Hello everyone - CG here. I try not to post A/Ns often because it is about the story and not about who I am or what I have to say, right? Well, two things for you today...First, I get a lot of hits on this story but not much feedback. Even if it is just a word or two, it still helps me keep going (this goes for me and all the other authors out there). So please leaving feedback after every few chapters or two. Secondly, as usual with all my stories, I am considering crossing into the M realm for Sasuke and Sakura as their relationship progresses. Are you against this? Or for this? I'd like to know if a cross into M is ok, or if you really, really want me to stay T. You can let me know in your feedback. Thanks! CG
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The joint Suna/Konoha team returned to the Village Hidden in the Sand after the accidental rockslide. Though no one was hurt, they certainly could have been and what was supposed to be a completely controlled situation ended up not being that way at all. Everyone knew, especially Temari, that if Sasuke hadn't been along, most likely she would have been dead.
They did not rush back to the shinobi village. They walked slowly and quietly for the day and a half that it took them to return. The guards at the gate immediately notified the Kazekage's office when they spotted the unexpected shinobi group on the horizon. By the time the group had physically reached the gate, Kankuro was already there to greet them.
"Temari, you're back a day early," noted Kankuro when he walked out to greet his sister. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, it's fine," she sighed while talking. "There was an accident out in the field and Shikamaru and I thought it best to skip the last full day of training."
"Accident? What happened?" he asked.
"I'll tell you all the details once we are in Gaara's office. I have already told the team to rest up once we reached Suna, so they already have been given their orders. We can head to the Kazekage immediately," Temari said.
Shikamaru walked closely behind the siblings and quietly listened to the conversation knowing it wasn't a good time to pipe in with details. When Temari and Kankuro headed over to the Kazekage's office, he merely followed. Although he was also in charge, it was better if Temari had filled in her village's leadership about what happened.
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"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" came a voice from outside in the hallway. Sakura had decided to spend some of her down time with the medical personnel in the Suna hospital. She figured she could still help out the Sand medical shinobi with their cases while she waited for word about the team on the mock mission. She had no intention of sitting around her fancy diplomatic quarters simply waiting for something to happen.
"I'm in here!" she yelled from the room in the hospital. She had recognized the voice as one of the orderlies who worked on the floor.
"Sakura-chan!" the orderly yelled once again, then put his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath from running. "I came as fast as I could."
"What's going on?" she asked.
"The shinobi on the joint mission? They're back. Someone just said that Temari is headed to the Kazekage's office even as we speak," the orderly said.
Sakura wasn't doing anything important at that exact moment - she was just taking vitals on some of the patients who were on this floor. She knew that she wouldn't be missed if she left her self-assigned imposed post at this point. She finished what she was doing, then rushed out of the door heading towards the Kazekage's office as well. Her main goal was to find Sasuke, but she figured this was the fastest way of finding him.
When she arrived, Temari, Shikamaru and Kankuro were just getting there as well.
"Shikamaru," she murmured breathlessly. "Is everything ok? Weren't you supposed to be back in another day or so?"
"Yeah. Despite the great beginning of the mission, the end was a bit of a drag," he replied.
Sakura didn't have a chance to ask anymore. It was just then that they all were beckoned into Gaara's office for the official report. Sakura entered with the others as if she unquestioningly belonged there. She just figured she would be asked to leave if they thought her presence was an issue.
Temari and Shikmaru both told the story of the rockslide and what had happened with Kyushi and Sasuke. Temari, obviously, could tell evening from her perspective as the one almost getting crushed under the large boulders. She told of seeing Sasuke careening towards her but in the instant she closed her eyes and braced for impact, a purple glow surrounded her and steadily grew until it pushed the rocks off of her position. Shikamaru could tell the story from the bystanders who saw it all happen.
Temari made the last statement of the report by expressing her newfound opinion that she was now totally convinced that Sasuke Uchiha deserved a second chance in the world of shinobi...that he should be given a blank slate of sorts so he could serve the shinobi world without concern from the Sand or other villages.
Gaara sat there at his desk for a few moments pondering what he had just been told. Sakura was not surprised at Sasuke's actions under the circumstances; however, she was still taken aback about all that had happened. Who would have guessed that Sasuke would have ever needed to use Mangekyo during these fairly routine exercises? In the same thought, she was glad that it happened so that Sasuke could prove himself as a changed man. It was now obvious to her that he had at least started to win back the trust of Suna, even if it was only Temari who was convinced.
"I see," stated Gaara. "I would like to meet with Sasuke Uchiha tomorrow afternoon after he has had a chance to rest. Kankuro, please see that a message is passed to him."
Kankuro silently obeyed his brother and walked out of the room to get it done.
"You two should get some rest as well," said Gaara to Temari and Shikamaru. "I take it you are still going to utilize the housing near this office?"
"Hai," said Temari. "We won't officially end the mission until the debriefing has occurred."
Gaara acknowledged them both with a slight nod. The two mission leads turned to leave the office.
Sakura, too, was about to leave when Gaara caught her. "Sakura, it appears if not for your teammate, my sister may not have survived. The next time you see him, please pass along my gratitude."
"Hai, Kazekage-sama," she replied. She turned and left as well. She now knew where Sasuke likely to be.
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Sakura made a bee-line for the barracks closest to the Kazekage's office. When she arrived, she asked the nearest person about the shinobi who had just returned.
"They are probably sleeping by now," was the answer that was given.
She headed in the direction of the wing she was told they were staying.
She still wasn't 100% sure where they were when she heard, "Forehead, what are you doing here?"
"Ino-pig. I was told you would mostly be sleeping by now," answered Sakura.
"I've been on worse missions," Ino replied. "Though it did get a bit dicey at the end."
"Is everyone ok?" asked Sakura figuring she'd get a real answer from a friend rather than an official report given to the Kazekage.
"Sasuke was probably the most tired. Not only did he use Mangekyo Sharingan, but he had to deal with that pesky Suna kunoichi non-stop for the last week."
Sakura must have given Ino a strange look.
"Oh, I see you haven't heard," said Ino. "Well, you'd be proud of him. She is quite young and beautiful and she did practically throw herself at him...but he didn't flinch for an instant. You guys must really be serious this time."
"Oh, I, uh...yeah, I guess so," she answered, her thoughts taking her back to the day he first showed her where the Uchiha clan would be rebuildin...and his confessions from that day. "I've missed him. Do you happen to know which room is his?"
Ino smiled slyly.
"Knock it off, Ino," Sakura said seeing it.
"It's the last one down that hallway," Ino said.
Sakura started towards his room. Ino called after her. "Have fun!"
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Sakura quietly rapped at Sasuke's door. No one answered. She tried once more to no avail.
With care, she slowly turned the knob...and the door was unlocked.
It was still daytime, so she could see that someone was in the bed with the help of the shielded sunlight making its way through the closed curtains of the room. After quietly closing the door behind her, she made her way towards the bed. As soon as she saw his sleeping face, her whole body relaxed and she let herself smile. She was not expecting to feel such relief and happiness just by seeing him again after their month-long separation.
She carefully examined the parts of his body that were exposed to her for any signs of significant injury - there were none. Thank goodness.
Now what? she thought to herself. She had waited this long to see him...but she wanted to talk with him, too. However, she knew he definitely needed his sleep after hearing some of the details about the mission. Even without that last incident, they were pushed pretty hard.
She sat in a chair across the room for a few minutes before deciding that just staring at him was kind of ridiculous. She started to undress herself so that she was as comfortable as possible. Then she crawled into the bed next to him. As gingerly as possible, she placed the blankets over her body so she wouldn't wake him. Then she just relished in the feeling of being close to him again.
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Sakura's eyes blinked open. She had actually fallen asleep, but for a second had no idea where she was or how long she had been there. Her first bit of recognition was that she was laying on her side with an arm draped over her. She quickly turned onto her back to see who the arm belonged to.
Sasuke. He didn't say a word once he saw she was awake. He smiled and continued to look at her.
"Hi," she said to him.
"Hi," he replied. "I see you found me."
"Hm-hmmm," she acknowledged. "Sorry, but I couldn't resist crawling into bed with you."
"Looks like you got some sleep as well. Is everything ok?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've been here a few days. Lady Tsunade sent me here on a mission to deliver some medical supplies," said Sakura.
"She thinks one of the best medical nins from Konoha should go on D-rank missions?" asked Sasuke.
"She thought I would appreciate being sent here because you were here, dummy," Sakura retorted.
"Ah, I see," said Sasuke.
He could hold back no longer and leaned in for a brief, gentle kiss on Sakura's lips.
"I've missed you," he whispered to her.
"Me, too," she answered. They kissed again...and somebody's stomach growled loudly.
"Are you hungry?" asked Sasuke once the kiss had ended. "I'm starving."
"I kind of am," she replied.
"Let's go get something," he said.
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Sasuke ravenously ate his dinner at the local restaurant located right beside the barracks. Sakura was a bit surprised by his voracity.
"What?" he asked when he noticed she was looking at him.
"You look like you haven't eaten in a week," she noted.
"I didn't eat since getting back," he acknowledged. "I pretty much just wanted to get some sleep."
"So how was the mission anyway?" asked Sakura wanting to compare notes from what she had heard already.
"Nothing much happened," he explained. "I mean, they pushed us in terms of stamina, but most of the things we did were pretty standard. I think they had us here more to train their shinobi than anything else."
"I heard you came back early because of an incident with Temari," said Sakura.
"She was almost crushed by a bunch of falling rock," said Sasuke. "Seems that some of the Suna shinobi who were going to attack us loosened up the rock on the cliffs we were walking between. I had to use Susanoo to proctect Temari after she threw one of her subordinates out of the way."
"So was everyone ok?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, though I think Kyushi was a little shaken up," said Sasuke.
"Who's Kyushi?" asked Sakura.
Sasuke could have slapped himself for bringing her up.
"She's just a relatively new chunnin from Suna," he explained.
"Is that all?" Sakura asked.
"Uh, yeah. Why? What else?" he asked.
"Well, I heard through the grapevine she may have taken a liking to you," explained Sakura.
"She kind of did. Damn it, I didn't want to bring all that up in front of you," said Sasuke.
"Why would you want to hide it?" asked Sakura.
"I just...I just thought you might overreact a bit," said Sasuke, honestly.
Sakura took a deep breath. "I trust you," she said to him. "I have no reason not to, do I?"
"I'm glad you trust me," said Sasuke. "Believe me, I didn't want anything to do with her, but she just kept following me and trying to get close to me. Do you know she actually snuck into my tent one night?"
"What did you do?" asked Sakura.
"I kindly told her to 'Get out'," said Sasuke.
Sasuke looked at the expression on Sakura's face. She looked pretty neutral. He didn't really know if she was upset or not, but he wanted to make sure he expected it if she were to hit him or something.
"I can tell you that I might not be too kind to her if I ever see her," said Sakura.
"Wasn't it you who used to have a crush on me, too?" asked Sasuke.
Sakura's face almost matched the hue of her hair. "Um, good point," she said lowly. Then interjected, "But I never snuck into your tent or anything. I wasn't that bad."
Sasuke knew when to keep quiet. He just smiled and enjoyed the sight of Sakura fidgeting in her chair.