#ssm15d23

What are you doing here? What are you doing here?

He kept asking, but words never slipped out so she never answered. He hovered over her, watching over her unconscious form. Her shriek a while earlier that sent him running in a frenzied state, her horror earlier as she saw a severed head only made his earlier question repeat itself in his head over and over.

He had been about to walk away, but he hesitated, looked upon her form and upon seeing the tear stains on her cheeks he couldn’t leave her.

There was just something about her, she was easy to break and she needed to be protected and so he would make it his job to do so.

Her eyes opened and there was color again.

“Sasuke-kun!” She held on to him, the embrace was warm. It was strange and she reminded him of a time in where he used to believe in fairy tales and the monsters under his bed.

“Let me go.” He protested but barely pushed her away secretly enjoying the contact.

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He hears her crying before he sees her and it breaks his heart. He thought he was a goner. Once upon a time he had wondered who would cry over him when he died, he was sure there was no one left.

But there she was.

Tear stained cheeks, trembling lips, and eyes full of tears. She cried over his seemingly dead body.

In a second everything in her expression changed from sorrow to sheer happiness, though she continued to cry her eyes were wide and brilliant. The smile that stretched upon her lips was breathtaking.

“Sasuke-kun…” She spoke and the relief in her voice over took him. She threw herself to him and wrapped her arms around him, as if afraid he’d slip from her fingers she held him tightly. With much more force than he ever thought her delicate body capable of. He knew everything about that moment would be etched into his memory forever.

“Sakura…you’re heavy.” He spoke and she stepped back and looked at him, wiping the tears from her eyes. The smile ever present.

“You’re alive…” He saw the way every syllable formed on her lips and the sound of her voice rang in his ears.

So many times he’s asked himself if anyone would cry for him when he’s gone, that day the answer was as clear as day.

She would…

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He’s not sure when it happens, but although he stood in the sidelines, although he didn’t interact soon he’s used to the patterns in his team.

So when Sakura doesn’t smile that brilliant smile it doesn’t go past him.

He was afraid she may have realized she didn’t belong there.

He could see it in her eyes, in the the words ‘what am I doing here’ hanging at the tip of her tongue, in the way she would force a smile, in the way her shoulders sagged and her feet dragged.

It all screamed ‘I don’t belong here’.

And she didn’t, but he’ll be there to protect her no matter what so she can stay, she can be a part of their world.

So the words were out of his mouth before he could think twice. “Sakura, you must have noticed first, right?”

There was a moment in where he thinks he might have done something wrong, but the expression on her face quickly changed. “That’s right, because this is the second floor!” She remarked and a smile quickly took over her features putting everything else around her to shame.

It brought an involuntary smile to his lips.

Maybe…she can be a part of my world.

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Suddenly, everything was on fire. Black fire engulfed everything around him and he could barely breathe, he couldn’t see anything. It was all black. All could hear was the loud screams of pain and something told him it was all his own.

Clawing at his neck with one hand, he tried desperately to make the fire stop.

With his other hand he gripped the trunk of the tree beneath him. On his knees with his head bowed he thinks he must have looked pathetic, weak.

Oh, how he hated that word.

He could almost hear as his brother whispered it in his ear and all he wanted was to prove him wrong. He was burning and alone, like he always thought he’d go.

But as a hand intertwined with his he realized that he wasn’t really alone. The contact burned as well, but it was a pleasant kind and although it didn’t stop the black flames they were an anchor. He turned his head desperately looking for her.

He knew it was her, meeting her green eyes he held on to the ray of light. As he gripped her hand in his he found out she wasn’t as fragile as she appeared to be.

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Power surged in him, his hands twitched and all he could see was her. Bloodied, bruised, hurt, and her hair. It was all around them, pink strands of hair covering the ground. “Who did this to you?” He asked, his voice positively murderous she would just stare at him with wide eyes. Blood stained her cheeks and her lips and he’s never felt such anger before.

“That would be…me.” He heard the voice but didn’t see the face. Fury overtook him along with an intense need to hurt, kill. Because how dare he touch her.

“You seem so proud of these arms of yours.” He could feel the bone as it broke under his touch and a sinister smile spread across his lips at the sound. He wanted to break every bone in his body, there was a burning sensation all around him, it urged him to do so and again all was darkness.

“Sasuke-kun! Stop!” He recognized her voice and her touch as she pressed on to him, he didn’t want to stop.

Turning his face to face her he saw her eyes wide and tears streaming down begging him to stop. But why, he wanted to scream, he hurt you.

“This isn’t you.” She whispered, fear lacing her voice and she wasn’t entirely wrong. The power, the anger, the darkness that surged through him wasn’t his. Slowly and against his will it slowly receded, he could feel the burning sensation leaving his body.

He fell on his knees and she fell with him still holding on to him tightly, he didn’t want her to let go, ever. He felt weak.

I couldn’t protect you, Sakura.

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“Don’t get in my way, Sakura.” She flinched at his tone of voice and he had to hold back the urge to take it back. It was for her own good he tried to convince himself. He gripped her hand in his.

It was delicate and smooth, she was still unmarked by the harsh life she’s chosen.

It’s not your job to save me. He wanted to say. How could she think she could save him, from all the demons, all the blood, all his hatred? He didn’t want to be saved, he needed all of it and he needed power and he needed to avenge his clan before he even looked toward the future.

“I won’t forgive even you, if you take this away from me.” And there was something in that statement that unnerved him. He could just stare into her eyes, eyes that brimmed with tears for him.

At some point she became an exception. I can’t let anyone in, Sakura. Not even you. And he was at it again. Afraid of what it meant he let her hand go and turned away.

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And she survived, she sat beside the bed apple in her hands peeling it with a smile adorning her face. She had been there since he woke up, probably before that too and she’s alive and well and safe but not because of him.

So weak. Still not enough. His brothers’ voice seemed to whisper in his ear.

“Thanks, you saved me didn’t you, Sasuke-kun?” She had asked and as she uttered his name he inched closer.

“No, it was Naruto who saved you. He fought with all his strength to save you.” The words left a sour taste in his mouth, it was like admitting weakness. He had failed the promise he never uttered, to protect her no matter what.

Her eyes turned to Naruto then and she smiled, it wasn’t his smile any more he noticed and something akin to anger began eating away at him.

He gripped the sheets beside him. He wasn’t able to protect her and he didn’t deserve her. There were many emotions at once, too many that he didn’t yet understand, others he didn’t want to understand.

Out of everything there were two things he couldn’t ignore: he didn’t deserve her because he was weak, Naruto was stronger.

He gritted his teeth as he heard her voice cheerfully say, “Sasuke-kun, want some apples?” She could do so much better than him and he could do so much better for her.

He slapped the plate away with more force than was needed and wanting not to see the look on her face he turned away from her facing the window. The room filled with silence, all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat as it pounded rapidly in his chest.

Weak. Weak. Weak. His brothers’ voice continued chanting in his ear.

Footsteps, and afraid to see she had walked away he turned only to find Naruto, a look of confusion as his eyes inspected the room.

“Naruto…fight me.”

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He could feel it the lighting at his fingertips, the power on his hand as he pushed forward, the sound of a thousand birds was all around him drowning out everything else.

But somehow above all that he could hear her, her voice pleading, urgent, and desperate. “Stop!” She exclaimed at the top of her lungs and suddenly she ran forward between them both and all he wanted was to stop.

She ran her eyes closed and his eyes widened with every step closer she took. All he could see was pink, he was afraid that if he blinked there would be red.

“Please stop!” She screamed and it was that last attempt of hers to not see her teammates try and kill each other. He didn’t know if she was aware it could cost her life or if she just didn’t care, what he did know is that she wasn’t meant for that life.

He wanted to scream to her to get out of the way, but her name caught up in his throat and he was unable to utter a syllable. In a mere second a hand caught his wrist and they were flying away.

His Chidori hit one of the two water containers and for a second all he could feel was the relief of looking sideways and seeing her intact.

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The moon glared down at him as he walked out of his apartment down the streets of Konoha. Everything he needed on his back and everything he didn’t he left along with the picture of Team 7 face down in his room.

It was a beautiful night, the moon shone and lit up the countless clouds above, the leaves of the trees moved with the night’s breeze and stood out with the light of the moon. There were memories all around him, both comforting and disconcerting and he was about to leave it all behind.

He didn’t expect to see her there, in the road out of the village in the dead of night. He could see in her eyes that he wouldn’t be able to fool her, her brow frowned and her eyes showed him everything he’s been trying to avoid.

“I knew you’d come this way…if you were to leave…” Her gaze turned to the ground and he realized that the idea had been going ‘round her mind before it even popped into his.

“Get out of here and go back to sleep…” His words were mechanic and detached and he moved past her, he walked one step at a time and every step he took felt heavy.

“Why won’t you say anything to me?!” Her voice raised in volume and he knew that if he turned to look at her there would be tears in her eyes.

“I told you, I don’t need your help. Don’t try to look after me.” Don’t try to save me. He spoke, his voice harsh. Another step forward.

“You just always hate me, don’t you?” He stopped dead in his tracks. Is that what she saw? He didn’t think there was anyone in the world capable of hating her. No, not with her radiance, not with her fragility, her pureness, and most of all her strength. A strength that shined from within, that didn’t consist in power but in the light she carried around her.

He knew he could take that light away.

“You’re annoying.”

“I don’t remember.” Oh god, of course he remembered. And he heard her cry and his heart clenched at the sound.

“That’s when it all began though…you and me, Team 7…” He refused to reply and instead he hung to her words, to the sound of her voice. It could very well be the last time they spoke. “Even if you get revenge, that won’t bring anyone happiness. Not you, nor me.”

His throat felt dry and he had to bite his lip for a moment. He knew her, she believed in fairy tale endings, in love overcoming all. He didn’t, he couldn’t.

“I already know that…” He believed in tragedies, in revenge, there was no place left for love. He was different, from them, from her. Their paths should have never crossed, their eyes should have never met, and maybe if she hadn’t filled his life with color it wouldn’t be so hard to leave everything behind.

“I may have friends and family, but if you were to leave, to me I would be just as alone as you.” A frown took over his features. Please, don’t let me take the light away.

“From here on out, we take different paths.” Another step forward, heavy. Don’t.

“I… I love you with all my heart!” His heart leapt at her words and his lips parted. “If you stayed there would be no regrets…” I know. “We’d be happy, I swear!” I don’t doubt that one bit. “I would do anything for you…so please, just stay with me…or take me with you if you can’t.” He wanted badly to give in. And of course as fate would play it out it, just wasn’t meant to be.

She filled my lonely heart with love…

“You’re annoying.” He turned to her then, the words falling of his tongue in an almost endearing way. She made it so tempting to give in, so hard to walk away. She made him feel things he had once decided he would not feel again, things he once thought he’d never find again.

Tears fell from her eyes and they seemed never ending, he felt the weight of each and every one of them on his shoulders. Green eyes bore into his, he could see everything in them and he hoped she didn’t see the same in his.

He turned away and took another step, it was the heaviest maybe. Walking away from everything you could ever want is as hard as it sounds like. “Don’t leave.” And suddenly he was behind her. Time seemed to slow down for them, he was glad he couldn’t look into her eyes then. The parting of lovers that weren’t quite so.

but I couldn’t let love in.

“Thank you.” A sad smile took over his lips as she fell into his arms with her eyes closed. He could only gaze at her face with longing.

Gently he placed her in the stone bench nearby, his hand pushed away the stands of pink hair from her eyes and he drank the sight in. His hand lingered on her cheek and he breathed in the moment. “We would have been happy, I would have loved you.” And there’s not a doubt, they were Sasuke and Sakura and if life wasn’t as it is they would have had it all.

But she’s light and he’s darkness and they were made for different stories entirely.

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She stepped into the clearing her steps firm and filled with purpose and suddenly the world is filled with colors. He could see the cerulean blue of the sky and the ochre of the ground around them, but most of all he could see pink and green.

“Sakura.” Her name escaped his lips, feeling foreign on his tongue, but falling off effortlessly.

She turned to him then, slowly and raised her gaze to meet his. “Sasuke-kun.” He saw the way her lips formed every syllable, heard the almost inaudible way she pronounced it. Her eyes widened and he could see many things in them; pain, hope, love.

He kept his expression guarded and refused to betray a thing.

For a moment, they had a moment. It was almost magical, the could have been’s hanging in the air, pent up emotions, and her.

It wasn’t the same Sakura he left on a bench, but how could he blame her when he wasn’t the Sasuke that had walked away either.

His attack missed, lighting hit everyone around him except her. She stood untouched, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her and bonds he wanted to destroy only resurfaced. Because…how could anyone not love her, it’s not a bond he can destroy only time can do that.

It was then that he saw a different side of her he didn’t knew existed; fist ready, expression fierce she lunged forward ready to take him back by force if she had to. The ninja life wasn’t for her but she made it her own.

Where is that little girl I had to protect? The girl playing at ninja?

Gone, it seemed.

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There she is, lies slipped through her lips and her eyes wanted to deceive him, but he knew her well enough. He knew by the way she whispered his name, a tone of finality in her voice. He knew by the way every step seemed to weight her. While she mentally prepared he was already one step ahead of her.

He was behind her and it was all so nostalgic, again time turned increasingly slow and bit by bit the noise of a thousand birds filled everything around him, the lighting illuminated her with whites and blues and she looked absolutely celestial.

The unspoken promise weighted on his heart, that small shred of sanity in him screaming not to do it. Not her, anyone but her. But he wouldn’t listen, she was just like the rest of them. Anger ripped through him, the woman who claimed to love him went against him. The one thing he could count on being constant in his life was crumbling and the color was fading.

As his attack lunged forward she turned, her expression filled with fear, eyes wide. All he could see were her eyes, green and brilliant threatening to flood his world with color again. Suddenly it’s not black and white anymore, he can see the cream color of her skin, the bubble gum pink of her hair and she’s once again the Sakura he needs desperately to protect.

He sees the realization in her eyes that she’s as good as dead and the closer he gets the more he wants to stop. For three full seconds he was himself and she was precious and dear and he couldn’t lose her. He bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood and his heart breaks at the knowledge that he can’t stop himself.

She should have never been a part of his world.

For a moment he thought he killed her, it takes him a minute for him to register that Kakashi’s there and she’s safe. He felt as his lips moved but couldn’t hear the sound, Kakashi’s voice was lost as well and all he could see was Sakura, her expression heart breaking and painful.

Suddenly all he could hear was laughter, his own, filling the space around them. It was a strange sound to his ears, it sounded like he was drowning and everything in his chest hurt, it was like losing everything all over again.

They’re all laughing.

He sees them, smiling, laughing, happy…at the cost of his brothers’ life. She…she held out her hand inviting, her smile genuine and only for him, her eyes filled with love but she knows nothing.

His vision blurs and he sees darkness, but he hears the approaching figure, he feels someone behind him and he feels betrayed at the realization. It’s her. Pointing a poisoned kunai at his back.

He turns around, a reflex, self-preservation, and takes her by the neck. He’s glad he can’t see her then, because he knows there is no way he can hurt her while looking into her eyes. But he can feel it, her pulse, her neck under his touch as he chokes the life out of her. He can hear her protest and his heart clenches at the knowledge that he’ll be the death of her.

How fitting.

His movements are mechanic as he takes the kunai from her hand. He can hear Kakashi screaming at him to stop and all he wants is to drop the weapon but he has no control.

It’s not until Naruto arrives and she’s out of his grip that he realizes. His eyes turn to her form, he can see her eyes wide, tears threatening to spill as she holds on to the blonde.

He feels shame and he’s struck by the weight of the blood that almost stained his hand, a blood he would have never been able to wash out. He feels sick; but maybe, he thinks, she finally understood…there’s no saving him anymore.

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In the midst of the fire, the battle, and the bloodshed she looks out of place. The cry for war is not meant for her lips and her words hold a weight she shouldn’t be able to bear, but there she is fierce. Her head held high and putting everyone else to shame.

So when he lands a few feet away from her and Naruto he’s surprised to look towards her and find those green eyes filled with so much hope that it’s almost suffocating. For once in his life he sees as her light engulfs more than just him in the blackest of nights.

“Sasuke-kun…” Her voice whispers with a tone of familiarity he never expected to hear again, with a hint of relief even and he’s taken aback with the way every syllable of his name escape her lips.

“Sakura…” It’s the only thing he can say to the girl whose life he almost took away.

But relief is not all, he sees the caution in her eyes when he looks further, a hint of distrust in her posture, but most of all questions. Dozens of questions hung at the tip of her tongue but only one slips her lips almost regretfully. “Why are you here?” She asks and everything in her eyes tells him she fears the answer, because at the end of the day she is still Sakura and she hangs on to hope a little too much.

He knows everyone around them is wondering the same thing and although they don’t deserve an answer, although he would normally never explain himself he finds himself opening his mouth to answer because she is Sakura.

“A lot has happened…” He starts, with difficulty, knowing that it’s not something he can explain in the middle of a war, but wanting so much to tell her, so much to almost beg her to understand. “But I’ve decided to protect the leaf.”

He doesn’t miss the way her eyes light up almost instantly, the way her lips part in astonishment. It’s the answer she hoped he’d give and the one she was afraid he wouldn’t.

Suddenly in her eyes he’s not so lost anymore, he’s not sure how to feel about that, because hasn’t she learned anything?

I’ll let her down… sooner or later.

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“Sasuke-kun!” He recognizes her voice in the middle of nowhere. “Hurry!” She urges, desperation taking over her voice.

Amongst everything else he’s a ninja and he understands perfectly the need of speed in the situation but that doesn’t stop the way his sharingan turns to her and in a mere second he can see everything.

He can see her dressed in black, the sleeve in her right arm ripped at the shoulder, the way acid burns at her skin. He can see the black marks on her face that go down her eyes and through her arms making her look deadly beautiful, like the warrior he knows her out to be, always ready to be the savior. Sweat rolls down her forehead and determination shines like never before in her green eyes. Her expression desperate and fierce and the diamond in her forehead shining.

She looked stunning, breathtaking, and maybe it was the heat of the dessert talking, but his heart sprinted in his chest at the sight of her and he swears he’s never seen anything like her in his life.

But it was just a second and the next he sees her vest in the ground just a feet away from her ad he sees her energy fading. Her eyes lose focus and she starts falling backwards.

What catches his attention the most are her eyes and the sheer willpower that lies in them, what pushes her forward when there’s nothing else left in her.

And the next thing he knows he’s behind her, catching her in his arms and pulling her closer to him while he almost drowns in her warmth.

His eyes find hers and he finds that the moment is theirs and he can’t look away. There are no lies in those eyes, no attempt at deception and the honesty in her green eyes is almost more than he can bear.

“Thanks to you… I made it.” And the words came easy.

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His back is turned to her and a part of him thinks he’ll get away easy, but the part of him that knows her expects her to make it painfully hard. Walking away from her has never been easy and on this particular occasion he doesn’t know if he’ll manage.

He doesn’t have to turn to her to know the look in her eyes, to know the way her eyebrows arch and her eyes fill with determination, to know the way she bites her lip to keep from sobbing, and most of all to know the way tears stream down her cheeks spilling from her eyes without her even noticing.

He’s seen it all before.

They may be older, stronger, bolder, but they’re back to where they were then.

And he knows how it ends.

So he takes a step and takes another, and almost on cue her voice rings in his ears. “I’ve always known there was nothing I could have done for you…but I still love you!” He doesn’t know why her words come to him as a surprise, he’s seen it in her eyes, yet there he is and her words of love serve to leave him speechless.

“If I could have taken all your pain onto myself…I would have.”

He can hear the honesty in her voice, the desperation, and the pain. Everything in him hurts because here she is, perfect little Sakura breaking apart with his every step.

“And here we are again…” He knows her thoughts are drifting back with his to a night almost forever ago in where almost the same words were spoken. “Still all I can do is sit here and cry…I’m so pathetic!” Her voice breaks at the last word and he takes another step frustration overtakes him because how can she be so blind? How can she not see what he sees?

Out of the two she’s always been the strongest.

He remembers being behind her back then hearing her cry and how it was almost too much, he remembers his last words to her and wonders if she’s remembering the same thing. What kind of memory was that to her?

“But Sasuke-kun!” And there she pours out to him what is left of her heart, he can hear her sobbing how every word breaks at her lips.

“If I still have a place somewhere in your heart…no matter how small it may be…then please, I’m begging you…”

Her pleas ring in his ears and he knows the next words out of her lips before she’s even said them.

“Don’t slip any further away!”

Selfless and unconditional, still there he is walking away. Let me walk away. He pleas.

But it wouldn’t be Sakura if she listened.

“If we just stayed together…forever…then I’m sure someday…things would go back to how they used to be…”

And out of everything that’s what makes him falter in his step and he freezes unable to walk away. He can hear the promise in her words, she’s offered it before and just like back then he can almost see it. Just at arm’s length away but getting farther. As a child the promise of happiness is tempting…but as a man the promise of happiness is something he painfully covets.

He closes his eyes and lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, the word forever echoes in his head and all he wants is to give in but when he opens his eyes again his reality is another.

He can hear her crying behind him and as always his heart breaks at the sound. He turns to her because it’s how the story goes, because he will not be able to walk away until he does. He opens his lips to speak and from the look in her eyes she knows the words he’ll utter before he does.

“You’re so damned annoying…”

The words fall off his lips painfully, because she has that way about her, slipping through every wall. He sees the truth of every word she’s spoken in her eyes. And he knows from experience that if he doesn’t do something, anything to stop her, she’ll try to stop him again.

So with a heavy heart he turns his eye to her and he puts her to sleep with a mental image of what she fears the most.

He falls, falls, falls…and there’s no saving him.

I’m sorry.

Tears keep slipping down her cheeks and she falls to the ground and the sight of it will forever be etched into his memory.

“I can see no reason why she would love me…” But she loves me anyway. “I can see no reason why I should love her.” But I do.

And the realization is painful, terrifying, because there’s no going back. Theirs was a story that should have never started in the first place, but it did.

She can’t love me, she can’t love me, and I can’t love her.

We both know how it ends.

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He lays in the ground, battered, bruised, and a little more dead than alive. Above them she hovers, her eyes taking in their state, her expression relieved and pained at the same time. Her eyes stare at the stain of blood that ends the bloodshed and she holds back unshed tears, her lips turning into a frown.

She doesn’t let her feelings take ahold of her like she would have years ago and turns to work immediately her hands glowing a mint green as she works on their arms.

She works in silence, her eyes closed, and to his surprise there is no sign of tears falling from her eyes.

He can just admire her because he thought he’d never get the chance again. Her pink hair fell messily in her face covering up part of her eyes but somehow the diamond in her forehead remained visible.

“Sakura…I…” He trailed off as she shook her head and for a moment he thought he had accomplished earlier what he sought out to do.

“Just shut up for now…I’m concentrating.” She spoke, opening her eyes and turning to him briefly before she turned back to her work.

“I’m sorry…” He spoke, not caring about the blonde beside them or the gray haired ninja just some feet away. The words were spoken carefully, slowly so she wouldn’t miss out a single syllable, so she would understand that they were truthful.

An apology, to her most of all, was long overdue.

“Sorry? For what…?” She asked her voice trembling as the question was out of her lips.

“For everything up ‘til now.”

For every single thing I’ve done to you, for every tear you cried on my behalf, for every time I turned away, and for realizing almost too late.

At his words it was like seeing the life return to her eyes and as she turned to him her lips curled upward into a smile bright and beautiful, silently she welcomed him home. “You’d better be…shaaaannaro…” It was then that tears fell from her eyes, but her smile was radiating and she was light.

He brought himself into a sitting position and she laughed and smiled wiping away the tears from her eyes while all he could do was stare as all the color flooded back into his life.

We have come a long way…

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Somehow they’re back to that part of the story and he’s walking away, this time however it goes a little different. They’re older and he’s no longer trying to block the sun with his thumb so he bathes in the sunlight and relishes the way she makes the colors stand out.

“You’re really gonna leave?” She asks her voice somewhat disappointed because for them forever would never last long enough.

Words slip out of his lips easily in a way he’s still just getting used to. “I’m finally able to see all the things I’ve overlooked up ‘til now. I might never see with this kind of clarity again.”  She nods, not satisfied with the idea but ready to let him go.

“What if…” Her eyes turn to the side and a blush creeps over her cheeks. He can’t help but watch the way she pursues her lips as she utters the rest of her question. “I asked you to take me with you…?” Her blush only intensifies as she glances up at him through her pink lashes.

And although the idea of traveling with her day and night both intrigues him and excites him he knows a journey of redemption is not the time.

“My sins have nothing to do with you.”

He can see the disappointment in her posture but he knows she’ll understand because she knows him as he knows her, better than he knows himself.

The promise of forever hangs between them in their reach, waiting for him as she waits for him, patient and unconditional. He will never deserve her but he will come back home to her arms a man ready to spend the rest of his life loving her like he should have from the start.

He extends his hand toward her and in slow movement he pokes her forehead where the purple diamond rests proudly, he lingers and as their eyes meet he can’t help the small smile that takes over his lips.

There’s surprise in her eyes and her cheeks are almost matching her hair. “I’ll see you when I’m back.” He tells her because this time the story’s different and he’ll walk away but will have a reason to come back.

“…And thank you…”

The words escape his lips in a whisper, only for her ears to hear, like a secret in the dead of night. This time though, they both know what the words mean. The moment between them with a gesture that seems so simple is so much.

It’s the only way he can say it without saying it, and as always Sakura doesn’t need words to understand.

For the first time since he first laid his eyes on hers, for the first time since the day the teams were arranged, he feels like they are meant for the same story.

And the story ends with a happy ending.

But it’s not an ending, it’s another beginning.

Day 23 – PLURAL

It shouldn’t be like this, Sasuke thinks, walking slowly down the street, careful not to crush into any of the carefree children running around in a noise cloud of their own voices nor quite the gathering of elderly people giving in to one of their favorite pastimes – visiting the local market on a lazy Sunday morning. The heat has still not risen from the ashes of yesterday’s storm but it is already felt in the air that the day is going to be yet another one of the exceptionally hot ones, quite typical for what one would expect from the time of summer in Konoha. The sun is shining brightly, so much that it almost hurts his eyes to look in front of him – well, it certainly would if it wasn’t for the longer black bangs shading the sides of his face (he noticed they have grown with the years but it doesn’t bother him so he just lets them be).

It seems like a completely normal, peaceful beginning of a good day… Quite the opposite, for Sasuke, at least! Lean fingers grip one of the shopping bags with a tad more force for better support of the weight of its content. He still hasn’t come up with any rational explanation as to why Sakura has suddenly sent him to do the grocery shopping, before he’d even eaten decent breakfast, moreover, with a list of needed products so long that it took him almost an hour and a half to mark the search as complete… It would probably take a lot less time if she did it, Sasuke rarely visits the shops these days and it forced him to use almost every ounce of his keen shinobi senses not to get lost in the labyrinth of places Sakura told him are the best.

But there he is, granting her wish at the crazily early hour, on one of the rare days completely  free of duty. What’s more, it’s the day of Sasuke’s 23rd birthday! Not that he is a particularly dedicated lover of such celebrations, however more tolerant he’s grown towards them after his final homecoming. It’s always nicer with your close ones there to share the joy of those special days than as much as struggling to remember about them when you’re on your own…

The man walks out of the busy streets, heading for one of the houses in the quieter, suburban area located near the forests rounding the village. Leaving the lively centre behind, Sasuke takes his time for a deep breath of fresh, warm air that smells of rain and dried-out grass. He looks at the surrounding of cozy detached houses and lets the corner of his mouth curve in a pleased smirk.

A perfect place to start over.

“I’m back…” he mutters, leaving his sandals by the main door made of glass, with two stately Uchiha crests at the both of its sides. Though it’s already been a year that the two of them have lived in the house and almost two since Sakura first moved in with him, Sasuke still can’t force anything but a quiet greeting from himself when he enters the house. For most of his life, he refrained from keeping up the tradition, as there was never anybody there when he came home, anyway, not after that one unforgettable, tragic evening when he was only eight years old. These days, he has Sakura, but something inside still stops him from saying those simple words aloud, like a senseless, paranoid fear that, maybe, if he said it, like with his family… Sakura, too…

“Welcome home!” Sasuke has no more time to dwell on the nonsense eccentricity of his as when he walks to the kitchen, the sight his eyes meet takes him aback for a split second before it’s all pink hair and enthusiastic hug of his wife for some longer than fourteen months.

The shopping slips away from his grasp and a few unruly tomatoes roll away on the floor before he asks of her, in a single gasp he manages, “Sakura… Too tight..!” It’s raspy and it’s strained but, luckily, enough to make her realize she’s overdone it a bit with the strength of her loving embrace. Sakura lets him go, giggling like a small girl she no longer is, she hasn’t been for so long, having proved her determination and the power of her feelings on numerous occasions as a grown up young woman.

The woman he has been honored to made the oath to. To promise to stay by her side at all times and give his all to build the family of theirs with.

Her cheeks are flushed slightly and she is wearing an apron over her casual dress with the symbol of his clan on the back, and, once again, like every day for so long he doesn’t even remember exactly when it started, he can’t take his eyes off her, no matter how hard he would try to… She is beauty and power and kindness, and that he knows what monstrous effort it took for her to become who she now is, makes him even more in awe at what Sakura has achieved - the recognition of her worth, the world-wide fame as a medical ninja and the originator of the idea of treatment of children’s mental health, and now, the family she has always dreamt of…

“Surprise! Happy birthday, darling!” Sakura shakes him out of the reverie, practically shoving him further into the room and showing off her culinary skills with the picture of a breakfast he can’t help but feel his mouth watering at the sight of. There’s everything and anything he could think of considering a delicious, fully nutritious morning meal. If anybody has ever had doubts if Sakura could also become a finely-skilled head of a family, on top of every achievement she’s had, the woman’s abilities in the field left nobody saint with any trace of a chance for criticism!

Sasuke side-glances at the fruit and vegetables scattered all over the floor and looks back at his wife with one eyebrow slightly cocked and a ghost of an amused smirk destroying the effect his mockingly stern eyes should have on her (as if that has ever even worked, she knows him all too well). “Why’d you send me, then? If there was already enough food to prepare it all?” he asks, letting himself be dragged to the chair and almost forced with Sakura’s own hands to take a sit. The woman then quickly disposes of the protective layer of white clothing and joins him with a grin brighter than the weather outside.

“To get you out, obviously,” she shrugs and he answers with a short, affirmative nod, unfolding his napkin in expectations that they will be now proceeding to the meal. His stomach has long decided that it was the high time for that and has kept reminding him with stubborn ache of hunger!

But something is not how it’s supposed to be, Sasuke notices. When he checks on Sakura once again, she hasn’t moved anywhere from the chair next to him, even though, as it has only got to him right now, the place setting for her has been put on the other side of the table. The man frowns, he doesn’t understand what is happening. His wife has her hands folded in her lap, fingers intertwined together, and her eyes are on one of the thumbs brushing against the skin of the back of the other hand. He can’t see her face and her eyes clearly, it’s hidden behind a few loose, pink wisps, but if he were to guess, Sasuke would bet on the fact that she wants to say something but something forces her to hesitate…

“Sakura…” he begins quietly, but falls silent the moment she finally looks back straight at him, taking one of his hands gently in hers and resting the two of them at the table, and her eyes are glossy, her cheeks have gone pink once again and every one of the symptoms makes him nauseous in anxiety he is not fully aware of, because it surely is not anything good that she is so not like herself, until-

“The other reason is that… We are going to need a lot of vitamins to stay healthy, you know…” she murmurs, almost embarrassed, until something clicks in his head and the realization must be reflected in the face he makes because now Sakura is not even holding back the tears and she is laughing through a sob, throwing her arms around his neck and letting him hold her close and safe, cradling the two of them.

“We…” he croaks out hoarsely, his fingers blending themselves with the curtain of her hair and her sweet scent being everything he smells at the moment, the heat of hers warming him and his arms still in the curvature of her body perfectly matching in shape to them, as if she were made to be ever held only by him, “We are going to…”

“Yes, darling!” she cries out happily in his ear, this time, her own joy so overwhelming that it makes her unable to be of a threat to his bones, “We’re going to have a baby!”

And though Sasuke has never been known for expressing emotions, he doesn’t even care to let out a gleeful laugh of happiness.