#ssm19d8

Slowly, then, Sasuke finally feels his heart settling. He can think straight now, trying to pinpoint his location so he can figure out a way to go back to that new apartment the Hokage gave him. He’s still not used to that place yet, and he knows it’s still going to take a long time before he does. He has never lived in an apartment before— especially not under such circumstances— though he’s not sure if he likes it. It’s a lot smaller than his house, having no more than 3 rooms, and yet, it feels a lot emptier due to the silence that spreads within its walls. It’s colder, cleaner and lonelier than the house where he grew up in, and it’s weird waking up every day just to see his things still resting where he had last left them. 

But he doesn’t even try to compare them, no. This new place will never be his home, and that’s something he has made amends with for the past couple of days. Sasuke doesn’t have a home anymore, he knows. All he has is the vivid memory of a blood-stained district.

The urge of crying starts to build up in his throat once more, but he shoves it off as the grown-up man he thinks he’s supposed to be. His eyes, then, catch the sight of what seems to be a small tent made of leaves, and once more, he looks around to see if he’s really the only one around that clearing. There are some flowers growing around it, and what he supposes to be the entrance hole is more than enough for a person of his size to cross. It seems to be a secret hideout, he thinks. It’s small, hidden, and judging by the small things decorating it, he supposes it already belongs to someone. A girl, probably.

His eyes are wide now as he continues to observe the place, and he can feel an atypical curiosity getting the best of him. He has always known better than to just invade someone else’s space without a proper invitation, but curiosity proves itself to be stronger than him. It’s running through his veins and moving his feet on their own, and before he knows it, he’s slowly entering the hideout, dunking his head a little so he doesn’t destroy the paper flowers hanging from the ceiling.

There’s a small hallway that leads to an open space, and his small lips part in awe as his eyes wander around. There are many flowers growing around in small pots and a lot of small, girly things are spread around the ground. He finds a stuffed-bunny sitting in a small chair next to a couple of ninja books from the academy, and slowly, he realizes that this hideout probably belongs to a girl around his age. She seems to be very organized, he notes, for everything has its own place, and even if the things she has in there are not really his style, he appreciates the effort she puts into it to make the place look cute.

It is cute, he guesses, with his 7-year-old mind. Most girls would probably enjoy having a place like that to play in the woods. He certainly would, if the decoration was a bit more masculine. He would love having a place just for himself. A place he built and decorated all by himself, with all of his things and away from everything and everyone.

Yes. He would love a place like that. It would be his own, little corner in the world, and nothing would ever be able to ruin it. It would be big enough just for him, so he could see everything all the time, and he would be able to do all of his favorite things alone. He could stay there for as long as he wanted, away from people who come by to check on him and give him food, but never really stay for dinner; and without all that pity in their eyes, saying stupid things such as "I’m sorry for what’s happened” or “I know how you’re feeling”.

They don’t know anything. They never do. 

Being completely on his own would really be perfect, he thinks, sitting down so he can take a better look around. He closes his dark eyes, then, enjoying the silence and the chirping of the birds, and suddenly, he feels his heart being filled with an overwhelming melancholy. He’s all alone in the world now, and knowing he’s actually searching for comfort in that loneliness makes him feel a little hopeless regarding his future.

Will he always be alone? Will he always miss his family? And will he eventually be okay with all of that?

Sasuke really hopes not, but for now, at least, he believes that accepting that will be for the best.

One day, he will have his own, private oasis, but until that day comes, he can’t be alone.

Not even today. Not when he’s around all of these flowers.

The sound of rushed steps and a soft humming suddenly startles his ears, and before he can even move, he watches as the flowers of the entrance sway as a familiar girl passes beneath them. Her hair is pink like the cherry blossoms, her ribbon is red like a tomato and her eyes— her emerald, green eyes— widen as soon as she enters the hideout and sees him sitting there. He watches as a silly smile drops from her parted lips, and he holds her gaze locked with his for a little too long while a weird silence settles upon them.

So, the hideout belongs to Haruno Sakura, he thinks. It belongs to the shy and smart girl who got transferred not too long ago, and who still doesn’t have many friends. He never sees her hanging around the other girls from their class, and if anything, he thinks that’s something positive about her.

They’re looking at each other, silent questions being exchanged by their eyes. He can see as she’s progressively changing her expression, as her cheeks start to get redder in embarrassment and she brings her small hands close to her heart. Her small lips are slowly parting in awe, as her mind puts the pieces together, and even if he knows he’s the one trespassing, he can’t help but find her surprised expression amusing.

What a weird girl, he thinks.

“Sa-Sasuke-kun?” She starts, then, after a couple of minutes of pure silence. Her voice is pitched and surprised, but oddly, he doesn’t find it annoying at all. “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you were here! I didn’t mean to bother you! I will leave and—”

“Tch.” He clears his throat, a pout forming on his lips. For someone so smart, she seems to let her awkwardness get the best of her. “Why are you apologizing? This place is yours, right?”

She nods, slowly, but she doesn’t really seem to be affected by his words. “But you were here before, right? I don’t want to bother you, whatever it is that you’re doing.”

“Hn.” He scoffs, his voice a bit softer now. Finally, he stands up, adjusting his black shirt and hiding his hands inside his pockets. "I’m not doing anything. I was just passing by and got curious, that’s all.”

“I see…” She pouts, her brows arching as he can almost see the wheels turning inside her head. “Ah! Now I remember! Iruka-sensei was looking for you! I should let him know you’re here! Wait here, Sasuke-kun! I’ll go get h—“

“No!” He stops her on her tracks, his voice coming out harsher than he originally planned, as his eyes unexpectedly start to glare at her. Without thinking, he grabs her small hand, pulling her back before she can take another step towards the exit— towards that building, those people, those eyes. His heart starts racing again, and Sasuke knows she can read right through his reaction.

In her eyes, he sees a mix of fear and concern, but if anything, there are no traces of that fake pity everyone seems to be offering him for the past month. Sakura is actually worried about him. Not because of what’s happened to his family or because Iruka-sensei was looking for him; but because of what he’s feeling right now. That sudden harshness, impulsiveness and irritation...that’s not like him at all. Even if she knows about his family— because she does, he’s sure of that— she’s offering him the trivial emotion he’s been missing so much for the past month. 

Someone is worried about him. Someone cares. And that— well…That means a lot.

His eyes soften when he looks at her, as he realizes how rude that scream must have sounded. There is still a hint of fear in her emerald eyes, and he can see that they’re a bit watery, too. He certainly scared her back there. Not enough to make her run away from him, but he knows he needs to apologize.

"I-I…I’m sorry.” He says, embarrassment taking over his face as his eyes are set on the ground.

“Eh?”

"I didn’t mean to scream or anything like that…It was rude of me.”

“Aah…I-It’s really okay, Sasuke-kun…” She smiles, weakly at first, but slowly growing more confident. She shakes her hands in front of her face as to ease the atmosphere, and a soft chuckle escapes her lips. “I also get scared quite easily. It’s fine.”

“Still, it doesn’t excuse what I did!” He says, his heart beating a bit faster inside his chest as he started to mentally plan his next words. He can feel himself growing anxious as he tries to find the right words to apologize to her, for he doesn't know if he is ready to talk about what's happened just yet. It’s still too soon for his heart to bare, but he doesn't think he has a choice. Sasuke wants her to understand his reasons, hence, he doesn’t see another option that won’t end up with him telling her about his family. Not when he wants her to understand. “I was just…I was just so...You see, lately I—“

But she already does.

Before the Uchiha can say another word, Sakura uses her free hand to cover his lips. His eyes widen at the sudden and bold touch, and it’s as if all the words disappear from his head. Her eyes are drawing him in, offering his heart the comfort he’s been lacking for the past weeks, and subtly telling him he doesn’t need to explain himself.

I know, her eyes say, silently, and he feels her other hand giving him a squeeze. There’s a soft blush tinging her cheeks now, and even if the shy girl doesn’t hold eye contact for too long, it’s enough for him to understand her. 

She understands him. A girl with no friends, no outstanding skills and with a normal family. She understands him, and more than that, she’s offering the silent support he didn’t know he needed. She’s the one person he didn’t know he needed by his side. Oh...What an odd and cruel way for fate to bring them together.

He finally nods in agreement, then, after she releases his mouth, Sasuke manages to offer her a soft smile. It’s enough to make her lips curl up beamingly, and before an awkward silence can envelope the place, the shy pinkette takes the lead. 

With a strong and warm grip, she starts pulling him towards the flowers he saw before. “Well, if you’re not going after Iruka-sensei, you might as well give me a hand with these flowers. They need to be watered and we need to remove the dry leaves. Can you help me, Sasuke-kun?”

“...Of course.” He affirms, softly, letting her guide him to the flowers and pull him to the ground so they can sit side by side. She lets go of his hand, and for a moment, he misses the warmth of it.

“Yay! It’s going to be so much faster like this!”

“I guess…” He starts, his hands already touching the petals in front of him. “Also…Do you—uhm— Do you know what Iruka-sensei wanted from me?”

“Eh?” Her eyes widen for a bit, and soon there is an inquisitive pout taking over her lips. “I'm not really sure…But it’s probably to talk to you about the classes you’ve missed. He wouldn’t want his best student to stay behind, ne?”

“Oh…I see. It makes sense, I guess.”

“Yeah…” She grows silent for a moment, and his eyes catch the way her hands start fiddling nervously. He arches an eyebrow at that, and when he’s about to question her, Sakura spits out. “I-If you want, I can help you with that.”

“What?”

“I-I can give you my notes and I can help you study. There’s nothing that complicated, but there are some tricky parts every now and then.”

His eyes widen at her kindness, and once more, he’s impressed with that girl who has never talked to him before. They aren’t friends or anything like that, and yet, she is doing everything she can to help him with the simplest things. Sakura is slowly bringing him back to reality, and he’s extremely grateful for that.

“I would like that.” He says, sincerely. “You're the smartest girl in our class, so I bet your notes will help a lot.”

“Smartest?!” She chuckles, blushing a bit. “No way! I’m a disaster as a ninja.”

“Hn. Maybe you lack some training, but your test-grades are higher than mines.”

“Maybe it’s just luck…”

“Yeah, sure it is.” He teases, knowing very well luck has nothing to do with it. She’s a smart girl, and one day, if she can develop some good skills, he knows she will become a kind kunoichi. He really hopes she does.

“Well, then, maybe we can meet here after classes, what do you think? I can always use hand with the flowers. I-If you want, of course.”

“Yeah...It's a deal, then.” He nods at her, his voice now calmer than before. His heart is beating at normal speed, his breathing is even and even if he’s sad— even if he will be sad for years to come— right now, at least, he has found himself some peace. And it’s all thanks to her. “…Arigato, Sakura.”

His eyes capture the way her expression softens at his words, and she takes a deep breath in acceptance. Suddenly, though, much like when she first walked in on him, her eyes widen, her lips part in awe and her cheeks are blushing hard. “Eh?! D-Do you know my name?”

“What?! Of course, I do! We’ve been studying together for almost a year!”

“Well…But maybe you didn’t know? I mean, you’re always so serious and always so focused...”

“Tch, of course I know, Sakura. I…I do know. You’re a very weird person.”

“Hey! I’m not the one who invaded a weird hideout!”

They look at each other for a moment longer before sharing a comfortable laughter. Right now, even with everything that has happened, they’re able to have some fun. Slowly, they’re becoming friends, and for the moment, he knows, that’s all they need.

Someone by their side. Someone who accepts their scars and who understands how it feels to live a life so differently from the rest of the kids. 

And oddly, they do.

fin.

A/N: I love ss annoying each other. I was really stumped by this prompt at first so I'm not in love with this but I hope I did okay lol

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The only way for Sakura to get Sasuke to take her somewhere new and actually exciting was to get under his skin. He was rather cautious when it came to her wellbeing, but she didn’t care nearly as much. The point of traveling together was to experience new things, even if it meant being vulnerable and uncomfortable. She knew she could be annoying, if you will, but it was fun.

“No, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. Probably doesn’t even exist. Sasuke-kun when did you become a liar?”

Sasuke whipped around to face Sakura, ready to start seething. They had been discussing where to go next—Sasuke wanted to play it safe, Sakura wanted to see something new and visit the Sand in one fell swoop—when Sasuke vehemently denied Sakura’s request. When pushed for an explanation, he muttered something about how he wouldn’t even like to visit an oasis if it meant going through the desert. To which Sakura played dumb, “What’s an oasis? Can we go see it?” Sasuke tried explaining, but he wasn’t great with words, so he ended with, “you really don’t know what an oasis is?” Sakura shook her head innocently and pleaded some more to go see it.

“No, and that’s final. I normally don’t care where we go, but it’s the middle of summer and it’s hot. If we run out of water, you’ll have a heatstroke. And it’s sandy, windy, and dry—all very unpleasant. And all of that is easily avoidable if we keep going this direction,” he dug his foot around in the lush grass where they were standing. Sasuke ran hot while Sakura ran cold, so he became more easily irritated when he was too warm, while Sakura enjoyed cozying up to Sasuke when she felt a chill. He tended to blush scarlet when Sakura got close, making him even more like a furnace. And the last Uchiha was surprisingly cuddly.

He wouldn’t budge, he didn’t feel like going to the Sand when he knew the Kazekage’s brother had a crush on his wife and, along with the actual Kazekage, thought he just wasn’t good enough. To make matters worse, Gaara was very fond of his best friend, and Sasuke felt constantly judged by the entire village whenever he went anywhere near the Sand. In most people’s eyes, he wasn’t even half the war hero that Naruto and Sakura were. He traveled for a reason: he mostly preferred solitude only broken by a certain pink haired woman. He asked again if she had seriously never heard of an oasis. But when Sakura accused him of making up an oasis entirely, his mind was set on proving her wrong.

They practically marched across the desert until they reached it. “There, an oasis, it exists. I told you so. Are you happy now?” Sasuke gestured to the inviting body of water up ahead while the wind kicked up sand and knotted their hair.

Sakura smiled at him, not minding the harsh sun one bit, “just dandy! So you were telling the truth. I’d say I’m impressed, but then again your imagination isn’t that great. And would you look at that, we’re not far from the Sand, we should just go there now.”

“You’re annoying. I should push you in the water, I’m sure you’d have a wonderful time. Oh wait, have you heard of water? Do you know what that is?” Sasuke rolled his eyes then turned on his heel in the direction of the hidden village, “fine, hurry up and let’s go.” If she was anyone else, he would’ve chucked a cactus in their direction.

He belonged to the founder clan of his species, however, jaded with the lidering ways of the forerunners, his kind soon suffered intern disputes that lead his clan to disintegrate and give way to only a few wandering survivors among the shadows the world allowed them to habituate.

He, survivor of his clan’s massacre, had the responsibility to gather his kind once more to keep the balance in this world.

But, even if this was about his respectable clan, not even with all the abilities he had developed over the years, could he confront the stubborn souls that abounded in his species. He was obligated to face them if the wanted to prevent more innocent lives from dying and his kind to lose all the respect and admiration his clan had tried to demonstrate with the ideologies that his relatives had impressed on him.

When he was able to find that one old library that contained the knowledge of the world was that he found a solution: Find the Oasis protected by the Senju, and there, a descendant will contain the power to unite worlds.

Which lead him to investigate more about this Senju clan that his ancestors’ tales spoke. Of course, in his experience he had come to meet one of them, but it was about a clan of humans with the ability to profess spells in order to protect and heal.

As opposed to his clan, which held the ability to destroy and burn.

He had expected to meet an old lady, it was only a mortal after all, time passing by was something inevitable for their race and all stories about the high priestess lead to imagine she was someone with plenty of knowledge —knowledge only a human with many years of experience could keep. But what he found once he arrived to that blissful place, was a young woman of colorful pink strands, graciously fluttering because of the wind only to then face him and discover that her extravagant hair color was not her only distinctive feature.

Big, expressive emerald orbs looking through him with indiscreet curiosity.

It was nothing like what he had in mind when he thought of a high priestess, but he could sense it. An odd aura emanating from that girl. Almost ethereal.

Maybe it was only his nature, that of being attracted to humans and, since she was one with unusual features, certainly linked with the collide of emotions she was provoking him.

It was only natural for him to question if he was standing in front of the great high priestess. In all the years he had existed on this earth, the vision of that human was unusual to his kind.

Or was she only captivating for him?

“I see you managed to find us on time” someone called behind him, interrupting in an instant the short exchange between that human and him.

Turning on his heels to face the source of that voice, he faced the high priestess, wearing that distinctive garment of said charge.

Although she was not an old woman, she was a grown person that had managed to improve her appearance thanks to that seal now decorating her forehead. Seal that could only be conveyed by that clan he had read and heard so much.

“Tsunade, right?” he ventured to make sure, even if he knew better.

“Senju-sama” she corrected with a distrustful and cautious stare. “Sakura, make some tea for our visitor”

Fitting, he thought as he heard the name to which the other woman in that room responded to before hearing her give some rushed steps to the back door of the store.

Once the silence make itself present in the room, Sasuke relaxed a little and removed the coat only to carry it on his forearm since the high priestess had continued to observe him cautiously without offering to even point where could he hang his garment.

“You won’t find what you seek here”

“How do you know what I’ve come to seek?”

“Is it not power what you seek?”

Sasuke chuckled with sarcarsm and approached the counter, deciding to place there his long cloth and turned to address the tense human still in the same position.

“I think you’re mistaking me for someone else”

“Are you not Uchiha Sasuke, first generation vampire?”

His black orbs squinted briefly but he conserved his passive demeanor.

“I’m not here to make trouble, if that is what you fear. As soon as I get your help, I will continue my journey much quicker”

This time Tsunade reacted by changing her posture and crossed her arms over her chest.

“What’s her story?” he asked when the girl at the back of the store made a noise that indicated movement at that zone where he could not see.

“You can’t have her”

“I’m not saying I want to have her; I’m asking what’s her story. Clearly she does not belong to this village”

“She lives here because she is part of the village”

“But she doesn’t plan to stay here forever, have you asked her? Her look screams freedom, because she is attracted to danger”.

And because her aura is different from the one emitted by the other humans in that village, but that, the high priestess already knew.

“I’ve said you can’t have her”.

“Seems a little bold of you to speak for someone who has its own voice”

“Just tell me at once what is it that you want”

Smiling victorious, Sasuke took a second before answering:

“A white witch”.

Of course, he had to come to the high priestess, creator of this Eden, expert in species and incantations, for answers. Only in a place like this could the possibilities of finding that soul, meant to help him accomplish his resolutions, could be found.

Unfortunately to the high priestess, his sharp senses managed to distinguish the moment she held her breath, confirming his suspicions.