Disclaimer: No, I still do not own Naruto, anyone surprised by this? I thought not.
Sakura's recovery was a slow process, and it didn't take long for Sakura to begin to loose her patience. She was no longer bed ridden, but short shuffles between the bed and a chair, the man had set by the window for her, were all she could manage. She felt like an old woman. She sighed audibly as she slumped into the chair, exhausted by the effort. She looked enviously at the world beyond the window.
It seemed as if the sun shinning brightly on the grass, the breeze that ruffled the petals of the roses that bloomed in a perfusion of soft pink clouds, and the birds that merrily chirped from the trees were all contrived to make her miserable. "I am warm" said the sun. "I am soothing" said the breeze. "I am sweet" said the flowers. "I am cheery" said the birds.
Sakura glared darkly at them, and muttered curses under her breath at the inviting scene that waited just beyond her reach.
She still had no real concept of how long she had been here, and she had yet to leave the white room. Only the view outside the window, and the hallway beyond the door gave Sakura any hope that there was still a larger world outside. Sometimes she wondered if she was stuck in some sort of elaborate trap, or nightmare. She missed her friends, her family, and her village. The mystery man had treated her well, and he proved, for the most part, to be an amicable companion. He was funny, smart, and treated her with a sort of respect that almost bordered on reverence, but he still foiled any attempts at more significant conversation.
He would answer no questions about her present location, his motivation for rescuing her, how long she would have to stay here, or anything of that ilk. He also refused to say anything about who he was, where he was from, what he was doing, anything remotely personal or revealing. He referred to himself as an old man, and although there was gray in his hair, he moved with a grace and power that belied the words. He was older than her, more like Kakashi's age than anything, but certainly not old.
He wore no village insignia, whole or crossed out, and his simple clothes bore no clan symbols or markings. He bore a striking, and disturbing, resemblance to Sasuke, and Sakura had yet to come up with any satisfactory answers. Some sort of branch family, maybe born on the wrong side of the sheets, maybe it was all a coincidence. Pale skin, dark hair, and dark eyes were not an unusual combination in this part of the world, and were not the sole province of the Uchiha clan. Besides the man spoke in full sentences, treated others (well, at least her) respectfully, and she had seen him laugh on more than one occasion. Sakura could count on the fingers of one hand the times she had heard Sasuke laugh, in a genuine manner, and the world would probably end in a fiery conflagration should Itachi ever laugh (in good humor that is).
She gave up speculating about the man, she had been doing this for days on end, and the exercise had started to grate on her nerves. She just wanted to be able to stand, straight and tall, shake his hand, thank him politely for the rest, and skip back on home. She wondered if Sasuke had kept his word, and returned to the village. She held on tight to the belief that he had done as she asked. Her heart couldn't bear the thought of him simply running off, again, and leaving her best friend, Naruto, lost and alone forever.
There was so much weight on his shoulders, the power of the demon that would one day destroy him. The power that had been foisted on him, unwanted an unasked for. The very power that had made him an outcast in his home, feared, despised, and degraded by almost everyone for something done to him as an infant in order to save their sorry hides. He needed someone to stand for him, he needed friends he could lean on, and he needed people to trust in. He tried so hard, and was so strong, but, like everyone, he deserved someone to help him, someone to believe in him. Sakura worried for him, she had been away for what seemed like a long time, and she missed him terribly. She had to believe that Sasuke had returned home, and together with Naruto, had begun to forge a new path. The alternative was unbearable.
Sakura felt the gentle pressure of a hand on her shoulder breaking her melancholy reverie. She turned and faced the man, and spoke the first words that came to her mind.
"What is your name?"
This was not the first time Sakura had posed the question, and as expected the man began to speak the same refusal, but Sakura stopped him short.
"Alright, alright don't bother, you might as well just tape yourself saying 'now is not the time' and save yourself the effort. I could play it anytime I felt the need to ask any one of the million questions I need answered. It would be much more efficient."
"I understand your aggravation" the man started.
"Great, that makes two of us 'cause I've understood my aggravation for ages now."
The man continued "but now is not the time. The implications of the things you ask are much greater that you can possibly know."
"Wait, don't you need a cloak for this, maybe some kind of staff? Do you spend your free time hanging around crossroads, and wayside inns making vaguely ominous predictions? Do you prefer the stars or entrails when you're divining?" Sakura's voice had taken on a faintly hysterical edge. She knew what the answer would be, it was the same answer she had gotten to the same question the past 10 times she had asked, but today was the breaking point. He reached down to embrace her, but she shied away.
"Don't touch me. I don't even know who you are." She cried. Her resentment leaked from her eyes falling softly into her lap.
He stayed beside her, but made no further efforts to reach out to her. She could feel the heat radiating from his figure, and his scent, spicy with a slight musky overtone, teased her nostrils. He continued to watch her shoulders shake, and the water leak from her eyes. Sakura took a moment, focusing her energy and effort into composing herself. He remained where he was, patiently unmoving, and as soon as she was calm, he reached out and placed his hands on either side of Sakura, resting them not on her person, but on the arms of the chair. He was knelt down, facing her, his dark eyes never breaking contact with hers.
"Would you like to go outside?"
Sakura nodded. Fresh air and sunshine sounded heavenly. She knew she would never be able to make it under her own power, and she lifted her arms to him, and after a moment, she was held fast in his arms, and she was leaving the room for the first time.
AN: Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me for this long, hopefully this is long enough to, in some small part, make up for the marked lack of updates. Computers are evil. As always, credit goes out to Broken Mantra. It was her desire to find out what happens next that motivated me to update this story first.