Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who has favorited, viewed, reviewed and followed this story! I really like where this story is going and I'm glad to see so many who feel the same way! In this chapter there's a super sugary piece of sweetness, so look forward to it! P.S. I re-watched Naruto The Last and once again ended up frustrated at the lack of Sakura and Sasuke moment. Common Kishimoto! Throw us SakuraxSasuke shippers a bone here! Rant over, now let's get back to the story.
"I won!" Naruto declared loudly as he dropped to the ground in front of the sushi bar. His face promptly fell when he found Sai already standing inside with Sasuke by his side.
"Sorry. The only one you beat was me." Sakura said dropping down beside him.
"Damn it." Naruto hissed.
"Don't worry about it." She replied with a smile hooking her arm around his neck. "Let's go eat."
The four shinobi attracted quite a lot of attention as they ate together in one of the booths near the back of the restaurant. For starters, each member of the team was in good shape, it was a given in their line of work but it definitely made them easier on the eyes. Sai was the handsome, stoic type with his generally expressionless face but surprisingly angelic smile. Naruto with his blonde hair, blue eyes and sunny smile was warm and approachable. Sasuke was dark and mysterious with classic good looks. Sakura was pretty and petite with a cheery smile and exotic pink hair. Then there was the fact that the latter three were the new sannin and the four of them together along the Hokage Kakashi made up the legendary team seven who had not only ended the war, but saved the world. Though their faces were not recognized everywhere, their names were and all it took was one nosy person listening in on their conversation to get all the attention they'd ever wanted and then some. Given their reputations, it didn't take long before the little shop was teeming with people desperate to catch a glimpse of the war heroes.
"I miss the days when you could proclaim loudly that you were Naruto Uzamaki and no one cared." Sakura murmured as the four of them headed back to their room via roof top again to avoid their enthusiastic fans.
"Things were simpler back then." Sai admitted.
"I kind of miss it too." The blonde agreed.
Sakura chuckled at the Uzamaki's response. Out of habit she glanced down and noticed a flash of silver hair on the head of someone that seemed too small and quick to have it and changed her course landing on the street instead of the next roof top.
"Sakura?" Sasuke questioned looking back at where she'd been up until a moment ago.
"Excuse me!" Sakura called out as she jogged down a side ally to catch up to the figure. The stranger glanced back and she managed to catch a glimpse of red eyes and ran harder desperate to catch up. "Wait! Come back! Are you Ryuu?" she called out.
The child stilled and turned to face her. Sakura could hardly believe her eyes, the boy was beautiful with porcelain skin, metallic silver hair that hung down to his elbows with a fringe of bangs covering his forehead. His eyes were red with a ring of magenta around the outside of the iris as he stared unblinkingly at her his expression guarded. He was dressed in a black tunic with silver trim paired with white pants that ended a couple of inches before his ankles. Black sandals similar to the style worn by shinobi adorned his feet. She thought for a moment that he looked like a doll especially when he stood still.
"How do you know my name? I can't recall ever meeting you in the past." the boy questioned and she was surprised at how smooth and refined his speech was given his young appearance.
"I'm a shinobi from the hidden leaf village." She explained. "I've heard all about you and your friend. You've been going around rescuing people from monsters right? I'd like to talk with you both if you don't mind." She said with a smile.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "I do mind. You will only hurt us just like all the others." He said his tone sad and just a touch bitter. "Stay away from us!"
"Ryuu. Is something wrong?" a musical, feminine voice spoke from the shadows. Sakura watched as a form began to materialize and a figure clad head to toe in black with vivid purple eyes with flecks of blue, green and pink near the pupil appeared. A black mask similar to the kind Kakashi wore covered most of the figure's face and a black scarf covered their forehead and hid any hair from her view. The person was taller than she was by a couple of inches and had a slender build from what she could see under the unisex clothing.
"Stay back! This woman is a ninja from the village hidden in the leaves." The boy exclaimed moving to stand protectively in front of the stranger.
"Is she now?" the figure replied. They closed their eyes for a moment and then spoke. "I understand. Sakura Haruno, disciple of the fifth Hokage Tsunade. A medical ninja bearing the rare mark of 100's healings and wielder of monstrous strength. Also a member of the new legendary Sannin that ended the fourth great ninja war. The woman in love with the last member of the Uchiha clan and best friends with the legendary nine tails jinchuriki. A woman with a nearly unbreakable spirit who would sacrifice everything to protect the ones she holds dear." The figure sighed. "Such a lovely soul you have."
Sakura paled and took a step back. How did this person know everything about her?
The stranger opened their eyes again and observed the nervousness on the shinobi's face. "Don't be alarmed." They said. "I have no quarrel with you. I'd appreciate it if you didn't pursue us though."
"Sakura!" Sasuke called out dropping to the ground beside her. "What's going on?" he glanced up and studied the two figures his eyes blood red as he activated his sharringan. "Are they-?"
She quickly nodded understanding his question without needing to hear him finish.
The figure studied Sasuke for a moment their eyes briefly narrowing before they sighed. "That's an Uchiha for you. They have such a nasty habit of ruining things." The figure suddenly turned their face skyward tension forming in their body. "Ryuu."
"I understand." He replied. "I'll tell you once more. Stay away from us!"
The masked figure put their hand on Ryuu's shoulder and pulled him back against them patting his head affectionately. "That's enough Ryuu." They said softly before turning their attention to the two shiniobi. "Sorry but we have business elsewhere to attend to. It was a pleasure to finally meet you in person Sakura Haruno. I'm sure our paths will cross again." and with that the two vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Damn." Sasuke cursed as he stared at the spot. "They're gone already." He turned back to Sakura who was white as a sheet. "What's wrong? Did they do anything to you? Are you hurt?" he asked scanning her body with his unique eyes searching for anything wrong with her body or her chakra.
"That person…. They knew everything." She murmured.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"They knew my name, my teacher, my relationship with you and Naruto. They told me that I have a lovely soul almost as if they could see it or something. It's unnerving. I almost feel violated." She admitted.
Sasuke's expression hardened as he reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Do you think they could've used a genjutsu on you?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so. I didn't sense any chakra being used at the time and they closed their eyes. Most genjutsu is controlled thorough the eyes so I can't imagine that being the case. I'm immune to most genjutsu anyway. You would know using your sharringan wouldn't you?"
He nodded and checked her with his advanced sight once again. "I don't see or sense any justsu being used on you." He conceded. "What else did they say to you?" he asked.
"Ryuu told me to stay away because he thinks we'll hurt them." She said.
"Well if they're causing trouble, then that will be the case." Sasuke replied.
"That wasn't the feeling I was getting from him." She replied. "It was more genuine than that. A child's fear of being separated from one they care about."
Sasuke looked at her and then at the spot where the figures had stood. "What do you think we should do?" he asked.
"Let's get back and tell the others what happened. Then we'll figure out a plan and sleep for the night. We still need to go over all of the information Kakashi sent us as well as our new orders." Sakura said working to shake off the shock the two strangers had given her.
"You're right. Let's go." Sasuke agreed jumping with her back up to the roof tops and quickly arriving back in their room at the inn.
"What happened to you two?" Naruto asked bounding forward. "I was starting to get worried."
"Perhaps they just wanted to be alone for a moment." Sai offered from where he sat at the table in the room with a pencil in hand sketching in his book. A little mischievous smile playing at his lips.
Sakura turned pink at the implication. "No! It wasn't like that at all." She insisted. "We actually ran into the red eyed boy and the masked stranger."
Naruto and Sai both turned their attention to her their expressions suddenly serious.
"I take it that they escaped before you were able to capture them?" Sai said as he put his sketch pad away.
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I'll tell you everything they said and did. It might not be important but its best everyone knows."
After recounting all that had happened word for word, the group sat in silence for a few moments as they all mulled over the information in their minds trying to come up with explanations for everything that had been spoken.
"It seems that these two are pretty well informed as far as our identities are concerned." Sai mused.
"That's not really too surprising though." Naruto argued. "We are pretty famous, all of the information they told you was stuff they could've picked up by researching. The stuff about your personality could just be their own opinion of you based on what they've heard too."
Sakura shook her head. "I don't know if that's exactly it. The way they closed their eyes like that and paused. It can't really explain it because I can't see chakra or anything like that but I just got the sense that they were tapping into some sort of power or using some sort of ability."
Naruto nodded. "It's possible, but it definitely wasn't some sort of genjutsu that had been used on you because you're mostly immune to that sort of stuff and Sasuke would've noticed right away." He looked over at the Uchiha. "You used your sharringan before they got away, right?" he asked. When the raven haired man nodded, he continued. "Were you able to get a peek at their chakra before they took off?"
Sasuke nodded. "I did but it was very brief. The boy's chakra was much stronger than it should have been given his age but it didn't look abnormal other than that."
The three ninja nodded and Sakura took down some notes. "What about the other one?" she asked.
His eyes narrowed slightly "That one is a bit more difficult." He admitted. "Something seemed to be distorting my vison when I tried to see their chakra."
Sakura, and Naruto's eyes widened while Sai's narrowed. "Your vision was distorted? How can that be?" Naruto asked. "I didn't think that was possible."
"Neither did I." Sasuke admitted. "I was about to activate my rinnegan when they left."
"Well that's disturbing." Sai said. "The Uchiha's eyes are legendary and thought to be almost infallible. Someone or something powerful enough to distort your powerful eyesight must be very dangerous."
Sasuke nodded his brow furrowed and his eyes dark. "I was able to make out something though." He replied. "In the middle of their chest I saw what seemed to be a seal. I think it might be part of what was distorting my vision."
"A seal? Could they have one of those beasts sealed inside of them?" Naruto asked. "It would make the enormous amount of power they poses while fighting the beasts seem a little more realistic."
"Does Kurama know of any more beasts besides the tailed beasts that would need to be sealed away or anything like that?" Sai asked.
Naruto closed his eyes and was quiet for a few minutes as he conversed with the fox locked within his body. Sakura always thought it a little odd to know that another being was inside the same body as her best friend especially when they conversed like this but it was getting easier to accept over time. After a few moments he opened his eyes again.
"Kurama says that the he doesn't believe the stranger is carrying around one of the tailed beasts inside of them because if that was the case, Sasuke would've had no problem seeing them." He replied. "He said that the story reminded him of a mysterious clan with incredible power that existed many years ago. They were beast tamers that had the rare ability to force any summoned creature back to their place of origin regardless of who had summoned them."
"Wow! What incredible power." Sakura breathed. "It would've been nice if they'd been around when Madara made all of that trouble."
Naruto's eyes widened at her words. "Wait a second. Didn't this person say they knew about the Uchiha name?" he asked Sasuke.
"Yes. They said something about how Uchiha's ruining everything." He replied.
"One second." Naruto said closing his eyes once more. After a few moments he opened them again his eyes wide. "Kurama said that he's fairly certain that the only reason the tamers didn't come to help when he was first summoned was because they couldn't."
"What do you mean they couldn't?" Sakura asked.
"He's not sure but said that it's the only thing that makes sense. He thinks there's a possibility Madara had them annihilated."
The room became very quiet as the words sank in.
Sasuke lowered his head and clenched his hands into fists briefly. Sakura sighed as she looked over at him, she knew he was probably frustrated with this new development. His clan's curse of hatred had created so much pain and sorrow over the years which Sasuke, the only surviving member of the clan now carried on his shoulders. She resisted the temptation to reach out and rub out the tension she saw in his broad shoulders as Naruto spoke again.
"Well we won't know for sure until we catch up with the guy and ask them." Naruto said in his cheerful way. "I vote we go over all the boring stuff Kakashi sent us really fast and then hit the hay so we can be ready to go first thing tomorrow."
"Good idea." Sakura said going to her bag and pulling out the scroll. "Let's get to work."
Nearly two hours later, the four shinonbi had decided that they would make their way to The Village Hidden in the Sand while simultaneously tracking the chakra belonging to Ryuu. Since they were headed to the same place, they figured their chances of running into the duo was fairly high.
Team seven then laid down to bed and Sasuke decided to lay on top of the blankets next to Sakura despite her protests. He'd already made up his mind to move to the floor the moment she fell asleep to avoid any awkwardness and just claim that he'd fallen off in the middle of the night and was too lazy to get back into bed if anyone asked. Sakura's breathing began to even out and slow and Sasuke was surprised when she turned away from the window and towards him as she finally drifted off to sleep. She'd faced the window up until that point likely out of a desire to respect him and give him the space she knew he wanted both emotionally and physically. Now that she was asleep however, she subconsciously turned towards him curling up against his side like a cat. He brushed her hair out of her eyes and smirked as he remembered the time that the original team seven had worn cat ears to infiltrate the headquarters of the famous ninja cats. He'd never admitted it aloud to anyone, but she'd actually looked quite cute with the ears on. His fingers lightly traced over where the ears had once rested before he frowned and slipped out of bed. He walked silently to the doors leading to their balcony and pushed it open. He jumped to the banister and then back flipped up to sit on the roof his gaze fixed on the moon that was crescent shaped.
He had grown up with fierce pride in his family name and his clan. They were powerful people with influence, intelligence, and strength that was renowned all over the world. He'd fought desperately to avenge them, given up years of his life in pursuit of the power to do so only to find out that in the end, they had been a clan cursed with hatred and an almost unquenchable thirst for power. The more he learned of their history the more uncertain he became. His new goal since the war had been to eventually revive his clan but now… He wasn't sure if the world needed any more Uchiha's given how much trouble and destruction they seemed to cause. He was pulled from thought by the sound of clothes rustling in the wind and the soft tap of feet landing on the roof next to him.
"Found you." Sakura said with a small smile. She held out a mug of warm herbal tea to him which he took before she settled down beside him with her own mug in hand and sipped it.
"What are you doing here?" He asked her cringing when the words came out harsher than he intended. "I mean, shouldn't you be resting up? Tomorrow we're going to pick up the pace quite a bit." He said trying to sound less irritated.
"I could say the same to you." She replied simply.
He didn't really know how respond to that so he said nothing choosing instead to sip on the tea she'd given him. It was perfect, not too sweet or bitter and the warmth was surprisingly comforting.
"You're worrying about what Kurama said today aren't you?" she said after a few minutes comfortable silence.
He nodded. There was no point trying to lie to her at this point. She'd just beat it out of him anyway.
"You know, I've never quite understood why people get so hung up on the past." She admitted.
He glanced over at her surprised by the comment. "Why do you say that?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Well it's in the past isn't it? It can't be changed." She took a sip of her tea and then continued. "When I was training with Tsunade I assisted her with a long surgery on a shiniobi that had been caught in a trap while on a mission. He was half dead by the time we entered the operating room and had lost a lot of blood. We worked for ten hours to save his life but in the end, it wasn't enough." She bowed her head at the memory. "I'd seen him around before. He was a friend of my father's. When he flat-lined, I couldn't believe it. We'd done everything right but he just didn't make it. I ran away from the operating room without even bothering to take off by gown. I ended up in the park on the bench where you left me cursing my uselessness again. Adding his face to the list of people I was too weak to save. Tsunade found me and asked me if I wanted to quit training under her. I told her no and she told me to get up and follow her back to the hospital. I did and she dragged me right back into the operating room where another shinobi who had been caught in a similar trap was and told me to take the lead. I told her I was afraid and she snapped at me. She said 'Sakura! It's impossible to save everyone. Life just doesn't work that way. The only thing that's worse than that is not saving the next person because you're afraid of losing again. Get it together help me save this man!'." She chuckled at the memory of her mentor lecturing her in the middle of surgery with all of the assistants looking on nervously. "After that surgery she pulled me aside and said that the past didn't define me as a medic or as a person. She said 'Just because you lost a patient today doesn't mean you're an unskilled medic. All you can do is learn from it and vow to do your best to save the life of the next patient that receives treatment by your hands.'"
He nodded. "I suppose that's true but I'm different from you. I've done so many horrible things to so many people. I don't even remember all of the faces of the people I've killed. What kind of monster does that make me?" he asked.
Sakura reached over and touched his face using just the slight pressure of her finger tips to turn his face towards hers. "Sasuke, you were never a monster. You were a boy who had the people you loved most ripped from your life by the hands of the person you looked up to more than anyone else in the world and left all alone. A boy who didn't know what to do with the pain he was feeling and turned to vengeance because there was no one to guide you in a different direction. An evil man with dark desires caught you and gave you the power you so desperately wanted in exchange for the life you knew. The price seemed fair enough for you because you'd already lost everyone you cared for once so what did it matter if you lost them again right?" she said as she looked into his eyes. He clenched his fist to prevent his trembling and was unable to look away as she continued. "For years this man fueled the darkness and hatred festering inside you knowing it would turn you into the perfect vessel to carry out his own selfish plans. Then you left before he took you and put your plan for revenge into action. However, the deeper you got, the more you realized that things were much bigger than you'd ever imagined and your hatred only grew. You were used again and again by vile men who desired your power for themselves bound by a curse you never knew you carried. I think there came a point where you didn't even recognize yourself anymore." His eyes widened at her words, how did she know? Her expression softened. "Yes you did horrible things. Yes you nearly destroyed the world and almost killed everyone who ever mattered to you." He cringed and shut his eyes against the pain. It was true. Naruto, Kakashi, even her he'd nearly killed in his rage. "But the point is that you didn't. You saved the world, and everyone important to you survived and that's what matters." She said softly. "You even managed to break the curse that plagued your clan for generations." He opened his eyes and found her emerald ones staring at him with tears slipping down her cheeks. "I understand if you hate the man you were. To be honest, I didn't like him all that much either. However you're a different man now. You've been saved Sasuke, and that means you have the freedom to become the man you always wanted to be, the one Naruto, Kakashi, Itachi and I always knew you could be. We are all proud of you." His eyes widened as she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to his forehead, the place where Itachi had always tapped him. "Thank you for finally coming back to us." She murmured her voice thick with emotion. "Please come back inside and get some sleep when you're ready." She said before sliding from the roof and disappearing back into their room.
His entire body was trembling as her words sank in. The thought that he was a new man, a man that she, Naruto and even Itachi were proud of was overwhelming. He glanced up at the moon again as a single tear slipped from his eye and he lifted his hand tapping himself in the same place where her lips had touched him just a moment ago. A little weight seemed to be lifted from his burdened, broken heart by her words.
"Thank you Sakura. For everything." He murmured before he lifted his mug and downed the rest of its contents and leapt onto the balcony slipping silently back into the room. To his surprise, at the side of the bed he was supposed to be sharing with Sakura, he found a large amount of blakets including the thick comforter, had been made into a makeshift futon on the floor. A small stack of pillows sat at one end and a note lay on top of them.
"I know you're not used to sleeping with people so I thought this might help since I know you'd never left me get away with sleeping on the floor." It read.
He shook his head and glanced at his pink haired teammate who was snuggled beneath the sheets. "Silly girl." He muttered with a smirk as he moved closer to check on her. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply clearly fast asleep. It occurred to him that he had either spent a lot longer on the roof after she left than he thought, or that she was much more tired than she appeared. His gaze settled on her face and as he glanced at her mouth, he remembered the warm, soft sensation of her lips on his forehead and felt a little heat come to his cheeks at the memory. It was the first time someone outside his family had kissed him in such a way and he had to admit that he'd really liked it though he also knew it had more to do with the one doing the kissing and less with the kiss itself. He was fairly certain if Naruto had done the same thing he would've punched the whiskered idiot in the face regardless of the reason behind it. Sakura turned in her sleep so that she was facing up and sighed startling him.
"Cha!" she muttered sleepily her brow furrowing a little and he suppressed a chuckle as he imagined who the poor soul she'd just decked in her dream was. Slowly so that he wouldn't wake her, he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers closing his eyes as he felt her warm skin against his own. He took a deep breath as he thought of how grateful he was to her, how much he cared about her, and the desire growing in his heart to be by her side always. After a few moments he pulled away and slipped into his makeshift bed and finally allowed himself to rest drifting into a deep sleep.