A/N: Wow, last chapter was one of the best-received so far. I can't thank you enough for the feedback! Now, get ready for another plot-heavy chapter… (I particularly enjoyed writing this one).
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the great Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 28: Vengeful Heart
"You're a good man."
"I leave her in your care, Sasuke-kun."
Developing a soft spot for that green spandex-wearing weirdo was the last thing Sasuke planned to do when he demanded they pair up to pursue an Earth scroll. His sole motivation in that moment had been to keep that creep far away from Sakura before he made another unsettlingly flirtatious comment, or worse, before Sakura had a chance to consider reciprocating.
But instead, Rock Lee proved himself to be not only a useful ally, but also a noble person overall. As soon as Lee noticed the explosive attached to the Earth scroll Sasuke was clutching, his impulse had been to protect Sasuke from harm rather than get the hell out of there, like any other sensible human being might do. Lee himself had wrenched the scroll out of Sasuke's grip, pulled off the explosive, and hurled it ahead through the trees before wrapping an arm around Sasuke's torso and dragging him away with unforeseen power and speed.
The bomb detonated not long afterwards, throwing the two of them to the ground. "Are you all right?" Lee had cried out through the smoke, hoisting Sasuke up to his feet once the atmosphere calmed again.
"Fine," Sasuke had answered slowly, staring in bewilderment at his competitor, his enemy, and vaguely wondering how people like him even existed in a world like this, where the strong preyed on the weak and putting faith in people you didn't know might very well be the last thing you ever did.
But despite Lee's recklessly trusting way of being, Sasuke certainly hadn't expected he'd wind up at the guy's funeral less than twenty-four hours later.
Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he'd been to a funeral for someone he knew on a personal level. That wasn't to say he hadn't been to many funerals, because simply living in a ninja village entailed attending at least a dozen of them a year, but usually they were for unfamiliar Jōnin or ANBU Black Ops who'd lost their lives while out on perilous missions.
Of course, there was supposedly a grandiose ceremony for his clan after the infamous mass homicide that stripped away everything he knew and loved. But, honesty, Sasuke couldn't remember it at all. One of his therapists said this defense mechanism was called repression or something, where the mind instinctively blocks out memories that might trigger debilitating trauma. And he was fine with that.
Rows upon rows of ninjas and civilians dressed in black from head-to-toe were congregated in an empty training ground, facing a closed casket filled with whatever remained of Lee's crushed body.
Following the preliminaries (once Naruto finished his own match against some Leaf guy Sasuke didn't recognize), the proctors postponed the Third Exam announcement until after Lee's death was properly commemorated. Although the examiners warned that death was a potential consequence of participating in the Chūnin Exams, Sasuke suspected that no one really expected anyone to die outside of the Forest of Death. During the one-on-one matches, he figured, an exam proctor or Jōnin would normally step in before any fight was taken too far.
But that just wasn't the case for Lee. Gaara killed him so quickly that there was no time for anyone to cut in.
Sasuke had known from the get-go that Lee was starting out disadvantaged, based on what he'd disclosed to Sasuke while they were in the forest. Apparently, before meeting with Team Seven, they'd faced off against a "horde of zombies" as Lee had put it (which Sasuke deduced were probably just ninjas who contracted that weird disease) followed by a fight with Gaara's team itself. Maybe Gaara went through with the kill out of vengeance? Or maybe he was simply one of those people who got a thrill out of destroying the lives of people around him?
Sasuke balled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth, his thoughts instinctively drifting to his brother. The only way to come out on top in a world like this was to get stronger than your predators – or to even become one yourself. The mark on his neck prickled tantalizingly and he started to see red.
Calm down, idiot. Sasuke let out a slow breath through his nose he hadn't realized he'd been holding, relieving some of the tension in his chest. He was at a funeral. Now it was time to pay respects and not to get carried away with thoughts of revenge. He needed something to ground him, to keep his thoughts from running astray.
Where was Sakura anyways?
Sasuke hadn't seen his female teammate once since Anko dragged her away from the tower. Rumour had it there was an outbreak at the hospital that only she could help with and that her friend, Ino, contracted it. Maybe it was some fluke accident. But the hypervigilant part of him said otherwise – that this probably had something to do with the disease they encountered in the forest.
Either way, and although he felt a tinge of pride for her advanced medical expertise, Sasuke was pretty pissed off. Because Sakura was way too book smart to be plucked from her ninja training at such a young age. And if the two of them were going to become ANBU one day, it only made sense that she devoted her time to advancing her rank rather than streamlining into the workforce.
But Sasuke had a feeling Sakura wasn't thinking about any of that right now.
It was a relatively beautiful day – the sun shining, grass gleaning and a gentle breeze tugging at loose fabric and strands of hair. Sasuke stood among the other rookies with Naruto on his left, his bright eyes and blonde spikes popping out against the mass of dark clothing. Kakashi was still nowhere to be seen and, a little surprisingly, Gaara himself was in attendance, far off to the side and surrounded by his teammates, who were swarming him protectively like bodyguards. No one was outwardly chastising the Sand ninjas, but there were several extra feet of space surrounding them on all sides.
Sasuke didn't find Sakura until the end of the ceremony, when individuals were welcomed to stand before the coffin and pay their private respects. He spotted her up near the front wearing a plain black dress, her pale, pink hair tied up in a ponytail. She stood among a crowd of adults he recognized as medical personnel, who had all, undoubtedly, ventured here straight from the hospital.
She turned to leave the ceremony without backwards glance as soon as her turn was up, her pink hair bobbing out of sight through the crowd. He caught a brief glimpse of her profile while she maneuvered away and noticed that her eyes were red and swollen, her skin paler than usual, and her body slouched with physical exhaustion. And he felt an adamant urge to do something.
But common sense held him in place, waiting in line for his own turn to pay Lee his final respects, and let Sakura grieve in peace. He would find a way to lift her mood later. Maybe… offer to train together? Get her flowers?
No, flowers were a horrible idea. Might remind her of that Yamanaka girl – who could be dead too, for all he knew – and who worked in a flower shop.
Why the hell are you even thinking about getting her flowers anyway? a nagging voice chimed in, causing his skin to prickle and his heart to skip a beat or two. Sasuke had never bought flowers for anyone in his life (except for his mother on her birthday – but really, it was Itachi who bought her those on both of their behalves).
And who was he to think he could make her any happier? Heck, Sasuke didn't even know where to start to make himself happy.
So what was getting into him? Maybe it was because he understood the grief that accompanied losing someone important. Or because he understood her overall (at least, he hoped he did). Or maybe, just maybe, it was because he was a horrible actor.
You see, Sasuke was coming to realize that if he had his way, he'd put an end to this fake relationship bullshit. It was confusing as hell. Because when Sakura did affectionate things, like hug him or blush around him or kiss his cheek (which he'd been thinking about far more than he'd ever admit), he couldn't tell if it was real or just some annoying act.
But did he want an actual relationship with her then? He wasn't really sure. All he knew was that he felt secure whenever she was near, he craved her touch and he couldn't stand the thought of her in pain or being with anyone else. Her ex-boyfriend be damned. But it wasn't like he was about to tell her to give up on her revenge, because that was just outright insensitive.
So if she wanted to avenge the lunatic she was supposedly in love with, then so be it. But it wasn't going to stop Sasuke from pursuing something less confusing.
"I leave her in your care, Sasuke-kun."
Rock Lee didn't have to tell him twice.
Sakura thundered through her front door, slamming it open so hard that the house's baseboards shook.
"Good heavens!" a voice squeaked from the kitchen. Mebuki's head popped around the corner, her eyes wide with confusion and her short, brown hair flopping into her face.
"If you destroy the house, the repairs are coming out of your pocket, kiddo," Kizashi's lecture rang from the sitting room.
Sakura stood stalk still in the hallway, her chest rising and falling with each heavy, bated breath. She was numb with grief and shock over the day's events, but still sharp enough to remember an extremely critical task she needed to fulfill.
"How were… How are the exams going?" Mebuki probed cautiously, probably taking notice of Sakura's tear-stained cheeks and wild eyes. "What –"
But Sakura didn't want to talk right now. She probably couldn't even if she wanted to. Her mind was an incoherent whir of stress and panic. And she was determined to prevent her life from becoming any more of a disaster than it already was.
Ino's disease symptoms were dormant until her team reached the tower, according to the medical personnel who encountered her first, and from there she was whisked away to the hospital. At that point, Team Ten had already found themselves a pair of Earth and Heaven scrolls, and so Shikamaru and Chōji advanced to the next round while Ino was hurried off for treatment, joining the ten other infected exam participants who hadn't died yet.
Not that the hospital was any safer for them. Until Sakura arrived, that is.
Sakura showed some of the more advanced doctors and surgeons how to pinpoint and kill the parasites manually, which they caught onto quite rapidly. Meanwhile, she instructed the other hospital staff to administer the pain medication and anti-inflammatories. Once they had a smooth system in place, the team of medical ninjas attacked the disease simultaneously. Three of the eleven patients, whose bodies were already deteriorating when Sakura arrived, didn't make it. But the other eight reacted favourably to Sakura's remedy and were saved. Ino was one of the lucky ones.
Since the illness was so foreign and unheard of, despite there being an apparent cure for it, its long term outcomes were generally unpredictable. It was hard to say what life would be like for the survivors, or whether the disease would ever resurface in them. But at least they were alive.
That being said, Sakura was shaken to the core at the sight of her best friend covered in dark, unoxygenated splotches, her skin beneath – which was normally so vibrant – ghostly white, and her chakra levels dwindling at dangerous lows. Even after she was saved, Sakura felt responsible for Ino's close encounter with dying, for marring her beautiful face, and potentially stunting her future ninja career. So Sakura was a mess, to say the least. And that was even before she found out about Lee.
Sakura stormed ahead down the hallway and took the stairs ascending to the upper floor three at a time, leaving her parents gaping at her from the entryway. She raced down the upstairs hall, only then noticing that she hadn't removed her boots yet, and when she neared her room, prepared to reverse the jutsu that sealed her door shut.
But the door was open.
She halted in her tracks, heart thudding and head pulsing, her fears confirmed. Someone managed to get into her bedroom while she was in the forest after all.
Sakura pushed through the door, half-expecting to find the room in tatters on the other side, but instead it was spotless – even cleaner than it was than when she left, in fact. The floorboards were polished, her collection of books stacked neatly on her desk, the air smelled fresh and crisp, and the window was open a crack to let in a cool breeze.
Upon closer inspection, however, Sakura noticed kunai embedded in the walls.
So the traps Sasuke had laid out were set off at one point. But by who? And why was her room so damn clean?
She made a beeline for her dresser, heels clicking on the hardwood floor as she went, and wrenched open her underwear drawer.
It was empty.
Her hands fell to her sides, gripping the material of her black dress, her eyes wide and darting around anxiously. The time travel scroll was gone.
"Ahem."
Sakura jumped and spun around to face the presence in her doorway. It was Mebuki, carrying a large laundry hamper, her lips pursed with worry. "Are you okay, Sakura?" she asked slowly.
But Sakura couldn't find her voice so she just stared back.
Mebuki took a shaky step forward into the bedroom. "Having boy trouble?" she tried.
"I just…," Sakura choked out, her voice breaking. "I just need to be alone."
Mebuki nodded knowingly. "Sure thing, sweetie. Here, I'll just leave the clean laundry by your bed," she said, striding in and setting the basket down. "I cleaned up a little while you were away, as I'm sure you can tell." She made a face in reference to the relatively disastrous state the room was normally in.
"You… cleaned up?" Sakura asked, her mouth hanging open, eyes fixating on the clean laundry.
Mebuki rolled her own eyes in response. "Yes, Sakura. I'm sure glad you didn't lock your door for once because it was a pigsty in here." She motioned to leave. "Now get some rest. Dinner will be ready in an hour." And then she took off, gently shutting the door behind her. And Sakura just stared and stared in a heavy trance.
She knew for a fact that she'd locked the bedroom door before the Chūnin Exams. And there was no way her mother managed to break in herself, through the jutsu-bound door and intricate network of traps set out by the Uchiha heir himself. This just didn't add up.
Curiosity piqued, Sakura approached the laundry hamper, her hands trembling with exhaustion and nervousness. She tipped it over onto the floor and began to root through the pile. She glimpsed a flash of red and snatched at it.
It was the underwear. The scroll in its disguised form. But a little shrunken and crinkled with several tiny lace strands unraveling along the seam.
Sakura's stomach dropped. Was this why the time travel scroll was damaged? Because her mother put it through the laundry?
"My, how nice it must be. To live with your parents that is."
She froze in place, the underwear slipping from her fingers and back into the jumble of clean clothes. Someone was standing behind her, near the door her mother had just exited through. And Sakura realized who it was before she turned around.
The chakra presence was vile, bone-chilling and dreadfully familiar. Because she'd encountered it three times so far in this life – once in the Forest of Death, once in the Land of Waves, and once in the abandoned alley connecting Konoha to the training grounds.
"They cleaned your room from top to bottom while you were gone. How thoughtful of them," the voice drawled on, the masculine tone silky and taunting.
"Kabuto," Sakura hissed, casting the intruder a murderous glare over her shoulder. Of course it had been Kabuto all along. It made perfect sense for one of Orochimaru's prized followers to stalk her on his behalf. And obviously she'd sensed subtle similarities between the presence and Tsunade the first time she encountered it – they were both medical elitists. It was his medical chakra that reminded her of Tsunade before – albeit a tainted and pale imitation of it, really.
"Ah, you know of me?" he asked with mild interest, pushing his round glasses up the bridge of his nose. Sakura's face contorted with disgust at the sight of him – silver hair, Leaf ninja disguise and all.
"You've been in here before, haven't you?" she growled in return. Was he the one to originally break in her room and set off the traps?
He smirked. "Not in body. I was busy taking the exams with you, of course," he answered cryptically. "But yes, I did arrange for this room to be searched. Having such power at your age is most… intriguing. And with all the traps in here, it almost seemed like you were hiding something."
Sakura clenched her jaw, suddenly hyper-aware of the red underwear at her feet. Did he know about the time travel scroll? Or was he just messing with her head? Because if he did know of the scroll, why hadn't he or any of Orochimaru's other drones taken it? Or destroyed it?
"What are you doing here?" she questioned flatly, wishing she could put more conviction and ferocity into her tone. But she was too physically and emotionally drained.
Kabuto laughed and it was a velvety, stomach-churning sound. "I'm just here to congratulate you on saving our unfortunate competitors from that devastating epidemic. It's not an easy one to cure. I would know because I created it."
Sakura was practically shaking with rage. It was taking every fibre of her being to stop herself from throttling the grey-haired, bespectacled snake. He almost killed Ino. And so many other innocent participants. But any attempt to fight would be in vain. She was in no state for physical combat. And she had a hunch he wasn't intending to fight her here anyways.
"And so that means… the body in the alley…," she thought aloud, eyes clouding over with realization.
Kabuto nodded. "The illness was in its early stages of development at the time, yes," he finished. "A failed attempt. But it has progressed marvelously, as I'm sure you've noticed. Now, I believe, after the initial infliction, victims have only an hour or two before it spreads through their entire bodies."
She gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. What a sick, twisted bastard. He and Orochimaru really were testing her, weren't they? She knew Orochimaru was aware of and fascinated by her abnormal abilities and Kabuto was clearly of the same mind. Was this all just a game to them? To kill mercilessly for the mere sake of pushing her limits?
In the blink of an eye, Kabuto flashed-stepped and towered over her. Sakura's hands itched for the weapon pouch fastened to her leg beneath the skirt of her black dress, but he caught her wrist before her fingers reached it. "Vengeful hearts are usually the most easily manipulated, you know," he whispered smoothly, his dark eyes locking on hers. Sakura could hear her heartbeat thudding in her ears. "But in some rare, most intriguing cases, they can be… unpredictable."
Leaves began to swirl at their feet, encircling Kabuto in a small funnel of wind.
"What will you do next?"
And with that, he vanished.
Sakura was frozen to the spot for a long moment, her limbs trembling uncontrollably, before she finally dropped to her knees beside the heap of discarded laundry. Minute after minute ticked by and she just sat there, unblinking, while Kabuto's parting words reverberated through her skull.
What would she do next?
This life was a hopeless mess. She'd taken on this mission with the goal of building a better world. But instead she'd created just the opposite.
Now that she was pulled from the Chūnin Exams, any chance of easily achieving a high reputation in the village was gone out the window. Ino was currently in the hospital, sedated, barely alive, and probably permanently damaged, in some way or another. Lee was dead. Sasuke was cursed. Orochimaru was watching her, sending Kabuto to stalk on his behalf. And the scroll was broken.
A breathless, hallow sob escaped her lips. Was there anything she could do now?
Dinner was a silent affair. And luckily Mebuki and Kizashi seemed to realize that leaving Sakura to the privacy of her thoughts was the safest course of action.
She stared blankly at her plate through dry, sore eyes, contemplating whether she instruct her parents to go into hiding because they weren't safe here anymore. But if Orochimaru really wanted to kill them, did it even matter where they were? What they needed were bodyguards – ANBU at least – even though, as far as Orochimaru was concerned, they might need an army of them.
There was a firm knock at the door.
"Who in the devil's name would stop by at dinner time?" Mebuki snapped, rising from her chair and slamming down her chopsticks, any urge to maintain the calm atmosphere long gone. Kizashi merely grunted, making no motion to follow his wife to the door.
Sakura got up and crept after Mebuki down the hallway, her gloved hand hovering over her weapon holster. If Kabuto, or any other sick freak was back to terrorize her, they'd wish they'd never been born if they got anywhere near her mother.
Mebuki turned the handle and threw open the door. Sakura jumped with surprise at the sight on the other side of the threshold. Anko and Ibiki were standing there, towering over the doorframe.
"Haruno," Anko barked, her piercing grey eyes meeting Sakura's. "Let's get moving."
Her jaw dropped. "What? Why?" she spluttered.
"Hokage's orders," Ibiki piped up in his deep, rumbling tone. Mebuki was glancing between them all with wide eyes.
Not this again. Sakura certainly had no interest in being dragged to the Hokage Tower for some godforsaken reason right now. "Where exactly?" she asked, lips curling.
"To the preliminary exam arena. For the Third Exam announcement," Anko quipped in response.
"What does it matter if I'm there?" Sakura asked raising her eyebrows with confusion. "I skipped the preliminaries so I'm disqualified." The exam proctors exchanged an uncomfortable look. "… Right?" She prompted, hopeful that they might disagree with her.
Ibiki cleared his throat. "An uneven number of participants will advance to the Third Exam, so we have room for one more. This exam takes the form of one-on-one matches, you see."
Sakura's heart leapt.
Anko rolled her eyes. "And if I'm to be totally honest with you, that's not even what this is about. You're a hotshot, kid. The Hokage thinks you'll be a pretty big draw for the international delegates."
"The Chūnin Exams are not only a competition but a tourist attraction," Ibiki added, all while Sakura fought to keep a straight face. "And giving you another shot is the least the village could do to repay you for that feat at the hospital."
The dark haired woman clicked her tongue. "Basically what he's saying is, you're a money grab. And a good kid. Now hurry up."
Sakura couldn't believe it. She was being bypassed to the Third Exam.
Her arrival at the arena was accompanied by murmurs and curious looks from the other competitors, sensei, examiners and spectators. Quite a crowd had gathered around, many still wearing their black outfits from the funeral earlier that day, to listen in on the announcement of the final match-ups. Anko and Ibiki joined the Hokage up at the front of the crowd, who appeared to be winding up for his little introductory speech.
The competitors were assembled near the front – eleven of them in total. Sakura's body moved automatically but her mind was numb with overexertion at this point, brimming with mixed emotions, but somehow she still managed to keep going. Even despite the heavy burden caused by the red underwear in her weapon pouch.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto just about screamed from his spot up at the front, causing everyone who hadn't noticed her yet to spin in her direction. "You're still in the exams?!"
Great. Sakura bowed her head, keeping her eyes trained on the hem of her black dress and the toes of her boots as she moved forward. But she was halted in her tracks when someone blocked her path.
Sasuke was suddenly standing right in front of her, clad in his black funeral attire, and surveying her through a penetrating stare. His skin looked even fairer than it usually did, contrasting with his dark clothing, hair and eyes, and there was something about the way his face was frozen in place, fixated on and reading her, that made Sakura feel extremely nervous. She pulled her eyes away for fear of letting him see too much. Now, in front of at least fifty pairs of watchful eyes, was not the time to probe at fresh wounds. And Sasuke had a way of doing that by simply looking at her sometimes.
But instead of leaving her alone, Sasuke reached around Sakura and placed a palm at the base of her spine, pushing her ahead towards the other competitors. She kept in stride with him, too dazed to question his actions.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto repeated in a quieter tone as they neared. "You –"
But he was interrupted by the commencement of Sarutobi's speech. Naruto frowned, nudged Sakura fondly instead, and turned around to face the village leader and his accompanying Jōnin advisers.
The Hokage explained how the invitations to other nations needed about a month's time to be received and acted upon, which gave the participants plenty of bandwidth to prepare and learn new techniques for the Third Exam. Sakura's eyes wandered over to her fellow participants during the speech, passing over Neji, who appeared more solemn and distant than she'd ever seen him. And then, to her horror, she spotted Kabuto standing on the opposite end of the row of competitors, staring determinedly ahead at Sarutobi.
So. He didn't drop out of the preliminaries like he did in her previous life. In fact, he'd even advanced to the final round of the exam. Which meant Orochimaru must have some greater purpose for him competing.
Her heart began to race. Should she speak up about him being here? Would there be a point in doing that? His looming threat was hanging in the air and she knew, with complete certainly, that if she ratted on him, something disastrous was sure to follow. Would he, or Orochimaru, kill her family? Infect more of her friends with the disease? Take control of Sasuke?
Her eyes flicked up to her dark-haired teammate, whose jaw was clenched in anticipation for the match-up revelation. He sensed her stare and met her gaze, cocking a questioning eyebrow.
Vengeful hearts are usually the most easily manipulated, you know.
"Listen up, everyone!"
Anko's booming voice cut through Sakura's trance and she craned her neck back towards the front.
"I want each of you to pick a single paper from this jar, you hear me? One paper." She waved around the jar for good measure before making her way over to the line of competitors.
Sakura reached in when it was her turn and pulled out a square slip of paper. Nine, it read. She noticed Sasuke glancing over her shoulder at it and so she stole a glance at his too. Eight. They exchanged a look before turning to Naruto, but he was occupied in a similar exchange with Hinata, who was standing on his right.
Next, Anko had them all read out their numbers while Ibiki furiously scribbled the results down onto his clipboard. When the last number was called, he nodded at the Hokage before addressing the group at large. "Since there are so many of you here today, I'll read the results out loud, in favour of those at the back," he declared before glancing back down at his notes. "The first match will be: Shino Aburame versus Temari!"
The crowd muttered apprehensively.
"Second match: Hinata Hyūga versus Kankuro!"
More muttering and a whoop from Naruto ensued.
"Third match: Haku Yuki versus Naruto Uzumaki!"
The chattering heightened a little at this. By now, many had probably heard of the Kirigakure prodigy, and having him face off against Konoha's most unpredictable rookie was sure to be an interesting battle. Sakura smiled and watched Naruto give a big thumbs-up to his soon-to-be opponent.
"Fourth match: Neji Hyūga versus Sasuke Uchiha!"
An audible, collective gasp swept across the arena. A clash like this, between members of Konoha's two most prestigious clans, was a guaranteed highlight. Sakura watched Sasuke nod and smirk to himself, probably more excited for the fight than anyone else in the vicinity.
"Fifth match: Sakura Haruno versus Kabuto Yakushi!"
Shit.
Her throat dried and stomach clenched. What are the odds…? There was no way Orochimaru could have planned for this, could there be?
The arena silenced aside from the odd affirmative whisper. Sakura did have quite a reputation in the village – one shrouded by mystery, she figured. And Kabuto was quite an enigma himself.
"Do you know that guy, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked curiously, his eyes darting between her and her future opponent, who was still staring straight ahead, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his hand obscuring his face.
She shrugged, pulling off a mask of indifference, despite her sharply conflicting feelings. Sasuke seemed to be squaring Kabuto up, analyzing him from head to toe. "He's older, but doesn't look like much," he mumbled.
"Yeah," she answered bluntly and refusing to meet his gaze, a heavy dread settling in her core.
"Sixth match: Gaara versus Shikamaru Nara!"
There was another round of enticed murmurs, nearly drowned out by Shikamaru's exasperated groan. Next the Hokage provided final remarks, answered a few questions, and wished them luck, thus concluding the Third Exam announcement. Everyone began to clear out, most competitors chattering excitedly with their teammates and sensei.
"It sure sucks not having Kakashi-sensei around," Naruto moped. "But if we've got a whole month until the fights, he has no excuse not to get back here by then!"
Sasuke grunted in agreement but Sakura remained silent, not even attempting a forced smile. Naruto noticed.
"Let me know if you need anything, Sakura-chan," he offered kindly, his expression softening as he neared her. "Lee was a great dude." He clapped her shoulder.
She nodded and flicked her eyes up to meet his. Lee… She hadn't really even had a chance to digest his death with everything else going on. "Thanks," she managed to answer quietly. If only grieving over the loss of her dear friend was her only problem at hand. That alone would have been crippling enough.
Naruto suggested he treat his teammates to a late evening snack to celebrate (ramen of course) but Sakura shook her head, and although Sasuke seemed a little conflicted over it, he politely declined too. Naruto took the rejection pretty good-naturedly, probably because he knew Sakura wasn't feeling herself and Sasuke was a hit or miss with these things. "That's fine, we can go later this week!" he announced before hugging Sakura, punching Sasuke's arm, and dashing off after the members of Team Eight, who were making their way towards the arena's exit.
Sakura caught sight of Neji and Tenten leaving together, shoulder and shoulder. Gai-sensei was still gone, it seemed. Did he know about Lee yet? Her chest tightened painfully.
"You're not all right," Sasuke said.
He was standing beside her, watching the crowd thin out with his hands shoved in the pockets of his black pants. "Is Ino…," he added, his voice trailing off. She felt his eyes shift in her direction.
"She's alive."
"Ah."
Without averting her gaze, Sakura vaguely wondered if she'd ever be able to confide in Sasuke about Kabuto. Right now she wasn't sure she was in a proper state to bring it up at all – even with herself. Once her emotional shock subsided and thoughts cleared up, and maybe after a decent night's sleep (if she could sleep at all), she would plan her next move. But right now she was feeling far too burned out.
Sasuke would undoubtedly want to know about Kabuto breaking into her bedroom. But the problem was what that piece of information would stir in him. He was impulsive and rash when he sought retribution. And there was no sense working him up; she didn't want to drive him mad over her problems.
One mad person, namely herself, was enough.
What will you do next?
Vengeful hearts…
"I need to tell you something."
Sakura jumped as the sentence escaped her lips because, at the exact same moment, Sasuke said it too.
The two of them walked absent-mindedly towards where they normally trained together. The sun was beginning to set now, painting the sky with soft, warm hues, the first traces of night creeping in along the periphery. The air was colder now and crickets were chirping in the thick grass lining the path stretching through the forest connecting the village to the training grounds.
Sakura's heart was drumming in her ears and she shot her teammate frequent glances. He seemed content with the silence, and, honestly, she was relieved he wasn't asking how she was feeling because that would probably just bring her to tears. But she wasn't sure if he was waiting for her to speak first. And she would rather prolong her turn as long as possible.
"You wanted to tell me something?" she asked cautiously, watching him lift his head up when she addressed him. She also couldn't help but notice the sunset dancing across his dark eyes and how his profile was positively breathtaking to her, even now. She also realized that her hair was still pulled back in a messy ponytail and her own face was probably far from breathtaking with the way she suspected it reflected her inner emotional battlefield.
He opened his mouth and closed it again, hesitating for some reason. "Sure," he finally answered before drawing out another long pause. Sakura watched him expectantly while he furrowed his eyebrows and took a breath. "Look. I can't protect you properly right now," he said abruptly.
"From what?" she asked automatically, without a clue where this conversation was headed.
He ignored her question. "There are too many games. You're… getting hard to understand."
A lump welled up in her throat. Sakura knew she was a mess right now. Heck, she barely made any sense to herself. It wasn't fair for someone like Sasuke, who was passionately protective of her, to be stressed over things he didn't understand and neither of them could control.
"Sorry," she said quietly. "I'm a train wreck."
He didn't respond and they kept on walking, Sakura's mind whirring. Was that it? Was he just trying to tell her he was worried?
After an excruciating lapse in the conversation, and just when Sakura started to wonder whether he was waiting for her to change the subject, he said, "My mother would have liked you."
Sakura's eyebrows shot up with surprise at his choice of topic. He rarely mentioned his deceased family members so she knew it was important to tread carefully whenever he did. "Oh yeah?" she asked softly, feeling her lips tug upwards. "My mother knew her. Had a lot of respect for her too."
Sasuke smiled a little at her comment. "She got along with everyone she met, apparently. A sharp contrast with my father." Sakura watched him intently, revelling in this opportunity to learn more about his past. "He would have taken awhile to come around. But I think you'd have grown on him, even though you aren't Uchiha blood."
Wait… what?
"And Itachi… I don't know," he said in a quieter tone, his mood visibly darkening.
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. And maybe it was rude of her to make a scene like this in the middle of his disclosure, but she couldn't wait a second longer.
She squared herself up to Sasuke and he mirrored the motion, looking down at her with bewilderment, waiting for an explanation of her abrupt interruption. He didn't flinch when she placed her hands on his chest, slid them up and curled her fingers around his shoulders, reducing the space between them and steading her all at once. He didn't resist, but rather, was transfixed on her actions, his eyes surveying her curiously.
"Sasuke-kun, I need to tell you something. About your brother."
A/N: I'm anticipating some interesting responses after that one. I had a blast because the plot is really starting to move now!
Your feedback is very important, so please leave a review! :) Also, remember that, due to the chapter-by-chapter nature of this story (a format that sure has its pros and cons), when a particular plot point is not mentioned in a chapter, that doesn't mean I've forgotten it. :) See you soon (and check my blog if you're looking for updates)!
