Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, because if I did, you would be watching stick figures poke each other.
Okay, so perhaps promising you guys one chapter a week was a bit ambitious for me, considering the fact that October is quite possibly the busiest month of the year for my family (we have like…80 bajillion birthdays going on, and a Halloween party to boot) and that school started up again fairly recently. I haven't had much time to write lately, because I've been busy working my ass off to get the house clean…we have family coming out tomorrow. So maybe I'll extend my deadlines to one chapter every two weeks. ((is butchered to death)) Yes, yes, I know…I'm trying… ;-;
And I would just like to give a HUGEMONGOUS thank you to all of my reviewers. You have no idea how excited I get when I get new reviews. It's insane. I'm like a giddy little schoolgirl, no joke. I run around the house like a bloody leprechaun.
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Chapter Four: AlmostThough he had heard from Naruto that Sakura had 'monstrous strength' due to Tsunade's tutelage, Sasuke found it difficult to believe that someone with such a seemingly frail stature could ever "make craters with her little finger."
He guessed it was just Naruto's way of trying to scare him into leaving her alone, but he couldn't be sure. Around three years ago, when they had met for the first time since he had left, she had not used any techniques on him. As far as he knew, she still had the skills of a genin.
But if her skills were so lacking, then why was she going on an A-ranked mission to Suna?
He watched as Sakura, and a team of other people he only vaguely recognized (including that black-haired ninja that had been his replacement), walked out of the gates from his spot high in a tree. A woman whispered something about ANBU; her companions nodded vigorously, murmuring about a medic in hushed tones.
Sakura was a medic now, wasn't she?
He shook his head, disbelieving. He could bring himself to admit that she was a skilled medic; maybe she even had her so-called 'monstrous strength.' But to say that she was of ANBU-skill level? It took a lot to become an ANBU—a lot more than a quick brain and brute strength.
All that aside, he was curious as to why Naruto wasn't sent with her. Normally it was the new and improved Team 7, right? Sakura, Naruto, his replacement, and Kakashi?
"Che."
He didn't know why it irked him so much that they hung around with his black-haired alternate. Five years he had been gone—it was to be expected that they found a space-filler. Sasuke sighed, watching as the group that had been sent off disappeared over the horizon, before hopping from his tree branch and making his way toward home; there was no reason to stay up waiting tonight.
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Sasuke found it amusing, in a twisted way, that he was still having nightmares.
He walked down the streets of Konoha, eyes closed to the world as he tilted his face up towards the sky. The nightmares were like a part of him, now; he was used to them being there, waiting for him when he turned out the light. Tonight, however, they had been particularly severe.
He sighed, opening his eyes and glaring at the sky above. Sasuke was used to the nightmares, those didn't surprise him in the least. But he had hoped against hope that they would at least give him a break now that Itachi was dead.
If anything, they had gotten worse.
He scowled, slamming his fist into the fence nearby and shutting his eyes tightly. Whoever brought him back here…whoever saved his life…
…he wished they would have just left him in that pool of mingling blood.
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Sakura found it irritatingly ironic that it was this cold. They were in the middle of a desert—wasn't it supposed to be unbearably hot and dry?
But instead, here she sat, huddled in a blanket, body as close to the fire as she could get without singing her shoes. Another shiver caused her to pull the blanket closer to her flesh.
"How much longer until we arrive?" asked Sai's voice from her right.
"Only a few hours' run," replied Temari. During her frequent visits to Konoha, she often returned to Suna with a group of Konoha ninja leaving for a mission. Inner Sakura was glaring fiercely at her, currently, as she was the only one not huddled close to the fire. She sat back, instead, blanket draped loosely around her shoulders as shelter from the light breeze stirring the sand upon which they sat, looking remarkably comfortable and warm.
Sakura sighed, staring into the fire. She hoped Naruto was doing all right. The only reason why he wasn't on this mission with herself, Sai, Temari, and Yamato was because he would be taking the jounin exam during the next few days. She had taken it just last year and passed with flying colors, but she was surprised when Naruto was hesitant, and even more so when he waited a whole year before entering. She smiled slightly—he was probably trying to get higher scores.
That was the sort of thing Naruto would do, just to tease her about it.
The smile faded from her lips as her thoughts traveled to Sasuke; she wondered what he was doing about now. Sleeping, probably, was her first guess. Though she didn't have much time to ponder the subject as Sai tapped her on the shoulder, telling her it was time to go. She stood, stretching as she shed the blanket from her form, letting the desert chill hit her with full force. She might as well enjoy it while she could…this was an assassination mission. Her body would be slick with adrenaline and physical exertion soon enough.
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"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Naruto asked, stopping and scratching his head confusedly. Sasuke did not stir, eyes closed to the world.
"Aa," he replied. The blonde's brow crinkled slightly.
"Does that mean you can't sleep, or you don't want to?" he asked. Sasuke remained silent for a moment, contemplating his answer.
"Both," he said quietly. Naruto leaned against the wall behind him, looking at the raven-haired prodigy across the narrow street.
"What do you mean both?" asked the orange-clad boy.
"I can't sleep, and I don't want to," replied Sasuke dryly; his statement only seemed to confuse Naruto more.
"What are you, an insomniac?" asked Naruto, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He was afraid to let out a full-fledged grin in front of Sasuke, anymore. He had been different since his return, and whatever change had taken place only served to shatter all of Naruto's past understanding of the boy before him. Sasuke had come back colder than he had been when he left, and the unsettling change almost frightened the blonde boy who had once considered him a best friend.
Sasuke shrugged, hoping that Naruto would take the hint and leave.
He didn't.
"Why can't you sleep that makes you not want to?" asked the azure-eyed boy, shifting his position on the fence behind him. Annoyance crept into Sasuke's tone as he looked over at Naruto.
"Why aren't you sleeping, Naruto?" he asked shortly. The blonde reached into his pocket, holding up a scroll.
"Jounin exam," he replied, giving Sasuke a small, sheepish grin. "I have to go back tomorrow, though."
"Hn," Sasuke replied after a moment, turning away and closing his eyes once more. So that was why he hadn't been sent on the mission with Sakura.
Naruto scrutinized the boy before him with confused interest, uncertain as to what else he could say. After a while, though, he pushed away from the wooden surface behind him, lacing his fingers behind his head and walking away.
"Welcome back, Sasuke-teme," he said quietly after a moment, knowing that Sasuke's sharp ears would easily pick up the sound of his soft voice.
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"Damn it, Sai," she whispered, voice shaking, her face illuminated in the greenish glow of the healing chakra she was emitting from her hands. He tried to smile, but found himself coughing up blood instead.
"If you would've watched yourself," he began hoarsely, coughing again, "then I wouldn't have this hole in my chest."
"Shut up!" she commanded loudly, if only to keep her voice from rattling so much. She shook the tears away from her sea-foam eyes, pressing her palms into the wound with more force. Her clothing and hands were spattered with his blood, and she could feel the red liquid seeping into the earth beneath her knees. Sakura's gaze was frantic as she increased the chakra flow into his wound, trying desperately to mend the damage done; he had lost a lot of blood already. Yamato and Temari were off, somewhere, still attempting to complete the mission.
Which left Sakura, alone, with a dying Sai.
She tried her best to calm herself, observing the wound through the viridian glow as well as she could, attempting to slip her mind into its hardened medic's suit. If she didn't calm down soon, she could wind up making a mistake that would cost Sai his life. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she surveyed the wound, willing herself not to look at his face, if only to keep her from remembering that it was a teammate lying before her, a hole in his chest. She shifted her hands slightly to get a better view in the dim light, and had to keep herself from crying out in relief.
It had missed the heart.
Her own slowed its wild pace a touch, emerald eyes losing their frenzied glow.
"Hang in there, Sai," she murmured, watching with a trained eye as the tissue and muscle began to sew itself together, the blood flow stemming slightly.
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They looked like they had been through hell and back.
She was out of breath, and her clothes were ragged and torn and stained with blood that was not her own. Sasuke could tell that she was having difficultly helping his replacement walk, for he seemed incapable of taking even one decent step without leaving heavily on her tired shoulders.
"Weak bastard."
The pair were back early, it would seem. The other two they had left with were nowhere in sight, and he was positive they hadn't been killed, otherwise Sakura certainly would have been, as well.
He watched as she stepped through the gates, a jounin nearby offering to carry the boy for her. He cocked his head in confusion, eyes narrowing in distaste, as she declined his offer, trudging along with tiresome slowness towards the hospital. She looked ready to collapse, yet still she held her arm firmly around his waist as she helped him down the street. The ink-haired boy said something to her, the corners of his mouth down-turned with concern, but she shook her head, giving him a small smile.
Something stirred in Sasuke, bearing an awful similarity to the jealousy he used to feel toward his brother.
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It was a long time before Sakura finally emerged from the hospital, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand, succeeding in spreading a small fleck of not quite dry blood. Her feet seemed to drag themselves along the road, eyes filled with a tired sadness as she stared ahead, unseeing. She was lost in thought, oblivious to the blood still staining her clothes, flesh, and hair.
She took a deep, shaky breath, biting her lip and willing the tears to go away.
He had almost died.
No matter how much she told herself that it was over and to stop worrying, she couldn't help it. She had worked on many patients in the hospital, even some critical cases with Tsunade. She had lost a patient or two before, and she was trained to stay calm and collected during the treatment, as not to make a mistake. She had never slipped-up. She had never actually caused someone to lose their life.
But it was a whole new playing ground for her, to have someone so close to you slipping away like the sand in an hourglass glued to the floor.
If that blade had not missed his heart, she was certain he would have been dead before she even had the chance to begin healing him. It was an incredible feat that she had even managed to steady her hands enough to press them over his wound.
If it had been Naruto with that hole in his chest, or Kakashi-sensei, she didn't think she would have even been able to think straight. It was a mistake to send her on missions to serve as a medic for people she was so close to, so afraid of losing.
"Guess I'm still too weak for this sort of thing, ne?"
She sniffed, opening her watery eyes and shaking the tears away from her pale and bloody cheeks, a new determination in her beryl orbs.
"I'll get better…I promise."
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He didn't know how he wound up walking past that vile stand every night, as if expecting her to be there, though he knew she wouldn't be tonight. Sasuke had watched her walk into the hospital earlier that evening, to visit his replacement, Naruto nowhere in sight. Again came that familiar feeling, but he pushed it away. Why should they care about him? He had left them both without even a simple goodbye. They had a new teammate to look after, now—a teammate that hadn't left them for a risky chance at revenge.
And he still wasn't sure why it got under his skin so much; he had lived a full five years in near-complete solitude, he should be used to the lack of friends and kind words by now. He heaved a sigh, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and stalking off in the direction of his tree.
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She didn't even say anything today, taking her seat beside him; she kept the distance between them a comfortable one, afraid she might scare him off again by sitting much closer than a foot or so away. Why he kept coming back here to wait every night, she did not know. She wasn't even sure why she came here to sit with him, aside from the fact that she slept easier at night knowing that she was working her hardest to make a spot for herself somewhere in his mind once more. She certainly didn't come for the conversation—the silence between them was always present, though not awkward.
"Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" he asked quietly after a long time, not bothering to open his eyes. Sakura almost jumped at his words. She looked over at him uncertainly before returning her gaze to the sky above.
"He needs rest," came the soft reply. She could scarcely raise her voice higher than that; the shake had not left her throat since last night. Beside her, Sasuke opened his onyx orbs at last, regarding her carefully from the corner of his vision. He could sense there was more than that keeping her away from the hospital tonight, but did not press her, surveying the leaves above as they swayed in the light breeze.
Sakura was afraid to speak. If a whisper had so much as a slight tremble to it, Sasuke would pick up on it. Would he call her weak? Annoying, perhaps? Frightened at the prospect of losing their late-night talks, she kept her mouth shut, just glad to have someone to sit beside tonight.
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"What happened?"
He could easily sense her surprise at his question, if not from the way she jumped slightly, then from the way she turned her head uncertainly in his direction, eyes searching his face. For what, he did not know, but he didn't think she would find it.
After a moment, she slowly turned away, staring across the narrow street blankly, jade eyes scrutinizing the fence on the other side from beneath a crinkled brow. Taking a shaky breath, she laughed softly, looking up at the sky.
"Not much," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "Sai almost died."
It was his turn to search her face uncertainly, though perhaps he accomplished it without as much blatant obviousness. Once he was sure she wasn't joking, his gaze, too, returned to the black abyss above them. So Sai was his replacement.
"But he didn't," Sasuke replied dryly after a moment. "Don't agonize over it."
She looked at him as if she couldn't quite believe that he had said such a thing.
"I'm guessing you healed him," he said it as more of a statement than a question, standing. Her head moved in a barely perceivable nod, nonetheless, and he shoved his hands in his pockets, beginning to walk away. "Then be satisfied."
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She continued to stare after him until he was long gone, lips parted slightly in a mixture of confusion and disbelief, before she shook herself back into reality, pushing herself off the ground and walking in the opposite direction, headed for home. She sniffed, a small smile dancing across her rosy lips.
"Arigatou, Sasuke."
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