don't touch my hand and call it love
you said it was over, and then cried and cried; you were gone before i said goodbye.

10.

Sakura watches as Sasuke stands over the table, his hands held over the dead fish lying on a special healing scroll. His hands are emitting green healing chakra that's still quite raw; he still has a long way from actually bringing the fish back to life, but that's where all medics start. Sakura spent a week or so on the dead fish.

When there's a knock on the door, Sakura and Sasuke's attention breaks, and Sakura goes to see who it is. "Shizune! What brings you here?"

"Tsunade-sama would like to see you and Sasuke-san." Confused about why the Hokage would want to see both her and Sasuke at the same time, she shoots a look at the Uchiha behind her. His shoulders rise and fall in a minuscule shrug, and he rolls his sleeves down and follows her out of the room.

"How do you find the fish?" she asks him on the way there.

"The dead shouldn't come back to life," he says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Sakura sighs huffily. "I already explained to you—the scroll only enhances healing abilities and revives the fish only for a short while! You can never fully bring back what's already gone."

"It's still disturbing to think about the dead returning even for a little while," Sasuke says. Sakura shudders, wondering what would happen if Itachi rose from the grave.

When they enter the Hokage's office, Tsunade is dozing off in her seat with her feet propped up on the desk. There are a few bottles of sake sitting around (empty, Sakura assumes), and she sighs, collecting them and placing them outside the door to be picked up and reused later. "Shishou," she calls out, tone reprimanding. Tsunade snores on. "Shishou!" The Hokage jerks awake with a loud snort, and Sakura shakes her head in exasperation. Some things just never change. "You shouldn't be drinking during the day, let alone on the job."

"I can drink whenever I want; I'm the damn Hokage," she mutters, bringing her feet down from the desk.

"You wanted to see me and Sasuke?"

Tsunade rolls her shoulders, resulting in a few cracks. Sakura flinches. "Right. I have a mission for you two. If I can just find the scroll…" She spends a moment searching through her undoubtedly messy drawers. Sakura sends a look of surprise at Sasuke, who appears equally confused.

"But I thought Sasuke-kun isn't allowed to leave the village?"

"Yeah, well, it seems that we're a little low on staff right now." Tsunade reappears again with the mission scroll in hand, and she tosses it to Sakura. She catches it and looks at the labeling: B. "Also, now that we know that Sasuke is honest about his memory loss and the investigation team has narrowed down the list of possible suspects, I trust him enough for this mission. Is that alright with you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stands up straight, looking Tsunade straight in the eye. "Of course, Hokage-sama." Sakura can't help but smile, because he answered her with the same loyalty a real Konoha shinobi would answer her with; just as determined to succeed. Maybe he's dying to leave the village for a while.

"It's an infiltration mission," Tsunade explains. "As always, the details are in the scroll, but there is a village that sits on the shared border of the Fire Country and Rice Field Country, where Jiraiya is currently investigating. He suspects that a small organization is being created there, and requested for two shinobi of your ranks to continue his job, since he has some urgent business to attend to in the Lightning Country. Your job is to disguise yourself as civilians and find out if what Jiraiya suspects is actually true. If it is, find out their motive, and then take them out immediately."

It takes Sakura several moments to process this. Infiltration mission with Sasuke? "An organization? Does this pose as a threat to Konoha? Are just the two of us enough to handle it?"

"From what Jiraiya has told me, it is still relatively small and composed of chuunin rank shinobi. They're weak in power, but they have strong words and strong ideas." Tsunade's features are set into a deep frown. "Those who have the power to change the thoughts of others are the most dangerous of all. Rumor has it that they've already allied with Oto, which—"

"Used to be under Orochimaru's power," Sakura finishes, slightly breathless. Everyone remembers the things Orochimaru has done to Konoha. While people are angry and resentful, there will always be that residue fear. "What exactly is this organization planning?"

The Hokage shakes her head. "We still don't know, but we've received several threats already. Threats are natural occurrences for a village that holds so much military power, but they persisted over several weeks, always sent by the same bird, unidentifiable by any of the other hidden villages. If we don't act soon, Konoha may be in danger."

Sakura nods, understanding. "How long should this mission take?"

"Two weeks, give or take a few days. If you're not back after three weeks, I'm going to send out a team to find you." Tsunade leans back in her seat, but in no way relaxes. "Sakura. If it's too dangerous, just get out of there. You and Sasuke are strong, but sometimes, quantity beats quality."

Straightening her back, Sakura salutes. "Yes, Shishou!" Sasuke follows suit, and the Hokage now dismisses them with a smile on her lips.

"Have fun, kids!"

Sakura waits until they're outside before she punches the air and jumps around in excitement. "I haven't done an infiltration mission in ages! They're always the most fun."

"Why is that?" Sasuke asks.

"You get to be someone else for a while, I guess. I've always liked that." She grins at Sasuke. "Isn't that exciting? We'll be on a mission together!" Never did she think that it was possible to even be on a mission with him again, much less with just Sasuke; just thinking about it makes her want to dance in delight. Sasuke shows no indication of how he feels about the mission, and merely takes the scroll from her hand to inspect the details of the mission.

"We're supposed to leave tomorrow morning. If we do, we'll reach the village by the evening." He looks at her. "I'll meet you at the gates at sunrise?"

"Okay! Make sure to get enough rest tonight, alright?"

Sasuke nods. "You too."

Sasuke has slowly started to talk again after finding out the truth about Itachi. Perhaps he's still not as open as before—not that he was very open anyway—but he does talk, and it doesn't seem like he holds a grudge against anyone. Sakura's just glad that he doesn't; Sasuke has always been such an angry person. It makes her sad.

She studies the scroll once she returns home. She and Sasuke are to act as civilians under fake names for the duration of their mission, with their relationship being any of convenience, whether it's that of siblings, friends, or lovers. There is also a note at the bottom, telling Sakura to dye her hair. She laughs quietly at that. There's always a note for her to dye her hair when she goes on infiltration missions; her pink hair is too noticeable, and she would almost definitely be recognized wherever she went. Haruno Sakura is no longer a small name, after all.

She spends the night packing and dying her hair, knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep if she tried anyways.

—

The sun is just peeking over the cliff when she reaches the village gates, sleepy, but ready. Sasuke hasn't arrived yet; she hopes it's because he took her advice and is giving himself a little bit more sleep. She places her pack on the ground and sits, her back leaning against one of the tall wooden pillars.

It's only slightly brighter when Sasuke arrives, and at first, he completely ignores her. She peers at him curiously as he pays her no heed, wearing the same clothes he used to before he returned to Konoha. They don't give her good memories, but she supposes they're easy to move around in—and it doesn't discourage her too much, because on his forehead, he's wearing his brand new hitai-ate.

Of course. If he's on a mission on behalf of Konoha, he is officially a shinobi of the village again. The sight makes Sakura smile.

Once Sasuke reaches the the gate, his eyes scan the surroundings, including the weird girl sitting on the ground. He only glances at her briefly, before realization suddenly hits him, and he looks at her again. "Sakura."

Laughing, she stands up and brushes the dust off her shorts. "You didn't recognize me, did you?"

"Sorry. I'm still not fully awake yet."

"Really? Or do you use my pink hair as my indicator more than you'd like to admit?" Sasuke avoids her eyes and doesn't answer. She sighs, not bothering to hide her smile. "Whatever. Let's go?"

Their entire trip is quiet, save for their passing remarks and a few conversations about medical jutsu. They stop once by a creek for lunch and to refill their water supply, and once a few miles away from the village to change into civilian clothes. Instead of leaping through trees, they walk the rest of the way in an amicable silence.

"So we haven't really discussed it," Sakura says. "What's our relationship? What's our backstory? People are definitely going to ask if we're dropping by a small village where everyone knows everyone."

"I've thought about it," Sasuke says. "We don't look remotely alike, so we can't say that we're siblings. We can just be friends."

"Friends that are traveling together?"

"For convenience," he elaborates. "Our own village has been raided, and we're looking for a new home together."

"Okay." Sakura nods. "I would believe that. What are our fake names?"

"I'll be Hayate. You can be…Kazuko."

"…Is there any reason why you chose those names?"

"No."

She sighs. "Okay." She perks up when she can finally see the village in her line of sight. "Look, there it is! I see Jiraiya!" She waves her hand in large motions, and Sasuke has to duck to avoid getting hit. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches him frowning in irritation. She ignores him and breaks into a sprint.

"I almost didn't recognize you!" Jiraiya laughs when she reaches him. "Nice to see you, Sakura. Is that Sasuke back there?"

"Yeah. You've never actually met him, have you?"

"Nope. And I can't say I'm all that excited to, either." Jiraiya blocks the sun from his eyes as he squints, looking at Sasuke who's walking down the path at a leisurely pace. "Maybe I can get out of it. Here's all the information that I've gathered so far." He hands Sakura a little notebook. Sakura flips through it; there is only information scribbled onto the first few pages, but it's more than enough to get their mission started. "It's more likely than not that this new little organization are hiding here until their forces are big enough, so just be careful, okay?" He grins. "Not that I doubt you, Ms. Slayer of Sasori."

She laughs, punching him playfully. "You have to stop calling me that! You keep on forgetting that I wouldn't have had a chance against him if I didn't have help."

"Right, right, of course." Jiraiya glances out into the distance. "Well, Sasuke's almost here, so I guess I'll see you later. Don't die!"

"I should say the same to you!" She shouts after him as he leaps off into the trees.

Sakura waits for Sasuke to reach her, and she hands him the notebook. He flips through it without much comment. "We just have to find out their motive and take them out, right?" he says offhandedly.

"You could do that without my help, couldn't you, Sasuke-kun?" she jokes. A ghost of a smirk graces his lips, and she supposes that's as good as she'll get. "I suppose the first thing to do is get settled in, right?" She enters the village, quick to ask someone for directions to an inn.

It turns out to be the only inn in the village. As expected, the village much smaller than Konoha, but it's just as lively, even in the evening. There are merchants and vendors as she and Sasuke pass through the marketplace, all people who seem enthusiastic about their job. Sakura is interested about what's on sale, but Sasuke doesn't stop for anything, his mind focused solely on the mission. She can't be surprised, she supposes, since it's been a while since he got to do something like this.

The inn is just off the main street, tucked comfortably between a BBQ restaurant and laundromat. The receptionist, an elderly woman wearing a pink yukata that's seen better days, smiles warmly at them at their entrance.

"One room?" she asks knowingly.

Sakura blinks in surprise. "I'm sorry, you're mistaken. We'll take two—"

"One is fine," Sasuke interrupts her, stepping up to the counter, their arms brushing. "Please make sure there are two beds."

The receptionist chuckles delightedly at Sakura's baffled expression. "Of course."

Once they've retrieved their keys and are walking up the stairs, Sakura hisses to Sasuke, "Why did you say we'll be sharing a room? What happened to Hayate and Kazuko being just friends?"

"One room is cheaper, and we'll have our wits about us if we're ambushed," he replies. "Also, we might be friends that are on the edge of becoming more."

Sakura doesn't like the implications behind his words, so she ignores him. Ultimately, she thinks that Sasuke just doesn't care about the infiltration component of this infiltration mission.

Their room is sparsely furnished but clean, two beds pressed against either wall as promised. A small circular table and a chair are at the foot of one of the beds, and Sakura doesn't hesitate before placing her things on the table and undoing her medic's apron. Sasuke doesn't complain either, and takes one of the beds, taking off his holster and rolling his shoulders. Several cracks meet Sakura's ears, and she resists cringing.

"We should scout out locations," Sasuke says. "Get a general idea of the village and its surrounding areas and start planning counteroffensive strategies and escape routes."

Sakura was thinking more along the lines of resting for tonight after having travelled for the entire day, but she supposes this is what made Sasuke such a successful missing-nin for the past several years. Never resting, never letting down his guard. "Let's at least plan over dinner," she suggests, finally feeling the full effects of the hunger that she's been ignoring for the past few hours.

He shrugs. "Sure."

"Okay." She pauses, and then tries out, "Hayate."

It's a heartbeat before he replies. "Kazuko."

It's odd to call Sasuke anything other than his name, because Sasuke in himself is already such a unique person. His name is something that has always defined him; Uchiha holds the pride and fame of his clan, and Sasuke holds his very essence, in all of his rage and quiet beauty. In comparison, the name Hayate is pale at best.

The weather is nice, but autumn is clearly in the air. The village is farther up north than Konoha so it's chillier here—but the air is also cleaner and fresher. Sakura isn't fond of colder weather, since she's from the heart of the Fire Country, but maybe she could get used to this. She and Sasuke walk through the entire village, taking note of where everything is. It takes less than an hour, and after that, they're at the BBQ restaurant right beside their inn.

Sakura is more interested in the raw meat that's being served to them, but she forces herself to listen when Sasuke speaks to her in a low voice. "The only place we haven't looked at yet is the uninhabited part of the residential area. It'll be suspicious if we go there now, so we should check it out later tonight."

"Jiraiya's notes said that the organization has probably set up their temporary headquarters there, right?"

"Yeah. The infrastructure is weak, and according to the notes, the villagers stopped living in that area for several years already."

"Okay." She's already grilling the meat. "We'll investigate later."

Sasuke grunts in agreement, and, despite himself, digs into the food just as enthusiastically as she does. She smiles through her mouthful of pork.

They eat together in a comfortable silence, and Sakura wonders if Sasuke finds this moment as beautiful as she does.

—

From afar, the south side of the village looks like an average residential area with sturdy wooden houses and neatly kept front lawns. Upon closer inspection, those sturdy wooden houses have caved in walls and are missing roofs, and the neatly kept front lawns have no grass and the trees are bare.

Sakura and Sasuke move through this area as quiet as a secret, as quiet as death. They've changed back into their shinobi-wear for full mobility, no longer acting as civilians—they are now full-fledged shinobi, soldiers willing to march into war.

She can hardly make out Sasuke's figure in the dark, and she stops in her tracks on sheer instinct when he holds his arm out, indicating to halt. "Do you sense that?" he murmurs, voice almost inaudible.

Sakura concentrates, and expands her senses. Sasuke's right—it's faint, but it's there—chakra signatures, no more than a hundred meters away. Tsunade was right—if these shinobi aren't able to mask their presence, then they can't be higher than chuunin level.

"Let's get closer," she whispers, and they move again.

The chakra signatures are gathered within one rundown house; completely inconspicuous, blending easily into the surroundings. Sakura pulls a kunai from her holster and moves now with much more caution, treading so lightly that the wood of the porch beneath her feet doesn't even creak. Moonlight streams in through a large hole in the roof down into what used to be a kitchen. The sink, covered in dust and leaves and dirt, doesn't shine.

The house appears empty at first glance, but it takes Sakura less than a moment to notice the genjutsu around the pantry. She forms her fingers into a seal and dispels it, and beside her, Sasuke follows suit. She creeps forward and through the open door of the pantry. In the floor is a trapdoor, completely visible now that the genjutsu is gone. She glances at Sasuke.

Going any further than this is dangerous. Judging by the chakra signatures, there are at least a dozen shinobi underneath them, and that's only assuming that there are none that can successfully mask their presence. Continuing on without any further intel would be a stupid move.

Sasuke seems to understand this as well, because he puts away his kunai. He bites into his thumb, drawing blood, and forms several seals, the movements so quick that Sakura almost doesn't catch them. She knows what he's doing though—she's seen this jutsu too many times not to know.

A puff of smoke later, a small snake is summoned, dark green to the point that it's almost black. Its tiny tongue flicks in and out of its mouth, tasting the air.

Sasuke kneels down and lowers his head, speaking quietly to the snake. "Stay here and gather information. Report back to me tomorrow." The snake's head bobs in understanding, and Sasuke straightens up again, now talking to Sakura. "Let's go."

The snake couldn't have been any longer than the length of her finger. It slithers away into the shadows, undetected. Sakura redirects her attention to Sasuke and nods.

They're out of there in less than a minute. When the inn is finally in sight, Sakura relaxes, slipping her kunai back into her holster. The entire village is asleep—there's no one around.

She and Sasuke don't exchange a single word as they return to their room and unpack their things. Sakura is quick to grab the bathroom first, eager to be clean so she can have a good night's rest. She supposes not sleeping at all the night before was not the smartest choice—it's finally taking a toll on her. It takes everything in her willpower to even keep her eyes open as she starts running the water in the bathtub.

Despite being exhausted, though, Sakura feels good. Today went relatively smoothly, and she didn't run into any rough patches with Sasuke. Their mission is progressing without a hitch so far, and she's even getting to use the bathroom first. She's had more victories today than she's sometimes had in an entire week.

She exits the bathroom in a tank top and shorts, toweling her hair dry. Sasuke is sitting on his bed, propped up against his pillows and staring thoughtfully at Jiraiya's notebook. He doesn't rest, does he? Not even for a moment. Sakura can imagine when he was hunting down Itachi, spending hours drawing up battle plans and strategies, gathering allies, staying up late even when everyone else has gone to sleep, staring into the campfire. It makes Sakura a little sad to think about, because he never gives any time for himself. This kind of behavior is self destructive, and Sakura doesn't know if it can ever be corrected. She walks up to him and gently pulls the notebook from his hands. He looks up at her, eyes questioning.

"You should rest," she tells him. "It's been a long day." For a moment, it seems like he doesn't even fathom what she's telling him. Then his eyes run over her once; her wet hair, her pajamas—and he sighs.

"Right."

She holds out her hand to help him up, and he takes it. He's warm. When he looks down at her, she's startled by how pronounced the dark rings under his eyes are. "Are you okay?" she asks quietly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." His hand slips out of hers and he brushes past her.

She turns around, wanting to ask something about Itachi, but he's already disappeared into the bathroom. When she hears the water running, she decides to let it go. She shouldn't expect much from him, after all. Sasuke is still Sasuke, whether or not he's achieved his revenge.

She's already sound asleep before the water turns off, too exhausted to even bother getting under the covers.

-o-o-o-

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I decided to go in a completely different direction with this new mini-arc, so I'm in the process of rewriting all of the future chapters. I just finished up with this one last night. I suck, I know, yadda yadda yadda.