A/N: A reviewer said it best - I think what people miss with these two is the subtle moments, which I feel offer more than blatant displays of affection. After re-reading the manga numerous times and actually looking at the hints Kishimoto gave as to their feelings, it became rather obvious. Sasuke - a man of action doesn't have to speak on this, but we see it through careful action throughout the manga and their feelings for one another.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's affiliates.
M.
Our Linear Story
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He arrived particularly early that day, their nomination for the chunin exams had cast a web of excitement within the Uchiha. The unusual feeling that progress was being made left him with a sense of empowerment. More so, his mood of feigned disinterest had been tossed aside and in a rare moment of dexterity, Sasuke looked forward to the day.
Preliminarily, they would be taking the written exam which he felt would be the easiest portion of the tests. He waited by the bridge close to the academy where the tests would be held. Casually he watched as Sakura arrived second, her punctuality respectable after his own.
She murmured a small, "good morning, Sasuke-kun."
Odd.
He was about to respond —
"Hey! Sakura-chan!" the high octave of Naruto's voice broke through the tranquility of the morning.
Her normal tendency to reprimand their teammate for being hideously loud in his greeting washed away in monotonous silence.
"Yeah...Good morning," she responded eventually, her shoulders slumped dismally, and he watched with a peculiar eye when she put a faux smile on her face that bypassed the idiot's continuous rambling about his excitement for their tests.
Dobe.
…She seems weird today.
As per usual, they bantered back and forth but the lack of her enigmatic temper crossed him as entirely out of character for her.
They continued their walk to the building for testing as team, and like a predatory hawk he stood back to watch her shoulder a burden that she didn't normally carry.
He could only assume that her nerves for the exams left her uneasy, if anything serious had happened she would be a wreck of unchecked emotions.
Confidence, maybe?
His normal, self-assured and overtly confident teammate had been repressed by her lack of confidence in her progress, he could only assume.
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"Ah…So you noticed," the unfamiliar genin remarked smugly.
Sasuke paused, he felt inclined to push his way past the snarky duo that were blocking the door with a simple genjutsu — but a new, definite sense of the frailty his teammate felt left him predisposed to fix it. From their initial entrance into the hallway she had narrowed her eyes at the duo and logged their location within the building.
She wouldn't speak on it, but he would.
"Sakura, you must have noticed right?"
"Huh?" she asked, her head tilted habitually and pink tendrils of her hair spilled over her shoulder. Shock registered over her, not for lack of knowledge in what he was talking about - but his innate ability to recognize her thoughts.
And he felt the small crowd that had surrounded them should know, too.
"Your analytical ability and genjutsu know-how is the most improved on our team."
She remained quiet, her face turned away from him and a slight pink dusted over her cheeks.
"Eh?" Naruto quirked a brow, confused at the events that had transpired and obviously felt out of sync with the hidden language his teammates were sharing without him.
"Heh," she glowed happily, "of course I noticed a while ago. Because this is the second floor."
Her fist clenched characteristically, a bemused, genuine grin brought a new light to her face that had dissipated in the face of their exams.
Sasuke smirked to himself.
He didn't lie, nor did he give gracious compliments for the sake of it. Her genjutsu ability had improved, begrudgingly for him to admit — the small downward tilt in her mouth had tipped him off to the genjutsu once they entered the building.
And as he predicted, albeit entirely shaky to begin with when they were graded as a group — his lack of confidence in Naruto academically had left him unsettled - they passed their first test.
Maybe they would get through this together easily enough.
The forest; however, decided otherwise.
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Darkness had come easily, where the dawn would brighten people's days - his days were driven by the raw essence of revenge. That day a seed had been sowed into his life that would weave itself into the air he breathed.
The bite unveiled a new path that revealed itself to him.
It was tainted with pain, but his life now forked and he was given the illusion of choice.
"Sasuke-kun will seek me. He will seek me for power." The word rung in his ears although the pain crippled him to the floor.
He couldn't see it, he didn't quite understand the events that had just transpired in the shadows of the forest, but he remembered the name and that statement.
Orochimaru.
The faded memory of flaxen eyes contrasted against ashen skin sealed itself within him.
The pain curled him over, in the distance he could hear Sakura's voice attempting to bring him to, but he could only feel the fire that traveled from his neck down the length of his spine.
Fire liquefied into his arteries, the pain blocked any consciousness he may have been able to grip onto.
"Hang in there, Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke clenched his hand within hers, his screams lost in the silence of the forest. The warmth her body provided created stability, her familiarity wrapped him in a blanket of strength. He refused to let this overcome him. His goals, his motivation swallowed the pain - her arms cradled him against her, her shallow breathing softened his resolve, her presence - subdued the fire until his body went lax in her dainty hands.
He let go of her hand, his body limp yet numb to the pain.
His only source of feeling was from his pink-haired teammate, who ushered his head to rest against her shoulder.
Solace, that's what this was.
The pain ebbed away slowly, his mind drifted at the comfort he found within her.
Again, the world went black.
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In the bleak shadows a figure appeared of small stature. It was hunched over, the sound of sniffling caught Sasuke's ears and curiously he took a few, wary steps in the direction of the figure.
"Who is it?" he demanded authoritatively. Why was he here? He could remember the forest, the fight between himself and that shinobi that reminded him eerily of a snake.
The small figure emerged from the shadows, tears dampened the small boy's cheeks who looked at him through his bangs. The Uchiha took a jolted step back, revelation etched into the curves of his face.
Mom and Dad….
Didn't have to die….
"The old me?!"
The replica took another shaky step forward, his face contorted into sorrow. Memories wilted into Sasuke's vision, remembering how he had been for months after his clan's decimation.
In the end…
If you don't have strength you can't do anything…
More sobs shook the small boy's body who sloppily attempted to wipe them away with the back of his sleeve.
Because I didn't have strength…The clan was wiped out…
Blood spurting from this father's throat in a gurgled, homicidal mess of death flashed before him.
Everyone was killed…
His father's lifeless body on the floor burned into his vision, Sasuke clenched his eyes shut — trying to dismiss the memories that haunted him. His mother, the woman who had the silkiest, darkest locks that soothed him — her hair matted with her own blood and he'll never forget how the porcelain color of her skin contrasted with the inky blotches of red that would forever stain the floor.
Memories…All memories, clear, horrifying visions that would never leave him.
No…you!
His younger self growled suddenly, a strangled gasp of a noise that began to morph angrily.
You let them die…
His own face twisted against him, the shadows that covered the boy's face were now alive with a disgusting, twisted grin that held the pain that coursed through his past.
All you did was watch.
Sasuke willed his legs to move back, but his body fell under paralysis in the face of his demons.
The boy's eye bled red, the pupils slit — If only you had strength.
In these times, he wished for oblivion.
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In the face of demons, he felt that he had stood against them and found a reprieve from the memories that plagued him.
In truth, he had merely been dancing with them.
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His eyes opened mutely, the adrenaline from his nightmare tore through him that forced him to barrel over and survey his surroundings.
The pain that had shrouded him had left him in the closet of his terrors.
An aura radiated off of the Uchiha that he failed to notice amongst the commotion that caught his attention.
Voices filled with worry filtered into his senses, but he turned to find the last person that had been holding him.
How long had he been asleep?
He turned to see Naruto still unconscious beside him, then who had…?
The choked voice of his female teammate whipped him in her direction.
Her long locks had been cut devastatingly short, blood clung to her hair, roseate faded into red and black - the same as his mother.
Who?
Bruises littered her body, her right eye had been swollen shut, blood dripped from fresh wounds, and her face was beginning to show the results of blunt trauma. Tears had left streaks on her cheeks that intermingled with dirt that became grime on normally flushed cheeks. Her skin — clear skin was marred with ugly colors of purple and black. She was holding herself up shakily behind the other members in their year, but he couldn't see past her face.
Etches of those memories began to play before him, taunt him.
The voice of his past self rung loudly in his ears, you're weak!
Everyone began to dissipate into the rage that began to seep into the pores of his skin.
He had failed to protect his family from his brother, he could only watch as those that he loved the most were slaughtered into a forever night.
Again, he failed to protect those that were dear to him.
You let them die!
The poison that had run through his arteries began to morph into blind hatred, hatred for himself, hatred for his brother, hatred for this world.
Sasuke rose onto his feet.
Calmly, he could feel the power course through him. The curse mark worked quickly to cover his skin, his past catapulted before him while his present suffocated him in water drenched with his anger.
"Sakura…"
All eyes darted to the sole survivor.
"Who did that to you…?"
His eyes scanned the trio that stood at the edge of the clearing, their backs pressed against the trees.
"Sasuke-kun?" she squeaked, fright heavy in her voice.
That voice, the one that had become customary in his days. Had become a source of comfort.
The shadows of his past began to laugh maniacally, and the eyes of his family stared at him in disgust — Sakura's eyes reflected their disappointment in him.
He wouldn't sit and watch.
Not this time.
Not when he could feel his chakra surge angrily around him.
"Who is it?"
She didn't respond, fear quaked her small form to witness the change in her teammate.
The curse seal enveloped his entire body, his entire being filled with a newfound hatred that created a powerful entity of energy around him.
Enough to make the others around him back up.
"We did it!" one of the members of the sound trio answered hautily. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the one who spoke up, he could almost laugh at the incredulously stupid reason why they would claim this.
"Sasuke-kun…Your body!"
He lifted his hand to his line of sight and saw the black flames that tattooed his skin in intricate swirls of designs that forged themselves in his lithe anger. His sharingan spun into focus, half of his face was marred with the design that complimented the black tomoes.
"Don't worry," he eased. Her sea foam eyes stared at him cautiously, and he couldn't blame her.
He felt different.
"Not only that, I feel power overflowing from within me."
He paused, he hadn't felt this strong and in control before. A new sense of clarity breached into the fabrication of his life, of who he was and how he was going to avenge his family.
How he was going to protect his teammates.
"I feel great."
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Some nights, he wondered if that moment had taught him what he needed to know. How the monsters played with him when he saw her hurt. How his path cleared before him—
And would he have chosen a different path, knowing that now.
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"He gave it to me."
A gift.
"I finally understand it…I am an avenger."
Confusion registered onto her face, but he couldn't try and explain to her. Only he knew, because he had nothing, and wanted everything. He wanted his family back, he wanted to bring their names to light and justice, and he could only kill him by going on this new path.
"I am on a path where I must gain power…"
Why was he explaining to her? Someone that couldn't possibly understand — Naruto had shared in similar pain, but it wasn't plausible for him to understand loss — someone who had started with nothing.
He would gladly, favorably chosen a life of isolation than losing everyone.
"Now," he collected, his attention drawn to the sound ninjas who'd been calculating him with labored interest, "it was you guys, right?" he drawled.
It happened quickly.
Spots began to dance in his memory, spots of black that he couldn't remember because the enthrallment of inflicting pain on them had captivated him.
Sasuke did remember the crack of bones against his fist, the gratifying feeling of his shuriken lodging themselves into the skin of the one that had foolishly boasted about hurting Sakura.
The darkness beckoned him.
Power.
More.
It filled him, entirely.
"Heh, so you're proud of these two arms?"
A smirk ghosted incessantly on his face, he gripped the sound ninja's arms and pressed the heel of his foot in between his shoulder blades. Slowly, he pressed forward until the sockets began to creak under the pressure, the male began to cry out pitifully — Sasuke pushed further, the sockets began to give way — more screams — another push — snap! The bones in his shoulder's caved and became disgustingly loose — coward cries left the lips of the nin.
Sasuke glanced at the masked sound shinobi, another grin lifted onto his face. "You're the only one left…" satisfying, nothing else could compare to how good it felt to avenge those that had wronged him.
"I hope you let me have more fun."
He took a menacing step forward — thwarting the nin's calm reserve.
"STOP!"
He stilled, delicate arms circled him and the familiar warmth of his teammate pressed against his back.
Seconds passed by that began to cave into eternity.
A damp, foreign feeling darkened the material on his back.
Her tears.
He glanced back, the sharingan reflected in her viridescent eyes, and they stood there - him looking at her, unable to move.
They shared an eternity of emotions in one glance.
He could see her concern that shook in her petite figure, he could feel the the faith she still had in him.
The black shadows continued to taunt him, he felt lost in their clutches. The power they gave him fueled his hatred, the darkness wanted to swallow him like a ravenous demon.
"Please…stop," she whimpered.
She stood there on a hill with a smile that forced the shadows to retreat from his vision. Her hair swayed happily in the wind, her hand out-stretched, reaching for him. He reached forward, stumbling all the while, confused yet urgent.
He had to reach the beacon of light.
The swirls of candy pink and iridescent emerald sought him.
Her whimpering reached his ears, the sorrow in his life began to subside, the voices that thwarted his mind began to silence — replaced by her presence.
The curse mark began to recede on his skin, the power left with it but in it's stead he felt her love that overcame such raw strength.
It was gone.
The black flames snuck back into their cave on his neck, and the two stood there for what felt like minutes - the world faded into a haze of obscurity, the forest lost in the sunshine of her warmth.
Until numbness overcame him.
Limbs reminiscent of jelly, he fell into her arms.
With the curse mark dormant, he had only tasted what it had to offer.
And now he felt exhausted without it.
"Sasuke-kun!"
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Sasuke did not think that the rose trees in spring would bring a sense of home, and he didn't expect that the tree leaves mirrored in a river would distinctly remind him of her eyes.
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She became the sunshine in the spring.
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Annoying.
TBC.
Author's note:
The FOD scenes inspired this story - but I'm happy to begin the next character development for Sasuke.
I see so many people reading and thank you for those that have followed this story and reviews thus far, I really appreciate it.
Leave a review and let me know what you think, constructive criticism, if I'm portraying Sasuke accurately - what needs to be improved and what you like.
Reviews are a really big motivation, thank you!
