A babbling baby boy stumbled through the house. His tiny footsteps echoed into the kitchen, and the toddler looked up to his father and smiled happily, giggling softly.
"Daddy," he shouted, throwing his arms toward his father excitedly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and picked Ichirou up, kissing his son on the forehead. The child cooed and nuzzled softly into Sasuke's neck. He gazed out the window blankly, rocking the child slightly.
Haru was supposed to come home yesterday, the day after he had returned. There was no sign that she was even nearby. It almost worried him, but he knew that Haru was strong. Just like her brother had been, when he'd fought him only as a Genin.
Haru looked very much like Haku, but had a bolder look in her eyes. She wasn't very quiet, either, but rather outgoing and social. But that was what Sasuke loved about her. He'd loved her ever since he met her in Orochimaru's lair, in the Sound Village. She got him through everything, and in the end, after Itachi was dead, she convinced him to come back home to Konoha.
He looked around the large kitchen, and sighed. Somehow, she had convinced Sasuke to move back into the Uchiha estate after they got married. They spent a whole year cleaning up the place before trying for a child. And now, with his son in the world, the estate wasn't near as gloomy.
They had people who took care of the gardening, housework and such, as they were Shinobi and were very busy. Sasuke was now in the ANBU, as Haru was a Jounin who taught part-time at the Ninja Academy. They felt that they were truly happy; they each had friends, jobs they enjoyed, a beautiful dark-haired son, and a place to call their own.
He smiled down at the dozing toddler in his arms, and yawned. A nap did sound pretty good at this point.
She didn't know how long she'd been crawling in the woods, but she knew that she was badly injured. It seemed as though Orochimaru had beaten her to a pulp and left her there to die.
She drug herself through the dirt, almost able to see the road leading to Konoha's gates. She was so exhausted, even though she'd woken up from a near eight-hour slumber. Her body was like lead; she barely managed to drag it through the forest.
She reached the road, but stopped before she could crawl into the baking sunlight. She could go no further. She lay in the shade, panting.
At least it'll be nice and cool when I die, she thought. She wished she could be buried beside Haku, but then, Sasuke would make sure that she was, even if it meant that he couldn't be buried beside her.
She was about to close her eyes when a familiar figure was slowly walking by, reading a book. She recognized the silver, spiked hair and green Jounin vest right away.
"Kakashi," she spat, blood dripping from her mouth, "please, tell Sasuke I love him."
Kakashi looked at her as her hand reached out. It hit the ground before the blackness surrounded her.
Sasuke was woken from the most pleasant dream by someone loudly knocking on the door. He heard the housekeeper's gasp of surprise after she answered it. He sat up, sleeping son in his arms. He looked over the couch to see Kakashi panting in the doorway.
"Sasuke!" he exclaimed. His uncovered eye was wide with panic. "Haru is back!"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Then… where is she?" he questioned. He wanted to see his wife, not his former sensei.
"The infirmary," he stated bluntly. It was almost like he expected Sasuke to automatically know that that's what he meant.
Sasuke quickly called for the nanny, putting Ichirou in his crib. He kissed the toddler's forehead before sprinting out of the house to follow Kakashi.
Everything was busy at the infirmary. Sakura was busy cutting up medicinal herbs, not paying attention to Sasuke's questions. He wanted to know why everything was so chaotic. His wife's name was mumbled a few times among the medics, and shut up when he glared at them. "SAKURA!" he whispered harshly. "Where the hell is she?"
Sakura finally turned to him. Sweat dotted her forehead. "We're isolating Haru; she has many infected wounds that we don't want to accidentally spread."
Sasuke felt the color leave his face. He rushed from empty room to empty room, looking for the wife was so worried for.
Three medics were sterilizing Haru's wounds. She was unconscious, but pain was clearly in her face. He sighed.
Kakashi put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "She'll be fine," he said, "but she only spoke one sentence when I found her. She honestly thought she was going to die, I think."
Sasuke swallowed. "What did she say?" he asked. His hands balled into fists.
The silver-haired Shinobi shook his head. "Nothing that she doesn't tell you every day," he answered. "Haru is an amazing Shinobi, but you must admit that something is changing about her. She seems to be giving up more easily. I remember that she was as stubborn as a mule when you brought her home."
Sasuke let a small smile creep onto his face. He was right; Haru had been very stubborn when they came to Konoha. She was so determined to leave Orochimaru that it was scary. He didn't know the whole story; he just knew that Haru was taken from her twin, Haku, at five years old because of her Kekkei Genkai. He wasn't sure of what happened to her before they met, and she never did tell him. He just knew that when she wanted to live a normal life, she had to drag Sasuke with her.
Luckily, Naruto had been the Hokage when they came to Konoha, otherwise they probably wouldn't have been able to come. Naruto ranked them both as Chunin, and left it at that. They had to work their way up to the top from there, and made it to Jounin very easily.
"I don't think she's going to make it," a medic said quietly, glancing over at Sasuke. "These wounds haven't been treated for four days; she's obviously been sweating all over them."
"I'm surprised she's made it this far," the other whispered. "She has almost no chakra at all, and even though the wounds aren't at all deep, there are a great number of them and many are bleeding."
Sasuke's eyes darkened. The medics quickly left the room to get more medicine. He walked over and grabbed his wife's hand gently. Her skin was very warm. He looked at her face to see that her left eye was swollen, her lips dry and cracked, and her right cheek swollen and grey with bruises.
He stroked her finger softly, observing the silver band on her finger. He had taken great care when he'd bought it for her, and she'd almost cried when he got down on one knee at the Sakura festival. She had been wearing a colorful kimono with a white obi. Her makeup had been dark and her hair freshly dyed red. She'd cried when Sasuke smiled up at her deviously. There were so many people around clapping when he spun her around and kissed her when she accepted him.
Haru's face suddenly contorted to an expression of fear. She bit down on her lip, drawing blood. Sasuke touched her face, and said her name softly.
"O-O-O…. Orochimaru," she cried. "Don't touch me."
Her eyes suddenly opened. Her pupils dilated large and then needle-point small. A single tear fell down her bruised face. The curse mark on her shoulder began to pulse, and the seal Sasuke had placed broke with a tiny red flash and a quiet pop. Grey and red markings began to cover her entire body. Haru screamed.
Sasuke's eyes grew wide. Medics rushed inside, only to stop and look at the kunuoichi writhing in pain. Her hand tightened around Sasuke's, and he was unable to break away. It was like she had a grip of steel on him. Her body began to steam, and the wounds he could see began to lighten up, the infection beginning to disappear. The bruises didn't go away. Her back made a few snapping noises. Haru kept that expression frozen on her face, like she was screaming. Her lips quivered as the curse marks began to recede into her shoulder. The seal reappeared.
Haru relaxed on the cot she lay in. Her eyes closed halfway, and she looked up at her husband.
"I love you," she whispered. "Please, take me home."
Sasuke nodded and kissed the injured woman, the woman he loved, on the forehead. "I will," he whispered back. "And I love you, too. Now go to sleep."
She had just got her regrowth done on her hair. She thought it looked better that way, red, than just plain black. She also thought it was a good way to keep an enemy from recognizing her and starting a fight. The whole reason she came to Konoha was so that she could have a normal life. She was tired of all the violence she'd seen, and sometimes she liked to think that the violence was tired of seeing her.
She wore her favorite kimono just for the occasion of the Sakura Festival. It was many shades of blue in abstract swirls and designs, but with a few violet butterflies across it. It made her think of the home she was taken away from so early.
The kimono was given to her by Orochimaru, but she still loved it. And with her dark makeup and light lip gloss, it seemed to finish off her look. She wore her hair loosely up with two chopsticks that had little beads hanging off the top. Tonight was one of the many date nights with Sasuke. But tonight, somehow, felt different for her.
Sasuke walked her to the festival. He had a slight flush on his face the entire time. His kimono was dark blue, and he looked quite handsome in it. Haru held a blue and white fan for show; she didn't feel that she needed it. He wasn't talking much, but that was okay. He never had talked much with her, except when they were getting to know each other better.
They played a few games and ate some amazing sushi, and were walking around talking to people and friends. It was hard to believe that it had been four years, and now they had so many friends. Everything really was looking up for Haru and Sasuke. At least, that's what Haru always thought. She felt so lucky to have a village just open up to her despite her history and her former master.
Sasuke stopped her in the middle of the street, just as some nearby Shinobi were getting ready to light the fireworks.
"I have something to ask you."
Haru looked at him curiously then smiled. "You know you can ask me anything, Sasuke."
He smirked. He had a devious gleam in his onyx eyes. "You're going to be embarrassed."
She laughed. "It takes a lot to embarrass me, Uchiha."
Both of his eyebrows rose, and he reached into the pocket on the breast of his kimono. He pulled out a tiny black velvet box, and his smile got more devious by the second.
He got down on one knee. He opened the box to reveal a silver ring, holding inside eagle claws a single crystal-blue stone. Like water, she thought.
"Haru, we've been through a lot together," he began. "You pulled me out of a situation that I was never going to get out of. If it weren't for you, I could be dead, or there could be a world war waging right now." Haru noticed that people were staring. She blushed. Sasuke kept his smile on his face. "I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I never want you to leave my side. Whatever the cost of your love is, I'll gladly pay it. If I could, I would take over the world just to put it inside your hands. But to me, you're worth even more than that." He paused a moment to look up to see Haru crying. "Please. Marry me."
Her heart fluttered and rose into her throat. Her makeup was smearing. Everyone was looking at her, waiting for her to answer. She felt like she was on Cloud Nine; a warmth she'd never felt before filled her heart. As Sasuke rose, she threw her arms around his neck in a passionate embrace.
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Oh, god, Sasuke, a million times yes!"
Fireworks began to shoot into the air. She felt Sasuke's smiling lips against her cheek, and he put his arms around her and began to spin her around. People were clapping, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the proposal or for the fireworks.
When he put her down, she kissed him with as much love and passion she could muster. He put his hands on either side of her face and gladly returned the kiss.
When she pulled away, her eyes widened. A grinning Orochimaru gazed at her, fireworks casting off behind him in the distance. He kept his hands on her. She looked around. Everyone was smiling, as if this monster wasn't even there.
"I've been waiting for you to kiss me like that," he hissed at her. His long, thick tongue came out to lick his lips.
"O-O-O…. Orochimaru," she gasped. Her heart was now in her gut. She trembled with fear. "Don't touch me."
Suddenly, all was white, and then red, before darkening again. She screamed in pure agony. A single, red-hot tear fell, feeling as if it were burning away her skin. Her body burned, but not with exhaustion. It burned with a roaring power, coursing through her very veins, and she froze. The power made her quiver.
Everything was hot. When light came to her vision, she automatically knew that she was in Konoha. Her husband was looking at her with frightened eyes. She felt her spine crack and pop beneath her.
She finally relaxed. She looked at Sasuke with exhausted eyes.
"I love you," she breathed. "Please, take me home."
His eyes relaxed. He kissed her on her forehead. She suddenly felt very sore. "I will," he whispered in reply. "And I love you, too. Now go to sleep."
She closed her eyes. She snapped them back open once, seeing the golden eyes of the snake from her nightmare. But then she closed them again, and saw nothing. It was time to rest, she decided. She thought it was well deserved.