"Shall we give a name to this lonely feeling?"
S T A R T
Chūnin exams were finally over. Everything about it did intimidate her, but thanks to her sensei and her team, she ended up enjoying it. Sasuke and Naruto were in the hospital, Rock Lee (a fellow shinobi who she befriended) had been terribly injured, and Konoha was falling apart.
The attack was traumatic, seeing people all around her become injured, fighting for their life, some even dying... it really pained her.
The third Hokage also passed, paralyzing Orochimaru's hands so he couldn't do any more damage. She had an opinion she kept to herself about the well-known man: Hiruzen-sama was just too soft.
She knew about Orochimaru defecting and him not doing much about it. If that didn't happen and decided to eliminate him, maybe Konoha wouldn't be drowning in worry and fear. He was good man, but not the greatest Hokage.
Stepping in front of the hospital, she looked up at the kanji plastered on the front. Healing, she thought. I think we all need a little bit of that.
Going inside, smiled and waved to the receptionist, who looked at her with beady eyes over her glasses that slid down her nose.
Hospital security was not uptight, in fact, she could just wander aimlessly around the halls, or stride right in and none of the nurses would care.
Though, a lot more happened after the attack on Konoha.
Itachi, Sasuke's older brother came back. And Sasuke being Sasuke, he let his anger consume his being, and was floored by Itachi.
She was there when this all went down. The swordsman Kisame almost knocking her out.
He was put under a powerful genjutsu, and his sensei, Hatake Kakashi suffered severe damage from the older Uchiha as well. In which, Naruto and Jiraiya went to go find Tsunade, who now served as the Fifth Hokage.
She had this dull feeling that her closest friend was falling deeper and deeper into a trap, nothing she was doing helping his escape. He was destined for a path of revenge and she didn't want to believe it.
In the end, she knew it would be Naruto to save him; not her.
It was her sixth sense, if you believed in that type of thing.
An insignificant character she was, not having a specific role; merely taking up space. Yet, knowing this, she didn't feel burdened by it, pushing through her problems, believing she would soon be seen as someone much more than that.
Sasuke's mental state wasn't at its finest. She could see it through his cursed onyx orbs.
Look at that, she thought, facing the door that had Sasuke on the other side. I'm already here.
Knocking on the door, she exhaled when she didn't hear an answer. Sliding the door open, she was faced with a bitter and cold Uchiha. It was mask she recognized.
"How are you feeling?"
No response.
Sighing, she sat in the seat the pinkette previously sat in, looking down at her hands. "We need you, you know that?" Her voice was a whisper, afraid of how he would react.
The truth was, he didn't know how to respond. Sanae was so patient, it was something to fear, really. Though, her being here, he could relax. His pride was shattered, the thought of him being better off if he had no one holding him down clouding his mind.
But... who would he be if Sanae wasn't there?
Unknowingly she was his rock. She was that fresh feeling of drinking a cool glass of water on a sunny day. She was the moon illuminating his darkness.
He didn't want to believe it. He knew that if she knew his plans to leave, she would be shattered. Even so, she'd smile and tell him it was okay.
What are you doing to me? He wondered, directing his gaze to her. But really, his questions were:
Are you holding me down? Would I be better off if I left you?
"Sanae," he spoke, his voice was cold, laced with the melody of hidden hesitation, but a longing and unknown feeling blossomed in his chest.
The girl looked at him. "Yeah?"
Sasuke gulped, "Leave me alone." Her eyes widened, leading him to add on. "Please."
The female merely nodded, complying with his wishes immediately. She stood up, and he watched her make her way to the door. That feeling he couldn't pinpoint only growing, consuming him.
Sanae felt the same, too. She didn't want to go, but if he asked, so be it. Her heart physically hurt and she hadn't a clue why.
Before opening the door, she turned to him, forcing a smile. "I'll see you later." She opened the door, stepping out.
He couldn't even open his mouth to say goodbye, merely watching her dull expression, as she gazed into his eyes one last time before closing the door.
Unbeknownst to him, she was crying with her forehead leaning against the doors, wondering what the hell was wrong with her.
::
"Hidden Technique! Tormenting Winds!" She inhaled deeply, blowing out a strong, frightening wind that knocked her teammates over, ripping pieces their clothing.
Kou grit his teeth, his feet skidding back. Reika's hair blew around furiously, her arms in the shape of an X to defend herself as much as possible.
"This isn't fair, Sanae!" Reika yelled, struggling to keep herself upright. The veins protruding from her eyes disappearing.
She did feel bad, but if they couldn't defend against her, how would they fare against the opponents outside of the village? It was difficult for her to say it, but in the preliminary exam, they weren't the finest.
"Okay, Sanae! That's good." Upon the second of hearing her sensei's voice, she stopped. Sweat dripped from her brow, travelling down to her chin.
"Good job everyone." Her sensei smiled.
::
Sanae sighed. She couldn't sleep.
1:17. Was what she read on her clock that ticked away as she tried to sleep. The light-coloured haired girl had shut her eyes tight many times, just wanting to sleep.
However, her chest didn't feel right... or her sixth sense.
Something was going on and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.
::
Amidst the forest filled with greenery that got in her way, she kept running. She didn't feel right going after Sasuke. It was what wanted to do. Who was she to interfere? Who were they to interfere?"
In the Hokage's office, she stood frozen. The words echoed in her mind over and over again, not wanting to believe what she had just heard. Yet, she saw it coming.
Sasuke had defected.
"What's the plan?" Kou asked. Her entire team was there, so were the people who were part of the Sasuke Recovery Mission.
"Kou, Reika," Their sensei spoke. "Both of you aren't going."
"What?!" Kou exclaimed. "Why?"
She shook her head. "You're not ready."
"Huh?!" Kou stomped his foot, Reika put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.
"Let it be. We'll just get in the way."
The boy hung his head, knowing Sanae was taking this badly, but for the people around her, she put up a facade. "Fine."
No. She wouldn't get him back. This was what he wanted and it was what he would follow. He was too deep in hatred to even see the light. Nothing she would say or do would even reach him.
Tears blurred her vision. I'm so sorry, Sasuke... everyone.
She reached a clearing. Statues of Madara and The First Hokage faced each other. The water rippling from the raindrops that fell into the lake.
Rain began to pour on her. Sanae kept moving. If people were to see her now, they wouldn't be able to tell she was crying because her tears mixed in with the downpour.
Naruto, she thought. Did you do it?
Her question was answered when she saw him lying unconscious. Her eyes dropped. She didn't want Sasuke to go, but he needed closure that wouldn't be able to get from the village. He needed to grow, even if it meant he had to take the short, unpredictable, Sasuke way.
Running, her head darted around, whipping in different directions. She tripped and stumbled, but got back up... like she always did.
No goodbye...?
Two familiar kids accompanied by a familiar older brother were playing together in one of their houses. Laughter, smiles, and memories were made that day.
"Sasuke!" Sanae called. "Itachi-nii got me!"
The older Uchiha smiled slightly. He had his younger brother's possible love interest standing by the veranda of their backyard, wondering what his brother's next move may be. It was game where him and Sanae were shinobi and Sanae got kidnapped by the bad guy... who Itachi happened to be playing.
"I'm coming, Sanae-chan!" A boy peeked out from behind the tree he was standing behind, running towards Sanae with an expression she sure to never forget.
Determination.
Love. But did she know that?
Ahead of her, she saw an unconscious Naruto and a conscious but heavily injured Sasuke. He was grasping his shoulder, looking down at Naruto.
"Sasuke," She called softly. Her footsteps sloshed in the puddles as she carefully made her way to him.
He gazed up and her and stared with clear broken eyes. The girl furrowed her brow, walking closer to him.
Sasuke stood up and Sanae knew what that meant.
"This is goodbye, isn't it?" Her voice cracked, yet she held a soft expression. She didn't want to say goodbye. Sanae loathed saying goodbye.
The raven-haired boy just continued to stare at her. Out of all the people, the one that meant the most to him was letting him go. No ifs, ands, or buts.
But he could tell she was crying.
"To become stronger, I have to let go," He spoke. Sanae smiled painfully, tugging at his heartstrings.
"I know."
She turned away, sniffling. Sasuke's eyes dropped, unknowingly walking towards her, reaching out.
"I think it's best you go," She whispered. He stopped.
"I can feel Kakashi-san heading this way... I-I'll tell him you were already gone." She spared him a glance over her shoulder, her sad cerise hues making rethink his decisions.
"This isn't goodbye," He muttered.
"Maybe," She replied, tilting her head in the direction he had to go.
"Goodbye, Sasuke." She smiled, her voice breaking.
"... goodbye, Sanae."
He didn't want to say goodbye either.
E N D
A very crowded chapter. I know, I know. Either way, I do like how it turned out. We've all read the Chunin Exams and The Konoha Attack arc many times in other fics, so I saved us both time and just summarized it (kinda) instead. Please give me your feedback!
Thank you for the comments, reads, and votes on the previous chapters! It really means a lot.
Stay healthy and hydrated! Until next time~
<3