Authoress' Note: Just another one-shot to knock out of my head and onto the internet. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.
Well...this situation was certainly ironic.
He swiftly stepped on the branch of a large oak tree and pushed himself onward, moving quickly through the dense forest as he kept pace with his pink-haired companion. He glanced over in her direction for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Once again, as expected, she ignored him.
The Uchiha furrowed his brow. She was different. And not just in response to him- that was expected. After all, he was a traitor to the Leaf and not to be trusted. But the fact that he was allowed to complete this mission with her, and only her...that was an indication for how much she had grown. To think that she could handle him, and that nobody gave a second thought...well, that made Sasuke think twice. Not that he was going to try and escape anyway. He did come back to the village of his own free will. Still...the Uchiha stole another glance.
She was different. And he couldn't quite place his finger on what it was that had changed. Her style, obviously. She still had her short pink hair, but now her attire was dark; better suited for camouflage. Her movements were nimble and precise; she knew what she was doing, was confident in her charge. And Sasuke had no doubt that she was keeping track of him, no matter how nonchalant her exterior mannerisms posed to be.
He returned his focus back unto himself. It wasn't like him to probe. The answers would come to him in time. And if they didn't...well then, he would have to decide if the need to satisfy his curiosity would be worth the amount of energy it would take to stifle it.
All at once, she ceased all movement. Sasuke, guilty of watching her, stopped almost as quick as she did. The woods around them were quiet, with no mark of humanity to taint the natural surroundings. The silence between them was deafening to the Uchiha, who was now all too focused on his ex-teammate's persona.
"We'll camp here."
She gave a little hop off the branch she was standing on and fell to the ground gracefully, her voice still echoing between the trees. Sasuke watched her for a moment longer before he too leaped back to earth. It was the first time she had spoken to him since he returned.
The crackling fire was the noisiest thing in the dark that night. The popping embers comforted Sasuke in a way he could not explain. It was nostalgic in the sense that it reminded him of his missions with the old Team Seven. Kakashi would be reading his book, like always. Naruto would be shooting off his mouth and being an idiot, like always. Sakura would take part in scoffing at the Uzumaki, and in retrospect become just as loud and annoying...
Nothing came out of her mouth now. She sat on the opposite side of the flame, her head bent forward, her hair a curtain around her face so he couldn't see it. With her back against a tree, she carefully sharpened her kunai with precise, even strokes. She didn't look at him once. She didn't speak to him again. She just existed.
Sasuke knew that she wasn't actively trying to ignore him...and that was the scary part. This was normal for her now. He knew this because he had watched her every step from the start of this mission. And even before that, when he'd see her in the village, he noticed the change. She was responsible, no-nonsense. When she did speak, she was brief and to the point. She didn't laugh, didn't smile...but she didn't look sad either. She was emotionless. A machine.
The Uchiha very slightly shook his head in a subconscious effort to shake away the thought. Only three years have passed since his departure. A person couldn't change everything about them in three years. Either she was very good at hiding herself, or she was a very good ninja. Either way, Sasuke knew that it could be done. It could be a facade. But the way she was now...
Once again, he tried making eye contact with her. She had put her weapons away and was sitting calmly, staring patiently at the fire. The soft glow illuminated her face, reflecting light from her soft green eyes. Her eyes were bare, empty. And it scared him. It was possible...that this was indeed no facade, no act, no trick. There was a string of hope still there, in his mind's eye. He would just have to wait and see.
Sasuke stared pointedly at his pink-haired teammate. "I'll take the first watch."
The only response was a barely visible nod and her eyelids sliding shut.
The eyes are windows to the soul. Sasuke was a firm believer in this. It was why the Sharingan was so successful. A ninja could be deceitful and mask their true feelings, but when it comes to concealing what's real, you can only shadow your eyes for so long. And when you looked into the soul, you could find the truth. The Uchiha had now made it his personal mission for her to look at him- dead on, eye to eye. It would tell him the truth about her without him actually having to force a confrontation. And forcing a confrontation could cause her to hide behind another mask. No, he wanted to see the real her; who she really was now, what she had become. Why did he deem it so important?
Sasuke didn't have an answer for that. This was just something he had to do.
The light tap of her ninja sandals sounded mere microseconds before his followed. They were moving at an incredible pace, using a substantial amount of chakra. The Uchiha frowned; not that he doubted her abilities, but he found it irritating that she thought she could complete the mission half-assed. If it wasn't her showing off, it was her being an idiot.
Before Sasuke could decide exactly which one it was, he found himself smack in the middle of the target's camp.
He cursed, and immediately retreated, his back against a tree. His pondering thoughts had blinded him to reality. He had needed to think and time to calculate a plan of action. She had given him no warning and dove right into the fold, creating a riot as she quickly went to work.
As it turned out, the Uchiha wasn't needed. Sasuke could only watch as she danced like a dangerous snake, striking and retreating. A bodyguard swung his fist at her throat; she twisted her body and brought him down with a roundhouse kick, finishing him off with a slash of her kunai. She ran up to meet the other one, shoving her kunai into his chest with a grand uppercut and lifting him from the ground. He had the privilege to stare into her eyes for a moment before she hurled him away. And finally, the target.
The brazen ninja charged her, leaping into the air to attack with his feet. Unfazed, the pink-haired kunoichi snatched one leg and threw him to the ground, using his own momentum against him. He was up again in the blink of an eye and swishing a katana. She ducked and bowed gracefully, calmly avoiding the blade as if she were dancing.
Sasuke could tell the target was becoming frustrated, and making more and more mistakes the longer she toyed with him. Why she was playing with him, he did not understand. His rational mind told him it was a show of power, but in his subconscious, he knew.
In an instant, her patience ran out. Using the wrist guards on her forearms, she easily knocked the katana aside, leaving his stance wide open. With one swift slash, she tore his throat open, severing the jugular and causing a spray of blood to add to the gore on her body. The target fell to the blood-soaked ground with a thud. The Uchiha watched his companion like a hawk as she bent down to retrieve the cadaver's scratched headband.
"Sakura..."
She straightened up and finally turned to look at him, meeting his gaze without hesitation.
Her face splashed with blood, she looked frighteningly beautiful. Her lips were set in a thin line that showed no reaction. And deep inside her emerald pools, Sasuke found nothing. At least, nothing of what he once knew Sakura to be. Gone was the cheerfulness, the competitiveness. Gone was the playful banter, and the everlasting love. They were replaced by determination, cunning, mechanical workings of an elite shinobi. No emotion marred her features. She was cold, cruel, and unforgiving. The perfect tool, the perfect ninja.
The two shinobi stared at each other, the steady drip of blood from Sakura's kunai being the only sound. The world had changed, and yet stayed the same. Sasuke felt a piece inside him vanish, and he knew he would never get it back. Now his options were limited, and he chose the lesser of two evils. That being which, the option he could live with.
"Good job Haruno."
Sakura nodded, and sheathed her weapon. She secured the headband and took to the trees. Sasuke followed her.
She was different. Whether it was in response to him, he would never know. But the path she chose, it would get her somewhere. She wouldn't have to worry about heartache, or the loss of friends. Emotions would never again cloud her judgment. She was the perfect killer, an assassin to be feared. She was just like him.
She had changed for the worse. She was a black butterfly.