Before we start, I just need to answer some questions from the previous chapter. :P
1. You write Sasuke bedded other women when he and Sakura were apart from each other but does he sleep with Karin?
-NO
…well, maybe soon. (evil laugh :})
2. I'm just really affected if he slept with other women even before or after he did it to Sakura.
This is not even a question lol, but I feel you. Lemme answer this. Yes, Sasuke had bedded women during his defect days. He's still a man with raging hormones. As I was saying somewhere around this fic, I'm writing this intending with their characters to be as close to being human as possible. I assure you, there won't be any women appearing claiming they had child with him. Sasuke was very careful as you know the thing with resurrecting his clan was as important as his revenge days. When I say he had bedded women 'after', it was still before he had come back from Konoha. He can't get over with Sakura, but don't worry, that after had only happened once. And then after that, he could not take another woman. He just can't. He had been busy all those years claiming his name, reputation, honor and trust of the village.
Now off you go and read!
ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE. NOT OWNING NARUTO. UNEDITED.
Chapter 25
Sakura ran as fast as her feet can drag her. She must get as far as she can from that club.
The pinkette was so nervous her heart was beating mad on her chest. I did it, gosh. I did it. Now what?
She's not afraid of Sasuke. Nope. She's embarrassed by her bold moves. She could not believe she was able to pull that off. It was not included in the plan. Sasuke was still a man, and she's a beautiful woman. The real plan was just to annoy him, to seduce him and then dump him later, show him even though he's not paying attention to her, other men will be attracted to her without any second thought. To make him understand that despite his words that they were not friends, at least somewhere in his heart, she was special even just a little. She did not anticipate that he would be reacting like that. Would that mean, she's really affecting him?
No, Sakura. He's just horny. Don't get your hopes up. Sasuke will never like you, remember?
She jumped from roof to roof getting away from the club, at the same time masking her chakra. She stopped for a while then decided to take off her sandals since she's having a hard time with it.
"Sakura,"
The mednin turned and saw Ino in the corner of an alley, waving at her so she jumped down from where she was and approached Ino. The blond Yamanaka had already changed her attire to simply t-shirt and shorts. Both girls went inside a house.
"Ino—"
"Shh..keep it down, and mask your chakra. I saw him leave the club after he realized what had happened. Knowing that egotistical jerk, he won't leave it like that. Here, change of clothes,"
Sakura accepted the bag and started stripping off her dress. "Thanks,"
"That was so erotic and hot forehead. I'd never thought you could do that," Ino started as she looked on her bestfriend changing clothes. She saw Sakura blushed despite the darkness of that room.
"I..I had to do it, he said..he said I was like a woman in heat. I snapped!"
"Well, he deserves that," Ino chuckled, "now he knows not to messed up with you,"
Sakura nodded, "Ino, the problem is, how to avoid him. I'll die when I see him now!" Sakura blush just thinking about it now. She could feel him, all raging and hard. Honestly, she's also aroused. Just remembering how it felt when Sasuke had taken her, how he had fill her completely…
Kami, she's getting wet. And she was aching…
"You can always say it was the alcohol talking,"
"He won't buy it!" she said then performed a seal to flush out the alcohol on her system. She needs a cold shower.
"Well, I told you to clear your schedule for 3 days right? Here," Ino threw a scroll at her, "It's a B-rank mission I got from Tsunade-sama. I asked her for any mission outside the village, but that's the only one available as of this moment. It's a simple mission, you'll pick up a package from Port City. The ship will arrive tomorrow. You can go ahead and wait for the ship to arrive. Go and take that mission,"
"But, Ino this is your—"
"I'll tell the Hokage that I sprained my foot or something and that I asked you to take it instead. Besides, it's just a B-rank" Ino winked, "You owe me for this you know,"
"Oh, Ino how can I thanked you,"
"I'll take care of Ryuna, so don't worry about her. I've already talked to Kurenai-sensei about it as well,"
"You really planned this all out,"
"Who do you think I am?" Ino smirked.
"Thanks Pig. Anyway, it says here that I can leave today, might as well go to the academy and check my daughter," Sakura said.
"Yeah, let's go,"
Both of them left that empty house, making sure that no one had seen them. Both had thanked the gods because the Uchiha did not follow them. They do expect that Karin will be on their tails since she's a sensor type but they guessed the Uchiha will not asked her for the favor just to track her which was of course would be their advantage. The problem was, how to act when she face Sasuke in the next few days.
The girls had arrived in the academy and Sakura had found her daughter reading some books in her room. She told her that she will have a mission and will be gone for two days and will leave that night.
"I don't want you to leave the academy without asking permission from Kurenai-sensei, okay? And don't talk to strangers," the pinkette said, while brushing her daughter's hair.
"I won't," Ryuna smiled.
"This will be the first time that I'll leave you for days because of a mission," The mednin said as she hugged her daughter, "I'm going to miss you,"
"I will miss you too Mommy," Ryuna hugged back, "But I will be okay,"
"Auntie Ino will be here and I'll ask Uncle Naruto to check up on you. Whatever happens, go to them okay?"
"How about Mr. Uchiha? Should I go to him as well?"
That made Sakura paused.
"Yup," they heard Ino speak. Both turned around and Ino was standing on the doorway.
"Auntie Ino!" Ryuna shouted.
"How is my pretty Ryuna?" Ino said as she kissed little Ryuna.
"Heiki!"
"Okay, so if anything happens, you can rely on Uncle Naruto, but it would be better to go to Uncle Sasuke!" Ino said cheerfully.
"Ino!"
"Why?" Ryuna asked.
"Hmm, I wonder why," Ino said gesturing like she was thinking, "probably because…" Ino looked at Ryuna on her eyes, "…he will protect you with his life,"
Ryuna tilted her head not getting what Ino had said. Ino laughed with her confused expression then ruffled her hair instead, chirped then walked out of the room, "that is if that jerk knows what's going on,"
Sakura sighed, "Ino-buta!*" She heard Ino laughing.
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Take care, okay? I'll be fine here. And I promise I'll be good. I really enjoy school and I've learned a lot. I met a girl while ago, she's my seatmate but the boys always tease her and call her lady bug. I think they're rude," Ryuna said.
"So what did you do?" Sakura asked. One thing she loved about her daughter was she's quite talkative. She would always tell her stuff that happened to her the entire day.
"I told them it's rude to call her that, she has a name!" Ryuna pouted, "her name is Sachi Aburame, I told them,"
Sakura's eyes widen a bit. Aburame? So the girl's from the Aburame Clan which made her remember she hadn't seen Shino around.
"I'm glad. What you did was a good thing, to defend a friend. But I don't want you making enemies at school. I want you to gain as many friends as you can," then she turned Ryuna around and looked at her, "but, real friends are rare, and once you find them, treasure them with all your heart because when everything else falls down and everyone leaves you, true friends will remain and will be there for you,"
Sakura's expression softened. Her child was growing up and showing resolve at an early age. Then she remembered something, "How was your eyes?"
"It's not itchy anymore. It does not hurt either," Ryuna said.
Sakura was still bothered by what she had seen earlier and had no time to check her daughter up regarding her eyes. She promised to herself that when she returned from this mission, she will examine her daughter once again. She must not let the Sharingan appear.
"Okay, when it does, you must tell Kurenai-sensei and have her see it," she said. Ryuna nodded, "Okay, I'll talk to Ino and Kurenai-sensei, you should sleep. It's already eleven in the evening,"
Sakura tucked her daughter into her bed, grabbing the book she was reading. When she looked at it, it reads "Basic Shinobi Essentials: Chakra".
"You want something like a souvenir when I come back?" The pinkette asked as she kissed Ryuna's forehead, "I will be at the Port City,"
"Nope, just come home safely," Ryuna said as she yawned then slowly closed her eyes.
"I will," she whispered, then turned off the light.
Sakura left the village that night and started her dash towards the Port City which lies west of Konoha. It was a full 5 hours non-stop running. She had reached Port City around five in the morning and decided to stay at an inn. She will wait for the ship that will arrive this morning. She runs her eyes on the mission scroll and it says that 'the one who requested the mission will know the person assigned through the Konoha Insignia'. So that would mean she has to wear her hitaite then? Sounds easy. All she has to do was to stand in the port and wait for someone who will recognize her.
It was already seven when the ship arrived so she went out of her room and waited near the dock. Her eyes focused on the vessel. Cargos and passengers alike alight from the ship but no one had approached her yet. Maybe they cannot see her and did not recognize her hitaite? Or maybe she's standing on the wrong area. A long time had passed and she's getting worried. Was there a mistake on schedule indicated on the mission scroll? Or had she missed her client? Or.
"Uhm…excuse me?" Came a voice behind her. The pinkette turned around and saw a man, probably in his mid twenties, auburn messy hair, clear grayish eyes and stood around a head taller than her. She noticed he's holding a bag, wearing black pants and long white sleeve shirt. He looked so fresh, she observed. Like a man who had just came from his shower. With Sakura's instinct, she knew the guy was a merchant the way he smells—herbs.
"Yes?" Sakura answered back. Wow, he looks good don't you think? Said her Innermind. But not as good as Sasuke though, it added.
Will you shut up and go back to where you came from? She reprimanded her Innerself.
"Uh, you're from Konoha, right?" he said, a bit unsure.
"Yes," bemused, she said. The guy's eyes brightened.
"Oh good! I'm glad I finally found you! I thought I'm going to have a hard time looking for my guide ,"
Now this puzzled Sakura. According to the mission scroll, she's going to pick up a package, not a person. The guy must have read her expression.
"Uh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Shou Kuriyama," he said as he scratches his head then bows, "I'm the client that sent out a request to Konoha to accompany me in going to the village. I'm a merchant and my family runs a store that sells medicine. Actually, the initial request was to send a package that contains samples of the merchandise that we sell towards our prospective buyers in Konoha but my father urged me to handle the buyers myself. That's why there's been a slight change on the mission request. Don't worry though, I'm willing to pay any charges that incur during this urgent changes!" Shou explained, giving a hesitant and apologetic smile.
Sakura smiled back and accepted the hand he had offered, "I'm Haruno Sakura. I'll be your guide towards Konoha. My pleasure to be working with you,"
Shou stared at her for a while, mesmerized. When Sakura slightly tilted her head in question, he had probably realized he was staring too much to her and apologized.
"Shall we go?"
"Uh, y-yes! Yes," he answered, curtly bowed as if apologizing because he was staring at her again. Sakura started to head to her inn to be able to get her stuff and start the long journey towards Konoha. Shou waited for her at the front of the inn. She came back after ten minutes or so and they started to walk out of Port City and headed to the train station. They will take the forest route this time as an additional request by Shou to check if he can find any plants and herbs along the way. Sakura said it's not problem, actually she wanted the return to Konoha to be delayed as much as possible.
She dreaded her return because of Sasuke.
Ugh. I must think of ways to avoid that jerk. I don't know how to face him after that show-off in the club. Well, there's the hospital and I'll probably be so busy when I come back.
"Wow, I never thought that Konoha shinobis are pretty,"
The pinkette was snapped out from her thought when she heard her company speak to her. Sakura gave him a smile, "Thank you. Where you from if you don't mind?"
"I'm from the Land of Mountains,"
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. The Land of the Mountains was one of the stages for the 4th Great Shinobi War along with the Land of Fields. Those countries lie between Land of Fire and Land of Lightning. It was one of those countries that were heavily devastated by the most recent war and many of its geographical locations had been changed drastically. However, with the help of the neighboring countries and the Alliance, step by step, the people were able to return to their home. Shou had probably realized what Sakura had been thinking so he smiled.
"That last war had ruined many homes, particularly in that area, but we're okay now thanks to the help of the Alliance," he said, "Everyone is back on business now,"
Sakura nodded, sadness crossed her face but there's no used mopping over the past. What done was done and right now, everyone was trying their best to live.
Night came and they decided to camp out in a clearing in the forest. She scouted the perimeter first, checking for any wild animals and of course, any nuke nins that may try to rob or ambush them. She told Shou they will camp out for the night and asked him to prepare their camp while she checked the area. When she returned, she had dry woods with her that she had gathered while scouting the area. She found Shou already setting up a fire and a makeshift bed. Sakura laid the woods near the fire.
"You know what? I always wanted to camp outside. Like this, so it makes me really happy and excited," Shou said as he handed her a stick with a cooked skewered fish on it.
"Where'd you get this?" Sakura asked.
"Oh, I bought the fish in the Port City. It's a preserved one so all we have to do is to heat it up with the fire and its set," he said as he started to eat.
Sakura giggled. "Thank you,"
After they ate, Sakura stood, ready to settle in the tree and stand guard as a look out. "Where are you going?" Shou asked.
"Im gonna stay up and guard, you should go to sleep," she smiled and then jumped to a tree. Shou was not able to see her in the darkness of the forest. He had that sad expression. He really wants to talk with her more.
The next morning, they started off early. As usual, Shou had told the mednin a lot of stories about himself, his family, their business. Shou was the only son of a businessman from the Land of Mountains. Their family was a line of merchants but Shou had decided that he could still help people in his own ways by providing cheap but effective medicines. After the war, his father had decided to extend their business to other countries and began introducing their product. Shou took the initiative to start their business expansion towards Konoha and the Hokage had accepted the offer and proposal. Tsunade had long since known their family.
Sakura had really enjoyed Shou's company. He was fun to be with and this mission was not as boring she had thought it could be. In fact, by the time that they had reached the gates of Konoha, both had know a great deal with each other and they had become friends.
"Wow, Konoha is such a beautiful village!" Shou exclaimed when they have already reached the gates and Konoha was in total view. He scanned his eyes towards the village in the center. "You can view everything from up here!*"
"Welcome to Konoha Shou-san!" Sakura said.
"Thank you for accompanying me Sakura-san," he said, "Shall we go and greet the Hokage?"
"Yeah, after that I have to leave immediately and check my daughter," she said.
"Oh, I wanted to meet your daughter soon," he said.
"Sure,"
Both of them went to the Hokage Tower and greeted Tsunade.
"How are you Shou-san, I hope you enjoy your journey here in Konoha," Tsunade said giving him a smile. As usual she's behind her desk.
"My pleasure to meet you Hokage-sama. Sakura here is a great escort and I have so much fun on my travel here," he said. "I do apologize for the slight changes but I am willing to pay the charges for this,"
"Hokage-sama, I have to go now," Sakura said ready to leave. Shou had stopped her however.
"Ah, Sakura-san. Wait. Anou…" he scratches his head.
"Yes?"
"Are you free this afternoon? C-Can I invite you for a snack or something? Y-Y'know as my way of saying thank you and.. uhm…"
Sakura paused for a bit and looked at the guy. Then she smiled. Why not?
"Okay, I'm free this afternoon. I think I'll resume my post in the hospital tomorrow so the only time I'm free is today,"
Shou's eyes widened and sparkled. "Okay, see you later" he said. Sakura exited the door but had missed Tsunade's meaning ful smile.
Shou had his eyes for her apprentice. She thought.
SxS
Several days had passed Sakura had resumed her post as the resident doctor of Konoha Hospital. She had been so busy in the first few days but had not forgotten her agenda; avoid Sasuke at all cost! Good thing she had not seen the dark haired Uchiha since she had returned from her recent mission. Or was it she's just too good at avoiding him?
There were many instances that she's the first one who sees the brooding man in many situations. Before he could even saw her, she was already gone. There was one time that Naruto had invited her for a sparring session, but she declined. She knew he would be there. When she knew that he would be in the hospital for routine checkups, she would make sure that she stayed on her room. When she saw him walking slowly in the middle of the road, she would instantly turned somewhere or would go and enter a store even though she didn't have anything to buy. She was relieved that the Uchiha did not make any effort to approach or confront her though. At least, on her perspective, what had happened on that club was a thing he had already forgotten.
Are you sure?
Sakura wanted to roll her eyes as her Innerself said that to her. She was busy scribbling notes on her patient's chart.
You know what? I don't want to talk to you.
You ARE talking to me now, duh.
She sighed then finishes the notes on the chart.
Shou's inviting you out more frequently, isn't he?"
Wait where did that come from?
I AM YOU, stupid.
So? You put a meaning to that? He's just friendly.
He likes you...us.
He doesn't like us. Don't put meanings on everything he does. He is just friendly, period.
Well, he is inviting you to a dinner tonight…again.
Well, I had to decline. I had to check Ryuna.
Okay, you said so. I wanna see Sasuke's face when he learns you're dating other guys. Then her Innerself giggles.
"Wha-?" Then she paused. She felt stupid talking to herself. I am not dating him! And what does it have to do with Sasuke? That guy didn't LIKE me. He said so. WE ARE NOT EVEN FRIENDS, duh.
Oh that hit the spot again and it still hurt whenever she thought about those words. She seemed useless and everything that had happened when they're still Team 7 then didn't have a meaning at all when it comes to her. Coz he said, they're not even friends. He does not consider her a friend AT ALL.
She sighed again. It's true that Shou had been inviting her frequently, mostly dinner or other things. She felt comfortable with Shou because he was such a nice man, and he really takes good care of her, made her feel important, attended to her and paid her attention. He had already met Ryuna and the little girl seemed fond of him as well. She would often brush the idea that the businessman was courting her but there's no other obvious reasons why he was doing things, there's no other meaning behind his behavior….
….Shou likes her.
She had noticed it too, Shou's kindness and attitude towards her. Since his arrival in Konoha, he did not missed visiting her on the hospital, and often provided alibis like he had just delivered something, or was checking something and had decided to see her along the way, or he was researching for most common meds the people needs, or was on an errand. She would smile about it though because it's obvious that's he's just making excuses. Of course, they had already gone out, often take up for his invitations for snacks or dinner.
This did not missed on Ino's radar though and when the blond Yamanaka cornered her one afternoon, she had no choice but to tell her everything…what she thought and what might have been just her speculations. Before that ambushed ended though, she warned Ino not to butt in or do anything because she wasn't sure herself either. Ino just gave her a smirked and a teasing look.
She sighed and looked at the clock. It's already past ten in the evening so she decided to call it a day. Tomorrow is going to be her rest day and she will spend it with her daughter. They were planning to climb the Hokage Mountain and will have a picnic over there, overlooking the whole Konoha. There's also that issue regarding Ryuna's eyes. So far, she had frequently checked her little girl's eyes and the dreaded color of red did not appear though. The part responsible for that special chakra had been dormant. It could have been a coincidence but it's better to be ready for it. She also makes sure to take notes on her observations as well.
It was a good thing that she was not bothered by anything that has to do with the Uchiha though. That or he had already noticed that she's practically avoiding him at all cost.
SxS
"TEME!"
It was a beautiful Sunday morning and here comes Naruto again, Sasuke thought. He could her him running towards his room so he pushed his head under the pillow to shut any sounds but he knew it was futile. Naruto's yell could even wake the dead in the Konoha cemetery.
"Teme, you asshole! Wake up!" Naruto yelled, barging on the Uchiha's room. He found him lying on his chest, head was buried on the pillows. Black sheets covered his waist down his feet. He's practically naked the Jinjuuriki observed. Naruto knew, Sasuke sleep in the buff.
When he did not receive any reaction from the man, he grabbed the pillow covering his head. "Wake up!"
"It's Sunday, I don't want to train. I'll do it later. I stayed up all night reading my clan's scroll. Satisfied? Go. Home." Sasuke mumbled then grabbed the pillow from the blond and covered it again on his face.
"Okay, I'll go home but not after I tell you that Baa-chan wants you in her office to talk about the re-construction of the Uchiha District because Tazuna had just arrived! Okay bye!"
Sasuke opened his eyes, sat up and grabbed Naruto, "Tazuna arrived?"
"Yes Yes Yo, dattebayo! So Baa-chan, wants you in the office pronto!"
Sasuke felt excited. At last, the Uchiha compound will be rebuilt. So he got up, took a quick shower and went out of his apartment. Naruto was waiting for him outside.
"Took you so long!" Naruto frowned as they started walking towards the tower.
"Shut up," Sasuke mumbled.
"Man, you owe me three bowls of ramen for this! I hadn't taken any breakfast because I had to get you, y'know!"
"It's not my fault dobe,"
"You still owe me three bowls of ramen! And we're going to Ichiraku for that!"
"Whatever," Sasuke said, straight-faced. Naruto did shut up and continued walking when the blond noticed a group of ladies looking at them, following with hungry eyes…particularly at the Uchiha.
"I swear teme, one of these days there will be a marriage proposal that will suddenly pop-up in your door step. Women will be the one to propose at you! Look at them, they're ready to eat you alive," Naruto mumbled looking and squinting at the women. "I wouldn't be surprise when the elders will start to nag you to start the 'resurrection' of your clan. I heard them talking about it y'know, discussing why you seemed not so interested on dating women when you could have started producing little devils. I even heard one of them say that you're a gay!" Though I want to butt in and slap them in the face. If only they knew you had Ryuna. They will die with the shock. Naruto added on his thought. Sasuke stopped his strides and looked at the scowling blond Jinjuuriki with ludicrous expression as if he wanted to say something but choose to shake his head instead and started walking again.
"They're all stupid. I don't care what they thought. They can think all they want," Sasuke said.
Naruto did not answer but keep his pace with the dark haired Uchiha. He was looking at him then decided to asked him, carefully trying assessing what would be his reaction, "Ne teme, why aren't dating anyone by the way?"
Sasuke stopped again, looked at the blond Jinjuuriki who had put his hands behind his head.
"What?" Naruto asked trying to look as innocent as possible againts the Uchiha's glare, "I mean, every woman were throwing themselves at you, yet you don't have any interest on them. And don't give the crap like avenging your clan or something because we are waaaay past that stage long time ago. You have done avenging your clan and everything, yet as I remember when we're twelve, one of your goals was to resurrect your clan. Why aren't you starting yet?"
"I'm not in a hurry," Sasuke just said then started to walk again.
"And when are you going to start? When you're sixty? Kami, hope you can still push that pelvis of yours by that time,"
Sasuke glared at him once again. Their conversation was getting ridiculous by the minute. Naruto laughed then ran all the way ahead of him. Before he realized it, they were already in the gates of the Hokage Tower.
Sasuke shook his head. What Naruto had said actually gave him something to think about. Of course, one of his greatest plans in life was to resurrect the name of his clan. It was his goal right now. Yet, why hasn't he started doing anything? What was he waiting for? It was also true that women now were almost throwing themselves on him. He had noticed in the past years that women were taking interest on him, and the fangirls were back. He ignored them all, he's not interested since God knows when, his only focus was to restore his name and honor, but when the blond Jinjuuriki had mentioned it a while ago, he had finally noticed everything. What had bothered him now was that the elders were discussing about him and the restoration of his clan. Were they planning something? Kami he hopes they're not plotting something, or his really gonna kill them without batting an eye.
His thought went to Sakura. Oh, damn. No. No. The pink haired kunoichi was another thing he seriously needs to consider. He had not seen her since that display in the club.
He sighed. No use in thinking about it now. He needs to start the rebuilding of the Uchiha District. He has many plans in mind for that.
He had entered the Hokage Room and found that Tazuna was standing in front of the Hokage's table and Naruto was already there. When he turned to his left, he saw a young man smiling at him and had recognized the young Inari from then. What surprised him was to see Team Hebi present in the room. His brows knitted. Karin waved at him, Suigetsu gave his toothy grin and Juugo bowed slightly. What the hell are they doing here? He glared at three and they don't seem to mind that the Uchiha glower at them.
"Ah, the Uchiha is here," Tazuna greeted, "Good to see you young man, how many years has it been?" Tazuna said while looking at him, "you're still as fine-looking since I last saw you,"
Sasuke bowed slightly to Tazuna. The old man laughed heartily. The Uchiha thought he still looked the same from the last time he saw them when they were twelve.
"I still see you're as reticent as ever eh?" Tazuna said, "Okay, so let's not beat around the bush, I wanted to discuss to you the designs you have in mind about that area. I know it was where you grew up, where the hurtful past and your future will collide,"
Sasuke nodded and then looked at the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, if I may…there were blueprints and other records of the Uchiha District that were kept in the Archives Library here in Konoha. I believe they still exist and I'd like to get them,"
"I know, that's why I have already prepared the necessary things you need," Tsunade smirked.
"Well, that's good to hear," Tazuna said, "Now, if you'll excuse us, me and this man has many things to discuss but I need to see the exact location first. And hime? I may need all the hands I could get. I have my men coming in the next few days to help in the construction but any assistance will be a big help. Sasuke-san, let's go," Tazuna said as he lead the way out of the office followed by Inari who had been chatting with Naruto in the corner. Sasuke looked at the Hokage and bowed a bit.
Tsunade nodded, "Karin, I want you to get the blueprints and documents in the Konoha Archives Library*. Kotetsu was already there. I had asked him to get it for me,"
"H-Hai, Hokage-sama!" Karin said.
"Well, I'm free. So Im gonna help in the construction," Suigetsu said.
"And me as well," Juugo said.
SxS
Karin adjusted her glasses as she made her way towards the Archives. Her mind was occupied with a lot of things but her happiness was completed when she saw Sasuke. For her, it was always Sasuke. She quite excited for the rebuilding of the new Uchiha District and was happy for him. She saw the excitement on his eyes even though he had masked it with aloofness and cold attitude. She could feel it. If Sasuke was happy, she's happy as well. His happiness was her happiness.
She paused and frowned. Her glasses caught up a petal. A Sakura petal. She remembered something. Pinky!
Oh yeah, Pinky and that annoying display she made on that night in the club! She was utterly fuming. How dare she did that to her Sasuke! Without realizing it, she was stomping her feet in the middle of the road (one kid was pointing his finger on her and saying 'mom, what is that lady doing? The mother quickly hushed her kid). She was fuming…and jealous.
She straightened her back once again and adjusted the rim of her glasses. Pinky will not get away with it!
Karin continued her journey towards the Archive Library located in the same mountain that has the Hokage Monuments. Not everyone can have access to the Archive Library unlike the Konoha Library where it was opened for public. The Archive Library stored information on ninja, all past and current as well as points of interest like the Akatsuki. Not only that, all sensitive information are stored there.
The red head Uzumaki met up with Kotetsu Hagane at the entrance of the Archives.
"Yo," he greeted but was reciprocated with a scowl from the the girl. So instead, he scratches his head, "Err..let's go? I still need to retrieve some documents in the upper section,"
"Tch," Karin answered.
Kotetsu lead the way into the vast library. Upon entering, there was a large table where books and scrolls were placed.
"Wait right here, I'm just to get the documents," he said then left.
Karin looked at the whole area scanning her eyes on her surroundings. Nothing but books and scrolls, she thought. She's not fond of books. She went towards one huge shelf cabinet that house great numbers of books and scrolls, run her fingers on the file of books and read "Ancient Undergorunds of Konoha Vol.1".
"This place was none better than a typical library," she scowled. She continued walking, went behind the shelf and saw that there's a room in the far end that reads "Konoha Statistic Record". She checked that the door was opened. She read that there was a warning on the door that says, Confidential. Authorized Person Only. Keep Out!
Stupid, why left the door opened when everything here was confidential in the first place? Konoha had laid-back security as usual, she observed.
Curiosity got out of her, and sensing that Kotetsu's chakra was still in the upper level and there's no one around. She slowly went towards the room.
The room was dimly lit, and cabinets upon cabinets of scrolls and books were also in there.
"What is this room?" She mumbled. One shelf had a name plate on top of it indicating "Sarutobi Clan", "Wow, this must have been the birth registration records of all prominent and noble clans from Konoha! That would mean, the Uchiha Clan registration record is here as well!" Karin mumbled excitedly. So she round up one shelf after shelf until she saw the shelf that says "Uchiha Clan"
Karin's eyes sparkled upon looking at all the scrolls, all wrap in intricate gold and red. She opened up one old scroll and it read Uchiha Itachi. She stare at the contents of the scroll and was amazed by what it contains. "Wow, I never thought that the older Uchiha was only 6 pounds when he was born," Karin murmur. It seemed she entered something magical to the world of the Uchiha just by knowing these simple details. Karin giggled. With this, it seemed she was getting closer and closer to Sasuke.
Her eyes darted to a very small scroll lying neatly on top of the piles. It seemed new, she observed. The scroll's cover was a simple dark green tied by a gold string. Unlike the rest of the scrolls, which had already shown worn out caused by time, this one was still fresh compared to the others. Why would there be a new scroll in the Uchiha's archives section?
So Karin picked it up, untied the gold string, and opened the page. She was shocked beyond words, and none could describe on what she should feel right now. Eyes so wide, she suddenly felt numb, as if she was hit a bomb. She had just discovered something…something she could not believe.
Name: Uchiha, Ryuna
Date of Birth: December 9
Mother : Haruno, Sakura
Father: Uchiha Sasuke
Karin dropped the scroll.
Notes:
You can view everything from up here* - remember the Shinra Tensei attack from Pain that flattened the whole Konoha? Apparently, if you watch the filler episodes 'Konoha's History arcs' – the new Konoha is in the center of the raised crater, but in much lower level from the gates (watch the episode where Kakashi was supposed to become the new Hokage and Guy had challenged him with different silly challenges.)