Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but then you already knew that. : )

I'm sorry this chapter took so long. Real life got in the way.

6. I think most people assumed the (.s.) (.s.) containing the song lyrics at the beginning of every chapter meant (.song.). Little secret about the story: they actually mean (.Sasuke.) and (.Sakura.) Each song is from Sasuke to Sakura or vice versa; but it isn't so obvious because both their names start with s! –laugh-

Also, THE VOTES ARE IN! Here are the results of the poll:

ShikaIno ... 9 votes
NaruHina ... 13 votes
SakuSasuIno (love triangle) ... 19 votes
NejiTen ... 21 votes

So NejiTen will be the main pairing of my next multichapter story. :) Thank you all for voting! I'm really excited about the NejiTen story. It may take a while, so add me to Author Alerts so that you will see it, okay? :) If you voted for one of the other pairings, don't despair: I may write those as well, with time.

Now, I really hope you enjoy the last chapter!

(.s.)
So, here we are
That's pretty far
When you think of where we've been.
No going back,
I'm fading out
All that has faded me within…
(.s.)

The Konoha Canopy

bringing accurate news to citizens of Konoha.

BREAKING NEWS:

BILLIONAIRE ITACHI UCHIHA ARRESTED

The elder heir to the prestigious Uchiha Corporation and the Uchiha family fortune was arrested at his home last night under suspicion of plotting the brutal murder of his entire family years ago.

Itachi Uchiha's presumed motive for committing the crime was to attain the massive assets of the Uchiha properties before he would have rightfully inherited them. However, due to careful stipulations from deceased father Fugaku Uchiha, assets which younger son Sasuke Uchiha was entitled could not be touched by Itachi.

Sasuke Uchiha is the only other surviving member of the family. Police suspect that once Sasuke turned eighteen and gained access to his share of the fortune, Itachi would have had him killed so that he could take the money as his own.

Sasuke Uchiha's share of the Uchiha fortune was also coveted by Orochimaru, a high-level chemist who planned to use the money to fund his illegal experiments on chemical warfare and body switching. Desiring Sasuke at all costs, Orochimaru attacked Sakura Haruno; a friend of Sasuke's who tried to stop him from leaving Konoha. Orochimaru was apprehended by police as he attempted to escape to the land of Sound and is expected to serve a life sentence.

Policemen Akito Matari and Seiji Ohana gained the leads from a dependable source. Itachi Uchiha's entire mansion was searched thoroughly. Inside a secret compartment, signed agreements between Itachi and several officers of the Konoha Police Department to hide all evidence of Itachi's betrayal of his family in exchange for money were found. These officers have since had their badges revoked and were taken into custody.

Aiding and abetting the crime was caretaker of the Uchiha household, Kadtsu Morino; also bribed by Itachi with money from the Uchiha fortune. Kadtsu was arrested at the Uchiha mansion where he looked after Sasuke Uchiha; seemingly as a spy for Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke has since been removed from his care and is now living as an emancipated minor.

Itachi Uchiha has been stripped of his inheritance, and Sasuke Uchiha will have complete control of the Uchiha fortune once he becomes eighteen years old.

"Any mistakes?" a reporter from the Konoha Canopy asked as Sasuke read the article.

The black-haired boy held the paper in shaky hands—finally, there was proof. Itachi was getting the punishment he deserved, Orochimaru was being arrested, and Sasuke himself had realized that there was more to life than defeating his brother. One sentence repeated in his mind:

… Orochimaru attacked Sakura Haruno; a friend of Sasuke's who tried to stop him from leaving.

… Orochimaru attacked Sakura Haruno, a friend of Sasuke's…

… Orochimaru attacked Sakura Haruno…

… Sakura Haruno…

"Mr. Uchiha?"

"Sakura is my girlfriend," Sasuke said, pushing the draft back into her hands. "That's the only correction."

The reporter scribbled onto the draft as she stood up. "It'll run in tomorrow's paper; front page."

Sasuke nodded at her as she left the Konoha Police Station. Akito slapped him on the shoulder. "Good job, kid. This must be hard for you."

"It's harder for her," Sasuke thought of Sakura, but said "I need all of this to be finished."

"Well, everything's been cleared, so you're free to go—"

"Wait," Seiji, the other police officer, ran towards them. "Itachi Uchiha refuses to cooperate. He says he will only comply if he speaks with Sasuke."

"Easy there," Akito said as he saw Sasuke's demeanor grow angry. "You don't have to listen to him. We'll take it from here. You just go home."

"I'll talk to him," Sasuke said.

"You don't have to—"

"Where is he?" Sasuke asked Seiji, who looked at Akito warily.

The burly policeman sighed. "Five minutes, if you insist."

He briefed Sasuke on the rules as they walked ("You are not allowed to give him anything. Seiji and I will be there the entire time. You would normally present identification; but we have already verified your identity. You have already been searched…") but Sasuke found himself paying little attention as they reached the non-contact booth.

Itachi was only separated from him by a wall-sized piece of glass.

"Hello, foolish little brother."

Sasuke stared at Itachi. Itachi's eyes were tired. So tired. The prison garb was ill-fitting on his slender form.

"Why?" was all Sasuke wanted to know.

Itachi was aware that this might be the last time he would see his younger brother. Sasuke's eyes were tired. So tired. He seemed older than his sixteen years.

With that, Itachi decided that Sasuke would never know of the secrets shrouding their family.

Sasuke would never know that their father had been planning a hostile takeover of Konoha and could not be reasoned with. He would never know that Itachi had destroyed their family for the greater good.

Itachi hung his head as he realized that part of the article he had heard the guards talking about was true: after gaining his share of the fortune, he had become desirous of Sasuke's share.

Itachi hated that their eyes were so similar. "I will not let you become like me."

He would not be able to watch over his little brother. Who would?

"That girl," Itachi thought out loud.

Sasuke was startled. "What?"

There was a reason Orochimaru had to nearly destroy her to get her out of the way. There was a reason that Itachi himself was able to use her as bait to get to Sasuke.

"You care about each other's happiness. Keep her safe."

"I'm not here for advice," Sasuke said hotly. "I only want to know why you did all of this."

"I won't tell you."

"I deserve to know!" Sasuke slammed his hands on the small table and the police officers became alert.

"There is much you deserve to know that I hope you will never find out."

Sasuke seemed to understand that there were dark secrets hanging over their family. His unsaid sentences hung in the air. You annihilated our family. You ruined my life. What reason could possibly be sufficient?

Itachi closed his eyes. "Don't become like me, Sasuke. Reason with people. Find compromise. Trust your instincts. And remember that you are never really alone."

Seiji intervened as Sasuke opened his mouth. "The time you requested to talk to your brother has ended. Sasuke, you must leave now."

Itachi tried to memorize every detail of his brother's face as the police officers lead him away. "Forgive me, Sasuke."

Flick!

Sasuke felt the paper ball bounce off of his forehead, breaking his deep concentration in the middle of Chemistry class. He quickly concealed it under his notebook as the new substitute teacher glanced in his direction to find the source of the noise. Once she locked eyes with Sasuke, she hastily looked away.

Sasuke found that people looked at him differently since the article appeared in the Konoha Canopy.

He looked around the classroom for the source of the ball, but everyone was working quietly. Everyone except—

"Hey, hey," Naruto whispered (too loudly) as he poked Sasuke's shoulder, "I threw it!"

— Naruto. Of course. "You didn't have to throw that," Sasuke hissed. "I sit right beside you."

Naruto shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Your ideas aren't good at any time."

"Yet I know I'd never hurt my Hinata the way you hurt Sakura," Naruto retorted, and Sasuke cringed. "Have you gone to see her since you got out of the hospital?"

"I can't," Sasuke mumbled, scraping his pencil into the margin of his notebook.

"Why not?"

"They banned me. I stayed in her room all night—"

Naruto slapped Sasuke on the back. "Way to go!"

"It was nothing like that." Sasuke remembered for a second what that night had been like—the warmth, the confessions, the comfortable feeling of being next to her— and decided that he would speak of it to absolutely no one else. "Tsunade just wasn't happy to see me in Sakura's room in the morning."

"S-Sasuke, N-Naruto," Hinata said quietly from her seat beside the blond, "I-I think the teacher is upset that you're talking…"

"That sucks!" Naruto declared; all traces of whispering abandoned. "Hinata and the other girls go to see her every day now—"

"Uzumaki, Uchiha," the teacher's arms were on her hips, "care to share what you're talking about with the rest of the class?"

"Nope," Naruto said with a grin. "Sorry ma'am."

"Get back to work," she finished, turning back to the whiteboard.

"Yeah, so like I was saying," Naruto was back to his pseudo-whispering.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered harshly, "maybe we should talk after class—"

"Detention." the teacher dropped the slip of paper onto Sasuke's desk. "One hour after school today in Room 33."

Sasuke held the paper in disbelief. "But—"

"No buts," the teacher said.

Naruto leaned on Sasuke's shoulder. "She said butts," he snickered.

Sasuke felt like ripping his best friend to shreds and ignored him steadfastly, even when Naruto resumed throwing paper balls at him that the teacher somehow did not notice. (Fifteen of them, Sasuke counted.) The rest of the day went past him in a blur and before he knew it, he was being let out of his last class with only two minutes until detention.

As he ran to Room 33, Sasuke had to wonder if Kakashi started and ended every class late. He got to the door just in time and grasped the handle.

"Wait for me!" his vision was shrouded by long blonde hair before a girl ran straight into him.

"Sorry!" her voice was girly and slightly annoying. "I was rushing because we're late…" Ino trailed off and became stonier when she realized who she was talking to. "Sasuke."

"Ino," Sasuke said cordially. He opened the door for her and she flounced inside with her lips pursed, deliberately avoiding his gaze.

Sasuke chose to ignore this as he chose a seat. He actually needed to talk to Ino and he had never been one for small talk. Cutting right to the chase, he lay down his cards.

"I'm going to start dating Sakura again."

Ino blinked once. Twice. Three times. And then she laughed.

This did nothing to help Sasuke's situation. He narrowed his eyebrows. He did not actually care for Ino's approval but he knew that as Sakura's best friend, Ino had quite a bit of influence over her. Ino could possibly make Sasuke's life a living hell.

She finally stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. "Sasuke, at some point you're going to have to realize that it's not all about you. You're really selfish if you only want to date her to make yourself feel better about what you did."

"No—"

"You have to think about her feelings too," Ino was frank. "How do you even know she still likes you?"

The answer hung in the air between both of them. Sasuke knew that Ino could answer that question herself.

"She's Sakura," Sasuke said it out loud. "She'll always love me."

This clearly pissed Ino off. "Well, until you love her and give her some respect, you shouldn't go near her!"

"Ino," Sasuke started.

She looked at him and he could tell he had to pour out his whole heart. "I'll never let her get hurt like this again. I… honestly… care about her."

"What do you have to show for yourself then, Sasuke?" Ino said, and that was the end of their conversation.

He and Ino waited for twenty minutes in complete silence. Sasuke got a head start on his homework. Ino painted her nails in a colour so terrifyingly bright it made him recoil. Suddenly she stood up.

"It doesn't look like the monitor's going to show up. I'm leaving."

"Hn," Sasuke said.

"We're back to that again?" Sakura shook her head.

"Snap out of it," Sasuke told himself. It seemed that everything reminded him of Sakura.

Ino walked out of the room and Sasuke was left by himself, staring at the wall.

"… you're going to have to realize that it's not all about you."

"I care about her," he whispered to no one in particular. "I just wish someone would believe me."

"Fear not, Sasuke Uchiha!" said boy was surprised to see Lee at the door with mock tears in his eyes. "You are the only person who needs to believe. You will only have to prove it to everyone else through the power of youth!"

"Calm down, Lee," Kana held his shoulder.

Sasuke had been seeing the two of them together a lot lately. He observed them for a minute.

"I cannot!" Lee held a fist high. "I perfectly understand his youthful feelings! I know how torturous it is to hold someone close to your heart without knowing whether they return your love! I know the springtime feeling of true love pulling at your every heartstring!"

"Really?" Kana asked. "Who do you love, Lee?"

Sasuke never thought he would see the day Rock Lee blushed. "Kana—I have wanted to say this for an unduly long time but the youthful opportunity has evaded me. I have done two thousand pushups each time I failed, but—"

"LEE!" Gai ran towards them. "Am I bearing witness to your first youthful confession of love?"

"GAI!" Lee cried. "This glorious moment shines brighter than any in my youthful life thus far!"

"LEE!"

"GAI!"

"LEE!"

Sasuke left the room before the crashing waves and shining teeth began. He didn't have to walk very far until he heard someone say his name. Naruto was running up to him and Sasuke, still upset about being sent to a useless detention, resisted the urge to walk away.

"What do you want now?" the black-haired boy asked impatiently.

"Hinata just told me," Naruto panted, "that Sakura's coming back to school in two weeks!"

"Here you are, Mr. Haruno," Kakashi said as he handed him a large stack of papers in the teachers' lounge. "These are some photocopied notes for Sakura to read. They'll help her to keep up with the rest of the class until she comes back."

"Thank you very much," the girl's father was grateful. "Who was kind enough to write this?"

"It's a compilation," Kakashi said, and Sakura's father looked through and saw the varying handwritings. "I had a lot of volunteers. For example, here's some from Hinata Hyuuga," Kakashi pointed towards very neat cursive, "Ino Yamanaka… " There was a shockingly bright-coloured stain near the blonde's handwriting. "But the bulk of it is from Sasuke Uchiha."

Something in the other man's face changed as soon as Sasuke was mentioned. He slapped the papers shut.

"He's not a bad child," Kakashi leaned back on the desk.

"My daughter is in the hospital right now because of him."

"It isn't Sasuke's fault," Kakashi said. He took a newspaper off of a nearby shelf. "This is the latest issue of the Konoha Canopy. The front page should interest you."

Sakura's father took it from him warily and scanned the pages.

"Sasuke isn't a bad child," Kakashi repeated as he saw the other man's expression fill with surprise and understanding. "He's simply been surrounded by the wrong people for most of his life. With Sakura, that will change. I'm sure he will also be a positive influence on her."

Sakura's father handed the newspaper back to Kakashi. "He was respectful when he came to my house. Suzume and Sakura liked him very much. Admittedly, I enjoyed having him." He ran a hand through his white hair. "I won't tolerate any semblance to a repeat of this; but I'll allow him to prove himself to me again."

"Thank you," Kakashi said gratefully.

Mr. Haruno looked at a clock on the wall. "I have to go. There's a meeting I need to attend," he said. "Have a good day."

Kakashi waved as Sakura's father walked away. The teacher looked at the clock on the wall. "Come to think of it, wasn't there something I had to do—?"

"Hey Kakashi," Anko called from across the room. "Weren't you supposed to monitor detention today?"

Kakashi took out his book. "I was just robbed and brought here by mysterious gypsies on a travelling caravan."

"You moron."

As they pulled up in front of Konoha Amusement Park, the chauffeur pondered Sasuke's unusual choice of destination for only a second before the black-haired boy closed the limousine door behind him. "I'll need around 15 minutes."

Sasuke heard his chauffeur's distant response as he walked away. He wasn't entirely sure why he had come here. "Trust your instincts," Itachi had said, and despite everything that had happened between them, Sasuke knew it was good advice. After hearing that Sakura was returning soon, his instincts had led him here.

While walking, he watched children drag their parents to various rides. A father carried his young daughter in his arms. Couples walked past him; smiling and holding hands. The amusement park just as crowded as it had been when they all went there together.

SPLASH.

And they still hadn't fixed the damn water ride.

Sasuke coughed as he wiped the water away from his eyes. He remembered the way Sakura had laughed in front of him, soaking wet. He remembered the way she hugged him and the way he resisted putting his arms around her.

"What do you have to show for yourself, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's gaze lowered. Water dripped from his clothes onto the ground. Carefree chatter was all around him and Sasuke remembered walking with Sakura, hearing her whisper—

Sasuke knew why his instincts had told him to come here. With purposeful strides, he headed for a specific stall.

The next two weeks passed too slowly for Sasuke's liking. He realized that he had taken seeing Sakura every day at school for granted. Her absence agitated him more than he could say as he walked into the school building.

Around him, people were whispering and looking at him strangely. Had they not gotten over the article in the Konoha Canopy yet?

"You're all going to be late for class if you don't hurry up," Shikamaru was on Hall Monitor duty, waving the students in the direction of the classrooms. As they moved, their eyes were fixed on Sasuke. Sasuke moved to go with them, but Shikamaru held him back.

"Sakura is back today," Shikamaru said. "That's what all the whispering is about."

Sasuke instantly became more alert. He couldn't care less about what the other students thought. "Where is she?"

"Ino and the other girls are waiting to see her. She's in a meeting with Tsunade right now. She's still got some bandages on, but she's been cleared to go to class—"

"Where is she," Sasuke repeated.

"You have to wait until she's out of the meeting."

"Where. Is. She."

Shikamaru sighed. "She's in the Physics lab," he said. Sasuke immediately ran off in that direction, and Shikamaru sighed again. "What a drag."

Sasuke sped through the crowds of students expertly. The wait was over. She was here. In his hurry, he almost ran past the Physics lab.

"Hey!" Tenten protested from her seat. Sasuke barely registered Ino, Tenten and Hinata sitting outside the lab as he grasped the doorknob. "You can't just barge in there! We've been waiting here forever—"

"—the S.I.C.K.N.E.S.S. club has been disbanded, and Ami Watanabe has been suspended. I'm not worried about your schoolwork, either. You'll catch up quickly, Sakura," Sasuke heard Tsunade say before he swung open the door. Both Tsunade and Sakura quickly turned to face him.

Sakura's eyes widened and her face went red. "Sas—"

"To hell with waiting," Ino barged through the doorway and hugged her best friend. Tenten and Hinata joined her and made a group hug. Sakura laughed. Sasuke's eyes never left her.

"Perhaps you girls would consider going to class?" There was a hint of a smile on Tsunade's face as she watched their reunion. "I have another meeting to attend." Tsunade nodded at them before she left the room.

"Hey Sakura, come on," Ino tugged on her hand. "We have a Math test today and I am so screwed—"

"I-Ino," Hinata halted her gently and gestured to Sakura's eyes. Ino followed the pink-haired girl's stare straight to Sasuke.

The black-haired boy's hand hadn't moved from the doorknob. Sakura stood in front of him, completely frozen. The friendly aura in the room had been replaced by tension.

"Sakura," he said her name and all other words disappeared from his mind.

"Sakura," Sasuke tried again. There was so much he wanted to say to her. He wondered if she felt the same way. She looked different to him. Her eyes were a brighter green; her hair a more womanly shade of pink. Had he forgotten what she looked like? No. He would never. He could never. But…

"You look…"

"… different," she completed his sentence. They looked at each other with the same eyes.

"I brought something for you," Sasuke said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He opened it, took out a present wrapped in red and gave it to her.

Sakura looked from the oddly shaped present in her hand to Sasuke and back. She had no idea what it was until she began to peel off the wrapping paper. As she removed more and more of the paper, Sakura's eyes lit up in recognition and filled with tears.

In her hands was a small, stuffed bear with a smile on its face, holding a flower that said 'I Love You'.

"You remember this?" she stared at the bear. "This was from—"

"The amusement park," Sasuke said. "I remember you saying that you liked it."

"After all this time?" Sakura was at a loss for words, which came tenfold as Sasuke's arms enveloped her. She closed her eyes. Sasuke reveled in the feel of her body and the familiar scent of her hair. When he buried his face into the crook of her neck, his breath made Sakura's skin tingle.

"Sakura—"

The bell rang; interrupting Sasuke's words and reminding him that Ino, Hinata and Tenten were still in the room. Hinata's face was tomato red. It was Ino who reacted first.

"We're going to be late," she said, dragging the other two girls out of the room and towards their classroom, slamming the door behind them.

"You're just leaving them?" Tenten questioned. "I thought you were against this."

"Forehead Girl is a big kid now. She can take care of herself," Ino said as she walked. "And Sasuke… he's different, in the way he talks to her and touches her… I see what he has to show for himself."

"Huh?"

Ino smiled. "Short version of the story: They're good together."

"Sasuke," Sakura said softly as Sasuke's hands ran over her, reveling in the fact that she was there, right there with her heartbeat and her green eyes and her love that never left him, even in the darkest times. "Are we going to go to class?"

"Do you mind being five minutes late," Sasuke said. It wasn't really a question. "There are just a few more things I want to say."

Sakura nodded, her voice lost as Sasuke's arms brought her closer still. Her hands caressed his hair and led a soft trail down to his chest. Sasuke nearly forgot to speak.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," he said. Sakura was about to reply when he put a finger to her lips. He needed to say all of this. "A few months ago, I never thought I'd fall in love with you."

Sasuke wiped away the tears that fell from Sakura's eyes. "I was selfish enough to have to almost lose you before I realized it. I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me for that."

"I forgave you the moment you walked into the hospital room," Sakura said.

"Thank you, even though I don't deserve it." Sasuke looked into her eyes.

She returned his gaze and replied, "You deserve everything."

Her vibrant, viridian eyes met his determined, dark ones and their need for each other was almost palpable.

He relaxed his hold on her. She realized what was happening and seized his lips with hers as he held her by the waist. Sasuke did not start off gentle; every kiss he gave her exuded raw need that Sakura felt deep in her bones. As Sasuke called her name in that masculine voice she loved so much, she knew he felt the same.

"Someday," Sakura said inbetween kisses, "I hope I'll make you as happy as you make me."

"You've been doing that every day since I met you."

They were many more than five minutes late for class.

(.s.)
You broke through
All of my confusion,
The ups and the downs and you still didn't leave,
I guess that you saw what nobody could see,
The good and the bad and the things inbetween,
You found me.
(.s.)

The song used for this chapter was 'You Found Me' by Kelly Clarkson.

Thank all of you so much for supporting me; especially those of you who have been here since chapter 1. It's been a long three-year ride and I feel both accomplished and a little sad as I mark this story Complete. My writing steadily improved as I wrote this story and I couldn't have done it without you all.

I'd really like it if you reviewed this chapter. I hope it was worth making you guys wait so long! I did my best. :)

Thanks so much!
-danielie