Sooo I've had this SaixSaku drabble going through my head for weeks now, and I'm just gonna leave it here, lol. I don't know if I can turn it into anything more than a oneshot…mayyyybe if I get some REALLY GOOD reviews and you guys coax me/bribe me enough to…? ;)
Anyways, at the very least, you can let me know what you think of it as a stand-alone and that's cool too. Also, a bit of a side note, this will be slightly canon divergent in the sense that even though Sasuke helped stop the war in the end, uh he's still an ass. Lol. Sorry to any of you Sasuke fans out there; I adore sasuke myself but for this particular plot, well I kinda need him to remain the 'villain' just a wee bit.
/
"Flashback"
'Thoughts'
Chapter 1-Not a Replacement
(Flashback)
"Sakura, let me say something."
Sai came up behind her as she stood watching the battle field with bated breath.
"I do not share a history with him…so I can judge him more rationally."
Sakura was silent, so he continued.
"Sasuke-kun cannot be trusted as an ally."
He knew it was most likely the last thing she wanted to hear, yet at the same time, something deep inside of him compelled him to say it…somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that Sakura wasn't alright…she seemed uneasy.
"How do you really feel about this, Sakura?"
There was a long drawn-out silence, save for the battle that raged on below.
"It's alright…"
She spoke with certainty, yet she did not look his way.
"Sasuke-kun came back for us…I'm happy about that and…I trust him."
It was then she'd turned and offered him a smile over her shoulder.
Sai just stared at her. The expression on her face was one he knew all too well…
Hell, he'd invented that look and seeing it on her of all people…there was a painful clenching in his chest and an unfamiliar feeling of…what?
'Those words may not be lies, however…'
His brows furrowed and without his notice, his fists clenched at his sides.
'I know better than anyone that that smile is false.'
And in that moment, he hated that smile.
(End Flashback)
It had been a few days since then. The war was over and they had won.
Yet somehow…it didn't feel like a victory…well, not for him anyways but he couldn't figure out why.
Not until thatevening.
Sasuke and Naruto had battled it out in the end and not surprisingly, the Uchiha had lost.
Well…actually neither one of them came out necessarily the victor; as far as Sai was concerned, they'd both lost an arm and that was definitely considered a draw. But then Sasuke agreed to release the Tsukuyomi, as well as to free the remaining bijuu so in that sense, the victory was Naruto's.
The dark-eyed artist nearly smiled at the thought; he hadn't expected anything less.
The rest of the time was spent in the reclaiming and burying of the dead—no, it had not been a victory for everyone; the loss was unimaginable and even though the war itself had been one and Madara vanquished as well as Kaguya…at what cost?
Sai stood out on the bloody battle field and looked about him—it was almost too much, as Kakashi-dono had said, 'in the end, no one reallywins.'
Sai had to admit, he didn't understand what he felt about any of it—granted, he was getting better in the area of basic emotions, how to decipher them and which appropriate responses corresponded to each, yet…
…he was missing something. He was so vastly confused and still very much hollow.
He carded a hand through his hair, sighing. Oh well, it didn't matter at this particular moment what he 'felt' or didn't feel. It was time to clean up the mess, put the dead to rest and hopefully, give their loved ones some semblance of closure.
He had just carried in a fallen Sand ninja and was exiting the tent that functioned as their morgue, when the sound of tense and irritated voices reached him.
Rounding a corner, he caught sight of an exhausted, war-torn-looking Kakashi, Shizune and Sakura, gathered in a tight circle just outside the tent flap of their med bay.
His eyes scanned each one of them, zoning in on his pink-haired teammate, black shirt and pants practically shredded, hair a disastrous mess and smudged blood and dirt covering every inch of her.
"You don't understand! His right eye is shot, God only knows how over-strained his Sharingan is, if he doesn't let me take a look at it, he could very well lose complete use of it, if not worse; he could go blind!"
"I understand, Shizune but the simple fact is Sasuke refuses to let anyone near his eyes—we can't force him to accept treatment, it's his choice."
Kakashi didn't like the situation any better but he knew his former pupil and there was no way to convince him unless someone would be willing to risk losing their life in the process...
Considering this was Sasuke they were talking about, that risk was highly probable.
"Kakashi-sensei…could you at least tryand talk to him?" Sakura spoke next. She stood to the left of her sensei and her voice was uncharacteristically subdued.
The silver-haired man let out a heavy sigh, scrubbing a tired hand down his face. "I'll…see what I can do, Sakura but…you know I can't make any promises."
"I understand."
With that, the trio was disappearing back inside the Medical tent, leaving Sai to wonder just what in the hell had the Uchiha done now?
"Sasuke. You understand that if you do not permit your eyes to be examined, you could very likely lose use of your Sharingan?"
Sasuke Uchiha sat rigid in his cot that had been sequestered away in a private corner of the tent; he'd been told it was for his personal protection and comfort but the Raven knew better.
They couldn't trust him not to harm someone once they turned their backs; this was for everyone else's protection, not his.
Tch.
Fools.
"I don't want heranywhere near my eyes." The dark man bit out sharply, eyeing SHizune distrustfully.
Kakashi groaned inwardly; damn this kid, why did he stillhave to be so goddamn arrogant and such a pain in the ass?
"Fine. Then we will assign someone else. Sakura healed your arm before you managed to bleed to death…I don't see why shecouldn't be the one to examine you…?" He was testing the waters carefully.
Afterall, Saskue had already put his female student through every kind of emotional hell imaginable, not to mention whatever twisted mental trauma he'd forced onto her in his Genjutsu…she still hadn't mentioned a word of it to Kakashi and he couldn't help but feel uneasy at the thought of her being anywhere near Sasuke right now.
The Uchiha's Rinnegan eye shifted to the roseate briefly but she did not return his glance and kept her eyes somewhat downcast, arms crossed in front of her chest in a somewhat protective stance.
"…it would have to be a vastly-experienced medic; just because she stopped the bleeding, doesn't mean I'm suddenly gonna trust her with my eyes; tch. You said so yourself that it's a delicate matter."
Sakura bit her tongue and her back tensed in an instant. Just what in the hell was his problem? Of all the petty, juvenile bullshithe could pull, and he's choosing the age-old barb of belittling her?
Gods, it didn't matter that she'd saved his damn life; he could have bled to death if it hadn't been for her, yet here he was underestimating her.
Again.
"…Sakura isn't the same girl you left behind, Sasuke," Kakashi began. "Just like Naruto has, she's changed, she's matured and I would think having witnessed that on the battle field for yourself, you'd know better than to underestimate her."
"She's strong. That doesn't make her a skilled medic; every ninja is required to master the most basic First Aid skills and that-"
"You aren't the only one who apprenticed under a Sannin, Sasuke."
Sakura had had enough of his belligerence, it was her turn to talk now. "Tsunade-shishou isn't just famous for her monstrous strength, she's also the most skilled Medic nin of our time and my training with her was quite extensive, I can assure you." Hip cocked to the side, she had lost the last bits of her self-consciousness, and now stared Sasuke dead in the eye.
"This,"she tapped the center of her forehead with her middle finger, right where her seal was. "Isn't just a fashion statement."
For the first time, the Uchiha's eyes were drawn to the purple diamond seal in the center of Sakura's forehead and his face drew into a contemplative frown as he scrutinized it.
"The Strength of a Hundred Seal—more aptly known as Byakugo no In." Shizune spoke and her voice was laced with pride as she glanced at her Sibling pupil.
Sakura couldn't suppress the swell of smug satisfaction when recognition dawned on the Uchiha's countenance and his eyes marginally widened.
Yeah, she knew he knew exactlywhat her Seal was; he wasn't stupid—but he probably never fathomed in a million years that this technique would be one that Sakura of all peoplewould master… his countenance gave nothing away but the look in his eyes was priceless.
Who's underestimated now, ne Sasuke?The pinkette's lips curled up into a triumphant smirk and she couldn't give a damn whether or not he saw it.
'Bout time she got to knock his damn arrogance down a few pegs.
Clearing her throat, she snapped back into professional mode. "Now. If there's nothing else that concerns you,I'll be calling in one of the nurses to prep you for the exam."
/
Sun had set and true to her word, Sakura made all the preparations for Sasuke's impending eye examination.
Once she'd done her preliminary/surface exam, she had Sasuke lay back while she gathered Chakra into her fingertips and rested them feather-lightly against his temples.
"What are you doing?"
Her eyes were closed in deep concentration so the fact that the Uchiha glared up at her, went blissfully unnoticed. "Don't ask me questions, I'm concentrating."
"…on what, exactly?" Was his monotonous response and it caused a tick in her brow.
"…Honestly, Sasuke just…shut up. I'm examining your orbital chakra pathways; it's a very delicate examination though so unless you once me to permanently fry your orbital and neural pathways,I suggest you keep your biting comments to yourself."
This thinly-veiled threat had him snapping his mouth shut, though his brows were fixed into a permanent scowl.
Sakura had definitely gotten feistier since the last time he'd seen her—or maybe it was the fact that her temper flared in his directionthat had the Uchiha somewhat confused.
…wasn't she the one who'd vowed eternal love and loyalty to him?
His musings were interrupted when he felt the probing chakra fade from his head and the Medic above him opened her viridian eyes.
"Well. There's definitely some extensive damage but that isn't a surprise. You've clearly overused your Sharingan…and if I'm not mistaken, the intricate pathway development suggests that you've leveled up…"
It was the Uchiha's turn to be smug and he took full advantage. "As you said yourself; you aren't the only one who's done extensive training."His mocking tone grated on her nerves and she was two seconds away from smacking that insufferable arrogant smirk off his face.
The Fates came to her rescue however, in the form of Sai who was just returning from a long shift of corpse clean-up duty.
Sakura shivered at the thought of him combing miles upon miles of blood-soaked earth, recovering bodies that were most times, too mutilated to even recognize, but then this was Sai and as terrible as it may sound, his previous training in Root, made him the perfect candidate for this type of work.
"Sai! Did you just get back?" Ah, the pale-skinned artist was just the distraction she needed in this moment and she welcomed it, letting a relieved smile touch her lips momentarily.
Sasuke didn't miss the immediate change in her attitude.
"Hey Ugly." Sai greeted back.
The Uchiha nearly choked. 'ugly?!'
Surprisingly, Sakura didn't react at all how he expcted, save for a quick eye roll as she turned her full attention to her teammate, ignoring his presence for the moment.
Who was this guy again…?
He sifted through his memories and thought back to one of the first 'rescue' attempts team 7 had been sent out on; the one at Orochimaru's hideout.
'Ah, the replacement.'Sasuke thought dryly. So thiswas the guy the old bat had found to take his place on the team then…pathetic.
He scanned him from top to bottom and came to only one conclusion—this guy was nothingcompared to him.
He was a nobody and the fact that Sakura was at this moment practically fawningall over him, only annoyed the Uchiha even more.
Was she trying to make a complete idiot out of herself, even moreso than usual? Or was she simply attempting to garner the Uchiha's attention by making him jealous..?
He cast another discreet glance at the pale ninja and something clicked in his head.
Pale skin, dark hair, dark eyes.
'Ha. So that's how it is then, Sakura?'
He could hardly suppress the sardonic smirk that threatened to break across his lips. This girl was so caught up in him—still—that she couldn't even keep herself from flirting with any vaguely Sasuke-look-alike she could find.
What a joke.
His smug amusement was shelved to the back of his mind when he caught the tail-end of the conversation; seems they were wrapping up their little flirt-fest.
"Alright Sai, you can just leave your report with me and I'll take it to Tsunade; go get some rest, you look like death itself."
There was a humorless snort that came from the Uchiha but she chose to ignore it.
"Are you implying that I'm uglier than you, Ugly? Because I'm sorry but I don't think that could be possible at this point."
"…Har, har, Sai. Seriously, you need to go lay down, you've been out there combing for bodies since sunrise." Her viridian eyes scanned his face closely and her brows furrowed in deep concern.
She was worried about him.
This revelation had Sai shifting somewhat uncertainly as he looked back down at her; why did she have to look at him like that?
What did that look mean? And why did it make his chest ache and cause weird fluttering sensations in the pit of his stomach?
He furrowed his brows. "I…my stomach's fluttering. Is that normal?"
Sakura cocked a brow at him. "You probably need to eat something…" Her hand reached instinctively for his forehead as she checked his temperature.
Without even realizing it, he leaned into her touch, completely unaware of the beedy-eyed Uchiha glaring intensely at the exchange.
Sakura noticed his uncharacteristic action however and the wrinkles of confusion appeared on her forehead.
'well that was certainly…un-Sai.'She thought but she pushed it away in the next second, dropping her hand from his forehead. "Yeah, go eat something, Sai. Then go to bed, I mean it.'
The pale-eyed man cracked one of his signature fake smiles and gave her a mock-salute. "Whatever you say, Ugly." And he was gone.
With a shake of her head, she watched him go, never fully able to repress the tiny smile that threatened.
'I used to beat the living shit out of him whenever he called me that…but I…somehow I guess it's just endearing in a way.
….either that, or I've officially lost my mind.'
She snickered to herself, then turned her attention back to her patient.
"Alright." Flipping through his chart, she paced a few steps before coming to a stop at his bedside.
"Right now, I am going to prescribe a strict no-use policy on your Sharingan for at least two weeks—during that time, I'll be performing a series of procedures that will gradually repair the damage already caused and hopefully, we've caught it early enough that you should have it full-functioning within a month's time."
"Hn. What of my deteriorating eyesight?"
She paused, biting her thumbnail as she considered. "Unfortunately, loss of eyesight is a very common side-effect with your bloodline limit, it always has been. But I'm confident that as long as we repair the damage that's already occurred, it's very likely we can reverse the progression of sight loss."
Sasuke considered this for a long moment and seemed satisfied, giving her a nod.
"Right. But you need to follow my instructions to the letter, Sasuke. You can't use your Sharingan even in sparring matches, I mean it."
"Tch, tell that to the Dobe. He's bound to start hounding me after a week or so."
"Well that's too bad, Naruto's just gonna have to 'beat your ass' another time. It's not like he hasn't done enough of that already."
"Are you insinuating that that idiot beat me?"
For a moment, Sakura's face softened in sympathy. "Of course not, Sasuke…I would never insinuate such a thing," then it slipped just as suddenly and was replaced with her best syrupy-sweet smile. "We both know he beat you to within an inch of your life and he succeeded quite thoroughly."
The Uchiha muttered a scathing retort under his breath.
Sakura just rolled her eyes and began to clean up. 'He may have helped end the war but...some things never change, I guess.'
"What was the deal with you and that guy just now, anyway?"
Her hands froze midway through wiping down her tools. "…."
"That 'Sai' guy or whatever his name is."
She glanced over at him, pastel brow raised in question.
It was Sasuke's turn to roll his eyes. "Tch, you were flirtingwith him."
Suddenly, there was a loud clatter and the pink-haired medic—now clearly ruffled—rounded on him, arms crossed and hip cocked in her trademark 'pissed off' stance. "Excuse me?"She stared at him disbelievingly.
The Uchiha chortled sardonically. "Come on, Sakura; it's just us here." He held his one arm akimbo. "You forget that I've had hordes of shrieking fangirls chasing after me, almost since I could walk; I know flirtationwhen I see it and you were-"
She held up a hand, cutting him off. "Okay just, stop. Right. There. What the hell are you talking about? Where is this even coming from?!"
"Do you deny it?" He challenged, his voice raising an octave as he became increasingly irritated. "He's a nobody, Sakura.He's a nameless, faceless ninja that Tsunade dug up from underground, and you're falling all over yourself whenever he's around."
Her viridian eyes widened in disbelief and she gaped at the raven utterly flabbergasted. "Are you…serious right now? Gods, Sasuke, you don't even know him! You just got back! You were gone, remember?! You abandoned us for nearly 4 fucking years and you-"
The Uchiha was on his feet right now and he was in a rage. "Come on, you really think I'm that stupid?! The guy's like a fucking carbon-copy of me, don't think I don't see the way you look at him, it's like you're seeing me in him when I'm RIGHT FUCKING HERE!"
She took a step back as he advanced on her; Sasuke was always unreasonable when upset and the last three and a half years had clearly made him volatile.
"Stop shouting at me, Sasuke; you don't get to belittle me or intimidate me anymore, remember? Things have changed, I've changed."
The Uchiha scoffed, shooting her a look of complete and utter disgust. "Oh please, you haven't changed at all, Sakura; you're still chasing me—your precious Sasuke-kun—"He spat. "And you've stooped so low hell, you'll settle for a replacement, just so long as you can satisfy your-"
SMACK.
CRASH!
In the blink of an eye, The Uchiha was sent hurtling through the air.He crashed through several curtained doorways, boxes of medical supplies, two tables, five chairs until at last, he found himself outside the med tent, skidding and tumbling across the ground with such violent force, he left a trench of broken earth and flying debris in his wake.
The deafening raucous brought several ninjas, officials and other personnel rushing to the scene, among them chiefly were Kakashi and a heavily-bandaged Naruto who gaped at the scene before them in horror.
A freshly-bloodied and bruised Sasuke lay flat on his back and Naruto rushed to his side. "Sasuke-teme, what…Sakura-chan, what the hell?! Can't you see the teme's still recovering, you can't just-!"
"SHUT IT, NARUTO!" The medic screeched as she stalked towards the Uchiha, the fire of death blazing in her eyes.
Kakashi intercepted her, taking hold of her arm. "Sakura, what is this about?"
The pinkette gritted her teeth. "Let. Me. Go. Kakashi."
The silver-haired Jounin gulped. He had never seen Sakura like this before—not even when facing an enemy—and the fact that her ire was focused on Sasuke of all people…he glanced at his former pupil who Naruto was currently helping to his feet, then back at Sakura.
She was burning holes into the Uchiha was either stupid enough to calmly scoff at her anger, or he was simply too arrogant to show that he was in fact scared shitless and he pinned her with a vaguely disinterested stare.
"Sakura…"
"He's…not a replacement."She spat out the word, finally turning her eyes to meet her sensei.
"'he'?"
"Sasuke said…"
"Sakura—is it—Sai…?"
At the mention of the artist's name, he felt Sakura go impossibly rigid and he could already catch the glistening of angry tears in the corners of her eyes as she once again stared down the Uchiha.
Ino Yamanaka had been standing at her best friend's side since this one-sided fight first broke out and she caught everything Sakura had just relayed to Kakashi.
So…the Uchiha asshole had called Sai the 'replacement' huh?
Ino shook her head—the bastard must have a fucking death wish because NO ONE insulted Sakura's teammates—her boys—and got away with it. Fucking no one.
Yes, she may not have liked Sai at the beginning when he first joined Team 7 three years ago but…that was in the past and so much had happened since then. Sai was a part of their team now and more than that, he was Sakura's family,whether the artist himself understood the nature of that bond or not (most likely not).
She watched as Sakura's fists clenched at her sides, white-knuckled and the blonde stepped up to her side, taking hold of her hand; it was shaking as Sakura fought down her fury.
"Forehead…look at me. Look at me."
Sakura's eyes flicked to sky blue, lips tight and jaw clenched.
Ino stared deeply into emerald depths, she saw the tears, the anger…the hurt and the pain.
"He's not—a replacement, Pig."The pink-haired woman bit out again, but this time, she nearly choked on the lump of angry emotions that were seconds away from boiling over.
Ino held her torn expression steadily…she understood. "Don't. You know he's not worth it. Walk away, honey."
Sakura fought with herself for several seconds, her entire frame trembling from head to toe as she resisted the poignant desire to beat Sasuke beyond-an inch of his life…
….heh.
Let's be honest; she wouldn't beat him…she'd probably fucking kill him if she got her hands on him now.
Taking a deep, trembling breath, she looked from Ino to Kakashi who simply gave her arm a comforting squeeze followed by an imperceptible nod.
"…Fine…" She relented. "But…you better tell Naruto to get him the hell out of my sight, right now. Or I swear I'll kill him."
Kakashi gave her a sad, sympathetic smile, tinged with a little bit of pride.
Sakura really had grown up.
"Rodger that. Naruto, take Sasuke to my tent; I'll be there shortly."
"Uh, yeah you got it, Kaka-sensei."
"Get off me, Dobe; I don't need your help." The raven yanked his arm away from the blond, standing to his feet with all his overactive pride and arrogance intact.
Naruto held up both hands defensively. "Alright, alright, geez Teme, relax will you? What the hell happened back there anyway? Sakura's never been that way before…"
As the two ambled away, the Uchiha dusted off his shoulder, scoffing haughtily. "It's nothing; loyalty for her is clearly a replaceable commodity."His snide remark was uttered just loud enough for said seething-pinkette to hear and a feline growl tore from her throat as she suddenly lunged for him, seeing nothing but red.
Ino and Kakashi managed to grab hold of her in time…but just barely. The silver-haired Jounin cursed, struggling to restrain the fiery woman. "Fuck, NARUTO! GET HIM THE HELL OUT OF HERE. NOW!" The Copy nin yelled frantically and the crowd of nins parted as he and Ino wrestled with a highly-infuriated and distraught Sakura who was now screaming insults at the Uchiha's retreating back.
The tears burned her eyes now as they overflowed, staining her cheeks…
She didn't care anymore.
/
Two hours later saw Sai returning from his graveyard (pun totally intended) shift. The artist had only managed to catch maybe an hour or two of sleep before he was right back out there in the field on body recovery; Ugly would probably throttle him if she found out he'd basically disregarded her 'doctor's orders'…
This brought a sardonic sort of half-smirk to the pale man's lips as he strode back to camp. Passing the 'border' guards, he simply nodded on his way to Tsunade-sama's tent to deliver his report.
But the former-Root member's footsteps slowed as the sound of angry voices reached him.
Along with Tsunade, he picked up on three other Chakra signatures and on a whim, he cloaked his own chakra and stood just outside the tent, listening.
"You're telling me she attacked him?!"It was Tsunade.
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi's voice was strained and tired. "Apparently from what the nurses told me, one minute Sakura was performing Sasuke's examination and the next, she was literallythrowing him out. Our feisty little blossom made a complete mess of the place…as I'm sure you can imagine, ehehe…not to mention the damage she caused Sasuke…which of course, you know at this point." The Jounin rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously.
"The hell I do; she's my apprentice,I know more than anyone what the girl's capable of; he's got several broken ribs, a shattered collarbone and well, the arm that's left has a fractured wrist and several dislocated fingers. What I want to know is what the hell happened?!"hands on wide hips, the blonde glared threateningly and expectantly at her subordinates who all fidgeted nervously, each suffering varying degrees of fear.
"She…Sakura said something—to Kakashi-sensei and again to me." Ino spoke up.
Honey-brown eyes flickered to her and the Yamanaka continued.
"She said 'He's not a replacement.'"
The room fell silent and outside, Sai's brows furrowed and a feeling he'd come to know as 'confusion' swept over him.
"'replacement'?"
Kakashi nodded reluctantly. "Hai, Hokage-sama. Apparently…Sai-kun came up in their discussion somehow and…well clearly, Sasuke insulted him; I'm certain that's what she meant by 'replacement' and Sai is the 'he' she was referring to."
"But…but Sai's a part of our Team now, Obaa-chan…I mean, yeah we didn't really care for him to begin with but—well Sai's done a lot for us since then, ya know? He's…he's one of us!"
Sai felt a strange tightening in his chest in response to Naruto's passionate words…had they really accepted him to that extent…?
The blond Hokage's eyes softened and she laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I know that, Naruto. We all do and I'm happy and proud to know that you and Sakura have accepted Sai as one of you…clearly however, The Uchiha's got a proverbial stick up his ass like always and the fact that Sakura has a relationship with Sai, doesn't sit well with his pride. He may be an arrogant son of a bitch but he knows as well as we all do, that the consequences of him abandoning the village, are irreversible; things have changed completely."
"But the Teme didn't really mean it, Granny!I know him; he's just pissed off because I beat his ass, that's all! Trust me, I can talk to him and you'll see…he'll come around, believe it!"
Tsunade's smile was a sad one as she offered the young Hokage-in-training another squeeze to his shoulder. "….I hope you are right, Naruto; things are going to be…very hard for Sasuke from now on. But that's a discussion for another time, right now, my main concern is my student. Where is Sakura now?"
"We…we don't know, Tsunade-sama." Ino offered, resigned.
"What?"
"What Ino means is we barely managed to get Sakura away from Sasuke before she tore into him a second time…after that, she…she said she wanted to be alone and she took off." Kakashi offered.
The blonde growled in frustration, carding a hand through golden tresses. "Damn it. Where did she head?"
"I think towards the river, ne Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto chewed nervously on a finger nail, his mind preoccupied with worry for his pink-haired teammate.
"That is correct, I believe."
Tsunade let out an exasperated sigh. "Well…it's been hours; I know she wants to be alone but it isn't necessarily the safest for her to be alone right now, especially with it being past dark. We need to send someone out to look for her…Kakashi, you-"
Just then, the tent flap rustled and Sai was standing just inside the doorway, back straight and his dark eyes glinting with determination. "Hokage-sama, forgive me but…allow me to fetch Sakura."
For the first time, Kakashi noticed Sai's normally-blank expression was awash with emtions and the silver-haired Jounin's single eye widened in surprise. The intense aura surrounding the artist was thicker than the deadly ink he wielded and Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if Sai even realized he was feeling and if so, what exactly was it that he felt for Sakura?
The sensei stepped forward then, addressing him. "Sai…?"
The pale man's eyes flickered to him briefly but his determination only solidified. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-dono but…I heard everything you said and as a result, I believe I have more right than anyone, to go after her."
There was a deafening silence that followed…then, Tsunade gave the ex-Root member one final look and nodded. "Very well, Sai. Go bring her back…safely."
The artist's shoulders relaxed marginally and what appeared to be a semblance of a smile, shown briefly in his eyes before it faded in the next instant.
"You have my word, Hokage-sama; I will find her."
And then he was gone in a splash of ink.
/
Though it was close to midnight, the moon was full and shone brightly overhead as Sai flash-stepped through the woods. The river was roughly 3miles or so from camp and at the speed he was traveling, he was well within a mile of it now.
It was 100 meters out, that he caught the first signs of wreckage.
It was 50 meters in when he realized he'd miscalculated.
Not 'wreckage'…more like total catastrophic devastation that nearly put the Fourth War battleground to shame.
Trees were violently uprooted and piled into a splintered mess, boulders that had previously stood proudly along the riverbank, now lay blasted to bits and the ground was littered with fissures, canyons and craters the size of Naruto's biiju.
In other words, the entire area had been annihilated and if the sounds of continuous destruction echoing in the distance, was any indicator, Sakura was far from done.
Sai slowed his approach and allowed his chakra to spike just enough to let her know he was near—the last thing he wanted to do in this current situation was scare her off.
He broke through into a 'clearing' if it could even be considered such, and finally caught sight of his teammate…who was presently beating a very poor, unfortunate Oak tree to smithereens.
When she'd nearly punched a hold clean through its massive trunk, she tore it out of the ground with her bare hands, and hurtled it to join its fellow fallen comrades in the pile of obliterated lumber.
It was a tree massacre and Sai swallowed thickly, wondering if he could be next should he attempt to interfere?
"Ugly?" He called out to her, his voice level yet steady, knowing she'd already sensed him and was aware of his presence.
Sakura was hunched over at the waist, hands on shaky knees, gasping for breath and fighting through the sea of angry tears that hadn't stopped though hours had long passed.
She didn't answer him. She knew he was there; hell, she'd sensed his approaching Chakra when he was still a good fifty meters out, but at this moment, she couldn't bring herself to look at him…didn't really want to.
"Ugly." He tried again. Now, he was certain she had no intentions of lashing out at him. At least, not yet anyway.
"I don't want to talk right now, Sai."
Her voice which was usually so strong and confident, shook and trembled and he knewshe was fighting back the tears…and most likely failing.
He'd only ever seen her cry once in the years he's known her…but that 'once' was more than enough.
He didn't like seeing Sakura cry; something about it ate at him from the inside and he always felt sick from the sight of it.
"You've been out here alone for hours. Tsunade, Kakashi and Dickless are worried about you."
He was taken completely by surprise when the sound of bubbling laughter reached his ears. He drew closer to Sakura who still had her back to him, and waited for an explanation because honestly, how on earth could she be laughing at a time like this?
The woman sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand as she finally turned to face him. "'Dickless'…I still cannot believe he lets you get away with calling him that."
Sai tilted his head to get a better look at her.
What he saw had a burst of emotion hitting him square in the gut, knocking him breathless.
Her eyes…her deep, viridian pools—which at one time, he'd found so grossly unappealing and clashing with that equally-horrid pink hair—were swimming with tears. Her cheeks were streaked with angry red marks as the tears continued to fall and drip off the end of her chin.
Her hair was a disheveled, dirt and debris-filled mess and lastly, her clothes were shredded and she had scrapes and bruises all up and down the length of her arms.
She looked like she'd been through a war all over again only this time, it was a far worse hell because—like always—hehad caused it.
Hewas always the source of her pain, the reason for her anguish and seeing her completely destroying herself like this, it was like looking in a mirror, only worse…she was losing herself for someone who had never once deserved even a shred of her consideration or compassion.
Sai felt dizzy and sick to the point of vomiting—he most likely would have if he'd been any lesser man but even in this moment, Sai was still Sai and he was an expert and shelving his emotions behind tightly locked doors.
It's what he was trained for.
"You need to stop this now. Just come back to camp and we can-"
"I don't think…you heard me, Sai."Her voice was that of a stranger; cold, hollow and it sent a chill through his body when he caught the dead look in her eyes.
…She'd lost the last bit of fight in her…it was like she had given up.
Given up…? But this was Sakura…Sakura doesn't do 'giving up' not ever.
No…no, no, no, no, this isn't happening…
Not this…
This couldn't be…
He was ripped from his thoughts to see her walking away.
"…Just leave me alone Sai…I don't. Want. To. Talk."
For the first time since his brother died, Sai felt the blood in his veins freeze in an instant.
The air left his lungs and for a terrifying moment, he couldn't move.
A thousand memories raced through his mind in the blink of an eye…
Root…Naruto…
Team 7…assigned to Team 7…
Sakura's face when she first hated him…time passes, missions,
They grow closer…Naruto telling him about Sasuke for the first time; it was then the blond had truly opened up to him and offered him the olive branch of friendship…after that, everything changed. Ino was his friend, Kakashi tried to teach him about what it mean to be a team….
Sakura's face…Sakura asking about his paintings…
Sakura smiling…Sakura laughing…
He calls her 'Ugly' and she hits him…Ramen…Ichiraku's
This…this was what it meant; the bonds he'd formed…no, he…he couldn't let the bonds fade…they were in his book now! He'd…he'd painted that picture…him, his brother, Sakura and Naruto…
Wait…Sakura…Sakura walking away from him…'leave me alone, Sai'
Sai's mind came speeding back to the present and his dark eyes blew wide as he once again, caught Sakura's retreating back.
For probably the first time in his life, Sai didn't think…Sai simply moved.
He was behind her in an instant, grabbing hold of her arm and whirling her around before she took one more step.
"SAKURA, that's ENOUGH!" He yelled straight in her face and she flinched and finally, the life flooded back into her eyes as they blew wide open at his sudden outburst.
He was gripping her hard by the shoulders now and most likely, hurting her but he didn't allow himself any time to consider that as he drew his face scarce centimeters from hers. "It's enough, Sakura.Do not destroy yourself because of him."
"…Sai…?" his name came out as a surprised whisper, as if she was just now registering the fact that he was right there in front of her.
"Ugly."
He spoke that one word, and she fell apart.
Covering her mouth with both hands, she stared at him—terrified—as the choked sobs wracked her body and the tears again began to flow.
"…I…! Oh—g-gods I—I-c-can't b-breathe—!" another sob tore from her throat and her knees buckled as she turned away.
She gasped when she felt strong arms encircle her shoulders from behind and for a moment, she forgot her tears when she felt Sai's face burying into the mess of her hair.
…She could feel the tip of his nose brush against the nape of her neck but she barely had time to register it, because his arms were tightening around her shoulders—pinning her arms to her chest—and his hands slid over the backs of hers as he laced their fingers together.
"…Sakura…it's enough…"he breathed pleadingly into her hair, mussing it with his hot breath that tickled the back of her neck as he spoke. "…Please.Don't let him hurt you anymore…it's very distressing."
Her cries had quieted to silent tears as she listened to the uncharacteristic gentleness in his voice—there was a calming lilt to it that she'd never noticed before and had it always been that deep? She could feel his chest rumble against her back, each time he spoke and she was oddly captivated by it.
"I doubt that I am saying this correctly but…every time you hurt because of him…I—I feel…sick. It makes me so sick, I don't really know why but it is highly unpleasant and I'd much rather not be sick because I hate hospitals and the medicine you give me is always so bitter and gross…so just…stop hurting yourself. I…it makes me…ache."
For some reason, the way he said it, had her laughing internally one minute, then flushing from the top of her head, to the tips of her toes the next and she was terrified because she had no idea what in the hell it meant."S-Sai you…I d-don't really get what you're saying, I…you hate Sasuke; we've already established that-"
"Of course I hate him." His hold tightened again and she was surprised to hear the raw emotion in just those four words…it was a mixture of anger and…desperation?
"He betrayed you. You and Naruto. He abandoned you and then he comes back and you…you're still not happy. Something happened today; I heard about it from Tsunade and Kakashi-dono."
She froze. Don't tell me…please tell me, Shishou, that you didn't…
"Although I don't understand why him referring to me as 'the replacement' would make you so—angry; I don't care what he thinks of me. His dick is probably smaller than Naruto's anyways so it's not like he's a threat."
She gaped at him in disbelief. "Did you just—?"
He stared at her blankly then; all previous emotion wiped clean and his face was once again an impeccable, impassive mask. "What? Do you not agree that Sasuke-kun has a small dick? I read somewhere that men who are especially arrogant are that way because they are overcompensating for their lack of prowess and manhood."
Oh gods, he's serious.Her lips parted and she blinked owlishly at him—completely and utterly stupefied.
"…You get what I am saying, correct? His 'lack of manhood' aka a small dick which in Sasuke-kun's case must be VERY SMALLas there is no limit to his arrogance—unless of course I have misunderstood you, perhaps because you have seenSasuke-kun's dick in which case you would know for cer-"
Face on the verge of bursting into flames, Sakura slapped a hand over the pale man's mouth, effectively cutting him off. "We are not. Having this conversation, Sai."
Reaching up, he peeled her fingers back and his brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Sooo…does that mean 'yes' you have seen it and you simply don't wish to disclose your opinion? Or are you simply agreeing with me by default?"
She glared harshly at him…yet her lips twitched in a tiny smile. "NOT. Having this conversation."
"Whatever you say, Ugly."
And she was left speechless when Sai gave her the first genuinesmile she had ever seen.
/
LOLOLOLOL! Oh my gosh, I have to admit, I had intended there to be more romancy fluffiness at the end of this but somehow, my 'Sai' muse was awakened and I couldn't help but bring in his classic stunted sense of awkward, inappropriate humor instead. Ha! Ohhhh but Sai just wouldn't be Sai without his classic genitalia innuendos. ;P well let me know what you guys think. Again, not sure I could write anymore beyond this point but ehhh, who knows…I might be inspired…?;) Review!