Title: Reflection
Chapter: Familiarity
Author: ahzheejhei
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: T
Pairing: Sasuke Uchiha / Sakura Haruno
Spoiler Warning: Between Ch. 170-190. That general area.
Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto is the owner of Naruto, not me. ;^;
Summary: Sakura may have been the youngest in the team, but she was the most perceptive.
Word Count: 564
Author's Notes: Week 2 is Chance Meetings and Day 5 is Scent. Rushed, moody borderlining teenage angst, but think about it… Sasuke and Sakura are only 13. Like they'd have their feelings all figured out… :D Enjoy!
Sakura wasn't like Kakashi—she had no eye transplant that made him almost impossible to beat. No love for reading softcore porn, or to be late on time, or to be sincere to the rudest people on the planet. She didn't have a father who committed suicide to leave her the burden of what is the higher priority. She had intelligence, but nowhere near to that of her sensei, who knew what to do when two teammates purposely pitted against each other with killing intentions.
Sakura wasn't like Naruto, despite some similarities—she didn't have a lot of chakra. The ability to heal herself quickly. The emotional strength to endure a rough childhood of no parents, barely any friends, criticism, and constant reprimands. She didn't have the physical strength of continuing on after being told "NO YOU MAY NOT" for so many years. It was a miracle, in her opinion, that Naruto grew as much as he did now.
Sakura wasn't like Sasuke, either—she didn't come from a prestigious clan (though said clain now borderlines extinction). She had no pure ambition to become stronger to avenge her loved ones. To find peace due to a traumatic past. It wasn't possible for her to personally experience Tsukuyomi as a seven year-old child.
The one thing that set Sakura apart from her two male teammates and to her sensei, however, was her ability to feel. She knew it, they knew it, and perhaps the rest of the village knew it. No matter what she was doing, she was going to do it right, damn it, because it was her responsibility to anticipate their actions, to be that one thing they needed. Wanted. Never really had.
"Ne ne, Sasuke-kun, I'll heal that arm – you won't be able to carry her with that brace still on you."
"Na. Ru. To. Just hold still for Kami's sake! I'm only cutting your hair… Jeez, what do you think I'm doing, trying to kill you? I leave that to the villains, thanks."
"Kaka-sensei! Kaka-sensei! Could you take a look at this? Please? I don't think I have this throwing technique down right… my arm keeps hurting."
So, when Sasuke left her to go home that afternoon, it was gut instinct for her to find the problem. She knew that he was up to something. She knew he was going to leave that night. For God's sake, it was written all over his face!
And God-fucking-damn it all, she was going to stop him. Him leaving would break that cycle that she had created for her team. As the nurturer, as the mother, as the sister, as the annoying child.
Not being conceited, but being protectful.
So, that night, before the moon was out, she slipped away with a clone in her bed as she went to wait by the entrance. As the clock struck twelve, she could hear his footsteps. He was making his way here without rush, without anticipating that someone might have figured out he was leaving that night.
And when they looked at each other in the eyes, she saw what could happen, and what she wanted to happen. It was that scent of disaster, of heartbreaks, of dedication, or snared friendships, camaraderie, and of being alone.
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"
Thus began the realization of her horrible prediction.
Fin