Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Naruto characters. This story is purely fictional.
Chapter 2
The hot sun was still blazing in the sky as the afternoon weather burned with heat and humidity. A gust of wind blew every once in awhile, causing the trees in the forest to sway and rustle its leaves. The forests’ inhabitants, the animals, can be seen washing themselves in the river to cool themselves from the extreme heat. It was truly a hot day in Konoha.
At the spot where Team 7 usually trained, the weather was no better. The empty piece of land, made up of only three poles for training purposes was even hotter without the shelter of the surrounding trees. And it was here where the meeting that a certain jounin had arranged for Team 7 was supposed to commence at four o’ clock.
Uchiha Sasuke was currently standing under the shelter of a tall, oak tree as he waited for the arrival of his teammates. He had been told earlier that morning by Kakashi-sensei that there was a meeting there regarding their latest mission. So here he was, waiting for the arrival of the rest of his team. The seventeen year old boy was tall and lean, as he rested his back on the tree. He had beautiful, dark eyes which always held an uninterested look about them but burned with intensity whenever he faced his enemies. His hair was a dark raven colour, the soft bangs framing his face whilst a small part of his hair stuck up at the back. He had a very fair and smooth complexion which caused his skin to glow even in the darkest of places, like an angel in disguise. His outfit consisted only of a plain, black shirt and a pair of short black pants, which contrasted greatly with his pale skin. And as always, his shirt bore the Uchiha’s family crest on the back. It was the official mark of the Uchiha clan which was famous for its advanced bloodline, the Sharingan. And lastly, on his forehead, was the Konoha forehead protector.
Sasuke raised his hand and gently touched his forehead protector. He felt the cool metal beneath his fingers as he felt the outline of the Konoha symbol on the middle part of the forehead protector. He reminisced as the hot breeze of the afternoon ruffled his hair and clothes.
A few years back, Sasuke had made a terrible mistake. He had betrayed Konoha by following the evil fiend, Orochimaru, who was a traitor to Konoha village. Orochimaru had created forbidden jutsu’s which included using human sacrifices causing him to be exiled from the village. Casting his responsibilities as a Konoha shinobi away, Sasuke had chosen his own selfish reasons over the village. He had been too caught up, too reckless in his quest of trying to fulfill his revenge. He had wanted to gain the ultimate power, the power he had then believed would have enabled him to carry out his revenge, and defeat the man that had taken everything away from him….. his brother, Uchiha Itachi. A being with the infinite power whom even Orochimaru was afraid of…. It was only 2 years ago that Naruto had managed to pull Sasuke back out of the darkness that surrounded him. Naruto had fought hard and forcibly taken him out of the evil that was devouring him from within. Naruto had saved him…… And he was very thankful for that. He was given the chance to live again. If it hadn’t been for Naruto, he would have died. If it hadn’t been for Naruto, his existence would have disappeared. If Naruto had even been a bit later in rescuing him, Sasuke would have been a gone case and Orochimaru would have possessed his body, and his Sharingan along with it.
The people of Konoha had been kind to him. They had forgiven him and didn’t blame him for his faults but instead, welcomed him back with open arms. Sure, there were some who hadn’t accepted him back at first, but they too had eventually learned to trust him again after a period of time and allowed him to be a part of the village once more. The Fifth Hokage however, couldn’t let this issue go so easily. As the highest ranked person in the village, it was her duty to uphold the justice in the system. She had a reputation to live up to and it would be most unfair for Sasuke to get off the hook so easily. She had to take action against his act of betrayal or it would mean a great disrespect to the village of Konoha and all its ninja’s.
After many hours of long discussions with the elders of the village, the Fifth Hokage had finally decided on a punishment for him. He was suspended from going on important missions and was reduced to taking the lower ranking missions for a period of time. He was also suspended from going on solo missions. This was most embarrassing as shinobis of his age were already commonly going on solo missions. When he was allowed to go on missions, he was to be monitored by either a chuunin or a jounin as he carried out his missions. He was not allowed to do his missions alone at all times. This had went on for quite some time and Sasuke was only just recently allowed to take part in the more important or solo missions himself as the elders finally saw it fit to end his punishment term. However, there was a condition. If Sasuke was ever found to have betrayed Konoha again or to have done anything which is against the village’s orders, he would automatically be exiled from the village. There would be no second chance. Although he had suffered the consequences, he never once lamented about his punishment. Personally, he had felt that he deserved every bit of it. In fact, he thought that the punishment was considerably light. The kindness of the Konoha villagers had deeply touched Sasuke. He had then admitted his regret over his serious mistake and vowed to never betray or to go against Konoha in any way ever again. He had sworn upon himself then that he will serve Konoha with his life. He would never break the condition that Konoha had set for him. He didn’t want to be exiled. He would stay faithful to Konoha and its orders no matter what. Now, Sasuke was a chuunin ranked shinobi in the village and had since, never gone back on his vow.
A sudden gust of wind blew roughly over the training grounds and immediately brought Sasuke back to his senses as he remembered his reason for being here in the first place. It was still a quarter to four, but he had been here as early as half past three. His reason for being so early was due to the fact that he needed the time and peace to think. He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. Conflicting emotions rose up in his chest as memories of last night flooded his mind.
Last night, Sakura had visited him at his residence at the Uchiha manor. She had said that she had wanted to talk to him about something. He had been reluctant about it at first and was in the midst of declining her invitation when he had noticed her expression. There was an expression on her face that he couldn’t read. Her eyes which used to channel her emotions like an open book were closed to him the night before. There had been something off about the pink haired shinobi. His inability to read her emotions at that time had caused him to agree to go out with her.
He frowned as he remembered the events that had taken place on their ‘date’ after that. It couldn’t exactly be called a date as they had spent most of it in silence. This had also further fueled Sasuke’s suspicions that something was seriously wrong, as Sakura was usually chattering away about something or another. This change of characteristic had not gone unnoticed by the dark haired boy.
They had had dinner first at a small café in town. Sakura didn’t eat much and was constantly staring off at space, lost in her own little world. Sasuke had felt increasingly worried, seeing his friend so troubled. Yes, he considered Sakura a friend. Sure, he had said time and time again that she was annoying, but even then, she had continued to care for him. She was always there for him and never once did her loyalty to him waver. And Sasuke appreciated that. He had grown to care for her too during the past 2 years, but only as a close friend.
After dinner, they had taken a walk around town. They had once again spent most of it in companionable silence. After awhile, they had ended up at a certain location near the edge of the village. It was there when Sakura had stopped dead in her tracks as if she had been planning to come to this place all along. It was the very spot that seemed fated just for them. It was the spot beside the bench, the spot that Sakura had tried to stop Sasuke from joining Orochimaru many years ago. And it was here that Sasuke had finally found out what was troubling Sakura so much…… Sasuke let out another sigh as he recalled the scene that had taken place at that particular place the night before…
‘No. I don’t want to think about it. Not now. Not yet…..’
The dark haired boy then looked up, safely locking his troubled thoughts right at the back of his mind. He stared around at his surroundings and briefly wondered how long more he needed to wait before his friends arrived. It should be around four by now but none of his teammates seemed to be here yet. He concluded on waiting a little while longer.
As time slowly crawled by, Sasuke stated to frown. They were definitely late by now. It had to be after four already but… where were they? Sasuke had long since gotten used to Kakashi-sensei’s habit of always arriving late, but it seemed rather unusual for Naruto and Sakura to be late as well! Sasuke folded his arms across his chest as a flicker of worry and annoyance crossed his face.
“What’s taking them so long…?”
Just as Sasuke was contemplating on whether or not he should just return to the village to look for them, he heard the sound of a slight rustle of leaves brushing against fabric somewhere above him. He turned his head upwards to identify the person who had just arrived. Up on a tree branch, Sasuke saw blond hair, blue eyes and a lot of orange. Naruto.
Naruto was panting heavily, as if he had been running for miles, which he probably did, his body bended forwards and hands on his sides. Sasuke allowed the blonde to rest for awhile before he decided to speak up.
“You’re late,” the dark haired boy stated the obvious, his eyes narrowed.
“Ah, sorry about that!” Naruto wheezed out as he tried to catch his breath. “I was training real hard this morning so I guess I got kinda worn out, so, after having breakfast, I took a nap! And, uh….. I guess I overslept. Heh….”
Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly as he explained his reason for being late, a light blush colored his cheeks out of embarrassment. Unbeknownst to the blonde, the dark haired boy was staring up at him with an expression of well-hidden fondness.
“Naruto looks so cute with that silly grin….”
Naruto then looked up. He looked to his left, his right and all over the forest. He seemed to have just noticed that there were only the two of them there. The other half of Team 7 was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, Sasuke….where’s Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked.
“I don’t know,” Sasuke answered shrugging. “They’re not here yet.”
“That’s weird…. Sakura-chan is never late.” Naruto frowned. Sasuke just kept silent.
“I know, Naruto. I don’t understand it either. Unless…..”
Memories of the night before started to flash across his eyes. Sasuke froze on his spot underneath the tree.
“No. It can’t be because of that, could it? No… it CAN’T be because of last night….. can it? She wouldn’t do anything stupid… would she?”
Sasuke tried uncertainly to convince himself that Sakura’s lateness was due to other reasons as he felt panic and worry starting to rise rapidly in within him. There could be many other reasons for Sakura being late. Many perfectly normal reasons. He shouldn’t get too uptight…. not yet….. But still, Sakura had been acting weird last night…
As Sasuke battled with the thoughts within his mind, he hadn’t noticed that the blonde had been observing him and his reactions. Naruto had been watching the taller boy from on top of the tree branch as he was thinking, keeping an eye out on his facial expressions for clues as to what was bothering Sakura. The blonde had sworn to figure out what was going on, and he planned to keep his word. And since Sasuke seemed to know something about it or perhaps he was involved after all judging by the expression on his face, so it seemed like the best place for Naruto to begin the investigation with. After a brief pause, Naruto decided to ask out loud.
“Sasuke……..” Naruto called.
Sasuke looked up. He was surprised to see the look of utmost seriousness on Naruto’s face. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
“What?” he asked in that cold, drawling voice.
There was another pause, in which Naruto had a thoughtful expression on his face. Jumping down from the tree, he landed right beside Sasuke and turned to look at the dark haired boy directly, their eyes meeting.
“Do you know what’s wrong with Sakura-chan?”
Sasuke’s body tensed. Looking straight into Naruto’s eyes, Sasuke felt captured. He was captivated in those blue depths which were Naruto’s eyes. He was drowning….. drowning in the eyes of the blonde haired boy, the boy who had caught his interest, the boy who had grown to be more than a friend to Sasuke...
“Sasuke?”
Regaining his senses, Sasuke diverted his eyes away, fighting a blush that was threatening to spread on his face in embarrassment. His heartbeat quickened as he fought for control, his eyes roaming everywhere except for on Naruto.
‘I don’t know,” the Uchiha answered a little too quickly.
“You don’t know what’s wrong with Sakura-chan?”
Sasuke shook his head again to reaffirm his answer. Naruto’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Sasuke, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“I don’t believe you,” the blonde finally stated.
“What do you mean you don’t believe me?”
“Hell! I mean what I mean! I don’t believe you! You’re lying! I know you’re hiding something from me! You know what’s going on! I just know it!” Naruto shouted, his voice rising with each sentence. He felt his anger rising quickly. He knew that there was something that the Uchiha was not telling him and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all.
Sasuke frowned, feeling annoyed.
“I’m not hiding anything from you. Don’t be stupid, you dobe.”
“Shut up, you bastard! Don’t call me that!” Naruto snarled back. His eyes which were a colour of bright blue just a moment before, had now darkened with anger.
They glared at each other angrily. Although it was really only Naruto who was truly angry. Sasuke just feigned anger as well-hidden sadness and frustration welled up familiarly in his heart. Seeing the overwhelming dislike in the blonde’s eyes, he felt hurt… It really hurt…
“Why do I always make him angry…? Why do I always make him hate me even more….? Why can’t he see how much I care for him…?”
Sasuke felt his emotions starting to rise up in within him and quickly suppressed them, once again hiding his true feelings successfully from the blonde, and from everyone else at that. Naruto was just about to make another biting remark at Sasuke when he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. The sound came from somewhere behind the trees, just beyond view. The footsteps drew nearer and nearer as the unidentified person came closer. Finally, the person came forward and stood at the edge of the clearing, just between the two boys. It was Sakura.
“Sakura-chan! You’re finally here!”
The pink haired girl who had been staring at the ground looked up at the sound of Naruto’s voice. Seeing Naruto, she gave him a small smile.
“Naruto…….”she nodded in acknowledgement. Turning slowly, her eyes landed on the Uchiha heir. Her smile seemed to waver slightly. “Sasuke-kun……”
Not missing Sakura’s weird reaction again, Naruto frowned as Sasuke nodded back in return to show that he’d heard Sakura’s greeting. There was a look of relief on Sasuke’s face when Sakura showed up. Feeling a bit irritated now at his prolonged ignorance, Naruto opened his mouth to question them both when a light ‘poofing’ sound interrupted him again. There was Kakashi-sensei, in his usual jounin outfit, up on top of the tree branch that Naruto had been standing on earlier. Naruto sighed. For once, he wished that Kakashi-sensei was just a little bit later.
“Yo. Sorry about that. Been waiting long?” Kakashi asked.
When nobody answered, Kakashi raised his eyebrow. Sensing something off about his three younger companions, he scanned the expression on each of their faces.
Naruto looked agitated, as usual. Perhaps he had had a fight with Sasuke again. Sasuke had his bored and unconcerned expression on his face again but Kakashi wasn’t fooled. He could tell that there was something bothering his dark haired student. Sakura however looked the most worrisome. The kunoichi seemed to be extremely troubled and looked uncomfortable being there.
“Hmmm…..” Kakashi wondered in his mind. He wondered what had happened in between the three of his students but decided against asking.
“They’re old enough to handle their own personal problems. I don’t want to be nosy. They’ll have to deal with these things themselves or they’ll never learn,” he thought to himself.
“Well! As you all know, the reason I called all of you here is to discuss our latest mission. It’s a C ranked mission.”
Naruto groaned.
“What! A lousy C ranked mission! Why do we have to do such a small mission? That granny should know that we deserve a much higher ranked mission than this!”
Kakashi shook his head.
“Naruto, you shouldn’t complain. Orders are orders. You have to do it. Anyway, for this mission, we will be traveling to the Hidden Village of Mist. Apparently, the customer wants us to retrieve something from there. The customer is an old man, with no relatives left, so he needs us shinobis to help him collect his stuff for him.”
“Humph!” Naruto sulked. “This will be boring!”
“When will this mission take place?” Sasuke asked.
“We’ll be going in two days time. So get ready by then.”
All three of the younger ninjas nodded their heads in affirmation.
“Yosh! Then that’s it for the meeting. See you all in two days.” Kakashi turned to go but stopped midway. Slowly, he turned back to face them all. He was still on top of the tree branch. He paused for a moment before finally speaking.
“By the way, I can tell that you guys have some issues to resolve. So, try and fix it up before the mission, ok? Remember, teamwork is important!”
And with that, Kakashi gave them one final wave before disappearing once again, leaving the three younger shinobis alone once more.
Naruto glanced from Sakura to Sasuke and back to Sakura again as he contemplated asking again. Just as he opened his mouth to ask, he was interrupted for the second time. This time by Sasuke.
“I’m going home,” the brunette stated.
“Wait! I wanna know what’s going on before any of you disappears again!” Naruto demanded.
Both Sakura and Sasuke kept their silence. This went on for about 10 seconds until Naruto lost his patience.
“WELL?” he asked.
Silence again. Naruto felt his temper rising. Just when he was about to start shouting again, Sasuke stood up straight.
“I’m leaving,” he announced.
“No! You’re not going anywhere until I get an explanation!”
“There’s nothing to explain!”
“Liar!”
“Dobe!”
“Stop it!” Sakura suddenly shouted.
The two boys turned to look at her. The pink haired girl had her brows furrowed as she stared at the both of them. For a moment, her expression was finally revealed for all to see. Pain and sorrow. But her pained expression disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Bewildered, Naruto started to question her again but was stopped midway.
“Stop it, Naruto. There’s nothing for you to know. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, so stop already. It’s not any of your business.”
Naruto froze. Sakura’s words had stung. He felt hurt. All he’d wanted was to help her… Naruto hung his head slightly as his body slumped, his eyes on the ground. Seeing this, Sasuke glared at Sakura. She didn’t notice. He had felt worried again when he saw the pain in her eyes but that didn’t mean she could just take it all out on Naruto.
“How dare she say that to Naruto!”
However, Sasuke continued to keep silent. Seeing the damage that she had caused, Sakura sighed slightly.
“…..I’m sorry, Naruto…. I didn’t mean it.”
“……….Its ok”
“No matter what you do Sakura-chan, no matter how much you hurt me… Its always okay…..”
The look in Naruto’s eyes during the exchange was not unnoticed by the dark haired boy. Silence set in once more for a few moments. It was broken by Sasuke announcing his leave.
“…..I’m going now……”
And with that, Sasuke disappeared into the forest, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone.
“…..I’m going now……”
Naruto just watched as Sasuke left. He didn’t try to stop him this time. It was obvious that Sasuke didn’t want to discuss the matter then so there was just no point in forcing him to stay. So he just stood there, watching as the other boy left, his figure disappearing into the shelter of the trees.
Now, Naruto turned to Sakura. She seemed to have sunk back into her own thoughts. Her eyes had an empty look about them, giving off the feeling of misery and helplessness. Naruto started to feel frustrated again.
“What was wrong with her? Why is she being so difficult? What’s going on?”
“Sakura-chan……”
At the sound of her name, the pink haired girl slowly looked up. Her eyes slightly out of focus as she stared at Naruto. The blonde shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the strange glaze in her eyes.
“Ano, Sakura-chan……… Please… tell me what’s wrong!… I…I can’t help you if you don’t want to tell me anything… Please…. let me help you……”
Naruto practically begged, his eyes pleading. He really hated to see his friend so troubled. He really wanted to help and no matter how much they scolded him, took advantage of him or even hated him…...he still wanted the best for them. Moreover when it involved Sakura…. his childhood crush.
Sakura just stared back at the blonde. She seemed to be thinking over the blonde’s reasoning. She sighed. Her thoughts were really messed up right now, she just couldn’t think straight. She didn’t know what to do, or what to even think about this whole issue. She contemplated it for awhile, before she finally decided that it was time to be honest. After all, Naruto had truly sounded sincere when he said he wanted to help her…
“… Its… really nothing, Naruto….” Sakura started.
Naruto was about to open his mouth to protest again when she continued.
“Last night, I… I went to see Sasuke….”
“So it did have something to do with that bastard after all,” Naruto thought. He nodded as a sign that he was listening.
“Uh huh. What about it?” Naruto asked, folding his arms in front of his chest, as he leaned his body against a tree trunk, slightly jealous. “She never bothered to come visit me before…… Sigh… This could take awhile…
Sakura then looked up, as her eyes finally met Naruto’s. It was then Naruto saw Sakura’s true feelings once again. There was pain in her eyes… and misery. Her eyes were glazed over with unshed tears as her emotions were on full display. Seeing this, Naruto started towards Sakura but stopped when she held out a hand to stop him. She took a shaky breath and finally, she started to tell the truth of what happened the night before…
-Flashback (Last night)-
The neighborhood was quiet as only the sound of light footsteps can be heard in the distance. The sun had only just set, but already the sky was a colour of dark, midnight blue. The street which was usually full of activity was empty, as most of the neighborhood’s inhabitants were in their houses, having dinner.
Sakura walked through the neighborhood alone, her footsteps quick and light. Her training as a shinobi allowed her to move stealthily through the night, without her presence being known to anyone. She walked quickly as she hurried towards her destination. Her face had a glow about it. It was full of pure determination.
She walked faster and faster until… she finally reached the house that she was seeking. She stopped. The house was just a few steps away now. Catching her breath slightly, she breathed in deeply, closing her eyes as she remembered the reason she was here, her heart thumping faster…
“Come on girl! You spend years getting ready for this moment and now you’re telling me you’re backing out?” she scolded herself.
Strengthening her resolve, she braved herself to do what she was supposed to do here in the first place. Gripping her fists tightly at her sides, she took the last few steps to the front door of the house that she was heading to.
Finally, she was standing outside the huge house. The house was very big and stood out among the other houses on the street. This was of course, nothing to be surprised about, as this house belonged to one of the most prestigious families in Konoha, the Uchihas.
Standing outside the door, Sakura inhaled deeply, readying herself for what she was about to do. She felt a bit shaky and was shivering slightly from the chilly, night air. Her heartbeat now so quick, she felt suffocated.
“Well, this is it, I guess… I hope everything goes well… Here goes…” And with that, Sakura finally bit back her fears, and rang the doorbell to the Uchiha manor. She could hear the hollow sound of knocking echoing throughout the whole house. Soon enough, she could hear footsteps from the other side of the door.
Sakura’s heart skipped a beat. Her body started shaking violently and her mind became numb with fear. The footsteps were coming closer. She started to panic.
“Oh no! What the hell am I doing? I must’ve been crazy to do this! He’s coming! What to do? What to do? No, I have to do this! I’ve waited too long! But…NO! I can’t!” all sorts of thoughts ran through Sakura’s head. She didn’t know what to do. As she was still panicking at her spot outside the door of the Uchiha’s manor, the door finally opened, revealing the only survivor of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Sasuke.
“Ah, Sakura… Its you...” he said.
“Hai, Sasuke-kun…” she paused.
Sasuke stared at her questioningly, waiting for her to state her reason for visiting him. There was something off about the pink haired girl tonight. Her body was shaking a little and her eyes were fixed on the ground. He waited for her to speak. When she didn’t, he frowned slightly out of impatience and curiosity. He waited awhile before deciding to ask first since she didn’t seem ready to start talking anytime soon.
“So… what do you want? Is… anything wrong?”
Sakura looked up at the sound of the dark haired boy’s voice.
“Well, it was now or never.” And with that, she finally started to speak.
“Ano… Sasuke-kun. I…I need to talk to you. Can you… can you go out with me for tonight?” she asked timidly.
Sasuke frowned upon hearing her request.
“Is this another one of her attempts to go out on a date with me again?”
“… Sakura…” he started, about to decline her invitation. Seeing this, Sakura quickly spoke up again.
“No! Sasuke-kun! This… this is really important! I… I really need to talk to you about something! Please… just this one time?”
Sasuke was not convinced. She did seem rather desperate. But that was still no reason for him to go out with her. The Uchiha wasn’t someone to be easily pushed around.
“Sakura… I don’t feel like going out tonight. I’m sorry.” Normally the stoic boy won’t apologize for anything in the world but this was Sakura. And Sakura was a special case. She was one of his closest friends, and also one of the most important people to him. He never wanted to hurt her, but he could never reciprocate her feelings. “Not as long as there is… him…”
Sakura looked beyond disappointed. Her face crumpled slightly and her body shook even more violently than before. But most of all, her eyes shone with an unreadable expression.
“S…S…Sou …ka…..” she said, her voice shook as well.
Sasuke’s brow furrowed. Normally, she would take his rejection better. She would still be disappointed, but she never acted this way before. Today, she seemed utterly devastated with her whole body trembling and that wild, unreadable look on her face. He felt worried seeing her like this and his inability to read the emotions that were flickering in her eyes was also increasing his worries.
“I… Its o…o …kay… Sa… Sa … Sasuke-kun,” she stuttered out. “I… I’m so…sorry to… have bothered you… I… I’ll go now…”
Sakura felt disappointed. She was beyond disappointed. There was an indescribable feeling in her heart. A huge amount of pressure was pressing onto her, suffocating her, rendering her unable to speak articulately. She couldn’t help it. When Sasuke had declined to go out with her, she felt the huge weight in her heart press down on her. She just couldn’t handle the disappointment. She had been rejected so many times… and every time, she just held in her feelings of disappointment… until now. It was just too much…
“Why? Why won’t he even give me a chance? Why won’t he even let me talk to him? Am I that unimportant to him…?”
Sakura turned to walk away. She had only taken two steps heading back out of the Uchiha’s territory when she was stopped by a soft voice.
“… Wait.” The smooth sound of the dark haired boy’s voice caused Sakura to freeze on the spot. Slowly, the seventeen year old female chuunin, turned her head back, her brilliant, green eyes meeting dark ones. She barely dared to breathe.
“I’ll go out with you,” Sasuke stated.
Sakura’s heart skipped a beat as she whirled around to face him.
“You… you will?” she asked, hardly daring to believe it.
“Yes. Give me a minute.” With that Sasuke went back inside to get ready, probably to get dressed properly rather than home clothes and to grab his wallet. Sakura just stood there, stunned. She couldn’t believe it.
“Maybe… Just maybe… there’s still hope…” she thought to herself.
Thirty minutes later, they were sitting in a small café. Their food had arrived and Sasuke was graciously enjoying the meal that he’d ordered. In his opinion, the food here was pretty good. He looked up at his companion. Sakura had barely touched her food. She had been silent ever since leaving his house, only speaking when she ordered her food. Sasuke frowned for the tenth time that night. Something was definitely troubling his friend. He’d never seen her acting this weird before. She was unfocused and constantly lost in her own thoughts. And she didn’t seem ready to explain to him what was wrong or what she had wanted to talk to him about in the first place anytime soon. Sasuke sighed.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” he questioned her, gesturing towards her bowl of noodles.
Sakura seemed to start a bit, as if surprised to see him there.
“Oh… um… yeah…” she picked up her chopsticks and started to fiddle with her noodles. Within moments, she had sunken back into the depths of her mind.
Sasuke just sighed again. He looked at his friend and also teammate worriedly.
“This is gonna be a long night.” He took one last worried look at Sakura before turning back to his meal.
It was late at night at around ten o’clock when they had finally finished their dinner. Sasuke had spent another good thirty minutes to wait for Sakura to finish her food, only to hear her say later that she didn’t feel hungry and she couldn’t finish it. They then left the café with Sasuke a little irritated at Sakura’s behaviour.
After that, Sakura had said that she wanted to take a walk around Konoha. Since Sakura still hadn’t gotten around to telling him what was wrong, he had no choice but to follow her.
They had been walking for quite some time now. Sakura still hadn’t told Sasuke what was it that she had wanted to talk to him about. Sasuke’s patience was slowly wearing thin. He had spent most of the night accompanying her and he was starting to have doubts about this whole ‘date’. Perhaps it was all just a trick to get him to go out with her! But that couldn’t be right. If that was what she was trying to do, she doesn’t seem to be enjoying herself much and was completely ignoring him. Which brings him back to the same question. What the hell was wrong with her? He took a look at the girl again as they walked down the dark, empty street. She had her eyes on the ground, her hair covering her face as she walked on steadily. Sasuke sighed as he kept up with her pace beside her, hands in his pockets. He resigned himself to his fate of accompanying his friend the whole night.
They continued walking for quite some time in comfortable silence. Sasuke hadn’t noticed that they had approached the edge of the village as they continued to walk on. Soon, he realized that the pink haired girl was slowing down and came to a stop. He too halted his footsteps. It was then that he realized that they had arrived to a familiar spot. This spot held many memories for the both of them. This spot seemed to be the spot where their destinies were tied. Many things had happened here before, and every time the both of them met here, a part of their lives were changed.
The first time was on the day they were selected to be in Team 7 and had become teammates. That day was the day that Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had graduated from the academy and had their fates bound together when they were assigned in the same team. Naruto had been messing around, making a fool out of himself when he had used the ‘Henge no Jutsu’ to transform into Sasuke. At that time, it was at this very spot when Sakura had made a bad start with the dark haired boy by insulting Naruto who had no parents. This was a very bad mistake on Sakura’s part indeed as Sasuke had turned to her then and bitingly remarked that she didn’t know anything about what it feels like to be an orphan before telling her that she was annoying. It was at this spot at that time that marked the beginning of Team 7. The start of a wonderful but difficult journey for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura to become shinobis as they experience the ups and downs of life, relationships and many such. It had really been a long time ago…
The second time was when Sasuke had left Konoha to join Orochimaru. Sakura had met him coincidentally at this spot as he was making his way out of the village. It was on that night, at this very place too, that Sakura had confessed her feelings to Sasuke for the very first time. She had been rejected at that time as Sasuke had chosen revenge over his own friends and the people of Konoha. She had failed to stop the boy that she held dear from going to Orochimaru, the traitor, and that had resulted in Sasuke going over to the dark side for the following few years. This spot held much meaning to Sakura during those few years of Sasuke’s absence as this was the place she had last saw him. And also the spot where she had failed… failed to stop the one she loved from making the biggest mistake of his life. It was truly fortunate that Naruto was still able to save Sasuke and pull him out of the darkness. Naruto had always been the one who could save Sasuke and bring him back, unlike herself…. But Sakura was still very grateful for that.
Today, as they both stood here again, memories of the past were reminisced, the feeling of nostalgia was thick in the air. The moonlight shone brightly on this spot, setting the place aglow as the chilly night air surrounded them both. It was very quiet. Most of the people of Konoha were asleep by now and even if they weren’t, the place was too far away from the town as it was near the edge of the village.
As Sakura stood there, under the moonlight, it was then that her thoughts were calmed and her tensed body relaxed. She felt at peace with herself.
“Sasuke-kun… do you… remember this place?” she said, her back facing him as she stood a few steps in front of the boy.
“… I do… It hasn’t changed. Even after so many years.”
Sakura nodded. “Hai. This place is… special… don’t you think?”
Sasuke didn’t answer. In truth, he didn’t really like this place. It brought back too many memories… too many painful memories… He heard Sakura inhaling deeply in front of him as she breathed in the fresh air. Slowly, she turned around.
“Ano… I guess you want to know now… the reason that I called you out tonight.”
Sasuke attention was immediately piqued. Sakura finally seemed ready to talk. He was going to get to the bottom of this soon… Sasuke then nodded his head slowly in reply despite his eagerness.
Sakura looked down again. Hesitation filled her as her resolve wavered slightly.
“No. I’ve come this far… I can’t back out now…” She had been feeling nervous and had seriously contemplated backing out the whole night. Which explained why she had been so lost in her own world the whole night.She looked back up at Sasuke. His dark eyes were filled with curiosity and the moonlight cast his pale skin aglow. He looked utterly breathtaking. Shaking her head slightly, she concentrated on the matter at hand. She knew he’d never let her go off without explaining her reason for asking him out. She then decided to tell the truth.
“I’ve come too far to give up now… Here goes nothing.” She thought.
“Sasuke-kun…” she started. Sasuke’s ears perked up, hearing her speak.
“Sasuke-kun… You… you do know what I’ve been feeling for you all this years, don’t you?” Sakura’s voice was surprisingly steady but her eyes were refusing to look at him as they wandered everywhere but at him. Sasuke didn’t answer. He did know. He wasn’t dense. But he didn’t know what to do about it. He couldn’t do anything. He just couldn’t return her feelings. Never. As long as there is… him.
Seeing no reply from the dark haired young man, Sakura continued. “It’s been five whole years already since we became teammates… and even longer since we first met each other… Five whole years Sasuke-kun. That’s a long time.”
“…I know.” Sasuke didn’t like this. He knew where this conversation was headed to and he really didn’t want to venture those grounds.
Sakura was silent for a few moments before she took a deep breath and braved herself. She willed herself to look straight into Sasuke’s eyes. As their eyes met, Sasuke could see all the emotions in those brilliant green eyes. All the feelings from the many years they knew each other. He could recognize those feelings well. It was fondness… and dare he say, love? It mirrored his own feelings… when he was looking at a certain blonde… only that his feelings were much more carefully hidden… Shaking his head slightly to clear his mind, he concentrated on his current situation. This wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.
Sasuke looked back up at the pink haired shinobi only to realize that her intense gaze was still upon him. It was rather uncomfortable actually. He felt that those brilliant green eyes were seeing right through him, searching through his soul. He then noticed that Sakura was starting to speak again.
“Sasuke-kun… there’s something that I’ve been meaning to say to you for a long time…”
She paused, awaiting his reaction. Sasuke froze. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to hear this, but he didn’t know what to say to her. So he kept silent. Interpreting his silence as a sign for her to go on, Sakura continued slowly, her eyes never leaving his.
“… I… don’t know how to say this, but…” she paused, taking another deep breath before continuing, her voice now trembling slightly. “Its just that… we’ve known each other for a long time, Sasuke-kun. Ever since we were kids. And I’ve always had a… a crush on you even back then. I know you must’ve heard this many times in your life, but… I… I love you, Sasuke-kun.”
She stopped. She felt suddenly afraid. Afraid of losing the boy she loved with all her heart, forever. She started to panic with every minute that the Uchiha heir didn’t reply. Their eyes had not broken contact and she could see no sign of emotion in the boy’s eyes. She started to talk again.
“I… I know that you must be used to hearing that by now… I… I mean, with so many other girls chasing after you and all… I know you think I’m just like one of them but I’m not! Believe me, Sasuke-kun, I’m not like them!” she stopped again, looking frantically at the Uchiha’s eyes. He still hadn’t given her any signs of reaction. Her heart started to sink sickeningly into her stomach.
“No… This can’t be happening…”
Finally, the dark haired boy broke away from her intense gaze. He sighed, making the girl’s heart drop even further.
“Sakura…” he started only to be interrupted.
“No!” Sakura almost shouted. She didn’t want to hear it. The tone in his voice was not good news to her. She didn’t want him to say what she knew he was going to say. He couldn’t reject her! He didn’t know what he was saying! He didn’t understand enough! She had to explain herself.
“No,” she said in a softer tone. “Listen… You don’t understand. I… I really love you, Sasuke-kun...! Even… even that time when you had… gone to Orochimaru… I had never stopped loving you. Everyday when I wake up and find that you’re not with us anymore… I felt lonely. Even when everyone in the village had lost trust and hope in you, I never did. Because I knew that you’d come back. I knew you’d be back by my side again. And so, I never stopped believing in you… in us. I know this can work. I really do.”
She swallowed, feeling as if a big lump had formed in her throat. It was getting hard to talk but she refused to stop talking. Because it may mean that her worse fears may come true… and she couldn’t let that happen…
“Remember… remember that night? Right here… a few years back. I… I couldn’t stop you from leaving when you… decided to join the Hidden Sound. It was right here… that I first confessed to you, all my feelings. Those… those feelings weren’t lies. I didn’t just say them to make you stay. I really meant them, even now. I truly believe we can be happy together. That I can make you happy… That I can make every day more enjoyable for you. You won’t regret it… if only you’d give me a chance… Do you know… how much it hurt… when you still left…? It meant that you rejected me… it meant that you didn’t feel the way I did… That you didn’t believe in us. Did you know… how much that has haunted me for years…? Even up to now…”
She started to stutter even more. She couldn’t help it. All the pent-up feelings in her for so many years were all flowing out, overwhelming her. She was so afraid… afraid to lose the person she held most precious to her…
“So… please, Sasuke-kun… I… I really love you… So please… give me a chance…?” Her voice was thick with emotion.
The kunoichi finally stopped talking then, unable to hold her emotions any longer. She couldn’t take it anymore. She tore her eyes away from the boy and looked back at the ground. It was all too much for her. She was suffocated in the depth of her own feelings… All she could do now is to wait. Wait for the answer from the boy she loved more than anything in the world. She felt that she had explained herself enough. He would understand now. He would know that his first reaction was wrong… that he should give her a chance… After everything that she had said, how could he reject her?
All this while, Sasuke just listened to everything his companion had said. Every time he heard her say that she loved him, he felt a pang in his heart. Because he knew… that no matter what she said, he could never accept her. Not as long as his own feelings for a certain blonde was still there, strong and steady, even when they were not reciprocated. He could never love another…
Sasuke felt more miserable with each passing moment. He could feel the depth of the feelings the pink haired girl held for him. He knew that she had loved him all this time. He knew she wasn’t the same with all his other fan girls. He knew her feelings were pure. But knowing all that didn’t change anything because he also knew that he could not return her feelings. He was still going to hurt one of his closest friends in the end. And he hated himself for that. Why did fate chose to play with the hearts of those closest to him? Whatever he did, someone was just going to get hurt…
Sasuke exhaled heavily, looking up to stare at the girl in front of him. Her whole body was trembling, her eyes on the ground as she took uneven breaths of air. He could tell that her mind was in chaos. Knowing what he had to do, he decided that he had to end this now. He should have ended this long ago before Sakura had fallen too deep. It would have saved her a lot of pain. But it was too late to regret that now. What was important at this moment was to end this once and for all, so that they could both move on with their lives.
“Sakura…” he started. “I can’t love you… I’m… sorry.”
And that was it. A short and simple sentence and everything was done. It was over. Sakura couldn’t believe it.
“Wh… what? I… I must’ve heard wrongly… There must be some kind of mistake…” she gasped out.
“…I meant every word of it. I’m sorry, Sakura… This relationship can never be… I don’t love you.”
Sakura felt her world crash around her. She couldn’t believe her ears. She wasn’t hearing this. Her breathing was getting heavier and there was a sharp pain starting in her chest.
“No! You… you don’t know what you’re talking about! Or don’t you understand what I’ve been saying just now! You’re… you’re making a mistake!” Sakura’s voice was getting louder and louder. She seemed close to becoming hysterical.
“Sakura! It’s late! Calm down! Or we might wake the villagers up!”
“Calm down? CALM DOWN? How can you ask me to calm down now?” she practically screamed. “You’re wrong! You’re making a big mistake! You have to think this over!”
“Sakura! I know what you’re feeling and I appreciate them! But I can’t just force myself to love you! It isn’t fair to either me or you!”
“What do you mean it isn’t fair? I don’t care! As long as… as long as you love me…” And with that, Sakura broke down. She fell to her knees, her body doubled over and her hands on her face as she started crying uncontrollably on the ground.
“Why…? Why, Sasuke-kun…? Why do you do this to me? Don’t you know… how much I love you…?”
Sasuke was silent. He felt really miserable now. He never wanted to hurt anyone. Especially not Sakura, who to him, was one of his closest friends…
“I’m sorry…” That was all he could say, for all the pain he had caused her.
“I don’t want your… s..s..stupid apologies! I… I just want you to…s..s..say that…y…you love me… b..back!” she said in between her tears.
“… If I said that… I would be lying to you. And I don’t want to lie to you…,” he said as Sakura continued to cry uncontrollably. Sasuke made as if to go by her side to comfort her, but thought against it. He looked down on the ground as he continued talking.
“I… I really like you, Sakura. But that’s it. I just like you. You’re my best friend, teammate, and much more. We’ve been through lots of things together, but I just don’t feel the way you do. I can’t return your feelings. And I’m really sorry for that. I’m sorry that I’ve caused you so much pain. I should have ended this, before you fell deeper. It was a mistake on my part. I should have never run away from the problem in the first place. The truth was… I had always known that I was going to hurt you someday. I wasn’t brave enough to face that. And that had just made things worse. If I had been braver… we would not be in this position today… I guess, all I can say is that… I’m really sorry and that… all we can ever be… is friends.”
That was the last straw. Sakura’s heart was smashed into a million pieces. It hurt so much, she couldn’t breathe… Her tears were falling non-stop from her eyes now. She couldn’t hold them back.
“So… this is it…? Everything ends just like that? But why? Why did it have to end this way? I’ve loved him for so long… I’ve never done anything wrong… Why did I deserve this…? Why…? I can’t believe it… I just can’t believe it…… I won’t believe it!”
“No…” Sakura suddenly said. “No. I don’t believe this. You’re wrong.” With that, Sakura started to get up, her tears stopping.
“Sakura…”
“No. You’re making a big mistake. I don’t accept your answer. I won’t accept it.” There was something funny about the way she spoke. It was calm and steady.
The raven haired boy was now worried for his teammate.
“Sakura… what do you mean you won’t accept my answer…?”
“I mean what I say. I won’t accept your answer. I know you’re making a big mistake.”
“… You don’t know what you’re saying…”
‘I know very well what I’m saying and there’s nothing you can do to change my mind. I won’t let you go. I’ve loved you for too long. I’ve given up too much for you.”
Sasuke was silent. He felt afraid now. Had Sakura finally snapped?
“Sakura… You’re not in the right state of mind. You need to relax…”
“Oh, don’t worry about me, Sasuke-kun, I’m fine.”
Silence reigned again. Sasuke didn’t know what to do. Why was Sakura acting this way? It was scaring him. Then he realized that she was speaking again.
“One day you’ll realize… that you’re making a big mistake… and then you’ll come back to me. I know it.”
Sasuke could only stare at the girl in front of him. She looked so calm and composed compared to the broken girl whom had been crying just a few moments ago. He couldn’t react. He couldn’t move at all.
“Well. It’s late and I really should be going home now. Thanks for going out with me tonight. Don’t worry. I’ll get home myself. You don’t have to send me.” She bowed her head lightly before walking off.
Sasuke could only stare at her retreating back worriedly. He had seen a flicker of pain in her eyes when she had said she had wanted to go home. He knew she was hiding her true feelings. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do now. Apparently, she didn’t take his rejection so easily. He sighed. All he could do now was to hope that one day, she could accept it, and move on with her life. Taking one last worried look at her, he then turned around and started to make his way back home which was the opposite from where Sakura lived. He didn’t notice that the pink haired girl had stopped in her tracks at the sound of his footsteps moving away. He didn’t notice the girl turning around to look at him as he walked away, tears in her eyes as the pain in her eyes was reflected so plainly then. Deep in her heart, Sakura knew that she was only lying to herself. She couldn’t help herself. She didn’t want to admit. Because admitting it would really mean that it was all over.
“I just can’t let go… I just can’t!” she thought to herself. With tears falling in rivulets from her eyes, she walked away from the spot that had changed her fate once again. But had her fate changed for the better or for the worse, was yet to be seen.
-End Flashback-
Sakura broke down once again in front of Naruto. Reliving the memories of the night before was just too much for her. It hurt so bad.
“I know…I… I’m just lying to…my…myself but I can’t help it!” Sakura sobbed, breaking down completely.
Immediately, Naruto abandoned his place beside the tree and came forward to gather the crying girl in his arms. He held her against his body as she clung to him tightly, crying her eyes out on his shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around him.
“Shh… Its okay… I’m here…” he said soothingly, his hand rubbing her back comfortingly while the other was on her waist, supporting her as they stood there, on the training grounds in the middle of the forest.
Naruto now knew what had been troubling the pink haired shinobi so much. But he didn’t like what he heard. It hurt him to see his Sakura-chan in so much pain but on the other hand, he couldn’t really blame the raven haired boy either. He knew that you could never force yourself to have feelings for someone that you just didn’t love, and he appreciated that Sasuke was honest with Sakura. In fact, the dark haired boy had been rather considerate and had tried his best to protect Sakura’s feelings from what Naruto had heard. As he was lost in his thoughts, he realized that Sakura was speaking again, her voice muffled in his shoulder.
‘Why…? Why c..c..can’t he lo..love me…? Why…? I lo..love him s..so much… Do..doesn’t he… r..r..realize t..that…?”
“Don’t you realize how much I love you too?” Naruto thought, a slight pain in his heart. But instead of saying that, Naruto just stood still, comforting the girl he so cared about. How he wished to be able to hold her like this every day, but under different circumstances instead of her crying like it was the end of the world. He just sighed as he continued to hold her tenderly, his love for her enveloping Sakura with a warmth that managed to calm her down more than she realized it herself. They stood there, comforting each other. They felt at peace with each other. It felt like this was how it always should be… but neither of them realized it just yet.
Unbeknownst to them, up on a tree, a few feet away, a certain raven haired boy watched the scene in silence. He had felt worried about Sakura and had decided to turn back after only taking a few steps away from the place. When he had reached the spot where they had had their meeting again, he had found the pink haired girl telling the blonde the events of the night before. The Uchiha did not miss the expression on the blonde’s face. So full of love for the girl he had rejected last night. He felt a dull ache rise in his chest. A single thought rose in his mind.
“Maybe… maybe they are meant for each other…”
And with that thought, he left his two embracing teammates alone.
End Chapter 2
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