Title: Determination

Summary: She was the only bond he could save, the only bond he can't let go. But she loves someone else, and he is determined to save her from Sasuke. SasukexSakuraxOC

Pairings: SasukexSakuraxOC

Genre: Romance

Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1: Then there was her

He sat in the darkness.

It was almost over, but he had to think. There was no room for mistakes now that his quest was almost at an end. The village of Leaf was totally destroyed. None of the remaining rubble would ever indicate that a great ninja village once stood at that spot. The place were those traitors who lived peacefully at the expense of his family will have peace no longer. The place he once called home was no more.

But He was still alive, the man who ordered his brother to do that terrible deed. The mastermind was still out there, together with the handful who escaped.

Cowards. He clenched his fists.

The leader of Akatsuki had already destroyed half of Konoha, and defenses were severely weakened. He had done nothing more than rush in with his team, his gaze towards the Hokage's palace. His team remained behind, holding off any shinobi planning to stop him from behind. As for those ahead of him, they had not time to move as Sasuke swiftly sped by, cutting them with precision. He sped through several faces, both familiar and new, but he has cut his bonds, he no longer cares.

Then she appeared before him.

She stood bravely ahead, her face full of determination. She was panting, clearly exhausted, but there she stood, barring his way. Her stance was ready, she was poised to fight him.

She was going to Fight him.

For a minute, Sasuke hesitated.

Yes, he has broken his ties, but some bonds stubbornly cling to him. One was the teacher, who stood behind him, considered him his protégée and taught him the technique he molded and mastered. The other was the blond, the noisy and cocky loser who was not supposed to be anything. But he proved, however grudgingly to be his greatest rival, the boy he acknowledged as his best friend.

Then there was her...

He does not know where to place her. Kakashi was his father. Naruto was his brother. Yes, for a brief moment, they were his family. But she was different. She's not a sister, not a teammate. She was something else...

She was annoying. She was pathetic. She was a nuisance. She was useless. She had no business being a kunoichi.

But still...she was always there with him.

Despite pushing her away countless times, she remained by his side. He told her she does not deserve his attention, but she still smiled at him a minute after. She cried for him when she thought he died. She cared and protected him when he was unconscious from the cursed seal, even at the point of injuring herself. Again she rushed to save him from Gaara's attack. And she was there when...he left Konoha.

"Please take me with you!"

Not a sister. Not a teammate. She was always just Sakura.

But at that moment she was no longer helping him achieve his goal. This time, she was standing on the way.

They were only a few yards apart.

"Sakura." He had said, his voice monotone.

For a moment, she flinched. Then she rushed forward, rushing towards him, her fist ready to strike.

He dodged and with the hilt of his kusanagi, hit her against a wall. He sped forward, distinctly hearing the walls crumbling where she hit them.

It was quick. His Chidosri Nagashi surged through the two council members. There was no need for an explanation. Their eyes showed both fright and resignation. They know who he is. They know what they did. Then it was all over.

"Uchiha." He looked back and saw his pink-haired ex-teammate, her hand on her stomach emitting a green glow.

Her eyes were fixed on his; she was still determined to fight him.

Sasuke snapped out of his reverie. The time for thinking was over. Standing, he had made a decision and he will stand by it. He had a task to do and a vengeance to complete.

But beyond that, he had realizations of his own. Kakashi was right, vengeance left him empty. For now, vengeance was a duty to fulfill. He will no longer let it consume him. And Naruto was right, bonds were difficult to break. Itachi is gone, the bond of hatred and love was now subtle, but it was still there. For a moment, Sasuke felt the need to feel human once again. For a moment, he wished to return to the past, to the time he had been doing nonsense missions with team 7. For a brief moment, he had contemplating replacing them with Team Taka. But that was not possible, bonds forged can never replace another.

Team 7 will remain forever a part of him, a piece of his past that he continues to hold on. The sweet memories that kept his sanity. They were and always would be the three most important people of his life. But Kakashi, he heard, was dead. And Naruto, he was also as good as dead. With the Akatsuki after him, he does not doubt that he would not last long. Furthermore, so many things had gone between him and Naruto. Their friendship would remain a fond memory, the same way he kept the memory of an older brother he loved and despised.

But there was her...

The room echoed with the sound of shuffling sheets, and Sasuke knelt beside a bed. He stared at her unconscious and stirring, as if in a nightmare. Carefully, he placed a hand on her forehead, in hopes of calming her.

He now understood why he saved her. He felt the rage towards every citizen in Konoha after knowing the truth about his family. But he cannot feel the same rage for her. For him, she was detached from Konoha, she does not belong in a shinobi village. And now, she remains the only link to his fragile past, that's why she must live.

She was still stirring in her sleep, and tears fell from her eyes. Without thinking, he wiped it away.

"Ketsui-kun." She mumbled.

Sasuke took his hand back.

Again, he remembered his fight with her. He had to say she improved, but something unnerved him. The Sakura he remembered would never initiate a fight with him, she would never do anything to fuel his ire.

He would remember that Sakura of the past, who always looked at him with emotion. There was joy. There was shame. There was sadness. There was pain. There was worry. Always, those eyes looked at him vibrantly emerald with emotion. But this time, there was nothing. Only cold determination.

"I love you so much."

He gritted his teeth in anger that he cannot fathom. When it multiplied upon thinking about the name she uttered, he understood it was jealousy. He is not breaking his bond with Sakura. And there is no way he would allow her to break her bond with him.

There, my first attempt in Sasuke POV. I hope he is not OOC.

And the name she mentioned is the OC.

Anyway, please read and review.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Chantrea Moonbeam