Chapter Text
Sasuke, continuing on his redemption journey, came across a small village. Walking through the gates and into the center of the village, he strolled past what he assumed was the medical center for the village. Next to the medical center stood a tall cherry blossom tree. He watched as the wind blew through the tree and it instantly reminded him of his female teammate, Sakura. He felt a sense of pride wash through him as he thought of all her accomplishments and how important she became to his home village of Konaha.
Not wanting to be seen as a lollygagger, he quickly walked past the medical center and continued on until he found the outer parts of the village that looked more run down. Sasuke felt that the people living in this section of the village would be more amiable towards him, wanting to help them with any repairs that they needed.
Later, after helping an older couple with the repairs on their home and with some light gardening, Sasuke found himself in the woods nestled next to an old oak tree. He pulled out the small package of food the couple had given him in place of his hard work and thought back to another old couple that he had assisted in another village.
The memory took him back to a few months ago when he ran across them. They needed help repairing the roof of their barn. Sasuke offered to help repair the roof in exchange for a place to sleep and some food to eat. The old couple quickly accepted his offer.
While Sasuke was helping thatch the roof of the old man's barn, he looked over and saw him looking down at his wife. The old man was watching his wife hanging their laundry to dry. He grunted and then turned to Sasuke and said, "Foolish old woman. She could've waited for me to come down and help her hang that laundry."
Sasuke just looked at the old man with curious eyes. The old man just chuckled at the young man in front of him and decided to share some of his life's tale.
“When I was a young lad, there was a snippet of a young girl that always followed me around. I tried everything to lose her. I even tried to avoid her, but to no avail,” he recalled. “I just couldn't get rid of her, foolish young girl.
When I got older, I decided it was time that I saw the world. I was tired of living the village life. I thought it would be best if I left at night. So, I packed my things and just when I got a few feet from my home, there was the young girl looking at me with tears in her eyes. I don’t know how she knew, but she knew I was leaving the village that night. I guess that old red string of fate tugs ya when a life changing event is going to happen. That is the only reason I can guess why she was there that night. I ignored her tears and kept walking until I was out of the village,” the old man uttered with regret.
The old man looked down once again on his wife and decided to leave Sasuke to his thoughts. As Sasuke continued to work on the roof, he thought back to the night he left Konaha to join Orochimaru. Just as he was closing in on the gates of Konaha, there stood Sakura. He was surprised to see her there that night. How had she guessed that he was leaving, especially on that night of all nights. The difference between his story and the old man’s story was that he had allowed Sakura to say her piece, but still the regret gnawed at him just as it did with the old man. He listened as she confessed her love for him and that she would do anything to make him happy. It pulled at his heart, and it made his decision to leave so much harder. She too ended that night with tears in her eyes. But he had to leave, and he could not take her with him. She too was a foolish young girl for pining after someone like himself.
Sometime later Sasuke heard the old man yell up to him to stop his work and come down for the meal his wife had cooked for him. After their meal, the old man walked out to his front porch and took out his pipe to smoke it. Sasuke decided to sit out on the porch and join the old man, who smiled at Sasuke and decided to continue with his story.
“After leaving the village, I traveled for a time until I came across a small village that was far away from home. While in this village, I tried to find my place, but I fell in with a bad lot. I worked for an evil man and was taught how to steal. I would hurt innocent people who owed money to my boss. Then, I was caught and put into prison for my crimes. While I was there, I made friends with even worse people. When I was released from prison, I went back to work for my old boss, committing even worse crimes. But, by then I was getting bored with my life.” The old man shook his head as if trying to rid himself of a bad dream.
He went on, “My boss noticed that I was getting complacent and decided that I needed to accomplish an even bigger task for him. My assignment was to kill someone. I have never killed anyone my whole life and when I saw who the target was, I knew that this woman was very strong and could kill me with her fists.
I had seen her name in the bingo book multiple times. I was never truly dedicated to the shinobi cause, so it was then and there that I decided that I wanted to live. I remembered the good times from when I was a youth and lived in my home village and knew it was time to return to my roots. I told my boss that I would take the assignment, knowing that he knew I would not accomplish this task, and that I would end up dead. If I disappeared, no one would come looking for me.”
Coming back to the present, the old man yawned and said, “enough for tonight, we can continue this story tomorrow.”
The next morning after breakfast had been eaten, the old man took Sasuke with him down to a nearby stream. Before leaving, he had gathered up two poles and a tin that had worms in it. When they reached the stream, the man handed Sasuke a pole and the tin with the worms. Both men lined their hooks with the worms and tossed their lines into the stream. They both sat in silence until the old man decided to take up his tale once again.
“When I returned to my home village, the first person to greet me was the young girl from my childhood. She didn't ask any questions. She just hugged me and then dragged me to her home. She gave me something to eat and drink and then introduced me to her parents. I learned that they were millers. They took me in and gave me a place to stay and food to eat. They even taught me their trade.
As the days went by, I saw many men come and bring baubles and gifts to the young woman. They offered to take her to dinner, but only if she allowed them to court her. Her answer was always ‘no’. I never understood why she turned them away. Foolish young woman.” The old man’s eyes gleamed at the fond memory.
Sasuke thought back to the end of his fight with Naruto when Sakura found them and began to heal them. Again, she had tears in her eyes. He apologized to Sakura for everything up to that point. She told him it was about time, and she had called him a jerk. He knew he didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but it helped to warm his once cold heart.
After another period of silence, the old man checked his line and started talking again.
“It was five years since I started staying with her family that her parents passed away. She lost her father first and then, six months later, her mother. I stayed through it all even though I didn't have to. A year later, I found myself in love with the girl. I looked back at everything I had done. I never told her of my sordid past and she never asked. She just kept loving me no matter what. It was then that I learned that redemption could be found in the love of a good woman. I married the girl and now she is my foolish old wife.” Thus ended the old man’s tale where his new life had begun.
He laughed at himself when he finished his story. At this, he felt a tug on his line and saw that he had caught a large trout. He pulled the line in and unhooked the fish from his line. He looked over to see his young companion lost in thought. He chuckled again to himself and cast his line again to try and catch another fish.
Sasuke just sat there while the words bounced around his head. Redemption could be found in the love of a good woman. ‘Could he really have that with Sakura? Could he really make her a part of his time of redemption?’ He knew she was still waiting for him. She had even asked if she could join him on his journey.
As the memory faded, Sasuke was once again reminded about Sakura when he saw a small cherry blossom that had attached itself to his cloak. He picked up the blossom and turned it over in his hands. It wasn’t time yet for him to go back to Konaha, but when he did, he was going to ask Sakura to travel with him, so he could find his redemption in her and in the things that surrounded them. He laughed to himself and thought of Sakura as his young foolish woman. There was no other woman for him, and he thought he could feel the pull of the red string of fate as he decided what his future was going to have in store for them.