A Mother's Heart
Summary: Uchiha Sakura died the day Haruno Sakura came back to life. Breaking her bonds with the one man she loved with all her heart, she breaks free. Too bad there's one more thing connecting them together.-SasuSaku
Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto.
First Chapter: Breaking Free
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No matter what I do…
"Sasuke-kun, I'm going to make chicken teriyaki for dinner okay?"
No matter what I say…
"Sasuke-kun, you're really handsome tonight!"
No matter how I feel…
"Sasuke-kun…I love you…"
It's always the same…
"Hn"
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Sakura put on a happy smile just for her husband that day. No matter how much she felt sick and sore, she still waved farewell and kissed his lips goodbye for now, like she always did.
"I love you…" she whispered painfully. Sasuke caught this but shrugged it off.
And like always Sasuke would respond his usual, "Hn" and be on his way.
When Sakura heard the wooden screen closed shut, her grip on her kimono loosened and her smile ceased to exist as she slowly walked away from the front door.
As she walked through the halls of the Uchiha compound, so many thoughts whizzed past her head. She shook her head and suddenly lurched forward, clutching her stomach, when she felt her breakfast make a return.
She quickly sped towards the toilet and upchucked the contents of her stomach into the porcelain white bowl.
She made sure that her long pink hair, that she had grown long again just for him, was out of the way as she deposited her breakfast and probably her meals from yesterday into the toilet.
When the sickness ceased, she rested her back on the toilet and breathed in carefully assessing what was wrong with her.
But she couldn't think properly since her head was in such chaos and calamity that the only concluded answer she could muster was her daily life.
The life that she had once dreamed of living has now turned into her worst nightmare.
When she got herself cleaned up and refreshed, she went into her room, the room she shared with Sasuke, and neared her bedside table. She opened the top drawer and found a rectangular box.
She sat on the cushioned ledge of the window with her feet in front of her and the box on her lap. When she opened it a small sad smile appeared on her face.
She took out a couple of photos and reminiscence of the old days.
The old days where she was livelier, fuller, stronger and …happier.
What are we doing?
Sakura looked around but saw no one and dismissed the eerily familiar voice as her hallucination.
What had we become?
Sakura scrunched up her brow and concentrated where she had heard this voice before.
What happened to us?
"Sasuke happened to us…" Sakura whispered to no one.
Sakura's eyes widened and she clamped her hand on her mouth. Those words just jumped out of her mouth and she didn't even recognize her own voice.
She looked at the wedding ring on her finger, a simple golden band, and really thought about her life.
Does he do anything for you like he should?
Sakura immediately jumped up on the floor, scattering smiling photos of herself and her friends around her.
Does he say sweet nothings to your ear when you need it?
Sakura started trembling and clutched her head and shook it, willing so hard for the voice to go away, to leave her alone…to leave her fleeting beliefs intact.
Does he say 'I love you' like you so rightfully deserve?
Sakura stopped trembling and stood absolutely still. She stared at the ground, her hands still mingled in her hair gripping it tightly.
A single drop of tear escaped her eyes and landed on a photo of the genin team 7.
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"No…he doesn't…"
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A wave of tears cascaded down her face as her whole belief, her whole life came shattering down to earth, breaking her soul into a million pieces.
Sobs echoed throughout the empty halls of the Uchiha estate as the household's matriarch cried her whole being out.
Sakura collapsed on the floor as she clutched her stomach, another electricity of pain erupted throughout her whole being and she felt like she was about to be sick again.
Sakura-chan…
Sakura continued crying her eyes out, feeling stupid and used throughout her married life.
Sakura-chan, stay strong…
"No…no, I can't…I can't anymore…" Sakura choked in between sobs.
You have to…you must…
"I can't!" Sakura cried, "Leave me alone! Just watch me die from the inside like he does!"
Sakura get a grip! Stand up!
"No!"
Stand up! You owe yourself to keep fighting!
Sakura's tears slowly decreased in flow. She opened her once shut eyes and blinked her vivid green eyes wide.
Break free…
"Break…free?" Sakura whispered, slowly opening her cocoon up and sitting up.
Escape this nightmare…escape far, far away…
"Far, far…away…" Sakura said longingly, her tears drying, her candle of hope flickering alive.
Sakura stood up and wiped her tears with a handkerchief she found in her pocket. She picked up the photos and put it on her bedside table. She then proceeded to change into her ninja attire, carefully putting on her chunin vest.
As she brushed her long pink hair in front of a mirror she assessed her appearance. She then took out a kunai from her pouch on her thigh and grabbed a handful of her hair. With one swift move, she became a whole different person. Just like how she changed in the chunin exams.
She tidied her hair a bit before gathering up her necessities.
When she neared the front wooden slides she caught a glimpse of herself on a mirror on the wall.
Her green eyes were fogged, her lips pink and untouched, her skin porcelain white. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards into a smirk when she saw a whole new different person looking back at her.
Welcome back Sakura-chan…
Sakura opened the sliding doors and let fresh sunlight in, "Glad to be back…inner"
Sakura hadn't felt so light and free ever since she married Sasuke… and she had to admit that she loved this feeling.
As she jumped from rooftop to rooftop towards the Hokage tower, for once happy to live a new day, she promised herself that she will no longer cry, especially for Sasuke.
She will no longer hurt because of Sasuke…
She will no longer live for Sasuke…
Form now on and forever she will only live for herself and for those who truly deserved it.
-x-
Something's not right…
Sasuke stood in front of the Uchiha estate's sliding doors. He felt his ninja instincts kicking in and immediately sensed that something was out of place…missing.
He walked in; his footsteps were the only sound in the whole place.
Sakura wasn't around; he thought maybe she had a late shift in the hospital like she sometimes does.
He thought about picking her up but decided against it…a thought that always pops into his head whenever Sakura is out late…he always decides against it.
His mind told him to go to his and Sakura's bedroom and his feet just seemed to comply. As he came into the room the first thing his eyes caught sight of was the beige papers on the neatly made double bed.
The bed that he and Sakura slept in together, back facing back and the only time they ever made love was the night he became ANBU captain and was drunk out of his mind, only a few weeks ago.
He cautiously neared the papers, something inside of him made him feel unsettled about these papers. His eyes widened at the single word that sent him spiralling into denial.
"Divorce…?" he whispered hoarsely.
He scanned the entire document and sure enough the divorce papers were legit. Sakura already had her signature on it and he noted that she sprawled on 'Haruno' instead of 'Uchiha'.
He staggered back a bit, surprised about her decision. He looked back to the past couple of days and never did he think she would do something like this or even think about something like this…
His eye caught something in the corner of his eyesight. It was a box on Sakura's bedside table. He had never laid eyes on this object before and fuelled by confusion and curiosity he opened the box.
Photos
He emptied the whole contents on the bed and scanned through them. Every one of them had Sakura on it…happy as anything. He marvelled at the photos; it seemed like an eternity since he last saw Sakura smile like this.
His heart skipped a beat.
Sakura was either by herself or with her friends…friends that she doesn't associate with as much as she did…
His heart beat faster and faster.
Sakura looked so happy and healthy. He saw a photo, half of it hidden by another photo, and Sakura was smiling widely with cheeks painted pink and she was wearing a ruffle of white.
Sasuke removed the photo blocking the other half…
His heart plummeted to the ground.
It was their wedding photo…
Sakura was wearing the traditional white dress and her long pink hair was done professionally. She was dancing closely with Sasuke, a passive expression on his face. He could make out the smiling faces of their friends around them as they watched the newly wedded couple dance at their wedding day.
At the honeymoon nothing happened…Sasuke was called out for a mission and they never bothered to reschedule…HE never bothered to reschedule.
Sasuke caressed Sakura's smiling face and then looked at his own on the photo.
She looked so happy, yet he looked so dead.
He remembered being honestly glad to have been married to Sakura. He felt that she deserved to have his name since she came far and she had waited for so long.
She deserved that wedding after all.
He vividly remembered Sakura's beautiful face, cheeks pink, lips coloured red and eyes closed in anticipation.
He traced his lips, remembering the feeling of her lips on his. He hadn't complained even though he didn't want to do something that embarrassing in public.
She deserved that kiss after all.
He remembered that he didn't like dancing but it was a custom to dance especially when it was his wedding. Sakura was so happy when he danced with her.
She deserved that dance after all.
But then he remembered when he bluntly cancelled the honeymoon for an A-Class mission. Her face became disappointed and sad but then she faced him with an understanding smile and a good luck kiss on the lips.
She didn't deserve to be alone that night.
He caught sight of a photo which had Sakura dozing off under the shade of a tree, from the looks of it, cherry blossom petals around her head like a halo making her look like a sleeping angel.
He remembered the many times he wasn't with her on the joyful days like her Birthday, Christmas, New Year.
And when he wasn't holding her close and wiping away her tears on the bad times when she would sadly smile at him saying nothing was wrong when in truth she was wallowing in guilt since she lost a patient that day.
She didn't deserve his negligence.
Another photo caught his eye and it was of Sakura and her parents.
He thought back to when her parents died; his father anyway. He only stood beside her when she was mourning silently in front of their graves, her eyes yet to produce salty tears.
She never cried when she was told of her father's death. Not a single tear escaped her eyes when she found out that her had mother killed herself to be with her beloved husband.
Sakura said that her parents would've wanted her not to cry and besides, they were going to a better place, away from the hardships and sorrows of being alive on earth could inflict on you.
Sasuke thought, at the time, how ridiculous his mother-in-law had become when she killed herself on the hopes of being reunited with her husband. But now that he thought about it again, would Sakura commit suicide if he was to pass away?
He never comforted her, nor did he stay by her side when she needed him the most.
She didn't deserve his ignorance.
Amongst the littering of photos Sasuke saw a small envelope. He picked it up and opened it. He immediately recognised Sakura's neat penmanship and read the letter rather hesitantly.
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Dear Sasuke-kun,
I'm sorry to have wasted 3 years of your life that could be spent finding someone you actually love rather than living a one-sided marriage with me.
It wasn't an entire waste of my life Sakura…
I have no idea why you married me in the first place, but then again I was never able to know what you're thinking.
No…I just never gave you the chance to…
I will honestly say that…I love you and I hate you. If you still see me as a person whose life is worth appreciated then keep your mind on the love part because I still do and I think I always will.
Love and hate you.
Keep loving me…please…
I've already signed the divorce papers that you should've already found on the bed. Sign it and be free.
Who said I was ever trapped?
Be free of the burden of my unrequited love and my annoying tendencies.
I miss you…
Freedom from boring holidays and silent dinners. Breaking free from the lonely nights and heartbreaking ignorance.
I wasn't the one who needed to be free…
I can only hope that you will find a person who can make your heart beat fast, who can make you happy…who can make you love. Who can offer you the things I could never give you and who will always be by your side no matter what their selfish self tells them to do…
I'm sorry…
I'm sorry if it seems like I'm running away…but Sasuke I'm just…tired. So tired. Probably of you but mainly of being not me, if that makes sense. For such a long time I wasn't me. I was your wife, an Uchiha.
I'm probably long gone by now, beyond the borders of the fire country...
Come back…
Who knows for how long I'll be gone, maybe forever…
No!
Goodbye Sasuke-kun…
Sakura!
Love always, Uchiha/Haruno Sakura.
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The letter became crushed and crumpled under Sasuke's strong grip. Small tears of guilt and hurt dropped to the floor.
Sasuke had always been late…
Late coming home when the massacre went on, late at the chunin exams, late in realising that nothing ever came from revenge…
And as he feels the immense pain on his fast beating heart he realises that he was once again late for something important…
He was late in loving Sakura.
In the dead of night, the last remaining Uchiha cried for the second time in his life.
Once when he lost his family and now when he lost his only love.
Aiisha101