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mondays
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The first time they were alone together after the final battle, Sakura came to a conclusion:
She hated Sasuke.
Really hated him, a type of hate that left her stomach in knots and made her hands unsteady, which was unfortunate for him because right now, they were positioned right over his eyes.
His skin was soft to the touch, and she hated that too, that he'd stayed beautiful on the outside instead of turning into some scarred, ugly thing to match what he'd become on the in.
"I'm done."
Her voice cut through the quiet of the hospital room, and his eyes opened just as the flare of green around her fingers died away. She'd been given orders to check on his eyes and maintain the chakra blocks that'd been placed over the sharingan just in case.
Sasuke didn't look up, didn't nod, didn't give any sign he'd heard her before his lashes were fluttering shut again. Sakura bit her lip, concentrating on the shackles that chained his wrists to the bed and the red that ringed them, thought he might have had nightmares, might have pulled at the chains in his sleep, because he had certainly never struggled while he was awake. He never did much of anything while he was awake.
She curbed the urge to heal him and tried to steady her still trembling hands. She could hear the buzzing of summer cicadas through the open window, and the faint sound of people on the streets. In this room though, the air felt dead and heavy and wrong, and Sakura couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped, of being far, far removed from everything. She was so aware of her heartbeat, of his when her hands had passed over his heart. Each inhale and exhale took a little something out of her, and the hate had never felt so strong; it was wet cement filling her insides, it was making it impossible for her to move. She could only stand there next to his bed, motionless and staring.
If she didn't move—if she didn't move now Sakura was sure she'd never be able to move again, rooted to the spot by him and this thing in her belly.
She hated him. She hated him so much. She hated the things he'd done and she hated the fact that he'd been welcomed back by Naruto with open arms. She hated the fact that the blond had never lost faith in him and she hated the fact that she had. She hated it. She hated not knowing what had driven him so far and she hated knowing that even when she'd thought he was good and truly evil she'd loved him all the same.
She still does.
The sun had set before Sakura was finally able to move from the room.
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