Satomi P.O.V.
I felt betrayed.
After everything Naruto and I did... all of our efforts were for nothing. Nothing.
All I've done since Itachi murdered the clan was be by Sasuke's side through whatever he needed. I treasured him and treated him as if he were a king, figuring he's been through enough so why should I do anything less than give him all of my love, as the last of his family?
Perhaps it was just foolish of me to trust that he would act the same towards me.
My eyes were glazed over, staring endlessly at the blank wall in front of me. I hadn't moved in hours, nor have I eaten anything in two days.
What point is there, now that I'm utterly alone?
"I heard what happened."
Blinking slowly, I flick my eyes to the corner of the room, where Ryouichi-sensei had just appeared. He was sitting in a chair, his arms crossed over his chest as his emerald eye watches me keenly. I don't respond to him, merely staring emotionlessly in his direction. There was nothing for me to say.
"You're not the Satomi I know," Ryouichi-sensei states, causing me to flinch away. Those were the exact words I had said to Sasuke. He takes note of my flinch, knowing he struck a chord with me.
"The Satomi I agreed to train wouldn't let this destroy her life. She would push through it, because she's a fighter. I refuse to continue training you until you show me that you really are Satomi Uchiha."
My lip quivers, tears flooding my eyes at his words. I know I'm not acting like myself, but I just couldn't help it. I need some time to mourn. Blinking away the tears, I let out a sigh and sit up fully, facing Ryouichi-sensei.
"I understand."
He sighs, shaking his head in disappointment as he stands up and glides over to the door, not turning back to look at me.
"Not yet, Satomi. But you'll understand soon enough. I have faith."
::
"Hey, Satomi-chan! How are you feeling?" Naruto's bright laughter causes me to lift my head, watching the door apprehensively as Naruto slips in and slides into a chair beside my bed.
"I've been better, but that's irrelevant. How are you doing, Naruto-kun?" I rebut, taking note of Naruto's hesitation before he gives me a wide grin.
It's fake.
"A little sore, but nothing I won't recover from," he admits, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. I give him a small nod, returning my gaze to my hands solemnly. There was no way I could face Naruto without flinching right now.
After all, I'm the reason he lost his best friend.
"Listen, Satomi-chan..." Naruto starts, sorrow bleeding through his voice, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... this is my fault."
Whipping my head to gaze at him, I notice the faraway look in his eyes as he stares at me. All that I could see was regret, guilt, and pain. Nothing that Naruto should be feeling right now.
"None of this is your fault, Naruto-kun. If anything, I should be the one to blame. I'm his sister, after all, I should've... no, I could've stopped him. But I didn't," I whisper lightly, tears invading my eyes as I squeeze his hand reassuringly.
"You did everything you could, Satomi-chan! Don't blame yourself for this..." he pleads, his hands beginning to tremble. My eyes meet his own, and it's enough to make me finally break.
A sob wracks my body, causing me to fall into Naruto's shoulder as he pulls me into a tight hug, trying his best to comfort me.
"H-He's gone, Naruto-kun... Sasuke's m-my brother... the last f-family I had with me... but now he's gone. He left me alone!" I wail, my tears staining his hospital gown as I clench it in my fists tightly.
My tears don't stop flowing until a solid fifteen minutes later, small hiccups occasionally escaping my lips as I take comfort in Naruto's embrace. He doesn't let go of me, merely resting his head on top of mine as he lets me pour my feelings out.
"Look at me, Satomi-chan," Naruto says softly, causing me to glance up hesitantly, my long lashes glistening with the tears that had passed by them.
"You're not alone. This is Konohagakure, your home. All of your friends are here, and we all love you. Me, Sakura-chan, Grandma Tsunade, Pervy Sage, One Eye, hell, even Neji! We're all here for you, because we love you, Satomi-chan. As long as you're here with us, you'll never be alone, that's a promise."
My eyes widen Naruto's heartfelt statement, a small smile gracing my lips for the first time since we got back. Naruto's always been able to lift my spirits, the damn knucklehead. After all, he is Naruto Uzumaki, my best friend and the one that can do the impossible. He's my family.
I now understand what Ryouichi-sensei was saying. While I may be broken right now, with the help of my friends I can stand back up on my own two feet.
I am Satomi Uchiha... and I am strong.
::
My head is tilted towards the ground as I wordlessly walk to my clan compound, the eery silence almost sending shivers up my spine. There was no greeting as I pass through the gates, a haunting silence screaming in my ears as I trudge up the stairs of my home.
Slowly opening the door, I let myself in and stare at the empty room in front of me, a sigh escaping my lips. My keen eyes spot a pair of plates sitting with spoiled food on the kitchen table, what used to be tomato onigiri laying untouched.
This was the last meal I ever cooked for both me and Sasuke.
Gently padding over, I do the only thing I could do in this moment.
I pick up the two meals, waltzing over to the trash can and throw them in, plate and all.
::
A sigh escapes my parted lips as I wander the busy streets of Konoha, no destination in mind. I've been released from the hospital after a little bit, my injuries from Sasuke's retrieval mission not too severe.
A flash of red catches my eye, causing me to pause in my journey and glance over to the side curiously. Ryouichi-sensei was standing off to the side, his eyes closed as he leaned on a wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
Slinking my way through the crowd, I approach my sensei, knowing that he let me see him for a reason.
"I understand, Ryouichi-sensei," I say, referring to what he had said to me while I was still in the hospital. Just from the tone of my voice, he could tell that I truly did understand what he had meant when he said he would refuse to train me until I showed him that I'm truly Satomi Uchiha.
"I see," he says quietly, peeling open his eyes to stare at me, "The reason I came to find you is because I just received the permission to take you out for some personal training."
Blinking, a smile rises to my lips. I haven't been training with Ryouichi-sensei in quite a while, it would be nice to learn some new things from him.
"But there's a catch."
My eyebrow raises in slight surprise, urging him to go on.
"This training period will be far longer than before. We will be gone for a little more than two years," he reveals. I'm taken aback by this, my brows furrowing at the thought. Two years is a long time indeed.
"When do we leave, sensei?" I ask timidly, my mind whirring with concerns as to how I would manage to say goodbye to all of my friends for so long.
"We leave in a week. Meet me at the main gates next Monday at noon, that's when we will depart," Ryouichi-sensei says curtly, disappearing from my sight as soon as he finished telling me what he needed.
I sigh wearily, dragging a hand down my face. All I had was a mere week left before I didn't see my home for years. There are so many people I need to inform... what a drag.
::
Knocking on the door in front of me, I wait patiently for it to be opened, my onyx eyes trailing across the familiar doormat beneath my feet.
"Hello? Oh, hey Satomi-chan! What's up?" Naruto greets brightly, a large grin spreading across his face at the sight of me. I give him a closed-eyed smile in return, tilting my head to the side joyously.
"Hey, Naruto-kun. I was wondering if you wanted to go out to lunch with me, I have some news that I want to share. We can invite Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei, too, if you'd like," I offer the blond.
"Yeah, no problem! I was getting pretty bored anyway! Let me just grab my money and we can head out," he agrees, shuffling back into his apartment before emerging with a pouch full of ryo.
The two of us make our way to Sakura's house, managing to snag her along the way. Surprisingly enough, Kakashi-sensei was also able to tag along, although I'm pretty sure he still felt guilty so wanted to make it up to us.
We decide to go to a nearby yakitori restaurant to sit down and have our meal, much to Naruto's dismay, since he was rooting for Ichiraku Ramen.
As we are seated, I feel my heart clench painfully as I gaze at my team, talking casually and having a good time.
This is something I would miss.
"So, Satomi-chan, what did you want to talk to us about?" Naruto asks, taking a sip of his tea from beside me. I give a sad smile, which everyone picks up on, and I could tell they were fearing the worst.
"Well, I was told yesterday that Lady Tsunade gave me permission to have exclusive training from Ryouichi-sensei outside of the village," I start off, gauging everyone's reaction.
Kakashi-sensei and Sakura seem visibly relieved, probably thinking I was going to say I would go off with Sasuke to Orochimaru or something like that. Naruto cheers vibrantly, his contagious smile bringing one to my own face.
"That's a relief, I thought it was going to be bad news," Sakura adds sheepishly with a giggle. Kakashi-sensei gives a small nod of agreement, sending a closed-eyed smile my way.
"There's more," I say quickly, bringing the attention back to me, "This particular training is going to be significantly longer than for the chunin exams. I'll be gone for a little more than two years."
With that statement, everyone's mood dampens. Kakashi-sensei hums in understanding, a wistful gleam in his visible eye. Sakura and Naruto both gape at me, disbelief veiling their expressions.
"That's such a long time, Satomi-chan! When are you leaving?" Naruto questions dismally, purposely giving us a fake smile to hide the fact that he was actually really sad by my news.
"Monday," I concede, watching their faces morph as they realize Monday is six days away. They realized that there wasn't much time to spend with me, which is why I asked to go out to lunch instead of just exchanging a quick hello and goodbye.
"We'll just have to make the most of your time," Kakashi-sensei sighs. Sakura agrees with a low hum, while a cheeky grin crosses Naruto's face. My eyes narrow at him, my curious gaze penetrating into his cerulean orbs.
"Are you going to do something special with Neji before you leave?" he hints, a triumphant gleam in his eyes as my face begins to heat up with a blush. I try my hardest to remain indifferent, however all of them could see my internal struggle as if it were written all over my face.
"P-Perhaps. I haven't discussed anything with him, yet," I say, silently cursing myself for stuttering in front of them. Sakura snickers in realization, covering her mouth with her hand to prevent me seeing her sly grin, although I had already spotted it.
"So, our emotionless Satomi-chan has a little crush, eh?" Sakura teases, causing me to squeeze my teacup in frustration. I was embarrassed, and they all knew it.
My silence only proves my answer, Naruto and Sakura high fiving across the table when they caught me. It's strange, I had never had even the slightest interest in anyone before meeting Neji. There's just a certain air around him that peaks my interest, as well as the fact that he seems to treat me differently than everyone else.
Others would describe him as cold and arrogant, whereas I would describe him as courteous and considerate. Neji is just someone I resonate with, and as much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn't help but be drawn to him.
"It's not like it's my fault..."
::