[BOOK 1 OF THE SHARING SERIES]
Two different worlds meet. Two existences collide. On the one hand, an orphan learns what love, friendship, and devotion mean. On the other, a young girl realizes the implication of being a civilian kunoichi in a worl...
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𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝓮.
That's what comes to mind when Sakura's eyes land on Sasuke. Not genius, not handsome, not moody.
Gentle.
They've been sitting next to each other for a while now, thirty minutes, maybe an hour. Their knees brushed more than once, but Sasuke never recoiled from the touch.
There are many things Sakura cannot forget. The pain, for one, lingers even though Mole has done a very great job of nursing her wounds. And sometimes, when she closes her eyes, the unwanted touch of Zaku's hands against her bare stomach resurfaces, like she's still trapped under his weight. Every time Sakura's mind wanders to those events, a shiver runs down her spine; the warm feeling of his breath against the skin of her neck feels so real that the beating of her heart increases and the pathway to her lungs constricts.
But when it happens, Sasuke calms her down by squeezing her knee. And then, the memory of his fingers running down her short pink locks soothes her.
They've been quiet for a while, relinquishing in the comfortable silence. Sasuke keeps his gaze glued to the fire, probably trying to sort everything out by himself, Sakura's and Hana's predicament and his own.
Sakura runs her fingers through her hair, her eyes fixated on his handsome profile, and her heart melts.
So gentle.
The length of her hair should bother her, but it doesn't—just like the increasing amount of scars altering the smoothness of her skin. But she doesn't love Sasuke because of his good looks. It never was about that, so if he's going to love her one day, she wants it to be because of her, as a whole.
"Sasuke-kun?"
The boy meets her shifting eyes.
"About what you said earlier... With the state Zaku left me in, I have difficulty believing in my strength, but knowing that you believe in me makes it easier. So thank you."
Sasuke nods and turns his gaze back to the fire, but Sakura isn't finished. After biting her lower lip and staring at his profile for some time, she braces herself for the embarrassment.
