Close to heart.. far from arms...| Sasusaku

8. Reunion

Sasuke woke up, sensing an unfamiliar presence beside him. He would have scoffed, when the man said he had an upper hand against him, but he didn't, for his sleep was disturbed, turning his mood sour, which increased when he mentioned taking him back to Konoha. More than two years had passed since he left his village, and even though it was initially hard for him to mentally settle outside, he grew more accustomed to it as time passed. His emotions for his friends were destroyed — suppressed — by the anger and hatred emanating for his brother and he no longer had any emotional connections to the village, or so he believed. 

Hearing him talk about bonds, he snapped and exploded the place to rumbles of mud and stone. Sai watched his silhouette as he stood above him, as if reflecting the difference between them, mocking him.

Sasuke, already being in a sour mood after getting his sleep disturbed, would have killed the pale man if not for the sudden appearance of a pink blob in his sight. He watched her rampaging towards the man, as a strange calm occupied his own face, hiding vicious emotions underneath his skin. He would have easily forgotten her face after such a long time, if not for the memories recorded by the Sharingan. However, he only ever remembered her crying, begging, helpless, for all the time he used the power, they were in a situation befitting her reactions. Watching her now, he noticed how much the only female member of his previous team had changed. Her weak, dangling arms were now covered with toned muscles, scars and roughness from battles and training. Her eyes, which he only rememberd drowning in tears, were filled with a new kind of determination, as she strangled the pale man. He had heard the rumors, or rather, Kabuto's reports after spying on their village, that the pinkette was a medic-in-training under the Hokage, the lady Sannin. He didn't care to ask why his spying mission involved reports on his previous teammate, or why he made sure Sasuke heard, because he was indifferent to whatever happened to her. He once thought, for a mere fleeting moment when his mind got swayed by her confession, that he could accept her feelings. But he stood firm and left her, which he believed was the right thing to do. Now the woman before her was someone he used to know and someone he least cared about. Although, he did decide to acknowledge her presence.

"Ah, is it Sakura?" He said nonchalantly, like two people acquainted with each other meeting after years, as if he forgot he was now a rogue shinobi.

Sakura didn't need to think twice before recognizing the voice that called her names after two years. She turned her face slowly, hesitantly towards the boy she had been in love with for as long as she remembered, eyes wideneing as her suspicions confirmed. Those raven hair, sharpened jaw and nose, mouth pressed in a thin line, and most of all, the hate-filled eyes, how could she ever forget them? She didn't. She registered his presence as he stood, blocking the sun in its path. She ever so slowly muttered his name, as her other two teammates made themselves available to the scene.

Sasuke studied her eyes. Pain and loneliness, the expressions he knew all too well. Did that mean she was still in lo...?

He didn't complete his thought. There was no need to, as two other people came in his peripheral vision. The mesh of yellow and orange colours was etched into his memories as well as the pinkette. Two and a half years, and they finally met.

"Naruto? You came too." Hic voice showed he didn't care. Although, he did notice the absence of his mentor. 

"Does that mean Kakashi's here as well?" As he asked, he took in the features of his used to be best friend. His face was now more mature than he had last seen. Neat, maintained, strong. Strong. He didn't fail to notice that his teammate has gotten much stronger than he left him, and also the signs of exhaustion on his body. 

Did he fight someone?

But no matter how strong he was since before, he still was no match for the raven, not even if he had his full strength.

He noticed the pale man again and immediately knew that he was a replacement. He questioned, making the pale man ramble about bonds and Naruto's feelings, as a confused expression shadowed his own face, for a reason he was not yet sure of.

He asked him if he knew the reason why they were chasing after him, no matter what he did, to protect the bonds between them. And he replied, fierceness dropping from his face, "Sure, I know. And that's why I severed them." Seeing his teammates' flabbergasted expressions, he continued, "I have other bonds I carry. Fraternal bonds forged through hate." An image of his older brother flashed in his mind. His expressions pained but didn't change too much. 

"Having too many bonds causes one to lose focus, weakening their strongest wish, their greatest desire," he said. And that's what happened to him. He lost focus of his goal, playing pretend with his teammates, risking his life to protect them. He clearly accepted them as a second family, a family he was given by fate. And he couldn't risk another family get slaughtered by his brother. It was another reason he wished to not acknowledge, for leaving his village. By forming bonds with them, he was risking them to be slaugtered by the hands of his brother. And he couldn't lose another family, not without a complete mental breakdown. And so he left, betraying them, in other words, protecting them. However, in the last two years, he found his correct identity, the darkness lurking inside him that Orochimary helped to discover.

He no longer cared if his friends lived. He won't care if they died, even by his own hands.

"If that's true," Naruto said, "then why didn't you kill me back then? Is that what you call severing bonds?" 

Yes, he didn't kill him, or better said, he couldn't kill him. How could he kill someone he was trying to protect back then, though no longer?

"The reason is simple," he calmly replied, "And it isn't that I wasn't able to sever my bonds with you. I simply didn't want to give him the pleasure to see me attain power by submitting to his plans. Still the one thing I can say to you is that back then, I chose to spare your life on nothing more than a whim of mine."

And that meant, he could kill him right here and now.

"And that's why this time, you're going to end up losing your life, all at a whim of mine."

He charged at his friend but the pale man stopped him, although they couldn't defend against his lightening attack. Seeing an opening, Sakura charged at him, declaring her own strength. Sasuke was a little surprised, seeing the unusually determined jade eyes, but didn't lose his composure. His eyes reflected pure hatred, as he charged his blade with his chidori and was about to attack the pinkette before their so-called captain meddled. Sending an electrified attack through his body, using his kusanagi blade, Sasuke noticed his blonde friend undergo a little change. Entering his psyche, he finally met with the source of the blonde's mostrous power.

The nine-tails.

And as expected, Sasuke supressed his powers easily. The demon left, before leaving a comment that made home in his mind.

Don't kill Naruto. You will end up regretting.

Sasuke didn't stop, automatically resorting to his ultimate jutsu, Kirin, before Orochimaru stopped him and they fled. 

Sakura gazed at the spot where Sasuke previously stood. Yet again, she found herself pathetic and useless. She would have been killed had Captain Yamato not interfered. Yet again, Sasuke made the little hope in her dissipate into thin air. He was out of her reach.