Leaving
Sasuke stared up at the large red gates of Konoha, his bag slung over his shoulder . Although he was leaving under the cover of darkness again his heart wasn't as heavy as it had been when he was twelve. Last time he'd left in search of power…this time it was for himself.
Konoha made him stagnant.
Unstable.
There was still so much he had to figure out about himself that he couldn't find behind the walls of the village. To them, he would always be a traitor. Inwardly he didn't feel as if he belonged. Perhaps that was why he'd become so attached to a woman he couldn't have. Perhaps that's why her presence had felt a refuge. Everything about Hyuuga Hinata had felt like a home…a home that wasn't his.
"Uchiha." The guard gate said stiffly.
Sasuke tore his eyes away from the red arch and handed the shinobi his mission scroll. His first out of village mission since the war had ended. An extended excuse for him to be away signed and sealed by Kakashi himself. The Uchiha scoffed as the man read over the missive skeptically, mistrustful of his intentions. After nearly ten minutes he could find nothing amiss and handed the scroll back reluctantly.
"Safe travels Uchiha." The shinobi grunted before returning to his post.
He returned the parting words with a short nod of his own and took his first step outside of the village gates. He could hear the raucous chaos of the Winter festival behind him. The sky lit up with spectacular fireworks for the events and cheers were carried by the wind. He should have said goodbye but he'd never been good at doing that. Sakura had tried to make him stay, by now she'd probably told Naruto he was leaving.
Naruto would have tried harder to dissuade him.
Hinata would have succeeded.
It was for the best that he didn't say goodbye. He didn't want to stay. Maybe one day he would want to but not right now. Not yet. There was a lot he needed to sort out for himself first.
Adjusting his bag once more, Sasuke took another step forward. And another and another until the gate no longer loomed behind him. Until the fireworks were but a distant booming.
Until the sun rose and set again.
Until the landscape changed from forest to sand to snow…