Not many people know the real reason why Sakura holds so much dedication to Sasuke.
The more rational ones assume it's her compassionate nature, brought by her career as a medic-nin. To them, she has the utter need to fix what has been broken. They see it from how her face lights up after every patient has been healed successfully.
And Sasuke seems to be the hardest case to solve, a man whose wounds are beyond skin-deep.
But to the few idealistic ones, it needs no explanation. It's love, pure and simple.
Sakura, on the other hand, clings to the belief that somewhere, deep down, an ounce of love for her is lurking in his heart.
It's a wishful thinking, she knows. Yet, she also knows the way he used to look at her, the way he let her touch him before, the way his eyes screamed betrayal when she tried to aim a poisoned kunai behind his back.
After all, the line between love and hatred is thin-especially for an Uchiha.
"Burn it down."
As quick as a flicker of light, a speed he doesn't know Sakura is capable of, she stands behind him on top of Aoda's head.
A scene so familiar, so reminiscent of past instances-
A hug so tight and a dampness brought by her tears;
A quivering kunai pointed towards his back.
Instead, he feels a strong grip at the back of his shirt. Her hand clutching him like a lifeline.
It's very unbecoming of Sakura to jump into things without devising a plan first. For some reason, her heart overcomes her mind whenever Sasuke is involved.
He breaks her. He completes her. He's her downfall. He's her salvation.
When he looks at her over his shoulder, the words die down on her throat.
The darkness is part of him. He finds satisfaction in seeing his power bring down an enemy. It's nothing new to the Sasuke that left them three years ago. She knows that she has no reason to be standing there because he's finally fighting on their side. She did it out of instinct, out of fear that he'll lose control and turn against them again.
Because contrary to the faultless teamwork that the three of them exuded just moments ago, she's still not used to seeing him, this Sasuke, convey his power and wrath towards a common enemy.
Out of desire, a selfish desire, she rests her forehead on his back, a hand still clinging to the material of his shirt. She keeps on telling herself that she just doesn't want to look at his eyes-so red, so intense.
A lie.
"Don't waste too much chakra. Madara is still around."
He turns around, knowing that she's not there to remind him about the existence of his predecessor. He can sense the strain in her voice, the doubt.
She just stands there, with the roar of the burning Jūbi resonating in the background. Her body's so rigid and so different from the confident Sakura he just saw a few minutes ago.
"I'm scared that you might be planning something when all this is over."
"I don't have plans."
Sasuke knows the feeling of long sleepless nights, the doubt, the rage, the fear…
And the need to crawl back to a womb that isn't there.
Finally, she gazes at his eyes, looking for a degree of deceit that might be creeping in.
She sees none.
But he sees the love in her eyes. He sees hope, devotion, and other myriad of things he'll have the chance of figuring out if only he'll grasp the opportunity.
Maybe one day, he'll be capable of reflecting what he sees in her eyes.
"I don't love you. Not yet."
The years she spent believing that he might feel something for her, no matter how little, vanished.
How could he say such a thing in the middle of a war?
She already experienced having the wind knocked out of her lungs from a strong punch in the stomach, and that's exactly how she feels with his words constantly repeating on her mind.
"I don't love you."
"I don't love you."
"I don't love you."
However, getting the wind knocked out of her reminds her how much she likes the taste of air.
"Not yet."
And for her, that's more than enough.
"Thank you. Thank you for not lying."
This war holds so many lies and conspiracies. Their profession is not any different. What she needs is a speck of truth, despite how cutting it is, and she'll give him just the same.
"It's okay, Sasuke-kun. I love you enough for the both of us."
Because she would kiss him in the middle of the ocean during a lightning storm. She'd rather be left for dead than left to wonder what thunder sounds like.
So she takes his hand.
And she realizes that his hand is rougher and more battered than the last time she held it. His hands are a testament to the years he spent building who he is as a shinobi, who he is as a person—as Uchiha Sasuke.
Unconsciously, her hand sends a small flicker of chakra on the small nick on his thumb.
Unconsciously, she starts healing him in more ways than one.
So when the forever curious Sai, who's lying on a cot with injuries fresh from the war, asks her what she sees in that "traitor", she holds a mug in between her hands and smiles at him bashfully, like a kid caught stealing cookies from a jar.
Because really, didn't Ugly think he'll never notice the scent of coffee permeating the medical tent every 2 AM? And it's not as if the Traitor is being subtle about it.
"I've seen the best of him, and the worst of him, and I accept both. I have to, because those are the things that define him."
Sai believes he has many more things to learn. In that moment, with the fire lamp on her work table highlighting her features, he thinks she's happier and more beautiful than she's ever been. Somehow, he understands.
A/N:
OMG! I HAVE SO MANY FEELS ON CHAPTER 634. I CAAAN'T EVEN.
With Kishi being a troll, I can tell that what I wrote is not going to happen at all. I bet no one can tell but I still like reading the predictions all those tumblr peeps have regarding the next chapie. I'd totally roll around our garden if he doesn't show any happenings on our Dream Team. Waiting for a week is pure torture. :((
Tell me what you think.
Love,
Prudence (who is not really a prude) :D
"Because she would kiss him in the middle of the ocean during a lightning storm. She'd rather be left for dead than left to wonder what thunder sounds like."-edited line from Andrea Gibson's poem :D