Day 7 Prompt: Mortality

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.


Sakura realized that Sasuke wasn't the invincible genin that she taught herself to believe. She saw him dead, she was sure of it, with a hundred needles pierced into his cold body, and even she was surprised at the pain that exploded into her chest at the thought of him leaving her.

Until now, when they were almost back to the village and Sasuke was alive and well, she resisted the urge to coddle him, give him all the affection she could.

But she knew that he wouldn't be patient with her if she did that. Sakura cringed when she remembered her overly aggressive attention that she showered him and shame washed over her. But if she didn't do it, he wouldn't even notice her. She was not like Ino, who commanded others to look at her with just one flip of her hair. Sakura knew that she was pretty and that it was quite easy for her to flirt with boys when she wanted, but faced with Sasuke, she had no idea what to do.

She shook her head. Sasuke almost died and she was thinking about how to make him notice her. Was she really that of a failure that all she ever wanted was for him to acknowledge her?

Sneaking a glance at the dark-haired boy, she was surprised when their eyes met, but he looked away so fast that she wondered if it was only her imagination.

Of course, since when did Uchiha Sasuke look at her with those soft eyes? He would never.

And that was the truth.

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Sasuke realized that he wasn't as strong as he thought he had calmed down enough to see the state of his female teammate.

His whole being burned with anger and regret when he saw the rapidly darkening bruises on her pale skin, the swelling of her once flawless face, and the uneven cut of her silky pink hair.

He was supposed to protect her. The strong would not allow the weak to be harmed, and that unwritten rule was to be followed time and time and again. In the days that would go by, Sakura was to be pure and untouched, that was what he told himself. It contradicted from the time he told her to become a stronger ninja, but something inside of him told him that she was not supposed to be here.

He had been too relaxed. He treated death without real care, and thinking of Sakura's mangled corpse, he was glad that he woke up and broke the dirty hands that dared sully her, the person that needed to be protected.

What if she died? What if she was killed while in his shelter? He would never forgive himself if that happened. Life was fleeting. One second you were alive, running through life with determination, and the next you're being eaten by maggots six feet under.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura whose hair was being fixed by a certain Yamanaka, and he caught the underlying stress in her expression as she stared hard at the ground. She was tired, tired from protecting him and Naruto with her own body.

He clenched his fists and glared hard at her. It was not her duty to sacrifice herself for him. She should just allow him to shield her from any further harm like a good girl.

They were all mortals, but he wanted to pretend that he wasn't.


Seriously guys, the NH wanking on Tumblr pisses me off. Some NH fans keep on downplaying SS just to suit their needs. Can't they just accept that SS has the most spotlight when it comes to canon romance? Sorry, but I don't accept The Last as canon since it wasn't manga compliant and relied more on SP fillers. I like NH but their fandom... not so much. No offense to NH fans who also like SS.