Oneiropherenia C3-Training
—-
Sakura Haruno
—-
We arrived at the training grounds at 5:00am, the sky was still dark but the stars have dispersed with the approaching sunrise. The walk was silent and the static of anticipation was making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
I was excited.
Sasuke is skilled but I haven't really experienced it one on one. He always trained with Naruto or Kakashi. I had a slight advantage as Sasuke hasn't fought me yet. I just hoped my training helps me keep up.
"Taijutsu only." Sasuke said, placing his katana gently against one of the posts. "I don't want to attract too much attention...or cause too much damage."
I undid my hip holster and threw it on the ground next to Sasuke's sword. Grabbing my left wrist with my right hand I stretched up and pulled my shoulders back to warm up a little. "Fine by me," I said.
We walked out into the middle of the field and stood across from each other. Sasuke's cape rustled in the wind. His hair fluttering over his rinnegan eye.
"I won't use it." He said.
"Don't hold back." I challenged. We bowed to each other and jumped back.
Sasuke flash stepped behind me, and I ducked with a low spinning kick. He dodged and landed face to face with me. With only one arm, Sasuke relies more on kicking attacks. I dodged.
I dodged again and again and again, dancing around his kicking pattern always just a hair out of reach. He chased me, never giving me an opportunity to parry.
Finally I caught his ankle with the top of my foot and tripped up his balance just enough to give me an opening. I threw a punch and he blocked it with his forearm and backed away.
"My turn." I charged toward him and threw hit after hit. He blocked all of them with precision and I felt his hand catch my wrist and tried to redirect it. I rolled out of the grip and he let go.
"You move like Lee." He said backing up into a fighting stance once more.
"Lee-san was kind enough to teach me a few things over the years," I said, readjusting my gloves before resuming the fight. "I've learned a lot more than Taijutsu too," I winked and charged at him again.
We traded punches and kicks until the sun rose but neither of us landed anything. It felt like dancing with him. I was trained to dodge rapid fire attacks with precision, stepping always just out of the way and using my footwork to gain an advantage. Sasuke on the other hand had years of stored knowledge from different fights, so he could change his fighting style with the turn of his wrist.
Sasuke was at a disadvantage with Taijutsu having only one hand to punch and guard but he didn't let that slow him down at all. You can tell that over the years away he didn't slack off just because of his injury, he just adapted.
I started to get angry. I wanted to hit him. I needed to land at least one punch. Purely out of a personal sense of pride, I wanted him to feel fear for just a moment...
I started coming at him not inconsistently, feinting and trying to trip him up with a few half-punches. Finally I managed to land one swift punch to his abdomen and I sent him flying backwards. I could hear the breath get knocked out of his lungs on the impact. His feet dragging across the dirt as he skidded to a stop.
"Ichi," I said smiling, my breath heaving with fatigue. Sasuke spit the blood from his mouth and charged at me, flash stepping behind me at the last second. I turned to block but he redirected the guard and flipped me over so fast I didn't see the ground until my cheek was resting in the grass. He had my right arm twisted behind my back and I felt his weight pressing my body down in a hold, his left knee pressed against my left elbow, pinning me to the field.
"Ichi." I felt his breath move the hair on the back of my neck. "Get out of it."
I smirked and concentrated my chakra to the little diamond on my forehead.
Then I slammed my face into the dirt.
The ground shook with a tremor and the trees tumbled and rustled with the moving earth. I felt his grip loosen and seized my moment to wrench my hand free. I sent an elbow into his ribcage and took off running.
"Ni!" I shouted as I ran, the exhilaration of my success racing through my veins as I picked up speed.
Sasuke bent over with the impact, but ran after me not long after. I jumped through the trees, trying to lose him in the branches. I could hear his steps echoing mine through the trees. I debating using a jutsu or a weapon but that would be cheating. Thankfully, chakra control doesn't count.
And that's my specialty.
I jumped to a tree on my left and used a branch to swing myself upwards. I watched Sasuke sprint past me and then dropped down to the forest floor with a satisfied smirk when suddenly my back hit the rough tree bark and I felt the wind escape my lungs with the impact. Sasuke pressed his body up against mine with a decent amount of force and held me there, both of us breathing heavily.
"Ni. Get out of it," He said again.
His voice was low and threatening but it sent shivers down my spine. I must be sadistic. His threat made a rebellious fire burn inside of me, I wanted nothing more than to prove him wrong.
I tucked my chin and rolled against his body but he grabbed the back of my shirt and spun me. I used the momentum to land a kick to his side and he blocked the impact with his thigh but he let go.
Sasuke charged towards me again, his right arm poised to strike. I dodged and switched up my approach. I dragged my hand softly around his outstretched fist, placing my hand right where I needed to be to lock his shoulder and flip him over. We hit the ground hard, my knees scraping on the exposed tree roots that lifted in the earthquake I caused. I sat down on his chest and used my thighs to squeeze his shoulders together.
I couldn't help but feel myself grin triumphantly. I brushed the hair from out of his face and looked at the rinnegan underneath. It's purpleish hue reflected the now blue sky above. I could see where the color around his iris was more saturated. Where the whites of his eye should be instead there was a cloudiness with the black tome slowly spinning with the shimmer of fresh ink that chakra seals have. These eyes have a life of their own, in a way. Sasuke stayed still underneath me and watched as I observed all the details.
"Does it scare you?" He asked softly. I adjusted my focus and looked at his face. He was so hard to read but the softness of his question and the lack of tension in his eyebrows told me he was asking me honestly.
I brushed the hair further out of his face and just said "No." I didn't even have to think twice about it.
Without warning, he grabbed my wrist and used his legs to flip me over onto my back. The air got knocked out of my lungs with the impact on the hard floor and his face leaned in closely to my left ear.
"It should," He said softly, "It scares me."
He pulled back just far enough to look at me, tome spinning hypnotically.
"Get out of it."
—-
I sat on the floor of my shower, pulling the leaves from my hair and healing all the little scrapes and cuts that I could find.
My hands traced up my legs with healing chakra and smoothed the skin over until there wasn't a scab to be seen.
I pressed my back up against the cold tile and let the water run over my face in a hot stream that trickled off of my eyelashes.
"Get out of it."
His voice echoed in my left ear. I remember how close his face came to mine. How his breath felt against my cheek.
The water trickled over my lips in a gentle caress and I imagined Sasuke running his finger across my lower lip...
I ran my fingers through my wet hair and let out and annoying groan as I leaned my head back against the wall. The latter part didn't really happen but I couldn't help but wish that for a second that he had leaned in and I could kiss him just once just to know what I felt like.
The water trickled down my face,along my lower lip and I closed my eyes, imagining it play out like a dream I've had a thousand times. The hot water stung my raw skin a little bit but it felt so purifying in a way that made me savor it a little longer than usual. This would probably be my last good shower for the next few weeks. Sasuke and I were traveling on foot to most of our destinations; places that he deemed controlled enough environments to engage in any enemy ambushes should our dimensional travel invite back some unwanted guests. He wanted as much space from the threat and innocent lives as possible. Sasuke was strong enough to handle most things on his own. And smart enough in a fight. He knows when to run and regroup instead of needlessly putting his life on the line for a gamble of faith.
He said he had some errands to run before we leave tomorrow morning at dawn. I set aside my slight pang of abandonment..I chalked it up to PTSD and told him to just let himself into the apartment when he was done. If I'm not home and the door is locked then I would put my key under the mat.
I haven't quite got the hang of trusting him completely.
There are days where it is harder than others.
I can't control the ache in my chest when he leaves, and lately all I've done is miss him for years. It'll take a while before I've adjusted to his constant presence.
I touched the scars on my arm and remembered how curious Sasuke was behind their origins. The look in his eye as he examined it was calculating but concerned. I kept it to remind myself to take Naruto seriously. He was a force to be reckoned with if I've ever seen one, both in spirit and in strength.
When we were younger I always thought he was nothing but an overly optimistic fuckup but as an adult I can truly respect the sacrifices he made and the effort he put in to be the absolute best person he could possibly be. He was an optimistic hurricane of a human being and I loved him to death for it. I've just made it my personal mission to make sure to keep him humble. I smiled. What a dork.
I turned my attention to the scar on my abdomen and traced the thick white keloid. There was an identical one on my back from the exit wound. This one I kept mostly as a trophy, in a morbid kind of way. I could've healed this right after I got it if I wanted to, but I never did. I don't think the thought was crossing my mind at that moment; that getting rid of it was an option.
Every time I looked down at it I am reminded of the sacrifice that Chiyo made for me, and the sacrifice she made for Gaara. He and I will occasionally run into each other on my trips to Suna, visiting her grave whenever I'm in town. Sometimes we go and get tea together and discuss things other than hospital politics. Mostly Gaara will ask genuine questions about my friends in Konoha.
He even asked me out once, I laughed when I remember the embarrassed look on his face. It took him a lot of courage to do something like that. I remember wanting to say yes, but all I could think of was Sasuke's face and I knew that I needed to say no. I couldn't give him my whole heart and he deserved someone who could. He was very courteous and polite about the whole thing, telling me that he respects the honesty and is content with just being my friend, which I well and truly appreciate.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
The door of my bathroom rattled with the incessant pounding. I yelped at the sudden interruption from my daydreaming.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" I could hear Naruto wail through the walls. I got up off the floor and turned off the shower, now instead of relaxed I was annoyed.
I quickly wrapped myself in a towel and charged my fist with chakra as I ripped open the door.
And took a Naruto sized fist to the forehead.
The next few moments felt freeze frames from a movie; me, standing in the doorway of my bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Naruto, with his balled up fist pressed against my forehead, and the slow shock and realization of the consequences of his action dawning on his now terrified face.
"What. Do you want." I said through gritted teeth, clinging to the terry cloth to remind myself why I shouldn't reach out and grab his throat.
He pulled his hand back and stuttered out an apology before pointing to Sasuke laying on my couch with a rasengan swirl shaped bruise peeking through the torn fabric in his right leg.
He must've held back for the spar, but still got him pretty good.
I shove Naruto out of my bedroom door and quickly put on a pair of underwear and a T-shirt before running out to the living room with my med kit.
These types of visits were normal, typical over exertion in a friendly fight and not wanting to deal with the regular hospital routine checkup.
I got on my knees and took my medical shears out of my kit to open up the fabric around the wound. It looked pretty bad, a swirl pattern covered in purple and green and yellows, like a nebula. Some of the flesh was torn and pulled raw and covered in dirt from the fields. I was going to have to disinfect it.
Sasuke sat in pained silence and let me work while Naruto dig through my kitchen for a snack.
"Naruto!" I barked. "While you're snooping around in my kitchen could you grab the bottle of vodka from the freezer please?"
I pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and opened a fresh towel from a sterile package. I looked up at Sasuke who was looking at his leg intently.
"I don't drink." He deadpanned. "Just go through with it." He didn't look me in the eyes just stared at the wound with a look of panicked determination.
Naruto walked over, bottle of vodka in hand and stood behind Sasuke on the couch.
"Shit. Teme, my bad," he said cringing at the sight of his leg.
"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke gritted through his teeth but the insult did nothing but bring a smile to Naruto's face.
"Alright Sasuke. This is going to sting a little." I held the cloth in my right hand and waited for him to nod, and pressed it into his thigh.
—
Sasuke Uchiha
—
The pain that shot through my leg was excruciating. Like ice cold blades tearing my skin open again and again. Sakura hand came up to my chest and pushed my body back onto the couch as I lunged forward, groaning in agony.
I opened my eyes to see Naruto's outstretched hand holding the frosted bottle near my face. I caved into the pain and grabbed it from him, twisting the corked top off with my teeth and taking a swig of it hoping that the burning sensation in my throat would distract me from my leg.
It went down surprisingly smoothly, ice cold and virtually as tasteless as water.
I took another drink.
Sakura finished disinfecting the wound and tossed the towel aside. Her hands began to glow green. "Hold on tightly to that bottle," she said, "It'll feel worse before it feels better."
I gripped the neck of the glass bottle and readied myself for the pain again. This time instead of the cold peroxide Sakura's chakra was hot and the cuts on my leg started to hiss as they healed.
And then the twisting began.
Sakuras hands kneaded chakra in a reverse spiral from the rasengan, pulling and stretching my skin back into its original spot. The pain was searing hot and Naruto grabbed my shoulders to hold me steady while she worked.
I stifled a scream and took another swig from the bottle and finally the pain began to subside.
I looked down at Sakura's hands, attentively going over every cut and bruise and regenerating the cells delicately and precisely. I can't tell if the pain was making my vision hazy or if it was the alcohol but watching her work gave me an anchor to focus on. Her eyes were soft but focused, relaxed and confident. Clearly she's done this many times before, this type of healing came naturally to her. I felt the alcohol warmth wash over me and the pain began to subside.
I watched as the skin softened back into one cohesive body part. The bruise had subsided from a dark purple to a softer color underneath a fresh layer of healed skin. Sakura's chakra dimmed and faded as she exhaled. My body relaxed with the ebb of her chakra leaving behind a chill in my healed thigh.
"That should do it," she said and smiled up at me. She stood up from her kneeled position and stretched her arms above her head. Her T-shirt lifting again to show the barest hint of a large scar on her stomach. Directly opposite the scar I saw on her back.
She should've died from an injury like that. I wonder just how skilled of a medic she really was. The injury on my leg must've been child's play to someone with the kind of skill that can stop internal bleeding on a wound that goes through your internal organs.
I made a mental note to ask her about that one too.
Naruto released his grip on my shoulders and reached for the bottle gripped in my hand but I decided if I had to deal with him any longer one more drink couldn't hurt.
I pulled it away from his outstretched hand and took a final drink before shoving it into his hands and getting up off the couch.
"Oy, asshole!"
Out of my periphery, I spotted something being tossed in my direction. I caught a small white jar, with a diameter no bigger than a coin.
"Put that on the bruise for the next couple of days, your cells are freshly regenerated and delicate. This will help protect you from infection and will moisturize the new skin so it doesn't dry out and slow the healing process." Sakura put a kettle on the stove and started the gas flame. "Naruto!" She barked. The dobe immediately stood at attention and stiffened up.
Sakura put her hands on her hips and glared. "Rasengan? Really? The day before we leave on a mission? What the fuck were you thinking!" She threw an apple at his head and Naruto ducked.
"I'm sorry! We just got into it you know?!"
Another apple.
"Sakura come on!"
She continued to throw produce at the idiot, and my eyes started to wander to her toned legs, flexing as she turned on the tile floor.
"I pulled it! I pulled the hit!" He said defensively, arms covering his face for protection. Sakura fumed and began scolding him.
"You know the rules, I'm done treating your injuries for free." She held out her hand, "How are you gonna make it up to me this time, hmm?"
"But you didn't heal me you healed Sasuke!" He whined.
"You're the reason he was hurt at all, why didn't you just take him to the hospital? I'm technically off-duty." Her arms crossed her chest and she continued to glare at the idiot.
"Can I pay you back with dinner? Hinata invited you guys over tonight before you leave!"
Sakura's face looked taken aback with surprise and then lit up into a huge smile.
"That sounds wonderful!" Sakura beamed. "Sasukes first family dinner! I mean-" she stammered, and looked embarrassed as she looked over at me when she said the word "family".
It felt so strange to hear her say that word about us...about me and them. They've become a family, and they consider me a part of it.
"Yeah! Hinata is making some fancy pork dish and Sasuke can see our house!" He said, looking at me with an eagerness I can only describe as instantly exhausting.
He's been talking about his marriage and his house and his wife all afternoon. Bragging about his accomplishments and filling me in on things he said he couldn't wait to rub it in my face. He didn't ask me about my travels the entire day, it was actually a great one sided conversation I didn't have to put effort into.
"Hey, bastard. Are you in or what?" Naruto barked over at me.
The alcohol in my system was making me feel uncharacteristically sociable. How bad could it be?
"Dinner sounds nice." I said. Sakura jumped a little with excitement. It was really...cute.
"Alright! Yes! Let me get dressed first!" Sakura clapped her hands together and suddenly I became very hyper aware of what she was wearing and could feel heat begin to pool in my cheeks. I turned away and pretended to distract myself with one of Sakura's books while she ran into the bedroom to change.
—
End- C3
Sorry for the delay you guys! New job keeps me busy. Hopefully with the holidays I'll have a little more free time to explore this story.
Your likes and comments and asks mean the world to me 3
