The wind blew freely in her face, sweeping her rosette locks from her pale skin. Her bright emerald eyes roamed the area aimlessly.
Sakura had chosen to take a leisurely walk around the outskirts of Sunagakure while she left Naruto and Gaara to do some catching up on their own. She and Naruto had been sent over as representatives from the Leaf for the chuunin examinations, which would be taking place in the premises of the sand-filled country.
It wasn't the most scenic place to be for a stroll, but Sakura would make do with what she had. She smiled to herself as she recalled the rather comical interaction between her foxy best friend and the stoic Kazekage. Naruto had pounded Gaara enthusiastically on the back in his way of greeting a buddy, and while Gaara returned the gesture with only a simple handshake, there was no mistaking the small, fond smile that betrayed his cool exterior.
Naruto was like that; he had the ability to become friends with anyone. Sakura smiled sadly. It was probably this amazing character of Naruto's that caused their remaining teammate to leave them in his search for power, rather than being warmly sheltered in their friendship.
Lost in her thoughts, Sakura was pleasantly surprised when she came by a beautiful spot in the middle of the desert. Palm trees surrounding a small expanse of clear water provided a refreshing contrast to the seemingly neverending landscape of sand.
An oasis. Sakura strode over to the water with a renewed bounce in her steps. She decided to just stay around here and immerse herself in thoughts of the past for now. The chuunin examinations coming up would be no walk in the park, even if she was only going to be an onlooker.
Sakura took some water and splashed it on her face to cool down. The weather in Suna was to be reckoned with, especially since Konoha never had this kind of heat due to its greenery. She perched herself on a boulder that overlooked the rest of the oasis, feeling serene and at peace with her surroundings.
Something that moved to her side caught her attention. She inclined her head to inspect it. There, scuttling between a few rocks, was a remarkably tiny scorpion. Its black body moved around smoothly, showing no haste, nor any signs of wanting to attack its lone observer.
Scorpling… Sakura vaguely noted. Something stirred in her mind, something in the form of a rather large, hunched figure with a peculiar face set in a permanent frown, waving a long metallic scorpion tail tauntingly. The image melted away to be replaced by something else completely different.
The face of an angel; pure, flawless, young and innocent. Flaming red hair that looked like it had been ruffled one too many times, yet leading her to think that it would feel soft under the fingers of someone who would have the audacity to touch it. Sharp, pretty eyes that held a glint of arrogance and surveyed a fight with the air of someone who had experienced it all. Sleek and skillful fingers that manipulated the deadliest objects of battle she ever came across. Underneath that beautiful exterior was a twisted mind and empty shell; that of someone who had been vacated of all humanly emotions and needs from the beginning.
Sakura's eyes were glazed over in thought. Without further contemplating, she subconsciously reached out a steady hand to stroke the miniature scorpion softly across the spine. The creature halted in its movements. Gently, she picked it up and it remained quite still, its tail raised to strike.
"Poison won't work on me," she muttered, quirking a smile as she recalled the expression on Sasori's face when he realized that she, a supposedly weak pink-haired kunoichi, held the antidote to his lethal poison.
Sakura remembered the rush of adrenaline she felt when she first burst through his wooden shell. The apprehension she contained as she watched his true body leap out of the destroyed puppet and straightened up to face Chiyo and herself. The shock, though not unpleasant, that hit her when she finally got to see his real face. Her breath had hitched briefly in her throat at that moment.
He had the most immaculate features Sakura had ever seen, maybe even more so than Sasuke. She couldn't help thinking that way, even if the eternally youthful face belonged to that of a criminal who no longer lived and breathed as human. Even more so now, as she and his grandmother had seen to that.
Sakura laughed softly to herself and berated herself for letting her thoughts drift like that. She lowered her hand and watched as the scorpion scuttled off quickly, burying itself into sand until it was out of sight. With a hefty sigh, she got up and brushed off the grains of sand on her skirt before deciding to head back for lunch with her hyperactive friend. She shook her head in an attempt to throw the image of a certain redhead out of her mind.
What if he hadn't been an enemy? What if he was actually human?
Sakura gave her head another vigorous shake, before walking off back to Suna, an unreadable smile upon her features.
After all, he would have been too old for me.