The fields of Ugajin-

"Sakura."

And there is Sasuke, not the disgusting one, standing before her. Blocking her sun so that he appeared to have a halo.

My Sun. Hah, how stupid of her younger self to thing he was the sun, the fucking universe, no other stars exists because of his blinding splendor. But Sakura thinks how appropriate to call him the sun now. She was scorched once by getting too close so better keep distant now.

"Ah Sasuke," she says eyes directed to the ground. Her plan to appear snob and high certainly doesn't fit her dirty work clothes and hard labor. She rises to her full height and look him in the eye. But his immaculate clothes, man he looks good in black as always, and his black black eyes watching her behind his bangs make her wanna cry. It's no genjutsu. Divorce agreed with him or is he married now? Fuck this man. She blinks back her tears and flashes him a smile.

"Hi... how have you been?" She hopes not one drop of bitterness is oozing from her pores. The most tragic thing that can happen to a woman next to losing her child, is appearing poor and ugly (Sai will surely agree) in front of her ex-husband.

"The hokage wants your services."

"What does Naruto want?"

"You're so sure he's the hokage."

"There's no one more suitable," she says not looking at his blinding beauty, "besides you wouldn't be here if you get the position."

"Shrewd as always," he says. But somehow she feels sorry for him.

"So," she gathers her hair behind both ears. Her getup now is hopeless but still she could look a tad pretty (and happy?) by arranging her hair. "Is it another epidemic?"

"The mission is to escort you home for unspecified reason."

"It looks like it doesn't need immediate attention."

"No," he agrees.

"Well I won't go."

"Also," he says without a trace of emotion, "the hokage told me to tie you up if necessary."

"Did he?" Sakura laughs swaying her hips like Ino. "That Idiot." She raises one hand to demurely cover her mouth and discovers chakra strings restraining her body. When did he -?

"You fucker!" she screams her throat off. "You bastard, you arrogant man, you snob, you you."

The villagers gathered in a corner advance as a team. Granny is leading them with a wooden spear in hand. They are slow and it seems to Sakura, shy even. Specially the girls who have the temerity to blush.

Right, that's Sasuke's pheromones working its magic. She's glad she's not the only suffering from it. Makes her less of a fool.

"Help! I'm being kidnapped!" Sakura screams.

"Sakura-chan I will save you!" the old disgusting sasuke shouts back but not daring to step a foot forward without Granny's permission.

With Uchiha Sasuke here, the old man's name is reduced all to lower case.

Sasuke smirks at this. "Your new husband?"

"Fuck you."

"Why won't you fight back? Go on punch me or present me with a four foot rock and crush the bones on my feet."

"Fuck you."

Sasuke frowns obviously not liking this all talk- no action version of her.

"They don't know I'm a shinobi," she explains.

"Ah."

"So play along and say you've mistaken me for someone else."

He covers her mouth with one fragrant hand. Gods above, his touch can cause her to shiver still. "I wasted enough time tracking you down, we have to get moving now."

He hauls her up over his shoulder. Her face on his warm back. Her butt on display. Instead of kicking his groin, she says, "I hate that your cheek is rubbing my ass."

"I don't see any ass," he says blankly.

My, this man is despicable. "Oh really? You used to grab them every opportunity you get. Slapping them when no one's watching."

He doesn't comment and instead walks on in silence. The villagers in a triangle formation catch up on them.

"Sir you cannot- you cannot take-" Granny is stuttering.

Sakura rolls her eyes in disbelief.

"Good Sir, Sakura chan is..."

"She's my bride!" sasuke with the lowercase s says. "And in a few weeks I will sleep with her on these fields."

Oh fuck. Sakura raise her upper body only to whisper to Sasuke. "Take me to my hut on that mountain of brambles and do not let them come up any further. Act angry 'kay?"

Sasuke is slick. He pats Granny soft white hair and glares at old sasuke. "I'm sorry everyone, you see my Wife (he practically put three stress marks on the word) here and I need to discuss something important. Don't mind her being carried this way. We prefer this over the bridal carry style. Much sexier this way."

"But she's all tied up," Granny points out.

Sasuke smirks rather proudly. "Heh. This is how we do it."

Sakura buries her face on his back. That's too happy for you Sasuke. Too happy.

Granny chuckles like a timid girl. "I see ehehe. You heard it people, let's go back to work."

sasuke who is bent on sleeping with Sakura on these fields naturally protests "But-but my bride."

"Now, now," Granny pulls him back to his muddy work. "She told me he's an ugly beast but he's beautiful. Fine features."

sasuke scoffs. " I bet he can't even beat me in mud wrestling.''


Sakura's hut-

The walk up the mountain is excruciatingly silent. Sakura could tell Sasuke's dark mood by the force of his every breath. She wonders why she endures the silence and her awkward transportation.

She struggles to come up with anything to say.

"Ah this village has a sort of fertility ritual, they want me to participate in it as a symbolic representation of the Rain god bride. Hah, that's ironic given that I couldn't carry a child to full term," she says straight to his back.

Sakura realizes her mistake. "Put me down," she says in her most authoritative voice.

He readily obeys. Somehow his back is becoming too hot for her comfort.

"Untie me." This time her voice wavers a little. She has spent the last five years being bitter, allowing no man to touch even a single strand of her hair. Now she wants this man, her ex-husband of all people, to touch her skin even for a second.

With a flick of his kunai, the chakra strings is cut. Sakura blinks in disappointment. But of course he won't touch her if he can help it. It was her fault afterall that the celebrated marriage in the village ended.

"In a week Sasuke." Her index finger is raised close to her lips. "I will head for the leaf in a week. I'll use my time left to change the address of the delivery of my supplies," she declares thinking of the cheapest sake in the region.

"And what will I get if I acquiesce?"

"No poison or sleeping pills, no rocks crushing your bones, no punching. In short no hassle." Ha, she has nothing right now but she have her past badass moments to swash in front of him.

"What makes you thing I can't handle all that?"

"You want absolutely nothing from your ex-wife, especially injuries."

He smirks. She raises one brow at him. His eyes indicates her wedding band. The gold serpent swallowing its own tail, wrapped around her ring finger.

"That ring means eternity," he says. He raises both his hands for her inspection. He's not wearing his own golden serpent. "But that's pure bullshit."

Sakura backs down when he steps closer. His body is giving such a strong field of heat. Lust or maybe that's just his anger emanating. He snatches the ring off her finger and she dumbly stares at her hand. It looks and feels bare without the serpent.

"Why do you insist on wearing this?"

Four years divorced and still wearing her wedding band. Shit, she needs a drink right now.

"Perhaps you think I'd come running after you and everything will go on as it is? Well I'm not so desperate as to chase after a woman who hates me."

"Don't think highly of yourself Sasuke," she have both hands on her hips, "I was so busy living my life that I didn't notice the ring is even there at all."

She wins this round. He is so pissed he throws the ring to the mountainside. Sakura tastes sadness and regret in her tongue. But years living with Sasuke taught her a few lessons on keeping emotions on check.

"So stupid of you," she says calmly, "I could have sold that ugly piece of jewelry. We could split the money you know."

He ignores her. Sakura stomps to her bamboo and grass hut. He languidly follows her, noting every detail of her miserable hut.

"Here," he says handing her a scroll, "It's not of immediate concern but it would be best to read the hokage's instruction."

"No, I'd rather read this on the way."

He doesn't comment but notice the jar of snake tea on her bedside table. He points to direct her attention to it. She shakes her head and trips on a bottle of sake. Sakura kicks it out of sight.

"We have an inn around. It's uncomfortable but cheap. You can stay there until we leave for Konoha. I understand you don't want me out of your sight that you search far and wide for me."

There's a hint of sarcasm obviously. Sasuke went along with it.

"Exactly, which is why I need to stay here in your pretty little home so you won't get away this time." He stares at her narrow bed beside the window. Their conjugal bed was seven times larger than this. But both have the same virginal white sheets.

Sarcasm and double entendres.

"Okay," she says. Not Okay. He will see her little routines, nothing escapes him, and he'll attribute her drinking habits (habit- not a problem,no never) and her dry hair and her dry skin and her shabby clothes to post-Sasuke era misery.

"Okay just don't follow me around when I go out on dates. I mean I go on dates all the time here. And everywhere I go you know."

Sasuke smirks. "I doubt it."

Sakura's stomach growls unabashedly.

Sasuke closes his eyes in amusement. Oh he find this amusing, her abject misery. She wants to cry right now but really,she is tired of crying this past four years.

"So," she flashes him a smile, raiding her cupboards for food "It's customary here to feed the guest ". When she couldn't find anything but sake, she starts fumbling for her purse. She finds there several shiny coins enough to feed one person. The minimum wage here is half the minimum wage of a baby sitter say in Suna. Sakura doesn't think it's that bad until now when she's trying to impress (even a little, please gods and all and his ancestors let me impress) HIM.

She haven't done enough today to get a whole day's pay. Guess she will have to starve today to buy Sasuke some meat.

Sasuke slaps several bills on her bedside table. "This is as good an inn as I can get. I have to pay for breakfast and board or is that not the custom here?"

"It is," she mumbles.

He stalks off outside to not witness her reaching for the bills. He is that considerate. Sakura is so used to people giving her money on hand that she starts to cry at his thoughtfulness.

Throughout their marriage, he taught her pain and loss. But above all, he taught her pride.

He stays out of the way now to give her space to cry out and compose herself. Oh he knows her so well. That mercurial Uchiha.

For all his faults, Sasuke's a good man.


Back in the fields-

Granny looks up from her work to challenge the mythic dragon in the sky.

"You're eager to meet your bride huh? You'll roast us to death until your satisfied with with her charms."

"What is it Granny?" a girl presses close.

"Nothing child. It's just that with the sun this hellish, I think we'll have the fertility ritual a little early than usual."

Granny looks over at sasuke working his frustrations out on the land and becomes thoughtful for a while.

"Which is just as well."