Chapter 3 – Bad feeling

Everything was dark, breathing was hard. Something was crushing his chest and sobs could be heard in the distance. Where was he? Who was crying?

He tried to move.

"Sasuke-kun" a female voice said.

Sakura? Why was she crying?

He felt like a stampede ran him over. Then he remembered, Zabuza and Haku, Naruto and him fighting them. Haku threw his needles at him and he passed out, he thought he was going to die. Well apparently, not.

So, was Sakura crying for him? Why did that girl care so much? So much as to cry for someone like him. Nobody had done that in a while, nobody had cared, not really no. Sure, there were fangirls that cared what he did but never if anything bad happened to him. He had thought Sakura was one of those girls, along with that Ino girl, but she was truly weeping for him right now. She cared.

She cared.

Did she care now?

Present Sasuke felt like watching a movie, a movie of his own past experience in the Land of Waves. He saw himself telling Sakura she was heavy, she getting off of him and him getting up to sit up while she hugged him.

It was the first time he felt someone truly cared for him and reminded him what it was like to have someone worry after the massacre of his family. He thought he would ever have that again. He briefly remembered how warm he felt in that moment, even if he was never going to show it, he was thankful.

And now, it seemed that that feeling was ages ago and lost. That the girl who cared, didn´t anymore. His chest constricted a little with that thought. One of the first people to care, did not anymore, and it was all his fault he knew. He always took her for granted, always put a wall between them, he did awful things to her, so why would she care? She had all the right not to. Yet, he thought she would still do.

He opened his eyes, the light of the sun filtering through the curtains of the room in the inn. It was not an uncomfortable place, but he would definitely have to start looking for somewhere else to live soon.

He sat up, rubbed the sleep off his eyes and took a moment to remember the dream he was having. The feeling in his chest was still there. Why did he dream that? Was it so surprising to him how Sakura behaved now? He never thought it would have that much impact on him. He came back to reconnect with his precious people and Sakura was very much one of those, but for him to feel so disappointed was new. In a way he felt like he did with Itachi when he was younger, that his older brother didn´t care about him, he had to wait years to hear him say to Sasuke that he loved him, and with Sakura saying that to him many times before he could not help feeling like he really screwed it up. It had been his intention to cut all his bonds, he now realized how stupid he´d been and how much he regretted having pushed her aside, but if the pinkette wanted that there was nothing he could do, he had to respect her wishes which where the consequences to his actions.

He decided to get up and freshen up to stop thinking, he had agreed to get breakfast with Naruto (not at Ichiraku´s) and then go to the Hokage tower, so it was a good time to get ready.

When he met with the blonde, he wanted to tell him about what he thought of his dream but decided not to. The blonde was going to tease him and assure him again that he was overthinking, and he didn't want him to think more of what it really was. Sakura changed and that was it. People change and there was nothing to do about it. Or maybe she didn't, and he was overthinking as Naruto said.

They finished breakfast and headed to the Hokage tower, it was earlier than usual for Naruto to arrive there but Sasuke's anxiety to do something rushed him to eat and so they entered the office not expecting to see their former sensei already there and with company. Sakura was seated in a chair at the side of the desk eating fruit and chatting animatedly with the silver haired nin. When they registered the presence of the other two, both looked and greeted them.

"Sakura-chan what are you doing here so early? And why are you two having breakfast without us-tebbayo!?" Naruto whined.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I just got out of my shift and when I have this schedule, I usually come here to have breakfast with Kakashi-sensei" the girl said putting a strawberry in her mouth.

"But Kakashi-sensei is always late!" replied the annoyed Uzumaki.

"When I know she has this shift I come here earlier… and then leave and come later" the masked man said with a hand behind his head.

"So, you are early just because of her? Isn't that too much preference?" Naruto said, Kakashi just shrugged.

"It's not preference, I enjoy her company and we just happen to have that free time" he said.

"How long have you been doing this without me and why didn't you say anything now that Sasuke is here!? We could have had breakfast the four of us-dattebayo!" Naruto was getting angrier.

"Wow calm down Naruto, what is this? A trial? We have never told you because you are now married and you should have breakfast with your wife, and besides you are not an early bird either. This doesn't happen often really. And we didn't mention it now that Sasuke's here because he must be tired to have travelled, we wanted him to have some rest. Although we didn't count on him being an early bird even if he's tired" Kakashi replied in his always nonchalant tone.

Sasuke was scowling, he felt how Naruto was feeling, weren't they a team? But what bothered him more was the ever-present camaraderie between the two people in front. It was dumb, but it did annoy him. Being back apparently woke up undesired feelings in him and again he was thinking maybe he shouldn't have returned.

"Relax Naruto, we have all the time to get together as a team now that Sasuke-kun is back. And besides I also came here with this" Sakura showed them the scroll "I already deciphered it"

Naruto's jaw dropped and Sasuke couldn't help his eyes widening.

"But when did you…?"

"There is not much work at the hospital right now, and I am a woman I can multitask. I remember the text and whenever I had the opportunity thought about it while doing mindless paperwork mostly. It was nothing really" Sakura said smiling. Sasuke couldn't keep his eyes off her for a reason.

"Ma ma, you are being modest Sakura-chan" Kakashi said.

"You are amazing Sakura-chan-dattebayo!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Well, Shikamaru already figured it out too, so, not so amazing" Sakura said poking her tongue out of her mouth. "I already checked with him and we came to the same conclusion, why don't you call him Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi did as she said and the lazy nin was there moments later.

"Well, what does it say?" asked the Hokage

"Apparently, the word games revolve around a fruit and helpers. We thought that maybe they are talking about the chakra fruit which Kaguya wanted" Sakura started

"The helpers it talks about we presume could be the Zetsus which she created" continued Shikamaru.

"Both things are out of the picture now" replied Kakashi

"Yeah, so we think that maybe there is nothing to fear, nothing that comes next, but still we have to be careful" said Shikamaru

"Why would we be on guard if it is all over?" Naruto asked

"We think there might be more of these scrolls somewhere, this one seemed to have numeration, and it seemed to be a message for someone. We both agreed on this when we were discussing it" Sakura said.

"Then, if that is the case, we need to find the other ones" Sasuke replied in a grave tone

"Where did you find this one Sasuke?" asked Shikamaru

"In a temple near the Land of Fire, just before entering it" Sasuke answered

"And you were all around the world and never saw anything like it… so… it makes me think" Shikamaru had one hand on his chin

"That they might not be in this dimension" Sasuke finished

"Well, from what Naruto told us about Kaguya he mentioned she could travel among dimensions, so what if she hid other scrolls on those?"

They were silent for some minutes.

"The rinnegan is supposed to have time-space abilities, I could…" Sasuke started

"NO! Man, what is up with you wanting to run from here?" Naruto exclaimed

"Dobe, this is a matter of safety, we cannot rest on our laurels"

"Still how many scrolls do you think there are left?" Kakashi asked

"There were 6 dimensions I travelled with Obito to find Sasuke-kun, but, if we think that the part of the plan on this one scroll we have here talks about what already happened, what if there are other 6 scrolls containing information of what already passed too?" Sakura said

"But what if those other 6 scrolls contain information about next steps?" Sasuke said looking at Sakura directly in the eyes, she was looking at him with a furrowed brow.

"That could also be true, but Sasuke-kun, have you ever tried travelling to other dimensions with the rinnegan?" she asked in a serious tone

"No, I haven't, I don't even know where to begin in the first place" he replied

"Then that settles it, right now there is nothing we can do. I´ll send ANBU squads to search for more scrolls and Sasuke you should probably try and learn time-space travel with the rinnegan just in case, but no immediate action needs to be done. You don't have to leave Sasuke, you'd been far away too long, you also deserve to have some rest and be with the people close to you" said Kakashi

"Hn" was Sasuke´s only reply. He wasn´t so convinced and the thought was implanted in his mind already, but he would do as Kakashi said because after all he needed to learn how to use the rinnegan for that purpose, so he would let it slide for now.

"I will find out information about the rinnegan to help you Sasuke, maybe that will keep your mind at ease" Shikamaru offered, Sasuke tipped his head in appreciation and the Hokage's advisor was out of the room.

"Well, I'm off too. I have an 8-hour date with my bed" Sakura said stretching her arms "And no one is to interrupt it" while saying this she gave Naruto a squinting look.

"Me? I don´t know what you are talking about" Naruto said faking offense

"You should sleep more, maybe take the day off?" Kakashi suggested.

"Ok. See you guys later" she said while walking to the door ignoring Kakashi who sighed and with Sasuke´s eyes on her until she was completely out.

"So, did you see the list of places to live Sasuke?" Kakashi asked the raven haired.

"I haven't but I must start" Sasuke dryly replied. This made Naruto turn to look at him questioningly. Sasuke was a dry person, but at the moment he felt some hidden annoyance in his reply to the Rokudaime.

"I suggest you take someone with you, the village has changed a lot, you probably will need the help"

"Hn"

"Man, I would love to help you, but I can't today" Naruto said

"Talking about that, we should start with our pending activities Naruto" Kakashi said.

"I will just walk Sasuke to the exit" Naruto said

"I don't need…" Sasuke started but Naruto took his arm and dragged him out.

"Ok bye" Kakashi said in an uninterested tone and taking Icha Icha Paradise from his drawer.

Sasuke pulled his arm from Naruto´s grasp when they were out of the Hokage tower.

"Ok what is up with you-tebbayou?" Naruto asked crossing his arms.

"That´s what I want you to explain" Sasuke said in an exasperated tone.

"I came here with you because I could sense your annoyance with Kakashi-sensei. Apart from that, you have been here for one day and you already want to leave? What the hell? You really hate it here so much?" Naruto demanded, Sasuke avoided his glare, this guy could read him like an open book.

"Well?" Naruto asked after some minutes of silence.

"When did Kakashi and Sakura start to get along so well?" Sasuke asked having no other choice than to tell the jinchuriki, otherwise he would not let it go.

"Huh? Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei? Uhm, they have always gotten along, why?" Naruto replied surprised and confused

"No, they didn't. When we were genin they didn't get along… like that" the Uchiha quickly replied, almost tumbling on words.

"Really? Well now that you say it, I guess that they became closer since you and I left the village, after all we left them. Also, he was her captain in the war and they spent some time together there too. She has helped him with a lot of things since he became Hokage and he has supported her project of the mental health clinics. Ah I see where you are going with this! The breakfast! I am seriously offended too." Naruto closed his eyes looking like a fox.

"Is not just that, they seemed like…" Sasuke couldn´t continue. He heard himself and felt embarrassed.

"Like what?" Naruto pressed

"Closer, just that" Sasuke finally said and started walking to get away.

"Closer like teacher and student?" Naruto asked following him

"No"

"Like friends?"

"No"

Naruto thought about it for a moment and then something clicked in his head, and he ran to stand in front of the ex-rouge nin halting his walk, Sasuke groaned.

"You don't mean like a couple, do you? Dude! Kakashi-sensei is like a million years old!" Naruto said with a hint of disgust.

"He is 15 years older, and Sakura is an adult, she can decide if she wants to date an older guy" Sasuke replied looking anywhere else but to the blonde.

"But he was our sensei! I mean no! That would be very weird-dattebayou" Naruto flinched, Sasuke stood quiet.

"Wait, why are you asking this?" Naruto got closer to Sasuke who tried to move backwards to hide his face.

"Are you jealous? Oh my GOD! You are jealous of Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto started laughing and Sasuke started to walk again.

"Wait, teme! Don't get angry" Naruto reached him and again put himself in front. Sasuke was blushing and turned his face to the side.

"See? This stupidity is why I want to leave again"

"Hey, you were the one thinking Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei are a thing, not me-dattebayo!" Naruto replied offended.

"Exactly. Stupidity" Sasuke made a chakra filled jump and got far away from Naruto.

He would start investigating about the rinnegan time-space ninjutsu and get back on the road as soon as possible. This would also help him stop thinking useless things. He went to the library and spent the rest of the day there.

The next day Sasuke woke up and checked the list of available places to live that Shikamaru gave him. He didn't recognize any of the places and was clueless as to where they were located.

He decided to take a walk and reacquaint himself with the place. He noticed how the businesses had increased their number. Long gone was the simple village of his childhood. If he had stayed here, he would have seen it grow.

He got to the market and while looking around his peripheral vision caught a blur of pink. He looked in that way and he saw Sakura buying things. He took a moment to analyze her, this girl who was a stranger to him and yet so familiar. Her face had gotten sharper, and she seemed more mature, but her eyes were still as expressive as always. She was moving gracefully among the stands and smiled to the vendors, he couldn't help a little smile of his own forming in his face. She started walking towards his direction without noticing him.

"Sakura" he called her.

Sakura looked up and when she saw him her face lightened up, making his heart skip a beat. She reached him and smiled.

"Sasuke-kun, how are you?" she asked

"I'm fine" he answered

"Were you shopping for groceries?"

"No, I am taking a walk. The village is different" he said, his eyes not leaving her face.

"It´s true, you must be disoriented" she said with a nostalgic tone

"Yeah, I heard about Pain´s attack. Everything's changed" Sasuke could notice how her eyes glossed a little with memories of that fatidic day.

"Yes, it has. Where are you living by the way? The apartment you used to live in was destroyed" she asked worriedly.

"I'm temporarily living in an inn" he replied.

"I see. I am sorry" she looked to the floor.

"Why?"

"All your things were there. Precious memories"

"I left, so it doesn't matter"

"Even so, that was your home. I just feel bad that it doesn't exist anymore and that you might feel out of place. The good thing is that the Uchiha compound is still intact" when she said this, she immediately put a hand on her mouth and looked at him alarmed. "I am sorry Sasuke-kun I didn't mean to be imprudent"

"Don´t worry about it" he said

"I am such a klutz" she said with an ashamed smile while putting her hand behind her head.

"You are not" Sasuke looked more intently to her. The Sakura he knew would have drowned herself in apologies and make a fuss, this Sakura recovered quickly from the shame and made the situation lighthearted. "What were you shopping for?" he said looking at her bag.

"Ingredients for a cake! Is for the kids at the clinic" she said cheerfully and lifting up the bag for him to see.

"The clinic" Sasuke said thoughtfully.

"Yes! It is a clinic for kid´s mental health, it opened not so long ago. Thanks to the efforts of Kakashi-sensei" Sakura said happily, Sasuke felt a pang of annoyance at the mention of his former sensei.

"I heard it was your doing" he said with a curt tone. Sakura looked at him surprised and then deviated her sight.

"Well yeah, Ino and I had the idea and developed it. Even so, it would not have been possible without Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-shishou and Shizune-sempai, it was a team's work" Sakura said trying to diminish the importance of her part on it.

"She never takes credit on her achievements" Sasuke thought and remembered the time when they were about to begin the chunnin exams where she underestimated herself and how he wanted her to notice her own abilities. Maybe that was something that would never change in her. She was always humble and modest and that made him feel good, made him feel he still knew something about her. Still, he wanted her to be proud of herself.

As Sasuke thought all these things minutes passed where nothing was said between them without him noticing. Sakura looked at him with an understanding look, like she just realized something.

"Well, Sasuke-kun I won't keep you from your walk anymore, it was good seeing you" she picked up the bag that she had put on the floor and made a move to start walking.

"You don´t" he replied faster than he would have wished. She stopped and put the bag on the floor again.

There was an uncomfortable silence, each of them looking somewhere else, Sakura grabbing her left arm with her right hand in an anxious manner. The reality was that Sasuke didn't want the interaction to end there, but he didn't know how to continue it either. This Sakura was hard to figure out. The Sakura he remembered would have clinged to his arm and tried to be with him as long as she could filling up the silences with her incessant chatter. Again, the unwelcomed feeling that they didn't share a bond anymore went through his mind. However, Sakura saved him from the situation.

"You know, if you like I can show you around the village, I can be your guide, I don't have to work until later today" she said with a smile and a hint of what he thought was excitement.

"No" he said before thinking. Sakura´s eyes widened, and he could see hurt travel through them really fast, nonetheless she recovered quickly like before and she changed her expression to a serious one, even a cool one.

"You have to bake the cake. It is important" he hastily said to clarify and erase the expression on her face that he thought didn't suit her, effectively she changed it to one of surprise. "I want to hear more about the clinic though" Sakura's eyes shined, and she closed them in a smile.

"Then what if you help me? And I can tell you all about it in the meantime" she said enthusiastically, he nodded. That was better.

They started walking towards her apartment. He offered to carry her bag, at what she reminded him of her superhuman strength and even though he insisted she didn't let him.

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun, I can tie my shoes myself" she playfully said, he smirked.

When they arrived and entered the place she immediately went to the kitchen.

"Make yourself at home. Would you like some tea?" she asked, and he nodded. He went deeper into the small space. It was cozy. There was a little table with two chairs on each side near the kitchen counter, a couple of sofas with a central table and a bookshelf with texts and pictures. The small living room was followed by a glass door which led to a small balcony. He noticed that there was only one bedroom and a hall beside the kitchen ended in a bathroom. The kitchen was also small, but it had everything that was needed.

"Do you still like black tea?" she asked, and he nodded again while taking a seat at the table. "It´s a small place but is cozy and more than enough, after all I am not here very much" she said while carrying two cups, placing them on the table and taking a seat in front of him.

Sasuke took his cup and sipped, when he lowered it, he saw her smiling and looking at him.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked in a rather harsh tone. He had to learn how to be more relaxed, he had lived apart from society, alone, for so much time that he had roughen up more than he already was. However, Sakura did not react to the roughness of his tone, another new thing, he was sure he would have made her feel sad.

"It´s just that I am so happy to be drinking tea with you, it seems surreal" she said not losing her smile "We were all waiting for you so much"

"All?" he thought with a bit of disappointment. Of course all, but her in particular? Why did he wanted it to be like that? And why did he feel that she was cautious in her actions and words around him? Did she not trust him anymore? It was a thought that was starting to creep into his mind and made him feel uneasy but that he preferred to put aside, better not dwell on it.

"Tell me about the clinic"

"Ah yes! Well, Ino and I noticed the high amount of orphans we attended to. The numbers were increasing after the war and they were in a really bad mental shape having not only lost their parents but also their homes" she sipped on her tea "I know first hand what that can do to people" she said sadly.

"I didn't want that children had to go through that kind of things alone. It is my duty to be there for them as there should had been someone for…" she doubted a little in continuing what she was saying "For you, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei"

Sasuke felt a jab inside. Was she doing this for them? For him?

"With time it overwhelmed me to think about all of what you guys had suffered, so I decided to be there for these kids, help them heal and be sure they knew they were not alone. And that was it, I made the plan, showed it to Kakashi-sensei who accepted to ask for the funds, at this moment there are plans to open a clinic in Suna, Gaara was very interested in the project also"

Sasuke was listening intently to everything she said, it was nice to hear the passion she felt for her job. A feeling of pride made itself present in his chest, this girl who was his teammate now was a renowned medic nin. He couldn't say he was surprised, he always was aware of Sakura's potential, but he marveled at how she exceeded his expectations.

Sakura finished her tea and got up, she went to the kitchen and started carrying the ingredients and utensils for the making of the cake and brought them to the table. She pointed out to Sasuke in what he could help her with. He observed everything she did with interest, he had never seen how a cake was made (and didn´t really cared), but like in the market her gestures and her way of moving is what kept his attention and for some reason he wasn't able to stop looking. It was in some way as if he was getting to know her again, as if he had never seen her small and thin hands, her arms toned by training, her pink hair that reminded him of sunsets, straight and silky, long and nice, the seal on her forehead which was the symbol of her strength, her progress and her might among ninjas, her shinning eyes of an intense green, which were focused on what she was doing with a tinge of sweetness put on her task by thinking for whom the cake was, her lips, which were moving as she talked. His gaze stopped there unconsciously, they were pink and full. He got out of his stupor when he realized that he was no longer hearing her even though her lips were still moving and swiftly removed his gaze to the strawberries she asked him to slice wishing she didn´t notice his stare.

It took all afternoon to finish the cake. He would ask questions and she answered, her being the one doing the talking, but eventually she would ask something with precaution of him not wanting to answer or her prying. He was grateful for that noting that she took into consideration that there were things he didn't want to talk about. As the minutes passed, he felt as if the uncomfortable feeling of her not trusting him anymore was disappearing and that the distance he felt between them since their reunion was shortening. He felt like maybe the Sakura he knew was not entirely gone and that made him feel at ease.

They finished their task and gathered all the stuff they used to either wash it or put it back in its place. Sasuke noticed the time and decided it was best if he left, she walked him to the door where he put his sandals on and walked through the door, although he suddenly remembered something and turned to her.

"Is your offer still up?" he asked making her look at him confused "Of being my guide. Kakashi gave me a list of available places to live but I don't know where they are at"

She smiled. How was that she always smiled with such ease and sincerity?

"It would be a pleasure Sasuke-kun. Although I am afraid it would have to wait because I have to work"

"There is no rush, it can be on your next day off. Well unless you need to rest"

She denied with her head quite eagerly. She seemed like a little girl, and he smiled at it.

"Ok then. See you."

"See you Sasuke-kun"

He turned and started walking away to the building exit, he listened how her door closed. Naruto was right even if he hated to admit it.

A/N: I am so sorry for making you wait this long! I am embarrassed and I hope I don't take too long to update again and that the length of the chapter makes up for it.

So, there you have it. Unconsciously Sasuke is really affected by Sakura's behavior even if he doesn´t want to admit it to himself. I know I make a really wise Naruto in this fic but I need someone to make Sasuke realize what he doesn´t want to accept.

I am sorry if the explanation of the scroll didn't sound convincing, to be honest the scroll was just a mean for the development of the story as I wanted it and at the same time keep it as close to the events of the manga as possible. Also, I don't know when Sasuke started travelling between dimensions or learnt how to, if my memory doesn't fail me, by Gaiden he already knew how but in Shinden he didn't, so he might have learned during the blank period. I apologize if this is not correct but it is also another mean for the story so, please bear with me.

I love the comments you leave it encourages me to keep writing so if you have a minute I would love to read you.

Till next time!