title: Road to Sakura
pairing: possible eventual SasuSaku.
summary: She thought this would have been almost an achievement. She had thought that beating the crap out of Temari would have given her relief or some sort of joy. She had thought revenge would have been sweet. But as she readied herself for the final punch to the blonde's face, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
notes: The last chapter was dialogue heavy, so here's one that has a bit more description. Thank you for those who have reviewed my story and those who have enjoyed it!
notes 2: Lyrics from ayumi hamasaki's Moments
°∴✿° ·°✿∴° .·°∴°·. °∴✿°· °✿∴°
Road to Sakura
"Your naked heart is wandering
Having nowhere to go
And is setting sharp thorns around
For fear of being touched"
She thought this would have been almost an achievement. She had thought that beating the crap out of Temari would have given her relief or some sort of joy. She had thought revenge would have been sweet. But as she readied herself for the final punch to the blonde's face, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wasn't afraid of being labeled sadistic, and she didn't care about the opinions of the thousands of people watching these final rounds—Heck, Temari and she have been the crap out of each other with their jutsu and with just blantant assaults using, at times, bare teeth and nails. But no matter how bruised or how much Sakura wanted to get back at Temari for what happened to Ino, she couldn't land the final punch.
"What's wrong, Princess?" Temari sneered, spitting blood at Sakura's hand, the hand that held her by the collar of her dress. "Getting cold feet? You're all bark and no bite!"
Sakura could hear Hinata screaming from the stands, yelling "Finish her!" But Sakura's fist went back to her side, and she just threw Temari aside. She turned her back on the Suna kunoichi—a bad move should Temari have chosen to attack. But Sakura just couldn't throw that final punch. It wasn't a moment of weakness, it was just—
"Oh, what do you know?" Temari shrieked after Sakura had chastised the girl for putting on a fake repertoire. "My parents don't care about me! They only care for the village and my brothers! Do you know what they thought about having a daughter as their first child? They didn't give a damn, is what! They didn't give a damn because there was no way a girl could grow up to become a strong enough shinobi to protect their precious village! That's all they ever cared about! The village! Do you know what it's like to live with that every day? Knowing that your parents cared more about the village than they care about you? It's like a suffocating chain that I'll never be rid of!"
—Sakura saw a mirror of what she could've been, had she stayed alone. Temari was, she hated to admit, the same as herself. A child with parents who had bigger responsibilities. She forgot how she replied to the blonde in that spur of the moment, but Sakura knew she had related to Temari, catching the Suna kunoichi off guard and angering the blonde further. And yet, Sakura had spoken sincerely. That much was true. She honestly saw Temari as a shadow of her former self.
"What? You're not going to finish this match?" Behind Temari's fury, Sakura could hear the girl's astonishment. "If you were committed to being a kunoichi, come back and finish what you started!"
"You can hardly stand, you idiot!" Sakura turned back around and retorted as if she were reprimanding a child. "Seriously, do you hear yourself talking? You want to show the whole world you're strong? Well, strength doesn't come from fighting until the death! That's just stupidity! Knowing when you're at your limits is something essential for all shinobi! To live to fight another day is what all shinobi should do! You shouldn't keep pretending you're okay when you're obviously not!" She gave Temari a few seconds to reply, but the blonde was shocked into silence. "Showing weakness . . . it's not all that bad. If you don't let anyone in then you just alienate everyone else, even your friends and family. Why don't you try talking to your parents? From the way you talk, it just sounds like there's a great big misunderstanding between you and them. Why don't you give them a chance, instead of coming to your own conclusions? Take that chance before the opportunity disappears..."
Sakura began to walk away, heading towards the exit to the challengers' seats. But before she was out of the ring, she heard the proctor call the match, "Temari of Suna has surrendered! The victor of this match is Haruno Sakura!"
Sakura heard nothing else as the crowd cheered. She turned back and saw Temari standing up with the help of her two younger brother. There was no need to hear anything. Temari was actually accepting help and from her brothers no less.
"If I could flutter like a bird
I would fly to you
And offer my wing
To your wounded back
If I could flow like the wind, I would reach you"