Disclaimer: It's here.
Authoress' Notes: Well, quite a few people put this on their alert's, but I didn't get any reviews. I'll assume that those of you who are reading this liked it, or were intrigued by it, but I could really use some feedback. I still have a few more chapters ready for posting and I want to know if this is something I should try to dedicate my time to if I have some free time during the remainder of the school year.
Chapter 2 - The Return Home
Sasuke had turned back to silence once Kakashi had explained to him the situation. Naruto had tried to talk to Sasuke some more, but it was no use. The Uchiha remained stoic. So, Sakura had climbed off the bed, had rummaged through Sai's bag to find her toothbrush, and had then returned to the room next door where she had spent the night to get ready for their journey home without a glance backwards.
Upon entering the second room they had rented, Sakura saw Hinata packing up in silence. She had roomed with Kiba, Shino, and the quiet Hyuuga last night so that her and Hinata could share a bed - Yamato, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai had stayed with Sasuke.
"Where are the boys?" Sakura asked when she noticed that the reason the room was so quiet was that Shino and Kiba were nowhere in sight.
"They left with Yamato-san to go buy some more food for us to take on the road. Yamato-san and Kaksashi-san decided that we shouldn't waste time foraging for food on the way home," Hinata replied as she folded a shirt. If she had looked up, she would have seen Sakura's tear stained face and tired eyes.
"Smart idea," Sakura responded simply.
Then, without another word, she headed towards the bathroom, her toothbrush in hand. Once she reached it, she closed the door behind her and got to work, occupying herself with the task of cleaning her teeth, hoping that would keep her thoughts at bay. She really should have known that such a mundane chore wouldn't occupy her mind at all.
She had slapped Sasuke.
She couldn't believe it herself, and she was sure she had stunned Naruto and Kakashi - maybe even Sai. It was just...as soon as she had heard him speak those familiar words, her entire past had come at her like a wave, crashing over her and soaking her in memories. She had remembered when she had first started crushing on Sasuke as a child, all the happy times she had had with team seven, when Sasuke had left and she had realized she was well and truly in love with him, all her training with Tsunade... And she had remembered the first time she had seen Sasuke in years.
As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew she had seen an intent to kill in his eyes - and he had just admitted it to her! - but she still couldn't understand why. What had they done besides try to be there for him? Why had he acted that way? Had he really changed so much in his very core? He had once protected them ferociously - were whatever feelings he had for them really gone like he had claimed?
Her toothbrush clattered into the sink and she raised her hands to cover her eyes and keep the tears that threatened from falling. Her face was already blotchy – she didn't need to make it worse.
The exact reason she had slapped Sasuke was because that last memory – the failed retrieval mission with Yamato, Sai, and Naruto – was just painful for her to relive...even more so than the night he had left Konoha, because at least then she had still known who he was. Now, he was not allowed to sit there and say the same words he had when she was twelve like nothing had happened, like nothing had changed. Not when he had come at her and Naruto with an intent to kill.
That's true, Sasuke had said in response to her accusations. She knew those words should have cut her deep, turned her away from him, made her hate him even. If she were another girl with shallower feelings, they probably would have. But her feelings weren't shallow in the least. Her heartfelt words at the age of twelve were even more true now that she understood herself and could stand on her own two feet as a proud kunoichi. She didn't love him because he was attractive. She didn't love him because he was one of the few boys she had really gotten to know. She didn't love him because he appeared so perfect. She loved him because he was Sasuke - her silently caring, protective, competitive, hard working, strong, sometimes arrogant, sweet-hating, tomato-loving, smirking teammate.
Her anger had been short lived. It had passed as quickly as it had come because it didn't matter what he had done – she loved Sasuke regardless. What had she said to him? I still want to bring you back home? What she had really wanted to say was that she still loved him. She was stupid. But even if it seemed like she was fighting a losing battle, she couldn't just stop feeling what she felt.
If they could just find their way back to being teammates and friends, Sakura would be content. Yes, their last encounter had given her doubts about his feelings for them and how much he'd changed, but today she had found reasons to have hope. When Sasuke had glared at Kakashi, it was the same glare from when they were twelve. When he had spoken those familiar words, it proved he hadn't forgotten them and their experiences. And when he had looked right at her, she swore that she could see parts of the old Sasuke just beneath the surface of this hardened version of himself.
She sighed heavily and tried to make her mind go blank. All of this was making her dizzy and she needed to have a clear head for the journey home. Anyways, all that really mattered was that Sasuke was coming back and he would be living in Konoha again, and her and Naruto, who had both fought so hard for Sasuke, would continue to fight until he was willing to accept their bonds, even if it took the rest of their lives.
Sakura caught sight of her face in the mirror and grimaced. She looked awful.
She grabbed her toothbrush out of the sink and turned the water on so she could rinse it. Then she placed it aside and splashed the cold water on her face to wash her tear stained cheeks and make her more alert. When she was done, she closed the taps and studied her face in the mirror. She still looked tired, but at least it was better than before.
Sakura then combed her fingers through her hair and noted that it had grown out past her shoulders. She frowned. Ever since she had cut her hair in her first chunin exam she had kept it short - it felt wrong to grow it out again, to turn back into the girl she had been before.
"Hinata!" Sakura called as she opened the bathroom door. "Can you toss me the scissors from my medical pouch?"
"Sure, Sakura," Hinata answered as she walked over to Sakura's things and carefully rummaged for the scissors. "May I ask why?"
"I want to cut my hair," Sakura answered, tugging on the ends. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed how long it had gotten before. In her defence she had been really busy as of late. Tsunade had been increasing Sakura's hours at the hospital to make up for the fewer hours that she and Shizune now spent there, occupied as they were with the Hokage's duties. Not that Sakura terribly minded – she loved playing such an active role in saving people's lives.
"Would you like any help?" Hinata asked as she extracted the small scissors from the bag. "I'm already done packing."
Sakura smiled gratefully at Hinata. "That would be great. It's hard to make the back look nice when I cut it myself."
Sakura walked back into their room and took a seat on their bed as Hinata climbed on and took a seat behind her and started clipping. The two girls sat in a comfortable silence while Hinata worked. Sakura trusted her fellow kunoichi to do a good job. It's not like this was something new for them. A warm smile came to her lips as she remembered the first time.
Before Naruto had returned to Konoha with Jiraiya, Tsunade had made her complete at least a mission a month during her two and a half years of intense training with either Team Kurenai, Team Asuma, or Team Gai to help her flesh out her field experience. A five man cell wasn't ideal, but it wasn't a troublesome hazard, and not only had she learned how to use her techniques in the field, but also how to work with all kinds of people.
This rotation between teams was also the reason she could claim to actually be friends with every member of those teams. She had spent enough time with each person to actually get to know them on some kind of personal level. Her and Hinata had especially spent a lot of time together as Sakura had most often found herself working with Kurenai's team. That was why her and Hinata were so comfortable together now.
One mission in particular had completely closed the rift between them though. On a mission to retrieve a medical scroll for Tsunade from a nearby civilian village, they had encountered a lost child who had wandered away from the small civilian town. They were only twenty minutes out from the village and Sakura had offered to give the crying boy a piggy back to cheer him up some – while she had carried him, she hadn't noticed when the boy had pulled out a piece of pink gum from his mouth and had shoved it into her hair to see if it would match. When they had returned the boy to his very grateful mother and had picked up the scroll, they had gone to an inn to crash for the night before heading home. It was then, during her shower, that Sakura had found the gum.
With a certain fondness, she remembered how loud she had screamed – looking back on the event, it was funny, but at the time she had been livid. Hinata and Kurenai had immediately rushed into the bathroom to see what was wrong and Sakura had pointed glumly to the pink gum tangled in her equally pink locks. Once she had gotten over her initial shock, anger, and then laughter, she had sighed loudly and asked if she could borrow a kunai. Hinata had offered the kunai, and then, surprisingly, to cut her hair.
As the two girls had sat in the bathroom in a comfortable silence, something had simply changed. No, they hadn't magically become best friends, but the moment was so natural and easy that in it, their relationship had shifted away from that of mere acquaintances. After that, her and Hinata had talked easily when together and had even met up outside of missions to get to know each other better.
Now, as they sat on the bed, the same sort of comfortable silence around them, Sakura was very glad that she had a friend like Hinata with whom she could just sit and not talk without feeling awkward. This sort of calm would be impossible with Ino.
She was surprised when Hinata announced quietly: "I'm done. If you want me to fix anything just let me know."
"Okay, but you know I'll have no complaints. You've always done a good job," Sakura pointed out as she turned around, preparing to clean up the pink hair on the bed. After that first time, Hinata had often helped Sakura trim her hair.
"I'll take care of that. Don't worry," Hinata told her before promptly getting to work on the mess. "You still need to pack and get ready to leave."
"I knew I forgot something," Sakura mumbled under her breath before sighing. She had been so caught up with her thoughts of Sasuke and then her thoughts of the past that she had completely forgot her reason for waking up. As soon as Yamato, Kiba, and Shino were back, it was time to go.
Time to bring Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha.
Sasuke's eyes were fixed on the ground in front of him as he walked along, having no other choice – it was walk on his own or be dragged by Naruto. It's not like he could even fight back. His wrists were still shackled, though his feet were now free, and he had no usable chakra. His concentration on the ground below him grew as he refused to look anywhere else. Still, even though he could avoid looking at the people with him, he couldn't block out their chatter.
"Can't we stop to eat now, Kakashi-sensei? I'm hungry!"
Sasuke could identify Naruto's whining tone almost too easily. A response came to his lips in an instant. "Idiot," he mumbled under his breath, so quietly that no one heard him.
They had been on the road for five hours, and already Sasuke could feel the annoying familiarity of the situation tugging at something within him. He shook his head, keeping his gaze firmly on the ground. He had severed his bonds with his teammates...or so he had told himself over and over. So why did Naruto's normal antics make him feel so comfortable when thoughts of finally achieving his revenge brought nothing but a feeling of emptiness – even his anger was now gone.
He let out a frustrated growl that was masked by more of Naruto's yelling. The blond nin was a few feet to Sasuke's left, and his shouts were unignorable.
"Naruto! Shut up!" Sakura eventually yelled back, her irritation clear in her voice.
She was further away from him, walking between Kiba and Akamaru at the front of the formation. Right behind the three front scouts was Kakashi, followed by Sasuke. Naruto was on Sasuke's left, while Sai was on his right. Yamato was at his back, and Shino and Hinata walked together at the end of the line with the job of rear scouts.
He was safely in the middle of them all where he couldn't get away. Not that he had any intention of trying to escape. He had nowhere to go, and even if he got away, his chakra would still be sealed. Between that knowledge and his own renewed acknowledgement of reviving his clan, he had resolved to go to Konoha and see if he could make some sort of life there.
"We'll stop when Kakashi says so," Sakura continued in a patronizing tone.
"Let's stop."
It was Kakashi's declaration, and it brought their group to an immediate halt, and made Sakura squawk in annoyance.
"We'll just get off the main path," the jounin continued, "then we'll eat and get going. If we keep this pace, then we can reach Konoha just before nightfall."
Sasuke moved to follow everyone else, knowing that if he didn't he would just be tugged along by Naruto. He took a seat on the ground as the rest of them did, feeling Yamato take a seat a few feet at his back. Meanwhile, Naruto came to sit right next to him. Sasuke didn't turn his eyes from the cuffed hands in his lap.
"You know Sasuke, you were really a jerk to leave. And you were even more of a jerk that time we found you. But I forgive you," Naruto said simply.
Sasuke said nothing.
"I mean, I understand how you wanted to avenge your family so badly, and how you were so angry and frustrated, but now you're done. You have no more reasons to run from our friendship," Naruto added before lapsing into silence.
Sasuke bit back his growl of frustration. There it was again! That feeling of comfort. He couldn't deny it anymore. He had never severed his bonds, he had just deluded himself into thinking that he had because it had been necessary to help him keep his focus set on the path he had to take.
"Sasuke-kun, this is for you."
Sasuke's head lifted up from his lap automatically at the sound of her voice, his dark eyes focussing on the kunoichi crouched down in front of him. Sakura was offering him a store bought bento, a soft smile on her face. He took it without any thanks and Sakura just nodded her head before standing up and walking over to Hinata's side where she took a seat and began eating her own lunch.
"She forgives you too, you know."
Naruto was speaking again and this time Sasuke turned to look at his former teammate. Naruto was already eating, digging into his bento with gusto, but his face didn't bear his usual enormous grin. Instead Naruto looked calm and relaxed.
"We're both just glad we've finally caught up to you and that you're alive," Naruto continued after chewing a mouthful of rice.
They were still so accepting of him even after he had treated them like dirt. Unbidden, the words Kakashi had told them when they had passed his test and become a real team came to his mind: those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash. He hadn't taken care of them at all – he had abandoned them, and yet they had still chased after him and were still willing to take him back. Again he didn't know what to feel.
After their quick lunch, they resumed their walk back to Konoha in the same formation. Now Sasuke had his eyes glued to Kakashi's back instead of the ground, and he could just see flashes of Naruto on his left, and Sakura up ahead. Thankfully, Naruto had quieted down now that his stomach had been filled, but that only meant that Sasuke could hear the only two people presently conversing very clearly.
"Hey!" Sakura's tone was teasing. "At least I didn't lose to my teammate in the chunin exam!"
As Kakashi took another step forward, Sasuke was given a glimpse of Kiba sticking his tongue out at Sakura. "Yeah, well that's only because you had to fight Ino," Kiba protested.
"First of all, Ino's a lot stronger and smarter than you give her credit for. Second, you seem to be forgetting something there, puppy. I fought Shino too," Sakura pointed out. "And I won."
"Only because he was already exhausted from my fight with him!" Kiba insisted.
Sakura snorted. "Shino?" she called back over her shoulder, and Sasuke caught a glimpse of her happy face. "Were you really so exhausted from your fight with Kiba when we fought in the chunin exam?"
"Sorry, Kiba. I was no worse off than Sakura at the beginning of our match," Shino answered simply from behind his collar.
"And there you go. So build a bridge and get over it princess. What does it really matter anyways, you still ended up making chunin too," Sakura said with finality turning back to Kiba.
As Kiba made some retort, Sasuke found himself contemplating this new information while they continued walking, finding it a fairly safe subject to focus his attention on. Sakura was apparently a chunin now – that much he could garner from what he had heard of the conversation. She could also heal what he was sure had been fatal wounds, and she had apparently beaten Shino in the chunin exams. When had she gotten the strength to do any of that?
It was at that moment that he felt three chakras coming at them from the front. Everyone else seemed to notice it too if their halted walking and stiff postures were any indication. Sasuke now openly watched as Kiba and Akamaru sniffed the air.
"They're the same scents that were at the site of the explosion," Kiba declared after a second. "And they're closing in fast."
"Who were you travelling with, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked him without turning around.
Sasuke didn't answer. It would seem Team Hebi had looked for him and found him – something unsurprising given Karin's abilities. Truthfully, he hadn't really thought of what would happen to the team he had created after killing Itachi because he hadn't been able to think of his life past that point. His last three years had been spent training and planning for that one moment. Now that the moment had passed, all he knew was that he no longer needed them.
"Be on guard," Kakashi ordered, not skipping a beat in light of Sasuke's non-answer. "Sasuke," the jounin added in a quieter voice so only Sasuke could hear him, "don't forget the seal."
Kakashi was reminding him that running away would not be to his benefit. Sasuke idly wondered if Kakashi would believe him if he said that he had no such intentions and that he was almost grudgingly finding himself more and more willing to go back to Konoha... Probably not easily – Kakashi was less blind in his trust than Naruto and Sakura. His old teammates on the other hand would probably be overjoyed to hear something like that.
A few seconds later, three ninja burst out of the trees and onto the path in front of them. Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo looked prepared for a fight.
"Let Sasuke-kun come with us and no one will get hurt," Karin declared.
Sakura was still right at the front of the group sandwiched between Akamaru and Kiba, but Sasuke watched as she clenched her fists and then took a bold step forward, putting herself in front of the whole group. Then she laughed humourlessly. "I'm sorry. Sasuke-kun is coming home right now," she declared. "As for me, I really just want to get back to my apartment and my comfy bed, so if you would be so kind as to clear the path..." And with that she launched herself forward, her right fist coming up.
Sasuke watched as no one made to stop Sakura's rash movement. He was confused. What was going on? As Sakura came within feet of Team Hebi, who looked completely prepared to retaliate to whatever Sakura did, she stopped suddenly. And then her fist came to the ground, shattering the earth in front of her. Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin had to jump to the side of the road to avoid the destruction.
Sasuke could only stare. He had never seen Sakura's new strength before and it was shocking to think the weak girl in his memories could do that. What exactly had happened while he was gone?
"Sakura. You should really be less destructive. It's not an attractive quality in a woman," Kiba pointed out in a bland voice, clearly unimpressed by the display before him.
"I was just clearing the trash off the road," Sakura answered just as unaffectedly without turning her green orbs from the three Team Hebi members.
She wasn't unaffected though. Inside, a new cut to her heart was being made. Sasuke really had formed a team. What the hell? She hadn't wanted to believe it before, but now she couldn't ignore that reality any longer. Her hope took another blow. Maybe Sasuke really had cut all ties with her and Naruto. Why else would he go form a new team? He couldn't be unaware that her and Naruto had been willing to help him.
She shook her head to clear the thoughts. The enemy was still in front of her and she couldn't afford to be distracted. As her attention focussed back on the group of three nin, she was startled to notice the biggest one clutching his head in his hands as if he was in pain, and his skin darkening. The other two were slowly moving back.
"Crap," the white haired one murmured. "He's going to go berserk."
What was going on?
Sasuke knew all too well what was happening. Juugo was in the midst of succumbing to one of his rages, and in his current state, Sasuke couldn't stop it. Both Karin and Suigetsu had already stepped back, making Sakura the closest person to Juugo.
"Sakura, get back!"
As the words slipped out of his mouth, Sasuke noted that his feelings for his old teammates were hardly buried deep anymore where he could pretend that they didn't exist. He had only spent a few hours in their presence, and armed only with the knowledge that his revenge no longer tied him down, those feelings had broken free of the chains he had locked them up with. His warning to Sakura had been automatic.
He watched as confusion flashed across Sakura's face before she listened to him and leaped backwards, putting distance between herself and the team he had put together to help him find Itachi. With his chakra sealed, he didn't think he could stop Juugo – not when he couldn't even use his Sharingan. In an instant an idea came to him. He couldn't use the Sharingan...but someone else could.
"Kakashi, you have to show him your Sharingan," Sasuke told his teacher, hoping that Kakashi would listen to him.
The jounin contemplated Sasuke for a second before he nodded and slipped his forehead protector up onto his head, exposing his Sharingan, and appeared at Juugo's side. Juugo was about to completely snap, and was muttering about how he would kill all of them loud enough for Sasuke to hear. Sasuke watched as the man looked up at Kakashi, murderous intent in his eyes. There was a tense moment, and then Juugo caught sight of the Sharingan and froze.
"Stop, Juugo," Sasuke ordered from his spot. His voice was cold and left no room for argument.
The combination of the Sharingan and Sasuke's voice seemed to do it. The darkening across Juugo's skin faded to nothing and the large man fell to the ground in a sitting position, his head cradled in his hands.
"I'm dangerous. I never should have left," Juugo murmured in a continuous stream under his breath.
Kakashi stared at the large man curiously. Whatever had taken over the man in front of him had looked like the effects of the cursed seal, and yet the sight of the Sharingan and Sasuke's voice were enough to push it back. Just who was this?
"Sasuke-kun!" It was Karin's voice, whining and high pitched. "You could have at least stopped him after he dispatched of these leaf nin."
Sasuke caught the withering glare Naruto shot at Karin. Sasuke came to the decision that he should stop this now before it got too troublesome and a fight broke out. He needed to make things clear to the members of Team Hebi.
"I am returning to Konoha," he answered Karin. "Team Hebi has accomplished its goal and can now be dissolved."
Karin's sharp intake of breath was audible because everyone else was silent in light of Sasuke's words. He had said that he was returning to Konoha. It was the first time he had commented on his capture at all, and he made it sound like it was all his own intention.
Naruto couldn't help the grin that came to his face. Sasuke had said he was returning and it sounded like he had made that decision all on his own and that he hadn't been forced into it. Naruto had always known that Sasuke hadn't really severed their ties – after all, Sasuke hadn't managed to kill them in spite of his so-called intention to do so. He was just a stubborn jerk who had let himself be consumed by anger and revenge – though Naruto could now begin to understand how losing your entire family at the hands of your brother could make you feel. After all, not only had he experienced the loneliness of being without a family, but he had also felt the pain of loss when Sasuke, the closest thing he had to a brother, had left. Now that Sasuke's revenge was complete though, it seemed the buried bonds were resurfacing all on their own and the anger that had consumed him was fading without a target.
Sakura didn't grin, but she felt as though someone had placed a chakra filled hand on her heart and healed a good portion of its injuries. Again, he was giving her reason to hope. He had warned her much like he would have when they were genin, and he had said he was returning to Konoha as if it was his choice. She knew what she wanted to believe more than anything. That Sasuke was willing to come back and give them a chance. But it couldn't be that easy. They had been apart for a long time, and she still wasn't sure how much he had changed even if she was seeing flashes of the Sasuke that was familiar to her.
"Sasuke-kun!" Karin finally whined some more, placing her hands on her hips. "And what are we supposed to do?" she finally asked.
"Didn't you have business to attend to?" It was Suigestsu who answered Karin's question with a sneer and a laugh. "I mean, I know what I'm going to do. I didn't get my crack at Kisame – some creepy plant dude came and said that the fight was over and that everything was taken care of, and then they both just left. Of course, by the time we got there, you were gone and it took us until now to find you," Suigetsu continued, directing his attention to Sasuke. "I guess I'll just have to track him down on my own now."
"Well what about Juugo?" Karin asked instead, pointing to the man still sitting on the ground his head hanging down. "You told him you'd act as his prison. That you would stop him if he tried to kill anyone. Suigetsu and I aren't going to watch him, and it'll be on your hands if he kills anyone."
Sasuke had always avoided needless killing, a trait which Suigetsu and Karin had been witness to, and he knew that if they left Juugo alone, Juugo would undoubtedly go on to harm more people, and it would be his fault. He was the one who had made him leave his prison...and Juugo couldn't just be left on his own or he would submit to his rage and he would destroy...and then feel horrible about it all afterwards. Sasuke had meant the words he had spoken to Juugo when he had recruited him, though Sasuke could no longer identify the motivation behind them. He needed some kind of solution, and only one seemed to present itself. Sasuke mentally prepared to ask Kakashi if Juugo could come to Konoha when a clear voice rang out in the silence.
While all this was going through Sasuke's mind, Sakura was taking in the situation with her clinical eyes. From her observations of the large man and the brief conversation around her, she had concluded that he had entered into his murderous state without conscious choice and she had seen on her own how horrified he seemed to be by his own change. And the way it had come over him almost reminded her of how the curse seal had grabbed hold of Sasuke. It was like someone had dropped the pieces of a puzzle before her, all ready to be assembled with a little work.
"You can't help it, can you?" Sakura asked, her voice sad.
Sasuke turned his head to look at her and saw her walking forwards toward Juugo.
"Sakura," Kakashi said hesitantly. He still stood close to Juugo and the other two members of Team Hebi, watching them carefully, his Sharingan still exposed.
"It's okay Kakashi-sensei. I'll be fine," she answered confidently as she walked past him.
Kakashi finally nodded wearily, and let her go. Sasuke knew Juugo wouldn't enter into a rage again so soon, but even he was a little apprehensive. This just said more about how quickly his old feelings were resurfacing. It made him feel weak that his old resolve was so easily shattering.
Sakura had reached Juugo and was now crouched down in front of him.
"Hey. I'm Sakura. What's your name?" she murmured.
When he didn't answer, Suigetsu did: "He's Juugo, I'm Suigetsu, and the cranky one over there is Karin."
"Hey, Juugo," Sakura tried again. "Hey. Look at me." When he didn't, she grabbed the hands that covered his face and pulled them away, holding them in her own much smaller hands.
"That's better," she murmured. "Now, clearly you didn't change on your own accord. Do you know what causes you to change?"
Juugo didn't answer her.
Sasuke did.
"The change is random and it's caused by an enzyme in his system," he told her.
"Well then, that's good," Sakura proclaimed happily, tightening her grip on Juugo's hands. Sasuke watched the big man look up with utter confusion on his face. A quick look at the Konoha nin to see their reactions to Sakura's proclamation revealed that everyone was just as confused as Juugo was. He was just as confused as Juugo was.
"Why is that good?" Juugo finally managed to ask.
"A problem with an enzyme is something I can potentially fix," Sakura said with a smile. "I can't promise you anything, but if you come to Konoha I know that I have a good chance of finding some way to counter its effects. Especially with Tsunade-sama's help. What do you think?"
"Pfft," Karin smirked. "Like you can help him! I mean, Orochimaru couldn't–"
"That's because he didn't try!" Sakura yelled, standing up and whirling around to face Karin, her face clearly betraying her anger. Karin took a step back, shock coming to her face, and Sasuke could only wonder what the redhead was seeing in Sakura's chakra that would cause such a reaction. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that Orochimaru would actually help someone? Or too stupid that I couldn't put together the puzzle pieces? The enzyme must be the basis of the curse seal – like that snake bastard would have ever tried to fix that!"
"Sakura."
Sasuke watched as Kakashi's voice seemed to reign in Sakura's emotions. Her face settled back into a calm mask.
"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura mumbled before turning back to Juugo. "What do you say?" she then asked offering him her hand. "I have a strong feeling that I can help you quell these murderous urges. Plus, I have the best connections where the Hokage's concerned and I'll speak for you. Please let me do this."
Finally, Juugo nodded and slowly stretched his hand out to meet Sakura's. As they clasped hands, she pulled him to his feet with ease, letting go of his hand, but not leaving his side.
"Well, let's go then, Kakashi-sensei. I'm sure we can just let the other two go off on their way now since I just resolved the last problem. But it's your orders, of course," Sakura declared from her spot next to Juugo.
Sasuke saw Kakashi's eyes twitch as Sakura basically ordered him about, but then the man pulled his hitai-ate down over his Sharingan and let it go. "If they're no threat to our mission or Konoha, I guess we can just leave them be. Sakura, you'll walk right behind Kiba next to Juugo now," Kakashi finally ordered.
"W-w-wait!"
Sasuke barely suppressed his own eye twitch.
"I want to come to Konoha too!" Karin continued her exclamations.
Naruto, still on Sasuke's left, now raised his hands behind his head and snorted.
"And we'd want you in our village because?" Naruto asked, shaking his head.
"I'm a gifted sensor. I would be an asset to your village," Karin pleaded her case, her eyes focussed on Kakashi. "Besides, I have no where else to go and I want to stay with Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke watched as Kakashi considered Karin and finally sighed. Sasuke knew Karin was talented, but that didn't mean he wanted to keep her around, especially now that he had no need of her. "It's not up to me. It's Tsunade-sama's decision, but I will agree to take you to her."
"Aww, come on Kakashi-sensei. I don't like her attitude!" Naruto complained. "She's the type who would stab us in the back at the first opportunity."
"I never said she would come as a free citizen. She'll need to be shackled of course, and Hinata will seal her tenketsu. Only if she agrees to that can she come," Kakashi explained, his exposed eye fixed on Karin, watching and analysing her every movement.
Sasuke turned his attention back to Karin, who seemed to consider Kakashi's conditions before her eyes finally turned away from the gray haired man and landed on him. He saw the look in her eyes and knew what her answer would be. He bit back his annoyance.
"Fine," Karin finally answered.
"Well then, I guess I might as well join the party. It'll be hard work tracking down Kisame on my own. What do you think the chances are that if I play nice your Hokage will give me a crack at him?" Suigetsu asked.
Sasuke heard Yamato groan behind him. This was turning into a circus!
"We're taking in a bunch of freaks, Kakashi-sensei! Baa-chan's going to be pissed with all the extra work we're bringing back for her," Naruto pointed out.
"Better her headache than mine," Kakashi said, and Yamato shot Kakashi a glance that clearly said: I'm blaming this all on you. "Same rules go for you. Restraints, sealed tenketsu."
"Fine by me," Suigetsu responded. "By the way. Do you guys have any water?"
And so that was how they ended up at Konoha's gates, a few hours later, with all of team Hebi in their company.
"Yo!" Kakashi called when they were right in front of the closed gates.
An instant, and a poof of smoke later, a jounin was standing at Kakashi's side.
"Aren't you a little senior ranked for guard duty?" Kakashi commented.
The man smirked. "Hey, it's a favour to a friend. His wife's having a baby right now so I took his post for the evening," Genma answered, the senbon between his lips twitching with their movement. "Of course you have to go and bring back a mess for me to deal with the one night I'm out here, huh?"
"I try," Kakashi smirked behind his mask.
"Ahem!" Naruto cleared his throat. "I'm tired and I want to go to Ichiraku before it closes, so if you could just let us go see baa-chan that would be awesome."
Genma flashed Naruto a smirk.
"I see you haven't changed Uzumaki," Genma said. "You know, it was a quiet two and a half years in the village while you were out training with Jiraiya-sama."
"Idle chitchat is nice and all, but you must know, it's really rude to keep us waiting. I may have to report your behaviour to Tsunade-sama if you don't hurry up and let us in."
Genma turned his eyes to the speaker and saw Sakura smiling brightly. Then he smirked even bigger than before. "How's that right hook, Sakura?"
"Better," she told him simply. "You want to see it? We could spar again..."
"I'll take your word for it," he answered, holding his hands out in a stop gesture in front of him.
"You're just scared she's going to clobber you again," Kiba pointed out.
"So, let's get you to Tsunade-sama," Genma muttered, turning away and waving his hand to signal for another two shinobi to open the gates for them.
"I will hear that story later," Kakashi told Genma, proudly ruffling Sakura's hair.
"Yeah, yeah. Just go straight to the Hokage Tower. That's where you'll find her," Genma said, glaring at Kiba.
Karin watched the whole exchange, her annoyance from earlier building. First, she had watched as a little pink haired kunoichi, who addressed Sasuke with the kun suffix so easily and with perhaps the calmest and stablest chakra signature she had ever seen, had destroyed the earth without so much as a shift in her chakra. Then the same girl – Sakura – had called her trash. To top it off, Sasuke had actually warned that irritating pinkette away from Juugo, before stopping Juugo's urge and dissolving their team. And his chakra! It felt much calmer than it had before Itachi's death – Karin wanted to say it was because Sasuke had accomplished his goal, but she couldn't ignore how Sasuke's eyes seemed softer now as he gazed at the Konoha nin.
Of course, after that she had been pissed, and Sakura had seemed like an easy target for her anger, so when the leaf kunoichi had claimed to be able to heal Juugo, of course Karin had taken the opportunity to try and tear her down. It had backfired splendidly. The change in Sakura's chakra the moment Orochimaru's name was mentioned was instantaneous. Karin could feel the rage that had suddenly coloured it flare to life, almost as if the kunoichi was becoming another person. It was unexpected and terrifying in its intensity. She couldn't help but step away from the girl and her changed chakra.
And then, with her sensei's words, it was like the rage was washed from her chakra, and it resumed its eery calm. It was one of the strangest things Karin had ever witnessed.
And now, she was standing outside of Konoha, listening to the weak leaf ninja banter about inconsequential things, and it was just ticking her off some more. She just wanted to meet the Hokage and get this over with. She had made her choice – she had nowhere else to go and she wanted to stay with Sasuke – and now she just wanted to deal with the consequences. Of course, it didn't help that their little conversation was more indicative of that stupid Sakura's apparent strength, and that Sasuke seemed to be listening to it curiously and contemplating the pink haired kunoichi with those newly softened eyes of his.
Karin wanted to punch something. She had thrown herself at Sasuke and never had he so much as acknowledged what she was offering. And now here he was, having spent no more than a day travelling with his teammates, and that Sakura had elicited more of a reaction from him than she ever had. It was infuriating.
Somehow, their large party made it through the village without being seen by anyone. All too soon, they were standing in the Hokage Tower outside the door to Tsunade's office.
"Sakura. You do it," Kakashi ordered.
Sakura rolled her eyes, but nodded, knowing Kakashi wanted her to soften Tsunade to their news first. Sakura slowly opened one of the doors enough for her to slip into her teacher's office before closing it behind her. She was greeted by the familiar sight of Tsunade, sitting behind her desk, a sake bottle sitting opened in front of her. It was the reason no one was allowed to enter the Hokage's office uninvited.
Sakura was one of the few exceptions.
"Shishou, just because you can heal your own liver, it does not make drinking that much okay," Sakura commented lightly as she approached her teacher preparing to deliver the news of their return and make the request for an immediate audience with the Hokage for Sasuke and the other three nin.
When she had reached her teacher's side without any answer from Tsunade, Sakura got worried.
"Shishou," Sakura mumbled, reaching out hesitantly to touch her teacher's shoulder.
The woman jerked up at her touch, her light brown eyes flashing to Sakura's before settling on the sake bottle in front of her.
"What's wrong, shishou?" Sakura asked, much more concerned now. Tsunade was never this unaware, even when she was completely drunk.
"I'm... I'm just tired and stressed from overwork," Tsunade finally answered Sakura, holding her head in her hands.
Sakura didn't believe the lie for a second, but she let it go because she was just about to make her teacher even more miserable, tired, and stressed than she already looked.
"Shishou. I'm here to report on our mission. We were successful. The rest of our team is outside with Uchiha Sasuke and...some other...guests," Sakura said simply, struggling only over what to call Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin – each really deserved their own individual designation. "I'm sorry to put more work on your plate, but you really need to make some cursory decisions right now in regards to their fate."
Tsunade snapped to attention then.
"Uchiha Sasuke is standing outside my office?" she asked in disbelief. "Did he kill Itachi?"
Sakura nodded her head. "It's over. It's over and we got him back," the young girl murmured.
Tsunade nodded her head, her worry for Jiraiya taking a back seat for a moment – she still had not heard from him since he had left to collect information on Akatsuki's leader. The Godaime had already thought long and hard about what to do with the Uchiha if he was brought back, because she had known it was a decision she might have to face as long as Naruto and Sakura kept looking for the headstrong Uchiha. And here he was.
"Send everyone in then."
"Actually, shishou. I was hoping I could just talk to you privately before everyone else comes in," Sakura murmured, looking down at her feet.
Tsunade couldn't help but smile. She had proudly watched Sakura flourish into a confident young woman, and yet here she was, clearly cowed. It was a new development. Sakura hadn't bothered to be so quiet with her since their first month together, going so far as to enter into screaming matches with her when they disagreed.
"If you're going to ask me for leniency for Sasuke, I can only give so much. I can assure you that he will not be put to death or jailed, but any more than that I cannot decide without seeing him first," Tsunade answered. The truth was, she was already sitting on a suitable punishment that she only needed to fine tune upon seeing the Uchiha.
Her smile widened as she saw Sakura blush. "Thank-you shishou. But that's not what I meant to ask you about." Sakura lifted her head and met her teacher's eyes. Tsunade nodded her head, encouraging the girl to go on. So, Sakura opened her mouth, and explained to Tsunade all she had learned about Juugo and his rages on the walk back.
"I've already talked to him, and he understands that it's for the best if he stays in one of the fortified prison cells until I've made some progress. But please shishou, he doesn't want to hurt anyone, but he can't help it. He's even willing to be locked up to stop himself! Please say you'll let me help him."
"As long as he poses no danger to the village in that cell, he can stay until you find a way to help him. And once you find a cure that works – because I know you will, you're my student after all – I think I can at least help him find a life here," Tsunade decided.
"Thank-you shishou!" Sakura exclaimed, throwing her arms around Tsunade's neck. "Now put away the sake bottle while I let everyone in. Naruto's probably already bouncing off the walls out there."
Sakura strode to the door as Tsunade shoved the sake bottle into a drawer in her desk. As Sakura reached for the handle, she paused for a moment. "I should probably warn you that there are two more surprises waiting for you. These ones, I really don't mind if you hate and choose to throw out," Sakura commented drily, before opening the door.