Very sorry for the lateness. My apologizes. I hope everybody is still reading.
It will get better.
I promise.

Chapter Eight:
Waking Up To Memories

"But I don't wanna go on living being so afraid of showing someone else my imperfections."

"I would like to reinstate Sasuke Uchiha into the shinobi military, and add him directly to the ranks of an ANBU. This request comes of personal recommendation. His skills would be very beneficial to us, and in this time, we can use all the help we can get."

Tsunade slouched slightly in her chair, one leg crossed over the other. Her voice was strong and firm. She sat in front of the council of elders, eyeing the five of them. She wasn't sure exactly how this would turn out. She had already requested to have Naruto and Sakura bumped up into the ANBU without first becoming jonin, or even chunin for Naruto. That was a lot to ask for right there...but yet, here she was...asking for more.

"Tsunade, do you realize the extremity of all these requests you've been having lately?" An elderly woman named Moriko spoke. The five elders were lined up behind a tall desk. There were three men and two women.

Tsunade furrowed her brow. "Yes, but these three would work best together. It's only a nat-"

"Tsunade, bumping up Naruto Uzumaki to ANBU from a genin was an outrageous enough request for you. Nonetheless...we allowed it. We can't keep giving you such a broad range of this privilege. Soon nobody will advance in ranks as they should." An elderly man named Shinobasu interrupted her, making her lips draw into a tight line.

This wasn't going good.

Naruto and Sakura were standing behind her a ways, leaning against a wall. Naruto kept shuffling his feet, while Sakura stared intently at the back of Tsunade's chair.

What was the Hokage going to do now?

"These three are no ordinary ninja!" Tsunade bellowed, clearly getting angry. This outburst caused the elders' reactions to turn sour.

And right next to Tsunade, on her right, was Sasuke, staring at the elder sitting in the middle. Sasuke's expression was calm, but Sakura could see him clenching his fists at his side.

"Look, the village is in distress. We are losing shinobi left and right. What good would have come with leaving Sakura and Naruto as chunin or genin?" Tsunade shifted her legs, crossing and uncrossing them. "Advancing them in ranking as soon as possible was the best option. They're much more useful in missions that meet their skill level. And same goes for Sasuke."

"But what about the fact that he isn't even properly stated as a leaf ninja anymore?" Another elderly woman named Bianko asked. She looked across the desk at the other elders, causing some of them to nod.

Tsunade shrugged. "It's a matter of simple paperwork. Besides, what does it matter? All that paper...stupid little notes-"

"Tsunade!!" Bellowed an elderly man named Junko. He slammed his fist on the desk, causing Tsunade to jump. "Take this seriously!!" He repeated.

Tsunade leaned forward, a dirty scowl on her face. "I am!! This is the best possible option! Sasuke can only be used to his full potential if he's working with the right people...at the right skill level!!" She shouted back, causing Junko to growl under his breath.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Junko was the one sitting in the middle of the table. The one Sasuke was eyeing so carefully. It seemed he was able to pick out the one that was going to be the hardest to convince.

"Look, he underwent punishment when he was last here. And I have reports of his behavior during that time." Tsunade nodded her head toward the door on her right. "Kalei!" She shouted.

Immediately, Sakura's eyes shot to the door. She all of a sudden felt on the defensive, and as she glanced at Sasuke, she seen him staring at the door as it opened. His eyes were wide.

The door opened and Kalei walked in slowly. She shut the door and made her way to the Hokage, passing Sasuke without sparing a glance. Her expression was calm and collected, while Sasuke eyed her confused.

Sakura nudged Naruto. "Naruto, what's she doing here?"

"I-I don't know..." He replied, his eyes watching what was going on in front of him.

"Council of Elders!" Kalei calmed firmly, turning to face the five men and women. She started walking up to the desk, pulling some papers out of her pocket. "Here I have reports of Sasuke Uchiha's behavior and actions over a period in which he served punishment. If you review them carefully, you'll see it meets your expectations." She reached the desk and rested the papers in front of Junko, who passed some out to the others.

Sasuke bit his lip. All those reports...what could they have said?

"Given the conditions met, he served punishment and passed with flying colors. I, Kalei Hitsuchi, give my personal recognition to this Leaf Shinobi." She stated, taking a few steps back.

Sasuke felt his heart jump. This was strange.

"And in my belief, if under your acceptance, my recognition should mean much. I personally observed him under this punishment and he showed no sign of suspicious activity...no means of any problems to the village. His reinstatement would surely be, in my opinion, a smart idea." She continued, taking a few steps back.

The elders whispered among themselves, making Tsunade nervous and twitchy. After a moment, Kalei turned around and started walking toward Tsunade. She stopped as she reached Tsunade's chair and bowed her head.

"Kalei, is that all the reports?" She asked nervously.

"Yes, Lady Hokage." Kalei replied, her monotone voice returning.

Sasuke glanced at her a couple times while trying to keep his focus directed on the panel of elders. But that wasn't working.

"Very well. If things go as planned, you'll receive proper thanks." Tsunade fidgeted in her chair once more and motion Kalei to step to the other side of her chair, opposite Sasuke.

"Yes, Lady Hokage." She replied once again, following Tsunade's motion.

A few seconds passed, and all the elders gathered the papers together and turned their attention back to Tsunade.

"Alright Tsunade. Tell us your plans." The elder, Bianko, requested.

The corner of Tsunade's lips raised and she nodded. "I will reinstate Sasuke Uchiha into the ANBU Black Ops, where he will work on missions directly related to the ongoing conflict with the Akatsuki. I plan to have him arranged on two squads...one for on-the-field action, and one for information-related missions. Preferably, in most circumstances, I will arrange to have him together with Naruto and Sakura...but as to not disrupt the squads of the other two, there will be a lot of mixing around. I'd also like for him to work a lot with Kalei, as I'm sure you'd prefer yourselves."

Sakura felt her breath catch in her throat. She bit her lip hard, trying not to swear. Naruto swallowed hard and patted Sakura on the back.

"You alright?" He asked curiously. Sakura nodded and kept her eyes on Sasuke's back. He was no longer clenching his fists.

But he was shocked. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze drifted to the floor. This could very well be awkward. But it was the perfect time for him to ask her what had happened over the period of time he was gone. Why was everything so different? Why was she so different?

"We would prefer this." Junko mumbled calmly, glancing from Sasuke to Kalei. "Ok, Tsunade...you have permission to go on with this as planned." He grumbled, slightly unhappy with this decision.

Sasuke smirked and Tsunade let out a heavy sigh.

"But do be warned...anymore iffy requests will not be granted Tsunade!" Junko bellowed as the elders started to get up and file out.

"Oh...of course not, Sir Junko." Tsunade chuckled, standing up. She took a few steps toward Junko. "But there is one more thing I'd like to discuss with you and the elders. But preferably...in private." She said, earning a nod from Junko. Tsunade nodded. "Then I'll meet you in the back room in ten." She said once more, and turned to walk back to the group huddling around Sasuke. Shizune had entered the room and was now conversing with Kalei a few feet from the other three.

"Sasuke, this rocks!" Naruto exclaimed happily, hitting Sasuke on the back. Sasuke glared at him, clearly not as thrilled as the knuckle headed blond.

"That was close, you idiot. Too close." Sasuke muttered, cracking his knuckles.

Sakura shrugged. "They just want whats best for the village. You haven't exactly..." Her words faded out as Sasuke now glared at her, waiting for her words. She drew her arm up against her chest, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Haven't exactly what...?" Sasuke asked, his tone threatening.

"Haven't...exactly been good for this village. You've caused problems. That's all I'm saying." She sighed.

Sasuke was ready to snap at her when Tsunade walked up to him, face to face with maybe an inch in between them. Her look was scary, showing him she had something serious to say.

"Look, Uchiha, I really stuck my neck out on the line for you! You better show some gratitude!" She spoke loudly into his face. He met her glare with one of his own, only his eyes were slightly wide.

"Y-yeah." He replied coolly.

Tsunade jabbed her finger at his chest lightly. "I'll get back to you on when your first assignment is. As of now, your headband will be delivered to the Uchiha estate in a day or two. Kalei has some papers you can take with you in the meantime, given you run into some kind of trouble and need proof of your ranking."

Sasuke nodded and Tsunade leaned in a bit more. "You're going to be working under Kalei for your first mission, to give the elders some assurance. And listen up, you screw anything up this time and I swear...personally, if I'm around...I'll see to it you get locked up and signed up for death row. Do you hear me? There's too much going on to take unnecessary chances."

Sasuke gritted his teeth together. What the fuck was she getting at? "Yes, Tsunade." He replied smartly.

"That's Lady Tsunade."

He turned his head to see Kalei standing to his right, a not-so-happy look of her own pointed at him. Sakura glared at Kalei from behind everybody else. What was it about that girl that made her so angry?

Kalei held her hand out with a small piece of paper as Tsunade walked over to Shizune.

"And it's Captian Hitsuchi from now on. Gimme' whatcha got, Uchiha." She said, as he reached out to grab the paper in her hand. His eyes met hers and she smirked a bit, sending chills through his body.

See, that was the Kalei he knew. She looked so cold the other day...but when she smiled...it was like nothing had changed.

He smirked back at her. "I call no one Captain."

"You will now." Sakura interrupted, stepping in between them. She was facing Kalei, a big sarcastic smile on her face. Sasuke took a step back as all of a sudden too many people seemed to be crowding into one area.

"He will now." Sakura repeated to Kalei. Kalei rolled her eyes and started to walk toward the door, leaving Sakura with a satisfied feeling. She didn't want Kalei near Sasuke, nor Sasuke near Kalei.

But that didn't mean she was jealous.

Naruto ran up to Kalei at the door and opened it for her, giving her a happy smile. She walked out and Naruto followed after, leaving Sakura and Sasuke in the room alone. Tsunade and Shizune had already preceded to the back room to meet with the elders one last time.

Sakura sighed and turned to Sasuke.

"Well, I guess it's a new start." She muttered lightly, causing Sasuke to nod.

"Speaking of a new start..." His words caught Sakura's attention and her eyes focused on him as he spoke. "Lets start over new. Forget...a year ago...over those few months..."

Sakura felt as though her heart had jumped into her throat. She couldn't find the words to say. But after a moment of awkward silence she nodded.

"Besides missions, we won't see each other much anyway. So, we won't have to deal with it. Don't make it more complicated." He continued, causing Sakura to nod once more. For some reason, she felt numb...rejected.

"S-sure. I don't know what makes you think I still care about you like that, but I don't. I wouldn't have it any other way." She spoke firmly, though she felt like she was trembling.

Sasuke sighed and nodded. "Good."

And he started walking right past her. It felt as though things had just slowed down. But after a moment, she heard the door open and shut behind her.

Now she was alone. In the silence of the room.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe.

She didn't love him anymore...

She didn't...

She didn't.

His eyes scanned the living room. Everything was the same as it had been. It was slightly cleaner, though. But it felt empty. It didn't have that same calming sensation as it did a year go. Why was that?

He left the living room and walked into the kitchen, turning on the faucet and getting out a cup. He filled it with cold water and shut the faucet off. Everything was quiet and it was about an hour until sunset. He had time to kill...but didn't know what to do. He could go train...but he didn't want to do anything unnecessary that would strain his eyes. His face was already feeling hot and his eyes were tired. He slowly brought the cup up to his lips and the cold feeling of the glass on his skin made him shiver a bit. As he took a small sip, he noticed something on the edge of the counter. It looked like some kind of fabric. It was dark and folded. He set the cup down and walked over to the fabric. His eyes widened.

They were gloves. And they looked familiar...

They were Sakura's gloves.

He groaned a bit, thinking how careless she was. She must have left them here the day she brought him back. And great...was it his job to return them?

Uhhh no.

He picked them up and looked at them a bit, thinking about how much she had grown over the first couple of years he had been gone. But thinking about that started to upset him, so he tossed the gloves onto the table in the middle of the kitchen, unfolding them from their neat figure.

He sighed and slowly made his way out of the kitchen and out of the house.

Maybe some fresh air would do him good.

"And you're not happy? The guy of your dreams comes back and you're not happy?"

"He's not the guy of my dreams. I mean-uh-yeah, he once was...but...well, you know...he isn't anymore."

"Sakura."

"Save it, Ino. He's such a jerk."

"He's just-"

"-A jerk."

Sakura and Ino were standing outside of the entrance to a new flower garden by the memorial statue. It had just been finished about two weeks ago and they both wanted to go in and see it. But they had agreed they would only go in there on a special occasion. The flower garden was called the 'Eternity Garden' that was supposed to honor and celebrate the life of the many shinobi that had died in battle. They were going to add more flowers every month for shinobi that had lost their lives or gone missing, so it was planned to keep getting larger and larger. Ino and Sakura decided together that they wouldn't step foot past the large vine-entangled gates until they had something special to go in for. In the middle of the garden, was a beautiful fountain with a memorial statue of the 5th Hokage in the middle. She was on her knee's with her head facing the sky. Her hair was let loose and she had a leaf headband in one hand, and the 1st hokage's necklace in the other. Tsunade had originally opposed the idea of this statue being put here, but the elders had told her that she was leading the village through a rough time, and deserved to be honored in such a way.

So Ino and Sakura were simply staring through the black gates at the path that lead into the flower garden.

When would that special time come for them to see it?

"But Sakura, when he left...you guys were on good terms. Didn't he promise to come back? I mean its so romantic...in this time of trouble it's like he's come back to save you!" Ino threw her arms up in the air and smiled while Sakura sighed heavily at her remark.

"In the time he was gone...I thought about the person I want to be..." Sakura thought back on the agonizing months he was gone. He had promised to come back to her in a short period. But it was a whole year...and he was so different than he used to be.

This wasn't her fault. It was his.

"Sakura...he's like your prince!" Ino spoke again, obviously imagining some handsome guy riding on a glamorous white horse to a castle to save a beautiful princess. How stupid.

Sakura smirked sadly at her friend. "The fairytale life isn't for me, Ino."

Ino grumbled a bit, her arms returning to her side. "You're so...hopeless."

"No. You're hopeless. I don't want to be like Cinderella. I don't need somebody saving me. I'm done waiting. I'll rescue myself." Sakura said, placing her hands on her hips. It was true. She was strong enough to not need anybody there for her.

Ino shrugged. "You just need somebody who's not afraid to show that he loves you."

Sakura nodded, a giggle escaping her lips. "Ino, I'm happy the way I am."

"But...Sasuke-"

"I'll be there for him as long as he'll be there for me. But that's it..." Sakura interrupted, making Ino frown and nod. Clearly, the argument was won.

"So what? Isn't it going to be awkward? You guys will have to see each other eventually..." Ino mumbled calmly. Sakura shook her head.

"Not really."

"Yes really." Ino pushed, causing Sakura to give her a confused look. "Sakura...you guys are both friends with Naruto...and Shikamaru...and all those other people. Think about it...don't forget that."

Forget...

All of a sudden Sakura took in a deep breath, remembering she didn't have her gloves today. She had left them at Sasuke's. No wonder she couldn't find them anywhere at home. How stupid could she get?!

"Damn it...house...Sasuke..." Ino heard bits of what Sakura was mumbling to herself, but couldn't catch it all. All of a sudden, something else caught her attention.

"Hey, umm...Sakura. Don't look now but...Sasuke's coming this way. From the right."

Sakura's eyes shot to Ino's, wide and shocked. Great, just the person she now needed to see.

Ino started walking past Sakura, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "Well, bye Sakura!" She waved goodbye as Sakura looked at her dumbfounded. Greeaaat! She was leaving her all alone, and she felt like an idiot with Sasuke walking right past her.

"Hey, Sasuke!" She heard Ino call. As she did, Sakura turned to see Sasuke only a few feet away from her, walking right towards her. His eyes were closed and his hands were in his pockets.

His calm composure...so annoying...

And almost as if he hadn't even seen her, he walked right past her, not even sparing a glance. By this point, Ino was gone, and it was just Sasuke, completely ignoring her...and Sakura...feeling incredibly stupid.

How suckish.

She just stood there listening to his slow footsteps getting farther away. Why did this feel so...weird?

Enough was enough. She slowly turned around to look at him...his back turned away from her. She needed to set this in stone. It needed to be said.

"We have the same friends...we're going to have to see each other eventually..."

He stopped slowly, not bother to turn around and look at her. He was a good distance from her though, and between the space...everything still felt very awkward.

Silence.

She decided to give it another go.

"My gloves are at your place...and you know I'm going to have to pick them up. So tell me how we're going to deal with that." Her voice was firm. To the point.

He stared at the ground for a moment, then turned to face her. Their eyes met instantly, and she could see a look of disappointment on his face.

"I've believed every word you said." His words didn't make sense to Sakura at first. "I believe you...all the way down to the point where you say you don't care about me anymore. So...what's the problem? There's nothing to deal with." He finished. His eyes were cold, making his brooding expression attractive...yet different.

Sakura nodded. "I can...come get them sometime. I don't need them anytime soon."

A moment of silence passed and Sakura watched as Sasuke looked toward the gates to the flower garden.

"It's new." He mumbled quietly.

Sakura cleared her throat. "Y-yeah. It's, uh, a garden for the shinobi in this village. Well, for the ones who have passed away. I've heard it's beautiful inside." She glanced at the gates then back at Sasuke. He was now giving her a look that questioned what she meant by 'she heard'. "Oh, I haven't been in there yet. I'm waiting." She repeated, nodding her head a bit. But he just looked at her...like 'what are you waiting for'? "Umm, for the right time to go in." She finished, now turning her gaze to the gates to avoid Sasuke's brooding stare.

"Right." He grumbled. He started walking away until Sakura's voice stopped him.

"You're happy right?"

He didn't look back at her.

"I mean...since you're working with her." Sakura repeated, voice sounding icy.

Kalei?

Sasuke just stared ahead, thinking about that. Was he really happy? What, honestly, was there to be happy about? This place wasn't exactly completely cheerful.

"I just...well, I believe you too." Sakura said loudly, causing Sasuke to smirk to himself a bit. She was clearly talking about his hinting that he didn't have feelings for her anymore. This seemed to be her way of trying to make everything comfortable and okay again.

He started walking again and let out a soft chuckle.

"Don't always believe me. I've lied." He spoke smoothly. Sakura just blinked a couple times. Was he lying about...

"Do you still...care-"

"Not about that." He cut her off, making her lips draw into a tight line.

Of course not.

But then...what was he lying about?

He continued walking and Sakura watched. It seemed she was always left behind watching his back. A small smile drew across her face. Maybe things weren't exactly normal right now...

But atleast they were okay.

Next Chapter

When It Was Me