Leaving
From the top of the hokage's stone head, you could see everything. Children playing around, middle-aged civilians bargaining in the market, ninjas running on the rooftops.
After the end of the war, the village was slowly becoming alive again. Anxiety, uneasiness, despair dissapear from the faces of the villagers each passing day. It is a new age. Sure, pain is still present and many lost their loved ones but wounds are healing.
Not mine.
Mine are festering. I gave so much to the village, to my friends and let me be clear, I don't regret it at all. But I don't know what I want anymore. What I need for myself.
I talked to granny Tsunade about it. We probably thought it would be better to leave the village for a while, detach myself from others, from Sasuke. I needed a break.
But leaving the village without any good reason could make problems since granny didn't get rid of the rats in the village yet. I needed to have a task but jounin missions are not undercover and I was known in the whole nation. So I was made anbu. We decided on a 2-year long solo mission. With my current abilities, I will not be in serious danger and I may even finish it sooner.
So today was my last day here. Nobody knew about it yet though because I didn't want to explain my reasons to everybody.
I came back home and packed the necessities. When I turned around to leave, I saw him. Body leaning against the wall, eyes narrowed.
"What are you doing?", Sasuke said.
"I'm leaving", I responded. Lying to him was useless. He knew me as well as I knew him even if we weren't side by side in the last 5 years.
"Where?" and then, "Why?". His sharingan was active, I bet he instictively knew something was wrong.
Others may not have gotten an explanation but he at least deserves one.
"I need a break. From you, from everyone. I'm not sure what I feel anymore.", voice trembling from repressed emotions.
Did I love him? Or was it a simple obsession, another reason created to keep myself from abandoning everything? From trying to make him see reason when he was losing himself in loneliness, anger and hatred? From reminding him that there was a home to come back to?
I didn't know anymore.
"Are you running away? After dragging me to this place, making me dependent on yourself?", his angered voice resonated in the silent room.
I looked at the window and thought about it. Then, with great conviction, I looked at him straight in the eyes and said : " I suppose I am. You should also decide what you want to do with yourself while you're here. It will do us both good."
With that final sentence, I shunshined away from him and the village.