I'm not too sure if she thinks he can still love her after trying to kill her, but perhaps there's still some lingering doubt in Sakura's mind that maybe Sasuke can still love her.
No, Sakura seemed quite aware as far back as when she made her confession to Sasuke in part 1 that Sasuke would never have any romantic feelings for her- "You must hate me...." that confession was out of desperation to do anything to save him from the destructive path she knew he was choosing. Her heart was breaking with every word, and even moreso when she begged Naruto to help her- she already knew Naruto was the only person who could reach Sasuke. She would have been content to never be with Sasuke, just to see the bond between Naruto and Sasuke back, and Sasuke again acting like he did at his best point due to Naruto's influence, and doing everything she could to strengthen and support their bond. Sakura knew, even then, the only thing that diverted Sasuke away from the destructive path that he was already on even before his parents were killed- once he started the Academy Fugaku and Mikoto were grooming him to be what Itachi refused to be...
I like to apologize for that. What panel I was referring to was the tent scene when the guy that got rejected by Sakura stated the man she loves must be great. And that one panel showed Sasuke in her subconscious, not Naruto.
There's a context you are missing there. It's a situation where a guy she has no interest in whatsoever makes an unwanted, uncomfortable and hopeless confession. She isn't reminded of the bud of her growing mutual love with Naruto in that context, but of the foolish young girl who fell in love with a boy who had absolutely no interest in her. This guy is praising her to the skies and it just reminds her of how less than stellar she thinks she is, and how ashamed she feels for the remnant of her feelings for the monstrous person she knows Sasuke is. It makes her feel sick and ashamed of herself. She's beating up on herself for failing to do what she whole heartedly believed she had when she told Naruto she had rid herself of any feelings whatsoever about Sasuke.
That what annoyed me the most. Why did Kishi do that? It made Sakura in a bad light. And there was no such a hint that she thinked about Naruto.
See my paragraph above and below...
Kishimoto tends to not repeat things about feelings that he thought he already made clear to the readers- not only was it made explicit in the manga that Sakura is in love with Naruto, but he even outright made it clear that he was writing Sakura believing she was being 100% truthful about her feelings. And look at how Sakura looks at Naruto when he rescues her, there's a very vulnerable open loving gaze she gives him as she says thank you. Naruto's response- including the lingering touch on her shoulder after he sits her down... there's an unspoken romantic vibe between them. Note how overtly he closely echoes Naruto and Sakura's poses with Minato and Kushina's in the flashbacks that come pretty soon after. Note as well Naruto's mental image of Sakura at the end of that arc- Sakura's gaze is loving and encouraging and completely on him- she is the only person in Naruto's mind who's gaze is 100% on him.
Well. Kishi wanted to give the readers the idea that Sakura still loves Sasuke, In a different way ofc. That's what I ment.
see my comment above.
Edited by ciardha, 17 March 2012 - 12:47 AM.
Dream you dream alone is only a dream, but dream we dream together is reality- Yoko Ono 1971
When you go to war, both sides lose totally- Yoko Ono
Remember, our hearts are one. Even when we are at war with each other, our hearts are always beating in unison- Yoko Ono 2009