Sasuke Uchiha and I

Chapter 16 - Light and Dark

I didn't care about how chatty she was at all, in fact, it was kind of comforting to know that I didn't have to try and communicate with her, I could just listen.

Even though it has been an hour, I feel like I know everything about her. She laughs and smiles and sometimes I scribble something down like, 'No way!' and 'She did that?!'

"Then there's the number one knuckleheaded ninja, Naruto. He's this crazy kid with spiked up yellow hair and he always wears an orange jumpsuit, where he got it is a mystery to us all, and I don't even know if he owns two or three pairs, all I know is that he wears it all day, every day! None of us know if he washes it!" I silently laugh as she continues. "But when he wants to, he can be pretty serious. He's made it his dream to be the Hokage of the Leaf Village, that's my village and the Hokage is the leader of the village. But before he does that he wants to... retrieve somebody that we lost a while ago. Someone who was very important to Naruto and me." Her eyes start to water but she wipes them away and keeps smiling. Whoever she lost must have been very important to her.

Curiosity gets the better of me and so I ask her, 'Who did you lose?'

She seems to think it over and then unsurely she asks, "I suppose I could tell you... you're not going to go and tell everyone are you?" Obviously not. I shake my head and she smiles. "His name was Sasuke Uchiha, and he was my comrade, my teammate."

My breath catches in my throat. She knows Sasuke?

"What's the matter? You just went really pale." I shake my head and motion for her to continue. "When I was little I had this massive crush on him, still do actually... Well, anyway, he has a really dark past and he thought that if he ran off with this evil criminal, he would become more powerful. He wants to be more powerful so he can seek revenge on the person who destroyed his life... That's all I can really tell you, but Naruto and I haven't given up on him yet. Someday we'll find him and we'll bring him back home."

I had heard that Sasuke had a dark past, something to do with his clan, but I had never heard about the revenge part. Did he deal in darkness to become more powerful? That revenge must mean a lot to him, I should ask him about it later.

"Are you okay? I shouldn't have told you that much..." She smiles sadly. "But I really like you, there's something about you Winter."

I should tell her I know where Sasuke is.

I should tell her right now that he is only four kilometers away.

But I can't.

Instead, I pull out my paper and write her a message, Sakura peers over my shoulder as I'm writing it, her breathing becoming uneven. I write:

'About nine months ago I ran into Sasuke Uchiha, the one with Orochimaru. I didn't get to talk to him that much because he left, but I know that he's alive and well. He's powerful but he hasn't gotten his revenge yet. I'm sure if you wait it out a while he'll come back to you, don't give up on him no matter what. He could use someone like you.'

Sakura hugs me from behind and she whispers, "Roughly nine months ago we heard that Orochimaru had taken in a girl who was immune to Ninjutsu and Genjutsu..."

She gives me a knowing smile and I write, 'Yes, that was me.'

Her eyebrows furrow together and a confused look appeared on her face. "I also heard a month later, that Orochimaru ordered your death by Sasuke. But you're still alive."

I wasn't expecting that.

Abruptly, I stand up and brush off the snow that had already started to sink into my clothes. Shivering, I wave goodbye to Sakura and awkwardly try to walk away.