A/N: I apparently have a thing for angsty, dramatic SasuSaku confrontations right now.
Might have something to do with school starting tomorrow. And middle school (especially eighth grade, I've heard) is the definition of teen angst and drama. sigh.
It's another forest scene, kind of similar in the beginning to Always (one of my recent FanFics) but be warned, the ending isn't so cheerful. You can say that this is Always with a darker twist to it.
Title: Of Superman and Second Chances
Summary: "Sasuke…if things had been different…do you think we could've been?" Because life's not fair, and you have to make do with the cards you're dealt. SasuSaku CharacterDeath
Rating: T for death and angst/drama.
Pairing: SasuSaku
Warning/Notes: Obviously, there's a major character death. Other than that, it's pretty canon.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to its rightful owner(s), not me.
Read, Enjoy, Review!
He cursed.
It wasn't like him to get lost. He never got lost. Getting lost, away from your teammates, could be fatal in many a situation.
So why had he gone and gotten himself lost?
He blamed it on his fraying nerves. Normally, he was unmovable. Man of Steel, Suigetsu had jokingly called him once, during a particularly difficult mission. Just like Superman.
But on this very occasion, he was brimming with undeniable nervousness, and it sure as hell had nothing to do with kryptonite.
Maybe it was the proximity to Konoha that got to him.
Maybe it was the fact that he might very well bump into Konoha-nin, possibly even one of his former teammates or friends.
Or maybe it was the fact that just then, he saw the exact shade of pink hair that he had so fervently hoped to never see again in this lifetime.
Sakura.
It had to be her there, kneeling stiffly upon the dirt-covered ground. Why she was alone, he didn't know, but she was there. And that was enough to warrant a lifetime of nervousness and unease.
He tried to slowly back off. Maybe she wouldn't detect him. Maybe…
But that was a stupid thought. Sakura was a more than competent kunoichi; she would notice him.
And notice him she did.
"Sasuke?" Her voice was a scant murmur, a cautious murmur, a hopeful murmur.
"Hn."
He couldn't waste anymore time there, he had to escape. More Konoha-nin, Sakura's teammates, would be arriving soon. Even he wouldn't have it easy taking on four chuunin-or, Kami forbid, jounin-at once.
As if reading his mind, the pinkette in front of him chuckled. "I'm alone. Relax."
He trusted her, despite all his misgivings. That much was to be said. So he relaxed slightly, still rigid enough to avoid an oncoming ambush, but calm enough to give off an air of respite.
"Weather's nice, huh? Not rainy today, that's good."
Was the woman insane? There he was, at the tippity-top of Konoha's Most Wanted list, and she was chatting about the weather? Excuse him if he was wrong, but wouldn't any sane Konoha-nin be trying to remove his head and limbs from his torso right about now?
"Hn."
"You're still the same ol' Sasuke, huh?"
You could say the same for yourself, he thought wryly, picturing her exasperated expression. She'd always hated his monosyllabic replies and had said as much, which only spurned him on, much to her chagrin.
"You wanna sit down?" One of her thin, slender hands patted the ground next to her kneeling body.
Hesitantly, he obliged. It wasn't as if he had anything else to do. And he could easily take her on. It wasn't so much about strength and skill as it was a matter of the heart.
Simply put, she would never have it in her to kill him, and he knew it.
But he, he wouldn't give pause to kill her (would he?). And she knew it.
"How's life?"
What was with the damned woman and her irrelevant questions? Despite his annoyance, he still replied. "…Fine."
"That's good."
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her smile in relief, as if she'd been plagued 24/7 with thoughts of him living a harsh life. The sight made him want to jump up and scream at her, scream at her to stop caring so much. Because he could never care back; because he could never be her knight in shining armor...
Her superhero.
"Sasuke…"
"Yeah." He could already imagine what she was going to say. She would beg him to stay with her and he would refuse and walk away. And that would be it, until the next time they met.
If there was a next time.
Life could be oh so fickle.
"Sasuke, do you think…"
He braced himself, already morphing his face into that cold, cold façade of indifference that would bring her to tears. And he couldn't look at those tears, he knew, because he didn't trust himself not to give in to her requests, to escape with her somewhere far, far away from the harsh realities of life.
'Man of Steel.' He reminded himself. That's all he was, all he ever would be. Not Superman, not the good guy. He only wished he were that lucky.
"...Do you think we could've been?"
His mask slipped.
It had been so out of the blue. He couldn't reply, just stared intently at her conflicted expression. Something was off; this wasn't like Sakura at all.
The Sakura he knew…
It suddenly occurred to him that maybe the Sakura he knew didn't exist anymore.
"Sasuke, if…if what happened in the past hadn't happened, and you were just a normal guy…do you think we could've been? Been something more?"
Yes, his heart and soul screamed, even as his mouth stayed still. Heart…he didn't know he still had one.
Sakura always managed to bring out both the best and the worst in him.
It was silent for a long time.
"…Do you?" He finally asked her.
She took a while to reply, and when she did, it was soft, earnest, simple. "Yes."
And it hurt because he knew that it was true, that they would've been magic together. Every day would've been happy, festive, and he would be the luckiest man on earth.
Slowly, he stood up, heart still pounding from the images imprinted into his mind. Images of a blissful life that could've been, but wasn't.
Because life wasn't fair, and you had to make do with the cards that you were dealt.
"Sasuke…before you go…"
She finally lifted her left hand. He hadn't even seen or noticed how tightly it was pressed to her side before, but now he saw.
He saw the crimson fluid covering her hand. He saw the pain reflecting in her eyes. And most importantly,
He saw the large, gaping wound in her side.
It couldn't be healed, that much was evident. And it was fatal, another realization that struck Sasuke harder than any enemy's blow ever could have.
She must've been injured a while ago, judging from the dark stains on the cloth she'd smartly staunched the wound with. The damage was done and the minutes of her life were ticking away.
Tick, tick, tick.
All of a sudden, her question made perfect sense.
'Sasuke, do you think we could've been?'
"Yes," he whispered to no one in particular, and his face twisted with emotion and he fought to wipe away the pain because he just wasn't supposed to have feelings.
But the dying woman next to him still smiled, as if she weren't on the verge of death. Because she always had a smile ready for him, no matter the circumstances. Just another stupid, stupid thing about her.
"Thank you, Sasuke." She was getting paler and paler by the moment, and there was nothing he could do. He didn't like the feeling of helplessness; it was something he was seldom exposed to, and when he was, it stung.
"I didn't do anything." It was true. What had he ever done for her? He'd left her, abandoned her, let her down, degraded her. Time after time again.
"Sasuke..."
He wanted to tell her to stop talking, that every word she spoke was another second of her life gone. But she knew that. She was the medic, not him.
She knew, but she just didn't care anymore.
"Sasuke, I love you."
He didn't know why she said it. No matter his reply, she'd never know the outcome. And maybe that was exactly why she'd said it.
"…I," Dare he say it? "I…"
It occurred to him that he'd never be Superman. He couldn't ever swoop in and save the day, because he was just too scarred and broken and dysfunctional.
But he could be her Superman. Because in her eyes, no matter what happened, he always had a second chance. And sometimes, second chances could be bought with just five simple words.
"I love you too, Sakura."
A/N: The ending couldn't be more random. But for some reason, I really wanted to tie in Superman with Sasuke at the end so…
Yeah.
If it's really bad, just tell me and I'll go back and edit it. I don't like it myself, but I'm too lazy right now to change it.
I have a bit of a superhero obsession right now. Iron Man, Batman, Thor, Superman...
My bet's that the next story I write is going to involve Sasuke in Batman underwear. Maybe... *wink wink*
Edit: Corrected some errors...The more I read this, the more I'm reminded of Always. So if you haven't read Always yet, you can read it right now. Because it's a bit similar to this, only happier and non-death-oriented. If you're into happy endings, you'll enjoy it. So yeah, read Always!
(Yes, I'm shamelessly promoting another one of my stories. Author's privilege!)
-Reviews are greatly appreciated!-
Thank you!
~HauntedMoonlight~