Den of the snake -

２０：Beyond The Thunder

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"An election!?..........where did that come from"?

Shikamaru asked with a bewildered look on his usually calm face. Many things he had conjured up in his mind, many consequences he had made up in his mind when the Uchiha asked to have a discussion with him and the pinkette. Mostly involved violence. So to hear him say these words was quite a surprise.

"That is precisely what I said. I propose that an election be held. To decide the fate of the Leaf village and her people" Sasuke leaned on the wooden desk as he cupped his face in his hand and eyed them with a relaxed expression. Shikamaru and Sakura were both trying to figure out the Uchiha's true motives behind this. But nothing came to mind.

"B-But why an election" Sakura was the one to propose the question. It was hard to figure out why, that someone like Sasuke Uchiha was asking for a debate with words and opinions instead of swords and blood. Sakura noticed how Sasuke's gaze traveled over to her.

"Because I am tired of fighting" Sakura's eyes grew wide open at hearing Sasuke's words. This was the same man who lived and breathed in wars. Sasuke Uchiha was believed to be the type of man who truly found happiness in the battlefield. His place was among clouds of smoke and fire, blood and death. Noting Sakura's shocked expression, Sasuke closed his eyes and continued.

"For the last four years, I have spent every waking second of my life working for this village and for the people of this village. The shambles and ruins that the past Hokages left this village in, I worked day and night to rebuild this village...........at first, I thought I was doing it as a duty to my brother and my clan. I thought I was trying to prove to the world that killing isn't the only thing the Uchiha clan is proficient at.......but...somewhere along these four years, I have started to grow attached to this village. I started viewing the village and it's people, truly as my own kin......soon enough I realized that I had long forgotten about my original reasons for building the village....I realized that I was doing all this because I truly wanted to see my people happy. I desired that, whenever a citizen of the Leaf village saw the Uchiha clan symbol, they would feel proud and not fear" Sasuke entire demeanor was completely shocking and new to Shikamaru and Sakura. Each word that he spoke, they knew how genuine he was. They knew that he was letting out his true feelings and that he wasn't lying. Sasuke slowly got up and turned around, looking at the village from the window in his office.

"And then............I found Hinata............the moment she entered my world......everything changed. She is a breath of fresh air in my life........and it's not just me she has that affect on........from the first day it was announced to the village that I was to be betrothed to the Hyuga princess. The people of my village have been truly happy........maybe they viewed Hinata as someone who can change my cold nature.......and they are right..............in these few moments, I have started to grow increasingly fond of Hinata....I feel pride inside me to know that she will be the Uchiha matriarch" Sakura couldn't lie to herself and say that Sasuke's words didn't hurt her. She couldn't pretend and say that she felt nothing when she saw the man that she had loved her whole life, speaking about another woman with such love and care on his face and in his words.

But deep down, Sakura also couldn't help but feel happy. She felt happy that Sasuke had found someone he could open up to and be vulnerable to. It was a part of her love for Sasuke : that was seeing Sasuke happy. And even if that meant that she couldn't be the cause for that happiness, she would always be in love with him and would pray for his happiness. So when he saw her speaking of Hinata in that way, she had mixed emotions. She felt bitter that it wasn't her, but she also felt happy that Sasuke was happy.