My legs throb under me, my hands are cramping and I'm beyond exhausted. Ino and I have been working overtime for the past week, so many emergency surgeries and scanning through all ninja that are associated with the hospital. We've all been working overtime trying to find out who's the mole, but we only have a few pieces of the puzzle. Shikamaru is trying to find a link between the mind seal and where it originates, Tsunade says it's a forbidden jutsu that only a few know of. A knock echoes through my quiet off and silently Sasuke comes stepping in, with a small carryout box.
"I was just finishing up." There's a slight squeak to my voice since he hands me the box, a full box of Dango. He went out of his way to get this for me, Sasuke sure has a way of showing that he cares. Popping one of the sweet treats into my mouth, I sign off on a few papers so we can leave.
"Did you forget what day it is?" Heat rises to my face and I choke on my food for a moment, it's Friday…which means a long night in the conference room with everyone. All I wanted was to go home and enjoy a night in with Sasuke, we haven't had a night together in months.
'You want to jump his bones huh?'
'Yes! Being pregnant makes my hormones go crazy. It's just weird since an Anbu is watching the house.'
'I know all about your hormones. Forget the Anbu, just get you some action.'
'That's the plan.'
"Yeah I did. Do we have to go?" That causes him to raise an eyebrow and cock a smirk at me. The whining tone in my voice was an accident, but it doesn't go unnoticed by Sasuke. This makes him come over to the side of my desk and turn my chair so I face him. He's kneeling so we are both at the same eye level, and his expression is almost amused. Two hands reach under my desk and grab the discarded shoes before strapping them back to my swollen feet.
"Yes we do. I know you're tired, just a few more hours before you have the weekend off." Sasuke has been watching me closely each night I've come home this week. My chakra has been draining quicker and my body is getting more fatigued with each long day. Since the baby's chakra is starting to develop and strengthen, it's no wonder I've been so tired. He's even kept me from washing my own clothes, saying that I need to rest. Sasuke has always been protective, but it's starting to get a little annoying. I'm more than capable of making sure we are both fine.
I pout at him and cross my arms over my chest, my inner child pushing through. The way my arms are crossed, it outlines my baby bump even more. Sasuke's head leans down and places a kiss on the curve of my stomach, causing me to blush even harder. Now I feel bad for trying to argue with him. I take him hand and he pulls me up from my seat, reaching for my sweets I intertwine our fingers together as we walk towards the conference room.
Papers are being shuffled and thrown onto the floor as we enter the chaotic room. There are pots of coffee brewing in the corner, looks like they plan on being here for a while. There goes my night in with Sasuke, sighing I take a seat between Sasuke and Naruto. This is probably the worst thing for Naruto, he's the worlds worst with written material and studying. Nudging him with my elbow I start to pick through files that are stacked in front of him.
"How many hospital employees are there?" Kakashi asks across the room while he continues to read through pages.
"There are three higher ups consisting of Tsunade, myself, and Shizune. Overall 15 doctors, 33 nurses, 12 front desk receptionist, 30-40 volunteers, 40 field medics that don't work in the hospital and a few trainees." Everyone in the room looks over to me with annoyance plaguing their faces. I roll my eyes and continue reading.
"If you don't want to know, don't ask." I mutter under my breath, reaching for a piece of Dango. We're nearing the end of our search though, I've personally eliminated half of the doctors and nurses. Most of them have been working in the hospital as long or longer than I have. The door opens and I hear shishou talking quietly with Shizune about work.
"Sakura?" Shikamaru calls my name and I look over at him holding a single file, motioning me to come over. Moving from my chair, I snatched the folder from him and my eyes go wide. The woman's name is Rei Tanaka, her home town is the exact same as Hiroku's. She's a volunteer that started right after I returned home from my mission, most of her shifts were the same as mine. The work log says that her last day was…the same day I got the package.
"Tsunade, do you know a Rei Tanaka?" I turn to her with anger filling my body, the look on her face says it all. Rummaging through the file, there's no record of her patients but I bet she treated a man from the same hometown regularly. Tossing the file back to Shikamaru, I take off running out of the room out to the front desk. Nurses moving out of the way, I never run for anything unless it's important. The current teen occupying the desk moves out of the way and I start to type her name into the search bar.
The list is short but there's a few names that are repetitive patients of hers, Goro Endo appears multiple times so I print off his file and then Asa…I slam the desk with my fist causing it to crack but not breaking it. Printing her record, I gather both and make my way back to the others. Asa played me, there was a reason she wouldn't tell me more than she did. No wonder Hama felt so intimidated being around her, I bet she's in the inner circle. Opening the door, I take a deep breath in to collect myself and all eyes are on me.
"We need to bring in these three for questioning. Rei Tanaka, Goro Endo and Asa. When I went on my first mission to the town, Asa was a medic that was in the room with me the entire time. Hama, a younger girl, wanted to tell me everything but Asa kept the true story diluted. Rei stopped working the day I received the package. Those men are scumbags so it would make sense for a man to be here keeping an eye on them." My heart is beating faster, the words come out quick leaving me slightly breathless.
"I'll get an Anbu squad to bring them in. For now, I want all of you to go home and wait for more information. Sasuke I'll need you to come in and check to see if there's a mental seal on them as well." Shizune leaves the room and we all take in an uneasy breath, just because we found the moles it doesn't mean that this is finished.
"This time I know not to remove it." Tsunade smirks and clicks her heels out of the room, leaving us alone again.
"So we're one step closer, but we aren't out of the clear yet. They threatened all of the girls and that they would see Sakura soon." Kakashi says as he leans back in his chair, more worry covers Ino and Tenten's faces. I'm not going to let them see but my nerves are shot, we've been going back a forth with this gang for months. All I want is for this to be over with.
"Since we're done for the night, why don't we go eat dinner?" Naruto chirps through the seriousness. He can be worse than Choji sometimes, the thought of eating ramen makes me feel queasy. My night in with Sasuke is over now for sure, they won't let us back out of dinner.
"Ugh, lets go. I haven't eaten since breakfast." Temari stands from the table pulling Shikamaru from his spot. Everyone walks out and I stay behind to lock up the room, Sasuke's hovering over me. I take his hand as we walk through the hospital in silence, staying a few feet behind the rest of the group. Naruto's voice carries in the streets; he's wanting to spar with Kakashi tomorrow morning. Part of me whishes I could still spar and go on mission, but with this belly it's impossible.
"What are you thinking about?" I squeak from shock and look up to Sasuke, who has a smirk covering his face while his eyes are glued ahead of us. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and start nibble the skin softly, a blush covering my face. Sasuke nudges me slightly causing me to look up at him releasing my lip.
"I wish I could spar." Rubbing my belly mindlessly at the statement. I wouldn't trade this for the world, but being a ninja is in my blood. Soon I'll have to limit my presence at the hospital and only heal someone when it's dire.
"Ah." He sounds understanding, at least the others aren't this far along so they can still lightly train. In a week I'll hit my six-month mark, which is also the beginning of September. Tsunade wants me to have the trainees ready by then, she says that we're going to test them. The only test I can do is a written one, even so I'm only betting on one to pass.
"After dinner can we go on a walk?" I say as we get closer to the restaurant. My fingers grip at the seam of my dress nervously, I know that we won't be entirely alone but I need to get away from the case. And as much as I love my friends, I need a break from them as well. The only I think I could stand to be around anymore is Hinata, she's the only one who will visit a bookstore with me.
"Hn." Typical Sasuke and his one word responses. Walking through the doors, we follow our friends to a large table. Gently removing my shoes, I sit between my two boys, Kakashi sensei is sitting across from us watching carefully. Everyone seems to be having a good time already, giggling I lean into my husband to enjoy their company.
The guys are gathered in a huddle outside the restaurant, while the us girls are hugging each other goodbye. We stayed longer than we thought, all of the guys ended up sharing a couple of bottles of sake.
'If Tsunade was here she'd drink them under the table.'
'Hn, no doubt about that. I wish I could give them a run for their money.'
'Did you just hn? You sure are turning into an Uchiha.'
'Technically I am an Uchiha.'
Sasuke comes walking over to me and I smile at him, his cheeks are slightly flushed but nothing too serious. He didn't have much compared to Naruto and Sai, those two are always competing now a-days. A hand is offered to me and I take it happily, he leads me down the road towards the main gate. The streets are almost empty for a Friday night, people are already filling up the bars and clubs. It feels like a life time ago since the girls and I went out like that, changed for the better in my opinion.
Sasuke is leading me in a direction I know all too well, Team 7's training grounds. A sense of nostalgia washes over me and another smile covers my face. Sasuke must be trying to cheer me up, it's working slightly but my mood is taking a plunge too. Earlier I told him that I wanted to spar, so why bring me here?
As we walk towards the throwing target logs, he pulls out a shuriken and hands it to me. The light, cool metal feels foreign at first but my instincts take over. I flick my wrist just enough to plant it just center of the log, I haven't lost my touch. A child like smile comes to my face and he gives me a prideful look.
"Just because you can't spar, doesn't mean you can't train." The tone in his voice is almost teacher like, another shuriken comes spinning out of his pouch and thud against the wood touching mine. Show off, Sasuke's shuriken techniques are better than anyone's I know even Tenten's. I move over to the log and pull out both weapons, twirling them around my finger.
"You're right." I say as I flick a weapon at his feet. An eyebrow raises and a smirk comes to his face again.
"Why do you want to spar?" I'm dumbfounded at his question; why wouldn't a ninja want to spar? That's our foundation of growing and getting stronger. It teaches us how to react to different situations and to think on our feet.
"To be stronger." I mutter under my breath and throw the weapon in my hand back at the log with a little more strength causing it to go halfway into the wood. Leaving it there, I move over to a tree and start to walk up the bark. Out of Team 7 I was the first to get this down, Sasuke and Naruto stayed out so late trying to get it figured out. Too little chakra you will fall, too much chakra and you'll be pushed off.
"Hn. Your chakra control has always been better." Sasuke is walking on the opposite tree, his hair falling out of his eyes. Giggling, I feel my chakra flow flicker and my feet slip slightly. Two arms catch me before I crash against the ground, Sasuke looks a little irritated with my carelessness. I lean forward and place a kiss on his cheek as my feet touch the ground. His eyes change to red and examine my bump closely, once he's satisfied they change back to black.
"His chakra is messing with mine. I noticed it earlier today while I was with a patient." It was a flicker like a few minutes ago, I thought it was because I was tired. Sasuke moves away and moves towards the water walking to the other side, he's giving me the look to come over also. Instead of walking, my chakra pumps into my legs letting me jump across the wide stream.
"You're already strong enough Sakura." So that's what this is all about, he knows that even while I'm pregnant I could take anyone down but it's too much of a risk. I can't take him down though, Sasuke has always been stronger than me. The only thing I have over him is my intelligence, Sasuke is smart but when it comes to book knowledge I win hands down.
"I can't beat you." Kicking a rock, I walk over to the edge of the water. I sit on the ground and take off my shoes slowly, my belly is getting in the way. Rolling up my dress slightly, I let my legs dip into the cool water. I can't help but fiddle with my thumbs as Sasuke moves next to me, my eyes stay locked onto the glimmering water.
"You don't need to." Back when we were teens I needed to, I spent so much time trying to bring him home alongside Naruto. Eventually I gave up, Tsunade needed me here at the hospital instead of chasing a ghost. The air around us tenses for a moment, it's been in the back of my mind ever since he came home. Since Sasuke isn't much of a conversationalist so we haven't really resolved old issues. We just moved on and swept it under the rug.
"While you were gone, I trained and trained so hard. One day I completely shattered my knuckles from punching the ground, Tsunade scolded me but not as much as I deserved. She asked me why I was training so roughly, I looked at her and cried." Tears sting my eyes, this time from frustration. Back then I figured that Naruto would be just as reckless with his training, so why not fast track my training. Tsunade made me sit in the library for a week after that, her way of protecting me. Sucking in another breath, I look up at the moon and let the breath out.
"I figured breaking myself apart during training would help bring you home. Tsunade called me an idiot and told me that if I wanted a chance to bring you home I had to train correctly. After that she sparred with me every time, she kicked my ass a few times too." Laughing lightly, I turn to look over at him. Sasuke's face is stern and those black eyes are staring straight into the water, he's deep in thought. Reaching for my shoes, I pull my legs from the water and begin to tighten the clasps around my ankle. I hold a hand out to him, gesturing for him to stand with me but instead I'm pulled into his lap. His two arms wrap around me and his face is buried in my shoulder. My entire body tenses as I feel him slightly shaking, something I've only seen a few times. A familiar thump from my stomach makes me come back to my senses, Sasuke moved away as he felt the kick too. In his black, coal like eyes there's regret and sorrow clouding them, his hand on my waist tightens.
"I'm sorry." The words are sincere and I wrap myself tighter around him. A few tears fall before I lean back and wipe them away, Sasuke places his hand on my stomach and rubs it gently. My eyes drop down slightly, the earlier exhaustion is starting to come over me again.
"Let's go home." He wraps me up bridal style and the training field blurs around us. We appear right in the entrance of the village and my feet touch the road, the streets are now full of drunken women and howling men. A year ago this was my group and I every Friday night, now I crave staying home and cuddling with Sasuke and a book.
We move quickly through the packed streets, but the other women are eye humping my husband. They are looking at him the same way I used to as a genin, thinking he was all looks and that cool guy attitude. After our Chunin exams though I saw Sasuke for who he really was, a sad, lost, grieving boy who was convinced that killing his brighter would change that. Sasuke is still carrying some pain with him that he isn't willing to share, that makes my heart break. All I've ever wanted is to help Sasuke and make sure he was happy, even if that meant he loved someone else.
Something bumps against me causing me to be pushed into Sasuke even more, his eyes turn to red and look at a drunken man angrily. A warm smile spreads on my face and I pull at his arm, our house isn't but a few more minutes away. It's too late and I'm beyond too tired to handle an angry Uchiha, I wrap my smaller hand around his pulling him with a little force.
Once we make it to the Uchiha compound, it's peaceful once again. This is one of the many things that I love about our home. But I bet back when the Uchiha's were in their prime, these streets were filled with voices. Part of me wishes that the massacre never happened, that Sasuke had his family and that he never went through any of the hardships he did. If that had happened, would Sasuke and I have been on the same genin squad? Would it change his feelings towards me?
Opening that door, I walk straight to our bedroom and start to undress. Sasuke moves me to the bed and removes my shoes for me, leaving me in just my bra and panties. Self consciously I move to cover my growing belly but a hand swats mine away. Our eyes lock and I can see the spark in his eyes, one that I haven't seen in a long time. A warm breath washes over my exposed stomach and I hold my breath as a pair of lips press against the skin. My eyes close for a moment, exhaustion kicking in completely. Drooping my head forward, Sasuke chuckles against my skin and props me back up.
"Sit here." He moves away and I hear him shuffle through the dresser. Cracking open my eyes, I see that he's bringing over one of his shirts. It's a habit that started once he came home, my sleeping shirts started to get too small so I just take one of his training shirts. I move my arms to unclasp my bra and I lay in on the floor along with my dress, the cool air causes my skin to pucker. Sasuke comes back and rest between my knees, bringing my arms up to pull on the black material. His lips are pressed in a thin line, it's a habit that he does when he's trying to figure out what he wants to say. Before I can reach out to him, he moves away to change his own clothes. Huffing lightly I make my way up to the pillows and tuck myself under the thick blanket, watching as Sasuke takes his time. New pink scars litter his back, nothing too serious. They must've appeared after a rough day of training with Naruto or Kakashi, those three always take it to the extreme.
Our room goes dark and the bed shifts next to me, an arm pulling me towards his chest. His heartbeat is faster than normal and his skin feels warmer too, maybe the sake kicking in. Our eyes meet and I can see a glimpse of genin Sasuke, those eyes held so much pain and regret when we were younger. Reaching up, I move a long strand of hair from his face breaking him from his thoughts.
"What are you thinking?" A slight smirk on my face as I mock his tone from earlier. His eyes don't move but his lips press together, tighter this time. A slight turn in his head causes him to look up at the ceiling, why won't he tell me? He's always been like this, keeping it to himself to grow and fester. If he would've just trusted Naruto and I back then maybe things would've been different. Using my hand that's touching his face still, I move him back to meet my eyes.
"Please Sasuke. I know something's wrong, just tell me." That's when I see it, the glaze that covering his eyes. Tears are forming but I know that he'll never let them fall, his pride would take too much of a hit. I prop myself on my elbow so I can get a better view of him, his mouth opens a tad but closes just as fast. The silence in the air is painful; it's almost feels like when we met during our teen years.
"I thought you would forget about me after I left…" How could I ever forget about him? I tried but failed terribly, Ino and Temari encouraged me to try to move on. But it was more painful to completely forget about him and our bond, no matter how small it was.
"Kabuto kept tabs on you and Naruto. Orochimaru would use you two if I didn't progress, even back then he knew how much you both meant to me…When I heard that you were training with the Hokage I was surprised, even more so when I heard that you defeated an Akatsuki." Pride fills my chest, that was one of the toughest battles I've ever had. There's an ugly scar to remind me of it everyday, I wish Lady Chiyo were still around but Gaara is a dear friend to us.
"That day when you come crashing into the hideout, I couldn't bring myself to attack you. The bonds that I had made with you and Naruto were too much for me to bear….I've never asked you about your training for a reason, I knew that you would be reckless too. But I never thought that you would go through so much pain to bring me home." The air is thick around us and I can't help but crash my lips to his. Sasuke is angry with himself for my actions, bringing him home was the goal and I would train anyway possible to do that. Pulling away, I offer him a soft smile and cock my head to the side.
"A few broken knuckles were nothing, Sasuke. We were desperate to bring you back, so we trained until we couldn't anymore. There was nothing you could've done about that except come home but even then it wouldn't have stopped me." The words are meant to put him at ease but you can still see the wheels turning. Sending chakra to my hands, I haul him into a sitting position with my eyes locked on his.
"You weren't just a teammate to Naruto and I, you were family. Naruto would do anything to bring his brother back, and I would've done anything to save you from the darkness. You're not the same person, we trust you completely. Self-doubting and self-loathing will only make you slip again. This isn't how I wanted our relationship to begin, but I'm your wife and I can see through the walls that you put up. You are a good person Sasuke Uchiha and you have people that love you even through your faults." My heart is beating against my chest and there's a fire behind my voice, I want him to see himself the way we do. The baby started to kick at me halfway through my speech, leaving me breathless and craving the air to enter my lungs. Sasuke's shocked at my reaction, if I have to say it over and over again I will. My eyes droop once again, I can feel my chakra flowing differently not doubt from the baby. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into my embrace, the kicking doesn't stop and thuds against Sasuke's. I place a kiss on his neck right below his ear.
"I love you Sasuke. It hurts to see you like this, so please talk to me." A delicate sigh comes from Sasuke and he nods against me. Looks like we made some progress tonight, moving our bodies to the left we both crash down on the pillows. Giggling at my actions, I hear Sasuke's melodic laugh and my body relaxed into his further. A kiss is placed on the center of my forehead and I turn red.
"I'll try, now time to go to sleep." This time I don't argue and curl into his side, a hand drawing unknown shapes against my back. I take his left hand and touch the warm metal of his wedding band. Everything that we've been through should've pulled us apart, but here we are. No it's not the best circumstances but we've made it work.