AN: Hope you guys had a great weekend! Let us get into the next chapter! Please leave a like and or review and let me know how I am doing. :) Enjoy!
I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, IT'S CHARACTERS, OR ANY OF THE ARTWORK DISPLAYED.
I DO OWN THIS STORY.
We strolled out of town just as the sun had started to sink into the sky as the townspeople had waved us off after giving us their thanks. I noticed people whisper about how 'The last Uchiha' was a lot nicer than they had heard rumors of and how maybe they had misjudged him. This made me smile. I watched Sasuke's face and through his limited facial cues that slipped through his control, I watched as his lips twitched ever so slightly upwards,making me believe it made him want to smile too.
Neither of us were tired yet, having both slept as peacefully as two high level ninjas had the luxury of sleeping. I noticed instead of Sasuke's usual faster pace than mine he slowed his steps to match my pace. I tried not to smile but when his hand accidentally brushed mine the blush escaped my restraint and dusted across my cheeks warming my face in its path. Sasuke's pace still didn't change and it felt like we were making progress.
We walked well into the night but it was still pretty bright considering it was a full moon.
A drizzle had started and I pulled up my hood, trying to keep the droplets that pelted down from soaking my pink locks. Even with the hyde covered inside I felt the drops start to soak through. Until all at once I felt a warm chakra buzz around me and the water that had been assaulting me vanished. I looked around, confused. It was still pouring rain but I was no longer being hit by it.
When I looked up I saw a purple light of Sasuke's Susanoo shielding us from the rain. "Thank you." I managed to get out. If I thought my cheeks were red before I was dead wrong. I had never been more happy to be in the dark than I was right now. After 20 more minutes or so we had both decided it was time to stop for the night, as the rain didn't have any indication of letting up anytime soon. We found a cave much bigger than the one before and hurried inside.
It was a dark gray rock wall and unlike the vine covered entrance before, this one had bushes in front. If it hadn't been for Sasuke once again having been here before I would have never noticed it. He always had an eye for finding shelter, even in our genin days. The ground was solid stone unlike the one before. It smelt of pine needles and raindrops. Almost like Sasuke.
I set my pack down and watched in amazement as Sasuke formed a singular hand sign that I had begun to know very well. Katon. I watched as his hand moved to his mouth and he blew the perfect size flames out as simply as it was to breathe oxygen. The flames shot across the cave to the brush that had conveniently been placed in the center of the cave.
Without realizing it the words poured from my mouth. "I would like to learn that." His eyes bore into mine momentarily and he looked away dropping his pack and sliding down the cave wall. "Hn." He said in agreement after a few minutes. A smile crept to my lips. For some reason this made me feel uncharacteristically bold. I walked towards where he sat and scooted down the wall next to him leaving less than a foot between us.
I felt him go rigid and sit straight and I turned to look at him. When I did I noticed his poncho that had been rippled during our earlier battle. "Take off your shirt." I said not thinking. He shot me a confused but guarded look as if to say what the hell Sakura. I giggled at the realization and rolled my eyes. "Relax Sasuke-Kun, I'm not that kind of girl. You ripped your poncho during the fight." I informed him. His eyes darted down to where mine had wandered and then it was his turn to roll his eyes.
Sasuke looked as though he was about to refuse until he saw my stern face. He gracefully leaned forward pulling off his poncho and placing it on my lap. I hummed with happiness and leaned over grabbing my pack to find my sewing kit. One thing I had learned on missions was clothes rip. A lot. Us ninja went through clothes as though they were a dime a dozen. After the first mission with team 7 I had decided to take up sewing when my favorite dress ripped and I didn't want to part with it.
A few bad patches later and I had finally learned to sew, patch, or make something completely from scratch. I explained this to Sasuke as I patched up his poncho. For once he didn't seem to mind as I talked, and he actually seemed to be listening. He nodded when appropriate and sometimes even 'Hn.' as a response. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand and I leaned my head down allowing my hair to fall in front of my face.
I peered through my makeshift curtain and saw Sasuke's eyes studying me. Minutes passed and his eyes never left my face. I felt a sense of pride fill me as I leaned my head back up. I was finishing up and had finally quit speaking, Sasuke then spoke up his voice barely above a whisper.
"When I was younger. When my… family was still alive. My mother used to sew all my father's, brother's, and my clothes. She would complain to me mostly how even men should know how to sew. That there was no use in tossing out so many clothes all the time… She never got to teach me. Not that I would be much good at it now." Sasuke finished glancing down at his vacant sleeve where his dominant hand once was.
"I don't know how well I could teach you, but I could… show you how to sometime if you'd like. That way your… your mother would know you remembered the important lesson she wanted you to know. Also so you can quit tossing out so many clothes the second they tear." I added to lighten the mood. This was one of the first times Sasuke had opened up to me and I didn't want him to feel upset for sharing with me. I wanted to let him know that I appreciated him sharing stories of his family with me.
He smirked a real one and rolled his eyes, but I knew I had chosen the right words for the moment. A sparkle touched his singular visible obsidian eye and I felt my chest explode with a heat 1000 times hotter than Sasuke's 'katon' ever imagined being.
The weeks passed by quickly and the bond between us only grew stronger. I was still the one to talk the most but Sasuke too began to speak more. He spoke with aloofness. Almost as though a man who was free of life's burdens even if only for a moment. Moments of fleeting looks soon turned to long glances. I began to be braver with my looks. I even saw Sasuke's eyes on many occasions drift to me and he too seemed not to be as self conscious about being caught.
We often walked side by side, sometimes brushing each other. I always felt tingles on the places his hand touched. His stiffness subsided and he seemed so… carefree. Even more carefree than I had ever seen him be before. We didn't need to speak about our feelings as we both could feel them growing into something that words couldn't explain.
Sasuke had always been a man of action rather than a man of words. When I tripped he was there to catch me. When it was cold he was there to give me warmth. There was a night I was feeling extra homesick. He was there to be my shoulder to cry on. Sasuke told me at any point if I wanted to return we would. Of course I refused.
I had spent most of my life chasing the position that I was now in. A little homesickness was the last thing I was ever going to be worried about. I am still worried however. I worried I would say the wrong thing on the few and far between nights that Sasuke did decide to talk of his late family. When he talked about them his eyes grow distant, almost as though he was trying to remember it and convince himself that the memories he was thinking of had actually happened and weren't some kind of dream.
So far he had told me of his pets, his mother's cooking and how he missed it extra on his birthday (she had always made his favorite dish on his birthday specially for him.). Sasuke told me of his worries of never pleasing his father and his conversation with his mom about his dad's inability to properly express emotions. He also told me he thinks that may be where he gets it from. I agreed with a smile.
I learned a lot on days he felt like talking. I made sure to memorize the things he said and stories he told. I wanted to remember every small detail. I grabbed my journal as Sasuke sharpened his tools.
Itachi loved cabbage but surprisingly hated steak.
Mikoto's favorite color was dark blue - like the haori Fugaku wore when they wed.
Fugaku's birthday was August 16th.
I wrote these things down and felt sorrow form around my heart thinking about these facts. Itachi would never taste cabbage again, Mikoto would never see her favorite shades of dark blue, and Fugaku would never celebrate another birthday. I felt a tear slide down my cheek without my permission. I tried to wipe it, but it was too late. He had already saw it.
Ever so slightly I saw a painful look form across his face but it was gone as quickly as it came.
"We can leave in the morning. Head back to Konoha." Sasuke muttered slowly, setting down his blade. My head shook from side to side instantly. "It's not that, Sasuke-Kun." I watched his eyebrow lift a fraction as confusion took over.
I took a deep breath. Not knowing if this would be the right thing to say or not. I stood, walking over to him cautiously. The confusion on his face grew but he made no move to stop me. I took this as a good sign. I sat down next to where he sat against the tree trunk. Testing the waters I slightly leaned my head against his shoulder. His body tensed up instantly and he started to move away but decided against it, finally relaxing a bit.
Another deep breath before I spoke. "They…" My voice cut off as their faces from what I could remember flashed through my mind. I knew Sasuke needed to hear this. When my voice returned it was just above a whisper, "Your family. They would have been so proud of you Sasuke-Kun. All of the work you are doing. All of the lives you saved and actions you have taken thus far. They would have loved to watch you navigate the world as you were meant to instead of being… how you were. They would have loved seeing you learning how to be more at peace. I wish more than anything I could have met them. If you would have allowed it of course."
" I would have loved to celebrate your father's birthday with you, or tease Itachi about not getting his proper protein from steak. I would have loved to shop for something dark blue until we found the perfect shade with your mother. I would have loved to do all of that. Most of all I would have loved watching the man I love get to experience that. But… even though they are not here with you, we can still live our lives full enough for them. You can still have those experiences FOR them. I like to think they would love that for you, because they all loved you Sasuke-Kun."
I was almost positive he wouldn't hear me but the way his body went rigid once more confirmed that he had. Then at once I felt him shift under my head and was prepared for him to push me off of him. I looked up and saw both eye locked onto my face and I felt a warm tap to the middle of my too-wide forehead. My eyes widened as he slowly leaned his forehead against mine. I couldn't tell if I had imagined the glassiness of his eyes before they closed or not.
We sat like that for what seemed like forever and no time at all, all at once. He pulled his head away slowly and I leaned my head against his shoulder keeping my eyes closed. I was afraid if I opened them this would all have been a dream, even if it was it was still better than I could have ever imagined.
I opened them finally once I felt Sasuke slowly leaned forward grabbing the plate of rations we had made to snack on and held it up to me. I smiled lightly and accepted taking a few bites as he continued to hold the plate for me. When I was done he sat it down and I felt my eyes grown heavy as I listened to the sound of the fire crackle.
Sasuke has abandoned his tool sharpening and instead opted for reading. I had grown accustomed to him activating his sharingan in the late evening hours to see his books better. Or to memorize them, hell maybe even both. Before I knew it my heavy eyes couldn't stay open and I once more rested my head on Sasuke's willing shoulder. My eyes slipped closed and I drank in the pine smokey smell that is Sasuke Uchiha as I was lulled into unconsciousness to his rise and fall of his steady breathing.
Just before I finally dozed once and for all I felt his chakra spike in an unalarming way and felt the familiar warmth of his susanoo hover for a moment before carefully resting Sasuke's newly acquired blanket gently over me. I sighed happily and the last thing that hit my senses was a hushed "Arigato, Sakura." as the darkness took over my consciousness for the evening.