A/N: Since it's been awhile since my last update, here is a refresher of the current plot that I hope will help. I remember some folks thought it would be helpful and so I'm eager to assist. You can skip this section if you do not need it.

Last time Lee and Sasuke met face to face (Ch 28), Lee asked Sasuke if he loved her, and reminded him that Sakura loved him. Lee later confessed his feelings to Sakura (Ch 30) but Sakura held her feelings back. Sakura went on that long-awaited mission with Sasuke where he would finally reveal to her the truth of his disappearances, and she learns that Sasuke freed the Hyuga prisoners that attacked Hanabi has been working closely with Taka (Ch 31). Sasuke and Taka take her to the Sound, where it's revealed that Sasuke is the Sound Daiymo, Kabuto is the Sound Kage, and the mysterious Talons group is a special-forces group of missing-nin under Sasuke's command; Lee meanwhile, practices conquering his reoccurring Infinite Tsukuyomi dreams in an effort to train his genjutsu skills (Ch 32). Sakura travels with Sasuke, Taka, and some Talons to Orochimaru's base to steal a special scroll that will help the Sound and she learns their motivations for being a part of the Sound, as well as Sasuke's (Ch 33). They all end up killing Orochimaru, and the jutsu attached to the scroll adheres itself to Sakura, entwining her in the Sound's future whether she wants it or not (Ch 34-35). Lee and Hinata agree to work together to help the tense Hyuga situation after the escape of the Hyuga prisoners (Ch 36). Sakura returns to the Sound with Sasuke and the gang - Kabuto hints at a future attack on Konoha to steal the scroll there, Sakura sneaks to the prison to reveal her loyalty to Sai, and returns to Sasuke's home to have an argument about her part of this dangerous plan which would leave her stuck in the Sound forever. It escalates to them sleeping together, Sakura realizing she didn't want what they had anymore, and Sasuke putting her under a jutsu (Ch 37).

Chapter 38

Missing Piece

Sakura took in a languid breath of the sweet Konoha air as she and Sasuke entered its mighty gates in the early evening.

She was back home.

She and Sasuke walked to the Hokage office building to report on the success of their mission. Naruto and Shikamaru listened as Sasuke recounted the events - how after they had successfully returned the ornamental sword stolen by the bandits, the two of them were attacked on the way back to Konoha by two powerful missing-nin. They caught her and Sasuke by surprise, and Sakura had received a terrible head wound. Sasuke had defeated them, turning their bodies to nothing but ash. Sasuke had then taken Sakura to a nearby town to be treated where they rested for a few days until Sakura had recovered enough to return home.

Shikamaru raised a skeptical eyebrow at that, and whipped out his missing-nin binders and had Sasuke point out who exactly he had killed.

While Sasuke flipped through the photos, Sakura looked at Naruto and said, "Hey Naruto, you wanted to go get ramen sometime, right? How about tomorrow?"

Naruto beamed, clearly happy that she even remembered his request before she was sent to Yu. "You really do? You bet, Sakura!"

Sakura smiled back at him. After all, she had promised herself to reach back out to her friends after that night time conversation with Lee in Yu where they traded apologies.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was giving Sakura an intense look that told her, 'We'll talk later.'

Sakura remembered. He wanted her to spy on Sasuke. But he would be disappointed to hear that Sasuke had done nothing out of the ordinary on this mission.

Still, some inkling thought tickled her brain when she looked at Naruto and Shikamaru like she had something to say, but when she tried to grasp that thought it retreated away to the depths of her mind, unreachable. Made her head hurt too, if she tried to focus on it. Oh well, maybe she would remember later. Her memory was acting a bit odd ever since she got bashed in the head. Her chakra system felt off too. Almost like how it felt when she was under a genjutsu...

No, her mind forcefully said. That was ridiculous. It was all in her head.

Well, at least the doctor she saw said she would recover, in time.

After Sasuke had pointed out the photos of two missing-nin (Sakura didn't recognize them as her attackers, but her memory was still spotty in a few places), Naruto asked for some time alone with Sasuke and Shikamaru, giving Sakura an apologetic look.

Sakura left the Hokage office with a sigh. Typical, for her to be left out of Naruto and Sasuke's business. At least she didn't need to worry about Sasuke's loyalty to Konoha anymore.

She left the gates and found a wall to lean against to wait, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Sakura's memory was still hazy from that night - but she remembered most of the details of her argument with Sasuke. That there was something that he was prioritizing over her, and he wasn't listening to her concerns about it, and he wasn't being fully honest with her. While she couldn't remember yet what exactly that thing was, she remembered all her swirling emotions. In the end, Sasuke apologized for being a bad husband, and told her he was actually trying. And then they actually slept together. And after, she had felt nothing but aching loneliness.

It didn't help that after Sasuke had been acting strangely overprotective and he kept on looking at her with a terrible guilt in his visible eye. She didn't want to ask the uncomfortable question as to why (or even the uncomfortable details of what they talked about that night). She just wanted some space to figure out her own feelings, to figure out what to do with the information that she didn't want this anymore; she dreaded to even acknowledge it now. Hopefully with time the memories would return to give her some semblance of clarity.

More than anything, she wished to see Lee then. To once again forget all of her troubles through his bright smile, through their genjutsu training, just like those early simple days.

She had half-hoped that he would just miraculously pop around the corner to save her from her stewing in her awful feelings, to whisk her away from waiting here for Sasuke to finish his business with Naruto, but she wasn't so lucky.

Sasuke appeared after a long ten minute wait. "Let's go," he said, and the two of them headed back home.

The front door of their house was thankfully without anti-Uchiha graffiti brought about by their absence. When they entered they put away their traveling gear. At that point Sakura expected Sasuke to disappear, like he always did the moment he had finished whatever he had come to do in their home, like he couldn't bear to remain a second longer in it. Instead, he smiled at her and said, "Dinner?"

They picked a popular tonkatsu restaurant per Sakura's suggestion, since Sasuke wasn't very familiar with the local cuisine. They were known for the quality of their pork cutlets, breaded and fried to perfection.

Sasuke even thought to hold her hand on the way there.

Once they sat down and ordered, it wasn't long until their tonkatsu pork cutlets came out alongside a bowl of miso soup, rice, and sliced cabbage. It smelled incredible, hundreds of times better than the bland rations she had to eat while on their mission.

Still, it didn't really rouse Sakura's appetite and she found herself picking at her food. Looking at Sasuke gave her a mild headache, like she was forgetting something important. It bothered her.

(Or maybe it was just the mess that was them her mind was preoccupied with.)

Sasuke tried to start a conversation with a fumbling, "Good food."

Sakura stared down at her barely touched plate. "Hm, yeah."

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar shock of purple hair. Her stomach lurched. Anko. She was with Ibiki; the two of them strolled in and were seated at a table. Anko was smiling and chatting with Ibiki, reminiscing on old times. At one point Anko's eyes drifted across the restaurant, her eyes caught Sakura's for a split second, and then returned to Ibiki for their conversation.

Sakura brought a hand to her head and winced at the sudden twinge of pain. Wasn't there something…

"You okay?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. Just my head acting up again."

"Ah." There was that guilty look again. "Give it time and it will fade."

"Yeah, I know."

But Sakura couldn't let it go, and picked at the thought of Anko like an itchy scab, trying to ignore the pain it caused. Even still, she got nothing but misplaced anxiety. The drone of noise from the busy restaurant started to feel overwhelming, as well as that studied look Sasuke was giving her.

Sakura couldn't stand it any longer. She shot up from her seat. "I'll be right back. I'm going to get some fresh air." And she strode out the front door.

She rounded the corner to the narrow, low traffic side street and leaned against the building wall, taking solace in the relative quiet and open air. She took in a deep breath and let it slowly out. And did it again. Some of the tenseness in her body thankfully faded away from her shoulders.

What was wrong with her?

What was her deal with Anko?

When was she going to start remembering?

"Sakura?"

Her breath caught at the sound of that wonderfully familiar voice coming from down the street. Sakura's head whipped to her right to see her favorite person in the distance, clad in green as always, staring hopefully at her, frozen mid-step down the street.

"Lee!" Sakura exclaimed with giddy joy, waving at him.

Lee's surprise turned to elated excitement, and Sakura could see the full breadth of his blinding grin even from here.

The two jogged towards each other, meeting in the middle. Sakura wanted to throw herself at him in a hug, but decidedly didn't. Lee's body halted, standing poised like a spring, shifting uncertainly on his feet, like he might have considered the same, before he rested back on the balls of his feet. They grinned eagerly at each other, and the insurmountable, instant relief of his presence washing over her relaxed her completely. She almost wanted to cry from joy upon seeing him, but she didn't know why, like she had been carrying this desperate need to see him during her time away or like something was terribly wrong.

"You are back! And safe!" Lee exclaimed, expressive hands motioning towards her, like they could barely contain his joy. But his face suddenly fell. "Is… is something wrong?"

"No, no. It's nothing. I'm just happy to see you," Sakura blushed. Perhaps she was looking a little too emotional; her eyes felt oddly wet.

"I am too. I… uh," Color tinted his cheeks as he tried to find the right words as he rubbed the back of neck. He had difficulty meeting her eyes.

"I missed you too," she giggled. You have no idea how much.

Lee perked up, meeting her gaze again. His mouth split into a gawky, shy grin, looking at her with the unmasked adoration of a puppy.

The oddly timid body language from him was endearing, and she couldn't help the warm, fuzzy feeling she got from watching it. She just loved how she could read everything true on his face.

(She too still had to remember what to act like in front of him after coming off of that confession, especially with her own secret feelings to consider.)

"Oh, um, what do you got there?" Sakura asked.

Lee brought forward a clipboard full of paper tucked under his arm. "Oh! This? I am collecting signatures. It is a citizen and shinobi joint petition to abolish the Founding Clans Treaty, so clan customs can fall under Konoha authority. It is supposed to help the Hyuga. Would you like to sign it?"

"Of course I would." Sakura took the clipboard from him and scrawled her name on one of the empty lines before handing it back to him. "How did you get into this?"

"Hinata." Lee's eyes brimmed with hope. "Since there are some things that might not look good for a Hokage's wife to be publicly doing when it comes to conflict with the Council and the clan, I volunteered to help her in those regards. She is working on privately talking with the other clans for their support. Things have been tense since the prisoners escaped. The petition is a start to trying to help with that."

"Prisoners escaped…?"

Lee nodded. "The two branch Hyuga scheduled for execution for attacking Hanabi Hyuga. You must have left for your mission right before they escaped. They have not been found and have been declared missing-nin." His face turned troubled then. "No one knows how they escaped under watch."

The Hyuga…

Sakura clutched her throbbing head.

"Sakura! Are you okay?" Lee crowded near her, hands hovering near her unsure of what to do.

"Yeah. Just a headache."

Sakura felt a sudden hand on her shoulder.

"Sasuke," Lee said, straightening rigidly as he stared behind her. Lee took a polite step back from her, eyes darting briefly to Sasuke's hand on her shoulder. His throat bobbed.

Sakura turned her head to see her husband, his tall shadow casting across her and Lee.

"Another headache?" Sasuke said. "Let's go home so you can rest."

"No, no, I'm fine. Really." The sharp pain had faded nearly as fast as it had appeared.

"You need to take it easy until you recover more from our mission," Sasuke insisted.

"I know, and I will, but I'm going to catch up with Lee for a bit first."

"Sakura-"

"We're not going to train or anything. Just talk." Sakura lifted her chin as she stared back at Sasuke with equal intensity.

"Very well," Sasuke sighed.

Lee put on a strained smile and said, "I will take good care of her; I swear it on my life."

Sasuke's attention shifted to Lee, giving him a long, assessing look. Something passed between the two men that Sakura couldn't decipher - a tension of sorts - as they stared at one another.

"Lee…" Sasuke said slowly and intently, like he was parsing out the name in his mouth. "Make sure she makes it home," he finally said.

"I will," Lee said with utmost seriousness.

"Great!" Sakura said, trying to break the tension. "Well, then… See you!"

Before she could leave, Sasuke grabbed her arm and pecked her cheek. It was so sudden and unexpected, both her and Lee went white in shock. "See you," Sasuke smirked, with a final glance at Lee.

"Yeah. See you," Sakura slowly repeated before leading her and Lee away.

She touched the spot where Sasuke kissed her, not quite believing it. Lee was looking at her out the corner of his eye with a deep frown. Sakura would never not be thrown off by the random, rare acts of affection from Sasuke, nor understand his reasons for it.

Since the streets and benches were full of people from the dinner rush, the two of them found a quiet place on a rooftop ledge to dangle their legs off of as they sat next to each other, watching the crowds of people go about their business.

"Sakura," Lee said with suddenness, like he had been mulling over something. He had been quiet since they had left.

"Yeah?"

"I hope that I am not getting in the way. Sasuke is not home often and I know that… well..." His folded hands in his lap tightened in a controlled manner. He gazed down at the street below. "It must have been nice to have time with Sasuke on your mission. Since I understand that you were feeling…"

"Yeah…" Sakura answered, mouth twitching to a frown. "I suppose."

"I hope it made you happy," he said softly. "Since it is what you wanted."

Sakura bit her lip, nodding sharply, trying to ignore the bad feeling swirling in her gut. She especially did not want to think about it now, especially not to ruminate over it with a man she shouldn't have feelings for.

"Everything is fine between us, right?" Lee's cheeks flushed. "After… when I… I would not want to make things... weird between you and Sasuke," he said, awkward and stilted, with a tight voice. He was trying so hard despite his feelings.

Sakura blushed. "Yeah, like I said before. Everything is fine between us. I don't want to change a thing."

"Okay. That is a relief. If I need to… do anything different, will you please let me know?"

Sakura nodded sharply. Shyly, almost. Eager to change the topic, Sakura asked, "So how was your assignment?"

Lee relaxed a bit, eager to change the topic too. "Ah, your training you assigned me!" Lee's brow turned serious and determined. "I have been successful! I have taken advantage of the recurring Infinite Tsukuyomi dreams and learned how to confront the dream as not real, just like you have asked!" There was a glint of pride in his eye. "At least, in the way I think you have assigned it to me."

"That's incredible, Lee. Tell me about it."

Lee did, explaining how he had used the hyper-realism of the Infinite Tsukuyomi dream to reject its reality; how he had used it to even use ninjutsu of all things, and how he had practiced doing other impossible things like passing through physical objects and flying. "I just imagined the world was an entire genjutsu, in the same way I remember watching you completely ignore Yumi's genjutsu, like it wasn't there." (Once again there was a dull head throb.) "It was incredible to behold your power then!"

Sakura giggled at the compliment. "It sounds like you completed your homework assignment with flying colors. When we start training again, I want you to keep that same mindset when I summon genjutsu. It can't hurt you if you know with utmost certainty in your heart that it can't."

"Yes, of course, Sakura!" Lee declared, pumped. "When might we begin again? I am ready for your teachings!"

"I don't know, maybe in a day or so. I'm still recovering from my mission."

"Were you seriously hurt?" he said with concern.

"Yeah. The mission got complicated on the way back when we were attacked. I received a bad head injury so I had to spend a few days with a town doctor to heal. My head still hurts sometimes…"

"Perhaps you should see Lady Tsunade. Her expertise is unmatched; after all, she did put me back together. She could certainly figure out why you are still suffering from pains."

"Maybe you're right, I-"

Searing pain lanced out of her temple. Sakura let out a surprised cry and clutched her forehead.

"Sakura!" Lee exclaimed, alarmed. He grabbed ahold of her as she curled into herself, leaning towards the roof ledge.

"No! No. I don't need to see Tsunade," Sakura said through clenched teeth. "I'll be fine."

"Sakura, are you sure?" Lee said, fretting over her. "I can take you to her myself!"

"No, thanks. I'm fine now," she said firmly, straightening out.

Lee studied her, looking intently at her with worry painted in his eyes. "If you are sure..."

Sakura nodded. "I have medication I take for it, at home."

One of Lee's hands stayed gripped on her shoulder supportively, as the other hand that had braced her abdomen darted to her forehead to feel her temperature. He leaned in close with a worried intensity knitted into his brow that made heat prick up Sakura's neck.

"Have you eaten much lately?" Lee said. "You were dazed there. And you feel a little warm."

She cursed her silly, inappropriate crush on him then. Of course she was warm, she was blushing and she couldn't stop thinking about how he smelled much too nice.

"I ate only a little." She shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Lee thankfully removed his hand then and leaned back to a safe distance away, and Sakura felt like she could breathe again.

Lee nodded, studying her. "If I am not well-fed I recover much slower, and if I overdo my training without eating or drinking enough I get strain headaches. In fact, please wait here for just a moment, and scooch back from the ledge to be safe. I will be right back!"

Before she could say anything, Lee slipped off the edge of the building and bounded away down the street in a hurry. Sakura waited for him, and in a few minutes he came back with a paper bag of street food and a drink.

"My apologies, Sakura. I could not find a dango stall close by, but after I had messed that up last time, it is for the best that I do not try it again."

He offered her the bag and a bottle of lychee juice. The bag was brimming with taiyaki sweet bread - shaped in their signature fish shape, each about the size of her hand.

Sakura smiled warmly, remembering their first time out celebrating his first genjutsu dispel. It was a nice night, despite her hair mishaps. "Lee... You didn't have to."

"Please, I insist, Sakura! I hope it is to your liking!" He bowed his head as he thrust the offerings insistently in front of her.

A warmth spread through her chest as she huffed in amusement. Lee had no business being this sweet and considerate.

"Thank you," she smiled, finally taking the food. "But, I can't eat all of this by myself. Please have some too." She propped the bag between them and affectionately bumped her shoulder with his.

"Okay," Lee said, uncertain, and he seemed equally unsure when he reached for a taiyaki, as though he didn't just buy it all with his own money.

Sakura grabbed a taiyaki of her own. The sweet bread was still warm, and when she bit into it her mouth was filled with a burst of red bean paste. Sakura sighed in pleasure at its delightful mixture of sweet flavors, and with it found the appetite she had been missing earlier.

As they ate and small talked, Sakura couldn't help but think about how much she missed this. At the ease she felt at his presence, at how he was like her own personal brand of soothing balm. All of the stress she had built up from the days away on her mission was slowly seeping out. And it was such a relief to be back with someone so candid and kind.

More than anything, she was thankful she ran into him today.

Afterwards, Lee made sure to bring Sakura home like he promised Sasuke, and he was especially watchful of her on the way down from the rooftop. Once her feet were back on solid earth, he relaxed, and the two continued their walk back to her house together.

As they chatted, they set up when they would begin genjutsu training again. As soon as Sakura was ready she would drop by his apartment or find him out on his favorite training field. "You're not too hard to find," Sakura had told him with a sweet, heart throbbing smile.

Sakura invited him in for a little longer, to offer him a drink (since he shyly refused to take a sip of Sakura's beverage when offered, because the only thing he could think of was 'indirect kiss'), and when they walked through the front door of her home, Lee almost ran into Sakura when she halted in place, and he followed her gaze to Sasuke on the couch.

"You're still here," Sakura said, surprised.

"Yeah. I wanted to make sure you came home okay," Sasuke said, rising from his seat.

"Oh. Thank you," Sakura said, strangely unsettled. She shifted in place before oddly glancing at Lee with a particular look. He hoped she wasn't acting differently for his sake.

"Let me get you that drink. Water? Tea? Juice?" Sakura said.

"Water is fine, thank you," Lee said.

Sakura left to the kitchen, leaving Lee with Sasuke.

The two men regarded each other. The framed photo of Sasuke and Sakura on the side table reminded Lee that he was an intruder here, a man with inappropriate feelings for another man's wife.

He thought he could just excuse himself and make a hasty exit, but he decided he should try and make good with Sasuke instead. So Lee wandered closer into the living area (since lingering by the doorway would be odd), and put on his best friendly smile and said, "I hope the mission went well and that you were uninjured, Sasuke. I understand you and Sakura ran into some trouble. I hope you are in good health."

"Yes, it went well, all things considered," Sasuke answered. "I luckily made it out uninjured."

Sasuke didn't offer anything more than that, so to politely continue the conversation, Lee said, "That is great to hear. I understand you are often away on important missions. Will you be around Konoha for long?"

"Longer than usual, I suppose. I need a short break from it all." Sasuke then studied Lee. "I understand you've been spending time with Sakura training."

"Ah, yes! Sakura is quite the teacher. She could be an excellent jonin-sensei one day."

Sasuke huffed in amusement. "I find it surprising."

"What is?"

"You two spending time together."

Sakura returned then with a glass of water and handed it to Lee.

"Thank you," Lee said.

Sakura glanced back and forth between them, wringing her hands together, before saying, "Oh! Sasuke, would you like to sign Lee's petition? It's to get rid of the Founding Clans Treaty, and it should help out the branch Hyuga."

"I think my name on there would be more of a detriment, to be honest."

"I don't think so. You should sign," Sakura insisted.

"Fine, I suppose..." Sasuke sighed. Lee offered him the clipboard and he signed his name and handed it back to him. "But you know something like this is pointless, right? The Konoha Council won't give a damn about a few signatures. And the noble clans will make too big a fuss about it anyway."

"Sasuke..." Sakura scolded.

"I do not think it is pointless. It is better than not trying anything," Lee said determedly. "And maybe, if they see an effort for change being made, they will reconsider."

Sasuke scoffed. "Unlikely. They're just a bunch of out of touch geezers."

"Maybe they are," Lee said. "But change can only be made if you try. And I want to do my part, especially if I can do it to honor Neji's name." Lee tightened his grip on the clipboard. "We've come so far so fast since even when our senseis were young. I am sure that we can make a positive change in our generation's lifetime too."

And I believe in Hinata. She will make the other clans see the good in this.

Sasuke chuckled sardonically. "You sound like Naruto. At least, how he once did. And all that naive optimism was for naught." A flash of sadness crossed Sasuke's face.

Before Lee could form a response, he noticed Sakura swaying out of the corner of his eye. She looked pale.

"Sakura? You do not look well. Do you need to sit down?" Lee said.

Sakura looked at him, dazed, and then suddenly fainted. Lee lurched towards her, grabbing her under her arms as she sank limply against him. His dropped clipboard and glass clattered to the floor. In a split second Sasuke was there too, sweeping Sakura up in his arms out of Lee's grip.

"Sakura!" Lee called to her, following Sasuke closely as he laid her down on the couch.

The two men knelt down beside her. As Sasuke put a hand on her forehead, Lee tried calling out to her and nudging her arm, but was left with no response. She was out cold.

"She needs to go to the hospital!" Lee fretted.

"She'll be fine. She's just exhausted," Sasuke concluded, moving his hand from her forehead to touch her cheek.

"But what if it is something more serious? Lady Tsunade should look at her!"

"She's already been looked at by a doctor."

Incredulous, Lee said, "Sasuke. I only want the best for her health. And you do too, right?"

"Mind your own business," Sasuke snapped. "You know nothing. She should have gone straight home rather than going off with you. This wouldn't have happened otherwise."

"But-"

"Last I checked, you weren't on the mission or have any understanding of what happened. I will take care of her. Now leave." He shot a glare at Lee as he hovered over Sakura.

"It does not hurt to bring her in to be sure for her sake!"

"Leave. Now."

Lee's mouth opened in a protest, but he then shut it. "Very well," he finally said, mouth dry.

Lee gave Sakura one last, forlorn look before he stood up, because what business did he have getting in between them? What were his wishes against her husband's here?

"I'm sorry," was the last thing Lee heard Sasuke murmur to Sakura as he left.

A/N: Sorry for the late update. Life kicked my ass after my last update. I basically had this chapter mostly done, but my family's dog passed away from cancer, then a month later my cat developed cancer and passed away, and then I caught COVID, and my physical health still hasn't gotten much better (from previous mentioned chronic health issues - the COVID was mild thankfully).

I'm still generally working on my mental health after all that so I humbly ask for patience - I know I have several comments I have yet to reply to. I promise I will get to them eventually when I'm feeling less overwhelmed, but please do know that I still welcome and love any comments I receive. :)