Can't Let Go of Him

She had lost one teammate already. In the process, she had lost her heart and had forgotten what it meant to breathe without pain. She had forgotten how it felt to laugh without feeling sadness at the thought of laughing without him. But, as they say, time heals all wounds. No, that wasn’t true…he healed all wounds in time. That smile that told of carefree joys with blue eyes, deeper than the deepest part of the ocean. She’d never forget the day he walked through the gates with a very familiar form draping over his shoulder.

“Naruto!” She cried out and ran to him. “You’re bleeding!”

“Look, Sakura-chan…” Naruto just smiled through his bloodied lips motioning with his cut up arms to the limp form of Uchiha Sasuke. “I finally did it…I fulfilled my promise to you. I told you it was a promise of a lifetime…”

“N-Naruto…” She looked to the form and nodded, slipping into medic mode and had him drag them both to the hospital to fix them both up.

The process took two full days to fully heal the Uchiha she once had called her teammate and her only love. But as she looked at his sleeping form, she didn’t feel it. She didn’t feel the same draw as when she was younger. She even pressed her hand to his cheek and instead of feeling warmth, she felt nothing. Sakura was so very confused. She left his side and went to find her other teammate. As soon as she stepped into the room she felt a flooding of emotions. Sakura even stumbled and leaned against the wall from the vast difference. Staring wide eyed at the floor, she tried to gather what this could possibly mean to her…why was this such a difference? This was the knuckle headed shinobi, Uzumaki Naruto….not the cool, calm, collected, and handsome Uchiha Sasuke. What had changed between them?

As Sakura tried to gather what this could mean, a voice made her break from her thoughts and look up as the number one knuckle head of Konoha spoke her name. What was worse…was the fact it scared her how right it sounded coming from his lips and the fact that his voice made her stomach light into flutters of butterflies.

“Sakura-chan…? Oi! Are you okay?!” Naruto’s voice turned to fear as she watched him attempt to get up from his hospital bed to get to her.

Medic mode seemed to save her often from situations…like these. “Naruto! What are you doing! Get back in bed! I’m fine!”

She didn’t miss the sigh of relief as he climbed back into bed. “You scared me, ne?”

“I’m just fine. Calm down. Sasuke’s recovering well…”

“I see…” Naruto looked at his hands and smiled sadly. “I told you I’d fulfill that promise.”

“Naruto---“

“Sakura-chan. I…I’m happy that you can finally rest happily knowing he’s home.” Naruto yawned for emphasis. Sakura had never before seen Naruto try to hint at her to leave him alone for a bit. But, she wouldn’t deny him and took her leave.

It was a few days later that the celebration of the Uchiha’s return took place. Courtesy of Yamanaka Ino, the party was held at the newly refinished and restored Uchiha compound. Sakura just moved through the crowd, feeling nothing short of lost and confused. She should have been happy that he was back, happy to have that chance with him again. Sakura’s green eyes laid to rest on the sight of blonde man she knew very well, laughing half-heartedly with some of the other of the rookie nin she had grown up with. She took a step towards him only to feel a hand encircle around her arm, stopping her. She turned slowly to see the intensely dark eyes of the last remaining Uchiha. His eyes held something frighteningly familiar. A feeling she had once carried for him…a deep and intense caring. She was caught off guard by this that she completely missed the sad blue eyes with a smile to match turn and leave the crowd.

“Sakura.” Was all the Uchiha said to her.

“Sasuke-kun.” She couldn’t find it in her to feel the compassion she used to for him.

“Can I have a minute with you…?”

She wanted to scream at him and ask him about the times she wanted to spend with him but he never cared to look in her direction, but instead mutely nodded and let him lead her back through the crowd into a darkened part of the compound. He stepped away and turned back looking at her.

“Sakura…what do you think of this place?” He said looking around then back at her.

“…It’s…nice.” She smiled as best as she could. “Comfy and cozy.”

“Enough to raise a family, huh?” He had the ghost of a smile cross his features.

“…” Sakura just stayed silent, not sure of what to think.

“Sakura.” He said as if demanding her attention, “I will be restoring the Clan now. Itachi is dead and gone. I finished him off.”

“Is that so?” She laughed nervously and walked to the drawn window curtains. “I knew you could do it.”

“When I left…it wasn’t because I didn’t want to take you with me, Sakura…” Sasuke sighed. “I wanted to, so badly. But I couldn’t put you in danger like that. Who knows what Itachi could have done to you…” She felt him behind her and that un-nerved her already frayed nerves.

“T-That’s all right. It was probably best that I stayed here. I grew up and learned how to be better than I even could have been if I had gone with you.” Sakura attempted to hint a bit to him.

“And I’m glad you did. You’re the strongest woman and only one worthy of the title of Uchiha in this village. That’s why I chose you, Sakura. You are the only one I can even imagine rebuilding the Uchiha Clan with. Sakura…I love you…”

Sakura had been so surprised at the confession but what surprised her more, was the pain that laced through her at hearing that. She felt the tears rise to her eyes and barely understood why, but her hand flung out and shoved him aside as she ran. Blinded by the liquid spilling from her eyes, she could barely tell who she was shoving past. She just knew one thing, her goal…Naruto…

And here she stood. A bare apartment with nothing left anywhere. No ramen containers strewn about, no messy bedding on the lone bed, no photos of team seven on the dresser, nothing. She fell to her knees and looked around. She felt her heart shattering again…but this time, she knew it hurt one hundred times worse than when Sasuke left her behind. This time, she felt everything fall into a downward spiral. She began to sob and curled up on the floor of the empty apartment and cried his name over and over again, clutching her chest in a useless effort to stop the pain. Eventually, Sakura fell into a restless sleep with tears staining the wooden floors and her cheeks. The black dress that clung to her, was nothing against the cold. But even that couldn’t compare to the cold she felt in her heart. Sakura was left alone yet again by one of her teammates. But this time, Uzumaki Naruto took more than just her heart with him…he took her soul and her life with him…

Sakura awoke slowly with a throbbing headache. She winced and sat up, rubbing her temples. She then registered she wasn’t alone and jumped up to her feet looking around. Her eyes landed on the sight of her former sensei, Hatake Kakashi, sitting on the empty bed reading his smut book. She looked at him and then, as if just now remembering why she was there, took in the sight of the empty apartment again. She felt tears threaten to fall again. She turned her gaze back to Kakashi.

“Where…where is Naruto?” She asked as if believing Kakashi held all the answers. She received a small sigh and the snapping shut of a book. One lazy eye turned in her direction.

“He’s not here anymore, Sakura.” He stood up slowly and eyed the apartment in a sad gesture as well.

Sakura turned her eyes to the floor. “But why? Why did he leave?!”

Kakashi walked over slowly and laid his hand gently on her shoulder and in as gentle a voice as possible offered his only inkling into the situation that he had. “Sakura. Naruto…may have felt in the way. After all, wasn’t it you he brought Sasuke back for after all these years?”

The words stabbed Sakura through the heart as though they were a sword. It was true after all…he risked it all to bring her Sasuke back. But didn’t he realize? Couldn’t he realize that no matter how she looked at it, Sasuke hadn’t been there when she needed him…but Naruto had. Had she really taken him that much for granted?

Kakashi felt helpless as Sakura’s eyes spilled the tears she was trying so hard to hold back. He wasn’t a man for comforting people, so he felt absolutely useless to his only female student. He scratched the back of his head and turned at the sound of the door swinging open and hitting the wall with a thud. Sasuke stepped into the apartment calling out to the no-longer-present Naruto only to stop and take in the scene with confused eyes. It sank in that Sakura was crying over the empty apartment. He, of course, couldn’t piece together the complete reason why she was crying…but assumed it was because she was just worried about the idiot. He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her openly and pulled her into his chest.

Sakura’s eyes widened and she blinked at the ceiling as Sasuke whispered what should have been calming words in her ear. She didn’t know what to think…or how to react for that matter.

“It’s all right, Sakura…” Sasuke practically hummed in her ear. “That idiot will be back…there’s no reason to worry.”

Kakashi opened his book and turned to leave the two before quickly tossing over his shoulder, “Just remember that, Sakura. He loves you that much…” With a poof of smoke, he was gone leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone.

Sasuke pulled away slightly. “This may not be the best time, but why did you push away?”

“I…” Sakura looked away and out the window. “I guess I just didn’t have an answer.”

“Sakura. What’s there to answer?”

“…” Sakura sighed and pulled even further away walking over the window and staring out at the village. An image of a grinning blonde idiot fluttered through her mind. “It’s been four years, Sasuke…I can’t just agree without understanding what exactly it is I can give you.”

“That should be easy!” Sasuke’s slightly angered voice yelled from the other side of the room. “You used to so freely give me your heart! Why the change?!”

Sakura turned on him. “You have no idea what I went through while you were gone!! Not knowing if you were still alive or if you had completely forgotten about me!!” An inside voice screamed, ‘While Naruto was there! The idiot as you so called him!’

Sasuke stared at her and frowned before growling out, “I’ll give you another two days to give me an answer…” With that, he turned and left the apartment. Sakura sighed in relief and leaned against the wall. She knew the one person who Naruto had probably said something if anything to would be shissou. In other words, it was off to see Tsunade-sama right away. Without changing or caring to do so, she made her way to the hokage tower and dropped in through the window. She wasn’t shocked to find her shissou drinking while reading a report half-heartedly before lazily looking up and blinking at her apprentice.

“There a reason for the dress, Sakura?” Tsunade quirked an eyebrow.

“Where did he go, Shissou? Where is Naruto?”

Tsunade leaned her chin on her hands. “Hmmm? Naruto? Isn’t he training…?” She was hiding something. Sakura knew that woman too well.

Sakura walked up to the desk and slammed both hands onto the desk, luckily without chakra and stared eye to eye with Tsunade. “You’re hiding something. He told you he was leaving didn’t he?”

“Maybe…” Tsunade leaned back in her chair. “Maybe not…what price are you willing to take to know that information?”

Sakura knew it. Tsunade would have been forthcoming if she hadn’t really known something. Naruto had said something to her. Sakura wracked her head for something of worth to the hokage in order to bargain with. She sighed and looked at her. “I’ll get you three bottles of sake…”

“And how will you do that when you aren’t old enough to buy it yet?” Tsunade eyed Sakura.

“I have connections. Now tell me where he is, please Shissou!”

Tsunade sighed and stood, rounding her desk. “Why is it so important to you, Sakura?”

“…” Sakura lowered her eyes and then raised them full of confidence. “Because. Naruto wouldn’t have let me go without a fight. I intend to do the same for him.”

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Whoo. Sorry about the slight cliffy. I promise a lemon later on!! *sweatdrop* I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. Please give me any sort of critique if you see it fit! ^.^ Thank you!

~IRockKankuro~