Kei-Kei Yuki: Ladies and Gentlemen the end is near, prepare yourselves, though, after the hold VOTE arc, I may do a few filler chapters before skipping straight into Shippuden
Beta: Ana-DaughterofHades
Decision
After a fateful encounter with four individuals, Sasuke sat with his back against the wall and contemplated his decision and the reactions that certain people would have once they learned of his choice. Disappointment. Anger. Grief. Sasuke summoned a few examples to mind, but even after he finally made up his mind, the last Uchiha couldn't stop himself from reflecting back on memories he shared with a certain loud blonde.
"Oh, teme! I come bearing presents!" Hearing Naruko's loud voice blaring throughout his home, Sasuke couldn't stop his lips from quirking a smirk.
'Speaking of the devil.' Picking himself up from off the ground of his bedroom floor, Sasuke walked past the bags he packed for his journey and made his way to the kitchen where Naruko was awaiting him. Standing in the entrance, Sasuke saw a brown basket sitting on top of his table and Naruko rummaging through his fridge.
Such a sight started to become a regular occurrence for the sole Uchiha that he realized this would be the last time he would experience it. Walking into the kitchen, Sasuke pulled Naruko away from his fridge. "Dobe, just what are you looking for?" After being pulled away from the refrigerator, Naruko took a seat at the table.
"I was looking for something to drink."
"I have some cold ice-tea, I'll fix you a cup." Sasuke pulled out a medium container of cold ice-tea and began pouring some in a cup for Naruko.
"Wow, I can't believe the great Sasuke-teme is so generous to me today. Have you finally decided to stop being such a jerk?" Sasuke could hear the sarcasm in Naruko's voice but said nothing. Watching for the moment, she wasn't paying attention to see him slip something into her drink.
Setting her drink down in front of her, Sasuke sat across from Naruko, silently listening to all these things she had to say without any criticism. He took this time to memorize every facial feature and gesture before he would part ways with the girl who barged into his life unannounced and made life seem somewhat more bearable despite his traumatic past.
"Look, teme, I made onigiri! I even put those stupid tomatoes you love so much in them!" grinned Naruko, after opening the basket and showing the row of onigiris stacked neatly inside. Seeing this, Sasuke realized just how much he was going to miss the blonde's cooking, once again feeling himself questioning his decision. But every time he thought of his older brother and of Naruko surpassing and leaving him behind, only to encounter Itachi on her own and be taken permanently away from him like the rest of his clan.
Sasuke reassured himself that this was the best decision and that he would not regret this path that he decided to take for himself. "Teme, you're weirdly quiet today." Sasuke watched as Naruko reached and gulped some of the tea. Knowing that this would be the last time they would spend together, Sasuke remained silent and kept his eyes solely on Naruko.
"Teme, it's weird... how you keep... staring at me-Why do I... feel so sleepy all of a sudden?" Naruko felt her eyelids getting heavy; yawns kept escaping from her mouth, and no matter how much she tried to fight, sleep kept creeping on her.
"Teme... What did you do?" Naruko instantly knew Sasuke had something to do with her state, noticing how the air around him was different, but more than that, his eyes had changed.
Sasuke watched as Naruko kept rubbing at her eyes, fighting to stay awake, but in the end fell victim to it. Her last vision of Sasuke was him sitting emotionless across from her, wondering why those onyx orbs displayed remorse, and for a split second felt a sense of deja vu. It was as if she experienced a similar moment, a shadow of a figure resembling Sasuke overlapping the present one, but she was unable to recall the full memory.
Once Naruko was utterly asleep, Sasuke grabbed his bag and was ready to walk out the door, only to pause and stare at the plate of onigiri Naruko made for him and packed them as well. Hand on the doorknob, Sasuke shot one last look at Naruko. "It was fun, dobe." A slight smile made its way onto his face as he fought the urge that demanded him to stay beside her.
"This is the only path that will allow me to become stronger. This is the only way... I can protect you." Sealing his heart, Sasuke twisted the doorknob and left, leaving Naruko oblivious to the heartbreak that awaited her when she opened her eyes in the morning.
End of Decision