Conversation
The first morning that they let him out of the hospital, Sasuke wandered aimlessly through the streets of his hometown. They'd been rebuilding after the destruction; it was hardly recognizable to his eyes now.
So much could change in just three years time. So much.
His feet brought him to the old pier where his father had taught him and his brother the clan's signature technique before he knew where he was going. When he saw where he was, he stopped and stood still, frozen in place.
So many of his memories were tied to this place—he wasn't sure if he was happy or sad that it had escaped being destroyed when so much else had been lost forever.
His thoughts snaped painfully back to the present when he noticed her standing there. Sakura.
She stood perfectly still, the gentle wind barely grazing her hair as the blossoms that shared her name fell slowly off of the trees all around the two of them. It was early spring, a time of beginnings and endings.
Of all the things that had changed, the thing that hurt him the most was her coldness toward him where affection had once been. Every time he approached her, she always looked the other way and passed him by. Left him alone. Refused to hear him out, or even have the briefest of conversations.
She hated him, and the worst thing about it was that Sasuke knew it was his own damn fault.
He'd hurt her, had broken her heart—no, scratch that, had shattered it into a thousand tiny pieces—when he'd left her and everyone else to get his revenge. And if that alone wasn't terrible enough, he'd almost killed her in his mad lust for vengeance.
It was only after that event that Sasuke realized how badly it would've hurt him to have killed her with his own hands. The guilt would've haunted him forever—he never would've been able to forgive himself. After that battle, Sasuke couldn't lie to himself any more.
He loved her. He really, truly did. Despite all his attempts to push away such feelings, he still felt them, deep down.
But at this point, Sasuke knew his realization had come a little too late. Even though he'd saved her in the end—and had almost died fighting beside her, Naruto, Kakashi, and his brother—she hated him now. And he couldn't blame her for it. He still hated himself.
But understanding that didn't ease the pain he felt at all. When he saw her now, he hurt inside. She'd been the one to save him from the madness he'd fallen to, but now she was the cause of his insanity. He needed her to hear him out, to accept him. And that need was driving him mad all over again.
He could hardly stand it anymore.
Sasuke walked up behind her on the pier and saw her tense up when she sensed his presence. He bit his lip, feeling a catch in his throat.
"Sakura," he muttered, "I know you don't want to listen to me right now, but... I'm sorry. For everything."
He knew this conversation was one-sided, but he had to try. After all, he'd ignored her for years but her voice still got through to him in the end. He knew his would reach her eventually.
He just hoped he wouldn't have to wait as long as she had to.
...
Author: In honor of SasuSaku month, I'm going to write a drabble daily for the month of July to go with the themes for each day!
This is a longer drabble than most will probably be, but I wanted to give a good picture of my take on their relationship. It's very much a love/hate, on again off again relationship as I see it, but in the end it comes full-circle when Sakura finally accepts Sasuke again. Then they live somewhat happily ever after. At least, the closest you can actually come to such a thing. They still argue and yell at each other, but they always get over it because they know better than to let that destroy their relationship again.
Anyway. It's a little difficult to write from Sasuke's perspective since my take on him is that he really went off the deep end for a while and would still be recovering from that at this point... But in a way, it's interesting to try to see from his point of view.
Well, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy my story!
Reviews are always appreciated as well! :)
