Summary: In the aftermath of the shinobi war to save the world, from their own war to save Sasuke's soul, Team Seven adjusts, mends severed bonds, and strives to love. [Mostly canon, SasuSaku.]
A/N: Rated M/Ma for 18+ readers. Meant to be as close to canon as possible, with occasional timeline adjustments, plot variations, mythology additions, and new character introductions on an as-needed basis only.
Of course, I do not own or have rights to the Narutoverse, its characters, or the lyrics from Rise Against.
Something Left
Chapter One
"It kills me not to know this, but I've all but just forgotten
What the color of her eyes were, and her scars or how she got them"
Lyrics of Savior, Rise Against
It was a good thing he was bleeding to death. If Sasuke had been in any better condition, they would have sent him straight for the sealing jutsu, prison, and isolation. Instead, the reunited members of Team Seven were kept together, triaged swiftly, and given an heavily-guarded room dedicated to only themselves.
With the last ounce of chakra she had left, Sakura managed to bring both her teammates back from death's dark gates. It resulted in the three of them being unconscious. Through pure stubbornness, Kakashi defied the laws of nature and kept his exhausted, chakra-depleted body moving long enough to get his three pupils to Konoha's first entrance point. He'd never thought of himself as having a sort of paternal instinct before, but now that seemed to be the only explanation for his strength. It wasn't until the first ANBU caught sight of the motley crew and offered assistance that Kakashi finally fainted. He never did get around to saying "yes", and it would be awhile before he woke, found the ninja, and was able to say "thanks."
Almost every medical ninja from Konoha had been deployed for the war effort, and none who remained had any real affinity for leadership. When the four of them were given a specially designated room, it was less from intentional thought and more out of haphazard confusion. At least when Dr. Haruno woke, they thought, she would know what to do. In the meantime, the mediocre medical staff provided the emergency care needed for Naruto and Sasuke's severe blood loss and matching missing limbs.
Thanks to Kurama's chakra within him, it was Naruto who woke first. Though he could barely keep his eyes open and was groggy from pain medication, he kept himself propped up long enough to take in his surroundings. Those he loved most were near him; alive, safe, and seemingly peaceful. It felt like a dream. It was a dream - one he'd forced into reality. When he slipped back into unconsciousness, it was with a smile on his face.
Sakura hadn't been inflicted by any serious injuries, only the depletion of her chakra reserves, which were vast. She fought herself to wake up, and with great pain, adhered to the hospital staff's instructions to heal herself. It felt counter-intuitive, but as she hadn't yet seen any of the experienced healers from the battlefield return, she allowed her rational self to make the right call. If she wanted to help, she needed to help herself first.
It didn't bode well for them the first time that Sasuke woke, but half-alert as she was, Sakura tried to smooth it over. None of the staff were too keen on providing treatment for Sasuke. After all, the complimentary injured limbs between he and Naruto made it all too obvious what had transpired, and Naruto was the village hero. Sasuke was the traitor who almost killed him. After drawing the shortest straw, it was a newer, less altruistic male nurse who was given the task of changing bandages on Sasuke's stunted limb. When the Uchiha heir came to, he not only saw trembling hands over his wound, but felt the animosity of their owner.
"Don't touch me."
It mattered none that he had just been unconscious. Sasuke sounded as if he wanted to slay the nurse, and looked as if he could.
"I… I h-have to ch-"
"Leave."
Bound by his ego more than the Hippocratic oath, the nurse persisted. "J-just let me-"
"I said lea-" Sasuke's snarl was interrupted by the soft-spoken kunoichi on the other side of the room.
"I'll do it."
He whipped his head toward her quiet voice, unaware that she was laying there in the other patient bed, let alone was awake and watching.
The nurse looked between his patient and one of his superiors. "Um, are you sure Dr. Haruno? He's not…"
Well. Safe. Cooperative. She didn't know what he meant to say, but it didn't matter.
"Yes." Then she looked at the patient in question, uncertain. "Will you let me, Sasuke-kun?"
He stared at her. Recent memories, partial and disheveled, fluttered to his attention, one in which Sakura's warm, healing chakra was what halted the fatal blood loss from his arm. It took a moment of thought, but as he considered the severity of the wound, and then looked once again at his only other option, he finally conceded.
Sasuke nodded.
She looked back over to the nurse. "You can come back for the cart in a half hour. Thank you, Iko."
The nurse was more than glad to be dismissed. He quickly dropped the materials he'd been holding and scrambled away, muttering his gratitude as he left.
Sakura took a deep breath. The truth was she didn't exactly feel ready to be exiting the bed, but she focused on the movements and carefully pulled herself up. She was certain she hated the hospital gowns more than any of her patients said they did; it was bulky, awkward, and crackled as she moved. The last thing she felt like was a competent healer.
While Sasuke did not speak, he watched her, and she thought it was apparent enough what he thought. Are you actually able to do this? Of course, this only made her more determined. Medical ninjutsu had trained her to become a different person when healing; objective, clinical, and focused. When she went to the sink to thoroughly wash her hands, wrists, and forearms, it felt symbolic enough as she transitioned her mindset. She lifted her arms up, palms inward, and waited for them to air-dry, closing her eyes to focus the last bit of energy and chakra she could summon. Then she went to work.
In what was clearly a familiar move, she expertly maneuvered the stool with her feet, pulled it to Sasuke's side by the utility cart, and sat down.
"I need to remove your current bandages, clean your wound, ensure no infection has or will spread, and re-bandage it. They have you on sedatives and painkillers, but now that your adrenaline isn't coursing through to minimize the pain, it will probably hurt."
"Hn."
Sakura preceded as she normally would for any other patient. When it came time to make one exception, though, she did it. She should have waited until later, when her chakra reserves felt at least half restored, but she decided to put special attention to the torn-off limb.
"I'm going to try and heal the severed nerve-endings. If I do it right, and if I do it now, it will eliminate some of the phantom pain you'll experience later."
He just looked at her.
"Usually, my healing chakra feels like warm, running water," Sakura explained, not because it was Sasuke, but because that's what doctors did. "But this will feel more like pinching, and might even burn. Let me know if you need me to stop."
Sasuke thought about Kabuto's healing chakra; it was far less pleasant than anything she just described. He wasn't worried about it's lack of comfort. Though he didn't reply, Sakura knew he heard and went on as if he'd consented.
With one hand, she floated her healing chakra aura over the end of his limb, but with her other, she streamlined her chakra into only her fingertips. Brows furrowed in intense concentration, she focused on finding the damaged nerves and repairing them, one by one, as many as she could.
By the time she finished, a thin sheen of perspiration settled by her temples. When she released her healing chakra, her shoulders slumped in relief.
"That should do it," she said quietly, as if to herself.
She quickly went onto re-bandage him.
It felt surreal to Sasuke that he was missing an arm, a hand, but the mannerisms in which Sakura bandaged it without cringing almost made it seem as normal as wrapping a broken finger. When she stood up, he noticed she expected no verbal acknowledgement or gratitude. She didn't even look at him, just stretched, cracked her back, and then lithely climbed back into her own patient bed.
He looked over to the blonde who had the exact same injury as he did. An injury caused by him. What about Naruto?
Once again, he was too injured, too tired, and too medicated to be as cognizant of his surroundings as usual. Sakura must have been watching where his eyes wandered.
"Naruto doesn't need the same kind of medical attention. The kyuubi chakra can do what I just did, a thousand times better, not to mention faster."
It unnerved him that she was able to read his thoughts so easily. He deflected it by asking the status of his previous sensei. "Kakashi?"
It wasn't a clear question, but she understood it.
"He sustained a few serious injuries that I only healed minimally on the battlefield, but none of them are critical, and they've been tended to by the staff here. Kaka-sensei has more chakra than most jonin, but not half as much as you or I. When he's chakra-depleted like this, it takes him almost a week to fully recover."
Like when Itachi had trapped him in the nightmare genjutsu, she reflected. With the searingly painful memories of the genjutsu Sasuke had just placed on her fresh in her mind, she had a deeper understanding of that experience now.
"You should rest," Sakura said, sounding nothing like the twelve-year-old girl who squealed about her concerns for him, and only like a doctor.
She took her own advice, rearranging her blankets, turning on her side, and curling into an extra pillow. For awhile, Sasuke resisted her professional advice. There was no way he could willingly fall asleep in such a vulnerable state, in what may have technically been in his home, but felt like enemy territory. Eventually, though, the combination of sedatives, painkillers, and exhaustion got the better of him. He drifted back into a desperately needed sleep.
.
.
"That should be higher," she murmured. "Add ten milograms of midodrine to her IV drip for three hours, and then wean her off it during the next six hours, and see if it stays up on its own. If it doesn't, add the midodrine back and find me."
"Okay, Sakura-sensei. Um, what about the child who's in for migraines? It's the fourth time this month."
"Did they complete the food log?"
"Yes. It's in the chart."
"Okay, let me see it."
The nurse hoped she would have the chance to ask and promptly pulled out the clipboard with the child's records. She handed it to Sakura, who was still bedridden and looking quite like a patient herself. After a few moments of reviewing the log's records, Sakura handed it back.
"I know I told them to cut out the cheese. Tell them again to eliminate the aged cheeses. There's clearly a pattern of the migraines starting within six hours of ingesting it. Give them one more refill of sumatriptan, but remind them it's hard on the stomach, and it isn't meant for long-term use. They need to be strict with the diet."
"Okay! I'll be direct."
"Good. Anything else?"
"Are you sure you're up for it?" The nurse asked nervously.
"Sure, Mika," Sakura said without hesitation. "If I can't help on the floor, at least I can do this."
The nurse looked relieved. She quickly pulled out another chart she'd brought along. "Okay, this one's Iko's patient, an elderly man with chest pains; we ran the cardiac tests, but…"
Naruto rubbed at his eyes with his one and only good hand. In just the limited amount of time he'd been conscious, he'd already found several things inconvenient about only having one hand. As he made the extra effort to clear the goop from his sleep-ridden eyes, he looked over to Sasuke. Though the other man had his eyes closed, Naruto could tell by his rigid posture and tight breathing that he was awake.
"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto called over.
As he expected, the Uchiha wasn't asleep. Sasuke turned his head slightly, opening his eyes, acknowledging Naruto.
"Guess we know we're pretty much equals, eh? I knew you weren't stronger than me."
Sasuke stared at him.
"Since we both lost an arm," Naruto continued, unaffected by the statement in the slightest, "it will be a fair rematch."
Sakura clutched the chart so hard in her hands it accidentally splintered. "A rematch is what you're thinking about right now?"
Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Well yeah, I mean, I've waited years to show the bastard I was better than him."
She rolled her eyes, but returned her attention back to the chart, finding solace in the knowledge that she knew the truth. The truth that there were so many other things that Naruto was actually waiting for, besides a sparring match, when it came to Sasuke's return. Butterflies erupted in her stomach knowing that that time was finally here; truthfully, she had slowly started to stop hoping that it would. Refusing to let her own excitement show, she finished reviewing charts with the nurse. Once the nurse left, Naruto whistled.
"I don't understand half of what you're talking about," he said. "When did you learn all of that, Sakura-chan?"
She lifted her brows. "What do you think I was doing while you were gone?"
Sasuke almost thought she was talking to him by mentioning someone gone, but she had been talking to Naruto, and she was looking at the blonde. Gone where? When?
"True," Naruto laughed.
Though it was slight, Sasuke's brows being furrowed in subtle confusion caught Naruto's attention. He was able to pick up on the unspoken question.
"After you left, I left Konoha for a few years, too, to travel and train with Master Jiraiya. To prepare for the Akatsuki attacks, and to be ready to get you back from Orichamaru before he took over your body."
Sasuke was unconcerned. "I knew I would be able to kill him before he could do that."
"Well, we didn't know that."
Unable to help it, Sasuke thought of how his older brother was actually the one to truly kill Orichamaru. Itachi purposefully brought Sasuke to the end of himself so that the sannin's power would come forward, and then Itachi put an end to him. More than his arm could ever hurt, thinking of Itachi's love hurt far worse.
"I still haven't really been home," Naruto said, somehow sounding both sad and elated at the same time. "When I first got back, we immediately left for the Sand Village to rescue Gaara. Then everything else with the Akatsuki happened so quickly after that."
It was quiet for a few moments. Sasuke, more inclined to talk about something else than their home, needing a distraction from his thoughts on Itachi, asked them about Gaara. "I thought Gaara was a jinchuriki."
The question was obvious enough: so, why wasn't he dead like all the others?
Naruto frowned. He knew that Lady Chiyo was special to Sakura, and instinctively, he turned to her.
Nobody answered though. Sasuke's curiosity piqued, but he didn't ask for details. He noticed how Sakura bit her lip, pensive about the thought. She placed a hand atop her stomach, as if touching something invisible on her abdomen.
"An elder from the Sand Village, Lady Chiyo, used a forbidden resurrection jutsu to sacrifice herself and bring Gaara back to life," Sakura explained. Nothing but immense respect was in her tone.
Sasuke wondered why and how this Lady Chiyo meant more to Sakura than to Naruto, who seemed friendlier with Gaara, but then Naruto smiled one of his large, overwhelming grins at Sakura. His love for her was so apparent in his watery, blue eyes.
"Lady Chiyo saved Gaara and you. I owe Lady Chiyo an eternal debt!"
Sasuke looked at how Sakura had both hands placed atop her stomach now, and wondered if there was the memory of a near fatal wound beneath it. It wasn't a random guess, but an educated one. He had a habit of touching old wounds; even if they were healed, sensations of pain existed like ghosts. Sakura smiled sadly and muttered some form of gratitude.
Naruto whipped his head back to Sasuke. "Sakura and Lady Chiyo killed Sasori of the Red Sand. Did you know that? They were the first ones to take out an Akatsuki member."
Sakura's cheeks went red at his random boasting about her. "It was all Lady Chiyo. She dealt the final blow; I was just able to assist her."
"I actually read that report, Sakura-chan," Naruto argued. "You kicked his ass."
Sakura released her hands from her stomach. She huffed. "And next time you leave me behind to go off alone on a suicide mission, I'll kick your ass, too."
This time, Naruto's cheeks reddened. "I-I know. Sorry, Sakura-chan."
She offered a conciliatory smile toward him, then looked over to their sensei. Though the three of them were up and talking, he still hadn't woken.
"Is he going to be alright?" Naruto asked, not for the first time.
"He's stable," Sakura promised. "He's never used his sharingan for kamui so much before, not to mention all the other injuries he sustained. It will take awhile for his body and chakra reserves to heal, but there's no reason to worry yet."
"Yet?" Naruto all but screamed.
Sakura didn't look concerned, but she was honest. "Well, he's not a Uchiha. His body wasn't meant for this."
At the mention of Uchiha, she for the first time looked over to Sasuke. He was looking at their old sensei, and though she did not have a single clue what went through his mind, she could tell that he was whirling with thoughts.
"Well he better wake up soon," Naruto said, settling back down into his mattress. "Team Seven is finally together again! We need to celebrate."
Since Sakura's eyes were still on Sasuke, she could see the slight tremor in his lips that turned into a soft frown. Oblivious, Naruto yawned and decided to go back to sleep. Sasuke, more aware of his surroundings than before, felt the pink-haired kunoichi watching him and flicked his gaze toward her. Sasuke was a rogue ninja, international criminal, and traitor to the Leaf who almost killed Naruto Uzumaki. They probably wouldn't have the chance to celebrate anytime soon. Sakura mirrored Sasuke's look of uncertainty, but she answered Naruto aloud in a deceptively positive tone.
"We will when Kaka-sensei wakes up."
His time in the hospital left Sasuke with two realizations. Naruto was exactly how he imagined he would be, and Sakura was nothing like what he'd thought she'd be. While he felt that he knew the former like the back of his hand, he realized he didn't really know the latter, at all.
.
.
.
When the Hokage and shinobi from the battlefront returned, order and structure was slowly put back into place. One of the first action items was to separate Naruto from the one who had almost killed him. With Sasuke deemed medically stable, a powerful seal to limit his chakra usage and incapacitate the sharingan was placed atop his forehead. Then he was quickly sentenced to prison with additional ANBU protection. When Naruto protested profusely, Sasuke had told him to stop. It seemed that he'd been not only expecting punitive action, but also willing to accept it.
On the fourth day of their return, Kakashi woke up. At that point, Sakura and Naruto had both been discharged from the hospital, too. But the kunoichi had only slept for half a day in her own home before returning back to the hospital to work, and Naruto had entered the recommended physical therapy wing of the hospital to help relearn basic movements and tasks without an arm. They were both quickly able to come and greet their sensei. Though Naruto continued to rant about the unfairness of Sasuke's treatment, Kakashi made no promises to him.
"He has to atone for what he's done, Naruto."
"How can you say that?" Naruto hollered. "You know what he went through. You know what this village did. To him, to his family! It's not his fault th-"
Kakashi had put a stern hand on his student's shoulder. "We will handle that, but it has to be handled discreetly. Sasuke will receive humane treatment until the court decides how he will be dealt with."
Standing in the corner nearby, Sakura's shoulders tightened. What did Naruto mean, what the village did to Sasuke and his clan?
Naruto was ready to explode again, but Kakashi interrupted him. "We will do everything in our power to ensure he's released. You must get your head on straight so that you can help with that. You proved yourself on the battlefield with your strength as a shinobi, Naruto. Now you must prove your worth as a future Hokage in these more complicated affairs."
This finally sobered Naruto.
.
.
.
.
Sakura was summoned to the Hokage's office at the end of her first day off since everything seemed to settle at the hospital. Lady Tsunade still had her youth protection, yet she seemed older and tireder than ever before.
"You called for me, sensei?"
"They're calling you one of the new sannin, Sakura. Perhaps it's time to forfeit the 'sensei'."
Sakura's eyes lit up as she took a seat in front of her mentor. "I'm sure I have much more to learn from you, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade growled at the paperwork in front of her. "Like how to keep up with this endless nonsense?"
Sakura laughed some, but she was concerned about why she was summoned, and it showed. Tsunade took a pause from her papers and folded her hands atop the desk.
"Uchiha Sasuke has refused medical treatment in prison since he got there. This afternoon I received a note that he's had a fever and started to vomit. I think it's been going on for several days, but his symptoms have just now become obvious enough to cause concern."
Fear flashed across Sakura's visage. It wasn't blind fear; her medical training immediately presented her with several alarming reasons why he could be running a fever and having flu-like symptoms if it was in relation to his wound.
"Naruto said that when he was first brought here, he wouldn't let anyone besides you touch him," Tsunade started. "I'm granting you special permission to visit him and provide medical attention, assuming he'll accept it."
"When?" Sakura asked, knowing it was urgent.
"Now." Tsunade handed her an envelope sealed with the Hokage's office stamp. "Tenzo will take you."
"Tenzo?" Sakura asked.
The ANBU who had been standing quietly in the corner came forward. He wore an elephant mask, and when he took it off, Yamato's face was underneath.
"Tenzo is my real name, Sakura," he admitted. "I was given the name Yamato for what was supposed to be a temporary assignment to protect Naruto."
Sakura stood up. If she'd been in her usual mood, she would have commented or bantered with him, but healing Sasuke was the only thing on her mind.
"Okay. I need to get my things from the hospital first."
Tsunade picked up a bag from underneath her desk. "This should have everything you need."
Sakura took it eagerly. "Thank you, sensei."
"Go," Tsuande waved.
"We'll use a transportation jutsu," Yamato explained, taking out a scroll and lifting his hand to Sakura.
She gripped one hand onto the bag, and another onto Yamato. It wasn't until they were transported that she realized she didn't specifically say goodbye to Lady Tsunade.
Sakura couldn't have guessed at exactly where they were, but it was dark, dank, and uncomfortable. She assumed it was underground, beneath additional barriers, in a place you'd least expect it.
Two ANBU guards were there to greet them.
Yamato - Tenzo - lifted his hand to her envelope, and Sakura realized he was prompting her to hand it over to the other guards. She did as such.
One with a mouse mask took the envelope, unsealed it, and then read the message. Then they handed it back to her.
"This way," the ANBU said, and the four of them went through additional barriers, tunnels, and jutsu-locked doors to get to where Sasuke was kept.
The second Sakura could see him in his cell, her stomach fell to the floor. He looked significantly worse than she'd even considered. In just two weeks of imprisonment he must have lost ten pounds. His clothes hung off of him. He was pale, visibly sick, and drenched in perspiration. The bandages on his missing limb looked old, dirty, and worn. She wasn't sure whether to be frightened or infuriated.
Turns out, the latter was what came more naturally.
"Kami! What have you done?" She demanded, fury directed to the ANBU with both her fists clenched. "Nothing, it seems."
They must have known her particular attributes because both of them took a step back at the sight of her fists.
"He's refused to eat. He's refused to let anyone touch him. Even Hokage-sama came to provide medical treatment, but he refused her, too."
Sakura remembered how her mentor said she received the note this afternoon. It meant they waited two weeks to notify her properly.
"I will deal with you later," she seethed. "Now let me in to his cell."
With their masks on it was impossible to tell their reactions, but they wordlessly complied. It took both of them using a specialized jutsu at the exact same time to release the cell doors. Though Sakura planned to ask Sasuke if it was alright if she provided medical treatment, his pitiful condition made her change her mind. He would not refuse her, too.
"Sasuke-kun," she said, kneeling in front of the thin mat that he lay on. With his eyes covered for additional protection, she couldn't tell if he was awake. "Are you conscious?"
He tilted his head.
"Can I remove this?" Sakura turned toward the ANBU as she pointed to the blindfold. "I need to see his eyes."
They hesitated to answer or agree to these terms.
"If you make this any more difficult for me than it needs to be, I will bury you both." Her tone was surprisingly calm and even.
"It can be removed with a Rat signal release."
Sakura swiftly released it. The blindfold fell on its own. Though there was only minimal light in the cell in the first place, it was the first time Sasuke wasn't in complete darkness in two weeks. He was heavy-lidded as he blinked in an attempt to open his eyes.
At least he was conscious. She placed one hand atop his chest and the other atop his forehead, instantly radiating her healing chakra to assess the situation. It was exactly what she had expected.
"You have an infection that's spread through your blood," Sakura informed him. "I need to heal it in its entirety, then eliminate the source of it."
He didn't respond, but she could see how he slowly regained focus in his vision. She felt a small pang of encouragement that he'd been refusing treatment from everyone else yet hadn't protested in the slightest with her, but she put the thought to the side and focused on removing the infection. Luckily, removing a blood infection was not as time-consuming as having to pull poison out.
It only takes blood about forty-five seconds to travel from the heart, through the body, and back to the heart. She spent ten minutes removing the infection from the blood each time it cycled through his heart until his blood was completely clear.
Sakura straightened up, and then looked directly to him for the first time. He looked agitated as he met her emerald eyes.
"Have they fed you?" She asked.
Almost imperceptibly, he nodded.
"Have you eaten any of it?" She had a feeling she knew the answer.
This time, he did not nod.
"Why not, Sasuke-kun?"
He just stared at her, and then turned his gaze toward the ceiling above him. She frowned, but decided to put it on pause, knowing his bandages and wound needed urgent attention, still.
"I need to unwrap your bandages, evaluate and clean the wound, and re-wrap the bandages."
Again, she didn't ask for permission, she just started to rummage around in the bag that Tsunade had prepared. She found the rubbing alcohol and sterile lubricant that would assist in removing the bandages without tearing at the skin. Though she knew it couldn't have felt comfortable, he didn't flinch when she unwrapped the old, crusted bandages. The sight underneath was as horrific as she'd thought it would be. Tissue that should have been healing looked swollen and red, with signs of infection by the bone. She refocused her healing chakra onto the inflamed tissue and source of the infection. Now that her chakra reserves were fully restored, she could spend as much attention to the wound as it deserved.
"Alright, that should do it," she said to herself.
"Yama - Tenzo," Sakura called out. "Can you please have them bring me fresh water, soap, and a clean towel?"
She decided she was no longer talking to the ANBU directly. By the sound of departing footsteps, she knew one of them had listened to her instructions. Sakura repositioned her legs, from kneeling uncomfortably by his side, to criss-crossing her legs in a more relaxed position. When she spoke next, she lowered her voice.
"Why won't you accept their food?"
No wonder they felt safer with a blindfold on him. He looked up to the ceiling as if he planned to murder it.
"Can't trust it." His voice was so hoarse that it was not even recognizable.
She pulled a fresh bottle of water with a straw already attached from her bag, and presented it to him. He didn't take it from her.
"I can put the straw in your mouth myself, or you can do it."
He took the bottle. Smart enough to start with brief, careful sips, he drank a limited amount of water.
Sakura sat there and thought about how he did not trust the food. She wanted to protest his lack of trust, but she knew that there were things that she did not know, and she knew that he would not suddenly change his mind now if he had persisted on starving himself for so long already.
"I know you don't know him, but Tenzo is another member of our team. He served on ANBU with Kaka-sensei, and has special abilities that were needed to protect Naruto from the nine-tailed fox. Kakashi entrusted Tenzo to take his place as our sensei for awhile. I trust Tenzo with my life." The next part was unspoken: And you trust me with yours.
Sakura finished. "If I ask him to bring food from my own apartment, will you accept it?"
He deliberated. She knew the temptation had to be great, but that his stubbornness could be greater.
"Please? You cannot survive without food for much longer, Sasuke-kun."
Finally, he nodded. She sighed loudly in relief and turned toward the man she'd only known as her replacement sensei, elephant-masked Yamato, now Tenzo.
"I have leftover miso pork, tomatoes, and granola in my kitchen. Can you please get it?"
"My transportation jutsu doesn't go directly into your apartment." Though this was obvious, he meant that he'd be awhile.
"Well, I'd hope not," she countered. Then, she was serious. "I'll wait."
The ANBU arrived with a bucket of water, a bar of soap, and a few clean towels. When they dropped them at the entrance of the cell, as close as Sasuke would typically let them get, she forced herself to say thanks.
"I have to wash out the wound before I redo the bandages. Then, if you want to wash in general…" she trailed off.
"Hn."
Sakura noted that the water was warm, not cold. Apparently instilling a little fear into the ANBU guards had worked. She took one of the smaller towels and used it to wash what remained of Sasuke's right arm. The first time she'd provided treatment to his still-bleeding wound, she was in shock. Now, she was deeply saddened as she tended to it. Though Sakura was glad he was alive, she still grieved. Losing your dominant arm was not a small price to pay.
"There's no more necrotic tissue," she said, feeling the need to fill the silence of what seemed so intimate, even with her professional training. "The infection shouldn't return if you allow them to provide a daily check-up for a few more days."
"No."
She swallowed. "Then I'll be back to do it."
Sakura had no way of knowing if she would secure that permission, but she intended to use all of her political might and powerful friendships to make sure that she could.
When she finished washing his arm, she carefully patted it dry, and then securely did the new round of bandages. By the time she finished, Tenzo was back with the food she mentioned.
"I heated the miso up," he said as he placed it at the cell's entrance.
She smiled and thanked him, hoping Sasuke would also recognize this thoughtful gesture as a sign of him being trustworthy. As Sakura went to collect the food items, Sasuke forced himself up into a sitting position. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was grateful that the wall was there to lean against.
"I would start with the protein," Sakura said, lifting the pork miso up to him, "But if you haven't eaten in two weeks, then you really should only have a few bites. At least for now."
Sasuke knew that, too. He took the bowl she offered, set it beside him, and carefully ate only five small bites. Sakura waited patiently, her brows furrowed as she stared at the wall, seemingly perpetually concerned.
"Did you make this?" Sasuke's question caught her off-guard.
"The miso? Yes."
He blinked. "Your cooking skills have not improved."
Sakura was aghast. Her jaw actually dropped, so surprised that he would make unnecessary conversation, not to mention she was offended that her home-cooked meal was worth so little to someone who had literally just been starving. But then she took a deeper look into his eyes and her heart all but exploded. There was a warmth and gentleness in his now mismatched eyes that she hadn't seen from him in a long, long time; even when they were children, it was rare.
She realized he was not insulting her, but extending an olive branch. At first she started to smile, but then, it all hit her at once: the euphoria of his return, his sincere apology, his trust in her (and only her), and his commentary now, as if they were still friends, still teammates - still close. Sakura burst out into laughter.
"That's fine," she said, grinning. "I have no problem admitting I spent my spare time training and studying, not in the kitchen."
"Hn." It was no laugh, but it was a light, breathy exhale.
Sasuke was exhausted, though. He returned to his lying position on his own initiative.
"I'll have Kaka-sensei bring you more food and clean clothes so you can wash properly tomorrow. Then I'll be back to redo your bandages."
He nodded. Sakura stood, put all of her items back into Lady Tsuande's bag, and left the cell. Though it was an unspoken concern that she had not put the blindfold back on, one look at her hardened glare, and nobody protested.
Sakura wanted to say goodbye, but when she looked back over her shoulder to see into his cell, she was fairly certain Sasuke was already fast asleep.
.
.
A/N: Thank you for reading! My medical knowledge does not exist, but I pretended with the aide of Google. I'm returning to fanfiction (and Naruto) for the first time since 2012. I'm sure this can't be too original, but I've been struggling to find realistic, canon-inspired fics prior to Sarada. Please let me know if you have any recommendations of the like! If you choose to review, thank you in advance.
- H