Date: 6/11/13
Rating: T
Genre: Action, Angst, Drama, Romance
Prompt: Obito tries to tempt Sasuke to come to the darkside by saying that he can have his family back in the dream world. Sakura is there to emotionally support Sasuke and doesn't let his resolve waver. Which results in Sasuke's will power getting stronger. He realizes how much he appreciates Sakura's help. Sakura is glad that she can finally be there for Sasuke.
***SUPER fun to write.
Obito laughed. "Looks like someone tagged along."
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, not quite understanding his comment, but when he heard the familiar Sasuke-kun? come from behind, he stiffened. "Sakura?" Slowly, he turned his head, hoping he was merely hearing things, but he was right. Sakura was there, confused and disoriented.
"Where are we, Sasuke-kun?" she asked as she walked to his side, her eyes scanning the area, a significant contrast from the dusty battlefield where they were just fighting.
Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek, sure, and yet, not quite. "My—old home," he said, turning his attention back to the man standing across from them, as if suddenly remembering his presence. "Why did you bring us here, Obito?"
"Isn't it obvious?" he said, raising his eyebrow, the smirk never leaving his face. "I'm tired of this fighting between us, Sasuke. We're Uchiha. We are the last of our clan. We should be fighting together, not against each other." He took a step forward and held out his hand, coaxing. "Come. Join us. You, me, Madara—we can still create the perfect world." He continued to move towards them. "You can have everything you've always wanted."
But Sasuke's hand immediately went to the hilt of his sword, stopping Obito from advancing any further. "All I want," he said venomously, "is to avenge my clan."
However, Obito merely shook his head, bursting with laughter. "Oh, no, no, no, Sasuke," he said, his voice tinged with amusement. "You don't want revenge. That's not it at all. What you really want, but what this cruel world can't give you," he paused, his grin transforming into a smirk, "is your family. And I can give that to you, Sasuke. I can give everything you need." Obito's eyes traveled to a darkened alleyway as he began to wave the shadows over. "Mother. Father. Brother."
As Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi emerged from the darkness and walked towards him, Sasuke felt his throat tighten, the hand around his sword beginning to shake. He couldn't believe it. They were there, all of them right there, and they were smiling.
"My, look at how much you've grown!" his mother said to him, her eyes crinkling the same way Sasuke remembered as she smiled. However, he didn't respond, too baffled for words. It didn't seem like an illusion anymore; it felt like he could touch her. He wanted to touch her—feel her pulse, feel her warmth, feel her love. But just as Sasuke was about to reach out to Mikoto, all of them disappeared.
"Not so fast, Sasuke," Obito chided as Sasuke's family suddenly appeared next to him, "This is just a glimpse of what I can give you, and I promise it gets even better. So join us. Stop this Alliance nonsense and—"
"Don't listen to him, Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke felt Sakura grab on to his shoulder, tearing his attention away from Obito, tearing him away from his daze. He blinked a few times, fighting to concentrate on the girl in front of him, almost forgetting she was there in the first place. She looked worried, he realized. "No matter what he tells you," she said, as she began to shake him, her tone desperate, frightened, "it's not real! All of this is an illusion! Those people standing over there, they aren't your family. Obito is just trying to—Hey! Let go of me! Sasuke-kun!"
A cluster of hands suddenly seized onto Sakura's body, pulling her away from him, forcing her to let go of his shoulders. However, as much as she tried to tear herself from the hold of the rest of the Uchiha clan that Obito "revived" in this illusion, their grips on her arms and legs were too strong. But before Sasuke could come to her aid, Obito's voice caught his attention. Sakura screamed Sasuke's name again, and yet, he didn't seem to hear her.
"Don't listen to me?" Obito scoffed, "Don't listen to her! She's just getting in the way, Sasuke. She's getting in the way of your happiness."
Sasuke's eyes travelled to Sakura, with an expression that almost seemed like he was beginning to consider Obito's offer. She began to panic, struggling in the arms of his clan, unable to move. "Think about your family, Sasuke-kun!" she screamed, fighting to stay calm, "Your real family. They wouldn't have wanted this!"
Obito laughed. "How would she know? She's not like us, Sasuke. She's just a common ninja. She's," he said, shaking his head, "replaceable."
Sasuke's family suddenly appeared in front of him, still smiling, but it was Mikoto who stepped forward. "Of course we want this, Sasuke," she said as she took something from Fugaku and placed it in Sasuke's hand. He looked down. A kunai. "We just want to be happy again. All of us." Mikoto closed Sasuke's hand around the hilt and pushed him towards Sakura. "Don't you want the same?"
Sasuke looked at the kunai and turned to his mother with a puzzled expression. However, his family merely urged him forward, and Sasuke obeyed.
It only took ten paces, ten slow and hesitant paces, and he was in front of Sakura. She swallowed, her heart pounding in her ears. But he wasn't looking at her, his eyes fixating on the weapon in his hand. She needed him to look at her.
Sakura felt a hand tug at her hair, forcing her to expose her neck. "Sasuke-kun," she said, so soft she doubted he even heard her over the noise of everyone urging him to do it, "please." And whether or not Sasuke actually heard her plea, his eyes finally left his weapon, focusing on her neck for a few moments before his eyes looked into hers.
And then he froze.
Tears were streaming down her face; however, it wasn't her tears that finally tore him from Obito's hypnotic illusion. It was her eyes. There was always something about her eyes that spoke to him, that calmed him. And what he saw in her eyes spoke volumes louder than anything Obito could ever offer him. They held brilliance—a sense of life—he couldn't see in these manifestations of his family, these fakes. Their eyes were cold. But hers, they were alive.
He turned to Obito, his resolve strengthened. "No."
Obito's eyes widened. "What?"
"I said no."
Sasuke's grip tightened around the kunai before he threw it in Obito's direction, tired of this game. But just before it could make contact with his body, Obito disappeared, the illusion along with him. And suddenly, they were back on the battlefield, Obito nowhere in sight. Sasuke heard Sakura let out a sigh and turned to her. She was on her knees, shaking but relieved. Sasuke smirked, just as relieved as she, and held out his hand. However, as he helped Sakura to her feet, he held on to her hand for a few more moments before pulling her into an embrace.
"Thank you," he said softly, holding her close—feeling her pulse, feeling her breathing, feeling her warmth. "Thank you, Sakura, for being there."
"I'll always be there for you, Sasuke-kun."
"I know."
Real.