Recap:
In a calm, quiet tone, Naruto whispered, "Sasuke…exactly how did you hurt her?"
Sasuke, now completely devoid of anger and emotion, slumped against a nearby tree.
For once, he decided, he needed his best friend's support.
With a huge intake of breath, Sasuke glanced up at Naruto, who was waiting calmly for Sasuke to talk, and looked down at the moist earth underneath his shoes.
Then, he began to quietly talk about the two weeks that Naruto was absent from, from the sweet beginning to the disastrous ending.
Chapter 12- If Only You Knew…
"So I can't do this anymore. After hurting her yesterday, I can't bear to face her," whispered Sasuke, still looking down at the ground, secretly fearful of what Naruto would say.
"…Wow…so that's what happened. You know, it doesn't seem like she's mad at you at all for hurting her. Heck, it seems like she doesn't even know," said Naruto.
"Even if she doesn't remember, even if she forgave me already, it doesn't change anything. Because I remember everything now and I don't forgive myself. Instead of healing her, I'm just doing the opposite. I always have. So I'm going to stop this now," said Sasuke, finally looking up at Naruto.
Naruto looked back with eyes of sympathy, "Sasuke, I'm sure everything will work out. Don't be too rash about this."
Sasuke sighed, "Naruto, I've already made my decision. I'm not going to change it," then he started walking back to the training area, convinced that Sakura already left.
Naruto looked down, his fierce eyes covered by his bangs, "…Then why don't you leave the village?"
Sasuke froze in place.
Naruto looked at Sasuke's back with fierce eyes, "If you think you're such a bad influence on Sakura, why aren't you thinking of leaving the village again?"
After a long pause, Sasuke finally whispered, "…You know I can't do that…"
Naruto glared, "Why not Sasuke? You've done it before," he said bitterly.
Sasuke turned around, with blazing Sharingan eyes, "Do you want me to leave? Just get up and leave, like I've never been here in the first place? You know I can do it if I want to."
"Yeah, you can. But you won't. You know why? Because you freaking love her, Sasuke. You love her so much that you can't risk hurting her anymore and are willing to just watch her from the sidelines. That's why you can't leave the village. You want to be with her, so badly that it hurts, but you think you don't deserve it. How stupid does that sound?"
Sasuke withdrew his Sharingan, suddenly appearing very tired and worn, "…Sacrificing my happiness for hers is love too," he said as he turned around and started walking again towards the training grounds.
Naruto quietly followed his friend and softly sighed in sorrow, "Sasuke, haven't you thought that your happiness and Sakura's happiness are intertwined together?"
When Naruto finally reached the training grounds, he saw Sasuke's frozen figure and hard eyes locked at something on the ground. When he looked over, he was surprised to see Sakura in Hinata's arms, unconscious. Hinata looked up at Naruto and with a sorrowful expression, nodded once. Sasuke remained silent and rigid.
"After you left into the forest, Sakura-chan fell to her knees. Then suddenly, she fainted in my arms. I checked over her with basic healing techniques, and she appears to be fine. But I think her bed will be better for her to rest than this ground," said Hinata, carefully watching Sasuke's expression turn from shock, to concern, to blank.
"Sasuke, I think you should take her to her home," said Naruto, looking over at his friend.
"Naruto, I can't—"
"Please, Sasuke. Just this once. For Sakura-chan."
Sasuke, after a long, blank look at Naruto, then Sakura, slowly bent down, placed his arms under Sakura's head and knees, and picked her up from Hinata. He then proceeded to silently walk out of the training grounds without a single word to the two left behind.
Hinata worriedly looked at Naruto, "Naruto-kun…I feel so bad for both of them. Is there any way we can help?"
Naruto looked at Hinata, and then at Sasuke's retreating figure, "I don't know Hinata. But I hope they will work things out together."
Thankfully, Sakura's apartment wasn't too far from the training grounds. Not that Sakura was heavy, but Sasuke couldn't help but look down at Sakura's face, and it unnerved him. Naruto's words from before echoed in his mind over and over again.
"You know why? Because you freaking love her, Sasuke."
Sasuke finally reached Sakura's apartment, pulled out the spare key from under the doormat (which Sakura told him about in case of emergencies), and went inside. He then walked to her bedroom and placed Sakura gently onto her bed. As he pulled away, he noticed a tear running down Sakura's cheek. Then another on the other side. Then another. Tears kept on falling from her closed eyes, and the sight broke Sasuke.
"She's crying, again. I always make her cry," thought Sasuke brokenheartedly as he continued to look down at Sakura.
"Well, this might be the last time I come in contact with her. Might as well make the best of it, even though I might regret it later," thought Sasuke as he reached down to wipe her tears away with his thumbs, then proceeded to lightly place his lips on her cheek.
Sasuke then pulled away and looked one last time at her face, engraving it into the back of his dark mind.
"Goodbye Sakura," he whispered as he turned and left without a backward glance.
When the front door was quietly shut, all was still and silent in the house.
Then suddenly, Sakura woke up with a gasp.
"Sasuke-kun!"
After frantically looking around the room and realizing that he was gone, Sakura looked down at her folded hands in front of her.
"Oh Sasuke…if only you knew…"
Many days have passed by since that incident in the forest, and no one, not even Naruto and Hinata, and especially not Sasuke or Sakura, spoke about it. Sakura, despite Hinata's concerned wishes for her to get some rest, claimed that she was perfectly fine and healthy and delved into her work with the usual vigor and passion. Sasuke haven't been seen in a couple days and many people were wondering what happened to him. Some people claimed he must be locking himself up in his great mansion while some other opinions bitterly assumed that he abandoned the village again. In truth, and known only to Naruto, Sasuke have just been doing the usual routine—eat, sleep, and train. To everyone else, all seemed completely normal, but to Naruto and Hinata, they could see the sadness and emptiness deep within their two friends.
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" yelled Naruto in frustration and stood up from his seat at Ichiraku's, momentarily ceasing his consumption of ramen.
Hinata, who was sitting next to him and eating as well, turned over and asked, "what are you talking about, Naruto-kun?"
"I'm talking about Sasuke and Sakura! Do they seriously think that they can just ignore and dodge each other and all will be fine?" Naruto sat back down and began to slurp the noodles furiously.
"Like I don't get it," mumbled Naruto, mouth full of ramen, "they are the smartest people I know, of course including you Hinata-chan, yet they can't even see what's in front of them! I swear that it's times like these that I'm more intelligent than they are!"
"Oh Naruto-kun, you're always intelligent, people just don't see it realize it right away. As for Sasuke-san and Sakura-chan, it hurts me to see them so distant when they truly have feelings for each other. Before even thinking about Sakura-chan's memories, I think bringing the two back on mutual terms is our top priority right now," said Hinata.
"Hmm….to bring them back together, if only there was something or someway…." Naruto thought aloud.
Suddenly, Hinata's head jerked up, "Wait, Naruto-kun! I think I have an idea! The Konoha Shinobi Ball!"
"The Ball! The—wait a minute. Hina-chan, I know you're excited to go and have a great time with me, but that doesn't mean Sasuke and Sakura will feel the same way. Knowing them, they will never decide to go!" said Naruto.
Hinata looked over at him with an amused glint in her eyes, "Exactly. So this is what we do…"
To be continued….
Hmm…I wonder what Hinata's brilliant plan will be. Any guesses?
By the way, sorry for the LOOOOONG delay everyone! I've been rather busy with college and personal stuff that I forgot about my beloved story. But hopefully I'll be able to update more often? Perhaps now that Thanksgiving and winter break is coming up?
Also, if you can, please leave a review! It's always heartwarming to see that people are enjoying my stories ^^
And for those of us on the east coast, be safe in the midst of hurricane Sandy!
Love, Cilla ^^