title: where i stood
characters: Karin POV, peripheral SasuSaku, Team Hebi, Team Seven
rating: T
category: angst, romance, AU

Some brief background info: Sasuke killed Itachi with the help of Team Hebi. Not really necessary to know how they got to this point, that's all you need to know. I've labeled it as AU (so there will be no spoilers from the manga/anime), but you can pretty much interpret it as you like.

This is my first attempt at writing in second person. We'll see how it turns out.

It's over.

You can't believe it. Years of hard work put in from the four of you have finally come through.

And after all those years, you can proudly say that you were the one who stood by Sasuke-kun's side.

It wasn't without effort—great effort—Suigetsu can barely keep his head up; Juugo's arm is hanging limply at his side, the way it's dangling makes you figure it's probably broken; the fingers of your left hand are burned from that fireball attack you barely managed to dodge in time. Everyone's bodies are covered head to toe in bruises, blood and grime. But Sasuke-kun is faring the worst.

Standing over his brother's dead body, his legs tremble beneath him and he looks like he can't quite catch his breath. A flowing stream of blood trickles down over his eye and past his chin; you vaguely wonder if he has a concussion. Everyone's chakra levels are low—probably too low to be healthy, but you all made it out alive, and that's all that matters.

Suddenly Sasuke-kun grunts quietly, his eyes roll back and he wavers where he stands. Juugo rushes to catch him but you beat him, quickly ducking your head under Sasuke-kun's arm. His sudden weight on your shoulders causes them to flare up in protest but for the life of you, you will not give up this opportunity.

You haven't washed your hair in weeks; you stare up at him through stringy bangs and watch as he struggles to catch his breath. Heart skipping a beat, you can't help but wonder if he has finally accepted your love and is ready to return the feelings.

You adjust the angle he's leaning on you before checking on the others, making sure they're ready to head out. Juugo allows an exhausted Suigetsu to lean against him. You know they both need healing as well but you're saving up your chakra for Sasuke-kun first. You have to convince yourself that it's because he's the most injured and most at risk—not because you favor him.

The rest of Itachi's comrades who had been there for the final showdown are either dead or disappeared long ago. You four are the only ones remaining and your analytical mind acknowledges that you are still out in the open and have yet to get out of dangerous territory.

Before you can even ask Sasuke-kun where he wants to head for recuperation, he heaves in a deep breath and mutters one word.

"What?" you hiss, knowing your ears must be deceiving you. Maybe you have a concussion as well because you must be hallucinating.

"He said Konoha," Juugo says quietly and you turn a heated glare in his direction. What does he know anyway? That can't truly be what Sasuke-kun wants. What could he possibly want there? There's nothing left for him there.

He has a future. A future with you.

"He wants to go home," Suigetsu agrees in an exhausted tone and you know there's no arguing now. With a huff, you take off in the general direction of Sasuke-kun's former village.

You have to travel at a slow pace because of everyone's injuries, but ironically enough Sasuke-kun and Itachi's final battle wasn't too far away from their former home. It would have taken three hours to get there if everyone was in proper health so it takes nearly five.

Everyone is silent, most likely going over the day's events or saving up their strength. Your mind is frantic; you can't stop yourself from conjuring up different scenarios of how the future is going to pan out now.

Sometimes you're living in Konoha, sometimes you're back in Oto, sometimes you're in an entirely new village with an entirely new life.

Every time you're standing at Sasuke-kun's side.

It's only fair, right? You've proved yourself, you've earned this place. This is where you belong. You decide you don't care where you end up or how your life goes, all you want is to be standing by his side.

Eventually Konoha's large gates come into view and you can't help but hesitate. You look at him through the corner of your eye—he isn't doing much better, the blood on his face has caked dry but the gash on his side is still shiny with fresh blood. His body is littered with nicks and scrapes and bruises. Deciding you've probably gathered up enough chakra to heal his most fatal wounds, you stop and turn for him to get access to bite you so you can heal him.

He senses what you're trying to do and instead jerks his head way at a speed that's almost offensive. You bristle with embarrassment and surprise.

"Sasuke-kun, you're—"

"Don't," he insists through clenched teeth. You let out a huff of hot breath through your nose. Obviously he's delusional or something, refusing treatment like that. You decide to carry on down the path, since at least he'll get treatment once you get into the village.

The guards positioned at the gate entrance spot you immediately and come to meet you. Their eyes widen at the sight before them—Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha's infamous traitor, has returned. They talk quietly between themselves before turning back to you and you're sure they are going to turn you away.

But then a young woman calls out to them, slightly panting from the way she sprinted over to you. She has dark hair and eyes that look like moonbeams. With a soft voice, she instructs the guards to let you all in and to inform the Hokage of Sasuke-kun's return immediately.

As you pass through the gates, you hear her tell another messenger to get two more people and you tense up at the names you hear.

Sakura and Naruto—you recognize their names and know the basics, enough to know that they're his former teammates and have the most history with him, aside from his late brother. You're not entirely sure why, but a disgusting taste forms in your mouth at the thought of them.

A crowd has gathered and several ninja are taking Juugo and Suigetsu, probably going to bring them into custody. You know the only reason you aren't in chakra manacles either is because you're the only thing keeping Sasuke-kun standing at this point. The crowd parts suddenly and you hear the whispers buzzing about.

A boy with tan skin and spiky blonde hair and a small girl with short pink hair slowly make their way through the crowd, their eyes wide in shock. Naruto rushes over to a silver haired man, speaking quickly with him, while Sakura stares at you both silently. Eventually she reaches a shaking hand towards you and Sasuke-kun, and you tighten your grip on him.

"Back off," you snap, glaring at her from behind your broken glasses. She blinks over at you in surprise, but says nothing. She's about to step back when suddenly Sasuke-kun lifts his head off your shoulder.

"Karin," his voice is husky and thick from not being used in the past few hours, but the two words that come out of his mouth are enough to shatter your heart into a million pieces: "Let go."

You stare up at him with an open mouth. Your cheeks flush with a combination of hurt, embarrassment and anger. For a moment you want to wrap both arms around him and force them to pry him from your grip, but before you get the chance to he's pushing away from you and reaching for her.

Sakura's knees buckle slightly, most likely from the surprise of how much weight he's leaning on her. You've heard the stories, you know of her inhuman strength. This girl who is so deceptively small could probably lift Sasuke-kun with one hand if she had to.

Your jaw clenches when you see the way Sasuke-kun tucks his face into her neck, pressing into the warmth there. Hesitantly, Sakura brings one arm around his upper back and uses the other to comb through his dark hair. Her eyes betray the pain she still feels, the lacking trust between them, but in this moment you see how truly beautiful she is. You were wrong before—she is no girl, she is a woman who is as powerful as she is beautiful. The moment he reached for her it was as if she began to radiate a shining light of hope; her eyes sparkle at him like emeralds and her perfect teeth bite down on a plump pink lip. His arms come around her—only to better hold himself up, you assure yourself—and he allows her to direct him away from the crowd.

Naruto and the man he was talking to catch up with them, following them to wherever they're headed. A Leaf nin grabs your wrists, shackling them behind you with no amount of gentleness. But you don't even mind, you can't take your eyes off the sight in front of you.

Your heart breaks at the sight of how easily Sasuke-kun just replaced you, Juugo and Suigetsu—his team, the ones who helped him defeat his brother and achieve his life goal.

But your soul is what shatters at the way Sasuke-kun's thumb strokes Sakura's arm, the trusting way he leans into her, how obviously he dropped his guard for her.

As they walk you down the street, past the stares of the Konoha villagers, you come to a startling realization. Your place was never at Sasuke-kun's side, no matter how hard you worked to get there. You were just a placeholder. There is only one woman who will stand at Sasuke-kun's side.

And you are not her.

Ah, the angst. It's cold here and because of that I am depressed. I need spring!

If you're familiar with the song (by the amazingly talented Missy Higgins), then you'll recognize that this story didn't really follow the song, but I mostly liked the title for this piece.

Actually, I've always thought this song fit the Kikyo/Inuyasha/Kagome love-triangle perfectly. Every now and then I check YouTube to see if anyone has made an AMV for it but I haven't found any that really do their story justice. So…if anyone is talented at making videos and wants to make a new best friend, I'd love to see it done!