The Return

Chapter 27

My Sins

"I... I love you with all my heart! If you were to stay here with me, there'd be no regrets. Every day would be a joy. I can give you happiness! I would do anything for you, Sasuke! So please, I'm begging you, don't walk away! I'll even help get your revenge! I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen, I swear! So, stay here with me. And if you can't...then take me with you, Sasuke."

Standing in shock, his heart-wrenching in pain, he recomposed himself and turned to face her tears. "You haven't changed, you're still annoying."

He walked forwards. Please don't call out to me. Don't make this harder than it already is.

"Don't leave me! If you go, I'll scream and..."

There's no choice. This is the path I must walk. "Sakura...thank you..."

He caught her swiftly in his arms, holding her close. He didn't want to leave her; he didn't want to leave any of them. His path was different from theirs though. He had a goal that needed to be accomplished for his life to have meaning. Sakura simply wasn't a part of that goal. However, as he lay her down on the bench, he began to regret his decision. If only he could stay by her side... He brushed aside a strand of her pink hair. He leaned over her tearful, porcelain face, twisted in pain.

"I'm sorry" he whispered before jumping back and disappearing into the night.

"Sasuke?" a soft voice brought him back to the present.

He slowly opened his eyes, revealing the pink-haired figure before him. "S-Sakura?" he groaned.

"Oh, thank goodness" she sighed, wiping her brow.

"Where am I?" he asked, struggling to sit up. As he gazed at her image, he found dark circles under her eyes. She was in a white hospital gown and looked paler than usual. "Sakura are you ok?" he said, suddenly worried.

She smiled gently. "I'm fine, it's you we need to worry about. Your chakra was at rock bottom after all."

"You weren't much better" Shizune interjected, scolding her. "Get back into bed right now! If anything, you were worse off than Sasuke up until an hour ago."

Sakura blushed and pouted. "I'm fine! I had to do something. I couldn't just lay there while he...while he..." she turned a bright shade of red and sat on the edge of Sasuke's bed.

Shizune smirked, a look of understanding crept across her face. "I'm going to go check on the others. I expect that you'll be back in bed when I return" she gave her a stern look before leaving.

Sakura couldn't even look at him as the door closed tightly.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, growing impatient. "Tell me."

Sakura looked up slowly and took a deep breath. "After the battle against the Akai Hebi, it seems we both passed out. It was all thanks to Hinata and Karin that we were healed after just a day. Still, after I woke up I saw that you were having a nightmare and felt like I should help out, so I healed you a little faster. It was nothing, really."

Sasuke thought back to his dream. He pinched his brow, remembering that terrible night again. It wasn't so much a nightmare as a bitter memory. He looked up at her, filled with regret for his actions. "Sa-"

"Hinataaaa! I love you soooo much!"

Sakura smiled at Sasuke sweetly. "Please excuse me for a moment."

She pulled the curtain across and walked over to Naruto's bed, directly across from Sasuke's.

"Hina-aaargh!"

"That's enough, you baka! I'm trying to have a moment with Sasuke, and you're ruining it!"

"S-Sakura!"

There was a loud bang, and the room shook slightly. Sasuke made a mental note never to make Sakura angry again.

"Sorry about that" Sakura returned with the same sweet smile.

Sasuke gave her an awkward smile.

"W-what were you trying to say?"

He turned away, gazing out the window. Now wasn't the right time. "It's nothing."

"Oh, okay," Sakura said, a little disappointed. "I...um..." she paused, fidgeting, before turning away from him. "I guess...I guess I'll just be going then." She walked out the door, dejectedly.

"Smooth" Naruto chuckled as the door closed behind her.

"Shut up, loser" he grumbled.

Naruto smirked, looking across at him. "You're going to have to tell her eventually, you know."

"I said shut up!" He didn't need a lecture on romance right now.

Naruto lay back on his bed and sighed. "People won't know how you feel unless you talk to them. Sakura...she's been waiting all this time for your return. I know, you understand how she feels. After all, you're not as dense as me. Right?"

Sasuke sighed and gazed back out the window. The Leaf Village lay before him on a bright and sunny day. He remembered when they were genin and he got into his first major fight with Naruto. That was the first time...the first time he truly hurt Sakura, and it only got worse from there.

"Sasuke, why?" Naruto started. "Why is it that you keep punishing yourself?"

He frowned. "It's not that I'm punishing myself. It's that I'm no good for her. I love her with all my heart, but she deserves someone far better than me."

"Isn't that just the same thing though? You know as well as I do that Sakura won't settle for anyone else. I saw it, you showed me how much you loved Sakura that day. When you thought she was gone, you were about to tear the world apart for her. I could see it in your eyes."

"Shut up!" he cried. Sasuke knew...he knew Sakura would be unhappy without him. But he'd hurt her so many times. He just couldn't get it out of his mind. He also knew that his path led outside the village. She was so connected to everyone here; would she really be okay with leaving everything behind? He couldn't possibly ask that of her. Besides, how could he promise to keep the darkness at bay? If anything happened to her again...

"Look, just talk to Sakura, will you? She deserves a straight answer about where your future is headed either way."

"Yeah" Sasuke sighed, looking at the doorway.

Sakura stood on the other side. That baka, is he really that dense? She thought. It seemed that she'd have to show Sasuke just how far she was willing to go.