Summary: Without the sun, there was no hope of life. Response to prompt sixteen (indestructible) for SasuSaku Month.
Disclaimer: Naruto is (c) Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha, Inc.
WITHOUT THE SUN
The egotism of man was astounding. They had long since learned it was the earth that revolved around the sun and not vice versa, yet persisted to think of themselves as the center of the universe. Uchiha Sasuke idly wondered at the fate of man when the sun extinguished and the last ray filtered to the ground. Would they remain so arrogant?
Uzumaki Naruto glared at his contemplative teammate. "Get your head out of your ass and pay attention, bastard. I'm talking here."
"When aren't you talking?" Sasuke complained with a glower of his own.
"It's been weeks," the blond male snapped, opting to ignore the slight. "You need to visit her."
Sasuke could not keep the cynicism from coloring his tone. "What's the point? She won't recognize me anyway."
Three weeks prior, Haruno Sakura had suffered severe trauma to the head while on a mission with Team Gai. Sasuke had been on a different assignment at the time, but had been told she did not recognize anyone or anything upon waking. The Godaime Hokage had diagnosed her beloved pupil with complete retrograde amnesia. Immediate prognosis was not overly optimistic.
"Granny Tsunade said being exposed to past familiarities, like people and places, may improve Sakura-chan's condition."
Sasuke gave an exasperated sigh. "Again, what's the point of my visiting? Sakura and I haven't been near one another enough to breed any familiarity. Perhaps when we were twelve, but definitely not now."
It was true. Following his reinstatement as a ninja of the Leaf, there had not been a lot of opportunity for Sasuke and Sakura to interact. He had caught glimpses of her rushing to the training grounds, hospital or administration center, though not much else. The kunoichi's specialized skill set kept her quite busy. So busy, in fact, that it seemed the new formation for Team Kakashi consisted of Naruto, Sai and himself. Sakura had become little more than an honorary member.
"You're a stupid fuck, you know that?"
His eyes narrowed at the insult.
Naruto was not to be deterred. "Sakura-chan could be blind, deaf and dumb and she would still recognize you. Believe it."
The irony was, for some unfathomable reason, Sasuke did want to believe.
Once Naruto had taken his leave, Sasuke could not help but resume his deliberation of the waning sun and its effect on man's destiny. Eventual loss of the celestial body's light and warmth was certain to result in the destruction of life within its orbit. Thus, in the end, all of man's aspirations and dreams... sacrifices and struggles... would be for naught. The thought left him cold.
Without the sun, there was no hope of life.
Soon thereafter, as if drawn by some magnetic force, Sasuke found himself striding towards the hospital, entering its doors, scaling its staircase, navigating its halls, and standing before Sakura's room. He quickly knocked to circumvent the second guessing of himself. The voice that bade him welcome was easily identifiable, encouraging him to push his way inside.
And, at first glance, everything about her fit his recollection. From her cherry blossom hair to her pretty face to her slender frame, she was exactly the same. However, when their eyes locked, he was finally given pause. Green pools demonstrated confusion and tense moments elapsed. The palpitation of his heart almost diminished to none. Then, a faint glimmer of recognition settled into those wondrous depths and the world was set aright. Life would go on, because Sakura's next words had him moving in the light and warmth of her orbit yet again.
"I know you."
THE END