Title: Reflection
Chapter: The Martyr
Author: ahzheejhei
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: T
Pairing: Sasuke Uchiha / Sakura Haruno
Spoiler Warning: If the words "Sasuke" and "Sakura" and "fainting" and "defection" make no sense to you…
Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto is the owner of Naruto, not me. ;^;
Summary: Sasuke hadn't realized it, he had become more like his brother in more ways than one.
Word Count: 549
Author's Notes: Week 2 is Chance Meetings and Day 4 is Self-Sacrifice. Just so that I don't confuse anyone, the chapters are (chronologically) out-of-order. :D Enjoy!
Two hours and thirty-two minutes after his run-in with Sound Four, Sasuke found himself faced with a distressed Sakura in front of Ichiraku. Her cheeks were puffy and red, her eyes were dry of tears, but she looked more worried and concerned than miserable. He was surprised, though, to see her here.
She must've been working on her tracking abilities.
"I don't want to talk about it, Sakura," he said evenly as his ramen bowl appeared in front of him. "It's done."
"You look more bruised than earlier this afternoon, Sasuke-kun," she replied nervously as her jade eyes scanned the cuts on his arms.
"Training."
"Oh…"
Her vegetable ramen came, and Sakura thanked the waitress. From the corner of Sasuke's eyes, he saw that she wasn't being as nosy as usual, and instead was focusing more on her noodles than his activities. A silent date, Sasuke concluded, which means that there was something going on with her.
An hour and forty-three minutes after their meal, Sasuke and Sakura (silently—how odd, Sasuke thought) walked towards the training grounds. He knew that cutting through the third area was his shortcut back to his flat, while his female teammate only needed to take a right turn, which was the opposite of his direction, to make it back home before dark. Before the two parted ways, however, Sakura finally spoke:
"Please tell me you won't go to him, Sasuke-kun."
He should've known. The young Uchiha didn't bother to look back at her; he simply stayed still, listening to her pleading voice as he concentrated on the tree up ahead. When she was finished with her seemingly never-ending list of Why-Not's, he shook his head.
"You don't know what my brother is capable of."
"Sasuke—"
"Have you ever even met my brother, Sakura?" he turned around, giving her a cold stare, "Did you ever see him be honored in front of your family, in front of the Hokage, for the justice he had done before he murdered everyone?"
"He didn't kill you, though—"
"For what, a sick and twisted trophy, right?" Sasuke snarled, clenching his fists. "If he is capable of killing his own family in one night, he can kill anyone else even faster than that."
This time, Sakura didn't even try to retort. He took this as a chance to continue—to get it off of his chest.
To get her to stop fucking following.
"He'll kill you. Naruto. Kakashi-sensei. Anyone."
You're in danger because of me.
"I have to do it. Orochimaru can make me stronger—much stronger than Kakashi-sensei's training—to stop Itachi. I'll bring back honor to the Uchiha name. I can't do it here – I won't grow fast enough."
He needs to be stopped at all costs.
"And you can't stop me."
My defection will be a noble effort.
"That's my promise."
I'll keep you safe.
At this point, Sakura was crying again, wiping the tears and boogers along her sleeves. He could tell that she was against it, that she was trying to find the words to tell him not to go, to stay here and grow stronger with the rest of Team Seven, to make amends with Naruto and their sensei, to just forget about revenge and focus on the present.
But he wouldn't, and walked back home to pack, ignoring the sobbing that followed him for the rest of the day.
Fin