Disclaimer: Naruto nor any of its characters belong to me, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the man who believes that "romance is beyond him" so he decided to be crap at it at the very end of the manga… (For god´s sake! Why Sakura?! Why?! You were so damn good in your personality and ability development just to throw it away as a freaking housewife!).
Warm fingertips caressed the outline of her face leaving goose bumps in her smooth and pale cheek, his rough skin contrasting greatly with the gentleness of the action. For a minute, she could just close her eyes and forget the entire universe and its problems. No hard decisions or lost loved ones, her only anchor to reality being the briefness of the moment.
Like all the other times, their encounters and interactions were fleeting, purposeful and unforgettable, all at once. It was a big rollercoaster of emotions that left them longing for a few more seconds to really enjoy the rare opportunity of seeing each other. Agony and bliss intermixed so closely that neither knew if it was a good or a bad thing but that, at the end, was one of the things keeping them going. The possibility of a next time was always the extra push or driving factor that motivated their return.
Duty bound them both to their responsibilities and roles within the village but the feelings that came out when their eyes met or their skin touched gave them something to look forward to and treasure. Something so intimate and private they believed was only theirs to explore and share with the other.
Like previous times, the circumstances broke the little bubble around them as a shout of help reached the medic´s trained ears. With no small amount of unwillingness, her eyes moved from the captivating midnight black orbs in front of her to the person in need, just to take in the urgency of the matter. To their dismay, the new patient required her special attention as one of the best medics, only second to her mentor. Green orbs returned to her favorite pair of eyes in the whole world, trying to express what words and actions couldn´t, at least right then, just to see a reflection of the same emotions in them. Relief flood their being at the reassurance of knowing that, once again, they were in the same wavelength, the same page.
A sad smile and a small upturn of lips found themselves on their faces, one feminine and the other utterly masculine, and just like that his calloused hand retreated from its previous position, not really wanting to but still doing it, falling to his side. Even if the only thing that he wanted to do was bring her to his arms and bask in their embrace he understood that, just as she couldn´t stop him from going to the front lines and fighting for their safety, he couldn´t stop her from healing those who needed her and protecting the wounded. So, with a heavy heart, he watched as she walked away with all the grace and skill of a honed shinobi, long pink hair in two low ponytails swatting form side to side.
Sacrifice was the way of a shinobi, no matter how much neither of them wanted to be apart duty bounded them. All he could do was wish for the end of this meaningless war so that he could stop killing, stop worrying about probably not seeing his loved ones ever again, stop feeling like his hands were getting bloodier and bloodier with every day that passed and, above all, stop the hollowness that grew with perseverance right in the left side of his chest each second that he wasn´t sure of the safety and wellbeing of the only person whose emerald eyes could read his every emotion, no matter how many layers he put to his façade, and who could see him, not as the prodigy or the heir of his clan but as him, and still love him with all her being. She was, irrevocably, the little piece of light that he selfishly clung to and proclaimed as his with no hesitation for as long as she wished to be his.
When his dark eyes could no longer see her petite silhouette he resigned himself to go back to his position in the battlefield, midnight black bleeding to red, the ANBU captain put back on his mask and, without making a sound, disappeared. Not a single trace or sign indicating his presence.
AN: Hello! The story status says completed but, if the muse strikes I will definitely put other ItaSaku One-shots in here. I am also open to suggestion and chalenges ;). Thanks for reading!