Anthology

Anthology

By Laura-chan

Pairing: Sasuke/Sakura

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Of course everything related to Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei, praise his genius! OOC characters and plot do belong to me.

Warning: SPOILERS!! And Mature Contents.

I am Italian, English is not my first language, please forgive my mistakes.


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XIV.

ALIVE

(The "Alive" Trilogy - Part 1)


“We’ll stop here for tonight.”

They looked at him and nodded: they didn’t completely accept it, but he was their leader. After all, he was the one who gathered them all and freed them from Orochimaru. And it didn’t matter what Suigetsu said, because he was stronger than him, Karin and Juugo, and they all knew it.

Sasuke Uchiha had been wandering with his chosen companions for about two years: always at his brother’s heels, to take his revenge. He hated to admit it, but he needed Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo, and they needed him for their goals: it was only mutual help.

The dark-haired eighteen years old sat down next to the fire he had made with his Katon; Karin had hunted a rabbit and was skinning and cleaning it, while Suigetsu was preparing some vegetables. Juugo sat with his back to a tree, mumbling softly to himself, but the others had gotten used to it.

Sasuke felt dirty: it had been at least a month since they had stopped in an inn, and they hadn’t been able to wash properly since then. He had noticed they had passed an hot spring, and wasn’t wasting the opportunity of a nice, hot bath. Sasuke Uchiha wasn’t one who needed comforts, but he liked to be clean.

“I’m going to take a bath.” He said, after they had eaten, standing up with his katana always at his side; Suigetsu nodded, Juugo didn’t answer, but Karin – who was throwing away the rabbit’s bones – blushed fiercely. She looked at him, hoping for an invitation she knew wasn’t going to come, then lowered quickly her dark eyes: the kunoichi knew, after traveling with Sasuke for two years, that he didn’t like female attention – at all. He only needed her for her special ability and somehow, it hurt.

He had left for some time when she decided it was worth to take a peek. “I’m checking our surroundings to see if someone is following us.” Karin said in her bossy voice: there was nothing weird in that, she was usually the one who checked the perimeter.

“Um, do what you want.” Shrugged Suigetsu, and she glared at him.

The kunoichi went in the opposite direction Sasuke went, only to turn around and circle their camp, hiding in the trees: after some running Karin found the object of her interest – but he wasn’t alone. Cursing in her mind, she hid behind a tree, watching and listening to the scene before of her.

§

Sasuke stretched his shoulders, his acute nose smelling the steam coming from the hot spring; the only thing that kept him from walking out of the trees and soaking in the warm water was the presence of another chakra.

It felt different, but he was sure he knew this particular chakra.

Masking his own, he peeked from behing a bush. Someone was bathing in the hot spring, much like he had wanted to do: the steam covered the figure, blurring the edges, but it looked like a female. The air cleared and Sasuke’s eyes slightly widened.

Long pink hair. He knew of only one person who had pink hair.

The woman turned and he was able to see her face (and not only that, but he wasn’t interested in that at the moment): her green eyes were dazzling as always, her cheeks had lost the fat of childhood and her body was muscled and toned.

Sakura Haruno really had grown up.

Sasuke Uchiha had a dilemma: on one hand, he really, really wanted to take a bath, on the other hand he really, really didn’t want to meet with his former teammate and fangirl… who knew what could she do? Maybe squeak, call him “Sasuke-kun!” and be annoying as always. Not to mention that she was naked and that wasn’t the perfect scenario he had in mind for a reunion after he had tried to kill her, two years before.

Oh well, he could chase her away, maybe he could make her fall unconscious like when he had left Konohagakure.

Sasuke stepped in the open, stopping masking his chakra: he smirked when he saw her back tense as she sensed his chakra – he idly wondered if she recognized it as well.

“Sakura.” He said in a low voice to catch her attention: her shoulder blades jutted out when her back straightened. He continued to watch as his former teammate slowly turned around, crossing her arms underwater over her breasts. To his surprise, her face was carefully blank – no tears, no annoying squeals of joy, no emotions.

Her jade eyes were inquisitive and he could read surprise and distrust as well: it seemed that Sakura had changed more than he had expected.

“Sasuke.” She greeted simply and he arched an eyebrow, still emotionless. ‘What happened to my suffix?’

“I didn’t know you were a pervert.” The statement atonished him so completely that he couldn’t help but gape at her, even as he soon recovered.

“I am not!” he hissed indignantly.

“I think differently.” The kunoichi said, still covering protectively her naked chest. “What do you want?”

That was the most anti-climatic reunion ever. The exchange was going differently from what Sasuke had imagined: he couldn’t see anything of the love-struck girl he’d left on a bench five years prior and she had been replaced by a head-strong woman. He fought the urge to pout like a child: he hated to walk on an unfamiliar ground and this wasn’t the Sakura he knew.

“I didn’t want to peek on you.” He clarified “I want to take a bath and this seems to be the only hot spring around here.”

“Well, you’ll have to wait.” Sakura stated stubbornly. “I was here first and I want to bathe.”

Sasuke scowled, getting annoyed with her. “I have no time to waste.” He said stonely, “You’re annoying as always.”

To his surprise – again – she just shrugged and turned around, resuming to wash herself. The Uchiha frowned: he was used to get his way (especially with Sakura) and her defiance irritated him.

“Have you heard what I said? Get out, Sakura!”

“Go to hell!” she replied calmly.

‘Been there, Sakura.’ He thought bitterly. ‘But it was necessary in order to get stronger.’ The dark haired shinobi growled when Sakura showed no intention of moving.

‘Oh, well.’ He smirked.‘I really don’t want to wait.’

After all, what an Uchiha wants, an Uchiha gets.

He began to undress, taking off his black pants and white haori, laying gently Kusanagi on the pile of clothes, not wanting his blade to get ruined. Sasuke entered the hot spring with only his fundoshi, not wanting to be completely naked with a female, especially his former teammate.

Sakura’s eyes widened when she heard the sounds of a body entering in the water; the pink haired kunoichi looked behind her shoulder only to turn back, squeaking and blushing.

“What are you doing?” she screamed, embarassed.

“I want to take a bath now, and it seems like you’re not going away soon.” He explained simply, refusing to let the redness get to his cheeks: it would be the first time he had blushed in a long while, but he wasn’t used to being naked with a girl.

“You jerk!” she screamed, whirling around. “You’re the same arrogant bastard I knew!”

Sasuke couldn’t bite back a smirk, “And what happened to the girl who was so hopelessly in love with me?”

Sakura flushed in anger, “She grew up.” She bit out with a coldness that would have made Itachi proud. “And she has seen too much violence and death to think about love.” She said the last part in sadness, lowering her eyes.

He watched her attentively, solemnly – recognizing that, yes, she had changed completely.

Sasuke started ignoring the girl across of him, soaking in the warm water and enjoying the feeling of finally being clean; he submerged his head and scrubbed his hair to clean it of dust, sweat and blood. As he emerged he wondered why he didn’t feel threatened by Sakura’s presence: the Uchiha could feel her curious eyes on him, but he knew that Sakura would never hurt him.

He smiled bitterly to himself: maybe he still trusted her and Naruto too much.

“That wound…” her voice interrupted his thoughts. At first Sasuke glared at her, then realized what she was talking about: on his chest there was an ugly, red cut. He still reprimanded himself for being so careless to allow a low-rank ninja to sneak up on him and hurt him, two days before.

“It’s nothing.” he looked away.

“Don’t be an idiot!” Sasuke almost gaped at her again: Sakura calling him an idiot? “Why didn’t you get it treated right away? It’s getting infected and from the looks of it, the blade that wounded you was poisoned.”

The Uchiha stared at her: Sasuke looked like she knew what she was saying and he had to admit that lately the cut had been irritating him.

He snorted.

“I’m not exactly always welcomed, Sakura. I am a missing nin.” He glared at her. “I killed Orochimaru and left Oto… I betrayed Konoha: do you really think that a medic-nin would be willing to heal me without trying to capture me?”

“I will do it.”

Once again, she had atonished him. “You?!” he asked in disbelief.

Sakura scowled at the distrust in his tone. “I am a medic-nin, Sasuke, I’ve been taught by Tsunade-shishou herself. I know what to do.”

The dark-haired male wanted to snort, but decided to gave her the benefit of doubt. “Well, then, let’s see what you can do.” He leered derisively.

Sakura glared at him but she neared him, albeit a bit hesitant – not oblivious to his and her nakedness. They were only a few centimeters apart when she raised her hand and green chakra surrounded it: gradually, Sasuke felt a soothing warm enter his body, mending his torn skin and extracting the poison.

After a few minutes, Sakura moved away, while Sasuke’s hand lifted up and reached to touch the unblemished flesh. ‘Amazing…’ he thought.

“Hn.” He said appreciatively.

The female rolled her eyes, “Well, you’re welcome!” her voice was full of sarcasm.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Sasuke raised an eyebrow when he noticed that she wasn’t moving away.

“Do you ever miss Konoha?” Sakura asked suddenly; she turned her face away from him. “Do you ever regret going away?”

His eyes immediately hardened. “Don’t be stupid: of course I don’t regret what I’ve done. I’ve gotten stronger, strong enough to kill one of the sannin… And I’m getting strong enough to defeat my brother.”

Onyx and jade eyes met. “I’m an avenger, you already know it. I will stop at nothing to get my revenge… but I’m not so stupid to let myself get used: I never had any intention of becoming Orochimaru’s container.” He snorted. “The snake was really stupid to believe that an Uchiha would have submitted himself to him.”

Sakura smiled bitterly. “And so, you’re doing exactly what Itachi wants you to do… become a traitor, a killer like him!” suddenly she found herself pinned to the border of the hot spring, her hands digging in the soft ground, her body half in the water.

Red eyes glared down at her as he pressed against her.

“I’m nothing like him!” he hissed, tightening the grip he had on her throat .

“Really?” she wheezed out, “Then why did you betray Konoha and your friends? Why…” she gasped for air. “Why are you doing this to me?” and then she added, almost yelling. “WHY DID YOU LEFT US?”

“I DID EVERYTHING TO KILL HIM!” Sasuke roared in her face. “Why can’t you understand that? He killed my family, OUR clan, he BETRAYED the trust I had in him! He left me alone!”

“You did the same to us!” Sakura screamed back, tearing his hand away from her throat with unexpected strenght, and instead gripping his biceps. “You did to us what he did to you! Why can’t you see that??”

The sharingan kept spinning, but his eyes were wide in amazement and realisation.

“You’ve got every right to avenge your family.” The kunoichi said calmly, looking at him straight in the eyes. “But you could have gotten our help! Instead you decided to do what Itachi wanted you to! You left!” she was crying, but didn’t care. “You left Naruto, Kakashi, me! We were heartbroken! Naruto couldn’t believe that you left us! And then, he left too, to become stronger in order to bring you back. And I was alone.” She added in a whisper “I was alone.”

Silence took place between them.

Quietly, she wiped the tears away, looking at him emotionlessly. “I’ve gotten stronger too.” She turned to leave, then stopped, and Sasuke could see her back tense. “We missed you, Sasuke. We still miss you everyday.” Hesitantly, she turned her head. “It was good to see you…even if we ended up arguing.” She smiled wistfully. “Remember that Konoha will always be your home. Naruto, Kakashi, me… we will always welcome you back.”

Sasuke said nothing: probably because he didn’t know what to say.

Sakura had stopped again, without looking at him. “Tell me Sasuke… Are you happy now? Are you alive? Or are you simply existing?”

He didn’t answer her, but pondered on her questions.

The pink-haired kunoichi sighed and reached for her towel, an arm still covering her bosom. A large hand wrapped around her wrist and she whirled her head to the side; Sakura tried not to blush when she saw a naked Sasuke, water covering his lower body, looking at her intensely.

“If I told you…” he started, with an hoarse voice. “If I told you that I don’t feel alive…what would you do?”

She answered sincerely, her eyes innocently fixed on his, “I would try to make you feel alive.”

His other hand gripped her pink hair, tilting her head up and turning her body towards him. “Then do it.” And he crashed his mouth against hers.

Sasuke himself didn’t know why he did that, but when the girl moaned and pressed against him he felt something: not the cold excitement of when he had killed Orochimaru, not the oppressive fear of when his brother had killed their clan… no, this was like the flaming passion he had felt when he had fought with Naruto.

He had never kissed anyone, except for that kiss with Naruto (which he was still trying to forget), so he let his instincts guide him: he wrapped his arm around her waist, trapping the kunoichi against him. He felt lust, pleasure and something else running through him; he felt alive.

Sakura moved against him, her lower body squirming deliciously against his, their tongues playing with each other as he angled her head to kiss her deeper. With every soft touch of her hands on his shoulders he was losing himself more and more.

§

Karin choked a gasp threatening to give away her presence; a hand covered her mouth as she tore her eyes away from the scene. Her eyes glazed over as she heard the moans coming from the hot spring.

Why…why Sasuke needed that woman to feel alive? She had been there for him for two years, hadn’t she?

From their talk, the black-haired kunoichi had understood that this Sakura girl was one of Sasuke’s former teammates: she didn’t know that Sasuke had willingly left his home to go to Orochimaru…to get stronger in order to kill his brother. What exactly did she know about Sasuke?

A loud groan resounded in the air, followed by a breathless “Sasuke!” and Karin squeezed her eyes closed. With a sob, she ran back to the camp.

§

The Uchiha didn’t know what he was doing, he was simply following his instincts, but they proved to be right: the spot between Sakura’s neck and shoulder was extremely sensitive. He took his time in exploring her body, touching and caressing her soft flesh, keeping her pressed against him: from her part, the pink-haired kunoichi had never stopped stroking his shoulder blades and his back.

Sasuke felt something hot gather in his loins, the need almost overpowering him: he had experienced the same feeling only the first times he had used the cursed seal. Sakura was still as loud as she was when they were genin, but now he could stand the sounds coming from her mouth; she was whimpering and moaning in his ear, as she gently nibbled on his neck, his own breath getting quicker.

When she suddenly wrapped her legs around him, forcing the missing-nin to support her weight, their private parts rubbed against each other and they both couldn’t hold back a loud groan. His fundoshi was rough against her womanhood, but Sakura could feel the hardness below and was glad that he was as aroused as she was.

His hands squeezed her butt gently, but firmly, and pressed her more against his manhood.

“Sasuke…” she whimpered. “I need… I…”
“I know.” He cut her off, gritting his teeth; Sasuke got her out of the hot spring and laid her down on the grass, covering her body with his, starting another kiss.

Sakura felt like she was boiling: she would have never imagined that a simple C-rank mission and a bath in a hot spring would have lead to hot sex with Sasuke Uchiha, the young man she still had feelings for. He didn’t seem embarassed or clumsy, instead his touches were sure and he knew where to caress her to make her shiver.

She was sincere when she told him she would try to make him feel alive, but the kunoichi wouldn’t have never expected that Sasuke wanted to have sex to feel…

Sakura’s stream of consciousness was interrupted by the man above her when he forcefully spread her legs wide open, his pelvis pressed against hers.

“Ah! Sasuke!”

“Sakura…” he murmured, staring at her and not moving.

He closed the gap between their faces, parting her lips and kissing her deeply and slowly as he thrusted quickly inside her: Sakura bit his lower lip at the pain and groaned at the feel of something hot and hard entering her.

Sasuke’s eyes widened and then he squeezed them shut at the sensation on her walls gripping him firmly: when he opened them, his eyes were red with the sharingan.

‘I…’ he thought dazedly ‘I would have never thought that this would feel… so… good.’

Not breaking the kiss, he moved back, only to push again inside her: Sakura threw her head back at the feeling.

“Sasuke!” she panted.

The shinobi looked down at her. “Why does it feel so good?” he asked her, his pupils dilated. “Why do I feel alive only now?”

“Because you are feeling, Sasu-ah!” the pink-haired kunoichi moaned. “Simply as that… you are feeling.”

Sasuke hid his face in the hollow of her neck, still thrusting deeply inside the woman below him. “I feel?” he wondered. “Yes….I feel.” He bit her neck. “Make me feel more, Sakura.”

The young woman wrapped her arms around his neck, her nails biting into his skin and he hissed in pain-pleasure.

They forgot everything around them.

§

After Sasuke secured Kusanagi to his side, he turned to look at the sleeping woman lying on the grass: her long pink locks were in disarray, her soft breath showed him that she was still asleep. The dark-haired shinobi sat down next to her: after what had happened between them, he didn’t want to leave her this vulnerable but neither did he want to wake her up.

A long finger stroked Sakura’s cheek. “Tsk, annoying as ever… what am I going to do with you, Sakura?”

The red-orange rays of the rising sun shook him out of his contemplation: he had spent the entire night with her and now he needed to go back to the camp. Onyx eyes admired her naked body and Sasuke decided that he really couldn’t leave Sakura like this.

In a rare show of affection, he kissed her gently on the cheek. “Thank you Sakura….for making me feel alive tonight.”

§

When Sakura woke up, dawn had already passed.

“…Sasuke?”

Silence greeted her. The kunoichi bit back a sob: he had left her alone again.

Then, she noticed that she was tightly wrapped in a blanket; Sakura gasped when she saw that in reality the blanket was Sasuke’s white haori – the red and white uchiwa fan covering her.

Sakura gripped the cloth and pushed her nose into the white fabric, noting that it smelled like Sasuke. She sighed contently: at least, this time he had left her something of his. It seemed like a promise that he would return, that they would meet again.

“I don’t know why I do, Sasuke… but I still love you.”

§

Suigetsu was quite amazed to see the Uchiha return, after spending the night away from the camp, without his haori.

“What happened?” he asked, but Sasuke silenced him with a glare. “Nothing of your business.”

The dark-haired shinobi took out another haori from his pack and put it on. “Wake Karin and Juugo up: we’re leaving in ten minutes.”

While Suigetsu was doing what he had ordered, Sasuke took out a little red box and put inside it some pink strands: it was time to resume his journey, but he wouldn’t forget the night he had spent with Sakura.

Anthology XIV – End

Author's Note: thank you all for your kind reviews :) I love them all. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please KEEP REVIEWING ;)