Capitulum XIX – You deserve my everything.
Soon enough, Sasuke thought. They've been in there for a while now, they must come out soon.
He was nervously pacing around in front of the room where Sakura was currently being grilled by the Kage. Uchiha Sasuke prided himself in patience and composure, but knowing his ex-wife was standing trial in front of the five most dangerous Yakuza bosses made even him agitated.
The doors were suddenly swung open and Sasuke came to a halt. As the Kage headed in his direction, his eyes looked for Sakura. She smiled up at him, but Sasuke knew her too well. He immediately realised something was wrong with her. Tearing his gaze from his ex-wife he scanned his surroundings for a blonde haired woman. As his eyes fell on the Hokage he made his way towards her and waited for them to be at a safe distance from the other Kage.
Grabbing Tsunade's arm and turning her to face him, Sasuke asked, "What the fuck happened in there?" Clearly not surprised by his rudeness, the blonde looked at him with a haughty expression. "We played golf, what do you think happened? Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get a drink before getting back to business again. God knows I deserve it." Tsunade pried away Sasuke's fingers from her arm and was just about to turn away, when his question made her stop. "What do you mean, getting back to business? I thought you made a decision." Rolling her eyes at him, Tsunade couldn't help but let out a sigh before looking at Sasuke with pure disinterest.
"Listen here, kiddo. This is politics and you can't interfere unless you're sitting at the grown-ups table. We'll get back together any minute now to discuss what Sakura told us and decide what steps need to be taken next. And then we will call you in to tell you. Until then, you sit your ass back down and be patient, got it?"
"Did she tell you anything about that night?" Tsunade immediately knew he was referring to the night Sakura had left him. The subtle gleam of rage in Sasuke's otherwise emotionless eyes gave him away. She knew that even after three years of separation, Sakura was still his weak spot. Tsunade sighed in defeat before speaking.
"Look, you know I like Sakura. And against my better judgement, I don't think you're that bad either. But honestly, I'm getting sick and tired of watching you kids dance around each other. You should get that stick out of your ass and finally sit down with Sakura to deal with your shit. Because believe it or not, Uchiha, in my eyes she has more than proven her loyalty and love for you, especially after what she said in there. So why don't you-" – "Hold up… what did she say in there that proved her loyalty?"
Tsunade huffed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Ah fuck it, you'll probably hear it from someone else anyway." Looking around to check if any of the Kage were in earshot, she whispered, "You know how the Raikage still hates your guts, because you tried to kill his brother once? He was just not going to listen to her, but Sakura knew she had to convince all five of us so that we would help you take down Madara. She offered him a deal in hopes of softening him up so he might believe her after all. So when Ay threatened to kill her as well as you, Sakura offered her life instead. As a retribution for both your stunt with his brother as well as her betrayal three years ago."
Sasuke's eyes widened as he let Tsunade's words sink. She offered her life in exchange for his. Sakura was ready to die just so that Sasuke wouldn't have to pay a debt he owed the Raikage anyway. He never thought this mistake would come back to haunt him. And he never thought Sakura would be willing to pay for it just to protect him.
His eyes fell on the blonde woman in front of him when she raised her voice again. "Yeah, that's right. That's how much she loves you. And I would have to be the blindest fool on earth not to see that you're still in love with her. So get out of my face and go get her back, you fool." With that demand Tsunade turned on her heel and left behind an utterly speechless Sasuke.
He found her sitting on a porch, faced towards the garden of the estate and meditating. Sasuke approached her with careful steps and sat down right next to her. "You talked to Tsunade." Her hands were still folded together, and her eyes were still closed. Sakura didn't turn to him when she spoke, but Sasuke was intently staring at his ex-wife.
"I knew that smile you gave me was fake and I knew if I asked you, you would lie to me and tell me the meeting went fine when it clearly didn't. I had to hear from Tsunade what happened in there." – "What did she tell you?"
Sakura offered her life instead. She told me everything, Sasuke was about to say. But he couldn't. As his eyes scanned the oh so familiar face of the woman he used to wake up to every morning for more than two years, it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks.
He really did still love her. Sasuke loved her even though she betrayed him. Sasuke loved her even though every functioning cell in his brain begged him not to. Sasuke loved her even though he tried his best to hate her, and he was damn good at hating people. And Sasuke loved her even though he was furious that she would trade her life for his. He loved her, he loved her, he loved her and he would be damned if he let anything or anyone harm his wife.
"She told me about the deal you made with the Raikage." That made Sakura's eyes snap open and look at him. She seemed genuinely startled, like a little girl getting caught stealing candy. "Why the fuck would you do that?" Sasuke was clenching his fist now and was glaring at Sakura with fury in his eyes. Faking an apologetic smile as best as she could, she answered, "I needed to convince him somehow and I wasn't going to let him harm you when he threatened with it, so I just offered myself instead." – "You just offered yourself instead? That makes it sound as if you don't even value your own life. But doesn't matter to you, does it. The value your life has for you or any other person. You don't give a shit about how I would feel if he took you away from me, do you?"
Sasuke stood up and took a few steps towards the garden. Letting out a sigh and closing his eyes, he tried to calm himself. He could hear her move behind him as she stood up as well. "I didn't know you felt this strongly about the prospect of my death." Masking his rage with a more concerned expression, he turned to face her again. "I'm not a monster, Sakura. Thinking about my ex-wife getting killed would unsettle me even if I didn't have feelings for you."
As he watched her eyes widen and her cheeks blush, Sasuke realised what he had just said. But he didn't care anymore; he was tired of keeping his guard up around Sakura when all he wanted was to wrap his arms around her and never let go. "So you… do have feelings for me?" A tentative smile spread across her lips as she looked at Sasuke with hopeful eyes. He took another step towards her so that they were mere centimetres apart. Sasuke's expression softened as he gazed into her jade green eyes. "Remember how you told me that you wouldn't take the next step with me before you have my trust again." Sakura nodded, her blush deepening as she drew closer.
"As much as it infuriated me that you would throw away your life so carelessly, I know you would have done it only for me. And that proves you not only deserve my trust. You deserve my everything." As Sasuke watched her lips spread into the most breathtaking of smiles, he cupped her cheeks and lowered his head. He pressed a soft kiss onto Sakura's lips and immediately felt her arms twine around his torso.
It wasn't as passionate and heated as the last time they had kissed. It was like a loving, delicate welcome home after a long and tiresome journey abroad.
They separated ever so slowly when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. "The Five will see you now." Sasuke didn't heed the guard, his eyes were instead still fixated on the beautiful jade green orbs of Sakura, who looked up at him dreamily. He planted another gentle kiss on her forehead before they both turned around to follow the guard.
"Haruno Sakura, you stood trial in front of the council of the Five to answer for the crimes of your past. Namely, the betrayal of Yakuza member Uchiha Sasuke and your affiliation with-" – "Alright alright, skip that formal bullshit already. I told you, I'm practically decaying already over here. Can we get to the good stuff?"
The Tsuchikage glared daggers at the guard, who was reading Sakura's charges off a sheet of paper. The Mizukage sighed in exasperation and massaged her temples, before raising her voice.
"Taking under consideration everything you have told us about the man who contracted you, plus all the intel you gathered on him during the last couple of weeks, including the information Danzo had given you before his death, the council has come to the decision to heed your warning and take action against this man. Granted, everything does point to the possibility that it really is Uchiha Madara, especially the audio file you gave us of your recent encounter with him and Zetsu. However, apart from a voice recording that eerily sounds like him, there is no concrete proof. So, we shall grant you our assistance in your fight against this individual, but we shall do so at our own discretion, until we can be 100% sure that we really are dealing Uchiha Madara."
As the Mizukage kept looking at Sasuke and Sakura with a haughty expression, the Hokage leaned forward and clasped her hands in front of her face.
"As to the misdeeds of your past; you will not be tried for them for as long as it takes you to deal with this threat. But as soon as the dust settles again, we will have to take another look at that matter. However, depending on what part you play in bringing down this man we may just be able to drop one or two charges."
"Unless you don't manage to bring him down, that is.", the threatening voice of the Raikage made both their heads turn in his direction. Sakura could hear Sasuke's low growl next to her, but sighed in relief when nothing else came from him. After the council dismissed them, they both bowed their heads in respect and left the room.
The car ride back to the hotel suite Sasuke had booked for them was spent in silence; both of them lost in their own trail of thoughts. Sakura was glad the council believed her at least in so far that they were willing to assist their cause. Sasuke on the other hand was pissed that their assistance and the success of their plan was bound to Sakura's life.
As they entered the suite, Sakura immediately slipped out of her shoes and Sasuke made them both drinks. After taking a sip, they both sat on the couch and gazed into the night. "So what now?", Sakura asked. Sasuke emptied his glass, set it down on the table in front of them and cupped her cheeks.
"Now, I will make you mine once again.", he said in a husky voice before pressing his lips against hers.
For the first time in three years, Sasuke felt whole.
Post Scriptum: Alrighty, I have to say I'm really satisfied with this, because it's a perfect transition to what's coming next, my favourite chapter - yes the next one will be a bit different, let's leave it at that ;)
Post Post Scriptum: I had a guest reviewer asking me to edit my previous chapters and not make Sasuke a playboy. I'm new to this whole fanfiction thing and for those of you who don't know, amantium irae is my very first story. So I don't know the rules and customs and whatever, but I'm pretty sure I should stick to my guns as an author. I like the way I've portrayed both Sasuke and Sakura and I will not be changing them, simply because one person can't handle Sasuke having consensual sex with other women apart from Sakura, and if you're reading this guest reviewer, you really are the only person who told me they had a problem with 'playboy' Sasuke.
Apart from requests like that, the rest of your reviews are all so uplifting and motivating. Thank you guys for your great support, it really means a lot to me. I would love to hear your opinion on this chapter, so a review or some constructive criticism is always appreciated. :)
