Stranger by angrypixels
Ever so carefully, Sakura watched as she poured as a drop of blue liquid into the test tube on the lab counter. Upon contact with the green liquid already inside, the mixture instantly became as clear as water.
Sakura let out a loud sigh of relief and lifted the test tube to the light. Perfect. Just the way she expected.
Smiling softly, she lowered her hand and started to pour the mixture into smaller test tubes and sealed them to prevent further exposure to air.
This clear mixture was her more recent invention and in her opinion, the potentially the best and most dangerous one. The blue liquid was a chemical compound that reacted with brain cells, specifically, those associated with dreams and thoughts, with a touch of sedatives. The green mixture was in fact liquefied chakra, Sakura's chakra in fact. It was produced by intense concentration and chakra control and very volatile.
Once ingested, this seemingly innocent mixture would travel to the brain of its hosts and remain dormant until Sakura 'ignited' her chakra inside. And that was when the magic starts. Through endless trial and error, Sakura had successfully found a way to 'inject' emotions into her chakra which would induce the host to create such emotion inducing dream, or if she wanted it to be more complex, she could 'inject' images and literally create dreams. That, of course, would require much more fine tuning. Not something anyone could make which made the mixture quite hard for someone else to recreate.
Satisfied that the mixtures were firmly contained, Sakura pressed a button for an intern to enter.
"Inject these into the IV bags of test subject batch A."
The intern nodded her head and scurried out to carry out her orders.
Her current specimens were designed to induce calm and peace. No doubt her patients would soon be dreaming of rabbits, sheeps, clouds or whatever their subconscious deemed to give off that tranquil feeling.
Once she got back the results from this batch of clinical trials, she was ready to move on to the more complex stage of her mixture, or 'dream potion', as she temporarily named it. Creating a full fledge dream.
It might be the ultimate therapy for traumatised patients. On the other hand, it could potentially become a very lethal weapon in interrogation and warfare. Due to its potential lethality, this experiment was under heavy wraps and all those involved were under seals of secrecy.
Standing up and stretching her aching muscles, Sakura noticed that it was past midnight. Her stomach choose this moment to let out a loud rumble. Wincing, Sakura quickly cleaned up and left the lab.
Even at this hour, some restaurants were still open, catering to the night crowd and nins who had gotten off duty or returned from a mission. However, those places were usually loud and rowdy and Sakura wasn't in the mood to subject her ears to torture.
Just when she stepped out intending to go home and enjoy instant ramen, she felt a soft tinge of chakra brush past. It was a familiar one. Uchiha Sasuke
Sakura paused and looked up to see a figure jump down from the roof and land silently in front of her.
Knowing that he would never be the one to initiate a conversation, Sakura gave him a weary smile. "Good evening Sasuke. Taking a midnight stroll?"
Instead of answering the simple question, Sasuke gave her a whole body scan, no doubt taking in her rumpled hair, tired eyes, dirty lab coat and wobbly legs.
"Dinner?" he asked upon completing his inspection of her appearance.
"Going home to have some now." Sakura replied, which earned her a perfectly arched eyebrow in contempt.
"I have leftovers." And with that, he promptly turned around and walked in the direction of his home.
Only after a few steps did he turn around and give Sakura a 'what are you waiting for' expression, did she closed her gaping mouth and walked forward to join him.
During the silent walk to the Uchiha compound, Sakura couldn't help but contemplate on how things had changed within a month.
A month ago, she had brought Sasuke to the market and cooked for him at his home for the first time.
Previously, the sole Uchiha only haunted places such as the ramen store, furniture shops or training grounds. Now, he was becoming more of a common sight in Konoha, walking in the markets, wandering in the streets or generally making himself seen in public.
With the Hokage's order, Sasuke was always accompanied everywhere by either Naruto, Sakura or Kakashi, notwithstanding the presence of hidden ANBU monitoring his every move, Sakura was left with the butt of babysitting whenever Naruto was not available. Kakashi had all but vanished ever since the first team meal a month ago.
As if trying to make up for all these years of lost team bonding time, Sakura had been literally dragged to the Uchiha compound for meals and spars at least a few times a week. No matter how tired or unwilling she was, a sad look with 'Don't you want to eat with us?' or 'I got teme to cook tempura' was enough to send give herself painful heart pangs. She knew better than most how much Naruto missed that short-lived times when they were young, when they were whole. In the end, she would be sitting in the clean and pristine kitchen of Sasuke's home, eating whatever he had cooked.
Which wasn't too bad. It just could use a bit more flavours and varieties other than tomatoes.
"Out by yourself?" Sakura asked as they neared their destination.
"Dobe dragged me out here and told me to wait for you to get off work."
Ah Naruto's instructions, which explained why ANBU allowed him to stand right there all by himself. Sakura sometimes wondered if Naruto had an inking of Tsunade's plan and tried to give Sasuke more public exposure.
With the frequent reappearance of the Uchiha fan symbol in the village, civilians quickly started to recognize his stoic face as the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan massacre and pointed and stared as if he was some exotic animal.
Civilians and their lack of regard for their own safety, really.
The faze died down after a few days and he just became another shinobi face in the crowd. However, it was different for the rest of the ninja population in Konoha. Civilians may not have great memory for the ups and downs in ninja history nor would they understand the intricate rules and regulations, both spoken and unspoken, of the life of a ninja. While accompanying and keeping an eye on Sasuke during his shopping trips, Sakura sometimes was on the receiving end of a resentful glare or a distasteful side glance for just being in the company of the ex-traitor. She was thankful that no words or blows were traded…yet.
Yes, he was back in the village. Whether he could integrate back in was another matter.
The attitude of the nin did not surprise Sakura at all. If she had a choice in the matter, she would be ignoring his whole existence altogether. Rather, since she was ordered to acknowledge his existence, Sakura was…disconcert to say the least.
Mulling over her thoughts while following Sasuke, Sakura made sure that she was a few steps behind him and not within his personal space. She had to admit, during this month, she found out a lot about his personal habits compared to when they were still twelve.
During the first few times she entered the Uchiha main house upon just pulling aside the door, she was greeted by immediate confrontation with its owner who gripped a kunai behind his back, loaming over his would-be guest. No polite greetings were exchanged despite Naruto's cheerful shouts that echoed through the hallway and Sakura's quiet 'good day'.
Well-meant help with food and cutlery was rejected. Wary glances were shot at them every once in a while Sasuke stood at the stove and she knew that his senses were alert with their every single breath. She wondered if he expected them to leash a rain of senbon at his back while he tossed pans. His behaviour told her wonders of his team dynamics, if any, during his time outside the village.
Meals were terse events, with the majority of the conversation carried along by Naruto and herself. Sasuke rarely chirped a word, always focused on his food while watching them both out of the corner of his eye.
Being a missing nin subject to harsh environments and unstable lifestyles made Sasuke extremely uneasy and paranoid, and Sakura guessed that he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown whenever another presence was inside his dwelling. Naruto may have been a exceptional case given him being an energetic blond ball of happiness without a bad bone in his body. Besides, one pair of Sharingan was sufficient to keep an eye on him. However, with Sakura in the mix, Sasuke might have a hard time convincing his subconscious that she was not a threat. Having never willingly paid him a visit since he returned, she knew she wasn't the friendliest person to him.
She could imagine how heartbroken Naruto felt whenever Sasuke acted like he was going to attacked at any time, even in the company of his friends.
However, fate had a unique way with things, including Sasuke.
After the first few times of playing host, Sasuke stopped twitching at the sight of his guests holding anything that resembled a weapon, including chopsticks.
After the 1st week, he refrained from rushing out to the door with killing intent and instead stood at the door somewhat calmly and gave her a small acknowledging nod when she greeted him.
In the 2nd week, while allowing her to stand next to him and wipe the wet dishes he cleaned, he would quietly inform her of the days when Naruto and Kakashi weren't available, an unspoken request for her company into the world outside.
In the 3rd week, she found herself sitting on top of the kitchen counter on her free days, watching him as he easily strolled back and forth inside the kitchen preparing food. She gave herself small smiles as she watched him frown while rummaging through his fridge, obviously unhappy that a certain dobe had ransacked his food supply. She would then find herself understanding his silent looks and willingly joining him on another trip to the market.
In the 4th week, she found herself getting off duty and automatically trudging up to a mahogany door bearing the fan symbol, to be greeted with a quick scan of her body and a warm cup of tea when she particularly tired. On some occasions, she was surprised with a towel and pointed look to take a shower when she reeked of blood and death. After a look here and a nudge there, she even ended up sleeping in his guestroom when it was too late to go home, breathing into the clean, minty smell of a freshly cleaned yet oversized shirt he wordlessly gave her when he closed her door. She would always softly trace the Uchiha fan printed on the back before slipping it on.
And today, he went out of the way to care for her when he could have stayed home and ignored Naruto's request.
A sudden surge of warmth filled her body and her heart. Wetness filled her eyes and before she knew it, a tear trickled off her check and fell onto the dark ground without a sound.
She didn't know this person who was in front of her.
He was nowhere like the boy who pushed her away. The boy who smirked and sneered at his teammates' feeble attempts to improve. The boy who always left his teammates without a glance after each mission. The boy who turned his back just when everything had seemed to finally fall into place.
Someone left. And someone else came back. She didn't even know whether to be happy or not.
Before she knew it, her nose bumped against something hard.
He turned around and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh its nothing." She yawned. "Just tired. Need to yawn and get some tears in my eyes. "
While she sat at his table again, hands placed in her lap gripped tightly as she watched him reheat the food, she felt relieved yet heartbroken at the same time.
Bowls of rice. Steaming miso soup. Grilled fish. Fried vegetables.
He sat before her. They both bowed together and quietly said 'itadakimasu', giving thanks for the simple meal.
As she used her chopsticks to help herself to a piece of carrot, she did not miss the way he quickly glanced at the photo placed on the counter nearby.
Sakura knew very well that it was one of the few photos of the Uchiha family left in the empty compound. All four of them smiling at the camera.
She felt her heart tremble in sorrow.
"Sasuke..." she asked, trying her best to not left her voice wobble. "Did you forget to add salt to the vegetables?"
She watched him nibbled a carrot and frowned. He then left the table and strolled to the kitchen.
A tear rolled down to her chin and fell into the bowl of rice in her hand.
"Thank you." She said as she heard him place the salt shaker onto the table. She took a bite of her rice, not raising her head to look at him.
Rice had never tasted so salty.
Suddenly, a loud banging echoed through the house. Immediately, Sasuke's eyes twirled into crimson and he sprang up and raced out to the door. Sakura quickly wiped her tears and stood up to follow.
At the door, she saw Sasuke standing with his back facing her, hands clenched into fists. A team of black clad ANBU stood at the door.
"Uchiha Sasuke" the leader intoned tonelessly as he raised a scroll. Sakura could see the clear red seal. The seal of the Hokage.
"You are now under arrest for betraying Konoha, associating yourself with known traitors of Konoha and taking part in or aiding in the murders and deaths of the nins and civilians of this village and those of its allies."