Here's the next chapter^^ Hope you enjoy it.
PS. I do not own "Naruto", it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Everything around me seems so much different than where I'm from
And at this rate I think my fate's been sealed
This life's so unpredictable
We'll go continue to live a life that no one knows
Where's this gonna go?
"Homesick" by A Day To Remember
Sakura stopped and stared at the solid house in front of her. The structure towered above the other small cottages, casting shadows over them. The kunoichi swallowed loudly and looked at her companion. Sasuke was picking his nose, rubbing it, in attempt to warm it up. His indifference to the building before him amused Sakura. How long did he spend in this village so that this house no longer had an effect on him? The pinkette girl sensed a movement behind the massive wooden door and she averted her sight. The gate cracked open and an elderly, grayed-haired lady peeked slowly behind it.
"Come on in. Yuko-sama is waiting for you.", she bowed and stepped back gesturing to enter the house.
Sasuke smiled at the old lady, "Long time no see, Baba-sama.", the boy walked through the doorframe, shaking out the snow from his jacket.
The grandmother frowned, "You have grown quite a bit, kiddo."
Sakura followed her ex-teammate in and bowed politely at the elderly woman, "I'm Haruno Sakura. Please, treat me kindly."
The gray-haired lady glanced at her confused, "Sure...", her eyes travelled to Sasuke and they narrowed in a silent warning, "Where did you manage to find such polite girl, you little piece of shit?"
The Uchiha laughed and waved to Sakura to hurry up. The kunoichi took off her shoes and passed through the door in which her companion had disappeared second ago. Once she entered the other room, her emerald eyes glistened from the dozens of candles arranged on the cabinets around the walls. There was a big table prepared with deliciously smelling meals on it. She noticed the small bowls with steaming soup in them. The view filled her mouth with saliva and her eyes looked for Sasuke. The Uchiha was walking towards a young blond man with big smile on his face.
"Sasuke!", the host exclaimed.
"Yuko. Long time no see!", Sasuke grinned and shook hands with the other boy.
"How long has it been? Four years?"
"More or less.", the Uchiha shrugged, "Let me introduce you to my friend, Sakura.", the kunoichi stepped forward with a smile on her face, "This is Kuroma Yuko."
The pinkette bowed politely, "Thank you for having us, Yuko-sama. I'm Haruno Sakura."
The young man awed, "You're definitely welcome, my dear. And please call me just Yuko. We're almost at the same age.", his warm light brown eyes travelled back to Sasuke's, "How do you guys know each other?", he averted his sight to the kunoichi again, "You're accompanying your boyfriend? Or maybe fiancé?", the devilish spark in his eyes didn't stay unnoticed by the Uchiha successor.
"No, no.", Sakura giggled, "We're just friends."
"Ah, should I lie and say that I'm not happy that you two don't share such intimate relationship…", Yuko grinned.
Sasuke shook his head, "Same as always."
The kunoichi laughed openly, "I like you, Yuko-sama. You remind me of an old friend of mine. I think we're going to get along pretty well."
The host smiled widely, "Just Yuko."
"Ok, then, how about Yuko-san?", Sakura smirked.
"Fair enough.", the young man waved at the table, "The food is getting cold as we speak. Please join me for dinner while somebody prepares your residence."
Sasuke and Sakura nodded and sat in the pointed chairs. The meal passed smoothly. Their host turned out to be very easy-going and hilarious person, a little flirty, but nice. The kunoichi sipped from the coffee that a maid had poured her after the dessert. She heard her name mentioned and sharpened her ears.
"Sakura-chan…", Yuko started, "I can call you that, right?"
"Sure.", the pinkette nodded smiling, licking her lips from the scorching feeling that the almost boiling coffee left on them.
"How long have you known Sasuke?", the host smiled and bended forward, supporting himself on his elbows.
"Well. For more than six years already.", Sakura smiled under her breath, "We were teammates for some time."
"Oh! You're a kunoichi!", the boy awed.
"Is it so unbelievable?", the female medic smirked and looked at Sasuke who was grinning foolishly at her.
"No! No. Don't get me wrong… I just can't imagine these perfect, delicate-looking hands to take somebody's life. That's all. And that face of an angle…", Yuko sighed, "At least people die happy."
Sasuke burst out laughing and Sakura shot him a bloody glare. The Uchiha calmed down and turned to his friend, "She's a medical nin. Her job is actually to save people… but when she's angry…"
"That's perfect! It suits you more than the image of a cold-blooded killer!", the host smiled at the kunoichi, interrupting his friend.
"Thank you. I do love my job.", Sakura sipped from her coffee and cleared her throat, "I know that your village doesn't have any shinobi. Do you at least have a proper doctor for your people? In a climate like this, there must be many sick…"
"Actually, our medic died few months ago. She wasn't a real doctor but the granny was the best we had. She was an expert in poisons and helped a lot of families.", Yuko bowed his head.
"I can help you out while we're here!", Sakura exclaimed excited.
"No can do.", Sasuke interrupted their conversation, "Sakura, you need to take proper care of your body first. You need rest. Don't forget that you almost died."
"But I'm fine already!", she protested with angry look in her eyes.
Suddenly the Uchiha poked her in the ribs and the girl groaned in pain, curling in a ball on her chair, "You are far from fine.", Sasuke turned to Yuko who was staring at them speechless, "Do you mind taking us to the place where we'll reside? It's been a long day for us."
The host shook his head, coming to his senses, "Sure. You can go to your house. I guess you can find the way."
"Thank you.", Sasuke smiled, "Tomorrow I'll come by to catch up with you more."
"Come early. I'll have the staff to prepare you some food supplies because the house doesn't have anything to eat.", Yuko sent a worried glance at Sakura who was standing up on her feet, wobbling,. The young boy pulled Sasuke for his sleeve and whispered, "Did you really have to hit her that hard?"
"She's really stubborn sometimes.", the Uchiha shook his head with a slight smile on his face.
"Take care of her. I sense that she has a lot on her mind."
"We both do.", Sasuke patted him on the shoulder and went to help Sakura. Sliding his arm around her waist, forcing her to lean on him, the dark-haired boy turned over his shoulder and winked at his friend who was still staring at them.
Yuko grinned and went to finish his coffee.
"Hokage…", A settled more comfortably on the armchair in front of the massive wooden desk in Tsunade's office, "How are you coping with Haruno Sakura's death?", the Raikage's eyes narrowed at the barely visible tremble on the blonde's face.
"I can't think about it right now. Life goes on. I have…No… We have a bigger problem on our hands. With that war declaration, I can't focus on anything else.", Tsunade frowned and bit her thumb nail, "Anyway… why are you asking me that out of sudden?"
"Well, you seemed unexpectedly calm. From what I've heard, she was your best student and your relationship with her was more mother-daughterly like than professional.", the Raikage raised his eyebrow, "We don't posses any other information about the killer as well. You must be feeling frustrated."
"I am.", Tsunade growled tiredly, "But I'm the Hokage and I need to put my village's needs before my personal desires."
"You're right.", A nodded and then glared at her young face, "I've been meaning to ask you… Why are you keeping that henge on yourself? It must be tiring."
"Because of me…", a male voice echoed in the office. A vein popped on Tsunade's forehead and the Raikage frowned as he saw Jiraiya entering the room through the open window, "Yo!", the toad Hermit grinned.
"Just ignore him.", Tsunade growled, "That's what I do." She bit her red-polished nails, "What did you need from me, Raikage? It's unusual for you to come by without a specific reason."
"Maybe he's been spellbound by your beauty, sweetheart…", Jiraiya drew closer to Tsunade's chair and bowed down to whisper something in her ear but the Hokage punched him in the face, sending him back a few meters.
"I needed to talk to Naruto for a second if you don't mind calling him over.", A smiled, ignoring the scene before him.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes but nodded, "Shizune!". Her assistant opened the door, peeking inside, "Call Naruto."
"Yes!", the dark-haired woman bowed quickly and disappeared behind the wooden frame.
Sakura stood before the small wooden but solid, one-storey cottage. The small windows were glowing in yellowish orange. She looked at Sasuke who sighed heavily.
"It's been a while since I've last been here.", the Uchiha sniveled. The cold had begun to pinch his nostrils, "It's good that nothing's changed."
The kunoichi tottered to the door through the snow-covered path and pushed it open. Cozy warmth welcomed her and she hurriedly took off her boots in the genkan, leaving Sasuke behind. The place wasn't big but it was roomy for one person living here. The front door led straight to the living room where a crackling fire was burning in the fireplace, heating the house. The pinkette peeked at the open door across the hall – kitchen. Amused, she raised her eyebrow as she noticed the gas oven. She didn't expect them to have such technology here in the middle of nowhere. Sakura walked out of the kitchen and headed to the second door, next to the fireplace. There was a strange sign on it. When she drew closer a giggle escaped her mouth – a small fellow, sitting on a toilet. She turned around to face Sasuke.
"You whittled this?", she grinned.
"Don't laugh.", he frowned, "Constant winter with short days and long nights. Not having something to do…can be very maddening. I needed something to calm me down and keep my feet on the ground."
"I didn't know you could whittle. That's all.", Sakura smiled, "Who taught you? Itachi?" Sasuke's face darkened. And the girl widened her eyes, realizing that she shouldn't have mentioned his name, "I'm sorry. I didn't…"
"Kakashi. He taught me.", Sasuke interrupted her and turned around, "I'll go get some more firewood to have during the night. And probably tomorrow I won't be here when you wake up so you'll need to start the fire." , the boy walked out of the house, without uttering another word.
Sakura bit her lower lip, mentally punishing herself. How could she be so stupid to mention Itachi?! The kunoichi walked to the third door. It was leading to the bedroom. A pipe was passing on the ceiling, emitting heat. She assumed that it was connected to the fireplace in the living room. Her eyes looked around the place. It was small and cozy. Her mental image of the house, made her wonder what was next to the kitchen. There was a small non-built-up area and Sakura doubted that people would just leave it empty. But tomorrow she could look around the house and the surroundings more. Suddenly the single double bed in the room finally caught her attention.
"One bed?", she murmured, "I thought Yuko-san said that they rearranged the house for two…", a dark shadow fell on her face but then she shook her head, chasing the bad things out of her mind, "I should be grateful. Not picky."
The kunoichi sighed and went to drag their luggage in the bedroom. As she went in the living room, her eyes met with Sasuke's. He was looking her cautiously almost as if he was expecting her to throw a fit for something. Sakura raised her eyebrow, "If you're staring at me like that it means you knew about the bed…"
"Yuko warned me. There was not enough space in the room and he didn't have any spare beds…", Sasuke cleared his throat, "I'll sleep on the couch here. You don't have to worry."
Sakura let out her breath, "Don't be silly. We'll sleep together…At least until you figure out how to trade this double bed for two separate ones…", she winked at him and dragged her backpack to the bedroom, too lazy to pick it up.
Sasuke frowned. This was going to be one lo~ng night. The Uchiha grabbed his pack and followed her. When he entered the room, Sakura had already changed in her night gown and she was slipping under the two blankets that were spread over the bed. The boy scratched his head with weird expression but then he dropped the bag next to hers and pulled out a t-shirt and some loose pants. The hair on his neck was on end and he knew she was watching him. How was he supposed to change clothes with her staring at him like that. The shinobi turned around met her curious look, "Do you mind…?", he cleared his throat.
"What?", she asked confused.
"To turn around?", he frowned.
"Why? I've seen you undressing yourself.", Sakura knitted her brows but covered her face with blanket.
"Thank you.", Sasuke quickly changed and walked to the bed, "I'm done."
She peeked under the blanket and took a deep breath, "Good, because I was suffocating there…"
"You could have just simply turned around…", Sasuke said annoyed and tried to settle himself but if he moved a little more he'd bump at Sakura's body so he kept quiet and waited to see if she had any intention of shifting a bit to make room for him.
"No way… I already warmed this part of the bed. If I turned I'd have to stay on the cold part again…"
"Move or I'll fall off the bed…", Sasuke growled.
"You move. I'm fine here.", the kunoichi frowned.
"If I move I'd stick to you…", he murmured. Sakura kept quiet not knowing what to say. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes and moved towards her. His shoulder was touching hers and Sasuke waited for her to shift away from him but instead, the kunoichi turned to her side, facing him and smiled.
"See it wasn't that scary…", she stack her tongue out at him, "It's almost like before. The only missing person now is Naruto. If he was here, he'd cram in between us…", Sakura smiled.
Sasuke sighed heavily and returned her smiled with closed eyes, "Yeah…"
The kunoichi placed a hand on his chest under the blanket and looked at his face, "Tell me. How did you end up here four years ago?"
"It's a long story.", Sasuke murmured with still closed eyes.
"We have time…", her soft voice made him smile and the Uchiha placed his hand over hers, gripping her tightly.
"It all began while I was training under Orochimaru. He sent me to run an errand for him in a distant village. He needed some scroll for a forbidden jutsu or something. I never knew. I had already discovered that he wants to take over my body and I didn't really care if I would get that scroll or not. So, while I was passing through this area, I met a small girl, five or six year old. She was crying, covered in blood. First I thought that she was injured but when I drew closer I realized that the blood wasn't hers. There were two corpses next to her, partially covered by the falling snow. When I examined them I found out a young man and a woman.", Sasuke gulped and licked his dried lips, "As it turned out later, they were her parents. From what I could see, the wounds were inflicted by kunai so it had to be shinobi. The small girl was in shock, staring at the dead bodies. I knew exactly what she felt then, so I grabbed her and took her to the village. Once we were on the border she snapped out and started kicking… and screaming… and crying... To be honest I was a little taken a back. When I put her down she ran in the opposite direction. I guess she was afraid to go back.", Sasuke frowned, remembering the events of that day.
He felt the grip on his hand tightening and knew that Sakura was still awake listening to the story. He took a deep breath and continued, "I remember that my insides were boiling with anger and fury. All I could see was red. So I grabbed the little girl and told her to wait outside the village. I told her that I'll be back when I take care of the bad guys. She seemed scared and didn't want to let me go but I somehow managed to convince her. When I got back to the village it was already dark. I could see the fires, the screams were echoing in my ears. Without much thinking I rushed down the hill and slaughtered every rogue shinobi that stood in my way. They were no match for me. They were just some small annoying flies, playing ninja.", a note of anger appeared in Sasuke's voice and he gritted his teeth to calm down, "The village leader, thanked me and told me that I was always welcomed in their homes. Actually at that time leader was Yuko's father. So that's how I met him for the first time. After I got back to Orochimaru I killed him and went back to the village. I spent a year there. One blissful year. Then I heard about Akatsuki's movements and I needed to check on whether they had captured Naruto. A month after I had left the village, Tobi found me and forced me to join them."
"What happened to the little girl?", Sakura whispered.
"She was adopted by a young family who lost their kids during the attack. Unfortunately, she never really spoke again, she's living in her own world.", the boy answered quietly.
"Ah…", Sakura buried her face in his shoulder and smiled, "I'm glad I met you again, Sasuke. Naruto is right. We should never give up on believing in our friends. I'm sorry."
"I should be apologizing, Sakura, not you.", Sasuke smiled and gripped her hand tighter. The kunoichi's even breathing next to him told him that she'd fallen asleep. He sighed, "I'm sorry."
"So, what did you want to talk to me about, geezer?", Naruto glared at him with unpleased frown on his face and narrowed blue eyes. When Shizune called him, he sensed a slight nervousness in the young assistant.
"Have a seat, Naruto.", Tsunade ordered pointing at the armchair next to the one in which the Raikage was sitting.
The Jinchuuriki knitted his brows, glancing at his sensei, leaning on the wall behind the Hokage. Jiraiya's expression was blank, "No, thank you. I'm fine."
The Raikage stood up as well and faced the young jonin. Their heights were almost the same but still A's solid figure towered a bit over Naruto's. The blonde boy raised his eyes and stared at the Kumo leader with confident expression. The old man smirked mockingly, "Did you honestly think I wouldn't find out? Tell me… Did you seriously consider keeping it a secret from me?" A small drops of sweat appeared on Naruto's forehead, erasing the confidence from his face. He said nothing, only sent a quick glance at his sensei who was now standing straight up with nervous expression. The Raikage smirked again, "But I have to admit – you act pretty well. Funeral and everything…"
"I…don't know what you're talking about.", Naruto stuttered and licked his lip, making a step back, feeling intimidated by the rising anger in the man before him. He shot a glance at the Hokage. She was half standing up in her chair with widened caramel eyes, staring at the Raikage.
"Too bad that the play is over.", A smirked, "One week ago, I captured your little dead Sakura. And now she's in my hands…"
Naruto's eyes popped out and he growled, rushing recklessly at the Raikage. Just before the impact of his fist with A's face, the boy felt somebody pulling him back for his jonin vest, "Calm down.", Jiraiya's voice whispered in his ears. The Jinchuuriki growled and gritted his teeth not saying a word.
"What's the meaning of this?...", Tsunade murmured faking surprise. She mustn't let him know that she was aware of it or this argue can grow into a full-scale conflict between Konoha and Kumo, "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about your precious student, Sakura, being alive and kicking…", the Raikage growled and looked at the blond woman behind the desk furiously, "Don't tell me you didn't know… You're the Hokage, damn it. So drop this foolish act."
"I seriously didn't…"
"Stop it, Tsunade.", Jiraiya interrupted her with low voice. Naruto recognized this adamant tone. It was the tone he used when he was either angry or worried. The Jinchuuriki wondered which one of these was the case now. The Toad Hermit took a deep breath, "If he had found out already, there's no point in lying about it."
"Jiraiya…", the Hokage stared at him with a hidden warning in her eyes, "We agreed that…"
"I know what we agreed upon very well, but the Raikage has the right to know the truth."
Naruto popped out his eyes in disbelief, his sensei didn't know Sakura's story, unless Tsunade didn't tell him but that was not the case here. The Hokage wouldn't babble about it even if the person was Jiraiya. Then what the hell was his sensei talking about?
"So, are you going to enlighten me?", the Raikage growled averting his eyes to the Ero-sennin and the Hokage.
"Raikage…", Naruto cleared his voice. He had to make sure that what the old man told was true. Sakura was with Sasuke. And his friend wouldn't let her be captured by some Kumo shinobi. "Where did you say was Sakura when you captured her?", his blue eyes were throwing sparks at the old man.
"At a distant village near the border of Kumo."
"Aha. And what was she doing there?", Naruto stepped closer without breaking the eye contact with A.
"Standing in front of a shoe shop."
"Ok. And was she alone when you captured her?", the Jinchuuriki smiled barely notable.
"Of course she was alone!", the Raikage answered annoyed, "Now, if you're done with those stupid questions I have some of my own."
"Fine but actually if we don't find it pleasant to answer we might as well skip them.", the Jinchuuriki raised his brow and glanced at the Hokage who was now sitting in her armchair again.
"You, cocky bastard…", the Raikage growled.
"Oi, oi. Enough, Naruto. Watch your mouth. We're going to tell the Raikage everything.", Jiraiya patted his student on the shoulder.
"But, sensei! He doesn't have Sakura-chan. We don't have to!", the blonde exclaimed angrily.
"How…"
"Tsunade, allow me to explain everything.", the Toad Hermit looked at the woman behind the desk who nodded slightly, "Ok. So… Raikage, you're aware of the poisoning cases.", after the nod from the Kumo leader, the white-haired Sannin continued, "Sakura was assigned by the Hokage to investigate it. But for the sake of her safety, she had to be reported dead. After the whole tournament and everything, as the winner she became very famous. Her name would have appeared in the bingo books and it would make it harder for her to finish her assignment."
Naruto was glaring unbelievingly at his teacher. Lies, lies everywhere. How could he come up with such ridiculous story? It was obvious that this was two-man mission at least. And to send Sakura out there investigating a poison which can kill you within ten minutes with only a scratch…Tsunade would never risk like that. Hell, the Hokage didn't even let him and Kakashi to tell her that she was sending them because she was afraid that her protégé might want to tag along.
"And what exactly was she doing there of all places?", the Raikage said, staring suspiciously at the Hokage and the other man who was now standing next to the blonde behind her chair.
"How could we know?", Tsunade said, joining in the conversation, "She was ordered to report once a month. After all, only few people knew about this mission."
"Who exactly?", A asked with narrowed eyes.
"Just the people in this room.", Jiraiya smiled.
Naruto bit his lip looking at the Raikage. Would he buy it?
"And what about her partner in the tournament. Hatake Kakashi. He was her previous sensei and current captain, am I correct?", A looked at Naruto behind him. The boy gulped, trying to remain calm and indifferent.
"He doesn't know.", Tsunade assured the Raikage, "Originally, Naruto wasn't supposed to know either but after staging Sakura's death, he became unstable and we decided to tell him out of fear that he might lose control over the Kyuubi."
Naruto looked down at the floor. Well, that at least was partially true. He did have his fears about the Kyuubi inside him but thanks to B he managed to overcome them.
"So, you're telling me that Sakura is now on an extremely dangerous top-secret mission without backup and nobody knows about it.", Raikage scratched his neck.
"It comes with no surprise that we sent her there.", Tsunade smiled sadly, "She's my most trusted person, she's a poison expert and her medical jutsu is only second to mine if not equal. I think that there's no need to remind you that she's the winner of the tournament as well."
"I guess you have a point here.", Raikage sighed.
"I have to ask you to keep quiet about this.", Tsunade continued, "Nobody must know about her being alive or her safety would be put in jeopardy."
A nodded and turned around at Naruto, "Boy, you remind me a lot of B when he was younger.", the Raikage patted him on the shoulder and passed him by, walking out of the office.
As the door cracked close, the three in the room let out deep sighs. Tsunade spoke first, "Jiraiya! What the hell was that story? Couldn't you come up with something else?"
"Well, I'm sorry but if you actually had told me the truth, it might have been easier to come up with another lie…", the Ero-sennin complained and turned to Naruto, "Keep your emotions in check. You almost told her out. And attacking the Raikage? Bad decision. Haven't I taught you anything?" Naruto's head fell and he kept quiet, embarrassed by his teacher's scolding, "Never mind. Whatever happened happened. Now, go and notify Kakashi for this."
The Jinchuuriki nodded and ran out of the office.
"That was close.", Tsunade sighed and supported her head on her arms, massaging her temples.
Jiraiya went behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, gripping them gently, "Why don't you just tell me?"
"Because you'll judge me.", Tsunade murmured.
"I will but I will support you as well.", the white-haired man smiled.
"Come over for a dinner tonight and I might tell you.", Tsunade smiled and stood up from her chair, leaving the office. On the doorstep she turned around and knitted her brows, "And no cameras this time…"
Jiraiya grinned and looked through the window.
"Thank you very much, Yuko.", Sasuke shook his friend's hand, "I'll tell Sakura about the dinner invitation."
"You're welcome. When you run out of something just tell me.", the blond man smiled, "And tell Sakura that if she doesn't accept the invitation I'll take it personally. And I'll be deeply offended."
"Don't worry. I'll talk her into coming.", Sasuke laughed when suddenly a small girl barged in the house, crying.
"Somebody…help me…", she sobbed and fell down, stumbling on the genkan.
The Uchiha rushed and helped her stood up, "What happened?"
"My brother… help him…", the girl stuttered crying.
Yuko lifted her up in his arms, embracing her gently, "Calm down and tell us what happened to your brother."
The girl rubbed her eyes with fingers and sniffed, "We were playing in the north forest when… I stumbled…and he tried to catch me… But then when he fell in the snow his leg got into a bear trap… ", the girl burst out in tears again, "There was blood everywhere… Help him…"
Sasuke and Yuko shared a terrified glance. The Uchiha put on his shoes and yelled at Yuko, "Take the girl to Sakura. She may be hurt as well. I'm going to get her brother.", the boy rushed out of the door without wasting another second.
"Ok. I'll meet you there.", Yuko grabbed a jacket and wrapped it around the crying girl, running out of the house as well.
Sakura woke up and stretched. The sunlight was making its way through the window. The girl yawned pleased. It's been so long since she last slept that well. Her eyes lingered on the messy other half of the bed. Sasuke wasn't here. "He did say he would leave early." The kunoichi stood up and pulled the hem of her gray T-shirt which was rolled up on her waist. It was warm in the room. Probably it was early and the fire was still burning in the living room.
Sakura made her way out of the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. As she passed by the fireplace she noticed the barely burning fire. Hesitating for a second she bent down and grabbed some more firewood, throwing them in the flames. Her eyes looked around the house. Now in the daylight it looked so…lonely. A clock grabbed her attention. It showed ten am. Good. She still had enough time to make breakfast and then look around the house and the village.
As she washed up and woke up completely, the medic dragged her feet to the kitchen. She rummaged through the cupboards for some coffee but as she found out few moments later, they were all empty. Sighing disappointed, she noticed the two-tapped sink. Sakura turned the right one and immediately a small trickle poured down. The kunoichi placed her finger under it and hissed surprised as the water burnt her. "Running hot water?". It was getting better and better.
Suddenly the door snapped open and she heard, Sasuke's loud yell. The girl rushed out of the kitchen and her eyes widened. Her friend was holding a small boy in his arms with a clipped bear trap around his calf. The medic in her surfaced and she rushed to the table in the living room, removing everything on it, "Put him here. Carefully. One wrong move and his leg might tear up."
Sasuke placed the passed out boy on the coffee table and slumped on the couch exhaustedly, glaring horrified at the small lifeless body. Sakura noticed the broken chain of the trap and turned to the dark-haired boy, "You broke it?"
He nodded reluctantly, "I was afraid that I might do something wrong if I try to open it by myself."
"Good job. He would have died from blood loss.", Sakura kneeled on the floor and her hand glowed green over the wound, "Ok. I want you to open it slowly, so that I can control the bleeding. Try not to move it to the sides because you may worsen his condition."
Sasuke kneeled as well and gripped the metal trap. The door opened again and Yuko entered with the small girl in his arms. Sakura turned around confused.
"That's his sister. She called us.", Yuko explained, "Sasuke thought that she might be injured as well, so I brought her here."
"Good. Place her in the bedroom and lock the door. She doesn't need to see this when she wakes up.", Sakura ordered and averted her eyes at the boy again, "Yuko-san, pour some hot water in a basin and grab a clean cloth. I'll need them later." The kunoichi sighed and looked at Sasuke, "Ready?" He nodded, "On three. One… two… three!".
The Uchiha gripped the trap opening it bit by bit. Sakura's hands were glowing green and small drops of sweat had appeared on her forehead. It had been awhile since she last used her chakra. The kunoichi noticed that the trap's teeth had crashed the tibia and the fibula. Her eyes averted to Sasuke's face. The dark-haired boy was pale and his eyes were glistening from the tension in the room. Sakura noticed the slight shaking of his hands. That was not good. If he trembled, he might completely tear up the boy's leg.
"Sasuke. Stop.", Sakura ordered and the boy's hands froze, " I'll take it from here. Go outside.", the kunoichi made a handseal and a kage bunshin appeared next to her. The clone gripped the trap and the Uchiha stood up, hurrying out of the house.
Yuko observed quietly the kunoichi's work. Her face was sweating and her breathing was irregular but the girl didn't tremble, didn't even sigh. She kept working over the boy, without averting eyes from his leg.
Sakura bit her lip as the last tooth of the trap was out of the boy's calf. She ordered her kage bunshin to break the metal snare. The clone applied a little chakra and the trap cracked into two pieces. Then the kunoichi allowed herself to let out her breath. The bunshin disappeared in a poof of smoke and she continued to heal the boy's leg with a little less tension and nervousness.
Yuko drew closer and placed the basin and the cloth next to her, "Do you need anything else?", he whispered afraid that he might disturb her.
"No, thank you.", Sakura smiled and looked at him without interrupting her constant flow of chakra into the boy's calf.
"Ok, Then I'll go and check up on the girl." , the blonde walked away.
The kunoichi examined calmly the leg. The surface wounds were almost healed now the only thing left was to mend the broken bones. She cracked her neck and moved her hands slightly up so she could begin from the top of the injury. What a day! And it was only eleven o'clock. The girl sighed tiredly. She was definitely out of shape and she quickly had to get back in her previous state, if not stronger. A smile lingered on her face as she recalled Sasuke's sick expression. The medic felt the boy under her hands moving a little and she quickly averted her eyes to his pale face.
"Hello.", she said quietly as he slowly opened his eyes, "What's your name?"
"Aron.", the boy mumbled and frowned.
"I'm Sakura. Nice to meet you Aron.", the kunoichi smiled softly, "You stepped on a bear trap, remember?"
"I helped my sister, she was falling.", he muttered and looked curiously at the unfamiliar girl who was healing him, "Who are you?"
"I'm a doctor, Aron-kun.", Sakura smiled again, "Your sister is fine, she's asleep in the other room. You should rest too. I'm almost done."
"Okay.", the boy nodded and closed its eyes again.
Sakura sighed as she mended the last piece of bone in his leg and sent a little chakra to make sure that everything was fine. Once the healing was finished, she cleaned up the blood left from the wounds, stood up and stretched. The hour constantly depleting her chakra had made her head dizzy. The kunoichi lifted the boy in her arms and carried him in the bedroom. As she entered the place she saw Yuko sitting on a chair next to the bed, where the small girl was still sleeping. Sakura went to the other side and placed Aron next to his sister, tucking him in with the blanket. The blond man in the chair followed her with eyes as she bended over the small girl, checking her temperature and looking for any signs that she might be injured as well.
The medic sighed relieved and turned to Yuko, "Do you mind staying here with the kids? I need to find Sasuke.", she whispered smiling at him.
The boy nodded, "When they wake up, I'll get them to their parents."
"Thank you.", Sakura turned around to exit the room but his voice stopped her.
"You saved a life today, Sakura-chan.", Yuko sounded amazed and bewildered, "We're in huge debt to you."
"Don't be silly. That's my job. You were just lucky to have me nearby.", she winked at him and went out.
The kunoichi exited the front door and looked around. Everything was white. The snow was covering the earth, the roofs of the houses, the trees. The world around her was sparkling under the sun rays. She snuggled her nose in the white knitted stole, wrapped around her neck above the leather coat she was wearing. Footprints in the snow caught her attention and she followed them. Then she saw him, leaning on a pine-tree, Sasuke was staring at the cottages down in the valley. It appeared that their house was a little up the hill, separated by the other part of the village. Probably that was his wish when he first came here. The kunoichi smirked and drew closer to him. The cracking sound of the snow under her black boots tale told her presence but the Uchiha didn't react. Sakura stood right next to him, enjoying the view that was spreading before her eyes.
"Nobody's good at everything, Sasuke.", she murmured quietly. The surroundings were so calm; it felt almost illegal to shout in a place like this, "Don't let it bother you."
"The same happened when you were wounded and told me to take care of your wound…", he whispered, "I just couldn't stop the shaking of my hands, no matter how hard I tried and repeated myself that I need to save you. They just didn't stop…", his voice hitched and he took a deep breath before continuing, "When I saw him with that trap around his leg. I actually tried to remove it but my hands jerked and I couldn't do it…"
"Then it's a good thing. Because that… that saved the boy's life, Sasuke.", Sakura placed her arm around his shoulders.
"I don't get it.", he shook his head, "I have no problem with killing people for god's sake. I'm a shinobi. That's my job… But when it comes to…", his voice faded without finishing his sentence.
"You don't understand it but I do.", Sakura smiled and bowed down to grab a little snow in her handful, "You're not afraid of blood nor you're getting sick at the sight of brutally injured. You are scared when it comes to somebody you care about or someone innocent and pure who didn't deserve any of this pain, like the boy inside.", the kunoichi molded the snow into a small ice ball and began shaping it, "You're not weak. You're just human.", she grabbed his hand, pulling it out of his pocket and placed the mini ice sculpture on his palm.
Sasuke's eyes travelled to the small cold piece in his hand. A small perfectly shaped heart was glistening under the rays of the sun. A small drop appeared on top of it and made its way down, reaching the skin of his palm. He looked up at the girl who was gazing at him. A smile formed on his lips, "Thank you."
"You're welcome.", Sakura grinned.
"You're actually pretty good at understanding people's minds. Have you studied psychology or something?", he giggled, teasing her.
The kunoichi frowned, "It was part of my medical education. I'm trained field medic. In times of war, people's minds are as frequently injured as their bodies. So, yes, I did study psychology."
"Oh…", Sasuke scratched behind his neck and grinned foolishly.
Sakura hmph-ed and turned around passing by the Uchiha. Suddenly she span and kicked the tree trunk, jumping out of the area around the pine. A massive pile of snow fell upon Sasuke's head, who screamed surprised and cursed loudly. The kunoichi turned around and tried to escape quickly but she wasn't used to run in the snow and after her second step she slipped and fell down with loud thump. A sharp pain ran through her stomach. She had to take care of her wound sooner or later. Sakura opened her eyes and glanced at the pile of snow under the tree but Sasuke wasn't there. Suddenly a shadow appeared on top of her and she looked up. The Uchiha's face was all flushed and there was still some snow in his black hair.
"Sorry?", she winked quickly with her eyelashes, using her puppy-stare but the blank expression on Sasuke's face didn't change, "I guess you're not going to help me stand up." The boy shook his head slowly, "Well, I guess it's OK.", Sakura cleared her throat and stood up on her feet, "Shall we g…"
A loud yell echoed in the valley as Sasuke lifted the pinkette, putting her on his shoulder. The girl bumped her fists in his back so that he could drop her, but the Uchiha only continued walking determined back to the house. When they reached the door he just kicked it open and entered without even taking off his shoes. Sasuke dropped Sakura on the couch and pointed his finger at her, gritting his teeth, "I'll let it slide. But just this time. Now, start healing yourself."
"I'm fi…"
"Start... healing yourself.", he repeated through his teeth and went back to take off his shoes in the genkan.
"Fine…", Sakura growled, "You could have just asked me nicely…"
Sasuke turned around annoyed, "I should ask you nicely to heal yourself?!"
"Sheesh…Stop being such wet blanket…", the kunoichi rolled her eyes and took off her boots and jacket.
Sakura sipped from the cup in her hands, filled with hot cocoa. The kunoichi blankly stared at the cracking woods, wrapped in warm, yellow-reddish flames. It was such a desperate sound, as if they were calling for help. She slightly smiled. Naruto once told her that since he began his sage training with natural chakra, he could sense the emotions in everything around him. How much she wanted to be able to feel whatever the others around her were feeling. It would have been so much easier. There wouldn't have been fights with Kakashi, she could have been better friend to Naruto, she could have stopped Sasuke from leaving Konoha. And now…maybe…just maybe… she could have been at home.
The kunoichi knitted her brows and sipped one more time. The place wasn't bad. So far she enjoyed it here – the fresh cool air, the untouched by the technology's hand, nature, the silence. Maybe because the everyday-boredom hadn't reached her yet, or she was just grateful for the moments of peace. Being kept in that dark cave for three months and then non-stop being chased down for nearly another month had drained her energy almost entirely. Her eyes lingered on the dark window. The glass was frosted in the corners, leaving a small circle in the center through which she could stare outside. Sakura sighed quietly. Sasuke had gone to bed almost an hour ago. Probably he was already asleep. Maybe it was time for her to go to bed too. Today's unexpected accident had exhausted her. She shouldn't have overstrained herself with healing her own injuries as well but that idiot insisted. Well, he had a point; however, it could have waited a little more.
The kunoichi drank the rest of the hot cocoa and stood up, placing the empty mug on the coffee table. She'd wash it tomorrow. Dragging her feet to the bedroom, Sakura remembered the breakfast she prepared for Kakashi the night when she left Konoha. Did he like it? A smile lingered on her lips and she pressed a finger on them. They were dry and a little bit cracked. She recalled the soft, almost velvet, feeling his lips left on hers as they moved over them hat night. He was an amazing kisser. She never thought that only a kiss could start such violent and stormy feelings in her.
The pinkette pressed quietly the handle of the door and entered the room. Sasuke had left the gas lantern lightened, so she changed in her night clothes and put out the tiny flame, coiling back the wick. Her eyes lingered on the dark silhouette of the boy in the bed. She was glad that he was with her at such times. He wasn't a bad guy, he was not a saint either, but definitely he wasn't the heartless bastard she thought him to be.
Maybe she should give him a massage…
A smile flickered on her face.
TBC