Chapter 3: Gracefully, Like Dancing Leaves
"The curses that crush you,
The prayers that forgive you
Both shined inside my heart
In a collapsing world, a gradually dissolving voice
Will bloom the flowers of life
When earth meets sky
A storm is coming
She is crying, crying
What a beautiful flame you are"
"Nigredo" (translated), by ReReGRAPHICS.
…
Many things were lost in the flow of time; the faces of the past now remained blank and bottomless, because time took everything. Time is the wind clasping and eroding the ground, the weaves of the sea dulling the rocks, the clashing opposition of movement and stillness. And because time is a constant pull and push, it takes with it something from you with every new stride.
Sakura knew this. Of course, she did. She had given time plenty of herself. For two years straight, as she kept herself alive, she learned to suppress any shred of insanity and sorrow. Instead, she had fed her mind with a list of goals and memorized them with a single-minded precision she hadn't needed since she last had to study a medical manual under Tsunade's tutelage. The list was rather simple, so she could adapt along the way, but basically in her head it went like this:
"1. Kill Orochimaru.
2. Kill Homura, Kohaku and Danzo.
3. Avoid Jiraiya's death.
4. Find allies if possible.
5. Avoid Gaara's kidnapping.
6. Infiltrate Akatsuki at all cost.
7. Frame Madara and Black Zetsu.
8. Priority: Black Zatsu."
She had repeated it ceaselessly overtime, with the exact place and time that would be easier for her to perform each task. She had mulled it over almost obsessively, to the point of repeating it as a mantra in her mind, as a reassurance that, despite everything, she would find a space-time jutsu to bring her back and piece it all together. She had had to believe it, because it'd kept her living and standing, sane while walking among the remnants of the world that had been and was no more. In the end, instead of finding one, she created one of her own with what little information she found. Now that she had all the time in the world, now that she saw on a regular basis the faces that seemed long gone, the weight of grief often crushed her lungs. It constricted her soul, as a tight rope would constrict the neck of the hanged. She definitely felt unhinged. All of her past experiences disturbed her both while dreaming and awake, always at the forefront of her mind, sometimes while being in company of the person with whom these memories she had shared. Sasuke was a constant reminder of her personal regrets and Kakashi's failed attempt at concealing his concern was a throwback to her failures.
In turn, time had slowly started eating away at the goodness of her memories, the brightness of a sixteen-year-old Naruto beginning to oxidize. She had trouble remembering what they used to talk about when there was nothing else to do but have lunch or hang out. She could recall to perfection the hard times, the meaningful words he would throw at her when she was at the verge of losing hope, but Sakura couldn't remember for the life of her the good times, the idiocy contained in between sorrow. She couldn't help but wonder if she would get to be as close to him as she had been, if she would get to rekindle her relationship with Ino, if she was to ever meet Sai again, if Kakashi was ever going to trust her the way he had learned to… If she was ever to meet Tsunade.
Yes. She was scared. Scared of Konoha not being the one she knew. Scared of change.
But then her mind became infested with flashbacks of war: the desperate cries of children fleeing in fright, the piles of corpses of both civilians and soldiers she hadn't been able to help, either because she was too late or because she was out of chakra. She thought of Kaguya and her everlasting desire to put the world under a spell. She thought of Sasuke, her teammate, the broody child she was seeing now every day contrasting greatly with the tormented young man who had died in regret. He was the downside of her village's wrongdoings, a loose thread.
How were things not supposed to change? They had to, whether she liked it or not. That was what she came back for, even if this wasn't her world anymore or even if at some point she was left alone and forever grieving… All her loved ones deserved better.
And so, she resolved to train. And train and train. And train some more, until her body screamed and ached and roared.
Gai appreciated it; he really did. To the point to which he decided to step up her training and actually give her the time of the day. "Sakura-chan! Please come here." He gestured her to come closer and stop doing her push-ups —which her body greatly appreciated, for she was closing on the three hundredth—. "I've been watching for a while your fighting style, and while you seem mildly content, I must say I find it ineffective."
"Ineffective, sensei?"
"Yes, my youthful blossom. Ineffective."
"How so?" Was he questioning her shishou's taijutsu style? Sakura was visibly fuming. Gai either pretended not to notice or didn't care at all.
"You rely too heavily on your fists, and I understand why you'd do that, but wouldn't it be beneficial if you gathered chakra throughout your body while using a more… dynamic style? A style which would allow you to discover the real potential of your body…" He took in her interested face and smiled encouragingly. "You have many assets, Sakura, only you fail to see them."
"What do you have in mind then, Gai-sensei?"
"Well, you're no heavy-weight, so the logical approach would be to increase your speed and reflexes, then go about that chakra control of yours to make the blows count. I think we could work it out by the end of the month, seeing that we have no more time than that…"
"But my stamina's pitiful, sensei."
"I know, but you've been doing great just two days in, so I guess all you needed was a little push." He tilted his head in an of apologetic gesture. "I sometimes feel I should apologize on Kakashi's behalf… He might have overlooked you. But it's just because—"
"He has enough on his plate with my teammates." She interrupted him, with a grimness in her tone that prevented him from dwelling farther on the matter. "I understand, sensei. I do. So please, just teach me. I want to get stronger, more than anything!" She bowed slightly with utter respect.
"Why so suddenly, though?"
"Huh?"
"Kakashi told me you didn't seem very eager to train at first, or at all. I'm just curious."
Silence passed through them, and Sakura pondered whether she should tell him or not.
And Gai, who was the emotional type, complied. Because how could he deny the help to someone as youthful as her? Someone who expressed so much passion through her eyes despite being rather green in battle. That fire wouldn't go to waste if he had anything to say about it. In a way, it reminded him of Lee; the wish to surpass everyone despite his own limitations. He could see it in Sakura just then.
"Alright then, blossom! These are for you. Put them on your wrists and ankles. Take them off only when taking a bath." He tossed her a bag, which she was about to catch, but was immediately grateful she didn't when it landed on the ground, cracking it slightly. Inside there was a set of weights, two for her wrists and a larger pair for her legs. Seeing the hesitance on her face, he shook his head. "Trust me, Sakura-chan. They're the fastest and most reliable source to enhance your raw strength and speed. Specially with so little time."
"I understand…" And so, she put them on and covered them with bandages around her clothes. The weight was a nuisance, but it wasn't unbearable. If she had to guess, they wouldn't amount to more than two pounds on each limb.
"I'll be adding more weight each day, but not too much." She nodded. "Now, let's start with the katas. This fighting style comes straight from Kumo. It's called The Shifting Shadow*."
She copied his stance: right arm extended in front of her chest, with her palm opened, and her left arm retreated along her left leg. Her whole body was facing him, and though her weights were an issue when it came to maintain her posture, she found herself comfortable with it, despite the obvious effort to keep her arm up.
"Remember: the aim is to surround your opponent, keeping them inside a closed circle, delimited only by your movements. You must be evasive, but also steady. Don't squirm around but use your opponent's movement to your advance. And also, the legs. Use your legs to land hits as frequently as you'd use your arms." He crossed his arms over his chest, inspecting the positioning of her limbs. "Good. Now, prepare yourself."
"Already?"
"Why, of course! There's nothing better than practice to know what I'm talking about. Just dodge for now." He launched himself at her, and Sakura wasn't prepared to face him, just like she wasn't prepared to move around with weights, just like she wasn't prepared to face the dead every new day.
She made it through anyways.
…
Their client's name was Konno Hioshi. He was the innkeeper's husband, a trader in his mid-fourties who had a rather pronounced southern accent. He also carried himself around with a cane. Sakura, with her trained eyes, knew a badly healed bone when she saw one but decided against saying anything. After all, she wasn't sure if being a medic again would benefit her mission. Assuming that role again meant she would be kept at the sidelines once more, forever doomed to face backs and stay protected.
"Never again."
Besides, she had no idea how to explain where she'd acquire those abilities. It was sad to think that her own profession had kept her so far away from battle, yet so aware of its consequences. It had been heartbreaking; the two years spent running away from Kaguya had given her time both to reflect on her choices and repent on them. If only she had been more powerful, less inclined to wait until the damage was done… She was forever bound to be a medic at heart, but the world didn't need a medic. If she put on a balance the lives she had saved and compared them to the lives she had lost, it all lost its meaning. Both the dead and the saved disappeared when the goddess awakened. It all had amount for nothing in the end. She had been destined to amount for nothing, clanless and unhinged as she'd been.
No, the world didn't need a medic. The world didn't need what she had been. It needed another person. She just had to find out which one and become just that, regardless of the price she had to pay for it.
"Lately, there have been rumors about a group of bandits raiding the former hospital." Konno-san's raspy voice interrupted her thoughts. Sakura tilted her head in curiosity.
"The former hospital?" Kakashi asked before she had the chance to.
"Yes. It was built to operate during the Third Shinobi War, but shortly after it ended, the building was declared unstable, so we banned the access. Nowadays, it's dangerous just getting close to it…"
"Why would it be dangerous? It's just a hospital." Sasuke chimed in, ever the suspicious one.
"Weird things happen in there, I tell you, boy." At his audience's disbelief, the man snorted. "Anyways, I'm not asking you to get rid of the ghosts, I just want you to go make sure there are no bandits. Some folks complained about people going in there. If there's someone, scare them off. It's bad for business, you know?"
"What would a group of bandits gain from raiding an abandoned hospital?"
"No idea, Pinky."
Before she could respond to the offensive nickname with a punch to his face —client or not—, Kakashi placed a gloved hand on her shoulder, pinning her in place.
"Alright then, guess we'll go ghost-hunting." And Sakura could have sworn he was deriving great amusing by the prospect, if his eye-smile was anything to go by.
…
The sight of the hospital was clouded by dried trees, framed by their branches, but the white building stood out at nighttime, among the monochrome setting. They waited until such ungodly hour to feel concealed by the darkness. The four of them were settled in different positions around the building and Sakura found herself capable of pinpointing them by their chakra signatures. Sasuke and Kakashi's were skillfully hidden —though not with enough effort to evade her sensing abilities developed by the uncertainty of war—. Gai's was slightly more notorious. She held her breath, waiting for any sound or indication that they weren't alone.
"I can't sense anything inside." Kakashi's voice came through her earpiece.
"If things keep going on like this, we might be able to retreat earlier." Gai added.
The silence stretched for another ten minutes until Sakura decided her patience was wearing thin. The few noises that could be heard came from stray animals or bats swarming around in the night sky, and she was about to beg for them to enter and get it over with when a strange noise caught her attention. It was a voice, a plea in the distance.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what, Sakura?" Sasuke responded.
"There's… Someone is crying…"
The air stilled around her and in the blink of an eye, mist gathered around her range of vision. She couldn't recall any source of water near them, and the fact that the mist was rather thick started to concern her; the presence of her teammates fading away with every new second.
She understood immediately then that she'd been caught in a genjutsu.
…
Sasuke was on the move the moment he felt Sakura's chakra vanish. Her last words before his earpiece started peeping had his anxiety peaking. His feet moved swiftly among the dried tree branches, with Kakashi hot on his trail. Just when he was about to reach her designated post, he saw a flicker of movement in the distance, just the other way around. He was immediately stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He lifted his gaze to encounter Might Gai's. The Green Beast nodded to the genin. "Go find Sakura-chan. We'll take care of that."
To say Sasuke was pissed at Sakura was an understatement, but he was also annoyingly worried —thought he wouldn't confess that out loud, not even under torture—. So, he obeyed and dashed through the maze of sudden mist and branches.
…
"Kai!" Her voice resonated among the trees, which looked oddly distorted. It changed nothing. Sakura gazed around but couldn't picture the hospital among the mist, nor hear the voices of her comrades. She started walking around, disoriented; maybe she had moved without noticing, maybe she had lost her track while waiting on something to happen. But that couldn't be, because she was sure she hadn't moved an inch since being assigned her post.
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, making the hairs at the back of her neck stand on edge. Turning around, however, she was faced by nothing. Then, the rasped pleading which seemed so distant at first was now close enough for her to classify its quality. It was the voice of a woman.
"Show yourself, now!" She demanded, attempting to reign her emotions. She feared for her comrades, especially if this was a long range genjutsu. Kakashi wasn't easily tricked, but she doubted Sasuke possessed the skill to break free from it yet. Sakura adopted the stance Gai had taught her that afternoon, ignoring to the best of her capabilities the weights around her forearms and calves. She might need to take them off if things got ugly.
"I wonder… Did the flow of time brought you to me?"
Sakura turned to the voice, kunai in hand, and was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding. The hairs at the back of her neck stood on edge and she had to restrain herself from rubbing her eyes, just to make sure that what stood in front of her was real. There was a tall figure in between the blurry atmosphere. Slowly but progressively the mist cleared around the newcomer, leaving in plain sight what appeared to be a young woman wrapped in a white long kimono and a purple obi embracing her waist. At first sight, she seemed normal, beautiful even —long strands of silky obsidian hair framed her body, like a dark veil—, but if one looked closely, they'd discover her long, pointy nails, the sickly paleness of her skin, or —more importantly— the disconcerting lack of face. That's right. That was the oddity: She lacked a visage, and in its place stood what resembled a porcelain mask made of that same ivory skin, with no hints to any cavities to where the eyes were supposed to be, nor the relief of a nose. Nothing. It was plain, as if nothing were meant to be there in the first place.
"Who are you?" Sakura couldn't bring herself to ask anything else. The air was heavy with threat, and it was triggering a flight or fight response from the pink haired time-traveler, but the woman, or whatever that being was, had an aura around her that made it impossible to recoil in fright. Her voice sounded sweet, like honey, and her sole presence screamed quietness and resignation.
At her silence, Sakura tried another approach. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm always here. What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to do my job… Are you the one wandering around the hospital?" There was a slight shift to the other presence's chakra that didn't go unnoticed to Sakura. It felt as if it was suddenly concentrated on her own being rather than spread around them like the mist.
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean yes and no? You either wander around or you don't." She heard her own frustration escape her voice, despite the attempt to reign over her emotions.
"Yes, I wander. No, I'm not the wanderers you seek."
"And why should I believe you? You've trapped me in a genjutsu!"
"I haven't done such a thing. The reason you're here is that you're a wanderer yourself."
"I'm not a wanderer. I have a home to return to."
"And yet, I can tell you don't belong to this world."
Sakura stared, and if she hadn't learned to reign over her emotions, she'd have gaped. That was one of the things time was eating away: her sincerity. She did not know what to say. The woman —or rather, the being— was not human, and it was obvious she had sensed something weird from Sakura's chakra. The feeling was mutual.
At her quietness, the woman resumed talking: "You smell it too, right?"
"Smell what?" There wasn't anything particularly weird about the smell. The forest surrounding them was so bleak and dead that it was impossible to perceive any remnants of anything.
"The stench of blood" She pointed to the building with a bony finger, her tone slightly solemn, yet sorrowful. "It reeks all over."
"I don't smell anything from here…" There was a pause, a short one, before she flinched. "Wait, I do… Is that sandalwood?"
"You're being called…" Her voiced sounded dull, slowly fading away. The faceless woman's silhouette started disappearing along with the mist.
"Wait! You didn't tell me your name!"
"Sakura…!"
"Huh?"
"Sakura!" She opened her eyes to the sight of Sasuke's face inches apart from her own. If they were in a different situation and Sakura'd been her previous shelf, she would have blushed to the root of her hair, but there were other things on her mind, so she barely registered her teammate's presence as she pushed him aside and searched franticly for the faceless woman. There was no trace left of her nor the strange mist.
"What happened, Sakura?"
She gazed at him and there was acknowledgement on her misty eyes. Sasuke couldn't help but think that she didn't look like herself, disoriented as she was, helpless and oblivious to their surroundings.
"Where is the woman? Have you seen her?" It annoyed the hell out of him when his questions were answered with other questions, but he let it slide, since her whole stance suggested animosity, and the last thing he wanted is to witness a breakdown. He was not sure if he could make her feel better if that were to be the case. Nevertheless, and despite himself, he placed a firm hand on her shoulder, the gesture as reassuring as it could be coming from him.
"There's no one here, Sakura. I found you here passed out…" He spoke quietly, so that whatever bandit was left would not come their way. "Do you remember what happened?"
"I just told you… There was a woman here." She looked around again, still disoriented.
"I can't sense anything. Maybe she trapped you in a genjutsu."
"Maybe…" She took the reign of her thoughts once again. She was sure that wasn't a genjutsu, but maybe it was more prudent not to tell anyone about it just yet, for the sake of her identity at least.
"And yet, I can tell you don't belong to this world."
…
Kakashi and Gai returned empty-handed. However, when Sasuke briefed them about Sakura's incident they didn't hesitate to label it a genjutsu. That and the evasiveness they demonstrated by getting away from both jonin, they concluded they were tracking shinobi instead of common bandits; probably they were a bunch of missing-nin.
Kakashi, seeing his female student passed the edge of worn out, ordered her to take a bath in the onsen —without meditation, he specified, to her surprise— and go straight to bed afterwards. The extent of what he could see and feel despite having an eye patched was threatening.
She ignored him, of course. The fifteen minutes spent on warm water passed through the slow movement of her chakra. It burned inside like adrenaline and she imagined her inner turmoil was affecting it somehow. She focused her intakes of air to her stomach, and as she exhaled the mass of energy extended seamlessly, if not with too much intensity. If she didn't get a hold of how much chakra burst at once on her pathways, they'd be sore for a while.
In the end, she spent half an hour, until the fatigue overpowered her desire to improve. She dragged herself in her white yukata to her room. Sasuke had his back facing her when she entered, his breaths perfectly rhythmed, but she knew better. He hadn't bothered masking his chakra because he deemed her unable to tell the difference. She brushed the insulting reality aside and dropped on her futon, exhausted. However, five minutes in deafening silence were enough to obsess about her current confusion. Who was that woman? How did she perceive she was a 'foreigner' when no one else hadn't? The only possible explanation was that she wasn't human; it had to be it. Perhaps some kind of spirit? It wasn't impossible. The world was plagued with strange beings, so many one didn't have the time to name them all: talking summons, the tailed beasts, a strange albino goddess… Definitely a spirit or an oni was far more believable than any of those.
The moment she realized she had been lost in thought for an hour, tossing around and annoying the hell out of Sasuke —whose chakra suggested he was still awake—, she decided to leave. Sakura shoved the mattress aside and putted on her ninja sandals. Just like that, with her white yukata on, she strode to the window, careful not to disturb her cranky teammate.
Only to fail miserably.
"Where are you going?" He whispered, still not facing her.
Sakura could have lied. She could have told him she was going for a stroll, that she was restless — though she was restless— and needed some fresh air after suffering the shocks of genjutsu. But before the lie escaped her lips, she resisted the urge. After all, there were so much lies behind her and many more laying ahead that she didn't want to keep faking in the little things, the little moments she had to be her, the little moments she could be her.
It was all she had left that was truly sincere: the little moments that had been forgotten for the sake of greater events. The little moments she could take back by simply enjoying what wasn't important. The little truths that kept her alive in between huge lies.
"I can't sleep, so I figured I could do with some training."
"Hn."
She was about to leap out the window when a soft rustling made her stop on her tracks. She gazed at him, a question written in her face.
He was staring back at her. "I'm coming with you."
Sakura had the sudden urge to place a hand over her beating heart, which had skipped a beat so suddenly she thought it had stopped for a moment. She held her breath for a moment and exhaled though, keeping her cool. "Well, if you want to…" She went out. Two minutes later he leaped out the window as well, wearing a short sleeved black t-shirts and ninja pants. Then, Sakura thought briefly about the fact that she was completely bare under the yukata but brushed the thought aside. Nakedness had stopped being an issue to her for a long time, when she wandered the world running from Kaguya she had been bare the whole time, for her clothes had teared themselves apart as time went by, to the point where they became a nuisance more than anything. Besides, she was certain Sasuke had been asexual and uninterested in women. More so now that he was a boy, she figured. That or he reigned his facial expressions with a tight hold and if that was to be the case, she knew she should envy him.
"Sakura."
She turned to him. "Yes?"
"Spar with me."
…
She found herself across his teammate, in a meadow not far the onsen, where the ashen trees started to overcome those left alive. Sakura hadn't pictured their first fight ever in this life being like this and despite the circumstances being so different —her first time in her previous life had been when she had tried to kill him— she couldn't help the need to leave an impression. She was no fool, after all. Of course, in her current state she was in no condition to outclass Sasuke. But she could outsmart him and put up a fight. Anything less than that was simply not acceptable.
Overall, she refused to leave intact that mouth of his, which was smiling at her so arrogantly it seemed he was asking for it.
"Taijutsu only." She said, and he simply nodded. Without a proctor, they were left to their own devices. Both assumed comfortable postures.
Sasuke waited prudently, observing her like a hawk would do his pray. However, she seemed to have the same idea, so the first few seconds were spent in silent glares and anticipation. He had an idea of her new hidden abilities and was expecting to draw her out. She adopted the same pose she had been practicing with Gai, efficiently replicating the Shifting Shadow style.
Out of the blue, Sakura decided she had had enough of the glaring contest and launched forward. Sasuke blocked her strike easily enough, since there was no chakra behind it. He struggled to find an open angle to hit her, so he kicked with his right leg to unbalance her stance but was surprised to find her rooted to the ground. She had used her chakra to maintain her position, like they had been taught to do when walking up trees. Taking advantage of his momentary weakness she tried to draw a punch to his face. Then, Sasuke intercepted it with his right hand while putting his left on the ground, thus gaining momentum and performing a couple of backflips, so that he put some distance between them.
He watched her for a moment, narrowing his eyes. She snarled, the heat of the challenge already getting the best of her. Sasuke would admit later that, despite himself, that was the first time he really saw Sakura, like actually looked at her, and thought she may be an asset. Someday.
The two continued to engage in taijutsu and Sasuke was impressed to find out that despite them being there for only three days, Sakura was already showing progress as far as her stamina was concerned. However, he was still much more resilient and significantly faster, so it was a matter of time before the young Uchiha outmatched her, even without ninjutsu. Those kinds of thoughts led her to fuel her frustration, her fatigue completely forgotten to an undescriptive need to prove her worth in the eyes of the one she'd once loved. Maybe she had had the potential hidden somewhere there and he had just overlooked it.
Sasuke was trying to read her moments, mapping her out. When he saw her awaken the Byakugou in the arena, it had felt as though a switch had been flipped and he was staring at a stranger. Sakura, whom had been so innocent, so unwilling to fight against Zabuza and Haku, who followed every norm to the last consequence… She had turned into an enraged killer in the flick of a moment, a symbol of bloodlust. He had filled Naruto and Kakashi about who Zaku was and why Sakura might have a grudge against him. Then, Sakura had come out the bathroom, looking a bad day away from losing herself, and stated that she would do what she needed to keep her teammates safe. At that moment he knew that, by leaving her in the forest to her own devices, they might have turned her into that. Sure, unwillingly, but still the facts remained the same.
Now, as he watched her sudden improvement, he couldn't shake the feeling that she had been pushed beyond her limits. Sure, it was something to appreciate, and he did appreciate power, but still… He couldn't even come out with a way of talking to her, to make her relay on him, even if it was uncomfortable. Usually, she would tell him anything and everything, rambling out of nervousness, in attempts to come closer to him. It was ironic how the tables have turned. Now he was the one with no idea on how cross that bridge. Sasuke told himself that his concerns were for the sake of the team. He just wanted to do something; whatever she needed, so that he didn't feel like a monster for leading her to the darkest of sides: the one where one could find themselves accountable and forever regretting being alive while others died at her feet.
So, he resumed to the only way he knew how to communicate: fighting. That's why Naruto and he could understand one another, despite hating each other's guts.
They were at it for at least half an hour more. Sasuke didn't even attempt to use his fire jutsu on her, not once, which of course pissed the hell out of Sakura. So, as promised, before he managed to take her down, she punched him square on his face, splitting open his lower lip and drawing blood. She had to admit though, she had used just a tiny bit of chakra there, just to ease her inner turmoil.
At that moment, though, as Sasuke brought his right hand on his bleeding mouth, silence filled the clearing for a moment, a reflection of their astonishment. In a daze of adrenaline, she observed how his onyx orbs turned crimson as she was suddenly reminded of the last time he directed that gaze at her in her previous life. He had rendered her useless, pinpointing her in place in fear and regret, regret of not having prevented him from becoming a monster. Ever then, as she had made her way through this new timeline, glimmers of that same regret often overcame her mind whenever she looked over her teammate. And as this younger, far more innocent version of himself launched at her, she lost all focus, dreading —and realizing— that she still cared. Still wished for his happiness.
In that clearing, as she was stranded beneath his weight, kunai on her throat, with the poor lightning of the moon polishing his face, she was reminded of her greatest weakness, and lamented it deeply. The pain had pursued her, even if she chose to cast it aside or deny it. She laughed under his confused stare, tears pricking her eyes, but it sounded strained even to the enraged Uchiha. Was she laughing or wailing? He didn't know for sure. His crippling annoyance was dispelled for a moment, as worry overtook him. A couple of drops of his blood marred her right cheek. Sasuke frowned.
"Sakura…?"
"Please! Don't go! I love you more than anything!"
"Thank you, Sakura." He whispered to her back.
Love. Her greatest weakness was love, and she bared it like a maxim. It was her driving force, her source of both strength and despair. Her last shred of sanity. She knew she couldn't turn her back on him, even if she could foresee what was to happen.
"Damn you, Sasuke."
Her seal expanded all over her body without her realizing at first. She mistook the surge of power for the overwhelming realization of her still latent care for the young boy. However, when she noticed his red stare upon her face, she understood immediately and extended her hands to his face. The lines soared from her fingertips to his fair face, and so he felt her chakra for the first time: a tingling spiderweb, a cooled caress. The sting of his lower lip suddenly receded, but he paid it no mind. He couldn't, for the mighty surge of energy wrapping around him was far too distracting to focus on anything else.
When his lip was once again patched up, she retracted her hands, and just like that the unbinding energy was gone.
Then, Sakura's eyes met his flushed face.
A.N: Damn, this chapter took me ages. It was difficult af to write and the fight scene was so lame I think I wanna cry. Well, at least it was dramatic enough…
Any review is greatly appreciated. I swear, every time I felt like giving up writing this chapter, I went to read netflixanduchiha review on last chapter and I knew I had to keep going. Thank you so much for stopping by to comment on my work. I was overwhelmed when I read it —and every review before that one, really—. I'll keep doing my best.
By the way, I recently created a Tumblr account. I go by the user rose-coloredamy. If you happen to have an account there, feel free to contact me!
With love,
Rose-Colored Amy
*The Shifting Shadow Style is exclusively fictional (if by any chance it actually exists, sorry, it's just a coincidence, lol). The idea is that it has features of both Northern Shaolin and Baguazhang, which were the inspiration for firebending and airbending respectively in Avatar: The Last Airbender (just the movements, not fire nor air included).