Daylight

Glow

The night had stretched out and eventually simmered away, in its wake lay the the flicker of light stretching out its hands over the the vast lands, blessing its inhabitants with another chance at life. Somewhere within a bountiful forest lay a man, recollecting his senses as a glow of green hovered over his eyes and chest as it also sent chakra throughout the rest of his body. As minutes ticked by, so did the bruises all over, healing with time until there was no trace left. 

Sasuke twitched his fingers, allowing his muscles to gain control of his movements before he pocketed the letter that he held. His arm came over his head, and tugged at a wrist that shielded his eyes from the world. But they wouldn't budge. 

"Is that you, Sakura?" He managed weakly. Although his body felt replenished, his throat still felt dry, and he figured that anything that would come out of his mouth would sound like a rasp. 

No response. He attempted to tug away at the wrist, feeling the cold touch of metal against his finger, but the hand he pulled was unrelenting. He heard a click of a tongue before, "Hold still, Sasuke-kun." 

He sighed. He brought his head up, forcing the hand over his eyes to pull away, and looked at the face of his saviour. She had an irritated expression on her face; her pink brows were furrowed together and the corner of her pink lips were angled downwards. But her eyes... the emerald green of her eyes stared at him with sympathy. How he had missed those eyes... His taste of spring. Seeing her now in front of him, after all this time, he feared it was a mirage of his own desires come to life to haunt him. Wherever he went, it mattered not that the plants swayed in motion to the beating of his own heart, or that the ripples of the rivers carried along fallen leaves like tears that had lost their way. To him, without her, a bountiful land was still barren. But she was here now, and the tears in his heart had stitched themselves back together. 

Her pink hair blew in front of her, and stole a touch from his face, bringing him back to his senses. Questions spurred around his mind, whizzing around, leaving him in a daze. But all he could muster was a raspy, "Sarada?" 

Her hands found him again, scanning his body with a green haze of chakra searching for anymore injuries. He cleared his throat, but before he could repeat himself, she answered him. 

"Sarada's fine, Sasuke. She's with my parents," she told him, her voice softening as she spoke his name. "It's so unlike you to be beaten this badly, Sasuke," she started to scold him. "Seriously, you're worse than Naruto. You should know better to plan ahead before going barging into a fight, which is what I imagine happened considering your injuries. Even Naruto's missions don't end this badly nowadays, since he's been studying for his Hokage position. Agh, you both drive me so mad sometimes-"

"Sakura," he interrupted. "Why are you here? Why are you not with Sarada? Has something happened to the Leaf?" He needed answers. And now. His anxieties had found something to latch onto and it was sucking him dry. 

She finished up her checks, her green chakra fading away. She looked at him. "I'm actually on a mission. I was in the area, looking for an eye specialist, when I heard you scream my name." He had no recollection of that last part, but she had started to answer his questions, and the pounding of his heart had dwindled down until it mimicked the beating of a steady drum.

She stood up, towering above him. She dusted off her white cloak, and held out a hand to Sasuke. He allowed her to pull him up, and he arched an eyebrow, whilst asking, "An eye specialist?"

She turned away from him and started walking away into an ocean of weeds. He gingerly followed her. "You know the one. Red hair, wears glasses?" 

"But why?"