"Sasuke…I don't know…," Sakura managed to get out. She totally wasn't expecting this to happen so soon. She had hoped, obviously, but Sakura was definitely taken aback by the timing and overall situation of the proposal.
"I know you love me. I know that you and I are a given and that you plan to move in with me and spend the rest of your days by my side. So….marry me. Why should we wait?" he asked.
"I'm just….," she tried to answer again. Then she looked at his more-than-serious face. Her mind finally registered what was going on and she could not think of a single reason to say anything but…
"Yes." She paused to take note of this exact moment. "Yes!" she said again, practically yelling. A huge smile crept across her lips and she pulled him into a bear hug. "I do love you, Sasuke Uchiha. I can't believe this day has finally come."
OlOlOlOlOlO
Two days later…
Sasuke was the first to arrive in the meeting room inside in the inn where the homeless shinobi were now housed. He had spent the better part of two days holed up in his makeshift office inside the Hokage tower preparing for how he was going to go about this mission. He hadn't even really had a chance to celebrate the engagement…in fact, both he and Sakura decided that they weren't going to tell anyone just yet. Sasuke just didn't want to be bothered with the necessary pleasantries and attention he was sure it would garner. He thought his request to postpone the announcement would disappoint Sakura, but in the end, all she really now wanted was him and the hoopla that would surround an engagement and eventual wedding wasn't as thrilling as she once thought.
"Hi Sasuke," said Sumato when he entered the room. Kanja followed her brother closely behind and only nodded to Sasuke.
"Sumato, Kanja, thank you so much for helping out," said Sasuke.
From the get-go, bringing in the skills of the Koshosuru twins was first and foremost on Sasuke's mind. Just by having a round table, a simple conversation with the eleven he was now in charge of, so much could be learned with the twins' help.
"Where is everyone?" asked Sumato.
"They'll be here shortly," answered Sasuke. "It's still a little early. Are you guys still ok with the plan?"
"Yup," answered Sumato. "Just like any other diplomatic mission…"
"Thanks for your help. I'm almost positive you won't be needed after today," said Sasuke.
"Hey, is that….?" said a new voice now entering the room. It was Juugo.
"What is all this? Didn't we just rescue those two? Now…" asked Suigetsu sounding somewhat indignant.
Juugo knocked him on the back of his head. "You know Sasuke wouldn't do anything to harm us. Just trust him."
Sasuke motioned for them both to come closer so that he could talk to them more privately. After all, it was just about time for this meeting to start and he wanted to nip in the bud any issues these two might have.
He looked them squarely in the eyes. "You two are the only two here who know what their capabilities are," Sasuke said. "I need to know that the other nine who will be meeting here in just a few minutes pose no risk to the village. I've done enough damage in my life and I want to make sure what I do now doesn't cause any more. Do you understand?"
Both shinobi now facing him nodded. "But Sasuke…," said Suigetsu.
"Don't worry about yourselves," he tried to alleviate their concerns….or at least Suigetsu's. "I have no intention of locking you up for the rest of your lives. Just play along with this whole thing and it'll be over before you know it."
"Ok," nodded Suigetsu, finally acquiescing to Sasuke's wishes.
By now a few of the other shinobi had entered the room and sat down. "Go ahead and join the others," said Sasuke nodding towards the sitting area where the chairs were lined up.
"Sasuke," Sumato said to get his friend's attention. "Are you really giving them a free pass? Should Kanja and I really ignore them?"
"No," said Sasuke. "Work on them just as you would the others. It's just that I don't think we have anything to worry about with those two so even if you read them, it will only be benign to the village. But it is better to be safe than sorry."
He leaned in further so that for sure only both of the young genin could hear him. "Having friends in the shinobi world is a wonderful thing, but never let your friendship cloud your judgment. Most of the shinobi who betray their village are able to do so because someone's guard was down in the name of friendship."
The twins nodded in understanding.
Sasuke looked over and all but one shinobi were now here. As he walked towards the front of the room, that last shinobi finally did show up and sat down in the back of the room.
"Ok, everyone, let's get started," said Sasuke. "First, I'd like to introduce you to Sumato and Kanja. They are here for observational purposes only and will be assisting me with the session we have today." Sasuke was hoping that none of the shinobi present would guess what their true abilities were. The Koshosuru clan's newest jewels were kept secret from the rest of the world the entire time they were academy students. None of the shinobi here should know that two more with their gift were ever born since they had been captive since the time their existence was made public.
"I'd like to start by getting a history from each of you. I know a lot about a few of you, but so we can complete this mission as a very large team, I'd like everyone here to hear you out," said Sasuke.
The next few hours – the rest of the morning, in fact – was spent listening as one shinobi after another explained who they were, where they were from, and how their life's circumstances got them to where they were now – pseudo-prisoners of the Hidden Leaf.
Suigetsu and Juugo were relatively quick as compared to the others since their time "in captivity" had only lasted a few days. In fact, there was quite a large discussion as to how their numbers went from nine to eleven just recently. Karin, one of their trusted nine, also help to alleviate fears by explaining the dynamics of being on the team with Sasuke and what happened at the end of the war when the team was split up. Sasuke added a bit as well because it might seem unfair to some that he has been redeeming himself for over a year now and all these shinobi have been isolated and monitored for crimes much less vicious than what Sasuke had committed.
After the afternoon meal, Sasuke steered the conversation towards the future and asked each shinobi what they wanted to happen next. Again, one by one, they answered the question posed to them. A lot of information was gathered on this first day of work with these shinobi and, as a result, Sasuke felt confident moving forward.
As soon as the room had been cleared of everyone except for Sasuke and the twins, Sasuke invited them to dinner.
"Sure!" said Sumato, appreciating the invitation.
Again, Kanja nodded. "Thank you," she quietly said.
"You don't mind if Sakura joins us?" asked Sasuke.
"Not at all," said Sumato.
"She's off today, so we'll swing by the apartment on the way," said Sasuke.
OlOlOlOlOlO
The four shinobi arrived at the restaurant, sat down, and ordered. Sasuke decided to get right to business.
"So, what did you think about what was said earlier today?" Sasuke asked Sumato and Kanja, who both sat together on the opposite side of the table to Sasuke and Sakura.
"What did you do to that redhead?" asked Kanja flatly.
Sasuke flashed her a look of surprise. Of any single sentence that could have been said first during this discussion, he was not expecting that one. It took him a few seconds to compose himself.
"She was an old teammate of mine. I handpicked her because of her various abilities with chakra," said Sasuke. "Why, what did you get from her?"
"A lot of confusion. Mixed-messages. She seems like she is mostly pretty confident and sure of herself, but every so often, especially when you were in front of the room, I caught a little bit of…how would you describe it, Kanja?" asked Sumato.
"Longing," Kanja said flatly. "It's a bit too soon to tell, but I'd wager that she either has…or had…the hots for you at some point."
"I'm hoping it is 'had'," said Sasuke. "It was never a secret that she liked me…a lot. Suigetsu used to tease her quite a bit about it as well. I just ignored it as best I could."
"The good news is that I don't think that really has anything to do with this conversation," said Sumato. "She just needs a place to belong. She wants to be included…respected."
"Acknowledged," added Kanja. "Like she has played an important role for a long time and never received much support or recognition."
"Got it," said Sasuke. He perused some of the notes he took while the discussions were taking place. Karin was pretty open to where she went next. She said she would need to think a bit longer about what her ultimate goal would be. She wouldn't be against staying here in the Leaf, but wouldn't be against leaving either. Karin was just pretty happy to be in a place where she knew people and wasn't constantly being put down anymore. An idea sprang to Sasuke's mind…a place where he thought she and the Leaf would both benefit most.
"What about the others?" asked Sakura, interested in finding out more about what had been going on inside that inn.
"Do you want the short-version or the long-version?" asked Sumato.
"I'll take the short-version for now. We'll expand into details as we need to," said Sasuke. "I know where they all want to go and what they are supposedly thinking. Were there any inconsistencies in their emotions?"
"The short-version. Got it. You only need to be worried about that one guy who came in last and sat in the back," said Sumato.
Sasuke knew exactly who Sumato was talking about. He perused his list of names and the notes he took about each one. "Teki Abunai," he said aloud. "He was captured in the Leaf itself early in the war. It was just after the alliance was formed. He was trying to infiltrate one of the archive buildings. Apparently he was after intel." Sasuke flipped the page. "When he was questioned, he said he represented Hidden Stone, but in reality, he was only originally from there and had been ousted for treason about 10 years ago when he was a chunin." The page flipped back. "Abilities are…not much, actually. He's an earth-style user, but his real talents lie in his taijutsu and stealth abilities."
"What did he say during the meeting?" asked Sakura, trying to help as much as she could not having been at the actual day-long session.
"Of the eleven, he said the least. He said he didn't care and would probably just leave the Leaf once again. Hidden Stone is out of the question since he is a traitor. He kind of left it at that. Not too much thought went into it. What did you guys think?"
"A lot of anger. Resentment," said Kanja. "And I have a feeling it's not just from this latest imprisonment. I wouldn't trust him."
"I agree, he does seem very dangerous. Like a ticking time bomb," said Sumato. "I don't know what you can do with him."
"I'm not sure…but I'm not going to give up on him yet," said Sasuke. "I've also had a lot of experience with anger and resentment in my life."
"Yes," agreed Sakura. "But it took you years to see the light. Do you have that much time to help a virtual stranger?"
Sasuke thought about that one. "That's true," he agreed. "But you guys didn't give up on me, and I'm not going to give up on him. What a shame it would be to think anyone's life can be just thrown away."
Sakura took note of the last statement and smiled. She flashed back to the time when she saw Sasuke during his very dark period and couldn't even imagine that person ever being able to say what he just did. Truly, how far he had come.
The four shinobi continued to eat their dinner and briefly skimmed over the other nine shinobi. Not one of them was dangerous, at least not towards the Leaf. They all had dreams and plans of where they would go next should they released. Sasuke even offered up options, such as becoming a Leaf shinobi or a Leaf citizen should they want to stay put here. The world was open to them as long as they posed no immediate threat.
Sasuke's thoughts turned to Suigetsu and Juugo. They had been free for the year since the war ended and turned into wanderers. He knew Suigetsu would never settle down, not while there were swords of the Mist out there somewhere. He was a bit melancholy at the prospect of having to say good-bye once again. Juugo, however, he thought might decide to stay. It was either than or go with Suigetsu once again. At least if that's what happened, they would be together and could help each other out.
Dinner ended. Sasuke again thanked the Koshosuru twins and they went on their merry way back to their clan's compound.
Sasuke and Sakura headed back towards her apartment walking hand-in-hand and enjoying the evening air. When they arrived, Sakura checked for new mail and, as she shuffled through the envelopes, found one addressed to Sasuke. "Here," she said.
He took the envelope and opened it to see what the letter inside read. He grinned.
"What?" she asked.
"Three more weeks and we're moving to our new home," he replied. "It's just about ready."