Brothers and Anchors
A/N: I should be updating my other stories instead, but I got this idea in my head and I had to write it before it vanished. So, here is the idea.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the "Alone." Obviously.
"From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov'd—I lov'd alone—
Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From ev'ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—
From the torrent, or the fountain—
From the red cliff of the mountain—
From the sun that 'round me roll'd
In its autumn tint of gold—
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass'd me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—"
-Edgar Allen Poe, "Alone"
Sakura had always known the bond between Sasuke and Naruto was stronger than her bond with the two of them. And yet, she couldn't help but notice that it was almost as if the two seemed to revolve around each other. It was an interdependence Sakura had only ever witnessed in nature.
They depended wholly upon each other to keep them sane.
And it was a disturbing thought to realize that if one were gone, the other would no longer have a portion of their sanity. It was perturbing to realize that if they were bent the wrong way, either of them would be destroyed by their own inner demons. It was frightening to know that if she died, they would mourn her death, but that part of their wholeness would be taken with her.
And Sakura was terrified.
She was as much an anchor for her two teammates as they were to each other. Ino had once flippantly commented on Team Seven's strange relationship. That comment had started Sakura thinking about her relationship with her teammates.
It was strange, seeing the two of them out together so often. However, all she had to do was start observing the villagers. Hate was an ugly thing.
The villagers hated them.
They looked at the two boys with nothing but hatred. One for what was shoved on him at birth; the other for what he had done.
And Sakura wanted to cry.
She wanted to cry for her teammates, friends, and brothers. They did not deserve what had happened to them.
Naruto had not asked to be a jinchuuriki.
Sasuke had not asked to lose his family to his brother's psychosis.
Naruto had not asked to be ostracized as a child for something he had had no control over.
Sasuke had not asked to be cursed.
And all of the things that excluded them from others had turned them into monsters.
Bakemono.
They were no longer humans in the eyes of the villagers. Naruto and Sasuke were the very epitome of what was wrong with the current Hokage.
But they were not that way to Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke were two brothers not bonded by blood. They were each other's anchors to the real world.
Sakura could allow herself to find solace in that. Even though their dependence would be their downfall.
A/N: Again, this little one-shot falls into my whole little idea about perceptions and how they're often wrong. I think that if we take the time to really look at the people will interact with on a daily basis, we'll be able to see things that we haven't noticed before. I challenge you to try it. You never know, you may be surprised by what a little bit of patience can do for you.
I would also suggest taking the time to even look at characters for who they really are, and this includes all of the outside influences that had made them into who they are.