This is my tribute to Sasuke.
Things to remember:
A) I began writing this in '06, and it is awkward. I have a beta, but I asked them not to change much because I wanted this story to remain as young as possible, so my readers could watch me grow as a writer.
B) I will insert quotes that are relevant to the Uchiha family inbetween scene changes, so don't ask. You'll find out later.
C) Don't own Naruto, not would I want to. It's losing my respect, and fast.
D) This is a work of FICTION. So because of this fact, anything I say goes. If I decide Sasuke needs to wake up pregnant and with blond hair, then he will(though I wouldn't do that because I love him). No complaining if something below does not make sense. I will be more than happy to explain my logic if you ask me.
More relevant info to this chapter: Happy (early) New Year! May 2011 be a better year than 2010. So I updated, as promised. This is finally the end of this arc, and following are about four much shorter arc(talking about three chapters per arc). They should come smoothly for me. Now onto more important business.
REVIEW REPLIES -
Huge thank yous to the following people for their supporting reviews: raven rose 101, Roxan, TheAltermetSasuSakuFan, Miri W., person who did not have a name, but I will still say thank you to, and, most importantly, my lovely big sis Akina, who should review, besides just giving me feed back via text messages(glares)
Miri W. - I think we have a bright future together, and will be looking into your fics
Person who did not have a name - this fic is centered around Sasuke and Sakura, but will contain other familes too, as they all contribute to the growth of the family. I won't always focus strictly on Sasuke and Sakura, so please don't get your hopes of(that'll be more at the end, my dear)
SIDE NOTE - this story does not have a regular plot. It had lots of many plots. There will be some plots that add up to bigger ones, but when I wrote this, I was modeling it after various anime. I will, also, try to keep the general, basic rule of the Naruto realm in this fic(jonin are higher than genin, S-ranked criminals are bad) but no promises. I am just waiting for Kishimoto to finally give Naruto a rest. He's getting a bit ridiculous.
Thanks for reading this, boys and girls(unless you are all girls). Ki-chan loves the love she's been getting and promises to look in on all of your fics…and actually review.
This chapter is dedicated to:
Jo Kagarashi: black hair, blue eyes, father of Mikoto Uchiha(cause my real life maternal grandpa is turning 69 tonight J)
Sincerely wishing you all well,
Kida-Asumi, the Captin of Sirius
"Haku?" Tenten asked, disbelief in his eyes. Neji stepped up to her side, frowning slightly. Right at the edge of the woods stood Haku, Zabuza at his side.
"Who are you?" Zabuza demanded, eyes narrowing menacingly. Neji surperssed a sigh.
"I got it." He said to Tenten, then before she could turn to question him, he had knocked out Zabuza. Tenten and Haku's eyes widened, turning to Neji.
"Don't kill him!" Haku snapped, frowning. Neji ignored him, kneeling down to look at the ex-dead man.
"It looks alchemy was used to revive them. How fascinating." The Hyuuga nin said, almost to him. Tenten rolled her eyes. Of course her fiance was interested on how they came back, and not the fact that they were back. When she turned back to her brother, she noticed he was observing her with a confused look on his face. Suddenly, he smiled.
"Tenten?" He asked, the pure joy in his face making him look much younger than he was. She nodded, tears clouding her vision as she ran to hug him.
"How did you know?" Neji asked, ever the reasonable one. Haku chuckled, looking down at the woman in his arms.
"She looks exactly like our mother." He said simply, shrugging. Tenten's expression softened, pulling back slightly.
"Do I really?" She asked him, trying to push down the sudden hope the filled her heart. Haku smiled and nodded, cupping her face in his hands.
"You do. I've always dreamed of this day. The day we would be reunited." He said, grin never leaving his mouth or eyes. "How did you find us?"
Tenten chuckled, shaking her head.
"I'll tell you later, when we set up camp. This is Neji Hyuuga, my fiance." She added, gesturing to Neji, who was lifting up Zabuza. Haku nodded, turning to look at him.
"Nice to meet you, Neij." He said softly, then turned back to his sister. Tenten sighed happily, wiping her eyes.
When Zabuza woke up by their campfire, he botled up. He spotted Haku sitting beside a young woman who bore a strong resemblance to him, with a…Hyuuga male beside her.
"Haku." He stated, glaring at the odd two. His apprenctice chuckled, gesturing for him to sit down closer to them.
"This is my little sister Tenten, and her fiance. They had come to investigate our graves." He explained. Zabuza relaxed slightly, though he shot another glare at Neji.
Neji sighed, standing up and stretching.
"Zabauza. Why don't we take a walk and let them talk alone." He suggested, kissing Tenten's forehead. Haku nodded, letting his mentor it was okay for him to go. Sighing, Zabuza reluctantly stood as well. He followed Neji out of camp.
Tenten let out a sigh of relief, grinning at her brother.
"So, I'm sure you have questions." She prompted. Haku nodded, reaching up to brush some stray hair out of his eyes.
"How did you discover we were related? I am assuming that Aunt Yura did not send you." He said. Tenten nodded, scoffing bitterly.
"It would have been easier if she had. My, well, our Kekkei Ginkai showed itself to me, and then after Neji and I dug around for answers, we discovered the truth." She explained, absently kicking a rock at her feet. He nodded, the two falling into a comfortable silence.
"So…I take it you're mad at Aunt Yura." He said, looking at her face for her reaction. She nodded, her expression twisting into resenment.
"Yes. She lied to me for years. I am the little girl in my favorite fairy. How the hell could I not be mad at her?" She growled. Haku nodded, sympathetic of her feelings. He sighed, taking her hand.
"It must of hurt, that betrayal." He commented softly. She nodded, gripping his hand.
"Like a kunai to the stomach. How could they lie to me, Haku? I was like a daughter to them." She murmured sadly. He sighed again, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She leaned against him.
"They did it for your own good. I would not have been able to keep you safe, Tenten. When we go back to your village, you should go and talk to her, Tenten. As much as you are hirting, she is hurting as well." Haku assured her. She glared, though when he answered it with a steady gaze, she dropped in, then stared at her feet again.
"I was horrible to them. Do you think they'll forgive me?" She asked. He nodded, rubbing her back.
"I do. You are their child, Tenten." He said soothingly. She nodded, blinking back tears. She turned, wrapping her arms around her brother.
"Thank you Haku. For everything.
"Here Sakura. I brought you a spare change of clothes." Sasuke said, handing her the aforementioned items.
"Thanks Sasuke-kun." She said, smiling at him. The two had set up camp in the woods not far from home. Naruto and Kakashi had decided to contniue on home, and report what happened to Tsunade.
"How are feeling?" She asked, blushing as she did. Really, her sense of timing was way off. She should have asked him that earlier. He chuckled, shrugging.
"Honestly, I'm just a little bit tired. Probably should have taken it easy when I got out of the hospital." He said, shrugging again.
"I'm sorry." Sakura blurted out, looking down at her hands. Sasuke cocked a brow, looking over at her.
"Don't be, babe. I'd come and save you any day." He said, smirking(a/n: oh Sasu-nii, so lame). She rolled her eyes, gently shoving at his shoulder.
"That's not what I was apologizing about." Sakura said, shooting him a half-hearted glare. He frowned, not sure what else she was apologizing for.
"Why? You didn't do anything wrong." He said. She shook her head, sighing.
"I messed up when I was healing your wounds when you first came back. You were hospitalized because of my mistakes." She mumbled, blinking back tears as that bitter reality hit her again. Sasuke watched, perplexed. Gently taking her hand, he placed a finger upder her chin to lift it up to look at him.
"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, his voice soft despite the harsh wording. She gulped, still avoiding his eyes.
"When…when I was healing you, it slipped my mind that your body may not have been able to replinsh the blood you lost without help. It's my fault that you collapsed." She whispered, a tear breaking free. His eyes widened. Understanding where she was going with this, he pulled her into his arms.
"It's not your fault." He promised into her hair as she clung to him. She nodded.
"And then, when I showed you Sai's letter, I left out that when Sai and I dated, he was very big on sex. I feel horrible because, when he…when he took me, we had sex, Sasuke." She whispered. Sasuke stiffened the moment the words left her lips, then pulled back to stare at her heart broken face.
"And you regret it?" He asked finally. She nodded vigorously. He nodded, satisfied by her answer, and pulled her back into his arms.
"Good. That's all that matters." He said. She gasped, pulling back.
"But Sasuke-kun -" She began to protest. He rolled his eyes, shutting her up by kissing her.
"Sakura. I love you, and you love me. You didn't willingly sleep with him. No harm done." He said bluntly. She pouted, looking up at him.
"Really?" She asked, hesitated. He nodded.
"I am positive." He promised. She giggled, leaning into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder.
"How did I get so lucky?" She asked, utterly content. He smiled, kissing her forehead.
"It's I who got lucky, Sakura." He said. She smiled, leaning up to kiss him.
As the two spent their night hidden within the woods, together again without any immediate threats to their happy future together. Little did they know, however, than just when they believed life couldn't get any better, an old danger would strive to rip apart their wonderful lives together. Only time would tell if their lives would ever be the same.