A/N: I recently learned that 150dB is the intensity of sound at which a person can go deaf. I'm not exactly sure on this, so please look over if it's incorrect, or tell me. Is it just me, or is Sasuke OOC? Anyway, ahh too lazy to edit!
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto.
150dB Chapter 1
This wasn't supposed to happen.
A piercing streak of pain shot from ear to ear, her head pounding wildly. A rhythmic DUM-DUM-DUM accompanied the agonizing pain.
The enemies had left her chakra-deprived, and the medic-nin could not stop the worst from happening.
Pain is good… Pain is good…
The words blankly repeated inside. Then, a numbness crept in.
Pain is… No… NO!
The pale green eyes widened in shock and salty tears flowed freely unnoticed.
o o o
Inside a white hospital room, Haruno Sakura woke up from the haze.
Sasuke-kun…
A stifled laugh escaped her; why did she think of him in the midst of all this? Meanwhile, the small noise alerted the other presence in the room, who now stood hovering above her. Ah. The familiar blur of blonde. He was always there. For her.
He mouthed her name with a worried look blatant on his face. She almost heard it: "Sakura-chan?" Almost, but not quite.
Naruto.
Her words barely passed from her mouth before another blonde of a much paler hue entered. She was talking with Sakura's mother. A constant ringing in her ears was the only thing she heard before conscience slipped away again.
o o o
"We didn't expect such a high-skilled sound nin to be there. The others are alright, but Sakura… She took the full impact of 150dB – the point at which your eardrums will burst." Sakura's mother, Haruno-san, took in this information as she bit her lips to keep from crying. Try as she might, the tears broke out anyway. It was only a matter of seconds before that turned into a sob.
As if to confirm what Haruno-san had already realized, Tsunade bitterly repeated the horrifying truth.
"Sakura has gone deaf."
o o o
It was all about timing.
Uchiha Sasuke decided to return to the village now, although the news travelled in forms of rumours only. These, Sakura didn't – couldn't – hear. His presence in the village was kept a secret for the next few months, while he frequented the interrogation rooms.
Months later, a formal announcement of Sasuke's return spread throughout the village.
The Uchiha boy now stood on a rooftop, quietly taking in the views. A step disrupted the silence and quickly turned to face his former teammate.
"Sasuke. Everyone knows of your return now." Naruto said, silently adding 'Except Sakura'. "What… do you plan to do?"
Clear hesitance followed before the raven-haired boy answered with a question instead. "… Team 7?"
There was no further need for words. Naruto understood him immediately. Blue eyes dropping to the ground, the blonde answered honestly. "I don't think… it can go back to how things were." Naruto looked up to meet the dark eyes. "We could try – if you're willing to, that is…"
A long exchange of looks dragged on. Naruto understood Sasuke.
o o o
It took several taps on the window before Sakura noticed Naruto standing outside. Once inside, she expected a stupid grin on his face – which became more frequent after she became deaf – but a solemn look greeted her instead.
Then, Naruto's mouth stretched to a strained smile, pain and uncertainty evident in his eyes. Sakura frowned, silently urging him to go on. Finally, he opened to mouth the news.
"Sa-su-ke"
A look of panic flashed but the pink kunoichi calmed herself quickly.
"is-here."
After an extended pause, Sakura nodded once slowly, her eyes cast away to the cream-coloured flooring. When they finally met Naruto's, his stare asked the unspoken question.
"I'd… I'd rather not see him now." Sakura answered, disbelieving that her words made any sound at all. "Not… like this."
The blonde gravely nodded. She would be the one to tell Sasuke of her deafness. She just wasn't ready yet.
o o o
Two days passed since the formal news of Sasuke's return. Sakura was breathing heavily from her morning training. Sakura refused to become weak, even with her severe handicap, so she pushed herself harder.
Several meters away, Sasuke felt her presence. It had been so long, but there was no doubt about it. Hesitantly, he stepped closer to the source of this radiance.
"Sa…" His voice faded away when the pink form turned towards him. Sakura froze, then backed away lightly. Sasuke stopped in his tracks and watched her walk away. "… kura." He finished, bitterness swirling inside.
The next few times they saw each other, Sakura quietly ran away; however, Uchiha Sasuke was not the most patient man.
o o o
A week later since his return, Sasuke saw the back of the pink figure once again.
"Sakura" He called after her. Her still form glistened under the moonlight in the mids of the sleeping village.
Hn. She's ignoring me now. But she can't run forever.
With a determined look, Sasuke decided to press on. "Sakura. I know you can hear me. I understand if you don't want to see me, but –"
It just can't go on like this.
But what could he say? Sasuke was the source of Sakura's pain, wasn't he? His planned words slipping from memory, Sasuke yelled out in fury.
"I MISSED YOU, DAMN IT!"
The high shrill vibrated along the ground, and Sakura finally turned in realization of his presence. Sensing his anger, Sakura kept her place, knowing it was time to face him instead of running away.
"What?" The simple question swept confusion to Sasuke's eyes, although he concealed it well.
He didn't know where to start. "… I've caused you so much pain and I know you can't forgive me, but I love you. So I hope… you stop running away."
Sakura frowned. He was talking too fast and she couldn't read his mouth like she did with Naruto. After all, the blonde spoke clearly and slowly for her, never once forgetting to check that she understood.
Sasuke, on the other hand, took her frown in a different way when he realized in horror of what he just said. Unknowingly, he had confessed to her.
Sakura's frown deepened at his frozen silence. Sasuke interpreted that as a sign that her love for him had already evaporated long ago. He looked away in shame this time, it was he who ran away with one swift motion.
His feet took him slower than he hoped for but he was panting nonetheless. He continued to run until he stood in the middle of the forest beside the training grounds. He caught for breath, although it wasn't from having leapt from roof to roof, then to the ground where he ended up now.
A rustle in the grass alerted Sasuke and he threw a kunai towards it. "Sa…suke?"
Eyes widened in surprise as the pink form appeared before him yet again. Had she caught up to his speed? Then, he searched for the kunai in panic, and found it locked between her pale fingers. She had caught it effortlessly in the dark.
"Sasuke." His name was spoken more firmly this time, and he noticed the lack of suffix, "-kun", following it. Things have changed, after all.
"There's something you need to know." Sakura voiced out a little unsurely. Was she trying to reject him? Sasuke shook his head to the left, refusing to meet her eyes. He really didn't need to hear a rejection.
Trying not to let that stop her courage, she pressed on. "I'm deaf."
Sasuke stood stunned in the darkness. All sorts of questions ran inside him, and when he opened his mouth, he realized she wouldn't hear them anyway.
Behind Sakura, a dark red-orange threatened to burst. Morning was threatening to take over the night. Light was threatening to take over the dark. And Sakura was threatening to take over Sasuke's heart.
Only, it had already, long ago.
Carefully masking his feelings, Sasuke motioned for Sakura to come over. The ground was moist, and Sasuke searched for the right place. Then he sat down, Sakura following to do the same.
Sasuke didn't think to speak the words clearly and slowly – like Naruto did – for Sakura to understand him. Instead, Sasuke dragged his finger on the ground, tracing his question.
He wrote: Why did you run?
Sakura cleared her voice, unsure how loud or soft it was, then continued. "I didn't want you to see me like this."
I was always the weakest. I wanted to appear strong in front of you.
"You know…" Sakura considered for a moment before she went on. "I always imagined a day when we'd sit together like this. Silence and warmth enveloping us. And then…"
Sasuke returned her gaze for her to continue.
"And then I'd confess to you." Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat.
I love you, Sasuke-kun.
"But it's impossible now" She added in a whisper, unsure if he heard her.
Sasuke averted his gaze to the side. A long needle seemed to stab his heart in an agonizingly slow motion, followed by a metallic thread. Perhaps, this was how Sakura felt, although Sasuke could not know. But the thread was never-ending, drilling the tiny hole further.
Meanwhile, Sakura was caught up in her own thoughts.
When I imagined confessing to him all over again, the scene would always end without hearing his answer – I didn't know what to expect. But now… it'd be no use confessing. I don't even know my feelings anymore! And… I will never hear his answer anyway. Never.
A tear threatened to leak out.
o o o
A blonde walked towards the training grounds, for Sakura always started her morning trainings earlier since she became deaf. He was sleepy, but he made it a routine to check up on her everyday – more like night – before he went back home to sleep.
When he found no sign of Sakura, he frowned in curiosity and wandered around.
A distance away, the blonde stopped in his tracks. His blue eyes saw the two forms sitting together. The blue growing dull, he bit his lips before turning to go home.
Under the moon and the threatening sun below, three figures managed to keep their pained expressions hidden.
To be continued.