In the leaf village, Sasuke reflects on his life since Naruto rescued him from the dark abyss.
Sasuke sat, brooding, outside of his house, waiting for Sakura to pick him up. As he was waiting, his mind drifted to how lucky he was to be alive, breathing. During the fourth great ninja war, Madara set up a fight between him and Naruto, so that he could take the nine-tails for himself. Sasuke was driven to kill Naruto, though, but Naruto refused to give up on him. During the fight, Naruto tamed the Kyuubi, and used his powers to forcefully purify Sasuke of all the darkness and hatred that had been fermenting inside of him for half his life. It was such a painful experience, though, it dragged Sasuke to the very edge of death. Sasuke, convinced he was going to die, told Naruto the truth about Itachi, not knowing that Naruto already knew, and that the whole Shinobi world was eavesdropping. The Kohona elders, the true culprits that put Sasuke on his path of vengeance, were stripped of all power, and Naruto next destroyed Madara, thus ending the fourth great ninja war and returning the tailed beasts to the villages they belonged to. While a new unified peace settled over the Shinobi world, Sasuke was forgiven of his crimes, and everyone settled around his sickbed. Eventually, Sasuke woke up, and his eyes settled on his closest friends, Naruto and Sakura.
Of course, Sasuke's time in the darkness cost him. He was stripped of almost all emotions, which he needed therapy to regain. And of course, the fallen elders weren't giving up without a fight. But otherwise, life was great for Sasuke. His fanclub, which then consisted of only Sakura and Ino, still tried to win his heart. In the end, though, he fell in love with Sakura. Sakura, who was willing to betray the village for him. Sakura, who wanted to die with Sasuke. Of course, choosing Sakura meant that left Ino and Naruto alone and depressed, but Sasuke could care less. As time passed, Sasuke learned to care again. It helped that Hinata finally won Naruto's heart, which Sasuke was genuinely happy about. Next, the Duo showed up, and Kimiko and Ino's paths crossed. It amused Sasuke that Ino of all people fell in love with a girl, but there was something about Kimiko Rei that made you want to trust her without question. Her companion, Kiyori Mamuro, on the other hand, had a sunny personality that made you want to stand by his side. People mostly kept their distance though, besides a select few. And Sasuke was the only one who knew why. Well, Garra knew as well.
Sakura showed up, and she sat down next to Sasuke before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Sasuke-kun, are you ready for our date?" Sasuke kept brooding. "Saku-chan, may I ask you a couple questions first?" "All right. What do you want to know?" "How do you feel about the Duo?" Sakura, surpised at the question, answered anyway, "Well, Kimi-chan is my friend. She is a strong, fierce woman, and she's chasing Ino almost as hard as Hinata chased Naruto." Sasuke noticed that Sakura didn't actually answer the question. "What about Kiyori?" He asked, also noticing that she didn't mention him. "I like him, too. He's sweet, and he stuck by Kimiko all those years. But…" "But?" Sasuke asked, wondering if Sakura picked up on it. "He gives me the creeps sometimes. When we first met, he was looking at me like he knew me from somewhere. And everytime I see him, he's always eating something cherry-related." Sasuke almost laughed. Both things were perfectly understandable, and Sasuke could explain both of them. One would do for now. "Sakura, Cherries are Kiyori's favorite food. He was eating them when we first met. He offered me some, but I don't like sweets."
Sakura relaxed a little. "Why do you want to know about the Duo?" Sasuke gave a slightly sick smile, then started talking.
"Me and Garra have something in common with the Duo. All four of us have had painful childhoods. All four of us have had something in us corrupted because of it." Sasuke could tell that Sakura didn't want hear this, but plowed on. "Garra can relate to the Duo more, because Garra's family hated him, and so did Kiyori's, so did Kimiko's. All four of us have the seductive power of evil in us, and our families were the ones that put that evil in us. But the difference between the Duo and me and Garra is that the Duo actually want to keep the darkness in them under control. Me and Garrra gave in to the darkness." Sakura was going steadily paler, but Sasuke wasn't done yet. "Another difference is that no one has saved the Duo from the darkness yet, but me and Garra have both been saved. If no one saves them, and the darkness overpowers them, someone might die."
Sakura had had enough. "Sasuke, please stop talking like that. That part of your life is over." Sasuke gave in. Sakura was right. "Ok. Have you ever seen Kiyori's ex?" "Yumi? No, I haven't. Why?" Sasuke smiled. This was going to be good. "Have this pic of her then. Kiyori gave it to me." Sasuke handed Sakura the pic, then setteled back to watch the fireworks. It didn't take long. "She looks just like me!!" Upon closer inspection, the resemblance thinned, but it was still scary. The pic showed a twenty-year old Yumi Takara. Yumi had bright pink hair, cut in a rather butch style. Her tomboyish figure made Sakura feel feminine in comparison. Yumi had olive-colored eyes, darker than Sakura's, and the face that held the eyes was Yumi's most feminine feature. Yumi was holding a bow in the picture, and a hawk mask. What held Sakura's attention, though, was something else. "She has a smaller forehead than me!" Sasuke chuckled, stood up, and started walking. "Are we on a date, or would you rather look at Yumi's forehead?" Sakura tucked the picture in her pocket and followed Sasuke.
Sasuke sat, brooding, outside of his house, waiting for Sakura to pick him up. As he was waiting, his mind drifted to how lucky he was to be alive, breathing. During the fourth great ninja war, Madara set up a fight between him and Naruto, so that he could take the nine-tails for himself. Sasuke was driven to kill Naruto, though, but Naruto refused to give up on him. During the fight, Naruto tamed the Kyuubi, and used his powers to forcefully purify Sasuke of all the darkness and hatred that had been fermenting inside of him for half his life. It was such a painful experience, though, it dragged Sasuke to the very edge of death. Sasuke, convinced he was going to die, told Naruto the truth about Itachi, not knowing that Naruto already knew, and that the whole Shinobi world was eavesdropping. The Kohona elders, the true culprits that put Sasuke on his path of vengeance, were stripped of all power, and Naruto next destroyed Madara, thus ending the fourth great ninja war and returning the tailed beasts to the villages they belonged to. While a new unified peace settled over the Shinobi world, Sasuke was forgiven of his crimes, and everyone settled around his sickbed. Eventually, Sasuke woke up, and his eyes settled on his closest friends, Naruto and Sakura.
Of course, Sasuke's time in the darkness cost him. He was stripped of almost all emotions, which he needed therapy to regain. And of course, the fallen elders weren't giving up without a fight. But otherwise, life was great for Sasuke. His fanclub, which then consisted of only Sakura and Ino, still tried to win his heart. In the end, though, he fell in love with Sakura. Sakura, who was willing to betray the village for him. Sakura, who wanted to die with Sasuke. Of course, choosing Sakura meant that left Ino and Naruto alone and depressed, but Sasuke could care less. As time passed, Sasuke learned to care again. It helped that Hinata finally won Naruto's heart, which Sasuke was genuinely happy about. Next, the Duo showed up, and Kimiko and Ino's paths crossed. It amused Sasuke that Ino of all people fell in love with a girl, but there was something about Kimiko Rei that made you want to trust her without question. Her companion, Kiyori Mamuro, on the other hand, had a sunny personality that made you want to stand by his side. People mostly kept their distance though, besides a select few. And Sasuke was the only one who knew why. Well, Garra knew as well.
Sakura showed up, and she sat down next to Sasuke before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Sasuke-kun, are you ready for our date?" Sasuke kept brooding. "Saku-chan, may I ask you a couple questions first?" "All right. What do you want to know?" "How do you feel about the Duo?" Sakura, surpised at the question, answered anyway, "Well, Kimi-chan is my friend. She is a strong, fierce woman, and she's chasing Ino almost as hard as Hinata chased Naruto." Sasuke noticed that Sakura didn't actually answer the question. "What about Kiyori?" He asked, also noticing that she didn't mention him. "I like him, too. He's sweet, and he stuck by Kimiko all those years. But…" "But?" Sasuke asked, wondering if Sakura picked up on it. "He gives me the creeps sometimes. When we first met, he was looking at me like he knew me from somewhere. And everytime I see him, he's always eating something cherry-related." Sasuke almost laughed. Both things were perfectly understandable, and Sasuke could explain both of them. One would do for now. "Sakura, Cherries are Kiyori's favorite food. He was eating them when we first met. He offered me some, but I don't like sweets."
Sakura relaxed a little. "Why do you want to know about the Duo?" Sasuke gave a slightly sick smile, then started talking.
"Me and Garra have something in common with the Duo. All four of us have had painful childhoods. All four of us have had something in us corrupted because of it." Sasuke could tell that Sakura didn't want hear this, but plowed on. "Garra can relate to the Duo more, because Garra's family hated him, and so did Kiyori's, so did Kimiko's. All four of us have the seductive power of evil in us, and our families were the ones that put that evil in us. But the difference between the Duo and me and Garra is that the Duo actually want to keep the darkness in them under control. Me and Garrra gave in to the darkness." Sakura was going steadily paler, but Sasuke wasn't done yet. "Another difference is that no one has saved the Duo from the darkness yet, but me and Garra have both been saved. If no one saves them, and the darkness overpowers them, someone might die."
Sakura had had enough. "Sasuke, please stop talking like that. That part of your life is over." Sasuke gave in. Sakura was right. "Ok. Have you ever seen Kiyori's ex?" "Yumi? No, I haven't. Why?" Sasuke smiled. This was going to be good. "Have this pic of her then. Kiyori gave it to me." Sasuke handed Sakura the pic, then setteled back to watch the fireworks. It didn't take long. "She looks just like me!!" Upon closer inspection, the resemblance thinned, but it was still scary. The pic showed a twenty-year old Yumi Takara. Yumi had bright pink hair, cut in a rather butch style. Her tomboyish figure made Sakura feel feminine in comparison. Yumi had olive-colored eyes, darker than Sakura's, and the face that held the eyes was Yumi's most feminine feature. Yumi was holding a bow in the picture, and a hawk mask. What held Sakura's attention, though, was something else. "She has a smaller forehead than me!" Sasuke chuckled, stood up, and started walking. "Are we on a date, or would you rather look at Yumi's forehead?" Sakura tucked the picture in her pocket and followed Sasuke.