Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Quick note! This is (clearly) diverging after the war but before Kishimoto's shipping nightmare. Also, it's kind of slice of life-esque and meant to be a break from "Not the Doctor" (so sorry about being slow) and a very, very long KabuSaku story that I am poring all of my medicshipping love into.
Also, this is marked complete but it is very likely there will be one or more additional chapters in the future. If you're interested, subscribe to this story (or me). If not, this first section can more or less stand on its own.
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The Lost Children
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Kabuto had no idea what to do with this situation and it was clear that the pink-haired kunoichi on the other side of the door was similarly befuddled. She held out her hand and sent an awkward but kind smile to the older medic and after a moment of hesitation, Kabuto extended his own scaled appendage to clasp hers in a show of camaraderie.
"What brings you here, Sakura-chan?" he asked politely.
Haruno Sakura seemed mildly surprised by his demeanor but the warmth of her smile seemed to increase tenfold, "Kakashi sent me to check up on the orphanage. Can I come inside?"
He inclined his head and moved from the doorway, watching as she stepped over the threshold and into the new building that served as his residence. When she was clear, he shut the door and led her to the small sitting room. After making tea, Kabuto sat across from Sakura at the low table in the center of the room.
"You said the Hokage sent you to check on us," Kabuto began, "Could you explain further?"
"Ah! I have the scroll right here." She pulled the rolled parchment containing her mission orders from her small medical bag and slid them across the table. She smiled at him again, "All it really says is that I'm supposed to see if you need anything and help out from time to time."
"I see." Kabuto scanned the details of the scroll and nodded, "Your assistance would be appreciated, but I'm rather surprised—I thought you were in charge of the hospital?"
Sakura finished her tea and replied with her ever-present smile, "I run the hospital jointly with Shizune-nee, but since Shishou retired there's a lot less for me to do. Kakashi asked if I would be willing to split my time between the hospital and orphanage and I was more than happy to volunteer."
"Thank you."
The shinobi lapsed into a comfortable silence and Kabuto refilled her drained mug. Winter had just settled over Fire Country and though it would never snow, it was just after dusk and there was a chill in the air. Seeing that his guest had succumbed to light shivers, Kabuto excused himself and returned with a blanket. He settled it over the younger medic's shoulders and resumed his place on the other side of the table.
She blinked in surprise for a few moments and he was amused as the corners of her lips pulled into a bright grin, "Thanks, Kabuto."
"You're welcome," he smiled warmly. "If you would like, there is a guest room in this building that I can make up for you; the orphanage is on the outskirts of the Konoha and it's already quite late. Traveling back to the center of the village would be strenuous."
"I don't want to be any trouble! It's no problem, really!"
Kabuto insisted, "Since you'll be coming often to help out, it would be best to have your own room here. It's unused, so no one will be inconvenienced."
"If you're sure it won't be an issue, then I suppose it's okay."
They sat together for a time, lightly discussing the state of the orphanage and its current wards. Sakura chuckled at some of his anecdotes and in turn, he listened to some of her nightmarish hospital stories. Once they finished their pot of tea, Sakura yawned and they agreed to call it a night.
"If you don't mind, Sakura, could you perhaps set up the kotatsu while I lay out the spare futon in your room? It's already winter and I've been so busy recently that it keeps slipping my mind."
"Of course!" she answered, jumping up eagerly. He pointed her to what she'd need and quickly departed first to his own room. After retrieving a spare set of his own clothing for the smaller female, Kabuto made his way to the guest room. He opened the window to allow the air to circulate while he fetched the bedding from the closet and laid it out, smoothing the folds and wrinkles. Returning to the closet, he located a small floor heater and plugged it in and soon it shot out bursts of warmth into the cool room.
Satisfied, Kabuto closed the window and swiftly returned to the sitting room where Sakura had resumed sitting at the table, the blanket of the kotatsu warming her lower half while the blanket he'd given her nearly slipping from her small shoulders as she slumped onto the table. Kabuto realized with amusement that she'd fallen asleep in the time he'd left her and put a hand lightly on back to wake her.
"Sakura," he called gently, "the bed is ready."
Her eyes fluttered open and her cheeks colored, "T-thank you."
Kabuto leant her his hand and helped the younger woman to her feet before leading her to the small room he'd prepared. He watched as she folded the blanket and turned to face the Snake Sage. He took it from her and smiled, "Do you have to be at the hospital tomorrow?"
She shook her head, "Tomorrow is my day off."
"If you want, there's an empty dresser in the closet where you could put some clothes."
"That would be a good idea," she quietly agreed.
There was a long, stretched out moment between them before Kabuto pointed to the folded pile of his spare clothes he'd set on the corner of her futon, "I left those for you; I didn't think you would be comfortable sleeping in your uniform."
"Thank you, Kabuto," she blushed.
Unsure of what else to do, the older medic turned away with a bow and a quiet "Good night."
He had walked a few paces when a light hand on his arm made him pause and Sakura slipped her arms around his tense form from behind. As he looked over his shoulder, Kabuto was startled when the younger girl reached up and kissed his scaly cheek.
"Sakura?"
She smiled brightly and her eyes welled with tears, "I think what you've done here for those children is one of the most amazing and selfless acts I've ever seen. Kabuto, for all the pain and enmity in this world and for all of your past actions, what you're doing in this orphanage is wonderful."
The silver-haired man smiled awkwardly in her embrace, "This place was my beginning, Sakura. When Itachi helped me find myself again, it was only right that I returned with Urushi to care for the lost children of Konohagakure." Her grip tightened and Kabuto placed a gentle hand on her head, "You also understand, because you're a medic."
Her unshed tears began to fall and startled, Kabuto turned to her fully and returned her embrace, "I do understand; I understand it all."
"We'll work together for the future of the village and we'll give these children a place in this world," he promised quietly. "So that these children never have to endure lives like Obito's or mine, I would give anything."
Both shinobi went silent and Kabuto let Sakura burrow into his dark robes. The tiny woman in his arms had laid her head against his chest and absently, his hands stroked her hair and upper back. Her crying had stopped but neither moved away until Kabuto felt rather than saw her yawn.
"Tired?" he asked, leaning back just enough to see her face. He chuckled at her hummed response and Kabuto took in her serene expression, his left hand brushing her now disheveled hair from her forehead, "Sakura, we'll have to sleep eventually."
"I know," she yawned.
"I'll wake you in the morning and give you a tour of the orphanage after breakfast with the children," Kabuto smiled as she nodded and shuffled backward into her room. After bidding each other good night, Sakura slid her door shut and the older medic retreated into his own bedroom.
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So, what'd you think?
I'm contemplating another installment around the same length as this one but I really should get back to working on "Not the Doctor" and the other, longer KabuSaku story I'm working on.
As a kind of bonus, I'll give a brief and inadequate summary of the longer fic (since I haven't discussed it anywhere but real life thus far):
After the war, Kabuto follows Sasuke back to the village and at the bidding of Tsunade, he lives with Sakura. The two medics are tasked by the Hokage to research Kabuto's new body and to make it easier for the Snake Sage to integrate (somewhat) back into the village. Slowly, Kabuto and Sakura begin to draw similarities between themselves and they fall into an easy but awkward friendship that eventually leads to something romantic (as it were).
So far, it's one very long monster that is begging to be written.
I'm also working on a tremendously long KakuSaku fic, so sometimes they brawl and one takes precedence over the other. Surprisingly enough, KabuSaku is winning.
Thank you for reading,
AJlovesKakashi
Edit (9/3/15): Hi, all! Sorry that the ending seemed so abrupt and that there was no distinction between the final sentences and the Author's Note. My friend noticed while reading that FFN deleted my tilda linebreak and so I've fixed it. Production is underway for the second installment, but I'm in the process of moving to another apartment so I've been rather busy. I've also been distracted by Fairy Tail crack pairings and the stupid Love Live! game. Sigh.
See you soon!