Redemption |complete| (SasuSaku)

The Delicate Features

Saturday, 24th of June


Sasuke was impatiently awaiting on Sakura at the bench not far from the entrance gates. Two days ago the idea of travelling with her didn't seem troublesome but now that they were few minutes away from leaving he questioned his own actions. He enjoyed her company a little bit more than Naruto's but that was only because Naruto was a ball of energy that could get too much, it didn't matter how nice he was, he was just a lot to handle for Sasuke who was used to be alone. Sakura on the other hand seemed calmer than back in the days and he appreciated that. She was more mature and had a gentle energy to her... well gentle until something pushed her to her limits like when she fought him with her entire strength. She wasn't weak so it meant that he wouldn't need to take care of her in case of a fight and that was a good thing.

He looked at the sun, he had gotten there early hoping that she will be too so they could leave fast. A big part of him was happy to leave the village, there was too many memories here, besides he got used to travel alone and he had missed that while he was in the village.

"Sasuke!"

He looked at the road and saw the pink haired kunoichi walking towards him. She was holding her travel bag and she changed for a more casual outfit. He skirt turned into an above the knee dark green shorts and her usual red top. He smirked a little bit: from far away she looked exactly the same as before.

She made her way up to him waving and smiling.

"Sorry I had to stop at the hospital to pick up some medicine and herbs just in case anything happens."

Having a medic ninja with him was a blessing. He turned around eager to leave this place and be surrounded by the trees again. Few steps away he noticed that she wasn't following him so he glanced back and saw her staring at the bench. She appeared sad to him but what did he know about it? Naruto was right, he knew her better than him. She noticed his stare and looked into his eyes. They locked eyes for a few seconds and it seemed to Sasuke like she was trying to communicate something to him. The intimacy instantly made him turn around.

"Let's go."

Behind his back she nodded and looked one last time at the bench. The journey ahead of them was making both of them nervous.



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Sakura stayed quiet for about two hours. Firstly she didn't know what to say to him and secondly she didn't want to annoy him. She took the ambient silence as an opportunity to reflect on where she stood with him. Two nights ago when he came to her house announcing that they will go on a mission together she was caught by surprise. She wanted to say no but she quickly came to the realisation that he was making a step towards her by asking her to come with him. He kept his promise to her which was surprising to the kunoichi. 

She definitely didn't hate him anymore but she had her restrictions when it came to him. She didn't fully trust him and was sure that Kakashi allowed her to come for the same reason. She knew that he wasn't going to murder her in her sleep but he was so quiet that she didn't know what his plan was for the future. Was he on their side again? Was it even possible to go from a traitor who tries to murder his teammates to someone who can be trusted? She had a million questions she wanted to ask but knew she wouldn't get an answer for most of them. Did he ever think of them while he was away? Did he feel any regrets while he was with Orochimaru? Did he ever care about her and Naruto or was he just naturally very selfish? Why didn't he come back after Itachi died? The more she thought about the questions the more she realised that the answers wouldn't make her happy. Of course he didn't care about them while he was away. He didn't regret the way he treated them, he only regretted that his actions nearly got him killed.