As Long As I Can Smile
"God, Tobi. Calm down, it's just a lake."
She always had a soft spot for children.
“Come swim with Tobi, Sakura-chan!”
It was like some inevitable fate that she’d find herself in ankle-deep water, staring at one of the most dangerous criminal in the face with such an indolent smile. It was the biggest traitorous thing she’d ever done against Konoha; but even the guilt had been smothered away with that hazy feeling overwhelming her mind whenever she looked at him. Maybe it was the way he said her name; with undivided love and admiration. Or, perhaps, the way he’d innocently ask about her life; if she liked to eat ice-cream or chocolates. But, for a moment, she instantly knew what made her entirely oblivious to the disloyal acts she committed on a daily basis.
It was how he didn’t care. And that was the beauty in it, she observed.
“Tobi wants to swim with Sakura-chaaaan.” He whined with a childish voice, splashing even more on the wait-deep water. Sakura’s lips broke into a grin, and she walked deeper into the water. If he didn’t care, why should she? If he could smile even when being a wanted criminal across several countries, why couldn’t she do the same? If he wanted to swim with her, why couldn’t she do that, too?
“I don’t think-” She slipped on the pebbles beneath the coursing river, and she felt her heart lurch to her throat. But even when she felt herself falling, falling, falling, a pair of strong arms securely grappled her waist and kept her above the surface.
It was moments like those in which she knew Tobi was no simpleton. A wanted criminal, she’d think. A murderer, she’d remind herself. But she could not judge him. Wasn’t she a murderer as well? Wasn’t she a criminal, too? She was. And when he tightened his grip and pressed his lips against the back of her hair, she didn’t flinch, she didn’t cringe, she didn't back off. All she did was close her eyes and permit herself a tiny smile.
“Sakura-chan! You scared Tobi!”
She only wanted someone to catch her before she drowned.
“Come swim with Tobi, Sakura-chan!”
It was like some inevitable fate that she’d find herself in ankle-deep water, staring at one of the most dangerous criminal in the face with such an indolent smile. It was the biggest traitorous thing she’d ever done against Konoha; but even the guilt had been smothered away with that hazy feeling overwhelming her mind whenever she looked at him. Maybe it was the way he said her name; with undivided love and admiration. Or, perhaps, the way he’d innocently ask about her life; if she liked to eat ice-cream or chocolates. But, for a moment, she instantly knew what made her entirely oblivious to the disloyal acts she committed on a daily basis.
It was how he didn’t care. And that was the beauty in it, she observed.
“Tobi wants to swim with Sakura-chaaaan.” He whined with a childish voice, splashing even more on the wait-deep water. Sakura’s lips broke into a grin, and she walked deeper into the water. If he didn’t care, why should she? If he could smile even when being a wanted criminal across several countries, why couldn’t she do the same? If he wanted to swim with her, why couldn’t she do that, too?
“I don’t think-” She slipped on the pebbles beneath the coursing river, and she felt her heart lurch to her throat. But even when she felt herself falling, falling, falling, a pair of strong arms securely grappled her waist and kept her above the surface.
It was moments like those in which she knew Tobi was no simpleton. A wanted criminal, she’d think. A murderer, she’d remind herself. But she could not judge him. Wasn’t she a murderer as well? Wasn’t she a criminal, too? She was. And when he tightened his grip and pressed his lips against the back of her hair, she didn’t flinch, she didn’t cringe, she didn't back off. All she did was close her eyes and permit herself a tiny smile.
“Sakura-chan! You scared Tobi!”
She only wanted someone to catch her before she drowned.