Presence
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Sakura stepped back slowly, stumbling almost as a deep ache ripped through her.
"He's never coming back, is he?" And as the words left her mouth, he could actually see the light in her veridian eyes flicker and die. It had grown increasingly dim ever since Sasuke's defection but now as her worst fears were confirmed and all her hopes for Sasuke's return were extinguished, it went out completely, a testament to her feelings, to her never - wavering love.
"He's gone, gone," she continued, her voice cracking partially from fatigue but mainly from disillusionment. Suddenly her legs gave way and she collapsed, her will, for once, broken from this unfortunate turn of events.
His reflexes were still fast enough for him to catch her before she hit the ground. She didn't struggle or even acknowledge his presence but, what else could he really expect right now? It pained him to see how quickly her pain and grief were consuming her. She was practically shrinking right before his eyes, drawing silently into herself.
The fire that had gone out of him upon experiencing the same revelation only a few days ago suddenly flared at this display and a shadow of his old determination returned.
He frowned - he had failed to retrieve Sasuke and as such, he had failed her again but he was not about to let her succumb to this. His grip around her tightened as he made a decision. He would do for her what he was not able to do for Sasuke - he would save her from herself.
A/N: I think I might change this. It didn't come out the way I wanted it to. In the mean time, please REVIEW and let me know what you think of this.
