Sakura's heart thuds evenly and her breathing is calm, despite the information that she has just received. The shadow of the burning torch flickers against the jagged walls, and it is eerily silent within the alcove. The two shinobi have been here for about an hour and Sakura's brain feels overly full; she is also overwhelmed. She is sitting on the cold stone floor with her now bare feet flat on the ground; her knees are bent. Sakura doesn't want to look up at Sasuke who is perched upon a fallen boulder. He seems to have finished his story and is waiting for a reaction. Though, if he is expecting something dramatic and unaccepting, he isn't going to get it. Sakura's heart feels heavy and she can feel a deep sadness within. It is the same feeling she had when she could not reach Sasuke. She remembers the way he looked at her, and the way he saw the world.

She quickly wipes away a stray tear, hoping that he hasn't seen.

From what she knows now, Sakura understands why Sasuke seemed lost when they had met on the bridge, all those years ago. He was lost. It's a moment in their history that she would like to erase, but Sakura knows that it had to happen. She tried to kill Sasuke and he tried to kill her. Still, she loved him then, just like she had always done. Sasuke hasn't given her all the details though and Sakura has more questions. This tablet, that only he can read, is not so much a key to the sharingan, but a warning to Uchiha who seek power.

"How is it linked with your sharingan?" She asks, and Sasuke clears his throat. Sakura isn't sure what he is thinking.

"The curse of hatred is a manifestation of dark chakra within the Uchiha brain, it's linked directly to our eyes." He explains, and Sakura nods.

"The scar tissue around your optic nerve…" She murmurs, remembering how bad it was directly after the war; though she did not heal him, Sakura was more than up on his medical treatments. The fact that it has reduced to mere proof of its existence if proof that Sasuke is healed.

But…

"What triggers it?" She looks to him, meeting his gaze head on. This time Sasuke doesn't look away, and she feels something powerful within, when he replies,

"Love." He murmurs. Looking down at his hands as he says softer, "Loss…"

Sakura wants to be closer to him but she is afraid of his reaction. She tries to stay still, interrogating him further –

"What does it feel like…the curse?" She questions, and his brows draw together. Sasuke's obsidian are far off for a moment, before he focuses on her.

"Do you need this for the study?" He asks.

Sakura feels the weight of her pause and she shakes her head.

"No. I just want to know." She tells him.

He nods for a long moment, like he is deliberating. Then, he sighs deep and long.

"Consuming." He murmurs, staring at the ground in front of him. "I didn't feel like me." Sasuke's frown is evident and it seems like he is becoming lost in the past.

His fingers drag through his hair, and Sasuke takes in a shaky breath. Sakura feels lucky that he is here, and that he is no longer suffering the curse.

Though…

"Could it happen again?" She asks tentatively, just above a whisper. Sakura realises that her hands are shaking and so is her voice.

Sasuke's eyes flicker with emotion, and his doujutsu activates for a second. It's gone in a flash and Sasuke stands.

"I don't know." He says, and Sakura can feel that a wall is going up. She isn't ready for it. There is so much more to know.

Her heart hurts, and her cheeks are wet with tears. In an instant she is up and crossing the small space. She grips Sasuke's elbow and forces him to face her.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura says his name when she sees his face; one eye glows red while the other glows purple, and he looks truly troubled.

"I don't want it to." He mutters, more to himself than her. He seems to be out of it, because he doesn't tell her to get off him. "Love is a weakness."

"No!" Sakura grips him harder, pulling him forward. He doesn't budge though and so she steps into his personal space. "You know that isn't true." She says almost pleadingly.

Sasuke reacts, ripping backward. She follows him and he roars his discontent.

"Didn't you hear anything that I said?" His booms. "I can't lose anyone, Sakura. I can't be consumed." Sasuke looks like a wounded animal and Sakura finds herself responding on instinct.

Her anger seeps from her and she reaches out her hand. Her fingers brush his and then she presses their palms together, weaving her fingers through his.

He looks down at where they are joined like it is completely unknown. His eyes are wide and almost crazy.

"I won't let you be consumed." Sakura says, with strength in her tone. Sasuke shakes his head like she can't possibly, but she won't let him pull away.

"How can you say that. No one can. You couldn't the first time." He accuses, and his tone is frustrated.

Sakura feels a pain in her heart and she lets go of his hand. She reaches for his shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eye. She is shaking, and she jostles him with her own frustration.

"I was weak before." She growls. "I'm not now, and neither are you."

Her words do something, and Sakura can feel Sasuke calming down beneath her fingers. She doesn't let go, though, and she continues to meet his mismatched gaze. She isn't backing down.

Sasuke's eyes narrow and he warns her, "You should have forgotten me."

Sakura scoffs, giving him her firmest look.

"Never." She replies, and Sasuke exhales loudly like he is annoyed.

His hands push hers off his shoulders and Sakura thinks that he is going to tell her to fuck off – to leave.

"You're foolish." He murmurs, instead, and he takes a step forward.

Sakura's mind registers swirling red and purple, and the warmth of his forefinger and thumb at her chin. He tilts her head, swooping down to take her lips with his own in a hard, bruising kiss.

Sakura's eyes flutter closed and she reaches for him, clinging for dear life.

The only thing she can think is, "Sasuke is kissing me."

Xxx

A/N Hello everyone. I've had a fair few requests for Sasuke's point of view, so I've written up the second part of this scene. The next chapter was originally Sakura pov but now I have covered that in this scene we can see Sasuke's thoughts next chapter - Which will begin at this scene from Sasuke pov. This is just a bridging moment for next time. There will be adult content in chapter 12. Also, a note for those who have an issue with chapter length - I'm sorry, it's not going to change. Chapters will always be around 2000 to 2500, sometimes bigger sometimes smaller depending on what is required for that scene. I prefer to work and post in short bouts to keep up my motivation. Soz if it's a problem, but that's me. xD

Hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you on the weekend :D