Magnus: There we go, another quick update, please read and review.

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto or anything you believe is being named here, with the exception of the OCs.

Chapter 12

Sinners and penitences

Sakura Haruno, heir to the guru of medicine title, wielder of an inhuman strength, was siting at the side of a bed, in a room at the hospital of Konoha, she was powerless, she was in pain, because in front of her, in the bed, Sasuke Uchiha, the run away shinobi, the traitor, was in critical condition, she knew that with the proper treatment, he could be fine in no more than 6 months, but she also knew that no medic will give him that treatment, she hated Lee for this, not only he do this damage to him, but he forced her to do even more damage, and at the same time, she was grateful, because he not only allowed Sasuke to live, but also didn't told anyone that she was a traitor too, she even was allowed to watch over Sasuke, Tsunade inspected him, and was satisfied to know that only she could make him walk again, she even was proud that Sakura took away his eyes, which made him less dangerous, "A proper punishment, well done, Sakura", those were the words Tsunade spoke when she arrived to the scene, and Sakura cried, she cried a lot, right now, she wanted to let him take her life, if that will make him a little less depressed, because if he awake from his coma, he will be asking for death.

Just 3 days have passed since his capture, but to him, it has been an eternity, but now he was awakening, he tried to open his eyes, but he found that only his left eye opened, and the light hurt him, he tried to focus, and that was difficult, then he explored the room, it was a white room, his mind was starting to work now, it was obvious, that wasn't a room from Orochimaru's lair, he may be captured, but right now, he wasn't in good shape to escape, he tried to turn, and felt a lot of pain, but he wanted to explore the room, so, he endured it, when he turned, he spotted Sakura at his side, asleep, he then got the idea, he was in Konoha, he has been captured, but that wasn't important now, he needed to know his current situation, "Sa-Sakura?", Sakura didn't made him wait she awaken very fast, and they looked at each other, she was crying, but before he could ask anything, she spoke first, "Forgive me, Sasuke", Sasuke was puzzled, but then all come to his mind, he remembered the battle, he lost it, and maybe Sakura had to lie to be able to nurse him, he didn't knew how bad he was, until he tried to move, he just wanted to turn his body to hug her and told her that she has done well in not reveal anything (or so he thought), but his body didn't moved, instead of it, an intense shot of pain almost threw it unconscious again, he screamed, and bited his lip in hopes of overcome the pain, a small trial of blood started to run on his cheek, but he forgot the pain when he felt Sakura, she leaned close to him very fast, their faces were at less than an inch of distance, and then, she licked the blood, she licked it until she reached his lips, and the she kissed him, a short kiss, "Don't try to move, and don't try anything else, I'll try to convince Tsunade-sama to set you free, under my watch, until then, stay calm, because you can't do anything at the moment", Sakura's voice wasn't a commanding one, but a guilt one, he nodded in agreement anyway, he was worst than he thought, the door of the room opened, and she jumped to her seat, but when they saw that it was Tsunade, Sakura jumped at her, "He is awake, weak but awake, please let me nurse him in my home, he is no danger to anyone anymore!", both Tsunade and Sasuke stared eye wide, she talked fast, and this time it was a commanding voice, then Tsunade's face turned serious, and angry, she first looked at Sakura, then at Sasuke, surprised of seeing him watching her, then she grabbed Sakura from her hair, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!", she yelled, "I couldn't let him face that destiny, besides, he is not dangerous anymore, please, let's heal him and...", Sakura was crying but that didn't seemed to have any effect on Tsunade, who was getting angrier with every second of being there "IT IS NOT MY DECISION ALONE!, IS FROM THE COUNCIL!, BUT SEEING HIM ABLE TO SEE, MAKES ME WISHING TO KILL HIM RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW!!!, NOW GET OUT OF HERE!, AND DON'T DARE COME BACK UNTIL THE COUNCIL GIVES A RESOLUTION!!!!", after that, Tsunade threw Sakura from the room, closing the door, after that, she started to talk to Sasuke, he felt tempted to use his sharingan, but with no chances of move, he decided to play safe, "Sasuke Uchiha, I'm going to ask you some questions, and don't try to feign amnesia, or I'll make sure that you'll never see another day".

In the Yamanaka house, Ino and her father were finishing a new arm for Matsukaze Maeda, who risked his life to protect Ino, her parents were always against her boyfriends, but this time, they really wanted to help the dark skinned guy (Ino never said anything about Matsukaze being her boyfriend, but she never denied it too), her mother was making a cloth to cover the arm, they saw him covering the last one with some clothes, and thought that he will do the same, this time, Ino's mother wanted something more elegant, while her father decided to make a stronger arm, so, instead of using only wood, he was using iron covered with wood, the arm was heavier than the last one, but they didn't thought that Matsukaze would notice (wielding a zanbato like a dagger... is not like he could think a heavier arm could make any difference), "Why isn't him wearing an eye patch?, I mean, it could make him look tougher", Ino's father was trying to make a conversation, "Nah, a glass eye would be better, he will look even more handsome, don't you think that way, Ino?", now her mother was trying to get her to accept her feelings, and of course, she blushed, "MOM!!... he is already handsome, besides, he is not a ninja, he is a warrior, to him, his scars are honor marks, he is proud of them... and... I'm proud of him", Ino was almost accepting that she liked him, when they heard the knock at the door.

Ino's mother was the one who opened the door, it was Matsukaze, and she never saw him that close, he really was tall, cinnamon skin, he was wearing cargo pants, battle boots, a leather belt with a copper buckle with a horse image on it, a sleeveless black shirt, and over it all, a brown mantle, to protect him from the snow (if his height wasn't enough to spot him in the crowd, his long mantle made him an easy target), "Hum..., I'm sorry..., but Ino-chan told me to come today..., may I pass, Mrs. Yamanaka?", Matsukaze's voice brought back Ino's mother from her amazement, "Oh!, sorry!, please come in, is cold outside", once inside, Ino received an approving grin from her mother, which made her blush a little, but when Matsukaze took of his mantle, Ino's parents couldn't help but to stare at his body, Ino's father was amazed, he surely was a strong man, and by seeing so many scars, he wondered why he was so gentle, but he was also disturbed by his lack of right arm, he was sure that that scar was still hurting him, to her mother, Matsukaze's body was near the perfection, if he had his other arm and eye, he surely would be the dream of every woman, then she turned to glare at Ino, with a demanding look, Ino turned her head quickly, to avoid her mother glare, she didn't wanted to know what was she thinking, "So, how are you feeling, Matsukaze-kun?", Ino finally asked, failing to hide her concern, "I'm fine, thank you, Ino-chan, a little disappointed for not being able to beat that monster", Matsukaze answered with a warm smile (he only smiled to Ino), Ino's father felt a lot of curiosity, and he started to talk with him about some random things, while Ino's mother started to fill the fold for the arm with other clothes, without losing any detail of the conversation, she looked pleased, and Ino was getting nervous, and she almost fainted when her father asked a silly question, "So, Matsukaze-san, do you like my daughter?" (I bet some people know how Ino felt at this).

"Where are we going, mommy?", the little red head girl was asking to Shizune, they were walking in the snow, Nuwa was dressed exactly like her, she even had now the same hair cut, "We are going with some friends, Tsunade-sama is very stressed, and she is not nice when she is stressed, so, I can't take you to her office for some days, and I don't want to leave you alone, you are going to stay with these friends while I work, ok?", Shizune was explaining to the little girl, she really took the place of her mother, "But why is Tsunade-tama so stressed?" Nuwa asked with her tiny voice, "Because someone has just returned after being lost for almost 4 years", Shizune replied, not wanting to tell more, soon they reached the Akimichi house, Shizune knocked at the door, and it was opened by no other than Chouji, "Hi, Chouji-san, thank you for helping me to take care of Nuwa", Shizune was greeting with great concern, "It's ok, Shizune-san, I'll take good care of her", Chouji was smiling, with sincerity, "Hi!!!, Chouji-san!!!", Nuwa didn't waited to hug the fat ninja, to her, he was a nice guy to be around, she never cared about his features, "Ok, now be nice and be good, I'll be back before sunset", Shizune told to Nuwa, "YES MOMMY!!!", Nuwa replied, and then Shizune kissed her on the forehead just before leaving.

Shikamaru, the new sensei of the academy, was returning home from his second day of classes, he was half satisfied, and half disappointed, he spectated this to be an easy work, but the kids were hard to deal with, he even got the nickname of 'scary-sensei' (for using his jutsu to enter the class room, avoiding the prank), in the other hand, this was just as he wanted his life to be, a normal job, normal days, normal home, and a beautiful wife (he could get a long with a normal wife, but hey!, Temari is really pretty!), and to make things better, his first child was on the way, he was very happy, and now, he was entering his home (yes, trespassing the door instead of opening it), and got trapped in Temari's arms, she hugged him as a welcome, with the flow of his pregnancy time, she has become very attached to have her husband close to her, she became very insecure and frail (hormonal things, ask your parents), "Shikamaru, what do you think it is?, boy or girl?", Temari asked, shyly, "Well, certainly I don't know, we'll have to wait until Tsunade-sama confirm it", Shikamaru replied, sweetly, "But, what do you want?, boy or girl?", Temari asked nervous now, "Well, I desire a girl, but I'll be very happy if is a boy", Shikamaru didn't wanted to put any pressure, but it didn't really helped, "But... but... you deserve what you want!, what if is not?, will you be disappointed?, I think I'll be disappointed", Shikamaru couldn't help but to silence her with a kiss, and then he proceed with a little plan, "Look, let me tell you this, if is a girl, I'll cut my hair (pointing at his pineapple hair), but if is a boy, you'll wear a long dress always", he stated with a soft smile, and Temari started giggling, accepting his challenge.

Sakura was depressed, she wasn't allowed to visit Sasuke, not until his judgment, she didn't wanted to be near the hospital, she could only turn things worst, so, she decided to eat something, ramen from Ichiraku, when she got to the place, she became surprised to see both Naruto and Neji, without Hinata and Tenten, she couldn't help but getting close and ask, "Naruto, Neji, what a surprise!, where are your wives?", she wanted some gossip, and Ino wasn't on sight, she barely believed she was asking her old friends, but they turned to face her, with depressed faces, "Moody days", both replied at the same time, before letting their heads go down, Sakura stared eye widened, a mix of pity for the boys, and disapproving for them to know such details, "I... see...", Sakura tried to make a conversation, but the boys decided to ask things to lighten up their day, "So, Sasuke has been captured, right?, you must be happy now, I bet you want to be his custodian", Neji started, with a nervous smile, "True!, after he get out of the hospital, you'll be able to chase after him again!", Naruto continued, and now Sakura got angry, "STOP IT NARUTO!!!!!, besides he is in bad shape right now, being his nurse is a better request...", when she discover that she was talking out loud, she blushed madly, and Naruto and Neji grinned, "Well, since Lee beat the crap out of him, you'll be nursing him for long, long time", Neji stated, it was just a joke, but Sakura really got angry beyond her limits, she was still hurt by the memory of Lee almost killing her Sasuke, and now Neji was mocking him too, she was about to overreact, when Naruto spoke, full of concern, "Sakura-chan, what happened to your eye?".

In Orochimaru's lair, Orochimaru was meeting with a young female priest, "So, what bring you to my humble home, dear priest of Jhudeca, what can i do to please you and our goddess?", Orochimaru was showing a wicked devotion, and the priest seemed to be pleased, then, she fell in trance, allowing the other being to take possession of her body, "I'm already pleased, Orochimaru, I enjoyed feasting on the souls of 2 of your most powerful servants, however, the third one is stil alive, but he didn't got the scroll", Orochimaru seemed to be sorry, he got close to her and knelled before her, "Forgive me, Jhudeca my goddess, i swear to get you the scroll or more powerful souls for you to eat", Orochimaru stated, then, the priest started to caress Orochimaru's face, "It seems that i need to increase your powers if i want you to be successful, but before that, you must pay tribute and worship, Orochimaru", she stated seductively, while undoing her robe, showing her naked body.

A/N: -tama, is the childish way to say -sama

Magnus: Well, i hope you enjoyed it, this is to let you see that the fic is going to continue, by the way, please tell me if you want to see a prequel, or a sequel.

Sasuke: This is unfair!, I demand a rematch!, and what the hell did you do to my eyes?!

Magnus: Who let you speak in my space?!, get out, you moron!, er... well... see ya in next chapter.