SasuSaku Oneshot Book

Delicate Strength

Chunin Exams AU!

This is after Sasuke retaliates against the Sound Village students for hurting Sakura.

Fluff/Comfort

"Sakura," The boy's voice trembled with suppressed anger. "You're not answering me. Why did you let them hurt you?"

Sasuke watches her sitting on the dirt ground, his frown deepens. The girl's fingers run through her chopped hair and she stares at the pink strands tangling in her hands. Her green eyes glistened from her upcoming tears but she bites her lip because she knows it's not the best time to cry. 

"I told you," Sakura whispers harshly, glancing up at the black-haired Uchiha. "You didn't have to go that far...!"

Sasuke scoffs a little, turning his head to the side and crossing his arms together, "Your naiveness almost got you killed, you should be thankful that I woke up in time to save you."

"Sure, I'm happy you saved me, but..." The girl sighs loudly out of frustration and covers her eyes with her hands. "You broke both of his arms...!"

"I did what had to be done," He excuses his actions. "After all, in the Forest of Death... There are no rules here, you do know that, Sakura."

She hangs her head lowly to make sure the boy wouldn't be able to see her face, "I know... I'm just... His arms...!"

"That wasn't a nice thing to see," Sasuke hums. "But you need to understand that what I did was to protect you."

"You never needed to protect me!" Sakura fires back with tears falling from her eyes. "I wanted to keep you and Naruto safe from them...!"

The boy shakes his head, "That guy... He was ready to kill. I saw it in the way he looked at you."

"You're wrong!" The pinkette replied and Sasuke huffed loudly. "We're just kids... Kids wouldn't kill another..."

"Don't underestimate the students here, I know you're smarter than that," Sasuke scolds. "I wasn't just protecting you from him. Doing that gave everyone a message to never touch you again. Or else the same thing will happen to them."

"You think I'm some sort of princess that needs saving... I'm not weak..."

The Uchiha falls quiet as he ponders about the girl's words, he watches her let go of the strands of hair. Sakura was keeping her head low, not willing to look at Sasuke in the eye. With a fist to the ground, she slowly pushes herself up.

"I can be strong like Naruto..." Sakura mutters before snapping her head up. "I can be strong like you too!"

Sasuke was quick enough to catch the girl before her legs gave out, purple bruises formed on her knees and the small cuts on her thighs started to bleed. There was a little groan that came from Sakura as she finds her head resting against his shoulder, his hand was on her wrist, and the other on the bottom part of her back.

She can feel her ankle twisted into an awkward position and her expression turns into a painful one. The girl couldn't help but slump against Sasuke's body, her tears landing on his blue clothing as she tries to catch her breath.

"I'm strong... I swear..." Sakura whispers tearfully. "You shouldn't feel bad for me..."

"It's time to rest, you did enough." Sasuke's hand moves to the back of her neck to support her body. "Let's go."

"But Naruto is still out there..."

The black-haired Uchiha pulls her closer, "Forget about him, he'll find us later."

Sakura lets her eyes fall to the ground, it was true, she did feel tired. She was worn out, exhausted, her poor scalp was hurting from how hard that Sound Village girl was tugging it. Sasuke was letting her lean on him for support, Sakura almost forgot about her feelings for him because of how upset she was.

Sasuke's arm wraps around her back and in turn, her arm wraps around his shoulder for support. There was a sprinkle of pink on her cheeks but her face twists into a pained expression when she took a step forward. Her headache was starting to pound against her skull, she felt dizzy just by standing up.

"What's wrong?" The boy asked out of genuine concern.

"Don't worry..." Sakura shakes her head, not wanting to admit that her wounds were sending waves of pain throughout her body. "It's alright..."

"You're not alright," Sasuke argues and drags her along. "C'mon, we have to find somewhere to rest."

"But..."

"That's enough, Sakura. Don't be stubborn."

The girl continues to refuse his help and Sasuke was starting to become troubled. So, what does he do? He does exactly what Sakura wants and pulls his arms away from her.

As soon as he sees her beginning to sway to the side, Sasuke was quick enough to stop Sakura from falling to the ground by sweeping her off her feet. This time she doesn't fight back and accepts Sasuke's help, she simply shuts her eyes and rests her head against his chest.

Although she tried to prove her strength, she was also startled by Sasuke's determination to get her to safety. Not only did his behaviour throw her off but the way he broke the Sound Village student's arms, it was too brutal for her to watch.

Now Sakura knew her importance to Sasuke, back then she believed that he only saw her as an annoying girl that drooled over him. But the way he's carrying her in his arms, the way he's trying not to show any strain in holding her fragile body, it was touching.

Sasuke jogs through the Forest of Death until he finds a cave that digs into the earth. The Uchiha makes his way into the cavern and rests a half-conscious Sakura on a flat stone surface. He catches his breath, silently watching her chest going up and down as she breathed. He follows that pace in order to calm down.

He didn't know where he got the idea of snapping the student's arms. The moment Sakura confirmed that that guy was the one who hurt her, Sasuke's vision went dark as he went to go make the student feel the same pain.

Strands of Sakura's hair gently wrapped around Sasuke's finger as he studied her sleeping features. His expression softens when he runs his hand through her head, the feeling of her soft hair was enough to pull him out of his bloodthirsty state.

Taking one last glance around, the Uchiha wanted to make sure that it was only the two of them in the area. He wasn't really worried about Naruto because he knew the blond would find his way sooner or later.

Feeling equally exhausted, Sasuke sighs tiredly and leans his body against the stone Sakura sleeps on. Taking one last glance at the girl's face, something struck inside the boy's heart that short hair suited Sakura best.

Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 1140 words