Vanity
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Sakura looks in the mirror and sees what she wants to see, even when she's looking at shattered pieces of a broken vanity.
Her hair falls in strands around her face, small locks cascading over her eyes, obscuring her forehead. Pink outlines startling, vivid green orbs that stare into the mirror, gaze boring into the pool of silver that almost seems to ripple.
She stares. And stares.
Haruno Sakura's reflection glares back at her, unflinching.
Slim fingers run through long, meticulously crafted tresses, pulling out silken knots in slow, deliberate movements. The scent of light perfume hangs in the air like a fine mist. Jasmine, a bright, clean scent. It's pure, with a hint of apricot lurking in the background, an undertone of leather beneath it all.
Shadows dance across her face as she takes a deep breath, the light from her lamps playing underneath her hair, rippling over her eyes. Sakura unconsciously straightens, hands coming down across her body to smooth over her crimson dress.
She stares at the mirror.
A young girl looks back. A freshly graduated genin. A seductive teenager with feminine beauty and the wiles to match. Sakura looks into the sheen of a silver surface and sees many things. She sees herself, top female graduate of the academy. Brains and beauty alike. A blossoming flower, just like her namesake.
She sees the boy of her dreams. Uchiha Sasuke. Dark, mysterious, handsome, famous. All the qualities in a boy that any young girl would want. She sees her arms linked around his, sees their wedding, a grand affair filled with flowers and a beautiful white gown.
She sees the third member of her team. Uzumaki Naruto. Bright, orange, loud, annoying. All the qualities that annoy a girl of her age. Any girl, she tells herself. She doesn't even see him in the picture. Why would she?
She sees their sensei. Hatake Kakashi. Tall, lazy, powerful, apathetic. Everything that a girl like her never wanted in a sensei. But she'll deal and bask in his praise like any other sensei she's ever had.
But staring into the long, body length mirror, what Sakura sees the most is a perfect reflection. A perfect life. An illusion.
What she doesn't see is the pain that follows Uchiha Sasuke everywhere. What she doesn't see in the depression that Naruto is struggling through. What she doesn't see are the ghosts that haunt Kakashi.
Being the smartest kunoichi of her graduating class, Sakura sees many things.
But she doesn't see the most important ones.
And so as she stares in the mirror, looking at a clear reflection of herself, Sakura is oblivious to the film that covers her eyes.
She sees many things. But she doesn't see the truth.
Short hair is pinned back behind her ears, a few stray strands falling.
Tears streak down her cheeks.
Jade eyes are blurred, filled to the brim as they leak down her face.
What's wrong with me?
She sits in the office of the Hokage, body curled up on itself, knees pulled against her chest. There's an oppressive silence in the room and even though she's the only one there, slumped against a squishy leather sofa, depression is seeping into her bones.
Why I am not enough?
He's gone. Gone, gone, gone like the wind. And she'd let him go.
The glint of silver catches her eyes as she raises a hand to wipe the tears from her face. On the far side of the couch, there is a small table. On the table is a large, circular disk, shimmering in the dim light of the Hokage's office.
Slowly, hesitantly, she approaches it. There is a silver plaque engraved with the details of the disk.
The Nidaime's "All Seeing Pool". Created from intricate time space ninjutsu and Tobirama's incredible mastery of water nature chakra. It is an heirloom of Konoha, a surviving remnant of the Nidaime's own chakra imprint.
Sakura gazes into it.
But she doesn't see herself. The Nidaime's pool does so much more than merely reflect an image.
It wasn't his fault, she tells herself. She stares into the Nidaime's 'pool', looking at her own vibrant green eyes, sharingan red lurking in the back of her mind.
Sakura sees Orochimaru's sick, yellow gaze. She sees the swirling marks of a curse seal and the anger that hatred that rushes through Sasuke. She sees it all fade from him. Sees him become distant, cold, colder than normal.
He was influenced by Orochimaru, she thinks.
Sakura sees Naruto, his own blue eyes narrowed as he stands atop a massive toad. She sees the swirling blue ball of chakra collide with a lightning covered fist. She sees the anger boil beneath Sasuke's crazed, murderous expression.
He felt like Naruto was getting too strong.
Sakura sees Kakashi grab their wrists, sees the pain in his single eye as he watched his two students almost kill each other. She sees the empty expression as he takes the news of Sasuke's defection.
Kakashi wasn't teaching them (him) enough.
Sakura sees a little bit more. But she can't see it all. She could... Staring into the Nidaime's "all seeing pool" Sakura has but the briefest of chances to see the whole picture. To see how hard Naruto is trying, to see how hard Sasuke is going off the deep end on his own, to see how Kakashi is dying on the inside. She has a chance.
Green eyes tear away from the disk of chakra water as the door opens and Tsunade walks in, words of failure on her lips.
Sakura misses her chance.
Water is kicked up around her, droplets spraying past her face.
He'd been right there.
Her hand is raised, green chakra clenched tight around her fist.
She could have done it. Kami knows she could have.
She's standing still, staring at the back of Uchiha Sasuke's head.
After everything he'd done, by all means, she should have.
But she just can't do it.
Sakura is sitting in the hospital, at the bedside of Uzumaki Naruto, who is fast asleep, recovering from being poisoned.
She remembers all the times they had together.
They'd failed once again. Sasuke had fled, had gotten away from the remnants of Team Seven.
Instead of Uchiha Sasuke the killer, Sakura sees Uchiha Sasuke, the young boy she'd been in love with. Still was in love with.
There's a small mirror at Naruto's bedside. Slowly, as to not awake the sleeping blonde, Sakura reaches over and takes the mirror in one hand.
Sasuke…
He'll come back. He's just being stupid. He'll realize what he's doing. You'll see. Naruto has faith, I have to too…
Her grip on the small vanity mirror is getting harder.
Sasuke just wants revenge and then he'll be back. It'll all go back to normal. We can be a team again.
The mirror cracks.
For a second, a brief moment, Sakura looks into the mirror and sees the creases and bags under her eyes and realizes something.
No. He won't. It's too late for him and we need to sto-
Sakura crushes the mirror with her bare hand.
Haruno Sakura sees many things.
But she can't see what's in front of her own eyes.
Fin