A/N: Whee! Thanks so much for all the reviews everyone! This is by far my most popular story, and I cannot tell you how much I love having my story loved so much. Thank you everyone for your undying support!
This sounds random, but I don't like school. I think that it's boring, stressful and above all, lousy. I do not like going, and I sometimes I don't pay attention in my classes. But you know what I find helps me enjoy it? Take my Bio class for instance…normally semi-interesting, and dissections are gross. That was until we started learning about the human eye. That's how I make school interesting for me, to see how I can apply the knowledge to my fanfics. So, I too have refined my knowledge on the human eye, just like Sakura :D English has helped me predict some things about the series…which I really wish I hadn't found out…but at least you know I'm learning stuff. x.x
On another note, some people I know are all for ShikamaruIno, and others are for ShikamaruTemari. I'm still not sure where I'm going to go with Shikamaru's relationship, if anywhere. So right now any implied ShikaIno is kinda one-sided. Just thought I'd give you the heads up.
Chapter Six: Mismatched Pieces of a Puzzle
It was not Sasuke's internal clock that told him to wake up from the long slumber that he had fallen into, but rather the loud and obnoxious outburst that had erupted somewhere outside his room that disturbed his enjoyed sleep. He groaned slightly and rested his arm across his forehead, dimly wondering what was going on. Again he found himself wondering what had happened to him—a feeling he had come to find very annoying.
"WHERE IS HE?" came the obnoxious sounding voice—one that had changed with time but was still very recognizable, "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"
Sasuke groaned and rolled over onto his side, facing away from the door. He knew that word would get out that he had returned to the village, and he knew that eventually the person who was making a ruckus outside the door was going to come and confront him.
"Naruto!" Sasuke heard Sakura exclaim from outside the door, "Sasuke is resting right now—along with a number of other patients. This is a hospital and I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down."
"After everything he's done to his friends and to the village?! I'm going to beat some sense into him if it's the last thing I do!" Naruto's reply came and there were some grunts like he was trying to make it past Sakura in the hallway but she was preventing passage.
"Sasuke is in no condition to be seen right now! He's asleep and if you continue to be noisy, you may wake him!" Sakura retorted, sounding like she had landed a punch on Naruto somewhere.
Sasuke's lip twitched in amusement.
"You shouldn't come so early in the morning either, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, "More people are asleep at this time!"
A frown creased Sasuke's face, the last thing he remembered was that it was the afternoon and the curse mark had started to spread. What had happened since then?
"It doesn't matter if Sasuke's injured or not, he can take it! I owe him a good beating for what he did to you!" Naruto growled from the hallway.
What he had done to Sakura? A small frown descended on to his face. What had he done to Sakura?
"That. Is. Enough!" Sakura lashed out angrily on the other side of Sasuke's room door, "I will not have you going in there! You don't know what has happened to Sasuke—I can tell you right now that he is not in any condition to see anyone! Now please leave, Naruto, before I call hospital security and have you thrown out."
There was silence in the hall for a moment, "Sa-Sakura-chan…"
"Please, Naruto," Sasuke heard Sakura said in a weary tone.
There was another pause and then Naruto spoke again, "What happened to Sasuke?"
"That's confidential, Naruto," Sakura said curtly, "As Sasuke's healer, I am not at liberty to tell you. Only Sasuke can tell you if he wants—but you're going to have to wait until he's better before I'll let you see him."
There was a sigh, and Sasuke almost didn't catch it because of the walls and closed door, "I'll come back some other time then…"
There was the sound of receding footsteps that sounded partially dragged, and it was not until that they had completely faded from his hearing that Sakura opened the door to his room tentatively.
"Sasuke?" she whispered quietly, "Are you still asleep?"
He rolled back onto his back, a grim smile on his lips, "I was…until Naruto decided to pay a visit."
Sakura's footsteps drew near to him and the side of his bed sank a little as she sat down on its edge.
"I'm sorry I let him wake you," she said softly, "I shouldn't have let him make it this far."
"Still as hard-headed as ever," Sasuke commented.
"Some things never change," he heard her say in a poignant tone and he knew that she was smiling, "And Naruto is one of those things."
"Hn."
"Just so you know, now that Naruto knows that you've returned, it's going to spread like wildfire throughout our old schoolmates. You'll probably be getting many more people who want to visit you," Sakura said after a pause, "It's out of our hands now."
"How did Naruto find out?" Sasuke asked in irritation.
"He has this habit of listening in on Tsunade-sama at work, trying to get on all the missions that would have helped in returning you to the village. He promised to bring you back, and he had never forgotten that promise," Sakura replied, and to Sasuke, she sounded slightly emotional, "Apparently what he heard this morning was enough for him to figure out that you were back here in Konoha."
"I see…" Sasuke growled mentally; he did not want visitors. He preferred it if he didn't have anything to do with people at all, "Sakura… Thank you."
"For what?" her tone was confused.
"For not telling Naruto what happened," was his response.
"They're going to find out anyways, but I wanted you to be the one who decides when they get to learn about it," Sakura told him, sounding sympathetic.
"Hn."
"Anyways, how are you feeling today?" she asked him as she stood again and put something on the nightstand beside him. There was a rummaging and then the sound of papers being attached to a clipboard.
"Tired," he responded.
She sat down on the edge of his bed again, and he could feel her gaze on him, "No aching or burning sensations? Nothing?"
"No…" Sasuke replied. He paused for a moment and then looked away from her, "What happened, Sakura?"
He heard her lay the clipboard on her lap and sigh faintly, "Yesterday your curse mark went out of control. Tsunade-sama said that curses become sensitive over time, and they react to the smallest jump in emotion. Understandably, you were probably a little more than irritated with me for what I put you through, and that triggered the mark."
Sasuke clenched his fist slightly—he shouldn't have let that happen. After being abandoned by Orochimaru, using the curse would only cause him to become more reliant on that power given to him, and thus binding him to his old sensei. A bond would cause him to again be drawn to the sannin…and because of his condition he was nothing but an annoyance. He would most likely be killed. That was why he had promised himself, as he was tortured by Kabuto and other Sound ninja, to never to use it again, save for one task, and that task only—to kill his brother.
"What happened after that?" he asked, not liking the feeling of having to be dependant on Sakura for anything—information included.
"I knocked you out, and you were taken to a room on the fourth floor which is specifically used for binding jutsu-caused side-effects and curses. There the Hokage and four other medical ninja spent the rest of the day binding that mark on your neck," Sakura replied, "permanently."
"Sakura?"
"Yes, Sasuke?"
"Please leave," he stated, his fist clenching and unclenching under the sheets, "I'm still tired."
Sakura stood up from his bed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept you awake. Just ask the nurse for me when you are rested."
There was rustling as Sakura put away the objects she had been holding, before there were the footsteps of her walking across the room, opening the door and shutting it quietly behind her. It was after her footsteps were completely gone from earshot that his hand lashed out and grabbed the aluminum frame of the bed, crushing the bar tightly in his hand. Fury seethed in his mind as he continued to apply pressure to the bar; the curse mark had been sealed permanently, and the power was gone—along with any chance that he had in defeating Itachi.
Sakura knew that even though Sasuke said he wanted to rest, she knew he just wanted to be alone for a while. Losing the curse mark must have been a blow because she knew it probably had been a reliable source of power for him, and no longer having that power was almost as bad as losing the Sharingan.
Sakura pushed the down button on the elevator and waited patiently, casting a glance in the direction of Sasuke's room. She figured it would be a while before he was cooled down again, so she might as well run some errands while she waited. She entered the open elevator door after casting a last look at Sasuke's room; he'd get over it.
She stepped off on the main floor and walked over to the reception desk, adjusting the bag that was slung over her shoulder.
"Sakura," the receptionist, Maeko, smiled, "What can I do for you?"
"I'm going out for a bit while my patient is resting, I need a phone just in case he wakes and needs me while I'm gone," Sakura explained opening her bag, pulling out the notes she took earlier, "Give these to Tsunade-sama when she arrives today, will you?"
"Certainly," the receptionist smiled, exchanging an on-call cell phone for the papers, "Have a good time, Sakura."
Ino stood outside the flower shop, setting up the exterior display of flowers, arranging them neatly into place. It was still early in the day but she had been late in setting out the flowers—her mother would not be pleased. Ino hurried back indoors and grabbed another bouquet of flowers from a tub of water where they were kept, trying to keep the water from dripping on her. She carefully carried them outside, being cautious with the delicate petals, not wanting to squash them. Gently she set them in the stand outside, making sure the colours complemented the ones of the flowers around them. She stepped back and admired her work—one of the best arrangements yet.
It was then that out of the corner of her eye that Ino saw Sakura walking down the road, carrying a shoulder bag that seemed to be weighed heavily down. What was Sakura up to? She hadn't seen her in days—she had been up at the hospital, so busy lately that Ino hadn't seen her walk home everyday like she used to. The heavy shoulder bag was suspicious too…normally it didn't weigh down so much on Sakura's shoulder; it was like she was carrying bricks or something in there. Dashing quickly into the shop so that Sakura didn't notice her presence, Ino watched Sakura from the shop window with curiosity, hiding low amongst the flowers. Sakura passed the shop without casting a glance over and continued up the street, seeming preoccupied.
"Mom! I'm going out for a bit! I'll be back later!" Ino shouted into the back of the store after she had watched Sakura disappear around the corner of the block.
Rushing outside, she headed ran up the street to where she had seen Sakura go around the corner. Placing her hand on the side of the building, Ino peered around the corner and spotted Sakura's bright petal-pink hair among the crowds. She was no longer wearing black, she noted with interest, but wearing her regular red dress and green shorts. A frown marred Ino's face, and she narrowed her blue eyes—surely she was not finished mourning Sasuke so soon.
"Oi, Ino!"
Ino looked over her shoulder and saw Shikamaru standing on the sidewalk, his lazy and annoyed expression on his face.
"Have you seen Chouji?" he called over to her, his hands lazily in his pockets.
She put a finger to her lips and made a shushing sound, "There's no time for that, come here!"
He raised an inquisitive eyebrow and lazily wandered across the street, "What is it?"
She pointed around the corner to where Sakura was still walking, "See that?"
"What—Sakura?" he asked, his expression unchanging, "What about her?"
"She's been acting very suspiciously lately," Ino replied crossing her arms, "We're going to follow her and find out what she's up to."
"Why should I come along? I don't care about Sakura's doings—I'd much rather go watch the clouds with Chouji," he replied shrugging his shoulders.
A vein appeared on Ino's forehead and she clenched her fist, waving it at him, "That's a lame use of an afternoon!"
He glanced at her impassively, not seeming disturbed by her demonic appearance. "I've got better things to do, Ino."
"Oh no you don't!" she grabbed the back of his shirt as he turned walk away, yanking him back towards her, "You're coming with me!"
She dashed around the corner after Sakura as she disappeared further down the road, a reluctant Shikamaru following after her. Sakura was far enough away that the crowds between them would hide her and Shikamaru easily, and they would not be spotted unless Sakura was expecting someone to be following her. Ino smirked deviously to herself—billboard brow was up to something, and she was going to find out what.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered behind her, clearly not enjoying himself.
They followed Sakura down the street as she continued to walk, they themselves trying not to look suspicious within the crowd yet trying to hide from sight. There were many stores that lined the road, yet Sakura didn't stop at any of them, increasing Ino's suspicions.
"See! She's not shopping at any of the stores!" she hissed to Shikamaru, "She's obviously up to something."
"Maybe she's just out for a walk," he replied grumpily.
"With that bag?" Ino asked incredulously, "There's no way she would take something that heavy for a walk! See how it's digging into her shoulder like that? I wonder what's in it…"
"Probably some books," Shikamaru replied disinterestedly, "Is this really necessary, Ino? Don't you have some work at the pharmacy or flower shop to deal with?"
She scowled at him ignoring his last question, "I'm not letting you go until we get to the bottom of this!"
"Troublesome…"
"Oh! Come on!" Ino retorted, grabbing his arm and hauling him onwards once again, keeping her eyes continually on the back of Sakura's pink head.
Sakura continued to walk along the way, still not having noticed the chuunin and jounin ninja who were following her. Ino smirked again, wondering how on earth Sakura had passed the last chuunin exam that she had taken; it was a wonder within itself that she hadn't even felt their presence yet.
Shikamaru was grumbling again from behind and Ino was about to take a swing at his head when Sakura suddenly turned into the neighborhood that had once been where the Uchiha clan had taken up residence. This was interesting…mourning Sasuke and wearing black, and the day that she stopped wearing black she decided to pay a visit to the old Uchiha neighborhood.
"Did you see that?" Ino squealed quietly to Shikamaru, "Did you see where she just went?"
"Yeah," he replied, not caring much, "What of it?"
"Two days ago I ran into Sakura while she was coming home from the hospital. She was garbed in all black and after a little prying she told me that she was mourning Sasuke," Ino explained hastily as she dragged Shikamaru to the corner of the block, "But suddenly today she's wearing her regular clothing again…and then she pays a visit to this neighborhood. Don't you find that a little suspicious?"
Shikamaru raised his head upwards to the sky thoughtfully, and after a moment he shrugged, "That's a bit strange."
"Exactly!" Ino replied, making a fist and pounding it into her other hand, "So, what could our little Sakura be up to?"
"It's none of my business," Shikamaru replied, attempting to leave again, but Ino pulled him back.
"I said before, I'm not letting you go until we get to the bottom of this!" Ino snapped as she hauled him down the street, her gaze fixed on Sakura.
Again, Shikamaru uttered a 'troublesome', but Ino ignored him. Sakura had just disappeared around another corner. Following quietly behind, Ino came up to the edge of the building and looked around carefully. Sakura had stopped, and was now standing in front of an old traditional building that looked like it needed some repairs—clearly it was uninhabited. Ino's interest piqued as Sakura walked up to the old gate that was in front of her, looked around, and then sailed over the side when she thought nobody was looking.
"Isn't that Sasuke's house?" she asked Shikamaru uncertainly, turning to face him.
A trivial frown was on the lazy ninja's brow as he looked at the gate of the Uchiha estate, seeming finally interested in what Sakura was up to, "Yeah."
"Now what could Sakura be looking for in the Uchiha house?" she asked Shikamaru, a twisted smile on her lips, "Let's go find out, shall we?"
She leapt upwards onto the roof of the building they were standing at the corner of, and Shikamaru followed her without complaint, seeming to forget that he wanted to be elsewhere. Jumping from roof to roof, they paused at the last building and peered down into the front garden of the Uchiha Manor over the peak of the shingles. Sakura was walking around to the back of the house, carefully pushing aside some overgrown bushes and walking through in a way that she would come around back unscathed.
Leaping down into the garden and alighting on the branch of a sturdy tree, Ino beckoned Shikamaru to follow. He landed quietly beside her and peered intently at the side of the house.
"If we're going to follow, we had better be quick and as quiet as possible," he told her softly, "We don't know when she'll be back."
Ino nodded and dropped down to the ground running quickly across the untidy lawn and around the side of the house where Sakura had traveled. She pushed aside the branches and stepped over the leaves as silently and hurriedly as she could, Shikamaru not far behind. Emerging on the other side, Ino glanced about the area nervously. There was no doubt that Sasuke's house had been empty and unkempt for a long time, as the garden she saw was almost a jungle with weeds.
"Oi, Ino," Shikamaru muttered grouchily from behind, "There's Sakura's bag."
Following his gaze, Ino saw Sakura's bag lying on the porch in front of the back entryway. Listening carefully, Ino made sure that Sakura wasn't nearby before quickly sneaking up to the bag and opening the flap.
"What are you doing, Ino?" Shikamaru hissed from behind her, running up as well, "This is risky; she could find us at any moment."
"Be quiet for a minute, will you?" she hissed as she peered at the contents of the bag.
A cell phone, a first aid kit, an ophthalmoscope, bandages, a wallet, and two large medical textbooks were inside. Reading the titles on the spines, Ino observed that they were about the human eye. This was getting stranger by the second… The contents of the bag didn't take up much of its total capacity and quite a lot of space was left over.
"Ino," Shikamaru whispered to her, "Footsteps."
Quickly Ino shut the bag and both leapt back away from it, taking up a hiding spot within some bushes. Peering out carefully through the leaves, both of them saw Sakura exit the house with a number of items held in her arms. Kneeling down on the veranda, Sakura laid the items gently on the ground and opened up her bag.
At that moment, the cell phone within Sakura's bag began to ring, and she pulled it out quickly and answered it.
"Moshi moshi," she said cheerfully, then nodded, "Mmhmm… Alright, let him know that I'll be there soon… No, I'm not too far, just picking up a few things and I'm just packing up. In the meantime, can you see to it that he is showered off and fed? I don't think he's had anything to eat since lunchtime yesterday. He was unconscious after Tsunade-sama dealt with the problem that came up… Thank you, Maeko. I'll see you in a bit… Okay, goodbye."
Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, Sakura placed the cell phone back into her bag and began to put the items she had collected from Sasuke's house into it as well. She put them inside with a delicate touch, like she did not want to damage anything. From the distance that she and Shikamaru were at, Ino found that she couldn't tell what most of the items were, but clearly recognized two folded sets of clothing, the emblem of the Uchiha on the back of one of the garments.
Sakura finished packing up the bag, and after closing it, slung it onto her shoulder. She closed the door to the house and locked it carefully before heading back to the side of the house, carefully making her way back through the underbrush with ease. Ino and Shikamaru waited until she was completely gone before straightening up.
"Well, that was strange," Shikamaru commented, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "You were right, she has been acting oddly."
"I told you!" Ino replied in a feisty manner, "She was mourning Sasuke for the past couple of days, then she disappears to the hospital for a while and is suddenly back into her regular attire. Then she comes here carrying a couple of books on the human eye of all things, takes a bunch of Sasuke's things and receives a phone call from the hospital talking about someone who hasn't eaten since yesterday! It doesn't add up!"
Shikamaru closed his eyes, "The books on the eye could be related to the phone call, but neither of them seem related to her change in mood over Sasuke. This is certainly troublesome."
"What do you make of it?" Ino asked, putting her hands on her hips, a confused expression on her face.
"I have a theory…" he pondered quietly to himself, "But even to me it doesn't entirely fit. We're missing too much information. Shouldn't you know what she's talking about over the phone? I thought you were a medical ninja too."
"I am, but I work at the pharmacy! I don't know much about what happens in the hospital, I just make the medicines. Anyways, are we going to follow her some more?" Ino asked stepping out from behind the bush and into the yard, "We'd better hurry if we don't want to lose her."
"No, she'll be going back to the hospital and we'll have a harder time following her," he replied boredly, "I'm going back."
"Don't leave me behind!" Ino exclaimed, rushing after him, pushing the brambles aside.
Shikamaru shrugged as the both emerged on the other side. Ino sighed at his laid-back attitude, wondering how on earth he managed to stay so calm and carefree all the time. She was just eating herself wondering what Sakura was doing with Sasuke's things, and Shikamaru didn't seem remotely interested.
"We should ask around, shouldn't we?" Ino asked, coming up beside him, "Maybe other people have noticed Sakura acting strangely."
"I don't really care," Shikamaru replied, now that the interesting part was over. He looked up at the sky, "And now all the clouds have cleared away. This is so troublesome… I'm going to go find Naruto and Chouji."
"Naruto!" Ino exclaimed happily, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the main gate, "That's a good idea, Shikamaru! We'll go ask Naruto about Sakura!"
"Eh—nani?!" Shikamaru grunted in confusion, "Why do you think he would know anything?"
"He's Sakura's teammate! He should notice if she's been acting strangely," she replied with certainty.
"Team Seven has been split up for years now, Ino. Naruto and Sakura haven't been on a mission together in ages," he told her irritably, "Not to mention it's Naruto—he would be the last person to notice anything strange."
"Oh, it can't hurt to try!" and with that last statement, Ino dragged Shikamaru over the fence with her, not allowing him another moment to argue.
A/N: Yay: Chapter six! Ino's getting suspicious of Sakura, Shikamaru doesn't care, Sasuke's lost the curse mark—which is a good thing, but he's not too happy anyways, and Naruto is being his exuberant self! The suspense:O lol, sorta. But you have to admit—things are getting more complex.
Either ffnet is acting screwy or my email decided to hate me, because I am no longer getting my reviews sent to my inbox. Is anyone else having this problem? x.x
Please review!
Drieldwin