Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. No matter how much I wanted to.
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Uchiha Sasuke knew, that one day everyone would left him.
Because he left them,
because he turned his back on them.
Uchiha Sasuke knew,
that one day his so-called brother would stop searching for him and move on with his own live.
Uchiha Sasuke knew,
that one day a certain girl would also move on and he would just be a memory from her childhood.
He knew,
that if she ever left him, he wouldn't mind. In fact, he would be glad. He'd be glad because the bond would finally be over.
He knew,
that if they ever left him, he wouldn't mind. In fact, he would be glad. He wouldn't have to think on what to do if he ever met them on a mission or a simple journey. He wouldn't have to bother to even talk to them,
because when they left him, then he really don't have to do anything.
Uchiha Sasuke knew he won't be crying when one day, everyone really did turn their back on him.
He had his own teammates now, and he was the leader.
He killed his brother, even though he regretted it now.
But his life was perfect.
His team was almost unbeatable.
He had everything he ever wanted: Power.
He didn't know why they said it was wrong. Why they said what he done was wrong. But they know nothing about him.
Something was missing, though.
That was the one thing,
that confused him; the one thing that he didn't know.
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They would keep on searching for him,
and when they found him, he would keep his cool.
He knew,
he would ignore everything they said, anything they did just to get him back home.
He knew,
he would just let his new annoying red-haired fan girl mocked and insulted them.
He didn't care.
But when he saw her face twist into a pained expression,
He just couldn't understand why his chest pained as well.
And when they broke into a fight, he didn't know why he made his punches and kicks missed her.
He didn't know why it hurt him when she got a blow from her new mates. He didn't know why he felt it should be him that embraced her when she fell onto the ground, unconscious. He didn't know why he wanted to be the one to take her away to safety.
He didn't know why he was so jealous of Naruto.
He didn't know why after every encounters, he would want to see her again.
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"Sasuke, why are we going again?" Suigetsu asked as they made their way across the sand that covered everything.
Sasuke looked at the white paper he was holding.
"Because I'm invited," he answered, "just curious." He added.
Karin looked at the invitation and sighed.
"I thought the bond is over," she muttered.
Sasuke turned to her.
"True," he said, agreeing with her. "I'm just curious." He said again.
He looked away from them back to the invitation. His teammates exchanged quick glances at each other. To be honest, Sasuke had never actually cared for things like this. He wouldn't care. Because he said the bond was over.
He read the words that were on the small white paper;
Dear Mr. Uchiha Sasuke,
You and Team Falcon are hereby invited to the wedding of one of our Konoha "rookies"
The wedding will be held in the following place at the following time, and the following season:
Place: Sand Country. The Kazekage Tower.
Time: 16.00 pm-12.00 am.
Season: Spring.
We expect to see you there.
Sincerely,
The Sixth Hokage, Naruto.
He frowned as he stared at the season written for a long time.
"Oh, look, Sand Country," Karin pointed out. They all looked forward and saw it. People gathered in front of the gate, pushing each other to be able to enter the country.
Sasuke didn't know why he was so worried, so afraid, that it would be her.
"We can just jump over the wall," Suigetsu grinned as he looked up at the big brown wall. They all nodded and jumped over.
"Halt!"
Sasuke turned to see an ANBU from Konoha stood just behind them on top of the big wall.
"You came," the ANBU muttered, disbelieve was evident in his voice as it shook. He opened his mask; Neji looked at him, still in shock.
Sasuke nodded at him. Neji composed himself and nodded back. And then he smiled.
"Boy, we thought you would never come," he said, flabbergasted.
Sasuke shrugged.
"Just curious," he answered.
Neji nodded, he looked past Sasuke toward Team Falcon. He nodded once at them and then he looked back at Sasuke.
"You can pass," he told him. "Just go straight to the Kazekage Tower, the others are there. Don't go wandering around the village, it's been crazy nowadays."
Sasuke nodded and gestured to his mates. They all followed him toward the Kazekage Tower.
"He came," Ten-ten appeared next to Neji, her hand brushing his.
Neji nodded. He put his mask back on.
"It's a good sign," he told her, smiling behind his mask. Ten-ten nodded and smiled back from behind hers. "Go back to your post, woman." He joked.
She punched him lightly on the shoulder and then leaped away.
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"You came!" Naruto was as shocked as the others when they saw Sasuke and his team arrived on the roof.
Sasuke walked toward Naruto and the others. Naruto reached out his hand and Sasuke shook it. And then, as the emotion took over him, Naruto jumped and hugged Sasuke.
"Teme," he grinned. "It's great to have you back."
Sasuke patted Naruto's back. Nothing was wrong. They didn't hate him. They didn't despise him. They welcomed him.
"Just curious," he said again. Naruto nodded. "And for the record, I'm not back."
Naruto's smile turned upside down. After a while, he sighed and nodded.
"I guessed," he said.
"It starts in like two hours," Shikamaru appeared behind Naruto, putting one hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you should go have something to eat around town first; from the look of it none of you had lunch."
As if to made his point clearer, Karin's stomach growled. Naruto smiled as he tried to hold back his laugh.
"Where're the girls?" Sasuke asked. Where's Sakura?
"They've gone to help the bride ready, of course," Naruto answered him. "Go get some food, teme."
Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he couldn't fight back the urge to smile. He smiled at Naruto and leaped away with his teammates.
"Did he just… smile?" Naruto turned to Shikamaru whose expression was as shocked as Naruto's.
"It's a good sign," Shikamaru smiled.
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Juugo was the first one to hear the bell and the music.
"It's time to go," he told them as they finished their meal.
Sasuke nodded. They leaped back toward the tower. They stopped in a big tree and stood on the highest branch where they could see the view clearly as they were higher than the roof.
"We'll go away once the ceremony is done," Sasuke said. His mates nodded.
Naruto sensed Sasuke nearby; he looked up at the tree and grinned at him. Sasuke waved back, smiling.
"He's smiling again," Naruto grinned at Shikamaru. "A good sign, indeed. Maybe he'll stay."
Shikamaru shrugged. The song started.
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Uchiha Sasuke didn't know why he was so terrified when the song started.
He didn't know why his hands shook when someone in white walked down the aisle with a man in black tuxedo holding her hand; must be her father.
He looked forward to see the groom and he was shocked to see that it was Gaara, the Kazekage. No wonder the ceremony took place in Sand.
He didn't know how to explain the anxiety and fear when he saw all the girls followed closely behind the bride.
Everyone,
except Sakura.
He felt like he was about to throw up when he saw who the bride was.
The pink hair was impossibly easy to recognize.
His heart beat faster when he saw the ceremony continued. His chest pained, a pain that he never felt before.
He couldn't fight back a gasp when they kissed. Suigetsu looked at Sasuke with pity; Juugo looked at him with worry, while Karin looked at Sakura with anger. She certainly didn't understand why that pink-haired girl had made Sasuke's body shook with something he himself couldn't grasp.
Sasuke stared as Naruto ran up to her and hugged her. He whispered something to her and she gasped. He pointed to the tree they were at and her eyes turned to them.
They met his.
Pure green orbs met unfathomable darkness.
She turned to Gaara and said something to him, his eyes turned to the tree as well. Two perfect green eyes that matched hers. Sasuke wanted to kill him right on the spot. Gaara nodded at her, she smiled and hugged him.
The next they knew, she was standing next to them with her pretty white dress on.
"Uhm…" Suigetsu turned to Sasuke. "Congratulations." He muttered, shaking her hand. She smiled at him.
"Thank you," she said. It shocked Suigetsu how beautiful the pink-haired girl was; how her voice sounded like the song that led her wedding.
Juugo congratulate her as well, Karin shook her hand as he tried to fake a smile. Sakura narrowed her eyes but shrugged anyways.
Sakura turned to Sasuke. She walked to him and hugged him.
"I'm so glad you're here," her voice shook. He felt her tears as they wet his shirt. He hugged her back, not wanting to let go.
"Congratulations," There. He said it. The very word that pained him like his body was torn apart into pieces.
Sakura nodded.
"I waited so long…" she sobbed into his shoulder.
Sasuke knew that.
"It hurts to know that you'll never come back,"
And that.
"Gaara is there,"
That, too.
"He told me to not worry, he told me one day you'll come back, and he told me to keep on waiting,"
And… huh?!
"He's with me all the time, he made me laugh," she giggled as the memory came back to her. "I don't know how… but he managed to take over my mind and…" she paused. "…the next thing I knew, he was all that I can think about, the one I worry when he went away on dangerous missions, or when people came to try to kill him."
Ouch.
Sasuke nodded, he tightened his hug on her.
"I'm glad you're back, though," she pushed him away slowly. "NO!" He screamed in his mind. "Are you going to stay forever now?"
Sasuke looked at her, he hid his pain well. He shook his head, his expression cold. Sakura's face fell.
"Oh, I see," she muttered. She sighed as more tears came back. "I was hopeful when Naruto said you're here, when he said you smiled to him twice… we were hopeful…"
"Sakura, I will never come back and you know that," he said before his heart fell all the way to his stomach.
She nodded.
"I do," she agreed. "I was just…" his look shut her, she bit her lip and cried more. "Please…" she begged. "Please stay…"
He shook his head.
"Me and my mates have to go now," he said. She looked at the rest of the team and nodded.
"We're… ehm, gonna be waiting in front," Suigetsu said, uncomfortable with the miserable atmosphere that was supposed to be the opposite on such a happy day like today. Sasuke nodded and they were gone, Karin was dragged, of course.
"Will you say goodbye to everyone?" she looked at him. He sighed and turned.
"Oi, Naruto!" he screamed. Naruto turned to him, almost everyone stopped talking and all attention was at him. "I'll be going now; you take care of yourself and her here."
Naruto's face fell. His eyes looked as if it was going to pop out.
"Okay!" he yelled back, his voice shook and thick with tears. "You take care of yourself!"
Sasuke nodded.
Then, Naruto raised his fist in the air toward him.
Sasuke smiled and raised his as well.
"Take care, Teme!" Naruto grinned, tears rolled down his eyes uncontrollably.
"You too, Dobe!" Sasuke grinned back.
He turned to Sakura who was sobbing like there was no tomorrow.
"Take care, Sakura," he smiled, his voice gentle.
She nodded, her body shook with sorrow.
She grabbed his right hand with both of her hands.
"I love you, Sasuke-kun," she cried. "I love you so much…"
Sasuke nodded, knowing that the love she felt for him now wasn't the same as the one before.
"I love you, too, Sakura," he said, more than anything. "Take care."
He jumped away. Sakura reached out to grab his hand and stop him, but she ended up grabbing thin air.
Her legs gave out; she fell onto the big tree branch and started crying. Naruto appeared next to her, patting her back.
"Him being here is a big thing already," he said, cheering her up.
Sakura nodded. She turned to him and hugged him tight. They both cried for the one thing they wanted but would never have; their best-friend, their teammate, their brother back home.
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Sasuke went ahead of his teammates. He wanted to be alone.
His tears rolled down his cheeks like waterfalls.
His body shook with the sorrow he felt. His chest hurt him more than when his body was attacked and left bleeding until Karin came and heal him.
He didn't bother wiping away the tears as he knew more will come.
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Uchiha Sasuke now knew that his friends would never leave him.
Uchiha Sasuke now knew that if one day he come back home, they would all welcome him with warm smiles and hugs.
Uchiha Sasuke now knew that Naruto would also be there, not having any grudge toward him at all.
But,
He now knew that when he come back home, he wouldn't have the one thing he wanted.
She would never be in his arms.
He would never be able to spend his life with her.
He would never receive the kind of love he wanted from her.
It was too late.
Uchiha Sasuke now knew what he was missing.
He now knew what he didn't know before.
He now knew why his friends didn't want him to leave.
He now knew what he'd done wrong.
He now knew that everything he thought he knew in the beginning was wrong.
He would cry, in fact, he might kill himself when one day everyone did turn their back against him.
He could go back.
But he won't.
Because she really did move on,
And the love she felt for him was now just a memory.
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As he made his way back to their headquarter, he regret having to leave and not come back.
All the power he had now meant nothing.
Because he had lost the one thing that meant the world to him.
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"Sasuke-kun, I love you."
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*smiles*
I think the story is damn sad. I got that weird feeling in my chest when I wrote this… wow.
Well,
Reviews are appreciated.
~PSIt'sRainy.