So this is the outcome of several months of mulling over Sasuke and Sakura's relationship, combined with inspiration from Tumblr headcanons and doujinshi, and finally, irritation at the adamant lack of SasuSaku in the anime.
As I've started this story to make up for all of that, I aim to keep this as canon as it could possibly be, and I aim to keep everyone as in-character as they could possibly be.
I hope you all enjoy this, as it's had a lot of thought put into it, as well as a lot of love.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
The sun shines brightly through the windows of Konoha hospital.
Inside one of the building's many rooms, its most skilful pink-haired medic sits in between two hospital beds, replacing the bandages of a blonde boy's arm.
"Thanks, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grins. "Sasuke!" the boy in question glances back at him from his bed, positioned on the other side of Sakura.
"What?"
Naruto's grin widens, if possible, "aren't we super lucky to receive this special treatment?"
Sasuke glances at Sakura, but doesn't reply with anything.
The girl instead sighs. "Idiot. It's because you two wrecked each other up pretty badly in comparison to the other ninjas."
She then finishes tying up the bandages on the stump to Naruto's right. "There."
She then turns slowly in her seat to face the boy on her other side.
Naruto watches his two close friends for a few moments. The atmosphere between them has obviously got a large amount of healing to do: something that doesn't change after a single apology. And although he doesn't know what he, himself, could do to mend Sasuke and Sakura's relationship to the point where they could all interact seamlessly, Naruto is certain that he needs to allow them space.
So, he stretches his left arm outwards exaggeratedly. "Well, I'm gonna get some sleep-ttebayo."
Both Sakura and Sasuke eye him in question.
"It must be the painkillers and medicine stuff," Naruto reasons before tugging his blanket over his body and facing his back to the two.
The silence that is left behind is heavy in the air.
"... Sasuke-kun," Sakura's voice is hesitant, but kind, "mind if I redress your left arm?"
"... Hn," he responds, tilting his stump towards her.
Sakura's fingers expertly work at undoing his previous bandages. Sasuke watches as she examines his injuries, now that the remainder of his left arm is free of the covering.
Taking in the massive damage to the arm, seemingly unknown to her, tears start to form in Sakura's green eyes.
Sasuke looks away. "Don't cry."
Sakura breaks out of her thoughts. "O-oh, sorry, I didn't realise." She hastily rubs at her eyes but she can feel a few more tears slip out.
"Sorry," she apologises again.
'Don't apologise,' Sasuke thinks, heart clenching, still staring at his lap.
He wishes that she didn't care about him this much. Wishes that he didn't hurt her this much. Although his final fight with Naruto had taken off a significant amount of the heavy burdens of his past off his shoulders, the smaller things that had once appeared so insignificant to him, still remain. And they make him feel just as bad now.
Sakura's teeth digging into her lower lip is what gets her through the dressing of his wounds.
Once she's finished, she immediately excuses herself, almost running to the door.
A couple of days pass like this, getting slightly better with each one.
She's peeling apples for them today.
Suddenly, Sasuke has a flashback to the last time in which Sakura had tried to feed him apples. He recalls his left arm extending to whack the plate away; the pieces flying to the ends of his hospital room; Sakura's heartbroken expression; his underlying jealousy of Naruto's improvements, which he was finding more and more difficult to contain.
Back in the present however, Sakura digs a fork into an apple slice and holds it up to Naruto's face. He grins broadly and accepts the piece wholly, nipping it clean off the fork.
Bringing the utensil back to the plate of apples, Sakura hesitates as if wondering whether she should do the same for the boy on her right side.
And Sasuke wonders about it too. Wonders if she'd want to do the same for him after everything that he's done to her.
Slowly, she does, however.
And Sasuke is, once again, taken aback by her forgiving nature.
Her voice is weak, but hopeful. "Sasuke-kun, want some?"
His lips part, but he's not sure about how to respond. As always, his words seem to fail him.
So instead, he shifts forward ever so slightly to pull the apple piece off the fork with his teeth.
Sakura, clearly having not expected this, stares at him, dumbfounded, with a light blush painting her cheeks.
Feeling his own face heating up slightly at her as per usual, excessive reaction to his gestures, Sasuke looks away, silently chewing the piece in his mouth, hoping that Naruto would loudly interject, asking for more.
On the contrary, the blonde boy watches them carefully, a fond smile playing on his lips.
At night, she's back.
This time, Naruto is seemingly asleep, so Sasuke pretends to be as well.
The sound of footsteps stop at the gap between both of their beds, as if Sakura's ensuring that the two of them are well and sleeping soundly.
"Goodnight, Naruto, Sasuke-kun," she whispers softly and Sasuke can feel a silent breath of contentment leaving his lips.
He hears rustling as Sakura finally pulls her chair out beside their beds, and he wonders if she's not planning on returning home.
It's then that he feels a soft dip on the side of his mattress.
He freezes rigidly, then attempts to continue his sleeping facade. He can feel her warmth resonating to him through the connecting sheets.
He's not sure about how long it takes. Seconds? Minutes? An hour? But he can hear her soft and even breathing, signalling to him that she's fallen asleep.
"She's done this every night we've been here, y'know."
Naruto's unexpected voice almost makes him flinch as if he'd just been interrupted during an extremely intimate moment between the two of them.
Sasuke lifts his eyelids to meet Naruto's hard gaze: the one that he wears whenever he attempts to scold Sasuke, or the one that he wears whenever he reiterates that the two of them are friends.
Sasuke stares back at him evenly, "you're supposed to be asleep."
"Well, so are you!" Naruto laughs, but immediately clamps his mouth shut when Sakura shifts slightly in her sleep. Sasuke freezes, but seeing as the girl doesn't wake up, he relaxes again.
He wonders why she continues to exert herself for his sake. Even now, she's straining her back to sleep on his bedside, rather than sleeping soundly in a comfortable bed, just so that she's immediately there to help him whenever he needs her.
He wonders why she loves him to this extent.
'The only time you need a reason is to hate someone, Sasuke.' Kakashi's words echo through his mind.
But Naruto answers his internal questions anyway.
"It's because she still cares-ttebayo." His voice is serious now, traces of laughter have faded away. "She always has."
'I know,' Sasuke thinks painfully. But he doesn't know what he's supposed to do. What he can do to even begin to repent for all of the pain that he's inflicted, not only on Sakura, but everybody else who's cared for him.
At least with Naruto, they could exchange a couple of blows and all inner turmoil would have been effectively communicated and dissipated. But everybody else needs words to understand. Things that they deserve to hear from him. Things that he doesn't yet know how to put into words.
Instead, he hears ruffling from the bed opposite him.
Lifting his eyes from Sakura, he sees Naruto turning around in bed so that his back is currently facing him. It's as if he's finished a job and is now contentedly giving his closest friends privacy of their own.
Sasuke's brow knits together and a frown tugs at his lips as he stares at the blonde's back. However, a soft sigh from Sakura has him forgetting to argue at Naruto and instead watching the sleeping girl's face once more.
There are two loose strands of pink hair that have fallen over her bangs and are lightly touching her nose.
Sasuke's fingers move on reflex, as they always do, however his thoughts interfere and halt him from clearing her face of the strands.
He wonders if he's allowed to touch her. With these fingers that he's committed so much crime with.
The glum look has returned, his eyes lid once more as he pulls his hand back down to his side. Sasuke stares helplessly at the two loose strands before turning his head away and tightly shutting his eyes to force sleep.
She's gone by the time that they wake up the next day.
Tsunade appears in their hospital room, a day or so later. It's nearly in the evening, which is signalled by the sun that is slowly making its way down into view from their windows.
"Hey hey, Tsunade-baa-chan, how long have Sasuke and I been cramped in here for? It feels like it's been ages!" Naruto complains.
Tsunade, however, apparently not in the mood for his childishness, curtly responds, "it's been just over a week now." She then sets her gaze on Naruto in particular, "but that's not what I'm here to talk to you about."
Naruto blinks at her in surprise while Sakura looks down sadly and Sasuke wonders about what it is that she and Tsunade know that he and Naruto do not.
"... As it's been a while since we've all returned, people have already settled back into their homes, yet... the wounds in our souls that were inflicted by the war still remain. As such, there is to be a mass funeral held later today."
Naruto's face is immediately solemn. "... I see..."
Tsunade faces the three of them in the room. "If you wish to attend, I've left some black clothing in the room to your right." And without further comment, she exits the room, leaving a thick silence hanging in the air, neither of the three moving a muscle.
Then, Naruto peels himself off of his bed, his typically cerulean eyes appearing a shade or so duller: still emotional, but more subdued than usual.
He reaches the door before nudging his head back to look at his equally injured counterpart.
"Sasuke, you come too."
And with that, he leaves, medical patches still attached to his bruised face.
Sasuke still remains in his bed, however, staring out at the window.
After carefully watching the boy for a short while, Sakura probes, "Sasuke-kun?"
It's after a pause that he responds quietly.
"I'm not going," he says, eyes glued to the blood red on the horizon that signals that it's sunset now. "My appearance there would make people... uncomfortable."
His final word is carefully chosen and is so largely euphemistic - so unlike Sasuke - that Sakura immediately catches his train of thought.
Rather than praying, people may instead end up throwing fists and screaming at him in their grief.
She understands, so she doesn't press the issue any further, but the sad expression doesn't leave her face.
"... What about you? Aren't you going?" Sasuke's eyes are trained on her now, and they appear larger than she remembers.
Composing herself, Sakura gives him a weak smile. "There are still injured ninja in these hospitals. I have to stay... for their sakes. I have to save at least them, for the sakes of those whom I couldn't then..."
The sinking feeling is back in the pit of her stomach - the feeling of uselessness - and she looks down at the ground, lest she begins to cry in front of him again.
Sasuke's brow furrows. "There were thousands of ninja in that war. You couldn't possibly have saved all of them."
His words have logic and reasoning behind them, but they aren't what she feels that she needs to hear right now.
Still, she bitterly swallows her pain and forces a smile. "Yeah, I suppose so."
Then, she exits the room quickly before he can get another word in.
He feels that his words have failed him yet again.
Near the hospital entrance, Sakura finds Tsunade and Kakashi conversing in hushed voices and she strains her ears to catch what they utter.
"Uchiha Itachi is considered a hero, as it is now. He deserves a proper memorial," Tsunade tells him.
"I understand that. But... at this point in time, I don't think he's completely ready for the village to see that yet. He needs time." Kakashi reasons.
Neither of them speak for a moment. Then finally, Tsunade sighs. "Very well, I leave this matter to you, Kakashi. Also, take Uchiha down to the compounds sometime. Have him know that we're doing our best to maintain his rights to the section."
Kakashi bows his head to her. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
There's a moment of silence between them before Tsunade speaks up once more, her tone, serious. "Did you think over what I asked of you?"
Kakashi falls silent. "... yes."
"And?"
"... I'll do it."
Tsunade nods as if having received the answer that she had wanted. "Come to the Hokage office after the funeral. We'll commence your training."
"Understood."
The two separate paths from there and that's the end of their exchange.
Sakura watches the two leave, trying to pull apart the extracts of their conversation that she'd overheard.
Later at night when Sakura returns, she finds Naruto seated on the edge of his bed, facing Sasuke. The two boys' eyebrows have been scrunched up together, and their frowns, set in a clenched line, mirror each other's.
Sakura notices every small detail immediately. They've been arguing.
She wonders if Sasuke's, once again, said something that's borderline-cruel, but is shocked to find that that's not the case here.
She attempts to calm the two before things spin out of control. "H-Hey, what do you two think you're-"
"Naruto," Sasuke's glare is hard and fixated on the boy, "you told me that your dream is for all shinobi to work together. What's the point of it all if you just give up now?!"
Naruto's clenches his teeth. "I'm not giving up!"
Sasuke's eyes flash, "it sure sounds like you are!"
Naruto looks as if he's about to argue, but Sasuke's words seemingly settle into him and the boy slumps forward in defeat.
"I... I'm not giving up... I just... don't know what I'm supposed to do either..."
"... Naruto..." Sakura murmurs sadly at the boy's newly expressed vulnerability.
"... Naruto," Sasuke speaks up, this time, his voice is much calmer, "peace is extremely difficult to obtain - something that we've already discovered. But you've still managed to bring it about. Despite that, this peace is fragile, so it's even more difficult to maintain. The war may be over and everyone is still recovering from its aftermath, but sooner or later, someone's going to start up something again and the cycle of hatred may once again be at risk of starting."
Naruto remains silent at the Uchiha's words and Sakura wonders where he's going with this.
"But," Sasuke continues, "you managed to not give up on even me... You managed to save me - to make me believe in that impossible dream of yours." Sasuke smirks lightly and Naruto raises his head to look up at him. "So you'll undoubtedly be capable of moving the rest of the shinobi world into the cooperation that you wished for."
Sakura feels the tension in the air rapidly dispersing and she feels incredibly lighter than she'd ever felt before. Her eyes soften as if she's looking at the Uchiha for the first time.
It's Naruto who voices her thoughts... sort of.
"... Sasuke... you've somehow... changed..." Naruto's eyes are shining for a moment before he contorts his face into a teasing look, "it's creepy."
An eyebrow visibly twitches on Sasuke's forehead, "oi-"
Naruto cuts him off with an unmistakably genuine and grateful smile. "Thanks-ttebayo!"
Sasuke appears mildly surprised and his gaze flicks over to Sakura before immediately lowering itself to the side.
"... Shut up... Loser."
Sakura can feel tears prick up in her eyes and she can't stop herself from running up in between their beds and pulling the two boys up in her tight embrace.
"O-Oi...!" Sasuke lets out in surprise but he doesn't make any movement to pull her off of him.
Naruto smiles against Sakura's arm and he too, wraps his single left arm around the three of them, letting out a few laughs.
"Don't be shy! Enjoy the moment, Sasuke!"
"Who's being shy, Stupid?!" Sasuke yells out, indignantly.
Against the night sky, the three break into further laughter and chuckles that can be heard from the outside of their closed hospital room door.
Kakashi stands behind it, smiling brightly himself.
"They'll be alright."
By the next morning, the three have easily slipped back into their boring hospital lives.
That is, until their former teacher makes an appearance for the first time in a while.
He eyes both Naruto and Sasuke. "Well, aren't you two recovering splendidly."
Sasuke gives him a tired look while Naruto greets the man with a grin. Sakura rises from her seat in acknowledgement.
Taking in Sasuke's expectedly bored expression, Kakashi gives a smile through his mask, as if to tease, his eyes crinkling together.
"Unfortunately, the bad news is that you two aren't wholly recovered yet, so you're still expected to stay here for a little while longer," to which both Sasuke and Naruto verbally grumble, and to which Sakura sweatdrops. "But the good news is," Kakashi continues, ignoring their protests, "Tsunade-sama just gave the 'OK' for a little outing."
"Eh?" Sakura lets out in surprise. "Tsunade-sama did?"
Naruto's face brightens up immensely. "Yoshaaa! That's awesome-ttebayo!"
Even Sasuke's face visibly relaxes at this statement, and Kakashi concludes that being left in such a plain place for such a while had only made the boys even more eager for a change in scenery.
"Sakura," he directs his attention to the girl sitting between the two beds. "You're coming too."
"Eh?" Sakura blinks in surprise once more, "but I still have my shift..."
Kakashi smiles again, "I got the 'OK' for that to be passed onto someone else too."
Sakura's face then brightens up akin to Naruto's.
"Then what're we waiting for?! Let's get out of this place-ttebayo!" Naruto exclaims, wincingly jumping out of bed, trying to ignore the more stubborn injuries on his body.
"Hn," Sasuke agrees, attempting to slip out of his own bed coolly, but he ends up appearing just as eager as Naruto, evoking a small giggle from Sakura.
Sasuke almost freezes in his movement. Though he doesn't look over at the girl, it's the first time that he's hearing her laugh at something that he did - rather than Naruto - since who-knows-how-long ago. Probably since their childhood. The sound floods him with a bittersweet feeling that is warm nonetheless, but still somewhat guilt-ridden.
Sakura, however, doesn't seem to notice any of this.
"So, where are we headed, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura questions.
"Hmm," the jonin teasingly ponders aloud.
Naruto grumbles. "Where? Where?" he asks eagerly.
Kakashi puts his hand into his pocket, then pulls out an all-too-familiar object.
"The bell test?" Sakura and Naruto respond simultaneously. Sasuke blinks in recognition.
"We've already passed that, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto complains.
"Not all of you have," he states, eyeing Sasuke. "And besides, that last time was with cheap tactics," Kakashi brushes off. "Come at me for real this time. As Team 7."
"Hm," Sasuke lets out a small hum that sounds vaguely amused.
Naruto speaks his thoughts, chuckling, "sounds interesting," he clenches his sole fist in excitement.
The four of them are exiting the hospital building at this point, attempting to ignore all of the blatant stares that are directed towards the infamous team. Well, Kakashi and Sasuke pretend that the other civilians don't exist, while Sakura shifts awkwardly on the side. Naruto, on the other hand, grins embarrassedly and even waves, at times.
"But," Kakashi drawls, before the three get carried away in their excitement, "a few rules: no ninjutsu-"
"Ehhh?!" Naruto whines.
"That's a given, Naruto. You and Sasuke are still recovering. You're not supposed to exert yourself. It defeats the purpose," Kakashi tells him with finality.
"Plus..." Sakura adds on, "we wouldn't want the village to be completely decimated by the massive scale of yours and Sasuke-kun's attacks."
Sasuke and Naruto both stare at her with raised eyebrows.
Naruto points a finger at her accusingly. "Then in that case, the one who should be handicapped the most, is Sakura-chan, right? I mean, she's the one who causes the most damage, anyway."
"Huhh?!" Sakura exclaims indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean, Idiot?!" she whacks Naruto over the head for good measure and he exaggeratedly clutches his scalp.
Kakashi sighs, "though, Naruto has a point, Sakura. Try to hold back a little, okay?"
"Even you, Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura grumbles, and Sasuke watches the scene before him with a brief sense of nostalgia. "You're just worried that you'll get too injured in the process, aren't you?" she complains.
They're at the training grounds now.
"... Well, in any case, remember the rules? I won't go easy on you this time," Kakashi tells them. 'It'll probably be difficult on me the most though... what, without the Sharingan...' he thinks, but he brushes the thought off because there's no use in thinking about it anymore.
"Ha! You don't need to tell us twice, Sensei!" Naruto grins. "Let's do this, Sakura-chan, Sasuke!"
"Yes!" Sakura punches a fist into her other hand.
"Yeah," Sasuke can't help the tiny smile tugging at the ends of his lips.
Using only taijutsu to attack is quite fun too, Naruto decides.
The four of them had been going at it for quite some time now, and it had been made rather clear that the former students were enjoying the sparring side of their outing more than the actual motive of collecting the bells. Sakura and Kakashi, however, attempt to keep the boys on track with the goal of the spar.
Kakashi suddenly appears behind Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke immediately take off to corner their former teacher before Naruto is taken out instead.
However, Kakashi moves at a speed that they don't think that they've ever seen him move at before. His hands form a sign, which Sasuke immediately recognises as the Tiger seal.
His right arm grabs onto Sakura's forearm as he pulls her back in retreat.
"Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke simply alertly watches Kakashi moving stealthily towards Naruto at his extremely fast speed.
Whilst the jutsu appears to be dangerous, Sasuke expects Naruto to be able to handle it by himself.
Unfortunately, the blonde doesn't react in time and Kakashi's jutsu reaches completion - digging his hand sign into Naruto's backside.
"A thousand years of death!"
Naruto flies forward in shock and pain as Sakura stares dumbfoundedly.
Somethings, apparently, never change.
Or perhaps, they do.
Naruto's form bursts into a cloud of smoke - a kagebunshin.
Three other kagebunshin are heard laughing loudly from behind Kakashi, "I was completely prepared for that-ttebayo!"
Whilst Naruto makes himself sound impressive, Sakura cannot help but facepalm at the stupidity of the entire situation.
The two of them then hear a whisper from the bushes behind them.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, Sasuke! Come here-ttebayo!"
Sakura's eyebrow twitches.
Sasuke grumbles, "what is that loser doing?"
They proceed into the bushes nonetheless, despite both of them being certain that Kakashi knows of them doing so.
"What?" Sasuke questions.
"Hey hey, let's try that jutsu! It's bound to work against Kakashi-sensei!"
"That jutsu?" Sakura blinks.
Sasuke sighs.
"You know!" Naruto grins, "the Harem Jutsu!"
Sakura's eyebrow is twitching once more.
As if adding more fuel to the fire, Naruto continues, pleased. "Plus! If we get Sakura-chan to join in, that pervert, Kakashi-sensei, will definitely be surprised! Right, Sasuke-"
It's not one, but two punches on the head that Naruto receives.
"You perv!" Sakura screeches.
Crying out in pain, the boy grabs the injured spots. "What-ttebayo?! And why did even you hit me, Sasuke?!"
Sasuke scowls. "Because you're an idiot."
Naruto moves his mouth to retort but Kakashi's voice cuts through the air clearly. "Are you guys done bickering yet?"
As if having waited on cue, the blonde boy immediately summons two kagebunshin, simultaneously cornering Kakashi. Sakura lightly pounds her fist to the ground, creating a slight tremor, before Sasuke bolts in, grabbing Kakashi's ankle too quickly for the jonin to react. The Uchiha pulls his teacher through the ground that had been internally broken with Sakura's punch earlier, making it easy for Sasuke to accomplish his goal.
By the end of it, Kakashi is left staring up at his three students. A head is all that can be seen by outsiders as the rest of his body remains planted underground. His position mirrors Sasuke's in his first attempt at the bell challenge years ago. As such, the Uchiha smirks down at Kakashi in superiority.
Kakashi sighs, "you know... in this position, you can't take the bells away from me either."
"We already did," Sakura grins in triumph and Sasuke looks at Naruto expectantly.
The blonde lifts up two rusted bells, a foxy grin on his face.
"... fine," Kakashi surrenders. Although, his form in the ground disappears with a 'poof'. "You're not the only one who can create kagebunshins, Naruto."
Naruto gasps in astonishment at his former teacher. "Eh-"
"But," Kakashi cuts him off, "I've used up quite a bit of my chakra, so let's end it here, okay?"
"... Even though Kakashi-sensei turned out to be a kagebunshin, the bells didn't disappear..." Sakura points out, staring at the objects that Naruto is still holding.
Kakashi's eyes crinkle fully as he smiles broadly. "Well I guess that means you've passed. Congratulations, you three."
Naruto chuckles, proud of himself. "Hehehe, it was nothing, Sensei!"
"Oi, Naruto," Sasuke stares at him, "you shouldn't be the one holding those two bells. You didn't even do anything."
"Huh?!" Naruto yells, "how dare you, Bastard?! I'm the one who grabbed them!"
Sasuke's brows furrow further, "Sakura and I are the ones who created the opening for you to! So we're the ones who should have them!"
Kakashi sweatdrops, "and here I thought they'd finally learnt teamwork."
Sakura giggles beside him. "They're the best just like this though."
In the distance, Sasuke and Naruto continue to bicker.
"Loser!"
"Bastard!"
It's sunset by the time that they eat a relatively healthy lunch together and set off again.
"Sakura, I heard Tsunade-sama wanted you to be back with Naruto for a special checkup or something. I think you two should get going soon, or she'll have my head on a platter," Kakashi smiles apologetically.
Sakura blinks in surprise. "Oh I see," then she turns to Naruto, "let's go."
Naruto eyes Kakashi suspiciously, "oi... but what about Sasuk-"
Sakura's already dragging him away before he can finish.
Sasuke watches Kakashi carefully as his former teacher places a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke, come with me."
The boy follows the jonin's lead because he can barely remember the roads and pathways in this area of the village. However, the place at which they end up is all too familiar to Sasuke. A sacred, yet scarring place.
The Uchiha crests remain painted on the walls in faded red and white.
The Uchiha compound.
More or less.
The buildings appear much worse for wear than he remembered them being - some areas having been destroyed and having caved in on themselves.
Sasuke's silent for longer than a moment. Then, he quietly asks, his voice not betraying any emotion, "for what purpose did you bring me here, Kakashi?"
Kakashi studies him quietly. "Tsunade-sama thought that it'd be good to bring you here. To let you know that we're doing everything in our power to ensure that the Uchiha estate continues to belong under your name."
"... I don't want it," Sasuke tells him, troubled.
"Maybe not right now," Kakashi begins slowly, "but you may want it in the future."
Sasuke blinks up at Kakashi at that.
'The future.'
"If you ever change your mind, I want you to have a place of your own to return to. And this is, after all, your childhood home," the jonin explains.
'Home,' Sasuke thinks of the word that has held such little meaning to him for such a long portion of his life.
However, he seemingly accepts Kakashi's reasoning as he proceeds to glance around the area.
'... He really is trying to give life a second chance...' Kakashi thinks, a feeling of pride welling up inside of him.
"Why are so many buildings destroyed?" He hadn't particularly paid the details of the Uchiha compounds too much attention during his brief visit to summon the hokages at the time of the war.
"Ah, that was... when Pein invaded Konoha. Almost the entire village was destroyed."
Sasuke's fallen silent once more, probably rearranging his thoughts and understandings. "... I see."
He then unexpectedly takes a few nostalgic steps towards the estate - his previous home.
"Sasuke?"
"... There are a few things that I want to check first."
Kakashi watches his former student's retreating back. "I see. I'll wait here."
"Aa."
Typically, Sasuke would demand that Kakashi leaves him alone. Today, for whatever reason, however, feels different.
His house is just as he left it - save for the accumulated mass of dust - and in comparison to the other estates within the Uchiha compound, his house is not nearly as demolished. He navigates himself to his childhood bedroom purely through muscle-memory.
Standing alone in the silent room, his gaze falls on a single photo frame that remains face down on his desk.
His copy of their Team 7 photograph.
Pulling it closer to his face, his eyes carefully fall upon every detail of the photo: Kakashi's expression appearing as if Sasuke and Naruto's petty rivalry was simply too much for him to handle; Sasuke's own younger, slightly irritated facial expression; Naruto's face set into a deep scowl that's directed right at Sasuke, reminiscent of their bickering just seconds before the photo had been taken; finally, Sakura's sweet smile between them, tying the team together to look like a family.
'Family...' Sasuke mulls, '... there's no reason to push these people away anymore.'
With that, he slips the photo into his pocket for safekeeping before exiting the space and into another room in which he recalls spending the majority of his earliest memories in.
Itachi's room is simplistic and appears even dustier than his own, most probably due to the fact that Sasuke had despised the man so much that he had rarely ever set foot in there since the massacre.
In the few instances in which he did, they were for a sole purpose: to strengthen his resolve to kill the man himself, with every one of Itachi's previous possessions striking an angry nerve within Sasuke, fuelling his desire for vengeance.
Now, however, standing here after experiencing so much since then, Sasuke feels as if he's seeing everything for the first time. With fully open eyes, rather than with foggy vision, clouded by hatred.
He begins to notice things that he doesn't ever recall noticing before. Itachi's pillow that, rather than being left in the centre where one would normally sleep, has instead been placed off to the side of the bed, closest to the door, as if welcoming Sasuke to enter and sleep with him whenever he so pleased. A couple of Sasuke's old toys have been neatly arranged in the corner of the room as well. And finally, he notices the edge of a photograph, peaking out from the back of a drawer.
Sasuke moves to pull the photograph out and is stared back at by an image of his younger self beaming up at an affectionately smiling Itachi.
It feels as if a tidal wave of emotions has just hit him.
Sasuke's right hand grips the photo tremblingly as he chews down on his bottom lip in an attempt to soothe his inner hurt. "... Nii-san..."
He doesn't know how long he stands there, photograph in hand, but he stays until he feels that he's regained some of his usual composure. He carefully places the photo into his pocket, together with his Team 7 one.
It's only once he's out of the Uchiha compound and walking back to the hospital with Kakashi, that he realises. His hatred has been blinding him from so many aspects of reality.
'Perhaps,' Sasuke thinks, 'if I were to look at the world around me now, I would see something beyond its cruelty.'
And, as if bits of him were slowly piecing themselves back together, he's discovered a new resolve.
Kakashi takes his leave from the hospital entrance, so Sasuke is left to return to his and Naruto's room by himself.
Inside, he finds Naruto already asleep: probably tired from their training outing earlier in the day. However, he finds Sakura sitting in her usual seat between the two beds, scribbling a couple of notes into a small book.
She looks up at the sound of his entrance. "Ah, Sasuke-kun, you're back," she smiles.
"Aa," he responds.
He makes his way to his bed, but doesn't feel like climbing back into it. Instead, he settles for sitting on the edge, facing Naruto's bed and Sakura. He's placed a careful distance between himself and the girl, however.
"You don't feel like sleeping yet?"
"Hn." His eyes drift over to Naruto's sleeping form and Sakura's eyes follow his gaze.
"Seriously... he was out like a light, that Naruto," Sakura grumbles, albeit affectionately. "Sasuke-kun," she redirects his attention. "Since you're still up, mind if I redress your wounds?"
Sasuke doesn't answer, but he shifts closer to her for easier access. As Sakura's fingers expertly touch the stump that his left arm used to be, he mutters a quiet "sorry about this."
Sakura blinks, then smiles at him brightly, "it's fine! It's my job, anyway!" She then pauses abruptly, as if reconsidering her previous sentence. She's then quick to jump to conclusions. "Oh! Not to say that I wouldn't do it even if I didn't work as a medic! I didn't mean-"
"Pff," the short sound that escapes Sasuke's lips is unbelievably quiet but has no way of going unnoticed by the pink haired female.
"Ah...!" she gasps but no further words come out. Instead, her face reddens, and with effort, she brings her attention back to unwrapping the bandages on his stump.
Her blush had somewhat irked Sasuke in the past as he had often wondered how a ninja, like Sakura, could go around reacting so innocently to every little gesture by another person. But now, none of that irritation is felt. Instead, he's filled with a feeling of satisfaction and contentment, that she still is capable of reacting so innocently to him.
He doesn't realise that he's been staring at her for quite sometime because when Sakura's professional tone rings through the air to him, he almost flinches.
"Take off your shirt for me, Sasuke-kun."
"Hm?" Apparently, she had already replaced his bandages with new ones.
"Ah...!" Sakura gasps again, the blush returning. She hastily waves her hands in front of her, as if in defence. "I- I mean... I need to check up on the injuries in your chest and abdomen areas!"
"Okay," he answers simply, wondering what she is so flustered over. He then proceeds to pull the hem of his shirt up using his right hand. Using that hand to pull the sleeve off of his stump feels easy enough. Unfortunately, navigating his right arm through its shirt sleeve proves to be much more of a challenge.
Having struggled for a while, he notes that Sakura's given him his personal space to at least attempt the task, before gently placing her fingers on the material over his right bicep and softly tugging the sleeve off, allowing him to pull the arm out. She makes it feel as if it were a combined effort, rather than him pathetically receiving her assistance, but he can't help but be reminded of his mother.
His gaze meets hers, as they always seem to gravitate towards each other, like magnets.
She then moves her eyes to examine his chest area, fingers lightly gliding along a few bandaged spots. As she dips her head to look closer, his eyes float to look at the diamond-shaped Byakugou seal that is peaking out from the sparsely-arranged pink bangs on her forehead.
He recalls the insurmountable damage that a single punch from her, with the enhancement of that seal, had caused during the war. He recalls the dark chakra bindings that covered her body as she and Obito searched for him in the sand dimension. He recalls the tired, but undeniably intense emotions that her gaze held as she stared up at him from her supported position against his chest.
He wonders about the other consequences that such a formidable technique holds.
She's midway through bandaging his midsection when he voices his internal question.
Sakura looks up at him in surprise, then appears contemplative. "Not any that have been discovered, I think. I recall Shishou telling me that usually, using the seal drains its user of their regular chakra reserves. So, in my case, I would be too unstable to heal anyone if I were to release the seal."
"But you did," Sasuke says, recalling Katsuyu being dispersed to heal shinobi on the battlefield.
"... I suppose that may have been luck."
"... No," he tells her. "That was your own strength." He wholeheartedly knows it.
Sakura's emerald eyes stare into his mismatched ones again. They then crinkle in the corners as she smiles at him gratefully.
"Well, I suppose another minor side effect is that this seal will remain on my forehead forever. But that just means that I can access it much more easily. I can also use it to make myself look more youthful when I'm old like Tsunade-sama," she grins cheekily, obviously lightheartedly kidding.
Sasuke's gaze on her softens, only for Sakura to yank the new bandages tightly against his frame, evoking a pained groan from him.
"Ah! I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun! It must hurt, but at least that's the end of it, right?"
"Hn," he grunts. She then passes him a new shirt from his bedside.
'Thank you,' he thinks, but can't voice it.
He recalls Naruto telling him that she comes to sleep by him every night. 'Thank you for that too.'
As everything that he's grateful to her for continuously mounts up in his head, he wonders how he could possibly thank her enough to properly cover for all of those times.
He takes the shirt from her and tries to put it on all by himself this time.
He pulls the shirt over his head and awkwardly squeezes his stump through a sleeve. Then, he tugs the shirt's left hem down. He, once again, struggles a bit with his right arm, so Sakura moves to help him. However, Sasuke glances at her, silently telling her that he wants to do this by himself. She understands, as always, and gives in with a smile.
He pulls his right forearm underneath the shirt and then wriggles his upper body so that his right hand is positioned at the sleeve. Then, as Sakura had done for him earlier, it's a matter of him outstretching his right arm all the way through the sleeve until his hand finally peaks out from the other side.
Staring down at his handiwork, he can't help but feel rather pleased with himself. It must've shown on his face, because Sakura bursts into giggles right after.
He looks back up at her, pouting slightly, though, the warm feeling is back in his stomach.
"S-Sorry, Sasuke-kun," she lets out, not looking too apologetic. "It's just... you looked like a little kid!" she giggles.
Sasuke's lips tug farther down at that.
She suddenly gasps once she looks over at the clock on the wall. "Ah! It's already 12:00 a.m! I won't keep you up any longer, Sasuke-kun! You should get some rest."
Sasuke's eyes follow her as she stands to grasp a thin bed sheet to cover him with, as if she's about to tuck him into bed like a child. Her presence feels soothing, so, rather than protesting against her, he allows her to baby him just this once.
He's expecting her to sit back down in her chair and fall asleep next to him as per usual. However, when she grabs her pen and notebook, he blinks at her in surprise and with a hint of disappointment, which he ponders on for a moment.
"You're leaving?"
Sakura looks back at him, eyes slightly wide - perhaps at his tone, although, even he doesn't know how he sounded.
"... Yeah," she tells him, somewhat remorsefully. "I have to check up on the other patients here once more before my shift ends."
He doesn't say anything, simply watching her reach the sliding door.
'Stay,' he tells her in his mind, but it obviously doesn't come out verbally as Sakura pushes the door to the side and whispers a "goodnight" to him before sliding it shut behind her.
He wonders if she's planning to come back later. However, he doesn't find out as his eyelids are drooping on him and soon enough, he's fast asleep too.
Soft imagery of Itachi, his father and his mother fade in and out of his otherwise, dreamless sleep.
Approximately a week passes by and it's clear that both Sasuke and Naruto have recovered well enough to be discharged from the hospital.
Tsunade is the one who enters their hospital room to deliver the news.
Naruto jumps up in bed excitedly. "Are you being serious, Tsunade-baa-chan?!"
Although her eyebrow twitches slightly at the honorific that makes a jab at her age, Tsunade nods. "However - although I'm sure that Sakura and Kakashi have reiterated it to you two many times - don't exert yourselves too soon. You're only fit to be discharged from hospital, not to go crazy."
Naruto's grinning too hard to be listening, chanting "ramen! I can finally have ramen!" as he rocks back and forth in his bed with his legs crossed.
"Hey, Sasuke! Let's go out for ramen now!" he calls over to the boy in the bed adjacent to him.
Sasuke gives him a blank stare.
Before Naruto can retort to the bored look, Tsunade speaks over him in a strict tone. "Actually, Naruto, Uchiha is to accompany me someplace, so you can go by yourself."
"Ehh?" Naruto grumbles before slipping out of bed. "You'd better come join me afterwards, Sasuke," he tells the Uchiha before exiting the room, saying something along the lines of "I wonder if I can get Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei to come with me too!"
The atmosphere in the hospital room suddenly feels much more tense, now that Naruto's lighthearted exterior is gone.
"Uchiha," Tsunade speaks using the same strict tone, "come with me."
And he does. To the Hokage office.
Inside, he finds Kakashi standing to the side.
Sasuke blinks, gears turning in his head.
"Sasuke," Kakashi addresses him, tone serious. "The war may be over, however, you're still a renowned criminal..." He pauses as if he's in a state of internal conflict. "... We will be doing whatever we can to argue for your freedom. And although Naruto has still yet to hear about any of this, I'm sure that he'll definitely have something to say about it once he finds out. But, until then..."
Sasuke looks at him directly in the eye. "I understand. I'll accept any punishment."
Kakashi stares back at him with a hint of remorse in his eyes, but tells Sasuke to follow him anyway.
He's seated on a hard bench-type seat: one that he's been sitting on for nearly a day now. Whilst he's prevented from viewing his surroundings due to the powerful seal that's been placed over his eyes - possibly to detain his visual powers - he can hear.
Unfortunately, being capable of hearing doesn't assist him much as there is very little noise surrounding him, save for the light murmuring of the guards around the dungeon spaces.
Sasuke, as promised, had complacently allowed himself to be taken to this jail, and now, with nothing else to do, he's left alone with his mind to contemplate every past event in his memory.
That is, until Naruto's voice booms just a few metres away from his cell.
"You can't just detain him there! Let him out-ttebayo!" he can hear his friend demand, and Sasuke cannot help but feel a part of his heart soften. "Sasuke's changed! So he shouldn't be locked up in this dirty place!"
"We cannot allow you two to enter," one of the guards yell out.
'Two?' Sasuke ponders.
"Please be reasonable!" a familiar feminine voice is heard.
'Ah... Sakura.'
A bunch of bustling noises are heard as if Naruto and Sakura are attempting to shove past the guards without hurting them.
Naruto growls once more. "Oi! Let us through, you-"
"Naruto," another voice sounds from the entrance.
The bustling sound stops.
"Kakashi-sensei, this is wrong-ttebayo!"
There's a silence, heavy in the air, and Sasuke assumes that Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura are communicating through exchanged looks.
"Naruto, there is something that you can do, but it's not yelling out here like this."
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's voice resonates through the air once more.
"Calm down, you two. And follow me." With that, Sasuke can hear footsteps exiting the jail.
There's a silence once more before he hears feet running out, following the previous ones. Sasuke assumes that those footsteps belong to Naruto.
The silence returns again, before Sasuke hears a quiet and much saddened "... Sasuke-kun..." before Sakura too, exits the vicinity.
That night, he thinks over various things. He thinks that he doesn't deserve the precious friends that he currently has.
And he wonders, once again, what he can possibly do to feel worthy of them - to feel worthy of being alive. Suddenly, he remembers Itachi's bedroom again. He remembers seeing everything again as if it were for the first time...
... He's obtained his resolve. Now, he can only hope for his second chance.
His chance at redemption.
He sits in complete silence for approximately three days, he thinks, though he may have lost track of time. However, the sound of footsteps approaching his cell makes him perk up slightly.
"Sasuke," beckons the voice.
It's Kakashi.
Sasuke looks up at the sound of his name.
His fate has apparently been decided upon.
After being briefed about what had occurred during his detainment, and coming to terms with Kakashi's new instatement as the Hokage, Sasuke is met by Sakura and Naruto, who burst into the Hokage office excitedly.
"Sasuke!"
"Sasuke-kun!"
Although it couldn't have been too long since he's seen them last, Sasuke feels as if they've changed in appearance. Or perhaps he's only now taking notice of their subtle changes since the war.
Naruto looks livelier than ever; healthier. Sakura's hair falls down long enough to cover the Haruno clan symbol on her back.
Sasuke himself, finally being freed of the straitjacket that he'd been placed in, now dons a black cloak that Kakashi had provided for him.
Naruto immediately slings his sole arm over Sasuke's shoulders. "Seriously, you gave us such a hard time! We had to argue against those senile people of the council for days!"
Sasuke responds to Naruto's lack of consideration to his personal space by using his right hand to pull the blonde's ear from behind him. However, Naruto's grinning too hard to care, and Sakura's smiling at Sasuke in relief.
"Oh, I just remembered!" Naruto exclaims, then directs a lighthearted glare at Sasuke. "You bastard, you never ended up coming out for ramen with us! So we're going now!"
Kakashi smiles, but raises a hand in apology. "Sorry, but I'll have to pass on this. Hokage paperwork, and all." Then his face becomes serious. "But I must ask, Sasuke..." The Uchiha looks back at the speaker. "... what do you plan to do now?"
Naruto and Sakura also direct their attention to Sasuke in curiosity, to which Sasuke closes his eyes, as if reconfirming his resolve once more, before opening them to face his three precious comrades.
"I've decided to set out on a journey for a while. For redemption."
Sakura's eyes widen, "eh?"
However, Kakashi's and Naruto's gazes remain solid on Sasuke.
"... I thought so," Kakashi concedes.
"... When are you gonna leave?" Naruto questions.
"... As soon as I can."
Naruto's gaze falls. "... I see."
Sasuke peers at Sakura, who, surprisingly, had yet to comment. She looks as if she wants to say something but is unable to, possibly surrendering to the thought that nothing that she says can change his mind. He feels a tinge of guilt as he watches her, but he shakes his mind to clear any hesitation, as this is, after all, a journey to help him feel worthy of everything that he has in his life.
The heavy atmosphere in the office is cleared once Naruto, almost forcefully-cheerful, announces, "well, before you leave, you'll definitely have to come out with Sakura-chan and me!"
Sasuke eyes Sakura as she avoids his gaze and forces a weak smile of her own. "Sorry, Naruto, I ran straight here from the hospital. I have to get back to work."
And with that, she exits the office, her teammates' eyes trailing her.
Sasuke lowers his eyes in guilt. The thought of her crying or even being visibly upset, clenches his heart further.
Naruto looks at him with hard eyes, though, his gaze isn't reprimanding, but filled with a slightly saddened understanding.
"May as well get going then, Sasuke!" He pulls the Uchiha along with him to the door. "See ya, Kakashi-sensei!"
"Yeah," Kakashi replies. "Sasuke," he then calls out. "Come back to the Hokage office once you two are finished. I'll see you out."
Sasuke eyes Kakashi once more before nodding. "Aa."
They're walking outside together, and Sasuke thinks that the amount of attention that Naruto receives has increased indefinitely during his short stay in the prison cell. However, his fans appear wary of approaching their hero today, most probably due to Sasuke's intimidating presence beside him.
Naruto looks Sasuke up and down as they stroll.
"What?"
"Hmm, where'd you get your clothes from?" Naruto ponders.
"Kakashi had them for me," Sasuke answers. "He had my katana too," he moves his cloak aside to show off the blade strapped to his back. "But I don't have any other ninja weapons, so I'll need to stock up at Nekobaa's before leaving."
Naruto pauses for a while. "... So you really are... leaving."
Sasuke gives him a look. 'Don't try to stop me.'
Naruto sighs, but accepts Sasuke's decision nonetheless.
"Well then! You'll still have to keep in contact with us on your journey!" Naruto then gives him another hard look, "don't stay away for too long. It'll worry Sakura-chan."
Sasuke's heart clenches once more but he chooses to ignore the feeling. "And you?"
Naruto laughs, "well, if you do stay away for too long, I'll just get up and out of the village to drag your ass back home. I have a feeling that Sakura-chan might beat me to it though!"
Sasuke mulls it over for a while. "Sakura... seemed upset."
Naruto stares at him, "well of course she is, Stupid. We all are. But she's affected the most, and I'm sure you know why." Then, the blonde smiles, "but she'll come around. After all, she cares too much-ttebayo!"
Sasuke looks down. "... yeah." Then, he too feels as if a burden has been lifted off of him. "Loser."
It's dark by the time that they return to the Hokage office. Kakashi appears rather worn out, his eyes drooping even more than usual.
"Ah, Sasuke, Naruto, you're back."
Kakashi glances out the window. "Although I'm sure that you're eager to leave the village and start your journey, I ask that you at least stay tonight."
Sasuke's brow furrows together in question.
Kakashi, in turn, answers, "we believe that there are still plenty of rogue ninja hanging around. And letting you leave in the middle of the night is more likely to put you at risk of being ambushed."
Sasuke opens his mouth to argue but his former sensei cuts in once more.
"Although I'm sure that you could take care of yourself just fine, you should aim to keep a low profile, just until you become fully accustomed to your singular arm. On that note, if you do wish to have a left arm back, you could stay in the village for a while longer and-"
"I'm fine with this, Kakashi," Sasuke tells him, not feeling deserving of a replacement arm. Plus, he has bigger things on his mind.
Kakashi watches him carefully, then sighs. "Well, you'll still be staying in the village tonight, regardless."
Sasuke's brow furrows once more, conflicted between following Kakashi's order and his irritation at his plans being put on hold. But it's just for one night, so he gives in with a sigh.
Kakashi holds up a key. "I've rented an apartment out for you. It's to the left of the Hokage tower. Naruto, I'm sure you've seen it before."
Naruto tries to recall his directions, but to no avail.
Kakashi exhales. "I'm sure you'll find it."
Then, the two exit the building. A few steps outside, Sasuke hears Naruto loudly greet, "Ah! Sakura-chan!"
Sasuke looks ahead of him and indeed, the pink-haired female is standing there.
"Sasuke-kun... Naruto," she responds, equally surprised.
They move closer towards each other and Sakura's eyes are still on Sasuke. "You're still... here?"
Sasuke watches her carefully. Underneath her wide eyes, there's a hint of hopefulness.
"Kakashi insisted that I stay tonight and leave tomorrow."
Sakura visibly saddens at the mention of his departure, but perks up again anyway. "Where are you staying?"
"At an apartment block that Kakashi rented out." He wonders whether Kakashi had the gut-feeling that Sasuke didn't want to stay at the Uchiha compounds.
Naruto gasps as if he's just had a lightbulb moment. "Hey, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei mentioned that the apartment's meant to be on the left of this tower, but I dunno where it is. I don't think I've ever seen it before."
Sakura puts a hand on her face, "Idiot." She then points up at a small block to their left, "what do you think that is?"
Sasuke smirks lightly and the three walk over to the apartment together. Using the key that Kakashi handed to him, Sasuke opens the door, allowing Naruto and Sakura to enter as well.
The apartment is small but has enough space for one to live in.
Soon enough, his two teammates decide to take their leave, with Naruto saying, "see ya, Sasuke," with an air of finality.
Sakura lags behind slightly as Naruto waits for her. "Sasuke-kun," she calls, her voice, serious. "Please don't leave during the middle of the night. We want to see you off, okay?"
Sasuke looks somewhat taken aback. Then, memories of him leaving the village for the first time flash through his mind. The moonlight; Sakura keeping a lookout for him at the exit; Sakura's tears; her love.
"I won't," he tells her as she leaves, catching up to Naruto.
True to his words, Sasuke is still in the village as sunlight pours through the windows of the tiny living space.
He exits the apartment after fastening his katana against his back. Outside, he finds Sakura and a noticeable lack of Naruto. He wonders for how long she's been waiting for him.
"Sasuke-kun," she smiles at him brightly.
None of the uncertainty from last night is visible on her face. It's as if she's thinking: 'If Sasuke-kun still stayed here until now, then he'll surely be back from his journey too, without fail.'
"Where's Naruto?"
Sakura furrows her brows, "I'm not sure. I thought he'd be here too."
"I see," Sasuke replied, and they walk to the Hokage tower where Kakashi stands in wait.
"Good to see you finally listening to my requests, Sasuke," Kakashi smiles, his eyes crinkling in the corners once more.
Sasuke stares at him blankly, but hands back the apartment keys nonetheless.
The three of them reach the gates that lead out of Konoha.
Kakashi looks at Sasuke directly, Sakura beside him. "Well, to be completely honest with you, under normal circumstances, you'd be imprisoned for life. But the only reason you've been pardoned is due to your assistance in undoing the Infinite Tsukiyomi jutsu." He continues, his tone somewhat lighthearted. "Try not to forget, however, that all this is thanks to Naruto. I mean, he is the hero of this war and well... I also put in a good word for you, as the Sixth Hokage. So take it easy and don't go crazy on me again... It'll be my head they take this time."
Sasuke watches his former sensei, head bowing slightly. "Aa... sorry."
There's an elongated pause before Sakura speaks up. "... Do you really have to go already? Tsunade-sama's almost finished with making your prosthetic arm using Hashirama-sama's cells..."
His gaze focuses on her, and only her. Somehow, he feels that if anyone deserves to hear reasons for his actions, it's Sakura.
"I... I need to see it for myself. How the world looks. All those things I've overlooked... I have a feeling I'd be able to see them better now." He continues, "and if I miss this chance... I don't think another will come. Plus..." Sasuke's brows furrows slightly, "there are a few things that have been bothering me." He thinks of all of the loose ends that regard Kaguya.
Sakura looks helpless at his decision before nudging her head to the side, bangs flicking across her forehead and her eyes flitting downwards. "What if... I told you... that... I'd like... to come... too...?" She peaks up at him hopefully, a pretty blush dusting her cheeks.
Sasuke feels some more of the iciness in his heart melting, giving him insight into the many possibilities that the future may hold for him. Giving him insight into the pure existence of a bright future.
Nonetheless, he shuts his eyes in subtle apology. "This is my road to redemption. You have nothing to do with my sins."
Sakura slumps in rejection, "nothing... you say..."
'Don't make that face,' Sasuke thinks.
Kakashi glances over at her silently and Sasuke feels his insides fill, once again, with the warm feeling that he's become so accustomed to feeling around the girl. His feet move him towards her on their own and he does the one gesture that he's ever known to carry so many strong sentiments at the one time.
He pokes the diamond seal on her forehead gently, just as his brother had always done to him.
Sakura looks up at him with wide eyes. He smiles softly, with hints of affection that he's decided that he'd only ever show to her.
"Maybe next time."
And then, the moment between them feels much more intimate, but just as personal.
"... thank you."
Every sentiment he's ever felt that has gone uncommunicated to her, suddenly feels communicated.
Sakura's eyes widen: 'he remembers.'
Sasuke's fingers leave her forehead and he looks over at Kakashi, having nearly forgotten the man's accompanying presence. "I'll be back."
And with that, Sasuke Uchiha departs from the village gates, leaving Sakura and his former sensei watching his receding back.
As he continues along the path, he catches a glimpse of orange clothing.
"Huh... I didn't think you'd come..."
"Mm," Naruto jabs something towards him.
Sasuke stares down at his friend's hand and his gaze is met by an object that he'd thought was long lost.
"... You still kept... such a thing?"
Sasuke's mind flitters with flashbacks of his past, flowing in rapid succession. He reflects on Naruto saving him - to the point where he even lost an arm. He thinks of everybody who has given up their lives to make the living the embodiments of hope that they are today.
He thinks that that hope is what makes them ninjas.
Naruto gives him a solid smile and Sasuke shifts his right hand forward to take back what he had once left behind.
"Here, I'm returning this," Naruto tells him.
"... I'll hold onto this until... we really settle things between us," Sasuke replies.
His hand grasps the tattered Konoha forehead protector, scarred with the scratch through the village's symbol.
The smiles that reach both of the boys' faces are genuine and full of conviction.
There's hope for a bright future.
So this ended up being pretty long! Turns out that I had many more headcanons for Sasuke's short stay in Konoha than I'd originally thought.
This was predominantly told from Sasuke's point of view. I don't really know why, but I tend to just gravitate towards writing from the perspective of the more clueless person in a relationship.
Though, the point of view may change from Sasuke's to Sakura's as this story progresses, since Sasuke will probably soon become more in-tune with his feelings ^^
But that's for later ahah
Although you may have been disappointed with the lack of romance in this chapter, just keep in mind that Sasuke and Sakura are still trying to grow back to the point where they used to be and, in some ways, by the end of this chapter, they've crossed a few points that they had yet to reach in their genin days. Which makes sense, since the forehead poke is an extremely intimate gesture that Sasuke wouldn't do to just any teammate of his. And this is why I tried to incorporate some subtle romantic touches. (Sasuke should just keep thinking about that warm feeling in his stomach ;) ) As another side note, I'm a total sucker for slow-burn fics ;_;
I tried to incorporate a few hints from the Hiden novels. For example, Kakashi's growing insecurity of being the Hokage despite having lost his Sharingan, from Kakashi Hiden, and the reference in Akatsuki Hiden that Sakura's love for Sasuke is like the spring sunlight upon his frozen heart.
Also, in the Boruto novel, it's mentioned that there's a smile that Sasuke has that "he only shows to Sakura" ;) so whatever that means, I gave my small interpretation of it in his departure scene, and it'll definitely become a recurring factor in this fic.
Also, Japanese is such a pain in that a single phrase could have so many meanings and nuances behind it. Which is why I was conflicted about how to translate Sasuke's "mata kondo na", which, as Itachi used it, could mean 'maybe next time', but in Sasuke's case, it could also mean 'I'll see you when I'm back'. The Japanese phrase is just so vague .
Ultimately, I decided on 'maybe next time' against the more popular 'I'll see you when I'm back' ONLY BECAUSE I felt that he'd mirror his brother the first time, and then later, his forehead pokes' meanings would change subtly with each one. But that's just me. Though also, I felt that it would be awkward if he had tapped Sakura's forehead and just left straight after, with Kakashi just standing to the side, forgotten and ignored. So I felt that Sasuke's final word of acknowledgement and goodbye to his teacher could also be very Sasuke-like.
Also note that whenever Sasuke calls Naruto "Loser", what he's actually saying is the Japanese "Usuratonkachi": Sasuke's personalised and unique term of referral to Naruto. It's so special because it had been completely severed of its use since their genin days, right until their final battle. So I figured that now that Team 7 is growing back together, it's only fitting that Sasuke calls Naruto this more freely and more often, as if they're kids once again ^^
Hopefully you at least enjoyed reading this since I did put in quite some effort into making everything as canonical as possible.
So please let me know how you found the read in a review. I'd appreciate it immensely!
Next chapter should revolve around Sasuke's return, so look forward to that!
~ mata kondo na
(Perhaps in my case, this means 'until next time'. Once again pulling my hair out because Japanese is such a vague language)