Hey, sorry for the lateness of the update. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter and I hope to be able to update the next chapter soon, but as most of you know, real life can be quite a hassle :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy this latest chapter and give me your feedbacks (please and thank you).

Chapter 3

The acrid smell of smoke drifted into her nostrils and before she could stop herself, she inhaled and felt it seep into her lungs, and though she knew it wasn't true, she felt as if it would stay there permanently, forever a part of her being, a reminder of the devastation she'd seen today.

Several feet behind her, she could hear the other members of her team rummaging through the debris, searching for more survivors. She wanted to scream at them to stop, to tell them that it was useless. No more, she thought. No more

She looked down at her hands, blackened with soot, the skin scraped raw and covered with dried blood. But hers wasn't the only blood there. She closed her eyes and tried to push away the image of a young girl's large brown eyes, hopeful and so full of trust. She was only a child, her soul cried. A child.

Shaking her head, she slipped her hand into her pocket and traced her fingers over the kunai she'd slipped in there moments ago. The kunai itself was simple, unremarkable and commonly found in most ninjas' pocket. But she recognized this particular kunai—no, she recognized the faint chakra surrounding the kunai and she felt her heart shatter. Why? Kami-sama, why?

"Sakura-sama . . . Sakura-sama . . ."

"Sakura-sama!"

She woke up with a start and couldn't prevent her hiss of pain as her knee bumped the underside of her desk. "Itai," she murmured, rubbing the throbbing spot. She looked up to see one of the nurses hovering near the doorway of her office.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Sakura-sama," the nurse said apologetically. "But you told me to come and get you when the patient with the poison woke up."

"It's all right," Sakura said, climbing to her feet. She ran a hand through her hair and smiled sheepishly at the nurse. "Silly me, I accidentally fell asleep."

"I don't blame you. You've been pushing too many hours, Sakura-sama," the nurse pointed out, clucking her tongue disapprovingly. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard and neglect your rest."

"Maa, maa, you're starting to sound like shishou-sama. Now come on, let's see how our patient's doing."

Almost an hour later, she emerged from one of the rooms with a satisfied smile on her face. The poison—which was rarely encountered—had been extracted and her patient was going to be fine. The warmth that invaded her bones made her smile widen. It was times like these that told her that this was what she was meant for, that this was where her true gift lay. There wasn't a day gone by where she didn't thank her lucky stars for Tsunade-sama's apprenticeship. If it hadn't been for the Hokage, she didn't think she would have found the confidence to grow into the person she was now.

She glanced at her watch and smiled ruefully. Her shift had ended ten minutes ago, but of course she hadn't noticed. She stopped abruptly as she walked passed a particular hallway and chewed on her bottom lip hesitantly. Should she . . .?

Isn't that what matters? That he's home, Kakashi's words echoed in her head.

He needs us. Naruto.

You've been avoiding me. Sasuke.

She tucked a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear and sighed. She hadn't seen Sasuke since yesterday and she'd managed to dodge both Kakashi and Naruto. She knew her actions were wrong and even disrespectful, but she couldn't help it. She didn't feel like talking and it seemed like all Naruto and Kakashi wanted to do these past few days.

He needs us.

Minutes later, she was pushing open the door to Sasuke's hospital room but stopped abruptly when she saw Tsunade-sama and several members of the village council gathered at the foot of the bed, in which Sasuke was sitting up. They all glanced at her as she opened the door and she bowed her head respectfully.

"Forgive me," she said, "I'll come back later."

She made a move to step back out, but Tsunade stopped her. "No, Sakura, that's all right. You might as well come in, considering we're about to finish. Besides, I didn't manage to make these two leave."

Sakura's gaze followed where Tsunade's finger pointed at and her eyes widened slightly when saw Naruto and Kakashi standing side by side on the other end of the room. Naruto was jumpy, full of impatient energy, while Kakashi was in his customary pose, lazily leaning against the wall, one hand shoved in his pocket while the other held up his precious Icha-Icha Paradise book. Sakura's eyes narrowed as her eyes fell onto that particular book. Throughout the years, she'd tried many times—without success—to destroy her former sensei's perverted novels. One of these days, I'm going to . . .

One of the council members' spoke, breaking into her thoughts. "So, Sasuke, we will see you tomorrow then. We'll try not to keep you waiting."

"Aa," the black-haired young man replied, his face impassive as usual. "Thank you," he added almost grudgingly.

"We'll leave you now," Tsunade said with a nod. She glanced briefly at Sakura and then at Naruto and Kakashi. "I'll trust the two of you will tell her?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied without looking up from his book.

"Damn straight, obaa-san!"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed and if looks could kill, Kakashi would be mourning the loss of his beloved book while a certain blonde shinobi flew head-first out of the window.

Sakura waited until Tsunade and the council members had left the room before turning to look at the three men in the room. Her heart wrenched as she realized that this was the first time in eight years—the first day of Sasuke's return cast aside—that all four members of Team 7, Team Kakashi, were in the same room. Together.

Much to her disgust, tears stung the back of her eyes and she turned around to discreetly brush them away. She smiled ruefully to herself. For years, she'd managed to control her emotions—a feat that had been extremely difficult to achieve when she was younger—and she'd vowed to herself to never cry in front of others. But since Sasuke's return, the urge to cry had been numerous and almost overwhelming. How easy it is for him to make me feel like twelve years old all over again. No matter what I do, no matter how much I train, I'll always feel like a child around him.

"Sakura," the voice of her former sensei broke into her troubled thoughts. She made sure a pleasant smile was on her face before turning to face the older man.

"Hai?"

"You finished your shift already?" he asked.

"Hai. I planned on having a late dinner, but I thought . . ." She trailed off and glanced at the quiet—doesn't he ever say anything? she wondered impatiently—Sasuke, whose chin was propped on his folded hands, much like his usual pose during their younger days, as he stared straight ahead, the ever-infuriatingly distant expression in his dark eyes. She squared her shoulders and returned her gaze to her teacher. "I thought I'd visit Sasuke for a while."

Kakashi smiled while Naruto beamed at her. How very much like them, she thought. Obviously, they thought she was coming around since she'd taken the incentive to visit Sasuke. Of course they'd be happy for Sasuke. They'd been worried for Sasuke. Did they ever wonder about me? Why I—yamero, Sakura, she told herself, pushing the petty thoughts away.

She cleared her throat and stepped further into the room. Unable to resist, she picked up Sasuke's medical chart and gave it a brief once-over. "You're improving at a fast rate, Sasuke," she told him.

"Aa" was the only answer she received.

"Of course he is, with brilliant medics like obaa-san and you taking care of him, Sakura-chan!" Naruto complimented with a large grin. "But he's still too weak, though. Unlike me, Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage—"

"Do you ever shut up, you idiot?" Sasuke interrupted.

"Oi, who are you calling an idiot?" Naruto sputtered.

"You, idiot. You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"I have grown stronger and I'll prove it by kicking your ugly ass!"

"Maa-maa," Sakura interjected, stepping in between. "Naruto, lower your voice, this is a hospital."

"Gomen, Sakura-chan," he apologized, but the grin on his face told her that he wasn't at all repentant.

"Baka," Sasuke muttered under his breath, but of course Naruto heard him.

"What did you say, chicken head?" the blonde-haired ninja demanded.

"Naruto, lower you voice!"

"Yare, yare," Kakashi said, lowering his book and peering at the three of them over it. "Eight years down the road and the three of you are still bickering like a bunch of snot-nosed kids."

The three young shinobi abruptly fell quiet and Kakashi knew he'd made a mistake with his remark when they refused to meet each other's eyes. It was true. For a moment, they had forgotten that they hadn't grown apart, that everything wasn't as it actually was between them. Kakashi sighed. Such proud people, unwilling to bend for anyone, he thought. It doesn't make my life easier, but I wouldn't have them any other way.

Sakura cleared her throat again as she attempted to dispel the awkward silence. "Uh . . . what were Tsunade-sama and the council members doing here?"

She didn't miss the brief look Naruto exchanged with Sasuke before the blonde replied, "They were discussing Sasuke's punishment."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. "What?"

Sasuke sighed softly. "I was declared a missing-nin, remember?" he said bluntly. "Since I left the village to join the enemy, I have to be punished."

"Oh. But . . ."

Kakashi spoke. "Considering Sasuke's . . . circumstances, his punishment will probably be different from the norm. And since he didn't actually fight against Konoha during the course of his stay in Oto . . . he'll probably avoid execution."

Sakura's heart skipped several beats. The idea of Sasuke's death . . .

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "They won't kill him."

"Naruto!" she hissed.

"What? It's true. They won't kill him. They can't. We won't let them," Naruto declared with a conviction that she knew carried its weight in gold.

She tucked a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear. "When—when will we know what the punishment is?" she asked.

"Tsunade-sama and the council will have a meeting today and they'll come and see Sasuke tomorrow to let him know their decision," Kakashi told her.

"Yeah, since Sasuke's bedridden, they have to come to him instead of the other way around." Naruto snickered. "Weakling."

"Shut up, retard."

"What did you say, asshole?"

"Maa." Kakashi closed his book with a soft thud and slipped it into his pocket. "The council will probably have other things to discuss with Sasuke aside from his punishment."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean, Sensei?"

It was Sasuke who answered and she turned to look at him. "I'm not sure if you already know this, but I actually left Oto almost three years ago to search for my . . ."

"To search for Itachi," she finished for him and didn't catch the slight flicker in his dark eyes.

"Aa." Sasuke shot her a brief glance before turning his gaze to the window. "Anyway, before I left Oto, Orochimaru was in the process of taking over my body. He wanted the Sharingan, you see. He still wants it. And since I'm the last Uchiha . . ."

Sakura swallowed. "You didn't—he was alive when you left Oto?"

"Aa."

Naruto interjected quietly, "Orochimaru wants the Sharingan. He needs it. He'll probably stop at nothing to get it."

Sakura lifted a slightly trembling hand to her neck, understanding the implication behind her friend's words. She closed her eyes. Fire . . . destruction . . . blood . . . death . . . round, childish eyes staring into hers innocently, full of pain and hope . . .

She lifted her lids and stared at Sasuke, at the indifference on his handsome visage, and fury bubbled within her. How could he just sit there, as cold as ever, knowing that he would perhaps cause further pain for the village? Didn't he care at all?

"So, Sasuke," she said, her voice trembling from anger, "not only did you betray your village, you're going to bring a war upon it as well."

"Sakura!" Naruto gasped, shocked.

"That's going too far, Sakura," Kakashi said angrily.

Sakura ignored them, keeping her eyes focused on Sasuke. "Look at me, damn it! For Kami-sama's sake, show me that you're something more than a block of ice, that you have some life inside you. That you can at least feel!"

Sasuke's head whipped around to look at her and for some reason, she took a step back. His dark gaze bore into hers and strangely, her heart raced. The eyes that peered into hers were anything but cold. They were full of despair and something else she wasn't sure of. It was as if he were asking her to . . . to . . .

Save me.

Sakura opened her mouth, but her throat was dry. Once again, she felt tears prick the back of her eyes and she didn't bother to brush them away. "Sasuke, I . . ."

"Sakura-sama, there's an emergency!"

She was sixteen when it first happened. She supposed she'd been lucky, these past four years. Tsunade-sama told her that most medics experienced it during the first two years of their profession. She was lucky.

But she didn't feel lucky.

She stood outside the hospital, in the middle of the pathway, and stared up at the darkening sky. It was autumn and the nights were getting colder, but she didn't feel the chill. She didn't feel anything. She doubted anything could break the numbness that had solidly planted itself within her body.

"Sakura? Sakura, what are you still doing here?"

She turned around slowly and watched with dull eyes as the statuesque blonde walk towards her. "Shishou-sama . . ."

"Sakura, it's freezing. Why are you standing outside without a . . ." Tsunade's words trailed off as she reached the young woman and her eyes softened slightly as she took in her student's pale features. "Oh, Sakura, have you been standing here ever since . . .?"

When Sakura didn't answer, the older woman let out a long, heavy sigh. "Oh, Sakura, you have to get past this. It happens to every medic—even me. He was too far gone to be saved. There was nothing you—or anyone else—could have done to save him."

"I . . . I want to believe that, shishou-sama, I really do, but I . . . I can't. I keep thinking that if I'd responded to the emergency call faster, if I'd been more firm in my decisions, if I'd been better, than he wouldn't have . . . he wouldn't have . . ."

Tsunade made an impatient noise. "Don't be so arrogant, Sakura!" she snapped.

Sakura's eyes rounded. "Shishou—"

"Do you think you're a god? Is that it, Sakura? Do you think that because you're a good medic and you have excellent chakra control you're omnipotent?"

"I . . ."

"Listen to me, Sakura, and listen to me well," Tsunade continued. "We're shinobi. Death is a part of our lives—we'll never escape that. No matter how hard we run, death will always follow. But what differentiates the great shinobi from the simple ones is the ability to move forward. To live in the moment and anticipate the future. To never forget the past but to not linger in it as well. Do you understand me, Sakura?"

"Shishou-sama . . ."

"There was nothing you could have done to save that ninja. It was his time to go. Don't insult his sacrifice for the village by crying useless tears. It's a waste of your time—and mine."

"Time of death: 8:25 p.m., cause of death: a . . ."

Sakura barely heard the nurse's voice as she walked out of the room, feeling the familiar chill sink into her bones. The scene from four years ago replayed in her mind and she recalled Tsunade's words. Death was a part of them, a large part of their lives. As a shinobi, she should know this—accept this.

She ran her fingers through her hair. If only I'd made a more thorough scan, she thought. If only I'd seen that speck of poison inside his system. If only . . .

"That's enough, Sakura."

She looked up, startled, and her eyes widened when she saw the figure standing a few feet away from her. "Sasuke . . ."

To be continued . . .

Yes, by now it should be obvious that I love cliffhangers.