An Uchiha At Heart || SasuSaku

17. Bonds

Sasuke sat on the bed at the inn he had teleported them back to, while Sakura locked herself in the bathroom trying to heal the rest of her wounds. Some pieces of cloth had melted into her skin, and it was taking a little bit more effort to remove them, not to mention the process was extremely painful.

With every whimpering sound that escaped the pink healer, Sasuke's expression hardened and he grit his teeth. But before he got the chance to fully beat himself over the fact that his partner was in unendurable pain because of him, his own physical pain caught up to him.

He was starting to feel light-headed because off all the blood loss, and the hole in his chest suddenly ached, making Sasuke let out a short scream, then, it was all black.

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The Uchiha man woke up to the sound of—clanking? What was that, a knife?

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Sakura standing in the mini-kitchen with her back to him, preparing food. He was lying in the bed, now shirtless, with a huge bandage wrapped around his torso. Sasuke made an attempt to sit up but his body thought it was a terrible idea. Sakura sensed the movement behind her and turned around.

"No no no Sasuke-kun, you shouldn't be moving," the medic-nin begged.

"Just help me sit up." The kinoichi took his hand and did exactly that, then pulled the light blanket and tucked it up to Sasuke's waist. She then took a seat beside him on the bed and said, "Please try to get some rest; you were hurt pretty badly."

Sasuke looked up at the woman in front of him. Her hair was short again after having to cut off chunks of burnt locks. Her maroon, long sleeve shirt made her cheeks seem flushed, and her bright, green eyes were glimmering with emotions. There was so much passion and sympathy in those eyes, and it was just occurring to the Uchiha now that those expressive eyes had always been her trademark, which is how he knew deep within himself, every time they had crossed paths in the past after his leaving Konoha, that Sakura truly cared for him. It was always crystal clear in her emerald eyes; the eyes that haunted him when he fought to rid himself of all bonds, along with his best friend's.

Still not saying anything, Sasuke quickly scanned Sakura to see if she was still hurt. His eyes caught sight of a small burn on Sakura's hand, and once again, his expression changed to one of anger and exasperation.

Unaware of the battle going on in her partner's mind, Sakura thought Sasuke was in pain. Well, physical pain.

"Is anything hurting?! What's wrong?"

To her surprise, Sasuke grabbed her right hand with his own and gazed at it. He cautiously ran his thumb over the burn, while trying to find the right words to say.

"I had promised myself....after Itachi...that I would never let a precious comrade get hurt again...yet I—"

"Sasuke-kun," the pink woman interrupted. She placed her left hand over Sasuke's as a gesture of reassurance. "This is not your fault. Things like this always happen in the Shinobi world, and will keep happening for as long as the battle between good and evil continues." She looked at him for a short moment then let go of his hand, and instead wrapped both arms around his neck in a warm hug. "You never have to blame yourself for anything that happens to me," Sakura whispered.

The prolonged hug made Sasuke's expression soften, and he placed his good hand at the small of Sakura's back as a silent thank you.

When Sakura disentangled from the love of her life, she smiled at him as she focused chakra in her hand and started healing the small burn that had Sasuke so concerned. "See?" she said. "It's not even that bad." She gave him another cheeky smile, flashing her teeth and giggling. It was an infectious smile that not even Sasuke could resist, making his lips form a smile of his own. "Now rest up while I finish making dinner."