A/N: Drabbles of the three new Sannin, a few years down the road. One moment in time from three perspectives.

Sasuke

It had never been about her. Or him.

In the beginning it had been about power and revenge and hatred. His years with Orochimaru had magnified every need he had for his three emotions. He needed power to defeat Itachi and Orochimaru. He needed revenge on his brother for the death of his clan and on Orochimaru for the detestable things he had made him do. He needed hatred of the two men to keep him going late at night when sadness, loneliness, and despair seemed to creep in from all the edges of the room.

In the middle, with three companions trailing behind him and seeing him as the leader they had longed for, it was about fulfilling goals. His three emotions had gotten him this far, but only the feeling of true fulfillment could ever erase the evil that burned in his heart. He had managed to take down one of his targets, but the real goal of his life still lay ahead of him. Itachi still walked the earth, and he would not be content until he had fulfilled his goal of killing his brother.

In the end it was about acceptance. He had killed his brother and disbanded his group to return to Konoha. He sought personal acceptance of his choice to be like his brother and kill someone of his own blood while he also sought acceptance from the village he had left. If that acceptance had to be won through a time in prison, through torture, through D-Rank missions that were beneath his notice then so be it. He was an Uchiha and Uchiha never break nor bend.

As he watched blonde and pink walk past him, ignoring his very presence after years of being apart, he wondered if it had all been worth it. It may have not been about them, but now it was. They seemed to be the only thing he could not overcome. Their acceptance did not come to him like he thought it would. They had moved on with their lives and he was not included.

He watched Naruto greet his wife, the Hyuuga heiress, with a happy smile and a kiss, and he watched Sakura laugh at some private joke between the three. And he just kept thinking that maybe it should have been about them. Maybe then he wouldn't be alone anymore.