Title: it ain't always greener on the other side
Summary: Upon his return to the village after the war, the elders demand something quite surprising from Sasuke. Canon!storyline.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: Asylum
Rating: K+

A/N: YAY FOR SSMONTH!

He had half-expected the Godaime to demand him to comply to a full checkup after his return to the village; it had been five years since he had left Konoha, and in their length, only the rogue nin Kabuto had ever kept up with his health. Understandably, the fifth Hokage did not think this to count. In her eyes, he had not had a full checkup since his desertion of the village when he was twelve years old.

So when she strode into his hospital room on his fourth day back, eyes critical and mouth tight as she stiffly told him to get up and follow her down the hall to get examined, Sasuke was not surprised.

"Wait here," Tsunade said, when they had reached the room and she had gestured him inside. Her tone was firm and far from friendly, but Sasuke held no delusions as to why. The woman had always hated him. "Someone will come see you soon. If I hear that you refused to comply in any way, your return is going to get a hell of a lot more difficult than it is right now, do you understand me?"

Sasuke's brows furrowed for a moment, but he said nothing in return, averting his gaze.

Tsunade smirked. "I'll take that as a yes." And with that said, she slipped from the room and closed the door behind her.

Letting out a slow breath, Sasuke turned to his side and briefly inspected the room. Although only five years had passed, it seemed as though the hospital had been completely remodeled; he found himself wondering if perhaps it had been rebuilt along the lapse of time. After all, much of the village seemed to be under heavy reconstruction right now—war had clearly not been kind on Konoha.

The door clicked open, and Sasuke broke from his thoughts, glancing at the newcomer. His brows seldom raised when he found that it was Sakura.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun," she greeted, smiling warmly.

He blinked, then nodded lightly. "Sakura."

Tucking her clipboard into her arms, she said, "I know you were probably expecting someone else, but I thought you'd be more comfortable if the checkup was performed by someone you knew. And… someone who doesn't judge you."

Eyes softening just so, he merely nodded in response, shoulders easing.

Sakura's smile brightened. "Well, alright then, let's get started," she said cheerfully, taking the few steps separating them before gesturing the examination table. "Take a seat, Sasuke-kun. We've got a lot to cover for those five years you missed."

"Not quite five," Sasuke corrected. "Kabuto kept tabs on my health in the two years I was under Orochimaru's wing."

Brows raising, Sakura made a sound of dismissal, and shot him an unimpressed look. "Oh please," she said. "Like Kabuto ever actually cared beyond making sure his experiments worked."

Well. He couldn't argue against that.

.

.

There was something bothering her, he could tell. Although he had first brushed off her fidgeting and evasive looks to her simply being flustered by her feelings for him, Sasuke quickly grew to realize that her behavior was far too strange to be left at that. She didn't just seem shy now—no, there was a certain anxiousness to her features, a peculiar absentmindedness that spoke too clearly of her pensive mind.

There was something she was hiding from him, he realized. That—or she simply wasn't sure how to tell him about it.

Sasuke's lips tightened. "What is it?"

Taken off guard, Sakura stiffened and paused in her task, head tilting to look at him with obvious confusion. "Huh?"

"Something's bothering you, and I want to know what."

Her cheeks flushed at this, and she looked away, resuming her work. "It's nothing, Sasuke-kun. Don't worry about it."

Sighing sharply, he spared her a semi-impatient look. "Sakura."

She bit her lip. "It's just… well, the elders said something earlier, and—you won't like it, I think." She paused here, and looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear. "If you ask me, the whole thing is so unnecessary really, and Naruto and I really tried to talk them out of it by convincing them that they don't need this, but they wouldn't hear us out and—"

"Sakura," he pressed once more, black eyes exasperated. "Just spit it out."

She stayed quiet for a moment, fiddling uneasily with the material of her clothes. She was hesitant, and clearly concerned about what her words might to do him.

"They, um… They want to send you to the village's mental health facility," she said, then, looking up at him with green, green eyes full of apologies.

He stiffened instantly, eyes widening just slightly before a fierce scowl crossed his features. "What?"

Sakura seemed to panic. "They just—they want a professional to assess your mental health," she quickly went on, her tone quick and high. "With everything you've done since you left, they need reassurance that you're not going to flip out on the people around you and—"

"—and what?" Sasuke griped, jaw growing unbearably tight. "Murder innocent civilians who dare to look at me the wrong way? Send some random guy to the hospital for merely uttering the Uchiha name?"

He knew he probably looked just as furious as he felt then, and that Sakura didn't deserve this so soon after the war—but he couldn't seem to control himself right now, his emotions ruling his heart as it had so many times before.

"Essentially, yes, but Sasuke-kun, you have to understand that with everything that happened—"

A sharpness tore at his heart, and he flinched, feeling suddenly betrayed. "Why are you defending them?" he asked, a subtle hurt masked in the harshness of his tone.

"No—it's not—Sasuke-kun, it's not like that at all, I just—I understand their fear. They're just trying to—"

He looked away, and mulled his lips, unable to look at her anymore. Somehow, having Sakura defend the people who had so cruelly taken everything from him seemed too much to bear, just now.

A soft hand touched his arm. "Sasuke-kun, please," she whispered, her voice so weak and vulnerable. "I know you would never hurt anyone—it's the reason I tried to talk them out of it in the first place. But they don't understand you, not like Naruto and Kakashi and I do, so I just—I get why they'd be wary. But gods, believe me when I say that I know with all of my heart that you would never, ever do something like this after everything that's happened." She squeezed his arm here, swallowing tightly, before she went on with a tight voice, "Maybe your change of heart is recent but I just—I know that your heart is good, Sasuke-kun. And I know you're trying. And that it's hard—to be back here."

Chest still tight and knuckles curling, he forced himself to meet her gaze. At the sight of her earnest, pleading eyes, he slowly felt his fury give way to something wearier, softer. Accepting.

After a long moment, he gave a long, deep sigh.

"For how long?"

Sakura's eyes lightened, then, lips pulling into a small, tender smile. "Maybe a week. But… it shouldn't be more than that I think."

He sighed again, jaw tensing slightly. "...Fine," he murmured, relenting.

She squeezed his arm again. Peering at him softly, her smile grew a little. "This is good, Sasuke-kun. Your cooperation—it'll help your case a lot. It'll be over before you know it, okay?"

Slowly, he nodded, and watched as Sakura gave him a final, gentle smile, before pulling away and jotting something down in his charts. As she went to resume the ongoing checkup, however, a knock sounded on the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, Sakura-san," a young nurse called, bowing politely as she stepped inside. "There is an urgent matter that requires your attention."

"Is Shizune-san not available?" Sakura replied, brows furrowing lightly. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

The nurse's eyes quickly fluttered over him then, apparent distaste crossing her features, and Sasuke tried not to let his jaw clench.

"I'm afraid she's assisting Hokage-sama today. It was said all emergencies were to be referred to you."

Frowning, Sakura ran a hand through her hair, and sighed. "Okay, alright," she acquiesced. Sasuke wondered if he was imagining the faint displeased tone in her voice. "Wait for me outside, I'll be there in a minute."

The nurse nodded, gave a quick bow, and promptly slipped out of the room.

Sakura sighed once more. "I'm sorry about that, Sasuke-kun."

"There's nothing to apologize for. It's an emergency, Sakura, it's not like you have a choice."

Eyes lessening, she shook her head and said, "No, not that." Her lips tightened. "I'm sorry about how that nurse acted. You didn't need that—I'm sure you get enough of those looks and that silent judgment from everyone else, and you don't need it from my staff."

Sasuke swallowed, and looked away. "Not your fault."

Gently, her hand cupped his cheek, urging him to look at her. He complied, meeting sad green eyes and softly furrowed brows. "And it's not yours either, Sasuke-kun," she whispered. "Please remember that. You're not the same man you were, and I'm sure everyone else will see that in time."

Probably not, he mused to himself. Realistically, there were always going to be people who would hate him, no matter what he would end up doing. He could save the world a thousand times, and there would still be people in this world who would believe that nothing good would ever come from him.

(not that he would tell her that.)

The warmth of her hand falling away drew him from his thoughts.

"I better go," she said, smiling at him. "But I promise to come back later, okay?"

Slowly, Sasuke nodded.

Sakura smiled wider. "Okay. I'll send a nurse—a nice one—to escort you back into your room."

His lips twitched lightly. "No need," he said. "I'm just a few doors down, so I think I can find my way back alone."

She grinned, and laughed lightly. "Right, sorry." Tucking the clipboard to her chest, she gave a small wave and said, "Well, I really gotta go. I'll see you later, Sasuke-kun!" before jogging towards the door.

When it clicked shut, Sasuke's shoulders fell, the comfort of Sakura's presence quickly leaving place to a boiling frustration that seemed to be growing every day since his return. Lips thinning in a firm line, Sasuke ran his hand through his hair and wondered what other punishment the mistakes of his past would bring him; probation, he had expected, and even jail time had seemed like a far too likely option in his case… but the asylum—well, he'd never thought his actions would warrant him that many questions about his sanity.

Exhaling a slow, quiet breath, he let his hand fall back, and leaned against the cold hospital wall, closing his eyes. He didn't want to think about what it would be like to go back to that horrible place—or was it better, now? Maybe the asylum had changed, after nine years.

Sasuke hoped so; if it hadn't, he didn't know if he could make it without coming out worse in the end—if he ever would.

Hope you enjoyed! More of SSmonth drabbles to come soon! Hopefully I can participate quite a bit :)

DeepPoeticGirl