Sasuke stood in the sun outside the Hokage tower. The edge of a mission scroll curled around his hand, catching the light of the first truly seasonable day of spring. Everything seemed brighter. For the first time in\u2026well, as long as he could remember, he felt almost\u2026okay.<\/p>\n
The warm air had lured everyone out-of-doors. People were walking, smiling and chatting in the sun. Kids were everywhere, tearing up and down the lanes. Sasuke walked slowly away from the tower toward the busy mesh of village streets. Merchants were setting up stalls outside their shops further crowding the already-narrow roads.<\/p>\n
But the gaggle of village kids didn\u2019t care. They danced around the shoppers and the hid behind the carts, throwing sticks like kunai, laughing and taunting each other. Their voices ricocheted off down the intersecting lanes.<\/p>\n
Sasuke watched one scrawny boy eyeing the other suspiciously. He had a bright red ball tucked under his arm. And it was drawing a lot of attention. The kids were working hard on separating the ball from it\u2019s owner. But when coaxing, then threats failed to work, a pair of older boys resorted to stealth. One positioned himself in front to tease and distract, while another crept around behind.<\/p>\n
Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. The boy with the ball was outwitted, and he didn\u2019t even know it.<\/p>\n
And sure enough, before the boy even realized what was going on, the ball was popped out from under his elbow and sent careening down another lane.<\/p>\n
The boy\u2019s face was so comically downtrodden that Sasuke smiled without even thinking about it. The rest of the group shot off down the lane while the boy trudged after, grimacing with each whoop and holler. Sasuke kept going, slightly curious to see how the boy would go about getting his precious toy back, when suddenly the throng of kids came tearing back out of the lane and stopping in front of him.<\/p>\n
Arms upstretched, they laughed and pleaded up at some unseen source. The scrawny kid regained all hope. He bounced among them, arms flailing as if he knew this was his one chance to get his ball back. Sasuke relaxed enough to smirk broadly at the group. They were all still giggling, so they knew they weren\u2019t in trouble. Probably just being teased by someone bigger or stronger\u2014<\/p>\n
A familiar feminine laugh rung out over the childish giggles.<\/p>\n
Sasuke\u2019s smirk fell. He only had a moment to step beside a merchant\u2019s cart when Sakura came out of the lane, holding the red ball high over her head and laughing at the boys, her green eyes dancing. The boys oh\u2019d and aw\u2019d, but they clearly relished the attention from a pretty ninja.<\/p>\n
She bounced the ball from hand to hand, smiling and taunting them. A few ducked around to knock the ball from behind as they\u2019d done to get it the first time, but Sakura smoothly lifted her arm and let the boys collide into each other. This sent up more raucous howls of laughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee anything that tempts you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sasuke frowned thunderously at the old man who had apparently snuck up beside him, but he flicked his eyes up to the wooden sigh overhead \u2014 a grocer \u2014 and realized this was the owner of the cart he\u2019d chosen to\u2026well, hide out at.<\/p>\n
Sasuke cleared his throat. \u201cJust looking,\u201d he said quickly and laid his hand out over the selection of fruit piled onto the cart as if still inspecting before a purchase.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell let me know if you need anything,\u201d the man said politely then disappeared inside the doorway of his store.<\/p>\n
Sasuke continued his false perusal and cast his eyes to Sakura, who was bouncing the ball higher and higher with little pushes of chakra. The boys watched in awe. Only the scrawny one still swatted for his toy when it came back down.<\/p>\n
Sasuke knew it was pathetic. He shouldn\u2019t hide from her, of all people, and in his own village. But he didn\u2019t really want to see her. He shifted his weight and the scroll bumped gently against the few coins in his pocket. As if he needed to be reminded why\u2026.<\/p>\n
The Hokage had finally been cleared to give him missions outside the village. And she\u2019d said that Sakura\u2019s little speech to the council had a lot to do with it. She said he should be grateful to his team, and she expected him to work harder with them. She stopped short of ordering him to find someway to connect with them, but the message was clear.<\/p>\n
And on his way out, she offered him a little advice. \u201cShare your news with Sakura. She\u2019ll be happy to hear about it.\u201d Sasuke bowed respectfully, but left without comment. Because he knew his answer.<\/p>\n
Even as Sakura stood in front of him, presenting the perfect opportunity that Tsunade had been urging him so strongly to seek out.<\/p>\n
He knew he wasn\u2019t going to share his news with her. This was his triumph, and he planned to selfishly keep it to himself. Just as she had done when he\u2019d questioned her about Itachi\u2026. She refused to answer. It still stung him, and reinforced his decision.<\/p>\n
He let his hand drop to the edge of the cart and watched her from hooded eyes.<\/p>\n
The scrawny kid grabbed at the ball, desperation clear in his big eyes. Sakura must have seen it too because she leaned out over the group and returned it to him, making sure it was safely in his arms before letting go. She tousled his hair, smiling. But the boy didn\u2019t notice at all. He held the ball tightly to his chest and without a word of thanks dashed off down the lane. The other boys tore off behind him, the pretty ninja forgotten. She laughed after them, then turned away to continue her stroll.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d never even noticed Sasuke at the edge of the cart.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee anything you like?\u201d<\/p>\n
The old merchant peered up at him with greying eyes. But there was a crispness in his expression that made Sasuke think that perhaps he hadn\u2019t gone unnoticed after all.<\/p>\n
Sasuke fished in his pocket past the scroll and pulled out a coin. He pressed it into the man\u2019s weathered hand. \u201cI\u2019ll take an apple.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn excellent choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sasuke plucked up a particularly red one and walked down the lane toward the river.<\/p>\n
He had been avoiding Sakura for a while. Hell, he couldn\u2019t remember a time when he didn\u2019t avoid her. Or anyone else from Team 7.<\/p>\n
But it was Sakura who was particularly troublesome. He felt like she was hiding something. And whatever it was had happened out there when she was captured by Itachi.<\/p>\n
It was a miracle she’d come back, Kakashi had said so himself. And that\u2019s why it just didn\u2019t add up\u2026. She thought she\u2019d been abandoned. She knew it. And he could hear it in her voice that night, crying out desperately in the darkness\u2026.<\/p>\n
Sasuke looked out at the shimmering black river without seeing it. His thoughts slipped back to that night. He was thrumming through the trees, hearing a whisper, then a twig snap. The sharingan wheeled effortlessly into action. He couldn’t distinguish shapes, but he could discern two chakras very, very close together. Then her anguished cry.<\/p>\n
He nearly fell off the branch. He and Sai spiraled closer. But only Sasuke heard her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy? Why drag this out? Why don\u2019t you just kill me and get it over with?!\u201d<\/p>\n
She was begging for her life. Or rather throwing it all away. She had just told her captor to kill her.<\/p>\n
He remembered the voice that responded in the darkness. It was just as desperate as hers. \u201cI\u2019m not going to\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sasuke suddenly realized what he was saying: He wasn\u2019t going to kill her.<\/p>\n
How could he have missed it! The guy was taking her out to let her go. But she didn\u2019t know it. Her captor \u2014 the guy Sasuke fought tooth and nail, the one who caught her and taunted him \u2014 had taken pity on her.<\/p>\n
Puzzle pieces fell into place. She had probably been just as strong, just as irritatingly stubborn as she usually was. She had resolved not to give in to Itachi. And someone there \u2014 probably that same guy \u2014 took an interest in her and decided to help her out.<\/p>\n
In that light, her survival made sense. Kakashi had always said there was more to the story. And he agreed. But she refused to speak about any of it.<\/p>\n
Birds landed in the river. Sasuke looked down at the apple clamped in his hands, remembering himself and where he was. He bit down into the apple, but barely noticed it\u2019s juicy snap.<\/p>\n
Sakura may have refused to talk about Itachi, but there were a few things she\u2019d revealed. Itachi had spoken to her, at length. All lies, she\u2019d said. But she must have believed one of them. Sakura thought she\u2019d been left behind, abandoned by her team and village. She thought he\u2019d left her out there, to die by his brother\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n
And yet, she didn\u2019t give up\u2014<\/p>\n
Team 8 crossed the bridge ahead of him. Sasauke watched them, careful to avoid eye contact and thus some awkward acknowledgment. He needn\u2019t have worried: Worn out from a mission, they weren\u2019t stopping for anyone\u2019s greetings. Scrolls in hand, they continued on toward the Hokage\u2019s tower.<\/p>\n
But Sasuke considered them long after they left. He walked past the red bridge. Would one of them do what Sakura did? Die for the other teammate, after they thought they’d been willfully abandoned?<\/p>\n
No, he thought firmly, probably not. He couldn’t think of a single nin who would make that choice. But she would. That was Sakura, tenacious to a fault. Once her mind was set on something, she’d never give it up. He knew without a doubt that she would have died for him. Stupid girl, he thought, ruthlessly stamping out the guilt and pride that was rising with the thought of her sacrifice.<\/p>\n
He took another bite of the apple. Perhaps Tsunade was right. Perhaps he ought to try harder, make room for her. Maybe even recognize her as a partner of sorts.<\/p>\n
The idea was completely foreign to him. His life was lived alone. His shinobi path was alone. Even the council treated him as something to hidden away. Something to fear\u2026.<\/p>\n
Not her though. He snorted at the thought and wiped juice off his mouth with the back of his hand. She had always shown a healthy respect for his skill. But never fear. She was the only one who had ever thrown a punch at him. Not chakra-laden, not well thought out. Just angry. He had to admit it was a pleasant distinction to know that she didn’t see him as anything special. A small smile touched his lips at the irony of it all.<\/p>\n
A passerby, a man of about his father\u2019s age, mistook the almost-smile. \u201cUchiha-san,\u201d he said bobbing his head courteously. He looked like he would have said more, but Sasuke nodded cooly and pushed on.<\/p>\n
Chiding himself for letting his emotions show, Sasuke\u2019s thoughts drifted to the other member of their team. That expert in detached observation: Sai. Sasuke knew from the beginning that Sai was assigned to their group to monitor him. But his skill was admirable, so Sasuke accepted him as merely an ANBU babysitter placed in Team 7 by the council. Whatever his agenda was, he\u2019d never revealed it<\/p>\n
But Sakura\u2026there was no agenda there. Sasuke knew she barely tolerated him. That thought drove the corners of his mouth up. He took another bite to hide his smile. Truth be told, she annoyed him to no end. But for the first time, he saw something in her, something that he\u2019d never noticed before.<\/p>\n
Her loyalty and stubborn drive had proved more useful than any bloodline or secret clan technique. Better than Hinata\u2019s byakugan or TenTen\u2019s weapons, Sakura\u2019s strong will had carried her through. She simply never gave up.<\/p>\n
The long wide avenue was full of people walking and talking. But Sasuke was consumed with his own realizations. It was strange\u2026. He had always prided himself on sizing up another’s skill immediately, but somehow he\u2019d missed what Sakura had to offer.<\/p>\n
And it struck a jealous burn in him that his opponent recognized it immediately. The image of a young man scowling up from the rocks below instantly sprang to Sasuke\u2019s mind. He couldn’t see hair or eye color, but the blaze on his face, hands curled into fists at his sides, was burned into his memory.<\/p>\n
A slight breeze skimmed over the river, rippling sleeves and hems of clothes. It ruffled his sun-warmed hair.<\/p>\n
A cluster of strolling citizens parted, and Sakura suddenly appeared down the lane. Sasuke registered her presence the same time her laughter hit his ears. He slowed.<\/p>\n
She smiled brightly, accepted some small gift at a merchant\u2019s cart, then patted someone on the arm in gratitude. An older woman came into view for a moment. She was probably a patient of Sakura\u2019s by the way the woman doted on her, smiling and handing over another sack. Sakura bowed graciously and waved farewell, turning off the avenue onto the next street which angled down in front of the hospital.<\/p>\n
Sasuke watched her go, seeing everything in a completely different light. People loved her here. She loved it here. And she would have willing given it all up. For him. She would have died, alone in the woods, believing he\u2019d been abandoned her. And no one would have ever known of her sacrifice. Hell, she still refused to tell him. He had to figure it all out for himself.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t quite know how to feel. She was protecting him. And no one had ever protected him. He never needed it. But she did it anyway. When it was futile and pointless and no one would ever know. She stood up to Itachi, for him. And the council too, he supposed\u2026.<\/p>\n
He thought about the guy in the woods. Her captor. It still pissed him off that an opponent discovered the special quality of someone who was right within his grasp. But it didn\u2019t matter. Sakura was on his team. No one else\u2019s. For better or for worse. And for the first time he felt a small bit of pride in that.<\/p>\n
Well, Tsunade would be happy, he thought wryly, and another small smile slipped to the surface. A mother walking with her children nodded politely at him. Sasuke nodded back without reserve. He felt almost\u2026okay.<\/p>\n
He took a last bite of apple, savoring it\u2019s sweetness before tossing the core into the river. Patting the scroll in his pocket, he decided he’d take the long way home. He wanted to enjoy the sunlight and warm air and hold onto the triumphant feeling a little longer.<\/p>\n
Sasuke stood in the sun outside the Hokage tower. The edge of a mission scroll curled around his hand, catching the light of the first truly seasonable day of spring. Everything seemed brighter. For the first time in\u2026well, as long as he could remember, he felt almost\u2026okay. The warm air had lured everyone out-of-doors. People […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-preview","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hctF-eI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}