Even in the rain

Sasuke stood at the window and watched the rain that slowly ran down the panes. The heaviest storm in a very long time was raging outside. Actually he wanted to train, but again he didn't have to accept the cold and the rain. In the past, maybe, yes, even that wouldn't have stopped him. But now that Itachi and Orochimaru, his worst enemies, had been defeated, defeated by him, he no longer had a goal. What else should he do? Who should it gain strength for? He was still overly ambitious and proud, but who should blame him? After all, he was the strongest Shinobi Konoha, not even Naruto with the Chakra Kyuubis could defeat him. Not even close. Even though he didn't even use the Juin that he lost when Orochimaru was overthrown.
He continued to stare through the window panes at the damp water outside. In addition to the rain and cold, which was rather untypical for a September night, there was now a thunderstorm with the matching storm. So anything but cozy out there. He could hear the thunder and the wind, the drops slapping against the windows and dripping downstairs as if defeated. He thanked him that there was finally a change after all the sunshine and heat of the last few months. He sighed and placed his right palm on the glass. It was pleasantly cool. When he withdrew his hand, he left his fogged handprint.
Suddenly he heard a knock and before he could utter a word, Naruto, Ino, Hinata and finally Lee stormed into the room. "Sasuke, did you see Sakura?" He raised an eyebrow and said coolly: "No, should I?" "Well, we thought ...", Hinata didn't continue. Would have just been wishful thinking. But Lee made the most unnecessary comment ever and said, "We're looking for her.""Tz.", He said and half turned to the window again. "Come on, let's go, it is not here, it would have been a miracle." Ino said and was the first to disappear from the room. The others followed without looking at him and before he could reply. Less than two minutes after them, he stormed to the cloakroom, took out his jacket and pulled it on. He did without the umbrella, after all it wasn't made of sugar. His pride prevented him from participating in the search, although there was nothing honorable about it. But secretly he had to admit that he still worried a little about her. Sasuke avoided the others and was careful that they didn't see him. The black-and-blue-haired man perceived the others through their chakra and immediately knew which direction to take in order not to get in their way. The storm had lessened a bit now, but the cold and rain remained. With his hands buried deep in his trouser pockets and his hood pulled wide over his face, he strode through the streets, always focused on Sakura's chakra, which could be felt in short waves. Yes, the training with Orochimaru and even with Kabuto had brought extreme progress, if he could see even the tiniest chakra flows. He crossed the forest with the large clearing that had always served them as a training ground when he was still on Team 7. He paused for a moment by a huge tree, the crown of which had always been his favorite place. Too often he was seen up there and watched his teammates. Too many times Sakura had settled right under that tree. Sometimes she'd drawn him into conversation, most of the time she'd talked and he'd just listened in silence. So he had learned some very important details about her, even though he hadn't initially cared about it. Through these conversations, and also through their progress in training, he had slowly begun to change his mind about her.He respected her from then on. He shook his head to emerge from old memories. He would never find her like that.
He crossed the forest and felt her chakra a lot stronger. 'So there you are. 'he thought and a little joyless smile crept onto his face. He knew the other cardboard noses wouldn't find her. He was only a few dozen paces away from her. She didn't seem to notice him. He stepped closer, closer and closer, but when he saw what she was standing in front of, he stopped with a jerk. His heart contracted unnaturally and a shiver ran over his body. What was she doing here? Even through the rain he could hear her soft words, could almost feel her silent tears on his skin, running down her cheek regardless of her. Her clothes stuck to her body like a second skin, her shoulder-length hair, which she hadn't let grow since the chunin exam, drooped limply and she shivered like a leaf.

Her voice had been nothing more than a whisper, but Sasuke had understood every single word, and also that she had spoken of him.
He overcame the last steps to her and carefully put his jacket around her shoulders. Startled, she turned and looked into his flawless face. Her mouth closed again and she looked sadly at the floor. She couldn't look him in the eye. Her shame would have been too strong.

"The others are looking for you.", He began helplessly. What was the matter with him? HE felt so strange. So guilty. "I know," was the simple answer. Again she looked to the side. His heart began to pound excitedly and quickly as he lifted her chin with his hand so she could look into his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" He asked and looked her intently in the eye.
It was impossible for her to answer. His gaze caught her.She no longer felt the cold and wind. He tightened his grip slightly to make her understand that she was finally saying something. After blinking several times, she sighed, freed herself and continued to stare at the grave she was standing in front of.
"Answers," she whispered. The wind swallowed the word, but Sasuke understood it anyway.
"You are wasting your time. Nobody will be able to give you the answers you are looking for." His voice was now cool and aloof again, nothing was left of Sasuke's insecure side.
Sakura pulled the coat tighter around her, but the cold was deep and nothing could warm her. The storm didn't seem to bother her, the howling of the wind was quite comparable to how she felt at the moment.
And yet she didn't want to leave here. Now that Sasuke was here. Her longing grew with every second and her despair also increased, but these moments where they could talk alone, undisturbed, were far too rare.

She hated the fact that she was always so weak in his presence, she almost cursed herself for being addicted to him.
Yet there was nothing she could do about her feelings.

When she remembered his answer, she broke the silence again
with a question she would never have dared ask herself, it would not have been hopeless anyway.
"And what about you Sasuke? What answers are you looking for? Now that you've got your revenge? What happened to the plan to rebuild your clan?"
The last question was difficult to say, but she finally wanted to know if it was worth it. Whether Sasuke's betrayal had been nothing more than the stupidity of a lonely child he had been four and a half years ago after she had set out to find him with Naruto and Sai and he had left her behind with a threat to Naruto again.
He looked at her sideways, expressionless and yet confused inside.Why was she interested in it now? He stared at her for a long time, as she was still staring at the grave. His parents' grave.
She was trembling, her lips were already turning a bluish color, and yet she was not complaining.
He would answer that question for her, he owed her that, but then he would take her away from here.
"You are right, I came back to rebuild my clan.
But this one woman cannot forgive me for leaving her when I turned my back on everything. She helped me get through all these years at Orochimaru. She kept me alive and now she is about to throw her life away because she doesn't know I love her. "Sakura swallowed. She wanted to hear the truth, but it still hurt so much that she feared her heart would burst. She had known from the start that she had no chance with him, because they were just completely different and he had After all, showed her so often in the past.

The tears ran down her cheeks, but they were cleverly covered up by the cold rain. Her voice sounded broken but her words came clear and firm from her lips.
"Tell her the truth, Sasuke, if you want her back. No woman waits forever. I need to know."
With one last smile, she turned to him and let the coat slide onto the floor before heading into the darkness.

Sasuke's mind raced. Was she really ready to give up on him that quickly? He couldn't let her go, not after he'd already made her half a declaration of love. And he would show her how serious he was. He grabbed her elbow and held her back until she stumbled into his arms with a sharp scream.
"Sasuke, what ...?".
She got no further because he closed her mouth with his lips.
Slowly her resistance melted and she submitted to him. He felt her cold skin brushing his face and her blue lips brushing his mouth, carefully and at the same time so full of passion.He picked her up, carried her away. The wind, the rain, the cold were a long way away when he finally dropped her in front of his door. "You are the woman who stole my heart," he whispered in her ear before dragging the perplexed pink-haired woman into the house.
He dragged her with him into the bathroom, where he immediately turned on the shower and waited until the water was hot enough.
He closed the bathroom door and looked at Sakura. She stared at him, unable to say something that was rare enough. Her arms wrapped around her, her hair clinging to her skin in strands and trembling, she stood before him.

Without saying another word, he undressed. First came his shirt, which clung uncomfortably to his skin. Then his pants and shorts fell to the floor until he was finally standing stark naked in front of her.
Sakura couldn't believe her eyes and she turned to the side demonstratively to cover up the blush on her cheeks.
Amused by her reaction, he came closer, ran his fingertips