2/28 edit: Oops sorry uploaded the wrong document LOL

A/N: Thanks for all your encouraging reviews last chapter :) I rewrote the first ~10 chaps of this story (because I am apparently mad) and ch 1 and 5 are brand new chapters I wrote from scratch. None of the major plot points have changed though so it won't affect current readers. Check it out if you're interested!


Chapter Sixteen: Firedamp

The oil lamps casted flickering shadows across the bedroom. Sakura frowned absently at what appeared to be a deep crack in her bedpost. It looked as though someone had taken an axe to it, but that couldn't be right. She shrugged and resumed toweling her hair. Must be a trick of the light.

The shower quieted and anticipation bubbled. Would Sasuke spend the night? She hoped he would. He guarded his emotions more closely than anyone she knew. When he allowed himself to be vulnerable, it was in fleeting instants, tiny breaks in the impenetrable walls he'd constructed around his heart. But tonight, he'd completely let go.

Sakura settled under the covers and happily wiggled her toes. His intensity had startled her at first. She knew he was holding back, but not how much. He also had a bit of a ruthless streak in bed that at once rankled her nerves and tempted her into complicity. But she liked having his undivided attention, watching his unfiltered reactions. Her only regret was inflating his ego to astronomical proportions, if his behavior before he'd strutted into the washroom was anything to go by.

He stepped out of the steamy bathroom, holding out the saigenzai jar. "Can I dump this?"

Her cheeks tinged at his lack of clothing. "Yeah."

He turned, and the state of his back made her want to sink into the depths of the Earth. Apparently, she'd let go of all her restraint as well.

"Your back," she said, drawing chakra to her palm. "Let me get that."

He glanced in the foggy mirror, and his muscles rippled under the wanton red scratches. To her horror, he looked pleased. "Leave it."

"It'd take a second," she said, flabbergasted.

He dodged her glowing hand like it was a poisonous snake and walked to the door.

"Are you leaving?" The question came out needier than she would've liked.

He looked at her strangely. "Do you want me to?"

"No," she said. "Of course not."

He folded the shirt and extinguished all the lamps in the room. The mattress dipped under his heavy weight as he slid under the covers with her. He left room between them, and the temptation to inch closer and nestle against his bare skin arose. She closed her eyes, and a memory welled up, one she hadn't known she was carrying at the bottom of her heart.

Forget it. It meant nothing, Sakura.

A faint twinge of hurt arose. No, that was over, she consoled herself. Things were different between the two of them. He'd held her so tightly and called her his. That terrible distance that plagued them for years was gone, and it would never come back. "Can I tell you another secret?" she whispered.

"Hn."

"I don't actually give my address out," she said. "The only patients I see in my apartment are you and Naruto." It was really only him. Naruto took hits like a tank and rarely needed her.

The covers shifted. "You told me to go to your apartment," he said.

"I know. It was an excuse," she said. "That first time, I was going to ask you to stay for dinner, to catch up, but I chickened out."

"Why?"

"I was nervous. I thought you'd say no," she mumbled. "I meant it to be a one time thing, but you showed up at my door the next time, and the time after that…" Eventually, they'd settled into an easy routine with her kitchen table for exams.

"You never said anything," he said, with a hint of accusation. "It's been four years."

"That long?" Sakura laughed sheepishly. "You know, I used to clean the whole apartment before you came over. Do you remember that big crate of supplies in the living room? I'd haul it all back from the hospital in case you needed a special cast or something—"

"Why would you do all that?"

Sakura faltered. "You looked a bit uncomfortable in the hospital, and… I liked having you to myself, even if it was for a little while."

His breath stilled. The trees rustled in the breeze outside, and Sakura drew the covers higher, grateful for the cover of darkness. How strange that the man lying inches away once felt so unreachable that she'd needed an excuse to see him. Did he feel deceived or off-put? Maybe he would've preferred the clinic.

"You always made nabe," he said, finally.

Her shoulders relaxed. "Yeah." He'd noticed?

The timbre of his voice changed. "Is that the only thing you can cook?"

Sakura sputtered. "E-excuse me?"

"Boiling everything—"

"Well what can you make then?" She was affronted that he'd guessed the truth so easily.

"Everything."

"No you can't." She rolled onto his wide chest and scowled. Sasuke looked infuriatingly smug, lips half quirked, and charcoal eyes regarding her from under generous lashes. "Prove it. Make me dinner when we get back," she taunted.

"Hn." His hand swept down the curve of her spine to her bottom. He cupped it brazenly. "What do I get in return?" The words vibrated through his chest, flush against hers.

She stifled a shudder. "I'll waive your bills."

"What bills?" His fingers wandered into dangerous territory.

She pulled his hand off. "For my services. Did you think you were getting free treatment all these years?"

"Sounds expensive," he drawled.

"Very. I'd make it a good dinner if I were you, or you'll be indebted to me forever," she chided.

"Forever."

She nodded gravely.

A lazy smile split his lips. "Alright."

Sakura rolled on her back to hide her stinging cheeks. Would she ever get used to that? Under the covers, his calloused hand found hers. Her breaths deepened to the silent lullaby that his thumb rubbed into the back of her hand.

"I turned twenty-two this year," he said.

"I know," she mumbled. "July twenty-third."

"Itachi was twenty-one. He died a month before his birthday. Now I'm older."

Sakura opened her eyes. Sasuke picked absently at a corner of the pillowcase. "You're still his little brother, even if he's not here with us." She reached over to thread her fingers through his hair, tracing her fingernails along his scalp. "He'd have wanted you to celebrate."

He leaned into her touch. "That was a bad secret," he said.

"No, it wasn't."

His face softened. "You remind me of him."

"Of your brother?" She pretended to be aghast, but secretly, she was delighted."Is it the voice or the hair?"

His gaze lowered. "It's these, actually." He tweaked her nipples, knowing full well he'd sucked them raw.

"Stop," she squealed. She batted at his wandering hands, playfully at first, then in earnest when his eyes darkened with renewed hunger. While he had boundless energy with no apparent need for sleep, she was a mere mortal. "Good night," she said firmly.

He made a disgruntled noise and folded her into his chest. Under the covers and his heavy arm, it felt like being locked in a furnace, but Sakura didn't mind. He was so affectionate. She wished she could keep him like this forever.


Sakura woke to the silk damask canopy overhead and a lingering scent of pine and rain. The bed was empty.

She pulled the curtains open with a twinge of disappointment. Light flooded the room. It was early morning. His clothes were gone, and all the dresses in her closet were neatly folded into an open suitcase at the foot of the bed.

He'd helped her pack and left?

She glanced around the room for a note. The paper lantern caught her eye from the table, almost exactly where she'd left it. Almost, because she could've sworn she'd left it on its side, not upright.

She approached it, unease building. The rice paper looked dirty and stained, and a strange silhouette casted shadows from within. She peeked inside and saw… dirt. The lantern was filled with dirt. The stone buried at the center made her stomach drop.

A slab of grey limestone, glinting with yellow-green flecks.

Ore.

Sakura threw on clothes and ran to Sasuke's room. She burst through the door at the same time that Sai climbed through the window.

"Did he—"

"I thought he was with you," Sai said. "I was watching Higa."

Sakura's heart sank. "I found this in my room."

Sai turned the stone over. "Is this from Higa?"

"I don't think so. I found it in a lantern he bought me last night. He wouldn't have had time." Higa was occupied the whole night. "I think it's from Scorpion." Someone must've broken into her room while they were interrogating Higa. Between creating the saigenzai and returning to her bedroom, he'd had an hour at most. He had to have spies in the complex to have made such a narrow window.

"You didn't notice this last night?" Sai asked incredulously.

"I—uh the room was dark. I went to bed early." She'd spare him the gory details.

"Do you think it's a warning?"

Sakura shook her head. "Scorpion knows I took the puppet body. He's worried I know his secret." He'd maintained anonymity this long with his corpse reanimation technique. He wouldn't let her go with that knowledge. "He also knows that I can't let him kill Higa. I think it's a challenge."

"For a rematch?" Sai asked. "You think he's prepared another puppet already?"

"Or him in the flesh," Sakura said. She hoped for the latter. "Can you tell if Sasuke-kun is close by?"

Sai unfurled his scroll on the floor. A dozen ink mice from the corners of the room and onto the blank page. His chakra flared and black kana appeared. He read the kana. "He's not on the estate grounds."

As she'd feared. "I'm going to go after him." Sakura said. Sasuke must've found the lantern while packing. Scorpion meant to snag her but he lured the wrong person.

"Go where?"

"To the mine."

"To Aizu?" Sai's eyes widened. "How do you know he's there?"

Sakura nodded at the rock. "That's crystal gem ore. He knows I was there three days ago." Riku had made sure of it. "Do you think it's a bad idea?"

"Sasuke can handle himself."

"I just have a bad feeling about all this." Sakura bit her lip. "Why would Sasuke-kun disappear without letting either of us know?" After all that happened last night…

Sai didn't look convinced. "Shikamaru and his team are getting in tonight. We should regroup and decide together."

She looked at Sai. Her last conversation with the two of them about Sasuke had ended with her in tears while Shikamaru bluntly informed her that he would proceed to kill him, with or without her consent. She bit her tongue. "Sasuke-kun tested his seal last night," she said.

Sai's brows furrowed. "Did you fix it?"

"I can't."

"You gave it to him."

His tone was neutral but she flinched. "I only attached the arm. Tsunade-sama created the seal out of this old technique from her clan archives for subjugating Uchiha prisoners of war." How Tsunade managed to interpret a two hundred year old scroll was the real mystery. "She said the seal only works on members of the Uchiha clan, and only members of the Senju clan can remove it."

"What happens if it breaks?" Sai asked.

Dread curled in her stomach. "The Senju chakra within the seal leaks out, mixes with Uchiha chakra and initiates massive cell death."

A death seal. When she performed the surgery, she never thought it would come to this.

Sai read her mind. "You did what you had to for the safety of the village. Don't hold yourself responsible for the consequences of his decisions."

"I knew he wasn't dangerous—"

"The villagers didn't. That seal gave them peace of mind. It's what let him walk free in public. If you'd refused, the council would've come up with something else." The steely glint in Sai's eyes softened. "I don't want to repeat the past. The last time I let you chase him…"

Sakura's cheeks tinged, recalling the disappointment in his eyes when she'd thrown those sleep bombs on Lee and Kiba. "Do you think he'd hurt me?"

"Not intentionally, but he has a reputation in ANBU."

"Really?" Sasuke's work life was a mystery to her. "For what?"

"The genin call him Okami the Cold-Hearted."

She cackled. "That's so lame."

"That's the way he is. He was on my team for three years. He doesn't act like this."

Sakura thought of how tenderly he'd kissed her last night, and how petulant he'd looked when she swatted him off. Sasuke wasn't cold at all. She steeled her resolve. "Back then in the forest, I wasn't thinking. I should've listened to you and Kakashi-sensei. But this is different. He's not a fugitive anymore— he's our teammate."

"I know," he said, sounding conflicted.

"If something happens to him—" the unthinkable "—and I did nothing, I'd never forgive myself. I can't lose him again."

Sai's jaw clenched. He'd changed over the years too. Probably the only shinobi that had softened over the years in ANBU, a testament to his childhood in Root.

"If anything goes wrong, I'll send Katsuyu," she promised.

He sighed, and she knew she won. Relief blossomed in Sakura's chest. His regard for Sasuke must've been higher than he let on. "I can fly you two miles out, but you'll have to run after that."

"Does that mean you're not coming with me?" she joked half-heartedly.

"We have to sign out to the new team tonight. One of us has to stay and finish the mission," he said, miffed.

"Thanks." Sakura pulled him into a hug, smiling when he stiffened like a board. "You're a good friend."

He indulged her a second longer than she'd expected. "Be careful, Hag."


The Aizu mountain pass was unrecognizable.

The road was freshly paved with cement, the moss and lichen cleared away. Steel safety nets draped the precipitous rock walls as far down as Sakura could see. She followed the hand-drawn signs to the mine, hair rising on the back of her neck with each step. It had been less than four days since she'd last crossed this path. The Iwa-nin must be laboring day and night.

So where was everyone?

The road was silent and barren. No activity, no equipment. Ahead, the mouth of the pass was cleared of boulders. Sakura ran faster, ears straining for sounds of battle.

She'd spent the journey through the tundra planning. Scorpion intended to kill her; how was the question. The more she thought about it, the less likely it was that a criminal who'd spent years safeguarding his identity and hiding behind corpses would brazenly decide to face her in battle. More likely, he'd pick something indirect, something that wouldn't risk injury to his real body.

There were three possibilities: one, a field trap, like grenades or explosive tags; two, an ambush from a band of hired mercenaries; or three— what she feared the most— an army of undead puppets, risen with the power of crystal gem.

An army… or something else.

Sasuke could handle the first two. But the last one worried her. Who knew what Scorpion could do with that sort of power. Sakura burst through the wooden gateway marking the entrance to the Aizu mine.

Her blood chilled.

Bodies littered the construction site; the closest was twenty feet away, face-down on pallid stone dark with blood, the furthest so small, she could barely make them out in the glare of the morning sun. Pickaxes and hammers lay scattered at their side. The pit itself was formed of five concentric rings, two hundred feet wide, each dug deeper into the earth. At the center stood the looming head-frame, shaped like the letter 'A', a tether for the mineshaft elevator.

A man stood amidst the carnage.

She recognized his posture, even from halfway across the pit. "Sasuke-kun!" Although his sword was drawn, he looked uninjured. Relief blossomed in her chest as she hopped down into the pit. "What happened?" she asked. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. It was an ambush."

Sakura glanced around, wary for a stray twitch from the dead men scattered across the excavation pit. "Where is he? Scorpion."

"Gone." Sasuke closed onto her. His expression caught her off-guard: stony and blank. Not a flicker of his affection from last night remained.

"Why didn't you say anything before you left? I was so worried," she said.

"I didn't want to bother you." As he approached, Sakura's sense of unease grew. She could see a faint mark on his throat from last night, but his shirt was in pristine condition, and Kusanagi glinted in the high noon sun, without a speck of blood.

"Thanks," she said, forcing a casual tone. "I'll start sealing the corpses." She circled around him, and he did not stop her.

She knelt by a man. He had been in his twenties, and his taupe uniform was stained red with blood. She glanced inside— flail chest, a bludgeoning wound. No headband, and he held a clipboard in his hand. Not a shinobi. One of Kaede's contractors.

The missing crew.

Sasuke watched her every move from above, unmoving. Cold sweat beaded her skin. She stood on the third ring. Her target was dead center of the fifth ring, four hundred feet away.

The mineshaft.

There were a trail of bodies ending at the foot of the head-frame; she'd pretend to follow along, hopping through like lily pads on a pond. She could make it. "Hey, Sasuke-kun, do you remember our last day of Academy?"

"That was years ago."

"I still think about it though." She lowered herself into the fourth ring— another civilian body. Her stomach clenched. "I can't believe I got to be on the same team as you."

She formed the hand signs for the repossession justu and raised her voice to carry. "That afternoon when you found me at recess, I was so happy. Did you know I had the biggest crush on you?" She clicked the scroll shut. She was standing at the edge of the fourth ring. The head-frame loomed overhead. So close. "Do you remember what you told me?" she asked.

"Yes." His voice was unnervingly close. He hadn't sheathed his sword.

Slowly, Sakura squatted behind the final body and lowered her weapons pouch to the ground. She slipped her hand inside. "Do you still think of me that way?"

"Of course," he snapped. "Let's go. We're wasting time here—"

Her smoke bomb detonated in his face. Sakura leapt through the hazy purple smog and bolted straight for the mineshaft. Her nightmarish suspicion at the Devil's Door had come true. A living puppet. She had to get into the mine and stop Scorpion.

Two hundred feet away…

—the head-frame shadowed the ground. She could see the mine elevator—

Fifty feet…

—footsteps thundered at her back, but she didn't dare turn around—

Twenty feet—

The air behind her shifted. Sakura darted aside. An iron pickaxe careened past her ear, ramming the foot of the head-frame with a terrible clang.

She turned. No one in sight. Another shift, and bloodstained mining tools scattered around the site levitated as though held up by invisible strings.

Jiton.

Sakura redoubled her efforts, bolting towards the elevator. So close, nearly at the door

A hideous, bestial groan rang through the mountain pass. Anchor bolts the size of her arm unscrewed themselves from the earth. The ground quaked, the iron frame around her shook, and with a great jerk, the entire head-frame surged from the ground. Sakura dove out from under a shower of dirt and rubble. She blinked the grit from her eyes and with horror, took in the head-frame frozen in the sky like a terrible steel bird, blocking out the sun.

With the force of a meteor, it crashed to the ground. The impact knocked her to her feet and thick, rolling clouds of dust muddied the air. A figure lunged at her through the haze.

Sakura rolled out. His punch pulverized the ground where she laid.

Sasuke straightened. Yellow silt coated his hair and skin, but he didn't seem to notice. His foot slid back into a fighting stance. "What gave me away?" he asked.


A/N: at least one of y'all predicted this in the reviews hehe/ who else is obsessed w drivers license

2/22 edit: I illustrated the first scene! Check it out on my tumblr (never-stray) w/ 2 hyphens or Twitter (underscore)never stray. Sorry FFNet eats URL formatting lel