title: proud
prompt: sasuke hears about sasori's defeat at sakura's hands.
disclaimer: naruto, not mine since 1999.

"Sasuke."

The last of the Uchiha pointedly ignores his company as he continues to sharpen his chokuto with a whetstone clutched in his hand.

Suigetsu rolls his eyes, used to this behavior. "Sasukeeeeeeeee. Oi. I've got news you might be interested in."

Sasuke does not give any indication that he has heard Suigetsu's words. Light weakly filters in through the lone cracked window, giving his pale skin a sickly pallor.

His teammate sighs in disgust. "You know what, fine. I don't want to tell you anyway, even if it is about Akatsuki."

He's said the magic word, and Sasuke finally turns to face him, his dark eyes somehow managing to looking bored and menacing at the same time. "And? What about them?" he drawls, almost disinterestedly.

Suigetsu snorts. "Heard another one went down. That puppet freak, Sasori. I guess he got his ass handed to him by some weird pink-haired chick from Konoha. Supposedly she really messed him up bad, but not before he stuck his sword in her gut."

If Suigetsu is expecting a reaction, he doesn't get one. Sasuke's face is unreadable, his eyes blank. The water-based nin shrugs and wanders out of the room to find some food.

Sasuke sits there for a long time, not moving and watching the shadows creep over the walls. Anyone observing him might think that he's asleep, but his fists are clenched and his slumped figure is tight with tension.

Sakura.

There is only one kunoichi who could match Suigetsu's rough description, and he has no doubt that it was the girl he left on the bench three years ago.

Could she really have taken on a member of Akatsuki and won? He tries to think back to the last time he saw her, and he remembers the crater she left in the ground and the glow of chakra surrounding her fist. Her speed is average at best, but if she were to land a blow, it would be instantly devastating.

But is that enough to best someone like Sasori? The master of puppets…but while Sakura's new strength is formidable, Sasuke knows that her greatest asset has always been her sharp, quicksilver intelligence. Given those two things in tandem, she might well have stood a chance at out-maneuvering him.

Unbidden, a smirk curls his lips.

There she goes again, always surprising him. And though he would never admit it, he is proud.