WARNING: Contains spoilers from Sakura Hiden. You have been please leave some feedback. Favorites especially Alerts are of no use to me.

Clarity

Four years had passed since he had left Konohagakure.

One more day and he can go back and visit his old village. His eyes stared at the fire as it licked the wood. His stomach asked for more food, unsated by the fish he had caught earlier but he thought none of it. One might think he was punishing himself by depriving his body from food but his thoughts didn't particularly concerned his growling stomach but at the uncomfortable flip of his insides at the thought of seeing his old team again.

Anxiety

The disquieting emotion within him had proved that he had indeed changed within a short period of time. He had seen the world in a remarkable light. While he traveled around the countries in his youth; he was blindfolded with a single-minded goal and all he cared about was destroying the man who seemingly took everything he had. But now, he appreciated every tree that provided him a cool shade in a hot day, took his time in a lake to rid himself of dirt and sweat. He caught his own food as he had in his old days as a renegade shinobi since he was unable to acquire the inheritance that was meant for him. The ground or sometimes the tree branch was his bed and the sun and moon were his companions.

Spring was coming around and the tree he was leaning on had the buds that were waiting to bloom. Fate had a way to give a tantamount of irony in every situation. He closed his eyes and the memories had flooded his mind- a particular moment made his heart clench uncomfortably.

"Was she having fun in her little make-believe-fantasy of true love? As for me, I have absolutely no reason to love her and likewise, I can see no reason why she would love me. And that's probably just... chains from a failed past that she's feeling..."

The words he told Kakashi before his final fight with Naruto had resonated through his whole being. The anger, the despair... the madness in his voice seeped out like venom as he regarded the kunoichi he had trapped in a genjutsu.

The present Sasuke placed a frustrated hand on his head and scratched his head with unnecessary force that the lines stung his scalp.

Maybe it was the anticipation of his due arrival to Konoha that got him remembering the past he had long since buried but it was a part of him. The sudden sweet scent distracted his thoughts as night lingered on. The moon was full and the wind blew harder, making the leaves dance and the blades of grass bend to the ground. Several pink and white buds had fallen to his lap and some into the fire he created.

Cherry blossoms

The very name of the flower made him think about the young woman he knew who shared the same namesake. In the past, it was almost impossible to think that he'd ever regard her in such an important light. In his childhood years, he only saw her as a weak nuisance who had no place in the world of shinobi. She could have easily been a civilian; live a peaceful life, build a family of her own and have absolutely no problem.

Yet she's now well-known as one of the most powerful kunoichi not just in Konohagakure but even in the rural villages he would sometimes stop by to replenish his supplies.

Haruno Sakura had definitely bloomed.

When he visited Sunagakure last year after the whole 'Fake Sasuke' incident, he found out she had just left after monitoring the status of a health system that she had founded and shared with ally villages.

'Children's Mental Healthcare Clinic' it was called.

She loves children, as far as he gathered when they were still the original team and it would be natural for her to attend to their physical needs as a medic. But for her to focus more about their psychological condition was something that made him wonder as to why. For a while now, he had been thinking about his old teammates.

Naruto...

Kakashi...

... Sakura...

It had been four years and he had no connection to anyone as he wanted to be left alone during his journey to redemption. No doubt that if either Naruto or Sakura knew where he was all the time, they would send him letters multiple times that he will be distracted in his time of solitude.

The last time he saw them personally was when the moon was falling to the earth two years ago and the scattered asteroid had plummeted towards Konoha and that was only Kakashi. He had yet to see Naruto and it would be for the best because no doubt the blonde will ask him to return. He had seen Sakura- but she didn't see him as she was too busy fighting a man with a hooked nose and dark hair that was wearing an Anbu uniform. So he just annihilated the remaining shinobi who were called to back-up their leader. Right at that moment; he saw that she was a woman who doesn't need protection; someone who didn't need to be saved like the past. That particular moment had made him realize how much she meant to him- actually even before then.

He was halfway through the Wind Country when a group of Konoha shinobi had told him that someone had made a pill that mimics his chakra pattern and used his image to spark a coup against Konoha by recruiting nukenin. All he did was say "It's none of my concern."

It may sound cold but he thought it would be a waste of time because no doubt Kakashi and the others would find a way to clear his name without Sasuke intervening. That was the end of their discussion...

... until they received a report via messenger bird that Sakura was kidnapped by the Anbu.

Without a moment's of hesitation, he quickly travelled to Konoha in less than a day, leaving the bewildered shinobis in the middle of the desert. The thought of Sakura being held captive had infuriated him. To see her in a weak and vulnerable state was something he didn't want to witness. He won't let it happen again; he won't let anyone he loved slip away.

Love.

A word he hadn't used in a very long time. In fact, Itachi was the last person he was sure he truly loved. For all its worth, Sasuke didn't let emotions and mundane relationships such as friendship and love interfere with his goals.

But now that he had seen the world in a different light, all those moments that had passed had made him feel guilt, shame and regret. Naruto had offered him friendship and brotherly support that he dismissed as a foolish bond. Kakashi had given him fatherly advice that he didn't heed. Sakura gave him unconditional love that he threw back right at her face without so much as a sparing glance.

Any other woman would have given up on him- but she didn't.

Even Kakashi told him that fact after he had placed the genjutsu on her. She loved him so much that she can't bear to see him drown further into darkness, that she only tried to take him back to Konoha not to make him hers but to save him. Sakura was a very kind person...

Her resilience was noteworthy and even though he was correct that she can never understand the pain of truly being alone like Naruto, Kakashi and he had experienced, but then again… maybe she didn't need to understand the agony they had all went through. In contrast to her male teammates, she had a complete family, had friends... she was in the path of light whereas he had suffered, tortured towards insanity with all the trials he had encountered in his life and he let the bitterness and fury swallowed his entire being.

All the things he had said- the things he had done was unforgivable. But Sakura stood by him; even when he had insulted her and looked down at her abilities as a shinobi. She stood by him after he left Konoha. Even when he knew that she was lying to him as she healed Karin in the Land of Iron. The telling tone in her voice and how light-hearted she was about betraying Konoha just to stand by his side…

'I love you with all my heart!'

At first he thought that she had confused it with childish girl-fantasy and she had certainly came off being more of a brat than a kunoichi of her own right like most of the girls their age. He had no redeeming qualities to speak of so why was she still so hung up on him until now?

And he knew that she could do better than him. But she still stood firm as she had asked him one more time to accompany him in his journey. He almost accepted it... almost. In the end, he declined it. This burden was for him to bear, the silence and isolation was a way for him to contemplate things that goes in and out of his mind. Her constant chattering will break that silence... but the main reason why he didn't want to bring her with him was because he was still in most shinobi's bingo book.

Even if Kakashi had cleared his records in Konoha, the fact that he was a missing nin and defected to the side of the enemy still marked him as a threat to other villages. And if he was being hunted, Sakura will be targeted as well. It wasn't to say that she was weak (she proved him wrong multiple times during and after the war) but if she stayed in Konoha; she will be safe, protected and he didn't have to worry about her wellbeing by then.

For a time, he thought it was guilt that made him feel obligated to worry about her, about the way he treated her with cruelty and cold indifference. But when he tapped her on the forehead, it was more than just an affectionate gesture. That simple action had a deeper meaning that it was almost sacred to him. Only he and Itachi could understand how much it meant and for Sasuke; it may have been the ultimate act of love. It wasn't just something that he gives out, he only shared it with someone special to him and when he looked at Sakura before he departed, his hand automatically lifted to her forehead and poked her softly on her mark.

He loves her. This was the time that it fully dawned on him. He knew he cared a great deal about her but he just wasn't sure how intense it really was.

Why did he rush immediately to Konoha when he found out about her kidnapping?

Why had he unleashed his fury to the Anbu who tried to aid their leader against Sakura?

All because he loves her.

He really does. It might not be obvious but he does. He will have to make peace with it and make it up to her for all the years of anger, hurt and loneliness. And with that firmly planted in his mind, he drifted to sleep.

-•-

It took him almost a whole day to arrive back into the village but he managed to slip past the guards and roaming shinobis who were off-duty. Kakashi's face on the Hokage Mountain was still an unfamiliar sight to him but at least Konoha was in safe hands. So much had changed after he last went here, the shops had multiplied, the buildings were now larger and everything looked so... new. The usual route he had used to go to the training grounds was now blocked by a row of apartments; the tea shop he frequented was now a family restaurant. The weapon shops now had new owners and the signage was different. But as he walked through the streets with half of his face hidden by his cloak, he saw Sakura part ways with the Yamanaka girl and walked towards the large building and entered her apartment with a satchel on her shoulder and a thick folder on hand.

He didn't know what to do at first- should he come back later or just drop by? Should he knock or just let himself in casually? Questions filled his brain but his feet began to move by themselves and before knew it, he had his hand on the knob of her door and twisted it.

The door opened quietly and the warmth of her home had quickly soothed all the anxiety away from his body. She appeared from the hall with a medic pouch in hand and two red pins that tamed her side-swept bangs. Her green eyes that were framed with long lashes, the fair complexion of her skin, her nose and lips... all of it made him feel self-conscious before he opened his mouth and the first words he uttered was...

"Tadaima, Sakura"

Her whole form stiffened and surprise had colored her face but it was short-lived as she gave him a wide (and not to mention beautiful) smile and replied-

"Okaeri... Sasuke-kun"

A/N: Hope you like it. Please Read and REVIEW because feedbacks are important especially on oneshots.

If you liked the story then at least give some time to tell me and maybe say the areas I could improve. I take notes of constructive criticism but I don't respond well to flames.

Additional notes: In the Naruto special Talk Show in Japan, the forehead poke was described as the "Ultimate Expression of Love" (The host's and audiences' reactions with that pic totally made the whole studio explode with giddy cheers).