Sasuke wakes up to an ordinary day and then he looks at the calendar. It’s July 23 and it is his birthday again.

Then, Sasuke remembers the last time that he had his birthday, and it was with them-Sakura and Naruto, and how they had an actual little party, with the presents, cards, balloons, and all that stuff.

Now, those times seem so far off, even if he had left them only a couple of months ago. Even though he feels that he has nothing to do with them anymore, Sasuke can’t help and be nostalgic about it. And then, he wonders if leaving them was the best thing to do. He could’ve gotten stronger in Konoha right? Perhaps their values weren’t as insecure as he thought.

But Sasuke knows that this is the path he has chosen, and he can’t turn back. Still, the feeling doesn’t go away, but Sasuke doesn’t feel like they need to.

--

Sakura doesn’t know where this path is leading to. She doesn’t know if all of the bruises and muscle tears and hours of studying is going to get her anywhere.

Sometimes, she feels like giving up, because she knows that both Naruto and Sasuke are much stronger than her, and she might as well be useless to the both of them. Maybe that’s why Sasuke left, because she couldn’t help him.

But then, Sakura remembers the reason she is training, so she can help them, and so the next time it is July 23, she can celebrate Sasuke’s birthday with him, as a team. And then, she will see Naruto and Sasuke smiling together once again.

It would be far sadder to stop walking this path now, so Sakura returns to her training.

--

Naruto stands warily on top of the underground compartment. The fear is inside of Naruto, that he is going to meet him again, and he doesn’t know how he will react.

But he has been preparing for this for a month (for whatever impulsive reason he had), and so, he has no choice to do this.

So, he carefully climbs down the stairs, towards Sasuke, making sure that no one can hear him. Then, he examines all of the rooms along the dark hallway. All of them are completely empty, with no signs of human life.

Just as Naruto is about to lose hope, he sees a hidden door in the darkness. He opens it, only to find a small bed and a calendar, but no Sasuke. Now Naruto wonders if he has been wasting his time trying to track him.

But after looking at the calendar, Naruto sees that the date ‘July 23’ has been circled. This is definitely Sasuke’s room.

Naruto puts down the small package on Sasuke’s bed and leaves.

--

When Sasuke returns from training that night, he notices a small parcel on his bed.

On the wrapping paper is scrawled, “Happy Birthday, Sasuke”.

(Even though they are not together, the bonds of Team 7 are still there.)