Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.
"From these seeds,
will spring forth
with new resolution,
a new flower"
It started with a skip, her heart beating at the sight of him, her cheeks flushing with red, each time, she saw him. She thought it was love, her voice squealing at the thought of marrying him and she was only eleven.
Ignorant of his pain and his past, blind and only thinking about his 'cool' attitude as she forced herself onto him.
It wasn't until the misty fog clouded her vision, and that she heard his scream crackling through the air piercing her soul and she ran forward only to have caught his body— that she took a step back. And looked.
He wasn't breathing he was injured, with tiny needles stabbed into his body. He was bleeding, his pale skin green with sick.
She went cold. It can't be true she tried to reason, this is sasuke it has to be an illusion. She remembers the time with Kakashi, the genjutsu, how the fake sasuke was bleeding and asking for help. But only this time, its real and he's dead.
And she realised with horror on her face he isn't the same boy who stood in front of her, the white and red fan on his back striking bold, he isn't the invincible boy from the academy, the images she conceived in her mind.
He was only sasuke, a genin, a human, that could die anytime.
She burst into tears, cradling his body close gripping tight on to him and not legging go. He's dead. He's dead. He's–
Then. "Sakura, get off me your heavy, "
Suddenly, the world shook with vibrant waves. Her grip on him tightened, her knuckles turning a ghost white, but, she was smiling. Her lips stretched wide as her face stuffed into the burrow of his neck. His voice was unkind and gruff as usual but–
But.
He was back and alive, and that's all that mattered. She could feel the beat of his heart, and that's all that mattered.
.
.
.
She is silent on the way back, strolling in the back, still trembling from the shock.
His dried blood in between her nails
Each time she breathes, the trails of his scent on her dress clogs her nostrils, making her gasp for oxygen. She bites the insides of her cheeks looking up each second, her green eyes glossy with unshed tears as she looks at his back, trying to make sure he is there. Watching him. His slightly staggered movement. Naruto and him arguing as usual, Kakashi-sensei reading his book on the sidelines, but, all she can see is–
his deathly sick face every time,
his broken body cradled in her tiny, frail arms
and it's killing her.
Suddenly, she feels a rush of boiling anger but, clamps it down as soon as she feels it. She remembers Haku and Zabuza. The falling snow, how the mighty ninja fell, how demon ninja was crying, caressing Haku's cheek in his hand. And she can't hate.
Her thoughts about the world as black and white have changed, there is now some grey in the mix.
She stares at that moment, gazing at her team in silence. And as if they felt the same tug, they look back, Kakashi-sensei's eye smiles, Naruto's obnoxious voice booms at her (Sakura-chan!) as he smiles with his foxy smile and Sasuke's indifferent face, yet, an oddly soft look in his eyes and–
the tension is less
the trembles are stopping
Konoha is near, she can see the large red gates
they are alive
he is alive
And there's a hidden, untouched strength inside her blossoming, and as she steps back into konoha, into her home, there is new purpose singing in her bones, newfound resolve.
Dawn bleeding into the night sky, behind her.
"Sunlight warmth
breathing into her bones,
tears falling from her eyes,
and inside her ribcage
within her heart,
as a rainbow forms
from weakness, strong is born."
Notes: Hey, this is my first Naruto fan fiction. I really loved the wave arc, but was so disappointed with how it ended, like it seemed a perfect point for sakura to actually develop her character, becoming a turning point in her character. But, eh what could you expect? At least she got something, kind of, at the end.