A/N: As a writer I have always found Sasuke's character exceedingly difficult but entirely fascinating, and throughout the series it has been a severe love/hate relationship. More so, I find the Sakura and Sasuke dynamic even more enthralling. On the surface, I can understand why people don't understand this pairing, but after extensive research I have found myself with supple evidence that they have one of the most complicated, but diverse development. I am going to write this in an attempt to understand the POV of our beloved Uchiha in a series of short dabbles throughout significant portions of the story we have come to love.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's affiliates.

M.

Our Linear Story

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Annoying.

The word in itself was entirely demeaning, and in the beginning - that's what he meant. His first visions of her stayed in his memory, tucked away selfishly because the darkness beckoned him, and pink did nothing but kindle a light to the irrefutable inky blackness that tugged on his life.

By now the memory was hazy, but he could still bring forth that hazy first memory of her. She had been pressed against the railing, a deplorable red ribbon fixing her bangs, and he glanced at her stoically, lips upturned in a fretful frown - mouth full with a ripe tomato rice ball, and ironically enough her face turned the same shade of obtuse red before she ducked and ran from his line of sight.

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Another time, he stayed in class to finish his assignment - the doors had long been locked and there was a deafening silence in the academy building. But really, he just didn't want to return home. He didn't want to feel the peculiar, nonexistent glance of his father and cool disregard by his brother. So instead, he worked generously on his assignment to get the highest mark in class in hopes that this time, his father would be impressed.

She tip-toed into the room, hair longer - with a flush on her cheeks, except this time - the bow contrasted prettily against the coral color of her hair.

"I really like…"

She fumbled with the hem of her dress, eyes focused intently on the ground.

Didn't she see he was working on something?

"What is it?"

He had seen her only briefly, and each time it couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

"Who are you?" he questioned, unable to put a name to the face.

She ran again, head low and made a squeak of a noise that made him watch her quizzically, but gave no other indication to her antics.

What an odd girl.

He returned his focus on his assignment, aware that his outstanding marks had been handed out and he wanted nothing more than to show his father his grades for this week.

This time he would be recognized for his hard work, he knew it.

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Her presence, if nothing else - had always remained. By her own vindication and whether he wanted her there or not - she simply was.

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Annoying.

Here is where he found his annoyance in her, and what he thought would have eternally remained as a fixed statement in regards to her.

That day at the bench, where spring rolled into the village and amongst it's beauty he ignored it, engulfed in his own sullen silence.

The conversation had begun normally enough for them.

Until.

"Well, he doesn't have a normal childhood so…" she shrugged her shoulders up carelessly, "he doesn't have parents! He can do whatever he wants, if I acted like that —my parents would ground me for months."

He stopped - the air seemed to still at the offending statement he knew would tumble from her tactless lips, "he's so lucky, all alone, parents to never say what to do and what not to do," she paused with a self-assured, confident sigh, "that's why he always makes trouble."

He could handle her blatant attempts at flattering him, he could stomach her pining after him in the academy, and even found it humorous when she scolded the idiot and their banter ensued.

Memories of his family, their dinners, his mother waking him up for training - and certainly his affection began to suffocate him at the callous way she forsake the pain his new teammate must have felt.

Because he understood it.

"All alone…."

The idiotic comparison made his anger coil, undeniably tight.

"Huh?" she questioned absently, self-assurance gone when she noticed his shift in demeanor.

"The feeling of a parent yelling at you is nothing compared to what he felt," he scolded, because anger never broke the barrier of his leveled voice.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

He tilted in her direction, stoney eyes reeled in vehemence which spoke much louder than the words he tagged with her, because as angry as it made him, he found annoyance came first, "you're annoying."

He continued his walk that day, leaving her at the bench, which would become habitual for them it seemed.

In the days following he pretended he didn't notice how she became friendlier to their obnoxious teammate, and she even offered him praise - which made him contemplate that she had listened to what he had to say.

Her attitude towards the jinchuriki remained so, and their budding dynamic gave him an eerie, reminiscent sense of home.

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For reasons beyond him, he stayed. He stayed until she came to, unaware that she had been put under a genjutsu by their sensei.

And more confusing, he voluntary felt like explaining why he had to get the bells.

"I'm an avenger," he paused, because he had never spoken these words before and they felt foreign on his lips, but she listened — and that's all he needed, "I have to become stronger than him, so I can't just stay here and do nothing."

He wanted to continue, to let the words slip past him onto caring ears because inside of there was a coil that was threatening spring like a snake that had been starved. Her face was an open display of confusion and sincerity, and he hated it because he could easily slip into sharing the darkness with her, right now.

Who had he told?

No one.

The nights of pain and sorrow that thoroughly wracked his figure with sobs and screams in the empty compound that still stood as a daily reminder that he was alone.

Her eyes shook, and he could always tell when her silence meant she was trying to understand, but how could she?

Sasuke almost continued.

Except the bells broke his spell, and the sole survivor shot an irritated glance in that direction.

They had run out of time.

He had lost track of time.

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This mission had been doomed from the beginning, but he gained energy from the impeccable blonde that had become a fixture in his life. He knew, although he felt that it had escaped his teammates that their mission was beginning to rise in rank.

They had been flogged down, and everything had happened quickly. The chunin from Mist had made their appearance known, and the fighting ensued shortly after.

Sasuke learned quickly that in times of peril, he worked instinctively. He had subdued their weapons with cleverly timed shuriken and a kunai, but they had broken free from the metal bonds and began their mindless attack in the direction of his teammates.

She held the kunai bravely amidst her shaking and the fear that echoed itself in her sea foam eyes. They were fast. Almost faster than him, and for a split-heart wrenching moment that he hadn't felt in years, he threw himself in front of her.

He wasn't poised for attack.

The small gasp from her lips tickled the air behind him.

Why?

He braced himself for the hit, expecting the full brutality that they had witnessed their sensei undergo, but even he stilled in stoic awe when Kakashi's arm slung around the enemy's neck, effectively railroading him onto the ground.

Both enemies caught, out of thin air by their overly relaxed teacher who offered them the simplest of a greeting, "yo."

And normally he would have been grateful, but he found himself thrummed with shallow annoyance.

What a show off.

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In this moment he knew he wasn't alone, carelessly and undeniably her feelings were plagued with him.

All of their bonds began to knit together, and made them a team.

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Finally, Tazuna had relented to them the appropriate information that would have helped prior to this mission about Gato and the region being forked over to this man.

He knew their mission had quickly risen to an A-rank the moment that assassin had appeared from the thick layers of air before they arrived to the bridge. Not that he minded, because this could finally prove as a test of strength for him.

Except this man was strong.

Zabuza Momichi.

Their sensei, who he had garnered a moderate amount of respect for in terms of his power had handled the fight exceptionally well, was beginning to crumble under the intensity of the fight. He got locked in the water jutsu, and if Sasuke had learned anything about himself it was that he was practical.

His sensei told them to run, and the Uchiha could have scoffed at that. Instead, his wilting teammates shook — attempting to assess the situation in their own way. With no time for deliberation, he attacked, poised and quickly Sasuke appeared on top of the man, kunai ready to be shoved down the Mist ninja's neck.

Shockingly, a large hand wrapped itself around his neck and tossed him aside like he had been nothing more than hindrance to his day. The air got knocked from his lungs, but the sting to his pride hurt worse when his teammates called his name.

In a flurry of delayed thinking, Naruto and him devised a plan - the first time he could see they didn't habitually argue on something.

Their team killed that man that day, supposedly.

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Sasuke always felt confident in his abilities, to the measure of those around him - in that village. For the first time, eternally stuck in the kekkai genkai that reflected his own image that shot senbon and a barrage of other weapons that were slowly cutting him open, his confidence waned.

He activated his sharingan, the black tomoes spun in a wayward movement that left him dizzy, but he could see. The teleportation of the mist ninja slowed down, he could trace the movements but this faux tracker had been a step ahead of him.

Naruto had been on the ground, and cleverly the ice mirror specialist aimed towards his teammate. Instinctively, he ran to get there in time. His body sprung with the pain of the needles in his skin, his legs quivered from exhaustion, but the adrenaline surged him forward.

In time, again he found himself at a crossroad of emotional discharge for the people that now surrounded him.

The projectiles found his body seamlessly, Sasuke knew that some had worked their way into his his organs. He had become numb, probably a side effect of his body beginning to go into shock. The voice of his teammate found his ears, and he couldn't properly explain himself.

"Why?!"

Words, words that all faded together began to dance in his vision, but he could only see the reflection of his brother's eyes from that night.

Why?

"How should I know…"

He knew in the recesses within him that he wouldn't have preferred dying any other way. His body slipped into the catch of the blonde, who was now screaming obscenities at the world, at him?

More words slipped from slack, pale lips.

So this is what it was like to die.

This is what his family felt under the blade of his brother.

It felt…peaceful, in a way.

He could rest, although his promise to himself had been broken. He held no validity as an avenger if he couldn't handle one mission, if he couldn't protect his friends.

Somewhere in the black depths that began to create spots in his memory, he told his friend not to die. Because yes, under these terms he found that although he wanted to reject it, this obnoxious idiot, his unspoken rival, had become his friend.

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"Sasuke-kun!"

"Sasuke-kun!"

Someone was crying, why were they screaming his name? He didn't have anyone to cry over him, everyone that had any bond with him had long ago passed.

His death would never be more than a faded, unrecognizable drip in the sizable well of time.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura?

The latent despair in her screams became familiar, but why over him?

He shifted subtly, the pain began to etch into every fiber of his body and in a mammoth of realization his eyes began to open. Dull, lifeless eyes that couldn't focus, but he could see the outline of her face and single particular trait, her shallow pink tresses of hair that tickled his face.

Why was she crying so much?

Her body wracked with sobs as she clung onto his limp form, tears mingled with the light mist that still hung over them and snot dripped down her nose. The pain in her voice reached his ears, but the young Uchiha couldn't fathom why this girl felt so inclined to show so much grief over his death.

Finally, his vision cleared and what remained in the center was this girl who he had assumed her affection had been based off shallow, untamed rivalry now held him in her sorrow. Her face twisted in grief in a perpetual state of unbidden tears that he had only felt the night he witnessed his parents slaughtered.

Something within him fluttered, but amongst the pain he couldn't decipher what it was.

However, he did understand himself to know that he didn't want her to recoil away completely.

For the first time in the shallow pits of death and loneliness, he felt comfort, ironically-

"Sakura…that hurts…"

She did recoil, but not enough to move away from him. Relief washed over her features while he remained still, pain etched into every crevice of his body. She continued to cry, but this time unwashed tears and a smile lit up her face that would become a perpetual reminder of home for him.

And another, different type of annoyance.

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In that forest of death, Sasuke began to realize that true monsters come in the form of those that want to hurt the people closest to him. He also learned that if they succeed, there is a power within him that can no longer subdue the pain that he has felt.

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TBC

Author's note:
I hope I'm portraying Sasuke's character justly: constructive criticism and feedback is appreciated.
- Reviews only take a moment and serve as inspiration so let me know if you guys are liking this story thus far.