So, an announcement! This fic will be 23 chapters long and end at the end of the genin era. It will be continued in a series on ao3, under the name sparklyfaerie. If you haven't been reading there, I encourage you to make the move.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it. All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto and the other proper entities.

Summary: Sakura had been by his side since he lost his family, following him around since they were seven years old, trying to ease his loneliness in whatever way she could. He didn't even know why he allowed it. He just silently allowed her to claim the seat next to him at the beginning of every term.

Rating: M

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Pairings: SasuSaku

Rays of Spring Sunshine

Chapter Nineteen

The two weeks that Naruto was gone, Sakura didn't know what to do. She spent every day at Sasuke's bedside, leaving only when it was time for the nurses to wash and change him, or when he was taken away for periodic healing. She wandered down to Kakashi's bedside during that time, sitting with him a few minutes before going back to her friend. Her mother brought her lunch on her breaks, and Sakura would stop in and visit Lee for an hour before it was time to go home.

She liked Lee. Underneath his weird outfit, bizarre haircut and, frankly, ridiculous eyebrows, he was a genuinely nice person. Sakura remembered the match between he and Gaara, when his leg had been crushed; she remembered feeling the bloodlust in the room, and being in awe of the boy in front of her, even if he'd lost in the end. Another true shinobi, she thought, comparing him to Sasuke and Naruto. They were all growing so strong, despite their setbacks, while she was really no better than she'd been in the academy.

She felt bad that it had taken such a disaster to think well of him. She hoped that they would become real friends when he was released from hospital. But still, her thoughts were primarily of Sasuke.

"He'll be okay, Sakura." Mebuki squeezed Sakura's shoulder when they passed each other in the hospital lobby as she was preparing to leave on the tenth night. Mebuki had promised that she would call home, no matter the time, if anything changed. It was against the law to disclose patient information, but the Harunos were Sasuke's emergency contacts. Sakura wondered if he knew that. "You know how resilient he is."

Sakura hummed noncommittally. She wanted to believe that he would be okay—but as the days went by and he showed no sign of improvement, a small, dark part of her heart began to whisper that he might never wake up. Or, that if he did, he wouldn't be the same.

She'd done some digging on the morning of second day, while Sasuke was taken away for a second round of healing and testing. Any official report of the incident would have been restricted to a higher security clearance than hers, but old newspapers were free for the general public to peruse in the library archives. It had taken some time for her to find the right articles—she'd been six when it happened, and didn't really remember the exact month that Sasuke had disappeared from class—but she eventually found the correct date.

She felt sick as she read through the articles from the first few days after the murders. 'Massacre', one journalist had written. She felt like she was invading Sasuke's privacy as she read the list of names of the victims, even though everything she was looking at was a matter of public record. She wondered which of the names among the dozens had been his parents.

All of the articles were in agreement on one thing, though; Uchiha Itachi, son of the clan's head, had been the one to commit the atrocity. Men, women, and children; shinobi, craftsman, or civilian: All had been cut down in the space of a few hours by one deranged thirteen year old boy. Only one survivor remained.

Sasuke had been adamant that he was going to kill the man who killed his clan.

That man was his brother.

Sakura laid in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tomorrow, she would go back to the hospital and sit by Sasuke's bedside, and wait. She could be training, but she couldn't find the heart to let him out of her sight for a single moment more than necessary. It didn't matter; Kakashi was three doors down the hall from Sasuke, anyway, and Naruto wasn't in town. Other teams were taking missions to help with the reconstruction. She had no one to train with.

Sasuke was Sakura's best friend in the entire world. She knew others thought it was just a crush, but Sakura knew—she loved him with all her heart. With everything she had in her. It hurt to seem him like that, comatose in a hospital bed after a run-in with a rogue shinobi.

Even worse; that rogue shinobi was the man that Sasuke had sworn to kill. Which meant that one day, Sasuke would hunt him down on purpose.

And as she was now, Sakura could do nothing to help him.

Naruto was super glad to be back! And with a new Hokage to boot!

Tsunade indulgently let him drag her to the hospital, intent on having her wake up Sasuke and Kakashi, and heal Bushy Brows' legs. He had grand dreams of Sakura throwing herself at him in gratitude, of Sasuke being grateful and acknowledging him as an equal, of Kakashi finally taking him seriously as a student.

"In here!" He opened the door to Sasuke's hospital room with a flourish. Jiraya had informed Tsunade of the particulars of Sasuke and Kakashi's cases beforehand, so all she had to do was heal him.

Sakura was sitting at his bedside, of course. Naruto saw a peak of her when Tsunade opened the door and stepped inside.

The girl stood, looking at Tsunade with wide eyes. "Who are you…?"

Naruto rounded Tsunade and Shizune with a grin. "Sakura-chan! You don't need to worry—Sasuke will be fine now! Tsunade-baa-chan is an awesome healer!"

"I thought I told you to stop calling me 'baa-chan'." Tsunade's voice was mild.

Sakura turned to the new Hokage. "You're… Tsunade-sama?" She asked hopefully. "Gai-sensei told me that Naruto and Jiraya-sama were searching for you. Please, help Sasuke-kun." She bowed low.

Naruto took a spot beside her as Tsunade approached Sasuke's bedside. They both watched with baited breath as Tsunade placed a palm over his forehead. It glowed green for what felt like an age.

And then, his eyes opened. Slowly, he sat up. Naruto grinned. "Rise and shine, slee—"

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura threw herself over the bed, arms wrapped around Sasuke's neck; the other boy looked dazed, eyes soft for once as they traced the line of pink hair that filled his vision. Sakura's shoulders shook, and Naruto could hear her fighting to hold back her sobs.

Slowly, Sasuke's face disappeared into the crook of her neck. The boy's shoulders shuddered as he drew a deep breath.

Naruto felt like an intruder, watching them. He couldn't stay. Sasuke would hate him for seeing this, later.

"C'mon, Baa-chan." He murmured, tugging at Tsunade's sleeve. "You gotta heal someone else too."

Sasuke's first day of consciousness was a blur. He was put through a battery of tests, both physical and mental, to determine his recovery. The doctors eventually agreed that he would be released in the morning, after overnight monitoring.

Sakura stayed, long after the medics brought him back to his room. Her presence was suffocating, a reminder of his failure. Her concern was smothering. He wasn't a child, he didn't need her to fret over him like a baby.

He'd been completely fucking overwhelmed by his brother—he'd been weak. Not even worth his brother's attention. Sasuke hadn't prepared himself enough to face him, too concerned with Naruto's welfare.

First Gaara, now this.

The sound of Sakura peeling the apple grated on his nerves. Naruto's chatter was irritating. He stared out the window and tried to block out their bickering.

You are weak, his brother's words resonated in his head. Do you know why you are weak? Because you do not have enough hatred.

He'd been too concerned with the others, he realised. Too focused on the people around him. They took his attention away from what really mattered.

His fists shook as he clenched them. No more distractions. They were clearly causing him to regress.

"Here, Sasuke-kun!"

His eyes slid to Sakura, and the plate of sliced apple she was offering him. Something in him snapped, and he slapped the plate out of her hand, causing her to cry out in surprise. The plate shattered on the floor.

"Hey, what the hell?" Naruto jumped to Sakura's rescue, just like fucking always. And that was it. Sasuke's fury exploded.

Sakura rushed to the front desk to get them to call Kakashi, before hurrying toward the roof. It was the only place they could have gone.

Sasuke wasn't being himself. He'd always been a bitter person, deep down—he had a right to be, given his clan—but he'd never lashed out at her like that since they were seven, when he was in hospital. And Naruto was so eager for Sasuke to acknowledge him that he let himself be goaded into a fight.

She could practically hear Orochimaru laughing in her mind, and knew that this was because of him. Ever since Sasuke had received the cursed seal, he'd been volatile and explosive. She'd expected him to be angry when he woke—he was always angry, these days—but she hadn't expected this.

They were shouting insults back and forth by the time she made it to the roof. This was wrong. It was worse than it used to be, back before the mission in Wave Country. They were supposed to be friends! Sakura felt something hollow gnaw at her as the barbed words flew back and forth.

"What makes you think we're equals?" Sasuke demanded, eyes red and glittering with malice.

Naruto sneered. "I've never once thought I was inferior to you! You're the one with his head up his ass, thinking he's better than everyone else." Naruto sneered. "You're just talking big because you're weak, Sasuke-chan!"

Sakura gasped, feeling cold as Sasuke roared a battle cry and took a swing. They were actually pretty well matched now; they hadn't actually had a real match in months, she realised, which was why it was so surprising. Naruto must have put in a lot of training to catch up so fast.

Again, she was left behind.

Sasuke was attacking with a viciousness that she'd never seen before, even on missions. Naruto was keeping up though; they landed just as many hits as the other, and both blocked even more.

They barrelled into the drying linens. They were actually trying to hurt each other, Sakura realised with horror; Sasuke managed to catch Naruto under one, blinding him, and backed him up to the chain wire fence, pummelling the shit out of him while he couldn't see.

"Stop!" She cried, rushing forward. She threw herself on Sasuke's back, trying to restrain him. "Stop it, Sasuke-kun! You're going to hurt him!"

Sasuke swung back with a fist, catching her across the mouth. Sakura cried out and fell on the ground, head spinning. She tasted blood. Her hands were grazed from skidding along the ground, trying to break her fall.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried out in dismay, having used the brief reprieve to rid himself of the sheet. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you asshole?!" He demanded of Sasuke, headbutting him.

"She should've stayed the fuck out of it!" Sasuke roared as Sakura scrambled to her feet.

"Stop it!" She screeched, voice grating her throat. "Stop it, both of you!"

"He started it!" Naruto cried, dodging a punch. He kicked out—blocked.

"Stay out of this, Sakura!" Sasuke didn't even spare her a glance as he lashed out again.

Where was Kakashi? What was taking him so long?

Sakura threw herself between them again, arms raised in a sloppy block to brace for Sasuke's kick. He very nearly knocked her over; she stumbled as pain blossomed up her arms, but remained upright, frowning into scowling red eyes. "Stop this, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke was breathing heavily, eyes glaring murder at her. She could hear Naruto behind her, catching his breath.

"Move, Sakura." Sasuke snarled.

"No!"

"Get out of my way."

"I won't!"

Sasuke's expression darkened. "Fine." He spat, and raised his fist.

He was going to punch her, she realised with terror. This wasn't a training spar. This was a real fight, and Sasuke was going to hit her.

She flinched, raising her arms instinctively to defend herself. There was a rush of wind, her hair fluttering against her cheek, and then nothing.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura cracked her eyes open at the sound of Naruto's voice. Kakashi's hand had caught Sasuke's punch, barely an inch from her arms. She flinched back against the blonde.

"What are you three doing?" He asked mildly, sighing. "This is a hospital, not a sparring ground." He let go of Sasuke's fist; the boy dropped his arm, glaring daggers at their teacher. "Were you really about to hit her, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He looked murderous.

Sakura sidestepped out from behind Kakashi. He hadn't taken his eyes off Sasuke. "Why are you fighting with Naruto, Sasuke?" No answer. Kakashi sighed. "I thought you outgrew this childish behaviour."

Sasuke made a sound of derision. Without a word, he jumped backwards over the fencing, and over the side of the building. They heard him land on one of the awnings and take off.

Sakura felt tears well up as the terror of the moment passed, realising that Sasuke was even further gone than she thought. Her friend was all but gone. He'd never hit her in anger before, even though he'd been angry at her plenty of times. She hated the person he was turning into. She hiccupped as she started to cry. "Kakashi-se-sensei…!"

Kakashi sighed and patted her on the shoulder. "Give him some time, Sakura. He'll calm down before training tomorrow." He murmured softly. "I'll talk to him. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

Sakura doubted that. She didn't bother to say so as he shushined away.

"Sakura-chan." She turned to face Naruto. He was looking at the ground with gritted teeth. When he raised his eyes to look at her, he growled, "Don't get in our way again."

She stared at him, gaping as he spun on his heels and stalked back inside. Her heart fractured just that tiny bit more.

Finding and restraining Sasuke was simple enough. Getting through his thick skull was going to be the hard part.

"Maybe," Sasuke snarled, "if I killed everyone you ever loved, you'd realise just how off base you are, old man."

Kakashi smiled. It rang empty in his eyes. "You'd be welcome to try." He said mildly. "Unfortunately for you, others have already beaten you to it. Everyone I've ever loved has already been killed."

Sasuke stopped struggling, eyes wide and jaw slightly open in shock. "That's right." Kakashi said with false cheer. "I've lived a lot longer than you, kid. I fought in the Third Shinobi World War. I've seen a lot of death, and suffered the loss of everyone close to me." He dropped his cheery façade and met Sasuke's eyes. "We're both unlucky, you and I. But we're also lucky in a way; we've found a new family, full of people who love us."

Sasuke, Kakashi was pleased to see, looked shamefaced. He pressed on. "I didn't teach you to fight with your friends. Sakura and Naruto love you, and you're trying to hurt them." He admonished. "Do you know why I taught you the chidori?" Sasuke looked up. "I didn't teach it to you so that you could use it against a friend in anger, or for revenge." He loosened the wire binding the boy. "We were both helpless to prevent the losses we suffered. But I taught you the chidori to give you the power to protect those you love from here on out. Turn back now, before your vengeance consumes you entirely. I've seen it happen far too many times."

Sasuke didn't say anything. Kakashi tucked the end of the wire back into the compartment on his glove. "That was all I wanted to say. I have a mission tonight; I'll see you for training tomorrow morning."

Perhaps Kakashi's words would have hit home, had not Sasuke been visited by four Oto-nin in the night.

After having the shit kicked out of him by the strangers, after being promised that Orochimaru would train him to be even stronger than them, Sasuke knew what the right choice was.

He packed a bag.

He hesitated, looking down at the only picture in his apartment—the team photograph they took the day after the bell test. He considered bringing it. Because Kakashi was still right: Team Seven were his loved ones.

But love was a weakness. It was why he was in this position in the first place. Love distracted him from what he had to do—blinded him to his purpose.

Hanging on to old bonds would only make the separation harder. Would only distract him, make him yearn to return. A distraction he wouldn't have time for.

He decided against it, turning the picture face down instead.

Across town, Sakura couldn't sleep. Both Kakashi and Naruto, who she'd gone to dinner with earlier that evening, had assured her that everything was going to be okay.

She wasn't so sure. Orochimaru had sunk his fangs into Sasuke that day in the forest. She didn't think he'd ever really let go.

Not only that, but she was angry with him, probably for the first time ever. After everything, didn't he care what he was doing to them? How could he hurt Naruto like that? How could he have tried to punch her? What would have happened if Kakashi hadn't arrived when he did?

She got up and dressed, before sneaking out her bedroom window with a scowl on her face.

So, what is everyone thinking? Place your bets!