Okay, my first Anime fic that I've decided to post. I'm sorry if you don't like Gaasaku, though if you do, enjoy! But I'm not sure when, or where in the time-skip this takes place.
They all had set out on a joined-team mission. The more numbers they have with them for this circumstance, the better the mission will be accomplished. The Fifth suspected the recent murders of allying Shinobi, have been more than likely, Akatsuki related.
One of the leading Jounin claims the designated area for investigation is a day ahead of them yet, so they should settle in for the night to recuperate.
Sakura sits upon the end of a rocky ledge near the campsite which stretches out above the vast barren desert lands. She thinks the Hidden Village of the Sand is blessed, so lucky to have sunsets such as these. She's currently memorized by the reds and golds that dance, and mingle with swirls of lilac and azure. The remaining series of sunrays are gradually and gracefully dissolving from her sight.
"Shouldn't you be in the tents by now, Haruno?" a voice asks just then. A voice that had once been quite scratchy, frequently intense. A voice that had once screamed for blood, in order to feel life again. His voice. But she's not fearful of it any longer, for his voice is now mellow and more controlled.
She turns her attention to the demon boy, realizing how brilliantly his hair color appears against the twilight sky. Her gaze follows each dark ring upon his strikingly pale face, and soon recognizes how they are not revolting to look at, but how his jade-filled eyes stand out so alluringly from them.
Lee-san had once told her, beauty can be found in the least likely of places.
When she stands to face him, his forehead creases slightly in question. He recalls on the previous times their paths crossed since the Exams; remembers she paralleled to Yashamaru in a number of ways. And he knows by now that she's not one to be so mysteriously silent.
They stare at one another still.
Though, he finds he is finally losing patience with her unusual behavior. The weight of her searching, leaf-green eyes is becoming fairly uncomfortable. "What are you staring at, Haruno?" His words are nearly biting, and almost distrustful, but the clench of his teeth aids him to hold back from lashing out any further. "Is something wrong with me?"
Am I still a monster to you? She quickly interprets.
And she waits another moment or two before she shakes her head slowly, then gently she says, "You look…perfect."
The faint widening of his glare is the only indicator visible which signals that he's caught off guard. And before they head back towards the campsite together, there's a crackle, a spark in the warm air.