To Sasori's credit, he had met Sakura in her office at the hospital just an hour later. This time, she forgoed her usual medic attire for the Suna ANBU issued one, just the mask was tucked away in her pack to remain anonymous while she traipsed the hospital for the time being.
Itachi had commented before that the mask hardly mattered, there were only a handful of people in the entire world with hair of the same color and only one that was a world-renowned medic-nin.
She was not exactly built for subtlety.
No matter the situation, she would follow protocol and hide her designated mask until after they were about to set out of the village.
Sasori was, in actuality, as healthy as he had stated to her before. The only thing that nagged at her was how physically exhausted he was. But as the Kazekage had informed her earlier, with Gaara grounded in the village for now, Sasori had to pick-up much of the slack of his counterpart.
He lingered for a second after the check-up, Sakura dropping her hands to his sides and taking a step back. "We'll meet at the gates in a half-hour."
Sakura nodded, saying nothing as she silently moved about her room. The pinkette had brought to Suna her standard issue Konoha ANBU kit, mostly in worry that Orochimaru would attack the village again while she was present. It was simply a precaution in case she found herself in the middle of a large scuffle. But never had she assumed that Suna would ask her to accompany them on a mission, it was fortunate that she was prepared ahead of time, now just checking over her supplies to make sure she had enough.
Sasori followed behind her, a hand going to her chin as he grabbed her attention in a surprisingly gentle hold.
"I'll say this once. I'm your squad leader, meaning you will listen to me. This is not just another mission and I'm sure the Third emphasized the dangers to you plenty." Sasori explained.
"I know."
"Good." The redhead stated simply, lingering his touch for a few seconds before disappearing from the room.
Sakusa shook the treacherous thoughts from her head, the ones that were basically begging her to reach out and kiss him in that moment. Ever since the morning she woke up in his bed, it was like an internal switch had flipped and their simple, cordial words had become charged with something else entirely.
Instead she busied herself by traversing around her office, packing up and organizing some documents into more secure parts of her desk. When Sakura finally locked it, the light in Daito's office was off and so she retreated to the OR floor instead.
There was no doubt a number of eyes that followed her, the pinkette suddenly adorned in the attire attributed to the Suna ANBU rather than her usual doctor's coat. She scanned the OR board and saw that Daito was completely off of surgery - had the council really hammered that hard on the one person who worked tirelessly on this hospital?
She had words for the situation, but that was for another time.
The Neuro Attending was passing by as she grabbed his attention, telling him that she was going to be away for a mission and in case of emergency, she had some copies of the untested antidotes with Lady Chiyo.
Her exit from the hospital was anticlimactic, silently rushing out a window and hopping roofs to the designated gates. Sakura did not recognize any of her other teammates other than Sasori. There was a female and two other males, but neither really spoke in pleasantries. Rather, they nodded to her in greeting by name. She was not an official member of the ANBU, not back in Konoha and definitely not here in Suna, the temporary uniform her only guise.
The team ran until they were hours from Amegakure, Suna having received a tip that one of the lackeys within Orochimaru's close circle was nearby. This mission called for stealth and demanded that minimal to no fighting be involved. They were here simply to gather information since they were mostly going into this blind.
Sakura's involvement was just a contingency plan, that much was obvious.
She noted how similar Sasori was to how Itachi led a team. They were both meticulous and very careful, expressing few, but concise words that the rest of the cell carried out without question. She was sure that Sasori's scan of the area was thorough and when they slowed down closer to the charge, she was not surprised to see him already unwrapping a scroll.
They were silent in their observation of the Sound-nin. They had found some, this far out from their country, it was undoubtedly the ones they were looking for. Only one was sporting a headband - a dark-skinned male with a purple bow around his garments. Sasori assigned different nin for each member to monitor, Sakura kept her eyes out on that one in particular.
"Kidōmaru, we need a hand over here."
A voice in the distance grabbed his attention, Sakusa mentally noting down the name as he turned back to the others.
She watched him traverse the crowd of other Sound nin, most of them looking worse for wear in comparison. They were transporting something, loading it up at a spot for some reason. Sakura craned her head to see, but it was difficult to pin-point it this far out.
They were in a perfectly well-hidden spot, more than two-hundred meters out and within the foliage without a sound. Their chakra was completely suppressed, not to mention that none of the ninja had even noticed them in the first hour that they were watched.
They should have been completely unnoticeable.
Should have.
"Wait, I know that smell." One of the older men noted, visibly upturning his nose and making Sakura feel suddenly anxious. The ANBU operative next to her grabbed the scroll at her back, probably ready to release a puppet if needed.
"What are ya on about old man?"
"It smells like desert pine." He replied, his smile curling oddly. "Like Sasori."
Sakura turned to her leader in alarm and he was already cursing, signalling for them to take off in the opposite direction back to the village. They would undoubtedly be noticed, especially at this close distance, but if given the head-start it could be all they needed to leave them behind.
"Sasori, don't run from me!" The voice exclaimed, suddenly turned in their direction.
"Shit."
Their main tactic was to keep running, they would either give-up or get lost in their tracks as the other operatives released bunshins running in different directions. A few of them did get separated, but a small handful was still hot on their tail, the Sasori-admirer among them.
Sasori gave the team the signal to turn, scrolls coming to life with puppets from three of the users. Sakura lifted her kunai, but stood back a few paces as the designated field-medic. The older man had eyes only for Sasori, his seven other companions jumping into action against her team.
Sakura noticed that the one named Kidōmaru was not among those that pursued them.
"He's mine!" The older nin exclaimed, rushing over to the red-head.
Sasori raised a newly repaired Karasu to upend his path, flipping a safe distance away.
Sakura watched the other ANBU members take down the rest of the group, despite their lesser numbers. Only the older man in front of them would probably raise an issue, especially with his weapons tinged in a deep purple, poison dripping from the pointed edges.
"Sasori, if he's another admirer of yours, he's going to know all your puppets again."
Sasori frowned, silently agreeing with her but hating where she was undoubtedly going with this. He cut off her line of reasoning immediately, "I'm not using you."
"Sasori."
Sakura watched as his right hand, the one equipped with Karasu, flexed and unflexed into a fist. She could only imagine the internal struggle he had in all of two seconds, before he retreated the puppet back into its scroll and whipped towards her instead.
The feeling of power, of chakra itself latching onto her skin, that was something the pinkette was not used to yet. But she trusted Sasori to work with her, summoning chakra to her hands as he maneuvered her through the up-ended ground that she punched between her and the enemy.
The older ninja, one not equipped to fight off this unknown enemy, jumped back in surprise just to get rushed by Sakura. She closed the distance in seconds, the barely-visible blue strings of chakra guiding. There was no hesitation on either part, raising her hands and smashing it into the abdomen of the unsuspecting man.
Just as she had snapped his spine, Sakura raised a green-clad hand to his skin, almost physically holding onto the nerve endings to keep him alive.
He was subdued in literal seconds, losing all control of his nervous system, and yet somehow still breathing. She was close enough to watch the widened-surprised in his expression, signaling his confusion at the quick defeat. Within the same second, Sakura felt the instant tug of the chakra strings, bringing her back to Sasori's side.
The rest of the field lay quiet, the only indicator that there was an altercation were the spatters of blood littering the ground. Within minutes, they had laid waste of their pursuers. They were safe, but at the cost of their stealth. They would have to make due with the information they had in the three hours they were observing.
"Damn." Their fellow ANBU teammate commented, the first word Sakura had heard from her in the past few hours.
"Is he still alive?" The other asked.
Sakura nodded, "Yes. He doesn't have total control over his nervous system, so you don't have to worry about him moving around. But he's alive to bring back."
The ANBU members nodded, whether in response or commendation, the pinkette was not sure. But she did not elaborate further, the group resetting themselves and collecting their weapons routinely before setting off.
Sasori had his eyes on his hands, silently observing them. Just a few seconds ago, he was wielding one of the strongest weapons he had ever been equipped with.
To think the strongest puppet he could use was one that was alive.
The reason he was so apprehensive to begin with bringing Sakura on this mission was how head-strong she was. It was simply a question of when rather than if he was going to use her as a puppet again. And this time, with their growing friendship and more trust under their belt, it was no doubt that their work together made them a dangerous weapon when combined.
The red-head kept thinking about this, how it hardly compared to that of some in his collection. Karasu was only as strong as he maneuvered it and Hiruko, his best defensive puppet, had the same limitations. But Sakura, he could quickly navigate her through a battlefield and, if necessary, he could let go to reposition himself and Sakura would still be carving a path without his direction.
Sasori stared at the pinkette, pondering the strength of a puppet with a life of its own, able to wield the strength and chakra of two people.
Sakura, in question, had quickly scanned the other members, noting that they had not even a single scratch on the open areas of skin. When she turned to Sasori, his eyes had already taken on a different light.
It was a look that she recognized many times on her teammates before.
There was a wildness in his eyes that she had seen on both Naruto, when the people he loved were hurt, and even Sasuke, when his family or beloved teammates were in serious danger.
There was only one way to ground them.
She grabbed at Sasori's hands, taking them from his far-off gaze and squeezing them in her hold. "Hey."
His brown eyes, darkened by the shadows of this silent forest, met her own without truly seeing her. It was only a few seconds, just a few moments more of her holding his hands, before he snapped to and looked toward the rest of the team.
They were still organizing their salvageable weapons, the moment lost on everyone but the two. Sasori pulled his hands away not unkindly, before issuing orders to keep the enemy ninja sedated for travel back to the village. It was unnecessary, in Sakura's eyes, but they continued to do so anyway.
The rest of the mission went about routinely, heading back to Suna with an extra member on the back of one of the ANBU. They stopped once on the way, most probably for her sake from the way Sasori was shooting her a look over his shoulder.
Admittedly, Sakura was a few months rusty from being commissioned out on missions, not to mention an ANBU mission at that. The momentary stop had her cursing half-assed apologies that her stamina was not at the ANBU level. If they were annoyed at the random stop, they hardly showed it then.
Once they were back inside the village, Sasori directed her and another ANBU member to go straight to the Torture and Investigation building rather than the hospital. The others beelined right for the Kazekage tower, leaving with no words between them.
The Suna nin were expecting her arrival, setting aside a room for her to lay the man on the table. She had explained the situation to them, likening how his nerves were connected like a silly string, at best, to his brain. Without access to motor movements or any of his limbs, really, the older man was a sitting duck.
"Interesting." One of the T&I nin noted. "Something they taught you back in Konoha?"
"Kind of, something I picked up and adjusted on my own ANBU missions."
"I see." He noted before rounding the table again, "But you could connect back, right?"
Ibiki had asked her a similar question once, back in Konoha's personal T&I. It seemed that some things did not change from village to village.
"If necessary for movement, it won't exactly be the same. But if to inflict pain, then yes."
She caught the movement of the enemy nin's eyes, latching onto her and her words and widening in obvious fear.
"Perfect."
Sakura had left it at that, not at all envying the work being done behind those closed doors. Rather, she headed home and took a long shower, happy to get the grime of the bloody mission off of her. It was their job, simply put. And any reservations she had about their lifestyle was long behind her years ago. Instead, she was grumbling more about the blood stuck between her boots.
An hour into her lounging, a maid had knocked on her door, stating that an ANBU member had just been here to request her presence with the Kazekage. It was only routine and so Sakura thought nothing of it when she was presenting her report to the older man.
He took in her words carefully, pausing for a moment before asking, "And what do you think of this sudden obsession with Sasori?"
Sakura paused, "Honestly, I can't explain it. I understand that the main connection is the poison, but there seems to be something deeper there. Like a personal reverence for the redhead."
The Kazekage sighed, agreeing silently.
"May I also contribute something out of this mission?" She asked.
He raised a silent brow, but raised a calm open palm to signify her to continue.
"The hospital only allows access to facilities to members of the hospital staff and those under their care. I went through the entry logs personally and I was able to pinpoint a three-week window where the inventory of Sasori's poison was incorrectly stated."
"Three-weeks?"
"I can't go any further than that without relying on assumptions. Prior to being here, there was not even a steady Attending for the poisons department." Sakura explained, "But, that honestly also helps narrow it down."
"How so?"
"The poisons department is a mix of a laboratory and a greenhouse. And to keep optimal conditions for the greenhouse, it is completely enclosed. Meaning there are no windows and no doors to the outside area. The only way in is through a keycard from within the hospital."
The only affirmation she received that he was listening is through his small nods. Usually Tsunade and even Minato would voice their own thoughts, but he was allowing her to explain it entirely through.
"In those three-weeks, there was barely anyone assigned to this department and with the exception of a handful of assigned interns, there were no unaccounted for keycards. Meaning it was not an employee who could have gotten in."
"So you do not fear the possibility of a mole in your hospital."
"I would be a fool to drop my guard entirely, but I don't think it is worth investigating the staff of the hospital."
"I agree." The Third stated as he mulled over her words, "The option was on the table, but I agree with your line of reasoning. However, please compile a report on those who used their keycards in that three-week period. I would like to see this myself."
"Of course." Sakura responded.
"I must say, on a personal note, that it will only become more frustrating going forward. Gaara has the most obvious target on his back, but with this obsession over Sasori, I'm afraid it may be better to ground them both for the time being."
Sakura nodded.
"Please know that we may call on you again."
Sakura smiled and reiterated back to the Third Kazekage, "I would never leave out a person in need."
He shot her a placating look, before waving her away signalling their audience adjourned.
With a hundred different thoughts on her mind, the pinkette retreated back to her office to compile the report immediately. It was an easy task, most of the occupants of the poisons department were limited to Lady Chiyo herself and Sasori. Sakura also recognized some of the interns' names that visited on occasion, since they made an effort to do so while she was here.
She was still in her civilian clothes, doctor's coat left on the office door even as she left. Daito's light was still off, just the same as prior to her mission. Heading down to the OR, some of the attendings welcomed her back, asking permission if she would be available for some surgeries the very next day.
Accepting the bustle of her normal life, Sakura nodded in agreement before leaving the hospital into the crisp air of that evening, the file tucked under her elbow as she retreated back to the Kazekage tower.
-xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx-
It seemed Daito's name was still completely off the OR board, meaning that an entirely useful hand and mind was no longer in action where he was needed. Much like when she first arrived, Sakura was getting pulled into different operating rooms to supervise or offer a consult rather than the work she set out to do that day.
At the tail-end of a consult for Cauda Equina syndrome, Sakura retreated to the poisons department. She had promised Takumi that she would help him with a specific poison that both Lady Chiyo and him were working on. And, sure enough, they were both hunched over a desk in the greenhouse.
She greeted them warmly before turning to the scroll, "Let's take a look, shall we?"
The three of them worked quietly, watching the pinkette as she scrutinized the specific effects of the poison. There was something strange about the base composite and she had to take a step back and think about where she had heard about it before.
Shizune had mentioned a similar poison that was seen from the pufferfish in Mist. But since it was rare for most nin from either Konoha or Suna to venture to, it was something not commonly seen in the field. Sakura had requested for Chiyo to look into this, if Suna had any of those in their storage, to which the older woman tilted her head in question initially before retreating somewhere with an intern.
The pinkette and Takumi stood there quietly, waiting for her return before the door opened to reveal another person entirely.
She knew that Sasori haunted this department even before she had arrived in Suna, but he was making his presence annoyingly known for how confident a non-employee was.
"Here." He all but threw a vial at her, showing up unannounced and making a beeline for her.
"What is this?" She asked, raising it into the light to take a better look.
"Something new I made." He explained in a few words, "Besides, I wanted to see if you really are as good as people say you are."
He really knew the right buttons to incense her.
"Oh really, Pinocchio?"
"Make an antidote for this."
"And what do I get out of this?"
"Free lunch."
"You pay for lunch anyway."
Sasori regarded her with a smirk, one she recognized as one of his more sarcastic looks, to which she shrugged before pocketing the vial as Chiyo returned to the greenhouse.
"I'm sure I'll have no issues for a second time, may I remind you."
"We'll see."
He turned and left as quickly as he came, waving goodbye over his shoulder just as Lady Chiyo set down the ingredients.
It was only when Takumi lightly chuckled that Sakura drew her attention off of where Sasori just disappeared from.
"What?"
"Nothing, I just…" Takumi trailed off, but at both women's shared stares he continued. "I hadn't believed the gossip that the two of you were courting. But after seeing that, you two are very similar after all."
"What?!" Sakura nearly screeched as Lady Chiyo nodded in agreement.
"As much as I hate to say it, but they actually aren't dating."
"Really?" He turned to the older woman then.
"Really." She replied, tone relaying her exhaustion. "Believe me, I've tried."
Sakura rubbed at her temples before rallying them back to the task at hand. "Let's just focus on the poison!"
That straightened Takumi and, while Lady Chiyo shot her particular looks now and then, they were able to make progress on the poison enough for Sakura to take a step back.
She waited silently, now aware of how to proceed and waiting for the other two to mentally catch-up. Lady Chiyo was faster, moving about the greenhouse as Takumi trailed behind, muttering his personal observances and other notes on the original poison.
In this spare amount of time, Sakura emptied the vial gifted by Sasori and got to work. The footprint that she usually saw in poisons made by the redhead was notably absent, as if he was personally challenging her with this newly crafted poison.
The three of them worked alongside one another mostly in silence, not saying much unless it was a question. They were all conducting their own research, time spanning by quickly as they moved about the greenhouse.
She was looking over Takumi's shoulder, silent in her observance when the redhead entered the department for the second time that day. Sakura did a double take when she recognized him, motioning him over to an open scroll.
Within the day, only a few hours later, she had an antidote.
"I would've had it faster if i wasn't busy
with y'know, my job." She joked toward him, playfully rubbing shoulders as he stood beside her.
"Whatever, I'm still your captain." He teased back.
Sakura rolled her eyes, not taking his statement personally. Besides, there was this undeniable tilt at the corner of his lips, a fond gaze going from his neutralized poison to the pinkette at his side.
"It's like you complete me." He muttered in a low tone.
"What?" Sakura asked, genuinely unable to hear what he said.
"Nothing, brat." He huffed before turning to her fully, "Come on, let's get dinner. It's already late and I doubt your dumb ass remembered to eat a proper meal."
"Hey!"
"He is right, expletives aside that is." Takumi countered.
Sakura sighed as she packed up her workstation, "Fine, but make sure you get a good meal as well."
Takumi shot her a mock salute before he cleaned up his area as well. With Sasori tapping his foot impatiently, Sakura rushed behind him and waved the other two goodbye.
Sharing meals with Sasori was the norm at this point, the restaurant workers almost expectant of the two on this weekday. Despite their constant presence (and bickering), that hadn't stopped many market-goers to whisper gossip around them.
Sasori hardly paid it any mind.
Sakura was finally getting used to her home life, a routine between the hospital work, recreational time with her friends, and getting a proper night's rest was gradually setting into place.
The pinkette made an effort to learn the names of those who serviced her guest home, as well as invite them to the wonderfully laid out meals that she enjoyed alone.
One particular night, Sakura had stayed home and enjoyed the delicacy of the personal chef, standing in her seat when Tayuya was already waiting in the doorway, leaning on one side.
"It's nice to see you." Sakura started.
Tayuya nodded in agreement, pushing off the door frame to stand straight.
"Is it alright if I ask you a question?"
"Sure." Sakura nodded as she stood.
"Konoha and Suna haven't always been on the friendliest terms, even recently." She was voicing her thoughts, "So is it true that you went and killed Shinga?
"Yes, I was part of the delegation."
"Why?"
Sakura angled her head in question, "What do you mean?"
"Why would you risk your life for Suna? For a demon of all people?"
"It wasn't really about Suna, for me." Sakura answered honestly, "My teammates and my friends were in danger, it didn't matter what their forehead protector said."
"I see."
They stood in notable silence, Sakura watching the young woman stew in her thoughts as the seconds dragged on. The pinkette could not help but feel the weight of that question, wondering just how loaded, how much more it meant, to Tayuya.
"So you were the one who made the antidote?" She asked this time.
Sakura hesitated to answer, unsure where these questions were coming from when the answers were obvious, before lamely settling on:
"Well, yes."
But when she turned to Tayuya, the maid was already walking way, her retreating form just a few pages away down the hall. Sakura wondered if she had not heard the answer. Or rather, she was asking a question she already knew the answer to.
How curious.
-xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx-
One by one it seemed the causes for her prior headaches were popping up again. She had the date circled three times on her calendar and had even put a reminder on the top of her desk.
Today was the council meeting regarding Chief of Medicine, Daito.
Sakura already knew what she was going to say.
Their concerns before were ludicrous and it only seemed heightened by their ignorance of the workings of a hospital. There was no such thing as one-hundred percent success rate and yet they demanded perfection in less than favorable circumstances. If anything, they should have been commending him for staying here despite their biased qualms.
When Sakura entered the Kazekage tower, she took the seat next to Daito in a show of support. His expression was blank, giving away nothing, but she wanted him to know that there was someone very obviously on his side.
What tested on her patience was how she had to listen to the council members draw on with their administrative tasks - starting the meeting with the minutes and agenda. Rasa was quiet, which honestly surprised her considering how outraged he was when Kankuro was initially poisoned.
The Third turned to her, thankfully at the point where it looked like she would burst, "You seem as you want to comment."
"Daito is one of my most respected colleagues and worked to the best he could in an unsavory environment."
"Unsavory?" One of them huffed.
Sakura reached into her pouch for a rolled scroll, laying it on the table in her recent findings. Everything that she had examined from beginning to now, she would not hold back on the drawbacks.
"Let me preface it with this: the budget allocated to the hospital leaves little room to fix any of these current problems." Sakura started, "From when I first arrived here, a major issue is how severely understaffed almost every department seems to be. Daito and your attendings have their own responsibilities, but these get constantly pushed from emergency surgeries that no one else can perform."
"That's why we have the medical program, to recruit and raise interest."
"Right and what's the turnover rate for the program?" Sakura challenged back, "There aren't even enough students who make it to the end of the program to be employed back into the hospital."
"We wanted to foster the skills of the in-house employees."
Sakura narrowed her eyes, "There isn't even a formal attending for the poisons department." She sighed deeply before unfurling the scroll further, "But even if that were the case, if someone were to sharpen their skills in the hospital, what's the salary raise between the medical interns and the residents?"
No one answered.
There hadn't been a reason to, either way.
It was more profitable and took less time to find employment with field missions. And that was an evident fact for everyone in this room. A salary of an active chunin rivaled some of the more skilled residents and it was clear who's workload was worse. Medic-nin's already had a specialized skill and, without the proper means of compensation, why would they ground themselves to the hospital if it was simply not worth it?
Sakura cut through the silence, "You can't expect a full one-hunrded percent when you're only giving them ten in return."
"And what do you suggest?"
"Improvements starting with an increase in allocated funds. These will not occur overnight, but they're steps in the right direction."
Another one of the near-sneering council members turned to her, "And I assume you have a plan?"
Sakura bit her lip - she knew plenty of Konoha's administrative plan, but that was not something she was about to divulge. Rather, another voice piped into the conversation.
"Yes, I do." Daito spoke clearly as he reached for several scrolls of his own.
Sakura had to stop herself from smiling, he was prepared ten steps ahead of her. All he needed was for the council members to listen willingly, which would only occur if she vouched for him. She opened the door, but Daito was the one who could get them through it.
The pinkette sat and listened intently, funds going to where she had estimated needed it most. Poisons, trauma, emergency - these were all vital departments that were severely lacking. Nodding along, she followed along with his plan and watched as the council members interjected at times, but generally approved of little improvements.
The plan was hardly finished in that single meeting, only adjourning to continue on the very next day. When they both left the meeting room, Daito signalled for her to follow with a quick jerk of his neck in a direction.
Sakura followed him all the way back to the hospital, a few paces behind as Daito flipped the light switch to his office and unveiled his recent work. Three blackboards with papers and notes pinned every which way, this was something he had thought about intently.
"Thank you for that, back there." He started.
"No problem at all." Sakura warmly replied, "They underestimate how much work you put into this hospital."
A corner of his lips twitched upward, before turning back to the notes and gesturing for her to take a look. There was a layout of the entire hospital in one corner, the hierarchy displayed with his own personal notes. Her name was scribbled at the top with an asterisk, saying she was assigned to poisons but viable in every department including administration.
She looked at his plan from this point of view, much more in-depth than the summaries given to the council. That made sense, of course they would never understand the importance of a centrifuge and explaining every necessary medical tool would only serve to unnecessarily prolong the meeting.
The two of them continued to discuss the plan more in-depth, long after the sun had set and the rounds changed in the hospital floors below.
It took five meetings over the course of a week, one of which Sakura had half the mind to throw Rasa out the fucking window with his inane questions, but they had finally settled on an increased budget.
They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries as if they had not spent the last week antagonizing their chief of medicine, but Sakura digressed. If it got the job done, she was not going to stir any more trouble. The Third Kazekage nodded at her before she left the last meeting, to which she silently returned and headed back to her temporary home.
And while this was a win in both their books, both Sakura and Daito were away from the hospital for five entire days, immediately getting jumped with concerns the moment they were on shift.
Thankfully no urgent poison attacks, but Sakura felt herself stretched thin again while Attending after Attending called her in for a consult. She felt herself collapse into a nearby on-call room just to see Daito already there, off his feet on a chair but still leafing through a file that someone had asked him to look over.
How he was able to do this alone for so long, Sakura applauded his stamina for the nth time.
Her ten-hour shift turned into two back to back, until finally the pinkette lost track of the days that she was haunting these four walls. Takumi had laughed at her appearance, saying she needed to rest or it would scare the poor kids in pediatrics, but she simply bonked him on the head and kept going on her way.
She must have underestimated Takumi's concern, since soon enough Sasori was on a warpath to her in some distant on-call room.
He probably told Lady Chiyo.
Goddamnit.
Sasori was leaning against the doorsill, impatience clear on his face. "We're getting lunch in an hour. Fix yourself now and then after you're heading home."
The pinkette rolled her eyes but decided to go along with it. After all, Sasori had access to escalating the problem, complaining about her work ethic to the Kazekage or Rasa or even worse, Temari.
She would never live down their joint nagging.
And so she went about her rounds, assigning interns to different patients for vitals and informing the staff that her prolonged shift was coming to a close. Daito had teasingly commented that finally, she was going home to which she shot back at him to follow in her footsteps.
All she received in reply was a shrug before he continued on his way.
Sakura arrived a few minutes early, it was not out of excitement, she assured herself. But just because she had the time. It was no surprise that Sasori had reserved a table for them ahead of time, following the host as she led to the table.
It was not often that Sakura was waiting on the redhead, but there was not a doubt in her mind the time that they had agreed upon to meet for lunch today. And so she sat there waiting, waving away waitresses while they attempted to get her order. For someone who often complained about her personal punctuality, a crawl of annoyance coursed through her when ten minutes passed without the redhead.
She looked out the window just in time to see him, with a blond she did not recognize, entering the restaurant.
"Apologies, but he insisted on being a thorn in my side today." Sasori started as he took the seat across from her. Next to him was a frowning blond, some of his hair swept back in a ponytail that reminded her much of her best friend back in Konoha.
"Haruno Sakura." She offered, raising an open palm for him to take.
"My pleasure, yeah." He responded, and instead of shaking her hand, he raised the top of her hand to his lips.
There was almost a visible tick on Sasori's forehead, which made both other occupants of the table smile.
"... And you are?" Sakura hesitantly asked.
"Deidara." He introduced, offering his first name in a manner that was much too familiar for two strangers.
"He's just passing through the village for now." Sasori explained, Sakura noted his headband that signified he was from Iwagakure. Sasori waved over a nearby waitress, both him and Sakura ready to order and leaving Deidara a good minute to make a decision.
"How do you two know each other?" The pinkette asked, trying to lighten the conversation after the waitress took their order.
"We met a little after the treaty was signed between Suna and Iwa, yeah." Deidara explained, leaving the details up to interpretation. Sakura assumed it was through their joint mentors or a confidential mission, not that it really mattered.
Deidara shrugged and added, "He was the only one that appreciated art in the entire caravan."
"And that's how you became besties, huh?" Sakura teased, making Sasori shoot her a pointed glare and Deidara scoff.
"If only his vision of art wasn't so warped." Sasori added.
Deidara sighed, "We're not having this discussion again. Especially since you're wrong."
Sakura shot a look between the two, "Do I want to ask?"
"No." They answered simultaneously, making Sakura laugh at what certainly looked like an argument they had a hundred times.
"And you? Where'd you meet the old man?" Deidara asked back.
Sakura inwardly noted the nickname, but said nothing of it. "He was a proctor for my genin exams and from there we worked together from time to time."
Deidara noted, "Genin? You're a lot younger than described."
Sakura tilted her head in interest, "My reputation has reached even Iwa?"
"Don't answer that." Sasori interrupted, "This brat already has a big head."
The pinkette sputtered and Deidara laughed, "Well, that's for you to find out. If you ever come to Iwa, yeah."
Sakura rose to the challenge, "Is that an invitation?"
Deidara smirked, surely flirtatious words on the tip of his tongue until he caught Sasori's glower. Both Sakura and the blond raised a brow at his expression, but Deidara thankfully backed off.
Instead, his face took on a different expression, as if he came to a sudden clarity, and Deidara stated, "Maybe, but I would hate to leave your boyfriend here lonely."
Sakura backed up in her seat and Sasori pinched at the bridge of his nose.
"His puppets do have hands so maybe he'll be able to satiate himself for a little bit, yeah."
Sasori narrowed his eyes and Sakura looked around the restaurant, as if it would somehow materialize their order.
Deidara just laughed, unsurprisingly eager to find a weak point in Sasori's unusually blank visage.
-xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx-
Deidara was intent on annoying the both of them after that lunch, his trail on Sasori reaching an end when the redhead was called by an ANBU to the Kazekage's chambers.
The puppet-master had stated clearly before that she was to head home after lunch… But it was not like he would know when she went back to the hospital if he was stuck with the Third Kazekage.
And so Sakura shrugged, waving Sasori goodbye until he was out of sight before she headed towards the hospital, an enthusiastic Deidara behind her as she allowed him to her office.
The blond, while high-energy during the lunch hour, was suddenly quiet while they walked through the halls of the hospital. Several eyes latched onto them and the pinkette wondered if it was because of her again or her special guest.
Deidara shrugged once they entered an elevator, suspiciously alone. "Not everyone is as fond of me as you are."
Sakura had a small inkling that it had more to do with the nation behind his headband, but said nothing of it as they were both well aware. Treaties and documents only went so far, stopping wars and strengthening economies. But much of the stereotypes and racial prejudices still lingered, Sakura was sure that even an Iwa-nin in Konoha would face a mostly icy stare.
But that hardly mattered to her now.
They were at peace - it was high time they accepted how similar everyone really is at their core.
Deidara was surprisingly quiet once they reached her office, spying the bookshelf decorated with books, commenting that he could hardly recognize entire titles. When he sat at her chair, leafing through some of the open scrolls, Sakura noticed something that Deidara had skillfully hid when they were in public.
"Are those… tongues?" She asked before she could change her words.
"Why? Interested in what three tongues are capable of, yeah?" Deidara shot back easily as he leaned back in his chair.
Sakura brushed off his words and lifted an open palm, "May I?"
"I don't know, that's a lot of information with nothing in return."
The pinkette shrugged and replied, "What do you want to know in return?"
Deidara breathed in deeply, eyes shifting to the distance as he thought about the open opportunity. "Are you really the slug princess' apprentice?"
"Don't believe a small thing like me can be?"
Deidara rolled his eyes before continuing, "Promise me we'll spar one day."
"Sure." She agreed easily.
"In Iwa."
Sakura tilted her head in question, there it was again. He seemed oddly intent to get her back in his home village and she could only question why, so she voiced it to him.
"Suna and Konoha are not the only ones facing issues with Orochimaru." Deidara stated plainly, "Why do you think I'm a long way from home?"
The pinkette narrowed her eyes before the blond reached into his pack, lifting a scroll that was very familiar to her.
It held a hundred copies of her makeshift antidote - one that the Third Kazekage commissioned her between shifts at the hospital. She had warned him that it was far from the finished product, but it was demanded of anyway.
"Why do you have that?"
"It's why I'm here in the first place." Deidara explained, leaving it at that as to not give anymore details.
Sakura let that fact sink in. It was enough that Lady Tsunade, and by extension her apprentice, had reputations beyond the scope of her understanding. But Suna, their closest ally, petitioning her presence was no surprise. To think that the other great nations were at odds with a similar enemy, by falling privy to the poison had her inwardly wincing at how unprepared many seemed to be.
How much more suffering was there truly?
The pinkette nodded in understanding, to which the blond did not continue and simply pocketed the scroll once more. In fact, it was strange to Sakura, the more she thought about it.
Why was Deidara still here?
If his mission was just to bring back samples of the antidote, why did he not return home immediately once it changed hands?
There was more going on behind the scenes, to which she was not included. It irked her to know there was something much larger, but she fought the urge to ask more questions. Instead, she remembered his initial question and thought about her response.
"Okay." She decided on, "That's if I'm welcome, of course."
Deidara lifted a brow, but nodded.
"Should we get that written in blood?" She joked, but the blond only rolled his eyes before sticking out a hand to her.
She took it immediately, the rare opportunity presenting itself as one of her hands glowed blue. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes, her heart on her sleeve as she nodded along and even tilted her head in interest at times.
"The nerve endings here are so strange, do you feel pain like a normal mouth?"
"Sometimes, yeah." He stated, his answers clipped as if to not give too much away. Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes, not like she was going to use the information against him.
There was some obvious irritation from certain chakra paths connecting from his forearm to the mouth. And, on instinct, the blue aura switched to green as she healed away the overactive strain.
He flinched his entire arm in surprise, but relaxed when he felt no killer intent. The entire interaction took at most a minute. And when she backed up to lean against her desk, she watched Deidara flex his hand to test the feel.
"What the hell was that?"
"There was some strain in your chakra paths, probably from overexertion or just general use over the years. I've seen it before with kekkei genkai's in the past, but this should make you a bit more comfortable."
"And you saw that in just a couple seconds, yeah?"
Sakura shrugged, not answering verbally.
Deidara scoffed in what looked to be amusement before lifting his other hand into view. She took it without question, giving it the same treatment as her chakra hummed into the now silent office.
Just as she was finishing, a Suna ANBU that she did not recognize tapped at the window.
"That's probably for me, yeah." Deidara stated, Sakura motioning for the ANBU to come in with a wave of her hand.
"The Iwa-nin's presence is requested at the Kazekage tower."
"I'll head there in a minute."
The ANBU nodded wordlessly, flashing away from the scene just as quickly as they had arrived. Sakura stood back to full height, walking around her desk to the cabinet next to the centrifuge.
"This is the newest version we've been working on. It's only been tested on patients who were in critical condition. It's faster acting and better for those in the field, but it's not entirely tested." She described the raised vial between the both of them, before pushing it towards him.
"And what do you want me to do with it?"
"Take it, ya idiot." She scoffed out with a smile. "In case you run into trouble. And if not, take it anyway."
The words were unnecessary for either Jounin. If he took it back to Iwa unscathed, surely their own medical team would be taking it apart for the ingredients in order to replicate and conduct their own research.
That hardly mattered to her.
The thought of how many countless others, lost and haunted by some poison, flashed back into her view. Konoha was the only one relatively prepared, with the strength of the Slug Princess on their side. The rest could not be said for any other village and in front of her was an opportunity to make a difference.
"What do you want in return, yeah?"
"Nothing, consider this an olive branch."
"You're a weird one, I'll give ya that." Deidara laughed lowly before pocketing it, "I'll see you around, Sakura."
She waved him off as he jumped up the window-sill. "See you, Deidara."
The pinkette lingered in the hospital a little while longer, looking over files and doing administrative tasks before flicking the lights off to her office. By the time she entered her temporary home, the sun had already long since set.
Some of the maids scurried about, happy to see her home in literal days and just into action to fulfill requests. It seemed their attitude had only grown more enthusiastic with her stay, more than just her reputation was growing.
One of the maids had individually approached her in her room, thanking her personally for saving one of her family members that had returned back injured from a mission. Sakura recalled the name, offering her own thanks to the worker for treating her kindly.
"No problem, Sakura-san!" She answered back with a smile, "Having you stay with us has been refreshing, to say the least."
"How so?" The pinkette asked with a tilted head.
She paused, an almost wistful smile on her lips, before she stated. "Like I don't have to worry for my loved ones as much."
Before Sakura could respond, the maid was excusing herself with little words and stating that a package from Konoha had arrived the day before.
The pinkette nodded in her direction, the soft click of the door signifying that the maid was long gone. She had assumed as much, since an unidentified box with the Konoha insignia had made its way onto the center coffee table.
There were several scrolls inside, other smaller boxes enclosed and sealed as well. Opening the top one, Sakura smiled as she spied Ino's familiar hand-writing, very eager to update her on what was going on back in the village.
Apparently the mission to finally get Hinata to confess her feelings was still somewhat a bust. They were going on lunches together, alone, but the blond had yet to ask anything outright. They were not dating and Naruto had firmly put the line of friendship between them, much to Ino's utter frustration.
And, it seemed the ninja God's out there did really love irony, since the next letter she received was from Naruto, including little updates and a brief mention of how Hinata was becoming a really good friend.
He did elaborate a bit on how he missed her and, within just a couple months, Naruto had a few new jutsu that he would love to show off. Sasuke was also included in his letter, not that the Uchiha had written one of his own, but the blond mocked that he was too proud to write his love declarations despite being hundreds of miles away. Instead, Naruto mocked him with a few jabs before confidently penning his own feelings.
I love you, Sakura!
Can't wait to see you again.
His letter ended at that and Sakura felt the weird flurry in her chest that told her there was more to it than words on paper. After all, Naruto had said something similar before she left for Suna. And when she had repeated those three special words back to him, after all she really did love him as a brother, Naruto's expression had unexpectedly dropped into a sad one.
She really did not get him sometimes.
Along with his scroll was a ramen kit from Ichiraku, one that made Sakura smile as she put it on her dresser. It did not fit the decorative fashion of the high-class home, but it reminded Sakura of Naruto and by extension all her loved ones back in Konoha.
As she leafed through the rest, there were other scrolls that she pushed aside when she saw Shizune's familiar drawl.The experienced medic-nin, alongside Rin, passed on a few of their own personal notes. She had not really been in contact with either, just trading prototypes back and forth much like Sakura had done with Sasori back when she was in Konoha.
Her scroll was short and sweet, eliminating several causalities before warning her about musing she heard regarding their looming enemy. Surveillance informed them there was a group of four working directly under Orochimaru; however, their appearances and ages were completely unknown.
Lady Tsunade had not sent a letter, but she did not need to. There were ingredients at the bottom of the box, sealed for protection that gave away just enough that they were indeed from her mentor. There were some herbs from Konoha that were available artificially here in Suna, but these were carefully handpicked, the pinkette could tell.
Stuffing down a smile, Sakura took out her own journal before writing down their notes with theirs.
-xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx-
The best part of having Sasori grounded in Suna was that he was just… around.
Before, he was on back-to-back missions with little reprieve. Meaning what time they did have for lunch or just as friends was limited between their separate work schedules. Now, it was clear that Sasori was quite the momma's boy, Sakura seeing him accompany her at the marketplace one day. She waved at them amicably, receiving back a reserved smile from the puppet user.
With her and Daito back on rounds and the hospital gradually implementing his proposed budget increase, it seemed Sakura's time here was leveling back to a manageable schedule.
One time she was sharing lunch with Temari, the two speaking about the blonde's boy-troubles, especially a certain troublesome Konoha-nin, when Gaara had approached her.
With little preamble, he asked the pinkette to their finally long-awaited spar.
Two days later, on the coolest day of the week, Sakura stood across the quiet redhead in an open field. Temari and Kankurou wanted to watch, claiming that they were going to play referee, but the latter had mentioned that he might even want a go after if she was open for it. Sakura had not seen Sasori since the marketplace, so she doubted he would appear.
Cracking her knuckles in anticipation, Sakura flexed her fingers and readied herself against this particular opponent. He had perfected his technique both defensively and offensively. Even if she were to close the distance, a chakra-enhanced punch would most likely only meet a wall of sand. The only possible way to thwart him was with speed - something that she did not have over him.
Gaara was quite literally out of her league as a shinobi.
And yet he had approached her for a spar.
After all, she was teammates with a demon-user and an Uchiha prodigy, so her team was in a different league of its own. But, she was measured on a different scale from the both of them, having come for a civilian background.
And so it gratified her, just a little bit, that Gaara had deemed her worthy enough for a fight.
She had a few tricks up her sleeve already, shouting out a water-jutsu the moment Temari called for the start of the spar. Gaara quickly guarded himself against the initial torrent of water, before moving to command sand in her direction right after. But the pinkette was gone, actually following closely behind the jutsu to hide herself, then quickly closing the distance in his single-second of unsurety.
But he was ready, calling sand instantly and meeting her chakra-infused punch head-on.
The ground around them shook, dust and sand kicking up in a mushroom-cloud like shape around the two. While the sudden sand storm would usually serve to disable her opponent, the sudden change in atmosphere normally catching the other off-guard, that only worked against her here facing Gaara.
That punch was a small test on Sakura's part, to see how much chakra she would need to make a dent, or crack against his sand armor. That small amount of chakra was definitely not enough, not enough to even make him flinch, but it told her to double her power when given the chance again.
Usually, Sakura would be able to end a fight in a single hit, damaging nerves and laying waste to an unconscious enemy as she flared her chakra to life. But his sand was the perfect defense, kinetic energy absorbed against the mineral and not allowing her enough time to seep her chakra to him.
She lost.
Really badly.
Gaara watched her moves and he stayed on the defensive, bringing up his sand armor and fortifying it when it became clear that other than water-jutsu, she had no other gap-closers. He ended up using her fists, her main weapons, against her.
Sakura relied on a fighting style that was up-close and personal. And when the pinkette ran to throw a punch, he allowed her to land it, then quickly spread the sand from the armor she touched. The sand extended from him and quickly encompassed her hand, traveling up her wrist and imprisoning it with the sand. Unable to withdraw her hand away, Gaara raised a kunai in her direction to get her to officially concede.
The pinkette frowned, but looked him in the eyes before stating clearly. "I yield."
Gaara nodded silently, dropping the sand from around her arm before lifting his arms and quickly snapping them downward, the raging sandstorm from Sakura's punches stopping instantly as it fell to the ground.
Temari and Kankuro were much further than when Sakura saw them before, both their arms raised as they yelled across the now silent plain.
"Wait, who won?!" Temari yelled, exasperation at not seeing the fight evident in her tone.
Sakura crossed her arms and pointed at him with her thumb, "He did."
"Damn." Kankuro snapped his fingers, "Alright, now you have to complete the Sabaku circuit. Fight me next."
Temari rolled her eyes and Gaara walked toward them, taking Kankuro's place as the puppeteer stepped forward. Sakura angled her chin upward, inviting the challenge as he neared her.
This was a fight she could do, prior experience fighting Sasori and even Shinga were called to mind. Kankuro's hand-to-hand combat, while good, was not on-par with the older redhead, who was the prior ANBU Commander. All she needed to do was close the distance, no sand armor this time to thwart her at every turn.
But that did not mean that it would be an easy fight.
Kankuro had his own arsenal of weapons, puppets that Sakura had no special experience fighting head-to-head against. Not to mention he was also a jounin for a longer amount of time, assigned to missions of a higher level, compared to her just a few months.
It only made it that much more sweet when she finally beat his ass.
Kankuro had fought plenty of people who were not puppet-users, but none such as Sakura who liked to shatter the ground such as she.
She extended a hand out to him on the ground, but he quipped before taking it. "Confidence looks good on you."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it's really hot."
"You idiot!" Temari sputtered in, undoubtedly, secondhand embarrassment. "Is now really the time?"
"It is always time." Kankuro replied, rolling his eyes as he stood.
Sakura responded to his earlier claim, "I'm flattered, but I'm not trying to put a face on."
"I know." Kankuro turned to the pinkette. "That makes it all the more attractive."
Sakura stammered out words, unsure what to say in the face of someone so candidly complimenting her.
"I can't really place a word on it." He continued explaining, words drawing out as he tried to think of the right description, "You just look so…"
"Resolute." Gaara finished for him.
Both Temari and Sakura snapped at him in surprise, not expecting Gaara to agree or even add to the discussion. The blonde was outwardly the most astonished, not expecting her quiet brother to ever notice someone outside their family unit.
"Exactly." Kankuro replied, not realizing the weight of the person who said it, before turning to Gaara with an unsure smile.
"Huh." Temari recovered first, mind churning as she was processing this new development, before turning to the pinkette. "Why don't you join us for dinner tonight at home?"
Warning bells rang in Sakura's mind, a picture of Rasa's intravenous words at her last visit.
"Don't worry, father said he wouldn't be returning in time for dinner tonight so you don't have to look so scared."
Sakura sighed an internal breath of relief, but attempted to look casual on the outside as if that very man was not flashing in her mind.
"Let's call it your reward for winning the fight." Kankuro stated, tacking on a wink at the end.
Sakura quipped back, "It'll only be a reward if you're not cooking."
"Ouch." He placed a feigned, wounded hand over his heart. "But I wouldn't dare try."
The group broke off quickly, waving goodbye to one another and setting plans later in the day to meet. Sakura wanted nothing more than to soak her skin and shower off the remnants of her spar with Gaara. The maids were eager to jump into action the moment she stepped on the lot, Tayuya notably nowhere to be seen.
Sakura often adorned herself in the Suna-issued clothes to blend into the crowd, but there would be no need for that at their house. For the first time in weeks, the pinkette slipped on some of her Konoha attire, a crimson dress that flirted high above the knees with some black safety shorts underneath, a belt around her waist to show off her cinched waist.
Kankuro was the one who greeted her at the door, leading her to their dining room and coming face-to-face with an unexpected, yet somehow expected guest.
"Sasori." She greeted him, a smile growing on her face. He was standing with both Gaara and Temari, their conversation coming to a halt as she entered the room.
"Sakura." He reflected her new mirth.
Temari coughed obviously into her hand, "Some of us are in the room too, you know."
"Don't bother, they're in their own little world by now." Kankuro added.
"Shut up." Sakura scoffed at them, the two sand siblings rolling their eyes before taking seats at the dinner table.
The pinkette refused to acknowledge the fact that they deliberately sat her next to Sasori.
Across from her were the rest of siblings, Temari sat directly in front of Sakura with Kankuro and Gaara flanking her. Sasori was on Sakura's left, across from the other puppet user. The housemaids scurried around the room, greeting Sakura as they went and readied dinner for the teens.
"Heard you lost today." Sasori started after sipping from his tea.
"One win and one loss, but who's counting?" Sakura corrected, winking at Kankuro as he sighed.
"What does that make? Two to one against the Kazekage clan?" The brunette asked.
"Two to two." Sasori corrected.
Temari straightened at attention, "You lost to Sasori?"
Sakura blinked twice before answering, "I thought you knew that."
"When was this?"
"Back before this mission, when Team Seven was here for the retrieval." Sakura hesitated toward the end, trying to carefully word herself.
"I see." Temari noted, in a tone that surely conveyed trouble.
The pinkette swapped the topic of conversation quickly, not wanting the fan-user to tease them further. And as if they could hear her screaming for mental reprieve, the house-maids moved about the room to serve their dinner.
"It must feel like whiplash being grounded in the village for so long." Kankuro commented, more towards Sasori than his quiet younger brother.
"It's trying my patience." The puppeteer responded.
"It's for your safety." Sakura countered, to which he sighed.
"I know, but what was the point in training this hard when I can't use it to protect my own village?"
Sakura paused in her meal, turning to him fully and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll catch them. It's only a matter of time."
Sasori nodded, softly taking in her words before resuming his meal.
Temari and Kankuro watched them with wide eyes, that was hardly a casual conversation. Sasori rarely let anyone into his world, barely giving anyone outside his family the time of day. And yet somehow, the pinkette was able to reassure him with a few simple words and receive a genuine acceptance.
The two sand siblings turned to each other quietly, as if to confirm that yes, that truly did happen before them.
Right in front of their salad.
Temari grumbled a little in her mind, just get married already.
"It must be nice to have your boyfriend grounded while you're here." Temari joked, earning an eye roll from both nin. Neither of them dignified her with a response.
"They're both pretty busy, but I see them on dates from time to time." Kankuro replied for them, as if the objects of their conversation were not sitting right there.
"Those aren't dates." Sakura complained.
"And what are they?"
"Lunch between friends."
"Right, of course." Temari agreed sarcastically, tone and pitch raising to emphasize this. "Nothing but two bro's hanging out."
"Please stop, that is cursed." Kankuro protested.
Temari waved him off casually before offering, "We should do something altogether."
"That would be fun." Sakura agreed.
While they tended to tease, it was never from a truly scathing or ill-meaning place. After all, she had confided in the fan-user long ago and it seemed she was attempting to help Sakura sort her feelings out. And while it was fairly obvious, she still really enjoyed her company.
"Don't we have that food festival or something coming up?" Kankuro asked.
"Now that I think about it, I don't think you've been here in Suna while we had a festival going on." Temari commented.
"No, I don't recall ever being here long enough to."
"It'd be a fun way to get our mind off of things." Kankuro added.
Sakura smiled, nodding in agreement as she was still taking large bites from her plate.
Sasori must not have taken her prior movement as a yes, since he turned to her and asked, "You coming with us?"
The pinkette couldn't let go of the opportunity to tease him.
"Why are you asking? You really want me to go?" Sakura asked, pairing the last question with a wink.
The redhead had an amused smirk on his face, but he surprised her with his own candor.
"Well, obviously. Why else would I ask you?" He retorted back quickly, "Is it really that crazy to believe that I enjoy your company, brat?"
She sat there quietly, his questions unanswered as the wave of surprise washed her over — knocking her thoughts over continuously.
To think that she was so blindsided by his honesty, Sasori stated it so confidently like it was an accepted fact. Well, she almost felt dumb for him pointing it out. He was often the one spending time with her in this foreign land, of course he would actually like that time.
But to hear him say it out-loud — that was what threw Sakura off her feet. The men back home were nothing like the man before her now. Sasuke tended to avoid, running when he didn't want to answer, while Itachi treated everything like a puzzle.
Sasori was honestly…. Refreshing.
And for the other occupants of the table, they were being so blatantly obvious that Temari had to fight the urge to smash their faces together and command them to kiss. While plenty of people had comfortable relationships with the opposite gender, there was no doubt that the two sat in front of her currently had an edge of tension that tattered over the side of platonic.
A part of her feared that they would continue to dance around their feelings, prolonging words that they would come to regret when Sakura returned her to her village.
It was up to her, as the big sister figure in all their lives to give them a much needed push.
A plan was already hatching in her mind. And as dinner winded down and the pinkette was ready to leave, Temari felt the gears in her head springing to life to take over this opportunity, since Sasori himself was dawdling for too long.
"Thank you again for tonight." Sakura stated once again as she hovered in their foyer area.
"Don't thank me yet." Temari whispered quietly before turning to the others, "Hey Sasori, why don't you do pinky and I a favor and walk her home tonight?"
Sakura recoiled in surprise, she hardly needed an escort to feel safe walking only a few blocks away. But the true intention was palpable to everyone in the room, so much so that Sakura was expecting Sasori to question the fan-user or outright deny her.
Instead, the redhead nodded before waving goodbye to the others, walking past Sakura to head out the door ahead of her.
"Go get some." Temari winked, lightly pushing at Sakura's shoulders to get her moving.
"Ugh, you need a different hobby."
"But this is so entertaining, now go!"
Sakura paced quickly out the door, catching up to Sasori and falling into step next to him. He turned to her when she was at his side, smirking at her quietly before returning his gaze back in front of him.
They walked quietly, a chaste air as opposed to the tension-charged one that Temari tried to instigate just before. Hands pocketed casually, Sasori maintained a cool look about him while Sakura struggled to think about what she wanted to say.
The last time she was headed home from the Sabaku estate, Temari had accompanied her the entire way. And the particular topic of their discussion was so clear in her mind, her newfound feelings to the man beside her.
It seemed the tenderness in her heart seemed to grow at each interaction. There was so much about Sasori that she was not used to — not that that was a bad thing. His brute honesty was more than just his supposed rudeness - he said what he felt, rather than playing games or running away.
It would only be fair if she treated him the same way.
As if her body was physically calling out to him, Sakura heard her own voice call out his name, "Sasori!" promulgating the quiet air.
He halted immediately, turning to her and even walking back to where she was silently standing. Just as quickly, her confidence dissipated as his eyes caught her own. There were so many fears that outweighed her choices. After all they had been through and worked for, it would only take a few words to change their bond, and possibly even break it, forever.
There was a lot on her mind that she just wanted to spit out at this point. But as Sasori continued to stare her down, eyes imploring her to speak, Sakura felt the fear crawl at her heart that what they had was so fragile.
She was teammates with Sasuke and Itachi for literal years, as opposed to Sasori who suddenly appeared as this unflappable figure in her life just these past few months.
It was all just a sign of how quickly he was growing in her heart.
But what if it was not mutual…?
Their silence was stretching into unbearable and Sakura muttered a small, "Nevermind."
His eyes shifted, not one of his impatient stares, but of concern. Instead of dropping it, Sasori took a step closer to the point that she was less than an arms length away. When he was close enough, he grazed a gentle hand across her cheek and tucked the hair behind her ear.
Much like the word vomit earlier, Sakura finally asked.
"What are we Sasori?"
The redhead simply smiled, not the smirk when he was laughing at her or the one that he put on when the Kazekage asked. It struck her for how genuine it was, before he replied.
"We're attracted to one other." He replied outright, as if it was a simple fact.
The sky is blue.
Grass is green.
Sasori and Sakura like each other.
Sasori continued when he saw the pinkette's incredulous expression, "But we're both in a strange place right now. I'll do what I must to protect my village, as will you. And it would be unfair to you to make any promises that I'm not sure either of us can keep."
Sakura nodded, agreeing but unsure what to say.
Her expression was so cute, Sasori thought unfairly. She probably had no idea the effect of her serious stare, the way she was hanging onto his words and carefully thinking them over. Sasori raised a free hand to her waist, the other going behind her neck. Sakura gasped at the movement, but made none of her own to step away.
"Just know that my attention is something entirely on you." Sasori added, her emerald eyes star-struck at his admission.
He leaned down, taking his time to give her the out if she so desired. To his inward delight, her hands moved behind his neck to curl and take purchase there, gravitating to one another until finally the soft skin of their lips met.
Sasori lingered against the crease of her lips, imploring her to be the one to take the next step. The pinkette was sure her cheeks were a bright red, but threw her hesitation out the window as one of her hands carded through the unsurprisingly soft locks of his hair. Sasori moved with her, pulling her as close as possible as he felt every dip and curve of her body against his.
The hand on her waist slipped a little lower on her backside, causing Sakura to gasp in surprise. The redhead fought the urge to smirk against her lips, instead deepening the kiss as his tongue swept across hers.
She moaned openly at the intimate movement, inadvertently rolling against him and making Sasori groan back in desire. Her head was clouded simply with the redhead in front of her, her body near begging her to pull him even closer. She angled her head to the side and raised a leg to hook it around his own, making even Sasori widen his eyes at her forwardness. Taken by his own growing heat, his hand slid down her backside and anchored her against him, purposefully rolling himself against her and savoring the outward moan he gained in response.
Sasori was one the one to ultimately pull away, not wanting to push the bounds of their unsteady relationship and respecting their future decisions.
Sakura closed her eyes, surprised at how overtaken she was by her emotions.
The redhead whispered against her lips, "Let's take this day by day."
Sakura nodded back agreement before he pulled her close again, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. The pinkette's face was surely matching her hair, lingering in his hold before she tip-toed to kiss him on the cheek.
"We'll never part at this rate." He joked.
Sakura hesitated before admitting, "I don't want to."
Sasori smiled against her skin, before backing off. "Let's not make any mistakes too early. I'll see you in the morning."
The pinkette inwardly agreed, but still scoffed out a small, "Tease."
His smile only widened before he dropped his lips to her ear, "If only you knew how much you tempt me on a daily basis."
Sakura blushed before taking a step back, words coming out in an embarrassed flurry, "I uhh. Okay! See you tomorrow!"
Sasori smiled, but stayed put where she left him. Sakura retreated back to the house and when she looked back at him, it was hard for her heart to see his expression. The redhead was simply watching her, but the openly fond look he shot her was so clear, so raw, it made her blush all the same.
The doors opened for her and she shot a quick wave back at him before basically running into the safety of her room, away from any possible eyes. She threw herself on her bed, surprised at herself for how far she wanted to go with Sasori.
His reasoning before was true, a looming issue over the both of them. He was here and she was due to return back to Konoha, it was as simple as that. But the attraction between them was not something she could easily ignore, not that she wanted to anyway.
He was so honest with her, so blunt that it made her trust and open up to him in a way that other suitors in the past had never made her feel this comfortable about their relationship before.
Sasori liked her, so he made his intention known and kissed her to boot.
She fought the urge to throw her head in her pillows and scream like a schoolgirl, remembering how she felt all of him against her stomach earlier. The attraction and lust was undoubtedly there on both their ends. Sakura wondered if Sasori was back in his apartment, thinking about her like she was about him now.
Would he be… relieving himself of his problem with her in mind?
She slapped hands to her cheeks, to stop herself from imagining him indecently. It was hard not to think about the redhead, but there was something earlier she wanted to look at before her mind continually wandered back to the puppet-user.
What was she even doing before?
It took her three tries to remember correctly, distracted by his soft lips and even softer gaze.
She stood off her bed and moved back to her closet, where the care package from Lady Tsunade was tucked away before she left earlier.
However, it was moved from its spot, very minimally.
Sakura was sure she had placed it at the bottom right of the closet, but it shuffled all the way to the opposite side. Maybe she was remembering incorrectly? Or rather, maybe she bumped it in her hurry to leave earlier?
And doubt in her mind flew out the window as she opened and perused the contents.
The ingredients that Lady Tsunade had carefully chosen were at the bottom, next to scrolls from both Naruto and Shizune.
They were missing.