SSM 2018 Day 4: Burn
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The Fire Between Them
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1.
Don't play with the fire, they said.
Sakura didn't listen. She had a selective hearing like that when it came to ninja rules. She could recite them backwards without a single stammer, but abiding them was another story.
When Team Seven was making camp, everyone had their assigned tasks to complete. Sakura usually gathered the firewood, then she and Sasuke arranged it together and he lit the fire. She was utterly fascinated with his every gesture as he made the correct handseals, took in a gulp of breath and released it with a moderate flame and a puff of smoke. There was something reverent and contemplative in the way Sasuke looked then, as if he was performing a sacred ritual only he knew about. It was entirely possible with him being the last of his clan, but Sakura wouldn't ask, too afraid to bring up bad memories for him just to satisfy her petty curiosity.
Nevertheless, she loved to watch him when he started the fire. He stood over it like a guardian deity, a thoughtful frown on his handsome features. The warm orange glow cast on his face made him look as if he was also made from the flames. A being of pure fire couldn't be burned, no matter how close he stood to the blaze.
Sakura wanted to be like him. She sat just by the campfire, held out her hand and played with the tongues of flames, withdrawing her palm when they advanced, pushing forward when they retracted, and again, only narrowly escaping a painful burn every time. It made her feel so strong, almost invincible, even if it was just a trick, a fast reflex and nothing more.
"Sakura-chan, what are you doing?! That's dangerous!" Naruto exclaimed, interrupting her game.
"None of your business, Naruto," Sakura muttered and went back to it.
"Stop that! You're going to burn yourself!" he argued. Sakura sent him a piercing glare.
"Shut up. I know what I'm doing."
"Sasuke-teme, say something!" Naruto looked to the silent Uchiha for support, knowing that Sakura would only listen to him when she got in this kind of mood.
"Shut up, dobe. You heard her." Sasuke was of no help though.
While Naruto sulked at being ignored by his teammates, Sasuke and Sakura shared a look over the campfire. Naruto just didn't get it like they did. The fire wasn't meant to be feared, it was meant to be understood and harnessed. For a moment their connection deepened. It felt as if they were reading each other's minds. Sakura's breath caught. The dancing flames reflected in Sasuke's dark eyes, entrancing her with a glimpse of mysteries behind them.
When she blinked, the moment passed and they were back to being teammates, separated by the blazing campfire, not united through it.
Sakura soon went to sleep. She could still see those flames flickering in his dark, bottomless eyes.
One day, she would learn their secrets. Then she would finally understand.
2.
Sasuke was always careful with his fire attacks, choosing the best path and angle to send a devastating burst of flames at his enemies. His impeccable aim would never allow for his jutsu to harm any of his allies.
When Sakura recklessly jumped over his fireball to surprise a rogue who used a water barrier for protection, Sasuke's heart stopped for a moment. She was supposed to stay behind as his support! His Sharingan registered how the scorching heat grazed her legs, then she disappeared from his view. Without a conscious decision on his part, he ran through the cloud of hot steam to check on her.
He found Sakura bent over a knocked out enemy, tying the last knot of his rope restraints.
"Sasuke-kun, I got him!" she said with a beaming smile, but all he could see were her burned calves. Sasuke swore under his breath and grabbed her arm.
"Sasuke-kun? What's wrong?" she asked as he tugged her along to the tree under which they left their packs.
"Sit," he ordered and she did so. He quickly pulled out a jar from his pack, unscrewed it and started applying the soothing cream on her burns. He might have gone a bit overboard, using so much of the medicine that the white completely covered the reddened skin, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He pushed the jar into her hand.
"Use it three times a day," he instructed and she nodded, wide-eyed. She was going to thank him, but he cut her off with a glare. "And don't pull this shit on me again."
Her jubilant mood evaporated. "What are you talking about?"
"You got in the way," he replied with irritation.
"I didn't! I helped you take down that enemy!" Sakura argued, jumping to her feet. She winced at the sting in her injuries.
Sasuke crossed his arms tightly. "You broke out of the team formation. You're supposed to stay back. There was no need for you to interfere with the fight," he told her off.
Sakura looked at him with incredulity. "I saw an opportunity to help and I took it! And it worked! You and Naruto do those combination attacks all the time! Why is it suddenly a problem when I try it?" she demanded hotly, green eyes blazing in challenge and Sasuke's inner fire roared up in response.
"Because you're not Naruto!" he snapped.
Sakura stiffened and took half a step back at his raised voice, but Sasuke wasn't finished, his words cutting her to the bone. "You're our support, you can't act like that idiot and throw yourself into danger whenever you damn please. That's foolish and irresponsible. Just look what happened to your legs!"
Sakura looked down at her feet, trembling all over. His criticism hit home. Good.
"It's just some burns. I can take it," she still argued in her own defense, though in a subdued tone. Her hands were clasped on the material of her red dress, fiddling with it nervously.
Sasuke felt tempted to touch her injury and see how well she could take that, but he refrained. Instead he snorted. "There's no point to your 'help' if you're just going to get yourself injured on my attacks. Naruto can take a beating and bounce right back. Unless you heal like that, stay back," he ordered in a tone that broke no argument and stalked off, hands shoved into his pockets angrily. He was going to check on the captured rogue and cool off in the meantime, before Naruto returned from the chase after the rogue's partner.
Sasuke tried not to think of tears welling up in Sakura's expressive green eyes because of him. If a few harsh words was what it took to keep her from needlessly endangering herself, he didn't regret saying them. Not one bit.
3.
The war was over, those responsible for the Uchiha massacre were dead and Sasuke was back in Konoha, brought back to sanity by his old team. All was well again.
Then why did he keep dreaming about what could have been? His revolution successful? Every time he went to sleep, he inevitably woke up to images of Naruto with a hole punched through his chest, Kakashi laying face down in a puddle of blood, and her... Sakura, consumed by his flames, her trusting expression twisted in agony as she was burned to death.
Sasuke shot up in bed, his pulse pounding loudly in his ears, and wiped his sweat-soaked brow. His Rinnegan was stinging like hell. Rubbing it didn't help, so he flung off his covers and scrambled to his feet. He was still recovering from the final battle, but the need to get out of that stuffy hospital room was overpowering at the moment.
His plans to sneak out of the building unnoticed were dashed when Sakura appeared from around the corner. "Sasuke-kun, why are you up?"
He didn't reply. He couldn't even look at her without remembering his nightmare in a vivid detail, so instead he ran. He climbed the stairs to the roof, jumping two or three at once, finally reached the top and burst out the door. The moon was waning on the dark sky. Sasuke gripped the railing and sucked in the fresh night air, the breeze cooling his feverish body clad only in thin hospital pajamas.
He sensed her approach more than heard. Only Sakura had such a distinct, annoying presence that he just couldn't ignore.
"Go away," he gritted out, hoping she'd listen. But Sakura was more stubborn than that.
"Tell me what's wrong. Is it another nightmare?" she asked. Sasuke shut his eyes and saw her burning alive, crying his name hoarsely. Sakura took another step closer to him and he turned around abruptly with a swing of his remaining arm.
"Stay away from me!" he shouted and the black flames of Amaterasu shot up between them, cutting her off from him. The pain in his eyes increased, but now Sakura was safe from him.
She stared at him through the black inferno. "Sasuke-kun," she said with a glint of steel that he really didn't like, "a little fire won't keep me away from you."
Sasuke crossed his arms confidently. "I think it will."
She started walking towards him, completely fearless.
"What are you doing?" he asked, feeling panic. Was she mad?
"I'm coming over to you," she replied calmly. Two more steps and she'd reach the flames.
"Sakura, stop that! Or you'll burn!" he snapped in warning.
Sakura shrugged without breaking her stride. "Then I'll burn. Nothing I can't heal."
But these weren't normal flames, they burned hotter than the sun and nothing could put them out until seven days passed. He knew the destructive power of his technique better than anyone.
Sasuke watched in horror as Sakura carried on without concern for her well-being, then right before she walked into the certain death, the black fire parted, letting her through. A spike of pain went through his eye and Sasuke put a hand over it. The warm wetness on his cheek was definitely blood.
Sakura rushed to him, green medical jutsu activated. "Let me see," she asked, prying gently at his hand and he allowed her to replace it with her small, slender one.
The healing chakra soothed his pain and Sasuke sagged forward with a groan. Sakura held him up with one arm, the other up on his face still healing.
"Why did you come? You could've died," he said tiredly.
"Maybe. But I knew you wouldn't let it happen," she replied with the unshakeable conviction.
He let out a startled laugh. "You're crazy."
The green glow vanished and she slid down her hand to cup his cheek tenderly. "That's what love does to people," she told him with a warm smile, eyes shining with affection.
Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes, leaning into her gentle touch. "In my nightmare... I kill everyone, Naruto, Kakashi, but you... you burn to death," he confessed quietly. He looked at her to gauge her reaction. She was frowning, but she didn't back off. "Aren't you afraid? After everything I've done?" he asked.
Sakura shook her head. "No. I have no reason to be afraid. You chose a different path." She pulled him closer and stroked his back. "It was just a bad dream. The real you came back home. And you didn't let me burn."
Sasuke melted into her comforting embrace. She trusted him so much, it was downright naïve. The problem was that he didn't trust himself. Not yet. So he came to a decision. He needed to leave, to find himself again, before he could trust himself to return her love the way she deserved, fully and with no holds barred.
Even if Sakura wasn't afraid of his fire, he didn't wish to burn her anymore.
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AN: Thanks for reading! Please review if you like :)