Naruto What Could Have Been

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto; I don't. I'm sure we all understand that. But now, if you please, to the story...

--

_Things could've been different._

_Wake up sleepy head, a voice calls. Cherry blossoms everywhere._

_Everything is so unclear._

_There's a light in the distance. Won't you wake up?_

_It'd be great if it was like this forever._

_I promise we'll be happy together._

_Stay with me. Keep it this way, always and forever._

_Be with me forever as I dream..._

--

It was a bit strange to her. Why would he give something he claimed was so precious for free?

A young kunoichi standing across from a cloaked merchant. It was a normal sight in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Darkness was approaching.

"This is one of a kind," he said with a smile. She merely stared at him. Her emerald eyes sparkled in wonder. They widened as he delicately placed the object in her hands. It must have been as fragile as a small butterfly. Then young woman gasped; whatever it was he gave to her... it felt alive, and she could've sworn she felt it squirm in her grasp. Perhaps it _was_ a butterfly.

The merchant continued to speak.

"I don't usually give these away for free," came the wispy voice, and that was when he left just as soon as he came. Slowly the cloaked figure began to move away, tugging at the small, creaky cart behind him. Their shadows moved in unison as the sun went down, casting a dark patch on the ground. Sakura drew back a bit when the man abruptly stopped. He turned around.

"Someone like you will need it." was all he added, and went on his way once again. The voice was that of an old man's; raspy and worn down, broken by age, but had held wisdom.

Dumbfounded she stood there as she watched him disappear down the path. Figuring he wasn't going to turn around to speak again, the pink-haired girl looked down at to see the miraculous thing the man had left in her hands. The cherry blossom had felt life course within it, so what could it possibly be? Something alive, something small, something precious. Again it wriggled around on her palms; it was time to see the wonder that was promised. It was...

A leaf.

The light faded in her eyes, and the twinkling orbs dulled out in disappointment. Sakura stared in disbelief. This definitely wasn't expected. It was just a leaf.

The feeling of disenchantment within her matched up well with the emotions she had contained within her when she was young. That was when she first met _him._

Sakura sighed, recounting every girls' mistake when seeing the boy. Even when they were in the early ages of adolescence, he was definitely one of the more matured males in their year. He was cool, collected, and handsome. Every girls' dream.

Though, sometimes the dream wasn't always so true. Affections caused by him went a little too deep with her. It cut in so much that eventually it broke the friendship her very best friend and herself. However, that wasn't the only upsetting thing caused by the charming boy. More realization began when she-- Haruno Sakura-- was placed into the same squad as him-- Uchiha Sasuke. First she was in ecstasy; every female peer she had was now envying her, wishing to be her, the girl with the large forehead. For a while it was the best thing that could have happened to her. That's when she got to know him "better".

Around him, nothing seemed to go completely right. Along with his coolness was the cold, for he always seemed to keep to himself, never to talk. No feeling, or emotion, ever was shown on his face.

It was either he had none to show, or was good at hiding it.

He always seemed angry. Sometimes she would hear him curse at the world when he thought he was alone. He was wishing for power, and soon enough he got it. This frightened her a lot, and she tried to help. When she offered it, he pushed her away. And so, the man of her dreams, the one she loved, had left with the power that controlled him. She couldn't help but wonder if he ever thought of her hurt feelings at all. After all, no one could possibly be more heartless than he had.

Her heart felt like it was being compacted and compressed over and over again. The pain was overwhelming. Soon enough, as the years passed, the wounds of the past had healed. She still hated him for breaking her younger heart and planned to punish him for doing so, but she also planned on being happy seeing him again, rejoicing with all her friends.

He leaves, he comes back. It was like he returned without anyone else around.

She thought she'd be happy to see him again, and she had been happy. However, something seemed distant. It was like he was a stranger in another world.

Everyone was quiet when the two finally came face to face. What would they say to each other? they all wondered together. The onlookers held their breaths as they observed. The two old "friends" eyed each other for awhile. Anticipation was building up.

"Sakura," he said in a monotonous tone, breaking the tension. His voice was as unchanging as ever, but it now rang in an even more indifferent baritone than ever before. Sakura could only reply.

"Sasuke," his name rolled off her tongue smoothly, almost as if she had recited it over and over. Saying his name for the first time in forever made her eyes begin to water, but she had held back. She would not show weakness to him again. No tears were shed.

The two remained transfixed, eyes locked. It was emerald to onyx; Haruno to Uchiha. First reaction taken was by Sakura. Wordlessly, she walked away, leaving everyone in the crowd, and perhaps Sasuke, in a puzzled amusement.

That wasn't how she had thought their first meeting in a while was going to be. She thought she would be jumping and laughing along with her orange teammate as they ran up to him, cheering. He would probably remain silent, for that was his unchanging nature. No; instead what they got was a quiet reunion. Nothing special. But why?

Why hadn't this dream come true? He had come back, hadn't he? Was it because it was simply not meant to be? Sakura thought for a moment. If their life _was_ meant to be, she reviewed, wouldn't this life time be completely different?

In other words, what would've happened without those days?

She began to head home, leaf still in hand. There was strange warmth coming from it, and the kunoichi was determined to find out what it was.

Night's shadows swirled around as the she walked. Above, the moon provided her only light, illuminating her every step. Sakura began to walk even faster. The moonlight was a little scary to her in a way.

Finally the lights from her house were visible. Hopes high, she began to run. The moving grass from the rush began to whisper quietly.

_Sakura... Sakura... Sakura... _the strands chatted among themselves as they swayed around. _Sakura... Sakura... Sakura..._

...It was just like any other day.

Once inside, Sakura immediately went to her bedroom. Even thought the night was still young, she was feeling as tired as ever. Maybe it was all the thinking she had done. Quickly she changed into nightwear, and climbed into bed. It groaned and creaked under her weight; many years of use had worn it down. After settling in, the pink-haired girl turned her attention toward the piece of green she had set on her nightstand. The wonder the merchant had promised had already begun.

It was hovering in mid air. Gasping, Sakura almost tipped over as she brought her face closer to the leaf to observe. It was like there was a crystal mirror in that leaf. The reflection of the observer was now staring back at her with the same look of amazement. And, being that close to it, Sakura saw a dim glow. Astounded by her new discovery, her reflexes told her to jolt back. Doing so, she hit the switch on her lamp, and turned it off. Her eyes widened. Only the glowing leaf provided light now. Green sparks seemed to be emitting from it. After awhile, it grew brighter. She closed her eyes.

A voice from the leaves echoed in her head.

_Sakura... Sakura... Sakura..._

Wait, leaves? The room seemed to be warming up. She could almost here the birds chirping. A scent of blossoming flowers and green grass drifted up her nose. And, strangely enough, the bed had felt a little harder then before.

_Sakura, Sakura, Sakura..._

There was also melodious tune coming from somewhere. Was someone playing the piano, or perhaps a pipe? No... Someone was playing the flute. It was the most wonderful song Sakura had ever heard. Every note was played with precision, and they gracefully flowed to the sounds of the small breeze. The notes had easily glided through the air, and to the place she rested. Each key of the music drifted through her ears, and she was memorized. She would play it over and over again in her head, for it brought her peace.

Someone was calling out in a familiar voice. It sounded so close, yet so very far away. Who was it?

"Hey Sakura!"

She sighed. _Naruto... _

"Hey, Sakura-chaaan!"

Something was different about his voice, for it sounded a little more high pitched then usual, but she dismissed it, and tried to get back to sleep. He sounded familiar enough.

Her friend refused to give up, nudging her in the back. Sakura grunted, and turned over to put her pillow on her head. It definitely wasn't under her head, so she began to scan the mattress with her hands, eyes still closed. Reaching around, she felt something a little prickly instead. It felt like grass. Startled, Sakura drew back. It was somewhat confusing to the girl. _The pillow must've fallen off the bed_, she concluded promptly without any other thought. She was still too tired to think it through clearly. Naruto pressed on.

"Hey Sakura-chan, wake up! You're such a sleepy head!" Sakura irritably turned over again and groaned. Naruto had no right to barge into her house and to tell her to get out! Rising up, she turned to give her loud-mouthed friend a scolding.

"Oy, Naruto," she mumbled, and rubbed her eyes.

Strange, her voice sounded a little different too.

With the sleeping dust out of her eyes, Sakura dropped her arm to her side, and faced Naruto with an angry glare. Boy was he in for it!

In the background, the high pitch of the flute had changed. Whoever was playing the wind instrument was now strumming something stringed. It was a guitar. The music was just as pretty as the flute's, and was played quite professionally.

Sakura returned from her small distraction. "Why," she yelled angrily, "are you in my house?"

Her teammate only blinked and gave her a questioning look. (_Weird_, she thought, _he discarded that look_ _when we were _fourteen) "You... live... here?"

"Duh!" she ranted on. "Of course I live here! Didn't you see the sign in front of my house?" She was a little disappointed at her for throwing such a fit at her age, but she was still sleepy, so it didn't matter now. The orange-clad ninja repeated part of her question and thought for a moment.

"But Sakura-chan..." he said quietly, "...there aren't any houses here."

"What do you mean? Look around--!" Sakura waved her arms dramatically, but froze when she scanned the landscape herself.

Definitely not her house. They were outside.

"Ah, Sakura?" His words went straight in and out, with no reaction from his fellow nin whatsoever. She was still staring out into spaces that use to be her home.

Under a cherry tree and surrounded by flowers... What was this place? Colorful bloomers and buds sprouted everywhere in the field, and every now and then a sakura tree would pop up. When a breeze came, it shook the branches of the trees and pink blossoms would transcend from the tops. It was very breathtaking for a place in Konoha. _Nowhere else could possibly be more beautiful than this,_ she mused. Caught in daydreaming, Sakura didn't notice a lone figure sneak beside her. Feeling he was undetected, he bent down close to her ear, and spoke.

"You're certainly acting strange today," a cool voice came. Sakura snapped up. It sounded familiar, just as Naruto's had, with the slightly higher pitch. But it also had a lower tone to it too. She shuddered. That meant it could only be one other person...

Sasuke merely smirked.

"Heh... Why so speechless all of a sudden? That's very unlike you."

Sakura turned around and gawked. Sasuke Uchida speaking more than one sentence at once. Awkward...

Naruto glanced up to Sasuke and scratched his head. "Eh? Sasuke-kun, didn't see you there..."

Back up a bit-- Naruto calling Sasuke "Sasuke-_kun_"? That was only used for boys that were friends!

There was a chuckled reply from the Uchida boy. "Senses still as deaf as ever. You gotta be more alert to become a ninja, Naruto. Besides," he frowned a bit, "didn't you say you wanted to be Hokage like your dad--?"

The forgotten female teammate slowly followed through the conversation. First the voice change, then she was outside; now Sasuke had a "-kun" at the end and Naruto had a father who was Kage! What was going on?

--To be continued.

--

Hmmm... Hopefully I didn't put too many question marks in there, but oh well. Oh, to the actual story itself, I have to say this is a belated birthday present for myself. Yeah, I feel a bit selfish now, but hey! And now I'm sorry for breaking the mood of the story. Heheheh...

Originally, this was suppose to be a oneshot, because I usually don't follow through with chapter stories. But since I gave myself a time limit, it's time to actually submit something! Critiques accepted, so don't be mean, if you please. Please Review! Oh... and if you watched the ending to episode 170 in Naruto, you probably found this somewhat familiar!


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Naruto, Romance