Accidental Bloom - AngelsForeverIntertwined - Naruto [Archive of Our Own] (2025)

Chapter 1: The Realization

Chapter Text

Sakura was lying on her bed looking absently at the ceiling. Her fingers were interwoven over her stomach. It grumbled with months of starvation.

It was another less than stellar day after a mission. 1. Team 7 got a mission. 2. An enemy ninja popped up. 3. Naruto and Sasuke handled it while Sakura stood idle in a corner somewhere. 4. Kakashi congratulated them without sparing her a glance. 5. The mission is completed and they all go home. It was all so draining.

The vast difference in power dynamics of her team had only grown since the Wave mission and Sakura just knew that she would never be able to catch up to them.

Always cursed to be the one left behind, huh?

Sakura rolled over to her side. She looked around her room. It was just so childish. Stuffed bears, impractical girly clothes that did nothing to help her during missions, and overwhelming amounts of pink. She sighed to herself. There was no way in hell she was fit to be a ninja and she was too stubborn to admit it to herself for so long. Even her infatuation with Sasuke was fading. She only continued the act at this point to keep a sense of normalcy.

Sakura guessed that this all started with her and Ino’s rivalry. Ino had mentioned one day in passing the year before that she was slimming down nicely. The ludicrous idea of two 11 year old girls being on a diet did nothing to deter them, especially the competitive Sakura who wanted nothing more than to prove that she could succeed at something. Much to Ino’s ignorance, Sakura had continued this “competition” and it was affecting her greatly.

For the first six months, no changes were present in her body. Sakura was untrained, ill-informed, and lacked the discipline to eat a specialized meal plan for more than a day. It was frustrating and it was something that she reluctantly let Ino win. The diet was forgotten for a while until she finally started Team 7.

While she rejoiced being on a team with Sasuke at first, she was beginning to realize how detrimental he was to her self-esteem and confidence. It would be hard for anyone to integrate into a team with the son of the Fourth Hokage and the esteemed Uchiha clan. Others might have fared better than her though. She was just an insecure girl with no familial affiliation with ninjas or outstanding skills. She was a brilliant girl, but susceptible to following those she thought better than her.

Sakura balled her fists together until her nails dug into her skin until she drew blood. She watched it drip down her hand until it dropped to the floor. Tears collected in her eyes. She wiped at them furiously, but that didn’t stop the pathetic whimpers she let out.

She thought it was a cruel joke to have put her on a team like this. She didn’t stand a chance at becoming a ninja.

Kakashi, as acclaimed as he was in the ninja world, was far from teacher material and he knew it. Sakura hated seeing the way he was so dismissive of them, especially her. It was obvious he didn’t expect much of her and the only time she would be trained was if she happened to be in the same vicinity as the rest of her team. Never one on one as her teammates got to do.

He noticed she was smart, but wrote her off as some lovesick girl with no future. Even if it was true, she felt that there was still no reason to neglect teaching her since that was his job now no matter how much he obviously hated doing it. The most he ever asked her to do was intervene when Naruto and Sasuke started arguing. She hadn’t had the energy to do it lately and her resentment towards Kakashi was growing every day.

The mission to Waves was the beginning of the end for her. He noted her proficiency in chakra control, but only as a sexist ploy to motivate Naruto and Sasuke’s training. Once that exercise was over, he made no move to give her something else to occupy her time and she ended up back at the resident’s house to cook. It hadn’t bothered her at the time, but just being alone with her thoughts for a moment thinking about all the ways he failed her made her stomach drop.

It didn’t make it any better that Sasuke’s tongue cut like a knife. He’d find any and every way to belittle her. She took his comments as constructive criticism, but no matter how much she tried to train on her own he was just relentless. Standing back and finally looking at the boy she told herself she loved was hard. All those things she’d idolized in him before were now markers of his insensitivity.

She guessed she couldn’t blame him though. Living in your more successful, prodigal older brother’s shadow had to be hard especially with pressure from his family and high expectations from outsiders.

Naruto, with more time spent around him, was actually lovably annoying. He didn’t bother her as much when she slowly stopped idolizing Sasuke, but he could definitely work on his volume. His father is the Fourth Hokage and known across the land for his immense power and wit. He was currently under his father’s tutelage. It didn’t hurt that his mother was a member of the Uzumaki clan known for immense chakra reserves and great sealing skills. He was destined to be great and she now believed that he would be.

However, even with all his great assets, he still did nothing to boost Sakura’s self-worth. Sakura was sure that his love for her didn’t extend past his rivalry with Sasuke. She was just another conquest in his pursuit to best Sasuke. Although Sakura could now see them slowly becoming great friends, she wished that he would stop babying her. If Sasuke completely denied of her any ninja skill and Kakashi ignored her in favor of his more powerful students, than Naruto hid his disdain for her weakness by his incessant need to coddle her.

Even when Sakura tried to get involved in a fight, he was always there to swoop in in front of her and “save the day”. It was hard to be mad with him because she was such a terrible ninja and he had a heart of gold, but she just sometimes wished that he believed in her enough to let her handle herself.

This slow realization of the depth of her inadequacies had lead her into a terrible bout of depression. Her terrible dieting habits from her rivalry with Ino suddenly turned into a beacon of discipline. Since being on the team, she had started stress eating more than usual. Even her mother had made a remark about her weight gain. After an offhand comment made by Ino after a mission, Sakura had gone into overdrive.

She justified it to continue. She was gaining weight and that wouldn’t help her anymore since she was already such a deadweight to her team. She reasoned that losing weight would help her team carry her when they inevitably had to save her on a mission.

The first few weeks were the hardest. It was hard to walk, her head hurt all the time, and she was often dizzy. They voiced their concerns, but she always dismissed them.
Not like they really care anyway.

She started by cutting out snacks from her diet. She didn’t realize how many she ate until she started going through sugar withdrawals in the first week. Once she got past that plateau, she cut out carbs. She found herself perpetually hungry and had to force herself to stay in her room to avoid getting more food. From then on she cut out salty foods, then meats, then fats, until she realized that if she could do without all of that, then she didn’t need to eat anything at all.

It was a fun game to play. Seeing how far she could she go before she got sick was well documented in her diaries. Being able to go back to read how far she’d come in the past six months was extremely gratifying. But she just couldn’t make herself happier. No matter how much weight she lost, it was never enough. There were times where her teammates and peers seemed to be catching on and trying to keep up with all her lies was exhausting.

Take this afternoon for example. It was another mission of busy work finding the cat of a merchant’s wife. The entire ordeal was wrapped up rather quickly and it was lunchtime when they reported back to the Hokage. Just like countless times before, Naruto had asked her if she wanted to eat at Ichiraku’s ramen shop.

She fixed her mouth to decline when Kakashi, for the first time in a long while, decided to act like a teacher and offered to pay for everyone’s meals. Naruto whooped with joy and Sasuke made a slight head nod in agreement. They all turned and looked at her expectantly. She remembered the way she pulled at her clothes nervously. Naruto started dragging her away before she could even answer.

When they made it to Ichiraku, Sakura felt like her heart would burst out of her chest. It had been a while since she’d eaten in front of anybody, much less her teammates, and her anxiety was through the roof. The delicious aroma filled her nostrils and she was finding it harder and harder to resist temptation. She detached her chopsticks and fussed around with her food a little.

When she finally took her first bite, there was no denying the hunger plaguing her stomach. Small bites wouldn’t cut it. She’d almost fainted three times that morning during the mission and was running on one granola for the past six hours. She didn’t realize how fast she’d been eating until Naruto made a comment.
“Woah Sakura-chan! I didn’t know you liked ramen so much.”

It was such an innocent statement. She knew the boy didn’t mean it like that, he never did, but when she looked into her empty bowl with no recollection of eating besides the lingering taste in her mouth, she knew she had to leave. She dismissed herself with an excuse about her parents being upset about her spoiling her appetite with ramen and left.
She took winding paths and alleyways that would do their best to keep her hidden and ran home. Her vision was blurred from all the crying. She didn’t know how she made it home with her inability to see other than muscle memory.

Sakura went up to her room, slammed the door, and entered the small bathroom connected to her bedroom. She lifted the toilet seat up, pushed her fingers down her throat, and puked until she felt her stomach completely empty. She flushed the toilet without looking and laid on the floor for an hour before she heard her parents open the front door and call out to her.

Sakura cleaned herself up and rushed downstairs to help her parents with the new furniture and decorations for the house. It didn’t take long for a light-hearted conversation about furniture to turn into another one of her mother’s rants in opposition to Sakura’s ninja status.

“I just don’t understand why you’re so adamant about being a ninja. I remember you coming home from school talking about gossip with Ino and that Uchiha boy, never ninja skills. I think you’re doing it to spite me at this point.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. Conversations between her and her parents had become tense and strained since starting her ninja career. Her mother was very vocal about her disapproval while her father simply ignored the conversation altogether. On some nights, his indifference hurt worse than a knife.

“I want to be a ninja. It’s something I like to do.”

“Honey, you’re not very good at it. I don’t understand why you can’t do something more low risk that matches your skills,” her mother remarked in her patronizing maternalistic tone. It was a tone she had been taking more frequently. It grated on Sakura’s ears.

“I am good. One of the missions my team and I went on even had a bridge named after us.”

“How much of that honor was as a result of what you did on the battlefield?”

The room went silent. Her father could sense the tension in the room and tried to quell it before it escalated. “Come on both of you. Let’s just put these things away so we can get ready for dinner.”

“What does it matter? I’m a part of the team.”

“Oh honey…I’m not trying to be the bad guy here or anything, but your father and I, we know your skillset. Maybe if you were on a different team your shortcomings wouldn’t be so glaring, but those boys are powerhouses and you’ll just end up getting in their way. Just quit while you’re ahead and stay here with me, ok?”

Sakura stopped breathing. No matter how true it was, she didn’t want to hear it especially not from her mother. This had to be the ultimate betrayal. Sakura started shaking with rage. Her father walked over and laid a hand on her back.

“Let’s stop this now. It’s only going to get worse.”

“YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ME!”

Her mother rolled her eyes, used to the outburst. “Ugh, not this again,” her mother said with a tone of dismissal. “Not everyone’s against you just because they’re being realistic. I’m only telling you this to spare your feelings.”

Sakura’s shakes of rage turned into sobs. Before she could stop herself, the tears poured out and she was blubbering like a baby.

“I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU!”

Her mother looked taken aback. Sakura could feel her father jacking her up from behind and shaking her.

“That’s enough! Apologize to your mother and go to your room!”

Sakura ran straight up the stairs and slammed her room door shut. She could hear her parents’ protests from downstairs, but she didn’t care. She was just so sick of everyone telling her she was useless without even giving her a fair chance to prove herself.

This was how she found herself on her bed moping. She looked over at the clock. It was almost midnight and her parents were still downstairs just talking. They’d been at the dinner table for hours just rambling about the most mundane topics. However, Sakura’s ears perked up when her mother started talking about her.

“I just don’t know what to do with that girl. She can be so stubborn sometimes.”

“That’s where you two are alike. You never back down from a fight even when you’re wrong,” her father quipped. Sakura heard them laugh with a joy she hadn’t heard in months.

“Please! I’m not that bad. Even I know when to quit,” she heard her mother reply. Sakura could feel a weight in her stomach drop.

“Well it’s obvious you won’t be able to convince her that this dream she has of being a ninja isn’t realistic, so just let her figure that out herself.”

“And embarrass us in the process? I don’t think so,” her mother comments with a laugh. “It’s a pipe dream and you know it dear. She can be mad at me now but she’ll realize I was right later.”

“Ah, just let her indulge herself now. Maybe she’ll realize she doesn’t have the chops in a few more months and then we won’t have to worry about this anymore,” her father reasoned.

“I hope you’re right.”

A small laugh ensued between the two ends the conversation. Sakura gets up and stands by the door with half a mind to let them know that she heard what they said and wouldn’t be changing her mind. But she could only stand at the door with tears in her eyes and the knowledge deep down in her heart that they were right.

Chapter 2: A Horrible Decision

Chapter Text

Sakura slipped into her sandals and headed out the door. She wore a plain, white, flowy dress with a large straw hat embroidered with a flower. Team 7 agreed to do a training session today, but Sakura had no intention of going.

Not like they meant to include me anyway.

She was heading towards the Hokage Tower. It was time to be realistic. She was going to do the mature thing and formally quit the team. Last night was hard to swallow. Coming to terms with being a deadweight would be hard on anyone, especially a 12-year-old girl with no support system.

She greeted the door guards and entered the building. A few other employees greeted her on her way to the Hokage’s office and she returned their kindness. Once she finally reached the Hokage’s office, she was disappointed, yet relieved to see an unknown, busty blonde woman sitting on the desk.

She was disappointed because she wanted to speak to the Fourth directly, but relieved that she didn’t because her anxiety was shooting through the roof just working up the nerve to talk to him.

She stood at the entrance with a meek look. It took a few moments for the mysterious woman to look up from a book she was reading and notice her. “Hello,” the blonde woman greeted. “How may I help you?” she asked as she set her book down.

The blonde woman rose from her place on the desk and moved closer towards Sakura. Sakura could feel her chest constrict with worry.

“Hi, I’m here to resign from my team.”

The words fell unnaturally from her mouth. Sakura’s voice cracked on the last few words and she knew this was a decision she would come to regret.
I have to do this for everyone’s benefit. I’m more of a dead last than Naruto will ever be.

The blonde woman frowned. She could see the young girl’s inner turmoil. It was obvious that this was a hard decision for her to come to and there was nothing the woman could do to comfort her.

“That’s a very permanent decision,” the woman reasoned.

Sakura shrugged. “It’s for the best. I’m hardly a ninja anyhow.”

The blonde woman observed the girl’s sullen expression. It was such a hard reality to face for women in the ninja world. A male dominated field where men made up the majority of teams was an unfair playing field. Even if they had a female teammate, girls were constantly cast to the side as to not outshine their male counterparts’ achievements. The woman didn’t want to think of the many women and girls just like the pink-haired girl who had had to come to this same decision before.

The woman started shuffling through a filing cabinet until she found the form the young girl was looking for. “Just fill this out and I’ll give this to Minato-san for you.”

Sakura took the form from the woman’s hand and scribbled her career away in a matter of 5 minutes. She wanted to cry, but there was no time for weakness. She scrawled her last signature and held herself together to hand it back to the blonde woman.

“Sakura, huh?” The blonde woman read her name out loud unconsciously.

Sakura stood before her fidgeting with her hands. The woman looked up from her paper and smiled.

“That’s all for now. Come back here tomorrow at the same time. We’ll also have to get your sensei’s final word on this.”

“Don’t worry. He’ll agree,” Sakura said with mirth coating her words. “See you tomorrow…I guess.”

The blonde woman waved the young girl away. Sakura walked out the doors of the Hokage’s office barely able to hold herself off from sobbing.
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The blonde woman sat in a rolling chair with her feet propped up on the Hokage’s desk. She was reading over Sakura’s file. Other than her intelligence, noted chakra control, and potential for genjutsu, there was nothing outstanding about her profile.

It had to be a joke for the Third to even pair her with such an infamous duo. Was he deliberately sabotaging her career?

She found it hard to disagree with the girl’s previous self-deprecating statements, but she could work with potential. It was obvious that the girl’s self-esteem was at an all-time low and she needed a quick pick me up. If Sakura came back tomorrow, the blonde woman would be able to give her just that.

The blonde woman could feel the familiar chakra signatures of the Fourth Hokage, Kakashi, and another extremely talented older ninja approaching the office. The blonde woman made haste to put away the girl’s files and tucked her resignation letter into her bra. The trio walked in in the middle of a conversation, lighthearted from what she could tell.

“Ah, Tsunade-sama, how nice to have you here. What brings you into town?”

The Fourth Hokage, Minato, greeted Tsunade with a smile and a warm hug. Tsunade reciprocated with a fierce hug and a smile that outshined his.

“You’ve never greeted me that nicely, Tsunade and we’re peers,” Jiraiya, the older man pouted.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and made her way back around the desk and sat in the rolling chair.

“Please spare me the theatrics. No one would want to greet a degenerate like you warmly.”

The room erupted in hearty laughter. Minato made his way around the desk to stand next to Tsunade. Jiraiya and Kakashi leaned against the front of it.

“And to answer you Minato, I’m here because of the attack at the Chuunin Exams. You’re very calm for a man who was almost assassinated.”

Minato waved his hand dismissively. “It comes with the job. Besides, they were after Sarutobi-sama more so than me.”

Tsunade shook her head. Jiraiya laughed loudly and clapped his hand on Minato’s shoulder.

“Don’t be so modest boy! You’re a force of your own. I’m sure Sand was trying to take you out, too.”

“How comforting,” Kakashi deadpans.

Tsunade held back a chuckle with the back of her hand covering her mouth. Jiraiya scowled at him. Kakashi slid his book into one of the pockets of his jounin vest and cleared his throat.

“Well? What’ll it be Jiraiya? Will you be taking Naruto off my hands to formally train him?”

Tsunade’s eyes widened in shock. She had no idea her old teammate was planning on mentoring someone at his old age. It seemed impractical to a woman like her who was so used to moving on her own time.

“Oh you should, Jiraiya-sensei! It’ll be like me and you.”

Jiraiya scratched his head apprehensively. Training the loud-mouthed brat was not on his schedule.

“I don’t know. I think Kakashi’s doing a pretty good job, no?”

“It’s not the same. He needs a more concentrated teaching method. I have three kids to drill basic ninja stuff into, it’s a given that I won’t be able to include everyone’s separate skill sets.”

No kidding, Tsunade thought to herself.

“Please sensei. Do it for me,” Minato pleaded with Jiraiya.

Jiraiya looked away knowing he was going to cave. “Ah, you always know how to convince me don’t you kid?”

Tsunade could see that the three men had reached an agreement. Minato was moving things around in his filing cabinets when Tsunade saw a document highlighted in red. She pulled it out much to Minato’s chagrin and read it. The information was alarming, but possibly beneficial to all parties involved.

“Have you read this?” Tsunade asked while holding the paper out of Minato’s reach.

“Some of it,” Minato struggled to get it out of Tsunade’s hand. “I haven’t had the time to read it thoroughly.”

Tsunade rose from the swivel chair and walked to the other side of the room with the paper in hand.

“As a way to ease tension between all ninja nations after Sand’s attack on the Leaf, the villages are considering a peace treaty via creating international teams of young genin. Any genin can apply to be part of this exchange program and higher ranking ninja from any region can apply to be a sensei. Kumogakure has the housing infrastructure needed to house potential applicants.”

“Thank you for that summary,” Minato replies exasperatedly.

“Sounds good to me. Why are you dragging your feet on it?” Tsunade inquired.

Minato sighed in defeat. “I’m not dragging my feet. I just have a lot of other paperwork to do before I get to that.”

“Well now since I’ve read it for you, you can agree to it now. Right guys?”

Kakashi made a noise of approval while Jiraiya grinned with pride.

“I told you she’d be a good candidate for Hokage, didn’t I?”

Minato chuckled in agreement. Tsunade rolled her eyes and flicked Jiraiya upside the head.

“Don’t volunteer my time you bozo! Always pushing your work off onto me. I’m sure he asked you first.”

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Tsunade placed the document on the Hokage’s table and slid it closer to Minato. He took it with a relieved sigh.

“So you’ll be signing off on it?” Minato nodded wearily.

Tsunade released a megawatt smile.

There’s hope for you yet Sakura.

“I’ll have your first applicant here tomorrow morning.” Tsunade left in a whirlwind of happy delusion. The three males watched her leave in a confused shock.
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Sakura had never felt more useless in her life. The walk back home was brutal. Everything felt so surreal. Time seemed to slow down. There was nothing more she wanted to do than cry out. In anger, despair, desperation, or defeat? She didn’t know, but she needed to scream.

With her final scribble, she had permanently ended any semblance of a ninja career she had ever believed she would be able to have. Coming back tomorrow would just be another knife in the wound.

She saw Naruto and Sasuke hanging out with the rest of the rookie nine and Team Gai at Ichiraku’s and felt like a rock was placed onto her chest. She wanted to at least give them a proper goodbye, but just the memory of what she had done brought her to tears.

When she finally got home, her parents steered clear of her. It was obvious she was in no better mood than last night and judging by the sobs emitting from her room, she wouldn’t be better anytime soon. Sakura laid sprawled out across her bed and mashed her face into one of her sickeningly cute plush pillows. No matter how muffled her cries, she was sure the entire neighborhood could hear her mourning at this point.

All of a sudden, Sakura heard a knock at her door. She bolted up and rubbed at her tear stained cheeks.

“Sakura?”

It was her mother’s voice. The slow creaking of the door opening signaled her hesitance. Last night was really tense and it was obvious it added on to whatever her daughter was feeling right now.

Sakura sat up in her bed in a hunched style as she watched her mother enter the room with a plate of rice balls. The delicious aroma hit her nose and she had to fight the creeping feelings she would have to face later about eating a full meal. She was in a delicate state and stress eating was all she could do at this point.

“I brought you some food dear.”

Sakura’s mother placed the food down on her daughter’s night stand. She made a move to reach out to cup Sakura’s face, but her daughter jerked away bitterly. Her mother sighed in exasperation and slowly backed away.

“You should eat dear. That always makes you feel better.”

Sakura waited until her mother was completely out of the room before she got up to lock the door. She laid back down on her bed and grabbed one of the three rice balls. She stuffed her face with a vigor she hadn’t allowed herself to in months. Every morsel was chewed with enthusiasm and before she knew it, all three rice balls were gone.

As soon as she swallowed the last piece, regret sunk into her. All those feelings she’d tried to eat away came bubbling up to the surface and she wanted nothing more than to puke all her feelings away metaphorically and literally. Every terrible memory she could muster popped into her head and another round of sobs racked her body.

I wish I was normal. Or at least pretty. Something to make up for having no talent would be nice.

Triggered beyond belief, Sakura sat up and rummaged through her dresser drawers. Underneath a mountain of underwear was an old, rusty kunai that she kept for special purposes. She was about to do something she’d tried to forget about for over a year.

Sakura walked into the adjacent bathroom, kunai in hand, and looked into the mirror. She was rail thin, with blotchy skin, and an underdeveloped body that everyone felt the need to comment on. If people weren’t preoccupied with her lack of a chest, then it was about her forehead, if it wasn’t about her forehead, then it was her lack of skill in battle. It was a never ending nightmare of her ineptness. She was tired of pretending to be okay.

She steadied the kunai above her wrist. She wasn’t this reckless the last time she did it. She still had the scar on her thigh from her last breakdown, but it was faded and she liked to think of it as a distant memory. She’d done it after losing her diet competition with Ino.

It wasn’t just that she had lost to the girl, it showed her weaknesses in every other aspect in her life and she hated it. It didn’t make it any better that her mom just had to make a snide comment that night either.

Sakura ran the kunai blade across her wrist. It hurt like a bitch, but it was a nice release and she loved watching the blood trickle. Just knowing she could play with her life like this exhilarated her and she always wanted to go further to test the limits.

Sakura continued this for a few more cuts before her sink became stained with blood. She washed her wrist off, disinfected both her sink and wrist, and wrapped herself in some spare gauze she’d taken from her parents’ bathroom. She looked into the mirror once again in defeat.

I’d better get used to this. There’ll be a lot more nights like this since I’ll be with mom and dad more often.

Chapter 3: Hit & Run

Chapter Text

It was morning. The sun’s rays stretched through Sakura’s blinds and tickled her skin. Last night felt like a fever dream. She almost wanted to pinch herself out of this nightmare.

Sakura yawned, stretched, and got herself out of bed to start her new daily routine. She brushed her teeth without enthusiasm. Her movements were agonizingly slow. When she brushed her short hair, the pain from the memory of the Chuunin Exams struck her heart like lightning.

All that talk just for nothing to change, she pouted. I really liked my long hair.

Sakura exited the bathroom after her morning wash and went to scour through her closet. She settled on a pair of overalls that were once a bit snug to now hanging off her body like a burlap sack. She paired them with flip flops and a t-shirt and headed out.

She still wasn’t speaking with her parents. She found more and more that there was nothing to say. On her way out, her mother didn’t even try to offer her any breakfast.

Not that I would’ve eaten any.

Sakura trudged past all the familiar shops and food stands. For a moment, she believed that she could get used to her new life. Besides, there was no shame in being a normal villager. But she didn’t expect to see Sasuke coming out of one of the miscellaneous shops on the upcoming block.

He spoke a few words with the owners and, then, as if he could sense her, looked straight ahead and made eye contact. Sakura panicked. She had no intention of running into anyone, especially someone as unsympathetic as Sasuke. There was no way she’d be able to talk if he started asking questions. So she did the best thing she could in a sticky situation. She ran.

She took the shortcuts that she usually took and bolted towards the Hokage Tower. She didn’t know why she didn’t do this from the start, but she was regretting it deeply.

Of all people to run into. God, I have the worst luck.

Sakura was running down another alleyway cut when Sasuke jumped right down in front of her. She recoiled in shock and nearly jumped out of her skin. It was stupid of her to run, but she never expected to be chased.

He looked down his nose at her, as he usually did, with his piercing obsidian eyes. When she looked straight into them, she could see all the reasons she had initially fallen for him. No matter what Sasuke acted like, his eyes always told his secrets. It was that mouth of his that bothered her.

“We had training yesterday,” he stated like he was speaking to a petulant child. His face remained impassive, but Sakura could tell under all his carefully crafted features that he was pissed beyond belief. She dreaded being cornered by him of all people.

“I-I know.”

He scoffed haughtily. She could sense the snide remark coming from a mile away.

“If you knew then why didn’t you come?”

She could tell he wasn’t asking out of concern. Kakashi was perpetually late, so Sasuke was probably already having to wait for the teacher to show up. When Kakashi finally did appear, they all probably waited a few more hours before they actually started training because they anticipated her arrival. She could only imagine how irritated he had to be with listening to Naruto’s nagging for longer than usual.

Sakura’s eyes darted around for an exit. She wanted to avoid this conversation at all costs. Sasuke watched her carefully and his anger rose tenfold. He grabbed her shoulder and forcefully bolted her into place. She didn’t get to stand him up and then avoid all accountability. Sakura realized she wouldn’t get out of this without an explanation and sighed.

“I was sick yesterday,” she said half-heartedly. “I’m sorry your training was put off so long for my absence.”

She bowed to him with regret. He loomed over her apologetic figure and sneered. She had to be the most pathetic person he’d ever met.

“You’re worse than the dobe in all ninja aspects. It wouldn’t do you good to get sick all the time,” he said matter of factly.

Sakura kept her head bowed so he wouldn’t see the tears threatening to spill over. When she heard his footsteps fade into the distance, she wiped her eyes and started her journey back to the Hokage Tower.
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Sakura hadn’t taken more than a few steps into the Hokage Tower when the busty, blonde woman from the day before pulled her to the side and greeted her with a megawatt smile. Sakura returned it with a meek one of her own, not feeling in the mood to be cheery at all.

Finalizing her termination was going to be gut wrenching. Talking it over with Kakashi was going to be a nightmare. Anxiety weighed in her stomach like a bowling ball. She just wanted to cut herself open and be freed of emotions.

Tsunade pulled out a form and Sakura took it from her hands to read it over for herself. It looked very different from the one she’d read yesterday. It certainly wasn’t a resignation letter. Sakura looked up at the woman in confusion. Tsunade smiled at her and took the paper from the young girl’s hand.

“I know I made you think you’d be coming back here to finalize your resignation, but I just couldn’t let you,” Tsunade explained. Sakura’s shoulders slumped in exasperation.

This woman doesn’t know what she’s getting into.

“I read your file yesterday,” the older woman told her. Sakura’s back went ramrod straight. She’d never been so embarrassed in her life. This woman had to be joking if she saw her file and still advocated for her to continue pursuing a ninja career.

“I think you were placed onto the wrong team. Sarutobi’s getting senile.”

Sakura looked up at the woman dejectedly. She had no idea who she was and here this woman stood trying to tell her what she already knew.

I wish she would put me out of my misery already.

“I think you’ll be better suited in this new program the villages have created.”

Sakura’s ears perked up. She knew she should focus on giving up her silly dreams, but deep down, she really did want to become a ninja. Proving her skills to herself would be the first step to gaining a sense of confidence. She looked up at the woman with rapt attention.

“The villages are suggesting creating international teams. You’ll be selected for a new team and be placed in Kumogakure on a dual citizenship visa. This could foster better relationships amongst villages and probably level the playing field amongst our emerging ninjas. How does that sound to you?”

Same as where I am now.

Sakura’s mood deflated. What difference was this program than what she was already doing in her home village? Other than bettering relationships between villages, how would this help her?

Tsunade could see Sakura’s inner turmoil. The depth of the young girl’s insecurities was deep and she could see the hesitation she held. Before Sakura could open her mouth to decline, Tsunade made a proposition.

“How about this? If you sign up for this program, not only will you have a new team to train with, but you’ll also have me, a legendary Sannin to train you.”

Sakura’s jaw dropped. How could she not recognize Tsunade? She’d read plenty of books about superfluous subjects and she distinctly remembered the section dedicated to the legendary Sannin. Who would’ve thought she’d cross paths with one and be propositioned for training?

But then reality came crashing in. Tsunade would be wasting her time on an untalented girl like her. Someone more worthy of her time like Ino should be getting this question. Sakura shook her head. Tsunade knew she would have to nip this situation in the bud immediately.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Sakura. Do you really have the confidence to present your resignation to the Fourth and Kakashi?”

Sakura shook her head. A stream of tears burst from her eyes and she struggled to swallow down her sobs. Tsunade looked unnerved by the girl’s display of emotions and tried to shush her. After rubbing a few soothing circles into the girl’s back, she quieted down.

“Here,” Tsunade handed her the permission slip. “Take this home, fill it out, and come back with your parents’ signature. If you’re fast about this, we can leave as early as tomorrow morning.”

Sakura looked up at Tsunade with hope in her eyes that hadn’t been present in months. This was her moment. Finally! Someone was able to look at her and see her for all her potential. This was an opportunity she couldn’t miss. Sakura wiped her face and nodded her head at Tsunade with a newfound fierceness. If she let an opportunity like this escape her, she’d never get another one like it.
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Sakura ran home with a smile stretching from ear to ear. The wind blew past her face and threw her tresses with such a lightness that she felt like she was flying. What else could possibly explain today’s sudden turn of events?

She bolted through the village with little regard for those passing by who stood in her way. Today was a day of celebration and she planned to do that as soon as she arrived home. She stood at the door of her home and could hear the muffled sounds of her parents’ voices. She cracked the front door open with little noise and walked in on a rather explosive conversation.

“You are always enabling that girl! You try to make me look like the bad guy for telling her the truth!” Her mother’s voice went shrill from screaming.

Arguments between her parents were becoming more common, but she’d never heard them yell at each other.

“Oh so now everything’s my fault? Listen to yourself, Mebuki! She’s a twelve-year-old girl, she’s supposed to make stupid decisions before realizing they’re not realistic. God! You’re such a wench sometimes!”

“I’m the wench? I’m the wench? At least she knows upfront that I don’t agree with this silly ninja career fantasy. I don’t go behind her back and wait for her teacher to show up at the front door to tell him that he won’t have to worry about her attendance at training anymore because you’ll find a way to coax her into quitting!”

Sakura’s jaw dropped. That behavior was expected of her mother, but she never thought her father would stoop that low. Her hands shook and she could feel bile rising in her throat.

On the flip side, Mebuki and Sakura’s father were in the middle of an intense stare down. Her father was the one to break the silence.

“I don’t understand what you’re upset about Mebuki. You don’t want her on the team either and we both know she’s burdening those boys. Are you mad because I was vocal about with her teacher and you weren’t?”

Mebuki sighed and massaged her temples. Years of weariness piled on her shoulders in a matter of seconds. Her body felt like a lump of potatoes. “That isn’t the point Kizashi. You went behind our daughter’s back to tell her teacher what I’ve been saying for years. You encouraged her to join the academy, to pursue this career, and continue her training while knowing in the back of your mind that she wasn’t capable of half of what those other kids were. You kept this information to yourself all these years while making me look like the bad guy every time for bringing it up. You never have my back and it’s obvious that you treasure secrets and scripted composure more than your family.”

Kizashi regarded his wife with careful introspection. He tilted his head up at her and realized something was off about this entire conversation. Mebuki, overwhelmed with emotion, sat in the nearest chair and covered her face with her hands. She knew she was blowing this situation out of proportion, but she was honestly fed up with everything.

“This isn’t about what I said to Sakura’s teacher…is it?” Kizashi pondered slowly.

Mebuki shook her head and let out a big sigh. “No, it isn’t and I’m tired of us acting like there’s nothing wrong.”

Kizashi steeled himself. Mebuki sat up fully at the dining room table and spoke with unfiltered realness.

“This entire marriage consists of me picking up all the slack while you get to come in at the last minute and pretend to be superman. Everything I say, you debate it. Every decision I make, you hate it. I just don’t know what to do anymore,” Mebuki revealed with honest sincerity. She ran her fingers through her hair and continued. “This marriage was built on convenience. I got pregnant, so you married me so my father wouldn’t kill you. All these years later and I’ve only just begun to realize how much I hate it. Sometimes I think being your wife could be okay, but then I have to remember I’m a mother and all my energy is just gone thinking about it. She nags, and she bitches, and she moans about everything no matter how much care I try to approach her with. I just want to strangle her sometimes. There are days when I just wish I would’ve taken the tonic my aunt offered and been able to forget about this whole thing.”

Mebuki rested her forehead on her intertwined fingers. Lines in her forehead from distress formed. It felt so good to get that off her chest. Unhappiness had been a constant for years and she’d just never had anywhere to release it.

Kizashi on the other hand shook with rage. How dare she diminish his inputs?

“You think you’re the only one suffering in this fucking marriage? I never expected to end up with such a petulant child! She’s so stubborn and bullheaded that nothing gets through that thick skull of hers. Unlike you, I have tact. What does she need to hear about how you don’t like her career path all the time for? It’s obvious that she’s continuing to do so because you’re in such strong opposition. This marriage is as much a nightmare for me as it is for you!”

“Spare me the fucking woe is me! It’s not you who had to carry that girl for nine months or do years of child rearing just for her to grow up and spit everything you’ve drilled into her from a young age in your face. I mean, god, when most mothers think about having daughters, they think about matching outfits and shopping sprees. Not coming home bloodied and beaten after missions. She can’t even allow me that experience after all I’ve been through.”

“So that’s my fault?!” Kizashi yelled.

“YES!” Mebuki replied with a newfound venom. “All your enabling and incompetence has given me a child who can’t even see the world for what it is.”

Mebuki paused for a moment to sob. Her shoulders heaved up and down with tears rolling down her face. Kizashi’s face softened and he made his way over to his wife to console her. She looked up at him and just shook her head.

“You’ve left me with nothing…nothing at all.”

Suddenly, both parents heard the slamming of a door. Their heads snapped to the front door to find it dangling open. They looked at each other with faces of horrified shock. There was only one other person in the house with a key to unlock the front door.

“Oh no, do you think she…” Mebuki started in a low voice.

Kizashi looked at the dangling door and swallowed a lump in her throat. Sakura would never be the same.

Chapter 4: A Spark of Triumph

Chapter Text

To say last night was tense would be an understatement. You could hear a mouse piss on cotton with the silence that impregnated the house. All attempts of conversation were shot down by Sakura.

Although Mebuki and Kizashi tried, they knew they’d dug themselves into a hole. They’d both been selfish and projecting their own feelings onto their daughter. Sakura’s anger was justified.

On the bright side, with the strain on their relationship, Sakura didn’t have to come up with some flimsy excuse about not eating dinner tonight. She went to bed happy that she hadn’t stress eaten after a situation like this as she would’ve in times before.

On yesterday’s walk, Sakura collected her thoughts and calmed herself down. She didn’t want to alert the villagers of her distress so she tried to keep the tears to a minimum. She was so embarrassed. No one had luck as bad as her. She thought that you should have at least one person, especially a parent, to rely on. But she had been slowly finding out that she had no real allies outside of herself.

It was why she hopped onto the rooftop of a building and forged her parents’ signatures.

They’d never support this decision anyway. I might as well advocate for myself.

With every box she filled out, Sakura could feel her confidence rise. It was the first time she’d been sure of herself in months. And from a stranger of all people. As soon as the last signature was forged, she roof hopped back to the Hokage Tower and was directed by guards to go to the hospital.

When she got there, Sakura was amazed by what she saw. She’d never seen the hospital run so smoothly. Tsunade was cool, calm, and collected as she passed out orders like a drill sergeant. In a matter of hours, she’d streamlined everyone’s work and cut what would’ve been hours of overtime assignments into half a shift. When Sakura looked at Tsunade, she saw all that she wanted to be.

Sakura sauntered toward Tsunade who was still giving out orders and presented her registration form confidently. Tsunade beamed down at her with the radiance of one thousand suns. Her energy brought out one of Sakura’s long forgotten true smiles. She briefly introduced Sakura to her assistant Shizune and her pig TonTon.

She told the young girl what to pack for their journey tomorrow and what time to meet her at the gates. By the time Sakura had make it back home, she’d almost forgotten what she was so upset about.

Well…she would’ve if her parents hadn’t tried to smother her as soon as she walked through the door. All those empty apologies and trite explanations for what was essentially a wish for Sakura to never have been born didn’t move her.

Sakura ran upstairs and slammed her door like the previous night. They tried to get her to come out and talk, but it was all to no avail. She wasn’t up for talking and they had no idea how to repair the damage they’d caused.
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Tsunade walked back into the Hokage Tower with a shit-eating grin. She was so happy that the girl had agreed to the deal. There was bit of doubt, but Tsunade could be quite persuasive when need be. She entered the Hokage’s office to find the same trio of Minato, Jiraiya, and Kakashi chatting together.

Tsunade walked up to his desk and slammed the registration form on his desk. She beamed with pride. Minato took the sheet with a nervous laugh and read it over. His eyebrows rose when he read the name.

“You got Sakura to sign up for this program. Isn’t that your student Kakashi?” Minato inquired.

Kakashi gave a stiff nod. He wondered why the girl wasn’t at practice the previous day nor today. Seeing Tsunade’s grin told him all he needed to do. Still, he was puzzled about her parents’ obliviousness to her absence and even stranger dismissal of her ninja career. As much as he agreed with their sentiments, it just wasn’t something he’d ever thought he’d hear from a student’s parents.

Kakashi leaned against the Hokage’s desk in a way that only he could make look cool. Minato filed the paper away into a small envelope and called for a carrier bird. Jiraiya looked at the scene before him with curiosity.

“You only came here yesterday and already recruited someone for a program you just learned about?” Jiraiya pondered.

Tsunade shrugged. She didn’t feel an explanation was truly needed for what she knew was the right decision. Denying someone in need of help wasn’t something she could do.

“The details don’t matter Jiraiya. Tomorrow, me and Sakura will set out for a journey of a lifetime. I’ll even be able to drop her off in Kumo.”

The three men looked at Tsunade in shock. Minato cleared his throat and looked at her directly.

“You mean you won’t be staying?”

Tsunade waved a dismissive hand at the naïve man. When had they had known her to stay in one place? It was ridiculous to even think she would.

“I thought you were coming to see the Third,” Jiraiya added.

If one didn’t know him as well as Tsunade had, they would’ve missed the longing nag that stained his voice. Tsunade rolled her eyes. He had always been such a big baby.

“I saw the old man already. Plus, I think Sakura has potential and I’d like to mentor her.”

Kakashi choked on his spit. He coughed for about 30 seconds before recomposing himself. This was a turn of events he’d never seen coming.

“You want to train Sakura?” Kakashi asked shell shocked.

“You make it sound so unfathomable,” she quipped.

“I’m just surprised is all,” the masked man admitted. “I never expected you of all people to want to mentor someone. Much less one of my own students.”

Tsunade shrugged. She guessed the shock she saw in all three males’ faces was understandable, but they didn’t have to gawk at the prospect of her actually wanting to help someone. She wasn’t some cold-hearted witch.

“Well, I decided to take things in my own hands. She came here looking for the Fourth yesterday and I did some snooping around in her file as a result of it.”

“Sakura came to see me yesterday?” Minato asked innocently. “What for?”

Tsunade blanched. She waved her hand at him dismissively. She was sure the girl wouldn’t want her to make the obviously embarrassing admission that she felt she wasn’t good enough to keep up with her star-studded team and dropped by his office to quit. To her teammates father no less. It would make it even harder for Tsunade to explain why she’d really chosen to take on the insecure girl as a protégée.

“It’s nothing of importance now. But anyway, I looked through her file and couldn’t help but realize how mismatched her team was. I think training with me and going through this program will help level the playing field between her and her teammates.”

Kakashi nodded. He couldn’t disagree with her sentiments. He just hoped Sakura would be able to pull through and prove Tsunade right. He’d never heard her advocate for someone as hard as her.

Minato on the other hand looked miffed. “You think the team matchups are skewed? I went over it with the Third before distributing them. I thought his judgement was fair.”

Tsunade rolled her eyes. Minato could be just as sweet and airheaded as a child sometimes.

“I’m sure you’re just indulging the old man. He’s senile. Who the hell would put a kunoichi with no previous ninja affiliation anywhere in her family on a team with the spawn of the Fourth Hokage and the Uzumaki clan and an Uchiha brat. It’s gotta be some type of sick joke.”

The room tensed for a moment. Looking at it from that point surely brought a lot of things into perspective, but going against the ever knowledgeable Sarutobi seemed so wrong. He obviously saw great potential in this matchup and anybody would’ve went along with his decision. Why wouldn’t they take his word for it?

Tsunade huffed in exasperation. “Nee, don’t get so worked up. He’s not gonna jump through the window and attack you for disagreeing with him, y’know?”

She could see them all visibly lighten up and giggled.

Men, she thought to herself. So predictable.

“Well, anyhow,” Tsunade started. “Sakura, Shizune, and I’ll be heading out tomorrow morning at dawn.”

“So suddenly?” Kakashi asked.

Tsunade nodded with a grin. “Better now than later. I don’t want her to give her any time to change her mind.”

“You stole that idea from me,” Jiraiya whined.

Tsunade flicked him on the forehead dismissively. He recovered quickly and started being weirdly flirtatious.

“Since we’re both taking our lovely students for training, we could probably meet up somewhere along the way,” he suggested with a raised brow.

Tsunade’s eye twitched in irritation. She punched Jiraiya in the head. He made the expected noises of protest and the room filled with laughter.

“You won’t be taking Naruto for another couple months, Jiraiya-sensei. Enjoy your freedom for now,” Minato declared.

Tsunade stuck her tongue out at Jiraiya and he pouted accordingly. Minato fixed a stack of papers and set his eyes on Tsunade.

“I’ll see you off tomorrow at the gates.”
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Sakura woke up the next morning at the crack of dawn. It was a bit earlier than required, but she was honestly so excited that she couldn’t hold in her excitement. She had already packed the night before and it had done nothing to ease her jitters. She was barely able to sleep through the night from being so excited, or maybe it was because she was starving? Possibly both, but she couldn’t care less. It wasn’t every day you got offered to be taught by one of the Legendary Sannin.

When she finished her morning routine, she went downstairs and was greeted by her insomniatic parents. It was probably all the guilt that kept them up all night, but they were up and definitely looked like they wanted to talk. Sakura wouldn’t allow it though. Nothing was going to dampen the day that was sure to turn her life around.

Her mother, red-eyed and sleep deprived, opened her mouth to speak and Sakura cut her off. “I’m going on a mission.” They nodded. When it looked like her father wanted to speak, she cut him off.

“A long one. I won’t see you guys for a long time.” They both nodded again.

“H-How long do you think this mission will be?” her mother asked timidly.

All that snark out of your system now, huh?

“I don’t know. It’s indefinite.”

Her parents’ faces colored with shock. She was only a genin. As far as they knew, missions never extended past a few days for such low level ninjas. What in the world could this mission entail?

“Will you keep in touch?” her father asked pitifully.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. She heard the start of another question and raced out of the door. Roof hopping to Konoha’s entrance gates was liberating. For the first time in a long while, Sakura felt like she belonged. Nothing could trump the euphoria she felt as she raced to her destination.

When Tsunade and Shizune finally came into view, Sakura rushed over to hug them both. Small ‘oofs’ resounded from both parties, but they welcomed her enthusiasm. Sakura turned to see the newest chakra presence, the Fourth Hokage, and bowed deeply.

“Oh, there’s no need for that,” he blushed. “I’m just here to see you all off.”

“Thank you,” the trio said in unison. TonTon made a small oink in agreement.

Minato fixed his gaze onto the young girl and his features softened. He knelt down and placed a hand onto her shoulder. “Naruto will be very sad to learn of your absence.”
Sakura blushed. She hadn’t even thought of all the people she’d leave behind on this trip. She’d been too wrapped in her own misery lately to realize anything happening outside of herself.

She bowed again apologetically. “Please tell Naruto I’m sorry to leave without a proper goodbye.” Minato chuckled and had her stand up straight.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll pass your message on to him as soon as he wakes,” he promised. He smiled at the traveling party and shook his head in disbelief.

“I’ll see you off,” he tilted his head in Sakura’s direction. “Make Konoha proud Sakura-san.”

Sakura nodded her head in delight. Pride swelled through her and it was a feeling she never forgot.

Chapter 5: An Unexpected Return

Chapter Text

3 YEARS LATER

Sasuke considered himself a pretty patient guy. If his ability to withstand Naruto’s incessant need to annoy him was anything to go by, then he had the patience of a saint. But his patience had been brought further past its limit for the past three years.

When the news of Sakura’s departure from the team finally came around, Sasuke found himself relieved. He no longer had to put up with constant bombardments of dating propositions or the distractions from Naruto as a result of them. He would finally be able to train properly and work to surpass his brother.

Unfortunately, he never saw what was coming next.

With the botched assassination mission that was the Chuunin Exams, it left the remaining team members without a third person for them to qualify for potential missions and the next Chuunin Exams. Gaining a new member wouldn’t bother him. He was used to Naruto and no one, not even Ino, was as annoying as Sakura.

That was, until he met Sai. He was a pale, wiry thin boy with a smile so fake the rest of his facial features didn’t cooperate when he tried to emote. Not only was he the weirdest looking child he’d ever seen, but he was also incredibly shady. It was very obvious he was nothing like the other genin. His skillset was at least chuunin level and he had no problem letting it show.

No one knew anything of his living arrangements, background, nor his training. When asked, his mouth appeared to lock up and he failed to say anything. Sasuke thought he could be a potential sparring partner, but the boy’s mouth ran like diarrhea. His ass had to be jealous of the shit that came out of his mouth. It was like he looked to say the most offensive thing that came to mind.

Naruto was pretty easy to irritate, but not even Sasuke would resort to as crude a nickname as “Dickless”. It got Naruto started every time and Kakashi could do nothing to stop the situation once it started.

What really grinded Sasuke’s gears about Sai was how easily he could get under anyone’s skin. Whether it be from his unsettling smile or his sharp tongue, Sai was all around an unpleasant person to be around.

But Sasuke had never wanted to kill someone as much as he wanted to kill Sai. Sasuke could admit that his clan was highly known and even a commoner could tell his family’s dynamics by just looking, but Sai dug deeper than that. Sai had dubbed him “Second Place” or “Number 2” for short. He used the shortened name around Kakashi and Naruto. They thought of it as nothing more than a crude reference to bodily functions and Naruto guffawed with laughter every time. But it was one day after a mission when Sai revealed his true malicious intent.

“Doesn’t it just make you want to give up sometimes?”

Sasuke regarded Sai with the haughtiness the Uchiha clan was known for. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a verbal reply. Sai would just have to fill in the blanks. Sai took the hint and dug the knife in further.

“Always chasing after your brother’s shadow has to be pretty exhausting, huh? It’s very obvious you’re tired of being second place, but you’ll never be able to move farther than that.”

Sasuke felt his rage bubble to the surface and before he knew it, he had Sai pinned up against a wall with a kunai placed on his neck. Sai kept that unsettling, plastic smile on his face the whole time. A guttural sound that resembled a laugh escaped the emotionally stunted boy.

“Violent aren’t we Uchiha? No wonder the village forced you people far from outsiders’ sight.”

With those words, Sasuke punched Sai. It did nothing to help the situation, but it made him feel good, even for just a moment. He never attempted to reason with him again.
Talk of his brother and family life had always been a sore spot. Pressure from his stoic father and high expectations from his peers made for a child that could not accept anything less than perfection. Every time he was reminded of the limit of his powers, he thought about how Itachi was a prodigy and probably got a new move on his first try.

He’d exhaust himself trying to learn a new technique until he passed out or was forcefully hospitalized. Whenever he failed, he imagined his father’s disappointed face and start picking at his skin or hair. It was a bad habit his mother thought he would grow out as a child, but it only persisted into his adolescent years.

His mother would always reassure him that he was perfect, but his father’s looming, unimpressed, and disappointed figure would always appear in the back of his mind.

As time went on and Naruto worked his magic on him, Sai was said to have gotten better. He was constantly reading books about human interaction and Naruto had begun taking the virility slight as a term of endearment.

Sai also seemed to be getting along nicely with the rest of the Rookie Nine. But Sasuke paid him no mind. He’d never admit it out loud, but Sasuke couldn’t wait for the day Sakura would be reinstated on their team. Sure she was annoying, but at least she had tact and she’d never crossed a boundary like Sai had.

The recently instated Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, spoke about her apprentice’s arrival with a joy unbecoming of an obviously much older woman. She spoke at length about a new technique that she had learned that had forced her student’s early arrival, but Sasuke had a bad habit of tuning the woman, and just about everybody else, out. Hopefully Sakura would show up today and boot Sai from existence.
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Tsunade sat at the Hokage’s desk reading over documents in her swivel chair. She placed the stack down and sighed. She didn’t know how she let Minato fool her into becoming his successor. It was just the opposite of what she wanted to do.

Long days of nothing but stress and headaches from dealing with other officials was not how she imagined her retirement. She sneered at the memory of Jiraiya’s smirk. That sneak always found a way to place his load onto her.

But when she thought of all the ways that Sakura improved, she couldn’t help but smile. The first few months were rough on the both of them. Sakura was obviously gifted and she could get most things on the first try. However, as their training progressed, Tsunade could see the depth of the girl’s insecurity.

When she hit her lowest point, she got really low. It was scary to witness. Whenever Sakura found herself unable to catch onto something, you could see it in her face how she internalized all her failures. Repeatedly being told and believing that you were a sorry excuse for a ninja had gotten to her. She took every mistake hard. There was even an incident that both parties agreed to never speak of.

Despite all that, Sakura flourished with her new team. Being able to train with Tsunade and her new team helped build up her confidence and gave her new skills. It was a bit early for her to return, but word had gotten to Konoha that Sakura was able to use the infamous wood style technique. A feat unseen since the First Hokage.

Tsunade beamed just thinking about it. Her apprentice, the insecure little girl she uprooted from Konoha, was carrying on the techniques of her great-grandfather. She couldn’t be happier to hear it. However, not everyone reacted to the news the same. Word of this hit the council and there was an immediate order to bring the girl back to the village.

They were already wary of sending their ninjas out to foreign land in an effort that was supposed to show solidarity amongst nations. They thought it was risky to send people who could possibly be used to extract secrets about their home villages.

A person with no familial connection to the First Hokage being able to reproduce his technique set off a bunch of red flags. The council couldn’t even be reasoned with and Danzo was more adamant than usual about keeping secrets.

Tsunade shook her head and laughed. That old bastard was always such a stickler for rules. But Tsunade wouldn’t let that ruin her day. Her apprentice would be here soon and she was sure that she’d be scared out of her wits having to deal with a suspicious council alone. Tsunade had to make sure she found her in time to accompany her. God knows they would eat the poor girl alive if she went in alone.
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Sakura was scared shitless. She’d hit a fluke during a mission and was suddenly whisked away to her village. She didn’t even know how she did it. She’d been messing around a bit making the hand signs for it out of curiosity and suddenly she’d created a bridge.

She’d completely fainted from the chakra loss. Her new teammates and captain hovered over her barely conscious form. At least half of her chakra had to be depleted. It wasn’t long before the small village gossiped about her ability. It reached a few other villages before Sakura’s team was even able to report for their completed mission.

The Raikage notified her of her council’s initiative to have her return home immediately and now she was being led in secret to an underground chamber for questioning.
Is there where my life ends? I just started getting the hang of being a real kunoichi.

Sakura was led through a dark foyer by two large, brutish men with scars all over their bodies. She scanned her surroundings for a possible escape. She was a ninja in her own right, but she’d always be a woman, and she had to be cautious in every situation.

There were nearing a door and Sakura could see the light that peaked from it. Her anxiety reached a new high as she turned the corner. She was ushered into a spacious room with the three elders and the familiar face of Tsunade. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. At least she knew she’d have one person on her side.

The guards ushered Sakura over to a long red carpet and instructed her to kneel. She complied. The guards moved back towards the door entrance and handled security. The elders and Tsunade sat in a column high up and far away looking at her with scrutinizing eyes. She almost shit herself with nervousness.

The female elder brushed off her clothes. She didn’t spare Sakura a glance. “I assume you know what you’re here for,” she drawled unenthusiastically.

Sakura nodded, too scared to speak. The older woman would probably think her rude, but Sakura wasn’t sure how she’d sound if she spoke right now. “I guess it’s also safe to assume that you understand why you’re here.”

Sakura nodded again. The bandaged elder made a huff of annoyance. The other male looked slightly annoyed, but attentive. He cleared his throat and began to speak. “I’m Homura, this is Koharu,” he said gesturing to the older woman with mean, feline features. “And that’s Danzo,” he said while pointing towards the bandaged man who was polite enough to nod in acknowledgement.

“I’m sure you’re already familiar with Tsunade, so let’s get this started.”

Sakura sat up straighter. Her nerves were working overtime with the increased stress. She fidgeted with her hands in her lap. She could feel perspiration building under her arms and on her back with nervousness.

“Explain to us how you came to know about your ability to use wood style jutsu,” Koharu demanded rather than asked.

Sakura took a deep breath. There was no reason to be scared when she had done nothing wrong.

“When Tsunade and I first started training, she noticed that my nature types are earth and water; two elements needed for wood style. It was something mentioned offhand one day and wasn’t brought up again until about a year later,” Sakura estimated.

She looked around at the council. Not a muscle on their faces had flinched. Sakura gulped. She was definitely in the hot seat. She looked towards her mentor and saw her flash a thumbs up and a smile. Sakura returned a small smile of her own and relaxed herself.

“It was later after a day of training in Kumo with my new team that Tsunade and Shizune presented me with a scroll. It was a scroll about wood jutsu written by Hashirama Senju.”
The council looked at Tsunade with scrutinizing eyes. She simply looked ahead at her student with pride in her eyes. What did those old fuddy-duddies need to know about her grandfather’s technique anyway?

“I was wary about learning the jutsu because I believed that it was a kekkei genkai like the Sharingan or the Byakugan. Tsunade urged me to try anyway,” Sakura took a deep breath. This is the part of the story where the terrible flashbacks came in. It was such a terrible time for everyone around Sakura and just thinking about all the pain she caused brought tears to her eyes.

“I wondered why she would give such sensitive information to a girl like me. We aren’t relatives and kekkei genkais are supposed to stay in the clan. But Tsunade theorized that it couldn’t be one because none of Hashirama’s descendants both before and after him have been able to use the technique. I kept trying to do it, but failed. We left it alone for a while, but Tsunade told me to keep it and just keep practicing with it.”

Sakura cringed from the memories of her failures. People always told her she was her own worst critic. She was an exceptionally fast and concentrated learner who could really do anything she put her mind to. She just had to start believing it herself.

“I didn’t touch the scroll for a year after that. It wasn’t until I was preparing to go on a mission from earlier this year that I remembered I even had it. It fell from one of the bags I rarely use and I started reading it again. I figured since there was no real way to prove that wood style was a kekkei genkai, then my theory was that if I mixed my earth-based chakra with my water-based chakra, then I could use it to create plants, flowers, or even wood,” Sakura said while enthusiastically clasping her hands together to signal hand signs needed for wood release.

The council looked less than amused. Tsunade beamed down at her with unprecedented pride. The insecure girl she picked up from Konoha was nothing like the girl she saw kneeling before her now.

“I tried for months with no progress. I stayed up late many nights at Kumo’s public library looking up how to mix chakra elements to create my own special technique. There were no straight forward answers and after months of running in circles, I was ready to call it quits. It wasn’t until our latest mission in the Land of Earth that I realized I could actually do the jutsu.”

The council members sat up with raised brows. Sakura could feel herself dragging out this explanation. She had better hurry before they locked her up on some random charge.

“My teammates Karui and Jinora were discussing different theories of how my jutsu could possibly work. We were all joking around about it when they asked to demonstrate what I’d come up with so far. I went through all the motions of the hand seals like times before when all of a sudden a bridge popped up out of nowhere appeared over a turbulent river that the people of Earth had told us they’d planned on building soon. It was a total coincidence. I didn’t even realize that it had happened until I woke up in the hospital after fainting. My teammates and my captain, Killer B, informed me of my power and I haven’t tried again since.”

The room went deadly silent. A pin drop could be heard. The council spoke in low voices amongst each other. Sakura reeled into herself.

I’m gonna be jailed for conspiracy or…treason!

Sakura hugged her body closer to herself. If she didn’t make it back to her team, she was at least thankful that she told them that she loved them before she left. So wrapped up in her own thoughts, Sakura didn’t hear Danzo clearing his throat. She almost jumped out of her skin when a gavel hit the wooden desk.

“You’ve only done the jutsu once. We have no idea if it was a fluke. You will be held in the investigation unit for the next two weeks. We will also run clinical trials testing your blood for connection to the Senju clan. Lastly, we will run tests to see if you can reproduce the wood style jutsu,” Danzo stated without much expression.

The other two council members nodded in agreement. Tsunade tilted her head in the elders’ direction.

“That’s fair,” she said.

Homura gestured towards the two buff guards. They walked over to Sakura’s crouching form and forcibly raised her by the arms. She was rushed out of the room and almost fell several times trying to regain her footing. When the door slammed close, the elders looked at Tsunade with contempt. She simply smiled and adjusted a stack of papers.

“That was very irresponsible of you,” Homura commented.

Tsunade shrugged. Who were they to decide who she taught her grandfather’s technique? It sounded like jealousy since their teacher was the Second Hokage and they’d never gotten close to learning anything about his older brother.

“Clan techniques should stay within the clan,” Koharu huffed. “I would think you had more respect for your grandfather.”

Tsunade rolled her eyes as she brushed herself off and rose from her seat.

“Like my protégée said, there’s no proof that it’s a specific clan technique. Not even I, his blood, can recreate the technique. Would you rather his technique collect dust and be nothing more than fancy memorabilia or pass his spirit onto the next generation?”

Tsunade didn’t allow them time to answer. She excused herself out of the seedy room and started looking for her star pupil.

Chapter 6: Strange Reunion

Chapter Text

Naruto could barely contain his excitement. It had been 3 long years, but he’d finally be able to see Sakura again.

She had left so suddenly. When his father had come to tell him the message Sakura sent him, he was very surprised to learn that she showed remorse for her abrupt departure. Things weren’t the best between them, especially with her fixation on her much cooler teammate, but that showed him that their relationship was improving.

Not long after Sakura’s departure with Tsunade, Naruto had learned of his training with Jiraiya. Naruto wasn’t that fond of the man, but he was his father’s sensei, so he had to be good.

Traveling with the man had proved otherwise. Jiraiya was obviously a man of great skill, he was one of the Legendary Sannin for crying out loud, but he had no moral compass. Most of the time that he was supposed to spend training Naruto was occupied by his perverted needs. He peeped in on women’s bathhouses, got drunk, was constantly trying to seduce women way out of his league, and justified it all with “artistic inspiration” for his Icha Icha Paradise series.

Thankfully, between all of that foolishness, Jiraiya was able to squeeze in time for training. Naruto had learned so many new techniques and he would always be grateful to the man for showing him his potential. Naruto traveled alone with Jiraiya training for around two years before he returned earlier this year.

Since then, his mother had been teaching him his clan’s sealing techniques and ways to harness his chakra control better as the Kyuubi holder. After the incident at the Chuunin Exams, the village had been on high alert for the return on the Akatsuki. Nobody knew their motives, but jinchuurikis were always the first target in a conflict, so his mother hovered over him incessantly.

His father had also been training him to use his infamous teleportation technique. There’d been no progress so far, but Naruto nor his father were too worried about it. There’d be plenty of time for him to learn.

In the meantime, Naruto had been sparring plenty with both Sasuke and Sai. Sasuke had improved exponentially and his Sharingan was proving to be more of a force in battle than ever before. A mix of envy and admiration colored his views of his teammate. That bastard would always be a step ahead of him.

Sai had definitely shown improvement. He had stayed with him for about a year before he left to train with Jiraiya, but man was he a handful. He was even worse than the bastard. One thing Naruto could say about Sasuke was that no matter how low he went, he always had tact. He would never call him something as crude as “Dickless”, especially not in public.

He was a thorn in the sunshine boy’s side and Naruto was relieved to know that he would be training with Jiraiya instead of spending another minute with him. But even before he left, he could see Sai’s façade cracking. Besides Sasuke, Kakashi, and Naruto, Sai had no one else to talk to. The boy had no tact and was extremely mean-spirited.

Naruto had seen him one day as he passed by the library reading on how to garner friendships and hoped he’d be okay. When he came back, Sai was still rough around the edges, but he was much better than before. The pale boy spoke about Ino at length and he figured she was a large part of his assimilation to normalcy. Sai still slipped up from time to time, but at least he had a censor now. Naruto,

Kakashi, Sai, Sasuke, and Tsunade were sitting in the Hokage’s office listening to the ticking of a nearby clock. Every second passed agonizingly slow. It felt like forever before they heard the clomping of heavy boots coming around the foyer.

The chakra signature was fairly huge, not as vast as Naruto’s, but definitely a lot for the average ninja. However, Naruto would remember the sweetness of her chakra from anywhere. All but Sai seemed to realize this too, because he could see their backs stiffen in anticipation. The doors opened and you could hear everyone’s breath catch in their throats.

Here was Sakura in the flesh. No longer did she have those short, tattered tresses as a result of a spur of the moment haircut with a kunai. Now, her luscious pink hair fell down her back in waves. On her forehead was the same purple diamond as her mentor. She had also grown into her forehead. She had become a real beauty in her time away.

No longer was she the mousy, awkward looking girl that they had grown up with. She was a bit small and waif thin with muscle definition in her arms and calves. She was wearing a black sweater and sweat pants. A little worse for wear, but she didn’t look like she’d been too roughed up in her lockdown time. Naruto was the first to react.

“SAKURA-CHAAAN!” he exclaimed. He jumped on her to get a hug and luckily Sakura was strong enough to hold them both up before falling. She giggled as he nuzzled his face against hers. The tension in the room lightened and everyone was either smiling or laughing.

Kakashi got up from his seat and removed Naruto from his koala grip on Sakura. “Alright Naruto, let her go before she falls down,” Kakashi said in jest.

Sakura dusted herself off and walked over to Tsunade’s desk. The older woman looked up at her with a smirk. “So how’d it go?”

Sakura shrugged. A look that none of the men could decipher passed between them. “Nothing Tsunade-sama’s apprentice couldn’t handle,” the young girl replied with a smirk.
Tsunade chuckled remembering all the good times spent together during training. Sakura looked at her mentor apprehensively. Naruto could tell there was something bothering her because she always used to make that face before she asked Sasuke on a date or voiced her worries to Ino.

Her eyebrows flittered together in worry causing wrinkles in her forehead to form. She twiddled her fingers together before looking back up at Tsunade. “Do you think I’ll be able to join my team again after…all of this?” Sakura asked.

Her voice was coated with insecurity. Naruto shook his head in disbelief. How could she think she wouldn’t be welcomed back with them? He walked over to Sakura’s hunched over form, picked her up, and twirled her around. Naruto didn’t notice her confused expression.

“Of course you can come back to us again, Sakura-chan!” he exclaimed oblivious to the worried glances exchanged between apprentice and mentor.

When he placed her back down on the ground, she took a moment to recollect herself and ease her dizziness. All of a sudden, an idea popped into Naruto’s head. “Hey, we should all celebrate Team 7 being reunited with Ichiraku’s. Like old times.”

Groans came from all over the room. Sasuke didn’t bother with a reaction. He simply turned his head towards the open window. Sai, with a fake smile attached to his face, looked worried. Naruto’s appetite for ramen was never-ending and he swore he’d had enough this week to last a lifetime. Kakashi looked exasperated. As much as he loved his ever excitable student, his frequent trips to Ichiraku’s were a nuisance and went past his work time needed for team bonding. Sakura and Tsunade looked at each other knowing that the young girl’s talk of rejoining teams didn’t include Team 7.

Nor was Sakura mentally well enough to have a meal with or in front of her former teammates. Sakura and Tsunade shared a glance and nodded in agreement. “There’s still a lot that has to be worked out with Sakura’s arrival. She won’t be able to go out freely for a few more days,” Tsunade explained while getting up to escort the guys out.

With strong hands, she was able to grab all the guys up and usher them near the door of her office.

“Sakura won’t be available to eat out with you for a while. I’ll let you know when her situation’s clear. Bye!” Tsunade said with a final push.

Naruto and the rest of Team 7 stood on the other side of the Hokage’s abruptly closed door in confusion. They didn’t think much of it before leaving for Ichiraku’s with Naruto in the lead.
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Sakura and Tsunade faced each other for a moment just taking in each other’s appearance. Their breaths caught in their throats. It was a long spell before they both ran over to each other and embraced. They hugged each other fiercely.

It was almost like they were afraid that one of them would drift away if given the opportunity. Tears of joy and shared memories clouded their squeezed eyes. They broke apart and looked at each other. Both wiped at the tears dripping down their cheeks. A laugh broke the tension in the room.

“How are you?” Tsunade asked the young girl with the tears causing her voice to shake. Sakura took a deep breath and shook her head. It had been such a long time since she’d seen her mentor. A friendly face after two weeks of heavy testing and investigating was a relief.

“I could be better. I was certainly roughed up in investigation,” Sakura replied with tears lingering in her voice. “Do you think I’ll be able to join my team? Y’know, my new team?”

Sakura could see Tsunade’s back shoot up ram rod straight. The older woman bit at her lip nervously that reminded Sakura a lot of herself. Tsunade trudged back over to her desk and went through a few files in one of her several drawers. She pulled out a thick folder with loads of documents and pushed it toward the edge of the desk. Sakura walked over to the desk and started rummaging through the stack of papers.

“I can try to get you reinstated on Team Bee, but it’ll take a while. The council and outsiders knowing that there’s a wood style user with no familial connection to the Senju will be a highly sought after target. You could be tossed up in a human trafficking ring and experimented on,” Tsunade stated solemnly. “And nobody’ll say it, but we’re still suffering from the Chuunin Exams attack and security has been heightened since the Akatsuki’s appearance.”

A severity had coated her voice. Sakura stiffened in fear. She hadn’t begun to think of the repercussions of her new technique. She flipped through the numerous papers of the stack.

Tsunade sighed. “I will try to get you back as soon as possible…but you’re gonna have to bear with me. You are a liability, the council has hated this international program since its opening, and they hate me, so you being my apprentice doesn’t help.”

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in worry. She filtered through the stack for the nth time still trying to decipher what she read. The security threats just seemed to pile on.

“What’s all of this?” Sakura asked.

Tsunade deflated. The news obviously wasn’t going to get better.

“There’s been talks of an investigation into the international program in Kumo because many applicants have been putting in new applications to return. It’s a booming business for Kumo to have all those now high level ninja there and its put a strain on every other village’s economy,” the older woman explained.

Sakura slumped in defeat. She’d probably never see her team again.

Just when I’d thought I’d found somewhere that I belonged.

Sakura bit her nails. This was not going to turn out good. She wouldn’t be able to avoid Team 7 forever, especially Naruto. There was only so much time before she’d have to eat in front of them. She could feel her anxiety rise. When the familiar shakes and restricted breathing of a panic attack were coming on, Tsunade placed an encouraging hand into her shoulder.

“If things start to get hard that you can’t handle it, just tell me. I’ll try as hard as I can to help you, but I need you to trust me.”

Sakura took Tsunade’s hand in hers. She squeezed it and shook her head. The look that passed between them was of hurt and remembrance. Sakura never wanted to sink that low. She promised her team and Tsunade to always try.

“I’ll hold on for everybody. I won’t let you down Tsunade-shishou. Not you or anyone else.”

A smile passed between the two and Sakura knew that she’d be alright.
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Sakura walked into her new apartment. It was completely barren aside from the pre-installed furniture. Everything was pristine. She had a balcony and the view was nice. It was located near the Hokage Tower. The council had decided that it was best to keep her close to them just in case she tried to “commit treason” or whatever they believed.

Sakura was a bit miffed by the mistreatment, but she brushed it off. The freak accident would be a worrisome situation for any village. She just hated feeling like she couldn’t be trusted.

Sakura plopped onto one of the couches. A layer of dust rose up from it and she was sent into a coughing fit.

I’ll have to clean this all tomorrow.

Knowing that she’d be staying in Konoha for an indefinite amount of time scared the shit out of her. Kumogakure had the resources she needed to stay sane. Although Konoha also possessed mental health resources, they weren’t nearly as developed as Kumogakure’s and Sakura had already fallen into a schedule with her own appointed therapist. It would take a while before Sakura got used to a new therapist to be able to express how she felt without fear of forced hospitalization or career termination.

The young girl shuddered. That was her greatest fear. If she lost her career just after finally getting a head start on it, Sakura honestly believed that she would kill herself. What else could she do if she was no longer welcome to the career she had worked so hard to get? She was a jounin, a rank she’d never believed she would reach, and she would be damned if poor mental health resources or a shoddy therapist took that away from her.

But being here, alone in her apartment, without the support of her teammates and no contact with her family, was lonely. She hadn’t been able to take her meds with her in the rush back to Konoha and she wasn’t sure how long she’d last without them.

I’m so fucked.

Sakura dragged a hand over her face. This transition was going to be hard. She didn’t have any of her clothes with her, so she’d have to go shopping tomorrow. Food would also pose a problem. Even though Sakura was working to get better, she still kept safe foods to cope. The last time she’d been in Konoha, there were no traces of the safe foods she had access to in Kumo. While she could try to eat healthy, sacrificing her safe foods would pose a big problem in the future.

There was also the prospect of running into her old classmates/friends. Her departure had been abrupt and she hadn’t kept in contact with anyone. The reunification would definitely be awkward. She couldn’t imagine being able to speak to anyone but Naruto. Her nerves were bad just being in the room with Kakashi, Sasuke, and whoever that new guy was.

Sakura thought of her parents and receded further into herself. She hadn’t been in contact with them for three years. Not a single letter had been sent. Even after she had time for her anger to dissipate, she just found that there was really nothing to tell them. They weren’t interested in her ninja career. There was nothing else in Sakura’s life but being a ninja. Writing letters seemed pointless.

Plus, there was always that bitter feeling that formed in the pit of her stomach. This was the only way she could get back at them; why wouldn’t she take the opportunity? There were some nights where she felt so alone that she almost picked up a pencil and wrote a letter. But just thinking of their actions made her stop every time.

Sakura sighed. None of her time here in her home town would be smooth sailing. There was so much that was left unsaid in her departure. How would she even begin to talk to Ino? Or reintegrate into the Rookie 9?

Sakura raised up from the dusty couch and sauntered over to her balcony. She opened the doors and breathed in the fresh air. The vivid night life of Konoha rushed into her ears and filled her vision with bright lights. Sakura would try her best to adjust to life here. She just hoped she wouldn’t have to for very long.

Chapter 7: Family

Chapter Text

A random set of circumstances had led Sasuke to being Orochimaru’s apprentice.

It was highly believed that he was involved in the Chuunin Exams attack, but with no proof, the village could do nothing but restrict his movement. How he got in the village and been detained was another story. It didn’t make it better that his former teacher, the Third Hokage, had a soft spot for his flighty student. Sarutobi’s word alone kept the snake-like man from being executed.

While there was no proof of involvement in the Chuunin Exams, he was known to fool around with human experimenting. The council figured that if they were able to use the illegal things he did for his own benefit, then that would help lighten the sentence he would receive. It was the least the man could do for the village he tried to destroy from the inside out.

That was how Sasuke and Orochimaru found themselves in one of Konoha’s underground labs. The Sannin was messing around with vials of varying sizes full of oddly colored liquids. The sounds of machines working overtime for his experiments reverbated off of the damp, soiled walls.

Kabuto walked into the room holding a basket of filled vials. He slid it next to the project Orochimaru was already working on.

Sasuke sat in a seat far away from all the experiments. He readjusted himself repeatedly. He was getting agitated with all this mundane activity. He wanted to train. Not make DIY projects with his teacher.

Orochimaru, sensing his annoyance, looked over at him with a smirk. “I heard your teammate’s back in town.”

Sasuke shrugged. It was best to wait out this conversation before giving a response. Orochimaru never made innocent statements.

“Ah, so that’s what Tsunade-sama’s been buzzing about for the past few weeks,” Kabuto said with feigned surprise. “She seemed very excited to reunite with her apprentice.”

Sasuke huffed in annoyance. Orochimaru always made him uncomfortable, but the man had never feigned to be anything other than what he presented himself as. Sasuke knew that his mentor was interested in his eyes and Sasuke knew that Orochimaru could give him power to leverage over his brother and Naruto. They both benefitted from the relationship with no emotional strings attached.

It was Kabuto that bothered him. He was more of a snake than Orochimaru. Sasuke could not figure out that man’s intentions. He was a medic with no sense of genuine intentions. Kabuto always offered to heal Sasuke after a hard day of training, but he always refused. Just the thought of the slimy man poking and prodding him with his slimy hands made him uneasy. Not to mention he also hated hospitals to boot.

There was always this sinister look in Kabuto’s eyes that Sasuke hated. As if he was looking down on him. Not to mention the condescension that was always evident in the man’s tone. Sasuke just wished that he could train with Orochimaru alone.

“She’s back early though, isn’t she?” Orochimaru asked in a tone that suggested he already knew the answer to his question.

Kabuto looked the older man up and down in genuine confusion. It was obvious he didn’t care for any current event outside of one’s that concerned himself. Orochimaru smirked at him.

“The council has been trying to keep it hushed, but the tales have traveled throughout most villages. Some rumors have been more exaggerated than others, but all the stories tell that Sakura is a wood style user now,” Orochimaru mentioned in a devious tone.

He saw Sasuke’s face move minimally in interest and shock and knew he’d caught him hook, line and sinker. The boy was always interested in stories about those becoming stronger. Especially if the boy knew them personally.

Orochimaru didn’t know much about the boy’s former team dynamics, but if gathering his attitude towards his current teammates and everyone else around him, he probably didn’t think much of her. The way he perked up at the news told him that Sasuke would probably be paying much more attention to Sakura in the future.

Orochimaru hummed absentmindedly to himself. In the time after this, he was sure that things would get more interesting.
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Sasuke opened the front door of his house and was greeted with the aroma of his mother’s cooking. His stomach growled on instinct. She noticed him when the door clicked closed and she smiled in his direction.

“I’m home,” he said for no other reason than routine.

His mother was flitting all over the kitchen getting the food prepared. Sasuke slipped off his shoes at the front door. He walked into the kitchen and relieved his mother of some of her duties. He put the pots she was carrying down onto the counters or stoves where they belonged. After placing them down, he went over to the sink and began washing some of the dishes.

Mikoto walked over to him and rubbed his back in thanks. “My little baby always helping his mother,” Mikoto said with a sincere smile.

If you blinked you’d miss it, but Sasuke’s cheeks and ears reddened slightly. Mikoto laughed at his shyness. All the Uchiha men were the same when it came to affection and love. A clan known for its immense love that eventually led to their deaths becoming reticent and unemotional was simply a coping mechanism over time. Almost like a newly developed evolutionary trait. Mikoto laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

When Sasuke finished with the dishes, he grabbed a spare towel hanging on the oven’s railing and wiped them all down. It was tedious work, but his mother was very anal about cleanliness and he didn’t want to hear her complaints later on.

Meanwhile, Mikoto prepared a table for two. Her husband wouldn’t be back from police work until later tonight and Itachi was on another one of his long ANBU missions. It was lunch time and she was honestly surprised to even see Sasuke at this time of day.

“Was training cut short today, honey?” Mikoto called out from the dining room.

“Yes,” he replied with a stiff tone.

Mikoto knew that was all the explanation she was going to get. Sasuke was in one of his moods again and it’d take a while to pry his feelings out of him. She sighed just thinking of all the emotional labor. Sometimes, she wished she had a normal family where everyone could speak to each other freely. But the pressure of being an Uchiha was fatal and she could understand why they remained so reticent and guarded.

Just when she was finished with setting the table, the front door was burst open. Mikoto looked up to see her husband with a mildly annoyed look on his face. She rushed over to greet him with a kiss.

“Oh dear, I didn’t know you’d be home so early. What brings you here at this time?”

Fugaku walked past Mikoto with nothing more than an annoyed huff. She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. He could try having a little compassion.

Sasuke emerged from the kitchen and took a seat at the dining table. She saw his back stiffen when his father sat across from him. Mikoto ran a hand through her hair. This lunch was going to be tense.

“I came home because I heard something from someone at work that I just had to clarify,” Fugaku stated.

His eyes roamed over Sasuke’s uninterested form. There was obviously something afoot involving Sasuke. Again. Their relationship had always been rocky, especially with the constant comparisons between him and his older brother. But it had been on an ongoing downward spiral since being instated on his ninja team. Mikoto just couldn’t figure these two out.

She grabbed the food from the kitchen and filled each plate with food. Everyone dug in quietly for the first few minutes. Mikoto hoped for a moment that they’d be able to finish their meal in piece, but it was obvious that she was asking for far too much.

“So you’re still working with Orochimaru?” Fugaku asked.

It was painfully obvious that he already knew the answer. He was only growing more irritated because Sasuke didn’t even bother to look up from his food. He was eating smugly. Fugaku sneered at his arrogance.

“I am,” Sasuke replied in between mouthfuls of food. “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

Mikoto held her face in her palms. Sasuke had to be asking for it. He was goading his father into an argument that she knew neither would hold back from. Mikoto didn’t know if she’d be able to help him this time.

“Are you trying to sabotage everything this clan has worked for?!” Fugaku shouted.

He had slammed his hands on the table and caused everyone’s plates to move. Food went everywhere. Sasuke brushed off his soiled clothes and rose to his full height. He looked his father dead in the eye. An intense stare down ensued.

“All the shit that this clan has had to go through just to be respected and here you are, a sorry excuse for a son, training under a known criminal?!”

Mikoto flinched. She prayed that this recurring debate would be over. It was obvious that Sasuke wasn’t going to stop. It actually seemed he was continuing to do it just to spite his father, but Fugaku just wouldn’t let it go.

“We’ve had to deal with bullshit claims from outsiders about our clans for generations! Starting from the Second Hokage, we were treated like second class citizens! We complied with all his discriminatory actions and were left in the back of this fucking village! Not to mention, if it hadn’t been for Itachi’s loyalty to the clan, the council would’ve had us all fucking murdered and Itachi live his life as a psychotic killer!” Fugaku went on.

A slight look of surprise appeared on Sasuke’s face before he rearranged back into one of unabated anger. His father looked at him like a petulant child.

“And now…we have you here. A part of my fucking legacy making his best effort to reverse all efforts put in to get better PR around our clan by working with a fucking village traitor!”

Sasuke made a noise of dismissal. Mikoto looked up from behind her clasped hands and watched Sasuke. He was shaking in anger and she was scared of where this conversation would go.

“His reputation has nothing to do with me. He was willing to teach me. I went where I was welcomed,” Sasuke replied in his usual monotone.

Mikoto could see her husband’s jaw clenching down harshly and knew she had to intervene. She rose from her seat and moved to pick up the ruined plates. She walked over to Sasuke’s side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Sasuke, consider what your father’s saying. It was only by the grace of the Third Hokage that Itachi’s mission was called off and we were able to discuss a plan of action with the council. Villagers are still wary of us and everything we do is still put under a microscope,” Mikoto explained.

Sasuke never moved his eyes from Fugaku’s cold stare. Mikoto took her son’s face in her hands. His eyes were still focused on his father’s for a moment before she could capture his attention.

“You are not an island Sasuke. Please consider me and your father’s concerns.”

Sasuke looked down at his mother with a softened look. He removed her hands from his face and stormed off to his room. When the familiar slam of his door sounded off, Mikoto turned to her husband with her hands on her hips.

“Really Fugaku? Must you rehash this argument every week?”

Fugaku looked away, slightly embarrassed. Being admonished by his wife made him feel like a misbehaved child. He started to clean the mess he’d made of his food.

“The kid’s a dam brat. Someone has to knock some sense into him.”

Mikoto shook her head and playfully hit him with a spare towel. They cleaned the table and started on another meal together.
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Sakura opened the door to her barren apartment after a long day of treating people at the hospital. It was the most she was allowed to do that didn’t teeter into dangerous territory according to the council. Sakura didn’t mind because she just liked feeling useful.

Sakura opened her newly filled fridge and pulled out a vine of grapes. She was snacking on them when she heard a knock at her balcony window. It was probably the ANBU agent they’d assigned to her. She looked up and saw the man that they introduced to her as Yamato, another wood user without familial ties to the Senju clan.

It was odd to her how they didn’t seem phased by his ability, but were so astonished by hers. She didn’t dwell on it for too long though. As soon as they realized she wasn’t a threat, the sooner she’d be back in Kumo.

Sakura walked over to her balcony and unlocked the door. She slid the glass panel to the side and greeted Yamato with a small wave. He responded with a small grunt and a shallow bow.

“The council have messaged me and said that they’re allowing you a couple visitors for the night,” he stated without much emotion.

Sakura was unsettled by the man. He was so robotic and his eyes were dead like fish whenever he spoke. He was definitely a product of his line of work.

“Do you know who they sent?”

Yamato shook his head. She expected that. He never asked for more than what he was told. That or either he was instructed to tell her nothing. Sakura bid him a good night and slid her balcony door closed.

When she was closing the curtains, she heard a knock at her door. Sakura pushed her bags in the corner where they couldn’t be seen and ran to the door. She fixed herself a bit before opening the door. She was greeted with the image of both of her parents staring wide-eyed at her in confusion.

A moment passed before either party reacted. This was definitely a situation where Sakura would have wanted to know who was coming beforehand. Mebuki straightened herself up and tried to act normally.

“Well…are you going to let us in?”

Sakura snapped herself out of her surprised stupor and held the door open wide enough for both her parents enter. She watched them eye the barren apartment in silent judgement. Sakura could feel the snarky comments coming.

“It’s very…spacious,” her mother offered. Her father nodded his head in agreement.

Sakura closed the door behind her and walked over to join her parents in the living room. She ushered them over to a table in the dining area. When they sat, all three fidgeted and avoided each other’s gazes. Kizashi, feeling brave, tried to start a conversation.

“When’d you get back in town?”

“A little over two weeks ago,” Sakura said barely above a whisper.

Mebuki looked at her incredulously. “You’ve been here for over two weeks and didn’t think to come visit us once?!”

Sakura looked at her, half ashamed and half shy, and watched the anger fester. Her mother was about to get started on one of her rants just like old times.

“I couldn’t come see you because I was under investigation. How’d you even find out I was here?” Sakura asked.

She really didn’t want to start with her parents tonight, but the way her mother was getting riled up, she felt that it was inevitable. Mebuki took a deep breath and clasped her hands together in her lap. She’d been learning simple breathing exercises to help her calm down in her daughter’s absence.

“We heard about it from your teammate Naruto. He’s been telling anyone who’ll listen actually,” her mother replied in a tone mixed with mild amusement and annoyance.
Sakura smiled. She could always count on Naruto to cheer her on.

“Well haven’t you at least heard why I’ve been brought back so early? Or at least something from the town gossip about my most recent mission?”

Kizashi rubbed his face with both of his hands. He knew that this had something to do with her being a ninja, but he’d never expected her to cause such a big problem. He’d never known her to be a rule breaker nor a particularly strong kunoichi that would cause enough trouble to be someone’s target.

“We haven’t heard anything. Please explain it to us,” Kizashi asked in exasperation.

Sakura felt slighted. She was hoping they’d at least heard of her triumphs. For once, she felt a bit proud of herself and her career. He didn’t have to sound so dismissive. She looked down at her hands in her lap.

Nothing ever changes does it?

“I’m a wood style user now,” Sakura explained.

Shock was evident on both her parents’ faces. The last time they’d seen her, she’d been a completely useless kunoichi with no other motivation to be a ninja than wanting to be near her childhood crush.

“You can use the First Hokage’s technique?” her father asked with his mouth and eyes wide open.

Sakura nodded her head shyly. Mebuki was polite enough to cover her mouth. She slid her hand across the table in front of Sakura.

“We’ve no history with the Senju, though. How is this possible?”

Sakura shrugged. “That’s what they’re trying to find out,” she said flatly.

Kizashi and Mebuki shook their heads in disbelief. There was obviously a lot more that they’d have to catch up with their daughter about.

Chapter 8: New Reality

Chapter Text

Sakura was working around the hospital. She had been getting herself acquainted with all hospital staff and personnel for the past week. She was slowly learning everyone’s names, but she still slipped up from time to time.

Today she was walking around doing mostly paperwork. Sakura was sure most of it was unloaded onto her from the piles of work that Tsunade was avoiding with booze.
Sakura sat down in one of the vacant offices. She was halfway through one of her stacks when a knock sounded at the door. “It’s open!” she shouted without looking up from her paperwork. She could hear the door creaking open.

A loud gasp made her look up. Sakura was face to face with Ino. She was as gorgeous as ever. Her crop top showed off her nice, slim figure and the mini skirt she donned made her hip bones stick out like a model’s.

I wish my body looked like that.

Ino rushed over to Sakura’s side, behind the desk, and gave her a big hug. “Oh my god Forehead, long time no see!”

Sakura reluctantly hugged Ino back. Their nasty nicknames for each other had always bothered her. They only bothered her more when she realized her inadequacy on Team 7. Having a big forehead along with an oddly proportioned body didn’t make her feel any better about herself. Sakura patted Ino’s back a few more times before the girl released her.
Ino looked her over with a playful smirk. “Stand up! Let me see you Forehead.”

Sakura stood up robotically. Ino motioned for her to spin around and Sakura complied without complaint. Ino scanned her body like a card reader.

“I definitely thought you would’ve filled out a bit by now. I guess not everyone can be as good looking as me,” Ino said playfully while gesturing to his own body.

Sakura let loose a dry, half-hearted laugh. This was not a conversation she was ready to have. Ino and Sakura had been competing with each other for years. Even though Sakura would always be grateful for Ino seeing the potential in her, she felt that they were so detrimental for each other. Sakura feared that if she hung out with her as regularly as she had before that she’d end up competing with her for stupid things again. The last time they’d competed she’d ended up needing a therapist and a steady dose of meds.

Ino paced around the room watching Sakura like a hawk after its pray. Sakura readjusted the white coat she wore over her body.

“Y’know, since you’re in town, the girls and I were planning to go out to eat at the new barbecue place near the center of the village. You should come with us,” Ino said while looking at her freshly painted nails.

One thing about Ino was that if she wanted someone to do something for her, she knew how to get you to do it. Going out to eat with a large group of people she hadn’t spoken to in years was the farthest thing off of her agenda. It was a recipe for disaster.

Before Sakura could come up with an excuse, Ino was up in Sakura’s personal space again holding onto her shoulders. Sakura went rigid with fear. She hadn’t even seen her walk back behind the desk.

“I think I can even get the guys to come. It can be a welcome back party for you! I’m gonna plan it now and pick you up when I have everything sorted out.”

Sakura was still unable to speak after the girl was done. Ino kissed her on the cheek and zoomed out of the office space. She’d left a messed up stack of papers in her wake. Sakura sighed and bent down to pick up the papers. She’d have to prep herself for the upcoming event for the next few days.
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The council, Tsunade, Minato, the Third Hokage, and the rest of the Sannin sat in a highly surveilled room in the Hokage Tower. They all sat across from each other at a long, rectangular table. The air conditioning was blasting and Tsunade have never wished for a jacket more than she did now. Jiraiya offered his jacket multiple times, but Tsunade refused profusely every time.

When an ANBU level ninja closed the doors to the high security room, the council looked up from their stacks of papers. “We’re here to address the growing concern surrounding the international program in Kumo,” Koharu huffed while looking down the bridge of her nose. “I’ve been very vocal about my disdain for the program. It was a very irresponsible decision of Minato. The villages are meant to be separate. We all specialize in different techniques and teaching methods. If we all train together, then everyone becomes the same and the competition for missions gets worse.”

Everyone took a moment to consider. It was a very valid argument. The villages thrived off of being different from one another. They relied on their specialties to receive certain missions. If the continued existence of this program happened, nothing would be unique about any of the villages.

Minato looked a bit sheepish. He was encouraged, maybe even forced to, by Tsunade to agree to the program because she had signed up an applicant. However, he felt that even if she hadn’t forced his hand, he would’ve signed off on it anyway. There had been three great ninja wars as a result of the villages’ differences. Learning that they were more alike than different could benefit everyone.

“If I may speak, Koharu-san,” Minato spoke with his hand raised like a schoolchild. Koharu and the rest of the council nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

“This program was created in order to decrease the growing tensions between all the villages that resulted in the attacks at the Chuunin Exams,” he weighed. “I think we were very close to creating another war as the result of the attack. When Kumo reached out to us about it, it was very shocking. We hadn’t spoken to them directly in years. It was a good gateway to bettering the relations between all ninja countries.”

The table once again took time to reconsider. Minato looked at all the thoughtful faces and felt his confidence swell. He had often been disparaged for being such a young Hokage, especially by the council, but he felt that he had done a good job with his time. The village never had many bad things to say about him either.

The Third cleared his throat and everyone’s heads snapped in his direction. “I agree with Minato,” Sarutobi said in his gravelly voice. He took a long drag from his pipe and exhaled. Koharu covered her mouth while Danzo looked at his actions as a display of rudeness.

“Minato’s focus was mainly on refortifying the relations between ninja nations. After the Third Ninja War, we all agreed that we would never have our children face another. We lost so many young lives for naught. As long as all the villages are cooperating, what’s the harm in having a select few train together?”

Danzo’s eyes squinted in disdain. He had never liked Sarutobi and he felt that he was a weak leader without a backbone.

“Should we really trust your judgement Sarutobi? Your weakness has led to this terrorist still being able to walk around the village untouched,” Danzo spat while gesturing in Orochimaru’s direction.

Orochimaru looked over at Danzo with his signature smirk. He loved the way that he could so easily tap dance on the nerves of the elders. “You’re so willing to let a terrorist experiment on your beloved citizen’s for your benefit,” the snake Sannin hissed.

Danzo didn’t flinch. He always believed that someone had to do the dirty work that others were too scared to do for the sake of the village. If protecting his village meant he was the bad guy, then so be it.

The other council members backs’ went ramrod straight.

“Tell the truth my dear superiors. Are you upset that that girl was able to replicate Hashirama’s technique without any help or that you’ve been making me experiment on your beloved citizens for years with very little success?”

Danzo had half a mind to reach across the table and strangle the snake Sannin. Orochimaru, with a smug look, regarded the elders without a care. Koharu and Homaru looked pissed that he had revealed classified information. Jiraiya was incredibly mortified.

“When we find out that you’re somehow involved with the Akatsuki, not even Sarutobi will be able to stop me from personally skinning you alive,” Danzo growled in a low voice.
Tsunade simply shook her head, not in disbelief, but disappointment. The council was as hypocritical as they come. Everything that went wrong was never their fault. They liked to prop themselves up as some moral compass, but they were as corrupt as they came.

Tsunade clasped her hands together and got everyone’s attention. “Before we go off the rails here, let’s look at the facts. This program has fostered the highest amount of skilled kunoichi that we have ever seen in ninja history,” Tsunade stated. “It’s a problem we’ve been trying to amend for years. This program has done in three years what we’ve been trying to undo for decades.”

The room shifted in unease. This was always a touchy topic. Women in ninja careers were far and few between as a result of many factors, but mostly sexism and misogyny. Even the ones who did end up making it to jounin level were very few because nobody took their female teammates or students seriously.

From the history of ninjas being made up of mostly males to even when integrating women and girls into the field, most people, women and men alike, focused on their male students while expecting their female students to figure something out on their own because they’re “mature” and “don’t need to be worried about” like their male counterparts. Pretty much everyone in the room had played a hand in this system in some form or another.

“I won’t deny that Tsunade,” Homaru started. “But the fact remains that this is too risky. The applicants have been requesting to return to this program in mass. And if your claim about this program fostering in our highest number of skilled kunoichi is right, then why can’t they adjust to their home village’s ninja system and take missions with their previous team?” he questioned with that familiar condescension in his tone that always came out when speaking to the Senju woman.

Tsunade clenched her fists. As much as she tried to remain calm, the elders always knew how to push her to her limits.

“Maybe they’re only highly-skilled in Kumo,” Koharu mocked haughtily behind a spare fan she held in front of her face.

Tsunade gritted her teeth. Being an asshole to her was their favorite hobby. She could say the sky was blue and they’d counter her saying it was actually periwinkle just for the sake of arguing.

Jiraiya looked around the room nervously. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. This conversation was going to become a screaming match if they kept talking. The frog Sannin stood up from his chair and cleared his throat. All attention averted to him and he was suddenly feeling sheepish. Tense situations like this were why he always left the hard work to Tsunade.

“Let’s all calm down. We can make this work for everyone,” Jiraiya suggested with a nervous lilt in his tone. “If we’re all so worried about the future ramifications of this program, why not hear every village’s side of this in a Kage summit?”

The table looked up at him in careful speculation. It would definitely be a gamble trying to get all the village leaders in one place without it becoming a culmination of past transgressions laid out on the table.

“We could also allow the applicants to go back temporarily to observe them and see why there’s such a push amongst that group to return. Kumo obviously did something right if all the applicants are requesting to go back.”

“While that’s all fine and dandy, are you thinking of the strain this could put on all ninja village’s economies?” Danzo countered. “I’m sure Kumo would be happy to invite all those applicants back. They’ve made out like a bandit for the past three years! They’ve still got people across all nations requesting those international teams for missions and refusing all others.”

So that was the true problem they were getting at. Jiraiya should’ve known it had nothing to do with actually appreciating the loyal ninjas of their villages. Those ninjas who went to Kumo had been genin that were severely underused in their previous teams who blossomed past all expectations and fostered greater relations among their new teams that resulted in better dynamics needed for missions.

The councils in all ninja nations were afraid to lose money and this program originally intended to create great relations amongst all villages had turned into nothing more than capitalistic greed.

Jiraiya shook his head in disbelief. He’d have to stop being so naïve.

“Well, how about we just try this out for now and if it doesn’t work then maybe we can try one of you guys’ plans.”

Jiraiya looked around the room. Everyone looked uncomfortable and downright displeased. When he heard multiple grunts of involuntary agreement, he smiled in triumph.
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Naruto was roof hopping at the speed of light back to his apartment. He had just come back from a late night romp at Ichiraku’s ramen stand and he knew his mom was going to kill him.

Not that she hadn’t said so a million times before, but she’d deliberately told him a thousand times before he left this morning to not go to Ichiraku’s because he’d spoil his appetite for the big dinner they were having tonight. He hadn’t remembered it until his last morsel of ramen. He went into panic mode and zoomed back to his house.

He was standing on the rooftop of his apartment hoping to sneak his way in through the window when he overheard his parents speaking in low voices.

“Is it really that bad dear?” his mother’s voice carried through the air.

Naruto crouched down to adjust himself in a comfortable seating position. He couldn’t hear his father’s reaction, but he could tell that it was bad because of his mother’s exaggerated gasps.

“It’s terrible Kushina. You should’ve seen the council in there. We still don’t have a final conclusion.”

“How is that different from any other time you’ve spoken to them,” Kushina joked.

A small laugh escaped Minato. Naruto listened in as they playfully swatted each other in a friendly banter.

“I’m serious Kushina. I don’t know what they expect to happen. That girl I told you about, Sakura, they’ve been keeping her under lockdown for being able to use wood jutsu, but it’s obvious that there’s more to their problem with the international ninja program and Kumo,” his father blurted out like word vomit.

Soothing noises oozed from his mother’s mouth. Naruto could hear his father pull out a chair and slump down into it. He could tell by now that his mother was probably rubbing soothing circles into his father’s back.

“Don’t worry about it, honey. I’m sure they’re just being senile old coots like usual.”

“I don’t know dear. Something seems off this time. It’s like they expect the worst to happen.”

Naruto could hear his mother patting his father’s shoulder loudly. A nervous laugh emitted from Minato. Naruto laughed imagining his father’s face.

“Maybe they’re just worried because she’s been placed on another team with a jinchuuriki,” Kushina said, but sounded more like she was questioning her own logic.

His father moved around in his chair. “I don’t understand why they would be worried about something like that. If anything, that would pose more of a problem for Kumo than Konoha. Plus, I doubt she even knows about Naruto’s situation.”

His mother made a noise of consideration. Naruto could tell that she’d probably thrown her hands up in mock surrender and shook her head. She was always one to try to keep her husband’s affairs away from home because it kept everyone relaxed.

“Well, whatever it is they’re so worried about, I’m sure it will be revealed in due time. For now, let’s just unwind.”

Naruto could hear loud footsteps moving away from the kitchen. He listened in when all motion and speaking finally stopped. By the time he’d heard the window slide open, he’d already slipped trying to escape from his hiding place.

“NARUTOOOOO!” his mother yelled.

He had thankfully fallen in a bush that cushioned his fall. His mother looked down at him with her red hair blazing and waving her wooden spoon around. Naruto gulped. He was going to get an earful tonight.

“I KNOW YOU WERE AT ICHIRAKU’S! WHEN YOU GET UP HERE, I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

Naruto untangled himself from the bushes and ascended the steps to his shared apartment in resigned defeat.

Chapter 9: Fanned Out Flames

Chapter Text

Kakashi was at the front desk counter of the hospital. He was having friendly banter with the front desk clerk when he saw a head of pink hair speeding past the waiting room. He left the clerk with a quick goodbye before bounding off in his former student’s direction.

He hadn’t made much of an effort to go see her since her return. Not that he could see her even if he tried. She was under heavy lock and key with the council. And anything involving the elders would be hard to access. His reintroduction to her was cut short, too. She almost seemed to be avoiding contact with him.

He didn’t dwell on it too much. She had been rushed back to Konoha immediately after a long mission from what he’d heard and then immediately placed in the investigation unit for two weeks. She was probably a nervous wreck after all that she endured.

Sakura was hitting another corner when Kakashi finally caught up to her. He held her in place with a firm grasp to the shoulder. He saw a shudder run down her entire body before she turned to face him with a face full of worry and confusion. She was holding a box with a bunch of files on top of it. Kakashi felt bad so he tried to take it from her, but she snatched it from him before he could grab it.

He waved at her shyly. He felt like a complete idiot after doing it, but he couldn’t let his precious student catch him being uncool. He just moved past it as if he hadn’t done it. Sakura tilted her head in confusion. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked just like the genin he remembered.

“Hello, Hatake-san.”

The words sounded foreign coming out of her mouth. They were cold and unfamiliar. A tone he was used to from Sasuke or even Sai. Sakura, much like Naruto, was always a ray of sunshine. He recoiled from the iciness in her tone.

“How may I help you?” she asked robotically.

There was definitely something wrong. Before, he could read her like an open book. Now, she was cold and uninviting with guarded walls all around her.

“It’s nice to see you again, too Sakura,” he quipped sarcastically.

If she could be dry, then so could he. She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She was probably in the middle of a busy shift today. Tsunade and Shizune always were a little pricklier when work piled up in the hospital.

“I’m very busy right now Hatake-san. Can we speak later?” she retorted with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

She reminded Kakashi of Sai when she did that. It was bizarre to see her so unfeeling.

“There’s no need to be so formal, Sakura. Just because you’ve been gone for a few years doesn’t mean I’m not your same old sensei,” Kakashi said with a smile behind his mask.
Sakura could see his eyes squint in correlation to the hidden part of his face and knew he was trying to joke around in his own way. But she had no time for him and work was quickly piling up.

“I only have one sensei,” the young girl replied curtly.

Kakashi’s eyes widened in shock. The implications of such a sentence were not lost on him. He watched his former student’s face form into one of indifference. He didn’t know what could’ve caused this change, but he definitely wanted to get to the bottom of it. As soon as he started to talk, Sakura bowed shallowly.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said before turning away and walking off without so much as another glance towards him.

Kakashi stood in the corridor shell shocked. Hospital workers of varying positions walked past the gray haired man with looks of confusion. He usually avoided the hospital at all costs, so to see him here willingly just standing around was an odd thing to witness. When he finally got over his initial shock, he recomposed himself and fled through one of the windows of the hospital.
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Sakura sat in her apartment listening to the ticking clock. Time was going painfully slow. Nothing much ever happened if you weren’t allowed on missions.

Being in the hospital all the time was starting to drive her nuts. Not that she didn’t love her job, but she was used to being in a more active role in the hospital, not a glorified intern with nothing but her mentor’s work to complete.

Sakura sighed to herself. She knew that she was being selfish. Tsunade was overworked as is with hospital staff being so low. There were hardly any people available to work there and much less ninjas being trained in the art of medicine.

Most people didn’t even think about the much needed and underfunded medical side of being a ninja because being in the action is all that’s really talked about. No one in their right mind with dreams of being a ninja would think to study in something as “boring” as being a medic. You weren’t even allowed to fight just so the team could preserve your chakra for emergency healing.

Sakura smiled secretly to herself. That was why she liked Kumo so much. They realized how crucial the medical system was to their shinobi and began implementing it in their classrooms. In fact, Kumo, as a result of the international program, had extended the academy stay for after becoming a genin to include practical skills like emergency medical help.

This implementation had resulted in a drastic decrease in severe injuries sustained from missions. Just knowing how to extract poison from your body reduced your chance of death when coming back from a mission.

Kumo’s extended academy stay program had also helped the genin in the program foster better relationships. They were kept in dorms together where they shared living spaces. Getting to know your teammates well allowed all parties to work better on attacks, missions, and responses to injury. While it could be suffocating or overwhelming at first, the forced proximity had given way to better relationships among teams.

Sakura twirled her chopsticks around on her plate. She wasn’t interested in her meal at all, so she’d been pushing back and forth the rice, fish, and vegetables on her plate for the past fifteen minutes. She placed the chopsticks on her plate and laid her head on the glass table.

She really missed her team. Even though they all had their own beds and rooms, they usually all slept together on the same bed. They were probably such an odd bunch to all those around them, but they were all comforted by the fact that they could lay in each other’s arms at night feeling safe.

Sakura hugged her body closer to herself. I hope Karui’s okay. If she was under investigation because of me, she’s probably having those nightmares again.

The original reason that Team Bee had started sleeping together was because of Karui’s vivid nightmares. Sometimes she’d cry out, but most times she’d just grunt and whimper in her sleep until she woke up in a cold sweat.

It was always a scary sight to see. Her pupils would dilate. She’d breathe really hard and rapidly. Sometimes, her body would even shake in fear. She had told them about the dreams one drunken night after a mission, but Sakura and Jinora had sworn to never talk about it unless Karui brought it up again while sober.

Sakura hoisted herself from her seat. She searched around the drawers of her kitchen for a spare piece of paper and a pen. When she retrieved the objects, she hurried back and started writing furiously.

My dearest Karui,

I send all my love at this time. If you’ve been taken under investigation as a result of my screw up, I’m truly sorry. I really had no idea that it would work and I hate to think that you’re somewhere suffering alone in a room because of me. If you’re out, please also carry my condolences over to Jinora, I’m sure you’ll tell her before I can even find the time to write her because that’s just how you are.

I’ve been too shy to say it in person, but I’ve really missed you, my love. The bed feels colder without you there beside me. I hope that you’re not finding it hard to sleep without me, too. If you’re having those nightmares again, please don’t hesitate to go the therapist, that’s her job. Don’t feel guilty about unloading yourself onto a licensed professional. You’re no one’s burden and I’ll tell you that every day until you believe it.

As you’ve probably already gathered, I’ve been under heavy lock and key. I’m not even sure if this letter will reach you. I’m currently being monitored by ANBU guards on a 24/7 basis. I can’t even breathe without one of them being down my throat about something. It’s really bothersome and I just want to be with you, Jinora, and Bee-sensei again like old times. I write this as if it hasn’t only been a few weeks, but it honestly feels like years apart whenever I’m without you.

I won’t bore you with news of my trials and tribulations for too long, but just know that I am forever sending my love and encouragement. I pray that the day we meet again will be soon and without stipulations. I hope that you think of me daily as I think of you.

With love,

Sakura

Sakura placed the pen down next to the letter. She picked up the sheet of paper and looked over it with scrutinizing eyes. A few more seconds passed before she slammed the paper down and blushed furiously.

She couldn’t believe she’d wrote something so…mushy. She guessed that this forced isolation and testing was really getting to her. She really couldn’t go anywhere without prying eyes and it really dampened the mood whenever she thought about it. Not to mention her complex with food also ruined her experiences.

I wish I was normal.

Sakura picked the paper up and stared at it for a few more seconds. With a light blush, she summoned a messenger bird and attached the letter onto a small hook on the bird’s claw. She did away with the bird with a small poof and hoped for the best that the avian creature made its way back to Karui.

She was sure that the girl would understand her feelings and let her know if she was coming on too strong later. That was how her team worked. Honesty was what they were committed to having with each other. A passionate, quickly thrown together love letter/update wouldn’t throw them off.
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Two Root shinobi hopped down from pedestals and landed in a bow in front of Danzo. It was another mission well done as the bandaged man expected. The other elders would disagree, but having shinobi from a young age with no known family members to raise them be trained as emotionless ninjas was a good idea.

Sure much of what Root conducted could be seen as morally wrong, but in an advanced society, there was always someone to clean up the trash. Whether it be recycling or someone actively trying to overthrow a hard earned, efficient government, it didn’t matter.

Shinobi, as hard edged as they made themselves out to be, were still affected by petty emotions. They spoke at length about things they would and wouldn’t do if they ever got certain missions. Danzo rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. They were all glorified murderers. What difference was there between sending a preteen off on a dangerous mission or formulating an assassination on a government official? They all ended with the same result.

Danzo had always thought the ninja world was too fickle. Going on about things that bothered or threatened peace with no action seemed fruitless to him. Why complain about a situation that you’re not actively trying to fix? It was why he had no problem taking the rep of the bad guy. While everybody else was all talk, he was about action.

While many may complain about a tyrannical leader who they’d prefer to see overthrown, most wouldn’t go as far as killing. Most also would turn the other cheek if there was wind of a possible assassination attempt. It was all about optics. No one ever wanted to be the one to carry the burden of killing. It’s why Danzo took the role upon himself.

He loved his village with every fiber of his being. He would protect it even if it meant that the villagers would never see him as trustworthy. He knew himself more than anyone else and that’s all that mattered.

Danzo made a hand gesture that signaled the two crouching ninjas to stand up. When he was able to see both faces, he found himself eye to eye with the wood user Yamato.

“I thought I had you on surveillance duty for Tsunade’s apprentice,” Danzo spat.

He couldn’t bring himself to say that girl’s name. He’d tested on himself and many others for years just to be able to do the technique. It pissed him off beyond belief that some random girl with no previous ninja history was able to mess around and reproduce the technique flawlessly.

Yamato didn’t flinch at his master’s tone. Danzo regarded him with his signature scowl. He was one of the many experiments for the reproduction of the wood user technique. Being one of the few survivors meant that Danzo kept him on a special leash. Certain things were always expected of him and Yamato had yet to falter.

“I am, sir. I just switched shifts with Kin,” Yamato responded in an even tone.

The whole ordeal was rather pointless to him. They were making a mountain out of a mole hill of this obviously inexperienced girl who just got lucky fooling around with jutsu hand signs. It was very obvious that the girl wasn’t a threat. She looked like she almost shit her pants when he had walked in on one of her investigations. She also had been following lockdown protocols for the past few weeks without complaint.

Yamato figured that Danzo - he could’t account for the rest of the council – was only mad about the girl’s abilities because he couldn’t control her. For some reason, none of the elders really favored Tsunade – not that they really liked anyone, but there was a specially reserved dislike for the Senju descendant that he just couldn’t decipher.

Sakura being Tsunade’s pupil meant that she’d probably side with her under any circumstance and be unwilling to see any other way out of a situation then what her mentor explained to her.

The possibility of a new wood user was always beneficial to Konoha, but one that contrasted the elders’ devious interests posed a serious problem. Yamato just hoped they’d get over themselves soon so he wasn’t stuck on babysitting duty anymore.

“I have an assignment for you,” Danzo drawled. Annoyance flickered across his face. Yamato could tell that he was holding back an eye roll. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll train that girl in everything you know. That knucklehead Minato may not want to release his son or wife’s status, but she’s dealt with two Jinchuurikis at this point and it’s best that she makes use of her new abilities. Do you understand?”

Yamato nodded tersely. He just leveled up from babysitting to teaching. He dreaded what was bound to come next.

Chapter 10: What Used To Be

Chapter Text

Sakura was hunched over panting in the middle of a destroyed training ground. Yamato, with his empty eyes, was standing over her with his arms folded across his chest.
She couldn’t read him at all. The familiar feelings of inadequacy crept up again.

I feel like a genin again. I’m still just as useless as before.

She was shaken out of her sleep this morning at around 8 AM. It was one of her off days from the hospital and she’d decided to sleep in. She was barely able to yawn before Yamato recited a list of exercises they’d be going over today for her first training course in mokuton style.

All she’d been tasked with to do so far was create a few trees. She’d been able to do them, but not without heavy strain. Her chakra control was perfect, but this was an entirely new ballgame for her.

Harnessing what was once believed to be a secret clan technique was harder than it looked.

Maybe this is how Sasuke feels.

Sakura caught her breath and rose up to full height. She looked over at the surrounding area of what she’d accomplished this morning. A mini forest of oddly shaped trees spanned the area. She was disappointed in herself. She didn’t expect to have such a problem with learning this technique because she’d been able to create an entire bridge on a whim.

Yamato had explained that he’d teach her how to use the technique in a way that would allow her chakra to be used in moderation. She was a medical ninja after all and conserving her chakra was essential to her team’s survival. Not to mention the first time she’d successfully used the technique she had to be wheeled off to the hospital as a result of chakra exhaustion.

They’d been going at this “simple” exercise for some hours and Yamato had offered no words of encouragement so far. She didn’t know if she was doing anything wrong or right and his vacant stare wasn’t helping to ease her anxiety.

Isn’t there anyone else available that can help me?

Sakura clasped her hands back together and formed the appropriate seals for the jutsu. When she finally finished the sequence of hand signs, she created her first decent looking tree of the day. She squealed girlishly. It felt so good to conquer challenges. Learning new things made her feel as if she could do anything.

When she was done with her mini celebration, she looked over in Yamato’s direction for approval. She didn’t find much. His face remained unmoved. He nodded at her curtly and walked over to place a hand on her shoulder.

“I think that’s enough drills for today. We’ll meet another day and see how well you can consistently make realistic looking trees. Then we’ll move on to flowers and whatnot.”

They both nodded at each other. He bowed stiffly before vanishing with a transportation jutsu.

Sakura sighed. She was bone tired and the sun was blazing. She grabbed a small pocket watch from her pants pocket. It was 12 PM now. She just wanted to head into town, get in her apartment, and soak in a bath. As she made her way back into the town, she was greeted with an overly energetic Ino.

“Forehead! Over here!” Ino exclaimed as she waved at Sakura frantically.

Sakura rolled her eyes with a small laugh. Ino was as loud as ever.

Some things never change.

When Sakura finally made it over to Ino, the blonde girl held her out at arm’s length and looked her over with scrutinizing eyes. Sakura became visibly uncomfortable.

“What’re you wearing?” Ino asked with disgust lacing her tone.

Sakura pulled at her clothes. She was wearing a red track suit essentially. The long sleeve sweater had the white Haruno symbol on the back. Her pants pockets and were lined with white and she wore black sandals. It was comfortable and Sakura liked it because she didn’t have to worry about people looking too closely at her body. The clothes were loose so her body remained a mystery as she liked it.

“It’s my uniform,” Sakura deadpanned.

Ino looked her over again with a raised brow. “You’ve got no sex appeal, Forehead. None at all.”

Sakura shielded her body with her arms. This was making for such an uncomfortable situation. Ino tucked her arm into Sakura’s and started walking.

“C’mon. You can hold one of my dresses for your welcome home party.”
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Much to Sakura’s discomfort, she was wearing one of Ino’s dresses. She had to fight the strong-willed girl tooth and nail just to wear it, but she’d made sure to find the loosest fitting one.

After a quick bath at her own apartment and a check in with her ANBU guard, she was allowed clearance to go to Ino’s house. It was bizarre to be inside it again after not having spoken to each other for so along. All that drama for a boy at that.

Ino hadn’t mentioned him once and Sakura was honestly surprised. Instead, she blabbed nonstop about the new boy on team 7 called Sai. He was the pale boy she’d caught a glimpse of in Tsunade’s office after being released from the investigation unit. She gushed about him like he was the next best thing since sliced bread.

Sakura indulged her anyway and made comments at appropriate times to show that she was listening. Keeping Ino in a good mood relied heavily on pretending that she was the center of the universe. Sakura had gotten used to it a long time ago.

By the time they arrived to the barbecue place, they were “fashionably” late as Ino called it. It was hard for Ino to let Sakura wear the “shapeless” black dress that made her resemble “an infant schoolgirl” more than a teen girl growing into her body. There was also a lot of fussing with Sakura’s hair that resulted in an intricately rolled topknot bun. By the time Ino offered to do Sakura’s makeup, Sakura was past reasoning and pulled Ino out of her own house forcibly.

Hinata and TenTen were already seated with meat roasting on the grill placed on their table. They both greeted Sakura with a small wave. Sakura returned their greeting with a shy head nod and sat down.

“It’s nice to see you again, Sakura,” Hinata said a decibel above a whisper.

Sakura smiled in response. Hinata had always been such a sweet girl. It only made Naruto’s obliviousness to her obvious affections for the boy that much more enraging. The guy couldn’t get a clue if it slapped him in the face.

“Hey, Sakura! Long time no see,” TenTen greeted from the other side of the large table.

Sakura smiled in her direction too. TenTen was the glue that held Team Gai together. Had it not been for her levelheadedness, that team would’ve been reduced to ashes from both her teammates competitiveness ages ago. The girl had to have the patience of a saint for dealing with Neji’s annoying self-righteousness, Rock Lee’s tenacity, and Gai’s never ending monologues about the power of youth. Sakura would get dizzy just from hearing about it.

Ino slid into the seat next to TenTen. The bunned girl slid over to make room. A silence fell over the group until Ino spoke.

“Sooo…everyone’s been wondering why you left town without a word,” Ino stated with an air of laughter. “I mean; one moment we were in the village bickering about your closeness to Sasuke. The next, I’m hearing that you’re saddled up with one of the Legendary Sannin and joining some international ninja program.”

Suddenly, a herd of what sounded like an elephant stampede busted through the doors of the restaurant. When the girls looked up, they saw the rest of the Rookie Nine boys competing to get through the doors.

Naruto and Kiba were in the lead pushing each other’s faces as they ran to the occupied booth. Sasuke and Neji walked in cooly and seated themselves. Sai wasn’t too far behind them.

Sai sat next to Ino, who Sakura was sure caused the blush to rise on her pristine face. When they left this place, Sakura would definitely tease her about it. Sasuke slid in next to Sakura while Neji, with a polite nod, slid next to Sai.

Chouji walked in snacking on a bag of chips while listening to the hyperactive Lee go on about his trials in youth. Shino walked in not far behind them with his hands in his pockets and a quiet mumble that sounded like he was whispering to his bugs.

Kiba and Naruto had finally stopped fighting and walked over to the booth. Kiba slid in next to Neji, but Naruto stood next to Sasuke and pouted. Sasuke opened a menu and completely ignored him.

“Teme! Let me sit next to Sakura-chan,” Naruto whined.

Sakura smiled. No matter how many years they remained apart, she felt like she and Naruto would always have a soft spot for each other.

Sasuke didn’t spare his blonde teammate a glance. “I’m not moving over. There’s no space,” he deadpanned.

Naruto crossed his arms like a petulant child and huffed. When he realized that Sasuke wasn’t going to move, he squeezed his way past Sasuke and sat in Sakura’s lap. A goofy grin spread across his face. Sakura readjusted his body into a more comfortable position. He was a lot heavier than he looked.

The entire table ordered their food. A jovial atmosphere was kept up through talking about mundane things like the weather and recent missions. After easing into a steady rhythm of eating and talking, Ino found a way to pivot the conversation back to Sakura.

“I almost forgot, Forehead! How’d you meet the Fifth Hokage?” Ino yelled over the chaos that had become the booth.

Sakura was picking at a small rice bowl. Naruto, unbeknownst to himself, was her saving grace again. It made it easier for her to eat with him obscuring her body. She was midbite when she realized Ino was talking to her. The entire table refocused their attention to her.

She maneuvered around Naruto’s body and placed her bowl of rice on the table. Naruto wiggled around in her lap to allow Sakura to see the rest of her friends better.

“I…just happened to come by the Hokage’s office and met Tsunade. She offered to teach me and like two days later I was out of the village,” Sakura admitted shyly.

They didn’t need to know the entire context of the situation because it really wasn’t anyone’s business. Plus, she was still embarrassed about it.

TenTen lifted her elbows onto the table and propped her chin up on her palms. She stared at Sakura in abject wonder. Sakura blushed.

“Wow! It was kind of like fate,” TenTen humored.

Sakura brushed off the girl’s astonishment with a laugh. “Yeah, I guess. Tsunade-sama was kind of my guardian angel.”

“But you’re back kind of early aren’t you?” Ino questioned with heightened interest.

The girl was always in tune with gossip, so Sakura was shocked that she hadn’t heard the news. The council has really quieted the rumors down. “Yeah…I am,” Sakura started.

The whole table looked at her inquisitively from behind Naruto’s back. She felt like she was under a microscope.

“Why’s that?” Hinata asked in a completely innocent tone.

“Because…I kind of am a wood user now and when the council got wind of it, I was rushed back to Konoha,” Sakura explained in one breath. “The program I was under in Kumo also came to an early end as a result, so, it’s a pretty big deal.”

Eyes around the table went wide. Naruto twisted himself around in Sakura’s lap and looked at her in awe.

“Woah…Sakura-chan, you’re so cool!” he exclaimed with food still in his mouth.

Lee looked over at her with stars in his eyes. He looked like he was about to say something embarrassing until TenTen fixed him with a look.

“So how long have you been back?” Neji inquired in an even tone.

Sakura relaxed into her seat again. She was starting to feel more comfortable with these questions. “About a month, give or take a few weeks.”

“Then why haven’t we seen you around before now?” Ino questioned.

Sakura sighed. She hated remembering this part of her journey back. “I was under intense investigation for the first two weeks I came back. Then, when I was finally released, they put a 24/7 ANBU unit around me in a special apartment the council selected for me.”

“That makes sense,” Neji considered with a hand under his chin. “I thought the wood user style was a clan technique from the First Hokage’s clan.”

Sakura shrugged half-heartedly. “I thought so too. Tsunade let me hold one of her clan scrolls and told me to try it out. It didn’t work for a year until I was messing around on my last mission.”

Shikamaru leaned onto the table in deep thought. He let out sounds of careful consideration. “So what’s the angle with keeping you under lock and key? Do they think you’re a security threat?” the genius asked thoughtfully.

Sakura shrugged again. She just wanted her investigation to be over. “I have no idea at this point. The council’s not speaking directly to me. But I am being trained now.”

The oddly pale boy opened his mouth to speak, but Ino eyed him. Sakura thought they were a weird pair, but they somehow fit.

Ino was kind of overbearing, so a relationship could only exist with her if she was the more dominate one in the relationship.

The waiter came over with a dozen plates of dessert and the conversation shifted into something more amicable.
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Everyone was standing outside of the barbecue place waving each other goodbye.

Team Gai was the first to go. Lee grabbed Sakura’s hand, kissed it multiple times, and wished her good luck on all her future endeavors. When he started monologuing about youth and an oath to protecting her, TenTen got involved and dragged him and Neji away.

Team 8, after another short spat between Kiba and Naruto hauled off to a nearby training ground.

Shikamaru and Chouji gave an excuse about having to go home immediately. All those left standing outside were Sasuke, Sai, Naruto, Ino, and Sakura.

Sakura was surprised to see Sasuke still willingly standing outside with them. She chalked it up to Naruto being there.

He probably wants to spar with him after this.

Ino pulled on Sakura’s arm and the she was suddenly face to face with the mysterious pale boy from earlier. He, much like Yamato, freaked her out. He had blank eyes. The smile etched on his face didn’t suit him at all. He seemed so robotic and stiff.

“I don’t think you two have properly met,” Ino said while tugging on Sakura’s arm again. “Sai meet Sakura. Sakura meet Sai.”

They both waved at each other respectfully. Sakura had no real feelings towards him. He was her replacement and she had a new team. There wasn’t much to be discussed. At least, not until he opened his mouth.

He gave her a once over with a scrutinizing eye. If she wasn’t uncomfortable before, she definitely was now. She tried to escape Ino’s iron grip, but she was really holding on. Sai stopped scanning her like an item at a grocery store and stood at full height.

“The nickname Forehead really does suit you,” he observed casually.

Sakura’s mouth dropped open in shock. This bastard was bold. She took a half step back.

“Excuse me?” she asked in disbelief.

Ino looked absolutely mortified. She tried to cover his mouth, but they got into a small tussle and Ino was losing.

“You’re such a jackass, Sai!” Naruto yelled from behind Sakura.

Sasuke’s face blanched for a moment before returning to one of impassivity.

“What? Ino calling her Forehead is the same as me calling you Dickless. It’s a friendly nickname,” Sai commented nonchalantly.

Ino was still having a hard time covering Sai’s mouth, so she released Sakura’s hand. “This is one of the times where I need you to stop talking, Sai!” Ino shouted.

They were all causing a commotion now.

Sakura looked around nervously. I have got to get out of here.

Sakura looked to see that Sai had escaped from Ino’s hold again. Ino was now trying to hold an irate Naruto and confused Sai apart. Sasuke snuck off when he saw the situation escalate beyond saving.

“I don’t understand why either of you are upset,” Sai said in an even tone. “You both said that friends have nicknames for each other. Wouldn’t having one for her make our transition into friendship faster?”

“Sai! Don’t say anything else!”

Sai looked over in Sakura’s direction in deep thought. She could feel her skin crawl under his empty gaze. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to the boy’s blank stare.

“I think Ugly would be a fitting nickname for you,” Sai said with no malice in his tone.

Ino looked absolutely mortified. Naruto was rowdy again and winding up his fist to aim at Sai’s face. Sakura, in all the confusion, scampered off. That was one hell of a first introduction. There was no way that the two of them would ever become friends.

Chapter 11: Hope

Chapter Text

It was nearly midnight when Sasuke found himself scurrying to find his clothes scattered on the floor. He was never one to talk much about his life with his family, much less his late night escapades.

Karin was laying on her bed, stark naked under her comforter, watching the stoic boy get dressed. They’d agreed to this…arrangement about a year ago after a mission he took with the self-proclaimed Team Hebi. He’d seen her around before, even went on a couple missions with her team, but he hadn’t paid her any mind. She was annoying like Sakura and could be really clingy at the most inappropriate times.

She was also really combative with her teammate Suigetsu who, much like Naruto and Sai, knew how to press your buttons to get you out of character. It was like the guy purposely goaded her for a reaction. Seeing the bespectacled girl upset was his favorite pastime.

Sasuke pulled his head through his shirt and opened the bedroom door. He needed to leave now or he’d never hear the end of it from his parents. Sasuke and his father still weren’t seeing eye to eye after the most recent conversation and Itachi had just gotten home from his most recent mission.

While his older brother could take the heat off of him because he was their father’s golden boy, he could also bring more negative attention to him. His father never missed out on a chance to compare the two. Slighting Sasuke at every opportunity was Fugaku’s favorite hobby. Slights about his ninja capabilities and prowess were common. He was the black sheep of his family. He just hoped that his parents were in bed by the time he snuck through his window.

Sasuke made his way to the front door with Karin, wrapped up in her blanket like a caterpillar in a cocoon, not far behind. She watched him bend down to put on his shoes.

“I heard your teammate is back in town,” the redhead said more to herself than the dark-haired boy crouched below her. She rarely ever got responses from him. It made her sad sometimes, but she honestly couldn’t ever expect more than what he ever gave to her.

“I overheard Orochimaru talking to Kabuto about there being an upcoming Kage summit so she can return to Kumo.”

Sasuke stiffened for a moment. This was news to him. He didn’t think much of what Sakura did, but he definitely thought that what she revealed to him and the other rookies meant that she would be rooted in Konoha for an indefinite amount of time. It also didn’t hurt that he hoped she would rejoin Team 7 and get rid of that prick Sai.

Sasuke rose to his full height and slid into his shoes. He turned to look at Karin expectantly waiting for answers. She held her hands in mock surrender knowing that he was asking for more information.

“I don’t know all of the details. A Kage summit is happening for sure though. Who knows?” Karin paused dramatically. She ran her perfectly manicured fingers along his biceps.

“Maybe we’ll be on guard duty together.”

Karin’s eyebrows wiggled suggestively. Sasuke, without a hint of emotion, excused himself from her apartment. Karin watched him go sullenly and locked the door behind him.
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Sasuke was roof hopping back to his home when he saw that the lights in his room were on. He came to a full stop on one of the roofs of a house about a block away. He’d have to be very careful coming in.

Sasuke jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he stood in the garden near his bedroom. From the shadow reflected on the screen door, he could tell that it was his mother snooping through his room again under the guise of “cleaning”. Why she had the urge to clean his room at midnight, he’d never ask.

Sasuke walked up to the door without muting his footsteps and pulled back the door. His mother looked absolutely frazzled by his sudden appearance. He watched her with a raised eyebrow. She collected herself and rose from her crouched position with a blush.

“Where have you been? Do you know what time it is?” Mikoto asked indignantly.

Sasuke walked past her to his drawer to fish out some clothes for a shower. Mikoto huffed in annoyance. How did she raise such a difficult child? She stopped to sniff the scent in the air as he walked by.

“You smell like perfume,” his mother stated.

Sasuke glanced up at her with a bored expression. There was nothing he felt he needed to explain to his mother. Especially since she was obviously snooping around in his room trying to find out something incriminating about him. He turned back to his drawer to look for clothes.

Mikoto was pissed now. She stomped over to Sasuke and grabbed him by the ear. Silently, he winced in pain. She smiled. She was glad that she could elicit a response from her ever so stoic son, even if it was as a result of pain.

“Don’t be a brat, Sasuke,” Mikoto spat through clenched teeth. She pulled his ear around a bit more for good measure. “I asked you a question so I expect an answer.”

She let go of his ear and glanced down at him with a frown. Sasuke rubbed at his ear in anger. He caught his mother’s eye and scowled up at her. She rolled her eyes and crouched down next to him reorganizing the clothes that he’d just messed up.

Sasuke sat on the back of his heels and watched his mother work. He saw the way her delicate hands moved slowly, but with care. Now that he was closer, he could see the way exhaustion nestled into every bone in her body. Who knows how long she’d been up probably waiting for him?

Sasuke cleared his throat. “Is tou-san home?”

Mikoto harrumphed in annoyance. She turned her face away from his view and continued folding clothes. “Answer my question and I’ll answer yours,” Mikoto seethed.

Sasuke sighed. His mother always had to make things so difficult. “I was at one of my colleague’s place,” he answered smoothly.

His smother scoffed at him. “Do you feel the need to come from all of your ‘colleagues’ places smelling like their perfume?” Mikoto spouted in that playful mocking tone Sasuke had come to associate her with.

He rolled his eyes and smirked. She asked him a simple question and he answered. What did she need to know the specifics for?

“Is tou-san home?” he repeated.

He grabbed his clothes from his mother and started folding them himself. His mother placed her hands in her lap and watched him with a careful eye. Her son could be truly thoughtful when he wanted to be.

“No,” Mikoto sighed. “He got a late night call for something with the police force. He probably won’t be back until late tomorrow.”

Sasuke peered over at his mother. Her shoulders were slumped sullenly. She took long, deep breaths. Weariness overtook her entire body. He could see a glint of years’ worth of fatigue in her eyes. Being an Uchiha wife was weighing her down. Sasuke couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his father show his mother affection.

In fact, he couldn’t remember any moments at all. His father – much like himself – wasn’t a man of many emotions. Outside of yelling at his youngest son and getting his eldest to do his bidding on his behalf, Sasuke had never known the man to be anything but a stickler for rules and a complete pain in his ass.

As Sasuke refolded his last article of clothing, he held his hand out for his mother and they both stood up. His mother brushed off the back of her dress. Sasuke gathered all his clothes in preparation for his shower in one hand.

Mikoto glanced up at him and smiled. Just when it looked like she was about to leave, she made an abrupt turn back to Sasuke. She crossed her arms and tilted her head in curiousity.

“I almost forgot. I came in here because your picture is missing from the family altar. Where is it?”

Sasuke made no move to recover the picture. He’d moved it in a fit of anger after another argument with his father. He didn’t feel like being a part of the family anymore, so, he removed his photo. What did they need it for when they had everything they could ever ask for in a son in Itachi?

Mikoto gave Sasuke a onceover with a look of exasperation. Sasuke – although he would never admit it – had always had a soft spot for his mother. No matter how tumultuous he and his father’s relationship was, when his mother got involved, he dropped the subject.

Under her maternal gaze, he faltered and walked over to his bed. He crouched and let his arm wander under the bed to find a steel box. He opened it for a brief moment and pulled out the desired picture. He held it out to her without looking in her direction. He wanted to avoid any questions about what could’ve caused him to hide his photo this time.

Thankfully, Mikoto took it wordlessly. She ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head before leaving the room with a whispered ‘good night’. Sasuke lifted himself from the floor and gathered his things for the shower. He hated having the scent of other people on him for too long.
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Sakura slipped out of her white tennis shoes. Another long day of nothing but mundane tasks.

It had been so long since she’d done clerical tasks in an office that she’d forgotten how mind-numbingly simple it all was. She prayed for the sanity of any incoming medic. This was not an easy job.

Sakura unloaded her bag, flung off her jacket, and jumped out of her pants. The feeling of cold air hitting her damp legs was refreshing. She hadn’t remembered Konoha being so hot. The weather must have been an exception today because it was sweltering.

Just as she plopped down onto her couch, weariness saturating her bones, her phone started ringing off the hook. She sighed heavily. She couldn’t find a moment of peace, not even in her own little abode. She slid off the couch and ambled over to her phone’s receiver.

“Hello?” she said into the phone, her voice a mashup between weary and confused. Who the hell would be calling her this late at night?

“Sakura? How many times do I have to call you before you answer?!” her mother admonished.

Sakura rolled her eyes. This definitely wasn’t what she imagined of when winding down from a hard shift. She took a few deep breaths to prepare for what she would knew would be a hard conversation.

“I work at the hospital mom. My shifts are pretty late most nights.”

“You’re not doing anything other than filing papers. What about that screams ‘late nights’?”

Sakura did everything in her power to avoid from blowing up at her mother. She could always count on that woman to make mountains out of mole hills. If she just accepted her career path maybe then she wouldn’t have to ask these stupid questions all the time.

“You’d be surprised. Konoha has the most efficient medical system in the ninja world. We’re always backed up with paperwork.”

“I still think you could make time to come see us once in a while. I think the council would at least allow you to see your parents.”

“Yeah, I’ll try.”

“You have a tone. I guess I’ll leave you to whatever you’re doing tonight. Your poor, worried mother is too much of a hassle to call.”

“But mom, I-“

Sakura held the phone away from her ear as the dial tone rang. Her mother’s short temper was the same as always. They still hadn’t properly reconciled for what happened before Sakura left and they still were dodgy about any conversations surrounding her career. She placed the phone back on its stand and walked away. Anything involving her parents was exhausting.
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Sakura was sitting at her dining table debating silently whether or not to purge. She had been completely fine - well – mostly fine being by herself for the past month or so until just now.

It was such a random thought. One minute she was chewing away at what she thought was a harmless meal choice until a sinking feeling sat in the pit of her stomach. She was on the last bite of her food when the random thought had come to mind.

She could feel the food just sitting there in her stomach unmoving. Suddenly, her body felt so heavy and squishy. She could feel the layers of flab forming on her skin and the skin around her neck thickening. It told her to get rid of her food in any way she could.

She had never been much of a fan of throwing up. She hated the way her throat and nostrils burned afterwards. Her stomach would feel like it was turned completely upside down. Not to mention that her hands became so mangled after a few tries and her ankles would swell. It was a horrid thing to do, so that was one method she had quit a long time ago.

However, there were other much more preferred methods that she attempted more frequently. Weight loss pills and solutions were always nice. Once she learned how to choke pills down, there was no stopping her. The solutions were also easier to use, but they were usually really disgusting no matter what drink you mixed them with.

Appetite suppressants were fairly easy to get your hands on. When Sakura was still a genin and low on money, she’d resorted to stealing them many times from grocery stores all over the village. She was surprised she’d never been caught.

Laxatives, whether chewable or tablet form, were one of her last choices. She hated the unpredictability of them. Not eating for long periods of time and then trying to make yourself poop took a toll on her body. The multiple trips it took just for the laxative to fully work its magic was not convenient. She hated every second of straining and sweating she put in every time she took them.

Sakura could also exercise. When she was heavier into her depression she would exercise for hours on end. At first, under the guise of training harder, she would spend extensive time doing warmup exercises.

She would always come home exhausted from training herself. It didn’t make it any better that even though she would do all this training on her own time and then not be able to even spar with her teammates in group trainings. It was a gateway to her exercising obsession.

Sakura sighed. She’d have to learn to be okay with her body. Her therapist said that she’d have to reach into herself and find out what she was substituting her obsession with food, toxic fixation on her body, and harmful coping methods with.

She took slow, deep breaths. She counted down from 10 and back again. When she finally felt steady enough, she got up and searched around the kitchen for a piece of paper and pencil. She sat back down at the table when she got them and started scribbling away.

How I’m feeling – sad

What’s the cause? – I miss my teammates. I don’t have my meds and the transition to my old home has been overwhelming. I don’t know how to talk to my old friends because I haven’t talked to them in years and it feels like we’ve moved on from each other.

What can help me? – Talking to someone close to me. Maybe reading a book or two.

Sakura released the breath she’d been holding in. Just writing down her feelings helped ease the load she was carrying. The only thing that had been taking her mind off of her situation lately was training with Yamato. It was a nice release and she worked in a familiar territory. It was all focused on her precise chakra control that allowed her to use the jutsu to create whatever she wanted freely.

But, it still wasn’t enough. She hadn’t been working on her taijutsu nor genjutsu skills that she worked so hard to get. She knew she wasn’t allowed much freedom, but she was going stir crazy from being kept inside all day.

Sakura placed her head down on the table. She needed a miracle. ASAP.

Suddenly, a burst of chakra appeared in her room. She turned to see the familiar messenger hawk with another letter hanging on its leg and a small backpack attached to its back. Sakura jumped out of her seat to greet the bird. It nodded in acknowledgement and allowed her to take it in her hands.

She unbound the letter from its leg and detached the backpack from its back. With the bird in tow, she walked over to the kitchen for a small snack for it. A few berries and a content hawk later, Sakura opened the letter on one of her kitchen counters. She could only hope that Karui wasn’t too overwhelmed by her heartfelt letter.

Dear Sakura,

I’ve missed you too. I knew that I’d be under investigation the moment they swept you out of the village. Jinora tells me that she was grilled pretty hard too, but it’s nothing to worry about too much. Konoha’s probably the only village with such a harsh reaction to the situation because it’s their village’s technique.

It’s been pretty boring here without you. I’ve had to return temporarily to my former team, but I haven’t been able to take missions. It’s just a precautionary measure that’s happening as a result of your situation. They’re restricting all of our movement, even Killer Bee-sensei.

Don’t worry, I’ve been to the therapist too. This whole situation has been blown out of control and I’ve been stressed. How could they think any of us are criminals?

In other news, things are looking up for us! I heard Konoha’s trying to have a Kage summit with all the ninja villages. The raikage has no problem with it, but we’ll definitely have some convincing to do with the other villages. Jinora’s been telling me since she went home that all the higher ups in Iwagakure are pissed with the success of the program and even more with all the applicants rushing to go back. I think the push to go back has been so strong that they’re allowing us to go back under heavy surveillance because they want to see what’s driving us all back. That means we’ll see each other soon!

Lady Rin has also been requesting us for weeks about a mission that she says only Team Bee can do. It’s been pissing off all the higher-ups because they think this international program could hurt mission distribution in the future, but she doesn’t care. She’s already picked me and Jinora up and we’re coming to get you in a few days! The woman’s so convincing.

P.S. You were taken back in such a rush that I noticed you left your pills behind. I put them in the cute little bag on the messenger hawk’s back. I put the old bottle and your
newest prescription in there. Stay safe!

With love,

Karui

Sakura beamed down at the letter with all the love she could muster. She held it close to her heart and squealed. Things were finally looking up. It looked like she wouldn’t have to stay in this drab village for much longer.

She stroked the messenger hawk softly until she heard it coo in happiness. Sakura pulled out a bottle of pills from the small backpack and downed her daily dose with no water.

Finally, some serotonin.

She thanked kami for Karui’s thoughtfulness. She’d been too scared to go to a new therapist and she was sure that if she stayed here any longer, she’d have another episode like years before. Sakura stroked the messenger hawk for a few more minutes before sending it off in a burst of chakra. Training tomorrow with Yamato wouldn’t be so unbearable after all.

Chapter 12: Burn

Chapter Text

“You’re progressing nicely,” Yamato encouraged in a flat tone.

Sakura beamed with pride for what felt like the millionth time that day. She had been able to create an entire mini forest today with just a quarter of her chakra reserves used. There were flowers, bushes, and gorgeous trees surrounding the two.

Yamato, with his arms crossed, took a look around nodding his head in acknowledgement of her skill.

Finally! He has other facial expressions besides constipated.

Being able to coax out a reaction from the stoic man was nice. He usually looked disgruntled and completely befuddled at the idea of having to train her. She hated feeling like a burden to anyone and it reminded her of her Team 7 days of having a teacher that was so obviously uninterested in teaching.

She felt like she was on a streak of good luck lately. First, the letter and pills from Karui, now Yamato’s approval. She couldn’t wait to see what would come next.

She got up from her hunched over position and placed her hands on the back of her head to catch her breath. She saw Yamato stiffen and knew that someone had to be approaching. He got really jumpy whenever he detected other people’s chakra signatures.

They both looked up to see a familiar silver-haired ninja bounding towards them through the treetops. He landed with a soft thwap in front of them.

“Kakashi-senpai?!” Yamato exclaimed with the most expression Sakura had ever seen on the man’s face. If she’d been in any other situation she would’ve laughed. Yamato bowed at him furiously and Sakura could see her former sensei becoming flustered.

“C’mon now, there’s no need for all that,” Kakashi said with his hands up.

Yamato straightened himself up and acted accordingly. Kakashi peered over in Sakura’s direction with an almost sad glint in his eye. Sakura’s face held no expression.

“Sakura,” Kakashi acknowledged.

Sakura’s mouth formed into a straight line. “Hatake-san,” she responded.

He recoiled slightly, but averted his attention back to Yamato. “If you’re done with her training, the Hokage and the rest of the mission distribution board are requesting Sakura’s presence. There’s been quite a commotion this morning,” he explained with constant sneaky glances to his former student.

Yamato nodded. “We were just wrapping things up. Y’know Kakashi, your student’s a really fast learner. She’s almost perfected the jutsu in a few short training sessions,” Yamato added nonchalantly as if it was just random gossip.

Kakashi nodded while looking in Sakura’s direction. She was packing up her equipment and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “I know,” the gray-haired man whispered to himself.

It wasn’t long before they took off through the trees and made their way into the center of the village. A little bit of roof hopping later and all three stood in front of the Hokage Tower. Yamato politely excused himself mentioning that he had other matters to attend to. He wished Sakura good luck and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kakashi and Sakura stood in front of the tower doors for a moment as the tension between them built. Sakura was the first to break it. She took a deep breath and opened one of the doors. Kakashi tagged along not far behind her. They walked the path to the mission distribution office in complete silence. Only the squeaks of their sandals could be heard through the empty halls.

They finally made it to the correct office and Sakura slowly opened the doors for the both of them. She was greeted with the familiar face of Karui who immediately ran over to her and jumped to hug her. They both almost fell, but Sakura held them both steady and spun in a happy circle. Squeals emitted from both the teenage girls and they could hear small laughs ring around the room at their display.

Karui and Sakura let go of each other and just took in the other’s image. Karui was as radiant as ever. Her dark skin was offset by her fiery red, cornrowed hair. Her perfectly slicked hair line added to the overall look. She was wearing her usual uniform, but her familiar headband was missing most likely because of her new hairstyle.

Their other teammate Jinora walked over and enveloped them both in a bear hug. She was a little above average height with a short brown bob. She, like her other teammates, was waif thin with muscles from their intense training. It shocked Karui and Sakura that Jinora hugged them because she was usually so against any display of affection. The time apart had to have been rough on them all.

A terse cough brought them all out of their reverie. “I’m sorry to disturb such a heartfelt reunion, but we do need to come to a settlement that will benefit all parties,” Iruka interrupted.

The three girls straightened and stood next to each other. They wrapped their hands in each other’s feeling the safest they’d felt in weeks. Sakura looked over at the table of exasperated higher ups. The lineup included Tsunade, who looked like she had just sobered up, old man Sarutobi who puffed a cigarette in annoyance, a stressed Iruka, the elders Danzo, Koharu and Homaru, and few jounin who looked as if they were going to rip their own hair out.

The source of the distress obviously came from Lady Jin, who stood off to the side with a fan obscuring her face. She was always a particularly difficult client to please. It was her way or the highway – no way in between. No one could brush her off either because she was a high paying client. Team B watched as she straightened up with her waving back and forth haughtily.

“Yes, I agree with the pony-tailed man. I’ve gone through all the trouble of finding you guys in three different nations already. I’d like this problem to be handled as quickly as possible,” Lady Jin huffed.

The trio sighed. Her snippy behavior had already started. Iruka looked offended for a moment but recomposed himself. The elders on the other hand were on edge. They were seething from whatever had transpired in Sakura’s absence.

“Lady Jin, we assure you that a team from a single nation can be found to complete your mission,” Homaru replied with repressed anger in his tone.

Lady Jin rolled her eyes and fanned herself again. “If that’s what I wanted, I would’ve had it done already.”

Homaru seethed in anger. Danzo surveyed the room. Tension had risen tenfold. Although, he was sure the woman was oblivious to it all.

“There was no need to overexert yourself and scrap together a team that has already been dissolved. This situation could go much smoother with a team we assign for you,” Danzo added. He was growing awfully tired of trying to appease this irrational woman.

Lady Jin dismissed him. She saw no sense in dealing with someone who would never see things her way. “I’ve already overexerted myself and their team is not dissolved if I’ve reassembled them. I do not understand you all’s disdain for a program that you signed off for. This is the team that I am used to handling my missions and I will have my way,” the luxurious woman ranted. “That is, unless…you no longer need my husband to be a donor.”

A silence broke out over the room. Lady Jin hid a smirk behind her fan. Sakura, Karui, and Jinora smiled knowingly. Fighting with Lady Jin was always a losing battle. It wasn’t long before they were approved for their mission and sent off to pack their things.
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“Congratulations.”

A monotone voice rang through Sasuke’s ears as he accepted his certificate for completing the ANBU exam. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop his stomach flopping about. Excitement burst through every seam of his body.

He was now one step closer to finally proving himself to be as good as Itachi. Maybe he’d even be able to shut his father up for a change. Well…probably not, but it was worth a try.

He slipped into his new vest and gave himself a once-over in the locker room mirrors. He could get used to this. He had always dreamed of seeing himself in a high-ranking ninja position. It would give his father more incentive to let him join the police force. The old man had been so hesitant to let him while he seethed over the fact that Itachi had been on the force since he was 15.

Sasuke closed the door of his locker. No matter what he did, his father nor the rest of his clan would ever see him as anything other than Itachi’s little, less successful brother. As Sasuke gathered the last of his belongings in his backpack, he heard the familiar voices of his brother and cousin, Shishui. He was prepared to walk out without so much as a glance in their direction, but Shishui just had to open his mouth.

“Sasuke! You passed the test?” his cousin yelled across the room.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks and sighed. There were whispers amongst the others in the locker room already probably brewing outlandish gossip. He thought back to his mother saying he’s not an island and composed himself. Everything he did was under a microscope by the nosy, discriminatory villagers. He could pretend to be cordial for a moment.

Sasuke turned to see his cousin running over to him while his brother, perpetually cool and calm, trailed behind him at a moderate pace. Shishui slapped Sasuke on the shoulder while laughing hysterically to himself. Sasuke made the effort not to wince.

“Good to see you here, little one. It’s always nice to see one of your family members winning,” Shishui commented without a hint of malice.

Sasuke nodded tersely. He wasn’t one to blush, but he did find the comment quite…encouraging. His cousin laughed at his reaction. He’d always known both brothers as reticent, non-sociable beings. It became easier to cue in on what their reactions meant once you were closer to them.

Shishui watched Sasuke tilt his head in Itachi’s direction expectantly. He smirked to himself. Under all those layers of careful composure, the young boy still desired his older brother’s approval.

Itachi tilted his head in his younger brother’s direction with his infamous slowness and careful discernment. In one look, he could read anyone just from the expression on their face.

“I hope your transition into the ANBU unit goes well,” Itachi said in a quiet, balanced tone.

It irritated the shit out of Sasuke. No matter what he did, Itachi could always make something he worked hard to do sound so trite and unimportant. He felt like a child under a parent’s scrutinizing gaze. In some ways, Sasuke felt that Itachi was just like his father. Perpetually unsatisfied with whatever he accomplished. No wonder they both always found a way to exclude from important clan affairs.

Sasuke clenched his fist. He clamped down on his jaw. It wouldn’t be long before he lost control. He simply turned away walking towards the exit.

“Ah,” the hot-headed teenage boy replied. “I’ll do my best.”

Sasuke stood outside the door of the locker room and tilted his head towards the floor until his face was obscured by his bangs. He couldn’t let his brother get to him. Not again. He always won even when there was no competition and it burned Sasuke up inside. He didn’t want to have play second fiddle to his brother for the rest of his life. He needed to find a way to break free from his shadow.

Just as he was about to walk down the long corridor to the outside world, a voice called out to him. He now had his first official mission as ANBU. He hoped that this was what he needed to set his own path away from his brother.
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Sakura had pulled the last of her hastily packed luggage out of her dreadfully, lonely apartment and headed towards the reception desk. She felt new and light for the first time since she’d been here. This mission was the pick me up she needed after the tumultuous past couple months.

She had almost finished signing out when she heard the dreaded sound of her parents’ protests. They swarmed her in a matter of seconds hurling slights and other reprimands down her throat.

“Are you serious?!” her mother shouted.

Sakura peered around the room thankful for the limited amount of guests currently out to witness such an uncalled for spectacle.

“Listen,” her father started on what she knew would be a rant that the public did not need to see. She hid behind her hands bashfully. “Papa,” Sakura pleaded. “This isn’t really the time-“

“So when is the time?” he interrupted, his hands placed on his hips for extra emphasis. “When you’ve already left the village and it’s too late to say something? We let you leave last time because we figured you needed some time to yourself and we respected that. I was able to hold your mother off from every angry letter she sat down to write. We figured with all that time we allowed you to spend apart from us that you’d finally come to terms with what you’re dealing with and return to us.”

Sakura found herself unable to form a rebuttal. Her father’s disappointed face etched into the back of her mind. Her mother stood to his side with her arms folded and her chin held high.

“Really…you’ve become more selfish than I could’ve ever imagined, Sakura,” her mother pouted.

She watched her parents leave with a heavy feeling in her stomach.
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He had to have the worst luck in the world. Not only was his first task as ANBU a simple guarding mission, it just had to be one that included Sakura.

He braced himself for the onslaught of unwanted affection that he knew was coming his way. They’d only been in contact with each other two times since her return, but she was probably holding back in front of everyone. She also seemed to be pretty distracted whenever they met.

For so long, being on a team with Sai was the worst thing possible and he prayed that she would return, but just thinking of being in close proximity with her again made him remember all those uncomfortable memories of forced affection.

He just hoped that this mission wouldn’t be too long. Maybe she would be too distracted by her teammates that she wouldn’t even notice him. He was currently waiting at the village gates. He didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally saw them taking what looked like a stroll down the boulevard. There was no sense of urgency in any of their strides.

He figured that the woman with a fan and a kimono was the client. She looked like she would cause trouble down the line. Sasuke was a person who tried to avoid trouble at any cost. When the woman finally caught up to him, she held her fan over the lower half of her face and giggled.

“What a handsome guard we have ladies. I told the council that we didn’t need one, but I’m ever so glad to see your face,” she cooed from behind her fan.

Sasuke didn’t flinch. He was used to people coming onto him unprovoked. It’d be ridiculous of him to react to every one of them. He looked over at the trio not far behind the woman. There was Sakura holding onto a red-headed girl’s hand and another fairly tall brunette to the right of her. They looked like an interesting bunch. He hoped they’d be enough to distract Sakura from her useless pining.

“Hello Sasuke,” Sakura greeted robotically. “I thought we’d be having Itachi escort us.”

He couldn’t hide the grimace that came over his body. He should’ve known. He’d only been chosen for this job because his brother wasn’t available. He’d always be stuck with his brother’s leftovers. Sasuke placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

“I guess not.”

The red-headed girl looked him over with a twinge of fear. She clung tighter to Sakura’s arm. Sakura and the brunette stroked her head and held her close to them. Sasuke couldn’t help but notice how…close they seemed. Sakura damn near gave her a full blown kiss.

Sasuke shook it off. There was nothing he needed to get himself worried about. As long as the mission was completed, he would tolerate all the peculiarities along the way.

Chapter 13: Since You've Been Gone

Chapter Text

Karui was holding onto Sakura’s hand for dear life. Sakura wasn’t complaining, but it was definitely odd. They hadn’t shown this much PDA since after breaking up over a year ago. Besides sleeping beside each other or chaste kisses on the forehead, Karui hadn’t initiated much physical contact.

Jinora sat next to the pair quietly. She was never one to talk much, but when she did, it was usually motherly advice to help the two figure out their problems. To level the playing field, Karui and Sakura would also take her out on dates and ask her about her own life.

This was the healthiest dynamic that Sakura had ever had with her friends or teammates. No one was in competition nor was anyone being nasty to one another. She really enjoyed how they all clicked so well together.

They were all seated inside of a horse drawn carriage. Team B sat together on one side while Sasuke and Lady Jin sat across from them. Sasuke was as anti-social as she remembered. He didn’t waste his time with idle banter. He focused his attention out the window of the carriage.

Lady Jin waved her fan furiously as sweat collected above her brow. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived to their destination, but damn, was it humid.

“I heard about your little fiasco in the Land of Earth”, Lady Jin started with a smirk.

Sakura held tighter to Karui’s hand. It was important to look underneath the underneath about whatever this woman said. She always had ulterior motives.

“News travels fast in the ninja world. I was around the little island town Land of Mist when I heard about it,” Lady Jin commented. She suddenly paused for dramatic effect. Sakura braced herself. “Why…if I’m correct, isn’t this handsome young man one of your former teammates that are a large reason for the sudden upticks in nobles like my husband and I coming to that drab little village? I hope his presence won’t pose a problem for you all’s little team,” the noblewoman jeered pompously.

Karui held onto Sakura with a koala grip. Sakura responded with a gentle squeeze of her shoulders. She should’ve known that nothing about reuniting their team was sincere. Every time they were requested by her, they had to sift through thousands of unexplained micro aggressions. Lady Jin held both a disdain and a high regard for the girls that they just couldn’t understand.

Jinora sat up, a sneer etched on her face. “I thought your husband specialized in things like ores and jewels. What would he be doing in a ‘little island town’ like Mist?” the quiet girl asked in a tone that bordered on respectful and annoyed.

Sakura was amused by it. Jinora rarely ever spoke up in situations, nor did she ever really feel anything besides indifference towards others. This side of her was always nice to see.

Lady Jin brought her fan up underneath her eyes that sloped downward with her smirk. “It’s always nice to see what others have to offer,” she mused coyly.

Sakura realized that whatever this weird conversation was, was a losing battle. They had yet to figure out her ulterior motives, but they were sure they’d be in shock when they finally learned of it. Jinora nestled back into her seat after reaching the same conclusion. Sakura squeezed Karui’s hand again. This would be a long mission.
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The Uchiha compound was lively with the noise of almost every Uchiha in one room. A meeting had been called by Fugaku. There had been meetings for months consisting of only head family members.

Tonight’s meeting had an entirely different tone. The air of seriousness that nestled over the room was suffocating. Not even their excited chatter could drown out the worry that sat like a lump of coal in their stomachs.

Fugaku stepped up to the podium, his arrogance and pompousness held in his long stride. The room hushed up quickly. Today’s meeting held a tone of finality. No one could remember the last time a meeting that included the entire clan had been called.

Fugaku cleared his throat. Mikoto, seated somewhere on the stage in the corner, watched the crowd while keeping her hands busy popping the rubber band on her wrist. She felt terrible doing it, but it was the only thing that helped ease her stress. No wonder Sasuke had picked up his own version of her bad habit.

“In the next coming weeks, we’ll be dissolving the police compound,” Fugaku’s booming voice filtered through the room.

You could hear a pin drop. The room stopped for a moment. It wasn’t just the shock of the announcement, but also the realization of what they would lose with this decision.

That’s when the groans of protest came about. What would they do without their police positions? They were already forced into the back of the village with people hoping they’d just disappear. What would become of them?

Fugaku raised his hand to silence the room. People were still disgruntled. He could hear the aggravated huffs and puffs all around.

“I understand all of you all’s concerns, but it is for the best. The village, starting with the reign of Tobirama, assigned as us police to be Konoha’s attack dogs. The truth is we have no power. It was a job assigned to us so that we wouldn’t question why we aren’t able to make political decisions in Konoha like other clans are allowed to. We are located in the back of the village along with the police station so that when we ultimately end up arresting and locking up ourselves, we will fade into obscurity. The village has planted seeds of doubt into its citizens about who the Uchiha clan are for decades. These seeds were only further sown by us being police and being forced to discipline villagers like teachers to schoolchildren. Our position in this society has to change for us to truly achieve the peace we want. I implore you all to reflect on what I’ve said. It will be hard to come to terms with, but I hope that you all can find it in your hearts to understand where I am coming from. The Uchiha clan will not be free from its shackles until we understand how we came to be locked in them.”
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It was nightfall when they finally reached the Land of Spring. Though Karui tried to carry her own bags, Sakura took the load from her and carried them upstairs to their room.

Lady Jin knew to put them all in one room seeing as she commissioned them for missions so frequently. It was a nice thing to do. It was better than wasting money pretending they wouldn’t all gravitate towards the same room.

Jinora had gathered all of her belongings and trudged up the stairs. She gave Karui a brief nod before going up. Karui had left behind one of her head scarves and was rushing back outside to retrieve it. Her fresh braids would be fuzzy in the morning if she slept without it.

The red-head was met with a flustered Sasuke at the bottom of the staircase. He was holding myriad of luggage - courteousy of Lady Jin. No matter where she went, she overpacked. It was a running gag amongst the group. Sasuke packed light from what she could tell. A small bag that probably contained nothing more than a few ANBU suits and some money.

Lady Jin was still droning on about mundane things to her driver. The man looked exasperated. Karui stifled a laugh. The woman was as demanding as they come.

Karui walked down the last step in front of a very peeved-looking Sasuke. There wasn’t much she knew about him. She had an idea of his character from the tidbits that Sakura would share about her former team, but she didn’t really know what to make of him.

“Sasuke-san,” Karui greeted to call his attention. His head snapped in her direction still annoyed. His face softened when he saw her recoil in fright. He tilted his head to acknowledge her call. Karui unclenched and stepped closer to him. “Did you see a colorful scarf in the carriage?”

Sasuke nodded curtly. He turned to the side a little to show the scarf hanging loosely onto one of the many bags of luggage he was holding.

“Thank you,” Karui chirped as she swiped the scarf away. She scampered off back up the stairs leaving a disheveled Sasuke behind. She opened the doors of their shared room to a frantic looking Sakura and a mildly worried Jinora.

“Where were you?” Sakura asked with anxiety tinging her voice.

Karui lifted the silk scarf. Sakura took a deep breath in understanding. Jinora primped her wet hair with a towel she found in the inn’s bathroom. She had already changed into her night clothes and was on the verge of collapsing in a nearby chair.

“I’m going to shower now,” Karui commented without waiting for a reply. She picked up a towel and the clothes she’d set out for her bath and entered the bathroom. She locked the door and took a peak at herself in the mirror.

Even though she wasn’t letting her teammates on, Karui was crumbling. That investigation, as much as the Raikage tried to mitigate her questioning time, was brutal. She felt like she had all those years ago on that tragic day as a genin. Her walls closed in, she could barely breathe, and she felt so vulnerable…naked almost.

Undressing herself was hard. Even without glancing at her body, it still caused her anxiety. Washing herself was an out of body experience. It wasn’t long before she was turning the knob for the shower off.

Karui was careful not to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she toweled off and eventually put on her night gown. The hyper awareness of her body caused her grief that she was sure she would always struggle to handle.

When she exited the bathroom, she was so out of it that she didn’t register Sakura getting up to take a shower after her nor Jinora snuggling up next to her on the bed.

It wasn’t long before Sakura rolled into bed next to her. Karui sat wedged between the two looking up at the ceiling idly.

“Is there something wrong?” Sakura asked in a low tone.

Karui turned to face the pink-haired girl. Worry pooled in her evergreen eyes. Karui could feel Jinora’s grip around her waist tighten.

“Do you think after this mission that we’ll ever be a team again?”

The room stood still for a moment. No one dared to breathe. The pregnant silence consumed the room and brought forth all their anxieties and inhibitions. As much as they wanted to believe that they’d always be together, in the back of their minds they knew their time together was temporary.

“The Kage summit is soon. They’ll come to their senses and let us be,” Sakura said, uncertainty hanging on her tongue.

Karui sat up. Sakura and Jinora watched her worriedly.

“But what if they don’t?” Karui whined.

Sakura’s mouth opened, but closed in defeat. Jinora looked away in shame.

“The other villages hate Kumo. They think the Raikage is greedy because the economy has been booming as a result of the program.”

Sakura recoiled under the comforter. Jinora considered the words a moment before sitting up in the bed alongside Karui.

“It’s expected. At the end of the day, ninjas don’t really work in the best interest of themselves nor the village, it’s all about making money for the elites. All we can do for now is enjoy the time we have together,” Jinora offered in her distinctive monotone.

She patted Karui on the shoulder and nestled underneath the covers. Karui followed suit.

A few hours passed and Karui could do nothing but toss and turn. She was too filled with worry to even close her eyes long enough. The sounds of Jinora’s and Sakura’s voices were muffled. All she remembered was Sakura handing her a cup of tea and falling asleep right after.
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“Well, we were all rather fascinated by the stories of your latest feat. Not to mention that we are in need of a nice, sturdy bridge to replace our old, rickety one. The villagers and I decided that your team was the best option for the job,” Lady Jin remarked coyly from behind her fan.

Sasuke furrowed his brows. There was obviously some weird vendetta going on between the four. He often felt like he was intruding on a private subject. She’d gone out of her way to request these girls from their respective villages to form a team, but looked for ways to goad them into passive aggressive banter all the time.

He shook his head. There was no reason for him to get involved. He was already on a hand me down mission. All he wanted to do was get it over with to go on a real mission tailored to his expertise.

He saw the way Sakura’s hands clenched at the noblewoman’s ridiculous request. It was obvious that her ability was supposed to be kept on the down low, but this woman and the other equally messy villagers had other ideas.

The red-headed girl that he’d heard them call Karui grabbed Sakura’s hand and squeezed it. The clenched muscles of her body instantly relaxed. The quiet brunette, Jinora, placed an affirming hand on her shoulder.

Sasuke watched the group carefully. They were definitely an odd little bunch. Especially Sakura and Karui. Whatever was going on between the two looked like more than just two teammates who missed each other. All the longing glances and excessive need to touch each other raised red flags in his mind. Even he, a self-assessed loner, could tell that there was something more than met the eye.

Sakura agreed to the task with little resistance. He could understand why. The woman was really persistent and too rich to deny. Sakura was able to summon a bridge with the technique flawlessly. She looked a little faint, but besides that, she got back up to work like a well-oiled machine.

After the bridge was put in place, there was the need to “beautify” it. They spent the rest of the morning lugging the material back and forth onto the bridge and helping with decoration construction.

Sasuke had spent most of his morning pretending not to notice the eyes of women and girls that examined his every move. He had gotten used to the leering over the years. It would always follow him so it would be pointless to get upset about it every time. But it was different because several older women around Lady Jin’s age had propositioned him for sex.

This was another aspect of his life that he’d gotten used to. Since he started taking missions in his genin days, older women had been pursuing him. From the lustful stares to coaxing him into their homes under the guise of having him fix something, those women had tried it all. It was actually how he’d lost his virginity.

In the early onset of his chuunin days when he first started getting solo missions, there was a middle aged woman in a small, non-ninja village who had completely broken down all his barriers and bedded him. She spoke at length about “teaching him the ropes”, but he ended up feeling disgusted with himself afterwards.

It didn’t make it any better that she’d roped him under her spell the next few times that he’d taken a mission in that same little village. He’d made sure to avoid any missions from that particular village again after the last time he’d visited and told her that they’d have to stop. She wept while going on about how they loved each other and that he was being selfish.

Sasuke shuddered at the memory. No matter how many times he tried to suppress the memory, it would come back in waves and he would spend hours trying to wash away the icky feeling that settled onto his skin and penetrated his bones.

When Sasuke finally looked up from his work, he could see the girls walking over to a makeshift lunch site provided by the villagers. Meals and snacks galore were stacked on top of the wooden table. There were fish platters, rice bowls, barbecue, and everything you could dream of.

Sasuke set down the block of wood he was holding and headed towards a nearby bathroom. He needed to wash up.

Sweat dripped down his back and clung to his skintight shirt. He didn’t miss the catcalls he got as he entered the restroom. He stopped to take a look in the dirty mirror and released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Today was a long one…

and it was only the afternoon.

Sasuke washed his hands and splashed a bit of water on his face to cool down. He took another breath to ready himself and then walked out the bathroom. He could see Sakura’s team already seated at the table with their plates filled. Nosy villagers who’d probably pinched into their lunch fund sat at surrounding tables.

When Sasuke was finally close enough to the table to sit down, he noticed how small all the girls’ plates were. A bowl of rice, very minimal meat, and loads of vegetables would not fill them up enough to be able to continue the mission. He wondered if they ate like this all the time.

Sakura was the most reluctant. She stared at her food as if it was some unidentified substance you’d find in a lab. It was Jinora who fixed her with a stern look and made her start eating. Her chews were slow and deliberate. She had to take at least two minutes to swallow every mouthful. This was beyond savoring your food.

Karui glanced over at her a few times and smiled. It seemed enough to give Sakura the strength to eat.

Sasuke shrugged. He had no time to pathologize their odd team dynamic. He made himself a large helping of everything that wasn’t too sweet and ate quietly. Lady Jin drawled on about the itinerary for the rest of the day, but Sasuke barely registered her words. If it was important he’d figure it out later.
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The day was finally over.

Sasuke rushed to take off his sweat drenched shirt.

There was no let-up today. The work was strenuous, but most of it was done thanks to Sakura’s monstrous strength. He didn’t know how she’d mustered up the strength with the meal he saw her eat, but she worked like a machine bringing in all the heavy material to construct the bridge.

Her team was also very in sync with one another. Without speaking, they were all able to communicate to each other which task needed to be done by who and it helped them work like an assembly line.

He’d never been able to work with Team Kakashi like that, not even when Sakura was on the team. Just as he was about to head into a nice, hot shower, a knock sounded at his door. He grimaced. He prayed it wasn’t one of those women he’d seen making vulgar gestures at him earlier.

He opened the door, still a bit peeved, to find Sakura standing there with a basket in hand. She looked a bit startled and he had to remind himself of how mean he probably looked. He calmed his stance and held the door open to her. She shook her head profusely and held the basket out towards him.

“Lady Jin’s friend, Miko, wanted to give this to you,” Sakura said as Sasuke took the basket in his hands. “She said you kept disappearing, so she wanted me to make sure you got it.”

Sasuke looked at the basket skeptically. There was no telling what those perverted older women had gotten for him. He was scared to look in it by himself. He glanced back up from the basket to see Sakura walking away.

Something about it made a funny feeling rise in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t pinpoint what had been wrong about every interaction they’d had since her return, but there was something underneath the surface that he just couldn’t figure out.

“Sakura,” he called out. A desperation he didn’t even know he had clung to his tone.

She turned around to face him looking as clueless as ever. It was the first time that he’d really taken a look at her. Sakura was still the personification of spring, but something had changed about her features. The girl he’d begrudgingly came to know was different…and it wasn’t just because she’d gotten older.

He realized he was taking a long time to reply and he shifted awkwardly from his threshold. “Earlier, in the carriage, Lady Jin said I was your former teammate,” he noted.

He didn’t know why the thought came to him. He hadn’t even been bothered by it when she said it. Why did he even bring it up?

Sakura looked at him expectantly like he hadn’t already asked a question in his own roundabout way. “Yes…?” she questioned in a singsong voice.

He winced. He never used to have to fill in the blanks of his speech. People just usually adapted to his restricted word use.

“Are we former teammates?”

Sakura sighed like she was talking to a petulant child. He frowned, but returned to a neutral face. “Well, if the Kage summit goes well, I’ll petition to be permanently removed from Team 7 and only work on Team B,” she stated without care.

Sasuke nodded his head. Sakura waved him off before disappearing into the long corridor. A sinking feeling rose in the pit of his stomach. He closed and locked the door of his room. He had no time to figure out his feelings. He scrubbed himself abrasively under the scalding hot shower.

Chapter 14: The Beginning of the End

Chapter Text

The bridge was completed before noon.

The workers and the commissioned team alike were winding down in separate areas. It wasn’t as boiling hot as it was yesterday. A nice breeze caressed their skin occasionally, making the work load less laborious.

Karui stood under the shade of one of the patios near the construction site. The annoying buzz of mosquitoes sounded like nails on a chalkboard. She constantly swatted at her skin in paranoia. She sat in a spare porch swing and watched the villagers speak to each other.

Aside from Lady Jin, everyone else here seemed fairly normal. Well…if you counted the perverted men who made constant passes at the trio.

Karui sat back and crossed her legs. Another breeze had passed by. The journey was definitely looking up. She felt confident about the Kage summit. How could they deny such a beneficial part of ninja village relations?

Before Karui could even blink, the villagers started screaming. She shot up from her seat in an instant. Sakura and Jinora could be seen from the bridge leading the civilians to safety. Karui ran towards them to help. Sasuke showed up on their rear with his sharingan blazing and ready to detect any moment.

They were currently trapped in a cloud of dust that distorted their senses. The trio moved closer to Sasuke whose eyes roved all over for the truth. Karui withdrew a scroll from her back packet. In a quick hand seal and a flash of chakra, her signature sword appeared in her hands. She held it up in front of herself defensively. The four teenagers stood closer together as the enemy in question kept themselves in hiding.

It was Jinora who made the first move. The brunette took a large inhale as she went through a series of seals and released a breath that turned into a whirlwind strong enough to blast the smoke cloud away. The smoke cleared to reveal two men without a headband in place running towards them.

One was bandaged up everywhere except for the eyes while the other was dressed in all black leather with a black mask covering the lower half of his face. Karui could tell from their chakra signatures that they were probably no more than newly promoted chuunin, but something about them seemed off. They moved like possessed dolls.

Karui dodged one of the men’s punches. She looked up to see Jinora and Sakura signaling one of their team sequences. She nodded in acknowledgement and started running towards the men swinging her sword.

A dancelike battle ensued. Karui swung her sword back and forth gracefully as the two men parried her. They had no idea they were dealing with a master swordsman. She loved the way sparks flew from her sword as she fought.

Sasuke wasn’t too far behind her throwing shuriken and ninja stars freely. None of them landed because the men were too fast. Karui had a feeling that he was only throwing them to test their abilities. The two possessed men suddenly stood next to each other on the bridge and formed a wall of earth.

Jinora showed up from her hiding spot and coaxed the men into following her into the forest to not damage the bridge. As planned, they followed in pursuit. Karui and Sasuke trailed not far behind them. He looked a little worse for wear, but still full of fire.

The battle continued in a large, open field a few miles off from the bridge connecting the village to a nearby forest. The two men flew through seals that allowed them to spit puddles of mud at the teenagers. When the mud hit the forest ground, it melted all the life around it.

It was probably an acid.

Karui didn’t want to find out which.

Jinora was blasting small jets of wind in their directions to counter the attack. The men dodged every parry in sync. Karui bit her lip. This battle needed to end now. Karui swiped at them with her sword a few more times. The bandaged one ran until he stood on the tip of her sword and lunged forward to punch her. She pulled her sword from underneath his feet with catlike reflexes.

The bandaged man disappeared in a puff of smoke. She could feel his chakra reappear behind her. She ducked when she felt the air shift with the punch he tried to throw to the back of her head. Sasuke appeared behind the man, picked him up by his feet, and threw him towards the center of the battlefield.

A loud chirping sound came from behind her. Karui turned backwards to see Sasuke forming a ball of lightning in his hand. Karui knew Sakura was planning the final nail in the coffin for their fight sequence. When he started to run towards the perfectly planned out final scene of the battle, she held him back and snuffed out his attack with a simple tap on the back of his hand. She’d cut off his chakra supply if he proved to disrupt their teamwork.

He looked at her incredulously. He had no reason why she would stop him from putting in a perfectly good hit. Karui tilted her head towards the battleground. Sakura appeared in the air with her signature battle cry. She held her hands together above her head midair before dropping them to the ground and resetting the entire makeup of the forest floor.

Debris flew everywhere. There was no stone left unturned. Trees were uprooted and scattered all over. Karui planted herself and Sasuke to the ground. They flew back a little from the strength of Sakura’s attack, but their feet never left the floor. As the dust settled, Karui looked up to see what had become of the battle.

Jinora was standing a little distance away on an uprooted tree making sure of the others’ safety. When she noticed Karui and Sasuke were still alive, she gestured for them to come with her towards Sakura. Sakura was holding the culprits up in a tangle of vines and branches. She had her hands on both the men’s temples.

Karui drew nearer to her and watched as her eyebrows strained in concentration. She was using genjutsu to figure out the men’s reason for attacking them. Jinora picked and pulled at the vegetation in reserved awe.

Sasuke stood behind them at a distance with a look of disbelief. He was probably still peeved about her dissolving his technique.

Karui shrugged. He’d get over himself.

Sakura removed her hands from the foreheads of the men. She looked out at the group with quiet panic. Whatever was to come was not going to end well.
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The villagers were spooked, but it was thankfully nothing more than that.

Sakura went around the campsite checking the villagers’ vitals along with her other teammates. When they were coming back from the battleground, Sasuke seemed a bit pissed. She shook it off. Her time on Team 7 taught her that nothing she did to comfort him would ever satisfy his insatiable ego.

If he was angry, he could piss off and figure his emotions out himself. There was no need for her to put her neck out on the line just to get cut with the sharpness of his tongue.
The last villager was finally patched up and shaken out of their bad nerves. Sakura stared off into the distance towards the bridge. The wall of earth that ran through it from the possessed men’s attack was easily patched up. The other decorative parts of the bridge like the paint and added steel parts had been buffeted from the strength of their attacks.

If it was a problem for the villagers, none had commented. Most were still shaking too hard from the sudden attack to complain about it anyway.

The bodies of the two men were disposed of properly. There was no way they’d have been able to survive that final earth shattering attack Sakura laid out even if they tried. Death was all that surrounded ninja life and those men had known it up until the moment they died.

Sakura, Karui, and Jinora looked at each other in perfect sync and met under the patio shade. Sasuke could be seen stomping past them angrily, his fist balled in tight knots.

“Why’s he so pissy?” Jinora joked more than asked as she flicked a piece of ear wax out of her ear.

Sakura shrugged hopelessly. She’d never really known the guy. The time apart didn’t make it any better.

The trio spent the next few hours in their shared room lying next to each other on the floor with their legs up against the wall. They spoke about trivial things like the latest music that they’d been listening to or past relationships. The mundanity was oddly calming. Laziness was a luxury to ninjas all over with the fast pace of missions and the uncertainty of living to see the next day.

For a moment, they felt like regular teenage girls without the stress or care of being responsible for their village’s safety. It didn’t take long for the fantasy to end. It should’ve been expected. The life of a ninja was nothing if not hectic.

Jinora was the one to get up and open the door. Lady Jin invited herself in. She would’ve been mildly annoyed if the woman didn’t look so thoroughly frazzled.

Lady Jin wasn’t even carrying her signature fan. Her neatly pinned blonde hair was tossed wildly, her perfectly placed eyeliner was running, and the elegant kimono she rocked everywhere was ruffled with the sharp lines of the fabric out of line from where they should be. Sakura and Karui rose from their places on the floor. Whatever was happening was serious.

“It’s you, Sakura,” Lady Jin choked out. They’d never seen the woman so overcome with emotion…besides negativity. “They didn’t just send that boy with you. Somebody reported you using the wood release technique. They’re coming to arrest you now.”

None of them had time to react before figures moving at the speed of light swarmed the room and knocked them all out.
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Naruto was upset to say the least. Why did Sasuke get to have all the fun? He thought he should’ve been a candidate for the mission to formally recreate the original Team 7.

He could just imagine them now. They were probably all over each other now that he wasn’t present to interrupt. As much as Sasuke refused to admit it, Naruto knew as sure as he knew that Ichiraku’s served the best ramen that Sasuke missed Sakura’s presence on the team just as much as he did.

It became especially obvious after the addition of Sai. Sasuke didn’t even acknowledge his presence after the first week.

Naruto’s anger had lead him to the Hokage’s office. He had made his grand entrance by slamming the doors open. Tsunade didn’t have the chance to be annoyed. She was sitting at the Hokage’s desk with her hand over her mouth shaking in fear.

Naruto noticed her reading a scroll. He was surprised that there were no alcohol bottles in sight, but he was still pissed about his team placement, so he trudged on. He slammed his hands on her table with an angry huff. Tsunade didn’t bother looking up.

Now that he was closer, he could see her pupils dilate and tear up as her eyes roamed back and forth to read the document. Naruto calmed down and watched the Godaime carefully. She’d usually throw him out by now. He leaned further over his desk to get a glimpse of the document.

Tsunade snatched it away and stuffed into one other drawers connected to her desk. She stood up abruptly and started looking through file cabinets. Worry set into Naruto’s bones. This could not be good.

“Baa-chan…what’s going on?” Tsunade turned to him with a worried look. Things were especially bad if she didn’t check him for the slight at her age. They stared at each other for a few more moments before Tsunade finally took a deep breath.

“Sakura’s been arrested,” she replied sullenly.

Hot blood ran through Naruto’s veins. He could feel the first signs of the Kyuubi’s chakra ignite within him. He counted down from 10 in his mind to counteract the tailed beast’s stronghold on him. Naruto grinded his teeth together. He wasn’t fully calm, but this was the best he was going to get with the bomb she’d just dropped on him.

“Her team, client, and Sasuke have also been taken into custody,” she finished.

Naruto repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists. If this was a different time, he might’ve ran straight out of the village just to rescue them. However, he was mindful of his parents who would worry endlessly about his safety.

He moved closer to Tsunade and steeled himself. “Where are they?” Naruto spat.

His eyes glazed over with the intent to harm. Tsunade watched him. She took in all his anger and was for once thankful for the bullheaded boy’s tenacity.

“We’re pushing the Kage summit up. Be ready to leave early tomorrow morning.” Naruto zoomed out of the office at an inhumane speed. He’d forgotten what he’d originally even come to the Hokage Tower for. Saving his friends was his only priority now.
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“Have you heard about the Uchihas?” Koharu said with disgust as she sauntered into one of the underground rooms of the Root building.

The door shut behind her loudly by the help of one of the guards. All three members of the council were gathered on this cold, blustery night to air some more grievances. If they thought they hated Itachi before, they would downright drag him down to the pits of hell now.

“I heard about those uppity rats,” Danzou scowled. He gestured one of his Root members over to hand him a muffler. This building needed to be better insulated. He’d have to look into the matter in the future.

“Who do they think they are trying to dissolve the police force? What will they achieve in this village without it?”

“I believe they’re trying to prove a point,” Homaru suggested.

All three nodded their heads in consideration. The Uchiha were a devious people. They did nothing without sinister motive behind it. Their mentor, Tobirama, should’ve put them all out of their misery years ago. Maybe then the village wouldn’t have to suffer as a result of their cursed bloodlines.

“We’ll let things play out for a while,” Koharu offered. “The villagers will naturally come to distrust them – they already do. The police are believed to be an essential force. We’ll make sure there’s an uptick in crime in the Uchihas absence and cause further discord between them and the other villagers.”

“If that boy had just done his job-“

“We can’t bother ourselves with the ‘what ifs’ and could’ve beens’. We all believed Itachi was skilled and wise beyond his years, but we forgot that he’s an Uchiha before anything else. They are weak and too susceptible to emotions to be able to be properly trusted to handle anything beyond themselves. Hell, they even have a hard time doing that,” Koharu rambled.

Homaru clenched his fist. He clamped his mouth together trying not to have an outburst with agents standing right outside the door. Danzo moved to stand between the two and placed on each of their shoulders.

“The Uchiha were always meant to fall. Their end is soon and we will be here to witness it as our mentor would have liked.”
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A long, tense dinner occurred at the main Uchiha house. No one said a word as they nibbled away at their meal. Mikoto couldn’t stomach anything. When Itachi and Fugaku finished their food, she grabbed them both on her way to dump her plate in the garbage.

She’d been popping the rubberband on her wrist like a madman under the table all night. She couldn’t help it. She’d been so blindsided by the news yesterday evening that she couldn’t focus.

Her husband was always making decisions without consulting her. Didn’t her opinion matter, too? Fugaku couldn’t have been thinking of the serious repercussions that the clan would face as a result of this decision. Him and a total of three other guys had probably come up with this plan and now they all had to suffer. She’d been loyal to him all these years and he still didn’t trust her enough to run decisions by her?!

A strong, tender hand clamped down on her wrist. She must’ve been snapping that rubber band something serious because Itachi’s eyes were full of concern.

“Oh, Itachi,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t notice you there. Did you need something?”

He lifted her wrist until it was eye level. He unfolded his long fingers from around her wrist to reveal the blood that pooled underneath. Mikoto looked absolutely horrified. She hadn’t done something this bad in years. Maybe it was time she started seeing a shrink again.

Itachi watched her panicked expression carefully before pulling the first aid from one of the cabinet drawers. He dabbed her wrist with alcohol. She hissed in pain respectively. He then went on to wrap some gauze around the wounded area and confiscated her rubber band. She pouted childishly.

Itachi kept his chin held high as he dumped the offending object into the dumpster. They moved onto washing the dishes silently. Itachi lathered and soaked them in the sink while his mother dried them. It was calming. The house was always quiet, but it almost never peaceful. Mikoto could feel her shoulders relax as she wiped each dish dry.

“I take it you’re not very fond of the decision at yesterday’s meeting,” Itachi commented as he scrubbed another dish.

Mikoto snorted. Boy was he underestimating her feelings.

“My fondness of decisions that will benefit the clan matter little in the grand scheme of things. What I’m wondering is why I was never consulted about this at any stage of the process.”

Itachi chuckled heartily. Mikoto felt pink rise to her cheeks. She was being so candid with her son. It was probably because she hadn’t talked to anyone in so long. Most of her day was spent on upkeep of the house and her grocery trips were far and few in between seeing as she was the only one consistently at the house.

“Then I guess you two will have a lot to talk about tonight.”

They washed the dishes together in silence. Only the sound of the running faucet filled the room. When the last dish was dried, Itachi turned to face his mother.

“Sasuke’s ANBU test was yesterday.”

“Oh,” Mikoto gasped, having completely forgotten. “I should’ve prepared something special for him tonight.”

Itachi shook his head as he chuckled. “There’s no need. He’s already been assigned a mission.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But I’m afraid that he’s angry with me right now.”

Mikoto scoffed. She tapped Itachi’s arm to signal him to move from in front of the cabinet she was trying to put the dish in.

“When isn’t he?”

“True,” Itachi laughed. “But he’s going to be very angry with me soon. The mission is a simple guard one and it was originally intended for me.”

Mikoto frowned up at her eldest son. Itachi held his hands up defensively. “I had no idea that it’d be given to him instead,” he explained. “Either way, I couldn’t take the mission. I have to help tou-san with the preparations for the disbandment of the police department. We all have to do our part to help.”

Mikoto sighed. This was a recipe for disaster. “Sasuke-kun won’t be happy at all when he returns.”

Chapter 15: Into The Unknown

Chapter Text

Everything was a blur. The concept of time nor space existed.

A constant, throbbing pain racked through Sakura’s brain. Her head hurt so bad that she couldn’t even see straight. She touched her head and felt the dried blood on her scalp. She’d probably been bludgeoned with a blunt object. There was no need for that when she could’ve easily been knocked out through a safer, more effective method like chakra suppression.

Sakura brought her glowing green hand to the wound. No matter. When she got out of…wherever this was, she would be making a formal complaint to anyone who mattered until she got justice. Her vision cleared bit by bit.

The healing process took longer than usual because she was in so much pain. Her vision and the rest of her senses slowly came back to normal. The room reeked of an unidentifiable must. The air was humid. The way the air stuck to her body and made her hair limp and her clothes stick unnaturally to her body was unnerving.

She could finally see the slimy steel bars that kept her locked away. She rushed off the dirty cot she lied on to grasp them. She looked through the bars frantically. She was completely alone. There were no chakra presences near her and only the sound of the water leak from the roof of her imprisonment chamber could be heard.

Sakura wanted to cry out, but she thought that it wouldn’t be the best time to in a situation like this. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She linked her hands together for a chakra suppression seal. It would be harder to do now with less chakra, but she pulled at the steel bars with all the strength her chakra would allow her.

Sweat poured down her face from what could’ve been exertion or anxiety. It took a few minutes before she heard the bars creasing from her brute strength. When she made a hole wide enough for her body to slip through, she cautiously placed a toe out into the darkened foyer.

Nothing passed but the eerie droplet sounds from the leaking wall. Sakura was sure to keep her footfalls silent. She had no idea of what lurked in the poorly lit hallway. She wished she would’ve worn her black jumpsuit instead of her red one with her family symbol. She was just asking to get caught.

The light at the end of the tunnel was coming into view. Sakura picked up her pace. The taps of her footfalls were light, but not silent. It didn’t bother her though. She’d find out where she was as soon as she reached the end.

In the midst of her jog to freedom, a figure obscured the light that filtered through the tunnel.

Someone’s coming.

She jumped and clung to the dirt ceiling watching as the figure moved in closer. It was tense. Her anxiety was on ten watching the figure come closer, ever so slowly as it continued to look all around as if it had noticed her.

The figure came directly underneath and paused again to look. She figured it would be pointless to just hide around these mud-caked walls playing a cat and mouse that would probably end in her defeat. She counted to three and pounced onto the figure.

At closer inspection, she could see that it was a man. He looked scared shitless.

Good. That’ll make it easier to get information out of him.

She held him down on the ground with her knee pressed to his neck. He gasped for breath, but she was not feeling very merciful.

“S-Sakura,” he choked out.

She shifted her knee off of his neck and turned his body over belly up. She made sure to keep him down on the ground her strength.

“Where are my teammates?” she barked.

He made a move to sit up as he tried to gather more air into his lungs. Sakura pushed him back down with an unforeseen animosity.

“I…came…to…release…you.”
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The Kage Summit was…going. They’d all been here for the past few hours after having a few short days’ notice to even attend. The agreement was to meet in Kumo, the hub for the program. The atmosphere was tense. Not much of anything was said in the past few hours that they’d all been sitting there. The conversation felt pointless.

“Well, isn’t this all quite nice?” Mei, the fifth Mizukage, mused.

No one in this room looked happy to be here. It was expected though. The dreaded kage summit was something that everyone had been dragging their feet on. It was Tsunade who demanded they all gather in a matter of three days or she promised hell. Even though all the kages possessed skills that allowed them to don the title, this woman was a seasoned shinobi with more experience in war, combat, and death than all of them combined.

Her fury was not something they wanted to unleash even if they did believe that they could beat her. Plus, no matter how much they didn’t want to come to this summit, everybody had grievances with one another that they wanted to put all out on the table.

Onoki, the third Tsuchikage, offered nothing but a disgruntled huff. The senile old man had better things to do than pretend to be friends with all these other, younger high rollers from different villages. He was set on never reopening this confounded program again.

It was peer pressure that made him give in the first time. Everyone else had already approved and signed ninjas up for the program. If he didn’t play along with them, Iwagakure was in no position to go into a war against the other villages.

The reveal of Suna’s plan to attack Konoha was no surprise. That village had always been full of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Iwa had been in conflict with them for years and the news of the attack did nothing to ease the already high concentration of distrust held between both the villages.

“This is ridiculous,” the bitter old man spat. “The program is not going to be reinstated and this meeting is not important enough to have so suddenly. Especially just for your apprentice Hokage-sama.”

Tsunade ignored him. She sat at the table with her hands folded seething in rage. Shizune, with Tonton in her hands, was frazzled. She’d barely caught Tsunade before she left with Naruto. Thankfully, Shizune was able to gather Kakashi and Yamato last minute to guard her.

Shizune had never seen Tsunade move so fast. All that she knew was that something had happened to Sakura and it had mobilized Tsunade in a way she’d never seen before. The apprentice that she took in without question - who’d become a pseudo daughter - was in danger. What other motivation did she need to apply pressure to her fellow kage?

Tsunade had a history of riling people up. She’d been the one to advocate for more accessible teaching of medical healing in the ninja world. If everybody was so focused on being in the action of the ninja world, who would be there to heal the wounded?

This was lesser known, but she’d also fought tooth and nail for better mental health services to be available for those in the village. They couldn’t honestly expect these people, ninja and civilian alike, to experience as gruesome a war as they did and just end up okay.

This was one of the many reasons why the council held such a disdain for her. They weren’t willing to allocate the excessive funds from their salaries into programs that would actually better the village.

“This summit is necessary. You are all letting your petty beliefs and long held prejudices hold you back from looking at the truth. This program has helped all of us, not just the Raikage. It’d be foolish to look at it any other way just because you couldn’t get the unexpected revenue from it,” Tsunade snapped. “Maybe next time you’ll offer up your own villages for future international endeavors.”

The Tsuchikage pouted.

Mei placed her chin onto the palm of her propped up hand. There was no denying the talent that came back to Kiri. As much as the fifth Mizukage tried to right the wrongs of the previous administrations, she could not do it all by herself. When she’d received the offer, she didn’t hesitate to approve it. From the political turmoil, the Bloody Mist Village, and other conflicts, Kiri’s need for growth stretched farther than she could reach.

“I agree with Hokage-sama. I’m seeing water release techniques that haven’t been seen for decades in Kiri. Who knows?” Mei took a pause for dramatic effect. “Our prized Seven Swordsman might even make a comeback. I’ve seen some great potential candidates!”

The roundtable considered her enthusiasm for a moment. Ao watched her carefully. The woman was very optimistic and though it could be useful for certain situations, it could be used against her. Her naivety was both a blessing and curse.

Chojuro stood on her other side shaking in his boots. The tenseness of the situation was getting to him and he feared that he would disappoint his dear Mizukage when it came time to battle.

Gaara blinked slowly. He drank in the entire scene. It was clear to him that the only reason disagreements were being held was because of embittered histories between the villages, not because of the recent program.

Gaara had done a lot of growing since the planned attack on Konoha. All that anger he harbored had nowhere to release itself, so he held it all in until it found its way out. It wasn’t until he was met with Naruto’s unbreakable spirit that he was finally able to look at himself.

Naruto’s words of affirmation were a good starting point, but a bit tone deaf because he had his parents standing beside him. It took Gaara more self-reflection to understand what he’d become. The tailed beast was sealed inside of him without his consent. His father saw him as a tool, not as a person capable of love or being loved. His mother sacrificed everything for him and he was pushing away the only people who truly loved him, Kankuro and Temari.

Realizing the love that they held for him was what ultimately helped him to change. He glanced at his brother and sister who gave him a reaffirming smile. He drew attention to himself and watched as the other kages turned to him.

“The program has nothing to do with you all’s past transgressions. It set out to fulfill one purpose: to avoid another war and to boost a sense of comradery amongst ninjas of all nations. Ignoring the positive results of this enactment of this program would be a disservice to all parties, but mostly to the ninjas who have fostered such great relationships in their time spent together,” Gaara finished in his monotone.

Onoki still looked disgruntled by it all. He didn’t want to make peace with what he found to be bullshit. “That’s all swell and dandy, but when it all comes down to it, only one village has benefitted from all of this,” the old man ranted with a brief look in the Raikage’s direction. “We’re all only here because the Hokage’s apprentice was arrested on a mission for performing a technique that was once only traceable to the first Hokage. If we can allow behavior like this, there is no telling the amount of ‘forgotten’ techniques that will now pop up as a result of this program.”

Tsunade gritted her teeth. She was tired of playing with old fuddy duddies who wished for nothing more than to return to the old days of dreary war. She’d lost too much to regress to the way things used to be.

“With a village as corrupt as yours, I’d avoid speaking on anyone’s credentials. Especially with the questionable ninjas you’ve hired to do your dirty work,” Tsunade snipped.

Onoki looked just about ready to jump on the table and fight. A, the fourth Raikage, slammed his hands on the table. His face was scrunched into a silent fury. A shouting match was about to start and they’d gotten nothing done in all their time here.

“This is a pointless argument. It’s obvious that you all have biased opinions that can’t all be based in concrete facts. If you want to know how everything is run in my village as a result of the program, I suggest you all send those ninjas back here and let them show you what they so desperately want to return to.”
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“Let’s go.” An ANBU agent from Konoha exited the pristine hospital room.

Sasuke placed his hand on his head ever so gently and recoiled in pain. His head felt like someone was repeatedly thumping him with a mallet. Even with the medical assistance he’d just received, he was sure Ibuprofen wouldn’t be able to knock out the headache he was experiencing.

Sasuke had been released from prison earlier that morning. He’d been woken up to loud noises that he couldn’t decipher in the confusion. His vision had only just returned to him about thirty minutes ago so he couldn’t identify the bastards who’d done this to him if he wanted.

From what he could tell, he was not in Konoha. He wasn’t familiar with the terrain he caught glimpses of out of the hospital window. The hospital room also looked vastly different from any he’d ever seen in Konoha. Even Sasuke, who avoided the hospital at all costs, knew what it looked like…or at least what it was supposed to look like.

He rose from the hard cot and stretched. Wherever they’d placed him previously didn’t have a comfortable bed for him to lay on. His back ached with kinks and soreness he’d never known were possible. Sasuke kneaded his hands into his lower back. Much to his chagrin, he’d probably have to schedule a trip to a masseuse to feel better.

He trudged out of the weirdly designed hospital room. The ANBU agent from before was waiting outside for him with a straight face. If Sasuke had the energy, he believed he would’ve slapped the shit out of the smug man for his insensitivity. The ANBU agent walked off leaving Sasuke to follow blindly after him.

The Uchiha boy followed behind him at a considerably slower pace. Every movement he made felt like electric shocks to his head. The doctors probably hadn’t even given these ninjas the ok to have him up and about so soon. Sasuke promised to himself that the next time his mother or the godaime put him on bedrest, he would oblige them without complaint.

It took a while before they reached their destination, but Sasuke knew he was in no shape to deal with whatever they were about to subject him to. The ANBU agent opened the door for him – the first kind action he’d done – and shut it hard behind him.

Sasuke jumped slightly in surprise. All these loud noises were not helping the throbbing headache he was trying to nurse. When the tremors from his headache died down, Sasuke looked around the room to find ninjas with both Leaf and Lightning headbands all around.

Fuck.

He was under investigation with a debilitating headache.

A Kumo ninja walked over and pulled out a chair for him. Sasuke, with a hand holding onto his head for superficial pain relief, took the seat with a small nod of gratitude. A Konoha ninja sat directly across from him fixing a stack of papers. Sasuke raised a brow. The ninja smiled at him as if he wasn’t probably facing serious charges.

“Good afternoon. I’m sorry to hear about your injury. It was a thoughtless, yet precautionary move our ANBU had to use to ensure that you wouldn’t try escaping.”

Sasuke scoffed. There was no reason to knock him out in such a brutal way. Especially since he was now an ANBU member himself.

He guessed that’s what came with taking Itachi’s leftovers. Only Itachi would be trusted to handle them. His little brother wasn’t half the ninja he was and therefore not to be relied on.

He would have given a snide remark if he wasn’t in such pain. The ninja before him took his silence as agreement.

“Through the extra surveillance measures that we put in for this mission to take place, we saw that Haruno Sakura used the wood release technique that she was previously held under investigation for using before, correct?”

Sasuke wanted nothing more than to smack the smug grin sitting on this guy’s face. Placating him with these ridiculous questions they already knew the answer to was affronting. Who did they think they were fooling with this act?

“Get to the point,” Sasuke barked.

The other ninjas in the room shifted, their hands reaching for their weapons at Sasuke’s tone. The teenage boy couldn’t care less. If it came down to it, he would fight them all. Injury or not. He was tired of being slighted.

The ninja questioning him put a peaceful hand up and the other ninjas relaxed their stances. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

“Alright, Sasuke. I won’t beat around the bush. We want to know if you think Sakura, with her new ability and obvious disdain for following rules, is a potential threat to Konoha’s safety? Would her and her teammates possibly be willing to release village techniques to others for some type of gain?”

This had to be the stupidest question he’d ever heard of. Did they even know Sakura? How would a girl from a family with no ninja history even know the first thing about committing treason?! Her and her friends looked like nervous wrecks the entire mission. The way they clung to each other was weird. It was as if they wouldn’t be able to survive without one another. Not to mention, from the way they ate at the mission’s lunch, they’d never have the energy to even commit a crime if they wanted. He knew Sakura had been under investigation, but accusations like these were coming from completely out of left field.

“There’s nothing in the history of me knowing Sakura that would suggest anything as serious as that,” Sasuke replied with a bit too much bass in his voice. “Nor her teammates.”

The interviewer took in Sasuke’s statement carefully. He could see the ninjas around the room passing each other secret glances. The interviewer looked back at Sasuke with a huge smile.

“That’s good to hear, Sasuke. To guarantee your belief in this admission, you will be her permanent guard until further notice.”
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Yamato dropped onto the familiar platform of the Root building. Danzo stood menacingly before him. His hand gripped his cane tightly. His lone, visible eye squinted in disappointment.

“Did anything come of your ‘training’ with the Hokage’s brat?”

Yamato shook his head. Really, what were they trying to find out about this teenaged girl?

“No. She has caught onto everything fairly quickly. I think she could be a very valuable resource to the village in the future.”

Danzo’s grip on his cane tightened. Yamato watched as the muscles in his jaw tightened. He figured Danzo must have some ulterior motive for the way he was mobilizing around this girl. He didn’t believe that it was just his hatred for the Senju woman alone that was causing all this distress.

“I’ll trust your judgement. I recently sent out some goons to attack that brat and her team on a mission to test her loyalty. She used the wood technique, so now she’s being held captive in Kumo for questioning. I will have you go there under the guise of protecting the jinchuuriki to watch her. Report any suspicious behavior you find.”

With that, Danzo dismissed him. As he watched his mentor walk away, Yamato ran his hands down his face completely exasperated. Why was he stuck babysitting some child?

Chapter 16: Return

Chapter Text

After that little escaping mishap, Sakura, Jinora, and Karui were reunited. They had all used their medical skills to alleviate the headaches they received from whatever it was that was used to subdue them. Hugs, tears, and whispers of thankfulness passed between them for the next hour.

Sakura could tell that they were in Kumo. The familiar landscape, the hospital layout, and all the familiar faces proved so. The girls were shocked to find so many people from the international program gathered together after being released.

The ANBU guards had hastily let them go. When they shared their entrapment stories, the trio had all broken out from their cells and given the ninja charged with releasing them hell. They laughed to hold back the tears.

The trio was currently standing in the village center watching as people passed by. Familiar faces from around town greeted them amicably. It felt nice to be back together in a place that was so formative for their growth.

They were on the lookout for Killer B when a heavyset woman came running towards them in an elaborately decorated green kimono. “Girls! Girls!” she panted as she ran them down with her arms flailing to and fro.

The girls stopped in their tracks and watched as the woman approached them. Mrs. Yamabuki was a boutique owner who made posh clothes for the elite. On special occasions, she would create luxury ninja gear. It was completely unnecessary and often times so gaudy that it hindered movement. People indulged her anyway.

She, much like Lady Jin, was another person that was hard to refuse. Speaking of Lady Jin, Sakura would have to make sure to check up on her soon. Mrs. Yamabuki was finally in front of them bent over and out of breath from her jog.

Jinora moved over to the woman to gently pat her back. Mrs. Yamabuki gazed up at her with a smile after catching her breath. “Oh, I’m so happy you all are back!” the portly old woman cheered. “They took you all away so fast, I couldn’t even say goodbye properly.”

The abrupt ending of the program had affected everyone greatly. Mission requests and completions had experienced a major halt in the wake of Team B’s investigation. Many people had become very fond of the international teams that the program created and refused to use other ninjas to complete their tasks.

Another reason the council’s so angry with me.

“You know, when you guys got caught up in all that controversy, a bunch of kids were sending in and signing all these petitions to reinstate the program and demanded for you guys’ release. It was so moving, it made me feel young all over again,” the shop owner drawled on as she looked off with a faraway stare.

Sakura had learned about all of the aftermath of her capture from the guards that had released her earlier. Team B had started something they hadn’t even planned for. They’d thought of themselves as nothing more than three girls on a team. Somehow, they became a face of a movement in their time away.

The underlying implications of those petitions went deeper than the trio’s relations to the ninjas they had met along the way. Many of the ninja a part of this program would not have gotten the opportunities to improve upon their ninja careers as they had through the program. This program gave them access to previously closed off, ancient documents including techniques that hadn’t been used in decades. That, along with other effective social infrastructures had people coming back in droves.

“Oh! Before I forget! I planned a little surprise for you when you came back, but then everything happened so I couldn’t,” she rambled. Sakura rolled her eyes. She didn’t know why she was entertaining this woman. “I made some cute new outfits for you girls! Come back with me to my shop so I can show you!”

She wasn’t really asking them. It was a demand. She had already grabbed all three of the girls’ hands and started walking. She kept rambling on about all the things that had happened while they were gone. The girls exchanged glances every now and then. They rolled their eyes at certain parts of the shop owner’s story. She could be full of herself when she wanted.

More familiar faces passed them and laughed at their misfortune. Everyone knew that Mrs. Yamabuki wasn’t someone you wanted to cross paths with when you had something important to do. The woman was relentless in her pursuit to get you to do what she wanted you to do.

The trip to the shop was exhausting, but they’d finally made it to the storefront. A sign saying she was on lunch break was hung up in the shop window. Mrs. Yamabuki unlocked her shop door while still holding onto all of their hands and led them in. She led them in to the back where only she and the other employees were allowed.

No one was here besides them now, most likely because she’d lost most of her staff with the end of the international program. But mannequins with beautifully crafted clothes stood everywhere. Mrs. Yamabuki grabbed a pile of clothes from somewhere she’d disappeared to as they looked around and handed them pieces of clothing separately. She pushed them into dressing rooms and urged them to try on her new creations.

Sakura held her articles of clothing up in disappointment. She should’ve known that this would happen. Most people held the same opinion as Ino about her clothing choices. She was a young girl with a great body who shouldn’t be afraid to flaunt it. It was hard to even find the words to explain to them why she chose to dress the way she did.

Dread filled her as she replaced her comfortable sweat pants with a red miniskirt. The white waistband only reached so far, so you could still see her belly button. At least the miniskirt turned out to be a miniskort. The black shorts underneath eased the worried girl’s mind.

The crop top is what really worried Sakura. It covered half of her forearm, so she wouldn’t have to worry about shaving that much, but it was out of her comfort zone. She was hoping that since the skort was already so short that she’d be able to have a large shirt make up for it.

Shrugging off her baggy sweatshirt, Sakura yanked the crop top over her head. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she felt disconnected from her body. She felt nothing like herself.

The last item was the pair of black boots that stretched up to just underneath her knee. They weren’t so bad, but she hated having her feet out. She’d switched to sneakers in her time away from Konoha and she really liked them.

Sakura sighed. There was no way she could complain about this revised outfit anyway. Mrs. Yamabuki took precious time out of her schedule to craft this for her. She didn’t want to come across as ungrateful.

“Girls! Are you done? Let me see you!”

Sakura emerged from her dressing room trying to put on a brave face. She turned to see her other teammates in their new gear. They looked just as uncomfortable as her.

Karui’s outfit had the same color scheme as her previous one. It now was just a mini dress that cut off midthigh and really form fitting. A nice, dark blue cape hugged her upper body nicely and stopped at her belly button. She wore the same thigh high black sandals as before.

Jinora was wearing a skintight, yellow jumpsuit that extended into boots of the same color. A silver band wrapped around her torso. She looked like a super cool spy.

The girls shared exasperated looks. Mrs. Yamabuki, oblivious to their inner turmoil, flitted around happily taking pictures and speaking highly of her seamstress abilities. A sweatdrop formed on the three girls’ foreheads. They would definitely have to keep their complaints to themselves.
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There were no words to describe how incredibly pissed off he was.

Sasuke was settling into one of the many set aside rooms in the apartment complex nearest the Raikage tower.

First, he got one of Itachi’s throwaway missions, then he becomes a glorified babysitter for a girl who’d made it very clear that she would want nothing to do with her former team if it was up to her. He didn’t know if it was bad luck or some type of delayed karma, but he was getting sick of having to pick up on other people’s slack.

To make matters worse, the international program was being reinstated. This had nothing to do with Sasuke directly, but it affected his living arrangements. Most people shared fairly large apartment spaces together in groups of four. An exception was made for him to live in a single room as a result of his sham of a mission.

The room was the size of a shoebox. If he turned too quick he’d face plant into a wall. He’d checked earlier just to make sure, but his bathroom and bedroom were the same size. The narrow corridor he walked in and out of to get to either room was enough to trigger anyone’s claustrophobia.

Sasuke unpacked the last of his belongings into the measly dresser they’d given him. If he were one to show emotions freely, people would be able to tell that he was humiliated. It seemed like there was always someone trying to lowball him.

Sasuke exited his underwhelming apartment. He was met with the hustle and bustle of jovial ninja who were all reuniting with each other. Smiles were shared, hugs exchanged, and there were squeals of joy coming from everyone. His lip curled in disgust. He wouldn’t make it here. This was worse than having to sit through Naruto’s endless rambles about ramen or his tirades about his pursuit to finally best his rival.

Making it to the elevator proved to be harder than it looked. Fighting his way through all the people rejoicing was hard. He had been nudged and pushed around more times than he could count. The elevator was crowded with people moving in their belongings. It rank of sweat and wood. It was boiling hot inside of it to boot. He was relieved to finally get off of it.

Sasuke was supposed to be heading in the direction of Sakura’s team’s apartment. For some reason, they had been able to negotiate with the Raikage a deal that allowed them to stay in a fancy apartment building nearest the hospital. From what he’d heard, most of the people living there were monied. How the hell they’d negotiated such a deal was beyond him.

It was a stretch to make it there. There weren’t as many businesss stands as there were in Konoha, but the streets were still pretty full. The streets were teeming with even more happily reunited ninjas than that god forsaken building he’d just left. He struggled through the crowd angrily, growing more pissed by the minute.

Sasuke finally reached the building where Sakura’s team was assigned and wanted nothing more than to curse. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. The building had plexi-glass that allowed you to see who boarded the elevator from outside of it. The pathway up to it was nicely trimmed with bushes, low cut grass, and exotic flowers. There were large fountains featuring beautifully crafted statues inside. The inside of the building was even more fascinating. From the linoleum lined floors to the gold encrusted walls, these people were living in the lap of luxury. If Sakura was going to be staying in this building, why couldn’t they reserve a room for him in here, too? How was he even supposed to guard her like this?

Sasuke walked up to the register. When he asked for Sakura, he was promptly told that she wasn’t in right now and to meet her at the hospital if he really needed her. Sasuke grumbled to himself as he walked out the door. This “mission” would be the death of him.
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Everything about this situation was weird.

Sakura made a point to keep her eyes from wandering as she cleaned test tubes, beakers, and wiped down surfaces with high grade disinfectant wipes.

Today was another late shift at the hospital as she’d become accustomed to. It was almost 11 o’clock and she was about to head out for her comfortable apartment. She was thankful that this shift wouldn’t have her staying into the wee hours of the morning as they usually did.

Today was pretty good. She’d immediately gotten back in contact with her therapist and scheduled an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. They would be meeting up tomorrow morning with their beloved sensei Killer B to train and just bask in the warmth of each other’s presence. Her hospital schedule was also being re-regulated to fit the new negotiated terms.

Sakura was excited to learn about the kind of day that Karui and Jinora had. There was just one thing about this entire day that had bothered her.

Sasuke.

It wasn’t like she hated the guy or anything, but his presence made her uneasy. He was assigned as her guard indefinitely and she could see the irritation etched all over his face. He didn’t want to do it and Sakura wasn’t in the business of forcing him to. She’d learned long ago that there was nothing in her power that she could do to make the brooding boy happy. All her displays of affection or kindness were met with ruthless cruelty. She wouldn’t waste her time trying to appease him ever again.

When the last of the materials were done being cleaned, Sakura gathered her belongings and walked out of the doctor’s office. Sasuke, with his hands clenched together and his back hunched over, was sitting in a spare chair outside of the door. His head snapped up when he heard her footsteps.

Sakura held her messenger bag closer to herself. She was dreading this interaction. Subconsciously, she’d been avoiding him all this time. She was surprised when he sat next to her at her welcome back party in Konoha. She didn’t think Lady Jin’s mission would last that long, so she’d kept away from him. But now, everything seemed out of whack.

Sasuke rose from his seat and headed towards the exit without sparing her a glance. Sakura followed behind him cautiously. He was in one of his moods again. He was standing outside the building waiting for her with his foot tapping impatiently.

She gave him a once-over with a scowl. She was just as unhappy about their arrangement as he was. At least she had the manners to hide her disdain.

He saw her come out and started walking ahead of her again. Sakura wanted nothing more than to slap the shit out of him.

“You know; you don’t have to stay for my hospital shifts. They usually go pretty late into the night,” she exclaimed from a distance. “I wouldn’t want you to miss out on your beauty sleep.”

Sasuke stopped in his tracks and faced her. Sakura was still standing fairly close to the hospital with her arms folded in dismay. She didn’t have time to deal with his childish anger. Not again.

In a moment’s time, he had flash stepped next to her and pulled her forearm roughly as he speed walked. Sakura was barely able to move her feet coherently without tripping over herself.

“My job is to monitor you at all times,” he hissed. “This can all go by much more easily without you talking to me.”

Sakura stumbled when Sasuke suddenly let go of her hand. They were standing in front of her luxurious apartment building. She raised her hand to slap him, but he grabbed it before she could make impact. Sakura recollected herself and faced him head on with a deep scowl.

“I was just trying to make your “job” easier,” she snapped.

He watched her with squinted eyes. Sakura was very familiar with that look. He always did it right before he said something disrespectful. Unbeknownst to him, she’d beat him to the punch.

“I’m sure Itachi would’ve understood me just fine.”
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It was a little bit past midnight when Team B snuck out of their luxury apartment to a basement on the ground floor of the building. A long kept secret that existed before the emergence of this new building that now served as an escape for Kumo’s newest residents.

It was a long walk down to the locked kitchen. Jinora used her former klepto skills to unlock the padlock holding the door closed. ‘Twas quite a feat to see.

Further in, on the floor in front of the trash chute was a huddle of badly arranged tiles covered in whatever the slime of today’s food was. Jinora, with a pinched nose and a twisted face, toed the soiled tiles away with her perfectly manicured foot in her strappy, gold heels. The wooden door lifted open to let them down into an underground tunnel.

The trio lowered themselves down the drawn ladder. The vibrations of the loud music reverbed off the mud walls. The rocky floor made it extremely hard for the girls to walk in heels.

Sakura was still peeved about earlier with Sasuke. He always made something out of nothing. Couldn’t he be considerate of her feelings for once?

She adjusted the straps of her silky, white dress. She wouldn’t let Sasuke ruin her night. She and her friends were headed out for a night of hard partying. As they got closer to the party’s entrance, the lights from the room flashed against the walls.

A tall, lean figure emerged from the wide, double doors. The figure turned towards them with a wide smile and open arms. “AAAAHHHH! THE PARTY’S FINALLY ARRIVED!”

Giggles flew all around as they rushed into each other’s arms. It felt really good to be surrounded by familiarity. Especially with people as reckless Inuki.

Inuki reminded Sakura of Haku, the young boy they’d – well, her teammates - had fought while she attended to the bridge builder. They had that androgynous look about them that was so alluring. The balanced energy of the feminine and masculine really came together to balance one extremely captivating being.

The makeup they usually wore only made the mystery surrounding them even more enthralling. They preferred outlining their features with bold colors instead of contouring traditionally with foundation. Sometimes, they highlighted their cheekbones with bold splashes of pink that brought out their supple cheekbones and complemented their sleek, black bob. Tonight, however, they settled with pink eyeliner that formed a heart near the ends of their eyes and dramatic black eyeliner on the lower eyelash that faded into a soft gray glitter that covered their cheeks. It made them look like they had been crying, but in an aesthetically pleasing way.

Inuki had been one of the first people that Sakura had become close with in the beginning of her settling into Kumo. They were really fun to be around and full of raw, sometimes unwanted wisdom. Karui reached over to give them a kiss on the cheek.

“So good to see you, Inuki,” Karui chirped. Inuki gave one of their signature sly smirks.

“Likewise. You look scrumptious in your two piece.”

Karui giggled playfully as she made a show of twirling around to show her rose embroidered outfit. Sakura was sure she had the goofiest lovestruck look on her face as the girl before her twirled around flirtatiously.

Inuki caught Sakura’s eye and smirked. They grabbed her hand and lead them into the crowded underground basement chocked full of sweaty, dancing teenagers.

“Come with me. I’ll do you guys’ makeup.”

The crowd was intense. Everybody and anybody was shoved up against each other in every corner. Between body odor, glitter, and smoke, the gang wasn’t sure how they were able to push themselves through it all.

Along the mud encrusted walls were doors that led to small rooms. Most were occupied by those doing drugs while others were full of friends just hanging together amicably.

Finding an empty room was proving to be exhausting. After ten minutes of no luck, Inuki finally opened the door to an empty room.

They switched on a light that casted a purple glow all over the room. There was a seedy looking mattress with no headboard plopped down in the middle. A small, dusty dresser with a large mirror was set aside not too far from it. Karui ran over to the dresser and fixed her makeup in the mirror. Sakura watched carefully as Karui decked her face in silver glitter and rhinestones.

A hand shot out to tug Sakura. She looked up to see a smirking Inuki. She blushed redder than a tomato. They walked over to the bed and patted an empty spot.

“Sit.”

She complied without resistance. She allowed herself to fall back on the bed with her arms spread out wide. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jinora holding Karui’s head back as she applied glitter generously all over cheeks.

Inuki brought their legs onto the bed and straddled themselves over Sakura’s crotch. With a makeup bag handy, they searched through numerous tools and put them in a neat showcase row.

“How do you want your makeup?”

“Like yours.”

“I don’t think you’re ready for something like that,” they chuckled light-heartedly.

They lowered themselves down and applied the brush dabbed with a pale blue eyeshadow underneath and around her eyes. The constant dabbing was calming. It wasn’t hard to get lost in her thoughts after a while. Inuki’s steady breathing and watchful eyes also helped to keep her in place. Sakura closed her eyes and allowed the background noise of the party to overwhelm her senses.

She didn’t notice when Karui and Jinora made a break for the dancefloor. She awoke from her mini-nap to see Inuki still dabbing away at her face. They looked so concentrated despite all that was going on outside of the door.

“I see you’re still chasing after Karui.”

“Shut up!” she barked back in embarrassment.

Their breakup was still a touchy subject even a year later. Neither one of them liked to bring it up and avoided the discussion at all costs. Inuki knew that and felt like being an asshole anyway.

“Just admit you still like her!”

“What does it matter if we can’t be together again?”

“I thought you said the breakup was mutual…”

Sakura sighed, “Yeah…I know. But it’s more like it had to be for the sake of the team or we wouldn’t have been able to complete any missions.”

Inuki whistled. “Wow. That’s rough, buddy.”

Inuki rose from their straddling position and dusted themselves off. They reached a hand out to which Sakura took and was hoisted out of bed. They both laughed, the tension immediately eased.

“Well…what’s going on with you now? I heard you’re on 24/7 watch by the ANBU.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. This night was to escape the nightmare that was Sasuke. She hated even having to bring him up.

“Yeah. I got stuck with this bastard I used to share a team with back home,” she scoffed. “I got in an argument with him earlier.”

“Oh! I think I saw that guy earlier with you at the hospital. He’s the one with the dark hair and eyes to match and a nice body, right?”

Sakura pretended to gag much to Inuki’s amusement. “Yeah. That sounds like him.”

“Total hottie. Why were you guys even arguing? I doubt I’d be able to focus around him enough to hold a grudge.”

Sakura turned to hide her blush, “Tch. It was a really dumb argument, but he always manages to make mountains out of mole hills.”

“Hmmm,” Inuki hummed with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura felt her blush deepen. She knew something was afoot with a glance like that.

“Sounds to me like you used to like him.”

“Oh, fuck off! That’s beside the point!”

They both laughed as they exited the room together into the liveliness of the party.

Chapter 17: Back To Normal

Chapter Text

Last night was a dream, but it was back to business. It was finally the morning of the next day. The girls had been up most of the morning squealing in delight at what would happen in just a few hours. It was their first official day back as a team. Once they met up with Killer B-sensei, everything would click back into place.

Karui was slipping into her new uniform with a newfound confidence. The uniform made her uncomfortable at first, but now, she was finally finding comfort in her own body. For so long, it had been a symbol of extreme discomfort and violence that she couldn’t find the courage to look at herself in the mirror. This new outfit made her face her fear of her body head on and love herself as is. She tied the scarf holding her Kumo headband on and smiled into the large vanity mirror she stood in front of. Today was going to be a great day.

Karui, Sakura, and Jinora met up in the common area. It felt totally bizarre to be doing their normal routine again. That month and some change they’d spent apart felt like a lifetime ago. They gabbed endlessly as they exited the apartment building. The nobles and other elites that lived alongside them spoke cheerily about their girlish innocence. It was nice to see young people so jovial in the midst of everything that was happening.

They headed towards a large brick building near the center of the village. This was the school recently built as a center for further education for ninjas up to age 18. The raikage took into consideration multiple kages concerns of early death of ninjas and implemented classes that would bring the death rate down.

The cacophony of noise inside consisted of other ninja around their age speaking to each other in excited shouts. The trio greeted others as they passed through the corridors of the building. A set of tall, blue lockers came up and the girls opened their own simultaneously.

A single sheet of paper floated from all their lockers onto the ground. They reached down to pick up their papers and read it over thoroughly. A smile formed on Karui’s face. Killer B had special allowance to take them out of classes today under the guise of ‘intensely needed training’.

A flash of light and a puff of smoke filled the crowded corridor. The smoke parted to reveal none other than their beloved sensei – Killer B. A mini reunion took place in the middle of the hallway. People passing by parted respectfully, watching the four embrace each other as if they would never see one another again. The embrace had gone on long enough and Killer B teleported them all to their favorite training spot.

“It feels great to be back, sensei!” Sakura exclaimed.

Karui could hear the sincerity in her words. The time apart had been rough for all of them. Being together again felt like the pieces of what used to be were finally coming together.

Killer B ruffled her hair playfully. “It’s great to see my team again,” he replied honestly.

Weariness hung onto every syllable. Killer B had made them aware that he was a jinchuuriki the moment he was assigned to be their teacher. It was something that Kumo’s council thought was reckless, but Raikage A backed him up fully.

Being a jinchuuriki was hard. He’d spent most of his life alone. Had it not been for the Raikage, Killer B would be truly alone. Most already assumed him to be a criminal because of the beast sealed inside of him. Karui couldn’t imagine the interrogation he’d gone through as a result of Sakura’s fluke.

“Let’s get warmed up,” he said clapping his hands together.

Karui watched as Sakura and Jinora unloaded their bags. Jinora had that silent smile she was known for on her face. No matter how hard she tried to keep her emotions at bay, even she couldn’t contain her excitement. Karui giggled at the sight. Sakura was pulling out her weapons happily. Karui and Sakura hadn’t really spoken about anything that had happened to one another. They were both avoiding the conversation. Karui thought it was for the best. She wasn’t ready to spark up another dreadful conversation about why their relationship had ended.

“Sakura,” Jinora called out. Sakura perked up from searching through her bag. Jinora gestured to an obscure place in the surrounding area. “Is he gonna be here the whole time?”

Sakura rolled her eyes and shrugged. Karui figured that they must be talking about Sasuke. She thought he was only here for their recent mission. Plans must have changed because Sakura looked visibly annoyed just talking about his presence.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s my permanent guard until further notice, so he’ll be following us everywhere,” Sakura scoffed. The topic was dropped immediately.

Training, however, went just as smoothly as Karui remembered it. It was nice to be in their element again. The drills were familiar and comforting. Killer B went into his hybrid jinchuuriki/human formation and lashed at the girls with his tentacles. The trio ran up his tentacles and started in on their offense.

Jinora threw her air blasts in precise, accurate jets. Sakura, with her chakra concentrated at her fingertips, used chakra scalpels to penetrate the rapidly growing tentacles. Karui swiped her sword through the air, revved up one of her lightning jutsus, and coated her sword with piercing, hot lightning. She swiped her sword in Killer B’s direction with all her might.

Killer B disappeared just as the lightning was about to make contact. The trio were suspended midair and suddenly crashing to the ground at breakneck speed. Jinora summoned a whirlwind that scooped them all up just before they touched the ground.

With their footing in order, they ran towards the nearest water source available and found their sensei taunting them with his tentacles. They powered chakra to their soles and skid across the water like ice skaters.

Killer B waited for them with his tentacles ready to strike. Just as the girls came in range, his tentacles shot out an inky substance obscuring their view. Karui, fed up with the cat and mouse game, charged up another bolt of lightning, attached it to her sword, and plunged the weapon into the body of water. The girls jumped up just in time to save them, but their sensei wasn’t so lucky. His body shook with the pain of electric shock.

Karui ran over to him calling out his name frightened. Sakura and Jinora followed close behind her. The hachibi recoiled until there was nothing but their sensei shivering on the ground by himself in pain. As the girls drew closer, Killer B looked at them, smiled, and disappeared again. Karui almost cursed. She was getting rusty if she was falling for his old tricks again.
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Sakura’s therapy appointment was off to a bad start. She was already late because training had lagged a bit behind. She was definitely in need of more training because that time apart and being unable to go on missions had caused her to regress. She would be fitting more training time into her schedule from now on.

There was also the time she had to take get in a shower before coming. There was no way she could be in and out of the shower after the training session they’d had this morning.

Now, she was sitting in her therapist’s office 15 minutes late with a goofy smile plastered on her face. Her therapist didn’t look impressed, but shrugged it off to start their appointment.

“It’s been a while hasn’t it?” the older woman started.

Sakura fidgeted with her hands and looked all around the room for a distraction. Her eyes went from the fully stocked bookshelves, to the complicated patterns of the carpet, to the silver plaque on the desk that read Dr. Kin.

Sakura looked up at Dr. Kin shyly. She was a kind, but fair woman in her late thirties with short, mousy brown hair and glasses. She was of average build with a bit of calf muscle from wearing high heels all the time.

Dr. Kin adjusted her glasses waiting for Sakura’s answer. “It’s nice to see you again,” Sakura replied shyly.

Dr. Kin smiled as she restacked a few folders in her hand. “How was it? Being back in Konoha?”

Sakura ran her fingers through her hair, completely exhausted.

It was hell. That’s the truth.

“Everything’s…different.”

“Different?” Dr. Kin perked up with enthusiasm.

The woman laid down her stack of folders and placed her chin on her now folded hands. Sakura could feel the creeping suspicion that they were about to dive into some deep within the first five minutes of meeting.

Damn. She’s good.

“When I returned, I just felt this great shift between myself and my hometown. Like, the village has changed, but I just felt so different when I got there.”

Dr. Kin considered the young girl’s words for a moment. She made agreeable sounds in the right places as Sakura spoke at length about everything that had transpired in her absence. Sakura felt so vulnerable. She couldn’t stop the word vomit that fell from her lips. She wasn’t aware that she even had this much to say about her return to Konoha in the first place.

“Did you schedule an appointment with a therapist in Konoha?” the doctor asked just as Sakura took a final breath from her word vomit.

“…No,” she admitted like a naughty child.

“Why not?” Dr. Kin questioned with an innocent head tilt. “Konoha has a mental health care system in place, doesn’t it?”

“Well…yes, but…not to the caliber of Kumo a-and especially not you,” Sakura stumbled.

Dr. Kin smiled sweetly and giggled. Sakura was sure she looked just as flustered as she felt. Nervousness lead her to giving out unnecessary compliments.

“I’m flattered, Sakura. But you should’ve still reached out to some professional in your village. From what you’ve recounted to me of your experiences, it sounds like you could’ve fared better with a professional to talk to,” Dr. Kin disparaged.

Sakura looked down at her kneading hands in shame. Yes, she could’ve reached out to someone in Konoha, but she’d already spilled her guts to this woman about her constant feelings of inadequacy and her parents’ refusal to accept her career. Rehashing that to a new person, especially someone who would know exactly who she was talking about, scared her.

“I didn’t expect to stay in Konoha for very long. I thought it’d be pointless to start over with someone new.”

“Sakura,” Dr. Kin sighed as she removed her glasses and put a hand to her temple. “You’re avoiding something. We’re going to find out what together, but what you did to yourself was completely irresponsible. You banked on returning to Kumo in hopes of being able to speak to me again, but what if the investigation had lasted longer? Tsunade was very lucky to be able to get you out so fast and even have you working. I’m sure she had paperwork out the wazoo to fill just to get you somewhere with the other villagers. You’re still being monitored for a mission you deemed ‘harmless’. You admitted to me that you had thoughts of relapsing. You also shared that you were without your medication for weeks at a time. I would go on to say that this is all self-harm. It’s not just you putting a kunai to your wrist. You knowingly kept yourself from seeking the help that you needed. I have to ask Sakura. What are you avoiding?”

Sakura looked at her therapist with tears forming in her eyes. Putting everything into perspective made it all sound so much more grave than she remembered it as. She wanted to cry right in that office. Maybe ripping her hair out would do her some good. But in the end, all she could give was a feeble “I don’t know.”
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Sasuke laid on the bed in his laughably small apartment and watched as the lights changed from behind his curtain. There was some type of celebration happening outside. He couldn’t bring himself to care. There was nothing to celebrate as far as he was concerned.

He was trapped here babysitting the most annoying girl that he’d ever known and she couldn’t even spare him a simple thank you for all his troubles. Is this really what he spent years hoping for her to return for?

With Sai, Sasuke could tune him out. The guy was a nonfactor and he’d never accept him into his life. He’d cemented that idea the evening he insulted him and made light of his entire clan’s fortune. The bastard was lucky to still be alive.

But Sakura…Sakura was different. She found space in every vacant spot in his mind. In her absence, he found that he remembered every small detail of her. The way her lips turned downwards when she pouted, the way she furrowed her eyebrows when she was in deep thought, or how she smiled whenever she saw him. He was the light of her life at one point. Now it seemed that she couldn’t spare him a glance.

It ate him up inside. Nights like this when he was left with nothing but his thoughts, he’d overanalyze every interaction he’d had with people he dealt with all his life. Sometimes it was Naruto, other times it was his father, most times it was Itachi, the man he knew nothing about. Just when he felt that he understood his older brother, the man would slip out of reach of his fingertips and recloak himself in a new disguise. The mystery surrounding him only made Sasuke want to uncover his brother’s secrets more.

Sasuke couldn’t remember ever having to go through these hurdles when dealing with Sakura. Now it was all he could do. He knew nothing about her in retrospect. He’d written her off as some lovesick girl with no capacity or motivation to become a ninja other than wanting to be close to him. He shook her off at every opportunity possible. Never letting her on to anything that involved taking a deeper dive into his psyche.

She tried anyway, but failed miserably every time. But something had shifted in their time apart. Where longing stares and smiles used to fill up every moment of their interactions, there was now avoidance. In the beginning, he’d chalked it up to being busy with investigation procedures. Tsunade had made a big deal about her not being able to speak with them for long as a result of it the first day they’d seen her after being released from interrogation.

Ino’s impromptu welcome back celebration was even odder to him in retrospect. He’d sat right next to her for the entirety of the meal and she hadn’t tried to speak to him once. Sakura was a kind girl who never set out to make people feel alienated, but the distance between them had never felt so great.

She let Naruto sit in her lap for the entirety of the meal without complaint! Something she would’ve slapped him silly for years prior. There was a change in their relationship. Those smiles she’d reserved for Sasuke were now solely for Naruto. All her warmth and affection had been transferred to someone more receptive to them.

It wouldn’t have bothered Sasuke so much if it wasn’t a reminder of the growing disparity between he and Naruto’s strength. At every glance, Naruto was getting stronger. Closer to his goal than Sasuke had ever envisioned. And there he was, still fighting to claw himself out of his brother’s shadow, fighting for his father to respect him, and becoming something he could be proud of.

Sasuke was falling behind once again. Another person slipping out of his reach. Losing the one constant person in his life to his rival only added salt to the wound. Sasuke ran his hand over his stomach. There was a pitfalling feeling in his stomach that seemed unending. He was losing everything that made him who he was…and he wasn’t sure that he could get what he used to be back.
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Despite all the glitz and glamour of their upscale apartment, the door still creaked like something out of a horror movie.

Karui was standing behind the island of the kitchen as she absentmindedly read the labels on the back of spice containers. Jinora had tried to sneak into the apartment as inconspicuously as possible, but she hadn’t factored in that Karui might still be up. Jinora, realizing that she had been caught, unloaded her satchel onto the kitchen counter.

“Where’s Sakura?”

Karui nodded her head in the direction of the bathroom. A few moments passed where all they listened to was the steady pitter patter of the shower water.

“You’re up pretty late,” Jinora commented.

“I’ve been restless for the past few days, so I’m just staying up until I collapse or something.”

Jinora made a short snorting sound that resembled a laugh. Karui hid her laugh behind her dainty hand. Jinora stretched like a cat.

“Uwah, I’m so tired.”

“From what? You and your boyfriend been going at it for most of the day? I didn’t see you at the hospital.”

The shy girl’s face lit up in heat. She grabbed the nearest throw pillow and repeatedly whacked Karui with it senselessly.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You and Sakura are so gross!”

Karui half-heartedly held her hands in defense as the pillow assault went on, but was hit with a few strays as Jinora continued.

“Did I miss something?” Sakura said with a towel in hand as she patted her hair dry.

Karui ran over to hide behind Sakura. “Jinora’s mad because I was wondering why she slacked off from her shift at the hospital to spoon her boyfriend,” Karui explained in between giggles.

Much to Jinora’s dismay, Sakura joined in on the ridiculing laughter.

“It’s not funny,” Jinora whined.

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Oh come on. We’re just teasing. Not everyone can call out of work to go cuddle up with their boyfriend all day.”

The night ended in a flurry of pillows and giggles.

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

It took two weeks, but it was better than nothing. Sakura and Sasuke were finally on…somewhat amicable terms. Guarding her was much easier. She spent most of her time just cleaning up equipment rather than participating in major medical events because she was still on probation.

The Kage summit had been running the past few weeks and there was still no final decision. Sakura couldn’t spend much time thinking about. The more she worried, the worse things got.

Sasuke was sitting in one of the spare seats of the Sakura’s temporary doctor’s office dozing in and out of sleep. Whenever his head drooped too low, he’d scare himself out of his lethargic stupor. Sakura giggled every time. She’d never seen Sasuke look so…normal.

In all her time of worshipping him or putting him on a pedestal, she’d never considered that he was a normal boy who did normal things like sleep or fall. She’d only ever imagined him as this perfect being who did nothing but train and make girls swoon.

No wonder he never liked me.

Sakura shuddered at the thought. It was still a sore spot. Just thinking about his blatant disdain for any of her affections towards him hurt. Now that she could reflect on her behavior and consider Sasuke’s point of view, she was an annoying brat. Probably even worse than Naruto sometimes. The scariest part was that she never realized it in the moment.

Sakura grabbed her satchel from the desk and hung her doctor’s coat on a rack near the door. Sasuke, as if he could sense that it was time to go, jumped out of his seat with renewed vigor. There wasn’t a trace of sleep left in his eyes.

He walked over to the door and moved Sakura out of the way so that he could hold it open. She blushed at the gesture and walked out accordingly. Sasuke traveled close behind her.

Sakura made a point to face away from him. The blush rising on her cheeks wouldn’t die down. That old feeling of butterflies in her stomach rose again. She placed her hand on her stomach to soothe the feeling away. It had been years since this happened. She was ashamed of herself. All it took was him opening the door to bring back those old memories of how she used to be?

She slapped her hands on her cheeks. Sakura had spent the past few years in rotating feelings of anger, despair, and confusion. There were some days, especially before she left, where she’d sit in her room letting her anger fester. Thinking of how cruel Sasuke could be always brought her to that point. She could move a mountain for him and he still would just scowl at her. No matter how much she pandered to him, the guy just never saw her as anything more than a deadweight.

But then the despair would kick in at how totally unremarkable she was. Being placed on Team 7 was torture. Two star teammates and an infamous teacher that would obviously do nothing but outshine her did nothing for her self-esteem. Sakura recalled the days when she would just go home and cry about her misfortune. In those moments, she wished Ino had been placed on her team instead. Maybe then she would’ve improved faster.

Her parents weren’t any better at consoling. In fact, their last conversation before she’d left recently had gone nowhere. They were impressed with what she’d been able to do, but still so disappointed that she wanted to continue being a ninja. Sakura frowned remembering how her mother tried to coax her into running the shop with her and having a normal life with them.

She remembered the way her father emotionally resigned from the conversation long before it started. He was disappointed too. Sakura just wanted to break down and cry.

The walk back to her apartment was wrapped in silence. Their footfalls were muted and even the usually noisy, excitable village was completely calm. It wasn’t long before she was standing in front of her apartment building with Sasuke standing by her side looking irritated as usual.

“Goodnight,” she said before thinking twice about it. She scurried off before she could regret talking to him. The breezy night air carried his soft “goodnight”.
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Tsunade was the happiest she’d been in weeks. The other kages – well, really just Onoki – were finally coming around to the idea that Kumo’s newly implemented policies were why ninjas were flocking back to the raikage’s village in droves.

She had the opportunity to sit in on classes held in their new higher learning building. The courses focused on basic medical knowledge were extremely proficient in their teaching. The students were very engaged with the lecture and the raikage had brought up the statistics of how implementing these courses had a direct correlation with fewer grave injuries sustained on missions.

Tsunade couldn’t wait to go back to Konoha and gloat about it to the council. She wanted to just rub the numbers in their face and tell them ‘Look how actually caring about your people leads to changing policy that help them in the long run!’

The course included basic medical care like disinfecting wounds, how to apply gauze, setting broken bones, etc. It was an introductory course that covered so much in a nicely planned out semester. This wasn’t the only health class they offered though.

Sex education was a mandatory course for all the newest recruits. Tsunade thought it was a good addition. The life expectancy of a ninja was unfortunately very short. Life or death was an occupational hazard no matter your rank, so, most ninjas were reckless. It wasn’t unexpected for normal teenagers to have sex, so the rate for teenage ninjas was even higher.

The sex education was very thorough from what Tsunade could tell. The course provided information on multiple forms of contraception like birth control, condoms, dental dams, and more. Condoms were provided for free in the hospital’s waiting room and all around the apartment building set aside for the program’s participants. The instructors taught about consent, rape, and provided resources for those who had been assaulted.

Tsunade was thankful that this aspect was taken into consideration. Another reason kunoichi were so scarce was because the fear of sexual assault. It was another occupational hazard that she’d seen many women experience. Konoha really had no infrastructure that supported these victims and they usually suffered in silence. Many women had resigned as a result of their trauma while others kept away from becoming a ninja because of the threat of sexual violence. Kumo had 24-hour victim support services and better resources to make sure that victims could be rehabilitated.

There were also courses related to genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu. Some were even so specific that they went by element type. Teachers worked with students to perfect already learned techniques and possibly create new techniques. Some even taught long forgotten techniques that other villages were surprised to see done in modern times.

Kumo had a lot of things going for itself, but the most controversial thing was their stance on the LGBTQ+ community. Being a ninja meant that stealth was a must for their job. Being gay wasn’t something unheard of on the force, but most weren’t open for fear of ostracization from their peers or being relieved from their duties.

Most were queer in silence. Kumo allowed them to have a voice. Gay marriage was legalized a little over a year ago in Kumo due to constant pressure from Kumo villagers and visitors from the program. It was signed into law that nothing could stop two people who loved each other despite gender, sex, orientation, etc. from marrying each other. This protection did not exist in other villages, big or small.

Tsunade figured that this was the biggest reason many were eager about returning. Tsunade had known many queer ninjas in her time. Their interactions composed of mainly stolen glances and secret embraces. Many gay people signed up to be ninja because the occupation allowed them privacy that their normal lives didn’t. Implementing gay marriage may cause less people to feel they have to hide if she was able to pass the law in Konoha.

She groaned at the thought. Something as harmless as implementing better teaching in Konoha was controversial, she couldn’t imagine the time she’d have with the council if she brought this issue up to them.

The kages were all walking outside of the new school building together. The weather was nice. It had nothing on Konoha, but it was nice. Tsunade missed the neverending green of her village opposed to Kumo’s rocky, humid landscape.

“You’ve done a fine job with your village, Raikage-sama. I could only wish to implement some of what you have in Kiri,” Mei acknowledged sweetly. The Mizukage had been receptive to all the improvements that Kumo made in their village. That was good. If she didn’t oppose anything, it would make it easier to make agreements regardless of the council in the future.

“Implementing some of these practices in Suno would do us all some good. Our medical system is so far behind everyone else’s,” Gaara admitted. “Upper level classes focused on element type jutsus would be nice to see. Especially if there are village techniques that we would like to make sure continue to be used in the future.”

Onoki huffed haughtily. Tsunade rolled her eyes. Despite every benefit presented to him, he just had to be the one dissenting opinion.

“Letting a bunch of homosexuals run free is an affront to the sanctity of ninja history. This is an occupation for manly men, not sissies who want to cop a feel in between missions,” Onoki sneered.

Tsunade felt herself about to explode. The raikage placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. Tsunade took a deep breath and backed down. Raikage A stood in front of Onoki and crouched down to his level.

“Is there really any sanctity to the ninja profession when we send children off to die? We give them no protection, tell them to die with the weight of their village’s reputation on their shoulders, and then provide them with no safety nets when they come back from potentially traumatizing missions?” he asked in a gentle tone.

Onoki folded his arms like a child and pouted. He didn’t have to accept anything he didn’t like.

“I think the ninja world could use a change. They should feel that their leadership cares about them.”
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The lecture was finally over. Sasuke finally felt the blush on his face subsiding.

He had just come out of a sexual education class that gave a very graphic depiction of applying a condom. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done it before. He’d slept around a time or two with people he trusted, but it was just so jarring to see some fragile old woman giving insane details of putting a rubber on a cucumber.

He wouldn’t have been so bashful about it if the other students had reacted in the same manner as him. No one flinched. He looked around during the entire class period to see fully engaged students taking notes and asking appropriate questions. He sat next to Sakura who didn’t spare him a glance. She was just as in tune to the lesson as the other students.

It didn’t surprise him because she worked in the medical field and was probably used to having lectures like this, but it didn’t bring him comfort. Sasuke expected her to at least blush a time or two or sneak a glance at him as the lecture became more intense. But there was just nothing. Nothing at all. As he waited for her outside the door of the classroom, he realized the extent of the distance between them.

“I have a hospital shift to go to next, but I’ll stay with you for your training course if you want,” Sakura piped up absentmindedly.

Sasuke watched her adjust the last of her belongings into her bag. He noticed that she didn’t take the time to peer up at him as she spoke. Every interaction they shared was bare minimum communication. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Ah,” he sighed.

They walked close together down the corridor. Their hands kept brushing together accidentally. Sakura held onto the handle of her messenger bag to counter this. A hollow feeling formed in Sasuke’s stomach.

Getting into the classroom was a bit of a problem. Teachers were strict about schedules, so there was some explaining to do when Sakura arrived outside of her schedule norm. Once the matter was settled, she sat off in a corner somewhere, her nose deep into one of her medical books. The image brought on a nauseating wave of nostalgia. Just another reminder of the past that he couldn’t bring back.

He made a place for himself in the classroom with a book he’d grabbed from one of the shelves and looked for chakra-type ninjutsus to work on. Sasuke and Orochimaru had been discussing methods to mesh his chidori with his kenjutsu. Nothing had come to fruition yet, but he was still working towards something.

He read over a few theories and began to work the chakra needed for his signature technique in his palm. A few spectators gathered slyly around him. He noticed their stares but paid them no mind. He was used to attracting people’s attention.

He tried to manipulate his chidori so that it morphed it into different shapes, but as soon as it started to branch out into another shape, the technique dissipated into a mini explosion. It scared the shit out of Sasuke, but his spectators didn’t seem to mind. They were actually fascinated by it.

Sasuke peered over in Sakura’s direction. She was turning another page in her thick medical text. She hadn’t spared him a single glance in all the commotion. Sasuke returned his gaze to his book of theories. He had to work on his techniques more.

Chapter 19: Bitter Regards

Chapter Text

Naruto was teeming with excitement. The commencement of the Kage Summit was finally here. They’d reached an agreement that he didn’t care to hear about, but it was all good because he’d see his teammates again.

Kakashi and Yamato were keeping him grounded by training with him occasionally. He had gotten angry, but concerned letters from his parents about his sudden leave of absence. He was sure that his mother would beat him silly when he came back, but he couldn’t worry about that now.

Naruto was bounding off of his own again with Kakashi and Yamato not far behind. All he heard Tsunade utter was permission to seek out his teammates and he dashed out of the room before she could finish her sentence. He wouldn’t allow anyone to put a damper on his exceptionally bright mood.

He could feel his teammates chakra within reach. He was coming up on a large body of water that surrounded the random patches of rocky shores sparsely placed everywhere. Purple octopus tails shot out from every direction. Three small figures flashed in and out of view as they climbed atop them.

Naruto stopped on a rocky surface a little ways away from them to observe. He heard Kakashi and Yamato’s footsteps fall in line behind him. Naruto had never seen Sakura’s new team before, so he didn’t know what to make of them. He saw a redheaded girl unsheathe her sword and form the seals for a lightning release technique. She concentrated the electric current to her fingertips and jutted them in the direction of the tentacle creature.

It dodged before the technique could land. He saw the girl curse and jump away in anticipation for the next move. While suspended in the air, a tentacle reached out and grabbed the redheaded girl by her ankle and started to swing her around violently. There were no screams. Only loud grunts as she tried to escape.

A brunette dressed in banana yellow came up on the rear and produced the hand seals for a wind release technique. She took in a sharp intake of breath and released earth shattering winds from her pursed lips. The tentacled creature flew back and hit the water like a skipping rock. Naruto held his hands up defensively from the splashes of water that reached him.

Still, it wasn’t enough to stop the creature. It retreated underwater without a trace. Naruto watched as Sakura and her team looked around the area apprehensively for the creature’s next hit. Excitement settled into his stomach. He was getting pumped just watching them.

The creature emerged from the water with dramatic flair. It rose high up in the air until its tentacles lashed out again, but for Sakura this time. Naruto watched as Sakura flipped away with catlike reflexes, dodging the attack just in time. She created an ice pathway on the body of water for herself to slide on gracefully. When she regained her footing, a tentacle slammed down onto the ice path she created and destroyed it.

Sakura leapt onto the tentacle and ran up until she was almost to the odd creature’s head. It tried to turn fast and knock her off with the sudden move, but Sakura leapt up just in time to rev her hand up for the finishing blow. Naruto couldn’t tell, but she was circling chakra to her fist. She was crashing back down faster than she anticipated and knew what she had to do. She interlaced her hands above her head and brought them down to smack the grotesque creature smack dab on the head.

As soon as the hit landed, the creature puffed away in a cloud of smoke to reveal a rapidly falling Killer B. The brunette created soft air currents to carry both Killer B and Sakura to the water’s surface safely. The redhead ran over to Sakura worried. Sakura and Killer B took a moment to catch their breath and looked up at each other with a smile.

“I think that’s enough for today, girls!” Killer B shouted.

The girls whooped in unison.

Naruto, finally over his initial starstruck-ness, made his way over to the team. “SAKURA-CHAN!”

Her head snapped in his direction so fast that he was sure she had whiplash. No matter. He was sure she knew his voice without even looking. Naruto ran towards her with his arms out. Sakura, with a resigned sigh, held her arms out in anticipation for his hug.

Just like their first reunion, they both almost fell from his crash impact of a hug, but Sakura was strong enough to hold them both up. He nuzzled her face like a cute pet and she just laughed, happy to see him again.

It probably would’ve went on longer if there weren’t spectators. Naruto cleared his throat and hopped off of his dear friend. It had been a while without contact between people his own age and Naruto was a very affectionate person. A blush hung on his cheeks as he toed away at tiny rocks on the ground. He felt a bit embarrassed and a little exposed with so many people being witness to…that. Thankfully, Sakura took the reigns as he knew her to always do, and started introductions.

“Naruto, Hatake-san, Yamato-san meet Killer B-sensei, Karui, and Jinora,” she said while gesturing in each person she’d listed direction.

As oblivious as Naruto, he didn’t miss the emphasis she put on sensei and Kakashi’s name in contrast. Kakashi, try as he might, could not hide the slight frown that shown in his eyes at the slight. Yamato stole a glance and fidgeted with his hands at the same time. There was something going on.

Naruto decided not to make a scene about it now. He’d be able to talk to Sakura or Kakashi alone and find out what was going on. Yamato’s eyes darted around for a moment as jovial greetings were exchanged.

“I thought Sasuke was tasked as your charge,” Yamato muttered in Sakura’s direction.

Naruto watched as the smile fell from her face. A slight grimace formed. Yeah. There was definitely something afoot.

“I’m sure he’s not very far from here. He has to guard me at all times,” she sassed. A deep bitterness latched onto every word. “He probably just doesn’t want to talk right now.”

Karui and Jinora shared a worried look. Naruto hated being out of the loop. He had to find out what was going on.

“We should all have lunch together,” he suggested enthusiastically. Awkward shuffling and glances passed between the group. This impromptu lunch date would be very interesting to say the least.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Nothing had been as painful as having to bear witness to this conversation.

The tiny café was actually very lively today. Albeit it was like was this most days, but it was extremely noisy today. Most people were off from missions and just happy to be in each other’s presence.

Sasuke recognized most of the people seated from his floor of the apartment complex. As joyous as everyone else was, the tension at his table was palpable.

He was sitting next to Naruto who was rambling off about pointless tidbits of his life to Sakura. She indulged him. He watched her smile, laugh, and joke along with him with more joy than he could remember her showing him in the past couple weeks.

He shoveled another spoonful of rice into his mouth. Sasuke was being irrational and he knew it, but having his rival one up him and the girl who uselessly pined after him for years give all her attention to him made Sasuke angry.

Aside from his own personal problems, he noticed that Sakura was actively avoiding Kakashi’s gaze. Sasuke remembered Sakura before she left. She was a friendly girl who always wore her emotions on her sleeves. He’d never known her to be anything but happy and when she was feeling any other way, she was easy to be pacified.

This new relationship she and Kakashi had confused him. Even if Sakura didn’t like someone – Naruto’s antics aside – she was never outright rude to them. Something had shifted between the two.

Sasuke brought his drink to his lips and slid his gaze over to Kakashi. The man looked drained. Not that there was much emotion to go on with his mask covering half his face, but he was obviously bothered by something. He kept sneaking glances Sakura’s way. Sometimes they were quick while others lingered for a few minutes. No one seemed to have noticed it because he just kept doing it.

“Where’d Karui and Jinora go?” the man he’d come to know as Killer B asked.

Kakashi fixed his glance towards the man. Sasuke could see the contempt working its way onto his face.

“Karui had a doctor’s appointment and Jinora said she wanted to spend time with her boyfriend,” she responded with a sickeningly sweet smile. That familiar hollow feeling found its way back into Sasuke’s stomach.

“So I can expect to see you all tomorrow for training?”

“B-senseeeeei!” Sakura whined playfully.

The teacher and the student shared a laugh between each other. It was brief, but Sasuke noticed the way Kakashi’s face tensed. He fidgeted with his utensils, only haphazardly moving them across the plate to make himself look unaffected. Sasuke thought that was the most pathetic he’d ever seen his teacher look.

Yamato tilted his head like a confused puppy. “Aren’t we still supposed to be training, Sakura?” the stoic man asked sincerely.

“Um…we can,” she hesitated.

Yamato nodded his head. He cleared his throat and focused his attention on Killer B.

“Y’know, I was talking to Kakashi-senpai. Sakura’s ability to pick up and master things quickly is something to marvel at.”

Killer B nodded his head good-naturedly. Sakura placed her hands on her blushing cheeks, half in embarrassment and half in pride.

“Ah,” Killer B started in humble agreement. “I’m glad to have her and all my girls. Being a teacher makes you realize how much you wanted someone else to teach you differently and gives you the chance to be a better person for the new generation.”

A loud clink emitted from a side of the table. Kakashi’s hand was bleeding. Remnants of what was once a tall, glass cup now laid on the table spread in microscopic pieces.

“Sorry,” the masked man said breathlessly after a moment of looking just as dumbfounded as the others around the table.

Yamato, frantic and unused to random displays of emotion, jumped out of his seat to get assistance. A server rushed over to clean up the mess. Another arrived with some emergency medical supplies for him to clean himself up.

“You should go get that checked up at the hospital, Hatake-san,” Sakura added with a slight edge to her tone. It bordered on antagonistic. “You might risk infection.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

No matter where you went, the hospital was just as daunting and suffocating as the one back home.

Thankfully, there were minimal shards stuck into Kakashi’s hand, so he’d be able to leave rather quickly. Still, sitting high up on a hospital bed holding his minor wound to his chest made him feel like such a child.

Yamato – looking just as frantic as before – rushed into the small hospital room with arms full of first aid materials. He was doting over Kakashi like a mother hen.

“Stop,” Kakashi said half-heartedly.

He sighed and let his shoulders sag in defeat. Yamato spilled the supplies onto the cot slowly. He watched his senpai carefully. The way his shoulders slumped, his lips pouted behind the mask, and his body slouched defeatedly.

“Is there something wrong, senpai?”

Kakashi shook his head half in denial and half out of guilt. He hadn’t even wanted to teach in the first place and now the one team he thought he’d done right by consisted of a replacement and a girl who wanted nothing to do with him. Of all the scenarios he’d worked out in his mind, he would’ve never been able to conjure this up.

Just as Yamato was about to fix his mouth for another question, the devil himself showed up at the door.

Killer B.

Kakashi felt the tenseness return to his muscles. An aching pain started in his chest and he had to clench it in order for the feeling to subside. The man didn’t look anything out of the ordinary for a ninja. He was tall with a large build, brown skin, cornrows, and eyes that hid behind shades. He usually wore a large sword strapped onto his back, but he’d left it somewhere in order to enter the hospital.

It was public knowledge that he was a jinchuuriki. Whether the raikage had approved of his actions to spread this knowledge or not were unknown, but he seemed harmless – way less…angsty than most jinchuurikis were known to be. He was in a few bingo books Kakashi had had the chance to look and he was regarded as very powerful.

How he became a teacher was something not even Kakashi could understand. Jinchuurikis weren’t even supposed to be known to the public nor were they allowed to engage in most public events out of fear of attack. Even excusing his relationship with the raikage wasn’t enough to push these questions aside because everyone knew how adamant councils in every village were about rules.

The man confused him in every way imaginable. That’s what made him even angrier. Kakashi knew he wasn’t a great teacher. He would never deny that. He hadn’t even wanted to become one in the first place. But this guy just came waltzing through the door and reaped all the benefits of his student’s accomplishments. He couldn’t stand for that.

“You left your wallet at the restaurant,” Killer B said. “Sakura saw it on the seat and asked if I could bring it to you.”

There it was. Her name again. It shouldn’t have rolled off this stranger’s tongue so easily. Who was he to speak of his student so familiarly?

“Yamato, can you excuse us for a moment?”

Yamato looked around nervously. The air had become unusually tense in the span of 30 seconds.

“But senpai-“

Kakashi lifted a hand in silent dismissal. Yamato trudged out of the room with his head hung low.

Kakashi and Killer B held long stares. Neither wanted to be the first to speak. Kakashi, with a long, drawn out sigh, shifted to a more comfortable position on the bed.

“You speak very fondly of Sakura,” Kakashi drawled out slowly.

Killer B shrugged his shoulders with a smile. The tenseness melted from his muscles. “She’s one of my precious students,” he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Kakashi’s fists clenched. “She’s my student,” a threatening tone colored the gray-haired man’s voice.

Killer B’s eyes widened in shock for a moment. He folded his arms against his chest and took a gander at Kakashi. The gray-haired man showed no signs of backing down.

“She was your student,” Killer B stated firmly, a mocking lilt evident in his voice. “And from the tidbits of information I’ve gathered from her about you, her time as your student isn’t something she likes to reflect on.”

Kakashi jerked in painful remorse. So this is where this conversation was headed. He might as well go all in.

“You’ve only gathered ‘so little’ information as you stated before. There’s no way you can be sure of how she feels…about me or anyone else for that matter.”

Killer B lowered his arms and held them together behind his back as he paced around the room. Kakashi watched him carefully, his sharingan spiraling from behind the mask.

“You never saw the way she looked whenever just the mention of Konoha came up,” Killer B jabbed. “From your perspective, there was never anything wrong with your teaching methods. It worked for the rest of her team, so, you focused all your attention on the people you thought were better able to pick up on your lousy practices.”

Killer B found his way back to the edge of the occupied hospital bed. He slammed a hand down on one of the handles of it.

“You’re a lousy teacher. The only reason your kids were able to go on and become the ninjas they are today was because they had to seek out help on their own from other people,” Killer B hissed, sinking the final blow into Kakashi’s already weakened pride.

Kakashi’s mouth went dry. He suddenly had the urge to lick his lips. His heart was pounding fast in his chest. He’d opened up this can of worms and had been unable to handle the consequences. Killer B straightened up and cleared his throat.

“Take for example, I’m sure you’ve noticed because her academy records wrote that she had a potential for genjutsu. What did you do to make sure she was able to realize that skill?”

“I get it! I’m a terrible teacher and you’re the best she’s ever had!”

Kakashi was now standing up flailing his arms around in anger. He was completely out of character. The worst part was that he didn’t even care.

Killer B watched him carefully. His breathing was labored, every hair out of place, and color was leaving his cheeks. The man would pass out if he kept going on like this.

“I don’t get it…” the pale man started just below a whisper. “The one team I thought I’d done right by…and everything just exploded in my face.”

Killer B’s facial expression softened. He hesitantly put a reassuring hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. “Listen, I’m not saying that you’re the worst or that she’ll never like you, but being able to say that you didn’t always have her best interest at heart is a start. You were overwhelmed by her other teammates abilities, that’s understandable, but that doesn’t excuse your negligence towards her. You should try talking to her tomorrow.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Yamato was sure that Danzou had long since grown tired of his lackluster observances. It seemed like an eternity since he’d been stationed in Kumo to spy with little to write home about.

Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened. The raikage really didn’t have ulterior motives, there was no underlying current of animosity amongst the villagers, and the ninjas really did love being here. Even his observations of the former Team 7 – which he already knew were Danzou’s biggest targets – weren’t half as exciting as they had been described to him.

This distance that wedged itself between all its members was exhausting to witness. No wonder the girl had opted to spend time apart. There was no use trying to fix such a broken team.

His training times with her always so silent. She was pensive and always a bit sad. The dark haired Uchiha watching over her in the background was a brooding mess. It was hard to be around the both of them sometimes.

He’d heard of her infamous crush on the Uchiha from Kakashi, but he’d never considered the boy’s feelings towards her. Of course he’d assumed that the boy would hold resentment towards her, but the intensity of his gaze every time she was within range puzzled Yamato. What the hell was going on between these two?!

Naruto was easy to deal with. He had always been a simpleton, so any information Yamato needed regarding him could’ve been easily coaxed out with the promise of ramen. His senpai Kakashi was another story in itself. Yamato didn’t know he’d signed up to be a part of a soap opera!

Whatever Danzou was looking for, Yamato was sure he wouldn’t find. He’d have to cut through all this teen angst and drama before he ever got the answers he was looking for.

Chapter 20: Remorse

Chapter Text

Hey everyone! It’s been a while… a long while, but it looks like my workload has lightened significantly. This doesn’t mean regular uploads again because if this new opportunity is given to me I’ll probably be back on hiatus, but this is a treat for you guys :). Enjoy!

“To be fair, I actually did have a date planned out with my boyfriend.”

“Oh, fuck off. You guys totally ditched me.”

Sakura, Karui, and Jinora were speaking amicably on their lunch break at the hospital. Whatever had happened at the impromptu lunch she was forced to have with Kakashi last week was…interesting. She’d never seen him lose his cool like that. Especially not such a display as that.

She shrugged. She had to consider that she never really knew the man anyway. Their interactions were limited to him hoping that she’d be the one to end arguments between Sasuke and Naruto. Years of pent up anger swelled in her chest for a moment. She shook it off because she didn’t want to ruin the ambiance her and her teammates had created.

“Well, in our defense, that didn’t look like an ideal situation for any party involved. Us being there would’ve been pointless since all of you guys already know each other,” Karui reasoned.

Sakura rolled her eyes. “You are so full of shit.”

“Hey,” Karui countered in between high-pitched laughs.

Sakura couldn’t help but smile. Just hearing her voice made her remember why she’d fallen in love with the girl.

“It’s obvious that you guys needed – still need to talk to each other. You could cut the tension between you and Hatake-san like a knife.”

Jinora nodded her head as she took a sip from her smoothie. “Don’t even get me started on what you and Sasuke have going on,” the quiet girl remarked sarcastically.

Sakura frowned, but it couldn’t hide the very dark blush that covered her cheeks. Karui giggled excitedly, completely sidelining her lunch.

“You know what I think,” Jinora started again as she dug into a bowl of rice. “You and him would be a lot happier if you both took the sticks out of your asses and admitted you like each other.”

Sakura rose from her seat with a blush coloring her entire body. Karui was a mess of giggles. She held her stomach tightly as she watched Sakura’s face redden by the second. Jinora, as nonchalant as ever, didn’t spare Sakura a glance. She was more interested in her meal than Sakura’s denial.

“I. Do. Not. Like. Him.” Sakura nearly yelled, her teeth grinding against each other in silly indignation.

Jinora shrugged her shoulders. She was a no-nonsense type of girl. She had no time to argue with someone about facts.

“Oh please,” Karui rolled her eyes. “Tell that lie to someone who’ll believe it.”

Sakura’s jaw dropped. “Karui,” she whined. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

Karui waved her away dismissively. Sakura was standing up in front of her chair looking distressed. They were supposed to be discouraging any conversations like this.

“I’m telling the truth!”

“Mhmm,” Karui and Jinora harmonized.

Sakura took a deep breath. She calmed herself down and tried to explain herself better.

“Look, I don’t like him. Sure I still think he’s cute – I’d be dumb to deny that, but I wouldn’t go on to say that we would ever be together.”

“So why does he walk you home every night after your shifts,” Karui asked, her eyebrow raised mischievously.

Sakura could feel her previous blush making a comeback. “He has to. He’s an ANBU guard, his job is to go everywhere I go.”

“Most ANBU guards stay hidden though,” Jinora countered. “He could just make sure you get home by roof-hopping like all the other ninjas.”

Jinora’s face had eased into a suggestive smirk. Karui covered her mouth as she laughed her head off. Sakura was sure she was on the edge of exploding from being so red with embarrassment. Just as they were about to continue their onslaught of uninformed observations, a nurse Sakura couldn’t remember the name of slid open the door of the break room.

“Haruno-san? You have a guest waiting for you in the lobby.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Disappointment was the only word that could accurately sum up her feelings. If she’d known she’d have to come face to face with Kakashi, she would’ve pretended to be back on her shift.

Sakura folded her arms. She had no time for whatever he thought he was doing. Kakashi gave her a small, harmless wave. Sakura’s eyebrow raised in confusion. Kakashi straightened himself up and cleared his throat.

“I want – I’ve wanted to speak to you for a while now,” he started slowly. Sakura looked at him impassively, still unsure about his motives.

“You’re angry with me,” he stated.

Sakura made no move to either confirm or deny his suspicion. Kakashi could feel his hands getting clammy. This admission was taking a lot out of him.

“I want to apologize.”

“For?” she said with her eyebrow still raised. An apology with no meaning behind it was not she wanted at any time. If he was going to apologize, he needed to be specific about what he was sorry for.

“About everything,” he explained. “I was talking to your…sensei and he told me what he thought it felt like for you being on a team with me. I ignored you in favor of your other teammates. When you did have your own accomplishments, I didn’t let you indulge in them. I used them as ways to motivate Naruto and Sasuke. I’m truly sorry for that.”

Kakashi waited for a reaction from Sakura. Her arms were still folded, but at least her eyebrow had returned to its natural resting position. When he realized that she wasn’t going to say anything, he started again.

“I brushed you aside from the first time we met. I never thought you were serious about your career and it’s apparent in the way I neglected you. I…I projected my feelings onto you,” he said as he reminisced on the lifeless body of Rin. He hadn’t realized just how much of a rounded person she was until Obito died and then again when he killed her. He’d only thought of her as some lovesick girl obsessed with him and disregarded her.

He never thought much of her being a medic either. After experiencing all that, he wanted to hit himself for repeating history all over again.

“I never acknowledged you as a ninja, much less one of your teammates’ prowess, and that is a reflection of my failure to teach you. I acknowledged your advanced chakra control and aptitude for genjutsu and never reached out to help you hone those skills. I should’ve been more proactive. I’m sorry.”

The room was silent. Not even the usual hustle and bustle of the hospital could be heard. Sakura unfolded her arms. She looked deep in thought. Kakashi stood awkwardly before her waiting for a reaction. She seemed to mull over his statement for a moment and then looked up at him.

“Ok.”

“Ok?” he asked incredulously. He couldn’t understand such a nonchalant response to what had to be the most embarrassing admission he’d ever made in his life. Sakura scanned him over with that impassive look she’d learned to adopt around him.

“Yes. I’ve acknowledged your apology, but I don’t totally accept it,” Sakura explained. She gestured them to a row of chairs where they could sit directly across from each other. They both sat as one waited for the other to speak.

“Before Tsunade-shisou decided to take me on as an apprentice, in those last few days before I left, I was on track to resign from being a ninja.”

Kakashi recoiled in shock. Tsunade had never made mention of this. He watched Sakura fidget with he hands in her lap. She was no longer looking at him, but at her lap. Her hands kneaded into tight fists.

“I was so embarrassed…but I did it because I thought it would be in the best interest of the team. I was lagging behind. I had no special skills outside of my grades and that couldn’t help on the battlefield. I spent months trying to convince myself that I deserved to be on that team or that there had to be some reason that I was placed on it.”

Sakura slowly brought her head up. Kakashi could see the tears she held back just wading in her eyes. “I can’t fault you for writing me off,” Sakura admitted. “I originally wanted to become a ninja because I was inspired by Ino and Sasuke’s strength, but once it became closer to time to form teams, my only motivation became remaining close to Sasuke. My family doesn’t come from ninja backgrounds and there was no one to teach me anything about the reality of that world, but I did expect my teacher to do that,” she said making sure to look directly at him towards the end of her rant. Kakashi nodded his head in understanding.

“I won’t pretend that I share no fault in what happened with Team 7, but my teacher kept briefly acknowledging all my potential and never once was proactive about helping me achieve those goals. I acknowledge your apology, but I can’t accept it – I don’t know if I ever will.”

“That’s fair,” Kakashi agreed with sunken shoulders.

Sakura nodded and rose to her full height. Kakashi mimicked her motions. “I don’t know if it will be changed in the future, but my record shows that I resigned from Team 7 and am a permanent squad member of Team B as long as village relations continue to better. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to rejoin that team because of all the bad memories I have of it, but I’ll make the effort for Naruto to at least be cordial with you now.”

Sakura extended her hand towards Kakashi. He looked at it, slightly confused, before lifting his own and shaking her’s.

“Maybe we’ll see each other when I train with Yamato.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Her hospital shift was finally reaching a close, but her office was as lively as ever. Somehow Naruto had found her and tagged along with her and Sasuke at the hospital. Sasuke, reticent as ever, sat in a seat off in the corner somewhere looking as bored as ever listening to them talk.

He watched the way they interacted with each other. How sometimes Naruto’s hand would linger on Sakura’s shoulder and she wouldn’t even flinch. The way they held eye contact no matter how stupid the topic of conversation was. What annoyed him most was how starstruck she looked whenever he told her about one of his accomplishments. A look she used to reserve just for him. Naruto would do the same when she told him about her accomplishments and it made Sasuke feel even more left out.

Over the years, his teammates had become even more remarkable than he could ever imagine. He never considered them to be anywhere near his level, but now, from what he could gather from their conversation, they had soared above and beyond him. A pain surfaced in his chest. All he could hear was that annoying voice in his head that sounded like a mix between Itachi and Kakashi telling him he should never underestimate anyone.

“When we practice tomorrow, can you do the wood release? Please, Sakura?” Naruto pleaded pitifully. He was down on his knees mockingly holding up his hands in a prayer formation. Sakura indulged him, lightly laughing with and playfully slapping his head.

Sasuke watched the scene playing before him, filled with disgust, envy, and myriad of other feelings he didn’t even know he had.

“Yeah,” he watched her hold onto Naruto’s hands excitedly. “I could definitely do that.”

Sakura finally finished cleaning up her office and they were headed out of the hospital. Sasuke had never felt more out of place. Not even his father made him feel this alienated – and that was saying something.

Their nonsensical babbling filtered out the longer they walked. He didn’t even notice that Naruto had departed until they were right around the bend from Sakura’s apartment.

“You’re quieter than usual,” he heard Sakura’s voice say.

He peered over at her. She didn’t bother to face him, knowing that he’d know who she was talking to.

“You and Naruto spoke enough for me.”

He heard a small laugh from her. Sasuke was sort of pissed. He’d never been spoken to so informally before (besides Naruto that is). Sakura – the Sakura he remembered – would never have asked him a question in such a nonchalant manner. He looked over at her again taking note of the light smile on her face. The glow of the moon made her skin look smooth and her eyes shined with that naïve innocence he’d come to know her for.

“You could’ve said something if you wanted to.”

Those were the last words he heard before she entered her apartment building. He stood there for a while after she left just reminiscing on all that used to be. He shook his head and tried to suppress those thoughts. Nothing good came of reliving the past.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The room was lit in a soft, pink glow. A bed with a baby blue comforter and multiple, brightly colored decorative pillows took up space angled in a corner. The floor was a pristine wood texture. Fluffy carpets were lined up under the bed, near the door’s entrance, and in front of the surprisingly plain full body mirror. Inuki and Sakura lied in close embrace as they made out with each other passionately.

Somehow, some way, Inuki was lucky enough to get their own room in their own apartment. Sakura was sure they’d swindled someone in the higher-ups but didn’t pry too much. It wasn’t her business and it’s not like she was looking to be alone anytime soon. Sakura took one more long kiss before separating herself from Inuki’s embrace. Inuki, a bit shocked, rolled off her body and propped themselves up next to her breathing slowly.

“Something wrong?”

“No,” Sakura said, hesitation lingering on every intonation. “I was just thinking.”

“About?” Inuki egged on. A mischievous look crossed their eyes. Sakura propped herself up on her elbows and sighed.

“Inuki,” she started with a blush on her cheeks. “What’s it like to be with a guy?”

A loud, rolling laughter emitted from Inuki. Sakura shrunk in embarrassment.

“Why are you asking me, Sakura?”

“Because I thought you would know about stuff like this?”

“But you told me you’ve been with guys – or a guy – before. Unless you bluffed about it?” Inuki asked with a taunting lilt in their voice.

Sakura rolled her eyes and swatted them playfully. “I didn’t bluff…and that was different because I was under full henge and spent the whole time laying there waiting for it to end. Plus, it ended up totally not worth it because he was terrible in bed and I ended up being sore for all the wrong reasons.”

Both teenagers laughed together earnestly. The embarrassment allowed the awkwardness around the situation to dissipate. Inuki placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Well, as a resident man lover, I’ll tell you that you’re probably better off sticking to just girls. I know you’re bi, but what I said still applies,” they explained.

Sakura made a disapproving face to which Inuki burst into another fit of laughter. “Whenever I’m with a guy, I’m usually the more relaxed one in the situation even if we’re both out. I tell them what I like beforehand like a specific brand of lube or condoms or something as small as how I want to be held. I try to avoid drugs before a hookup, but sometimes I really need some poppers for either myself or my partner depending on how trashed I got at a party.”

Sakura nudged Inuki playfully. Inuki simply laughed her off and started up again. “The drugs part is conditional. You don’t always need it, but it spices things up sometimes. The sex isn’t usually the best part for me…it’s usually all the fluff like kissing, holding hands, or being caressed, y’know? Stuff like that.”

“You make everything sound so dreamy,” Sakura said in awe.

Inuki smiled earnestly. “I’ve got to dream to make the best of my situation. Onoki would have me killed in an instant. It’s best I find some joy where I can now.”

“So…you don’t think it’s that great? Being with a guy?”

Inuki scoffed. “They’re either smelly, violent, controlling, unresponsive to your needs, or just flat out an asshole. You’ve got like a one in a million chance to find a truly good guy, but until then you’ve got to pick apart all the traits you like from different people and fantasize about them all being in one person.”

Sakura rolled over dramatically, pouting to herself like a child. Why was she even asking these silly questions? It’s not like she’d ever have time to pursue with her team’s hectic mission schedule along with her time at the hospital. Maybe she was just feeling hopelessly romantic tonight.

Inuki – sensing the lull in the atmosphere – rolled over to lay their head on Sakura’s shoulder. “Nee,” they called to Sakura. “You thinking of a guy in particular?” Inuki watched the color rise to Sakura’s cheek, amused by her childish behavior.

“No,” she lied through her teeth.

“Good,” Inuki replied while grabbing hold of Sakura’s face. “Let’s get back to where we left off.”

Please leave a comment. The lack of them was one of the reasons I didn’t feel up to uploading because it’s kind of like what’s the point :/.

Chapter 21: Odd Regret

Chapter Text

Hey guys! I was so happy receiving all you guy’s comments and love. This past semester has been stressful, but I’ve graduated and am moving onto the next thing. Unfortunately, that still means long waits in between chapters :’(. I’ll try to update when I can though so don’t worry.

“I’m not used to being so…mean.”

“You think you were mean?”

It was another therapy appointment with Dr. Kin and Sakura was once again feeling conflicted about everything in her life.

In the moment, telling off Kakashi felt good. All those years of pent up resentment were easy to summon up and lash out with. She spent years hating herself and him for what her shinobi career would have been. She and her former teacher had reached a compromise, but she was left feeling…guilty.

It was so out of character for Sakura to stand up for herself. It was why she had attached herself to Ino for so long. Even when she finally clawed her way out of Ino’s shadow, there was still a residual guilt attached to it that she never admitted to. It was the same with Sasuke and Kakashi.

Sakura started biting on her fingernails. She still felt bad about that slight she made to Sasuke about Itachi. Their sibling rivalry was a touchy subject and she knew it would hurt him, but he was such a dick sometimes that things came out before she could stop herself.

Dr. Kin adjusted her glasses. She was peering over at Sakura from behind her desk. Sakura fidgeted under the older woman’s gaze. It was about to be another hard hitting session.

“Kinda…it felt good telling my former sensei what was on my mind, but as soon as it was over I regretted it. I thought my tone was weird and I was being irrational. I felt like such a loser admitting all that...almost like I had proved him right in a sense. I don’t know. I’ve just never done something like that before.”

Dr. Kin considered her words for a moment. Sakura heard the familiar ‘hms’ and ‘ahs’ along with infrequent scribbling. Dr. Kin looked up from the pad she was writing on and smiled at Sakura. Sakura awkwardly returned the gesture.

“I don’t think you were mean at all, Sakura. What you did was very good actually. You advocated for yourself and you’re probably feeling regret because it’s not something you’ve done before or at least on this scale,” the woman explained.

Sakura nodded her head. Standing up for herself was fairly new for her. Even though she’d called on a rivalry with Ino years ago, as soon as she returned to the village, the blonde girl was walking all over her again. She didn’t think Ino was a bad person, it was her personality after all, but Sakura hated how quickly she lost her backbone whenever she was around her.

“You admitted to me that you were on the verge of quitting, right?” Dr. Kin asked without really caring for an answer. Sakura nodded her head anyway.

“This urge came as a result of his lack of teaching regarding you. It’s fair to feel the way that you do. A teacher is supposed to teach and he failed in that area almost causing you not to become a shinobi. There was also favoritism at play from what you explained. I commend you for speaking up for yourself, Sakura. Your insecurities are why you feel weird about demanding that an authoritative figure do what they are supposed to do. I’m glad to have witnessed such a change in you.”

Sakura blushed. Whenever she got compliments, she tended to shoo the praise away, but if she’d learned anything from her session today, it was to be more confident in yourself and know that you deserve what you ask for.

“Thank you,” Sakura replied shyly.

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Training was in session, but Karui could hardly stay focused.

Sakura’s old team was…interesting. Naruto was a lovable idiot as Sakura had described, but she never went into detail about just how loud he was. Karui made the mistake of standing right next to him and almost lost her hearing as he cheered Sakura on. It was cute, but definitely meant to be taken in doses.

Sakura’s relationship with Kakashi seemed to have gotten slightly better. Sakura wasn’t outright ignoring him now, but she wasn’t exactly going out of her way to speak to him. That was fine with Karui. She could handle the passive aggressive nature of her ex-girlfriend, but animosity was not something she wanted to have to be witness to.

Karui and the others gathered at practice were all watching Sakura, with the help of Yamato, perform her newly acquired wood release style. She watched Sakura carefully as she knitted her eyebrows, perspiration collecting on her brow.

A few grunts later and a blooming forest not indigineous to anything seen in Kumo appeared before her eyes. Naruto whooped loudly and almost knocked her over when he tried to hug her. Kakashi looked thoroughly impressed, but a sad, forlorn look covered his face.

Sasuke was as stoic as ever. Face impassive as stone. But if you looked close enough, you could see the minute raise of his brows. Karui laughed to herself. He was shocked, but too proud to say anything.

Karui walked over to Sakura and hugged her. Sakura jumped a little, probably too unused to Karui’s affection for as long as they had been broken up. Sakura blushed as she pulled a flower from one of the trees she made and handed it to Karui.

Jinora walked up just in time to obscure the intimate scene from the confused spectators. Karui held the flower, twiddling it in her hands awkwardly before giving a curt ‘thank you’ to Sakura. Sakura was a bit embarrassed, but shrugged it off.

“Have you guys been keeping up with your training in the investigation unit?” a concerned Killer Bee called out from across the field. He was standing under the tree Sasuke had perched himself in.

Karui found it odd, but didn’t think any more of it. The three girls moaned in unison. Killer Bee let out a hearty laugh. “You guys should check in with Momoko. I’m sure she misses you all’s faces.”

It didn’t take long for everyone to pack up their things and disperse. The walk to the interrogation unit was dreadful. Karui never felt comfortable going near that building. Recent events hadn’t helped that either. She felt like she was in a daze as her legs carried her to the building while her mind wandered to the farthest recesses of her mind.

She was still out of it when they reached the building. Jinora shook her awake a little. Karui gulped hard and followed her teammates into the building. She felt her chest tighten with every step. The narrow corridors scared her. Always so constricting with no way out.

People were bustling about. There was noise reverberating off of every wall. As hard as Karui tried, she couldn’t fight the way her chest puffed up and down. She was having trouble breathing now. She watched Jinora sign them in. Her hand seemed to move extremely slowly as her pen cursived along a page on a clipboard.

Karui could feel Sakura’s hand on her shoulder, but when she looked up, whatever she was trying to say was oddly slurred. Karui held onto her throat. She felt like she would die. It only took a few moments before she collapsed and everything went black.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Karui woke up inside of a very familiar room. She was lying on a makeshift bed on the floor, probably the closest thing available when trying to treat her. She sat up and a wet rag fell into her lap. She touched her wet forehead unsure of why she was being treated as if she had a fever when she clearly didn’t.

Karui took a gander around the room. There was nothing that truly stood out. It was a typical investigation room – table, chairs, handcuffs, and a window that allowed those from the outside to look in, but not in the reverse.

Just as she found herself about to stand up, Sakura opened the door and bolted over to her. Karui could hardly breath wrapped up in the bear hug Sakura was giving her. She coughed a little before Sakura released her.

“I’m so happy you’re okay,” the pink-haired girl said, still holding onto Karui.

“I’m fine Sakura, rea-“

A soft pair of lips connected with her own. Karui’s body slackened in shock. A few moments passed before Sakura pulled back. She noticed how sullen her friend looked and immediately started panicking.

“I’m so sorry Karui! I didn’t mean to. I was just so worried and you looked so scared I-“

“What’s going on?” Jinora’s monotone rang through the room.

Karui rose up to her feet slowly. “Nothing,” she responded in a dejected tone.

If Jinora suspected anything, she made a good job of not paying it any mind. They spent their walk to Momoko’s office in silence. Karui made sure to stay ahead of both her teammates. She was sure that Sakura was trailing behind in the back looking just as ashamed as Karui hoped she was. Jinora, forever the mediator, walked in between them making sure they both kept their distance.

Momoko greeted them with open arms. The woman was a peculiar sight with her orange hair and pink eyes, but she’d successfully helped them create a team genjutsu technique that catered to everyone’s abilities. She was a special agent working in the torture unit whose genjutsu prowess was outstanding. Having her to teach them, much less anybody, was a feat in and of itself.

Momoko took them to a room with a suspect. They watched him from behind a mirror as the woman debriefed them. “Found this guy by one of the training grounds near the border,” she explained. “We can’t get much out of him no matter what we do. Torture doesn’t work on the fucker ‘cause he’s from Kiri. I figured if anyone could get some information out of him, it’d be you guys.”

The girls nodded in unison. Momoko never called them in for training unless it was something completely out of her power, which was hard for any shinobi to admit.

Karui came into the room first. The man’s interrogation room smelled of blood and sweat. She watched the way the blood dribbled down his face from wounds on his head, nose, and mouth. It was disgusting no matter how many times she dealt with it.

She sat down in front of him, watching as his chest heaved up and down between belabored breaths. His hair was soaking wet – from sweat or waterboarding, she couldn’t tell. A long horizontal scar ran across his forehead where his headband should’ve been. His clothes were caked with dirt and grime.

Karui watched him carefully and looked for an opening. In their genjutsu formation, Karui went first. She was the one who excelled at calming down people enough to lower their guard. She would make the first level of genjutsu that consisted of nothing more than an acid naturally formed in the brain – Gamma-Amino Buytric Acid. She was able to access people’s minds and heighten the acid’s production so that it would be easier to delve deeper into their minds.

Karui took the man’s pale hands into her own. “Did you always have that scar?” she asked innocently.

“No,” he responded, already falling prey to her genjutsu. “I got it trying to escape from my old man’s place. He called it training, but he always seemed more than happy to inflict harm on me. I’m no punk. I couldn’t just let him do that to me.”

Karui nodded as the man straightened up. He eased into his seat, finally breathing more normally, and leaned into her touch. She held onto his hands tighter. Karui knew to take an opportunity when given.

“Was that recent?”

The mysterious man shook his head. “No. It happened when I was a boy.”

“Tell me what happened,” she said while pulling his hands closer to her chest.

He began recanting his story to her without much prompting. Sakura came in just as he started. She was in phase two of their genjutsu technique. Sakura was better at accessing the hippocampus – the part of the brain associated with memory. As the man told his story, she was able to access his mind and recreate the vivid imagery he spoke of, almost like they were reliving the memory with him. Karui kept asking questions while Sakura continuously provided them with the scenery of his memories.

Jinora came in for the last step of the genjutsu process. She excelled in torture and had no problem accessing the amygdala – the center of the brain that responds to emotional stimuli, especially fear. Soon, his memories became filled with Jinora’s twisted monsters and evil machinations. A simple memory of playing catch with his father turned into a creature with large spikes shooting out of his back and chasing him around until he was completely devoured. The man was paralyzed with fear as he watched his memories morph into horrible scenes of murder.

Karui, with Sakura’s guidance, was able to walk them back to the memory of his coming to be in Kumo and the exact details of the mission. All three girls released the genjustu and looked at each other with smiles of pride. Sakura looked like she was coming over to talk to Karui, but Karui came up with an excuse on the fly about needing to talk to the raikage and made an exit.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Today was not Sakura’s day. Karui was avoiding talking to her completely. It was completely understandable because Sakura was way out of line with that kiss, but she just felt so guilty seeing Karui so…apathetic and knowing she was the cause of it.

In hindsight, Karui having a panic attack in the Interrogation building was nothing to freak out over, but she knew Karui really had to be suffering for her to freak out like that, so, she was so relieved to see her up that she just kissed her. Sakura violated her best friend’s boundaries and she hated herself for it. Tonight would definitely be awkward.

She was in her office doing busy work again when she noticed out of the corner of her eye Sasuke wiping down her instruments. She was finishing off another one when he turned to her, an expectant look in his eye. She lifted a brow. What the hell was he doing?

“Are you finished?”

She took a glance around the room. It looked as if he’d been cleaning at the same time she was and everything was spotless as a result. “Yes…?” she answered.

“Good,” he said as he strapped on his bag. “Let’s go.”

Sakura let him walk ahead of her as she lugged her bag over her shoulder. It was a bit heavier today because the two different training sessions she had required different tools. Her super strength allowed her to carry it with ease, but it didn’t take away from the fact that it was still really heavy.

Sasuke turned back to see her lagging behind and walked back over to take her bag and slung it over his shoulder. Sakura was still confused but followed behind him anyway. They weren’t going in the direction of her apartment at all. He seemed hellbent on getting to wherever he was leading her.

The streets were filled with roaming people. Some friend groups were walking around jovially, occasionally taking care of the drunken friend. There were little families holding their sleeping children over their shoulders, probably laughing at an inside joke. Couples were huddled together speaking sweet nothings into each other’s ears.

Sakura blushed as she looked at the back of Sasuke’s head. She fought the feeling fluttering in her stomach back down. Those old fantasies were meant to be just that – old fantasies. Hoping for things out of her reach had led her to dangerous paths before.

Sasuke had come to a full stop as Sakura wandered behind him in a daze. She ran into his back and nearly jumped out of her skin. He didn’t seem to mind because he walked into what she realized now was a restaurant and ordered a table.

It was nothing too fancy. The service was good and she heard the food was pretty good. She didn’t think Sasuke would be walking around finding restaurants in a new town.

They were seated in a booth near the back of the restaurant, next to a window. There was the most awkward pause between them both before the waiter came to ask for their order.

“I’ll have the tempura,” he said as he handed the menu back to the waiter.

Sakura bit her lip, the reality of eating with someone she hardly knew finally sinking in.

“I’ll have a salad,” her voice struggled to reach an audible octave.

Sasuke snatched her menu from her hands and passed it onto the waiter. “She’ll have what I’m having.”

The waiter had already walked away before Sakura could protest. She looked at Sasuke incredulously. “What’d you do that for?”

He shrugged apathetically. Sakura didn’t waste her time waiting for an answer.

Sasuke adjusted himself in his seat. When he bent over a little, Sakura could see a black mark on his shoulder near the neck. There were three black tomoe sticking out on his pale skin.

“What’s that mark on your neck?” she asked, genuinely concerned. She watched him stiffen. He was obviously uncomfortable, but Sakura wasn’t going to let him avoid her question.

“It’s just a mark,” he half explained. “It helps me get more power.”

Sasuke kept his eyes everywhere but at Sakura. She sighed heavily. She hated to be a wet blanket, but this conversation had to happen.

“Me and Naruto were talking a few days ago. He said you’re training with Orochimaru…”

Sasuke lifted his head, contempt coloring his features. Sakura didn’t back down. She was used to being on the receiving side of those looks. “It’s none of your concern.”

“I just have to wonder what your motive is for purposefully working with a guy who had every intention of harming you during the Chunnin Exams. I stayed up all night guarding you and Naruto to prevent you from getting that mark,” she explained.

He rolled his eyes and scowled. “I never asked you to do that.”

“But I did because we were a team.”

“We’re not now.”

There was a devastating pause. They looked in each other’s eyes a bit too long. Sasuke’s head dipped, eyes covered by his bangs in shame. Sakura sat speechless, not knowing how to respond. There were a million little things hiding in that response. A million uncomfortable things that neither would ever be ready to discuss.

Sakura took a deep breath. This conversation was going nowhere. She saw Sasuke shift uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye. He absentmindedly placed his hand over the mark.

“I don’t want to fight. I just thought you would’ve been more vigilant about who you train with considering we’re on the verge of a war and the Akatsuki’s after your ‘best friend’.”

“He hasn’t been proven to be working with them,” Sasuke countered as the waiter laid down their plates.

Sakura regarded him with an unmoved look. Sasuke fixated his gaze onto his food.

“Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?”

Silence passed between them. He focused his energy into eating all his food. Sakura sat, arms folded in front of her steaming hot plate, debating between whether to eat or remain peeved with Sasuke. He lifted his head, unable to bear the weight of her stare any longer.

Sakura remained unimpressed. “Look, all I’m saying is that you should be careful.”

And that’s a wrap folks :D! Please do leave your thoughts in the comments/reviews, I love reading them. They give me inspiration/motivation to keep writing. See you next time!

Chapter 22: Bad Habits

Chapter Text

Hey everybody! Thank you so much for all the love and feedback. It’s so nice to read in the midst of shit that’s going on at my house :(. Anyway, MAJOR trigger warnings for mentions of sexual assault/rape and eating disorders/disordered eating behavior.

To Sasuke,

I hope this finds you well. It’s been a few months since I’ve last seen you and you haven’t reached out to contact me once. You’ve left your poor mother in the dark with no consideration for her feelings. All I know is you got accepted as a new ANBU recruit and then I never saw you come back home! I’m not asking you nicely anymore, you WILL send me updates from now on or I will have the council rescind your ninja status.

With love,

Your Dear Mother

Sasuke rolled his eyes. His mother had such a flare for dramatics. He could admit that he hadn’t been keeping in contact with her as much as he should, but she didn’t need to coddle him every step of the way. Most ninjas his age had their own apartments. The only reason he still lived at home was because his mother threw a hissy fit at the slightest mention of it from Itachi.

He slid the now folded letter in between the sheets of his binder. He was in the middle of another lecture about chakra. Sasuke thought he knew all there was to know about chakra, but there were apparently all sorts of things he didn’t know about it.

The lecturer was speaking at length about chakra manipulation today and it all sounded so much simpler than he imagined it was. When he read it in books, it sounded like a foreign language, but he was sure that he could do it now.

The bell rang for the end of class. A stampede of teenagers ran through the exit door near the back of the classroom. Sasuke followed close behind them. The hallway was teeming with noise and people who were very obviously on close terms with each other if all the PDA was an indication. He walked further down the hall until he saw Sakura unloading things from her locker. Whatever happened between them at dinner the other night had left things between them a bit more awkward than usual.

He leaned against the locker nearest to hers. After taking a couple things out of her locker, she looked up at him and gave a stiff smile. Sasuke gave one of his signature “hn’s” in response. They walked in a comforting silence until they were outside of the school building.

Sakura had probably finished all of her classes for the day, meaning that she’d spend the rest of the day doing busy work in the hospital. He didn’t understand why she continued to do something so demeaning. From what he’d seen from her team training sessions and heard from Tsunade, Sakura was her mentor’s successor and therefore a vital resource for her environment. She and her team were still on probation for her being a wood user and therefore unable to complete missions or do any serious work. It seemed that their team was well liked and used to going on more rigorous and frequent missions. He didn’t understand how she hadn’t gone crazy from being cooped up for so long.

“How was your day?”

Sasuke was pulled out of his reverie by her girlishly sweet voice. He hadn’t noticed that they’d stopped at a nearby food stand. The vendor placed two chocolate taiyaki into a small, brown paper bag and handed it to her. She held the bag out to Sasuke, offering him a piece, to which he shook his head. Sakura reached into the bag taking small nibbles here and there.

“Nothing much. You?” he finally replied.

She giggled a bit. Sasuke raised his brow in confusion. For the life of him, he would never understand this girl.

“You’re so…Sasuke,” she remarked offhandedly. “Mine was good. I had a lecture focusing on battlefield medical assistance, so I was really in my element.”

Sakura babbled on endlessly. It was strange, but he found comfort in it. His team now was filled with nothing more than the noise of Naruto’s declarations of superiority and Sai’s underhanded slights. He had forgotten how uncomfortable it was to hear someone talk about nothing at all.

“What class did you have today?” she asked, making him jump out of his stupor again.

“We focused on chakra manipulation.”

“Ah, like that thing you tried to do weeks ago with your chidori?” “

Ah,” he responded, stuck between a question and a statement.

She smiled up at him again. He felt his stomach tingle. Sometimes, when he looked close enough, he still saw that girl that she used to be.

“Hmm,” she mused while rubbing her chin. “Your chakra control’s good, but it’s never been better than mine. Maybe I could help you with your technique. If you’re up for that sort of thing.”

Sasuke’s brow raised. There she was again. This new Sakura that he couldn’t understand. The undeniable cockiness that lingered in her tone would’ve never been present in the old Sakura of Team 7. He wondered what had made her change along the way.

“Let’s train.”

“Huh?” Sakura said with furrowed eyebrows.

Sasuke didn’t give her much time to think about a decision. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her close then transported them to her team’s usual training grounds. When Sasuke released her, she almost stumbled to the ground. Sakura took a few moments to regain her footing, but didn’t bother to turn around.

Sasuke could see the tips of her ears redden with whatever emotion she was experiencing. He walked a few paces until he was standing directly behind her. He watched her back stiffen with every step. She slapped her cheeks a few times and turned to face him. Sasuke unsheathed his kusanagi and presented it to her. Her eyes darted back and forth between his face and sword clearly confused by his silent question.

“I want to fuse my chidori with kusanagi,” he stated in the same tone one would use with a five-year-old.

Sakura rolled her eyes, used to his condescending manner. She placed her taiyaki into her satchel and moved to stand behind him. His body stiffened as she circled her arms around his waist and adjusted his posture. She fixed the way he held his sword and repositioned his hands in a way that would allow him to create the hand seals for his chidori while holding his sword.

“Really, this is more Karui’s department, but I can help you with chakra manipulation,” she explained carefully. The heat in Sasuke’s face rose as Sakura continued to move his body at her will.

“It’s just like the tree walking exercise. You balance all your chakra equally, but when the right amount is levelled, then you focus on your target spot. In this exercise, you would focus your chakra into your palms for your chidori and try to keep a hold of your kusanagi.”

Finally satisfied with his body placement, Sakura let go of Sasuke and backed away to watch him perform the technique. He revved up his hand with his chidori and concentrated it into the sword’s material. One thought too many caused the entire technique to falter. Sakura giggled as she walked over to readjust his stance. He found that he didn’t mind the sound of her laughter even if it was at his expense.

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Things had been moving too slow for Danzo’s taste. He had hoped to take out the fourth Hokage during his wife’s birth, but a miracle had happened and the two adults and their demon spawn had survived untouched. That setup for a Kyuubi attack was then supposed to segway into a sticky situation for the Uchiha clan that would end up in even more village-wide distrust and hopefully extinction. If that succeeded, he would’ve found a way to decimate and stronghold the Hyuuga clan into bowing to his every whim. With that power, he could’ve come up with a force to rid himself and his beloved village of the useless third Hokage. A man without a spine who’d spent far too long twiddling his thumbs in his ass until things exploded beyond control.

His last shot was the Chuunin Exams attack that he’d instigated under disguise with the Suna, Sound, and a few Akatsuki members. Somehow, the lucky bastards had still found themselves alive. Danzo would once again have to take matters in his own hands.

He’d found time to travel to the Rain village. He was under heavy disguise as he usually was when he snuck around, but it was harder to do while sifting through heavy rain and mud. He was looking for a certain man. He’d never seen him face to face, but his sharp baritone was recognizable no matter where he heard it.

Danzo reached a tall building where people loitered around it menacingly. He knew better though. He performed a series of hand signals that allowed him access into the building. Everything about the building was shoddy. Especially the inside. It was completely dark aside from the flickering lights. It was shocking that the elevators even worked. Large cobwebs covered walls in every room. Dust was piled higher than a skyscraper.

The walk through the building was harder than the trip to the building. He pressed the button for the elevator to open and prayed for the best. Each passing level left a lump in the pit of his stomach. The flashing lights passing over his body as he moved up levels did nothing to quell his worry. The man he was hoping to work with was very busy and he took no nonsense. Danzo admired him for that. He saw himself in the mysterious man.

The elevator had finally come to a stop. Floor 28. An unnecessary amount of floors, but somebody else’s interior design abilities was yet another thing in this world that he could not fix. He stepped out into the dimly lit hallway. Compared to the other floors, this one was fairly clean. No cobwebs and it seemed as if someone had actually taken the time to mop the floors once or twice.

His footsteps echoed through the corridor. He made no move to soften his footfalls either. It was better that whoever dwelled these halls knew that he was coming beforehand. Things tended to escalate unnecessarily whenever he came here.

A door labeled 2807 was ajar to his right. Danzo took that as a sign that he was in the right place. He opened the door slowly, the eerie creaking irritated him, but was necessary in case he was to catch who he needed by surprise. The room was barren aside from the pale moonlight filtering through the window. Danzo walked farther into the room until he saw a pair of bright red eyes off in the corner.

“State your purpose.”

“I can’t wait any longer. I’ve tried everything to get rid of the cancers in the village and like roaches, they rise again and again,” Danzo huffed indignantly.

The looming figure moved in the dark. His outline stretched fully before going on to crack his spine. “Who are you trying to get rid of?” he asked.

Danzo steeled himself, making sure to keep his wits about him in case he had to be on the offensive. “The Uchiha clan for one, but there are others that need to be purged as well.”

The looming figure sat on a nearby surface that Danzo couldn’t make out and folded his arms. He couldn’t see it, but he could sense the smug look that colored the man’s features. “How am I supposed to help you with that?”

“I know that you work for or with the Akatsuki,” Danzo explained. “The time for war is now if you ever want your little group’s dream to be realized. We – all the villages – are pretending to be friendly with each other for now. All they need is one little hint of war to destroy whatever semblance of unity they think they’ve carved out.”

The hidden figure chuckled to himself. It was ridiculous. The entire request. He might’ve asked Danzo what his motivation was to do this, but there didn’t have to be a reason for self-righteous guys like himself. Causing chaos was what he knew best and taking down the Uchiha clan once and for all wasn’t something he’d ever be against. He held his hand out to the bandaged man.

“You’ve got a deal.”

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Anticipation for the night ahead of her was driving Sakura mad. It had been days and Karui was still giving her the cold shoulder. It was even more awkward considering they spent most nights sleeping together on the same bed.

The past few evenings had been spent with everyone sleeping in their own beds. Sometimes, Karui still stirred from her nightmares and when Sakura would wake her out of her sleep to comfort her, the girl she loved would only shove her away and pretend to sleep again. Dread filled as she walked the familiar path to her apartment.

Naruto had decided to tag along this time much to Sasuke’s annoyance. Sakura found that it was just comforting to hear the sound of his voice, even if he was just speaking at length about the awesomeness of different ramen flavors.

“Nee, Sakura-chan…is something wrong?” he asked, pulling her out of her worry-induced daydream.

“No,” she said, trying to convince herself. She shook her head and faced him properly. “I’m alright.”

“But you weren’t even listening to what I was saying,” the sunshine boy countered.

“Tch, with good reason,” Sasuke quipped, speaking for the first time that evening.

It looked like a shouting match was about to start, so Sakura caved in. “It’s just…I’m having problems with a friend,” Sakura started.

Naruto instantly calmed down, fully wrapped in whatever information Sakura was about to relay to him. She blushed from the attention.

“It’s…well something happened years ago that still affects her to this day and I did something totally out of bounds that I know for sure reminded her of it. I tried to apologize, give her space, and all the other things you should do as a friend, but she just won’t forgive me. I feel so bad about it, too.”

Tears were welling in her eyes before she knew it. She felt so stupid. She thought she had come so far in her training, but here she was crying so frivolously in front of her teammates again. Naruto placed a gentle, encouraging hand on her shoulder.

“You’re a really good friend, Sakura-chan,” Naruto encouraged. “Your friend will be mad for now, but I’m sure she knows you’re sincere about your feelings.”

As Sakura beamed up at Naruto, out of the corner of her eye she could see the weirdest expression cross over Sasuke’s face. It wasn’t one she’d ever seen him wear so she couldn’t decipher it.

“Or you could do like me when you get mad and just wait it out until you’re in a better mood,” Naruto added.

Sakura playfully smacked him upside the head. Their laughter rang through the streets. Sakura had never felt so at home in all of her life. She grabbed Naruto into a bear hug. “Thanks Naruto. You always know what to say.”

It wasn’t long before they were standing in front of her apartment. She waved them both goodnight, but she couldn’t forget the clouded look that washed over Sasuke’s face as he left without a word. Sakura sighed.

Just when I thought we were getting close.

The elevator ride was nerve racking. She tried to consider what Naruto said, but nothing had come of that because she’d already tried it. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost missed her elevator stop. She reached her shared apartment door and begrudgingly unlocked it.

She was immediately met with the scent of Karui’s familiar bath wash. It sent chills up her spine. Karui hadn’t spared her a glance. Jinora watched over the two, completely annoyed. Sakura walked over to her own room and undressed herself. She was too tired for a bath and feared that she’d collapse while taking her shower. She slipped into a silky nightgown and headed back out to the kitchen.

Karui was sitting on the couch wrapped up under a large blanket reading a book. Sakura tried to dredge up the nerve to say something, but the words remained stuck in her dried mouth. Jinora stood in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips. She was tired of sitting through all this awkward bullshit. They needed to make up already.

“This has gone on for too long,” Jinora shouted. “I’m not going to sit through another minute of you guys’ shitty melodrama. Tell me what happened in the Investigation Unit.”

Sakura looked over at Karui hoping she would start first. Unfortunately, she hadn’t bothered to look up from her book. Sakura became visibly deflated.

I’m the worst person ever.

“When Karui woke up after fainting in the waiting room…I kissed her when she woke up,” Sakura admitted, completely ashamed of herself.

Jinora took in a sharp breath. Not even she could’ve guessed what this was about. “Sakura, I thought we made this clear a long time ago. You two aren’t dating anymore. You can’t just do whatever you want.”

“I know! I was just so worried and it was like instinct-“

“It was just instinct for you to kiss me?!” Karui yelled, finally peeling herself away from her book. She rose from her seat on the couch and stood next to Jinora with her fists clenched.

“I can’t accept an excuse like that! Not anymore,” Karui said between clenched teeth. It was taking everything in her not to cry. “You can be so selfish sometimes! You used me as your emotional crutch and you hardly ever considered how I felt in the process!”

“Karui,” Sakura said in a hushed, disbelieving voice. “I never intended to make you feel that way. I was just so happy that you were ok. I…I’m nothing like that guy who assaulted you!”

As soon as the words escaped her lips, Sakura knew she was out of line. She watched Jinora’s eyes widen to the size of saucers. Karui stood shell shocked, working through all her emotions until she settled on blind fury.

“There’s no difference between you two,” Karui said in a low, unfeeling voice. “You both took what you wanted with no regards for my well being.”

All Sakura and Jinora remembered in that flurry of movement was the sound the door made as it slammed shut. Sakura ambled over to her room slowly. She locked the door behind her and plopped belly down onto her bed. She cried for the rest of the night.

Jinora could only stand shell shocked in the middle of the living room trying to process all that she’d been witness to.

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“Is there something wrong?”

“No…”

“You’re awfully quiet.”

“I just don’t have much of anything to say at all.”

The familiar room of Dr. Kin was awkwardly silent. Sakura sat on the firm couch fidgeting. Her hands became very interesting to her. She had been kneading them together nonstop since her session had begun about an hour ago. Dr. Kin looked her over with a grim frown. The woman adjusted her thin, square-rimmed glasses.

“Sakura, if there’s something bothering you, now is the absolute best time to say something.”

Sakura gave a small, sad smile as she rose from her seat. The timer on Dr. Kin’s desk went off. The older woman made haste to turn it off and looked at the young girl sadly.

“We’re all out of time,” Sakura said with a playful shrug.

Dr. Kin frowned. “I’ll see you soon, Sakura-chan.”

Sakura bowed politely to the older woman and exited the room. She walked the rest of the pathway out of the facility with her hands in her pockets and her head hanging low. Sakura had to be the stupidest person she knew. Who the hell got upset over making someone else sad?

She was totally in the wrong last night and here she was acting like she was the victim. The incident had weighed on her heavily. Karui had been upset with her before, but never to this extent. When she tried apologizing to her earlier today, she found that Karui had made sure to leave before everyone got up to do god knows what.

Sakura knew she wouldn’t be able to talk to her anytime soon. She was being avoided and most likely about to be relegated to the silent treatment. Jinora was no better. She’d been avoiding them both. Sakura couldn’t blame her. Who would want to get involved in the shit show that was last night? She’d probably be staying at her boyfriend’s apartment more often now.

Sakura walked to a nearby convenience store and prayed that Sasuke wouldn’t find her. Now was really the worst time for him to see her. She’d ordered dozens of snacks that she had sworn herself off of years ago in the name of better eating and headed to a sworn off place near the outside borders. She needed to be alone while she did this.

She started off slow. The snacks were good, but she didn’t want to be a glutton. She savored every bite. Somewhere along the way, she devoured entire packs of cookies in what seemed like one gulp. In the aftermath of her pigging out session, Sakura looked down to see the mess she made. Wrappers from all the food she’d eaten were sprawled out in front of her. Shame hit her like a ton of bricks.

Sakura placed a hand on her swelling belly. The first signs of bloating were already present and it didn’t make it any better that she’d essentially eaten a bag of salt and sugar. She cleaned up her area and carried it all in the bag she brought it in. She walked a bit further out into the forested area and picked a tree.

Sakura stood in front of it and kneeled down. She began digging a sizable hole in front of the chosen tree. She felt childish or even like a dog. When the hole got to a size she liked, she dusted her hands off and sanitized them with the antibacterial wipes she kept handy in her pouch. She stuck her index and middle finger to the back of her throat.

Every false alarm hurt worse than the last. Gagging alone made her nauseous, but she especially hated the waiting game that took place before she got the results she wanted. After several attempts, Sakura finally retched as she had hoped. It was completely disgusting, but she’d purged every drop of food from her body. She threw up a few more times before she was finally finished.

She gathered the pile of dirt she’d collected around the hole and filled it to cover her mess. Sakura remained kneeling on the forest floor for a few more moments before getting up. Nausea, vertigo, and extreme light headed-ness would hit her all at once if she tried. She got up slowly and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

I’m ok. This is fine.

Hope you guys liked it! Please leave me all your thoughts. I love reading them :). ‘Til next time babes.

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

One more week until I start my new job in a whole ‘nother state :)! Updates will probably be even less frequent. MAJOR trigger warnings for this chapter: descriptions of rape.

Karui remembered every harrowing moment. It was right after a mission. She’d waved Omoi and Samui goodbye. Everything was going well until she saw him. Mu, her old academy teacher. She remembered him being very kind. He had great rapport amongst his fellow shinobi and teachers.

He was also a knockout with parents. They described him as a gentle giant with nothing but the best intentions for his students. No one had ever spoken terribly of him.

He chatted her up for a while. He offered her food on the house, his treat, but she refused. She’d just come from a restaurant with her teammates, plus, it was getting late. Mu was ever persistent. When he realized he couldn’t swindle her into a dinner together, he offered to walk her home. He kept her preoccupied with meaningless conversation.

They spoke at length about her recent missions, training, and her friends. The conversation took a complete 180 when her teacher started talking about boys.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” she remembered him asking her, his eyes turned towards the sky as if it was a normal question to ask a 12-year-old as a 35-year-old man.

“No,” she answered innocently. “I can’t even worry about things like that right now, sensei.”

She remembered the way her face heated up at the question. She was so innocent. So naïve. There was no way she could’ve predicted what came next. They were finally standing in front of her apartment door. Her parents were gone on another mission. Karui could tell because the lights were actually off this time. Her mother would usually stay up waiting for her in the kitchen.

He was standing there watching her as she fumbled around trying to find the right key. “Goodbye,” she remembered calling out to him as she unlocked her front door. She walked inside of her house and slipped out of her sandals. As she turned to close the door behind her, Mu invited himself in and looked around suspiciously.

“Are your parents’ home?” he asked nonchalantly.

“No,” she said, the gravity of the situation finally setting in.

Karui looked around her house. A weapon or an exit would do. Something in the air had shifted and she had to make a break for it.

“You’re not supposed to be in here, Mu-sensei,” she childishly chided. “My mother doesn’t allow guests over this late at night.”

Mu’s face clouded with an evil Karui hadn’t known to be possible. She felt small under his piercing gaze. He jutted his hand out to grab her wrist. She winced from the harshness of his grip. He crouched down to her level and whispered in her ear.

“Your mother’s not here.”

He pulled her closer to him as Karui began to struggle. In the midst of their struggle, she took the opportunity to bite his arm. He cursed as she ran through the back door of her house into the forested area behind her house. She was running barefoot in the grass too scared to look back in case Mu caught up to her. Adrenaline was the only thing allowing her to continue running after such a strenuous mission.

She could hear him gaining on her. He cursed her as the gap between them lessened. All of a sudden, she felt a large hand slam onto her shoulder causing her to fall. A scuffle ensued on the forest floor. She remembered how heavy he was. The way her back slammed so hard onto the floor when he held her down. How hard he breathed as he finally got her in a secure hold.

She screamed, she bit him several times, and smacked him until he grabbed her hands. Most of the actual assault was missing from her memory. All she remembered was going limp as he pressed all his body weight onto hers.

Karui remembered the creaking of the tree branches and the way the wind whistled. The screeches of birds were shrill and ill-timed, almost like they were mocking her. She couldn’t remember how long they were both lying on that forest floor, but even after her teacher got up and left, she remained on the ground, paralyzed to the spot.

It had to be hours before Karui got up. She walked back home. It was slow, painful, and absolutely humiliating. Her body ached all over, just walking at her agonizingly slow pace had put her in excruciating pain. She entered her home and made sure to lock all doors and windows.

Karui trudged up the stairs until she made it to her bathroom. In the mirror, she could see all the leaves and dirt caked up in her hair and clothes. She slowly pulled what she could of the rubble off of her body. She felt dirty. So very dirty. Looking in the mirror wasn’t helping either.

Her tear-stained face was blotchy and bruised from fighting off her attacker. She felt stupid for even trying to fight him off. Everyone, including her team, knew she was weak and incapable of holding her own in battle. The more she stared at herself in the mirror, the dirtier she felt.

Karui undressed herself and sat in the running shower for god knows how long. The days, weeks, and months following the assault weren’t any better for her. She realized how much she saw her rapist every day. Either she never realized how much she interacted with him before or he was going out of his way to see her now.

It didn’t really matter what the situation was, Karui started spiraling. She couldn’t focus. She was fidgety and always panicked no matter the situation. It only made training harder. She was already such a hopeless kunoichi and her assault had only exacerbated it. It was also harder to trust her teammates.

Karui didn’t think Omoi or Samui were inherently bad, but in her struggle to act normal, she realized how apathetic they both were. Omoi would always comment on her underdeveloped body to complement Samui’s. Something so small didn’t bother her before, but it made her even more hyperaware of how she presented her body.

Karui changed her wardrobe. She wore big, shapeless clothes no matter the weather. She wanted to drown in her clothes, completely disappear into the background if she could. The fancy braided styles she usually donned came to a halt. She didn’t want to bring anymore unnecessary attention to herself so she kept her hair in two braided pigtails.

It didn’t stop Mu from popping up to her training sessions from time to time. He would always go out of his way to be chummy with her teammates – offering them free meals, recommending them jutsus to learn, etc. She hated every second of it. Especially when he would go out of his way to touch her like rubbing her back or grabbing her shoulder. That sinister smile never left his face.

Karui’s teammates began to catch on to the change months later. She was moody, always looking over her shoulder for danger, and either flat out refusing to eat or unable to keep anything down. Her weight had plummeted so low that she had to be hospitalized. But all that had nothing on the nightmares she would get.

Sometimes she would wake up screaming, others she would just wake up in a cold sweat, and some she would just cry until she was too tired to dream anymore. They were always the same – recounting the events of her assault. Wetting the bed was the most embarrassing consequence of her traumatic event. She started laying down towels on her bed to avoid staining the sheets.

When the pain had become too much, she considered quitting. Her parents agreed. They thought her being a ninja was causing all the stress she was experiencing. She never had the heart to tell them what really happened.

The raikage was the one who signed her up for the international program. Karui didn’t think much of it though. Improving her ninja skills was the last thing on her mind. But then she met Sakura, Jinora, and Killer Bee and she couldn’t imagine a life without them. That’s why the sly jab Sakura had taken last night hurt more than anything in the world.

Being in a relationship with her helped her regain autonomy over her body. Slowly, but surely, Karui felt more comfortable with her body and started the slow steps to forgiving herself. Jinora also helped, bluntness and all, by reminding her of the person she was and could be. Jinora was the rock of the group and always kept them all together.

The implementation of quality mental health therapy in Kumo was also a plus. Karui was finally able to speak to someone about her problems and use prescribed medicine to help with sleeping. She was still confused about how they knew she was assaulted, but she mulled it over for a moment and figured it made sense.

The only time Karui would’ve been vulnerable enough to recount such a harrowing tale would’ve been on her thirteenth birthday when they snuck some liquor out of Killer Bee’s apartment. She couldn’t remember the night at all, but a week later Mu had been pronounced dead. The autopsy report showed signs of a struggle, extreme torture, and bruises and lacerations from a terrible battle. The bastard had died in the most violent way possible. Karui was thankful for that.

She just wished the scars he left her would die too.

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Something had shifted. Sasuke didn’t know what, but the energy between Sakura’s team was definitely off. They were all avoiding each other like the plague. If one happened to catch the other’s eye, they’d quickly turn and resume acting like the other didn’t exist. It was weird and it bothered Sasuke in ways he hadn’t imagined they would.

He’d never witnessed a team more dysfunctional than Team 7. When he met Sakura’s new team, he had to admit, he’d never seen her that happy. They seemed inseparable and she was so miserable in Konoha without them.

Training was extremely awkward today. Killer Bee was nowhere in sight, but the girls had already been instructed to train in his absence. They only spoke begrudgingly to each other and even then it was just short, terse sentences. Sasuke wondered if that was what he usually sounded like.

To avoid the chasm that had fallen between them, he went a little ways away to practice combining his chidori with his kusanagi. When the technique had blown up in his face for the hundredth time, he felt a hand latch onto his shoulder. He turned to see Karui looking at him worriedly and Sasuke found that he was only a little disappointed.

She explained the inner mechanics of creating the jutsu he was trying so hard to master and he felt a bit embarrassed after she explained it to him like an annoying child. In five minutes he’d mastered a technique he’d been trying to do for a year: chidori katana.

Two other chakra signatures drew close as he packed his belongings. He heard Karui make a hasty retreat. When he looked up, he could see the way Sakura’s shoulders slumped in defeat. Jinora seemed apprehensive but unwilling to intervene in whatever it was that they had going on. Jinora gave Sakura a reassuring pat on the back and excused herself.

Sakura walked over to Sasuke sullenly and they started their long walk to the hospital. The quiet was new to him – at least from her. She was usually always babbling on about something no matter if he was listening or not.

He peered over to find her with her head down and her arms wrapped tightly around her body. Instances like this reminded Sasuke of how terrible he was with words. He couldn’t be the knucklehead Naruto who, despite all his abrasiveness, seemed forever able to find the right words to comfort someone. A blush rose on his cheeks. He wondered if he would always be this inept at love.

He watched her closely as they passed their usual walk in complete silence. Her eyebrows furrowed in slow boiled contemplation. His hands clammed up and he could feel a knot forming in his stomach. He had never been in such an uncomfortable situation, not one he couldn’t fix at least.

“Sasuke,” he heard her call in a soft, forlorn voice. Sasuke stopped in his tracks to watch her as she fidgeted uncomfortably.

“I’m just going to head straight home today. You don’t have to wait with me at the hospital tonight.”

He watched as she turned away. The words he wanted to say got caught in his throat. As he fumbled around, all that he could think was that if he didn’t say anything now, then he never would.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” she replied with a soft smile that failed to reach her eyes. “I’m alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sasuke watched her figure fade into the crowd. Technically, he was supposed to accompany her everywhere she went, but even he knew when someone needed to be alone. He had certainly made her aware of that fact when he needed time alone in their genin days.

Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and made his way towards his own apartment. There was nothing else to do if he wasn’t guarding Sakura, plus, the tension he felt from whatever her team was dealing with had drained him of all his energy. On the path towards his apartment, Sasuke had unfortunately caught the eye of an aimlessly wandering Naruto.

“OI! TEME!” he shouted across the busy street.

Try as he might, Sasuke couldn’t ignore him if he tried to. The idiot just had to come running over to him flailing around stupidly.

“Sasuke! Didn’t you hear me calling you?”

He tried to keep his irritation from bubbling up to the surface. He turned to face Naruto with a calm, collected expression. “I did. I was ignoring you.”

Sasuke didn’t give Naruto time to think as he swiveled back around towards the direction of his apartment. To his dismay, that didn’t discourage Naruto from tagging along.

“TEME! I came to see you because I know you’d be bored without me. The least you could say was thanks.”

He didn’t bother giving Naruto the satisfaction of a response. He simply trudged on until he was standing in front of his apartment building. Naruto babbled on senselessly anyway. He’d tuned out the conversation before it even started. He didn’t realize Naruto was still talking until the elevator doors opened.

“Nee teme, are you even listening to me?”

“No,” Sasuke spat out, completely annoyed.

Naruto pouted, but didn’t let it bother him. “So…you’ve been with Sakura for the past few months…”

Sasuke’s head shot up, feeling the accusatory lilt in his tone. He frowned but regarded his friend with suspicion. Naruto, with no malice, looked at him as innocently as possible. Curiosity abound in the blonde’s eyes. Sasuke scoffed and turned his head.

“Yeah. So?”

“Is there something going on between Kaka-sensei and Sakura-chan?”

The elevator came to a full stop. The doors opened to reveal a lively hallway chocked full of teenagers performing the stupidest pranks possible. Naruto’s excitement peaked. He looked eager to join them, completely forgetting his previous question.

Sasuke tried to use his friend’s momentary distraction to sneak away. Thankfully, Naruto caught him walking to his door just in time. They entered his small apartment and Naruto couldn’t help but snoop around nosily. Sasuke stopped him before he could destroy the vase he was toying around with.

“You didn’t answer my question earlier,” Naruto said after regrouping.

Sasuke shrugged. “I don’t know. She doesn’t tell me anything.”

Naruto slapped Sasuke on the arm. Sasuke looked offended for a moment but resorted to glaring. Naruto looked slightly annoyed at Sasuke’s non-answer. “Stop being such a teme and tell me.”

Sasuke sighed. He knew he wouldn’t get through Naruto’s thick skull by ignoring him. He knew from multiple personal experiences that it only furthered the boy’s anger and caused more unnecessary agitation. “She told me she wants to formally quit Team 7,” Sasuke explained.

He watched as Naruto’s face fell. Sasuke nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if her situation has something to do with that, but she wants a permanent position on her new team.”

Sasuke couldn’t escape the strange feeling that settled in his body as he dredged up the memory. He brushed it off when she told him, but just remembering the incident brought about all these new feelings. Naruto backed onto a nearby wall. All the joy seemed to have been knocked out of him. Sasuke found it hard to keep eye contact.

“Ah,” Naruto finally responded. “I’ll talk to her.”

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Danzo, under all his false pretenses of dignity and sophistication, was delighted about the mess he’d caused. He was standing around in his Root base when one of his ninja came to him with the news. The Akatsuki had successfully invaded and attacked the Sand village. He didn’t care for the details of why or how, just that it got done. He had plans for the shinobi world that would only be accepted after some “forceful” change.

The ninja world was becoming chock full of spineless ninnies who cared too much for polite pleasantries and righteousness. No one was willing to put in the work for a perfect world, but everybody had suggestions.

As far as Danzo could see, he was the only one with the drive and vision for the betterment of the shinobi world. This new crop of ninjas was too green. They gallivanted around as if they knew it all with no respect for their predecessors and without a care in the world.

It was okay though. Danzo would be the one to give them all a reality check. The reports had come back that two Akatsuki members had demolished the Sand village and captured the Kazekage. Danzo couldn’t remember, but in his brief time speaking with members of the Akatsuki, they were collecting jinchuuriki and stripping them of their tailed beasts.

Danzo couldn’t care less, but he knew this would cause uproar. Jinchuurikis were signs of status in the hidden villages. Losing your jinchuuriki meant losing your power. He hoped to destabilize all of the villages. Then it would be easier to swoop in as their competent leader and lead the ninja world back to its former glory. Root programs would be set up in every village and stability and lawfulness would finally reign all over the land.

Danzo smiled to himself. When everyone woke up tomorrow to the Kazekage being missing, they’d be sent into a tizzy. Yes. This was just what the world needed. A purge of all the world’s evil before the good bubbled to the surface.

Tell me what you thought about this chapter! I love reading you guys’ comments :)! See you next time.

Chapter 24: Doubt

Chapter Text

Had no idea it’s been SO long since I’ve updated. My job’s really been kicking into high gear and it’s only going to get worse from here so WOOHOO! Anyway, here’s your update.

“I’m a jinchuuriki!”

A team of seven were gliding through the trees at the speed of light. Naruto had a considerable lead. He was surprised at how fast the news had travelled. Gaara had been attacked and kidnapped overnight and the information was disseminated to him and his comrades this morning. It was a good thing all of the kages were already gone to their respective villages.

If Tsunade had seen how brash he acted, she would’ve had his head for sure. He didn’t even want to think of what his mother would have done to him. Naruto shuddered in fear. His mother’s wrath was nothing to joke about. If Tsunade didn’t kill him, Kushina sure would.

The events barely registered to him now, but Naruto remembered stumbling upon some ANBU on his stroll around the village. They were speaking in hushed whispers with Killer B. Whatever they were trying to do was met with resistance by Killer B. Naruto saw that a fight would potentially break out, so, he jumped in between them and started asking questions.

“You should make yourself scarce, Naruto,” a husky voice came from behind a bear mask. “If your village sees your safety as a priority, they’d be making sure you were in a secure place.”

Naruto guffawed at the ANBU agents. What the hell were they talking about? And why was it all in code?

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Killer B trying to make another run for it. One of the ANBU guards flew through a series of seals and before Naruto knew it, Killer B was locked in place with a seal. Naruto could feel the fine hairs rising on the back of his neck. Why were his own countrymen restraining him and most likely about to lock him up?

Out of thin air poofed another ANBU agent. Even behind the mask, Naruto could tell the person was panicked.

“The raikage ordered that we retrieve and place Killer Bee in holding now! There are no updates on the kazekage’s location and the Akatsuki are rumored to be headed this way!”

Naruto didn’t remember moving. Only the feeling he got as the kyuubi threatened to take over him. He fought the war raging inside of him, barely making it back to Yamato and Kakashi before completely losing control of himself. Thankfully, Yamato was able to subdue him in time. Under heavy restraint via wood, Kakashi pried out all the information he’d acquired.

Kakashi considered it for a moment looking on the edge of doubtfulness, but acquiesced to Naruto's pleas. In under an hour, Kakashi was able to round Sakura, Sasuke, Karui, Jinora, and Yamato to start their long journey. Naruto’s blood was pumping. He had them going so fast that they’d taken off a day’s worth of travel in about four hours. If his teammates were exhausted, they didn’t make it known.

“Gaara’s pain…I know it too well. He’s probably scared and all alone. I have to help him,” he choked out in between strangled breaths. The familiar tingle in his throat made him stop talking. He knew he’d start crying if he kept going.

Gaara couldn’t die. Not on Naruto’s watch. He wouldn’t allow it.

The rest of the chase was spent in relative silence. Besides the wind blowing through the trees, the only thing that made a sound was their shoes landing on each branch. When night had finally fallen, Naruto found himself restless. He was jumpy and easily agitated. He couldn’t keep up the guise of eternal sunshine as he usually did.

If Gaara died, then that meant there was no hope for him or any of the other jinchuuriki. They were all either going to be put under extreme lockdown or die by the hands of enemy shinobi. Neither was a reality that the boy wanted for himself or anyone else. He felt the world closing in on himself. Where was Gaara? Was he alone? Stuffed under the rubble somewhere far out of their reach? Would he be able to make it through the hopefully preventable, but more realistically inevitable extraction? Or worse…was he already dead?

Naruto would’ve completely spiraled if Sakura hadn’t taken that moment to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. The tension in his body left immediately. Sakura gave a reassuring smile as she sat next to him on a log.

“How are you?” she asked, still holding that same smile.

The others moved around the camp delicately so as to not arouse the kyuubi holder’s agitation. It kind of pissed him off to see people walking on eggshells with him, but he calmed himself. Naruto gave a slight nod of acknowledgement.

“I’m alright. I just wish I could’ve been there with him,” Naruto prattled. “I feel so hopeless.”

Sakura mulled over his words for a moment thinking of exactly what to say. For once, Naruto was comforted by the silence. He listened as the wind howled and the leaves rustled. The warmth of the nearby fire on his face brought a soothing feeling.

“I have to say, I was a bit shocked earlier when you said you were a…ahem, an um, jinchuuriki,” Sakura coughed out. An awkward air surrounded them. Naruto watched as Sakura shifted uncomfortably. “But I thought about it and I guess it all makes sense in hindsight. Listen Naruto, I can’t begin to understand what you’re feeling right now, but I want you to know that I’ll help you in any way that I can. You and Gaara.”

Sakura reached over to give Naruto. It took him a moment, but he eased his arms around her body in reciprocation.

“Thanks Sakura-chan,” he said as he pulled away from her hold. Sakura smiled warmly. “I have to ask you something,” he admitted as he bit his lip.

“What?”

“Sasuke told me that you don’t want to rejoin Team 7.”

“Yeah…”

“So it’s true?” Naruto watched as Sakura’s body slumped. All of his fears were coming to a head. The reunion he hoped for for Team 7 would never happen if he couldn’t get one of his dearest friends on board.

“It’s complicated Naruto.”

“Explain it to me like I’m a child.”

Sakura rolled her eyes in frustration. “Not now. I can’t do this.”

“But I want to know, Sakura-chan. How could you say that after everything? Don’t you remember all the good times we had?”

Sakura clenched her fists. It sounded like he was chastising her. Asking her completely pointless questions as if that would change all the negative emotions she’d felt over the years. The tension built in her body. She was trying hard not to blow a fuse, but she could feel all those old, bitter memories surfacing and reappearing in her mind. She stood up slowly, facing away from her dear friend. She took a deep breath and turned to face Naruto again.

“I don’t want to discuss this. Nothing you remember was as it seemed.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

There was hardly any break before heading out to Suna the next day. They were ripping and running through the route at the same pace they were yesterday. Sakura stared ahead looking straight at Naruto’s back. Sasuke wasn’t far behind him and Kakashi was only a few paces behind them both.

Feels like old times doesn’t it.

Sakura forced herself to stamp down those memories. There was no use dwelling on the past. She nor Tsunade had spent all that time training for her to be feeling sorry for herself. If she didn’t believe that she could pull rank with her former teammates, then who would?

But she still couldn’t shake that old feeling of helplessness. As if at any moment things would be just as they were before: her teammates giving their all in a fight while she stood off to the sidelines waiting to be rescued. A lump formed in her throat. Sakura chalked the tears forming in her eyes up to the wind making her eyes dry.

So pathetic. You didn’t fit in on your old team and you don’t even fit on your new one.

She felt like a rock was sitting on her chest. She slowed her running down a bit from her place in the rear to catch her breath. Jinora turned back to watch her carefully. None of them were talking to each other and it was all her fault.

Why do I always ruin things?

She couldn’t talk to Karui, Jinora, Kakashi, and she was sure Naruto was still upset with her over last night. Yamato was too…institutionalized and she doubted Sasuke would care. He never had before, why would he now?

Everything came crashing down. Whether it had been her fluctuating chakra controlled enhanced strength or a weak branch, Sakura had fallen to the forest floor. Hard. Her back and head ached terribly. She managed to hold in her scream, but just trying to move over to her side caused unbearable pain. Yamato was the first one to come to her aid.

“Are you alright?” he asked as he stood over her.

It didn’t take long before the others stopped and came to her side. Sakura looked up at all of them through her eyes, squinted in pain and tried to put on a brave face.

“Yes,” her voice shook with uncertainty.

When Yamato lifted her up, she whimpered pathetically. She was too embarrassed to even look at her squadmates.

Your first real mission in months and you’re already proving to be a hindrance.

“Let’s take a break,” she heard Kakashi say to the squad.

Sakura stood to her feet and scampered off to a spot by herself. She leaned against a nearby tree and tried to punch down all of her feelings. Crying would get her nowhere. She placed her crossed arms behind her back and clenched until she broke skin. She squeezed her eyes shut.

I can’t be what stops Gaara from coming back in one piece.

Sakura honestly felt so stupid. The only reason she’d been lagging behind today was because she’d purposefully not eaten. All they really had was protein bars, water, and soldier pills, but she’d refused to eat any of it. She was still making up for her binge episode the other day.

This was discipline. If she could keep herself from eating, then she could keep herself from making any more stupid comments to her friends. It obviously hadn’t worked last night because she’d spazzed on Naruto, but she was trying.

A few more moments passed before she felt the presence of another person in front of her. She glanced up to see Sasuke with a pensive face. Sakura quickly averted her gaze.

“If you’re ready, Kakashi says we can start heading out again.”

He left without waiting for an answer. Sakura sighed and reluctantly unpeeled herself from her place on the tree. She only hoped that they made it to Gaara in time.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Konoha was quiet. Almost too quiet.

It shouldn’t have been a problem, but it was. With the fierce reemergence of the Akatsuki – this time in the public eye – should have had everyone in a frenzied uproar. But everyone was acting normally with no care for what could possibly happen to them in the future. It was jarring.

Tsunade sat at her desk biting her nails nervously. Maybe withholding information from the public about the Akatsuki would come back to bite her in the ass. She hoped that she wouldn’t come to regret that decision.

She was currently in the middle of another late night drowned in paperwork and booze. Her work had picked up a bit since the Hokage Summit a few weeks ago, but she had it under control. Well, mostly.

There was only so much work that she could put off to Shizune. The woman was a saint for sticking with Tsunade for this long. Just thinking about those weeks spent arguing with other kages – namely Onoki – made her exhausted all over again. All the new programs the raikage had been able to put in place were extremely progressive, many that she had been fighting for to be implemented in her own village for years.

She would keep trying to for the sake of those who would really benefit from them in Konoha, but she dreaded having to go over this with the council. These people didn’t even believe in properly rehabilitating child soldiers thrust into war. How could she get them to put in place more protections for the poor, disabled, and LGBTQ+? Not to mention better allocation of funds.

Raikage A had gone over it briefly, but he described how all higher ups had taken immense budget cuts in order to provide the stability needed to come up with new government programs. His village was in a much worse place with a more combative council than she, yet he had gotten everything he wanted out of the deal and happy villagers to boot.

Speaking to the council about cutting their salaries and vacation budgets was sure to get her beheaded. The door to her office creaked open. Speaking of the devil, Shizune along with her pet pig TonTon walked in. TonTon gave an excited oink once entering. Shizune bowed politely with a smile as she closed the door softly behind her.

“I see you haven’t gotten any farther along than when I saw you earlier.”

Tsunade chuckled sheepishly. In her inebriated haze, she couldn’t focus well enough to get any work done. Plus, she was just plain tired.

TonTon squealed and wriggled herself out of Shizune’s grasp. She ran over and made herself comfortable in her master’s lap. Tsunade – drunken blush and all – obliged her pig with a well-deserved petting session. Shizune made her way around the desk and rearranged the numerous scattered papers into neatly stacked piles.

“Have you noticed anything different about the council?” the assistant asked nonchalantly.

Tsunade scoffed. “They’re as uptight and unrelenting in their useless pursuit of tradition as always.”

“You know what I mean.”

Tsunade giggled at the face Shizune pulled. It was rare that she ever saw the younger woman outside of her usual uptight, high strung element. It was refreshing to see her make such a relaxed face.

“If you’re talking about them sneaking around like the rats they are, then yes. I know what you’re talking about.”

Shizune finished organizing the last of the misplaced papers into a stack and smiled at her work. Tsunade and TonTon snickered at her childishness.

“Anyway,” she said, still embarrassed. “What do you think they’re up to?”

“If there’s one thing I know about the council, it’s that they always have something up their sleeves. Especially Danzo. Koharu and Homaru may talk the talk, but they’re too cowardly to ever actually complete the actions they talk about. Their image matters most.”

Shizune considered Tsunade’s words for a moment. It definitely sounded plausible. From the few years she’d spent in Konoha with her master, everything Tsunade said about the elders had shown itself to be true. They were truly parasitic creatures disguised as humans.

“I think we should be more vigilant about them. Something’s not right about their skittish behavior lately.”

“Please. What makes you think I haven’t been,” Tsunade responded sarcastically.

Just as Shizune opened her mouth to voice her disdain, a messenger hawk showed up at the window. Tsunade placed a confused TonTon on the floor and moved as fast as she could in her inebriated state over to the window. She managed to unlatch the window’s lock and retrieved the small, paper message attached to the bird’s foot.

She opened the scroll, her eyes growing wider as she continued to read. Shizune moved closer to assess her master’s state. Tsunade folded the sheet of paper and stuffed it into her shirt.

“Shizune! We need to send out another team by tomorrow morning. There’s been another Akatsuki sighting.”

And that’s a wrap folks :D! Hopefully I don’t take as long to update for the next chapter but who knows? Please tell me what you thought about the chapter. I love reading you guys’ interpretations :).

Chapter 25: Loss of Self

Chapter Text

Hey guys! I was going to upload this last week, but I came down with a sore throat and an unrelenting fever (not COVID ;)). Anyway, here’s my newest addition. Enjoy!

There was no time to rest. As soon as the squad was spotted outside of Suna’s gates, they were rushed into the village to the nearest hospital. Apparently, Kankurou had gotten himself into a scuffle trying to protect his brother and was suffering great injuries from being poisoned.

Sakura didn’t need the specifics. She was rushing to his room before the guards had even fully briefed her of the situation. Konoha had the most advanced medical system out of all the villages. Most people hired out to them when in need of extensive medical work. It came as no shock that Suna’s medics could not heal Kankurou as he needed. Just another reason why the international program implemented in Kumo was a much needed addition.

When she entered the room, Sakura watched as the boy writhed in pain. He jerked violently to and fro. If she didn’t start working on him immediately she was sure he’d begin seizing. Sakura ignored the frantic cries of the medical staff and pushed her way through them asserting her authoritative decision.

In the background she could sense Jinora stepping closer to her. “Karui, Yamato-taichou, and I are going to head out and start looking for the Akatsuki base. I’m sure you can handle it from here.”

Sakura waved her away dismissively and mustered up the chakra needed to assess Kankurou’s body. Through all his thrashing, she could see the way the poison was eating at his endocrine system, namely his kidneys. They were turning black and beginning to fail. She could also see that his bloodstream was affected. His white cell count was down and his blood’s ability to create oxygen was decreasing. The final kicker was the damage to the veins in the heart. The left atrium was in the beginning stages of failure.

Sakura winced at her analysis. He had to be in excruciating pain. She clapped her hands together and ordered the other bumbling nurses to restrain Kankurou. He was administered a light dose of anesthesia and pain meds. Sakura had the staff lay out some freshly sterilized tools for her to work her magic. In under an hour, she was able to extract all traces of the poison from his system, heal his failing organs, and quell the fears of the medical personnel. All she had to do next was create an antidote.

As she wiped the sweat from her brow, she could hear Naruto gasp in amazement. “Woah Sakura-chan…you’re so cool!”

She blushed something fierce. Even though compliments of her medical work were plentiful, no one could match Naruto’s sheer honesty. “Thank you,” she replied sheepishly. “Kankurou-san should be stable for now,” she reported to the attentive medical team. “If he starts seizing any time soon, please contact me immediately. I’ll be in the lab researching an antidote for the poison.”

Sakura bowed to the staff and quietly made her way out of the room. Naruto and Kakashi stayed in the room to talk with the rest of the hospital staff about things pertaining to how Kankurou came to be infected. Sasuke trailed behind her, probably pissed beyond belief. She didn’t turn to confirm. She had enough shit going on without his pouting to get in the way.

The walk to the labroom was long. Sakura had gotten lost a few times trying to read the complicated directions she saw on passing signs. Finally entering the room, she settled into her natural habitat. An office. Tsunade had trained her to work with poisons in case of emergencies like this and she would use all her resources to come up with an antidote.

She could hear Sasuke in the background pulling out a chair to seat himself. She looked over a list of the ingredients the Suna medical personnel had found inside of the poison concoction.

This’ll be a cinch.

It didn’t take long for her to create a few vials of the antidote. The poison wasn’t as complex as she would have believed it was for all the damage it had done to Kankurou’s body.

Sakura stretched lazily. Today had been draining. She hadn’t even been healing for long, but she was so tired.

That’s probably because you haven’t consumed anything besides water today.

The healing session earlier wasn’t as easy as she made it look. She hadn’t done it in years, but starving yourself really took strength and determination. She had to stop herself from fainting multiple times.

As Sakura went to make another vial of the antidote, an old, wrinkly hand shot out over her head to grab one she’d already made.

“Hmmm,” the older woman hummed. “The slug princess’ brat isn’t half bad.”

Sakura turned to see an older woman wearing a cloak and scarf around her neck with cropped gray hair. She maneuvered her head around the older woman’s body to see Sasuke sitting in his chair pouting.

“Sasuke! Why didn’t you tell me someone came in?”

He shrugged indifferently. She didn’t know what she expected him to say anyway. The older woman placed the vial back down on the desk. “I’m Chiyo baa-sama,” she said with her outstretched hand. “If you’re anything like your mentor then I’m sure that I will need your skill in the future battle.”

Sakura shook Chiyo’s hand in confusion. The woman was speaking in riddles. She could hear the disdain rolling off her tongue when she spoke of Tsunade. Sakura didn’t react much to it. Tsunade had said that she’d made many enemies along the way and it was something she had learned to deal with. Still, Sakura didn’t like to hear it.

“What do you mean?”

Chiyo took a seat and Sakura watched as years of stress and regret piled onto her shoulders. “I’m responsible for what’s happened to Gaara. I’m too old and weak to handle the consequences of my actions now, so I’ll need your strength.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sasuke’s head was spinning. He was realizing how naïve he truly was about the world. The old woman, Chiyo, had given a play-by -play of everything that led up to Gaara’s capture. She broke down speaking about how she didn’t raise Sasori right.

He was a deeply troubled boy from the beginning. He’d lost his parents and she was all he had left even with his puppets. Her love was not enough to keep him down the straight and narrow path.

Sasuke felt a shudder run down his body. If he ever did that, he couldn’t imagine the pain his mother would feel. No matter how angry he became with his father or Itachi, he would never just leave his mother alone. She would be devastated.

After Sasori left – he couldn’t remember the timeline correctly – she made sure to seal the one-tailed beast into Gaara. Inadvertently, she’d caused him a life of misery and ostracization. The pain made her voice warble. Sasuke could tell that she was holding back tears. Her failure to protect Sasori and her callous sealing of Gaara had crossed paths to create the worst case scenario she could have ever dreamed of.

Her grief rolled off her body in waves. It was in every fiber of her bones. Sasuke had to turn away so he wouldn’t see the sorrowful expression he knew she was wearing. Sakura thankfully came to the rescue. She consoled the woman as they walked back to Kankurou’s hospital room to administer the antidote.

He was stable, but still unconscious due to the anesthesia. Sakura went over a few details with the medical staff before rejoining him and Chiyo. Chiyo spoke with some guards regarding the whereabouts of Team Kakashi and the trio set sail for the fight of a lifetime.

Sasuke found himself oddly nervous. He’d spent years training and perfecting his skillset in order to prepare for fights like this. But he felt his stomach turn to knots with every step he took closer to the battleground. They were potentially going to invade an Akatsuki hideout and pray for Gaara’s safe return. That’s if the boy was still alive anyway.

Not to mention, Chiyo and Sakura were focused on battle tactics and strategies needed to defeat her nephew. They spoke in terms of love and affection that he could not comprehend. He couldn’t fathom still harboring love for someone so far removed from the image you remember of them. Love made you weak. It was the whole reason Sasori was even able to wreak havoc on the world now.

Sasuke could detect Naruto and Kakashi’s chakras. They were closing in on whatever battle was taking place. From their dangerously low chakra levels, Sasuke could tell that their opponent was a force to be reckoned with.

As they neared the battlefield, Sasuke could see an orange cloak of chakra coating Naruto’s body. He wondered if it was a new powerup. One of the many he had gotten over the years. The pain of falling behind hit him like a ton of bricks. When had the dobe gotten so strong?

Naruto’s eyes went feral. He crouched down low into an animalistic stance and looked about to pounce. Fear – an emotion Sasuke never even knew to associate with Kakashi – flashed through his sensei’s eyes. He heard Sakura gasp next to him. Chiyo only shook her head. Knowing the context behind Naruto’s extreme power only made what he was becoming harder to swallow.

“Uchiha-san!” she barked just as a bomb exploded near Kakashi and Naruto. He watched Sakura wince at the sound. “Sakura-chan and I will be heading to our battle with Sasori. We wish you the best!”

They peeled off into the forest. Sakura looked back at him apprehensively. Even under all the bravery and skill she’d shown him today, he could see the fear of the twelve-year-old girl he’d left behind. Her face etched into his mind. Somehow, it gave him the strength to jump into battle.

He leapt onto the red shrine gate and gazed up at the sky. There would be no time for Kakashi to give him the rundown on the guy’s abilities. He was too preoccupied with trying to keep Naruto under control. Sasuke did his best to steer clear of Naruto’s new tails.

A blonde guy with one eye hidden riding on what looked like a clay bird was in the air cackling maniacally about performance art. Sasuke didn’t bother to decipher any of what he could’ve meant. He activated his sharingan. The tomoe swirled until they locked onto their target. He could see the clay forming in the blonde man’s hand as he prepared for another attack.

He looked down at the forest ground where Kakashi and Naruto were still trying to gain their bearings. A minefield stood beneath their feet. Sasuke looked back up at the blonde man in the Akatsuki cloak and steadied himself. He’d have to try out his new technique. It would take out most of his chakra supply, but it would save all of them.

He leapt from the gate to the forested area and started focusing his chakra into his hand. He pulled his kusanagi from his back and worked slowly to build the correct amount of chakra to fuse to his sword. With his sharingan still activated, he could see the flow of chakra as he gathered all his strength to create his new, daring technique. Those chakra element classes he’d taken in Kumo had to pay off.

His kusanagi was coated in crackling lightning while his other hand held the electricity in his fingertips. The strain on his body was already starting. He plunged his kusanagi into the ground. Unfortunately, Kakashi and Naruto were nipped by his technique. But now Naruto was finally knocked out of his possessed stupor. They were able to jump into the nearby trees for safety.

As Sasuke stabilized his sword in the ground, he shot his free hand upwards in the direction of the flying Akatsuki member. With perfect precision, he shot a bolt of lightning through the clay infused doll and shocked the blonde man. Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke watched as the cloaked figure and the blown up pieces of clay dropped out of the air and into the flowing river.

Sasuke peered down at his shaking hands. He had just killed someone and he didn’t know how to feel about it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Chiyo and Sakura were in the thick of the fight. Sasori was just as cold and unfeeling as the puppets he crafted. No wonder he’d transformed himself into one.

Sakura cast a genjutsu over the area. In it, she was able to bring all his painful memories to the surface. All the details Chiyo had recounted to her and Sasuke were so much more painful to bear as the visuals came into play. His loneliness was palpable, but so was his hatred. Sakura found it hard to keep up the genjutsu from the sheer emotional vulnerability it was causing her.

But the bastard’s face never moved an inch. There was no remorse, no sadness, nothing. Simply nothing. His lack of empathy only fueled Sakura’s hatred. But that wasn’t the worst part of it all. During the highly emotional genjutsu, Chiyo had let go of the chakra binds that she used to secure Sakura’s safety and use as a human puppet. The old woman ran out to her grandson completely unarmed with nothing but the immense love she had for him.

“Sasori! Come back to your grandmother! I’m so sorry I didn’t raise you right,” she yelled at the top of her lungs fighting off the tears that strangled her.

Sakura leapt out to grab her, but the old woman was surprisingly fast. Unfortunately, she was never able to reach Chiyo. In her haste to catch up to the old woman, she’d forgotten just how much she’d altered the landscape with her superhuman punches. Her foot caught and twisted in one of the chasms she’d created.

She cursed under her breath. Most of her chakra was gone and she stubbornly refused to pack soldier pills because they made her appetite ravenous and she was doing everything in her power to avoid gaining weight.

You’re fucking everything up. How could you be so selfish!

Surprisingly, Sasori had allowed Chiyo dangerously close to him. She was hugging his manufactured body with all her strength as she wailed. “It’s all my fault! I didn’t love you enough. Just come back with me. We can be happy together.”

His eyes held the most emotion she’d seen in the entirety of their battle. He looked as if he was considering her words for a moment. His arms encircled her quivering body. Sakura watched the scene before her apprehensively. What he would do next was up in the air.

“Come back to me…come back to me.”

Her cries became softer. The shakiness of her words mellowed out. Maybe she was finally able to get through to her grandson.

Nothing good ever lasted for long though.

Sakura saw his eyes flash with a murderous intent. Still stuck in the ground, there was nothing she could do. His sword plunged through Chiyo’s back. Sakura heard her blood soaked cough. The old woman made no move to heal herself. She only caressed Sasori’s smooth, unmoved face.

“My dear, dear Sasori,” she wheezed. Sasori’s eyes remained soulless and unfeeling. “It’s all my fault.”

Her body slipped slowly into lifelessness. Sakura watched helplessly from her compromised position.

That was your fault.

Tears were threatening to slip. But the bastard just had to reignite her anger. Sasori threw her body to the ground without a care and then walked over it. He was headed for her with the same ruthless vengeance in his eyes for the only person to ever truly love him.

Sakura’s twisted ankle was forgotten. Nobody that uncaring of life needed to exist – puppet or not.

She ran full throttle towards him and mustered all the strength she had to punch him. He flew through the air, his limbs flapping comically. She didn’t let up. Before he could even land from her previous punch, she jumped and punched him again sending him crashing into the rocky earth.

He tried to pull his sword on her, but she was running on adrenaline and so much anger that she was moving like a madman. She ripped the sword from his clutches and stabbed him repeatedly. He just kept looking at her with those cold, dead eyes unremorseful of anything he’d ever done.

She sunk down to straddle his limp body and gave him every nasty hook she could muster. Sakura would make sure this unfeeling bastard felt something. Anything. Even if it was pain.

Her fists moved at the speed of light. Sasori’s resistance was futile. He laid unmoving as she exhausted herself. There was nothing he could do in such a compromising position.

Sweat collected on her brow. She needed to finish this up. Immediately.

His expression never changed and she was tired of trying to beat any feeling into him. She grabbed his sword from the spot she had tossed it earlier and plunged it through his heart. She watched as his eyes widened, his breath caught in a gasp, and his body jerked forward in shock. He coughed up blood as he tried to move himself.

Sakura watched, the gravity of the situation finally setting in. She was covered in his blood. Beneath it sat bruises and cuts from earlier in the fight. She rushed to stand up and separate himself from the dying body.

Sasori gazed over in the direction of Chiyo’s body and let a tear slip. “Baa-sama…we’ll be together…forever.”

His eyes closed slowly as death consumed him. Sakura covered her mouth with her hands. She backed away trying to make sense of the situation before her. She lowered her bruised and bloodied hands to eye level.

She was a murderer now.

Welp! Would love to hear you guys’ thoughts. See you soon! Don’t forget to leave a comment :).

Chapter 26: Cracks

Chapter Text

Karui, Jinora, and Yamato had hopped into a peculiar fight. People from Konoha that she couldn’t recognize were fighting clones of themselves. They were struggling quite a bit from what Karui could see. There was no telling how long they’d been there and if their injuries were indicative of anything, they’d be here for a while more if she didn’t intervene.

The consequences of losing the Kazekage would be great. If one jinchuuriki’s life was put in danger, then so were the others. Killer Bee would be locked up for god knows how long and Karui couldn’t fathom a fate as horrible as that for anyone. Especially not a sensei she so dearly loved.

Yamato called out to the eccentric looking group. What she guessed were the real people and not the doubles retreated from the fight to stand beside him. Karui and Jinora exchanged glances before giving a battle cry as they rushed onto the rocky field. Jinora flew through seals faster than the speed of light, puffed her cheeks, and blew out a breath so powerful that it created a tornado. The doppelgangers were able to catch onto the technique in time and unfortunately were able to gather chakra to their feet to stay in place. No matter. Karui had something up her sleeve.

She held her sword up to eye level and scaled her potential range. She had only one shot for this to work. She threw her sword in an arc with the aid of her chakra. The body doubles jumped – as she anticipated – and she smirked as her plan was set in motion. Quickly, she flew through the seals of a lightning jutsu and ran towards the figures. Jinora wasn’t far behind, having already caught onto her plan.

Jinora, with more wind jutsus, pushed the doppelgangers further and further back towards the body of water. Karui found it hard to keep her chakra balanced enough for her jutsu to remain undetectable. It wasn’t for naught that the team they were tasked with relieving were so banged up. Their doppelgangers were doing everything in their power to prolong their battle.

They stood on the surface of the water anticipating her next move. Jinora let up on her attacks and drew back to stand behind Karui. Karui submerged her hand underwater secretly and released the lightning technique upon the doppelgangers. Their figures dissolved into burnt ashes. Surprisingly, she had no lingering feelings about it. Even if one of them had turned out to be the real version, she didn’t think she would regret what she had done.

The group headed towards a location with the familiar locations of their search party. Jinora kept in close stride with Karui, stealing glances every other moment or so. She kept her head facing forward to avoid the upcoming lecture she was sure Jinora would subject her to. She didn’t want to forgive. She didn’t want to forget. And she damn sure didn’t want to talk to Sakura. Jinora usually avoided talking to either of them about their relationship at all. Why she was being so persistent about having a civil conversation now was beyond her.

“We’re coming up on the Akatsuki hideout. Be cautious of your every move. We know nothing about our enemies,” Yamato shouted over the whipping winds.

Karui braced herself. This would probably be the hardest battle she’d ever fight. She’d be lucky to make it out alive. They set a faster pace as they traveled further into the forested area. The mysterious sounds of the animals nearby soothed her. They were the white noise she needed to calm down.

Coming upon the scene was frightening. Not because there was anything gory in front of them, but because of the anticipation. Jinora ran over to release the seal sticker and Sakura followed behind her with a chakra infused punch. The time in between waiting for the dust to settle was the most stomach knot inducing wait of her life. Everybody was on edge.

The dust cleared to reveal several dark figures in coats decorated elaborately with red clouds outlined in white stitches. The atmosphere shifted. Everybody settled into a fighting stance, one side anticipating the other’s move. Just as the cloaked figures looked like they were about to start something, their bodies stiffened almost as if they had been momentarily taken over by an outside force.

Gaara, sandwiched in the middle of all the chaos, lay there unconscious with the last dregs of his chakra being extracted. Karui felt her body move forward. All she could see was Killer Bee in this situation if she didn’t act accordingly.

The Akatsuki vanished in a cloud of dust. They were all suspicious of the attack they were sure was coming, but they had no time to wait. Sakura was the first to make a move. Gaara’s wellbeing was the top priority and, being a medic, she wanted to administer emergency aid as quickly as possible. Karui and Jinora followed suit. They had more chakra to spare and lent it to Sakura who appeared as if she’d seen a ghost.

Silence surrounded the scene. Not even Naruto – whom Karui had come to know as irrehensibly loud – watched in careful consternation. He noticed the struggle Sakura had with extracting Gaara’s chakra to keep his heart beating and offered his own. A half hour of complete silence passed. Sweat collected on Sakura’s brow. Karui, disgruntled and tightlipped, was in awe of the hard work her teammate was putting in. Sometimes, she forgot how hard her friend had trained to become the kunoichi she was today.

Sakura stopped her chakra flow and wiped the sweat from her forehead. When Gaara’s eyes flickered open, a loud whoop rang through the group. The tension escaped from their hearts like running water. Naruto hugged Sakura from behind excitedly. A few others that Karui wasn’t familiar with clapped her on the back and sang her praises.

All Karui could focus on was the way Sakura hadn’t even bothered to acknowledge anything going on around her. Her face remained blank. Her hands were shaking. Uncertainty wavered in her glassy eyes. .…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The procession for Gaara’s return was swift. His village needed him and appearing weak to the Akatsuki or any of the other villages would only cause further damage.

Sakura patched him up rather quickly. Thank god the Akatsuki had decided to flee. She didn’t know if she’d have been able to fight in her state of mind. Her hands were still shaking from her fight with Sasori. Chiyo-baa-sama’s body had been removed from the battlefield and was in the process of being properly fashioned for her upcoming funeral. Suna nin came to pick up and dispose of Sasori’s body.

She watched as they placed a heavy wool blanket over his puppet body. The sound of his last words played through her mind as she watched the nin flicker away. What a senseless death. Everything had been for naught in the end. Sasori and Chiyo had loved each other up until the very end of their lives and what had that left them both with? A life full of heartbreak and mistrust that could’ve been easily quelled if not for the fate the village had created for the little family and Gaara.

Sakura struggled to keep her composure as they waved Gaara off. Weariness spilled into every pore of his body. She could tell that it was hard for him to even be standing. Naruto and Gaara briefly shared words of encouragement between each other. She was thankful for the strength that returned to the blonde’s body. His distress coming on the trip was palpable and she feared that it would only become worse if Gaara hadn’t been able to pull through.

The rescue party headed out towards the vast, desert wasteland. Rock Lee and Gai chirped happily about youth as they picked unwilling partners to carry on their backs the entire way home as a demonstration of a friendly, youthful competition. Neji rejected Lee’s offer, but TenTen, with her poor aching feet, happily obliged him.

The overall jovial attitude of the group was nice. They needed a break after such a stressful battle. But Sakura was far from okay. Her nerves were like landmines. If someone happened to glance at her the wrong way she was sure she’d explode.

A rough hand clasped around her wrist. She hadn’t noticed she’d almost tripped until the hand brought her back up to standing position. She peered up at the hand’s owner to see none other than Sasuke. When had he fallen to the back of the group to walk with her?

He waited until she righted herself to walk again. He kept an even pace with her. Try as she might, she couldn’t deny the comfort it brought her. Even if he was only lingering in the back to avoid the boisterous group up front, she was glad to have someone by her side.

Night soon fell. Exhaustion swept over the search party in waves. Even the biggest loudmouths like Lee and Naruto were tuckered out.

Camp was set up rather quickly for how bone tired they all were. There wasn’t a moment where someone wasn’t yawning. By the time dinner was served, Sakura had all but disappeared from the campsite. She hadn’t even bothered to give some lame excuse for leaving. She needed to be alone, so she left.

She nestled into a tall tree and pinched herself every time her stomach greedily growled after catching a whiff of the campfire stew. Control. Control. Control. She needed it. How else was she going to live with the fact that she, a medical ninja, had killed someone by her own hand.

Closing her eyes for a few moments did nothing to ease her grief. Either Sasori’s or Chiyo’s deaths replayed in her mind in fragmented pieces. Some memories played with a hyper focus on their mouths, sometimes their blood, and others were just her hand digging into Sasori’s heart.

She clenched her hand in fear. You’re a monster. You killed them. You killed them both.

A lump formed in her throat. Her selfishness had cost two lives in battle. She needed to be punished. Harshly. Swiftly. With no time limit.

Sakura fixed herself in time to feel a familiar chakra sitting at the bottom of the tree.

Sasuke.

He inspected her inquisitively with those dark, mysterious eyes of his. She felt naked under his gaze. She felt that if she looked into his eyes any longer that he’d be able to unravel all her secrets.

She turned, hoping he’d go away. He flickered onto a branch near her. Still as quiet and unapproachable as ever. He tilted his head like that of a dog as he examined her. Sakura wrapped her arms around herself shyly. She never liked how easily he was able to decipher her.

“Dinner was served.”

“I know,” she replied while avoiding his eyes. She heard him step closer to her on the branch.

“Naruto was wondering where you were.”

“I’m not lost.”

A brief pause ensued. Sakura was being snappy. She didn’t know why. Sasuke was making harmless statements. Maybe she’d just become used to the venom that stung his every word.

She took a chance and peeked at him. He was holding an intense gaze. His dark, probing eyes reading her as if he were scanning a paper in the office. Sasuke moved again to sit right next to her. Sakura did the best she could to control the heat rising on her face.

“You’re angry with your team,” he said, bordering between a question and a statement of finality.

Sakura scoffed. He always swooped in acting like he knew everything.

“I’m not angry with them,” she huffed.

“Neither of you are talking to each other.”

“So? Do you talk to Naruto every day?”

Sasuke looked absolutely appalled. Sakura simply rolled her eyes as she looked up at the starry night sky.

“The dobe’s different.”

“How so?” she quipped.

Sasuke looked stuck for a moment. He shook his head and lifted from his perch on the branch. “Tch. Whatever. I came here to tell you that Kakashi received news of another Akatsuki attack. Asuma’s team was sent out to handle them.”

“Where are they located?”

“A bounty station near the outskirts of the Land of Fire.”

Sakura nodded and returned to stargazing. She listened as his footsteps faded into silence. She took a deep breath as she watched the stars twinkle sporadically.

I can’t let this happen again.

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Morning came quicker than anyone hoped for. They were packed and moving again before the sun rose and the heat was absolutely unbearable. Jinora had been keeping an eye on Sakura for a while now. Karui wasn’t giving either one of them the time of day.

Jinora usually tried to stay neutral on most things between her friends especially since their breakup, but this was ridiculous. Karui was within reason to be holding a grudge, but she’d never known the girl to be so unforgiving. She guessed she could understand. When Sakura was in love, she could be overbearing and extremely needy. Remembering the days of their relationship brought up harsh memories of Karui’s discomfort and Sakura’s emotional dependency.

The truth of the matter was that Karui had been assaulted and Sakura’s seemingly innocuous display of affection had triggered her. Jinora knew that even with all the girl’s years of therapy that she would forever be haunted by the situation.

Sakura on the other hand was in the beginning stages of spiraling. She was isolating herself so no one noticed, but Jinora was no fool. She kept stealing glances at the pink-haired girl who straggled at the back of the party.

The boy, Sasuke, had been traveling beside her for most of the trip. He was messing up Jinora’s plan of sliding in and addressing Sakura privately. She rolled her eyes and sighed. It was obvious she wouldn’t be able to shake him, so she might as well do something now.

Jinora drifted towards the back of the group until she was tree hopping next to Sakura only a few inches apart.

“You’re doing it again,” Jinora whispered as best as she could.

Sakura didn’t bother to turn in her direction. “Doing what?” she asked, annoyance resting in every syllable.

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t,” she said between clenched teeth.

Sasuke peered over in their direction curiously. Sakura, eyebrows tilted downward, kept her eyes forward.

“So I’m going to ask you again. Doing what?”

“You want me to yell it out in front of all of your friends?” Jinora snapped, becoming indignant.

Sakura’s eyes widened for a moment, taking in the anger of her friend’s tone. She sighed as she regained her speed. They moved in silence for a few minutes. There was a lot that needed to be said with so little time. Jinora caught Sakura’s wrist as they hopped onto another tree branch.

“When’s the last time you ate?”

Jinora watched as Sakura’s mouth twisted in disgust. She cut her eyes and snatched her arm away. Sakura leapt closer up to the front of the group with Sasuke not too far behind her. Jinora – in shock and slightly disappointed – could only hope that someone, anybody would be able to get through to her.

Hmm. Don’t really know what to say about this chapter. Everything’s going to get worse but I’m kind of ‘meh’ about this chapter. Let me know you guys’ thoughts.

Chapter 27: The Undoing

Chapter Text

Might start posting the rest of what I have weekly if time allows. It’s not done, but I’m tired of just hoarding all the files :/.

They get there faster than anyone anticipated. Naruto is in another one of his moods and therefore forcing everyone to keep up with his monstrous pace. A two-day trip had been beaten down into half a day – not without a strain on their chakra reserves, though.

Sakura, once again hovering near the tail end of the group, struggled to keep up. Against her own wishes, she’d finally eaten something this morning. Only a half of a granola bar and a cup of water, but it was something that would settle on her stomach.

Jinora’s eye kept flicking back and forth at her, so she felt the pressure on herself to eat. One thing Sakura knew about the girl was that she meant what she said. If she wanted to announce to the whole group that Sakura had an eating disorder in order for her to get better, then she would. She was thankful she’d eaten it because she wasn’t sure if she would’ve been able to make this trip had she not, but she hated the way she could feel it just sitting idly in her belly.

Sasuke still lingered by her side. She wondered how annoyed he had to be with everyone else to be voluntarily hanging by her side. She watched the muscles of his arms, legs, and face clench and unclench as they soared through the treetops. This trip was taking a toll on him, too. She felt comforted by the fact that someone as great as Sasuke was having trouble keeping up too. Maybe she wasn’t so weak after all.

Before she knows it, they are at the outskirts of the Fire country. Her heart leaps out of her chest and hammers away in her throat. Bile rises to her throat. The anxiety and fear rises to the surface again. Sakura doesn’t want to make another mistake. Chiyo and Sasori were both dead because of her selfishness. Gaara had barely scraped by – not much thanks to her.

Shouts and after-explosions lead them to the scene of the battle. Team 10, along with their company, are fighting valiantly against the ever powerful Akatsuki members. Sakura doesn’t recognize them at all. Maybe they were in a bingo book. She’d never really bothered to read those. Reading up on some of their backgrounds, reasons for their country’s desire to capture them, and their abilities made shivers run up her spine.

A man with slicked back gray hair is running straight for Asuma. Sakura hears Ino’s cry and that is all she needs to snap herself out of her pity party. A surplus of chakra swells to the soles of her feet. She doesn’t remember running at all, nor does she remember flying through the seals of her wood release.

Asuma’s attacker has been subdued via Sakura’s large, entangling tree limbs. He struggled against the flowered vines and moss trunks shouting curses at her. It’s so unbelievable that Sakura can’t force herself to move any further. She stood in the center of the battlefield looking on at those around her fight bravely.

Thankfully, Jinora and Karui were on Asuma’s attacker immediately. Karui tapped him and ran a bolt of lightning through him. By the grace of whatever creator he worshipped, he’d only fallen unconscious. The seal that sat at his feet was undone by Jinora. She’d always had an affinity for puzzles. A seal was nothing more than that.

After getting rid of the seal at his feet, Jinora placed a seal on the sleeping man that would render him unable to move any of his limbs even if he woke up. The creepily stitched up, masked assailant was harder to take care of. He was putting up quite a fight. Everyone, except for Team Bee, was putting in the work to fight the other bandaged man.

Another explosion went off and Sakura finally got back into action. Asuma was breathing, but not without trouble. He was winded, low on chakra, and suffering from internal bleeding. Her hands moved on their own over his body. His body healed slowly. The sheer amount of chakra and concentration it took to mend his wounds was extreme. All things around her became nothing more than white noise. When Sakura really got into the zone, not even a bomb going off could break her concentration.

Asuma’s breathing became more labored. She couldn’t understand why. He was healing! She could feel the way his body responded nicely to her chakra. Why was he now gurgling on his own blood?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

By nothing other than a miracle, Asuma was stable.

It was a long, nerve-wracking healing session, but the man was stable. Sakura reflected on the way Ino rushed into her arms, tears and snot smeared all over her face as she thanked her through choked sobs. She slowly rubbed soothing circles into the relieved girl’s back. It was weird. It felt like a 180 of what their relationship used to be: Ino, the shoulder to cry on while Sakura proceeded to cry. For the first time in years, she felt like Ino did something that didn’t have an ulterior motive.

As her arms encircled her oldest friend, she hoped that this was the start of repairing their once unbreakable bond.

The group separated after Asuma was patched up. Kakashi and the other assigned nin that Sakura never caught the names of would be on the case of the sealed Akatsuki member they’d come to know as ‘Hidan’. He was stirring lightly now, but he was still able to slur his poorly strewn together insults.

The other member, Kakuzu, had been able to flee. Silently, they all thanked him for his exit. If he had decided to fight any further, the battle wouldn’t have turned in their favor, even with all their extra manpower. Hope was all they could hold onto as they awaited Kakuzu’s next move. Weary and starved, they nodded each other off and split into their necessary parties.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Two days passed.

Through rain, extreme heat, and a little starvation just to round out the experience, Sakura didn’t know how she made it back alive. Upon reentry to Kumo, she avoided everyone and made a straight shot for the shared apartment. She packed a bag with a few days’ clothes and made her exit before her teammates ever saw her.

She walked up to the door of an apartment tucked further back into the recesses of the village and was welcomed with open arms by Inuki. Sakura enjoyed their company. They never asked questions and always accepted her as is. It was why they were such a great rebound after her breakup with Karui. That had to be one of the lowest points in her life.

Sakura ran a bath in Inuki’s apartment. She wanted a place to finally settle her bones. She was tired and extremely hungry. The hunger pains made her feel alive. They were the one thing that cemented that she wasn’t just dreaming this nightmare up.

Droplets of hot water ran down her body. The heat brought an unexpected, soothing relief. It allowed her to collect her thoughts and really think back on her journey. She didn’t know how long this inner group tension would last. She kept telling herself that Karui was allowed to be angry and didn’t have to award her with forgiveness, but she’d be damned if she didn’t wish that this was all over.

Sakura washed her body in a zombie-like haze. No matter what she did, she couldn’t escape the numbness that encapsulated her entire body. Guilt. Uselessness. Pity. Shame. She couldn’t pinpoint just one word to describe herself at the moment. What had she wasted all that time training for if she was going to be the same whiny girl she’d always been?

She clothed herself quickly. There was no need to dote over what she looked like and have to worry about another disappointment. She had enough to be sad about already.

Inuki sat up leafing through a magazine as Sakura exited the bathroom. They gazed up at her, eyes full of questions she couldn’t bring herself to answer, and furrowed their eyebrows. Sakura eliminated the distance between the both of them and joined Inuki on the bed.

Their mouth opened slightly, about to ask a question to which there would be no answer, but Sakura crashed her lips onto their’s. It felt warm, comforting, and a great escape from all the problems that had been plaguing her life for years. Sakura spent the rest of the night clinging onto Inuki trying to expel all the emotional baggage from her body.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“Is something wrong?”

The words felt unnatural escaping his mouth, but there was no time for embarrassment in such a situation. Sasuke was supposed to be guarding Sakura, but she’d been a ghost since they’d arrived back in Kumo a week ago. He was still attending classes, but now he was alone.

As much as he hated sitting idle for too long, those long nights at the hospital listening to her hum to herself as she cleaned medical instruments had become an essential part of his day to day activities. He found that he enjoyed sitting in silence together more than he thought.

Standing in the middle of a crowded hall as a mass of bodies moved to get to their next class was not how he expected to find himself today, but here he was. In the crowd of moving bodies, he’d found the girl that he’d reluctantly come to know as Jinora. She was just as shocked as he was that they were talking to each other. She fidgeted with the straps of her backpack uncomfortably. Sasuke watched as her face shadowed with reluctance and helplessness.

“What do you mean?” she asked still trying to play dumb.

He let out a frustrated grumble. Sasuke wasn’t up for games. Especially not with such a delicate situation. He took a step closer so that no one would overhear their conversation.

“Sakura hasn’t been seen since we’ve returned. Is there something wrong?”

Jinora shuffled her feet awkwardly. The corridor was becoming less crowded as it purged itself of its occupants. She bit her lip and averted her eyes as she answered him.

“Don’t worry. She’s probably fine.”

“So you don’t know where she is?”

Jinora scoffed as if what he said was the most offensive thing she’d ever heard. He didn’t have time to consider her feelings. She was beating around the bush about a serious problem. She turned on her heel to go to class, but Sasuke was right on her heels. He kept pace with her as she tried to escape him.

“Aren’t you all teammates?” he asked in that patronizing tone he so easily slipped into.

Jinora forced herself to keep her eyes forward. If she looked in his direction she was sure that she’d have a hard time not slapping him.

“Shouldn’t you know where the other is?”

Jinora stopped in her tracks. Sasuke followed in suit, his heels coming to an abrupt stop. The girl before him balled her fists and squared her shoulders trying to calm herself down. When she revealed her eyes to him again, a murderous glint shined bright in them.

“Don’t you dare take that tone with me. Especially not about what it means to be part of a team,” she growled in a low voice. “From what she’s told me, that’s not something that you’re familiar with.”

Sasuke’s mouth straightened into a thin line. He wouldn’t allow some ditzy girl to upset him. He had always been the picture of level headed no matter the situation. Her anger wouldn’t ruffle his feathers. He had a mission to do and he would do everything in his power to make sure it was completed.

“If you must know,” she spoke again, finally calming down. “She’s probably with a friend. Their name’s Inuki. You can usually find them near the tail end of the village somewhere by that really cute tea shop.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

He abandons school to find this ‘Inuki’ character. He doesn’t know what he’ll do when he finds this ‘friend’, but he’s sure it’ll be something nearing the verge of deadly.

It takes a few hours to find the hole in the wall spot even with roof hopping. Jinora’s instructions were very vague and he’s only familiarized himself with the main, more touristy parts of the village. Sasuke finds the spot after asking around a bit and pushes the doors of the establishment open, panting and sweating as if he’s run a marathon.

He looks around a bit trying to spot any oddities in the building. Aside from individuals or small friend groups drinking tea together quietly, there is not much of anything going on. Sasuke scans the room once more and spots two…dudes (?) in a corner farther in the back aggressively making out with each other.

The description of Inuki that Jinora hurriedly wrote down matches the one he sees with long hair and exaggerated eye makeup. He clears his throat and mentally prepares himself to interrupt whatever those two have going on. It feels like a walk of shame as he passes the wandering, lustful eyes of everyone seated drinking tea.

He feels uncomfortable being the center of attention. He has the sudden urge to busy his hands with picking at his skin or hair. By the time he finally makes it to ‘Inuki’s’ table, both parties have unentangled themselves from each other. Inuki smiles up at him mischievously, almost as if they’d been expecting him. Sasuke clears his throat trying to keep his composure.

“You’re the guy, Inuki?”

“I’m not a guy,” they answered with a playful tone.

Sasuke, stumped and struggling for an answer, is acquiesced by a simple laugh from Inuki. They dismiss their smooching partner and invite Sasuke to sit in the chair opposite of them.

“Don’t overwork your brain trying to make sense of what you think I could be. Just call me Inuki. Maybe then I’ll let you find out the rest.”

Sasuke, confused as ever, doesn’t know how to respond. Inuki laughs again, tickled by the reaction they are able to pull out of the stoic boy.

“Did you need something?”

“Sakura. Her friend said she’d be with you.”

Inuki grinned like the cheshire cat, each tooth revealed slowly as they’re lips pulled further and further back into a wide smile. “I was wondering when you’d come, Sasuke-kun.”

Sasuke can’t find the words to explain the feeling he got from such an ominous statement.

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Sasuke’s mouth moved before his body could. Because of his rash decision, Sakura was now staying in his apartment.

Walking with Inuki to their apartment had been weird. He was used to the stares but these were different. They ranged from passive curiosity to outright disdain. He would’ve reacted horribly had he not noticed Inuki’s guarded expression.

It was as if they had become numb to this kind of ostracization. They held their head high as they guided Sasuke to their destination. He ignored the light feeling that tickled his chest. He didn’t want his thoughts to go too far left.

They got to Inuki’s apartment and were met with darkness. Sasuke preferred it especially when the switch was flicked to reveal multi-colored luminescent lights. Inuki guided him to the bedroom where a still Sakura lay. Her hair was greasy, skin pale, and eyes so filled with sorrow that it was a miracle that she’d only had eye bags.

Inuki, in a soft, gentle voice, coaxed her out of bed telling her about Sasuke wanting to talk to her. They helped her up off the bed slowly. She was wearing one of their sweatshirts with no pants from what Sasuke could tell. He turned away trying his hardest to hold in his blush.

She finally gained strength in her legs and walked into the adjacent bathroom. They both stood around awkwardly as she turned on the faucet for the shower. Inuki was the first to break the ice. They told Sasuke everything: how she’d been there for a week, unable to get out of bed, quiet, and unable to eat.

Sasuke listens intuitively as the wheels begin to turn in his head. Sakura and Karui were definitely romantically involved at one point or another. Something had happened in their time here and Sakura was feeling all of the effects of the relationship’s erosion.

Her and Inuki also had to be involved at one point for her to be so cozy in their bed. He couldn’t feign nonchalance at the thought of her being comfortable in someone else’s bed. Just as Sakura comes out of the bathroom, Sasuke has proclaimed that Sakura will be staying with him.

Both Inuki and Sakura froze at the declaration. He does not miss the surprise in her eyes at the prospect of his generosity. She packs quickly and walks behind Sasuke sullenly as Inuki bids them farewell. Sasuke doesn’t have the patience for her ambling, so he grabs her arm and flash steps to his apartment.

If she thinks anything of the small, cramped apartment, she doesn’t let him in on it. She simply places her bag in a corner near the front door and waits for his instruction. Sasuke, once again thinking irrationally, guides her to his room and gives her the bed.

Sakura has been laying in there silently for the past few hours as Sasuke tried to make sense of everything that had happened. He busies himself by sifting through his mail. He spots a familiar address and recognizes his mother’s handwriting. He forgot how long ago he sent back a message.

Dear Sasuke,

Oh honey! Don’t be so sour about it. Everybody starts off with menial jobs in every position they take – even Itachi-nii-san. He told me a little about your mission before, but I just wanted to hear from you again. Would it kill you to be consistent with updates for your mother? I only have you and your brother. I want to make sure you’re both okay. You almost sent me into cardiac arrest making me worry so much.

I really want you to return home, Sasuke. I heard that you had two encounters with the Akatsuki. Asuma-san came back looking really bad. It’s a good thing Tsunade is back in the village or he’d be a goner. When I heard about him I got so worried about you. Are you alright dear? Maybe it’s time for you to come back home. Everyone thinks that war is about to settle in.

Your brother and your father (I’m not kidding) have been asking about you. They think it would be nice for you to return for a while, too. Please send more frequent updates.

Oh! Before I forget. I was looking through your room the other day because I missed you and found that old portrait of your team. Who’s that pink-haired girl? She looks lovely. Why haven’t you ever invited her over like you did with Naruto? When you come back, I want you to invite her over for dinner.

Love,

Your Dearest Mother

Sasuke glanced over at his closed bedroom door. What the hell was he going to do about this girl?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Danzou stood in his office, hands held behind his back, gazing over the nightly form of Konoha’s streets. He wasn’t pissed - not yet - but he was definitely annoyed beyond belief.

Reports of the happenings in Kumo had been abysmal. Yamato was one of his best pupils, so he didn’t doubt his intel gathering skills at all. Unfortunately, that meant that there really was nothing exciting happening in Kumo or the international program.

He scoffed remembering the pathetic letter he’d received only earlier today. He’d sent Yamato there in hopes of finding dirt on that village so that he could use it as a leg up on Tsunade, the council, the Uchihas, or whoever else he decided to have a grudge against. All he kept hearing about was some sappy teen melodrama that in the grand scheme of things actually meant nothing.

A war was quickly brewing. Any silly, frivolous daydreams these kids had about dating, hook-ups, or mundane things like gossip would soon mean nothing when death on the battlefield was imminent.

Things with Akatsuki weren’t holding up much better either. Everyone thought that they were some cold, calculating group waiting for just the right moment for the predator to pounce onto its prey, but they were far from it. Danzo found all their affairs trite and unserious. They refused to seize opportunity when it came to them.

Now was a better time than ever to launch their attack if they were ever going to. None of the villages had even begun to form their armed forces and that strain was coming directly from the international program.

He huffed to himself. If this was the world the younger generation was hoping to build for the future, they’d be decimated before that would even come to fruition. His stronghold had lasted on Konoha for so long because no matter how much people despised his methods, he produced results. He would never let his feelings come over his need to protect the village. What the hell was Tsunade thinking of allowing the kyuubi out of the village and into enemy territory?

Nothing was going according to plan. He only hoped that something would finally whip this shitty village into shape.

Chapter 28: One Wrong Move

Chapter Text

He spent the night on the couch. It had left a horrible crick in his neck, but at least now he could keep track of Sakura. If any of the ANBU higher-ups had heard that he’d lost his client, he was sure he’d get an earful and a rescinded status.

Sakura moved through his apartment like a ghost. She hardly made any noise aside from when she made tea or breakfast and she left virtually no trail that she’d ever been anywhere near him. Aside from the scent of her body washes or shampoos, no one would be able to say that Sakura was staying in his apartment.

But what he failed to do was factor in the uncontrollable variable that was Naruto. Just as he and Sakura were exiting his apartment, Naruto rolled up loud and vibrant as ever. The other nin wouldn’t have even looked in their direction had the sunshine boy not called out their names. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Why did the biggest idiot in all five nations have to be his friend?

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto called out.

Sakura recoiled sheepishly behind Sasuke’s back. The eyes of everyone in the hall were suddenly on her. Sasuke covered her form protectively. What the hell was everyone looking at?

“Mou…are you okay? No one could find you for a week.”

She nodded with a small smile as Naruto enveloped her in a bear hug. The orange clad boy had never been one to shy away from public displays of affection. She probably didn’t want the attention on her, but he could tell that Naruto’s presence had already brightened her up.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I was just staying with a friend.”

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. The trio began walking towards the elevator as the corridors finally became empty of its other residents. As if a lightbulb had just went off in his head, Naruto clapped his hands together in front of his face.

“Oh! I almost forgot, Sakura-chan. Yamato told me to look for you because he wants to train a bit more with you.”

“Eh?! What more could he need to teach me?”

“Yamato says since now that you’re a wood user and someone who will probably work with me on missions more often than not, he wants to teach you how the wood release is used to suppress my kyuubi chakra.”

Sasuke zoned out as they chattered excitedly. Sakura and Naruto were advancing light years beyond him. He needed to do something. Quick.

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Training was a great distraction. She didn’t have to talk and no one else wanted to talk about their feelings. Sakura needed something other than her failures to hyperfixate on. It was a miracle that Sasuke and Inuki had even been able to get her out of bed.

She couldn’t even remember what Inuki had said to coax her, but she did remember seeing Sasuke standing at the door unsure of himself. That’s when she knew that she had hit a low point. No one, at least not to her knowledge, from the rookie 9 or Konoha had seen her in a bad depressive episode. Sure she was miserable most of the time there, but she saved that for when she reached the safety of her own room.

Sasuke’s shocked face – well…as shocked as his face could get without showing that he cared - imprinted into the back of her mind. She peered over at him perched in a nearby tree ignoring whatever Naruto was fussing about as she panted heavily. That moment felt too intimate. Sakura never planned or wanted anybody – especially not Sasuke – to find out just how low she could get.

If he didn’t believe that you were pathetic before, he sure believes it now.

Sakura made haste to busy herself again. She was sure that Sasuke had caught her staring. She flew through a series of seals and was able to create a bundle of twisting trunks shoot from her arms. Yamato made an approving face in her direction.

Having him show appreciation of her skill was nice, but she couldn’t keep Sasuke out of her mind. Would he tell someone about what he saw? More specifically Naruto? She hadn’t even properly apologized to him yet and she could only imagine his reaction to hearing about her being in such a state. He was such a loving guy. His empathy had no bounds. She was sure he’d try to shoulder her burden and she didn’t want that all. It would be too embarrassing to have to be in a position to be required to be taken care of again.

Sakura flew through another set of seals and was able to conjure up a favorably sized wall of twisting trunks, branches, vines, and leaves. She was growing in power more easily this time around. Her chakra was still taking a major hit, but at least she was able to throw out more techniques.

When Yamato noticed her hunched over as she created a few more sets of branched walls, he dismissed her for the day and flash stepped away. She turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke. They looked like they were in the middle of something serious. If Naruto was actually using his inside voice, then something was wrong.

Sasuke flashed away from his spot in the trees without much regard for either party. Naruto’s shoulders deflated as he sighed. Sakura walked over to Naruto and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped, startled at her presence. She backed away a bit to allow him space to gather himself. He swallowed down the worried expression that stained his face and placed one of his signature smiles in its place.

“Wanna go out to eat?”

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“Ah! So we’re finally on the date that was always meant to be.”

“Don’t press your luck.”

Naruto and Sakura were seated comfortably in one of the many available benches in the shopping district. She tried her best not to look too uncomfortable as she watched Naruto scarf down his bowl of miso soup. He’d been able to get a fairly large serving size that Sakura couldn’t believe was even allowed to be served.

As he slurped down the last of the soup, Sakura held her hand over her mouth and tried not to puke. Just the smell of food was nauseating to her now. She’d only ordered a small bowl of fried rice and was having a hard time making a dent in it. She shuffled the grains of rice around slowly, trying to pass the time. She’d agreed to eat out with Naruto only because he looked so sad. Now that she could truly think about it, this was a truly awful decision. She’d been successfully avoiding eating with anyone for the past two or three weeks. She didn’t want to hinder her progress at all. Not even for Naruto.

“Sakura-chan…”

“Hmm?” she asked, finally fully alert to her guest.

He shuffled the chopsticks around in his bowl of rice. Sakura’s body stiffened. If Naruto was being so serious, then something had gone majorly wrong.

He’s probably figured you out.

“Are you and Kakashi…on good terms?”

Sakura was baffled. It definitely wasn’t the question she expected from him. He bit his lip apprehensively. She found that she couldn’t help but laugh. Was he really this nervous over such a simple question?

“Yeah,” she laughed. “We made up.”

She heard him let out a sigh of relief. She found herself laughing again.

“Phew! I knew something was going on with you two. My detective skills are always on point. Maybe if I don’t become Hokage, I’ll become a super skilled detective,” he declared with his fist raised in the air for added emphasis.

Sakura slapped his arm playfully. How did he just always know how to lighten the mood? Their laughter died down and Sakura could see the same worried expression marring his face again. She sighed as she waved her hand at him dismissively.

“Go ahead and ask me already.”

Naruto twiddled his fingers in his lap this time. A faint blush crept on his cheeks. Sakura could tell she would regret the decision to ask him.

“Well…it’s about this morning,” he started. “Are you and Sasuke like – just – y’know?”

He made weird gestures with his hands. Sakura could see the nervous sweats collecting on his forehead. She rolled her eyes and placed her chin in her palm.

“What exactly do you think is going on between me and Sasuke?”

“Heh heh. Nothing really. It’s just that you and him…uh…you were kinda…you both came out of his apartment this morning. He was covering you like it was a big secret.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. If Naruto had noticed this, she should expect a lot of gossip tomorrow at school.

“I told you I was staying at a friend’s house for the week. Sasuke picked me up and I stayed at his place last night.”

Naruto wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Sakura slapped his arm playfully as a blush crept up her cheeks.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Naruto! He took the couch, I had the bed.”

“Sure, Sakura-chan.”

“Oh, shut up.”

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This had to be the most selfish action Sasuke had ever taken. He was back in his apartment, Sakura in his bedroom, while he sat on the couch drafting up a letter to send to his ANBU captains. He couldn’t spend another day in this village wasting time doing nothing while everyone else around him gained new power. His apartment was too small, he didn’t have much time to practice new techniques or fighting combinations, and he was tired of everything being so different. Even with his new technique, it wouldn’t be enough to impress his father nor come close to rivaling any move in Itachi’s arsenal.

He ran his hand through his hair as he sighed. This was going to come back to bite him in the ass. His selfishness truly knew no bounds. His jealousy and impulsivity came close behind. Competition amongst comrades was normal – especially in the ninja world – but Sasuke never learned how to be normal about it. Being a member of a head family of one of the most prestigious clans in the ninja world would do that to you.

He pulled at the strands of hair on his thigh. It was all just too much for him to handle. He feared that soon, it would be him looking at Sakura and Naruto’s back. Arrogance had kept him stagnant after all. Why would you fear someone who you deemed beneath you getting better than you?

Sasuke – after a while of tapping the pencil on the tip of his nose – began writing again. He spoke at length about the dangers of the mission he’d been placed on. They had been attacked by two rogue ninjas, involved in two battles with the Akatsuki, and – this one he added for dramatic flair – had been under high surveillance everywhere they went. It would be better if they stayed in the village. Sakura and the Mokuton technique would be better protected in their home than outside.

He felt the familiar pang of guilt. There was truly no excuse for what he was doing. He wanted to go back home so he could train with Orochimaru again; bridge the gap between him and his teammates.

Sasuke gazed guiltily at his room door. Not everything about returning to Konoha would be bad. Sakura still hadn’t made up with her teammates. This would be a great opportunity for them all to breathe for a while and then come back together to reconcile their differences.

Training with Yamato and Naruto would also be easier. Konoha wouldn’t have to worry about prying eyes as she mastered the technique. She would also be happier with her old teammates. Sasuke knew Naruto would be content just with the idea of an old Team 7 reunion.

Yeah…this could work. Everyone could be satisfied with this deal. He swallowed the annoying, clenching feeling as he tied his message onto a messenger hawk.

See you next update! Let me know what you think :D.

Chapter 29: Burst

Chapter Text

“Yo! It’s the big man!”

“Hey! Bro! Come talk with us!”

“Bro! You gotta tell us everything!”

Sasuke had just come from one of the many training grounds, completely soaked in his own sweat. He’d skipped classes today in favor of clearing his mind in the training fields. He had just finished a major destressing taijutsu session and was hoping to go home and just stand in the shower for an hour or so.

Unfortunately, a gaggle of jackasses had swarmed him. He didn’t know what they were yelling about, nor did he want to find out. They all sounded annoying as hell and he really needed a moment to himself. The people here were friendlier than those from Konoha and that was saying something.

A hand clamped down onto his shoulder. Sasuke held back the snarl he could feel making its way up his throat. Not only were these people friendly, they were naïve…and had a death wish. His head whipped around to face the idiot who dared to gamble with his life. A goofy grin adorned the stupid guy’s face. All Sasuke could think of was how punchable it looked.

“How’d it happen? I heard it was really hard to even talk to her.”

“Everyone knows Team Bee is some type of weird cult. Have you ever seen them apart?”

“I thought she was strictly a scissor sister. What’d you do to make her change her mind?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Sasuke snapped in the direction of the last idiot’s question.

The guy didn’t have the decency to at least look ashamed. He latched his arm around Sasuke in a friendly manner.

“Sakura dude. Don’t you remember? Or do you usually have so many girls rotating out of your apartment that you forget?”

Sasuke felt his cheeks flush at the implication. He was many things, but he was NOT a whore. At least he never thought of himself as one. Every girl he had laid down with had an established connection with him. He never just offered himself up to anyone who propositioned him. He actually enjoyed having sex with people he was comfortable with.

Another guy slapped him on the shoulder playfully. “Be real, man. Would you really expect any less of an Uchiha? Girls would throw themselves at him off the strength of his name alone.”

Sasuke felt the flush spread to his ears. That accusation was anything but true. The Uchiha may have a lot of prestige in the ninja world, therefore, easily garnering fans, but they were actually quite conservative. Chastity and virtue were prized by everyone in the clan regardless of gender. Being a floozy was a taboo. Most of them married within the clan. Being known for sleeping around and possibly spreading their DNA, especially their doujutsu to outsiders, was a big taboo.

He’d had enough of these idiots’ bullshit. Sasuke tossed both idiots off of him and activated his sharingan. The group backed away a bit, startled by what they believed he could do.

“Shut the fuck up,” he said in a low, menacing tone. “None of you know what you’re talking about.”

The bold guy from before held his hands up in mock surrender. “Chill. We didn’t know she was your girlfriend.”

Sasuke’s eyes relaxed, returning to their natural ebony hue. These nincompoops weren’t worth wasting his breath over.

“Keep Sakura and her teammates’ names out of your mouths. Word of any more of this shit gets out, I will personally kill all of you.”

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Sakura stood at the kitchen counter dicing apples while humming a soft tune to herself. She thought of how liberating it was to just not work herself to death for once. Another day of not going back to the backbreaking labor of the hospital was nice.

Surprisingly, her staff members were sympathetic towards her when she finally came in to explain her absence. They allowed her to take a break and excused her for her missing days citing them as sick leave. She had more than earned them. In all her time working at the hospital, she couldn’t recall one day she had missed work.

Sakura gathered her chopped up apple slices and placed them on a platter. She nibbled away at them slowly as she sat on one of the spare stools in the kitchen. They were one of her safe foods. Apple slices weren’t filling in the slightest, but they provided that mind numbing distraction of pretending to eat just to satisfy others and your body's need for sustenance.

Avoiding the hospital proved to be a double-edged sword. Not only had she not been filling her work duties, but, as a result of this, she also hadn’t been showing up to classes. It was unusual for her, anybody could tell that. But the fact of the matter remained that she was too embarrassed and ashamed to even chance being seen by Karui or Jinora. She’d made a complete ass of herself and she couldn’t handle talking to either one of them right now.

Before her thoughts could become too clouded, she heard the familiar click of the door lock. Sasuke was home. Very early, she noticed. The day hadn’t even reached noon and he’d already found his way back to his apartment.

Time after time he popped her bubble about all that she’d projected onto him. Sasuke, the perfect boy, was skipping classes. How much more normal could he be?

He opened the door, a frown settled on his face. She hid a giggle behind her hand. Was his only setting grumpy? He nodded in her direction as he stomped over to his bedroom. Sakura could see that he had been training hard by the way the fabric of his shirt was so saturated that it hugged his body like a fitted dress.

She fought the blush that rose to her face. After all these years, he seemed to only grow more attractive by the minute. Had Sasuke ever had an ugly duckling phase?

He shut the door behind him with more force than was necessary. She jumped at the loud sound it made. Today must not have been a good one for him.

Sakura listened to the pipes for the running water started up, their creaky chorus a detriment to her hearing. Thankfully, the water was now running smoothly.

She finished off the rest of her apple slices and placed the dish into the sink. She flipped on the faucet and filled the sink a quarter way before shutting it back off. Washing dishes proved to be therapeutic for her. She felt herself reorienting to the world. Every scrub or droplet of water running down a dish pulling her back to reality.

Before long, Sasuke exited his room without a shirt, a towel lazily held over his shoulder. Sakura fought the blush that crept on her cheeks. Some people were obviously the creator’s favorites. The blush further rose on her cheeks when he moved to stand next to her and dry the dishes.

The domesticity of it all was not lost on her. In all her imaginations of this moment, she’d never have thought it’d come true. Here she was in Sasuke’s apartment, standing next to him while wearing an oversized sweater and he without a shirt, acting as if they were a couple. She smiled, reminiscing on her preteen self. That girl’s dream had come true. If only it had happened under better circumstances.

She sighed to herself. She’d have to stop living in this self-imposed haze that she’d been for the past almost two weeks and confront reality at some point. She didn’t want to impose on Sasuke any longer. She was sure that he’d make his feelings known sooner or later. He’d only ever been able to tolerate her shenanigans for so long.

“Are you going back to work?” he asked nonchalantly.

Sakura almost dropped the dish that she held in her hand from the shock. Not only was he doing chores alongside her, he took it upon himself to engage in friendly – well…as friendly as Sasuke got – banter.

He gently slipped the glass cup out of her hand and wiped it down with his towel. Sakura shook herself awake and took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to lose herself. Everything was going so well, no reason to ruin that by returning to her fan girl days.

“Yeah…,” she answered slowly. “I’ll be going back tomorrow as a matter of fact. School too. I’m gonna go back to our apartment, too.”

Her word vomit had left an awkward silence. He arched a brow in confusion. Sakura knew she was probably donning the stupidest, nervous smile she’d ever mustered. Sweat collected in the middle of her back.

Oh god…she looked like an idiot. She probably had been gesturing awkwardly while she was talking, too. She bowed deeply.

“Sorry for the intrusion. I bought some tomatoes to thank you – I know they’re not much! I’ll bring you something else once I leave, but I’m really grateful to you for allowing me to stay here,” she said all in one breath.

If she had looked up for one moment, she would’ve seen the light pink that colored his cheeks.

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As Sasuke bit into one of the juicy, red tomatoes from his well-kept refrigerator, a warm, fuzzy sensation settled over his stomach. He covered himself with his comforter as he snuggled into his couch, the tomato bringing a strange euphoria to him.

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Karui stood at her locker gathering her materials needed for her lessons today. Her taijutsu class would be working with nunchucks and she didn’t want to be the one oddball out.

Home life had been hectic. Staying with her parents had been a cathartic experience. They were gentle with her without being overbearing or annoying. She forgot how nice it was to have a home cooked meal. Her mother’s shrimp gumbo was a great comfort food in the midst of all the madness that the ninja world was becoming. It was nice to just spend an afternoon laying in her mother’s lap as she braided her hair or stroked her head.

She smiled as she closed the door to her locker. That smile soon dropped when the locker door closed to reveal a face she’d rather not have chosen to see. Sakura stood there awkwardly holding the straps of her bag biting her lip nervously. Karui rolled her eyes. She had no time for this. The red head started walking away.

“Wait! Karui! I want to talk to you,” she shouted, shame written all over her face.

Karui heaved a heavy sigh. She could hear the familiar whine in her former girlfriend’s voice. If she ignored her now, she’d waste time trying to avoid her for the rest of the day. Sakura could be very persistent when she wanted. Reluctantly, Karui turned to face Sakura. She folded her arms over her chest.

“You’ve got five minutes.”

She watched as Sakura’s eyes widened sadly, but then returned to their normal size in understanding. Karui’s eyes squinted, scrutinizing the girl’s every move. She wouldn’t be getting off so easily. Karui could hold a mean grudge.

“I’m sorry, Karui,” Sakura said, all the energy seeming to drain from her body with the words. She shifted to move closer to Karui who, in turn, backed away to keep the distance between them. Sakura tried not to show how much that affected her.

“I know that I can say it ‘til I’m blue in the face, but I truly am. I don’t expect your forgiveness, what I did was truly despicable, and I can understand if you never forgive me. But I want you to know that from the deepest depths of my heart that I apologize for indulging myself at the expense of your safety.”

Karui watched Sakura carefully. The tenseness of her jaw, the straight line her mouth pressed into her face, the nervous ticking of her eye and knew that Sakura was telling the truth. Karui unfolded her arms and took a step forward. Sakura perked up at the sudden change in demeanor, curious at what this could mean.

“I can tell you’re being sincere. I dated you long enough to know all of your little quirks,” she humored.

Sakura felt the corners of her lips quirk up in the form of a smile. The redhead coughed to take focus off of the blush pooling on her cheeks.

“I don’t completely forgive you. Only time will tell if you’re really telling the truth…but I do want us to get back to the team we used to be. I’m sure Jinora is running herself ragged trying to get us to talk amicably with each other again.”

The tension between them broke as Sakura’s laughter filled the air. It was so contagious that Karui found herself unable to hold in her giggles soon after. They stood across from each other, holding their bellies as they doubled over with laughter, unaware of those passing by and staring at them in confusion.

Sakura righted herself and held her hand out for Karui. The redhead took it, slowly and with scrutiny, and with that they both felt that it was a small start to something new.

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Killer Bee sat in a damp, dark underground cellar surrounded by rats gnawing away at whatever they could find. The smell of shit was potent. It made him dizzy and unable to function mostly, but it was the hunger that really did him in.

He was lucky if the guards provided him with meals. He was even luckier if they didn’t throw it in so that the rats wouldn’t huddle around the slop and steal it from him. He hadn’t become so feeble minded that he’d fight rodents for a scrap of food, but he was approaching his limit.

Killer Bee had no concept of time. He hadn’t seen the sun in ages. There were no windows, only steel walls with steel bars encaging him from the outside world.

He should be used to this treatment. Before he’d really become close with the raikage, everyone around him had treated him like a pariah. They’d do vile shit because they knew that he was unprotected and vulnerable. But that all changed with Raikage A. And for a while under his leadership, Bee had become disillusioned.

Being back in this cage had resurfaced all those memories of a time before A had come along. The villagers would throw things at him, call him names, and the lewdest of all would try to coerce him into devilish acts. He’d kept a good head about it through all of it. What point was there in getting upset when nothing would be done?

But A had changed that. He’d changed so much in his time as leader. But he couldn’t change everybody. No matter how valuable to Kumo Bee was, he’d never be seen as an entire person with feelings or needs, only a fleshy vessel with which people could use to their disposal.

In his time underneath the village, he’d re-experienced the sneers, jeering, and overall cruelness that humanity was capable of. He found that it was not something he could grin and bear this time around.

He could sense the guard coming along now. Probably perched to provoke him to an animalistic rage. Bee smirked to himself. They’d get exactly what they wanted. The door opened to a shadowy figure. Bee was consumed by the chakra of his bijuu as he listened with a deranged smile on his face to the screams of the cruel guard.

Chapter 30: Tick Tick Boom

Chapter Text

A loud boom.

Smoke.

The sound of a falling building, screaming civilians, and the tremors that ran through the rest of the village. Sakura had been on her way to bed - cute, pink teddy bear pajamas on, a brush running through her pink locs.

Sasuke was already neatly tucked under his blankets on the couch. His noble nose colored red from his debilitating sinuses. His chest moved up and down rhythmically, his breathing a soft lullaby to her ears. His face twitched in his sleep. He wasn’t comfortable on the couch at all. But he seemed to be enduring for her.

Sakura had planned to move out tonight, but she chickened out at the last minute and begged him to stay. Sasuke kept his same guarded, unamused expression when saying yes, but she noticed how his brow quirked, probably curious as to why she was back. If he had any questions, he didn’t ask. He just opened his apartment door silently and let her in. She couldn’t remember clearly - because it was so faint - but she swore she could still feel the ghost of his fingertips on her lower back.

Whatever had exploded had woken him right out of his sleep. He seemed to fly off the couch and land in his slippers near the door. Sakura happened to be walking by the window when it happened. She saw the smoke cloud rise in the air, the surrounding area’s lights had immediately gone out.

People down below - much closer to the apartment building - had stumbled and fell from where they stood. Craters formed in the ground. The surrounding bodies of water had soaked large parts of the village and were even causing minor flooding. Sakura found herself paralyzed in front of the window as she watched distraught shop owners frantically running out to salvage what they could of their businesses.

A heaviness settled in her stomach. Whatever had caused this horrible accident was only just the beginning. The ground beneath her feet began to shake again. Her breath caught in her throat. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Sakura felt her body shake uncontrollably. The brush clutched in her hands fell to the ground.

It took Sasuke pulling her from in front of the window and to the ground to bring her out of her hypnotic trance. His large, calloused hand palmed the top of her head. The other slinked around her waist protectively. If she wasn’t in a state of shock, she probably would have blushed.

“We need to move,” he commanded, the heat of his breath tickling the back of her neck.

She felt her hairs stand on end. Sakura was slow to get up. So slow in fact that Sasuke took reign over her body and carted her over his shoulder. He hurriedly grabbed his weapon’s pouch and headed to the door. He crouched down to pick up Sakura’s slippers and kicked open his door.

Sleepy-eyed teenage ninjas stood crowded around in the halls. Gossip and frantic chatter filled the air. Sakura felt the room close in on her. Nothing about this felt right. At all. So why couldn’t she find the strength to move her own body to action?

Only scraping by on eight glasses of water and half a pack of gum a day will do that to you.

Sakura shook the thought away. No need to focus on could’ve, should’ve, nor would’ve. She had already run into enough plunders as a result of her ineptness in the past. She needed to be strong now.

Sakura finally calmed herself down enough to gather her bearings. Sasuke and other ninjas were sprinting down flights of stairs as a result of the elevators being out of commission for emergency purposes. She lifted her flailing body to hold herself up straight and tapped him on his back lightly. Without missing a beat, his hands slid to her waist and gently brought her to the ground, allowing her to run beside him.

Still barefoot, she felt the grime of the stairs stick to the button of her feet. She cringed with each step. She’d need a thousand showers after this just to feel clean again. All of a sudden, Sasuke grabbed onto her waist again and led her out of an emergency door. They stood there together, hunched over and panting, the light of the moon making the sweat on both of their faces glisten.

Sasuke stood to his full height and handed her the slippers he’d been carrying for her. Still out of breath, she could only nod in response and reach for them. A silent thank you passed between the two.

The room was barren. Aside from a couple trash cans and a few poles separating walkways, it didn’t look like anyone had ever been in here. Sasuke looked up through the glass windows. The smoke cloud had almost completely engulfed the night sky. Debris fell onto the windows, obscuring his view.

He looked at Sakura again - his pensive stare locking her in place. He grabbed hold of her hand, waiting as she slipped her foot into her final shoe. “Ready?” he asked, shocked by the fatigued breathiness of his own voice.

“Yeah,” Sakura replied. She pointed to a place far behind him, over his shoulder. “The exit’s over there. There should be a fire escape ladder we can use to get to higher ground above the smoke.”

They bound off into the night, only the sounds of their bedroom slipper clopping against the concrete in the distance remained.

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Naruto - against the better judgement of literally everyone - had decided to snoop around late at night in hopes of finding Killer B.

He had no care for village relations, protocols, rules, nor manners. It just wasn’t right. To so violently round up one of your precious citizens like a captive animal in fear of a possible invasion was just too inhumane. There was no excuse to treat anyone like that.

Kakashi had told him to keep a level head about things. If he acted too rashly, he would suffer an even worse fate than B, prized jinchuuriki or not. Yamato hadn’t said much, but his tone was severe and final.

‘The relations of Kumo do NOT concern us.’

Tsunade hadn’t even bothered to chide him. She knew his stupidity would land him in a terrible place.

Despite all those valid concerns, Naruto was still himself at all times. He was wandering around aimlessly only hoping to find something. He was nearing a body of water with a sketchy formation of rocks nearby. Naruto wasn’t the most reliable person to determine whether something was amiss or not, but he did have an odd inclination about this particular bed of rocks.

He slowly tiptoed closer and closer to it until it happened. An explosion from underground. He’d been sent flying back. His body waved around, suspended in the air like a ragdoll. He fell into a pile of rubble. Shooting pains went up his back, disabling him, as he landed on quite sharp rocks and other objects. He could barely move from all the pain.

The flying debris didn’t make things better. Along with wrenching back pains, Naruto also had to deal with stinging pains in his eyes and coughing fits from the smoke. For a while, he couldn’t see nor hear anything. He was sure his eardrums were ruptured.

Through pinched eyes, he could see a light blanketing the area. Now fighting to open his eyes, he could only see glimpses of a moving figure through his frequent blinks. Dots of purple, debris, long arms, charging ninjas, a familiar head of blond cornrows. Oh how he wished he could see!

The ground trembled now. A mini earthquake came as a result of the explosion. His body was once again left to thrash against jagged rocks. He’d need a serious massage after tonight.

He winced harshly - drawing blood from his lip - as he braced against the slowly waning tremors. What in the hell was going on? Was this all just some freak accident?

Naruto didn’t know he’d be getting his answer sooner than he’d anticipated. He could feel the chakra signatures of thousands of nin running his way. There was already a sizable number gathered near the site of the explosion. The brutal winds that carried the debris had finally quelled enough that he could hear himself think. Voices from the water below wafted up to him.

“It’s Killer B!” one voice yelled - panic evident in their voice.

“He’s gone totally fucking rogue!” another worried.

“We need to restrain him before too much reaches the villagers. We’re already on thin ice for the international program.”

“Once a jinchuuriki, always a jinchuuriki.”

“Those bastards are all the same.”

“They should be locked away with no key.”

“Should’ve snuffed all those fuckers a long time ago.”

Naruto couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but something in him snapped. He tried - he really did - to control himself. The familiar labored breathing that came before every transformation had started. Those meditation and breathing lessons he’d learned on Mount Myoboku had gone to waste. He felt the familiar primal rage of the kyuubi take over him. Like a slowly filled cup, he felt the contents of his anger spill over its proverbial line and engulf him in a blind, fiery rage. They would all pay for what they had done.

Every.

Last.

One.

Of.

Them.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Karui felt her heart climb up her throat. How could things just keep getting worse? The day she decided to go back to her team’s apartment, Killer B had been consumed by his bijuu. She had been tossing and turning all night. Not from a nightmare or anything. Just the usual restlessness that came with the life of a ninja.

Jinora must’ve gotten annoyed by the non stop creaking of her bed as a result and had invited her on the roof for some fresh air. Karui knew Sakura was supposed to be returning tonight. Sakura had told Jinora earlier that day and Kinora - being the harbinger of peace that she was - just wanted everything to return to normal as soon as possible.

Neither party had admitted to partially making amends already, but that wasn’t important. Jinora could still sense the tension between the two and she would need to see for herself that they had reached an impasse rather than just hear about it. Karui chuckled to herself as she sipped on a cup of tea handed to her by Jinora. Her friend was such a worrywart.

They were both leaning against the railing of the roof of their apartment building when it happened. The impact of the explosion had almost sent them flying off of the building. Hot tea soiled their clothes. Karui - always the one for fashion flair - wore a short, silver nightgown. She was sure that there was a nasty burn mark on her thigh where her drink had spilled.

Dust and debris flew past them in big clouds. Opening her eyes even the tiniest bit meant a heap of rubble would be caught in her pupil. She covered her eyes as best as she could with her arms and tried to peer through the small openings of her fingers.

The dust cloud was settling now, but still carried way too much force to be taken lightly. In her struggles to see, she could make out the purple tentacles of the hachibi. So Killer B was behind this freak attack, but he hadn’t gone into a rampage like this since he was a very young boy from her knowledge. So why now?

“It’s B-sensei!” Jinora shouted over the chaos.

Karui only nodded in response hoping that her teammate would see her.

Jinora latched onto her arm and pulled her off of the rooftop. Karui quickly had to find her footing in order to activate her chakra for roof-hopping. She found problems quickly arose with her not bothering to put on shoes. Glass shards, rocks, and other sharp objects littered every surface they landed on. She could see her blood leave trails from building to building.

As the two drew closer to the scene of action, the noise only grew in volume. The roars of the hachibi that were quickly consuming Killer B’s consciousness almost knocked them off balance. It was even harder to discern what the ninjas on the ground were saying.

Jinora fastened her grip around Karui’s arm and finally landed in a sensible place near the attack. Water jostled around in waves as the attack continued. The tentacles that Team B had come to know as squishy, detachable, and soft enough to lift you up after a hard day of practice had become poisonous swords that took down every enemy in its path. It looked like no one had been spared.

Karui wanted to cry as Jinora guided her through the field of dead bodies. Karui felt the first whimpers of a never-ending cry starting. Jinora gently guided the girl’s face into her bosom to keep her eyes off the carnage for the rest of the journey.

Nearing the scene only made everything more confusing. ANBU were lined up out the ass doing their best to counter the attack and potential damage of the jinchuuriki, but there was a noticeable peculiarity about it all.

Where they were standing now was where the infamous torture unit was allegedly located underground. Only the highest ranking ANBU agents were allowed to operate in this area. You could tell who they were by a small emblem located on the front of their uniform vests.

The funny thing about it was that there seemed to be an abundance of them in the area...well-equipped to counter Killer B’s attack at the drop of a hat.

Karui sent a questioning look in Jinora’s direction. The more mature girl was already of the same mind by the way she was surveying the situation.

Something was off about this whole thing.

Killer B hadn’t been seen in god knows how long and now he was on a full-blown rampage destroying the village. Karui and Jinora shared a glance. This was surely only the beginning to whatever hell was about to be unleashed.

Chapter 31: Boom!

Chapter Text

“Sir! We’ve just received news of a major security breach in Kumo.”

“Hm? And what would that be?”

“The situation isn’t clear as of right now, but all that is known is that Kumo’s jinchuuriki - the hachibi - was activated and has been on a violent rampage for the past four hours. Konoha’s jinchuuriki - the kyuubi - also joined the destruction.”

“How’s Kumo holding up?”

“Not well sir. They’ve unleashed their entire battalion of ANBU guards onto the beast and nothing has let up so far.”

“So I guess we’ll be seeing each other face to face very soon then, Yamato?”

“Yes, Danzo.”

Without exchanging goodbyes, Danzo pulled the phone from his ear and placed it back on its stand. He couldn’t help the smile that lit up his wrinkled, scarred face.

Finally! There had been a breakthrough after years of waiting for peace to finally be broken. And the best part? He didn’t even have to lift a finger for it. Maybe his frequent, secret trips corroborating with the Akatsuki weren’t for naught.

He wished that he could see into the future. If he’d known that everything was going to come undone on its own, he wouldn’t have bothered cashing out so much money to people who wanted to do nothing but sit on their asses and wait.

Danzo walked over to the window of his office and looked over Konoha. This provided a perfect opportunity for him to snake his way up to even higher ranks than before. The international program would be seen as a failure just as he had hoped before. If there was any hesitancy or animosity brewing between the villages before for petty arguments, this would only ramp up the fire. No kage in their right mind would approve of sending their ninjas back to Kumo for god knows how long.

Borders would become more strict, hostility would grow, war would draw closer, and all Danzo had to do was remain competent in front of the villagers to gain their trust. Tsunade would always be seen as a powerful Sannin, but this situation would sour her reputation. Maybe villagers would be reminded of her alcoholism, how easily she was able to abandon the village for her own selfish reasons, how her gambling made her infamous and possibly even a liability to the village’s future economic success. And he’d be right there to egg it all on.

Villagers wouldn’t be willing to look to Minato for leadership. He was still green and he had removed himself from office after only a short period of time. Sarutobi - Danzo’s most hated colleague - would be seen as a viable voice of reason, but he was old and cynical and he was far too lenient to ever really chastise Tsunade or Minato for their foolishness.

When it all came down to it, it was becoming more and more obvious to Danzo that his village would look for a competent, level-headed, and logical leader. In time, that would be him. Danzo smiled as he closed the blinds of his window. He’d waited and endured his whole life for this moment that was finally within grasp.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

By the time Sakura and Sasuke had made their way over to the battlefield, Naruto had already begun his kyuubi transformation.

Hatred rolled off his body in waves. There was a significant shift in the air that chilled Sakura to her bone. It was almost too hard to keep standing, but thankfully Sasuke was holding her arm tight.

“We should get to him before he gets to three tails,” Sasuke shouted over the calamity.

Sakura found it hard to breathe, much less see in the new debris that began to rise as a result of Naruto’s freakout. “Why three?” Sakura asked as she braced herself against the harsh winds.

“Because,” the dark-haired boy started off slowly. “It’ll be easier for you to reign him in with your technique before he gets past that.”

Sakura gulped harshly and nodded her head. She hadn’t been thinking of fighting much less using her wood technique. Learning that damn thing had been the start of this shithole that she knew as life. She really wished she could go back and undo everything.

“Can’t you help me?” she pleaded, surprising herself by the vulnerability in her voice. “I mean- aren’t the Uchihas able to wrangle the kyuubi, too?”

“I could try,” Sasuke grunted as he struggled to pull himself and his former teammate through the rubble. “But you still have to subdue him first so I can look in his eyes.”

Sakura whimpered, but complied. She’d learned the technique from Yamato, but never imagined actually having to restrain her teammate with it like a misbehaving dog. Sakura didn’t think she could forgive herself if she hurt another friend.

They were drawing nearer to their friend. The bright, glowing orange light of his transformation was like a beacon to them. He was crouched down stealthily like a prey waiting to trap its predator.

Naruto looked feral, animal-like. Sakura thought at any moment that he’d start foaming at the mouth. He must’ve sensed them closeby because he suddenly went from howling to running towards them on all fours.

Sakura backed away in fear, but Sasuke held her in place. He gave her a stern look and suddenly - as if they were on Team 7 again - she could understand him without a word said.

She crouched down into the stance Yamato-sensei had taught her. She wrote down the kanji and formed her hands through the motions needed to fire up her technique. Naruto was still running at them at full speed. Sasuke crouched down next to her and squeezed her shoulder tightly. Oddly enough, she found comfort in his unspoken trust towards her. Sakura refocused her gaze and waited for just the right moment.

“MOKUTON RELEASE!” she cried.

Through the rubble of fallen buildings, shops, and once neatly manicured streets, tree trunks, branches, and vines sprouted from every opening. They wound and twist into impossible shapes as they slowly entangled the raging Naruto before them. In mid-air, their loud friend was trapped into place with his arms and legs bound as a string of fire ripped from his angry mouth.

He thrashed and threw fits, but there was nothing he could do against the stronghold that Sakura had placed him under. Sasuke gently squeezed her shoulder again and - maybe it was in the heat of the moment - she saw his face draw near hers, the faintest ghost of his lips lingered against her cheek and ear.

There wasn’t much time to ponder on it. He’d already run off to stand closer to Naruto and hopefully quell under the power of his sharingan. Slowly, the fiery orange glow disappeared from his body.

Underneath the fantastical fiery flames of Kurama’s powers lied a severely reddened, scarred, and burned Naruto. He twitched in his unconscious state. No matter how good Sasuke’s sharingan proved to be, the effects of his transformation still plagued him.

Sakura felt her stomach lurch. She wasn’t built for this. Any of this! Maybe her parents had been right. Being a ninja wasn’t a job meant for a girl like her.

She forced herself to move towards her friend. The closer she came the worse he looked. She could see the flakes of his charred skin float past her in the chaotic wind. Sakura had to physically stop herself from whimpering. She set to work with the green glow of her healing chakra.

Her hands shook as she trailed them over his constrained body. The harsh, angry red of his skin dulled little by little, but he still winced every now and then in his unconscious state. Sakura sucked back in the sobs that she felt threatening to rack her body. She had to be strong for her friend now.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Killer B’s rampage hadn’t died down in the least. In fact, it seemed that he was only becoming more violent and destructive by the minute. If anyone in the village had been sleeping at this point, they were definitely awake now.

An emergency evacuation had been set into place for civilian villagers. Tunnels and backways that had thankfully been updated as a result of Kumo’s recent economic success provided plenty of shelter for those who could not fight. Even the hospital services and its workers had to be taken underground.

Not that the hospital had been hit yet, but B’s rampage would definitely point in that direction at some point.

The injury toll had been catastrophic. As Karui and Jinora wandered through the ashes of what used to be buildings, they healed who they could enough for them to escape to safety.

Even trying to use their chakra sparingly had been detrimental. There were just too many injured people. They had even found themselves digging under rubble to free people squashed under floors of what used to be an apartment complex.

Karui desperately wished that B-sensei would return to his senses. As far as she knew, he was the only jinchuuriki alive with such a close relationship with his bijuu. If the hachibi had been allowed to overpower him, that meant that something had really set him off. If only she could find out what so maybe she could stop all this madness.

But the night had only grown worse. Karui should’ve expected it with all that had transpired. Jinora nudged her as she stood over a child, sending soothing healing chakra through their fractured arm.

When the redhead had popped her head up, she saw Raikage A running straight into the scene of the battle, his underlings Darui and C struggling to keep up beside him. A released his Lightning Release Chakra and soared past them leaving only the cracking sound of lightning in his wake.

Karui slowly stood to full height, forgetting the child at her side and ambled towards the raikage. She couldn’t hear Jinora’s protest. They were nothing compared to the sharp, zooming speeds produced by A’s speed as he zipped past every one of the hachibi’s attacks and pounded him like ground beef.

As he seemed to be able to fly, he was able to flip the hachibi into all kinds of positions and poses. Its horns were punched to broken nubs, its tentacles cut with surgeon-like precision, and its body left with severe bleeding.

The ANBU on the ground nearest to the battle slowed down their battalions and backed away to give the two brothers space. It wasn’t like they held even half the tactical prowess to bring B down as their raikage could.

Large waves of water sloshed and soared everywhere. The hachibi’s once calculated attacks were now becoming frantic, disorganized arm flings.

The bijuu was losing control. That was a good thing. It meant that the village would be able to rest for a while, but it presented a great threat to the safety of Karui’s dear sensei. She only hoped that A stopped before the situation became irreversible.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Tonight was proving to be a very long one. Sasuke and Sakura hadn’t stayed around to see the rest of the battle. Sakura looked like a nervous wreck and Sasuke didn’t want to see the next idiotic thing Naruto would do if he woke up in the middle of all that chaos.

With Naruto thrown over his back - the boy’s sleeping face buried in the small of his back - Sasuke and Sakura bounded off to somewhere that they hoped was safer. They ran past countless petrified faces that Sasuke had to tug Sakura away from lest she stop to care for every person along the way.

Sasuke thought her too optimistic. Much like Naruto, she believed that everyone could be saved. He shook his head bitterly. There was no point in wasting chakra on those who had been impaled or crushed under the heavy stones of once tall buildings and yet she still went out of her way to try and treat them.

What luck that he’d end up close to two of the biggest idiots in the world?

Their path was full of ninjas guiding civilians to safe, underground cellars. Someone along the way recognized Sakura (how could you not with that obnoxious pink hair?) and pulled her off to the side to talk.

Sasuke readjusted Naruto on his back - the bastard was really heavy, probably from all that damn ramen he ate on a daily basis - and scampered behind Sakura like a lost child.

The ninja that had escorted her over gave him a confused, furrowed brow. Sakura noticed and patted the ninja’s shoulder lightly.

“This is Sasuke, Omoi. He’s my assigned ANBU guard,” she explained politely, a tinge of emotional exhaustion still evident in her voice.

Omoi gave him a once-over once more and guided them over to the opening of an underground tunnel. Omoi signed to the guards assigned at the opening of the post. Seeing Sakura was enough to let them pass.

Sasuke didn’t miss the skeptical looks they passed to him...or maybe they were directed towards Naruto’s mangled up body.

The path to wherever they were going was dark and only lit by torches of fire. The halls echoed with the sounds of drops of water - most likely from the ceiling - dripping everywhere.

Sasuke glanced around a little. This must have been an entrance for high ranking ninjas because no one else despite the many people he had seen trying to flee. A door opened down the long corridor, the harsh yellow light illuminating the few ninjas that looked to be scrambling out of the door.

Sasuke cursed under his breath. Great. What the hell else was going on tonight? Sakura sped up to meet the other ninjas where they were. Sasuke did his best to keep up with her. Unfortunately, his unusually slow speed caused him to miss out on whatever Sakura had been told.

The girl lifted a shaking hand to her mouth.

“Oh my god…” she said breathlessly.

Chapter 32: Underground

Chapter Text

In the time since Killer B’s rampage, desertion, and now destructive aftermath of the whole ordeal, the Akatsuki had been able to capture the sanbi and yonbi.

Everything had been moving rapidly across all nations. It was now more apparent than ever that war was inevitable and that anyone could be caught in the crossfires of an attack at any moment.

In just a week, Konoha had put itself on lockdown in order to amp up its military defenses, tactics, and discussing the best action plans for civilians in the case that war touched down on them.

The village had never been more frenzied. Well...not since the Kyuubi attack, but still, the air was different. Mikoto could feel it sinking deep within her bones.

The dissemination of the Uchiha police force had been wrapped up weeks ago. However, that didn’t mean that there hadn’t been dissent amongst the villagers. Mikoto couldn’t rack it through her mind. The police force was given to the Uchiha clan as a pitiful consolation prize. A way to still feel connected to the rest of the village as they were pushed further and further back into its recesses. The Uchihas had finally come to the realization what a slap in the face the force had been, but that didn’t stop rumors from circulating about them.

Mikoto had a bad feeling about the decision from the beginning. Fugaku had dropped it out of nowhere and everyone had to scramble to get things done to his wishes because he was the clan head. She could rip her hair just thinking about it.

The villagers whispered that the disbandment was convenient. That there was no coincidence as the war drew closer and closer to home, the police force would close, petty crime had went up, and the captured bijuus were a great opportunity for the scorned to reclaim their self-appointed throne.

Mikoto had heard much bullshit in her life regarding the mystery of the Uchihas and their wickedness, but she’d never heard something so half-baked. What a way to pull something out of your ass! Even if the Uchihas could control the bijuus (only the Senju has been confirmed to be able to be mastered by them), it would conversely hurt them too.

Controlling a tailed beast in any capacity was a great risk to everyone involved. Half the clan would be wiped before anyone could do it and not many in the Uchiha clan possessed that kind of power anyway. Only Fugaku could at this point and she’d never seen her husband attempt it at all.

Mikoto massaged her temples in irritation. She really would end up killing Fugaku one of these days.

She stopped her musings when the bell rang. Mikoto sluggishly rose from her seat. She hoped it wasn’t more bad news to ruin her day.

Unfortunately, she’d opened the door to a tear-stricken Kushina. The woman looked so pitiful - red, puffy eyes, tear streaks, ratty hair, and a sullen face. Mikoto quickly ushered the woman in. She uncorked a bottle of wine and filled two glasses before meeting Kushina at her dining room table. Today was proving to be a long one.

“Y’know they got Naruto there...all locked up,” Kushina spoke softly as she accepted Mikoto’s offered wine. “Like a fucking animal. I had to pry that teensy bit of information out of the higher ups. About my own damn child!”

Mikoto nodded along. Kushina had always been a hothead and she was sure that her prying information out of someone included verbal attacks and physical violence.

“Minato thinks it’s better if he’s the one to talk to officials about stuff like this. But I think it should be me. He’s just so easy to walk over in situations like this. I just want to kick everyone’s asses -cha!” the redhead exclaimed as she slammed a fist into the table.

Mikoto - privy to all her friend’s outbursts - had already reached for her cup before it could possibly spill.

“Sorry, I’m just so mad! AAAHH! Why can’t everyone just listen to me, ugh?!” Kushina complained.

“I’m used to it by now, Kushina,” Mikoto giggled. “Besides, I can relate to having a worrisome husband. He always makes these crazy decisions and just expects everyone to adapt at his will.”

“Ah. You guys are finally done with the disbandment, right?”

“Yes and it’s been the most trying of times. Now on top of whatever bullshit vitriol the villagers have for us, I can’t even be alerted of what’s come of my son in the midst of all this chaos. You know that little bastard has sent me approximately 2 letters in the whole time he’s been gone?!”

Kushina couldn’t hold back her laughter at her friend’s unusual, unreserved manner. “That sounds like Sasuke,” she said in between giggles. “But I guess we shouldn’t worry so much. Sakura-chan is there with them. I’m sure she’ll take care of both of them.”

“Sakura-chan? Who’s that?” Mikoto questioned, completely oblivious.

“You don’t know Sakura-chan” Kushina asked incredulously. Mikoto shook her head sheepishly. Was this someone she should’ve been aware of? If she could keep Sasuke in check, wouldn’t Mikoto have heard of her before?

“Sakura-chan was the little girl on Sasuke and Naruto’s team. A real sweet girl from what I remember. She would always reject my offers to come over for dinner.”

A lightbulb seemed to go off in Mikoto’s head. She scooted her chair closer to her friend as if they were discussing something secret.

“The pink-haired girl from the photo. Sasuke’s never told me much about her. I only just saw his team’s picture when I cleaned his room a few months ago.”

“I’m sure you’ve had to hear about her before,” Kushina explained. “She’s Tsunade’s apprentice. A really good one from what I hear because she caused quite an uproar when she was able to reproduce the wood user technique without being a Senju.”

“I did hear inklings about that. I thought it was all just speculation.”

“No, it’s real!” Kushina exclaimed loudly.

Mikoto could already see the beginnings of her drunken stupor. Every time they drank, Mikoto forgot how much of a lightweight her friend was.

“They had her on trial and everything to prove it. Naruto’s always telling me about that girl. I would think you’d heard about her considering Sasuke’s mission is to guard her because the annoying ass council doesn’t trust her.”

That raised Mikoto’s suspicion. She lifted a brow as she took another swig from her cup of wine. She chuckled as she thoroughly swished the wine around her mouth, thoroughly tasting every drop.

“Oh, really,” she commented menacingly. “I can’t wait for Sasuke’s return.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Things had been going as expected of a ninja convicted of heinous crimes locked up in his home village. Slow and boring. Especially after his star pupil had left him.

Orochimaru had busied himself with experiment upon experiment in Sasuke’s absence. He could manipulate the Curse Mark in dozens of ways now, but what point was there if he didn’t even have a live experiment to test all his theories.

Sarutobi had been very adamant about keeping him in the village when he was finally captured. Orochimaru found that he didn’t have much fight in him left when he was dragged back. Not to mention the irreparable damage his former sensei had done to his limbs to make sure he could never leave.

He’d had so many unrealized dreams and ambitions when they had dragged him back to this insufferable shithole. To add insult to injury, they even had him working human experiments for the benefit of the village. Any project of his own was closely monitored and always scrapped before it could come to fruition.

But then he met Kabuto.

A naive little boy who’d oddly looked up to him despite his status. Kabuto was as snakelike as the Sannin himself. Always weaseling his way through god knows what to make his way to meet him.

Orochimaru thought it had all been very cute and took him under his wing. But he’d only grown more depraved and sneaky as time went on.

Orochimaru couldn’t pass much judgement though. He wasn’t exactly the greatest example of moral upstanding and he’d probably done worse things, but there was a primal sadism that fueled Kabuto in a way that it had never been with Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was evil and cruel, but with purpose. Kabuto hurt people, animals, and everything in between alike because he could. The snake Sannin - while a bit alarmed - found this aspect of him helpful down the line because no moral compass meant no hesitation in whatever mission was assigned.

Orochimaru might have been out of commission for a while, but that didn’t mean his experiments had ceased. They worked like that for a while before Sasuke came into the picture.

Orochimaru had never been more delighted in his life. The boy - an Uchiha no less! - had come to him of his own volition asking to be trained. Who was he to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime?

He accepted him without hesitation. This greatly bothered Kabuto who felt he’d groveled for years before Orochimaru truly took him on as an apprentice.

The Sannin did his best to ignore it at first. Kabuto was being a child and he would get over himself soon enough. But problems arose quickly. They were little things at first that could easily go unnoticed like hiding Sasuke’s weapons, telling him incorrect training times, or just flat out being hostile towards him. Eventually his actions became more emboldened.

Orochimaru knew what he was dealing with as soon as Sasuke showed up at his doorstep. An angry little boy thirsty for the power he felt he’d been denied. Itachi was the golden child, always spoken of so highly at a young age. Sasuke was the red-headed step child who constantly dealt with the comparisons and being ignored everyday.

Kids like him were a dime a dozen. Their thirst for power was insatiable and most times that drive would be their demise.

The day Orochimaru caught Kabuto and Sasuke in a room alone, he knew he’d be bracing himself for the inevitable. From Orochimaru’s experiments on the Curse Mark, Kabuto had been secretly creating a monstrous creature of his own - for purposes the Sannin still doesn’t know.

Orochimaru had never gotten the full story, but he entered to find Sasuke writhing on the floor in pain as he clawed at the Curse Mark near his neck. The Sannin was quick to act, picking up the boy and transporting him to one of the many medical services made available to him through the council. If word got out about anything happening to an Uchiha, much less one from the head family, he’d really be executed.

It took long, painstaking hours to stabilize Sasuke. He’d passed out from the pain about an hour into it, but he still jerked and writhed in his slumber. When the worst of it was over, Orochimaru chewed Kabuto out like no tomorrow. He couldn’t remember swearing the way he did that day ever in his life.

Kabuto was upset and tried to explain, but Orochimaru was too upset. He’d kicked him out of the room and said he never wanted to see his face again. A month passed before he eventually came back, but Orochimaru never forgot the look on his face as he exited.

Something unsettlingly evil had shifted over his features. The Sannin remembered how chills ran through his body.

When Kabuto returned, things were never the same. He was less open, sneakier, more cryptic than ever. He started working on his own experiments more and more. Even now as he watched Kabuto smile to his face and bow to his every whim, he knew the man had another plan that the Sannin wasn’t privy to.

Orochimaru shrugged it off, convinced himself that he’d long been done with the man’s antics. Whatever hell was coming his way, he’d have to accept it. What fate could be worse for a shinobi than not being able to fight?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Don’t waste your time hiding over there. If you have grievances to settle with me, do it like a man.”

Danzou had just opened the door to his dark office. Always on the defense, he immediately noticed the hidden presence of a shinobi.

He mentally rolled his eyes. He hoped that this wasn’t some crazed lunatic hoping to assassinate him. He’d hate to have to call in his ANBU guards for an impromptu execution after sending them home for the night.

A dark figure loomed near his office window completely hidden from light. Slowly, the figure came forward until all of its features came into view. Danzou sighed annoyedly at the ninja before him.

“If you and Orochimaru have yet to make any progress in your little experiments, then there is no need to be waiting in my office,” the older man huffed.

Kabuto chuckled as he removed his cloaked hood. “Ah, you know I’m not one to bring bad news, Danzou-sama,” Kabuto replied.

Danzou scowled. He hated the slight hiss he heard whenever he heard the man before him speak. He truly gave him the creeps.

“Orochimaru’s made great progress with the Curse Mark. At any given moment, he can control Sasuke-kun from anywhere.”

Danzou’s brow lifted. “If that’s true, why hasn't he taken full advantage of that yet?”

“He can’t,” Kabuto replied simply. “His arms are really bad - practically useless - from the Third’s tinkering and...I think he has a soft spot for the boy.”

“He’s lost his touch,” Danzou snidely remarked.

Kabuto grinned in his signature sinister manner. Danzou pushed his way past him to sit at his desk, his chair screeching across the floor as he pulled it out. Kabuto reached to flick the light on.

“I’m guessing you’re telling me this for a reason,” Danzou said matter-of-factly as he rummaged through his desk cabinets.

Kabuto moved closer and leaned against the desk. “Yes,” he replied. “I am. I think it fits perfectly with the plan you already have in motion.”

Danzou stopped his searching abruptly. He slowly turned his head to look up at the sinister man before him. Kabuto was wearing his shit eating grin as usual.

“What plan are you referring to?” Danzou asked in a level voice.

He silently stuffed his hand in one of his cabinet drawers, reaching for a red emergency button near the back of it. Kabuto shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Just as you’ve been watching over Konoha’s prestigious clans, talented shinobi, and important figureheads,” he explained. “I’ve been watching you, Danzou-sama.”

“Watching me do what?”

“Oh no need to be so coy. I’ve got piles of hard evidence that detail the years - even decades long - collaboration with terrorist organizations like the Akatsuki, enemy villages and their leaders, and other documents detailing your plans to ascend the throne to Hokage status by any means necessary.”

Kabuto lazily shifted his head in the direction of Danzou’s hidden arm. “And don’t bother trying to call back up. I disabled that emergency button before you came in.”

“What are you hoping to gain from all this, boy? You think the village is going to take the word of a wayward subordinate of Orochimaru over a council leader?!”

“Like I said,” Kabuto snarked as he adjusted his glasses. “I have plenty of evidence of you collaborating with enemies against your fellow citizens. All you have to do is listen. I can easily give you all the tools to make sure you take your rightful place as Hokage.”

Danzou - knowing when he was backed up against a wall - relaxed into his chair. He mulled over Kabuto’s words, trying to find a loophole or a lie in any of them. He cursed himself for being so easily duped into a situation. Was he a rookie?

“I’ve collaborated with you in the past, Kabuto. If I intended to have you as part of this operation, I would’ve let you know.”

“That’s because you don’t know what I know. Sasuke’s eyes are strong. Orochimaru thinks they’re comparable to Madara’s if he ever unlocks his true potential. If we can control Sasuke, then we can control Itachi, then the Uchiha clan, and then the other clans. Who knows? We might even be able to put up a fight against Madara and overthrow him if things work out.”

Danzou didn’t say a word. Years put into the work of training Root shinobi made it easy to keep a stony gaze. Kabuto just laughed.

“Just think about it. Alright?”

Chapter 33: Tip of the Iceberg

Chapter Text

Kumo had been left in shambles.

Even if most of the damage had been concentrated in one area, the whole village had been shaken. The casualties were great, many of them civilians who couldn’t get out of harm’s way fast enough. Medics were on 24 hour shifts. There was no rest for rescue and safety squads sent out to dig any helpless people out of the rubble.

The entire village was on lockdown and practically all missions had been ceased. Rebuilding efforts were quickly set up, but everyone could feel that things would never be the same. Killer B’s desertion was a twist no one had seen coming. Raikage A had knocked the jinchuuriki around silly until he dropped his transformation.

Before the raikage could even reach him from their distance on the battlefield, Killer B had flashed away to god knows where.

Silence fell over the land. They were truly fucked if their vulnerable jinchuuriki was caught in the crosshairs of an Akatsuki attack. Even worse, they were especially vulnerable because the raikage had just lost a brother.

The village and all its people seemed to move in slow motion. Sakura had been stretching herself thin through it all. If she wasn’t helping in the hospital, she was using her wood technique to help the rebuilding efforts.

She knew the risk she was taking every time she used it and she was sure that the council wouldn’t hesitate in chewing her out when they came back. It didn’t matter to her though. What could be worse than dealing with the wreckage that came of a village she had come to love so much?

Her efforts in the hospital had been a great help. In the underground tunnel she had been allowed into, she ran into ninjas with odd white splotches dotting their skin. No one could identify where they had contracted the infection nor the long term effects of it, but Sakura’s quick work in extracting them and treating them like a poison had helped keep the numbers for infection virtually nonexistent.

But through it all, Sakura had found this all to be an opportune time. In the midst of all the chaos, no one had realized that she hadn’t eaten once in all her time there. She didn’t even know how she was still standing at this point.

It wasn’t until she was pulled out of one of her healing sessions by Sasuke that she ran into trouble. Naruto had woken up. Thankfully he was all intact, but the pain medications had made him a little woozy.

He’d asked if she would eat with him so they could catch up on everything that had gone down in his unconscious state. Sakura - probably from the lack of food - spazzed. She started yelling at him about how irresponsible he was being for calling her out at a time like this just to go get ramen. She told him that he was selfish and if he wanted to know what was going on he could’ve easily asked Sasuke if he needed to know so bad.

You could hear a pin drop in that room.

Naruto’s face went from shell shocked to just plain hurt. Even Sasuke raised a brow at her uncharacteristically harsh tone.

Sakura was too ashamed to stay behind. She fought the incoming tears as she ran out of the room like a petulant child.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

After the craziest week of his life, Sasuke was relieved to be going back home. He’d been part of the search and rescue squad Kumo had haphazardly thrown together and the devastation was just too much for even him to bear.

So many people that would just never get up again. Just thinking about the smell of dead bodies made him gag.

Sakura had also been on edge the whole week. He should’ve known she’d blow up at some point, but she didn’t think it’d be in front of her “precious” Naruto.

Out of pity, Sasuke had offered to pay for some ramen. Naruto didn’t talk at all as they ate and his appetite had been restricted to one bowl before he was taken into a holding unit by Kakashi and Yamato. It had all been just one big, awkward mess and Sakura was back to hiding out wherever like before.

He had to say that in spite of her outburst, a tingly feeling rushed over his stomach at the familiar scene. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d yelled at the blonde idiot and he had to say it felt pretty damn good for someone else to be on the receiving end of her newfound coldness.

Sasuke pulled at the hairs of his eyebrows. He was wasting time thinking of such frivolous things. Everything had been so stressful lately. He wished he could just pack up and haul ass, but he knew it would be unacceptable to return to Konoha without Sakura - who seemed to be doing everything in her power to extend her stay.

Sasuke had been obliging her for now, but he’d already met up with Yamato and other ANBU who’d said it would be best to press her now to return. The council was very unhappy with the whole of Team 7 and Tsunade could only do so much to defend their honor.

That’s how he’d found himself waiting outside a drugstore taking the occasional glances through the glass windows. Sakura was shopping - Inuki by her side, arms intertwined. Weren’t they just the cutest?

Sasuke held back a grunt. It was just so aggravating to watch the two together looking so...domestic. He’d rather pry his eyes out.

Fortunately, the two had just finished checking out their items and were making their way towards the entrance. They came out together smiling and laughing as if nothing else in the world mattered. Sasuke’s eye twitched. He changed his nonchalant stance to standing with his hands in his pockets, signature scowl on.

“Sakura,” he called out using a smooth timbre.

Even after he’d said it, he was shocked that he had called her name so seductively. Sakura’s head whipped around...along with Inuki’s. Sasuke walked briskly over to the two. He had grown impatient from watching them in the store.

He grabbed Sakura’s arm and tried to pull her away without a word. Unfortunately, she had enough strength to pull both of them back. When he looked back, he felt his stomach lurch. He hadn’t noticed the bags they were both holding when they came out. Sakura must’ve still been holding onto Inuki when Sasuke pulled her.

Their bag had gotten ripped in the process and all of its contents had been spilled. All of them. Including the box for a cheap pregnancy test. Sakura bent down to help Inuki pack up what they could. She ended up offering her own bag and just carrying her own things in her hands. She waved Inuki off before facing Sasuke again, fuming.

“What the hell was that for?” she said somewhere between the start of a shout and the anger of a thousand gods.

Sasuke had become too worked up from what he’d seen and decided to go for the jugular. “If you spent less time disappearing when you can’t handle reality, maybe you wouldn’t be caught up in such unusual circumstances,” he seethed.

Sakura eyed him closely. She took a small breath before tilting her head in the boy’s direction.

“What the hell are you talking about?” she questioned, venom dripping from her tongue.

Sasuke shook his head and pinched his nose. What was he even getting mad about? There were more important things to tend to. If he spent all his time trying to figure out the wreck that had become his former teammate, he’d never have time to grow stronger. Sasuke turned stiffly, his back facing Sakura as he spoke over his shoulder.

“Tch. Never mind. Just be ready by tomorrow. We’re heading back to Konoha.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Team 7’s morale had never been lower. There was obviously something wrong - but then again, when wasn’t there?

Sakura and Naruto avoided each other like the plague. Sasuke surprisingly straddled between them not knowing what direction to pull himself in. Kakashi laughed at the irony of it all. He was sure that the young Uchiha had never considered he’d be in a situation where he’d have to rely on his own emotional intelligence to solve a problem.

Sasuke wasn’t a man of many facial expressions, but Kakashi could tell that he was panicked and a little peeved. Kakashi sighed as he ran his hands down his face. What the hell was he going to do with his former three little genin?

Fortunately, that wasn’t the same for the other squads. They seemed to be more amicable than ever as they cajoled and held each other along the trip back home.

It was really sweet to watch. But it only made Kakashi more curious. Why was he always the cursed one? At every point in his life - no matter the high - he seemed to always hit the lowest of low points.

His age creeped into his bones as he rubbed his sore back. He couldn’t go on like this. Something had to be done to turn his luck around for once.

That’s how he found himself worming his way over to Sakura’s hiding spot as the rest of the entourage sat around a small campfire. He found her standing in one of the large trees gazing out into the moonlight, her arms crossed over her stomach. The moonlight glowed on her skin.

For a second, he thought he saw a tear glide down her cheek. When he realized he’d been standing there for a while just gazing up, he cleared his throat. She looked startled, then pissed off.

He guessed he should’ve expected that. Even though she’d been careful about her words, there was no way he could miss the undertone of her hatred in the last conversation that they’d had. It made this whole predicament even more complicated to him.

Why out of all of his students had he decided to go after Sakura? A girl who had said - and not said - that she’d probably hate him forever.

Reconciliation, he thought. A second chance to do what you’d never done before. Care.

In the time since their last conversation, he’d done a lot of reflecting. He knew that he’d always casted her to the side, but he hadn’t really grasped the depth of his negligence. Memories of times where he’d sigh when she came to practice bubbled up.

He remembered his complete lack of empathy as she failed to do what her teammates could. The patronizing tone he’d take whenever discussing her abilities.

But he remembered most of all her eyes. Those big, pleading eyes that were desperately looking for someone, anyone to care. To want her. To find her worthy. And when he caught her eye for the first time tonight, all he could see was the silent rage that had bubbled to the surface under that little girl’s eyes.

She gave him half a glance and sharply turned back to moon gazing. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. How could he even approach such a delicate situation?

You could show effort. You’ve never done that before.

So he did. He took a shaky breath, puffed up his chest, and called out to his former student.

“Sakura!”

He saw her shoulders drop with an annoyed groan. He tried not to let that sting.

Sakura reluctantly turned her head and that seemed to be as much of an acknowledgement as he’d get.

“You should come down, y’know. We’re playing a few games near the fire,” he called out, feeling as pathetic as he knew she thought he looked.

Sakura shrugged and averted her eyes back towards the night sky. “I’m not in the mood,” she said.

Kakashi was not about to be deterred so easily. He had a lot to make up for.

“Well…the stew’s good too if you want some. Gai’s special. You might want to hurry up before Naruto eats it all,” he chuckled nervously.

Finally, Sakura faced him. Her eyes cut him, dressed him down to the barest of bones as she scrutinized him. Kakashi gulped. He hoped she wouldn’t find anything.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her tone holding a reserved anger that he’d become all too familiar with lately. “You never come out to bother me unless there’s a problem with Naruto and Sasuke,” she probed further. “If that’s what this is about, figure it out yourself. I’m not their mother.”

The corners of Kakashi’s mouth quirked up into a nervous smile. She would be hitting below the belt tonight. He had to find a way to turn this situation around quickly.

“Well, that’s not why I came to see you. But now that you mention it, did something happen between the three of you? You’ve all been…off.”

Sakura scoffed, shaking her head. Kakashi watched her as she hopped down from her high perch on the tree. She walked a little until she was standing about three feet away. Kakashi licked his lips. They felt dry all of a sudden. Sakura crossed her arms and sized him up.

“Is this really the best you could do?”

Kakashi caught whiplash from the girl’s sudden change in demeanor. He stepped back a little. Maybe she had moved closer to him just to read him. He felt extremely naked.

“Excuse me,” he said, a lump forming in his throat.

“This is pathetic, y’know,” she drawled sarcastically. “Did you not want to deal with Naruto or Sasuke first? Did you think you’d get an easier answer out of me about whatever you think is wrong with us?”

“Well, no-” Kakashi stammered. He could feel the individual beads of sweat roll down his back, seeping into his uniform. “I just wanted to-”

“You wanted to play sensei,” Sakura scoffed. “That’s a first.”

Kakashi felt his words falter on his tongue. The venom that pierced his former student’s tongue was deadly and she knew just when to bite. There was a moment of silence between them as the wind suddenly picked up. The smell of Gai’s stew wafted through the air. He could hear the faintest sound of Sakura’s growling stomach as she picked up on the scent, too. Embarrassed, she held her arms low over her stomach. He took this moment to take a few steps forward, feeling bold.

“What happened to you?” he asked, vulnerability leaking through his very being.

It seemed to be enough to crack through Sakura’s tough persona. He saw her eyes soften with sadness, the remnants of the kunoichi he’d left behind surfacing again.

He reached out to her, slowly holding his hand to touch her arm. She jerked away looking like a frightened prey. He saw how emotion racked up in her body. Just one more word and he would’ve had the opportunity for the heart to heart that they both truly needed. But she turned away and retreated back to the trees before she left herself open to the man she once knew.

Chapter 34: Underhanded

Chapter Text

Paperwork had to be the worst part of being Hokage.

As Tsunade lazily skimmed over another stack of papers, she mulled over the idea of holding Jiraiya’s head between her legs and slowly snapping his neck. She sneered as she signed a document and tossed it aside. The sick pervert would probably enjoy that.

To her surprise and slight discomfort, today had been a particularly slow day. Meetings with the annoying ass council had been a pretty much everyday thing since she’d returned from Kumo and it always left her in a sour mood. Hours in a meeting just to get nothing done, have all her ideas dismissed, and be insulted. She’d like all their heads on a platter, but there were more important matters to attend to.

With the inevitable war settling in, mail had been backing up in all offices. Meaning that Tsunade would sometimes be tasked with going over mission reports from other departments as ninjas of all statuses were being trained and prepped for combat.

It was fucking ridiculous.

All the late nights spent staring at thousands of black and white papers had been so draining. No wonder she drank to the point of no return. She was lucky if she even got to take a stroll outside nowadays.

Tsunade’s biggest problem had come from the overflow of ANBU paperwork to fill out. That was a department that shouldn’t have even reached her desk unless it was an extreme situation. But it seemed like damn near every update had been sent to her office for the past month. She was lucky to get through even half a stack of papers in a day.

Tsunade stood for what seemed like the first time today and stretched like a cat. Her age settled into her bones. This was all too fucking much. If she continued having back problems like this, she really might consider a breast reduction. Then again, she didn’t feel like hearing Jiraiya’s filthy mouth commenting on it every single second.

She shuffled over to the color coded stack labeled ANBU and started flipping through the papers. So much boring paperwork, much of it just building updates, ninja evaluations, and the occasional mission report. She had to make sure to stomp over to the mailroom tomorrow and chew out whoever had been sending all this shit here. Could someone be competent enough to have some damn discernment on what reaches her office?

Just as a heavy frown started to settle on her face, Shizune - along with Tonton - walked in holding a tray of tea. Tonton hopped out of Shizune’s arms startling the woman and almost causing her to drop everything.

Tsunade laughed as she bent down to caress the little pig’s head. Tonton snorted in delight. Shizune - finally having regained her balance - placed the tray on the table. She passed Tsunade a cup of tea and sipped lightly on a cup of her own.

“You should’ve brought me some sake,” Tsunade complained. “It’s going to be a long night in here. Again.”

“So you can be hungover with puke all over the paperwork again? I don’t think so,” Shizune mused.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. You make a mess of yourself in the office one time and no one ever forgets it.

“Give me a break. Everyone’s been working me like a dog.”

Shizune simply shrugged with a coy smile as she turned her attention to one of the file cabinets nearby. Tsunade chugged her tea in one gulp before returning to her stack. She yawned, already well past tired of the day’s work. She was haphazardly sorting the papers in piles based on priority until she ran across a certain name.

“The Uchiha sent a mission report to the office?” she pondered out loud.

Shizune threw her head over her shoulder, craning her neck for a view. “He’s still shadowing Sakura-chan, right?” Shizune asked innocently.

Tsunade nodded. She opened the envelope the letter came in, not at all careful about ripping the paper. If the damned thing was gonna be sent to her office, she had a right to be nosy about it.

She pulled out the letter and her eyes skimmed over it quickly just like all the others until they widened. Slowly, she took interest in every detail she read.

Tsunade circled back around her desk and pulled out her seat. She sat down, seriousness etched all in her body language. Soon, Shizune took notice.

“Something wrong, Tsunade-sama?”

Tsunade didn’t answer for a moment. She slowly tilted her head in Shizune’s direction before signaling her to come over.

“Come look at this.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“You’re very hasty.”

“Maybe you’re just too slow.”

“I hardly think that rushing a series of attacks will be beneficial to our plans in the long run.”

“We’re at the most opportune time actually. Virtually every village has been struck by some type of Akatsuki attack except for Konoha. It’ll put the other villages on edge, ready to point fingers just like before. Whatever sentiment of friendliness held before will surely falter in the time that other villages recover as Konoha simply bulks up its defenses.”

“But Konoha is ready for an attack. I’ve made sure of it.”

“Not the attack the Akatsuki is planning for. Nothing can withstand the destruction about to come.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re so eager to push up the dates.”

“Why drag things out? Konoha has become too smug. This attack will be a quick way to humble them. An even more opportune time to showcase your abilities as a leader as Tsunade falls under the pressure of rebuilding a village…if it will even be able to called that after the damage.”

Another day of listening to Kabuto’s half-baked plans that totally mucked up his own had Danzo ready to rip his own eyeballs out. This pompous twat had come in like he owned the place and changed everything around. He was bumping up the times of every planned attack and his only excuse had been to “just trust him”. What the hell was he supposed with this boy’s trust?

He had half a mind to take him out back and put him down like a dog, but he knew too much. Danzo also didn’t know the extent of this psychopath’s power, so it was best to be cautious. Apparently, word through the grapevine was that an Akatsuki attack would be hitting Konoha much sooner than predicted a la Kabuto and his cockamamie reasoning.

Someone named Pein from what he had gathered, but Danzo never cared to learn names. If he was paying people for a job, did he really need to know all those details?

Either way, he was sick of being under the thumb of this sniveling, conniving bastard. He was trying to strongarm him with the knowledge of his illegal deals with village enemies.

Not that Danzo really cared that much. As he’d been known to say on more than one occasion: Somebody has to do the job nobody else wants to. That somebody just happened to be him. He’d admit that he’d dabbled in depravity more than others. Which is why he could say with unwavering certainty that Kabuto was far beyond any depravity he’d come across.

He could understand if the guy was just ruthless. Most villains were like that. There was no rhyme or reason to their method, just pure, unfiltered fascination with brutality. Kabuto was neurotic, shifty, and just all around a creep who you could never really decipher. He wanted to sock him every time he smiled. The large cloaks he wore didn’t make it any better.

The boy was hiding something. Danzo knew it. He donned a similar fashion to cover up his own…situation. The old man decided he’d bide his time. In time, Kabuto would falter just as all those before him. And when that happened, Danzo would be there to pick up the pieces and make sure that there was no trace of the weirdo to even be mourned over.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“AAAAHHHH! I’m so glad you’re home, baby. Come in! I’ll make your favorite. Ramen!” Kushina squealed as she hugged her son with a death grip.

Minato watched the interaction nervously, waiting for the two to break apart. “I think you’re hurting him dear,” he said gently as he watched Naruto’s face color to a sickly shade of purple-ish blue.

Kushina quickly dropped him and kissed him on the cheek. “Silly me. I’m just so happy you’re back! You wouldn’t believe the assholes I’ve had to deal with just to get any information about what happened in Kumo,” Kushina prattled on. “Come inside. You have to tell us everything.”

Naruto followed along silently as his mother scooped her arm into his and dragged him inside the house. Minato stayed behind, following at a short distance, still unsure of when to jump in.

His wife went on - as she usually did - at length about everything that had happened in their son’s absence. She was animated as she always was, but there was something off about Naruto.

He laughed at all the right parts of his mother’s story, ate her food with vigor, and even made his usual vulgar taunts, but something was missing.

“Did something happen in Kumo?” Minato said before he could even stop himself.

Naruto’s back went ramrod straight. Kushina stopped her eating, took a nervous look between the two, and cleared her throat. “Y-Yeah…you haven’t told us anything about what happened yet.”

Naruto relaxed a little, but anyone could tell he was a little guarded. Very strange behavior for a boy that everyone described as a ball of sunshine.

“Well, nobody knows the details, but something triggered Killer B into a transformation. One minute everyone’s resting in their apartments, the next windows are shattered, glass shards flying everywhere, and buildings collapsing!” Naruto said, getting more animated as he continued. “I went out there by myself trying to investigate, y’know. But I heard some stuff and-”

“Heard what stuff?” his parents questioned in unison. Naruto shook his head.

“It’s really not that important. I-”

“It has to be. You’ve been acting unlike yourself all night,” Minato prodded.

Naruto’s shoulders sunk with a heavy sigh. The fork he’d collected a good swaddle of noodles had been placed back inside the bowl. Steam wafted over his face. Naruto ran a hand through his hair, a distressed sigh soon followed.

“They called him a monster.”

“Who?” Kushina piped up. Her eyes were as wide as saucers.

Minato leaned over to massage her shoulder, working down the tension rising in her back.

“Killer B,” Naruto replied. “They talked about him like he wasn’t even human. Like they just expected this of him because of what’s inside of him. Like he hasn’t been so loyal to that village his entire life.”

“Maybe that’s why he ran away,” Kushina said bitterly.

Minato gave his wife’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Kushina,” he warned in a gentle tone.

“No!” Kushina shouted as she tore her arm away from her husband’s hand. “I’m so sick of skirting around this bullshit. These motherfuckers will make you a jinchuuriki, treat you like shit, and then be mad when you react accordingly. As soon as you retaliate, it’s all ‘oh typical jinchuuriki behavior’ and ‘this was bound to happen’ as if it was just inevitable and not as a result of heartless fuckers harassing you nonstop for something you can’t even control!”

The room had silenced. Kushina now paced back and forth, her hair flying around her dramatically. If Minato looked too fast, he swore he could see tiny fires in her eyes.

“A monster? A monster! A fucking monster?! I’ll show them what a fucking monster is. Just wait until I get to- '' Kushina ranted before Minato scooped her up and covered her mouth.

“Let’s just sleep on it, why don’t we?” Minato laughed nervously.

Kushina harrumphed, obviously unamused by her husband’s censorship. Naruto remained at the table, lazily stirring the noodles of his ramen around. Minato bit his lip, he definitely shouldn’t leave his son alone, but his wife was posing a bigger problem at the moment. He resigned himself to a decision he hoped he wouldn’t regret.

“Naruto. We’ll talk together later. Alright?”

Chapter 35: No Way Home

Chapter Text

“You wanted me to come in?”

“Yeah, just take a seat.”

Sakura eased into a spare chair Shizune had pulled out for her. Sakura had been summoned into Tsunade’s office this morning. They’d finally made it back to Konoha last night and she’d made a dash for it before anyone dared to make conversation with her.

She’d almost let everything slip with Kakashi. That old bastard didn’t deserve the smallest glint into her world. He’d had his chance. Sakura wasn’t willing to allow him another. Not so soon at least. She thought it’d be best if he suffer under the weight of her disappointment as she’d done for years.

Things hadn’t been patched up with her teammates either. She’d had half a mind to apologize to Naruto once they reached the village, but she was tired of apologizing. She was always sorry for something. Couldn’t she have just one time to be selfish and bitchy and not be expected to be repentant about it?

She didn’t bother talking to Sasuke either. After whatever the fuck his spiel was outside of the door the other day, she had to resist prying his eyeballs out of his head. She was realizing more and more just how much of a bastard he truly was.

She’d done her best to avoid him, annoy him less, and limit most of their interactions before she’d ended up staying with him for a few days. It was never enough for him, though. He still spoke down to her as if nothing had changed about their positions in their time apart. She couldn’t believe all the time she’d spent being so weepy over him and his broodish, asshole ways.

Never making that mistake again.

“Is there something you wanted to tell me?” Sakura chirped, noticing the way Tsunade’s eyes never tore away from the document in her hand.

Tsunade took a few more moments before looking over the top of the paper, signaling something to Shizune. Shizune - neurotic and worrisome - made a hasty retreat as she left them both in the office without much of a farewell. Sakura stiffened in her chair. Something was definitely afoot.

“How have you been, Sakura?” Tsunade asked, her clinical tone set in place.

That set off alarm bells all throughout Sakura’s head. She immediately fixed her posture and sat with her hands folded in her lap.

“I’ve been great, you?” Sakura responded in what she thought was an even, calm tone.

Tsunade probed her, searching for any sign of…something. Sakura fidgeted in her seat.

“Lots of paperwork and dealing with the council. Y’know. The usual boring hokage stuff,” Tsunade replied coolly.

Sakura nodded nervously. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. The ticking of the clock amplified. It seemed to tick in time with her thumping heart.

Tsunade lowered the paper from her face. She adjusted herself at her desk, still scanning her pupil for god knows what. Her inspection seemed to last ages before either party spoke.

“Shishou,” the young girl started. “Why’d you call me in?”

Tsunade seemed to snap out of her gaze. She placed the paper face down on her desk and bit her lip. She was stalling. The pink-haired girl could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“Is it happening again?” her mentor asked, no malicious intent behind her words.

Sakura’s ears perked up. “Is what happening again?”

“It.”

“You’ll have to be more specific, shishou.”

Tsunade sank into her chair and sighed. Sakura couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked so worn out. Tsunade looked up at the ceiling, her mouth mumbling something Sakura couldn’t decipher, before she sat back up in her chair and leaned forward.

“What is it this time? Is it Karui again? I thought we got over this…unhealthy attachment you have with her. You can’t keep someone around just because you want to. You know not everything’s not meant to last,” Tsuinade reasoned gently.

Sakura’s spine went ramrod straight. She couldn’t say anything for a few moments. Her mouth hung open in shock just trying to process all the information.

“I’m sorry,” the young girl replied after several moments, a nervous laugh caught in the back of her throat. “Where is all of this coming from?”

“I knew this would happen,” the godaime muttered, not even looking at her. “They sent you back with Karui and Sasuke. It was a recipe for disaster. These feelings don’t just go away no matter how much you will them to. Trust me, I know.”

Tsunade was pacing now. Her thumb sat in her mouth, the nail being gnawed on. Sakura felt herself shrinking into her seat. She felt like a petulant child being berated by her parents even though the woman hadn’t scolded her.

“I mean FUCK! Of course you’d fall apart in a situation like that. You were barely stable before leaving, then you return just when you’re getting back on your feet because of some bullshit and then everything just became this big mess in a whirlwind of what? Like six months? God!”

“Shishou-”

“Sakura,” Tsunade said, her voice in a low, menacing tone. “Did you really go off the grid in Kumo? I won’t be mad at you. Just tell me the truth.”

“H-How do you know that?” Sakura stuttered.

Tsunade brushed her hair back nervously. Sakura could see the lump in her throat as she forced out her next few words.

“Sasuke wrote a letter about his mission to the ANBU office.”

Sakura rushed to a standing position. Tsunade held her hands out, ready to calm the girl at any given moment.

“There’s been a lot going on in all departments, so all the mail’s been coming to me. Thank god this one did, but Sakura…I thought we were past this.”

“Can I read the letter?”

Tsunade shook her head, knowing there was only one way this situation would play out. Sakura was shaking with fury. Tears were welling in her eyes. Her fists clenched and unclenched, leaving small white rings on her palms.

Great.

Just another thing to piss her off about the bastard.

“I’d advise against that,” Tsunade managed to force out.

The situation was taking a lot out of both of them. Sakura - against her mentor’s best wishes - gently grabbed the paper on the hokage’s desk and flipped it over. She brought it close to her face and read it.

Every brush stroke, punctuation mark, and curve was committed to memory as her eyes darted over every inch of the letter. No territory had gone unmarked. As she read the letter over and over again, her whole body vibrated with a quiet, ready to be loosed fury. Somehow, she managed to place the paper back on the desk without ripping it from pure rage.

“I’ll catch up with you later, shishou.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Mikoto could think of a lot of things that pissed her off at the moment. Her husband for one who never asked for her input before making irrational decisions. The clerk at the supermarket for sending her on a wild goose chase for a product that had been available at the register the entire time. Or it could be all the nasty stares and not so subtle shoves that she got as she walked back home from the market.

The streets weren’t so full that they had to go out of their way to collide into her. But Mikoto wasn’t going to let that bother her. Her baby was finally back home and she was going to make his favorite for dinner.

As she laid out the ingredients on the counter, Mikoto admitted to herself that she found the act therapeutic. After being forced into a role where it was more of a requirement/expectation for her to fulfill rather than a team effort as marriages should be, she found that she couldn’t possibly entertain the idea of having more than one person in the kitchen. It was a time for her to be alone in her thoughts.

The steady sizzle of boiling water eased her mind. Steam from the hot press made her skin feel new and rejuvenated. The flickering sound of the flame when you first turned on the stove immediately brought her to a trancelike state.

Cooking was always the calm before the storm. Mikoto’s fairytale family dinner’s rarely went as planned. Most of the time she had to provide most of the entertainment because all the men in her life were quiet and brooding. Prying conversation out of them was like pulling teeth.

But being unable to stop their conversation was much worse. Tonight’s dinner was unfortunately one of those nights.

She’d been expecting this. Sasuke was always sore about his prowess in comparison to his older brother’s. The feeling was exacerbated by her husband’s blatant favoritism. But this news bomb had been particularly enraging for Sasuke.

“How long has the police force been dissolved?”

“About 2 to 3 months. Give or take a few days,” Fugaku replied nonchalantly, scooping another morsel of food into his mouth.

Sasuke had dreamed of being on the police force since he was young. Mikoto could remember him cuddling under her bosom as a toddler telling her everything about what he would do once he joined. She remembered how he beamed up at her as he asked did she think that his father would be proud of him then.

“This is something that the elders agreed to?” Sasuke asked, his even tone betraying the hurt look in his eyes. Mikoto found this whole interaction unbearable to watch.

“No,” Itachi said coolly, his eyes pouring into Sasuke’s own. “It’s something father decided would be best for the entire clan.”

Sasuke nodded his head. Mikoto could see the rage bubbling underneath the surface. His jaw clenched, posture became uneven, and his fists wound unnaturally around his utensils.

“Was there no way to reach me?” he asked cautiously. “I’d like to have known this, too.”

“You do now,” Fugaku added in between bites. His smacks filled the empty air. “Telling you now or then would’ve made no difference. My decision was final whether you knew or not. Besides, how would I have known that you’d gotten the letter. You’ve hardly replied to your mother in your time away.”

Sasuke’s back hunched unnaturally. He peered down murderously at his dinner plate. His hands shook with anger. This conversation was getting out of hand. Mikoto had to put a stop to it.

“Now Fugaku, there was no reason to bring that up.”

“No, he wants to be a man. He wants to be in the know about all things related to the clan. He wants to prove himself to me,” the older man started. “He’s been in contact with you for months. You could’ve given him the news if you wanted, but he was hardly responding anyway and what he did send back barely constituted as a reply.”

“Just stop it honey.”

“No,” Fugaku boomed with a calm finality to his tone. Even Itachi looked startled. Fugaku grabbed his napkin and wiped daintily at his mouth. “Sasuke’s not asking innocent questions and you know that. He’s an arrogant little bastard who thinks the world revolves around him. He demands, he never asks. Everything should be handed to him off the strength of his last name as if I didn’t give it to him. He gets so upset trying to prove himself all the time that he can’t see past himself. The world that exists outside of his bubble.”

Sasuke’s shaking hand dropped his utensil with a loud clunk. He steadily reared his head upwards in the direction of his father. His pupils shook with a white, hot rage.

“You’re still angry about me training with Orochimaru…aren’t you?” Sasuke started, tone still as even as ever.

Mikoto burrowed her face in her hands. She had lost control of this situation a long time ago.

“Maybe we should talk about this another time,” Itachi suggested.

Father nor youngest son were having it. They were in the middle of an intense glare down.

“I wouldn’t have had to turn to a missing nin if I had a father who acted like one.”

“No. You’re a boy who thinks himself the world when he is merely a speck in the universe.”

That was the final straw. Sasuke’s guarded dam had finally broken down. He rose to his feet with lightning speed. Fugaku wasn’t too far behind him. The younger Uchiha slammed his hands against the table, jostling everyone’s plates around.

“I hate you. With every fiber of my being,” Sasuke seethed. “What did you expect me to do when you blew me off at every opportunity to train?”

Fugaku stood with his arms crossed behind his back. His voice remained even as his eyes pooled with hatred.

“I expected you to be man enough to know the limits of your capabilities,” his father replied coolly.

Sasuke’s teeth clenched until Mikoto thought they would shatter. He couldn’t stop the emotions that welled in his chest. With the heavy breathing and burning eyes, he knew he was on the verge of a snot-induced sob.

To counter this, he did the most mature thing he could think of. He pulled up the table and threw it at his father. Fugaku flew back a little, shocked to see his son’s behavior. Sasuke could see nothing but red.

Mikoto saw him getting ready to make a run for it. This was going to be catastrophic.

“I’m leaving,” she heard him say. “I have an apartment. I’ll come get the rest of my stuff later, but I am never coming back here.”

“You’ve always been a selfish brat,” Fugaku cried out as Sasuke retreated. “When you see you can’t win you blame everyone but yourself! You hurt everyone around you because you can’t live with your mediocrity!”

“Stop it already!” Mikoto shouted for the first time that evening. Her husband turned to her, watching the tears fall from her eyes. She would definitely have him sleep on the couch tonight.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Are you happy seeing me upset? Do you derive pleasure from getting me to act this way?”

“I’m a jounin, mom. A very high ranking one and I work in the hospital as a medical ninja. If I was going to quit, I would’ve done it a long time ago.”

“You’re not cut out for that line of work! Why must you be so stubborn?!”

“Why can’t you just accept that this is what I want to do with my life?!”

It was finally here. The day Sakura had been dreading all along: having to rehash a conversation about her ninja career for the millionth time.

Sakura usually tried to remain silent as her mother badgered her. The woman was insufferable and unreasonable. She didn’t care how good Sakura got at anything she did, as long as it wasn’t what Mebuki planned for her, it was stupid. Talking to the woman was akin to talking to a brick wall.

But Sakura was feeling particularly combative. The sour taste of her departure from Kumo was still fresh on her tongue. She was anything but happy about everything that happened.

In the time leading up to her departure as she packed her things, she had little time to speak with Karui and Jinora. Karui hadn’t really forgiven her - which Sakura could understand - but her final goodbye was distant and cold. No hugs, no helping with packing, nor any jovial recollections of their time spent together. She only stood at the entrance of the village waving her and the rest of the Konoha squad goodbye.

Sakura felt her chest constrict just thinking about it. Whatever there was between Sakura and Karui was officially over. It pained the girl just to think about it.

You’re such a fuckup. Why can’t you just be normal?

Jinora’s goodbye had also been less than enthusiastic, though that may have come as a result of two things: Jinora was never very affectionate and she probably didn’t want to cause a further rift between Sakura and Karui by getting involved.

Team B had become such a shitty mess. Just like Team 7.

Sakura was still too prideful to apologize to Naruto. She’d had a few opportunities to on the trek home but just couldn’t bring herself to.

Kakashi had finally fucked off…reluctantly. He didn’t bother her for the rest of the way to Konoha, but she was sure that the man had more planned for his idea of ‘rebuilding their relationship’.

And Sasuke…Sasuke had been avoided since that incident before leaving Kumo, but after reading that mission report, he was fucking dead to her. She didn’t even gaze in his direction, acknowledge his presence, nor allow him to be anywhere near her.

God she was so fucking gullible. The guy was a piece of shit through and through. When was she going to learn that?

All of that plus her mother starting a problem with her as soon as she walked through the door was sending her over the edge. She wished she could just rip her hair out.

“Excuse me,” Mebuki started in a low tone, her hands sliding to her hips easily. That stern stance mixed with that slightly raised tone might’ve put fear in Sakura once, but not now. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“Let’s end this now,” Kizashi interjects for the first time tonight. He runs his fingers through his hair and sighs heavily as if just being in the same room as the two of them was beneath him. Sakura struggled to control the simmering rage that bubbled up in her chest.

“It’s late,” he started again. “And Sakura’s just come back home. We should eat dinner, get comfy before starting off with this bickering.”

Kizashi reached to wrap his arms around both his wife and daughter. Sakura jerked away from him at the last minute. He looked up at her, an eyebrow quirked in confusion. That only managed to piss Sakura off even more.

“Fuck you,” she said lowly to the surprise of both her parents and herself.

“Excuse me-” Kizashi choked out, rising slowly from his hunched over position on his wife.

“Fuck both of you. I'm sick of trying to please you all. Everything I do irks you and every single time you look at me, I can tell that you would like nothing more than for me to shrink into myself until I disappear,” Sakura says.

She doesn’t know where all this boldness is coming from, but she’s thankful for it. It was about time she stopped making herself miserable for the happiness of others.

“I came here to tell you that I’m back from my mission. I won’t stay here any longer than I have to. Have a good night.”

As Kizashi and Mebuki watched their daughter lug her belongings over shoulder and slam the front door shut behind her, they could do nothing more than stare at her wide-eyed, mouths agape.

Chapter 36: All Falls Down

Chapter Text

Hi! So trigger warning, this chapter deals with statutory rape. I’m not gratuitous with it nor am I trying to make it look sexy, but I just wanted it to be known that I didn’t randomly mention this incident in an earlier chapter as just a throwaway line.

For all his idiocy, Naruto was more privy to others’ emotions than one would expect him to be. He didn’t always know why - of course he wouldn’t because people usually had to dumb things down for him to truly understand - but he could just feel another person’s emotions. An empath if you’d like.

In the past couple weeks since everyone had returned home, he’d watched from afar the cold relationship between Sasuke and Sakura. He was honestly more surprised that most of the coldness had come from Sakura.

Naruto had never thought he’d see a day where Sakura wasn’t happy to be in Sasuke’s presence. It didn’t matter where she went, who she talked to, or what she was doing, she was purposefully ignoring Sasuke’s presence.

His guard duty had been lifted just a smidge. He didn’t have to shadow her everywhere she went as he did in Kumo, but he just had to watch over her in more important places like the hospital, professional meetings, and the like. It’s something that’s easy to miss if you weren’t their teammate.

Sakura had never been a rude or straight forward person, but she did tend to border on the passive aggressive side. There were times when Naruto would pass the duo as Sakura would set to work as Sasuke sat off in a corner somewhere and never bothered to turn. They’d fall into step beside each other and Sakura wouldn’t greet him. The few times he’d seen Sasuke try to start a conversation between the two, Naruto would watch her roll her eyes to the back of her head, sigh, and continue with whatever she was working on.

The ramen loving boy had to admit that he was scared. He often felt as if he was intruding on something extremely private as the two bickered without exchanging words. It was even more unsettling to see how Sasuke reacted to this sudden personality dip.

Naruto had heard from his mother that Sasuke and his father had some sort of falling out. There were really no details beyond that, but apparently Sasuke had either moved out or Fugaku had made the decision for him. Either way, his ANBU mission had reserved an apartment next to Sakura’s so that he could keep a closer eye on her.

Naruto slurped worriedly at his ramen. He could only hope that they worked whatever problems out that they had. He didn’t think he could handle it if there was more than one moody bastard on his team.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Waiting for Ino was proving to be more troublesome than she’d originally thought. Of course Sakura already knew that anything concerning Ino would end up troublesome.

She sat in her office at her desk bouncing her foot against the metal foothold of her swivel chair. Her back was turned to Sasuke as it had been since she’d come to Konoha. Sakura had to say that she was more shocked at his determination to get her to speak to him than anything.

She figured there'd be some residual tension between them - mostly on her part - but she’d never guess that he’d resort to goading her into talking. All his pathetic attempts at conversation hadn’t been fruitful so far, but she had to admit that she basked in his hopeless desperation.

Doesn’t feel so good when the shoe’s on the other foot, huh?

Of course, she couldn’t properly appreciate his misery. She hadn’t looked him in the eye for a while now. She scoffed. She was sure that her parents would be happy to hear that she was no longer pining after that ‘damned Sasuke’. All it took was about a million different heartbreaks.

Sakura mindlessly tapped her pen against her desk. The clock sitting near her read 10:53 PM. Ino was late. As usual. The girl had ordered Sakura to get off early from her shift just to not even show up on time. Sometimes, she swore she’d kill that girl.

As if summoned by Sakura’s thoughts, Ino came bursting through the door smiling idiotically and panting. Sakura lugged her bag over her shoulder and sighed.

“Speak of the devil,” the pink-haired girl remarked, snark coating her every word.

Ino rolled her eyes, still on cloud nine. “So I got a little carried away before I got here. You know how I am sometimes, Forehead.”

Sakura froze at the use of the long forgotten nickname. It had been a long time since Sakura had heard the insulting nickname and she found that even with Ino’s obviously playful tone that she still didn’t feel comfortable with its use. After all, they had never really reconciled their differences.

“Yeah well,” Sakura said, a lump suddenly caught in her throat. “If you say you’re going to be somewhere at 10:30, you should be there at 10:30.”

Ino shrugged and laughed girlishly. The blonde girl lowered her bag on the desk and rummaged through it a little. She fished out two objects from it. “Well, I knew you’d be a little peeved, so I brought you a little something so you’d get over it.”

Ino placed a small box in her hand. She looked with eager eyes at Sakura to open it. Sakura obliged hesitantly and opened the box. She pulled out a small charm bracelet with two pink and green charms. Upon closer inspection, she could make out the two charms as dango. Sakura felt her stomach cave in on itself. When was the last time she allowed herself to eat one?

She felt a hand clutch onto her bony shoulder. “I’ve got it from here Sasuke. You can go home now,” Ino chirped.

Sakura sensed Sasuke’s silent departure. She could feel the holes he burned into the back of her head, heard the small parting of his lips, hitched her breath at the ghost of the brush of his arm against hers. It seemed as if a solid ten minutes had passed by when it was a mere few seconds.

“Hn,” was all he said as he slipped through the door.

Sakura let her tensed body unwind. How long had she been holding her breath?

“You wanna go see a movie tonight?” Ino asked absentmindedly as she applied some shiny lip gloss.

Sakura found she didn’t have the strength to answer. She could only sigh and shrug her shoulders as she turned towards the door where she now realized Sai had been standing the whole time.

She fought the natural scowl that threatened to screw up her entire face. The smug, daunting aura of the Root nin unsettled and sickened her. She wished for nothing more for then Sai to disappear. Sakura turned her head over her shoulder - not bothering to greet the straight faced nin - and called to Ino.

“Is he coming with us?” Sakura said, flicking a thumb in Sai’s direction.

“Hm?” Ino mouthed as she adjusted her ponytail in the pocket-sized mirror she carried. “Oh, yeah! I hope you don’t mind.”

Sakura grimaced. She gripped harder onto her satchel as she breezed past the ominous presence of the Root nin. “The more the merrier,” she mumbled under her breath.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Karin was a nice girl. Moreso when she wasn’t around the ever annoying and violence provoking nature of her teammate Suigetsu. She kept him abreast of all village news - whether he wanted to hear it or not - and kept tabs on him to make sure he was taking care of himself. She deserved more from him than the silence and cold bed sheets he left her in after he was done using her to express emotions he could never have the courage to verbally.

Karin was a nice girl, but she wasn’t enough. Not with everything that had been going on as of recently. Sasuke had never felt so pathetic in his life. He cringed as he poured over every memory of himself pining for his father’s approval.

So timid, so childish, so utterly uncharacteristic of him to grovel at anyone’s feet. What had he been hoping for after all these years? For his father to acknowledge him? To see in him the potential he truly could not even see in himself? To love him?

Sasuke’s hands shook slightly. He stuffed them in his pockets as he strolled out of the village. He had requested a mission and thankfully had been able to obtain one. He was shocked upon hearing the news of it.

The threat of war had been encroaching upon the ninja world for a while now and Konoha was hesitant to let anyone out of the village. Maybe they could sense how desperately he needed this. He was suffocating back there.

He nodded his head in Karin’s direction as she waved him off, shy smile and blush in place. She was probably thinking of their little escapade from the previous night. Sasuke felt sorry for her. He knew that she wanted more no matter how much she fought the urge to verbalize it.

Sometimes, he really did feel like an asshole for who he was, for who he had become. But Karin wanted him to be something that he was not. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly, but it was probably the same thing every girl wanted of him. Probably what Sakura used to see in him.

He tsk’ed at the thought of her. She had been pissing him off more than usual since they had been “reunited”. Maybe he should’ve been thankful for Sai’s presence. At least he didn’t throw himself into random bitch fits, give him the silent treatment, and then never even bother to provide him an explanation for her erratic behavior.

What happened to the girl who used to confess daily her love for him, whose only want in life was to be by his side, who swore that no one else could fill the place in her heart as he could? Had it all been a lie?

He toed the little pebbles along the path. He liked the sound they made as they burrowed into the sand under his sandals. It was a soothing sound he’d taken for granted in all his time in Kumo.

Not that it didn’t exist there, but that village had always been so loud, bursting at the seams with noise and friendly clamor. Everything was quiet back home. You could hear everything clearly. There was no rush to be caught up in to distract you. Maybe that was why things were going to shit now.

He had exiled himself from his home - the only one he knew - and had this guarding mission not provided him with housing, he didn’t know what he would’ve done. He didn’t know the first thing about handling his finances, much less securing his own housing.

That silver spoon in mouth syndrome had handicapped more than helped him in the end. Perhaps he really was nothing without his father’s name. Not that it meant much. He couldn’t even get Sakura to look at him, much less speak to him with all the power of the Uchiha name backing him. He felt so small, helpless, and stupid. Had he always been so childish and short-tempered?

It was then that he decided to make a detour on his mission. He was sure he could still make it to his official destination on time, but he needed to make this stop. He found his steps guided him blindly to the place he’d sworn off years ago.

Sasuke’s body remembered everything he’d ever felt as he stepped into this village - so nonconsequential to the world that they didn’t even have an official name. The warmth of the late night welcomed him, the brightly colored neon lanterns lit up the streets, people of varying ages came out dressed up and ready to play carnival games.

He walked through the crowd, obviously the odd ball out with his minimalistic ninja wear. The familiar stone walkway came into view. He felt his heart beat into his throat. He thought he’d vomit as he reached the top of the pathway.

The brown welcome mat from years ago still remained, a little worse for wear now, but familiar all the same. He gulped down the bile rising to his throat as he lifted his hand to lazily knock at the door.

Sasuke hadn’t even registered the door opening until the familiar face of the older woman appeared. She smiled, the few wrinkles around her eyes bunching together. She was beautiful. Insanely so. Her dark hair cascaded down her back in a calm waterfall. She wore a light cast of foundation with a fleshy pink lipstick. The top of her robe opened a little to show off her cleavage.

She hooked her fingers through the belt loops of Sasuke’s pants and pulled him closer, pressing his crotch against her own. He shuddered as her hands moved to circle around his waist. She smiled up at him seductively all the while.

“It took you a while, but I knew you’d come back,” she whispered, her eyes keeping contact with his.

He couldn’t find it in him to speak, only shifted his gaze up as he watched another boy - a ninja, too - around his age putting his clothes on and giving a smile of acknowledgement to him. The woman followed his gaze and waved the other boy off as he exited through another door. She cupped Sasuke’s face and kissed him softly on each cheek.

“You couldn’t have expected me to stay loyal forever,” she said in between kisses, now trailing down his neck. “I’ve got needs, too. You told me you would never come back.”

She grabbed his hand and led him into her house. She shut the door behind the two of them and whispered into his ear. “I missed you, Sasuke-chi.”

Let me know how you guys enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to add this because I feel like the way Sasuke is characterized in canon makes him very vulnerable to a grooming situation. He’s got no adults to supervise him, very one-track minded in his goals that leads him to follow anyone who could help him achieve his goals, and just so emotionally damaged that anyone could take advantage of it hence the trope I’ve seen from older fanfics about Orochimaru being a predator. I wanted to explore this topic differently because I feel that the fandom found Sasuke and Orochimaru’s ‘relationship’ to be inappropriate, but most of it was framed as “Eeewww, Orochimaru is gay :P!” rather than seeing it as a serious issue. I’ve opted out Orochimaru for this mystery woman because I personally view Orochimaru as a fucked up person, but not to that extent.

Chapter 37: Anticipation

Chapter Text

“This is a shit show,” Danzo drawled as he rubbed his temples.

Nothing was going according to plan anymore. In the past few days, contact had been lost with all Akatsuki sources. There had been a great panic. Something about losing a couple of the collected bijuus mysteriously. All the members were scrambling to keep this information from leaking to the ninja nations.

They had spent so long building up their reputation that to lose it all in a matter of moments would greatly reduce their threatening presence. Danzo didn’t know how, but he was sure that this had something to do with Kabuto’s fairly recent involvement. It was a half-baked idea, but nothing had been going right since this freak showed up and demanded that Danzo keep him in the loop of things.

Even now as they discussed the state of their plans, Kabuto was still weaseling his way through some cockamamie explanation that would keep him in charge of something he’d only known about for roughly two months.

“It sounds like one now, but this provides us with a great opportunity.”

“An opportunity like what?” Danzo asked, a scowl formed on his ever unhappy face.

Kabuto simply smiled, already used to dismissive behavior from working underneath Orochimaru. “This means that they’ll start speeding up attacks to keep things hushed. They’ll probably launch an attack on Konoha very soon,” the bespectacled man explained.

“I don’t see how that would be beneficial. Konoha is already in the process of a lockdown. We’re on high alert for any and everything,” Danzo deadpanned with his arms folded stubbornly.

Kabuto shook his head, a chuckle bursting from his chest. “The village can never truly prepare for any attack the Akatsuki has planned. They’re putting on a brave face now, but everybody’s scared shitless.”

“Still, I’m not seeing the benefits of these premature attacks, especially without the added muscle of the bijuu.”

“Everybody’s on edge right now. That means that there will be more room for mistakes. When the attack is launched and inevitably leaves the village in ruins, it’ll decrease the morale and pride that the citizens cling to so fervently. When they’re left with nothing, they’ll look at their failure of leadership and naturally that’s where you come in,” Kabuto said as he moved to stand in front of Danzo, his voice buttery as he flattered the senile old man.

Danzo looked taken aback. He hadn’t expected the slimeball to be so strategic.

“Just think about it, Danzo-sama. You’ll be in the most favorable position.”

“You’d better hope so.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
It had taken everything in Mikoto to not visit Sasuke. Fugaku had been very temperamental since their youngest son’s leave of absence. Sometimes, Mikoto believed that he’d regretted his actions. He hadn’t even gone before the elders to officially disown him from the head family. That had to count for something…didn’t it?

If Mikoto were being honest with herself, she was mad at everyone involved. Fugaku for being a dickhead and always provoking his son, Sasuke for being his usual moody and unreasonable self, and Itachi for being the level headed guy who never got involved even when he should.

But who was she kidding? Who could she be more angry at then herself for not fulfilling her role as Sasuke’s mother. She used to shield Sasuke so fervently from Fugaku’s temper. When had she become one of those mousy, weak women that she’d always made fun of?

She wished she could be more like Kushina. The woman was daft as could be and even a little overbearing in some situations, but she always stood her ground and stayed true to herself. What had happened to Mikoto in the years since marrying Fugaku? Had her duty as a woman of the Uchiha clan superseded her own wants and needs?

The more Mikoto thought about it, it had been a long time since she’d truly been herself. To be able to stew in her thoughts without the monotone voices of the men in her family requesting her help or presence. For so long, she’d been the wife of Fugaku and the mother of child prodigy Itachi along with his quite talented little brother Sasuke.

Mikoto. It was her name, but it sounded foreign on her tongue. The name of a woman she’d met long ago who thrived on the battlefield and tactical missions. A woman whose comrades could count on her when the pressure built and every second counted.

Mikoto was a woman of another time. So who was this woman she was staring at in the mirror? Mikoto had no more time to think to herself before she heard the familiar sound of keys rattling in the door. She splashed water on her face and readied her smile for her husband.
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“You’re distracted today, Sasuke-kun.”

“Hn.”

Orochimaru watched as Sasuke gathered his tools neatly into his pack. He hid a smirk behind his hand. The boy was meticulous about everything. The sannin had been training the boy in familiar drills with the kusanagi that he could tell didn’t please Sasuke at all.

It didn’t matter though. His apprentice was always bent out of shape about something. Nothing much could be done about it.

“Are you still on guard duty for Tsunade-hime’s girl?”

Orochimaru licked his lips. He reveled in the chill that ran up Sasuke’s spine. Even though he’d like to believe so, the boy wasn’t so hard to read at all. All you had to do was pay attention.

By no means had Orochimaru brought up this topic innocently. He was curious about the entire situation himself. He also didn’t miss the way his student seemed to obsess over Tsunade’s pupil. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes he wouldn’t have believed it.

Something in the two former teammates' relationship had changed. The girl used to be head over heels with him beyond reason. She’d fawn over Sasuke pathetically. Follow him around like a lost puppy. Speak to him with no backbone.

In all that time, Sasuke had never thought twice about her. He discarded her at a moment’s notice, pushed her away, said the most horrid things to get her to back off, and now…Orochimaru couldn’t help but to laugh at how the tables had turned.

Sakura was definitely a student of Tsunade’s. Along with her strength, her iciness had also been passed down to her apprentice. The cold shoulder, the way she remained with her back to him at all times, how she shot down every chance of a conversation. It rang even funnier with Orochimaru when he remembered how Tsunade had distanced herself from him in the same way. Perhaps she’d even adored him - not loved because she had Dan - in the same way that Sakura did with Sasuke.

Orochimaru didn’t bother dwelling on it too much. There were more important things to worry about. The twisted presence messing around in his lab for one.

“You ought to not wear your heart on your sleeve, Sasuke-kun. Ninjas aren’t known for compassion. When worst comes to worst, things of this matter could be used against you,” Orochimaru remarked cruelly.

Sasuke didn’t bother denying whatever allegations were being lodged against him. He simply grimaced as he slipped his kusanagi over his back and walked off. Most likely to meet at the hospital to be ignored by Sakura.

Orochimaru would be lying if he said he didn’t worry about his apprentice. He was becoming more skittish, withdrawn even. Missions that he would complete easily now took on extra days. He scratched at his skin and picked at the hairs of eyebrows, shoulders hunched, and eyes darting as if someone were out to get him. Whatever plagued his student, Orochimaru could only hope that there was no real danger.
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In the wee hours of the night, far out in Amegakure, Kabuto held his poncho close as the unrelenting rain threatened to drench him.

His teeth chattered from the late night chill. How anyone managed to live here, he didn’t know.

He came upon the familiar opening of a tunnel far in the recesses of the city. He couldn’t see inside for miles, nor did he want to. The instructions were to deliver a message. Nothing more, nothing less. As Kabuto bent down to place the letter at the mouth of the never ending tunnel, a deep voice trembled through the rain.

“What is it?” the voice called.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses nervously. He felt a little pathetic for being so panicked. He’d trained under Orochimaru. Nothing - nor anyone - should have him shaking in his boots like this.

“I’m dropping off a message.”

“What is it?”

“Excuse me,” the bespectacled man squeaked. God he felt so pathetic.

“I said: What is it?” the voice called out, annoyance thick in every syllable.

“The update on the plans for the attack on Konoha. I know we’re in a bit of a pickle, so I’ve written down the best and earliest times for the attack to be launched.”

In the darkness, Kabuto saw the swirled, purple irises of a man threatening to near him. He hopped away before the man could show himself under the moonlight.

Chapter 38: Miss Me?

Chapter Text

The day had started off as any other.

Or maybe Sakura had been doing her best to achieve normalcy. She’d been blowing off any and all interactions with her parents lately. They’d been bombarding her with their presence and she felt at this point she was better off getting a restraining order. So persistent in their nagging, they’d been calling her at all times of the day whether at her apartment or at work that she couldn’t catch a break.

To relieve staff members of having to deal with the constant calls, she’d requested to have their number blocked from the system for a while. Hopefully, they wouldn’t run into any emergencies soon.

Sakura had to admit that last night had left a sour taste in her mouth. Her mother - the batty, vindictive old thing she was - had decided to leave the longest, most victim blame-y voicemail she could. She found all the faults in Sakura’s behavior on how she just wouldn’t listen to reason, said that she was so sensitive and always overreacting to everything, and that this would be her final time reaching out to her.

Mebuki had even signed off saying that maybe when she was more receptive to reason, she’d understand where her mother and father were coming from in only wanting the best for her. Sakura had never been more furious in her life. Not the kind that made her want to punch things around on a training field, but the kind that made her want to zone out and just detach from the world.

She was trying to refrain from making a scene, an attempt to be the bigger person even though she was dealing with her mother. The woman certainly knew how to push her buttons. For now, they’d just have to be content being apart. Maybe that was what was best for the both of them. Time away to refocus and understand the other.

She doubted her mother would ever do that, but there was always some niggling hope at the back of her mind. She was friends with Naruto, wasn’t she? Well…not as of recently, but that was a discussion for another day.

In her silently stewing anger, she failed to notice the panicked look of villagers around her, the sparse screams, and the far off sounds of combat. If she hadn’t decided to pay attention at the last moment, she probably wouldn’t even have seen the large centipede standing menacingly before her. With a swift chakra-enhanced punch, the creature was no more.

Now she was forced to take in her surroundings. Buildings were in shambles, people were fleeing, she could hear screaming all around her, and she was sure that if she stepped around the corner, there’d be more of these centipede creatures waiting. She pushed her feelings aside and revved up her chakra to rooftop to the hospital.

Whatever was going on was serious business and she had to be there.

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It felt good to finally be back at ANBU headquarters. Maybe he’d finally get a mission that didn’t remind him of a time long gone.

Sasuke stood in the locker room arranging its contents. He’d been seeing Minari - the older woman he’d been sleeping with - more often. He didn’t know if it was making him feel any better, but she was good to have around whenever he didn’t feel like talking. She never did ask too many questions.

But Sasuke knew that just like before, it was quickly becoming a problem. Missions that should’ve only taken two days were being drawn out to five days all because he couldn’t stop himself from visiting her.

The worst part was he couldn’t even figure out why he kept going back. He’d always feel trapped once he got there. He still hadn’t gotten used to the knowing grins villagers shot towards him, knowing exactly where he was going. Minari’s reputation as a succubus was no secret to anyone living there.

That was what made it all worse for Sasuke. Knowing that the whole village saw her as something life draining and negative to the young men she took to bed. Deep down, Sasuke knew that this wouldn’t lead anywhere but to more misery, but a quick release was better than nothing.

He had just gotten chewed out by his commanding officer and was told he’d been put on probation. His stats weren’t stellar and his tardiness hadn’t done anything to better his position. Sasuke began to lightly pick at his eyebrows. If he didn’t get his shit together, he’d be out of a job really soon.

He stopped sorting through his locker when he heard a cacophony of heavy, elephant footsteps outside of the locker room. Finally out of his moping stupor, Sasuke shot up and peeked out the doorway. All he could see were the masked nin dressed in dark clothes all running towards an exit.

He made haste to grab his own uniform, hoping to fall into the mix. Just as he was about to slip on his mask, the building shook terribly. He flailed around a little, but was able to catch himself from falling. He gathered his bearings and headed towards the door.

Just as his hand touched the doorknob someone he wasn’t looking forward to seeing at all had opened the door. Itachi - with Shishui hot on his heels - pushed the door open with the force of a madman. Sasuke backed up in time before his face would’ve made contact with the door.

Itachi’s eyes searched around, bugged out for a moment, before he registered Sasuke’s presence.

“Good timing,” Itachi commented. “The village is under attack. All nin are being told to assess the situation and prioritize the civilians.”

Sasuke slipped his mask on, shock hidden behind it. How the hell had this even happened?

“Do we have any idea who’s behind the attack?” Sasuke asked.

“Not really,” Shishui added, leaning against the doorway with his arms folded. “It’s largely believed to be the Akatsuki, but nothing’s for sure.”

Sasuke gave one of his signature “hn’s” before gearing up to head out. Unfortunately, Itachi held his hand out as he tried to exit. Even behind the mask, Itachi could gauge his younger brother’s confusion.

“They want you in the civilian district. Try to help out whoever you can.”

Sasuke visibly deflated. His fists clenched and his teeth grinded against each other. He really was trying to reel himself in before he had an outburst.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, otouto,” Itachi reasoned. “You’re not prepared for the enemy we’re up against.”

“Tch,” Sasuke scoffed.

He couldn’t bother to try and argue with Itachi right now. He was tired of talking to anyone in his family. He shoulder checked his brother as he rushed out of the ANBU building.

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“The village is under attack.”

“You sound nonplussed.”

“It’s got nothing to do with me. Why would I cheer whoever is behind this on?”

“Are you jealous that you’ve never gotten this far?”

“Oh dear Kabuto, I’m not like you. I’ve got my own identity, not an obsession that I fixate on.”

“That’s rich coming from you. A man who dedicates his entire life to immortality even though it's futile.”

“Like I said, I have my own identity. Do you?”

Kabuto’s fist clenched against the vial he held up under the light. Truth be told, he wasn’t doing shit but making himself look busy so he wouldn’t be incriminated. Unfortunately, he couldn’t account for Orochimaru’s appearance.

The man that he had once held in such high favor now looked down on him as if he were better than him. As if they both hadn’t done fucked up things in their pursuit of their goals.

Kabuto ground his teeth together and shook with a white hot rage. He wasn’t going to let his former mentor see him shaken up. He wasn’t weak. Not at all. Nonetheless, Orochimaru slinked closer to him. His faint hisses hung in the air like clouds.

“I guess you’ve been concocting this plan for a while. You must be proud of yourself,” Orochimaru taunted. “You’re not man enough to take the village down yourself so you hire some big guns to do it for you.”

“What does it matter if I get the desired results?”

“You’ve no integrity,” the snake sannin scoffed. “Your problem is with me, not the village. You long for my attention. You’ve even gone as far as to start experimenting on your own body to be more like me.”

Kabuto froze in his tracks. How the hell did he know? Better yet, how did he even find out? What would Orochimaru think of him now?

“You’ve been sloppy,” Orochimaru explained without prompting. “You slink around with the skill of a fresh genin instead of the skilled jounin I’ve trained you to be.”

“You trained me?” Kabuto asked between grit teeth, his jaw clenched in bitten back anger.

Orochimaru shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. “Of course I did. You came to me all scruffy and desperate for someone to acknowledge you,” the snake sannin spoke down his nose as he crept closer to his subordinate. He could see the gleams of sweat running down Kabuto’s neck. He stifled a giggle knowing that he was shaken. “My only question now is what will you do?”

“What if this is all I want to do?”

“It isn’t,” Orochimaru sneered. “You’re a man who will let the world burn if you can’t get what you want. I know you’re not going to stop. So what will you do?”

Kabuto felt the walls closing in on him. Though his exterior was cool, calm, and collected, his nails dug into the hard material of the counters. He wasn’t getting out of here easily. He had to think of something quick.

His eyes darted all around him. They settled on a beaker steaming on a burner. He had to be quick. Really quick. His arm darted out towards the beaker at the same time Orochimaru extended his neck, fangs baring.

Chapter 39: All We Know

Chapter Text

Sakura had only made her big toe over the threshold of the hospital door before hearing her name called in every direction. Saying that things were busy was an understatement. Lifeless or barely conscious bodies lay strewn everywhere about the hospital’s emergency room.

They had already run out of hospital beds and were pulling out makeshift cots to treat the wounded. Resources were spread thin and staff was already prioritizing more critical injuries in favor of those who could probably holdout a little longer.

All Sakura could think was who the hell were they up against? They’d probably been under attack for a grand total of thirty minutes and a significant portion of Konoha’s structures had been destroyed along with civilian lives hanging on by a thread. There was no time for questions.

She tuned out the cries of her name and set to work on whoever she could access the fastest. She browsed over a few injuries and doled out medicinal herbs and gel rubs that would ease the pain of minor bruises and cuts. She dismissed some of those patients to the ANBU guards that stood watch over the hospital protecting the building with a strong casing seal. Other unattended ANBU led civilians to underground cellars where they would not be caught up in the midst of battle. It felt like a never ending cycle, but Sakura had been able to clear out the majority of the waiting room within a quick fifteen minutes.

Now came the more serious injuries like broken bones and various burns. A few nurses - finally settled down from the initial chaos of the overflowing waiting area - came to aid her in this task.

Very little chakra was used in resetting bones. Besides force feeding patients of various ages pain medicine before instructing them to bite on a piece of cloth as their bones were reset, there wasn’t much that could be done for these patients. They’d have to bear the pain a little while longer before getting extensive treatment.

Wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches were dispersed to everyone before supplies ran low. Others relied on friends, family, or complete strangers to help them hobble over to the ANBU guards that led them to an underground safety chamber.

Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow. Forty five minutes down and it finally felt like the hospital staff was in good condition to take a small break. But the ground shook beneath them and they could sense the protective seal around the hospital faltering. They only had so long before things went to total shit.

The hospital staff went into maximum overdrive. They spread themselves as thin as humanly possible working on everything from head injuries to crushed body parts. The injuries were gruesome. If they hadn’t been working in the medical field for as long as they had, they might’ve dumped the contents of their stomach on the hospital floor.

Staff ran around like chickens with their heads cut off looking for everything ranging from mild anesthesia to vicodin. Some patients were nowhere near stabilized as another shipment of frail bodies were dumped into the emergency room. Sakura steeled herself as she did her best to reshape the spilled guts of an unfortunate preteen. She could do nothing but try to treat as many people as humanly possible before passing out.
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The fight between Orochimaru and Kabuto was explosive in every sense of the word. It should’ve been expected. All the bitterness on Kabuto’s part holed up and choked down over the years had festered into the ugliness that became his new self. He’d been blinded by it, thought of nothing more than the day he would make Orochimaru pay for not catering to him as he once did.

Everyone would be sorry for ever casting him aside, brushing him off as nothing more than an average ninja. He’d spent years researching ways to improve his body for maximum combat for this moment. But just as Kabuto had been watching Orochimaru, Orochimaru had been watching him.

Being on house arrest in a village you hate with every fiber of your being left you plenty of time for your mind to wander and stew in all your hatred. He’d figured out the poisonous combination that had led to the incapacity in both his arms. He’d tested it a million times over just to be sure of himself. He’d even been working on a remedy that would give him full use of his body back.

How he longed to cast a jutsu just as he had in golden days. He imagined what it would be like to be out on the battlefield again stirring fear and anxiety into the hearts of his unsuspecting prey. He licked his lips thinking of the facial expressions they’d make as they realized that they were in their final moments. To revel in the suffering of others was his favorite pastime. It was a shame that he’d have to do it to one of his mentees.

As Orochimaru lunged for Kabuto, the bespectacled man leaned out of harm’s way just in time. Vials and other tubes fell and splashed on the ground as Orochimaru’s fist made contact with the counter. He cursed at the wood chips that splintered his already fragile hand.

Kabuto took the split second his master was distracted to start the beginnings of his transformation. His tanned skin turned a sickly blue-ish white as scales broke through his skin. Blood trickled from his pores as the transformation took effect. Kabuto bit his lip to choke back a scream.

Orochimaru chuckled, amused by the scene before him. “You really are so pathetic,” the sannin baited.

Kabuto barreled towards him, his hands running through a bunch of seals at lightning speed. He produced a water projectile that came rushing towards Orochimaru, completely clouding the sannin’s view of his apprentice while he fine tuned chakra in his hands to create chakra scalpels.

When Orochimaru easily bypassed the jet of water with nothing other than his impeccable speed, Kabuto appeared from above, crashing down ready to deal a blow to one of his arteries with his scalpels. Orochimaru kicked him away with an ease that made Kabuto look like a ragdoll.

He grit his teeth as he slid to a brutal halt. He wouldn’t overpower him so easily. He ran through another set of seals that produced a few water dragons with teeth bared ready to devour the snake sannin. For good measure, he also slammed his hands to the ground of the dreary lab room and upended the tiled floor.

Orochimaru faltered in his steps, but made easy work of the water dragons by sucking in a fair amount of air and producing a strong gust of wind. Kabuto was shell shocked. He had no idea that his master still had access to his chakra, much less so much of it. This was getting serious. He needed to up the ante.

But Orochimaru had already beaten him to the punch. His killing intent had begun to suffocate and stun Kabuto in place. The young man had lost all ability to move as the sannin and the snakes he’d summoned prowled towards him.

Kabuto - mind racing - closed his eyes and tried to focus on everything but his fear. He wiggled his fingers one by one until he could feel his hand, then his forearm, then his entire arm, and then shook the rest of his body into action.

But Orochimaru was once again several steps ahead of him. He punched his apprentice in the chest sending him flying into the walls of the laboratory. As he lay stuck in the brick walls, he could now see the damage that their fight had done to the room. It was almost unrecognizable with vital parts of the building’s structure completely destroyed or hanging on for dear life. A gaping hole stood smack dab on the ceiling of the lab, debris falling periodically as the chaos from outside shook the interior of the room.

Kabuto picked himself up - a difficult task since bits of the wall remained in his back and legs - and summoned his own legion of snakes, notably smaller than his master’s.

Orochimaru laughed, watching with a twinkle in his eyes. “Is this really the best you can do?” the sannin mocked.

“I believe I’ve lasted a hell of a lot longer than Sasuke-kun ever has.”

“That again? Aren’t you tired of being jealous of a teenager? You had your time. You were good. You’re still good. But there are a million more good ninjas to be discovered.”

“None better than me.”

“Arrogance is for fools,” Orochimaru declared.

Kabuto’s rage only grew at his master’s dismissiveness. He brought forth a few snakes of his own and watched as they wrapped themselves around his master’s body. They squeezed every now and then giving Orochimaru the look of a Bug Out Bob toy. Kabuto smirked. The tides were finally turning.

This distraction gave him enough time to use his medical jutsu to rejuvenate his battered body. With his fast healing abilities, it only took a brief moment for him to recover. He produced his chakra scalpels again and took his sweet time sauntering towards Orochimaru, ready to deal the final blow.

“Arrogance is simply what insecure people call others’ confidence,” Kabuto quipped.

Nothing could beat the euphoria he felt as he neared his master, the joy of holding his life in his hands so within reach he could taste. He licked his lips for good measure. Everything had gone according to plan and it was glorious.

But he should’ve known that nothing ever happened as it should. Orochimaru freed himself from Kabuto’s snakes. He didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed it before, but Orochimaru was holding a syringe in his hand, a dark liquid sloshing around inside of it. He lunged for his apprentice, the needle pointed to his neck. There wasn’t enough time for Kabuto to reroute himself without getting jabbed.
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“Do you think he’s made it to the civilian district yet?”

“Knowing him, I’m sure he’s prolonging it for as long as he can. For the sake of the civilians, I do hope that otouto can make it in time.”

“You’re still too soft on him. No wonder he resents you.”

“He wants to fight with the trauma of a man who’s seen war. As long as I’m alive, I won’t allow that to happen to him.”
“You think you can prevent that with everything that’s on the horizon. We’re on the verge of a fourth shinobi war.”

“The scales can still be tipped. If we fight with everything on the line earlier on we might prevent all future catastrophes.”

“I don’t understand how you’re still so optimistic about the ninja world after being recruited as a child soldier.”

“I think that’s why I am. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life preparing for doomsday because of the petty disputes of village leaders. I want to believe that the ninja world can be better for the generations after us.”

“Alright, don’t get all sentimental on me. I can only bear so much of your sappy bullshit.”

Debris flung through the air as the explosions waged on. Behind their animal masks, Itachi and Shishui stood atop a high vantage point surveilling the village for anything that could give them a lead on who exactly was attacking the village and the best way to subdue them.

Their tomoe spun rapidly behind their masks. Their eyes picked up on the movements of the oddly shaped insects causing damage to every building, ninjas assisting villagers to safety, and medical personnel digging through rubble to salvage the life of any person they could.

It hadn’t been long since the initial attack and the village was already devastated. Itachi shook his head sadly. No matter how much one prepared, no man nor village would ever be fully prepared to be destroyed. This attack would affect the lives of everyone for years to come.

“I’ll never understand how you think a better future can be carved from bullshit like this,” Shishui grumped while gesturing towards the ruins of the main district.

Itachi simply shrugged. He rose from his perched position and dusted his pants. “Maybe my sharingan’s abilities supersede your’s.”

“Not on your fucking life,” Shishui scoffed playfully.

Itachi held a hand to Shishui. Shishui took it with his signature playful smile in place. Before he could rise to full height, an explosion near the civilian district rattled the entire village. Shishui just managed to avoid falling off the high perch when Itachi grabbed tighter to his hand.

Both boys looked over to the source of the conundrum and their jaws dropped at the large white snake that popped up from a familiar building.

Chapter 40: Out of Orbit

Chapter Text

Naruto had only heard of the tales of his parents’ strength and clarity in battles of years long past. But to see it up close and in person was a marvel. His mother - in between her fierce words and heavy kicks - ran through seals for her special fuinjutsu as if she was doing nothing more important than signing off one of his field trip forms.

The red-headed shinobi that loomed toward the villagers with red clouds on their coats were no threat to scoff at. A six-armed, two-faced monster with a bald head and spikes dotting all over his body threw every imaginable armed projectile their way. His mother made easy work of the weapons by opening up a scroll that absorbed every last one of them.

His father - on another side of the village rushing to the aid of his comrades - held his own against a burly, red-headed man who absorbed every technique thrown his way. Watching his father use his technique that earned him the name ‘The Yellow Flash’ stunned him into paralysis. Naruto shit on the guy all the time for being a softie - especially in the face of his wife Kushina - but he really could hold his own in battle.

Both his parents, with the help of their fellow shinobi, were giving their all to assure the safety of their beloved home. And it was at that moment that Naruto realized that maybe all the adults had been right. This generation’s kids who had never grown up with the threat of war didn’t know shit about what it meant to be a shinobi and fight with every last breath. Even their most high ranking missions were nothing compared to the hell that had been brought down before them.

Looking out across the battlefield, sunken to the floor in shock as his whole body felt like lead and refused to move at his own will, Naruto wondered if he was really as prepared for battle as he had boasted himself to be. He could talk himself a good game, but now that the opportunity for a real battle - something to prove his skill - was presented to him, he could only cower on the ground as others around him rushed to protect him.

His jaw clenched. He felt like a child. So pathetic and weak no matter what he did. Had all that training been in vain? Who was he if not a scaredy-cat ninja whose mouth cashed a check his ass couldn’t write?

And then the last person he wanted to see dropped down beside him, his shadow looming triumphantly over him. Naruto didn’t have to look up to know a smug look had already settled onto the bastard’s face.

“Save it teme,” Naruto barked.

Sasuke barely hid his grinning teeth as he extended a hand towards his rival. “Not my fault you’re a scaredy cat,” Sasuke said in his usual monotone with a slight uptick in his voice that sounded like a laugh.

Naruto begrudgingly grabbed onto Sasuke’s hand and allowed himself to be lifted up. It really did suck to have his pride burned over and over again.

The sunshine boy stood to full height and dusted his pants off. He cut his eye at the dark-haired boy who stood over him, the symbolism of their positions not lost on him. Sasuke tucked his hands into his pants, looking off into the sky full of the debris of several explosions.

Naruto hadn’t known what came over him, but something burned deep inside of him. He snarled before shoving Sasuke a few feet back. Without a word said, Sasuke’s scornful look translated such a simple question: What the hell?

“Fuck you!” Naruto spewed, shoulders rising and falling sharply with his heavy pants. He could see Sasuke’s body stiffen and slide into a subtle fighting stance. A challenge. Excitement bubbled in his stomach. He would beat the pride out of this asshole once and for all.

Just as they were poised to lunge at each other, an explosion shook the ground. In the civilian district, a large snake that could only be the result of Orochimaru’s doing popped out of the building he had been contained in. Sasuke grit his teeth. Whatever was going on was going to be a pain in the ass to take care of.

But then the snake started thrashing about. It spit venom that dissolved parts of buildings and created radioactive craters in the ground. Buildings sliced in half from the whipping of the snake’s tail fell and caused dust clouds to spring up and blanket the area.

Sasuke squinted and activated his sharingan. He could identify the familiar chakras of Orochimaru and…another Orochimaru? Something was off about the second assailant’s chakra that seemed oddly familiar, but so different.

Naruto and Sasuke stepped towards the scene of the crime. A roof was sliding cleanly off of a house and into the screaming crowd after another whip of the snake’s tail. They were going there for sure. To protect people who couldn’t protect themselves. But as they’re feet moved to make the next step, an inexplicable force similar to that of a vacuum pulled them away.

They tried their hardest to fight it. Sticking their feet to the ground with chakra did give them a little support, but it meant nothing as debris from all around flew past them into whatever was trying to take them away. A chakra hold could only do so much.

Before either boy knew it, they were being tossed and turned through the air without care for their wellbeing. A stone fixture most likely belonging to a house that he’d walked by a thousand times came soaring towards Sasuke.

Unfortunately, he was unable to control his body in order to move out of the way. The most he could do was take a glance at the monster that had been able to incapacitate him and his friend by merely lifting his palm in their direction. As his eyes flickered between the swirling, purple eyes of a red-haired man and large debris, Sasuke truly thought he was looking into the eyes of death.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

This invasion would send shockwaves through generations of Konoha shinobi. It would only be a mild disturbance to Danzo.

He was in his office sipping on a cup of hot tea when the attacks commenced. It had annoyed him greatly to be burned when a man-made earthquake rocked the village, but he made a great recovery. When he cleaned himself, he made sure to send for one of his Root members to scope out the damage.

A report of an Akatsuki attack perturbed him, but he already knew the cause for a preemptive attack. That damned Kabuto would be the death of him. So many carefully planned events for him to usurp the Hokage mantle would be thrown out of whack because of his impulsive need to prove himself to someone as low as Orochimaru. Orochimaru was promising as a boy, but his wavering loyalty and inability to have a moral code marked him as wasted goods in Danzo’s eyes.

Danzo dismissed his Root before taking to his window to peer out over the ruined landscape of his village. It was a tragedy really. So many people would be lost as a result of this attack. Many children who could’ve gone on to become shinobi would never realize their dreams. Morale would also be down with so many fatalities.

But that would mean the people needed someone to cheer them up. To give them hope again. He was perfect for that. Danzo cautioned a few more sips of his tea before his back went ramrod straight. Someone else had joined him in his office.

He turned painfully slow, anticipating a reaction of the worst sort. A lilac haired woman with dull eyes stood menacingly before him. Her calm body hidden under the billowing Akatsuki coat betrayed her face contorted in anger. Danzo looked over to his balcony when he noticed the draft that blew up Konan’s coat. He’d never even heard her enter.

“Where is he?” her voice boomed, ricocheting off the walls of the finely crafted tower.

Danzo steeled his features. “Who?”

“You know exactly who I’m talking about. Don’t feign ignorance with me!”

“Don’t be petulant, little girl!” Danzo shouted, his voice stern and steady like he wasn’t talking to someone who could kill him without even lifting a finger. “Now.” He smoothed out the wrinkles of his coat and sat in his desk chair. It made an annoying squeaking sound as his weight settled into it. “If you would like some answers, be very specific about the information you wish to obtain.”

“That boy you sent in your place to do your bidding. Where is he?”

“I’m presuming you mean Kabuto. I never sent him to do any of my work. I’ve always come to address my problems in person.”

“No matter all of your talk. He did your bidding and now I need to know where he is.”

“Can’t I know why you’re searching for him? You are currently intruding upon my land. I think I deserve to know why you’ve personally come storming into my office.”

“You don’t own nor lay claim to anything in this village besides your pridefulness.”

Danzo’s face fell. Konan’s eyes only lowered further, her eyes becoming narrower as her anger increased.

“Since this…Kabuto has made himself part of this…agreement, all of our bijuu have gone missing.”

“What?!” the old man yelled incredulously.

Konan couldn’t hide the hit it took to her pride to divulge such information. She could barely maintain eye contact as she continued. “Slowly, across all our bases, bijuu have been going missing one by one. I, nor Pein, really care for them, but there is Madara Uchiha to count for and I fear that his anger will ruin any semblance of a deal you might’ve broken with him.”

“But how-” Danzo stopped himself mid sentence. If she knew then she wouldn’t be here asking him. He cleared his throat making sure that the panic that had trembled on his words was gone.

“Why do you suspect it’s Kabuto?”

“He’s the only new addition. All attacks started shortly after his involvement.”

Danzo nodded thinking carefully over what this meant. Konan - or someone else in the Akatsuki - would have the cheeky bastard killed. That would mean one less nuisance distracting him from his end goals with their silly aspirations and ‘great’ ideas.

Danzo rose and shifted his way out of his office, Konan close behind. But he would never make it out of the dark Root building. Unbeknownst to either party, a beast’s body slammed against the building’s structure and sent it caving in on itself.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Kakashi had barely made it by the skin of his teeth throughout these mysterious invaders’ attacks. He’d thought he’d met his death when he was caught by the first of the two that sent him back and forth with the power of only his lifted hand.

Being tossed back and forth against your will was a much worse experience than could ever be described. A second invader had come up to aid the first. An ugly, putrid thing with six arms that wielded weapons and ballistics produced from its own body.

It didn’t matter how hard Kakashi fought, what clever trick he pulled, nor advanced technique that he used, when that blade had run through him, he realized once again how mortal he truly was.

And then that only made him existential.

If he died right now, what would become of the only team he’d ever passed, created a bond with, and totally ruined all at the same time. He still hadn’t found a way to get back in Sakura’s good graces, understood all the ins and outs of Sasuke’s brooding, nor truly come to recognize Naruto as a force of his own.

Mortality really had settled in for the famed copy ninja. All those years spent alone, penning up all emotion, and only living mission to mission…had it all been worth it? Would he end up like his father? Loyal to a job that would only rear its head and bite him in the ass? Be completely significant in the grand scheme of things?

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the invader that pulled him around like a magnet had absconded elsewhere. Kakashi was too weak to even move his head in its direction.

Goddamn it. Maybe this really was the end.

Thankfully, Choza and his team had come to his aid, but even they were in a bind now. The situation all around was a fucking disaster. And look at him pitying himself in the midst of it all as blood clogged up his throat. It felt like ages as the knife sat comfortably in his torso.

The pain had become numb. Kakashi could feel his eyes drooping closed. Kami. His whole life would only culminate in these last pathetic moments. Was he proud of every moment? Could he honestly say that he died an honorable death? Tons of questions weighed heavy on his mind as his final moments came with the muffled sounds of the shouts of his comrades and a blurry flash of a familiar blond head of hair.

Chapter 41: It's A Sad Day For Sure

Chapter Text

The battle outside was quieting down. Then again, Sakura had a habit of tuning out the world around her when she was in her serious medic mode.

She’d been running on nothing other than soldier pills and determination for the past few hours. Her head hurt like a bitch. She’d almost fainted several times (from chakra exhaustion or starvation she couldn’t tell), but she’d be damned if she left one sick person untreated.

There had already been several waves of injured people sent through the hospital and Sakura didn’t know how they’d all managed to keep going with all the severely mutilated and wounded patients. Children as young as six months were coming in with everything from crushed limbs to third degree burns. Sakura had to stop her hand from rattling several times as her soothing green chakra-laden hand worked over the bruised arms of caterwauling infants.

Goodness. She never expected war to be like this. She’d never expected to be in breadth’s width of a war at all. In the back of her mind, she could hear the cruel taunts of her parents. ‘You are NOT ready for this!’ But that only angered her enough to want to do more.

Sakura didn’t believe there was one patient she hadn’t administered aid to in some form or fashion. She’d assessed vitals before shouting them out to groups of other medics several years her senior, had provided a jumping off point for her other colleagues to finish major operations, prepped vials, anesthetics, and proper hazard ware for operators, along with performing her own operations right in the middle of the emergency room.

A smile crept its way onto her face every time her medical prowess abated the aches and pains of her patients. It provided the kind of rush only drugs could give you. That was probably why it had been thirty minutes since she’d seen her last patient. Sakura stood waiting for something - anything - to happen so she could chase that feeling. Being useful felt good! She so desperately needed that after these past few months of fuck up after fuck up.

So she took a little walk around the premises in search of that certain something. ANBU had led most of the non critically injured people to a safe haven, so the majority of the patients remaining were on the higher risk side. Sakura kept her ear out for any cough, moan, or grunt for a sign to swoop in and save the day. Unfortunately, everyone’s conditions had already been stabilized thanks to her and her colleagues’ efforts. Damn it, she cursed. Why was she so thorough?

Wandering led her to a high security operating room that she was able to access as a result of her mentorship under the hokage. There were windows that gave clear views into the room. Sakura - curious and awestruck as a toddler - pressed her face and hands against the glass for a closer look. Tsunade and Shizune - along with other highly qualified personnel - were elbow deep into a body that stained their pristine, white coats an angry, blood red.

The surgical masks they sported bubbled in and out as they spoke to each other. Shizune nodded in agreement at something Tsunade said and took the reins of the group. Tsunade backed away, slipping the bloodied nylon gloves from her hands. She lowered her mask for a fresh breath of air when she noticed her little apprentice at the window fogging up the glass. Sakura gave a nervous wave. Tsunade rolled her eyes and slipped her sullied coat into a trash receptacle.

Sakura watched with cautious eyes as her mentor made her way to the door. The door opened with a prompt sigh from the older woman. “What are you doing here brat?”

“I was just checking to see if anyone needed any help,” the young girl replied without a hitch. She had long grown accustomed to Tsunade;s various moods and insults.

The older woman held onto the small of her back, stretched a little, and groaned as her back made a cracking noise. “No,” her master replied. “Everything’s under control.”

Tsunade ran a keen eye over her appearance. “Have you eaten anything yet?”

Sakura’s face fell. She fumbled finding the appropriate facial expression before landing on a lopsided smile. “Yes.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

Tsunade didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press the issue any further. Sakura held her hand against her heart as her master started to walk off ahead of her.

“Who were you operating on in there?” the young girl queried, hopping like a bunny alongside her master’s long, heeled strides.

“Some old bastard I really don’t feel like talking about.”

“That doesn’t really narrow down who you’re talking about.”

Tsunade’s heels came to a screeching halt. She turned to Sakura, brow tilted high and hand placed on hip. Sakura took a few steps back and gulped.

“You’re in one of those moods, huh?” Tsunade mumbled. “If you’re really in a ‘helping mood’, go check out the civilian district. A new wave of patients should be coming from there shortly.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Nothing could’ve prepared her for this. War had only ever been an abstract concept in Sakura’s mind. To see it up close for herself was a life altering experience. Buildings were upended, roads lost among the debris, and people - civilian and ninja alike - lay lifeless in every corner.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn’t let people die. The carnage stretched on for miles. Nary a place had been left untouched. Besides the shouts of pain and terror, you wouldn’t have known there was ever any life inside the village.

Sakura bided her time wading through piles of rubble. Just like she’d done in Kumo weeks before, she sifted through rubble ready to provide aid to any struggling civilians. The fatalities on the outside were much worse than anything she’d seen in the hospital. No wonder the flow of patients had ebbed out. There was barely anyone left to save.

The task was daunting. Watching people she’d pass by in the market earlier that morning or had picked up a delivery from take their final breaths was surreal. Even worse were the ones who sat up at weird angles - death already crept into their bodies - with eyes wide open.

The young girl couldn’t stand to see it. For every fourth body she came across, she’d made sure to gently close their eyes and lay their bodies down in a way that looked like they had merely fallen asleep. A shudder coarsed through Sakura’s body. She really did hope that this was the worst of it.

She continued her trek through the civilian district. Suffering ran amok. Ninja nor civilian were spared. She popped another soldier pill in her mouth, already shaking from all the chakra expelled. There wasn’t much she could do with death lingering in every corner. Easing their pain as they slipped into the throes of death was her only consolation.

An hour or so had passed of this before Sakura happened upon the familiar building of her home. Well - former home at least. It, along with a few other buildings in the surrounding area, didn’t look too bad. Windows were busted, roofs mangled, and those strange crawling creatures she’d battled earlier slinked around the perimeter, but it was okay. That was promising.

Sakura felt her heart climb up her throat. Her mother usually attended a basket weaving class on the other side of the village at this time. Her father was due for a trip to the nearby forest on the outskirts of town. Neither of them should’ve been home at this time. So why couldn’t Sakura stop her hands from trembling?

The young girl finally gathered some courage and stepped up to the front door. She ignored everything around her just as she would during an operation. Everything’s fine. Don’t get yourself worked up over nothing.

The door creaked open. Sakura couldn’t remember if it had always been that way or if she had just opened the door strangely. She didn’t mull it over. The lights in the house were still on. A good sign. The devastation wasn’t so severe that the villagers would be without power.

Light provided a clear look into the living room. Sakura calmed her hands and took cautionary steps. Aside from the dust blanket draping the room as a result of the collapsed roof, everything looked to be in perfect order. Sakura took a shaky breath. Good. Everything’s good.

Still tuning out the world around her, Sakura didn’t take heed to the puddle beneath her feet as she entered the adjacent kitchen. Nothing looked too out of the ordinary until she stumbled onto something solid. It was only a chair, but bile rose to her throat as her eyes flicked downwards. A rather large - how could she not have noticed it earlier?! - pool of darkening blood dried at her feet.

She jumped back, panting hard like a dog. Drops of blood dripped from her shoes like raindrops as she tried to maneuver around the puddle. Sakura’s heart pounded in her eardrums. It’s ok. Maybe it’s just one of those bugs outside that got killed. That must be why they’re all outside like that.

Sakura shook the remaining loose drops from her feet and sidestepped the puddle. They aren’t supposed to be here, she repeated in her head like a mantra. So why the hell couldn’t she shake this feeling?

She recognized the familiar bright yellow color of her mother’s smock on the other side of the dining table. She’d only be wearing that if she’d be cooking a really big meal.

Suddenly, Sakura’s senses hit her all at once. She could hear the pot on the stove boiling. Bubbling water seeped through the pot’s lid that threatened to be blown off at any time. She rushed to turn off the stove. Even went the extra mile of cleaning up the mess. Since when was kaa-san careless enough to leave the stove on when she’s out of the house?

The young girl shook her head. Her mother was becoming more scatterbrained in her old age. Sakura took a whiff of the air. Besides the stench of blood, there were faint hints of some of her favorite food aromas. A quick look around showed a table full of freshly prepared food covered in debris.

Damn. She’s gonna be so mad when she gets back.

Sakura stepped over to the table, mindful of the sticky, bloody floor. Her mother would be furious when she came back to clean all this up. Sakura dusted off some of the dishes trying to make out what they were. Debris was so caked into them that she couldn’t recognize a thing.

In the midst of her intense dusting, a plate clattered to the floor. Sakura rushed to pick it up and was met with a sight that made her want to vomit. Her mother lay sprawled out on the floor, her midsection crushed by a piece of the fallen roof, and her mouth propped open in what was most likely one of her shrill voiced screams.

Ok, she thought, her mind blanking as she took it all in. Ok, ok, ok. Glowing green lit up her hands as she squatted down to heal her mother.

She’s dead. You know that, a nagging little voice taunted.

No, no, no. I can still do something. I’m not totally inept.

Pumping chakra into her mother proved futile, but nothing could stop her. Truthfully, she wasn’t fixing anything. Only searching for a semblance of a pulse - something to prove that she wasn’t too late.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” she yelled as she recklessly pumped more healing chakra into her mother’s lifeless body. It was only when a vital organ burst that she stopped her madness. Looking over her mother with blood smeared up her elbows and calves, she could only imagine the cruel remark her mother would make.

Sakura dragged a finger across Mebuki’s cheek, willing her mouth to move for any kind of comment to be made. Sakura’s heart plummeted to her stomach.

There’s nothing. Nothing at all.

Sakura shut her eyes and rested her forehead in her mother’s bosom. Everything around her had gone deathly quietly. Her ears felt like they were clogged with water. “Kaa-san,” she whimpered, burying her head further into her mother’s chest.

Sakura’s body felt so heavy all of a sudden. She could barely will herself to move. Even turning her head required extreme effort. She’d finally managed to look away from her mother’s corpse only to find her father’s in about the same position. He was propped against the wall, his hand clutching the house phone as blood pooled around him.

Sakura couldn’t muster the strength to bring forth the familiar glow of her healing chakra. The soldier pills only helped so much and she’d been healing all day. Not to mention she couldn’t recall the last time she consumed anything other than water. She was running on borrowed time.

With the last of her strength, Sakura dragged her father’s corpse near her mother’s, uncaring of the smeared trail of blood left in its wake. She maneuvered their bodies into one big embrace with her lying belly down in the middle. Chakra exhaustion settled in soon after. Her heavy eyelids drooped closed without much of a fight on her end. She heard nothing but her own beating heart as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Kabuto’s demise was inevitable. The pompous bastard was in constant pursuit of the upper hand, never too loyal to anyone nor any place. Orochimaru couldn’t in earnest say that he never predicted such an ending. His apprentice had died by his master’s hands. The snake sannin wasn’t the type for sentimentality but damn! He could kind of understand why the Third kept his sorry ass around. Seeing the blood of the one you’d poured so much thought and time into was a twisted, gut wrenching feeling that never quite left you.

Kabuto had been ranting to him about something as death lingered. Orochimaru had chalked up the nonsense dribbles to delirium, but now, with an eerie quiet blanketing the area, he had the time to mull over what was spat at him.

“It’s the end,” Orochimaru recalled himself saying.

Kabuto coughed up a bit of blood. He wiped his throbbing mouth that only ached from the pressure. Too bad it did nothing to wipe the smug smile off the bastard’s face. “It’s not,” the bespectacled man managed to choke out.

Orochimaru’s brow raised. Kabuto leaned into his master’s curiosity. “I planned for this. I knew there was a possibility I’d die fighting you-”

“A certainty.”

Kabuto’s lips curved downwards. Orochimaru was sure he heard him curse under his breath. “I’ve no time for semantics. But plans were set into place long ago to keep you from getting what you really want.”

“And what would that be?”

“Sasuke,” Kabuto hissed. “Or rather his body.”

“Aren’t you cute?”

“I’m serious! I’ve been working with Danzo behind your back.”

“A rather axiomatic confession on your part, but I understand the soon departed's wish to confess their sins to enjoy a comfortable after life.”

“Fuck you!”

Kabuto’s anger did nothing to faze the snake sannin. It only worked him up enough to start another round of coughing fits. More blood splattered on the ground.

“And how will your little plan stop me from getting what I want?”

“When I started working with Danzo, I managed to get my hands onto files that detailed his involvement with the Akatsuki, Root, and other illicit affairs.”

“So?”

“I’m implicated in them. That means you are too, by proxy.”

“How so?”

Kabuto’s mouth ticked up into a sadistic grin. “I am nothing if not your humble servant.”

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. “I hardly think implicating me in the affairs of the Akatsuki would do anything to squander my reputation. I am the snake sannin after all.”

“You’ll be taken to a prison of the highest security. You won’t be allowed access to Sasuke anymore.”

“I don’t have access to him now and look at how that’s working.”

Kabuto’s teeth clenched. He grimaced as his wounds festered from the wind of debris that picked up and swirled over him. His eyes traced his master’s outline as he kneeled next to him.

“You didn’t think this through, did you?”

“I did.”

“You’re such a child.” Orochimaru stroked Kabuto’s head. The young man refused to admit the comfort it gave him in his final moments. “You’re a more than capable man. No reason to hold such grudges against a teenager.”

“You make it sound simple.”

“Isn’t it?”

Kabuto laughed dryly. There was never much he could say that would faze the man. But maybe, just maybe, this time he’d finally see him crack. “I was able to get vital intel from ANBU before our scuffle. Sasuke was assigned to the civilian district.”

That made Orochimaru stiffen. He remembered the way everything in his body just seemed to stop. His breaths hadn’t even felt real. Kabuto smiled, blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth.

“If my calculations were accurate, he should’ve been in the area at the time of our attack,” Kabuto tittered. “You won’t be able to use his body. But maybe you’ll find it in time before it gets too mangled for an open casket funeral.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

In a span of just a few hours, Konoha’s entire landscape had changed. Only those remaining on the outskirts had faced little to no damage. The devastation was astronomical. An entire village had been uprooted as a result of an attack that very few knew the details of.

Everywhere, there lay an upturned building, a fractured road, training grounds so thoroughly decimated in a manner that not even Tsunade’s fist wielded the power to do so. Worse were the bodies that lay crumpled underneath the fallen infrastructures. Piles of bodies were rounded up by shinobi. A solemn silence rang out over them all.

More maddening was the sudden disappearance of all the enemy nin that had stormed the border. One minute they were all there giving Konoha nin hell, the next, they flashed without a trace into thin air.

It had all been a sickening game to measure their strength. And for what? Proof they were formidable opponents? Compared to defenseless civilians? Many of whom wouldn’t ever know the truth of all that had transpired? A numbing ache would linger through the village for years to come.

Chapter 42: This May Destroy You

Chapter Text

Humiliating.

Emasculating.

Plain old embarrassing.

There weren’t enough words in the world to describe Sasuke’s horrid mood. His first taste - a preview of the wicked shit that could happen - of war and he was down for the count as a result of a fucking concussion.

Out for three days as he had been informed by one of the older nurses. All the medical personnel looked a little worse for wear. The result of actually being involved in stopping a violent threat to the village he bet. Civilians were more bruised up than him and they hadn’t even tried to fight!

Like adding salt to the wound, he had been wedged in a tiny room with the dobe who was currently snoring his life away. Quite loudly might he add. If that nincompoop had seen even the slightest bit of action, Sasuke was afraid he might explode. He didn’t think he could handle hearing Naruto’s pre-war exploits knowing that he’d been rendered useless seconds into battle and probably saddled his best friend with the burden of protecting him.

So he didn’t stay to watch him wake. He detached himself from all those awful, beeping monitors, removed his silly bandages, and slowly rose to his feet trying to avoid a headache. Tsunade would surely have his head later for not following hospital protocol and being properly assessed before release, but he’d deal with the consequences of his actions later.

He slipped into his ANBU uniform that was ever so nicely laid out on a chair next to his cot. As if someone knew he’d be ready to rush back into action the moment he sprawled up. He slinked down corridors, feet silenced by the chakra he brought to his feet to muffle the padding steps. He crept behind doors careful of the doctors, nurses, and surgeons trudging about the place. God! It was like they were multiplying. When had so many people begun working here?!

Sasuke suddenly had to turn on his heels. Just the woman he didn’t want to see. Tsunade and the aide who shadowed her whom he couldn’t remember the name of because she was such a nonfactor rounded the corner. The fifth hokage was a strong-willed woman who rarely ever showed weakness. But now, as she stood pacing, eyebrows leveled down in a U-shape, wrinkle lines dotting her forehead, and a frown on her face, she didn’t look so mighty.

“She’s been missing for three days, Shizune,” Tsunade worried. Shizune held onto a pig who oinked half-heartedly. She reached a hand out to touch the godaime’s shoulder. “Sakura’s a strong girl, Tsunade-sama. You trained her yourself.”

Sasuke’s breath caught in his throat. While he had been sleeping away peacefully in the hospital, Sakura had gone missing? His fists clenched. With worry? Agitation? He didn’t know. Tsunade didn’t look reassured by Shizune’s words. She brushed away her apprentice’s hand and shook her head.

“I sent her to the civilian district. One of the worst hit parts of the village. I understand she’s more than capable of handling herself,” Tsunade explained, the panic in her voice barely kept at bay. “But we’ve yet to reach contact with her. Not a note, a summons, hell, not even reports of other shinobi seeing her healing. Nothing.”

That was all Sasuke needed to hear before making his exit out of the nearest window. He bolted past buildings - if you can even call them that at this point - and shinobi guards. He was sure he had set off alarms because there were two highly skilled shinobi judging by their chakra signatures tailing him.

Didn’t matter to him though. He and Sakura had never had the best relationship, but he’d be lying if he said they weren’t close. She may have hated him now and he may be feeling the same way towards her, but he couldn’t imagine her dead. With all the ways he used to badger her about her incompetencies as a kunoichi, he never conjured a moment in his mind where she’d be hurt. They were on the same team. He assumed he’d always be there. Ready to flash step in front of her and stand guard. But now he was coming off a three day coma to news like this. If Naruto had been up to hear it instead of him, he couldn’t imagine the boy letting anything within his power stop him from seeking out Sakura.

So Sasuke did the same. He spurred up his chakra for a boost of speed and left the shinobi duo lagging. He had to be the one to find her. It was his duty to protect the civilian district. If Sakura had gone in his place and ended up hurt, he didn’t know what he’d do.

Sasuke activated his bloodline and searched around for her chakra. He knew it like the back of his hand. It wouldn’t take him long to find her.

“Sasuke!” the familiar gruff tone rang out. Sasuke couldn’t hold back an eye roll. What luck. What a fucking curse. If there was any person in the world who he least wanted to see it was Itachi. And judging by the two chakra signatures he felt, his sidekick Shishui was with him.

The young boy, with his bloodline still activated, willed his body to move faster. He was within reach of the civilian district. Only one more roof to hop. A heavy hand clamped down onto his shoulder throwing off his balance and sending him hurtling to the ground. Thanks to his ninja training which he took seriously, he was able to lunge his body sideways in time to bring chakra to his feet and stick to the side of a building. It took a few moments to quell his quickened breath. He’d really been winded. The deep scowl he wore when he glanced up at Shishui and Itachi told as much.

“The old lady’s gonna kill you, y’know?” Shishui said with a shit eating grin not really caring about the situation either way. “There’s strict protocols surrounding patient stay. I doubt you’ve been properly discharged.”

Sasuke clenched his teeth. If he gave a fuck about any of those protocols he wouldn’t be here. His tomoe spun wildly. He needed to concentrate. If he could pinpoint Sakura’s location, he could flash step there and leave these chuckleheads in the dust. He kept his eye to the rubble that had once been a thriving community. Everything looked so bleak.

“The attack is long over, otouto-san,” Itachi’s steady monotone rang out from the rooftop. “There’s no adventure to seek. Be sensible and return to the hospital.”

Sasuke had found Sakura. Her chakra signal was so weak. Flickering on and off like a light under the pressure of a heavy storm. It was so faint that he’d hardly realized he’d zeroed in on it. Itachi watched his younger brother’s eyes squint at something in the distance. He activated his bloodline too. “Who are you looking for?”

Itachi’s voice carried in the wind of his sudden flash step. Sasuke wouldn’t have answered his question anyway, but he was glad to have left those two in the dust. It wouldn’t last long. Those two were damn good at tracking. Sasuke cloaked his chakra in hopes to buy just a little more time.

He'd been transported to a place that was vaguely familiar. He couldn’t remember exactly why he felt that way - he was sure he’d never ventured inside the building before - but he could still feel Sakura’s weakly pulsing chakra inside.

He stepped over the rotting corpses of comically large bugs. Ugh, this village would be in need of some serious cleaning. He jutted his hand to grasp the doorknob, but the door seemed to open itself. The creaking sound it made was awful not because of its volume, but the way it made his stomach drop to his ass.

Sasuke steeled himself. He had to go in. Naruto would never forgive him if he didn’t. The putrid odor of death assaulted his nostrils immediately upon entry. His stomach lurched. He barely caught himself in time before he ended up vomiting all over his shoes. He stuck his head out the door for a deep breath of fresh air. This is your job. If you can’t handle this, you won’t make it as ANBU, he chided internally.

His footsteps were much more confident upon reentry. The stench still bothered him, but he powered through. He walked through the entrance. Nothing besides a few spiderwebs he swatted away stopped him. It was when he walked further into the building that he could only hear his thudding heartbeat in his ears.

It occurred to him now that he was inside of a house. Everything - aside from the dust covering it - was in its rightful place as if someone had only stepped out for a walk around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, he knew that wasn’t true. He would be rolling up on the bodies anytime now.

Death fumes grew stronger as he stumbled around the cozy little house. He was getting closer. He puffed his chest. He needed to prepare himself for the worst. But nothing - nothing - could’ve prepared him for what he saw next. The scent trail led Sasuke to the kitchen. For a moment, he thought that maybe the stench came from the ruined meal on the table. But then he looked down.

Sasuke only saw a bloodied leg until he walked around the table and saw something that would burn itself on the back of his eyelids. Now he remembered this place. Sakura’s house. He’d refused her invitations on their walks home so many times. He guessed the two bodies flanking her, holding her tight were her parents. Sasuke wondered what they were like. He should’ve indulged her just once.

The trio was covered in blood. There were smeared trails of it all over the floor. Had they crawled to her in the wake of their inevitable deaths? But he could still sense her chakra. Didn’t that mean she was alive? He dropped to his knees and put his ear to her chest. A heartbeat. She was still there. Just barely.

He took her body in his arms and held her close. He shook her gently. “Sakura? Sakura?!” he called out half shouting. Her eyes fluttered open lazily. He could tell it took all her strength just to do that. He let his hands smooth over her blood caked hair.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

“Sasuke!” a voice boomed coinciding with the slam of an open door. Itachi and Shishui were on him without a hitch. The smell and the sight of dead bodies didn’t seem to bother them in the slightest. He pretended not to be disturbed by that. Shishui slung the body of Sakura’s father over his shoulder.

“She dead?” he asked, tilting his head in Sakura’s direction.

“Almost.” Sasuke was surprised at the shaky breathlessness of his own voice.

Itachi frowned in that patronizing way he always did. “You should get her to the hospital quickly. I’m sure Lady Tsunade will be relieved.”

“I can’t leave them,” Sakura croaked out, eyes still too heavy to hold open.

Itachi set Sakura’s mother over his shoulder. “We’ll take care of everything, Sakura-san. You work on healing, ok?”

There wasn’t much room for argument as Shishui did a mock salute before the pair flashed away. Nothing but Sakura’s shallow breaths filled the silence. Sasuke rose to his feet - Sakura in tandem - and aimed to leave.

“Can you walk?” he asked, his steady voice finally returning. A verbal response wasn’t needed as her knees buckled promptly. He slipped his hand under the back of her thighs and carried her bridal style.

Funny. He’d never imagined her being so light.

She cowered into him looking meek. He poured chakra into his soles, rushed out of what remained of her childhood home, and roofhopped to the hospital.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Looking back now, maybe killing Fugaku would’ve been the best course of action after his decision to dissolve the police district. Brash decisions behooved horrid outcomes.

Anti-Uchiha sentiment was on the rise. Not through any decision of their own, the Uchiha district was pushed in a corner far back in the recesses of the village. In short, their homes suffered little to no damage.

Mikoto rolled her eyes. That bastard the second hokage was still fucking them over from beyond the grave. It was no doubt in anyone’s mind that their placement was strategically decided so that they’d become forgotten and hopefully rot. The joke was on him though. They were more resilient than anyone would’ve given them credit for. That was quickly coming to a halt.

Dirty looks and shoves were becoming more frequent in Mikoto’s life. She wasn’t planning on telling her husband - Kami knows he’d have someone’s head on her behalf - but that didn’t mean she wasn’t taking note.

Coming months would be hard. Rebuilding the village could take years. People would either have to sleep in what remained of the ruined buildings - something that could easily end in death with the way all their foundations had been ruined - or sleep elbow to elbow in crowded shelters. So why did the Uchiha, with all their transgressions towards the village and their antisocial behaviors, get to live in the lap of luxury?

Rumors of the Uchiha being involved in the attack had already started. Didn’t make it any better that the bastard who attacked the village had the rinnegan. Mikoto shuddered at the memory of those purple irises. She hoped that the attacker’s retreat meant she wouldn’t be seeing them for a long time.

“How are you holding up, honey?” Kushina’s raspy twang broke through her reverie.

They were having a cup of tea in the privacy of the Uchiha manor. Away from the prying, judgemental eyes of outsiders. Mikoto sighed. “I’m doing as best as I can. Those bastards are wasting their time spreading bullshit lies about us. You know the woman I buy my tomatoes from? She wasn’t even in the mood to be haggled the other day. She told me everything short of ‘Fuck off!’”

“Don’t I know it!” Kushina exclaimed, her red hair already flying around her in anger. “Those fuckers are already spreading shit about us, too. Say what you want about me I don’t really give a damn. But they’re saying the most awful shit about my baby. Said the attack would’ve never happened if he wasn’t born or if I had fucked off a long time ago. I just wanna - UGH!” the red-haired woman screamed whilst pantomiming strangling someone.

Mikoto laughed at her abrasiveness. How could she not love this woman?

Kushina cooled and sank back into her chair. She ran her fingers through her tresses. “The worst part is, I can tell that the only reason those motherfuckers aren’t saying it to my face is because of my husband. As if that wimp would even hurt them. He doesn’t even squash bugs around the house.”

“They act like it's our fault their houses were destroyed,” Mikoto grumped. “There’s plenty of other people around here whose houses and businesses are still intact.”

“You know facts don’t matter Mikoto. In times like these, people need a scapegoat. People like you and I are easy pickings.”

“Well, all I know is, if things keep getting worse, nothing will stop the clan from defending themselves.”

Kushina nodded proudly at her friend. She took a swig from the cup held tightly and gave a satisfied smack. Mikoto smiled. Her friend had always been so easy to please.

“It figures that we’d end up with the two most stubborn blockheads on the planet as children,” Kushina complained. “I don’t even want to know what landed them in the hospital this time.”

Mikoto frowned. When she went to see Sasuke a couple days ago he didn’t look too wounded. His ego was probably bruised, but then again, when wasn’t it? She’d probably have to talk him out of doing something irrational once he woke. She’d only left him some clothes to change into before heading back home for a clan meeting. That was just one of the many headaches she couldn’t avoid.

“Speaking of which, do you think we should check in on our little troublemakers?” Mikoto asked, already making for the door.

Kushina stretched out her back and hobbled beside her old friend. “Yeah. Might as well. I’m sure either one of them is due for some incredibly stupid decision.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Sasuke rushed back to the hospital with a transportation jutsu. He didn’t like how Sakura jostled about in his arms while roof hopping. There was also the matter of shortening time windows. She became paler and more unresponsive by the minute.

It was uncharacteristic of him. He’d never admit it to a soul, but he was panicking. As expected, the hospital was in a frenzy. Patients’ mild injuries had all of a sudden spiked into something severe and there was also the matter of his disappearance. He’d had his back turned at the moment, but in the corner of his eye, he could see a gang of irate nurses headed his way.

Sasuke readjusted Sakura in his arms and was set to bolt. But it was just his luck that he bumped into none other than his mother. “Oof!” she cried upon their collision. “What are you doing-”

“What’s wrong with Sakura-chan?!” Kushina shouted, coming out of nowhere.

Sasuke’s mouth went dry. He licked his lips to compensate for it, but found no such luck. Words sat unmoving on his tongue. If he’d had a mirror in front of him, he was sure he would’ve agreed he looked constipated.

“Sasuke?” his mother called in that tone she used when he looked deeply troubled. He tried again to conjure up some words, but was met with nothing but cavemen like grunts.

“UCHIHA!” a voice bellowed from down the corridor. The quick clopping of heels down the corridor told him it could only be one person. He turned to meet her eye only to be met with her sudden halt and grimace. He looked down at himself. No wonder his mother was so worried. He was covered in blood. And holding a half dead girl no less.

Tsunade stomped over to him immediately, going into medic mode. “Are you hurt? You’ve only just woken up from your concussion. I hope you haven’t already gotten yourself wounded.”

“No,” Sasuke finally managed to breathe out. “I didn’t.”

Tsunade gave him a scornful look as she checked him over for possible injuries. She looked a little miffed when she found he was alright. But that only lasted a second before she looked at the feeble girl barely holding it together in his arms.

“Is she…?” the godaime started, hesitant to say anything more. Sasuke could understand her.

“Her parents are dead,” he dished out robotically. “Itachi and Shishui should be bringing the bodies.”

Tsunade’s eyes widened just a fraction before she steeled her features. She gave a sharp nod and collected Sakura from his arms. Sasuke had never seen the woman teeter so close on the edge to crying.

“I’ll handle things from here,” she mumbled more to herself than anyone else. “Mikoto? Kushina?”

“HAI!” the younger women chorused like the soldiers they were.

“Please keep a handle on your brats. We can’t afford any more surprises of any kind today.”

Kushina did a mock salute before rushing off to find Naruto’s room. Sasuke stood paralyzed watching Tsunade carry Sakura down the hall, a panicked Shizune quickly coming to her side. Sasuke felt his mother’s hand squeeze his hand gently. “C’mon,” she coaxed. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Chapter 43: Taste The Fruit Of Me

Chapter Text

Six months.

It took six months to rebuild Konoha and the village still wasn’t the same. The laughter and frivolity which once marked the village now left no trace.

7,000. A mighty death toll that didn’t even include the 20,000 more left wounded or permanently disabled as a result of the attack.

They’d done their best to evacuate the academy, but still so many ninjas in training had died. Classmates of the fallen had begrudgingly returned to class and if it wasn’t obvious in the uptick of crisis counselors being sent to the academy grounds, they were suffering more than they let on.

The economy had dwindled drastically. Times were hard after everything had fallen and would’ve resembled Wave country’s former self had the feudal lords, daimyos, and council not been forced to take major budget cuts. They weren’t happy about it at all, but Tsunade was no stranger to their ire. You couldn’t expect to be universally loved in a position like hers.

Along with a flailing economy and a mental health crisis came a steep rise in targeted violence. Especially those considered spared by the attack. Of course the Uchiha were no strangers to the scornful eyes of their fellow villagers, but it had reached its peak in this past half year. People were becoming more openly hostile towards them. Even blaming them for the recent attack and connecting it to the night the kyuubi was accidentally released.

Angry mobs swarmed their houses, pillaging them for resources, destroying their property, and in some cases resorting to physical violence. A coup d’etat looked more and more probable every day and would’ve happened had Tsunade not drafted up a village wide curfew, upped times and fines for trespassing, and drafted a formal reprimand that acknowledged the decades long abuse the Uchiha had suffered as a result of age old biases.

The council still weren’t up to considering that last action until other prominent clans like the Hyuuga came forward about their abuse at the hands of angry villagers. She scoffed at the irony. How long did they think they’d be spared the ire of the village by hiding behind their enemies? Villagers complained that prominent clans got first billings on all resources like housing, food, and water. That all seemed to be true when she watched them clam up at her question.

Laws also had to be reimplemented about mentions of the kyuubi. Naruto and Kushina had to go into hiding for a while as tensions rose. Tsunade sighed. What the fuck had she allowed Jiraiya to rope her into?

Speaking of her teammates, Orochimaru was still enduring trials questioning his involvement in the attack. Reports of his snake summons and an unidentified white snake said that they’d added to death tolls and property damage. Nothing had been revealed of his devious affairs, but Kabuto hadn’t been seen since and Orochimaru had been cagey about any questions regarding him.

She’d had paperwork out the woo-ha dealing with all this shit. She was sure that she was teetering on the edge of alcohol poisoning every day. The events surrounding Danzo's death had also been cause for major speculation. In trying to save that old, decrepit bastard she’d also revealed the deeply embedded issues of her beloved village. There were several sharingan implanted in each of his arms.

Tsunade remembered the way her heart stopped in its tracks. All those years of that bastard’s shadiness laid out right there in front of her. She wanted to keep him alive to answer for himself, to tell the people of Konoha what he meant when he said their safety would be secured by any means.

She had to tell the Uchihas. Boy did it eat her up inside. Maybe all that resentment they held for the Senju wasn’t for naught. The discovery of Danzo's corpse set off a chain of events that Tsunade was sure would reset the chains of history. The Uchiha were notified immediately and given back the eyes of their fallen comrades. What they did with them she didn’t want to know, but they were extremely irate. Some wanted head while others wanted a long court process. Tsunade was able to get them to settle for an extensive investigation.

Evidence had been damning. Coercion of a 13-year-old to murder his clan, documented testing with dangerous chemicals of subjects from poor backgrounds or no families, the illegal underground Root unit, funding backed by big named daimyos and clans like the Hyuuga to spread smear campaigns about the Uchiha only broke the surface of the clusterfuck that had been the status quo. So many people would be implicated in these crimes. Her sensei - the Third - would be one of many.

She needed to lie down for a moment. A quick nap would do. Maybe even a coma. Court proceedings were ongoing, but at the top of the list was the formal acknowledgement of atrocities done against the Uchihas. The village had gone into shellshock. It was an all around scandal that sent waves throughout the five great nations. The Uchiha remained to themselves, but the animosity from the villagers had died down significantly. Coming years would be a tough transition as public opinion of the clan shifted. Perhaps they’d become more open towards others.

But of the most tragic things that befell this once great village, the condition of Sakura troubled her the most. On the day Sasuke delivered her apprentice to the hospital, she took her up to one of the exclusive rooms and ran a bath. Sakura was presently only in shock, but Tsunade feared for the ways that she could not heal the girl with the green glow of her hand.

She stripped her down and bathed her like she was her own child. Shizune discarded the bloodied clothes. They could easily be washed but she doubted anyone would want the smidgen of reminder that their parents had bled out all over them. Instead, she found her a hospital gown and cotton underwear.

Red was all Tsunade remembered. The way it stained Sakura’s body, changed the color of the water, and the residue that took forever to scrub out of the tub. It felt like forever as Tsunade ran the washcloth over Sakura trying so hard to erase any trace of what she’d witnessed.

But what lay underneath the caked up layers of blood was much worse. Tsunade had expected it but the sight was much worse. Her clothes had been getting baggier. Those thoughts clawed at her mind. She wanted so badly for them to be untrue that she’d allowed things to escalate. The already small, now shrunken in, breasts, the hollow cheeks, the concave stomach, spindly legs, thinning hair, and jutting ribs caused so visceral a reaction in Tsunade that she nearly vomited.

Sakura remained quiet and shivering as her mentor dried her off with a towel. Shizune dressed her, then laid her down where she spent days unmoving with her eyes fixed on the ceiling and her mind in a thousand places.

Tsunade couldn’t stay. There were so many lives to save. Sakura wasn’t physically injured. She could wait for her.

Unfortunately, that would turn out to be untrue. Aside from the occasional checkup every few hours there was no bedside therapy she could provide to her apprentice long enough before duty called. Oft were the calls of her subordinates to aid in a complicated operation and haste she had to make. Time slipped through her fingers.

The third day of Sakura’s hospitalization set off alarm bells. She’d discharged herself, dressed in some plain black clothes, and stood in her office bright and chipper ready to work. Tsunade advised against it. Told her she wouldn’t have her working anywhere near a patient before resting a few more days. Sakura prodded further but acquiesced to her master’s demands.

Tsunade thought she’d wrangled the poor girl for a few more days, but that same evening she’d heard the civilians rave on about the kind-hearted Sakura using Wood Release to help rebuild their homes. Instantly Tsunade knew that putting a stop to Sakura would be futile. She’d never been completely open with her feelings and was a people pleaser. She’d sooner pick a needle out of a haystack than get Sakura to talk about her parents.

So she let her be.

Tirelessly she worked with Yamato to rebuild houses everyday as long as their chakra allowed. Tsunade had given her the ok to deal with minor bruises, burns, and broken arms, but she was sure the girl was doing more.

Weeks passed and Tsunade finally permitted Sakura back into the hospital where she took backbreaking shifts with little to no breaks. She remained amiable to everyone, but likewise managed to remain more and more to herself. Her friends in the Rookie 9 would sometimes voice their concerns to the Fifth Hokage, but would be disappointed when she knew no more of the girl than they did.

There was no one who looked after her health more than Sasuke though. An honest surprise that still dumbfounded her. He’d linger around the hospital after hours waiting for her to finish her shift and kept a close eye on her when within the village.

He’d become a ghost of his former self. Those raven eyes of his shimmered with guilt, his hands were constantly wringing, and he seemed to have picked up some nervous ticks. He’d become more skittish, more pitiful in the time past. Apparently it was so much so that his father had requested her personally to put a month-long hold on his missions. She prayed she wouldn;t have to be present for that upcoming meltdown.

Either way she had it, nothing was looking good. She’d contemplated the decision for months. She was not Sakura’s parent. An executive decision like the one she wanted to make personally was not up to her to decide. Ninjas didn’t have lengthy lifespans anyway. But there were loopholes in every contract. Hokages had a lot of sway in who could and couldn’t be a ninja. Presenting this ultimatum would have to force Sakura into caring for her health.

Right?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Are you out of your mind?”

Sasuke stood before Fugaku wondering how things had ever gotten as bad as they were. It was hard to look anyone in the eye now. Even harder to look at what had become of the village. He’d become a shadow. Lurking in the dark whilst avoiding all that came with the light.

Those first two months where no missions outside of the village were allowed made him grateful. The agony that came with being cooped up in a place that no longer existed drove him mad. He begged for any job that would release him of that weighted feeling in his chest. He built foundations, patched up ceilings, identified the deceased, and a medley of other things that were sure to take a nosedive on his mental health, but she seemed to be everywhere. Omnipresent she appeared. No corner of Konoha existed where Sasuke didn’t hear the whispers of Sakura’s name.

‘Sakura’s been such a blessing,’ they’d say. ‘An angel come down to earth.’

‘I don’t know how she remains so cheerful with all those suicide shifts she does at the hospital. Can’t the hokage afford her a break?’

‘Have you heard what happened of her parents? The poor girl. I’ve sent my condolences.’

‘The worst always happens to the best people.’

‘I don’t want to say anything while she’s grieving, but I’m sure her stubbornness had to do with their deaths. Civilians aren’t meant to be ninjas. Another Icarus who flew too close to the sun.’

Murmurings of her name - good or bad - vexed him. Sharpness returned to his chest again and again at the sound of her name. He’d failed her. Completely and utterly. She didn’t seem bothered by him, not that she knew of the true circumstances of that day, but the way she was now perturbed him.

Giggly, full of smiles and good cheer just like her days of the academy and their time together as Team 7. Where sneers and glowering once existed now stood unnaturally wide smiles and polite conversation.She was exactly as he remembered. Isn’t that what he wanted?

When time rolled around for missions again, Sasuke found that he was not at all picky. His ANBU officer had been very forgiving. Much more than he thought he deserved. No mission proved to be too demeaning nor undermining of his skill range. He took anything that would relieve him of the sight of her, her perfectly manicured face of suppressed distress.

What could his extended time in Konoha do? All he could offer the poor girl were walks home, stilted conversation, and his presence that he hoped would ease her loneliness.

His condition only worsened alongside hers. Sparse were his eyebrows now and aside from the lower three quarters of his leg, his upper thigh stood no chance against his hair pulling.

His mother worried after him. No surprise seeing that he’d withdrawn from even Naruto - his closest confidant with whom he was sure his mother had sent to cajole him out of his despondency. Naturally it didn’t work. But his mother’s persistence would only grow. He was suffocating in Konoha. Life was spiraling out of his hands. He needed some grounding. He needed control.

So he found it in Minari. The older woman never denied him any indulgence. She understood him, fed his soul, nursed his wounds. Every one of her kisses left a piercing sting, the trail of her hands a burning strip, and her breathy words brought forth illbread thoughts. His attachment to her scared him. He always intended for this time to be the last time yet he’d end up at her doorstep anew.

She’d only smile in that snakelike manner before ushering him inside her lair. Twisted was the best way to describe her. ‘You just let all that anger out on me. You’re in charge now. You call the shots.’

And he’d take her words praying desperately hoping that they were true. They had to be. Why else would he keep circling back at his own volition? He wanted this. Didn’t he? ‘I’m a man. I’m a man. I’m a man,’ he’d repeat to himself like a mantra as he conquered her.

But after it was all done and he found himself lying cradled in her bosom in a fetal position, he knew that it was the farthest from the truth. No ache nor tug on his heart, cloudiness of his mind, nor numbness in his leg could be lifted by what he was doing. Cowering before the toilet, bile sat on his lip, stomach lurching for another round, he feared that he’d be stuck in this cycle forever.

In surrendering to these circumstances, he wagered that at least he’d have Minari to make home for him. Excessive scrubbing and hair pulling were of little consequence to her. Yes. He could go his whole life running errands and bedding her at night if she allowed him some escape.

She lived meagerly. Onigiri balls and mangoes could sustain her for months. Yes. Maybe this was the quiet life he needed.

His father was of very different mind however. Sasuke would be lying if he said he hadn’t scared the shit out of him. Mangoes rolled down the street from the weak hold of his shopping bag. Fugaku - under a light henge but still discernible to his son’s eyes - angrily charged the rolling fruit and held them in his arms. The market was bare of its usual hustle and bustle. Still, Sasuke didn’t want to cause a scene. He pulled his father off to a more secluded corner, wary of the notionless people walking by.

“How’d you find me?” he said to his father in a spooked whisper.

“That’s what you’re worried about?”

Sasuke made no move to answer. His silence was enough confirmation for Fugaku. The older man pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s not just your family you’re worrying. Your friends are concerned about you too, you know?”

Quiet remained Sasuke. The only indication of his having heard his father was the way his arms went to wrap around his body like a child trying to soothe themselves. “Your mother started asking your friends about you. Nothing came up - as I’m sure you intended. A pretty little red-headed girl volunteered to help.”

Karin. Sasuke scoffed. He should’ve known. There wasn’t a nook or cranny that girl wouldn’t find him in. And he’d left her on her lonesome after stringing her along again. Damn it, he cursed. I need to get a handle on things.

“She tracked you all the way to this village. I sent her home already. Don’t worry about her jumping out to grab you.”

“I’m not.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“Nothing.”

His eyes flicked downwards. There really wasn’t anything to say. Nothing that wouldn’t have him sounding like a raging madman at least. Fugaku sighed. Sasuke peered up to meet his eye. He watched his father plop onto a spare ledge. Years seemed to spread all over his face. Funny. His father had never been so old to him before.

“Sit down.”

Sasuke complied. Room for argument had long since left. Any rapport of their usual kind would definitely end up town gossip for the next five years.

“I entered this village and the first thing I heard of was a woman with a reputation for bewitching teenage boys.” Fugaku’s eyes clasped closed tightly at this. His crow’s feet fanned out to show his true age. “I didn’t want to consider it as an option. That you could’ve possibly been spelled by such a person. But a nagging voice urged me to go. To assure myself because deep down I knew…it was the only place you’d be. Lo and behold, when I walked past the house. There you were walking out the front door.”

Fugaku turned to Sasuke finally. Pools of dark ebony warbled with moisture. The image seared into Sasuke’s mind. Fugaku - a man of great stature and pride - had been reduced to tears. “A baby like you getting caught up in that spider’s web is reprehensible.”

“I’m not a baby.”

Fugaku scoffed. “I thought I knew everything at 16, too,” he lectured. “Then what are you, pray tell?”

“I’m a man.”

At that Fugaku guffawed. Sasuke ground his teeth. He really hated the pompous bastard. “You are a petulant child who hates to see reason. Don’t ever mistake that for a man.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“What I do know is she should be flogged in the village square.”

“She needs me.”

“She needs you?!”

“Yes,” Sasuke huffed, rising to his feet now. “I made this decision. I keep coming back because I’m in control. I’m a man,” he added, hitting his chest for emphasis on each point.

Fugaku’s brow raised. He stood to match his son’s eye level. Both tensed their bodies. With each slightly bent in a stance prepared for battle, the air around them went frigid. Save for the lingering eyes of nosy villagers, a fight was sure to break out between them. Fugaku relaxed. He needed to be the bigger person. After all, he was the adult here.

“Is that what she told you?” he asked. His Adam's apple quivered as he swallowed. In turn, Sasuke lowered his guard. “I know it for myself,” the boy replied with the same base in his voice. “I don’t care what you have to say about it.”

Fugaku ran his hands over his face. Broaching this subject required a lot more emotional competence than he possessed. “How long has this been going on?”

There was a long pause that was cause for worry. Whatever answer there was would upset him greatly. Sasuke wound his arms around himself again. He looked like the little boy who’d beg him to be taught clan techniques. He’d be mourning him for a while.

“Three years,” he admitted barely above a whisper. All the fight had gone out of him. Fugaku pressed his eyes closed tight. “I’m taking you home.”

“I don’t want to-”

“This is not up to you,” the older man barked.

Sasuke puffed his chest out ready to bark back. His father soaked up all that gusto with one final threat. “The deal’s already been arranged. Return to Konoha with me or that one month break will become permanent.”

Sasuke clenched his teeth. He snorted, pouted, kicked angrily at the dusty road, but in the end, even someone as bullheaded as him knew when he’d met his match.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

A break was much needed. Of course he would’ve liked one on his own terms, but he’d have to make do with the cards handed to him.

Mikoto cried when walked through the door. Even more so when his father got him to confess what he’d been up to. “My baby! My poor baby!” she sobbed while holding him like a newborn, pressing him close to her bosom. Embarrassing was what it was. Mirrors were not needed to reveal that his countenance looked anything but ashamed. The jeering from Shishui and Itachi did little to lift his spirits either.

Mikoto suggested he start seeing some form of counselor. Sasuke refused vehemently as expected so she offered her ear to him. He realized he could only endure so much of her hysterics while providing forced and very sanitized versions of his feelings before seeing a professional. He’d only gone to two appointments so far, but he highly doubted he’d be healed as his mother wished.

He was sparring with Naruto now. Spurred only by the line: “Fight with me bastard.” Some habits were hard to break. But Sasuke relished in the jovial familiarity of the situation. He was out of commission for a month. What better did he have to do?

They set about their usual training grounds. Naruto sent furtive glances every now and then as they warmed up. Quickly did that worry disperse once they started buffeting each other about. A swift sweeping kick, a well tossed blow, the crackle of their chakras as they used their special techniques.

The duel spanned hours - as it usually did. The training grounds were in a state that the village bemoaned every time those two went at it. Both boys lie with their backs to the ground, breath rapid, and chests puffing up and down.

Naruto was the first to roll to his side and stand. He moved to stand over Sasuke, studying his countenance, looking deep into his friend’s psyche as no one else could. A cheshire smile broke out over the sunshine boy’s face.

“You look like shit,” he jeered, reaching out his hand in the process. Sasuke smirked and took it all the same. The regal boy dusted himself off upon standing. That worrisome glint had returned to the blonde’s eyes. “Do you- A-are you up to going to Ichiraku’s?”

Sasuke shrugged. He made no verbal response, but his hands were in his pockets, feet already leading him towards the familiar ramen stand. “Hey!” he heard his friend shout indignantly behind him. “Wait for me bastard!”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Talking - and actually talking without a preamble to a vicious argument - to his father was something he’d have to get used to. The two had started off awkwardly. Neither was much for conversation, nor knew how to hold one.

Fugaku cleared his throat and did his best to start. He informed him of a ‘freak accident’ at Minari’s home that led to a fire that burned down everything with her inside of it. Sasuke paled a little, but there was nothing much to say on the matter. His skin hadn’t felt so slimy and in the need to be scrubbed raw since separating from her.

His father also came to tell him that he’d be going on a mission for the next few weeks with Itachi and Shishui. Obviously he couldn’t divulge the details, but he thought Sasuke might want to know. The boy stood dumbfounded trying to process what was happening. Fugaku - way past his limit of social interaction - waved him off into the night.

Mikoto scampered up to scoop her arm around his in quick succession. Sasuke’s brow - now much fuller from less stress plucking - raised in silent question. His mother tittered good-naturedly. “It’ll take some getting used to, but your father is trying,” she explained. “He loves you. You know that right?”

There was no answer. Sasuke’s brow remained raised. Mikoto giggled like a schoolgirl and clung closer to his arm. “You always wander off at this time of night. I wanna go with you this time.”

Sasuke had the sense not to argue. Mind made, his mother would stop at nothing when there was something she wanted to do. Fighting his blush was much harder though. Even with the late hour, villagers of all walks of life still roamed the streets. Hate to admit it he might, Sasuke was still a teenager, therefore was subject to feeling embarrassed about appearing cozy to his mother.

She prattled on the whole while unperturbed by his unease. She only slowed down in her recounts of juicy gossip as they neared the destination. “You hang around the hospital this late at night?”

No noise besides the crunch of dirt, pebbles, and leaves under their feet hung in the air. He tuned his mother out as she huffed about teens these days and their weird hobbies. Set to walk up the steps of the hospital entrance, a familiar figure emerged, bolting out of the door in an upset frenzy.

The figure hadn’t noticed them as they struggled to untangle themself and their satchel that had gotten stuck in the heavy door. “Sakura!” Sasuke called out, freeing himself from his mother’s grip.

Sakura’s head snapped in his direction, eyes wide and red rimmed. She struggled to wipe away her tears and free her satchel. Sasuke rushed over to help her out. “Sasuke-kun?” she called to him in that alien voice she’d been using the past half year.

He remained steadfast on unlatching her satchel. Mikoto’s eyes darted back and forth between the pair like a game of pinball. Sasuke - finally successful in his attempt - met his mother’s eyes. That slow grin let him know that he was in for a long night.

“Sasuke! Why don’t you invite your friend over? It’s already so late.”

Chapter 44: I Am Changing

Chapter Text

The gaping hole left in the morale of the people of Konoha was wide enough to swallow oceans. The humdrum of life they had taken for granted now slipped from under their feet left them in a perpetual state of shock. That shock soon turned to melancholy. Melancholy gave way to anger.

Who it was that caught the ire of the people varied day to day, hell, sometimes by the hour. A new person to spit, jeer, or gnash their teeth at. But Sakura would heal them. She would heal them all. One by one.

Those three days she lay in that hospital paralyzed with the fear of what she knew and had come to know again, she decided she could either be a rotting corpse feeling sorry for herself or she could take action and get that nagging voice out of her head that sounded so much like her mother.

She took a shower, let the fat drops of water stream down her body. Mechanically, she bathed, brushed her hair and teeth, and dressed herself. When she had finished this ritual, she stood in front of the bathroom mirror for close to an hour practicing what happiness would look like on her face. She smiled, crinkled her nose, created various laughs, switched hairstyles, and thought of all the ways she could be lovely enough for everyone. What else was a good-hearted angel to do?

Tsunade of course wasn’t convinced. She looked unnerved by Sakura as if she was staring at a walking cadaver. But Sakura had never felt so alive! There was just so much inside of her to give. It’d be a pity to deprive others of her generosity.

So she seeked work outside of the hospital. Easy to find work seeing that the village had been left in ruin. Those nice builders, hard at work, smiled and waved at her despite the insufferable heat laying licks to their backs. So she formed the familiar signs of the Wood Release and eased their burden just a little.

The smiles on their faces as they marveled at her work fed her. Their happiness could provide sustenance for a lifetime. And wasn’t she a glutton? Sakura powered on with soldier pills, copious amounts of water, and caffeine drinks. Anytime a hunger pain or dizziness struck her, she’d shuffle through those three options to sustain herself just a little while longer.

Konoha loved her. They called her their angel, the true hero of the town! There was no person she wouldn’t start a conversation with, ease the pain of, nor leave helpless. She was the people’s Sakura. The girl everyone wanted to know. A beacon of hope amongst the hell they’d come to know. She was the most amiable person around.

Why, she’d even gotten around to reconnecting with the Rookie 9. Hinata was as sweet as ever. When she wasn’t helping with rebuilding, she pulled Sakura off to the side for some gossip over tea.

Ino had come around too. The blonde girl talked her ear off about fashion and romance quite incessantly, but she let it pass. Now was the time for renewal. Unfortunately, she was still attached to the hip of that asshole Sai so Sakura could really only handle her in doses. However, her long time rival must’ve set her boyfriend straight because he never called her ugly again.

She sharpened weapons with TenTen who in turn kept her up to date with all things Neji and Rock Lee related. TenTen didn’t have to say much, but the blush on her cheeks when she spoke of the Hyuuga told the pink-haired girl enough.

Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino always greeted her if they happened to cross paths.

Sakura finally garnered the courage to apologize to Naruto. It was petty and ill-willed of her to revoke kindness to the one who had loved her for so long. He hugged her belatedly and went back to insisting on ‘dates’ at Ichiraku’s again.

She was much less abrasive to Kakashi too. She just didn’t have the fight in her to keep up a grudge. “You’re forgiving me?” the silver-haired jounin stuttered quizzically. Even behind the mask she could see his face of incredulity. “It’s all I can do,” she replied with a small laugh.

The last person she thought she’d ever reconcile with was Sasuke, but here she was. When she thought about it, Sasuke had never been anything but himself. Sure the ANBU mission report had caught her off guard, but it shouldn't have come as a surprise. From the academy, to the inception of Team 7, and even now, he’d shown to be a person only interested in self-preservation. There was no cost he wouldn’t bear if it meant he was stronger, more powerful than anyone else. Naruto had accepted it long ago and became his brotherly rival. Sakura had to be slapped around, shaken, beaten down until she couldn’t rise again to understand that. Now, with clarity of mind, she would accept truth. That innocence of lost girlhood had long since been gone. She had only been holding on to its remaining scraps.

Sakura began referring to him as ‘Sasuke-kun’ again. It just rolled off her tongue. That name of yesteryear brought remembering smiles to all who heard it. Eased their troubled minds. And what would Sakura be if she didn’t heal wounds?

But he was no longer the nonplussed boy of her past. When she called his name, he seemed to look past her, through her, all around her, trying to find the person who had called out to him. He fidgeted where he once remained stoic. His dark black eyes that were once caverns she could not dream of exploring now gleamed and glittered with every emotion underneath the sun. He sniffed around her office more now than he ever did when it was actually his job and moreso when she hadn’t attended the funeral.

“You didn’t come,” he mumbled as he stood at the foot of the stairwell waiting for her shift to be over. She only smiled in response. “No. I didn’t.”

His silence taunted her as he walked her home. She thought she knew him. That she understood him on a much more profound level than she did before. When she declared to herself that she’d only see him for what he is and not what she desired him to be, she never expected him to do a complete 180.

Sasuke perplexed her more now than he ever did. There were times they’d walk so close together on the way home that their hands would touch and she’d feel his hand rub gently against hers. There were long stares full of emotions she could not decode. Lapses in conversation felt like the whispers of pleading. He reached out to her, touched her, waited with bated breath for her response. The ghost of his presence would leave hot, burning trails after him for hours after their departure.

There was something brewing underneath the surface. She wasn’t sure she liked it. When she pulled back all the layers of this onion, she hoped her eyes wouldn’t sting with tears.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Three months post-attack, Sakura had received news from the person she least expected. Past the village walls where she sometimes went just to escape that crushing feeling in her chest stood Killer B leaned against a tree looking just as cool as ever.

She almost squealed and ran over to him, but thought better of it. There were ears and eyes everywhere. Best to practice caution wherever she went. She inched her way over to him trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. “Hi,” she said, hand waving shyly as she came to stand before him.

He chuckled before pulling her into a bear hug. Feeling tears welling in her eyes, she buried her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around his stocky frame. “I missed you,” her muffled voice rang out in a watery warble. Killer B patted her back lightly as he held her. “I missed you too, kid.”

They separated after a few moments. Sakura wiped her tears while Killer B looked her over with his hands on his hips. They remained there a couple hours just catching up on each other’s lives. Apparently, after that big blowout caused by those dickhead ANBU agents, B-sensei had resigned himself to a life of idle travel with the hachibi.

Raikage A had had no luck in tracking him and B hoped to keep it that way. He’d grown so tired of living in that village under the scrutinizing eye of everyone he was supposed to protect. At the moment, he didn’t see himself ever being a part of any village ever again. But the real kicker was what Sakura found out he’d been doing with all his free time.

On one of his travels he’d come across an Akatsuki hideout. He only knew because he explained that the hachibi had reached out to him pleading for the freedom of his fellow bijuu. Killer B obliged him. A foolish thing to do really. The place was obviously heavily guarded, but B-sensei made a mockery out of those yellow-bellied shinobi. He freed the three-tailed bijuu who introduced himself as Isobu.

Killer B’s bijuu had led him through the proper seals that would allow for a safer, calmer release. He’d gone on with stars in his eyes about being granted access to spirit worlds consisting of sacred mountains, magical beasts, and powers beyond belief. Through training and learning more about these so called ‘violent’ bijuu, it became easier and easier for him to free them all to return to their enchanted homelands. Sakura’s heart swelled at the peace her sensei had found.

“I already told Karui and Jinora about this.”

“Oh,” Sakura squeaked, completely taken aback. “Well…how are they? I haven’t heard from either of them in a while.”

“Jinora’s fine. She’s been getting more involved in mentorship and teaching. She told me to tell you hello if I saw you.”

They both smiled good-naturedly. However, Sakura could still feel that there was something more he wasn’t telling her. He scratched the back of his neck the way he did every time he was beating around the bush. “And…Karui?” Sakura prompted.

He dropped his smile. He tried licking his teeth to hide it, but it was no use. Hands on his hips and his head hanging low, Killer B strained to tell the truth. “She’s taken a pause on missions for a while. Just hasn’t felt up to them. Karui’s been recuperating at her parents’ house.”

Sakura looked distressed. Her hands began shaking, body tingling, and face growing hot. She wanted to claw her skin off. “Oh! It’s all my fault, you see. I-”

“No,” Killer B interrupted with a hand up. Sakura blinked up at him through teary eyes. “She told me to tell you that she’s forgiven you and not to dwell on the past.”

“She really is so kind…”

“Mmm,” Killer B mumbled in agreement. “Karui sasy that there were a lot of things wrong with herself that she said she ignored in favor of pushing forward.” Killer B shot a pointed look towards her.

For the first time in their entire conversation, she realized he could see how neglected she looked. She held the baggy fabric draped over her rail thin body tightly.

Killer B frowned in that patronizing manner Sakura had become used to. He hesitated before placing his meaty hand on her shoulder, careful of her fragility. “All she asked me to tell you was to take care of yourself.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

In letting bygones be bygones and befriending the Rookie 9 again, Sakura had been in attendance to more outings with the girls. Aside from trips to the bathhouse or restaurants which she avoided like the plague, she made time for everything.

That night, they sat for yet another slumber party that would bring about nothing but the silliness of girlhood not permitted to “serious” kunoichi. Sakura had managed to avoid all platters of food, snacks, and drinks without a suspicious eye and planned to keep it as such.

The night had been coming to a close as sleep sprinkled its essence all over the chattering girls. Sakura lay on the bed with Ino hugging her frame. She did her best not to shiver under the thick comforter and the body heat of her dear old friend.

“So let’s say there’s this guy I like,” TenTen slurred as she threw out an obvious hypothetical.

“Let’s call him Neji,” Ino chirped snidely.

Hinata hid a giggle behind her hand. Ten Ten took another swig of alcohol before flipping the blonde girl off. Sakura chuckled from underneath the comforter.

“Whatever!” TenTen snapped. “The guy who I like who will NOT be named is kind of sending me mixed signals.”

“How so?” Hinata hiccupped, only a little buzzed from her own drink.

“Well there are times where I think he really likes me. He gets on the verge of asking me out or paying me a compliment before he reverts back to asshole mode,” TenTen bemoaned. She gulped the last swig of alcohol down before pointing the empty bottle in the blonde’s direction. “Did you bring anything else from your mom’s booze stash?”

“No!” Ino chided as she snatched the bottle out of the brunette’s hand. TenTen floundered around for a moment trying to reclaim it but quickly succumbed to her inebriation. “Besides, you’re more than done for the night.”

“Just a little bit more!” TenTen whined as her legs buckled beneath her.

Sakura stifled a giggle. Hinata extended a hand towards the girl as clumsy as a newborn deer. “Oh, don’t be too discouraged. Naruto-kun says Neji’s an asshole in the same way Sasuke is. If you look deep enough, there’s a half-way decent guy underneath it all.”

“Speaking of Sasuke,” Ino started, eyebrows wiggling suggestively in Sakura’s direction. Hinata and TenTen’s eyes followed. Sakura drew the comforter closer to her nose. “What about Sasuke?” she squeaked.

Ino could see that there was genuine confusion in her best friend’s eyes. She loosed her and cross-examined her with probing eyes. “Don’t you…don’t you like him? Still?”

Uncertainty hung where confidence should’ve been. Sakura moved her frail body to sit upright. “I’m sure it’s not nearly as you’re insinuating.”

“So you don’t like him? I thought you declared your ‘undying’ love for him a few years back,” TenTen drunkenly chimed in.

Sakura’s jaw dropped to the floor. She had never been so affronted in her life. “Really you shouldn’t take the words of a callow, lovesick 12 year old so seriously.”

“But you’re 16 now. There isn’t much of a difference,” TenTen burped out. Hinata gave the brunette a stern look before turning back to Sakura. She placed a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I understand that this may be uncomfortable for you to open up to us about-”

“The truth does not make me uncomfortable.” Sakura had become more indignant. She could feel her nostrils flaring at the incredulousness of it all. Hinata put up her hands in mock surrender. “You may not like him anymore, but the same cannot be said of him.”

“Yeah,” Ino agreed forcefully. “You guys are always near each other. That mission of his was called off months ago. He doesn’t have to do anything with you anymore.”

Sakura took a deep breath. It was silly to get so worked up over this. Losing her cool over something as inconsequential as a boy’s feelings was ridiculous. “You know no more than I do. I’ve given up the need to decipher his every mood and action. If he does not tell me anything then I don’t know.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“I need to speak with you.”

Those were the words that had sent a shiver down her spine. It was a typical night at the hospital. Sakura stayed late as she usually did cleaning up and filing. But Tsunade and Shizune had remained behind too. They’d spoken to her earlier in the day about requesting an audience with her, but she’d imagined it’d spill over into the next day since things had been so busy. Obviously that had not been the case. Sakura took a harsh gulp as she knocked on her mentor’s door. “Come in,” came that husky voice.

Sakura entered a room so quiet that you could hear a mouse piss on cotton. Shizune stood in front of the Hokage’s desk stroking a worried looking TonTon. Sakura became self conscious all of a sudden. She smoothed down her thinning hair and patted the wrinkles out of her loose clothing. Tsunade remained at her desk with her hands folded neatly the entire time. It was Shizune who spoke first.

“Ah! Sakura-chan! Why don’t you have a seat?” Shizune gestured to an empty chair. Sakura grabbed it and pulled it closer to the Hokage’s desk before sitting. Shizune’s head spun back and forth between Tsunade and Sakura. She was obviously waiting for prompting of some kind, but she wouldn’t get it. Not with the way Tsunade was so steely faced. “We wanted to speak with you about…rather delicate matters,” Shizune began cautiously.

Her uneasy smile made her look like she was bargaining with a rabid dog rather than a human. Sakura swallowed down a foreign feeling. “We understand that it’s been about half a year since the attack and we just uh- we just…we have a few questions is all.”

Shizune once again looked to the godaime for guidance, but the older woman’s eyes were keenly set on her youngest pupil. Sakura adjusted the strap of her satchel wishing she could stuff herself inside it. “Alright. Shoot.”

“Your mother and father were killed during the attack, yes?”

That caught Sakura off guard.The topic hadn’t been broached at all in this healing period and the girl expected it to never be addressed at all. She grew nervous and perspiration stained her clothes. “Yes.” She barely managed to scoop a word out of her mouth. “They did. Why are we talking about this?”

“From what we understand, you also didn’t attend the funeral we held for all the lives lost in the attack.”

“Am I being interrogated?”

“With the death of your parents, you are legally considered an orphan. That puts you under the jurisdiction of the government. However, you are also a ninja, which complicates things.”

“What the hell is this about?!”

“You’ve relapsed,” Tsunade called out, finally breaking her silence. “As an orphan, the state would have full control over your wellbeing, but as a high ranking ninja, you are considered able to fend for yourself. However, my authority as Hokage allows me to override such situations.”

Sakura’s belly flopped. Her entire body shook with fear. “And what would cause the beloved Hokage to make a drastic executive decision.”

“In the circumstances that a ninja is deemed a threat to themselves or others, an official is allowed to suspend the individual’s duties indefinitely.”

“What?!” Sakura screamed now standing at full attention. Tsunade remained stone faced. Shizune held tighter to a squealing TonTon and moved out of the line of fire. Sakura stalked over to Tsunade’s desk, seething. “You are trying to ruin me! Is this because I only took bedrest for three days? What else was I supposed to do? Sit in that cot and spoil?”

“Grieve,” Tsunade answered matter of factly. “You were supposed to grieve.”

“Please! There was nothing to grieve about. They died due to an attack. We had been fighting anyway. I told them to go fuck themselves the last time I saw them. I’m sure they’re very happy not having to deal with their stubborn little girl who ‘shouldn’t have aimed so high as to be a ninja’ as they thought,” Sakura rambled.

Shizune’s eyes tinted with empathy. “Oh Sakura,” she whispered. “That’s just terrible.”

Sakura didn’t speak for the rising fear that her mouth would release a choked sob rather than coherent words. She kept her eyes low avoiding any and all eye contact.

“I see you’re willing to talk now,” Tsunade mused sarcastically.

“You’re forcing me to. I don’t have much of a choice.”

“Maybe it’s for the best.”

Sakura’s eyes narrowed into angry slits at her mentor. The dormant volcano inside of her began to erupt. “HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT’S BEST FOR ME?!” she screeched. She flung a stack of papers off the desk for dramatic effect. “HOW THE FUCK DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT’S BEST FOR ME?!”

“Sakura, we only want to help-” Shizune approached sheepishly. Sakura tossed the spare chair. Tsunade didn’t flinch as it shattered the glass window.

“I don’t need anyone’s help! I need everyone to leave me alone. I need to scream. I need to-”

“You need to calm down before I have you escorted out of here in restraints,” Tsunade barked.

Sakura shrunk. She melted to the floor and sat there pitifully. Prickling tears fought their way past her eyes. “Don’t do this to me,” the young girl pleaded. “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.”

“After your little outburst I’m even more sure that I’m making the right decision.”

“I can get better. Just please. Please don’t do this.”

“I have to.”

“NO, YOU DON’T!” Sakura cried as she curled into a tight ball. She rocked back and forth trying to soothe herself. Her chest tightened from her harsh, sucking breaths. Tsunade rushed out of her chair and slammed her fists on the desk. “I WON’T HAVE THIS ANYMORE!” the older woman growled.

Shizune shivered at the iciness in her lady’s tone. Sakura took a peek through her tear-ridden lashes.

“I have ignored this problem too long. If you could make yourself better then it would’ve already been done. I admit the part I’ve played in this. I’ve ignored your problems for far too long. I even dragged my feet in doing this now because of the village’s destruction. I regret letting you get out of that bed and not being willful enough to get you to stop earlier.

I’ve been a medic for a long time now. I know full well that some cases just can’t be helped. Patients are liable to die no matter how good you are. But it’s my duty to provide every medical patient the best care even if I know that it’s all in vain. Sakura…you may be my greatest disciple and may soon pass me in medical intelligence, but that does not mean you are the best person to treat yourself.”

“I can do it. I can make myself all better. Just give me a chance.”

“Damn it, Sakura!” Tsunade called out in frustration. “I’ll be damned if I lose you without even trying.” She looped around her desk and stood before her apprentice. The older woman lowered down, weight held on bent knee, and placed a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “I’m sending you to a place where you can get better. It’ll be a nice break for you.”

“I don’t need a break.” Sakura whined. “I need to be right here helping real sick people.”

Tsunade sighed. The girl really was giving her no choice. “A few ninjas have been assigned to escort you to the facility. This is a direct order from the Hokage.”

“You’re not even going to pretend I have a choice?”

“Be ready early tomorrow morning. It’s about a three day journey.”

Sakura couldn’t find it in her to fight anymore. She rose from her spot on the floor and just ran.

Chapter 45: Whatever

Chapter Text

Little time was had to deny the dinner invitation before Mikoto stood between the two teenagers, looped her arms through theirs, and headed towards the Uchiha compound.

Sakura, still wiping tears from her eyes, shuffled silently beside the chattering woman. She went on about being glad to meet her, complained of Sasuke’s ‘forgetfulness’ in not inviting her over, and gushed about trying out this new recipe she’d learned. All the while, the flow of words went through one ear and out the other. Tsunade was making her leave tomorrow. Forcing her to get better. The woman had looked so pained in telling her, but Sakura didn’t want to see reason.

Who cared if she chose to waste away? Really there was nothing else in life going for her. She imagined the grand sigh she’d take when she closed her eyes for the final time.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Sakura was learning many things about her former teammate. First, his family was loaded. From the polished marble floors, the antique china, to the ivory countertops, Sasuke had never known anything but the best. She felt every bit of her middle class status as she slipped off her heeled boots and stepped into designer slippers. She could do nothing but stare in awe at the beauty of their abode. It looked like something straight out of a catalog.

Second, Sasuke was really devoted to his mother. He was annoyed beyond belief with her as she dragged them back to the house, but he remained a good sport about the affair. He held his arm looped in his mother’s tightly for the entire walk, tried to conceal it, but paid very close attention as the woman chirped incessantly and bent to her every whim as they entered and she demanded he bring her a million things at once. Sakura would’ve smiled if she hadn’t been feeling so bitter.

“Sakura dear?”

“Yes, ma’am?” Sakura responded, broken out of her reverie. Mikoto stood over a boiling pot chopping away at some vegetables as Sasuke brought her a bundle of things he’d stuck under his arms. “You’re awful quiet. I’m just wondering if you’re alright?”

“I’m fine,” she answered evenly. “Just don’t have much to say these days.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Oh, I am just so delighted to meet you! You’ll have to excuse my excitement. I’m letting you know now that I’ve a million questions for you.”

“Go for it. There’s nothing but time on your side.”

Mikoto smiled at that. Sakura responded with a brief but polite one of her own. As Mikoto ordered Sasuke to set the plates on the table, she realized how trapped she was. A bird with its wings clipped or a prisoner tied to a ball and chain, she knew it was futile to resist her capture.

But everything smelled so good. The perfectly boiled rice, the steamed vegetables, baked fish, and all the other dishes she couldn’t bring herself to look at for too long lest she fall to temptation. But what could she do? Mikoto and Sasuke had sat down and were grouping dishes onto their own plates. They were diving into the meal. And Mikoto was so nice to prepare something at such a late hour for her. She couldn’t disappoint her. She was the people’s Sakura. She couldn’t let anyone down. Not anymore.

Sakura’s chopsticks ventured towards a bit of rice. It would’ve been all she’d gotten, but Mikoto was watching her with expectant eyes. She grabbed a bit of fish and vegetables until Mikoto’s eyes returned to her own meal.

Sakura dreaded every bit of eating. She hated the way food traveled down her throat. The way it sat weighing in her stomach idly. The greasy feeling that settled over her body as she contemplated the calories, grams of fat, sodium content, and so much more.

Chopsticks trembled in her hand as she brought small bites to her mouth. Sasuke’s eyes cut to her every now and again as she chewed.

“Now, your name is Sakura, right dear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, don’t be so formal. Mikoto-san is just fine.”

“Ok,” Sakura nodded nervously.

“If I remember correctly, this is one of the girls you and Naruto used to argue about when you were in the academy, right honey?”

Sasuke’s cheeks tinged pink at that. He made a show of taking a sip of water to cover up the fact. Mikoto only giggled.

“You and Naruto hung out during the academy days?” Sakura asked without looking up. Her chopsticks were still shaking in her hand.

“Why yes,” Mikoto laughed. “They were practically joined at the hip even while they were trying to kill each other.”

“Oh,” Sakura said pitifully. “I didn’t know that.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“You’re Tsunade-sama’s apprentice?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a hard woman to bargain with. How’d you get her to agree to teach you?”

Sakura hesitated. She really didn’t know what to say. The woman had taken pity on the poor civilian girl who had finally realized she was way out of her league. That was the truth, but she was too embarrassed to admit it.

“I happened to be in the right place at the right time,” was what she settled for. Sasuke looked particularly interested in her answer too. She guessed he had also been wondering the same thing. Not that she would give the prick the satisfaction of a true answer. Probably wondering why somebody he considers so weak and beneath him was able to be trained by a sannin.

She shook the thought away. No time to be negative. She had a performance to put on.

“And you work closely with her in the hospital?”

“Yes.”

“Wow,” Mikoto exclaimed with childlike wonder in her eyes. “Is that how you learned the Wood Release technique? Gosh, even in my heyday she was just this mystical woman everyone talked about, never really knew. What’s it like to work under her?”

Sakura rubbed the back of her head timidly. You don’t even want to know. “Well first, no. It’s much more…complicated than that. Second, her reputation precedes her,” Sakura explained, her back straightening with pride. “She’s a very talented and devoted medic with years of experience under her belt. She’s a no nonsense kind of sensei and she really pushed me past my limits. I don’t know where I’d be without her.”

Sakura paused as heat swelled in her throat. She coughed and blinked rapidly trying to distract her audience from the tears in her eyes. Unaware of her discomfort, their eyes remained eager for her to continue. She sighed before speaking. “I think that even though she agreed to train me I spent most of my time proving I was worthy of her apprenticeship. The trainings were brutal. My bones would be broken just to be healed for another round of beatings. I thought I’d quit a million times before I realized I just had to keep getting back up to get better.”

“You’re full of surprises,” Mikoto added.

Sakura gave a wry smile. The analog clock hanging in the kitchen ticked loudly. Each second it increased in volume. She folded her hands together to keep from scratching in irritation.

“It is to my knowledge that you came from a civilian family.” Sakura nodded. “How did your parents take you wanting to be a kunoichi?”

She heard Sasuke choke on his food. Sakura watched him closely as he rapped his fist against his chest in the midst of choking. Mikoto rushed to fill his glass with water. When she brought it to his lips, he drank greedily. Streams of water dribbled down his chin.

Mikoto pat his back with a worried look. “Are you all right?”

“Mm,” he managed to choke out.

Sakura’s thumbs rubbed unsteadily against her own glass. “I’m sorry, where were we?” Mikoto started again in that sickeningly sweet voice of hers.

“Not well.”

“Excuse me?”

“Not well,” Sakura reiterated. “The thought of me becoming a kunoichi was not received well. Especially when I began to take it seriously.”

“That’s quite understandable. Even ninja families worry about their children following the same career path.”

“But there’s an understanding of how truly dangerous it is to be a ninja.”

“And you feel that your parents don’t understand that?”

“They didn’t.”

“Didn’t? Does that mean-”

“Kaa-san,” Sasuke’s voice interjected for the first time. He was looking right into his mother’s eyes. A childish look that said ‘Mom! You’re embarrassing me.’ Sakura fought the urge to dig her nails deep into her thighs. “Stop asking so many questions.”

“Why should I? I’ve got a million of them on account of you never introducing me.”

“She doesn’t want to answer all of them.”

“And why wouldn’t she?”

“My parents are dead.”

There was a profound silence that followed. The bickering parties sat staggered by the weight of the admission. Sakura kept her eyes on her tightly clenched glass.

“Oh…Oh! I didn’t know…” Mikoto added breathlessly.

“Yeah…” Sakura strained through tight lips. “That’s the way it is.”

“When did they-”

“Kaa-san!”

CRACK! Blood flowed from Sakura’s calloused hands. She hadn’t even realized she’d broken the glass cup until she was swooped into Sasuke’s arms and taken away.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“You don’t have to do that, y’know? I’m the medic here.”

“Hn.”

Turns out the place Sasuke had led her to was a guest bathroom. He’d placed her on the counter while he summoned a first aid kit. He had just finished cleaning her wounds and was now applying a wrapping.

Sakura did her best to keep her petty comments about his mediocre wrapping skills to herself. He finished and patted his work for good measure. She did her best to keep her snorting laughter at bay.

Sasuke left the bathroom for a moment. Sakura moved her hands in the meantime, testing the limits of what she could do. She found that completely balling her fists and stretching them out too far were no gos. Sasuke came back by the end of her experiment. He was holding an article of clothing towards her without a word.

“What’s this for?” she asked skeptically. Of what kindness did the Uchiha owe her?

His brow lifted slightly. She could tell that sarcastic tone of his was incoming. “The stain on your shirt,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Distracted by her frustrations, Sakura failed to notice the blood and water staining her shirt. She held the hem of it and cringed at the dark red spots dotted all over. In the meantime, Sasuke’s hand remained extended to her.

Sakura slid off the counter and slipped the object out of his hands. He nodded before closing the bathroom door behind him. Sakura unfolded the shirt and held it out in front of herself in the mirror. She didn’t think she’d ever seen her face go redder. What she thought was a plain black shirt turned out to be adorned with the uchiwa symbol. Sakura exhaled slowly. Sakura believed she’d had enough conflicting feelings for one night.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

They spoke no more of serious matters. Sakura was very grateful for it. Tonight had already been so strenuous on her mind. She was sure she’d breakdown if anything more was asked of her.

Instead, she was treated to a tour of the lovely abode. It was just as grandiose as Sakura imagined. It was easier to keep up a facade of happiness when looking at such wonderful things. The highlight of the tour came when they stumbled into Sasuke’s room. He protested vehemently, but Mikoto was of no mind to yield to him.

She unlocked the door and Sakura couldn’t fight the feeling of disappointment that sat in her stomach when she stepped into that plain room. I should’ve known. All me and Ino’s fantasies were so out of reach.

Sakura kept her arms folded as she looked around. There wasn’t much to it. Gray walls with neatly arranged furniture hardly called much forth for a personality. Then again, it was a perfect description for Sasuke.

Sakura hadn’t noticed that Mikoto left her and Sasuke alone in the room. Sakura was still eyeing the sparse set up and Sasuke was reclined against a wall looking cool as ever. His mother came back in holding a thick book. She watched Sasuke transform from his usual neutral self to a full blown panic. He tried taking the book away from his mother, but she dodged and motioned for Sakura to sit beside her on his bed.

It was a photo album. Mikoto was more than happy to show all the cute and embarrassing family photos. Sasuke stood brooding huffily in a corner before coming over to join them. Sakura giggled the whole way through.

After a while, it became apparent to Mikoto that the nighttime was slipping away from them all. She prepared a bento full of leftovers for Sakura before sending her off in the company of Sasuke.

They were walking side by side under the pale moonlight now. Only the gravel crunching beneath their feet and cacophonous cicadas could be heard as they walked towards Sakura’s apartment.

“I hope you’re not still sour about me seeing your baby pictures,” she snickered. “They were very cute if that helps.”

“Hn,” he replied, obviously still bitter. “I’m not.”

“Yeah, right.”

They continued in silence again. The wrapped bento Sakura held bumped against her knee as she walked. She could still smell Mikoto’s marvelous cooking. “Your mom’s really nice, y’know,” Sakura said, filling the empty night air. Sasuke’s eyes met the side of her face as she continued walking forward without turning. “Mine was nothing like that. Not in the slightest.”

“Is that why you didn’t go to the funeral?”

Sakura caught whiplash from how fast she turned in her tracks. They continued walking, albeit at a much slower pace. “I see I’ve opened up a can of worms,” she quipped sarcastically. “There were several reasons why I didn’t. Why are you asking?”

And there it was. This odd look on his face he’d been sporting for months. Sakura just couldn’t place it. What the hell was he trying to say? “You’ve been looking at me like that for the past six months. Why is that?”

“Because…”

“Because?”

“Because I…I.”

“Because you what?”

“Because during the attack I was put on duty for the civilian district,” Sasuke vomited out all in one breath.

Sakura couldn’t breathe. Her mouth felt abnormally dry. She licked her lips to no avail. She felt like she’d been whacked by a ton of bricks.

Pity.

It looked so foreign on his face that she couldn’t tell. Pity and guilt for his selfish arrogance that had cost lives.

He reached out to her trying to reel her back in. She jumped away from him like his touch was acidic. She was gasping and blinking rapidly all of a sudden. She calmed down enough to look him in the eye without any real hatred in her heart. “Well,” she said, blinking back tears. “I had no idea you hated me so much.”

And with that, she tore off into the night. The uchiwa symbol bubbled behind her.

Chapter 46: Recovery

Chapter Text

1 Year Later

Joy had swept over the fertile lands of Konoha once again. The village had never looked better. The renovations had given the land a face lift it didn’t know it needed.

The hospital had expanded and now held a few clinics sprinkled throughout corners of the village. Now medical care would be more accessible to everyone. Only one mental health clinic stood tall, but it had been a tremendous help. Units were sent into the academy that greatly reduced the amount of ‘unruly’ children upset by their lives being upturned so quickly via watching their classmates, teachers, neighbors, or relatives die.

More ninjas had been receiving health services too. It took a little tooth pulling, but they eventually came around. The academy was rebuilt with more security protocols set in place. There were now emergency exits, underground safety rooms, and drills set in place to secure the well being of everyone in the building.

Foundations for all buildings were now sturdier thanks to the Wood Release technique. They weren’t indestructible, but they would fare better against future attacks should they come.

Laughter rang out amongst the crowds. Children squealed as they played various games and chased each other around. Footsteps were much lighter as they traipsed against gravel roads. A sense of comradery and pride had returned to Konoha. It was a beautiful thing to witness.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The dissolvement of the police force hadn’t all been in vain. It was rough for the Uchihas all around since the decision had been made and even worse after the attack, but it had done a lot to make them more sympathetic to the public in the wake of Danzo’s death.

The rest of the council and the Third Hokage were put under trial and were currently facing serious charges.Most people had been shocked to learn the truth while others remained stubborn in believing that the clan deserved whatever they got.

On the other hand, knowledge of the Hyuuga’s involvement in the sordid affair had led to public outcry that led to them going into temporary hiding. It only cemented their status as enemies to the Uchiha.

The Uchihas remained to themselves for the most part. Nothing really changed for a while until one day it seemed that the hearts of the people of Konoha had suddenly opened to the long hated clan. Slowly, warmth blossomed in the hearts of the cold, taciturn clan and outsiders were let in. It was a bizarre change they’d have to get used to, but they took everything in stride.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Orochimaru had escaped as he was wont to do. Search parties had been sent out, but the man hadn’t been seen in a while. And he wouldn’t as long as he chose to. Then again, he wasn’t the most urgent priority on anyone’s list.

Akatsuki’s movements were still being watched closely. Nothing on their part seemed cause for alarm and its group was believed to be disassembled. Unfortunately, the mystery of where the Akatsuki had hidden the bijuu remained.

Peace times were here, but that meant nothing for Sasuke. Since the night she’d run away from him, Sasuke had not seen Sakura. She’d disappeared overnight and for a while he believed he was the only one who’d noticed.

He kept close watch of her apartment, stalked near the hospital building into the wee hours of the night, and searched for her chakra everywhere. That scared him the most. He knew she was a beast at chakra control. It was why she was a medic. But to cloak one’s chakra so keenly that someone within your own village couldn’t detect it was alarming. He entertained this odd game of hide and seek for two weeks before asking questions. He thought it enough time for her anger to blow over.

Sasuke approached Tsunade one late night. A telling choice in itself because he could count on his fingers the amount of times he’d interacted with the woman. She didn’t look keen on seeing him either. From the drool she scrambled to wipe off of her face, the paperwork scattered across her desk, and the smell of booze in the air, there left no rhyme nor reason for anyone to dare set foot in her office.

Yet here was Sasuke. He’d opened the door with much more force than he’d intended. The door creaked and slammed as the Uchiha came into view. Tsunade only rubbed her temples in response, her hangover headache exacerbated by the loud noise. Sasuke hadn’t even knocked before doing so, but she guessed she had sensed his chakra long before he came with her nonplussed pout.

“Is there a reason you’ve barged into my office, Uchiha?” the older woman slurred. Sasuke hesitated for a few moments before puffing his chest out. “Where is she?” he demanded.

Quite rudely by the way Tsunade scowled at him. She cleared a small area of her desk to place her folded hands. “What does that matter to you?”

And then Sasuke’s throat dried up. All his confidence had been shot by one simple question. He had been wondering the same thing for a while. Why did it matter to him that Sakura had left? It hadn’t before. And he’d waited so long before asking questions. He’d known within the first week of her absence that she’d been long gone and had foolishly held onto the belief that she was still in the village.

The rest of the rookies had yet to broach the subject either. No one spoke her name out loud - at least not around him. And it was only now that he was wondering why. Did she not want to see him anymore? Had he fucked things up so irreparably that not even Sakura - the most forgiving person he knew - could not muster the strength to be around him?

He had never pondered the possibility. In his mind, she was forever stuck in time as that unyieldingly in love girl with a world of chances for him.

“I won’t let you ruin her,” Tsunade snapped, breaking him out of his train of thought. “She’s doing much better now. You won’t undo all her hard work in the name of selfishness.”

“Ah,” Sasuke responded, devoid of all energy to fight.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Much to her annoyance, Sakura had to admit that her time recouping had done her a great deal of good. She’d rushed off that early morning with two ANBU guards in an extremely sour mood. She was sure they were hardly fazed by her childishness, but she held onto it as her last act of defiance.

Tsunade nor Shizune had been there to send her off. It was for the best. Their presence probably wouldn’t have been received well by the temperamental girl anyway. Sakura was so pissed that if she unclenched her fists the power of her anger would send shockwaves of chakra strong enough to unsettle an entire nation. And nobody needed that right now.

So she instead sulked and seethed silently for the entire 12 hour trek. Hard as it was on her, her anger festered the whole way. Sakura only realized how far she’d tuckered herself out when she reached the clinic and fatigue settled in her bones upon plopping onto her cot.

The nurses - sensing her irritability - let her rest peacefully for the night. But the next day was hell. A special order had been set in place for her chakra to be locked. Damn Tsunade! That woman was intent on making her suffer. Sakura was sure she could rid herself of any restraint or jutsu used on her, but she also had been warned that Tsunade would make a special appearance if she made any trouble.

Fuck! She was trapped. Again.

Sakura wanted to rip her hair out within the first week. All these people wanted to do was fucking talk. Talk about her day, her feelings, her thoughts, reasons why she believed she’d been forced here under dire circumstances.

It annoyed her more than anything when prompted to talk about friends or family. Do you think your parents had any bearing on your self-esteem? Did they discourage you from doing the things you love? Were your friends there to lend an ear? Did you feel supported by them in your time of need?

What the fuck were these people on about? Was she some poor basket case they were assigned to save to stroke their egos? She decided she wasn’t going to be anyone’s success story. She would keep her mouth clamped and find the most clandestine way to escape.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

But Sakura found herself softening in the weeks and months ahead. Without the usual hustle and bustle of village life to distract her, she was left alone with her thoughts more and more.

She was still only eating the bare minimum to survive (quite an improvement from her former diet of pill concoctions and water), but she soon found that the medical staff were serious in their threats. Tsunade had been made aware of her stubbornness and put in an order for much stronger chakra restraints.

If Sakura had been feeble and sluggish before, what these new restraints had done was turn her into a vegetable. It took so much effort to even move her feet off the ground. Sakura could be wiped in half an hour just moving from the bathroom and back to her room. It was hell. Tsunade knew that. It was relayed to Sakura by staff that if she rebelled any further that Tsunade would make a personal visit to restrain her.

Sakura was so angry. She didn’t want to do any of this. But without her chakra to smash a few boulders or a person to heal, there was nowhere to channel her frustration but to a therapist.

She ranted at length about how unjust Tsunade was being, how she wasn’t sick at all, and how stifled and babyish she felt by being forced into treatment. She complained without stop about feeling slighted by the woman she had come to care for so deeply. She felt betrayed. Her master hadn’t trusted her to make her own decisions nor carve out her own path. She didn’t believe she was level headed enough to know what was in her best interest. Sakura hated - HATED - that kind of patronizing kindness.

Sakura cut herself off mid rant. She was out of breath and her chest heaved with emotion. That had taken a lot out of her. She’d need a nap soon.

The woman before her dressed in a modest blue dress nodded as she smiled sweetly at the girl before her. Sakura made a point to look away. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sakura was angry. With her parents, with her friends, with her teacher and the list could go on forever. But she was most angry with herself. Angry for not being enough for her parents to love her unconditionally, angry that every time she compared herself to her friends they seemed light years ahead of her, angry that her teachers - even as they taught her - still had very little faith in her, and angry for all the things she should’ve been able to do. There were so many jutsus she should’ve learned, so many poisons she should’ve memorized, and more time spent with the people she loved.

Sakura had been more open with her therapists. Little steps before she made grand leaps. It hadn’t occurred to her until she was told that her parents withheld love from her. To them, it was something that could be taken back and given again temporarily. It put a new perspective on how she viewed their behavior towards her in these past few years as a ninja.

Sakura loved her parents without restriction, but their love came with terms and conditions. As soon as she loosed herself from what they perceived as the ‘right way’ to live, she watched all the warmth and love they once had for her fade.

Pain and anguish washed over her in waves. Coming to terms with the fact that even though your parents had your best interest, but still could’ve been better stung. She remembered crying and refusing to eat for a week straight after that therapy session. The threat of being placed on a feeding tube was all that helped her not to hide in the creases of the flat hospital pillows forever.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Sakura loved her friends. It was a recurring thought she had whenever the nurses allowed patients for long walks around the garden. She thought of Ino as she passed sweet smelling patches of flowers, got choked up at the smell of Naruto’s favorite flavor of ramen, laughed at the memory of Rock Lee when drunkards came into the streets to tussle, and so many other memories.

In the dreadfully slow passing times here at the recovery facility, she drafted up letter upon letter. She wanted to write to Killer B but lord knows where he ran off to at the moment. She wagered sending Tsunade or Shizune an update, but it would be pointless since the nurses were probably sending her progress charts anyway. Who she really wanted to talk to again was Karui, but she wasn’t sure if either of them were on good terms or whether she’d end up overwhelming Karui.

So instead she wrote to Ino. It would be like killing several birds with one stone. Sakura doubted the girl had given up her gossiping ways and she was even more sure that Ino would keep the collective caught up on all things surrounding their friend who had gone M.I.A. overnight.

Sakura told her everything - the jealousy, the competitions that led to this long battle with an eating disorder, the depression and its frightening thoughts, and anything that came to mind. Sakura was sure that by the time she finished the letter it averaged about ten pages front and back. A little embarrassing once she sat back and thought about it, but Sakura was tired of holding all these feelings in and having no one to talk to.

She struggled with the decision of whether or not to send the letter before she finally let go of her inhibitions and did the deed. Waiting was all she could do. She added anxiety to previous disorders.

Weeks went by before she got a response. Opening the letter almost sent her into cardiac arrest, but reading it set her heart aflame. Sakura could tell that Ino had been a blubbering mess during her response. There were tear stains and ink blotches everywhere her eyes roamed.Her fears had been for naught. She’d always - ALWAYS - had a friend in Ino.

The blonde started out the letter apologizing for their petty competitions. She’d had no idea she could’ve made her best friend clinically insane. Sakura laughed through hot tears at that. Ino had only been a microcosm of all her issues.

Ino went on to say that she would refrain from telling the rest of the group about this since it was such a personal confession. That caught Sakura off guard. She’d never known her friend to do anything but prattle on about other people’s business.

Her heart warmed further. They really had grown up. The letter ended with a confession of a desire for their former friendship and a request to visit Sakura at the recovery facility. Sakura beamed as she drafted up the next letter.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Love is a tricky feeling to define. Sasuke never imagined he’d have to nor did he want to. He knew of familial love, was more familiar with brotherly love, and would be quick to answer the question of what maternal love was to him. But the boundaries of love that existed outside of the familiar perplexed him.

When Sasuke realized Sakura was gone in a way that she’d never been before, there lay an emptiness in his stomach that could not be filled. He remembered the heaviness in his chest that occurred several times a week, unprompted, and ignited by something as simple as looking up at the moon.

There were days he was more stoic and self-isolating than even his mother had come to know. There were times he was more irritable and took his anger out on anyone within the vicinity. Unfortunately, that tended to be Naruto more often than not. He remembered one particularly nasty spar that he had to stop himself in order to come back to reality.

“What the fuck is your problem, bastard?!” Naruto shouted, eyes glowing with malice.

Sasuke shuddered at the memory. He didn’t know what the hell was happening to him. And it only got worse over time. HIs fuse was shortening. His outbursts were becoming more frequent. There were days when he felt so sluggish that he couldn’t get out of bed. His fever spiked frequently. He seemed to be sick more often than ever before.

If his mother wasn’t at his bedside, Itachi would make himself useful and care for his brother as he used to. But Itachi was observant. He had always been. He’d caught onto it before Sasuke ever realized it himself. With a clamped jaw and shadowed eyes, he watched his otouto torment himself daily.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Itachi decided to invite Sasuke on a mission with him and Shishui. The boy was still quite irritable, but Itachi had long grown accustomed to the mood swings of his angsty little brother. No further details had been given to Sasuke other than “Pack up. We leave at dawn,” so Sasuke followed as they traveled aimlessly through the Fire Country.

It was strange to be so far away from the familiar bustling cities of ninjas. Sasuke felt calm. More peaceful than he had felt in the months since he had last seen Sakura. He felt a strange ache settling in his chest. He shook his head, freeing himself of the thoughts, and trudged behind Itachi and Shishui.

But then Itachi stood in his tracks. They were smack in the middle of a village market sticking out like sore thumbs in their ninja attire. People cursed them as they interrupted the flow of traffic. Sasuke did his best to keep his temper at bay. All the while, Itachi scanned the area as if he was searching for something.

“C’mon asshole! You’re blocking the damned path!” a villager shouted.

Sasuke’s body whipped around to meet the eye of the coward, primed and ready to strike someone to release all this tension. Shishui yanked him by his forearm just in time and held him in place.

Itachi had only just stopped his search to meet Shishui’s eye. The two shared a glance before turning to the youngest party member. Sasuke suddenly felt small. “We’ll be stationed in this village for a while. Shishui and I will search for a cabin to rest in. Sasuke, you’ll go pick up some supplies in the stores and markets,” Itachi ordered in a monotone voice.

“Why?” the hot-headed boy challenged. Shishui’s hold on his arm tightened. “Do you have something better to do?” his cousin mocked. Sasuke snatched his arm away and stalked off.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

As much as it annoyed him to take orders from his brother, Sasuke wasted no time in collecting the appropriate supplies. His feet were killing him from all the walking he’d done. One shop for first aid stuff like bandages and rubbing alcohol, another for sharpening tools for their kunais and blades, and another for food that he was currently debating whether to buy jasmine or plain white rice.

He didn’t care either way. He never was too particular about what others cooked for him. He’d just thrown a bag of jasmine rice in his cart when he heard a voice like a melody ringing in his ears. “Did you guys really sell out of dango today? It’s only noon!”

The sound arrested him. He felt a rush clamber over his body. He froze. It was too good to be true. She couldn’t be here. Not now. He steadied his beating heart and tiptoed around the corner of the aisle until she came into view.

She was facing away from him in a friendly conversation with a sales associate. Her pink head of hair bobbed as she giggled.

“Sakura…” he whispered breathlessly.

But he must’ve been louder than he thought. Her head whipped around and her jaw almost fell to the floor. She came over to him cautiously. Her arms formed the shape of a hug before quickly retracting them. Sasuke stepped closer to fill the gap between them.

“Hi,” she said sheepishly.

“Hi,” he replied, still breathless.

Sakura fidgeted with her basket a little. “What are you doing out here?”

“I’m on a mission.”

“Oh,” she answered, not really knowing what to say. “Then you probably can’t talk.”

“I can,” he responded much too eagerly.

Sakura gave a smile. “How about we ring up our items and then get some tea?”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The sizzle of the woks, the animated chatter, and the delicate sunlight that fell on her brought him great comfort. Here she was! After all this time! Tucked away in the corners of the Fire Country doing whatever the hell she was.

The steam from his tea rose to his face and tickled his chin as he watched her take a sip from her own cup. “You’ve been here?” he spoke finally, startling her in the process.

Sakura choked on her tea mid sip and it took a few moments of coughing before she answered. “Yeah…” she answered in a way that felt avoidant. She kept her eyes downward as she sipped again. But Sasuke wouldn’t let her evade him that easily.

“Why?”

“Because I had to.”

“Are you on a mission?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

Sakura’s eyes widened. Her eyebrows heightened then furrowed at the incredulity of it all. She barely held back a scoff. “You’ve become rather talkative,” she quipped sarcastically.

Sasuke was unamused. “Just anser the question,” he barked. Sakura brought her cup to her lips again as she rolled her eyes. “You are just as demanding and arrogant as the day I left,” she started. “I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

“I’m sure you’ve informed Naruto already.” The thought had left his mouth faster than he could’ve planned for. Even as he said it, he could feel the entire atmosphere change. He had come from completely out of left field.

Now Sakura was sending him a tentative look. She folded her arms as she got ready to dive headfirst into whatever this chasm was that had split open. “What are you implying?”

“Just forget it,” Sasuke snapped.

“No,” Sakura said forcefully. “I need you to tell me what you’re implying because I think it’s the same thing you implied when you saw me and Inuki in Kumo.”

“So I have to explain myself and you don’t?”

“What are you? Five?” Sakura huffed. “What the hell is this even about?”

“You left,” Sasuke said, his throat closing up from heat. He had fully leaned his body across the table over the course of their argument. He sat up stiff as a board and averted his eyes now. He couldn’t look at her. He’d said too much and too little at the same time.

But Sakura was too riled up now to stop. “I left. So what? Do I need your permission to do things now? Get a fucking grip.”

“This is the second time you’ve left Team 7 without so much as a letter saying goodbye.”

“Oh! Like it matters to you.”

“It does.”

“I’m sure you were relieved both times to find me gone. Less of a hassle for you to worry about, right?”

“You and Naruto used to go on and on about being a team and having each other's backs. Was that all a lie? Did you say that knowing that you didn’t really care?”

“What’s your damage?”

“Aren’t Team 7 your precious people? That’s what you used to say.”

“That's the past,” Sakura said, her voice straining. “You and I have very different memories of Team 7.”

“So you hated us all along?”

“No! I never said that.”

“So why’d you leave?” Sasuke growled.

“Be-Because,” Sakura floundered.

“Because what?” Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

Sakura replied with shaky breaths. “Because I was never good enough for Team 7,” she admitted tearfully. Sasuke’s world stopped. He felt a bitter pang in his chest. His stiff posture slackened and his hard eyes softened.

“I shouldn't have even been part of the Rookie 9. I just got lucky. I didn’t realize how far behind I was until we started going on missions and you and Naruto were picking up all my slack. I couldn’t do anything. I started to hate myself for it,” she explained through sobs. Sasuke scooted closer to her in the dining table booths. “I realized before long I was on a team with a man reluctant to teach me because he saw no merit in it, a boy who claimed to love me but hindered me because not even he believed in my abilities, and another who hated my guts.”

Sasuke kept his eyes cast downward. He felt ashamed of himself. He’d opened up a can of worms and hadn’t known what he was getting into. “I wasn’t getting better and I knew I was holding everyone back. The day before I left for Kumo, I’d written up a letter of resignation and handed it to Tsunade-sama.”

“You were going to quit?” he said just above a whisper. Sakura only nodded. “I’m not like you and Naruto. I’m not strong.”

“But Sakura,” he interjected. “You are strong. You’re one of the strongest people I know.”

A smile broke through her tear stained face. “That’s not the way I saw it,” Sakura breathed. “To answer your earlier question, I’m here on an order from Tsunade. I couldn’t refuse it.”

“So this is a mission?”

“I’d prefer not to go into detail in a place so public.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

It had been a total of four hours since the two had been reunited and Sasuke had already made her cry. She swore the boy had a talent.

They’d exited the family cafe and gotten caught in the rain for an hour where they talked about anything and everything. Sakura had a serious case of word vomit. She’d told him everything. Even more than she had to Ino. He didn’t seem to mind though. He listened very intently to everything she had to say. Sakura never thought she’d see the day. When had he stopped casting eyes of ire on her?

“You look good,” he blurted out with little thought. Sakura blushed. She’d just told him of why she’d been hanging out in a recovery clinic for the past year. There wasn’t a singular reaction she’d imagine him having, but it definitely wasn't that.

“Th-Thank you,” she stuttered, instantly reverting to that bashful schoolgirl. She didn’t dare bring her eyes to meet him as she said it. “You don’t have to say that though. Don’t feel pressured to make me feel better.”

“But I mean it,” he said sincerely. And he did. Her cheeks were fuller with their signature rosy tint back in place. Her hair - once lackluster and flat - had been rejuvenated. Those knobby knees and scarce thighs that once struggled to hold her up, had now grown out into something resembling a healthy human body. Sasuke had been too blind to see it before…or maybe Sakura had just become that good at hiding things from him in their time apart.

He couldn’t remember a time where he truly ever saw her as he did now. The old Sakura he kept waiting to turn up teary-eyed and calling out his name. The Sakura he knew had matured, became more understanding, and withdrew from him. But then he realized that he’d been growing too.

There was a light, ticklish feeling spurring in him now as he looked at her. New ideas of himself were slowly coming to light. He turned his body to face her, hand reaching out to touch god knows what. She was standing there with her eyes closed just breathing in the night air.

“Sakura,” he called out. Her eyes fluttered open. He felt bashful all of a sudden. His hand fell awkwardly on her shoulder. She patted it for good measure.

“It’s getting late,” she said in the absence of words between them. “They’ll be expecting me back at the facility.”

“Ah,” Sasuke breathed as he awkwardly removed his hand from her shoulder. If Sakura thought anything of his peculiar behavior she made no mention of it to him. They walked the whole way, side by side, without a word between them.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“You knew she was here, didn’t you?” It’s the first thing Sasuke says as he slams the door of the shared cabin behind him. As usual, Itachi pays him no mind. He sits in a reclining chair, reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose, as he reads through a catalog.

“Good evening otouto-san,” he greets instead of answering the question. “Have you got all the supplies?”

Sasuke walks in further and plops several bags onto the coffee table where his older brother’s feet rest in a pair of bedroom slippers. “Is this even a real mission?”

“You should know from your genin days that not all missions consist of pummeling some poor guy to a pulp.”

“Yeah!” Shishui interjected. He walked out of the bathroom with shower steam trailing behind him. He was rubbing a towel over his freshly washed hair as the towel covering his lower body clung to his bony hips. “Some are more subtle…like reconciling with the girl you like!” his cousin blurted out with a shit-eating grin attached to his face.

The faintest blush appeared on Sasuke’s cheeks. He grabbed a nearby pillow and chucked it at Shisui's face. All he could hear was his cousin’s raucous laughter as he stormed off to his room.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Sasuke made out of the cabin the next morning before either his cousin or brother awoke. He could do without the senseless teasing he was sure was to come.

As he strolled around aimlessly for the next several hours. Sasuke only beat himself up for not figuring out their scheme much earlier. How could he have been so blind? When had Itachi or Shishui ever recognized him for his strength or his unending strive for perfection. And when had they ever asked for his accompaniment on one of their missions?

He smashed his fist against an unsuspecting tree. Had his father set them up to the task? Their mother? He wanted so badly to fly back to that hotel room and chew them out - really give them a piece of his mind - but as he stood before the stone brick building that looked so much more menacing in last night’s dark haze, he couldn’t find it in himself to be angry anymore.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Sakura! You have a visitor.” That jostled the pink-haired girl out of the throes of her ritualistic reading of her medical encyclopedia. She slammed the book shut and coughed at the dust that rose up in a mucky cloud. The thing was ancient!

Sakura toed her slippers on and rushed down the hall. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Not so soon anyway. She got excited all of a sudden. Maybe Ino had finally made her way to this little pocket of the world. Oh, they had so much to catch up on. It’d been so long since she had a friend to talk to.

There was a gaggle of giggling girls on one of Sakura’s turns. They were fighting to gaze out of the glass panes into the bustling lobby. Sakura took no heed to it. One of the handsome janitors that everyone adored was probably on shift today.

Sakura opened the heavy doors of the drafty, sterile hallway and stepped into the lively scene of the lobby. There were tears, people reuniting, the sound of metal clinking as people ordered from vending machines, and excited chatter from all corners.

Sakura scanned the crowd a few times over for a head of platinum blonde hair. Much to her disappointment, there were some, but none that belonged to Ino. She pulled her coat closer to her body and skipped over to a receptionist. “Hello. I was told that there was someone here to see me.”

The receptionist looked up, quickly identified her face, and stuck a clawed finger in the direction of a tall booth. Sakura muttered out an unenthusiastic ‘thank you’ before heading off in the detailed direction. She wasn’t feeling too confident in the receptionist's knowledge until she came around the booth and saw none other than -

“Sasuke?”

He looked just as cool, calm, and collected as he had yesterday. She slid into the seat across the table from him. She couldn’t begin to understand why he’d come to see her. What angle was he trying for?

“Hey,” he started.

“Hey,” she replied in a confused tone. For the slightest moment, his cheeks tinged pink. He averted his eyes and covered the lower part of his face with his hand.

“Are you allowed to leave again today?”

“Well yes,” Sakura replied, stumped by the sincerity of the question. “Although with a little bit more restriction. I was late coming back last night so my curfew’s been shortened.”

“Ah.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Are you ever coming back?” Sasuke’s voice reverberated through the windy lakefront the two sat at. He was mindlessly skipping stones, not bothering to look at her face as he asked the question.

Sakura sat on the edge of the pier taking in all the scenery. It was midday now. The sun was at its peak in the sky. Birds tweeted, some flew by occasionally. There were squirrels skittering up and down trees. Bees buzzed aimlessly. Sakura grabbed hold of her slippers and sat them next to her. She let her toes lightly graze the water. “Eventually,” Sakura started. “I don’t feel confident enough to enter that world again. Not so soon anyway.”

The wood creaked beneath Sasuke’s sandaled feet as he came to sit next to her. She shot him a tiny smile. He was still fighting every muscle in his body that told him to face her. “So…would you come back earlier if Naruto asked?”

Sakura looked a little off put by his question. What the hell was he talking about?

“I hardly think Naruto is as irrational as you try to make him out to be. If he’s been told even an inkling of what’s going on, I’m sure he’d lend me nothing but his undying support,” she huffed. Sasuke was still making a point to not look at her. Sakura’s voice softened. “I didn’t know you’d become so concerned with Naruto’s welfare.”

“I’m not,” he bristled.

Sakura rolled her eyes. There he was back to being his pissy self again. “I don’t know why you’re so mad. I’m the one you keep accusing of having lewd relationships with all my friends.”

“That’s hardly what I implied.” Sasuke rebutted, his eyes now pouring into hers. Sakura folded her arms. “So then say what you mean. I’m tired of all your cryptic bullshit.”

There was a long silence between them. Sasuke’s jaw clenched tight and he squeezed his eyes shut. Sakura’s frown deepened. She gave him a few moments before she collected her slippers and stormed off.

“You said you loved me…” his gruff voice carried in the wind.

That halted Sakura in her tracks. Those memories were painful to look back on. How pathetic and useless had all her attempts been to win his affection. And now he was throwing it back in her face like some kind of sick joke. Just the audacity of it all enraged her. “So what?” she snarled.

“Did you mean it?” She could hear the wood boards creaking as he rose to stand. “Was it true?”

“You can’t honestly be holding me to something I said when I was like 11 or 12.”

“But you said it and you promised that you meant it.”

“Things change, Sasuke!” she shouted as she whipped around. “You keep digging into the past for this girl that just doesn’t exist anymore. Let it go!”

“So you lied?” he said, a fog forming over his features. Sakura shook her head incredulously. What had she ever seen in this guy? “Maybe I meant it at the time, but I can’t say that with full sincerity now,” she sulked. “And you hated it anyway. You told me that I didn’t know you, I was a distraction, and should focus on not getting in your way in battle. Did you expect me to just keep taking all your barbs and keep loving you unconditionally?”

Static sparked between them. The silence asphyxiated them. They stood on that pier both unwavering in their stubbornness for what felt like hours. Sakura didn’t want to be the first to give in. That was the Sakura of the past. But she didn’t feel like being angry either.

As she pivoted on her heel, Sasuke had come to fill the gap between them. “I’m sorry.”

Sakura’s breath suspended. A feeling like a ton of bricks came crashing down on her. He was looking at her with sincerity in those obsidian eyes of his. It was hard to look away. A pink blush sprinkled her cheeks.

“For what?”

“For everything,” he said, remorse clawing at his every word. He shuffled ahead of her. “I’ll walk you back.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The walk back had been deafeningly quiet. Unfortunately, for the duo, the world continued to move on. The shrieks of children as they chased each other, the market salespeople shouting out the day’s special, and even the cats and dogs lapping at muddy puddles paid them no mind. Silence brought neither of the duo clarity nor peace. Instead, knots appeared in their stomachs paining them to walk and constricting their chests until it hurt to breathe.

Sakura stopped to catch her breath. Sasuke only walked a few paces further before turning. He was still wearing that pitiful look from earlier. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura spotted a nearby bench. She trudged over to it with Sasuke following close behind.

“How did you find me?”

Sasuke shifted awkwardly. “I came here on a mission.”

“This place is neutral in terms of treaties, ninjas, and history of warfare. There’d be hardly any reason to station you here.”

“I don’t know all of the details of the mission. Itachi and Shishui brought me along.”

“If they have those two why would they even need you?” Sakura saw the way her comment stung him. His pride had always been so easily bruised. She took a deep breath. “Sorry. I know you get all sensitive when it comes to your brother.”

“I don’t.”

“Sure,” Sakura drawled sarcastically. Sasuke made a point to pout and look away. She would have laughed if he wasn’t so frustrating. “You must know something at least.”

He shook his head stubbornly. “Do you usually go on missions not knowing jackshit?” There was no response to that. Sakura was growing more irritated by the second. She hopped off the bench and started stomping her way back to the ward.

“I asked after you…” his voice fluttered in the wind with the shyness of a schoolboy. “I asked Tsunade where you were and she wouldn’t tell me. I thought-'' he clamped his jaw tight before he could say anymore.

Sakura came back to stand by him. His back remained to her. “Why would you be asking after me?” she snorted. “For the sake of ‘poor Naruto’?” Her air quotations with her snide tone did nothing to move him. He only answered in a smooth, even voice: “I wanted to see you.”

His words stole her breath. She felt incapable of all motor functions. His eyes had come to meet her again. He rose to his feet and was suddenly aware of just how much taller he was than her. “I don’t understand,” she choked out.

A pained look contorted his facial features. “I was waiting for you. I knew you still hated me, so I waited longer than I should have but…I was waiting for you. I still am.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore!” she shrieked.

“Why?”

“Because you are relentlessly cruel.” Sasuke looked confused. Sakura balled her fists. “Because you are only just now processing your…’feelings’, I should suffer for it?!”

“No,” Sasuke argued. “I…I’m only admitting to you now that the bond between us is much deeper than teammates. Or ex-teammates as you called it.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Sakura felt dizzy. She kept her mouth closed at risk of projectile vomiting. “Is that all you have to say?” he sassed. Sakura nodded and scurried off. Sasuke stood flabbergasted for a moment before trailing close behind her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Can I see you again?” Sasuke asked as they stood outside the entrance of the facility. Sakura - still too in shock to speak - only nodded her head. Sasuke sighed with relief.

They stood there just staring into each other’s eyes. A great hunger had besieged them both. It was insatiable and ravenous and euphoric all at the same time. That hunger was pulling them together like magnets. But Sakura pulled away before they got too far.

“Bye!” she said hastily before scaling the steps. She only dared to look back as her hand held tightly to the door handle. Sasuke was walking away slowly, hands in his pockets and his head hung low. That ravenous hunger pang and throbbing had grown immensely. She had the feeling that if she didn’t satiate herself now, she’d never get the chance to again.

“Sasuke!” she called out. His head snapped around. She pranced down the steps, scurried up to stand before him, and that frightening feeling sunk low in her stomach again.

They both stared in anticipation at one another. It was Sakura who placed her hands on his chest, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned in for the kiss. Sasuke’s hands soon snaked around her waist, pulling her closer. It was both glorious and frightening what they were doing. Tomorrow they’d think about what this all meant, but for now, they’d just enjoy the feel of each other’s warmth.

Sorry for the hiatus! I started film school and had no free time. This is the last chapter and I am just so glad this is done. Going to be very honest and admit I do NOT like this story and it’s definitely not my best. I never expected it to be this long, so many plots I wanted to explore got mangled and had to be cast aside because I forgot where certain storylines were going, and I really got bored of writing this around chapter 15 to be completely honest. The only reason I completed this is because I made a promise to myself to not delete anymore fanfictions that I uploaded. Anyway, I’m thankful for all you guys’ support along the way. I’ll be rewatching Naruto some time in the future and hope to write something better for you all. Happy holidays :)!