Title: Rebuild

Full Summary: Somewhat AU. Following Pein's Invasion and Uchiha Sasuke's return, Haruno Sakura struggles to cope as Konoha struggles to rebuild itself. The terrifying, familiar poison of yesterday's past is back. Learning how to trust again is not an easy task - especially when her life is a spin-cycle of betrayal. Bang and beat, rinse and repeat.

Pairing: SasuSaku

Inspiration: Boats and Birds - Gregory and the Hawk, A Thousand Years - Christina Perri, Never Gonna Leave This Bed - Maroon 5

I live to make you free

But you can set sail to the west if you want to;

and past the horizon til I can't even see you.

Far from here, where the beaches are wide - just leave me your wake to remember you by.

~ Gregory and the Hawk

Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.

Sasuke's rhythmic breathing filled the quiet room, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took. Sakura eyed the thick black seal peeking out from beneath his slightly ridden-up shirt, spreading across his ivory stomach. The seal was reminiscent of Naruto's, although Naruto's seal held the kyuubi at bay. This seal was for chakra suppression. Several days had passed since Sasuke's eye surgery, during which Sakura had healed the scarred and twisted muscle tissue in Sasuke's back, correcting old, wrongly-healed injuries.

Sakura blinked slowly, pink lashes feathering over her cheekbones, tired but satisfied. She brushed at the front of her red shinobi uniform, watching her ex-teammate in silence. He slept soundlessly, the dark circles under his eyes fading. He was thinner than she remembered, his collarbone strong and defined in the sunlight. His cheeks were slightly gaunt and a touch hollowed, his knuckles prominent and fingers bony. His wrists had thinned, though he hadn't lost any muscle. The robe was by no means attractive, but Sasuke still managed to look regal in it. Sakura nearly smiled at that. Sasuke could wear a dirtied paper bag and still be the most handsome man on the planet. Sakura felt hunger gnaw in her stomach and smiled lightly, reaching out with gentle fingers to brush away a dark lock of hair away from Sasuke's forehead, resisting the urge to trail her fingertips down his face and cup his cheek. She settled for patting the bedspread beside his hand and quietly stood, glancing out the window at the glimmering sea and the bustle of the town below before leaving, shutting the door quietly in her wake.

Obsidian snapped open. Groggy and disoriented, Sasuke winced at the bright sunlight streaming in through the thick glass window, gazing up at the wooden ceiling. His head spun. Mouth dry, Sasuke licked his lips and tried to gain his bearings. He felt as if he'd been sleeping for far too long. His stomach twinged in hunger and Sasuke desperately tried to make sense of it all. He heard distant laughter and scattered voices, as well as the familiar sounds of a thriving town. Muddled and bleary, Sasuke frowned in utter confusion. Why was he inside? Where was he? An inn? Sasuke screwed his eyes shut and tried to remember where he'd been last. His eyes were somewhat tender and sore, he noted, but it was too much information to process at once.

Sasuke swallowed, focusing on the grain of the wood above his head, trying to remember. There! He suddenly, vividly remembered fighting Neji and Tenten, but there was more than that... Sasuke tensed. He hadn't gone to an inn on his own - he'd passed out on the floor of the cave in his bedroll. A wild jerk of panic sent his head spinning with dizziness again, and Sasuke bit his lip as he tried to clear the lightheadedness. He cursed inwardly, raising his hands in jerky motions, staring at the unfamiliar robe he was wrapped in. Sasuke gazed wildly around the room, the voices outside of the room growing louder.

His mind flew wildly through countless possibilities and calculations. By the angle of the sun he quickly determined that it was sometime after noon, desperately hoping he'd made it to an inn and had blacked out all memories of the transition. Sasuke threaded chakra through his system, reaching out to gauge the chakra levels of those around him. He froze, grasping at chakra that wasn't there. Panic kicked off an adrenaline rush as Sasuke realized he couldn't use his chakra. It had somehow been blocked off. Panic choked his throat and he viciously snapped upright in bed, reeling as dizziness nearly bowled him over again. His gaze darted around the room, searching for any possible enemy, glaring fiercely out the window.

In another part of the house, Kiba's head snapped up as he picked up Sasuke's agitated scent. He stood, a sudden movement that had those around him flinch in surprise. His bowl of udon forgotten, Kiba's head snapped toward the direction of Sasuke's room, tracking his movements with his nose. Akamaru rose, sensing his master's distress, the fur on his back raising slightly. Akamaru growled a little, and Kiba was moving before anyone had time to ask him what was wrong.

"Sasuke's awake!" Kiba barked, careful to keep his voice low. Karin's face turned ashen, and she set down her chopsticks, half-eaten bowl forgotten. Suigetsu's eyes grew wide as dinner plates, though his reaction hadn't been as strong as his teammate's. Sakura and Naruto pushed away from the table in tandem, a single unit as they moved to confront Kiba.

"What's he doing?" they both cried as one, and Kiba shrugged. His fangs extended, he snarled his lip.

"He's panicking," Kiba answered. Naruto and Sakura were off like a shot, leaving Lee to loudly admire their incredible teamwork. Kakashi took note of their mirrored reactions once more and added it to the growing list of evidence to support his hypothesis that Naruto and Sakura were somehow bonded on a higher level.

"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura shouted as one, bursting into the door as Sasuke fought off dizziness. A tense silence descended over them as soon as Naruto and Sakura skidded to a stop, all three of them locked in a stalemate. Sasuke said nothing. He didn't look at them, his eye caught on something black on his stomach. Sasuke tensed - he knew that seal. Orochimaru had used it countless times on the prisoners in Sound. This seal was reserved specifically for ninja. Sasuke stared at the circular seal, it's flame-like edges spiraling out, reminiscent of Naruto's own. He didn't look at his former teammates.

Sakura felt Naruto's worry and absolute rage through their blood-bond, gritting her teeth as waves of fury lashed at her composure. She nearly shuddered as unbidden resentment rolled down her spine, closing her eyes briefly as their emotions coalesced into one. Sakura was full of trepidation, Naruto was hot with fury. Naruto twitched as Sakura's feelings flooded through him, and their eyes swiftly locked for several milliseconds. They simultaneously jerked their gazes back to Sasuke, who'd lifted his head at Naruto's twitch in his peripherals. A vicious smirk crooked Sasuke's lips as Sakura closed her eyes and shuddered, cruel satisfaction in his veins.

What Sasuke didn't know was that Sakura was working desperately to keep the kyuubi at bay. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, her jaw jumping as she worked to contain Naruto's rage. The kyuubi was raring for a fight, and so was Naruto. She forced down the kyuubi's chakra, drawing in a deep breath as she contained the situation.

All Naruto could see was red. Anger poured over him like a torrential downpour, taking away all reason. He longed to lunge for Sasuke's throat, but Sakura restrained him. She held her tenuous grip over him like a vice, and Naruto's fury slowly ebbed and faded, leaving place to Sakura's calming chakra. Naruto felt Sakura shudder with effort across the bond, though he was still animalistic and hunting for a fight. He felt Sakura distantly, like she was speaking through thick, fogged glass. Then the haze lifted and Naruto stared at his self-proclaimed brother.

Sakura finally opened her eyes with a small sigh of relief, catching hold of Sasuke's sadistic smirk, aimed at her. She brushed it off like water off her back, relieved at preventing Naruto's bloodlust. The kyuubi snarled in rage in the back of her mind, but that was the least of her worries. She was tired, mentally so. She was tired of this fight, this never-ending battle for Sasuke. She didn't want to endure Sasuke's scathing remarks, she didn't want to sit as Naruto tried to reason with him. Sakura's eyes caught on Sasuke's half-open robe, at the seal marring his taut stomach. She lifted her gaze back up to his face, smug satisfaction flooding her veins as she remembered that she was the only reason Sasuke's eyes were healed. She fought back the rising anxiety and stood in silence as she tried to count Sasuke's thick eyelashes.

Kakashi burst into the room then, closely followed by Sai. Sasuke took the advantage that their entry had provided - a distraction. He lunged for Sakura's throat. His hands closed in on Sakura's neck, intending to take her as hostage to ensure his safety. He intended to strangle her with his physical strength, intent on his target. The air whispered around him as he hurtled through the air, his hands brushing aside locks of pink hair as he went for a clean grip on Sakura's delicate throat. Even without chakra, he was fast. Sasuke smirked in victory as he closed his fists around Sakura's neck, but he'd jumped the gun. As Sasuke's hands closed in on Sakura's throat, she had already started moving backward, kicking off with a burst of honed chakra as she hurtled away from Sasuke's attack, eyes locked fiercely with his. Sakura's back hit the wall, her breath leaving her in a rush as her spine collided with the wood. Her breathing hitched in shock and she knew she'd have a large bruise on her back when she peeled away. Sakura aimed to knock Sasuke off his feet with a well-placed kick to the torso, but Sai beat her there. He blocked Sasuke's attack the minute Sakura threw herself away from Sasuke's attempted chokehold, his tanto pressed against Sasuke's throat.

Sasuke's chest heaved with breath as the cold metal pressed against his flesh, threatening to slice his throat if he moved. Sakura stood unharmed, pushing off from the wall, looking unruffled. She'd expected Sasuke to attack them at some point. Sai's voice was dark with fury as he spoke, something that startled the rest of his team. Sai was slowly relearning emotions, but it was exactly that - slow. To react in such a way was quite the suckerpunch for his teammates.

"Do not touch her," Sai snarled, his jaw jumping in barely restrained rage. Sakura stared at her pale teammate in shock, but there were other things to focus on.

"You bastard!" Naruto thundered, his vision red as he screamed at Sasuke. He stormed forward, barely withheld from transformation by Sakura, trembling from head to toe with unbridled fury. Naruto shook and his hands clenched, nails biting his palms so strongly blood welled up beneath his nails and dripped from his fists. There was a slight hiss as Naruto's skin tried to heal itself. Naruto flashed forward and hit Sasuke squarely across the face, breaking the Uchiha's jaw with a vicious punch. He breathed hard, bringing up another fist to fly directly into Sasuke's stomach in his momentum. Weakened by the lack of chakra, strenuous healing, and not having that much food, Sasuke was unable to defend himself. He was still dizzy from his lunge at Sakura, and the shock on his currently weakened body couldn't keep up with his mind. Sasuke gave a dry retch, stumbling back to sit on the bed. Sakura stood frozen in place, all her focus across the blood-bond.

Naruto was undeterred. He briefly thought of Sasuke's previous injuries, thanks to Sakura's link, and relented to a verbal assault instead.

"She fucking saved your life, you ungrateful bastard!" Naruto screamed, his face awash with terrible anger. Naruto strode forward and gripped the front of Sasuke's robes, desperately wanting to throw in several more punches. He wished that Sasuke had his chakra so they could fight, but it wasn't going to happen. "You were going to lose your sharingan and your eyesight if Sakura hadn't saved you!" Naruto spat, fists shaking as he stared his former best friend down. Sasuke didn't react. He sat there apathetically, one hand lying on the cold white sheets of the bed, the other holding his bruised stomach. Sasuke's eyes were cold and uncaring, as if Naruto had just told him his shoe was unstrapped. Sakura had saved his future and Sasuke didn't even care.

"You're pathetic," was all Sasuke said, his voice muffled by his broken jaw and pain. The words resonated in the room, however, and Sakura felt them deep in her bones. She knew those words were directed at her. The words spurred her concentration and she stepped forward, still restraining Naruto as she moved to sedate Sasuke. She touched Sasuke's forehead and he slipped away, back into sleep.

Sakura sighed and touched Sasuke's jaw, healing it even as his words sunk into her skin. Naruto recoiled at that, severing their connection as he stepped to her.

"Don't," Naruto said, his fury ebbing, but Sakura shook him off. Her hand fell to Sasuke's darkly bruised stomach and healed that as well, mending his injuries in silence. She was surprised. They were all surprised. No one was surprised at Sasuke, but they were surprised at Naruto and Sakura. Naruto was the one who fell apart, not Sakura. Sakura thought she would go wild with fury the minute he awoke, and she thought that Naruto would try to make amends. She was wrong. All she felt was detachment, although she knew she would feel like hell later. Naruto's resentment toward Sasuke for the way he'd treated Sakura had come to the forefront, overshadowing any other emotions he held.

Sakura felt numb. She healed Sasuke and pulled her hand away from his warm skin, bitterness creeping through her as she stared at the stranger crumpled across the sheets. Not for the first time, she wondered what they were doing, her and Naruto. Sasuke obviously didn't want to come back, so what were they doing here, with him? Sakura looked at him and felt old hurt consume her, wondering why they hadn't been enough. She thought distantly of Karin and Suigetsu, and she thought of the person he used to be, back in Konoha. Sakura was so tired of hurting over Sasuke. She stood and pushed away from her first love, gliding out of the room and down the hallway. She pulled her arms in to cradle against her, clutching her shoulders.

She shrugged off Hinata and Ino's concerns, pushing the screen door out of Tazuna's home and stepped into the fresh, salty air. Sakura needed to be alone for a little while, at least. She gazed across the vibrant green grass, past that to the slightly sandy patches of oceanside vegetation, shivering slightly in the chilled air. Spring was fast approaching, but the world hadn't shaken off the frost just yet. Sakura sucked in a breath and paced for the harbor, blending in with the bustling crowd around her. Somewhat on autopilot, Sakura stepped into several stores and browsed the clothing racks absentmindedly, her fingers catching on clean collars and lingering on pressed sleeves, thumbing through shirts and skirts unconsciously. Everything felt so surreal. There she was, in a clothing boutique, while Sasuke slumbered less than a mile away. Sasuke! Sakura was still having trouble believing it; believing that Sasuke was within reach. She and Naruto had waited for this opportunity for four years... and now that they had him, they could scarcely believe it was real. Too long Sakura and Naruto had waited for this moment. They'd spent months hunting each of Orochimaru's old hideouts just before Pein's destruction of Konoha. They'd investigated all of the lightless reaches of each of Sound's countless prisons, releasing all of Orochimaru's experiments and searching desperately for Sasuke.

Sakura shivered in the cool airconditioned store, but her shudder had nothing to do with cold. Sasuke was there, in the flesh, and he still had no intention of coming home to Konoha. Sakura saw it in the lines of his shoulders, the grim draw of his mouth, the condescending sneer he'd laced her with. Standing before him, Sakura felt thirteen all over again. She felt as if her confidence unraveled to thin threads with one look, as if the barriers she'd built around her heart turned to dust the minute Sasuke touched them. Sakura didn't feel seventeen when she stood before Sasuke, she didn't feel as if she could have ever bested Sasori of the Red Sands, she felt as if her medical prowess was truly insignificant under Sasuke's scrutiny. Sakura hated that he had such devastating power over her, and she loathed herself for giving it to him.

Sakura bit the edge of her thumb, an old habit she'd curbed years ago. She pushed on the thin metal handle of the boutique, barely hearing the merry tinkling of bells on the door as they sounded her departure. She wandered aimlessly down the sand-blown road, heading for the pier. Alone, Sakura climbed up the worn steps to the lookout over the ocean, breathing in the salty air, feeling the mist of the ocean upon her face. She trailed a hand along the damp railing, gazing out over the endless sea. Ships winked and glimmered near the horizon, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Sakura almost smiled. She felt heavy with old burdens, brushing her hair out of her face as the wind whipped through it. Sakura longed for a hairtie as the strands of her hair felt as if they were making thin cuts on her face. Sakura sucked in a salt-tinged breath, letting the crashing waves lull over her, her heartbeat slowing and almost-peace washing over her body. She stood there for an hour, lost in thought, jerking in surprise when a warm hand grasped her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice was full of relief, worry showing through his crystal blue eyes. Sakura put a hand to her racing heart, laughing shortly.

"You surprised me, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, blinking in surprise at how low the sun had gotten. Naruto grinned at her, sunlight glinting off his white teeth and setting his eyes brilliantly ablaze. For the thousandth time, Sakura wished she'd fallen in love with Naruto instead. It would have been so easy, she thought bitterly, admiring the way the light slanted down his cheekbones, highlighting his broad shoulders, the strength in his body. Naruto was incredibly handsome, and had a wonderful heart to boot. But every time Sakura laid in bed and tried to envision her future, the man standing beside her had impossibly dark hair and eyes like oil spills. Sakura offered Naruto a barely-there smile, feeling suddenly drained. The wind picked up a ferocious gust, slamming walls of water against the pillars holding up the pier.

Sakura cast one last glance out at the sparkling water, glimmering brilliantly as diamonds where the sunlight hit. She turned to face her teammate, rubbing at the dried salt covering her face. She grimaced, her hair stiff with salt and the ends slightly damp from the ocean spray. Sakura longed to take a shower.

"Dinner's gonna be ready soon," Naruto said. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I know what Sasuke said hurt you." Classic Naruto. Blunt, and straight to the point. At least, Sakura he reasoned, he wasn't as insensitive as Sai. Sakura bristled at the truth, not wanting to admit it to herself.

"I'm fine, Naruto," Sakura stressed, trying not to think of the way her heart shattered at his scathing gaze. Sasuke could break her so easily, Sakura mused. Frustration coursed through her and she tried not to snap at Naruto. He didn't deserve her taking it out on him, not when he was hurting a little as well. Naruto placated her, backing off the subject entirely.

"Tazuna's daughter made cold soba noodles," Naruto grinned in an effort to distract his teammate. Sakura smiled and eagerly jumped upon the topic-switch, thankful for Naruto's growing sensitivity to those around him. As they joked and prodded fun at each other all the way back to Tazuna's house, Karin watched them with growing envy.

Karin felt washed out as she watched the two close-knit teammates laugh as they ascended the stone stairs, feeling incredibly inferior in comparison. Sakura was a world famous medical ninja, second to only Tsunade herself. The pink-haired kunoichi had also defeated Sasori of the Red Sands, earning her renowned fame. She was close with the Kazekage and his powerful siblings, not to mention a valuable asset of Konoha. She'd captured the heart of the most powerful jinchuuriki, tutored by the famous copy-ninja, and the last Uchiha on earth had once cared about her deeply. Karin felt like nothing beside Sakura. Jealousy did not fill her heart, for Karin knew that Sakura deserved praise and kindness. Still, Karin could not help feel bitter standing beside the incredible kunoichi. Karin watched Sakura with longing, remembering the way Sasuke had so easily driven his hand into her chest, intending to kill... whilst he hadn't been able to hurt Sakura. She'd heard tales spun by escapee prisoners from Sound - the day Sasuke incapacitated the rest of Team Yamato, Sakura had stood unharmed in the rubble, the only member of the team uncrippled by Sasuke's paralyzing chidori. Karin remembered how Sasuke had heard Sakura out before attacking her, how he'd held back until her teammates were within safe distance to whisk her away before he could do any damage. Karin bit her lip and watched the easy smile on Sakura's face, and the matching grin on Naruto's. Longing crashed through her; she wanted what they had. Karin knew she, Suigetsu and Juugo had been their replacements. What a joke, she thought sourly. No one could ever replace them.

Karin laced a smile on her face, trying to make it genuine as the pair drew up to the house.

"Hey, Karin!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically, always so giving. Sakura gave Karin a calmer greeting, and up close Karin could see the pain masked by her cheerfulness. Karin's bitter loathing melted away under the look in Sakura's eyes - it was one Karin regularly recognized in her own. Karin and Sakura were more alike than it looked on the surface.

I noticed a fanfiction user talk about how that in most of the fanfictions there are, Sakura is portrayed as a strong individual who somehow still manages crumbles under Sasuke. All the evidence is there that she's matured into a well respected kunoichi with a backbone and deserved confidence - she's defeated Sasori, completed dangerous missions, is an amazing medical ninja, to say the least. So Sakura shouldn't be so weak before Sasuke, was the user's argument. At first I wholeheartedly agreed and looked with small shame upon all my writing - I fit that stereotype exactly.

I still agree that that user has a wonderful point, but being hung up over one guy myself (just like Sakura) it really is true. One look from him would send butterflies to my stomach and shatter my confidence. I was always so scared of looking stupid or weak or dumb around him, and even though it's been years, if I see him out in town I'm reminded full force of the feelings I thought had faded away. I think about him for days, even weeks after that one brief glimpse, even though we don't talk. It's crazy and I hate it. I see all these wonderful guys and I wish, every day, that I could fall for them instead.

That being said, I digressed, but I still think that user has a valid point. I agree with her, but not completely. There's always one person who has the power to bring us to our knees with one look, with one word. I learned too late that I should've never given someone that kind of power over me. I don't know if I'm blindly looking for some justification that all my writing fits the aforementioned stereotype, or what haha.

Thank you for reading :)