Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing the previous chapter! Any theories so far on what's going on in the story? ^ v

I know gifts are supposed to be given in Christmas, but I missed it. So since New Year's coming, I'll just make this a New Year treat (if this is a treat).

Advance HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU!

Sasuke walked down the snowy road that led to the doctor's clinic.

It was early morning and the village was still asleep.

Sasuke kept his eyes at his surroundings.

He left Sakura awake in the house. She was already up and writing on her table when he woke up. And just like before, Sakura spent the night sleeping slumped on her table.

Sasuke told her about the doctor's request that he help out in the clinic and she advised him to go there early in the morning so the people didn't suspect much about where he spent the night in.

Hence his early trip to the village.

Sasuke spotted the door to the clinic and noticed the 'closed' sign hanging from a nail on the door frame.

He walked closer to the door and raised his fist to knock on the door. But before his fist touched the wood surface, he remembered the tree sculpture that Sakura mentioned to him.

Sasuke dropped his hand to his side and decided to look around for the statue. And sure enough, he spotted an odd-looking tree top from where he stood.

He walked down the road with his eyes fixed on the tree top. Unlike the tall pine trees surrounding the village, the tree looked like a grey cherry tree.

Sasuke followed the twists and turns of the road until it led him to what could only be the village square. At the middle of the empty road intersection was a tall stone tree that was partly covered with snow. It stood on a brick stand that had a gold plate fixed around it.

He also saw a shadow kneeling in front of the tree. He walked closer and noticed that it was Kaitaro. He held a bunch of small purple flowers.

Kaitaro softly traced one of the engravings on the tree. He bowed his head and after a moment kissed the spot that his fingers touched. He then placed the flowers on the brick stand of the tree.

Sasuke watched him take a deep breath before turning to face him.

"Sasuke-san," Kaitaro said surprised at seeing Sasuke.

Sasuke kept his eyes on the tree. "That's the memorial?"

Kaitaro watched Sasuke for a moment before he smiled. "Yes," he said. "Come. Let me introduce you to my wife," he said reaching his hand out to Sasuke.

Sasuke walked toward Kaitaro and slowly noticed the engravings on the tree.

Sakura was right. The tree was made of stone and names were engraved on it.

Kaitaro pointed to one of the names on the tree – the one etched on the part of the tree that he kissed. "This is my wife, Kei," he said smiling warmly at the engraving.

The name read, 'Kayuki Kei'. It was etched on a branch.

Sasuke bowed his head in respect and noticed the flowers on the stand. They weren't just purple flowers. The center of each flower was yellow.

"Those are Crocus flowers," Kaitaro said. "They bloom in winter."

Sasuke looked at Kaitaro and saw how sad his eyes were despite the warm smile on his face.

"Kei loved spring," he said. "She loved that season because of how nature always came alive in it. But since she married me, all she saw was snow. She didn't tell me about it but I know she missed spring. She lived down the mountain, you see. So I looked for Crocus flowers and made her a garden. I even made her a pond with fish that could survive icy waters. Unfortunately the fish weren't that beautiful. But they were good for food. Kei was very happy when she saw them. And she especially loved those flowers."

Sasuke looked at the tree again, reading the names in the hope of recognizing the names of the Konoha Anbus who's ashes were buried beneath the sculpture.

"They are here," Kaitaro said pointing to the highest twig of the tree.

Sasuke looked at it and noticed that the twig had three names engraved on it, but the script used made it look more like a design on the twig.

And unlike the other parts of the tree where a handful of names decorated its surface, only the three names occupied the twig.

"Their ashes are not under this tree," Kaitaro said.

Sasuke looked at Kaitaro.

Kaitaro smiled at Sasuke. "Sakura-san wanted them to go home," he said. "He ordered Jirotaiku to take their ashes back to Konoha after they died."

Sasuke looked at the names on the twig again. He did recall a day when the Anbus left him alone. That must have been the day when they buried the three's remains in Konoha.

If his theory was right, the three died eight or nine months ago.

He read the names and tried to recall it. One name rang a bell – the captain's. He recalled hearing the name when he was in jail. He was one of the Anbus who guarded his cell.

"Have you taken your breakfast?" Kaitaro asked.

"Hn," Sasuke answered.

Kaitaro chuckled. "Come help me prepare for Keiko's breakfast then."

Sasuke took one last glance at the tree before he turned away. He froze upon realizing what he saw in that last glance he took.

He looked back at the tree and read the names that he quickly spotted.

"Is there something wrong?" Kaitaro asked.

Sasuke looked back at Kaitaro. "It's nothing."

The two then walked away from the tree.

For a moment there, Sasuke thought he read Sakura's name on the tree.

Sakura sighed as she crawled on the floor wincing at the burning pain she felt all over her body.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Those were times she wished she didn't send Jirotaiku away.

Sakura curled, turned and twisted on the floor - trying to find the position where the pain would slightly go away.

Sure that Sasuke was in the village, she let herself break down and cry.

Sakura remembered the times when she felt that way. She would hear Jirotaiku's booming voice from outside.

"Sakura!" he called as he landed his feet on the porch. He saw her curled and sobbing on the floor. "Sakura! What happened?" he asked as he quickly knelt down beside her and held her shoulders to tell her he was there.

One look at Sakura's pained face and Jirotaiku knew what was wrong.

His face turned hard. He gently pulled Sakura to his chest and lifted her from the floor. He then ran outside to the pool of snow he made and slowly sunk themselves in the snow.

"No, idiot!" Sakura cried out – her head buried against Jirotaiku's neck. "You'll die of hypothermia!"

"Shut up and just tell me when it's not that painful anymore," Jirotaiku yelled back.

Sakura shakily held on to Jirotaiku's arms.

Jirotaiku closed his eyes and recalled the technique he learned in meditating on ice.

After a minute or so, Sakura shakily looked up at Jirotaiku.

"Le…Let's g-go b-"

Jirotaiku got off the pool of snow and quickly walked into the house. He immediately pulled out thick kimonos from the bedroom and made Sakura sit on the floor.

He then undressed her and replaced her clothes with the new ones he took from the room.

Sakura felt how warm her cheeks were.

Jirotaiku pulled her back to his chest after dressing her up. "Can I change them now?" he asked – his breath tickling her neck.

Sakura nodded.

Jirotaiku slowly let her go and took a box of medical supplies from the room.

Sakura watched Jirotaiku prepare what he needed.

"I-I'm-m s-so-rr-ry," Sakura whispered.

Jirotaiku sighed. "You don't say sorry to someone who cares for you when he's caring for you," he said.

Sakura smirked. "Ke-eep th-that up-pa an-d a-I m-might j-ju-h-st f-fall f-for-r y-you," she said.

Jirotaiku looked up at him with his usual bored stare and smiled. "I'll be doing this to you everyday then."

Sakura winced as she fell back to the reality that she was alone and curled on the floor of the house. Tears slid down her face.

If she forced herself to sleep, she could lose track of time. Sasuke might find her on the floor.

No.

She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

She would survive it. She would survive it and Sasuke won't know a thing…not yet.

Sasuke wrapped a bandage on the arm of a middle aged wood cutter.

He had been bandaging wounds and administering medications since the clinic opened. And he was lucky that a group of wood cutters had a little accident in the woods.

"Thank you," the man he was bandaging said smiling at him. The man looked a little older for his age and he wore a smile on his face despite his incomplete set of dentures. "You know pretty miss flower?" he whispered.

Sasuke raised a brow at him.

"Ah," he said bowing his head. "She used to work here. She saved me. You look nice like her so I thought you know her."

Sasuke realized who the man was referring to.

"The doctor's previous assistant," Sasuke said, trying to act like an average man. "I don't know much about her."

The man sighed. "I see," he said. "You know, you also look like her boyfriend."

Sasuke felt something inside of him twitch.

…Boyfriend?

"He's just a bit more talkative," the man said smiling at Sasuke. "And he has really bright hair. They're really an odd pair – Miss Flower with pink hair and her boyfriend with yellow and red hair. I can't imagine what their children would look like."

…Why on earth would they even have children? They were just boyfriend-girlfriend. They weren't married!

Sasuke looked away and kept his glare fixed on the first aid kit beside him.

"Done," he told the man.

"Ah! Thank you," the man said looking at the bandage on his arm. "You're very good! What's your name again, young man?"

"Sasuke," he muttered. He couldn't use 'Uchiha' because though people were not supposed to know about ninjas, it was still possible for them to hear gossips about criminals bearing the Uchiha name.

The man smiled. "Sasuke-sama, thank you," he said.

Sasuke looked at him for a moment before he replied with a nod.

The man then stood up and walked to the doctor who had just finished talking with another wood cutter.

Sasuke decided to clean up. He picked up the bloody cotton balls and bandages that he used to mend the man and headed to the trash bin.

He felt the chilly air hit his face the minute he stepped out of the clinic.

Sasuke sighed and dropped the trash into the bin. He then looked up at the grey sky.

So Sakura was romantically involved with Jirotaiku. That would explain the "-kun" she used for his nickname…and the loss of the "-kun" from Sasuke's name.

Sasuke felt his chest grow numb. He winced and looked down at the trash bin.

Was it really that much of a big deal? Sakura could have been involved with Jirotaiku when she took care of him in prison.

…Hence the hostility…the distance…the silence.

Sakura had moved on. She had gotten over her infatuation for Sasuke like those girls who used to devote themselves to him.

Sakura had found someone who could love her the way Sasuke couldn't. She had met someone who would care for her, who would protect her, who would give up his life for her…

Sasuke glared at the bin as the numbness in his chest grew.

If Jirotaiku was the man who cared for her, why did he leave her alone? If he protected her, why did he leave her there in that house without enough traps set up around as her line of defense? If he would give up his life for Sakura, why was he not there to do so?

Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Maybe he left for the sake of the mission…But he still left Sakura out in the open! He sacrificed Sakura for the sake of completing a mission!

Sasuke opened his eyes and shook his head.

He was turning into Naruto.

That was not good.

Why should he care if Sakura was involved with someone anyway? Why should he care if her boyfriend left her to die?

Sakura chose to be with the idiot. She should accept the consequences on her own.

Sasuke felt the numbness grow more.

Sasuke sighed and held his chest.

He needed to calm himself down if he wanted the numbness to go away. But wasn't he calm already? He didn't care about Sakura! He didn't care about how the man he chose seemed to dump her in the middle of a mission. He didn't care about how pained Sakura was when she heard about Jirotaiku's condition!

…Now where did that come from?

Sasuke shook his head. It seemed that the more the numbness grew, the more emotional he got – the more un-Sasuke-like he became.

It needed to stop. Could Sakura know something about what was happening to him? Could she cure him?

"Sasuke-san?" Kaitaro called from the back door of the clinic.

Sasuke turned to face him.

"Is everything alright?"

Sasuke nodded and walked to the clinic.

Kaitaro sighed. "I heard how Tou-san told you about 'miss flower'," he said.

"Sakura and Jirotaiku," Sasuke said.

Kaitaro nodded. "We don't have any patients now," he began. "I suppose since you knew the memorial statue, Sakura-san has filled you in about some of what you wanted to know."

"Hn," Sasuke said looking at the doctor.

Kaitaro walked into the clinic. "Come, I'll make us some tea," he said. "I'll also tell you what I promised to tell you."

Akio coughed out blood as he hung head first from the ceiling.

He had been swaying from the ceiling since they got back to the castle after that trip in the market. Blood and sweat slid down from the gashes on his back and chest. He was sure his face was swollen and bloody.

He heard a click from the iron door of the dungeon room that he was in. He watched a man in white robe walk in.

"H-Hou-ren," Akio whispered.

"I suppose you've learned your lesson," Houren said staring down at Akio.

"Y-yes," Akio answered.

"Put him down," Houren said. The chains that held Akio tightly from the ceiling slowly snaked away from his limbs.

Akio fell down with a loud 'thump' on the floor.

Akio took several deep breaths after sighing in relief.

Houren turned to go.

"W-Wait," Akio weakly called.

Houren paused but didn't spare him a glance.

"He…He c-could be from K-Konoha," Akio said.

"I didn't say he couldn't be," Houren replied.

Akio looked up at Houren. "W-Why…Why p-punish m-e then?"

"To teach you to be patient," Houren said turning to Akio and glaring at him.

Akio cringed and looked away.

"My order was clear," Houren said. "Leave the visitor alone. Act the way you did earlier, and the people will turn against us!"

Akio bowed his head. "M-My…ap-pologies…"

Houren kept his glare at Akio. "He knows where Sakura is, just as much as the doctor," he said. "But he doesn't know much about everything yet. They're keeping him blind for a reason."

"W-What do we d-do now?" Akio asked.

"We wait," Houren said. "I've already sent sentinels to spy on him. And do what I told you to do. Make sure our scholars uncover all the techniques that Jirotaiku learned how to use."

"What if J-Jirotai-k-ku didn't conceal Sak-kura?" Akio asked. "W-What if they r-really left?"

Houren sighed, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can you really not think?" he asked. "He won't gain anything in transporting her anywhere far!" Houren shouted. "And he's here!"

Akio winced and bowed his head lower.

"She's finishing the scroll," Houren said. "Jirotaiku won't take her anywhere far."

"W-what if w-we t-torture the v-vis-sitor?"

Houren turned away. "Useless," he said. "We tortured Jirotaiku to death and he didn't speak a word. Even if he wasn't rescued, he was willing to die to keep Sakura's whereabouts away from us. What makes you think this visitor would be any better? Besides, I have a feeling that he's more dangerous than Jirotaiku. He resembles someone."

"…S-someone?" Akio asked looking up at Houren.

"A renowned ninja who tried to destroy the whole village of Konoha after killing a legendary sanin," Houren said. "That reminds me. Go tell Roku to give me a report on the Uchiha clan that I asked him to do a research on."

"Will do," Akio said.

Houren then walked out of the dungeon.