Sakura took a step back her hand fisting in the back of Sasuke's cloak as the entered the village of Nekomori her hand flying up to cover her mouth as the stench of blood, rotting corpses, and human waste wafting through the air. Sasuke himself also lifted a hand to his mouth to stop the contents of his stomach from escaping his body as the scent assaulted his well-trained nose.
"This is an absolute nightmare." Sakura rasped. "Not even the battlefields of the war compare to it."
The ink haired man nodded not trusting his mouth to open without his breakfast flying out instead of words and blinked in surprise when Sakura handed him a white triangle of cloth.
"Tie this around your mouth." She told him. "It's been soaked in medicinal herbs to prevent infection. The scent is strong but it's a million times better than the stench of death."
He nodded and tied the cloth around his mouth his eyes watering at the strong scent. Even so, it was a major improvement compared to the awful smell surrounding them. The carnage was absolute, bodies strewn out across the streets. It reminded him of the Uchiha massacre though whomever had done this was either much less skilled or much more sadistic than his brother and Obito had been. He was betting it was a combination of both.
He heard a light thud behind him and quickly turned around, worried that his wife had suffered one of the fainting spells that had afflicted her frequently in their childhood and instead found her on her knees her hands pressed together, her head bowed, her eyes closed. After a few moments she opened her eyes and rose to her feet.
"What was that?" He asked.
"A prayer." She replied walking towards the first body. "I wasn't able to save them so the least I can do is pray that their souls find peace and vow that I will do all in my power to ensure that I find the one that did this and bring them to justice." She knelt at the side of the fallen man and reached out pressing gloved fingers to his throat. "Damn." She hissed before standing up and moving to the next body.
"Are you going to check every one?" He asked as she moved systematically through the corpses.
"Yes. One thing I've learned from my years of practicing medicine is that almost nothing is impossible. The will to live is incredible. Besides, one of the best ways to survive in a massacre of this size is to pretend you're already dead. If someone figured that out, they might by laying among the dead. We know there's genjutsu involved so there's always the chance that if they are alive, they can't call out to us for help. This is the only way to make sure we don't accidently pass over any survivors." Sakura said reaching for another victim.
Sasuke studied his wife for a moment feeling something move within him at the respect and gentleness she showed the dead. There was no way he could just stand idly by while she worked hard.
"What can I do to help?" He asked.
The pink haired medic blinked in surprise and looked up at him. "Oh." She said getting to his feet. "Look around the village and see if you can find any clues as to who might have done this and why. If you find any survivors, let me know right away." She reached into her brown leather belt and pulled out a pair of elbow length gloves handing them to him. "Don't touch anything or anyone without these on."
"Alright." He said taking them from her. "We're leaving in three hours." She opened her mouth to object but he raised his hand to stop her. "Just to get some fresh air and something to eat. This air is rank and swarming with infection and negative energy. Staying immersed in it for too long won't be good for our health and you know it. You can't do a single thing for these people if you become sick yourself."
"Alright, I get it!" She snapped her eyes narrowing slightly before her expression softened and she sighed. "I understand. Let's just get to work."
"Call me if you need anything." He told her before moving away from her towards the center of the village.
Sasuke wandered through the streets his face stoic even as his soul shuddered in revulsion at the excessive carnage around him. The bodies of men, women, and children alike strewn about in pieces with birds and stray dogs gnawing on their severed limbs. He couldn't understand it at all. Such a blatant waste of human life. There was no denying he was far from being a saint. He had fought, destroyed, maimed and killed people several times over the course of his life. He had once been so completely overtake by darkness that he had seriously tried to take over the village he'd abandoned, murder his best friend, and harmed his most precious person in a fit of hate induced madness. Even in that deplorable state, he had never for a moment considered slaughtering an entire village of innocents to satisfy his bloodlust. Whomever had done this, was clearly out of their mind.
He glanced at the body of a fallen woman and nearly vomited as eyes only a shade darker than his wife's stared up at him from a pale face with a pink scarf the same shade of Sakura's hair covering her head. For a split second, his wife's form had taken the place of the dead woman and his body had reacted automatically. He noticed the woman's hand laid out in front of her, and saw that her fingers were inches from those of a man who laid just a few feet away with shoulder length black hair and dark eyes. Their pair of matching, silver wedding rings reflecting in the midmorning light on their outstretched hands. It was clear that in their final moments, the young couple had desperately tried to reach one another.
Moved in a way he had never expected, Sasuke knelt beside the fallen woman and picked her up carrying her to the side of the man she'd been reaching for. He laid their hands on top of one another and then gently closed both of their eyes.
"I'm sorry that the only way I can unite you two is in death." He said softly before he stood and made his way towards the city center.
As he walked, he took note of several things. The first, was that every corpse had blood near their mouth, even those who hadn't appeared to receive any sort of trauma that would cause such a thing. It was strange and troubling. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to tell at a glance which victims had been put under gejnutsu. He could guess on a few, those that died in slightly unnatural positions or that looked like they hadn't even made an attempt to flee or protect themselves. Then again, some people froze when faced with imminent death and simply couldn't run. There was also a possibility that the one who had slaughtered them had arranged some of the bodies in strange ways after the fact or had forced the victims to lay, sit or stand a certain ways to amuse themselves before killing them. It wouldn't surprise him at all. The killings screamed sadistic in every why already after all.
After more than an hour of combing through death and filth he heard a sound that set his heart thundering out of his chest.
"SASUKE! Sasuke! Come here! HURRY!" Sakura exclaimed.
He took off at breakneck speed, dashing and leaping from rooftop to rooftop until he landed in front of his wife. His eyes widened when he found her clutching a young infant in her arms, the child rasping as tiny tears slipped from its wide eyes.
"He's alive, but only just." Sakura explained her hands glowing green where they rested beneath his tiny head and back. "We need to get him out of this disease-ridden place now so I can get him some treatment."
"Alright. Let's go." Sasuke replied helping her to her feet.
They sprinted through the town avoiding the streets as much as possible and then took to the trees desperate to get to the camp they'd set up earlier that day. As soon as they hit the ground of the clearing nestled between a small outcropping of rocks and thick, trunked trees, Sakura started barking orders.
"I need hot water as soon as possible!" She said as she took off the baby's blood soaked clothes.
Knowing better than to question his wife in these situations where he knew absolutely nothing, Sasuke did as she asked starting a piping hot fire and setting a pot of water over it.
"There, there." Sakura cooed as she went to work examining the child. "We'll get you taken care of." She frowned at the lack of response when she poked the child's abdomen. She laid her ear against the child's chest and her frown deepened before she turned to Sasuke who was tending the fire biting her lip lightly. "Sasuke, can you use genjutsu on an infant?" she asked softly.
He turned back to her and met her anxious, slightly guilty gaze. "Why are you asking?"
"I don't think he's going to make it." She confessed her grip on the tiny child tightening. "I can repair almost anything but I can't regenerate tissue in these conditions, especially internal tissue." Her jaw clenched. "His lungs are only working at twenty five percent capacity and his heart is almost at its limit." Fierce jade eyes filled with sadness blazing with the fire of righteous anger met his. "I may not be able to save his life, but I can make sure that the soulless bastards that did this to him pay for it."
Sasuke studied his wife for a few more moments before he knelt beside her and looked down at the pale faced, dishwater blonde baby in her arms. He couldn't be more than three months old based on his body size.
"I could probably cast a genjutsu on him, but due to his age any information I get will be slightly distorted. Infant senses aren't fully developed and though I can use my power to amplify his memories slightly, there's no guarantees that I'll find anything useful." He looked at his wife whose brow was knit in concentration, healing power still flowing through her hands as she desperately tried to prolong the child's life. How could he refuse her, when she was working so hard even knowing that it was likely her efforts would be in vain? He sighed and touched the child's face drawing his attention from Sakura's strange colored hair to his own strange mismatched eyes, his eyes shifting to red and the tomoe's rotating as he activated his mangyko sharringan before he gently slipped inside the child's mind.
It was disorienting, and frustrating at how limited the boy's vision was as he sifted through his memories. Most of what he saw was what he was expecting. The baby's mother's face, the face of his father, and the occasional stranger the infant's still developing eyesight blurring out almost every other detail. Then, he saw the woman's expressions change one night after she returned to the house, dimming to almost nothing as she shuffled through her daily motions. Sasuke watched as her face paled and a cough developed, starting with a light occasional chortle and escalating into full blown, retching coughing fits. When her hand moved away revealing blood, the ink haired man's eyes widened. He recognized it, the color of the blood. It was bright scarlet, different from the rich red that he normally saw in battle. The same color his brother's had been when he'd coughed during their battle.
'Scarlet Hand. It's an illness that isn't native to this continent.'
Amira, the woman that had known his brother had mentioned the disease. Was that what was weakening the villagers?
The baby's mother and father who also appeared to be afflicted appeared alarmed by their medical states and left the house. Sasuke cursed the child's limited range of vision when the mother suddenly gasped and clutched him close to her chest her body trembling, her heart thundering under his ear.
"Run! Take Taka and get out of here!" The husband urged gasping as another coughing fit overtook him.
"Why? Honey, who are those people? Are they those wicked shinobi we've heard so much about?" She asked.
"No. I don't recognize them. Their clothing is strange." He replied. "They're armed too. Please, take Taka and get out of here. Find a doctor and the militia in the next town over."
"Shinji.-" her words were halted when her husband pulled her into his arms holding her and his son close.
"Please Tsubaki. Let me protect you two. That's a husband's duty." He said softly touching his son's face.
The infant turned towards the man whose eyes held fire even while hazy with pain and a touch of genjutsu, though Sasuke still hadn't been able to tell when it had been placed.
"Shiniji." She breathed again reaching up with shaking fingers to touch his face.
He bent down and kissed her gently before pressing a kiss to his son's brow.
A gut wrenching scream suddenly erupted and all three turned towards the sound.
"One town, three hundred to go." A dark skinned, dark haired man said with a grin licking the blood from his strange looking curved sword.
"That's disgusting Abu. They're all diseased you know." A high pitched female voice replied as a petite woman with a veil covering half her face appeared next to him.
"Who cares? We're immune anyway." Abu replied with a lazy shrug. "Ah! This is my favorite part of this job." He said with a grin turning to slice the man who rushed at him with a sickle in his hand.
The girl sighed and shook her head her dark hair whipping in a high pony tail behind her. "A brute and lazy hunter all in one. Typical."
"What can I say?" The man replied. "I really like the sound of screams. The anticipation, knowing there's no way out, that you're screwed no matter what you do." He shuddered. "I love the scent of fear and blood."
The girl's wrist flicked forward and a knife buried itself in the neck of another villager that had rushed the man.
"Get to work then." She said walking to a shop, taking the upholstered chair displayed on the front porch and settling into it.
"You're not going to join in the fun?" The man asked with a wink.
"This isn't fun for me. It's dirty and crude. Besides, my job is just to make sure you do your job and none of the villagers make it out of this alive. Now hurry up. I need to write a report to Lord Farid before we report back to those ninja haters we're working for." She said studying her painted finger nails.
"You're so diligent Mina. It's such a waste for someone so lovely." Abu purred.
"Get to WORK!" She snarled arming herself with a silver dagger and aiming it at him.
"Alright alright. One village massacre coming right up." He said tugging his sleeves up a little before he launched towards and started to cut down people with speed that even Sasuke had a hard time following.
"Tsubaki! Run!" Shinji shouted grabbing her by the hand and pulling her away from their house towards the forest. They never made it.
"Tsu-ba-ki." Shinji wheezed from somewhere nearby that Sasuke couldn't see no matter how hard he tried.
"Aww! Whispering your sweetheart's name as you die? How sweet." Abu drawled the sickening sound of metal cleaving flesh ringing in Sasuke's ears.
"Shinji! NO!" Tsubaki screamed before she doubled over blood spewing from her mouth before she fell forward covering Taka's body with her own.
"Looks like the wifey isn't going to last much longer. Damn that virus the ninja haters made is potent." The sound of footsteps drew closer. "Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll put you out of your misery." He said plunging his blade into her chest, barely missing Taka nestled in her arms.
"Ta-ka." She rasped.
"Ah! You had a lover on the side? Typical sow." The man sneered stabbing her again. "All well. You'll be in Hell soon enough."
The baby's memories were garbled after that, only sharpening again when Sakura pulled him out from under his mother's corpse.
"Release!" Sasuke exclaimed leaving the baby's mind.
He caught his breath and then glanced at his wife who was focused on the baby in her arms. "Did you learn anything?" She asked.
"Yes." He replied.
"Good, then it was worth it." She replied her hands trembling.
"Sakura, what is it?" He asked.
She bowed her head, her pink hair covering her face. "My power is the only thing keeping his heart beating. Once cut the flow, he'll die."
The ink haired man's eyes widened. The child had survived so much, yet he was still just an infant. Life snuffed out so shortly after birth.
"Sasuke, what is this child's name?" She asked quietly.
"Taka." He replied.
"Taka. It's a nice name." She replied holding the baby closer to her before she stood.
"What are you going to do?" He asked her.
"End his suffering as painlessly as possible." She replied walking away from the camp.
Sasuke waited a few minutes before masking his presence as much as possible and following the path Sakura had taken. When he sensed her energy close by, he slipped silently up a tree and settled in a nearby tree branch looking down on the small meadow below. Sakura was settled on her knees surrounded by spring wildflowers with the light streaming down on her from between the leaves of the trees above. Taka was nestled in her arms his gaze fixated on her hair that fluttered in the breeze like the petals of her name sake. After a few moments, she began to sing.
"Lay down, your sweet and weary head. The night is falling. You have come to journey's end. Sleep now and dream of the ones you knew before. They care calling, from across the distant shore. Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face? Soon you will see, all of your fears will pass away, safe in my arms, you're only sleeping."
The child's eyes drifted closed and Sakura's head bowed. He watched her chakra and noted that it was fading slowly yet killing the pain receptors as it left the infant's body, insuring he would feel nothing when he took his last breath.
"What can you see? On the horizon, why do the white gulls call? Across the sea, a pale moon rises. The ships have come to carry you home. And all will turn, to silver glass. A light on the water. All souls pass, into the west."
Sakura pressed her lips to the child's forehead and then wrapped him in cloth and laid him in a hole she'd likely dug with her bare hands and covered his body with dirt and wildflowers. Her face looked serene but Sasuke could sense a deep sadness within her. There was defeat, frustration, and anger in her eyes as she laid a large rock on top of the place where the dead child lay and headed back towards their camp. He could not leave her alone. Seeing her in such a state made his heart ache in a way that was impossible to ignore even if he wanted to.
The Uchiha patriarch leapt lithely from his tree branch perch and landed on the ground near the path and moved to stand in front of the Uchiha matriarch.
"Tsuma." He said softly.
"Darling." She replied her eyes lifting to meet his.
He approached her slowly with measured steps and reached out to her cupping her cheek. "You did well." He said stroking her cheekbone gently.
Her lips turned up into a tiny, brief smile before she leaned against him, her body trembling, and then shaking as she began to sob. Her hands fisted in his shirt and her face pressed against his chest as she released all of the mental and emotional anguish she'd locked away in order to do her duty properly.
"Why!?" She wailed. "Why did it have to be like this!?"
Sasuke slipped his arm under her knees sweeping her up with one arm with his hand gripping her thigh, cradling her against him with her head against his shoulder and carried her to the trunk of a nearby tree, settling between the roots. He shifted Sakura into his lap and stroked her hair as she cried, her arms sliding up to lock around his neck. Though he couldn't truly understand her feelings, he wasn't a healer after all, he imagine how it would feel to fail at his duty. Medics were charged with saving lives, to be unable to save such a small child, particularly after they had managed to survive such a horrific incident, must have been especially hard on her.
"You did all that you could." He murmured softly.
"It wasn't enough." She whimpered.
"It was. He was loved, cherished, and protected in his final moments." He replied holding her closer. "We will find them and make them pay Sakura." He promised tucking her head beneath his chin. "For Taka and all of the other innocent people they've murdered."
She nodded against his chest and shuddered as her sobbing slowed but the tears still continued to flow. When he heard her breathing even out, he waited for a few minutes his gaze fixed on a cherry tree just feet away. It was about to bloom, its buds formed and tinged with pink. He couldn't help but like the flower to his wife, not just because of her name, and hair but because of how fragile they both were at the moment. One hard frost or one strong wind could destroy it, particularly now in early April where sudden snow storms weren't uncommon even as the earth warmed and moved into spring. He glanced down at Sakura whose hands were fisted loosely in his shirt and it occurred to him that both she and the flowers were stronger than anyone thought.
Even so, she had clearly earned some rest. He picked her up and carried her as smoothly as he could back to their camp. Their bedrolls were laid out underneath a makeshift tent they'd fashioned against the small outcropping of rocks and he laid her down before covering her with a blanket. He sat by her side and reviewed that he'd recorded with his sharringan from the boy's memory again. There had to be something, another clue there that would lead them to the ones responsible for the mass murders. He too had been upset that they hadn't managed to save the child. Taka was going to get the justice he deserved, he would make sure of that.
Sakura's hand reached out in her sleep and latched onto the hem of his tunic and he glanced back sighing at the tears that still clung to her lashes. She'd often talked about protecting his heart. As he reached out to brush the tears away, he decided that staying by her side was the best way he could do the same.
"Scarlet Hand? That illness that Itachi had?" Sakura said hours later as they knelt beside another body.
Sasuke nodded. "The man that murdered Taka's parents mentioned it. He and the woman that attacked the village, they looked like they might have come from The Land of Lightning but their clothing was unlike anything I've seen before." He touched his chin. "A man called Lord Farid was mentioned as well."
Sakura made a little sound of contemplation before taking a sample of blood from the woman in front of her. "Do you think one of your birds could find that woman Amira we met?" she asked placing the vile with others she'd taken.
The ink haired man nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem but it might take some time." After all, the woman had mentioned something about a long voyage by boat when they first met her.
"Do it then." She replied moving to another body shifting it over, when she saw how decayed it was, she shook her head and moved to the next one. "I know it's awful. But I feel like burning this village to the ground. There's so much disease here it's a health hazard."
"I agree with you. We'll have Kakashi send a message to the local land lord." Sasuke replied. "He won't refuse if he knows the risk."
"Don't be so sure about that. There are plenty of idiots in this world who are more worried about saving face than ensuring the safety of others." She grumbled.
Sasuke shook his head. Her mood was still off, not that he blamed her of course, but he wasn't really sure what to do about it. He laid his nudged her with his elbow, unwilling to touch her with the filthy gloves that had handled corpses most of the day and she looked up at him.
"I'm going out of the village to send these messages off. I won't be far away." He told her, it wasn't like he could do anything useful at the moment anyway.
"Alright." She replied.
He nodded and left her to her work as he approached the edge of the village. This mission was turning out to be extremely complicated. There seemed to be much more at work than he previously thought. More politics involved than just a bunch of angry citizens and bitter, old, warriors jealous of the power shinobi held.
He found a nearby tree that looked over the village to keep somewhat of an eye on his wife as she worked and settled on one of the highest branches. He pulled out two scrolls and wrote his messages before summoning two hawks and sent them off.
Once he finished, he decided to stay in his make shift tree stand and watch over Sakura from a distance. There wasn't much he could do for her physically or emotionally at the moment except for reassure her he was nearby if she needed something. Once she was finished here was when his work would truly begin anyway. Slipping through the shadows of the underworld, getting information out of the sleazy, scum bags that thrived on the hardships of others was quickly becoming his specialty. Sakura on the other hand would need time to consolidate, organize, and analyze all the data she was collecting. That would also be a monumental task that only she could do. Perhaps renting a small house would be better than booking a room in an inn for such an extended period of time. After all, they'd discovered that all of the incidents had happened within a fifty mile radius of the coast, port town Safaia. He was certain that they likely wouldn't change their patterns any time soon and that it was likely their base was nearby. The only issue they'd likely run into, was keeping a low profile while they worked.
Just as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, Sasuke left his perch and approached his wife who was knelt beside the body of a fallen child who looked like she'd nearly been decapitated. He nearly cringed at the sight before he reached out and laid his hand on Sakura's shoulder.
"It's late. Let's return to camp." He said.
Sakura sighed and slipped something into her bag. "Let me do one more examination then I'll-"
"I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you like a child." He warned his grip on her tightening. "It's time to go Sakura."
"Are you threatening me, Sasuke?" She asked her voice a touch dangerous.
"What do you think?" He retorted.
In a flash, he found himself slammed up against the wall of a nearby building. His eyes widened as Sakura aimed a punch at the right side of his face missing by millimeters, cracking the wall as it made contact with the concrete.
"Do not mess with me today." She snarled. "I am not in the mood."
He would never admit it to a living soul, but for a split second as he looked into his wife's blazing eyes, and felt the wall crumbling behind him from the force of her fist, he felt a flicker of fear. She really would do her best to pulverize him if he tried his normal, demanding way with her this time. Even so she needed to stop and rest so he changed tactics.
"Sakura." He murmured softly leaning forward running his cheek along hers, unable to kiss her due to the masks separating their mouths. "Let's go back to camp." He slipped his hand up her leg, over her hip, letting it come to a rest at her waist. "I'll make dinner tonight and then we can slip away to that hot spring we spotted on our way here." His hand squeezed her waist lightly before trailing back and up over her shoulder blades.
She blushed even as her eyes narrowed. "Are you seriously attempting to seduce me here, surrounded by rotting corpses?" She demanded.
"Is it working?" He replied slipping one of his legs between hers rubbing his knee lightly against her core.
"Damn it." She hissed, a shudder running through her body. "Fine! I'll go!"
Satisfied with his victory, Sasuke slipped away from her and picked up her bag and scattered tools, handing them back to her before she could get distracted again. They walked quietly through the village and through the nearby forest to their camp. Sakura sat her things down, stripped off her mask and gloves throwing them into the still smoldering fire, and then picked up the stew pot that had been set out to dry earlier that day but Sasuke pushed her hands away his own dirty things catching flame next to hers.
"I told you that I would cook dinner. Sit down and work on what you need to while I cook because after dinner is over I won't let you touch any of it, understand?" He said firmly pouring fresh water into the pot.
"Why are you so pushy today?" Sakura grumbled.
"Sakura..." He replied his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Fine!" She snapped stalking over to where she'd made herself a makeshift workstation underneath one of the tarps they'd set up.
He internally cursed the stubbornness of his beloved as he stoked the fire and sent to work adding ingredients to the soup. They'd anticipated being in rural areas without much around and thanks to Sakura's extensive botanical experience and knowledge, staying fed wasn't a problem. He added dried fish, some root vegetables and some flavorful herbs to the pot finishing it off with some salt and pepper before covering the soup so that it could cook.
He glanced over at Sakura and nearly sighed. She looked stressed, her one hand fisted in her hair, the other gripping her pen so tightly he was amazed it hadn't snapped. She was hunched over her makeshift desk, her jaw tight and her brow furrowed as she glared at the papers in front of her. To be honest, he'd never seen her in such a state. It bothered him, mostly because he didn't have a clue how to help her. Though he was extremely intelligent, a genius even, his expertise was combat and jutsu. Medicine and medical ninjutsu were things he knew next to nothing about.
Since he knew there was nothing he could do for her at the moment, he went to work brewing tea and tidying up their little camping space. It wasn't much, but he knew from experience that working in clutter was just a bit maddening. When they were genin on Team 7 the often got together before missions to study up on the region they were traveling to and any relevant information. To promote team unity, Kakashi had made it clear that they were to rotate between houses. Sakura's home was cozy and warm with girly accents and just a little clutter. His home was immaculately clean, simple, but functional. Naruto's house was a complete disaster. In fact, after only five minutes of studying, he and Sakura would usually go crazy and start cleaning the mess, unable to concentrate in the filth. Part of him wondered if the sly fox had planned for that sort of thing.
"Sakura, dinner's ready." He told her spooning up the soup into bowls.
"Alright. I'm almost done. Just give me a couple more minutes." She replied.
He walked up behind her and leaned over covering her writing hand with his own, tightening his fingers to stop her. "Sakura." He breathed softly against her ear. "That's enough for today. You're going to run yourself into the ground."
She froze at his close proximity and her fingers instinctively loosened their grip on the pen. He seized the opportunity and slipped it from her hand, tossing it to a pile of paper stacked nearby and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Come eat with me Tsuma." He whispered trailing his lips down her neck.
"You're awfully persistent about this." Sakura replied leaning into him, straightening her head to give him better access to her sensitive flesh.
"Are you're stubborn." He replied pulling her to her feet and over to where their food waited before she could retort verbally or punch him in the gut.
They ate dinner in silence and once it was finished, he grabbed her hand, stopping her from cleaning their dishes.
"Get a change of clothes and let's go." He told her firmly.
"You're serious about going to that hot spring?" She asked cocking a brow.
"Am I the type of person who usually makes jokes?" Sasuke replied tucking a fresh set of clothes into his bag and slinging it across his body.
"No." She replied putting a fresh set in her own pack.
"Exactly. Let's go." He said taking to the trees.
They arrived at the spring short minutes after and Sasuke watched with rapt attention as Sakura stripped out of her dirty clothes, slipped the tie out of her hair letting it fall to her shoulder blades and then slipped into the water. Surprised and concerned by her lack of flirtation and shyness, he stripped and quickly followed her in grabbing her around the shoulders and pulling her to a rock hidden beneath the water sitting down while pulling her into his lap.
"What's wrong?" He asked. "This isn't like you at all."
She glanced back at him and then sighed lowering her head. "Sasuke… I don't know if I can do this."
His eyes widened and his heart stumbled in his chest. He'd never heard her say such a thing and part of him was absolutely terrified that she was referring to their marriage.
"What do you mean?" He asked doing his best to ensure that his anxiety didn't leak into his voice.
"This illness. It's like nothing I've ever seen before and I still haven't been able to figure out the dispersal method. Amira was right, it's absolutely devastating." She lifted her hand and gripped his forearm. "I'm at a loss. I've never felt this… helpless before. Over a thousand people have died and there's nothing I can do. I'm supposed to be the best medical expert in the world and I've got nothing!"
Sasuke breathed out a little sigh of relief at the knowledge that she was frustrated with her work, not their relationship and then held her tighter.
"You will figure this out Sakura." He pressed open mouth kisses to the slope of her shoulder as his hand slipped down to cup her breast. "I know you're frustrated right now, but that will pass." He brushed his thumb over her nipple and she gasped pressing back against him.
"Sasuke!" she gasped trembling in his hold when he squeezed the firm mound.
He smirked at her reaction and laid his mouth against the back of her neck sucking and kissing at the sensitive skin there. His eyes widened when she reached back and gripped his stiffening member in her hand stroking him to attention.
"Damn." He hissed reaching between her legs to rub her wet slit.
She gasped and moaned pressing back against him, hooking her arm around his neck as she panted. He turned his head towards her and their noses brushed before he pressed his mouth to hers. Their tongues battled for dominance as they each used their hands to try to coax one another towards the edge. After one particularly hard squeeze, Sasuke decided he'd had enough. He moved his hand to her thigh, lifted her ever so slightly, and then pushed her down onto his erection.
She cried out at his rough intrusion and he quickly shifted their position, pushing her partway onto the bank of the spring and forcing her forward as he pressed into her. Sakura's hands fisted in the tall grass surrounding their little hideaway, sounds of pleasure leaving her lips as he moved.
"Sasuke. Sasuke!" She exclaimed glancing behind her.
He'd never tire of it. The haze of lust that darkened her jade eyes, the pink that feathered over her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose, her lips parted as she panted from the pleasure he gave her. This was a part of her that had never belonged to anyone else but him and never would. It made him feel proud, yet possessive. He leaned forward and laid his lips on her back marking it with red and purple marks of passion as he continued to slam into her. His hand gripped her waist before moving to her hair, holding it tightly as he thrust harder into her. He felt the pressure building at the base of his spine as Sakura's tight walls started to spasm around her. She came undone with a high pitched cry and he followed soon after moaning her name as he spilled into her.
He collapsed over her back panting and pressing tiny kisses to her shoulder blades as his heart rate slowed and Sakura gasped beneath him. Once he was able to breath normally, he pulled his wife back into the spring with him holding her on his lap once again as he leaned against the bank.
"Thank you." She said softly leaning against his chest. "I think I needed that."
Sasuke smirked at that. He knew she needed it, but it was a need he was happy to provide for her. To be honest, he'd been near his breaking point too. The day had been Hellish even for him. She'd always had the ability to calm him, but with her so wound up, it was starting to grate on him as well. Sex was a great stress reliever after all. Even now, he could sense the usual peace that permeated her aura returning and his own seemed to react to it, quieting as they both sat in the warm water watching the stars wink into existence in the dark sky.
"Sasuke, I have a strange question." Sakura said after a few moments.
"What is it?" He replied smiling when she picked up his hand and started playing with his fingers.
"Does Orochimaru have a hideout near here?" She asked.
His eyes widened at that. She couldn't stand the man, he couldn't imagine why she'd want to know if he had a hideout nearby. There was a possibility that she thought he might have something to do with the illness but even that didn't quite add up. Deciding to let her explain herself later, he searched his memory for the answer to her question.
"Yes." He replied. "He has one about ten miles south of Safaia." He said. "Why do you ask?"
She sighed and leaned forward bringing her knees to her chest. "Will you… send him a letter for me?"
He cocked a brow and leaned forward a little squeezing her hand lightly. "What for Tsuma?"
She gritted her teeth and squeezed back her body shaking a little. "I… I can't do this on my own." She confessed. "I don't have the equipment I need to analyze the blood and tissue samples I've collected. Also…" She hunched further forward. "I… I think I need his help with this. He has way more experience regarding biological weaponry. Damn, this is so embarrassing. Having to ask for help from that snake."
Sasuke was shocked. His wife had a hatred for Orochimaru that could hardly be rivaled. The fact that she was not only willing to work with him, but actively seeking his help was something he never imagined would happen. She had grown up so much in the past few years. He knew that asking for such a thing must have been exceptionally hard for her.
"Sakura, look at me." He said softly. She turned towards him and he wasn't surprised to see a few tears clinging to her lashes. "Naruto once told me that relying on others isn't a sigh of weakness but a sigh of strength. I think he's right." He lifted his hand and brushed the tears away. "You are an exceptional woman to ask for the assistance of your enemy to save the lives of innocents." He pressed his mouth to hers. "I'm proud of you. Leave everything else to me."
They kissed again, a long sweet series of kisses that heated them both but didn't burn. Kisses of love and appreciation for one another. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck her thighs straddling his waist. Sasuke's arm wrapped around her waist, his hand pressing into the space between her shoulder blades as he kissed her filled with pride and appreciation for the woman he held. When they finally broke apart, Sakura pressed her forehead to his glancing down at him through her thick lashes.
"I love you Sasuke." She said threading her fingers through his damp hair. "Thank you for this. You were right, I was being stubborn."
Sasuke smirked. "You're welcome." He said pressing a kiss to her nose. "Shall we head back to camp?"
Sakura nodded and they left the water appreciating the views of one another's bodies before pulling on clean clothes and heading back to camp. To his surprise, Sakura obediently cleaned up her notes and materials while he cleaned up the dishes left over from their dinner. She drank the tea he offered her and then went to bed when he asked.
He'd never seen her so docile and quick to answer instructions before. She had to be much more tired than he'd thought. He laid a second blanket over her and brushed her hair out of her face. His tough little wife. So often she seemed to be made of stone. Strong, immovable, and cool under pressure. In moments like this however, he could see that she was simply a woman who had been exceptionally strong for too long. He felt privileged that she had broken down in front of him. So often when they were younger, she had always hidden it from him, completely unwilling to show her his weakness. It had made him jealous to hear that she'd cried more in front of Naruto than him in the past. It made him feel like she didn't trust him, that they weren't as close as he thought they were. Now however, he knew that she did trust him more than anyone. It was a blessing he didn't intend to take for granted.
He sat down near her and stroked her cheek gently before unrolling a scroll and penning a letter he'd never imagined he would write. When it was finished, he sealed it and summoned a hawk.
"Quickly." He told the bird. It clicked its beak once, tugged on his hair and then flew out of sight.
He leaned down and kissed his wife's cheek before perching in a nearby tree to do his share of night watch. This mission was turning out to be much more complicated than he'd ever anticipated.
&%&%
"Well well well…" Came a smooth voice. "This child never ceases to surprise me."
"What is it Lord Orochimaru?" Jugo said carrying in a stack of books.
"I just received a message from our dear Sasuke. Requesting assistance for the mission he is currently in the midst of." The snake sannin replied.
"That's rare." Suigetsu said sauntering into the room. "What does he need help with?"
"The request isn't for us to help him per say." Orochimaru said with a smirk.
"Then what does he want? To play another sick joke?" Karin asked popping out her hip as she entered the room.
"He really is married. It's not a joke. We've been over this a thousand times." Suigetsu muttered rolling his eyes.
"I'll boil you until you're nothing but steam!" Karin shrieked her eyes gleaming.
"Sasuke has requested that we assist his beloved wife with their current mission. They're investigating those mass killings in The Land of Tea." Orochimaru explained. "He requested permission for Lady Uchiha to use the facilities in our hideout near there to further their investigation into the incidents."
"I hate it when he calls her that." Karin snarled her nails digging into the fabric of her jacket.
"What do you intend to do?" Jugo asked.
"Grant his request of course. I've been looking into the incidents myself after all." He said picking up a scroll from the table next to him.
"I'll meet them at the hideout." Jugo said adjusting the cloak around his neck. "I'm sure he'll want someone to look after his wife when he has to go out and take care of other things."
"Count me in." Suigetsu said. "I'll give our dear Sasuke backup while Jugo babysits his wify."
"I'm coming too. Someone's got to make sure the dumb bitch doesn't wreck the lab." Karin said tossing her hair.
"I would be careful about saying such things in front of Sasuke." Jugo said. "Regardless of your personal feelings, she is the woman Sasuke chose. She deserves our respect."
"Yeah, you wouldn't want your precious Sasuke to get mad at you again. You sulked for more than a week when he snapped at you at his wedding for running your mouth." Suigetsu said with a smirk.
Karin blushed and then yelled as she launched herself at the sharp toothed boy ploughing her fist into his face.
"I HATE you Suigetsu!" She cried when his head liquefied in her hands.
"Enough! I'm sick of you two bickering like children!" Orochimaru snapped halting the pair of ninja in their tracks. "All of us are going."
"What?" Karin demanded.
"He didn't just request use of the facilities in the hideout, but my personal assistance as well." He smirked. "I expect that this will be a very interesting venture."
Author's Note: Thank you for reading, favoriting, and commenting. You guys motivate me to keep going even when my life is crazy. We're moving into the next major arch of this story and I'm super excited! I have lots of surprises planned and Team Taka moments for you rabid Orochimaru and Co. fans. Thanks for being patient and to my commenter who mentioned Sakura's comment about not replacing something, no that wasn't a typo, and yes it will be important in the future. Good eye. ;) Until next time!
