Naruto does not belong to me.

Italics are past events.
Normal is present events.

Realisation

It was only pure co-incidence that they found him - Uchiha Sasuke, unconscious and bleeding beside the corpse of an unknown enemy. Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. Naruto was overjoyed. Sai was pleased that his new team mates were happy. Kakashi, however, was more suspicious. He bound the traitor and - as a precaution - bandaged his eyes to prevent him using the sharingan on anyone. Only then did he allow Sakura to heal him.

Sakura woke slowly, a dull pain in her neck. Memory was fuzzy, as was her vision.

"Sakura-chan! Say something! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura groaned and looked up into Naruto's bright blue eyes, filled with concern.

"Naruto..." She managed.

"Sakura-chan, where's the teme?" Naruto asked, holding her shoulders gently.

Memory returned in a rush, and she closed her eyes, bitter anger and grief filling her body. Tears leaked from her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun...he-he did it again..." She sobbed.

Sakura stood beside Sasuke's hospital bed, methodically assessing his condition. It was only when he groaned that she realised he'd woken. His hand reached up to touch the bandages that still covered his eyes.

"Leave it on, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said quietly.

Sasuke's hand stilled suddenly, then dropped. The Uchiha sighed heavily.

"Let me guess. I'm back in Konoha." He said irritably.

"We found you dying, Sasuke-kun." She said, sitting on a chair beside him.

"I'll just leave again, you know." He said quietly. "I don't belong here."

"Yes, you do!" Sakura turned to see Naruto enter the room. "This is your home, and we're your family, Sasuke-teme! You always belonged here!"

"Shut up, baka." Sasuke snapped.

Sakura held out a hand and stopped Naruto attacking his old friend easily.

"Just think about it, Sasuke-kun. You don't have to do everything alone. We want to help you." Sakura said gently.

Sasuke was silent for a long moment, then turned his head away.

"Kami, you're annoying." He said.

Sakura felt a familiar pang of hurt race through her heart, and looked away, holding Naruto back again.

"Baka! Sakura-chan has gone through so much for you, we both have! You could at least treat her right!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke didn't answer.

"Naruto, please go get Tsunade-sama." Sakura asked quietly.

Naruto turned his brilliant blue eyes on her, anger and grief clouding them.

"Fine. I won't be long." With that he leapt out of the hospital window.

Naruto pulled Sakura into his arms, rocking her gently as she sobbed. For once, he realised words wouldn't help the situation. Within moments, several ANBU had appeared, looking at the destroyed doorway.

"The prisoner has escaped!" One shouted. "Quickly, send three patrols after him."

"Hai!" His subordinates said, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The ANBU captain then turned and pulled off his mask, revealing Yamato behind it. He knelt and took Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura, what happened!"

"Yamato-taicho, give her a moment!" Naruto said angrily, but stopped when Sakura lifted her head, shaking slightly.

"He..."

It had been a week since Sasuke had left the hospital, and been taken to ANBU headquarters to be questioned. Sakura and Naruto went to visit him daily, sometimes with Kakashi on their tails, hoping his mind had been changed, or something had been revealed. Alas, it seemed he was keeping his mouth shut about everything.

"Right." Morino Ibiki said, his scarred face furious. "Let's take a break."

He and six ANBU left Sasuke in his holding cell, chained to a chair with several jutsu's preventing his chakra use. Sakura peered in cautiously. Naruto would be late today - Tsunade-sama had wanted a private word with him (which Sakura already knew to be the woman gently breaking it to Naruto that Kakashi had been chosen to be Rokudaime Hokage).

"Sasuke-kun?" She said carefully.

He appeared to be unconscious in his chair. He didn't appeared to be wounded - but she knew better. Ibiki was good at his job.

"Sasuke-kun?" She repeated, moving forward and touching his face gently.

Sasuke's eyes shot open, glaring. His dark orbs softened, to her immense surprise.

"Sakura..." He said quietly. "I...I'm glad you came alone."

"Really?" Sakura asked, surprised and a little bit excited.

"I...I've been thinking about what you said. About how I don't have to do everything alone." He said, his voice almost hypnotic. "And...I think you might be right."

"...what?" She managed.

"I've decided, when Morino returns, I'm going to tell him everything. I want to come back to Konoha. I want to come home." A small smile appeared on his face.

Sakura stared, completely entranced by his handsome features. She couldn't remember ever seeing him smile.

"Sasuke-kun..." She whispered.

"I've missed you all." Sasuke said quietly. "Especially you, Sakura."

Sakura straightened in surprise, her green eyes widening in disbelief.

"W-what are you saying?"

"That I missed you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura-chan? He'd never called her that before! Could it be possible - could he finally be feeling something close to what she'd always felt for him? Tears of joy filled her eyes, taking away any logic that might have saved her from the painful experience she was about to have.

"Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him happily. "I'm so glad! Everything's going to be great now, you'll see!"

"Sakura."

The pink-haired girl pulled away slightly, and gasped as his lips caught hers.

OH HELL YEAH! Inner Sakura yelled. FINALLY!

Sakura eagerly returned the kiss, stroking his surprisingly soft hair. She sensed him trying to reach up to hold her, but the chains held him still.

"Hold on." Sakura whispered, pulling back.

She easily broke the chains holding him - after all, the jutsu was only preventing Sasuke using chakra, not her. Before she knew what was happening, she'd been spun around, her back to Sasuke's chest, a loose chain around her neck. It was held tightly, but not so tightly that she couldn't breathe.

"Listen to me Sakura." He said in a monotonous voice. "And please, do as I say."

"Wh-what are you going to do?" Sakura managed, unable to believe she'd fallen for Sasuke's trick, hating herself for how much her breaking heart hurt.

"I'm leaving. I told you, I don't belong here. Now listen to me." She closed her eyes as he leaned closer to her ear. "Forget about me, Sakura."

"What?"

"Forget about me. Tell Naruto to do the same. I will never return to Konoha. I don't want you to waste your lives chasing after me. Forget about me. Love someone else, someone who can feel the same way. Love Naruto. He deserves what you can give him."

"But Sasuke-kun...I love you." She whispered.

"I know." He said quietly. "But I don't love you. Please Sakura. Please, forget."

"But..."

"Good-bye."

Sasuke hit her from behind, like he had all those years ago, and carefully lay the unconscious girl on the floor. He then vanished at high speed.

"He...he used me!" Sakura said furiously, hitting the ground angrily, leaving a visible dent. "He made me think...he made me hope..."

"Damn you, Sasuke!" Naruto growled, his eyes flickering from blue to red.

Yamato sent Naruto a warning look, and the boy forced himself to calm down.

"Naruto, take Sakura to Tsunade-sama. Take care of her."

Naruto nodded and helped Sakura to her feet, amazed she was still letting him touch her.

They were halfway to the Tower when Sakura broke her silence.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I...I ruined everything. Again."

"Don't be stupid, Sakura-chan." Naruto said quietly. "I...I know how you feel about the teme." His voice was quiet and strangled, hating to admit this. "What he did to you was...unforgivable."

"Yes. That's why I'm going to do what he asked me." She said.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking confused.

Sakura smiled, and wiped her eyes.

"Sasuke isn't going to come home. We have our own lives to live. I'm going to forget about him. You are supposed to be training to be Hokage. And I want to help you." Sakura said, reaching over and squeezing his hand.

"So...you want to give up?" Naruto asked, looking genuinely surprised.

"No, not give up. We're...moving on." She said with a smile.

Naruto beamed happily.

"Yeah. You're right! Sasuke-teme is on his own. He had his chances. You're the best, Sakura-chan!" He said, grinning at her brightly.

Sakura smiled as they continued on. It would be hard. One doesn't simply forget her first love, and the pain he'd caused wouldn't just fade - but she was stronger than she used to be. She would move on - she would do this one last thing the former love of her life asked of her.

Author's note: this came to me in a dream. im not kidding lol. i just felt the need to write it...because honestly, i think this is going to happen. not this situation, obviously, but i can't see Sasuke returning to Konoha. It would be nice to think that Naruto and Sakura could change his mind, but...im only blindly hopeful when it comes to zutara lol. this was meant to be more a friendship and change story, but if you spot a ship, then thats great too :) hope you like, and plz dont flame me if you feel different.