Chapter 3 – Being Home
After Sakura brought Sasuke into the hospital, she did an examination on his rib-cage being that he was holding it the entire time they walked into the hospital.
Sakura wrapped Sasuke's rib-cage in several bandages, she couldn't tear her eyes away from his new physique, he was ripped, and he could definitely beat anyone in a bench-pressing competition.
Sasuke laid back on the hospital bed, he was still feeling a little sore from his transformation, and he decided to rest.
Sakura entered, and saw Sasuke lying perfectly still on the hospital bed, no air-mask, no IV, and nothing else keeping him alive, the last time he was here, he was young and angry.
Sakura walked over to Sasuke, after removing her shoes to try and not wake him.
"Stop," Sasuke said, still in the same position he was, "Another step, and you'll slice your toe off on that scalpel."
Sakura looked down, and there was a discarded scalpel on the floor.
Sakura stepped over it, and placed a tray of food down in front of Sasuke, "I brought you some food," she said, "Shrimp, spicy noodles, and rice."
"Chopsticks?" Sasuke asked as he opened his eyes.
"In the box." Sakura said.
Sasuke opened the box, and greedily ate the food.
"You really are hungry." Sakura said.
"I've been trapped in a dark room with nothing to eat but scraps of Orochimaru's left-overs for five months," Sasuke said as he ate, and laid back on the bed after finishing, "I thought he might help me become more powerful. He betrayed me."
"What did he do to you?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke showed Sakura the underside of his wrists to reveal the bruises left over from the bracers Orochimaru wrapped around his wrists, and then showed him the burns along his back, "He chained me in the center of the room with only rain water to drink, his scrapes of food for a meal, and he allowed the sun to burn my skin until it blistered." Sasuke explained.
"Wait a second," Sakura said as she examined the side of Sasuke's neck where his curse-mark would be, the curse-mark was gone, "The mark."
"I was offered a choice," Sasuke said, "And I took it."
"Why?" Sakura asked.
"I will tell you one day," Sasuke said, "Just not today, and certainly not when we have an audience."
"Audience?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke grabbed the chop-sticks, and threw them at the curtain, revealing that everyone Sasuke and Sakura know were standing right behind the curtain.
"Hey," Tsunade said as she pushed everyone further back into the hallway, and entered the room herself.
"Lady Tsunade," Sasuke said, "Good to see you."
"And you as well," Tsunade said as she walked up to Sasuke, "You saved this village. This town will forever will be grateful, but there will be some that will want you dead."
"They won't get the chance," Sasuke said, "And tell them I mean no harm," Sasuke then gestured his head toward Sakura, "Unless she tells me to be."
"Ah yes," Tsunade said, "The code of the werewolf, you lie to serve a desired woman."
"The girl with the pink hair." Sasuke said.
"Indeed," Tsunade said, "I'll have an apartment for you in the city."
"Thanks," Sasuke said, "Make sure the bed has something with extra support, I doubt… the other guy will be supported by a standard bed."
"The other guy," Tsunade asked, "Why not come up with a better name?"
"I don't have any other name to call my alter-ego." Sasuke said.
"How about Hairy?" Sakura asked.
"Not funny," Sasuke said, "What else we got?"
"How about the Wolf Demon?" Naruto asked as he entered.
"Wolf Demon?" Sasuke asked.
"I like it," Sakura said, "Go with Wolf Demon."
"As you wish," Sasuke said, "My alter-ego says yes, so it's Wolf Demon."
"You're the most powerful thing in this village right now," Naruto said, "Sakura controls you, which means she probably has more power than Tsunade."
"Only in my werewolf form," Sasuke said, "That means only when the moon rises, but when I'm Wolf Demon, she is."
"Come up to my office," Tsunade said, "I need to get you reinstated as a Konoha citizen, and get you listed as a full-fledged Ninja."
"Thank you Lady Tsunade," Sasuke said as he stood up, his muscles flexing as he pushed himself off the hospital bed, Sakura could not tear her eyes away from him.
"By the way," Tsunade said as she handed Sasuke a jacket, "Please put that on, all the women in this village are going to want to rip that off of you if they see your new muscles."
"Don't worry," Sasuke said, "I'm still six foot five, they can't even reach this tall."
Tsunade and Sasuke walked out of the room, and down the hall, passing all the people he knew who saw him.
The people ran over to the door, and watched as Sasuke walked down the hall.
"He's filled out," Ino said, "He's still pretty hot."
After filling out the paperwork, Sasuke and Tsunade went to work on getting him a new headband, "I can your reinstated in Team 7," Tsunade said, "We can have your new headband casted in steel in…" she began.
"It has to be in silver," Sasuke said, "It might help me control Wolf a little better."
"Ok," Tsunade said, "In silver, standard blue?"
"Whatever color we have," Sasuke said, "Just not red."
"Why not red?" Tsunade asked.
"A werewolf rage can be triggered by the color red," Sasuke said, "Romulus taught me that."
"Romulus," Tsunade said, "You keep saying the name Romulus."
"Romulus was the one that saved me," Sasuke said, "He's the king of the werewolves."
"Romulus has been dead for over twenty years," Tsunade said, "That king passed away during the war."
"He's dead," Sasuke asked as he walked over to the window, and looked at the mountains in the distance, "Then who sprang me?"
"Probably another werewolf," Tsunade said, "There hasn't been a king of the werewolves since Romulus died."
Sasuke reached into the pocket of his pants, and pulled out a small gold medallion.
"Where'd you get this," Tsunade asked as she took the medallion from Sasuke's hand.
"Maybe from him," Sasuke said, "I don't know what happened. I don't remember anything after he bit me."
"This is Romulus's medallion," Tsunade said, "When this is wielded by one werewolf, werewolves gather around, realizing the individual as Romulus's heir. That makes you Prince of the werewolves"
"Prince of the werewolves," Sasuke said, "Me?"
"And that makes Sakura princess," Tsunade said, "Now that she controls you when you're Wolf, so she can make you command the other werewolves."
"She's more powerful than anyone." Sasuke said.
"Her power will be insurmountable now," Tsunade said, "We need to protect her."
"No," Sasuke said, "All we have to do is protect this," Sasuke handed Tsunade the medallion, "Just keep this safe, and no one will target her or me."
"But Sasuke…" Tsunade began.
"I will not have her targeted like a politician and I will not allow you to keep her under lock and key like a prisoner," Sasuke said, "She's my future mate, and I will defend her with my life. But don't think Lady Tsunade that just because you're Sakura's master that I won't defend her from you. I'm going to give you this one warning: if you do anything that cause her harm, I will not hesitate to end your reign as Hokage."
"I'll use the medallion then." Tsunade said.
"You need to be a werewolf to use it," Sasuke said, "For now, protecting Sakura is my job, you just concentrate on keeping that medallion safe."
"I can't ignore her power now," Tsunade said, "What do you propose I do?"
"Keep watch from afar," Sasuke said, "Keep her safe from behind the scenes, post undercover cops as her neighbors. Keep her safe at a distance, and have a plan ready if she gets into trouble."
"Some things beyond your senses, and your body have changed," Tsunade said, "Your smarts has also changed."
"I know," Sasuke said, "Where's my new apartment?"
"2202," Tsunade said as she handed Sasuke a set of keys, "You can climb out the window."
Sasuke walked over to the window, opened it, leapt onto the rooftops, and walked off toward his apartment.
When he arrived, Sakura was waiting outside, "Sakura," Sasuke said, "What are you doing here?"
"Seeing if you were ok," Sakura said, "My apartment's just down the hall."
"Well then, neighbor," Sasuke said as he placed his hand against the wall, "Make sure you watch your back. I can't protect you all the time."
"You'll need more protecting," Sakura said, "Not everyone is happy that you're back."
Sasuke knew she was right, there would be those that would try to kill him.
"Good afternoon," Sakura said as she kissed Sasuke on the cheek.
Sasuke then watched as Sakura walked off down the hall.
Sasuke's officially back, and he's going to be reinstated in Team 7, but no angry villagers have come after him yet…