Under the Same Sky: Sasuke and Sakura (Naruto) Part 1

[erendhyl]

Title: Under the Same Sky: Sasuke and Sakura (Naruto)
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Uchiha Sasuke/Haruno Sakura
Spoilers: Through chapter 476 of the manga
Words: Approx. 8,900
Beta'd by the amazing

Comments

[selenityshiroi]

Aww, this is just the sort of manifesto I wanted to get for Christmas!

Thank you!

(Naruto is a manga a follow but refuse to devote myself to until I'm sure that Sasuke is going to stop being an idiot at some point. I have yet to believe that Sakura won't need to smack him around the back of the head.)

It's wonderful to see all these scenes laid out to remind me of why I love this pairing and all their emotional complexity so much.

[erendhyl]

Thank _you_ for commenting, and I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

[erendhyl]

You're welcome, and I'm really glad that you enjoyed it!

I've seen so many arguments about how shallow or neglected or just a dream this pairing is, and I always find myself disagreeing so strongly. The thing I love most about Sasuke and Sakura's relationship is that it grows throughout the manga. I actually enjoy that Sakura was initially a fangirl over her idealized vision of Sasuke, because even after that, she was still more in love with the real, flawed Sasuke she came to know. That's really amazing to me: Sakura loves the person that Sasuke really is more than she loved her perfect version of him.

[riverfleur]

Wow... it's good to see a new manifesto for this pairing. Like captivating47 said, it's a pairing that I love but it's difficult to explain why it's plausible without revisiting each individual moment and then putting them all together.

I always felt that the only roadblock for this pairing is Sasuke himself, and his lust for revenge. But if there is hope for his redemption (and foreshadowing suggests there is) then there is hope for this pairing.

Recent chapters had me ecstatic! Confirmation from both Sai and Naruto that Sakura still loves Sasuke a lot, they repeated it so many times I thought it was overkill. xD But it shows us that Kishi is wanting to focus on this pairing. He could have had Sakura move on to Naruto by now, and just care for Sasuke as a friend. But that doesn't seem to be the direction he is headed in now. Kishi has something planned for SasuSaku, and we'll soon see what it is.

[erendhyl]

Thank you for commenting! I've also noticed the difficulty of explaining the pairing without summarizing all its development. There's just so much that changes as their relationship develops, and there's no clear point of "Sakura fell in love with Sasuke here" or "Sasuke stopped disliking Sakura here". You can point out moments that show those things, but the changes still took place over time, and if you don't remember them then it seems like Sakura's confession chapter 181 came out of the blue and was doomed to fail

[amaorayne]

thank you *_*

[philonecron]

Whew. I, honestly, really dislike SakuSasu as a pairing. I'm not sure why;, it just doesn't really have the dynamics I go for, I guess. But I decided to read your manifesto on a whim(who knows, maybe you'd change my mind) and I have to say I'm impressed.

You've listed a lot of very good reasons to ship these two, and I might just consider converting from my NaruSaku delusions. ...a little bit.

Thanks for taking the time to put this together!

~philo

[erendhyl]

Wow, thanks! It's really nice to hear that you enjoyed the essay even if you normally dislike the pairing. Maybe someday you'll grow to like SasuSaku as well as NaruSaku?