There was something exceptionally unnerving about being naked inside Orochimaru's bunker. Though the water in the shower was warm and pleasant, Sakura couldn't help but feel chilled all the way down to her bones. Sasuke was somewhere in this very building and she was just casually taking a shower like she belonged there.
Though the reprieve from the rain felt good, and the shower was more relaxing than anything she'd felt in days, Sakura wasted no time luxuriating. She scrubbed the grime from her body and soaped up her hair quicker than she'd ever done in her entire life. After she'd dressed herself in her damp clothes again, she slipped through the bathroom door and out into the hallway.
Kabuto was leaning against the wall across from the door. She knew he had been there the whole time, of course. Whether he was making sure she didn't bolt or just trying to ensure that she didn't get lost, Sakura didn't know. Either way, it sent some kind of shiver (Sakura didn't know if it was pleasant or not) down her spine knowing that he'd been intently watching the door she had just been naked behind.
"Feel better?" he asked
"Let's just hurry up and get this over with, please."
Kabuto shrugged and kicked himself off the wall. "Since you asked so nicely." Sakura tried not to glower as he led her through the maze of hallways and connecting corridors. She wasn't particularly looking forward to this moment. Her nerves were tied in knots and she felt on edge, like Kabuto was leading her into some sort of trap. It might as well have been, Sakura thought, because nothing could be worse than facing Sasuke's inevitable rejection.
Sakura dutifully followed Kabuto through the bunker, amazed by the sheer amount of twists and turns they were taking. Either he was purposefully trying to keep her from maintaining a sense of their location, or the bunker was just incredibly complex. Either way, Sakura would definitely have been lost without Kabuto, so she made an effort to stay as close to him as possible.
"If it's alright with you, Sakura-san, I'd like to make a quick detour," Kabuto said. Sakura raised an inquiring brow at him. "If you wouldn't mind stopping in my lab for a moment, I'd like for you to remove our seal so I can see what the process entails."
"Right," Sakura murmured, following him through a metal sliding door. On the other side was Kabuto's lab, which was at least seven or eight times larger than the makeshift one he'd had in Konoha. There were tables and counters lining every inch of the wall, each littered with books and scrolls. Rows and rows of vials filled the shelves on the walls all the way from the ceilings down to the countertops.
Sakura gaped at the mass of equipment and literature concentrated in just one room. "Wow," she breathed.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Kabuto asked. "Just imagine what things you could do with a lab like this."
Sakura whirled to face him, confused by what he could possibly have been implying. She decided, however, not to pursue the topic. "Let's just get started," she said.
Kabuto's eyes were sharp, but not harsh. He nodded to her and gestured toward the table in the middle of the room. Sakura sat down across from him and placed her arm on the table, palm up.
"I'm sure you may have already noticed, but just in case, I'd like to point out that I'm no seal expert," Sakura said, watching as Kabuto placed his arm beside hers. "This seal can be altered or removed by anyone, so if you think Sasuke will have a problem with this it's best that you alter your seal so that only you can remove or alter it."
Kabuto's eyes snapped up to hers, blazing with heat. "So I could have removed this myself the whole time?"
"Of course," Sakura replied. "I told you I was going to remove it as soon as you woke up anyway. You were the one who wanted to keep it."
Kabuto narrowed his gaze, thoroughly annoyed. "Luckily for you I can make the seal irremovable," he said dryly. "Otherwise you'd be coming up with an acceptable alternative right now."
Sakura rolled her eyes. She didn't respond to him as she sent her chakra into Kabuto's seal first, touching his wrist with delicate fingers. She watched as the seal started to glow brightly until it was almost blindingly white. When the glow faded, so had the seal itself, revealing nothing but the smoothness of Kabuto's skin.
Kabuto retracted his arm and inspected his seal-free wrist. He rubbed his wrist with a frown, watching as Sakura redid the same process on her own seal. Now with only one heartbeat, one pulse in her wrist, Sakura felt a staggering emptiness. It was bizarre that she would have found comfort in an enemy's heartbeat to begin with, but after having been accustomed to it during the last weeks, Sakura couldn't help but feel lonely without it.
"That's it?" Kabuto asked.
"That's it," she repeated softly.
Kabuto's frown deepened. He stared at Sakura over the table, his eyes flickering down to her wrist where they lingered for a moment. She was unnerved by his staring and she felt this compulsion to kiss him, to see if it would somehow feel different without the shared seal. If it did, if she felt nothing, then could she blame her actions on the nature of the seal instead of her own perversions? She wanted so badly for that to be the case, but she couldn't bring herself to kiss Kabuto again. Not while they were in the same building as Sasuke. Not when they were so close to being through with each other for good.
"Let's go find Sasuke, then, shall we?" Kabuto asked.
Sakura nodded.
/
Even knowing she was about to see him did nothing to prepare Sakura for the sight of him. Kabuto had led her just around the corner to a very nondescript door. He knocked politely, but did not wait for Sasuke's answer before pushing it open. And there he sat, casually cleaning a katana with a bloody cloth. He sat crossed legged on a single bed, his expression blank.
Instantly Sakura's hands felt like ice. Her pulse skyrocketed – she was sure that both of them could hear it pounding away in her chest. She gasped – a nearly imperceptible sound, but Sasuke heard. His eyes came up to meet hers, the tomoe of his Sharingan spinning already. Sakura felt herself frozen by his gaze, trapped by those unnerving red eyes.
And then he glanced away, returning his attention to the sword in his lap. "What's the meaning of this, Kabuto?" he drawled as if he were bored, annoyed by her mere presence.
"Your girlfriend is here to help me out with something," Kabuto said.
Without thinking first, Sakura reached out and smacked the back of his head. To her surprise, he didn't dodge the blow. Instead he took it, wincing and rubbing the back of his head.
"Come the fuck on," he said. "Do you get as much perverse pleasure from hitting me as you do from sexually harassing me?"
"Yeah, when I'm in bed tonight I'm going to pleasure myself thoroughly to the thought of punching you repeatedly in the face," she bit out, clenching her fists. It was sarcastic, of course, but now that she was thinking about…
"What the fuck is going on?"
Sakura glanced back at Sasuke, her face so hot she was sure it was redder than blood. He paid her no attention, though. Instead, his eyes were on Kabuto, watching him stare angrily at Sakura.
"Sakura's here to place a seal on you," Kabuto explained, glancing away from her just long enough to make eye contact with Sasuke before his eyes were drawn to her again. "It's for medical purposes only. It will allow me to monitor your vitals remotely."
"No."
Inwardly, Sakura sighed with relief. She hadn't been under the impression that Sasuke would allow such a seal anyway, but she was still relieved to hear he wasn't having it.
"It won't harm you or inhibit you in any way," Kabuto explained patiently. "In fact, Sakura and I shared the very same seal for several weeks to test it out. It works fine and did not affect either one of us, negatively or otherwise."
Sakura almost made a noise of disapproval, but she caught herself. It had affected her. It made her feel closer to Kabuto. Did he feel closer to her? And would he feel closer to Sasuke?
"I don't see the point in such a seal," Sasuke said.
Kabuto sighed impatiently. "It's to make sure your vitals are fine at all times," he explained, "so that I can keep Orochimaru's new vessel in perfect shape until he needs it."
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you," Sasuke said, his eyes down on the blade of his katana as he swiped the cloth across it. "I killed Orochimaru."
/
For all of Kabuto's bravado, his smugness, his infuriating arrogance, he couldn't hide the all-encompassing panic that seemed to have seized him. He was frozen for a second, his fingers curled rigidly into fists. Sakura reached out to touch his arm, to unfreeze him and try to help him make sense of the fact that his mentor was now gone.
The second her finger grazed his arm he shoved her away, knocking her back into the doorframe. "Kabuto, get ahold of yourself," Sakura grunted, reaching to grab his arm to steady him and herself.
But he only shoved her again, running past her out into the hallway. Sakura couldn't say she shared in his panic. It was of no consequence to her that Orochimaru was dead. However, whatever emotional attachment Kabuto had to the man was apparently much stronger than hers, and she wasn't so sure she was equipped to deal with that. And she probably shouldn't try it anyway, given the peculiar nature of their relationship.
Though she wanted to follow him, to ease him into the process of understanding this loss, he had rounded a corner before she could catch up. Knowing how complicated the labyrinth really was, she didn't want to attempt to follow him and end up lost.
And really, she only had the barest few brain cells to devote to the Kabuto problem, because there was a much different, Sasuke shaped problem sitting on the twin bed in front of her. He continued to swipe away at his katana, paying Sakura no attention.
She was alone with him, finally. This had been what she had wanted, what she had ached for for so long. It seemed impossible to have gone through all those moments with Kabuto, and the weirdness and the unease and the confusion, just to be here with Sasuke. Her missing teammate. Her friend. He still looked so casual as if he was completely unbothered by her presence, which was better than being annoyed with her, she thought.
Desperately, she wracked her brain for something to say to him, something poignant, something that might make him understand how much she and Naruto loved him, how much they wanted him to come home.
"So you're off to kill your brother now, huh?"
The eyes that snapped up to meet hers were coal black this time, but not any less frightening. What she surmised by this was that he didn't consider her to be a threat. She didn't want him to think that, of course. She wanted him to know she loved him and would never do anything to hurt him. Still, she was annoyed that he didn't take her seriously. He had no idea how much she had grown in the last few years.
"Yes," he said, tossing the rag onto the table beside his bed and standing up to sheath the katana. "I'm going to form a team to track him down and I need a medic. I've heard that's your area of expertise."
Sakura gaped at him because it sounded a lot like…
"Will you come with me?"
"Umm…" Her brain scrambled to make sense of his question, to find an answer to it that was somehow acceptable to the both of them. Obviously she couldn't just up and leave with Sasuke. She had to go back to Konoha at some point. She desperately wished to bring Sasuke back with her, but how was she going to manage that? He had just told her his plan, which to her knowledge did not include a detour to Konoha.
She wanted to go with him. In her gut, she knew that was all she ever wanted. She had offered her company to him so long ago and he had rejected her, but here he was, asking for it now. If she refused, he would simply replace her with someone else, but if she didn't…
God, she wanted to say yes.
But it was with a pang of regret that she remembered that Kabuto's ass was the one on the line if she didn't come back to Konoha. She understood now why Kabuto saw the softness of her heart as a weakness. Here she was presented with the one thing she had always wanted and all she could think about was the fact that Kabuto's deal with her was void now. His mentor was gone and he was left with nothing. He had really gotten the short end of the stick, and in a way, it was all Sakura's fault. Maybe if she hadn't sent Naruto to get him, he would have been here, would have been able to prevent Orochimaru's death.
Sakura blinked rapidly, dispelling the nearly treasonous thought. She did not need to be feeling sympathy for Kabuto.
"Well? Are you coming?"
His eyes were still black, watching her expectantly. There was something unsettling about the way he looked at her, almost as if he was seeing right through her. But Sakura knew that this might be her only chance to save Sasuke, to bring him back to Konoha for good. Screw Kabuto, screw going back to Konoha empty-handed. She had a new mission now.
"Yes," she said with an affirmative nod. "I'm coming with you."
/
Sakura didn't know where Sasuke was taking her, and every question she asked was met with either silence or a noncommittal grunt. She couldn't say that this was out of character for her long lost teammate, but it was annoying all the same.
What she did know, however, was that they were traveling west, toward Rain. She planned to take the first opportunity she had without Sasuke around to send a message back to Konoha explaining what was going on, but she didn't know how much agency Sasuke was willing to give her. If he would stop her from sending the message, then she couldn't let him know. Until then, she just needed to maintain her bearings.
When they had been travelling for almost an hour, the silence began to stress Sakura out. She had a million questions for him, a million things to tell him about everything he had missed in Konoha. Would he care that Sakura had completed her training under Tsunade and surpassed her as a medic-nin? Would he want to know that Naruto had learned to control the kyuubi? Would he believe her that she had seen what was beneath Kakashi's mask and it was perfectly normal?
The fragility of their bond staggered her. She had no idea what was safe to say to him, what things wouldn't set him on edge of annoy him. He felt like a perfect stranger to her and it made her unbelievably angry. Even Kabuto had been easier to talk to than this.
She watched the back of his head as they walked, her eyes lingered on the split ends at the nape of his neck. His hair had grown quite long and he was much taller than she remembered. He was still just as handsome with that goddamn broody Uchiha aura he exuded. Part of her wanted to grab his face and kiss him exactly like she had done with Kabuto, but she knew that could only end in disaster.
But just what would his reaction be? Would he let her? Would he push her away? Would he even care or would it be nothing other than a minor annoyance?
"Quit dawdling, Sakura," he said, pausing for half a second to glance at her over his shoulder at her. His eyes were red again and she wondered if she would ever get used to his gaze. "We've got a long way to go."
Sakura tried not to groan as she jogged a few steps to catch up with him. "Yeah, about that…" she began. "I've actually been travelling for a day already on barely any sleep. I came straight from Konoha with Kabuto, and like, we had to share a single person tent. It was a fiasco. So I'm really tired and I need to let my chakra restore. It's nighttime anyway, so perhaps we can just set up camp here—"
"Hush," he said. It was less harsh than a 'shut up' but it hurt all the same. "We can stop for a few hours. I'll keep watch while you sleep."
"Oh," Sakura said. She hadn't expected such an easy acquiescence. She glanced up at the sky, still littered with grey clouds. The sun was long gone and the stars were tucked neatly away behind the wisps of rainclouds that still lingered above them. It might rain again, but only a sprinkle at this point. In a few hours it would be all clear again and they could make their journey in the daylight.
Without another word, Sakura began to set up her tent, still muddy and damp from the night before. Sasuke sat down against the base of a large tree trunk, his face turned toward the west, though Sakura noticed he glanced over at her every now and then.
When she had gotten her tent set up, she dusted her hands off and turned to face Sasuke, giving him her full attention now. "So, I'm going to go to sleep now," she said rather lamely, her hands on her hips as she waited for his reply. He looked up at her, but said nothing. A bit annoyed, Sakura tapped her toe, but she didn't snap at him like she might have if it had been Kabuto or Naruto. "Do you need any of my healing services before I go to sleep?" she asked.
"No, Sakura," he said softly, his eyes back toward the west again.
Sakura sighed, but didn't press him. She entered her tent and unzipped her bedroll, surprised to find herself missing Kabuto's company.
/
Sakura was awake the moment she felt Kabuto's chakra near her tent. She remained silent, still tucked soundly in her bedroll. It was still dark outside and it couldn't have been more than an hour or two after she'd fallen asleep. She listened to Kabuto's footsteps as he approached the tent, waiting to hear his inevitable exchange with Sasuke. What was he doing here?
"I know she's your girlfriend or whatever," she heard Kabuto drawl, "but I'm going to have to reclaim her."
"Find yourself another medic, Kabuto," Sasuke's voice said. He was closer to her tent now – she could hear him right on the other side of the tarp.
"If she doesn't return to Konoha, Tsunade will send ANBU looking for her," Kabuto warned. "You'll never be able to escape them, not with her weighing you down."
"She's here of her own volition," Sasuke argued. "Besides, we won't be in Fire Country much longer."
"It's my neck on the line if she doesn't return."
Sasuke said nothing in response and Sakura would have given anything to see their faces, to see with her own eyes the palpitating forces between them. The silence was thick. Sakura hardly dared to breath lest they hear it and realize she was awake.
"Sakura, I know you're awake."
Sakura cursed silently and shuffled her way out of the tent. "Yes, Kabuto, darling, I heard you call," she said casually. If she was honest with herself, her gut was telling her to go with Kabuto. She had no idea where Sasuke was taking her, but if it was out of Fire Country, it was probably bad. The nagging guilt in her stomach made her feel sympathy toward Kabuto that she wouldn't usually feel and she felt compelled to pull the poor man into a crushing hug.
He was glaring at her with fiery rage, which wasn't much more appealing than his regular, stoic demeanor. But it was enough to concern Sakura, who leaned in toward him, her fingers lit with chakra.
"Hey, you don't look so good," she said, eyeing his pale, sweaty skin and the way his fingers trembled at his sides. "Are you okay?"
"You know you can't leave here with him," he said. "Tsunade is waiting for you to come back."
"Why do you care?" she demanded. "The world is your oyster, Kabuto. Go do whatever the fuck you want. You don't answer to Tsunade. And now you don't answer to Orochimaru either."
"Are you kidding me? Tsunade will have this place swarmed with ANBU by tomorrow morning," he said. "They'll be looking for both of us because even though you are the one who failed to hold up her end of the bargain, I'm the one on the chopping block now."
Sakura frowned and took another step forward, touching Kabuto's chest with chakra-lit fingers. She sent some calming chakra into his system, and to her utter surprise, he let her. He even seemed to relax against her touch, his eyes slipping shut for a brief second. Behind her, Sakura could feel Sasuke watching the two of them, but she didn't dare turn around to see his face.
"Listen, Kabuto, I'm really sorry about the bargain," she said. "I mean it's all pointless now with Orochimaru dead and all, but look at it this way: you're free now."
"You mean lost," he countered.
Sakura frowned, watching the emotions flicker across his face. She truly did feel bad for him. He was lost. He had no home, no parents, no loved ones to return to. He had no home country, no person who would take him in. If things had been different, she might have taken her back to Konoha with him and convinced Tsunade to let him stay. He had already proved to them that he could play nice, that he could be an asset to the village.
And she wanted to, she really did. But Sasuke was behind her, waiting for her. Sasuke was an option on the table again, a possibility. She had the once in a lifetime opportunity to reclaim their friendship, to bring him back home for Naruto. Nothing would have made her waste that chance.
It still broke her heart, though, to see Kabuto's face, to know his pain. If she were him she'd have been on the brink of tears by now.
"I'm really sorry, Kabuto."
He scowled and pushed her away from him hard enough that she would have been knocked off her feet if Sasuke hadn't moved to catch her. Something in her was stirred by the protectiveness of the action, though she knew logically it wasn't for any emotional reason he sought to protect her. Still, it was hard to ignore the butterflies in her stomach caused by the way Sasuke's fingers latched around her upper arms, steadying her until the was standing again.
"Do you two plan this from the beginning?" Kabuto demanded. "Were you working together all along to kill Orochimaru-sama?"
"No, of course not," Sakura said
"Kabuto, she needs to replenish her chakra," Sasuke said tersely behind her. "Are you finished with her?"
"No, I'm not fucking finished with her," he retorted.
Sakura wanted to say something to placate him, or maybe just to get him to leave. He might have seen it as a loss now, but Kabuto was a smart guy. He would find some new purpose in life, some new way to attain power. He didn't need Orochimaru for that.
But before she could find the right words to say, Kabuto had one hand on either side of her face and was pulling her in for a kiss. She had about two seconds to decide whether or not to let him. She realized she wanted to. There was some part of Kabuto that had been right about her and being turned on by tragedy. What was more tragic than poor, orphan Kabuto, left all alone in the world again? Yes, her kiss might not make that better, but it was something. Kabuto wanted it, clearly, and she wanted to give it to him.
Of course when their lips met, Sakura realized what a mistake it truly was. She could still feel Sasuke's fingers around her arms. She heard the noise of disgust he made so close to her ear before he let go of her and took a step away from the freak show unfolding right before his eyes.
Sakura wanted to care that the boy she loved was behind her, watching her kiss another man – a man she didn't even love! Some more twisted part of her enjoyed the fact that he was watching.
Kabuto didn't seem to mind Sasuke's presence as he continued to kiss Sakura with bruising force. His fingers were shaking against the sides of her face, but she knew that was from rage rather than undying love for her.
When he had decided enough was enough, Kabuto released her, ambling back a few steps. "There," he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Now I'm finished with her."