Do You?
Summary: A Team 7 fic. Sakuracentric. Sakura muses on the legitimacy of her and Naruto's mission to bring Sasuke back. Spoilers for manga chapter 310.
I just wonder,
do you ever
think of me
anymore,
do you?
- Do You, NE - YO
Sakura meandered slowly down the streets of her home town, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was her day off from the hospital and frankly she didn't know what to do with herself. Naruto was off training with Jiraiya - sama, Ino was working at her parents' flower shop and Sai was M.I.A. as usual so she had no one to rely on to provide her with a distraction. She observed the people moving along on their daily business, smiling as she saw the families, friends and couples strolling casually down the street. Eventually she found herself on the outskirts of the village and then she was there - in front of the bench where Sasuke had laid her the day he left Konoha. On most days she avoided there like the plague but today, she had been so unaware that that's where she had ended up.
Sakura sighed and sat down heavily on the stone bench. She had been trying to stay positive since their encounter with Sasuke just a few days earlier but now all the thoughts she had kept at bay for the past few days came to the forefront of her mind full force and the despair that she had been trying to stave off came crashing down on her so forcefully it was as if a boulder had just fallen on her head. Sasuke. When 'Team Kakashi' had left on their mission to meet Sasori's informant, she had been so excited - she had been so hopeful that they would get some clues as to Sasuke's whereabouts and maybe more than that. She had gotten more than that alright. Seeing Sasuke again after these past few years had been such a shock for her but Team 7's reunion had been utterly disappointing.
Although Sasuke had seemed somewhat amused at seeing his old teammates again, he was still not open to the idea of returning to Konoha. She was afraid that perhaps he had forsaken Konoha completely. Was the goal that she and Naruto were so hell - bent on accomplishing even worth it? Did Sasuke even want to come back...ever? If they brought him back, would he just leave again? In the past she had hoped that even if she and Naruto were unsuccessful in their attempts to bring Sasuke back, perhaps after he succeeded in killing Itachi (and survived it), maybe he'd come back of his own volition. But considering the way that Sasuke had reacted when he saw them and the things he had said - about Konoha, about their team, it seemed as though he had truly let go of Konoha...and of their friendship.
Did he really not think about them anymore? How was that possible? She thought about him constantly, even after all this time! Did he really not care about them anymore? How was it possible for him to have let go of them completely or perhaps he had never cared about them at all? Perhaps he had never cared about her, maybe he would always see her as one of his annoying fangirls? Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes. What had she said to Naruto - 'Crying isn't going to bring Sasuke - kun back!' so why was she crying over Sasuke again?
"Sakura - chan! Sakura - chan!" Sakura turned her head and saw Naruto bounding excitedly towards her. She sighed and wiped her eyes hurriedly. "What are you doing just sitting here?!' Naruto exclaimed as he reached her, ' We've got to go train so we can bring Sasuke - teme back!" This statement brought a smile to Sakura's face as only Naruto's optimism could. She looked up at him, her eyes shining with her resolve. That was why she couldn't give up - if Naruto was willing, if he still believed that Sasuke could be saved, then how could she give up? After all he had promised to bring Sasuke back just to please her. Besides she had promised Naruto that they would get stronger together. She would not give up on Sasuke - she could not! She knew that being unable to stop Sasuke for the second time had really hurt Naruto and so she knew that she needed to believe that Sasuke could be saved too. Not only for herself, but more so for him. With that thought, she flashed Naruto a bright smile and stood up, "You're right Naruto. Here I am wasting time that I could spend training."
"Yatta! Let's go Sakura - chan!" Naruto said as he grabbed her hand and took off at a run. She followed, laughing - Naruto's optimism was always contagious.
A/N: Yay! My first non - Sand Sibs fic! PLEASE REVIEW - I'd really like to know what you think of it. It's very different from my usual fics. Was the last paragraph contradictory? I think it might be. I thought of taking out a few of the last lines. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!