There was from a girl across the room. A girl with peculiar hair, he mistook it as the color of his beautiful cherry blossom tree that grown outside his yard. She stood in front of the bouquets of lily, made the contrast recognizable as Sasuke got closer. It was not a mistake though, her hair was really beautiful resembled of his yard when spring time.
She bowed and her hair covered her whole face. Her shoulders were trembling now. Sasuke was afraid to know what happened to her covered face.
"You are a brave child, Sakura-chan," Sasuke looked at his mother, who was then embraced this Sakura girl tightly to her chest. The girl's whole figure sunken into his mother's arms.
Was it really her name? Or just nicknames. Sasuke inwardly pondered upon this cherry blossom girl.
"We are very sorry, we hope Kami-sama give them a decent place at his side," Sasuke's father and brother bowed together to a women in her late fifty.
Sasuke shyly followed his father and brother.
"It means a lot for Sakura and I, thank you very much, Uchiha-san," the elderly women answered with watery eyes, while held Sakura's hand.
Sasuke found out it was truly her name. Sakura.
Sasuke was taken aback by how messy and wet his mother's front dress. It made Sasuke really wanted to cry as well. The image of Sakura cried in his mother's arms, with those peculiar hair that kept her face covered and her shoulders trembled-or lack thereof-could never escaped his little head.
/
Hokkaido, 2002.
Autumn.
Sasuke was in a very bad mood. It was Valentine day but unfortunately it made Uchiha Sasuke grumpy. Because it would means when all of students got dismissed, there would be a bunch of girls waited outside his classroom with boxes full of chocolates-which was Sasuke's least edible food-hoped for Sasuke to accept their so called Valentine's gift. He couldn't even identified neither one of those girls, which class let alone their names.
"I gotta go home," said Sasuke little bit too harsh.
"Please, take this with you… Sasuke-kun," two of the girls begged when Sasuke tried to walk through the line.
The girls failed it just like always.
Sasuke noticed Naruto waited for him at the school gate. "Did you see Shikamaru's expression towards you? He kinda pissed," said Naruto while they were crossing the road.
"I had never witnessed, not a single day, he has his face un-pissed, Naruto. That's who he is."
"My point was," Naruto started to pissed as well, "he and the boys at class today were giving you villain look."
"You know it well how they always giving me that look."
Naruto just grunted. It was true though, Naruto knew how irritating Uchiha Sasuke could be. "Yeah, I know. They all just got jealousy every Valentine."
Naruto and Sasuke walked home together as always. And they would always got a vaguely image of pink from afar as well. Way behind their back. Went to the same route as theirs.
"Hey, does Sakura-chan ever gave you chocolates?"
Naruto and his abruptly nonsense-wit was really a normal thing for Sasuke. He was bemused by it instead.
Quite far from them, Sasuke turned his head to see Sakura, who was often had her eyes fixed on to the street. "No."
They went to the same school, went home to the same route as well, it had been three years, and they never tried to speak to each other. As long as Sasuke could remember, Sakura had never gave him any chocolate, or any gifts. It was not what he wanted, let alone a problem, because he never asked for any of the gifts from anyone in the first place.
Those gifts-most of it were chocolates and candies-would surrendered into Naruto's hands or might tragically ended up into his dumpster. But then Sasuke had to deal with mother's lectures on how to not waste foods and every single crumbs matter.
"Well, it seems you can't have each and every girls to like you, Sasuke," Naruto patted Sasuke's shoulder, then made an awful attempted to look sad. "Some of the gifts might change its direction to my locker this year."
Sasuke snorted.
"Anyway, I thought we never talk to her, aren't we? Even though three of us always walked this route together."
"So?"
"At least we could say hi to her."
"Hn."
"What's with that 'hn'? Is it yes or no?"
Sasuke was contemplating the suddenness of Naruto's idea. He scrunched, does having those blond hair have something to do with it? But, after all Naruto's ideas were not always a bad idea.
/
They were merely said 'Hi' to Sakura that day, but it was huge step for a beginning of their relationship.
It did not, would never, occurred to Sasuke's conscious mind that Naruto's idea that day could led their forgotten bond-of undying affection towards each other- to live once more.
/
e P i L o G u E
"Sakura-chan."
"Yes, Obaa-chan?"
Granny Kaede patted Sakura's soft petal hair, "Let me tell you something interesting," said her.
Under the radiance of the full-moon, while laid on Granny's lap, Sakura prepared her ears to listen into something interesting just like her Granny had said. Because when Granny ever told about some things her words would became reality.
"Your mom and dad love you so much. For this lifetime, previous life, or even another lifetime of theirs."
Sakura beaming like the moon.
"You were destined to be surrounded by the most wonderful people, as in the past. When you are sad, or when you are happy, you will be the strongest and the most caring person no matter what happen."
Sakura's eyes sparkled behind her bangs, "Like I was destined to meet you, Obaa-chan?"
"Yes, it was something like that," said Granny Kaede felt a tingling proud that made her chuckled.
"Do I… do I also destined to meet Sasuke-kun?"
Her Granny stayed still for a moment, then with a smile she nodded.
Sakura's cheeks were red now, "Can I also be his friend?"
"Hmm… about that…" said Granny Kaede teasing Sakura.
Still, Sakura waited her Granny to answer with her tilted head, "Nggg?"
"Of course you can, sweetheart."
"Reaaaally?" Sakura rose upon her small feet as it moved impatiently, "What else can I do?"
"You can do anything you want, as long as you do it whole-heartedly. You also need to help others who is in need, sincerely with all you have." The resolute stare of her Granny effects nothing to the eight-year old girl who is clearly in confused now.
Even so, Sakura was nodding her head slowly.
"I want to make friends with everyone, as much as I could, and I definitely want to be a doctor, Baa-chan."
"Sure, sweetheart," Granny Kaede made Sakura back to her lap, hugged her and rocked her body back and forth, "I want you to meet someone who could really love you and take care of you when I'm gone."
"Always listen to this kind-little-heart of yours," Sakura with her still confused look, was listening carefully to what her Granny had said. "Ne, Sakura-chan?"
The pinkish brows above her sparkling emeralds furrowed deeply. Sakura was nodding her head slowly, once more.
"I think… my heart always says… that I want to be friend with Sasuke-kun… is that really okay, Baa-chan?" Sakura now patted her left chest.
"Hmm maybe… I want to be friend with Hatsuki-chan or Ino-chan, but they left me all the time, and they said Sasuke-kun was not interested to play with a girl like me… so yeah, just maybe," Sakura continued.
There was something that made Granny Kaede's chest in pain. Even in her blurry memories of her late age, she would never forget how Sakura 'from the past' had always paid a visit to her dream.
It happened repeatedly to the point where it could not been only a dream. Sakura in her dream wore something oddly enough for an old woman's taste, and always with a bandana that holds a strange symbol which was on her back as well. Nevertheless, Sakura was stunning and looked independently mature.
"First, you need to make a promise that you will listen to your heart, always," Granny Kaede had to cut Sakura's endless chat.
"I promise!" answered Sakura right away without thinking.
Granny Kaede was hugging Sakura again, then pasted a few kisses on to Sakura's face. Sakura's laughter filled up their backyard.
"Whatever happens next, you have to be the strongest and the most caring person, foremost, to yourself."
Sakura was so happy knowing that she was meant to meet Uchiha Sasuke and made friend to him. She knew Granny Kaede was not once ever wrong, let alone told lies. Sakura returned a lot of kisses to her lovely Granny's cheeks.