Chains and Blood

Disclaimer: Okay, okay, I don't own Naruto. But damn what I would do to own the guys!! ...But not Orochimaru. He's icky.

Chains and blood. That's all I see- all of my life it's either been killing this man, or capturing that assassin. Working for Orochimaru only increased that vision. There was once a mission that he assigned me to; I had to abduct a man for his debts to Orochimaru. His wife, teenage daughter, and five-year-old son tried to stop Tayuya and I. We killed them. We killed them without mercy. I strangled the boy with the wife's obi. Tayuya left me to kill the daughter after sedating the man and decapitating the wife. I was going to make it as simple and quick as possible: execution. I neared her, and she squirmed into the corner out of fear. "No! Please! Don't!" I hesitated, but it didn't last long, and I completed my mission. But thinking back, the whole reason I hesitated could be traced back to my pre-teen years. Yes, I still thought about those days. Endless hours of gruesome training, sleepless nights of nightmares. My loud, obnoxious brother of a rival Uzumaki Naruto. My lazy pervert of a sensei, Hatake Kakashi. And my annoying best friend, Haruno Sakura.

I actually do miss them- a lot. Going it alone isn't the best solution. Isolation only proves to give you the ability of silence over long periods of time, not the power to overcome your enemies. I've grown somewhat desperate to go back to Konoha. Konoha: my birthplace, my hometown, the center of all of my dreams. Whether they be about the night of my clan's massacre, the day I finally met Itachi again, or when I left Konoha, they all came as a sign. The dream that's been coming up more recently, however, is the night I left. I dream about what the village might look like now, how my makeshift family must look, what might've happened to Sakura when I left her on that bench, how she must feel now...

Ugh, that girl is so annoying. She always invades my thoughts right when I need to focus the most. Kabuto laughs. He says I talk constantly in my sleep. I calmly mentioned that he wouldn't be able to talk very well at all with a kunai shoved down his throat now would he? She visits my dreams often, even when I'm not dreaming of Konoha. She's a ghost in my conscious, that little virus that'll never go away. She's that tiny flaw in my plans for revenge. I think of defeating my brother. Then what? Would I return to the village and make amends with everyone? Ha. I'd have no reason to stay. Surely I'd surpassed everyone in the leaf village. Surely. No one could teach me anything, for I'd already mastered it.

So why am I standing at these ancient red gates today? Why can't I turn around, leave, and never look back? My damn curiosity. Surprisingly, there are no guards on duty; they're probably patrolling the South gate. Calm and stoic as ever, I meander through those portals. To my dismay, the village hasn't changed much. It appeared as though builders had just finished carving Tsunade-hime's face into the Hokage Mountain, and it seemed like they were starting a new face. I couldn't really make out who it was- though I had a pretty good idea. I smirked; that dobe did it. Finally. "Oi!" Someone calls to me. I turn and face a relievingly familiar...half-face.

"So you're back?" Kakashi asks me, taking a step foward. I inwardly smirk and note that he hasn't changed- at all. I shrug.

"A visit seemed in order. Where's the dobe?" He smiles at me with nostalgia.

"In the Hokage Tower. Tsunade retired, but she's still in charge of the hospital and medical department. Less work for Naruto." He points towards the tallest tower in the entire village. "Sakura may be up there as well."

"Arigatou." I bow slightly, and begin to walk in the direction of the office. He grabs my shoulder and whirls be around, betraying his usual aloof behavior.

"You'd better apologize to her. She's got super-human strength and a nasty temper."

"Hn." I don't offer any more of an explanation, and that must've been what he expected because he lets me go. I walk. I think. I know what I have to say, but, as strange as it seems, I'm nervous. And this is a huge deal, because I never get nervous. Ever. What would I say?! 'I'm sorry, Sakura, that I broke your heart and left you to die on a bench while I ran off with a fifty-something year old transvestite.'? Yeah, that sounds perfect. What I really want to say sounds cheesy. I want to say that I'm sorry I left. And that I never meant to hurt her the way that I did. That I want to come back and stay...and yes, in a way, I do. I'm just nervous. Nervous that I'd see more chains; more blood. Would I be taken into the Konoha prison and beaten for information, like other missing nins? I doubt I'd get off easy. Unfortunately, the Hokage's Office door is a mere foot away, all too soon. I sigh, mask any thoughts that might've shown through, and knock.

Tap, tap, tap. "Come on in!" I hear from inside. A giggle follows. Hesitantly, I swing open the heavy door, closing it behind me and staring directly into the Hokage's cerulean eyes. He pauses. "You bastard! You're back!!" Naruto jumps from where he was currently sitting (underneath a very giddy and euphoric Hinata) and bounded over to me. He greeted me with a hug and a slap on the back. "I guess I didn't have to kick your sorry ass after all, ne?"

"Ah, shut up, dobe. You might think you're all high and mighty, but you're still just a lucky idiot." I chuckle darkly. He laughs out loud and Hinata stands up as well.

"Mou, Sakura-chan's down at the hospital if you want to see her. I suppose that's why you came here?" She asks without stuttering. Naruto smiles ear-to-ear, as usual, and kisses a giggling Hinata's forehead.

"I forgot to introduce you two! Hinata-chan, Sasuke-teme. Low and unworthy of meeting my beautiful angel scum, my beautiful angel Hinata-chan." He beams. I bow and take Hinata's hand, kissing the back of it politely.

"Hinata-chan."

"Yeah, like Hinata-chan said, Sakura-chan is down at the hospital if-"

"Hey, Naruto-kun, I brought the blood-work up here like you asked, and it says that Konohamaru isn't infect-" The light, musical voice stops and I turn around slowly.

"Ah, Sakura-chan. Umm..." He looks between Sakura and I, who are staring intently at each other. "We'll...leave, now." Naruto and Hinata rush out of the door, and I hang my head. Sakura skips over to the large wooden desk and sits down on it, not caring that she sat on a paintbrush and a couple of papers. I study her. She, like Naruto and Hinata, had certainly grown. Her hair wasn't short anymore, but around waist-length, and her eyes no longer held that innocent sparkle. They were darker, somehow.

"What're you doing here, Uchiha?" She says, almost as unemotional as me. "I thought you were off with Orochimaru."

"Dead." I manage. Her gaze is smothering me, making me extremely uncomfortable. And awkward. "I missed it here. It hasn't changed much has it?"

"Quite the contrary. See, you-" She stands and walks over to me, poking me in the chest with a sneer. "Are no longer the strongest ninja among us. I am." She pauses and turns away from me. We're in the same position as that night, except this time, only a few feet away from each other. Bad memories flood my head.

I step forward after many moments of awkward silence. "Let me apologize. I...I..." Sakura's head droops, and she spins around to face me. I realize she's on the verge of tears; something I never want to see from anyone. Especially her. I pull her into an embrace, surprising both she and I. "I'm sorry for everything." Words spill out of my mouth now, all of them true. "I'm sorry I ignored you as a genin. I was so transfixed on avenging my clan that I had not allowed anyone to-"

"Sasuke, wha-"

"No, Sakura, let me speak." I step back and take both of her warm, soft hands in mine, which silences her. I unthinkingly begin to rub the pad of my thumb against the back of her left hand. "I'm so sorry that I left you that night. I-I didn't...I..."

"Listen." She puts her hands on either of my shoulders and stares me straight in the eye. I try to turn my head, but she moves my head back to look at her. "You had a traumatic past. I understand that. Itachi killed my family...after you left of course. And I'll just make what I think clear." She draws back her fist, chakra surrounding it. "This is for leaving!" My stomach feels like it's splitting in half as everything goes black.

The next day, Sakura tells me what happened afterward.

"And this..." She swept down to capture my lips in hers gently before standing back up and walking away. "Is for coming back."

Author's note: So ends my first piece of work. Like it? Hate it? Want to yell at me for something I didn't do? Well, too bad, because you can't do the last one, but feel free to review!