A/N: Based on Chapters 539-540, Sakura's internal perspective on the sudden love confession made in medical tent 3. The parts I quoted directly from the manga are italicized.
Disclaimer: I might have quoted Sakura's conversation, but I don't claim to own Naruto. I just have an overactive imagination.
Love Confession in Medical Tent Three
a Naruto fanfic
by Rhov
"Ever since you treated me...I haven't been able to get you out of my head."
"What's..."
Who was this man facing her so boldly, this beaten shinobi, probably quite brave considering the injuries? Sakura first saw him around sunset, just another casualty to tend, although his arm had been quite bad. No name, no village, blurred face, only those intense eyes had stood out in her mind. She remembered how he had stared hard the entire time. Now he could barely meet her gaze.
"I...I wrote a little love letter..."
He struggled with his right hand to pull forth a dingy piece of paper folded with painstaking precision. This man was obviously confident to confess his feelings for her in the middle of such a brutal battle! That alone had Sakura shocked, speechless, unable to respond in any way, either to blush, get angry, or even turn pale at such audacity. Had any other boy—besides Naruto—ever confessed to her? And Naruto never really confessed, he just...acted weird!
"Listen, I don't know whether or not I'll survive this war...so I wanted to..."
Simply hearing him, nervous but determined, made her heart burn with acid. A man like that deserved a little moment of happiness. He was right, he could die in the morning. War was unpredictable. He was so badly beaten, his head wrapped, his arm in a cast, and she recalled treating many internal injuries on this young man. He would not be able to make seals, perform any sort of jutsu, not with his entire hand and arm wrapped like that. Yet he had the look of a man determined to keep going, no matter what task was given to him.
It was the shinobi way!
But she could not lie to a person, even if chances were high that she would never see him again, and by the war's end he would end up a name on a memorial plaque, nothing more. It seared her heart to crush him, but she had to put a stop to this before his pride was truly damaged.
"Thank you...but..."
Already, his eyes held defeat. It was hard enough that he had not walked away from this first day of fighting as a brave warrior, nor did he get these injuries doing something monumental, something that would get his name remembered in the history tomes. No, he was just another victim of the enemy, hauled off the battlefield soaked in blood. No heroics this day! And now, even this one chance at taking the ultimate risk was about to come crashing down on him.
Sakura hesitated only a moment, one brief debate if she should swallow her pride and give in. Then a face drifted into her mind, a boy she had known since her academy days, a low voice she already missed dearly. His black eyes, cool to the point of being cold, sometimes even cruel, both thrilled her and haunted her.
"... There's someone else I..."
He interrupted so fast, the words jolted in her throat.
"Oh...oh well...I figured as much..."
Figured?
He came to her realizing rejection was likely. That made her think he was all that much more brave. What village was he from? What was his name? She didn't even know these simple things. And what did he know about her? A medical ninja who treated his wounds, nothing more. It was an impulsive crush brought on by the stress of battle.
Perhaps it was best not to let it develop beyond that... for her own emotional sake.
Even if he survived, she might never see him again. He would go back to his village, continue going on missions; they might even meet up as enemies one day in the future. She hoped not. She hoped this war united the ninja villages. That was Naruto's wish... and it was quickly becoming hers too.
"I guess it's not very polite of me to be asking about what kind of person you like..."
The way he scratched the back of his head was the same nervous gesture Naruto sometimes made. It was actually kind of cute and made her smile sympathetically. She saw in his face, he was realizing how much of a long shot this had been.
"I get it though...I'll get out of here...!"
He looked ashamed now, more than just embarrassed at being rejected. To come up to a total stranger and present a love letter! What audacity!
She looked down at the letter he had given her and scanned the writing. It truly was just a spontaneous crush. He wrote how lovely she was, how her pink hair made her stand out like a rose amidst briers, how the tenderness of her healing hands had thrilled him as she tended his injuries, how even if he died, he would never forget her. Even as he wrote such lofty declarations, his words showed that he knew this was all crazy, maybe even futile. There was a fatalistic air to the letter. Perhaps he didn't want to die a virgin or some silly fear like that. He didn't say in his letter, but the dread of a warrior in the midst of a war came out loudly in his confession letter.
"I'm sorry."
It was all she could say. This letter touched her heart. No one had ever written something like this to her before.
Well, Rock Lee used to write her letters and badly try to sneak them to her, but they were... silly. No, more than that. They were juvenile, superfluous, florid to the point of being grotesque. His "love letters" made her laugh.
This one made her blush.
He began to turn aside, off to find a cot to sleep on through this restless night, a few hours of dreaming, maybe even fantasizing about her, destined to wake in the morning to shouted orders, clanging kunai, explosive jutsu, and the screams of the dying. Then he paused, and a smile came to his shamed face.
"But there is one thing that I know. If it's somebody that you like, then they're bound to be a great person!"
With that bit of optimism, he left the medical tent. The flap flipped aside, and a cool breeze from the full moon night fluttered Sakura's pink hair. On that breeze came the smell of stringent medicines, smoke from fires and torches, and lingering everywhere was the unforgettable and inescapable stench of death.
Sakura lowered her head.
A great person, huh?
His face came to her once more, a shadow amidst flames, a boy who had never once shown her the faintest hint of affection. Once, a thank you, but otherwise...
Why did she hold out for a man like that? Others were right there in front of her: Naruto with his never-ending crush, Rock Lee with his flamboyant antics, even Kiba and Shikamaru were more friendly than he had been. And now this unknown shinobi, out of nowhere, confessed to her.
She looked at the dingy, hastily written letter again. What should she do with it? Toss it aside? Ignore it?
No. If anything, she wanted to keep this letter to remind her of that courageous shinobi. Who knew what his fate would be! If only to keep the memory of him alive, she would hold on to this confession letter. She folded it back up and tucked it into her shirt. It would remind her of the sorts of brave people she was saving.
She heard the young man outside sigh, deflating any hopes he had of one last warm, loving night. She considered calling him back, at least to rest in the tent where it was warm, but that face refused to stop haunting her.
Sasuke!
Where was he? Would he fight in this war? Was it too late to save him? Could he be brought back to Konoha? Could he still be a good person?
Could he ever be pardoned for all he did to the shinobi world?
Could she love him after this?
There was a time when her emotions were unshakable, her determination unwavering, her optimism boundless. Now, she had her doubts. In the midst of this war, they plagued her with overflowing sadness. Sasuke was out there with the enemy. He was the enemy! And if he came to the battlefield, the entire shinobi alliance would try and stop him.
All but her. Even if he was lost to evil...she would follow him into that darkness.
A great person...was he?
The End
A/N: Thanks for reading. Please drop a quick review. It gives me an ego boost. LOL! ^_^