He didn't know what made him stop. He just did.

The members of Team Taka stared at him, coming to an abrupt halt at his side. It was so very unlike Sasuke to stop suddenly while on the way to a destination.

"What's wrong, Sasuke? Enemies nearby?" Suigetsu took a sip out of his ever-present water bottle, scowling a little at the thought of having to fight again. He would surely be thoroughly drained by the end of their journey.

"I don't sense any other chakra around here…" Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Karin frowned and looked around warily. "Why did we stop, Sasuke?"

The addressed man sighed and closed his eyes briefly. A hazy image of yellow and orange, pink and red, gray and green drifted behind his closed eyelids as he shut them tighter to block them out. He was going through one of his 'phases' again. This happened often, but it was temporary and he always managed to beat the memories with the right amount of effort. He couldn't let this, them, weaken him. This time, his memories were triggered by a particular cherry blossom tree he and his team were standing beneath at the very moment.

Why now? Sasuke grit his teeth as more almost-forgotten memories flooded his mind. Damn you, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi. Why…?

"We will rest here." Sasuke ordered curtly, sucking in a small breath. "I will signal when we are to continue moving. For now, you have the freedom to wander and replenish your chakra." He narrowed his eyes and turned away, signing that Team Taka was to disperse. Suigetsu and Juugo looked at each other confusedly, the latter finally motioning for them to leave their leader alone. Karin stubbornly stuck out her bottom lip and hurried to the Uchiha's side as the two males flashed out of sight.

"Sasuke… Do you need me to heal anything? If not… I can keep you company if you'd like…" Karin batted her eyelashes, red eyes hypnotic as she slowly removed her glasses.

"No. Leave me alone, Karin." Sasuke glared at her, silently telling her to leave with her other teammates. The redhead pouted and jumped away, grumbling a few words to herself.

Sasuke, finally alone, leaned against the trunk of the tree as he rubbed his temples, exhaling slowly. He sank to the ground, sitting comfortably on the blanket of flower petals that covered the ground. He stretched out a palm, catching a soft pink petal in his calloused hand.

'Sakura…'

He gradually succumbed to the flood of memories that were threatening to overtake him.

…

"Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke opened his eyes to see the young kunoichi laughing as she towed an indignant Naruto behind her, her short pink hair flying in the wind.

'Like sakura petals,' He thought vaguely as he gazed at the numerous cherry blossom trees across the lake.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura repeated, stopping in front of him, smiling that stupidly innocent smile of hers. She held out a stick of sakura dango. "Come to the hanami festival with us! Everyone's there already!" The girl's cheeks were flushed with excitement and her green eyes sparkled with mirth.

Sasuke took one look at his teammate, this brightness, in front of him and stubbornly turned his head away, letting out a small 'hn' of distaste.

"See, Sakura-chan? I told you he would refuse to come, ttebayo!" Naruto frowned and crossed his arms, sticking out a bottom lip.

Sakura's face fell, but she still looked at him with those jade orbs filled to the brim with hope.

"Please, Sasuke-kun? Just for today… We can go as a team!" Sakura's hand holding the dango rose a bit.

Sasuke glanced at her, the tips of his ears turning a bit red. She was looking at him with a pleading gaze that, for some reason, pierced his stony heart. He remembered a distant past when he had looked at his older brother with that same look, that look that seemed to say, 'just this once!'. He remembered Itachi just smiling at him, poking him in the forehead, and telling him 'maybe another time'. He remembered the hurt and betrayal he felt to know that in his brother's eyes, there was something more important than family.

'No one deserves to feel like that.'

He gave a small huff and plucked the dango out of Sakura's grasp, making her beam with happiness. Naruto watched him do so with a look of disbelief on his face that Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at.

"W-what?! Sasuke, you—"

"Hn. Shut up, Dobe."

Sakura giggled at her teammates' bickering. With an expression of utter joy, the pink-haired girl took each boy's hand and tugged them in the direction of the festival, smile growing wider with each second.

"Look who was right, Naruto! Sasuke-kun agreed!"