Interlude XI: Sakura

"What do you make of Kakashi's theory that Naruto is running around in Sunagakure?" Sakura asked as soon as they were alone, the kids running around their new home in search of a room they could claim as their own.

Sasuke hummed, his head tilted as he browsed the books lined along the shelves in Danzō's office. Kakashi had taken her and Sasuke aside last night, warning them of the contents of his conversation with the Hokage. It would be nice to finally know where Naruto had been, but Sakura felt like she agreed with Kakashi on one point: this changed far too much to guess the outcome. If Naruto had the ear of the Kazekage, there was no telling what they could get done. An entire village behind them would certainly help them. It was not necessarily that Konoha wouldn't be helpful, but Kakashi was the one with the best political station and he was currently on probation with the Hokage. He was watched a bit too closely to get anything worthwhile done in the village. Sakura had more freedom of movement, but Orochimaru was a wanted man and she wasn't prepared to fight anyone as the snake Sannin. Sasuke, while the most acclimated to the time and his new body, held almost no standing in the village due to his status as a young genin kunoichi.

"If Rasa is willing to go on a tour of other villages to share whatever he's been told about the Akatsuki, I think it's a pretty good bet that Naruto is messing around with the situation somewhere," Sasuke shared his opinion, pulling a book off the shelf to glance at the title. He made a pinched face at whatever the title said and he put the book back on the shelf. "Naruto made a promise to Gaara before we left. He's probably fulfilling it as we speak."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at that tidbit, but when Sasuke didn't offer any other information, she put it aside. Sakura suspected that it might have to do with who he ended up embodying; she'd keep her peace and ask Naruto when they found him again. From the way it went when the three of them shared their regrets, Sakura could only imagine that it would be as equally hard for Naruto to do so.

"Sasuke—," Sakura started to ask, stopping herself before she could voice her question. The topic of conversation she wanted to bring up was a sensitive one on her part, and she could only imagine it would be even more touchy for Sasuke.

"Spit it out, Sakura," Sasuke told her, though his tone of voice wasn't anywhere near as hostile as his words were. He turned to face her, giving up on inspecting the bookshelf.

Sakura watched him, tracking the way his brown hair laid longer than his darker black hair ever had. The way he was more willowy and streamlined than he was as an older teenager. The gentle curve of his body that was distinctly female. "How are you handling it?" Sakura finally asked, unable to not know. "How are you dealing with being stuck in a female body?"

Sasuke stared at her for a moment, a considerate look on his face, before he gave a simple shrug, leaning back against the bookshelf to peer over at her. "I don't really care."

"You don't care?" Sakura blurted out, disbelieving. How could he not care? It was one thing for her to be stuck in the body of someone she viewed as an enemy; it was another thing entirely to be stuck in the body of someone with the wrong sex. Sakura had been born in a female body and her gender identity matched that ideal. She was a she and occupying a body that was very distinctly male was causing her more emotional distress than she thought it would.

"I suppose I follow Orochimaru's ideals a bit more than I had thought," Sasuke confessed. "I've thought about it a lot since we ended up in the wrong bodies. Orochimaru never cared what sex the body he was in had. He could've lived his life being called 'she' or 'they' and it wouldn't have affected him even a little. He honestly held no inclination to follow any gender norms whatsoever. I call him 'he' simply because that was what most others referred to him as."

Sakura absorbed the information Sasuke had just shared. "Does that mean you want me to use a different pronoun?" Sakura asked eventually, struggling slightly to understand Orochimaru and Sasuke's nonchalant attitude towards gender. She had met non-binary people, of course, but she had never experienced the dysphoria of identifying as a gender your body didn't agree with. Not until now, anyway.

"I'm used to being called 'he'," Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not going to go up in arms if someone calls me 'she' or 'they', I don't mind them, but I prefer being addressed as I've always been."

"Got it," Sakura nodded, acknowledging his wishes. "I'm sticking with 'she'."

"How are you handling it?" Sasuke asked in return, the look he sent her clearly showing he had already guessed at her true feelings.

"I'm going back to his base," Sakura informed him, scowling at the fact that it had become a necessity to her. "He surely has information on switching bodies hidden somewhere . I need it to get out of his body. Hell, even if I have to make a new body for me to occupy, it would be better than languishing here ."

"I know of a couple hiding spots where he stashes the more sensitive scrolls," Sasuke shared, giving her a small smile. "The faster we get you in a body you're comfortable in and able to navigate without trouble, the better off we'll be."

"Do you want me to make you a body too?" Sakura hesitated in asking, not wanting to offend him. They had just talked about his gender identity, after all, and she didn't want to make it seem like she was implying anything.

Sasuke shrugged, a thoughtful look flashing across his face. "I'm fine for now," he eventually replied, a distant look in his eyes. "I honestly don't mind being Izumi all that much."

Sakura watched him, taking in his wistful longing, and she held back her own fond smile. She imagined Sasuke would be quite comfortable being Izumi.

"Izumi-chan!" Sai shouted as he entered Kakashi's office, a grin plastered on his face. Sasu and Shin were quick to follow, both of them out of breath as they tried to keep up with the energetic Sai. Shin had a large grin on his face, his rambunctious nature shining through. Sasu was much more subdued, but he did look far more content than Sasuke had been describing him as.

"Hello, Sai-kun," Sasuke greeted, instantly falling into his Izumi persona. "Have you three picked your rooms?"

"I picked the one across from yours, Izumi-chan," Sasu spoke up, his voice shy as he looked up at Sasuke.

"Sai and I found rooms that had a door connecting them!" Shin shared, excited. "This way we have our own rooms, but we can still share stuff if we want."

"Is that okay?" Sai asked, his lower lip pushed forward as he pouted up at Sasuke.

Sasuke laughed lightly, a bright sound that caused Shin's cheeks to color slightly. "That sounds wonderful," Sasuke assured the two.

"Who are you?" Sai asked, his tone curious as he looked up at Orochimaru, his attention pulled away from Sasuke.

"Hebi," Sakura responded, fighting not to grimace while being watched so closely by three pairs of young eyes. It wouldn't be smart to throw around Orochimaru's name where it could be reported back to the Hokage, but it wasn't like they could pretend she was anyone else to the Root agents always underfoot. Hebi was a compromise, even if it was rather obvious as to who they were referring to.

"Hebi-san is a friend of Danzō-san's," Sasuke informed them. "Now let's go try and find the kitchen in this place, shall we?"

Sai and Shin were quick to bounce out, both of them talking animatedly to Sasuke as they traversed down the hall. Sakura watched them go, only realizing after a moment that young Sasu was lagging behind, watching them walk away with a melancholic expression on his tiny face.

"Are you alright, Sasu-kun?" Sakura asked gently, Orochimaru's natural hiss gentled to the best of her ability.

Sasu glanced up at her, his bottom lip worried between his teeth as he held an eternal battle. He glanced back to the trio that disappeared around the corner before turning his attention back to Sakura. "Hebi-san," he addressed her, a frown on his face. "Izumi is taking really good care of us and I feel bad putting all of my problems on her shoulders."

Both of Sakura's eyebrows rose at that, a questioning tilt of her head encouraging Sasu to continue.

"I feel guilty," Sasu shared in a small voice, a wet sheen covering his eyes as he fought back tears. "I feel like I should still be in my bedroom, surrounded by my clan. I feel like I'm dishonoring my clan by moving off of the compound grounds so soon after—what happened."

"Your clan wouldn't want you to surround yourself with their ghosts," Sakura told him firmly, pleased to finally be able to share an opinion that she had kept to herself for so many years. The idea of Sasuke staying and living on the same land that his entire clan was struck down had always sounded awful to Sakura. She understood that he did it out of both respect and the wish to have a reminder for all that he'd lost, but she had seen the psychological consequences of Sasuke staying alone in a large, ghost filled compound. She wouldn't wish that on Sasu and she was glad that Sasuke had seen that it wasn't the right environment to raise a child in.

"You think so?" Sasu asked with a sniff, puffy eyes looking up at her with restrained hope.

"Sure," Sakura nodded.

"Are you two coming? Izumi-chan found the ingredients to make onigiri!" Shin's loud voice interrupted them, his head popping into the office they were still occupying.

"Yes, yes, we're coming," Sakura said, giving him a pointed look. "Inside voices," she told him as they made their way down the hall, Sasu sticking close to her side.

Shin gave her an incredulous look, sticking his tongue out before dodging the half-hearted swipe Sakura aimed in his direction. He let out a delighted laugh, the sound reminding her of Naruto so much it almost hurt . She spotted a small smile gracing Sasu's face and she mentally patted herself on the back.