Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! I'm finally getting a little time to myself for spring break. Hallelujah! More SasuSaku interaction in this one. Please, wait patiently between each chapter. Over the summer, I plan to update more frequently. As always, let me know what you guys think!
*This fic is tightly adapted to the Sasuke Shinden and Sakura Hiden light novels. Please read the novels or refer to the summaries. I'm tired of waiting for their story, so have decided to write it myself. ( _ signifies time lapse, and . . . signifies transitions between p.o.v.)
Pairing: SasuSaku
Summary: After 2 years, Sasuke returns to the village where friends anxiously await him. Still troubled by the mysteries of Kaguya and his personal guilt, Sasuke is split between friends and his journey. One specific pink-haired individual has perhaps waited for him with far more dedication than anyone else. Troubled by rising casualties and international dependence on her abilities, Sakura is torn between her love for Sasuke and her duty to her village.
Chapter 3: "Things Remembered"
Sakura found that she was having a rather difficult time staying on task today. Every few minutes she caught herself glancing out the window towards the Hokage's tower, thinking of the man who she had seen this morning for the first time in two and a half years. Sakura had never found it difficult to concentrate on her job before, even going as far as to ensure that her focused mindset passed on to the rest of her work force. Today was entirely different. Endless streams of thought kept distracting the kunoichi as she replayed the events in her head from this morning over and over, reminding herself that Sasuke had actually come home and that she hadn't imagined everything. This Sasuke was the real one and not some cruel trick like Kido had used on her several months ago in hopes of capturing her in order to draw out the Uchiha. The man had underestimated her strength; not only did Sakura escape from his trap, but she managed to defeat him on her own while her friends took care of his subordinates. She remembered seeing Sasuke's fleeting form after he had defeated a few of Kido's lackeys, leaving nothing behind but flickers of flame. Sakura had been sorely disappointed at his disappearance but took comfort in the fact that Sasuke had indeed showed up to help her. Although he would never directly admit, Sakura knew that deep down he cared for his friends. It was proof that the old Sasuke was slowly coming back to them. The thought made her smile.
Absentmindedly applying the burn solvent to another patient, she almost missed what the shinobi was asking her. "Did I say something funny?"
She suddenly looked up at her patient and for the first time, really assessed her client. He was a red haired man with a scar running from his left ear to his chin. He was flashing her a large grin with his eyes closed, an expression that reminded her of Naruto. She registered the question, realizing that he was asking her about the smile she had just expressed without thinking.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking about something else." She noticed the worried look her apprentice was giving her.
"Shame," her client said, leaning back on his good arm. "I thought someone was finally recognizing my comic potential."
Sakura giggled at that.
"See, I am funny!" the man said, then winced as Sakura added the last of the medicine to his right arm.
With her right hand, she began to run her chakra over the medicine to dull the sting she knew he was beginning to feel. His entire arm was a solid green limb of herbs that was putting off the sharpest smell. As her chakra touched it, the medicine instantly hardened, creating a thick cast around the burns to defend them but was still flexible enough to allow movement, though she advised against moving too much. Only her chakra would be able to soften it again for removal, but until then the medicine would stay put until the burns had healed.
From the frown on her patient's face, Sakura could tell that he would not be happy to have to deal with this makeshift cast.
"Right, then," she exclaimed, satisfied with her work. "I'm afraid all missions will be put on hold until those burns are healed up. No matter how hard you try, that is not coming off. However, to prevent itching, I advise you not to get it wet."
The shock that flashed across the red head's face made Sakura smile. "No more sauna?!"
Sakura put her hands on her hips. This man was becoming more like Naruto with every passing minute. "Absolutely not. Do you want to scald those burns before they even get a chance to heal?"
"But it smells terrible," he grimaced after holding it up to his nose and inhaling.
"You'll get used to it, I promise," she said, turning and reaching for the man's chart, locating his name at the top. Mizuno, Haru.
"Alright, Mizuno-san, you are free to go. You are scheduled to come back in a few weeks. Make sure to remember what I told you," Sakura said, showing the man out. He nodded vigorously, making a show of holding his arm out as far away from himself as possible. He flashed her another big Naruto smile before exiting the building.
After finalizing a couple of notes on his chart, Sakura handed it back to her assistant.
"Sakura-sensei, is something the matter? You haven't been like yourself today."
She glanced over at the girl who was showing sincere concern for her. Sakura was annoyed with herself for being so obvious and not having better control of herself. She stopped herself from looking over at the clock.
Sakura was honestly relieved that nobody at the hospital had learned about Sasuke's return yet. Once the rumor began to spread, she'd be an open book to those who knew her best. She glanced back over to her apprentice.
"I'm fine, Kirai. Just a long night. It took me longer than expected to develop the burn solvent."
The two were walking down the hall towards the next hospital room. Kirai's concern vanished and was replaced by surprise. "You developed this on your own in just one night?! My goodness sensei, do you ever do anything besides work? You sure are something."
Sakura gave the girl a small smile as they entered the room. She managed to catch a glimpse of the clock just in time to see that she was two hours away from the end of her shift. Despite her undeniable distraction, today had been very successful. The only patient left was the last of the burn victims.
The sun was shining through the glass of the top floor of the hospital, creating streaks of pink and orange against the tile floor. Sakura was in the medical lab once again, cleaning up the mess that had seemed to grow as she made frequent stops here throughout the day, recreating the medicine she had just conjured this morning. The first few patients had taken to her first batch quite nicely and Sakura had been able to make necessary adjustments to the recipe as she tested it on more and more of her clients. Sakura hadn't been able to completely get rid of the stinging sensation like she had hoped, but that was a small issue if she paired her chakra with the medicine during the application. It helped nullify the sting. For those who had been severely injured, Sakura had to first heal major tissue damage with her chakra and then apply the medicine after most of it was completely healed.
Sakura had expired almost all of her reserves and was now running on what was left of her energy; not sleeping the night before hadn't left much to run on. If it werent for Sasuke's return, Sakura would be completely dead on her feet. She scraped the last of the herbs into an empty container and carried it with her to her office a couple floors down. Placing it on the crowded shelf to the left of her desk, Sakura was wondering where she should start to find Sasuke.
Should she even seek him out? What if he had already left? She had tried sensing his chakra signature throughout the day and had found nothing. Perhaps it was a precaution the Uchiha had taken to avoid causing a stir.
Running into an animated Ino two seconds after exiting the building told Sakura that this was not the case.
"Sakura! Did you hear?" her blonde friend said stopping a few inches from in front of her face. "I heard from Shikamaru and had to be the one to tell you! Sasuke's back!"
"Actually," Sakura started with a smile, rubbing the back of her head shyly. "I knew already. I saw him this morning."
"You WHAT?" Ino screeched, grabbing her friend by both of her shoulders. "What happened?!"
Sakura jerked away from her friend who was now staring at her with a surprised, expecting sort-of look. Her hands were high on her hips.
Sakura waved frantically, exclaiming, "Nothing! Nothing happened! I just walked with him to the Hokage's tower and-"
"YOU WALKED WITH HIM?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Ino's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"I haven't had the chance to!" Sakura defended, beginning to walk down the path towards the Hokage's monument. It was the honest truth. Besides, Sakura wasn't sure if Sasuke wanted anyone to know he was home; she certainly wouldn't be the one to tell anyone. Now that it seemed word had gotten out on its own, Sakura was grateful she had someone to talk to about it.
The two were walking besides each other now but Sakura couldn't seem to escape the sideways scrutiny of her friend who now seemed disappointed that her surprise had been spoiled. She jumped back a little when Ino leaned into her face with the same glare.
"What did you guys talk about?" she asked.
Sakura immediately wanted to say that they didn't talk about anything. Even though this was a lie and Sakura had replayed their conversation from this morning in her head on repeat all day long, Sakura didn't have much to tell her. They had only talked briefly and the short walk had seemed like only a few seconds.
"To be honest, there wasn't much said," she said simply.
Ino looked disappointed but didn't push the subject, to Sakura's surprise. As they reached the end of the corner, she noticed Sai standing in front of the Yamanaka flower shop. He had arms full of freshly cut flowers and Sakura could only guess that Ino had had him running around all day doing errands. Ino thanked him, swooping up the beautiful array of multicolored flowers in her arms and carrying them inside. Sakura exchanged a few polite words with Sai before Ino returned from the building. Sakura then realized that the two of them had evening plans together. Sakura felt a little lonely, watching as Sai took her friend's arm in his as they walked off together.
Before they left, Ino flashed a smile at her, wishing her a silent "good luck." It was odd, finding comfort in her friend's concern when they had once been brutal to one another over the same man. As her and Ino matured, trivial things like that didn't come between their friendship anymore. However, they did still find it necessary to compete over smaller things to remind each other that they were still rivals. Sakura smiled when she thought about their recent food pill baking competition over an argument that they had had that was started over a picture frame they both wanted to buy as a gift for Naruto's wedding.
Smiling at the memory, Sakura looked around as she noticed a few quick glances at her from passing ninja and other villagers. They looked away when she made eye contact. Ah, she thought as she assessed these looks. News was spreading like wild fire. She knew by the glances that those individuals knew Sasuke was home and was either looking at her because they thought he might be with her, or that they half expected her to be displaying some sort of reaction to the news. Sakura frowned at this. She wondered where Sasuke was at the moment and how she would find him. By the scrutiny she was receiving from others, she was certain that he was still in the village.
Taking a steady breath, Sakura chased after Sai and Ino. "Sai! Wait a minute!"
.
.
.
Sasuke stared at the Uchiha symbol that was still incorporated into the insignia of the Konoha Military Police Force building. Sasuke had forgotten all about it during his time in prison. Even though he spent a year of his life in this very building, his eyesight had been sealed the entire time he had been a prisoner. He hadn't seen the symbol to remember that his clan had been its founders.
Well, not exactly, he corrected himself. It had been founded by the Senju and was given to the Uchiha as a sign of peace between the two clans. However, he couldn't help but remember a certain man in an orange mask telling Sasuke that this building and what it stood for had been the Senju's way of distancing the Uchiha and separating them from the Hokage's seat. Sasuke pushed the thoughts down as he felt his former anger spark deep down in his chest. No, he told himself. Tobirama, the reanimated second Hokage, had told him that this wasn't exactly the truth. In fact, the Konoha Military Police Force was meant to give the Uchiha a purpose, a funnel for their energy that would benefit the Leaf Village. Of course, that same Hokage said himself, that if benefitting the village meant getting themselves killed in the process, they would still be considered useful.
Sasuke pinched his nose as he exhaled the memory. Facing the village had been a lot harder than he had thought it would be. There was the constant reminder of his family's death, their mistreatment, his brother's sacrifice-the list went on. On his journey, he was free from all of this and wasn't bothered by any sort of reminder about his past. Searching for Kaguya had given Sasuke a purpose that kept him going; being away also helped him clear the anger from his heart.
But as he felt it trickle back in, Sasuke managed to focus on a good memory that came with the familiar symbol. When he had been little, his older brother had carried him home after he twisted his ankle. They had passed this very spot that day and Itachi had first explained to him why the building displayed the red and white fan. Itachi had told him that only superior shinobi could enforce the law on other ninja. He remembered how he had exclaimed to his older brother that he aspired to be a part of the leaf's police force one day, too.
He remembered Naruto's letter: "So, like, I talked to Sakura. You're like the police force!" His childhood dream. He once again thought about Itachi and how his sacrifice had practically saved the leaf village. Itachi had killed the entire Uchiha clan, the army that threatened to destroy it. His brother had been the superior shinobi that enforced the law on his entire brethren.
Sasuke released another sigh as the sun set to the left of him, an orange glow lingering on the horizon. He sat on top of the nearest building, adjacent to the Konoha Military Police Force. Sasuke figured that concealing himself in its shadows would keep any unwanted attention away. It had been two and a half years since he'd been home. There was bound to be a stir.
"Sasuke? What are you doing up here?"
Stunned, the Uchiha swerved to his right to see his pink-haired friend walking towards him across the rooftop. How had she even been able to find him?
Taking a seat a couple feet away from him, she gave him a small grin. "You're not the only one good at concealing your chakra."
Although he would never admit it, he was slightly impressed that he hadn't been able to sense her chakra. He hadn't forgotten her chakra control abilities, but to hide her presence completely from him was something to marvel at. How long had she been standing there? He noticed that she was still wearing the same lab coat he had seen her in this morning. He assumed that this meant she had been working all day.
He gave her a nod in greeting, then turned to look back at the building across the road. "How'd you find me?"
"Sai found you," she said, pointing to a small chirping sound across the street.
Narrowing his eyes, he activated the Sharingan, seeing for the first time, a small orb of chakra perched on one of the buildings in front of him. Before he could even think of sending a shuriken through it, the little bird of ink flew up in the air and disappeared.
Slightly annoyed by the thought of that ninja who was technically considered a part of his former team, and for the fact that this wasn't the first time that Sai had spied on him, Sasuke said nothing in reply.
They sat in mutual silence for a while before Sasuke glanced over at Sakura. She sat staring out across the rooftops and he couldn't help but notice how bright her hair was in the sunlight. Despite his annoyance, he appreciated her quiet effort of company. As Sakura matured, Sasuke found that she was rather good at reading his emotions. He followed her gaze and realized she was evaluating the same symbol he had been just a few moments ago.
"You're the one who told Naruto about the Uchiha connection with the police force, weren't you?" His words seemed to startle her, like she hadn't expected him to speak. She turned to him, surprised.
"Yes," she replied. "Naruto and I were talking about you the other day. Naruto said that even though you were away, he felt like he was still on a mission with you to protect the village."
Sakura faced the building again, continuing, "I told him it was like you were a part of the Konoha military police force; you know, like your clan." She emphasized the last part by pointing at the Uchiha crest on the building in front of them.
He didn't know why, but Sasuke took comfort knowing that his two teammates continued to find the good in him. He had gone on his journey not only to find Kaguya, but to atone for his sins. Sasuke didn't deserve the happiness his friends offered him here; quite frankly, it was hard to even be around them sometimes, remembering how much pain he had caused the both of them.
"When I was little, it was my dream to be like my father, the head of Konoha's military police." He didn't know what had caused him to say this out loud but he felt like Sakura would be the person to tell, if anyone were to know about it. By the unsurprised look on her face, it seemed that she had guessed as much.
She smiled at him, leaning forward to wrap her arms around her bent legs. "Was it? I didn't know that."
"Yes," he said, finding the bright star that had just revealed itself in the sky. He pushed the thought of Kaguya away at the celestial body's sudden appearance. Instead, he began to wonder how much about his past his friends knew. He was aware that they knew about Itachi and his lifelong secret. But just how much about his clan, did Naruto and Sakura really know? Sakura surprised Sasuke with what she already knew about him.
Her quiet voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"It's like you've achieved that dream, without realizing it. I think your family would be very proud of you." He made brief eye contact with her at the statement, and he quickly looked away. Sasuke suddenly felt very grateful for her words. Would they be proud of him, he thought. He wouldn't think so after all that he had done. He once thought that the only way to make them proud was to avenge them. Sasuke was able to see past that now. Regardless, her words had brought him a small peace.
After a few minutes of silence beneath a starry sky, he heard Sakura yawn. He glanced over at her and saw for the first time how tired she looked. Her eyes displayed dark circles under her lids and her shoulders slumped slightly as she leaned against her knees. Sakura had met him this morning at the gates and he remembered how early it had been. Not to mention, she had worked all day.
He rose to his feet and Sakura looked up at him in surprise. He could tell that there were so many things she had been wanting to say; unfinished thoughts waiting to be verbalized. Selfishly, the Uchiha wasn't sure if he was ready to hear them. It would only make it harder for him to leave, again.
"Come on," he said, looking away from her. "I'll walk you home."