A.N.

To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called Slowly Slipping Away and Gravity both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.

Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.

Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.

Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!

Uncertain

The absence of warmth was the first thing he felt, followed by the blinding sensation of light. Sasuke groaned, eyes squinting open. Sitting up he felt the sheets fall to his lap and found himself naked.

"Just this once…"

Sasuke went rigid, recalling the events of the night before and looked around him only to find no trace of Sayuri. Frowning he picked up his clothes, still a little damp, and got dressed. Just as he pulled his shirt over his head, he heard the light padding of footsteps outside his door. Pulling the door open, he found Sayuri pulling her boots on, casting a glance his way then turning back to her task.

"Sayuri-"

"We need to get moving and meet up with the others."

He narrowed his black orbs at her. "So we're not going to talk about what happened last night?" He watched her zip up her other boot, not answering his question. "Are you just going to ignore me now?"

Sayuri inhaled slowly and pushed herself up. "Let's just go." She turned but found herself pushed up against the wall. Eyes trailed from his hand on her shoulder, up the length of his arm, up his neck to his eyes.

"What is it? What I do wrong this time!?"

Sayuri bit the inside of her cheek at the pang of guilt that she felt in her chest. "Let me go." She said eyes flickering to his arm then back to his eyes.

"No." He growled. "I know you feel something for me. You showed me that last night and-"

"Last night was just a onetime thing, Sasuke." She watched his eyes widen at her exclamation, knowing that her words had hurt his feeling but she couldn't stop. "I don't even know what the hell I was thinking! You're with Sakura, damn it! Neither one of us should have done any of it."

"Sayuri I'm not-"

"Stop. What happened last night was a lapse of judgment." She felt his fingers on her shoulder loosen and she averted her gaze, fixing her eyes on the wooden floor.

"Last night was a lapse of judgement." He repeated slowly, his voice hard. She closed her eyes and nodded, pressing a hand against his chest to push him away. It didn't take much force on her part as he recoiled from her as if her touch burned. He balled his hands into fists when she turned away from him to pick up her pouch. "We'll leave in five minutes." He said and went to the room they had slept in, slamming the door shut behind him.

Sayuri gripped the pouch at the sound. Closing her eyes, she breathed slowly trying to calm herself. It's for the best. She told herself as she adjusted her vest, laying a hand on her chest just above her heart. It's better this way.

The door opened once more, Sasuke emerged, hard look in his eyes when he brushed past her and exited the cabin without bothering to wait for her. Sayuri pulled her cloak on and followed keeping her distance from the angered Uchiha.

XXX

Naruto's group had been walking for an hour when the blonde stopped suddenly. The other three came to halt just behind him, the cold breeze sawing the branches bellow them.

"Naruto?" Sakura's green eyes stared at the blonde's back curiously.

"It's them." He replied and began his descend down the branches. By the time their feet hit the ground Sasuke came into view on his hike up to the main road. Naruto was about to wave at them but stopped short, hand half way up when Sasuke caught sight of him. Hard black eyes met his own blue, his jaw was clenched, and his shoulders stiff. Cerulean eyes looked behind the Uchiha, to the head of auburn hair that was emerging from the distance. Sayuri walked closer and stopped, noticing the others and offered a weak smile.

"Sayuri!" Diachi was the first to react, running past the Uchiha and to the young woman who endured his prodding as he examined her. "What happened to your eyes?!"

"Her chakra's been sealed." Sasuke said, not bothering to turn to them. Across from him, Hajime stuffed his arms into his pockets and walked over the Marihasha, casting a glance at Sasuke on his way.

Sakura frowned at Sasuke's tone and turned to Sayuri who averted her gaze from the rosette. "Sayuri, are you feeling well?" She asked as she approached the auburn haired ninja. "Can I take a look?"

Sayuri visibly stiffened but nodded slowly. "Yeah…sure." She responded, eyes shifting to the dirt road.

With a raised brow, Sakura placed a glowing hand on Sayuri's abdomen, green eyes narrowing at what she found. She glanced back at Sayuri who's eyes drifted from one part of the woods to the other, but that wasn't what caught her attention. Instead it was the slight labored breathing and the small beads of sweat on her forehead. "Sayuri…" she began but stopped at the girls pleading gaze.

"I'm alright." Sayuri said, stepping back and away from Sakura's healing chakra. "I promise." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

"What is it?" Hajime asked.

"We won't be able to keep a good pace with her in this condition." Diachi replied, having picked up on what Sakura had in mind.

"My chakra's just sealed, I can handle it." Sayuri defended herself.

"No, you can't." Sakura scolded. "Your chakra is at the level of that of a civilian. I bet you can't even climb a tree."

"WHAT!?" Naruto exclaimed, turning his attention to his best friend. "Why didn't you help her, bastard!?" at Sasuke's huff and burning glare, Naruto scowled at him, and walked up to stand before Sayuri. "I guess we'll have to carry you then."

Hajime snorted. "Hear that, Princess?"

"Sakura…" Sayuri began but the rosette held up a hand effectively cutting her off.

"No. I'm the medic here and what I say goes. You're going to be carried and that's that." She turned to the men of the group. "Who wants to volunteer?" Behind her Diachi, and Naruto felt a cold chill run down their backs when Sasuke turned to look at them.

"I'm up for it." Hajime said with a roll of his shoulders, moving over to stand in front of her. Crouching slightly so she could climb onto his back. Sayuri took a step back, clearly not liking the idea. "C'mon, I don't have all day."

"I…"

"The faster you get on, the faster we get to Konoha and have Lady Tsunade take a look at you." Sakura added.

"Go on." Diachi pushed her forward.

XXX

"Hang tight." Hajime instructed as he quickly descended behind Team Seven. Sayuri hesitantly gripped his shoulders tighter, watching the sun slowly set, casting shadows on the trees and providing the forest with an orange glow.

She looked at her fingers and mentally scolded herself for forgetting her gloves, curling them into the fabric of Hajime's coat to maintain some form of warmth. Her hair flew up as the air rushed up her body when he made the final descend, jolting her upwards slightly when they landed.

"We're finally back!" Naruto exclaimed, stretching his arms high above his head.

"Let me guess you want Ichiraku's." Sakura teased the blonde who shrugged.

"It's the best place in the village!" he exclaimed in defense of his favorite dining spot.

"You need to eat something other than ramen, Naruto."

"But it's sooo good!"

Sasuke's black orbs slid from the two energetic ninja to the ANBU team behind them. "She can walk, you know."

Hajime looked up in surprise. Looking over his shoulder he watched Sayuri wince at the cold tone. Frowning he was about to open his mouth when Sayuri patted his shoulder.

"It's fine, I can take it from here." She whispered.

"You sure?"

"It's my chakra that's sealed, not my legs."

Sayuri stepped back once her feet touched the paved road. "We'll need to report to Moriyo."

"We can do that." Diachi said. "You go get checked out first. When you're done go back to headquarters and report then."

"C'mon." Sayuri turned to Sakura in surprise when she pulled her arm, forcing her to walk behind her. "I'm sure the boys got it from here."

Sayuri cast one last look at her team before following the medic. When they arrived the hospital doors swung open upon sensing their footsteps. The waiting room wasn't full, but it wasn't empty either.

"Looks like we came on a good day." Sakura said to herself and approached the desk. "Excuse me," the nurse who had been charting almost jumped out of her chair.

"Ah! Miss Sakura! What brings you here today?" she asked straightening her uniform.

"We need to see Lady Tsunade, is she in?"

"Lady Tsunade? Yes, she is but at this hour…" the nurse leaned in cupping her mouth. "…She's not really in a good state to see anyone…If you know what I mean." She pointed to the clock on the wall with her other hand. The two young women tilted their head upwards to read the time, 5:15. Sakura sweat dropped and Sayuri shook her head with a sigh.

"We'll see her anyway."

At Sakura's reply, Sayuri recoiled. "WHAT?!" she demanded looking at the medic as if she had lost her mind.

"Oh come on, Sayuri. It'll be fine."

"I'm more afraid of what she'll do when we get there! She's not exactly a happy drunk—Ah!" She looked back to the nurse who waved at them with a nervous smile.

"Good luck!" she said.

XXX

"So this mission was also a failure." Kakashi sighed, lacing his fingers together. Naruto and Sasuke stood across Kakashi.

"Well not completely, Sayuri managed to get this." Naruto said pulling out a copy of the writing she had showed Gaara in Suna. With a raised brow he took the sheet of paper from the blonde. Eyes scanning its contents. "Gaara couldn't make sense of it, so I don't know if you'll be able to."

"Hm…" Kakashi placed the paper on his desk. "Well I can't but I'll send it to analysis maybe they can figure it out. In any case the mission was still a failure."

"But we got something!" Naruto exclaimed.

"And in order to get this..." Kakashi's finger hit the paper with an audible tap. "One of your teammates had to be put in danger, resulting in her currently sealed chakra, and ending with her being taken off duty."

Naruto winced. "Well…when you put it that way..."

"Sayuri and I were team captains, we'll take the responsibility." Interrupted the Uchiha, who until now had been, for the most part, apathetic.

"Yes…You and Sayuri have been doing a lot of that lately."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at his former teacher. "What is that supposed to mean."

"I mean that I'm starting to believe Moriyo was right. Maybe the two of you shouldn't work together at all."

Sasuke's fist clenched at his side as he glared at Kakashi for a good three seconds. Kakashi on the other hand watched Sasuke carefully, a bit surprised when the Uchiha let his hand relax.

"Maybe your right." He replied coldly.

"Sasuke!" the blonde Uzumaki called after his best friend as the Uchiha slammed the door close behind him. "What the hell, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto snapped at his teacher.

"It's an observation."

XXX

"I'm honestly surprised this didn't kill you." Tsunade said as she pulled away from Sayuri.

"That makes two of us." Sayuri replied.

The busty woman turned to her pupil who held a cup of coffee in her hand. Taking it, she moved to sit back at her desk. "You were right, Sakura." At that the pink haired medic rubbed her chin in thought.

"I was worried about that."

"What were you right about?" Sayuri asked turning to Sakura who seemed zoned out at the moment. "Lady Tsunade?"

The blonde took a sip of her coffee and sighed. "Whatever they did to your chakra is sealed up so well, that I'm not sure if I can even reverse it."

"What!?"

"And even if I did, the process of the sealing was forceful enough that it burned your chakra pathways. Reversing it could prove to be just a fatal as it was sealing it. Then there's also the problem with your entire organ system. Chakra was ripped away from them at too quick a rate that it's literally a miracle that this didn't kill you."

"You can fix this though…right?" Sayuri pleaded shifting her eyes from one medic to the other. Sayuri could practically see Sakura running through scenarios in her mind, while Tsunade bit her lip honey eyes on her coffee. "Right!?"

"There has to be a way." Sakura finally replied. "Naruto had the copy of the seals that you wrote down in Suna, I'm sure that Kakashi-sensei will have it looked at. When they find out what kind of sealing jutsu they used, we could get a better idea of what we're dealing with."

Sayuri ran a hand through her bangs in frustration. "This is a nightmare."

"For right now, we'll have to keep a close watch on you. We'll see how your organs, primarily your heart and lungs are reacting to this and see if there's any healing in your pathways." Tsunade instructed. "Naturally, you'll be pulled off duty until this is resolved."

"If it's not…I'd have to quit being a ninja, correct?" At Tsunade's lack of response, Sayuri bit the inside of her cheek.

"We'll find a way" Sakura assured her placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. An action that made Sayuri recoil.

Sayuri walked out of the hospital, leaving the two medics to discuss options. Sayuri just couldn't stand sitting in there for another minute. Her career was in their hands. Being a ninja was all she knew how to do. It was all she ever wanted to do.

XXX

Her hair's not the right shade…the thought managed to break through the haziness of his mental state. He had been in the same bar for an hour now and this was his second bottle of sake. He picked up his cup of alcohol and took another sip. The girl in the other booth kept sending him flirty winks and smiles She's about the same build…was his next thought.

"Sasuke!" The sound of his best friends' voice made him wince. He looked up just in time to see the blonde haired ninja stand in front of him, blocking his view of the brunette on the other side. "What the hell are you doing in a place like this?" asked Naruto as he slid into the booth.

"Leave." He mumbled finishing off the sake and pouring himself more.

Bright blue eyes watched the man across from him carefully. "What's the matter?" Sasuke didn't respond instead he shifted his black eyes back to the brunette, who sent him a playful wave.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" Naruto yelled, reaching across the table to grab Sasuke by the collar. "You're with Sakura, you bastard!"

Sasuke swatted his hands away and sat back down. "No, I'm not." At Naruto's confused look he sighed. "She broke up with me…in Suna."

Wait what…? Naruto sat back stunned. "Huh?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "We're not dating anymore, idiot." He looked back at his friend whose smile was slowly growing until it stopped. Blue eyes focused back on him.

"So then…" Naruto started, brows furrowed back in confusion. He turned to look at the woman on the other side of the bar. She looks a little like… His head turned back to Sasuke. "What happened with Sayuri?"

"I'm not in the mood, Naruto." The man finished off the liquid in the small cup.

"But, Sasuke…"

"What do you want me to tell you?" Naruto blinked at his best friends slightly drunken state. "That we slept together?" he poured himself more sake as Naruto's own cheeks reddened then after a second of consideration downed that cup too. "How about, how she acted like nothing happened the following morning?" he laughed sarcastically. "Or, when she told me it was a lapse of judgment? Take your damn pick." He picked up the sake bottle and rattled it around for a bit. "It's empty."

Waving the waitress over he asked for another while Naruto sat across Sasuke, trying to decide whether or not to let him continue.

"Look, Sasuke-"

"Hi, cutie." A sultry voice made him turn to the brunette woman standing in front of their booth. She placed a hand on their table and leaned into Sasuke. "How are you?"

Sasuke's black eyes went from her hair, that was too straight, and the wrong color, to her eyes that were bright silver. She's not a ninja. He noted after taking one look at her hands. Black eyes going back to the woman's face. In a dim light she can pass off as her. His eyes began wondering down the womans body, knowing that this is something he wouldn't normally do, but he was inebriated and he was frustrated.

"Sasuke." Naruto called again, mouth set into a frown.

"Oh! You're Naruto Uzumaki." The girl beamed. "I have a friend that would absolutely love to meet you."

"Uh, thanks but I'm good, and so is he." He waved the waitress over paying for the bill. "C'mon, bastard let's get you home."

"Who says I want to go home, idiot."

"Sasuke, look at yourself! You're drunk…" he cast another look at the pouting woman. "And clearly not in the right state of mind." Naruto pulled at Sasuke's arm, swung it over his shoulder to keep the Uchiha from stumbling. "Let's go."

Sasuke pulled away as soon as they were out in the street. He staggered a bit, but managed to regain his balance. "You should have just left me there. I was perfectly fine."

"No, you weren't and I know that if I had just let you do whatever you wanted you would have regretted it in the morning. Now come on bastard, let's get you home." He tugged at his friend's arm and led him through the streets of Konoha. "Have you even drank before today?" Naruto stepped back, avoiding a blow to the head.

"I didn't live under a rock while I was away, dumbass." Naruto grinned but it quickly fell at Sasuke's far off look. "You're pretty messed up over this, huh…"

They arrived to the apartment building and slowly climbed up the stairs, Naruto occasionally holding Sasuke steady by the forearm. "…I would have stayed." Naruto turned to Sasuke as he opened the door to his apartment. "I would have stayed if she had said yes."

"Sasuke…?" Naruto started in concern.

"Go to bed, idiot." Was all he heard in reply as the Uchiha closed the door behind him.

A.N.

I'm back! Sorry! I have school and things are getting a bit hectic so I may not update regularly, but I will update as soon as possible. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm looking forward to your reviews! Thank you for your support! Until next time :)