Grace
By: LilyDraken
Sasuke was bored. It was nearing 10:30, and Sakura still hadn't bothered to show up. He wondered briefly if he'd done something wrong earlier, and that was why she'd left so abruptly, but no, she'd kissed him beforehand and said, "I'll see you tonight." 'Though obviously she hasn't because she's still not here,' he sulked silently.
His thoughts were interrupted as a high-strung chaotic chakra presence pervaded the establishment. He turned to see Sai had entered. Sai's features remained characteristically blank, but his chakra was whirring around him to a point Sasuke swore he could actually hear it.
"Sai! 'Bout time you got your scrawny ass here!" Kiba shouted, waving his brew filled hand at him, sloshing suds all over himself.
Sai approached, cautiously Sasuke noted. Years of training and instinct told him something serious was going on; serious and meant to be kept quiet. He watched as Sai stepped up and said, "Hey beautiful," to Ino.
Kiba's eyes narrowed into slits. Ino and everyone else save Sasuke looked downright shocked. "Um…" she started.
"Need to borrow you for a few minutes," he said pointedly to her, holding a locked, steady and very loaded gaze. To Kiba, "Don't worry, Fido, it's just shop talk."
Kiba looked ready to protest, but Ino calmly stood up and joined him. The pair stepped back a few paces to talk quietly.
Sasuke subtly glanced over his shoulder, as though looking for someone, in order to watch them. The energy around Sai was buzzing, and the way Ino went without any hesitation confirmed that they had communicated in that intense stare. Sai's back was to him, but he had a clear view of Ino's face, whose eyes widened as her jaw dropped in what looked like shock, panic, or both. He watched as she urgently nodded, pulled out and swallowed what he guessed to be some type of food pill, and returned to the group.
"Sorry guys, but I've got to call it a night. Like I said, early morning."
There was a general sigh of disappointment and a chorus of 'good-nights' as Ino pecked Kiba lightly on the lips and left with Sai. Sasuke waited until they were out of sight before excusing himself to the restroom. Once he was up and a safe distance from the table, sure no one was minding him, he slipped out.
The Uchiha found himself in throngs of people, all enjoying the beautiful summer evening. His sharp eyes scanned the area: two blocks down, two chuunin talking in hushed whispers. His eyes darted to the left. Up on one of the higher rooftops, a solitary ninja stood, his head turning as he scanned the upper area. Directly across but far lower, another ninja, signaling to- Sasuke turned to follow the path and-
Bam! He'd spun right into; he blinked his eyes to refocus: "Hyuuga."
Neji didn't so much as look at Sasuke, continuing straight on. Sasuke pursued.
"What's going on?" Sasuke asked as he caught up with Neji.
"You are not Leaf shinobi; I am not obligated to tell you anything," Neji replied tersely.
Sasuke grabbed him roughly by the arm, spinning him around. "Hyuuga-"
Neji jerked away, performed a seal and vanished, leaving Sasuke frustrated and angry. Unable to use jutsu to move, he ran straight to the Hokage tower, hoping Naruto would fill him in.
As he reached the rooftop, he saw a crowd of gathered jounin, only jounin, standing at attention. At the front was Naruto.
"… this incident," he was saying. "We need to alert all ninja at the border outposts to strengthen fortifications and prepare for possible attack. This information is to remain at the highest levels only. No one under rank of the jounin is to be briefed, understood?"
A unanimous "Yes, Hokage-sama" resounded.
"Those of you selected to inform the outposts, go."
There was a whoosh sound as they vanished. It seemed that concluded the meeting. Sasuke began to approach Naruto and was stopped by Kakashi, who looked at him with his one visible eye with interest.
"I have nothing to do with whatever this is," Sasuke said, glaring coldly at him.
"I didn't say you did."
"Then why-"
"Because that doesn't concern you." Kakashi tipped his head toward Naruto, who was speaking with Neji.
Sasuke watched as the Hyuuga's face drained of color. The two were interrupted by a chuunin who handed Naruto a scroll. The hokage read it, his face twisting up into fury; the scroll crumbled in his hands. The chuunin vanished. Naruto nodded to Neji, who in turn also vanished.
"Now you can go," Kakashi said, moving out of the way.
It wasn't necessary. Naruto approached. "Shino's dead."
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock; Kakashi nodded. "Tenten?"
"Sakura-chan says she's stable."
"The others?"
"They'll live."
Sasuke had rarely seen Naruto look so dejected. He glanced from the hokage to Kakashi and back. Naruto only just seemed to register Sasuke's presence. "What are you doing here?"
"I…" Sasuke closed him mouth, realizing he didn't know how to answer.
"Kakashi, would you excuse us please," said Naruto. Kakashi gave him a cogent look before vanishing.
Naruto faced Sasuke. "I need you to do something for me."
"Anything," Sasuke replied.
"Don't hold back." Naruto lunged at him.
Sasuke didn't hold back.
Sakura checked the monitor beside Tenten's bed. The kunoichi was sound asleep, her breathing even and regular, her vitals all within normal range. Sakura had covered the deep gashes covering Tenten's face, arms and legs with heavy bandages, having exhausted most of her chakra in stabilizing her. She adjusted the IV drip and injected a shot of morphine.
She sensed Neji's presence behind her. She turned to see him frozen in the doorway, his eyes locked on Tenten. Sakura grabbed a nearby chair and set it down beside the bed.
She approached him and turned his face to hers. "Look at me," she ordered. Neji shifted his eyes to hers. "She is going to be alright."
Neji stared at her long moments; he nodded. Sakura led him to the chair she's just moved and sat him down.
"Stay as long as you like. I'll let the nurses know."
Neji nodded. Sakura dimmed the lights as she exited and made her way home.
Naruto walked in to his apartment, bruised and bloodied. Sasuke upheld his end of the deal; Naruto hoped the Uchiha wasn't in too bad of shape. He'd set a meeting for the morning in which to brief the rest of the jounin who were off duty last night.
Still, he dreaded going into his bedroom to find his fiancé waiting for him, knowing what he would have to tell her. A rock formed in the pit of his stomach.
Unable to face her just yet, he opted for a shower. He turned up the water to near scalding, tearing his clothes off as he walked into the water. Every cut and bruise Sasuke had inflicted screamed as the cascade of fire rained down on him; Naruto relished each and every painful stab.
'How could this happen? What is it that we missed? That I missed? How could I be such a failure?' "Damn it!"
Without realizing it, he had punched the wall of the shower stall. "Shit." Quickly he shut the water off, grabbing any and all towels within reach to plug the hole.
"Naruto-kun?"
Naruto cringed at the sound of the voice he usually loved so well. "Hinata-chan…" He realized how strangled his voice sounded. 'Please… please I'm not ready. I'm not ready to tell her her teammate was killed…'
His blue eyes rose to meet her. There she was, in a short nightie, looking half asleep and all beautiful. 'Maybe… maybe I can put it off until morning…'
"You're hurt," she whispered, pulling him up to stand before her. She tenderly raised her fingers to his blackened left eye. "What happened?"
"Hinata-chan…" He couldn't help it. Despite his best efforts, despite his will, his eyes filled with tears. "Hinata-chan, there was an incident... Shino… he didn't make it."
A small gasp escaped her lips. Naruto stood there helpless as he watched a myriad of emotions cross her face. He waited for her tears, but they didn't come. He stood there speechless; he was awed by her strength, surprised at how different her reaction was from how he imagined it would be. After long moments, he stepped forward to take her into his arms. She pulled away.
"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry. I have to be with Kiba tonight."
Naruto stood dumbfounded as Hinata quickly changed and vanished into the night.
Already in pajamas, Sakura sat in her bed, not quite ready to sleep; she was waiting. Ino came in with two steaming cups of tea. "Don't worry," she said, "it's decaf."
"Thank you," replied Sakura she took it and sipped gently.
Ino sat across from her on the bed. She said, "I just wanted to be there, you know, when he got the news. It wasn't like I could be the one to tell him; I mean even if I could, I couldn't, you know? But he knew something was wrong, and just kept pressing. But then Hinata showed up, and she knew, and I just felt like it needed to be the two of them, he was their teammate after all, and I know how that feels, well, sort of, but I just wasn't ready to go home quite yet, not after everything that happened, and-"
"Ino," Sakura interrupted, "it's okay. I understand." She took Ino's hand in hers and smiled wearily.
"No, you're exhausted. I know how much you must've pushed yourself in saving Tenten, with how bad off she was. You need rest, and I'm being selfish-"
"Stop," she said gently. "You're not being selfish. This is hard on all of us. Shino was the first of us that…" her voice trailed off. "It's going to be hard for all of us."
"I just keep thinking, Hinata and Kiba, he was their teammate. I mean I know we lost Asuma-sensei, and that was so hard, but he was our sensei, our leader, he wasn't…"
"One of us," Sakura finished.
"Yeah." Ino drank down the contents of her cup. "I don't know what to say, to either of them, just like I didn't to you when Sas- …but this is different."
Sakura set her empty cup aside and took Ino's hand. "Just be there when he needs you. You don't have to say anything. Just be there."
Ino nodded. "Thanks Sakura." She took a long deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I'll stay if you need, but if not, I'd like to-" she stopped, sensing a strong chakra presence.
Naruto climbed through Sakura's bedroom window, stopping when he saw Ino there. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude…"
Ino turned back to Sakura and smiled. "I see you're in good hands." She leaned forward and hugged Sakura tightly. "See you in the morning." She stood and turned to the hokage. "Naruto-sama," she said formally, and then hugged him before leaving.
Sakura opened her arms; Naruto flew into them.
The moon was starting its descent. Sasuke stood outside Sakura's bedroom window, watching her and Naruto sleep. Part of him wanted desperately to be in there with them, but felt that it wasn't his place, that he hadn't earned that right back, not yet anyway.
The afternoon with Sakura felt like a lifetime ago with everything that had transpired over the last several hours. 'With all that's happened, will that change anything between us?' he wondered.
He felt certain with Naruto, had from the moment Naruto set him straight that first time in his office. And tonight, even had he not been right there at that moment, Sasuke felt sure Naruto would have sought him out to fight. With Sakura, everything was always less certain, and now… 'Stop it,' he told himself, 'just be patient.'
Difficult, as patience was never one of his virtues.
He spun around as he sensed someone approach. Sai. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, but then realized that was perhaps a stupid question. Sai was part of Team Naruto/Sakura as well.
"Same as you, I'm guessing," he replied.
"Yeah," Sasuke replied awkwardly, turning back toward the window.
Sai studied him. "It's always been the two of them you know, after you left I'm guessing." He paused, "I was added as your replacement, and it took them a long time to accept me, but even then, I was an outsider. I know I'm not so much any more now, but there are times like this, I know to leave them be. Just like you do, seeing as you're out here right now and not in there."
Sasuke said nothing.
Sai walked past him, removed a key, unlocked and opened Sakura's front door.
"I thought you just said you'd leave them alone," Sasuke glared.
"And I will," Sai replied, "from the living room. Are you coming?"
Sasuke paused a moment, caught off guard. It took only a moment to decide: he followed.
Sakura awoke slowly, being pulled out of a heavy dream by the knowledge that someone was with her. Finally she found the strength to open her eyes. Outside there was only the dark smoky hue of the sun's imminent ascent. Naruto was asleep beside her.
She quickly ran through the list of everything she needed to accomplish today. Getting back to the hospital to spend some time on Tenten before Suigo came in was of the utmost importance. She had to be successful.
She made her way down the hall toward the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to see Sai asleep on the sofa. She rounded the corner into the kitchen and held back a gasp, shocked to find Sasuke asleep on the floor. Sakura smiled. She threw two slices of bread into the toaster.
In the interim, she returned to her room, quickly getting dressed. When she re-entered, she found Sasuke in the kitchen, spreading jam on her toast. "You're leaving early," he said quietly.
"I need to get over to see Tenten," she said, attaching her ninja pouch.
He wrapped the toast in a kerchief. "I heard you saved her."
Sakura smiled sadly, "There's still a lot I need to do."
Sasuke handed her wrapped breakfast to her, giving her a steady look. "I have full confidence in you."
"Thank you Sasuke," she replied, leaning forward and kissing him softly. "I'll see you later."
Sakura had spent the first two hours repairing the remainder of the more serious injuries. Neji had arrived a little less than an hour after she had; he had taken a seat beside Tenten's bed, her hand in his, and remained silent.
An hour after Neji had arrived, Sakura turned her attention to the lacerations on her friend's visage. Ironically, it was far more taxing to heal such wounds on a cellular level than to triage and treat severe injuries in the field. To repair anything at the cellular level required a precision few possessed, let alone used to repair something considered cosmetic.
Scars were common for ninja, but Sakura knew she wouldn't want to be riddled with such ugly reminders of a fight that nearly cost her life; she wasn't about to leave Tenten to that fate.
Time crawled slowly on as Neji watched the deep gashes on his intended's face, several down to the bone, shallow under Sakura's skilled fingers. From time to time, he could see Sakura stop, flex her fingers, sigh, crack her neck, only to resume her careful ministrations. After several hours, Neji finally broke the silence. "You're getting tired."
Sakura shook her head stubbornly, "I'm fine."
He looked down to Tenten. The worst of the lacerations now appeared to be no more than superficial scratches; the rest all but vanished. He looked back up at Sakura; she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly. He didn't need Byakugan to see she was at her limit.
"Enough," he said.
"Neji, if you don't shut up and let me work, I swear I'll-"
"Remove you physically from this room and put you under guard if you don't obey this order," Neji interjected as he stood.
"In case you missed it," she spat back, "this patient happens to be a friend of mine and I would like to not have her wake up to a horror show, especially seeing as I've got in on good authority she's getting proposed to."
"And because of you she won't," he replied evenly. He was unsurprised by her look of astonishment, having grown used to her losing all sense of time when manipulating chakra on such a level.
Sakura stared at him in fury, shouting, "You mean you're not-"
Neji's brows knitted together in confusion. Sakura's jaw locked, her eyes flamed. Realization quickly dawned on him. "No, Sakura! No! I mean about the horror-"
"You're an idiot," she cut him off, sighing with relief. She turned and slumped into a nearby chair.
Neji gave her a scathing look as he sat down again. He sighed, once more taking Tenten's hand in his; he looked at Sakura. "You push yourself too hard."
Sakura gave him a telling look, "It's Tenten."
"I know," he said quietly, giving her a small smile, "which is why I've let you get away with it. Just this once."
Sakura gave a quick, tired laugh.
Neji walked over to her, knelt down in front of her and took her hands into both of his. "Sakura."
She lifted her head up to meet his gaze and noted something different about him, something in his demeanor, in his look, she had never, in all their long years of friendship, seen in him before.
"Sakura," he continued, his voice tight, "you have given me everything in saving her."
It was emotion, Sakura realized. Neji, who by his very nature was unemotional, had opened up to her. The gravity of this new intimacy overwhelmed her. She fought back the tears burning in her eyes. The corners of her lips tugged into an unbidden emotional smile.
She leaned forward and cupped his face in her hands. "Neji, she'll be okay."
Neji closed the distance and enveloped her in his arms. Sakura managed to twist her own arms out from between their bodies and wrap them around him to complete the embrace. "She's going to be just fine," she repeated quietly against his ear.
She felt him nod against her shoulder as he tightened around her. "Sakura... Thank you," he whispered.
Sakura squeezed Neji close, her own emotions overtaking her. 'Sasuke...' came unbidden to her mind. 'I've been holding back, haven't allowed myself to feel it,' she realized, 'how much I still, have and will always, love him.'
A/N: To my reviewers, thank you for your continued support. I always appreciate the feedback. I hope you like this latest chapter! As always, leave love! Thanks,
~Lily