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And here he was, in the exact same situation as always. Sakura was standing right in front of him, her cheeks flushed pink, her timid green eyes unable to look at him directly. Sasuke had already rejected her countless times, but apparently, the girl just wouldn't give up.
"Sasuke-kun..."
He wasn't surprised. His own eyes already broadcasted absolute boredom, since he knew exactly what words would follow.
"I like..." Sasuke let out an internal sigh. It was honestly getting a bit awkward having to reject her all over again. But he understood perfectly well where it was coming from; after all, he was handsome and popular. He knew it. He rejected girls basically every single day, but Sakura was, without a doubt, the most persistent.
"...your friend Juugo!"
"What?!" Sasuke blinked. Had his ears just failed him?
"Please, help me!" The girl bowed in a formal, deep reverence immediately after making her request.
What do you mean she was in love with Juugo?! The shock on his face was glaringly obvious, and the words completely vanished from his mouth. Sakura, who had been head-over-heels in love with him since they were seven years old, was now in love with someone else? And that someone else was his eccentric friend? To make matters worse: she wanted his help?!
Hours later, lying in his bed, he replayed the entire scene in his head. How could things have changed so drastically all of a sudden? He thought back to the last time they had all hung out and Sakura had met Juugo. It was a few weeks ago. Sakura had asked Naruto to arrange a karaoke night with him, insisting that he should bring his classmates along.
Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto had studied together for years at Konoha High School, but for their senior year, he had transferred to the Orochimaru Elite Academy, where he met Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo. His old friends and his new friends weren't very familiar with each other, but they had met a handful of times. For that reason, he had found her strict demand to bring them along the last time they met rather bizarre.
Had Sakura already formulated a plan in her mind? Had she already gotten over him and was intentionally trying to get closer to Juugo, or was it that specific day that changed everything? Sasuke's mind was racing at a million miles an hour; he couldn't sleep. He checked his clock, and it was already past midnight.
"The karaoke bar was where it all started, I'm sure of it!" he muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling.
On that day, Sakura and Naruto had arrived first. He showed up twenty minutes later with his new friends. Sasuke had purposefully sat on the corner bench, right next to Suigetsu, precisely to avoid sitting anywhere near Sakura—she always stared at him with those massive, sparkling green eyes. It was a terrible habit, because he knew she would end up asking him out on a date at some point. But he also hated sitting near Karin, who would try to cling to him at any given second. Yes, he was irresistible.
At one point during the night, he went to grab a drink. When he returned to the private room, he saw Juugo and Sakura talking, standing incredibly close. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now he vividly remembered the shy smile she had given him. Everything made sense now! Juugo must have said something that gave her the wrong idea. He was going to get to the bottom of this story tomorrow.
The next day, Sasuke arrived at the Orochimaru Academy with deep dark circles under his eyes and a mood far worse than usual. He stormed through the gates, completely ignoring Karin's hysterical screams as she tried to throw herself at his neck like she did every single morning.
"Back off, Karin. Not today," he grumbled, shoving her away before she could lock him in a grip.
"Rude!" Karin puffed out her cheeks, but immediately resumed chasing after him. "What happened to your face? You look like you got run over by a tractor!"
Suigetsu, who was walking right behind them sipping water from a little bottle, let out a mocking laugh.
"Did the Prince of Konoha miss his beauty sleep? What a tragedy."
Sasuke didn't even bother to reply. His eyes swept across the hallway until he spotted his target. Juugo was standing near the lockers, calmly feeding breadcrumbs to a sparrow on the windowsill. Telling Juugo that Sakura liked him was entirely out of the question. It would be like throwing an innocent lamb straight into the lion's den. No, he would investigate first.
Sasuke marched right up to him, slamming his hand against the locker right next to Juugo's head. The sparrow flew away in a fright.
"Juugo. We need to talk. Now. The karaoke bar. Two weeks ago. What exactly did you say to Sakura when I went out to grab drinks?"
Juugo knit his brows, visibly perplexed.
"Haruno-san? Well... it was nothing major. Why the sudden interest in that?"
"Yeah, Sasuke, why the interest?" Suigetsu chimed in, materializing out of nowhere with a sly smirk. "Since when do you care about what your friends talk about with your number-one fan?"
"None of your business, Suigetsu!" Sasuke hissed, his face flushing hot. Turning back to Juugo, he pressed, "Just tell me what you spoke about."
Juugo looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"Ah... she was looking a bit sad and out of place because Naruto was screaming into the microphone. Then I noticed she had a caterpillar on her shoulder. I brushed it off and told her that caterpillars were deeply misunderstood creatures, but if she had patience, one day that ugly, clumsy caterpillar would transform into a beautiful, free butterfly. And that she shouldn't give up on waiting for her moment to blossom. Then we spent the rest of the night talking about gardening."
Sasuke blinked, utterly incredulous. Bug poetry?! She got over him because of bug poetry?!
Suigetsu burst into a scandalous, boisterous laugh, pointing a finger right at the Uchiha.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Dude, is this jealousy? The great, unbeatable Uchiha Sasuke is absolutely eaten alive by jealousy because the girl paid attention to Juugo instead of him!"
"Are you two idiots? Of course it's not jealousy!" Sasuke roared.
While Suigetsu and Karin continued their endless teasing, Sasuke's phone vibrated. It was her:
"Sasuke-kun! Have you talked to Juugo yet? Ask him what he likes to eat, I can make him a bento box tomorrow!!! Let me know, please!!! 🌸✨"
With a malicious smirk spreading across his face, Sasuke typed out his reply to Sakura's message. He had the perfect plan. He knew for a fact that Juugo was a strict vegetarian—a fierce defender of all living creatures who consumed absolutely nothing of animal origin.
"Juugo is on a strict athletic diet; he basically only eats fried chicken. If you want to impress him, make a bento packed with extra crispy Karaage" Sasuke sent, pocketing his phone with a profound sense of triumph.
The following day, Sasuke hid behind the bushes in the Orochimaru Academy courtyard. He pretended to read a book, but his eyes were locked tightly on Juugo. It didn't take long for Sakura to appear, clutching a bento box neatly wrapped in a pink cloth. She looked incredibly timid, yet determined.
"Juugo-kun..." she called out, extending her hands forward. "This is to thank you for the other day at karaoke. Your words about the caterpillar really helped me a lot."
Juugo blinked in surprise, accepting the gift with a gentle nod.
"Thank you, Haruno-san. You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble."
Sasuke craned his neck from inside the bush, holding back a laugh. Now watch the disaster unfold, he thought.
Juugo untied the cloth and lifted the lid of the still-warm bento. The heavy aroma of fried chicken wafted through the courtyard. Juugo's reaction was instantaneous: he took a sharp step back, his eyes widening in pure shock and a look of mild agony washing over his face as he stared down at the meat.
"I... Haruno-san..." Juugo stammered, looking genuinely distressed. "I can't eat this. I'm a vegetarian. I don't consume any kind of meat."
Sakura slapped her hands over her mouth, her face completely crumbling into a mixture of absolute shame and desperation as she witnessed his discomfort.
"Oh my god, Juugo! I am so sorry! I didn't know! Sasuke-kun swore to me last night that you only ate fried chicken, which is why I spent the entire morning in the kitchen... I am so sorry, what a complete disaster! I'll throw this away right now!"
Before she could frantically slam the box shut, Juugo gently reached out his hand and stopped her, offering a soft, comforting smile.
"Please, don't throw it away, Haruno-san. Food is precious, and we shouldn't waste the life that was taken for it. Suigetsu was just complaining in the hallway a moment ago that he forgot his lunch at home and is absolutely starving. I'm certain he would be incredibly happy if you gave this bento to him."
Sakura blinked, processing his kindness. She looked down at the bento, then back up at Juugo’s calm, gentle face. Instead of being upset by the mistake, her green eyes sparkled with a deep, overwhelming admiration. Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson.
"Juugo-kun... you are the most kind-hearted, enlightened person I have ever met in my entire life!" she exclaimed, pressing her hands against her heart. "To think about Suigetsu even in a situation like this... You're right! I'll take it to him right now. But I promise I will make it up to you, Juugo! I am going to get you an amazing present!"
Hidden inside the bush, Sasuke slammed his forehead against the tree trunk, utterly defeated. His sabotage hadn't just failed to drive them apart—it had practically served as a stage for Juugo to display a saint-like aura that left Sakura even more head-over-heels for him. To make matters worse, she was now triply motivated to buy the big guy a definitive present at the mall.
A few days later, at the end of the school day, Sasuke was packing up his things when he chanced a glance out the second-floor window. His heart skipped a beat. Sakura was standing right by the school gates, wearing her Konoha uniform, clearly waiting for Juugo.
A strange, nagging feeling—one he strictly refused to label as jealousy—surged through his chest. Without a second thought, Sasuke bolted. He blew past Karin and Suigetsu like a hurricane, flew down the stairs, and burst through the gates ahead of everyone else.
He caught Sakura completely off guard, grabbing her by the wrist.
"Sasuke-kun?!" she gasped.
"Juugo skipped the last period. He already went home," Sasuke lied through his teeth, glancing casually around the perimeter. "What are you even doing here anyway? Let's go out."
Before she could utter a single word of protest, he dragged her away. As they walked through the mall, Sakura began to vent.
"Since Juugo-kun isn't here, you're going to have to help me, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said excitedly, scanning the storefront windows. "I need to get him a real present. Something that truly matches his personality."
Sasuke walked with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, a heavy scowl plastered across his face. The mall was packed with teenage couples from neighboring schools, and walking side-by-side with Sakura had always been second nature to him. But this time, everything felt different. She wasn't trying to hook her arm into his. She wasn't telling him how nice he looked in his shirt. She was looking into shops searching for men's clothing... but her eyes were searching for Juugo's size and style.
And that began to bother Sasuke on a profound level, weaving a tight, uncomfortable knot right in his stomach. His ego, which had always served as a comfortable, unshakeable shield, was beginning to crack.
"Buy him a leather jacket with spikes," Sasuke suggested, his voice dripping with pure boredom as he pointed toward a punk-rock boutique. "Juugo loves heavy metal and skulls. Trust me."
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, turned around to face him, and crossed her arms, letting out a sweet little giggle that caught Sasuke completely off guard.
"Sasuke-kun, you are a terrible liar. Juugo spends his recess talking to birds and tending to the school garden. What would he even wear a spiked jacket for? To pop balloons?"
Sasuke averted his gaze, feeling his cheeks turn slightly warm. She knew him way too well to fall for a trick like that.
"Forget about the clothes for a minute. I'm hungry," Sasuke lied, abruptly grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the clothing section.
He led her to the food court and bought a giant ice cream sundae for them to share, securing a table right next to the balcony. He figured the shift in environment would change her focus, but as she savored the sweet treat, her eyes lit up.
"You know, Sasuke-kun... this place is beautiful," Sakura remarked, gazing at the panoramic view of the city through the glass windows. "Juugo-kun would absolutely love to sit right here, sipping tea while watching the crowds. It's so relaxing. I am going to plan our very first date right here!"
Sasuke nearly choked on his spoon. He tried a different tactic. As they passed by an arcade and game store, he dragged her straight inside.
"Let's play that claw machine," he challenged, pointing at a massive stuffed bear inside. "I bet you can't win it."
"Oh, really? Just watch me!" Sakura accepted the challenge, locking in her focus.
They spent the next twenty minutes laughing out loud, competing, and burning through coins. Sasuke ended up joining in, wrapping his hands over hers on the machine's joystick to help her aim. For a brief few seconds, the rest of the world completely vanished. They were genuinely having fun, exactly the way they used to when they were kids, before all the pressure of high school popularity ever got between them. Sakura laughed so hard her head tilted back, and Sasuke caught himself smiling right along with her, utterly captivated by the little dimple forming on her cheek.
But the bubble burst the exact second the bear finally tumbled into the prize chute. Sakura scooped up the plushie, squeezed it tightly against herself, and looked up at Sasuke, her eyes welling with pure joy.
"We did it! Sasuke-kun, that was incredible! Juugo-kun is always so shy and serious... I think bringing him to a loud place like this and winning a prize like this for him would totally break the ice and make him laugh too, don't you think? You are a dating genius!"
The smile vanished from Sasuke's face instantly. Every single sweet moment he tried to manufacture to distract her from her mission only ended up serving as fuel for her romantic script with Juugo. His ego was officially in the gutter.
They resumed walking down the corridors, and a profound emotional exhaustion began to wash over the Uchiha. He stopped just a step behind her in front of a winter boutique, where Sakura pressed her face against the glass, staring intently at a dark blue knit scarf.
"Look at that! It's stunning. It's soft, cozy... it reminds me of the calm way Juugo speaks. I think it perfectly matches the color of his eyes, don't you?"
Through the window's reflection, Sasuke stared at Sakura’s face. The late afternoon sun filtered through the mall's skylights, beautifully illuminating her pink hair. There was a mature, soft glow in her eyes. The dedication she showed in spending her free time, the date ideas she had thrown out all day long... none of it was for him anymore.
A sharp, physical, suffocating ache clamped down on Sasuke's chest. It wasn't just the bruised pride of being "replaced." It was the devastating realization that Sakura's constant presence—something he had always taken for granted, as eternal as the very air he breathed—was slipping right through his fingers because he himself had spent years pushing her away. She was finally healing from him. And he was being left behind, completely alone in the dark.
"Sasuke-kun? Are you okay? You got quiet out of nowhere," Sakura asked, turning around to face him with a look of genuine concern, her hand lightly resting on his arm.
That simple touch made Sasuke's heart give a violent, erratic jolt. He looked down at her hand, then up into those green eyes. The realization didn't hit him gently; it crashed down like a ceiling collapsing over his head, crushing his pride once and for all.
I am a complete idiot, Sasuke thought, absolute panic coursing up his spine. I'm not irritated because she's with Juugo. I am desperately terrified because I love this girl, and I spent my entire life pretending I didn't care.
"I'm fine," he replied, his voice significantly lower and rasper than usual, quickly looking away to hide the raw sorrow painted across his face. "The scarf... it's nice. Buy that one."
Sakura smiled, radiant at his approval, and stepped into the store. Sasuke remained standing outside, staring at his own trembling hands shoved deep inside his pockets, feeling the crushing weight of his worst mistake: he loved her, and he had just given her the absolute best ideas to win over another man.
When Sasuke returned from the mall, his mind felt like a complete battlefield. The sheer weight of discovering he loved Sakura, mixed with the absolute agony of knowing he had just helped her buy a present for another guy, had completely drained all his strength.
During dinner, he merely played with his food using his chopsticks, staring down at his plate with a distant, downcast look. He didn't even touch his favorite dish.
Mikoto threw a worried glance toward her youngest son, but it was Itachi who read the situation instantly. Knowing his little brother's pride and temperament, Itachi waited for dinner to end. When Sasuke stepped into the garden to try and catch some fresh air to clear his head, Itachi materialized right behind him, holding two cups of hot tea.
"You barely touched your food," Itachi said softly, sitting down right beside Sasuke and extending one of the cups. "And you have the exact same look on your face as when you lost that kitten back in the third grade. What happened?"
Sasuke scoffed, crossing his arms and averting his gaze toward the lights in the sky.
"Nothing. I'm just tired from school."
"Sasuke, I’ve known you since the day you were born," Itachi smirked slightly, taking a sip of his tea. "You don't get a face like that over grades or exhaustion. Does this happen to have something to do with the pink-haired girl? Sakura?"
Just hearing her name caused Sasuke's chest to tighten. He tried his best to maintain his cold demeanor, but the ache was simply too heavy to carry entirely on his own.
"She... she moved on, Itachi. She's in love with a friend of mine from my new school. And today, I spent the entire afternoon with her at the mall, helping her pick out a present for him."
Itachi listened in absolute silence, paying close attention as Sasuke poured out all his frustration—including the sheer embarrassment of trying to sabotage the bento box and how spectacularly that plan had backfired.
"I’ve been a complete idiot for years," Sasuke confessed, his voice low and heavy with regret. "I always just assumed she would always be there. Now that I’ve lost her, I realize I love her. But it's too late. She was smiling today, planning out dates with Juugo."
Itachi gazed up at the starry night sky for a few brief moments before gently placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
"You spent years building a wall of pride all around yourself, Sasuke. And Sakura spent years trying to climb over that wall. Now that she's finally gotten tired and decided to walk down a different path, do you really want to drag her back out of pure selfishness?"
"It's not selfishness!" Sasuke shot back, though his voice instantly lost its conviction a second later. "...Maybe it is."
"If you truly love her, Sasuke, your pride doesn't matter anymore," Itachi said, fixing him with a deep, comforting look. "True love isn't about possessing someone just to inflate your own ego. It's about wanting to see that person happy, even if that happiness doesn't include you. If Juugo is the one making her eyes light up right now, your redemption for all those years of coldness is being the guy who supports her. Help her. Let her see your best side, even if it's in goodbye."
Itachi's words struck Sasuke's mind like an arrow. The pride he had been desperately trying to defend all day suddenly felt incredibly small and pathetic in the face of what his brother was saying. Itachi was right. He had made Sakura cry so many times; the absolute least he could do now, if he truly loved her, was to make sure she was smiling.
"I get it..." Sasuke whispered, gripping the teacup tightly between his hands. The ache in his chest didn't vanish, but now it finally had a purpose.
That very night, he made his decision. He would swallow his pride in a silent, final sacrifice. He would set up the perfect date for Sakura and Juugo at the park. He would watch her be happy, even if his own heart completely shattered in the process.
The following day, Sasuke arranged the meeting. He fired off a text to Juugo, asking to meet him at the Konoha park around four in the afternoon, and did the exact same with Sakura, telling her Juugo would be there waiting for her.
As the time drew near, Sasuke hid behind the massive trunk of a large tree, his stomach twisting in knots. He watched Sakura arrive, wearing her absolute best outfit, her cheeks flushed with pure nervousness as she clutched the shopping bag containing the dark blue knit scarf. Juugo was already there, gazing peacefully up at the sky.
Sakura took a deep breath, stepped forward, and extended the present. Juugo blinked in surprise, accepting the scarf with a gentle smile. Gathering all her courage, she closed her eyes tightly and poured out the words she had been holding onto:
"Juugo-kun... ever since that day at karaoke, when you brushed that caterpillar off my shoulder and told me those beautiful, deep things, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you! I... I like you! Please, go out with me!"
The entire park seemed to fall into an absolute hush for a split second. Behind the tree, Sasuke closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact.
Juugo looked down at the scarf in his hands, then back up at Sakura. His face didn't register any anger—only a profound, tender sorrow. He let out a soft sigh.
"Haruno-san... I am incredibly honored. Truly. You are an amazing girl, so full of life and deeply kind. But... I can't accept your feelings. I actually already have someone very special in my life. Kimimaro. We've been together for quite some time now."
Behind the tree, Sasuke’s eyes widened so dramatically he nearly lost his footing altogether. Kimimaro?! The pale, serious, white-haired guy from the Orochimaru Academy student council?! Sasuke's mind threw itself into a complete knot. He had spent days spiraling in jealousy, sabotaging meals and outings, only to discover his rival... was already committed to Kimimaro.
Sakura blinked once, then twice, the sheer shock completely freezing her features. But, displaying a strength that made Sasuke's chest physically ache, she swallowed the lump in her throat and forced the most courageous smile she could muster, even though tears were already flooding her green eyes.
"Oh... I... I completely understand, Juugo-kun!" she said, her voice faltering slightly. "I am so incredibly happy for you and Kimimaro! Truly! Thank you for being so honest with me... and for listening."
"Thank you for understanding, and thank you for the scarf, Haruno-san. You will find someone who truly deserves you," Juugo said sweetly, giving a polite, slight bow.
"I have to go!" Sakura cried out, her voice already cracking from the tears. She whirled around and bolted in the opposite direction, desperate to hide her face.
Sasuke stepped out from behind the tree, his heart hammering wildly. He knew Sakura better than anyone else. He knew exactly where she ran whenever her world collapsed and she needed to cry in secret—and he knew exactly how much that pain weighed, because he himself had been the cause of those tears so many times in the past.
He sprinted through the park, following the trail of cherry blossom petals, until he reached the large, secluded cherry blossom tree at the very top of the hill. Just as expected, she was sitting right there, curled up tightly against the trunk, her knees tucked into her chest and her face completely hidden as she sobbed out loud.
Sasuke approached her slowly. The sound of his footsteps rustling the grass caused Sakura to lift her red, tear-stained eyes in utter surprise.
"Sasuke-kun...? What are you doing here?" she asked, frantically trying to wipe her face with the sleeve of her top.
"I saw everything," he confessed with a soft voice, sitting down on the grass right beside her, shattering any distance he typically chose to enforce.
Sakura buried her face right back into her knees, letting the heavy sobs escape.
"It hurts so much... It hurts so badly to be rejected so many times, Sasuke-kun. Whenever you rejected me, I would cry, but deep down I just figured it was simply because you didn't like me. I thought the problem was just my personality. But now... being rejected by every single boy I actually end up liking? It must be a curse on me. There is definitely something wrong with me, I know it."
Sasuke's heart shattered into a thousand pieces upon hearing those words. A crushing wave of guilt hit him with the force of a physical blow. He reached out his hand and, with a gentleness he had never once used in his entire life, touched her shoulder, pulling her gently so she would look at him.
"There is no curse, Sakura. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with you," Sasuke said, looking directly into her green eyes, letting every single mask of arrogance fall away. "The only one who was wrong here... was me. For years."
Sakura blinked, completely bewildered, tears still clinging to her eyelashes. "What?"
"I was a complete idiot," he admitted, his voice cracking under the sheer weight of the truth. "I kept rejecting you because I was absolutely certain that no matter how cold I was to you, you would always be right there, chasing after me. I thought I had all the time in the world. But when you told me you liked Juugo... I completely panicked. I realized what an absurd, empty world it would be without you around."
Sakura caught her breath, her lips parting slightly.
"I tried to sabotage your bento box by telling you to cook chicken, I tried to drag you away from the school gates, I tried to give you the absolute worst gift advice at the mall... all because I was dying of jealousy," he continued, a sad, self-deprecating smile brushing his lips. "At the mall, when we played in the arcade and you smiled like that... I realized I was completely, deeply in love with you. But you were using that exact moment to think about another guy. It took me way too long to wake up, Sakura. I am so incredibly sorry for making you suffer so many times."
Sakura stared at him, her crying slowing to a halt as she processed the words of the boy she had loved her entire life. The wind rustled the branches of the cherry blossom tree, causing a shower of pink petals to cascade over both of them.
"You... you like me? For real?" she whispered, terrified that this might just be a dream.
"For real," Sasuke replied. He reached out his thumb and gently brushed away the final tear trailing down her cheek. "If you still want me... I promise you that, starting today, I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to make you smile."
Sakura looked down at his hand, then up at the raw sincerity shining in Sasuke’s dark eyes. The spark he thought he had driven away forever returned to her eyes tenfold. With a sound that was half-laugh and half-sob, she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
Sasuke held her flush against his chest, closing his eyes as he breathed in her scent. He finally understood that he didn't need to be at the top of the world or maintain the status of the most popular guy in school—as long as he got to be her world.
A few days later, the afternoon sun beamed down on the mall food court. Sasuke and Sakura were sitting at the exact same table right next to the panoramic balcony. Sakura was laughing out loud while eating a skewer of Dango, accidentally getting a little bit of the sweet glaze on the corner of her mouth. Sasuke, wearing a genuinely goofy, relaxed smile, reached over with his thumb to wipe her face. Sakura blushed, smiling right back as she gently held his hand.
Only a few yards away, hidden right behind a massive decorative plastic plant, three figures were watching the scene unfold in absolute silence and sheer perplexity.
Suigetsu’s jaw was wide open, his little water bottle completely forgotten in his hand. Karin was clutching her glasses, her eyes practically popping right out of their frames. Juugo stood calmly right beside them, casually holding a milkshake.
"Wait a second..." Suigetsu whispered, blinking frantically. "Sasuke spent the entire last week literally snarling at Juugo like he was about to commit a crime of passion... and now he’s out here wiping sweet glaze off his stalker’s face looking like a hopelessly smitten puppy?"
"I don't understand any of this!" Karin fumed, stomping her foot in utter indignation. "Wasn't he just dying of jealousy over Juugo?! Why are they acting like a couple in a cheesy TV commercial right now?! Juugo, what on earth did you do to him?"
Juugo took a slow sip of his milkshake, looked at the happy couple basking in the sunlight, and simply shrugged with his usual peace of mind.
"I didn't do anything. I only mentioned the beauty of caterpillars to her. I guess Sasuke was just the first one to understand the butterfly metaphor."
Suigetsu and Karin stared at Juugo as if he were speaking a foreign language, completely lost. Meanwhile, a short distance away, Sakura rested her head gently against Sasuke's shoulder, and he wrapped his arm right around her, finally completely at peace.
THE END