The team moved at an easy pace, teammates leaping between branches in a vague formation. They were varying levels of tired, except of course for Naruto. He led the group and Kakashi followed him closely and then Sai, followed by Yamato. Sakura was in the rear position. Sasuke moved back and forth, at times keeping pace with Naruto and sometimes falling behind Sakura. If the team were attacked he would would be an auxiliary fighter, backing up which ever position took the brunt of the attack.

He felt that it would have been a good time to say something to Sakura when he was close beside her, but everything felt foolish, mere idiocy worthy of Naruto and nothing to waste Sakura's time with.

She seemed to recognize his discomfort but her attempts to engage him felt shallow, like she was deliberately avoiding pointed questions.

"I'm so glad you left that knife with me, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn."

"I bet the nobles were caught up in their own little games, weren't they?"

"Aa."

Eventually she stopped asking questions and let the slap of their shoes on tree branches be the only sounds breaking up the silence of the forest.

At one point Sasuke caught sight of Sakura's face. She wore a look of concern that seemed touched with guilt. But when she saw him looking she quickly put up a smile.

"This is a good place, Naruto." Kakashi called. He jumped down to the road below.

They were an hour outside of the village. A thick forest surrounded them, deadening sound. Large, leafy trees loomed over the road.

"Alright!" Naruto tugged a scroll from a pocket and laid it out on the road. It had a summoning seal on it and when Naruto activated it a large knapsack appeared. "Here you go! Lunch and some new clothes for Sakura-chan!"

"Ah! So that's why you guys took so long to get up here!" Sakura grinned.

"Aw, Sakura-chan! We didn't stay there long." Naruto pouted. "I just talked to Kiba really quick while Sai packed everything. I didn't even tell the guys we have the treaty 'cause we were in such a hurry!"

Sakura laughed. "Oh I'm just teasing, Naruto! I'm really glad I don't have to walk home in rags!"

"Well since we were coming to meet you guys Kakashi-sensei said we could pick up some field rations and your other clothes at the camp where Sasuke's cottage is." Naruto held out neatly folded clothes to Sakura.

"Thank you! And thanks, Kakashi." She took the clothes and ran a hand over them. Sasuke recognized her favorite shades of red and pink.

"You certainly have wrecked your clothes." Sai remarked. "You move as though you were wounded. Were you, Ugly?"

Sasuke hitched in simple, bald surprise. His surprise was doubled when Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"One of them got in a hit while I was fighting someone else, it's not a big deal, Sai."

"I am surprised. I thought the traitor raced to your side to protect you." The look on his pale face was completely bland. Sai seemed to just say words without regard to how they were received.

But Sasuke caught both Naruto and Sakura stiffening. Sakura gave Sai a hard frown. "Sasuke-kun actually may have saved my life by taking a blow meant for me." Then she growled, "and I told you never to call him that again."

Naruto had actually taken a step forward and then stopped when Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder.

A small smile twisted Sai's mouth but the rest of his face had no reaction. "Well, Dickless," he seemed to be addressing Naruto. "you have your teammates back. Does this give proof to the existence your puny balls?"

Naruto was growling. "You asshole. What is with you all of a sudden?"

Naruto's aggravation was starting to infect Sasuke. He didn't really care what the freakish artist had to say about him but he didn't care for how he talked to Sakura or Naruto.

"Uh...Hokage-sama, I don't think this is the time or place for this discussion." Yamato looked nervously at Sai and then Kakashi. "Maybe there is no good time." He finished in a mutter.

"It's quite alright, Captain Yamato." Sai continued to smile a placid, empty smile. "With Ugly's release, the dickless Hokage can rest easy knowing she will do the heavy lifting for him."

"That's enough." Kakashi's voice was low and hard.

Naruto hissed and looked like he wanted to spit but he controlled himself. Sasuke found his jaw grinding, but he kept his fists at his side.

Sakura was not about to let Sai's comment slide. "What. The. Hell." She ground out. "Just where do you get off talking like that about the Hokage? You know how hard Naruto works! What's going on with you that you want to go back to these stupid, childish insults all of a sudden?"

"There is nothing going on with me, of course." A smile appeared on Sai's face, but it was empty of any feeling, as if someone had described a smile to him once but he had no real idea what it was.

Naruto was furious. "That fake smile again? It's like we're back where we started before the war."

It pissed Sasuke off. "Just say what you're thinking, you creep."

"I don't deny a few things have changed, dickless-sama. We didn't chase after the traitor, this time, but after Ugly, the traitor's bimbo."

Naruto snarled and charged Sai. Sai predicted his move and slipped out of the way, but he stepped right into Sasuke's grasp. He had seen Sai deftly switch his balance and anticipated his direction. In two moves he had the other man flat on the ground with his arm twisted back, a knee pressing into his spine.

To his credit, Sai did not cry out.

"I don't know who you are or why Naruto and Sakura ever worked with you," he snarled. "But there's no way you're an ally." Sasuke grabbed a fistful of Sai's hair and ground his face into the ground. "What is your plan?" He demanded.

"Sasuke, that's enough." Kakashi ordered.

Wood boards erupted from the ground and bent over Sai's body. Sasuke had to jump away to keep the slats from clapping down on him.

Sasuke had no idea what was going on other than the fact that he was well and truly pissed off and so were Naruto and Sakura. His Sharingan was active but detected no jutsus other than the wooden barrier protecting Sai.

Sakura was holding on to Naruto with both hands on one arm. He was still baring his teeth at the wooden dome and trying to tug his arm away from Sakura. "Come on, Naruto! Sasuke-kun, that's kinda how Sai can be some times. It's not like we're under attack or anything. But I haven't seen him act this way in years. Ugh, Naruto!"

Yamato crouched over the low dome. "I'm going to let you out, Sai. Are you going to behave?"

A muffled grunt came from out of the wood.

Kakashi stood off to the side with his hands on his hips looking generally annoyed with everyone.

"Alright now, everyone." Yamato said. He looked confused and impatient. "I don't know why Sai is being like this but if you guys can't hold onto your tempers...uh." His gaze fell on Naruto. "Uh... Wait, I can't throw the Hokage in a cage, can I, Kakashi?"

Kakashi grunted and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Don't worry, I'll tell the elders at your trial that he deserved it."

"Aw!" Naruto cried at the same time that Yamato made an exasperated sound.

Yamato held out his hands in a sign. "Fine. Alright you three. I'm going to let Sai out now. Try to keep it cool, okay?"

"Okay," chorused Naruto and Sakura. Naruto finally began to settle down.

"Hn."

The wood separated from over Sai and disappeared back into the ground. He looked up from his crumpled position in the ground. From the shadows on his face, a bruise was forming over one cheek. He cautiously rolled onto one side as if he was expecting an attack.

"If you four are done," Kakashi said. "I'd like to have lunch."

"Oh right, lunch!" Naruto yelled.

"Tsh. You had breakfast at the palace. Sakura hasn't really eaten today."

"Mh." She grunted as if reacting to hearing her name. "I guess." Sasuke realized she was still staring at Sai.

For his part, Sai was rubbing his arm and looking in their direction. But his focus somehow missed all three of them. His face remained impassive and unreadable.

"Tch." Sasuke wanted to carry on ignoring him but now Naruto was looking at him as well.

"Well, you jerk, you want to say something that isn't totally...jerky?" Naruto choked on the last word like he couldn't think of something suitably insulting.

"I only wished to comment on the situation. You say it's like we were before the war and I agree, for the most part. I am facing Team 7, and Team 7 faces me. Only this time they include a rogue ninja, and I have no outstanding orders." It was a tiny thing. If Sasuke didn't still have his Sharingan activated he might have missed it. But Sai's left eye twitched the tiniest little bit when he referred to orders.

Just why the hell did Naruto trust this weirdo?

"Oh. Oooh." A realization came to Sakura and she pulled Naruto close by the arm. She whispered into his ear.

Naruto looked at her. "Really?"

"Yeah, I think so." And then she whispered some more.

Sasuke frowned. Sai looked like their exchange had nothing to do with him.

Naruto scratched his head. "Okay, Sakura-chan, I'll try that. Okay, guys, let's go eat!" He called out. He turned to Sai specifically, "Come on, Sai. You packed this lunch so show me where everything is already!"

Sai started but easily went back to blank nonchalance. "Very well." He and Naruto stepped back to the lunch pack and were joined by Kakashi and Yamato.

Sasuke released his Sharingan and began to follow. He stopped when Sakura put a hand on his arm. She tugged him and he followed, heading away from the team and several feet into the forest.

She kept her voice hushed. "Sai was raised in a secret organization. I'm still not sure of the extent of the damage they did to him, but I'm sure it meant extensive emotional trauma, for a start. Even when he joined us Danzo had him on a secret mission...uh, Sasuke-kun?"

He had stiffened at the name Danzo. "He worked under that man?"

Sakura made a face. "More like served, and not entirely of his own free will." She drew in a breath as if to steady herself. "He knows, practically everyone knows that you killed Danzo when he was the interim Hokage. But there are two things you should know, Sasuke-kun. One is that after the war we found an abundance of evidence that tied Danzo to catastrophes around the shinobi world and in Konoha in specific. Even the mass..." The last few words faded out of hearing.

She looked uncomfortable. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and she looked away. She had been about to say something but changed her mind.

"Um, anyway Danzo is recognized by the jonin council and by the elders to have acted in bad faith and in a manner inconsistent with Konoha's values."

"...inconsistent." Sasuke found that an ironic word given the context.

Sakura's voice was firm. "Yes. Lady Tsunade started the process to define the position and Naruto completed it when he became Hokage. Some people might grumble that Danzo should have been put on trial but it's generally agreed that he died as a direct effect of his own actions." Strain came into Sakura's voice as she remembered the days that followed his death. "No one should hold it against you, especially when killing him allowed the village to learn about his activities."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "How's that?"

"That's the second thing you should know. Danzo kept members of his organization in line by applying a curse mark to them. So back when Captain Yamato, Naruto and I tracked down Orochimaru's base, Sai was under orders from Danzo to ingratiate himself to that snake. Then when he changed his mind and abandoned his secret mission to join Orochimaru, he still couldn't tell us anything about Danzo's schemes. Even after that he still had to meet with Danzo and take his instructions as well as Lady Tsunade's orders. Sai was forced to protect the organization's secrets even when he no longer had any faith in Danzo."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura with a sneer. "Should I pity him?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "As if that's why I would give you that intel. No, it's just so you understand a little bit of what's been going on since you've been gone. Once Danzo died Sai's curse mark was undone and he could finally tell us what he knew." She paused and then relaxed her pose, as if she had been holding tension while speaking. "It doesn't exactly make sense to put up with someone like Sai, but..." She shrugged. "We've all had different troubles, you know? And it's marked us in different ways."

Sasuke understood. It had taken him a little while, two days to be precise, but he had finally started to see a little of how Sakura had been marked.

"It occurred to me that Sai might be feeling kind of left out, now that you're here. I mentioned it to Naruto so he's going to try to include him more."

"Hn. You think I'll push him out of Team 7?"

"I -" Sakura caught herself. "Well, I...don't really know, of course."

"You just guessed, and so you figured it would be okay to give me a little intel about secret organizations?"

"I...uh. Sasuke-kun." She sighed. "I didn't want to make too many assumptions, but I thought from how Naruto was acting and from what Sai said, that you three probably talked about your next plans. I mean..." She grinned up at him and he realized she was looking at the hitaiate still on his brow. "You're wearing that thing."

Once again he'd forgotten it was there.

Her smiled widened. "It's kind of amazing." She gestured to his shirt he wore, pointing out the Uchiha fans. "You almost look like a proper ninja again."

He wasn't eager to be called a ninja just yet. Sasuke realized a smile was beginning to spread across his face and he stopped it, forcing a solemn look back onto his face. He lifted a hand to the hitaiate, meaning to pull it off. But Sakura's smile immediately began to fall away as she watched him. "It's just for the look. To help Naruto." He grunted. "And you." He let his empty hand fall back to his side.

"Is that right? Anyway, the intel isn't that secret." She shifted and held her change of clothes in a tight roll in one hand.

"Hn. No, you stopped right before you got to the secret part."

Sakura's sighed. "I can make some calls about what you need to know, but there is still a great deal of information that should remain classified." She inhaled deeply and looked back up at Sasuke. The look on her face was as grim and steely as any elite ninja who meant business. "It's the sort of information Naruto only gives to shinobi who he knows are faithful only to Konoha. As long as I'm just guessing about where your loyalties are I won't tell you." She stood square to him, shoulders firm and chin lifted in absolute certainty.

"Hn." If Sasuke had let himself forget that Sakura was now a 24 year old accomplished jonin, the recollection stood in front of him with a determined look in her eyes.

Even so. "It sounded like you were about to say something about a massacre. If it regards my family you need to tell me."

Sakura momentarily looked away from his eyes before dragging her gaze back. She swallowed and then shook her head slowly from side to side.

Sasuke ground his teeth together. Without quite thinking about it, he shifted his balance so he would be ready to fight. He didn't like the idea of forcing it out of her with the Sharingan.

"Sasuke-kun," she whispered. "No." Her hand reached up and fell on his upper arm. "I'm not wrong, am I? You will come back, that's what Sai was implying, right? As long as you say you're only wearing the Konoha hiataite for the look then..." She dropped her arm and looked away. "That's all the intel you get."

"Sakura," he growled. Sasuke felt somewhat bereft without her warm hand on his arm. It was a feeling that warred with the irritation at her for withholding what as obviously critical information.

But she wasn't wrong. He had agreed with Naruto that he would need to return to Konoha and try to reconcile with the village. In all likelihood there were extensive documents that related to the Uchiha waiting for him there.

He had just forgotten about the stupid hitaiate. It made his frown sharpen.

"I said no." Sakura responded to his frown, her voice low and solid. "If you try to use your Sharingan I'll fight you to the utmost of my ability. And let me tell you, Sasuke, while you've been practicing some kind of pacifism, I've gotten a lot better at fighting. Right now the only person in the village who can go toe to toe with me is Naruto. I might lose to you but you still won't get what you're after. I'm not messing around here."

For just a moment, barely a second, Sasuke's breath caught.

She continued and her eyes never left Sasuke's. "Come back and show Naruto he can trust you with some of the worst secrets of Konoha's history and you know he'll turn over everything he has."

Sasuke stared at her for another minute before finally letting go of the desire to challenge her. She stared right back without flinching. "You said it's some of the worst secrets of Konoha's history."

Sakura's lips pressed together in a tight frown. "Yeah."

Sasuke let his shoulders drop. "At least that's something. If you know it, then there are others in power who understand Konoha has made mistakes."

Sakura smiled bitterly. "I know it. And Naruto does too. We haven't been sure how to teach the chapters of our history that are about the Uchiha. But we know we can't afford to let kids graduate from the Academy without understanding what your clan gave our village, and what we lost."

Sasuke looked into Sakura's rich emerald eyes and saw sorrow. There was no trick to them, no attempt to push him one way or another, and the sorrow wasn't abstract. The loss she spoke of included his defection.

Finally he nodded. "I'm glad you're out of that cage." He said. His voice was hushed. "I meant to tell you earlier."

Sakura blinked and surprise took over her face. Then she softened and smiled. "I'm glad all that business is over now."

Sasuke grunted. "Why bring me back here?"

She grinned. "I was hoping you'd be my guard while I changed my clothes. Wouldn't want those perverts over there getting a free show." She held up the spare clothes and slung them on a low branch.

A soft point of heat flared in Sasuke's chest. She trusted him. For an instant it lit a rare desire to tease. "Hn. You're not concerned if I happened to peek at you?"

Sakura stared at him, eyes wide, for a second and then grinned. Her hands went to the obi holding closed her oversized kimono. "I hadn't considered the likelihood." Then she began to pull apart the knot.

Sasuke coughed and wheeled around, teasing mood bested, and strode back to the road. Behind him he heard her giggling.

- 傷 -

The team continued toward the Land of Fire, loping the rest of the way down to the river that divided the two countries. They arrived at the dockside in the mid-afternoon. Between the two small boats still tied to the little pier, the whole team crossed the river in one trip.

Naruto led them into the campsite to many extended cheers and quite a few bows and handshakes. Kakashi and Yamato got quite a number of smiles and bows. Several people even called out to Sai.

But Sasuke noticed that while several jonin greeted Sakura happily, particularly Kiba and Rock Lee (perhaps too happily for the last one), many others took in her appearance with sneers and icy silence. As for Sasuke, quite a number of smiles simply failed when the shinobi noticed him.

He took in the crowd. Ten Konoha shinobi. Two of whom pushed along a pair of very unhappy looking Iwa prisoners. Their tents and belongings were scattered about in the clearing that surrounded Sasuke's once-lonely cottage. He frowned.

He was the stranger in this crowd. A twinge of empathy for how Sai felt facing him, Naruto, and Sakura shot through him before he scoffed at it. He wasn't lost without orders. He knew his path now and these people would have to choose whether to help him or get out of the way.

When everyone had gathered, each one trying to get a chance to talk to or just personally cheer the Hokage, Naruto marched right through them. He caught Sasuke's eye and grinned.

Sasuke had just a second to stiffen and prepare himself before Naruto slung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close.

"Okay, everyone! I know you got a million questions! But I got just one thing to say: We're going home, and -"

The crowd surged as cheers reached a fever pitch.

Naruto had to wave his arm to get them to calm down. "I'm not finished! I was gonna say, we're going home AND this guy made it happen!"

The cheers fell away.

"Tch." Sasuke tried to pull away from Naruto but he wouldn't let go.

"You guys - we're finally done. The treaty is finished!" *cheers* "We're standing in the Land of Fire like we've always said!" *greater cheers* "We're not going to war!" *more enthusiastic cheers* "And it's because Sasuke here got it done!"

The cheers were substantially subdued, but there were scattered shouts. And then behind him Sasuke heard clapping. And then to the side. He saw Kakashi clapping, and Sakura too - and she had a huge grin on her face. And then he saw Kiba and Rock Lee and Yamato clapping. And then everyone was clapping.

Sasuke wanted to frown. It was embarrassing, all this attention and pointless adulation. He hadn't even done anything! It was just so... Naruto grasped his shoulder even tighter and laughed. What, was he supposed to bow? He wasn't going to smile for them like a damned street performer.

Instead, he took a deep breath and stood up straight, ignoring the idiot hanging onto his side. He looked around at the shinobi gathered around him, watching them taking another look at the man in front of them and finding something to appreciate.

When the applause died down Naruto finally let go of Sasuke and stepped forward. "Okay, we're going to clean up and get out of here. If we get a move on we can be back in Konoha before last call at Ichiraku's!"

There was a rowdy cheer that fell apart into laughter as the group separated to clean the campsite.

Then Naruto called on Sai and they headed over to where the Iwa prisoners were and talked with the Konoha ninja who held them.

Sakura walked over to Sasuke, Yamato and Kakashi right behind her. She still wore a bright smile. "Well I'm right there with everyone else, I want to know what happened!"

"Hn. Ask Naruto."

"Tsk." Sakura pouted. "I want your version. It probably involves less screaming and hopping up and down."

Despite himself, a small chuckle got away from Sasuke. He shrugged. "It was just... people talking a lot of bullshit."

Sakura grinned and her eyes sparkled. "That sounds about right."

Sasuke could hear Kakashi chuckling but he couldn't tear his eyes from Sakura. A small smile pushed up his lips no matter how much he fought it.

Yamato wasn't laughing. "Tsk. Those are nobles you're laughing at. What we'd all like to know is if you're coming back with Lord Hokage."

Sasuke sobered quickly. "I won't come back to Konoha immediately."

Sakura's grin faded and trouble shadowed her eyes. He regretted the loss of warmth and light.

"I told the bastard I have to get some things ready for him back home." Naruto strode up to the group. Behind him Sasuke could see the Iwa's chains had been removed and their former captors held out food packets. Sai was writing in a scroll. "I think he impressed the elders enough that they won't make a huge stink about it," he grinned and scratched his head. "But there's a few people who'll get ticked at me if I don't tell them first, ya know?"

Kakashi slipped his hands into his pockets and quietly watched Sasuke. He knew very damned well he was being carefully scrutinized for ulterior motives.

Yamato was less circumspect. "That's all very well and good, Lord Hokage, and I won't want to speak out of turn when it regards your friend. However, don't you think Konoha should consider the possibility of Sasuke's flight? After all it's been several years -"

"I won't go anywhere." Sasuke was irritated but he had anticipated distrust like this. "I'll be right here, keeping an eye on the border. And someone has to make it up to the village for all the trouble shinobi have caused."

"Keeping an eye on the border?" Kakashi cocked his head.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei. I'm not totally sure those Iwa guys won't try to sneak back as soon as we're gone, ya know?" Naruto nodded at Sasuke. "And the bastard said the cottage is a good place to stay to look after the area."

"Ah, so you're already putting him to work."

"Heh, actually it was his idea."

"Oh?"

All eyes turned to Sasuke.

He didn't much like it, but he supposed he'd have to tough out being the center of attention every now and again. He shrugged. "You don't always need to be up in a tower, looking down on people, to keep watch. It was easy to stay informed when I talked to the villagers every day."

"Yeah, and that's how come you knew so much about what the regular people saw all the time!" Naruto practically bounced on his toes. "You act like you're all antisocial, but you know how to get intel like any good shinobi!"

Sasuke made a face. "I'm going to be here until Naruto sends a replacement detail. I'll show them the area and then go up to Konoha."

Sakura was looking back and forth between him and Naruto, completely lost.

Before Sasuke could explain Yamato spoke again. "Lord Hokage, I am glad that you have your teammate back, and I recognize that you trust your teammate, but there are many in the village who will not understand -"

"Hey look, Captain Yamato," Naruto's voice had dropped an octave and the new gravity in his voice took Sasuke by surprise. "I know you don't know him very well, but the bastard always does what he says he'll do. That's just who he is."

"But Lord Hokage -"

"I'll watch him."

A chorus of three male "what?" and one "hn" met Sakura's announcement.

"Come on, it's obvious. Captain Yamato isn't the only person from Konoha who thinks Sasuke-kun will run at the first opportunity." She put a fist on her hip and looked like she had more to say.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "There's a small problem here." He sagged with his hands in his pockets like he didn't much care what happened. "Sakura, you violated a few direct orders causing quite a lot of the trouble we just went through."

Sasuke could see Naruto's mouth drop open. He tried to be more dignified with his surprise. "That's not -"

Kakashi held a hand up. "At least, that's what other jonin out here might point out to the council. Still others might point out that she may have gathered intel while in Iwa custody and so she should be debriefed as soon as possible."

Naruto grumbled and scratched his head. "I can make most of that go away, I think."

"But can you do that while everyone is openly questioning reinstating Sasuke, a rogue who hasn't been in Konoha in years?" Yamato gestured to Sasuke and he was once again keenly aware of the hitaiate on his forehead.

"Ugh, oh come on." Sakura looked irritated. "That's just more reason for me to stay down here. Naruto can get back to Konoha, make the preparations, calm everyone down and I'll make sure Sasuke-kun comes up when it's time. I understand the concern - any other rogue ninja might sell what he's learned from us. But I know Sasuke." She smirked at him. "If he tried to run I'd find him and break his legs." Then she gave him a giant, syrupy-sweet smile.

Sasuke was stunned and somewhat horrified by Sakura's statement, to say nothing of her smile.

Then the smile slid off her face as she turned to face Yamato. "And don't you fucking dare think I'm saying that because I'm his 'bimbo' or some crap." Her voice cracked in the air like a whip driving on a team of horses. Yamato actually took a step back. "I made the call to see this through the first time I saw him stuck in a genjutsu like some newbie genin."

Sasuke's tongue clicked in irritation. Honestly! He'd already explained himself enough times! He shoved his hands into his pockets with a fierce "tch!"

Sakura completely ignored it. "We'll stay away from Konoha for a few days, and we'll behave. Will that satisfy you, Captain Yamato?"

Sasuke could only goggle at pink haired woman in front of him as she all but condescended to a superior. Naruto wore a look that went all the way back to their genin days, as he stared in abject fear at Sakura.

Yamato certainly looked more pale than usual. "Ye-yeah, sure, Sakura. L-lord Hokage?"

Naruto jumped. "Huh? Me?! Oh right. Yeah, uh okay, Sakura-chan, if that's what you want. I'll get everything done in a hurry so you can get back and do Hinata-chan's check up."

"Oh!" Sakura instantly calmed down and let her shoulders drop. "Right! We have an appointment coming up." She grinned. "It's going to start getting interesting in the last trimester."

She walked over to Naruto who managed not to quiver in fear. She hooked an arm around his arm and pulled him away. "You know, we should start making a few plans for the baby's birth. From what Hinata told me, premature births aren't totally uncommon in the family, and you know, neither are twins..."

"TWINS!" Naruto bellowed at Sakura's side as they were talking away. "SHE'S HAVING TWINS?"

"NO! Ugh. Naruto, I just said it's not totally uncommon. I would have noticed if there were two little buns in the oven." Sakura's voice faded out as they walked further away.

"You'll be going back to that, you know." Kakashi remarked.

"Hn."

"Hey," Yamato opened. "Look, I'm sorry to have to come down on the cautious side. If Naruto says you worked on behalf of Konoha and he trusts you, then I trust him. I just...know he can get reckless."

"Hn."

Yamato looked at Kakashi as if seeking some back up but the older man kept silent. He looked a little deflated. "Okay, right. Uhh, guess I'll see you in Konoha in a little while." He turned around and walked away muttering to himself. Sasuke was sure he caught what sounded like "definitely his student."

Sasuke glanced at Kakashi. He stood back, hands in his pockets, a lazy look in his eye like nothing concerned him. Sasuke nearly pulled his hands from his own pockets when he realized he was doing the same thing but then felt an obstinate pang against changing his comfortable pose.

"I suppose you want to make sure I'm not going to screw over Konoha somehow."

"No, no. Naruto was quite right, you always do exactly what you say you'll do." He paused and Sasuke could tell a smirk had formed under his mask. "I have noticed that sometimes that doesn't always happen quite the way you were anticipating, though."

"Tch. Whatever." Sasuke wasn't going to be goaded. From where he stood he had accomplished almost everything he had set out to do, from the moment he left Sakura in a cage.

"Mh, all I'm wondering now is if you think it was worth it."

Worth it? Sakura grinning up him, eyes dancing. That was kind of alright.

He turned toward his cottage. "There was this weird old man at the daimyo's palace. He knew a few Uchiha in the past. He told me my father went on a mission for him once..."

Kakashi walked beside him, listening attentively.

- 傷 -

Sai sat back and looked at his work. He would have to give the upper edges a lighter hue - largely greens and blues, perhaps mixing in some yellow. The composition was set and the relationships were beginning to make themselves clear. Now it only fell to selecting the correct colors. There was nothing worse than drawing leaves on a spring afternoon and later realizing they were the wrong shade. Only the truth mattered and close enough would never suffice.

He had taken a seat against a tree off to the side of the clearing where the Konoha shinobi were camped out. In the center of the clearing was a dilapidated cottage, a kind of small house that appeared to have been built by someone who hadn't considered a house might have more to it than four walls and a roof of some kind. The clearing rolled down to the river. Above, the sky was pale blue but clouds were beginning to speak of rain from the north.

The campsite was being cleared out and likely everyone would leave with the Hokage within the hour. They should arrive in Konoha shortly after sunset. Everyone seemed glad to return. They smiled a lot and made promises of what they would do when they got back to Konoha.

Calling it peace didn't make Sai feel like smiling. He didn't really know what that meant. But he faintly understood the relief at not having to face another war. It didn't make him want to make plans to drink with his comrades and it didn't make him want to laugh alongside anyone. It made him want to draw.

He was applying straw yellow and thinking he would switch it out soon for maize when Sasuke and Sakura's voices reached him. They were somewhere to his left, hidden behind trees, and slowly getting closer.

"...some people with money on the brain wanted to build there once the war ended and we finally got back to rebuilding Konoha." Sakura was saying. "Other people just thought the ruins were unsightly. In the end a team of workers took down all of the unsafe structures. There are just a few buildings left, and walls and foundations here and there."

"Hn."

"I'm sorry, as I said it looks different now. Empty. We could only truly preserve the walls around the compound." Sakura paused. "Some of the villagers think it's haunted and pretty much everyone avoids it. There's a guard rotation, just a couple guys, set over it to make sure no one squats there and makes any trouble."

"Hn. Good."

"Sasuke-kun...there used to be a shrine on a little hill, a short distance from where you lived, didn't there?"

"Hn."

"One wall is still there, and the foundation looks intact. Sasuke-kun, is that the shrine...um, you said something about a shrine when you were..."

"It's a place important to the Uchiha."

"Uh, right. But you were talking to Ita-"

"Sakura." Sasuke's sharp tone cut her off.

Then Sakura noticed him. "Oh, Sai!" She walked up to him. With his back to a tree she couldn't peer at his picture over his shoulder so she crouched beside him.

She made some humming sounds as she reviewed the drawing. Sai paused for a moment but decided that if he told her it wasn't done she would still try to study it. He continued to shade in the yellow, giving life and movement to the colors it touched.

"Wow, Sai," she finally said. "Um, those are some bold color choices."

Sai accepted the comment silently. It hadn't occurred to him that they were bold, only that they were needed.

She stood up and addressed Sasuke. "Sai makes these amazing works of art. I think they're usually abstract like what he's doing now. But I've also seen him make figure drawings. Hey Sai, what ever happened to you drawing Ino's portrait?"

Sai looked up. Sakura was smiling at him. Sasuke stood next to her with his eyes nearly closed, like he was not interested in Sai but would listen to anything Sakura had to say.

"I have attempted to explain to her that I am not a portraitist and she should seek a specialist."

"Yeah, I bet she just keeps trying to convince you to give a shot anyway." Sakura's smile bared her teeth and she turned to Sasuke. "Around a year ago Ino got the wild idea that Sai could make money as a portraitist and tried to convince him to draw her or other notable people from Konoha. She went on and on that he could be a famous artist."

"She said I should draw her the way I saw her. But when I did I don't think she cared for it."

Sakura laughed. "You gave her one of your abstract works! It didn't even look human, let alone like Ino."

"That drawing was about her?" Sasuke spoke in a quiet tone and when Sai looked at him he realized he was looking at the drawing in his hands.

"I suppose you could say that."

"About her?" Sakura wondered out loud.

Sai attempted to explain. "You could say also it was the closest I could get to drawing Ino."

"Hn."

Sai caught Sasuke's eye. It made him pause, although he was getting used to it. In the daimyo's palace he was surprised to see how Sasuke had changed. His gaze was no longer mired in cold and darkness as it had been the first time they encountered each other.

Sai had honestly never expected that hardness and hatred to recede. An endless black, limned with red and only gray clouds indicating sorrowful depths. Now it was...what? A movement, like a sweeping gesture of a strong man. Or moonlight gliding through an empty field. It should be ice blue, he decided, and it would meet gouges in the background and fill it with a sparkling purple - pale amethyst, he imagined.

A silence had set in and Sakura tried to end it. "Uh, well we didn't mean to disturb you. Sasuke-kun was just showing me a little bit of the grounds around his cottage and I was talking his ear off about how Konoha has changed since he left."

Sasuke said nothing but leaned in to Sakura.

"We'll be staying here to make sure the border is secure while Naruto gets back to Konoha and presents the treaty to the Council. He's got to make sure everything is cleared and ready for Sasuke-kun to come back." When Sakura said Sasuke's name she glanced at him and her face became a shade lighter, like an internal brightness came on.

Sai nodded. "I see. You will stay here. Together."

The lightness went away and Sakura's eyes narrowed. Sai knew from experience this was a very bad thing. Before she said anything, however, Sasuke stepped in front of her. The look on his face was hard, unforgiving. Like an intimidating mountain peak.

He hastily began to pack away his pastels and closed his sketchbook. "I suppose I should find Lord Hokage."

Sakura clucked her tongue against her teeth. She put a hand on Sasuke's arm and he made room for her to step closer. "Sai... Yes, I'll stay here with Sasuke-kun. But as soon as we get back to Konoha you and I ought to get together for a book shopping trip. You're still the only person I know who likes to read as much as I do."

Sai looked at Sakura in confusion. "If you wish. But I would have thought you would prefer to go with the trai-ah, Sasuke-kun."

"You and I made plans a while ago, didn't we? Every third Thursday of the month the bookstore gets a whole new shipment and we go in and tear through it all. I don't know if Sasuke-kun wants to come along but you and I are definitely going. Right?" Sakura looked at him like it wasn't even a question.

Sai wasn't sure what to make of her attitude. "R-right." Sakura clearly liked to walk at Sasuke's side more than anyone else, and he seemed to have no reservation against it.

Sakura smiled widely. "Well then, I'll see you!" She turned and started back toward the clearing.

Sasuke tarried a moment, looking at Sai with a partial smile. Sai didn't imagine that look was friendly and he knew attempting a smile right now when he didn't feel it would only make things worse. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Only to tell you, I don't care what you call me, but if you say shitty things about Sakura again I won't hold back."

Now Sai did smile. The world was such a strange, wonderful place. "Funny, that's the same thing Sakura told me about you."

Sasuke blinked and for a brief moment looked surprised.

"Years ago she said that to me after she hit me hard enough to knock me down. So you see, I understand what you mean. You are being loyal to her."

Sasuke stared back at him silently until Sakura called. "Sasuke-kun!" Then he finally seemed to relax and turned to go. Over his shoulder he said, "she's loyal to you too."

Sai finished putting his things away and stood up. He almost felt like laughing. Yes the definition was still in the process of revealing itself. Every line, every shade, every reaction would make the relationship more clear. They always affected each other, didn't they? Colors needed to relate to each other, shapes needed space and lines all came from chaos. He couldn't say what Sasuke and Sakura meant to each other, but he was sure he could draw it.

YUS. Winding things down here. I'm planning two more chapters for 傷 and I can call this thing done!

Couple notes. 1. Since I deviated from canon (obviously) there left a lot of conversations out that informed Sasuke of what happened that brought about his clan's massacre. He consider his avenging days over, but he still feels he has a right to know every last detail. (Wouldn't you?) So what's missing from my timeline would be found in Konoha archives, under a series of Top Secret seals.

2. I thought it was worth mentioning - Several people people wrote in wanting to see some old Sai calling people names and generally being an ass... And the thing is that didn't make sense to me. It doesn't seem to me that Sai does that any more. Once he got comfortable with his new teammates he finally started to get a tiny bit of a clue. But also, I _don't do_ requests. But I kept thinking about it and I realized I really needed Sai to want something. He's a tough character to understand and therefore it's hard to write him. But then a couple different ideas came together and I realized this chapter would actually be very useful for getting in a very different perspective. Okay! so mark your calendars, this is that one time I wrote something per the comments!

Your reviews and feedback are read and considered carefully! Thanks!