Chapter 11
Naruto slid down the hill towards them.
Them.
Sakura stumbled and fell forward, collapsing against Sasuke's chest. Naruto rushed to help, gathering the petite woman in his arms.
The thick expanse of her eyelashes left an outline against her cheeks. He watched her chest heave up and down, her body struggling to fall into the throes of Sasuke's genjutsu.
"Jugo!" Sasuke called out, raking his fingers through hair dampened by sweat and adrenaline. "Try to absorb just the ancient chakra. Karin, guide him."
Sasuke made his way to Suigetsu. They wordlessly prepared a mat for Sakura to lay upon, in an area unaffected by her fists.
Sasuke stood apart as his peers gathered, leaning against the rough bark of a tree, its coolness steadying him. The echoes of their confrontation lingered in the air, the woods still vibrating with the remnants of battle. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply to calm the fierce rhythm of his heart, exhaling to release the pent-up tension within. Her voice echoed in his mind, pleading for him, both now and years ago.
When he opened his eyes, he gazed into the quiet forest, searching for clarity amidst the stillness. The silent, damaged trees bore witness as he struggled to control his emotions. He needed to regain focus, to understand his actions, and to reassure himself that he had no other choice.
He fell into himself.
It was a slow, but successful, process. Karin watched the strange energy slowly funnel towards Jugo and disappear within the chasm of his chakra. Several times she had to stop him, when his siphoning pulled too much green energy and Sakura began to jolt and jerk in response.
It took hours for them to drain the massive expanse of energy trapped in her slender form.
Exhausted and unable to continue, the three former teammates of Sasuke's headed to their respective sleeping areas. The howl of the wind sounded mournful as it whipped against the tarping of Sasuke's tent, where Sakura was moved. It was, after all, more accommodating than the frigid tundra outside.
Sakura rested on a deerskin hide, wrapped in several layers of cloth to keep her warm against the biting cold outside. Naruto adjusted his cloak as he watched her, sitting cross-legged beside his unconscious friend.
"Does it hurt her?"
Sasuke sat with his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, not lifting his eyes from the bedroll beneath him. "No."
"What are you showing her?"
Sasuke sighed, aware that not much was known about his abilities. Usually, those caught in his genjutsu would endure whatever torment he chose. But not Sakura. "Happy things."
His genjutsu didn't have to be a nightmare; it could be filled with rainbows and butterflies instead of the endless red and black that Itachi favored.
At the Valley of the End, just before the final clash with Naruto, Sasuke could have shown Sakura anything—anything but the image of his arm plunging through her chest.
Sasuke was, by all accounts, an asshole.
Now, he showed her a world where there were no ninjas, where she does not fight or feel pain–where the flowers grow without meaning, just because.
Naruto wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Do you think she'll come back…okay?"
"Yes," Sasuke replied with conviction. He could sense it in the way she resisted the images he showed her. The way she looked in the mirror, adjusting a headband she couldn't remember but felt a deep longing for. How she searched for Naruto in ramen shops and for Kakashi in every tall building she passed.
And how she looked for Sasuke, too.
Every black-haired man that passed by her warranted a second-glance. Surprisingly, she turned up at a police-station of sorts often, asking if there were any missing persons reports she could look at.
She was too smart for happy things–knew how fleeting and rare they were.
"Go lay down," Sasuke told Naruto after a while. "Suigetsu said you could share with him."
Naruto nodded, not bothering to play off his fatigue. "I'm not in the mood to set up a tent right now, so I'll take him up on that."
He shuffled to the exit, passing Sakura one final glance before leaving. Sasuke settled into the night. He adjusted some of his blankets into a pallet beside Sakura, moving to rest on his back. With his eyes glowing, he could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest.
There was no point in keeping her trapped in a never-ending loop. He could feel her frustrations rise with every repeat of the world he'd created with its too-sunny skies and too-friendly people. He did not give himself debate.
"Kai,"
Sakura sat up with a start, gasping as if she had just resurfaced after hours underwater. Sasuke didn't move to help her; he simply watched as she fumbled around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Her breath steadied as her training instinctively kicked in, and she sank back against the soft hide.
"Sasuke?"
Rather than answer verbally, Sasuke shifted slightly to reveal the gentle hue of his red and purple irises. He noted the tension in her shoulders began to ease.
"Sasuke, what happened?"
"Something possessed you. You fought us."
Sakura's head throbbed. She recalled blurry visions of flailing fists. Her body ached, though she did not feel anything was in dire need of healing. The kunoichi rubbed the back of her head where the pain seemed to ebb the most.
Slammed against a tree, head snapping back, Sasuke's mouth pressed to hers…
"We…I…you kissed…?"
"I also broke a tree with your body," He sounded a bit bewildered, knowing exactly what she was unable to vocalize. "...tried to stomp on you a few times, too."
Sakura turned away, lips pursed to the side. "Thank you. I'm sorry."
"You fought well."
Sasuke gazed up at the top of his tent, where the joints converged at a single point. He reflected on the events that had led them to this moment, sharing space atop Itachi's deer hide. A swirl of emotions washed over him: guilt for the harm they had both endured, concern for Sakura's well-being after the battle, and anxiety about what lay ahead.
Their connection felt fragile, and he questioned that bond, unsure of how to protect it while still grappling with his own darkness.
Shuffling beside him, Sakura made to stand. The blankets fell from her figure in a pool by her knees. "It's late, isn't it? Is Naruto in our tent?"
"Suigetsu's."
Sakura stared at the opening of Sasuke's tent, the cool rush of wind brushing against her skin as it seeped in.
The visions he created lingered in her mind, as vivid as any cherished memory. It felt like she had once lived a simple life, one filled with the beauty of ordinary moments, even if they were fleeting.
She had never seen grass so green or sunsets so breathtaking, yet the weight of dull existence pressed down on her, gnawing at her spirit. Life wasn't truly good if there was no contrast to highlight it; she found solace in the grass that tickled her skin just as she appreciated the sharpness of rocks that cut it.
Sakura was unsure whether, at this moment, the grass was tickling or the rocks were cutting. "...and my cloak?"
Sasuke studied her as she feigned poise. He stood. Sakura's covering was somewhere in the fields beyond them, undoubtedly frozen from the dampness of the hours past.
Though he intended to offer her his furs instead, the closer he got to the opening, the more he disliked the idea. The fire had hardly any life left, and would be difficult to keep with the flurries that swept across the flat field they'd settled in.
If she needed space–if she wanted to have some time to herself, he'd prefer her to stay in the warmth rather than to be iced up beside lazy cinders. He gathered his pelt.
"We'll have to get you a new one. It was ruined. Stay, I'll go."
As soon as he raised his arm to part the canvas, Sakura's hand instinctively reached forward, only to jerk back as if scalded, as if his very presence inflicted pain.
"Sorry—no, I just—"
Sasuke watched her struggle. He waited patiently, a mix of anticipation and anxiety coursing through him. Did she have questions? Concerns? Not many could claim they had slipped into the depths of a sharingan's illusion. He had been gentle with her—as gentle as a person like Sasuke could be.
"You shouldn't…have to be out in the cold."
"Neither should you. And I'm not sure if it's wise for you to be left alone."
Sakura refused to meet his gaze. "I don't remember what happened. Not fully. I think everything is there in my mind, but I don't know the order. What all…happened?"
The way he exhaled reminded Sakura of a train; a release of built-up steam in an overworked engine. He explained the scene he'd come upon, with Sakura in the throes of mind control. His words came out clipped and clinical.
Sasuke, who had always avoided touch, had done everything he could to bring her back from whatever had possessed her. How miserable must it be to kiss someone while detesting the very thought?
His eyes bore into was a depth to his silence, and Sakura knew there was more to the story than what he'd offered. Time seemed to stretch, until finally, he shattered the stillness.
"Naruto won't mind, Sakura."
"I don't want Naruto."
He bowed his head, rubbing the tension from his eyes, a clear sign of his irritation. His voice came out gritty, barely contained. "What do you want me to do?"
Sakura's gaze grew distant.
Sakura thought of his comforting weight against her back when he'd let her hunt alongside him. The feel of his hand as it had smoothed across her stomach, holding her in place, and the warmth of his chin resting against the curve of her neck.
You can touch me whenever you want!
Human as she was, Sakura couldn't fight it. The pull toward him was as powerful as gravity, inevitable and relentless. She struggled against it, tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she wrestled with the ache in her chest.
Breathless, her face flushed with heat, Sakura confessed her truth in a rush. "I'm so…overwhelmed."
"Is it the hospital…the missions?"
"No. It's you."
Sasuke stared at her, utterly taken aback by her declaration. Her eyes were shimmering, lips trembling, and sorrow wrapped around her like a suffocating blanket. Despite his stoic demeanor, the weight of her words crushed him. Memories of his past flooded his mind, the choices he'd made that had created this rift between them.
She looked up at him, a picture of innocence and purity, like the fragrance of blooming flowers or untouched snow. Sakura shifted nearer. Something sinister shifted in his mind as he watched her arms begin to lift in the makings of a hug.
Her voice, soft and intimate, wrapped around him like a caress. "Did you mean it…when you said I could touch you whenever I wanted?"
The question hung in the air, thick with tension, leaving him utterly unmoored. What did that mean for them? Was she seeking comfort, or was there something deeper at play? The ground below felt unstable as his mind struggled to process the dizzying shift in their dynamic, and how he should react to something so simple. He'd pushed things too far on that bench.
Sakura had no idea how fiercely Sasuke's sin wished to taint her. Nights were spent replaying the memory of Sakura emerging from the hot spring, every detail burned into his mind—a haunting image that both tormented and exhilarated him.
He thought of her pink hair, plastered to the skin of her shoulders. The beads of water rolling down every curve and edge, the way her small waist tapered right above the swell of her hips–how her breasts rose as she raised the white flower above her head to inspect it.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to hold himself together. A sense of dread twisted in his gut as he wondered how long it would be before his will shattered or his consciousness uncoiled like a tangled vine. Each passing moment felt like a test, a precarious balancing act between restraint and the overwhelming urge to unchain the corruption within him.
"Yes."
Sakura took two long breaths. She moved to embrace him and he allowed it, not flinching, but not shoving her away either. "Why would you allow this? You're obviously uncomfortable." She turned her head, staring at the various items within.
Uchiha Sasuke had fought for power, had taken lives to obtain it, yet now he found himself ready to relinquish it all to her. The thought both exhilarated and terrified him.
Sasuke wrapped his arm across her back. The space between them zeroed and her cheek pressed against his chest. The wetness of her tears burned.
Sasuke had hurt her. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. He was well acquainted with his transgressions.
"Because it's you."
"Why me?"
"You see something in me that I don't." He began, pausing as he found the right words to explain his conflictions. "But it's dangerous. I'm not someone you should want to touch." Yet, he squeezed her tighter.
Sakura tilted to look up at him, and he cast his eyes downwards. "You're right. I see you Sasuke—not just the darkness you think defines you, but the person you can be in spite of it. I'm not afraid of that." Sakura unlatched from him to cradle his face. She stood upon her tip-toes to try and even their heights. He had to hear this, he had to see that she meant every word.
"Maybe you are dangerous. It's not your past that concerns me, though. It's who you are now…and who you can become. I want to be part of that journey, no matter how difficult it may be."
He was soft as he pressed his lips against hers. Sasuke kissed her slowly. Time could have stopped and neither would have noticed, too caught up in the gravity of their shared words. Each emotion—fear, hope, longing—was woven into the fabric of their embrace. Sasuke's heart raced and he fell into uncharted territory, her mouth coaxing tenderness he'd buried and vowed never to give again.
When they separated, sharing breaths between them, Sakura's eyes held him with an unyielding clarity. He searched them for any hint of doubt, but found only unwavering trust—so familiar because it's always been there. Something within him fought to shatter the moment, to bring him back to reality.
"What if I can't change?" He rarely allowed anyone to hear this kind of vulnerability from him.
"You are changing," she replied, breathless and resolute. "You choose, every day, to confront your past instead of run from it."
As her words unfurled inside of him, Sasuke brushed his thumb across her flushed cheek. The outside world faded away once more, leaving just the two of them intertwined within a bubble of shared warmth and possibility. He kissed her again, this time with urgency—a blend of passion and desire to forge ahead, to navigate the complexities of their intertwined fates.
