This is Sakura's POV and a prequel of my other work "Prison Cell"! Please check it out after you've read this if you want to :)

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There was hesitation in her every step, and every exhalation became so deep she wished the other jounin in the area wouldn't notice. After all, why would the greatest medic-nin next to her master enter the prison area with such fear?

She paced down the hallway while tightening her grip on her medic kit. When he found the specific prison cell she was looking for, her palpitating heart slowed down and her cautious eyes softened.

There's nothing to fear, Sakura. There's no one to fear.

Sakura performed a jutsu to open the locks. The next thing she knew, she was in a prison cell so dark and so small with the love of her life.

Moments ago, she didn't know if she had to brace herself from Sasuke's presence, considering he's an international criminal now despite the fact that she loved him just the same. But now, if only she could, she would've embraced him right then and there, probably even tighter than the straight jacket around his body because sure, he's been a rogue nin who did tons of crimes, but for Sakura, Sasuke-kun is still a broken man in need of tenderness in his life.

She placed her medic kit on the cot he was sitting on and simply began her job. No words were spoken that day as Sakura checked his amputated arm. And even though she was already biting her lip too hard, Sakura knew that she had to follow the rules and not her heart this time.

The routine happened thrice every week. No words still came out from the medic-nin's lips. But one night, as she was preparing to exit his prison cell, Sakura heard a raspy "Sakura, thank you" that made her halt in performing the unlocking jutsu.

Tears brimmed her eyes as she glanced back at her blindfolded patient. And as she resumed unlocking his cell, a small smile appeared on her face.

Sasuke-kun may be a man of few words, but his words of gratitude intended for her would always mean so much to her.

Sasuke seemed to be fidgeting, despite his restrained state. It has nothing to do with her healing chakra, that she was sure. But this uneasy state of Sasuke caused her to sigh and finally begin to speak, much thanks to Kakashi who had already cancelled out the previous rule about medic-nins' communication with the prisoners.

"You have something to say," she said, certain.

Her voice made Sasuke jerk a little, and honestly, Sakura wasn't sure if urging him to speak was the right decision after all. She didn't know what to expect, until she heard his deep yet slightly hoarse voice again.

"Do you...still love me, Sakura?"

Her focus in healing him wavered. Her jaw dropped. And her heart seemed to stop because why in the world would Sasuke-kun ask about such a thing that meant nothing to him at all?

Yet she responded after a few moments with nothing but the obvious, "You know the answer to that."

"But Sakura, things change, don't they?"

Sakura never imagined that she would witness such vulnerability from Sasuke, especially about something between them. She continued healing the tissues in his arm with the hopes that her next words would heal his heart as well. "Not my feelings." She heard him sigh.

"Even after everything?"

The flow of her chakra in his system completely stopped and then she prepared to leave. But before she stepped outside of his cell, Sakura wiped a stray tear on her face with a smile. "Even after everything."

A week later, Sakura decided to visit not as his medic. His physical condition has been a lot better so his checkups were lesser now. That's why for once, Sakura wanted to see him simply as his friend. Also, because she heard great news that morning from the Sixth Hokage himself.

True enough, Sasuke's chakra blindfold was finally gone. There was a smile on her face as she gazed at him from the gate of his cell. Her eyes, viridian and as calm as the sea, locked with his obsidian ones that were as intense as the storm.

Sakura could feel the internal chaos in the heart of the man that she loved with her entire being. She knew him as a one-track minded man who knew what he wanted to pursue with all that he had, yet now, all she could see was a broken man who was at a loss in life.

She watched and waited as those dark eyes softened ever so slowly. That day, she promised to herself that in the same way, she would continue to wait until Sasuke's heart softened too.

For himself.

For her.

And Sakura would do everything to help him for that to happen.

She didn't break their stare while she approached him with a pout. And then, to lighten up the mood, she told him, "You look weird, Sasuke-kun."

He raised an eyebrow at her with confusion written all over his face.

Sakura's laughter only filled the small and dark prison cell.