Chapter 3
Sakura woke up confused. She looked around and realized she wasn't on the battle field anymore, but alone, lying on a bed in an empty room. She looked for an exit through which to scape, and finally saw a window to her right, and a door to her left. The moonlight passed through the window and illuminated the room. She tried to get up, but and excruciating pain on her belly made her fall into the mattress again. She tried it once more, but all she managed to do was seat on the bed, her back against the headboard.
"How did I end up here?" she said to herself. The pain was killing her. "I can't fight being like this. I have to scape before the enemy comes back." Then she remembered she wasn't alone on the battle field. "And Sasuke, I wonder what happened to him."
She feared the worst. She thought about waiting for the enemy to find out what happened. She could catch him by surprise, maybe. But first, she had to stand on her feet. She looked around once more. The room was darkened, illuminated only by the moonlight.
How long have I been here?
A sudden noise interrupted Sakura's thought. The door was being opened. In a fast gesture, she brought her hand to her left thigh to draw a kunai, but she discovered the bag where she kept them wasn't there. She looked to her body and saw she was wearing a kimono that was not hers; also, all her weapons were gone. The second she took to realize how vulnerable she was, the door was flung open and a man entered the room.
"You finally woke up. You have slept for an entire day."
Sakura widened her humid eyes. The low sound of that voice made her whole body shiver.
"I thought you—I saw you on the ground—"
"You shouldn't have intruded." Sasuke interrupted her. "You've messed things up. I was manipulating the enemy to discover his intentions. When you arrived, I had to kill the man before he killed you."
"I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun." She lowered her eyes, ashamed. That's when she realized Sasuke wasn't wearing his kimono, his bare chest still marred by the last battle. She looked to herself and recognized Sasuke's kimono on her body. Instinctively, she caressed its neckline, and a familiar smell rose up to her nostril. Sakura blushed, and seeing that, Sasuke furrowed his brow.
"You got very injured in the battle," he said in an irritated tone. "I looked for medicines on your bag and found this place's card. A lady welcomed me and said you had booked this room."
"The inn—" Sakura remembered the place she stopped by before the confrontation. She blushed even more when she recalled the words the old lady said about her expecting someone else to spend the night with. Sakura was moved and smiled at him.
"I cleaned your wounds and mine with your supplies," he said. "As our clothes were torn, and I couldn't find any on your bag, I covered you with my spare kimono."
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun, for taking care of me."
"Thank me by never coming after me again."
These dry words brought Kakashi's discourse back to Sakura's mind, and her smile vanished. She was tired of being considered a nuisance to him.
"I've heard you were in danger and wanted to help," she snarled, "but it seems you don't need it. I don't want to be a burden to you. Don't worry, I'll make sure this is the last time you see me."
Driven by rage, Sakura stood on her feet, turned to the door where Sasuke was standing and took a decisive step forward. When she took the other foot out of the ground, she felt her stomach ache and lost control of her own body. She fell, and her knee was about to hit the ground when she felt Sasuke's arms around her waist. He clenched his fingers around her body and helped her seat on the bed again. Then he left to the adjacent room and came back with a little sphere on his hand. He seated on the edge of the bed, facing Sakura, and reached his hand to her, offering the sphere between his fingers.
"Take this medicine pill," said Sasuke, drawing the sphere near to Sakura's hands, which laid on her lap. "I found this on your bag. It seems special, better than mine does. That's because you're a medical ninja, isn't it? Some minutes are all it takes for you to be completely healed."
Sakura looked to Sasuke's long fingers that firmly held the pill. With her eyes, she traced the path to his forearm and noticed it got goose bumps. She continued moving up until her eyes found his. He was looking at her mouth. She then inclined her chest toward him and slightly opened her lips. She saw a flickering spark in his eyes as he raised his hand that grabbed the pill and took it to her. She could feel the cold and even surface of the pill touch the skin inside her lips, and opened it a little more, separating the teeth to receive the pill when Sasuke made a gentile pressure with his fingers. For a moment, the hard flesh of his fingers glued to her humid lips, and she pulled the pill inside with her tongue, rubbing her front teeth on his fingertips as he recoiled his arm. Without taking his eyes away from hers, he lowered his hand and let it fall on her lap. He searched for her hand and held it tight.
"Sakura, you put yourself in danger every time you come after me."
"You're worth it."
"But I don't want you—"he hesitated, looked away from her, and let go of her hand.
"It was stupid to come after you this weakened by my previous mission. It was an impulsive act that I don't intend to repeat. But don't ask me to stop caring about you. I can't, and I don't want to." She reached for his hand again. "And I am strong. It's just that when you are involved, I don't think straight. I just know what I feel."
"Sakura, this love you have for me needs to end," he said without looking back to her. "It puts you in danger, and I can't assure your protection. You have to forget me."
He turned back to her and saw that her face had a peaceful expression, and although her eyes were humid, she smiled.
"This pill you gave me is made of special ingredients that heal the body when it's hurt," she said in a loving tone. "Right now, I feel completely cured."
Sakura put her hands on the bed and pushed herself forward, to get closer to Sasuke. She embraced him, enlacing his bare trunk while resting her chin on his shoulder. With her face this close to his nape, she felt her lungs being flooded with his familiar smell. He remained motionless.
"But when the injury is in the soul, the remedy is of another sort. I can cure you, Sasuke-kun, if you let me. Accept the love I have to give you. Let it heal you."
She tightened her arms around his body. She could feel his trunk oscillating with his breathing, but that was the only movement he did. For a long period, their breathing was all that could be heard on the room.
"Everyone I ever loved are dead," he spoke evenly, breaking the silence.
"The shinobi world is a cruel place. We lose friends on the battlefield. We go on missions without knowing when and if we'll see the village again. But when we have someone to come back for, everything becomes easier. Let me be this person for you, Sasuke-kun. When you finish your pilgrimage, when all your sins are atoned for, please come back to the village, come back to me."
Filled with tenderness, Sakura kissed his shoulder, then his neck, and put her hands around his face, pulled it gently and gave him a kiss on his mouth. A timid kiss that was unrequited. Sasuke remained motionless on his silent obstinacy. His black eyes were fixed on Sakura while she bent her body backwards, pulled the kimono's neckline down and started to undress herself.
"It's been so long that I want you," she whispered.
Her pale skin was painted blue, illuminated by moonlight, which made her nipple look darker. Taken by the vision, Sasuke swooped upon Sakura in a violent impetus.
"Have you ever fucked a man, Sakura?"
Her eyes gleamed with rage.
"What kind of question is this?"
"To act like this, you'd better know what you're doing."
No, she did not.
"Your idiot!" she cried out, pushing Sasuke aside with all her strength. He made an agile movement and felt on his feet across the room. She pulled the kimono to cover her body and walked to the bathroom's door with heavy footsteps. Before leaving the room, she stopped for a moment and looked at him.
"Thank you Sasuke, you just cured me from this love I had."
Then she entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She was alone in a strange room again. This time, tough, she knew who was behind the door.
"And don't forget this!" she screamed, opening the door and throwing the kimono on the ground. She was speaking to an empty room. Sasuke had left.
