On The Same Path [SasuxSaku]

Chapter 4: The Next Step

~ Sasuke's POV

Comrade? Comrade?! COMRADE!!

What was wrong with Sakura? Here he was, lost in the cherry blossom fragrance and too lost at their unexpected rendezvous, that he did not realize that she was actually hugging him. He was too overwhelmed with the emotions and the warmth of the familiar, somehow forgotten, hug, that he froze when her arms wrapped around his neck. His whole mind and body were still in the process of taking in the feeling of her expressions before the hug and then taking in the sensation of the body pressed against his own. It felt new and it felt old. It brought so many old emotions yet some feelings were very foreign, very new. He would have acknowledged the new sensation but then he felt something wet falling on his neck...

She was crying? For him... Again? That was the last thing he expected.

He too had imagined a lot of scenarios of how their meeting would go... Or rather, random thoughts sometimes came to his mind, without his permission, usually before he would go to sleep, and linger there for a while. He had imagined she would be perhaps shy when they first met... or perhaps she would hug him like she did just now... but he imagined a happy hug, where she would be smiling on his arrival... Sometimes, if he dared, he also thought about the scenarios where she would just press her lips on his own and wondered what he would do if such a scenario would took place. Admittedly, this last imagination was the result of him catching random couples kissing on the streets of random villages, where perhaps such kind of open affection was acceptable. Because he had never seen anyone kissing on the streets of Konoha, in front of everyone.

But tears? He had never expected Sakura to cry for him... Infact, it bought all the painful past and all the sad memories where he had hurt her. Unfortunately for him, their past was full of them.

All thoughts of returning the hug drifted away from his mind when the realization dawned on him once again. He had only brought miseries in her life. His heart sank with the sudden guilt and all he wanted to do now was to look at her and perhaps, wipe away her tears first?

But then he felt her loosen her hug and suddenly, uncomfortable with the idea of her letting go of him, he decided that he would hug her back. Maybe not to return the affection, because he did not feel he was worthy of that, but perhaps to console her? But before he could act upon his decision, Sakura quickly let go of him. As quickly as she had jumped on him. And before he could say something, she beat him into it. And out of no where, he heard her say...

'...Crossed a line?' When did I ever stopped you from hugging me in the past, Sakura?

'...Comrade?' Sakura... You... We are not just comrades... we were never just comrades... you and I... Even in the years of darkness, our emotions were stronger than those between two normal human beings..

'...Welcome to the village..' I imagined a lot of things. But one thing I expected from you. That you would say 'Welcome Home'.. not village...

'...Hope your stay goes well..'

Something was wrong with Sakura. She was waiting for him... wasn't she? The Uchiha crest she was sewing on that t-shirt... Or did he, unconsciously, dwell too much on the idea of Sakura sewing the Uchiha Crest for him? Maybe it was just meant as a gift for a friend rather than -

"So, you are finally back Sasuke", the Hokage (who was silently watching or rather enjoying the drama going on at the doorstep - files dropping, young lovers in tight embrace, quite sobbing - this was better than the Icha Icha..!) finally spoke, smirking slightly behind his mask.

"Kakashi", Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment. He then lowered down to pick up the files that Sakura had dropped earlier, not wanting to step on them or leave them on the floor. He then stepped inside the office and gently kept the files on the Hokage's table.