Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of the Merc and the Medic. Enjoy the 3000-word chapter. I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto and a few others do.

(Village of Sound.)

Marmora didn't visit Otagakure once. He knew the Sound from the entire land to its village was ruled by Orochimaru. He would fear the Sannin even when he had reformed. He looked around while he walked past the gates.

He remembered the ANBU dealing with the dead soldiers and one of them stopping before going to report it.

Marmora knew that was more or less the rest of Danuja's men, he had deployed over 40 men, the syndicate couldn't have been above 50 or so. He knew that only left Danuja and a few of his Lieutenants.

"Sasuke, why did you bring us here? I'm not worried about Sound, but you've barely given any indication you wanted to leave the village…" Sakura stated before she and Sasuke walked into town.

"SASUKE!" She heard from a very familiar voice while Karin ran over to the trio, she had on a very heavy coat for some reason, Marmora raised his eyebrows while Sakura's jaw dropped, as did whatever was left of her feelings for the Uchiha romantically.

She noticed a wedding ring on Karen's hand before Marmora placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him before he looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, what is the issue you needed Sakura for? She's mostly a doctor." He said, he knew he had already told Sakura what he believed Sasuke's reasoning for recruiting her for a mission.

"He called her for my sake…" Karin said before removing her coat, Marmora and Sakura's jaws dropped.

Karin had a very visible bulge in her stomach…. Karin, someone who had been hit with a Chidori courtesy of Sasuke himself, was pregnant.

Sakura held back the urge to scream, Marmora grabbed her arm before she could rip Karin's head from her shoulders.

"Your… Expecting?" Marmora asked, he didn't blame Sasuke for getting married, he already assumed Karin's wedding ring told the story for Sasuke.

He still was caught off guard, he had no real response at the moment.

"We're meet you at the village center…" Karin said before Sasuke and her left.

Marmora let go of Sakura who looked like she wanted to rip the Hokage monument to pieces then cry.

"Sakura, are you ok?" Marmora asked, Sakura had tears in her eyes before she motioned Marmora back.

Marmora took a few steps back before she put all of her strength and a good amount of Charka not in her seal into the punch.

Marmora was sent cartwheeling into a tree while everything in within a mile back the way they came, trees, stone and dirt was sent flying, it was like an earthquake had happened.

Sakura collapsed crying before Marmora, who was surprised he wasn't turned to pulp, bit down on a branch before painfully resetting his arm and walking over to Sakura before sliding into the crater she had made and gently rubbing her back.

"It's ok to cry, I know what he meant to you." Marmora said before he bent down to start hugging her.

She hugged back before a voice cut the duo off.

"MY WEDDING BAND!" They heard from a voice that was surprisingly not Karen.

They turned to look at a civilian mother with simple grey robes and regular sandals. Marmora noticed what looked like a lake next to her and put two and two together.

"Stay here." Marmora said before he removed his mask and gloves before grabbing his rebreather.

"Marmora, are you…?" Sakura asked before he handed his jacket to her and kicked off his sandals.

"I'd be heavier without it and I'm going to get her wedding band. I get hurt, you can just make fun of how stupid I am while you help me, right?" Marmora asked before running over.

Sakura blinked as Marmora vanished under the water, she ran over with Marmora's clothing before setting it down.

(With Marmora)

Marmora noticed that the water was a lot deeper than he thought it was. He would have put on his rebreather right away but his training allowed him to hold his breath for a bit.

He noticed the gleam of the wedding band, small as it was. He began to swim down while making sure he could see. He gulped down as much air while he continued to swim down.

Amegakure was good at training assassins, they trained their Shinobi to be good at aquatic assaults, he waited till his lungs began to burn before he put the rebreather on his mouth.

He made it to the bottom of the lake and grabbed the band before he started to ascend. He coughed a few times before he gasped once or twice.

He surfaced before he pulled off the rebreather and gasped.

"I GOT IT!" He yelled while he swam over towards the edge of the lake.

"THANK YOU!" She screamed before she grabbed the band and scurried off. Marmora hauled himself out of the water, coughing a bit, his rebreather didn't entirely rejuvenate his burning lungs.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU COULD HAVE DROWNED!" Sakura yelled while she stomped over before Marmora's breathing went from a little labored to being well enough to talk.

"I told you that you'd be mad, I should have made a bet." Marmora said before Sakura flicked him on the head and clonked him on the head while she pulled off a glove to start helping his lungs heal.

Sasuke and Karin watched the duo while Sakura's frown turned to a smile while Marmora laughed.

"I'm going to kill you the next time you do something that stupid." Sakura murmured, Marmora slipped on his shirt and then mask and gloves.

"I am so cold. I swear to the Kage, that was stupid." Marmora muttered before Sasuke and Karin walked over to them.

Sakura still glared at Sasuke but kept her attention on Marmora who cracked his neck and then stood up.

"Well… That was fun." Marmora muttered, he chuckled with amusement before Sakura rolled her eyes and helped Marmora to his feet.

"Your clothes are going to be wet for a while." Sakura said, Marmora shook his head and turned to look at her with amusement.

"They train Shinobi from Amegakure to be skilled at underwater combat alongside things like that. My clothes should shed water soon. I'm not good at Jutsu usage yet, but I do understand Amegakure clothing sheds water, Sakura… You're not a very good assassin if you always have heavy clothing and all that." Marmora muttered, Sakura nodded while both turned their attention to Sasuke and Karin.

"Ok… So, do you guys plan on not telling us or did you bring us out here to kill some of Danuja's men and go diving?" Marmora asked before Sasuke turned to Karin.

"Karin… Wished for you to help act as a midwife." Sasuke said, Sakura's eye twitched before Marmora looked at Sasuke.

"You don't have anyone else to ask for that?" Marmora asked, now unsure why they wanted Sakura for something that anyone could do.

"No." Sasuke said, Marmora turned to Sakura who sighed and then nodded.

"When are you expecting?" Sakura asked, she had an entire hospital back in Konoha that could have helped with that… But no, Sasuke had to pick a town when she had no resources and didn't have access to any of those tools.

"Within a week or so." Karin said, Sakura took a deep breath and then reared back her arm.

Marmora grabbed her arm before she could clock Karin. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I don't mean to be rude, but if we are going to stay here, I think we should have someplace to sleep." Marmora said, his arm made an audible cracking noise while he tried to stop Sakura from murdering the woman who had married the former love of her life.

"Hmm…" Sasuke said while he and Karin departed, Marmora arm twisted and then there was a crunch.

"Marmora?" Sakura asked, as if she had come out of a trance, Marmora looked at his arm.

Then he screamed in pain when he realized trying to hold back Sakura had broken or fractured the same arm she just dislocated.

"Ow…." Marmora whimpered in pain, Sakura blinked and then went to work on fixing it while he clutched his arm.

"I'm so sorry!" Sakura yelled, Marmora hummed and said nothing while he looked around and said nothing.

Neither noticed the being watching them from the distance, it held a body in its hand and the robes of an organization that everyone in Fire Country knew.

"I should have known better then then to end up hiring criminals…. Oh well, my plan will continue on… It just will have to deal with them… Hmm, perhaps the one I took from Danuja's little group." The figure said before he dropped the body and turned and walked away.

The body of Danuja Eguchi dropped into the water, Yousuke was the only remnant of his empire left.

The man never once knew he was a pawn, a pathetic little pawn.

(With Sakura and Marmora)

Marmora continued to cradle his arm while Sakura fashioned a sling out of a cheap but clean tarp and a few pieces of rope.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura said, Marmora gestured with his left hand, the one broken, his right, didn't move much.

"It's fine, my arm will heal in a few hours or so hopefully. I doubt you did that much damage… It still hurts a hell of a lot more than it looks." Marmora said, he looked at his arm and then started walking with Sakura.

"You hate Karin. You were about to choke slam her all the way to the other side of the planet." He said, Sakura sighed, Marmora smiled.

"Hey, Sakura?" Marmora asked, Sakura turned to her before he reached towards her face.

He tugged at the corner of her lips; it made her look like she smiled as he pulled his pinkie back.

"You should smile more, it's nice… And it's funny seeing you get so huffy when you're not as proper as you think… And there's nothing wrong with that." Marmora said, Sakura blushed and looked at the ground muttering something about Marmora was an idiot.

"You try that again; I'll break your other arm." Sakura said, she still had a smile on her face.

"Yeah… But you have to heal that arm then as well and help me since I can't help myself at the moment… I'm not a genius like you, but I know the oath…" Marmora said, Sakura blushed and growled with amusement.

"You are SO lucky I don't punch you." Sakura said while she and Marmora walked, Marmora chuckled, he smiled.

"Yes, but you like my company too much to do that." He stated, Sakura sighed.

"You're an idiot, you're lucky I'm teaching you how to do Charka Control." She said, Marmora chuckled, he looked around.

"You're still smiling after you wanted to piledrive Sasuke. I do want to point out that I'm getting some odd vibes around here." He said, Sakura sighed and went to speak.

"I don't mean like… Well, you know. I mean something else, something evil. I know Sound, but I'm just getting some bad vibes around something like when we were with Sasuke and Karin. I know it isn't them." He stated before he started trying to focus Charka into his other arm.

Sakura was about to say something before a blade of water formed on it before it was able to harden slightly for a few seconds.

"I've been able to get Sea Sword Skewer to work a little bit better, I've also gotten 1 move that I'm planning on being my trump card… But I still need more training before I get ready for anything like that… Did you think I've been slacking off?" He asked.

Sakura went to ask before there was a crack of thunder overhead before it started to rain.

"I didn't think it was going to rain today…" She said, Marmora reached out his good hand towards the rain. Sakura continued healing Marmora's arm.

"Hmm, its rained around me at certain times after I've trained a lot at the most random times." Marmora said before he turned to Sakura.

"I was born in the rain from what I've heard, most people in Amegakure don't like rain, it's interesting, we live in a village where it rains all the time." He said while they started walking through the rain. Marmora could smell perfume from Karin, enough to follow her to her home where he was sure he and Sakura were supposed to meet them out.

Marmora wasn't good at a few things, he sucked at healing himself and others besides basic medical treatment. He had a teammate: Moth, who served as the medic.

He wasn't good at things like keeping secrets if he had to, he couldn't lie to his friends.

He sucked at things like Genjutsu, he could be caught in one and have no idea how to escape. He also wasn't much good on his own in a fight at the moment, he always relied on someone else for a tough enemy unless he could kill them right away.

He also knew he was cocky, he liked to joke. He was unskilled, something he guessed Dagger wanted like he thought, he wanted someone he could mold and keep under control.

He was glad he could at least admit that to himself, he turned to Sakura who took off the makeshift sling for his arm.

"You should be able to use your arm, just don't strain it." Sakura said, Marmora flexed his arm and groaned.

"I think my arm is a bit too sore to end up doing much." Marmora stated while they kept walking into the rain and towards Sasuke's house.

"I didn't expect you'd end up diving into the water like that." Sakura said, Marmora shook his head with amusement, both rounded a corner and they started the final trek to Sasuke's home.

"She lost her wedding band. You think I'd let her lose something like that? Sakura, you can't end up getting another one. You only get one." He stated before knocking on the door.

Sasuke opened it, Marmora let Sakura in first before he walked in. He looked around while he sighed and cracked his back and arms.

"I didn't think you'd pick Sound to live in." Marmora stated, he and Sakura kicked off their shoes. Sakura had brought both a few pairs of night clothes and her civilian clothes as well.

Marmora had brought night clothes. He supposed he'd end up being clothes from the village store. He rubbed his eyes and hummed.

"I don't mean to be rude; do you have any guest rooms for us to stay in? I'm no medical expert, but I don't think your baby is coming anytime soon." Marmora asked, he had to duck into the main room while Sakura stood behind him.

"We…. Do not have any guest rooms at the moment." Karin stated, Sakura and Marmora blinked, Marmora raised an eyebrow and then turned towards Sakura.

"I'm sorry, but did you just say that you have no other rooms for us to stay in?" Marmora asked, it was one of the few times Sakura had heard his tone clipped, ragged, it sounded like he was still trying to think.

"We have one other room… But that's mostly a room used for storage; we have one extra bed." Karin said, Marmora moved his mask to the side and went to speak.

Sakura walked next to him before the duo shared a look, both were silent. They had no words at all that could explain their situation.

They both knew the implications of the situation. They had 4 options more or less.

They go and buy sleeping bags and then find somewhere in the house to sleep, something that would probably hurt their backs and necks and wouldn't allow them much sleep.

They could go and try to find a hotel and come off as rude in front of Sasuke and Karin. They'd also have to spend a pretty penny to sleep in the hotel for a week and find one. Marmora doubted the town had one.

One sleeps in the bed and the other somewhere else, something he doubted Karin and Sasuke would allow judging by how new the furniture looked.

They discard their pride, any manners of civility or such and share the bed. Marmora could already feel his cheeks flush as did Sakura.

"I… That will do, thank you." Sakura said, Marmora said nothing at the moment. Marmora hummed before he slowly followed Sakura with their items into the room.

"I… do not have a response to that." Marmora said, he was still trying to figure out a response to the words. He had no real words still; he didn't know what to think.

"I don't think I should have come." Marmora said, Sakura turned to him.

"I'm glad you've come… We're Shinobi, we can share a bed without it being awkward, can't we?" She asked, Marmora hummed slightly.

"It isn't the bed that bothers me, it's how it looks and such… It's you that worries me… How you'd feel about it." Marmora said, Sakura blushed but said nothing.

"If you're ok with it… I'll manage." Marmora said before he set his pack down.

They had nothing else to say, they had no idea what the coming days would bring.

Author Notes

Phew, another chapter done! I want to point out that yes, Sasuke ended up with Karin, she and Sasuke are prominent members of the story. Shin will be the main villain of the story. I want to apologize for killing off Danuja, but I wanted to introduce Shin some way. Next chapter will be on Friday or so and will show Marmora, Sakura, Sasuke and Karin talking and Marmora and Sakura bonding and training along with Shin's plan. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!