Tale As Old As Time / SasuSaku

Back to You *lemon*

Epilogue

"Sasuke?"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Could it really be him? She couldn't help but wonder if this was all just a dream, an illusion born from sleepless nights.

She blinked, half expecting the figure in front of her to fade away. But he remained, slowly drawing closer, his familiar onyx eyes locking with hers.

It was him.

As Sasuke bent down and reached out to wipe away her tears, Sakura was at a loss for words. The emotions swirling within her were too overwhelming to process. She had so many conflicting thoughts and feelings, unsure of how to react to his sudden return.

"Sakura..." Sasuke's voice was gentle and fragile, laden with the weight of regret and longing. He wanted nothing more than to hold her close, to apologize for the pain he had caused, and to promise that he would never leave her again.

As Sakura felt Sasuke's touch, memories flooded back, and she couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. Anger, confusion, hurt—all collided within her. She had imagined this moment countless times before, dreaming of his return and the joyous reunion. Yet now that it was happening, the reality was starker and more complex than she had ever anticipated.

"No, this can't be real," Sakura mumbled as she pushed him away slightly, her own turmoil writ large on her face.

Sasuke could see the waves of emotion crashing over her, and he knew he was the cause. He had left her without a word, the repercussions of which were now coming to the fore.

"Sakura, I understand... I understand your anger. There are no words to express how sorry I am. But please, believe me—my only regret is leaving you. All I could think about was you, and I wanted to return. But things were far more complicated than I ever expected, and I wasn't sure if I could come back. I had to be with my brother." Sasuke's words were laced with remorse as he struggled to convey the complexities of his past. It was his fault for falling in love with her.

As Sakura pieced together his words and the truth behind his departure, she couldn't help but recall the what she heard from Izumi. Could it be that Itachi was Sasuke's brother? They would have had to have a connection.

"Is your brother... Itachi?" Sakura asked, her tears starting to subside as a deeper understanding began to take root.

Sasuke looked at her, wide-eyed. "How do you know?"

So it was true. Itachi was a time traveler, just like Sasuke. Itachi was the man who Izumi had taken in and fallen in love with. Everything started to make more sense.

It was still crazy, though. This was something you'd never get over.

"Um, my neighbor and my coworker. Her name is Izumi. She told me a story about how she fell in love with a man, and he was a time traveler. She thought I would label her as crazy, but it wasn't until I told her the story about us. I figured maybe you knew him, and, well, it seems like you do," Sakura sighed, maintaining eye contact with the raven-haired man in front of her, still wearing that ancient attire of his.

"Izumi, yes, that's her name. The woman Itachi fell in love with."

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "Is he here, then?"

Sasuke nodded. "I didn't know at first that Itachi was a time traveler. He mentioned that our family had these abilities, and it made sense. People back then chased us out of the village, even going as far as to kill most of our clan. Sakura... I hope you can understand, I didn't want to leave my brother there alone to die. It wasn't until he told me he was waiting for me to unlock my abilities, and we could go back together. I never forgot about you, Sakura. I still love you, and you're all I've thought about," Sasuke confessed. He knew Sakura would just think this whole thing was crazy, but he spoke nothing but the truth.