A/N: This is a oneshot that I wrote for the SasuSaku Smut Week 2016.

Title: Of Passion and Redemption

Day: 1

Theme: Fluff/Novelty

Summary: Sasuke has finally been released from the prison. But before departing for journey of redemption, he is healed by Sakura. Old feelings rekindle...What will Sasuke do?

Rating: Slightly M

Word Count: 3374

The life of Sasuke Uchiha has become something so plain that it can be easily described in a few words. He wakes up all shivering and sweating because of his nightmares but is unfortunately unable to wipe it off because of being restrained. Every morning, his bindings are removed and he is allowed to do his job inside a small toilet (ofcourse under the presence of an anbu standing guard right outside to give him some privacy), he is fed some bread by an unknown guy to keep him alive (on a few occasions, he is lucky enough to get milk as well), heavily interrogated by the Torture Department's most famed Ibiki Morino, thrown back into his cell and then forced to hear all those snide remarks about him being an asshole and deserving such treatment until sleep finally blesses his conflicted form. And during the performance of all of these tasks, the seal from his eyes is kept firmly in place. No, not even once is he allowed to use his eye-sight because of the possible danger of him putting everyone under a genjutsu and escaping the prison. And so, that is what has become of the life of great Sasuke Uchiha. Nothing interesting…

But for some reason, today felt different…

For example, instead of being awoken by a kick in his stomach, his cell was unlocked and shuffling of feet could be heard. Two , his strong shinobi sense guessed the number of people who had just entered the small cell. "Sasuke", a familiar voice called him out and he immediately recognised one of the two men to be his former sensei, tilting his head up in the direction of the voice in a hopeful manner. He presumed the other one to be the head of the Torture Department since no one is allowed access to his cell except for this scary, bald-guy.

Surprisingly, his assumptions turned out to be right when the seal on his head was removed and his eyes were allowed to have some fresh air. Blinking the eyelids a few times to adjust his eyes into the darkness of the cell, he stood up and instantly, a guard was called in by the huge-scarred man next to his teacher. Another guy entered and began removing all of the restraints that had been placed upon his body. He flexed and stretched his muscles to ease some of the tension that had been settling there since six months and then looked impassively at the men, patiently waiting for what was to come.

In his case though, he had already suspected that after returning to the leaf village with Naruto, he'll be locked-up inside a prison and severely tortured for information. Finally, when they'll find no use for him, they'll take him out and publically execute him for his crimes. And by the looks of it, the time for his death…has arrived. He gulped involuntarily at the thought of never seeing light again. To his utter shock, a few supplies were shoved into his only remaining hand and he was pushed inside a big washroom, under the orders to come out only after properly washing-up.

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As soon as he came out of the bath, two anbu guards accompanied him towards the Hokage Tower through a very remote path so as to attract the least bit of the public attention. On his arrival, they pushed him inside the Hokage's Room and he came face to face with his long time rival once again. The blond grinned cheerfully, revealing his fox-like canines and then turned away from him to face the person at the desk. Sasuke found himself shocked all over again when he saw his former teacher sitting right behind that desk, atop the Hokage's seat wearing that heavy red cap on his head. And even though it wasn't visible to him, he knew that his teacher as well gave him a smile, which he guessed by the crinkling in his eyes. He noticed that both of his teacher's eyes were on display for the world as he had already lost the Sharingan in his left eye during the war. Next to him stood Shikamaru, hands snug inside his pants' pockets, smoking a cigarette. The pineapple-headed boy pulled out the offending drug from his mouth and he too offered a small smile to the young Uchiha. Alright…Why exactly is everyone smiling at him?! It's starting to get on his nerves. He has barely been out for some thirty minutes and people have begun smiling at him. Have they completely forgotten about his wrongdoings?

"Sasuke Uchiha, I, Kakashi Hatake, the honourable sixth Hokage of Konohagakure-no-sato, am offering you freedom from your penalties in exchange for peace. Do you agree to this condition?" Kakashi asked in an authoritative tone.

The first thing that registered in his brain was the fact that his former sensei who is a closet pervert and a student of the fourth, has become the sixth Hokage of Konoha. And then came the second part of his speech. His teacher stated that he is willing to free him from that dingy prison simply in exchange for the promise of peace from him. Again, why?! Everything that he has done up till now shouldn't allow him this freedom. Even his aid during the war isn't enough to compensate for his deeds. Hell! Nothing he does will ever be enough…So then…why?

"Come on, Sasuke. You're being offered a chance here. You must man-up and accept this." The lazy, Nara genius drawled-out, all the while thinking about an adamant kunoichi from sand.

And then, even the idiotic blond turned around to grin at him again. The Hero of the Leaf placed his remaining left hand's palm on Sasuke's shoulder and spoke, "Come on, Sasuke. I know you can do this. Remember? I believe in you..We all do…"

Suddenly, flashbacks of his last battle with his ex-teammate began playing in his head and slowly, he lowered his gaze to look down the shoulder where the blond's right arm would've been, only to find a slowly fluttering, empty, orange sleeve.

What if I turn on your back again? He recalled himself asking at the valley of the end after their battle.

Then I'll beat you up again…But that won't happen.. His friend had assured, mustering all the honesty required in order to convince him to return.

It still pains Sasuke to believe that Naruto lost a complete limb just for the sake of dragging him back on the right path. How far would he have gone if even that wouldn't have worked? How long would've team 7 kept trying? He began glaring at the three men inside the room. How can they allow themselves to trust him in just six months?! Six freaking months! How can they? How can they begin trusting him so easily? How? He wanted to kick their asses for being so..so considerate in their treatment towards him. They shouldn't have done any of it, wasting so much of the important time of their lives on him when they could've actually utilised it doing far more productive activities.

He felt this urge to tell them to just leave him be and move on with their lives. Yes! He doesn't want anyone to spare their time on someone as pathetic as him. They all deserve better. And yet..another part of him— a very tiny, weak part within him, that was extremely scared of losing even these few precious people in his life, wanted them to stay…This little part wanted them to stay the way they are and keep on being here for him regardless of the way he is…

Taking in a deep breath and then slowly releasing it, he decided to trust this little part inside of him and uttered his usual mono-syllabled response, "Aa"

"Well, since I've known you for so long, I'll take that as a Yes." Kakashi said in a chirpy tone.

"Alright!" Sasuke felt Naruto pat his shoulder with joy and he even heard the almost inaudible snort from Shikamaru. Well, atleast three people are happy to see him back. He is wondering how the others will take this news. Will they accept his presence or will they despise him for the monster that he used to be?

"Okay Shikamaru, summon Sai." Kakashi ordered.

Shikamaru nodded once and immediately exited the room to find the aforementioned ex-root nin. Sasuke looked around the room to adjust his eyes more to the brightness of his surroundings. The small scared part within him felt satisfied after hearing the Hokage's deal. He is happy and sad at the same time. There is no doubt that he wants to live and be granted a chance at life but he is also feeling guilty for his past actions that will forever plague his dreams and turn them into nightmares. He is bittersweet. Yes! A mix of happiness and sorrow is what he is experiencing at this very moment. He has already apologised to everyone for his deeds and so, he can just return back to his usual life in this village he used to call his home but what about the others? What about all those people from different countries whom he had hurt in the process of gaining his revenge? How can he make them forgive him? Gaining their forgiveness won't be as easy as his own former comrades'. No..he cannot just accept this freedom so easily. There are certain things that need to be done…certain things that he must do..before actually becoming a leaf shinobi again. And he knows exactly what those things are…

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Sai entered the room after Shikamaru and closed the door behind him. As soon as he was informed about Sasuke Uchiha's presence at the Hokage Tower, he left his latest painting on his desk and joined the young Nara genius to head towards the tower. Now, looking at the stoic expression on the face of the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan and his friend Naruto's huge grin, Sai assessed that something good must have happened here. He has been learning more elaborately about the facial expressions and human behaviour with the help of one Ino Yamanaka. And he has to admit that she teaches far better than any of those huge and heavy books.

"You called, Hokage-sama?" He asked in a professional tone.

"Sai!" Naruto immediately yelled at the fourth member of team 7, "How many times have I told you that it's Kakashi-sensei?! Call him Kakashi-sensei!"

"Okay Naruto. I think he knows this already. But unlike you, atleast he is trying to be respectful towards me." Kakashi stated.

"Anyways, Sai I called you here because, as you might have already guessed it, Sasuke has agreed to my terms." Kakashi informed and waited for Sai to nod his head, "So, for starters, I'd like you to take him to the Hospital and get him healed by the best medic in our village."

"As you say, Hokage-sama." Sai bowed before him.

"It's Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled again.

The newly-elected sixth Hokage huffed in irritation and pulled-out a small orange-covered book from one of the drawers. He narrowed his eyes slightly to look intimidating and spoke, "Shikamaru take Naruto to the Academy. It's time for his special training."

"No! Hey! Wait! Not those damned books again…" Naruto whined all the while as Shikamaru dragged him out of the room.

Sasuke smirked at the childish nature of his old rival and shook his head. Some things really never change. His former sensei finally released a sigh of relief and gestured Sai to leave as well.

"Alright, lets go Traitor." He said, as he walked out of the room.

"Traitor?" Sasuke gritted out the first proper word since his release.

"Yes! Naruto-kun has asked me to give nicknames to all of my friends. So this one's for you." He answered innocently to the last Uchiha's questioning glare.

"Hn. Whatever. Let's just get done with this healing thing." He muttered firmly. Afterall, he has things that he needs to discuss about with the Hokage before actually putting forth his first request as a reinstated Konoha Shinobi.

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The moment Sai left Sasuke on the stretcher of that Hospital Room, Sasuke realised that he is a much bigger idiot than Naruto could ever be. He should've paid attention to Kakashi's words a few minutes ago but no..he was too busy devising plans about his future in this village..in the shinobi world. And so, he found himself stupidly dumb when a very familiar pink-haired kunoichi entered the same room to conduct the necessary examinations on her patient and heal the required wounds. …get him healed by the best medic in our village. Kakashi's words began resonating in his head. How can he forget?! The only ninja to have ever surpassed the slug-princess in the field of medical ninjutsu is none other than Sakura Haruno, his former teammate.

It is a fact that he had apologised to her at the valley of the end whilst she was busy healing him and Naruto but that is something he did because..because he felt his old emotions returning. He remembered all of the times that she had tried to save him only to be pushed aside. He felt regretful for ever trying to harm her innocent skin. But he can't change the past and that is exactly why he apologised. On his return to the village, he was sure about his death sentence and so, he atleast wanted to die after apologising to her for his actions. And she, instead of giving him the cold-shoulder or even trying to play hard, accepted his apology…She forgave him without any complaints or demands. It was the last time that he saw her before being dragged to the prison. And now today, after six complete months, he is feeling awkward in her presence as she is busy examining his shirtless, chiselled-abdomen for any critical wounds.

After patching-up the last gash on his chest, she walked over to the bedside table and picked up the notepad from where she had left it. She began scribbling down all that medical stuff on the white parchment and then having being done with that task as well, turned around to face him. A smile curved upon her lips as she began speaking, "Do you feel alright now?"

He found himself unable to respond as he felt his throat going drying. "I mean..I examined you and found four partially healed ribs, a very deep wound between your shoulder blades, which I think had been poorly stitched and a few minor knicks and gashes on your chest and abdomen. And this is not all; the results of your X-ray examination showed cracks in the bones of your fingers and arms. But don't worry..I healed everything. I healed you…"

He still didn't respond to her analysis. How could he, when his eyes were too busy watching the movements of her soft, pink lips. He gulped slowly as he watched her looking at that notepad and X-ray result all over again.

"You were tortured…" She whispered her guess, with hints of worry in her tone.

When he made no comments whatsoever about his condition, she tilted her head to lock her emeralds with his onyxes. The whole room went silent as the two of them assessed the other.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, attaching that familiar word of endearment to his name and that was it. That did it for him. He stood up from the stretcher and pulled her by the waist towards himself to capture her lips with his own.

Neither of them felt surprised by his sudden act. It was as if they had anticipated something like this a long ago— them engaging their lips in a gentle touch. The kiss shared between them wasn't one of those hot ones you read about in a teen fiction. It was a sloppy one in the beginning which turned into an enticing one. It wasn't perfect but a good try for a first kiss. And when he pulled back to look at her closed eyelids, he couldn't help himself from planting a kiss at her jaw as he hesitantly started unzipping her red-vest to trail his lips down towards her porcelain neck. She, on the other hand, roved her palms around his chest experimentally to see if it would provide any pleasure to him or not. When he gasped at the sudden contact of her surprisingly soothing palms, she smiled slightly and glided her arms around his torso to encircle him in a warm, welcoming hug.

He began feeling much more confident in his acts then and continued nipping the skin of her collarbones. The moment was very chaste, like two teenagers experimenting with their feelings around one another. All the pent-up emotions were being unleashed in those soft, lingering exchange of touches. But the moment he lowered his head further downwards towards the more intimate region of her chest, she shivered, breaking the trance that he had fallen into. Immediately, he pulled away from her form and his eyes widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing into angry slits.

Her arms were still around his back but she wasn't there. She was staring down at her feet, lost in thought, her lovely pink locks shadowing her expression. He sighed, passing his only hand through his raven hair and sneaked a shy glance at her. He found that she was just as confused as he was and so he did what was necessary to be done- he slowly removed her small arms from around himself and turned away to face the window instead of her inviting, pouty lips. What was Kakashi even thinking, sending him to be healed by no other medic but her?! He should've known…but unfortunately he doesn't…He is still unsure about his actions, about his own body's reactions towards her..He knows that even after everything that has transpired between them, she loves him and she always will..But what about him? He doesn't even know why he kissed her? He is not sure if he is trying to reciprocate her feelings or if he was just giving into his desires as a man.

He needs more time. There are so many things that he has to do. He needs to sort out his feelings about his comrades. He needs to understand in depth about how he actually feels about her..about Naruto and Kakashi, about everything. He needs to see this world with a new light and he also wants to atone for his past sins. So, he must stay as far from her as possible. For now, atleast…

With his mind made-up, he spoke, "I…I need to leave."

He wasn't even facing her and yet he could feel the saddening of her gaze. But he can't help it. He can't simply accept her love and take advantage of it for his own manly desires. He must find out if what he feels for her is the right thing or not before trying to get into something serious with her. He doesn't want to taint her being by his darkness..by..by taking away her innocence. He must confront his inner demons..and he must do it on his own.

"Yeah..I have-I have already healed you. I have done my job. You must go." She agreed.

"No", he shook his head, "I mean..I…I need to leave this village for a while..to atone for my sins..and to understand everything..", he then turned to look back at her, "to understand this." He explained, gesturing between them.

"I-I-I see…I'll wait..for your return..for you…" She whispered with a strong conviction, still not meeting his gaze.

He smirked at her words. No matter what happens, she won't change. She'll keep waiting for him even if it takes forever. Picking up his shirt and pulling it back on, he inched closer to her and placed another kiss upon her plump lips. This one felt way better than the first one as he pressed harder into her. They stayed in that position for a while before he reluctantly released her lips and tapped his forehead with her's. She fluttered her eyes closed and smiled.

The smile stayed on her lips even after he pulled away and twisted the knob of the door to make his exit. He stopped in the doorway before leaving. She saw how he clenched his fist and felt the quivering of his tone as he murmured loud enough for her to hear, "I'll see you when I'm back."

A/N: So this is it. When I saw that prison thing in the episode 479, I wanted to use it for the story.

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Until Next Time...

~Manika