Black hair cascaded down over Sasuke's face, blocking Sakura's view of him. She wanted to get a closer look at him, but could only follow the movements of his hand, watching as more and more bandages wrapped around her arm.
Sasuke performed his task with concentration, careful not to injure Sakura further. The wound inflicted by the kunai was burning her, but she made no effort not to show it. She was already struggling with her reddened cheeks anyway, which deepened in color with each successive touch from the boy.
'How strange,' she thought, tapping her nails against the tree trunk.
The sun was slowly hiding from behind the clouds, illuminating them with its orange light. Sasuke gently grasped Sakura's wrist, lifting her hand and watching it closely all around, before carefully placing it on his knee to tie the knot.
He deftly dealt with everything.
"Done."
He announced, raising his head at last. His black irises came into contact with her green ones. Sakura opened her mouth, but no sound came out. They stared at each other, and a strange tension grew. Her breath caught in her throat.
Finally, she forced herself to lift her lips, showing her pearly teeth.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!"
The boy looked away quickly, once again hiding under the locks of hair. He felt warmth on his neck and ears.
"Aa," he muttered, tucking the rest of the bandages into his pocket, "Be more careful next time. If I hadn't been there, this could have ended worse."
"But you were here." she replied, gently punching him in the arm.
Sasuke stood up, standing backwards and putting one hand in his trouser pocket. He started to walk away, just waiting for the girl to wrap her arm around his elbow. He sighed.
"I will always be."