So, this is an essay I wrote at school today, and then typed up for everone here to see. I'd like to know if it's a good piece of work, and I'd like to hear who agrees and who doesn't agree with the points I make here. I've never seen an essay written on just this one scene, so I hope I did good. <3
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Pre-Notices
+ This essay is based on personal opinion based on canon facts.
+ This essay was not written to diss Anti-SasuSaku fans, nor was it written to convert them.
+ This is Iia’s first fandom essay. Don’t be too harsh on it.
+ Made some typos? OOPS. My bad.
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As a Naruto fan, you’ve probably seen episode 109 (If you’re a stickler to the manga: Chapter 181), right? If you don’t remember, this holds the scene where Sasuke and Sakura meet and conflict over Sasuke himself leaving Konoha for good, to gain power from the legendary sannin, Orochimaru. You don’t have to be a SasuSaku fan to agree that this scene is heartbreaking. Nevertheless, there is always that one person who sees this moment as a mere display of Sasuke’s cruel and cold attitude towards Sakura. This is a huge misconception, as Sasuke has shown more than enough care towards his teammates (just squint a bit, and you’ll see). However, this essay is not to analyze all of that. This essay’s purpose is to analyze and explain the possibilities of why Uchiha Sasuke left his teammate, Haruno Sakura on a bench before he left. First off, let’s take a moment to go over what happened to lead up to this point.
What Happened
Our scene starts off at Ichiraku Ramen; Naruto’s favorite restaurant. Here we see Naruto and Sakura, who are on a “date”. The funny thing about this date? Sakura initiates it. We all find out, however, that Sakura didn’t go on a date with Naruto for romance; she is worried about Sasuke, and despite his orders for her not to tell anyone about his curse seal, Sakura is too worried to keep this info to herself. Naruto understands her worry, and reassures her that Sasuke will be alright; the Uchiha would never do something like betray Konoha (Let’s Note: Neither Naruto nor Sakura understand Sasuke’s situation.) Though Sakura is grateful from Naruto’s attempts to comfort her, she is still not 100% convinced that Sasuke will stay in Konoha. She has a bad feeling, and after the “date”, rushes to the road that leads out of Konoha, where she does indeed meet up with Sasuke...who is equipped with a back-pack. It’s final: He is leaving. Sasuke questions her and tells her to go on home, but Sakura will not leave. Sakura tries to convince Sasuke to stay with her, with Team 7, and with Konoha, but Sasuke will not stay. She even confesses her love to him: She NEEDS him, and soon after threatens to scream if he doesn’t stay. Sasuke turns to leave, but in a flash, moves himself right behind Sakura. “Thank you,” he says. For what? Maybe everything. Sasuke then hits Sakura in the back of the neck (Let’s Note: Sasuke didn’t beat her up), causing her to lose consciousness, and lays her on a stone bench before he leaves Konoha.
The Bench: Why?
Now that our memories are refreshed, let’s get to analyzing the facts. We’ll start off with the two major arguments that lots of Sasuke-Haters and Anti-SasuSaku-ers just LOVE to use:
+ Sasuke left Sakura on a stone bench in the middle of the night. How uncomfortable and unsafe is that?! +
Yes, the first part of this is true: The bench was of stone, and yes, I’m sure that it was uncomfortable. But, let’s remember that Sakura was already knocked out. She wouldn’t have felt anything until she woke up, and as a ninja she is probably flexible anyways and used to sleeping in uncomfy places. Now, I have to disagree with the “unsafe” part, and here’s why: The bench was somewhere near the gates of Konoha. Konoha is a shinobi village, so with ninja on guard around the town at all times, I very highly doubt that there’s a high crime rate within the gate walls. Secondly, we’re talking near the gates. Because Konoha is a ninja village, with it’s own pack of enemies, I can assume that the area Sakura was in is probably one of the most heavily guarded areas in the village, ESPECIALLY at night. I think that I’m safe to say that Sasuke left Sakura in next to no danger at all, save for maybe a cold (though we could say that we haven’t seen much of a winter climate in Konoha).
Counter In-Short: With Sakura’s flexibility and ninja training/experience, a stone bench probably wasn’t so bad, and with Konoha’s top security at that gates, Sasuke left her in a place that was very safe.
+ If Sasuke REALLY cared, he’d have brought her somewhere else! He left her on a BENCH! This shows how much he DOESN’T care. +
If Sasuke really didn’t care, he’d have left her on the GROUND. Let’s focus on the fact that Sasuke is a 12-13 year old boy who is running away. He can’t get caught leaving, or he possibly won’t be able to leave at all. Leaving Sakura on the bench would prevent Sasuke from getting caught by someone who could really stop him from leaving (Let’s Note: Remember that before this, Sakura was with Naruto. Naruto may NOT have gotten home yet that night. Naruto could have very well prevented Sasuke from leaving). As a boy, there were probably numerous people who could’ve understood what was going on, and stopped Sasuke from leaving because of their strength compared to his own.
Counter In-Short: The bench was better than the ground, and for Sasuke, it was the best thing for Sakura considering that he couldn’t allow himself to get caught.
Other Places Sasuke Could [NOT] Have Left Sakura
So, we’ve analyzed the two biggest conflicting points on the bench incident, but we aren’t done just yet! Let’s say Sasuke wanted to bring Sakura somewhere better (I personally think he DID, but with the inconvenience of being exposed and being caught, it was impossible). Let’s say he was going to. Where could he really take her? The following suggestions are things I’ve actually seen in debates, though none would actually work. Let’s see what they are and why:
+ Sakura’s House +
Oh, really? This REALLY couldn’t work. One, we don’t even know if Sasuke knows where Sakura lives. Two, Sakura has family (a mother, at least). As a parent, how would you feel if in the middle of the night, your daughter is brought to you unconscious, in the arms of her crush, sporting a filled backpack. I know that I would be confused and suspicious. Sasuke just wouldn’t have time to be questioned by Sakura’s parents (and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want to completely lie like that) if he was trying to run away.
++ Counter: But Sakura has a window next to her bed! He could just slip through and put her there! ++
True. But we aren’t sure if Sasuke knows about this. And even if he does, what if it was locked? I’m sure Sasuke would have a BLAST explaining to the Harunos why he broke the window to their daughter’s room. Finally, do you REALLY think that he’s thinking about this? Give Sasuke some slack, he’s making a HUGE move forward in his life; he can’t have the layout of his friends’ houses in mind.
+ Hospital +
Like anywhere else, Sasuke bringing Sakura to the hospital would put him in danger of getting caught. Also, sending her to the hospital would probably put him in one of the worst situations he could be in. I mean, the medics would immediately know that she was knocked unconscious, and I doubt that they wouldn’t call Sakura’s parents and just let Sasuke go without questioning.
+ Naruto’s House/Kakashi’s House +
...WHY would Sasuke bring her there, and WHY would Sasuke go to the two other people that would have the most influence on making him stay, when he clearly wants to leave?
+ Sasuke’s House +
Sasuke knows that Sakura likes him, and as her friend, I doubt he wants to bring her even more pain (Let’s Note: Think about it, she’d be waking up in his house; it’d probably be very emotional for her) than what he’s already giving her. That, and go to the place he’s probably called home since after his home in the Uchiha District. Maybe going back there would be hard on him, too.
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The final statement? Sasuke leaving Sakura on a bench was the BEST option for himself, and it was something that he knew Sakura could handle and be safe on. He was thinking of her and of his situation when he decided to place her there. He did NOT do it because he wanted to be mean. He wasn’t being an “a*****e”, nor was he being a “heartless b*****d”. He did it in consideration of both of them, and with as much care as he possibly could without jeopardizing his own plan. Again, this was my person analyzations; whether they actually apply or not is unknown, but it is highly possible that they could and would. I hope I’ve brought up understandable and sensible points, so that Anti-SasuSaku fans and Anti-Sasuke fans can realize that Sasuke was being considerate and gentle, and his actions really prove it if you take a closer look.
Sasuke really did care, even if it wasn’t in a romantic interest. He CARED. Does anything else really matter?
The End
