A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me! School and work have been overloading me. I recently suffered quite severe dehydration due to my busy schedule and I have since learned my lesson (and have bought a pricey water bottle to motivate myself to drink up). I would have posted sooner, but I'm glad to be posting at all. I feel very encouraged by your reviews and messages. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and that you enjoy this chapter, as well!

Chapter 10

"Absolutely not."

"But Tsunade-sama—"

"I don't understand why he needs to go with you. You can easily handle yourself byyourself."

In the early hours of the following day after Sasuke stormed into her office at the hospital, Sakura deflated in front of her master who had her hands folded on her desk. The sun's rays had barely begun their way over the horizon, coloring the office in a dim light. She shifted her eyes pleadingly to her gray-haired sensei who stood nearby, face expressing a hint of amusement despite being hidden behind his navy mask. Come on, Kakashi-sensei, she pleaded silently, forming a famous pout that she knew he had trouble resisting. She caught a slight crinkle of his eyes, signaling that her sensei still couldn't fight giving in to his favorite kunoichi.

"I see no problem with this, Godaime," Kakashi offered, nodding at the Uchiha who stood just behind the pinkette and sliding his hands casually into his pockets. "He has not proven to be of any immediate threat since the end of the war."

"I've also already called off all of my shifts for the next week," Sakura piped up.

The older woman ignored her apprentice and turned her attention to her successor. "Kakashi," she growled, "do you understand the kind of reputation Konoha might receive if other hidden villages catch wind of how we willingly let one of the most notorious rogues out so soon?" She tapped her desk unsettlingly loud, a sound that Sakura recognized as her digit being propelled dangerously fast with chakra. "I will not allow it, not without at least half of my ANBU trailing behind to make the other villages feel at ease. And I won't even allow that!"

Sakura wrung her hands anxiously behind her back and shot another pleading look at Kakashi, allowing her pout to grow ever so slightly more. I'm using the big guns, Kakashi-sensei, she thought.

The gray-haired man heaved a heavy sigh. "What if," he said slowly, "I go with them? Maybe even bring Naruto along for a team reunion."

Sakura could practically hear Sasuke's mouth open to protest at the sound of his blond friend's name, and she darted her fingers out from behind her to tug briefly on his sleeve as an order to hold his tongue. She felt him settle a bit and resign back to his silent state.

"And how does that make the situation any better?" Tsunade scoffed, her voice bordering on incredulous.

"Should neighboring hidden villages sniff out his presence, they will also sniff out the presence of the rest of us: an incoming hokage, a blond war hero, and," he nodded in the direction of Sakura, "your prized apprentice. We have reputations. We also easily equal three full ANBU squads put together. It should put our allies at ease."

Tsunade was about to open her mouth again without hesitation to object when Sakura suddenly lurched forward into a deep bow, her lengthening hair spilling over her shoulders to form a curtain around her face. Sasuke glanced at the girl's reverent form and tried to hide his surprise. "Shishou," she pleaded, "this is a non-emergent situation, a bereavement travel request that is not mission-related. Sasuke-kun will not be armed and we will have minimal weaponry to showcase the time of peace. Please," she urged, her throat tightening, "please let us go to Hana Village for my patient's funeral."

Sakura's voice broke ever so slightly at the last word, and the room grew silent at the sound of her desperation. The pinkette held her deep bow, and Sasuke could see her shoulders tremble gently.

Tsunade studied the pinkette for a moment before she sighed heavily and turned to Kakashi. "You will be held responsible for incidents," she warned. "And you all are to report to Mozukai Village, as it sits between here and Hana. Konoha shinobi should be stationed there and they will relay your status directly to me." She then turned her attention to her apprentice. "Raise your head, Sakura."

The pinkette followed the order and lifted herself, green eyes brimming with tears she could not contain.

"You all will be allotted seven days and are to leave within the next two hours. It's a three-day trip for civilians and I expect you to be there in two. If I don't hear from our shinobi stationed in Mozukai once on your way to Hana and again on your way back from Hana, I will revoke Sasuke's ability to travel indefinitely. Understood?"

"Yes," Sakura said, her voice low and determined, absent of the emotion her eyes betrayed.
"Dismissed."

Sakura bowed once more, though not as deeply as earlier, and she stepped out of the room with Sasuke close in tow. When she shut the door behind them, the medic nearly crumpled to the floor. Instead, she leaned against the wall and let out a slow, controlled breath and wiped at her wet eyes with one hand while the other hugged her midsection protectively. What she was protecting herself from, she wasn't sure. She just realized she'd been crying so often in front of a certain Uchiha and the feeling of vulnerability before him was not one she wanted to express.

She felt his eyes trained steadily upon her as she regained her composure before saying, "We need to pack."

"Yes," she sighed. "We still have to tell Naruto."

"No need. I already told him to be at the gates this morning."

Sakura looked up puzzledly at the Uchiha. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I figured it would be approved, so I told him to wait by the gates until we get there."

She blinked back at him in confusion. "You knew? How did you know?"

"Kakashi has always been wrapped around your finger."

The pinkette felt a bit of a smug pride in her chest. Yeah, she admitted. He always has been a sucker for my pout. At the same time, she felt warmed by Sasuke's memory of how Kakashi conceded to her even when they were children. "But why did you almost say no to letting him join?"

He grimaced once more. "Just being hopeful."

She chuckled a bit, her earlier sadness receding back into her chest. "And what would have happened if it wasn't approved?"

"Then he'd spend a whole day getting a nice tan."

Sakura snorted at that, feeling the last of her tears and aching dissipate. "You're so mean to each other, I swear." She wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder, but refrained, not wanting to overstep a boundary of their new…friendship. Chuckling together is fine, but touching? Wouldn't want to confuse those gestures anymore.

The two of them walked out into the crisp spring air that made Sakura's skin feel instantly rejuvenated. She felt the breeze tickle every exposed inch of her and she welcomed the sensation happily. Since the war ended, she had not been able to leave the village because she found herself in the throes of work after Sasuke was detained before her eyes. She never said it aloud, but she was determined to remain within the village and work in the hospital or supervise local missions with genin until he was released. A thought then entered Sakura's mind and she turned to the Uchiha to ask, "Don't you have to meet with Officer Hiroto once a week? We'll be gone for seven days."

"I spoke with him yesterday to let him know of the situation."
Always prepared, Sakura thought amusedly, thinking about how he was usually the teammate who had more foresight than the rest of them when they left on missions as kids. "What did he say about you leaving?"

Sasuke hesitated for a fraction of a second, a moment that most would not have detected. However, after spending time with and relearning Sasuke's mannerisms, she noticed how the first word he wanted to say was instantly dragged back and replaced with, "He said to enjoy myself."

The pinkette raised an eyebrow at that. "He knows we're going to a funeral, right?"

Sasuke shrugged, and Sakura took it as a signal to keep her thoughts to herself. Officer Hiroto was a softie, she knew. While she wasn't personally acquainted with the Chief of Military Police, her first meeting with him made it clear that he would probably be another fatherly man who would also acquiesce at the sight of her pout. His little gestures of kindness, especially to Sasuke, gave way to the gentleness that peeked its head above the gruff.

She also thought back to the morning she'd met Officer Hiroto, how she'd woken up to the sight of Sasuke's mismatched eyes. They read an expression she'd never seen on his face before, but one she vaguely remembered from other shinobi men she'd spoken to in the past. The Uchiha's hand was planted firmly on her wrist to keep her from stretching to touch him, as though knowing her fingers were instinctively searching for warmth. She was too drowsy to fully register what was occurring and curled her arm back into her chest. But the expression he had…she'd seen it before. She didn't expect to ever see it on onyx and lavender eyes. Perhaps it had something to do with him seeing her cry over Nana; she did barge into his apartment rather abruptly and likely startled him by wanting to stay the night at all.

That didn't explain their teasing game the second night he had dinner with her, though. The way he brushed against her back, his warmth stirring something in her core. She pulled her flirtatious tricks with the intention to be a challenge: raking her fingers through her hair and letting her pink locks fall strategically while she gave him a flashy grin. But the way he'd held her hand, the way his fingers held hers firmly, the way he looked at her…

And then, the tension from the previous night. During their sparring match, he had managed to pin her successfully to the ground, hands above her head. She was focused on breaking free and then was trapped by his faraway expression when she'd looked up at him. Sweat trailing down his neck, eyes unblinking with curiosity, and lips slightly parted as though he wanted to whisper something to her. It was a sight that held her in place and sent a pleasurable chill down her spine: the expression she'd seen on some men's faces before was worn differently by Sasuke in a way that she liked.

But even more, in her apartment, it happened again: he'd been so close to her face, his calloused fingers gentle while he held her chin as though he was holding something he didn't want to break. That same expression was there, the one she'd seen in the past with shinobi men, the one she never fathomed seeing on his own face. Their voices barely above whispers, she was able to hear an undercurrent of frustration and yet…determination. She felt a pull in her core that urged her to move, but she hesitated and…nothing happened.

Perhaps she was wrong and hadn't seen those expressions after all. Despite feeling the strange heat that radiated in her chest she was almost sure he felt, too, perhaps she was wrong. This Sasuke is the same. He'd grown up but is likely still removed from the idea of an elementary love story. This Sasuke likely wanted nothing more to do with her other than friendship at maximum.

Not that she was disappointed.

No, she had no right to be disappointed.

He's a friend, she recited. We're too fragile right now…and we probably always will be.

"I gotta go again," Naruto announced his need for a bathroom break for the fourth time.

"We are one kilometer away from Mozukai," Sakura huffed as the four of them sprung through the treetops, their shadows dancing with the setting sun. "Can't you hold it until then?"

"But Sakura-chan, it's a number two!"

The four shinobi slowed to a halt, their breaths heaving as Naruto clumsily attempted to unzip his pants with his single hand. "Naruto," Kakashi sighed, "Please handle that on the bottom floor and not in the canopy."

"Right, right." The blond chuckled and jumped from the tree branch as he called, "Gimme five!"

Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow with her gloved hand and stole a glance at Sasuke. The Uchiha seemed to be breathing harder than her, no doubt feeling the effects of his reduced stamina after being detained for months. They'd been traveling all day, sprinting through treetops with only an hour break for lunch. Despite Naruto's persistent bladder calls, the solaces of rest did not seem to be enough. A layer of sweat covered his own face and made his skin shine in the orange light that slipped through the leaves, but he made no move to wipe any of it away. His hair stuck to his neck and face in thickened black strands and his black shirt clung to his muscled form like an added layer of skin. He leaned his back against the trunk of his tree, closed his eyes, and exhaled a measured breath to slow his pants.

"I'm going to move on ahead to Mozukai and alert them of our arrival," Kakashi said, forcing Sakura to break her attention away from the Uchiha.

"Wouldn't they need to lay eyes on Sasuke-kun for the rendezvous to be accepted?" Sakura asked.

"I know the shinobi stationed there, so we'll be covered. Besides," Kakashi nodded in the raven-haired shinobi's direction, "Naruto isn't the only one who needs a break. I'll have lodging preparations made by the time you all catch up."

Sasuke opened his eyes and shot Kakashi an annoyed glare before the silver-haired man smiled with his eyes. The latter turned and ran through the treetops in the direction of Mozukai, his footfalls receding into the distance as he disappeared into the shrouds of leaves.

Sakura swallowed hard before turning her attention to Sasuke. Surprisingly, his gaze was already fixed on her. The pinkette felt her face grow warm at the sight of his onyx and lavender eyes and grew embarrassed for having fawned over his tired form moments ago. Sakura looked away and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she broke the silence with, "It's understandable that you're tired."

"Ah."

She stole a glance at him once more and found that he'd closed his eyes. His brow was furrowed in frustration. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and Sakura watched as his jaw clenched and unclenched. Despite no longer running through the trees, Sasuke's chest still rose and fell with effort like his lungs still labored for oxygen. In the cool air of dusk, he still sweat.

Despite her logic giving her reasons not to, she couldn't stop herself: Sakura jumped from her branch meet him at his. Sasuke let his hand drop from his face, opened his eyes, and watched as she pulled a small face towel from her backpack. Just a friend, Sakura reminded herself, helping a friend clean up a bit. She reached out and dabbed gently at his face, carefully avoiding his eyes. Her fingers moved quickly yet delicately over the skin of his forehead, his jawline, his chin. All the while, she felt his careful gaze roaming over her face. I've done this before, she thought. No big deal, no big deal, no big—

Sasuke lifted his hand and held her wrist when she began to trail her efforts down his neck. Where he touched her, it felt like fire. "I'm fine," he said quietly, though his voice also firm.

I've overstepped, she thought. "Sorry," she said, letting her hand and towel fall to her side and out of his grasp. "It's…a habit."

Sasuke stared back at her, not understanding.

"When Naruto gets tired," she lied, "I…I wipe his face, too. Just…you know, a friend helping a friend."

It was as much of a lie to convince herself as it was to convince him.

"Hm."

Sakura took a step back, suddenly wanting to disappear into the leaves just as their sensei had. She put her towel back into her bag and unconsciously hugged herself protectively. A few moments of quiet passed between them. It felt stifling and unbearable.

"Sasuke-kun—"

"Sakura—"

They glanced at each other briefly and nodded for Sasuke to continue, a small smile gracing her face politely.

"How are you feeling about seeing Nao?"

Sakura felt her smile dip slightly at the stomach-churning thought of seeing the woman, as she likely had no idea Sakura was even on her way to her daughter's funeral. The decision to leave the village was so abrupt that she didn't give much thought about how she would explain herself to Nao or even the villagers of Hana.

"I'm…," Sakura's voice drifted as she gazed ahead toward Mozukai. "I'm scared," she admitted. The medic wrung her fingers together anxiously, feeling more aware that the sun's light was quickly being replaced with darkness and that the moment she'd see Nao was approaching just as quickly. She gave a humorless chuckle and felt the words flow out of her mouth. "I still feel like she has every right to hate me, to bar me from seeing Nana's ceremony or even deny me entry into Hana if she had the power."

"It wasn't—"

"I know, none of it was really my fault, but it doesn't erase the guilt so easily."

She felt her voice grow thick at the memory of sweet Nana. Memories of the young child who held her hand during rough procedures, who drew her pictures of flowers surrounding her home village, who waited eagerly for new words and metaphors for the color blue, and who captured Sakura's heart in such an indescribable way. She felt tears well up in her eyes at the last memory she had of young Nana when she was still bright: the girl had hugged Sakura's waist tightly two days before she was to welcome Sasuke back to the village at her last appointment. Nana had looked up at Sakura with her then-lively eyes as her chipper voice chimed, "Good luck with your boy-thing!"

The medic figured Sasuke wasn't very fascinated with her job, nor did she suppose he would be interested in the children with whom she worked. Despite this, she felt an ache in her heart. She sighed heavily as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I wish you could have met her," she whispered.

Sakura felt his eyes scan her face and she looked up to see him looking at her with a blank expression. She felt exposed and self-conscious, yet she also felt comfortable with the vulnerability. The last few days she'd spent with Sasuke made her vulnerability bearable. It was odd. With Naruto, it had taken years to grow accustomed to expressing her defenselessness, especially in the wake of his immaturity. With Sasuke back in the village, with both of them having grown so much, it was as though their wavelengths had synchronized faster. She supposed it made sense. Naruto had taken a long time to mature, whereas she and Sasuke had a bit more of a natural sense of maturity since they were young, despite her childish advances toward him.

Sasuke pushed himself from the tree trunk and stepped toward her carefully. Sakura watched him as more tears rolled down her cheeks, holding her breath to keep a sob from escaping but also to keep from scaring him away. She recognized how difficult it must be to show any sort of affection, particularly with the many years he'd spent rejecting it. She knew that he was likely stretching his efforts for her.

Wipe a tear away, she thought, tell me it's okay, give me a friendly hug or a pat on the head. I'll take anything, I'll take—

Sasuke placed his hand on the back of her neck. Sasuke took another step towards her and allowed her forehead to rest against his chest. She breathed in his smell, one that brought back different memories of their missions as children. Familiar, yet different. Sakura acquiesced to the touch and let herself relax as more tears trickled down her skin. Like the night she cried to him the day Nana died, the feeling was familiar, yet different. She was not in control of her sorrow then, couldn't help but envelop herself in his warmth as she searched for some semblance of comfort in the midst of her chaos. Now, she was at a crossroads. She clung to his chest then. Now, she could reject him. Friends, she thought, the reminder bitterly staining her desire to wrap her arms around his waist and be flush against him.

But…this didn't feel like friendship.

Was this Sasuke really the same? Was he really still removed from the possibility of something beyond friendship? Were they really too fragile?

Sakura raised her hands and tentatively placed them on his waist. She felt him tense slightly, but he didn't pull away. Instead, she felt the softness of his cheek rest hesitantly on the crown of her head in silent agreement that this was, in fact…okay. Sakura slowly trailed her fingers around to his back, anticipating his rejection yet hopeful for acceptance, to complete their embrace and simply let herself fall and—

"That was a big one!"

Sasuke's hand flashed to her shoulder and he gave her a sharp shove backward, forcing her to break her hold on his waist. Surprise crossed Sakura's mind first before a tinge of hurt ached in her heart. The two of them turned away from each other abruptly as their blond teammate hopped through the Konoha fir trees to rest on the branch they shared. The tree limb groaned at the added weight that now stood between Sasuke and Sakura in the form of their oblivious blond best friend.

Sasuke turned away from his two teammates and tried to find something in the darkened forest to focus his attention. Sakura began to wipe the residual moisture from the tears that still clung to her face, embarrassment marring her cheeks in the form of a blush.

Naruto, half-aware of the tension between his friends, shifted his gaze between the two of them and instantly noticed Sakura's frantic wiping at her face. "Sakura-chan," he asked, his voice alarmed, "are you crying?" He then turned to Sasuke and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "What did you do this time?"

"I'm fine, Naruto," Sakura snapped, dropping her hands and clenching her fists. She turned to face the direction of Mozukai Village. "Geez, just…let's just go."

Naruto cocked his head in confusion. "But—"

"Shut up and move," Sakura hissed, propelling herself from the branch and avoiding both of their looks as she darted off into the darkness toward the village.

Sakura led the way through the darkness and the two others followed behind her, though at a distance that was outside of her earshot.

"What happened between you two this time?" Naruto pressed.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied, his voice firm.

After Sasuke had stormed into the medic's office the previous day, he decided to do the same with Officer Hiroto and report early to let him know of his whereabouts. Sasuke wasn't sure his request would be approved, but he felt compelled to join the pinkette on the journey to Hana Village. He didn't even wait for the front desk officer to buzz for Hiroto before he marched into the hall and sharply knocked on Hiroto's office door.

The older man answered and stepped aside to let the Uchiha walk in. "How can I help you, Uchiha?" he asked without a hint of surprise at his entrance. The two of them sat in their usual seats as the officer lit up one of his cigarettes to huff deeply.

"I'm going on a trip. I can fill you in on my recent activities now and I will come back in one week from today."

Hiroto raised his hands to slow him down. "Hold on, Uchiha," he said. "Did you receive clearance from Godaime?"

"No."

"From the successor?"

"No."

The man frowned and shook off the ash from the end of his cigarette into a small dish. "I hope you know that this is necessary before you even think about leaving the village. You were only just released from Konoha custody and the program you're in now is for reintegration into local life, not outside of that." He leaned back in his chair and studied Sasuke carefully. "Where is this determination coming from, Uchiha?"

"I'm going to Hana Village."

"Alone?"

"With Sakura Haruno."

The sound of her name made Hiroto perk up and smile, though it was one that Sasuke recognized. It seemed like a smile that was knowing, teasing, and made the raven-haired shinobi feel as though he was in a corner. He remained stoic and silently compelled the officer to withhold questions about the medic and simply ask about details of the journey.

"Godaime's beloved apprentice, huh?"

Great.

"She and I will be going to a funeral."

"What do you think of the medic, Uchiha?"

"That's hardly relevant."

Hiroto chuckled and took another puff of his cigarette. "I think it's quite relevant when you take a greater interest in women than in training. Particularly one that's especially popular internationally, wouldn't you say?"

Sasuke held his tongue and forced himself to keep his expression blank.

"I'm just teasing, Uchiha," Hiroto chuckled. "Sakura is a kind soul. I can imagine that she's going to a funeral of a former patient. I guess I'm just curious how you fit into the mix of all of that. Sakura is someone who can handle herself easily in combat, so she doesn't need your protection. You also haven't been outside very long, so I don't imagine you had a relationship with this patient."

"She doesn't and I didn't."

"Then what is it that's compelling you to travel with her?"

Sasuke held his tongue yet again because, if he was being honest, he didn't know what was compelling him. He just knew that he wanted to go with Sakura, be there as she said her goodbyes. But his purpose? A watchful eye didn't make sense, as he and everyone knew Sakura was more than capable of traveling alone. And Hiroto was right: Sasuke had no relationship with Nana or Nao.

"Because it's her," Sasuke admitted slowly, feeling his gaze drift to his hand that rested on his knee. "But we're just friends."

Hiroto eyed Sasuke carefully and let a moment of quiet pass between them. He took another puff of his cigarette but took his time inhaling. "What I hear in your voice, Sasuke, is disappointment."

The raven-haired shinobi brought his attention back to the officer, surprised to hear him use his first name as opposed to his last. A memory flashed briefly of his father sitting at the same desk, his tone of voice gentler than what he would use with Itachi, as he explained lessons of life he needed when he was young. It was odd, yet comforting, to be in the position again before Hiroto. Years had passed, and the ache in his chest for his father and brother began to touch his heart. He suppressed it yet again, not wanting to feel the pain he'd been containing since he first stepped into the office days ago.

"I don't know what you mean," Sasuke said, his voice regretfully cold.

"When the world is in a state of peace, we tend to think of things that we wouldn't have in a state of unrest." He pushed his cigarette into the pile of ash he'd accumulated as he spoke. "I know a bit of your history with her, you know. You were assigned to the same team when you graduated to genin. You both had a rough time during the first chunin exams she took. Soon after a few events, you left the village. She was also the last person you saw the night you left and was thrown into a panic the moment she awoke on the park bench."

Sasuke grimaced at the memory and remember how he tried to kill his regret after he had knocked her unconscious. It seemed to have revived itself and gnawed at the Uchiha's conscience.

"You both are different now," Hiroto continued, "but I wonder where your relationship had left off?"

"Aren't you an officer, not a therapist?" Sasuke retorted, though his sharpness wavered.

Hiroto chuckled once more before offering him a shrug. "On my end, Sasuke, you're cleared to go without detailing your activities, but on a few conditions."

The Uchiha frowned and nodded for Hiroto to continue.

"Bring back some of their famous honeysuckle. I'd like to make some tea out of it."

"Done. Anything else?"

"Hug her when she cries."

Sasuke stared at the man and was unable to hide his confusion.

"You're going to a funeral, aren't you? I expect this one must have been devastating for her, so I expect you to hug her when she cries."

Sasuke stood up from his chair and began to exit the room. All he wanted to know was that he'd been cleared to leave, not have a command for something so trivial. Besides…it's not as if he didn't already intend to do something for her when she cried. As he walked through the door, he could only hear Hiroto chuckling behind him.

Now jumping through the trees, he shot a glare at Naruto that warned him not to ask any further questions when the blond opened his mouth yet again to probe what he had stumbled upon.

Sakura hopped down from the treetops and into a clearing followed closely behind by Naruto and Sasuke, the latter of the two boys panting heavier than the rest though not as hard as he had been earlier in the forest. The medic glanced back behind her with some concern but forced herself to turn away when she saw his head began to move up, likely in a move to look in her direction. She focused on the gates of Mozukai but was careful to slow her pace to accommodate Sasuke. Kakashi leaned against the village's small wooden gates as he chatted with the Konoha shinobi Tsunade had mentioned. Both men's silhouettes were visible by the light of a single lamp post and each had their hands in their pockets while they conversed over the topic of popular hot springs in the Land of Fire.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura called out, waving her hand. As she approached the two, she was able to get a better look at the shinobi who stood by her sensei. He was young, perhaps only a few years older than Sakura and her teammates, yet he stood as tall as Kakashi. His skin was smooth, tanned, and marred by a single scar down his left cheek. His eyes widened at her, and she recognized the look other shinobi men had given her. The expression looks better on Sasuke-kun. Her face grew hot and she cleared her throat uncomfortably before she flashed a polite grin. Out. Of. The. Gutter.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, gesturing to the man at his side. "This is Ken, the shinobi from the Leaf. Ken, this is Sakura Haruno, my student and Godaime's apprentice."

"I'm aware," Ken reflected Sakura's polite grin before offering a small bow. "Thank you for your contribution to the war efforts."

"And coming up is Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha," Kakashi continued. "You know their part in the war, of course."

Ken's smile fell when he laid eyes on the Uchiha, but he still provided a polite nod. "Of course. Thank you for your contributions to the war effort." It seemed intentional that he addressed the two simultaneously, Sakura noticed, in an effort to avoid the conflict that Sasuke's presence inherently carried with him. "I've already sent word to Godaime of your arrival. Your inn is down the main street and to the left of the village center. I was able to get one large room for all of you." He then looked to Sakura and said with an overly-apologetic voice, "Unfortunately, they didn't have space to allow you to have your own room, Sakura-san, but if you'd like I can make arrangements especially for you someplace else."

The medic shrugged and wanted to get away from his gratuitous hospitality. "It's fine, really. I'm used to staying with the boys."

"Of course, it's also alright for it not to be."

Sakura felt her grin twitch with a bit of irritation. "But it is, I assure you."

"A lady shouldn't—"

"She said it's fine."

Everyone turned their attention to the Uchiha whose mouth formed a slight frown. Naruto raised a confused eyebrow at his friend's out-of-character interruption. Kakashi had an amused look behind his navy mask paired with a knowing twinkle in his eye. Ken had a look of surprise and turned to Sakura as if to gauge her own opinion of the situation, but she found herself offering a slow, relieved breath. When Ken noticed this, he straightened up. "Right," the shinobi said slowly.

"I believe we can make it to our inn from here, Ken," Kakashi said with a half-hearted apologetic tone. "Thank you for making arrangements for us. We will be back in the next few days to report again on our trip back to Konoha." He nodded towards his students and the four shinobi began their walk towards their inn.

The four of them were ushered in by enthusiastic employees who fawned over Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura. The same employees offered polite nods and quieted cheeriness to Sasuke. When they entered their room, dinner set on a large floor table and robes hung on a wall, Naruto turned to the Uchiha.

"People really do treat you differently, huh?"

Sasuke shrugged his backpack off his shoulders to catch it in his hand and set it down on the green flooring. He didn't seem to want to engage in a conversation of the obvious.

"We're still recovering from war," Kakashi said, relieving his shoulders of his flak jacket. "Many people have mixed feelings about events. News travels fast and we can't guarantee accuracy or acceptance."

The four of them seemed resigned to this explanation and sat at the table to eat their dinner. Sakura was careful to choose the seat next to Kakashi, who never removed his mask and curiously still did not eat, and across from Naruto. She avoided eye contact with Sasuke for the majority of the meal. Luckily, Naruto never failed to fill the silence and regaled them with the tale of how he ended up in the hospital and what it was that made him jump off the cliff and no one seemed to notice her aversion.

Except the Uchiha himself.

After dinner, they took their turns to bathe and prepare for sleep while the staff of the inn prepared their room with four tatami mats. Sakura bathed alone, careful not to spend too much time soaking or else she fall asleep in the soothing water. She exited the bath and dried her lean body. She took her time as she slipped into a different set of mission clothing to depart immediately when she woke: tight black shorts that stopped halfway down her thigh and a long red tank top with slits on either side to allow for access to her miniature weapons pouch. The medic draped a fresh towel around her shoulders. Her hair still damp, Sakura stepped out into the hallway to see Sasuke waiting outside the door.

He leaned against the wall and caught her gaze immediately. His own hair was dripping from his bath, each droplet caught by his black long-sleeved shirt. He donned loosely fitted black pants with his single hand stuffed into one of the pockets.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted with a controlled voice, ruffling the ends of her hair with the towel that hung around her neck. "Everything okay?"

He nodded as he pushed off the wall. They waited in silence and Sakura felt her face grow increasingly warm under his studious gaze. Finally, Sasuke broke the silence.

"About earlier," he said slowly, "in the forest."

"Yes?"

"I overstepped. Sorry."

"Overstepped," Sakura echoed, her voice faint yet thoughtful.

Sasuke merely stared back at her, his gaze, she knew, intentionally blank.

"You've hugged me before, Sasuke-kun," she reminded him. "Both times, I didn't mind. In fact, I needed it. You don't need to apologize."

Silence.

They studied each other for a moment in the quiet.

She didn't know what made her do it, but she did: Sakura took steps toward the Uchiha and slipped off the towel that hung around her neck. She avoided his eyes as she reached up and gently ran the towel through his wet hair, convincing herself yet again with the mantra, Just a friend helping a friend.

The pinkette couldn't help but notice how tall he'd gotten. She stood by him in battle, stood by him as she walked around the village, but had never gotten a good look at his stature until now. She noticed that she had to extend her arms nearly all the way to reach the top of his head. Sakura was careful to be gentle and squeeze the ends of his hair to keep the droplets from dripping further onto his dampened shirt. Truly, she was surprised he didn't shy away and that she instead felt him bow his head further into her touch. Cute, she thought, wondering the last time someone had dried his hair.

Eventually, Sakura settled the towel around his shoulders to catch any last droplets she might have missed. She held the ends of the towel and a fleeting thought of how easy it would be, how simple it would be, to tug on the cloth just a bit to satisfy a desire she'd wanted for so long flashed in her mind. Like two moons, they hovered before each other as an invisible force held them near. She finally met his gaze, onyx and lavender carefully trained on jade.

It was a motion that was quick and purposeful: his eyes glanced down at her lips and back up again into her irises. She felt her heartbeat in her ears, her core tighten, and the subject of his interest part slightly to signal her acquiescence. The force grew weaker as his head bowed lower, as her neck craned higher, and as she felt her eyes drift into a half-lidded euphoria, she finally, finally—

"…can't just assume things like that, Naruto."

The medic instinctively pushed Sasuke back, perhaps more forcefully than she intended as he thumped against the wall. Kakashi's voice carried as he and their blond teammate exited the men's bathing area and turned the corner in the duo's direction. Sakura held her hands firmly behind her back and forced herself to turn in the approaching pair's direction. Sasuke assumed a casual position against the wall, though she could feel his gaze still trained intently on her profile.

"Sasuke'll tell you," Naruto appeared to continue as he nodded in his friend's direction. "Right? That Ken guy must be compensating for something down under, am I right?"

The Uchiha merely shot the blond an unamused glare, rolled his eyes, and sauntered in the direction of their room. Sakura watched him leave, her heart curling in her chest.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What's his deal?"

Kakashi's eyes, however, had that familiar knowing twinkle. "Naruto, it seems we might have intruded on—"

"Let's go to bed, shall we?" Sakura interrupted, her tone sickeningly sweet with warning. "We have an early start and need to be in Hana by sundown tomorrow."

The blond stretched his hands to the ceiling as he yawned, "I'm down with that."

They rest of Team Seven walked quietly back into their room and chose their respective tatami mats. Sasuke chose the one furthest from the door and was already tucked in and facing away from the shinobi who entered. Naruto claimed the one next to the Uchiha, followed by Kakashi, leaving Sakura the tatami closest to the door and farthest from Sasuke. She closed her eyes and replayed Sasuke's shifted gaze from her eyes to her lips, her eyes to her lips, her eyes to her lips…until sleep finally sunk her into slumber.