Only he turned the blade on her, and wore her blood on his clothes instead.

ii.

There wasn't supposed to be anything wrong with the picture before him. It was supposed to be a picture perfect. The dobe, still the blonde knucklehead that he was, had that ever so contagious cheerful grin on his face, as he stood by the entrance gates. Next to him, was the sensei who taught him what he developed to be his deadly jutsu—Kakashi, uncharacteristically on time despite his notoriety for tardiness. Even Sai, his replacement, he thought with a scowl, was there standing behind the one he was (not-so—he's in denial, you see) ecstatic to see.

The color of her hair was still the pink befitting her name, its length considerably longer, past her shoulders, and it made her look more mature. Her eyes, the shining green eyes that were always so expressive, were soft with nostalgia as she gazed towards him with a smile on her lips; though there was an air of detachment about her, he chose to ignore it. Apart from the length of her hair, she was still the Sakura he knew...

At least he thought so until his gaze moved from her face, down to her cradling arms, where the 'thing' that made the whole picture before wrongwrongwrong in every essence of the word.

Somehow, for unknown reason, stoic, passive Uchiha Sasuke—yes, the Uchiha Sasuke—couldn't believe and accept that right there in Haruno Sakura's arms laid a baby. A... baby.

Baby...

His mind couldn't just accept it; a baby laid in her arms.

Don't tell him that in the eighteen months he spent on that dreary prison, while he wallowed in self-pity and guilt because he almost killed her (both intentionally and accidentally), that this girl who haunted his sleep with nightmares... moved on and got—

He gulped while he gritted his teeth, still unable to accept the fact before him.

—pregnant.

A distant memory from when he was thirteen started replaying.

"I love you with all my heart!"

All the more showing him why the picture before him was not as perfect as it should've been.

She wasn't supposed to move on, much less have a son who was not his.

Or maybe, a sudden thought dawned upon him, those words that left her lips that night when they were thirteen were nothing but a desperate attempt to keep him from leaving—

He didn't want to think about it anymore. All that he knew was that Sakura lied to him... though part of him wanted to believe (desperately wanted to believe) that maybe, she didn't really lie to him—because that night meant a lot to him and he wouldn't allow her to ruin it.

[That night became his lifeline, something to cling to.]

If that it so, however... then she betrayed him.

tbc.

i intended to update on a weekly basis, but i realized i'm gonna be busy for the whole week so here it is.

loved the reviews. thanks a bunch for those who went through all the trouble of reviewing. i hope the plot will satisfy you guys.

and oh yeah, just so you guys know, the SasuSaku will take time before it develops.

[reviews are highly appreciated]