"Here are Riku's lab reports. I still have some work to do in figuring out his medical history."
"Good work, Sakura. I'm proud of you."
Viridian and honey brown eyes connect as Sakura gives Tsunade a small smile in appreciation. "I wish he didn't have to suffer so much."
Her mentor sighs. "You saved him from death. That's all that matters."
"I know, but now he has to become a ward of Konoha. Which, by the way, I need to talk to Kakashi on getting those documents signed." At this, the blonde woman rolls her eyes. "To my knowledge he has no family except for the old woman Kaede who isn't even related to him by blood."
"We'll take care of him, don't worry. He'll receive the best treatment there is and who knows, perhaps his condition will improve with time. He's still young."
Sakura nods her head in agreement. "I'll go see Kakashi about those transfer papers." The pinkette turns to leave her Shishou's office but she is stopped at the sudden question of Sasuke. "I know it's none of my business, but are you okay?" Tsunade asks.
Honey eyes notice the way Sakura's hands ball up into fists at her side. 'Guess not.' Irritation fills her chest towards the Uchiha boy for always causing her adopted daughter pain. Sometimes, she wishes that Sakura would move on, but the Senju descendent was no stranger to love and carrying it with her for years, even till this very day. "He … is an asshole." She hears her pupil whisper as she walks out of the office.
It takes no more than five minutes for Sakura to reach the Hokage tower. She greets people as they pass by her, stopping for a quick chat with Shizune. "I have no idea how you put up with him as your sensei." She says.
Sakura laughs, "That bad today, huh?"
"Just one of his more lazy days. He might just pass off some paperwork to you." Shizune sighs.
Green eyes roll in exasperation. "Great, more paperwork."
"See you around, Sakura!"
The rosette knocks on the door and hears a muffled, "come in." Stepping into Kakashi's office, she immediately notices the piles of documents surrounding his desk. Her faces pales at the site. "What in the world have you been doing?!"
The Hokage sweat drops, "Help."
Sakura shakes her head, pink hair swaying with her movements. "You're impossible."
"So I've heard. What can I do for you?"
"It's about the boy we brought back from Sound. Have you started the paperwork to incorporate him as Konoha citizen?"
"I have actually. I have some investigators looking for any additional information, such as surviving family members."
"I don't really think he has any. The closest thing to family he has is the old woman that came with us."
"I see. Well, in any case, he'll become a ward of Konoha."
"Thank you."
The Hokage raises a fine eyebrow. "Why do I sense that something else is bothering you?"
Green eyes meet with black. "I have an idea, but with the village still repairing itself after the war, I don't know if we even have the budget for it."
"What were you planning?"
The medical ninja takes a deep breath. "I want to open a children's clinic to help them cope with any losses they might have suffered from the war."
Kakashi stares at his former pupil. It was certainly a good idea, one that he backed upp one hundred percent. In all his years of being a shinobi and being a part of ANBU, the Scarecrow had seen many war victims, especially children who had lost their families and belongings. He remembers one particular ANBU mission in which a little boy, probably no more than seven years old, cried on top of his father's corpse after the village had been raided that very morning. His stomach turns when he remembers not being able to do anything for the boy except for carrying him to the closest hospital for treatment.
The Fourth Shinobi War had definitely been great in the sense where not a single village had been spared of the devastation caused by Madara. Kakashi could only imagine all the people displaced from the said war and he couldn't be more proud of his former student for taking on such a project.
Smiling at her through his mask he responds, "I think that is an excellent idea. I will bring it up at the next Hokage meeting to discuss allocating the funds for it."
Sakura gives him a huge grin. "Thank you!"
Kakashi nods, his chest warming up at seeing her so happy, but there was something that he needed to discuss with her. "Sakura, about your mission to Sound …"
The smile she had immediately slipped away. "Yes?"
"Sasuke mentioned that you had an encounter with some substance."
Sakura stiffens. "Yes, but I handled it." She replies.
"I don't doubt that you did, but Sakura … Orochimaru's experiments are very dangerous. I just want to make sure that you are okay."
"I appreciate that Lord Hokage, but I am perfectly fine."
Kakashi was never good at dealing with his female student whenever she was frustrated, but he trusted her and believed in her abilities. What Sasuke had briefly explained to him via the messenger hawk, was something that bothered the former sensei greatly. He didn't want Sakura to go through what raven haired boy did in his youth. Remembering drawing up the seal for Sasuke and then activating it, had not been easy on the both of them. Opening his eyes as the memory faded back into the corner of his mind which he didn't wish to return to, Kakashi nods at the woman before him in reassurance.
Sakura bows before leaving the office for the second time that day with her hands balled up into fists.
Cool water drips down Sasuke's face as he brings the canteen to his lips, taking one last swig of the refreshing liquid. Closing the canteen, dark eyes observe the scenery before him. From where he was perched up on the tree, he could see the layout of the small civilian village down below. Gazing to the left, he sees the trail he would have to take to the nearest harbor in order to get to the Land of Waves.
Never in a million years did the dark haired shinobi think that he would ever revisit that village, but there is something that he feels like he needs to go see. Something that will bring him to his center, to calm his thoughts. That something was the Tazuna (Naruto) bridge.
If Sasuke was honest with himself, what happened in Sound bothered him, but he wasn't entirely sure why. When he was on Team Seven, he could admit that Naruto and Sakura did mean something to him. They were … friends, but years of being away from them clouded that friendly border between them and erased it. Years of hatred and vengeance seeped into his heart and destroyed that feeling of ever needing comrades, but Naruto was able to beat it all back into him, and even so, it was easy between the two of them; even easy to speak with Kakashi.
But Sakura was different.
She was always different.
Jumping down from his perch on the tree, Sasuke begins his trip down the hill to the port. The sun blazes on his skin, reddening his cheeks. He thinks about what he'd seen in Sakura's mind in Sound, remembers the image of her younger self wrapping her arms around him in the Forest of Death. That particular memory hadn't crossed his mind in years, he'd actually forgotten it, but after reliving it for the second time he isn't sure how he should take it.
Sasuke has screwed over a lot of people in his life, but the one person who he feels like he should avoid screwing over again is his pink haired enigma. There was something about seeing her throw herself at him while he was losing control that stirred something within him that he didn't feel like he was able to come to terms with yet. All he knew was that it was probably best for her if he stood away from her, which is why he left so abruptly.
The canals breeze is a welcoming feel as it sweeps through his sweaty bangs. He pays the porter a semi handful of coins to get on the boat and in no time the sails are expanding from the breeze carrying all of them away from the harbor and out into the many rivers leading to Waves,
'It's for the best.'
It takes but a few hours to get to the village and by then it's already nightfall. Sasuke nods to the captain of the boat in silent gratitude as he makes his way off and onto the empty harbor. The scenery looks different from what he remembers, but then again it could just be because as a genin, he'd only briefly been to this part of town.
The dark haired shinobi makes his way towards the heart of the village, following the lights in the distance and the steady growing noise. When he makes it, his eyes scan for a nearby inn as there's plenty of people around for there to be one. He's surrounded mostly by bars and taverns, of which most are busy with patrons.
He assumes that he's probably somewhere downtown, away from the marketplaces. Having no other choice, Sasuke walks into the nearest tavern and takes the seat that's furthest from everyone in the corner. A woman with light blonde hair walks over to him, asks for his order and for once he doesn't need to glare at a woman trying to flirt with him, because she doesn't. He orders dumplings and a glass of Shōchū, taking the glass of water she places on the table to his lips and drinks.
After his dinner, Sasuke walks to the end of the plaza towards where it is the most quietest not wanting to be bothered by the villages nightlife. He walks into the inn, asks for a room, to which the receptionist responds with a suspicious glare, but nonetheless hands him the room key. His long legs take him to the room quickly, jamming the key into the keyhole, he opens the door placing his satchel by the entrance along with his boots followed by undressing and heading straight to the shower. Afterwards, he dresses into his spare clean clothes and goes to bed.
The next morning, Sasuke finds himself thinking that the village is most definitely very different from what he remembers. Back then, the houses were in average condition and the town was averagely populated. But now, the Land of Waves was prosperous and thriving and so very lively.
The cobblestone streets were jam packed with merchants selling fish he'd never really seen before, even on his many travels. Clerks screamed out prices for different items like exotic fruits, fresh baked breads and locally grown vegetables. There was one stand selling finely made leather which he made a mental note of visiting later.
Sasuke makes his way out of the marketplace and just a little ways ahead he sees the structure he was looking for. The bridge was impressive to say the least. Onyx eyes look up to the name 'The Great Naruto Bridge' and he smirks a little thinking that Naruto would probably brag about having something named after him. He walks out onto the bridge and leans his forearms against the edge looking down at the gentle rolling waves below.
"Sasuke?"
Said person turns his head to the right to see who called out his name. A boy, probably a teenager around sixteen, stands before him with a tool box in his left hand. He's tall, but nowhere near as tall as the Uchiha, with flat spikey brunette hair. Somewhere in the back of his mind he can register the boy's face, but the name escapes him. He raises a dark eyebrow in question.
"I'm Inari," he says.
'Ah.'
Sasuke nods his head in acknowledgment.
"I never thought I would see you here again," Inari says.
"Neither did I," Sasuke responds.
"I was in Konoha a few years ago helping them rebuild the village after an Akatsuki attack. I asked Naruto and Sakura where you were, but I guess you guys had a fight?"
'You have no idea.'
"Yeah."
"What brings you here?" Inari asks.
"Traveling," he responds.
"Are you busy? Maybe I can give you a tour of the village?"
He doesn't know what it is about seeing Inari again that has him agreeing as he pushes off the stone bridge and begins to walk with the teen into the marketplace once again.
A/N: uh hi? I'm sorry that i've been MIA. My school semester finished back at the end of May and I felt like I needed a little time to myself, but I guess I took too much time and writers block got a hold of me. I'm not entirely pleased with the flow of this chapter, but I wanted to get something out for everyone before you forgot what's going on. I hope you enjoyed this. Please leave a review letting me know what you think!