title: Recovery
summary: Sakura, Sasuke, and the slow recovery of their bond.
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starlight
Sakura waits for him at the gates of Konoha. Their bench is close by, a stone memorial to days gone by. Her heart clenches at the memory of it, his cold demeanor, her tearful confession, his whispered thank you—
She sees the Uchiha in the distance.
He's finally come home. His eyebrows seem to be in a perpetual scowl, but his eyes soften at the sight of her, emitting signs of relief.
"Welcome back."
His lips curl the slightest bit upwards.
Naruto spends most of that day with Sasuke. Initial feelings of relief from Sasuke sour into feelings of annoyance as Naruto begs the raven-haired male to regale him with stories of his travels, over and over and over again. Lunch at Ichiraku hadn't satisfied the blond's desire to spend time with him as long as possible.
It's sunset, and the dobe is still talking.
"Did I tell you that I just passed my jōnin test by more than just a couple points? Iruka was so proud! Sasuke, you're not even a jōnin yet! How could you even think of becoming Hokage, dumbass?"
For what seemed like the millionth time that day, Sasuke suppressed the urge to punch his best friend in the face. After Naruto bragged about his exams for the umpteenth time, the Uchiha rolled his eyes so hard, he thought his Rinnegan might accidentally activate from the stress he was going through.
"I'm tired. I'm going home now," says Sasuke, finally deciding to give up. He had humored him long enough, and this wasn't exactly his idea of a good time spent in Konoha.
"No, no, I've got a special surprise for you," grins Naruto, grabbing Sasuke's only arm and dragging him through the streets.
"Let me go," sighs Sasuke futilely, resolving to leave the village for a longer period next time. The villagers stare at the future Hokage drag the Uchiha through the streets.
"Come on, I've got two arms again, you can't stop me with your single one even if you wanted to!" laughed Naruto, increasing his pace.
The Konoha 11 have decided to throw him a welcome back party at Yakiniku Q. Sasuke watches the rest of the rookies eat and joke around, but he cannot help but feel like he does not belong.
After all, he did promise to slaughter all of them for Itachi not too long ago.
Sweat gathers underneath Sasuke's palms.
Relax, he tells himself. Naruto is on his right, Sakura is at his left, and if he closes his eyes, things can feel almost right again.
"You, uh, look kinda uncomfortable," whispers Sakura, as the waiter brings another tray of marinated meat. The rest of the table cheers in excitement, hardly paying attention to the couple.
"What gave it away?" murmured Sasuke with an edge of sarcasm, watching as Naruto began to compete with Chōji in an eating contest.
"You keep looking around the room and..." starts Sakura.
She pauses to think.
"...I can just tell."
He raises an eyebrow at her response.
"I'm leaving," he says ever so softly to Sakura. The Uchiha feigns a trip to the bathroom, and Shikamaru lets him by.
It only takes five minutes for Naruto to figure it out and yell, "I can't believe the bastard is gonna skip out on the bill!"
Sakura leaves under the guise of finding and bringing him back to the party. None of them believe her, and Ino and Naruto send each other suggestive glances about what Sakura's true intentions must be.
She catches up to him easily, tracing his chakra signature. Naruto's chakra is like the sun, dazzling and almost too intense. Sasuke's chakra is more like the moon — radiant, yet not as bright as the sun. Powerful, but not overbearing like the blond's.
Sasuke says nothing when the pink-haired teen joins him at his side. Sakura sneaks furtive glances at him every few steps or so. He still has the features that made him so irresistible to her when they were younger, though his hair has grown tamer, and his eyes are softer.
They walk to the front of the Uchiha compound. After passing through a poorly barricaded gate, both of them decide to sit on some pieces of rubble. A wind passes through the air. Crickets chirp all around them, and fireflies seem to burst in and out of existence. The stars shine bright above.
Sakura looks at Sasuke, emerald eyes bright in the darkness. He looks in any other direction, suddenly uncomfortable.
"I'm still sorry," he finally says, after an eternity of silence.
Sasuke remembers the tears she's shed, the heartache she'd endured, and he forces himself to look at her: the diamond of her Byakugō, those grass-green eyes, the shape of her face — and suddenly, Sasuke doesn't want to look away, momentarily entranced.
She closes her eyes after a moment and sighs.
"I know."
Naruto loses steam after Sasuke entertains his presence for a couple days. And as if on a streak of good luck, Naruto is sent out on a mission by Kakashi, something that Sasuke suspects is a favor that his former sensei will cash in later on.
He walks almost aimlessly to the site of their first trial as Team 7, the Bell Test.
The Uchiha enjoys the quiet of the training grounds where they first fought against Kakashi. Sasuke leans against the tree and breathes slowly. He remembers his anger of his youth, the endless drive for vengeance, and the cycle of guilt and self-hatred starts to run through Sasuke's mind.
He closes his eyes tight in an effort to drive the memories and voices out, all of them reminding him of every misdeed committed, every innocent slaughtered—
"Up for a spar?"
He opens his eyes.
Pink hair, jade eyes, and a friendly smile greets him. Sasuke doesn't ask why or how she's here, relief needs no explanation.
"Even without my Sharingan, would you stand a chance?" he remarks condescendingly, standing up.
Sakura frowns, but quickly grins at Sasuke.
"Up for a wager?"
Sasuke raises an eyebrow.
"If I can get you to activate your Sharingan, you'll treat me to dinner. And not ramen, Naruto has fed me enough for a lifetime."
He unsheathes his sword, rushes forward and smirks, "I'm not Naruto."
To his faint surprise, she is actually pushing him to the limit of his abilities without his Sharingan. She's fast and she hits hard. Every blow Sasuke blocks with the flat of his blade seems to shake him to his core, and he's actually concerned the blade might snap in half after blocking just one too many blows.
Sasuke knew she wasn't a pushover, he'd seen her cause the equivalent of earthquakes during the battle against the Juubi, but still, this was getting to be a little ridiculous.
Sasuke opts to dodge an incoming fist, and the Uchiha feels a hot blast of air rushing past his bangs. He kicks her directly in the stomach to create some distance, but Sakura is surprisingly sturdy and is only pushed back a foot or two.
"You're stronger than I thought," he says, as the pink-haired teen rushes forward.
"Don't patronize me," grins Sakura, "I'm not even getting started."
Her fists suddenly glow green with chakra, and Sasuke raises his blade to meet the incoming blow.
This time, Sasuke feels his blade almost give way and he's pushed back several feet, while her offense only mounts strike after strike at him, seeking to overwhelm. He runs a Chidori through his blade, hoping she'll think twice about hitting him again. The electricity will stun her nerves, slow her down for the rest of the sparring session-
"I said don't patronize me."
There's a brief moment of panic when she actually punches the flat of his chidori-infused blade, and he still gets pushed back several feet.
They stare at each other for a moment. Sakura's hands are in a fighting stance, glowing with green chakra. Her lips curled up in a haughty smile.
"Naruto's the only other one to touch it head-on," notes Sasuke.
"Well," says Sakura, the ground cracking underneath her feet, "I'm not Naruto."
Again, Sakura surprises Sasuke with her speed. Additionally, her power has only increased with each blow. If Sasuke had his other arm, the sparring match would probably be much easier for him, if not a complete loss for Sakura. But his right arm had never been his dominant side, and Sasuke regrets not practicing more taijutsu to make up for his recent disability.
Sasuke picks up his own speed to match hers, but it's getting increasingly dangerous to try and match her blow for blow. One successful strike might actually put him in the hospital.
She goes for a leg sweep, followed up by another kick, and an insanely close punch to his torso. Another combo that comes increasingly close to hitting him finally forces him to activate his bloodline limit.
One crimson red, the other amethyst purple, and now, he can finally see. Sakura laughs in acknowledgement of her victory.
Even with his Sharingan and Rinnegan activated, Sakura is putting up a valiant effort. Still, Sakura loses more ground by the moment, as Sasuke now effortlessly parries each attack with one of his own.
"You cheater," smiles Sakura, as Sasuke moves his body smoothly to dodge another combo.
"You wanted this," remarks Sasuke, delivering a hard kick to her side. It knocks the wind out of Sakura, and Sasuke almost wonders if he's gone too far. He lets her catch her breath and looks for any reaction.
Sakura only grins and rushes forward to make her last stand.
At the end of it, she's on the ground with his sword at her forehead, and she's still grinning. Sasuke still considers this a win for himself. Sure, he's lost a bet, his ego and his body are both a bit bruised, but at least Sakura won't be potentially rupturing his internal organs or shattering his bones.
"Sit down. I'll heal you up."
The green glow of her hands softens somewhat and stitches together the minor scrapes and bruises she's given him. Sasuke looks at her again, and he feels entranced once more. The way she carefully examines a wound, the warm flow of her chakra running through his body, her inimitable skill and ability to heal, to renew.
Sakura looks up at him when she's done, wiping some sweat off her brow. Sakura turns a bright shade of red when she notices his intense gaze and looks away quickly. She turns around, and they lean against each other, using each other's backs as support.
Birds are chirping. The sky is blue. A breeze passes through the air.
"Where?" he sighs, finally standing up and sheathing his blade.
"What could you possibly be talking about?" Sakura says with a smile on her face.
Sasuke sighs again, but there's a feeling of content that radiates throughout his body.
Sakura decides to visit the street market.
The sound of children shrieking in delight, the bustle of the crowds, and the sizzling of meat is all rather nostalgic for the Uchiha. In his youth, Itachi had taken him to several street markets to celebrate certain holidays. Lost in thought, Sasuke barely notices Sakura take his wallet with a grin.
Sakura jumps from vendor to vendor, buying yakitori skewers, gyoza, onigiri, and a myriad of other foods for them to eat. For the second time that day, Sasuke can't keep up with her speed with his onyx eyes and decides to sit down on a bench under a tree.
It doesn't take long for him to notice that civilians are pointing at him and whispering, some of them with an angry look in their eyes, most of them fearful of his presence.
Sasuke understands.
After all, who wouldn't be anxious to see an ex-international criminal who tried to murder the Five Kage and the world's most popular blond idiot?
Still, Sasuke averts his eyes to the sky, feeling out of place once more.
"Hey," Sakura says, sitting down on the bench next to him.
The pink-haired teen has two handfuls of plastic bags filled with delicious smelling foods, which she places in between them. As if on cue, Sasuke's stomach growls rather loudly, and Sakura can only giggle while making her way through a meat skewer.
They sit like that for a while, with Sasuke taking bites out of an onigiri, and Sakura starting on some red bean dumplings. The Uchiha doesn't know why, but he feels self-conscious, as the villagers continue to point and stare.
Sasuke thinks he sees one of them mention Sakura's name on their lips, and he almost wants to activate his Sharingan to know for sure.
"Are you uncomfortable again?"
The looks and voices of the villagers seem to fade when he looks at her. Sasuke wonders what exactly it is about Sakura that he's so transfixed by — the regal diamond on her forehead or those grass-green eyes.
"How did you know?" asks Sasuke again, half-exasperated.
Sakura only laughs again. She manages to stifle it to a giggle after a couple moments.
"I told you already!" she smiles, taking one of the last skewers for herself.
"I can just tell."
Sasuke just sighs, leans back into the bench, and closes his eyes to enjoy the moment.
The Uchiha walks her home to her apartment. Sasuke wonders if they've both had a little too much rice wine at the night market, since neither of them can seem to stop talking. They speak about the past, for the most part. There's something about her bubbly personality that's infectious, and Sasuke can't help but smile at certain points.
"I'm serious, tell me more about Orochimaru!"
"I'd really rather not."
Internally, he shudders. The Sannin was always talking about the youth and perfection of his Uchiha body when they weren't training or performing tests on him.
Sakura seems to read his mind and laughs, "What? Did Orochimaru...touch you or something?"
Sasuke curses himself for bringing up the mental image that she's conjured and cringes physically at the thought of it.
"I'm only joking," laughs Sakura, her body hanging off the guard rail so hard, he thinks she might break it with her prodigious strength.
The pink-haired teen opens her door after a moment of fumbling with her keys, and they stand there, Sakura on the inside, Sasuke on the outside.
"I had fun tonight, Sasuke. Thank you," she says, a deeper blush spreading across her cheeks. "Did you?"
The Uchiha tilts his head briefly in a nod. Despite the stares and whispers from the villagers, he did feel content at her side tonight.
They stand there for another moment, as crickets begin to chirp outside.
"Um...w-would you like to come in?" she finally says, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"I..." he pauses. The warm afterglow of the alcohol fades as Sasuke reprimands himself. This isn't right. He's done horrible things to her; he shouldn't be allowed within ten feet of her, let alone inside her personal home.
"No-no, it's fine, I'm sorry, I...shouldn't have asked, my bad," says Sakura quickly, shaking her hands frantically. The pink-haired teen laughs awkwardly, and Sasuke can only stare at her, somehow unable to move.
The moon shines bright and illuminates Sakura's face. The alcohol hasn't made the intensity of her jade eyes one bit weaker, and Sasuke wonders how long she's stared at him like this from afar.
"I'll come back sometime," he promises, mouth firm.
She nods and closes the door.
Sasuke waits at her doorstep for a moment longer wistfully and then walks away.