Disclaimer: don't own, don't sue
Needing You
Everybody needs something. Everybody needs someone.
The sky was gray and the ground was wet. Rain fell from the skies. Despite this, Sakura could not have been more happy. Afterall, she had finally let Sasuke go.
She glanced at the six-year old picture sitting on her dresser.
'We took that picture so long ago…right after we found out who was on our genin team.'
Sasuke had been dragged back from Orochimaru, who had been destroyed in his moment of weakness. How ironic that the moment before he'd become a nearly unstoppable force, would be the moment he was most vulnerable.
"CHIDORI!"
It had been Kakashi-sensei to deal the final blow, ridding the world of Orochimaru.
Sakura folded her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she sat on the window ledge, calmed by the soft pitter-patter of the rain. She smiled softly as she felt a pair of strong arms envelope her and she breathed in the musky, spicy smell he gave off.
"What're you doing?"
Sakura closed her eyes, enjoying the sound of the deep voice, and she leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder, answering, "Nothing. Just watching the rain… But you don't like the rain, do you." The last comment was playful and the male gave a huff of mock annoyance.
"Hey! It's not my fault that damn fox gets all hissy when he gets wet!"
Sakura laughed and turned around, scooting away to make room for Naruto on the window ledge, and snuggling into his arms when he was comfortably seated. She gazed at his crystal blue eyes and her smile widened.
Naruto, catching the smile, smiled back and her in confusion, "What? Do I have something on my face? My teeth? My hair? My whiskers?" As he listed off each new thing, he brought one hand up to touch his face, he bared his teeth playfully, he patted his hair, and he poked his whiskers.
Sakura just laughed again and leaned up to kiss him gently on the cheek, "Nope. Just looking at you!"
She settled back into his arms and held her hand in front of her, staring at the pale emerald that sat on her left ring finger. Naruto had gotten it for her, forgoing the usual diamond (not that he couldn't afford it) for an emerald, saying that it reminded him of her eyes.
Naruto looked at it too and his gaze flickered back to Sakura worriedly, "Y-you like it right? You're happy?"
He had felt like the luckiest guy in the world when Sakura agreed to go out with him, even if it was just as friends, and he could barely believe it when she took the initiative and asked him out on their first date. He had thought that he'd lose her once he brought Sasuke back and it pained him to watch her dote on him in the hospital. That insecurity had never fully gone away.
-0-
Naruto closed his eyes, refusing to shed tears when he saw Sakura lean over and kiss Sasuke on the forehead. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out, berating himself for thinking she'd choose him over Sasuke, for thinking that she'd love a monster like him over cool, talented Sasuke.
'But he doesn't deserve her! Sakura deserves better!'
Shame over came him for thinking so lowly of the first friend he had ever had and he quickly walked off, out of the hospital and through the slush that had developed at the coming of spring.
Naruto needed her…needed someone to comfort him when he got back from his missions and when the Kyuubi's memories came rushing back in the form of nightmares. He needed someone to tell him that things were alright and that they would be there for him. He needed something to keep him from breaking.
His ears perked up as he heard footsteps behind him and Sakura's sweet scent permeated his senses. Naruto waited for the nervous stuttering that she'd go through to tell him she wanted to break up, and maybe even for the tears which he didn't want to come.
'As long as she's happy…'
He turned around and looked at her shining face.
"Naruto! Where're you going! You're going to get a cold, dressed like that!" she scolded as she wrapped her arms around his waist and led him back to the hospital. Naruto blinked, confused.
"B-but Sakura-chan…Sasuke's back…"
Sakura wrinkled her brow and tilted her head as she looked up at Naruto, obviously not understanding the meaning of his words, "So?"
So she didn't want to break up with him? "But y-you kissed him…I just thought tha—" he was quickly cut off by a soft kiss from Sakura. "I'm not going to leave you, Naruto, I love you." She had stared into his eyes and he saw the truth clearly, and grinned.
Until he received a punch to the head. "OUCH!"
"NARUTO UZUMAKI! YOU'D THINK THAT AFTER GOING OUT FOR A YEAR THAT YOU'D KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH NOT TO THINK THAT I'D LEAVE YOU! IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN…" and she had continued ranting for several minutes until Naruto had silenced her with a kiss, mimicking her earlier actions.
-0-
"Of course I'm happy Naruto! You're not having doubts, are you? If you are, you can just say it outright."
Naruto shook his head and tightened his arms around her, "No. I just want to make sure you're happy. I don't want you to regret anything…"
Sakura sighed and hugged Naruto's arms, "Naruto…I need you."
She had always felt useless up until a few years ago, when she finally took training seriously. She was an average ninja skilled chuunin—which was low, compared to Naruto's Jounin status and Sasuke's ANBU level—but a top medical ninja. She remembered the first time she had ever saved a life. The warm feeling that had filled her.
-0-
"Sakura! Genma's hurt! All the other doctors are occupied and Tsunade's performing a surgery! Y-you have to help!"
Sakura felt panic rising in her chest; so far, she had never conducted a surgery alone, and by the sound of Asuma's voice, she realized that Gemna must've been injured pretty badly. She knew that most jounin hated hospitals, having seen several of their friends die there, and had it not been a serious injury, Genma would probably have just stitched a cut up himself and gone to sleep for a few days.
She whirled around and searched through the crowd of nurses and patients that were swarming around the lobby, mostly due to attack on the jounin scouting group and the chuunin on guard duty. She soon saw Asuma holding Genma. Both of them were covered in blood.
"Asuma! She rushed over to her best friend's teacher and helped him lay Genma onto a rolling stretcher, which she quickly pushed to the first empty room she saw. She wasted no time and grabbed a kunai from Genma's leg holster, cutting his blood-soaked shirt off.
"Was he damaged anywhere else?"
Asuma shook his head, "No, but I think he broke a few of his ribs and maybe his arm. They ambushed us with kunai and shuriken at first and used the Kage Shuriken no Jutsu, so several of us were hit."
"You?"
Asuma nodded, "Yes, but we'll worry about that later!"
Sakura turned her attention back to Genma and walked to the cabinets, going though the medicine in there quickly before she found a sedative that would put him to sleep. She measured the right amount and poured it into a small cup, her hands shaking so hard that she spilled most of it.
She worked her hand under his head and tilted the sedative into his mouth, which he drank slowly. When his erratic breathing had slowed, she nodded and placed her hand—still shaking—on his chest, sending in her chakra to see where he was hurt.
An hour and a half later, after he was stable and Sakura had fixed Asuma up, she felt as if all of her chakra had been drained from her. She saw that the second hospital bed in the room was empty and she collapsed on it, ignoring the blood that she smeared over the pristine white sheets.
She woke when she felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake. The first thing she saw was Tsunade's grinning face, "Well kid, good job. You just flew solo."
Sakura frowned at her pounding headache and sat up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand only to find it coated in dried blood. With a grimace, she used her upperarm to try and rub it away and she saw Genma, breathing steadily and bandaged nicely.
"I-I did that?" A small smile found its way to Sakura's face when Tsudade nodded, obviously proud of her student. "I did that. I did that!"
'I just saved a life…'
When Sakura had gone home to take a shower, she passed her team picture and caught sight of Sasuke's brooding face. 'All this time, I've been chasing Sasuke, thinking that he needed me to help him heal his soul…but he'll never need me. He'll never want me. I need someone to need me…'
She felt a warm, tingling sensation overcome her and she grinned. She had saved a life…someone needed her.
-0-
"I want to marry you, Naruto, and I want to live the rest of my life with you, no matter how short or long it is."
Naruto buried his head in the crook of Sakura's neck, "I need you too, Sakura."
Everybody needs something. Everybody needs someone.
'I need you, Naruto, because you need me…'
Sakura hugged Naruto tighter and kissed him again.
a/n: er, yeah, just a one-shot that kinda came to me. I don't think it's that good. Please tell me what you think.
