#4: When a Flower Wilts

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Sasuke/Sakura, Lee/Sakura

Rating: PG(-13)

Word Count: 614

Summary/Description: She does not love him anymore. It is hard to swallow. It is not going down.

Warning/Spoilers: None, except Naruto's potty mouth.

A/N: Team Seven is about 16-17. As usual, Sasuke-kun is in denial. (sigh) That boy spends way too much time in Egypt.

It didn't hit him like a freight train or a speeding kunai. It was a gradual realisation, that came with many weeks of observing and deciphering; ferreting out the anomalies in her behaviour, analysing them until they showed the truth for what it was.

She didn't love him any more.

The fact solidified in front of his eyes when he saw her abruptly recoil mid-punch and dart off to the edges of the training grounds, with a hurried shout of, "You two go ahead; be back in a minute!" Then, she was jumping into Lee's arms, her broad grin mirroring his own.

He made an irked sound – that was what she was interrupting their training for? – before turning back to Naruto. He was even more annoyed to find that the blond wasn't even there any more, and was instead walking over to them with a friendly call of, "Hey, Fuzzy Eyebrows!"

Sasuke scowled, and relaxed himself into a normal stance. It didn't seem that they would be finished any time soon. Sakura had her arms looped around the green beast's neck, her smile creasing her face, crinkling her eyes and seeming to radiate sunlight… – she smiled at other people that way? – and Naruto was asking him how the mission had gone.

He turned away, when he realised that there was no reason for him to be watching. He didn't mind; it was no matter to him. What Sakura did in her free time was her own business. And besides, maybe this new development would make things easier between them during missions. Her schoolgirl crush hadn't been helping their teamwork; maybe now, without it, things would move smoother – it would never be the same­ – without any hitches or jumps.

"Ohayou, Sasuke-kun."

The fact that Lee chose to now acknowledge him irritated him, for some reason. After nodding brusquely in reply, he shouted at Naruto,

"Oi, dobe. You're not getting any stronger just standing there, and I'm not getting any younger."

"And Itachi's not getting any deader, I know, I know," the Kyuubi vessel grumbled, taking his leave of the couple with a wave. "Alright, alright, I'm coming. Jeez, you're so impa-"

The spinning flowers of the Phoenix Fire cut him off mid-sentence. Naruto fell to the side, palmed the earth and propelled himself out of range, his back against a tree. Before he could blink, invisible wires were strapping him to the thick wooden surface, pulling hard and cutting into his skin. And those seals that Sasuke was shaping… what the fuck?! He managed to burst free of his bonds just in time, as the churning flames of the Goukagyuu no Jutsu coursed forward in a fiery mass. He barely had time to recover, as a hail of throwing stars was flung at him. He deflected them with a kunai, growling.

"What the hell, bastard?!" He had to put up an arm to block the kick that was suddenly winging towards him. Sasuke followed with a volley of vicious punches, forcing Naruto back. The blond managed to retaliate with the throw of a kunai, but that only gave Sasuke time to retreat a few yards, unfold the black metal of a fuuma shuriken, and send it spinning towards his comrade. Naruto escaped having his head lopped off by a bare inch.

"What the shit is wrong with you?" he snarled, breath coming in harsh expulsions of air. "The idea when we're fucking training is to try to best me, not fucking kill me!"

"Shut up and fight," Sasuke said in a monotone. The Sharingan heated up his eyes, and something that he would not name rage roiled in his blood, and pushed him forward again.

A/N: I know it ends sorta abruptly, but that's how I wanted it. I mean, Sasuke? Come to terms with what he's feeling? Hah!