SasuSaku -My Black Winged Guardian Angel- ch.50

~Naruto~

I thought I’d known what this moment would be like. I thought I’d imagined it in my crazy childish dreams of heroic actions and in the most recent thoughts where I’d painted the war in my head, trying to be as realistic as possible. But this was nowhere near the worst scene I’d created. Because here people didn’t have to worry about only getting hurt physically, feeling were also vulnerable, and while cuts and bruises and punches hurt, grief and hate killed the soul slowly.
More than once I’d seen fellow comrades fighting between each other because one had hurt a loved one of the other. People cried, their sobs of grief so loud and desperate that –at some point- they became soundless. Other’s tears fell while they fought someone, blurring their vision and reason. Others even preferred being killed than killing the people they loved thought they weren’t even alive. It was horrible and cruel. This fight was turning into and all-for-all thing.
I dodged a fist that had been thrown at my face and jumped back, my eyes scanning and searching the area around me – taking advantage of those precious moments in the air-for a sight of pink or feeling in case I felt her chakra near.
Why hadn’t I believed her? She was telling the truth, this whole time she had been on all this by her own and this one time when she’d needed our help we turned our backs on her, we’d completely ignored her, as if she wasn’t our comrade, as if she wasn’t our friend.
Sakura… I closed my eyes tightly as my mind showed me that scene again. One moment I was walking, feeling a cutting gaze of betrayal on my back, I could feel it burning hot between my shoulder blades, my neck prickling while my common sense yelled at me to believe her, when somewhere in the back of my mind a feeling of making a mistake flashed like a bright red button of warning, to turn and at least hear her out again, feeling Orochimaru’s chakra, my name reaching me in a wind breath and turning to find him hurting her. We’d all ran to her, and then, in the blink of an eye, it all turned into chaos. A huge explosion reached the Village, going right next to where we were standing. Buildings fell, screams of the villagers echoed around, children sobbed, and cries of help, all of this in one second. I had looked around disoriented, trying to find Sakura again when another round of explosions cut through Konoha, like claw marks in the earth. I’d had to jump back several times to avoid being crushed, regretfully placing more distance between her and me. More pieces of constructions fell, threatening the life of anyone below, and the noise, just so much noise piercing the air. This was all happening too fast!
When the collapsing had finally ceased I searched for her again. I was about to run when a lot of arms caught me, holding me in place.
 “What the-“ I cursed as they started dragging me away. I looked to my sides and saw Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato along with a squad of Anbus surrounding me. “No! Wait! I have to get to-“
 “You’ll only get to the temple Naruto, you’ll stay there until official orders are given.” Captain Yamato said, his grasp tightening as I tried to break free.
“I have to save Sakura!” I yelled at them, trying once again to escape. I was about to let the 9-tails power flow through me, anything to get to her, but they must have read my intentions for pain was inflicted in the nape of my neck and it all went black.
Snap out of it hero boy and move our butt to the left it you don’t want us to get hurt. The fox’s voice growled in my mind at present time. I fixated my eyes in front of me and sure enough, my current opponent was about to hit me fair and square in the face, so I moved to the left.
After I’d woken up, all tied up if I might add, the verdict of what I would do had been already voted, I’d be allowed to fight after all. Which made my anger boil, because this time they’d made me lost to make a stupid decision that wasn’t even necessary since I had already been out there was time that Sakura probably needed me, and not only her, but villagers and comrades as well. As soon as I got out I looked for her, going to the last place where I’d seen her but found it empty. And so far, I haven’t been able to find her.
 Income at 3 o’clock. The same voice from before warned. I shook my head, hoping that would help me clear it and settled in not getting killed.
 You still thinking about the pink head girl?
My eyes narrowed a little in pain at the question as I delivered a Rasengan into my enemy’s stomach.
 Her name is Sakura and…yeah… I’m such a jerk I should have believed her. I thought back.
 Yeah, you should have.
Anger mixed with disbelief filled me. You’ve gotta be kidding me! That’s all you’ll say?!
 It’s the truth isn’t it? Don’t expect me to comfort you on this, you really messed it up here.
True, but right now I didn’t want to hear it, I had enough with my own mind.
 Now leave that crap for later and concentrate on what you are doing. He growled at me and I nodded, with new resolution. The faster this was over, the faster I could make things better. But how? These zombie-like guys kept on regenerating every single time you hurt them, as thought your hits were nothing but a scratch. Was there even an end to this?!
Sometime later, another announcement was made by the synchronized Kages’ voices:
 “Attention to all ninjas, it has been found that sealing the dead’s soul kills them completely. Keep up and wait for ninjas with this knowledge to assist you. Don’t fall prey to the jutsu’s cruelness, nothing else can be done but finish this as soon as possible and let them rest in peace again.”
Easier said than done. I shook my head and willed myself to analyze this new information. I couldn’t do anything but keep on distracting the dead guys while keeping them at arm’s length while someone came to do the sealing. Again, easier thought than done. This dudes were like machines that never got out of gas, while we weren’t.
 Stop complaining and focus on not getting hit or I swear I’ll take control of you and this situation.  I heard “the” voice threaten inside my head. I better get a hold of myself; I didn’t want this guy doing reckless things with my body.
As I scanned the area one last time, already out of habit, or to make sure it was all the same, I couldn’t be sure, my breathing was cut short, my chest beating faster un shock.
Hinata had been fighting close by, all this time I’ve been keeping an eye on her in case she needed help, but she’d never needed it, and I was so proud of her, she’d become so strong, a little bit more outgoing, thought that shyness that had been driving me crazy with its cuteness this past months was still there, and I was sure it would never change. But right now, Hinata wasn’t the one making my heart beat, and I felt guilty for it. What kind of boyfriend would find something more important beside his girlfriend when she was in front of him? A boyfriend like me clearly, because the reason of my shock was the flash of pink that moved behind her, always shadowed by a black one.
I stopped short, my Rasengan still twirling deadly in my hand. The guy I was fighting with had been running forward this whole time and he was now a few steps away. I made and annoyed sound, something between a sigh and a groan and threw my Rasengan, he’d been counting so much on me being distracted that I was able to hit him nicely, making him fly a considerate distance backwards. He was going to take some time to recover from that so this was my only chance. I looked to the place where I’d seen her –or thought I had, I still wasn’t sure- praying that what I’d seen was true and was still there, and saw her fighting.
My eyes scanned her closely; I had been so worried that something wrong had happened to her, I’d even thought… that she was dead. But here she was, fighting, giving it her all like always. Though she was clearly injured. The bruises on her neck where very noticeable, and the blood –already dried but still there- in her legs and in cuts in her arms said a lot of what had happened before, she had been really roughened up.
I had been so concentrated on her, and on the relief I’d felt at her sight, that I’d almost missed or rather forgot about the dark shadow next to her. Sasuke of course. He looked pretty bad too, but aside from that, he also looked pretty much the same: raven dark hair, pale skin, same arrogant posture, even lazy at some point, crimson eyes…but there was something in his face that looked… different. And it wasn’t until I watched the full picture that I discovered what it was.
I’d been watching each of them individually, but the whole thing changed when I saw them together, both at the same time, watching the same picture but with a larger frame.
The way they moved! It was completely different; it now looked as though they were part of the same thing. Like my Rasengan, when I was practicing it, I tried dividing it in 2, and it worked, but each part rotated in a different way, a different direction, though they were part of the same thing.
Related to this was the change in Sasuke’s way of fighting. When before he’d retreated only when he needed or as he saw it convenient, he now retreater more constantly, and he’d always find a way to touch her, her back, her arm, her hand, even if it was just for a second, he looked as though he needed to have that physical contact, you’d even believe he was giving her some kind of power by it, or that she was giving him information, but the way he looked at Sakura made you think the opposite, that she was giving power to him and that the only information he’d get was if she was alright or if she wasn’t. They were like magnets, being compelled to go near the other by and invisible force.
And there was the reason his eyes looked different too, changing his face completely. They were impossibly more focused and attentive, but not only on his necessities. And they seemed…alive again, as if he were finally part of the world, not just of the shadows of his grief, hatred and revenge. The picture of him wasn’t in black and white anymore, there was color, life, he didn’t look like a corpse, feeling-less and lifeless and careless, he looked the way he probably should have looked before his family had been murdered or how he would look if that tragedy had never happened. He seemed complete now, more open, and aware of his surroundings but in a human way, not like a ninja. He flinched when he saw a nearby person get hurt, even more when Sakura was hit, like he was the one feeling the pain instead of her, when before he wouldn’t even care if there was someone next to him, even less if something happened to him or her. The only closest thing I’d seen of that life on Sasuke was back when we used to be Team 7, and even then he’d been missing the light from now because it had come from the wish to avenge his family, now it was natural. His dark eyes assessed the guy in front of him only half-way with an annoyance in them, as though he was taking time or concentration from something else, something he wanted to attend first, flickering to Sakura’s battle –where he wanted to be- the other half of the time, a hint of worry on them and another thing… tenderness?...gentleness?...No, but something close…
  The feeling of happiness and resignation that filled me was baffling. I shook my head and scoffed a humorless chuckle as I looked down, hiding the stupid smile in my face with my hair.
 What now? You finally find her, aren’t you gonna apologize or –Wait, wh- Why are you smiling like that you idiot? You don’t feel happy to me.
 I’m not. I responded. Well...damn.
 So, what’s going on?
It took me some time to answer, but when I did, the definitiveness of it felt like a huge weigh getting of me instead of another one being added.
 She finally got what she wanted and deserved, and without my help. She got Sasuke back with her –something I promised I would do. And fixed him the way she’s always tried, and earned his affection. She’s finally where she wanted to be and with whom she wanted to be.