flipping the spectrum.
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Uchiha Sasuke & Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto
Prompt: the body: 06. hands & 457. a bitter pill
Word Count: 750
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Warning: I was aiming for SasuSakuNaru, but because of the plot, it has a definite SasuNaru slant.
Notes: Written for mission_insane & 500themes . Prompt tables are here & here.
-
It is a bitter pill to swallow, to stand on the flip side of the spectrum.
Any doubts and qualms they had of her abilities as genin have been washed away by the hands of time, and more importantly, her swinging fists of doom, as Naruto has ungraciously dubbed them. When they are not bringing about the apocalypse, her gentle hands guide broken things, people, tissue back together - so softly that one would be hard pressed to believe that the same fists are capable of shattering mountains. It is without fear then, that her two boys traverse the world, thundering out onto battlefields guided by their blind faith of her unfailing ability.
Whether it is taking her for granted or simply a truth to be acknowledged, Sakura will always be two paces behind, one heart ahead, ready to mend them together once more. No uncertainties cross their minds that should they both fail, and the emergency table is absolutely unavoidable, she will be there next to them, hands aglow. It has been that way for years, and the unbreakable bond that is Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura will at least, in the minds of the former, never be broken, their dynamic never shifted.
It is an absolute shock to them then, the day the emergency room door slams shut in their face. This time however, the door does not act like a buffer that keeps the world at bay while Sakura performs her magic. This time, the door is keeping them at bay, while someone, Tsunade, and perhaps Shizune, work their slightly less mystical ways. Unsettled, or even neurotic, is not enough to describe the looks playing across the two men’s features as they stare unblinkingly at the door.
It has never occurred to them that Sakura, reliable, lovable Sakura, capable of pulling anyone back from Satan’s door, is wholly incapable of bringing herself back.
After three hours, Naruto is the first to give. Knees buckling and body quivering, he slinks down to the floor, clutching, grasping at empty air. For once, Sasuke does not seem to notice. He is engrossed in the picturesque scene of yesterday and perhaps even tomorrow, when this ceases to exist, and bloody nurses are not being ferried from the very room they now encircle.
It has also never occurred to them that they, Naruto and Sasuke, her protectors and lovers and best friends all neatly wrapped in one, will not always be able to be there for her. It has been a secret pact of theirs, altogether written into their unspoken team dynamics that when the time calls, they will give more than life allows for Sakura. So it has never been a worry, since they have planned everything out so accordingly - they will be there to protect her, and she will be safe. Simple, black, and white.
Simplicity is the furthest thing from reality, Sasuke realizes bitterly. He had forgotten the lessons learned from his clan, preposterous and egotistical as their actions were. He had almost forgotten the pain of that loss, overshadowed as it is by the purity of the present. Standing now, shafted and secluded from the very thing he has promised to protect and love, he realizes the ego behind his thought process and actions. Naruto too, though not quite on the same track acknowledges the emptiness of their promise, broken and unfulfillable.
Solo mission. Surely, no more wicked combination of words has ever been made - solo mission. As ANBU, it is quite the norm, but Tsunade, Ibiki, everyone knows better than to break up Team Seven. Apart, they are formidable shinobi, gems in their own right. Together, they are unbreakable, inseparable and undefeatable. It is obvious then, why Team Seven is exempt from the solo mission rule. To the two left hanging, they cannot fathom why this time had to be any different.
Sasuke, with his undefeatable pride, does not allow himself the same comfort Naruto has. With another wry glance at the door, he offers his hand silently to the stricken man. Naruto looks up seconds later, and Sasuke has to look away for all the grief written across his boyishly handsome face. But he feels the pressure of another hand in his and still silent, he pulls the other man to his feet. With their hands loosely entwined, they continue their solemn vigil, but the fear eases slowly.
Like this, they can believe that Sakura is strong enough, and that no matter what, she will make it.
Characters: Uchiha Sasuke & Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto
Prompt: the body: 06. hands & 457. a bitter pill
Word Count: 750
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Warning: I was aiming for SasuSakuNaru, but because of the plot, it has a definite SasuNaru slant.
Notes: Written for mission_insane & 500themes . Prompt tables are here & here.
-
It is a bitter pill to swallow, to stand on the flip side of the spectrum.
Any doubts and qualms they had of her abilities as genin have been washed away by the hands of time, and more importantly, her swinging fists of doom, as Naruto has ungraciously dubbed them. When they are not bringing about the apocalypse, her gentle hands guide broken things, people, tissue back together - so softly that one would be hard pressed to believe that the same fists are capable of shattering mountains. It is without fear then, that her two boys traverse the world, thundering out onto battlefields guided by their blind faith of her unfailing ability.
Whether it is taking her for granted or simply a truth to be acknowledged, Sakura will always be two paces behind, one heart ahead, ready to mend them together once more. No uncertainties cross their minds that should they both fail, and the emergency table is absolutely unavoidable, she will be there next to them, hands aglow. It has been that way for years, and the unbreakable bond that is Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura will at least, in the minds of the former, never be broken, their dynamic never shifted.
It is an absolute shock to them then, the day the emergency room door slams shut in their face. This time however, the door does not act like a buffer that keeps the world at bay while Sakura performs her magic. This time, the door is keeping them at bay, while someone, Tsunade, and perhaps Shizune, work their slightly less mystical ways. Unsettled, or even neurotic, is not enough to describe the looks playing across the two men’s features as they stare unblinkingly at the door.
It has never occurred to them that Sakura, reliable, lovable Sakura, capable of pulling anyone back from Satan’s door, is wholly incapable of bringing herself back.
After three hours, Naruto is the first to give. Knees buckling and body quivering, he slinks down to the floor, clutching, grasping at empty air. For once, Sasuke does not seem to notice. He is engrossed in the picturesque scene of yesterday and perhaps even tomorrow, when this ceases to exist, and bloody nurses are not being ferried from the very room they now encircle.
It has also never occurred to them that they, Naruto and Sasuke, her protectors and lovers and best friends all neatly wrapped in one, will not always be able to be there for her. It has been a secret pact of theirs, altogether written into their unspoken team dynamics that when the time calls, they will give more than life allows for Sakura. So it has never been a worry, since they have planned everything out so accordingly - they will be there to protect her, and she will be safe. Simple, black, and white.
Simplicity is the furthest thing from reality, Sasuke realizes bitterly. He had forgotten the lessons learned from his clan, preposterous and egotistical as their actions were. He had almost forgotten the pain of that loss, overshadowed as it is by the purity of the present. Standing now, shafted and secluded from the very thing he has promised to protect and love, he realizes the ego behind his thought process and actions. Naruto too, though not quite on the same track acknowledges the emptiness of their promise, broken and unfulfillable.
Solo mission. Surely, no more wicked combination of words has ever been made - solo mission. As ANBU, it is quite the norm, but Tsunade, Ibiki, everyone knows better than to break up Team Seven. Apart, they are formidable shinobi, gems in their own right. Together, they are unbreakable, inseparable and undefeatable. It is obvious then, why Team Seven is exempt from the solo mission rule. To the two left hanging, they cannot fathom why this time had to be any different.
Sasuke, with his undefeatable pride, does not allow himself the same comfort Naruto has. With another wry glance at the door, he offers his hand silently to the stricken man. Naruto looks up seconds later, and Sasuke has to look away for all the grief written across his boyishly handsome face. But he feels the pressure of another hand in his and still silent, he pulls the other man to his feet. With their hands loosely entwined, they continue their solemn vigil, but the fear eases slowly.
Like this, they can believe that Sakura is strong enough, and that no matter what, she will make it.