I Do Not Own Naruto

Chapter 5

Sakura woke to a quiet apartment, which wasn't surprising. What was surprising was the heavy breathing, the even breathing of her bed partner. Turning her head slightly she looked over at Sasuke who was sleeping, and she smiled a bit. The last time he had been here he hadn't slept like this, and his face was always scrunched up, there were deep lines of worry or pain when he slept, and many tear tracks, but looking at him now she could only see peace. Not necessarily the peace of innocence, but a peace he seemed to have to about himself, where he looked relaxed in his sleep.

For the first time ever she noticed how young he looked, because when he was awake he always looked so somber, or indifferent, his face carved in stone and hard edges. He was always handsome, she would admit that, always had been, ever since they were children, but looking at him in this restful state, all she could think was how beautiful he was. Shifting a bit Sakura took this time to truly study his face.

It was unlike the genjutsu or the imposter, which was where she started. He was harsh lines, classic beauty that seemed almost fragile. Having seen the photos she knew he favored his mother, where Itachi had favored their father, but still, for all the femininity he had possessed as a child, he had grown into a rather masculine appearance. She studied his lips, and nose, committing them to her memory, and then her eyes flicked up to meet his eyes, which were bright red with tomoe spinning in them.

"What?" she asked.

"What?" he countered.

"I'm hungry," she decided sitting up and swinging off her bed as she made her way to her kitchen. Sasuke didn't seem to immediately follow her, which was fine as she took the moment to steady herself. She didn't like dwelling on what had happened this past year, the genjutsu and the imposter, the whispered lies from them, becauseKami did it hurt, so she decided to memorize his face. Memorize him so she could never be fooled or harmed by an imposter seeking to hurt her through him. She pulled open her fridge when he walked in, dragging a hand through his hair, as he yawned.

"Your Sharingan is active," she informed him seeing his red eye still. He blinked twice and then it was back to being onyx, while his Rinnegan was still active. "Have you figured out how to deactivate the Rinnegan?" she asked.

"No," he answered taking some of the supplies from her as he pulled a knife.

"I think I'll go to the office today," she said.

"Hn?" he lifted a brow.

"I have to meet with the matchmaker, you should have lunch with Kakashi, cause I am tackling my mountain of paperwork after that," she stated firmly. Sasuke would not be bullying her out of her paperwork, or her work. She had responsibilities, expectations, duties to fulfill, she was not permitted to be lazing about for no reason; like exhaustion.

"We should spar," he said.

"We did that the other day when you dragged me out of my office," she pointed out.

"No, you vented with fists, that is not sparring," he stated.

"It was too," she countered.

"No."

"Fine, we'll do that AFTER I do my paperwork," she sighed.

Sasuke said nothing to this as she started prepping their omelets. Breakfast was a silent affair, which was fine with her as she wanted time to think over the orders from the Council. She didn't hold much hope in striking up a love match, but she was thinking that she could actually make a good match. The problem was she didn't want to. She wanted to keep running her Children's Clinic, and her hospital, she wanted to go on her missions, she didn't want romance or love in her life.

Also, a political marriage; despite the matchmaker, would still mean that she'd have to deal with marrying a stranger for no other reason than to aid her village. She was a kunoichi of Konoha but the moment she married was the moment that she would have to look at giving her husband her alliance. Not a thrilling prospect.

Still, she understood it, on a base level. Many alliance in history were forged through marriages that would create stable, lasting alliances and bring about peace. The Shinobi Union would be no exception, even if shinobi were by tradition nothing more than instruments of war. But the scars of the Fourth Great Shinobi War were scars that would go generations deep, she was confident in that. Sighing she stared at her breakfast, loosing interest in eating as she thought about her impending marriage.

Why couldn't the Fates be kind to her for a change and let her just marry Sasuke and have a large happy family together?

Snorting, she discarded the thought immediately. The idea alone would just be too easy and she knew that whatever was between her and Sasuke would not be real if she had that. Sasuke was going to marry a kunoichi who could help aid his kekkei genkai and strengthening it. He would have many children with that woman, and revive his Clan. She, having no kekkei genkai could not aid in that task.

"Well, I'd better go," she decided finishing her food. "Wouldn't want to be late to the matchmaker," she mused.

"See you for dinner," he said.

"Maybe," she condeded.

"No, I will see you for dinner," he reiterated.

"I do have to get through my paperwork, Sasuke," she grounded out.

"You need to eat."

"Fine. But then I'm doing my paperwork," she warned.

He said nothing to this as she darted off, changing quickly she brushed her hair, grabbed her shoes and ran out because she couldn't afford to be late. She didn't know what Sasuke's obsession with her eating and sleeping was, but chalked it up to him being eccentric and expressing his concern in odd ways.


Sasuke watched her run out the door, in a flurry of pink and green and chaotic energy and decided that he would need to speak to Kakashi about several matters. First would be Sakura's obvious state of neglect, and the second would be his own arranged marriage. The third topic was hopefully going to be about escaping the marriage if he could get Sakura to agree to marrying him. A daunting task to be fair, mainly because he was aware that Sakura was Kakashi's favorite student and viewed her as a daughter.

Sasuke was very well aware that the deck was stacked against him to obtaining Sakura's hand; mainly because of his past and the abuses he had dolled out for her love. However, he wanted to rectify this and was trying to figure out how to do so.

Walking towards Kakashi's residence, he ignored the stares people gave him, and focused on what he wanted to say to his former mentor. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he could not marry Hoshiro Manami. He would not. He didn't trust the woman not to be the council's puppet. Sakura, he at least knew she had a mind of her own, and she would not be dorrupted by the council to do their bidding.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi greeted him with startled eyes when he opened the door before Sasuke could knock.

"Kakashi," he said softly.

"What brings you here?" Kakashi asked.

"Can we speak?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi yawned stepping out of his path, gesturing for him to come in. The home was small for a Hokage, but then he knew his mentor was not a man who liked big, complicated things. They walked to the kitchen, Kakashi gestured for him to sit. "I normally go out for breakfast, but as you are here," Kakashi said.

"I ate, at Sakura's," he supplied quickly.

"Okay, coffee," Kakashi decided. "What brings you around Sasuke?"

"Why is Sakura working herself to death?" he asked bluntly. Kakashi stilled at this, and Sasuke leveled a stare at his mentor to hold his ground. "Do not say you have not noticed."

"I noticed," Kakashi said softly.

"And?" Sasuke prompted.

"And nothing, I cannot reason with her," Kakashi said carefully as he came to sit at the table. "Something… happened, last year when I sent her on a mission. I do not know what happened, but from what I can piece together someone really messed with her head. Then the events this past winter with Tsumiki Kido's attack," Kakashi shook his head. "I cannot reach what happened, but I can hazard a guess what happened."

"What happened?" Sasuke grounded out.

"Best guess, someone weaponized you against her," Kakashi said.

Sasuke stiffened hearing this.

"This past winter there were rumors, of you and though I was aware of your exact location, as are the other Kage, this man did not, and he intended to use your previous reputation to bring you home and eliminate you. When that did not work, he and an unknown ANBU operative under his command impersonated you, creating a counter reputation for what you were doing. You must not have heard, or Tsumiko grew impatient with his plot.

"I know he had illegally been synthesizing drucs to mimic the jinchūriki, and the Sharingan, I have received reports that he has synthesized other kekkei gankei as well. The rumors of these drugs, had me send Sai undercover in the Root organization, who uncovered the plot to kill me. Tsumiko must have realized you were either ignoring the rumors or ignorant of them because he made moves to take Sakura."

Sasuke did not visible react to this though he felt his hand tightening in a fist beneath the table. Kakashi took a sip of his coffee then, and they sat in silence about this for a while.

"Why take her?" he asked.

"My best guess, they had hopes you reciprocated what everyone knows she feels for you, and to utilize the Uchiha emotional instability to have you lashing out, which would sentence you to death upon your attack of Konoha. They had an imposter," Kakashi said. "Very good look alike, well, what remains of him."

Sasuke said nothing to this.

"I can hazard a guess that the events of the previous winter were still fresh on her mind, and the run in with the imposter of you, and the attempt they had on using her against you, has unsettled her, so she threw herself into her work. She is not mad at you, Sasuke. She's been your constant champion. I just don't think she expected people to attempt to use you against her after all the issues you two seemed to have sorted through."

"What happened this past winter?" Sasuke asked icily.

"There was a genjutsu trap set by the enemy, according to Shikamaru, showing the heart's deepest desires. Sakura was the one who broke it, for all of them. She's been throwing herself into her work because of that, and the recent string of weddings," Kakashi said.

Sasuke frowned.

"How do I help her?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi seemed shocked then. The other topics would wait, the idea that he had been weaponized against Sakura was appalling and infuriating. But he could apparently not track down the wrong doers; there was something final about Kakashi's tone, but he could help her.

"I have been talking to Tsunade lately," he said and then launched into the plan between Tsunade and him quickly. Sasuke just listened intently.

"And for Kami's sake I need to get her out of this arranged marriage nonsense!" Kakashi growled lowly.

"Hn?"

"The council is using it against you," Kakashi stated. "Whatever match she makes will be in the vain hopes of controlling you, and the Council is already favoring her match to the Raikage's apprentice, Darui."

Sasuke frowned at this as he glared at Kakashi. "What?"

"The Raikage and the Konoha Council believes that having Sakura is having leverage over you."

He groaned then as his head fell back. Maybe getting out of these arranged marriages was going to be more difficult than he had originally contemplated.