Spoilers: Hebi exists.
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the better part of the series would be dedicated to SasuSaku make-outs. We can dream.
Stumbling Forward
By Allegra
Again.
This wouldn't be the first time that they'd tried to bring Sasuke back. It wouldn't be the second, third or fifth time either, but she tries not to dwell on that. Naruto flashes her a grin, saying that this time they'll definitely bring Teme back. Sakura forces an answering smile as she pulls her gloves on, even though he's said that every time and hasn't been right yet. Sakura learns to smile even though she's no longer motivated by his words, even though she's already lost hope; because he still hasn't. So she will keep up the charade as long as he can, because she can't bear to give up before he does, and sometimes she can borrow his confidence; sometimes she can still dream. She still longs to rebuild team 7, and she knows that she will never stop trying to bring Sasuke back. She's just tired of being disappointed.
Brawl.
They'd had a plan. It had been a good plan too, well thought out and precise, playing on each of their strengths. But plans tended to go awry when Sasuke was thrown into the mix. Either he had learned an unprecedented new technique, or an injured opponent bit his red-haired comrade, miraculously recovering, or the man Sakura was supposed to take down burst into freaking torrents of water when she punched him; now the big one was on an insane murdering rampage, abandoning all logic to pursue Naruto, effectively ruining their attack formation. No matter what the occasion, Sasuke threw a wrench into their perfectly good plans, and Sakura was beginning to get quite sick of it. Deciding that the coming train wreck of a battle was already too far along to salvage, she swerved away from her opponent to aim a quite well deserved (in her opinion) punch at Sasuke's face, as the carefully planned strategic maneuvers were abandoned and the fight descended into a brawl.
Contention.
Sakura tries to convince herself that it's just another battle, and that he is just another opponent. But try as she might, she can never stop the anticipation from bubbling up in her stomach, or ignore the rush of butterflies when she sees him. She's learned to focus on other things, and she knows it's all in her head; but no matter who she's facing, she is still aware of him. It's just his chakra, she tells herself half-heartedly, she's simply keeping a reading on the most powerful of her enemies; but it's more than that. It is not a bond, she knows that much, there is no mutual attraction; and she realizes mildly dejectedly that it is completely one-sided. But she can't shake the feeling that they're both connected by a rubber band, that tries to draw her towards him more and more as she struggles to stay away. It hurts a bit to see the cold indifference on his face when she meets him, but she is confident that she wears the same expression, despite her inner turmoil. Because this is nothing but a battle, and the clashing sound of metal on metal is a comfort, as the steady factor that will make this brawl blend together in her mind with all the others she's emerged from in the past. But as calm as she appears, she can't seem to fight down the growing feeling of anxiety as Naruto, a half crazed look in his eye with evidence of the demon fox seared along his cheeks, aims his rasengan and catches Sasuke squarely in the chest, and Sakura can't decide whether or not she's supposed to cry.
AN: To anyone waiting on The Missing Piece, sorry, and no I haven't abandoned it- just having some severe writers block. Yes, with chapter two, but I have a couple chapters after that planned so once I get on with it chapters should come pretty quickly. As for this, Theory of Time has gotten a ridiculous amount of undeserved praise and requests for more SasuSaku; that coupled with some really amazing/inspiring fanart got my muse working. I think I've gotten better at lazy, drabble-esque writing than actual literature XD Hope you like it anyway.