Sakura ran out of the Village gates like the devil himself was on her heels.
She zoomed past the gate guards, absently noting that her favourite chunin duo had been replaced, two unfamiliar women were in their place instead. Then she was bounding through the forests in the direction of the Valley of the End, not a care in the world for how much chakra she was expending as the mantra in her head drowned out every other sound and thought apart from the frantic beat of her heart and not Genma-san please not Genma-san no no no please -!
She cast out her senses and stayed alert for Genma-san's familiar chakra signature as she ran, hoping against hope that she was not too late.
Not twenty minutes later, she sensed it. It was weak, so weak in fact, that she would've missed it entirely had she not had all her concentration focused on finding it. She quickly changed course, barrelling towards the area her senses were leading her to, feeling the hints of exhaustion start to seep into her bones. She almost tripped over Shizune when she stumbled into the field, then froze when the extent of the damage done to the clearing finally registered in her mind.
"Haruno-san?" Shizune enquired, puzzled, no doubt noting the pinkette's haggard appearance. "Do you know if Tsunade-sama is sending back-up?"
Sakura grinned wryly. "Sorry, Shizune-san - as far as I'm aware, I am your back-up."
Shizune's eyes widened briefly but she composed herself surprisingly quickly and nodded. "I stabilised them as much as I could before I ran out of chakra, but it'll all be for moot if they don't get proper medical attention soon. I trust you can carry one of them?" she asked Sakura then glanced towards the girl and did a double-take. The pinkette had already hefted Genma's still form of the ground and gently draped him across her back, fitting his limp arms around her neck and grabbing his thighs, all the while careful of the still bleeding wound in his stomach and seemingly uncaring for the steadily growing stain on her brand new chunin jacket.
"I'm good to go, Shizune-san." Sakura announced, letting go of Genma's thigh and digging through her pocket for what Shizune belatedly realised was a soldier pill, which she quickly shoved in her mouth.
Shizune snapped herself out of her daze and did much the same to Raidou, channelling chakra through her muscles to lift the large jounin. She briefly noted that the rosette had moved her backpack so it was on her chest in order to make room for Genma, and she finally realised why the girl's appearance had surprised her so in the first place.
"How did the mission in Kiri go, Sakura-san?" she asked as they started running back, getting a wry grin in response.
"It went great! Shikamaru and I actually only got back about an hour ago - we were about to report but then Iwashi-san came in and, well. I might've ran away the second I heard where he left you." the girl winced, as if she only just realised what her actions could imply. "I really hope they don't mark me down as missing-nin..." she trailed off and glanced back at Genma's unconscious form on her back, then shrugged delicately so as not to jostle the jounin."Eh, even if they do, it'd have been worth it."
Shizune was struck by the honesty in the pinkette's words and the easy admission. "I... I was not aware Genma had a daughter." she stammered, eliciting a bark of startled laughter from the teen.
"A daughter?!" she parroted incredulously. "Oh, Kami, that's precious." she laughed, and Shizune flushed and was about to apologise before the girl sobered up. "No, Genma-san is not my father, oh no. He's... my guardian, though he is probably the closest to a parental figure I have left." then, her eyes sharpened and she glared at the trees in front of her as she added. "Which is why he's getting a serious ass-whooping as soon as he's stable; he should know better."
Shizune stared at the pinkette like she'd grown a second head. Despite the anger in her eyes, her voice had wobbled towards the end and the brunette realised too late that the real reason behind the girl's appearance, all her bravado and tough words was because she was terrified. She was worried for Genma's wellbeing, so much so that she'd risked being branded a missing-nin to ensure his safety. Shizune couldn't really say she knew the rosette enough to make valid judgements, but she struggled to piece together the circumstances of how the personalities of the Shiranui Genma she knew and what little she could recall about Haruno Sakura could have come together and formed such an obviously strong bond.
But she didn't have much time to dwell over the new side to the tokujo she thought she'd had figured out, as the Main Gates of Konoha came into view and the rosette beside her sped up, dashing past the gate guards with nary a glance on her way to the Hospital.
Shizune cursed and struggled to keep up, barrelling into the hospital a few seconds behind Sakura, and she nearly staggered with relief when she saw that Tsunade-sama was already there, snapping at nurses and interns alike to take the unconscious tokujo off the rosette and to ICU, then directing them to do the same for Shizune.
Tsunade's stern gaze moved onto the pinkette, ready to berate her before her eyes widened in alarm. Sakura swayed, staggered, and would've fallen had the Godaime not dashed forward at the last second. "Chakra exhaustion." the Hokage pronounced wryly, gesturing for one of the nurses to take the girl away. "Seems like she's safe from an ass-whooping for another few hours."
Shizune winced and pitied the girl when d she woke up. Tsunade's wrath was never fun to endure, especially not with the standard headache brought on by chakra exhaustion.
When Sakura came to, she got to know the real reason why Tsunade's bedside manner was rarely spoken of – she had none. Sakura had barely managed to pry her eyes open before the nurse hustled out of her room and came back with a very angry Tsunade, who informed her brusquely that the retrieval mission failed but Genma was set to make full recovery. The rosette didn't have any time to wonder how that made her feel before the Godaime launched into full lecture mode and gleefully informed her that she'd have a month of D-Ranks waiting for her which would hopefully 'convince her to think before being an idiot again, goddamnit kid, I was going to send someone to get them!'.
That was far from a pleasant experience.
Then Naruto came into her room, sullen and depressed, looking for all intents and purposes like a kicked puppy and Sakura suddenly remembered what she'd heard before she ran off to save Genma-san.
The Uchiha defected.
Amidst the anger that the memory stirred up, Sakura had the presence of mind to briefly wonder when the way she referred to him changed from Sasuke-kun to Sasuke and now to the Uchiha. She decided thinking about it gave her a headache so she instead focused on the much easier emotion to deal with – anger. Why was she so angry though?
OrochimaruparentskilledOrochimaruUchihawillingly-!
Ah, she thought wryly, that's why. Well, I hope he rots in hell.
And she was slightly surprised by how much she genuinely wished that Sasuke would meet his unfortunate end prematurely. She'd never been prone to such angry, bitter, vengeful feelings before, but if there was one thing she hated more than the murderous Snake Sannin, it was somebody who willingly chose to join him.
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." Naruto's voice broke her out of her reverie. "I couldn't bring him back to us."
"Naruto…" Sakura sighed, wondering how to phrase 'you're an idiot' in a way that was a little… less blunt. "Did you think that, perhaps… it wasn't up to you to bring him back?"
It must've been the wrong thing to say, because the blond immediately jumped back to life. "But Tsunade-baachan was the one who sent us after him, and I trained with Pervy Sage just so I could be equal with Sasuke-teme and I could've gotten him, I would've, but then he got some weird stripes on him and-!"
"Naruto!" Sakura interrupted the tirade, running a hand through her hair. "That wasn't what I meant." She reassured him. When he let out a small 'oh' and quietened down, she continued. "I meant more like… from what I know, Sasuke defected out of his own volition. So, I guess what I wanted to say is, what made you think he wouldn't just leave again, even after you brought him back?"
Naruto stared at her aghast, as if unable to believe what she'd just said. "Sasuke wouldn't do that! I know him, he wouldn't-!"
"He left once already didn't he?!" Sakura snapped, letting her anger flare. "He made his choice, Naruto! And if you knew him so well then why didn't you stop him?!"
Deep down, she knew she was being unfair, but Naruto's blind optimism had been the last straw. "I lost my parents to Orochimaru, Naruto! They were killed in his invasion, helpless! I nearly lost the only man who'd ever cared about me, who gave a damn about my progress to his followers! Don't you understand?! I don't care whether Sasuke would or wouldn't! I can't forgive him for leaving us for Orochimaru!"
Naruto paled and grew oddly quiet, only his eyes growing wide. "Y-your parents are…?"
Now it was Sakura's turn to gape. "Sensei… Sensei didn't tell you?" she asked incredulously, growing ever angrier when Naruto shook his head.
"No, Sakura-chan." He denied. "I'm… I'm so sorry. I d-didn't know, Sakura-chan, I can't believe-!" he broke off, sniffling suspiciously. Sakura slid off her bed, pulling out the IV needle and wrapping her arms around her teammate.
"It's alright." She replied, feeling weirdly as if it were Naruto's parents who'd died. "I haven't made my peace with it, not yet, but I'll get there." She paused, reconsidered. "I'll get there, but I can't forgive Sasuke for what he's done. If you want to save him, bring him back and get him cleared of all charges, you're going to have to do it alone. I'm afraid that if I were to try to bring him back now, I'd hurt him. And then you'd never forgive me."
To her surprise, the blond chuckled. "I'd always forgive you, Sakura-chan." He murmured, and Sakura felt oddly uncomfortable, but she kept her arms wound around him.
"Then you're much too good for me, always have been." She added after a thought hit her. She drew back but kept her hands on Naruto's shoulders, keeping him at arms' length. "I've been awful to you, Naruto, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry it took me getting scared in Mist to even acknowledge that you were my teammate, and I'm sorry it took our team breaking apart for me to realise that I've been treating you like trash almost since I've known you."
It took her a moment to realise that Naruto was fully crying this time, tears streaming down his cheeks. "S-Sakura-chan…" he mumbled, his eyes wide. "I'll go train with pervy Sage then I'll c-come back and we'll both bring back Sasuke-teme and make him regret ever leaving, how's that sound?" he proposed, and Sakura smiled.
"I hope you realise I won't just be killing time waiting for you to get back. I'll get better too." She replied, getting a matching, if wobbly smile from Naruto.
"Of course. I saw your fight in the Exams, Sakura-chan. That was not something just anybody could do, y'know." And suddenly, Sakura felt lighter than she'd felt in weeks.
Acknowledgement. She finally earned it.
"Yeah," she murmured. "I know. Just like I know that just anybody couldn't pull of the Yondaime's Rasengan."
Naruto brightened, his grin blinding. "Good luck, Sakura-chan." He replied, pulling back.
"To you too, Naruto." She grinned, leading him out of her hospital room, hospital gown, bare feet and all. "Let's prove them wrong, hm?"
"You bet, Sakura-chan."
Now Sakura had a certain tokujo to find, and an ass-whooping to deliver.
Genma groaned as he regained consciousness, feeling like he'd slept for years if the stiffness of his muscles and how crusty his eyes were as he cracked them open was any indication.
He decided to rejoin the world of the living and propped himself up on his elbows, idly registering that he was in a hospital of all places, and two people who looked very much like Raidou and Iwashi were sat around the other bed in his room. He didn't get to do much more than that before a sharp pain erupted in his head and his gaze snapped to the right, only to be met with furious emerald eyes and a still-raised hand. "What were you thinking?" Sakura screeched at him, her voice at a volume that made him wince.
"Kid?" he asked incredulously. "What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Mist?"
But she wasn't placated and, if anything, the anger in her eyes only grew, even if her cheeks looked suspiciously damp. "Did you not get the memo?" she snapped. "You don't get to ask questions when I'm yelling at you!"
Genma thought he heard a snort from the other end of the room but he was much too thrown by the teen's words to bother confirming. "You're yelling at me?" he parroted dumbly. "What for?"
"Yes, I'm yelling at you!" the rosette threw her arms into the air, clearly exasperated before the anger resurfaced. "Now that you're back with the programme, lemme ask you again, what were you thinking?!" when Genma remained silent, the rosette felt justified to continue viciously. "That's right, you weren't! You clearly weren't thinking straight, otherwise what could've possibly possessed you to engage four of Orochimaru's experiments, not only clearly outnumbered but with no viable backup in sight? Not only that, but Namiashi-san tells me that you jumped in front of one of the attacks heading for him! Since when did you decide to throw your life away, huh, Genma?"
And Genma suddenly felt his own irritation building, so much so that he didn't even notice the lack of the honorific. "Since I'm a grown-ass adult, kid, and I can make these sort of decisions." he snapped. "Besides, Raidou and his wife are expecting a child. I could not live with myself if I was the reason why his son had to grow up without his father." he added, feeling a vicious tingle of satisfaction when Sakura winced.
And then, all the fight went out of her and she slumped in the hospital chair, letting her forehead thunk softly against Genma's blanket-covered thigh. "I know." she murmured softly, her voice thick with tears. "Kami, I know, it's just- you're the only family I have left, Genma." she raised her head from the bed and the tokujo was startled to see tears trailing down her cheeks, and the look in her eyes was so broken Genma felt his heart clench painfully. "I-!" she hiccoughed, "I c-can't afford to lose you too, not so soon after- after-!" she did not get to finish her sentence as she dropped her head onto her folded arms and dissolved into sobs, which, although silent, seemed to shake her thin frame almost painfully.
And, suddenly, Genma felt like a right asshole.
Absently, he realised that he could no longer hear the quiet chatter from Iwashi and Raidou, but he did not stop to think what that could mean. Instead, he propped himself higher on his elbows and reached carefully to pat Sakura's hair, combing his fingers through it gently and waiting for her sobs to subside slightly before he attempted speaking again.
"Hey, hey, kid, look at me." he murmured, smiling fondly when Sakura shook her head, no, and made no move to look up. "No, Sakura, c'mon, I want to tell you something." he urged, feeling her tense slightly at the use of her given name before one emerald eye hesitantly peeked at him from above her folded arms. "I'm sorry, I was an asshole." he admitted, still combing his fingers through her hair. He thought he heard a muttered 'damn right you were' from behind him, but he paid it no mind. "It's just- truth is, I haven't had anyone worry about my wellbeing like that for a while. I kind of- forgot how to react to it. Properly, I mean. That's not to say I haven't had anyone care when I landed in a hospital!" he hastened to assure her when the emerald eye widened in alarm. "Obviously I had people come in and wish me to get better whenever I ended up here, but I- I'm not it, for anybody, y'know? I'm not a husband or a father or a teacher-" at her grunt, he rolled his eyes fondly and lightly tugged at her hair, "or, rather, I wasn't. And I sometimes forget that I suddenly am, that someone actually depends and relies on me for something more than just delivering that package here or killing that guy there. And- I'm still getting used to that." he paused, cleared his throat and met that lone green eye head-on. "So, I'm sorry, for forgetting about that. I'm not promising I'll stop, because given the chance, I'd still jump in front of that kunai, but I'll be more understanding of any future ass-whoopings when I do, inevitably, end up in the hospital."
After a few seconds too long, Sakura's head finally peaked out from the safety of her arms. "You really suck at monologuing, Genma-san." she grumbled, and her voice was scratchy, her cheeks were splotchy and her nose was running, but there was a sparkle in her eye and the barest of grins on her lips, and Genma felt an answering grin bloom on his face. He felt justified to use pain meds as his excuse for what slipped out of his mouth next; "Call me Genma." He blurted, shuffling slightly on the bed to make room for the pinkette and opening his arms wide. "And goddamnit, come here, I want a hug." He grouched, at which Sakura snorted and raised an eyebrow.
"I thought we 'weren't that close'?" she teased, and Genma couldn't even find it in himself to be mad that she used his own words against him.
"Shut up, we are now, so get a move on 'cause my arm is starting to cramp." He ordered, and the rosette laughed but didn't hesitate to clamber up on the bed and burrow her face into his chest, and it was only then that Genma noticed that Sakura was also clad in the uncomfortable, scratchy material of a hospital gown.
"I understand that I've been out of it, but why do you have to suffer through this monstrosity?" he asked curiously, poking her side in an attempt to make his point clearer.
Sakura twitched, clearly ticklish, but didn't even attempt to move from her position. "It's a long story." She answered vaguely, then Genma thought he heard her snort. "I've got a month of D-Ranks to show for it though."
And despite the fact that her words only raised more questions than answers, Genma dismissed them for a moment and merely tightened his arm around the rosette's side, content for the time being to let sleep take him back into its arms.
Sakura woke up a few hours later and struggled to extract herself from Genma's clutches without waking the man. Somehow, over the course of their nap, the tokujo had managed to wrap both arms around her and lace his fingers behind her back, making escape nigh impossible.
She heard a chuckle from behind her and craned her neck to see Iwashi-san and Namiashi-san sitting on the other bed, watching her progress with amusement. "Need some help?" Iwashi offered, and Sakura nodded, smiling gratefully.
"If you wouldn't mind." She replied, wiggling. "I don't want to wake him but I need to go do my rounds." She added, sighing in relief when Iwashi got up to help her detangle herself.
"You do know the idiot will probably want to be caught up on all that he missed?" the chunin asked her faux-casually, tugging her free of Genma's arms and onto her feet. "Which will probably include your involvement and what you, ah, sacrificed to save his stupid ass."
At that, Sakura winced but shrugged. "Which is why I'm going to make sure I'm not here when that happens. Honestly, I don't care about what I had to 'sacrifice' as you put it," she explained, scowling when the issue of the Uchiha made itself known in her mind, "and I would do it all again in a heartbeat, should the need present itself. But… I'm just not sure I want to be here and see Genma's reaction when he finds out. We're…" she trailed off, unsure how to put it.
"'Not that close'?" Raidou offered, inserting himself into the conversation and making Sakura grin wryly.
"Yeah, something like that." She acknowledged, nodding at the scarred man gratefully, but he just waved her off.
"If I may, Sakura-san," Iwashi interrupted, smiling as if he knew something she didn't. "I've known Genma for over ten years. Raidou's known him even longer. It's pretty clear to us, after seeing the two of you together, that you and Genma are the only ones who think that way."
Sakura took a moment to digest what Iwashi meant then shook her head and politely excused herself. Regardless if he was right or wrong, she had things to do. With that in mind, she left the hospital, grateful that someone had been kind enough to leave a very generic uniform by Genma's bed that she quickly changed into. (she had to roll up the pants and sleeves multiple times but at least she could get away with that more than if she paraded down the street in a hospital gown)
She stopped by the Yamanaka flower shop then trekked back to the hospital, not wanting to be caught outside when she hasn't been officially discharged yet. With the bouquets in hand and a quick smile to the receptionist, Sakura made her way to the first room on her list. Finding Hyuuga Neji's room was easy, and the rosette walked in so deeply in thought that she did not notice she wasn't its only occupant till after she'd arranged the flowers in the standard vase by his bedside. But when she did, Sakura nearly froze when she realised that Hyuuga Hiashi himself was in his nephew's room with her.
Stifling the squeak of embarrassment that wanted to come out, Sakura instead let the years' worth of lessons on etiquette and manners her mother had drilled into her take over as she sank into a shallow bow. "Hyuuga-sama, please accept my sincerest apologies for intruding. I only wanted to thank Hyuuga-san for his actions in retrieving the traitor and I was so set on that goal that I did not notice you." Sakura apologised to the Hyuuga patriarch.
She inwardly berated herself for not noticing the man, but she knew that it was merely because she was still reeling with relief that Genma really was okay and was set to making a full recovery that she had not even bothered to scan the room with her chakra before strutting over to Neji's bedside and placing a small bouquet in the vase.
She could hear the Hyuuga's raised eyebrow before she straightened, but when she met his eyes, his face was back to its impassive façade. "I would have thought that as his teammate, you would have had something to say in the Uchiha's defence. Your other teammate and sensei certainly did." he spoke, and the clipped, even tones of a man raised as an aristocrat to whom all this was merely a distasteful joke washed over Sakura, bringing with them an urge to snap, the anger over the whole situation still far too recent a memory.
She squared her shoulders and set her jaw, meeting the man's eyes in what she knew could've easily been interpreted as impudence. "Perhaps it's odd of me, but I do not defend traitors, Hyuuga-sama." Sakura replied icily, and she could've sworn she saw the corner of the brunet's lips twitch upwards by the tiniest of margins, but she paid it no heed. "I lost my parents to Orochimaru's attack, and nearly lost my guardian to his cronies earlier this week. I realise that the Uchiha might not have known this, nor fully predicted the consequences of his actions, but in my heart, I cannot forgive anyone who willingly associates themselves with that snake, who leaves their village behind like it never even mattered in the first place." It was a real struggle to keep herself from shouting towards the end, but somehow, she managed it. With a deep breath, she steadied her frantic heart and met the man's eyes once again. "All I want to say on this matter is this: I'm sorry Hyuuga-san got in the middle of that affair. What I can do, however, is assure you that, should mine and Sasuke Uchiha's paths cross again, I will bring him to justice." Sakura promised, her words echoing with the strength of her conviction.
Again, she got a non-expression as her response, but almost a year of gauging Kakashi's moods from his one visible eye allowed her to glimpse intrigue? in the Hiashi's pearlescent eyes.
"And how do you intend to do that?" he asked, and though his tone was as imperious as ever, Sakura could not help but feel like this was some kind of a test.
So she chose honesty as her policy and let the Hyuuga in on what she had recently come to terms with herself. "By any and all means necessary." she stated calmly.
She could sense that Hiashi was scrutinising her despite the fact that his expression didn't change. After what felt like an age but was probably only a few seconds, he nodded, turned on his heel and swept out of the corridor.
Sakura almost deflated with relief once the tension she didn't even know she held in her shoulders eased a bit. She let a few seconds pass, then, with one last assessing look at the slumbering brunet, she deemed her duty done and moved on to the only other patient currently in ICU.
When she opened the door to Chouji's room, she was not surprised to find Shikamaru there. What did come as a bit of a surprise, however, was that Ino and the man she vaguely recalled was Shikamaru's sensei were also there. Sakura elected to ignore them for the moment, choosing instead to add the flowers she brought for Chouji to the already-filled vase. When she was done, she turned back round and met Shikamaru's knowing gaze. The Nara sent her a tired grin, and Sakura knew that, just as she hadn't left Genma's bedside till she was sure he would be fine, Shikamaru was doing the same to Chouji. The only difference between them was that the Nara was in an even worse place than she was, because despite his clan's intelligence and logical prowess, he still blamed himself for his friend's condition.
"How is Shiranui-san?" the brunet asked casually, gesturing to the empty seat beside him. Sakura saw his sensei perk up at the name and briefly wondered if knew each other, but she dismissed it in favour of answering her friend.
"He was asleep when I left just now, but he woke up about three hours ago." she informed the teen, getting a small smirk in response.
"And how much did you yell at him when he woke up?" Shikamaru asked teasingly, and Sakura thought she heard Ino gasp but she ignored it. Truth be told, she was incredibly glad the Nara was able to joke around again; the teen who came back from the Sasuke Retrieval mission, as it was now being dubbed, was but a shell of the Shikamaru Sakura had gotten to know over their month together and it pained her to see it.
So she grinned wryly and waved him off. "A fair bit." she admitted easily. "But the idiot deserved it."
Shikamaru muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'troublesome woman' but when he saw Sakura's raised eyebrow, he shrugged.
"I mean, in all fairness, he did." And the rosette nearly toppled out of her seat at the Nara's easy agreement. "Anyone with eyes who spent two minutes with the two of you can see that you care about each other. And," he reminded her mischievously, "it was only luck that you weren't branded a missing-nin for essentially tearing out of Tsunade-sama's office the second you knew where he was. Plus maybe the fact that she thought your reaction was hilarious."
Sakura groaned and let her head thump on Shikamaru's shoulder. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she accused, but there was no real heat behind it.
"Enjoying what? Ribbing you?" the Nara asked, but they both knew it was purely banter by now. "Yeah, maybe a little."
They lapsed into silence after that, and the playful atmosphere that had built up over the past couple of minutes was replaced by solemn silence. Finally, Sakura sighed and murmured; "How are you feeling though?"
Shikamaru shrugged, jostling her slightly but she just shifted and settled her head more comfortably against his shoulder. "I thought about quitting it all for good, after we got back." he admitted just as quietly, and it seemed like they'd both forgotten or elected to ignore the fact that they had an audience. "My old man had a right go at me as well. Told me that if I freak out every time my comrades get hurt I might as well forget about being a shinobi." Sakura made an noise in the back of her throat, feeling indignant on Shikamaru's behalf, which he must've sensed because he sighed and patted her arm lightly. "No, no, I needed that. I thought, we aced a mission we were essentially doomed to fail, I basically thought myself invincible, and it wasn't until I realised I would have to leave people behind to fight people who far outclassed them that it really hit me that this was different. I… I dunno, Sakura. We've both been granted some time off by Tsunade-sama, though yours is apparently gonna be spent doing D-Ranks for the headache you caused her, but I'm going to use mine to get back onto my feet. Rest, train maybe, see if dad has any idea what I should do…" he trailed off, and they lapsed into silence again. Sakura didn't comment, merely sat by Shikamaru, knowing that the sheer process of admitting all that to himself, much less to another, was already helpful for the teen. She was not expecting him to ask, "And you? How are you dealing with the Uchiha?"
Sakura made a thoughtful noise and steadfastly ignored Ino's eyes boring into the side of her head. "I dunno." She finally replied, sighing. "I'm angry, that's for sure. I also feel betrayed, though we were never really a team to begin with so I don't know what there was to betray in the first place." She barked a laugh at that, short and bitter and far too loud. "But mostly I just feel… disillusioned, I guess? Naruto wants to bring him back, he's so sure that he can save him, so sure that we can be a team again. But we haven't been a team since the Chunin Exams, and after thinking about it for far longer than I probably should have, I decided that I'm not sure if Sasuke can be saved. Or even if he wants to be." She mulled over admitting something else and quieting the bitter, vengeful part of her mind that roared for revenge and chaos, but she decided that it was still too soon to reveal her real thoughts about the Uchiha's betrayal.
Shikamaru, however, didn't seem to share her concerns. "You want to bring him home in a matchbox." He stated flatly, casually, like it was a simple off-hand comment. Sakura couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah," she admitted after she got a hold of herself, her breathing still irregular and tears streaming out of her eyes. "yeah, I do." Not thinking much about what she was doing, she craned her head up on his shoulder and pecked his cheek. "Thanks, Shika!" she called as she jumped out and strutted out of the room, having decided to spare the nurse doing rounds the effort of looking for her round the whole hospital again.
Somehow, she already felt better.
Genma got his answers when he next came to, when he realised that his right side felt suspiciously cold. He cracked his eyes open, noting that Raidou and Iwashi had moved over to his bedside while he'd been asleep and Sakura was nowhere to be seen.
"And the princess awakes!" Iwashi crowed, poking Genma's side with his elbow. Too out of it to really snap back, Genma merely scowled at him and turned to Raidou, eyebrow raised.
Reading the question in the gesture, his long-time partner grinned wryly. "She only left about an hour ago – said something about 'doing her rounds'."
Genma frowned, but Iwashi didn't let him stew for long before he grinned and nudged him again. "Bet you'd like to know what happened while you'd been napping, huh?"
And what they told him made Genma feel even more like an asshole for how he'd reacted to Sakura's worry. Apparently, the weird barrel the Sound Four were carrying had contained Sasuke Uchiha, who as of four days ago had officially defected from Konohagakure to join Orochimaru. More than that, Genma learned that 'his kid' – which was how Iwashi had taken to referring to Sakura – had also risked being branded a missing-nin herself in order to save his ass. She also apparently earned herself a nasty case of chakra exhaustion for her efforts, hence why she'd also been confined to the hospital while Genma was recovering. Suddenly, the kid's comment about how 'she's got a month of D-Ranks to show for it' made sense. But what got Genma the most was how she chose him to save, not her teammate, her crush, the chance for her team to stay whole but him. He wondered, not for the first time, what on earth had possessed him to offer his help all those month ago when he saw her in the library. He'd already known, damn it, that he would get attached.
But he had no clue Sakura was equally attached to him.
Most of the time, he just avoided thinking about it, because there was still that part of him that shied away from caring for others and having others care for him in return after what happened to Minato. But, if he really stopped to think about it, think about him and the pinkette, it made sense. They made sense. He'd been unconsciously preparing himself for letting go of his best friend and long-time partner, since Raidou was going to retire from active duty for a while to raise his son. It was no surprise to him that he got attached so quickly to another, and the kid's attitude and tactile nature certainly didn't help him to stay aloof. And then Sakura, who, for all intents and purposes should've ditched his ass the second she got the help and attention she wanted and gone to find friends her own age. But the Sakura he'd gotten to know, the girl who'd been neglected by her parents, by her teacher, and outright shunned by her crush, chose to stay.
And it seemed that just as he was freaking out over her being gone and having a bad case of 'helicopter parent', she was just as unwilling for him to leave, even by his own idiocy.
He didn't know how to feel about that.
Raidou made up his mind for him.
"I had no clue that the kid who came to you in the library would end up being such a big part of your life," he began, and Genma snorted. Talk about psychic, he thought snidely. "but keep her around."
Wait, what?
His confusion must've shown on his face, because Raidou sighed while Iwashi smirked at him. "In ten minutes, she managed to get through your head something which we've been trying to tell you for ten years. And you listened. Not to mention, I can give an eyewitness' testimony that your kid's clearly capable, and she's got her head screwed on right. I you don't mess this up, you might even be able to ask her to be your partner while Raidou is busy being a daddy."
…what?
"Wait," he finally choked out, "hold up for just a second; what the fuck?"
"Language, Genma-san!" a new but familiar voice called from the door.
"Genma." He shot back instinctively, only then realising what had actually been said. He turned all of his confusion and indignation at the pinkette, his eyebrow threatening to disappear into his hairline at the absurdity of the situation. "And since when did you become a mother?" he sniped, but the rosette didn't even raise her gaze from the piece of paper she'd been studying, though she replied just as snappishly.
"Since you apparently require someone to mother you. Tokubetsu jounin my ass." She teased, and Genma felt his earlier disbelief start to fade away at the familiar banter.
Partner? Suddenly it doesn't seem that far-fetched…
Then, he squinted and wrinkled his nose, his gaze going from the rosette to the empty chair by his bedside. "Are those my clothes?" he demanded incredulously, feeling laughter start to bubble up. Sakura glanced down at what she was wearing, not in the slightest embarrassed.
"They're a lot more comfortable than the hospital gown, I'll give you that." She relied cheekily, winking at him before her gaze flickered back to what she was reading.
Genma heard Iwashi guffaw, but he just closed his eyes and counted to ten, deciding that changing the subject would be healthier for his blood pressure. "What are you reading?" he asked instead, and Sakura wandered over to him, nudging his thigh as she climbed onto his bed to lean against his side.
"Something Yuki-san gave me. I'll need your help to work through it, if you're willing." She explained, though at his raised eyebrow she elaborated. "Yuki-san, our escort to Mist, also one of the Mizukage's hunter-nin. He gave this to me as an apology present after I trapped him in a genjutsu and he then proceeded to scare the living daylights out of me." She recited flatly, ignoring how Genma's arm tightened around her shoulders or how Iwashi sucked in a sharp breath.
"A hunter-nin, you say?" Genma murmured, and Sakura could feel him stiffen so she slapped his arm lightly.
"Yes, but don't freak out. He was a real sweetheart, really. A bit sadistic, maybe, but still miles better than Ao. And he did give me some really good advice on genjutsu." She added thoughtfully, unfolding the paper so Genma could see it too. "I almost forgot I had this till it feel out of my pocket when I went to collect my stuff to take it home. Haven't had a chance to read it properly till I got here."
They lapsed into silence as they tried to decipher the admittedly awful handwriting on the page, but after a few seconds, Sakura gasped.
"Did he really-!" she snatched the paper out of Genma's grasp and squinted at the small drawings of handseals and the explanations that accompanied them.
"What is it?" Raidou asked, to which Genma sighed and quirked a wry grin.
"Seems like the only way he knows how to apologise is by spilling Village secrets. Supplementary secrets, but nevertheless." When his friends' curious gazes turned worried, he chuckled and shook his head. "There're the instructions for four techniques here - Hiding in Mist technique, Hiding in Water, Hiding in Drizzle and Hiding in Rain. They're all D-Ranks or below but, well, they were exclusive to Kirigakure shinobi for decades."
Raidou nodded thoughtfully. "I think Hatake can perform Hiding in Mist, but he copied it from someone so he doesn't count. Other than that… if she can master them-"
"-when." Sakura interrupted, drawing curious stares. "When I master them." She corrected. "Water is my second element, so it's only a matter of time. And I have a very patient and thorough instructor." She sent Genma a teasing grin then buried her nose back in the instructions, lost in thought.
Genma felt warmth bloom in his stomach as he mulled over the issue that started it all.
Partner? Sure.