Previous Chapter Summary: As Sasuke and Sakura part ways at the end of school, Sakura joins Katsuya on planning for the welcome back festival. When the two of them roam the city together, they end up at Yoyogi park, a place new to the pink-haired girl as she takes her time in breathing in its beautiful atmosphere. Somehow, they end up at Katsuya's house where Sakura meets Nami, Katsuya's little sister. Unfortunately, before the day ends, something uncalled for happens to Sakura..
A/N: I've been excited to write this chapter! Finally get to talk more in depth about our couple here.. and as for Katsuya, somehow a lot of people are actually liking him and Sakura together!? What is this!? Oh well, I can work with that. :)
Again, just going to reinforce that contents within this chapter are purely my own interpretation and also based off of scenes and information from the anime, movies and novels (in other words.. what I wish was what happened cries)
Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
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Tokyo Tempest
Part XI: Daffodil grow, Daffodil wilt
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The tiny sizzling of the steel pan slowly dissipated until there wasn't a sound left in the kitchen.
Aside from obvious matters of the past, his brother had always been well-versed with the art of making egg dishes. That was something Sasuke remembered in amidst of the vast memories of chaos and destruction in his disoriented life.
Well, not that that was relevant now. At least not in this moment where he was somehow in a position to be making oyakodon for Sakura- someone he had never even dreamed once to be caring for, even in a different world. With this in mind, he quickly turned off the stove and carefully placed the bright yellow tamago on top of the bowl of seasoned rice and chicken, completing his meal for two.
On the same thought, he did notice that Sakura had been a bit late to come home. He arrived from work at 7. Unsure to his astonishment or disgust, he was getting the hang of working at KFC. The last time he checked the clock, it was 8. By the time he managed to figure out how to work the foreign appliances in their apartment and finished cooking, it was probably 9. It pained him to admit such a thing, but he felt his intuition kicking itself into its highest state. Out of all the missions he had been on with her, she was always the second one to arrive next to him. Maybe she had found herself a job already and was on an emergency shift? Or maybe that Katsuya..
Sasuke blinked before shaking this off. It's not like he'd know for sure what she's like now. After all, it's been a long time. Who knows what her new habits were like. And since when did he find the time to even subconsciously think about that girl?
A gentle knocking came on the entrance just as he had dismissed these thoughts. Speak of the devil.
As the Uchiha cooly walked over to the door and pulled it open, instead of being greeted by a short blob of pink, he winced at the sight of a boy with shiny black bowl-cut hair and a sequin blue top that threatened to shine the light out of his obsidian orbs. As Sasuke squinted at the sight, he also took note of the unidentified item in his hand.
"Oh.. well, hello there.." Lee widened his eyes, clearly liking what he saw as he thoroughly took in the sight of the Uchiha, still in the dress shirt of his uniform, holding the spatula with his hand.
"What do you want?" Sasuke inquired in an irritated manner.
"Sasuke-kun, it's seriously inconvenient for you to not have a cellphone. But I guess that just means I'll have to come up here to find you..." The bowl-cut boy licked his lips feverishly, taking one last scan at the Uchiha's motherly appearance.
Sasuke felt his irritation rise. "Just tell me what you need."
At this, Lee cleared his throat and held out the item in his hand, a tiny rectangle-looking object.
"Somebody's looking for you.. bring it back down when you're finished."
The raven-haired boy hesitated, but in the end took the item from his hands and cringed at the subsequent wink he had received before Lee disappeared down the hall. Sasuke watched until he had completely gone past the corner before he took his time in staring at the strange, light item in his hand. What exactly was he supposed to do with this? If anybody was looking for him, they could simply-
"...Hello? Is this Uchiha Sasuke-san?"
Who is that!?
If it weren't for his quick reflexes, the item would have dropped onto the ground if he didn't catch it after he had flung it into the air. He held it at a distance from his body, pointing the spatula at it ominously to wait for its next phrase. Is somebody trapped?
"...Hello?"
Slowly and cautiously, he began to inch the object closer to his ear, though still at a careful distance- just enough to speak to the voice. "Speaking."
"This is Tokyo General Hospital. I'm calling in regards to Sakura Haruno."
Sasuke froze at the mention of his teammate. Immediately, he pulls the item right up to his ear. "What happened?"
"Miss Haruno was in an accident this evening and she's currently in our hands,"
Hospital? Sakura?
"-We weren't sure who to contact for the first while, but if you could come in we can give you details on her current condition.."
The woman on the phone continued her speech, though from that moment on it all sounded like distant muffles to him. A strange feeling of urgency welled inside of his chest, but he couldn't find the right words to describe it.
Is this how he was going to see the last of that girl? In a world like this?
"-Will you be able to come at this moment?"
"...Hello? Sasuke-san? Are you still on the line?"
The silver-haired boy couldn't stop the shaking in his leg and the clenching of his hands pressed together, his nails digging into raw skin. Nami dug her face into her brother's shoulder, her tears present but silent as the two of them sat in the waiting area outside of Sakura's hospital room.
"Onii-san.."
He turned his head to the soft calling of his sister, who looked up at him with tearful eyes. "Is Sakura onee-chan going to be okay?"
"She'll be okay, Nami." Katsuya reassured her, plastering a forced grin on his face as he ruffled the top of her lowered head.
The door to Sakura's room soon shifted open, and an old man in a white coat appeared to greet the silver-haired boy as he immediately stood up in response.
"Doctor, how is she?"
The old man wrinkled his nose before speaking. "She hit her head on the ground pretty hard, but there's only some superficial bleeding that we've taken care of." He watched as Katsuya raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue on to the most important part.
"She'll be fine. You may go in to see her, but remember she'll need to rest for awhile."
With this, the silver-haired boy let out a sigh and thanked him before giving Nami a slight nod as the two of them entered the hospital room. Katsuya held his breath when he observed the pink-haired girl sitting upright in her bed, smiling as the two of them made their way in further. "Hi, you two."
As Nami quickly rushed over to her side, Katsuya winced and paused in his tracks as he felt his heart sink at her weakened sight. The little girl immediately buried her face into the pink-haired girls' arm, the wetness of her eyes staining her skin. "I'm sorry! Nami is sorry!"
"It's okay, I'm fine." Sakura grinned, patting a hand on the little girls' back. Her gaze looked up and met with the saddened blue orbs, and she let out a tiny laugh. "What's with you? There really isn't anything wrong with me, I'll be good by tomorrow before you know it!"
"You didn't have to do something like that." Katsuya says, still keeping a distance. How could I have let that happen?
"I know, sorry for worrying you.." Sakura says, reaching a hand towards the side table of her bed. "But I'm a strong person, you know. Something like that isn't going to kill me."
At this, Katsuya sighed. Sakura then turned back around, gently tapping the shoulder of the little girl to prompt her to look up. When she did, the pair of hair-ties hung in front of her, a tiny crack within the plastic cherries but still intact.
"Nami, can I tell you something?" The pink-haired girl asked, earning a nod from the black-haired girl. Sakura inched her closer until she could reach Nami's shoulders, turning her so that she faced the other direction.
Slowly, she began running her hand through Nami's shiny black locks before making a part down the middle. "Nami, did you know? A lot of girls like you will go through similar stages in life."
The little girl gulped down her tears, listening intently.
"The first is when we're still tiny and we feel small and insecure. We're too shy to talk to the people we want to talk to the most. It's when we're still afraid of what people think, and sometimes we're too scared to be ourselves."
"Forehead girl! Forehead girl!"
"What's with that big forehead!?"
The pink-haired girl bit her lip, fighting her tears as she dropped the ball in her hands at the laughter of her classmates. She looked to the right in panic, where a raven-haired boy walked past and took a slight glance at the commotion before diverting his gaze and continuing his path.
Sakura took the left bundle of Nami's hair, brushing her hand through once more before picking up one of the hair-ties and wrapping it around her short locks. Katsuya leaned his shoulder on the wall a few feet away from them, crossing his arms.
"-The second, is when we find the strength to start changing. There's a reason behind this change, whether it be for someone or for yourself. Or both. You take care of it as if it were the last thing on earth.. nothing else is more important to you. You feel as a girl should feel- beautiful, confident."
"I see, so your forehead is wide, just like a ghost."
The blonde-haired girl ran her hand through the pink-haired girls' bangs, touching the warm skin under the protection of her locks.
"I'll give you this red ribbon." She says, subsequently urging the pink-haired girl to turn around so she could tie up the front of her hair. "You get picked on because you hide it. You're cute, so don't be afraid."
Her fingers wrap around the second part of her hair, making sure it was flattened and nicely brushed.
"Hey, Ino, I heard that Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair."
"Lastly, the most important change happens." The pink-haired girl whispered, "When you grow up, Nami, suddenly, things like short hair and long hair don't matter as much to you anymore. What matters is that through this change, you feel stronger than before so you can protect yourself and the people you love. For a girl, this is very important."
"Your hair is shinier than mine. If you have time to worry about your hair, you should practice."
The pink-haired girl felt her head being shaken around, a tight grasp on the ball of her hair. Tears flew madly down onto the barren earth, disappearing into its embrace.
But then, with a flick of her wrist and with the kunai in her hand, the thing that had been in the way all the along was gone.
I have to protect the people precious to me.
This time, I want all of you to watch me from my back.
Finally, Sakura slipped on the second hair-tie, pulling it so that it tightened around the lock of her short hair. The cherries fit perfectly- and her hair was just long enough to be put into stubby pigtails. A following silence emitted before Nami slowly turned around, her tears ceased.
Sakura gave another benevolent grin. "I'm sure Shou-kun will also come to understand this one day. Your brother worked hard to get this for you, so please keep them, okay?"
"Onee-chan.." Nami began, unable to finish her words as she then nodded repeatedly. At this, Katsuya smiled from where he was before starting his way closer to the two girls. Sakura looked up at him, and the two of them exchanged smiles.
"Thanks." He says quietly, meaning every last bit.
The three of them enjoyed the following silence for a moment before Nami spoke in sudden realization. "Onee-chan, do you have someone you like, too?"
At this, Sakura chuckled. "I do."
"Is it that one?"
The smile soon faded as she turned her head slowly to follow the direction of Nami's finger, which landed straight on the raven-haired boy standing at the door.
A new, ominous air filled the room at the appearance of the Uchiha.
"Sasuke-kun" She greeted in a whisper. As nobody has spoken since then, Sakura quickly blinked to clear her head before remembering the two beside her.
"Katsuya, Nami. I guess I'll see you guys some other time."
The silver-haired boy appeared reluctant for a second, but nevertheless gave a nod in acknowledgment as Nami waved the pink-haired girl off before two of them started towards the door.
Sasuke stood, feet planted in his spot at Katsuya walked past him, his sister following him closely from behind. As the two of them intersected ways, the corner of their eyes met for a split second before the silver-haired boy disappeared out the door.
The quiet in the hospital room was strong following the exit of the siblings. It were as if the two ninjas were holding their breaths, challenging the other to let go and speak first. Sakura swore he could probably hear the loud beating of her heart in amidst of their impending silence. The first thing Sasuke took note of when he looked back at her was the bandage that was neatly wrapped around her forehead. He continued to search for any signs of defection on her creamy skin. It didn't really seem like she was in pain.
He wasn't sure if he felt relieved or ticked off. Thinking about that only made his mood worse.
He walked closer to her, until he was standing at the side of her bed where Katsuya had stood.
"What happened to you?" He asks blankly instead, with the same face he usually wore.
The pink-haired girl hesitated for a moment, unsure of how she should respond. A part of her sensed that he wouldn't react well no matter what came out of her mouth. Why did she feel like a child that was about to get in trouble?
"Nami dropped something important to her, and I couldn't just let it go." She started, subsequently forcing a childish grin. "It's rough without chakra, eh? I guess I just forgot how delicate normal humans are. If it were back in Konoha, I could've easily-"
"Who's that?"
Sakura gulped at the calm, yet assertiveness of his voice. "Katsuya's sister."
..What? "What does that have to do with you?"
"We were out looking at stores for festival materials" She continued, "The store we wanted to go to was busy. Katsuya lived nearby so we stopped there for a bit. In the end, we decided to take his sister out... since it's her birthday and all, I didn't want to disappoint her. And at that specific moment, my body just kinda moved on its own. If Katsuya hadn't come right away, I would've.."
You would've what?
Died?
Just like that?
You survived countless S-rank missions- saved whenever I tried to lay my hands on you.. but without a word, without anybody else in this world who knows what kind of person you were, you did this just to let it end it like that? Would you be satisfied that way?
"You were in danger, Sakura."
"I know. But-"
"If something worse had happened to you, you do remember that we're powerless, right? I can't help you, and even though you may be a medic ninja you sure as hell wouldn't be able to help yourself here." Sasuke urged, silencing the pink-haired girl. "I don't imagine you wouldn't have forgotten about something as important as that."
Sakura, on the other hand, was a bit taken aback by his sudden incision. She took a moment to note the unsettled appearance in his eyes, something she had missed earlier on. "Hold on a second, do you think I chose for this to happen or something?"
"You said you were going job hunting after you finished with him. It doesn't matter to me if you want to play babysitter or whatnot, but have I not warned you about being careful?"
"Careful about what? Katsuya? Please, Sasuke-kun, don't bring your little passive aggressive fire into this." Sakura spat, "I was going to go job-hunting after we finished, but things went in a different direction. It's called a change of plans, something I assume you would understand very well."
She muttered the last bit in a low voice, but not quiet enough to pass Sasuke's hearing. At this, he narrowed his eyes offensively. "In that case, continue on mingling with your civilian friends. I could care less about what you really want to do."
"What do you mean what I really want- Wait, do you think I like Katsuya now or something?"
"That's definitely my biggest problem." Sasuke says mockingly. "We've known eachother for a long time, Sakura. When you said you weren't going to let yourself fall behind me, I believed you. We fought a war together, after all. But if you prefer to stay here living in this fantasy life at this school and playing house everyday with that guy and his sister, I won't stop you if thats what you really want. It's not so bad, isn't it? You wouldn't have to chase me around anymore."
He paused ominously. "I thought you were less naive than that, but I guess some things about people never change, do they?"
As he said this, Sakura felt her heart drop down to her stomach.
"Sakura, you're overdoing it. At this rate, you'll deplete all of your chakra reserves."
The pink-haired girl panted, mustering all of her power to catch her breath before making one last strike at the series of boulders adjacent to the grassy field. She's heard Tsunade's warnings too many times.
"I'm fine," she muttered, careful not to break her chakra balance despite her shaking hands.
Countless nights of sleeplessness, strength and endurance training, burying her face in hundreds of pages of medical books.. just what the hell was that all for then?
"I'm going to catch up to Naruto and Sasuke."
Even if it was the last thing she'll do.
She found herself putting all the strength in her to maintain a strong face. For a man of few words, he sure was capable of talking right now.
The raven-haired boy saw this. He saw the way he expertly made her viridian eyes suddenly lose the glow it always had.
He then cursed himself for feeling a subsequent drop in his own stomach. He knew he had always been the culprit.
Don't lose it, Uchiha.
"-Like I said, if you're not capable of seeing this through, then I'll take matters into my own hands."
She felt her hands trembling as she forcefully clutched the blanket into her palms.
"And what position are you in to be belittling me for that?" Sakura gritted through her teeth, trying her best to hold the tears that threatened to run down her cheek. Sasuke raised his head and listened intently at the change of her tone, though his expression unwavered.
"Is that really what you think, Sasuke? Because if it is, then fine. If you're going to push away my concern and love for you, I won't be adamant about it anymore." She starts shakily.
"I may not be able to help you in ways I would like to, but just like how you say you know me, Sasuke, I know you as well- and I seriously doubt you dragged yourself here just to waste your precious time to tell me how incompetent I am. You can't just show that one second you care about me and then claim I'm annoying and you'd rather be alone the next. Didn't you come rushing here in the first place because a corner of your heart at least cared that much?"
Stop.
"-Just what exactly do you consider me as?"
Sakura shuddered before finishing. He watched as a roll of silent tears finally found their way down her cheek.
Another sight he's seen countless times in the past.
"You asked me to answer you properly." He began, silently. "Okay. I'll tell you. Did I even once ask for you, for Naruto, for anybody to care about me? To help me find myself again and come back to you as if nothing ever happened? Just because of your so-called concern and and thoughtfulness, why do I have to use my scars and pain to satisfy your cheap sympathy? You say you have feelings for me, but the bridges between us burnt down a long time ago- something that was bound to happen over time."
"Is that so?" Sakura choked, "But no matter how much you try to falsify my feelings.. you're still here, aren't you? Even when I was attacked by that guy when we first came here. You could've just let me get slaughtered, just like what you've always wanted, right? My annoying self would finally be out of your way forever. You'd be free to do whatever you wanted here and I wouldn't be in your way at all."
She waited for some kind of reaction from him. When she received none, she continued with furrowed eyebrows.
"Instead, why did you choose to save me?"
My feet moved on their own.
"Was it really because you don't care?"
Stop asking me things like that.
"I don't understand why you always have to push me away like this."
Because having to see your face every day like this reminds me of those precious bonds I've left behind.
Sakura shook her head slowly as she took a moment to catch her jagged breath, then continued after his silence. "This was never about me trying to get in your way, Sasuke, and I'm not asking you to reciprocate my feelings. After spending some time with you here, I just want to know if there's something regarding me or Naruto that you aren't coming to terms with yourself with- that what I feel right now has some truth to it. You and I both know I've already tried my fair share of stopping you. Even if I couldn't do it the night you left the village, when I met you on the bridge in the land of Iron, when confessing to Naruto and then trying to attack you, I still-"
Sasuke froze at a paralyzing chill running down his entire body.
"The truth is.. I've always known in my heart, there was nothing I could have done for you." The pink-haired girl gasped in between her tears, "But I love you! No matter what's happened, I still care for you more than I can bear.."
"You confessed to Naruto?"
The pink-haired girl paused, immediately recalling the misunderstanding of her words as she widened her eyes in realization. "No! I-"
That sickens me.
The Uchiha smiled in a mocking manner, and suddenly Sakura felt afraid. "This is what I mean. People and obscure things like bonds change. They become warped over time and in the end, you don't know what's become of them. Just like your love for me that you claim to hold onto so dearly.. if you were able to waver that easily, then I guess they were insincere after all."
And to think I once thought of accepting those feelings.
"What did you say?"
A tantalizing silence fell through the room as Sasuke stood, mortified at the last bit of his thoughts that had been said out loud. Sakura looked at him, deer in headlights, as he then closed his lips dismissively and started towards the door.
A sudden tight grasp forced itself upon his forearm, compelling him to remain behind. He didn't look back at her, but he could feel her arm trembling, though she didn't let it stop her. "Are you saying- you, towards me, in the past.."
He had prepared himself well to leave that day.
He made sure not to leave a single thing in his living quarters. Packing didn't take very long because he was a very disciplined and tidy person. He knew where everything was. It was also because he didn't really have many belongings to begin with- as if he were ready to do this at any time. When he slipped his bag on and finally prepared to exit, he paused and walked over to his dresser by the window to stare at the photo of Team 7, unsure of the emotions whirring in his chest. He then turned off the lights and slipped through the door, closing it gently for the last time.
He chose to leave by the north exit that cold night.
His feet automatically took him farther from the center of his upbringing and into the shadows of the night. On his walk there- as emotionless as he seemed, Sasuke continued to feel an overwhelming force inside his chest. He thought about the people he was leaving behind- the people he had come to call his family. Over time, his walls slowly disintegrated as the individuals around him suddenly became bigger. For the first time in his life, he'd come to know the feeling of love and friendship.
He saw Sakura that night. It was also the same night he knew that these feelings were meant to perish.
A Uchiha's love is a strong emotion, and it was scary. Sakura was the one person who welcomed that love with open arms, even though she, at that time, was naive and unaware of its dangers. And as much as he appeared to think little of it, he was grateful for the existence of that love. It was the same kind of love he felt from his family before his existence became nothing but these painful scars. He knew that out of everyone who could have possibly given him a lifetime of the emotion he lacked the most, it'd be Sakura.
So who exactly was she to him?
He didn't have much time to contemplate this, because compared to his overflowing feelings of hate for Itachi and jealousy of Naruto, there was no room in his heavy heart for her. There was simply nothing that could benefit from an insignificant infatuation of a 12 year old. Certainly not when you were a Uchiha.
So he thanked her properly. Then disappeared past the border between light and shadow.
And that's precisely why he absolutely loathed this situation they were in. This scenario where he suddenly became forced to reacquaint himself with her, under the same roof, attending the same school together like they had once done before- after years of attempting to bury the images of that night at the bench. Nobody was there then. It was just him, Sakura, and the bloody force inside of him he had fought and won against that told him to listen to her because he was about to make the worst decision of his life.
Sasuke stared at the same pink-haired girl in front of him, years later from that moment, the two of them with the same expressions as before.
"You can't just attack me and run off like you did before." Sakura says, "Answer me."
It's not possible anymore.
"Don't make me laugh." Sasuke replies quietly, "My feelings back then, too, it was all apart of the same failed past. There's nothing left of it, and there's no reason for us to feel anything towards eachother." He finishes in a defeated whisper, gently shaking off her grip on his arm.
"I never had plans to go back to you or Naruto once we return to the Shinobi world."
Sakura's heart dropped at the following silence that enveloped the room, the only sound being heard was the footsteps of the Uchiha as he exited out the hospital door without looking back. As he shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way down the empty, dimly-lit hallways of the hospital, there was only one thing weighing in his mind.
If he hadn't received the cursed mark from Orochimaru,
If the sound ninja hadn't come for him that night,
Would he have had the strength to accept that love of hers?
