Karin thought long and hard about what Sasuke said last night.
"I don't know where you're going, Karin, but I'm going to find an old friend."
She flipped the menu over for the tenth time as Ayame stood scowling, order book and pencil poised, waiting for her decision.
"Hmm…pork, salt, or miso?" Karin mulled over her choices yet again. Definitely not pork, she thought as her face twisted like she'd smelled something bad.
She was many things, but Karin was not stupid—she knew exactly where Sasuke was going with those two orders of pork ramen. She thought for sure he was done with Sakura after what happened during their mission at Madara's base.
Ooh! Sasuke-kun was so mad when he thought she'd killed his precious brother, she recalled gleefully.
Yet, it seemed that somehow he was able to forgive her. She scowled and clutched the plastic-sealed menu with a white-knuckle grip.
"Are you ready to order yet?" Ayame asked—any semblance of sweetness worn away by Karin's dawdling.
"Just get me some gyoza," she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Ayame snatched the menu from her hand and stalked into the kitchen.
"Whatever," sneered Karin. She spun her stool around to gaze at the sleepy streets of Konoha. Nothing ever happens here! she lamented with a groan, wishing Sasuke would show up—at least then she'd have something to do. She'd need to add Move out of Konoha to her to-do list once she became Uchiha Karin.
Thoughts of Sakura intruded on her fantasizing and Karin ground her teeth. There's got to be a reason why Sasuke-kun is being so nice to her. After what happened when they found his broth—of course! Itachi!
How could she have overlooked that? Sasuke was buttering up Sakura because she was holding his brother hostage. His new obsession, now that he was over the whole revenge thing, was to get answers from his brother…whatever that meant.
Much as she disliked her, Karin had to hand it to Sakura—she held one heck of a bargaining chip.
How can I possibly swing Sasuke-kun's attention my way when all he thinks about lately is his brother and those ex-teammates of his? Hmm…I need to attack this problem from another angle. She folded her arms and concentrated.
That stupid Team Seven.
They had some kind of hold on Sasuke. Karin recalled one moment of rare candor when they were Taka where Sasuke revealed that Naruto and Sakura were his precious people. Karin's face contorted as she recalled his uncommonly nostalgic expression when he said it.
I'll be precious to him, too, she thought confidently, an idea forming in her head. Just watch me.
With a wicked smile, she realized that if she couldn't turn Sasuke away from his precious teammates, maybe she could turn them away from Sasuke. And she knew exactly how she'd start.
Sakura closed her eyes to savor the feeling just a few seconds more.
Her arms tingled where his skin touched hers. Every puff of his warm breath just behind her earlobe caused bolts of adrenaline to shoot down her spine—she turned her head slightly to feel his warmth in the crook of her neck, luxuriating in every sensation.
The full weight of his body was pressing her down into the soft cushion of grass. His metal armguards dug into the soft flesh of her forearms as he trapped her hands above her head. The rapid press of his chest against hers as he struggled to breathe made her dizzy.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw a blurry mass of black move past her line of vision only to be replaced by the clear cobalt of the late afternoon sky.
Sasuke rolled off her and into the grass. With his weight lifted, her lungs filled to capacity—she swallowed hard, still panting. Sakura smiled when she heard Sasuke having as much trouble catching his breath as she was. He wriggled to move his sword out from behind him and his shoulder now pressed firmly against hers.
"That was good," Sakura gasped, a gentle sheen of sweat making her glow in the warm sunshine. His eyes closed as Sasuke shook his head in disagreement. Her smile dropped and she propped herself up on one elbow to see his face.
His heavy-lidded eyes lifted slightly and he smirked. "That was very good," he murmured.
Sakura fell back into the plush grass, laughing with relief—she felt immensely gratified to know she'd put up a good fight.
Her first spar with Sasuke since he'd come home went amazingly well. Despite losing in the end, Sakura knew she'd pushed him hard—and he'd pushed back with equal tenacity. After last night in the hospital where he admitted that he considered her a teammate, she found she was able to fight him more freely—she was his equal.
Sighing, she thought that all she wanted to do now was lie next to him in this sweet smelling field all afternoon. She couldn't help but smile contentedly as her eyelids slid closed.
Sakura was surprised that the road back to being friends with Sasuke wasn't much longer and rockier. She thought that the years past and the harsh experiences they'd both lived through must've really changed them in ways they weren't aware of. To think that Sasuke would readily admit that they were on the same level was shocking, but exhilarating. All the dreams Sakura had of walking with Sasuke and Naruto and not behind them were finally coming true.
Only now that she knew she stood side-by-side with him would she allow herself to dream of something more…
Her longing was interrupted by a shadow blocking the bright sun from her face. Squinting against the broken light, Sakura saw a hand reaching out to her. Momentarily confused, she followed up the arm to see Sasuke gazing placidly down at her. A flick of his head connected the dots as she realized he wanted to help her up.
A cold thrill ran down her neck and settled in her stomach as she reached out. Sakura watched with detached wonder as her hand slipped into his. Sasuke's closed fingers surrounded hers completely as he tugged her up from the ground.
Her head spun momentarily from rapidly finding herself vertical. As Sakura focused, she was alarmed to find that she was nose to nose with Sasuke. A blush rouged her cheeks—he had not let go of her hand. She cautiously lifted her head and found herself locked in his gaze—her head told her that she could look away any time, but her body told her this wasn't possible. She'd always thought it was romantic nonsense to think that she would ever be caught by someone's eyes, but meeting Sasuke's look, his endless, dark eyes staring back into hers, she knew it was true. She was trapped.
Catching movement from the corner of her eye, Sakura began to tremble—his other hand was reaching up toward her head. She looked back to his face and her breath caught in her throat—he was leaning closer, tilting his head, parting his lips.
A cold spike ran through her gut—fear or excitement—she couldn't tell which emotion tipped the scales. She closed her eyes, her lips tingling—she was overwhelmed by the anticipation of his mouth finally meeting hers. His hand gently cupped her head and his fingers sank into her hair.
"You know," he said quietly. "You could've saved yourself an inch of hair if you dodged that Fuma shuriken a little faster."
Sakura's eyes snapped open in disbelief. His lips quirked as his hand raked through her hair and he wiggled his fingers, shaking loose the newly-shorn, pink locks.
She felt like something broke inside of her. As Sasuke smirked, all she saw was his perpetual disappointment in her. Her fury boiled over—had she really believed he would consider her an equal?
Never enough! she screamed in her head. Never good enough. Never fast enough. Never smart enough. Never strong enough. Never enough for Sasuke!
She slapped his hand away from her head as her face twisted. Taking a step back, Sakura lashed out at him.
"Well, I thought we agreed this was going to be a purely taijutsu spar. The fact that you had to use your Sharingan not only broke the rules, but shows just how close to victory I really was!"
Sasuke's brows knit in confusion then his face blackened in anger. Sakura knew his Sharingan was unconsciously activated by adrenaline and that he wasn't trying to cheat, but she didn't care. She wanted to hurt him—like he'd hurt her so many times before.
Sasuke took a step back, dropping her hand. She watched his face as the heat of anger iced over to apathy. Without saying a word, he turned his back on her and began walking toward the village.
All of her past frustrations suddenly came bubbling to the surface. Echoes of Sasuke's voice reminding her how weak she really was, bounced around in her head as she watched the Uchiha crest moving away.
Always walking away! a voice in her head raged.
Sakura's boot slammed down hard on the ground. Blinded as she was by frustration, she was not fully conscious of the amount of chakra that accompanied it. A deep fissure split the earth under the heel of her foot and shot toward Sasuke.
Stumbling as the ground gaped open beneath him, Sasuke just managed to leap to the safety of a tree. Gathering himself, he turned a glare toward Sakura. She returned his glare with equal intensity as her whole body tensed with fury. Why would she never measure up in his eyes?
This time, she thought fiercely, you'll watch me walk away.
She gave him one last defiant look and took off, the air around her rippling as she flash-stepped toward the village.
Karin spun on her chair, bored. If Sasuke didn't show up at Ichiraku's for lunch today, she would resume her search for him in the village. She blew her bangs out of her face and spun around again.
Thinking of Sasuke made her recall her resolve to split him from his team. With a smirk, Karin went through the proper balance of chakra amounts for her new manipulation technique. Focusing a portion of her chakra into a tiny ball was easy enough—changing the chakra signature of that ball was the hard part.
You just need the right motivation! she giggled to herself, turning her stool to the counter just as the kitchen door whooshed open.
A plate of steaming dumplings clunked down in front of her, fogging her glasses. Yanking them off, Karin scrubbed them with a napkin as she grumbled.
"Hey, old man! Miso ramen, please! Hi, Ayame."
Repositioning her glasses, Karin eyed Naruto just one seat away. Recognizing an opportunity, she grabbed her plate and slid onto the stool next to him.
"Naruto! I haven't seen you in soooo long! How are you?" Karin sang with forced cheeriness.
The brilliant smile Naruto wore dimmed when he turned toward her.
"Oh, hey, Karin."
Karin leaned her elbow on the counter and rested her chin in her palm. "Have you just come back from training?"
"No, and I don't know where Sasuke is."
"Wh-what makes you think I was looking for Sasuke-kun?" she spluttered.
Naruto sighed and said flatly, "You're always looking for Sasuke, Karin."
"Naruto! I'm just as happy to see you!" she cooed, patting his arm. "Any interesting missions lately?"
"Nope. Thanks, Ayame." Naruto beamed as his soup landed in front of him. He snapped his chopsticks in two and slurped up a big mouthful of noodles.
"Uh, eaten any new ramen flavors?" Karin asked, grasping for a conversation topic.
Naruto turned furrowed brows at her as he slurped up the end of a long noodle. Finally, he put down his chopsticks and said, "Look, Karin. What is it that you really want?"
Karin waved her hand at him as she turned her head away bashfully. "Oh, Naruto-kun. You can read me like a book."
She saw his astonishment at her use of the familiar suffix and wondered if she'd gone too far. He continued to stare at her suspiciously. The silence stretched out before Karin couldn't take it any longer and blurted out, "Okay…it's Sasuke."
"I knew it," Naruto groused, picking up his chopsticks and digging into his bowl.
"No! It's not what you think. I-I'm worried about him. Naruto, he's not happy here in Konoha."
Karin saw concern flit across his face—this would be easier than she thought.
"What do you mean he's not happy? Nobody forced Sasuke to come home, Karin."
"That's true, but Sasuke-kun has a lot of memories of Konoha—and more painful than his bad memories are his good memories." She continued as he frowned in confusion. "Everywhere he looks, he sees the marks his family left behind. What do you think it does to poor Sasuke-kun to see his family crest on the sleeve of every police officer in the Leaf and know that not a single Uchiha is employed there? Uchihas used to make up the entire First Division, from what I've heard.
"Everywhere in Konoha there are reminders of the life he used to have, of the dreams he had when he was a boy. And, just when Sasuke-kun might've started to settle in and make a new life, the brother who ruined everything is welcomed back to his home with open arms. Imagine what kind of a betrayal that feels like."
Karin could easily read the emotions on Naruto's open expression—hurt, sadness, worry. She paused to let it all soak in. His chopsticks lay forgotten in his hand as he wondered aloud, "H-how can I help?"
"Oh, Naruto-kun! I knew I could count on you!" she said, smiling widely at him. She adjusted her face into an expression of concern. "Well, you know how Sasuke-kun is. He needs his space. He likes to be left alone. He'll need time and space to heal. Best to just leave him be for a while."
"Do you really think that's the best way to help him? Sasuke tends to do stupid things when you leave him alone."
The pain in those clear, blue eyes drew Karin in. She couldn't help but see Naruto's overabundance of sunshiny chakra radiating all around him. She faltered. Could she really deceive such a pure, determined friend?
Closing her eyes, Karin imagined strong hands peeling off her wedding gown, her fingers tracing the Uchiha crest on his back, as she closed the door of her luxurious mansion somewhere outside of Konoha, and she knew, without a doubt, that she could do this.
"Naruto," Karin murmured soothingly. "You know how Sasuke-kun doesn't like to talk about these things. Pull back for a while. Like I said, he needs his space right now."
Naruto nodded, his ramen cold. Karin speared a rubbery gyoza, thinking smugly how easy it was to manipulate nice people into doing exactly what you wanted them to.
Now, she thought with a wicked smirk, on to Sakura.
Kakashi wondered what he'd done wrong in his life that he was forced to be in this hospital so much. Granted, today he wasn't enduring one of Sakura's lectures on how he should take better care of himself on missions or she wouldn't be able to fit the pieces left of him into a thimble, damn it.No, today, he was here only to observe the former Root sealing squad draw thousands of symbols in concentric circles on the floor surrounding Uchiha Itachi.
With a strong surge of chakra, Sakura stalked into Itachi's room. Kakashi could feel the lethal fury radiating off her as Shizune filled her in on her patient's progress before she exited the ward, yawning and rubbing her pregnant belly as she went.
"What are you doing here, Sensei?" asked Sakura brusquely.
"Nice to see you too, Sakura," Kakashi teased gently. "Want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine. Perfectly fine. Now, I have work to do. So, if you're here on a social call, Sensei, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She grabbed Itachi's chart and heatedly whipped through the pages.
Worse than I thought, Kakashi mused. Bet I know who inspired this wonderful mood. Only Sasuke who could rile her up like this. Ah, young love.
"Actually, Sakura, I'm here on the Hokage's orders. The Root team will be here any minute and Tsunade wants me to observe and report back."
"Oh," she said, glancing around as if noticing the symbols covering the floor for the first time. "They're coming tonight?"
"Yes. I put them off until tonight, just like you asked me to."
Sakura shook her head and said, "Right. Okay. I remember."
She looked foggy, preoccupied. Sasuke must've done something really stupid this time.
His thoughts were interrupted when the three black-clad shinobi of the Root sealing squad came to attention in front of him.
"We're ready to begin."
Kakashi nodded and grabbed Sakura by the arm, saying, "We need to wait outside." Steering her out the door, they both watched from the other side of the glass as the former Root members dropped to one knee and began a series of intricate hand signs.
Their leader mumbled instructions as they simultaneously slapped their hands to the floor. The thousands of symbols they'd drawn that afternoon glowed blue, illuminating the entire room. They began another series of hand signs.
Kakashi thought he heard a faint hum as the light in the room slowly shifted to green with a second slap to the ground. The squad leader's hands became a blur as he alone slid through a multitude of complex signs. He slapped both of his hands to the floor and the humming reached a fever pitch.
Red light flooded the room and loud alarms began to clang as Kakashi pushed his hitai-ate up to expose his Sharingan. Sakura had already flown from his side and was attempting to open the door—with no success.
She turned frantic eyes to Kakashi. "I can't open it! The jutsu is suppressing my chakra!" Sakura banged on the glass. "Stop! Stop the jutsu! Now!"
Instantly, the three Root shinobi stood and the red light died out. Sakura shoved the door open and flew to Itachi's side, chakra already encasing her hands.
Itachi's monitors continued to blare while Sakura pushed chakra into him.
Kakashi hit the button by Itachi's bedside, alerting Shizune to the danger. Within seconds she was standing side-by-side with Sakura, pouring chakra into the dying ninja.
He sighed with relief as the cacophony of warning alarms stopped ringing—only to be replaced by a single, high-pitched beep. His relief was pushed aside as he recognized that distinctive hum.
It was the sound of Itachi's stopped heart.
Shizune pulled her hands away and looked askance at an unrelenting Sakura. Knowing what Itachi's life meant to Sakura—because it meant so much to Sasuke—Kakashi resisted the urge to gently remove her from what he knew to be a lost cause.
"Please, Itachi. For Sasuke-kun…please," she cajoled him and, with a grunt, she forced a final surge of chakra into his system.
Like a newborn baby, Itachi sucked in a breath as his monitors sprang back to life.
Sakura swayed and Kakashi reached out for her, his hand hovering under her elbow. When she nodded wearily, letting him know she would be okay, he smiled and flicked his head toward the Root squad.
They met the three shinobi outside Itachi's room as Shizune monitored the patient within. The squad leader snapped to attention.
"Hatake-senpai, I would like to give you a general briefing to relate to Tsunade-sama. I will, of course, detail everything for her in a written report."
"Of course," agreed Kakashi, nodding. He glanced warily at Sakura as she wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. She'd need to rest soon, he thought—hopefully, this would be a quick briefing.
"During our probe, it was discovered that Uchiha Itachi is still bound by some of the seals that were placed on him during his time with Root. The first seal, a standard silencing seal, appears to have disappeared with the death of Danzo-sama—as it has with every Root member. The second seal is a bit more complicated. Although I have yet to corroborate this with our records, I believe this seal was placed on Uchiha-san to ensure that his last mission was completed."
"What do you mean completed?" Sakura asked suspiciously.
The specialist looked to Kakashi for permission to continue.
"Haruno-san is the Hokage's apprentice. Whatever you can say in front of me, you can say in front of her." Kakashi didn't miss Sakura's tiny smile. He'd left her out once—he wouldn't make that mistake again.
The squad leader nodded sharply. "Judging from the nature of the seal, I believe it was meant to become painful to Uchiha-san at first and then physically destructive if he didn't finish his mission to eradicate every member of his clan."
"Eradicate all of the Uchiha clan?" Kakashi's eye widened in horror as realization sunk in.
"So, you're saying that because he left his brother alive, Itachi has been slowly dying all these years?" Sakura looked confused as she glanced at Itachi's room. "Can anything be done to lift the seal?"
The dark ninja shifted. "These are arcane and forbidden jutsu, Haruno-san. I'll need to research extensively. Danzo-sama's private library is being sorted through and I've heard he had ancient fuinjutsu documents from Uzushio. They might help us shed some light on Uchiha-san's situation. Unless we can find a solution to this…well, all I can say with absolute certainty is that every day that his brother is alive brings Uchiha Itachi one step closer to the grave."
Despite feeling a little shaky and knowing she was low on chakra, Sakura felt secure in sending Shizune home. Itachi was resting comfortably now and she was certain he'd continue to rest for some time.
That didn't stop Kakashi from keeping his eye on her—he might look like his nose was buried in Icha Icha, but Sakura knew him better.
A quick flick of her glowing hand across Itachi's chest put Sakura at ease—he actually seemed to be doing much better now. She brushed his hair from his face. She smiled, thinking how alike he and Sasuke looked.
Now knowing all the intricacies of Itachi's mission, Sakura found herself looking at him in a new light. She knew about the difficult position he was in—how he had to make an awful choice between his family and his home. She also knew how he'd spared Sasuke out of love, but to know that he'd loved him enough to overcome binding seals?
Sakura thought about the enormous amount of pain Itachi suffered for years after—all that just to let Sasuke live. Itachi's plan to have Sasuke return to Konoha a hero might've taken a few wrong turns, but the plan was conceived with nothing but the deepest love for his little brother. A strange, painful warmth curled in her chest as she thought how nice it would be for Sasuke to have his brother back—the brother he longed for.
Itachi's cheek twitched as she moved a stray lock and Sakura froze. She snapped her eyes to his monitors as an eerie dread crept up her spine.
"Sensei. He's coming around."
Kakashi was at her side before she could blink. The only movement that would've otherwise revealed her patient's conscious state was a slight jerk of his hands—a jerk that told her Uchiha Itachi was aware he was restrained.
"Uchiha-san, can you hear me? I'm Haruno Sakura and you're currently under my care in the Restricted Ward of Konoha Hospital. You're being treated for a system-wide infection, but I'm confident you'll make a full recovery soon."
Itachi was still and silent throughout Sakura's monologue. When she finished, he slowly angled his head in the direction of her voice and croaked, "Haruno-san, you are…persistent." Turning away, he added sourly, "You should've left me to die."
She shuddered at the sound of his voice, remembering his threats while under the Tsukuyomi.
Kakashi stepped up to announce his presence. "Uchiha Itachi. Hatake Kakashi, Senior Jounin of the Hidden Leaf. The Hokage has already begun the presentation of your case before the daimyo and Council—they'll decide your status as a Konoha shinobi."
Her sensei's voice calmed Sakura and she was able to gather herself. Pouring a glass of water for Itachi, she noticed the slight tremor in her hands. She tried to suppress her trembling as she held the cup to his lips and lifted his head. Being close to Itachi now that he was conscious was unnerving, but touching him was much more intimidating.
"A Konoha shinobi?" Itachi scoffed, his voice still raw. "I never wanted to set foot in the Hidden Leaf again."
Sakura was stunned. She knew Itachi had been ordered to kill his clan, but she'd believed he'd done it for the sake of Konoha. Why would he never want to return to the village he loved so well? And why wouldn't Itachi want to embrace what little family he had left? She had to speak up for Sasuke.
"Itachi-san, your brother…he's been asking to see you."
"That is exactly why I never wanted to come back to this place. I have nothing to say to my little brother. I refuse to see him…ever," he spat out with finality.
Sakura welled up. Why would he be so willing to sacrifice himself for Sasuke, but be so unwilling to give his brother the closure he had to know he needed? Rather than answers, it seemed that a conscious Uchiha Itachi just raised more questions in Sakura's mind.
Luckily, Kakashi spoke up. "Root specialists have confirmed that, with the death of Danzo, your silencing seal has been released. The Hokage and her assistant will be here tomorrow to speak to you about your last mission, now that you're free to discuss it. Your binding seal, however, will require more research." Kakashi's voice softened with compassion. "We are all working diligently to remove this seal as quickly as possible. I'm sure it'll be a relief to be out of pain. In the meantime, Haruno-san will be working to ease your burden. Please let her know if you are in any distress."
Kakashi looped his fingers around Sakura's wrist and lead her out the door—her sensei wanted to give Itachi time to sort through his thoughts. Doubtful that he'd change his mind about Sasuke, despair settled over her. How would she break this news to Sasuke?
Just as the door was resealing, Sakura heard Itachi mutter, "No one can ease my burden. I am a shinobi—I endure."
Paige...you know how awesome you are, right? Do I have to tell you again? Oh, all right. YOU ARE ROCK LEE!
And so are all of you! You make me smile with every review. Thank you!
This chapter is dedicated to Good boy-chan who makes me guffaw and scratch my head at the same time.