They weren't talking about the last leg of the run home.

"We're not talking about it," Sasuke says, his cheeks aflame. He tries to ignore it. It's just because he's sick – no, no, damn it, he's not sick. He's just warm. It's a hot night!

Naruto still hasn't wiped that stupid, stupid grin off his face. He's been wearing it ever since Sasuke fell asleep about a half hour into his "ride". (Well, Sasuke assumes it started then. He was asleep, after all.)

Sakura, by contrast, is practically glowing. "But Sasuke, you were so cute!" she squeals, and the Uchiha is struck by the sudden urge to claw off his own ears.

Instead, his cheeks burn even more. "I was not."

Naruto cackles. "Yeah, Sasuke, you were sooooooooooooo cute!"

"Now, now," Kakashi intervenes, ambling away from the two gate guards, and Sasuke feels a hopeful tinge well up inside of him. Their teacher ruffles Sakura and Naruto's hair, eye-smiling at them all as the duo squawks. "All of my students are cute." There's a single moment of blessed relief, before he has to open his masked mouth again. "But you're right, Sasuke was very adorable."

Sakura giggles and Naruto guffaws and that is it. He turns on his heel, ignoring the way they hush behind him as he marches past the startled guards. It doesn't matter that his vision is starting to tunnel – he knows the well-trodden path to the Hokage Tower and could walk it in his sleep. Still, not being able to see out the side is dangerous, so he blinks. Once, twice, a third time-

and then Kakashi is right in front of him.

He stumbles to a stop and Kakashi reaches out, gently taking his shoulder to stabilize him. Resentment and gratitude well up alike, and he stomps it down. "Sasuke," the other says, and Sasuke stares at his teacher's vest, refusing to look up. "I need to take you to the hospital. You're sick, and you got severely injured on this mission. You need to see a mednin."

Sasuke knows his teacher is right – he's not arguing that – but he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to be poked and prodded by some mednin who will probably coo over the "poor last Uchiha" and sleep in a bed that's not his own and the hospital always makes him remember the blood and the sweat and the-

He stops. Boxes that thought up, tucks it away, and tries not to taste the bile in his throat.

Kakashi's face is unreadable when he finally looks up, and Sasuke's grateful. He doesn't know how much of his tangled mess of thoughts were on his face, and he doesn't want to deal with his teacher's pity. It takes three swallows before he feels able to speak, and even then, he just gives a slight shrug and a "Fine."

Nothing changes about his teacher's face, but he nods to the other two genin. "Naruto. Sakura. I'll meet you in the Hokage's office."

And then he teleports them away.

Sasuke isn't too surprised that Kakashi doesn't stick around. He spends just a few moments talking to one of the civilian nurses – explaining the situation, no doubt – and then he's gone.

Sasuke tries not to feel any resentment for that. It's not hard. He can't really feel much more emotion than exhaustion.

They check his temperature, run tests involving chakra that he's not even close to comprehending, have him take off his shirt so they can examine any remaining puncture wounds from the needles. It's standard. Everything makes sense.

But it doesn't stop him from staring at the wall, from not looking at a single soul, from trying deep breath exercises and then cringing because there's such a distinct hospital smell-

The last time he was in here, everyone was dead.

They still are.

They give him a drug to make him sleep, and Sasuke doesn't wake up for two more days. He knows his teammates have been here when he wakes – there's a bouquet of flowers in a vase, and a covered container of ramen, now cold, sitting on the bedside table.

(He doesn't eat it. He throws up, instead, dry-heaving into the toilet and trying desperately to block out the scent of antiseptics.)

To be honest, Sasuke's more impressed by the flowers. He knows Sakura and Ino aren't friends anymore, haven't been for years, though he wasn't sure why they stopped.

It says a lot.

Kakashi doesn't show when they let him out of the hospital, later that day. Naruto doesn't, either. But Sakura does, and she gives him a big grin as he leaves his room. "Hey, Sasuke! Glad to see you up!" she chirps, and Sasuke takes one moment to curse the universe for giving him incredibly cheerful teammates before he shoves his hands in his pockets and falls into step with her.

"Why are you here?"

She pouts. Probably trying to look cute. "You've been asleep! And I thought someone should walk you home." He stiffens at the thought, but either Sakura doesn't notice or she doesn't comment. "I don't know where Kakashi-sensei is, but Naruto's off doing something with Iruka-sensei. So I thought I'd pick you up!"

Sasuke thinks he's grateful for it. Maybe. But he doesn't say it, instead giving a sharp nod. "I need to sign out."

"Right!"

Sakura babbles the whole way, and Sasuke feels himself unloosening, just slightly. Apparently, Team 10 had taken on a C-rank since they left, but it was nothing like theirs. Team 8 hadn't yet. Kurenai and Asuma were probably dating. Kakashi seemed very distracted about something.

He signed his name neatly and led the way out – but the scent of the hospital stayed with him.

"Sasuke!" The Uchiha sighed, focusing his attention on Sakura again. She giggled, blushing a little and biting her lip. "We don't have to rush back, you know. We could do something. Shopping… Lunch…"

"Fine."

The word is out of his mouth before he even thinks about it, and Sakura looks as surprised as he feels. "Really!?"

He doesn't want to go home, and he desperately needs to chase the scent of the hospital from him. Sakura's perfume, flowery and strong, is a great start to that – and sure, he wouldn't mind food. He hasn't eaten in a few days, after all. Sasuke shrugs. "Sure. Lunch sounds good."

(Nothing stayed down at the hospital.)

She beams, bright and happy in a way that he's never seen her before, and hooks her arm into his, faintly dragging him off. They're going to a barbeque place, is what Sasuke manages to grab from her excited chatter, and the rest he can barely absorb.

He's tired. Hopefully he doesn't fall asleep right in his food – he'd never ever hear the end of it from Naruto if he did.

Sasuke's barely paying attention to where he's being dragged (he does trust Sakura not to kill him), so it takes him a moment before he realizes someone's calling his name. "Uchiha! Oy, Uchiha!"

He blinks, and realizes he's in the restaurant. He's been here before – sometime, somewhen, he recognizes it faintly – and Shikamaru is calling him. Sasuke skims the room before he manages to spot him, sitting at a table with Chouji and waving him down.

The boy obliges, pulling Sakura along for the ride as he approaches the other genin. "Nara," he greets, stuffing both his hands in his pockets. "What?"

Shikamaru grins. "I heard you two had a rather eventful C-rank. Want to join us and share?"

Sasuke exchanges a glance with Sakura. She grimaces, and he frowns slightly. It doesn't sound tempting… Chouji pipes up, swallowing his bite. "My family owns the restaurant. Eat with us, and it's on the house!"

The hole he's been slowing burning in the Uchiha clan savings weighs on him for a moment, and the boy sighs, before plopping down next to Chouji. "Fine. Sakura could probably tell you better than me, anyway."

She blushes, even as Shikamaru turns to give her a considering look. "Oh yeah?"

Sasuke is so very relieved when Sakura takes him up on that prompt. She talks about Tazuna, how they had been tricked, the situation in Wave, everything. She speaks of Haku and Zabuza and how they were ultimately tragic, in the end, a tragic pair of missing-nin that maybe should have lived another day.

He slowly eats his barbeque and doesn't say a word.

Not until Chouji reaches over, giving his shoulder a slight, comforting squeeze. "You were really brave, Sasuke," he says, and Sasuke pauses. Doesn't know how to respond to that.

Sakura nods. "He was, wasn't he?" She pauses, and looks down. "When I saw you lying there, it was-"

His food drops back on his plate. He gets up, shoving himself away from the table, and the three there stare at him with wide eyes. "I have to get home."

"Hey, hey, Uchiha, we can change the topic if you want-" Shikamaru is already hurrying to reassure him, but Sasuke ignores the Nara, turning to Chouji.

"Thank you for the meal," he says, and half-manages a flicker of a smile for the boy, before he turns and he's gone.

It reminds him of his exit from a few days ago, leaving his team in the dust, but this time he manages to get away. He ducks through the trailing crowds of people, ignores every single call of his name and greeting tossed his way, until everything starts to thin.

He slows.

The closer and closer he gets to the Uchiha district, the more notable it becomes. There's no reason for anyone else to come here. It's deserted – and soon, he's the only one walking down a quiet street.

Sasuke rarely goes into most homes. Only when he needs something, like when he starts to outgrow his current clothes, or he's out of shuriken, or something. Anything.

There's only one home he returns to every single day.

He raps on the door to said house. Takes off his shoes and sets them by the entrance. "I'm home," he says quietly into the empty building, filled with nothing but ghosts, and shuts the door behind him.