Date: 5/10/13
Rating: T
Genre: Angst, Drama
Prompt: Sakura's reaction after she finds out the truth about the Uchiha massacre and Itachi on the battlefield, she's shocked to know that Konoha's elders ordered Itachi to kill his family and clan and realizes this was the reason Sasuke hated Konoha. She tries looking for Sasuke, finds him and they talk. She is glad that after everything bad that's happened to him, he still resolved to protect the village.
"I understand now."
At first, when Naruto told her the truth she was angry; angry at him for keeping it from her for so long; angry at herself for being so naïve; angry at the elders for allowing it to happen. Sakura just couldn't believe it. How could Konoha—her village, her goddamned village—do this? It sounded preposterous. But the more she thought about it the more it made sense. And once the initial shock wore off, Sakura ran.
And when she finally found him, he was alone. Sasuke was always alone. Sakura sighed. She was going to change that.
However, Sasuke didn't even look up. "Understand what?"
Sakura took a deep breath. "Everything. I know now, about the Uchiha Massacre, about your brother. And I understand why you did what you did," she said carefully as she made her way towards him, hesitating before she took a seat. "Naruto-kun explained everything to me."
"Did he now," Sasuke mumbled.
It got quiet. Sakura swallowed. She couldn't explain it, but she felt nervous. "Sasuke-kun, why are you here all alone? Why are you isolating—"
"Because I'm weak."
Sakura's eyes widened. She didn't understand. Where was this coming from? She shook her head vehemently and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not weak, Sasuke-kun. How could you even—"
"Yes," Sasuke said, shrugging Sakura's hand off of him roughly. "I am." He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to punch something. "I always thought that I was in control of my actions. But I never was. All my life I've been manipulated, lied to, just so I'd do whatever someone wanted of me." Sasuke closed his eyes. He thought about Itachi and Obito. "The choices I thought were mine never were."
"Sasuke-kun—"
"Sakura, don't. You shouldn't even be here. You should be afraid of me." His eyes flashed red for emphasis, as if to prove his point, as if he wanted her to be afraid. "Everyone else is, so don't deny it. They're all wondering when I'll change my mind again. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't wondering the same thing."
He was just so angry, so confused. However, when Sasuke saw the tears that began to well in Sakura's eyes, the anger disappeared, replaced with guilt. Sasuke couldn't even look at her anymore. "I could have killed you." He paused, remembering the look her face right before Naruto saved her. Sasuke shook the memory away. "I almost killed you. All of you. Everyone."
Sakura moved closer to him. "That doesn't matter anymore, Sasuke-kun. None of it matters anymore. Even after everything—the secrets, the lies, the pain—you came back." Sakura smiled, but she couldn't hold the tears any longer. However, they weren't tears of sadness. No, she was happy; she was proud. Truly. "And this, coming back to fight with Konoha—to protect Konoha—this was your choice. No one else's." She took his hand; she squeezed. "That's real strength, Sasuke-kun."
Surprised, he stared at her and then at their hands, but Sasuke didn't let go. And they stayed like that, hand in hand, neither saying anything, both content with the other's presence. But after a while, and to her surprise, Sakura felt him squeeze back.
"Thank you, Sakura."