Space to Breathe - [ Sakura Haruno ]

CHAPTER 12

Uchiha Sasuke had been seething, sat in a hospital bed and clenching his fists around the thin blanket he'd been given.

The subject of his hatred? Practically everything.

Funai Nanako was the first of all, taking him down so easily. At first he thought it was because he was unable to use chakra, but then he'd tried again.

And Haruno fucking Sakura, the weak girl who used to be on his team, pestering him about romance of all things, had held him back with a single arm. Then she had the audacity to knock him out.

Then, he failed against Gaara, the enemy Sakura herself had managed to damage was defeated not by him, top of their academy class, but Naruto, who ranked at the very bottom.

Then, Kakashi arrived, a day after the invasion, and began to berate him.

"How could you use the Chidori on a Konoha nin?" He spoke clearly, but he was anything but calm. His voice was intense, anger and disappointment underlined his every word, "I taught you that in the hopes you would use it for Konoha, not against it."

"She insulted me," he argued back, although with much less intensity and resolve than Kakashi, "she spat on the Uchiha name."

"So?" Kakashi growled, "you have spat on Konoha itself. Your comparison between a near extinct clan and our village is insulting."

Kakashi wouldn't usually be so harsh, but when he'd heard of the formal complaint against his student, his rage boiled over. Even without the intense flashbacks he had to his own time on Team Seven, his Chidori through the chest of his Kunoichi teammate, he was not having a good time as a sensei.

First, Sakura was taken from him thanks to his neglect, then Naruto was taken by Jiraiya to train for the third round. Kabuto was a traitor, someone planted by Orochimaru, and Sasuke had used the single jutsu he himself imparted upon his student to attempt murder on another Konoha shinobi.

Kakashi was a failure, and he knew it. The worst part? He still acted as if he himself was impervious to it. He chastised Sasuke for using the jutsu Kakashi had developed to kill, and even taught the boy with the negative mental health record rivaling even his own in his youth that very same technique with joy.

He was happy, when Sasuke had managed it, praised the boy for succeeding. Then that sense of pride came tumbling down, landing atop him with the weight of an entire village.

The stares he received from other shinobi were harsh, reminding him of his father.

"What did I tell you when you passed the bell test?" Kakashi asked, his voice taking a less intense note, but still angry.

Sasuke didn't answer though, and Kakashi had to resist the urge to shout. "I told you a quote, from one of my genin teammates," he revealed, "those who abandon their mission are scum, that is true."

"But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum." Kakashi finished, "but let me add on to that: Whilst those who abandon a mission are scum, and those who abandon a comrade are even worse, what does that make you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's knuckles were clenched so hard they turned white as he stared at the sheets of his bed silently.

"You are worse than those who are worse than scum." He continued when the Uchiha didn't respond, "you're a traitor."

Sasuke visually recoiled at he word, and grit his teeth hard. He didn't respond, but Kakashi continued.

"Whilst it is feasible for someone to abandon a comrade for the sake of a mission," Kakashi said, "even whilst distasteful that is true. There is never a reason for a Konoha shinobi not under the effects of a jutsu to attack a comrade."