Why is my hand so warm and moist? Why are her bright eyes so close?
Sasuke wondered in the split second when what had just happened refused to register in his brain. His first instinct was to analyze the situation calmly.
Naruto let his guard down for a short moment. Sasuke felt the electricity of his chidori not a second later. His mind clouded by anger, tiredness and the heat of the battle did not think of the consequences as he was throwing himself at his former teammate. The high pitched "no" coming from somewhere to his left sounded like it was coming from miles away. Then, suddenly, there she was. Pink locks of hair moving gently in the wind, a small string of blood dripping off her chin and green eyes looking at him with enough emotion to make him freeze.
Sasuke was no longer breathing or blinking, his mind completely blank. He vaguely remembered a time when this was an outcome he hoped for, the little pinkette, always so eager to be around him, lifeless on the ground, all done by his hands. Back then, the thought of killing everyone he could hold responsible for the tragedy that his family had become brought him joy. Now? His life was leaking out of him as fast as hers was.
"Sakura?" he managed to breathe out.
Around them, both Kakashi and Naruto stood frozen, not knowing how to react or even if they should.
"I remember..." Sakura said weakly, "how angry you always were."
Her breathing was uneven, but she looked determined to choke the words out.
"You always wanted something violent... Sasuke-kun." she paused, bringing both of her hands up, placing them on each side of Sasuke's shocked face. "But... I also remember... how gently you always touched me, when you carried me... away from danger... away from enemies."
Sasuke's senses were returning to him, his heart beating faster than ever. Looking down at this girl whose blood was coating his hand, all he could think of was how he no longer knew what she was. Calling her human felt like an insult. He saw the vile and cruel things they - including himself - could do. She was warmer than the sun. She was dying in his arms.
"What the hell are you-" he tried asking.
"You're not a killer, or a monster. You've been lost for so long ...I don't think you realize that. But you can see, this isn't you. So stop already." she finished, and coughed what to Sasuke looked like a river of blood.
Sasuke managed to compose himself and quickly pumped the majority of his chakra into her body.
"Activate your seal, Sakura." he said coldly.
Her smile as the markings of her seal spread all over her body was wider than it has been in years. Sasuke was not one for talking or showing his emotions. In time, she learned to read into his actions to decipher his thoughts, and him sacrificing most of his chakra to save her meant he had no interest in killing anyone, especially Naruto whom he had been fighting just moments ago.
Slowly removing his hand as her wound was being healed, Sasuke felt a sudden rush of emotion. He was angry that once again he couldn't do what he wanted to. Horrified he had almost killed Sakura. An annoying voice at the back of his head was telling him he didn't really want to kill Naruto either. But, most importantly, he felt the deep hurt at the realization that perhaps Sakura was right.
How long ago was it that he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps? Walk the streets of Konoha protecting the villagers, proudly wear his clan's crest to symbolize he was what they could trust in.
Those were lies. They just wanted to push us aside until they could get rid of us.
There was no denying the truth of that. But there was also Sakura, deep, dark circles below her eyes, desperate to prove he was not a killer.
His bloody hand now limp at his side, he looked behind Sakura, at Naruto's face. In the rare moments the blond wore a serious expression Sasuke thought he almost looked respectable. Well then, can you still do it? That was what the blond's eyes were screaming at Sasuke. He could feel the electricity in the tips of his fingers. A chidori ready to be used at any time. Not breaking eye contact with Naruto, he instead moved his hand to Sakura's side, who was about to lose her balace, and steadied her.
"Come home." her small voice said. "Come with us and wait for once. Wait to see if we're enough or not. If Naruto won't be enough to change things."
The imaginary strings connecting Sasuke to everything he now was would break if he accepted that. Placing the future in the hands of someone else, not making sure himself that history was not going to repeat itself, all of it was unbearable to think about. If there was anything he could decide now, it was to wait. He could kill the Kages at any time, he could do things his way whenever he decided to. He could wait a bit, possibly.
Sakura's weakened body shook under his touch. Her expression as determined as ever stubbornly pushed down and hid her worry and doubts. Sasuke was surprised to realize that the years they spent apart did not make it any harder to read her. She was stubborn and would exhaust herself to death trying to convince him. He sighed deeply, wondering if this was going to be the biggest mistake of his life, and he picked her up.
"What-" she began asking, but was silenced by Sasuke's glare.
Content with the fact that the fighting was over - at least for now - Sakura buried her face in his neck and closed her eyes. She gave in to her exhaustion, dozing off to the buttlerflies she still felt when their skin made contact. She felt him begin to walk slowly, and it almost felt like he was rocking her to sleep.
"Where are we going, Sasuke?" asked Naruto in a playful tone. His best friend trying to kill him never did discourage him.
"Tsunade." was all Sasuke replied with.
The pink hair resting on Sasuke's shoulder made Naruto grin. He made a mental note to thank Sakura for being awesome and in love later. For now, he was following the Uchiha knowing whatever happened next, they could deal with it.