Author's Note: I apologize for the length of this chapter. But, it IS one of the most important ones so of course it's a lot longer. I guess one part in this chapter goes into a VERY slight AU. You'll know what part I'm talking about when you get there. I'm not really sure though since nothing about them has really been confirmed. Oh well! It's nothing to worry about! Also, this has been my favorite chapter to write so far. Hope you enjoy!
"It's time!" The words echoed through the cave as cheers and excited shouts began to fill the cave as well.
He was back in the Final Valley. Sasuke watched as a different Sasuke and Naruto launched themselves at each other. The impact made most of their surroundings shake and crumble. The other Sasuke had been the victor and watched as Naruto crawled in front of him. The real him was frozen in place, screaming at the other to stop. He was ignoring the pleas and grabbed Naruto by the neck, lifting him off of his feet. Lightning formed in his hand and he looked at the other him with an evil smile.
"This is all we will ever be! Why can't you accept that!?" He launched his hand through Naruto's heart.
"No!" the real Sasuke screamed.
When the other him removed his hand, he disappeared and the real Sasuke took his place. He quickly turned around and closed his eyes, not wanting to see his best friend's lifeless body. It started to rain and he opened his eyes and looked up. He was fighting the urge to scream in agony. Why? Why couldn't he stop that side of him from killing his best friend? The Uchiha turned back again, still looking up at the sky. He could not look down, no, would not look down. The rain grew heavier and a sharp spark of pain went through his shoulder. He grabbed the shoulder and grunted, falling to his hands and knees. He couldn't help it anymore, he had to open his eyes. Knowing that Naruto's head was right below his, he slowly began to open them.
Sasuke gasped and his mouth and eyes widened to the point where it hurt. His heart stopped. The person below him was not Naruto. It was Sakura.
"Sasuke, wake up!" Sakura yelled as he continued to thrash around in his sleep.
"No!" he shouted as he shot up, covered from head to toe in cold sweat. His head turned to Sakura and he grabbed her shoulders tightly. "You're okay?!" he asked in disbelief.
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked as he loosened his grip.
He narrowed his eyes in confusion and looked around. He noticed that he was no longer in the Final Valley; he was back in the apartment. It was just a nightmare. Cursing himself silently, he removed his hands and stood up to go to the bathroom and lock himself in there. Sakura got in his way and put her hands on his chest to stop him from moving any further. He only stopped because of the shock of the electricity shooting through him on contact.
"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.
Getting over his shock, he shoved her away and attempted to move past once more.
She grabbed his wrist and forced him to turn around. "I take that as a no. Please tell me something," she begged.
He pulled away from her grasp. "It doesn't concern you!" he spat coldly.
She stood taken aback at the mood swing while he locked the bathroom door. Every night he woke up like this. Whenever she asked him if he was okay, he did not answer. Sasuke had not told her anything, not just about what was wrong, but about everything else. Nothing about his journey. Nothing about the first time he left. Nothing about what was bothering him. Nothing.
The confused kunoichi looked at the clock. It was half past five in the morning. She smiled in excitement. Today was the day. The day of the festival.
Sasuke came out of the bathroom and saw that Sakura had gotten dressed in her regular attire. Her hand was on the door handle and his eyes widened in alarm.
"Where are you going?" he asked in an icy tone.
"Out. Why do you care?" she responded, sounding just as icy as he had been.
Trying to calm himself, Sasuke took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "It's early. You shouldn't got out by yourself." In truth, he was still concerned about some more perverts showing up. He could not forget about the incident a few days ago.
She was clearly annoyed at him constantly insisting on staying by her side. "I'll be fine. I can handle myself you know."
By the time she finished her statement and turned around, he had already put on a fresh pair of pants. He pulled his shirt off and grabbed another, slipping it on as he walked to the door. He threw on his vest, stuffing the bandana inside, and grabbed his chokuto.
"Hn, I know," he said as they walked out.
"Then why have you been within five feet of me at all times?" she asked while they made their way down the stairs. No answer. Not that she was surprised. They walked in silence throughout the village, looking to find a festival shop that was worth while. Sasuke was mainly looking in the dark corners for any sign of stalkers. If anything happened to Sakura on his watch, he would never forgive himself. Then again, he still hadn't forgiven himself for anything he'd done to her prior to his return.
Sakura was extremely annoyed with him at the moment. Sasuke kept looking around like a war would break out at any second. What is he so uptight about? Then, she looked for something she could test him with. She spotted a festival store she knew that he'd hate and put on an evil grin. Changing her course, she looked from the corner of her eye to see Sasuke close behind.
Sasuke glanced inside to see that it was a men's clothing store. He stopped and groaned. "I already have enough clothes, Sakura."
The real test was about to start. If he came in after this, then something was definitely up. "Maybe I'm not looking at them for you," she said, hiding the teasing manner.
His eyes widened in surprise and anger. "What other man could she possibly be buying for?!" He screamed in his head. When she started to walk in, he was right behind her, looking for any man he could destroy. After meeting the idiots at the explosives shop a few days ago, Sasuke had decided that all men were dumb perverts, and he wouldn't hesitate to kill any man that came near Sakura.
After she noticed how close he was, she decided that something was definitely up. Turning around and pushing past him, she heard an audible huff of annoyance from the Uchiha.
"What was that about?!" he angrily whispered as he caught up to her.
"I was going to look for something that Hinata might like to get for Naruto," she lied. "I changed my mind."
The raven haired male narrowed his eyes. That was it?! He calmed himself as he realized that it was just for Naruto though. "Hn."
Annoyance was an understatement to what Sakura was feeling. First, he wasn't telling her anything. Now, he wouldn't leave her alone. Normally, she'd love to spend time with Sasuke Uchiha, but when he was acting like this, it annoyed the crap out of her.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked.
"Nothing. You're the one who has a problem," he spat back.
"Excuse me for wanting personal space. You haven't left my side since we left the explosives shop a few days ago."
Seeing as how she was clearly mad at him for this, he wanted to make it seem like he was just teasing her. Sasuke wanted to keep the incident from a few days ago a secret. He was most likely going to regret this sooner or later, but who knows, he might end up enjoying her reaction. Taking a deep breath and looking around to make sure no one was watching, he put on his best smirk.
"Hn, I thought you of all people would like me close all the time," he teased. She immediately turned red and quickened her pace. His smirk got bigger and became real. He had confirmed the fact that he was really going to enjoy her reaction, and looked around one last time before catching up to her. Sasuke wrapped both of his arms around her waist and rested his head on her left shoulder. She stopped walking and tried to turn, but she froze when he kissed her cheek. Boy, was she confused and her face went blood red. He started to laugh and she became even more flustered.
"Get off me! You're all sweaty!" she shouted as she pushed him off. He was still laughing quietly when she turned to face him. He stopped when she grabbed his arm and began pulling him.
"There's definitely something wrong with you. I'm taking you to the hospital," she finished.
The amused Uchiha pulled away. "I'm fine. I'm just playing around," he said with a smirk still set on his face.
She attempted to grab his arm again, but he stepped back. "I told you I'm just joking."
"That's exactly why I'm taking you! You've never joked once in your life," she said as she attempted another grab. This time it was him who caught her. He slid his hands up to her shoulders and said, "There's a lot you still don't know about me."
That set her off. How could she possibly know if he didn't tell her anything?! Embarrassment quickly turned to anger as she gave him a menacing glare. The smirk he had turned into a frown. "No kidding," she angrily whispered as she slapped his hands away and stomped off.
Sasuke watched her leave in confusion. Why had she suddenly gotten mad again? He started to follow when she called back to him.
"Don't even think about following me!" she shouted over her shoulder. Sasuke stopped in his tracks and decided it was best to listen to her. Ignoring the urge to follow, he turned and walked the opposite way.
"Did I say something wrong?" he thought to himself as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
Sasuke had wandered around the village for a while, looking at nothing in particular. He had finally convinced himself that if any pervert bothered Sakura, she'd destroy the man herself. Lots of couples were out and about now, not to mention everyone else. Glancing through shops as he walked past, one of them caught his eye. This one was made for couples, and he saw them all laughing, hugging, and kissing. A feeling that had sometimes crossed his mind came back again. It was so foreign that he couldn't describe it, but whenever the feeling came, he thought of her, of Sakura. Pushing it to the back of his mind, an object on one of the display shelves captured his attention.
Sakura held the package in her hands as she made her way to the graveyard. It had become a tradition for the hosting village to pay their respects to the ones who had lost their lives during the war. For her though, this wasn't just about the ones who had died during the war.
Her first stop was Neji Hyuga's grave. After stuffing the package in the bag on her hip, she sighed in annoyance when she realized that Sasuke was stalking her again. "What?"
He walked up beside her with his hands shoved in his pockets. Looking down at the grave he asked, "How come you're here?"
"It's a tradition for the hosting village to pay their respects to the fallen on the day of the festival." She stopped and looked around at the other people who were there. Kurenai was placing flowers on Asuma Sarutobi's grave. She looked back down.
"Hn. My parents aren't buried here," he replied. He didn't explain further as they walked around. They spotted a familiar face at one of the graves and walked over to him. Naruto Uzumaki was standing at one that said Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, his parents. A sad smile was set on his face when he turned and waved to his teammates.
"So you guys are here already, too," he said.
"Yeah. We've already been to Neji's and a few other's graves," Sakura replied.
"What about you Sasuke?" Naruto asked with a saddened expression.
"My parents aren't buried here," he repeated. This was probably one of the only times that Sasuke and Naruto would willingly get along.
"Oh, sorry I didn't know," the Uzumaki said as he turned back to his parent's grave. No one spoke as they stared at the names printed on the stone. A thought popped into Naruto's head, but he was a little reluctant to ask. "Hey Sakura, have you been to-"
"No, not yet," she interrupted. "Where's Hinata?"
"She said she would come here later. She was waiting for her father to arrive," he paused and laughed quietly. "I think she's finally gotten over the thing at the hot springs. I'm real sorry about that, by the way."
Sakura rolled her eyes and a small smile crept its way onto her lips. "I'm over it, too. You dumb pervert."
Sasuke was a little concerned at why she had interrupted Naruto. Who had she not been too yet?
"If it's okay, can I come with you guys Sakura?" Naruto asked with sympathy. She nodded and Sasuke was still wondering why they seemed even more sorrowful than before. Not long after, he got his answer. Team 7 had walked to one of the graves that looked to be more recent than the others. The Uchiha stopped and gasped in disbelief at the names written. Naruto turned and looked at him in confusion. He frowned and thought, "She didn't tell him..."
Kizashi Haruno and Mebuki Haruno were the names written, her parents. Sakura looked down with great sorrow in her eyes and a small frown. Her teammates walked up behind her with sad looks on their faces, too. Sasuke felt like the worst man in the universe at the moment. Why hadn't she told him? When did this happen? Naruto gave Sakura a look that was asking for an okay to explain. She nodded and continued to look down. The Uzumaki glanced at Sasuke and nodded to a spot behind them, basically telling him to follow.
Naruto began to explain with sadness filling his voice. "About a year after you left, a large group of rogue ninja came to the village. They attacked with no good reason at all, only to hear their victim's screams of pain. Hinata, Sakura, and I had been out together when they came. Me and Hinata got seperated from Sakura and they were everywhere. The largest group of them had attacked her though, and managed to seperate her from most of our forces. She'd killed most of them, but then the leader of all the rogues came after her. She was hurt real bad and she knew that there was no chance for her to hold him off for long. Sakura tried anyway, and it worked. But... just before help could arrive, she had been paralyzed by one of his moves and he was about to land the killing blow when her parents came out of no where. They both took the blow for her. Sakura told me that they said something to her before they died, but it's to painful for her to talk about. Anyway, help arrived right after she watched them die. Sakura's blamed herself ever since." He glanced back at her with a sad smile and he shook his head. "Somehow though, she's managed to stay herself through it all. I don't see how she does it. Sakura is really awesome."
Sasuke looked at her with pride. Naruto was right, Sakura is pretty awesome in many ways. This had come as a real shock to him though. It was almost as if it had never happened. She never looked saddened and she was usually happy around him. Amazing was the only word to describe it. He still wondered why she hadn't told him. Remembering the object he had bought at the shop earlier, he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at Naruto.
"Don't laugh at me for this," he warned. "It's still not like that."
Naruto looked at the object and smiled with amusement. "I won't laugh, but I still think something's happening."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and made his way to the pink haired kunoichi. Taking a deep breath, he tapped her shoulder. She turned around and gasped with surprise, her cheeks filling with color.
"I saw this earlier today and thought you might like it," he explained, trying to sound like it wasn't a big deal. He held the necklace in the palm of his hand. It had a silver chain with a small cherry blossom on the end that was made with diamonds. She slowly took it and held it up.
"Sasuke it's beautiful," she responded, almost at a complete loss for words.
"Look at the back," he replied, sounding completely casual.
Naruto's smile grew larger at Sasuke's obsession with trying to show no emotion. He knew that Sasuke cared deeply for her, even if he never admitted it. Heck, Sasuke would never admit that he cared for anyone, but Naruto could see that the way he cared for Sakura was different.
She turned it over and put a hand to her mouth. Sasuke was highly amused at her reaction, but he wasn't going to show it. On the back of the necklace, "Sakura Haruno" had been engraved into the diamonds. She closed the hand with the necklace and embraced him in a huge hug. He didn't move and looked around with an embarrassed expression. Naruto was smiling so big that it looked like he had a surgery that went horribly wrong.
"People are starting to stare," he said with annoyance. She let go of him and put the necklace on.
"Thank you Sasuke. I love it," she said with a huge grin. "How much did it cost?"
"Hn, a lot."
"You shouldn't have spent your money on me."
"Just shut up and be glad that I saw it."
Still smiling, she watched as Naruto walked over with his hands behind his head. "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot," she said as she reached for the package in her bag. While she was busy, Naruto stared at Sasuke with a suspicious smile. He repeatedly raised his eyebrows at Sasuke and before the Uchiha could punch him, Sakura had pulled out the large package.
"It's for you." She handed it to Sasuke. Naruto was full of amusement at the scene. Sasuke looked up. "Sakura, you didn't have to-"
The Haruno growled with impatience. "Just open it!"
He did as she said and his mouth opened slightly. A hoodless black cloak with no spot for sleeves and the Uchiha crest in full view on the back was in the package. He took it out and tried it on. It went down to the top of his ankles, which was his preferable size. It hid his chokuto completely and it was a nice feature. Honestly, this was his favorite type of cloak and he had wanted one for a long time now.
"Thank you," he said. Naruto screamed in frustration and slapped Sasuke's back.
"That's it?! Thank you?! Give her a hug or kiss her or something!" he shouted.
Sakura blushed lightly. "It's fine Naruto. He doesn't have to thank me at all."
Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "Sasuke you are such an ungrateful tem-"
He was cut off by a hard kick to the gut from the Uchiha. "I'm an ungrateful what?"
Naruto stood up. "You're an ungrateful t-!"
Sakura punched both of them in the stomach. Both males winced in pain as she removed her fists. "Can you two get along for five minutes?"
They both stood up and looked away from each other. It was about noon now, so they decided to go and get lunch. Naruto insisted on Ichiraku's, which Sakura and Sasuke agreed too, even though this would probably be the millionth time they'd eaten there with him. They weren't in the mood to argue and they pondered about their new gifts.
Sasuke enjoyed the fact that he now had something to cover his belongings and chokuto. Even the Uchiha crest was there, in clear view, on the back. It hadn't been much of a surprise that she bought him something. But the fact that she had seemingly, completely discarded her anger at him from something that was still a mystery to him; it bothered the raven haired male.
Sakura loved her new necklace. It truly was beautiful and amazing. The fact that he had spent that much money, no, that he had spent any money at all on her puzzled her. He'd been very protective of her lately and that also bewildered her. She frowned. Sasuke still kept so many secrets though. Why was he even back in the village anyway? Why didn't he tell her anything? Why was he protective of her? Why did he buy her the necklace? Her thoughts drifted back to the conversation with the girls at the hot springs. Could he really like her as more than a friend? No way, that's impossible. The thought of it made her silently laugh at herself. Sasuke Uchiha would never feel that way towards her, and she just had to accept that fact. However, it was the only explanation she had for all of the questions. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, Sakura returned her attention back to reality.
After eating lunch and Sasuke almost vomiting because of Naruto's horrible way of eating, they split up. Sakura went to find Ino, with Sasuke and Naruto walking around together.
"I'm getting tired of looking through these shops," Sasuke said.
Naruto put his hands behind his head. "Why? There's so many things to look at," he paused to laugh, which earned him a glare. "Is it because you don't want me here while you look for another gift?"
"How many times do I have to tell you that nothing's happening!?" the Uchiha angrily whispered.
"Then why are you being nice? You're Sasuke Uchiha, you're never nice to anyone," Naruto said with a small smile.
Sasuke sighed and had a sad frown. Naruto was surprised when he didn't retaliate by punching him or something, and he turned his head curiously. Sasuke thought for a minute before speaking. He decided that since it was just his best friend, then he could tell him. Even Naruto would understand.
"Out of all the people I've hurt, I hurt her the most. I can't do that again, ever. I know that I can never truly make up for anything I've done, but..." he trailed off.
They continued to walk through the streets. Naruto's expression was one filled with great sorrow. Sasuke finally spoke again. "If there's any way that I can take some of the pain that I caused away, then I'm going to try and do it."
Silence fell between them, only the sounds of other people having fun were heard. Naruto had been thinking over what his best friend had told him, and he smiled. "She still feels the same way you know."
The other male glanced at him. "I kinda figured that out already. All it does is make me angry. After everything that happened, how can she still feel the same?"
Naruto thought about what to say next. "It's because she's forgiven you. All of us have."
The urge to pummel his best friend came over Sasuke. There it was again. Everyone had forgiven him, and he hated all of them for it. He didn't have to earn it, they'd freely given it to him at will. Nothing should be that easy. Especially this.
Ino came out of her house with Sakura waiting at the front door. "Okay Forehead, where to first?"
"I've already been to pretty much everywhere. You lead the way," Sakura replied.
Ino started to walk past her best friend, but she stopped when she saw the necklace. Her jaw dropped as she grabbed it and pulled the chain loose to take it off.
"Hey Pig, what are you doing?!"
"Where did you get this?!"
"Sasuke bought it for me," Sakura responded calmly.
Ino turned it over and looked at the name on the back. "First of all, I am so jealous! Second of all, aw! That is so sweet! You two are adorable together!"
They started moving again. "We are not dating Ino! How may times do I have to tell you?"
The Yamanaka looked at her friend in utter disbelief as she handed the necklace back. "Why?! You still like him and it's obvious now that he likes you, too!"
"He's just being generous," she defended.
"You are so stupid! It's right in front of you, but how can you not see it?!"
Sakura knew what Ino was implying, but she refused to believe that he liked her in that way. "You should know Sasuke well enough to believe that's not true," she said.
"Sakura, why do you keep saying that? And I can tell that something else happened!"
Great. Sakura had been thinking about what he did that morning and how odd it was. Not to mention the part where she had gotten upset with him. Anger made its way back into her system. Secrets. That's all their friendship was.
"Forehead, something's wrong. Don't lie to me," Ino commanded after noticing the other kunoichi's expression.
"Fine!" She threw her hands in the air. "He won't leave me alone. Plus, he keeps so many secrets. I haven't gotten him to talk about anything. This morning," she paused and blushed in embarrassment, "he kissed me on the cheek. He said he was just fooling around," she quickly added.
"And you believe that?!"
"Why shouldn't I?"
Ino stomped her foot. "If he didn't like you, then why would he of all people do that?!"
"I don't know," she said truthfully.
"Ugh! I'm mad now! Thanks a lot Billboard Brow! Anyway, I have to go to the cemetery and visit dad," she finished sadly.
"I've already been. I'll see you later Pig," Sakura said as she turned and went the other way.
"Later!" Ino called back.
People were laughing as they passed by the lanterns hanging from the shops. It was around ten. All of the Konoha rookies, Sai, and the sand siblings were at an outside shop. Even the Hokage was there. Some of them were in the middle of a drinking contest.
Kankuro threw his glass down first and belched. "I win!"
Kiba put his down. "You may have finished first, but it's not over yet."
Lee picked one up before Tenten grabbed it and tossed it over her shoulder. "You know exactly what happens when you get drunk Lee," she warned. He pouted and moved down in his seat.
Naruto put his down and tilted his head, clearly drunk. "What's the matter with you Sasuke? Why are you drinking so slow? It's you, Shikamaru, Lee, Kakashi sensei, Gaara, and all the girls!"
Sasuke set his drink down. "Because we're smart unlike you and the rest."
Hinata grabbed her husband's arm as he tried to get up. "Naruto you drank to much. Don't get up."
He put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "I'm fine Hinata! See!" He got up and immediately passed out. Kakashi caught him before he completely fell over. The amused Hokage sat the unconscious Uzumaki next to Hinata.
Sasuke looked at Sakura. She was about to get her second cup. Before she made it to her lips, he grabbed it and gulped all of it down in one breath.
She put her hand that had been frozen in place down. "What was that for?"
"You shouldn't be drinking much," he said as he grabbed another that she was reaching for. Once again, he drank it in one breath.
Sighing, she crossed her arms and sat back. Ino smirked at her. The other kunoichi were smiling, too. Sakura rolled her eyes at them.
"I better go and find Karui," Choji said as he got up and left.
"Excuse me," Sai started as he stared at his glass, "but what exactly is the proper limit?"
"There isn't a limit, just drink as much as you want!" Ino yelled as she gulped hers down.
Sakura motioned for Temari to hand her one under the table. The sand kunoichi nudged Shikamaru, who had his arm around her, and he handed her one. When no one was looking, Temari stealthily moved it under the table. Before Sakura could even begin to reach under the table, Sasuke had it and finished it off quickly.
She was extremely annoyed with him. The pinkette narrowed her eyes and frowned. "That's your fourth one. Feeling off yet?"
He smirked. "Hn, nope, and I can do this all night. Don't underestimate me."
Tenten smiled and moved her eyebrows up and down repeatedly. She laughed when Sakura gave her a glare that could kill. Kakashi was the next to leave, saying that he was to old to be hanging out with the "young ones".
Naruto woke up and rubbed his eyes. "So, who are all the couples that are gonna kiss at midnight? Me and Hinata are doing it!"
Ino beamed. "We'll do it! Won't we Sai?"
Sai had been distracted by his drink. "Hm? Oh, um... sure!"
Everyone looked to Shikamaru and Temari. "What?!" they said in unison.
"It'll be fun!" Hinata said with a smile. They still didn't agree and Ino and Kankuro shared an evil smile.
"Hey Shikamaru," Ino began, "should I tell her about what happened at the field a few days ago?"
Shikamaru gasped in surprise.
It was Kankuro's turn to instigate. "Temari, should I go in detail about that mission you were sent on a couple of weeks ago?"
Temari gritted her teeth. She looked at Shikamaru before they both turned bright red. "Fine," they said in unison.
The others smiled and high fived. Kiba had been looking depressed and he sat up with an excited look. "Hey Tenten, wou-"
She had immediately interrupted. "Not a chance Kiba!" He frowned.
Shino smirked and said, "Even Akamaru can get a date before you."
Kiba opened his mouth and looked back at his companion. Akamaru was jumping around with another dog. He groaned and put his face in his hands.
Most of the others stared at Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke glared back. Naruto began to interrogate again. "You guys have any plans?"
Everybody turned to look at them, even Lee who was clearly disappointed. The two shinobi being cornered shared a glance and looked away. Sakura said, "We're going to watch the fireworks."
"Is that so? Nothing else?" Naruto continued. Hinata gave him a look that told him to tone it down. He ignored it and waited for a response.
"Yes," Sasuke said coldly. If the Uzumaki kept it up, this would turn into a heated argument. The others held their breath, some were confused as to why the Uchiha sounded so defensive. Others knew exactly why, and they shared glances.
Hinata interrupted before it got serious. "Sakura can I see your new necklace? It looks gorgeous on you."
Sakura hesitated for a second, gazing at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. He seemed to have calmed down so she got up and Hinata did the same.
"Naruto told me that Sasuke bought it for you. It's amazing," she said as soon as they were out of range. She continued, "And that cloak he's wearing. You got it for him, didn't you?"
She took her necklace off for the former Hyuga to get a better look at it. "Yes, and thanks for saving me back there."
"It's not a problem. I'm sorry for Naruto's persistence. He's been talking nonstop about something happening with you and Sasuke," she said as she looked the item over.
"I wish he'd stop. That's impossible anyway," Sakura said with little to no emotion.
Hinata handed back the necklace with her face contorted between hurt and confusion. The fact that Sakura felt that way made her feel uncomfortable. She tried to think of what to say. Sakura had saved her life more than once on missions, and she had also helped her gain the confidence to tell Naruto how she really felt. Sasuke, however, was a much different story. He was much more difficult and complicated than Naruto.
"Do you remember what you told me a while ago?" Hinata asked with a smile.
"About what?"
"About supporting each other. You helped me with Naruto, and I'm very grateful. If you asked me, I think that Sasuke cares deeply about you. Even if it isn't in a romantic way right now, you should still follow your heart."
Sakura smiled. "Thanks Hinata. I guess I should listen to my own advice."
They hugged and headed back to their friends. Naruto was still a little drunk and Hinata tried to keep him from challenging Gaara to a fight again.
"Naruto, I promise that I will fight you when you aren't drunk. My village will be staying here for an extended time after the festival. We can fight sometime then," Gaara said.
Naruto tried to stand up with Hinata holding him down. "Liar! I'm not drunk! You're just scared!"
As they continued to argue with the others joining in, Sakura noticed that Sasuke looked like he was about to get sick. She smirked. "Had to much to drink?"
He glanced at her while holding his stomach. "No, I told you that I can do this all night."
Her smirk grew bigger. She grabbed a glass and taunted him. "Then I guess you won't mind taking this one from me. I'll go until you pass out."
"Challenge accepted," he said, all the sickness seeming to leave him. So he drank about five more glasses until he finally got up and puked a short distance away. He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus when he got back. "You got me drunk," he told Sakura.
She took a cup and enjoyed her victory. "All I wanted was one more. You should've let me have it." He passed out shortly after watching her finish the drink.
He woke up with a severe headache about an hour later to see that everyone was still there. "Have a nice nap?" Sakura asked.
"You're lucky that my head hurts to much to retort. At least I'm not drunk anymore," he added.
"We have less than an hour before the fireworks," Tenten said tiredly.
Shikamaru and Temari sighed as they remembered what they had agreed to do at midnight.
Kankuro said, "All the single guys come with me. We've gotta find some girls soon."
He got up with Kiba immediately following. They talked Shino and Lee into coming, too. Then, they forced Gaara to get up and told him all he had to do was watch. However, they were expertly lying. Kiba spoke. "Don't forget about Tenten. We have to find her a guy."
Tenten protested as they dragged her along with them, but she was too tired to do anything.
Shikamaru looked in surprise at Sasuke and Sakura, who were arguing about something and not paying attention. He leaned over to Temari. "Are they-"
She laughed and cut him off. "They both say that it's nothing, but most of us don't believe that's true."
He shook the thought from his mind and everyone just chatted until about half past eleven.
Sasuke had his head in his hands, still suffering from a headache. "I'm not going to sleep when we get home," he said with his voice muffled.
"Why? It'll be late," she responded.
Sasuke knew that he shouldn't have told her right after it came out of his mouth. He wasn't going to sleep because of the nightmares, but he hadn't meant to say anything. He hadn't been thinking straight when he said it, and he guessed it was because he might have been slightly drunk still. "Nothing, just forget I said that. Don't worry about me."
Sakura frowned. There it was again. "Don't worry about me," he always said. "It's nothing," he said. Hinata's words rang in her head again, after all it was her own advice. If she wanted to follow her heart at the moment, it told her to get as far away from the Uchiha as possible. She was tired of all his excuses. She was tired of him doing things without telling her why. No, she was tired of him not telling her anything! All the anger and frustration that she had built up for three years was ready to explode. Why was he such a jerk?!
"I'm going to find a restroom," she said as she left the table.
Sasuke watched her leave and was glad that his headache had finally passed. Something was wrong. He was the only one who had detected the incredibly small change in her voice. Her tone wasn't normal. He turned back to the table and put the thought into the back of his mind. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong and his mind was just playing tricks on him.
A short time later, the others decided to get a good spot for the upcoming fireworks. They traveled until they found a place with a nice view. The entire conversation on the way was about Naruto's rocket. Sasuke looked behind him and noticed that Sakura was still no where to be seen. He checked the chakra signatures around him. Nothing. Next, he looked even further away for a familiar chakra. He finally found hers at quite a distance away, on top of the Hokage monument.
After he excused himself, he quickly made his way past the villagers that had started to crowd around. It was about fifteen minutes until midnight. Sasuke was completely puzzled at why she'd lied. "She shouldn't be so far away from us either. There's to many people out tonight and something could happen," he thought as his protective nature kicked in.
Jumping from the rooftops with his new cloak flying out behind him after each leap, Sasuke made his way higher and higher towards the monument. He was beginning to worry about her safety and he silently cursed himself for thinking that she needed his protection.
The Uchiha walked slowly towards the Haruno. She was in a sitting position with her knees up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them. She had been crying.
He frowned when he spoke. "When you cry it's usually because of me," he paused as he sat down beside her, "so what did I do now?"
He was startled at how fast she was to get up and move away from him. Quickly standing up again, he grabbed her wrist and turned her around. "Don't walk away from me!"
"Don't touch me!" she shouted as she jerked her wrist away.
This time, Sasuke grabbed her shoulders and held on tightly. "What's wrong?"
Sakura slapped his hands off of her shoulders. "Why should I tell you anything?"
His mouth gaped open slightly out of shock and bewilderment. "What do you mean?"
Sakura scoffed. "You haven't told me anything, so why should I tell you anything? All you do is keep secrets from me and I'm tired of it."
The realization of why she had been so upset with him recently hit him like a paper bomb going off. It was the truth though. Sasuke had not told her a single thing. Nothing about his nightmares, about his journey, and nothing about what happened after the first time he'd left. Not to mention, anything about when he had been "lost to darkness".
"Why? Is it because you're afraid that I'll cry or that I'm too weak?" she asked harshly.
"Sakura, there are many words to describe you, but weak will never be one of them. Annoying is my favorite," he finished with a smirk. He was doing his best to calm her down, but with no luck.
"Not a surprise. That's all you think I am, isn't it?" she spat with venom.
He was beginning to get desperate. What had come over her so suddenly? Is that really what she made it out to be? That he only thought of her as annoying? His smirk turned back into a frown. "No! Why would you think that?"
Her eyes were becoming watery again. "You really don't get it?! Of course I think that. Before you left, you couldn't care less about me. Now, you're back and you pretend that you do care. Why?"
So that's what she really thought. He couldn't blame her for it. He had always been a jerk to her in the past. He'd never admitted to it, but he was extremely lucky to have her. She'd saved his life more than once, but he never said thanks and tried to act cool. But saying that he never cared about her? That was not true.
Sasuke stepped closer and entwined his left hand with her right. "I've always cared about you."
A single tear fell from her left eye. "You still haven't answered my other question. Why haven't you told me anything?"
Sasuke knew the answer right off and started to tell her the truth. "It's not that I don't trust you or that I'm afraid it will hurt you."
"Then why?"
He didn't answer. They stared at each other until she had grown tired of waiting. Sakura made him let go of her hand and she began to walk away. She hadn't gotten far before there was a gust of wind and he was in front of her.
Sasuke let his bangs fall back into place after he used the Rinnegan to teleport. He slowly moved his right hand to wipe away the tear that had fallen from her left eye. Letting his hand slide down to her neck with his thumb lingering on her cheek, he finally gave her a direct answer. "It's because I'm afraid that if you find out about all the terrible things I've done... I'm afraid that I'll lose you."
She was speechless. She let her right hand move to his chest and he showed no sign of protesting. "Sasuke..."
"Sakura, you mean more to me than you think..."
They were already so close that they could hear the other's heartbeat. The thumps started to get faster and louder as they stared into each other's eyes.
Another gust of wind blew through, revealing Sasuke's Rinnegan. His cloak moved slightly at the gust, too. Sakura could not get over how attractive the Uchiha was.
He was mesmerized by her eyes. The way the moonlight reflected off of them made Sasuke realize just how beautiful she really was. All sense of restraint was slowly leaving his body. He began to close his eyes and lean in. She started to slide her hands up his chest and behind his neck, closing her eyes. The fire burning in his chest made him want to forget reality and focus only on her. She forgot all about time itself as they slowly closed the distance between them. Now less than an inch from the other, then a centimeter, then-
BANG!
They broke away from each other in an instant, both nearly suffering a heart attack by the sudden noise. They turned to see that the first firework had exploded high in the air. Watching silently and turning a hot red, they pondered to themselves.
Sakura thought, "Were we just about to-?! No! No way! Who am I kidding?! Did he lean in first?!"
"I was just about to... Did I lean in first?!" Sasuke thought. He turned an even darker shade as he confirmed that he did.
Over the next few minutes, they watched and listened in silence as the fireworks exploded and villagers cheered and laughed. The fireworks stopped for a short intermission and the cheers continued. Sasuke's and Sakura's hearts were practically about to burst out of their chests. The dark red color had finally disappeared from both of their flustered features.
Sasuke had been staring at the ground while they waited; he looked up when he heard Sakura gasp. "What is it?" he asked.
She pointed into the sky, towards the moon. A dark figure was seemingly floating in front of the moon. Apparently, they weren't the only ones who had noticed, as they heard cries of amazement from the villagers below. The figure did not move, only its dark cloak flowed with the movement of the wind. Another minute passed with everyone watching in suspense. Sasuke stepped to the very edge of the cliff overlooking the village, squinting to get a better look. Suddenly, an orb of what looked like chakra surrounded the figure.
The figure spoke with a deep voice and it sounded like a male. The strange chakra orb was making it so that everybody could hear. "Greetings, people of the Hidden Leaf. I would also like to greet the other visiting villages as well."
Sasuke had heard the voice before. "He sounds familiar. That chakra looks familiar, too."
Sakura walked beside him on the edge. "I've heard that voice before, too."
The man talked again. "I've come with a request, well actually more of a demand," he paused as shocked yells were heard. "My demand, is that you give me Sasuke Uchiha. If you fail to comply with my request, then I will show no mercy on every shinobi and innocent citizen in this world."
Gasps were heard in every direction from frightened villagers. Sasuke stood with his jaw hanging wide open in surprise. Sakura had the same expression. She turned to him with a look of confusion. He shook his head and they turned their attention back to the floating man.
"YOU AND WHAT ARMY!?" a villager shouted distantly.
The cloaked figure laughed. "I'm glad you asked. What I'm about to show you will become the fate of your village if you refuse. Fortunately for you, I've come by myself this evening." He stopped and a projection came from what seemed like his eyes. It was in full color, looking like a movie. It showed a vast army of bloodthirsty rogues along with other shinobi in his "army" tearing apart anyone who came in their path. Or, anyone that the cloaked figure began to point at. Women and children screamed from down below. The projection stopped and he laughed hysterically. "None of that has to happen if you give me what I want," he looked around, "It seems my time to chat has been cut short. Here come the ANBU."
Sure enough, ANBU came from every direction, casting ninjutsu straight at the invader. The chakra orb disappeared.
"Let's go!" Sasuke shouted as both him and Sakura jumped down the cliff and landed on a rooftop. What did this guy want with him? He was definitely familiar. That's all they knew for sure.
Genin were herding the villagers and leading them to safety on all sides. The ANBU fighting in the air launched a combo attack, trapping the man in a giant mud block. Fireballs came from all sides, burning the block to a crisp. They stopped and waited, only to find that he was still alive and he made his way higher into the air. With one flick of his wrist, the air was filled with explosions and the ANBU were falling to the ground, unconscious and seriously injured. Sasuke and Sakura dodged everything from falling shinobi to terrified villagers. They ran until they found their friends, along with all of the Kage.
Seeing as the ANBU had been beaten, Gaara raised both of his hands and sand erupted from the earth on every inch of the outside of the village.
The man turned his head around in interest. "Amazing," he whispered to himself with a smile. The sand engulfed him in seconds with Temari and Kankuro hitching a ride on a couple of moving piles of sand. The puppet Kankuro had made from Sasori's body was beside him and flames shot out of its hands. He was moved out of the way as Temari came around and gave one gigantic hurl with her fan. The wind storm froze what was now most likely lava, in place. As he set his siblings down, Gaara closed an open hand into a tightly clenched fist. "Burning Sand Coffin!" he shouted as the flaming ball became smaller and exploded.
"Did we get him?!" Kankuro shouted.
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the man came from behind them, flying to his original spot. "That was an extraordinary move. But, that was a clone. Anyway, I've let you all have your fun."
"Shut up and say your last words!" Naruto shouted as he formed a massive Rasengan.
"You must be the kyuubi's jinchuriki," he said with interest. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"And wh-" Naruto fell to the ground and screamed in pain. Hinata kneeled beside him. Three of the other Kage were about to make a move as well when the cloaked figure laughed again. All of them fell to the ground in a heap, and they were followed by tons of other shinobi attempting to attack. Kakashi and Gaara were the only Kage left standing, but they were frozen in place by shock. The man let himself fall to the ground in front of them, landing safely on his feet. Sasuke and Sakura were also in the group that remained standing. They watched as the man removed his hood and Sasuke gasped.
"You..." he whispered.
"So you do remember me then?" the man asked in his deep voice. The male was actually quite handsome and was a couple of inches shorter than Sasuke. He was in his late twenties with short, jet black hair. His skin color was caucasion. His bangs that hung down on his right side ended right above his eyebrow. The hair style of the man looked exactly like Gaara's style during the war. The most interesting thing about him was his eyes. They were tired and half closed, yet they were mesmerizing at the same time. The pupils were a charcoal black. A thin, black ring was in the direct halfway point between the pupil and the skin around his eye. The section between the pupil and ring was a lightning blue, much like that of the Chidori. The outer area's color between the black ring and skin was the purple of a Rinnegan.
Sasuke clenched his fists and yelled to the remaining shinobi, "Don't look into his eyes!" Kakashi and Gaara immediately looked down at the man's feet, with Sakura and the others copying the action
A snort. "So you remember these eyes, I see. You only had a short sniff of what they can really do."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and spat, "I killed you!"
"Seeing as I'm still here, I think that's false information," he said with a smirk.
More battle cries were heard as Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji set up for their team move, not once looking the male in the eyes. They had just finished their set up when Ino and Shikamaru froze with their eyes widened and mouths gaped.
"What is this?! Who are you?!" Kakashi shouted.
The male narrowed his eyes and made a thin line with his mouth. "My name is Kurushimi. I've already told you my demands. To answer what this is, it's my eyes obviously."
Kakashi was getting frustrated by the lack of true response from the man, but he was brought out of his thoughts by Choji rolling past him in his human boulder form. His teammates were still paralyzed in their original stance.
Kurushimi sighed. "Why do they never listen?" He did not move as a cloud of dust covered the scene when Choji crashed into him. Everyone covered their eyes as the dust blew past. A scream was heard, and Choji's body flew from the cloud. Karui caught him and gasped as she saw that he was covered in blood. Sakura quickly ran over and started to treat him.
"Release," the attacker said with a yawn. Everyone who had been paralyzed or on the ground writhing in pain became aware of their surroundings once again. Naruto tried to get up, but collapsed and was forced to watch because he couldn't do anything.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you have one week to leave this village. If you do not leave within the given time, I will start a war and destroy every shinobi and innocent person in this world. When you leave, you will come and find me. I will give you an unlimited amount of time to do so. If you leave and do not try to find me, then once again, I will kill everyone in this world," Kurushimi instructed sternly. Before anyone could say anything, he was gone with a puff of smoke.
Sakura glanced at Sasuke before turning her attention back to the unconscious Choji. Sasuke looked on in disbelief at where Kurushimi had stood. He was back, but how? He had killed him! Why was he here then?
Everyone stared at Sasuke with complete confusion and worry.
"What just happened here?" Kakashi asked in a whisper.
Author's Note: That was a lot of words... If you're still with me after all that reading, then I'd like to thank you for reading it. Also, thanks for the follows and reviews you guys give me! I struggled a little with deciding Kurushimi's appearance, especially the eyes. I will explain more about them in later chapters and why he wants to kill Sasuke. Once again, thanks so much for reading! I would really love for you to review on this chapter and tell me what you thought of the villain's debut. Also, let's not forget Sasuke and Sakura's "intimate" moments. PLEASE review! Peace out!