"Forgotten"
by Alena S. Anigor
Sasuke×Sakura
---
“I can’t love you,” He would say to her, eyeing her dejectedly, pitifully, before his eyes would become cold and distant again.
And she would stand behind him with her hands clasped, her eyes sad, and her heart broken. And she would nod; she would understand.
As long as there was Itachi, he would not find his peace; his family’s honor had to be restored. There was no place in his heart for her now...
She would smile. And say:
“I know.”
He would turn and walk away from her. And she would follow him again and smile at him, walking beside him in silence.
---
“Thank you,” He had said to her that night, right before he knocked her unconscious and left her to lie there in front of the gates of Konoha.
She had expressed her love to him, for him, in hope he would stay.
He hadn’t.
“Sasuke-kun,” She had whispered sadly the day after, watching the outskirts of the forest. Watching and waiting.
For him to come back and say he loved her, too.
---
They met one night while she was on a mission and after he had joined Orochimaru.
They were staring at each other mutely, gravely. They were supposed to kill each other. She knew it, he knew it.
She couldn’t. He didn’t.
Instead, she waited for him to say something, and he knew what she wanted to know.
He turned his back to her, knowing she wouldn’t attack him. He was silent for a moment, his hair shining on the moonlight, red eyes staring straight ahead.
“I can’t love you,” He said and then left.
“Why?” Was all she asked, her voice barely above whisper, carried by the autumn wind.
---
He had killed Orochimaru after he gained enough power and learned enough jutsus to fulfill what he thought was his destiny.
He had killed, and his soul had taken the color of his eyes. Crimson, bloody. Cursed.
He had his brother’s dead body under his feet, blood tainting his beautiful features, his clothes, his hands and his trembling fingers.
She was staring at him, speechless and with a kunai poised over her head, her chest heaving with every deep breath she took.
They were silent, their eyes locking for a moment, he recognizing her as someone from his past; she not recognizing him anymore.
“Sasuke,” She whispered, one last thought lingering on her lips, her heart demanding the answer, the last one he would give her before she was gone for good.
“Can you love me now?”
He blinked and looked at her, red, piercing eyes tearing hers, her soul, her heart.
Silence greeted her and she understood. She finally understood.
She turned around and walked away, leaving him to try to remember what it meant. How it felt to love.
He exhaled and the bloodstained katana fell out of his hand, the tip embedding itself into the fresh earth beneath him.
How it felt to love...
He forgot.