The 2nd First Kiss
“Chidori!”
“Rasengan!”
It was at that place…
It was the place where everything comes to an end.
Friendship, Alliances, Love… Everything comes to an end.
That continuous fall of the water full of despair.
That beautiful yet sarcastic scenery formed by the blending of the colors of the water, the sky and the earth.
It was the perfect description of the “Valley of the End”.
Sasuke, enraged by his desires – his desire to become stronger, his desire to hate and his desire to kill his brother, finally defeated the one he considered his rival, his enemy, his teammate and his best friend.
As Sasuke calmly leaves the valley, he heard a cracking sound made by a twig being stepped on.
Without having any second thoughts, he focused all of his remaining charka at the palm of his left hand.
He charged at the source of the sound as if he knew that it was one of his retrievers. He thought it was Kakashi.
But he was wrong…
As his lightning-surrounded hand hits the source, Sasuke’s eyes widened to see her tragically ricocheted toward the rock behind her because of the impact of the attack.
He was surprised to see Sakura in such great pain because of his own faults.
Sasuke then rushed to Sakura’s side.
His knees weakened as he saw her cherry blossom hair soaked in blood.
She was completely blacked out.
“Huh?”
“Where am I?”
“Am I finally…dead?”
“But… Everything is so unclear.”
“I don’t even know how I came to this point where everything is so…pitch-black!”
“I can’t even see a thing!”
“Who did I ran after again?”
“From what I can remember, he has this silky-black hair.”
“But when he faced me in my thoughts, his image is just too… blurred.”
“Who is he?”
“I really can’t remember”
“It’s so funny yet so ironic… This sentimental reminisce of something I can’t even remember.”
“I guess it’ll be better if I really died because…”
“I can’t accept that he left me and the idea that my mind throwing him away hurts.”
“Huh?”
“Little by little, I can hear these small voices.”
“Was that Tsunade-sama?”
“So does that mean that I’m alive?”
“But I guess it’s good that I’m alive even if I totally forgot about him because I think that I can finally move on.”
“Finally.”
“Tsunade-sama! It’s Sakura! She’s waking up!”
“I can hear them!”
“CALL HIM ALREADY, SHIZUNE! He has to be here!”
“Who is supposed to be here? Kakashi-sensei? Naruto?
“SAKURA! WAKE UP! SAKURA!”
“Huh? Tsunade-sama is calling out for me.”
“SAKURA!”
Finally Sakura opened her eyes and she was surprise to see herself lying on a hospital bed with white-cotton sheets.
“Sakura, you’re finally awake after being bedridden for almost 3 weeks!” exclaimed the tall-blonde woman.
“Tsunade-sama, I know that you are the one who took care of me when I was down with a coma and I’m very grateful for that..”
“Actually, it was Sasuke who took care of you during that time.”
“Sa…su…ke? Who is he?”
“What? Am I that important to that guy that he even took care of me? I barely even know him!”
“What? Don’t tell me you don’t remember Sasuke?”
“I’m serious, Tsunade-sama! I really don’t remember meeting him.”
“Tsunade-sama’s words. It simply implies that there really is something between me and that Sasuke guy but… I can’t understand why I can’t even remember him!”
“You stay and rest here Sakura. I guess that damage is something we shouldn’t care less.”
Tsunade left the room with a serious face leaving Sakura all alone in the room.
With nothing to do and no one to talk to because Naruto and Kakashi are out on a mission, Sakura decided to rest.
As Sakura is peacefully resting, Tsunade met up with Shizune to talk about Sakura’s serious condition.
“WHAT?! SAKURA TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT SASUKE?!” Shizune with her jaw dropped couldn’t believe what she just heard.
“It’s true. And I don’t understand why? She remembers me and I know that she remembers most of her friends but why couldn’t she remember Sasuke?” Tsunade biting her thumbnail just closed her eyes and came to a deep thought.
“Maybe she got Amnesia!” Shizune exclaimed trying to cheer Tsunade up.
Tsunade slams her table and shouted, “THAT COULDN’T BE AMNESIA BECAUSE SHE SHOULD HAVE FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT US TOO!”
“You’re right Tsunade-sama. But what could have caused this?”
After five whole minutes of deep thinking, Tsunade exclaimed
“Wait a minute!” Tsunade suddenly smiles and added, “I think I finally got it!”
“What is it, Tsunade-sama?”
“Our findings are all correct and nothing is physically wrong with Sakura.”
“Then what is the problem with her?”
“It is more on psychological problems.”
“How did it happen, Tsunade-sama?”
“Sakura was simply longing for Sasuke that is the reason why he followed him without our permission and on her way there, she is already confused and because of all that, she simply forgot about him. I don’t know the complete details of that case but it could be true.”
“I got what you mean. So probably, only Sasuke can make her remember who he is. But how?”
“This should be interesting… Sasuke, what will you do now?” said Tsunade as she looked throughout the window giggling.
“Sakura, it hurts to see you there still resting and unable to do what you wish to do.”
“It hurts so much more thinking that I was the cause of all this.”
“I was the cause of the pains you are feeling right now.”
“Because of my foolishness and greed!”
“But I guess it’s good that you forgot about me.”
“Because at last, you are finally free from my grasps.”
“Even if it hurts to think that the one I love… won’t really know and remember that Uchiha Sasuke existed.”
“Existed in her life.”
“So I guess this kiss will be my farewell to you.”
Sasuke, standing beside the bed where Sakura lays, tilted and kissed Sakura as if it was the last time.
“Huh? What is this warm feeling in my lips?”
“It feels as if I felt this before already.”
“A kiss huh?”
“His lips… Is somewhat…familiar.”
“As if I felt this before…”
“His warm and tender lips.”
“As if it touched mine before.”
“But…”
“As far as I know, this IS my first kiss.”
Sasuke’s lips distanced from Sakura’s. Walking towards the exit, Sasuke whispered,
“To tell you the truth, that night when you tried to stop me from leaving and I made you faint, I kissed you… Just like this one… As if it was the last...”
As Sasuke opened the door, he turned back and saw the tears flowing from the risen Sakura.
“Now, I truly remembered it now. Uchiha Sasuke, the so-called “Survivor of the Uchiha Clan”, the so-called “Avenger” and the so-called “Number 1 Rookie”, left me to become stronger.”
“Sa…Sakura! You’ve remembered me!”
“But I want to ask you some things…”
“What is it Sakura?”
“Why… Why did you return?! Why did you take care of me? Is that all out of pity?! Is it just to make sure that I’m alive?!” Sakura shouted with tears flowing from her eyes.
“It is because… it is because…”
“ANSWER ME!”
“It is because I love you!”
“Wh…What?”
“Don’t you get it? I have always loved you and it hurts just to see you suffer because of my own foolishness and greed.”
“But why did you leave me?” asked Sakura in a calm voice as tears continue on flowing.
“Because I don’t want you to get involve. I can’t even bear to see you die! Because if that happens… I will DIE with you.”
Sakura’s emotion burst out and couldn’t help her self from crying.
“When I was injured, why did you return?”
“It is because when the time when I have finally avenged my clan’s death comes, I will return to Konoha and the first thing that I want to see… no… I NEED to see is you and only you.”
“But… Why did you kiss me?”
“Sakura, I’m going to risk my life just to avenge my clan and I don’t know if I’ll even survive but before anything bad happens to me, I want to feel your lips… It was truly the kiss that I’ve been longing for since I met you but I guess this is it. May we meet again, Sakura.”
Sasuke left the room hastily without even waiting for Sakura’s reply.
Just hearing the answers of Sasuke made Sakura happy so Sakura wiped her tears with her hands and whispered to herself,
“Thank you Sasuke… Thank you.”
THE END