Naruto watches Sakura closely as she hovers her hands over Riku with healing green chakra. He sees the way her brows are furrowed together with concentration, a very light bead of sweat is gathered at the back of her neck. Her pink hair is pulled back into a high ponytail with her bangs swept to the side. He thinks that she looks beautiful despite the obvious stress she's in. He doesn't really see her as a romantic interest anymore, but he can't deny her beauty, especially in the way she handles herself.

He is so incredibly proud of his best friend. Naruto is astounded with her growth. She'd grown up to be a very successful kunoichi all on her own and a part of him regrets the days, weeks and even months that he'd been away from her. Their friendship means more than anything to him and he kind of feels like he disappointed her with not being able to watch her develop. Feels as though they should have developed together.

Azure eyes shift over to his other team mate. Sasuke is standing by the doorway of Kaede's hut and he notices that the dark haired shinobi is also watching their female companion closely. His gaze is neutral, but he sees the way his eyes follow every direction Sakura's hands move. It's strange, Naruto thinks to himself, to see his friend just standing a few ways away from them.

The years had not been considerate of Team Seven what with separating the three shinobi from one another. They'd each taken separate routes in their training but nonetheless they each came out exceptionally strong in their own right. When the kyuubi vessel thinks about what happened during the war, his chest fills with pride at their team work together even if there were times that it got ... bumpy to put it gently.

Yes, their teamwork had been a little rocky, but the three of them still knew each other enough to back up one another when needed. They'd managed to stop Kaguya together because of their bonds and it's that thought alone that gives Naruto hope for the three of them despite the obvious tension between Sasuke and Sakura. There were many times in which he's wanted to ask her about that night in which their friend left the village, but when he remembers the look of agony on her face and the pure desperation in her eyes, he thinks that maybe that might be something that should stay between the two of them.

He's never understood their relationship. Theirs was a bond that was delicate and wavering unlike the brotherly relationship he had with Sasuke, they couldn't just duke it out like they did. The loud mouthed ninja may not be the brightest bulb in the box sometimes, but he could practically feel the uncertainty between the two of them which saddens him greatly because wasn't this what he and Sakura dreamt about for so many years? Their dark haired friend was finally back - in a sense - but he supposes that years of yearning for someone and loving them so deeply, only to have them throw it back at you, is not easy to recuperate from. He can only hope that Sasuke doesn't fuck it up this time around.

Index and middle finger gently press against Riku's forehead. Green eyes close, brows furrowing in concentration as Sakura's hand turns from a pale green color to a off white shade. Sasuke watches carefully noticing the way her chakra turns to a different color as her Yin seal glows faintly. He doesn't remember ever seeing her use this kind of technique during the war. Was this a new ability that she learned afterwards? His thoughts are cut short when the pinkette suddenly pulls away from the villager as if she'd been burned by an invisible flame. Unconsciously, he unfolds his arms, his bent leg straightening almost prepared to walk over to her. Almost.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Naruto asks.

There's a frown on Sakura's face when she replies, "his cerebral cortex, mainly the frontal and parietal lobe are severely damaged."

Of course she'd get all medical on him.

"Meaning what?" Kaede asks.

"Meaning that the frontal lobe which is responsible for reasoning, movement, and emotions as well as the parietal lobe which is responsible for perception of stimuli and recognition are damaged to the point where it's making him act feral."

"How do you know?"

Sakura points to the diamond seal on her forehead. "I've gathered chakra in this seal for years which allows me to concentrate more of it in a way that I'm able to seep my chakra into someone else to examine them on a more molecular level as opposed to just using my healing chakra to speed up a healing process."

"I'm not sure I follow," the old woman says.

"Usually, my chakra is used to heal. I can use it to scan the body for injury, but I can't actually go deep into the body and fix something like nerves." Her hand turns from a off white to blue. "This chakra is used for combat but I can also use it for surgery if necessary by creating chakra scalpels. With this, I can cut tissue without breaking skin. By changing the nature of this chakra, I've developed a way in which not only could I cut delicate tissue, but I could also mend and regenerate more finite things in the body such as nerves in the brain."

"Wow. You're a very accomplished medical ninja."

"She's the best in Fire Country." Naruto adds.

Onyx eyes watch as the chakra dissipates from the rosette's hand. Her technique certainly was interesting.

"I could try to heal the damage to his brain, but it wouldn't be fully successful. I would first have to extract the drugs in his body followed by an intensive therapy session. Ultimately, I could get rid of his dangerous nature, but it'll leave him overly docile and his motor skills won't be the same."

Kaede gasps into her hand. Looking down, her eyes soften at the almost peaceful look the boy before her has on his face. Why? She thinks. Why did he have to go and mess with the unknown? Wrinkly fingers sweep through his brown hair affectionately. "This is horrible," she whispers.

"The brain can only take so much damage. It's only elastic to a certain point, but something like this will prevent him from adapting to anything beyond the treatment. The best thing for him is to be taken to Konoha to be looked after."

Tired eyes look into youthful green ones. "When can you do this?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. I've left a little of my chakra in his system to prepare him for what's to come. The initial extraction will be painful so he'll need my chakra as a anesthetic of sorts to get him through the pain."

"...Okay. Thank you, Sakura. You're an angel."

The medic nin smiles at the old woman offering her assurance that she'll try her best to help Riku. A little while later, the three shinobi leave the hut to retire for the night in a hut just a few doors down from Kaede's. After laying out their sleeping bags, Sasuke steps out the cabin stating that he'd take first watch. He jumps up onto the roof, dark eyes surveying the area.

Two hours pass by when Sakura decides to get up and go for a walk. She's been restless, not being able to get herself to fall asleep and that's not including Naruto's snores. Ever since scanning Riku's brain, she'd been on edge. A mental image of a crazed mad man runs by her minds eye almost like -

(-She steps out the doorway and looks up)

-Sasuke.

The raven haired ninja is sitting on the rooftop Indian style with his eyes closed. He seems to be meditating which is a strange site to see for Sakura. Either way, she knows that he's alert as ever. Looking away, she makes her way down the road for a walk to clear her mind.

The night is quiet in the Sound Village which is a welcomed sense. Better to be silent than to hear the loud echoes of people screaming. Sasuke is well aware that Sakura walked out for a stroll, but judging by the position of the waxing moon she hasn't been back for a while. Standing tall and giving the village one last look around, the Uchiha jumps off the roof and follows the ever familiar chakra signature.

He doesn't expect to find the pinkette at the demolition site. She's standing before all the rubble and for a second he has to remind himself that she'd been the cause of that destruction.

"Sakura."

His ever observant gaze sees the way her shoulders tense up at the sound of his voice, but she doesn't turn to face him.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hn."

"What took you so long? What I mean is," she turns to face him now, "what took you so long to kill Orochimaru?"

"What are you getting at?"

"The day I saw you after those two years you left Konoha, I sensed something different with you. We may have not gotten the chance to fight one another, but I know you were more than ready to leave his side."

A brief memory of him raising his kusangi against her flies by his minds eye. His blade had been sharp, glistening in the hot sun overhead ready to strike his old team mate. He remembers the way she encased her fist in blue chakra, his Sharingan trying to decipher the best way to disengage her ability. He wonders what the outcome would've been if they had fought.

"I was biding my time," Sasuke replies.

"For what?" She asks.

The image of Itachi falling face first into the concrete that day resurfaces, his hands balling up into fists. He wouldn't tell her that yes, he'd been more than ready to dispose of the snake Sannin, but he wasn't prepared to face his brother just yet. He'd needed more time to prepare, to do his research for afterwards, and this is where Taka came into play. He wishes that he could take it all back.

There is a long pregnant pause between the two estranged team mates. Sakura sighs out of frustration at Sasuke's lack of response, her eyes closing trying to reign in her temper. Sighing once again, the medic nin walks over to the rogue ninja standing opposite ways of him, shoulder to shoulder.

She doesn't look up to meet his gaze. "There's no need for you to hide things from me anymore. We're adults now so you don't need to worry about my feelings."

Dark eyes stare straight ahead towards the rubble. What makes her think that he should tell her anything about his past? There's no need to talk about it. In fact, he wishes that he could forget everything. He's much more comfortable acting like it never happened. If she knew the truth about everything, she'd understand, but he wasn't ready to talk about it. Maybe ever.

"We're in the same circle whether you like it or not." She adds before walking away.

"Tch." Annoying.


"I'll start the procedure as soon as I get back."

Kaede nods.

"Naruto, I think you should stay just in case he wakes up and is aggressive. I'll be back soon."

"What if he does wake up?" He asks.

Kuchiyose no Jutsu "Risa will stay here to put him back to sleep in case of anything."

Naruto extends out a tanned hand out to the little slug. She crawls up his arm and perches herself on his shoulder, her little antennas wiggling.

Sasuke and Sakura make their way out the hut in silence. Neither of them say a word to one another. A little while later they arrive to the clearing that Sasuke had spoken of.

The meadow is vast with a sickly green color to it. Sakura is surprised that anything is even still alive especially since the blades of grass look rather dehydrated. They walk through the meadow, the shrubbery tickling their feet through their ninja boots.

Viridian eyes are on the lookout for the plant she needs and just before she losses all hope of finding anything, her peripheral vision catches the site of a greyish patch among the grass. She walks towards it and low and behold it's the mushroom that she was looking for, the one that causes Riku's side effects. The fungus is small and there's a scarcity of it, but it should be just enough to make an antidote.

That clever Orochimaru the medic nin thinks to herself. The fungus only grew in Grass Country, a long way from Fire Country, so how in the world was he able to bring it here and cultivate it?

Her eyes shift towards Sasuke who is standing a few feet away from her. 'Could he have...?' As if sensing her stare on him, dark eyes connect with questioning emerald. "How -"

"Orochimaru sent me out to get it."

Sakura's eyes widen in shock. "You actually left the base?"

"I wasn't a prisoner, Sakura."

Somehow, that statement alone makes her heart ache. Of course he wasn't. He'd gone willingly to Sound after all, but she didn't think that that perverted rogue ninja would let his precious target out of his site. Orochimaru had been so obsessed with Sasuke, willing to do anything in order to possess his body for his next life.

She couldn't begin to imagine how many items he's had Sasuke pick up throughout the Five Great Nations in order to do his experiments, but she figures that he must've been exposed to a lot of biochemical properties which could greatly effect anyone without the proper care. This makes her think back to Riku back at the village, he'd only been slightly exposed to the chemicals, but Sasuke had two years worth of exposure so how is it that he seemed normal?

The question burns hot on her tongue. She wants to ask the brooding ninja how he handled everything, the amount of time of his exposure, but she doubts he'd answer her. Instead, green eyes roam over his figure slowly as if trying to analyze him. He seemed normal, but without assessing him internally, she'd never know.

Sasuke walks back to Sakura and hands her two different kinds of herbs. "This might be what you're looking for."

It was exactly what she was looking for.

"Thank you ..."

Sakura stands up from her crouching possession, her head just barely reaching underneath Sasuke's chin. When she looks up at him, her heart nearly leaps to her throat at the stare that he's giving her. His dark eyes seem to be searching for something, and it unnerves her because there are so many things that she doesn't want him to know, but her heart was never easy to hide when it came down to him. It seems so easy to just want to let him into her life again, but then she thinks back on how cold and indifferent he is, and she wonders if it's really worth it. She isn't saying that she doesn't love him anymore, but there's a fine line of loving someone, but never receiving anything in return. Heartbreak, especially twice in one lifetime, is not easy to overcome but she is a woman know. A woman who knows better and can reasonably think for herself. If she ever wants to keep herself together she'll have to stop expecting things from Sasuke.

She raises a questioning pink eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You've changed."

The pinkette intakes a sharp breath. "You can't expect me to be the same little genin you knew."

Sasuke's jaw tightens, green eyes see the way in which he grinds his teeth together. She doesn't know what his problem is but she had work to do and if he wasn't going to share anything, then there was no reason for her to stand there.

And for the second time in less than a week, the Uchiha watches Haruno Sakura walk away.


Please review and let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited my story so far!