#sakura; interactions.

[fightaers]

❛⠀... an appointment ? ❜ she questions, her voice comes out more wary than she intends it to be.

behind the closed door of her office, sakura can hear the bustling of the hospital at work. they aren't too terribly busy these days, with shinobis having sent out mainly as diplomatic messengers or relief effort than a deployment for active combat since the last of the war fizzles out, and sasuke's trial, though long and tedious, takes precedent. sakura had taken the moment of what she considers to be downtime to catch up on any paperwork and research material she'd missed when the knock on the door came, and sasuke slipped inside.

sasuke-kun, she thinks around the large lump in her throat, still quite in disbelief that he's here. in person. alive, and roaming the konoha streets like he hadn't abandoned it for years. like he wasn't wanted, only a month ago, and were securely on his path to be everyone's mortal enemy. sakura feels trepidation crawls up her spine, her wariness growing sharp in his presence, but that's ridiculous, she chides herself. after all, this is ... this is sasuke-kun, and naruto's brought him back, and everything was going to be okay again. soon. one day. she's sure of it.

❛⠀right. to check your arm, right ? ❜ she finally snaps herself from the trance, swallowing cautiously before she stands, memories of her threatening sasuke and naruto a few weeks ago to come to her for the two-week check-up on the new arm returning to her like flood after a dam's been broken. growing a new limb, while miraculously, is still not often in the medical world. of course it's vital that she checks its strength and function, and whether it works perfectly at all. sakura gestures to the cot clinically. ❛⠀i'm surprised you didn't bring naruto along. remind him to visit me when you see the idiot, won't you ? ❜

normal, like they've been a normal genin team their whole lives. like he hadn't once tried to kill her, as she had tried to kill him.

@hatredcurse ♡ starter call !

[axoqiii]

pony thieves 💥💥

au notes ⬇️

[haliaiii]

yusuke’s lame ass scarf

conversely:

[thecmaly]

sakura-nyan's first halloween! would you spare him some candy? 🍬

-

more windbreaker comics

[otaku553]

New blorbo :)

Also a silly interaction with this piece

[transient-winds]

I need them to share frugal lifestyle advice with each other.

"Oh Sakura! If you're looking for new pants, I know a place that sells these nice second-hand pair for under 550¥ if you're interested."

"Less than 550¥?! Really?"

[rikustarlight]

The precious Konoha girlies ✨🥰

[little-pup-pip]

Cherry Blossoms!!

[fightaers]

i just wish it wasn't always you healing me, says naruto, and sakura could feel the edges of her mouth curl itself into a small smile, fond of the admission, but ultimately has convinced itself it's nothing but a feverish speech. again, the question begs : if sakura isn't the healer, the brute strength, what else could she be ? how else could she have been valuable and be of some value to team seven ?

how could naruto and sasuke truly look at her when she has nothing to offer ?

the answer is easy: they wouldn't. and sakura has been there before. had tried her best to help or assist or exist in ways that they have by being confronting and upfront and strong, but it never works. she always lags behind. she'll always hesitate or lose her nerve. she'll always cry, and have someone else do the saving for her. the weak little girl trying to play at the big league. she's pathetic.

her good is only ever worth when the fighting is done, but even that's bullshit. if it'd been up to her, she herself would've stopped the damage before it ever inflicted.

but that's too hopeful, and sakura knows better.

❛ says the guy who's running around everything trying to catch-up so he could be hokage, ❜ sakura teases kindly, although she relents and — for once – allows herself to rid of her own inferiority and simply accepts his statement. naruto wants to spend time with her, she lets it awash her body, and reaches over to clasp his hand as she leans until her head falls on his shoulder. his fever and her own issues be damned; god, please just let her have this one quiet thing, even if it's short and temporary.

❛ i'm not healing you right now. so — ❜ she turns her chin towards him without lifting her head, catches his eyes, ❛ is this okay ? ❜

𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐔𝐑𝐀 𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐓, 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅. he might be a bumbling idiot sometimes . . . but they'd been teammates most of their lives. been through hell and back. her smile doesn't reach her eyes and naruto can see it, despite whatever sakura might think. had he said something wrong ? it certainly wouldn't be the first time . . . or the last. but she easily brushes off whatever it was, commenting about his fanclub. naruto can't help but cringe, sinking further into the couch as if that'd hide him.

but, suddenly the idea of anyone else taking care of him just . . . makes him uncomfortable. there is no one else he'd want beside him when he didn't feel good. maybe it's his fever talking or . . . naruto can feel his face darken, whiskered cheeks burning. but he hopes sakura can't see it. can't see the embarrassment now on his face. sure, there are plenty of girls ( and guys ) who would be more than willing to care for naruto, he supposes. but they aren't sakura.

❛ i don't want anyone else . . . to be taking care of me. ❜ he admits, clearly sheepish as he turns his head away from sakura's gaze. while they sometimes argued or fought it doesn't change how naruto feels. even just sitting here next to sakura already makes him feel better ( although he wishes he wasn't always needing taken care of ). ❛ i shouldn't be so selfish. but . . . i just like spending time together. i just wish it wasn't always you healing me, ya know ? ❜ naruto blames his fever ridden brain for the sudden admission but it's too late now.

[pikhachu]

shes so done with everything

[phantomrens]

yusuke and futaba are like autistic to autistic communication except they both have completely different types of autism so the communication is not there whatsoever

[fightaers]

the silence stretches, kills.

never had sakura encountered a silent naruto before, or maybe she had. the most prominent memory she could think of had been that first time they went out with yamato-sensei. sai was there too, she remembers this: their first mission as this haphazard, weirdly-stitched group that sakura had once assumed were simply a poor imitation of what team seven could've been, when it... when it wasn't. because yamato-sensei was never kakashi-sensei's replacement, and neither was sai sasuke's, but it had felt like it back then for a while. for a second.

like a proper genin team who had grown up together well into being chūnins, and nothing so devastating had ever happened to them that they would ever think to go on their separate ways. sasuke had never been taken. naruto never left. and kakashi-sensei would've stayed, stuck around, watched them grow.

naive, she supposes. sakura has always been so damned naive; the girl left behind constantly playing catch-up. she remembered being curious about yamato-sensei's abilities, then. should she have suspected him more ? should she have connected the dots further ? how was she supposed to expect tsunade-sama and kakashi-sensei specifically choosing yamato-sensei and the powers he had unfortunately inherit as a way to reel naruto in when the fourth tail emerged ? and that is where the memory leads her to: a silent, quiet naruto. still under the administration of her healing hands.

it's always like this, she had told yamato-sensei then, an exhausted smile shaping her guilt-ridden face as her hands stay, and it heals and it heals and it heals, the only things i can ever do for naruto are these little things.

when the silence finally breaks, naruto's answer filling the space between them, sakura isn't sure if it's relief or heartbreak that settles in the hollow of her chest. she has a suspicion it might be an odd combination of both. like something in her finally letting out: finally. after having walked on what felt like a tightrope for so long, sakura fell — and the impact of this metaphorical fall would surely hurt, but the tension of having to balance herself for so long will be lifted. there is no need to pretend here anymore. not as much, anyway, and that —

that has her cracking a small smile. perhaps if she were more vindictive, sakura would've mockingly laughed. she doesn't. instead, her head bowed, she feels the tears gather around the edges of her lashes, pathetic, and the medic-nin is quick to wipe them away. and sakura thinks: so, she doesn't measure up against sasuke. what now ? ❛⠀you would. ❜ is all she hears herself say instead, stubborn and guileless, green eyes pointedly train on a pattern of the wooden floor a few metres away.

you'd stand a chance against sasuke, if we were younger, and naive, and your twelve-year-old self would still want me, but that's not the case, isn't it ?

their youthful years are long gone. naruto and sasuke's made their choices; had chosen their person. sakura just isn't in the equation. and so — she wipes at her eyes again, determined now, before she marches right up to him and grabs him by the shoulder. and sakura smiles. she smiles and it's heartbreaking and it's sincere and it hurts, but she smiles, and she declares, ❛⠀don't worry about me, naruto. one day... one day there's gonna be someone who'd choose me first. who'd pick me first. who won't ever forget about me. ❜

who won't ever leave me. ❛⠀i'll be fine, okay ? so— so don't worry about me. i just—i wish we'd been honest from the start, you know ? come on. you don't think i'll be mad at you for being truthful, huh ? you idiot. ❜ and sakura hugs the blonde, using her strength to her advantage as she pulls him in, buries her crumpled face into the safety of his shoulder. and she means it, why would she turn away from any truth, ugly or otherwise ? so he doesn't love her like he loves sasuke. she still loves him. that's always been enough.

❛⠀i'm not going anywhere. i'm still team seven, aren't i ? ❜

@fighterbound / cont'd.

[fightaers]

c'mon sakura-chan, of course i care about ya', naruto answers, and sakura wishes she could scoff, if she doesn't care so damn much about not being cruel. and it would've been cruel, wouldn't it ? to scoff when someone had clearly admitted their care. though beyond the irritation to dismiss it, she feels... irritatingly empty instead. like the reply the blonde had given her was something scripted, something that-must-be-said, something routined and expected.

it doesn't answer her question at all, and it's even driven the suspicion she had of their dynamic even further : that sakura was only a precious relic from the past. he'd taken her with him because they were so tightly wounded together since their genin-days, but does she even exist beyond the twelve year old girl that he knew ? and just as she thought of that, he supplies —

we've been together since our genin days. how can I not care about you? just as she thought.

and damn it. damn her. why had it mattered anyhow ? this is enough, isn't it ? not like sasuke had stuck around long enough to really got to know who his teammates had become. and naruto ... he's spent so long in isolation growing up, of course he'd endlessly chose to see only the bright side of things. the optimistic side. the hopeful one. even now, he reaches over with his cheeriness and optimism. i'm happy he's okay, he tells her, and it's what sakura should feel too, and she does. she's glad he's fine. she just wishes—

she doesn't say. doesn't think about it.

( since when have you stopped loving me ? )

sakura smiles instead, and nods. ❛⠀you're right. i just had a long day today and i guess the alcohol's gotten to me— ❜ it hasn't, not really. it'd loosen her tongue, sure, but it hasn't taken most of his ability to decipher her surroundings just yet. sakura puts the money on the table as payment, and tugs the blonde outside after saying their thanks to the waiting staff. she links their arms together, head against naruto's bicep as they begin their walk to her apartment. ❛⠀so... i heard you went on a date recently. is that true ? ❜

Immediately he sees he chose the wrong set of words. Clear as day on her face, because without anything else to pay attention to he sees the details he's always missed. Or maybe glossed over? Before this there's always been a battle, mission, or goal they needed to get to. He's never really stood still enough to watch the way his words pierce people. Not like this, where they hurt and twist at hidden pains. There's no taking them back either, they've been freed and are enjoying the newfound freedom by hanging between them.

Watching her hands curl into fists, he thinks of the power they hold. The strength she can wield in them, yet the way her words hit him feel more powerful than the physical blows of her fists.

Why is she messin' with the glue keeping them together? What if they pick too much and they can't put the pieces back together? Does she want them to come apart? Guess it doesn't really matter one way or another, because he won't let that happen. Which only leaves one option for him. He needs to fix this. Find a response that will push them together and not apart.

"...c'mon Sakura-chan of course I care about ya," he begins smiling in earnest ( at least trying to), deciding to start with the clear answer, "we've been together since our genin days. How can I not care about you?" He's ignoring her jab, because it muddies the response he can give. "I mean what I say." Okay, addressing it just a bit, that way he can't be accused of completely ignoring it. It's a weak defense, but there nonetheless.

"As for the teme, why do ya want the moody bastard hanging around all the time?" He laughs for good measure, again trying to lessen the thick tension between them, "I'm just happy that he's..." he pauses as he finds no words on his tongue to speak. He slams down the sudden flare of anxiety that wants to overwhelm him. Go with something positive, he tries to think. Going through a million thoughts in what feels like a second. Until he decides on one, hoping it will work for the moment. A band-aid.

"I'm happy he's okay. That's what really matters, right? At the end of the day, he's fine. As his friends, that's what important for us." His eyes are too bright, too intense as he tries to believe his own words. Hoping they turn a switch in his brain that will magically have him feel assured by that.

[teru-kuromi]

antis in their piss stained bed hugging their unwashed pillows after calling you twenty different slurs and writing an entire paragraph of how they want you to be repeatedly raped and beaten to death

(but its okay because they somehow justified it in their head)

[thecmaly]

I just love the Sakura-nyan comics! ^^ Kitty!

WAA TYSM!!! sakura-nyan is my absolute fave so that makes me happy to hear! :') Have a lil guy as thanks!

[theylovevenus]

Tbh my Naruto 2000s au is just FRIENDS but slightly to the left