Fixation by LittleMissHippie
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Ino Yamanaka was obsessed.
She wanted—no, she needed Sakura to be back. She craved her return; she craved the normalcy that would only return when Sakura herself gave it. Every morning, Ino would wake up with one thought constantly repeating itself: Sakura, please come back. I miss you. But in reality, it wasn't really Sakura's homecoming that Ino sought.
Really, she just wanted her forgiveness.
"Naruto-baka," a female voice called out. "Are you ready?"
The blond-haired boy didn't bother looking up. He continued to sit on The Bench, as if caught in deep thought.
"Naruto!" yelled Ino. "Are you listening to me?" She stomped up to The Bench, her obvious irritation showing through her actions. "Stop sitting around. It's time to do something." She paused, her eyes focusing on the blond. "We have to do something," she murmured, her desperation showing for a moment; it was almost as if she was pleading with him.
Naruto sighed in response. He slowly raised his head, making eye contact with Ino. "Ino-chan," he said, as if he were preparing to break bad news—in this case, reality—to a small child. "What are we supposed to do?"
The question itself was rhetorical, but Ino was not going to give up easily. "We're supposed to find her," she stated. "Duh." She rolled her eyes before extending a hand to Naruto. "And you're supposed to help me."
Naruto stared at her hand before averting his gaze. "I already told you everything I know, Ino-chan," he muttered. "She got fed up with us. So she left—"
"I know she left! But we have to find her—" interrupted Ino.
"—and I know you just want to impress Sai," spat Naruto. He paused, glaring at the ground for a few moments. Ino was too stunned to continue arguing. Does he really think this is just about impressing Sai?, she wondered.
But what if it is? What if I'm just being selfish? This should be about Sakura, but what if it's not—?
"But eventually we have to face the facts, Ino," continued Naruto, in a much softer tone. She winced at the lack of the characteristic –chan. "How are we supposed to find Sakura-chan? We have no idea where she would have wanted to go!" He closed his eyes and sighed again, the very image of defeat.
There was silence for a few minutes, as they both simply contemplated where she could have gone; they were both so deep in thought that neither of them noticed the third person who had joined their group and—to the complete ignorance of both blondes—listened to their entire conversation.
"What if she wasn't just trying to get away from everything?" asked the stranger. "Maybe there was… another reason."
Ino and Naruto simultaneously turned to face the new person who had joined their conversation—Sai.
Naruto glared at him for a moment, before turning away again. "I already told you—" he began angrily.
"What other reason could it have been, Sai-kun?" asked Ino quietly. She paused, before her eyes widened. "Do you know something?" she asked desperately. "You need to tell us. We need to find her!"
He ignored the female blonde. "I think," he began cautiously. "It had something to do with… him." He stared down Naruto, hoping he would understand; hoping that maybe he would know what to do—
Naruto cursed loudly. "Of course. It was always about him, wasn't it?"
Ino looked in confusion from one boy to another. "I don't understand. Do you guys know where she is—?"
Naruto stood up from The Bench, finally ready to take action. "Let's go, Sai. It's time to bring Sakura back home." And with that, the two boys began to head towards the Village gates, their destination still unknown to their female companion. But it didn't matter that she had no idea where they were headed—she was just happy that she'd finally get another chance at forgiveness.
Sakura, she thought. Get ready.
Sakura Haruno was so, unbelievably fed up with her so-called friends.
Friends were supposed to stand by you. They were supposed to help you, and protect you, and never let you down. So why did she keep getting betrayed by those closest to her? The reason continued to elude her. Ino had been unable to supply a reason, when Sakura had questioned her. Naruto was no help in the matter—he had been unable to put words to the reason as well. When it came down to it, the reality of the situation was painfully simple.
After all, didn't it make sense that the answer to her problems would be at the original source?
"Sasuke," she murmured.
The black-haired boy tensed up in front of her, activating his Sharingan and preparing for a potential attack. In another world, she might have smiled; she may have even laughed. She did neither. "We need to talk."
He didn't face her. "How did you find me?" asked Sasuke calmly.
She brushed his question off as if it didn't matter. "I have my ways," she answered vaguely. She didn't pause before she continued, "But I have something I need to ask you."
Slowly, he turned. She remembered to avert her eyes, considering she had no idea what effect his Sharingan would have on her. I can't afford to underestimate him, she reminded herself. I'm just here for answers.
"I'm not going back to Konoha," he stated. He took advantage of the fact that she wasn't looking at him in order to scan her for anything that could be dangerous to him. He found nothing.
She narrowed her eyes, fighting the urge to glare at him. "I'm not here to take you back to Konoha," she spat. She paused, allowing herself to calm down. After sighing, she continued, "I'm here for answers. Answers that only you have."
He continued to stare at her. She's telling the truth, he realized. But what question would be important enough for her to track me down without intent to take me back…? Sasuke remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
"I know you needed to avenge your family," started Sakura, her voice monotonous. "And…" She almost choked on his name. "Orochimaru was supposed to make you stronger." She paused, before continuing. "So that's why you left, right? Because you needed to; because you had no choice."
It's almost as if she's trying to rationalize it to herself, thought Sasuke. What exactly does she expect me to say?
"But you did have a choice," she almost whispered, her voice now betraying the emotional turmoil behind her words. "You could've stayed with us. We could have helped you. Dammit, Sasuke, we were a team!" By the end of her statement, her composure was gone. Her eyes were squeezed shut, as if she was still trying to hold back her emotions.
The dark-haired boy watched her in silence.
After moments, she opened her eyes; her breathing was returning back to normal. She allowed herself to turn towards Sasuke, her eyes finally locking with his—at some point, he had decided his Sharingan was not worth it; not for this girl, this girl who did not intend to hurt him—and her mouth opened to finally ask him her question.
"Why did you… betray us?" asked Sakura.
Why did you betray me?
Naruto Uzumaki wanted to be enough.
He was constantly trying to improve himself; he was always training and training and training, but he was never enough. He put so much effort into everything he did, and sometimes it paid off—Sakura was his girlfriend, he was a successful ninja, he was happy. But then… he would do something to screw everything up. He would never be perfect—not like him. And the fact alone was enough to frustrate Naruto beyond belief.
He would never compare to Sasuke Uchiha.
When Sakura had finished her conversation with Sasuke, she dutifully returned to Konoha. She found a trio of ninjas waiting for her at the entrance—Naruto, Ino, and Sai; as expected—and continued walking past them.
She wasn't in the mood to deal with people.
Her conversation with Sasuke had left her a lot angrier than expected—I hate them I hate them I hate them—and she knew she should deal with it before she confronted anyone; if she ever confronted anyone.
Naruto wasn't going to be blown off so easily.
"Sakura-chan!" called the blond-haired boy. "What happened?" He chased after her, Ino following not far behind. Sai remained in place, trying to figure out what exactly was off about the pink-haired girl.
Sakura stopped walking, staying in place without turning around to face the two blondes. "You really want to know what happened?" asked Sakura, a quiet anger present in her voice.
Why is she so angry? Sai wondered. Completely oblivious to Sakura's anger, Ino and Naruto simply nodded.
"Sasuke and I had a little conversation, and he was nice enough to clarify something for me," spat Sakura. "Which is more than either of you bothered to do. But everything makes sense now," continued Sakura. "Sasuke helped me understand—ironic, isn't it? The guy who caused all my trust issues in the first place is the only person I can trust enough to tell me the truth."
Naruto and Ino stared at the pink-haired girl, completely confused.
"It all comes down to human nature," she finally said. "You were both just pre-programmed to be selfish jerks." Before they could ponder what she met by selfish, she continued. "Ino, you've always been focused on your self; you definitely value yourself more than you've ever valued our friendship. Why else would you try to steal my boyfriend?"
Ino was stunned into silence, unable to respond. Because it's true, she realized. You've always wanted to be better than Sakura.
"And Naruto," continued Sakura. "Dating me was just part of being better than Sasuke, right? He never got me—not really—so when you finally did… you were finally better. But that didn't even last, did it?"
She glared at both of them, feeling angrier than she'd ever felt in her entire life. And then, before she could yell at them further, she turned around and stormed off.
"Maybe it's best if we leave her alone for now," supposed Sai—and the two blondes simply nodded their agreement.
Sakura is beyond repair.
Sai wanted to fix her.
She didn't deserve the things that happened to her—an awful first love, a rival for a best friend, or a disappointing second love. Sakura had done nothing to deserve betrayal; she was broken, and it was all their deserved to be happy, and he wanted to make her happy. He vowed to make her smile again, and laugh, and return her back to normal. And he would keep trying, until he succeeded.
Therefore, Sai vowed to stay by her side; no matter what.
Even after all of the events that had happened, she was still at The Bench. Sai almost smiled—some things never change—but thought better of it. He focused his attention on the task at hand. He quietly walked towards her, before sitting down next to her.
He glanced at her before speaking. "Welcome back, Sakura-san."
She didn't bother ignoring him; she wanted to take out her pent up anger on him—yell, scream, hit him, something—but she couldn't find the energy to do so. And really, it wasn't his fault. Not really.
"It's not good to be back," she said without humor. She tried to think of something that fit her current feelings, but nothing seemed right. "It kind of sucks, actually," she continued honestly.
Sai redirected his gaze from the ground to the pink-haired girl beside him. If I want to help her, he thought, I need to ask questions. "What's wrong?" asked Sai.
She didn't meet his gaze. "It's just…" She struggled for words. "I wondered for years why Sasuke did what he did, you know?" She paused, although the question was rhetorical. "And then after Naruto and Ino did what they did, I just needed to know even more." She sighed, and Sai found himself nodding along with her. "But when I found out, it was so… simple. The entire time, they were all just being selfish." She spat out the last word, her voice clearly showing her feelings of distaste for the word. "I just don't know if I want to keep trying," finished Sakura. "Especially if everyone's like that too."
He felt so bad for the girl next to him; she'd been through so much, and it just wasn't fair. As they sat in silence, he struggled to think of something that would help her feel better—anything. Finally, he decided to attempt using his words to ease the situation.
"Sakura," he began. Startled by the disturbance of the silence, she turned herself to face him. "I'm sorry. You make me wish I could change the past," admitted the boy. "But I can't. However…" He paused, searching for the right words. "I can try to change the future."
She looked at him in confusion. "I don't think I understand," she admitted.
"I… I want to be here for you," he admitted. "And I want to prove that not everyone is like them—Naruto, Ino, Sasuke. Sometimes… people can be selfless, too." She didn't look convinced, so he continued. "I want you to be happy, Sakura-san. And if I can do that by being your friend, then I will be your friend. You deserve a better life than the one you've been given; since I can't change the past, I want your present—and your future—to be the best they possibly can."
Sakura stared at him, completely speechless. Then, slowly, a smile spread across her face.
Maybe Sasuke was wrong. Maybe not everyone had to be selfish—maybe, some people are just born special.
She found herself leaning forward, moving closer to the boy next to her. He sat frozen, not quite believing what was happening in front of him. And this time, when her lips reached his cheek, she was only thinking about one dark-haired boy.
"Thank you, Sai."
Thank you for reading!
I am so sorry for taking an unexpected hiatus! I tried to use this to kind of… warm myself back up, so to speak. So I also apologize for being really rusty. I think this story is pretty much finished, so I'll probably move on to The List Redux to finish that up before I start any new stuff.
Please review! Reviews make my day. Seriously.
Sorry again!,
LMH
PS: Definitely wrote this at like 1AM, so feel free to point out any mistakes!
