Ripples

Chapter 4

                          Unmasked

Sasuke was rarely in a situation where he didn't know what to do. Even if he had no precise plan, he usually had an idea of what he should do.

Except now.

He watched Sakura slumber quietly, wondering if he should rouse her and...then what? What would he do? What would he say?

For once in his life, Sasuke didn't have the faintest clue.

Sakura stirred, muttering a little in her sleep, and Sasuke backed away automatically, sitting down on his bed and watching the transformation cloak her once more as he broke the jutsu.

Sakura...was Haru. Haru, the gutsy slave who spent most of the day mouthing off to him...had been Sakura, all along.

His mind seemed to have trouble grasping it. It was Sakura who'd sniped at him and used sarcasm like a weapon. It was Sakura who had taken a whip across her arm without a flinch. It was Sakura who'd staggered back to his room after a beating that would have crippled many hardened warriors.

And more importantly, it was Sakura who had not given him the slightest hint at her identity. She hadn't revealed herself to him when they were alone, trusting him to help her. She hadn't tried to convince him to come back – in fact, if any of her escape attempts had been successful, she would have left Sound far behind her without him ever having the slightest suspicion of who she really was.

He refused to acknowledge the kernel of disappointment that sprouted within him at the thought.

And now that he knew who she was...what was he going to do? He knew that he should report her to Orochimaru – the amount of information she could take back to Konoha was staggering – but he felt no need to. He knew Orochimaru was corrupt; why should he make an effort to prevent the sannin's inevitable downfall?

He knew he should tell Sakura, but he found himself not wanting to do that, either. If she knew that he knew...it would only complicate things. The way they were now was simple; she wanted to escape, so he'd let her escape. Then she'd go back to Konoha and he could go back to his training, and he could forget this had ever happened as he'd tried to forget his memories of Konoha. Simple, easy, required almost no effort on his part – yes, Sasuke liked that plan.

So that was what he'd do.

Sasuke turned away and walked to his bathroom, preparing for sleep, and trying not to concentrate on the fact that, when he had seen pink hair on the pillow, his first instinct had been to sweep her into his arms and run, run out of Sound to deposit her at Konoha's doorstep.

-xxx-

"What's up with you?" Sakura asked, shaking her head at Sasuke. "That's the third time I've caught you staring at me and we haven't even gone for breakfast yet."

"Hn." Sasuke turned away, cursing himself. Now that he knew it was Sakura in the room with him, it seemed ridiculous he'd ever missed it. It seemed that every time he turned around he was recognising another of Sakura's mannerisms: the way she scowled, the way she crossed her arms, the way she glared...

Unfortunately, it meant he spent a lot of time staring at Sakura, picking out those little tells. He didn't even know why he was doing it, why it was giving him a sense of warmth every time he saw Sakura's true identity peek through her Haru facade.