The whoosh of crisp, cool wind rushing past her ears and through her fiery hair was exhilarating. Karin woke this morning with renewed focus. Despite Sasuke's preoccupation with their mission, she was determined to find a way through to him—to find a way into his heart.
First, she thought with a sneer, I need to figure out a way to get rid of her.
Karin burned just thinking about Sakura as the three of them leaped through the treetops. She'd seen the way Sasuke kept furtively glancing at her last night while she read.
When he announced that he was taking first watch and Sakura would be on second, it took all of Karin's composure not to scream. Instead, she'd spent a fitful night, tossing and turning in her sleeping bag, thinking about Sasuke coming to Sakura's bedside to rouse her. The romantic possibilities of the scenario were not lost on Karin. That's why she had vied for the second watch—she had hoped to finally entice Sasuke into some quality time in her bedroll.
When Sakura pushed her awake in the early hours of the morning for third watch, Karin scrutinized her chakra carefully for any evidence of a late-night tryst—satisfied when she sensed only negligible traces of Sasuke's chakra on Sakura.
Karin grit her teeth as she thought about the way that ridiculously buxom Hokage looked at her as she protested Sakura's inclusion on this assignment. Karin was perfectly capable of handling the medical side of this mission. They didn't need her tagging along. She and Sasuke were more than enough.
Sighing, she thought how romantic it would be—the two of them leaping through the autumn-painted forest hand in hand. She found that if she kept her head tilted at just the right angle, she could see only Sasuke and imagine that the pink-haired gatecrasher didn't exist.
Seeing him gracefully jump from one tree to the next made her heart beat faster. The rhythmic thump of their feet on branches matched her racing heart like some wonderful symphony. Karin sighed yet again and lost herself in the thump, thump, thump as she and Sasuke moved in perfect harmony.
Thump, thump, thump.
She watched with narrowed eyes as Sasuke drifted closer to Sakura. How was Karin supposed to imagine Sakura wasn't there if he kept moving toward her!
Thump, thump, thump.
The back of Sasuke's hand lightly brushed against Sakura's knuckles as they landed on the next branch.
Thump, thump, CRACK!
Both Sakura and Sasuke swiveled their heads around to catch Karin's surge of chakra splinter the branch she'd just landed on. Steam practically poured from her ears as she fumed over their proximity and the guilty pink that tinted their cheeks.
Karin timed her next jump so that she landed right between the two of them. As her foot touched the next tree, Karin made sure to brush her whole arm against Sasuke's. When he turned to her, she gave him a look that somehow managed to combine shy innocence with lechery Jiraiya would've been proud of.
Sasuke asked, "Karin, do you sense anything?"
Karin gave Sakura a hard look that said I'm useful and you're not! as she placed her hands together to focus her Kagura Shingan technique. She stretched her mind's eye as far as she could, but she didn't find the chakra signature she knew Sasuke was looking for.
Like she had so many times during their days as Taka, Karin turned doleful eyes to Sasuke's expectant expression and shook her head. She was crushed to find his eyes immediately leave hers as his mouth pressed into a hard line. She wanted so badly to give him another answer, to show him that she could be important to him—she could be useful.
She turned to see Sakura jumping next to her and, immediately, her anger rose. To think that Sasuke would want to brush his hand against hers made Karin's blood pressure spike.
As long as she'd known him, Sasuke had never done anything without purpose—which meant he intended to touch the pink-haired witch! The only time Sasuke intentionally touched Karin was when she had healed him—and that was because he would've died otherwise. Was that how it was, Karin thought angrily. He would only touch her if his other choice was death?
It also seemed that every time Karin looked at Sasuke, he was sneaking peeks at Sakura. Karin sneered, thinking that the mighty Uchiha looked like nothing more than a nervous schoolboy with a crush.
Karin's stomach plummeted with her mood. She wondered why Sasuke didn't look at her like that. What was it that Sakura could give him that she could not? Why didn't Sasuke turn to her to find this something?
She knew Sasuke and Sakura had been teammates when they were children, but…so what? That was years ago. Karin had helped Sasuke through some of the toughest battles of his life. Without her, Sasuke would've died. Why didn't he see that?
Karin's desperate thoughts were cut short when she almost choked on a wave of chakra that rolled over her like a tsunami.
She stopped short and locked her hands into her signature jutsu's handsign. Hostile energies were approaching quickly. She was pleased to see that Sasuke had stopped and was looking at her expectantly when her eyes finally cracked open. She would show Miss Pink-hair who the really useful one was.
"Sasuke-kun! There are fourteen—no, fifteen enemies approaching. Jounin-level chakra," she announced with authority. "They'll intersect with our current position in thirty seconds."
Karin felt her confidence soar as Sasuke nodded approvingly. She folded her arms in smug satisfaction.
Let's see her do that!
"Sakura."
She watched Sakura lock eyes with Sasuke at the sound of her name. Before he could say another word, she nodded and disappeared from the branch. Karin was shocked when she saw his grasping hand reach out for Sakura, like he wanted to pull her back.
Sasuke quickly turned back to Karin. Could it be…was that…fear in his eyes? No, Karin thought as she shook her head—not her Sasuke-kun.
"Stay right behind me and track them all."
"Of course, Sasuke-kun!" Karin made to grip his arm.
Sasuke shrugged her hand away, commanding, "Let me know how many and stay put, understand?"
Karin was elated that Sasuke was so concerned for her safety, but she didn't have much time to dwell on that as the tree they were standing in began to shake violently.
An earthquake as well as enemy ninja? she wondered, gripping the tree in panic.
Sasuke raised an expectant eyebrow at Karin and she remembered her job. Pressing her hands together, she reached out with her chakra and couldn't believe what she saw.
Karin was unable to conceal her surprise when she turned to Sasuke and said, "That was Sakura. She just took out four of them."
She was not at all pleased to see one corner of Sasuke's mouth pull up into a half-smile.
"Let's go before she gets them all."
Sakura ducked beneath an oncoming flock of shuriken. She immediately traced them back to their source and returned fire. Hearing a yelp, she knew she'd landed at least one. There was no time to celebrate small victories as a fist whizzed by her ear. Instinctively, Sakura's foot shot out and connected, shattering a kneecap. She followed up with a chakra-enhanced uppercut and knew this was one enemy who was not getting up again.
Leaping into the upper branches to get a better view of the battle, Sakura saw Sasuke across the clearing. She was surprised that he was staying in one spot, but she supposed the enemy would eventually come to him. She watched in awe as he moved precisely, gracefully—like a blood-splattered dancer. Kusanagi sliced easily through an opposing shinobi—blood blooming on his pale tunic like a delicate flower.
From her high vantage point, Sakura saw three enemies racing toward Sasuke. He was already fending off three attackers. Despite knowing he could take them all on, she wasn't about to sit still when there was a fight going on.
Her eyes glued to Sasuke, Sakura saw him run through the hand seals for a Chidori Eisou. Sakura's sharp mind judged the speed of the three ninja, their distance to Sasuke and her knowledge that his spear attack had a range of about thirty feet. If she could handle one of the three and slow down the other two, Sasuke would have plenty of time to take down his three attackers and then turn his lightning spear on these two.
Running across a branch and leaping into the fray like she was diving into a pool of calm, clear water, Sakura readied her Ranshinsho. Two quick chops to the back of the enemies' necks allowed her to release her nerve-disabling jutsu. They ran another five feet forward before they fell into a twitching mess. As the third ninja moved to attack, Sakura focused chakra to her foot and ran toward him. He threw a hand out to grab her, but she slid under his guard at the last second and kicked her leg up high. She caught him square in the chest with a burst of chakra and watched as he soared into the air. A flash of light behind her told her that Sasuke had just discharged his Chidori.
The whistle of an incoming kunai made Sakura jerk her head back—she wasn't quick enough and frowned when a wisp of pink hair fluttered to the ground. Her eyes were drawn to the gleam of wire that she followed from the kunai, now sunk into a nearby tree, back to Sasuke hand which lingered on the Tiger seal. A smile curled Sakura's lips as she realized Sasuke's plan. She left a clone behind and slipped into the treetops.
Limping pitifully, Sakura's clone leaned against the tree with the kunai. She looked around with frightened eyes and whimpered, "Sasuke-kun? P-please…help me…"
From a higher branch, the real Sakura was shocked at how easily tears slipped from her clone's eyes. She looked away, unhappy with how weak and defenseless she looked—knowing it was part of the ruse didn't make it any less painful to watch.
The rustle of leaves told her that their prey was approaching the bait. Suddenly, an enemy ninja jumped out of a bush, a kunai in each hand.
"You're mine now!" he roared as he ran to the cowering Sakura clone.
Three large shuriken buzzed past him and disappeared behind the tree. The shinobi was confused for a second, but continued his path toward the duplicate Sakura. He was an inch away from sinking his blades into her chest when the three shuriken came whizzing back around the tree, encircling the clone and her attacker. As he was slammed against her by the tightening wire, Sakura's clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Only then did the enemy realize his mistake as the heat of Sasuke's Ryuuka no Jutsu blazed down the wire. His eyes went wide—the last thing he saw was the scorching brilliance of the Dragon Fire as it consumed him in seconds.
Elated by their seamless teamwork, Sakura danced through the treetops toward Sasuke. As she dropped into the clearing near him, Sakura felt a hollow pang resound in her chest—she'd discovered the reason why Sasuke was rooted to one spot.
Tucked securely behind him in the cleft of a tree, was Karin, her hands locked in a focusing gesture. Sakura was unsure of Karin's fighting abilities, but now she could see that, for Sasuke, fighting with Karin by his side was like having eyes in the back of his head. She whispered into his ear and Sasuke turned left, slicing in a wide arc, gutting a previously unseen enemy wide open.
Sakura turned burning eyes away from the pair. She tried to tell herself that it didn't bother her one bit to see the two of them functioning like a team, but it hurt too much to believe the lie.
"Sakura!"
Karin's scream froze her for a moment as Sakura watched a masked shinobi bearing down on her teammate, a double-bladed axe arcing toward Karin's neck.
"Behind you!"
Sakura's mind saw the events unfurl so slowly—she felt detached from reality as she saw Sasuke jerk his head in her direction, his eyes wide. She sensed the presence at her back that Karin had warned her about as chakra scalpels sprang from her hand. Anxious red eyes left hers and she watched Sasuke's sword move to block the axe.
He'd chosen to protect Karin.
Flinging her arm behind her, Sakura connected with her attacker's shoulder, severing tendons and nerves from the inside. His limb dangled uselessly at his side and he looked from his arm to her in surprise. She used his temporary shock to her advantage—cocking her fist back and smashing it into the side of his head.
Sakura turned back to find Karin on the ground, a deep gash in her thigh, blood leaking everywhere. Running toward the wounded woman, she watched Sasuke jump over a sweeping kick as he battled the axe-wielding shinobi. He swung his blade forcefully toward his opponent just as she reached Karin.
Immediately, Sakura focused her chakra to her hand and moved it toward the wound. Before she could touch her, Karin clamped her fingers around her wrist. Their eyes met and, through her hard gaze, Sakura understood her distrust.
"Karin, please," Sakura assured her. Her feelings for her patient never factored into Sakura's drive to heal—as a medic-nin, she had sworn an oath to this effect.
As the grip on her wrist loosened, Sakura went to work assessing Karin's condition. The axe must've been quite sharp and heavy as her quadricep had been neatly severed and her femur was fractured. She quickly closed up the leaking wound as she gently lowered Karin's head to the ground. She had to admit, she was surprised at how well Karin was bearing up under what Sakura knew to be a very painful injury. She was nowhere near death, but she was sure it hurt.
A hot spray across her cheek caused Sakura to look up from her work. The lifeless thump of the final enemy hitting the ground met her ears as Sasuke dashed toward them, sheathing his katana.
"Is she all right?" he asked, swiping his hand across Sakura's cheek and wiping the blood on his pants.
Sakura was taken aback by his rough, familiar contact—how quickly one touch ignited her desire for him—and then by the concern in Sasuke's voice…for Karin.
"S-Sasuke-kun?" Karin's quavering voice sounded distant. Sakura almost laughed at her theatrics. Her wound was practically healed—she was sure Sasuke wouldn't be swayed by her overacting.
"I'm here," he said, kneeling as she reached out for him. Sakura watched, stunned, as Sasuke slid his hand into Karin's—the same hand that left her face burning from its brief touch.
She knew she couldn't look at them any longer without confusion and fury compromising her ability to heal, so Sakura turned her attention back to the wound, pushing back against her own—she hated to admit it—flashes of longing and jealousy. She'd mended the bone and stabilized the injury, but she'd need to reconnect the muscle in stages. Sakura wound some anesthetizing chakra through Karin's system.
"Sasuke," she said with a little more irritation in her voice than she wanted. "You should set up camp somewhere close. I'll need to do some additional healing on her, but I'd like to get her cleaned up first." She indicated Karin's blood-drenched legs.
He nodded and crouched to pick up Karin before Sakura waved him off and roughly jerked Karin into her arms.
"I've got her."
She was glad for Karin's slightly woozy state—Sakura was sure she would've argued for Sasuke's arms to be wrapped around her.
"There should be a lake about thir—"
"I know," she interrupted him, irked at his overbearing concern as she marched her patient toward the water.
She was flushed and angry at herself for how quickly her old feelings resurfaced—she could still feel the sensation of his hand on her cheek.
Sakura sent Sasuke to gather firewood just to get him out of her hair while she finished healing Karin. He'd hovered over the two of them like a mother hen. Sakura thought she might grind her teeth to dust if she didn't get him the hell out of her way.
What's his problem? she thought as the glow on her hands blinked out. Karin was certainly in no danger of dying or being permanently damaged. Why was he fretting so much? Was it because they were so close to their destination—so close to all the memories that came with being near Madara's former base? Or was it something else?
Attempting to shake the hurt and confusion, Sakura dusted off her hands and hunted around for Karin's pack—she'd need to put some dry clothes on her before she settled her into a sleeping bag to recover. Sakura thought she'd like to get that done while Karin was still sedated and incapable of arguing.
Yanking open Karin's over-stuffed pack, Sakura drowned in a tide of silky lingerie. She grabbed at the risqué panties and blushed furiously as she jammed them all back into the pack. She cinched it closed and threw it to the ground, panting like she'd been attacked. Sakura turned to the dozing Karin and sneered—this was what she thought was mission-wear? She pulled out a pair of standard jounin pants and a t-shirt from her own pack and redressed Karin.
"Sas'kun?" Karin said shakily, finally coming around.
Sakura sighed, knowing that chakra sedation didn't have the groggy after-effects that narcotic anesthetics did. Karin was clearly faking.
"Are you there, Sasuke-kun?"
"He's not here, Karin. He went to get firewood. You can stop acting."
Karin sat up and looked around as if she didn't believe her.
"What the hell am I wearing," she asked, pawing at Sakura's t-shirt.
"I couldn't find anything appropriate in your pack," Sakura said with a curl of her upper lip.
"Well, I'm not wearing this sack with Sasuke-kun arou—"
Sakura froze in panic as Karin suddenly stopped talking and flopped back onto her sleeping bag, gripping her leg and groaning.
"Karin?"
She was certain she'd done everything right. Her injury was a fairly routine one as far as battle injuries go. Sakura was about to channel chakra to her hands when Karin stopped complaining and hiked up her shirt slightly before thrashing violently and moaning, "Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun?"
"You're kidding, right?" Sakura asked, disgusted by her ridiculous histrionics.
Sasuke appeared out of nowhere, dropping an armful of tree limbs to the ground and walking quickly toward Karin.
Turning to Sakura, brows creased in concern, he asked, "What's going on?"
Sakura boiled. She knew she was jealous, but just because she could put a name on her feeling, didn't make it any easier to handle. Knowing it was wrong of her, but unable to stop, Sakura put on a mask of concern and said, "Let me just have a look." She nudged Sasuke aside and laid her hands on Karin. Sending a pulse of chakra directly to the pain center in Karin's spinal cord, Sakura gave her nervous system a buzz.
Karin jumped up out of her bedroll, screaming, "Ow! What the hell was that for?" She began poking Sakura threateningly in the shoulder, pushing her backwards with every jab. "You'd better stay the hell away from me if you know what's good for you," she snarled, inches from Sakura's face.
"Karin?"
Sakura smiled when Karin froze at the sound of Sasuke's voice.
"Ow! Ow!" Karin grimaced as she clutched at her leg. Limping, she made her way back to her bedroll and dropped to the ground. "Oh! Sasuke-kun! I'm so sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to get the water tonight. I think it's best if I just rest," she said, dragging a shaky hand across her forehead.
Sakura snatched up the canteens, saying, "No problem. I got it." She couldn't be around Karin one minute longer without exploding. She turned toward the stream, relieved to get away. She hadn't even taken a step outside of the campsite when guilt flooded her. What had she done? Like it or not, Karin was her patient. And Sasuke—well, he certainly didn't need this kind of behavior on a mission that was surely troubling enough.
"Sakura," Sasuke called after her. "We should get something to eat as well." Sakura didn't miss the we in that sentence as she clutched the canteens in a sweaty grip. Her throat closed up with nerves as Sasuke fell into step beside her.
Sasuke felt stupid. Sakura had seen through Karin's deceit so easily—and had even forced her to expose her charade. Why hadn't he realized Karin was manipulating him? As much as he didn't want to admit to it, he knew the answer.
Guilt.
As soon as Karin had warned of the upcoming battle, Sasuke was formulating a plan to take on all fifteen adversaries on his own—knowing that Karin was not skilled in fighting and not knowing a thing about Sakura's skills.
What kind of captain was he, he thought glumly.
When Sakura caught his eye and dropped from the tree to fight, Sasuke wanted to grab her, to bring her back. He felt ice fill his stomach as he had a vision of his long-haired, genin teammate cowering in the battle like a lamb among wolves. He needed to stop her…to protect her.
When Karin gaped over Sakura's immediate takedown of four enemy-nin at once, Sasuke felt a weight lift from his shoulders and a warmth fill his chest.
Sakura could take care of herself.
During the fight, she'd read him so easily—combining her skills with his seamlessly. He glanced at her sure steps, the canteens swinging by her side. Where was the frightened girl who would tremble behind him? Sasuke recalled his confidence skyrocketing every time he protected her in their youth—it felt so strange knowing that she didn't need him.
When her clone had cried out to him, the sharp sting of memory almost made him swallow his Katon. The fear and desperation that the thought of Sakura in danger wrought in him was unbearable. Knowing it was just a clone didn't relieve Sasuke's need to run to her, to scoop her up and take her to safety. It had taken a tremendous amount of willpower to trust her and stay put.
However, when Sasuke saw that shinobi bearing down on an unsuspecting Sakura, his gut twisted painfully—his body instinctively twitched in her direction—the desire to protect her nearly overwhelming him. Before he could take a step in her direction, he felt the chakra of the axe-wielding ninja closing in on Karin.
He couldn't protect them both—he had to choose one.
When his Sharingan detected a surge of chakra in Sakura's hand, he knew she would be okay. His hesitation, however, caused him to block the axe awkwardly, which allowed for Karin's injury.
He hadn't trusted in Sakura's abilities as a shinobi—all he saw was the girl who spent their youth quivering behind him. As he chanced a glance at her gazing placidly out at the horizon, he realized he didn't know this woman at all.
Where was the girl who knew he would stand between her and any enemy? Where was the girl who giggled and smiled at everything he said? Where was the girl who loved him with all her heart, he thought as he swallowed against an uneasy swoop in his stomach.
"Sasuke?" He was startled by the concern in her eyes. Sakura quirked her head at his stillness—she was already filling the canteens. "Aren't you going to fish?"
He nodded numbly, shocked that they were already at the water's edge. Pulling his shirt over his head, Sasuke reached into his pouch for three kunai and then hooked his shirt on a low-hanging branch. Turning back to the stream, he almost walked into Sakura. When had she come nearer? She reached out and wrapped her hand around his—her fingers were soft and cool, but where she'd touched his hand felt like he'd been burned.
"I-I can do that," she stuttered as she made to pull the kunai from his hand. Something in Sasuke's chest exploded when he saw her so close. All his nightmares of her terror-filled eyes were wiped away—there was the warm green that he'd almost forgotten. He loosened his hold on the blades as he nodded. His grip tightened again as her tenuous smile slid into a frown.
"Why didn't you say something?"
Her brows furrowed as her gaze landed on his chest. Her hands glowed as her fingertips skated across some inch-deep gashes on his chest and shoulders. Sakura's chakra was tranquil as she erased his injuries, but it made his stomach squirm oddly—like he'd swallowed eels. He marveled at the ease with which she smoothed his skin. In her face, he could see the self-assurance that came with unquestionable skill.
With her hands still resting on his skin, she looked up at him—a spark of something familiar in her eyes made hope leap inside of him. Had he really been so desperate to put the light out of those eyes? Self-loathing loomed before she broke the silence.
"Sasuke, I-I was wondering…what I mean is…maybe we could…" Sakura flushed and looked away. "We should—we should get some fish." She slid the kunai from his hand and walked to the shore.
The jittering in his stomach doubled—there was an inexplicable elation in him that he hadn't experienced for a long time. Confused, Sasuke walked quickly to join Sakura on the shoreline. He couldn't fathom his body's reactions. He needed to shed his turmoil with some physical action.
He took quick splashing steps through the shallows before he jumped in to the chilly stream. He thought he saw Sakura move before he dove deep into the icy water, but he needed to focus on circulating chakra to warm himself now—he needed to prevent his body from rebelling against the frigid temperature. Plunging headfirst into a school of fat carp, he waved his arms to drive them to the surface. When he heard the telltale thunk, thunk, thunk of three kunai finding their targets, he surfaced.
Sakura collected the fish and giggled as he struggled to the shore. "You didn't need to jump in, you know. I tried to stop you."
He looked at her as he panted and dripped, his forehead creased in confusion. In answer, she stepped to the edge of the water and slammed her boot down on the shore. He felt the vibration through the soles of his feet as several shining fish shot out of the water and wriggled in the dying sunlight before splashing back into the water.
His surprise and approval must've been written on his face because when he looked back at her, Sakura was blushing, her fingers bashfully tucking stray hair behind her ear. The simple gesture lifted his mood.
"Nice," he said. A smirk curved his mouth as he teased, "But you didn't try very hard to stop me, did you?" The cold turned his breathy chuckle into puffs of smoke, but he warmed when Sakura's mouth shifted from an astonished oh to a genuine smile. He flipped his hands through a quick seal as his skin heated rapidly, evaporating the water into a billowy cloud.
"Nice. You'll show me how to do that one day?" Sakura asked as she gathered the canteens.
"Hm," he grunted, pulling his shirt over his head to hide his smile. There was the promise of a future between them in her words and it filled him with such lightheartedness that he could not stop his grin. He composed himself and popped his head out of the collar.
"Do you have an elemental affinity?" Sasuke asked, picking up the fish and turning toward the path back to camp.
He almost laughed again when Sakura looked shocked and then insulted.
"Of course I do!"
"Fire?"
Sakura blushed and hung her head. "No."
"Che," Sasuke scoffed with an amused smirk.
"But I could learn," Sakura said with a bright smile.
Sasuke had to turn his head away to hide his own grin. If anyone could possibly learn an elemental chakra skill, it would only be Sakura.
Sakura had to restrain herself from choking Karin with the bandage she was wrapping around her thigh. She had moaned and cried until Sakura relented and conceded to cover her practically-healed wound in gauze. All Karin really needed was a blood pill and some rest and she'd be as good as new.
When Sakura peeled back the cover on Karin's bedroll, however, she understood why the woman had fought so hard for the bandage.
While she and Sasuke were fishing, Karin took the opportunity to change into one of the revealing outfits that had sprung from her bag.
Sakura rolled her eyes at Karin's flirtatious posturing. A quick glance at Sasuke assured her that he was bent to the task of prepping and cooking their dinner—he hadn't even noticed Karin's costume change. Sakura tied up the gauze, flipped Karin's cover back over her, and slumped, exhausted, against a rock near the fire. What a day it had been.
Sasuke filled a bowl with rice and slid a fish off the skewer and into the bowl. Sakura watched with a sinking feeling as he grabbed some chopsticks and walked over to Karin.
"Oh, Sasuke-kun. You are just so thoughtful. But I really don't feel strong enough to feed myself. Do you think you could—"
Sakura had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when Sasuke opened her hand, laid the chopsticks across her palm, and closed her fist around them. He placed the bowl on the ground in front of her and walked back around the fire. Sakura was so amused that she didn't even realize what Sasuke was doing when he balanced two bowls on his arm, filled them and plopped down next to her, holding out a pair of chopsticks.
She stammered wordlessly until he nudged her arm with a bowl. She quickly grabbed the utensils and rice with a murmured, "Thanks," as they ate in silence.
"So," Sasuke began uncomfortably.
Sakura froze with her chopsticks still in her mouth. Was Sasuke starting a conversation with her? She almost choked on her rice.
"That jutsu you used on the last nin—that was a medical technique?" He flicked his eyes to her and then back to his bowl as he pushed some rice into his mouth.
Sakura didn't know what to say. She was delirious with glee but, despite her bursting heart, her brain continued to work with precision.
She was sure Sasuke's back was toward her when she'd formed the chakra scalpels—he was already blocking the axe headed for Karin. When a flash of red eyes appeared in her mind, she knew that Sasuke had seen the chakra forming in her hand with his Sharingan before she'd fully materialized the jutsu. He knew she was prepping an offensive move, so he leaped between Karin and the axe-wielding nin. Sakura blushed when she realized what that meant.
Sasuke knew she could take care of herself.
She slowly pulled the chopsticks from her mouth and took a long swallow of tea to give her a second to blink back happy tears.
"Um, yeah. It's what I use for surgery."
"Surgery?" Sasuke looked at her askance.
"I am a medic, you know," she said glaring at him with a half-grin. "It's pretty useful. I can make internal cuts without opening the skin, which is great when you're working on the battlefield where the conditions are far from sterile."
"Uh-huh," Sasuke said distractedly. He laid his bowl aside and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.
"Sasuke? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said with some irritation. "Just a little sore."
Sakura moved closer and asked, "Can I—can I have a look?"
She bit her lip hard when she saw Sasuke's hands stop scrubbing at his eyes—she should've never opened her big mouth! Things had been going so well between them. Surprisingly well. So much better than Sakura had ever hoped. And now she'd gone too far. He might be willing to talk to her, but he certainly didn't trust her enough to give her access to his Sharingan—it was his clan's most precious gift. But Sakura knew she could help—she'd healed Kakashi's Sharingan many times before when he overused it. Their sensei exhibited the same symptoms—a deep, internal soreness and itchy dryness.
As Sasuke's silence continued, Sakura was about to withdraw her request with a joke—act like she was only kidding when she'd offered to infiltrate his most prized shinobi secret—when Sasuke pulled his hands from his bloodshot eyes and blinked at her.
"Okay."
Surprise, fear, happiness—could one person really feel all these things in a single second? Sakura took a deep breath to make the trembling of her hands less noticeable and activated her Shousen jutsu. She closed her eyes and laid her hands against his head, winding her chakra carefully through Sasuke's system. She hummed as she concentrated on relieving his symptoms.
"What?"
She almost jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice. Sakura had been so engrossed in examining his chakra pathways that she'd forgotten who she was healing. She opened her eyes reflexively, and immediately regretted it. Her nose was an inch away from Sasuke's—she could feel his breath on her lips when he asked, "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," she stuttered, adding embarrassment to her list of jumbled emotions. She closed her eyes quickly as she gently floated her chakra through the entire network of nerves, blood vessels and chakra pathways in Sasuke's eyes, attempting to cool the itching and burning.
Curling her tongue against the corner of her upper lip as she lost herself in her task, she felt Sasuke's heartbeat begin to pick up. Sakura was distracted from her examination—had he detected an approaching enemy? She knew that if it was really a problem, he would warn her. She pulled her bottom lip under her front teeth and refocused herself.
The throb of Sasuke's heartbeat sped up noticeably as it thumped against the chakra she wound through his body. As Sakura blinked in concern and directed her attention to his face, the first thing she noticed was that he was working hard to control his breathing. Her brow furrowed at this—what had him so worked up? She flicked her eyes to his and found they were directed at her lips—she was thrilled and alarmed all at once. When Sakura self-consciously released her lip from her teeth, Sasuke's eyes came back to hers. Her fingers slowly slid from his temples as she withdrew her chakra from his system.
Sakura felt her own heart begin to race. Her lips tingled as if they'd been touched when his eyes shot back to her mouth, then up to her eyes again. Her fingers continued to slide over his vaulted cheekbones and down his jaw. Time seemed to stop for Sakura—until Karin clanged her chopsticks against her bowl like a dinner bell.
"Sasuke-kun! I'm finished! Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke reached up and clasped her hands, pulling them from his face with a mumbled, "Thanks." He gathered up their bowls and headed toward Karin.
"Here you go, Sasuke-kun." Sakura was frozen to the spot and only heard the clank of her bowl rattling as it settled in with the other two. "Now…how about some dessert," Karin purred. Movement came back to Sakura as her head whipped in their direction. Sasuke scooped up Karin's chopsticks and gracefully side-stepped her grabbing hands as he headed for the stream.
Karin's face matched her hair as she flushed in fury.
Sakura couldn't help the smile that widened as she watched Karin glare at her, fold her arms, and huff angrily.
When Sasuke strode back into camp, he and Sakura began to tidy up and get ready for night watch. Only, instead of pulling out her cumbersome medical textbook, Sakura turned to Sasuke who had just started pulling Kusanagi out of its sheath.
"So."
Sakura grinned when wide, surprised eyes met her invitation to conversation.
"Naruto tells me you want to train with the team?"
It was the first time she'd seen Sasuke smile.
First (and always), I have to thank Unicorn Paige for her impeccable editing and priceless advice. You're almost better than shirtless Sasuke...almost.
Second, I want to say thank you each and every one of you who reviewed Chapter Three. You smashed the Third Chapter Curse to pieces! And you made me glow with happiness!