[ it's the answer he wanted— that she would take the step Naruto couldn't, and be the one to try and take him out. Sakura, as she'd just said, understands some of his path— if not all of it. if not in the way Naruto might.
but there is respect in that, to Sasuke, that she would take that step and do it, and not just because he was declared a criminal.
but he straightens, then, and takes half a step forward. there's something aggressive about it, even if his expression doesn't change. ]
If I killed him, he deserved to die.
[ but then Sasuke eases, his shoulders soften again. ]
[ honestly, she can accept that much. she may not agree with it (who are you to decide who deserves to die or not?) but she can accept it.
the second part-
not entirely.
Sakura's lips purse into a line, suddenly finding herself edging away from the previous upset, irritation taking over. ]
I'm regretting that I gave up on you long enough to think that killing you was the right thing to do. I'm allowed that much. Maybe you can make all of your choices and not regret any of them, but I have never been the shinobi you are.
[ if asked, Sasuke would say there are no shinobi like him— save maybe Itachi. but that was Uchiha arrogance talking. Sakura and Naruto were their own kind of strong, and Sasuke could acknowledge this (if he couldn't, they'd never be able to resonate).
Sasuke cants his head, just a fraction. ]
According to Konoha's laws, what you did was the right thing to do.
[ which is heavy, and Sasuke watches her for a moment, then lifts his head and his weight shifts back— the whole thing displays a shift in his demeanor. ]
[ Sakura's fingers curl into fists at her side, back straightening, and while she knows he's trying to instigate her, that he's doing his best to push her, it-
It just doesn't work the way it would with Naruto.
He rises to Sasuke's challenges, steps in line with him, always fights to get ahead. All Sakura has wanted is equal footing, so this-
This isn't effective, not like it would be with their other counterpart.
Instead, Sakura's head tilts down, gaze sliding away. ]
You're wrong, you know. [ Because as much as they (still) underestimate her out of habit alone, there's so much more to her than there used to be. ] I didn't succeed because I hesitated at the last second, not because you stopped me before I was able to follow through.
[ this is a prime example of the ways in which Sasuke can't navigate the third member of their three man cell. with Naruto, hell, even with Neji this would have worked.
Sasuke feels himself falter. it shows only in the twitch of his mouth, and his brow.
the thing is, Sasuke isn't even sure Naruto could kill him. he's confident nobody else in Konoha would be able to complete the task. after all, he'd intended to kill Orochimaru before his time was up. how could any of them measure against that?
Sasuke's gaze slides away from her, wanders the length of their apartment until it finds Naruto's window. ]
I think that's when I stopped believing that he would really come back.
[ she uses 'he' because it isn't 'you'. they're separate for her, makes her require the distinction.
in thinking about it, she had accepted it already, back in their world. when Sasuke showed up on the battlefield and all of them had fought together, she had known then that it would never be the same. that nothing could go back to how it was. that no part of her in their world could trust him. ]
[ Sasuke's gaze slides back down, lands like a touch on her face. they are different people, he and his other self. the things he's learned here, he doesn't think he learned in their world.
but even still, he and Naruto had this discussion. Sasuke— he'd never go back to that village. not the way it was now. ]
[ finally, finally, Sakura's curiosity gets the best of her. she knows that there is something that they haven't told her, that Sasuke hasn't told her, and Sakura finds that she's tired of it. she said that there are things that she doesn't know and that it was okay; this wasn't one of them. ]
You know why he wants to destroy Konoha, don't you? Both of you know.
[ he doesn't look away from her when she finally asks the question. it isn't exactly that Sasuke has been dancing around the topic, but neither has he been at all inclined to bring it up of his own free will. why talk about something that doesn't need to be addressed?
in fact, up to this point, he hadn't considered she might be thinking about it. Sasuke was settled in his decision, it was nobody else's business.
but Sakura was their partner, wasn't she? of course she would want to know. the night breeze catches at Sasuke's hair. it tickles the back of his neck. ]
[ Sakura stares at him for a moment, as though what he says takes time to sink in for her. but it doesn't make sense, right? that it would be Konoha's responsibility for something so horrific -- but Itachi's choice never made much sense, not from what she had heard from her parents or those around her who had been old enough to remember.
[ when he thinks about it, it stirs up something dark and angry in his gut. it's the same thing that makes him hit too hard— that makes him brutal and merciless in a fight. that makes him scream in the middle of the night.
everything that had happened with Itachi— Sasuke's fingers fold into fists, like by doing so he might keep himself under control, but it doesn't stop his voice from trembling. ]
[ she takes a step back without thinking, as though it had been a physical blow. she knows that Sasuke wouldn't tell her something like this if he wasn't absolutely sure, that the Sasuke back in their world wouldn't be coming to destroy Konoha without a damn good reason, but-
but her loyalty to Konoha makes it difficult to swallow. how the village she loves so much could ever order someone to do something so horrific to their own family. even if there had been a reason for it, she still can't fathom it. ]
Why? I mean- Why Itachi, out of anyone? And why the entire clan?
[ she steps back, and something predatory in him wants to lunge at the throat of that weakness, lashing out like a snake. instead, he glances away from her— thinks back on the night he had with Itachi on the balcony. ]
They were planning a coup. Itachi was Anbu. They wanted to eradicate the threat.
[ his voice is a rumble, and he's angry— so angry at what they put his brother through. but he'd told Sasuke no— destroying Konoha wasn't the answer. ]
By you. [ she says it despite knowing it's the truth. knows, because who else would have been the one to cleanse the name of all it was plagued by?
Sakura isn't surprised that she didn't know of the Uchiha clan's plan. why would anyone? Sakura can only assume the truth was meant to die with Itachi. she can't imagine he would have wanted Sasuke to know, given his evident reaction back home. but being in the war both in Konoha and Death City gave her new perspective on withholding the truth form people you care for, even if it's to protect them.
part of her feels sick at the thought of the village she loves so much being responsible for the massacre. if it was Konoha, it made sense as to why Sasuke had gone after Danzo, given he was an elder. the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. only then did she realize she hadn't said anything in response to the information, outside of her initial statement. ]
[ the words slash out of him, accusatory and defensive. the truth is, Sasuke isn't sure what he would have done in Itachi's place. he wasn't the kind of person his brother was, hadn't developed that kind of loyalty to the Leaf— and maybe he could have, given enough time. but his whole world had been shattered by that massacre and Sasuke had nothing to compare another life to. ]
I mean- If you returned and still knew everything you do here, what would you do? Would you still destroy Konoha, the way he wanted to?
[ as in-
it's less about what he would do in Itachi's place, and more what he would do in comparison to the Sasuke there. because part of her, however small, hopes that some part of this Sasuke still cares for Konoha. ]
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but there is respect in that, to Sasuke, that she would take that step and do it, and not just because he was declared a criminal.
but he straightens, then, and takes half a step forward. there's something aggressive about it, even if his expression doesn't change. ]
If I killed him, he deserved to die.
[ but then Sasuke eases, his shoulders soften again. ]
Stop regretting something you chose to do.
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the second part-
not entirely.
Sakura's lips purse into a line, suddenly finding herself edging away from the previous upset, irritation taking over. ]
I'm regretting that I gave up on you long enough to think that killing you was the right thing to do. I'm allowed that much. Maybe you can make all of your choices and not regret any of them, but I have never been the shinobi you are.
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Sasuke cants his head, just a fraction. ]
According to Konoha's laws, what you did was the right thing to do.
[ which is heavy, and Sasuke watches her for a moment, then lifts his head and his weight shifts back— the whole thing displays a shift in his demeanor. ]
Not that you'd ever be able to succeed.
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It just doesn't work the way it would with Naruto.
He rises to Sasuke's challenges, steps in line with him, always fights to get ahead. All Sakura has wanted is equal footing, so this-
This isn't effective, not like it would be with their other counterpart.
Instead, Sakura's head tilts down, gaze sliding away. ]
You're wrong, you know. [ Because as much as they (still) underestimate her out of habit alone, there's so much more to her than there used to be. ] I didn't succeed because I hesitated at the last second, not because you stopped me before I was able to follow through.
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Sasuke feels himself falter. it shows only in the twitch of his mouth, and his brow.
the thing is, Sasuke isn't even sure Naruto could kill him. he's confident nobody else in Konoha would be able to complete the task. after all, he'd intended to kill Orochimaru before his time was up. how could any of them measure against that?
Sasuke's gaze slides away from her, wanders the length of their apartment until it finds Naruto's window. ]
I won't go back the way you want me to.
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confuses her. Sakura's shoulders ease, head tilting to the side. ]
I don't understand.
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[ Sasuke's gaze comes back around to her. ]
That's probably why the other me said he wants to be Hokage.
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[ she uses 'he' because it isn't 'you'. they're separate for her, makes her require the distinction.
in thinking about it, she had accepted it already, back in their world. when Sasuke showed up on the battlefield and all of them had fought together, she had known then that it would never be the same. that nothing could go back to how it was. that no part of her in their world could trust him. ]
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but even still, he and Naruto had this discussion. Sasuke— he'd never go back to that village. not the way it was now. ]
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You know why he wants to destroy Konoha, don't you? Both of you know.
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in fact, up to this point, he hadn't considered she might be thinking about it. Sasuke was settled in his decision, it was nobody else's business.
but Sakura was their partner, wasn't she? of course she would want to know. the night breeze catches at Sasuke's hair. it tickles the back of his neck. ]
Konoha is the reason my brother killed my family.
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still- ]
How? How is the village responsible for that?
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everything that had happened with Itachi— Sasuke's fingers fold into fists, like by doing so he might keep himself under control, but it doesn't stop his voice from trembling. ]
They ordered him to kill everyone.
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but her loyalty to Konoha makes it difficult to swallow. how the village she loves so much could ever order someone to do something so horrific to their own family. even if there had been a reason for it, she still can't fathom it. ]
Why? I mean- Why Itachi, out of anyone? And why the entire clan?
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They were planning a coup. Itachi was Anbu. They wanted to eradicate the threat.
[ his voice is a rumble, and he's angry— so angry at what they put his brother through. but he'd told Sasuke no— destroying Konoha wasn't the answer. ]
He wanted the family name— to be cleansed.
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Sakura isn't surprised that she didn't know of the Uchiha clan's plan. why would anyone? Sakura can only assume the truth was meant to die with Itachi. she can't imagine he would have wanted Sasuke to know, given his evident reaction back home. but being in the war both in Konoha and Death City gave her new perspective on withholding the truth form people you care for, even if it's to protect them.
part of her feels sick at the thought of the village she loves so much being responsible for the massacre. if it was Konoha, it made sense as to why Sasuke had gone after Danzo, given he was an elder. the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. only then did she realize she hadn't said anything in response to the information, outside of her initial statement. ]
What would you do, if it were you?
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[ the words slash out of him, accusatory and defensive. the truth is, Sasuke isn't sure what he would have done in Itachi's place. he wasn't the kind of person his brother was, hadn't developed that kind of loyalty to the Leaf— and maybe he could have, given enough time. but his whole world had been shattered by that massacre and Sasuke had nothing to compare another life to. ]
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[ as in-
it's less about what he would do in Itachi's place, and more what he would do in comparison to the Sasuke there. because part of her, however small, hopes that some part of this Sasuke still cares for Konoha. ]