Sasuke.
Sakura slammed her fist into his skull again.
"OOW! Would you quit it?!"
"WHY SHOULD I?! WHY THE HECK DID YOU LEAVE ME?!" She whispered.
"I'm starting to think this was a mistake."
"WHY DID YOU LEAVE US?! YOU COULD HAVE DIED! YOU'RE A CRIMINAL! A ROGUE NINJA!"
"I am well aware," Sasuke rubbed his skull, staring back at Sakura. She'd grown a lot. Figured. Everyone had. That's just kinda how it worked. Her hair was still short and torn apart. Why she let it stay that way, he'd never know.
She didn't wear a dress anymore, She actually kinda looked strong. And felt strong too. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea.
"What made you come back?"
"...I can't kill him alone…"
Sakura blinked. Her face furrowed in confusion before coming to some silent conclusion.
"Your brother...Itachi."
Sasuke grimaced at the name. He hated the sound of it. It brought back a lot of bitter memories.
"Yeah."
"Tsunade's gonna be fuming."
"I could imagine."
"But Kakashi will be glad. Happy maybe. Team 7 didn't last long after you left."
Sasuke hadn't really thought about it, but it made sense. They work in threes. Team 7 wouldn't be complete without him. So they probably got assigned to different groups. Though Sasuke didn't think that anyone would want Naruto to be on their team.
"I...I need to sleep. I'm tired."
"Me too."
"Then sleep on the floor."
"Was planning to."
…
Tsunade punched Sasuke across the face. After all the abuse he'd gone through, Sasuke thought it wouldn't have hurt as much. He was wrong. Sasuke rubbed his face as Tsunade calmed herself.
"Alright. Explain yourself."
"Gimme a minute, you might've broke my jaw."
"I'm sure it's fine."
Sasuke took a breath. His excuse was paper thin, considering everything he's done.
"I wanted power. I wanted to kill my brother."
"And you thought the best way to do this was through Orochimaru?"
"Yes."
"Alright. You're an idiot."
"Noted."
"But…" Tsunade sat back down, staring at a bottle cap, "It's better to have an Uchiha then not to have an Uchiha."
Sasuke looked back up at her. Scot free? Why?
"But…"
Oh, there's a but.
"Sakura is keeping you on a TIGHT leash. One misstep and I'll have you under custody. Got it?
"That's it?"
"Sasuke, are you aware of the Akatsuki?"
How could he not be? He saw them before. He had been so close to his goal. But he failed. He always failed.
"They're back. We can't afford them to gain any more power than they already have."
"My lady, what are they after… exactly?" Sakura asked.
"The Akatsuki are returning their hunt for the jinjuriki."
"What are jinjuriki?" This time it was Sasuke's turn to ask.
"Jinjurikis is the name of a host of a demon. More specifically, tailed beasts."
Sasuke remembered the word, "When you mean a tailed beast, do you mean like the nine tailed fox?"
"Yes. Exactly. With Gaara gone, we can only assume-"
"Gaara? Gaara was a jinjuriki!?"
"Would you refrain from interrupting me?"
Tsunade cleared her voice.
"With Gaara gone, all we can assume is that they are working in the dark and fast. We currently have no leads. On anything, really."
Sasuke thought for a moment and pulled something out from a back hanging around his waist.
"This was gonna be a peace offering, so I guess I'll just give it to you now."
Sasuke plopped a thick stack of papers onto Tsunade's desk.
"I grabbed some before I left…"
Tsunade's eyes widened as she stared at the papers. Documents and scattered notes. Files on anything one could imagine.
She picked up the first paper, scanning it, searching for something. Anything.
"This...this could work."