A/N: Here's that second part, as promised! Once again I did a lot of scene chopping to keep things moving along.

Chapter 37

The Future II

When they arrived back at the Sound, Kabuto was waiting for them at the entrance like he expected them.

"You have the scroll?" Kabuto said once they had dismounted from their birds.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, producing it from his pocket. "But we have a problem. It attunes to a soul, and it attached itself to Sakura's after I tried to separate it from Orochimaru."

Kabuto glanced at Sakura briefly with a contemplative look. "And Orochimaru?"

"Dead. For good," Sasuke said.

Kabuto smirked.

While the prisoners were kept out of earshot, Team Taka took turns explaining the events that occurred. Karin explained they had brought several scientists and missing-nin that she and Yumi vetted for new members of the Sound and pointed out the three Leaf-nin and Orochimaru's children.

Log stepped forward at his mention, staring directly up at Kabuto. Their two yellow eyes met. They looked much alike, with their matching pale complexions and silver-white hair.

Kabuto studied Log. "So you share some of my DNA. I suppose that makes you my son too in some regards."

"DNA donor," Log corrected. "I'm done with fathers and parent figures."

Kabuto smiled at that. "Very well. I hope we can be friends then. Might I take you under my wing? I could teach you a great number of things, no strings attached."

Log regarded Kabuto carefully. "I agree to this, only if you can help me with my siblings." He glanced back at them. "Orochimaru messed with their heads, made us all believe terrible things. Help me teach them that we escaped from hell, not that I brought it upon them."

Kabuto regarded the three children. "Very well."

Kabuto directed Log and the Talons to take the potential recruits, the three children, and the Leaf-nin to the Sound prison. Sakura watched wistfully as Sai, Yamato, and Anko were led away.

Kabuto then led Sakura, Sasuke, the rest of Taka, and Yumi into the Otokage's office. When he closed the office door he motioned to Sasuke for the scroll. Kabuto inspected it and then held it out to Sakura with a smirk. "May I?" he asked.

Sakura grimaced, and not entirely knowing what she was doing, flicked open the scroll's lid. It did not burn her or destroy itself; it just opened itself like any normal scroll case.

"Thank you," Kabuto said, pulling out the scroll and carefully rolling it open across the table for all to see.

Yumi joined Kabuto at his side, both of them inspecting the inscriptions carefully.

"Yumi - the other scrolls, would you?" Kabuto said, greedy eyes not leaving the master scroll for a second.

Yumi disappeared out of the room for a moment before she returned with three other scrolls. She carefully opened each one and spread them open on the table. Following the ley lines on the master scroll, she and Kabuto shifted all four total scrolls on the table like a puzzle, with two pieces missing.

"Incredible…" Yumi said, eyes glinting from behind her mask. "I could use some of the concepts here for my genjutsu. I could create a genjutsu barrier unlike any other… bigger and more complex than anyone else has done."

"Incredible is right," Kabuto agreed. "I can finally make sense of it all."

"Well? What does it do?" Sasuke asked, shifting in place.

"It's a barrier, big enough to protect entire countries. And it can sustain itself indefinitely through the natural energy present in nature," Kabuto answered. "This inscription here converts it into senjutsu so it can generate as chakra… The woman who wrote this was ingenious."

"What kind of barrier?" Sasuke said, leaning forward.

"It repels all outsiders that can manipulate chakra in any form. So only traders and other civilians can pass through. Only those nin with the nullification seal on their body may pass." Kabuto pointed to a specific inscription on one of the scrolls. "But the details on how to create the seal are on one of the missing two scrolls."

Suigetsu let out a giddy, disbelieving laugh. "That's awesome! So the Sound can do whatever they want, piss off all the other countries, and they get to stay all cozy inside their barrier."

"But there's a catch," Kabuto said. "This scroll was meant to be attuned to someone who can manipulate senjutsu. Have you happened to pick up this skill since the last time we've met, Sakura?"

"No. I don't even know how to begin."

Kabuto clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"What does that mean? Is it useless now?" Sasuke asked.

"Sakura could still activate it. But she would likely die - turning to stone in the process, as does anyone who takes in natural energy into their body who can't control it. This jutsu would turn Sakura into a conduit for the natural energy ley lines in the earth. And well… if she dies, the jutsu breaks and the scrolls would become useless."

"What?!" Sakura exclaimed. She could die?

"Dammit!" Sasuke swore.

"So, what? We're shit out of luck?" Suigetsu said.

"Could Sakura be taught how to wield senjutsu?" Karin suggested.

"How are your chakra reserves, Sakura?" Kabuto asked.

"I.. I have low chakra stamina, other than when I activate my seal. But that's dangerous for me; it shortens my lifespan when I do."

"No Slug Sage Mode for Sakura then, unless we genetically modify her with Jugo's DNA, or perhaps Karin's?" Kabuto said, looking at the two.

"No. I'm done having my DNA handed out like candy. Especially if done by you," Karin huffed, looking pointedly at Kabuto who smiled sardonically at her in response.

"I am willing," Jugo said.

"I am not willing to undergo any sort of experimentation," Sakura protested. The last thing she wanted to do was to be put under the scalpel by Kabuto and end up looking like him of all people.

"Could those of you that can manipulate senjutsu prevent her from turning to stone?" Sasuke suggested, looking at Kabuto and Jugo.

Kabuto hummed in thought. "It could be possible. Dangerous, but possible."

"So you're really going to risk my life then, huh?" Sakura said bitterly.

"There's no other way to make this work. But I won't let you die," Sasuke reassured with fierce certainty.

"One additional thing that should be noted," Kabuto said. "If Sakura survives, she can never leave the barrier that is created. She will be forever trapped within its walls."

"How? How does that make sense?" Sakura said. "When everyone else can just come and go?"

"Because it's connected to you," Kabuto answered. "You are the joining lifeforce between all of the scrolls as it continuously feeds off the earth's natural energy. You would break the chakra circuit if you leave, so the jutsu traps you within just like those outside the barrier are locked out."

Yumi glanced at Sakura with a look of pity in her eyes. She was the only one.

"Wait," Suigetsu said, scratching his head. "What's the point of this jutsu then if it only lasts Sakura's lifetime? That's a pretty crap jutsu if it becomes absolutely useless after one lifetime or if she dies unexpectedly. Then the Sound would be exposed to the world again."

"I don't know," Kabuto said. "We will need the information on all of the scrolls to be sure first. As for the other two scrolls, my spies hear whispers of one in the Land of Stone. As for the one in Konoha…"

"I tried looking for it last time I was in Konoha, but I couldn't find it," Sasuke said. "It's difficult to look properly when their stores are so well guarded."

"Perhaps a large-scale distraction might buy you enough time?" Kabuto suggested with a cruel smile.

An attack?

Sakura noticed Karin looking at her again. Sakura tried to calm her nerves. Karin then leaned in towards Sasuke and whispered something brief in his ear.

"Jugo, take Sakura to my house," Sasuke suddenly said.

"Follow me," Jugo said to Sakura, heading to the door.

"What? Why just me?" Sakura protested. "I don't see why I shouldn't be a part of this meeting when the whole damn plan now rests on my shoulders!"

"Sakura. Please," Sasuke said, looking at her intensely. "Not now. I'll fill you in later."

Everyone else in the room stared at Sakura, waiting for her to leave. Knowing this wasn't a battle she was going to win, and to get Karin's eyes off of her, she clenched her fist and relented.

"Fine," was all she said as she left out the door with Jugo.

Jugo led her to Sasuke's Oto home, located on the top layer, the same one as the Otokage's office. Sasuke's house looked identical in style to most of the buildings, built of jutsu-manipulated stone, with wood trimmings, but differed in that his was much larger and had the Uchiha crest painted on the door, and someone had upkept a small moss-covered yard with some decorative, low-light ferns.

Jugo unlocked the door and entered. "Welcome home, I suppose," he said. With a flip of a switch, lights flickered on, revealing a finished, tastefully decorated living room, with exotic items from across the Lands. Despite the unfinished, rough exterior of most of the Oto buildings, extra care had been taken to construct Sasuke's house, no doubt because of his daimyo status.

Sakura wordlessly dropped her traveling pack on the couch as her eyes explored the room. Jugo gave her a short tour of the rest of the home - pointing out the bedroom, the kitchen, the equipment room, and the bathroom. He also pointed out a few other barren rooms he offhandedly explained were put there by Kabuto in case Sasuke ever wanted to expand.

They eventually ended up back in the living room standing opposed to one another.

"So," Sakura said, "are you going to leave me be now?"

"No," Jugo answered. "I'm to watch you until Sasuke returns from his meeting."

Sakura crossed her arms. "Really? I thought this was for my protection, but now I'm starting to feel like I'm not trusted." Especially since she was kicked out of the meeting. What Karin might have said to Sasuke worried her too.

"Forgive us, Sakura. There are a lot of unknowns right now. Give it a little time and I am sure they will ease up on having me follow you around. Feel free to make yourself comfortable for right now. This is your home, after all."

Sakura glanced around the room. She needed Jugo's eyes off of her. "You're not going to follow me into the bathroom, are you?"

Jugo blushed. "No. You may have that privacy. I'll just wait here."

"Then if you don't mind, I'm going to take a nice, long bath."

Sakura found towels and a change of clothes and locked herself in the upstairs bathroom, Jugo left sitting awkwardly in the living room. When she set down everything on the counter, she turned on the bathtub faucet to mask sound. She slipped out a blank genjutsu tag from her pouch and a mini paintbrush and inkpot. She scrawled out a basic, repetitive sound genjutsu - a sound of gentle splashing - activated it, and tucked it behind the decorative fern in the corner. Next, with a hand sign and a poof of smoke, she transformed into Funai - someone abrasive enough that she shouldn't be bothered much.

When the tub was full of hot water she turned off the faucet, waited long enough to make sure her genjutsu tag was working as intended, and then slipped out the bathroom window.

She wasn't going to waste any time figuring out the best way to free Sai and the others.

It took her a few steps to get used to Funai's proportions but when she did she was able to walk much more confidently, and strode away from Sasuke's home as nonchalantly as possible.

First she had to find the prison.

She remembered the direction the Talons went to imprison the Leaf-nin; she had watched them carefully. Thankfully Oto was still relatively empty so she did not run into too many people. There were some builders, some civilians, and a few Sound-nin that strode by like they had too many things to do to pay her much mind.

She was able to find the prison in the back corner one layer down, carved directly into the cave wall, leaving no exit but the front door itself. Only a single guard-nin stood watch on the outside, which was incredibly lax compared to Konoha. Sakura supposed they hadn't had many prisoners until now, and Kabuto mostly only let those he deemed trustworthy into Oto. She would have to exploit this while she could.

"Ah, the Talon! You're back!" the guard-nin said with awe, glancing at the feathered beads symbol pinned to Sakura's chest.

"Let me in. I'm here to see the prisoners," Sakura gruffly said with Funai's voice.

"Ah, yes. Of course." And the guard-nin let her in without another question.

Their prison system was very rudimentary and clearly needed work if it was that easy. But she supposed talent was clearly limited here. She would take note of every weakness for later.

She wandered through the sparsely guarded prison like she knew where she was going. Many of the cells were empty, but she eventually passed by Log's siblings. Sarada glared at her as she passed. Mitsuki just looked defeated, and Shin still had that haunted look in his eyes.

She continued onward. She passed by some of the Sound recruits they brought with them. When she rounded the corner she found Sai, his cell placed between a hall of those potential recruits.

If it was just Sai in this hallway, they were clearly keeping the Leaf-nin separated then so they couldn't conspire.

When she stopped at Sai's cell he looked up at her with cold, calculating eyes, wordless. Stationed against the opposite wall was a leaning guard-nin.

"Weren't you just here?" the guard-nin said to her.

"I was. I need time alone to question the prisoner, so leave."

The guard-nin's lip curled in an unpleasant sneer but he relented and moved to just around the other side of the doorway at the end of the hall, facing away from her. It wasn't exactly the privacy Sakura was asking for, but she wasn't going to push her luck any farther.

She whipped out an empty tag and pencil and scrawled out a quick message.

"Does this mean anything to you?" Sakura said gruffly, holding out the tag in front of Sai's cell.

It read: I'm Sakura. I'm still loyal to the Leaf. Kabuto is the Kage. The Sound intends to attack Konoha to steal the Steam scroll. I will find a way to free you.

Sai approached the cell bars and quickly scanned the note.

"No. I don't know why you're showing me this," Sai smoothly said, staying perfectly in character.

"Typical worthless Leaf-nin," Sakura snapped. "I know when someone's lying to me. I'll get the answer out of you eventually."

She wished she could ask him where the keys to the cell and the chakra shackles around his wrists were. She would figure it out. (Alternatively, she could just smash open the cell with her fists and break the shackles in the same way, but that would alert the guards, and they all definitely wouldn't have enough time to escape with Sasuke and Kabuto on their tails.)

She didn't want to push her luck and try to share the same thing to Yamato or Anko once she could find them. The guard-nin could grow suspicious, and the less of them that knew the truth the better if they were questioned. She was just happy that she could tell someone, especially Sai.

She decided then there was only so long that Jugo would think she was bathing for, so she decided she had to come back later to scout out the prison further to locate the keys. She left the way she came in from the prison and hurried back towards Sasuke's home.

After she crawled back into the bathroom window, she returned to her original form, tore up the noise genjutsu tag she created, stripped, and quickly hopped into the lukewarm water to actually bathe. After some hasty scrubbing and washing of her hair, she drained the tub, changed into a fresh pair of clothes, and then left the bathroom like she had actually just enjoyed a nice long bath rather than spent that time sneaking around behind Jugo's back.

She searched around the home but couldn't find him, and she was starting to panic that he went looking for her, when she found Sasuke in the equipment room taking inventory of his blades and scrolls.

"You're finally done, eh?" Sasuke said, busying himself with putting away his katana and kunai.

"Yeah. Where's Jugo?"

"I sent him off after I made it back. Didn't see the need for him to linger while I'm here."

Her shoulders relaxed. "I'm impressed you have running water here with the state the rest of Oto is in."

"Being Daimyo has its perks," he wryly smiled.

"I'd say." She hovered by the doorway. He seemed to be in a better mood than this morning, at least. She waited for him to say something about dismissing her from the meeting, but nothing came. "Can we finally talk about this?"

"What part?" he said as he put his poison vials on the shelf.

"Everything. Like the fact that I'm now central to the Sound's future, or that I could die from the jutsu, or even what you plan is with Sai, Yamato, and Anko. Or the Leaf. Or me."

Sasuke regarded her silently. "Let us rest first. Then I will have your answers."

"No." Sakura's arm shot out and blocked him from leaving out the doorway. "I want to talk about this now. No more delays. I've been waiting since his morning after you brushed me off... like you always do."

They would finally talk on her terms. Not his.

They stared each other down.

"Fine, if you insist," he relented and took a few steps back from her arm and stood before her.

"I'm risking death for this plan of yours. And it sounds like I don't have a damn choice in it either." She still didn't know if she would get to go home. She was afraid to ask.

"I'm going to have Kabuto give me Jugo's DNA, so I can personally oversee your safety. It wouldn't be the first time I've been put under the scalpel to enhance my abilities."

"That's not the point!"

Sasuke's mouth twitched. "Sakura, I get it. But you have to understand. This is the only hope we have of this working, else everything I've worked towards will be destroyed by the other Hidden Villages once word spreads. They won't let a place like the Sound stand! It was an unfortunate mistake that the master scroll connected to you. And I'm not going to kill you in order to transfer it to someone else." He grimaced then, looking away.

He wasn't listening to her. Sakura wanted to scream. Explode. Tear this whole house down with her bare hands. Sakura instead let out a slow, frustrated sigh. Calm. "Ah."

The worst part is that she now understood why he was doing it. She saw the greys in which he operated in, the lack in the other Hidden Villages. And she hated herself for wanting to shove all that away to make this about her. She was only human, as much as the shinobi system of old wanted to deny that. And she had always been selfish.

"You said you wanted to help me, right?" Sasuke said, returning his gaze to her. "And that you understand why I'm doing this?"

"Yes, but it would be nice if you put me first for once."

"I am. This is what you wanted. To be involved in what I was doing. To be with me. I'm giving you that. Sakura. I need you. I swear to you we'll find a way to make this work and make it safe for you."

Sakura almost scoffed at it. Him prioritizing her? The mission was always the most important thing on Sasuke's mind. He was willing to risk his wife's life over it. It was ridiculous that he thought that this was all that was needed to make her happy.

But Sakura swallowed her retort. She couldn't let her emotions flare too much and break her cover. "And what about Sai, Yamato, and Anko? You're not going to kill them, are you?"

Sasuke let out a sigh. "No. Don't worry, I have a plan for them. They need to go back to the Leaf too, else their long disappearance or deaths will indicate suspicion and be cause to investigate further. I can make them forget, at least for a time."

A genjutsu?

"We will go back to the Leaf too, for the same reasons. And I need to determine the location of the scroll there."

Sakura felt an insurmountable amount of relief at that moment, and she hoped it didn't read as plainly on her face. She would get to go home. For now.

She could make this work. Even if Sai and the others were put under a genjutsu, she could free them from it the moment she gets back to Konoha, as soon as she could first get to Shikamaru or Naruto about Sasuke. Since she revealed herself to Sai, he would be able to vouch for her about not turning traitor. And she would be free of this dangerous barrier plan that at best would leave her trapped inside forever.

She almost wanted to ask Sasuke to confirm it a second time, just to make sure she heard him correctly. But she didn't want the hope to bleed into her voice. Instead, she said, "What did Kabuto mean, by a distraction?"

"We don't know yet how we'll go about it, but I don't intend to kill anyone if I don't have to. I know you have people there who are still important to you."

"Then why was I kicked out of the meeting? What are you hiding from me?"

Sasuke tentatively said, "Have you made your decision?"

"I have. I'm staying here with you."

"Are you sure?" He looked at her uncertainly. "You want to leave everything you have built up in Konoha for me?"

No.

"Yes. Now can you stop asking me about it and answer my question?"

"Karin is… cautious. But her shrewdness makes her valuable to Taka and the Sound. She'll come around to you eventually."

Sakura waited for him to explain more, but that was it. That was his answer. Sasuke was still shutting her out even though he was supposed to be letting her in. Funny how it still hurt even though it was wise of him to do so. She would betray him when they returned to Konoha.

She folded her arms and turned her back to him, taking in a shaky breath.

She had no way of knowing what would happen to him when they returned to Konoha. Shikamaru might keep Sasuke's secret under wraps for some time until he could move all his shogi pieces in the right place to strike. He might tell Naruto, he might not. Sakura knew now that if he wouldn't, she would.

But in the end, Sakura would inevitably extinguish this ignited flame of passion Sasuke cultivated outside of Konoha and have him dragged back home like a caged animal. Even if he was a terrible husband, he was still a part of their Team 7. But she refused to be caged here in the Sound instead. What Sasuke had built up here would likely be destroyed, no matter of any of its merits.

Why couldn't Sasuke have just stayed in Konoha with her and Naruto? Why couldn't their home mean something to him? Why couldn't he just find a way to make the changes he wanted within Konoha?

But, could Naruto actually bring back Sasuke a second time?

Sasuke hugged her from behind and said low near her ear, "Thank you, for picking me. And this. It means a lot to me." He paused. "I can tell you're upset right now. Look, I understand. Just… know that you can have a good life here, even if you'll be stuck within the barrier's walls. We could form the direction of the Sound together. You would have all the power afforded by being a daimyo's wife. And your healing would be invaluable for keeping the Sound's people safe."

She didn't reply.

"I'm… not good at this," Sasuke admitted. "Love. Marriage."

"Damn right," her voice cracked. "And I've been so damn patient with you."

"You have. I… I spent so many years focused on a singular goal. Revenge. I never left room for anything else to grow. But having that was the only way I was able to keep myself going. It was thanks to Naruto that I was able to see that there was more to life than hatred. So I don't know what I'm doing. But I'm trying, for what it's worth. I know I owe that to you for waiting on me for so long, after hurting you so many times."

Sakura's gut twisted. She hated that he actually sounded genuine about it. But while Sasuke had abandoned hatred, he had never abandoned his need of always having a singular goal to focus his everything on, to the detriment of everyone else. And she didn't know how much longer she could stand waiting for promised change. She was tired of waiting.

"Are you actually trying?" she countered.

He turned her around so they faced one another. There was that look of guilt on his face again as he gazed at her. Sakura firmly waited for his reply. Sasuke tugged on her arm, pulling her to him, and suddenly he was kissing her. It was uncertain and exploratory. A tentative apology.

She thought about shoving him off, but instead she kissed him back.

His hand then went to her shirt, at the buttons of her top, undoing the first two.

Sakura paused at the realization of his intentions. She pulled her face away and looked at him. He held her gaze, waiting for her response.

Sakura drew herself back in and kissed him more firmly. Sasuke went back to undoing her buttons.

She didn't know what she was doing. She was furious at him. But she wanted him too. God, did she want him. It felt like she was slipping away from whatever this strange love between them was, and she had a last desperate need to cling to it with all her might.

And maybe, for just a moment, she could pretend that there was something normal between the two of them. Like he was always a doting husband who never failed to make sure she felt loved. That he wasn't a traitor to the Leaf with a tenuous future. That she wasn't in love with another man who filled the holes of her husband's absence.

Sakura lost her shirt somewhere along their way to the bedroom.

As she kissed him with franic abandon, Sakura thought she could finally unwind and indulge in this small pleasure, if for only just a moment, but the lingering anxiety never went away so matter how much she tried to shove it into the back of her mind. Once they returned to Konoha, who knew what would become of them. Some part of her didn't care.

Once the two of them were stripped, Sakura found herself on her back on the bed with Sasuke above her. Their eyes caught briefly, Sakura's swirling uncertainty reflected in Sasuke's face. It was quickly forgotten about when Sasuke leaned down to kiss her again.

Sakura submitted herself to Sasuke, to her own pleasure. His elbow and stump remained planted firmly at her sides into the mattress as he moved with a deliberate mechanical efficiency. He had the same look as before, as during their wedding night. Brow furrowed in firm concentration. Like he was looking past her.

She desperately wanted him to touch her, to feel his weight against her, but he stayed propped above her. Sakura grew frustrated, and rolled the two of them until she was on top, riding him. His hand gripped her thigh, but she took his hand and ran it up to her breasts.

Touch me, she pleaded. Love me.

Sasuke was left surprised at her initiative, but he did what she wanted and cupped her breast. But he was still looking through her.

How many lonely nights she had spent back home in bed, daydreaming of all the things she wanted him to do to her… But even now when she had him she still felt empty and wanting.

When they finished, Sakura rolled off to the other side of the bed as the two caught their breath in the growing silence between them.

Sasuke left the bed and slipped on his shirt and pants. "I'll make lunch."

"Okay."

And Sasuke excused himself from the bedroom.

Sakura curled into herself, away from the door, from him. She finally realized what the look on his face was. He touched her like it was his duty to. Like she was a mission.

When she finally pulled herself out of bed, she cleaned herself off, dressed, and went to the kitchen, following the wafting smell of food. Sasuke just finished placing two plates at the table. A simple fried rice with pork.

They ate with only a scant few words shared between them. (What was there even to say?)

While she ate with a straight face, she was internally spiraling down into despair.

When she made it back to Konoha, how the hell would Naruto fix this? Make Sasuke reprioritize anything? Even if Naruto could fix this, and Sasuke either never found out her betrayal or forgave her, was this what was waiting for her back in that best case scenario life of hers where Sasuke finally stays home with her in Konoha?

Was this the 'trying' Sasuke promised her? Was this the best they could be?

She thought again of the future she imagined in Konoha with him and felt nothing but hopelessness.

What was even worth saving about them?

She was dumb and naive thinking that she could fix anything about this. Like a fool, she had been desperately chasing that dying spark when she should have known it would just turn to dust in her hands.

She descended further down that spiral until there was nothing but numbness. She couldn't even taste the food.

And she still didn't know why she loved him. She didn't even know what she wanted anymore. She just knew she didn't want this.

When she was done eating, Sasuke took care of the dishes. Sakura stood and went to the window outlooking Oto. She took a slow, deep breath. Keep it together.

"Sakura."

Sakura turned to face Sasuke. He strode up to her and cupped her face, gazing into her eyes.

"You keep on looking at me like that," Sakura said softly. "Why do you always look guilty when you look at me?"

Before she could garner what he was doing, his Rinnegan flashed through his long bangs and he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Sorry, Sakura. Just to be safe," was the last thing she remembered as she felt his jutsu surge into her.

A/N: WOOOO! Pull out the champagne guys, we finally made it through the Sasuke Mission Arc!

I just have to say, god, it was hard to try and balance two conflicts in Sakura at once - one being Sasuke's Sound stuff, the other being her feelings about their relationship. In my notes, my plot bullet points had me handling both of these in this arc, and hooo boy was it actually hard to actually do when I got to actually writing it, including that last scene in this chapter. In the end, maybe it could have been done better but too late now, no time for regrets, we're moving forward to the leesaku B]

(Also, rest assured (or to your disappointment?), there will be no pregnancy plotline in this fic.)