One day, Sasuke received word from a genin messenger that Kakashi had requested that he visit the Hokage tower at his earliest convenience. Not one to keep people waiting (unlike his former teacher), Sasuke had perched himself on the windowsill of the Hokage's office within fifteen minutes. It only took five more for Kakashi to walk through the door, shaking his head and sighing as he threw himself into the chair behind his desk.

"These people just love to waste my time with tedious paperwork." Kakashi said drearily.

"If being Hokage is so dull, why did you agree to it?" Sasuke muttered from his position behind Kakashi on the windowsill.

It was a rhetorical question, but Kakashi answered it nonetheless. "Because Naruto wasn't quite ready for the job."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes with skepticism. "You really think he'll be the next Hokage?"

Kakashi shrugged, his back to Sasuke. "It'll either be him, or you."

Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Don't make me laugh. I dropped that idea long ago."

"I'm serious." Kakashi continued. "You're both war heroes and the strongest young men in the village. Neither one of you is ideal, of course," he smirked beneath his mask. "Since you have an unpredictable temper and a tendency for revenge, and Naruto is controlled by his raw emotions."

A vein twitched in Sasuke's forehead.

"But we're not here to discuss the next Hokage, now are we?" Kakashi said lightly. "I've called you here for something a little more interesting." He reached under his desk and pulled out a cardboard box wrapped in police tape.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in mild interest.

"Since it appears that you're here to stay, I thought it might be time to return some of your things to you." Kakashi said, swiveling his chair and holding out the box for Sasuke. "Or rather, some of your family's things."

Sasuke grasped the box and pulled it into his lap, carefully ripping off the tape as he did so. "How thoughtful of you." he said blandly. "Where did you find this?"

"The village confiscated nearly everything after the massacre, but they didn't throw anything out. It was all kept as evidence; they were trying to figure out why Itachi snapped." Kakashi explained. "Remember, very few people knew about Itachi's true mission," he said very quietly.

Sasuke nodded mutely and slowly opened the package. Before him lay his mother's jewelry box, covered in black velvet with silver feet and a ruby-encrusted silver lock. A tiny silver key lay in one of the corners of the cardboard box. Sasuke picked it up and turned it over in his hand a few times. He then removed the jewelry box and discarded the cardboard box onto the floor. He slowly slid the key into the lock, turned it until he heard a small click, and carefully lifted the lid.

Sasuke's mother had been a simple, practical woman. She was not fond of flashy, useless items like jewelry. But there were two items that she treasured more than anything else: the Uchiha family ring and a locket that her husband gave to her after the birth of their second son.

Sasuke lifted the locket from the bottom of the red velvet-lined box and carefully pried it open; the passage of time had made the hinge stiff. The left side of the locket held a tiny picture of baby Itachi, and the right side contained a tiny picture of baby Sasuke.

Next, Sasuke picked up his mother's ring – the Uchiha family ring that had been passed down for decades. An oblong onyx gem, embedded in silver and framed by small rubies, glittered in the sunlight as Sasuke tilted it from side to side. Memories of this special ring flashed through his mind like a stop-motion film: the ring sparkling as his mother washed dishes at the sink in front of the kitchen window, the ring gently tugging on Sasuke's hair when his mother bathed him, the ring laying in a small jewelry dish on the tea table when his mother removed it to tend to her garden…

"Thank you," Sasuke said quietly to Kakashi, coming out of his reverie. "I always wondered if she was wearing the ring when…" He didn't want to finish his sentence, but he knew Kakashi understood.

"There are more items, of course, but I thought this was one of the things you would want back sooner rather than later." Kakashi explained, not quite meeting Sasuke's gaze.

Sasuke nodded, placing the ring back in the jewelry box with the locket and locking it with the delicate silver key. "Is there a particular reason for this? Don't lie."

Kakashi bit his lip beneath his mask. "You're not going to like it, so before I tell you, please promise you won't wreck my office."

"Kakashi," Sasuke growled.

Kakashi held his hands up in mock surrender. "Just don't shoot the messenger, okay? The village elders have suddenly taken interest in the future of the Uchiha clan."

"Oh?" Sasuke asked tonelessly, narrowing his eyes.

"They seem to have this idea in their heads that you owe the village some stability – some hope for the future, if you will. After all, we are still rebuilding after the most destructive war in our history." Kakashi said seriously. "And while the council pardoned you for your war crimes, you aren't exactly in the clear yet."

"Go on." Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"The council has decided that if you're going to stay in the village, you need to revive the Uchiha clan. The revival of your clan will prove to the villagers that you are truly on our side again and that the village will continue to prosper. To get you started, the village has come up with a proposal."

Sasuke's glare told Kakashi to hurry up and get to the point.

"Either you find a suitable woman to marry within 30 days, or the elders will arrange a marriage for you with a maiden from a neighboring nation. This is non-negotiable. If you leave the village, you will be listed in the Bingo Book as a missing-nin. And I doubt the village will pardon you the second time around." Kakashi said gravely.

"This is blackmail." Sasuke spat the words with cold fury.

Kakashi nodded. "I know. Alas, even as Hokage, my vote is useless against a unanimous decision by the council. But you do have a choice." he said quietly. "That's why I gave you your mother's jewelry. You can choose the woman yourself, or you can let the elders decide."

"You want me to choose Sakura." Sasuke said plainly.

"I assumed she was the most obvious, and only, choice."

Sasuke scowled, taking deep breaths to control his anger. "This isn't fair to her. She should not be punished for my past mistakes."

"Do you really think that she would feel that marrying you is a punishment?" Kakashi asked softly. "Sasuke, you clearly don't know Sakura as well as you think you do."

Sasuke shook his head quickly with frustration. "Stop it. I know she'd marry me in a heartbeat; she's too kind, too selfless. But that's not fair to her, and you know it."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "The life of a shinobi is never fair. But surely marrying you isn't the worst thing to ever happen to her. Some might even say she's earned it."

Sasuke scoffed in exasperation and disgust, rising from his seat with the jewelry box shaking in his hands. "So this is it. I either force Sakura to marry me, or I marry some foolish heiress that I know nothing about, and who knows nothing about me or my clan."

Kakashi didn't have time to respond before Sasuke had vanished in a puff of smoke.


Sasuke was livid as he stalked toward the hospital that night. Just as he was beginning to make progress in his relationship with Sakura, everything had blown up in his face. I never should have returned, he thought to himself bitterly. Now things between Sakura and I will be ruined forever. Sasuke knew that choosing another woman was out of the question for him; no one would ever be able to understand him and everything he'd been through. They would either see him for the monster that he felt he truly was inside, or they would worship him – the very last of the legendary Uchiha – like an idol.

Life had never been fair to Sasuke. He had been robbed from ever having an ordinary life the very moment that Itachi agreed to assassinate the entire clan. But Sasuke had thought, if only for a moment, that perhaps he was going to get a second chance. Perhaps he was finally going to have the chance to heal, to fall in love, to build real relationships with people…

And now it was all going to be an act. He would never know what Sakura was really thinking, if he asked her to marry him only for the sake of the village. Of course she would say yes, but would it be sincere? Would she only say yes because she felt that it was her duty as a shinobi?

If he really wanted to do what was best for Sakura, maybe he should choose the foreign bride. That was the only option that left Sakura to do as she pleased for the rest of her life. If she became his bride, she would be trapped. Of course, marrying another woman would initially cause Sakura a great deal of heartache, but she would understand that Sasuke was fulfilling his duty as the sole heir to his clan…right?

Sasuke marched through the atrium and took the stairs two at a time as he made his way to Sakura's office. He ignored every passing nurse who tried to wave and greet him; he couldn't look anyone in the eye right now. He kept his eyes straight ahead, focusing on the door to Sakura's office as numerous nurses tried to flag him down to say hello. Couldn't they see that he was in a foul mood?

The door to Sakura's office was ajar, but she was not there. Frustrated, Sasuke turned on his heel and continued down the hallway, listening intently for the sound of Sakura's voice from one of the exam rooms. He was so focused on finding Sakura that he was briefly startled when Tsunade appeared in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest, blocking his path.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tsunade asked sharply.

Sasuke glared at her from beneath his bangs. "I'm looking for Sakura."

"Haven't you heard?" Tsunade lowered her voice, but her eyes were still sharp. "Or were you too busy ignoring every nurse who tried to get your attention as you strutted through my hospital?"

Sasuke blinked in mild confusion, his face bland. "Tell me what's going on." Remembering that he was speaking to a former Hokage and the chief of the hospital, he quickly mumbled, "Please."

Tsunade was silent, biting her lip as she made a decision. "Go back to Sakura's office and wait for further instruction," she ordered. And then she was gone.

Sasuke did as he was told, slamming the door behind him as he entered Sakura's office. He did not like secrets, and he did not like being told what to do. He began to pace, his eyes taking in his surroundings as he struggled to think about something besides what was going on with Sakura. He saw calendar hanging on the wall; today was the first of September.

30 days.

Do I tell her? If so, when? And how? How do you ask someone to marry you for the sake of producing heirs? Sasuke thought to himself frantically. Maybe I should find a way to sneak it into conversation to find out how she really feels about it, he thought. No, honesty is the best policy with Sakura. I owe her that much. The door opened behind him, and he spun to see a disheveled Sakura entering the room.

She looked worse for wear, albeit not visibly injured. Her skin was pale, her eyes were tired, and her skin was covered in a thin, glistening layer of sweat. Sweat had completely soaked through her clothing, and she had pulled her damp hair back into a high ponytail. She walked past Sasuke without making eye contact and collapsed into her chair, closing her eyes as she leaned back and propped her feet up on her desk.

Sasuke waited a few moments out of courtesy before his impatience got the best of him. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.

"Naruto has been attacked," Sakura said breathlessly, her chest heaving with the effort. "Badly injured."

Sasuke's eyes were sharp. "By who? Tell me what happened." he demanded, slamming his hands down onto the desk as he waited for Sakura to give him more information.

"Not entirely sure." Sakura said in barely more than a whisper, struggling to catch her breath.

"Sakura," Sasuke said slowly, finally realizing how labored Sakura's breathing was. "Are you okay?" he asked slowly.

Sakura's eyes flew open, and she pushed herself away from the desk as she vomited onto the floor. "Sasuke," she said faintly, her eyelids fluttering.

Sasuke leaped forward and caught Sakura in his arms just as she lost consciousness.


A/N: Hello, dear readers! I could make excuses about my prolonged absence, but I will spare you the time it would take to read about my life's current events. I just wanted you all to know that I am still alive, and I cherish every review that makes its way to my inbox! Keep them coming – I want to hear your thoughts!

This chapter has quite a bit of drama! (And so much angst!) I'm trying to get the ball rolling for some real plot development, because as much as we all love fluffy stories, they can't go on forever without some sort of driving force for the characters.