day ten
The past three days go by in complete silence. Sasuke is surprised that Sakura has been able to manage without saying a word but is pleased to see that she is still able to complete her work. Earlier in the day, the pair finally arrived at Valley of the End and Sakura plucked some herbs at the base of the waterfall while Sasuke stood back and admired the sun beaming over his pale skin.
Now as they pass through a small town, Sasuke is taken aback by how at ease Sakura looks around fellow civilians compared to their silent travels together. She greets the civilians with a wave and bright smile. At one point, she notices a little boy trip and scrape his knee. When she approaches the boy, she smiles again while he looks at her with an expression of shyness.
"Hi there, I'm a healer. Can I take a look?"
The little boy nods quick with tears coming out of the corner of his eyes.
"What's your name?" Sakura asks, taking the little boy's hand gently. "My name is Sakura."
"My name is Kira." He says quietly.
Sakura hums in response, and Sasuke watches her hover two hands over his scraped knee and with amazement, she summons a green hue of chakra to the surface with a grim expression of determination and slowly heals the wound.
Sasuke watches the boys expression turn from shy to gaping in amazement.
"Wow, nee-san! It's like it's brand new!"
"It is, isn't it!" Sakura agrees with a laugh. "Now run along, and be careful and watch where you're running next time."
As the boy runs away with excitement, Sakura watches him with a fond expression and then she looks up at Sasuke, slightly dropping her expression.
"Sorry about that. Let's go," she says standing up straight and brushing the dirt off her skirt.
Sasuke is puzzled by her recent actions. A few days ago, he was introduced to Haruno Sakura, the civilian, and now he is meeting Haruno Sakura, the medic-nin.
With this startling realization, he forgets one of the rules he imposed on the first day of their trip about no unnecessary talking.
"You… you can manipulate chakra? I was told you're a civilian, not a medic-nin."
She looks at him sharply, as if surprised he is initiating a conversation with her.
"I am a civilian," she says. "I read a book and taught myself. Clearly, I'm not exactly proficient at it—I think I use the right amount of chakra but I do end up feeling very fatigued afterwards."
She pauses, looking up at the sky.
"I need more practice, and the hospital won't allow me to practice on patients because they're hesitant on unintentional injuries, especially by someone who's not exactly certified… I think if someone just took me under their wing and guided me occasionally, I could really excel at it. I'm a fast learner and… I'm talking too much, aren't I?"
Sasuke is silent for a moment. He does not know how to react but he is finding that perhaps he misjudged her character initially.
Instead he remains silent and watches her turn around and begin to continue their journey in collecting herbs. He watches her take one step, two steps, three steps, and then her body gently sways for a moment.
Before he can even react, he watches her crumble to the ground, just barely catching her. He hardly notices that her pretty hair touches the dirty ground.
"Sakura-san?" He calls out frantically, holding her face and checking her pupils behind closed lids.
"Sakura-san? Sakura!"
day eleven
Sasuke has seen plenty of people lose consciousness in his lifetime. One primary example is Naruto since he never knows when to stop training. It is a bit unhealthy how driven, motivated, and hard-working his best friend is but because of it he is pretty desensitized to watching people collapse.
Some enemies even faint at the sight of his Sharingan activating—it's not an unusual sight.
Not with Sakura though.
After watching her faint, Sasuke broke one of his other rules and rushed over to a local inn, booked a room, and laid Sakura down on the single bed.
In the back of his mind, it was somewhat alarming how worried he was over this individual who was barely an acquaintance and told himself that it was because he needed to get a good rating from this mission so he could become Itachi's bodyguard.
It had nothing to do with the fact that he is attracted to Sakura's fair complexion and exotic qualities.
However, he doesn't let these thoughts stop him from wringing out a cold wet cloth and gently wiping Sakura's hair out of the way and resting the cloth on her forehead.
Sighing, he sits down in the chair beside the bed and rubs his face with his hand tiredly. He hadn't slept at all the night before while making sure to take care of Sakura.
He couldn't understand why she had fainted. At times like this—although he would never admit this out loud—he wishes he was born with Byakugan and could see what was going on if there was even anything to see. Was her chakra usage too strong? Was she overexerting herself? Were her reservoirs large enough to handle medical ninjustu?
He was just beginning to close his eyes when he hears the bed rustling, indicating that Sakura was waking up.
"Wh—what happened…?" Sakura whispers. Her voice is dry and quiet. It sounds nothing like the angelic tone Sasuke is used to hearing and he gets up quickly and pours a glass of water for her.
"You fainted yesterday," he murmurs, handing her the glass as she sits up slowly. The wet cloth falling off her forehead.
Sakura's eyes widens at the realization and grabs the glass.
"Ah, thank you Sasuke-san." She pauses, taking a sip of the water. "For the water and taking care of me. I'm sure you didn't want—"
"It's nothing," Sasuke cuts her off quickly before she can finish her sentence and then realizes that may have come off rude since he spoke so quickly. "I mean, it's not a big deal, really."
She lets out a small noise that sounds like an affirmation, and Sasuke finds it very cute. He shakes his head minutely and washes away that thought. Staring at Sakura for hours has clearly affected his brain.
"Yeah… I probably shouldn't have healed that boy with chakra." She says apologetically. "I'm sorry, I know better than to do that, especially when we're not in the village, it could be dangerous!"
Sasuke can't find it in himself to agree with her openly and nods his head once.
"Get some more rest. I don't think you've fully recovered, Sakura."
Her eyes widen at being addressed without the formality, and Sasuke inwardly curses. He had been referring to her as just Sakura since she collapsed and didn't mean for that to come out just now.
"Ah, you should get some rest too. It looks like you haven't slept." She smiles at him, and his heart skips a beat.
"Thank you again… Sasuke-kun."
His heart skips a few more beats.
day twenty-one
"Sasuke-kun! Look at this waterfall! It's so beautiful!" Sakura shouts, running to where the water meets land.
Sasuke watches her marvel at the waterfall with a look of pure joy, and he smiles slightly.
Since the Incident as Sakura likes to call it, they have become more talkative with each other—Sakura doing most of the talking, of course, and Sasuke listening. Their status of slightly below acquaintances has escalated to slightly above newly made friends, and Sasuke is pretty content with how it has blossomed.
Discovering a new side of Sakura is like getting gifted a new set of shuriken. As much as she is soft-spoken and polite, she is fiery and enigmatic. While she is sweet and kind, she is passionate about what she believes in and does not hesitate to defend what is wrong and right.
She would get along with Naruto, he thinks. And Itachi. And his mom. Heck, maybe even his dad under his tough exterior.
Well, if they remain as just friends, of course. There is no way his dad would let him pursue a relationship with Sakura, the civilian.
"Join me, will you? Don't just stand there!" Sakura calls over.
Sasuke acquiesces and allows the cool waterfall to wash away his thoughts, trying to ignore the red blush on Sakura's cheeks as she desperately refrains from getting jaw-slacked at his toned and very shirtless body.
day twenty-nine
It was bound to happen eventually. Getting attacked by bandits.
Sasuke counts the odd numbers. 11 against two. Scratch that. Sakura can't fight. 11 against one.
He quickly hands her a kunai which she accepts with a small squeak of fright but clenches it tightly in her fist in resolve.
Hm, he thinks distantly. How about he splits that evenly and says 11 against one and a half.
They are still not the best numbers but him and Naruto have had worse odds against them—say 30 against two—so he is sure he will be able to get through these bandits easily. His only concern being keeping Sakura unharmed and safe.
He dodges one punch and ducks under a kick. Then, activating his Sharingan, he takes no chances and goes through the motions that are secondhand to him.
In a matter of minutes, more than half of the bandits are unconscious or incapacitated. Then three remain. Then two. Then all of them are writhing on the floor in pain and Sasuke sighs loudly.
Hardly a challenge, but he shouldn't complain. This mission was never about combat and tough enemies.
After tying up the bandits with rope, he goes over to Sakura who is sitting on the ground still clutching the kunai Sasuke had given her tightly.
"Sakura," he murmurs, crouching down in front of her and prying the kunai out of her grip. She must have been scared. "Are you okay?"
"I—yeah, I'm okay. Are you okay, Sasuke-kun? Do you need anything looked at? I have my medical bag right here." She asks, jerking her head up to thoroughly scan his body with her eyes.
"I'm fine. Let's keep going," he says in response and notices her eyes are full with concern for him. She wasn't afraid for herself—she was worried about his wellbeing. "Would you like to take a break after that?"
day thirty-three
"I miss my parents," Sakura complains quietly in the night over the crackling of the fire.
The herbs they are looking for are best picked at night, and Sasuke joins in the harvest with Sakura to pass the time. When they return, he quickly builds a fire and they sit there in a comfortable silence watching the flames.
Sasuke glances over at Sakura and sees her holding a small photograph which he assumes is her parents.
"Hey, who would you say you look more like? Your mom or your dad?" Sakura questions Sasuke suddenly. "I think I have a healthy mix between my parents, but I have my dad's hair and probably my mom's attitude."
Sakura waves the photograph over in Sasuke's direction and he peers over at the picture. She does look like a mix of her parents with a brighter shade of pink than her father. Her mom is scowling at her father and Sakura stands innocently between them with a sheepish grin and a peace sign.
He mulls over the question for a moment.
"My mother. My brother, however, looks more like my father."
Sakura hums in agreement. "I've met your brother before and have seen your dad patrolling the village. I don't think I've seen your mom. She must be very pretty."
Of course she is, Sasuke thinks inwardly, he takes after her and although he doesn't like to think of himself as self-centered, he is rather attractive. Sakura had stated it herself the first day of their travels.
.
.
"You may be strong, from a prideful clan, and good-looking—!"
.
.
"Your brother, the next Hokage. Your father, the chief of Police. What say you, Sasuke-kun? What is your calling?" Sakura inquires lightly, snapping Sasuke out of his thoughts.
Originally, he thinks, he just wanted to be recognized. To be acknowledged and not compared to Itachi was all he had hoped for. Then Naruto made him realize that he needed to be himself and he had to figure out what that meant. In his pursuit for this, he had spent two years away from the village, away from Itachi, his mother, and the pressure and burden from his father and he still didn't know.
"I don't think I'm entirely sure yet."
Sakura is quiet for a moment and then gives Sasuke a smile.
"That's totally okay, you know?" She says in response.
It was almost offhandedly, the way she had responded yet somehow… that simple answer of it being okay was enough for Sasuke, and he felt some of the heavy pressure lift off his shoulders.
day forty
"If you hold the kunai like this, you have a better chance of changing your grip if necessary and protecting yourself from most angles." Sasuke instructs, standing behind Sakura to adjust her stance and grip.
"Ah, okay," she says quietly, her cheeks turning pink at the close proximity.
"Then if you loosen your grip, you can turn it this way and when you throw it," he pauses, holding her hand and flicking her wrist out to let the kunai fly forward. "The accuracy of your aim will be significantly better."
Sakura watches the kunai land on the target and lets out a cute shriek of excitement at the kunai lodged in the red center.
"Nice. Do you want to try it yourself now?" Sasuke asks.
Sakura nods her head rapidly and runs forward, pulling out the kunai.
Sasuke steps to the side and watches her face scrunch in concentration. Then watches her adjust her grip, loosen her hold, and pout when the kunai misses the target entirely.
"Ah, you'll get better with more practice…hopefully." Sasuke teases with a smirk.
Sakura's expression of embarrassment mixed with disappointment amidst her level of excitement and joy is so cute that Sasuke can't help but laugh out loud. Not just a chuckle but a full blown laugh. All the stress in his life disappearing for that brief moment, he finds that he can truly be himself and enjoy life and the way that it played out for him.
And Sakura can't help but stare with eyes wide in admiration, feeling like her heart just skipped too many beats at the sound of his laughter.
day forty-five
In no time, they are already heading back to Konoha. Although the journey back home will still take over a week, Sakura is surprised at the quick gathering of supplies.
"Home! And so soon." Sakura exclaims, glancing over at Sasuke. "It's thanks to you, really, Sasuke-kun. You helped me so much in gathering everything. It made everything much faster."
Sasuke nods his head in response.
"I can't wait to be back home! In my bed. See my parents and regulars at the hospital. There's this boy at the hospital—his name is Hikaru, and he is the sweetest little boy ever. He always wants me to read him a bedtime story and tries to ask me to sneak some sweets into his room…which I don't do…obviously…hah…hah…" Sakura trails off, awkwardly.
She is a terrible liar, Sasuke thinks with a small smirk but continues to listen to Sakura talk. Somehow it goes unnoticed that in the beginning of the journey that they had decided from the beginning they weren't going to bother each other with pleasantries but now they've become fast friends.
"I'm definitely going to practice the training you taught me! And I'm going to practice healing." She laughs awkwardly again. "Under appropriate supervision, of course. I will just need to find a good healer!"
"Do you need assistance finding someone? I could ask around for you." Sasuke offers.
Sakura shakes her head and Sasuke watches her hair swish back and forth before settling along her back.
"I think this is something I should do myself. I need to show that I'm determined, especially if I want the hospital to take me seriously." Sakura smiles brightly and Sasuke feels his breath catch in his throat. "But…I know you're very busy in the village and I totally understand if you can't!—but it would mean a lot if you could help me with the training you showed me… you know, with weapons and defending myself. I would like that a lot."
She's blushing at her request, and Sasuke feels his own cheeks heating up.
"Ah—yeah," he says, turning away. "Uh, I could fit you in my schedule," he tries to say nonchalantly but failing hopelessly.
With that, the journey back home to Konoha starts, and Sasuke starts to feel disappointment creep up on him at the thought of the end of this mission.
Staring at an oblivious Sakura who is smiling at the green scenery around her, he is completely hopeless right now, he thinks.
There was no doubt in his mind that he found Sakura attractive prior to the mission even beginning.
Now, near the end of the mission, there is no doubt in his mind that he finds Sakura's presence enjoyable and comforting.
Naruto and Itachi are going to tease him incessantly if they find out that he likes Sakura.
He is so screwed.
At that moment, Sakura looks back at Sasuke and just gives him a soft smile. Her pink lips tugging up at the corners and her green eyes sparkling in the sunlight.
Then he thinks that it might be worth all the teasing from his brother and best friend if it means seeing that smile for as long as he can.
.
.
.
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—
That's a wrap! Sorry it took forever. I might have rushed the ending. And I may end up writing more verses in the Civility!era in a separate fic—it's so tough because my muses come and go. I love a non-massacre Sasuke with feelings and an innocent (but not hopeless) Sakura. Thank you for the love all.