Secundum Bellum
Chapter 9: You and I
あなたと私
Sakura had never kissed anyone. When she developed the desire to, she wished that person would be Sasuke. Who would've known that her desire would one day become a reality. The reality of her lips locked with his, his face so close to hers. One hand on his warm cheek and the other on his chest, the tips of his jet black hair hiding their kiss as he leaned in. She did not expect him to reciprocate, instead she thought he would be stunned and then he would push her away, instead he came closer, one hand came to the back of her head and the other her waist.
As for Sasuke, he followed what he thinks is instinct. He decided to let her in, to let himself go of all his usual restraints and so he kissed her back. He kept her close. His heart was beating fast, it was an emotion so foreign to him. During his life he had not experienced such things as romantic love and attraction to the opposite sex. He was too focused on revenge and hate to let such trivial things as he would have once called them become involved in his life.
As their kiss came to an end Sakura slowly pulled back as she looked up at Sasuke. Sasuke looked back at her with as much intensity, not sure of what their next step would be.
"Sasuke-kun...I love you, I've always have. I just want to be by your side." Sakura said not sure on how to act as she slowly moved away from him and looked away.
Sasuke himself was not sure what to say, a small and rare blush also adorned his face. Their kiss made him feel things he had never felt before, it made him look at her in a way he had never looked at a woman before. His eyes never strayed from Sakura's shy figure, who slowly began to turned towards him. He thought as she slowly turned that she looked different, she looked beautiful he thought. It was a new sight in front of him. Sakura was a woman, a woman who is complex and strong but beautiful not only in the outside but also in the inside. A woman who had always been kind and caring towards him even when he was not as attentive to her, but rather apathetic.
He took her for granted.
"Why? After everything I've done, why would you still wait for someone like me? " Asked Sasuke pondering why she would wait for him for so long.
"When someone falls in love, it does not change from one day to the next. Sometimes love is capable of persisting through the flow of time." Sakura explained as she looked down at her feet. A slow breeze caressed her cheeks. "I never once stopped thinking about you Sasuke. I would've gone to the ends of the earth to find you, I couldn't let you go. I had gotten to know a different part of you back when we were genins. It was the part of you that made me feel genuine love rather than some romantic teenage fantasy. All I wanted was for you to acknowledge me…." She said passionately as she poured her buried truths to Sasuke.
"You almost lost your life to me, I betrayed you and yet…you should've hated me Sakura." Sasuke said. The pessimist in him taking hold of his heart and gripping tight. Sasuke still had not forgiven himself for all his mistakes.
"I could've never hated you Sasuke. Even when I grew so angry at you, I could not hate you. I wanted to save you from the darkness, and if I couldn't than I would've gone down with you…it's hard to explain but it's just how I felt. When you love someone, you'd do anything for them just to take their pain away." Sakura said sadness embracing her heart.
"I tried to take your life as well….Sasuke-kun…" whispered Sakura.
" Your intention was not one of malice but rather of love, you wanted to save me from the path I'd chosen, while I…aimed to take you out…" As Sasuke confessed this he turned around clenching his fists. He wondered how things ever came to such extremes between them. She was not a threat to him, she was not an obstacle and yet he aimed to kill her. It wasn't suppose to be like that.
Sakura walked towards Sasuke and embraced him from behind. "There's no point I thinking about the past, instead let's focus on the future. We are here alive and well, and that's all that matters. Let's not beat ourselves up. Let's go home. Please." Sakura pleaded to Sasuke as she took noticed of the extreme guilt that was taking a hold of him. She didn't want that.
"I don't think I can just act as if I did not commit the actions that I did. But I do want to redeem myself." Sasuke turned around, breaking their embrace and looked at Sakura directly in the eyes.
Sakura stood still with her eyes locked with his, afraid of the rejection that was about to come.
"Sakura. Thank you for everything…" Sasuke said once again to her. This phrase was one that seemed to be shared only between her and Sasuke. It had been spoken before but in a different a more bitter time, but this time it was different.
"Let's go home."Sasuke said as he gripped her hand bringing forward towards him so they could start their way home.
Sakura let go of the breath she was holding and shyly smiled at Sasuke.
"Yes, Sasuke-kun…."
