Author's Note: Sorry guys. Still battling with an illness, so it's been difficult to find the energy to write. On the positive note, I'm enjoying seeing a little more of Sasuke in the Boruto series. It makes me so happy to see Papasuke interact with Sakura and Sarada more. 3

P.S.: To my reviewers, sharers, and likers: THANK YOU. I WRITE FOR YOU!

Pairing: SasuSaku

Chapter 16: "Almost, but Never Again"

Sakura was trying hard not to be "annoying." At first, the silence between them felt so awkward that she felt compelled to engage Sasuke in some sort of conversation. She began asking him questions about Kaguya and he answered them all; including one particular truth that Sakura had not known. Apparently, it was the reason why Sasuke had come back home to the village in the first place. It was about the White Zetsu army that Kaguya had created by using the chakra from the God Tree. Sasuke disclosed to her that Kaguya created the army to fight something else, a force stronger than the united shinobi of the war. Sasuke added that he wasn't exactly sure what this threat was, but that it was something to be feared if Kaguya had felt so threatened by it that she created an army in preparation of it.

"It's my goal," he said, giving her a sideways glance "to eliminate this threat. I'll do whatever it takes."

For the first time, Sakura realized the gravity of Sasuke's mission and a combination of anger and appreciation arose in her being for the role Sasuke was playing. Anger, because he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders; his redemption for all his mistakes in the past. It just didn't seem fair, Sakura thought, for Sasuke to have to do this on his own. Appreciation, because Sasuke was doing what had to be done to protect the peace they had all fought so hard for in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked seriously, scanning the back of his head as he walked a couple steps in front of her. She felt that she had just as much right as Naruto to know what exactly was keeping Sasuke from coming home. "Back in the village, you could have told me."

He was silent for a moment before his quiet voice reached her in the dark. "I didn't want to worry you."

Whether or not that was true, she didn't question him. It was better to believe that that than the worries in her mind of him simply not caring enough to tell her.

And then, she stopped talking all together. She backed off the unrelated questions when Sasuke's answers became short, and then turned to the usual "Hn"s . She knew he was trying, but that he was struggling to participate in a conversation where he was forced to small talk. He had been on his own for so long, Sakura realized, that of course he wasn't going to be as talkative as she hoped. It was her own desire to talk to him that had her blabbing. She stopped, and did her best just to be comfortable with the mutual silence. As long as she was at his side, she told herself, it didn't matter if he was his usual quiet and reserved self.

Instead of talking his ear off, Sakura gazed up at the stars that peaked through the black treetops and thought of all the questions she wanted to ask him. She had a million, but tried her best to discard the questions that came to mind that involved some of his shadier actions during his time apart from Team 7. Questions like: Did you ever think about us when you were away with Orochimaru? She knew the answer, and instantly put the question in the back of her mind because she didn't want to hear it spoken out loud.

After about 30 minutes of her silence, Sasuke stopped when they reached a small clearing between the forest trees and motioned to the soft, green grass. He sat her bag gently down and said, "We have a while yet, before we reach the Land of Rivers' border. Rest now, and we'll continue after the sun has risen."

"Oh," Sakura stammered, walking towards him and leaning over her bag to undo the strap. "Of course." She didn't bother packing a sleeping bag; the weather was growing warmer by the day and Sakura knew that it would be more trouble lugging it around than it was worth. So she awkwardly placed her bag under head as she reclined along the soft grass. Sasuke nodded and turned, which had Sakura leaning toward his direction, perched up on her elbow. "What, you're not resting?"

Sasuke continued to walk away from her until he stopped next to a large oak tree a few feet away. He sat, perched his back against its trunk, and stared off into the darkness. "I'll keep watch for now. I'll wake you when it's your turn."

"Oh," she said, feeling both guilty and a little selfish for not even thinking of offering to do so herself, first. "Are you sure? I don't mind to-"

"Just rest," he said resolutely, crossing his arms as he continued to gaze out into the blackness that surrounded them.

"Give me an hour or two, then wake me," she said shyly, knowing there was no arguing with that stern voice and fixed posture. She turned to rest on her back. "I'll take over so you can sleep, too."

"Hnn," she heard him hum. She couldn't help but feel like his mood was increasingly growing sour by the minute, whether it be because she had talked his ear off earlier, or that he was simply needing sleep, she couldn't tell. She decided to stare up at the stars for a few more minutes before summoning the jutsu to her fingertips that helped her fall asleep quickly. Without it, she would be a tossing ragdoll of nerves that never got any sleep. Looking up at the stars she thought of another question she'd like to ask Sasuke, before falling into a deep, chakra-induced sleep.

. . . . . . . . . . .

The last thing Sasuke would do, was wake her up. He felt like a selfish prick when he heard Sakura yawn. At first, he was appreciative for her questions. It kept him focused on his goal, his mission to annihilate the Otsusuki race. After the 20th question, Sasuke's eye began to twitch. He had forgotten what it was like to be on a mission with anyone other than himself and the effort required to keep up a conversation was jarring. Then she just completely stopped talking which had Sasuke mentally retracing his steps, wondering what he had done wrong to make her withdraw suddenly. Did he sigh out loud? He couldn't remember. And then, she yawned and Sasuke wanted to kick himself. Of course, she was tired. He had purposefully stayed up late to leave the village at 2am and they had been walking for hours.

Now, as he leaned against the trunk of a tree, Sasuke reminded himself that he was going to have to be more thoughtful as long as his pink-haired teammate accompanied him on his journey. Whereas Sasuke's body was wound tightly and all he wanted to do was to keep moving, he was going to have to keep in mind that Sakura had other needs. He couldn't just do as he felt anymore. Sasuke berated himself for being even slightly annoyed about it. So what, if you have to make a couple of extra stops along the way, he told himself, just appreciate that someone you care about is even here for you to worry about.

But to be honest, Sasuke couldn't be happy that she was here. Sakura had won their argument and now Sasuke was marching her straight to the Hidden Sand Village, as if she was just as disposable as he was. No, he'd find a way where he didn't have to involve her in this. Maybe she would be distracted enough with her own mission that Sasuke could pursue the danger without directly involving her in the mess. It was the worry for her safety that was drowning his usual, indifferent composure.

After the faint two beat of Sakura's breathing confirmed she had finally drifted to sleep, Sasuke allowed his gaze to slide over to her sleeping form. Her hair was tangled between her head and the khaki pack she was propped against. Her knees were bent, and her left arm was thrown over her eyes. The fingers of her right hand were splayed out against the grass in such a way that had Sasuke glancing down at his dangling sleeve, the very material that she had held onto with those fingers just hours earlier.

He began to blink heavily, and then, he was suddenly seeing those very same fingers reaching out for him, bloodied and broken at excruciating angles. Her desperate screaming reached him in the vision and Sasuke was staring at her struggling body as a monster leaned over her broken body, a fist around her throat. First, it was Itachi that held her throat and Sasuke was a child again, begging him to spare her life. Then the figure morphed and it was Gaara, the sand demon, who stood over Sakura and covering her face with his sand. Sasuke was clawing at a wall of sand that separated him from her and he was whispering Naruto's name, pleading for him to save her. The monster shifted again, and the form it took next, had Sasuke kneeling and trembling at the pale face of Kaguya. Sasuke couldn't shut out the noise of Sakura wailing his name.

"Sasuke," that voice was calling out to him, and when he opened his eyes, Sakura was crouching in front of him, a shadow against the yellow morning light. "Wake up."

He stared at Sakura, who was clearly unharmed and currently smiling at him. "So much for waking me up. The sun's up."

A dream? It had been a nightmare and Sasuke shook his head to release himself from the trembling that still possessed him. He cursed under his breath, chastising himself for being so careless as to fall asleep. He must have been more tired than he originally thought. Sasuke felt a sudden guilt for dozing off. What if someone had attacked them? What if he had woken up and she hadn't been there? What would he have done, then?

Shrugging her pack onto her shoulder, Sakura stood and surveyed a path before her. "What do you think about heading southeast and making a stop for supplies in the Hidden Valley Village? We could reach it by sundown tomorrow if we're diligent."

Sasuke stood and frowned at her retreating form. She took a few steps before turning to check to see if he was following. "Are you alright, Sasuke?" she asked, concern edging her soft voice as her rose-colored brows furrowed. She tilted her head when he didn't respond.

Sasuke wanted to tell her right then and there that he had changed his mind. He wasn't alright because he was regretting the decision to let her come. He shouldn't have let her step a foot out of that village. Go home, he wanted to say rudely. Go home, where you'll be safe. The words wouldn't form so he stalked towards her, and then past her without even offering to take her pack this time. He let silence consume him as the visions of his nightmare haunted him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sakura was disappointed in how downhill the situation was going between them. She didn't even realize she had formed expectations of traveling with Sasuke until he was walking silently in front of her for an hour, not even attempting to speak to her. What had she expected? Honestly, Sakura had fantasized about this very scenario for two years and had imagined them growing closer during their time together. But here was Sasuke, typically moody and unwavering in his mindset of speechless companionship.

Had she done something wrong? Maybe she had talked too much yesterday. She gave Sasuke his silence for another hour before she couldn't take it anymore.

She smiled and skipped forward until she was level with him as he walked. "I think there's a river coming up. I can cook you some fish, if you're hungry."

"How are you familiar with this area?" he asked immediately, masked regard in his voice. Sakura couldn't miss how he was making a point to not look at her.

Not expecting that reply, Sakura responded timidly, "Well, actually, it's a long story." When Sasuke continued to walk without questioning her further, Sakura decided she'd just tell him. "But, um- we had a mission here. There's an old Akatsuki hideout nearby. Team Guy and Team 7 discovered it when we pursued them after The Kazekage's kidnapping."

Sasuke looked at her then, dark eyebrows up, clearly not expecting her familiarity of the landscape to have such a history. "A hideout? Where?"

"Well it's rubble now," she offered, updating him on the story. "It got destroyed during our fight with Sasori."

A small, unexpected snort came from the Uchiha and he closed his eyes as a smile touched his lips. "That explains how he died, then. He went up against the Kyubi."

"Actually," Sakura smiled, happy to reveal her secret to him. "That was sort of my fault-the destruction."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open again and he faced her fully this time. "You fought Sasori?" He asked it as if he didn't expect her to be able to make much headway in such a battle. She crossed her arms, not sure whether she should be offended.

"Don't act so surprised. I did kick your butt the other day."

"Where was Naruto?" he asked, disregarding her statement entirely. He didn't stop walking and was failing to feign disinterest in her story, pretending to be completely unimpressed.

"After they extracted the Shukaku, Deidara took Gaara's body from the cavern in an attempt to lure Naruto out on his own," she told him. "You know how Naruto is. He took off after him. If it weren't for Kakashi pursuing him, he would have met the same fate as the Kazekage."

Sasuke frowned at this information as he processed it. Sakura opened her mouth to continue when Sasuke asked, "They left you?"

She grinned at the question. She had to be careful, because for a second there, she mistook his question for concern for her. "I wasn't alone. I had Lady Chiyo with me. We faced Sasori together. If it weren't for her, I'd be dead."

He watched her from the corner of his vision as they walked. "What happened?"

Sakura winced at the memory of the blade that erupted from her middle. On reflex, Sakura reached up and brushed her fingers against the scar that marked the spot to the right of her left ribs. The poison had been the worst of it, that feeling of her burning veins as the toxic substance blackened her vision and tried to pull her under. If Lady Chiyo hadn't used the last antidote on her, she wouldn't be here now, telling the tale. She would be forever grateful to the honored puppeteer for fighting alongside her and giving her and Gaara back their futures.

"I took a hit," she replied after a thoughtful minute. "Lady Chiyo saved me."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sasuke took it out on the fish. He targeted them as they flipped above the water, and the kunai he sent through them pinned them fiercely against the tree he was using as a back drop. They probably couldn't eat more than a few fish a piece, but Sasuke killed nine, just because he felt like it.

Sakura's revelation to him earlier had only ignited an anger inside of Sasuke. To think of those bastard Akatsuki members hurting his teammates, had Sasuke sinking back into a pensive disposition. Sakura had almost died, along with the Kazekage. Why was this the first time he was hearing about this? Because you don't care, the old Sasuke's hateful voice resounded in his head. It had been true. It was why he hadn't been there to protect them-to protect her.

Sasuke tried to tell himself that if Kakashi had stayed with her instead of following Naruto, it wouldn't have happened and that it was their fault. But the longer Sasuke kept thinking about it, he turned the blame on himself. If Sasuke had been there, he could have followed Naruto instead, or stayed with Sakura. Whoever this Lady Chiyo was, he was grateful to her for saving the life of his comrade. The guilty part of himself reminded him that he, himself had also tried to kill Sakura at one point in time.

"Sasuke," Sakura called out to him, kindly. "I think that's enough fish, don't you? Want to help me with the fire?"

Sasuke jerked the fish from the kunai and cleared his simmering aura before walking back over to where Sakura sat next to a pile of branches she had constructed into a campfire. Inhaling, he formed the sign and ignited it with a fireball. He handed her the nine fish, sat and leaned back against a log to watch as she skinned them carefully and speared each one, placing it over the fire to cook.

The sun was setting, a bright orange ball on the horizon that was reflecting off the river in a bright orange stripe. Fish continued to dive out of the water for the small fireflies that hovered just above the surface. The sight soothed him slightly, as nature always did.

He sighed, trying to mentally come up with an excuse to not say what he was about to. After a second, Sakura looked over at him and he knew she was seeing right through his guarded behavior to the smoldering emotions beneath his skin. He leaned forward, finding contentment in the sound of the fire and the smell of a cooking meal. He humbled himself in that moment and said, "I'm sorry."

Sakura looked at him through the fire, surprise apparent on her face despite the large flames. Her green eyes were a shocking contrast against the flickering red. "For what?" she asked softly, offering him one of those head-tilted smiles of hers.

"For not being there," he mumbled, looking down at the dirt beneath his crossed legs. "You guys needed me, and I wasn't there."

"Sasuke," she grinned again, and stood. She removed a fully cooked fish from the fire and handed it to him before taking a seat next to him. "We didn't need you. We wanted you there, and we need to know that you are our friend, but we handled it."

Sasuke frowned at her with a sore expression. That kind of stung a little. Sakura nudged his side, laughing. "Stop blaming yourself for things that you had no control over."

"You almost died," he reminded her bluntly. "Maybe if I had-"

"That's the risk of being a shinobi. I wouldn't be one if I wasn't willing to lay down my life for my village." She said it with a voice that reminded the Uchiha of himself, an unwavering conviction that couldn't be argued with. "Maybe, if I had gone into work," Sakura added suddenly, looking down at her hands guiltily, "that child from my clinic wouldn't have committed suicide."

At that, Sasuke focused hard on the flares of the fire, the roasted fish still held untouched in his right hand.

"But that kind of thinking will consume us, Sasuke. We can't think like that," Sakura glanced up at him with a sober gentleness that made his heart beat. "Remember what we talked about in the alley, not too long ago?"

Sasuke nodded, recalling their conversation. He had walked her home after she treated the new citizens that Sasuke had released from the Coliseum. He had been directly responsible for injuries as the result of battling them in order to win their freedom. During his conversation with her, he had told Sakura not to think the best of him. She had responded with "Let's forget the past." She had asked him if they could work on being better shinobi together.

"We just have to learn from our mistakes, try to be the best person and shinobi we can be in the present, and stop blaming ourselves for the past," She leaned forward and grabbed a fish of her own, before leaning back and taking a bite out of it. After she swallowed, she grinned at him again, "And have a little more faith in me, would you? I'm not the girl who needs to be protected anymore. I can take care of myself."

Sasuke had indeed, underestimated her if she had been able to take down Sasori. He knew that Sakura was strong and Sasuke was growing in his admiration for her more and more every day. He did have faith in her abilities; he had witnessed them himself. But that didn't mean he wouldn't worry. It didn't mean that he was going to just let her charge into a battle by herself. And that certainly didn't mean he wasn't going to spend every damn day for the rest of his life making sure no one ever hurt her like that again.