Authoress' Notes: Sorry it took so long to post this. I had evil midterm exams so I couldn't edit the chapter. Now they are over...temporarily. Gah. On another note, I'm so grateful for the support I've received for this story. I never expected to be on so many people's story alerts after a little more than a month. So I've decided to continue with this, and I'll hopefully be able to update sort of maybe regularly until my Summer vacation begins. But we'll see. I only have three more prewritten chapters (not including this one), and they need to be edited quite a bit before they are fit to post, so I can't even promise that they'll be up soon. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. And please, leave me a review so I know what you're thinking!
Chapter 4 - How to Save a Life
Let him know that you know best, cause after all you do know best,
Try to slip past his defence without granting innocence,
Lay down a list of what is wrong, the things you've told him all along,
And pray to God he hears you, and pray to God he hears you.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness,
And I would have stayed up with you all night had I known how to save a life.
- How to Save a Life, The Fray
When Sakura awoke, it was to the sound of soft snores coming from somewhere behind her and a warmth at her back. She rolled away from the warmth and the sounds until she could take in the person beside her. Naruto was curled up next to her, facing the wall, in what she knew had been his attempt to keep his hands very much to himself since he usually slept completely splayed out – even on missions when they had to sleep on the uncomfortable ground.
She smiled.
Naruto was dependable. She could always count on him – even to make her feel better. Something so simple as sharing a bed and waking up beside him made her that much more secure in everything. It reminded her of waking up next to him on missions together. It was familiar. It was normal. It was right.
She climbed quietly and carefully from the bed, unwilling to wake Naruto so early when she knew that he would normally want to sleep in. A glance at the clock on the wall told her it was seven thirty, and that she had about an hour and fifteen minutes before she should be heading next door to meet Sasuke since it would take them about ten minutes to reach the hospital from here.
Sasuke...
A night's sleep and Naruto's soothing words hadn't been enough to settle her thoughts, but they had been enough to push her negative feelings to where she could presently ignore them. She had to focus on more pressing matters anyways. Like getting Sasuke to the hospital on time for his interrogation with Kakashi and Neji, and how she was going to go about curing Juugo. Which meant she had to get up and start getting ready for the day.
Naruto's shower was bound to be gross, but Sakura really needed to get cleaned up before she went anywhere. So, she grabbed her bag and slowly made her way to Naruto's small bathroom, and was pleasantly surprised to find it passably clean. She closed the door behind her, lamenting the lack of a lock even though she knew Naruto wouldn't purposely try to peek on her – he knew that such peeking was equivalent to asking for a chakra powered punch in the face. Still, that didn't mean that Naruto wouldn't wander into the bathroom by accident in a state of half alertness...
She hurriedly extracted a set of clothes to change into from her pack as well as her medical pouch and weapons holster, and set them on a relatively clean looking counter top by the sink. She also pulled out a towel and her own shampoo, and then she stripped down and took the quickest shower of her life.
When she was done, she towelled herself dry and got dressed as quickly as she had gotten undressed. She wrapped her hair up in the towel and rooted around her bag for her toothbrush and a hairbrush. When she had taken care of her oral hygiene, she took the towel off her head, and ran the brush through her short pink locks. Satisfied with her cleanliness and overall appearance, she put her things away and proceeded to tidy up Naruto's bathroom so that it wasn't just passably clean but spotless.
When she was satisfied with her work, she exited the small room, and was glad to see that Naruto hadn't awoken to the noise she was making in his apartment. It was only eight o'clock, and there was no reason for him to get up yet. But she was up, and she still had some time to kill.
She considered returning home to drop off her stuff, but decided that would be a silly waste of time. She then thought about going out for breakfast as she knew the only edible thing she would find in Naruto's apartment was likely to be ramen – which she refused to eat anywhere else other than Ichiraku if she could help it, given how often Naruto dragged her there – but even that seemed like too much of a bother. So she did the only thing that would keep her mind and body occupied while she waited for an appropriate time to head next door.
Sakura cleaned.
By the time eight forty-five rolled around, Naruto's apartment was near spotless, and Sakura was ready to pick up Sasuke. She scrawled a quick note for her friend, thanking him for his comfort and hospitality, and telling him where she had gone. Then, she shouldered her backpack and exited Naruto's apartment, taking the few steps towards the next apartment door down the hall.
When she reached it, she took a few deep, calming breaths. She had nothing else to occupy her mind now other than the task at hand, and it was with a mixture of happy anticipation and nervous dread that she finally noted that she would be alone with Sasuke for the first time in three long years.
Sakura raised her fist to the door and pulled back her hand to knock, but before she could complete the motion, the door swung open to reveal Sasuke, still clad in the outfit the boys had managed to assemble for him yesterday from their own clothes before they had set off for Konoha – long black pants and a navy long sleeved shirt, with his own black sandals encasing his feet.
After a moment's silence, Sakura finally gathered her courage and spoke first.
"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she murmured, staring at his chest.
She wanted to kick herself. Why was she acting like a shy schoolgirl, dammit? No. She knew what it was. It was her doubt creeping back up on her – her doubt in who he was and his intentions in regards to their friendship.
She noticed he didn't respond to her greeting.
"We should get going. I don't want you to be late," she finally continued, turning away from Sasuke and heading for the stairs.
Half of her wanted to run back, cling to him, and never let go.
A few seconds later, she heard a door shutting and a key turning in a lock, and then unhurried footsteps. It was evidence of Sasuke's long legs that those footsteps were already right on her heels when she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Sakura had yet to meet his eyes.
She was just walking along in silence, her orbs focussed on the surprisingly empty road in front of her. So he followed her, his hands shoved into the pockets of the pants Naruto had given him yesterday morning to replace his own tattered and bloodied ones – he really needed to buy his own clothes. After five minutes of this silence though, he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. He had always preferred silence, but he had also gotten used to noise, and Sakura was not supposed to be this quiet – in that, she was exactly like Naruto.
She coughed, and Sasuke turned his eyes to her to see if she would finally speak. He was mildly disappointed when the silence between them persisted, and despite the noises of the city in the background, never before had a silence weighed down on Sasuke so much. At least that was the reasoning he gave himself for being the one to break it.
"So you passed the chunin exam?" he asked. It was one of the first things that came to mind and he thought it seemed like a natural enough question.
To say Sakura looked shocked that he had spoken would be an understatement of the grossest kind. Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened into a perfect O. She abruptly stopped walking, before her feet immediately resumed their pace, perhaps even quicker than before.
"Yes," she finally answered softly without turning to look at him.
"When?" he prodded uncharacteristically when that was all she said. She wasn't supposed to be the one giving one word answers. She was supposed to be the one bugging him for longer responses.
"When I was fourteen."
"Hn," he muttered in reply, and she didn't say anything further.
Another few minutes of silence passed and Sasuke could now see the hospital and the movement around it as a few people walked into and out of the building. Surprisingly, they hadn't seen much of anyone on their walk there, and Sasuke had to assume that Sakura had taken him on a more unpopulated path through the city because by nine o'clock in the morning, the village, or the marketplace at least, should have been bustling with activity.
When they were no more than twenty feet from the hospital's entrance, a young girl exiting the building caught sight of them, and then rushed straight towards Sakura, yelling loudly: "Nee-chan! Nee-chan!"
Sasuke saw a bright smile come to Sakura's face as the younger girl flung herself into Sakura's now wide open arms. He couldn't help but wonder who she was. Sakura had never mentioned a little sister...had she?
"Hey, Moegi-chan," Sakura replied, ruffling the girl's hair as Moegi stepped out of Sakura's embrace. "What were you doing at the hospital? Did Konohamaru get hurt again?"
The girl – Moegi – sighed heavily in obvious frustration. "Yes, nee-chan! We were just supposed to find Madam Shijimi's cat Tora...again... I don't know how Konohamaru gets into such messes every time, even on such a simple mission..." the girl trailed off as her eyes landed on him. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened in surprise much like Sakura's had only minutes earlier.
Apparently Sakura took notice of the girl's reaction as well, because not even a second later she was giving Moegi a light push in the opposite direction of the hospital. "You'll get used to it Moegi-chan. Boys are just stupid like that sometimes. We'll talk about that later though, okay? I have somewhere I need to be," Sakura called over her shoulder to a still frozen Moegi, already walking away.
Sasuke was right behind her when they strolled through the hospital doors, wondering about the relationship between Sakura and the young girl. Moegi looked a little familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. But Sakura and Moegi didn't look anything alike so it wasn't because they were siblings...right? And though he thought the information was of relatively little importance, he couldn't believe that he would ever have forgotten anything he had once learned. So either this girl was not Sakura's actual sister – very likely – or Sakura had just never mentioned a sibling to him before – highly unlikely given her chattiness in their genin days.
Satisfied with his conclusion, he considered asking her outright to prove his correctness, but it was then that another cheery voice called out to Sakura.
"Ah! Good morning, Sakura-sama!" a woman behind the front desk, dressed in the uniform of a Konoha nurse, chirped happily as her eyes landed on the pink-haired girl at his side, fully passing over him.
It didn't escape his notice that this woman addressed Sakura with the very respectful -sama suffix.
"Good morning, Reika-san! How have you been? How's little Mika-chan doing?" Sakura responded in the same tone as the older woman.
"Oh, we're both fine. She got over her little cold the day after you left and is sleeping much better now," the woman answered Sakura's question, the bright smile of her's never wavering. "What about you? Is Tsunade-sama overworking you again?"
"Not at all," Sakura answered, laughing cheerily.
Sasuke continued to watch the conversation with mild interest.
Reika laughed as well before quipping: "Which of course means that by this time next week you'll be singing a different tune."
"Well, of course," Sakura answered before politely excusing herself and walking towards an elevator.
Sasuke was once again right behind her and was half thinking she had forgotten about him. He watched her press the up button, and then she crossed her arms and finally glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was unashamedly watching her, and when she caught his gaze, she turned her eyes back forward quickly.
"Tsunade-shishou's office is on the top floor of the hospital. Neji will probably already be there when we arrive since he's always early, but Kakashi-sensei will be late on principal, even if it's only by a few minutes. Still, I can't risk potentially having to wait around for him all day if he doesn't decide to be prompt. So, that being said, I'll be leaving you with Neji as soon as we get there," she told him, staring at the reflective elevator doors.
There was a ping sound, and the doors of the elevator slid open and Sakura walked in without looking at him. As seemed to be rapidly becoming a usual activity for him, he followed her, and the doors slid shut behind him.
It was then that he remembered what kind of work Sakura had to go do – she would be working with Juugo this morning to try and cure him. He felt an old feeling of concern for her creep up on him.
"Sakura?" he called her name to get her attention.
Again she looked startled that he had broken the silence between them.
"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" she answered, sparing him a fleeting glance as the elevator pinged again and the doors slid open.
As they walked out of the elevator and down a hallway that seemed to be filled with offices and laboratories, he told her what he felt he needed to say.
"Be careful with Juugo. He does not intentionally cause harm, but if he starts to behave abnormally, make sure he's locked up, and make sure you're not anywhere near him," Sasuke explained, the odd feeling of worry lessening as he gave her his warning.
Sakura seemed to consider his words before she nodded. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," she murmured as she came to a stop outside a closed door with Tsunade's name on it.
Sakura knocked once and waited patiently. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal none other than Hyuuga Neji.
"Sakura, it's nice to see you again," Neji spoke, his tone formal, but sincere, and a small smile on his lips.
"It's nice to see you too, Neji. When did you get back?" Sakura replied happily.
And that was when Sasuke finally noticed how her reserved attitude seemed to be saved only for him. She had worn a bright smile on her face for the little girl Moegi, the nurse Reika, and she wore one even now for Hyuuga Neji of all people.
"The afternoon you guys left," Neji answered her. "By the way, I believe it was Tenten's intention to try and visit you here this afternoon."
"Well then, that means I should go and get my work outside of the hospital done as quickly as I can so that I'm actually here if she stops by," Sakura said simply, her smile unwavering. "So I guess I'll leave Sasuke-kun in your care, Neji. And don't forget that I need to see you for a checkup soon."
Neji nodded in acknowledgement.
Then Sakura turned her attention to Sasuke and briefly met his eyes.
"Goodbye, Sasuke-kun," she spoke softly, her bright smile instantly weakening.
And it bothered him.
"Hn," he managed to mutter before she had turned away and strolled down the hall back towards the elevators, leaving Sasuke alone with Neji.
"Come inside, Uchiha," Neji ordered, his voice cold.
Sasuke instantly adopted an equally cold attitude, straightening his posture as he strode past Neji into the Godaime's office – Neji had been a rival in the past, and even now, when Neji was supposed to be interrogating him, it was hard not to think of him as such. There were three chairs set up – two behind the desk, and one in front of it. Before Neji could motion to the lone chair, Sasuke had already seated himself in it. Meanwhile, Neji had strolled behind the desk and had taken a seat in one of the two chairs there, his elbows propped on the desk before him, his fingers interlaced, and his gaze fixed on Sasuke over the top of his linked hands.
Neither of the young men spoke for several minutes, choosing to glare at each other instead.
"You're lucky Tsunade-sama likes Naruto and Sakura so much or else you wouldn't be sitting here right now," Neji finally broke the silence, his face impassive, his voice chilly. "You'd have been dragged into a proper interrogation room this morning from a proper jail cell to meet with a proper interrogator just like your teammates," Neji emphasized the last word as if he were stressing his contempt.
Sasuke blinked. Was that the real reason his punishment was so easy? Because the Hokage favoured his teammates? He didn't deign Neji's comment worthy of a response however.
It didn't seem to matter to the Hyuuga though. He continued on in spite of Sasuke's silence.
"You don't deserve such devoted friends like Naruto and Sakura," Neji said with conviction, as if his words were the absolute truth.
And somehow, Sasuke found himself internally agreeing. It was something he had never thought before, but hearing it so plainly from Neji, he suddenly found he couldn't think otherwise. He had left Naruto and Sakura and had tried to forget them while they had searched for him and had never given up on him – he really didn't deserve them.
A poof in the room interrupted his revelry before he could delve further into his own mind, and the fact that he couldn't disagree with Neji was temporarily forgotten. Kakashi now stood behind the Hyuuga, his usual orange book held in one hand while his other hand was raised in a lazy greeting.
"Yo," he said happily, taking a seat next to Neji and shutting his book, putting it away in his pocket. "How did your night go, Sasuke? Naruto didn't make too much noise I hope," Kakashi continued in the same light manner.
Sasuke said nothing, not deigning what he recognized as Kakashi's teasing worthy of a reply.
Kakashi's eye crinkled as a hidden smile came to his lips.
"Then let's get right down to business," Kakashi said, his tone instantly becoming serious.
It was nearly two hours later that Sasuke had answered the last of the two jounin's questions. The reason the both of them were present at this supposed interrogation was so that Neji could analyse the truthfulness of Sasuke's responses from a more objective point of view, while Kakashi's job was to use his knowledge of Sasuke to probe for more detailed responses and to judge him based on his own experiences with the boy.
In Kakashi's mind, Sasuke had passed. He had revealed what clearly sounded like all he knew about the Land of Sound, the Otogakure bases and hideouts, Orochimaru's experiments, and how he had defeated the snake sannin all with minor prodding. Sasuke's knowledge of Kabuto and the collection of various Oto shinobi had been less detailed, but still he had answered the questions to the best of his abilities. Questions about whether he had betrayed any knowledge of Konoha to Orochimaru or anyone else were answered with brief, but firm noes. And questions about the team he had formed, his search for Itachi, and the brothers' final battle were answered without emotion – but even then Kakashi could not doubt the complete truthfulness in Sasuke's replies.
Neji seemed to agree with him, having used the Byakugan to help him study Sasuke in his responses, which only bolstered Kakashi's confidence. Now, it was time for the last strain of questioning – questions that he needed to ask now that all those that Tsunade had given him when she had spoken with him last night were answered.
"Do you really intend to remain here, Sasuke? Even after you have regained access to your chakra?" Kakashi asked, watching his student carefully. Kakashi noted that Neji was also paying extra close attention, the pen he had been using to record Sasuke's responses now lying on the desk.
"Yes," Sasuke replied firmly, and Kakashi felt the conviction behind the response that just hadn't been there in any significant amount the other two times Sasuke had made a similar claim.
Kakashi's visible eye softened, but it was his job to help Sasuke find his way again, to help save the boy's life. After all, Kakashi couldn't help but blame himself in part for Sasuke's behaviour – he had been his teacher. So, Kakashi voiced another important question: "Why?"
The question seemed to momentarily catch Sasuke off guard, but he composed himself and answered.
"Do you remember when we first met you and I told you I had two goals? To kill a certain man and to revive my clan? I've only completed one of those goals. The Uchiha name still needs to be revived – and it needs to be revived here in Konoha, the village the Uchiha helped to build and protect," Sasuke told him, meeting his eye.
Kakashi watched Sasuke carefully, and knew that this was the truth, but he needed to see if there was more to it than just that.
"Neji, I think we're done now, so if you could please go and find Tsunade-sama and send her here – she informed me yesterday that she would be pulling a shift at the hospital this morning in anticipation of our work. I'll deliver your notes to her when she arrives, but give her a quick breakdown of your evaluation when you find her. Then you should be free to go," Kakashi instructed Neji
"Of course, Kakashi-san," Neji replied, immediately standing to take his leave. And with one final considering glance at Sasuke, Neji left the room, closing the door quietly behind him, leaving Kakashi alone with Sasuke.
Kakashi waited a few seconds while he listened to Neji walk down the hallway before posing his final question.
"Do you have any other reasons to stay here – other than reviving your clan?" Kakashi prodded. If Sasuke said nothing else, then Kakashi would be sure that Sasuke really hadn't learned anything from him.
Sasuke looked down, but Kakashi wasn't dissuaded by the action. His non-answer was better than a flat out no.
"What about Naruto and Sakura?" he suggested softly, his eye never leaving Sasuke.
Sasuke actually flinched.
"I don't deserve them," he finally murmured, staring at the hands now clenched into fists in his lap.
Kakashi couldn't know that his question had made Sasuke think again of Neji's words to him and how truthfully they had resonated.
"No. Maybe not," Kakashi replied simply, though inside he was rejoicing Sasuke's answer and body language. It revealed more about Sasuke's feelings for the two than practically any other answer would have. Sasuke obviously cared.
"But it doesn't matter if you deserve them or not," Kakashi continued, "because they're never going to give up on you, and neither am I. You've received the Hokage's mercy, and our forgiveness. So now you're left with two choices, whether you'll accept our devotion or betray your bonds again."
Kakashi watched as Sasuke's usually impassive face exposed a wave of emotion.
"How can I not accept it?" Sasuke whispered hoarsely.
And Kakashi smiled because he now had confirmation that his teachings hadn't been entirely in vain.
Sasuke really didn't deserve his teammates devotion at all. Neji was right, and Kakashi...well, he was right too. Sasuke knew by now that Naruto and Sakura wouldn't give up on him, and apparently Kakashi included himself in their camp. Sasuke also knew that Kakashi was right in that it would be the ultimate betrayal of his ties with his teammates if he still tried to sever their bonds even now – especially when he had absolutely no reason to.
He had said that his, Naruto, and Sakura's paths had rejoined, but not only had their paths rejoined – Naruto and Sakura were walking down that path right at his side...he just hadn't been willing to see how very close they were until now.
It had been no more than a minute since he had spoken his last words to Kakashi and the jounin was still observing him with that softened, happy look. It was a little disconcerting in that it eerily reminded Sasuke of how his sensei would gaze upon the pages of his little orange book. Sasuke was very grateful when the door swung open and Tsunade strolled in, her heels emitting sharp clicks as they smacked against the ground.
Kakashi stood, and Sasuke copied him with minimal complaint. This woman was the Hokage of the village he wished to make a life in, and she had spared him. She had his grudging respect.
"Sit down," she said, and he gladly reclaimed his seat. Meanwhile, Tsunade strolled behind the desk and took the seat that Neji had vacated earlier, while Kakashi remained standing, pulling out that damned little orange book (hadn't he already read it enough times?) and leaning against the wall behind her, bringing the book up in front of his face.
"So you're all done with the interview?" Tsunade asked, her voice even, her expression mildly amused as she took in Kakashi's figure.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi answered without taking his eyes off his book.
"And?" Tsunade prompted, drumming her fingers on the top of the desk.
"Both Hyuuga Neji and myself believe that Uchiha Sasuke has answered all our present questions honestly and to his complete knowledge. I have Neji's notes as well as my own, and both of us are prepared to discuss the interview with you at your leisure," Kakashi elaborated in his lazy drawl.
"Good. Then that means that Uchiha is ready to begin his community service and I know just how he'll start," Tsunade said with a small smile before addressing Sasuke directly. "Sasuke, you will be on Sakura's service today until she finishes her shift. She's returned from the prison and should now be in one of the labs down the hall. When she's done her work for the day, you'll be free to go and Sakura can escort you out of the hospital. Tomorrow and every subsequent day, unless you're told otherwise, you will report to the front desk at nine am. When you arrive, whoever's there will tell you what you need to do. Is all that understood?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," he answered her smoothly.
Inside though, his mind was racing. He had to spend the whole day following after Sakura and doing whatever she requested? Could this be the something else that Tsunade had had in mind when she had chosen the hospital as the site for his community service? Her smile seemed to scream yes.
"Then you're dismissed, Uchiha. You should be able to find her easily enough. Get going."
Sasuke did indeed find Sakura easily enough. Her bright pink hair was a dead giveaway when he looked through the window set in the door of the right lab room. He didn't bother knocking, and instead opened the door and entered the room slowly. Sakura gave no outward indication that she had noticed his presence except for a slight stiffening of her shoulders.
"Hey," he greeted her.
She didn't turn around.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him without pulling her eyes away from the microscope in front of her. Her voice was not accusing or angry, but it clearly betrayed her surprise.
"The Hokage said that today my job is to be on your service," Sasuke answered her.
They lapsed into a silence as she said nothing in response, simply continuing to stare down into the microscope. And again, he couldn't take the unusual quiet.
"What are you looking at?" he inquired, his voice neutral, though he was in fact a little curious.
Sakura answered him while she fiddled with a knob on the side of the microscope: "A sample of Juugo's blood."
"Why?" he pushed. He would not allow complete silence to reign over their time together. It was too unnatural.
"The more detailed biochemical analyses I'm running on the rest of the blood I took from him won't be done until tomorrow, and I had some time to kill before I needed to be down in the clinic. I hate sitting around here and doing nothing, so I decided to see if I could see any physical differences in his blood cells or if they're completely normal," she elaborated, becoming more animated even as her eyes stayed transfixed on whatever was under the microscope's powerful lenses.
"So all you did this morning was draw some blood from him?" he continued.
"I have to start somewhere. The only knowledge I have right now is the supposed fact that an enzyme causes all this, and an enzyme is just a protein that catalyses a chemical reaction in the body. So ultimately, what I need to do is determine what cells the protein's made in, where it works in the body, and what it does – and then hopefully it'll be as simple as finding something that will stop the enzyme's production or inhibit its function. Without a sample of the enzyme though, I can't really hope to do anything, so my first goal is to find and isolate the protein so that I can begin my analysis of it.
"That's why this morning I took Juugo's vitals and his basic biometrics, as well as a blood sample and a tissue sample. I already looked at part of the tissue sample under the microscope, so all that's left for me to do today is to finish checking out the blood sample, and then tomorrow I'll be able to check the results of most of my tests on the samples," Sakura finished explaining, finally pulling away from the microscope and picking up a pen lying on the table to scribble some notes on a clipboard beside her.
Sasuke was smart. He had never really studied the human body in any extreme detail, but he could follow along with Sakura's explanation well enough to get an idea of what she was doing. He also noted that when she was talking about her medical work – and not looking at him–, she was a lot more like the talkative, know-it-all Sakura in his memories.
"Hn," he muttered, a small smirk coming to his lips. This was what was familiar.
Sakura didn't seem to hear him though, because all she did was straighten, stretching her arms high above her head and arching her spine backwards. He could hear the tiny pops as her back cracked under the slight pressure. When she straightened back out, she flicked a switch on the microscope, presumably turning it off, and then picked the clipboard up from the table and walked over to him.
"So you're really on my service today?" she asked him when she was right in front of him, her voice noticeably quieter and less assertive, and her eyes staring straight ahead where all they would see was his chin. Sasuke absently noted that though he had grown substantially during his time with Orochimaru, he was only a few inches taller than her – however he was considerably bigger than her and her petite frame what with his broad shoulders and obviously more muscled body.
"Yes," he replied simply.
Sakura nodded once before allowing a small smile to come to her lips. Then she strode past him and opened the door, taking a moment to call over her shoulder: "Well come on then. I need to visit my office, and then we're going down to the clinic."
Sasuke walked out of the lab as Sakura held the door open for him. When he had passed through, Sakura shut the door behind them, and pulled a small ring of keys from the weapons holster attached at her thigh. She locked the door before turning and motioning down the hall, saying: "My office is this way."
She led him down the hallway, back past Tsunade's closed office door and finally to a simple wooden door with the name Haruno Sakura on it. She slipped another key into the door before turning the knob, and then swung the door open to reveal her office.
It was as big as Tsunade's. That was the first thing that Sasuke noticed.
Then he took in the large window – the curtains that would usually frame it drawn closed – opposite the door, and the desk in front of it, whose surface was covered with open books and loose papers. Two chairs sat in the room, one behind the desk, one in front of it, both with padded seats and backrests. The walls were lined with pictures illustrating various aspects of the human body – diagrams of the circulatory system, the respiratory system, and the chakra circulatory system were the largest and most notable – and a few shelves bearing the weight of various medical texts. The room also possessed a wardrobe, a couch, and a reading lamp.
Sakura motioned to the couch and told him to take a seat while she strolled over to her desk. As Sasuke lay down on the couch, putting his hands behind his head as a makeshift pillow, Sakura closed a few of the books on her desk and quickly organized some papers before opening a drawer and depositing her clipboard within it. Then she walked over to the wardrobe, where she opened one of its two mirrored doors to reveal a rack of outfits Sasuke recognized as those worn by the hospital staff.
Sakura reached past those and pulled out a simple white lab coat, which she slipped into, leaving it unbuttoned. She took another glance around the room before finally grabbing a pen off the desk and slipping it into her breast pocket.
"Alright. Let's go, Sasuke-kun."
Sakura should have known that Tsunade would stick Sasuke with her – after they had left her office last night, the Godaime probably hadn't given a second thought to the fact that Sasuke was supposed to start his community service today. The woman probably also thought that she had just done a good thing. Not that Sakura was entirely unhappy with the situation – this way she could watch Sasuke and try to relieve her doubts – but she couldn't even meet his eyes for very long because she was afraid of what she would see there. The only time she had been able to talk to him like she really wanted to was when she was discussing the beginnings of her research on Juugo's problem – and even that had only worked so well because half her mind had been more focussed on the slide she had been studying than her uncertainties about Sasuke.
Still, Sakura had noticed how he had warned her about Juugo earlier and how he had made the effort to speak to her twice now this morning. It wasn't a miracle that warranted a celebration, but it was enough to cast some more of her doubt aside. From his behaviour, it didn't seem like he wanted nothing to do with her and Naruto, but it just wasn't enough yet to make her unafraid of losing him and non-hesitant in her interactions with him.
She glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting on a chair inside of her exam room while she waited for her next patient to show up with their file. So far, he had been dutifully returning stacks of patient files to the front desk every few patients she saw, and twice he had gone to the supply room: once to fetch her more syringes and the second time to get her more tongue depressors. She imagined the most annoying part for him though was not the menial tasks, but having to go sit outside the room every time she actually checked out a patient. Surprisingly he hadn't once complained – not that he had ever been the type to complain, but even Sakura would have been bored of the make-work she was giving him.
Sakura sighed and drummed her fingers against the counter where her medical tools rested, letting her mind drift away from the present and thinking about her encounter with Juugo that morning.
It had been pleasant and informative. She had done a routine checkup, and had also taken a blood sample and a tissue sample in the hopes that she might be able to isolate the enzyme from one of the two. She had also confirmed that Juugo was perfectly healthy – well, except for whatever caused his rages – and that he was indeed the kind soul she had imagined. She had learned how he liked animals and could communicate with them, and that he enjoyed reading. She had promised to bring him some books when she visited again tomorrow and had privately resolved to find him a pet once she had succeeded in helping him.
Because she would succeed. She had to.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she hopped to her feet just as the door swung open without invitation and Tenten strolled into the room. The weapons mistress spared a surprised glance for Sasuke, before her full attention was turned to Sakura.
"Hey you," Tenten greeted her, forking over her patient file. "So, I was eating my lunch when I suddenly remembered you saying how I was due for a checkup the last time we talked – I figured I might as well get it out of the way and come visit you all at the same time now that you're back."
"Hey yourself," Sakura replied in kind, flipping through the folder until she spotted the new form one of the nurses had added to Tenten's file for this session. "Want to take a seat?"
Sasuke immediately stood and strode out the door into the hallway where he had another chair set up, used to the routine by now. The second the door had closed behind him, Tenten was hopping up onto the examination table and studying Sakura with calculating eyes.
"Okay. What's going on? I come back from a mission only to hear that you've left the village a few hours earlier. Then yesterday, I suddenly hear that Sasuke's back and that Neji has to go interrogate him this morning? And now the Uchiha's hanging around you like some lost puppy? Spill!"
"Is your desire for gossip the real reason you came to visit me? I'm hurt Tenten," Sakura muttered grabbing a tongue depressor. "Now open your mouth." She didn't give Tenten a chance to argue as she shoved the little wooden stick into the kunoichi's mouth, pressing down on her tongue.
Her friendship with Tenten had come around much like her friendship with Hinata had: a few missions with Team Gai early in her apprenticeship with Tsunade had been more than enough to push the two kunoichi together given the males that had surrounded them – a serious Neji, an energetic Lee, and the unbelievable youthful Gai. But their friendship was a lot more like her friendship with Ino than her relationship with Hinata. Tenten was not in any way quiet like the Hyuuga heiress – she was confident in herself, could be very loud and fierce like Ino, and was pushy when the need arose. Also, though she may not have known Sakura as long or as well as Ino did, she did have an insight into people – maybe from hanging around Neji too much – and she had long ago recognized how much Sakura really cared for Sasuke.
It was through Sakura that Ino, Hinata, and Tenten had come to know each other well. The four kunoichi were not the oldest of friends, but their relationship was solid, built on their many interactions, their shared relationships, the bonds forged in battle, and their common beliefs, goals, and ambitions. A spontaneous girls' night to celebrate their success in the second chunin exam had only sealed the deal and now all four kunoichi were as fiercely loyal to each other as they were to their teammates.
"How did you hear that Sasuke-kun was back and that Neji was needed this morning to assist with the interrogation anyways? We only got in yesterday around dinnertime and everything after that took at the very least another hour and a half," Sakura questioned Tenten as she pulled the tongue depressor from her friend's mouth, tossing it into a trash can.
"I was training with Neji last night when Tsunade sent word to him, so I heard the general details," Tenten answered simply.
"You were training last night after dinner?" Sakura asked in disbelief, raising her eyebrows. It wouldn't have been such an odd thing to hear if Sakura hadn't known that Tenten would have already been training most of the morning and afternoon.
Tenten blushed a little. "Who am I to say no to more training? I am preparing for the jounin exam if you remember," Tenten pointed out after a second.
Sakura turned away to get her blood pressure cuff with a small smile on her lips. She knew the real reason Tenten would never say no to more training with workaholic Neji, even if she had been working herself all day. It was because Tenten felt for Neji what Sakura felt for Sasuke and what shy Hinata obviously felt for Naruto. So she let it go.
"We set out with the goal of finding Uchiha Itachi so that we could find Sasuke. We soon found ourselves on Sasuke's trail though. Two days ago, we found and retrieved Sasuke after he had succeeded in killing Itachi," Sakura instead began explaining, adjusting the cuff around Tenten's arm. "I healed his wounds and then yesterday we headed for home. On the way, we ran into a team he had assembled to help him find Itachi and we ended up bringing them here with us as well. They were jailed when we got here, while Tsunade-shishou dealt with Sasuke on the spot. For leaving the village, he was sentenced to a year's community service here at the hospital with his chakra completely sealed off. Also, he's not allowed to ever leave the village without Tsunade-shishou's permission again, and for the time being he has to live next door to Naruto."
"What?" Tenten spluttered, her eyes going wide. "She actually included living next to Naruto as part of his punishment?"
"Well she didn't say it was part of his punishment per say, but it was part of her conditions for him if he wanted to remain in Konoha a relatively free man," Sakura explained with a smile, removing the cuff from Tenten's arm and going to place it on the counter. She imagined that if she took Tenten's blood pressure again right now, it would be higher in the young woman's shocked amusement.
Tenten laughed. "I absolutely adore that woman," she commented. "You are so lucky you got to train under her, Sakura."
"Oh really?" Sakura muttered darkly, thinking of the numerous bruises and broken bones she had received while training under Tsunade – and knowing that even so, she would never have given up the years she had spent training under the Godaime for anything.
She reached for a stethoscope and motioned for Tenten to pull up her shirt so that she could listen to Tenten's lungs and heart. Then Sakura walked up behind the other girl, putting the earpieces of the stethoscope into her ears, and holding its cold metal head to Tenten's skin. Tenten tensed and let out a little yelp as the cold metal touched her back, but almost instantly relaxed as Sakura flooded the metal with a little bit of chakra to warm it.
"Really," Tenten answered Sakura, before taking the deep breaths she knew were expected of her.
After Sakura had moved the head of the stethoscope to her chest and finished her listening, Tenten began speaking again: "I wish I had thought to ask Tsunade-sama to train me, but then again, I wouldn't have been able to learn half as much from her as you did with your crazy chakra control, ridiculous dedication, and sponge like brain."
Sakura stuck out her tongue.
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" she grumbled, grabbing the pen from her pocket and scribbling down Tenten's blood pressure and a few other quick notes on the empty form. She heard Tenten's happy laugh and smiled. It had been a while since her and Tenten had spent any time together.
"Have you experienced any sort of pain recently?" Sakura then prodded, continuing with her exam.
Tenten shook her head no.
"Any nausea? Lightheadedness or dizziness? Problems sleeping? Any swelling or tenderness of joints? Any other problems?"
Tenten answered each question with a no.
"What about the sprained ankle you sustained a few months back? Has it bothered you any? Sometimes the ligaments aren't as tight or as strong when healed, though we do try our best to make them as good as new. It still amazes me how you managed to tear up nearly all the ligaments in your right ankle at the same time," Sakura continued with a grin, flipping through Tenten's file.
"Yeah, yeah. I jumped from too high. I was stupid. So, rub it in my face, because Neji doesn't do that enough," Tenten answered, rolling her eyes, before becoming more serious. "It's fine though. I haven't felt a twinge of pain since you fixed it up."
"Good," Sakura muttered absently as she scribbled more notes down on Tenten's form.
"So am I all done now? Do I pass your inspection? Am I still fit to serve as a kunoichi of Konoha, oh great Sakura-sama?" Tenten asked teasingly as she hopped down from the examination table.
"For now. Next time though, you're due for a checkup on your eyesight and a more detailed full body exam complete with annoying poking and prodding," Sakura noted, stacking Tenten's file on top of the ones from two of her previous patients. "But for now, you're perfectly healthy. So you can get lost, you gossip monger," Sakura teased.
"Alright, alright. I get it. You want to spend more time with the Uchiha," Tenten muttered, her lips tilted into a slight smirk.
Sakura immediately sent a tongue depressor flying at the other kunoichi's head, but the flimsy wooded projectile flew slowly through the air and Tenten, used to faster, more deadly projectiles flying at her, had more than ample time to duck. Sakura told herself the reason for her action was because Tenten was being stupid, not because Tenten was right. She was in denial.
"Why was he sitting in here anyways? I thought you said he was supposed to be doing community service," Tenten asked, her smirk now huge, as she straightened up.
"Apparently Tsunade-shishou decided that for today, community service means Sakura's service," Sakura explained. "Personally, I think she either forgot that someone needs to assign Sasuke his work or she thinks that in doing this she's doing a good thing by me. Most likely it's a combination of both."
"From your stories that sounds like something she might do," Tenten giggled.
"Yeah, yeah. So...when are you guys leaving?" Sakura enquired, getting serious and putting her hands on her hips, staring Tenten down. Tenten's giggles cut off and she also adopted a sombre look. Sakura knew her friend well. She wouldn't visit her in the hospital unless she knew she would be leaving too soon to see her outside of work.
"This evening. We were actually going to leave this morning originally, but since Tsunade-sama wanted Neji to assist with Sasuke's interrogation we put off leaving until that was done. It's a simple mission and we won't be gone too long...just a little over a week," Tenten replied.
"Well then, be safe, watch out for your silly teammates, don't jump from too high," Sakura began and Tenten squawked in protest, "and come back in one piece please. I don't want to be patching you up again – or any of the men for that matter. Alright?"
Then Sakura engulfed Tenten in a strong hug which Tenten returned just as enthusiastically.
THUD.
The sound was so loud that it startled both kunoichi who pulled away from each other just before the earth started trembling beneath their feet. The tremor lasted no more than a moment, and then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped, and they were left wondering what could have caused it. Natural earthquakes were not the norm in Konoha. So they waited, tense with anticipation, to see if an alarm would go off. When everything remained quiet and peaceful after a minute, the two shrugged it off.
"Well that was strange. But I'll take it as a sign that I better go start packing. Girls' night out when I get back, okay?" Tenten said as she walked towards the door. When her hand settled around the doorknob, she turned her head back to look at Sakura. "Take care of yourself."
Sakura nodded and Tenten opened the door to reveal Sasuke seated in his chair with his elbows on his knees, and his chin resting on the interlaced fingers of his hands.
"Sasuke," Tenten acknowledged him now, with a curt nod of the head, before heading towards the hospital's exit.
Sasuke stood up and strolled back into the examination room when Tenten had turned down the hallway, taking his seat on the extra chair in there. When he was all settled, he looked up at her and voiced a question: "What was that noise?"
"No idea," Sakura answered him, preparing to clean off the examination table. "I imagine we'll find out sometime later today."
Sometime later today turned out to be sooner than she thought.
A few minutes later, after she had finished sterilizing the exam table, a chunin she recognized from the Hokage Tower threw open the door to the examination room, startling Sakura who had drawn a kunai from her holster on reflex. Sasuke was also on his feet, tensed in the basic stance for hand-to-hand combat.
"Tsunade-sama requires your immediate presence at the Hokage Tower," the chunin told her, gasping for breath.
"Whatever for?" Sakura asked calmly, even as she gathered her patients' files into her arms.
"I'm not sure. She only said that it was urgent. I think it may have something to do with the giant toad that suddenly appeared there," the chunin told her.
'That must have been the source of the noise and the tremor,' Sakura noted as she immediately moved past the chunin and out the door, Sasuke right on her heels. Seconds later she was dropping her patients' files into Reika's hands, and then she was striding out the door and into the streets of Konoha.
Sasuke followed behind Sakura. It was better than staying in the hospital, and frankly he was curious. A giant toad? Hadn't Naruto summoned one of those when he was facing off against Gaara?
Sakura was running, moving quickly through the people on the streets, and he was right in her wake – they were nothing more than two blurs, and no one had the chance to take notice of them. While he ran, keeping track of Sakura's pink hair, he thought about the conversation he had overheard between Tenten and Sakura. He hadn't been trying to listen in, but the door to the exam room wasn't all that thick and the two girls spoke loudly.
He hadn't learned much from their conversation though except that the two kunoichi were close friends now. They must have gotten to know each other sometime after he had left because he never remembered the two talking before then. In fact, it seemed like Sakura was now friendly with everyone. She had been chatting pleasantly with Kiba on the journey back yesterday and had even addressed Shino with clear familiarity. And on the basis of the short exchange between Neji and Sakura, he concluded that the Hyuuga seemed to know her well too.
A minute later, his thoughts abruptly shifted direction as he caught sight of a giant toad, another large toad perched on his head, sitting in the street next to the Hokage Tower. Sakura spared them a calculating glance before climbing the stairs to Tsunade's office. When they reached the room, Sakura knocked politely, and upon a command to come in, the two of them opened the doors and entered.
Sai was there, Sasuke noted, as were Tsunade, her assistant Shizune if he remembered correctly, and some strange toads, one looking particularly ancient.
"Hey, Ugly," Sai greeted Sakura.
"Sai," she returned rather warmly considering the insult the other shinobi had just thrown her way. Then Sakura turned her attention to Tsunade, who was sitting behind her desk, Shizune standing beside her. "Tsunade-shishou, what happened? What's wrong?"
"We'll wait for Naruto and Kakashi," Tsunade answered her. Sasuke thought the woman sounded exhausted.
Silence followed Tsunade's declaration until Naruto's loud voice was heard outside the door.
"What does baa-chan have to tell me? Why couldn't it wait? It's so early!" he complained.
"Naruto, it's past noon," Kakashi patiently explained as the door swung open, and Naruto strolled in, followed by Kakashi, only to stop short when he caught sight of the group.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Sasuke kind of wanted to know too, and it wasn't long before he found out.
Apparently the old toad, Fukasuka, had been one of Jiraiya's teachers, and after that brief introduction – in which Naruto made a few derogatory comments about the toad and Tsunade scolded him – the truth came out.
"Jiraiya-chan was killed in battle," Fukasaku finally croaked.