Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.
This is a short-short I wrote before "Something I Can Do", starting from pretty much the same scene (but an alt version). Sasuke is Mr Denial, I tell you…
---
He'd never liked her. Another of the shrill, pushy crowd he blocked out during classes. Loud, too. And useless, a burden dragging his team down. Worst were the tears, which came on like a tap. Pathetic, really.
It was hard to think of a single time she'd helped instead of been in the way. She always clutched at him when he was injured, too, had pushed those damn needles in further, at the bridge. And cried herself silly instead of guarding the old man. But she was part of his team, so he'd kept her alive. Let her stand there and cry. It added to the challenge, helped hone his skills. He bet she wouldn't be pleased, that he associated her with pain.
It had hurt so much. The seal, that night in the Forest of Death. He remembered her hand, before the fever took hold. Gripping it so hard her fingers must have been crushed. Not much after that, until she was clutching at him again. That had been the curse seal, disorienting as hell, and he'd had no idea why she was so beaten up, with her hair all raggedly short, or why he'd felt so angry. That gap in memory had frightened him more than he'd like to admit, but he was beyond being controlled by the seal now.
That whole exam seemed so minor in retrospect, the opponents weak. The Sand Nin, though – what a monster. How he'd hated feeling dwarfed, first by Gaara and then that screw-up Naruto. He'd been nothing to that battle, about as helpful as Sakura had been, actually throwing herself in the way of that monster. It had cut at him to tell her that Naruto had been the one who'd saved her, the words like knives in his mouth.
She was going to get herself killed, throwing herself in the middle of battles like that. She'd done the same on the hospital roof, rushing in panicked, with no plan. It was only when she turned up as he was leaving the village that he'd thought about anything but how angry he was, and realised he was doing her a favour getting out of the way. No matter how many times he'd told her he was an avenger, she'd never given up on wanting him. She probably would even have left the village with him, believed she'd somehow be able to help him. The idea of her in Orochimaru's lair – beyond a joke.
No tears. That was the odd thing. Not that night, when the waterworks had been constant, but when she and Naruto had managed to reach the island hideout. Just staring up at him, till he thought she was going to faint. And lost for words, which had to be a first. She was as loud as she was stubborn, as bad as Naruto. The pair of them were worse than a dog with a bone, never giving up on this idea they could rescue him, talk him out of the path he had taken. Even the display he'd put on at the hideout hadn't stopped them.
Well, it was done now. Every path had its end, and it seemed fitting to be looking up at her, crying for him one last time. He didn't understand why the pain had stopped. Or why she was smiling through the tears.
--
Author's Note: Oh, and to pre-empt the question, no this is not Anti-SasuSaku. And, obviously, Sasuke doesn't know she's a mednin.