She should not have that luxury of forgetting who he was.
Amethyst
Chapter One - The Witch
"Sakura… in position. Over."
"Copy. Tenten, Hinata? Over."
"I—I'm in position—
"Me too! Over!" Said Tenten cutting over Hinata.
"Alright," Ino said over the static, "Let's get this witch!"
The four kunoichi from the hidden leaf glided through the trees of the forbidden forest. It was there that they were entrusted with the responsibility to take down the enchantress. A magical being of unfathomable power who preyed on the hearts of those in love.
Like genies say, wishes of any form could be manifested from anything within the vortex of our universe but love was out of bounds even to those who thought they could control the moon—love was not to be manipulated, it was not to be used. It was not to be anything but what it was. But this enchantress, this whatever it was, took human form and stole the love from those who needed companionship and understanding from any man or woman, and it was this enchantress who would soon do the damage that may be irreversible...
Sakura was the attack. Hypothetically, all it took was one single blow and the witch would be dead.
Ino was the leader of the mission. If anything went awry, then a mind control jutsu would come in handy. Tenten secured the perimeters encasing the forest with tentative traps, and Hinata used her Byakugan to locate the witch's location as well as determine who else was in the proximity if there was any chance of external danger.
Almost whimsically, the house came rolling into view as they skipped branches. Sakura skid to a stop, her boots leaving a trail of dust behind her as she readied her first. As resistant to genjutsu as she's always been, Sakura was determined to deliver a clean blow and end the heartaches once and for all.
She knew as she reached to wipe away a drop of sweat from her brow, she was being protected by her friends from varying distances.
Sakura scanned her environment, sucking in the sweet air that came from a house resembling one from a distant folklore—a fairytale. It was candied and vibrant. She didn't have an appetite for sweets at that moment.
Sakura broke the gate with a hard knuckle and she seemed to realize the small house was far from brick and cement… It was almost too easy.
"Sakura? Do you see anything?" Ino asked in her ear.
Sakura shook her head knowing they could see her. Waving chakra signatures in the trees meant Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were tentatively watching. She approached the door cautiously and began to clench and unclench her fist in anticipation and… hesitation.
Her green eyes darted around nervously."Hansel and Gretel vibes, am I right?"
Suddenly, the door to the house opened on its own. It was pure black inside. An abyss. And then the candy stained glass windows shattered.
Hinata was the first to notice, "S-Something's wrong! I can't see her. I don't see the witch!"
"Sakura! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Tenten hissed, "You're supposed to wait until we've lured her out! Tsunade said to never go into that house!"
Suddenly a panicked stricken voice emerged from Sakura's throat, "I—I can't control my legs! They're moving on their own!" Sakura admitted to herself that she didn't want to call for help—her stubbornness could literally be the death of her right now. She fought with her body, her muscles protesting with every move. Suddenly Hinata was at her side and she caught Sakura's arm. Tenten also came to the rescue and together they tried to pull her from the doorway.
"This wasn't in the report!" Ino hissed as she appeared and joined the struggle. Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura's torso. They pulled as hard as they could and yet they were all dragged along as Sakura stalked towards the open door.
And then Tenten's trap activated prematurely—an onset of weaponry activated, sending showers of shuriken and kunai raining down on the girls.
"Tenten, this wasn't the time to activate plan B!" Sakura gritted her teeth through the pain. It felt like her skin would rip beneath her friends' grips.
"It wasn't me!" Tenten clawed at Sakura's arm, "I'm sorry, Sakura, I can't hold on much longer!"
The air was sweet and alluring. An initial soft breeze turned into a harsh wind catching the three girls in a tornado, ripping them off Sakura.
And just like that, Sakura was sucked into the house as the door slammed shut behind her.
"So when are you going to do it, punk?"
A loud obnoxious Naruto wouldn't budge from his new favourite seat on Sasuke's window sill.
The intact Uchiha estate was finally put to use after so many years after his return from his worldly journeys.
"What am I going to do, punk?" Sasuke tasted the word, it wasn't really his style.
"You know…" Naruto drawled, "Ask Sakura out on a date? You came back for her didn't you?"
"I came back because this is my home," he spat matter-of-factly. "And I don't remember it being any of your business."
"Oh, come on! We both know you need my help! Listen, let's plan out the perfect date for you and her. She's out on a mission right now and won't be back for another few days. That is an ample amount of time to get things kickin'."
"Nothing's kickin'," Sasuke didn't like that word either. "Don't you have ramen to inhale? What are you doing hanging around here for?"
"We both know you're too shy to say it but we are best friends, after all. And best friends hang out!"
Sasuke groaned dropping the book he was reading. He had enough sense to know that he wouldn't get through the chapter with Naruto breathing his air. The cheeky grin on his friend's naturally quirky facial expressions only meant bad decisions. And he had to admit that he had been pretty bored lately.
His return to Konoha a month ago had sparked a pretty lively reaction from the villagers upon its wake. The worried looks on mothers' faces as they hid their children were enough to draw him from the world straight into his house. And there he remained.
The villagers just needed to warm up to him, Naruto said. It was partly true; a few weeks had passed and he could now walk through the grocery store without hearing the whispers coming from behind the pyramid of cube watermelons.
"So?"
"So what?" Sasuke hissed.
"So what are you going to do about Sakura?"
He hadn't thought about ever meeting her like this. In fact, it was a scene that was beyond some of his nightmares. Surrounded by three girls, Hinata, Ino and Tenten were sitting around Sakura's bed, all beaten and battered up. They were the lucky ones, he decided, because Sakura had yet to wake up.
"What happened?" Sasuke growled suppressing his automatic and surprising anger.
"Our mission went awry," Ino spit out venomously, "as if you can't already see."
"Ino…" Tenten said softly, "We managed to get her out of the forbidden house and take down our target, the witch. Right now Sakura just needs to rest."
"For how long?" Ino hissed, "She's been in a coma for days now and I've tried everything I could as a medic! I knew I should have gone for the power position instead, I'm so stupid!"
"I-It's not your fault!"Hinata said, "It could have happened to any of us. We know now that it was a trap and there was no way that we could have known what was going to happen. Tsunade says Sakura needs to wake up on her own, naturally. S-She says that other than being in a coma, Sakura's not in any life-threatening danger."
Tenten frowned, "She's right, Ino. Sakura's strong, she'll pull through."
Sets of blue and black-purple eyes watched as the three girls left the room and Naruto hugged Hinata as they said their goodbyes.
Hinata was instructed to head straight home to rest, and Naruto would join her as soon as he saw Sakura first.
"Ino said she had been trying to revive Sakura the whole way back. She has a pulse and she's breathing but she barely looks alive…"
"I can see that," Sasuke said irritably as he rubbed the back of his neck. Sometimes he hated his own defensive objective lenses but it helped him focus on what needed to be done. He knew that Naruto was only trying to help cushion the blow after all. But this doctor, the best one in the village—aside from her own teacher was in bed and lost to the world.
Naruto looked at Sasuke nervously and found a seat on the chair next to his teammate's bed. "…They said she'll be okay."
Sasuke leaned against the window sill and crossed his arms.
There had been another reason why Sasuke had not indulged his fox-friend in his plans about Sakura.
Now that his reigns had been set on building a life in this village he called home, the only other person he wanted to share it with wasn't with him. Well she was there but she wasn't.
Their initial meeting after his return had been lacking—and that was an understatement. The crimson blush along her silky white cheeks was enough to reinforce his hypothesis that this little crush of hers was far more than small, even now. Even after years of waiting and waiting, Haruno Sakura still loved him with all her might.
Under the silver moon, passed shy hellos and distant nods, Sakura knew he had finally returned home.
Having received notice of him coming home, Sakura decided she would wait for him at the gate. Sakura never told anyone but she waited for hours and when he did come, she hid her fatigue and welcomed him home only for him to acknowledge her loosely, and side step her into the village.
He felt guilty about his lackluster return.
"I have to go see if Hinata is all settled in. Give me a shout if you hear about anything. Sasuke are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine." He mumbled out.
The sun melted into the horizon casting the stone faces into a fiery haze. The Uchiha made himself comfortable at Sakura's bedside and made no inclination to move.
She was still, oblivious to the world around her. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead, skin cold, clammy and whiter than she'd ever been. It was like she'd never wake up.
He didn't know what to do. She looked like death and that scared him.
Against his own will, he had fallen asleep beside her. The orange sun had disappeared now that the world was as still as she was, he would join her in his own dreamless sleep.