The bright light blinded Sakura's eyes for only a few seconds, reaching beyond her closed eyelids and attacking her darkened vision, making everything seem apocalyptic. Her corneas ached from the light, and she found herself squeezing her eyes shut tighter than before, so tight that she began to see stars.
She knew that her eyes shouldn't be closed, in fact, that would be the worst possible thing she should do in any situation. However, each time that she tried to open her eyes, her environment wouldn't allow it, almost as if to say that this was the end.
No! He'll get away if I don't..
A deafening sound erupted all around her body, making her heart jump and her senses meaningless. She felt her entire body begin to sting, pain vibrating throughout every limb and muscle of her body. Though it didn't not seem possible, it was almost as if the light were digging into her skin, stabbing her repeatedly into an oblivion of pain.
If she couldn't handle the pain from her fight before, then she would've died right in that moment.
The previous pain she felt was nothing compared to this.
She knew that her body would automatically heal itself, and yet it seemed that would not be possible, repeated attacks of light and nothingness rendering her healed wounds useless and broken once again.
A shot of pain went through her, and she could feel her jutsu deactivating, her chakra lowering to a dull pulse.
The light engulfed her body with full force, sending her into shock.
Then, just as she wished for everything to stop, it did.
The light shut down almost completely, her eyes gratefully basking in the dimmed light behind her eyelids. It was almost as if someone placed an umbrella over her, blocking the harmful light. Her skin immediately began to soothe back to her homeostatic condition, her nerves calming their messages of pain. She exhaled shakily, emitting a small whimper of relief, followed by small shaking intakes of breath.
Only to be returned by a reciprocated breath against her neck, snapping her to her senses.
She only noticed then that she was curled up on the ground, her arms and legs tucked in and her back arched. She felt something heavy hovering over her body, secure enough to cover her almost completely and yet not enough to smother her. She shivered when she felt a pair of lips brush against her neck for a brief moment, a soft grunt of pain escaping them.
She didn't have to open her eyes to know who it was.
Or to realize that he had intended to shield her from the painful light, taking the pain upon himself rather than letting her take her share.
She felt his body shake above hers, and she gritted her teeth. Shakily, she turned her body underneath him, her back collapsing to the ground with a thud. She raised her arm into the light, immediately feeling its stinging electricity, but she didn't care. With as much ability as she could muster, she placed her trembling hand on the back of his head, pulling him away from herself softly, tugging at his hair.
"Please.." she whispered, eyes still squeezed shut. "Don't do this."
It wasn't fair. He'd always been the one to take the hits for her, even from the very beginning. And even now, with her new power and her new found strength, he was still shielding her.
"You're going easy on me."
"I don't know why you didn't use your sharingan.."
Sakura's own voice echoed in her head, taking her back to that day, the day before they departed on their mission. She'd won, but Sakura knew that she truly hadn't defeated Sasuke. Why hadn't he used his sharingan on her? Why had it been so easy to sneak up on him? It still haunted her to that very moment, and she was sure that it wouldn't ever escape her mind.
But then, it didn't end there, did it?
Everything flashed behind her eyelids.
The way he looked at her the morning she had that dream.
Stealing her soldier pills from her.
Demanding her to sleep.
She felt Sasuke gasp in pain, a mangled sound escaping his lips, which sent Sakura into a frenzied panic. She grunted softly as she tried to wiggle out from underneath him, to attempt to take the pain as he was, to spare his body from going through more agony that he'd experienced within the last few hours, all because of her.
But as she struggled, she felt an increased pressure upon her shoulders, Sasuke's hands pushing down on her, preventing her from moving.
The loud ringing in her ears increased, along with past whispers.
"This is in no such way your fault."
"He targeted you. And that means that if he wants to hurt you, then he wants to hurt all of us. We're a team, and we'll defeat him as one."
"You're still standing, so continue to!"
"You're strong Sakura. You're strong.."
He increased the pressure on her shoulders, keeping her anchored to her spot on the ground.
No, she wasn't supposed to have him protect her, not anymore!
"Why would you do something like that?! Why would you sacrifice yourself?! And for what?! Sakura, why would you do such a thing like this?!"
Why was he insisting on taking pain that she wanted to endure?
Why would he do something like this?
Using her other hand, she placed it on his chest, shakily grabbing the fabric of his shirt for support.
"Please.." she whispered again, this time pulling him closer to her so that their foreheads touched. Eyes closed, Sakura could feel both of their heads shaking, hurried breaths escaping their almost touching lips.
"Why..why would you do this?" she whispered, her cheeks wet.
Eyes stinging with tears and legs burning from the electric light, she allowed fresh tears to spill down her cheeks, gasping softly when she felt his nose touch hers lightly, lingering and sending a warmth through Sakura's pained face.
And then he kissed her.
She couldn't describe the feeling as anything other than a release of breath that she'd been holding all this time, relief and pure bliss invading her body, snapping away the pain her body felt. His lips moved along with hers, the rhythm slow and lingering, his lips softer and more gentle than Sakura had ever anticipated. She felt the natural charge of electricity shoot through her body, crackling in her fingers and toes.
She responded instantly, kissing him back with full force, finally allowing the innate forces in her body to take over completely, drowning her senses into the pair of lips on top of hers. She dropped her hand from his hair, and allowed it to drop to his neck, tracing his skin until she stopped at his cheek, cupping it softly. She heard some strange voice that sounded similar to her own echo softly in her mind.
What took you so long, huh?
Then, the light vanished.
They broke apart immediately, leaving Sakura's lips tingling, wanting more.
The aching of her protruding legs vanished immediately, the pain lowering to a dull throb. She felt her heartbeat return to normal as she saw orange behind her closed eyes, which suddenly sparked a signal in her brain.
When her eyes finally flew open, she wanted to cry out in relief.
They found themselves under a canopy of an orange glow, the same orange glow that had protected her from the crystals back in her so called "cave cell" with Fuu.
Thank Kami for those wings of hers.
Sakura's eyes darted away from the orange, and she immediately locked eyes with Sasuke.
They stared into each other's eyes, drinking up the images of each other intensely. They said nothing to each other, both too astonished to say anything.
Sakura slowly released her hold of Sasuke's shirt, followed by her hand on his cheek.
"Are you two ok?!"
Sakura registered Fuu's voice immediately.
Grunting softly, Sasuke took his hands off of Sakura's shoulders and pushed off of the ground to right himself, placing himself in a kneeling position on the ground. Breathing shakily, he ran a hand through his hair, sweat beading on his temples.
Frowning and averting eye contact, Sakura finally got up into a sitting position, massaging her arm and wincing when she felt a sharpened jab of pain run up her arm. The hit of light she'd received hadn't worn off just yet.
Her eyes darted to Sasuke only briefly, bashing herself for complaining about the pain she felt, when she had no right. She couldn't image the pain that he must feel, though she couldn't tell in the least bit. He was adept at hiding it. He'd always been.
Sakura finally turned her attention towards Fuu, who shakily stood a few feet away, her orange wing enclosing the four of them into a giant orange cocoon. She was breathing heavily, clutching at her arm and wincing every so often.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't do this sooner..it was just..too much." Fuu apologized, her voice winded.
Sasuke frowned. "What are we in?"
"My wing. I can extend it far enough to make a protective cocoon, it's handy when blocking attacks." Fuu told Sasuke.
"Is everyone ok?" Naruto asked, rising up from the ground shakily.
Four pairs of eyes watched warily as the light from beyond Fuu's wing flashed again violently.
Then, just as quickly as it came, the light vanished completely.
Nobody moved or even breathed, fearful for what lay beyond their thin yet firm layer of protection.
Sakura's eyes remained fixated on a singular spot on the ground, her heart pounding nervously. What would they see out there? Would they see anything?
She raised her eyes, and they locked with Sasuke's, his intense stare burrowing into her own eyes. He looked as though there would be an immediate danger nearby, and for all they knew, there could be.
After multiple wary glances, Naruto nodded shakily towards Fuu, who blinked uncertainly. Then, she sighed.
"Alright, here goes nothing."
The orange wing began to subside immediately, lifting off of the ground and retreating back into Fuu's back, the metallic scent of the cave returning to Sakura's nose.
Though, what she would see would not match what she smelled.
Her eyes widened in shock, her mouth dry.
"What is this?" she heard Naruto's shocked voice whisper.
"This..is this?.." Fuu asked, her eyes wide.
Sakura gulped nervously, her hands shaking.
Nothing but wide open space stretched out before them, not a single rock in sight. What once was a cave was now nothing more than rubble, rocks scattered all around the ground, some even turned to dust. Just in the distance, the green lining of evergreen trees was barely visible over the cloud of dust that hung in the air.
Sakura, still unable to process what had happened, shook her head.
"His chakra is gone."
Sakura turned to a frowning Sasuke, a small glint of surprise present on his face.
"Sasuke-san is right." Fuu said, kneeling on the ground and touching the rocks with her fingertips. "There's nobody else here but us."
"But how is that possible?!" Naruto exclaimed. "What the hell did that guy- er, girl- even do? What was that light?"
Sakura frowned, clenching her fists, allowing fire to spread through her veins.
His taunting voice echoed in her head, sending angry shivers down her spine.
"It's over. For me, and for all of you."
"My project failed..so you will die along with me.."
"But you already know that, don't you, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura didn't know what technique Joryoku used, but one thing was absolutely clear to her.
He'd used death as a method of escape, running away from the mess he'd caused.
"That coward." she hissed. "Running away, and by killing himself no less, how despicable!"
She hated him, no, she despised him, for everything that he'd ever done. And even now, as he had undoubtedly caused his own death in order to attempt to kill them, he would have gotten away with everything. She didn't want this.
She wanted to look him in his cold eyes, she wanted to see the fear and realization of a convicted shinobi who knew that there was no other way out.
She wanted to see his real body, not the stolen ones he'd used.
And yet, even in death, he'd managed to escape his crimes.
And that, Sakura thought, would be the most despicable crime he'd ever commit.
Hello lovelies!
FINALLY FINALLY THEY KISSED. I've been dying to write that scene.
And in other news, SASUKE KNOWS HIS DAUGHTER AND OPENLY LOOKED SORRY FOR WHAT HE DID AND MAMA SAKURA IS COMING AND I HOPE THAT THERE IS A TEAM SEVEN FIGHT.
Ok, I'm done.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Love you to Konoha and back! xx