So I really don’t think it’s an accident that every time Sakura...

So I really don’t think it’s an accident that every time Sakura and Sasuke meet, the same exchange is used. The two didn’t get much else in terms of interaction in part 2 thus far, but Kishimoto always has their one moment be very significant in terms of panel usage and pattern, the pattern being the way Sasuke says Sakura’s name, and the eye contact. (Note; The way he says her name is not the same in the translations above since they’re from different sites, but I believe they all translate to something along the lines of ‘Ah, it’s Sakura.’ Correct me if I’m wrong.)

There is just something very ambiguous on Sasuke’s side of the exchange, mostly because we still have little idea what Sakura specifically means to him other than being a precious person. I’m sure this will be revealed in time, and that Kishimoto has purposely had these exchanges between the two to remind his audience that they too had a bond, and while he stresses the importance of Sasuke and Naruto’s bond more frequently, his bond with Sakura is equally important.

On a more off topic note in terms of if the last reunion meant anything, because of course there are the naysayers who insist that just because he said her name first, doesn’t imply anything important, it’s obvious that it does mean something for their relationship, romantic or not. It’s not so much the exchange itself, which at it’s most basic level is just Sasuke acknowledging Sakura first because she said his name. It’s that, when you take in the rest of part 2, it is following the same pattern of their last two exchanges. It still has significant panel time, Sasuke still says her name in that way, and they still share a decent amount of eye contact. Again, it’s a reminder to us that Sasuke and Sakura still share something, that Kishimoto didn’t forget that they had a bond, unlike was some might insist.