I Do Not Own Naruto

Chapter 36

Sakura had been working her ass off for the past weeks to learn everything she could about C-sections, births, babies, labor, and pregnancies. One had to realize that her expertize was in combat medicine and surgery, she was still learning everything else there was to learn about the other branches of medicine. Which was why she was gathering books from the library. A sight caught her attention and she walked over to the nervous form of a studying Chōji who was munching on his chips.

"Hey Chōji, what are you doing here?" she asked as she looked at the books he was reading.

"Uh… studying, or trying to," he said nervously and she chuckled as she sat across from him.

"I know that feeling," she admitted and decided to take her mind off her own studies for a moment. "Want help studying?"

"Sure."

"Give me a moment to skim over this and then I'll quiz you on it," she said as she gently picked up the book from him. Sakura had a feeling that Chōji already knew this material, he just didn't have confidence in himself.

"Yeah, it'll be an easy way to know how much more studying you need to do," she assured and skimmed over the material.

"Alright," he said nervously, she smiled and started. She rapidly questioned him, he answered, usually uncertainly but he was quickly gaining confidence. When her eyes glanced at the clock and she knew she had to go, she had a night shift tonight and needed some studying time.

"H-How'd I do? Chōji asked as she finished her quiz.

"Really well Chōji," she admitted because he had passed most of the questions she had fired at him. "You just need more confidence in yourself, you know the material."

"I don't do tests well," he sighed.

"Just relax and answer what you know, if you don't know it, come back to it. If you need more help studying you can always ask me," she assured as she picked up her books. "I need lunch, then I have studying of my own, later Chōji."

"Thanks Sakura!" he smiled and she hurried out of the library then.

"Sakura!" a voice called the moment she stepped onto the busy street and she turned to see Ibiki and Ino coming towards her.

"Hey Ino, good afternoon Ibiki," she smiled.

"Dr. Haruno, I did not think you levt the hospital," Ibiki teased.

"No, I leave, for a moment a day, mostly so they don't evict me from my apartment," she winked, Ibiki laughed.

"Hey, I was wondering, how would you like to celebrate Christmas with me, Ibiki, and invite your family; I was also thinking to invite Temari, Kiba and Sai," Ino grinned.

"That sounds lovely," she admitted as they waved off Ibiki and started walking down the street. "I have a surgery on the twenty-third, but if all goes well then I will be happy to join you for Christmas."

"Surgery?"

"Yes, I am performing Tenten's C-section," she informed her friend.

"Right, we're having her baby shower next week," Ino said.

"I will be there," Sakura smiled.

"So is that why you have all these books?"

"Yes, I've been studying everything I can about pregnancies and the C-section, I've been practicing even, though I don't think Dr. Yuno likes me being on his service after he tried to tell Tenten to have a termination of the baby," Sakura said quietly.

"He's a dick anyway. He thought I was a nurse and I should sleep with him; he even threatened me for if I didn't. I don't think he much liked m in his head," Ino mused dryly and Sakura chuckled.

"He got what he was asking for," she said with a dismissive wave.

"Has he proposition you?" Ino asked with a wicked gleam, Sakura smied evilly then.

"Mmm, no, but everyone in this village knows I can break mountains, so imagine what I could do to the human skeletal structure if pissed?" she chuckled, Ino giggled.

"That's a good point. Have you seen Sai recently?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, about two weeks ago, why?" Sakura asked as she started carefully analyzing her friend.

"No reason, I just hadn't seen him for a bit and was wondering if he was on a mission," she shrugged.

"Ah, well, no, he has a date for the Rinne Festival. He's been worrying about that, and Kakashi sent him on a short mission to catch an arsonist to take his mind off the date," Sakura said casually as she watched Ino closely.

"Have you met his date?" Ino asked.

"No, but from what he's told me, Asami doesn't seem that bad. I'll be meeting her at the Rinne Festival," Sakura said. There, right there, she saw it, even if it was just a flicker of something before it was gone, but there was no doubt in Sakura's mind now. The attraction Sai felt for Ino was mutual and there was something more on Ino's side.

"Oh," Ino said lamely. "do you have a date for the Rinne Festival?"

"No, I think I'm going with Kakashi or Naruto, again, this year. If I go, I have a lot of work to do."

"I thought you went with Sai."

"Last year I did, and it wasn't really planned. Naruto manipulated him and I just went with him. When Naruto was gone I went with Kakashi, and when Naruto and Sasuke were here I went with them, so I will probably be doing the same this year," she shrugged. She had been going with Team 7 since it had formed. "And Sai has a date, I'm not going with him," she pointedly stated.

"I'm going with Kiba," Ino smiled then.

"Really!?" Sakura faked excitement then feeling that Ino and Kiba dating was a doomed thing but kept the thought to herself as she smiled for her friend.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you, we're dating," Ino admitted.

"Tell me everything!" Sakura demanded as they walked into a café.

"Well…"

Sasuke walked into Suna, feeling very unwelcomed and unwanted but he saw the quiet Kazekage and his weird brother standing there waiting for him. Saying nothing he walked up to them both and nodded.

"That was good work with that group, we had been having trouble with them since the war," the brother; who's name was escaping Sasuke at this moment, said with a harsh tone.

"Hn," he nodded quietly. He had been rather unimpressed with those shinobi, and felt if those were the most challenging opponents he was going to encounter then his time was going to be bored most of the time; even with his handicap of one arm.

"This way, Uchiha," the redheaded Kazekage ordered and he slowly followed the brothers through the dusty village. People again hurried out of his path, and he doubted it was the Kazekage or his brother they feared. The whispers of the evil eye reached his ears and he remained indifferent.

No doubt his reputation and previous actions would follow him around to haunt him for the rest of his life. It was not a pleasant thought and he did not like the knowledge that he would forever be defined as an 'evil eye' but he knew he had done this to himself. And therefor he could live with it. This was a mess of his own creation, he would endure it in silence and just hope to Kami that he never lost his mind to his darkness again.

"How long do you intend to stay in Suna," the brother asked.

"Hn," he shrugged as they walked into a building.

"You are staying here until your next assignment, we have requested an evaluation of your mental state," the Kazekage said.

"Hn," he responded.

"Also, the next mission is in Oto, the evaluation is a demand."

"Am I hunting Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked dryly figuring that there would come a time that they would demand the elimination of the pest known as Orochimaru.

"No, there has come a request that one Yakushi Kabuto be brought back in, he is a prisoner of war, and a criminal that Konohagakure desires," the Kazekage said slowly.

"Hn," he nodded. That would be simple enough, he doubted Kabuto had figured out how to escape Itachi's loop. He also didn't care about the cockroach either way, and knew that Kabuto was a traitor like himself. But unlike himself, Kabuto had played double agent for a long time and Sasuke figured that Konoha wanted to tie up loose ends this time.

"The evaluation starts tomorrow, you will be here for the week," the brother stated.

"Aa," he nodded in understanding as a door was opened and they gestured for him to walk in. with great reluctance he did walk in and the Kazekage stood in the door for a long moment.

"This was sent to you from Uzumaki Naruto, I was asked to give it to you when you arrived here," the Kazekage said as he held out an envelope.

"Hn," he nodded his thanks as he took the offered envelope.

"The evaluation is tomorrow morning and will last three days, my brother, Kankurō," the Kazekage gestured to his brother then. "Will collect you tomorrow, do not cause us trouble Uchiha," the Kazekage said.

"Aa," he nodded in understanding.

"Fuck, does he ever talk?" Kankurō grumbled as he and the Kazekage left. Sasuke frowned but said nothing as he quietly shut the door and sat on the bed against the wall. For a long time he stared at the envelope and left it unopened.

It was from the dobe, and that was alright, but Sasuke was debating internally on if he wanted to deal with the dobe's antics in writing or not. Giving up he slowly opened the letter and decided if he didn't want to read it he could set it aside and meditate to clear his head, or ask if there was a place for him to train.

Still, he as curious as to how his friend was doing as he slowly pulled the sloppily folded papers out of the envelope and saw the dobe's messy scrawl over the page.

Slowly his eye traveled over the page as he read everything that was happening with the dobe and Sakura. Though the dobe focused mainly on how it sucked to now be a lefty, and how he hated that there was nothing he could do to improve quicker and he couldn't form shadow clones. There was also a long part about all the tests he was ungoing to get a prosthetic arm, and how he was hopeful to have it by May next year.

The last snippet of the letter had Sasuke stiffening a little but he set it aside as he laid on the bed.

The dobe was going to ask Sakura to be his date for the Rinne Festival, the thought was… well, it was a thought which reminded him that Sakura and the dobe were close. But it was also a disturbing thought because of Sakura's temper.

Sasuke decided he didn't want to think about his friends' love lives, and sat up to meditate to clear his head. There was a memory struggling to break his mind today as the pink flashed in his mind's eye.

Over the past week his mind had contorted the memory of his families' massacre to where he was an adult. And as he reached the room where he would open the door to see Itachi kill their mother and father he opened the door and saw a faceless figure standing over Sakura's dead body, her blood staining everything around her.

When he looked up at her killer he screamed in agony seeing himself standing over her with a twisted smile and red eyes.

Meanwhile she just had a dead smile on her lifeless lips.

Needless to say it was an image now plaguing him as he sat on the bed trembling. He tried to forget the image as he focused on his breathing and remembered a certain small pinkette alive and kissing him.

She was alive.

He had not killed her.

He repeated this as he counted his breathing.

That's all for now folks!

Enjoy Until the Day I Die! =)