"Eat, you're too skinny," Sasuke instructed strictly as he forced her sitting down into the chair before a rounded table, sitting on top of which was an enormous array of extravagant dishes. They ranged from savory dishes like steamed eel with soy sauce in pork drippings on a bed of seaweed, beef tendons grilled until tender and translucent to sweet delicacies like mango short cake on top of a flaky crust and even bubble tea in five different colors and flavors.
"…is this all for me?" Sakura asked in bewilderment as she folded her hands timidly across her lap.
To be honest, she was quite hungry. There were often times in the past, during her captivity inside the steel room that Sasuke was late in bringing her meals. Sometimes he'd be so late that she would pass out from sheer hunger and then by the time she woke up she had already slept through half the day, having eaten only once in the morning.
As a result of this uneven eating schedule, Sakura's body had shorn pound after pound to keep itself going. By the time their anniversary had come up, her ribcage and hip bones had become quite visible in a frightening manner.
Sasuke had started worrying about her health, which was why he'd purposely set up this little segue of a vacation; among other things, it also had the purpose of simply taking her out for fresh air and regaining of nutrients.
Sasuke answered her question with only a nod.
Sakura dared a glance up at him. "Where did you get all this?"
"I didn't steal it if that's what you're asking," Sasuke answered with a scoff while looking away and folding his hands. He walked to look through one of the three windows inside their room. "Eat. I'm not going to tell you again."
And Sakura bit her lip, remembering her plan but also not wanting to anger him. Obliging him, she took a mantou from the nearest basket and ate quietly. After she'd finished the bread off, she turned back to look at Sasuke.
"Could you…eat with me?" Sakura asked timidly and the man came to look away from the window to meet her eyes, causing her to immediately add in fear: "I mean…there's just so much food-"
"Eat what you can. I've already eaten," the man responded quickly as he went back to looking out the window.
And Sakura could only bite her lip again. What was he so focused on?
Suddenly, right as she wondered that Sasuke pounded his fist against the frame of the window, in anger.
"Damn." Sakura heard him swear beneath his breath before he tore away from the glass panes. Sasuke quickly gathered up his katana and raced to the front door, opening it but not stepping out, he turned around to face Sakura once more: "Don't you dare try to leave this room while I'm away. I'll know if you've tried anything when I get back."
And with that he slammed the door close, leaving Sakura just as confused as ever.
It was obvious he was going to confront someone but who?
And why was he so miffed about the individual?
Blood.
Wounds.
Critical.
Fatal.
Death.
Only two left standing.
Bodies of Konoha's ANBU ops laid strewn across them both on the forest battlefield. Sasuke breathed in heavy breaths as he stood opposite of his slightly more wounded, opponent.
An opponent with blond hair and blue eyes.
"You're not taking her from me!" Sasuke screamed dangerously while gathering up his chakra again. The Mangekyo Sharingan flashing in deep hatred.
"She's not yours to keep Sasuke!" Naruto Uzumaki shouted back; instantly his entire body burst into black flames.
Amaterasu. The fires that never stopped burning. But that was just a clone and another Naruto appeared behind Sasuke, cringing. Sasuke turned instantaneously to glare at the real one; immediately it burst into flames too.
"Wrong again friend," this time Naruto came down from on top of him with a kunai knife, aiming right for his eyes. The blond boy impaled-
-a purple aura. Naruto shrieked as a maroon demon suddenly encased Sasuke on all sides and rose up to at least fifty feet in the air. The skeleton's arm rose to grip his body, squeezing hard-
"I'm going to tell you this once more, Uzumaki," the dark haired man, now with one severely bleeding eye but still incredibly powerful chakra said while turning to face his now suffocating best friend. "Sakura is mine; no one is separating her from me."
And with that he tossed the blond boy hard onto the ground, from at least thirty feet of height. Naruto landed flat onto his back; a sickening crack sounded through the air and Sasuke only smirked wider.
This was the real Naruto alright.
"If you want her, come back to me when you're no longer a weakling."
He turned to leave but the blond boy, who was still in absolute agony yelled nonetheless loud enough for Sasuke to hear: "You…never even liked her before…before-"
"SHUT UP!" Sasuke said while suddenly throwing a kunai with striking accuracy down towards the boy. It landed just millimeters to the side of his throat.
Naruto's entire body was quaking in fear as the man stepped close to his prostrate form on the ground.
Sasuke's foot dug right into Naruto's chest, causing a pillar of blood to come gushing out of the boy's mouth.
"What's in the past shall stay in the past," Sasuke intoned the word 'stay' while pressing his boot into the boy's chest until he heard the satisfying crunch of a few ribs cracking. Naruto screamed in pain; he felt like everything in his body was broken.
But he nonetheless continued talking: "…you're just-" he coughed up a series of blood spatters before finishing: "-plagued…with guilt..."
Sasuke's sharingan tightened in absolute hatred and yet Naruto only continued, not afraid of death if it meant possibly convincing his friend to stop what he was doing: "…you will eventually lose…interest in her again-"
"Keep talking, let's see how long you can keep that up with a hole in your throat." Sasuke raised another kunai knife up in his hand, to deliver the finishing blow….
It was nighttime by the time Sakura heard the doorknob to their room twisting.
She jumped sitting up in her position on the bed. Her hands flying nervously to her white robe, to make sure it was closed properly.
True to his warning, Sakura hadn't dared to step out of their room, from fear that he really had set up some kind of trap. And while Inner Sakura had scolded her daftly for this she'd argued that they were still trying to do their plan.
Or so that's what she'd told herself.
Because part of her was still unsure of how she felt for the man.
And as the door to her bedroom flew open, letting Sasuke's bloodied body fall straight into the room; at the last second his arm came out and caught himself, but the exertion caused him to vomit up more blood.
Sakura threw away all inhibitions and acted completely on impulse: she ran to help him.
"Sa-Sasuke, what happened?" His entire body was covered in abrasions and cuts the size of her index finger.
Sakura helped him to the bed of the room and moved to get the first aid kit but a tight grip on her wrist stopped her. The girl nearly fell over when her body was jerked also onto the bed, landing right next to him.
Even in his injured state, he was still stronger than her.
"I'm fine," Sasuke intoned chillingly and Sakura didn't really question him. While his injuries were numerous, his body didn't seem to be in any critical condition. Or at least, he didn't show that he was. In a second, she felt the man move and rest his head against her chest, right at the opening to her robe.
Sakura stiffened but didn't move away. She was used to this.
Sasuke inhaled deeply her sweet clean scent like she was the only thing real in this world. He had never been like this with any other girl in the past before, and never cared to. While countless ones had thrown themselves at his feet, just desperate for even a word from him, he'd never spared any of them anything in the past before.
They all disinterested him.
Even Sakura herself.
And yet, here he was, consumed by everything that was the pinkette and more. His thoughts and actions completely revolved around her as they once did for Itachi, his brother. Sakura was what he lived and breathed for and his obsession scared even himself.
You will eventually lose interest in her.
While Naruto's words still infuriated him, part of Sasuke hoped that they would eventually come true. Because he didn't like himself when he was around her.
He thought this even while forcibly placing her hands around him, in a faux-lover's embrace.
"Sa-Sasuke?" Sakura inquired tentatively but the man hushed her.
"Just stay with me."
And Sakura did. Part of her rationalized that it was because he would get angry at her if she didn't but a part of her inner self faced the truth: she liked having him hold her, just like this. No lust. No possession. No insanity.
Just him and her.
Sakura sighed too as her hands came to thread themselves into his still partially sweaty, and as a result, glistening black hair. He reeked of sweat and gritty Earth. He was so dirty.
But she didn't mind.
After all he'd already soiled her beyond recognition.
Her innocence.
Her purity.
Her naivety.
And Sakura didn't mind getting a little bit dirtier.