SUMMARY: Sakura Haruno, like many others, is left speechless when Sasuke Uchiha returns to the Hidden Leaf Village following the defeat of his elder brother. She is pleased to have her beloved ex-comrade back. However, when Sasuke crosses a line that no one would have thought possible, Sakura's bonds with her teammates will be tested like never before. Can she find it in herself to make the hard choices necessary to save one of her closest friends? (Sarcastic Sakura Haruno, Canon Divergent, Crackfic)
This does not start out from Sakura's POV, but hang in there! It shifts to hers pretty soon.
Also, I may or may not have planned out a whole fic just so I can include a specific dialogue line at the end! XD
Her Boundaries - Chapter I
A new wind blew in Konoha the day Sasuke, the Last of the Uchiha, appeared outside the village's front gate holding the weather-beaten corpse of his elder brother. He was joined by three companions, all in precarious battle stances. The first, a girl with half-brushed red hair and spectacles, stood a bit closer to him than the others. Two dozen masked Anbu operatives arrived in the blink of an eye, most with weapons drawn, and all visibly tense.
"Sasuke Uchiha!" barked one of the masked Konoha shinobi, "don't move a muscle, or you will be treated as hostile! You're under arrest."
One of Sasuke's allies, a white-haired man with serrated teeth, flinched at the sight of several Anbu poised to strike. One hand crept toward his waist, eager to unsheath the broadsword that almost dwarfed him in size.
The swordsman grimaced. "Told ya we shouldn't have-"
"Suigetsu, don't," Sasuke stated flatly, motionless apart from piercing black eyes that commanded his teammate's cooperation.
"Agh," Suigetsu deflated. "Well, I hope you know what you're doing."
"I trust Sasuke," their last member cut in. He was a large man with wild orange hair. He raised his hands in surrender, as did the others—Suigetsu showing the greatest reluctance.
"Stop making a scene, Suigetsu!" the redheaded woman snapped. "Now isn't the time."
"Now isn't the time to be cozying up to Sasuke either," the sharklike man retorted, "but that doesn't seem to be stopping y-"
"Guys," their leader said, more urgency in his voice this time. "Quiet."
The Leaf Anbu moved forward inch by inch, a clearly rehearsed circular formation tightening around the outsiders. Sasuke showed little emotion until one of the operatives attempted to take Itachi's body, but he grew docile after a moment of hesitation. His grip slackened, and he watched as his brother's eyeless husk was dragged out of sight. Seeing this, his friends followed his example. Each of the squad members allowed themselves to be restrained and led through the front gate. They were treated with varying degrees of force; Sasuke and Suigetsu received the roughest treatment, but the former made no move to resist. Meanwhile, Suigetsu cursed and struggled most of the way down the main path into the village, refusing to settle down until his sword was returned to him.
Scores of citizens gaped and chattered amongst themselves as Sasuke, perhaps the most infamous Konoha missing-nin in recent memory, came plodding past. He didn't bother looking in either direction, and instead hung his head.
Some time later, a thought occurred to him and he looked up, his eyes hungry to take in the sight up ahead. A large, looming mansion stood on the horizon like a gleaming beacon. Sasuke didn't bother focusing on any of the countless other buildings before him. He stared at the rounded wall of The Hokage's Office, repressed memories flooding his mind…
And his gaze hardened.
Sakura placed a hand against the rigid bars of the prison cell that held her former teammate. She looked on with watery eyes full of concern, observing his prone form. He laid flat, tightly restricted within what resembled a sleeping bag imbued with a chakra-disrupting seal. Three outsiders who arrived with Sasuke were restrained in a similar fashion, each in separate pink-haired kunoichi squeezed the cold metal bars in silent distress. Just then, a familiar voice called her name.
"Sakura..."
She turned to see Naruto Uzumaki, who leaned casually against the opposite wall.
"Naruto," Sakura whispered, "do you think Sasuke will be accepted back into the village?" She narrowed her eyes, glancing back at the ex-rogue. "Do you think he should? What if Lady Tsunade-"
"Sakura," Naruto assured her, flashing his usual reassuring smile, "it'll be okay. We said we'd get Sasuke back, and look! He's back. We should be happy about this."
She swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded. "Yeah, but…"
But is this the same Sasuke?
Sakura didn't voice the thought, but something about the look on Naruto's face told her it didn't need to be said. His eyes didn't reflect the same joy as the toothy smile he wore like a mask.
"He'll wake up soon, but for now let's just give him space." Naruto put a hand on her shoulder and led her out of the building.
Their footsteps echoed and faded, leaving the prisoners to rot in a vacuum of silence. In the darkness of his jail cell, Sasuke shifted and opened his eyes with a solemn frown.
Two weeks after his return to The Leaf, and subsequent imprisonment, Sasuke strolled through the Leaf Village alongside Naruto, who carried a box that was filled to the brim.
"Here we are, Sasuke!" Naruto said.
Sasuke nodded and unlocked the door to his residence, which he was surprised to find spotless. Naruto walked in behind him.
Seeing his confusion, the excitable blond explained, "Sakura and I kept it clean for you over the years. Y'know, for when you came home! I figured you would, once you...uh…"
The atmosphere grew cold as Naruto tiptoed around both Sasuke and the unspoken land mine of a topic they had avoided bringing up so far.
Itachi.
The leader of Team Taka shuddered at the mere thought of his late brother. Naruto's blunder brought to mind dark thoughts Sasuke was trying to keep in check. Pain, echoes of loss, and most importantly of all...what he'd come here to do.
"Just put them there," Sasuke instructed, pointing to a table. Naruto hefted the large box onto the designated spot and hummed a tune while he unpacked. "I can do that," Sasuke said with a hand raised.
"Nah." Naruto waved him off and flashed a cheerful grin. "It's no big deal!"
Sighing, Sasuke watched his former teammate unpack the things he'd bought him earlier in the day without bothering to ask first. "It's just a few things to help you settle in quicker," he'd said before revealing the godforsaken laundry list of purchases.
Sasuke had rolled his eyes at Naruto's overly friendly attitude. Annoying as always. Still, part of him was indifferent. All of this didn't matter. None of it would matter after tonight.
Naruto hung around for a frustrating amount of time, helping him set up a few new appliances and put up decorations. Sasuke bit his tongue and remained civil, swearing to himself he would redecorate as soon as possible. When dinnertime approached, Naruto finally said goodnight and went home. The Uchiha knew him well enough by now to realize the only reason he left was because he wanted to make a beeline for Ichiraku before it was dark out.
Alone at last, Sasuke undid all of Naruto's disastrous decorations and then spent the evening back in his old apartment in solitude. He did his best to ignore the half dozen Anbu positioned outside and used the time to think. Meeting up with Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo tonight was Sasuke's top priority. He hadn't seen them since the trial, when he was granted provisional release from imprisonment, provided he obeyed the terms of his probation. According to Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura, Karin had yet to receive her sentence, Suigetsu would be returned to The Mist Village in the next few days—along with the stolen Executioner's Blade—and Jugo had not reacted at all when he was sentenced to execution tomorrow at sunrise.
In all fairness, the Leaf Elders' decisions made a lot of sense. Karin was likely to be given the same verdict as Jugo, Sasuke reasoned as he laid in bed staring at the ceiling. She was a former accomplice of Orochimaru, and warden of one of his prison sites. Jugo, although less culpable, was a wildcard who might lose control of himself at any moment without Sasuke there to quell his rage. If Sasuke had to guess, he would bet anything that one of Jugo's violent tantrums had led to the sudden death sentence.
Under the cover of darkness, Sasuke slipped out of his apartment through the window, stealthily knocking out several of the Anbu agents. The last two fell victim to his new Mangekyo's Genjutsu. The technique was unpolished, but did the trick. While it left him considerably more exhausted than when he used his previous iteration of the Sharingan, confidence swelled in him at this new rush of power.
With these eyes, I could do almost anything…
He reflected with bitterness on Itachi's unfortunate fate. According to Tobi, overuse of the Mangekyo in its current state would prove fatal. He stowed the warning in the back of his mind and set himself to the task of springing his team from prison.
Karin and Suigetsu's guards weren't even paying attention; putting them to sleep was no trouble. Jugo was more heavily protected, but Sasuke had help this time around, so they were able to free him without issue as well. Taka donned hooded cloaks to avoid detection. The entire time, Sasuke held his urge to kill each Leaf ninja they encountered at bay. In fact, every minute he spent in this village, living a lie, made his blood boil.
In no time, he was approaching Naruto's front door. Sasuke knocked and put on his most convincing soft smile. Painful though it was, for days he'd kept up the ruse of a reformed, but still aloof, version of himself who wanted nothing more than to come home after achieving his lifelong goal. Of course, the act melted away Naruto's doubt in no time, which meant the blond teen didn't suspect a thing as he answered the door. He stretched his arms and let out an obnoxious yawn.
"Oh, Sasuke!" There was a touch of excitement in his voice despite its gravely tone. "What's-"
Naruto's eyes fluttered and his body went limp. He fell onto Sasuke, whose newly unlocked Sharingan was on full display. Staring at the motionless body of his past comrade one last time, Sasuke sighed and slung Naruto over his shoulder.
He pulled Naruto's door shut, then turned to head for the rendezvous point. Sasuke took a single step and froze as his onyx eyes met a pair of shimmering green ones.
"Sasuke?" Sakura choked out. The stunned kunoichi shedded a single tear.
